Tonight I went to GCC and attended their special meeting. Dr. Kim Sung Hae, the wife of Rev. David Cho Yonggi was the speaker. Though she is already 65 y.o., she still travels around the world to minister the Word of God.
For those who have never heard a Korean spoke in English before, they would find it hard to understand her. Nevertheless there was Mandarin translation by Ps. Chin Fui Yun from GCC.
At the end, Dr. Kim also played on the piano.
Ivy Voon led P&W. Andrew was on the guitar. Alice Hiew - keyboard. Terence Lim - drums. Elizabeth Chung - back-up singer. Kenny Lim - Facilitator.
Today we had Rev. Dr. Simon Wong, the General Secretary of Malaysia Bible Society as the speaker.
He shared on how important in reading the Word of God. We should be reading, studying, memorising, meditating and applying the Word of God.
He told a story of how a church leader should be doing all of the above but one particular person did not do it. One day he had a dream and dreamt that when he opened his Bible, all he could see were blank pages. Then he really showed us a Bible with blank pages between the covers.
He then challenged us while we have the opportunity, to turn back to the Word of God and not wait until the blank pages appear and then even with regret, it would be too late.
When we do not stand on the Word of God, we will be walking on sinking sand.
The Word of God is important because it is our compass, it changes our life, it is our spiritual food. We need it to be a victorious person.
God can change a person, not because of the person’s ability/philosophy but because there is power in the Word of God.
We need to be set free from all bondages. The truth will set us free.
Lastly he exhorted us to make an effort to read the Word of God and apply them in our life, to spread the Word of God by sharing it as well as sharing our testimony.
Tonight after work I came home and had a quick dinner. I wanted to rest but I did not have enough time to do so. I asked God for the strength to enable me to go out, drive carefully, alert during the session and to have journey mercy.
Since I did not take a quick nap, I decided to go out ten minutes earlier than I had planned. And thanked God I made the right decision cos by the time I reached outside my housing estate, there was no electricity supply all the way to
I saw another Toyota Landcruiser waiting at the traffic light to cross over to Lintas Road, I quickly acclerated so that I could go behind this car and when the driver crossed over, I could follow behind.
I parked the car outside Chiu Thai Seng Supermarket for Sophia to fetch me before fetching Lily Tan and Deborah Tai as well. We were all attending the following event.
When we arrived at Skyline SIB main sanctuary, there were no seats for us to sit together. In fact there were still a lot of spaces where they could have put extra chairs for people to sit.
We were ushered into a small room where there were seats for us to sit down, with a double screen showing what was going on at the main sanctuary.
The Worship Leader was a young man who played the guitar at the same time. All the back-up singers were ladies.
This was the second time I heard Dr. Joe Ozawa shared the Word of God. Previously he came was long time ago. I thought he looked darker and he had a beard then.
He has become more humourous than before. He spoke in English while Ps. Steven Choon translated into Mandarin. In between his sharing, there were times for prayer with the person sitting next to us. He shared on a lot of stuff but the conclusion is as follows.
1. Prayer is from the Spirit and not from the soul.
2. Intercession is not safe. Life is not safe.
3. Covering is not by magic words. Covering comes by holy living. Even then …
4. There is no guarantee of anything, except that Jesus is Lord!
5. Humility and love are the main ingredients of successful prayer.
6. Anyone who prays for others is an intercessor. They stand in the gap on behalf of others.
7. Everyone is called to pray, not just a few special people.
The night ended at about 10.30p.m.
Slept at 1.30a.m. Had nature call at 6.40a.m. After that went back to dreamland and slept until about 9a.m. Felt tired but had to get up to cook ‘Mi Goreng’ for brekky and get ready for Canaanland Celebration.
Two men became fathers for the second time ie. Kenny Lim whose wife Beatrice gave birth to another baby boy while Jeremiah Balaji’s wife who is in
Ivy Voon led P&W and played the guitar at the same time. Alice Hiew played the keyboard while Jordan Quek (I think) played the drums. Elder Fung was the facilitator. Rev. Lee spoke on ‘Towards Complete Unity’ which was the Lord’s prayer for the church before He was arrested, went on a trial, hung on a cross, buried and on the third day rose again.
The Lord’s anointing was once again very strong throughout especially during P&W and at the end when the whole congregation went out to the front to pray and intercede for our nation.
After CL, we chit-chatted for a while before deciding on the venue for lunch. The decision was Upperstar Damai. Sophia and I left the church first. I was pretty hungry by then. As I passed by Burger King at
I do not particularly like to go to this mall because there is always major traffic congestion going into this place and difficulty in finding parking bay. If I had known earlier, I would have given a raincheck.
This is the first time I dined in this restaurant.
These are photos of their specialties.
I ordered Spaghetti Bolognese. The beef did not smell which was good.
Sophia ordered Spaghetti with Mutton. Very tasty as well.
Sophia also had Chocolate Smoothie.
Shelley Chew always ordered Baked Crabs. She has been eating this for seventeen years.
Monica Leong had this bento.
While we were there, some people ordered this pie including Mr. Chew Chong Bin. So at the end Monica and I took away one each.
After lunch, I drove home and then went into Sophia's car. She, Monica and I were going to 1 Borneo to watch movie.
Sophia alighted me first before she went to find a parking bay so that I could go and buy our movie tickets. At first I thought the queue was so long but the long queue was for buying snacks and drinks. There were two persons queuing up to buy tickets in front of me.
We watched the comedy ‘Old Dogs’ starring John Travolta and Robin Williams. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I did not laugh so much for so long. I laughed more than when watching ‘The Confession of a Shopaholic’.
The movie lasted one and a half hours and we went to Daiso. I bought a piece of stationery ie. a mat for cutting works.
I could not find clips for my hair.
Sophia wanted to eat Hot Soba before going home. We went to Wagamama Japanese Restaurant. We had been sitting down for quite a while and still no one came to ask what drinks we wanted to have. In the end Sophia suggested we went to Fukurou Japanese Restaurant at Damai Point and so we left 1
We shared the sushi (Una Goma Maki).
Monica had the Eel Rice (Unagi Yaki Meshi) and Mushroom Soup (Shimeji Miso Shiru).
Sophia and I had the same thing ie. Tempura Udon.
When I arrived home, there was still a quarter piece of chicken pie left for me to savour. I still prefer those available in San Francisco Coffee. But the best would still be the one I had the pleasure of eating at Dr. Peter Ong’s house. His wife made the best I ever tasted in KK.
Lo Yi Ping was the facilitator and Ps. Lam Kee Hing shared the Word. I tried my best to take down notes but I missed some.
Facing New Challenges and Realities
What happened on 8 January 2010 is a sad and shameful day for
- 3 churches were petrol-bombed.
- Website of the Judiciary was hacked and the hacker left some threatening messages.
- Some men entered a church and roughed up the pastor.
- “Peaceful” demonstrations were allowed in the mosques which carried some seditious messages.
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Protest has caused social unrest, political tension, economic loss and racial & religious mistrust.
What is the implication on us?
1. It is a wake up call
- A call to be intentional and innovative, no more business (activites and programs) as usual.
- A call to empower and equip our people, no more activities that are ‘entertainment’.
- A call to take, protect and promote our faith seriously, no more taking our religious freedom and rights for granted.
2. What should we do as Malaysian Christians?
- We can’t wish the problem will go away like a bad dream.
- We can’t control what the religious and/or racial fanatics will do next.
- We can’t hope for full justices and fairness from man and man-made institutions.
3. But we can and must decide to:-
- Control our response, not react.
- Chart our future in this land, not run away.
- Contribute to change the nation, not just hope/pray for the best.
Every crisis provides an opportunity for God to intervene and for us to change & make a difference.
Ways to Make a Difference
1. Don’t Give Up
- Don’t just decide to pack and leave.
- Don’t just shrug your shoulders and say ‘What to do, whatever will be, will be’. Instead adopt a positive mindset, accept and adapt to the new realities.
2. Don’t Stir Up
- Don’t stir up anti Malay/Muslim sentiments.
- Don’t start or pass on wild rumours.
Instead face any and every hostility and threat with calmness, reasonableness, dignity and courage.
3. Don’t Freeze Up
- Don’t live in fear and panic. (Buy one year supply of food from the supermarket)
- Don’t live in a Christian ghetto/bubble.
Instead:-
- Pray for boldness and courage for ourselves.
- Pray for concern and compassion for our neighbours. Look for opportunities to bless and build bridges.
The Positive 7 Ups
1. Look Up – Pray and Intercede
2 Chron. 7:14
- Pray individual, homes, churches.
2. Build Up – Equip and Empower
Eph. 4:11-16
- Pastors, church leaders, parents must make concerted and serious efforts to:-
- teach, train and equip our children, youth, young adults in the Word, prayer and worship.
- mentor and disciple our leaders and potential leaders.
- strengthen and help build strong marriages and families.
3. Speak Up – Represent and Act
- Leaders and professionals must speak up and act on behalf of:-
- the poor, marginalized, uneducated, oppressed, the disadvantaged, widows and orphans.
4. Stand Up – Stand and Fight
Eph. 6:10-19; 2 Cor. 10:3-5
- Stand and fight for our basic constitutional rights and freedom.
- Speak and write to YBs, to the press.
- Sign petitions.
- Write in blogs.
- Protest and demonstrate where necessary (in a peaceful manner).
- Pray!
5. Grow Up – In Depth and Maturity
- Each of us must take our responsibility to grow in our faith and help others grow.
- Spiritual disciplines of meditation on God’s Word, prayer, worship, solitude, journaling.
- Spiritual fellowship, retreats, camps, conferences.
- Reading good books.
- Listening to tapes, CDs.
- Watching good VCDs, DVDs.
- Associating with godly men and women.
- Mentoring and being mentored by a goodly man/woman.
6. Rise Up – Be Bold and Courageous
Esther 4:14-16; Acts 4:1-31
- When the situation demands it, we must be prepared to take a strong stand and initiate strong action such as candlelight vigils, sit-ins, protest, petition.
7. Take Up – The Challenge and The Cross
Luke 9:22-24
- Mentally and emotionally, be prepared to suffer for Christ in terms of harassment, intimidation, confiscation of books and property, persecutions.
IN CHRIST
- We are more than conquerors Rom. 8:31-39
- We can do all things Phil. 4:13
Togther in Christ and with other Malaysians:-
- We will overcome all injustice, unrighteousness, bigotry and extremism.
- We will tear down walls of prejudice and build bridges of friendship.
- We will work together to build a better, brighter and harmonious
Individually as a Christian and corporately as the Body of Christ:-
- Overcome our prejudices.
- …
- …
To become instruments of peace
To become agents of change
To become channels of blessing
Ps. Lam's wife led us in interceding for our nation.
Rev. Lee Tak Vui then explained the 2010 handbook which was given out to each person present, before final prayer.
