Shark

Incentive for exercising.

Sanctification

(first part of the painting ) (Finished Painting)

God created us in his own image, to be pure and sinless. God made us to be in relationship with Him. The canvas is painted white signifying the purity of God and what we were meant to be.

But we decided to live our lives in our own ways. We start to paint our own artwork of sin on this pure white canvas. This purity is broken, no longer sinless but carries the marks of death.

We cry for help, a desperate man lying on the ground, heavy and burden with his sins, gathered his strength and ask for help by writing his expression. His last hope for someone to give life back to him.

God sent Jesus as the perfect sacrifice, his blood flows from pierced hands and feet. The blood drips and trickle down from the cross. Jesus suffered a horrible death. The blood washes our sins away, like the red pain washing away the black spots.

We are now made holy again, in relationship with God. God is going to see a white canvas again. Although Jesus justifies us, we still see the remanence of our sin. Maybe it’s our guilt? Maybe it’s our lack of trust that Jesus has set us free?

The Holy Spirit has made his mark on us, branded us as children of God. God sees a pure white canvas that Jesus has painted over once stained canvas and the mark of the Holy Spirit.

Now Sanctified. Go and live life worth of Christ.

Justification

Romans 5:18 "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men."

I wanted to reflect the passage directly onto the painting. Firstly, I’ve split the background into two different colours for two different eras: Old Testament and New Testament, or BC and AD. The lush green background on the left side signifies that in the beginning of the creation when everything was perfect and that mankind has not yet cause destruction to the world that God created.

The beginning, the first man on earth was Adam and he is represented by the figure on the bottom row on the left side. He was made perfect by God. But his rejected God when he sinned against God. The heart has been darkened by the self-desires: evil and sin. But as generations move on, I feel that people are sinning more and more. People have moved away from God. And people have rejected God, especially in the society these days, many people refuse to even want to know God. Therefore, the bodies of the generations after Adam are infected and darkened by sin, more and more. This really cuts into the Lord’s heart deeply and since God is a holy God, there is a clear separation between God and man. But God’s love for us is deeper than any water well on earth. The world that we live in was once a perfect creation and that God was pleased with it.

Now, the world we see is decaying. This world is on the right side of the painting, the dried and lifeless yellow colour on top of once lush green and beautiful creation. Even though God is a Holy God, He is also a merciful and compassionate God. There is nothing we can do to pay the price of our trespasses. God knows that. God loves the sinner but hate the sin. So, God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is represented by the red figure in the middle of the right half of the painting. This figure is in red because the people do not recognise Him as the Saviour. So they mocked, tortured and crucified him. But through Jesus Christ, one man, He has justified men who believe in him. The figures in the dark are no longer chained by sin. But they are made holy, through Jesus. They are free from the bondage of sins. The believers have become the white figures surrounding Jesus in the red figure.

From hopelessness to holiness, but only through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

MCF

Well, I've started work this week and it looks like it's going to be pretty full on. I'm looking forward to leading Military Christian Fellowship Bible study this year. For people reading this, please pray for MCF and for all Christian Defence Force member to stay focus, rely on Christ and let the gospel flow into the lost souls.

Farewell paintings

I painted these two art works for my friends who have move on to other postings.

One night in Amsterdam:
There was an ongoing joke that my friend went to Amsterdam during his holiday trip last year and he couldn't remember that night. I managed to do some research in terms of the language and the beer brand.




Corridor Cricket
We played hallway cricket all the time and trying to bowl occasional bouncers to scare each other. The whole point is to stay at the crease and survive. I remembered some bruises on my ribs.





Farewell my fellow airbornes.

Commonwealth Games here I come

I found out today that they are willing to roster me on as a Physiotherapist at the Commonwealth Games this year. It will be doing Badminton in the CBD Area. Should be very exciting indeed.

Photos- Nobby Beach

Rocks that are beautifully shapped by our God's rain and wind.

Painting- The Gospel

These four paints give a brief summary of the Gospel.

Painting 1 (top left): The beginning In Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This is represented by the letter Alpha in Greek on the background. And in the beginning, the Trinity (represented by the triangle) existed in harmony (represented by the circle). Everything was prefect. God created the world in six days and rested on the seven day.

Painting 2(top right): Jesus In Genesis 1: 27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” But man and woman decided that they should be in control of their own lives rather than God. And this is Sin. So, we are no longer in relationship with our creator, God. In Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Therefore, we are all doomed. But God loves us so much and it is because of Jesus that we are saved from our death. Jesus is God’s only son. The word on the background is Jesus in Greek. Jesus is the fisher of men. Jesus lived a perfect life on earth but he took the punishment for our sins. Isaiah 52:14 showed that Jesus suffered for us as sinners, “his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man”. Jesus was whipped, beaten, nailed and died on the Cross. But after three days, God raised him from his death and he was exalted to the right hand of God. Therefore, to be in a relationship with God, we need to believe in Jesus and what he has done for us on the cross, to be baptised into a relationship with God. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6.

Painting 3 (bottom left): Faith and Grace It is truly based on God’s grace that we can be in relationship with God. There is nothing that we can so to save ourselves except for believing in what Jesus has done for us. Romans 3: 23-25, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” We do not deserve this salvation but God is willing to give it to us, through our faith in Jesus Christ Our Lord. The gift of life is for us to take. Repent from our old ways. The square symbolises my faith in Christ, and that it reminds me that we need to stand firm in Christ. Pistis is the Greek work for “faith”.

Painting 4 (bottom right): The Judgement In the end (represented by the letter omega) Jesus will return to judge us as individuals in this world. This time Jesus comes as the triumphant king. When will this happen? No one knows. Matthew 24:36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” The single straight line in the middle is a line that defines clearly which side you are on. It is a simple line but a tough decision to make. You have come to a place where you need to decide either you are with God or you are against God by living your own ways. Jesus will judge all of mankind. Matthew 25:32, “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” So the challenge for people who have not yet know God, are you with God or do you reject God’s gift and continue to live life in your own ways. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3: 36.

The Best defence is an offence

I heard this on the radio on the way to see Pip. The best defence in Christianity is a good offence. A clear and simple presentation of the gospel backed up by a Christ centred lifestyle.

Lost Child?

This is photo that I've taken while I was visiting Melbourne's War Memorial. I'm not sure where the baby is, or where the mother is, or why the pram is located in the middle of ground. Intriguing yet distrubing.

Trip to Adelaide- Day 5

Last Day at SA. We checked out at 10am. And we headed to the Adelaide city once again. It was my friend's 31st Birthday. So we were on a look out for a seafood restaurant, especially for some bugs. But we couldn't find any. We spent most of the day at the Art Gallery and the Museum. There were some interesting creatures in the deep. Then it was home time. It's was a good but exhausting trip to South Australia.

Trip to Adelaide- Day 4

Recovery Day after the wedding. Slept till very late, then when swimming and walk to the jetty watching people do some fishing, crabbing and diving off the jetty. We watched the sunset and it is absolutely beautiful of the the horizon at Glenlg.

Trip to Adelaide- Day 3

Louise and John's Wedding.

A lovely wedding and an excellent reception.
Good Company, Good Food, Good Wine and Good Venue.

Trip to Adelaide- Day 2

Recovery Day for some of my friends after a massive night. But i have no problems since that i don't drink alcohol. Day 2 is for sightseeing in Adelaide City.

Adelaide: cultured, uni environment, lay back and cruisy.

Short tram ride into the city, a city full of heritage buildings and churches. We stopped at a Cafe for some breakfast, ie. coffee before a long walk around the city. We visitedthe markets, antique shop, China Town, shopping areas, book shop, churches, more churches and big wide roads.

Then back home to Glenlg for an afternoon swim. My two other friends continue on to nightclub while I catch up on some sleep at the hostel.

Trip to Adelaide- Day 1

So I made it to the airport on time. The passenger sitting next to me was as nervous as a rattlesnake during take off. So I decided to lower his anxiety by chatting to him. His name was Dave and he is in the software business. I was reading "Come Thirsty" by Max Lucado and Dave asked me if I was a Christian. Dave is a member of a Pentecostal church. So we had heaps of theological discussions.
So got off the plane and headed to the Glenlg Beach Hostel. We asked the Taxi driver if the surf was any good and his comment was, "yeah, it's good." Well, it was poo, there are zeroo waves. But still a nice beach.
The purpose of the Adelaide trip was for a friend's wedding. So on Friday night, we went to the friend's buck's night. There was too much alcohol involved. For my friend anyway.

Rush Hour

I'm flying to South Aust today on 1620h flight. I was coming home from the central coast this morning at 1130am when I found myself in a traffic jam in the freeway. tick tick tick. When I finally got past the accident. I found myself close to running out of fuel. So I have to make a detour to get fuel. Tick, Tick, Tick. Then I got home at about 1pm, my dad was suppose to give me lift to the airport but Mum and Dad went to the city by bus for the day. And there was no way of getting in contact with them cause mum lost her mobile. So I guess it's the taxi then !!! A day of excitement.

Crookhaven Heads Beach Mission

I went on SUFM beach mission at Crookhaven Heads 27 Dec 05- 06 Jan 06. I was part of the year 7 to year 9 section: The 0853. We had heaps of fun doing table tennis, ice toboganing, paper hockey, banana splits, beach games, volleyball bush dance, amazing race, trivia night, concert and movie night. It seems heaps of fun but the most important job is to evangelise to the teenagers and children about Jesus. On the last day of the beach mission, four teenagers committed their lives to God. They no longer wish to live their lives in their own way. They acceptted Jesus into their lives as their saviour. Praise God.

Trip to Melbourne

Pip and I flew to Melbourne City for the day on 10 Jan 06. We got up at 5:30am for 6:45am flight to Melbourne. We went sight seeing for most of the day and covered pretty much all the major sites in Melbourne City. We flew back to Sydney on 8:15pm flight. Exhausting but a fun day out.

Resistance is futile

This is a photo of me just before smashing through the futile resistance of the Blue Force in the board game, Risk: Star Wars- Attack of the Clone Edition. Tony had no chance right from the start.

Gospel and parachuting

Life is like parachuting.

Life begins when you step out of the plane.

Everyone has to land sometimes, some people stay in the air longer while others stay in the air shorter.

The landing is the end of the physical life.

You are the parachutist.

Jesus is the parachute.

If you don't trust in Jesus, the parachute does not open. Result: death: eternity in Hell.

But Jesus is always there with you during the flight: descent. All you have to do is trust in Jesus and pull the cord.

One you have pulled the cord, the parachute opens and guides you down to the ground, like the Holy Spirit guides you in your life.

You land safety on the ground, walked away to spend eternity with God.

When it comes to life and death, people will chose to pull the cord. So why are we so reluctant to save the spiritual life?

Identity

"Who determines your identity? What defines you?" (Max Lucado)

Society, friends, family, things that you have achieved, or it is yourself that defines you.

"By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10)

Isn't it good to be just you, no long you need to strive for things that make you who you are. I am what I am, a child adopted by God. His grace is more than sufficient for me.

Thirsty

Are men thirsty?

Of such sorrow, of such perplexity, of such deep darkness and loneliness. What is this enlightenment that men seeks?

Of earthly things can only satisfy this thirst temporary.

But the fountain of 'Living Water' will quench this thirst, like sheep draw towards the shade in a hot day.