Serving God is FUN!!!!!

Serving God is the greatest priviledge that we can ever have! You don't need to be called into full time ministry to serve the Lord. We just need to be available and be the bridge that will connect others to our Heavenly Father!

A few members and I had the opportunity to minister in Peace A/G Kluang on the 23rd Nov..It was a good experience for all of us.. Once again, we were able to see how God flow through us through songs, dance and the preaching of the word..

Throughout the entire service, we could feel the strong presence of God as He move to minister to everyone in the service including all of us from the Melaka team. Of course in our journey of serving God, there will also be moments of discouragement or the tendecies of wanting to take a break from serving God because of the pressure; but let us not give up. Let's press on!

Serving God is fun! Serving God is exciting! Serving God is fulfilling! Serving God opens the flood gates of heaven over us! Serving God helps us to mature in our walk with Him! Serving God bond us together with the rest of His children! Serving God is adventurous! Serving God brings joy and tears! Serving God causes us to enjoy a greater level of intimacy with Him! There are many pleasures that comes in serving the Lord and I can't finish stating them all! Why don't you try it? Taste it and you will love it!

As we serve God, let's bear this constantly in our minds -

"But, this precious treasure-this light and power that now shine within us - is held in perishable containers, that is in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying our spirits are being renewed everyday."
2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 16

COME JOIN ME! As we give the prime time of our lives to serve the God who deserves nothing but our best!!!

Life????!!!

Phew..Life! What is life? How do you view your life? As I was pondering on the verse that Paul said in Philippians 4:12 "I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want..." I kept asking God - what was the secret that Paul had learned? How was this great apostle able to come to a state in his life where he can make such a statement? How then would this verse be relevant to us today? How then can I be able to come to this state in my life where I can say what Paul had said?

The more I pondered, the more I wandered..I then came to a very vital (at least to me it is) conclusion: How you and I view the reality of our lives is very important - Do you view life from Jesus' point of view or from the world's? I believe if we search deeply into our hearts and answer this question honestly, it will certainly change our attitude towards life.

What is life? Can I suggest a description about the reality of life to you - "Life is just like a glass of water: Half empty & Half full". If today, you are able to accept this definition then I sincerely believe that we are on the right and same track as apostle Paul - who learned the secret of being content in any and every situation; whether in plenty or in want. Without viewing our lives from Christ's perspective, our lives will really be in a big mess! Life is very complicated by itself and we need to learn to accept that we cannot have and will not have everything that we want in life.

With this understanding in mind, how then are we going to cope with this stress(of not being able to have everything I want/my way)? Let me suggest to you a few principles that I have picked up from Philippians 4:11-13..1.

1. Measure your life according to God's standard (v11)

• Notice Paul in verse 11 says that he learned how to be content in any and every situation.
• Content here means - satisfied to the point where I'm not disturbed or disquieted.
• Learning to be content in whatever state we are in is something that all of us will need to keep learning.
• There's only 1 way to learn this lesson - you need to go through and experience it.
• 2 ways to measure
  a) God's standard : it's no longer about me it's about living my life
  to glorify God
  b) World's standard : the wealth you own
• When we have chosen to live our lives on this earth by God's standard, only then will we be able to stay contented in every situation.

2. Be ready for all things (v13)

• When you say "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". What do you mean by that?
• Can you get things done without preparation and just being spontaneous all the time?
• In order to be able to do all things, I believe that we need to play a continuous active role of equipping & increasing our knowledge on different issues that's surrounding us. (Of course not forgetting our knowledge of the word of God)
• As God's children, it's our responsibility to train ourselves for everything - including spiritual battles and stay connected to God in order to face every situation with God's grace & wisdom.

3. Stay connected to Jesus (v13b)

• Scriptures tell us that we can do all things through what? Our own strength? NO! Other people's strength? NO WAY! Only through Christ!
• It's Jesus who infusses inner strength into us so that we can face our life which is like a glass of water - half empty & half full. It's in the sufficiency of Christ that we find our self-sufficiency!
• By ourselves, we are limitted in our capacity, strength and wisdom..but when we are constantly connected to Christ - our source for everything, at any time; we need not fear about our own lacks.

In conclusion, there are many issues in your life that will cause you not to be able to get everything you want, but let's face this reality, accept it and deal with it - times of plenty & times of lack. Whatever situation we may be in, we can still be assured and hopeful that abundant life can be found in Jesus if we learn to live life from His perspective!

Don't Give UP!

"Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me" John 14:1

As I look around and meet up with different walks of people in these hard times, many are struggling...I know of many who are finding it harder as the days go by to cope with the situations that they are in. The tough times that you are in now, know that there is always a way out..Let your heart not be troubled nor let it be shaken.. Yes, it's tough. But, Jesus assured each and everyone of us that He will surely take care of us as we cling and hold on tightly to Him..

My dear friends, now is NOT the time to give up hope. Instead, Now is the time to keep hoping and putting your faith in the God who has said "Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So, don't be afraid; you are more valuable to Him than a whole flock of sparrows". There is hope, there is a bright light at the end of the dark tunnel that you are travelling on now..This hope...this peace...this strength that you need to keep going on can only be found in Jesus!

No matter who you are...No matter what situation that you are in, No matter how tough it may seems to be...Don't give up! Put your hope in Jesus! You'll surely find the strength to go on....I've found my hope and place my hope in Jesus...What about you? Have you? If not, let me encourage you, it's never too late to place your hope and faith in Him - who knows and understand all that you are going through...Why not do it now?

Don't Give UP! God has not given up on you! There's HOPE!!

Faith's Journey

"Turn left..." "No...turn right..." "Keep to this lane and look out for the sign boards.." "Watch out....you are too fast!" "Hey, you are too close to the car in front!" "Be careful...you are too close to the lamp post.." "Phew...that was close..."

Does these lines sound familiar to you? Whenever there are more than 1 drivers in a car, the above scenerio are bound to happen. Those were some of the remarks that I made while training my new collegue for the first time - driving our church's van. My heart was beating so quickly whenever I felt that she was driving too close to a car or to a lamp post by the road side. My right leg was even stepping on the invisible breaks at the passenger's seat. It was really a tension time both for me and my new collegue as we took the first ride in the church van where she was behind the wheels. Phew...am I glad that now she's able to handle the van pretty well while I'm learning to be a silent and trusting passenger (who sometimes still do step on the invisible breaks).

As I recall the above experience, I just cannot help relating it to our daily lives. Our life on this earth is indeed a journey - a journey of adventure, uncertainties, joy and laughters, heartaches and pain, challenges and struggles, victories and failures. Our life journey starts from the day that we were conceived and it will end when we come face to face with our physical death. However, the ending of our life's journey on this earth marks a new begining of another journey - life in eternity.

In every journey of life that we take, there are always roadsigns that we can lookout for. Some are more visible while others are discovered through the different mistakes and lessons learnt in life. I've learnt so much in this few years in my life's journey. I've come to a realization that my journey of faith is equally real and important. There were times when every fibre of my being was filled with love and excitement for God. But, there were many times when the journey of faith seems to be so dry and draggy. However, it's through this low seasons of my faith's journey with Jesus that I learnt these 3 important truths..

1. Cling tightly to my Faith (1 Tim 1:9)

• I've realized that along my faith's journey there are many battles that I need to fight - one of them is my personal faith and relationship with God. But, as I continue to search scriptures for something to hold on to, I found the encouragement that young Timothy received from Paul - CLING TIGHTLY to your Faith!
• I then realized that a deeper understanding of the word 'commitment' is needed in order to cling on to my faith. The commitment that I made at the age of 9 years old in saying "YES to Jesus!" must be followed through till the the end even in the lowest season of my faith's journey.

2. Fight the good fight of Faith (1 Tim 6:12)

• Besides clinging on to my faith, I've learnt (and am still learning) the need to rise up and fight the good fight of faith whenever I need to. Learning to shift from the defensive gear to the offensive gear in order to stand up for what and whom I believe in - Jesus, my savior.

3. Guard my Faith (2 Tim 1:14)

• The tendency for many of us to give up on our faith when the going get toughs can be so real and strong at times. But, I've learnt and experience a very simple truth - NO ONE can take away anything from me if I guard it with all my heart..YES! NO ONE! Not even the devil. (he's not so powerful afterall)
• There's yet another greater truth that I've learnt and experience - God has given me the strength, the grace and the power that is sufficient to help guard the most precious thing in my life: my Faith in Jesus!

Everything around us at this point of time is drastically changing...Many things that were once solid and firm are now being shaken. Our journey of faith seems to be getting tougher too.. However, don't loose heart, don't loose hope.. You and I, we are not alone in this journey of faith..We have many who has gone before us and has completed the race as faithful stewarts of God. I know that I'm not alone in this journey because there are many who are travelling on this journey of faith and we are all learning to Cling Tightly, to Fight the Good Fight and to Guard our Faith. Come join me in this exciting journey...let's walk together and let's finish our journey of faith together!

Take Heart! Be Strong! YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Look around you and you will be able to find many like you and me who are determined to stay focus and keep running till we finish the race faithfully! CHEERS!