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- kenny | kenny Gan
Trainer at Operation Mobilization
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'As each one as [already] received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen' -1 Peter 4:10-11
It was probably about a week ago that I was listening to a sermon entitled 'Faith that Inspires' on the way to work. It's pretty interesting when you hear a sermon like that just as you walk into an environment where your responsibilities can feel a little mundane. However, interesting or not, I probably really needed to be reminded.
The thing that struck me most as I made my way to work, was that a 'Faith that Inspires' doesn't mean I need to do big and great things that will draw crowds by the thousands (and goodness I'm thankful for that because I don't think that is a gift God has given me) but that it is learning to be faithful with what God has given us because He is faithful. Through that message that I heard and other things that have happened throughout the week, I was reminded that God has called me to be faithful in word, in deed and in attitude.
Of course this is nothing new but as I was considering how I have been inspired by other people's faith, I realised that it isn't necessarily the great speech that I heard or that great miracle that occurred that was particularly inspiring but the amazing character of God that is being manifested through that person. Isn't it incredible to think that God is just as willing to grant us that wisdom that renders even the person with the highest IQ dumbfounded? Isn't it incredible to think that God is just as willing to give us strength beyond our ability? Isn't it incredible to think that God is just as willing to use little ol' me? Well, I think that is pretty cool. What is even more amazing is that I don't really need to do anything for that to happen! What I mean is that I don't need to try and do something crazy in order for God to manifest Himself through me. He has ALREADY given me gifts and talents and abilities and whenever I open my mouth or whenever I see an opportunity to lend a helping hand, God can do something extra-ordinary with that because that's what He specialises in!
So, let us all continue to do good with all zeal that God would take we have and "extra-ordinaririse" it to inspire those around us. Incidentally, I was also encouraged to be reminded of God's faithfulness in Himself as I saw a rainbow on my way to work this morning... not that this would mean much to you but it was pretty after a stormy night.
'I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.' - Jeremiah 32:40
All glory and praise be to the One who calls us and is faithful and will do it (Thessalonions 5:24).
It's been a weekend of contemplation... kind of and being me, there are a thousand and one things that I think about when given time and space.
I had picked up a book from my host's shelf yesterday evening while waiting for my ride called 'Jesus as They Saw Him' by William Barclay (a relatively old book published in 1962). So far I've only read the first 2 chapters, that is 2 of 42! It was fascinating as the author explored how people from the Bible perceived who Jesus was based on how they referred to Him as recorded in the Bible. The first chapter looked at how "they" saw Him as a man. It may come to no surprise to you but I think some people now may have believed he looked like a demigod or something spectacular whereas Barclay highlighted that He must've been very normal. The second chapter is where it all got slightly more exciting as we started to see how even though people had seen Jesus as "just a man", it is recorded that "the essential nature of Jesus is the essential nature of God". I won't go into all those details that the book describes about different Christologies and translations from the Greek etc but it reminded me very much of another book that I had read about 2 years ago: 'We Would See Jesus'. If you've been following my blog, you might remember me quoting that book a lot during my teacher training year. It had been incredibly useful in continually pointing me to Jesus in the midst of the pressures and stresses of life at that time and I certainly haven't forgotten about it's impact on my life since then.
Well, as I was listening to a sermon yesterday about "being a hospital disciple", the preacher had pointed out that the command of 1 Peter 4:9 was spoken in the context of suffering. In the midst of persecution and danger the kind of hospitality that was expected was beyond entertainment. It was a commitment to serve, protect and nurture in a selfless, spontaneous sort of manner. It was in that kind of hospitable home that churches started and miracles happened. More than that, the commandment was to be hospitable without grumbling. Therefore, the assumption was that people were hospitable but were grumbling about having to give so much to that cause.
You might be thinking what on earth does being hospitable without grumbling have to do with who Jesus is. I think that who Jesus is has everything to do with everything in our lives. Having now been here in Melbourne for a month, I have been at the receiving end of some amazing hospitality. Even just yesterday, some of the church members (and probably not just because they had JUST heard a sermon about being hospitable) were thinking beyond their comfort zone in how to accommodate me on their Wednesday cell group meeting since I wouldn't have a way of getting home and another leader within the church mentioned a possible dinner with his family in the near-ish future. The point is, I've been a witness of Jesus in these peoples' lives and through them, I have experienced Jesus meeting my need for fellowship, for food, for laughter and even for comfort.
As I look around me and talk to various different people, it is no surprise that there are so many other greater needs than my own. People who are incredibly lonely, people without food, people with no security, people with absolutely no direction and no hope. You don't need to look far to see the incredible needs in our world. Think of the recent news. I suppose we all feel a little helpless to do much more than cry and maybe prayer if we are a little more spiritual but we forget that we have Christ in us and just as He is in us, we are also in Him (or meant to be according to John 15). We forget that He IS our need, our ONLY need and since we already "have" Him, we have enough. In fact, if we have Christ, we have MORE than enough and that is when He gives us the grace to meet the needs of others. It's an incredible thought as I sit here feeling that I don't have my own home to invite people to, that I don't have a huge budget to treat people to dinners, that I don't have a car to help ferry people around... but what I DO have is so much more and that is the joy of the knowledge of Christ. Praise God indeed for this incredible gift!
'But peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."' -Acts 3:6
'The special revelation which this name gives is that of the grace of God. "I am" is an unfinished sentence. It has no object. I am-- what? Great is our wonder when we discover, as we continue with our Bibles, that He is saying, "I AM whatever My people need," and that the sentence is purposely left blank so that man may bring his many and various needs, as they arise, to complete it!... "I am that I am"-- which means that God is incomprehensible... Do we lack peace? "I AM thy peace", says He. Do we lack strength? "I AM thy strength." Do we lack spiritual life? "I AM thy life." Do we lack wisdom? "I am thy wisdom"' (quoted from 'We Would See Jesus' by Roy & Revel Hession)
So whatever your need today and everyday, may you find Christ more than sufficient in order to meet the needs of others.
Fantastic! He is so reliable!
KehChing Yeoh Hello my dearest praying friend!
Rejoice with me in this answer to prayer that God has provided my visa! Considering that the Australian immigration department didn't even know that I had rescheduled my ticket to arrive into Melbourne on the 2nd of March 2011, I find it incredibly appropriate that my visa lasts for exactly one year (i.e. it expires on 2 March 2012). In any case, I am so grateful to the Lord for this. I am continuing to appreciate His amazing timing. Not only was I given this blessing of being able to catch up with more people and better still, my parents as they arrive into Singapore this coming Wednesday (23 Feb) but that my visa is also granted early enough that I don't need to worry about it for the rest of my stay here.
Yup! Praise the Lord indeed for His exceedingly great goodness! He knows what is best even when I didn't feel that it was best. It is a reminder once again that His ways are higher than ours, His thoughts exceedingly higher. It is a great comfort to have gotten this news today and of course, this is in no way the end of my challenges but having experienced His faithfulness once again, it certainly does something to spur me onwards.
Thank you so much for praying with me. I know that your prayers were no small part of God's answer.
Grateful,
Debbie
'O taste and see that the Lord is good! Happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!' -Psalm 34:8 -- 'One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temple.' -Psalm 27:4
Mobile (SG): +65 8222 4576 Mobile (UK): +44 (0) 7802 889 664
Hello my dearest praying friend!
Rejoice with me in this answer to prayer that God has provided my visa! Considering that the Australian immigration department didn't even know that I had rescheduled my ticket to arrive into Melbourne on the 2nd of March 2011, I find it incredibly appropriate that my visa lasts for exactly one year (i.e. it expires on 2 March 2012). In any case, I am so grateful to the Lord for this. I am continuing to appreciate His amazing timing. Not only was I given this blessing of being able to catch up with more people and better still, my parents as they arrive into Singapore this coming Wednesday (23 Feb) but that my visa is also granted early enough that I don't need to worry about it for the rest of my stay here.
Yup! Praise the Lord indeed for His exceedingly great goodness! He knows what is best even when I didn't feel that it was best. It is a reminder once again that His ways are higher than ours, His thoughts exceedingly higher. It is a great comfort to have gotten this news today and of course, this is in no way the end of my challenges but having experienced His faithfulness once again, it certainly does something to spur me onwards.
Thank you so much for praying with me. I know that your prayers were no small part of God's answer.
Grateful,
Debbie
'O taste and see that the Lord is good! Happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!' -Psalm 34:8 -- 'One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temple.' -Psalm 27:4
Mobile (SG): +65 8222 4576 Mobile (UK): +44 (0) 7802 889 664
Sometimes life feels like one big waiting room or maybe like a series of waiting rooms. You know? Like I'm on one side of a door which I know I will be going through soon and trying to imagine what exactly awaits me on the other side. Have you ever seen 'Finding Nemo'? Sometimes I feel like I'm that kid waiting to see the dentist on one side of the door and then through the glass fish tank I notice a dentist trying to hold some poor innocent girl down to the chair while she screams endlessly... okay, so I don't feel EXACTLY like that (and we know from that movie that the little girl isn't THAT innocent) but I think you get the idea. The wait isn't all bad. With those magazines to keep you entertained or if you've got something like an iPhone or iPad... though that's beside the point. When doubt or fear is present, the wait can become excruciating and then you become the kid that doesn't want to see the dentist anymore. I just want to clarify that I'm not afraid of dentists. My aunt is a dentist and my visits to her have so far never been horrible... or at least not to my recollection.
I guess since being delayed in Singapore which I am discovering more and more as a blessing in disguise through being able to meet up with different people and having some extra time to just be still before the Lord. Saying that, I also wanted to share about the moments where I have also seriously doubted the decisions that I've made, been making and are still needing to make. Sometimes someone just says something, meant with the best of intentions, or something happens that just suddenly makes me want to "give up" as it were. It sounds a little ridiculous doesn't it? It does now but those doubts were not THAT ridiculous and even a tiny bit of fear really is paralyzing.
So yes. It may be true that this is too much for me. It may be true that I am not ready for it. it may be true that I am too young. It may be true that I have no experience. It may be true that what awaits me beyond today is not what I expect. BUT does that mean that God is not more than enough for me? Does that mean that God is not ready? Does that mean that God cannot use me as I am? Does that mean that just because it is not what I expect that I should not go for it? Does that mean that God is not a God of His word? Of course not! That would be even MORE ridiculous! So you see, it is easy to look at my own limitations (they are too numerous to count) and it is easy to look at all the problems that are before me (you could probably point more out to me than I'm already looking at) but in the light of all that God is, even the obstacles ahead that I cannot see, are nothing.
So, waiting on the other side of the dentist's office is no biggie when you know who the dentist is well enough to trust their gentleness and goodness. I am so grateful to the Lord for that reminder today.
'When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Thy consolations delight my soul.' -Psalm 94:19
It is a strange feeling to be sitting in my room, staring at the empty walls and realising that it is no longer "my" room. I haven't actually lived in this room for too long but even in the few years that we've been here, I feel like I managed to put my stamp on it. It used to have pictures on the walls and the cupboards of loved ones, of fond memories and of good reminders of God's faithfulness. It used to be full of things that I found useful, pleasant and familiar. It was a place where I could just pop downstairs and have a good chat with mum and dad. It was a place where I could smell dad's good cooking or hear dad's favourite music floating through the air the morning. It was a place where mum would make sure I drank healthy juice in the morning and where she motherly looked after me by doing the laundry. Yup, I was suddenly really sad to leave. Really sad, and honestly, quite scared about where I'm going.
What makes this a home for me? Though I travel quite a lot, in comparison to some (not much in comparison to others), this was a place that I knew I would eventually come back to. In terms of having a place to stay, God has provided some amazingly hospitable friends (you know who you are and I certainly do praise God for you!). I was talking to a mother the other week whose family does a bit of moving around as well and she was saying that she had asked her kids where they thought home was. One was too young to say very much but the older said it was a place where they were all together. It was a place where the family could be together. So, is home for me where I am with my parents? Perhaps home is where one can be oneself or is it a place where one has roots or a definition that I have heard quite frequently is that home is a place where you feel you belong, where you are secure? I wonder that different people have different definitions for a home.
When people used to ask me where I was from, I would usually say Singapore. My citizenship is there, the majority of my family is there, my roots are from there, I do feel quite comfortable moving around there. What was funny, however, is that when I was there the last couple of months, many people didn't believe that I was local. I had not lived there for the majority of my life and apparently, I had an accent that confirmed that. It was the first time in a long time that I had stayed for such an extended period and though I was very happy to be there I didn't always feel like I belonged there. Someone else just reminded me of a song 'This World is Not My Home. I'm Just Passing Through'. So where is home?
Well, I like the definition that someone gave, "Home is where you are loved". I went to All Souls yesterday in London for church and one of the questions that was asked was, "Are you secure in the unfailing love of Christ?" Is my idea of home dependent on the comfort of the familiar? Is my idea of home dependent on the presence of my parents? If it is, there may be many many moments ahead that I will feel totally homeless. What is my happiness dependent on? What is my security dependent on? What is my sense of belonging dependent on? It is no wonder that when the Psalmist discovers that all that he has, wants and desires is in the Lord Himself that we find that ONE day in His courts is better than a thousand outside (Psalm 84:10). That our true Home is in His presence and no where else.
'How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird has also found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Thy house! They are ever praising Thee.' (Psalm 84:1-4)
Is if 'home' is where the heart is, let our hearts be totally consecrated to God, our treasure. (Matthew 6:21, Luke12:34)
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