7/3/2016 All My Delight Is In You Lord

Back with my 3rd Vlog :D This is the longest Vlog to date at 17 minutes long. LOL. Every story is an essential sharing but if you really wanna hear my heart, jump to the 9 minute mark onward is where I share about what God had spoken and is still speaking to me about.

Here's the backdrop of how it all happened. I was reading the newspaper at work during my lunch break and I chanced upon this story in the Straits Times. You can read the full story at this link - http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/chapter-closes-for-77-year-old-shop

This is basically a story about an old-school, vintage, stationery shop "Kaiming Enterprises" which has been selling stationery since 1939 and is set to close its doors for good.

It has a long history of business and even survived through the Japanese Occupation.

Quoting from the Straits Times "In its heyday, it employed nine shop assistants and supplied stationery to other shops in Singapore and Malaysia. It also had a factory in Geylang that assembled its own files for sale."

But of course, how many of us use stationery today? Everything is packed into our smartphones. Thus, this stationery shop's fate wasn't looming that far in the horizon.

But the main part of the story that really hit me was the last part:

Mr. Kwok, the founder's son's response

"No. My goal was to keep my father's shop alive. I have done my best."

This statement. Nearly left me in tears. Not just because of mere sentiment, but because I felt the Holy Spirit warmly and gently drop this question in my heart - "Jonavan, are you doing your best to keep my 'shop' alive?"

I had to maintain composure because I was in office. The question struck me hard. Because I felt that the questioner was a tad bit hurt and disappointed and yet at the same time, still choosing to love me unconditionally.

I couldn't get this encounter off my mind, so I took the time to pray about this in the coming week which I shared in my Vlog above. God once again spoke to me through this song "None But Jesus". Do play it as you read the remainder of my post...to get a feel of how God was speaking to me with worship music in the background.

Ohh how far you've strayed Jonavan. Once in the world and enticed by its offerings, you begin to fumble. I'm so thankful for the reminder God, that all of life, is about knowing You...all else is empty, temporal, fleeting, perishing vanity.

I was chatting with my NTU friends recently over prata supper just this Friday that passed. Our conversations revolved around reminiscing old times and talking about what we're all doing now.

Inevitably, the comparison of our salaries surfaced and you could see that all they were blindly after, is money. In the midst of the conversation, I felt so sad...there was no life in their conversation...just a jaded human being trying to make more money out of work which they don't wish to do.

I contrast it to one of my best friends who is now a full-time pastor. Whenever I speak with her, I see the light in her eyes, the life in her soul, the purpose in her being all emanating like crystal, blue streams of water teeming with life and crashing into me.

You could see that she is changing the world! The sound of faith and the echoes of hope can be heard so clearly.

Yes, she isn't taking home a salary anywhere near ours, but she is taking home stories greater than ours.

They then went on discussing whose job is the most "happening" or "hapz" and their conclusion landed on me...because I was doing emceeing, doing events, meeting people, meeting artistes and celebrities, having fun and all.

But my response was "Really meh? My jobs very happening meh?". It wasn't a gloat. It was a real, honest, probing question which they all missed...Is any of what we are doing truly "happening"?

This brings me back to my Vlog, where God addressed this issue. I was pursuing money, fame and my passion. But in my pursuit thus far, all I got was confusion, frustration and uncertainty.

What God is turning me back to, is to pursue Him. Like what John Piper always says "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him"

To quote him more completely and accurately:

God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him. That’s the shortest summary of what we mean by Christian Hedonism. If that is true, then there is no conflict between your greatest exhilaration and God’s greatest glorification.

In fact, not only is there no conflict between your happiness and God’s glory, but his glory shines in your happiness, when your happiness is in him. And since God is the source of greatest happiness, and since he is the greatest treasure in the world, and since his glory is the most satisfying gift he could possibly give us, therefore it is the kindest, most loving thing he could possibly do — to reveal himself, and magnify himself and vindicate himself for our everlasting enjoyment.

Psalm 16:11 "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

This is what God is calling me back to...to fall head over heels in love with Him. To get lost in His love. And it is in Him, that I find my true purpose and satisfaction.

To get a more comprehensive slice of what John Piper is trying to say, you can visit this webby: http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/god-is-most-glorified-in-us-when-we-are-most-satisfied-in-him

To read his whole thesis, buy his book "Desiring God". Trust me, it'll change your life...it'll change your Christianity.

Yup, I shared the rest of the stuffs in my Vlog. So, do give it a listen too and I hope that His message will speak to you as powerfully as it did for me.

Lastly, do keep me and my friends Ryan and Daniel in prayer as we tour Iceland and Norway. Traffic accidents are rampant because of the slippery, frozen roads. And I'll be diving in the freezing waters of Silfra. All these high risk activities are really in need of your prayer.

So do clasp those hands, posture your heart and whisper a few words of protection for us :D Do stay tuned once again to my Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram accounts as I will be uploading out-of-this-world photos and videos from my journey in the Scandinavian stretch.

Yup, cheers and see you guys in about 3 weeks' time! :D