Launch of a Resource Hub!
With this post, we celebrate the 100th post of this blog.
In line with this celebration, I will launch a brand new resource hub today. The purpose of this resource hub is primarily to share some of the teachings that have been passed down to me over the years as well as some of the teachings i taught my people. I really hope that this resource hub will be a blessing to you all. I've added a new tab at the side for your convenience to access this web page.
It has been a long journey starting from my trip to Chile where i did a day to day blogging of my experiences there. It was a simply amazing trip where God showed me so much of his wonders and i learnt about church planting 1st hand from people like daivd, pui see, cindy and eelee. Click here!
Next, i sent up a series of 8 posts called the Devil's worship where the frictional story depicts our worship to God from the Devils' point of view. It was a work inspired by the writings of C.S Lewis - The Screwtape letters. Click here!
The next big series was a series of 5 questions being answered on apologetics where i shared how i would answer 5 of the most commonly asked questions if others were to question me on that. It is so important for us to equip ourselves with such knowledge to be a good ambassador of Christ. Click here!
The last series was a series of about 10 lessons on leadership. How do we develop ourselves to become better leaders? Click here!
Here are there is the odd post about my family, ministry and thoughts on some of the current affairs.
I really pray that the posts have been a blessing to you and i have been blessed by contextualizing my thoughts here as well. I hope that the initiative of the resource hub will encourage others share what they have.
God did not charge us a single cent when he gave us the inspiration to write what we did, be it an article or a teaching. So we should share it freely to the correct people as well. Till then!
See ya!
With this post, we celebrate the 100th post of this blog.
In line with this celebration, I will launch a brand new resource hub today. The purpose of this resource hub is primarily to share some of the teachings that have been passed down to me over the years as well as some of the teachings i taught my people. I really hope that this resource hub will be a blessing to you all. I've added a new tab at the side for your convenience to access this web page.
It has been a long journey starting from my trip to Chile where i did a day to day blogging of my experiences there. It was a simply amazing trip where God showed me so much of his wonders and i learnt about church planting 1st hand from people like daivd, pui see, cindy and eelee. Click here!
Next, i sent up a series of 8 posts called the Devil's worship where the frictional story depicts our worship to God from the Devils' point of view. It was a work inspired by the writings of C.S Lewis - The Screwtape letters. Click here!
The next big series was a series of 5 questions being answered on apologetics where i shared how i would answer 5 of the most commonly asked questions if others were to question me on that. It is so important for us to equip ourselves with such knowledge to be a good ambassador of Christ. Click here!
The last series was a series of about 10 lessons on leadership. How do we develop ourselves to become better leaders? Click here!
Here are there is the odd post about my family, ministry and thoughts on some of the current affairs.
I really pray that the posts have been a blessing to you and i have been blessed by contextualizing my thoughts here as well. I hope that the initiative of the resource hub will encourage others share what they have.
God did not charge us a single cent when he gave us the inspiration to write what we did, be it an article or a teaching. So we should share it freely to the correct people as well. Till then!
See ya!
The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
You're perfect in God's eyes (Part 1)
Eliot was born with an undeveloped lung, a heart with a hole in it and DNA that placed faulty information into each and every cell of his body. However, that could not stop the living God from proclaiming Himself through this boy who never uttered a word.
I've always wondered how i would handle if God was to give me a child who was disabled, be it mentally or physically. Would i complain to God? Would i blame myself or would i blame God? I mean everything in my life until now has been pretty smooth sailing. I've not met with any major disaster, my family is fine, and by things are just in order for in my life for me.
But what if God was to bring a little "disorder" into my life and give me such a child. Would i be able to love him like how Eliot's parents loved him? Would i be able to embrace this gift that God has given me no matter how "imperfect" it may seem to me?
This comes to the question of, if we were to be given the decision on whether to abort the child given the huge risks involved and zero chance of survival beyond a few months, what would we struggle with? Will we abort him and take away the whatever little this child already has? On hind sight, We would have taken his 99 days on earth away.
From this story, i really thank God for his grace and mercy in my life. I am so imperfect, in fact the most imperfect than all imperfection (according to paul's lingo), yet God still loved me. Eliot was so imperfect, in fact every cell in his body was imperfect, yet his parents loved him through and through.
Eliot fought on side by side with his parents for 99 days, It also reminds me of the fact that life is really precious. God has given me the chance to live beyond that. A chance to serve him on earth. An at the wink of the eye, he'll take me away.
Many people will remember Eliot's story as a touching story. But after a while, people will just carry on with their lives. But may we always remember this story that is about God's wonderful love and how God was faithful to us even through such tough times.
I've added a survey at the side for you to have your say in this.
Regards,
Jie Hui
Labels: Christian Living
The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Gauge of ministry success
Have you ever asked yourself what is a good guage of success in ministry. Some say its having successfully having discipled someone, some says its hitting goals, some say its growing the group, some says its bringing people closer to God.
I believe that all these things are great but today i really want to focus on one gauge of success in ministry:
People have to be truely better off because of your ministry and your work with them.
I really believe that this is a powerful guage at the end of the day.
Sometimes we are very caught up with goals and we push our people to evangelise and work hard. Nothing wrong with that. But that cannot be happening all year round.
Sometimes we are very caught up in your people rising up and learning the skills needed to be a shepherd or a careleader. Nothing wrong with that. But we can't stop here.
My question to you today, are people around us, truely better off becasue of our work in them? Are we just trying to keep them in church? Are we just trying to win a camp so that they need to work hard? Are we making them effective evangelistic machines but lousy Christ followers? Are we just trying to "Christianize" them?
We need to add value to other's life. We need to learn that church is not everything when it comes to a Christian life. In fact, an average Christian spends less then 4 hours a week in church.
Leaders, learn to look beyond just our people's church life.
Look at their family life. How are they spending enough time with their parents? Are they taking up enough responsibilities at home as they grow? Are they helping out with household chores?
Look at their skills. Are they constant looking to improve themselves to make themselve more attractive in the market place? Are they learning things like piano, driving, language lessons, IT etc.
Look at their market place skills.. How can they do better to go for the promotion? How should they sturdy harder to get better grades? How are they managing their finances? Are they saving enough?
Look at their people skills. This is so important. How are they coping with people outside of church? Some of us are so "churched" that we find it hard to relate to people outside of church.
All these things come to help us be holistic leaders. To truely make our people's life better, not just their church life.
Whether people around me are believers or not, i make sure that when they are around me, i will add value to their lives. Its not difficult to me because it is simply a result of my journey with God.
I find it so amazing and exciting to share about what i learn about God in church to my friends outside. I care for the people, not the church building. I care for the people I shepherd, not the shepherding system. I love those around me not becasue they are my sheep or in my care but because God loves them.
My question to you again, are people's life around you truely better off because of you?
Regards,
Jie Hui
Labels: Leadership
The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Playing the NUMBERS game
~ The 1st school of thought ~
Oh no! is jie hui going to talk about importance of setting goals and hitting goals in the church? is jie hui going to talk about how we need to hit a certain number in the ns group? is he going to force people to evangelize. is it some quota of growth that he has to set so that God will be happy? or the pastor will be happy?
I taught this during the NS word for life today and i'm glad we've set the record straight on this once and for all. And i hope to share with everyone here. The big question here today:
~ The 2nd school of thought ~
Oh no! is jie hui one of those who is going to complain about how the church should not be too number orientated? is jie hui going to one of those who says that we should not set goals as a group but we need to evangelise because of the overflow of the spirit. Because we love people. Because we have a heart of people. We can't evangelise because we want to hit a goal. Its something much like those salesman or multi level marketing thingy.We want to hit 50 by the end of June;
We want to reach out to 200 contacts this week;
We want to see 100 disciples of Christ by the end of the year.
We want to reach out to 200 contacts this week;
We want to see 100 disciples of Christ by the end of the year.
If you stay around long enough in church, i'm sure this will not be foreign to you. This kind of numbers challenge normally draw 3 types of response:
1) People who embrace it
2) People who bo chap it (there-they-going-again mentality)
3) People who reject it (mainly 2nd school of thought)
2) People who bo chap it (there-they-going-again mentality)
3) People who reject it (mainly 2nd school of thought)
I taught this during the NS word for life today and i'm glad we've set the record straight on this once and for all. And i hope to share with everyone here. The big question here today:
Is setting a numbers goal wrong when we evangelise?
Myth 1: It is unbiblical to talk about numbers in the church.
Response:
Do you know that the bible have a book called "numbers"! so how can we say its unbiblical?? On a more serious note, let's go back to the bible and see how important is numbers? Jesus fed 5000 and 4000 in matthew 14:13 and in matthew 15:29. How do they know its 5000? It was an open space, it could not have been couted cause it was a 5000 seater stadium right? They counted! After Peter spoke in Acts 2, 3000 converted. Again, how did they know? The disciples counted! God did not just drop a magic number in their heart and it was certainly not conveniently presented to them in ehope stats.
So the bible talked about numbers. We always say numbers matter to God right? Let's put the record straight. Talking about numbers is not unbiblical in the church. Let's hold this here 1st. I'll revisit this idea again.
Myth 2: Those people who talk about numbers only want to hit the quota and does not love the people the evangelise to. Response:
Let me show you 2 flow charts.
Flow chart 1:
Ok, we've answered 2 myths. let me share with you an analogy. i hope it'll give you a pyridine shift on numbers and goal setting such that you don't have to cringe and feel uncomfortable every time your leader talks about numbers.
The bible says that God already have a race marked out for us.
Let's say we're meeting at Bedok reservoir park for picnic and we are all driving there in individual cars. Some of us can reach there without referring to any road signs because we know the route well. But some of us needs to refer religiously to every road sign that comes along the way so that we do not get lost. Does that mean that because the road signs are redundant to some, the government do not need to put them there for the sake of those who need them?
Some of us will need the goal setting to push us to outreach with urgency. Some of us can outreach naturally and actively without having to set a goal. Fair enough. But don't accuse those who needs a goal to function well for being not loving and having hidden agenda. We're all going to Bedok reservior! and in this case, we're all working towards advancing the kingdom of God!
Before the people who think they are more comfortable without setting a goal become too happy, let me warn you about 3 dangers with a absolutely no-goal-setting approach.
1) You may not be able to reach out to people you are not comfortable with. Very much you'll evangelise to people you are more comfortable with or to your close friends. you love them and you want them to come to know Christ.
2) You will not have the urgency to reach out to people. When you reach out, it may be very feeling base. you reach out to them because you feel a compassion for them. But can i encourage you that God not only wants you to reach out to people you have compassion for but people He has compassion for. Our human imperfect love will be the thing that will differentiate the two.
3) You will stay in your comfort zone many a times. Obviously it is much easier to outreach to people you feel for. But it is much more difficult to reach out to people you do not feel for at all humanly. But God still wants to reach them!
4) Many a times, we fear goal setting so much not because we think it is wrong.We fear it so much because we are afraid that it will push us out of our comfort zone. That we will have to work hard and share the gospel once we talk about the goal.
Let's go back to the road sign example.
As leaders, we need to put road signs there so that as a corporate body, it is clear where our immediate destination is. If you can get to this destination without using the road signs, fair enough, but there are people who needs it. And don't be so confident of yourself that you can hit every destination without referring to the road signs the leader plant. With or without the road sign, the final destination is the same. We want to spread God's love to other people.
So there is no contradiction of the 1st and 2nd school of thoughts. We set goals so that we can gauge and be effective in spreading God's love with the urgency it deserves. If it helps you, good. If you think you can do without it, fair enough. But just make sure you flow with the corporate destination and do your part in what needs to be done.
Regards,
Jie Hui
Response:
Do you know that the bible have a book called "numbers"! so how can we say its unbiblical?? On a more serious note, let's go back to the bible and see how important is numbers? Jesus fed 5000 and 4000 in matthew 14:13 and in matthew 15:29. How do they know its 5000? It was an open space, it could not have been couted cause it was a 5000 seater stadium right? They counted! After Peter spoke in Acts 2, 3000 converted. Again, how did they know? The disciples counted! God did not just drop a magic number in their heart and it was certainly not conveniently presented to them in ehope stats.
So the bible talked about numbers. We always say numbers matter to God right? Let's put the record straight. Talking about numbers is not unbiblical in the church. Let's hold this here 1st. I'll revisit this idea again.
Myth 2: Those people who talk about numbers only want to hit the quota and does not love the people the evangelise to. Response:
Let me show you 2 flow charts.
Flow chart 1:
Outreach -> Goal setting and hitting
(People outreach so that they can hit goals as an end to itself)
(People outreach so that they can hit goals as an end to itself)
Flow Chart 2:
Outreach -> Goal setting and hitting -> God's love
(People outreach so that they hit goals, so that they can spread God's love)
If you believe that the myth is true, then you must be looking at flow chart 1. People out reach so as to hit their quota and their goal. But can i encourage to think further? Do people who set goals set for the fun of it or it gives them satisfaction to go for it?
When we set goals, don't we do it because of God's love for the people as well? That leads us to flow chart 2. If we have been outeaching based on the flow chart 1, i admit its not right and we need to relook at why we evangelise. But what is wrong if setting goals and hitting it helps us to spread God's love to others?
It is true that some of you may question. Why can't we just skip the goal setting and hitting part and just go straight to
Flow chart 3:
We outreach simply because of God's love. Why do we want to set goals. My question to you is if it is not unbiblical and it helps us to stay focused on a short term task, why not??? You see, outreach is what we do, God's love is always the final cause of it. Goal setting and goal hitting is a platform on which we spread God's love. Can we fire the church just because we choose to use this effective and biblical platform?(People outreach so that they hit goals, so that they can spread God's love)
If you believe that the myth is true, then you must be looking at flow chart 1. People out reach so as to hit their quota and their goal. But can i encourage to think further? Do people who set goals set for the fun of it or it gives them satisfaction to go for it?
When we set goals, don't we do it because of God's love for the people as well? That leads us to flow chart 2. If we have been outeaching based on the flow chart 1, i admit its not right and we need to relook at why we evangelise. But what is wrong if setting goals and hitting it helps us to spread God's love to others?
It is true that some of you may question. Why can't we just skip the goal setting and hitting part and just go straight to
Flow chart 3:
Outreach -> God's love
(People outreach to spread God's love)
(People outreach to spread God's love)
Ok, we've answered 2 myths. let me share with you an analogy. i hope it'll give you a pyridine shift on numbers and goal setting such that you don't have to cringe and feel uncomfortable every time your leader talks about numbers.
The bible says that God already have a race marked out for us.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us
~ Hebrews 13:1 ~
~ Hebrews 13:1 ~
Goal setting is like setting road signs along the way to point everyone to the same direction along the race already marked out for us.
Let's say we're meeting at Bedok reservoir park for picnic and we are all driving there in individual cars. Some of us can reach there without referring to any road signs because we know the route well. But some of us needs to refer religiously to every road sign that comes along the way so that we do not get lost. Does that mean that because the road signs are redundant to some, the government do not need to put them there for the sake of those who need them?
Some of us will need the goal setting to push us to outreach with urgency. Some of us can outreach naturally and actively without having to set a goal. Fair enough. But don't accuse those who needs a goal to function well for being not loving and having hidden agenda. We're all going to Bedok reservior! and in this case, we're all working towards advancing the kingdom of God!
Before the people who think they are more comfortable without setting a goal become too happy, let me warn you about 3 dangers with a absolutely no-goal-setting approach.
1) You may not be able to reach out to people you are not comfortable with. Very much you'll evangelise to people you are more comfortable with or to your close friends. you love them and you want them to come to know Christ.
2) You will not have the urgency to reach out to people. When you reach out, it may be very feeling base. you reach out to them because you feel a compassion for them. But can i encourage you that God not only wants you to reach out to people you have compassion for but people He has compassion for. Our human imperfect love will be the thing that will differentiate the two.
3) You will stay in your comfort zone many a times. Obviously it is much easier to outreach to people you feel for. But it is much more difficult to reach out to people you do not feel for at all humanly. But God still wants to reach them!
4) Many a times, we fear goal setting so much not because we think it is wrong.We fear it so much because we are afraid that it will push us out of our comfort zone. That we will have to work hard and share the gospel once we talk about the goal.
Let's go back to the road sign example.
As leaders, we need to put road signs there so that as a corporate body, it is clear where our immediate destination is. If you can get to this destination without using the road signs, fair enough, but there are people who needs it. And don't be so confident of yourself that you can hit every destination without referring to the road signs the leader plant. With or without the road sign, the final destination is the same. We want to spread God's love to other people.
So there is no contradiction of the 1st and 2nd school of thoughts. We set goals so that we can gauge and be effective in spreading God's love with the urgency it deserves. If it helps you, good. If you think you can do without it, fair enough. But just make sure you flow with the corporate destination and do your part in what needs to be done.
Regards,
Jie Hui
Labels: Christian Living
The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
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Sunday, July 20, 2008
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Sunday, July 20, 2008
Getting out of the miry clay
Do you remember the song "Jesus, Lover or my soul"? If you don't, i've added it above for you.
Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Jesus, I will never let you go
You’ve taken me from the miry clay
You've set my feet upon the Rock, and now i know
I love you, I need you,
Though my world may fall, I’ll never let you go
My Saviour, my closest friend,
I will worship you until the very end
Jesus, I will never let you go
You’ve taken me from the miry clay
You've set my feet upon the Rock, and now i know
I love you, I need you,
Though my world may fall, I’ll never let you go
My Saviour, my closest friend,
I will worship you until the very end
This song was actually derived from the verse below:
He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay; And he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
~ Psalm 40:2 (American Standard Version) ~
~ Psalm 40:2 (American Standard Version) ~
Just in case you are wondering what is a miry clay, this is:
In today's context, we use the term "quicksand" more commonly to describe miry clay.
As some Psalm 40 described, its is a horrible pit. People who get stuck inside often die not because they drown (its not possible to drown cause the quicksand is normally twice as dense as your body) but they often die because they can't escape and die a long painful death from the sun or lack of water/food.
Does this describe us sometimes? Not literally stuck in a quicksand but in your life situations. Ever said such sentences before?
There are some strongholds in our lives that we are desperately trying to get out of, but the harder the struggle, the deeper we sink and the more disappointed we get each time we fail to overcome it. Each time we summon every single will power within us to try to break a certain back habit, we improve for a while but after the initial burst of fire, we fall back to our old ways.
We try time and again to get our prayer life consistent once again and time and after a while, when things gets busy, we fail again in this area. There are so many times we told ourselves today is the day, the day where i'll turn my life around, but we fail again and again.
Some of us have failed so many times to get out of the rut that we become so mentally and emotionally exhausted that we give up trying altogether. Let me share with you a story about my prayer life. There was one time i was really convicted about my bad habit of skipping quiet time. I really wanted to spend time with God and i knew i needed it. But somehow, i just can't get myself to have the discipline to do it daily.
I was stuck in the "horrible pit". The more i struggled, the more guilty i felt and the more stuck i got in this miry clay. I gave up praying altogether. I was so disgusted with my own prayer life that i gave up looking at that area altogether.
But i thank God there is a 2nd part to Psalm 40. It says that "he set my feet upon a rock and established my goings (gave me a firm place to stand in NIV)" So what is the rock we are talking about here? I believe we're talking about God's words and biblical advice. As i said yesterday, change requires more then a choice. Let's take a look at some of the rocks to change...
1) Remember God's promise towards your past.
In today's context, we use the term "quicksand" more commonly to describe miry clay.
As some Psalm 40 described, its is a horrible pit. People who get stuck inside often die not because they drown (its not possible to drown cause the quicksand is normally twice as dense as your body) but they often die because they can't escape and die a long painful death from the sun or lack of water/food.
Does this describe us sometimes? Not literally stuck in a quicksand but in your life situations. Ever said such sentences before?
"That's it, i'll never be able to get out of this.!"
"I give up changing"
"No amount of effort will be able to change me"
"I'm born like that, I can't get out of it"
"I give up changing"
"No amount of effort will be able to change me"
"I'm born like that, I can't get out of it"
There are some strongholds in our lives that we are desperately trying to get out of, but the harder the struggle, the deeper we sink and the more disappointed we get each time we fail to overcome it. Each time we summon every single will power within us to try to break a certain back habit, we improve for a while but after the initial burst of fire, we fall back to our old ways.
We try time and again to get our prayer life consistent once again and time and after a while, when things gets busy, we fail again in this area. There are so many times we told ourselves today is the day, the day where i'll turn my life around, but we fail again and again.
Some of us have failed so many times to get out of the rut that we become so mentally and emotionally exhausted that we give up trying altogether. Let me share with you a story about my prayer life. There was one time i was really convicted about my bad habit of skipping quiet time. I really wanted to spend time with God and i knew i needed it. But somehow, i just can't get myself to have the discipline to do it daily.
I was stuck in the "horrible pit". The more i struggled, the more guilty i felt and the more stuck i got in this miry clay. I gave up praying altogether. I was so disgusted with my own prayer life that i gave up looking at that area altogether.
But i thank God there is a 2nd part to Psalm 40. It says that "he set my feet upon a rock and established my goings (gave me a firm place to stand in NIV)" So what is the rock we are talking about here? I believe we're talking about God's words and biblical advice. As i said yesterday, change requires more then a choice. Let's take a look at some of the rocks to change...
1) Remember God's promise towards your past.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
~ Romans 8:1-2 ~
~ Romans 8:1-2 ~
2) Remember God's character
4) Set certain physical boundaries to help you change
If i want to pray more, i can make sure that before i can on my computer, i at least spend sometime with God.
If i want to start journaling, i make sure that my journal is on my table beside my bible always.
If i want to quit smoking, i throw away my cigarette pack and make sure that i stay away from my friends who always offer me a stick.
The physical boundaries have to be as extensive as possible. Sit down and design the physical boundaries not only around the current temptations but future foreseeable temptations (e.g. Exam period) as well. Continually refine this list as God allows you more to experience more temptations.
5) Keep yourself accountable to someone
Be ruthless in this. Be ruthlessly accountable to someone even to the most minute details of the temptation and struggle. Changing is tough enough, changing alone makes it even more difficult.
6) Progress towards the change, not jump towards it.
We live in a generation of instant success and instant change. When we say we are convicted to change, or when we see our sheep say he is convicted to change, it does not mean that it will happen overnight. Its the start of a process. So may a times we see the end and we want to hit the end but we do not come up with a proper plan on how to progress towards the end. And finally when we don't see the ideal change anywhere near, we give up on ourselves.
Never give up on yourself! Don't be like me and give up on a certain area of weakness or an area we want to change in our life. We have to learn to "out stubborn" the devil when it comes to breaking off the bondage or strong hold he has in our lives. Or else we'll never be truly free yeah? Sometimes, things may take time.
Give yourself time and space to breath and take a step at a time yet have the urgency to change. Slow change is better then no change yeah? Back to the example of prayer. I may not start off with praying 7 days a week. Maybe as i struggle, i prayed 3 days this week. I account this to my mentor and we see how we can bring it to 4 days. Then 5 days. Then slowly 6 days and eventually 7 days.
However, this is not to say that the Holy Spirit cannot show you the light like how he showed Paul the light. what i am saying is that if it does not come at the click of a finger, don't give up, continue to work towards it, you'll reach it one day...
7) Holy Spirit Convicts
Finally, I had to continually allow the Holy Spirit and my mentors to speak to me about this area of my life. After all, it is the Holy Spirit who will be able to show you the rock and the solid ground to which you can step on to lift you out of the "horrible pit"
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
~ Lamentations 3:22-23 ~
3) No longer part of the kingdom of darkness
Remember that you have switch allegiance from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. You are no longer to be controlled by sin but by the Holy Spirit.
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
~ Lamentations 3:22-23 ~
3) No longer part of the kingdom of darkness
Remember that you have switch allegiance from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. You are no longer to be controlled by sin but by the Holy Spirit.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
~ Romans 8:9-10 ~
~ Romans 8:9-10 ~
4) Set certain physical boundaries to help you change
If i want to pray more, i can make sure that before i can on my computer, i at least spend sometime with God.
If i want to start journaling, i make sure that my journal is on my table beside my bible always.
If i want to quit smoking, i throw away my cigarette pack and make sure that i stay away from my friends who always offer me a stick.
The physical boundaries have to be as extensive as possible. Sit down and design the physical boundaries not only around the current temptations but future foreseeable temptations (e.g. Exam period) as well. Continually refine this list as God allows you more to experience more temptations.
5) Keep yourself accountable to someone
Be ruthless in this. Be ruthlessly accountable to someone even to the most minute details of the temptation and struggle. Changing is tough enough, changing alone makes it even more difficult.
6) Progress towards the change, not jump towards it.
We live in a generation of instant success and instant change. When we say we are convicted to change, or when we see our sheep say he is convicted to change, it does not mean that it will happen overnight. Its the start of a process. So may a times we see the end and we want to hit the end but we do not come up with a proper plan on how to progress towards the end. And finally when we don't see the ideal change anywhere near, we give up on ourselves.
Never give up on yourself! Don't be like me and give up on a certain area of weakness or an area we want to change in our life. We have to learn to "out stubborn" the devil when it comes to breaking off the bondage or strong hold he has in our lives. Or else we'll never be truly free yeah? Sometimes, things may take time.
Give yourself time and space to breath and take a step at a time yet have the urgency to change. Slow change is better then no change yeah? Back to the example of prayer. I may not start off with praying 7 days a week. Maybe as i struggle, i prayed 3 days this week. I account this to my mentor and we see how we can bring it to 4 days. Then 5 days. Then slowly 6 days and eventually 7 days.
However, this is not to say that the Holy Spirit cannot show you the light like how he showed Paul the light. what i am saying is that if it does not come at the click of a finger, don't give up, continue to work towards it, you'll reach it one day...
7) Holy Spirit Convicts
Finally, I had to continually allow the Holy Spirit and my mentors to speak to me about this area of my life. After all, it is the Holy Spirit who will be able to show you the rock and the solid ground to which you can step on to lift you out of the "horrible pit"
Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
~ 2 Timothy 1:14 ~
~ 2 Timothy 1:14 ~
That's all i have for you today. God Bless you.
Regards,
Jie Hui
Regards,
Jie Hui
Labels: Christian Living
The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
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Thursday, July 17, 2008
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Thursday, July 17, 2008
Change takes more then a Choice, it takes Courage
Let me share with you a story today. Its about this man called Ah Long.
Ah Long was born in the 1940s and when he was in his 20s, the underworld in Singapore was still very much dominant. Ah long become one of the bosses of the underworld and ran loan shark ring, secret society, drug trafficking.
Ah Long's times...
The law soon caught up with him and he because of the limited evidence, he was sentence to a 7 years term.
Changi Prison
When he was in prison, he got to know Pastor Tong. Initially he was very much resistant and suspicious of the Pastor Tong. But through years of perseverance, he started to attend the prison worship service and finally received Christ during his 3rd year. He became determined to change and away from his old ways. He started to read the bible and the conviction to turn away from sin and lead a Christ like life became stronger by the day. It was one of the most awesome change the pastor has ever experienced. Ah Long even quite smoking, started to devote his time in the cell to pray and seek God. Eventually Ah Long received news that because of his good behaviour, he was allowed to go after serving 5.5 years of his 7 years jail term.
Finally, on the 5th of September 1969, Ah Long changed into his polo shirt and brown pants. Finally he was a free man. As he stepped out of prison, the sun rays glared into his eyes and once he got used to the intense sunlight, he was greeted with a scene that he never thought he would have to face.
Where Ah Long had to make a decision...
On the left of the street was Pastor Tong and his wife. Pastor Tong had came to receive him. On the right of the street, was Ah Nan, the person who was his right hand man when Ah Long ruled the underworld. Together with Ah Nan was 11 other brothers who still addressed Ah Long as "Lau Da Long"
Ah Long had to choose now. He had to choose either leave with the Pastor and lead a new life or leave with Ah Nan and go back to the underworld.
In the end, Ah long left with Ah Nan and went back to the underworld.
Ah Long was killed 3 years later when the police raided his drug warehouse and was shot dead at the scene in the fire fight.
Does the story of Ah Long reminds you of yourself?
To us, the prison is like a church, a sanctuary or when we meet up with our mentors. Time and again we make the decision to change and to repent of our old ways only. We walk away from the altar (prison in Ah Long's case) convicted to change. But when we are faced with the real choice of changing (Pastor Tong vs Ah Nan) we don't have the courage to stand up on our decision.
Have you ever made a decision to change at the altar and when you go back to your friends or family, you have no courage to show your change? Let's say, you were a smoker and you decided to quit smoking. When faced with colleagues or friends giving you a cigarette expecting you to join them at the smoking point, do you have enough courage to say no?
Courage to say no even when others laugh at you or mock you? when others are skeptical of the new you? Courage to build a new image of yourself? The initial stages will be hard but let me encourage you, people around you will see your determination to change and allow you to change and adjust to the new you.
Ah Long was born in the 1940s and when he was in his 20s, the underworld in Singapore was still very much dominant. Ah long become one of the bosses of the underworld and ran loan shark ring, secret society, drug trafficking.
Ah Long's times...
The law soon caught up with him and he because of the limited evidence, he was sentence to a 7 years term.
Changi PrisonFinally, on the 5th of September 1969, Ah Long changed into his polo shirt and brown pants. Finally he was a free man. As he stepped out of prison, the sun rays glared into his eyes and once he got used to the intense sunlight, he was greeted with a scene that he never thought he would have to face.
Where Ah Long had to make a decision...
On the left of the street was Pastor Tong and his wife. Pastor Tong had came to receive him. On the right of the street, was Ah Nan, the person who was his right hand man when Ah Long ruled the underworld. Together with Ah Nan was 11 other brothers who still addressed Ah Long as "Lau Da Long"
Ah Long had to choose now. He had to choose either leave with the Pastor and lead a new life or leave with Ah Nan and go back to the underworld.
In the end, Ah long left with Ah Nan and went back to the underworld.
Ah Long was killed 3 years later when the police raided his drug warehouse and was shot dead at the scene in the fire fight.
Does the story of Ah Long reminds you of yourself?
To us, the prison is like a church, a sanctuary or when we meet up with our mentors. Time and again we make the decision to change and to repent of our old ways only. We walk away from the altar (prison in Ah Long's case) convicted to change. But when we are faced with the real choice of changing (Pastor Tong vs Ah Nan) we don't have the courage to stand up on our decision.
Have you ever made a decision to change at the altar and when you go back to your friends or family, you have no courage to show your change? Let's say, you were a smoker and you decided to quit smoking. When faced with colleagues or friends giving you a cigarette expecting you to join them at the smoking point, do you have enough courage to say no?
Courage to say no even when others laugh at you or mock you? when others are skeptical of the new you? Courage to build a new image of yourself? The initial stages will be hard but let me encourage you, people around you will see your determination to change and allow you to change and adjust to the new you.
Don't let others' image of you determine who you are. Let who you are determine others' image of you.
Change takes more then just a choice at the altar, it requires you to have the courage to pull it off.
I have a few question for you today and meditate on the verses after them and seek God in that area.
1) Have you made a decision to want to change but is afraid of how others will receive the new you? (you fear other's skepticism, mocking or even rejection)
Tomorrow I'll talk about how we are our own stumbling block to change.
Regards,
Jie Hui
I have a few question for you today and meditate on the verses after them and seek God in that area.
1) Have you made a decision to want to change but is afraid of how others will receive the new you? (you fear other's skepticism, mocking or even rejection)
Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD;
may your love and your truth always protect me.
may your love and your truth always protect me.
For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
~ Psalm 40:11-12 ~
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
~ Galatians 5:16-18 ~
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
~ Galatians 5:24-25 ~
~ Galatians 5:16-18 ~
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
~ Galatians 5:24-25 ~
Tomorrow I'll talk about how we are our own stumbling block to change.
Regards,
Jie Hui
Labels: Christian Living
The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
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Monday, July 14, 2008
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Monday, July 14, 2008
Go Away Oprah!!!!
I never knew Oprah was like that. I mean if you don't believe in God, don't go around making use of your influence and your fan base and your fans' trust in you and destroy other people's salvation... Watch the video... you'll be quite pissed off....
Regards,
Jie Hui
Labels: Apologetics
The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
0 Comments
Monday, July 14, 2008
0 Comments
Monday, July 14, 2008
Hey people,
Welcome to my blog. I really hope that this blog will be an inspiration to you in your walk with God.
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Jie Hui
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