This morning God has again showed me how He is a Father who never fails His children when they cry out for help. In my blog on Friday I shared that I was not too confident in leading this morning's service. Since then I have been praying that God would help and use me despite of my inadequacies.
I went to church with only one expectation and that was for God to work things out accordingly. Well, He did! Everything went as well as it could be. I just simply fixed my eyes on praising the Lord without having to be concerned about the technicalities of the songs chosen. I learnt that when our hearts just focused on worshipping God, He will take care of the rest!
Well, though I am going to stop leading worship indefinitely (with a tinge of sadness and reluctance, I have to say), I know I will never get tired of praising my God Almighty who has always been so good to me and of course to all my siblings-in-Christ too. :)
I learnt a lot from the sermon today on "Showing Compassion for the Lost." One revelation was this - for me to learn and know what compassion is really about, I need to know my God inside out. Why? Because His character is all about compassion.
In having the knowledge of Him and putting into practice what He says in the Word, compassion will naturally be evident in my life - be it what I say or do. It would then mean I will have unlimited compassion towards others because the source comes from up high and not from my own.
I was moved at how the guest speaker spent majority of his time in prison to help the inmates overcome the struggles of their lives. He shared that it is so easy for the society to ostracise this group of people with their pre-conceived ideas without really understanding how these individuals actually desire to change their ways.
Many returned to crime not just due to their own doing but also the fault of the people around who have judged them and not gracious enough to allow them to integrate back to society.
As I was pondering on the sermon, I was reminded of something - frankly speaking, we are no different from those who have been convicted by the authorities for their wrongdoings. Why are we so self-righteous to judge people of their faults when we ourselves have our own sins and weaknesses? We are probably just fortunate not to be caught, that's all. A sin is a sin is a sin!
Some examples - cheating when peeling their carpark coupons by not putting the exact time; tapping your EZ-Link card at the exit of the bus but having no intention to alight until after a few stops away; tapping on other people's wireless broadband connection; 'borrowing' people's things and not returning them; etc. Sounds petty but these acts are still wrong.
Well, give others a chance when we ourselves also desire for that should we get ourselves into trouble. Next time when we have an ex-prisoner in our midst, remember to embrace him and forget about reminding him of his past. The step is forward (deliverance!) and not backward (bondage).
God did not give up on His creation; why should we give up on a fellow human being? We all err. So what! Learn from our mistakes and move on. That is how we learn and that is how we strengthen and build our character.
Well, so much for my thoughts. I am gearing myself for yet another week of busyness! I think it is going to be worse than last week's. So be it! God will be there. Haha.
Good night, every one! Have a blessed week regardless of how treacherous it will be! :)
"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:8-9
I went to church with only one expectation and that was for God to work things out accordingly. Well, He did! Everything went as well as it could be. I just simply fixed my eyes on praising the Lord without having to be concerned about the technicalities of the songs chosen. I learnt that when our hearts just focused on worshipping God, He will take care of the rest!
Well, though I am going to stop leading worship indefinitely (with a tinge of sadness and reluctance, I have to say), I know I will never get tired of praising my God Almighty who has always been so good to me and of course to all my siblings-in-Christ too. :)
I learnt a lot from the sermon today on "Showing Compassion for the Lost." One revelation was this - for me to learn and know what compassion is really about, I need to know my God inside out. Why? Because His character is all about compassion.
In having the knowledge of Him and putting into practice what He says in the Word, compassion will naturally be evident in my life - be it what I say or do. It would then mean I will have unlimited compassion towards others because the source comes from up high and not from my own.
I was moved at how the guest speaker spent majority of his time in prison to help the inmates overcome the struggles of their lives. He shared that it is so easy for the society to ostracise this group of people with their pre-conceived ideas without really understanding how these individuals actually desire to change their ways.
Many returned to crime not just due to their own doing but also the fault of the people around who have judged them and not gracious enough to allow them to integrate back to society.
As I was pondering on the sermon, I was reminded of something - frankly speaking, we are no different from those who have been convicted by the authorities for their wrongdoings. Why are we so self-righteous to judge people of their faults when we ourselves have our own sins and weaknesses? We are probably just fortunate not to be caught, that's all. A sin is a sin is a sin!
Some examples - cheating when peeling their carpark coupons by not putting the exact time; tapping your EZ-Link card at the exit of the bus but having no intention to alight until after a few stops away; tapping on other people's wireless broadband connection; 'borrowing' people's things and not returning them; etc. Sounds petty but these acts are still wrong.
Well, give others a chance when we ourselves also desire for that should we get ourselves into trouble. Next time when we have an ex-prisoner in our midst, remember to embrace him and forget about reminding him of his past. The step is forward (deliverance!) and not backward (bondage).
God did not give up on His creation; why should we give up on a fellow human being? We all err. So what! Learn from our mistakes and move on. That is how we learn and that is how we strengthen and build our character.
Well, so much for my thoughts. I am gearing myself for yet another week of busyness! I think it is going to be worse than last week's. So be it! God will be there. Haha.
Good night, every one! Have a blessed week regardless of how treacherous it will be! :)
"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:8-9
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