DevotionTWENTY-FOUR: Working Together
Have u read the book of Nehemiah (chapter3) before? It can be quite discouraging to come to a chapter like this because it consists largely of unpronounceable names and long-forgotten people! But this chapter tells of a story of the work of repairing the gates and walls of Jerusalem that Nehemiah had been sent to do.
Nehemiah 3:1-10
1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel. 2 And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built...5 And next to them the Tekoited repaired, but their nobls would not stoop to serve their Lord...10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite their house.
Wow! Thats really quite a mouthful of names, isnt it?
All through this account, you would have noticed the phrase "next to him" worked so and so, and "next to him" worked others. The writer takes note not only the workers but also the shirkers (those who shirks their responsibility).
Did u know God records slackers too? When people will not take up their ministry, God puts their name down in that column as well.
Notice they also worked near their home. Verse 10: Jedaiah "made repairs opposite his house". Verse 23 tells of certain men who "made repairs in front of their house". So what does this mean?
God has placed us strategically where He wants us to be. Your neighbourhood, office or home is where your ministry should be. That is why God put you there. This is brought out beautifully as we watch these people labouring in their neighbourhood.
Finally each one completed his assigned task. They kept on until they had finished their work. Some had more work to do than the others, but no one failed - except the 'nobles' who would not dirty their hands.
Even as some of us take on certain ministries, we may encounter many difficulties. Like fitting in rehearsal time into our schedule, joining some extra courses to better enable ourselves in teaching / facilitating, working with people we may not feel comfortable with...
I remember sharing with you guys about me taking up this leader role, that I believe God may use it to help me become a more responsible person. Definitely, I had my struggles coming to accept this role as I know this would mean lesser me time.
Have u guys watched Evan Almighty? Morgan Freeman, acting as God, said something like this. If u prayed for family warmth / better relationship, do u think He just gives / bless u with that cozy, fuzzy feeling within your family members? No. He gives u opportunities (situations) that in these situations, the family may work together and so be more closely bonded with one another.
And when Evan prayed that he might be able to change the world, God gave him oppotunities to show / work towards how he may indeed change the world (in a manner Evan never thought or could imagine). That throughout, we notice how God (Morgan Freeman) equips Evan with the relevant tools and even help from the animals when no one was there to support him!
Keep on trusting in Him, and know that where He calls you to He will surely equip you.
Finally, lets continue doing our assigned task till its done, that we know then He is pleased.
I have learnt through the years that responsibility is always the mark of spiritual maturity. The most mature members in a congregation are those who stay with the work that has been assigned to them until it is done. - Ray Stedman
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
devotion25 - 寶貴十架
Happy Easter Sunday Revs! xD
Today's devotion is simple. Take some time to listen to this song and ponder on the lyrics. Let's go back to the foot of the cross and thank God for all the goodness He has bless us with. Take some moment to thank God for sending His son to die on the cross for us and give us life.
Today's devotion is simple. Take some time to listen to this song and ponder on the lyrics. Let's go back to the foot of the cross and thank God for all the goodness He has bless us with. Take some moment to thank God for sending His son to die on the cross for us and give us life.
主耶穌 我感謝祢 祢的身體為我而捨
帶我出黑暗 進入光明國度 使我再次能看見
主耶穌 我感謝祢 祢的寶血為我而流
寶貴十架上 醫治恩典湧流 使我完全得自由
寶貴十架的大能賜我生命 主耶穌我俯伏敬拜祢
寶貴十架的救恩是祢所立的約 祢的愛永遠不改變
goodnight,kev! xD
Happy Easter Sunday
Dear brothers and sisters, I hope during this holiday you are refresh by our Lord and staying strong in your walk, dwelling in His goodness and blessings. Today, I was in church for the Easter drama that was put up by the youths. It was thought evoking - gospel made real.
Anyway the main thing was that my sister came to church with me. It was the second time she came to my church and it was a great encouragement to me. For the recent months I have seen God working in my family and the ministry that I'm in. I believe God have destined us to be loved by Him and if you have been praying and waiting for the Lord to give an answer for the salvation of your family, DOUBT no further! God will move. God will clear hinderances. God have saved and will continue to save! Our loved ones are in God's list =)
Let's encourage and spur one another to go forth into the world, into the campus, into families and into our love ones in bringing the love of our father into the world =)
Anyway the main thing was that my sister came to church with me. It was the second time she came to my church and it was a great encouragement to me. For the recent months I have seen God working in my family and the ministry that I'm in. I believe God have destined us to be loved by Him and if you have been praying and waiting for the Lord to give an answer for the salvation of your family, DOUBT no further! God will move. God will clear hinderances. God have saved and will continue to save! Our loved ones are in God's list =)
Let's encourage and spur one another to go forth into the world, into the campus, into families and into our love ones in bringing the love of our father into the world =)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
devotion24: You Never Thoroughly Intended It
I read quite a lot, both for pleasure and for my theological studies. Every so often, I read something that stops me dead in my tracks and affects me so deeply that I have to put the book down and consider what I've just read. No author has done that as powerfully and frequently as C.S. Lewis. Today, I want to share one of those moments with you and explore how we can apply it to our relationship with Jesus. (In fairness, these are not his own words - Lewis was quoting William Law). He wrote:
If you will stop here and ask yourselves why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you, that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it.
If we consider Christianity to be a life-long journey, then surely the destination is a perfect and complete union with Christ. We begin the journey by not knowing Christ at all and it is complete when we have surrendered to Christ so fully and completely that nothing of ourselves remains.
If we stop to take a look at the things which prevent us from reaching that goal, it will appear that there are hundreds of little things on the journey which block our way. Work, friends, community and family responsibilities all present obstacles. We're so busy!
The truth that Lewis brings to our attention is that there are not many reasons, but rather one simple reason which underlies it all. If you don't have the kind of passion and intimacy in your relationship with Christ that you should then you don't fully intend to. You see, the quality of your relationship with Christ is all in your hands and no one else's. This is not like a marriage where both husband and wife must work to achieve closeness. Christ is and has always been completely accessible and available. He waits patiently for us to take each next step toward Him. You either take the steps or you don't.
Every reason you can imagine for why you have not taken the next step on the journey can be distilled down to one simple fact - you don't want to. There is no secret or magic formula here. It's simple. We come closer to Christ by spending time with Him, reading His word, serving Him and praying. None of us are being physically prevented or restrained from doing these things and so the choice to do them or not to do them is ours alone.
Yet, we do other things instead. We watch TV, put in a little overtime at work, visit with friends or any other myriad of things that are more important to us at that given moment. It's a given that there are things we must do to survive such as eating and working in order to make money to pay for our food and shelter. Jesus understands this. Yet, there is so much that we do not need to do. All that time we could be working on our relationship with Jesus. But we don't.
I'm busy! I have work to do! I'm tired! Wrap the excuse any way you wish and surround it by any reason you like but when you unwrap it, what you will find inside every time is the same basic truth. You don't intend to have a better relationship with Jesus.
The relationship you have with Jesus is exactly the one you want to have. When you want to have a closer, deeper relationship with Him, you will. Nothing in this world can prevent it.
Goodnight Revs,
kev!(:
If you will stop here and ask yourselves why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you, that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it.
If we consider Christianity to be a life-long journey, then surely the destination is a perfect and complete union with Christ. We begin the journey by not knowing Christ at all and it is complete when we have surrendered to Christ so fully and completely that nothing of ourselves remains.
If we stop to take a look at the things which prevent us from reaching that goal, it will appear that there are hundreds of little things on the journey which block our way. Work, friends, community and family responsibilities all present obstacles. We're so busy!
The truth that Lewis brings to our attention is that there are not many reasons, but rather one simple reason which underlies it all. If you don't have the kind of passion and intimacy in your relationship with Christ that you should then you don't fully intend to. You see, the quality of your relationship with Christ is all in your hands and no one else's. This is not like a marriage where both husband and wife must work to achieve closeness. Christ is and has always been completely accessible and available. He waits patiently for us to take each next step toward Him. You either take the steps or you don't.
Every reason you can imagine for why you have not taken the next step on the journey can be distilled down to one simple fact - you don't want to. There is no secret or magic formula here. It's simple. We come closer to Christ by spending time with Him, reading His word, serving Him and praying. None of us are being physically prevented or restrained from doing these things and so the choice to do them or not to do them is ours alone.
Yet, we do other things instead. We watch TV, put in a little overtime at work, visit with friends or any other myriad of things that are more important to us at that given moment. It's a given that there are things we must do to survive such as eating and working in order to make money to pay for our food and shelter. Jesus understands this. Yet, there is so much that we do not need to do. All that time we could be working on our relationship with Jesus. But we don't.
I'm busy! I have work to do! I'm tired! Wrap the excuse any way you wish and surround it by any reason you like but when you unwrap it, what you will find inside every time is the same basic truth. You don't intend to have a better relationship with Jesus.
The relationship you have with Jesus is exactly the one you want to have. When you want to have a closer, deeper relationship with Him, you will. Nothing in this world can prevent it.
Goodnight Revs,
kev!(:
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
DevotionTWENTY-THREE: 2-Way Traffic
Ever had a 1-way friendship? You know the drill - people who always need a favour but never give anything in return? Everytime they come close, you know they've brought a new set of demands and needs. Clearly there is something missing if you're looking for the joy of friendship.
Have you wondered if God feels that way about us? With all our constant barrage of questions, problems and prayer requests. Surely, He wants us to cast all our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7), and thankfully He stand ready and willing to help (Hebrews 4:16). But if we aspire to be God's friend, we need to recognize that true friendship with God is a reciprocal deal!
When Jesus talked about friendship He told His disciples, "You are my friends if you do what I command" (John 15:14). Jesus made it clear that His true friends would be those who would show allegiance to Him by doing what He told them to do: "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12)
Jesus proved His friendship when He laid down His life for us. Now the question is, what will we do for Him? Although we can never out-give Him or come close to repaying Him, we can display our friendship with Him even in our everyday lives too! How? Its when we extend kindness to someone in need, forgive an offender, show compassion to the poor and oppressed... ...
Remember, friendship with God has to be 2-way traffic :)
Ever had a 1-way friendship? You know the drill - people who always need a favour but never give anything in return? Everytime they come close, you know they've brought a new set of demands and needs. Clearly there is something missing if you're looking for the joy of friendship.
Have you wondered if God feels that way about us? With all our constant barrage of questions, problems and prayer requests. Surely, He wants us to cast all our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7), and thankfully He stand ready and willing to help (Hebrews 4:16). But if we aspire to be God's friend, we need to recognize that true friendship with God is a reciprocal deal!
When Jesus talked about friendship He told His disciples, "You are my friends if you do what I command" (John 15:14). Jesus made it clear that His true friends would be those who would show allegiance to Him by doing what He told them to do: "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12)
Jesus proved His friendship when He laid down His life for us. Now the question is, what will we do for Him? Although we can never out-give Him or come close to repaying Him, we can display our friendship with Him even in our everyday lives too! How? Its when we extend kindness to someone in need, forgive an offender, show compassion to the poor and oppressed... ...
Remember, friendship with God has to be 2-way traffic :)
FAVOURITE!: Wang Lee Hom
HAHA! (: Hope you enjoyed listening to my FAVOURITE singer.(not idol, no worries! i don't idolise him) But he's a man with truckloads of talent, amazing and beautiful man. This is just a random post,HAHA! Just want to share my treasures with you guys.Touched?HAHA! Ah well, do continue to walk close with God and I'm sure you'll be a happy boy/girl! HAHA. Pse do come for this coming Wednesday's EXCO handover. Come and render your support to the incoming EXCO and to appreciate the outing EXCO shall we? See you there!
With love, kev (:
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