I did not feel right when I led the praise and worship session this morning. I also do not know why I felt so chaotic inside me when I walked and stood in front of the church. There was no peace and there was this sense of impatience within me. I also had this attitude of wanting to get things over and done with. These were precisely the things I told myself not to do and yet when I was leading the session, every of these manifested themselves.
Anyway, thanks be to God that He pulled the Worship Team through. I do not know whether the musicians and vocalists sensed what I experienced. When the service was over and when I shared with them about my feelings, only one of them commented that the flow was not as good and it could be that the musicians were not gelling well this time round.
Maybe it was just me. When I looked around the congregation as they were worshipping God, they were all singing loudly and lifting their hands. If that is so, then why did I feel so down? I actually asked the Lord that question but no answers.
The sermon preached by my Senior Pastor reminded me of the need to be bold when it comes to my stand as a Christian - to not let anything or anyone move me except God Himself. She also challenged the congregation to accept trials and tribulations as something good and not see them as moments when God has forsaken us. She also urged the congregation to think twice before we actually blame God for having forsaken us because most of the time it is we who have forsaken Him. She also warned the congregation not to make God in our image but to remember that it is He who made us in His image. She beseeched the church to check our attitude and motives when asking God to help us in our times of need. We cannot tell God to do things based on our demands and requirements but to come before Him in faith that He knows what is best to help us deal with the situations. God is God and man is man. Man cannot be God and we need to always remember who we are and the reverence we need to give to the One who made all things with His might.
Today's message is a rebuke and a wake-up call. I hope I know where I stand in my relationship with God and in this world as His child and a Christian respectively.
It is already a brand new month and in another 15 days I will be going back to work. I have yet to spend time to reflect on the month of August and the one year of Sabbatical I took. I shall share them in time to come. I hope as I go back to work, I will not be swayed by the lures and temptations and testings of the world. I pray I will stand firm. When I was in the army, we kept singing this song, "We Shall Not Be Moved" - I guess that is my prayer to the Lord as well. May He be my help.
Well, with the struggles I encountered this morning, I could have concluded that the day has been bad but I shall not look at it that way. Instead I want to say, "Thanks be to God for all that had happened."
"Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." Daniel 3:13-29
Anyway, thanks be to God that He pulled the Worship Team through. I do not know whether the musicians and vocalists sensed what I experienced. When the service was over and when I shared with them about my feelings, only one of them commented that the flow was not as good and it could be that the musicians were not gelling well this time round.
Maybe it was just me. When I looked around the congregation as they were worshipping God, they were all singing loudly and lifting their hands. If that is so, then why did I feel so down? I actually asked the Lord that question but no answers.
The sermon preached by my Senior Pastor reminded me of the need to be bold when it comes to my stand as a Christian - to not let anything or anyone move me except God Himself. She also challenged the congregation to accept trials and tribulations as something good and not see them as moments when God has forsaken us. She also urged the congregation to think twice before we actually blame God for having forsaken us because most of the time it is we who have forsaken Him. She also warned the congregation not to make God in our image but to remember that it is He who made us in His image. She beseeched the church to check our attitude and motives when asking God to help us in our times of need. We cannot tell God to do things based on our demands and requirements but to come before Him in faith that He knows what is best to help us deal with the situations. God is God and man is man. Man cannot be God and we need to always remember who we are and the reverence we need to give to the One who made all things with His might.
Today's message is a rebuke and a wake-up call. I hope I know where I stand in my relationship with God and in this world as His child and a Christian respectively.
It is already a brand new month and in another 15 days I will be going back to work. I have yet to spend time to reflect on the month of August and the one year of Sabbatical I took. I shall share them in time to come. I hope as I go back to work, I will not be swayed by the lures and temptations and testings of the world. I pray I will stand firm. When I was in the army, we kept singing this song, "We Shall Not Be Moved" - I guess that is my prayer to the Lord as well. May He be my help.
Well, with the struggles I encountered this morning, I could have concluded that the day has been bad but I shall not look at it that way. Instead I want to say, "Thanks be to God for all that had happened."
"Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." Daniel 3:13-29
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