Sitting back during the congregation meeting held in PLMC on Sunday afternoon, I surveyed the attendees - a good 60+ strong attendance. Many of them, I have not seen for some time. There were a few new additions - 2 new cell groups has been added to the cluster as well as new borned babies. Sometimes it is difficult to keep in contact with each other as all of us attend different services and cell meetings.
Pastor Tay shared on getting ourselves ready for ministry work and it is a good reminder to the group that as we continue to fellowship and learned, we need also to avail ourselves to serve. I thanked the Lord for His faithfulness in keeping the bond between the members strong in this cluster.
It seems to be a beginning of another new phase in Hope. My prayer for Hope is for the members to continue to hunger after God and avail ourselves for Him to do His work in Hope.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Pursuit of Material Gain - Is It Worth It?
A newspaper story yesterday caught my eyes. It wrote of the downward spiral of the life of Mr Jack Whittaker ever since he won the powerball prize of US$315 million back in 2002. His only grand daughter died of a drug overdose. His daughter is cancer strickened and he and his wife has filed for divorce. He has a long list of indiscretions made public and an inability to trust others. 'I don't have any friends,' he said. 'Every friend that I've had, practically, has wanted to borrow money or something and of course, once they borrow money from you, you can't be friends anymore.' He had trouble also in keeping the law. In all, he said, he has been involved in 460 legal actions since winning.
Sounds familiar? There are numerous cases of lives being destroyed because of a sudden change in material status. Judging by the queues at the Toto/4D outlets speak volume of the people pursuing a quick way to riches and a supposedly blissful life thereafter. With the new casinos in Integrated Resorts coming up in 2009, we can foresee more social problems surfacing.
As christians, we must guard our hearts against the pursuit of material wealth. The Bible warns us that "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. " (1 Timothy 6:10).
The cure ? Contentment! "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:" (Philippians 4:11)
The steps to contentment?
1. Prayer ( Philippians 4:6,7). Not being anxious and leaving it all to God will bring peace, resulting in contentment.
2. Guard the ambitions of our heart and to control the preoccupation of our mind. Read Psalms 131 - David's example
3. Maintain our Christian priorities. Knowing that we are a redeemed child of God helps us to view issues with the right perspectives.
May God teach us the grace of contentment.
Sounds familiar? There are numerous cases of lives being destroyed because of a sudden change in material status. Judging by the queues at the Toto/4D outlets speak volume of the people pursuing a quick way to riches and a supposedly blissful life thereafter. With the new casinos in Integrated Resorts coming up in 2009, we can foresee more social problems surfacing.
As christians, we must guard our hearts against the pursuit of material wealth. The Bible warns us that "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. " (1 Timothy 6:10).
The cure ? Contentment! "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:" (Philippians 4:11)
The steps to contentment?
1. Prayer ( Philippians 4:6,7). Not being anxious and leaving it all to God will bring peace, resulting in contentment.
2. Guard the ambitions of our heart and to control the preoccupation of our mind. Read Psalms 131 - David's example
3. Maintain our Christian priorities. Knowing that we are a redeemed child of God helps us to view issues with the right perspectives.
May God teach us the grace of contentment.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
God Answers Prayers
"God answers prayers". The simple truth just blows me away. I was sitting through WIN (Worship & Intercession Night) listening to Tony's message on Exodus 17:8-16 as he shares how the Israelites fought and won the war when Moses hands were lifted up continuously by Aaron & Hur.
Tony elaborated on three points :
1. We pray to give God the glory
2. We need prayer partners
3. God answers Prayers
The message was simple : At all times - Pray.
Going into WIN last night, I was grappling with a few issues at work and feeling frustrated and looking for a quiet moment to worship. God impressed on me the message that although I have prayed about it, I really didn't expect God to solve it and was trying to work out a solution myself, thus robbing God of His glory. God reminded me of the many times He had answered my cries for help and that He will continue to answer when we ask. It was a time of confession and acknowledging His sovereignity over all situations in my life as I ask Him to take over and believe that He will answer my prayers.
Judging by the testimonies last night, some were similarly touched.
Truly, He is an awesome God!
Tony elaborated on three points :
1. We pray to give God the glory
2. We need prayer partners
3. God answers Prayers
The message was simple : At all times - Pray.
Going into WIN last night, I was grappling with a few issues at work and feeling frustrated and looking for a quiet moment to worship. God impressed on me the message that although I have prayed about it, I really didn't expect God to solve it and was trying to work out a solution myself, thus robbing God of His glory. God reminded me of the many times He had answered my cries for help and that He will continue to answer when we ask. It was a time of confession and acknowledging His sovereignity over all situations in my life as I ask Him to take over and believe that He will answer my prayers.
Judging by the testimonies last night, some were similarly touched.
Truly, He is an awesome God!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
21 South Korean Christians Released...
After more than 42 days in custody, the 21 South Korean christians were finally released and are now safely back in South Korea. Though we are sad that 2 of them died, we are indeed thankful that the rest are safe.
Now, the blame game starts.....
Today's newspaper reported that the South Korean government is asking them to pay some of the expenses incurred. The South Korean newspapers are also blaming the church in defying the directive from the government not to embark on any mission to high risk areas. It was reported that the church group undertook the trip in defiance of foreign ministry warnings. Before departure it was pictured posing with an airport notice warning against travel to the Central Asian nation.
Those that take the hardest hit must be the christian aid workers themselves. The spokesman for the group summed it all up. "We owe the country and the people a great debt," He said.
Enough said...this episode will play itself out in the next few days.
The stakes are always high when we heed the Lord's great commission "To go into all nations..." Matt 28:19,20. In our exuberance however, we throw caution into the wind. We tend to take risk unneccessarily.
Paul in Acts were warned by the Spirit to avoid Asia Minor during his missionary journey. The reason was not known but I believe that it fit into the overall master plan of God. We should then continue to seek the Lord's guidance in our mission work as we send workers into the various mission fields.
Mission work must continue. As we continue to take the road less travelled in our missionary journeys, our hearts must be conditioned rightly - compelled by the love of God to do His will, for His glory alone, not ours.
Now, the blame game starts.....
Today's newspaper reported that the South Korean government is asking them to pay some of the expenses incurred. The South Korean newspapers are also blaming the church in defying the directive from the government not to embark on any mission to high risk areas. It was reported that the church group undertook the trip in defiance of foreign ministry warnings. Before departure it was pictured posing with an airport notice warning against travel to the Central Asian nation.
Those that take the hardest hit must be the christian aid workers themselves. The spokesman for the group summed it all up. "We owe the country and the people a great debt," He said.
Enough said...this episode will play itself out in the next few days.
The stakes are always high when we heed the Lord's great commission "To go into all nations..." Matt 28:19,20. In our exuberance however, we throw caution into the wind. We tend to take risk unneccessarily.
Paul in Acts were warned by the Spirit to avoid Asia Minor during his missionary journey. The reason was not known but I believe that it fit into the overall master plan of God. We should then continue to seek the Lord's guidance in our mission work as we send workers into the various mission fields.
Mission work must continue. As we continue to take the road less travelled in our missionary journeys, our hearts must be conditioned rightly - compelled by the love of God to do His will, for His glory alone, not ours.
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