Yes, I have had my share of rest for the month but yet there was something "missing" that I had felt. I could not pinpoint what that "missing" link was but yet I had this nagging feeling that something is going to happen. Well, I must be honest to admit that I had not been in the right spiritual mind and I am very conscious of it. Maybe I had been discouraged, buoyed and heavily burdened by the hard months and some matters of the heart & mind. I must admit that I am troubled by a lot of matters in regards to our churches today. I am not afraid to hit out but I am also very aware that we sometimes need to take a step back and withold our tongue. Perhaps by taking a step back and witholding my tongue would be good after all the tongue is the vilest part of our body! Hahahahahaaaaaaaa......the Bible says so, yunno! Ain't gonna doubt that!
Today as I sit at my seat, I saw a whole new perspective of events unveiled before my eyes. I know that it is not such a spectacular thing with blinding lights or extravagant confetti streams or some Hollywood style play of sounds and sight but enough to make my mind & heart to ponder.
I guess, I never saw what was coming in that Sunday service. It started with the praise and worship session with soft spoken & quiet, young father, Kelvin. There wasn’t any extravagant – plain, simple and adequate praise & worship. Meaningful and apt is what I would say. I guess, having the blessing of travelling much around this country of ours and attending services, I am glad there wasn’t any fanciful singing or “performance”, I would add. I guess, to me, even a worship leader who sings out of tune or even one who is as soft spoken as Kelvin are the ones I would look forward to as these worship leaders sang from the very depths of their hearts and with much conviction to bring you to the altar of GOD and enjoying His presence. That’s what’s right today. The setting was right today and I truly appreciate that tangible moments of peace flowing through the sanctuary. That is what I felt today and that perked me up a bit. Like I said earlier, enough of fanciful performances and let’s get serious with our lives. Sing your heart out for GOD, play the musical instruments not because it is your duty that day or even singing back up with all your heart. So, it started well today.
Today’s message is from Elder Wong Fook Meng. As always, the message is clear and present danger to the spiritual soul. I really meant the quip in a good way. What I meant in “clear and present danger to the spiritual soul” is simply for us to heed the call Fook Meng had made or else, we are as hopeless as the goats in the barns waiting to be slaughtered. The need to know the Will of God, the Walk with God and the Work with God are important salient points of his message. I guess, a message like that helped in “waking” you up from your morning slumber at the seat because the points are well illustrated and compacted. I guess, this was GOD’s way of layering His Will as the day unfolded.
The introduction of the core values of City Community Church are unfolded namely Connected to Christ, Committed to Community and Called to the City. I guess, many were scratching their heads or probably many had known about this and seemed nonchalant when it was announced. Maybe, many still had not understood the real meaning of these lines which will be the core values. Like many of them, I must admit, I, too, am rather clueless of what it was but my dumbness was quickly answered during the group discussion with lunch in church. Many people left at that time to do their own things in one way or another but there were others who stayed back to have lunch and did the discussion. My group consisted on 4 persons namely Fook Meng, Esther , Robert, Martini (Indonesian girl - she ran off after finishing her lunch! hahahahahahaaaa......) and myself. We started off by introducing ourselves and Fook Meng was our moderator. It was a good and honest sharing of thoughts and testimony. Food makes it interesting though but not so much as the fellowship and the thrown ideas of testimony and more faith nuggets.
That day, I finally understood the inner feeling, hopes, wishes and the steadfast faith of a woman who is losing her sight ( lost her sight, actually! ) and encountering total blindness with an open heart and much bravery. I thought she was very brave and her testimony as a young Christian earlier in her life and sharing the Goodness of GOD to her non-Christian colleagues were uplifting testimony of faith and definitely an encouragement for my soul. I am also in awe of a mother’s love in not allowing her family and children to be worried of her blindness condition. That touched me a lot. I am also encouraged that a former civil servant in his duties as a husband would pick up the courage to care for his blind wife and to learn to do cooking and other stuff around. Well, people would say that it is natural for a man to do that and so on but it is not an easy thing to do. To me, I can relate that anxiety and times of frustration the blind woman and the man would have felt in their own capacity as mother- father, husband-wife and man-woman capacity. I guess, as I sit back and listened to the testimonies, I am more convinced than ever that the core value of Committed to the Community comes in prominently. These people could not have done it without the Connection with Christ. Here is where we play our role by giving support to people like these whom I am very sure needed a hand or two in some situations or even a listening ear to help ease their frustrations and inner inhibitions. I tell you, it is not easy for a person to lose his or her sight as from blindness onwards, you can only imagine yet never be able formulate images in reality anymore. What you have will always be memories of how you have remembered it. It is really difficult and agonizing indeed.
One interesting story which came up what our own very first experience of accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. I guess, we were “fearless” then in our own ways and even Robert shared how he would deliver tracks door to door those times and spoke eloquently of the Lord in those times. As we reminisced our early days of acknowledging the Lord, Fook Meng threw a question to all of us that mystified us completely, “ So, what happen to that fire you all had?”. That was a heart stopper, I tell you but a very valid question indeed. There was just silence, smiles and even some distorted faces even from me. Somehow, we had no answer to that to that of a very simple question. That question pinned us hard at our hearts. Yeah! What happened to that fire, huh? I guess, when you are younger, you are more brash and at the braver front of things with nothing to lose but as you get older, more things needed your attention and you fall back, compromised and eventually gave in to social, economic and other pressures in life? That was what crossed my mind. I wouldn’t know if that was right or wrong. Perhaps, you should go figure it our yourselves too, right?
For me, at least, one half of that statement applies to me, really. I must admit that sometimes, I do find it frustrating till no end when you fight a cause only to be let down many times by indecisive leaders or even certain leadership directional change who backed down after external pressure or internal pressure. I guess, fear from repercussions from the authorities certainly play one part in making our scrotum shrink between our legs at times even though we know the promises of the Bible. So, be wise or be brave, they say, right? Be wise - keep your mouth shut, do your work quietly without a murmur and shout at the top of the hill that we are being wise or be brave - to head towards isolation and nasi bungkus in some facilities somewhere where no one can ever see you or worse still, being crucified by your own kind of faith and people from other faith who are already baying for your life for being a Christian.
I want to remind everyone that the Christian faith is the way, the truth and the life as the Bible says it; that’s the quintessential essence of our faith. I guess, it’s just the people who profess it that comes under scrutiny and perverse it just like any other religion in this world. That’s my honest opinion. Bottomline, be wise and be brave accordingly, right? Look, I have no intention to belittle anyone lest make anyone feel less worthy in any way. You live your life according to your relationship with GOD, okay? For me and my household, we will always worship GOD, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. By the way, I am proud to be a Christian eventhough I may not be a good one but I’ll most certainly die trying to be one. Sure, I have no excuse for being crude, rude or even rough at times but I really do not intend any malice. Just correction and a little understanding, I guess.
I saw a church worker choking back tears when he spoke of the life of Mdm Yoges. Who? You may ask but enough to say that Yoges was just another human being that you and I may miss to acknowledge in our daily life routine of hectic, bustling, shifting and “quick quick” or numbing world we live in today. We are flawed,man when compared to the compassion shown by Daniel, the church worker. As he unraveled his encounters and help extended to Mdm Yoges by the church and people in the church, I guess, there weren’t any dry eyes in the congregation that morning. It was easy for us to compliment him or to comfort him with our words but do we actually feel what he felt or it is just another insignificant human being that had passed away. Look, when I say such things, I meant it for myself too because I am not high and mighty or some snooty idiot though I can be an ass sometimes! That's for sure!
We take for granted at times that it is only natural for some church worker or some pastor to feel that way but in actual fact, it is the responsibility of ALL of us to ensure that the unfortunate, the needy, the widow and the fallen gets support, love and care to rise to their feet to build their lives. We also should be there to lend a helping hand for them to lay softly on their knees and acknowledge that very grace of GOD that they desperately needed. Throwing a fistful of ringgits and giving our lip services ain't gonna make it these days. We've gotta be serious in lending a helping hand, a listening ear and a heartfelt response. That is what is required these days.
I do have a pool of colleagues and I am starting with that pool of people. Sure, I ain't no angel when I am at work. I too am human with as many flaws as possible but I try to do a little goodness each day so that they can see the one behind me and above me. Like I said, I ain't the best example ever but I'll try my very best to fulfill what I have just learnt today.
Maybe, some good will come out of it.....what do you think? Blessed thinking days ahead, my friends!
Today as I sit at my seat, I saw a whole new perspective of events unveiled before my eyes. I know that it is not such a spectacular thing with blinding lights or extravagant confetti streams or some Hollywood style play of sounds and sight but enough to make my mind & heart to ponder.
I guess, I never saw what was coming in that Sunday service. It started with the praise and worship session with soft spoken & quiet, young father, Kelvin. There wasn’t any extravagant – plain, simple and adequate praise & worship. Meaningful and apt is what I would say. I guess, having the blessing of travelling much around this country of ours and attending services, I am glad there wasn’t any fanciful singing or “performance”, I would add. I guess, to me, even a worship leader who sings out of tune or even one who is as soft spoken as Kelvin are the ones I would look forward to as these worship leaders sang from the very depths of their hearts and with much conviction to bring you to the altar of GOD and enjoying His presence. That’s what’s right today. The setting was right today and I truly appreciate that tangible moments of peace flowing through the sanctuary. That is what I felt today and that perked me up a bit. Like I said earlier, enough of fanciful performances and let’s get serious with our lives. Sing your heart out for GOD, play the musical instruments not because it is your duty that day or even singing back up with all your heart. So, it started well today.
Today’s message is from Elder Wong Fook Meng. As always, the message is clear and present danger to the spiritual soul. I really meant the quip in a good way. What I meant in “clear and present danger to the spiritual soul” is simply for us to heed the call Fook Meng had made or else, we are as hopeless as the goats in the barns waiting to be slaughtered. The need to know the Will of God, the Walk with God and the Work with God are important salient points of his message. I guess, a message like that helped in “waking” you up from your morning slumber at the seat because the points are well illustrated and compacted. I guess, this was GOD’s way of layering His Will as the day unfolded.
The introduction of the core values of City Community Church are unfolded namely Connected to Christ, Committed to Community and Called to the City. I guess, many were scratching their heads or probably many had known about this and seemed nonchalant when it was announced. Maybe, many still had not understood the real meaning of these lines which will be the core values. Like many of them, I must admit, I, too, am rather clueless of what it was but my dumbness was quickly answered during the group discussion with lunch in church. Many people left at that time to do their own things in one way or another but there were others who stayed back to have lunch and did the discussion. My group consisted on 4 persons namely Fook Meng, Esther , Robert, Martini (Indonesian girl - she ran off after finishing her lunch! hahahahahahaaaa......) and myself. We started off by introducing ourselves and Fook Meng was our moderator. It was a good and honest sharing of thoughts and testimony. Food makes it interesting though but not so much as the fellowship and the thrown ideas of testimony and more faith nuggets.
That day, I finally understood the inner feeling, hopes, wishes and the steadfast faith of a woman who is losing her sight ( lost her sight, actually! ) and encountering total blindness with an open heart and much bravery. I thought she was very brave and her testimony as a young Christian earlier in her life and sharing the Goodness of GOD to her non-Christian colleagues were uplifting testimony of faith and definitely an encouragement for my soul. I am also in awe of a mother’s love in not allowing her family and children to be worried of her blindness condition. That touched me a lot. I am also encouraged that a former civil servant in his duties as a husband would pick up the courage to care for his blind wife and to learn to do cooking and other stuff around. Well, people would say that it is natural for a man to do that and so on but it is not an easy thing to do. To me, I can relate that anxiety and times of frustration the blind woman and the man would have felt in their own capacity as mother- father, husband-wife and man-woman capacity. I guess, as I sit back and listened to the testimonies, I am more convinced than ever that the core value of Committed to the Community comes in prominently. These people could not have done it without the Connection with Christ. Here is where we play our role by giving support to people like these whom I am very sure needed a hand or two in some situations or even a listening ear to help ease their frustrations and inner inhibitions. I tell you, it is not easy for a person to lose his or her sight as from blindness onwards, you can only imagine yet never be able formulate images in reality anymore. What you have will always be memories of how you have remembered it. It is really difficult and agonizing indeed.
One interesting story which came up what our own very first experience of accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. I guess, we were “fearless” then in our own ways and even Robert shared how he would deliver tracks door to door those times and spoke eloquently of the Lord in those times. As we reminisced our early days of acknowledging the Lord, Fook Meng threw a question to all of us that mystified us completely, “ So, what happen to that fire you all had?”. That was a heart stopper, I tell you but a very valid question indeed. There was just silence, smiles and even some distorted faces even from me. Somehow, we had no answer to that to that of a very simple question. That question pinned us hard at our hearts. Yeah! What happened to that fire, huh? I guess, when you are younger, you are more brash and at the braver front of things with nothing to lose but as you get older, more things needed your attention and you fall back, compromised and eventually gave in to social, economic and other pressures in life? That was what crossed my mind. I wouldn’t know if that was right or wrong. Perhaps, you should go figure it our yourselves too, right?
For me, at least, one half of that statement applies to me, really. I must admit that sometimes, I do find it frustrating till no end when you fight a cause only to be let down many times by indecisive leaders or even certain leadership directional change who backed down after external pressure or internal pressure. I guess, fear from repercussions from the authorities certainly play one part in making our scrotum shrink between our legs at times even though we know the promises of the Bible. So, be wise or be brave, they say, right? Be wise - keep your mouth shut, do your work quietly without a murmur and shout at the top of the hill that we are being wise or be brave - to head towards isolation and nasi bungkus in some facilities somewhere where no one can ever see you or worse still, being crucified by your own kind of faith and people from other faith who are already baying for your life for being a Christian.
I want to remind everyone that the Christian faith is the way, the truth and the life as the Bible says it; that’s the quintessential essence of our faith. I guess, it’s just the people who profess it that comes under scrutiny and perverse it just like any other religion in this world. That’s my honest opinion. Bottomline, be wise and be brave accordingly, right? Look, I have no intention to belittle anyone lest make anyone feel less worthy in any way. You live your life according to your relationship with GOD, okay? For me and my household, we will always worship GOD, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. By the way, I am proud to be a Christian eventhough I may not be a good one but I’ll most certainly die trying to be one. Sure, I have no excuse for being crude, rude or even rough at times but I really do not intend any malice. Just correction and a little understanding, I guess.
I saw a church worker choking back tears when he spoke of the life of Mdm Yoges. Who? You may ask but enough to say that Yoges was just another human being that you and I may miss to acknowledge in our daily life routine of hectic, bustling, shifting and “quick quick” or numbing world we live in today. We are flawed,man when compared to the compassion shown by Daniel, the church worker. As he unraveled his encounters and help extended to Mdm Yoges by the church and people in the church, I guess, there weren’t any dry eyes in the congregation that morning. It was easy for us to compliment him or to comfort him with our words but do we actually feel what he felt or it is just another insignificant human being that had passed away. Look, when I say such things, I meant it for myself too because I am not high and mighty or some snooty idiot though I can be an ass sometimes! That's for sure!
We take for granted at times that it is only natural for some church worker or some pastor to feel that way but in actual fact, it is the responsibility of ALL of us to ensure that the unfortunate, the needy, the widow and the fallen gets support, love and care to rise to their feet to build their lives. We also should be there to lend a helping hand for them to lay softly on their knees and acknowledge that very grace of GOD that they desperately needed. Throwing a fistful of ringgits and giving our lip services ain't gonna make it these days. We've gotta be serious in lending a helping hand, a listening ear and a heartfelt response. That is what is required these days.
I do have a pool of colleagues and I am starting with that pool of people. Sure, I ain't no angel when I am at work. I too am human with as many flaws as possible but I try to do a little goodness each day so that they can see the one behind me and above me. Like I said, I ain't the best example ever but I'll try my very best to fulfill what I have just learnt today.
Maybe, some good will come out of it.....what do you think? Blessed thinking days ahead, my friends!
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