Hi all! Another lovely piece of writing from Rebecca! :)
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Feeling the urge to write again! I came across this interesting devotional recently (from prime time with God)
"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (Rom 6:4).
When Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt, he took them to the edge of the Red Sea. The people saw the sea before them and heard the chariots of the Egyptians behind them. They knew they were trapped - and they lost their faith in God. They thought God was no longer at work in their lives. In panic and despair, they turned on Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out into the desert to die? When we were slaves in Egypt, didn't we tell you, 'Just leave us alone and let us continue serving the Egyptians.' Better to live as slaves than to die out here!"
They couldn't imagine that God's path to freedom actually led straight into and through the deep waters! The waters of the Red Sea, like the New Testament sacrament of baptism, are a symbol of death. When Moses parted the Red Sea, the people of Israel walked upon the dry seabed with walls of water on either side. They descended into the depths of the sea. They died to their old selves and rose to a new life that led to the Promised Land.
Like the people of Israel in their journey, we panic and cry out to God, "Did You bring me out into this desert of adversity to die?" We would rather live as slaves than die to self and yield control of our lives to God. But God takes us through the depths so that we can emerge as new people, ready to enter the Promised Land.
In general, I've observed that the greater and higher the calling, the more intense the adversity. I'm not saying one person's call is more important, but I am saying it may have a more far reaching impact on others. This often requires greater preparation.
If you find yourself in deep water, thank God today that He is preparing you for a life that is designed to impact many.
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I’m sure we’ve had our moments of frustration, and sometimes I feel like I’m going to bao zha (explode, maybe some of you don’t feel it to such an extent) any moment and I cry out to God , “Help God! Please let this cup of suffering pass from me! I cannot take it already!” Very often, such feelings are only temporary and they will pass. And that’s why it is also important that we search out the promises of God and claim them in faith. For we walk by faith and not by sight. It is easy to get overwhelmed by our circumstances.
Garrett’s sharing after the movie ‘Passion of the Christ’ about reminding ourselves the reason why we are so radical and on fire for Jesus struck a chord with many. We’ve to constantly remind ourselves that Jesus gave His 101% for us so that we might live, and have life everlasting, and we love Him because He first loved us, and to hold out and trust in God, even when we are stuck in the mud and God doesn’t seem to be hearing us. In fact God does hear us. We know of how Jesus did not immediately rush off to revive Lazarus the moment He heard of his illness. Similarly God’s love does not shelter us from difficult experiences that are necessary for our spiritual growth. Love permits pain, we often want to believe that if God truly loves us He will not allow anything painful to invade our lives, but this is not so. (got this nugget of wisdom from here: Balancing life's priorities) However we do know that God is ultimately our provider who provides for all our needs, He is our portion, strength and shield, He is our banner, our victory, His love will never fail us, for all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Like Peter, we can rejoice to the extent that we partake of Christ’s sufferings, (what can be more painful than being nailed to the cross), that when His glory is revealed, we may also be glad with exceeding joy. Or like Paul who would rather gladly boast in his infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon him for when he is weak then he is also strong (at the same time)
Also on a practical level sharing with trusted leaders and friends, and doing something that will bring back joy, for me it’s writing this entry, (luckily it’s not shopping) hope you enjoyed it. If you ever feel down and out, look to Jesus, He’s in heaven smiling back at you, and interceding for you too!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Believing in young people
Recently, I went for a job interview. I was rejected, not because I sucked, but because I was too young. Feeling rather indignant and also a bit desperate for a job (you'd be too if your bank account mirrored mine), I sent the GM an email. Here it is.
Dear Sir,
I have been working with youths in various capacities for over 5 years now. In working with youths, I have also dealt extensively with parents, teachers and other adults. I fully understand what it is like to meet with people who look down on youths or write us off as "young punks" who have no idea what we are doing. I understand your fears that the teachers, heads of departments and principals I will meet in this line of work will not be as generous as you are with young people. It is rather ironic that the very people who educate youths are skeptical of their own charges. It is no wonder, then, that we have generation after generation of people who fail to see the potential in youths, thus limiting our potential for growth. However, while the real world is very real in that sense, I choose to be idealistic and believe that I can change this trend in my generation.
As such, I was rather excited at the opportunity to work with -company name-, as this is a company that seems genuinely interested in creating a lively and exciting environment for young people to learn and grow. I believe that it would be an excellent job fit for me, as I do not simply believe in education, as many educators do, but I believe in young people. I do not simply believe in creating exciting environments to maximise learning, I believe in giving young people endless opportunities to maximise their growth.
Sir, I understand your fears that the clients I meet may not take me seriously because of my age. However, I do not see this as a disadvantage; rather, I see my youth as an advantage that few people in this sector possess. I see myself as being able to bridge the needs of young people with the experience of their educators. I believe that when I meet with clients, I am able to present myself in a mature and confident manner as someone who is able to cater to the needs of both our clients - students and teachers. While it is true that I may not have the experience that older adults possess, I do possess the energy, drive and raw passion that they lack, which I believe will be an asset to your company.
I hope that you will reassess my application. I promise nothing less than hard work, diligence and of course, sales revenue, in return.
Thank you.
Regards,
Liane Ng
I walked away from that interview loving Pastors even more.
There is a difference between an educator and someone who genuninely believes in young people. As G Zone, let us never forget how it was like to be looked down on by older people. Let's be a generation that loves and believes in young people.
Dear Sir,
I have been working with youths in various capacities for over 5 years now. In working with youths, I have also dealt extensively with parents, teachers and other adults. I fully understand what it is like to meet with people who look down on youths or write us off as "young punks" who have no idea what we are doing. I understand your fears that the teachers, heads of departments and principals I will meet in this line of work will not be as generous as you are with young people. It is rather ironic that the very people who educate youths are skeptical of their own charges. It is no wonder, then, that we have generation after generation of people who fail to see the potential in youths, thus limiting our potential for growth. However, while the real world is very real in that sense, I choose to be idealistic and believe that I can change this trend in my generation.
As such, I was rather excited at the opportunity to work with -company name-, as this is a company that seems genuinely interested in creating a lively and exciting environment for young people to learn and grow. I believe that it would be an excellent job fit for me, as I do not simply believe in education, as many educators do, but I believe in young people. I do not simply believe in creating exciting environments to maximise learning, I believe in giving young people endless opportunities to maximise their growth.
Sir, I understand your fears that the clients I meet may not take me seriously because of my age. However, I do not see this as a disadvantage; rather, I see my youth as an advantage that few people in this sector possess. I see myself as being able to bridge the needs of young people with the experience of their educators. I believe that when I meet with clients, I am able to present myself in a mature and confident manner as someone who is able to cater to the needs of both our clients - students and teachers. While it is true that I may not have the experience that older adults possess, I do possess the energy, drive and raw passion that they lack, which I believe will be an asset to your company.
I hope that you will reassess my application. I promise nothing less than hard work, diligence and of course, sales revenue, in return.
Thank you.
Regards,
Liane Ng
I walked away from that interview loving Pastors even more.
There is a difference between an educator and someone who genuninely believes in young people. As G Zone, let us never forget how it was like to be looked down on by older people. Let's be a generation that loves and believes in young people.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The king and the ant
Recently at work, I spotted an ant on my paper. By instinct I stretched out my thumb to crush it. However, the ant did not die and it started limping aimlessly on the paper. Just when I was about to crush it again, I decided to take a closer look at it and I realize that it was struggling. Seeing and being inspired by its fighting spirit and persistence to live, I decided to let it go. So, I just flick it aside. At that very moment, I felt a sense of superiority and a sense of power, as if I have control over the ant’s life. I can bring it home and give it a new environment to live in, its fate totally lies in my hands. I was thinking, if the ant had a little more imagination, it would probably think that I am god, which I definitely am not. Then suddenly I felt very small, just like the ant. I felt like I am the one who is very vulnerable with lots of giant thumbs hovering above me. It seems like there are also many powerful forces beyond our understanding around us. And this got me thinking, that aren’t humans as foolish as what I thought the ant to be. How we have the tendency to treat anything more powerful and beyond our understanding as god. Especially, when there is some sort of response when we try to interact with the greater forces.
Question: How do you know your god is God?
In my opinion, It is not how real I can feel God in my life, not by the miracles (healing etc.) , definitely not by the blessings, not how God response to me when I speak to Him, neither is it His strong presence when I worship and pray. No, I have not backslided, I am not speaking namunamu here. This are probably the reasons why I love God, probably the reasons I know God exist, but may not be reasons to separate God from gods. There are strong forces out there and we will be only ignorant to think that only God can do things beyond us.
In my opinion, It is the truth that separates God from gods. The truth comes from the Word. The truth states that we are sinners, and indeed we are. Cause we can’t help sinning even if we don’t want to. The truth states that Jesus saves us from our sins. There are many forces that are powerful, more powerful than human, they may give us what we want, they may be beyond our understanding. But there is only one who can save us from our sins, that is Jesus Christ the Lord. The Word states that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. The only way, the only truth, the only life, Jesus is the one and only God.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Prayer (From Rebecca!)
Hey everyone here's more from Rebecca our inspiring writer! :)
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Dear g-zoners! Hope that your souls are prospering! I had an inspiration to write yesterday while waiting for my supervisors to give me work (I’m doing an internship now and it’s quite interesting except that i have to wear painful heels) I thought I’d share some experiences that have caused me to go spiritually these past few years.
My friend once commented to me about speaking in tongues, she said that it feels very repetitive after a while. I admit that when I just started speaking in tongues, I was very conscious of whatever I was saying and sometimes felt that they were simply blabberings from my mouth. It was not until I attended Pst Troy Marshall’s session in bible school last year that I got a breakthrough (I was blessed to be able to attend bible school for a few months). He is a very disciplined and anointed man of God and he said he’d pray strongly in tongues whenever he drives alone in his car, there was even once when the police pulled over and asked him what he was doing. Then he got everyone to pray strongly in tongues for what seemed like a long time (many people were breathless, including me), and to imagine that as we pray rivers of living water flow from our bellies and are released as a heavenly language through the utterances and the words we speak from our mouths. The second encounter was when we broke into small groups to pray for one another and I was very impacted by my friend Xin Lian’s fervent prayers, the power and presence of God came and it was really tangible, I decided that I wanted to pray like her. James 5:16 says the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
It wasn’t always easy for me to pray an hour everyday, lots of things crop up at the last minute, but one day the Holy Spirit told me that praying is not just a thing that Christians do, but it is also beneficial to our souls. Sometimes we go through life and there might be things that affect us that we are not even aware of (layers of resentment, bitterness, hatred, unforgiveness etc might build up) it is only when we come clean with Jesus, that He melts away all the hurt and pain and shows us a better way and we find that we are renewed in the spirit and mind and become more like Jesus with each passing day.
So I pray for all of us, that we will set aside this precious one hour of our time to spend with our dear God everyday, no matter what happens, no matter how busy or tired we are, no matter what horrible things might have happened to us in the day or how satisfied and happy with life we are to get into His presence. I pray that God will speak to us during this time, that it will not be dry, but it will be well-oiled and we will have an encounter with Jesus.
Get into His presence today and I believe if we cling on to Him not just today but everyday, our zone and church will definitely experience great growth!
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Dear g-zoners! Hope that your souls are prospering! I had an inspiration to write yesterday while waiting for my supervisors to give me work (I’m doing an internship now and it’s quite interesting except that i have to wear painful heels) I thought I’d share some experiences that have caused me to go spiritually these past few years.
My friend once commented to me about speaking in tongues, she said that it feels very repetitive after a while. I admit that when I just started speaking in tongues, I was very conscious of whatever I was saying and sometimes felt that they were simply blabberings from my mouth. It was not until I attended Pst Troy Marshall’s session in bible school last year that I got a breakthrough (I was blessed to be able to attend bible school for a few months). He is a very disciplined and anointed man of God and he said he’d pray strongly in tongues whenever he drives alone in his car, there was even once when the police pulled over and asked him what he was doing. Then he got everyone to pray strongly in tongues for what seemed like a long time (many people were breathless, including me), and to imagine that as we pray rivers of living water flow from our bellies and are released as a heavenly language through the utterances and the words we speak from our mouths. The second encounter was when we broke into small groups to pray for one another and I was very impacted by my friend Xin Lian’s fervent prayers, the power and presence of God came and it was really tangible, I decided that I wanted to pray like her. James 5:16 says the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
It wasn’t always easy for me to pray an hour everyday, lots of things crop up at the last minute, but one day the Holy Spirit told me that praying is not just a thing that Christians do, but it is also beneficial to our souls. Sometimes we go through life and there might be things that affect us that we are not even aware of (layers of resentment, bitterness, hatred, unforgiveness etc might build up) it is only when we come clean with Jesus, that He melts away all the hurt and pain and shows us a better way and we find that we are renewed in the spirit and mind and become more like Jesus with each passing day.
So I pray for all of us, that we will set aside this precious one hour of our time to spend with our dear God everyday, no matter what happens, no matter how busy or tired we are, no matter what horrible things might have happened to us in the day or how satisfied and happy with life we are to get into His presence. I pray that God will speak to us during this time, that it will not be dry, but it will be well-oiled and we will have an encounter with Jesus.
Get into His presence today and I believe if we cling on to Him not just today but everyday, our zone and church will definitely experience great growth!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
From Rebecca (G2)!
Hi everyone! This is on behalf of Rebecca, who has wrote something for everyone to read.
Enjoy! :)
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Hi! It’s great to be in HOGC and in zone g! Although I’ve not been planted here for the longest time as some of you have, and not the most eloquent and fervent, I feel really happy to know (after reading all your blogs and posts) that all of you have such deep and strong convictions and that I have friends who call on the Lord out of a pure heart to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace together (while fleeing youthful lusts). I don’t really know what to share, but I guess I’ll share what God spoke to me while doing extended time in the botanic gardens with my Nav friends (basically we went to the botanic gardens and did qt for 2 hours, it’s actually quite fun we can try it out! :) ) I was prompted to read the book of revelations and God spoke to my heart about certain things.
“So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth...as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent”
The past few days my mum has been nagging at me not to be so involved in church and I was thinking about it and this verse hit me in my face. God does draw us to Him in love and showers His blessings on us, but He also desires that we give Him our all, “be faithful until death, and He will give us the crown of life”
“for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”
Everytime I feel sad I’ll worship God and end up crying cause His love and presence is so strong, we might sow or labour in tears but we know that the Holy Spirit is always there to comfort us and that we’ll reap in joy in time to come!
“And the fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you and you shall find them no more at all...for in one hour such great riches come to nothing...”
Sometimes I struggle with longing for the wrong things and sometimes we go through testings, trials and temptations, but we know that “the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits” and “blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” Our lovely Peck Lian was encouraging me recently regarding the concerns of my mum that while money can do many things, the love and peace of God cannot be bought. Hope that this revelation will come to many mums and friends.
I think I shall end here before this becomes a bible study. I’ll end off with one of my favourite verses from the bible “therefore beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Sometimes we stumble but we will not fall, for God upholds us with His hand so let’s keep on doing good, keep on reaching out to our friends and family we’ve been reaching out for so long, keep on praising and thanking God, keep on praying and reading the bible, keep on being teachable by our leaders and to the Holy Spirit’s correction, keep on loving pastors, keep on loving people, keep on loving life, keep on loving God! :)
Enjoy! :)
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Hi! It’s great to be in HOGC and in zone g! Although I’ve not been planted here for the longest time as some of you have, and not the most eloquent and fervent, I feel really happy to know (after reading all your blogs and posts) that all of you have such deep and strong convictions and that I have friends who call on the Lord out of a pure heart to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace together (while fleeing youthful lusts). I don’t really know what to share, but I guess I’ll share what God spoke to me while doing extended time in the botanic gardens with my Nav friends (basically we went to the botanic gardens and did qt for 2 hours, it’s actually quite fun we can try it out! :) ) I was prompted to read the book of revelations and God spoke to my heart about certain things.
“So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth...as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent”
The past few days my mum has been nagging at me not to be so involved in church and I was thinking about it and this verse hit me in my face. God does draw us to Him in love and showers His blessings on us, but He also desires that we give Him our all, “be faithful until death, and He will give us the crown of life”
“for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”
Everytime I feel sad I’ll worship God and end up crying cause His love and presence is so strong, we might sow or labour in tears but we know that the Holy Spirit is always there to comfort us and that we’ll reap in joy in time to come!
“And the fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you and you shall find them no more at all...for in one hour such great riches come to nothing...”
Sometimes I struggle with longing for the wrong things and sometimes we go through testings, trials and temptations, but we know that “the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits” and “blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” Our lovely Peck Lian was encouraging me recently regarding the concerns of my mum that while money can do many things, the love and peace of God cannot be bought. Hope that this revelation will come to many mums and friends.
I think I shall end here before this becomes a bible study. I’ll end off with one of my favourite verses from the bible “therefore beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Sometimes we stumble but we will not fall, for God upholds us with His hand so let’s keep on doing good, keep on reaching out to our friends and family we’ve been reaching out for so long, keep on praising and thanking God, keep on praying and reading the bible, keep on being teachable by our leaders and to the Holy Spirit’s correction, keep on loving pastors, keep on loving people, keep on loving life, keep on loving God! :)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The reason why
For this - this is why we do all that we do :)
Found a blog of one of our Easter integrations who came on Sunday. I didn't meet her but the report I got was that she was all right, open to friendship, okay during service. Thought it was just another one of the 16 new friends we had. Just planned the usual integration outings and that was it, to me. Seemed normal as always.
But then things changed. I found her blog. I read it. It blew me away. She took a lot of pictures of our service (and it's quite funny to see a picture of one of the slides you did as part of the sermon slides...) but the most amazing thing was what she said about service.
Pastor Tan was so good.
Imposed shame, Innate shame, Inherited Shame.
I learnt that we are all sinners because of adam and eve.
He talked about Jesus on the cross and why he'd forgive our sins...
At a point in time, I was very emotional and touched by his words.
He prayed for all of us as we bowed our heads in prayer.
I felt really good after church service,
like as if a whole weight of burden was lifted off my shoulders
and a big smile was stucked on my face throughout the night.
Such a powerful reminder. This is why we do people work. This is why every week, we collate attendance, arrange who sits where for service, arrange who goes to pick up the new friends/integrations before service, sit with them, make sure they are okay and take care of them, take care of them after service, integrate them....
Sometimes it can be very routine and mundane but God today just reminded me why we do all that we do. Why we sweat blood and tears to have perfect services (or as close to perfect!) as possible -- because ultimately, just like how God touched this girl that Sunday, when we create the right atmosphere (both ops side and pastorally) for God to move in - God comes, and hearts are opened, lives touched, seeds sown,
If you are a leader in this place....let this inspire and encourage you, that what you do - it may be routine, simple stuff that we do every week, but it is so important. You are the wheels that hit the road every week.... why we pray, because we can do all these things but if God does not build the house we labour in vain....
If you are a member...let this inspire and encourage you. You are important! This is why we EV. Because when we EV and reach out, just like how God has changed our lives, we want God to touch and change our friends/families' lives too. And this is why we take that step to welcome a new friend in your CG, whether or not you brought the person. Because your friendship to that person may change their perception of church, from boring to welcoming perhaps. And the person will come back next week...
If you are an ops, worship team person....let this inspire you and encourage you, that though you work behind the scenes, it gets tiring, but the ops and worship team really pull the service together and sets the platform for Psts to preach with such anointing and for God to move.
When I read that blog entry, I vowed that I am going to keep praying for this integration till she encounters God, is saved, planted in church with us. I can just see her coming for service every week, writing in her blog things like "Today's service/CG/follow up like every week's is amazing...God just spoke to me....I love God...." etc. Won't that be cool?
So God, no matter what, this is the life I choose to live, a life sold out to You, to church, to people. Because even if it's only for one life to be touched, then it's worth it :)
Found a blog of one of our Easter integrations who came on Sunday. I didn't meet her but the report I got was that she was all right, open to friendship, okay during service. Thought it was just another one of the 16 new friends we had. Just planned the usual integration outings and that was it, to me. Seemed normal as always.
But then things changed. I found her blog. I read it. It blew me away. She took a lot of pictures of our service (and it's quite funny to see a picture of one of the slides you did as part of the sermon slides...) but the most amazing thing was what she said about service.
Pastor Tan was so good.
Imposed shame, Innate shame, Inherited Shame.
I learnt that we are all sinners because of adam and eve.
He talked about Jesus on the cross and why he'd forgive our sins...
At a point in time, I was very emotional and touched by his words.
He prayed for all of us as we bowed our heads in prayer.
I felt really good after church service,
like as if a whole weight of burden was lifted off my shoulders
and a big smile was stucked on my face throughout the night.
Such a powerful reminder. This is why we do people work. This is why every week, we collate attendance, arrange who sits where for service, arrange who goes to pick up the new friends/integrations before service, sit with them, make sure they are okay and take care of them, take care of them after service, integrate them....
Sometimes it can be very routine and mundane but God today just reminded me why we do all that we do. Why we sweat blood and tears to have perfect services (or as close to perfect!) as possible -- because ultimately, just like how God touched this girl that Sunday, when we create the right atmosphere (both ops side and pastorally) for God to move in - God comes, and hearts are opened, lives touched, seeds sown,
If you are a leader in this place....let this inspire and encourage you, that what you do - it may be routine, simple stuff that we do every week, but it is so important. You are the wheels that hit the road every week.... why we pray, because we can do all these things but if God does not build the house we labour in vain....
If you are a member...let this inspire and encourage you. You are important! This is why we EV. Because when we EV and reach out, just like how God has changed our lives, we want God to touch and change our friends/families' lives too. And this is why we take that step to welcome a new friend in your CG, whether or not you brought the person. Because your friendship to that person may change their perception of church, from boring to welcoming perhaps. And the person will come back next week...
If you are an ops, worship team person....let this inspire you and encourage you, that though you work behind the scenes, it gets tiring, but the ops and worship team really pull the service together and sets the platform for Psts to preach with such anointing and for God to move.
When I read that blog entry, I vowed that I am going to keep praying for this integration till she encounters God, is saved, planted in church with us. I can just see her coming for service every week, writing in her blog things like "Today's service/CG/follow up like every week's is amazing...God just spoke to me....I love God...." etc. Won't that be cool?
So God, no matter what, this is the life I choose to live, a life sold out to You, to church, to people. Because even if it's only for one life to be touched, then it's worth it :)
Monday, March 30, 2009
OTHERS
In line with all that has been said, let me share something that is really on my heart....and it starts with a story.
This story begins in 1914, when a ship called the Empress of Ireland sank. It hit a Norwegian coal freighter and sank in 14 minutes. It seems like just another ordinary crash but there was more. What makes it special is that on this boat there were 120 Christians, Salvation Army youths who decided they would not live for themselves but for others. They had managed to grab hold of life vests when the boat was sinking, but they realised that not everyone had a life vest and people were going to die. So spontaneously, without discussion, they took off their life vests and threw it to other people around them in order to save them. One of the people who got such a vest was a 30 year old man, fit and in the prime of his life. He got a vest from a girl half his age. His pride refused to take it and he threw it back at her and said "Save yourself! You're only a girl half my age" There and then, she turns to him in the freezing cold water, looks him in the eye and says these words he would never forget: "Take it. I will die better than you." Because she knew where she was going, she was saved, but she did not know if he was. And he took it and swam away. And all over around that boat in the freezing waters, many of these Salvation Army youths were giving their live vests away, knowing they would die without it. And that night, all 120 of them died.
But what made them do it? What made all these young people, with destinies to fulfill in God, with lives to live and families, schools, jobs all ahead of them, decide to sacrifice themselves? Well it starts with a man called William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. Every year he wrote a letter to all the Salvation Army people, sharing his heart and vision for the year. And as he grew older, ill and weak, his letters were progressively shorter. And in 1912, the year he died, the last letter he ever wrote to them consisted of 1 word. It said, 'Others'.
Others. Living for a life for others. Not just about me, my school, my career, my family, my future, my boyfriend/girlfriend. But others. The people around me. In my family. In school. At work. At the table across you at Macdonald's. In the bus beside you. Others. Others. Others.
At this point many people ask get scared. They are unsure. Sure it sounds like a nice idea. But hey, you don't know my life. I've got so many things to worry about you know. Wait, I need to settle myself first then I'll live for others. Or, I'm scared to. I don't know how to. What if the person I'm nice to, rejects me? How can I live for others?
But it's really simple. You don't need to do some heroic sacrifice, don't need to run into a burning building to save someone, don't need to give your life vest away. It's about what Liane and Joyce Chua wrote about. It is really just LOVE. The 15 Revolution. It's about loving other people, caring about other people, being interested in their lives. If you want it even simpler, I can break it down for you in 2 steps. It's just:
1. See the need.
2. Meet the need.
It doesn't require millions of dollars donated to charity, but it begins with the smallest things in the world - buying someone chocolate to say "hey, I just thought of you". Or saying something encouraging/giving them a compliment. Or seeing someone who seems down and going up to the person, daring to put yourself on the line and say "hey I noticed you seem a bit down. Are you okay?"
And maybe you will not be appreciated. Maybe the person will think you are weird. Maybe they will just stare at you and walk away. But you never know till you try. Maybe you would have impacted them but they were afraid of being vulnerable so they didn't tell you. But when they are down, they will know that there was this person who was nice to them and in future, when they are really in need they will come to you. And more likely than not, they will reach right back to you if you reach out to them. Maybe you will find out something about someone and you can build a relationship with that person and through it bring that person to Christ. Everyone has needs, we just need to see it and meet it. It's about not living for yourself but for others. Yes we have the solution in Jesus. But people don’t care how much we know, until they know how much we care.
And if you are worried that you are too busy, it's too difficult to, I have so many problems - well, it's just a small step to love someone, to open up your eyes to see a need and meet it. And as you keep doing it, as you start to live for others, you realise that despite having problems, they don't seem so big, not so overwhelming anymore. You realise that hey, compared to this other person, I have a pretty good life. And my problems are nothing compared to that other person. And I don't have time to be sad and emo over my small issues when I have lives to change and hearts to love, and God to bring into their lives.
And also, when you love and live for others, God helps you with your life. Things move supernaturally. The power of God comes. Just trust God that as you start to build the dreams of others, God will build your dreams and make them come to pass. Pst How and Pst Lia never set out to build a big church and preach overseas. They started the church when they saw a need and met it. Today's youth ministry came when Pst Lia realised that there were 9 youths who didn't fit into CCH. She saw the need and met it. Today, the youth church is over 900 strong. Back then Pst How and Pst Lia gave up good careers, and good businesses in order to give God and others their best. Today, their dreams are coming to pass - there is a generation of people who are giving the best years of their lives to God the same way they did. I cannot explain it. But you will experience it.
Simple isn't it? It is simple. Jesus gives us 2 commandments - Love God and love others. But if Christians know it and strive to be more and more Christ-like why are we not changing the world?
There is a very simple answer. And before I get to that answer there is a question I want to ask. What is the opposite of love?
And many people will say, hate. And it seems so. But the truth is that love and hate are on the same side. If I love animals I will hate animal abusers. If I love God I hate the devil. They are together.
No, the real difference is APATHY. INDIFFERENCE. It's the attitude of Cain, when God asks him where is his brother Abel (who he had just murdered), he tells God "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9).
And it's such a big problem in the world today. 2 years ago, I accompanied Pst How to preach in another church's youth camp. They were children of successful businessmen, prominent people, powerful ministers, lawyers, doctors, bankers. They were, and are going to grow up to be the future leaders, movers and shakers of Singapore society. But it was so strange. When Pst How preached to them about loving others, shared that same Princess of Ireland story that I just did, they didn't get it. When Pst How shared with them that loving others means standing up for a boy in class who gets bullied for being effeminate, they giggled. When Pst How said how loving others means sitting down and listening to a crying classmate confess that her family is going through a divorce, they tittered. This is the generation of Christians today...who are going to be successful with no soul, with no heart for people. They will be affluent and have influence but are cold and clinical, heartless and do not care about others.
The reason why Christians today are ineffective is because they are either super spiritual and thus irrelevant, or religious, regressive and backward, or they are influential but indifferent. That is why AI is so important. We want to be affluent to have influence. To do well WHILE doing good. To use our influence to change our worlds, help those who cannot help themselves. The God I know, a tower of refuge; the church I know, strengthens the weak.
So after this long post, what am I trying to say? I'm trying to say - Live for others. And to do that you need to care enough, to see the need. Then meet it. It's not longer about us but about others. And if you don't have it yet, get a revelation of it. It's not just words, not just hype and emotions that you feel when you read this or hear a sermon about this, but it is a conviction that must last you your whole life. So, ask God for His heart. We call ourselves Heart of God church, we want to have the heart of God. And the heart of God is ALWAYS, ALWAYS about OTHERS.
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity
This story begins in 1914, when a ship called the Empress of Ireland sank. It hit a Norwegian coal freighter and sank in 14 minutes. It seems like just another ordinary crash but there was more. What makes it special is that on this boat there were 120 Christians, Salvation Army youths who decided they would not live for themselves but for others. They had managed to grab hold of life vests when the boat was sinking, but they realised that not everyone had a life vest and people were going to die. So spontaneously, without discussion, they took off their life vests and threw it to other people around them in order to save them. One of the people who got such a vest was a 30 year old man, fit and in the prime of his life. He got a vest from a girl half his age. His pride refused to take it and he threw it back at her and said "Save yourself! You're only a girl half my age" There and then, she turns to him in the freezing cold water, looks him in the eye and says these words he would never forget: "Take it. I will die better than you." Because she knew where she was going, she was saved, but she did not know if he was. And he took it and swam away. And all over around that boat in the freezing waters, many of these Salvation Army youths were giving their live vests away, knowing they would die without it. And that night, all 120 of them died.
But what made them do it? What made all these young people, with destinies to fulfill in God, with lives to live and families, schools, jobs all ahead of them, decide to sacrifice themselves? Well it starts with a man called William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. Every year he wrote a letter to all the Salvation Army people, sharing his heart and vision for the year. And as he grew older, ill and weak, his letters were progressively shorter. And in 1912, the year he died, the last letter he ever wrote to them consisted of 1 word. It said, 'Others'.
Others. Living for a life for others. Not just about me, my school, my career, my family, my future, my boyfriend/girlfriend. But others. The people around me. In my family. In school. At work. At the table across you at Macdonald's. In the bus beside you. Others. Others. Others.
At this point many people ask get scared. They are unsure. Sure it sounds like a nice idea. But hey, you don't know my life. I've got so many things to worry about you know. Wait, I need to settle myself first then I'll live for others. Or, I'm scared to. I don't know how to. What if the person I'm nice to, rejects me? How can I live for others?
But it's really simple. You don't need to do some heroic sacrifice, don't need to run into a burning building to save someone, don't need to give your life vest away. It's about what Liane and Joyce Chua wrote about. It is really just LOVE. The 15 Revolution. It's about loving other people, caring about other people, being interested in their lives. If you want it even simpler, I can break it down for you in 2 steps. It's just:
1. See the need.
2. Meet the need.
It doesn't require millions of dollars donated to charity, but it begins with the smallest things in the world - buying someone chocolate to say "hey, I just thought of you". Or saying something encouraging/giving them a compliment. Or seeing someone who seems down and going up to the person, daring to put yourself on the line and say "hey I noticed you seem a bit down. Are you okay?"
And maybe you will not be appreciated. Maybe the person will think you are weird. Maybe they will just stare at you and walk away. But you never know till you try. Maybe you would have impacted them but they were afraid of being vulnerable so they didn't tell you. But when they are down, they will know that there was this person who was nice to them and in future, when they are really in need they will come to you. And more likely than not, they will reach right back to you if you reach out to them. Maybe you will find out something about someone and you can build a relationship with that person and through it bring that person to Christ. Everyone has needs, we just need to see it and meet it. It's about not living for yourself but for others. Yes we have the solution in Jesus. But people don’t care how much we know, until they know how much we care.
And if you are worried that you are too busy, it's too difficult to, I have so many problems - well, it's just a small step to love someone, to open up your eyes to see a need and meet it. And as you keep doing it, as you start to live for others, you realise that despite having problems, they don't seem so big, not so overwhelming anymore. You realise that hey, compared to this other person, I have a pretty good life. And my problems are nothing compared to that other person. And I don't have time to be sad and emo over my small issues when I have lives to change and hearts to love, and God to bring into their lives.
And also, when you love and live for others, God helps you with your life. Things move supernaturally. The power of God comes. Just trust God that as you start to build the dreams of others, God will build your dreams and make them come to pass. Pst How and Pst Lia never set out to build a big church and preach overseas. They started the church when they saw a need and met it. Today's youth ministry came when Pst Lia realised that there were 9 youths who didn't fit into CCH. She saw the need and met it. Today, the youth church is over 900 strong. Back then Pst How and Pst Lia gave up good careers, and good businesses in order to give God and others their best. Today, their dreams are coming to pass - there is a generation of people who are giving the best years of their lives to God the same way they did. I cannot explain it. But you will experience it.
Simple isn't it? It is simple. Jesus gives us 2 commandments - Love God and love others. But if Christians know it and strive to be more and more Christ-like why are we not changing the world?
There is a very simple answer. And before I get to that answer there is a question I want to ask. What is the opposite of love?
And many people will say, hate. And it seems so. But the truth is that love and hate are on the same side. If I love animals I will hate animal abusers. If I love God I hate the devil. They are together.
No, the real difference is APATHY. INDIFFERENCE. It's the attitude of Cain, when God asks him where is his brother Abel (who he had just murdered), he tells God "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9).
And it's such a big problem in the world today. 2 years ago, I accompanied Pst How to preach in another church's youth camp. They were children of successful businessmen, prominent people, powerful ministers, lawyers, doctors, bankers. They were, and are going to grow up to be the future leaders, movers and shakers of Singapore society. But it was so strange. When Pst How preached to them about loving others, shared that same Princess of Ireland story that I just did, they didn't get it. When Pst How shared with them that loving others means standing up for a boy in class who gets bullied for being effeminate, they giggled. When Pst How said how loving others means sitting down and listening to a crying classmate confess that her family is going through a divorce, they tittered. This is the generation of Christians today...who are going to be successful with no soul, with no heart for people. They will be affluent and have influence but are cold and clinical, heartless and do not care about others.
The reason why Christians today are ineffective is because they are either super spiritual and thus irrelevant, or religious, regressive and backward, or they are influential but indifferent. That is why AI is so important. We want to be affluent to have influence. To do well WHILE doing good. To use our influence to change our worlds, help those who cannot help themselves. The God I know, a tower of refuge; the church I know, strengthens the weak.
So after this long post, what am I trying to say? I'm trying to say - Live for others. And to do that you need to care enough, to see the need. Then meet it. It's not longer about us but about others. And if you don't have it yet, get a revelation of it. It's not just words, not just hype and emotions that you feel when you read this or hear a sermon about this, but it is a conviction that must last you your whole life. So, ask God for His heart. We call ourselves Heart of God church, we want to have the heart of God. And the heart of God is ALWAYS, ALWAYS about OTHERS.
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity
Saturday, March 28, 2009
15 Revolution
Hey Liane! Your blog totally took the words out of my mouth! I’ve been wanting to blog about love for so long that I left two drafts hanging because I just couldn’t seem the get it out of me.
Personally to me, loving others have become more than just a one-off decision that I have to make in my life. Loving-others is an everyday decision and effort that an individual makes.
Personally to me, loving others have become more than just a one-off decision that I have to make in my life. Loving-others is an everyday decision and effort that an individual makes.
Loving others is a lifestyle that one will choose to have. It goes beyond the walls of our comfort and steps into another world that may seem unfamiliar. It causes us to get uncomfortable at times just to make someone’s day.
Loving others requires one person to have a pre-made decision that the day shall not be all about him/her. It means telling God, “Hey, I choose to make myself available for You, just so I can show Your love to someone else today.” Sometimes, it even means making an effort to keep a lookout just to meet a need!
When Ps Paul Scanlon preached about 15 Revolution, it totally blew me away! That’s what loving people is all about! It’s more than just inviting them to church, it’s ultimate about having a relationship with them and loving them.
As I began to put these things into practice, I saw its amazing outcome! Doing the 15 revolution doesn’t mean you have to find a stranger and meet their needs. While that may be great, anyone of us can really start by impacting the people in our own world.
Recently in my class, we had a presentation that was done based on Academic Writing. Among all of our presentation, there was one group that truly shined through and was nominated the best among the tutorial group. I realized that one of my classmate spoke very well. A few minutes later, I saw him in the lab and he was just busy doing his own work. I decided to just compliment him and said that he spoke and prepared well. Honestly, the guy has been avoiding me for some time because I’ve invited him to church before (haha, some bad mistakes there). As I complimented him, you could see the gleam of appreciation that came from his face as he explained that they really prepared it quite late. He felt glad that his hard work had really paid off.
From these experience and many more, I realized that simple compliments as these can truly make someone else’s day. =) It’s about noticing the smallest things about the person that makes them see that you appreciate them.
Heart of God church was the product of our Pastor’s love for others and people… and the same heart is in our leaders. In Zone G, we are a generation of people who will live a alternate life. It’s beyond just fulfilling our dreams and overcoming our circumstances… Its bringing the love of God into the lives of others while doing good.
Let’s make a difference. Let’s love God, love Others and love Life.
Loving others requires one person to have a pre-made decision that the day shall not be all about him/her. It means telling God, “Hey, I choose to make myself available for You, just so I can show Your love to someone else today.” Sometimes, it even means making an effort to keep a lookout just to meet a need!
When Ps Paul Scanlon preached about 15 Revolution, it totally blew me away! That’s what loving people is all about! It’s more than just inviting them to church, it’s ultimate about having a relationship with them and loving them.
As I began to put these things into practice, I saw its amazing outcome! Doing the 15 revolution doesn’t mean you have to find a stranger and meet their needs. While that may be great, anyone of us can really start by impacting the people in our own world.
Recently in my class, we had a presentation that was done based on Academic Writing. Among all of our presentation, there was one group that truly shined through and was nominated the best among the tutorial group. I realized that one of my classmate spoke very well. A few minutes later, I saw him in the lab and he was just busy doing his own work. I decided to just compliment him and said that he spoke and prepared well. Honestly, the guy has been avoiding me for some time because I’ve invited him to church before (haha, some bad mistakes there). As I complimented him, you could see the gleam of appreciation that came from his face as he explained that they really prepared it quite late. He felt glad that his hard work had really paid off.
From these experience and many more, I realized that simple compliments as these can truly make someone else’s day. =) It’s about noticing the smallest things about the person that makes them see that you appreciate them.
Heart of God church was the product of our Pastor’s love for others and people… and the same heart is in our leaders. In Zone G, we are a generation of people who will live a alternate life. It’s beyond just fulfilling our dreams and overcoming our circumstances… Its bringing the love of God into the lives of others while doing good.
Let’s make a difference. Let’s love God, love Others and love Life.
2 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Love
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
The Greatest Gift
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
A few weeks ago, I asked God to give me motivation, something to drive me to do what I do. Honestly, I had grown quite tired. Work, tuition, Zone G services, CGs, weekend services...all these things pack up my week back to back (where has all my alone time gone to?!). For those of you who know me personally, talking to people or simply being around people is something I find extremely tiring (so G30, now you know…hahaha). I guess I am the person Paul is talking to when he addressed the Corinthian Church, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit but have not love.
Well, we all know that God answers prayers.
Last week, I met up with some of my council juniors from secondary school. Though I was pretty fierce with them, or so I hear, I love them all like my little sisters, my little darlings. I would never have let anything happen to them if I could help it. So you can imagine the shock I went through when I heard what one of my juniors had to go through in her life, right under my nose, while I was still council head. My heart shattered into pieces right there and then. The guilt that followed after that was even more unbearable. I thought to myself, how could I not have known this? Would things have been different if I had bothered more, if I had made a more conscious effort to find out about her life and love her?
With her story ringing in my head, I stood, absolutely disgusted with myself, knowing that it wasn’t my fault she had to go through all this, but it was mine that it could have been avoided, if only I bothered to love.
At that moment, I found the motivation I was praying for. There are so many people around me, each with their own story, their own hurts and struggles, each looking for a way out, looking for some meaning in all this. I can choose to stay in my own comfort zone, to be oblivious to the people in my world, or I can open up my heart, go into their lives and love them, just like what Jesus has done for me. For many of us Christians, it is only too easy to receive Jesus into our lives and then forget about everyone else around us. I mean, it doesn’t matter if the rest don’t know Jesus, it’s up to them after all, it’s none of my business, I have too much to do, with so little time. Is that what it is? If we believe so much in salvation, if we believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, that He is the only way to the Father, then why do we not bother to love those around us and let them know about Him?
During the Zone G ‘I Love’ series, Garrett preached about loving our generation. Let me tell you something, love isn’t all that lovey-dovey, mushy nonsense, fluffy pink hearts and balloons and Godiva chocolates and bouquets of red roses. Love, among many other things, being others-centred, showing them that we care, that He cares.
On that same note, let’s not be freaky Christians okay. While I was opening the mail that comes into the office, I found a package containing a box of chocolates in the shape of ducks, peeling and crumbling, with flyers to a church event. My first thought, no wonder people think Christians are freaky. Please don’t go around yelling about how the world is coming to an end and all those who are not saved will burn in hell. People don’t care how much you know, or what you know, until they know how much you care.
The wise, rich and powerful may change the world, but those who love touch the hearts of man.
The Greatest Gift
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
A few weeks ago, I asked God to give me motivation, something to drive me to do what I do. Honestly, I had grown quite tired. Work, tuition, Zone G services, CGs, weekend services...all these things pack up my week back to back (where has all my alone time gone to?!). For those of you who know me personally, talking to people or simply being around people is something I find extremely tiring (so G30, now you know…hahaha). I guess I am the person Paul is talking to when he addressed the Corinthian Church, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit but have not love.
Well, we all know that God answers prayers.
Last week, I met up with some of my council juniors from secondary school. Though I was pretty fierce with them, or so I hear, I love them all like my little sisters, my little darlings. I would never have let anything happen to them if I could help it. So you can imagine the shock I went through when I heard what one of my juniors had to go through in her life, right under my nose, while I was still council head. My heart shattered into pieces right there and then. The guilt that followed after that was even more unbearable. I thought to myself, how could I not have known this? Would things have been different if I had bothered more, if I had made a more conscious effort to find out about her life and love her?
With her story ringing in my head, I stood, absolutely disgusted with myself, knowing that it wasn’t my fault she had to go through all this, but it was mine that it could have been avoided, if only I bothered to love.
At that moment, I found the motivation I was praying for. There are so many people around me, each with their own story, their own hurts and struggles, each looking for a way out, looking for some meaning in all this. I can choose to stay in my own comfort zone, to be oblivious to the people in my world, or I can open up my heart, go into their lives and love them, just like what Jesus has done for me. For many of us Christians, it is only too easy to receive Jesus into our lives and then forget about everyone else around us. I mean, it doesn’t matter if the rest don’t know Jesus, it’s up to them after all, it’s none of my business, I have too much to do, with so little time. Is that what it is? If we believe so much in salvation, if we believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, that He is the only way to the Father, then why do we not bother to love those around us and let them know about Him?
During the Zone G ‘I Love’ series, Garrett preached about loving our generation. Let me tell you something, love isn’t all that lovey-dovey, mushy nonsense, fluffy pink hearts and balloons and Godiva chocolates and bouquets of red roses. Love, among many other things, being others-centred, showing them that we care, that He cares.
On that same note, let’s not be freaky Christians okay. While I was opening the mail that comes into the office, I found a package containing a box of chocolates in the shape of ducks, peeling and crumbling, with flyers to a church event. My first thought, no wonder people think Christians are freaky. Please don’t go around yelling about how the world is coming to an end and all those who are not saved will burn in hell. People don’t care how much you know, or what you know, until they know how much you care.
The wise, rich and powerful may change the world, but those who love touch the hearts of man.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Seminar with Sy Rogers
Well, last weekend’s Seminar with Sy Rogers was nothing short of a blast, I’m sure many of you would agree. Sy Rogers IS extremely gifted, not to mention downright hilarious. More than anything, his messages are founded on essential truths and life experiences.
Over the weekend, Sy Rogers shared about raising sexually healthier children in a world of risk and ministered to those who might have gone through similar experiences in their lives. What ministered to me the most was his message on ‘Thoroughness’.
If you are an ardent follower of my blog, which you should be (ahem), you might have read an entry I was wrote, titled ‘Sin and Redemption’, followed by another titled ‘Homosexuality’. Some time ago, I had a powerful revelation about what it means to be a sinner and how God can redeem us in spite of our sins. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, all of us are human and we will fall short. Like what Sy Rogers quoted, Christians in church should really be called ‘Sinners Anonymous’. We are not perfect and we often fall victim to temptation. These temptations do not simply disappear with a wave of God’s magic wand, but we become stronger and overcome by choosing God over that particular temptation over and over again. It’s very much like being in a relationship. A married couple may be tempted by other more beautiful and good looking people out there, but choosing to remain faithful and true to their spouse, in spite of being surrounded by hunks and babes from all the corners of the earth, now that is true love.
Yet, in spite of that revelation, I never really thought about being thoroughly cleansed by God. On Sunday evening, Sy Rogers shared about Naaman in 2 Kings 5. Naaman was an excellent soldier, respected by everyone, but a leper. After seeking a prophet of God (Elisha) to cleanse himself of lerosy, Naaman was told to dip in the River Jordan seven times, and he was thoroughly cleansed, his skin like that of a little child.
That message really hit me. All of us have certain things we struggle with in our lives. We may have to humble ourselves and take the advice of servants and subordinates, we may have to actively seek out the prophet of God and we may have to do seemingly embarrassing and useless things like dipping ourselves in the river seven times, but at the end of the day, GOD WILL CLEANSE US OF OUR LEPROSY. Yes, we have to try, we have to keep choosing God, we have to keep dipping ourselves in the river, but GOD WILL CLEANSE OUR LEPROSY.
Never before have I been confronted with my humanity in such a powerful manner. As we all stood up to worship and spend time in the presence of God, I thought about all those who have struggled and fought difficult battles in their lives. Some people have given up and conformed to the world, accepting their weaknesses and giving up the fight altogether. What if they had stayed and continued dipping in the river the third time, the fifth time, the seventh time? A thorough cleansing was promised; it is not God who cannot follow through, it is us. And while many of may try to succeed in our own strengths and capabilities, dipping in the river seven times, seventy times or even seventy times seven times would not have quite the same effect as when it is a spoken word from God. This is why we need God.
It is a decision we have to make. Do we choose to be people who have given up the fight, who have chosen to be held captive by the sins they struggle with? Or do we choose to be people who are aware of our sins, and even more aware that God can thoroughly cleanse us of these sins?
Keep going…don’t give up.:)
Over the weekend, Sy Rogers shared about raising sexually healthier children in a world of risk and ministered to those who might have gone through similar experiences in their lives. What ministered to me the most was his message on ‘Thoroughness’.
If you are an ardent follower of my blog, which you should be (ahem), you might have read an entry I was wrote, titled ‘Sin and Redemption’, followed by another titled ‘Homosexuality’. Some time ago, I had a powerful revelation about what it means to be a sinner and how God can redeem us in spite of our sins. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, all of us are human and we will fall short. Like what Sy Rogers quoted, Christians in church should really be called ‘Sinners Anonymous’. We are not perfect and we often fall victim to temptation. These temptations do not simply disappear with a wave of God’s magic wand, but we become stronger and overcome by choosing God over that particular temptation over and over again. It’s very much like being in a relationship. A married couple may be tempted by other more beautiful and good looking people out there, but choosing to remain faithful and true to their spouse, in spite of being surrounded by hunks and babes from all the corners of the earth, now that is true love.
Yet, in spite of that revelation, I never really thought about being thoroughly cleansed by God. On Sunday evening, Sy Rogers shared about Naaman in 2 Kings 5. Naaman was an excellent soldier, respected by everyone, but a leper. After seeking a prophet of God (Elisha) to cleanse himself of lerosy, Naaman was told to dip in the River Jordan seven times, and he was thoroughly cleansed, his skin like that of a little child.
That message really hit me. All of us have certain things we struggle with in our lives. We may have to humble ourselves and take the advice of servants and subordinates, we may have to actively seek out the prophet of God and we may have to do seemingly embarrassing and useless things like dipping ourselves in the river seven times, but at the end of the day, GOD WILL CLEANSE US OF OUR LEPROSY. Yes, we have to try, we have to keep choosing God, we have to keep dipping ourselves in the river, but GOD WILL CLEANSE OUR LEPROSY.
Never before have I been confronted with my humanity in such a powerful manner. As we all stood up to worship and spend time in the presence of God, I thought about all those who have struggled and fought difficult battles in their lives. Some people have given up and conformed to the world, accepting their weaknesses and giving up the fight altogether. What if they had stayed and continued dipping in the river the third time, the fifth time, the seventh time? A thorough cleansing was promised; it is not God who cannot follow through, it is us. And while many of may try to succeed in our own strengths and capabilities, dipping in the river seven times, seventy times or even seventy times seven times would not have quite the same effect as when it is a spoken word from God. This is why we need God.
It is a decision we have to make. Do we choose to be people who have given up the fight, who have chosen to be held captive by the sins they struggle with? Or do we choose to be people who are aware of our sins, and even more aware that God can thoroughly cleanse us of these sins?
Keep going…don’t give up.:)
Friday, March 20, 2009
Opinion, Conviction and Truth
Over the past two weeks, CGs have been preaching about convictions, specifically, personal convictions. During last week's Zone G service, Garrett preached a great message about convictions.
Convictions are very powerful. To be able to say that you are convicted about something is a powerful statement in itself. Yet many people live their lives without convictions.
What are convictions? I asked myself this question just before writing this entry about convictions. What are convictions, what are my convictions and why am I convicted about these things?
The ever-reliable dictionary.com defines conviction a fixed or firm belief, or the state of being convinced. A fixed or firm belief, something that you are convinced about. So, what am I convicted about?
I’m convinced about many things in life. I’m convinced that God is real; this is my fixed and firm belief that nothing and no one can shake me out of. I’m convinced because I’ve seen God work in my life, I’ve heard Him speak to my heart and I’ve seen Him work in other people’s lives. Having a multitude of people who share your convictions usually helps.
Then I started asking myself, assuming everyone in church is of this fixed and firm belief that God is real, why then do people backslide so easily?
This is what I concluded.
Their convictions are not real, they are simply opinions. Once again, dictionary.com defines an opinion as a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. People come to church, seeing all the lights, the great music and atmosphere, tasting the presence of God for the very first time, and they form the opinion that God is real. The grounds of which this opinion is formed is still raw and most definitely insufficient. Hence, these opinions lack complete certainty. In the same way, most non-believers are of the opinion that God does not exist, or that many gods co-exist.
I believe that opinions need to be tested, argued and dealt with logically. I get excited whenever I meet someone who is not entirely convinced that God is real, and that He is the only God in existence, because that is an opportunity for me to share my convictions. Having the opinion that God exists, without any real grounds to back it up, is like planting a seed in cotton wool; the seedling grows up to 5cm max, weak and easily shaken. This is why I don’t try and ‘convert’ people. I don’t believe in ‘conversion’, I believe in conviction. I want to show you why I believe in God, be it in word or action, and whether you believe or not is a choice you can make for yourself. That makes it more real.
Having said this, God is not something that you can argue out logically, at least not entirely. He works by seeing then believing. But that’s another story for another day.
Opinions have to be tested and proven before they become convictions. Convictions are firm and fixed. And as your convictions grow strong, backed up with evidence and sustainable grounds, they become truth, a verified and indisuputable fact.
Once, I shared Christ to one of my best friends, who happens to be a Muslim. I shared with her about this God, who knew us even before we were formed, who planned for our lives, who understood the sufferings, afflictions and weaknesses of Man and sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us so that our sins can be redeemed. I shared about Jesus, who loved all as He did Himself, whose love, selflessness and obedience led to the salvation of mankind, who had so much love for people, He even prayed for the very people who crucified Him.
Her reply was, ‘Wow, if only that were all true.’
That’s my conviction, my truth, but simply her opinion of what would be a great conviction and truth.
Can you see the difference?
Don’t be satisfied being of the opinion that God is real. Be ready to turn your opinions into convictions, and you will see your convictions becoming truth.
Convictions are very powerful. To be able to say that you are convicted about something is a powerful statement in itself. Yet many people live their lives without convictions.
What are convictions? I asked myself this question just before writing this entry about convictions. What are convictions, what are my convictions and why am I convicted about these things?
The ever-reliable dictionary.com defines conviction a fixed or firm belief, or the state of being convinced. A fixed or firm belief, something that you are convinced about. So, what am I convicted about?
I’m convinced about many things in life. I’m convinced that God is real; this is my fixed and firm belief that nothing and no one can shake me out of. I’m convinced because I’ve seen God work in my life, I’ve heard Him speak to my heart and I’ve seen Him work in other people’s lives. Having a multitude of people who share your convictions usually helps.
Then I started asking myself, assuming everyone in church is of this fixed and firm belief that God is real, why then do people backslide so easily?
This is what I concluded.
Their convictions are not real, they are simply opinions. Once again, dictionary.com defines an opinion as a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. People come to church, seeing all the lights, the great music and atmosphere, tasting the presence of God for the very first time, and they form the opinion that God is real. The grounds of which this opinion is formed is still raw and most definitely insufficient. Hence, these opinions lack complete certainty. In the same way, most non-believers are of the opinion that God does not exist, or that many gods co-exist.
I believe that opinions need to be tested, argued and dealt with logically. I get excited whenever I meet someone who is not entirely convinced that God is real, and that He is the only God in existence, because that is an opportunity for me to share my convictions. Having the opinion that God exists, without any real grounds to back it up, is like planting a seed in cotton wool; the seedling grows up to 5cm max, weak and easily shaken. This is why I don’t try and ‘convert’ people. I don’t believe in ‘conversion’, I believe in conviction. I want to show you why I believe in God, be it in word or action, and whether you believe or not is a choice you can make for yourself. That makes it more real.
Having said this, God is not something that you can argue out logically, at least not entirely. He works by seeing then believing. But that’s another story for another day.
Opinions have to be tested and proven before they become convictions. Convictions are firm and fixed. And as your convictions grow strong, backed up with evidence and sustainable grounds, they become truth, a verified and indisuputable fact.
Once, I shared Christ to one of my best friends, who happens to be a Muslim. I shared with her about this God, who knew us even before we were formed, who planned for our lives, who understood the sufferings, afflictions and weaknesses of Man and sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us so that our sins can be redeemed. I shared about Jesus, who loved all as He did Himself, whose love, selflessness and obedience led to the salvation of mankind, who had so much love for people, He even prayed for the very people who crucified Him.
Her reply was, ‘Wow, if only that were all true.’
That’s my conviction, my truth, but simply her opinion of what would be a great conviction and truth.
Can you see the difference?
Don’t be satisfied being of the opinion that God is real. Be ready to turn your opinions into convictions, and you will see your convictions becoming truth.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Services over the weekend
We had 2 great and powerful services over the weekend. On Sat, Pst How preached on Offenses and on Sun, Pst Paul Scanlon preached on loving people, the 15 Revolution.
It's so great to have Pastors back with us. When they are gone, it just feels wrong, and when you see them back on stage, everything just seems to settle back in place. Haha I hope you know what I mean! But anyway Pst How preached a great word. We can't be so easily offended...because offenses lead to betrayal and then to hate and deception and lawlessness and lovelessness! That's just scary. We have a great culture of speaking life in here and loving people, let's keep it strong and be big people who have such big visions that we don't have time for small petty offenses!
And on Sunday Pst Paul preached such a great word, I hope you can find a way to hear it if you weren't there! When we reach out we aren't spooky or weird, but we just love people, care about them, genuinely interested in their lives. That's how we want to grow the church - organically and not through events. Events are great but the best is still relationship evangelism! :) Think of it, wasn't it a friend or someone close that brought you to church? :) "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."
Let's all take up the 15 Revolution, to commit 15mins a day to be inconvenienced by someone that we want to love. It doesn't require huge sacrifices but just that we open our eyes and love the people around us.
Before I end off a question that Pst Paul posed: What do you want people to say about your church? That it's a place filled with weird people, or the people who always stick to themselves? Or do we to impact our community, our world so much that any foreigner approaching a stranger to ask where Heart of God church is, would immediately be able to get directions because everyone knows who we are? And being known not for the sake of popularity but because we do such a good work there. And if Heart of God church ever closes down, the community would miss us?
15 REVOLUTION, ARE YOU IN? :)
It's so great to have Pastors back with us. When they are gone, it just feels wrong, and when you see them back on stage, everything just seems to settle back in place. Haha I hope you know what I mean! But anyway Pst How preached a great word. We can't be so easily offended...because offenses lead to betrayal and then to hate and deception and lawlessness and lovelessness! That's just scary. We have a great culture of speaking life in here and loving people, let's keep it strong and be big people who have such big visions that we don't have time for small petty offenses!
And on Sunday Pst Paul preached such a great word, I hope you can find a way to hear it if you weren't there! When we reach out we aren't spooky or weird, but we just love people, care about them, genuinely interested in their lives. That's how we want to grow the church - organically and not through events. Events are great but the best is still relationship evangelism! :) Think of it, wasn't it a friend or someone close that brought you to church? :) "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."
Let's all take up the 15 Revolution, to commit 15mins a day to be inconvenienced by someone that we want to love. It doesn't require huge sacrifices but just that we open our eyes and love the people around us.
Before I end off a question that Pst Paul posed: What do you want people to say about your church? That it's a place filled with weird people, or the people who always stick to themselves? Or do we to impact our community, our world so much that any foreigner approaching a stranger to ask where Heart of God church is, would immediately be able to get directions because everyone knows who we are? And being known not for the sake of popularity but because we do such a good work there. And if Heart of God church ever closes down, the community would miss us?
15 REVOLUTION, ARE YOU IN? :)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
I wonder if this suffices for a title
Yay, I get to post second! And I'm kind of irritated that Blogger doesn't have any fonts that I really like. Though I possibly could just be terribly incompetent at blogging. Never quite had the desire to exposit about my life on the internet for some reason.
So urm...I was going to ramble about more stuff but I got distracted by something shiny. So I'll just end by saying G Zone Rocks! Yeah! =)
So urm...I was going to ramble about more stuff but I got distracted by something shiny. So I'll just end by saying G Zone Rocks! Yeah! =)
Couple more hours to the next Zone G service. Planning the service and seeing everything come together....then seeing everyone in the room just worshipping God and lives being changed, well you can't say that there's anything greater than that :) Can't wait for more lives to be changed tonight!
This blog will be announced in service soon....can't wait for everyone to be here! :)
This blog will be announced in service soon....can't wait for everyone to be here! :)
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