Community of Faith

Happy Birthday Hope Brisbane!  

I’m proud of what God has done in Hope Brisbane. Proud to be a part of this growing body, where so many lives are a testimony of His love, goodness and faithfulness. I’ll always stand in awe of His work in this church, and stand in wonder of what is to come. It’s great to be a part of a vibrant community of faith. It’s like taking a road trip of faith knowing God is taking us to a destination beyond imagination!

I think about the many lives (lives I’ve known and some I’ve heard of) who have been used by God to lay the foundations of this church. Many who have toiled and given, many who have loved and nurtured this church, many who have set examples and the pace, and the many who are still going strong. I thank God for these lives, who have given me a foundation to grow on and to continue to build on. I will be forever grateful for Ps Wilson, Lai Ling, Wenan and Lillian, whose lives have made such a significant impact in shaping mine.  

My sincere prayer is that we (this current generation of Hope Brisbane) will be faithful to build the next layers of foundation, to build like skills laborers, to take the new territory, to burn even brighter and step to greater heights through faith… for the future generations of Hope Brisbane to grow on and continue building. May His church grow from glory to glory all for His glory!

Below, is the community of faith of Judah A I’m blessed to be a part of (not all are there though :S)… Yum Cha-ing on the Sunday after our 14^th Anniversary Celebration. I love you guys! A bit mushy, but yeah it’s true :)…

 

 

Blog? What Blog?

OK. So I’m obviously not much of a blogger. Like a non-blogger sort trying to blog. What can I say? I prefer the good old fashion means of communication… talking. It never goes out of style. A good conversation is just so refreshing, and it takes a whole lot less time! I finally take this huge step and start the blog thing (thanks to Ivy and Lem)… then they come up with some facebook thing! Grrrr. Why can’t we all just stay simple and happy? Oh well, can’t change the tide, I might as well ride it. Will continue my feeble attempts at staying current and contextualizing…  

Building the Kingdom of Heaven!!!

Wow! Building God’s House is just so supercalifragalisticexpielidociously exciting! So exciting I don’t care if I’ve spelt that right! hahaa :D. I’ve been serving and building God’s church (like seriously I mean) for about 6 years now… and I only get more convinced all the time that it’s the most exciting work ever! To build something that will last into eternity! Like I mean that will outlast this earth. To be a part of something so huge I cannot conceive it all. To know that my place in it is bigger than me! To have empowerment and authority from God Himself! And to see things happen that I cannot make come to pass! Wow! 

This Sunday, I had the awesome priviledge to lead 5 people through their first prayer in receiving Jesus as their own Lord and Saviour. I cannot describe the joy I felt in seeing these precious people saved. I looked at them and thanked God that they now have started this exciting journey of abundant life with Him. They were all from other life groups (not the groups I oversee), but that didn’t matter. They are now brothers and sisters planted in this great family to grow and serve! Oh Lord, watch over them and cause them to grow. 

Tonight, the unit leaders met to intercede and train. As we prayed and received the Word from Ps. Wenan, asked and answered questions, discussed our thoughts… the Holy Spirit was fanning that fire within me for the vision we have to plant churches. God’s given vision is huge! It goes way past Brisbane or even Australia. It’s exciting cause I’m convinced that these are the days… right here… right now… that we begin to step out in faith and make this happen together.  

- If God is for us, who can be against us? Rom 8:31b -

WOOOooHooO! Exciting!

What if I Stumble?

Of late, there have been just so many people around me struggling with various issues. Left right, top, bottom and behind. Me too. And oh boy, they have been battles in the deep places that have been really… ouch! Often the lyrics of the song What If I Stumble by DC Talk comes to my mind recently… 

What if I stumble? What if I fall?

What if I loose my step and make fools of us all?

Will the love continue? When my walk becomes a crawl?

What if I stumble? What if I fall? 

I know God working in me through these battles… to let go of things and dreams held dear, to surrender despite not understanding, to trust despite not seeing, to surface the insecurities that leave me vulnerable, to run on despite feeling alone, to stay on and wait. My usual response is to think it’s probably me… things I need to sort out, grow in, get over and overcome. While there is definitely truth in that, there is no denying it, the spiritual battle is real and I’m under attack. Yet I hold on to His promise that God’s purpose will prevail. I cannot thank God enough for His grace, His faithfulness, His love and His power! The reason there is a bright hope though it all is Him. So I will stand and fight and overcome through Him! 

I hear You whispering my name and You say,

My love for you will never change, never change. 

What if I stumble? What if I fall?

You never turn in the heat of it all,

What if I stumble? What if I fall?

You are my comfort and my God. 

So, what if I stumble?… He won’t let me fall.

A Heart Like Christ’s

I joined J2 for campus evax today (I was on leave). It’s been a while. And my, my eyes were opened again to the thousands of precious people out there who face an eternity without Christ. I had a look at where my heart was, and if I were to be honest… the passion and urgency to see people saved was lacking. My heart was far from reflecting the heart of Christ. 

Later, I was sent this video clip of Ps Bernard Blessing’s sharing: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=C56DhBBMvy0. And there I saw a glimpse of what Christ’s heart looks like. He exemplifies a sincere love for people, a passion to see the lost saved… I want it too!!! 

I think it’s not that my eyes we’re closed to begin with today. But that at some level I did not want to acknowledge it. I’ve been consumed with myself. How is it we can walk around everyday without seeing it? How can we not be urgent at a task where life and death are in the balance… and dying isn’t the issue! How can we be so consumed by ‘stuff’? By selfish things that grip our hearts? By unmet desires that overwhelm? It just totally chokes the love for people. 

I’m going to join J3 for evax tomorrow again. Why wait? There are too many out there who face a very hot burning eternity without knowing there is a Saviour. I am saved. I’ll tell a few more, give them the chance.

DEAR GOD, PLEASE GIVE ME A HEART LIKE YOURS! STRIP AWAY THE SELFISH PARTS… AND GRANT ME SELFLESS FAITH AND YOUR LOVE!