I spent the first few years of my Christian walk in a charismatic church. That was when I was 12. I switched to a traditional church (Lutheran) when I was 14-15. When I was 16, I tried out a new church which was quite far from home. The third church had a great atmosphere, the congregation shared a huge passion in serving God and to know more about Him. It was a great environment for me to grow. But I couldn't commit myself into attending a church that would be incovenient on both my mother's part and mine, plus the Youth Service every Saturday was from 12 pm till 5 pm. I continued my attendance in Lutheran, but that did not really get me anywhere, purely because I was at a stage in my life when I was just weird, and that traditional churches, if you're not mature enough to understand the approach to traditional worship, you would be lost. This is, of course, my personal view.
Then I went to college. I was 18. During my time in college, I attended City Revival and a Prebysterian church. Both were great, but SL and I chose City Revival, mainly because we love how the services are conducted. I continued attending City Revival till a few weeks ago, when I realised I needed fellowship. I prayed to God for an answer, and felt that SL and I would get more from attending ECF.
So far, I have been to 4 charismatic churches, and 2 traditional churches, so to speak. I'm discounting the fact that I have been to a Baptist church for a few months, which is also a charismatic church. For these enriching experiences, I can find no fault in either one denomination. The truth is, it all depends on what you place merit in. All denominations under the Protestant flag share a common message. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ.
I did my daily devotional this morning. God impressed on me a very interesting text :-
As believers in Jesus Christ, it’s vital for us to know God’s Word, the Bible. Our goal is not to accumulate knowledge but to internalize His Word so that we can be equipped in our walk of faith.
When we know God’s Word, it keeps our spiritual walk from slipping (Ps. 37:31). It satisfies the hunger of our souls (Jer. 15:16). And it is a key weapon in facing temptations and trials (Matt. 4:1-11; Eph. 6:10-18).
Let’s make it our aim to know the Word. Then, when facing life’s challenges, we can be ready for any situation (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
— Dennis Fisher (Our Daily Bread 22nd May 2008)
I went back to Ipoh last week, so I attended my family church (Lutheran New Life). The pastor shared a wonderful message about the Holy Spirit. His sermon was titled Pentescostal Power.
The Pentecost marks the first event of the manisfestation of the Holy Spirit. As Christians, we are often reminded we are the temple of God, that our body is where the Holy Spirit dwells in us. The perfect example to derive the existence of the Holy Spirit would be from the book of Acts chapter 2. God poured out His Holy Spirit, so that His believers could be filled with His power and serve the Lord in His glory. This event is vital to us. It draws the picture of God's intention for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, that we are enpowered to serve Him.
We are bestowed upon us a brain and all its cognitive functions. Wisdom is given unto men, and with our human mind, we create understanding of words and speeches. We are capable of thinking. We are capable of manipulating facts. If we're cunning and scheming enough, we are capable of twisting the truth and bend it anyway we want it to. Such has been the advancement of the creation that the notion that we are God, we don't need God, forms in our finite mind. The more we have, the smarter we are, the higher we place ourselves above others, the more difficult it is to bow down and kneel on our knees to submit to God as our Lord and Master.
The Bible travelled through thick and thin to end in our hands. Whenever we are in doubt, we should always go back to basics- the Bible. Whatever we're going through and about to go through, we can find solace that God has been with people that had gone through the same difficulties we're going through now. There are infinite examples we can find in the Bible that speak great volumes about the mess we got ourselves into. It does not neccessarily need to be a mistrial or a mishap, we may be faced with questions that we can't answer, and where else to find better answers than from the Bible.
The Renaissance ended the age of ignorance, and sparked an era of inquisition and search for the truth. Gradually, science rise to the ranks and became a force to be reckoned with. How a device works, how our body works; all works are being answered by Science where the rule of physics must apply. Thenceforth begins a new understanding of the Bible. Dissastisfied with the miracalous stunts that were made possible by God, historians twisted biblical events to explain it in their manner. In their minds, they must be thinking, "what God can do must also apply to human laws". What is more miraculous is that people began to listen to half truths and half lies, when the ultimate truth is all in the Bible. For example, Moses and the rest of the Israelites were depicted to cross the Red Sea when there was a low tide, that the sea was never separated as to what was written in the Sciptures.
New teachings suggest that the manisfestation of the Holy Spirit is obsolete. In the modern age, technology rules and miracles are a thing of the past. Miracles were required in the past for breakthroughs, to get the word of God around. To get people to listen to Him. I'm very curious, if God could separate the Red Sea then, should it not also mean He can repeat the exact miracle now? Do we dare suggest that God has exhausted His power from creating miracles during biblical times that He cautioned Himself against doing anything of that sort again, lest He faces a depletion of power so ceasing to exist?
The world population of yesteryear was small. The world population is now nearing 7 billion. More and more deceptions are set by the evil one. Now is the time we need more miracles to happen.
We need reminders to bring us back to moments that made us who we are. Our first love with God reminds us how He first came into our lives. In the same way, the Pentecost (in Acts 2) reminds us that we need to keep in mind that it is God's intention for us to receive the Holy Spirit. Why do we put a lid on our treasure boxes when God wants them to be overfilled? God does not stop blessing us if we maintain our stance towards His unwavering love for us. We need to witness for Christ, and to manage that, we need to be enpowered and filled with the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit does not only belong to charismatic churches. Every believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit so we can witness for the Lord. Now to the question, why do we need the Holy Spirit?
We have weaknesses. They need to be dealt. The Holy Spirit dwells in us, assisting us in making the right decisions, and help us find the right words when we're sharing the word of God. Without it, we feel restrained. Without it, I felt every choice would lead me to a dead end. Ignoring it, I feel losing a part of myself. If you yearn to be transformed, ask for the Holy Spirit earnestly, and wait patiently for Him to manifest.
Before the Pentecost, the apostles and believers and disciples of God were scattered. They believe in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins, and that He was sent by our Father God in Heaven. Still, they feared the authorities. Despite having witnessed the resurrection of Christ, they feared persecution and arrest. They hid, and kept to themselves the gospel.
After Pentecost, one day in a place, there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. "They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them" - Acts 2:3. Every individual in the setting was enpowered! With the enpowerment, they began to prophesy and share the word of God, no longer afraid of being imprisoned and whatever the authorities would throw at them.
In Matthew 28, Christ told his disciples first to make disciple of every nation, to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1, Christ asked His disciples to wait patiently for the gift of the Holy Spirit, that when this gift is given unto us, we will become His witnesses.
The fire of the Holy Spirit indicates God's acceptance of our dedication to Him. In Leviticus, offerings were made to the Lord by fire, that He will aceept the offering. In 2 Chronicles 7:1, "fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the scarifices". The fire from God indicates God's acceptance of our dedications. Now, we are the temple of God. To dedicate yourself would mean to wait patiently for God to bestow upon us the gift of the Holy Spirit, that He has accepted our dedication.
God wants to enpower us, to dwell within us, so we can serve in His glory. Ask God to fill us!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Happy Mother's Day
I was feeling utterly melancholic this morning when I wished my mum "Happy Mother's Day", simply because it's the 4th year in a row that I'm not home for this very occasion. Then I went to ECF church and am now very much uplifted after their Mother's Day service.
Ps Timothy cleverly came up with 10 jobs a mother juggles at once, saying that if she gets paid for each of those jobs, she should be earning about $150,000 a month. LOL.
1) Housekeeper
2) Teacher
3) Counselor
4) Day Care Worker
5) Cleaner
6) Driver
7) Facility Manager
8) CEO
9) Accountant
10) Cook
I don't know how many of you can identify your mothers with those listed above but I can say that out of the 10, my mum is all but #4 because she has her own real job during the day =P And yeah I'm already so big I don't need day care la.
I'm sure we all take our mothers for granted so often that we constantly need someone else to remind us of how much they have sacrificed for us. How sad is that? I mean, it's always during that ONE miserable day of the year, Mother's Day, that we take the time to reminisce the wonderful things our mothers have done for us, then the next day we go back to being our selfish, insensitive, oblivious selves and not realize that our mothers have possibly the toughest jobs in the world.
For instance, I can be very impatient with my mother. You don't know the number of times I've snapped at her. WAYYYYY too many. In my mind it seems as though she enjoys getting on my nerves for the fun of it but in fact she's just overly concerned about my well-being. See? I'm aware of it. I just can't help acting that way.
I need to quit being such an idiot towards my mother! I think all of us do! Therefore let's start reminding ourselves about all the honourable things our mothers have done for/shown towards us:
1) Their never-ending love.
No matter how difficult I can be, my mum handles me with utmost patience... like how she was willing to take a week off work to accompany me to Chinese school when I was in Std 1 because I just REFUSED to go. In the end she knew I couldn't go to that school so she put her foot down and told my dad and grandpa, who were so adamant about getting me into a Chinese school heaven knows why, that I had to switch to another school. Well she got her way, I got my way, I was happy and I turned out to be more than just fine =)
2) Their willingness to sacrifice.
... from all the small teeny-weeny lil things like giving me the best part of the chicken meat to sacrificing many nights of sleep to take care of me when I was hospitalized.
3) They always believe in us.
My mum has never discouraged me in anything unless it's something bad or irrational =P I think the fact that I'm here doing what I'm doing - still striving and surviving - says it all. I've had numerous breakdowns in college and medical school because sometimes I feel it's just impossible to move forward, but besides God, I find solace in my mother, NOT because she tells me things I want to hear, but because knowing that she believes in me strengthens me to successfully fight the struggles within myself.
4) Their incredible energy.
I don't get how mothers have so much energy to get through each day. They can do almost ANYTHING! I know my mother is a superwoman because she has never ever said she was tired when I needed her.
5) Passing on of FAITH to children.
The best gift to children is faith but unfortunately I can't experience this because my mother has little faith herself. I guess in in a way she did play a part in my having faith in God through of all the events that have happened... but I'm still praying hard for her.
2 Timothy 1:5 says, "... when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also."
Timothy's mother and grandmother, Eunice and Lois, were early Christian converts. They had communicated their strong Christian faith to Timothy, even though his father was probably not a believer. God doesn't want mothers to hide their light at home but to plant gospel seeds as families are fertile fields.
In my case, it's going to be the other way around! So please pray with me!
OK that's enough for now. Here's a video which I think is absolutely hilarious because IT IS SO MY MOTHER! And I'm sure most of your mothers are like that too. Enjoy!
Ps Timothy cleverly came up with 10 jobs a mother juggles at once, saying that if she gets paid for each of those jobs, she should be earning about $150,000 a month. LOL.
1) Housekeeper
2) Teacher
3) Counselor
4) Day Care Worker
5) Cleaner
6) Driver
7) Facility Manager
8) CEO
9) Accountant
10) Cook
I don't know how many of you can identify your mothers with those listed above but I can say that out of the 10, my mum is all but #4 because she has her own real job during the day =P And yeah I'm already so big I don't need day care la.
I'm sure we all take our mothers for granted so often that we constantly need someone else to remind us of how much they have sacrificed for us. How sad is that? I mean, it's always during that ONE miserable day of the year, Mother's Day, that we take the time to reminisce the wonderful things our mothers have done for us, then the next day we go back to being our selfish, insensitive, oblivious selves and not realize that our mothers have possibly the toughest jobs in the world.
For instance, I can be very impatient with my mother. You don't know the number of times I've snapped at her. WAYYYYY too many. In my mind it seems as though she enjoys getting on my nerves for the fun of it but in fact she's just overly concerned about my well-being. See? I'm aware of it. I just can't help acting that way.
I need to quit being such an idiot towards my mother! I think all of us do! Therefore let's start reminding ourselves about all the honourable things our mothers have done for/shown towards us:
1) Their never-ending love.
No matter how difficult I can be, my mum handles me with utmost patience... like how she was willing to take a week off work to accompany me to Chinese school when I was in Std 1 because I just REFUSED to go. In the end she knew I couldn't go to that school so she put her foot down and told my dad and grandpa, who were so adamant about getting me into a Chinese school heaven knows why, that I had to switch to another school. Well she got her way, I got my way, I was happy and I turned out to be more than just fine =)
2) Their willingness to sacrifice.
... from all the small teeny-weeny lil things like giving me the best part of the chicken meat to sacrificing many nights of sleep to take care of me when I was hospitalized.
3) They always believe in us.
My mum has never discouraged me in anything unless it's something bad or irrational =P I think the fact that I'm here doing what I'm doing - still striving and surviving - says it all. I've had numerous breakdowns in college and medical school because sometimes I feel it's just impossible to move forward, but besides God, I find solace in my mother, NOT because she tells me things I want to hear, but because knowing that she believes in me strengthens me to successfully fight the struggles within myself.
4) Their incredible energy.
I don't get how mothers have so much energy to get through each day. They can do almost ANYTHING! I know my mother is a superwoman because she has never ever said she was tired when I needed her.
5) Passing on of FAITH to children.
The best gift to children is faith but unfortunately I can't experience this because my mother has little faith herself. I guess in in a way she did play a part in my having faith in God through of all the events that have happened... but I'm still praying hard for her.
2 Timothy 1:5 says, "... when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also."
Timothy's mother and grandmother, Eunice and Lois, were early Christian converts. They had communicated their strong Christian faith to Timothy, even though his father was probably not a believer. God doesn't want mothers to hide their light at home but to plant gospel seeds as families are fertile fields.
In my case, it's going to be the other way around! So please pray with me!
OK that's enough for now. Here's a video which I think is absolutely hilarious because IT IS SO MY MOTHER! And I'm sure most of your mothers are like that too. Enjoy!
- Swee Leen (copy & pasted from my own blog =P)
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Polished
There are 2 things that make humans exceptionally special. We are created in His image, but the paradoxical truth is that none of us are the same, save the ultimate truth that we were all sculpted and shaped by the same hand. Each person has his/her own individualistic manner that runs down to speech, actions, movements etc etc. The way of the world, has however, twisted most truths that they cease to exist. Truths are being replaced by lies, and if we were to compromise the word of God, slowly but surely, the virtues that we're supposed to take heed to will be eroded.
I attended Campus Weekend at Eaglepoint Covenant Fellowship. During the session, I was offered a survey to discover more about my personality and interests. At the end of the survey I was given a list of possible jobs that would suit me. I studied every statement intently, and made sure the ticks that I stroked with my pen in each box were honest, lest I get a wrong set of recommended jobs for my personality. It wasn't the first time I participated in the activity. The job recommendations were vividly similar to the old ones I got the last time I did the survey. Carpenter, technician, farmer, biologist- these are the list of professions which suit my personality, doctor was not listed.
It's not how smart we are, it is how we are smart. I tried my hand in these surveys tons of times in the past. I have never gotten one that I truly wanted: doctor. I manipulated my answers, scrutinised my way of thinking for a few minutes to tune myself into a different person, so I can tick the boxes that would land me a job recommendation of a doctor.
The survey made me realise how silly I was. If it is meant to be, God will lead the direction and I would have to follow. This great object was given unto me, not by my means but through that of God. It has finally come to my senses it is not what I want, but what He wants. Surveys are a great method in knocking some ideas into our heads. Each tick to a statement, as easy as it is, had me discover an additional thing about myself. I was indifferent to the answers I got from the survey, perhaps God is testing my confidence. To question the accuracy of the survey is trivial; I am sure it does more good than harm.
Doing the survey was perhaps a little summary of what life is all about: discovering the purpose of life. The survey is deviced to provide possible answers, but our journey in life provide answers that we can't debunk. The ultimate truth I've learnt so far in life is the existence of God, what Jesus Christ did on the cross, and what happens in the afterlife. Edwina provided an answer that I have always struggled to find an answer to. The question: What is your number one priority in life? God? Yourself? Your family? Work? The answer was brisk, it made everything seem so simple and just: God is the centre of your priorities. In everything that you do, God should occupy centre stage. The centre stage being the driving force in your work, your family and yourself.
I attended Campus Weekend at Eaglepoint Covenant Fellowship. During the session, I was offered a survey to discover more about my personality and interests. At the end of the survey I was given a list of possible jobs that would suit me. I studied every statement intently, and made sure the ticks that I stroked with my pen in each box were honest, lest I get a wrong set of recommended jobs for my personality. It wasn't the first time I participated in the activity. The job recommendations were vividly similar to the old ones I got the last time I did the survey. Carpenter, technician, farmer, biologist- these are the list of professions which suit my personality, doctor was not listed.
It's not how smart we are, it is how we are smart. I tried my hand in these surveys tons of times in the past. I have never gotten one that I truly wanted: doctor. I manipulated my answers, scrutinised my way of thinking for a few minutes to tune myself into a different person, so I can tick the boxes that would land me a job recommendation of a doctor.
The survey made me realise how silly I was. If it is meant to be, God will lead the direction and I would have to follow. This great object was given unto me, not by my means but through that of God. It has finally come to my senses it is not what I want, but what He wants. Surveys are a great method in knocking some ideas into our heads. Each tick to a statement, as easy as it is, had me discover an additional thing about myself. I was indifferent to the answers I got from the survey, perhaps God is testing my confidence. To question the accuracy of the survey is trivial; I am sure it does more good than harm.
Doing the survey was perhaps a little summary of what life is all about: discovering the purpose of life. The survey is deviced to provide possible answers, but our journey in life provide answers that we can't debunk. The ultimate truth I've learnt so far in life is the existence of God, what Jesus Christ did on the cross, and what happens in the afterlife. Edwina provided an answer that I have always struggled to find an answer to. The question: What is your number one priority in life? God? Yourself? Your family? Work? The answer was brisk, it made everything seem so simple and just: God is the centre of your priorities. In everything that you do, God should occupy centre stage. The centre stage being the driving force in your work, your family and yourself.
I received a timely reminder from obese a few days ago. Timely, because I have been in this situation before. Not once, but twice, I saw myself forming a tight bond with God, but the efforts were relinquished. I built 2 fires, one when I was 12, the other a few years back. I built those fires, but that's where I stopped. I was overjoyed with the fire I set that I frolicked around it, I danced and sang at the fire but I forgot to add more firewood to maintain it. Eventually, the passion disappeared. I had ample passion, but discipline was zilch. God impressed the importance of meditating on His word on numerous occasions, but I never cared to construe His messages.
Once bitten, twice shy. It was His mercy that allowed me to make another U-turn to return to His ways. This time, I know what I have to do. Passion is good, but without discipline, the former is not as strong as it should be. The marriage of passion and discipline, I hope, would warrant a more steady a steadfast faith I hold towards God.
It's almost impossible to come up with an excuse not to commit time to God daily. I'm still struggling to have a daily quiet time with God, I hope that with time, I'll be a much disciplined follower.
Anyway, check out the Our Daily Bread site for resources to keep up your faith with God. If you have internet where you're staying, I am totally recommending this site. Just search Our Daily Bread in Google and click on the first link. It's updated daily. You don't even have to flip the Bible to look for the verse of the day; it's readily available in the site. The importance of God's word is reflected in Luke chapter 4, where we read the temptation of Jesus. I believe our Christian walk is made formidable by the word of God and only through His word, we do not fall prey to the traps the evil one sets upon us. Notice how Jesus rebuked Satan by starting His statements with "It is written".
p.s. I'm still keeping the notes I copied from the talk by Ps Catharine on the 3rd of May (Campus Revival) I'm having trouble copying the notes into the blog, so please ask me for the notes if u feel like blogging about it, or if you missed out her sermon and would like to know more about the message.
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