Martin Luther (1483-1546) was known as a Reformer. What amazes me is the fiery passion he had in making hymns accessible to worshippers during his time.
To him, music is a gift of God for refreshment, healing and comforting the worshippers. Music in church is also helps us to learn about God and to celebrate His generosity and goodness.
The next time we sing in church, let us be mindful that singing and music is indeed God’s precious gift to us.
While our world is full of sufferings and tragedies, when we think about the life in Heaven with our Creator someday, we will have hope to live our daily life.
Our time on earth is but a breath (Psalm 39:4-6). There are sufferings in this world, many are deprived of their basic human needs, people living in poverty, victims of wars and natural disasters…
Christians are not exempted from such sufferings too. In fact, more than 360 million Christians are facing high levels of persecutions for their faith (https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/).
As believers, we know this broken world is just temporal. God offers the beautiful gift of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. In the new heavens and the new earth, God will restore everything as He has intended from the beginning: sickness, sins, death, mourning, crying and sufferings will be no more (Isaiah 65:17).
The new heavens and new earth will be a glorious place. It brings the promise that God “will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4).When we reflect on what is to come, we will have the hope and the strength to live for Jesus today.
Being a leader doesn’t mean we can bulldoze others’ opinions to follow our agenda. Being a leader means seeing the potential in others and help them to develop their potential while setting an example how we live our lives.
Maya Angelou’s books and quotes have been an inspiration to me. When I first look at this quote, I was deeply moved.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better”
Life is a series of learning. We make decisions basing on what we feel is the best option at that time. In hindsight, we may regret certain decisions but that was what we think was the best thing to do at that moment.
It is comforting to know that when we know better, we can learn from our mistakes and make better decisions in the future.
God is with us through challenges in life
In life, there are challenges and tasks that terrify us but God is with us (Deuteronomy 31:8). He promises to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He provides all that we need (Matthew 6:31-32).
Praise be to God! 
‘Vision’ is to see in our mind God’s plan and purpose for our lives, both now and the future, partial and whole, and take action to do what God is calling us to do.
Where there is no vision, the people perish. Joy, blessedness and success come when we have a vision from God and act on it.
From August onwards, the church will start to plan for Christmas 2023 and for the programmes for next year. We need to seek God’s heart for the church and for the community and catch His vision so that the activities of the church bring glory to Him.
As an individual, what is the vision God has placed within you? Quietly listening, praying and waiting for Him and He will show you.
August is here!
Beauty is God’s goodness
In a world that is chaotic and is in pain, God reminds us that He is present and He cares for us. God’s goodness to us is revealed in His handiworks —the nature.
Dallas Willard says, “Beauty is God’s goodness made manifest to the senses.” Every time we use our senses to see the beauty of the world around us, we are savouring and experiencing God’s goodness.
Think of the moments you were enjoying the fresh air in the park, hearing the birds singing, marveling the diverse shapes and sizes of plants and flowers, playing with our pets, or enjoying the symphony of colours in the sky during the sunset.
All these are reminders of God’s goodness and love for us.
‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork’ (Psalm 19:1).
It is a blessing to be living in the Sarawak, also known as the Land of the Hornbills.
Let us continue to pray for those in authority. May God bless them with wisdom to lead our state so that we can continue to enjoy the peace and harmony that we have.
May God still our turbulent heart as we live in this fast-paced world.
We live in a world where there is no peace. We read of tragic event from the news. We know of people who are going through tough times in life. And things around us seem to compete for our attention.
If we are honest with ourselves, everyday we are rushing from task to task, pressured to use every minute that we have to fill fulfilled. Our hearts are turbulent. But as St Teresa prayed, let nothing disturb us. Focus on God. He helps us. He alone suffice.
