You are special

Isn’t it wonderful to be called the child/children of God (refer to John 1:12, NKJV)? Perhaps we have heard that countless times. I went through many “identity in Christ” sort of sessions over the past few years but never have it “click” in my mind (not convinced).

As my lack of security and confidence surface, I started to ponder over it. A little “eureka moments” seems to strike a chord that no two persons are the same, even a pair of identical twins. God has created each of us differently and uniquely, that we are ALL wonderfully and fearfully made (Psalm 139:14, NKJV)

The more I ponder over God’s love over human race, especially myself, I could only stand amaze of how God could love me, of whom I am a sinner (1 Tim 1:15, NKJV). I was a sinner saved by grace (Eph 2:8, NKJV), not much difference with the guy/girl on the road you meet everyday. The main difference is that Christ has made me clean and I am clean indeed!

No doubt I felt some traces of rejection from childhood to adulthood, yet God’s loving hands are always upon me. At the time I needed Him, He is always there! In fact, He is there 24/7 and never once He was absent. Only me, who tend to wander off to my very own “wonderland”, thought that He abandoned me.

Oh, that I do not need to do more quiet time (QT), more service, more works so to say to gain my Father’s favour as He has already accepted me just as I am. However, we should not for granted that QT, service and works are not necessary but that it is something that we wish to do as God’s love overflowing in our lives.

Sometimes we try to do something to gain someone’s approval. It could be your parents, friends, boss etc but the end of the day – what God says matter.

If this is also your struggle, may you make this prayer along with me:-

Our gracious Heavenly Father,

Thank you for loving me, when I thought no one would care. I have never known that I am so dear to You to the extent that You sent Your one and only son Jesus Christ to die for my sins. Though I have moments of disbelief on Your promises and provision, may I be brought to total conviction of who am I and that You are in me and I am in You.

When I feel powerless or weak or rejected, may I be rest assured that You are God and what You said goes! Strengthen my inner man that Your grace is sufficient for me, for Your strength is made perfect in my weakness (2 Cor 12:9). It is when I am weak and there You could manifest Your power in my life.

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24). May I be ever conscious of Your loving kindness upon my life.

Signing off, your dearest son/daughter {your name here}

In Jesus most precious and holy name, I pray. Amen

Much love and hugs from,

Yit Mun (aka IP Man)

Image taken from:
http://kootation.com/am-a-child-of-god-8x10-print.html

Parents?

After going through the session with C.L. Goh last Sunday, the final part of his talk really struck me as he went to share on about how his father had such strong filial piety compared to today's standards:- that he gathered his entire first month's salary job after graduation, traveled all the way back to his hometown, just to offer it as a gratitude offering to his own beloved father - only to know that he just passed away earlier that day due to diabetes.

Couldn't feel anymore ashamed of myself, of the times fighting with my own dad about having more freedom and being so stubborn listening to his constant lectures of striving to be more serious in my studies. To think about all the hurts I've done to him, even though he doesn't even show a hint of it on his face. No doubt it's true that he really sacrificed so much to raise each and everyone of us the best he can - in the best he believed it would be. I felt as if I'm one of the most horrible son one could ever had after listening such a testimony.

The visit to Shelter this Saturday actually do speak a lot in many ways and I do hope that I can encourage the Youth to go in the perspective of compassion and empathy - to constantly seek to show them the love of Christ. They did not ask for many things that happened in their lives and it really bothers me, frankly speaking to hear people say - "So sad/ Poor thing/ thankfully it didn't happen to me."

"Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."
Hebrews 13:3

Help them to trust in the Lord that their parents need Christ in their lives, to see beyond the fault and see the need. Allow them to meet Christ through the conduct of our lives and not treat the whole thing as a "visit" to get done and over with. Youth was never about the activities, it's all about bringing souls closer to Christ!

Pray for wisdom and to be sensitive towards the Spirit's prompting. It's time to open your horizon.. more than just "Me, myself & I". What C.L. Goh said is true, that the maturity rate of today is way behind compared to those from many years ago. That would mean as a 13 year old, you're pretty old enough to see more than just your own needs but also the needs of others.

After visiting the Shelter a few times myself, they know whether you're visiting with a sincere heart or not. They know whether you really care or you're just there because you "had" to be there. Without having the idea of parents taking care to the best of their welfare and providing them all the love they deserve as a child, it's not surprising they'd be easily offended when you just go there to fool around and treat the whole thing as a joke. They'd rather not have us around then!

But once you show them that you're sincere, they'll open up to you. They show you things that you never thought they would and they'd seek you for help when they feel that there's no one else to turn to - precisely show them the way to who our Lord and Saviour is.


- daryl 's u n d a e' heng

Images taken from:
http://blackandwhite999.blogspot.com/2010/03/filial-piety.html
http://piersdy.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/anointing-of-compassion/
http://www.shelterhome.org/

The Joy

The joy of knowing that no matter how I feel, think and sometimes doubt - I'm never alone.

The joy of knowing that no matter how many mistakes, transgressions and hurtful doings I've done - He always forgives as long as I truly repent.

The joy of knowing that even though everything seems to be crumbling down and that as if "life sucks" - God only gives the best to me as His child and it was me who asked for trouble in the first place by disobeying.

The joy of knowing that my actions and deeds are not done for man's praises - just simply a way of telling others how much God loves me.

The joy of knowing that I never need to be hurt again by empty promises and happiness that doesn't last - I have found a deep joy that literally last forever and nothing can separate it away from me.

The joy of knowing that there are others who identify in Christ with me - despite of their race, age or gender. An universal love for all who fall short the glory of God.

The joy of knowing that my sisters and brothers in the same faith would had lay down their lives for me - to listen, to share and to pray for me.

The joy of knowing that I can fully explore my capabilities and true self through God - and not subscribe to the lies of the media about "Being Yourself" and end up being a burden on the expense of others.

The joy of knowing that it's in the personal choice of faith I have come to know Him as my Father in Heaven - not by human knowledge which impairs my judgment of His reality.

The joy of knowing why I'm here - and to share with others that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life!

- daryl 's u n d a e' heng

Images taken from:
http://arkay-b.blogspot.com/2011/04/beautiful-sunrise.html

Stolen Thoughts

My friends and I visit a special-needs centre almost every week. It is part of our group assignment for our university course. Today, we met a volunteer who was about my age. He was extremely friendly and confident. He was also completely open about his life and seemed to be a very positive and happy person. After talking to him for a bit, we found out that he scored very well in his STPM examination, plays the piano and finished grade 8, plays the guitar, has appeared in the newspaper numerous times because of his academic achievements and is currently a top student in his interior design course in USM.

These achievements might seem normal for most people but for him it is different because he is deaf.

I was reminded of my struggles a few weeks back. There was an upcoming exam that I was nowhere near prepared for and I had already done horribly on the previous exam. In my course, if you do not pass a certain score at the end of the year, you have to repeat the ENTIRE year. The amount of money and effort and time that would be wasted is just not worth it and it would be really embarrassing. The people who failed the previous years are actually quite hardworking and smart which made me even more scared because that shows how difficult it is to pass. I was really really stressed out but I couldn’t focus because I kept thinking that this was not what I wanted to do as a career. I had no motivation whatsoever to push myself and I just caved in. I wanted out. It just did not seem worth it.

I talked to various people ranging from my uni counselor to my parents to my friends. But the fear in me, I had to handle myself. God didn’t seem to be listening either and people didn’t seem to understand. I felt like giving up. Then a few days before my exam, I was doing my quiet time using a devotional book and it was based on this verse:

Psalm 13[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? 
 How long will you hide your face from me? 
 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts 
 and day after day have sorrow in my heart? 
 How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, LORD my God. 
 Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 
 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” 
 and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; 
 my heart rejoices in your salvation. 
 I will sing the LORD’s praise, 
 for he has been good to me.

The devotional said:

Sometimes, in the emotion of the moment, our minds play tricks on us. We think our loss is worse than it is. We may feel like the songwriter David who, in the confusion of the moment, thought God had forgotten him.

When David later recalled what he knew rather than what he feared, his sense of loss turned into a song of praise (Ps. 13:5-6). His renewed joy foreshadowed what is now ours to recall: Nothing can rob us of what is most important if our life is “hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).

Rest your assurance on God’s love in your heart—
not on the fear in your mind.

It spoke straight to where I was at that moment and I was reminded of God’s amazing love. Why should I fear when my life is hidden with Christ in God? I realized then that it was fear that was binding me and that was just ridiculous because that would mean that I didn’t trust God.

Today after meeting that volunteer – a complete and total stranger, I was suddenly reminded of that incident when fear bound me.

Colossians 3

Living as Those Made Alive in Christ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

So, just an encouragement to set your heart on things above. Trust God, He has a plan and He loves you ;)

-Phoebe Lim

http://eu.fotolia.com/id/12376834
http://combemartin.blogspot.com/2008/11/light.html
http://realmofgod-parable.blogspot.com/2007/06/god-longing-for-you-gods-amazing-love.html

Love - Reminded, Rekindled and to be moulded

Revelation 2:1-7 (New King James Version)The Loveless Church

1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;

3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.

4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’

2 years back, I embarked on a Sabbatical leave for 3 months. I only attended the Church Services and totally did not get myself involved in serving as my mentor realized that I was actually not growing and am struggling with lots of issues. It is true that with the 3 months of praying, meditation and even fasting helped me to go closer to the Lord.

The passage above was one of the three sets of Scriptures given to help me face the many issues in my life which impeded my growth in the Lord. Indeed if our spiritual life is not right with God, how can we serve effectively? I treasure the mountain-top experience with the Lord especially at that time but it should not have stopped me from continuing seeking Him despite my many responsibilities and hectic schedule from time to time.

During that time and recently, God is still the One who knows all my hard work and learning to be more tolerant towards people and many issues I came across at Church and Christendom. Yes, I have also realized some of the Church-goers are not true believers and found them to be hypocrites (forgive me for me using such a strong word).

Sad enough, in the hustle and bustle of life, on and off I still ignore my first love - the Lord Jesus. I wonder how I could forget those days when I was yet to get my driving license, I faithfully walked to Church and punctually reach Church, and even much earlier than now! It is true what was expound in Deuteronomy 8:11 (New King James Version)

Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today...

After believing in Christ for some years, I somewhat forget Him! Even though weeks after weeks I come to Church to worship the Lord but my heart might not be there! I must admit that sometimes I am just going through the motions and made it a habit…

Through the Sabbatical leave, I remembered that how previously I was fervent and passionate after God. Believe me when I was still at high school, I was not interested to study. However, ever since I came to the Lord, I am so fascinated by the word of God and spent hours and hours to study it, even when it’s already midnight. My dad would chase me to sleep and I would pretend that I fell asleep. After that, when my dad was asleep, I’ll “wake” up and continue reading it till 3 or 4 am perhaps (if I’m not mistaken). At that time, I almost finished reading the whole Bible, except for the book of Psalms and Proverbs. Not only that, I remembered how fervently I shared Christ with those around me!

Lately I found myself again in the danger of using my own strength to work for the Lord. Yes, Lord, I want to spend my precious waking hours to study Your word and be transformed by Your word. May You revive my love for You and take me, break me and mould me to be the person that You want me to be. Amen.

Footnote: May it be your desire to be close with the Lord, daily spending quality moments with Him and repent from sins too! It is difficult but worth it =D

- Yit Mun

Images taken from:
http://raebear.net/faith/biblestudy/revelation/7churches.php
http://pastorjuan.com/
http://www.tvsa.co.za/default.asp?blogname=JehovaNisiTVSAHomeCellBibleStudyGroup&articleID=11274
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hosanna77/page2/

Jesus Christ Our Sacrifice

Hallo everyone, today I want to share about Jesus Christ Our Sacrifice - why does God have to send Jesus Christ to die for Our sins. First of all, before we begin, we ought to ask ourselves why does God want to go through all the hassle of sending His Son to die for us? Why cant He take any other way? Ever pondered upon it?

Well, we have to know when we ask something like this, to wonder why God couldn’t find “another way”, it implies as if we know better than what needs to be done. Tell me then, what can we actually do to save ourselves? Every religion teaches us good things but Christianity teaches us what is truly good, Jesus Himself have said when the Rich Young Man asked him, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. Now, Jesus is telling us, to change our perception of good, good does not necessarily depict something nice or even pleasant. TRUE goodness talks about perfection, and no one is perfect, no one but God alone that is truly good.

Deuteronomy 32:4reminds us that

“He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”

His (God’s) thoughts are not our thoughts—they are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8).

Now that we have a glimpse of what is truly good, let us then look a little at God’s Character. As a Good God, He cannot tolerate the sins that we have in our lives, the Bible clearly dictates, Romans 3 : 23, that all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. In the Old Testament, God has prepared the hearts of the Israel nation in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah, this is when God instituted that sacrifices of lambs and rams for the atonement of the sinner.

Howsoever, there would be endless bloodshed and even sacrifices, for people will sin over and over again, and sacrifice merely serves as a reminder. But this symbolic act would one day reveal itself in the Form of Our LORD Jesus Christ, when John The Baptist proclaimed in John 1 v 29, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), history is written.

Why did Jesus have to die?
1) Remember, the holy God cannot let sin go unpunished. Our own sins would drag us to a life of suffering in a dreadful place call hell. But thanks be to GOD, He kept His promise and send the perfect Lamb (His Only Son) to bear the sins of those who trust in Him. Jesus had to die because He is the only one who can pay the penalty for our sins. Sin requires a punishment, that is why when Jesus came.

He said in Matthew 5 v 17, “

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. "

2) Only Jesus Christ, can give us this fellowship again with God. This is what the blood of animals cannot do. In Hebrews 10 v 1- 4, it says, The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Only with Jesus Christ, can we enjoy fellowship again with God. because, it is God, not man, who offers the appeasing sacrifice - cf. 1Jn 4:10 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Through His death on the cross, Jesus is the way by which God can show mercy, grace, and love to the sinner. This wonderful "propitiation" was given to the whole world but is accessed only by those who believe in Jesus. 1Jn 2:2 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. Only when God cleanse us, we can be clean and now freely communicate with Him, because we have now a High Priest that is intercessing for us, God’s Only Son, Jesus Christ. And also, “God made Him (Christ), who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

3) The 3rd reason as to why Jesus Christ have to die, God wants to show us how much He loves us, and also to let us know, we, humans are incapable of writing our own salvation, like I have asked earlier, we think we know how to go to Heavens, we think we got what it takes but what do we have actually? Can we buy our way into Heaven? If we can, please answer me, where is the booth for the ticket sales? The road to Heaven, can only be given by God. About Heaven, it does not necessarily have to begin when we die, it begins right here, as written in John 17 v 3,

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Eternal life truly begins, when we have Jesus Christ, because we are now living in the full knowledge of God’s Goodness. Through Jesus Christ, God wants to teach us, how to live.

Because God is a God of LOVE, He provided God Himself provided the only sacrifice (Jesus) who could atone for the sins of His people, Our LORD Jesus Christ.

- Johnson Khor

Images taken from: http://willohroots.wordpress.com/2009/11/ http://callmejacob.blogspot.com/2010_08_29_archive.html http://pemilikhidupku.blogspot.com/

Despite it all, He still loved me

“I’m gonna make sure I’ll ride a sports car right in front of the school gate, and then everyone is gonna stare at us in awe.” I said excitedly and with full of pride.

“Yeah wei, we’ll make sure we’ll prove them wrong in their face!” Daryl responded.

We were walking up the pedestrian bridge over to uptown as we were having a conversation about how rich we were gonna get, thinking about earning Rm60k in our first month and then subsequently our first million in less than a year by the age of 17 thrilled us beyond words.

Everything seem so promising, the business set up, the people we’re working with, the office and the compensation plan. We thought we were on the right track, money and fame await us as we were told to not only traditionally work hard, but to work smart too. We just got to buy their products and then expand your network, and these people will be earning money for you while you shake your leg at home eating roti canai. (okay this is random)

And that night, we were walking to their “mini” office for our usual meeting.

They were also keeping the hype by repeating the upcoming news of moving into a huge office at Berjaya Times Square and having a grand opening right at the entrance at the ground floor. We were thinking if this is a scam, it wouldn’t be this big!

True enough, it wasn’t a scam. But we still didn’t make it.

Reason? We realized it’s more than just the business, the key to “MLM” (Multi level marketing) was the network. It’s the people in the business that matters ultimately. Regardless of how much their pay out is, how great their product could be, the business can’t go far without great team leaders and team mates spurring and working together.

We emptied all our bank account, Daryl got into quite a debt. We ended with nothing. But that didn’t break our spirit. Figures like Ray Kroc (The father of franchising & the person who made McDonalds the fastfood icon today), Howard Schultz (The person who made Starbucks the icon of coffee today), Sam Walton (Founder of Walmart, the largest and most powerful hypermarket in the world) inspired us to go on .

Al l their stories come with the similar tale, never give up. Trust me, they all tried very hard and failed so many times to reach wherever they are today.

We knew it ourselves, inspiration alone won’t get you there, with aspiration, you would. Or so we thought.

We tried from researching our own recipes to sell high end biscuits, branding it as “Irisdae”, to opening our own float store right in front of our secondary school to learn things from scratch, and ultimately “ESPGL.com” the online gaming community for the famous game, Call of Duty 4.

We sweat it out, we spent our money, we had countless sleepless nights, we were mocked, laughed, ridiculed by our friends and even relatives. But that only made us stronger, we wanted to proved them wrong even harder. But, eventually it all came to an end. (There are many reasons why but let’s not dwell on that now)

Because through it all, we knew deep down we have left God far, far, far, far, far, far away in a place that we will never visit again. But God loved me so much, that He couldn’t bear to see me go any further and He had to take the rod and tell me, “it’s enough, don’t be foolish any longer.”

Through the adventure, I’ve upset my parents countless times, embarrassed them to their other relatives whenever they asked what we were doing, never finished my studies properly thinking that I would be earning millions anyway, so does the certificate even matter?

I’ve also lost my girlfriend whom I loved so deeply over 4 years because I was just too busy trying to keep the business going.

Made so many empty promises to so many people, building false hope and broken dreams. We also made plenty of enemies in the process.

And then God helped me realized, I’m really starting to lose it all.

You know what’s the best part? He told me this.

“And yet, I still Love you.”

Despite all the things I’ve done against everyone and most of all to Him. Despite how much I should deserve to be left somewhere to be labeled as a “failure” and a “very selfish person”. Despite how arrogant I thought I knew how life should be lived and God can stay out of it, He was always there waiting and waiting, just bearing it all watching His own child going deeper into darkness.

Why this story? Well I was watching “The Social Network” the other night and seeing how “Mark Zuckerberg” found Facebook and becoming the youngest billionaire and also entering into Time’s magazine. It reminded of those days, if God hadn’t showed me the way of life, he would have been my next biggest inspiration, my biggest hero maybe.

But today, I watch the show and thought to myself “oh okay, so this is how facebook was found, it’s good to know =) “

That’s it. It only meant that much to me, or should I say, “little”?

Because to everyone in this world, who can be compared to our Almighty Loving God? I’m already His precious child, should I need to achieve fame and fortune? What could mean more than living eternal life? =)

“You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
I'm seeking You like a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all

Jesus, Lamb of God
Holy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Holy is Your name

Taking my cross my sin my shame
Raising again I praise Your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down You pick me up
When I run dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all”


-Gary Heng

Images were taken from

http://malaysia-cuti.com/
http://www.hdap.com/professional.html
http://halo2and34u.com/call_of_duty_4.aspx
http://www.documentic.com/diploma/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/6196827/Facebook-faces-Arab-boycott-for-putting-the-Golan-Heights-in-Israel.html
http://www.kandle.ie/2008/09/17/the-cross-a-sign-of-hope/

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/

Taking a Break?

The Christian walk is definitely not one of ease and comfort. Its if full of trials and temptations and also a lot of self-denying. It is a walk of focus and determination.

But what happens when we lose our focus, which is Christ? You find that denying yourself becomes extra difficult. You find yourself getting tired and weary to continue on the race. All sense of joy is lost. When doing anything for God, motivation and enthusiasm lacks. Emotions tend to become stronger than knowledge and facts. `What you feel’ now plays a big role in the decisions you make. You keep pressing on, of course. Not dealing with the issue of lack of focus. Until finally one day, you ask yourself when is my break? When do I get off?

I don’t know about you guys. But I have been there before. You see the fact is, in this walk, there are no breaks. That's why its a walk. It is continual. A long obedience in the same direction in fact. Not a hop or jump, but a continual, long lasting walk. This issue of taking a break only comes when you lose that love for God. Just imagine a relationship of two new lovers. As long as they are in love, they will do all kinds of things for each other. But when that love ends, all kinds of problems surface. Likewise, as Christians, we should always take a step back to reflect on how God has impacted our lives. Remind ourselves of the reason why we are running this race.

Well, the break will come eventually. When our time to do His work is up, that will be our break. For Paul stressed so much on the perseverance of believers to run the race because he knew its importance.

“For to live is Christ, to die gain” – Phillipians 1:21

- Alex 'c o p h y' Tan

Images taken from:

http://www.joshuapack.com/2009/07/07/taking-a-break
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/taking/interesting/

The Reason I sing

I was shocked by the fact that we lost in IBA UNPLUGGED 2010. But though the fact we lost this time I didn’t know why but I reacted very well to this. In fact I felt we never lost because God was so good to us that He gave us a new song to sing.

A month back when I was in the church’s fasting and praying session, when we sang songs to worship God, one thought struck me the most - music in all its wonder and splendor, if it is not done for God, I began to realize there is no joy. There is no joy singing for ourselves because who are we actually? But when I sing to God, I began to realize that true LOVE CONQUERS ALL. Imagine how God came and redeemed us,and when we sing of how God's truly Good and how He is truly Holy, I realized too there is none who can fit the description but God alone. And every song we sing for God reminds us of how wonderful He is. All the LOVE songs we hear out there, fine, they are soothing to the ear but none of them can sound as triumphant and as wonderful as the message of the Gospel in the Hymn Fairest LORD Jesus, there is this phrase,

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer
who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Everytime when I turn to this hymn, I am reminded the reason why I chose singing before I got caught up with the motions of competing was Jesus, because He gives me a tune to sing, because whenever I think about Jesus, this hymn comes to my mind - Fairest LORD Jesus.

A few years back, when I started playing the guitar, all I ever thought of was to please and amaze people but over the years, yea fine, for a while it did worked but after a while it turned hollow, there was no joy in doing that, only temporary satisfaction because musicians will always have to work their heads all the time to keep up with the trends. As I begin to compose songs, I begin to realize as well I might write some nice tunes but there will always be someone better so musicians are so often caught in the rat race of coming out with better album, writing better songs, coming out with much more tricks and techniques in playing. Its all about being better and coming up with more catchier stuff but musicians nowadays, do they truly mean what they sing, do they make music because it comes from their heart or they make music just to impress the world? Sad as it seems, the latter applies. It is just sad to note that nowadays, everyone wants to hear something good, they do not seem to care what the song is singing about.

As a Christian Musician, I find it challenging not only to write songs about Love, Gospel and even about life but also the way we as Christians should conduct ourselves when we perform and to search deep within our souls the reasons and the motives of why are we performing. Sometimes I truly ask myself, when I claim to sing for God, am I really singing for God? Or am I just caught with the motions of trying to impress the crowd and allow such excuses to overtake me?

I would like to end by sharing 2 principles about being a musician,

1) When Jesus say in Matthew 6:19-21 (New International Version) about Treasures in Heaven, Jesus said,

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

It also struck me that in life, we should truly invest in the things that truly matters. When our primary focus in making music is for the Glory of God, because we want to worship Him, I realized, that is truly fulfilling because God in one way or another, will let us know, the joy of worshipping Him.

2) Music is a gift from God, but in all of this gift that God has given to us, we should remember to glorify Him and not ourselves, we should never forget, Colossians 3: 23 – 24

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

In all of our musical life, we should sing for God and God should be why we are doing what we are doing. What we do might not have direct bearing on God but how and why we do it certainly has bearing to the reason why God has place us where we are or made us the person we are today. God delights that our lives be a living sacrifice and offering to Him.

One of the ways I have always found effective before performing or even playing, is to kneel down and pray, to thank God for everything He has given me, and to remind myself to use it for Him, only by praying, I understand the reality of singing can be temporary, but worshiping God is forever, and as I sing today, I am reminded, that God that has been very good to me, to us in fact, because singing and playing any musical instruments can be a form of joy and worship to Him.

- John Khor

Image taken from:

http://livingwordchurchonline.org/

May I have your attention please?

I'm sure we all agree that there are countless ways of grabbing people's attention but one of the most common way is through our words. The very things we say and convey to others!

After going through a phase of being a 'nobody' and having an awfully low self-esteem due to my outer appearance at the age of 15, I've decided to step up and tell myself "I'll be a new guy. New looks, new personality - a new hope and identity!" on the first day at school in the age of 16!

Believe it or not, this was how I looked like then:

(DON'T LAUGH. And yes, that's what attention can drive you to do. Not easy to go to school with this sort of hair and not having the discipline teacher to demand to wash my hair, lol!)

True enough, it started to grab people's attention. People actually start to have a new perspective towards me and actually start to treat me differently all together. Getting all glad and happy that I'm now somebody, I constantly seek every opportunity I can to crack a joke and get my way up to be with the 'popular' group.

Yet, in that same year, I was finally convicted by God's Grace and Mercy (after countless evangelical meetings I've attended) in the youth camp at Tapah, I've committed my life to become a follower of Christ.

And indeed, I was firmly disciplined by God.

He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. - Proverbs 12:3

One morning, one of the clubs/uniform group (can't exactly remember)'s representative came in to make some announcements. Thinking I could crack a joke and tease the representative, I said something totally irrelevant and seeing the fact that it's a serious announcement, there's really nothing to laugh about it. Having the whole class, including the teacher staring at me with a look, I promised God and to myself to never ever, speak rashly again.

Through the years of nourishment and guidance of the Lord, it all came clear that indeed, if whatever words that comes out from my mouth is not for His Glory but for mine, I'm asking for trouble.

If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.. - 1 Peter 4:11

Don't worry, I'm not saying that it's an easy task! That's where all the self-denial comes into place and the very act of carrying the cross, following Him daily. We need to be convicted and be reminded constantly, "Why seek the attention of the world, when you have God's?"

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! - 1 John 3:1

It's actually very practical. I mean, to observe what we say to others and the message we're conveying. But the main basis behind it is of course, God driven. The very wall post we put up on facebook, the sms-es we send to one another, topics said over the table during yum-chas, the posts we have on our blogs and the long list goes on.

Would I rather keep quiet and gain no attention or discourage the topic when a gossip takes place?
Would I rather share a Godly perspective into someone's struggles than to impart my own?
Would I rather listen than to speak during a conversation?
Would I make a point to post up a message of God's love and grace than to announce to your contacts on every single location, activity and food you eat on facebook?

All for His Glory.

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

Images used:

- http://g1wallz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/so-embarrassed.jpg
- http://www.ct.gov/dcf/cwp/view.asp?a=3622&Q=432386

A Sense of Family

Have you ever met someone and found out that that person is related to you? There is a strange bond that suddenly forms. You feel as though you know that person a little even though you have just found out that he or she is related to you. Well, I just had another one of those experiences today. I was looking for something to eat and I came across this meat shop.

So I went in and ordered a sandwich. While waiting for it, the owner of the shop suddenly asked me which church I was from. I was a bit taken back. I guess the cross necklace gave me away. I told him I went to TTDIGC. He said he had been there before and from then on we started talking for a bit. I left that shop, it hit me how simply we got talking to each other just because we found this relation, our relation in Christ.

I have been learning about this sense of family in church the past few weeks in Bible Study. The lesson became so real after today’s happening.

“We are one in the bond of love.”

It’s just so encouraging to know that you have brothers and sisters out there. I just want to encourage you to go out there and encourage your family members to stay strong and fight this fight.

Remember that all of us are important in His eyes. So who are we to treat each other any less they ought to be treated.


Just a bit to share with u guys. Keep rocking it out for Christ =)

Alex "c o p h y" Tan

Images taken from:
http://www.thecoffeebrewers.com/
http://www.azltap.org/Zero%20Fatalities/zero_fatalities.htm

Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Just the other day on Facebook ,I saw one of my friend posted on her wall saying:

"Love is the reason i keep making my mistakes"

Another goes with

“Love keeps hitting in my face”

I was somewhat offended and in fact pretty upset because when something goes wrong out of feelings, people often blame it on love.

Yes, if you noticed, I used the word “feelings”, you might want to read back the previous line I just wrote just in case you missed it out by speed reading.

You might want to reason with yourself, “But love IS just a feeling! Well yes, only according to the worldly ways of thinking. Let me explain to you why, here are 2 examples:

A guy met a girl at college for 2 months, for some reason she appears to be so dreamy in his eyes. His heart won’t stop thumping away when she’s around and he can’t wait for the next day to come just to get another glance of her, just one more time!

But when his friend asked him “Do you even know anything about her? Her family background? Her secrets or even dark secrets? Why not just be friends first?”

All he replied was “Does it matter? She's pretty, hot and smart..and all it matters is that i love her!"



All of a sudden, we can see this guy’s facebook is filled with romantic quotes like “Your eyes are as beautiful as the moon”..”I would die for you”..”I’ll write you songs after songs”

After some weeks later, he decided it was time to be a man, he took a deep breath, walked up to her and say “Hey, I really like you, would you like to be my girl friend?”

Here comes the typical drama..She'll reply with a cold and silent whisper “I’m sorry but I guess it’s better we be just friends”

And yup, there you go on the facebook posts like “Love is stupid”..”Go breaking my heart..”..”Love is not worth it” ( Just like the facebook posts earlier )



Yet here’s another example:

“When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.

She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.



She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.



This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.

She requested that every day for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Jane about my wife's divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.



On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.



On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.



I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, "I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart."



That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead.

My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push through with the divorce.-- At least, in the eyes of our son--- I'm a loving husband....”




In courtesy of Itoro ‘Ausafik’ Okon

Which do you think is love to you?

For some reason, the second example seem to move your heart, really, really a lot right?

If love is really just a feeling (Be it family, friends or even in a romantic sense), then how do you know when God decides to just abandon you just because He don’t feel like loving you anymore?

Let’s not go as far as God, let’s say your own parents. If your parents only loved you because only at the moment they feel lovely, do you honestly feel loved?

What about couples today? Don’t you hear the common favourite break up lines of all times? “I’m sorry but the feeling has faded away, I think its best we split” Why do you think divorce happens so often now? (Just like the second example above)

The reason the world is falling apart so badly is because of this:

They think that love IS just a feeling.

But what about the dreamy eyes and the heart thumping away, isn’t that love?

No, that is what you call a mere infatuation. Now that IS just a feeling! ( I won’t start on this one yet)

If you want to know what love really is, listen and obey what 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 tells you to do. Yes, not to just the girl/guy you are targeting but to anyone and everyone. Even your enemies.

Yes, especially when you don’t feel like it.

Huh? Enemies? But WHY!?



Do you think that the person you care can never turn out to be your enemy? So just because the person you care decides to hurt you by backstabbing, gossiping about you or just simply being extremely cold to you, you wouldn’t love the person anymore? If you find yourself having a hard time doing that, then my friend, you have a lot more to learn about love! (That also means you shouldn't be thinking about getting a life partner anytime soon yet)

Quoting from Joshua Harris from his famous book "I kissed date goodbye"

Love is about commitment, sincerity and purity.

(Do read it btw)

But how is it possible? I am only human!

Exactly, why do you think God tells us that without Him, we are nothing? (John 15:5) There is no way you can love people unconditionally and committedly (especially your life partner) without God’s daily providence to our spiritual walk with Him. I’m not going to pretend that I’m doing a good job with it and I’ve fell so many times and hurt people who I try so hard to love.

But by His grace, I would humbly bow at His feet and pray to God every night:

“I’m only but your servant, forgive me for my frailty and my weaknesses. May You bless me with a new morning, ready to be more forgiving, more patient and more selfless that I may glorify You and to obey You with all that i have so that the world may be able to experience Your love in me, Amen"



I hope this post has helped you look in a different perspective of what love is.

God bless.
Gary Heng.