The Sorrow of Sin

Lent period is a special season for my people (TMC, Tamil Settlement). The church strictly observes lent and we have Worship Services for the 40 days. The lay people (lay preachers) together with the Pastor will take their turns preaching in the services. Yesterday (4th Feb), it came to me by suprise to preach in the service. I was actually scheduled to preach this Friday (6th), but then the scheduled preacher was taken ill. So, my boss asked me for a favor a day before. By God's grace with the very limited time i had to prepare and preach on Psalms 51 (set text). I really felt a very strong presence of the Holy Spirit when i preached this time around. I believe God extended a special grace to me in the midst of all the limitations. Many were blessed by the word. So, as usual, i want to share it with all of you. God bless.

Psalms 51: 1-11.
This psalm was written by king David as a lament of repentance for the sin he committed in 2 Samuel 11. The sin of David was brought to his own attention by the prophet Nathan who was the kings prophet (2 Sam 12). This psalm was written by David in a broken situation, a situation full of guilt and when he had lost the peace of his mind. The psalm also explains to us the sorrows that sin can bring to a person.

I. Sin defiles us – hinders worship.
When we sin against God, we defile ourselves. In the Old Testament understanding, whoever is defiled can not enter the tabernacle of God where God resides. Thus, the ceremonial cleansing is essential for the defiled person in order for him to enter into God’s presence and worship Him. Those who came into God's presence to worship and serve Him had to be clean. David correctly viewed his sin (falling short of what God requires) as making the worship and service of a holy God impossible. Thus in (vs. 2) and (vs. 7), David pleads God cleanse him thoroughly so that he can continue worshipping and staying in relation with YHWH.

Sin also defiles our heart (vs. 10) – we cannot see God with an unclean heart (Matt 5:8)

II. Sin causes sorrow and lost of joy
(vs. 8) In this verse, David request God to renew the lost joy. Truly, David has fractured his relationship with God and thus, he has lost the joy and peace in life. David illustrates this lost of joy as if it pained him as much as a broken bone. A person who has a broken bone the intensity of the pain. Likewise a broken bone also hinders a person to naturally perform his daily chores. Likewise, David’s sin has cause him some forms of handicap in his daily living. He knew something was not right. He was a God ordained king, yet his sin made him to live a guilt filled life until then.

David also experienced lost of joy and peace in his own family.
a. Ammon raped Tamar (Ammon raped his half sister - both were David's children)

b. Absalom murdered Ammon (As vengence - Tamar's brother killed his half brother, Ammon)

c. Absalom turned the people against David

d. Absalom attempted to take the throne.

e. Absalom lost his own life

Sin leads us into a sorrowful path of life that is filled with sadness, unhappiness and guilt that will eventual cripples a person.

III. Sin Causes God’ Judgment and rejection
Verse 11. David pleads to God not to reject him. Casting away from God's presence implies a rejection as God's servant. Saul had suffered such a fate for his continuing rebellion against Yahweh. In Old Testament times God gave His Holy Spirit selectively (to empower only some believers) and temporarily (primarily to empower them for special acts of service).
However, in the New Testament context, since the day of Pentecost all believers enjoy the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit (John 14:17; Rom. 8:9). Consequently the possibility of God's withdrawing His Spirit from David was a real one for him, but it is not for us. It is possible that a Christian may lose his or her opportunities to serve the Lord, however (1 Cor. 9:27). For example, a Christian who gets involved in gross sin will not lose his or her salvation (John 10:28-29), but he or she may lose the opportunity to serve God in a leadership capacity.
But as for David, his sin will cause him to lose his salvation. A total abandonment by God. So he pleads for God’s mercy.

Conclusion:There were more regrets then joy for David in his kingship because of his sin. The story of David should alert us the damaging power of sin. Sin is able to strip us of peace and joy and above all slowly but surely separate us from God’s presence. The sorrowful paths on which sin can drive us eventually lead us to eternal destruction and misery both in this life and the life to come.

Response In Times of Crisis

Introduction:-
Jehoshaphat was the 4th King of Judah (Northern Kingdom of Israel – He reigned for 25 years). Jehoshaphat was a wealthy and powerful King. He was also among the very few good and God fearing Kings that Judah had in its history. This is because, looking back to the history of Judah, we read that Judah and Israel was ruled by many wicked, ungodly Kings who dishonored YHWH. Among this entire wicked Kings, Jehoshaphat was one of the good ones.

Context:-
· 2 Chronicles 20:1 - 4; are set in the context of the worst crisis that Jehoshaphat faced in his 25 years of reign in Judah. It was when 3 of Judah’s enemies (the Ammonites, Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir) came to destroy Judah. Verse 3: Tells us how troubled the king got when he came to know that Judah is about to be invaded by enemies – Jehoshaphat realized how helpless he and the whole of Judah were in facing the enemies. This was when he realized that only God could help them and without God’s help, surely the enemies will trample Judah.
· The crisis that he was facing was a great one, but his response in times of crisis that matters the most for us today.

Response:-
1. He declared a fast (Vs. 3).

What is the significance of fasting? Today we fast almost everyday during lent. Some of us fast for few days in a week. However, have we actually asked why do we fast? Friends, fasting are a sign of total dependability on God. Here, when Jehoshaphat declared a nation wide fast, his gesture signifies that he and whole of Judah comes under total dependence of YHWH to help them to win the battle over their enemies.

2. They Prayed.

Verse 5-13 tells us that Jehoshaphat and whole of Judah prayed. They cried out to the Lord for His intervention. They realized that their military strength and all their means of effort would fail in facing their enemies. Their enemies were much greater than they were and Judah is sure to die unless God intervenes and saves His people. Judah’s state of helplessness is seen in vs. 12.

** As they were praying – we see the words of assurance coming from the Lord. In their powerless and hopeless state, as they earnestly fasted and prayed to God, God’s assurance comes to them. Verse 15 tells that God gives a “Fear not” oracle – for the battle no longer belong to Judah but it is Gods’.

3. They Sang and Praised (vs. 21).

All that Judah did on the day of the battle was to sing God’s praises. They did not take their spear or armor. All that they did was praising God. Verse 22 tell us that as they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against their enemies. The 3 enemies who came united to trample and destroy Judah started killing each other. Friend in times of crisis, if God intervenes, He gives us a complete victory. Verse 24 tells us that not even one of Judah enemies were spared in the battle – God utterly destroyed all of them and gave Judah the total victory in the battle.

Conclusion:-
·What is our response today in times of crisis? Whatever our crisis may be, no matter how great our crises are, how do we response in times of crisis?
· Are you facing crisis at work? Are you facing crisis in your family – is your marriage shaken up? Are your children straying away from the Lord? Are you in a serious financial debt? What is your crisis? – Turn to God, he is able to set you free from your crisis, he is able to liberate you from your crisis and give you a total victory over it. The God who saved Judah is also our God and no circumstances are too great for Him. He is El-Shaddai @ Almighty God.
· What is our response in times of crisis? Are we turning to God in total dependability as Jehoshaphat and Judah did or do we look first into all the other resources and depend on others for remedy?
· Friend, let us turn to God in times of crisis. The Psalmist says in Ps. 121:1 that he lifts up his eyes to the hills from where his help come from. Our God who is the creator of heaven and earth is able to deliver us from our crisis. Let us indeed earnestly seek him and be saved.

"The Regrets of Sin"

2 Samuel 12: 1-7 tells us that Nathan the prophet came to David to admonish David for sin. Though David was declared by God as a man after His own heart. Though David was the greatest king ever ruled over Israel, there was also the negative side of this King. He committed a terrible sin in the eyes of the Lord. As a consequence of his sin, David had to experience many regrets in his life. Friends, let us be informed that our God is an ever forgiving God who in His great mercy forgives and accepts us. However, the power of sin always leaves behind stain and regret that is beyond repair. That was what exactly happened to David.

I. Sin Causes us not to Experience the Fullness of God’s Blessings(vs. 8)

I would have given you many more things. God in His great plan for David had in stored many more blessings for David – but David’s sin hindered that plans from being fulfilled. God is liberal in His gifts. When He has given much, He stands ready to give more. However, we miss the fullness of His blessings because of the nature of sin - James 1:14-15. Our covetous hearts display ungratefulness to God for His blessings.
* David was never able to build the temple of God – his son, Solomon did. The temple’s significance in Israel – David did not get the glory because of his sin. God’s fullness of blessing was hindered by his sin.

II. Sin Causes You to Experience the Loss of BlessingGod would take the blessings already given (Vs. 11)God would take the blessings already given (Vs. 11) - He would take David’s wives. It is untold the number of blessings that are lost because God’s people desire to show discontent by sin. It just doesn’t just mean a loss of potential blessings, but it can mean a loss of existing blessings.

* It can mean losing God’s presence in our lives – Psalm 51: 11

* It can mean a loss of the blessing of joy - Psalm 51:12

III. Sin Causes You to Experience Judgment in light of God’s Blessings.

David was still king in spite of his sins. He still had the promise of dynamic succession, but his family would never know peace (Vs. 10); his family would experience trouble within (Vs. 11)

a. Ammon raped Tamar

b. Absalom murdered Ammon

c. Absalom turned the people against David

d. Absalom attempted to take the throne.

e. Absalom lost his own life

Conclusion:

David would never experience the fullness of God’s blessings. It was because of sin. There were more regrets then joy for David in his kingship because of his sin. The story of David should alert us the damaging power of sin. Sin is able to strip us of peace and joy and above all slowly but surely separate us from God’s presence.

"if you believe"

A reflection from Mark 9: 17-27 - Jesus heals the epileptic.

This miracle took place right after Jesus’ transfiguration experience on the mountain top. Gospel of Mark records this as the last miracle in the Gospel. The story tells us that a man brought his son who was epilepsy due to demon possession to Jesus’ disciples to be delivered. But unfortunately, the boy was not delivered, thus the case was brought to Jesus.

1. The disciples were not able to cast out the demon in this boy because the boys father did not have enough faith. Vs. 19 tells us Jesus’ response to the father’s plea. Here when Jesus said you faithless generation, He was making reference to the boys father as well as the crowd.
In receiving God’s miraculous touch, what matter the most is the faith of the potential recipient than the servant of God who is administrating the healing. This was what exactly happened in this story. Even Jesus did not perform the miracle until the man believed.
Vs. 22 tells us the attitude of this man’s heart. His unbelief in belief. He said “if you are able”……… His unbelief / lack of faith annoyed the Lord (vs. 23). Jesus reinstates here that “All things can be done for the one who believe”. Interestingly, Jesus did not say “all things WILL be done, but instead He said, all things CAN be done”. What does this means. It simply means when we truly believe (100% without doubt) in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, than everything is possible or CAN be done for us. Our faith simply moves the hands of the Lord to perform miracle for us.

E.M Bounds in his book entitled “Power in Prayer” says, ‘that the prayer of righteous will move the hands of the Lord’ .

Friends if we claim that we belief in God, we better belief in His power 100% - because God can not work in the midst of our unbelief. Vs. 24 tells us the repentance of this man, he became totally dependent on the Lord and completely believed and subsequently the miracle took place in his son's life (vs. 25).

There are TWO things that I want to draw of from the text:-

Firstly, most of the times, our unbelief or lack of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ hinders us to receive healing and other forms of blessings in our lives. Sometimes, we claim that we belief in the Lord, but than we also have other alternate things to believe in that undermines our 100% belief in the Lord. So, we fail to receive from the Lord what is due to us. Unbelief will cripple a believer’s life. But FAITH makes all things possible for us (Mark 11: 22-24). The Bible tells us that without faith we can not please God (Hebrews 11:6), So, FAITH is essential not only to receive healing/blessings from the Lord but it is also essential for us to PLEASE God.

Secondly, I want to draw our attention back to Mark 9: 23. Jesus did not say “all things WILL be done, but instead He said, all things CAN be done”. What does this mean? Though faith is the trigger point for God to work miracle in our lives but remember the Bible tells us that it CAN be done and Not WILL be done. Which means it is still under God’s prerogative whether to do it or not. Healing or blessings that we ask or plead of God is still subject to His Will. I am very much convinced that we should at all times ask God with Faith. Because our faith determines God’s answer. However, I will not twist the arms of the Lord since ultimately it is all according to His WILL and not ours. We can only ask and belief. God has the ultimate power to decide whether to give/heal or otherwise. A good Christian is a person who will have 100% faith when he prays but at the same time he /she will be submissive to the WILL of God. Just as Jesus submitted to the WILL of the Father in the garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will but yours be done”.

So, friends lets us achieve and receive great things in life by completely trusting or having faith in Jesus in all our undertakings. At the same time, let us also learn to submit ourselves to the perfect WILL

Youth Adventure Camp

On the 8th February the youths of my church attended an Adventure Camp at SUFES Campsite, Tapah. I had to follow them and basically babysit them. However on the way back, we as a family took a short trip to a nearby waterfalls. It was indeed an awesome sight. Lata Kijang waterfall, located in Tapah (visible from the North South Expressway).

My dear Sophia posing at the carpark...actually this photo is taken in the middle of the jungle. I drove in my car through the narrow path in the jungle to a point that is no longer accessible for my MPV and send off the youth for their adventure in the deep jungle.

at the waterfalls...Lata Kijang

An evening by Morib beach

In the recent Chinese New Year break, i had a short holiday with my family back home in my hometowm, Banting. We decided to take a drive to the beach together with my mom.

By the way, this is my beloved mom..taking a walk by the shore

Though it was a very short break, we really enjoyed being away from town, and other forms of ministerial commitments. Thanks to God who grants us rest to take our minds off the busy routines of ministry.

The faith of the Magi

I preached this sermon during the 2008 Christmas Service. The message challenged me and many others who heard it. Just want to share it with all. God Bless.

What do we really know about the wise men / the magi? Not much when you examine the scripture. Where did they come from? “The east” you say. But where in the east? How far east? Africa? Or where? We know they came from the east and they came from a long way away, but we don’t really know where they came from.How many of them were there and what kind of men were they? Again, we don’t know. In the second century, a church father named Tertullian suggested that these men were kings because the Old Testament had predicted that kings would come to worship him. He also concluded that there were three kings based on the number of gifts mentioned, gold, frankesence and myrrh. And the manufacturers of nativity scenes caught on and so in every nativity scene, you see three kings or wise men. But the Bible doesn’t tell us who they were or how many of them came.We don’t even really know that they were wise. In the original manuscripts they are called the “magi” from an ancient Iranian word, “magoi” which was used to describe people who acted in very strange ways, were captivated by astrology, spells and incantation and dressed in a very bizzare manner. The latin word is “magi” from which we get words like “magician.”
So we don’t know who they were, where they came from or even how many of them there were. Why not? Why doesn’t Matthew tell us any of this information? I’m not sure I know with certainty, but I’d suggest that all of this detail is left out of the picture in order that the full emphasis may be placed on the one thing that is central to this story, namely their statement, “we have come to worship.” That’s the main point of this particular story as Matthew tells it to us. “We have come to worship.” And as we look at what Matthew tells us about these men, although they may have been strange little men who dressed weird, they really were wise men.And the challenge for us today, is whether we will be wise men and women. I believe that wise men still seek him. Wise men still serve him and wise men still worship him. Let’s read the text.

[Read Matthew 2.1-2]

1. First, wise men still seek him.

It’s likely that these magi were descendants of the ten tribes of Israel that remained in Babylon after the time of Daniel. Many of the Jews did not return to their homeland but rather chose to remain behind in Babylon. There they were assimilated into the culture and probably adopted many of the religious practices of the pagans. So these magi may not have been very orthodox in their faith, but still, they were looking for the coming messiah. They took literally the statement from Numbers 24.17: “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” And so they searched the skies for hundreds of years looking for a sign that the messiah had come. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced and came seeking the one who was born king of the Jews. We don’t know exactly how far they traveled, but it is likely that they came from 500 to 1000 miles away. Imagine traveling that far on the back of a camel. And it was a long and difficult trip across the desert. They really wanted to come and worship Jesus. They were serious seekers. They went all out to seek for the Messiah.Contrast them with the chief priests and teachers of the law. They were not the least bit interested. They didn’t care about the star. And they wouldn’t travel 6 little miles down the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to check out what was happening. They knew the right answers. They just weren’t willing to make the effort to see if what they had heard was true. Let me give you a little background about this gospel at this point. Matthew is writing this gospel to Jewish people who are living away from Israel. His purpose is to convince them that Jesus is the Christ predicted in the Old Testament. That’s why he makes so many references to it. And what he is saying to these people to whom he is writing is that they should be like the magi, not like the Jewish religious leaders. Wise men still seek him. Check him out. Do what ever it takes to convince yourself that Jesus really was born King of the Jews.Wise men and women still seek him. What about you? Are you seeking for something to fill the void in your life this morning? What are you seeking for this Christmas? Let me suggest to you that there are a lot of ways to fill that feeling of emptiness. But there’s only one way to fill it in a way that will last. That’s to realize that the emptiness is caused by God in order to bring you to himself. God sent Jesus to fill that void. To built the bridge between God and man. The bridge that was broken because of human sin and disobedience. Jesus brought about the reconciliation and filled the emptiness that was caused by sin. So, Jesus is the best gift for this Christmas. Let us ask ourselves who or what are really seeking for this Christmas.

2. Secondly, wise men still serve him.

The magi came to worship. They stopped in Jerusalem to find out exactly where Jesus could be found. There they met King Herod. He must have been enraged by their question and statement. “Where is he who is born king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.” “Born king of the Jews?” Kings are not born. Herod had to murder, commit acts of deceit and treachery in order to become king. Who in the world could be born a king? And why would he have a star? And why would these men want to worship a baby? Herod must have been beside himself. But he kept calm and tried to make a deal with the magi. “Tell me where he is so that I too, can come to worship.” The magi knew through supernatural means that he was lying to them. But now they had a choice. Who would they serve? The little tiny helpless baby born king of the Jews or the full grown, murderous treacherous Herod? After all, if they served Herod, he might reward them greatly. Jesus was just a baby. Maybe they could worship and serve him later is life. Maybe they could serve Herod now and Jesus later. Maybe they could have the best of both worlds, have their cake and eat it, too. But that’s not what they did. They went to worship this little tiny baby. And then when God warned them supernaturally in a dream and they understood what he wanted them to do, they were faithful to serve him regardless of the danger of disobeying the murderous King Herod.Wise men still serve Him. Are you serving Him? What has He called you to do? I don’t claim to know specifically, but I do know that serving God involves serving others. There are a lot of opportunities to serve others especially at this time of year. In fact, this year we are serving to an even greater extent than we have in past years. We as Pastors truly believe that God has called our church to serve the poor this time around. Many social activities and funds have been channeled towards this cause. Take this festive season as a great opportunity to serve the poor. By serving the poor and marginalized we serve God (He who gives to the poor lends to the Lord)
But doing good for others doesn’t end with the Christmas season. Again, as part of our commitment to live a life that really matters, we will call ourselves to serve God by doing premeditated acts of kindness to those around us. We’ll call ourselves to give time to serving God either through our church or other avenues of service. God blesses those who serve him. Wise men still serve him.

3. And finally, wise men still worship him.

These men had once come all this way with one purpose in mind. That purpose was to worship the one who was born king of the Jews. They came to worship the Son of God. They did it with confidence. They did it with the certainty of hope. Look at some of the language. “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.” They didn’t just set out for a leisurely ride in the desert, show up in Jerusalem and say, “we heard something was going on in this area. What’s happening? We saw some bright stars and thought maybe they meant something. What do you think?” No. They were definite and they were certain. “Where is he? We have come to worship him.”And they brought with them expensive gifts, gifts fit for a king. They brought gold, a gift of wealth for royalty, frankenscence, a gift for a man living a hard working life, and myrrh, a gift to suited for one’s burial. Did they appreciate the significance of their gifts? We don’t know. But what we do know is that they didn’t just wander out, find a little baby and then decide that they needed to find a mall to pick up a gift. They brought gifts, expensive gifts, because they knew they were going to worship a king. Wise men still worship Him. Are you a wise man or woman? Are you spending time worshipping him? I’m not just talking about attending church. You can attend church and still not worship. Worship involves praising God both in speaking and in singing. Worship involves hearing the word of God taught and responding by changing our lives. And worship involves giving of our gifts to God. How are you doing in your worship? Are you taking time to praise, to confess, to study and to grow? Are you giving generously, extravagantly to God’s work? Giving is an act of worship. As we come to the end of this year, I want to simply ask you whether you are giving gifts to your church that are sacrificial and worthy to be given to the one born a King? In faith they gave gifts to a baby. In faith we give gifts to our risen Lord.

Conclusion

The magi really were wise men. And today, wise men still seek him. Wise men still serve him and wise men still worship him. My prayer for us is that we will be a church of wise men and women, seeking him, serving him and worshipping him as he leads us every day to become more and more a growing family of believers being transformed to wholeness and joy. May this Christmas be celebrated with Christ being our focus. Let us celebrate by seeking Him earnestly, serving Him faithfully and worship Him in truth and Spirit.

Why did He do that? (Jesus washed the disciples feet)

I once preached about the story of Jesus washing the dirty feet of His disciples (John 13: 5-17) in the church where i am currently serving. As i was preparing the sermon, i felt very unworthy of myself. In fact i did mention that as i began to preach. I praise God that many were deeply touched and ministered through the preaching. Many reconciled with others who they were having difficulities with. So, i thought it will be a blessing for all of us if i would upload the sermon here.

Introduction:
Jesus washing the feet of the disciples is only mentioned in the Gospel of John. Washing feet in such a situation was the role of the most menial or unskilled of servants. Why was it necessary for feet washing before a meal? In understanding the context of the narrative, Jesus and His disciples lived in the Middle East. Geographically filled with deserts and sandy grounds. Thus, it is unavoidable for a person who walks in this situation to avoid collecting dust on their feet. So, when Jesus and His disciples sat down to dine (the dinning table was not as high as ours. The height of the table was only 1 feet from the ground.) Thus, the food that is served on the table is very much exposed to the dust that is collected on their feet. So, in such a situation it was the role of the most menial / unskilled of servants to wash clean the feet of the guest who are about to dine. Normally a servant would have been present to perform this task, but there were none present in the upper room since it was a secret meal. The disciples did not want to wash each other's feet since they had just been arguing about which of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24).Here Jesus reversed normal roles and assumed the place of a servant rather than that of a rabbi. He even dressed Himself as a slave (cf. Phil. 2:6-7).

Transition: When Jesus stooped to wash His disciples’ feet He showed us several important truths about serving others. The first thing that caught my attention is in the first verse, Jesus shows...

1. The Priority of Serving

v. 1 "It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love."

What would you do if you knew you would die a violent death in about 12 hours? Would you want to be alone in prayer? Record some final thoughts? Would you spend time with those you loved? What would you want to emphasize? Jesus, the Bible says knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and so he took off his cloak put a towel around His waist and washed the dirty feet of His disciples. Who’s going to waste time on that when the end is so near? Jesus. Why? Because He wanted to show them how important it is to humbly serve one another.

Philippians 2:3-5; Paul tells us that we should "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself..."

He humbled himself why? In order to demonstrate His love as verse 1 says He now showed them the full extent of His love. Jesus by His actions showed us that nothing indicates love more clearly than humble service to others. And note with me that the Scripture notes both before and after the description of Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet that of all people Judas was there. Judas, having decided already that He would betray the Lord, was among them and received the humble demonstration of Christ’s love.Lest we think that we have no responsibility to love and serve those who don’t reciprocate (respond) our efforts and love, Jesus washed the feet of Judas too. A person who never returned any good to Jesus but only caused harm to Him.

ILLUSTRATION: Mother Teresa visited Phoenix in 1989 to open a home for the poor. During that brief visit, she was interviewed by KTAR, the largest radio station in town. In a private moment, the announcer asked Mother Teresa if there was anything he could do for her. He was expecting her to request a contribution or media attention to help to raise money for the new home for the needy in Phoenix. Instead, she replied, "Yes, there is. Find somebody nobody else loves, and love them." Serving others, demonstrating our love in tangible ways is of first importance. Jesus considered it a priority.

The second thing Jesus showed us by washing his disciple’s feet is His...

2. Confidence in His Identity

vv. 3-5 "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him".

The Scripture says that not just in spite of but because He understood who He was, that Jesus washed the disciples’ feet.It takes an understanding of our identity to be able to humble ourselves. The world tells us that we need to make ourselves look good in front of others, that we need to exalt ourselves, but Jesus said that "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:12)."If we don’t understand who we are in Jesus we will be unwilling to humble ourselves until the Lord Himself humbles us.Jesus, was the Lord of the Universe. If anyone didn’t have to humble himself to wash the feet of farmers and fishermen, He didn’t. But because he knew he was Lord of the Universe, because He knew He was not diminished by showing his love in humble service, he took up the towel and basin and stooped to serve.

The third thing Jesus showed us by washing feet is found in today’s conversation with Jesus, the exchange with Peter in which Jesus makes clear our...

3. Our Need to Be Served by Him

vv. 6-9 "He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.""No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.""Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

Peter demonstrates a little false humility here. I don’t think it’s true humility but embarrassment that He hadn’t thought of it first that causes him to reject Jesus’ offer to serve Him. But when Jesus makes it clear that being served by Him is one of the conditions of having a relationship with Him then Peter has a change of heart.I think there is clearly some symbolism here. Jesus is saying not just that Peter must let Him wash his feet but the reference is to the more thorough washing that Jesus will perform the next day when His blood is shed for Peter’s sin and for ours.Just like Peter it is pride that often keeps us from letting Jesus cleanse us. We want to be self sufficient. It shames to admit that we can’t overcome sin in our lives. Truly unless we let Him cleanse us, we have no part with Him. Our resistance to Jesus’ intervention into our sinful ways simply shows of our wrong understanding about ourselves and about Christ Himself.
We must first understand that we are totally deprived by our sinfulness. Which means we can not help ourselves by any means or efforts to come into a right standing before God. Second, we must realize that it only takes the blood of Christ to wash us from the guilt of sin and lead us into the sanctification process. Even once we are saved we a desperate for His ‘prevenient grace’ that will help us to prevent from sinning. Unless we recognize the mistake of our pride--the mistake that says, "I’m good enough on my own" then we make no room for Jesus. Unless we confess our need, confess our sin and humbly ask his forgiveness, trusting that His death on the cross paid the price for our sins, we are doomed to an eternity without him. Just a moment’s thought about that prospect should be enough to make us like Peter to drop the false humility routine, to say, "then Lord, please clean me, make me acceptable to you"

There’s one final thing that we can see in Jesus’ foot washing object lesson...

4. Our Need to be Servants

vv. 12-17 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me ’Teacher’ and ’Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.Jesus says, if I your teacher, your Lord, your Master, found it necessary to serve you, then you should serve others.

In fact, to serve is what it means to lead. We cannot call ourselves followers of Christ and be unwilling to serve in humble ways. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have individual gifts and places of service, sometimes very public ones, roles of leadership, but each of us should be willing to humble ourselves, to demonstrate our love for those we serve. You see foot washing isn’t about foot washing, it’s about serving others at personal sacrifice, humbling ourselves when we don’t have to--because we don’t have to. Verse 17 tell us the end result of this command – we will be blessed if we do them. Our God is truly a God who honors our sacrifices. Thus as a result of obedience to God’s word, when we humble ourselves and serve others, when we consider others higher or greater than us, when we do good to those who even betrays us and wash their feet, indeed we will be blessed.

I wonder was it a happy day or a sad day?

11th January was another remarkable day in my life. On this day, I first consecrated the bread and wine for the Holy Communion / Eucharist in my church (Tamil Methodist Church, Sg. Siput – as the Pastor In-charge). I was filled with joy and was greatly honored to do so. I had to read the whole liturgy (in Tamil) and conduct the Holy Communion. I was assisted by the Church Worker assigned to the Church, Pastor Isaac Nathan. It was truly a memorable moment for me. And guess what, I did pretty well. Praise God for this great opportunity to serve Him in this capacity as an ordained minister of the Methodist Church. After the worship service, I also called for the first PPRC (Pastor Parish Relationship Committee) meeting and LCEC (Local Church Executive Committee) to elect their respective Chairpersons.

Every thing was went on well until I got a very disturbing sms from my boss (Rev. Laurence) that one of my church member back in Ipoh died in a tragic road accident. The saddest thing is, we just got him married 35 days ago (6th December 2008). Nanthakumar, an engineer by profession, was born in a Hindu family. He accepted Christ when he was planning for his marriage with Anita (one of our member). We had the privilege to baptize him and later confirmed him into the church membership. We were even conducted his wedding counseling sessions. He was such a lovable and humble guy who loves the Lord. On the 10th January 2009, on his way to meet his wife who was teaching in Bidor, Nantha’s car went out of control and overturned in flames. The doors were jammed, and he was caught in the burning car. He was burned to death. His remains were beyond recognition that the cops had to take a DNA sample from his brother to verify his death. It is tragic…really tragic…..we just got them married 35 days ago….and today, we are about to bury the guy. Last night was the wake service and I was asked to preach. It was the most difficult sermon that I have ever prepared in my life. I really hated the whole episode. I truly pray that no Pastors will ever have to conduct this kind of a funeral. By God’s grace I preached about Job’s suffering and the lost of lives that he experienced. Anyway…whatever said and done….it is a very sad episode…I struggle to face Anita (the wife) as I am speechless and don’t know how to comfort her. I truly pray that I will never be confronted with this kind of painful ministerial experiences anymore in life….it truly hurts.

A Blessed New Year

2008 has passed by and we have successfully marched into 2009. Back in the church where i am ministering, we had the Watch Night Service at 11pm (31st December 2008). The Worship Servicewent on till2.30am. It was a lengthy service though, but we truly we had a wonderful time worshipping God and listening to His word at the dawn of the New Year. I was greatly privileged to lead the worship session together with Mr. Dennis (our Mission Chairman).

The service was well attended by more than 800 people.

I would like take this oppurtunity to wish all of you a very Blessed New Year. May God open up the flood gates of heaven and pour out His richest blessing upon each of us as we journey into 2009. Amen.

An Adventure.....continuation....

This picture will explain the last picture on the previous (below) entry...

Photo taken on the Duth Fort.....a historical spot in Pangkor.....

Me and William...posing on the Dutch Fort..

This was the Satay factory........we bought some food stuff and enjoyed it under the sun......the satay/salted fish here was fresh and good....a little expensive..but worth the money.

Last location....along side of a beach....two unique stones...wonder what is so unique about this picture...hummmm...oh yes....the photo was again capture on auto mode...the camera was place on my bike seat.....it is a clear shot....thanks to my Olympus Camedia C-760...

After a long day of adventure....finally...travelling back home.....stopped by in a Malay Kampung for a nice Malay dinner. Food was good.

Indeed it was a great holiday cum adventure. Though it was a very short trip, i really enjoyed the company of my great young people. Thanks guys...you all really great.....

By the way..we are already planning for another adventure......it will remain a secret until we execute plan....chao for now........

Wow...its 2.30 in the morning.....i want to upload all this pictures by tonight...last day of leave ma...esok will be very busy day..may not have time to blog.

An Adventure

Last Sunday (28th December 2008) was indeed a historical day for me. I was greatly priveledged to visit and preach at my home church (Tamil Methodist Church, Banting) for the first time after my Deacon ordination. Well, i was actually on annual leave after Christmas.

The adventure began after the Worship Service. I was invited for breakfast by a bunch of good friends (my youths actually) - we had the 'best' Bak kut teh in town that morning. It was during the breakfast that we suddenly or rather instantly plan to travel to Pangkor. Without a second thought, 7 of us decided to leave town immediately to Pangkor.............the below photos will explain the adventure......

The 'Team' comprised of Kiran, Edwin, Me, David (sitted infront), Paul, Joshua and William (cameraman). Photo taken on the ferry.....on the way to Pangkor island.

Spend the night in Seri Dayang Resort (we arrived Pangkor at 8pm).....so...nothing much could be done..it was raining....so...we had our dinner (we had to walk to the nearby town about a kilometre)......... back to the room...playing cards.......catching up with some 'gossips' and watched EPL till 3am....lights off. We booked a 2 room apartment....superb accomondation for only RM 150 per day.

10.00 am - Sitting and planning out our adventure....... actually waiting for our bikes to arrive..by the way, we rented

11.00am - Farewell to Seri Dayang Resort.......we hired 4 bikes and set to go for the adventure......Me..got the newest bike (Honda Wave)..ha..ha..ha...

Reached the first destination and successfully completed the task...climbed up to the 'hanging bridge' and crossed the hill.....

Resumed adventure........

Found a volleyball ground along the beach....we made it a point to have a match...booked the court for RM 20 and played 3 games...guess what...we won... (by the way...my church has the best volleyball team among the Selangor District Methodist Churches)

One powerful serve from me.......the opponents had no chance....

More pictures in the next entry.....system very slow already....

Wishing all of you a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year.
Rev. Silvester David, Jessie, Sophia Christabel David & Shekinah Gloria David

Ordination Service

16th November 2008 marked a very significant event in my life and ministry. I was ordained as a Deacon of the Methodist Church in Malaysia. Through this ordination I will carry the title Reverend before my name. As for me, this ordination was a great recognition in my Christian ministry in the Methodist church. I was also privileged to be ordained in the presence of my church in which I am currently ministering. About 650 people attended the Ordination Service which was held in Tamil Methodist Church, Tamil Settlement. I want to especially thank the Bishop who ordained me (Rev. Dr. Hwa Yung), The Full Ministerial Session of TAC who interviewed me and recommended me for ordination. Last but not the least; I want to thank God who has blessed me and my ministry through this ordination. Praise the Lord.

Baby photos....

Oppssss.....after a long delay...only today i had the time to upload some of my girl's pictures. Her name is Shekinah Gloria David (D.O.B. 12th October 2008).

Wait eagerly to see my ordination photos......finally i was ordained as a deacon (which carries the title Rev) on the 16th November 2008.

New Addition - another baby girl

Praise the Lord. We have been once again blessed with another beautiful daughter. My wife safely delivered our second baby at 11.16am of 12th October 2008. We want to praise God in spite of the painful labor. I almost lost my wife during the delivery process. We were told by the doctor that the baby can be delivered normal. So, my wife and I were prepared for the delivery process as we have a little experience delivering our first child, Sophia. So, here is where the misery started………………Jessie had 8cm dilation and the nurse called the doctor to come over to deliver the baby. The doctor came and by then it has dilated to 9cm. So, Jessie was taught how to push the baby out. Everything was ok….when the big contractions came…she started pushing hard (I was right next to her supporting her). It went on and on for almost 90 minutes. The doctor kept on telling us “keep on pushing, the baby is almost here….don’t stop, keep on pushing....push and push”. Jessie tried her very best for almost 90 minutes and gave up. She was over exhausted and started fighting for her breath. She was struggling to breath….the pain was too intense furthermore all her energy was drained out by efforts to push out the baby. The doctor was trying to vacuum the baby out…but he couldn’t. Finally I told the doctor not to push my beloved wife any further. Jessie was too weak…..she was full of tears and told me “I cant, I really can’t….” She tried her very best indeed, but she just couldn’t push out the baby. So, the doctor was not left with any choice but to rush her for an emergency caesarean operation. I really panicked then. I started praying for the survival of my wife and my baby. When they rushed her into the operation theater, I just sat down wondering what is going to happen to the both of them and broke down in tears. I was all alone. It was Sunday morning. All our loved ones were in church. The Lord was my only companion then. At about 11.30am, I saw a nurse carrying out a beautiful baby girl from the OT……she sighed at me and said “this is your baby and the mom is fine…..she is sleeping”. I started praising God for His goodness and mercy shown upon his servant.
I want to magnify God’s name for the baby and the safe delivery. At the moment my wife is still warded at the Perak Community Specialist Hospital (formerly known as Ipoh Chinese Maternity Hospital).

A special thanks to Dr. Anand and his team for their dedication and expertise in saving the lives of both the mother and the baby in such an emergency state.

Please pray with us for Jessie’s quick recovery. Poor girl…… went through both normal delivery process and an operation. She needs special grace to recover from all the wounds and aches. Also pray for Sophia who misses her mom a lot. She was crying in her sleep asking for her mom. My daughter Sophia (2 years old) is very attached to my wife…so…in her absence…..i really ‘have to suffer’….explaining to her and comforting her especially at nights. In fact, I was distracted from blogging this entry several times as she gets up and cries looking for her mom. Man…man….its tough…in fact very tough to be a single father even for a day.

A Brand New Arrival

Praise the Lord. We have been once again blessed with another beautiful daughter. My wife safely delivered our second baby at 11.16am of 12th October 2008. We want to praise God in spite of the painful labor. I almost lost my wife during the delivery process. We were told by the doctor that the baby can be delivered normal. So, my wife and I were prepared for the delivery process as we have a little experience delivering our first child, Sophia. So, here is where the misery started………………Jessie had 8cm dilation and the nurse called the doctor to come over to deliver the baby. The doctor came and by then it has dilated to 9cm. So, Jessie was taught how to push the baby out. Everything was ok….when the big contractions came…she started pushing hard (I was right next to her supporting her). It went on and on for almost 90 minutes. The doctor kept on telling us “keep on pushing, the baby is almost here….don’t stop, keep on pushing....push and push”. Jessie tried her very best for almost 90 minutes and gave up. She was over exhausted and started fighting for her breath. She was struggling to breath….the pain was too intense furthermore all her energy was drained out by efforts to push out the baby. The doctor was trying to vacuum the baby out…but he couldn’t. Finally I told the doctor not to push my beloved wife any further. Jessie was too weak…..she was full of tears and told me “I cant, I really can’t….” She tried her very best indeed, but she just couldn’t push out the baby. So, the doctor was not left with any choice but to rush her for an emergency caesarean operation. I really panicked then. I started praying for the survival of my wife and my baby. When they rushed her into the operation theater, I just sat down wondering what is going to happen to the both of them and broke down in tears. I was all alone. It was Sunday morning. All our loved ones were in church. The Lord was my only companion then. At about 11.30am, I saw a nurse carrying out a beautiful baby girl from the OT……she sighed at me and said “this is your baby and the mom is fine…..she is sleeping”. I started praising God for His goodness and mercy shown upon his servant.
I want to magnify God’s name for the baby and the safe delivery. At the moment my wife is still warded at the Perak Community Specialist Hospital (formerly known as Ipoh Chinese Maternity Hospital).

A special thanks to Dr. Anand and his team for their dedication and expertise in saving the lives of both the mother and the baby in such an emergency state.

Please pray with us for Jessie’s quick recovery. Poor girl…… went through both normal delivery process and an operation. She needs special grace to recover from all the wounds and severe body aches. Also pray for Sophia who misses her mom a lot. She was crying in her sleep asking for her mom. My daughter Sophia (2 years old) is very attached to my wife…so…in her absence…..i really ‘have to suffer’….explaining to her and comforting her especially at nights. In fact, I was distracted from blogging this entry several times as she gets up and cries looking for her mom. Man…man….its tough…in fact very tough to be a single father even for a day.

I will post the baby's photo in my next entry. God Bless.

Something new......

The Lord is indeed doing something new in my life. I don’t know what it is….but I believe He is taking me a step closer to Him and also deeper into the Spiritual Truths. I want to acknowledge that His ways are beyond my comprehension….but in humble submission I will avail myself to be ministered by Him.

My Prayer: O Lord my God, use this vessel for Thy glory. Mold me and make as a worthy vessel of thy praise. For you are the potter and I am the clay. Amen

How Indian Mind Works

I got an email from a friend. I thought i should share it in my blog. It's kind of funny but also true for the matter of fact. Read it and enjoy it.

NOT A STORY BUT A TRUE INCIDENT
An Indian man walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer. He tells the loan officer that he is going to India on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000. The bank officer tells him that the bank will need some form of security for the loan, so the Indian man hands over the keys and documents of new Ferrari parked on the street in front of the bank. He produces the title and everything checks out. The loan officer agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the Indian for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral against a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drives the Ferrari into the bank's underground garage and parks it there. Two weeks later, the Indian returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41. The loan officer says, "Sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multi millionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow "$5,000" ?


The Indian replies:
"Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return'"

Ah, the mind of the Indian... This is why India is shining

Cheers..

The Message for the Church

Rev. Dr. Hwa Yung, The Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia
preaching God's Word with a simultaneous translation into Tamil by Rev. Laurence

Indeed it was an honor for us, the people of TMC Tamil Settlement, Ipoh to have our dear beloved Bishop, Rev. Dr. Hwa Yung preaching God’s word on our Centennial Celebration Worship Service (31st May 2008). One important point that he made in his preaching was, challenging the Church at large (TAC) and Tamil Settlement Church on three specific areas.
Firstly: Evangelism and church planting.
The majority of the Indian community in Malaysia still does not know Jesus. What are we as a Tamil church doing about it?
Secondly: Reaching out to the poor and needy around us.
The Hindraf movement is a challenge to us! Do we have the courage to take up the challenge and get into the field to elevate poor and marginalized Indian to a better living? Bishop also commented on the formation of the 'Centennial Benevolence Fund' as a proactive action towards this course. Yet there are many more ways we can help the community.
Thirdly: Men and Women for ministry.
Are we willing to give the best to the Lord? Are we willing to send our children for full time ministry? Are we willing to give our selves for the Lord’s ministry both in and out of the church?

I believe that the message and challenges that the Bishop preached on the day was indeed a prophetic message for the Church. We have been praying much for the Bishop and his message prior to the celebration so that God may speak to us. Indeed, God clearly spoke to us and challenged us.
I also believe that this message has its relevance to all the Tamil speaking churches. Church planting among the main line churches seems to be slow. We are not aggressive enough in our evangelism ministry. I believe that Christians has some how or rather slowed down in evangelism comparing to the scenarios in the 1980’s. In promoting evangelism I would also want to remind us that firstly we the evangelizers should first and foremost live the Gospel ourselves. Christ must be projected in our lives and that would bear the greatest testimony of the risen Savior. Apart from that, only Christians especially the Tamil Churches can shed hope into the hopeless state of the poor and marginalized Indians in our community. The church should take proactive measures to channel our resources for the blessing of the community rather than spending our entire fund for self-edification (of the church members only) and keep on spending millions of ringgits in property maintenance and other related activities.

Centenniel Celebration Thanksgiving Service

The Tamil Methodist Church, Tamil Settlement’s Centennial Celebration Worship Service was indeed a remarkable one. Held on the 31st May 2008 with about 1600 people and 30 Pastors attended the worship service. It was a time where the whole congregation of the Church with guest and friends came together to give glory unto God for His faithfulness and grace that has sustained the Church for the last 100 years.
I had the privilege to lead in the worship session with the Centennial Choir backing me up (more than 70 singers). Also cccompanied by the shofar blowers.

The Guest of Honor, Bishop Rev. Dr. Hwa Yung; Rev. P. Tevaraji (President TAC); Rev. Dr. A.E. Joseph (Perak Dist. Superintendent) joined us in the worship.

** I will attach more photos in my next entry.

Pastors and Finance (a reflection from Pastors School)

Rev. Laurence D.B., Senior Pastor of Tamil Methodist Church,

Tamil Settlement, Buntong. Ipoh. (also my senior Pastor)

In another workshop, Rev. Laurence D.B. spoke about Pastors and finance. Many Pastors who attended the Pastors School expressed their financial difficulties and struggles. Some struggles so much that at times even their ministries are affected. The overall sentiment of the School was, Pastors are underpaid and constant rising cost of living in Malaysia affects them and their families badly. Some claims that they have not even been able to get a small gift for their wives during their birthdays. Or even bring out their kids to the fast food restaurant for dining. Those Pastors feel that, their financial constraint has deprived their wives and children from enjoying some basic pleasures of the world. Apart from that, some Pastors even resort into borrowing money from church members and friends to meet their constraint budget.

Reflection: It saddens my heart to hear about the financial crisis that some of my fellow colleagues face. I really wonder how the Conference (TAC) could help. Will a salary hike solve the problem? How much is enough? Does every Pastor have the same need/s? In reflecting upon some of these questions, I realized that every Pastor will have their peculiar needs involving finances. A salary hike alone will not help. One Pastor may need an addition of RM 300 / month; another Pastor may need an addition of RM 1000 a month. So, how much is enough? So, in my own opinion Pastors should resolve their financial struggles wisely. First, be diligent in spending. Secondly, encourage their spouses to earn a living. I notice that most of the Pastors who were sharing about their financial struggles have non-working wives. I think this is where the wives must also learn to shoulder some responsibilities and ease the husband's financial burden. Pastor’s wives should find for themselves a job that will generate some income for the family and at the same time increase the spending ability of the family as a whole. It is kind of hard for me to accept the arguments of some Pastors who make comparison of their financial state with their church members. Often time Pastors forget that most of our church members has working wives. Perhaps at the current age, it seems to me that it is indeed essential for both husband and wife to earn a living to avoid any major financial constraints. So, it is unfair for Pastors to make comparison with church members who have both their husband and wife working. As for me, I am not rich but I don’t go through major financial crisis because I have a working wife. Her earning has helped us tremendously in our monthly budget. Praise God that I have not asked people for financial assistance at least thus far in my ministry. So, In my own view and reflection on this matter, I feel that when a Pastors wives goes to work to earn a living, they would definitely ease the financial burden or rather bondage that clamp down many Pastors and their ministries. This view may be subjective. But, for me it really worked! I think it also works well for my other colleagues who have working wives.

Pastor a Visionary (reflection from the Pastors' School)

This session was moderated by Rev. Joseph Yesupatham and the panels were Rev. C. Jayaraj, Rev. Devadass Ratnam and Rev. Dennis Raj. I must say that the three panels did a great job. They shared their views and the dynamics involved in the Pastoral ministry especially being a visionary pastor. One main issue that was discussed most of the time during the session was the issue of whose vision is it? For an instance, Pastor A is transferred to a Church. Thus, he prayerfully gives a vision for the Church. The Church receives the vision well from the Pastor and works towards achieving it. However, even before the vision is fulfilled, Pastor A is transferred out of the Church. Now, Pastor B is posted to the Church. However, Pastor B may not share the same vision that of Pastor A’s. So, he may also prayerfully give the Church another direction and vision to follow. Now, the question is, how can there be different visions given to the same Church when different Pastors are posted there? Pastors who are visionaries struggle to share or work within the frame work of their predecessor’s (Pastor’s) vision when they are entrusted to take over a Church from another Pastor. So, the lay people struggle to understand whose vision shall they follow? Whose vision is from the Lord? This is an ongoing issue within the TAC Churches. After a long debate and discussion, the moderator concluded the session by saying that Vision does not change when the Pastor is transferred, but direction and approaches to achieve the vision may vary from one Pastor to another.

As for me, it is still easier said than done. I strongly feel that TAC should formulate a frame work within its transfer system that would create ample of space and time for the outgoing and incoming Pastors to work out and discuss many outstanding matters which also includes the God given vision for the Church prior to any transfer taking effect. A new Pastor should be told and understand the God given vision to the Church. This will avoid many potential misunderstanding and confusion when the transfer of Pastors takes effect. Pastors should also humble ourselves to accept and work towards the fulfillment of the vision that is given by God to our predecessors without any pride and prejudices

TAC Pastors' School

The Tamil Annual Conference's Pastors' School was held on the 28th to 31st May 2008 at YMCA Ipoh. Indeed, it was a time of blessing for all of us who attended. 52 Pastors, Supply Pastors and Church workers attended this school (the one with the grey t-shirt is Rev. Hendry Ponnaiah from England. Our Pastor who have joined the Methodist Church in England. He was back for a short break...and joined us for a day). Here with i attach some photos taken during the school. I will write my reflection once i am back from a short break...hurray...i'm on leave for the next 3 days....balik kampung ma...

The guest speaker, Rev. Dr. Henry Ramaya (in white shirt) ministering to the Pastors. The one in the red t-shirt is our Conference President, Rev. P. Tevaraji.

Pastors praying and ministering to one another. It was a wonderful and meaningful time where Pastors could minister to one another. I believe, God was truly healing many of us emotionally. In fact, this time of prayer also brought us closer to one another. My prayer partner was the guest speaker himself.........sorry no picture...busy praying....in fact no one to take for me.

On the final day……ummmm……this is the only photo besides the group photo that I appear in. Ya loh….what to do…..i had to become the camera man ma………but it was a great joy to capture many wonderful moments of the school on my Olympus (semi-pro) digital camera. Total pictures taken…219.

Centennial Celebration of Songs

As a part of our Centennial Celebration, the Church had organized a program called Celebration of Songs on the 23rd May 2008. I have attached few photos taken during the special program.

Final touch by the choir director….the choir is getting the pitch right. Director sudah naik tension...half of the choir members were not there at 7.00pm (very heavy rain ma....)

The kids we preparing for the parade..........

Choir all set to go.....just about to walk forward to take their place.

Opening song.....choir is in action..accompanied by the children with their opening dance.

Full strenght choir..........50 beautiful singers...full of dedication...commitment....and prayerful attitude. Infact, they will back me up on the 31st May 2008.
Musicians for the day.

The crowd..the faithful members of Tamil Methodist Church, Tamil Settlement...around 300 people attended the service inspite of heavy down pour.

The man behind the scene.....Mr. Anbalakan.....our most beloved Choir Director......man of discipline and order. He drilled the choir for the last 5 months for this event.

Thanksgiving Service

In commemorating the 100th year anniversary of the Church, the Centennial Celebration Organizing team headed by Mr. D. Vilson has organized a Thanksgiving Worship Service on the 31st May 2008. We as a church, truly wants to give all the glory and honor to God alone for His good work done amongst us for the last 100 years. With that being our focus, we want to extend our warm greetings to all to attend to this Thanksgiving Service. We are expecting around 2000 people to attend to this Worship Service that will be held on the 31st May 2008 at 5.00pm in Tamil Methodist Church, Tamil Settlement, Buntong, Ipoh. We are also truly privileged to have our dear Bishop, Rev. Dr. Hwa Yung to preach God’s Word to us. After the Worship Service, we will celebrate together the goodness of God in a Thanksgiving meal and witness the fire works presentation.

To God be the Glory.

Century of Grace

‘Century of Grace’ – is the most accurate theme for the 100th Year Celebration of Tamil Methodist Church, Tamil Settlement, Ipoh. The theme describes clearly the foundation of this mega church with its mega structure. Indeed Tamil Methodist Church, Tamil Settlement is a pride of the Tamil Annual Conference (TAC) of Methodist Church in Malaysia. This church is also known as the biggest Tamil Church both in terms of its building structure and membership. The Church is made up of more than 1000 full members.
The year 1908 marks the beginning of a ministry among some Indian migrant workers who were brought in from Thirunalveli, India by the British government to work in the plantation areas here in Ipoh. Those migrants workers were our forefather who started worshipping God in a small village called Tamil Settlement in Buntong, Ipoh. In fact, the place was named after the Tamils who arrived and settled therein as plantation workers.
The above picture shows a majestic church building. However, the beginning of this church was filled with lots of tears, sorrows, poverty and many struggles. The Tamil migrants toiled very hard on a foreign land to meet their basic needs to live. Their lives were filled with limitations. But, in the midst of all these limitations and struggles of life, these faithful Christians never ceased praying and worshipping God in this area. God in His mercy and abundance of grace blessed this Church over the years.
Today, the Church stands tall as the largest Tamil congregation in whole of Malaysia because of God’s grace. It was through His grace the Church was founded, and it was His grace that caused it to grow and multiply in number, it was His grace that raised many Pastors and Conference leaders from among its members and it is also His grace that this year we are celebrating the 100th year anniversary of the Church. Indeed, ‘Century of Grace’ is the perfect theme to describe God’s faithfulness over His people in Tamil Settlement.

Busy...busy

Busy...busy and busy...infact, absolutely busy here. No time to blog. I will be back soon.....

Jehovah's Witness (2)

What do the Jehovah's Witnesses Teach? (Doctrines)
1. There is one God in one person, Make Sure of All Things, p 188.
2. There is no Trinity, Let God be True, p. 100-101; Make Sure of All Things, p.386.
3. The Holy Spirit is a force, not alive, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 406-407.
4. The Holy Spirit is God's impersonal active force, The Watchtower, June 1, 1952, p. 24.
5. Jehovah's first creation was his 'only-begotten Son'. . . was used by Jehovah in creating all other things", Aid to Bible Understanding, pp. 390-391.
6. Jesus was Michael the archangel who became a man, The Watchtower, May 15, 1963, p. 307; The New World, 284.
7. Jesus was only a perfect man, not God in flesh, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 306.
8. Jesus did not rise from the dead in his physical body, Awake! July 22, 1973, p. 4.
9. Jesus was raised "not a human creature, but a spirit." Let God be True, p. 276.
10. Jesus was born again, The Watchtower, Nov. 15, 1954, p. 682.
11. Jesus did not die on a cross but on a stake, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 89-90.
12. Jesus began his invisible rule over the earth in 1914, The Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 300.
13. Jesus' ransom sacrifice did not include Adam, Let God be True, p. 119.
14. Their church is the self-proclaimed prophet of God, The Watchtower, April 1, 1972, p. 197.

15. They claim to be the only channel of God's truth, The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1981, p. 19.
16. Only their church members will be saved, The Watchtower, Feb, 15, 1979, p. 30.
17. Good works are necessary for salvation, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 1, pp. 150, 152.
18. The soul ceases to exist after death, Let God be True, p. 59, 60, 67.
19. There is no hell of fire where the wicked are punished, Let God be True, p. 79, 80.
20. Only 144,000 Jehovah's Witness go to heaven, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 166-167, 361; Let God be True, p. 121.
21. Only the 144,000 Jehovah's Witness are born again. Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, p. 76.; Watchtower 11/15/54, p. 681.
22. Only the 144,000 may take communion,
23. Blood transfusions are a sin, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 72-73.
24. The Cross is a pagan symbol and should not be used, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 90-92.
25. Salvation is by faith and what you do, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 1, pp. 150,152.
26. It is possible to lose your salvation, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 358-359.
27. The universe is billions of years old, Your will Be Done on Earth, p. 43.
28. Each of the 6 creative days of God in Genesis 1, was 7000 years long. Therefore, Man was created toward the end of 42,000 years of earth's preparation, Let God be True, p. 168.
29. They also refuse to vote, salute the flag, or celebrate Christmas or birthdays. They are not allowed to serve in the armed forces.
30. Satan was entrusted with the obligation and charged with the duty of overseeing the creation of the earth, Children, p 55

Source:
CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & RESEARCH MINISTRY
www.carm.org

Base on the above doctrines, we can notice several contradiction to the basic Christian doctrines. We shall evaluate it further in the coming post......stay connected.

Jehovah's Witnesses (1)

I thought it will good for me to share some info about the Jehovah's Witnesses. Many of my church members often ask me about the doctrines of the JW. In our recent study of the Book of Galatians, we explored the false teaching that was prominent in the 1st Century A.D. In relation to that, some feel that JW is a false teaching of this age. Some even feel that the JW is a cult. Whatever it is, i feel it is good for us to have a brief overview of their history and doctrine before we make the judgment.

THE HISTORY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

The Jehovah's Witnesses was begun by Charles Taze Russell in 1872. He was born on February 16, 1852, the son of Joseph L. and Anna Eliza Russell. He had great difficulty in dealing with the doctrine of eternal hell fire and in his studies came to deny not only eternal punishment, but also the Trinity, and the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit. When Russell was 18, he organized a Bible class in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1879 he sought to popularize his aberrant ideas on doctrine. He co-published The Herald of the Morning magazine with its founder, N. H. Barbour and by 1884 Russell controlled the publication and renamed it The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom, and founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society (now known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society). The first edition of The Watchtower magazine was only 6,000 copies each month. Today the Witnesses' publishing complex in Brooklyn, New York, churns out 100,000 books and 800,000 copies of its two magazines--daily! Russell claimed that the Bible could be only understood according to his interpretations. A dangerous arrangement since he controlled what was written in the Watchtower magazine. This kind of assertion is typical among leaders of cult religions. After the death of Russell on Oct. 31, 1916, a Missouri lawyer named Joseph Franklin Rutherford took over the presidency of the Watch Tower Society which was known then as the International Bible Students Association. In 1931 he changed the name of the organization to "The Jehovah's Witnesses." After Rutherford's death, Nathan Knorr took over. After Knorr, Frederick William Franz became president. The Society was led by Mr. Henschel who died in 2003. The group has over 4 million members world wide. The Watchtower Society statistics indicate that 740 house calls are required to recruit each of the nearly 200,000 new members who join every year. The Jehovah's Witnesses have several ‘book studies' each week. The members are not required to attend, but there is a level of expectation that gently urges converts to participate. It is during these ‘book studies' that the Jehovah's Witness is constantly exposed to counter Christian teachings. The average Jehovah's Witness, with his constant Watchtower indoctrination, could easily pummel the average Christian when it comes to defending his beliefs. The Jehovah's Witnesses vehemently portray the doctrine of the Trinity as pagan in origin and that Christendom, as a whole, has bought the lie of the devil. Along with denying the Trinity is an equally strong denial of the deity of Christ, the deity of the Holy Spirit, the belief in hell, and eternal conscious punishment in hell.

Source:
CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & RESEARCH MINISTRY
www.carm.org

Moving in Faith

Talking about faith, it is always easy said than done. One can preach about faith a million time but when it is truly required of us to make a move of faith, it is at most time a scary experience. Sometimes people move in faith because they have no other choice or rather they are forced to do so. But most of the time, when we are given a choice we tend to think and analyze the situation and the repercussion before we decide in so call ‘faith’. Why is it too difficult to move in faith? Is it because we don’t know our God well? Or are we afraid of failures that may come because of the move of faith?
I was privileged to have a ‘faith discourse’ with a friend last night. We were both struggling in our own ways, in our own peculiar situations to make moves of faith in our respective lives. We both could just sit down and testify the great things that the Lord has done in the past (actually it was up to 1am in the morning). But at present, when we are required to make a move of faith, the both of us tend to struggle to do so. We are asking God for numerous confirmations to do so. God in His grace gives us one after the other confirmation. He spoke through His word, through prophetic voice…but yet we struggle to move in faith.
As I reflect upon the lives of the many Biblical Heroes who moved in faith, I am truly amazed with their faith in God. Hebrews 11 explains to us the true meaning of faith. Without faith no man can ever please God. In reading of Genesis 12:1-4, I noticed that God told Abraham (vs.1) to move in faith to a land that is unknown to him. Verses 2 and 3 are the prophecy that is given to Abraham. Interestingly, in verse 4, the bible record, “So Abraham went, as the Lord had told him….” The Bible does not tell me that Abraham consulted his wife, or even gave a second thought to God’s instruction. All that he did was…obey….and moved in faith. I believe that his move faith was the reason why he was blessed by God. He simply trusted God…obeyed God….and moved in faith.
I am speechless when I see the life of Abraham. I really pray that one day…I will be able to simply move in faith without a second thought.

Prayer: God give me the faith that you have given Abraham, Moses and many other heroes of the Bible. I preach about faith just to realize that I am a total failure in it. Lord help me with my unbelieving, cautious, critical mind that prevents me to trust you with my future, finances and life as a whole. I want to please you Lord in all my ways, and I know it impossible to do so without faith. I am in a desperate need of faith…help me Lord.

The word “obedience” seems to be a verb that curbs ones freedom to do what they wish to do. The world is teaching us about free will and human rights which give human race the ultimate choice do to what they wish to do unless it affects others. To tell a young person to obey to certain rules seems to be curbing him of his individual rights. This phenomenon is vastly seen in many Churches especially when we deal with young people around us.
However, when I ponder about this matter I realized that obedience is a major theme of the Old Testament. All that the Lord demanded of the Israelites was obedience to His percepts. Nevertheless, it was a sad scenario when the Israelites kept on disobeying God’s rules despite His faithfulness to the nation and His repeated admonishing.
Last Sunday, I preached a sermon entitled ‘Obedience better than sacrifice’. I re-examined the life and the downfall of the very first King of Israel, Saul. One obvious reason for Saul’s downfall as a King was disobedience. He disobeyed God on two different situations. First, he did what he was not supposed to do (unlawful sacrifice – 1 Sam 13: 8-9) ; secondly, he failed to do what he was supposed to do (war against the Amalekites – 1 Sam 15:3-22) . In both this circumstances Saul disobeyed God’s command. The repercussion of his disobedience was severe; he lost the Kingdom once and for all.
In today’s context, we too in many circumstances chose to disobey God. Some may even think that obedience can be substituted with offerings and sacrifices. If we think so, let me tell you that we are terribly wrong. 1 Sam 15:22 tells us clearly that God is not interested in our sacrifices when there is no obedience to His Word. Our offerings and sacrifices (though big they may be) can never substitute obedience to God’s Word. We live in this world and are saved solely by God’s grace. We are not required of any task to attain salvation. In another word, we don’t need to work for our salvation. Salvation is a free gift of grace from God to human kind. However, all that is required of us is to trust in this gracious God and obey His commandments. I think the hymn writer has said it correctly, ‘Trust and obey for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.’

2nd Day of Pastorate

My second day at work started as early as 9.00am and came to an end at about 11.30pm. Wow….that was really long. Praise God for the strength and above all the joy that he has given me to enjoy this day. After office hours, that’s about 1.00pm, we (the Senior Pastor and I visited 3 people admitted at 3 different Hospitals. We got back at about 4.30pm and rushed home to have our bath to attend for the Methodist Women’s Opening service at 5.00pm. Ah…can you imagine the rush….we had to get ready within half an hour to attend the service. After service we had the Women’s planning meeting which ended at 7.10pm. I had to drop Jessie and Sophia back home (about 10 minutes drive from the Church) and come back to the Church for the Mission Comm. Meeting at 7.30pm. Finally, went back home at 8.30pm and had my dinner. At 9.30pm my Senior Pastor visited our home (I salute him man…really tahan lasak one). He has been working since morning and still can visit and pray for us at that time. His visitation has turned out to be another tour of duty for us. We had to go to the General Hospital at that time to pray for a woman who was admitted earlier that day. However, it was raining very heavily that we could even get into the car. So, we waited for the rain to stop and left home for our tour of duty at 10.30pm. Finally, came back home for good after visiting at about 12pm.
Though we were both tired, but we really enjoyed doing what we were doing. It was wonderful to be there for our people in their sickness and to pray and give them words of hope. As I reflect upon my second day at work…..I realize that my physical tiredness is overshadowed by the joy of my heart in serving God and His people. I also realize that I have to do a proper time management in order to stay fit and healthy as I serve in a highly demanding church like this (simply because we only have 3 Pastors to minister to more than 1300 people). So, my plans for time management as follows:-

6.00am – Arise and Shine
6.30-7.30am – Personal time with God
7.30-8.15am – Exercise (brisk walking in a near by park)
8.30am – Breakfast
8.45am – Leave home to office.
1.00pm – Lunch and rest (also family time)
5.00pm – Out for Ministry (everyday surely got something one!!!)
Every night spend more quality time with Jessie and Sophia.
· Every Monday – strictly off day (dedicate for myself and my family)

I really hope and pray that I will have the discipline to follow my plans accordingly.

1st Day of Pastorate

It has been 3 years studying in STM equipping myself for full time ministry. 1st Jan 2008 marked a brand new beginning for my career. I have been posted to the largest Tamil church in Malaysia, Tamil Settlement Ipoh. My first day at work has been a remarkable one. I arrived at the Centennial Year of the Church. The Church celebrates its 100 years anniversary this year. So, the Watch Night cum New Year Service was a grand celebration (lengthy though). I had the privilege to be the first person to wish the whole congregation of more than 1000 people seated with New Year greetings at sharp 00.00 am 1st Jan 2008 since I did the Call to Worship and the Opening Prayer. The Watch Night Service started at 11am and the it continued with the New Year Service and Celebration and came to an end at about 4 am.
One great challenge that all Pastors who serve in this Church have is when it comes to the time of serving the Holy Communion elements. It is no joke serving Communion to more than 1000 people!!! However, it was a great joy and privilege for me to serve God in the midst of his great people. That was my first day experience in the Church. I am looking forward for many more exciting experiences in my ministry in this Church.

Moving out

Finally, we are moving out of Seremban. Right now we are busy packing up all our household things. We will be shifting out to Ipoh this Sunday (16th December 2007).

Double Joy

The 32nd Session of the Tamil Annual Conference (TAC), of the Methodist Church in Malaysia was held in Penang from the 17th till 21st November 2007. It was attended by almost 160 people who include the lay delegates, Pastors, guests and observers from all over the country.

This annual conference has been a significant one for me though I have attended many before. I was admitted into “Member of Trial” as a fulltime Pastor of the TAC. I have also been posted to the largest Tamil Church/Congregation in Malaysia, Tamil Settlement, Ipoh which comprises of 1,033 full members. I will be assisting the Senior Pastor, Rev. Lawrence Belvendram. As for me, it is a great honor to serve the Lord in this capacity. I also wish to thank my President, Rev. P Tevaraji and the Board of Appointments for entrusting me with this placement.

At the same time, I am also grateful to God for granting my wife Jessie her transfer to the Methodist Girls School (MGS), Ipoh. This is another significant happening for us. Jessie was an ex student of MGS. She finish both her primary and secondary education in this school…and now she is posted back to the same school as a teacher…wow….she is all exited and I cherish in her happiness.

These two great happenings (my posting and Jessie's transfer) have brought double joy for us. Praise God for that.

We as a family wish to thank our families and friends who have been praying for our well being. Thank you all and God bless. Shalom.

Can I Sue My Fellow Brother in the Court?

In recent years, we hear many disputes among believers (Christians) often turned into litigation. As I reflect on this situation, I see a similarity between what happens today and what happened in the Corinthian church. In reading 1 Corinthians 6: 1-8, we notice that Paul is addressing the issue of one believer dragging another to a pagan court for justice. By dragging, one another to court the Corinthians were intent on winning damages for themselves. Evidently, a business or property dispute was the root of this case in this context. Paul in response to the situation reminded them that they had already lost before the judge gave his verdict. The shame of people who professed to love one another and put the welfare of others before their own suing each other was a defeat in itself. This defeat was far more serious than any damages they may have had to pay. It would be better to suffer the wrong or the cheating than to fight back in such an ‘unchristian way’ (Matt. 5:39-40; 1 Pet. 2:19-24).
What was to the Corinthians’ shame? It was that by going into secular courts to settle their church problems they seemed to be saying that there was no one in their church wise enough to settle these matters. Certainly, they could count on the Holy Spirit to give them the wisdom they needed to do this (cf. John 14:26; 16:13). Clearly, this church did not understand its identity as an eschatological community nor did it demonstrate much concern about its witness to the world.
I feel that Paul’s whole argument here is built upon the Christian love. Christians should be willing to give to one another rather than trying to get from one another. In other words, there should be no going to court with one another at all. Nevertheless, if the Corinthians insisted on going to court, it should be a court of believers in the church, not unbelievers (people professing other faith). Since the Lord will delegate the authority to judge unbelievers to Christians in the future, Paul concluded that we are competent to settle disputes among ourselves now. In the light of future eschatological judgment, any decisions that believers must make in church courts now are relatively trifling. Obviously, some cases involving Christians arguing with one another are more difficult to sort out than some of those involving unbelievers. Paul’s point was that Christians are generally competent to settle disputes between people. After all, we have the help and wisdom of the indwelling Holy Spirit available to us.
In reading the text in its context, I am convinced that Paul is totally against the idea of believers bringing each other to the civil court for justice. It is immaterial what the dispute is all about, let it be property or any other forms of damages, all that Paul is saying here is for the Corinthians to resolve their disputes within the church context.
I believe that this principle is also applicable to our contemporary context. When a believer bring another fellow believer to a civil court to seek for justice, it does not only reflect badly on the Christian image of the two parties, but, it also tarnishes the image of the church as a whole for being incapable of resolving internal disputes and crisis. Our testimony and call as “peacemaker” (Matt 5:9) are also at stake in a litigation process since litigation itself is a legal process that show the failure to attain a peaceful and amicable solution to a dispute.
Therefore, in understanding the consequences, litigation between a Christian and a fellow believer is definitely harmful for both individual and the church as a whole. I strongly feel that some how or rather the Church government has also failed in its duty to uphold justice and to play the mediator’s role in resolving disputes and misunderstanding between two believers. When there is a dispute or some major friction between the members, the church leadership and the Pastor must step up to the occasion to intervene and resolve the matter amicably. This will to certain extent avoid any of the grieve parties from seeking justice elsewhere (civil court in this context).
At the same time, the passage of 1 Corinthians 6: 1-8 should also be taught in our churches that the people will realize that bringing our disputes (between two believers) to a civil courts will not do any good for the body of Christ as a whole. In addition to that, this also disqualifies the church’s vital role and contribution as a channel of God’s peace and love to this fallen world. Therefore, in the light of this passage, every forms of litigation between two believers must be strongly discouraged or rather prohibited. In saying that we must also bear in mind that this passage does not deal with how Christians should respond when pagans (unbelievers) defraud or sues them in a civil court. This may be a more complicated issue, which should be studied base on case by case. However, we should always remind Christians to participate in any form of public litigation only as a last resort – even if the defendant is an unbeliever.

Can I divorce my unbelieving spouse?

Divorce is a crucial issue that the church today is struggling with. The biblical view of the issue is often referred to Jesus’ teaching in the gospel where He makes a clear distinction that divorce is only sanctioned if there is ‘sexual immorality’ in marriage. Jesus’ teaching on this matter is clear, however, the issue that I am struggling with is the problem of divorce that threatens marriages due to one of the spouse converting to Christian faith. When Jesus dealt with the matter of divorce, He referred primarily to Jewish couples who were married under the Old Testament law. So, the passage of 1 Cor 7: 10-15 is the best reference for me to draw out the biblical principles of divorce in such circumstances. There are times when new believers in Christ would want to press for a divorce from their “unbelieving” spouse simply because they are seen as a hindrance for their faith in Christ Jesus. In these circumstances, many choose to dissolve the marriage on the ground of incompatibility – some even choose to remarry. There are also cases where the Christian spouses are abused psychically and mentally by their non-Christian spouse for embracing Christ. As a pastor to the new converts, I really struggle to advise them on their marital problem that is closely related to their faith. By principle I understand that marriage should only be dissolved by death, however, in difficult situations where the faith of a new convert being affected by the continuance of their marriage to unbelieving spouse, I struggle to render my pastoral advice.

Paul in 1 Cor 7: 10- 15 dealt with the issue of divorce in the case of mixed marriages where one of the spouses becomes a Christian and the other one remains in other faith. The new converts ask Paul with genuine concern, if they have left behind the old life and become a new creation in Christ; does not their relationship with their unbelieving, unrepentant spouse and their entire home atmosphere threaten to pollute and to corrode their purity as one who belongs to Christ? By principle, Paul echoes to the command of Christ that husband and wife must not separate, because the Lord himself forbids it. The Corinthians lived under Roman law where the men and women could divorce their spouse by separating from them, by sending them away or moving out of the home. Thus, it was legally and socially all right for a person who was once an “unbeliever” but now becomes a Christian to divorce his or her unbelieving spouse. Paul makes a very clear distinction that the marriage between a new Christian and his or her spouse who is still an unbeliever remains valid although one of them becomes a Christian. This means that the believing spouse (Christian) should not do anything to cause the unbelieving spouse (non-Christian) to leave him or her. Divergence of faith alone is not sufficient reason for a believer to separate himself from an unbelieving spouse. In fact, in reading verse 14, Paul argues that when the marriage remains intact, the faith of the believing spouse would “sanctify” the unbelieving partner and gives a hope and prospect of winning the unbelieving partner to Jesus Christ.However, in verse 15, Paul talks about the possibilities of the unbelieving spouse divorcing the Christian spouse. When this happens, the believing spouse can do nothing to prevent the unbelieving spouse to divorce them, because the continuance of the marriage depends entirely on the consent of the nonbeliever, since the Christian has no ground for initiating divorce. In this situation the grieve party who is a Christian is not guilty of the separation and are considered as suffering for the righteousness sake. Thus, in understanding the issue in its context, it is best understood that Paul does not permit divorce on the ground of incompatibility; the believer is to do everything in his or her power to make the marriage work. Nevertheless, if the other spouse ends the marriage, then, the believer is not to be blamed for the divorce. In understanding Paul’s advise to the Corinthians, I am convinced that the same principle is very much applicable to new converts in our contemporary context. I believe that marriage between a believer and their “unbelieving” spouse can and should only be dissolved if the “unbelieving” spouse chose to divorce the Christian spouse. However, it is the responsibility of the believer at any cost to make the marriage work despite all differences and difficulties. Thus, the new convert of faith cannot dissolve the existing marriage with their unbelieving spouse because of divergence. The marriage covenant remains intact and valid though one of them has received a new faith. Though at times situations may seem to be out of proportion when the “unbelieving” spouse hinders the Christian spouse from attending church gatherings and literally practicing Christianity, the Christian partner should endure hardship by continuously living with their unbelieving spouse with the hope of saving their souls from eternal destruction. Paul reminds the Corinthians in verse 14, that as long the marriage covenant is not broken through divorce, the unbelieving spouse and their children will me made holy because of the new convert. However, when the unbelieving spouse decides to dissolve the marriage, I believe that the Christian spouse should rightfully respect the choice of the unbelieving spouse to be separated through divorce. In this circumstances, the new convert is not guilty of dissolving the marriage providing that they (the new convert) has done everything possible to maintain the marriage.

** I wrote this paper in my seminary and got an A- for it. So, i thought it will be useful for the those ministers who will be or facing similar problem in their congregation :-).....

Who is clever? Teacher or student?

I got this joke from a friend. I thought it would be nice to be posted on my blog. The moral of the story is NEVER underestimate your teachers.

One Night 4 College Students Were Playing Till Late Night And Didn't Study For The Test Which Was Scheduled For The Next Day.

In the morning they thought of a plan. They made themselves look as dirty and weird with grease and dirt. They then went up to the Dean and said that they had gone out to a wedding last night and on their return the tyre of their car burst and they had to push the car!
all the way back and that they were in no condition to appear for the test. So the Dean said they can have the re-test after 3 days.

They thanked him and said they will be ready by that time. On the third day they appeared before the Dean.

The Dean said that as this was a Special Condition Test, all four were required to sit in seperate classrooms for the test. They all agreed as they had prepared well in the last 3 days.

The Test consisted of 2 questions with the total of 100 Marks.

Q.1. Your Name........ ......... ........( 2 MARKS )

Q.2. Which tyre burst ?........... ....( 98 MARKS )

a) Front Left

b) Front Right

c) Back Left

d) Back Right .....!!!

In His Ministry........

"When God calls you, He enables you and sees you through" Warren Wiersbe.

In reflecting upon Wiersbe's words, i realise that these words are very true indeed. I see this happening all through out in my own faith journey. When i first committed myself for the full time ministry in 2003, i was actually overwhelmed by many insecure feelings. Financial insecurity, friendship, family etc...etc. But, now as i look back, i realise that God has always been there, sustaining me and providing all my needs. I can proudly claim that I lack no good in serving the Almighty God.

When i enrolled into STM for my theological studies in 2005, i was shocked by the academy requirements of the seminary. Even in the very first semester i wanted to call it a quit. I really thought i wont be able to cope and i will not gratuate with a M.Div. That was when i told my wife to pack our bags and leave Seremban. But, somehow she manage to convince me to stay on. That was the time i really went to the Lord with a broken spirit and a contrite heart. Cried out to Him, desperately wanting to know His Will for my life. I really thought i was not in the center of His Will....until......He spoke to me clearly that night. The Lord gave me a clear sign or rather a promise. He showed me 3 numbers. It was 3.33 and He told me that "He will see me through" and i will gratuate from STM with 3.33 as my final CGPA.

Days past, semesters after semesters my grades improved....but it was kind of far for the promise. In fact there were times i made fun of the "promise" that the Lord made and i told him synically that "i am not in the center of His Will". When i collected the results of my second last semester (3rd year / 1st semester), i laughed aloud because my CGPA was 3.32. I thought that would be the best that i can do....and it is merely impossible for me to do better in the final semester with many difficult courses that i was taking + my thesis that was 'hanging on the air'.

Finally, i completed all the academy requirements (passed all my papers and my thesis). I left happily to Philipines for the ACT 3 Conference. When i came back from Philipines, i went up to the Academy Office to check my results. The staff told me that i have cleared all my paper and now i can gratuate. I insisted for my transcript.........my final CGPA was 3.33. I just broke down when i saw my grades. I realised how real my God is. Finally all my doubts are cleared - I am sure that i am in the center of God's will. Praise God. I also realised that "when God calls us, He enables us and sees us through". This have also eliminated many of my fears of the future. Because the One who have called me is more than faithful in sustaining me and using me for His glory. AMEN.

Time of preparation......

The whole of November and December 2007 is suppose to be a holiday for me or rather a break from all ministerial commitments. In fact, this period of 2 months is a privilege that all TAC graduands enjoys upon their graduation. As for me this is a great time for preparation. A time for me to prepare myself and family for the future ministry. A time for me to set things right with God and man. A time for me to catch up with my family and friends. Basically, this is the ideal time for myself and my family to do whatever we want.

As a part of my personal preparation, i have schedulled to complete reading the whole Bible in this 2 months. I know i am lagging back in the schedule...but somehow i will catch up with it.

Other than that I have been introduced with a book authored by Warren Wiersbe, On Being a Servant of God. I think this is an excellent book for those who are in ministry and those who are praparing for God's ministry. Both for lay and clergy.

One pointer that caught my eyes as i was reading this morning was: "in ministry you must be yourself". Generally, we often try to immitate others or 'the greats' in our Christian ministry. When we give too much of attention in immitating others, we tend to lose focus on our call and the way God wants us to minister. In fact, we are unique in what we are and what we can do, and God doesn't want us to destroy that uniqueness that he has given us by trying to be somebody else. That does not mean we should not admire others, in fact there's nothing wrong with appreciating God's special servants and being inspired and instructed by them. But, in doing so, we should not destroy our own distinctive ministry.

I am glad that i was introduced to this book by a very dear aunt of mine back in my hometown. I may be reflecting more on the interesting pointers that i discover as i read this book in my coming entries. Stay connected guys.

Cheers.

Being Thankful

There are indeed many reasons why one should be thankful. As for me, i also have many reasons to thank God and many people around me. Though this year have been a very stressfull one for me, as i look back, i noticed that there are multitude of things that i must be thankful for. Among them:-

• My family (wife and baby), my wonderful mother, my supportive brothers and their respective families, my sister and her family for all their support, words of encouragement and the joy that they have brought into my life.
• My good friends who have journeyed together with me in STM, and back home in Banting.
• My dear friend Pastors and my field education supervisors for their prayers and words of encouragement.
• My lecturers in STM who have ignited the passion for theological studies in me. Also for those lecturers who have been very pastoral in relating to me.
• My thesis supervisor and reader for approving my thesis.
• My friends and church members who were present during my graduation. Their presence itself was a pillar of strenght for me.

Well. the list can go on and on. In fact, we, as children of God should always be thankful to God and the people around us. God uses people to meet into our many needs, thus, we must also be thankful for the people who have availed themselves to be used by God as an instrument in meeting us and our needs.

Finally, we as a family would like to thank all of you for praying for Jessie's transfer. Praise God, she has already got her transfer to Perak. I just checked it online. Thanks again for all your support and prayer. May God richly bless all of you.

Friendship.......

Friends give each other emotional support by demonstrating care and affection. They also provide guidance during times of decision-making. Friends give help by meeting practical needs, such as loaning a car, cooking a meal, or taking care of a dog while a friend's on vacation. Psychologists have hypothesized that friends are actually coping mechanisms; by providing companionship and resources, friends alleviate stress in a person's life.

There are cultural differences in the way friends are viewed across the world. In cultures that value familial network, such as the Asian culture, the function and role of a friend are often found within the family structure, and friendships are not given the same weight of importance as in another culture. There are also varying definitions as to what constitutes a friend. Someone might call another person "friend" because they have mutual interests and activities, while another person considers a friend someone he shares similar attitudes, values, and beliefs.

But have you ever wondered what happens when good friendship turns out to be bad? Let me tell you, it is very painful. Especially when the friends that you trust and shared your minds out betrays you. What more when they falsely accuse you of saying the things that you have not said. Or even passes bad remarks about you with the intention to damage your reputation. I was just puzzled when all this happened to me. I just can’t believe it. I really wonder what was the intention and why should a ‘good friendship’ end up like this. I thought good friends can sit around a table and work out their differences. They can even admonish each other and further grow in the friendship. But why must there be betrayal in friendship? Why must friends go extra miles to hurt their friends by slandering and tarnishing their name? I have no answers to all these questions. But I believe, that in all that we go through, God is indeed teaching us something. I’m not sure what is He teaching me right now….but I think I just need to trust Him more than any human being…for He is my best friend who will never betray me nor harm me. I can count on His friendship.

Thank you Jesus for being a good friend of mine especially when others fail me. Amen.

Friendship.......

Friends give each other emotional support by demonstrating care and affection. They also provide guidance during times of decision-making. Friends give help by meeting practical needs, such as loaning a car, cooking a meal, or taking care of a dog while a friend's on vacation. Psychologists have hypothesized that friends are actually coping mechanisms; by providing companionship and resources, friends alleviate stress in a person's life.

There are cultural differences in the way friends are viewed across the world. In cultures that value familial network, such as the Asian culture, the function and role of a friend are often found within the family structure, and friendships are not given the same weight of importance as in another culture. There are also varying definitions as to what constitutes a friend. Someone might call another person "friend" because they have mutual interests and activities, while another person considers a friend someone he shares similar attitudes, values, and beliefs.

But have you ever wondered what happens when good friendship turns out to be bad? Let me tell you, it is very painful. Especially when the friends that you trust and shared your minds out betrays you. What more when they falsely accuse you of saying the things that you have not said. Or even passes bad remarks about you with the intention to damage your reputation. I was just puzzled when all this happened to me. I just can’t believe it. I really wonder what was the intention and why should a ‘good friendship’ end up like this. I thought good friends can sit around a table and work out their differences. They can even admonish each other and further grow in the friendship. But why must there be betrayal in friendship? Why must friends go extra miles to hurt their friends by slandering and tarnishing their name? I have no answers to all these questions. But I believe, that in all that we go through, God is indeed teaching us something. I’m not sure what is He teaching me right now….but I think I just need to trust Him more than any human being…for He is my best friend who will never betray me nor harm me. I can count on His friendship.

Thank you Jesus for being a good friend of mine especially when others fail me. Amen.

Thank You....Darlings

A special thanks to my wonderful wife, Jessie and my adorable baby girl, Sophia Christabel for journeying together with me all this while especially during my studies in STM. This post is to pay a special tribute for the two most wonderful people in my life.

Thank you darlings for:-

• Your love and compassion towards me
• Your patients with me
• Giving me a shoulder to lean on when I was cracking under pressure
• Being my stronghold in times of crisis
• Being there for me when my good friends betrayed me. When I was suffering of the pain of being betrayed, you both brought light into my life.
• Being there when I was sick.
• Comforting me when I have to deal with unreasonable and inconsiderate people who have come along my way in this last 3 years of studies in STM.
• Encouraging me when criticism and accusations were thrown on me.
• Crying with me when I am hurt beyond consolation because of some people who I think are my good friends, but turns out to be culprits who misrepresent me and tarnishes my name for some unknown reasons.
• Teaching me the true meaning of Love and Family.
  

I am truly blessed to have Jessie and Sophia in my life. I thank God for them and I am looking forward for many more years of joy and gladness in serving God as a family.

His Grace….and Grace alone.

When I look back on my faith journey thus far, I realized that it was all by His grace and grace alone. Praise God that I have graduated with my M.Div from Seminari Theoloji Malaysia. My journey in STM has never been an easygoing one. Even until the very last week of the semester, I had hills and valleys on which I had to travel. My journey was filled with stressful situations, bitter contentions, good and bad friendships and the list can go on and on. Nevertheless, in spite of all that I went through in the last 3 years, I realized that God has actually molded me to become a better person for His glory. I learned it all at the Master’s feet though the lessons were hard and painful at times. I want to thank God for allowing me to go through what I went through at this phase in my life and ministry.
I also don’t deny the many wonderful experiences and friendships that I had in STM. Through them all God taught me many things, things that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Now as I end my journey in STM, I realized that all this while, His grace and grace alone have sustained me thus far.

Thank you Lord.

“No books or writing have ever described God’s grace precisely, unless one experiences it for themselves.”

Silvester Louis Martin David

Terima Kasih sekalung Budi

A Million thanks to all my good friends in STM, Lecturers, my President, Pastors, my church and all those who have prayed diligently for Sophia and us. Sophia has been discharged from the hospital and she is very healthy right now. I believe that all our prayers are answered and God has given both Jessie and me sufficient grace to endure this difficult episode in life. Praise God for the healing and thanks again for all your visitation and prayer.

God Bless You All.

Silvester, Jessie and Sophia Christabel David.

Beauty of Nature

Indeed our God is beautiful beyond description. His beauty is portrayed by the nature and all that lives within it.

Waiting on God

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him! - Isaiah 30:18

Have you ever noticed that God is not in a hurry? It took 40 years for Moses to receive his commission to lead the people out of Egypt. It took 17 years of preparation before Joseph was delivered from slavery and imprisonment. It took 20 years before Jacob was released from Laban's control. Abraham and Sarah were in their old age when they finally received the son of promise, Isaac. So why isn't God in a hurry? God called each of these servants to accomplish a certain task in His Kingdom, yet He was in no hurry to bring their mission into fulfillment.

First, He accomplished what He wanted in them. We are often more focused on outcome than the process that He is accomplishing in our lives each day. When we experience His presence daily, one day we wake up and realize that God has done something special in and through our lives. However, the accomplishment is no longer what excites us. Instead, what excites us is knowing Him. Through those times, we become more acquainted with His love, grace, and power in our lives. When this happens, we are no longer focused on the outcome because the outcome isa result of our walk with Him. It is not the goal of our walk, but the by-product. Hence, when Joseph came to power in Egypt, he probably couldn't have cared less. He had come to a place of complete surrender so that he was not anxious about tomorrow or his circumstances.

by Os Hillman

This is the lesson for us. We must wait for God's timing and embrace wherever we are in the process. To wait upon God is not an easy going process – it may be full of disappointments, frustrations and hopelessness but when we find contentment in that place, we begin to experience God in ways we never thought possible.

It's an Avanza

We have finally decided and booked a new Toyota Avanza 1.3 Manual Transmission on last Saturday. Well, at one point of time, we really thought we would not be able to buy a new car in the mere future. This is because, some where in January, we booked a Proton Sage 1.3 M/T. However, the sales men cheated us of our money and never delivered the car. Therefore, we cancelled our booking and were taken by surprise to know that he (the sales man) have used up our down payment money (RM 2,800) and was not able to pay us back. That was history….very bitter experience believing in a Christian salesman who is also a Pastor of an independent church in Banting.

Anyway, after a long wait, he has started paying our money back in installments. So, after recovering back my money, we decided to move on. But, some how or rather, we lost trust on Proton salespersons (I know it’s wrong to stereotype every other salesman as ‘cheater’). But, that was exactly what we felt….disappointed, angry, betrayed…etc..etc.

Finally, we decided to get an Avanza. We are expecting to get our new car within the next 3 weeks.

Notification!! Change of Mobile Number

I have changed my mobile phone number to 019-2639744. Please take note and stay connected.

Have you been broken before?

"The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. - 1 Samuel 2:4"

There is an oxymoron throughout the Bible. It says that brokenness is strength. How can this be? How can brokenness be strength? When a person is broken, he or she is often disillusioned and hurt beyond expression. How is then possible?

In order to use men and women to their fullest extent, the Lord has to break His people so that they might have a new kind of strength that is not human in origin. It is strength in spirit that is born only through brokenness.

Paul was broken on the Damascus road. Peter was broken after Jesus was taken prisoner. Jacob was broken at Peniel. David was broken after his sin with Bathsheba. The list could go on of those the Lord had to break in different ways before they could be used in the Kingdom.

Indeed when we are broken, we see the frailty of human strength and come to grips with the reality that we can do nothing in our own strength. Then, new strength emerges that God uses mightily. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.Do not fear brokenness, for it may be the missing ingredient to a life that emerges with a new kind of strength and experience not known before. Ask for a broken and contrite heart that God can bless.

A Chase

Chase – no one can ever run away from the fact that we have always been chased or we ourselves chasing something in life. Some people chase after time, some after money, some after pleasures, some after lust, some after fame, name it…..and you will find people chasing after it.

Well as a seminarian, I have always been chasing after time or rather datelines have always been chasing me. Lecturer chase students to hand in assignment – students chase lecturer for their result. As for thesis writing students, our supervisor to meet our dateline always chases us. Thus, we are always chased or we chase after something in life all the time. I think the episode of “chase” will only end when we die.

Interestingly, this morning as I was riding on my bike to STM, a stray dog chased me. Well, thanks to my Honda Fame Cdi 90 for saving me from being attacked. Anyway, thanks to the dog – my inspiration to blog this morning.

Gifts or Tools?

Some says that ‘mission’ is the heartbeat of God. Some interprets mission to be the work of evangelizing the ‘unsaved’. Over the years various interpretations and methods have been employed to carry out ‘mission’ work. Churches have generally employed many Western strategies in carrying out mission work. But what is actually Christian mission is all about? Is it all about preaching the Gospel and leading the people to Christ? Or, is it doing good works to the needy with ulterior motive of converting them?

At least from my little experience in the Christian ministry, I have come to understand Churches have successfully incorporated social work into missions. We serve the community; provide the needy, shelter the homeless and orphans and other forms of good works in the name of mission with the ulterior motive of converting those who we help. Our motivations for doing good have a hidden agenda in it.

Social work or ministry has become a means of evangelism. We are so pragmatic and result orientated that we want to see instant rewards for money spend from our church treasury (in social ministry). The church has made social ministry as its investment plan to ‘harvest’ more ‘new believers’ into its community.

Some how or rather, I am convinced otherwise. I don’t think it is right to have an ulterior motive in helping people. Social work or ministry should be motivated by love and not used as a means of evangelism. We should learn to look at the world and its people from God’s perspective. Social ministry rendered by the church should always be motivated by Christ’s love for all creation. Thus helping the needy is a ‘gift’ to the society and not a ‘tool’ for evangelism.

Paper doll?

Wonder who these two jokers are??? All dressed up in paper and fighting with each other. Good mascots to express the constant tension between OT & NT Scholarship.

This picture was taken during STM picnic’07 at Port Dickson. Well, it was fun to dress up our lecturers and to get them doing their catwalk on the shore. Some appeared to be like warriors, some like clowns and some like people insane. Well, it’s all up to you, whichever category you may want put these guys in. Ha…ha…ha…..

Theological Education

I really wonder what to write about this picture …ummm. Well, this is my NT Lecturer Dr Lim Kar Yong who is also my Thesis reader. A good friend who ignites passion for NT studies in all his students (or at least me). May be I will write more about Him once he approves my Thesis…ha…ha…ha.

Anyway, he is the latest edition to STM faculty. A great lecturer with a great passion for biblical studies (esp. NT). Well, talking about good lecturer, I think STM has set a relatively good standard in terms of its scholarship. We have many good and in fact outstanding lecturers in STM who have majored in various fields. We have good Biblical scholars (namely Rev Dr Ezra Kok, Dr. Lim Kar Yong, Rev Anthony Loke and others), lecturers who are well competent in Pastoral Studies/Spirituality and Religion (namely Dr.Voon, Rev. Dr. Soloman and others), Missiology (Rev Joseph Kumar) and theology (Mr. Sherman Kuek). [those mention here without the 'Dr' title are all Phd candidates who will be completing their Phd soon]

Having said that, I would strongly recommend STM as the good choice for those who wish to pursue their theological education. I am saying this because I was taken by surprise that there are some institutions (who call themselves as seminaries) in Malaysia with unqualified teaching force. The lecturer themselves does not possess relevant qualification and yet they offer biblical studies and other Pastoral studies. I really wonder how it is possible. It’s kind of hard for me to digest the fact that many students have enrolled into this kind of institution and are trained by incompetent lecturers. I really wonder what kind of theological education system that they can offer to their students? How can we maintain the standard of theological education in this nation if these kinds of so call seminaries keep on enrolling students and producing so call “future Pastors and Seminarians”.

So, why make life difficult, come and join institutions like STM for a good and recognized theological education. Having said that, I must confess that STM is not ‘heaven on earth’ or rather a perfect seminary. But, in comparison to many, STM is a good Seminary with well competent lecturer who are able to produce good students and Pastors.

This is solely my personal view and recommendation.

When I survey the wondrous crossOn which the Prince of glory died,My richest gain I count but loss,And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,Save in the death of Christ my God!All the vain things that charm me most,I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,Sorrow and love flow mingled down!Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,That were a present far too small;Love so amazing, so divine,Demands my soul, my life, my all.

End of the journey.....

Three years have past very fast…..and now I’m in the final stage of my journey in STM. Almost done with my thesis, another 4 papers to clear for this semester….technically speaking another 12 weeks of class and that’s all about it. God willing, I’ll be graduating with my M.Div on the 20th October 2007.

However, as I was preparing a sermon for next Friday chapel, I realized that my actual journey will only begin once I graduate. It is another phase in life and my personal journey with the Lord. I notice that nothing will be promising….except for eternity. I also realized that ministry is not going to be ‘a bed of roses’. In fact, it is going to be a thorny path which I need to travel everyday solely depending on God’s grace. I pray that God will prepare me that I will endure all things for His Glory. That i will grow in my faith and be prepared to confess like the apostle Paul, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain". Philippians 1:21

“The precious blood of Christ.”

Standing at the foot of the cross, we see hands, and feet, and side, all distilling crimson streams of precious blood. It is “precious” because of its redeeming and atoning efficacy. By it the sins of Christ’s people are atoned for; they are redeemed from under the law; they are reconciled to God, made one with him. Christ’s blood is also “precious” in its cleansing power; it “cleanseth from all sin.” “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Through Jesus’ blood there is not a spot left upon any believer, no wrinkle nor any such thing remains. O precious blood, which makes us clean, removing the stains of abundant iniquity, and permitting us to stand accepted in the Beloved, notwithstanding the many ways in which we have rebelled against our God. The blood of Christ is likewise “precious” in its preserving power. We are safe from the destroying angel under the sprinkled blood. Remember it is God’s seeing the blood which is the true reason for our being spared. Here is comfort for us when the eye of faith is dim, for God’s eye is still the same. The blood of Christ is “precious” also in its sanctifying influence. The same blood which justifies by taking away sin, does in its after-action, quicken the new nature and lead it onward to subdue sin and to follow out the commands of God. There is no motive for holiness so great as that which streams from the veins of Jesus. And “precious,” unspeakably precious, is this blood, because it has an overcoming power. It is written, “They overcame through the blood of the Lamb.” How could they do otherwise? He who fights with the precious blood of Jesus, fights with a weapon which cannot know defeat. The blood of Jesus! sin dies at its presence, death ceases to be death: heaven’s gates are opened. The blood of Jesus! we shall march on, conquering and to conquer, so long as we can trust its power!

Christ Living in Us - We in Him.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal_2:20)

In these sublime words, we are given profound insight concerning the grace of God at work through our intimate relationship with Christ. This majestic statement begins with our spiritual death, that another might live in and through our lives. Finally, we are told how we are to respond, so this divine arrangement can proceed as intended.
First, our spiritual death is in view. "I have been crucified with Christ." If we are believers in the Lord Jesus, we died with Him upon that cross. The cross of Christ is now our testimony of rejoicing, for by that cross we escaped the dead world of unredeemed humanity.

"But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal_6:14). Although the cross is the end of our old life in Adam, that is not the end of our story. "Even when we were dead in trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) " (Eph_2:5).

By His grace, we were raised with Christ. We died with Him, that we now might live with Him. "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him" (Rom_6:8).

The astounding consequence of these truths is that we are not the ones producing our Christian life. "It is no longer I who live." This reality is radically contrary to man's natural thinking. If we are not to manufacture our life with God, what other option could possibly be available? The wonderful answer is: "Christ lives in me." True Christian living is to be Christ living in and through our lives. How can this be accomplished? We still have an ongoing human experience in flesh and bones bodies: "the life which I now live in the flesh." Yes, but this life is to be lived by faith: "I live by faith in the Son of God." As we put our trust in Jesus day by day, He lives in and through our thoughts, our words, our choices, our priorities, our relationships.

Once again, this is God's grace at work through humility and faith. The humility is expressed by embracing this confession: "it is no longer I who live." The faith is expressed by counting upon this truth: "Christ lives in me."

Frustration

Frustration is a form of feeling that comes as a result of disappointment, discouragement, hopelessness, helplessness, and sometimes because of the ungratefulness of others. The sense of ungratefulness is very common in our society. From day to day people have become more ungrateful than ever. When they want something out of us, they make all effort to reach us and be nice to us, but, when they are done with us they simply ignore us the next time they see us. At times they do forget to even say “Thanks” for our assistance. What kind of inhuman attitude is this? Why are people very unmannered today? It is sad when even Christians can behave like that. What kind of Christian ethics do we have?

My frustration has derived from the ungratefulness of people.

Lent Season

I always wondered the importance of observing the “Lent Season”. Why is lent so important that some people insist of fasting during this period. Some go through total fast and some partial fast. The definition of fasting it self may differ base on various interpretation and exegesis of the scripture. In my opinion, fasting is the total form of abstinence from food. But beyond the act of abstinence from food, fasting means more to me. It is a time of reflection and waiting upon the Lord to seek His will and fulfilling His purpose in our lives. Fasting must be accompanied by relatively more time spent on prayer and meditation God’s Word. But why is it at “Lent Season”? The observation of the Lent season is solely historical and a tradition of the Church. It does not have any biblical base to its practice. I am shocked to see many lay people or even Pastors holding a very high view of the lent season and consider it to be a “holy” month. They insist the church to have mass and services through out the month and people are strongly encouraged to fast. These requirements are never Biblical in its essence. This is a German influence after the reformation period that has slowly become the tradition of many churches over the years (mainly observed by main line churches). The word “Lent” it self derives from a German word. This season of the year has been set a side for each believer in Christ to ponder upon His suffering for all of mankind and to evaluate our life and spiritual journey in the light of Christ suffering in a more discipline way through fasting and constant prayer.

I am totally in agreement with the purpose of observation; however I tend to disagree with the methods employed. Why should we be too rigid of the particular 40 days? We tend to give value to number and dates when we observe certain period as sacred above the other. I strongly feel, that a life of a believer should always reflect the suffering and glory of Christ – not only restricted to a season. Thus we should not restrict or confine our time of reflection in our spiritual journey only to “lent” by being rigid in observing the ritual behind it, but, live a reflective life in all seasons for the glory of the risen Lord.
Happy Easter and God Bless us all.

Firm Foundation

The most important thing in a construction of a building is its foundation work. I was told by a friend who witnessed the construction of the Petronas twin tower in KL. It took the contractor of the Petronas twin tower 4 years to complete the construction of the 88 storey building. However, 2 years of its construction period was used only to lay a solid and strong foundation for the 88 story tall building. This mean half of the total time required for its construction was channeled in laying its foundation. Why is it that the foundation work is so important that it takes relatively longer period than any other aspects of construction? If the foundation is not strong, then, the building that stands on that foundation will eventually collapse. It will not be able to stand the pressure that builds within and without of the structure.
Likewise, the Christian home should also be built on a strong foundation in order to stand the test of time. So, what is the foundation of a Christian home? Psalms 128 describe one of the most important foundational elements for a Christian family.

Main body
The theme of this Psalm is the fear of God is the basis for the blessed home or family.
The Psalmist has beautifully described the model of a blessed family that is build upon a strong foundation in this Psalm. Even though the psalm is addressed to a husband and father primarily, it is important to see that the blessing promised in verse 1 is for “all: who fears God”.
There is an important balance between this psalm and the earlier one. In Psalm 127 the psalmist wanted to show that all blessing are attributable to God alone. Unless God is working in us and with us, every human endeavor is in vain. Where else in Psalm 128, the psalmist reminds us that there is nevertheless an important responsibility that rest on the person who would partake of God’s blessing – that is to fear God.
The blessing that one will obtain out of fearing God can be seen as a complete form of blessing. The society in which the Psalmist lived in was a very family centered and orientated society (the ancient Near East). Thus, to be blessed is to have a good family life (wife and children).
Another form of blessing in the ancient Near East society is the economic form of blessing which was solely agricultural based. The people of the time were farmers who planted crop and tends animals. So, blessings are also counted from their many crops and the livestock that they owned.
And thus, the Psalmist describes the person who fears God to firstly reap the fruits of his labor. In another word he shall be productive and enjoying the prosperity that comes out of his labor. There are times though a farmer can work very hard but end of the day his crop are eaten away by insect and animals or even dies due to lack of water supply or for many other reasons that will cause the farmer to grieve. Nevertheless, here, we see that a man who fears God is assured to eat the labor of his hands in spite of all difficult circumstances that surrounds him and his crop.

In addition, this man is also assured of having a good and blessed family life. Reading of verse 3 shows us that such a man's wife will also be fruitful. Vines were everywhere in Israel, and grape production was one of its chief industries – this signifies blessing and prosperity. The implication of this statement is that the wife would bear children. In the Old Testament context, barrenness’ is seen as a curse (cf. Deut. 7:14; 28:18). Thus, to bear many children is a blessing from God (cf. Deut. 28:4; Psalms 127:3-5). Therefore, a man who fears God will also have children as a sign of God’s blessing upon him and his generation. Likewise, his children would make beneficial contributions symbolized by olives, another one of the most important crops in Israel. Olive tree is a very strong tree and it symbolizes longevity and productivity. Thus, the children of the man who fears God is not like a grass which is here today but will be gone tomorrow. Rather, they are like the olive trees that will stand strong and even last in an unpredictable climate. They will surround him like olive shoots and be his fortress and stronghold in his later days.

Today, what is the foundation of our families? Is it solely education and materialistic in nature? People of God, our families are God ordained institution. To maintain its sanctity we should all times fear Him and live a life in accordance to His commandments. The foundation of our homes must be build upon the fear of God.

What does it mean to fear God? To fear God is not to tremble or to be afraid as if we encounter an evil spirit in the night. But instead, to fear God is to give Him reverence and respect in all that we do and acknowledge that He is omnipresent and living according to His commandments. Therefore the word fear here is best translated to have a sense of holy awe and that leads one to have a proper God-directed attitude. The implication of this attitude is to have God as the central focus of everything we are, think or aspire to do. He must be our starting point for every project, the strength we seek for every valuable endeavor, the one we earnestly desire to please and honor as our goal. To further stretch this principal to our families. I am convinced that only the fear of God can sustain our families from being ruined by various factors.

In reading Ephesians 5: 22 – 6: 2, the Apostle Paul admonishes the wives to submit to their own husbands, husbands to love their wives and children to obey their parents. Paul’s emphasis on the family entity to be submissive, loving and committed to each other can only be attained if one would truly fear God. Marriage is a covenantal relationship. This covenant can only be preserved if both the husband and wife are well aware that God is the third person in the covenant. To break the covenant is to break God’s law. Thus, by fearing God, this covenant can be preserved and marriages can be saved from turning into a tragedy and divorce.

The only way for us Christians to save our marriages and families as a whole is to fear God. The fear of God helps us to love, tolerate and accept each other just as they are. Even in the worst scenario, when we truly fear God, the sense of accountability to Him will keep us faithful in the covenant relationship – marriage.

So, when the foundation of our Christian homes are build upon the fear of God, then, wives can truly submit to their own husband and husband can truly love their wives as Christ loves the Church and children can truly obey and honor their parents. For the fear of God is the basis of our faith and the strong foundation for Christian homes. When the foundation of our families is built upon the fear of God we will not only inherit Godly blessing but also fulfill His plans for humankind. May the Lord in His mercy bless each of our families as we built it upon the fear of God.

A reflection - Salt & Light

Matthew 5: 13-16 “Salt and the Light of the World”

By placing "you" (Gr. hymeis) in the emphatic position in the Greek text, Jesus was stressing the unique calling of His disciples (cf. v. 14). Salt was important in the ancient East because it flavored food, retarded decay in food, and in small doses fertilized land. Jesus implied by this metaphor that His disciples could positively affect the world (Gr. kosmos, the inhabited earth, i.e., humankind). They had the opportunity through their lives and witness to bring blessing to others and to retard the natural decay that sin produces in life.

Jesus' disciples likewise are to be different from the world. As salt is an antiseptic, so the disciples are to be a moral disinfectant in a sin-infested world. This requires virtue, however, that comes only through divine grace and self-discipline.

Many people in this world does not know the value of life – they have no meaning for living – When problem and difficult situation comes – they tend to end their lives. We should bring meaning to this meaningless world. We must restore the value of life that many has neglected.

The disciples must therefore manifest good works, the outward demonstration or testimony to the righteousness that is within them (v.16). Our action should speak louder than our words.

When we dysfunction as a salt, which means we lose the influence that we should have in the world around us, then as disciples we are ‘no longer good for anything’.

Light
Matthew 4: 16, describes the coming of Jesus as the coming of light into the darkness of the world. This light came into the world to save humankind from the snare of darkness. (John 8:12). The purpose of the light is to shine out. We should shine out the goodness and the righteousness of God at all times in all that we do. We as the light of God should also illuminate the sin-darkened world. Sin should not be compromised at any level. The world should know the righteousness of God through our illumination.

Vs. 15 - Sometimes it is sad to see we as Christians fail to shine the light of God but instead choose to live in darkness. We compromise with sin – we act like the world – too much of the world in us that our light is hidden under the bushel basket.
Our call is to shine in darkness – that mean it is only possible if we live in the world but we don’t live like the world. The light that shines in and from us should always project the holiness and righteousness of God.

Let us ask ourselves, is our life and testimony like the salt that gives flavor to this world and like the light that projects the characteristics and the fullness of God’s glory? Or, do we live our life as the salt that has lost its saltiness which is good for nothing and like a light that is hidden under the basket that sooner or later dims of and turns into darkness.

Anger management

Anger…..what do we do when we get angry? How do we react in our anger? Jesus does not forbid us from getting angry but he tells us not to sin in our anger. What does that suppose to mean? I believe that Jesus was more concern of our response to anger rather than the feeling and the emotion itself. In another word, we don’t sin by getting angry, but we are reminded not to sin when we are angry.

Though the command itself do not require a thorough exegesis to understand its meaning, its application is not as simple as it sounds. The first thing that most of us do when we get angry with the annoying character of others is to react. Sometimes we confront them when are angry or hurt. But is that the best way to address the situation. From a recent incident, I realized that, confrontation is not the best solution and especially confronting them when you are still angry.

As I was dealing with my anger and hurt, I got this mail from a friend this morning and tI want share with you guys the quotation that I found helpful in the mail that actually helped me to deal with my hurt:-

Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.

For every minute you are angry with someone, you lose 60 second of happiness that can never get.

Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.

Love is strengthened by working through conflicts together.

Harsh words break no bones, but they do break hearts.

Tips on raising Christian children

Hi Friends, i was browsing the net the other day and found some interesting tips on raising Christian children. Indeed it is great challenge for parents in upbringing their children in the ways of the Lord especially in this evil and corrupted world. I hope that the below tips will be a good guideline for us.

• Pray for your family everyday. Give thanks to God always for the family he has blessed you with!
• Begin at birth by saying bedtime prayers with your children. You will be amazed how quickly they pick them up and begin to say prayers with you! Help them to know Jesus as early as possible.
• Read to your children bible stories from a children's bible for their age group. Family time together, sharing the bible, can be a wonderful experience.
• Have patience with your children. Our world sadly goes much faster than theirs.
  Always build confidence in your child whatever you do!
• Listen to them, don't just hear what they are saying. Give them your attention and direct eye contact when they speak to you. Your children will let you know what concerns or problems they have and what you may need to bring to the Lord in intecessory prayer for them. This is such an important way in which to show them how much you value them, and will also teach them to pray for others. (contributed by Denise, thank you!
• Do everything possible to have Mom stay at home with the children. This is a great sacrifice for many women who have already established themselves in a career or families who have great financial difficulty on one income. Pray to God to find the way if this is a difficult situation for you. God will provide, if you believe He will! There is no greater duty on this earth than raising your children.
• Watch over your children diligently! Know where they are, who they associate with, what they are watching on T.V., listen to the music they are playing....get involved and stay involved. This is not dress rehersal! You only get a small amount of time to raise your children. Train them with good Christian moral values.
• Give you children responsibilty early in life. Children love to "help" at a very eary age. They may not do things quite the way YOU would, but this is not the lesson they are learning. Children trained in responsibility grow up to be self reliant dependable s. Todays work ethic is a prime example of lack of responsibility in the home. Teach them to respect proper authority.
• Keep control over the home! Your children must know who is in control.
  Love your children unceasingly! Hug them as much as possible. Praise them always! Nothing delights a child more than praise from his parents. Let them know just how much you love them!
• Spend time enjoying your children. Get down on their level and see the world they see! Its marvelous to bring out the child in Mom and Dad! Seek to have as much family time as you can.
• Have a "happy home". Laugh alot!, proper humor is good for the soul. Always look for the positive. This is a great attribute to give your children
• Study your children! Know who they are, what they love, even the bad "bents"(as they call it!)that they may have. (we ALL have them!) Bring out the good whenever possible....and try to re-shape any tendancy towards bad behavior. Each an every child is a masterpiece from God, individual in nature. Allow them to be be individual, never compare.
• Keep your marriage together! Children need parents who love each other! If you grew up in a home where your parents did not get along whether divorced or not, you have probably realized later in life the devasting results in your own personal life. However, you can overcome this!! Many are living proof it can be achieved. Parents,.....your relationship is a role to your children. What kind of marriage do you wish for YOUR children! Show them how to be good partners and parents. Be the example of a good Christian marriage!
• Your conduct as well reflects to your children your walk with the Lord! What are you teaching your children by your example? Remember, you are raising someone else's future husband or wife, mother or father! Parents with solid Christian marriages have a spiritual, loving home that filters down to their children, which provides them security, love, the foundation for self-esteem, and the example with which to make a good decision in for themselves.
• Take your children to a good church you feel comfortable with as early as possible. Make sure you do not neglect your own relationship with God. How can you lead your family, and children without it?
• Tell your children you are sorry when the need arises. Afterall, we parents make many mistakes. Teach your children how to forgive and be forgiven by being the example!
• Discipline Your Children When Needed! We believe the bible to say that children must be lovingly guided with patience, humility, compassion, kindness and taught right from wrong as early as possible. Parents who do not consistently and fairly deal with the "wrongs" in a child's life will most likely face many years of misery! If necessary, seek qualified professional help.

Source:http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/8218/family.html

Middle East

The region of Middle East is predominantly Islam. Strong Islamic movements both orthodoxy and fundamentalism is also born in this region. However, if we go look back to history, it is interesting to note that in the first century AD, the Middle East region was a predominantly Christian region. It was from where Christian mission started evangelizing the rest of the world. Many remarkable Christian leaders were born here. Today, we have almost totally lost the region to Islam. Statistic shows that currently 90% of Middle East population is Islam. What happen to the Christians who were the majority at the first 3 centuries? Where are they?

What surprises me is how it is possible for Christianity to loose its stronghold in the Middle East over the years – almost totally. I always wonder, was it the strength of Islam or the weakness of Christianity? Is it the success of Islam mission (dakwah) or the failure of Christian evangelism?

Today, generally there is a growing tension between Christianity and Islam worldwide. In the midst of this animosity, what is our response to the Muslim world? Many a times, the West and many Christians in general stereotype the Muslim as terrorist and rebels. I think this is a very unfair judgment. We always view the Middle Eastern conflict from the Western view and become prejudice against the Muslims. I feel that this is totally unfair. We cannot judge them solely by America’s viewpoint, but instead we should view the situation from Eastern perspective and look back to the historical facts that has led to this animosity.

The only way to end this animosity between the Western world and the Muslim world is by abiding by the scriptural principles. Christians should first and foremost love the Muslim and treat them as our brothers rather then enemy. We should stop labeling them as terrorist, because the more we confess that, the more doors we open for terrorism in this world. We must learn to respect each other as mutual creation of the Almighty God.

This is my reflection from the 2nd day lecture of Dr. Nabeel T. Jabbour.

Awesome !!

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"
Psalms 8: 3,4.

Praise The Lord

Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Psalms 150

New Year Resolution

Whenever we march into a new year, we often make new resolutions for the year. It’s good to make resolution and it’s even better to fulfill them. Resolution should not be made for the sake of it, but instead it should be made that we may become a better person or more competent in certain things. We should always remember the resolution that we make, so that we will push ourselves to attain them through out the year. As for me, I have made the resolution to become the best father for Sophia Christabel, best husband for Jessie and to do my very best in my studies (of course to complete my thesis by the due date).

To certain extent, I am convinced that we must strive to become the best in our class. End of the day, we may not be the best, but at least we must have tried our best. As children of the living God, we must shine in all that we do. If we are a student, we must shine in our studies, if we are an employee, be the best employee, etc…etc…..

In all that we do, Christ must be glorified in this mortal body. With that in mind, we can definitely become more competent in the things that we do. Let it be work, studies or anything, to glorify Christ should be our motivation. So, let us togather make our New Year Resolution with Christ being our motivation.

Wishing you all a Blessed New Year.

Blessings of 2006

2006 has been a year of great blessing for my family and me. God has been good in all circumstances. We had a wonderful church to serve (TMC Seremban), and we met many wonderful people all throughout the year. It is somewhat hard to name each blessing that we received from Him, but one thing for sure, He has been more than faithful in sustaining us. As we journey together as servants of God, we will definitely face many needs that often time shakes up our faith in the God who have called us. Nevertheless, in spite of all the needs, we as a family have never lacked any good. He who has called us is more than faithful in meeting us at the very point of our need. We may not be financially sound as many wealthy people out there in the society, but we are neither poor as the beggars at the street. He has given us sufficiently that we may rely upon His grace all the time and never beg other in times of need. He has given us good health. Jessie and I had a wonderful year together. We had lots of fun and we enjoyed every moment of the year. I thank God for the happiness and peaceful mind that He has granted us that even many wealthy people do not have often.

To add on to the list of blessings, God gave us Sophia who we consider the greatest blessing that we have ever received in our marriage. She is simply adorable and we are simply in love with her. I believe that the gift of life is the best gift that a man can have. We as a family are thankful and grateful to God for this gift of life.

We also would like to pronounce blessing upon all our friends and family member for the year 2007. May God opens up the floodgates of heaven and pour out His riches blessing upon each one of you. May the works of your hand prosper, may you behold the Glory of the risen Christ in your life and in all your undertakings.

May the peace of the Father, the fellowship of the Son and the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit be with all of you now and forevermore. AMEN.

Season Greeting

Hi friends, i'm back again after a very long break from blogging. My family and I wish you all a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. I would like to invite all of you to ponder on the goodness and faithfulness of God all throughout 2006. Lets thank and praise Him for His many fold blessing upon our life

Labour Room Experince

24th September 2006 was the longest day in my life. I preached at TMC Seremban in the morning and thereafter, had to conduct a funeral service at 3pm in the same church. My wife was already experiencing slight contraction as she was due for the delivery. I had to leave her all alone at home and went over to the funeral house at 7.30pm to conduct a prayer meeting. I came back home at about 9.30pm and Jessie was already feeling a stronger contraction. We decided to hang on for several hours to make sure that it was not a false alarm. At about 11pm she started having bloody discharge and had to bring her to the doctor. Sharp at 12 midnight the doctor confirmed that Jessie is due for delivery and admitted her into the labour room. The long waited time has come……a brand new journey has started in our life.

Though Jessie was admitted at 12midnight, she only gave birth to Sophia at 5pm the next day (25th September 2006) – 17 hours of intense labour pain. I was right next to my wife all through out supporting her and praying with her. I was also equally exhausted though I was not going through the labour pain. One thing that surprised me the most was my wife’s attitude in the labour room. All that she asked me was to worship God and praise Him in ‘tounges’. I was practically doing that for more than 10 hours non-stop. I became really tired that day. Worshipping God and supporting my wife who was in an intense labour pain. She was twisting and turning her body with tears and groan. I had to witness all her suffering by holding her hands and worship God.

The doctor walked into the labour room at 4pm and told me that he will deliver the baby by 5pm. I gave him a cynical smile thinking in my heart can’t it be any earlier? With a little faith in his words I continued encouraging Jessie that it will be over soon. At that point of time Jessie appeared to be motionless without any energy. I was whispering praises into her ears and continued worshipping God. Sharp at 4.55pm the doctor walked into the room and gave me a smile as he was looking at the clock on the wall. By God’s grace, sharp at 4.59pm Jessie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. (I take my hats off for Dr. Khoo for his expertise).

Just after the baby was delivered a Malay nurse walked into the room and told me that I am a very strong husband because I was there for my wife all the while moreover, it was my moral support that helped Jessie to deliver the baby normally. I told her that I am not as strong as I appear; I am actually afraid of blood and can’t stand seeing my loved ones suffering. That was when she told me, that “it was Your God who has strengthened you.” I was shocked to hear that from a Malay nurse. I asked her what made her say that. She told me that, the nurses heard me (from the nurse station) worshipping God in the labour room next to my wife all through out the day. So, she was very sure that it was God’s strength that helped both Jessie and me in the labour room experience. I praise God for this experience and the testimony that I could bear for His glory even in the labour room. When I asked Jessie the next day, why did she asked me only to worship God, she told me that the worship and praises that I rendered was her only strength to endure the 17 hours of intense pain in the labour room.

Thank you Lord for Your strength that was made perfect in our weaknesses. Amen.

A New Arrival

The Lord has made our joy complete. Praise be to God, that he has blessed Jessie and me with a beautiful baby girl. We have named her Sophia Christabel David. Which literally mean, wise and good Christian. Sophia is the greatest gift that the both of us have ever received. Her cry, her smile makes us proud of our great God who have blessed His servant abundantly . We want to share this joy with all our friends and family. Continue praying for us as we journey together as a family. We are also in desperate need of wisdom in raising this child in God likeness.

Job - Suffering of the righteous (2)

In view of Job’s intense suffering, his wife would have gone through a deep emotional test. She who had witnessed Job’s integrity, blamelessness before God and would have definitely been shocked by his suffering. She must have been awe struck with what was happening around her. She wouldn’t have found the answer for the lost of their children, all their earthly possession, and now Job’s health. At this state of confusion, she reprimanded her husband saying, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die."

Yes indeed….she did not sound Christian. She sounded like an ungrateful person who has forgotten all the goodness of God. She did not think or ponder but abruptly accused God for abandoning Job and thus tells him to curse God and die. Well, these are the common criticism that Job’s wife receive from us. We all tend to be the judge to condemn her of her abrupt statement.

Let us be reminded that we are nothing better than Job’s wife is. She was clueless of what was happening to her. She would have felt ‘divinely’ rejected and there isn’t any more meaning for living. In times of intense suffering, we too struggle like Mrs. Job. Though we may not abruptly make a public statement “to curse God and die”, but in our own response, we would have done the same mistake.

It’s always easy to praise God from our comfort zone, in best of health and wealth. But what happens when we lose all that we have…..especially our health. What would be our response to God? In recent days, there have been many people falling sick in my church. One elderly woman’s leg was amputated due to high diabetes. Another man has been diagnosed to have both his renal failed and loosing his eyesight due to high diabetes as well. The most tragic of this series of suffering is a 13 years old girl who is suspected to have colon cancer. As their Pastor, how am I to console and advise them. When I fit myself into their shoes, it is too hard to explain and response to suffering. The young girl’s father cries without understanding what is happening. I just do not know how to console him. How can we expect people who are suffering to happily accept their suffering as God’s will? It is indeed hard. Suffering and death has always remained a mystery.

In understanding this reality in life, we should not be quick to judge those who make abrupt statements against God in their intense suffering . We should pray that God in His mercy will save this people from their suffering and if even if He doesn’t, He will give them the sufficient grace to endure hardship and remain faithful to Him.

It is my honest prayer that those who suffer will not lose their faith in Jesus though they are not healed from their ailment. “God…..help us to comprehend your ways even at the most difficult times in life. Help us Lord to remain in our integrity even at the point of suffering and death. To you be the Glory. Amen.

Job - Suffering of the righteous (1)

Job is a great man who ever lived in the Patriarchal Period. Though the book of Job is placed somewhere in the middle of the Old Testament, for the matter of fact, Job possibly lived during the times of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. The name Job derives from a Hebrew word “Iyyob Shemo” which literally mean, “where is the divine father”. When we take a close look at the Old Testament, we can see that it attributes certain synonyms to the great leaders and heroes of the Old Testament. However, it is interesting to note that Job has been attributed the most synonyms comparing to any other great heroes of the OT. He is attributed with 6 synonyms (blameless, upright, one who feared God, one who shunned evil, greatest in the East and none like him on earth – Job 1: 1, 3, 8). Apart from that, we can also see Job as a “perfectly” blessed man. In verse 2 of chapter 1, we see that Job had 7 sons and 3 daughters. In the Hebrew tradition, the number 3, 7, and 10 marks the number of perfection. Thus, we can interpret that the number of children that Job had, marks the perfection of blessing that he possessed. In knowing so much of this man, he would have lived a perfect life, pleasing in the sight of God and man.

However, though being a great man who pleases the Lord, Job was not free from suffering. Have we ever thought why did Job suffer? Was it his sin? Or his unfaithfulness? Or was it because of others? This are the common factors that most of the time contributes to human suffering on this earth. Nevertheless, Job’s suffering was unlike others. The cause of Job’s suffering was God himself. However, this fact may sound contradicting with the understanding of temptation and suffering in the theology of the New Testament. Whatever it is, the fact remains that God was the one who initiated the challenge with Satan to test Job. The rest of the story is history and we know how Job remained in his integrity and did not sin against God. We also know the latter blessing that Job inherited from God.

The question here is not why Job should suffer for his innocence, but instead how did Job responded to his suffering. I think that is the main message of the Book. It is easy for us as readers to appreciate Job for his integrity and preach on his suffering. However, it would have not been easy for Job to comprehend his suffering. The intense suffering that Job went through (lost of all his possession including his children that marks the perfect blessing that he had), totally lost his health. The boils that came upon Job are attributed to the covenantal curse that would come upon those who disobey the laws of the Lord (Deuteronomy 28: 15, 35). Job would have probably felt like being under God’s curse for some unknown reason. He may also have thought that there isn’t any form of remedy from this curse. Job did not have the knowledge of the ‘divine chess game’ between God and Satan as we do today, as readers of the narrative. In spite of all the uncertainty and a feeling of being forsaken, Job remained in his integrity not to charge God responsible for his suffering. Job is a living testimony for us to imitate in times of suffering. The true faith of a believers is seen by his/her response to hardship and suffering and not when he/she in their comfort zone.

We will see further reflection in the coming entry.

Get up! Stand up!

I welcome the suggestion by the Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho who said that the Government might deploy Territorial Army personnel in the streets to help police fight crime, after taking into account public requests and the manpower shortage faced by the police (in Star, 4th August) . It is a great effort of the department to curb the constant rise in crime rate in the nation. Indeed the crime rate in Malaysia is rather at a "shameful" rate. I'm proud to say that I am a Malaysian. However, when I ponder about the constant rise in crime rates, my pride is often being overshadowed by the "disgrace". We have received independence for the last 49 years. But there isn't real independence for people to walk freely on the street without being "snatched" by some irresponsible and inconsiderate citizens. The security level on the streets is very low that the snatch thieves take opportunity of their victims. Thus, the suggestion given by Deputy Minister is well appreciated. However, more than just deploying security personnel, every individual in this nation must start fighting against crime. There are 2 ways to that. Firstly, don’t get involve or even contribute to any criminal acts. Secondly, be on high alert to lend a hand to help when we encounter snatch thieves and criminals. Many Malaysians are courteous but there are also many who do not want to get hurt by doing good. I think it is high time for all of us to stand up and fight against crime in this nation. Unless we do it today, this nation will not be a safe place for our children to live in the mere future. Come on Malaysians, get up from sleep. Let us experience the true meaning of independence and fight against crime in this nation. Let us liberate our citizens and expatriates who lives in fear of crimes in this nation. Only when we stand together and support the government in fighting crimes, we can make Malaysia a better place to live.

Sanctification

The word “sanctification” comes from the verb “sanctify” which derives from the Greek word hagiazo, which means to be "separate" or to be "set apart." In the Bible, sanctification generally relates to a sovereign act of God whereby He "sets apart" a person, place, or thing in order that His purposes may be accomplished. This process of setting apart is initiated by God, and it is done by Him supernaturally. In the book of Exodus, God sanctifies a place of worship. “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory,” says Exodus 29:43. Even a day can be sanctified as seen in Genesis 2:3 where the seventh day is "set apart" as a holy day of rest. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made”. Similarly, when a person is sanctified he or she is being set apart by God for a specific divine purpose. The very moment we are saved in Christ we are also immediately sanctified and the process begins to conform us to the image of Christ. As God's children we are "set apart" from that moment to carry out His divine purposes unto eternity. Being sanctified also means being separated or distinct in the moral character of our lives. Holiness arises in the person of God therefore we are to be holy too.
Stanley Grenz, a well known theologian views sanctification as a process of transformation of the one who is saved into Christ likeness which extends through out life time. It is the process whereby we are renewed according to the image of God, conformed to the image of Christ, and enabled to die to ourselves and live to God. Additional to this understanding, Wayne Grudem, another theologian defines sanctification as a work of God and man in cooperation – a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in actual life.

Believers are saved because of what Christ has already done. We can do nothing to earn salvation, it is the gift given to every child of God regardless of race, age, maturity, or merit. Sanctification occurs as a result of salvation. At the moment of conversion, the Holy Spirit enters our life. We are no longer held hostage by death, but are free to live the life God desires for us. We are thus sanctified simply because of our standing as lost souls saved by grace. Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."

Sanctification is both a matter of position and progression. We are sanctified because Jesus Christ has saved us and yet sanctification continues to work within to transform us unto the likeness of Christ. Sanctification is the responsibility of every believer in Christ either in passive way or an active way. We play the passive role when we solely depend on God to sanctify us through salvation experience, and thereafter we take the active role in striving to obey God and take steps that will increase our sanctification.
When we choose to pursue sanctification in our life, positive growth occurs. The pursuit of it involves the surrender of the body and the will to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It takes time and is a working progress that cannot be hurried. Like a newborn baby that gradually matures unto adulthood, so is the work of sanctification in the life of a new believer. The work of sanctification will ultimately be completed in every believer's life when Jesus Christ returns. However, until Christ returns we are to work our sanctification. Work here does not mean work our ways to be saved but instead work our ways to maintain and grow in the sanctification that comes upon the regeneration. They are the fruits of a regenerate heart – total obedience to God and a sense to Glorify God in the mortal body. They are not only in external conformity with the law of God, but are also done in the conscious obedience o the Will of God – as required by God.

Happy Bithday......

30 years ago, on this day (20th August 1976) a handsome baby boy was born to Mr. and Mrs. David John. The child was dedicated for the glory of God from his birth. Mr. David wanted the son to become a full time worker in God’s service someday in life. Thus he brought up this child in the precept of the Lord. Along the way, when the boy turned 10 years old, Mr. David was called home to be with the Lord. Ever since that, the young boy has lost a great mentor in his life. However, the Lord has been faithful in sustaining this boy. He grew in stature and in his walk with the Lord. Finally at the age of 26, this boy committed his life for full time ministry and currently he is pursuing his theological education in a seminary.

Yes indeed…this is my brief history. I want to thank God for His love and Lordship over my life for the Last 30 years. Today is a very significant day in my life and ministry. This is the first time I have ever preached on my birthday. In fact it was a greater honour to preach in my home church in the presence of my mum, wife and my brothers and their families. At the end of the worship service, my family gave me a surprise by organising a surprise party for the church. I was called to cut the cake and was blessed by the Pastor and its members. What a memorable birthday it is. To add on to my joy, we will be expecting the arrival of our first child in September. I am very happy today, because I was able to celebrate my birthday with my family and friends and most of all preaching the living Word of God to my own people.

Doctors...are they a blessing today??

Doctors are God given gift on this earth to treat the sick and provide medical assistance to those who are in need. It is a stressful profession where most of the time their decisions on the operation bed determine the future of the patient. We may have our own favorite doctors…..for many reasons. As for, ever since I moved to Seremban, I have not found a ‘good’ or ‘suitable’ doctor for consultation. As I mention earlier, we all have our own on preference on doctors base on our own reasons and needs.
I have visited several doctors in the past (in Seremban) and I was not very happy, either because of their treatment or ethics. Sad to say that most of them that I visited were Christian doctor. There was once, I visited a panel doctor (recommended by STM) and he was an Evangelical Christian. Rather than treating my ailment he also preached from the Bible on how I should take care of my health. He was also He was also very proud of his modern medications and latest drugs that he gives his patients. He was also criticizing many other doctors who prescribes the older generation of drugs to their patients. Wow….that was exciting to hear a ‘Godly man’ treating my sickness. Well….my excitement did not last long. I was shocked to see my bill end of the day. Just for a normal cough and cold, I was charged RM 35.00. What shocked me the most was, he knew it well that I am a full time student in STM (that means he knows that I don’t earn a living). But yet I felt being ‘slaughtered’ by this doctor. Anyway, no complaints because the medication came along with a ‘sermon’. However, his medication was nothing great either, I did not recover from my cough and cold after all!!.
Several months later, I was introduced to another Catholic doctor in town (Klinik Samuel). The introducer told me that this doctor would not charge any medical fees to any Pastors. Recently, I was down with a bad sinus and asthma…..hey…you guys know that !! I have an entry on that. Anyway, I visited him for medication. He is such a pleasant gentlemen. He is very polite and I could see a lot of Christian traits in him. I also noticed that his clinic is always packed with patients. I was chatting with a patient before meeting Dr. Bob Samuel, and I was told by him (a Malay guy) that this doctor is the best in town. His medicines are very effective and his charges are very reasonable. I was impressed with those remarks by the fellow patient. When my turn came I went in and the doctor treated me. He asked me where do I work and I told him that I am a full time Seminary student. Not to my surprise he did not charge me for the medication and the injection that he gave. I had no regrets for visiting this doctor…..I paid no bills and my health improved tremendously upon visiting him.
Now that I have recovered from my ailment, I was thinking this morning of the 2 doctors I visited in the recent days. The first one was our panel doctor, an evangelical with some sound doctrine. He also seems to be very ‘charismatic’ person in his approach and speech. Well, the second doctor, was a simple Catholic man, slow in speech and very gentle. Looking at both this doctors, I feel that the second doctor was more successful than the first one looking at the amount of patients that they have waiting outside of their room. I shared this experience with a fellow seminarian and I was told that the second doctor seem to be more blessed in his profession because he knows how to honor the man of God. The issue here is not the bill but the heart of service. Here is a fellow evangelical who makes (too much) out his patient and another simple catholic who treats his patient with love and honor. No wonder why Dr. Bob Samuel is very blessed. Because he is indeed a blessing for many...especially servants of God.

I strongly recommend you guys to visit him if you are sick. His clinic is located right opposite of the Church of Visitation (Catholic Church) in town.

Thanks mate........

Many sites on the internet post great poems and stories about friends. I always wondered whether those experiences and stories are real or solely made up for some commercial purposes. From my personal perspective, friendship is a great thing that can happen to someone.
I am sanguine by character that always prefers company. I just cant sit alone at home!!! Loneliness is the worst enemy for a sanguine. What more when I am on medical leave and have not able to mingle around with my best friends for the last 4 days. Though I have been away from campus, I realized that almost every other day I had my friends visiting me at home.

I want to pay a special tribute to my best friend and brother, Gerard Immanuel. He was there for me all through out this difficult week. In fact, he was the one who drove me to the clinic twice this week. In spite of his studies and other commitments, he made time for me. When I sit back and reflect upon our friendship, I realized that “A friend is someone who is there for you when he’d rather be anywhere else” – Len Wein. He made himself available for me. I think that is what friends are for. Someone who we can rely and count on especially in times of need. Thanks Gerard for being a FRIEND. (The one who is in the photo)

I am also grateful to my other friends in STM who fervently praying for my quick recovery. Special thanks to my Pastoral Group (The Nazarenes), Rev. Tan Jin Huat (My Supervisor), Jacob (for checking on me from time to time), Daniel, Ruth and Lee Yng (for your encouraging messages), Vijay, Gunaraja and Jegan (for visiting me and accompanying me to the clinic) and rest of the gang in STM for all your prayers. God Bless all.

I am sick

The thing that I hate the most is to fall sick. I become unproductive and lethargy whenever I am sick. Well, it has come over me again. I am down with a bad sinus and sudden asthma attack. Visited the doctor twice this week and has been on very strong medication. It all started with a normal flu on Sunday morning. I was sneezing away in the church and came back home and things got worse. Took some medicine and went to bed….skipped the evening service (Thanks to Peter who took over the service). Things got worse on Sunday night, bad cough and cold. First thing on Monday morning visited the doctor. He gave me an injection and told me that I have some viral infection and prescribed some antibiotics and anti histamine medication. Came back home and rested the whole day…but could not sleep because of the cough. Also started wheezing….I knew it…I’m now having asthma attack. Took the necessary medicine. Well, on Tuesday early morning had a high fever…..started shivering at about 2am. Thanks to Jessie who immediately treated me (poor girl she is pregnant and she had to take care of a sick person). Today, is Wednesday and I’m down with a severe head ache due to the intense coughing. I feel like my head is going to burst to pieces whenever I cough. Well, Gerard will take me to see the doctor at 9am. I’m dead drop bored at home. I can’t study or even do my assignments. I am sick……and really tired of the whole thing. I have been missing my lectures for two consecutive days. No matter what happens….i will go for my classes tomorrow. Guys…please pray for me. I want to be healed of my Sinusitis and Asthma.

Cost of Commitment

The beautiful picture above portrays a great architecture of the Roman Empire, which was known, as amphitheatre. It is similar to a stadium in our modern context. It has about 50,000 marble seats for people to sit on and standing room for almost the same amount of people. And the spectators shouted there, as we do today at a football match. However, they were not to see men kicking a ball, but to watch Christian prisoners who have be arrested for their faith in Jesus Christ (both men and women) made to face wild beast – lions, bulls, bears, panthers which have been hungered for many weeks. The crowd cheers and shouts as the wild beast attacks and tears apart the flesh of these faithful followers of Christ. Some were even burned as human torch to light up the amphitheatre. That was the cost of commitment for these believers. They were willing to lay their lives for what they have believed in – Jesus Christ. Many Christians were martyred in the early church in such a horrible and uncivilized manner. The many who died, did not count it a loss to die for their faith. In fact, they felt that their determination to follow Christ even at the point of death is an assurance of eternal life that no man can take away from them.
Even today, as we live in a civilized and sophisticated world, there are many out there still suffering persecution for what they believe in. Christians in many part of the world still experience different forms of oppressions and persecution, some in socio-economic sense and others in psychical terms. Whatever form of tribulation that this Christians face, we should always be reminded that there is always a cost for commitment. Many a times we fail to acknowledge this reality in life because we live in our own comfort zones, a peaceful nation with prosperity, a great freedom to practice what we belief, and the sufficient grounds for us to voice out our disappointments and discomfort.

I always wondered what would happen to us if one day, we loose all the freedom and earthly liberty that we enjoy now? How if someone walks up to me, points a gun on my head, and threatens to pull the trigger if I do not recant my faith in Christ? What would be my response? Will I recant or will I be prepared to be martyred for Christ? There is always a cost for our commitment. I am deeply challenged with this reality in my own journey as I meditate upon the life of the first martyr, Stephan.

I would like to invite all of you to pause a second and think of what would be your response if you were to be in Stephan’s situation or any other Christian martyrs. Friend, we must always be ready to count the cost of our commitment in the Lord.

Prayer : Lord, it is truly hard to imagine what would I do if I am fixed in such kind of a situation. Whatever it is, help me to be faithful to you even if it cost me my own life or the lives of my loved ones. Lord, You are my strength when I am weak. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I will always remain faithful to you no matter how much it cost me. Amen.

Car...

Wow... tell me who will not desire for this machine? I truly desire it. What more when my faithful Proton Tiara broke down this morning. Man....I just don't like it when my car/s break down. The worst part of the whole thing is waiting for the mechanic to open his shop. And even before I arrive there was another customer waiting...so I'm the second one. It took him 1 hour to repairs the other customers car....then only started checking mine. It took him another 2 hours to rectify my wiring problem. That was a long wait. I was really hoping in my heart that someone will just come along and give a set of keys for a new car...and tells me "Pastor, God asked me to bless you with this new car". That sound cool......ofcourse fantasies always sounds good and cool. I'm not saying this because I lack in faith, but why do I actually need a new or better car?? Does the car that I drive determine the success of a person?? Maybe...in the secular world...but what about those in the full time ministry?

I was once sharing my feelings to a good friend about getting a better car. Though there were no need for it but I was just 'lusting' for a change. He told me .....Well Silvester...be thankful for what you have....John Wesley traveled around on horse back to preach the Word of God....yet he did not complain and infact God used him mightily. That remark that my good buddy made (couple of years back) came to my mind this morning.

Sometimes we just want to have something better than what we already have. But as children of God, we must learn to make use of what we have for the Glory of God without complaining. It is never wrong to desire for a new car.....but what is the necessity for me at this point of time. I need a car to move around...so i have one that does the job well. So why change. Unless someone really walks up to me and gives it to me....hallelujah.

I shall not be in want..

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever".
Psalms 23

Holiness - Character of the Kingdom

"Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God".
1 Corinthians 6: 9,10

The privilege of becoming an authorized and empowered representative of God's kingdom and of ministering Christ's life and the Holy Spirit's gift to others is not the heritage of the UNHOLY. It is mentioned twice in the above verses that certain people will not "inherit the kingdom of God", and then comes out with a list of people who are excluded from enjoying the resources and rewards of righteousness.

Although our righteousness before God is through Christ's work alone, and while it remains timelessly true that we cannot earn a spiritual gift or right to function in the power of the Holy Spirit, integrity and morality of character are nonetheless essential to the "kingdom person."
Holiness of heart and life keeps the lines of communication with God unjumbled, by keeping any private or carnal agenda out of the way.

Holiness is a very important character of the kingdom. We as the the people of the kingdom should always and at all times keep our ways holy and acceptable in the eyes of the Master.

"Be Holy, for our God is Holy"

Friendship

Friendship is an in-depth relationship combining trust, support, communication, loyalty, understanding, empathy, and intimacy. It certainly comprises all aspects of life that all human crave for. At times in life when everything that surround us seem to go wrong, the only person we can look up to and cling on are our friends. Their warm company often takes away all our sorrows and pain. Being able to trust and relax with your friend is a big part of friendship.

Here are some interesting quotes about friendship that impressed me:-

"True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost." - Charles Caleb Colton.

"My friends are my estate."- Emily Dickinson

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
"A friend is one who walks in when others walk out" -Walter Winchell

"A friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else." - Len Wein

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words." - Donna Roberts

"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself." - Lysha

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up." - Bible: Ecclesiastes

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival." - C. S. Lewis

"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships." - Abraham Lincoln

"A Friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyway!!!" - Heather Tallent

"To be depressed is to be lonely; to have a friend is to be happy..." - Guido

"A friend is a gift you give yourself." - Robert Louis Stevenson

Friends are indeed a gift for me. I praise God that He has given me very good friends all through out my life. When I was a kid, I had two lovely friend(Chinese and Malay - we were called 'tiga sekawan'), when I went to school - I had excellent company of friends who spoiled me tremendously !!!! Anyway...they have been a great blessing in many ways. When I went to the university - I had several good friend who walked extra miles for and with me. When I started working - I had friend who would keep me company 'all night long'. Now that I'm in the seminary - I have friends who worth all the precious saying about friendship. They are a great pillar of hope and strength for me. I know that I always have a shoulder to lean on in times of need. Thanks Gerard, Daniel, Jacob, Ruth, and the others in STM for being a good friend.

"Friends are God's way of taking care of us - even when we are fast to sleep...zzzzzzz." Silvester

Churches are rich with its culture and tradition. Over the years Christian churches are also well known for its rich and glorious architecture. As we know 'church' is not about the building, but the people of God who come together to worship the living God. Church is the place where people get nurtured in the Lord. Churches today are preoccupied with programs and activities that would enrich the spirituality of its members. In the midst of the busy schedule of maintaining its membership, many churches have lost of its original mission. Churches have become more inward looking than outward. Programs and activities are more tailored for its own member and their self edification. How can the Church reach out if it is led by inward thinking people?

In December 1999 there was a flash food in Shah Alam that destroyed many cars and belongings of the residents. Many of the residents went without food for couple of days due to the flood that has cut off the road transportation. At that point of time one of my friend Pastor visited his church leaders who were staying at a near by area. The greatest regret that the leaders expressed to the pastor was, "we are not able to go for carol rounds this year". The pastor was surprised to hear that comment from that leader. The Church was so concern and disappointed that they were not able to carry out their annual activity. The church was least bothered about the neighborhood which was suffering of the after effects of the flood. Many people including children starved without food and clean water to drink.....but the church is more concern about its caroling than helping the needy. The Buddhist association was the first NGO to help the victims with food and medicines. Where was the Church? Busy planning for Christmas programs !! or....sitting and praying within the four walls !!

This is only one incident to point out the inward looking attitude of many churches. I believe that the church is established not only for its members but mainly and primarily for the world out there. Many are dying everyday.......What is the church doing about that. Why is the church bank account accumulates rapidly when there are so many needy people out there in the streets. One thing that I noticed is, the church has become very pragmatic - doing things with expecting returns. In this context, the church expects the people who they have helped either to become their members or pay back the loan . But I really wonder, do we help people expecting to gain something out of the help? Is this why the Church was established? Are we not called to serve the community without expectation? How can we reach out to the needy when we are not prepared to provide them with their needs.

I really hope that someday this questions will be answered. I want to invite you to think about the mission of the Church. I'm convinced that the Church should be outward thinking rather than inward in establishing God Kingdom on this earth. In helping others, we must always do it out of love and not expectation. For the message of the cross is LOVE.

It is all about Preaching, Preaching and Preaching...

I guess today is the longest Sunday that i have ever had in my whole life. Guess what?...... I preached 4 sermons since 8.30am till 7.00pm. Started my day with the adult Sunday School at 8.30am in Seremban Methodist Church (I'm doing a series of studies from Genesis). At 9.30 am worship service started and i had to preach an exegetical sermon from Matthew 18 (I spoke for almost an hour...man that was really tiring.) As it is i've been having a bad throat..........(ofcourselah.....ate durian twice in a row within a week...Daniel and Ruth are partly to be blamed!!). After worship service, spoke in the Youth meeting for another 45minutes. (Interesting subject....Annointing). Left church at about 1.30pm. Came back home and had to watch the match between Germany and Portugal (poor Portugal lost the match....i wanted them to win..!!!). Could not sleep in the afternoon.....the weather was tremendously hot.....no choice...had to sit infront of the TV (atleast Jessie had a short nap). 5pm letf home to Port Dickson....had to preach in the evening service at 6pm.....man...guess what? The worship leader did not turn up and i had to lead the worship as well. I almost lost 80% of my voice by then. By God's grace......managed to preach and left PD at about 7.15pm. Reached home at 8pm and had a wonderful home cooked dinner (thanks to Jessie...she is an excellent cook).

What suprises me the most is......i'm still sober and it's almost 1 in the morning. Propabaly the excitement of the world cup finals. I just paused a second and realized that it was'nt the world cup that keeps me sober....but it is solely God's grace.



When i started the day with my quiet time....i cried out to Him thinking of my long schedule. I knew it well that i would definitely 'crack' down some where along the day if I strive to do things on my own strenght. But than...upon waiting at His feet....I gained a new strenght and grace from Him. I went to the Church with a new strenght. And i'm deeply convinced that it is His strenght that is made perfect in my weakness. I just wanna praise God for His faithfullness. I'm sure that He who have called us is and will always be faithfull in carrying us through this journey of life.

Thank you Lord....for Your strenght that is made perfect in my weaknesses.....I need not worry about the burden that i've got to carry...because i've a great God who carries away my burden and journey along with me.

It is not what you have received, but what you have given that matters

It's always nice to receive things or gifts from others. What more if it is a blessing from God. We live in a world that has a high expectation in every aspects of live. Everyone expect something from someone. As Christians....We often expect the most (blessings) from the Master. But in return, how many of us have been a blessing to our fellow brothers. I'm deeply convinced that as Children of God we must be a blessing to others at all times and circumstances.

There was one episode in my life when I use to wake up every morning and ask God to use me as a blessing for others. Indeed it worked !! I noticed that somehow or rather along the day I consciously became a blessing for others. That gave me a great joy in life. As for me...to be a blessing for others brings greater joy than the blessing that I receive.

The new semester has begun and everyone seems to be busy in STM. As I was returning back from my Theology class this afternoon......I was approached by a 1st year student who is much older to me. He requested me to pray for him. As I laid my hand on him and prayed for him he broke down in tears. I believe that the Lord truly ministered to him at the point of his need.
I was very much affected by the incident...I have been thinking about it ever since....I'm extremely happy and overjoyed because I'm certain that I've been a great blessing for my fellow brother. At the same time, it also makes me to ponder.......how conscious am I in being a blessing for others. Sometimes opportunities are all around us to be a blessing for other.....but, do we take the opportunity....or are we too busy with our personal affairs. Trust me.....true joy is when we can be a blessing for others. IT IS NOT WHAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED, BUT WHAT YOU HAVE GIVEN THAT MATTERS......

A Brand New Start.....

Life is a journey, and there is always a brand new start for every episode in life. As for me....i learn it all at the feet of the Master. Blogging is a very new 'stuff' for me. It's like dream come true. I never thought that i will ever have my own blog. Whenever i read others blog.....i always wondered... will i ever have my own. Thanks to my little sister, Ruth Ng who have set up this blog for me and my good buddy, Daniel who always critisize me for not having my own blog.

Guys.....i have joined the club...let us be a blessing to each other.

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