Task Prayer
Remember that I always have "standing instruction" prayer request for my work which is constantly shifting in higher gears? At this stage of the projects, I'm running on afterburners (if you don't know what an afterburner is, look at the engine that propels the F-14 fighter jet. If you don't not what a fighter jet means, I can't help you...). I just need to be careful not to get burn-outs. I am aboundingly delighted that I could endure all through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13).
For most of last week, work activities were stressful that I was beginning to feel very hard pressed on every side. I remember Pastor Andrew Evans once gave a sermon about task praying quite some time back in church. I was preparing for a telecon with 2 of my stakeholders who were not very happy people from the outcome of my colleague's telecon the week before. I retreated to the toilet (don't know where else to go actually) and prayed specifically on what I was going through, the outcome I needed and after that thanking God. After that prayer, I felt an uplifting sensation and a clear head as I walked out from the toilet cubicle. I thought, "Hey, this is neat! Should do this more often." I was both at peace and surprised at this manifestation. Needless to say, the telecon went on well. And I have some important deliverables this week as an outcome (hooray.....).
We are all familiar with the prayer we make during church services and Wednesday night prayer meetings. We pray for work, healing, salvation etc. I call these strategic "blanket" prayers. (Blanket because it is general in nature). We go through plenty of ordeals every day at work. This is where task praying makes the difference because it is a very specific extension of those "blanket" prayers into a particular situation where faith needs to be operationalized. Try it. It could be as simple as "Lord, let there be parking. In Jesus' name, amen!" You'll be surprised.
God is the Lord of all. He is omniscience, omnipotent, and omnipresence. He loves you and is every bit interested in your life. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth (Psalm 145:18).
Of sermons, preachings and testimonies...
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ must be given equal emphasis. We serve a risen Lord. There are too much media that depicts the death of Jesus, so much so that I cannot imagine in my head how the resurrected Lord would be like. I know He is risen, but I can't imagine it. How will he look like? The Bible describes it vividly in Revelation 1:13-15, yet I struggle to form it in my mind. The reason why is because I had no associative cognition before (either from any media or caught-up-in-paradise experience). When I watch Ian's testimony on DVD, I said, hey.....this could be it...just extrapolate it infinitely and voila.....I have some form of idea how Jesus looks like in all His heavenly glory.
I love hearing testimonies (and teachings/preachings as well), especially powerful ones like Ian's. You could read the Bible forwards and backwards, inside out, and committed all verses to memory. Nothing beats aving someone to testify gives a refreshing perspective to the word of God. I have a re-juvenated idea about the Lord's Prayer, forgiveness, love, grace and Revelations 1:13-15. It's a whole new perspective.....it's absolutely amazing.
For this reason, I have refrained from underestimating any speaker of God who takes the pulpit from the first day I attended church regularly. For those who know me closer, I used to be an arrogant, cynical and difficult person when it comes to intellectual arguments. (I still like to argue nowadays, and being pseudo-difficult.....but more for the fun of it and for more learning from others). My addiction to hearing God speak thru His started in Kajang AOG when I was searching for answers to life's despair. When the pastor spoke on a certain topic (gosh...I can't remember what it was), I felt I was spoken to directly. Amazed, but cynical, I dismissed as a coincidence and give it another shot the following week. In the following week, the message spoke directly to me again. And I thought....nah, it cannot make it to a hatrick. But God did. And since then, I could count with my 10 fingers the number of times I didn't attend church (mostly because of unforeseen circumstances). That was back in late 2001.
More often than not, God choses to speak through other people into our lives. Very early in my Christian walk, God personally educated me with the myriad preachings of his servants.....different styles, different ministries, different slangs etc. They are all so colourful. I see the value of the cultivating a humble, listening and keen spirit. Often, people only want to hear what they want to hear. Church sermons are not there to re-inforce what you want to hear so that you could walk away with a feel-good feeling. So if you come to a meeting expecting to be blessed by the speaker, you will sometimes be disappointed. But when you come to a meeting in anticipation for the Lord of Host to minister, you will always gain regardless. So know where to place your cards, and place them well.
From Friday to Sunday, 3 times I hear Ian testify the same thing (by Sunday, I was able to almost predict the next word he is about to say). Same testimony - but 3 times God impressed different things upon me. Personally, I really like his style of preaching. He has comical twist where appropriate. But WHERE appropriate, did you noticed that Ian speaks half-sentence, gasps, closes his mouth and eyes blinking with tears? Some may not grammatically understand what he is trying to say, but I deeply share his sentiments and emotions. I gasp too whenever I am touched by God and try to speak (actually, I simply can't speak). 26 years on, he speaks as though his experience in paradise was just yesterday. I thought, such is the power of God to leave such a lasting impression upon his soul.
You could read the Bible forwards and backwards, inside out. You could attend all seminars listed in the directory-of-christian-living. You could have Billy Graham preach to you everyday. You could have all the above and yet still miss the point to learn about the Kingdom of God. Without keen learning and humble spirit, we are reduced to educated fools. I would rather be a fool before God, than to be wise in the world.
Reminiscing the Cross
The passion of Christ who gave his life on the cross can be best described in 3 words : Forgiveness, Grace and Love.
In the cross, there is forgiveness. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, and that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. God offers forgiveness for our sins through the shedding of the blood of Christ. Jesus Christ died once and for all for the sins of the world so that all may come to the Father.
In the cross, there is grace. To die for a loved one is grace. To die for an enemy redefines grace. We all fall short from the glory of God, and there is nothing we can do to re-earn that. While we were sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). Grace is a gift given to us while we are not eligible. That is why it is call a gift.
In the cross, there is love. We sometimes do incomprehensible (sometimes silly) things when it comes to love. God does the incomprehensible when He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross because He loves both you and I. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Without love, forgiveness and grace reduce to mere charity. We love because God first loved us (1Jn 4:19)
At Calvary Jesus Christ gives the word Forgiveness, Grace and Love a splendorous re-definition. We may not, or ever will, fully comprehend breath of His forgiveness, the height of His grace and the depth of His love. Not all things require comprehension. In all things from God, it requires faith.
Beating the Stereotype of Christianity
Christianity is not just another religion. I define religion as legalistic traditions and rituals that are associated to a particular faith. Jesus Christ, in the many examples told in the gospels, has pushed beyond the legalism of the religious framework during His day by offering the love of the Father. Christianity is therefore a living personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ which grants us liberty from legalism. We are empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have a God who is interested in our lives and responds to our prayers.
Christianity is more than an institutionalized faith. The church is more than a premise where Christians come together for religious ceremonies. It is a refreshing atmosphere of belonging to the family of God, where love, care, support and accountability reign supreme. It is the communal powerhouse that focuses on meeting the needs of the society and blesses the nation at large.
Christianity is beyond scripturial study. The Bible is not just plain history book and a manual for holy living. It is about learning His Story. It is about internalizing God's commandments with the goal of explicitizing them through the obedient walk with God. The manifestation of a true scripturial understudy is the experience abundant life in the presence of God, not just a highly educated theologian.
Christianity worship is above beautiful songs and hymns. There are just a form of expression of our worship to God. Matt Redman truly understood this when he wrote The Heart of Worship. Our lifestyle, stewardship, work, time, talents etc are all worthy of worship to God, as long as they are directed towards Him. Surrender epitomizes the heart of worship, as explained by Rick Warren.
Christianity redefines grace and love. We don't do charity to earn good karma. It is never about earning brownie points to get into heaven, because we all fall short from the glory of God. Out of love, God sent Jesus to die for our sins. In response to such mighty grace, we love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind, and we love others as we love ourselves. We forgive others because God forgives us first. We do charity based on God's principle of grace and love.
