The Youths of Penang Wesley!

Archive for October, 2011

Humility…

…is something most of us struggle with. For example, in everything we do, do we learn to do things such a way that we are hiding behind the cross? We hide behind the cross not because we are cowards but it is because in everything we do, we want Christ to be known, we want Christ to be glorified and not us. Is it something that is easy to be done? I don’t think so. Without realizing it, most of the time we tend to rob God from the praises that He should be getting instead of us. When people give good comments about how well we sing or play an instrument during worship, or how good our exams scores are; do we give God the credit or do we just acknowledge that it is through our hard work that we score straight A’s or that we get good promotion/increment at work?

By right, there is nothing good in this sinful world but yet we still see goodness in the midst of everything because God is good and because He had sent His Son Jesus Christ into this world. For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous (Romans 5:19). Because of Jesus’ obedience and humility, even death to the cross, goodness and righteous had entered into this world. Hence, all the good that we see ourselves doing is because the Holy Spirit is working in us and through us, changing us to be more like Jesus Christ. That is why Paul can say, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing (Romans 7:17-18). Hence, if there is anything good in us, it is because of the Holy Spirit changing us and molding into the masterpiece that God has design uniquely for each of us.
Hence, the next time when people praise us or give good comments about us, may we learn to give thanks for His patience and His caring love for us into molding us and may we learn to hide behind the cross in all that we do because we want Christ to be known and to be glorified in all the good things seen in us.
hp

October 31, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Pray Without Ceasing!

Did you know Joshua House started out as a prayer group of 4 people? Brief history lesson – in 2004, the official youth group of Penang Wesley was disbanded because there weren’t any youths of suitable age; most had left Penang either to study or to work. So 4 guys decided to meet up for prayer. Soon they started inviting their friends, and the prayer group grew to include worship and Bible study. Non-Christians who attended the meetings came to know Christ. In 2006 Joshua House became recognised as an official MYF chapter.

When I read the (very) brief account of Joshua House’s history written by one of the founders, Jared, I was inspired. Although it was just a series of bullet points outlining the growth of JH since 2004, I could see how God was at work building up JH and using it for his glory. And it all started with prayer.

I think that prayer is a key aspect of our relationship with God. The less you pray, the harder it is for you to do so. And when it becomes harder, you pray less, and it develops into a vicious cycle. We should pray no matter what circumstances we’re in: ‘Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.’ (Rom. 12:12).  If life is good, thank God for it, and do not become complacent. If life sucks, commit your anxieties to him, because he cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7). But in all situations, be constant in prayer. If you neglect it, it will get harder.

Try and set aside some time for God every day, even if you really don’t feel like praying. ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23). It doesn’t count as “denying yourself” if you don’t deny yourself, right? Just couple of minutes every day, even if you’d prefer to get on with your work project, or go on Facebook, or go to sleep (that’s why you shouldn’t really pray before bedtime).

JW

October 15, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Are You In The Comfort Zone?

Sometimes it is easier to be said than done. Love your enemies. Do good to others continuously. Stop focusing on yourself and start to focus on people. Set your priority right….and the list could go on forever. But to act it out, it is really difficult. How can we learn to stop focusing on ourselves when the world is promoting on self on how we can look good always?
All of us are sinners and fall short of the glory of God but we can learn to make fewer and fewer sins until we don’t sin anymore which is when we meet our Father in Heaven. It is hard at first (just like asking a drug addict to stop taking drugs) but as time goes by, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can be less “addictive” towards sinning as the Holy Spirit fill us with its fruit and as we begin to love God more and more. Just like we cannot serve two masters simultaneously, similarly, darkness and light cannot exist together in us. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. (Ephesians 5:8-10)
The question we should ponder instead is, are we willing to persevere and come out from this “addictiveness” to sin and instead to allow the Holy Spirit to change us? At times when we are too complacent with our sins that we do not want to come out from the comfort zone. As we fill ourselves more and more with the Holy Spirit, we will find that darkness will flee from us. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. (James 4:7-8).
hp

October 10, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | 1 Comment

God Knows…

A few weeks ago, I met a drink seller in a hawker centre. He said he was a Christian and that he had a degree from Malaysian Baptist Theological Seminary (in Chinese). He told me that he was working in the hawker centre because he felt that God wanted him to be there to “reach out to people”.

Not long after that, I was having problems with choosing what subjects to study for my 6th Form programme. I was stressing and praying about this for a few days. Then one morning, when I was going to school and talking to my mum about this, I realised something. God is everywhere all the time – in fact, he’s not bounded by time, so he’s literally everywhere and at every time. That means that right now, at this moment, God is not only watching you read this email, but he’s also watching you in your mother’s womb; he’s watching you when you graduated from primary school; he’s watching you years in the future, surrounded by all your children and grandchildren. All at the same time.

This meant that, at that moment in the car on Batu Feringgi road, God was actually watching me graduate from 6th Form. He knows exactly what scores I’m going to get. He knows exactly what uni I’ll go to and what job I’ll pursue in the future. And he also knows exactly how he can use me, in whatever circumstances I’m in, to glorify him and do his work.

I was reminded of that guy in the hawker centre. Though he had gotten a degree and was a qualified pastor, God had chosen to send him to a hawker centre. Similarly, God can choose uneducated fishermen like Peter and John to spread his word and build up his kingdom. So I realised that in the end, it didn’t matter at all what subjects I took, or what scores I’ll get for my final exams. God knows exactly what his plan is for my life.

So… if you guys are worrying about an important decision, or about your exams, then just remember that God already knows what will happen. Ps. 139:16 – “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”  The important thing is to commit everything you do to God – Prov. 16:3 says: ‘Commit your work to the Lord, and all your plans will be established.’

Of course, that doesn’t mean you don’t study la.

JW

October 1, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment