Integrity - My Earthly Father

Last night, I shared with my friend (also doing property) about my dad and integrity as he gave me a lift home.

Today is my dad’s birthday. I want to honour him for what he has taught me since young. He wasn’t the most involved father as he had to work long hours. But the strongest value he built into my life is integrity. He always said, “Even if you have no money, you must walk in integrity. Live with dignity.”

And he modeled it out for me. We didn’t have much as a family, but we held strongly to this value.

When I first entered real estate industry, I was probably naive. I simply trusted people. As a result, I was pretty shocked to see how believers could serve passionately in church yet didn’t bother about integrity in business transactions. There was a huge missing link. Christianity becomes a religion instead of the Way, the Truth & the Life.

For my non-Christian friends who have encountered such Christians, I am sorry. We as Christians have failed to represent Christianity.

God is good. Not only did He bless me with a father who walks in integrity, He also blessed me with a wife who lives the same way. For I cannot imagine having a wife who values money over integrity. Each time when I make a decision based on integrity over money, she always fully supports my decision, even if my deals are burst (lost count).

Sometimes, she feels that the way I am wired may not suit business industry. I think so too. Yet I chose to step into it, because I wanted to be with my son for his foundation years. God knows what’s next. It’s in His hands.

These two years plus have been quite a journey. Yet I am always thankful that God is always with me. I may not always see His hands, but I trust His heart.

Trusting Him means integrity over money.

Trusting ourselves means money over integrity.

There are many who try to be God and provide for themselves by manipulation. With their lips, God seems to be their Provider. But with their actions, they are their own provider. 

Apostle James said, “Show me your faith BY your works.” In other words, talk is cheap until it is matched by action. We are not called to judge people, but we are told to discern and judge the fruit.

The stories in real estate industry will show you how fallen the Christian world is. The true missing link, I believe, is a lack of true discipleship.

This industry has revealed so much about the hearts of people. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

My father is an honorable man with strong values. His life has been tough and challenging. It depends on his pure diligence and persistence, which is why God is never in the picture. Today marked his 68th birthday. And I pray that he will come to know Jesus very soon. Please pray and stand with me.

You Are Always Pleasing To The Father

So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But YOU ARE NOT IN THE FLESH but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. - Rom 8:8-9 (emphasis added)

To be in the flesh is to be carnal in nature. In other words, you have sinful nature. You can't help but live by the old man, the old self.

The moment you are born again, you are no longer in the flesh. You are in the Spirit. You have divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). You live by the new Man, the new self (2 Cor 5:17).

As believers, because you are in the Spirit, you are ALWAYS pleasing to God.

Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him..."

For too long, we have been teaching about faith that pleases God. But the context is talking about faith IN Him. Without faith in God, it is impossible to please Him, because you are in the flesh (Rom 8:8). The reason you can be born again is because God has put that faith in you and draw you to Him (Rom 12:3; Jn 6:44). As believers, you already have faith in Him. Thus, you are always pleasing to Him.

God looks at you as though He is looking at His Son. He doesn't see you based on your performance. He sees you based on the finished works of the Cross.

My own son is always pleasing to me, because he is my son, not because of what he does or doesn't. Because nothing can ever change his identity as my son, he will always be pleasing to me. Likewise, nothing can ever change your identity as God's sons.

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. - Rom 8:12-13

As believers, we are not debtors to the flesh. We are debtors to the Spirit. Hence, we do not live according to the flesh, because we are not in the flesh (Rom 8:8). Therefore we cannot die (Rom 8:13). 

The moment we are born again, we are in the Spirit (Rom 8:9), and we have put to death the deeds of the body, because the body (old man, old self, sinful nature) is dead.

And if Christ is in you, the body is DEAD because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. - Rom 8:10 (emphasis added)

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. - Rom 8:14

This verse is not saying that you are only a son of God IF you are led by the Spirit. If we don't know our identity, we will confuse with the interpretation. Action follows identity. Not the other way round. We are sons of God because we are in the Spirit (Rom 8:8). Hence, we are led by the Spirit. In other words, it is natural for us to be led by the new nature, the new Man, the new self - the Spirit of God.

When you are born again, God sees you as a precious son, who is always pleasing to Him. He doesn't change His opinion about you because He doesn't change His opinion about Christ. Let this be the truth that flows out into everything you do. Because when you know that you are a son who is pleasing to Him, you WILL be led by the Spirit. #identity #sonship #Spirit

How Valued Art Thou?

I read a thought by Joseph Prince and it brought a powerful truth as the Holy Spirit directed me to a Scripture verse.

"The degree to which we worry about provision today is DIRECTLY related to how much we believe we are loved and valued by our heavenly Father." - Joseph Prince 

Make no mistake. This is pure truth. The need to strive harder for provision is anchored in the fear of lack and it has to do with wrong belief ----- we believe that we are not as valued and loved by the Father, as compared to the sparrows and the lilies in the field. Head knowledge is different from heart knowledge. You can say that you believe, but your action (fruit) will reveal your root of unbelief.

The Holy Spirit brought a verse to my mind.

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” - Heb 13:5

The love of money does not simply mean that we are pursuing wealth. That's the usual interpretation. In the Greek, it is "aphilarguros", which also means "dominated by money". In other words, the love of money also means that we have fear of lack, because what we are fearful of, we are dominated by.

The good news is that the context of "I will never leave you nor forsake you" is about PROVISION. In fact, God doesn't want to leave us nor forsake us that He decides to live IN us (John 14:17).

It is not just a promise that He has made. It is a reality that He has done. He ABIDES IN US now. That's the certainty of His provision. He lives IN us. His Presence is IN us. Supply is IN us. Provision is IN us.

The price He paid to PROVIDE for us by LIVING IN us is the value of His perfect, beloved, treasured, cherished and only begotten Son. We are worth that value.

The fact that He lives IN us is the proof of that value. We are His beloved, treasured and cherished sons. 

Because we are deeply valued and loved, because He lives IN us, provision and supply will NEVER leave us nor forsake us.

The next time when anxiety, worries and fear of lack enter our mind, we say, "Thank You, Father for living IN me. Thank You for Your abiding presence. That is the certainty of Your provision and supply." #revelation #truth #provision #finances

F&S Day At Kidzania

We had a fruitful F&S day at Kidzania. While BabyBoss in Taipei was more relaxing and interesting, Kidzania has more stations to learn skills.

We didn’t have enough time to go through all the stations. Probably only covered about 8-9 stations.

Doctor in position

Young Dentist


Depositing money in the bank


Performing a dance


Pizza Hut staff

Self-made pizza


Fire fighter


Pilot in position

Store assistant at 7-eleven

Policeman

Youngest Doctor among the rest

Time to use the hard-earned money to buy stuff