Surrender - Peom written by Peter

Dedicated to my wife and prayer partner who has been praying faithfully that I learn to surrender to the Lord each part of my soul I'm still desperately clinging onto to claim as my own.
May you be bless and may you also learn the sweet joy of surrendering areas of your life to Him as He places His gentle finger there and patiently waits for you to submit to His perfect will:
Written as I meditated over what He has done for me on Good Friday.
...
Surrender, A word of negative connotation
Of retreat, failure and frustration
Yet You chose it in the incarnation
To bring us eternal salvation

You left Your heavenly glory and splendor
To live a life of simple surrender
You proved it in the Garden of Gethsemane
When You will to die for humanity

The way to the cross was paved with choices
Many a clamouring, enticing, competing voices
But You gave heed to none of them
And in silent surrender was condemned

What You went thru I can never understand
No matter how hard I try to comprehend
The allegation and accusation of wrong
The scorn and sickening slap so strong

They spat on You and struck You hard
And in all these evil I took a part
The scourging strength of every strand
The whip, Oh, my God! it was my hand!

Cruel crown of thorns You wore
Wicked taunt of royalty You bore
It must have hurt You to Your core
And yet You took on much, much more.

You struggled with the punishment and pain
Who would know the sorrow and public shame
Still You surrendered to the will of Him above
To demonstrate and display divine, enduring love

The way of the cross You walked alone
Heavy beam, jeers of crowd, blood stained stones
At last to the place of skull You came
You showed Surrender is serious, it’s not a game.

Hard spikes hammered You to the cross
As You carried all our dark, evil sinful dross
You could still have ended it all
If only to Your Father You would call

To the greatest agony - separation from Him - You did not yield
But in total obedience You surrendered to His will
With sorrowful sighing of the soul You breathed Your last
But this is present to me, not the past.

Your will aligned, Your soul surrendered
Thus to You the ultimate victory He handed
You live again, O Lord Jesus, forever more to reign
Leading to the heavenly home all the chosen saints.

So help me to obey and to surrender
To I, me, my and mine, to never pander
To flee the darkness and to fight the sin
To die to live, to surrender to win.

God be praised.
Peter Loh
26Mar12, Tuesday
In Residence, Radisson Hotel, Rm 304.
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

What are some lessons learnt from the study of Leviticus

Thank GOD for a group of dedicated facilitators, we have the opportunity to study Leviticus Precept Upon Precept.  Must admit, it got a bit dry here and there as we all know, it's about the old covenant and laws the 5 types of offerings ; Burnt, Grain, Peace, Sin, Guilt offerings, etc.  But thank GOD for perseverance.  As we plough on, we began to see and learn more and more of the GOD we worship, the GOD who saves.
 

Knowing Who GOD is, helps me to always fall back to Him whenever the road on earth gets tough.

1)  He is a GOD who Saves and gives Hope.  He saved the Israelites out of Egypt and gave them a land and through the lineage of Abraham, came JESUS CHRIST, Who atoned for our sins in order that we can be forgiven and be redeemed to our Creator, our Heavenly Father.  He declared the year of Jubilee where everyone is to return to their own property.  The land belongs to GOD and He has allotted the different tribes different areas of the land so in the year of Jubilee, everything should be restored, signifying debts forgiven, slaves (the Israelites were once slaves in Egypt) set free. Lev 25:23-24

2)  He is a GOD who Cares and Hears us when we cry out to Him.  He is not a created being but the Alpha and Omega, the Everlasting Father, the I AM.  He wants to be our GOD, and initiated a covenant with Abraham so that through Israel, many nations will be blessed and have salvation through the LORD Jesus Christ.  In Lev 25 GOD wants His people to fear and obey Him so that they could live securely in the land which He has given them.

3)  He is Holy and wants His people to be holy too.  Because He is Holy, He had to institute the above offerings so that He could dwell amongst His people.  The Bible says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of GOD in Rom 3:23.  He wants us to worship Him in His ways and on His terms, not ours.

4)  He is a GOD who Considers and Thinks ahead for us.  He did not insist that everyone who sinned had to bring an ox or sheep.  He thought of the poor and allowed turtledoves and pigeons as offerings from them.

5)  He is a GOD who is Meticulous and Specific in all He does.  That's why the universe with its galaxies, stars, planets and moons are holding well together because GOD made them (Gen 1: 1 In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth.).  He taught the Israelites what is clean and what is unclean, warned them about immoral acts, etc.

6)  He is a GOD who Forgives and has Compassion In Eze 33:10-19 GOD wants to forgive the Israelites.  He wants them to turn from their wicked ways and live.  Our GOD is not a sadist who likes to see people suffer. He knows the wayward hearts of His people and how weak we are that He gave us His laws and commandments to guide us in our daily living.

7)  He is a GOD who Provides.  He declared Sabbath day for the Israelites and the land and said He would provide - Lev 25 : 20-22.  Wow, what an awesome GOD we serve!

The above are just some of the characters of GOD observed through studying the book of Leviticus. There are many more, such as - He is a GOD of Love,  He is a GOD who Heals, He is Sovereign, He is Faithful, He is Merciful, etc, etc :)  Dig them out for yourself by studying His Word :)

Am looking forward to digging into the book of Hebrews next week.  We will be learning more about JESUS CHRIST, the Son of GOD, our Great High Priest.  Join us? :)

Silver Wedding Anniversary

Half a Jubilee.  How time flies.  We celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary yesterday.  25 years back, on March 12, we got married in Galilee BP Church where Rev Philip Heng officiated our wedding.  At that time, we do not have sophisticated equipment and we were not well off so everything was as simple as we could afford.  Thus we had our church wedding ceremony and sermon recorded on a cassette tape.  Peter got the tape converted and we listened once more to the entire ceremony and sermon as part of our celebration.

 





We held our dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in Furama Hotel, somewhere in Chinatown.  No hotel room to stay in, nothing fanciful like a montage, etc.  Just a simple dinner.

 

Even wedding photography was taken by a friend's husband.  Could not afford professional photographer so no fanciful backdrops, etc.  Just simple pictures.  I sound like I wish we had a more elaborate wedding with nicer everything.  To be honest, yes, once in a blue moon, when I feel lousy, I wished there were nicer pictures, a more elaborate wedding to remember by.

 

But I am always thankful that we started our marriage with GOD and by His grace will end with GOD when we have completed our journey on earth here.  That's where "till death do us part". And more important than the elaborate wedding, etc, is our love for GOD, for one another and for our children to grow stronger each year; building up and loving each other, living lives that pleases GOD and ending well.

\

On the 11th night, Pete sent this bouquet of 25 stalks of roses plus this cute teddy bear to church where I had my Precepts Leviticus Class.  He wanted to give me a surprise.  So sweet of him, right?  Wait, there's more to come... he planned the entire 12th March programme ....  The class sang us a "Happy Anniversary song"  :)

 

"Dearest Mommy and Daddy, "Happy 25th Anniversary"

Wish I could be there but I'll be back before you know it."

Lots of love, Eliza xxx"

What more could you ask for?  Eliza used the money she made by selling some of her art works, to order online this beautiful pot of Blue Iris to be delivered on night of 11th March, immediately after I returned from my Precepts Class.  And she said she did her homework -  this 25th Anniversary Flower combines many of the best characteristics of a long and happy marriage, faith, hope, wisdom, valor and promise.  How sweet and thoughtful of her. 

 

 Eliza also timed her delivery of this parcel from UK so well that it arrived yesterday.  We only opened our mailbox this morning.  After reading all her notes and messages and the Zines she made, I could not stop crying.  I missed her so and when I think of the times when she's alone over there writing all these cards, I wish I could be there to stay with her, to be there for her and to look after her. She truly deserve all that we have given her.  I miss you and love you Eliza.  We are so touched with what you did. Thank you.

 

I rearranged the lovely roses into a vase and took a picture
with Pete as he sat on the sofa ;)
 



Actual day : 12th March.  Pete's programme started with a walk at Lower Pierce Reservoir Park.  Pete showing a "I love you" sign :)

 

He said this was what we did on our actual wedding day - we went to Marina Park to take some wedding pictures.

Nice and serene place for solitude too :)

Took a close-up picture of a butterfly sucking nectar.

 

Then we proceeded to the Roti Prata shop nearby for our breakfast ;)

"Love one another with a pure heart fervently" from 1 Peter 1:22 was our wedding verse.  Pete gave me this card with a Huge Ang Pow for 25 years but I only took 10% as a token and returned the rest into his bank.  He also gave me the diamond pendant, shown above, saying that pendant has significance - it represents from silver to golden and said he look forward to the next 25 years as husband and wife. 

 

"For my wife, A love note from me to you.  So on our Anniversary, remember that no matter how complicated or busy our days may get, one simple, timeless truth is forever in my heart "I love you".  Happy Anniversary.  It means so much to know that you're always there for me.  You're a wonderful person and the best friend I'll ever have, and I just wanted you to know how thankful I am to be sharing life with you."

 

I bought Pete a pair of clipped on bicycle shoes and changed his pedals to clipped on pedals.

 

Could not find a suitable card so I made one myself :)

 

Pete arranged for a body massage at Shangri-La Chi Spa and a High Tea to follow.

 

Could not resist these yummy desserts ;) 

We ate so much that we had to cancel our candle light dinner.  Will reserve that to celebrate with our children when Eliza is back.

 

Last event of the day - a visit to Labrador Park (where Pete used to stay when he was young). 

This place has changed quite a bit. 

Like this picture - taken by me of course ;)

The main reason for going to Labrador Park was really to see the sunset.  I know, my husband is a romantic guy but I am a practical gal ;)

Our Wedding Vow:

"I, Peter Loh Y M take thee, Irene Tan L W to be my wedded wife

(I, Irene Tan L W take thee, Peter Loh Y M to be my wedded husband)

To have and to hold from this day forward.

For better, for worst, for richer, for poorer

In sickness and in health,

To love, to cherish from this day forward

Until death do us part."



A short testimony

On our way to visit my MIL today, I was complaining to my husband about our present situation in church and blaming GOD for not acting yesterday or the month before. 

Being really a spoilt child of His and impatient, making a big fuss, My Father in heaven overwhelms me with His love by letting me eat one of my favourite fruits - Buah Duku. 

After parking the car, we went to the hawker centre nearby to have lunch.  On our way, there's this shop selling Bauh Duku when it is not easy to find this fruit as not many fruit stalls carry them. 

My heart just melted, even though it may be a small thing to many people, but my Father in heaven knows me and I could not help but seek His forgiveness for my bad attitude.  Cannot help tearing as I think of His patience and love.  He cares even for a mere human being - how I feel and what is happening to me. 

This is why even though I get hurt by Christian brothers and sisters, by His grace, I still continue to cling on to Him, for He is the only reason why I am still a Christian. 

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.

 

Chorus:

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.



 

V2

When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

 

 

V3

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky