i am sitting at the subway in tiong bahru plaza, also known as ah tiong, or just tiong.

and i have just read a few chapters from the book of Daniel, from the bible. daniel is a very special person in his time. he was a disciplined person who was known to have "exceptional qualities", including being "trustworthy, and neither corrupt nor negligent", and was "found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods". he was also known to be close to his God, sticking to his principles and what he thought was the right thing to do in the eyes of the Lord. and because of his qualities he gained stature and favour of the king, but also jealousy from those under him, who try all means to malign and overthrow him. these people tricked the king into making a decree that all peoples must pray to only the king, and nobody else, or else be thrown into the lion's den. (which i guess, is a place where there are hungry lions who feed on suay people who disobey the king.) and they did this because they knew he prays to his God three times a day! (the things jealous people are capable of.) so in the end, the king (a good man) had no choice but to throw daniel into the den of hungry lions where--he survived.

Daniel answered: "O king, live forever! my God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. they have not hurt me, because i was found innocent in his sight. nor have i ever done any wrong before you, O king." Daniel 6:21-22

(imagine when he was being led to the lion's den. if we were him, we would have thought, "thanks man, God. i prayed to you three times a day you know. now i'm going to be nutrition for the lions. thanks, thanks." but daniel didn't give up on his God! he kept having faith. and it paid off.)

how many of us can truly live a life that is right, that honours God, that is disciplined, like daniel? and how many of us are KNOWN to live such a life, such that it commands such respect from even the higher authorities? it must be so difficult. and for daniel, even though he knew he was, surely, going to get thrown into the lion's den for praying to his God, he still did so, three times a day! he stuck to his faith in his God, despite. DANIEL STUCK TO HIS STUFF. he clung to what he knew was right, and true.

which is so hard to do sometimes, right!

sometimes we find that we're not as steadfast as we think we are, in our standards of righteous living. you know, don't lie, don't say bad things about other people, love your mother even though sometimes she says things that are so cutting and if you don't shield yourself with defending words, you'd get multiple fatal wounds in the heart. (i know, i can be so drama.) but the fact is, we slip. and then, aw shucks, we're off track. and man, that feeling sucks.

will God still accept me when i suck?

if you ask me, i'll say....hell yeah. haha. i think, more than as a reassurance for myself for all the blunders i make, that God accepts us despite all the mistakes we make. as long as we make an effort to turn back to Him, and start again. as long as we start getting disciplined in living life that is right and true.

i wouldn't (dare!) say that i'm living a life that is always right on the golden path of holiness and righteous living. i veer off-course every now and then. i run backwards sometimes. or i tumble to the side into the bushes. (not impossible, i trip over most things.) but i try. and i want to live a life like daniel's. God doesn't expect us to be perfect. if He did, He wouldn't have sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for us, to save us from our sins. because we are human and we err. but God is God, and a loving God at that, and He doesn't want eternal condemnation for us. He wants to give us a way out. and that Way is Jesus.

how awesome is that?

yesterday was Easter Sunday, the day where we celebrate Jesus' rising from the dead. He has conquered death! and we no longer need to fear death, we no longer need to feel guilt, and we have a Saviour who gives us a hope to live by. to live right, and with His strength, to fend off temptations that face us. (Hebrews 2:14-18)

and with this Jesus who is way cooler than my superman logo on my firefox skin, we have the strength and the hope to keep faith.

and live just like daniel. :)