Eirene

Ladies Talk

This online talk (Talk 4) was exactly a week ago. I am blessed to be a part of it and it was so much fun working together with the other awesome speakers, host and the amazing IT team behind the scene! We are already friends for many years so that added to the fun!

This is the link to the replay of the 4 talks: https://fmc.org.my/blog/category/live-stream/talks/a-little-god-time-for-ladies/ Check it out. 🙂

Blessed

This is my 9th year of full-time pastoral ministry. There is nothing else I would want to do with my life than to serve the Lord.

Of course, the “working” hours are longggg! We work in the office during the day and we have ministries at night (visitation, small groups, prayer meeting, teaching, etc). There are also urgent things: church members admitted to hospital, etc. There are times when I am envious of friends who hold office jobs and are working from Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm and then they are free for the rest of the evenings.

My office in the church. Not much in my room yet— just a desk, a good chair and a desktop computer to work on at the moment. Oh yes, there is the McDonald’s coffee. I need coffee to start the day!

This is my home office set up. A big, comfortable desk, a Xiaom Yeelight Indoor Lamp that changes colour, a “blink blink” pink notebook and a Wonder Woman mug.

But, to me, it is such a great blessing to serve the Lord and His people. I read from somewhere that pastors get paid to read God’s Word. How great is that!

There are challenges, frustrations and difficulties along the way too but God is so faithful.

During this MCO period, my family and I have been experiencing blessings and so much love from our church friends. Some of them sent us delicious cooked food: curry chicken, pork, rice dumplings, Kentucky Fried Chicken, three layered pork belly, sweet and sour pork. Someone sent free range chicken. Yesterday, a church friend sent me a feast! Some of these were made by her, with love.

All that I can say is, “Thank you, Lord, You are so so good to me”.

“How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They can not be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” (Psalm 139:17-18)

The God that we serve is a God that enjoys giving us wonderful surprises. May you experience His love and blessings today and everyday!

Light Up the City

A couple of days ago, I signed up to pray for my nation, city, community and neighbourhood with “Thy Kingdom Come”. This prayer movement starts on Ascension Day (21 May) and ends on Pentecost Day (31 May).

Look at these lights! Each light shows that someone is praying for the nation/community/society

It is so touching to see different countries around the world being lit up in prayers!

This is how Malaysia looks like. Obviously our country can use more lights and prayers

When I see these lights, the teaching of Jesus comes to mind, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV).

Let us all shine for Christ by doing deeds and living a life that glorify His holy Name! Let us all pray for His Kingdom to come to our nation!

Come, let us light up the city!

Recharge to Restart

The battery of my parents’ car was flat so we took it to the mechanic.

Sometimes when I am exhausted (when my battery is flat), I will take a nap. Sometimes when I am exhausted as a leader, I will read a book to take the matter off my mind. Sometimes when I am exhausted from the notifications on my Facebook, I log out and only sign in again until a couple of days later.

We recharge ourselves to get back on the journey again. Take a break from work as and when necessary. Take a break from social media, when you need some time alone to reflect, meditate and be still. Take a break when needed but never take a break from God. He is our everything.

Choose Gratitude

I was in the garden this morning when dad showed me a plant (photo below). He said the fruits of this plant are poisonous.

It is such a beautiful plant but unfortunately it carries poison. It reminds: don’t look nice on the outside but is filled with poison on the inside.

The Bible verse for my meditation this morning is from Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God can not be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (NIV). If I have poison in me, I will bear fruits that are poisonous. I will reap poisonous consequences. They will bring damage to me, cost me my health as well as destroy my relationships with others. They will also break my love relationship with God because the poison gets in the way of receiving His love and His healing grace.

Bitterness is the poison to the soul. Therefore, it is important to cultivate gratitude. Choose gratitude. Count our blessings daily. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is a good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”. Bitterness will make us rot on the inside and then it will show up on the outside.

Whenever I feel frustrated, whiny, complain-y about the circumstances I am in, or getting bitter and jealous at someone, I will bring this matter to God. I tell Him how I feel, and I grumble to Him and let Him know my frustrations. He already knows what is in my heart and He is eager to hear about it from me.

Bitterness dries up my soul. May I encourage you to choose joy. If there is something you are not so happy about, bring this matter to God, for He cares for you.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for harbouring bitterness, anger, resentment, and frustrations. I admit these emotions eat me up and destroy my relationships with You and with the people around me. Give me a heart of thankfulness and to a heart of gratitude to remember Your blessings and goodness to me. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Day Off

Since we were talking about the Sabbath rest yesterday, I would like to talk about my off day, which is today. Monday is my off day, and it is also the off day of the other pastors in the conference. The purpose of the off day is to obey God’s command to rest and to keep the Sabbath day holy. On Monday mornings, I will have my Quiet Time, then, I will visit my grandma and aunty. Before the MCO, I would visit them with my parents. After that, I will have lunch with my parents, and go grocery shopping for the week. In the afternoon, I will read the newspapers, read a book (usually not the whole book, but at least a few chapters), catch up with some friends or family members, strum on my ukelele and have an enjoyable nap. Sometimes, I hang out with fellow pastors on Mondays. But I do that less now since I am back at my home town. I hang out with my parents instead. We are a close-knitted family. In the evening, I will have some time to read. Monday evenings are when I am most relaxed. I enjoy the peace on Monday evenings. I may also watch a movie. And then, I will start to plan for the week ahead, slotting tasks into my “to do list”. I enjoy my Mondays. It is a gift that I treasure. It relaxes me from the demands of ministry and also prepares me for the week ahead. It is a time to enjoy my parents and puppies as well as my hobbies and interests. So, on Mondays, I make sure I have time to rest physically and emotionally and to spend more time to worship God. Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27) What about you? What are some ways for you to rest?

A picture of a box of Macarons which I had when I was in Australia. Such is life. There is a different flavour for each day. Each day is to be savoured and enjoy. Let’s give thanks to God for our gift of life. He ordains our days.

The Rhythm

As created beings, it is important to find a balance between work and rest. When it is time to work, we are partnering with God to do the work He has entrusted to us. We put in all of our best efforts and attention. When it is time to rest, we rest fully from our work to enjoy Communion with God and His creations. We work to use the gifts God has given to us. We rest to enjoy God’s gifts for us. When we are overworked, it will bring negative impacts our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual states. When we are mentally and physically tired, we will produce poorer quality of work. We will also become easily agitated and it leads to strains in relationships, especially with those we care about. When we are spiritually exhausted, we can’t find joy in our relationship with our Creator. Our Creator too, rested after He had created the universe. It says in Genesis 2:2-3, “On the seventh day, God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” In the 10 Commandments God gave to Israelites, God commanded them to rest and keep the Sabbath holy. Sabbath is a day when God also rested, and He wanted His people to be rested too. Sabbath is God’s desire to be in a communion with His people. So, keeping the Sabbath is to live out of this communion that we are God’s people. In Ezekiel 20:12, God says, “I gave them my sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, so that they might know that I the Lord sanctify them”. For us today, we rest on The Lord’s Day, Sunday. This is to rememeber that Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday. In the New Testament, Jesus encouraged His disciples to rest. Rest is more that just recuperating from a busy week. We can nap and be refreshed but we are invited to a deeper rest in Jesus. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). This rest Jesus offers allows us to surrender everything to Him: our minds, hearts, plans, wills. We let go of this and focus our gaze upon Jesus. With God’s help, let’s have a healthy rythm between work and rest. We work hard and let us “rest” hard too. Let us be refreshed in His friendship and in His love.

How to Love My City

If it wasn’t for wanting to spend more time with my parents, I would have left this city and state many years ago when I was much younger.

I struggled to love this city. I still am. I struggled to enjoy this city. I admit I am very much blinded to what this city has to offer. Oh yes, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. The moon seems to be brighter and bigger on the other side of the globe. Oh yes, my Instagram is filled with pictures of delicious local cuisines and sceneries I took when roaming about. In fact, my Instagram is my attempt to remind myself what a lovely city I am living in.

As much as I have tried loving it, the incident of having my handbag snatched from my arm just earlier this year is the final nail in the coffin. My bag, phone with precious photos, car key, the wallet which had been with me since I was in secondary school, photos and the bookmark my sister drew for me were all gone within a few seconds. Praise the Lord no one was injured.

I have since forgiven the thief and prayed that he will come to know Jesus (my pastor card is in there). But loving this city is still hard to do.

Luke 19: 41 recorded the compassion Jesus has on the city of Jerusalem. Jesus even wept over it. It was because He foresaw the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened in the year AD 70. The temple was never rebuilt.

Jesus had compassion over the city. He wept for people who did not know Him.

I come to this conclusion: I don’t have to love this city. All I should do is to appreciate its beauty, enjoy its rich cultures, enjoy my family and friends, serve my congregation faithfully, and be thankful for a place I can call home. Oh yes, and to pray for this city.

Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, thank you for having compassion on us and on our cities. Help us to be thankful in wherever You have placed us, and to pray for its well being so that it will be filled with Your glory. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

One thing I like about this city? It is the variety of food I get to eat! This is a picture of Roti Canai, an Indian-influenced flatbread dish which Malaysians love to have as breakfast, supper or snack. It is usually served with dal or curry but it can be served in sweet or savoury variations. The sweet variations can include bananas, condensed milk or chocolate powder. The savoury ones have meat, egg or cheese in them.

Shine

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-15, NIV)

Jesus described Himself and His disciples as the “Light of the World”. Jesus said to His disciples, “Let your light shine”. So, let us be someone who does good deeds so that the people around you will glorify our Father in Heaven.

With many countries around the world still in lockdown, we the citizens of this world are going into the “new normal”.

How should I live during this pandemic? Apostle Paul reminded us in Philippians 3:20 that we are “the citizens of heaven”. We are living in this world but our citizenship is in Heaven. We should reflect characteristics that show we are citizens of heaven.

Firstly, I will follow the SOP set out by the government. We are to be in submission to the government (Romans 13:1). I practice social distancing as well as take care of my personal hygiene. I hope that when I am in the bank or when I am getting groceries in the store, I will be nice and courteous too.

Secondly, I put my trust in God. I know that God is sovereign. He is in control. He is Almighty. He can destroy the virus. I will look upon Him.

Thirdly, I should spend time in prayer and read His Word. This is to get to know Him and get to know His heart better. My relationship with God should be on-going, before the pandemic, during the pandemic and after the pandemic.

I love this prayer from Richard of Chichester (1197-1253):

Day-by-day

Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,

For all the benefits you have given me,

For all the pains and insults you have borne for me.

O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother,

May I know You more clearly,

Love you more dearly,

Follow You more nearly.

Fourthly, stay in touch with family, friends and the community of faith. I am an introvert by nature. I love time by myself. But, this is the time where I can reach out to friends whom I have not been reaching out to due to the busyness of life. Just a message may encourage them. Think of creative ways to reach out to them.

St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) wrote, “Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion upon this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours”.

I hope to do good and to bring God’s light to people living in fear. Christ has no body now on earth but ours. May it be that I am willing to be the light that shines for Him and to glorify Him.

Courage

Today is the 60th day of the Movement Control. As restricted as we are, I have picked up a new hobby during this time which I did not have time for before the lockdown. Things are slowly getting back to how things were. Shops would be opening again soon. Many of us are going back to work. Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher who lived 500 years before Jesus Christ, said, “Change is the only constant in life”. As each of us ease into the “new normal”, may God grant us wisdom and courage.