May 2019
In the dark recesses of the soul, Questions emerged to haunt the restless mind. Fickle companions, The comforts of familiar religion; Their words unable to touch the deepest part of the heart. Habits of devotion Practised fervently In company, and in Solitude; The drive to be perfect, To win love...
What a Majestic and Loving God!
Feb 2019
The heavens Lord, declare your glory; The earth proclaims your majesty! We marvel at your wondrous grace, For an insignificant human race. You form us from dust of earth, You give us life, you give us breath, You make us your children, Little lower than beings in heaven. You protect...
STILLING THE STORM
Jan 2019
In the fiefdoms of water the minions of oceans, rivers, lakes and wells await the behests Of the overlords of weather and of change. There are fearsome waters that can tower over a shore and ravage a land; there are waters that bring life to thirsting soil; there are waters...
TWELVE
Dec 2018
Not yet a teenager but holding a pride of scholars, Pharisees and Sadducees spellbound in the temple in Jerusalem—men of letters and good standing who prized their scholarship above all. How could he at twelve engage them, greybeards admired for erudition, in learned discourse bringing profundity, knowledge and insight into...
Seeking God
Oct 2018
Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord… He will abundantly pardon… “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways...
What Seniors Can Do
Sep 2018
Getting on in years? That’s true! Just eat and sleep? That won’t do! Leave the house, go for a walk, Look for friends for tea and talk. Go for what you can afford So long as you don’t go overboard. Not to your liking? Let things be! Keep your cool,...
The Covenant
Aug 2018
His Word, verse and hymns of praise, Bear testament to God and his godliness Our souls rest on the peace He brings Christ has risen and Christ has come Oh how sweet the surrender, how light the yoke Come into the garden, his heavenly kingdom For those whom the Spirit...
Lord, Grant Me A Simple Faith
Jul 2018
Lord, grant me a simple faith Unfettered by my wandr’ing mind A faith that shines with burning light That men, through me, might You they find Lord, grant me a simple faith That stands against my questioning soul To heal the brokenness inside So I might once more be made...
Casting The Net On The Other Side
Jun 2018
What does he know, this carpenter, of habitat and fish think, of the movement and congregation of shoals, to tell us, schooled in line, tackle and nets, and in the pathways of fish in the sea-lanes below the waves, To tell us, bone-weary from a night of trawling in vain,...
What Shall I Offer To The Lord?
May 2018
How shall I come before the Lord, Bow down before the exalted God? Will a perfect prescribed sacrifice Offered on the altar suffice? Will sacrifices in abundance, Offered without repentance? Will the gift of my firstborn alone, My life transform, my sin atone? You have shown, Lord, what is right...
Resurrection
Apr 2018
One glorious morning when the popinjays of twilight were thrilling the eastern skies and lilacs and lilies were in full blossom in the garden where they had laid the body of Jesus bruised, broken, nail-pierced, dead beyond a doubt sealed in by a giant boulder in a sepulchre and watched...
Amidst the Waves
Mar 2018
I felt it ere I saw it come; A gradual dip, a sinking slump – Then towering up before my eyes, Tall tidal waves of tasks arise! I row and row, to no avail, For here they come! And lo, I flail: Pulled under, tossed up, gasping air, My heart...
On Ash Wednesday
Feb 2018
Ash Wednesday – what calls the soul to church When songs and stained glass cede to silence and grey? When music is solemn and slow as a dirge, Why go then to church, on Ash Wednesday? What thought bears the soul to encounter this night When Easter victorious seems eons...
The Lord Breathed and Man Became a Living Being
Jan 2018
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27) Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a...
Christmas Thoughts
Dec 2017
I shall think, then, of a silent night when a star shone a wondrous light To us unknown was born a Child that God and man may reconcile This whole angelic gospel went forth to lowly men who found its worth The glorious news to us it brought a hope...
Forgiven
Nov 2017
Driven by desperation for the healing touch of Jesus for their mutual friend pinioned perniciously by paralysis, and caring little for the august assembly of pharisees and teachers of the law from every quarter of the land, who had gathered to see this spectacle, this man of miracles, they sought...
Split
Oct 2017
Named after the broom that in summer turns golden and gilds the land with the texture of opulence and the aroma of romance stirring the springs of love. Here cherries and grapes of refined flavour relished by all fruit lovers flourish abundantly. Yet chronicled in the folios of Roman times...
The Prodigal Son
Sep 2017
How flippantly in the wild mustang years of his youth he demanded his inheritance from the wise patriarch of the family; and then chose to lead a life, unrestrained and borderless in the glitzy lights of the metropolis, in roistering taverns, in high-stake gambling dens, and in the pleasurable arms...
A Touch Of Love
Aug 2017
And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made...
Contrasts
Jul 2017
That is why I can reminisce on my past, not being ashamed or guilty, but in quiet humility and understanding the process of maturity; because only when I see the contrast I understand the transforming nature of Christ no matter how far I had run and fallen, He redeems. ...
The Living Word
Jun 2017
The glamour of new messiahs enunciating words that give flesh and form to tenets framed by master-spirits – words compacted with designer genes to awaken and impassion the gullible who form the coterie of believers, capturing the headlines of tabloids and media, have currency and season; their tenure is ephemeral...
The Flame That Wouldn’t Quit
May 2017
It started shy – a gentle flame That almost blushed to burn; Then steadily it grew and grew – To stretch, it seemed to yearn. But as the hours flickered by It waned to a soft glow; And as I lingered close, I thought: “Quite soon now, it must go.”...
Easter Dawn
Apr 2017
At the end of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, there is a Glory brighter than ten thousand suns that I can only see in reflection. It is a Glory that transcends Earth and Heaven, Illuminating every corner of my consciousness for it is the primal light of…
Healing
Mar 2017
There is healing in total darkness when the garish light of public life strains the retina of insight and the glare of the noonday sun of harsh reality overwhelms, when acrid light casts a jaundiced hue on every dainty glen and lush bower that should bring delight; when light choked...
The Journey Of Life
Feb 2017
We journey through the unknown, To a home we have yet to own; A wonderful home in eternity, Promised by the Lord Almighty. It is a challenging journey, Often through hostile territory; But God will be with us all the way; If we obey Him night and day. When the...
Faith
Jan 2017
Faith is the firstfruit of trust conceived in the matrix from the seed of enduring Truth and time-tried Knowledge. Faith is a blind man leaping from an inferno into waiting arms below. Faith is a sightless bat negotiating pillars from heard echoes reverberating from hard surfaces. Faith...
Joy
Dec 2016
We will encounter foes, Life will have its woes, But God will help us to survive; Better still, He will give us life. He will heal and He will save, He will lift us from the grave. Weeping may last through the night, Joy comes with the Eternal Light....
Joseph
Nov 2016
Young Joseph drunk with the champagne of the stars that with the sun and moon did obeisance to him before the congregation of celestial lights, blurted out too early the secret message entrusted to him to the hostile ears of brethren seething to see him in the rainbow coat bestowed...
What Shall I Offer To The Lord?
Oct 2016
How shall I come before the Lord, Bow down before the exalted God? Will a perfect prescribed sacrifice Offered on the altar suffice? Will sacrifices in abundance, Offered without repentance? Will the gift of my firstborn alone, My life transform, my sin atone? You have shown, Lord, what is right...
The Living Word
Sep 2016
The glamour of new messiahs enunciating words that give flesh and form to tenets framed by master-spirits – words compacted with designer genes to awaken and impassion the gullible who form the coterie of believers, capturing the headlines of tabloids and media, have currency and season; their tenure is ephemeral...
David and Goliath
Aug 2016
With faith in El Shaddai that could move mountains, this rubicund teenager fresh from the boondocks of Israel who had spent his youth tending his father’s flocks and writing and singing psalms with his shepherd’s harp to glorify his God, stepped forth into the battlefield unarmed, against the deadliest champion...
Arrows On Target
Jul 2016
Unless God builds the family All effort is futility. Children are a gift from God, They are our reward. Like arrows in a quiver, Will our children deliver? Are they on target? Will we live to regret? Train a child the way to go, They will surely follow; If we...
God Is Our Refuge
Jun 2016
The Most High God is our shelter; From fear, harm and danger; In the shadow of the Almighty, There is comfort and security. The Lord saves those unaware, From the evil trapper’s snare. His truth is guarantee, Of their absolute security. Multitudes will fall by the way, But all who...
God Speaks
May 2016
Not in clouds mantled with thunder, nor in a fire-laced storm; Not in the rising cobra poise of a tsunami, nor in the swooping menace of a typhoon heading for landfall; Not in elected houses of governance nor in institutions of man; But in the stillness, in the pith of...
Peace
Apr 2016
We long for abiding peace, For trouble and fear to cease; But are helpless against strife, That engulf and stifle life. Jesus lived with persecution; Yet in the face of crucifixion From which He had no release, He promised us peace. It was for us He had to die; The...
Ecce Homo
Mar 2016
Looking down He saw a mass on the hill of skulls. He saw the crowd whom He led to life now goading Him to death. He saw the clacking dice of the soldiers vultures squabbling for the prize. He saw the seeking sheep who were lost spirits...
Gethsemane
Feb 2016
In golden youth when seems the earth A Summer-land of singing mirth, When souls are glad and hearts are light, And not a shadow lurks in sight, We do not know it, but there lies Somewhere veiled under evening skies A garden which we all must see – The garden...
Abraham
Jan 2016
Such matchless faith to abandon all – affluence, estates and patriarchal standing, in Ur of the Chaldees, to respond to the call of the Divine to leave for an unnamed destination in the desert lands beyond! Rising above the tide of opposition from family, friends and community who questioned...
The Star of Bethlehem
Dec 2015
The Star of Bethlehem Striding into Jerusalem on camel back three seers, of royal lineage, steeped in the language of the stars, and of their encoded messages, who were startled one evening to see in the prime quarter of a galaxy, a new star, a diadem of purest light outshining...
Fetal Encounter
Nov 2015
John, the harbinger, leapt in his mother’s womb, sensing the presence of the nascent Christ: Such amazing fetal sentience, Spirit-sprung, transcending possibility, confirmed the immaculate conception: giving promise of the unfolding of the divine plan to bring salvation to fallen man. Luke 1:39-45 Dr Oliver Seet is...
The Word Of God
Oct 2015
The Word Of God Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11 (NKJV) Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your...
Gideon
Sep 2015
Was it mockery, a diatribe against his timorousness, brought on by Israel’s descent into the maelstrom of despondency, as scavenger tribes plundered the fruit of its labour, powerless to resist their savagery and greed. How effete to beat out wheat secretively in a wine press hidden in a cave! ...
Into The Lord’s Harvest
Aug 2015
Into The Lord’s Harvest Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38 (NKJV) For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”… And...
The Commencement
Jan 2015
The Commencement ...and the angels sang; all Nature stood on tiptoe, and Man for whom He came sat in wide-eyed wonder speechless at His commencement as He, the desire of all Israel proclaimed the fulfillment of this prophecy made six centuries earlier in this acceptable year of the Lord –...
Another Kind Of Water
Nov 2014
Another Kind Of Water How strange that he should ask me, a Samaritan, for water from the well of our Patriarch, Jacob to slake his thirst, this man from Galilee, this Jew, with whom we have no truck. He has such quiet princely dignity, such orchards of peace in his...
Soaring On Eagles’ Wings
Oct 2014
Soaring On Eagles’ Wings The everlasting God… gives power to the weak… But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31 (NKJV) Amidst challenges and...
Up On A Sycamore Tree
Sep 2014
Amazing that he the Lord of Life flanked by hordes of milling admirers should notice me perched in the fork of a sycamore tree; that he should know me by name, me, Zacchaeus, feared but loathed by all, a tax-collector for Rome, an outcast, a cheat, living in the lap...
Cancer Is So Limited
Aug 2014
They’ve sentenced you with invisible cells that secret themselves deep in body recesses and multiply: lymphatic assault on vital functions. Can cancer conquer you? I doubt it, for the strengths I see in you have nothing to do with cells...
A Creative Word
Jul 2014
A Creative Word Copious words from scholar, priest or saint make no indent like a word from the Master that cuts through bone and marrow into the hidden chamber of thought and feeling, and brings into being in a single day what takes a millennium in the puny mind of...
Discovering God
Jun 2014
Discovering God “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork” Psalm 19:1 The glory of the burning sun, Reflected in the gleaming water; Declares the majesty of One, Who is Creator and Sustainer. The waves in the boundless sea, Rolling ceaselessly onto the shore; Declares...
John Wesley at Aldersgate
May 2014
John Wesley at Aldersgate Tired and weary in the truth or Spurred by duty’s firm estate Mr Wesley learned from Luther Late one night at Aldersgate. None proclaimed the kingdom missal, Holy sang, or set apart; Dry the words of the Epistle That strangely warmed the faithful heart. And from...
He is risen indeed!
Apr 2014
I stood that day away from the Cross-silhouette hill Afraid to look, yet aware of the figure so still– He was the one they called Jesus of Nazareth. Once a babe of lowly birth Then a man who walked the earth Teaching the worth of life And love’s win over...
Silence
Mar 2014
Silence has many hues and intensities, permeating and saturating the rice paper of consciousness with images imprinted from the hinterland and groves of feeling. There is the frozen silence between friends, marking a rift, that can grow into a chasm as altercations turn astringent and fester into silence. ...
LOVE
Feb 2014
Love Jesus demonstrated God’s love; By leaving His home above; Exchanging His sovereignty; For a life of humility; To serve and forgive, And to die that we might live. Love is more than empty speech, Lofty ideals that we teach; More than faith and prophecy; Or understanding mystery; More than...
Doors
Jan 2014
At the cusp of a new year, I pause at the hallway lined with many doors. There is the door of new beginnings, departing from the zones of the familiar, along uncharted pathways novel, fortuitous, with unanticipated pitfalls leading upland or down slippery slopes. There is the door of new...
Homelessness at Christmas time
Dec 2013
Sheltering God, your protection for us is made known in images of rock and mountain, wings and arms, tent and fold. A protection that makes us feel safe, secure, and confident – with knowledge and assurance that removes our vulnerability, and our loneliness, our fears and our doubts. You have...
Basin and towel
Nov 2013
Preposterous! Egregious! That he who walked on water across rampaging waves to rescue us, who rebuked rebellious winds hell-bent on scuttling all vessels on the breast of the Galilean sea with a word, that silenced the demon winds to a whimper, who fed five thousand with a boy’s dinner, who...
Samaritan
Oct 2013
The quintessence of godliness lies not in the priestly garments of a holy order nor in sacred ornaments adorning neck or crown; Nor does it lie in pious demeanour and genuflection, in outward professions of faith alone, nor in an untainted genealogy; not in impressive public prayers and theological discourse,...
Grasping for The Wind
Sep 2013
I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh… while guiding my heart with wisdom… I made my works great… I acquired male and female servants… So I became great… Therefore I hated life because The work that was done was grievous to me, for all is vanity and grasping...
The Burning Bush
Aug 2013
STANDING UNSHOD, traumatised before the manifest presence of God, Moses gasped to hear the Divine assignment. Under Bedouin skies at nightfall, contemplating the majesty of distant stars that swept across every inglenook of space in the cloudless desert firmament, he had learnt the secrets of Creation: of Adam’s world and...
ASK
Jul 2013
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 “You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it.” John 14:14 "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all...
By the Waters of Babylon
Jun 2013
By the Waters of Babylon Psalm 137; John 14:16, 27; Psalm 96:1; 1 Peter 1:8; Acts 2:4 BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON I can sing the Lord’s song because the Paraclete resides in me healing the fissures in my heart and filling every enclave with joy unspeakable. He fills me...
Paul of Tarsus
May 2013
DRIVEN BY APPETENCE and bile towards Jesus and all who followed Him - Saul, hell-bent went on that highway to Damascus, blinded by rage against delinquent Jews, resolute to slay all who professed faith in Jesus. And then transcendent holy light - creative radiance from the Heavenly Throne, suffused his...
My Super Mobile Phone
Apr 2013
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39 I HAVE A SUPER mobile phone, That doesn’t cost a cent. It belongs...
The First Christmas
Dec 2012
WHAT A STRANGE FLURRY of stars across the paddocks of the night sky that evening two millennia ago when the daystar fashioned in the astral foundries of the Creator swept across the community of stars to take its signal place over Bethlehem, to chart and mark for scholars of celestial...
The sufficiency of God
Dec 2010
HIS GRACE is sufficient. Then why should I need fear, Though the testing be hard, And the trial severe? He tempers each wind at upon me doth blow, And tenderly whispers, “ Thy father doth know!” His power is sufficient, Then why should I quail, Though the storm clouds hang...
WHEN JESUS LOOKS
Apr 2008
WHEN Jesus looks upon my life, What picture does He see. Does He see His own refl ection, Or does He just see me. Does He see His likeness, The product of His hand. Or just another Christian, Who never took a stand. Does He see a child of God,...
A tribute to mothers
May 2004
FOR the mighty hands who have united the seed of the man with the soil of the woman, For the womb of the woman who gave us shelter and fellowship in his life, For the heart of the woman who comforted us and set the rhythm of life in our...
A New Year prayer
Jan 2004
ANOTHER year hath passed away, And what can I account to Him For gracious mercy He hath shown That kept me safe in life and limb. When I survey what I have done That could deserve His mercy great, My heart doth weep within itself To think how small they...
What Do You Buy in Bethlehem?
Dec 2003
"WHAT do you buy in Bethlehem?" Asked a tourist on her way, "Or beads, or rugs or shining brass, Or damascene, or crystal glass? What souvenirs, I pray?" Now, I've been in the shops in Bethlehem I've elbowed the travelling lot Buying mother-of-pearl, and olive woods And "Bethlehem stars" and...
Jul 2020
A disciple is one who responds to Jesus’ call to follow Him. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The challenge is for all who are called by God to take their faith seriously,...
Jul 2020
When Edmund Tan was approached by a friendly face at the nursing home where his wife, Winnie, was serving as a volunteer befriender, to serve as well, he gently protested. “No, no, I can’t do it. I don’t have any experience in healthcare. Besides, I’m quite shy myself,” It has...
