Monday, January 25, 2016

Those Wonderful Feet

Isaiah 52: 7 
how beautiful on the mountains 
are the feet of those who bring good news,
proclaim peace, bring God's good tidings
and proclaim salvation!

Our feet symbolize the tools for practical actions "which bring good news" 
about the Gospel. Have you ever thickened your face to distribute church pamphlets to strangers by the street, or walked from house to house to tell about an evangelical service in the neighborhood? My view is, that action does more to edify the doer than the hearer. 

I would highlight several situations to invoke your passion for better servitude:

- O Feet, to the Shadowed Corners- 

Hidden in the shadows of the chapel, some are trying their best to stay "low-profile". Yet, they still desire to be loved. Most Asians are shy and, many are anti-social in TJC. 
Ask yourself, don't you want someone to actually understand your problems and needs? Instead of waiting to be loved, you can and should start to rekindle love among your spiritual family, starting from yourself to love others.
If I hadn't taken the effort to observe, I wouldn't notice an old aunty who can't find the bible page and she desperately needs help for it. In fact, I myself was unfamiliar with bible chapters but by helping this aunty to flip the bible, I learned to flip fast for the right page.
If you hadn't reached out on Facebook to ask "hallelujah, how is it going?"
you wouldn't know how much a brother or sister needed to be cared. 
Regardless of age (youths or elder), background, language, there is no barrier in love, 
but there are only excuses.
So, where do your feet go to at church? Was it the love feast in the kitchen, or the self-indulgent Candy Crush on your phone during boring sermons? Or simply, your feet find it comfy just staying wherever they are, doing absolutely nothing for God?

- O Feet, to the House of Mourning - 

I have a friend who lost his dear sibling due to a deadly disease. 
Due to lack of help, I assisted him with a simple funeral (not a Christian funeral). 
There were not a couple of visitors at the funeral parlour and we withstood the scorching Malaysian heat of the day with rarely anyone to come for comfort. 
That is the first time I felt that we really needed comfort and support
from people's attendance. 
I personally pictured in my mind, how wonderful would it be 
if my dear brothers and sisters in Christ could come visit us, 
although my friend was just a truthseeker. 
The following day, another church memorial service took place somewhere else. 
The family members were not zealous Christians. 
But at the end of the service, it was an uncle's turn to represent the family for a few words.
"I thank you, for your coming" he swallowed his emotion, "thank you for bringing us back to Jesus." 

- O Feet, to the House of the Sick- 

When the young student fellowship first headed out for the first visiting in a crammed Proton Satria, we had some names on the list, both believers and unbelievers. We visited my neighbour, a bed-ridden old uncle in the hospital. We simply went with smiles and wishes, and had a prayer with his consent, for his recovery. 
To our surprise, a big manly uncle as he had always been, he cried.Love nourishes the heart of the sick, and laughter brings healing (Proverbs 17:22).
Simply because, it was his time of need and we were there for him, bringing God's love with us.
Peter was reluctant at first to go to Cornelius' house, as he said to Cornelius,  "you are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him", but God sent him there and Peter would "discipline" his feet to go there, probably against his ideals.
God manifested His great power, showering the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles. 
It is not easy to control our feet to perform God's work.
Regardless, it is a spiritual battle that we have to consciously fight, with discipline against our fleshly desires for pleasurable things, instead of for lethargic work. I know how that feels, but let's work it out together. 
Send our feet where the Lord sends us.




Thursday, January 7, 2016

No Time No Talent No Mood, so no Church

Ever felt like you have lost your commitment in going to church 
and feel completely guilty about it?

Well, that guilt can save your life, the spiritual life that is.

Hebrews 10:25 "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the Day approaching."

It is really easy to lose sight of spiritual needs once you lose sight of going to Church,
and you sink into the sandstorm of worldly troubles, if not worldly pleasures.
Knowing that True Jesus Church is the true Church,
but not believing from your heart cannot rouse you to any spiritual edification. If you are one whose faith is kind of lukewarm, and your faith is like walking along a tight rope,
knowing fully well that you need more commitment in church, yet your faith is so brittle and fragile,
maybe these could be your excuses: No time, no talent, no mood, lastly it lands you to "no church" anymore.

Praise be to God, for placing me in Manchester Prayer House in my summer semester in 2014.
In a small and unsightly and "nothing-so-special" church, my course mates have built their faith with God by watching and learning from brothers and sisters there. Nothing fanciful, yet it could cure us of those cliche excuses:

No Time

A brother who served as the church program planner, also served as a physician at the hospital. If you had even played in those roles, they are not easy. Both jobs are time-consuming.
Thank God, his wife testified, with eyes brimming with teary emotion, that he is always busy. So busy that whenever he had a short break from his job, he would waste no time and fumble out his phone, not to Facebook, but rush to schedule the church programs, to do divine work. He shows no sign of complaint, of fatigue, of tiredness. Every single time I saw him, he was always charged with joy and thankfulness to God. He and his wife lived such exemplary life of servitude together.
Then I guessed his secret recipe was none other than God Himself.
He has had seen God not in short-lived miracles, but in the preciousness of His Word and promises. Whenever I think back of his beautiful testimony, I yearn that God would say to him "well done, good and faithful servant!" (Matt 25:23)



No Talent

You cannot speak a sermon, cannot interpret, cannot play the instrument? Are you already bound in a box of those restrictions? Think out of the box. Service to God is not limited to those. And if you are interested in those areas of service, pray and work towards it. A talent can be gifted, but must be nurtured on your own initiative.

A sister in Manchester prayer house, travels to church on her own, despite her disability. She is disabled, yet more abled than any of us in her great love. She made handmade souvenirs for us foreign students. And during church fellowships, she cooks for us sitting in her wheelchair.
Have we ever done such actions of love to truthseekers or minority believers?

Being in the wheelchair, yet she is not confined to her disability in service to God.

There is no sign of sorrow and grumbling, just all sunny and cheery and always full of laughter.
There might be hard times for her but she has now resolved to serve the Lord and she is looking all sweet about it. It drove me to tears as I questioned myself, would I demand God for healing or otherwise reject God? Would I demand more than I am already blessed with? Blessing is not about finally getting what we want, but be contented with what we have and praise God.
Now, did you say "no transport" so you can't come to church? She never had to ask. She called a cab.


No Mood

Another sister there, came to church with her usual sweet and broad smiles and very heart-warming greetings. During the bible study at a youth sharing session, she surprisingly broke into tears.

She had been covering up the burdensome sorrow in her heart about her unemployment and the passing of someone really dear to her. She was disheartened that she couldn't even fork out enough money to travel to meet him before he passed on. It was heart-breaking.
Nonetheless, she insisted to come. She did not relent to sorrow by NOT coming to church. She knew she needed God more in these trying times.
If it were you, would that turn into your valid reason for missing a Sabbath service?
No mood due to broken courtship? No mood due to poor grades?
Don't let it. instead, let us "never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord" (Rom 12:11)


Hope this benefits you in our spiritual battles against flesh.
And resolve to be the driver to a glorious and spiritual Church. Glory to God. Amen.