Thursday, November 19, 2009

The King's New Palace

One upon a time, there lived a king in his Palace.
One day, he noticed that the Palace was needing repairs.
He thought to himself, "I have been staying here since my birth and it had not been renovated properly since then ! Do I not deserve a new Palace ?"
That was not a question posted by the King.
That was a decree ordered by the King.
For all his life, whatever he thought to be shall come to be.
Whatever that the King felt he need shall his needs be met.


He decided to go on a long holiday.
He passed the adminsitration works to his dear Prime Minister
together with these instructions:
"Go and build me the King a new Palace in my absence as well as run my kingdom for me !
As for the Treasury, you can have it at your disposal !"


With that, the King left the kingdom for a good two full years !
In his absence, the Prime Minsiter was baffled with lots of problems
to resolve people's disputes and hungry poor people.
There were just one too many !
He felt so helpless and did not feel right to call on the people to build the Palace.
So, the Prime Minister took money out of the Treasury to help the poor.
In no time, the Treasury had been emptied !


One day, the King returned.
He could not believe his ears!
He could not believe his eyes!
For he saw no new Palace however hard he went to look for it~
For he heard that the Treasury was finished !


The King was furious ! He threw the Prime Minister into the jail and was planning how to punish him.
Just a week before that, the King's brother met with an accident while hunting and he went to heaven and he was being shown around the heavens. He saw from afar, a huge new beautiful Palace. The King's brother asked whose Palace was that!

The angel answered,"That one is being built for your brother the King, for all the Treasury money was given to the poor. Everytime, the Prime Minsiter gave money to the poor, a diamond tile will be put up."

The King's brother sobbed uncontrollably until the angel asked him what was wrong. "Oh, you must grant me one wish, to return in a dream to warn my brother not to harm the Prime Minister. He owes it to him for this future investment awaiting the King in heaven!"

And so, the King's brother wish was granted to him and he went in a dream to warn with the brother. The King repented and released the Prime Minister, together they stayed in the old Palace, helping the people and the poor to live. Since that day, the King gave a decree not to build another Palace and the people would come in to volunteer their work to repair the Palace. In that kingdom, the King and his subjectes lived happily ever after!

 What we treasure on earth will rod away,
what we treasure above is here to stay!


We must build for our kingdom in heaven and not on earth !


Narrated by Ps Dr Paul Ang and re-written by Doria Tai

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Bible Verse for this Season

Psalm 18:1-3 (The Message)

Psalm 18 1-2
I love you, God— you make me strong.
God is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God—the high crag
where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders,
safe in the granite hideout.

3 I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty,
and find myself safe and saved.

4-5 The hangman's noose was tight at my throat;
devil waters rushed over me.
Hell's ropes cinched me tight;
death traps barred every exit.

6 A hostile world! I call to God,
I cry to God to help me. From his palace he hears my call;
my cry brings me right into his presence— a private audience!

7-15 Earth wobbles and lurches; huge mountains shake like leaves,
Quake like aspen leaves because of his rage.
His nostrils flare, bellowing smoke; his mouth spits fire.
Tongues of fire dart in and out; he lowers the sky.
He steps down; under his feet an abyss opens up.
He's riding a winged creature, swift on wind-wings.
Now he's wrapped himself in a trenchcoat of black-cloud darkness.
But his cloud-brightness bursts through, spraying hailstones and fireballs.
Then God thundered out of heaven; the High God gave a great shout,
spraying hailstones and fireballs.
God shoots his arrows—pandemonium!
He hurls his lightnings—a rout!
The secret sources of ocean are exposed,
the hidden depths of earth lie uncovered
The moment you roar in protest,
let loose your hurricane anger.
16-19 But me he caught—reached all the way
from sky to sea; he pulled me out
Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,
the void in which I was drowning.
They hit me when I was down,
but God stuck by me.
He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!
20-24 God made my life complete
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I got my act together,
he gave me a fresh start.
Now I'm alert to God's ways;
I don't take God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works;
I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
and I'm watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
25-27 The good people taste your goodness,
The whole people taste your health,
The true people taste your truth,
The bad ones can't figure you out.
You take the side of the down-and-out,
But the stuck-up you take down a peg.
28-29 Suddenly, God, you floodlight my life;
I'm blazing with glory, God's glory!
I smash the bands of marauders,
I vault the highest fences.
30 What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth.
Every God-direction is road-tested.
Everyone who runs toward him Makes it.
31-42 Is there any god like God?
Are we not at bedrock?
Is not this the God who armed me,
then aimed me in the right direction?
Now I run like a deer;
I'm king of the mountain.
He shows me how to fight;
I can bend a bronze bow!
You protect me with salvation-armor;
you hold me up with a firm hand,
caress me with your gentle ways.
You cleared the ground under me
so my footing was firm.
When I chased my enemies I caught them;
I didn't let go till they were dead men.
I nailed them; they were down for good;
then I walked all over them.
You armed me well for this fight,
you smashed the upstarts.
You made my enemies turn tail,
and I wiped out the haters.
They cried "uncle"
but Uncle didn't come;
They yelled for God
and got no for an answer.
I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind.
I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter.
43-45 You rescued me from a squabbling people;
you made me a leader of nations.
People I'd never heard of served me;
the moment they got wind of me they listened.
The foreign devils gave up; they came
on their bellies, crawling from their hideouts.
46-48 Live, God! Blessings from my Rock,
my free and freeing God, towering!
This God set things right for me
and shut up the people who talked back.
He rescued me from enemy anger,
he pulled me from the grip of upstarts,
He saved me from the bullies.
49-50 That's why I'm thanking you, God, all over the world.
That's why I'm singing songs that rhyme your name.
God's king takes the trophy;
God's chosen is beloved.
I mean David and all his children— always.

Psalm 18:1-3 (King James Version)
Psalm 18
1I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
2The LORD is my rock, and my fortress,
and my deliverer; my God, my strength,
in whom I will trust; my buckler,
and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3I will call upon the LORD,
who is worthy to be praised:
so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

Psalm 18:1-3 (New International Version)
Psalm 18
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD.
He sang to the LORD the words of this song
when the LORD delivered him from
the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
He said: 1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn [a] of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.

Footnotes:
Psalm 18:2 Horn here symbolizes strength.

詩 篇 18:1-3 (Chinese Union Version (Traditional))
詩 篇 18
1 ( 耶 和 華 的 僕 人 大 衛 的 詩 , 交 與 伶 長 。 當 耶 和 華 救 他 脫 離 一 切 仇 敵 和 掃 羅 之 手 的 日 子 , 他 向 耶 和 華 念 這 詩 的 話 。 說 : )

耶 和 華 , 我 的 力 量 啊 , 我 愛 你 !
2 耶 和 華 是 我 的 巖 石 , 我 的 山 寨 ,
我 的 救 主 , 我 的 神 , 我 的 磐 石 , 我 所 投 靠 的 。
他 是 我 的 盾 牌 , 是 拯 救 我 的 角 , 是 我 的 高 臺 。
3 我 要 求 告 當 讚 美 的 耶 和 華 ;
這 樣 我 必 從 仇 敵 手 中 被 救 出 來 。

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