Things I Should Have Done (A Good Friday’s Sharing)
Alighting from the bus this afternoon, I realised that I did not do the things I should have done properly. Passing a friend by, my mind was so focused on things and works that I overlooked greeting him/her or, even worse, his/her greeting to me. Waking up at 5am almost every day, instead of spending time in communion with God I had almost every time gone back to sleep.
Things like that happen often, and I am usually struck with a sense of guilt and sometimes depression at the moment I found that I did not do the things I should have done; something or someone is missing in my heart. That often makes me feel bad; that often makes those around me to feel bad. The disciples were not attentive, “… he found them asleep…” [Matt 26:43] and that, as we know, was followed by a disaster.
In today’s perspective, owing to mankind’s weakness many disastrous incidents happen, but we must not give up, “… All things are possible for God” [Mark 10:27]. Nevertheless, while no one knows whether the little things that we are doing will result in fruitfulness or a disaster, the important principle is that immediately when we hear from God we obey, now. What made Good Friday and Easter Sunday significant to us is this: hope is bestowed to the hopeless, and reconciliation to the deserted.
“Never let the sense of failure corrupt your new action.”
Oswald Chamber
Therefore, I must not let mere-guiltiness disable me. Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus; the assurance of forgiveness stems only from faith in the unique Son of God – “… I resolved to know nothing except Jesus the Messiah, and him crucified…” [1Cor 2:2]. From such faith comes the confidence to dare to fail and try again (not the license to sin and sin again).
And I believe this is the essence of Easter Sunday commemorating Jesus’ resurrection: “… not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power…” [v. 5]. It is an ever-renewing life to see God’s greatness despite our weaknesses; it is the reality of Emmanuel – God is with us.
Friends, are you and I living in communion with the Risen Lord daily and continually? Or is that kind of reality… far from us?
Passion and Faith
Joseph Prince, a prominent Singaporean speaker, once warned all the girls and women who are still single: “Before you choose a man to be your life partner and decide to marry him, never mistake his zealousness for his faithfulness… A man can be a great leader of various ministries and yet fails to be faithful to God or to his wife.”
Zeal or passion is an outward expression of a person’s inward faith, the genuine source of which is Jesus – “… the pioneer and perfecter of the faith…” [Hebrew 12:2]. First and foremost, I must beware of having mere-passion; I agree with Wigglesworth, “I find you can have zeal without faith.” I must remember how Peter had sunk not long after walking on the water.
Peter answered him, “Lord, if it’s you, order me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come on!” So Peter got down out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came to Jesus.
How passionate Peter was… for a while…
But when he noticed the strong wind, he was frightened. As he began to sink, he shouted, “Lord, save me!”At once Jesus reached out his hand, caught him, and asked him, “You who have so little faith, why did you doubt?” As they got into the boat, the wind stopped blowing. Then the men in the boat began to worship Jesus, saying, “You certainly are the Son of God!”
[Gospel of Matthew 14:28-33]
Secondly, acknowledging that passion and faith must come together, I must also know in what manner of passion I am expressing my faith. The faith that comes from any source(s) other than the genuine Source always results in a short-lived if not counterfeit passion, which can be attractive to or repulsive against the people around. Such kind of faith either awaits a rebuke or will be proved fruitless eventually. For instance, remember how James and John were so filled with zeal that they wanted call fire down from heaven!
When his disciples James and John observed this rejection, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But he turned and rebuked them, saying, “You don’t know what kind of spirit you are! For the Son of Man did not come to destroy the souls of men, but to save them.”
[Gospel of Luke 9:54-56]
All of us go through moments of trials and temptations. During those moments, in one sense I grieve because of sins – my sins or others’, but in another sense I learn to rejoice because I will, being led by the Spirit of the Messiah, know more about myself – (1) whether my passion is a mere-passion or it is accompanied by faith and (2) if I say I’m moving by faith, whether my faith is drawn from the genuine Source or not – and I will then be able to change myself as I (continually) listen to and obey God’s clear instructions; I will then learn the difference between ‘holding to an outward form of godliness but denying its power’ [2Tim 3:5] and ‘having been rooted in Christ and are being built-up and strengthened in the faith’ [Col 2:7], pursuing the latter with joy and thankfulness, in the moments which are meant to test my faith.
A Happy Birthday In The Campus
My family was away during my birthday, and of course they remembered me 
. Well, I have had marvellous birthday celebrations here in Sabah. Last year it was in my previous pastor, Clarence, house together with a few friends. This year was different; I was spending my birthday in the campus, happily. Although I post this a bit late, I would like to thank all of you who remembered my birthday.
To SSMP 2nd year friends,
Thanks for the birthday party and the nice shirt, it suits me very well.
To Campus ABLAZErs,
The birthday cake was special, indeed! Yet, thanks but no thanks for the water splashing surprise! I’ll never forget that!
To my one of my gangs in the campus,
Thank you for bringing me to KFC and for the nice cup, I’ve already brought it to my office table. HEHE, you know what I’m talking about.
I would also like to thank those who have given great gifts to me. Thank you all!
I’ve just turned 22. This year is a challenging year for me especially in the area of management and academic, not to mention the big theme for me this year – the year of building genuine relationships.
All of you have made 12th of January memorable for me this year, thank you!
At Membakut, Sabah (A Christmas ShArIng)
After a moment of mental preparation, I was in tears while sharing on the topic of leadership during an impromptu public speaking session in the Student Council’s Induction Course organised by the university’s Student Affair Department (or Hal-Ehwal Pelajar) at Membakut, Sabah, on the 13th – 16th of December, 2008.
To begin with, I spoke to the participants – that is, the leaders within the Student Council – about what I learnt from the book “LEADERSHIP GOLD” by John C. Maxwell. Then, at one point of the sharing I roughly quoted Patrick Morley by saying that “although terrorist bombing is not common in this nation, imagine this: if it happens, the destruction would be disastrous and its aftermath hard to recover. So it is if we fail to control our emotion and anger as a leader: you just need one explosion and that’s it.”
After that, I went stuttering, being deeply troubled in my heart as some thoughts came to my mind and bursting out in tears before choosing finally to articulate it clearly to the audience: “I regret some of the things I did to my juniors last time as a captain during secondary school, now that after graduation I could only pray and hope that they will be influenced correctly by a good leader now and in the future.”
Subsequently, (after calming myself down,) I went on sharing about what I meant a good leader. “An effective leader might not always mean a good leader; Adolf Hitler was very effective, wasn’t he? Nevertheless, a good leader must be effective.” And I ended my sharing with this: “Therefore, even as I read different kinds of books and am open to many advices, I must look off to a good leader and hold on to a main, authoritative reference to truly understand the standard of living. So I present to you that, to me, the good leader is Jesus Christ, the only one who has never done anything wrong on earth and thus was and is and forever will be called the perfect Man, and the main reference is the Bible.”
What I had shared among them I also share with you now. That was just one of the many aspects of being changed by the Word of God. I was a hot-tempered person, and after knowing Jesus I wasn’t immediately changed; I went through a process of renewal by the Word of God and today, although I like you am by no means immune to the temptation to anger, I know at least that there’s an alternative way to overcome and to live a truly standard life, and that way is found in the Spirit of the Messiah as well as the God-breathed words in the Bible.
That way is neither to live by mere sound philosophies nor to merely adhere to laws and regulations – it’s a loss to think that the Bible and Christianity contain only those things – but the way of the Saviour and the Lord of heaven and earth is far more than just philosophies, laws and regulations; that way points to a genuine relationship between God and mankind restored through Jesus the Messiah. (Messiah in Greek: Χριστός, pronounced as khris-tos’ and translated as Christ, which means the Anointed One or the Chosen One.)
“In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God.” – [John 1:1-3]
As the saying goes, “Like father like son”; “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” [John 3:16] the Word also so wanted to be genuinely related with mankind that he humbled himself in this way: “The Word became flesh and lived among us.” [continued from John 1 above, verse 14] That Word is God’s only Son.
This has come to pass after a cry was heard at a little manger in Bethlehem, on Christmas day. It was a cry of an innocent baby bearing the consequence of mankind’s sins. And, going through human growth from baby to childhood to adult, he has taught us by setting himself as a sinless, perfect example (and thus, as a good leader) while he was on earth and, more than that, he suffered, died (not for his own sin but to take away our sins) and rose from the dead before sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God, from whom he came [Hebrew 10], for us to follow him and his standard of living. Today, such genuine relationship continues through his Spirit, until the time we see him face to face during Perfection in the Last Day – until eternity.
That is the Good News according to the Bible. And that is why I celebrate Christmas. Friends, do you celebrate Christmas? Is the reason behind that celebration the Good News according to the Bible or something else? Don’t replace what is perfect with what is imperfect. “No human is perfect…” shouldn’t end just there; it should instead end this way: “… except Jesus the Messiah.”
Let me end this sharing with a song,
Jesus loves me, yes I know,
for the bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong,
they are weak but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so!
(This is a sharing for Christmas in the year of 2008 with 888 words including reference, excluding this last sentence, counted with Microsoft Word.)
First Two Weeks Of December, 2008
From 30th of Nov to 2nd of Dec: I was one of the representatives sent from UMS Student Council to Melaka for a patriotic convention – Rukun Negara Convention
Then, I went home for 3 days and went to a musical called Heartbeat in Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC), before going back to Sabah on the 6th of Dec.
Those events were unplanned, I didn’t expect to go home before I knew about the convention. Well, thank God for the opportunity just to catch up with my family and meet my friends in Petaling Jaya last week.
The convention was held in A Famosa, Melaka, a beautiful place. And in the musical were performed international dances. I was very blessed. After arriving at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), my friend straight away brought me to another Christmas event called Carols by Candlelight organised by Sutera Harbour. You can view some of the pictures in my Facebook! albums (Rukun Negara Convention, Heartbeat Musicals, Carols by Candlelights).
Above all, a few days after those events, I would like to share something in my next post about what I have learnt. Stay tuned…
Throughout November, 2008
A list of thanksgivings for things that has happened in November, 2008.
Managing Money
The church started a sermon series on Money. Different pastors teach on topics ranging from tithing, giving and saving to investments, debts and lending, incorporating them with biblical perspectives as well as guarding them against the system of the world. I’m very impressed when pastor said, “If you love God with all your heart and mind and strength, that doesn’t mean that you’re a good parent/leader/student; you have to learn to be one.” Practical skills are important in our life on this earth. I find this series of sermons very practical for me as a student.
Growing in exercising spiritual gifts
Pastor John gave us a list to assess our spiritual gifts. My result from highest to lowest score: (1) Administration, (2) Leadership, (3) Help, (4) Discerning of the spirits, (5) Word of wisdom, (6) Teaching. We’re told that the score changes from time to time, but the basic principle is to use the gifts God has given us to serve him and the people around us. God multiplies the gifts he has for us as we keep desiring and practising the gifts that he has already given.
Exams
Alright, I made a blunder in some of the subjects… Yet thank God overall still OK (according to my target, hopefully). Hmmm…
Overcoming Temptations and Habitual Sins
Temptations are bound to come… When God’s words is not in my heart (or in other words, if I forget God’s Word), I often find myself yielding to temptations and evil thoughts, resulting often in evil actions, and before long I find myself falling into habitual sins. The root problem is whether God’s Word is in my heart or not. If he is not in my heart (or in other words, if I forget/ignore him), it means lies and deceptions. God help me to live a repentant life, to stop sinning, and to continually do his will. Examples of habitual sins: mumbling, grumbling and complaining.
High School Musical 3
I watched the movie High School Musical 3 with my cell group friends just a few days after it was released (before exam). The songs compositions and dance choreographies were very nice, though the messages that are sent out should be understood in the correct perspectives. We had a discussion after the movie. It was good.
Lifestyle
I ate a lot during this exam month… grumbled a lot, too… Hmmm… talk about discontentment… Got to learn the way to live a lifestyle with contentment…
Post-Election Thoughts
Thank God I made it through the UMS Election into the Student Council or Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar (MPP), which had its first meeting yesterday noon. The post I am in charge of will be disclosed on Wednesday in our second meeting.
I would like to thank all of my friends who came out to vote last Thursday, much more those who helped me campaigned by distributing flyers, spreading SMSs as well as hanging banners and posters before the election. Thank you all, indeed!
Friends
Friends matter in campus life. “You may have met hundreds of people, but there’s no way you can really know more than a handful of people. You’d be lucky if you had three real friends.” – [Source unknown]
“I realised that I had a thousand acquaintances but, at that moment in time, less than three genuine friends. I have worked on this area of my life, and today I believe I have five real friends including my wife.”
Patrick Morley, author of the Man in the Mirror
A Warning From Heaven
Just a day after the election result was finalised, I cried out to God and asked him to help me through this coming one year to be strong while serving in the Student Council. And during the afternoon nap that same day, I had two dreams. Now, not all dreams come from God or his angels. Some dreams are just dreams and nothing else, and some dreams come from the devil. We must not believe in every spirit. “Instead, test the spirits to see whether they are from God,” – [1John 4:1] and, “… the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things…” – Jesus – [John 14:26], for every person who believes in God’s only Son has his Spirit living in that person. [1 Corinth 12:3]
Dream 1
I was climbing up an ancient tall tower. After I reached the top and took what I wanted – which is a treasure looked like purified silver – I saw myself rushing back home, and there was my younger brother offering himself freely to help all the way through, going up to and down from the top of the tower while taking stuffs such as the tools and equipments for me, as I was carrying the heavy treasure on my hand. At one moment on the way going down the tower staircase, I saw my younger brother looking at me bitterly.
Dream 2
I was sick – just a mild sickness. I saw myself standing in front of a modern clinic, where a voice asked me, “Are you alone?”, to which I replied, “I have a group of 5 friends with me.”
After ‘Dream 1’ and ‘Dream 2’, I woke up. Those two dreams were from God,
1) The first dream reminded me of the importance of the relationship within my family. Am I distracted by earthly treasures, to the extent that I neglect the relationship with my family members? My family is not around with me in Sabah, this is a warning from God so that I keep in touch with my family.
2) The second dream reminded me of my relationships with the people around me in Sabah, especially my friends. When I am down, do I look only to my own problems and pay no attention to my friends who are there with me and who are concerned for me?
Our Father in heaven speaks into our lives at his sovereignty (God’s instructions can come through not only the Bible and the Church, but also our parents, dreams, visions, the elders, our teachers, our friends, the children, and even our enemies), and when he does that, we must make sure we respond correctly according his Spirit and his Word.
Practical
Campus life as an MPP member may be busy, but let’s keep one another in prayer so that as we stay close to Jesus, the best friend we can ever have, we also make every effort to express our love in action and in truth to our family and friends while we’re still alive on earth.
“This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.”
Jesus – [Gospel of John 15:12-15]
My Theme In The Fourth Year
After the 3rd reunion anniversary with my Father was a week of holidays. As I spend some time quietly with God, I was kept being reminded about the importance of genuine relationships over religion, and this is my personal theme for the fourth year of my Christian life,
Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Paul – [The First Letter to the Corinthians 13:13]
Campus life can sometimes be busy and stressful – we are human – and many times people find relief through religion. Nevertheless, I can go to and serve in church, serve in university and in school while keep studying hard to maintain if not improve my academic performance – I can do all those things and still not having a genuine relationship with my Father and his loved ones – you and I are his loved ones.
To practise mere religion is to have no relationship with God at all. Relationship is grown deeper between two beings only when one is continually communing with another. Mere merits through good deeds and ritualistic practices relate to religion, but a genuine relationship through Love, Hope and Faith leads us directly to God himself and, when we remain one with God,
“At that time you will know that I am in my Father, that you are in me, and that I am in you… the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things…”
Jesus – [John 14:20, 26]
Love, Hope and Faith underlie the foundation of genuine relationship between God and mankind. These principles are applicable among mankind ourselves as well. In my coming articles I will share about this theme of my 2008/09 term in University Malaysia Sabah (UMS), stressing on the importance on genuine relationships over mere religion. After that I’ll share my thoughts on Love, then Hope, and lastly Faith. But, as the saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words.” Pray that I’ll really grow in God this year.
The 3rd Reunion Anniversary With My Father
I forgot when I accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour (maybe around April, 2005) but I remember vividly the time I was first baptised – 25th September, 2005 (baptism simply means that I declare publicly, “I’m a Christian. Jesus is my Lord forever!”) So I just make this day a special day for myself in remembrance of the Reunion with my Father in heaven.
This sharing is also a sequel to my previous article ‘Mere Impressions and Clear Instructions’.
Jesus’ words recorded in the Bible are in red colour.
“The wind blows where it wants to. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. That’s the way it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Jesus – [Gospel of John 3:8]
God’s clear instruction for us truly come with deep impression in our hearts (or our spirits), but our mere impressions after that might not always mean that they come from God. Our faith in God can only be consolidated through continually listening to and believing in God’s clear instructions (or what God has said) – “That’s the way it is…” Conversely, those who believe (or have faith) in themselves do so by their human/fallen/sinful nature; they follow their own thoughts, only hold to their individual principle and nothing else – “… they don’t know what they’re doing.” [Luke 23:34] (No one is immune to the human nature; I once lived like that, too, and it’s shameful to see the sins I’ve done with such nature! Thank God that, through his Son who takes away the sins and shames of the world, his Spirit restores the New nature into everyone who is willing to believe and follow him. But if I’m not careful, I may repeat the same mistake. Therefore, I hereby also sincerely apologise for all my wrong doings that may have hurt you or made you stumble, if you know me personally. Forgive me… more than that, pray for each other that we may stay close to Jesus, who is the one and only man that lived perfectly sinless on earth, and learn from him.)
To focus our minds on the human nature leads to death, but to focus our minds on the Spirit leads to life and peace. That is why the mind that focuses on human nature is hostile toward God. It refuses to submit to the authority of God’s law because it is powerless to do so. Indeed, those who are under the control of human nature cannot please God.
Paul – [The Letter to the Romans 8:7-8]
… about Hui Yi’s Testimony
Let us consider the case of Tee Hui Yi, the miracle girl last december in Malaysia who has undergone two heart-transplant surgeries and survived. This was her encounter,
“It was two days after my second transplant. As I was resting, each time I closed my eyes, I saw him. He had dark eyebrows and long curly hair. It was Yesus! I knew him from pictures I had seen of him. He looked at me with eyes that seemed to tell me, ‘I will take care of you,’ and seemed to invite me to trust him.”
Tee Hui Yi – [Interview in Asian Beacon, Vol. 40 No. 2, page 24-25]
Indeed, “The wind blows where it wants to. You hear its sound…” is no longer an analogy of the wind but a Reality of the Spirit, who revealed Jesus to Hui Yi. Now, will Hui Yi, after her encounter with the Spirit of God (and being deeply impressed), grow faith by keeping on closing her eyes and desiring to see the Jesus in visions or dreams again and again? No, of course! If she thinks (or relies on her mere impression) that she can grow faith like that, she will surely be very disappointed at the end of the day; the move of God’s Spirit is not under anyone’s manipulation; he is sovereign (or he works in his own way), “…you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.” The only way to grow faith is only through continually listening to and believing in God’s clear instructions – “That’s the way it is….”
… about My Testimony
To be frank, I don’t personally know Tee Hui Yi or how she is now; I just read about her testimony in the magazine. Here, this is my own testimony on conversion:
(We dream when we’re asleep; we see vision when we’re awake.) Some spirits came to me through dreams and visions at different nights to impress me, “I am Jesus,” or, “I’m sent by Jesus,” so that I follow the instructions given by them; now, who was the real one? It was fearful, that’s the problem; God is love and ‘there is no fear where love exists.’ – [1John 4:18] They were not from God but were just gods and spirits – they’re liars. So I thought (or impressed on myself that), ‘How I wished to see the real Jesus in my vision or dream so that my faith in God can be boosted! I think that should be the way. Yes, God, please reveal yourself to me so that I can see you, because I’m so confused by those liars now that I find no meaning to continue my life!’
As a result (on the contrary), I was hit from disappointment to disappointment, seeing the false spirits, who deceptively came with ‘good intentions’ (e.g. they quoted the Bible and claimed that they were angels from God!). Those days (during Form 6 or Pre-University period) of spiritual darkness were tough for me. Without the Word of God, I might not be here today to share with you. The Word of the Father authored by his Son and enlightened/instructed by his Spirit* is the only weapon against the camouflaged visions, dreams and voices/instructions of the Enemy given by liars, whether these liars are living humans or deadliest daemons!
“Is it because you have seen me that you have believed? How blessed are those who have never seen me and yet have believed!”
Jesus – [Gospel of John 20:29]
*Source: Smith Wigglesworth’s sermon on “The Author and Perfector of Faith”
… about Mere Impressions and Clear Instructions
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have known me, you will also know my Father.”
Jesus – [Gospel of John 14:6]
Dear friends, have you known Jesus, so that you also know the Father and thus live by his clear instructions? Or has it often been a sad lament, “I have not kept in touch with the Father; he seems like hiding away from me,” or worse still, “I don’t know who my Father is or what he wants,” so that you live by your mere impressions? I ask those questions daily to myself, too. God is God whether we believe in him or not, so why resist him (and estrange ourselves from him)? Friends, the Father is always eagerly waiting for us, so that we will turn back to him and embrace him (with tears of joy)! Remember: God loves you whoever you are; he sent his Son to die for us so that we can be forgiven of our sins and be healed and restored by his Spirit in order to receive eternal life. “And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent — Jesus the Messiah.” – That was Jesus’ prayer to his Father (at the critical time before going through the Great Suffering on the Cross) for us – “Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth.” [John 17:3, 17]
ONE more indirect lesson: If you find it difficult to follow this God whose Son has died for us, pray (and listen to the clear instructions of his Spirit); the reason for us to pray is that Jesus did so; only this perfectly sinless Man is qualified to be our highest Teacher and Example (on earth); follow Jesus; only believe!
