Beneath the Cross of Jesus

	Family Radio - Beneath The Cross Of Jesus .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand

The shadow of a mighty Rock Within a weary land;

A home within the wilderness, A rest upon the way,

From the burning of the noontide heat, And the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus Mine eye at times can see

The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me;

And from my smitten heart with tears Two wonders I confess

The wonders of redeeming love And my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow For my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine than The sunshine of His face;

Content to let the world go by, To know no gain nor loss,

My sinful self my only shame, My glory all the cross.

Welcome on Board, Son

Oct 1, 2010 is another milestone in my life.

God gives me to you.

You were born a little smaller compare to your brother, a mere 2.60kg.

Deciding your name has been a long process.

I wrote few options on my white board, and very undecisive about it, particularly so for your name in English.

One morning, I read the book of Genesis for my devotion and came across the story of Cain and Abel.

When I ponder on the contrast between these two brothers, like lightning strike, I know what your name would be: Abel Lim.

I wish your heart would be like Abel, giving his best to God out of his true faith and genuine worship to his creator, even to the extend of paying his own life for it.

After sharing it with your mom, we decided to use the Indonesian version of Abel, which is Habel (pronounce as 'hah-bell' in Indonesia, and 'Hey-ble' in English.

Therefore, you name is Habel Lim Shi Xin, 林实信.

Welcome on board, son.

Together, we build a family that serve God and minister to people!

You are a brother now, Fidel

Son, today onwards, you (and this blog) will no longer be the same.
Because, you will be called Brother now on!
God gives me 2nd son, and he gives you a brother.

Let me tell you this, it is a great honor and priviledge to be a brother.

Now on, you have an individual, a person, who no one else is dearer for you than him.

You have obligation to love, to protect, to enrich him together with me.

This is a tremendous priviledge from God.

I am going to share this blog with your brother.

What I have written and what I am going to write, is what I want to share with both of you.

Together, we are one family.

Happy Birthday to You

It's a wondeful kind of feeling, just to observe you, my son.
Observing you has been my greatest entertainment lately.At this age of 2, you jump, you climb, you dance, you hang on the edge of a table, and you are able to tease people with your funny and creative expressions.

Sometimes, I hope you remain as 2 years old forever!

Today, we celebrated your 2 years old birthday.

Time flies, and you sure growing up and learning fast.

We do not throw a big party for you this time.

Just three of us, with a small cake, and two friends who happen to visit us at the time.

You are equally thrilled and joyful with the celebration.

Thank you for bringing so much joy to our home.

Happy birthday, son.

Your Dad not too bad also

Whenever we heard people say you are cute, or handsome, of course, as parents, we felt happy.

But, let us be reminded of two things, son.

1. Physical appearance is temporary. You will not be cute forever!

2. Inner self, the real person, is more important. Make sure it is cute and handsome always.

Lest you do not believe me that physical appearance is temporary and will change with time,

let me show you a picture of me at about 3-4 years old, I guess.

How about that!

Your mom actually said I was cuter.

Never mind if you do not agree.

I was stricken with chronic asthma shortly after this picture was taken.

And I remain weak, skinny, underweight to this day.

Son, the most scary sound to me is the sound of you coughing.

I can only pray that you will not 'inherit' my asthma.

If you do, please forgive me, and I trust God will lead you through it.

'In all things God works for the good of those who love Him' (Romans 8:28).

He makes no mistake. Trust Him.

Give God the Best

One day, your dad went to buy fruits at market.When I told the fruit seller, 'give me 4 apples', he replied by asking 'for eating or for prayers?'.I can't help but to think to myself, 'is there any different in quality of the apples if I say its for offering?'.
If yes, it's better quality or worse?
I did not ask him.

Son, in our home, we don't offering foods or animals to God in our prayers and worship.It is because we believe our Creator and Provider does not need these.We cannot appease God with our offering; and we do not have to do so.
Because Jesus himself is the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
What He requires of us is our whole being, which is far more difficult to offer.
'Love your God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your mind, with all your soul'. Jesus told the questioner who wanted to know what is the greatest commandment.
So, in Christian living, we offer our very being to God, to enjoy the fellowship with Him in worship.

God does not need apples and chickens.

He looks into our hearts, and say to us, 'let me be your King and Shepherd, to rule, to guide and to protect you from sins and evil.'

(this is how you pray every night with me)

I am learning each day, to offer my very best, to God.
God's love and grace is always available to help us.
And His mercy is there to forgive and sustain when we fail.Join me, my son. It is a wonderful experience, though not an easy one,
to learn to live our life glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

(sleeping or praying?)

Dance with My Father

Son, a song to share with you.

A great song in remembrance of a dad.

I don't mind if you want to sing it at my funeral!

	LUTHER VANDROSS - DANCE WITH MY FATHER .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

My Favorite Sport

Generally, I like all kind of sports. I believe this is due to my dad's (your grandpa) influence.

Your grandpa used to run a sport gears business, and he gave to me all kind of sport gears for me to play with.

However, I have two favorites, which are soccer and swimming.

You won't believe it, if I told you I could swim free style 30 laps (1,500m) non-stop, although physically I do not look like a swimmer at all!

And, I was quite good at soccer too. But my body was not strong enough for me to excel in it.

Soccer taught me few simple philosophies of life.

First, you need team work to win. No matter how good is a person skill, he needs team mates.

Secondly, what makes soccer interesting (though your mom will not agree), is the 'goal'. Imagine a soccer match without a goal post. Similarly, life needs goals to be meaningful and exciting.

Thirdly, soccer, like any other sports, has its own rules. We need to play according to rules. Likewise, in life, God has ordained certain moral rules in order to ensure our true enjoyment.

Fourthly, understand one's own position and role in the team is important. Your dad prefer 4-5-1 formation, which the German used in world-cup 2010 to score 4 against England and Argentina respectively. In life, God gives each one of us, our own calling, responsibility, role and gifts. We need to discern it and play it well.

Fifthly, supporters play important role of cheering and motivate their team. This is major factor of home advantage. Likewise, our kind and encouraging words to someone around us, could make a big difference in the outcome of their lives too.

At your one-year-plus age, you already shown your interest in soccer!

You will get excited when you see ball and soccer match.

If you love this sport, enjoy it and play with high sportsmanship.

Don't injure yourself in a soccer match.

It is not worth it to break your leg in a soccer match unless you are paid thousands of pounds a week!

Your First Trip to Japan! (20-28th May 2010)

Son, I envy you.

I first went to Japan when I was 27, but you less than 2 years old!

Two reasons why I plan this trip, though it cost me a lot.

First, it is your aunty

Belly wedding.

She is the only sister of your mom, and I know it is important for

your mom to be present.

Secondly, dad wants to give your mom this trip as an appreciation of what she has given to us.

We put up at YMCA for the first three nights, and the rest of the

trip at Minami-senju.

I notice that you like Japan (and their food) as much as I do!

You eat almost twice the portion you take while in Penang.

Here are a list of places where you visited, and what they are famous for.

Maybe in future when you grown up, you would like to revisited those places.

1. Asakusa: Sensoji (Asakusa Kannon Temple, Tokyo oldest temple), for the sovenier and food stall along the way.

2. Asakusabashi: (I got off the wrong

subway station where I

intended to go Asakusa, but it is a nice, less crowded place to go around in town.)

3. Akihabara: Electronics goods.

4. Ueno Park: Art Museum, Zoo.

5. Ginza: Shopping (high class. Your

mom saw a pair of shoes cost

RM6,000)

6. Kao Museum at Sumida-ku (Your dad company head office)

7. Kappabashi:Wholesales and shops.

8. Tokyo Disneyland

Every culture has its beauty, if man response to God's general revelation the right way.

And every culture has its dark side too, because man is still a fallen creature needs God redemption.

Japan, will remain as one of the countries your dad would like to

visit more often.

Reading, a Good Discipline

Up to the age of 20 months, you still have little interest and patience to read.

But, you are already able to recognize a number of words from the little attention you pay while your mom and I try to read to you.

'Banana; aeroplane; moon; stars; tap water; clap hands; hot; ball; dirty; dog; cat; car; pray; eye; ear; mouth; nose; hair; head; 'jatuh' (falling); 'bau' (smelly); and many more in 3 languages.

You are smart.

You remind me of my brother (your uncle Daneil) in US, who could say all sorts of scientific names for animal, botany and dinasour at a very young age.

Son, develop good reading habit.

Read to learn and learn to read.

Your dad is not smart, and a slow learner, but I could think of few advice for reading from my experience.

First, read worthy books that worth invest your time and money. There are many reading materials that could polute your thought, obscure your morality, stir your imagination to the wrong direction, and choke your mind from making sound judgement.

Select your reading material carefully, with the guidence of God's word and holiness.

Secondly, read with discerning mind. What is the moral principles, values, world views that the author present?

What will be the consequence or logical outworking of those values and principles? And what is God's view on these?

Thirdly, learn to digest, summarize, and share the thoughts (in paper or in speech).

By engaging in meaningful conversation with others, your knowledge can be widen, and your thoughts can be sharpened.

Forthly, read widely to enhance your general knowledge. Philosophy, history, politics, science, economics, culture, arts ect. If you read them in the light and from the perspective of Christian worldview, it will be interesting and you will gain much insight.

Our Local Holiday in Penang

We had a 2-days-1-night holiday at Penang Hard Rock hotel when you were one and half years old. It was a wonderful holiday for us, especially for your mom and dad, to take a break after heavy working and ministry commitment. God is wonderful.

With Rm400 a night, we got a sea view room, and it was nice.

Your dad loves beach.

We spend most of our time at the swimming pool.

You enjoyed so much playing sand and dipped in the pool with baby float.

One evangelist once said, 'The clue to meaning in life is relationship.'

After having you as my son, I begin to realize more how true it is.

This 24hours will remain as one of the sweetest moment in my life.

Thank you, son.

Be an Influential Leader, Son, if you are one.

I notice something interesting in you lately.

Since the day you learned how to walk, you have been very active walking around after church service each Sunday.

You explore every corner, and do funny little expression each time you found something new and interesting.

I see some older toddlers follow behind you and do what you do.

I see some 'quality' in your personality: curiosity; boldness and leadership.

Son, these things are wonderful as well as dangerous.

Wonderful because they are God's creation in man; but dangerous because like any other thing, they are tainted and twisted by our sinful nature.

Learn to fear God and walk joyfully in Him, and these 'quality' will bring rewards and blessings to your life.

Curiosity should drive us to seek the truth;

Boldness should enable us to stand for the truth; and

Leadership should equip us to inspire other to the Truth.

(you put yourself in the box and cover yourself with toys. No one taught you that!)

I pray, that you grow up t0 a God fearing leader, that bring positive influences to other.

Your dad set his general goal in his life as this: bring sinners nearer to Christ; and bring Christians nearer to God.

I am not doing a good job, and has failed to live consistently or took all opportunities to do that.

I hope you can do a better job than me, by God's grace, with your faith.