Life little lessons –9

One of the major problems in dealing with relationship issue is expectation.  If a person fails to live up to your expectation, you either lower your expectation in order to maintain the relationship or you will find that your relationship with that person has been strained.  Where do we get the expectation?  Expectation is being developed over time by our experiences in life and ultimately become part of our value system.  We project expectation on a person because we believe that person should be able to do it if we can do it.  Broken relationship is the result of unfulfilled expectation. Expectation also affects how we act or behave among people.  In a social context, we often modify our behaviour so that we can brand in the environment we are in.  Meeting expectation of others is a learned survival skill.  Trying to meet expectation of others will produce artificial relationship – a relationship based on cost and benefit.  If the relationship cost us more than the benefit that we receive, we will end the relationship.  Genuine relationship is hard to come by.  Genuine relationship is built on love as expressed in 1 Corinthians 13.

                        Can we have a relationship without expectation?  The simple answer is no.  All relationship will come with expectation.  God invited us to establish a meaningful relationship with Him despite of our shortcomings.  We can come to God just as we are.  We can approach God just as we are because of His promise and what Christ did on the cross.  Nevertheless, God does have expectation that we accept Him and believe in Him.  He also expects us to have a trusting relationship with Him through respect and love. 

                        Walter

Life little lessons – 8

Day by day, three things I pray.

To see Thee more clearly;

To love Thee more dearly;

To walk with Thee more nearly.

How can we see God more clearly?

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”.  Matthew 5:8

How can we love God more dearly?

“He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me.”  John 14:21a

How can we walk with God more nearly?

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  Ephesians 4:1-3

                        Walter

Then

Surprisingly, my daily devotion for last Monday was again Isaiah 6:8.  It is extremely rare that the same Bible verse is being used in two daily devotions of the same month, let alone in the same week.  However, this second time around it emphasized the first part of the verse 8, in a way that answered my prayer about "discernment".

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying..." Isaiah 6:8a

Indeed Isaiah was able to discern (hear) the Lord's Will because he was raised as a prophet.  Yet the most important word that captured my attention was the word "Then".  When and why was it possible for Isaiah to discern?

"Woe to me!" I cried.  "I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips, ...."  Isaiah 6:5

"Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he has taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."          Isaiah 6:6-7

THEN I heard the voice of the Lord .....

All these years I have read this passage focused on "Send me"; but totally missed out on Isaiah's confession of his sins to God in verse 5. In the same way I have overlooked how God cleansed and removed guilt BEFORE Isaiah was able to discern God's Will. 

In Alpha we were taught that prayers consisted of A = Adoration
                            

                                          C = Confession
                                          T = Thanksgiving
                                          S = Sublimation

How can I be so blinded to the fact that "confession" is such an important element to my prayer life, let alone the venue to "discernment" ?

Rather than just praying for discernment for SMSL, I need to back track one step... to quietly confess my own sins to the Lord; trusting in His forgiveness to re-establish my communication channels with Him through the blood of Christ on the cross.  THEN and only THEN will I be able to hear His voice!!

"But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord, to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?"                     (Jeremiah 23:18)

"Here am I, send me!"

 jane

Life little lessons - 7

A few years ago, Jane taught me the difference between brokenness and crushed.  There is a big difference between brokenness and crushed.  “Brokenness” means that things are breaking apart.  “Crushed” means that things are being broken down into powder form.  When God reshape us, we need more than brokenness; we need to be crushed.  Only when we are crushed into powder form, then water can soak the powder for the reshaping process.  God reshaping process begins when we are crushed.  In Issiah 53, Jesus was described being crushed for our iniquities.  Do you feel you are being crushed at this time?  Welcome to the club!  With God’s help, we shall overcome.

Walter

給大蕃薯....


大蕃薯,

        一般人都認為死亡是人生的終結.  但相信你我有不同的看法—死亡不是生命的結束, 而是另一個生命的開始(永生).  然而, 生命不在乎長短, 重要的是生命裡有沒有價值, 亦即是各人要把握或珍惜在世上有限的時間. 在這段時間裏活得有意思嗎?  神希望人在地上活得有價值, 相信動物, 植物等亦然 (雖然牠們沒有永生, 這是個人的看法).  Cookie 生命雖短, 但牠留給你們的是令你們開心愉快的回憶.  這已是牠最大的價值了.

    我也曾飼養過一隻貓, 有五年之久.  在牠年老得病, 目睹牠身體日漸的瘦弱, 乏力, 衰殘(失禁)的時侯, 內心那份痛苦你也明白.  同樣地, 我也選擇了結束牠的生命.

    掌管生命的是神, 但肯定牠不會有私心, 否則祂不會是公義的神(太5:44-45).  神不會因人的外表漂亮或醜陋來厚待你或拒絕你, 因衪愛每一個人.  人生裡有許多負擔(生活, 工作, 經歷, 情感), 但神已籍主耶穌背負人一切的擔子, 只是盼望人能將生活的擔子交託衪罷了(太6:25-32).  故此人所能負擔或承受的卻是有限的(林前10:13).

    與你們一同懷念 Cookie!
                                                      
                                                  海倫

Life little lessons – 6

Life is like a boat in the middle of ocean.  It would not stay calm for too long.  Sometimes it needs to ride the waves.  Sometimes it needs to go full steam towards the storm.  Sometimes it is wise to steer away from the eye of the storm.  To keep the boat afloat, it certainly needs knowledge, wisdom and skill to manage the sudden changes of the weather system. 

                        Our survival instinct is trying to do something to gain control of the boat once it starts rocking.  We won’t stop until our attempt proves fruitless.  We are restless and keep on searching for a solution.  We seem to forget about God who is in the boat with us too.  Life is not a fairy tale; we will encounter our fair share of stormy weather.  The big lesson of life is to learn to trust Him.  When in doubt, wait for God to act.  Don’t jump off the boat.  

                        Walter

Ten Ten

"If ten is a perfect number, then "ten ten" should be the absolute very best.  That's why John 10:10 means so much to me.  I think it is such a marvellous, "double duty" offer from Jesus."  A priest friend once told me jokingly.

 

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."   John 10:10

 

In Alpha, Sheila once showed me the way to understand a passage better by reading it a second time and substituting my name into words (within parenthesis in this case).  I am sending you this passage below from my BSF homework on John 10:10.  May I encourage you to try out this exercise using your own name in places with "parenthesis"?

 

 

Jesus not only came to give (believers) eternal life, He wishes (them) to experience at present this eternal life to the full-abundantly.

 

- Abundant life means the fullest expression of Christian life, when (you) not only receive Christ into (your) life, but also give Him full lordship in every known area of (your) life.

 

-  When (one) literally lives by drawing upon His exhaustless source of joy, peace, love, patience, self-control, power, strength to endure, and ability to meet every situation,

 

- life becomes abundant, zestful, adventuresome, without fear, and (one's) personality is fully integrated.

 

- It is this full life that He has come to give (His believers).

 

Do you see what I see? 

 

May the Lord show us the way to draw on His joy, peace, love, patience, self-control, power, strength to endure, and ability to meet every situation ....... at this time ....... for SMSL.

 

Praise Him,

 

jane

Life little lessons - 5

                       “What does God do all day?”  If the answer to that question depended on how much we allow God to do in our individual lives, some of us would have to reply, “Not much!”  In difficult situations, it is easy to say we trust God and yet try to handle things ourselves without turning to Him and His Word.  This is the mark of unbelief.  Although God is constantly working, He allows us to set a limit on the degree of work He does for us.  In Mark 6:1-6, Jesus tried to do mighty things in His hometown.  Because the people saw Him merely as a carpenter’s son and not as God’s Son, they limited what He can do for them, (v.5).  So Jesus moved on to other towns.         

                        “He could do no mighty work there……..And He marveled because of their unbelief.”  (Mark 6:5-6)

                   Walter

Where will He send?

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
      And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"   (Isaiah 6:8)

Eleven years ago, I started serving in SMSL, co-chairing the Spiritual Development committee.  After a "successful" retreat, Mrs Chin (the pastor's wife who passed away 6 months later) drew me to one side and shared Isaiah 6:8 with me.  With her usual loving and gentle voice, she looked into my eyes and patiently explained that God has a very special plan for "me" and that I should never give up serving Him when I am called.  Because of this, "Here I am, send me!" became my calling for many ministries over the years in SMSL.  In particular, when the leader turned down her role to participate in "Experiencing God", this very verse gave me strength and courage to take over.  Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 12 ladies completed this rather intensive program even though I had no former training of any kind and the 13 weeks were supported only by prayers.

This morning the same passage came up in my daily devotion. Tears rolled down my cheeks ......., especially when it quoted "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).  

Apart from the time when Mrs Grace Chin passed away, this is the most "difficult" time for me in SMSL.  Caught between the lawsuit, personal convictions, long time friendship and Faithfulness to the Lord, which is the "correct" way?  How do we discern?
WWJD?

Where will He send?  Or does it matter?

 jane

Is this church right for me?

Is this church right for me?

Dear Matilda,

If you attend a church where you are not being encouraged, you may need to consider looking for a new congregation. But first, you have to ask yourself: are you going to church for social activities or spiritual development?

God never intended the church to be an entertainment centre where people merely engage in "spectator sports." He wants us to reproduce ourselves in others.

Let me expand on the words “spiritual development”:

Acts 2:42-47 gives the blueprint for building a Godly church and we can be spiritually developed under this kind of environment:

1.  Biblical Teaching: sound doctrine is preached and Scripture is accurately proclaimed. (i.e. by not changing the Bible)

2.  Fellowship: when we are actively involved in other people’s lives and when people are involved with yours by edifying, and encouraging one another’s spiritual well being, we have achieved Fellowship.

3.  Prayer: the church must commit itself to corporate prayer that’s to show we acknowledge our total dependence on God.

4.  Sharing: understand each other’s needs and help out the best way we can. This is an expression of our love to one another.

5.  Joyful church: members of the church are joyful when members are making an impact on the world, loving each other, and seeing God at work. The church had joy because it was focused on God's glory and praised Him accordingly. Unity is achieved when we focus on God and not on our personal agenda.

Matilda, if you are looking for a church to go to, reference the above 5 points would be helpful.

However, you should know that there is no perfect church. Remember too, you have a responsibility to actively use your spiritual gifts for the benefit of the body of Christ.  There must be a balance between having your needs met and allowing yourself to be used by God to meet the needs of others.

Love you dearly Matilda,

albert

Life little lesons - 4

Life little lessons – 4

                      The power on ONE

                       It only takes one spark to get a fire going.

                       It only takes one step to start a journey.

                       It only takes one lie to destroy a relationship.

                       It only takes one talk to smooth out a conflict.

                       It only takes one encouraging word to save a despair soul.

                       It only takes one unselfish deed to change a heart of stone.

                       It only takes one handshake to begin a peace process.

It only takes one friend to cheer a wounded heart.

It only takes one voice to break the silence of injustice.

It only takes one shout to wake up an unrepentant heart.

It only takes one laugh to brighten up a gloomy room.

It only takes one act of kindness to touch an unresponsive spirit.

It only takes one helping hand to bring hope for the neglected.

It only takes one determination to move a mountain.

It only takes one mistake to lose everything.

It only takes one faith to build up a community.

It only takes one hope to unite a community.

It only takes one sin to ruin a nation.

It only takes one gossip to break up a family.

It only takes one man died on the cross to save the whole world.

It only takes one prayer, one submission, “let it be me!”, to make the impossible dream comes true. 

  

Walter Wong

Life little lesons - 2, 3

Life little lessons - 2

Mystery in Life!  One of the mysteries in life that we have to deal with is things we don’t want to happen, it happens, and things we want to happen but it won’t.  Look at the birth of Jesus.  Elizabeth wanted to have a baby all her life, it didn’t happen until she gave up hope at her advanced age.  Then God gave her a son, John, the Baptist.  Mary who was unmarried at the time, never expected to have a baby before her wedding, was told to have a son.  What an irony!.  Nevertheless, one big lesson we ought to master in life is to trust God.  His timing is always perfect.  Trust God instead of our own leaning, is sure get us going through our life easier and happier.

Life little lessons - 3

You are richer than you think!

The Bank of Nova Scotia has a TV commercial driving the message “You are richer than you think.”  The purpose of the commercial is to make people feel good about their investment with Nova Scotia.  From a spiritual perspective, do we realize that, as Christian, we are richer than we think?  We are being loved more than we realize, we are being care of more than we realize, we are being nurtured more than we realize. Give thanks to God always. 

Love in Christ,

Walter Wong

Cookie

Cookie

一月八日, 是我人生中另外一次面對死亡. 所不同的, 今次不是人的離別,而是要輿我養了足足三年的Cookie 分開. 三年, 雖然不是一個很長的時間, 但已足夠令我們傷心難過.

很多人都認為我們養狗頻頻撲撲,取苦來辛, Why bother?  但當中的喜樂以及中間的感情, 又豈能別人所領受呢？  個中的道理, 正如我們信了主的人, 每星期一早起床去教會研經, 事奉等等, 未信的人也會說一聲 Why bother?  但你與神之間的關係, 個中的甘甜, 豈能是那些非基督徒所領會呢？

Anyway, Cookie 是一隻好狗, 只可惜生命太短暫.  我選擇了結束他的生命, 不用他辛苦. 但其實我也有私心, 就是不想自己太過負擔, 不好受. 上帝也掌管了我們的生命, 不知道衪安排我們的生命時, 可否也存有私心, 按衪的喜好去安排呢？

Cookie, we remember you always!

                                                                           大番薯

Life little lesson -1

Life little lesson -1

                        We all experienced the difficulties of getting in shape.  We may consider various ways to get in shape.  We may read articles about how to get in shape.  We may decide to buy an exercise machine to help us to get in shape.  However the bottom line is how to continue doing the exercise.  We may have great plan, but it won’t help us if we don’t act on it.  Acting on it alone is difficult, but if we have others to work out together will definitely improve the chances of success.  This is the same of fighting the spiritual warfare.  If we fight it alone, we would fail.  If we encourage one another in the fight, we will succeed.  Therefore, don’t cease gatherings and fellowship with one another, as it may prove fatal. 

Walter

Why go to church?

Why go to church?

Many years ago, I had this inclination that I didn’t need to go to church to be close to God.

When we go to church on Sunday, it is mainly to attend the worship service. But worship should be done on a daily basis not just on Sunday. The breaking of bread is to remember Christ’s death, His resurrection and His second coming, I always hold on to this hope everyday. Furthermore, I can get lots of good sermons on TV or on the Internet. So why bother to go to church?

However when I came across these Bible verses in Hebrew 10:24-25. It had changed my mind.
Heb 10:24-25 “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

1. Worship should not be the only or primary reason to go to church.
2. Your involvement and commitment in church will lead to the level of intimacy that stimulates fellow believers ‘TO LOVE AND GOOD DEEDS.”
3. And in the church setting (when believers meet) we can encourage one another in good times and bad times.
4. We are accountable to each other so that we remain faithful to our Lord the rest of our lives.



Therefore we should go to church to be involved, encouraged and most of all to be accountable to each other. Just remember Prov 13:20 “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
“Let’s not forsake our own assembling together.”

Albert