The Stories Continued

As promised, I am gonna continue the next 2 stories in this blog. Truly hope that they will somehow inspire you. Let's not drag anymore and there you go...

There was a water bearer he had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house. The cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you. "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path. "Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

To me the water bearer acted so much like God. Living a righteous life and loving and accepting things as who they are. In fact God created each and everyone of us so uniquely. We have our very own gifts. It is not comparable between each other. But one thing for sure is that we all have flaws. But God loves us regardless of our flaws. He makes good use of our strengths as well as our weaknesses in different areas of our life. Therefore, we should not be ashamed of our flaws and feel discouraged or even feel envious over others' strengths. As long as we are able to acknowledge our weaknesses and make good use of them even the tiniest flaw can be turned to a strong point; and able to shine for Him. Bear in mind that He made us this way for a purpose. And sometimes of course if He finds that the particular flaw is against His will, He would need us to make a change. And that's how He builds us since the day we were borned. So let's start to love ourselves and others for who we are and look for the good in them. Amen.

The last story is just a simple one. Once a King told his General, "Ride this horse and go to any land that you want and capable of; and when you return I shall give you all the lands that you have covered." The General was delighted; he rode a horse to all the lands that he wanted to possess and he just kept going and going, wanting more and more. He did not rest at all because he wanted to cover as much land as he could. Before dawn the horse started to feel so tired that it could not run anymore but the General insisted to continue. Alas the horse collapse and died of exhaustion. The General was then all alone walking across the land. He sustained for a while and eventually died of exhaustion as well. When the people found his body they buried him in an isolated graveyard with a usual small tomb similar to other deceased's. This story tells us very much about the world we are living in. Most of the time we are so focused to achieve success and making a fortune we tend to neglect the people we love. In fact we forget to love the people and things around us and sometimes we also forget to love and pamper ourselves. Just like how the General only wanted to obtain the lands that he was desperate for, he forgot to love his horse and caused it to die. He also forgot to love himself and he didn't know that after all the hard work he ended up having no time to enjoy what he had gained. And when he died, people did not really remember or respect him.

The Word of God said that we could not bring with us money and possessions in this life when we die. This also reminds me of a message shared by an awesome sister Teresa saying "Prestige and possessions do not even last a lifetime what more for eternity?" Above all, when you add together the 3 stories I have shared, it comes to a similar point that is God loves us unconditionally; He sent His son to sacrifice for us, He makes good use of our strengths and flaws and in His eyes we are still His beloved child eventhough we are mere sinners, lastly He loves us and He teaches us to love others as we love ourselves. He gave us a place at eternity because of love and that is the most important thing that we need; not money, power or fame. Through His love, we love and we are loved. Amen.

Special thanks to Rachel for sharing the second story and Nicholas for sharing the third story. :D

The Story Of 3 Stories

As what the title says I am gonna share with you guys three stories that inspire me and touch my heart recently. Firstly, I apologize if this is a lengthy blog. If you do look at my Facebook updates you should have known I spent my last two weeks fruitfully and joyfully! Praise The Lord! I had a great flight to Manchester - had a very nice complex leader on board, a good working position and got to know 2 new nice friends! As I have mentioned in my previous blog I really had an awesome New Year count down with Jesus and the set of crew. Last week, despite the delay due to snowing in Manchester, thank God I managed to make it on time for my KL flight. After so many years, this holiday in Genting gave me a different kind of encounter and feeling once again. I did not visit the Theme Park but I was indeed happy to see people from all walks of life gather and have fun at this small little mountain. Like I've always said a budget trip can be much more fun as long as you get to enjoy it with people you treasure. There you see small families, tour groups, couples; of different races, different states in the country and even from different countries. A peaceful and harmonious nation is always the best! Just hope that everyone realises that...

I went to play the pool - Wow! I think I start to master the basic skills! I went to sing KTV with my beloved - Well, I never sing KTV with 1 person alone before and it was real fun that I did not need to keep screaming in the room and book the mic from time to time! I watched a movie on cinema entitled Bodyguards & Assassins - You gotta watch it man! It is so meaningful with great action and casting based on a true story. And that's the first story I am going to share today. It is about how people in China joined the evolution to fight for democracy over the ruling of Dynasty Qing. A few characters were featured and each has their personal life stories - a man was haunted with his past sins he chose to torture himself everyday just to make himself feel better; a hardcore gambler only started to appreciate his loved ones after years of merry-go-round; a daughter whom never understood her father but only blame him for not providing her sufficient love and needs ended up in guilt and pain when his corpse was lying right in front of her; an innocent man who just long for a simple life not knowing what is the real purpose of fighting; a businessman whom always help the people with money discreetly but yet insisted not to get involved because he wanted to protect his family and businesses; a rich young man whom have everything in the world finally understood the meaning of life and death; a man whom just work towards his goal of the evolution his entire life; and others. They all in the end stood up to fight and die together for peace and harmony in the nation, for one hope, one goal.

The characters truly reflect the various types of people in the world be it the world long ago or the current world. As I watched this show I was thinking how good if they already knew God at that time like how you and I know God now. Their sins will be forgiven, they will not just be chasing after power, money and fame, they will gain peace and joy. Everything will be so different. As shown in the movie, Sun Yat Sen was very sad to see the death of his people but he said "For the people, peace and freedom, require sacrifices and the sacrifices of blood". This reminded me once again how God loves us that He sent His only begotten son to make this sacrifice; sacrifice of blood for us. If only we could realise this and acknowledge His love for us. Sadly, most of the time we forget how our freedom and lives were exchanged. Just like we often forget how people sacrificed for people we also forget how Jesus sacrificed for us. And that could be the worst thing in life. So the story here is to renew our minds once again... to appreciate our good lives that have been exchanged by Jesus on the cross, acknowledge Him and bring glory to Him. Amen? AMen!!!

The second story was actually shared by my church sister Rachel during our Aircrew Fellowship camp. I used to read that story when I was very young but just not as inspired as now. Hmm.. you must be curious right? Well, I guess I shall continue the other 2 stories in my next blog as I don't want my readers to get a headache reading! Before I say goodbye I gotta share the Word of God for today - John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Hallelujah!

New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year my fellow readers!!! 2009 has passed; 2010 has begun... Wow! Time is really flying. This year is my second year celebrating New Year with SIA. It is kind of a different celebration which I think it's truly worth remembering even when I grow old. I counted down in my hotel room according to Malaysia/Singapore time with Jesus in my prayers. Prayers for a better year ahead, blessings to come upon myself, my beloved and both families, gratitude to God for what He had done for me during the previous year and continuous spiritual growth. AMEN! Within the same date (being in a different country with different time zone) I counted down with my set of crew in the crew room in Manchester! We had drinks, music, chit-chat sessions and we played games like Who's Who? and Scrabble! Wow.. I'm so proud of myself having to brainstorm at that hour! Followed by a toast for the new year and watched fireworks from the window... Thank God for sending me 3 new friends and a great set of crew whom had made my trip here so memorable! :D

A lot of people may just clubbed through the night, call it a night and get a hangover the next day. But I always prefer to choose something different and meaningful and with God, He had made it possible and all things are just so awesome! As far as we are to enjoy ourselves to the max for this day, it is also time to reflect what we have done for the past year and what is our resolution for this year. Thinking back a year ago I noticed I have massive changes in terms of my mindset, attitude and spiritual growth. Praise The Lord! But of course there are plenty of things that I know I can do better. It is mainly on confessing and repenting of my sins!!! To identify what I have done wrong and correct my mistake. Well, I realised I have done pretty good in a lot of aspects but still have to deal more wisely in managing my anger, fear, insecurity, friendships, my contributions in serving the Lord etc. Pray that He will give me wisdom and light from time to time...

I would now declare my resolutions for 2010... okay it's indeed a long list! The basic things are always to manage my finances and health better. Finances as in clearing my debt, increasing my savings, to provide more for my family and look for new opportunities. Besides that, in terms of my career, I have to master the coming JCL training, SEP and continue to perform my best on board and hopefully to reach out to more people in various parts of the world. Health as in continue to work on the healing of my skin, my spine,... Most importantly is my spiritual growth as in how I manage my time to serve Him more - to be more committed and contribute more to the Church, cell group as well as the community. To learn more about prayers, complete the bible, fellowship, write more blogs and carry myself better! I shall also be focused on building a fund... which is going to help in my mission fields in the future. Pray that my determination and effort will never go off and I will definitely achieve all these!!! Not to be missed out, to continue to work on my relationship, my family bondage and enjoy life!

Above all, I shall end this blog by joyfully receiving the great year 2010 once again! I shall continue to shine for Him, be a joy giver, focus on our vision and fulfil my calling according to His will and purpose for me... AMEN!

My Love Letter To YOU

Lord O'Lord~! This is a letter to You...
Christmas is coming and I am eagerly waiting for the day
It reminds me of my new birth
10 years ago You appeared in my dream
I lost my earthly father but You told me it is ok for I have You, my Heavenly Father
You asked me to come to You but I refused
Even in the midst of struggling to find a path in my life
I did not realise that You have already been with me all these times
Yet You did not give up on me
You still love me as how You have loved me today, tomorrow and eternally
You taught me about life; about sorrows, about trials and tribulations
You instilled the interest about life in me
I was completely lost but I ought to know the answer
That is why I continually seek for it...
Year after year my questions increased, I could understand no more
What is happiness? What is life? What am I? I am just empty...
You arranged some people to reach out to me; You used them to tell me something
You brought me to You... even as far as a foreign country
I finally got to know You; And You taught me even more
I just wished I could have known You earlier
When I was down You lift me up
When I cried out to You, You said "I am always with you even until the end of age"
You told me I am never alone for You are with me 24-7
You taught me to do good; even to the people that are evil to me
You gave me wisdom and You answered my questions
You gave me peace, joy and freedom
You taught me to be humble and You gave me a softened heart
You told me how awesome I am regardless of my flaws
You gave me a vision and a reason for me to live and move on
You told me I have a place to stay at eternity; a wonderful place sitting right beside You
You taught me how to love; to love every creation of Yours, to love unconditionally and with all my heart
You blessed me with love; within my family, with the one, my friends, people around me, creatures around me, things around me...
And You are still guiding me on what I should do and how should I feel
To strike a balance in every aspects of my life
To be stronger and stronger; better and better in Your name
To be just like You, O'Lord~
I now know the answer; the answer is You
Christmas is a day of celebration for it is when we gained mercy and freedom
A day when You were borned, a day when I was reborned
But it is also a day I cry for You
For it reminds me of how You bore our sins upon the cross
How You bore my sins upon the cross
My sins...I am just unworthy...
But You said I am Your child; Your beloved, faithful child...and I deserve it
No! I say it is You who made me deserve it
O'Lord, thanks for everything You have done for me
I shall shine for You, honour You and bring glory to You
I LOVE YOU and I praise You forever and ever!
AMEN!!!

Evil Lies Within Ourselves

Dear readers, I have been scratching my head on how to write my heart out for this blog. Forgive me if it's not a good one. In another 1 month, I will be turning 1 year old in Christ. Time flies; within a year I noticed I have grown a lot in my spiritual walk as well as in my life itself. Thank God for always giving me wisdom. I believe starting off in a good church plays a major role in my growth. The good church I meant here is City Harvest Church Singapore. A lot of good values have been taught through sermons by renowned pastors from all over the world, constant follow up by cell group members and the effort being put by all parties to produce a "true" spiritual family; everyone has indeed done a great job thanks to the will of God whom has placed each of us with a different role. But despite all these positive things you can gain, there will be times whereby you will be negatively influenced because every church has its strength and weaknesses. Every church is ran by men and as long as there is men there will be no perfection because men is never perfect but only God is. However, most people do not understand and they will be easily blinded by evil which lies within themselves.

I shall begin talking about my church which is a very commercialised, huge, popular and rich one. Initially I used to think that a church needs not be so "exxagerative" and if the church is rich enough we should be focused on how to build the smaller churches instead. In fact, most churches of this kind have become a source of entertainment to many especially the youths. It is treated as a place to look for a boyfriend or girlfriend, a place for fun activities and a place to gossip. It is not surprising that you can hear plenty of gossips or rumours just within a cell group alone. Besides that, a lot of people treat it as a place to network and build their business. The bigger the church is, the more hierachical politics people will tend to engage in. Members trying to surpass each other to obtain a position in a ministry or trying to become a pastor. Similar to a workplace, there are full timers who complain about their wages and the unfair treatment they receive. Slowly, it has become a place to compete and to seek power, fame and money. Sadly, this leads to major dissapointment in a lot of people. I have met several backsliders and anti Christs whom have shared with me the reason why they left church and why they never believe in Christians respectively. Notice I just mentioned "they never believe in ChristIANS" and not CHRIST.

Then when I visited a small church not long ago, I realised there is a big difference between my church and that one. I would say the sermon was not very impactful. There was no atmosphere and the environment was rather dull. I saw plenty of the members were asleep and some were not paying attention. If that's the case, aren't them attending service just for the sake of attending? How about new visitors? Will this church lead them to Christ or create an interest for them to visit the church again? And is this church able to bring about growth in that particular person? I also started to realised that God has indeed blessed my church to have such growth and annointed pastors. Eventhough my church is big and rich, but it doesn't mean it has to stop there. God still needs to use us mightily to save more and more people. That was the moment when God gave me an inspiration to write about this in my blog. Hallelujah. Well, I have always told people that God works wonders in us in whichever ways. AMEN.

When I view it in a positive way, I saw there is actually a big room for improvement for that church and I truly salute a sister whom had transferred from a big church to this one as she sees the need to serve there and to develop the church. From there it will be able to reach out to more people. She is really a pure child of God!!! Our fire on God must keep on going eventhough there is no concert ambience or surround sound system like what we had in Singapore Expo. Like I said, every church has its strength and weaknesses and different churches use different approach. Some are focused on youths, some are focused on elderly, some on English and some on Chinese and other dialects. It doesn't matter which church you go, big or small but I would say you got to look for one that suits your characteristics and needs in order for you to grow spiritually. But sad to say once again, every church encounters the same problem which is men's attitude and behaviour itself. A lot of Christians are still living in their own world where there is pride, selfishness, greed and foolishness.

Regardless of all that, seeking God is something simple and pure. We are truly seeking and serving God Himself and not human. So why are we blinded by human's works? When a man fails you, you say Christians are hypocrites... and yes you just said it! It's ChristIANS and not Christ. We have to stand firm in our faith and believe in Christ! Do not put a blame on other human but it is the evil or temptation beneath us that make us backslide. To counter this problem, you got to defeat this evil in you. Pray for wisdom. When we learn, we absorb and gather the good knowledge. And if you are wise enough, you will gather the bad ones as well and make it good. I watched a sermon on tv before saying that God always uses somebody to give us something. Even it is of evil, God allows it to happen because He wants to build us in every aspect of our lives. If we are able to withstand the temptation and remain faithful, we are promised with the gateway to Heaven. Amen.

My Simple Testimony

This is just a short and casual blog. It's my personal testimony that I intend to share with my readers. Being home for more than a week has indeed accumulated great blessings from God. Here, I would just touch on my spiritual walk during my entire annual leave. As usual, I chatted with my Mum whenever we are together whether we are at home or shopping or dining out. One night she shared with me her experience engaging in charity works through a Buddhist Society. Even in a midst of serving the society, she got to know a new friend at an exhibition whom is a Christian. Thanks to God whom had answered my prayer and worked through that friend of hers, my Mum actually asked me to bring her to church! Praise The Lord! I arranged to visit a Chinese church with her on a Sunday but too bad, she did not really like their approach. But it is not the end of everything as I see salvation in her while I myself have gained a new revelation and inspiration to write my next blog. If you notice, God works wonders in you in whichever ways... (Well, I said "If you notice") Amen.

When I travelled to KL, I managed to attend an event called Yeah Show! It is preached by Pastor Enoch Lim, a very famous pastor from Hong Kong. It is an annual event and everything is based in Cantonese with testimonial sharing sessions by some Chinese artists. Pastor Lim's approach is truly impactful where he is able to lead thousands and thousands of people to Christ even just by this event alone. You must be wondering what kind of approach he is using. He acted as a stage comedian - giving humourous speech which reflect the problems we are facing at the current society and at the same time reflect how are we gonna be saved which is through Christ Jesus. Meaning to say, you would never feel bored listening to him but filled with laughter and yet causing us to think through what he said. Awesome right? Hallelujah! This round an artist from Hong Kong, Lee Ya Nan came to share her testimony. I was truly touched by what she said regarding her life as an artist having to lose peace, joy and herself in the entertainment industry. It reminds me of a Bible verse which I also shared before when I relate it to my own job. The bible says from Mark 8:36-37 "And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" I was filled with tears and emotions at that moment. It's a blessing to have attended this event as I foresee that Pastor Lim or I would say this sort of approach is able to lead my Mum and even my sister to salvation and stronger walk in Christ. It is indeed a new hope to many! Amen! Amen!

On Saturday I wanted to attend a church but things seem like not very positive. In the end, I decided to attend service in City Harvest KL instead of just shopping and wasting money. I did not have friends there, I have never been there and I have to worry about my transportation as in taking a taxi to and from. With all these concerns, I still feel like going there. At 4pm, the time to service was drawing near, while I was doing my shopping alone at Sunway Pyramid and searching for a Book of Prayer at MPH Bookstore, my friend called. He said he had arranged his friend to pick me up to church. I was really... "Wow!" In the end, I got transportation to and from the church without paying a single cent! Got to know some new friends there, impacted by the Word Of God for the day and got to know their planned surprise for City Harvest Singapore and Pastor Kong; have given me another new breakthrough! You can never imagine the things that I have been thinking and discussing with several people were actually discussed through that sermon. It is not the first time... but all the time that God has been answering to me. In fact it had also helped to calm myself down in terms of my concerned relationship that I just started. Praise The Lord!!!

Lastly, I just want to say that things happen when you least expected. Even when you are unsure, you just got to continue praying and talk to Jesus. I don't know when is the right timing, I don't know how is He gonna reach me but He will surely answer to me. I am firm because I know Christ is in me. Amen.

The Love For God

October seems like a busy month. I was not around Singapore most of the time. To date, I only manage to update one blog. But I can tell you that this is a challenging one. I've been thinking of how to write in order to convey my messages which at the same time not too lengthy. A lot of people also suggested me to add this add that... Phew!!! Tough! I decided to go with the flow and just write whatever I feel like it. Weeks ago, a godly man told me that a woman who loves Jesus more than loving him is the one for him. A lot of question marks bombarded my mind when I read that and it took me a while to digest what he said. I asked some people - men and women, believers and non believers, old Christians and new Christians. Different people happen to give me different point of view. Some say that's a pretty selfish statement. Some say they are not sure; it's a tough question. Some say yeah they love Jesus more than their current bfs or gfs while quoting me a few bible verses. And you know what, most people think that is quite impossible.

Initially I was still very confused. I started to doubt myself, I felt guilty as if I have sinned big time. I was thinking if one day Jesus ask me to let go of my family or the ones I love for Him... I will not! Like how Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac when God asked him to... I will not! Yet when I was attending church service on Sunday, I just teared uncontrollably... I was sad... I was truly troubled by what my friend said. I asked myself and I asked Jesus, have I not loved You enough? Have I not being faithful enough? Am I right? Or wrong? Everyone answers differently. Who is right? And who is wrong? I can't help it but to seek the answer. As men have different interpretations over certain things, I could only pray to Him... to enlighten me, to give me wisdom because eventhough information given by humans are worth to be learnt, they are knowledge worth to be gathered but true wisdom comes from God. AMEN.

Slowly, I realised it is actually something very simple. The love for Jesus is totally different from the love for my family. It is not comparable, not measurable. It is just...well, different! In the first place, when I came into this world from my mother's womb, it is already a gift from God. My parents raised me up and showered me with love and that is why God asks us to honour our father and mother which I definitely will even without Him asking. But God still reminds us all the time through His words because He does not only love me but He loves my parents as well. He loves everyone and His love is unconditional. Then I put it the other way round while I reflect the day when my earthly father passed away, can I stopped him from dying? Can I say NO to God? Can I blame God for bringing him away? No. Life goes on even after he is dead. In fact when I kept dwelling in the past made me feel sorrowful all the time. But it is only through God that makes me realised that there is something better awaiting me and feel joyful once again. I also thought that ain't my loved ones longing for this heavenly life at eternity as well? And I realised when I love Him above all else, I am loving my family and everything else more too! (Believe me because I am really experiencing this feeling.) Hallelujah!

As days passed while I continue seeking Him, I gained more and more revelations. When two persons are in love, they tend to act irrationally and emotionally which is unhealthy for the relationship. Yes even they are so in love but still end up breaking off due to arguments, jealousy, selfishness; the list goes on and on. I also reflect myself in my past relationships. Why did it not work out? And my current situation, how do I make it work out? If we put our focus in God, seeking Him above all else, we will know how to react wisely and it is only through that for a relationship to sustain. True love is still insufficient to have a lasting relationship. It comes with faith, patience, peace, grace, perseverance and wisdom to bind two persons together even they are far apart from each other. In fact, it is very important for a couple or husband and wife to walk hand in hand for Christ. When we serve Him wholeheartedly He will definitely let our relationship grow stronger and stronger and the love towards each other will also increase. Matthew 6:33 says Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously and He will give you everything you need. AMEN.

Just as I have so many doubts in my mind, God just kept pouring me with new insights. I just love Him more and more. I am sure He wants me to know the true message behind the statement. He is the only one who can pour upon me His unlimited healing power be it for my skin or my spine. It is the first time I ever felt such a speedy recovery for my spine injury. (Well I injured my spine for the 3rd time for those who don't know). On top of that, when I visited Christchurch not long after that, I was awed... it is truly amazing to see such wonderful landscapes and livings there. Mountains, snow, sea, dolphins, sheeps, etc. How creative our God is to put together all these wonderful things at different parts of the earth which at the same time are able to nurture more and more love from me to the world. So ask me again... how can I not love Jesus more than anything else? He is just so awesome! AMEN.