Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Last night I went for the prayer meeting. I was struggling whether to go or not when I was asked to serve that night. Eventually I went, for I really want to put God first in my life.
Unexpectedly, Pastor Sy Rogers, one of my favourite preachers, was going to share some words after the meeting. I knew I was there not by chance.
The message was about 4 criteria that we need in order to have a successful life.
1) We need to be flexible but more importantly to stay flexible.
God will get a job done not in our way or time.
2) We need to learn to rebound from mistakes.
when we fall down, we have to get up and try again. Failure let us know what doesn't work, so that we can find the way that works. Failure is a necessary component in the learning curve of success. Small mistakes will cease us from bigger one.
3) We need to have good sense of humour.
It is not about telling jokes. It is about our world view and attitude, how we see our problems and how we handle hardship and challenge. A person who lost everything in one day during the hurricane attack in US. He lost his job, his house, his clothes in one day but he still praises and worships God in service, saying " O LORD, I have lost everything but I am blessed and thankful." God gives, God takes away as well, but He is always good in any of these ways. He will compensate us more than what we have lost if we continue to trust in Him.
4) We need to have the ability to persevere by seeing the bigger picture.
If we don't do our exam as well as others do now, it won't matter in 5 billion years later. We shouldn't hold on to the little problem now, we should see the bigger picture. What is the bigger picture? That is God loves us. When we are going through hardship, we need to persevere, for persistance and determination are the basis of success. We are failure if we quit.
God only dealt with Pastor Sy's sexuality issue a decade after he accepted Christ. He once wondered why God let him wait for ten years. God told him 3 things : 1. ten years is short compared to eternity, 2. Who told you that big issues have to be settled immediately? 3. I let you wait for ten years, so that you are mature and stable enough when I dealt with this issue.
Ecc 8:6, We always want things done as soon as possible but God is a God of timing. When He does it, it is done once and doesn't need to redo. Don't give up on God's characters during affliction. He is not ignorant of the things you are going through. God once healed Pastor Sy's decay tooth just when the dentist started the operation. What was seen in the X-ray was gone. And with this good timing, the dentist witnessed God's healing power. Eventually, he was saved.
Be persistent. When your faith is shallow, borrow from others. Let us encourage each other during hardship. When God delivered the people to the promised land in Exo 23, God let them wait 40 years in the wilderness. Like what God did to them, as we obey Him, we will move forward; If we disobey, we will delay. But no one can take the promise away.
There is a payoff for perseverance - we get to know ourselves and God better.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
I feel so blessed, so loved with all the people God has placed around me. Sunday, I received an sms from Philip saying " you are not what you were born to be, but what is in you going to be". I was quite surprised to receive his encouragement and I really feel touched that I have a brother there who cares about me. There are so many things I want to learn from him - how he walks with God, and how he shines for God.
Tuesday, I was having exams. Thank you for all my friends who prayed for me. I felt the love from all of them. And I appreciate it, which I don't really deserve. But because of God's grace, He has given it to me.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Yesterday was my brother LY's birthday. Happy Birthday!!
"Thank you for calling me before I joined the cell group. Thank you for encouraging me when I first started to pray. I am very glad when you share your things with me. I hope I can know you better." This is what I said when we celebrated his birthday. I do mean what I said.
Perhaps he has never known that his little act can be so important to me. He called me last year when I was having rashes. I felt the care of the people in this church. He told me that I prayed well when I first said grace in the cell group. This was a great encouragement for me to step out to pray again.
I was quite happy at the time he shared with me his worry when looking for jobs. Although sometimes I might not know how to encourage him, I do care.
I really hope that we can be true and close friends, who still share with each other even when not being in the same cell group. I have never had such a close friend in my life. Perhaps he can be one.
