Vision

‘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.

Beauty is God’s Goodness

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).

Let nothing disturb you

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.

Learning

“Do one thing everyday that scares you” was a quote which was believed to have been said by Eleanor Roosevelt.

She wasn’t saying that we do something unwise and foolish. Rather, she was referring to stepping outside our comfort zones so that we will have greater courage as we move on in life.

On a daily basis, I have to make decisions, solve problems for the good of the church. It can be scary at times as the decisions can affect the running of the church.

I am glad that doing something fearful help me to be able to make better decisions when similar circumstances arise. It is something that I have to keep learning. 🙂

Last Day of the First Half of Year 2023!

God has carried us through the first half of the year. How was your first half of the year?

Today is the last day of the first half of 2023! Time flies! Looking back at the first half of the year, God has been good and faithful.

I am sure you have tasted and see God’s goodness in your life as well! He provided for us (Philippians 4:19, Matthew 6:31-32): we have food on the table, a shelter over our head, a bed to rest on at night, and work that we can do to keep our minds active and body moving.

He leads us (Proverbs 20:24): when we are struggling in our work, when we are at the crossroad when making decisions, God gives us wisdom and strength to manage them.

He gives us peace (John 14:27): when we are worried about our life, having a health scare, or even having a weak body, or worrying about our children, we know when we pray to Him and cast all over worries to Him, He hears us. He promises us that. He does not turn a deaf ear to us.

God has been faithful to us. There are so much to be thankful to God for! May God continue to lead and guide us for the second half of 2023!

What else can you add to this list?

Let Them In?

Everyone we meet teach us something about life and ourselves.

Someone once said our life is like a train. People come onboard at different stations and some will alight at different stations. Some will alight earlier, while some will stay longer. Regardless of the time we have, each person we met teach us something about life and even about ourselves. 

To prevent the pain of saying, “goodbye”, some have resorted to not saying “hello” to new people. But this is quite a short-sighted thought, isn’t it?

Human beings are created to enjoy relationships and we live in communities. 

In the Lego Movie, the Lego Batman said, “Losing people is a part of life, but that doesn’t mean you stop letting them in”.

What a reminder! Don’t close yourself to people for the fear of losing them. Keep loving others. Life is more beautiful when shared with others.

Celebrating Dragon Boat Festival as Chinese Christians

What we can learn from Qu Yuan 🙂

Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated to commemorate Qu Yuan, a high-ranking politician and poet (340-278 BC). He loved his country and the people. In return, the people loved him too. 

When he was in exile due to political reasons, Qu Yuan wrote a poem expressing his love for his state. Upon hearing the defeat of his country, he was grieved that he threw himself into the Miluo River. 

The local villagers immediately raced out in their boats to search for him in the river, but they could not find his body. To prevent the fish from eating his body, they threw lumps of rice into the river as food for the fish. This is why we eat rice dumplings on Dragon Boat Festival.

As Chinese Christians, there are 2 ways we can learn from Qu Yuan:

(1) to love our country

We are to pray for the welfare of the city that we are living in (Jeremiah 29:7). We are also to pray for our leaders in authority, that the people will live in peace and harmony (1 Tim 2:1-2) 

(2) to do good deeds

People loved Qu Yuan because he was a nobleman and he cared for them. 

As Christians, we are to bear the fruit of the Spirit, such as: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) and to do good deeds to bless the community (Matthew 5:16).

As Christians, let us pray for our country and do good deeds that glorify God in Heaven.

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!