Memoirs of A Believer

impact

jongshengong — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:27:01 +0000

If you were to die tomorrow for some unfortunate reason, how would the world remember you?

Would the stranger on the street know your works, without knowing you personally?

Would the poor smile when your name is mentioned, because of the act of kindness you showed to the world?

We have this ideology that, to help other people, I need to be in a position to help them, therefore I need to help myself to that position first.

But when will we be satisfied?

If you wait to reach a certain position first before helping others, you will be waiting for a long time.

You are already more than equipped to impact the people around you.

De-objectifying a Holy God

jongshengong — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 12:15:02 +0000

It is not about carrying the Bible around, in our backpacks, in our iPhones…

It is about carrying the God of that Bible around, in the way we act, the way we talk…

It is not about praying in tongues,

for if we do not think about the God behind the prayers we say in tongues, there is no power in our prayers..

We have managed to objectify a Holy God.

Time to step back and reflect.

Surrender v Commit

jongshengong — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:18:00 +0000

sur·ren·der/səˈrendər/

Verb: cease resistance and submit to their authority; to relinquish possession or control of to another

com·mit/kəˈmit/

Verb: to consign for preservation; to pledge to a position

I think as Christians, we are very familiar to these two words, especially the word ‘commit’. Often after a sermon, towards the end of the service, your pastor has probably said the lines ‘Would you like to commit to God and accept Him as your personal Lord and Saviour? We would like to pray for you.’ a couple of times. You would have heard it and just thought, same old same old.

But someone pointed out to me, that God never mentioned the word ‘commit’. He never mentioned, ‘You shall commit your life.’ Not once in the Bible. ZERO mention.

So why did we decide to ‘commit’ our lives instead of surrender? Committing leaves us with an escape clause.

‘I shall commit my life to God only and only if He agrees to make my life much better and smooth sailing. If God goes back on His promise, I’m calling it quits’

How often have we decided to surrender completely to God? You would have heard stories or watched movies about war time, where the losing army would surrender and lay down their arms. From then on, they have to cease resistance and submit to their conqueror’s authority. Full submission, not a choice on which rules they prefer to follow and which rules they choose to ignore.

It isn’t easy. Surrendering control, to accept and live with the fact that we are not in control, is against norms these days, where we create as many gadgets to help us control our lives. Daily planners, iPhones, schedule trackers and the likes in an attempt to control our time, control our spending, control where we are headed and how we head there.

Only God is in control. His plans will outdo our best laid plans EVERY, SINGLE time. His timing is spot on precision, better than any Swiss watch ever made.

So why try so hard to wrestle control from God? Time to surrender and not pick and choose areas to commit to God.

Rise – God is Able

jongshengong — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 01:53:30 +0000

RISE

VERSE 1:

All the earth come alive Lift your eyes to the morning Let our hearts beat again With a lifeblood that never fails Your love it will never fail

VERSE 2:

Breaking down the divide in a holy collision The Divine in disguise Took the cross for our sin and shame Our God You will never fail

VERSE 3:

See the lost in return Swing the doors ever wider See the tide as it turns Love and mercy is on the rise As the world folds into Your light All creation will see Your light

VERSE 4:

Hear the sound of freedom rise As our song breaks the silence Echoing the angel cry Let us lift up Your holy Name Hereafter to sing Your praise Forever and ever

CHORUS:

We will hold we will love We will fall in surrender We will rise we will run We will live to declare Your Name Forever to bring You praise Forever we’ll lift up Your Name

Jesus Jesus

VERSE 5:

The universe on its knees See the stars in surrender God above kings and queens Every idol will bend and break But our God You will never fail Forever and ever

BRIDGE:

Swing the doors wider Sound the praise louder All our hearts cry out For the glory of Your Name Our God You will never fail

Lift the Name higher Shine the light brighter All the earth cry out For the glory of Your Name Our God You will never fail

anything that is worth doing, often takes effort

jongshengong — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:25:43 +0000

The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but its difficulty does not make us faint and cave in—it stirs us up to overcome.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Matthew 7 : 13 -14

what do you want

jongshengong — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 06:01:00 +0000

what do you want to achieve in the next month or so ?

what would you, in one month’s time, want to see when you look back to now ?

i doubt it would be fulfilling to just be the same, maybe just one more month’s worth of life’s experience under your belt…

what do you want in life? there is so much more to every little thing you do, than just going through the motions

do you do what you preach?

jongshengong — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 02:35:31 +0000

We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.

a transition

jongshengong — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 12:43:25 +0000

Looking back, I think the most underrated issue a fresh graduate faces when entering the working world, especially if he/she is going back home after a stint overseas, is the huge change in support group.

In college, you would have that group of friends whom you always hang out with. Being an international student, that was the closest you would have to family in an unfamiliar place. Someone who is going through the same phase in life, the same problems who shares the same culture / ideologies who after a few years, would turn out to be the same people who keeps you accountable in your walk with God. Christian fellowships in college is one of the most important things in nurturing and growing a Christian walk.

But what happens after?

We are good in preparing for post-uni / pre-working world issues like, how to be a Christian in the workplace, what constitutes a Godly Christian relationship, how to settle back down with family after being a few years away from them and the list goes on and on. I think we do an excellent job and have more than enough knowledge in these.

But what about the loss of support? We would have a bunch of friends who spend every day with us, keeping us accountable and in check. Our safe bubble….. Entering the working world away from all these, is another story.

The working world bogs us down with long hours, deadlines to meet, bosses to please. Weekdays are filled with long working hours, weekends are used to rest and recover. It is easy to make these as excuses. It is even easier to get sucked in with the idea of making money and being successful. One huge danger is the tendency of our lifestyles to float up, matching the salary we pull in. When we start being unable to commit to church meetings or even meeting with friends, that’s when the alarm bells should be ringing full blast.

I believe though, it is our decision. God knocks at the door constantly, He never stops, but neither does He try to force the door to get to you. It is your own decision to stop running the rat race, to look around, to kneel at the presence of God and remember our ‘tent-making’ purpose.

You know you are on the right track when it gets harder, after all, the stronger our relationship with God is, the higher the stakes are.

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

by Mother Teresa

the actions you do resonates for eternity

jongshengong — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:54:04 +0000

It has been a while since I touched this wordpress. I forgot about what I wrote, what thoughts I had poured into this.

But someone came across it and dropped me a facebook message regarding a post I wrote a while back.

It inspired me to sit down and think….

We walk this world, wanting to do things our way according to our time. We invite things like an app to help us keep track of our schedule, deadlines to meet, life to experience…

But it is always God’s timing, it is always His path… It may not be the easiest path, but it is God’s path for us.