Saved to Save

As I was preparing for cell last week, I was somehow prompted in the morning and thought of The Salvation Army. For a long time, I have thought that the two "S" donned by Salvation Army officers on their uniforms used to mean "Saved to Serve". But as I read about the meaning of it, I felt the Lord teaching me that our main business should not be "Saved to Serve" more than we should be "Saved to Save". And just, as I was leaving for cell, I visited the Our Daily Bread website and, lo and behold, the article for the day is "Seek and Save". It was clear that God was making a point here and I would just like to share the article which I shared with cell last Friday here. You are saved to save.

Saved and Saving

Image adapted from Source

D L Moody: “One day I saw a steel engraving that I liked very much. I thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen, at the time, and I bought it. It was a picture of a woman coming out of the water, and clinging with both arms to the cross. There she came out of the drowning waves with both arms around the cross perfectly safe. Afterwards, I saw another picture that spoiled this one for me entirely, it was so much more lovely. It was a picture of a person coming out of the dark waters, with one arm clinging to the cross and with the other she was lifting some one else out of the waves. That is what I like. Keep a firm hold upon the cross, but always try to rescue another from the drowning.”

Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19830/19830-h/19830-h.htm

About The Salvation Army's S S Badges

by Major Sanjivani Dushing

“… Saving' is a very close and a personal related word for one's life. (The human). A Person takes a good education, search for a good job, work hard & earn a big salary or income to have a better life living standard but at the same time a person tries to save something for his future. Some parents start to save money or open a saving account in the bank for their children from the time of their birth. Saving is an important and hard process but essential for the human's life.

The Bible also tells about saving but not about the worldly saving. God himself sent his only son to save the sinners from their sins. God is counting us as His treasure of Heaven. He does not want any single soul to be destroyed or to be perished but he wishes that every single soul should be with him forever, safe in Heaven.

The Salvation Army is in process of saving souls since 145 years around the world. The Founders William & Catherine Booth had taken this responsibility to cooperate with God in saving souls.

The SS (as shown above) on Salvation Army uniforms used to mean” Saved to save.” It was a statement of early Salvationists' faith that they were saved so that they could lead others to Salvation. People also refer it as “Saved to Serve” but When William Booth started The Salvation Army it was a Christian mission. In fact, that is what he called it. The aim of the mission was to” go for souls and go for worst.” There was nothing greater than saving souls. The Salvation Army saved the drunkards from their drink, the criminals from the prisons and girls from the streets by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If I show my love & compassion by giving him food to eat, clothes to wear, and a place to rest in but if I don't put a thought of God's word in his heart, my mission remains incomplete.
 

... Dear readers, Let us go forward day by day, with Love & Compassion for dying men to save.”

Source: http://web.salvationarmy.org/ind%5Cwww_ind.nsf/vw-issue/164A063C5C9F1F076525776C00355CB3?opendocument&id=5FFB38DEF45186A76525776C003507B1

Seek And Save

August 10, 2012 — by Marvin Williams

Read: Luke 19:1-10

The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. —Luke 19:10

Image Source

Lachlan Macquarie, governor of New South Wales from 1810–1821, had a way of making everyone feel included in the new colony. When the “exclusives” (free settlers, civil servants, and military officers) shunned the society of the “emancipists” (transported convicts given conditional or absolute pardon), Governor Macquarie insisted that they be treated as social equals.

Jesus showed interest in Zacchaeus, a shunned tax collector in Jericho, and included him in the recipients of His salvation plan (Luke 19:1-10). A marginalized and hated man because of his profession, Zacchaeus was desperate to see Jesus and climbed a tree to get a glimpse of Him. When Jesus passed by, He saw Zacchaeus’ desire and told him to come down because he had a divine appointment at his house. Some complained that Jesus was spending time with a sinner. His loving attention changed Zacchaeus’ life. He repented and offered restitution for those he had defrauded. Salvation had come to his house.

Jesus’ mission was simple: Diligently search for lost people, whatever their social standing, and offer them God’s salvation plan. As followers of Christ, we too have that as our mission.

Lord, help us show compassion
To a world that’s lost in sin,
So when we share the gospel,
Hungry souls for Christ we’ll win. —Sper
 

Christ’s mission is our mission.

Source: http://odb.org/2012/08/10/seek-and-save/

We have two hands, one to hold on to God and another to save another. What are you doing with your hands today?

Image Source

Be the Song You Are Meant to Be

Thanks to my sister for sharing this with me...

Yep, we are all a symphony written from above, written out of God's love.

Each of us have notes to play; we need to stay in tune and also in unison with fellow instruments.

We will then be a wonderful symphony that brings hope, comfort and warmth.

And yes, the less I get in the way, thinking I know best, the more God can let the music play.

Be the best song you are meant to be...

YOUR SONG
Music and Lyrics by Corrinne May, ‘Crooked Lines’ 2012

Silent, wordless
Everything was still
You breathed us, yearned for us
Our hearts began to thrill
A brand new creation
A symphony
Written from above
Written out of Love

Chorus:
Let me be Your instrument
Let me be Your voice
Let me be the reservoir
Where thirsty hearts rejoice
Let me be the hand
That wipes the tears away
Oh Lord,
If it be Your will
Let me be Your Song

A violin, a piano
Each one has a role
Major or minor
Or just a single note
So take the time to stay in tune
Cause we’ll never know
When we’re called to play
It could be today



A song of hope for the hopeless
A song of comfort for the pain
A song that warms the frozen heart that
It might beat again

For what am I but a single breath
That only You sustain
The less I get in the way,
The more the Master can let the music play

Courgeous Movie: Gun Range

Just watched courageous.

To all dads and future dads, you have an anointed role in the life of your children to NOT mess up their lives.

Also, our Heavenly Father does not want to see us mess up our lives...

We will all see Him face to face and that is where we will be judged. 

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelations: 20: 11-15, NKJV)

He is the good Judge. Think His judgment will be based on the weighing of our goods over bad to see if we are saved for heaven? Think again.

If any of you are keen, do contact me... 

What's Your Citizenship?

Hi everyone,

Felt ministered to as I read from Romans so sharing it here:

Romans 5

Like in "The Matrix", there are 2 parallel world we live in: 

1. World of darkness where sin reigns through disobedience of God which ultimately brings us God's wrath and Death (worldly & eternal life without God), and 

2. World of light where righteousness reigns through obedience of God which ultimately pleases God and brings life (meaningful, purposeful and full worldly life & eternal life with God). 

But then God loves us so much that He first gave us the Law; like glasses it helps us to see clearly what is right and what is not. Because it is only when law is given that it becomes clear what is lawful and what is not. One thing leads to another; God's law clarifies where we are and starts to stirs in us to seek the parallel world and points us to the solution: Jesus Christ. He, who is sinless, came and stood in the gap between the 2 worlds that we might cross the border. 

As Romans 5:20 states that as law causes sin to abound, so does it in turn causes grace to abound. Without the law we won't know we are sinful and if we do not know we are sinful we do not know we need grace from God because, there is nothing we can do to run away from judgment and condemnation from the Judge. 

So through believing in Jesus Christ, we receive the "visa" to enter and also "citizenship" to be and enjoy the privileges of God's world; the Kingdom of light where God and all His good things are. 

But Romans 6 later also remind us that since we are now citizens of the Kingdom of light, we cannot hold two citizenships or obtain visa to go back down. 

Where are you now? Are you in the world of darkness going around lost and lamenting? If so, a new citizenship is offered to you. 

Are you in the Kingdom of light but take trips to the other kingdom once in a while? If so, you are reminded that you hold but one citizenship and should not mock it.

Why Does the Church Exist?

We asked a poignant question yesterday in cell. Why does the church exists?

And there were indeed many answers given...

• A community of believers to support, pray for, help, encourage and edify one another
• A place where we can attend Christian Education courses to grow in God
• A place where there's worship services so we can come together and hear God's leaders preach the word
• A place where there are intercession for everyone
• A place where there are programmes such as cell groups, missions, evangelism, discipleship etc
• A place where we, as believers, can exercise our giftings to bless each other

All these are good but as I sat down to prepare for cell and pondered, God brought to me a deeper revelation of what the Church is and why it exists.

God: "Are You Missing the Point?"
The past week had been an emotional roller coaster for me, as I struggled with God and told Him that I wanted to be a mediocre Christian. But from Sunday all the way till Friday, God has been sending me a series of "lessons".

I used to learn a lot from God when I did my QT using Navigator's Discipleship Journal which brought me through the bible each day rather extensively, through passages in both the Old and New Testament. And I remember how it always excites me because, even though the passages are all from 4 different places in the bible, sometimes a consistent message or lesson just pop out at me. But I have stopped using the Discipleship Journal plan ever since completed it some time back, and instead switched to a shorter plan. But, as I went through the "roller coaster" week, there was a desire to want to hear from God clearly again. And as I picked it up on Monday, God brought me to Acts 1:4-8 (NKJV):

⁴ And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; ⁵ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ⁸ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Here, Jesus was asking the disciples to wait for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, which would help them to go about His mission for them. But the disciples missed the point and instead asked Jesus if He was speaking about the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel. Jesus quickly brought the disciples back and reminded them that they will be empowered to be His witness, both locally and globally; to the ends of the earth. 


What Perspective?
There was a prompting to share this passage with cell yesterday but I did not know how to go about it. But it became clear to me during worship yesterday that I, just like the disciples, have missed the point when I struggled with God. I was holding on to a worldly perspective rather than a Kingdom perspective. God has helped me to realise that we too can sometimes miss the point e.g. about the purposes and role of the Church.

Yes, intercession, prayer meetings, cell groups, CE courses, missions, Sunday service, Sunday school, all these are good. But have we missed the whole point of why God caused the Church to exist? And it is also true that many of us receive from the Church many good things: teachings, growth, reminders, encouragement, counselling, friendship, peace, new perspectives but yet, why the Church?

God Loves EVERYONE
For this, God again brought me revelation as I read Acts 2: 38-39 (NKJV) for yesterday's QT.

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for ALL who are far off—for ALL whom the Lord our God will call.” (Emphasis mine)

These 2 simple verses made me realise that God loves EVERYONE; you and me, He loves us so much that He does not want us to perish.

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) -The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (Emphasis mine)

God's Restoration Work

And it became very clear to me, once again, that God is going about His restoration work, all the way from the very beginning of time.

Acts 3:21, 25-26 (NIV)

²¹ Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets... ²⁵ And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ ²⁶ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” (Emphasis mine)

Somehow, this was apparent to me after I completed the KAIROS course years ago, but I have since forgotten.  On a sidenote, I would recommend everyone of you to go for KAIROS course, as it is a course which helps you make sense of the bible, as we examine it biblically, historically, strategically and culturally; everything in the past and in the current world will piece together and make sense as you see God's hands in it. 


But I am reminded that, yes, God started His restoration work from the very beginning when Adam and Eve fell.

Genesis 3:15 (NIV)

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

God was talking to Satan who have caused man to fall away from God and we now know that, from the very beginning, God was setting in motion His Kingdom salvation plan and will ultimately bring a Messiah, Jesus; offspring of the woman. Satan will strike His heel but Christ will crush his head.

And who is this Salvation plan for? The Jews? Us? No, it's for all peoples of the earth! Was not all of us in God's mind when He made the Abrahamic Covenant with Abraham when He said: "... and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

So it's now clear that God is not just concerned, from the very beginning for just a select group of people, but for ALL peoples of the earth. 2 Cor 5: 14a (NIV) reminds us that "one died for all".

The Ministry of Reconciliation
Jesus came to reconcile us to God but left with us the mission to continue this ministry of reconciliation, which Daniel Goh so aptly pointed out in 2 Cor 5:18-20 (NIV):

¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

So, from the very beginning, God has you and ALL peoples in mind, to restore us back to Him, away from the work of the Satan, who seeks to "steal, kill and destroy".

So coming back, where does the Church stand in all these? The Church is meant to be the "called out" ones; the ones who have been called by God to restoration with Him and then, to in turn call out others back to Him. This is why the Church exists. And all the cell groups, seminars, Sunday schools, missions, intercession, prayer meetings are the means to the end (not the end) of helping us, on a daily basis, to be restored to God and in turn to help us restore others to God. 


God's Holy Spirit & Empowerment
And God did not leave us alone because He knows we need empowerment. Thus, He gave the Holy Spirit to each of us, just as Jesus had the Holy Spirit which empowers Him:

Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)

"“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Yes, there are people who are unlovable, who are resistant, who we might feel do not deserve Christ. But think about it, you and I are also unlovable to some other people and definitely unlovable in God's standards. But someone cared enough to bring us to be restored with God. All the peoples, both locally and globally, are children of God and God cares for them. What are you doing about it? 


Do you now know why the Church exists?

In a nutshell:

• God loves EVERYONE
• God loves EVERYONE enough to begin His Salvation plan from the moment man fell
• Jesus came to bring reconciliation between God and His people
• Jesus gave the ministry of reconciliation to His followers
• The Church exists, not as a building or institution or club, but as a gathering and community of His followers to be about this ministry of reconciliation.
• Missions, cell groups, prayer meetings, services, CE courses all are means to help us be restored to God, on a daily basis, and to help us to restore others to God
• God does not leave us alone but gives us the Holy Spirit to help us
• And ultimately, the Kingdom of God will be established on earth, as it is in heaven
• Amen

Do you now have the Kingdom perspective of the Church?

I have also included the videos which I showed in cell yesterday and hope it helps to further drive the points across.

Judge Ye Not

Hi everyone,

A good reminder as we approach Good Friday that God died not just for you and me but for all...

At the cross as man crucified Him, Jesus said "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.".

JUDGE YE NOT

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.

'And why is everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'
'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.'

JUDGE NOT!!

Remember...Just going to church doesn't make you a
Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Every saint has a PAST...
Every sinner has a FUTURE!

As I was doing my QT this morning, I am reminded of Paul's heart for God's people. And we cannot doubt that it is people like him who has caught the heart of God and how ministered to the Gentiles, as well as many people who caught the heart of God, that we can be here as a child of God.

Romans 15: 20-21 (NIV)

It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. Rather, as it is written: "Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand."

The untold millions still untold.

~ James Lim

First Intercessory Prayer Meeting

SP shared about prayers on last Sunday. The last kind of prayer is intercessory and do you know it is one of the most powerful prayers believers can ever experienced in their spiritual life? I sign up for Intercessors Network Ministry on last Sunday (last day of 21 days of prayers). Actually at that time I felt its a special prompting I feel God is putting into my heart. I saw the booth many times in church past few weeks but did not sign up till then. I did not know it is the last day of sign up initially. What makes me decide to sign up?

Actually through the 21 days of prayer,I do felt I have certain experiences of breakthrough. I felt God had birth forth a deeper hunger and longing for God in my heart. But my prayer life is still not every stronger. I hope through this ministry it can motivate me towards a stronger prayer life and inner man. I hope to know more about prayer, what prayer is really about? how to pray and how to pray more effectively? From what I have know so far, this is very important. If I myself know it is very important, I will wanna to focus on it and be committed to such growth, so I see the importance of such an intercessory ministry to help me grow closer with the lord in prayer. So I am thankful to God for another step of obedience to walk with him through focused prayers.

After the sign up, I had my first experience of the first Intercessory Prayer Meeting by the ministry in Church. I had the experience of much faith filled prayers. All are free to pray and worship in spirit and in truth. Some of the fellow intercessors also weep when they prayed. I was so touched in my spirit. I began to see the meaning of weeping prophet e.g. Jeremiah. The intercessors are so in touch with God that they feel how God feel, they prayed with full emotions and their whole being is so engaged with the prayers. Something that really shake and moves my heart is when 2 young ladies (about 17 to 18 years) share their burdens for the younger generations in the present day, they felt very sad about the lifestyle of the youths they see around them, many are living in ways less than pleasing, in impurity and immorality, they have the heart and desire to make a difference as Christians in their life however it may seems so tough. They prayed till point of tears. I also teared as I hear their prayers and the cry of their heart. The young generation need God's love to fill their heart but the sad reality is that family of the present age is under serious attack, many young people have not been able to experience love at home therefore they turn to various sources in life for love and satisfaction: sex, drugs, internet, computer games for a sense of connection but yet they are so disconnected in reality. There is a deep longing and yearning within these young souls for unconditional love and acceptance. We need to redeem the sacredness and uphold the importance of family as the basic unit. Actually through this prayer and heart cries of the 2 young ladies, I kinda felt burdened for the youths. How can we reach the youth with the love of Christ? We know many are lost and they need the love of Jesus to really filled this void in their life. It is also sad to see them living in immorality and impurity, some of them are even devoid of respect for other elderly people, who is there to teach and guide them? Family upbringing? From my personal experience, some years back I had lived in ways that is wilful, dishonoring to God and I know it is not right. This was in the past but by God's grace I am reconciled with the Lord and in the restoration process. I hope through this experience maybe God can use it to bring back some of those younger ones who had strayed away from you and back to you again. These lives belong to God, no one else can meddle! However as much as the burden I had, I really wanna to set apart my heart to be right before God (even before embarking on any area of ministry) first therefore I will settle for my H&W first that I can be healed first so that I can really be a blessing as I serve him in ministry he had called. At the mean time, I will also take time to seek God for what we can do as a church and body of Christ to respond to the heart cries of the youths and any visions and direction for the prayer ministry.

I also felt these words birth forth in my heart towards the end as we are praying for parents and the youth generation of today and their relationship:
"He will (L)restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and (M)smite the land with a curse." Malachi 4:6
God had assured us he will restore relationships in the family. It is the purpose in his heart, it does not delight God at all to strike the land with a curse. God wanna to see reconciliation and restoration of relationships in our life. What is our response to what God had assured? Most important, it is also important we need to be reconcile to God, our first love.

Riverlife's Core Value 2: Transformation in People

Hi everyone, thanks for all your prayers for my slip disc. I am getting better by the day and it's amazing how from I was bed-ridden a few days ago, not being able to do anything, to being able to walk a little today. I am amazed at the progress made and even the peace that came upon me yesterday as cell came by. Couldn't have been recovering so well if not for all your prayers and well-wishes. Thanks again!

Video Sermon: Transformation in People

This is the 2nd sermon on this series and SP Vincent re-emphasized the importance of unity and not uniformity. Having a set of core values can be instrumental in keeping unity in the church as they influence the way we conduct ourselves, make decisions and how we disciple others.

This week’s core value is “Transformation in People” and this is about discipleship. God made man in His image (Genesis 1:27) and so, the church is about people. It is about us being created in God’s image though ours is blemished by sin. Yet for those of us who are believers, the Spirit of God transforms us to redeem and restore us into His image. It is about our hearts turning towards God while we grow in our passion for Him and loving people wholeheartedly. This is so because God’s heart is for the people, especially for the poor and the needy (2 Cor 3:18).

SP Vincent challenged us to grow our church into one with “a heart for people” and to seek godly transformation in them. To fulfill this vision, we are to:

1. Commit to reach the unsaved and disciple them
We are to develop a lifestyle of evangelism and obey the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). There’s no true transformation without salvation and renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2). Hence, the importance of discipling new believers.

2. Believe in people and their God-given potential
We are to value and love our neighbours (Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 25:31-46) and pray for them to fulfill their God-given potential (Ephesians 4:11-12).

3. Be responsible for our own spiritual growth and development
Just as we’ve learnt to feed our physical body, we must also learn to feed ourselves spiritually (Hebrews 5:11-6:3). We are to take personal responsibility for our spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:14).

4. Create conducive environments for life-long learning and growing
Transformation happens when people experience God. Thus, we must seek to create a faith environment where one can experience the spiritual and the supernatural. We may do this through fasting and prayer.

SP Vincent further exhorted us to consider what makes our day. What brings us delight?

What is the church about at the end of the day? Though we may grow weary we must not lose the heart for people. This is because people matters to God and they should matter to us too. Let us examine our “heart capacity” for God and for people, and believe in His transformation work for ourselves and for others.

I was particularly challenged by SP as he asked us a few questions during the sermon. Have you thought about them for yourself?

• What drives you? What do you live your life for?
  
• What makes your day?
• Do we have a heart to reach and disciple them?
• Do we believe in people, their value and their God-given potential?
• Are we doing our part to grow spiritually?
• Are our gatherings e.g. Sunday services, cell group meetings etc conducive for transformation and growth?

Transformation and OL3
What would your response to that be? Perhaps about the part on whether our cell group meetings are conducive for transformation and growth, maybe you can also share your views with me how we can help OL3 to grow further for that to be possible.

Spiritual Growth & Transformation
The discussion on being responsible for our spiritual growth and development was particularly insightful too. As Raymond shared, we need to understand what this means contextually in transformation in people.

We are told to grow from strength to strength in our faith. In Ephesians 4:11-15, we are told to grow in maturity and not be easily swayed by deceit in the world:

Ephesians 4:11-15 (NIV)
11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

1 Peter 2 also implore us to grow up in our salvation:

1 Peter 2:2-3 (NIV)
2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

It becomes clear to us that we are to grow in our spiritual maturity. But the question remains why? Why do you think we need to grow? When we become transformed personally, we are obedient to God's word of calling to grow spiritually.

When We Grow... We Make God Known
God's heart is to redeem, reconcile with and restore His people. But He does not only want to stop at one. His heart is for all, who Christ died for so that they can be reconciled to God.

Perhaps, John 10 provides a vivid imagery of this:

John 10:14-16 (NIV)
14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

Luke 15 also shows how heaven rejoices when sinners repent and those who are lost are found.

This is the heart of God.

And as we grow and shine, we glorify and make God known to others too, as they see our light and praise God:

Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither 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. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

When We Grow... We Allow Others to be Transformed
Chek Shih also shared about how when we become too comfortable and choose not to grow, we ultimately takes up resources. How do we then reach out to receive more into God's kingdom when our ministry resources are focused on people who refuse to grow spiritually i.e. only wanting to remain as spiritual babies? Instead, we need to raise up more to share God's love and how He can help transform lives through His people and His community.

Matthew 9:36-38 (NIV)
36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Are we ready to have our lives brought to the next level with God and also to help others' lives be transformed? We are all, after all, called to the ministry of reconciliation:

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (NIV)
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

How Then Do We Grow Spiritually?

Learning from Professional Development
It's interesting how there is so much correlation between our professional growth and spirtual growth. Chek Shih asked what would we do if we want to advance and grow professionally... well, we will go for the right courses, read the right books, look for the right mentors, join professional groups for growth, spending time practicing etc... It is the same with growing spiritually and in the same way, we can go for the right Christian Education courses, read the right books or even better, reading directly from God's word. looking for mentors or even spiritual growth partners, spending time in our quiet time with the Lord, praying etc.

Learning from Relationships
If the Christian faith is about relationship with God, how can we develop our relationship with God when it is just mainly through books and courses; we need to spend time with the Lord Himself.

In addition, we cannot rely solely on our spiritual leaders to develop our relationship with the Lord in the same way we cannot solely rely on others to develop our personal relationships; we need to develop that relationship ourselves.

Just as people grow closer together in relationships and who may even start to understand and share the same perspective of seeing things, we will also start to see and share God's heart as we continue to spend time with Him.

Are we transformed and helping many others' lives to be transformed?

Love Letter

Defining Moments

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The Essence of our Faith

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

Matthew 6: 9-13 (NIV)

For many of us, myself included, this is a very familiar prayer. The Lord's Prayer is the model of prayer which the Lord Jesus taught His disciples on how to pray.

More Than Mere Words
I remember days in the past when I used to recite this daily in school, not fully appreciating the prayer and what it means. At that time, I just know it as something which I needed to say every morning, mouthing literally empty words and not knowing what it means to pray the Lord's prayer.

In fact, the Lord Jesus warned about the heart condition when praying; that it should not be "for display" of one's holiness or one which has lots of babbling of words. In Matthew 6:8 it tells us that our Father knows what we need before we even ask Him. So, Jesus teaches us the Lord's Prayer and as we discussed about it yesterday, I have come to realise how amazing it is that a short prayer like this can cover quite a bit. In 52 words, it covers our desire to praise God, to pray for God's kingdom, for God's will, for our daily needs, a reminder for us to forgive as we have been forgiven by God, to pray for God to guide us in our walk with Him and to help us in our daily struggles with sin and the enemy.

The Lord's Prayer sets the background for Dr Joseph D' Souza's sharing last week and I would say it was a refreshing perspective for me. For a long time, even after having appreciated the Lord's Prayer, I have thought of it mainly as a prayer for myself but the sermon has challenged me and helped me see how it is also for God's children too:

• "Hallowed be your name" (v 9) -
  
  Application for Self - Do we desire to hallow God's name, glorifying it? Is God just a genie who brings you out of the pits and who continues to grant your wishes or is there something more to it? How are we hallowing His name? Do we sometimes even profane His name through the things we do, just like how some shared about believers being a bad testimony? How do we deal with that when we see it?
  
  Application for our relationship with others - Hallow His name as we help others with their difficulties, help them to know God, draw near to Him and even praise Him. But how will others praise God when they do not even know Him? Dr Joseph D' Souza mentioned that many, like the Dalits (the untouchables), do not know that they are made in the image of God and that He loves them. As someone have put it nicely, you might be the only way in which people can see Jesus. What are you doing about this? Are you helping others to know God, to have His power work in their lives and praise Him?
  
  Matthew 5: 14-16 (NIV)
  "You are the light of the world. A city 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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
  
• "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven" (v10) -
  
  Application for our relationship with others - in this part of the prayer, there is not only a desire to see God's kingdom be established and His will be done, it also provides us an opportunity to respond to His work. Dr. D'Souza aptly highlighted about how even in the most advanced and greatest kingdom on earth, there will still be hurting, lonely people. Perhaps, as KK has shared, we will never get to fully fathom the full extent of the greatness of God's kingdom now but we may each have a part of the kingdom to show others. What is your picture of God's kingdom that you can show others? Are you showing it? Do you trust that God can work through you in having His will be done here? Do you have faith that you can play an instrumental role in having God's will be done here on earth as in heaven?
  
  See the parable of the cracked pot.
  
• "Give us today our daily bread" (v 11) -
  
  Application for self - For many of us, this might be what constitutes as a major part of our prayer and yet for others, it might be a struggle as they continue to wonder if they can trust in the Lord to provide for their needs. Just as we are reminded in a later part of Matthew 6 (after the Lord's prayer), in Matthew 6: 25-34, we are assured that God knows what we need and He provides. Nerve-wrecking as it may be for some but the fact is that God provides even though it may not be in the way we expect it. But on the other extreme, I am also reminder that our God is not a genie or like one of pagan gods where our only prayers are just about blessings.
  
  Application for our relationship with others - But importantly, as Joshua has shared, upon reflecting why we have been given so much while others lack, what does it tell you? As Gary Haugen said it aptly in Global Leadership Summit 2008 (something which made me think and which is stuck with me as I walk with the Lord): Why have we been given so much amidst suffering of others? So we can be a channel of blessing from God to others.
  
• "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgiven our debtors" (v 12)
  
  Application for self & relationship with others - I was doing quiet time this week and I have come to realise how we are called to love one another. Ideally, this is good, because we have been reminded in scriptures by Jesus, to love God and our neighbours; the greatest commandment of all (Matthew 22: 36-40). But, I do know sometimes we have people who fail us and it becomes difficult to dispense forgiveness. But yet we are reminded by Christ not to let the sun go down while we are still angry. In my life experiences so far, I have learnt that the person who lose out is usually myself; in my anger and unforgiveness, I live a life of defeat and of bitterness. At the end of the day, it robs us of joy and it also divides us.
  
  See articles on dealing with unforgiveness and anger.
  
• "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (v13) -
  
  Application for self - We are reminded how we are not to play around with sin and to ask for God to be around us to help us resist the enemy and his schemes in our lives, whose aim is to derail us from God's love... We need God's power in helping us to deal with this daily.
  
  Application for relationship with others - Dr. Joseph D'Souza points to the need for social justice and how it is not enough to just treat the wounded but also to stop the perpetrator in continuing to do harm, but through righteous ways. We saw how Jesus had been held back in His dealings with the Pharisees and religious leaders whose hearts were hardened and who misguided His people from following God. He rebuked them on several occasions. In the same way that we may be the only way in which others can see Jesus, how can we help others who are oppressed by evil and do so in righteous ways?

The Christian Faith
After having gone through the Lord's Prayer, I continue to do my quiet time through the week. God made me reflect on what the Christian faith is really all about. Though I am not trained theologically, the arbitrary conclusion I got as I read His word is that the faith is about reconciliation with God, both for ourselves and for other people.

It is, as Jesus has put it, about loving God and our neighbours as ourselves.

God has saved us from the pits but then it does not stop there. God loves His children as well and He does not want "anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentence" (2 Peter 3:9). You are valuable to Him but so are His other children.

The apostle John wrote in 1 John 4: 9-12, which spoke to me this week:

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. "

The command is clear: love God and your neighbour, God's fellow children.

And James clearly states that your love without action or faith without deed, is dead. See article on "Faith without Deeds vs Love and Action"

We can learn from Jesus as He came to show us the way to proclaim our faith, not merely through words but also through action just as He went around and made a difference by healing, speaking the truth, forgiving people of their sins and giving them hope and peace.

How will you respond to this?

Have Been Thinking: One True God

I had recently led in devotion at my workplace and God had showed me how life can sometimes be like being at the airport... there are so many airlines but which will in fact bring you to where you need to be? Similarly, in life, we are surrounded by "religions", worldviews, new age beliefs and how do we know that we are worshipping the one true God? Maybe I will reserve sharing the devotion for another time.

While reading my devotion this week, I was brought to Acts 17:16-34. There, Paul was waiting in Athens and observes how the people were worshipping idols (Acts 17:16) and instead of condemning them, his passion for Christ compelled him to reason with the people to draw them to God (Acts 17:17) even though it meant ridiculed sometimes or not being understood (Acts 17:18). Paul had wanted to proclaim the one true God to them (Acts 17:22-23). He made his case:

The One True God is not limited by temples and only live in it (Acts 17:24)
Think about it. If God is all so mighty, why is He only limited to buildings? Psalm 139:7-8 reminds us that "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there."

The One True God does not need sacrifices to be appeased (Acts 17:25)
The verse says it all... God does not need to be served by human hands as if He needed anything. After all, does He not own the whole world and gives man life and breath? Hebrews 10 reminds us that "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made)" (Heb 10:8). It goes on to explain how "those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Heb 10:3-4). The bible describes man as very forgetful, often forgetting who God is and how He had delivered them...

The One True God is not fashioned as an image or idol made by man (Acts 17:29)
God in the bible has commanded that He is to be revered and that man are not to bow down to any idols. Who has seen God and who can do justice to fashion Him with our thoughts of His image.

The One True God is not far from us and accepts us as His children (Acts 17:27-28)
God accepts us as His children, to bless and watch over... John 1:12-13 "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." And man are being called children of God way in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 14:1) and several times in the New Testament e.g. 1 John 3:1 "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" This is perhaps a very bold preposition.

The One True God is a loving God (Acts 17:30-31)
God is a loving God and Father and allows man to repent as 2 Peter 3:9 reminds "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."And He gives us choice to choose Him and gave us His son as an indication of His sacrifice Hebrews 10:10 "And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." And God calls out to all to be reconciled to Him. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21:

"17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

The One True God is in control (Acts 17:26)
God is always in control as He reminds in Isaiah 44:24 "This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself..." and Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..." But we are given a choice in life, just as Adam and Eve was given a choice and ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God gives us the choice to choose to love Him or be apart from Him. He draws people to Him through those who are called by Him and who are willing to be a part of the ministry of reconciliation. But precisely how all these work together, I have no answer because Romans 11:33-34 reminds us "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" A similar case is being put forth in Job 38-41.

And as a result of God's children going about with the "ministry of reconciliation", some come to become followers of Christ, while some has yet to (Acts 17:32-34).

Again, I thank God for giving me the wisdom to pen this down within this short hour... I pray He will bless your hearts with it.