Jan 27, 2011

Chinese New Year

Gong Xi Fa Cai - these words we hear every time Chinese New Year is near. As Chinese New Year draws around the corner, as Chinese, it is a period of times in our lives the kids will rejoice, the adults will “mourn” as Ang paus were to be given, the time in which families and relatives gather together. Chinese New Year has always been Chinese New year, but as Christians, does Chinese New Year mean anything to us?

To start off, Chinese New Year is a time in which people gather, it is a time in which they come together, make merry, feast and even talk about the lives that has passed, catching up with relatives, and showing off each others' children. These are the events that a typical Chinese family will do, but now, besides gathering, we have an even more important mission, that is to be the salt and light to the relatives we rarely meet.

I take my sharing today from Matthew 5 v 13 – 16
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
First stop at every Chinese New Year in my hometown, at least there will always be food. Like Duh, who celebrates Chinese New Year without food? But because everybody wants to eat but nobody wants to clean, dishes will always be lying around the place. When I was young, my mum and my grandmother will do it. After all, if we want to look at it, washing and cooking is the work of the women. But as I grew in age, I began to realize, the most effective way of evangelizing to our grandparents or even our relatives begins if they see a change in our conduct. To start the ball rolling, I started washing dishes after meals, to ease the burdens of the womenfolk of the KHOR Family.

Secondly, Chinese New Year is also a good time in which salt and light can happen when we practise proper table manners. One thing that stands out in Chinese New Year is that when we eat, we will always eat at a round table. When we eat, we should always remember to wish our grandparents, to eat as well, for instance, Gong gong lets eat(爷爷吃饭). The bad thing to do would be to eat without waiting. To go a further mile would be, taking food for the elderly. I strongly encourage you all to do so, especially to your grandparents, that they know, there is something different in their grandchildren, and that is the 4th Commandment (Exodus 20 v 12), that we honor our parent’s parents, putting their interest above ours. When eating, may we not forget to give thanks for the food as well, that is to indirectly tell them, all food is provided by the LORD, and as partakers, we should always remember to give thanks.

Thirdly, when we receive Ang paus, we ought to receive with a thankful heart. An Attitude of Gratitude, certainly we should not always complain or even lament among each other, oh I only got RM2 from that uncle. Simply because, when adults give Ang pau, they give with a good intention, that children or even kids will mature and grow up to be a healthy and even happy adult, in Chinese Words - 快高张大. In any way, we should appreciate their good intentions. When we wish, we should not only say, 恭喜发财, Gong Xi Fa Cai, because this term is for businessmen, that their business blooms, but also Shen Ti Jian Kang (身体健康) to tell them, we wish them good health.

Fourth and Finally, Chinese New Year also presents us an opportunity to give people the most important 'Ang paus' in their lives, that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Chinese New Year, when we spend time talking with our relatives, it is actually the Golden Opportunity in which we can come and tell them about Jesus Christ. To tell them, God is the reason that families exist today and Jesus Christ is the reason why we can and we will always be a family and to let them know God wants them in His Kingdom as well. This howsoever, can be only be achieve, if we live our lives in becoming Salt and Light to the LOVE and the knowledge of God and alongside living a righteous life to actually begin talking to them about them Gospel.

Last of all guys, as we draw closer to this festive season, may we always be reminded that God is always good and we should thank God that above all, this is a cultural event and that as Christian Chinese we can celebrate and also be salt and light to our relatives - simply because everyday in life, People need the LORD.

May this festive season be a different one this year, with the knowledge that God wants our families to be close together and all God wanted since the beginning of creation is to have a family with us, simply because everything is temporary, but family in Christ, is forever.

- John Khor

Images taken from:

http://yeinjee.com/asianpop/chinese-new-year-worldwide-celebration-2008/
http://rasamalaysia.com/happy-chinese-new-year/
http://inxomnia.wordpress.com/page/5/
http://blog.beliefnet.com/stuffchristianculturelikes/2009/09/98-people-need-the-lord.html

Jan 25, 2011

Knowing is not enough

I was talking to a non-Christian friend the other day and she made a statement that gave me a lot to think about. She said:

“I see no difference between Christians and non-Christians.”

I thought a lot about my life and how I portrayed myself to the people around me. Does Jesus really show in my life? Personally, I’ve been going to church since I was a kid and I know. I know that Jesus saved me. I know that He loves me. I know that I should live for Him and Him alone. I know; but is that enough? I know it in my mind but am I truly convicted in my heart?

Does His word show to the people around me?

In 2 Corinthians 3:3, Paul says:
You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
We are a like an open book for everyone around us to read. We are a letter from Christ Himself. The best way to tell our friends about God is by example. Live for Him alone, so that when they read us like an open book, we can be like a letter from Christ with the Spirit of God written on our hearts.
If someone were to read your life like a book, would they find Jesus in its pages?

- Phoebe Lim

Jan 14, 2011

Welcome to the Family

Welcome to the family
We’re glad that you have come
To share your life with us
As we grow in love
And may we always be to you
What God would have us be
A family always there
To be strong and to lean on
May we learn to love each other
More with each new day
May words of love be on our lips
In everything we say
May the Spirit melt our hearts
And teach us how to pray
That we might be, a true family
The melody is probably ringing along as you read the lyrics above I suppose. We all know this song - it’s a Sunday school song after all.

But it’s always peculiar how when we think these lyrics are just something nice to sing along though when asked to obey, it’s just so difficult.
“Welcome to the family
We’re glad that you have come”
Honestly, how often do we welcome new family members well? And how about new comers “coming” to us in a manner that they are ready to commit in being part of the family? As for myself, I remembered doing both ways horribly when I first entered TTDI. Today, after many years disappearing and then returning to church, God has placed His hands upon me into this church and finally felt the joy of being welcomed and to welcome others.
“To share your life with us
As we grow in love”
Share, wow, that’s a big word! Obviously I don’t mean just sharing with where are you studying and that you like playing HoN and all that. When we’re talking about “sharing your life” in Christian family context, we’re talking about your joy and dreams as well as your deep pain and struggles. That’s a lot of trust and vulnerability we’re talking about. Until today, only one person knows much more of my deep struggles compared to the rest. But I also realize that I’m only close to that one person and I’m losing the joy of being close to others as well.

Grow, yet another huge word. If you ever tried rearing a pet or do gardening, I’m sure you understand what it means to commit in growing that life and not letting it die. Then again, you could grow them in any manner you want, whether you’re lazy and you’ll simply treat it and when you’re in a good mood, you’ll treat it well. The lyric says “as we grow in LOVE” ! That’s both parties working on a committed, loving relationship. I admit that sometimes, I do feel really tired from work and often excuse myself from committing in caring for my other brothers and sisters. But, I need to remember that commitment is never about feelings, commitment is about doing it regardless of feelings.

“What God would have us be
A family always there
To be strong and to lean on”
“A family always there” I think sometimes we often think that being there means just waiting for someone to find you when they’re at trouble. But have we ever wondered that sometimes people may be too afraid to reach out when they’re down or wondered anyone would ever know they’re down because no one ever asked first? Let’s not just attend YF & Sunday service only, go that extra mile and make a call, drop a text and just say “Just dropping by to say hi  “ Don’t you like to know that people actually made the effort to let you know that they are thinking of you despite of their crazy schedule?
“To be strong and to lean on”
Being “strong” means you got to be the one giving more than you should be receiving! Don’t be a dead weight in the family and just keep expecting people to care. You should be wondering which family members’ need can I meet today? I remembered once depending on a sister too much, it really affected our relationship because she’s afraid I’m leaning on her more than I should be leaning on God! I should be strong enough to remember that God’s Grace is sufficient, for His strength is made perfect in my weaknesses (2 Corinth 12:9)
“May we learn to love each other
More with each new day”
Learning to love one another is really a challenge. Do you stop learning to love someone just because you may have hurt the person (or got hurt) unintentionally in the process? Or did you stop learning because we have strayed away from God? Sometimes we fail to understand that learning to love is not about us feeling good about it. That’s the reason why people stop “loving”- they expect a nice, grateful, warm and loving response from the other party. Love comes the greatest when it is least deserving, where the greatest example, “Amazing Grace”! Learn to love, come what may.
There was once whilst I’m learning to love a person, we got into a huge deep conflict that got both of us cut real deep. But I told God that I love this person genuinely and I refuse to allow either my pride, fear or selfishness to stop me from continue loving this person. It took months before we finally patched up, but it was so worth it because I’ve truly learnt to love this person even better now!
“May words of love be on our lips
In everything we say”
Gossips, dirty jokes and cynical remarks. If all of these are very common to your lips then it is time to ask yourself honestly, have you been a good family member to your family?

“In everything (love) we say”
Don’t just stop with not saying those negative words, when is the last time you sincerely praise and encourage a family member in church?
“May the Spirit melt our hearts
And teach us how to pray
That we might be, a true family”
Last but not least, Christ as our head as He left us with the Holy spirit. Together as one body we come in prayer and to finish the race together – “That we might be, a true family”

In this year’s youth theme – The amazing race, family edition. Let’s go through this race with this simple yet meaningful song kept in our minds. Remember that the joy we can have in the family can only go as far as we are willing to give, not take!


- Gary Heng

Images are taken from :
http://www.messiahroseau.net/
http://markosullivan.ca/category/uncategorized/
http://www.cackaloo.com/2007/11/
http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/limiting-free-speech-4-derogatory-speech/
http://my.ydjesus.org/

Jan 11, 2011

My Family Situations = My Year 2011 Resolution


For those who are not aware, the Youth Teen Ministry (YTM) theme for this year is Amazing Race 2011 – Family Edition. As I ponder on the keyword of "family", it reminds me one of the quiet time sessions that I did during the end of last year. It also talked about “family” but in a different sense. The YTM theme is talking about how we go through our Christian faith together with fellow Christian believers who are the Church family and the quiet time message that spoke to me was about my blood family. Even though both talks about different aspects and meanings of “family”, I guess it is timely for me to share my year 2011's resolution that relates with my family.

My new year resolution is to stay on with my family, bear with my family, to help my family members with their issues and to reconcile with my family.

Frankly speaking, I come from a broken family, albeit my parents still stay with each other (not divorced, I mean). My mom thought of divorcing when my older sister and I were young, but I thank God that my mom did not do that and later came to the Lord. She consequently lead me to come to the Lord and which I also brought my sister to the Lord.

I must admit that because of our stiffness of heart, believing in Christ has only brought a small change in our family life. Some of you know that my dad has chemical imbalance which creates much havoc in the family and probably in the neighborhood. My mom carry her childhood issues till now, my sister would choose to ignore the issues at my home and as for myself, I nearly give up on my family altogether.

Many times I fasted and prayed for my family's situation and it only came to small changes. However, there’s also a sister-in-Christ that came my way last year and asked me not to give up as that particular sister knew much of my family issues. She adviced me to cling on to God and mentioned that God is indeed good regardless of how I feel towards my family - especially my parents.

I must say that I must love my family the way Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 13 (New King James Version):

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails.

True enough, I have all the head knowledge about love and have several spiritual gifts/faith/service to God but do not have the love for my family, I’m a nobody before God. It is my prayer that I may put up with my family members, not saying any harsh words to them, not easily angered when the things they did triggers my anger, bear and endure with them knowing their very struggles.

May you hold me accountable for these until I have achieved my goals stated in the 2nd paragraph. Thanks!

-Yit Mun

Images taken from:
http://www.adelchristiancounseling.com/
http://www.thoughts.com/monicaspeaks/130
http://theblogfrog.com/1501622/blogposts

Jan 8, 2011

Starting it Right

Hello everybody!

After the awesome holiday season, for most of us, we would have just started school again , gone back to work, and for the a few, it’s just the beginning of our exams.

The year 2011 may be significant to many of us who are entering secondary school, starting anew in college, or sitting for major examinations at the end of the year.

Daily routines aside, the year 2011 can also be a new start to us seeking to deepen our relationship with God. It could be through a regular quiet time, prayer, and commitment to finish reading the Bible within a year. Admittedly, it isn’t easy and we may struggle with it. However, we can start by setting a few goals, and gradually increasing the difficulty of it as the year goes by. Also, take the time to share with a brother or sister in Christ any difficulties you might be facing so that he or she can encourage and support you through it. Finally, don’t allow occasional slip ups to make you feel like a failure. Instead, use them to motivate you to go one step further.

Have you had previous resolutions gone awry? Strike it right this year with the Lord. Let this new year be a year of change.

- Jo-Yi

Images taken from:
http://www.linwoodlibrary.org/happy-holidays-closed-dates-for-christmas-new-years/
http://www.clmchurch.com/

Jan 4, 2011

New Year Resolutions

I've been asking around a bit on new resolutions and before I know it, some have already gave up on them. But then again, are we as Christians doing it the right way? Here's a good read, quoted from gotquestions.org :

The practice of making New Year’s resolutions goes back over 3000 years to the ancient Babylonians. There is just something about the start of a New Year that gives us the feeling of a fresh start and a new beginning. In reality, there is no difference between December 31st and January 1st. Nothing mystical occurs at midnight on December 31st. The Bible does not speak for or against the concept of New Year’s resolutions. However, if a Christian determines to make a New Year’s resolution, what kind of resolution should he or she make?

Common New Year’s resolutions are: to quit smoking, to stop drinking, to manage money better, and spend more time with family. By far the most common New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, in conjunction with exercising more and eating healthier. These are all good goals to set. However, 1 Timothy 4:8 instructs us to keep exercise in perspective: “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” The vast majority of New Year’s resolutions, even among Christians, are in relation to physical things. This should not be.

Many Christians make New Year’s resolutions to pray more, to read the Bible every day, and to attend church more regularly. These are fantastic goals. However, these New Year’s resolutions fail just as often as the non-spiritual resolutions, because there is no power in a New Year’s resolution. Resolving to start or stop doing a certain activity has no value unless you have the proper motivation for stopping or starting that activity. For example, why do you want to read the Bible every day? Is it to honor God and grow spiritually, or is it because you have just heard that it is a good thing to do? Why do you want to lose weight? Is it to honor God with your body, or is it for vanity, to honor yourself?

Philippians 4:13 tells us, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” John 15:5 declares, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” If God is the center of your New Year’s resolution, it has chance for success, depending on your commitment to it. If it is God’s will for something to be fulfilled, He will enable you to fulfill it. If a resolution is not God honoring and/or is not in agreement in God’s Word, we will not receive God’s help in fulfilling the resolution.

So, what sort of New Year’s resolution should a Christian make? Here are some suggestions: (1) Pray to the Lord for wisdom (James 1:5) in regards to what resolutions, if any, He would have you make; (2) Pray for wisdom as to how to fulfill the goals God gives you; (3) Rely on God’s strength to help you; (4) Find an accountability partner who will help you and encourage you; (5) Don’t become discouraged with occasional failures; instead allow them to motivate you further; (6) Don’t become proud or vain, but give God the glory. Psalm 37:5-6, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”

God bless,
daryl 's u n d a e' heng

Images taken from:

http://www.markville.ss.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/projects/classof2008/mel5/au/babo.htm
http://praisecleveland.com/feature/cocobrother/does-going-to-church-make-you-a-christian/
http://hubpages.com/hub/Is-Gods-Wisdom-Absent


Link to article above: http://www.gotquestions.org/new-years-resolution.html

Jan 1, 2011

Highlights of 2010!

2010 maybe last year but let's take this time to look through the events and activities for our youth has went through and how God have blessed our fellowship throughout the year!

Visit to Beryl's Chocolate Factory

The first event in March was visiting Beryl's chocolate factory with the Shelter kids :) It was a good opportunity for us to get to know the shelter kids a bit more. Most of them were very friendly and it was fun having lunch with them before we went back. And we got to buy lots and lots of chocolate! :D

Bible Quiz

After that, we had a bible quiz in church. We split into groups and had to race the people from other groups to a cymbal to answer questions. I expected the bible quiz to be really boring but it was actually pretty fun :) And it sorta woke me up a bit because I realized how much I didn't know about the word of God.

Baptism

Cher Maine, Jeana Joy, Evelyn, Alex, Matthew How, Gregory and Ian got baptized :D It was really encouraging to me because they had chosen to take that step of faith. I was greatly reminded of my purpose here in this world. It is never easy to follow our Lord but He will always be there to guide and to help us no matter what ;)

Sexuality Talk

Uncle Lay Seng talked to the guys and Mei Fern talked to the girls. The talk was...........interesting. And a little bit awkward at some points. But it was nice to see Mei Fern after so long though :)

Bouldering

We went to a place called Mad Monkeyz. It was pretty fun but yea I found it kinda hard :/ The "seasoned" people there were scary strong. Oh and the shoes were really uncomfortable.

Boards For Thoughts

We had our very first Boards For Thoughts. The board games played were Taboo, Unostacko and Scrabble. The youth had a great time of bonding as well as getting a chance to play these games as most of the younger ones grew up in an era of digital game consoles.

Speaker - Tithing

Uncle Christopher Fan also gave a talk on Tithing and its importance. He explained to us how Tithing is more than just putting money in the bag.

Church Camp!

Many of us were impacted by Uncle Christopher Leong’s sessions as he challenged importance of TTDIGC to the community and the world. It was a great time of bonding as we spent our time playing captain ball on the beach and eating durians in the orchards around Penang Island.

Skytrex

We also headed to Shah Alam for Skytrex. It was a new and, for some, terrifying experience as the youth climbed up the tree tops and overcame the obstacles that were resent.

Captain Ball

Our monthly captain ball always has the same bunch of people, we should encourage more younger youths to take-part, like in Nov/Dec month :)

COPA IBA

All the teams have done a great job. Good job to futsal team (champion) and captain ball Under 15 (1st runner up)! Continue to do better the next year :D

Hotspring @ Sungkai

Amazed at Wen-li high resistance to the hot water (albeit the water has not been so hot at this time)!

Cooking Competition

I seriously enjoyed all the cooking and the preparation. Xin-yi, when u return to Malaysia, gotta teach us how to cook ya ;P

Amazing Hunt

“ran until no breath”, was me…thanks to the hard work of the Hengs. The clue was also in Kiara park, my false asthma seems to return after that…hehe.

Newspaper Collections

The youth contributed a good amount of newspapers and the money was donated to Shelter for a good cause. Thumbs up people!

Possession (Teaching Topic by Bro. Joshua Lee)

The main verse was taken from 1 Timothy 6: 6-10. The verse is talking about our human inability to bring things into this world and to bring out of this world and that greed will lead men into ruin & destruction of the soul.

Philippians 4:12-13 (To be contented in every situation through the Grace of God)

2 Corinthians 8:9 (Christ who had all riches in Heaven was made poor when He came into this world for our sake, so that we might be rich)
"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" — Jim Elliot.

IBA Unplugged

We managed to get 2nd in this competition! (Although only 3 teams participated... But hey, we finished on the upper half of the field ;) ) Thank God for the musical talents He gave to our team, Still in Progress, and may they continue using their God-given talents for Him.

Copa IBA Dinner Reunion

We had a good time catching up with each other a few months after our victorious outing at Copa IBA where our junior captainball team had emerged first runner up. Thank God for the wonderful fellowship and not to mention the delicious food! Here’s to another successful campaign next year!


Bible quiz


A short but very creative and entertaining Bible quiz by Johnson khor! Although the attendance was weak that day, I believe that the 8 of us who participated that day will remember how "challenging" yet a great way to remember better about the figures and stories in Genesis. It's also funny to see how we all made a fool out of ourselves acting (it's part of the quiz) and also running to the "gong" which is positioned at the centre of the church. Oh not forgetting the champion of the day was DRAGONSLAYER 0.1412 (sorry wen-li, i can't exactly remember the digits behind =P )

Kayaking

Who can never forget the day Jason chin and Ronnie Khor got dunked into the beautiful and delicious lake of paya indah? For this kayaking trip, it was new for a few but some have already been there. Nevertheless it's the company that counts where new bonds were also made! I still remember everyone complaining how much their bodies were aching all over due to the strenuous exercise for the kayaking, not forgetting the sun burn too!


Youth camp


This camp meant a lot to many in the youth and I'm not surprised because many of us were praying! :) I praise God for His wonderful and loving hands to keep us safe as we travel up and down, had fantastic food, comfortable lodging and most of all having much closer and new bonds made between the older youths and the younger youths. Everyone knows the story where Ronnie and Wai yew runs out of the toilet with only their towels wrapped and soap foam all over their wet bodies. Reason? Because there's a frog in their cubicles as they were bathing. Let us not forget that we should always, always live our faith victoriously just as our Lord Jesus Christ came, died for our sins and ultimately conquered death with His resurrection.


OA


Orang asli was definitely trip to be remembered by all of us who went. We had so much joy serving, bonding and singing carols to the orang asli. I still remember how crazy we were during our "bath" at the sungai where we were commenting how cold the water was. It was already closing to 11pm and the only lights we had was the jeep's headlights with ivan and Uncle Chris torch light shining hopelessly into the thick darkness surrounding us. We entered into the river one by one as though we were sloths and then one joker decided to splash that insanely freezing water to another person. Guess what? Splash war started. And everyone is practically "drowning" with each others splashes because we don't even know who's splashing who, we were just sweeping our hands all over. Not to mention, the girls became the victims later on when they joined us :D

Christmas Dinner

Our last significant event of the year 2010 for the youths and the attendance was awesome! Seen many old faces and hoping to see them more in events to come in 2011 :) Credits to Aaron, Ryan, Allyna, Kathleen and Jeremy for contributing in the Christmas video as well, it was great to see them using their talents to serve God and spread His message of love. Great icebreakers too and we're thankful for the adults that came and supported by helping us out with the food! Unc Russ Ooi also spoke to us about our significance in this vast and fascinating universe and to really seek out the meaning of Christmas.


Yup and there we go, wrapping up the year of 2010! 2011 will be a new chapter for all of us in the youth - some entering form 3 and form 5 while some enter college or university. Nonetheless, may we continue to strive to serve the Lord wherever we are and be the salt and light for those who seek to know our Lord Jesus Christ! :)

This long post is contributed by -
Gary, Phoebe, Alex, Yit Mun, Jo-Yi and Daryl
.