Monday, January 23, 2006

Quotes from Christian Literature

The weekend seems to whiz by so quickly. I was running here and there, and attend church, have a couple of meals with a few people, recuperated by sleeping, did some work and it's already 2318 hrs Sunday night 22-Jan-2006 already. I was deeply impressed to write on something, however, I lacked sufficient time his weekend. I apologize that I couldn't turn it around quickly enough this weekend, as I don't want it to be a rush job. So I'll save that for next week.


As for this week, I like to share with you excellent quotes from some of the books I am currently reading up. Enjoy :

Disunity never takes place because of disagreement. It is because we go beyond disagreement to critisism and judgement.

- Floyd McClung, The Father Heart of God


Be careful: self-pity can be a counterfeit of real repentence

- Floyd McClung, The Father Heart of God


Faith has not begun until we believe God for the impossible

- Floyd McClung, The Father Heart of God


The secret of spiritual success is not just in acquiring individual knowledge--it's in combining that knowledge with love in all our relationships.

- Mart De Haan


God loathes idolatory (which hurts him) and immorality (which hurts those he made)

- David Pawson, Unlocking the Bible Omnibus


If you have the idea that your job is simply a means to the greater end of evangelism, then you have devised a peculiar understanding or work, a view not found in the New Testament.

- Doug Sherman, Your Work Matters to God

Wisdom is the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of obtaining it

- Dr. J.I. Packer


When I run, I feel God's pleasure

-Eric Liddell, Scottish Olympic runner in the 1930's.


God did not call us to work the majority of our lives just to survive, earning a paycheck and existing from weekend to weekend. God created each person for specific reasons, taskes and purposes and He equiped each one of us with the perfect combination of talents, skills and abilities required to find fulfillment for our lives.

- Larry Julian, God is My CEO


God's wisdom, your spiritual core, provides your source of strength, purpose and direction and balances and leverages your skills and abilities. Your character is the aggregate sum of who you are as you couragrously follow through and do what is right over time. Your productivity is the legacy you leave behind.

- Larry Julian, God is My CEO


Don't confuse the acts of God with the facts of life. The acts of God can redeem the facts of life

- Robert H. Schuller, Life Is Not Fair But God is Good


For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of loive and of self-discipline.

- 2 Timothy 1:7


In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

- Romans 8:28


You could more a less put forth a reasonably accurate educated guestimate of what I have been reading la. ;)

posted by Mel-Vern @ 7:05 AM 1 comments

Monday, January 16, 2006

As an ice-breaker during our first 2005 supply chain management meeting, our supply chain manager went around the team asking each one of us our new year resolution. One of the line managers simply said this : complain less, compliment more. Just 4 words, but it resonated among all of us in the management team. Coming out from that meeting, all of us have added that to our list of new year resolution, including the supply chain manager himself.


As I was reflecting those words, I came up with this : complain less, contemplate more. We are living in a very interesting fabric of history when life demands so much from us. As we keeping running these cogs at high speeds, and as finite human beings, we naturally get tired and weary. You could probably relate to the last time (which may not be so long ago) when you felt easily felt irritable and kept complaining. Complaining doesn't have to be aloud. It can be happening right now in between both your ears. The scope of complaining that I am referring to here is not the reaction to the occasional breakdown of the neighbourhood ATM, but to structural circumstances of our daily lives. It could be an unfulfilling job, a naggy spouse/partner, a health condition or whatever it may be.


Have you notice the dynamics of a whirlpool? That is how the human mind functions. Feed anything closer to its core, it will just spin faster and faster around the vortex and then finally sinks in. Complaining is closely associated with negatively charged emotion like anger, worry, disappointment etc. I don't think that complaining by itself is a sin, it does, however, reinforce certain negativity deeper into our minds. And because of that, more often that not complaining exaggerates the situation, blowing it to unreasonable proportions. Prolonged complaining provides certain foothold, rendering ourselves spiritually vulnerable. God forbid that in Eph 4:27.


Contemplate more. That ought to be our automatic response in face of live's adversities. This is one area for drills when we are practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit. Here are some Bible verses which we can start with :Be still, and know that I am God (Ps 46:10)Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Phil 4:6)My grace is sufficient for you (2Cor 12:9)For I know the plans I have for you, plans to propsper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jer 29:11)Contemplation should also go beyond personal boundaries of just prayerful attitude and reading the Word of God. Sharing with His people and seeking counsel of godly individuals in church is another form of contemplation. God speaks into our lives via different approaches. Hence's it is important to get that synergy for breakthroughs.


Too often too much energy is spent on complaining and is truly wasted in such an entropy. So, the next time you are about to burst into fits of complaints, pause for a moment and do a quick audit of the yourself and the situation. Say a quick prayer if you must. It elevates us from being a victim of circumstances to a position of empowerment.

posted by Mel-Vern @ 7:36 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Conquering 2006 for Christ

Time surely whizzes by and 1.5 weeks of the 52 weeks of 2006 has already being consumed. Almost half of January is gone. That's almost 3% of 2006. And I'm getting nowhere with maths and chronology.
There were a few things which God has impressed upon me for the past 2 weeks or so. Although we're already 0.5 way thru January and consumed 3% of 2006, I think the new year is still relatively fresh for many and cheers to 2006 :

Urshering a new year has been a significant event in many areas of our lives. Far from just wee hours partying, much preparation goes on in all walks of life preparing for a new year. Managers have their TnR (targets and results) planning for their sales, budget and cost reduction goals, teachers have their classes to prepare, finance executives scramble for year-end closing and many many others.

I sense very strongly the similar occurance in church life. Along this Gregorian calender timeline, the period around the new year is a good milestone for us to pause and reflect on our walk with Christ in 2005. I am greatly encouraged by some of your sharings about the many blessings and favour that the Lord has poured out in your lives. For some of us, 2005 could be a year you may want to forget. Nevertheless, no matter whether 2005 turned out good or bad, it is important that we further developed our characters on whatever learnings we may acquire. For God is ultimately interested in our characters, not our circumstances.

While I strongly advocate a constant healthcheck on our personal walk with God, the new year is a convenient time-measuring milestone for us to do just that. Whatever our blessings that we have were in 2005, thank God and build upon it so that we may radiate those blessings to those around us as well. For the not-so-nice-things of 2005, if we are a victim of circumstances, be comforted because the Lord is our Comforter and it is unwaster opportunity the Master Craftsman uses to shape our character. Having said that, any bitterness should be surrendered to God at the alter and never to be taken home again. If we have sinned, confess and seek forgiveness from the Lord, for He is faithful in forgiving our trespasses.

All in all, make it an personal commitment with Christ in 2006 to grow more deeply rooted in the Word, for He has clearly stated : If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7). Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your sould and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37). Love Him so much like a little child clinging to His Father oh so tightly, never letting Him go. Love Him so much that it almost ache within you. Be transformed by the renewing of your minds (Romans 12:2). Be spirit-filled and resonate to the pulse of the Holy Spirit. Burn within thy spirit a whiter flame, almost fervently pyretic.

One famous preacher (sorry I forgot his name) once quoted the irony of Christians are the ones who shoot their own soldiers within their camp. It is very possible that salvation in Christ can give rise to an arrogant and "holier that thou" behaviour. We begin to start judging people with reference to our our spiritual standards and righteousness. On the other hand, bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with any form of malice (Ephesians 4:31) is a sure formula for disunity among the members of Christ. Floyd McClung, in his book The Father Heart of God, rightfully points this out when he says that disunity never takes place because of a disagreement. It is because we go beyond disagreement to criticism and judgement. Jesus warned about judging others (Matthew 7:1-6). All we is need is grace. All we need is compassion, kindness and forgiveness. Because Christ forgave us first (Ephesians 4:32). As John Lennon brilliantly wrote the song "All we need is love", it is also in God's interest that after the greatest commandment, the Lord has commanded us to love others as we love ourselves.

There is a power synergy between our personal walk with God and the livelihood His people that should radiate brilliantly outwards to others, regardless of whether they are our unsaved family members, friends or even the market place. When we are called to God's Great Commission, He is looking at the outward mobility model in our livelihood to gain grounds for His Kingdom. As civilization evolves, bringing people to Christ is an obsolete model that no longer works (unless you're a feudal lord who imposes Christianity in your territory). Being relevant in today's society is the name of the game to bring glory to Christ. It's now about bringing Christ to the people. There are many needs to be met out there where if we responsively tap into them with the badge of Christ, quick and effective wins are within grasp. For the larger force that we battle against, we need to seek wisdom so that we can be as shrewd as serpents but remain as innocent as doves. What we need is to be arming ourselves with the belt of truth buckled, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, competently and accurately handling the Word of God.

2006 is really nothing but another insignificant strip of chronology in your lifetime. 3 years is about the timeline we can spend for a degree. 3 years is a long time to mend a heartbreak. 3 years is the average time from one promotion to another. But 3 years of Jesus' live changes history forever. Given this one year, how will you choose to signify 2006 for Christ?

posted by Mel-Vern @ 12:00 PM 1 comments