Thanks Giving

I like to take this chance to testify God's love and guidiance and how He is my lamp at my feet and the light on my road.

On the 12/12/07 I was travelling to Thailand, Chiang rai alone for the first time to meet up with my brothers and sister for misson work. I could only take a plane from Singapore to Chiang mai then take a bus from Chiang mai to Chiang rai. Since I cant speak Thai, so naturally I am worried about how to get to my destination.

At Singapore Changni airport, I saw a group of young people wearing the same T-Shirt bearing "GAP". I was curious so I asked one of the sister what was the T-shirt all about. She told me they are members of FGC in Johor and they going for mission work on Thailand Chiang mai too.

Later, I identify the leader of the group (Joseph i believe, and the pastor's wife) and started to chat with them. Actually I wanted to ask them whether anyone one for them knows how to speak Thai so that I can at least be guilded to the bus station in Chiang mai.

To my dismay they said they dont know how to speak Thai, but they are meeting a liasion missioner stationed in Chiang mai who knows how to speak Thai and they will gladly help me to introduce me to him to see whether he can help me.

When We reach Chiang mai, the pastor's wife introduce me to an American pastor (sorry i forgot the name) and see whether he can do anything to help me. At that point of time, the whole group is waiting for few more brothers from FGC travelling from KL to Chiang mai, and they will reach in around 2 hours time. Since he got time, he offered to drive me to the bus station. Down at the bus station, he help me buy and bus ticket and instruct me where to wait, what time the bus will come and where to get some refeshments.

That's how with the help of God, He send angels to guilde me all the way from Singapore to Chiang rai, without me saying a single Thai word!

Someone told me "if you wanted to do God's work, how could God not help you when you step out in faith?"

PRAISE THE LORD!

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Sermons online

Hey guys,

The church I am attending here in Tasmania, Sandy Bay Baptist Church, has posted their sermons on their website as either downloadable or streaming format. Please take a look. -> http://sbbc.net/sermons.php

Jerry

I have a love issue : God asks us to love one another. How?

I just want to share on something that I strongly believe. I have a love issue to confess.

I think most of us would probably be sure of the ten commandments (Exodus 20) and also the most important commandment from Jesus Christ (Matt 22:36-40, Matt 5:43-44, John 13:34). It is to love your neighbour like yourself, love your enemy like yourself and most importantly love everyone else just like how Jesus love us.

I thought about it long ago, why does the Lord love us so much? What is it in human that the Lord values us so much? The concept of love from the Lord I believe is not the human concept of liking, not about features, appearance and nice moments. I think it's by the Lord's grace that I have understood that the Lord treasures us so much because of human's great propensity to love. Human having to be made in the likeness of the Lord (Genesis 1:26) has this propensity to love one another. This is what I believe is how humans are different from animals.

But why is it so hard for me to love one another? What about people who treated me badly? This I believe is due our physical body having the propensity to sin. That sin and our bad physical behaviour drove our friends away and increased our hate for some of the people around us. Jesus Christ and the Father definitely have understood this from the beginning. The good news is that our Lord has made it in the last days, for believers who are either dead or alive to be given a redeemed body (Ezekiel 39:9-10) (redeem = purchase of God). It is a perfect body that cannot sin and allows our inner soul to love one another even more. And even as I write about this, I know in my mind that this day will be such a joyous moment.

Why is this so important to us. I believe for many people, including myself, there is a love issue. How do we love one another? It is important that when we do not like anyone, we must understand that is a problem with sin and that sin is the problem between the sinners and God. If someone has treated me badly, I should not be affected because it is his sin ,not mine. Instead, it is important that we value people just as Jesus Christ valued us. God so loved us that He sent His son to die for us and to wash away our sins (John 3:16). We have to love one another because we have the ability to love and to care for one another, not only in humanly sense but also in spiritual sense. We have to love one another because eventually we would have to spend an eternity to love each other in the kindgom of God in the near future. How would that kingdom of God be different from any nation we have in the world now if there is no strong loving bonds between one another?

For this, I pray for New Wave Church just as I have prayed every night for New Wave Church; for everyone of us to have good fellowship with each other. I acknowledge the fact it is you guys(Yingxuan, Yinghan, Paul, Eric, Huiling, Angelina, Jessica, Hansel, Stephanie and all the rest in New Wave Church) that has brought me into faith, into the dwelling of Jesus. Without the love and warmth from you guys, I would not have been redeemed in the first place. Without the day that you guys shake my hand to congratulate me for having to have confessed my faith, I would have been a lifeless soul. I know that for whatever reason that people have left New Wave Church, I pray for you guys to not stop pursuing God, His word, His Gospel and not stop loving one another. And of course, when I come back to Singapore, I want to see all of you. I really miss all of you... ...

Jerry

The Seven churches of Asia minor in the book of Revelation

Paul, thanks for your post. I agree with what you say and have realised that it matches what I have learnt from bible study lessons in Sandy Bay Baptist Church.

In my bible study sessions, my pastor, paul went through Rev 1-3 with us. In the bible, John wrote about the seven churches in Asia Minor (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, & Laodicea). To each of the seven churches, Christ was addressed differently. John also mentioned a series of commendation, rebuke, exhortation and a promise for them. There were however no condemnation against Smyrna and Philadelphia, and no commendation for Laodicea.

The description of Ephesus (Rev 2:1-7) is related to what Paul(NWC) had mentioned in the previous post.

The church of Ephesus performs deeds, hard work, does not tolerate wicked men, endures hardships, hates the practices of Nicolaitians( to lord over people). However, in Rev 2:4, she has forsaken her first love. It means that the followers in Ephesus have lost their relationship with christ. They have followed the laws of God and obeyed the doctrine but lost the love for the Lord.

The characteristic of the church of Ephesus has a model similar to our society today. A lot of churches today focus a lot of in doing the good things for the society; they are involved in lots of missionary work and charity, but fail to address their love for the lord and the need to believe in Christ.

John also mentions about the characteristic of the Church of Sardis (Rev 3:1-6)in the book of revelation. The church of Sardis is a church reputable of being alive, but is actually dead. It is a church which is seemingly alive on the outside; many people would think that it is a church that do things in the favour of the Lord and is full of spirit. However, John mentions that it is actually a dead church.

My pastor, paul goes on to mention the 4 characteristic of an alive church:
1. Takes the word of God seriously
2. Reverence for Christ
3. Concern for the Lost
4. Preaching of the Gospel

It is through the scriptures that we can understand the guiding principles behind running a church. A church does not need a lavish and nicely-decorated building, it doesn't need a live-band with loud music and it defintely doesn't need celebrities to attract people. What a church needs is her followers to have a heart for worship, love for one another, a good knowledge for the word of God and to preach the gospel.

The characteritics of the other five churches in revelation have things for us to learn from as well. For those who are interested, I do have notes for them. If anyone wants to find out more about them, I can pass you guys the notes when I am back in Singapore.

Jerry

NWC Devotion-Spiritual Transformation

I'm sorry for the late posting guys. My computer refuse to boot up for the past 2 days. Here's your devotion for the week:

Spiritual Transformation

Recently, there' been a lot of hype with action heroes disguised in the form of vehicles, but reveal their true nature to fight Megatron and protect Earth. They are...TRANSFORMERS - Robots in Disguise!

Like this robotic heroes, we have the capability of being transformed. Paul writes in
Romans 12:1-2, Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

That word transformation comes from the Greek “morphoo” which means, “the inward and real formation of the essential nature of a person.” It was the term used to describe the development of an embryo in a mother's body. Paul used this word in his book to the Galatians:

My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” (Gal. 4:19)

Spiritual growth can occur through difficult circumstances and through the help of others, but I am also convinced that by the faithful reading of God's word we can be changed-- “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17 NASB) There is no doubt that God's words can renew our mind.
You become what you think.
Paul writes,

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set forth on what they nature desires; but those who live in according with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8)

But then again, there is something we need to be aware of, that God's knowledge alone is useless, unless it changes our hearts.

We can be filled with God's knowledge, but unless it changes our heart, we will not be transformed.

In Col. 1:9-14, Paul describes knowledge appropriated through wisdom and understanding, “… praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

Knowledge alone is not enough. Correct doctrine alone is not sufficient to change us. The Pharisees were known for their orthodox beliefs. Orthodox means “right thinking.” They were learned, bright men who knew Scripture. By earthly standards, these religious leaders were good men, reputable in the community. They were ministers who had devoted themselves to the study of the Law and they had the law down to a science! And yet Christ had fault with them,

“The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” (Luke 16:14-15)

And the stinging words from Jesus,

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people of righteousness but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” (Mt. 23:27-28)

The Pharisees had knowledge, but they lacked wisdom. Wisdom is applied knowledge. God wants you to have wisdom. (James 1:5). He desires for you to know Him and His purpose for your life. He wants you to see life from His point of view. As we study God’s Word we are confronted with the truth that we have failed to live up to God's purpose for our lives. We ask the questions, “How does this apply to my life? Am I living up to the spiritual truth in this passage of Scripture? Where have I sinned?”


So the question for all of you today is this:
Are you being transformed? Did you allow God to change your heart?

Paul

Post your comments

Hey guys, just in case you've missed it. The comments for the devotion is at the end of the posting(white strip). You've got to click on the comments link to see it. If you want to post on the page itself, you'll have login with your gmail account(go subscribe one if you don't have). Only gmail acc holders have access to postings, others will only have access to comments.

Yinghan has given insightful comments, please do take a look at it. At the same time, I encourage all of you to do some reflection and share your thoughts or even question or doubts, if there's any on your mind.

This blog can be used for any other church issues, sharing and feedback you have. I encourage all of you to share openly.

Paul

NWC Devotion - Have you been Hungry and Thirsty lately?

Since we are focusing into building up our spiritual well being, I would like to carry forward the topic we've discussed over cell yesterday: Being hungry for God.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled

Most people I have known, who have given their lives to a pursuit of happiness, have never really attained what they would call true happiness. Perhaps it all hinges on how we define the word. Or perhaps the things we thought would make us happy are not the things which make people happy. What would it take to make us happy? What would it take to make us truly satisfied?

Are you satisfied with your life, your marriage, your work, your relationships with others, your relationship with God? What have you been doing to improve your level of satisfaction? Is there anything you can do that will make a difference?

One the problems we face is that we have been willing to settle for less. We have lost our passion. We also see this problem in the church. All too often we have been willing to settle for less in our spiritual lives than what God desires for us. Perhaps it is because we live without persecution in a country where we enjoy religious freedom. That very freedom often causes people to take for granted things which should be held as very precious. It can cause people to take lightly their Christian commitment. It fosters a casual Christianity, one in which we serve only at our convenience.

Perhaps we need to consider that our search for happiness or satisfaction has been misguided. It could be that we have been seeking the wrong object. The reason why the things we have sought have not made us happy is because they cannot make us happy. Things do not satisfy, only God satisfies. It has been said that within every human being is a "God shaped blank" and we are never satisfied until we are filled with God.

Jesus said it this way: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Perhaps the reason we are not satisfied is because we have lost our passion for God.

When Jesus uses the words hunger and thirst, He is speaking of real hunger and thirst. Most of us have a very hard time identifying with what Jesus intended to communicate. We have never really experienced true hunger or true thirst. Jesus was speaking of starvation and the intense hunger which it brings. Generally, when we say that we are hungry, we mean that it has been several hours since we last ate. But this is not hunger. The kind of hunger of which Jesus spoke could not be satisfied by a mid-morning snack. The kind of thirst of which He spoke could not be quenched by a brief trip to the water cooler. He was speaking of people who are in desperate and dire circumstances, like those who are suffering from famine.

There have been famines throughout history. In 436 BC, Rome experienced a famine so severe that thousands threw themselves into the Tiber River. They desired to drown rather than starve to death. Severe famine struck England in 1005 AD. Great famines enveloped Europe in 879, 1016, and 1162. We have seen famines spread throughout the third world countries where tens of millions have died of starvation.

We have never experienced starvation. I would suppose, however, that a starving person has only one desire. That person is possessed by a single, all-consuming passion. Only food and water has the slightest attraction or appeal to that person. Nothing else is important. Nothing else has even the slightest appeal.

Could it be that what Jesus is saying is that:
Until we come to the place where we have such a single-mindedness in our passion for God that we will never experience true satisfaction?

As a matter of fact, that is precisely what I think He is saying! The question to you then becomes: "Do you have a passion for God?" Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? Is this your desire? Is this what you want above all else? Are you starving for God? You will find nothing else which will satisfy that hunger. In Isaiah 55:2, God asks, "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what is does not satisfy?"

Only God satisfies. So, we need to come to the place where we are hungry for God. We must desire Him so passionately that our desire causes us to do something about it. Nothing less than that passion will cause us to act properly. When Prodigal Son was hungry he turned to the husks that he was feeding the pigs. When he was starving he turned to his father.

What brings us to this place of passionate hunger for God? Many things can. A true realization of our own sinful condition can cause us to desire release through the power of God. When we are suffering, we may look to God for help. If tragic events overtake us, God may be the One to whom we turn. Whatever the means God uses, He desires to bring us to the place where we come to the end of ourselves. This is where we must be in order to discover a real hunger for God.

Coming to the end of ourselves brings us to a place of desperation. And in our desperation, after we have exhausted all other possibilities, we turn to God as the only hope for our lives.

Are you there? Have you come to the place where you are ready to allow God to have His way in your life?

February 26, 1995
J. David Hoke

New Wave Blog

Hey guys, I've got the blog up and running. Will be posting our devotion soon.
So stay around and have fun sharing!!

Paul