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

The Kingdom of God - For You & Others

Thy Kingdom Come from Curtis Wiklund on Vimeo.

What is the Kingdom of Heaven?
Is it to come or is it already here?

God's Kingdom or yours? It's your choice?

LIFE Box from Ryan Brien on Vimeo.

What's the big deal with the Kingdom of Heaven?
Are you letting the Kingdom of God transform you?


Amazing Grace from Bradley Miller on Vimeo.

The Amazing Grace of God and the invitation to the Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God from Stewart H Redwine on Vimeo.

Is the Kingdom of Heaven significant?

Is it worthy?

Are we prepared?

If it's here, why is there evil around?

Are we like the Pharisees and the religious leaders then who was rebuked by Jesus? Do we deprive others of the Kingdom of God? Do we bring it to others?


Matthew 9:10-13 (NIV)
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
 
Matthew 23: 13 (NIV)
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

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.

Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

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

Important Reflections in Life

Today we celebrated my brother in law birthday. My younger sis told me that she had been a free thinker for many years. Actually all along I consider that she is a backslided believer. To hear that from her made my heart feel so painful and I can feel that my heart just sank then. How could she have received Jesus in her life so many years back and then now behave she dun really know him at all? I asked if it is because of me. She was shocked when she heard that, she said she had became free thinker because of her hubby-my brother in law who is a staunch Buddhist. This probably gave her more space and more flexibility to deal with different situations in life, and she say can worship other Gods as they wish. To her it seems like her husband is her everything in life. How about the Lord Jesus in her life? Where are you my Lord Jesus? Can you come back to my younger sis's life once again? Why has Christian faith become just a religion and a set of ritual to her? To think that she felt that I came back from the wake and was concerned I go shower soon due to some superstitious thinking. About my friend's grandmom who had passed on lately, I told my sis to me the ritual (even if it is Taoist one) is not everything but I only hope that her grandmom has indeed received Jesus into her heart, that is all that really matters. At the end it seems my dear sis could not really identify with what I had said, the trace of her childlike faith as in the past is no longer there now, I felt really deeply grieved at the change I see in her now. I really feel very sad and burdened whenever I think of my family salvation. I felt guilty at times maybe I felt I have not prayed hard enough for their salvation. But I really wanna to thank God because of the courage to share with her about my thinking of our Christian faith and also about my friend's grandmom passing on with my sis, and though I am upset but I am glad God let me know of her spiritual state better.

In fact as the year is ending off very soon, I hope to do some reflections of life since 2 years back then. Ever since I was restored back to the Christian community (my cg) in 2008 when I aspired and wanna to be committed to be part of cell, the community God had put me in, this is also a year which the foundation in my life is laid again. Before that I was quite distracted by many issues in life and I was so far away from God. God had been faithful to me, never he had forsaken me despite some tough challenges and temptations to go back to the old ways. It is a year when I experienced restoration and healing in my life. I am really thankful to what God had done in my life. Year 2008 is also a special time God began to place in my heart a burden for my family salavation, my mothers and my 2 sisters (especially my younger sis who moved from christian to backslided Christian to a free thinker), God ignited me a passion and love for my family never like before even though many times I lamented at my imperfections.

Then in this year 2009 which will be passing on in 19 days times, there are many things I really wish to give thanks to. This is a year when I started serving God in the ministry and also contributed more to part of cell life, learning to build God's community where he has placed me in. Even there were down moments but as I choose to fix my eyes on Jesus and surrender it all to him, I felt it had always been joyful and privileged to be serving God and his people, I thank God for all I had learn in this spiritual journey with the Lord, perseverance, faith and trust in him, full surrender of troubled emotions to the Lord. I am thankful I am learning to let go of my old self, of course this year there is lots of tough battles, dealing with negative condemnations and lingering hurts, many times my emotions acts to deceive me, all I can say it is tough but again I learn to look beyond myself to serve God and his pple, learning to let go and to see from pple's perspectives and have a clearer communication (having a clearer expectations may help). Going through Mission Trip in September helps me further to look beyond myself and having a closer glimpse of mission on God's heart, my life and many of those who went on the mission trips, our life have been transformed!

God also brings me to different groups of Christian community in my life, that goes bey0nd my own cg (CG is still the source despite I did learn a lot and blessed through many of these community). I felt encouraged and experienced spiritual growth as I established deep bonds with these fellow brothers and sisters in Christ (regardless of church background and denominations) and we encouraged each other along this journey. And I thank God that through christian community he placed me in he has blessed me with the friendship and support of a fellow sister in Christ who is also my dear prayer partner. Even though she maybe quiet in her own ways but I thank God for her being supportive and her friendship that really means a lot to me. Somehow we are able to encourage and pray for each other naturally, iron sharpen iron is the word that describe about our friendship and partnership.

I also started with my reading of God's words this year, not easy because I tried to use many different forms (online reading, different types of bible study plans printout, daily devotions) and there are times I have stopped for a while as I was feeling pretty tiring and unmotivated to read God's words and I remembered I also had a challenging discussion with a fellow brother on reading God's words. Somehow this challenging discussion seems to play quite a significant role to help me to get back to the basics of hearing from God through reading of his words.

For next year I hope that God can help me to continue to grow spiritually through diligent reading of God's word (to be more comfortable with the current bible reading plan), more personal time with God, more time to pray and fast especially for my family salvation (I wanna to experience this hunger to pray earnestly and hungry for God's word), I ask God to expand my heart to serve and love pple even if it requires me to go through a heart surgery-change my heart Lord so that God can use me to do his work. I ask God to expand the ministry in my heart, to be seeking God in any other possible area of ministry that he will be placing me in. May I continue to rise up to his call in year 2010!

The Heart of Evangelism

To the Ends of the Earth


Love unfailing
Overtaking my heart
You take me in
Finding peace again
Fear is lost in all you are

And I would give the world to tell you're story
'Cause I know that you've called me
I know that you've called me
I've lost myself for good within your promise
And I won't hide it
I won't hide it

Jesus, I believe in You
And I would go, to the ends of the earth
To the ends of the earth
For you alone are the son of God
And all the world will see
That You are God
You are God

Amazing Love


I’m forgiven because You were forsaken,
I’m accepted, You were condemned.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me,
Because You died and rose again.

(Chorus)
Amazing love,
How can it be
That You, my King, would die for me?
Amazing love,
I know it’s true.
It’s my joy to honor You,
In all I do, I honor You.

Making a Difference


Won't you Lord take a look at our hands
Everything we have, use it for Your plan
Won't you Lord, take a look at our hearts
Mould it, refine it, as You set us apart

(Chorus)
We want to run to the altar and catch the fire
To stand in the gap
Between the living and the dead
Give us a heart of compassion
For a world without vision
We will make a difference
Bringing hope to our land

You Laid Aside Your Majesty



You laid aside Your majesty,
gave up everything for me.
Suffered at the hands of those you had created.

You took away my guilt and shame,
When You died and rose again.
Now today you reign,
and heaven and earth exalt you.

I really want to worship you my Lord,
You have won my heart and I am yours.
Forever and ever, I will love you.
You are the only one who died for me,
Gave Your life to set me free.
So I lift my voice to you in ador - a - tion.

Beautiful Saviour


Jesus, Beautiful Saviour,
God of all Majesty,
Risen king,
Lamb of God,
Holy and righteous,
Blessed redeemer,
Bright morning star

All the heavens shout your praise,
All creation bow to worship You

How wonderful, how beautiful,
Name above every name, exalted high
How wonderful, how beautiful,
Jesus your name, name above every name, Jesus

I will sing forever, Jesus I love you, Jesus I love you

Hi everyone!

Thanks for being a part of cell yesterday and for participating. I do not know how it was for you but personally for me, it was a wonderful time of worship, sharing, learning the heart of God and most importantly seeing how God works.

Prior to the start of cell, I kept praying because I am always nervous about facilitating cell and I also confess that I am no expert in the area of evangelism; I was worried that the discussion will not take off. But, in no time, I have come to realise how everything came together so nicely, including the choice of worship songs, the preparation, the verses to be shared, the people brought together to share and edify, icebreaker, fellowship and discussion. Everyone played a part in making a difference yesterday and I thank God for everything, including our sister Min Qin, who has not forgotten about us and prayed alongside with us as well (Hello there Min Qin!!!)

Anyway, would like to share my thoughts on our discussion on evangelism yesterday. Feel free to share your comments too as we edify one another on.

The Struggle with Evangelism
Have you ever thought about what evangelism is about? Why evangelism? What emotions does it trigger when we talk about evangelism? What is the big deal about it?

For some, when one talks about evangelism, thoughts such as:

• "others can do it"
• "i'll try my best"
• "sian ah, again? It's that time of the year again?!"
• "huh? I do not know what to say?"
• "people may think I am pushy, better don't share"

It becomes very clear that evangelism seems to be something which people struggle with; not only Christians but also pre-believers, some have their "memorable" experiences with who they described as "pushy" Christians.

What's the Big Deal about Evangelism? Why Evangelism?
But, I am not here to judge whether being pushy is right or wrong. Let's take a step back and the question that keeps coming to mind is: What's the big deal about evangelism? Why evangelism? We all know the Great Commission in Matthew 28:

18. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20. and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

But then, what's the big deal? Why do we need to evangelize?

Did not the bible say in Ephesians 4:11-13:

11. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12. to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13. until 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.

Me? An evangelist? No no, I think you are mistaken... I struggle with even talking to people, let alone evangelism. I have checked the dictionary and according to dictionary.com, some of the definitions I get about evangelism is that it is about "zealous preaching and dissemination of the gospel" (note the word "zealous"). But yet, aren't the disciples of Jesus also told to be witnesses?

Acts 1:8 - "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

In fact, in the end, not only the disciples but even the many people who encountered Jesus after his resurrection became his witness:

Acts: 13:27-31 - 27. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30. But God raised him from the dead, 31and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.

Acts 10:41-43 - 41. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

"You May be the Only Bible Someone Ever Opens"
So there may lie the starting point of it all, witnessing. Consider your life after knowing Christ, what is different? For me, it becomes very clear how much life is different and purposeful and how God is so real, after coming back from backsliding for close to 15 years. It was a great contrast. For many of us, we have life stories of transformation by Christ and that maybe where you can start; your life story, your testimony. Because, ultimately, that is something that people cannot dispute and you yourself know it very clearly.

Think about it, what is the bible all about? It is more than a storybook but bears the stories of many "spiritual mentors" (as Pastor Benny Ho might call them) who shows the way and share their testimonies with you. It is a book of spiritual journals of many, the testimony of the power, love and faithfulness of God, trying to bring people back to Him and a chronicle of God's instructions and commandments to His people who He cares and love for (maybe that's why some call the bible "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth). You yourself can be one such testimony and a walking bible, as you reach out to many others to share your story, of the power, love and faithfulness of God and of His principles for you. I love it the way someone puts it: you may well be the only bible that someone ever opens.

How did you come to know Christ? Chances are that someone has taken the step, directly or indirectly. Hence, you can be that someone who makes the difference too.

Keep Walking
Frankly, I have found that recounting your testimony is not only beneficial to the one your are reaching out to, but also serves to remind us of how real and faithful God is. We can be like the Israelites who quickly forgets how God had delivered them from Egypt or we take account of our testimonies of our walk with the Lord, just as how Moses had instructed the Israelites to:

Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt." (Exodus 16:32)

and Joshua had instructed for 12 stones to be collected from the middle of the Jordan as a reminder to future generations of how God had brought them across the Jordan river (Joshua 4). Once reconciled with God, we will need to constantly be reminded in our spiritual journey, how God has been so real in our lives. So use your testimonies to edify and encourage yourself and others, including pre-believers and believers. This is also why I am encouraging you all to keep accounts of your thanksgivings and testimonies because through that, you would edify yourselves.

The Heart of Evangelism
But yet, that only explains part of the question and being a walking bible to edify yourselves and others would be a good "by-product", if I may use the word, of witnessing. The question is still why witness?

2 Corinthians 5:11-21
The Ministry of Reconciliation

11. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

16. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 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. 21. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

If you have followed the discussion on what the Christian faith is about, you would have realise that the Christian faith is not about a religion or a ritual but it is a relationship with God who created you. And God's heart is to reconcile you to Him as He would also like to reconcile many others to Him.

So now that we know God's heart for you and everyone else; that it does not stop at your reconciliation with God, but with continues with growing in righteousness through Christ-like living and also with the ministry of reconciliation with God. Another way of looking at it is this: Psalm 34:8a tells us to "taste and see that the LORD is good". Once you have tasted to see that the Lord is good; once you life is being transformed, do you not want to share the good news with others? It is just like they say: "if you have found the cure for AIDS, will you not share with others?"

What will you do now since you know the heart of God for you and the lost? 2 Peter 3:9 also reminds us how God loves everyone and does not want everyone to perish but to come to repentence. I will always remember the turning point in my ministry when I started to realise how God has placed in my heart the burden for people's spiritual growth and how I have come to realisation during one service when I prayed for a teenager who so desired to draw back to God and I teared with him as we prayed. And this burden just came from the Lord because I remembered how I started my ministry and felt it so much as a burden more than anything else but things changed and the burden was placed in me.

So a summary at this point in time.

Why witness? I see it as:

• because this is God's heart and we have been called into the ministry of reconciliation;
• because the process of witnessing helps us to continue to be God-aware in our lives
• because we may well be the only bible others may open

What Helps in Evangelism?
So what helps? For me, relfecting upon the times when God brought someone to reach out to, I have found that the following has helped me in responding to that prompting:

• Knowing the heart of God for you and the lost (as discussed earlier)
• Be God-aware and thankful; being convinced of God's "realness" and goodness (1 Thessalonians 5:18 and as discussed slightly under "Keep Walking")
• Being ready to share (2 Timothy 4:2) and to engage in spiritual warfare, especially with prayer (Ephesians 6:18-20). Spiritual warfare is real as I would testify of the things which happened to me the moment I took up cell leadership and as many missionaries will testify.
• Being obedient - God may send someone to you but you need to be aware of the prompting and willing to act
• Believing that God is in control - One of the things which has helped me feel less uptight about evangelism is how I have come to realise that evangelism is (i) taking the initiative to share Christ with another, (ii) in the power of the Holy Spirit and (iii) leaving the rest to God. Realise that you are not alone in this and that God is with you. If His heart is for reconciliation, what more will He help you to reach out to others at the right time? I have come to realisation about how God is in control during the times:
• I see how He has provided me opportunities after opportunities to share about Him and sometimes it was even initiated by others who I would less expect to ask about Him and some from other faiths
• at a missions trip in 2007 when I realised how everything is in His hands and things just clicked together so well,
• how several times His words ministered to me including one time when someone suddenly felt prompted to send me an sms which just said "1 Cor 15:58" (this person seldom sms me) and it was timely reminder, seconds after i ended an upsetting sms with another person, how He spoke to me from Isaiah 41:10 when I was on the verge of giving up on my ministry and several other times when God just prompted me to send verses to people,
• His word speak to me week after week and how He continue to uphold the cell during a time it was undergoing crisis
• How He used my past circumstances and experience to minister to others
• How he comforted and guided me through an outreach to a friend from a cult
• How he put words into my mouth to encourage people when necessary
  
  and that's just touching the iceberg. Recognise you are not in this alone and it is partnership with God. Again, I thank God for the 2 timely verses given to me through my sister from Our Daily Bread; one about the ministry of reconciliation (discussed above) and one from yesterday's devotion on following Jesus first and then becoming Fishers of Men; the emphasis here is not about the skills (this you can get from practice, books and Christian Education courses like "Becoming Fishers of Men") more than who you follow.
  
  And yet, another good devotion which ministered to me was from the "Our Daily Bread" devotion on 30 July 1997 on how likened to baking a cake, we can simply mix the ingredients but the oven is the one which bakes the cake, not us.
  
  So trust that God is in control and can use you, your experiences, circumstances and a variety of people to reach out to His people. And with regards to different styles of evangelism, I believe in Romans 8:28 and believe that God will send different people, different circumstances to help draw people back to Him, and sometimes a person may be ready and might need a little push. So everyone has a part to play, just that we need to pray about it and discern how we should work in partnership with God.

What Evangelism is NOT?
I think it might be good to also remember what evangelism is not. In my opinion, evangelism is:

• NOT Conversion of people but rather bringing people back in reconciliation with God, through repentence of sin which later brings about restoration of relationship with God. As we have shared yesterday, a relationship with God develops when a person goes into church and the church goes into the person.
• NOT about numbers, quotas, membership
• NOT merely about events and programmes
• NOT rushing headlong, spewing out bible verses indiscriminately
• NOT about how "I am more holy than you"

If it is anything, it should be done out of love and concern for another. Pray for God to put in your heart people who you can reach out to and reveal to you how you can do so. Someone has once said, people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. And if you are looking for a guideline to help you, why not start with something which Riverlife uses: Pray, Care, Share and Invite. You can always start with your testimony and genuinely care for the person and when the Spirit prompts and provides the opportunity, share and invite them.

A Vision for the Cell
I have previously shared how God had placed a vision in my heart how this cell is to reach out to the people who are struggling, backslided and been misled and let's start praying that God will continue to do His work in this cell and let us continue to want to play a part in His work to bring people back to Him. With Easter coming, pray for people who God has set in your heart to be able to receive Him, pray for opportunities to share and invite people, pray for the people preparing for the event, pray for spiritual covering and for hearts to be ready to receive God.