It has happened again!
I forwarded the post from yesterday to a friend to explain about this site and the firewall in her company's email system picked up my mail and gave her an alert saying that my mail was a SPAM mail and that it would be sent to her company's head office for further investigation should she insist on opening my mail. Wow, what a whole load of policing going on!
Me? IT illiterate me? A SPAM-ER? Unbelievable isn't it? Well, it is the way the system is set up and I guess that company wants to be extremely stringent with its firewall settings. But it is another instance of better be firm than to be sorry later when the system crashes.
Talking of which I am still getting junk mails on my home email system and to think that I need help with my sex life?? oh, please!! And I also get all kinds of nuisance mails trying to solicit sales on pharmaceuticals and now IT softwares - the latest. So I recommend that you check your email firewalls and set stringent parameters and turn on your virus scan and if you do not have anti-virus software on your PC or notebook, may I suggest you get one immediately and instal on your IT equipment before it is too late. You know you can be prosecuted for abetting a virus propagation?
Friday, September 7, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Frequency of postings
I met up with a friend during lunch today and found out that there are some of you out there who have the impression that I will be sending you the postings as before on a weekly basis and that is why you have not visited this site as frequently as I would like you to.
Well, first things first - I will not be sending you the postings as emails since many of you are using office email systems and these have SPAM mail detection and therefore my mails would have been blocked even though I am NOT a SPAMMER.
Next, as you can see, I am publishing my posts on a more frequent basis than before simply because I want to be as current as I can and not wait for one whole week. Besides, I think you would prefer shortly postings anyway.
So what I would like you to do now is to give me your comments on this posting.
Well, first things first - I will not be sending you the postings as emails since many of you are using office email systems and these have SPAM mail detection and therefore my mails would have been blocked even though I am NOT a SPAMMER.
Next, as you can see, I am publishing my posts on a more frequent basis than before simply because I want to be as current as I can and not wait for one whole week. Besides, I think you would prefer shortly postings anyway.
So what I would like you to do now is to give me your comments on this posting.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Heard Of This?
Ever heard of the saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going"? Lately some things in my life seem to be getting tough for me and I do not know why but only that I am going to believe that the final outcome is going to be sweet and great by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The tiles in my house driveway started to pop up and cracked when the car went over them and I will have to get a contractor to renovate the driveway. Also my car had an unexplained stalling yesterday morning on the road and I had to pull to the side and restart the engine. Why did these happened? I don't know but I do believe that the devil is trying to distract me somehow away from my priorities knowing that something great is cooking for our family. What exactly it is, i will give you the scoop when it happens!
Now all I am going to do is to keep believing that our Lord Jesus has the last say and it is always GOOD! hallelujah, praise His name.
The tiles in my house driveway started to pop up and cracked when the car went over them and I will have to get a contractor to renovate the driveway. Also my car had an unexplained stalling yesterday morning on the road and I had to pull to the side and restart the engine. Why did these happened? I don't know but I do believe that the devil is trying to distract me somehow away from my priorities knowing that something great is cooking for our family. What exactly it is, i will give you the scoop when it happens!
Now all I am going to do is to keep believing that our Lord Jesus has the last say and it is always GOOD! hallelujah, praise His name.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
The Father Loves Us To Be Specific In Our Asking
Recently I have been reading the Book of Judges as part of my daily devotion and I cannot help but noticed that the children of Israel did not completely carried out what Moses and later Joshua had instructed them to do when they inhabited the Promised Land. Moses commanded them to completely drive out all the inhabitants in the land and to occupy them for the land was promised to Abraham their forefather and they were the executors of the inheritance (Deuteronomy 31: 1-6).
In fact the land was described as "a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant" (Joshua 24:13) and all those land were already promised and given to them to enjoy. However, after the death of Joshua and in the time of the judges (leaders/deliverers), we read that the children of Israel did not completely conquer all the lands but left pockets of the original inhabitants intact. And looking back at history, we now see the current Middle-East problems.
What went wrong? Was God to blame for them not driving out the local inhabitants? Certainly the Lord had already declared that He had given them the land but they were reluctant to take full ownership of what God had already given. You see, when the Lord said it is given, it is already given - His words are as good as done. Remember, at the Creation, God spoke and it was so. Here it is recorded that God spoke and so as far as He is concerned, it is already as good as belonging to them. The problem lied in their NOT appropriating for themselves what the Father had given. All the children of Israel had to do was to go and take the land for themselves and the amazing part is that the Lord Himself will go before them and even wins the battles for them. Ans then, this is amazing, He ascribes the victory to them when in reality He fought and overcame the enemies; they just had to obey.
So what am I alluding to? All the blessings of God had already been won for us on the Cross when Jesus our Lord died and now all that is left to be done is to just ask Him for the blessings. But then, you will say, 'since all the blessings are already mine, then should I not automatically get them even without me opening my mouth and asking?'
Indeed, everything had already been given but we still need to ask and claim them for ourselves. Certainly the Israelites had been given the land but they still had to walk in and take it for themselves. The scriptures tell us that they took th eeasy way out - they lived alongside the local inhabitants. I am sure you do not want to wind up in Heaven and the Lord opens a huge door leading to your treasure house and you discover many large items gift-wrapped lining on the floor and reaching to the ceiling and each item has a name-tag with your name embosses in gold. These are blessings the Lord has for you but because you did not ask for them, you did not claim them.
Do I really have to be specific in my asking? Can I not ask and thank him in general and then receive my blessings? Lets look at Matthew 14:22-32 at the account of Jesus walking on water to the disciples. In verse 27 we read that the Lord Himself comforted them and told the disciples that it was He Who was walking on the water towards them. So all 12 disciples heard the assuring words but only Peter opened his mouth and asked Him whether he could walk to Him. And since he asked, obviously we now have the account of Peter walking on water! why no account of Thomas or Matthew or Judas or Thaddeus or John or James or Simon or Andrew or any other disciple walking on water?
There are no more accounts other than that of Peter of anyone walking on water. Peter asked and he received the experience; the others heard the reassurance but they did nothing further and they ended up seeing Peter walk. Many of us may be watching others receive their blessings from the Lord and silently kicking ourselves for not being forthright in asking for our own blessings.
As a parent, I can share with you how I see the Father's hand being extended towards us lovingly and waiting for us to tell Him specifically what we want from Him. Don't get me wrong here. Our Father is ever so generous to extravagantly bless us and He is waiting for us to just tell Him our heart's desire. Recently I had the pleasure of blessing my son with a suitcase he needed for his overseas business trips. He had been 'researching' for a while on what he wanted exactly but it was there in the department store that he finally settled on his choice and we decided to pick up his choice and made the payment. Now I could have gone out there and bought him a suitcase but that might not suit his taste. Now he is thoroughly satisfied with his choice and i know he will use and enjoy the blessing.
That is the same with our Heavenly Father. He loves us to be specific in our asking and we need to be proactive to ask. Don't just sit there expecting to receive without asking - go on and ask Him expectantly and thank Him and when you receive your blessing, show your appreciation and thank Him. And when you do that, you are worshipping Him and He is pleased with your worship.
In fact the land was described as "a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant" (Joshua 24:13) and all those land were already promised and given to them to enjoy. However, after the death of Joshua and in the time of the judges (leaders/deliverers), we read that the children of Israel did not completely conquer all the lands but left pockets of the original inhabitants intact. And looking back at history, we now see the current Middle-East problems.
What went wrong? Was God to blame for them not driving out the local inhabitants? Certainly the Lord had already declared that He had given them the land but they were reluctant to take full ownership of what God had already given. You see, when the Lord said it is given, it is already given - His words are as good as done. Remember, at the Creation, God spoke and it was so. Here it is recorded that God spoke and so as far as He is concerned, it is already as good as belonging to them. The problem lied in their NOT appropriating for themselves what the Father had given. All the children of Israel had to do was to go and take the land for themselves and the amazing part is that the Lord Himself will go before them and even wins the battles for them. Ans then, this is amazing, He ascribes the victory to them when in reality He fought and overcame the enemies; they just had to obey.
So what am I alluding to? All the blessings of God had already been won for us on the Cross when Jesus our Lord died and now all that is left to be done is to just ask Him for the blessings. But then, you will say, 'since all the blessings are already mine, then should I not automatically get them even without me opening my mouth and asking?'
Indeed, everything had already been given but we still need to ask and claim them for ourselves. Certainly the Israelites had been given the land but they still had to walk in and take it for themselves. The scriptures tell us that they took th eeasy way out - they lived alongside the local inhabitants. I am sure you do not want to wind up in Heaven and the Lord opens a huge door leading to your treasure house and you discover many large items gift-wrapped lining on the floor and reaching to the ceiling and each item has a name-tag with your name embosses in gold. These are blessings the Lord has for you but because you did not ask for them, you did not claim them.
Do I really have to be specific in my asking? Can I not ask and thank him in general and then receive my blessings? Lets look at Matthew 14:22-32 at the account of Jesus walking on water to the disciples. In verse 27 we read that the Lord Himself comforted them and told the disciples that it was He Who was walking on the water towards them. So all 12 disciples heard the assuring words but only Peter opened his mouth and asked Him whether he could walk to Him. And since he asked, obviously we now have the account of Peter walking on water! why no account of Thomas or Matthew or Judas or Thaddeus or John or James or Simon or Andrew or any other disciple walking on water?
There are no more accounts other than that of Peter of anyone walking on water. Peter asked and he received the experience; the others heard the reassurance but they did nothing further and they ended up seeing Peter walk. Many of us may be watching others receive their blessings from the Lord and silently kicking ourselves for not being forthright in asking for our own blessings.
As a parent, I can share with you how I see the Father's hand being extended towards us lovingly and waiting for us to tell Him specifically what we want from Him. Don't get me wrong here. Our Father is ever so generous to extravagantly bless us and He is waiting for us to just tell Him our heart's desire. Recently I had the pleasure of blessing my son with a suitcase he needed for his overseas business trips. He had been 'researching' for a while on what he wanted exactly but it was there in the department store that he finally settled on his choice and we decided to pick up his choice and made the payment. Now I could have gone out there and bought him a suitcase but that might not suit his taste. Now he is thoroughly satisfied with his choice and i know he will use and enjoy the blessing.
That is the same with our Heavenly Father. He loves us to be specific in our asking and we need to be proactive to ask. Don't just sit there expecting to receive without asking - go on and ask Him expectantly and thank Him and when you receive your blessing, show your appreciation and thank Him. And when you do that, you are worshipping Him and He is pleased with your worship.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Our Father Knows Best
I sent out a note to many of my friends at the end of March 2007 informing them that I would be leaving Deutsche Bank after almost 8-1/2 years and would be setting up shop to provide training and consultancy services.
Well, most of the setups have been completed and the company website is also up and running (http://drbcm-associates.com). I have provided a short write-up about the philosophy of the company, the type of services provided and one page with a brief description of who I am and what my experiences were. I also have a page in there with links to the what is being offered at any given point in time and some references on what had taken place and the feedback received from previous participants. And there is also a page there called 'Contact' with my photo in there and if you were to click on the photograph, it will generate a new email to me and you can send me your questions, feedback, requests, etc and I will respond according.
Isn't that cool? By God's grace, the ideas came to me one day as I was looking for some 'original' ideas and the Lord gave me a thought that it is always nicer to be able to see a face when you communicate. My photograph is the next best thing - being there in front of you would be the ideal but then again, I am not Jesus or the Holy Spirit Who can be anywhere at anytime. I am human and I need to recognize that.
So, how has the experience been for the past five months? I must say it is certainly something not for the faint hearted. On my own strength, I would have said to myself, "Andrew, don't kid yourself and go join another bank and start all over again; it is a mistake! You are running out of time!"
Praise Jesus for His grace and mercy! Assignments have been trickling in and I am believing the Lord that the floodgates will be opened soon and I will be so blessed with so many projects that I will not have time to complain and complain. I want to sing like the Psalmist in Psalm 107:1-3
v1 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.
v2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say this - those He redeemed from the hand of the foe,
v3 those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south."
I have been constantly reminded by the Lord that He is always with me even though I do not see any outward manifestation. To some extent, I must admit that I felt like Abraham who had no children and yet the Lord changed his name from Abram (father of altitude) to Abraham (father of multitude). Imagine his wife Sarah kept calling him Abraham and I am sure his neighbors must have chuckled at the old couple - 'gone nuts' - 'where are your children, Abraham?'
So now when freinds ask me how is business, I want to and will say that I am blessed and busy. Faith comes first in the spiritual realm and later this will translate into the physical. So I am really trusting our Lord Jesus to bless me to overflowing. That is His style. Remember the miracle of the transformation of water into intoxicating wine at the wedding in Cana (John chapter2)? His mother told the servants to do whatever Jesus were to instruct them and He turned six large barrels of water into the best wine and the wedding couple was so blessed that I am very sure they had provisions for the married life for many years after that.
Another account is the incident of His feeding of the 5000 men with five loaves and two fish and there were 12 baskets left over. No, there was no trick here. The scriptures tell us that everyone had their fill and the leftovers were really leftovers. were there more leftovers? I am sure there would be if there had been more disciples. You see, the surplus was limited by human means and never by divine lack. To the Creator Father, this is nothing. If He can create the whole universe and everything therein, what is the 12 baskets and the 5000 men plus their wives and children (maybe 20,000 in total)?
So I will say this of the father - "I will lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121: 1-2)
Well, most of the setups have been completed and the company website is also up and running (http://drbcm-associates.com). I have provided a short write-up about the philosophy of the company, the type of services provided and one page with a brief description of who I am and what my experiences were. I also have a page in there with links to the what is being offered at any given point in time and some references on what had taken place and the feedback received from previous participants. And there is also a page there called 'Contact' with my photo in there and if you were to click on the photograph, it will generate a new email to me and you can send me your questions, feedback, requests, etc and I will respond according.
Isn't that cool? By God's grace, the ideas came to me one day as I was looking for some 'original' ideas and the Lord gave me a thought that it is always nicer to be able to see a face when you communicate. My photograph is the next best thing - being there in front of you would be the ideal but then again, I am not Jesus or the Holy Spirit Who can be anywhere at anytime. I am human and I need to recognize that.
So, how has the experience been for the past five months? I must say it is certainly something not for the faint hearted. On my own strength, I would have said to myself, "Andrew, don't kid yourself and go join another bank and start all over again; it is a mistake! You are running out of time!"
Praise Jesus for His grace and mercy! Assignments have been trickling in and I am believing the Lord that the floodgates will be opened soon and I will be so blessed with so many projects that I will not have time to complain and complain. I want to sing like the Psalmist in Psalm 107:1-3
v1 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.
v2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say this - those He redeemed from the hand of the foe,
v3 those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south."
I have been constantly reminded by the Lord that He is always with me even though I do not see any outward manifestation. To some extent, I must admit that I felt like Abraham who had no children and yet the Lord changed his name from Abram (father of altitude) to Abraham (father of multitude). Imagine his wife Sarah kept calling him Abraham and I am sure his neighbors must have chuckled at the old couple - 'gone nuts' - 'where are your children, Abraham?'
So now when freinds ask me how is business, I want to and will say that I am blessed and busy. Faith comes first in the spiritual realm and later this will translate into the physical. So I am really trusting our Lord Jesus to bless me to overflowing. That is His style. Remember the miracle of the transformation of water into intoxicating wine at the wedding in Cana (John chapter2)? His mother told the servants to do whatever Jesus were to instruct them and He turned six large barrels of water into the best wine and the wedding couple was so blessed that I am very sure they had provisions for the married life for many years after that.
Another account is the incident of His feeding of the 5000 men with five loaves and two fish and there were 12 baskets left over. No, there was no trick here. The scriptures tell us that everyone had their fill and the leftovers were really leftovers. were there more leftovers? I am sure there would be if there had been more disciples. You see, the surplus was limited by human means and never by divine lack. To the Creator Father, this is nothing. If He can create the whole universe and everything therein, what is the 12 baskets and the 5000 men plus their wives and children (maybe 20,000 in total)?
So I will say this of the father - "I will lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121: 1-2)
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