Small man Big dream

That one thing that I would surely leave with a heavy heart...

2010-02-04T08:50:00.001-08:00

After hibernating for the winter, I'm back blogging! Well, this post wouldn't be a "teaching" one so to speak. But rather a reflective piece, a piece that does not challenge, does not provoke intense thinking, a piece that would say what I feel about the importance of surrounding yourself with people that you can trust.

Well I just came back from dinner with Suyin, Victor, Kenson and Hsien Yew. While driving back, an intense inexplicable feeling just overwhelmed me. These are the people I will need in my walk with God. Everywhere I go, I had to lead, to encourage, to "show the right way", too many eyes looking, I cant afford to slip up. I have been pushing myself for way too long, but missed out on the pit stops that would give me the fuel to carry on racing. After today, God revealed it to me. If we are to achieve His vision, we need to sometimes be at the river and empty ourselves to Him, broken unto Him, to receive from Him.

Cf is the placed that brought me to who I am today. When I said," Mixing with cf ppl is just different!" Victor thought that I was implying it in a negative manner. It wasn't at all!! Haha. In fact, I have been promoting CF eversince in Monash! For me, it is a place where I can just forget about the 'What can I do for God' part and to immerse myself in the 'How great is God' part. It is a place where I find people that I can look up to, to receive from them and to learn their ways of doing things. It is a place where I really feel comfortable, to be just who I am. They may not be always encouraging me to push and carry on to pursue the vision that God has given me, but they are the ones who gives me the water along the way! which to me is equally important to us being the one who is running. Well, whether you like it or not, whether your a Christian or not, you will need people around you who holds the same conviction (whatever it may be) as you do to walk with you in your life!

We had a Korean dinner, and later went to Starbucks only to find that it will be closed at 11, so we proceeded to Brussels. And we sat there, and we talked, about relationships, about CF, about people, about church, about places, laughed, made the waitress mad inadvertently, ejek-ed each other, got to know what's going on with everyone. I felt relaxed, a feeling which I did not feel for a very long time , I felt at an inexplicable peace within which He was pointing me to. In everything we do, we need to someday, somewhere sit down and recuperate, to have a few breather. Or else, we'll find ourselves fighting a battle where victory seemed distant, which in fact is just a stone throw away, because we have forgot to polish our sword and armor. As it gets blunt, the harder it is for us to overcome our enemy, may it be pressure, stress, challenges, emotional upheavels, spiritual wilderness, that comes our way.

CF stands for Christian Fellowship. It is a place and a group of people I will definitely miss, even for only such a short period.

Next Post!

2010-01-20T23:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry for being so inactive in blogging! ; p Next post will be up in a few days time. Gonna reply to the question posed by anonymous commenter : )

2010

2010-01-02T06:10:00.000-08:00

Woo.. What a year it has been! 2010 looms. For some of us, we wont mind if we lived 2009 yet again. For others, 2009 is a year to forget. Yet for some, 2009 is where they cherished, but leaving no nostalgia and remorse behind, while looking ahead and greatly anticipating greater things to birth out in 2010. Yes, this is how we should look at 2010! Things of the past we could not change, things of the future is right in our hands. Ponder a moment about the power of choice! I wont set out a list of 20 resolutions for this year, only to find myself making the same on 31 Dec 2010, this is what I WILL DO, not what I HOPE FOR:

1) Widen my social network (network=upward mobility)
2) Understand the Cultural Mandate from the inside out
3) Intensify my study on renewable energy and investments(preparing for life after grad)
4) Getting equipped and help grow the church that God has called me to.

Wish you all a very Happy New Year !!! *burrpss... just had seafood lunch*

Born Christian?

2009-12-07T23:16:00.000-08:00

Have a sudden inspiration from Him to blog about this, I have been receiving alot lately, and I wish my mind acts like a Blackberry, jotting down and recording every single detail that has been revealed in great efficiency. Wow, I hope you guys are doing great whichever part of the world you are at now : )

I was thinking, in our Christian circle, we don't usually get that kinda bang-your-head-into-the-wall questions like :" Are you really a Christian?" But being a guy who refuse to be stuck in my own comfort zone enjoying life while seeing others being deprived of what they should get, I do venture out to a lot of dangerous territories that is potentially faith destroying, trying to understand how the world looks at us "Christians" and what do we represent in the world. My favorite hunting ground --> the world wide web : ) And certainly, the millions of people commenting on us "Christians" would serve as a good mirror for us to reflect on our spiritual maturity, and mind you, alot of the negative perceptions they have on "Christians" are heartfelt truths and don't brush them away as baseless allegations.

I've put the word CHRISTIAN in between inverted comas to highlight a point. Do you consider yourselve as a Christian? If God were to ever ask for a CV from you to enter the gates of Heaven into His kingdom, what qualification do you have? Is it something like this?

Christian Duties Fulfilled

1) Attended church every sunday
2) Born into a christian family
3) Served in the worship team for 30 years
4) Went into fulltime ministry at age of 45
5) Attended CF faithfully in my campus
6) Volunteered for mission trip once a year
7) Participated in orphanage visits
8) Elected as President of so and so Christian organisation

Hooray! Let me enter the gates!

Lets be frank, none of the above would ever buy us a ticket to heaven, and don't be surprised that many among us think that it will. There is no such thing as a "born christian"

John 1:12 : “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

When you believe in Jesus and confess that he is Lord and Saviour a transformation takes place in your life. And that transformation is called spiritual renewal where we are transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ where we nail our old self onto the cross and pick up His cross. We are born again and our body become the temple of the living Spirit. This is the point I want to make, spiritual renewal is a PROCESS and not an EVENT. In other words, the aftermath of receiving him and believed him is the profound and perpetual transformation of our lifestyle, speech, actions and thoughts to accomplish His work on earth.

However, this aftermath is lacking in most "Christians" that so many in the secular world have met and therefore forming a bad perception about God and aiding the work of the Devil in demonising Jesus.

I have my own experience too. I'm intrigued by certain comments and opinions of certain people who are just closed to the Word of God, and they are "Christians". Comments like :" Hann, i really like what you're saying but I still don't agree with you and I'm sticking to what I've learnt" I said what I've been saying are all biblical reference and if you don't believe what I'm presenting, then?? This is only one example, mail me if you want to know more of myriad of other experiences.

Where is the transformation power of the Word of God ? The aftermath that is should be? There are 2 possibilities:

a) The Word of God is not working
b) People are just listening but not acting

Whether its a) or b), it is obvious. Let us ask ourselves this question and really be truthful about our own spiritual state and walk with God. If we were living in Jesus' time, listening to what He was preaching(esp the Sermon on the Mount) and witnessing His works, will you be like the many who cursed Him and rejected Him? Or one of the few who truly understood His message. Has the transformation power of God ceased in your life? Has the renewing process stopped?

For Paul, his encounter with Christ was so great that he proclaimed: "For me to live is to die and to die is gain." Phil 1:21.

Many people reject the transformation process because it is the toughest to do when we REALLY deny ourselves and let God mold us. The chastening work of God is where most people hate, but the fruit of the chastening is where most people want. People just hate to be corrected and told off for being wrong, but liked the lessons learnt from it. The latter does not happen before the former. If we do not want to be transformed and go through the difficult process of being rebuked and convicted by the Spirit of God, we cannot experience the reality of God's love for us.

Let me assure you it wont be easy when we allow God to change us from the inside out, many of us will stumble, many of us will cry out in despair, many of us will walk away, many of us will blame God, many of us will start to hate God, many of us will falter. But be sure of this, He has promised:

"But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold."

Job 23:10

The More I See, The Smaller I Am

2009-11-21T03:22:00.000-08:00

Just started intern for one week, my initial feeling was one of excitement and great expectations to learn more, but its just a week, other thoughts have crept into my mind. One that is of discouragement, one that is of ill-equipped-ness and one that is of urgency. So if you were to taste my feelings right now, it would taste something like a banana blended with orange, bitter gourd, chilli and 2 tea spoons of Maggi Tomato sauce added together. Why?

God has placed in me a dream, a dream that He would want me to achieve to bring about a massive revival in Malaysia, that no matter what color of your skin is, what religion you believe in, what language you spoke, that we would see a whole new generation rising to be a blessing to this nation and multitudes of people coming to the Lord. He wanted me to impact the marketplace, and through the marketplace set an example to be His light and salt there. But after preparing the Standard Operating Procedure for a new plant in my industry I'm placed in, I walked towards the production supervisor who is a local Malay, only to find myself struggling to explain to him the SOP in Bahasa Malaysia, my National Language! I stammered, occasionally punctuating my lines with English and I pity him as he tried his best to understand me. I did get the message through, yes i did, but the manner in which I conveyed my message was nothing less than you-have-to-improve. And I walked away, with the Lord beside me, telling me that to impact this great nation of Malaysia, I will need to speak a language where the majority of the people could understand. A fresh revelation from Him!

That is just one of the case. These five days I have been in office, each day I had lunch with different group of people. And on thursday I sat in the pantry and had lunch with a few colleagues. Again, after initiating a conversation, I couldn't follow up. They were rattling away with laughter and at times I find it hard to understand what are they talking due to their accent. I tried desperately to connect with them, but the truth is I cant. Why? God said:" This is because you dont understand their culture, the language they speak and they way of living" I was stunned. And immediately my attention was shifted to myself, thinking how polarized I am, the way i think , the language I spoke, the people I know. Then God flashed His calling in my life, to impact Malaysia?? but not understanding the culture of more than 70% of the entire population and think that I can do it??

These few event did discourage me, but at the same time I was glad this happen when Im 20 years old now and God revealed how ill-equipped I am, really. But............... it added fuel to the fire I had for Malaysia. God used this event to spur me on and His promise was that He will be with me, guiding and ultimately elevating me into the position of influence in the marketplace, where He will use my influence to bring about a change in Malaysia.

Kristos Kai Kosmos, as preached by Rev A.R.Bernard. And the Cultural Mandate, as preached by Rev Kong Hee. To bring about a change in the culture and society we are living in we have to speak the language that people speak, and understand the culture they are immersed in. 2 more years to graduation, I will make it a point to brush up on my Bahasa Malaysia, and learn to come out of polarization in terms of people that I mix with. At the same time continue my study on Renewable Energy. 2 years Lord!! Make it count before i graduate!!!

Relationship That Matters: Part I (Debunking The Myth of 2 Cor 6:14)

2009-10-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, the most perplexing yet important area that concerns every youth and teenagers. So what say you on this? Must marry a Christian? Dating a non-christian is an absolute NO-NO? Never have feelings for a non-believer? These are some of the ideas that have been indoctrinated to most of us, but lets take a closer look at this crucial topic.

Most proponents of the idea that Christians can only date Christians (strictly) base their argument on 2 Cor 6:14 which says:" Do not be yoked together with unbelievers...." Now in a lot of youth groups and hard-hitting relationship sermons we often hear of prohibition of relationship between a Christian and a non-Christian, but a reality check will show that in fact we find many Christians doing the opposite and often conceal their relationships away from the eyes of the church they attend. Now here comes the problem, when youth and young people dare not be open about the relationship and bring about the problems they face in the church in fear of reprimanding from leaders, it does not help in one's spiritual growth and creates an impenetrable wall that segregates them from the very support that they need. If we don't preach and act on truth, then we find people stumbling unnecessarily on their walk with God.

2 Cor 6:14 have been used very narrowly to suggest that God prohibits relationship between a believer and non-believer. Ask the propagators on what do they think of the many people who have come to Christ because of their spouses, and they will find it tough to explain. In order to grasp what 2 Cor 6:14 means, you have to understand the context and situation of the passage in which Paul was addressing to. The believers in Corinth comprises of a small group of Jews believers but many of the new converts were from pagan background. As such, these new believers are finding it difficult to live out a Christ like lifestyle in a pagan culture. They wanted to be a Christian while still practicing the activities that marked the worship of Greek Gods. The passage in 2 Cor 6 was written to address this problem, Paul was exhorting them to embark on a different lifestyle when they accept Christ, and not achieving the PURPOSE of glorifying God with the practices of paganism (sacred prostitution and so on..)

If Paul was indeed referring to a marital context and was adamant that relationship with a non-believers is strictly prohibited, then is he contradicting himself in 1 Cor 7:12-16 and also Peter's word in 1 Peter 3:1-2 where they encourage husbands and wives whose spouses are not believers to continue to have faith that one day they might come to Christ?

In fact, there are no scriptural evidence to suggest 2 Cor 6:14 refers to marital issues

and we have to start learning to input God's truth into young people's lives and uphold the freedom of choice that was given to them. When we start preaching false truth, young people will have no conviction and all they think is that Christianity is all about Do's and Dont's.

Paul was saying that believers cannot achieve the same PURPOSE when they are all scattered in direction and do not have a same mindset. This is exactly why he used the parable of "unequally yoke" which also appears in Deut 22:10. An ox and a donkey yoked together for the PURPOSE of plowing a land will rather make a mess out of it rather then helping the farmer, why? Because they simply have not equal strength and the donkey are not meant for plowing! If you still insist on believing that 2 Cor 6:14 is about prohibiting relationship with non-Chrstians, then continue reading on verses 14-18 which suggests that we cannot even associate with non-believers on social terms (Now this you would surely disagree). A text read without context is a pretext.

Hey Hann, are you trying to justify that marrying/dating a non-Christian is right? you know the consequences of one doing so right... The answer to the question is NO. I'm not trying to do that , but I'm trying to liberate so many young heart hungry for God but impeded by man made rules and tradition. "Hey, but God really says marrying unbeliever is wrong!! Look at Exo 34:16 and Deut. 7:3!" My question to you is this if you are still adamant, what did God emphasize on after he gave the commands, or rather, His purpose of doing so? It's all about the relationship with Him. When the Israelites dint obey and intermarry with the pagan Canaanites, look what happened in Judges 3:6. Yes, they worshipped their gods and forsaken the one God who brought them out of Eygpt. Again, it is not a matter of right and wrong, we have to look at the greater PURPOSE behind it.

Look, if your decision is made out of obligation then the law is your god. When the freedom of choice that is given by God for decisions that is to be made out of love for Him is choked by rules after rules after rules, then people start to blame God when things are not right and they go wayward silently. When we pursue legalism instead of love and purpose, our faith is shrunk to a list of do's and dont's.

The understanding of this text has broader implications in our walk with God, such as in the realm of education, social lifestyle, marketplace, and many more and not confined to the marital area only.

While 2 Cor 6:14 does not refer to marriage, its principle certainly to apply to our dealings with relationships. When getting into a relationship, one may ask him/herself :" Where is this relationship heading to? Is it just to fulfill my desire to have a boyfriend/girlfriend? Or will it compliment both of us to grow closer to God?"

Our relationship with God is not a matter of obeying law but a motivation of love from the heart. This post is not to justify that dating/marriage with a non-believer is right or wrong, if God did not say anything, I wouldn't dare. But God wants us to make our decisions based on love for Him and to see the greater purpose behind doing everything, He doesn't wants us to be robots. This way, we find the true essence and meaning of the cross. And yes, do not put words into Gods mouth, you can see whether your doctrine is right or wrong just by observing the fruits : )

*How to choose a partner in Relationship That Matters: Part II*

BUSY TIME!

2009-10-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Hey peeps! For those of you who are wondering why posts are uploaded so freaking slow, yes, I'm currently busy juggling between my studies and other commitments. Well my sis wedding is just over so Sunday nights are free from practice! Next post will be on relationship and will change lots of pre-conceived mindset out there. Get ready! : )

-The mediocre teacher tells , the good teacher explains, the great teacher demonstrates, the history maker inspires- *a food for your thought*

Your Words Show Who You Are

2009-10-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

Mike:" Hey man, may i sit here?"

Matt:" Sure by all means, oh by the way, I'm Matt, nice to meet you!"

Mike:"I'm Mike, my pleasure to meet u too, that's a nice pair of hiking shoes you have..."

Matt:"Oh thank you, was planning to delay my climb for another day, the weather ain't too good out there, wanna have a cup of tea?"

Mike:"Sure dude thanks, yea i will have to delay my schedule too i think, snowing heavily out there... certainly won't make a good trip up there at 15000 feet.."

Matt:"Hey do you know something about tea? The secret to bring out its aroma is the temperature of water in which you pour it in the tea leaves... it must be at boiling temperature, in other words.. 100 degrees celsius brings the best of out tea.."

Mike:"Wow, you certainly do look like a tea enthusiast.. tell me more bout it..."

Matt:"Haha yea, I'm a fresh graduate from Monash and my thesis was on the effect of temperature on tea leaves.. currently applying for jobs..."

The two new friends rattled away and so the next morning both of them went up hiking the mountain together, and pitched a camp at the peak. Matt boiled water with a an open steel container, preparing to serve tea...

Matt:" Hey do you notice something, water always boils faster here.. Do you know why? "

Mike:" Errmm, enlighten me pls... would you?"

Matt:" The secret is the Bunsen burner that I'm using, this is state of the art and one of its kind burner that i purchased specially for hikers like me, the flame it produces is extremely hot.."

Mike:" Wow, really? Where did u get it from??"

Matt:" Urrmm.. in the States.. i can get it for you for $300 per piece.. and I happen to have an extra one at home.. interested in having one?"

Now the water was already boiling, and Matt poured it into the teapot.

Matt:" It taste just as good like we had yesterday isnt it.. now you can boast to your fren about the art of drinking tea... "

Mike:" Oh yes this is good at 15000 feet... Can we move out as soon as possible at dawn tomorrow?"

Matt:" Sure thing, why the hurry?"

Mike:" I have video conferencing with my fellow lecturers tomoro.. need to prepare some stuff beforehand"

Matt:" Oh.. you're a lecturer!! Which subject to you teach?"

Mike:" Oh physics.. my topic of research is on the variations of boiling temperature with height.."

Matt:" ....."

Our Purpose In Christ

2009-09-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

It's been more than a week since I posted, *wipes off the spider webs*. Wow, what a amazing week it has been and I do apologize for the lag, time flies and procastination has done its part in delaying this post. Enjoy reading it!

Lets put it straight, a life without a purpose is a life embarking on a aimless journey. Notice the title of this post, it is "Our purpose In Christ", and not "our purpose In Life". There is a reason why i chose to write on this, because by just switching from Christ to Life, our focus and attention is all but shifted. Now you may ask, what's the difference between those two? Too many of us Christians, are oblivious to the fact that we are still searching for our purpose in life even after we have Christ in us!!! I must say this, when you accept Christ into your life, your search for God, Meaning and Fulfillment ends right there, i.e. you have found your purpose in life. Christ is the beginning and the end, the perfector of our soul, the pillar of salvation, etc etc (fill in the blanks youself).

But now comes the intriguing part, having Christ in us, what's our purpose? If you don't get what I meant earlier, please digest and understand it first before you continue to read, it will save you lots of question marks later : ) So we must be very clear on this, there is a fine line between "Our Purpose in Christ" and "Our Purpose In Life". We Christians must learn to discover our purpose in Christ in order to fully understand why on earth are we still doing on earth?

The word purpose in the Bible originated from the Greek word Prothesis which means: a setting forth of a thing. Purpose drives us forward, it is the engine room for the things that we do now. Without a clear sense of purpose in Christ, our walk with him becomes mundane and solemn, our relationship disintegrates because we have nothing to look forward to, our faith is shrunk to a see-what-happens abstract, we do not understand what it means to have that unending joy within that only God can give. Our purpose, is the setting forth of something we want to achieve whereupon every life decision is based. Put it simply, if your purpose is to get rich, then you will try every means to earn big bucks (illegal ways included), if your purpose is to get fame, then you will align yourselve to achieve it(entertainment industry etc).

In John 3:17-28, God's purpose for Jesus' life was revealed to us. A careful study on Jesus life will see that what He did was to achieve the ultimate purpose of God in His life. And yes, we all are called for a purpose in Him, and it is revealed in Jesus' words in the two Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission. We call ourselves as Christ followers, but if we do not even heed what he has called us to do, then who are we really?

Our lives must be based on one single purpose, that is to be the agent of reconciliation and redemption to the world!

When we have this as our ultimate goal, we will begin to see things of the world in a different perspective. No longer would we judge how bad the world is, because our minds will be pre-occupied in thinking how do we reach out to them. No longer would we question why people are like this, why people are like that, because our attention is focused on HOW could we show them the everlasting Love. No longer would we argue on trivial issues like whether going clubbing or going into politics is the right or not, because we will be plotting out strategies to redeem the culture for Christ and be his banner! No longer would we argue among churches whether we should get out of tradition and be more contemporary, because our focus is on reaching out to the lost generation, on us being relevant to the world outside. No longer would we start to ponder which country is better for us to migrate to because of better job opportunity, because we know that God needs us to be here in Malaysia to bring about a change!

By saying this, though our purpose in Him is revealed , the method into achieving that purpose is not. We allow the Spirit to guide us in our respective lives. In fact, this is the reason why we our so diverse isn't it? Whether God calls us to impact the marketplace, to be a missionary, to be a church planter, to be a pastor, to be a politician, it is up to us to seek His wisdom to lead us. Come on everybody, we live on a Purpose in Christ!

Why I Fired My Secretary

2009-09-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Last week was my birthday and I didn't feel very well waking up on that morning.

I went downstairs for breakfast hoping my wife would be pleasant and say,
'Happy Birthday!' and possibly have a small present for me.
As it turned out, she barely said good morning, let alone Happy Birthday.

I thought.... Well, that's marriage for you, but the kids... they will remember.
My kids came bounding down stairs to breakfast and didn't say a word

So when I left for the office, I felt pretty low and somewhat despondent.
As I walked into my office, my secretary Jane said, 'Good Morning Boss, and by the way Happy Birthday!

It felt a little better that at least someone had remembered.

I worked until one o'clock, when Jane knocked on my door and said
'You know, it's such a beautiful day outside, and it is your Birthday, what do you say we go out to lunch, just you and me'

I said, 'Thanks, Jane, that's the greatest thing I've heard all day. Let's go!'

We went to lunch.
But we didn't go where we normally would go.
She chose instead at a quiet bistro with a private table.
We had two martinis each and I enjoyed the meal tremendously.
On the way back to the office, Jane said, 'You know, it’s such a beautiful day...
We don't need to go straight back to the office, do we?'

I responded, 'I guess not. What do you have in mind?'
She said, 'Let's drop by my apartment it's just around the corner.'

After arriving at her apartment, Jane turned to me and said,
'Boss, if you don't mind, I'm going to step into the bedroom for just a moment.
I'll be right back.' 'Ok.' I nervously replied.

She went into the bedroom and after a couple of minutes she came out carrying a huge birthday cake ... followed by my wife, my kids, and dozens of my friends
and co-workers, all singing 'Happy Birthday'.

And I just sat there..

And i was

Naked

Moral of the story is: you just have to laugh at this.

Re-thinking Education

2009-09-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

As I stood in the grand ballroom last Saturday, my heart was filled with awe and reverence as honoured men and women wearing immaculate robes strode past me towards the stage. I was thinking to myself, this is the end, the end of a memorable journey for them. Hereafter, they are left to fend for themselves in the harsh reality of the working world, where challenges awaits them as a litmus test to their perseverence and the practicality of their book-infested minds. One day, all of us will leave the Graduation Ceremony with jubilance, but also with a sense of trepedition of what lies ahead. Really, why is education so important?

The standard intelligient answers every student will give are:

1) I have to earn a living in the future!

2) It is a platform for me to accumulate wealth!

3) Girls/guys nowadays would only consider me with a certificate

4) I don't really want to study, my parents forced me to. =.=

Though it is true, I would like to challenge all of us undergraduates to understand and appreciate education in a different perspective. As the world progresses around us, we, the church, simply cannot afford to sit back and adopt the "see-what-happens" mentality. When Christ gave the Great Commission, He said 'go into the world' and not 'let the world come to you'. We receive education, and we get educated, besides the few points (or maybe more)mentioned above, so that we can go into the world outside the four walls of the church and start to make a difference. We cannot engage the sophisticated world out there without a comprehensive understanding of the marketplace.

Put it simply, if a professor comes to you and say:" hey, you know what, I have discovered that it is E=mc^3 instead of E=mc^2", you would most probably be convinced by him. In contrast to a person with no credibility in the field of physics saying to you the same thing, you will think that he is nuts. So the purpose of education, which has surprisingly eluded many people, is not about guarantee-ing us a high-paying job but for us to rise up to the

POSITION OF INFLUENCE

in the marketplace to bring Christ glory into it. (Matthew 5:13-16)

All of us will engage the marketplace someday, whether we like it or not. As obvious as it seems to be, probably the next 40 years of our lives would be spent on working in the the very field we are studying now. And believe it, these 40 years of our life will be the most fruitful years yet, if and only if WE HONOUR GOD with it. We have to switch our mindset, from that of seeking education to just earn a living, to a mindset that embraces the possibility of changing our workplace through us (by instilling integrity, transparency, efficiency, honesty) in which ever company/government that we are placed in that will ultimately reflect Christ's glory in us. By then, people will come to us and ask:" How did you manage to do that? I used to need to bribe to get the contract.....", and there will only be one answer to that : )

Look around us, so much potential in each of us! In my circle of friends itself, I have known people who are studying ACCA, Business, Engineering (woohoo!), Medicine, actuarial science, Law, and that's not the end of the list. If we begin to begin to pursue the purpose of glorifying God through our secular jobs in our capacity in the position of influence we are in, then we can see tremendous changes in our country, and they will come to know the love of Christ (It is no use hoping and praying for our country without us taking any bold and concrete steps towards it). Don't believe it can happen? Try looking at who or where Datuk Seri Idris Jala is now, or rather, his faith in the one God we all believe in. Also, I'm greatly inspired by the 200+ Malaysian medicine students in Russia who are eager to come back after their studies and start something here and impact the marketplace.

We have to take a new perspective on our education, and work hard to reach that position of influence in the marketplace, together, we can!

1 Samuel 2:30b: "But now the Lord declares:'Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor......." Lets us hold on to his promise! : )

Woohoo! It's up!

2009-09-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

This is my 1st time blogging ! And I already know the 1st two persons viewing this blogpost! I admire those who have the time “decorating” their blogs with fancy fancy background pictures and all.. I shall catch up with them in a moment : p I have many more things to learn from you seasoned bloggers!! Too many thoughts have occurred to me in recent months, and enlightenment from the Spirit is thoroughly on the way, so in setting up the blog I hope my cell members and you guys would be able to have an insight to my little life : ) I’m a small man, but hidden within lies a mighty God : )

As I was wondering what to write about, I felt compelled to discuss the one issue that played an integral role in molding me to what I’m called to do today, that is: the state of the church. Many of us understand the church as a building, but the original Greek word for church is ekklesia, which means “an assembly” and it is associated with PEOPLE, not any building. The Methodist, the Lutheran, the Southern Baptist, the Catholic is not the church (by the way, denominations does not exist in God’s eye), so what is the church? Or rather, who is the church?

In Ephesians 1:22-23, Paul explained that the church is the body of Christ, and the body of Christ is all of us who have confessed with our tongue and believed in heart that Christ is Savior and Lord. So, what is really troubling me?

Too many Christians that I have come across are being too inward looking in their walk with God in their lives, hey Hann, what do you mean by that? We are so focused on religiosity, on the do’s and don’ts, on matters pertaining to personal preference of worship styles, on emphasis on church traditions, and the looking at fundamental and simple issues like relationship and social living from a legalistic point of view. It bothers me, because self-centeredness have taken a role way higher than it should be, where man made rules have surpassed God given direction and wisdom, and ultimately:

RELEVANCE have given way to PREFERANCE

In Paul’s letter to the divided Corinthian church, the issue that was being addressed was maturity (1 Cor 3:1-2). When will us young Christians, who are supposed to be leaders of the future, start to realize it is not all about us in our Christian faith, but it is the lost out there in the very world we are called to reach out?