A Sharp Intake Of Breath May 20, 2006
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When I see my two favorite elements of nature meet – the sea and the sky - that is a moment when I feel like I've stepped into the shelter of home. And when God takes up His mighty paintbrush and writes His signature across the heavens, all you can hear from me is a sharp intake of breath. Photographs do Him no justice. His work is real and alive while mine is at best a mirror image. But I persist for this longing to create and preserve and immortalize is what He has placed in me and I will use it to His glory.
I am an island girl through and through. The mountains, the valleys, the plains all are lovely but the beach and the ocean is where my heart is. Take away the sea and something in me goes missing but often I don't realise it until I see my ocean again and breathe the salt-kissed air. My wide-open space is the sea and the sand and the sky. It used to make me sad that there would be no sea in heaven but I know that God has something even better than that planned for us. I can hardly wait.
When I look out at this great expanse it's humbling. God in His greatness looks upon me in my smallness yet stretches out His hand and says "Follow Me." "As far as the east is from the west, so far have I removed your transgression. I will have compassion upon you and will cast all your iniquity into the depths of the sea."
It is a tear of joy I shed.
As the dying embers of the sun begin to fade and I turn to go, my heartbeat echoes: Amen Lord, amen.
[Psalm 103:12; Micah 7:19]
Prayer Of Need May 19, 2006
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Dear God, please give me the wisdom I so desperately need when I'm talking about You to people who don't know the You that I know. Give me the courage and the understanding. Guide me to Your Scripture. Let Your Words not mine flow from my fingertips and please, please let me help and not hinder instead. Above all, enable me to do and say and write everything in love. May You bring this soul out of the twisted path and into Your eternal kingdom. Amen.
…for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7 (KJV)
Who To Count On May 7, 2006
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There's only one person I can count on in life and it's God. I wish I could remember that better rather than after spells of heartache. Depending on myself, family, friends or loved ones only works up to a certain degree. When all other things fall away, God is there and He has always been there and He always, always will be.
Plugged Into God May 1, 2006
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'Electrifying' best describes the scene that was the launching of Saturday Night Live (SNL) at my home church on April 29th. I had a long day running up and down Penang that started at 9am so it was quite a relief to arrive at my last stop of the day – church! I had been away from church since Easter and once again it felt really good to be back. SNL is set to be our permanent weekly youth service and judging from the fire and the passion I saw that night, I'm confident every week will be an amazing encounter with God.
We had Altered Frequency there to provide the worship for SNL. I knew of their existance and had heard their debut album Exalt some two years ago but this was my first time seeing the band in the flesh. The guys didn't disappoint. They sounded great on recording but their live performance was no less than incredible. It is so encouraging for me to see Malaysian Christian music come into its own.
One of my friends visiting for the first time thought Altered Frequency was my church band. Wow, I wish! Instead they mainly hail from The ACTS Church in Subang Jaya as well as other churches in the Klang Valley.
Worship that night itself was electrifying. Seeing God's people come together, raising hands, jumping and cheering in praise, clapping with joy and singing with all their hearts was a worship leader's dream come true.
Before Pastor Sam came out to share the message for the night they screened the preview to the upcoming movie Mission Impossible: III. As the clip rolled I could sense my friends becoming more and more perplexed as to why we were showing the preview of a secular movie. For all I know they must have been thinking this weird church has really got its priorities confused! Any doubt was cleared up when Pastor Sam took the floor and introduced the topic of his message which was Mission Impossible 4 – God's mission in our lives, for whom nothing is impossible.
The most significant part of his message to me was a story he told about a pastor at a conference who desperately had to visit the lavatory halfway through dinner. Upon entering, to his dismay he found that all the toilets were full of excrement in all their splendour. Resigning himself to the situation he was about to do the necessary business when his room key in the back pocket of his pants fell out with a *plink*. Except it wasn't really a *plink* but more like a :thud:. I know, YUCK.
As the key started sinking into its murky brown grave the pastor became frantic. Should he give it up for lost, leave it and get a new key? Or should he reach in and grab it despite the overwhelming disgust factor? Just when the fate of the key seemed sealed, he made the decision, plunged his hand in and bravely plucked out the key.
I know only too well what must have gone through his mind as his key fell in because the same thing happened to me not more than a few months ago. My carkey fell into the toiletbowl of a restaurant and I could do nothing but watch in horror as it slid into the bowels of the squatting toilet. God answered my prayers that day though because the restaurant management was able to extricate my key, praise God!
Back to the pastor in the story. Right then the Holy Spirit spoke to him. We are like the key, lost in all our mess and dirtiness of our sin. God could easily just pull the lever and flush us. But instead He bends down into the grime and filth, reaches in and plucks us out of the grave we were sinking into. Not only that but He washes us and makes us new again for that is the measure of how precious we are to Him!
At the end of the service a number of people surrendered their lives to Jesus for the first time and hundreds more stood up in response to Him. It was quite a night and I'm blessed to have been there and to be a part of it.
Easter in Church April 16, 2006
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I went to my home church this morning. It felt so good to be back. I haven't had the opportunity to be there for a whole month. I love my campus church, it's where I first started serving God and where I grew a lot in various ministries. I have a lot of good memories there. But God ministers to me the most when I'm in my church back home. I wish I could go back more often than I do but time and finances don't always permit. I've been going to my home church for over a year now, albeit not as often as I would like. The sheer enthusiasm I feel from the pastor and the congregation, the youth and the adults, it's wonderful. The worship is full of power. The messages are vibrant and practical and I learn something everytime. And I always meet God there.
Saturday Night Live is in two weeks. I'm seriously looking forward to it. Altered Frequency will be there to lead the worship and kick off this new youth service that's going to be held every Saturday night from then on. I just know it's going to be great.
I also made a couple of new friends – the Bowens whom I sat next to this morning. They are from North Carolina. I don't know what the odds of that are, but to me it's really quite amazing since South Carolina has special significance for me right now.
I feel a lot better coming from church than I have in awhile. My Lord has risen and I'm so, so glad for that. That gives me a faith that is alive, not dead because my Lord is alive and seated in Heaven this very moment. One thing that all other religions have in common is that all their founders eventually passed away. But Jesus is the only one who was raised to life again and is alive today! As pastor illustrated this morning, imagine you were walking along a road and you came to a fork in the road, and you saw on one path a dead man and on the other a man who was alive. Which of these men would you ask for directions? It's not too difficult to answer.
God is the strength and the hope of my heart. As Abraham hoped when there was no hope, I pray that I too can do likewise.
Good Friday April 14, 2006
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As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
~ John 15:9-15 (NIV)
On a day like today some 2000 years ago, they nailed my Lord to a tree to die. Not to die in vain but to make us – his enemies – now his friends. How humbling it is to know as that precious sinless blood poured out, God was making a way to draw us back to him. Not to be his slaves or servants but to be his friends.
It’s not so easy to sense love and friendship in our community today. Or even in our churches. As Easter Sunday rolls around, may I ever show the love and friendship my Lord has shown me to others who may need to see it.
Claddagh April 13, 2006
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Ever since I discovered what a Claddagh ring was and learned its background and meaning, I’ve been longing for one. Reading poetry inspired by the Claddagh only served to increase its appeal. However, since I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in me that I know of, I never felt ‘qualified’ to wear this piece of jewelry.
Then two nights ago I was laying in bed trying to sleep at 3am when I started thinking about the Claddagh ring. Then it occured to me that the crown, the heart and the hands could symbolize so much more than its original meaning: Loyalty, Love, Friendship. Thinking about the ring, the first thought that sprang to mind was how it reflects the Trinity. Sovereign God the Father (crown), Jesus whom we invite into our hearts as Savior (heart) and the Holy Spirit our Helper (hands).
Then I realized that the Claddagh could also reflect our relationship with God. God reigns over us (crown), we are called to love Him (heart) and to have fellowship with Him and do His work (hands). And finally if that wasn’t enough, John 3:16 came to mind: For God (crown) so loved the world (heart), that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him (hands) should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I wonder if this is God’s way of saying it’s all right for me to wear the Claddagh. That it crosses cultures and could mean so much more than just a friendship ring. In this sense, I would wear it on the right hand, heart pointing inward to show I belong to someone. That I belong to Jesus.
I love getting insight like this. I just wonder why it always tends to come at 3am in the morning!
