church growth biggest barrier - solution - people (sheep) matters more

church growth biggest barrier - solution - people (sheep) matters more

I believe that Jesus’ biggest argument with the Pharisees was their complacency—their desire to put programs and preferences ahead of people. In Matthew 12:11-12, Jesus said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” Jesus’ greatest concern was the fact that they had put more emphasis on the systems and their own personal lives than they had for people.
This is still a barrier in today’s churches. There will be people in your church who will constantly want to do what feels good for them inside their comfort zone. Often people in the church are more concerned about serving themselves than reaching out to serve the lost.

Bayside Community Church

Jesus praying Gethsemane suffering of broken heart

The Sufferings of His Broken Heart
by Max Lucado

Go with me for a moment to witness what was perhaps the foggiest night in history. The scene is very simple; you’ll recognize it quickly. A grove of twisted olive trees. Ground cluttered with large rocks. A low stone fence. A dark, dark night.

Now, look into the picture. Look closely through the shadowy foliage. See that person? See that solitary figure? What’s he doing? Flat on the ground. Face stained with dirt and tears. Fists pounding the hard earth. Eyes wide with a stupor of fear. Hair matted with salty sweat. Is that blood on his forehead?

That’s Jesus. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Maybe you’ve seen the classic portrait of Christ in the garden. Kneeling beside a big rock. Snow-white robe. Hands peacefully folded in prayer. A look of serenity on his face. Halo over his head. A spotlight from heaven illuminating his golden-brown hair.

Now, I’m no artist, but I can tell you one thing. The man who painted that picture didn’t use the gospel of Mark as a pattern. Look what Mark wrote about that painful night, he used phrases like these: “Horror and dismay came over him.” “My heart is ready to breakwith grief.” “He went a little forward and threw himself on the ground.”

Does this look like the picture of a saintly Jesus resting in the palm of God? Hardly. Mark used black paint to describe this scene. We see an agonizing, straining, and struggling Jesus. We see a “man of sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:3 NASB) We see a man struggling with fear, wrestling with commitments, and yearning for relief.

We see Jesus in the fog of a broken heart.

The writer of Hebrews would later pen, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.” (Hebrews 5:7 NIV)

My, what a portrait! Jesus is in pain. Jesus is on the stage of fear. Jesus is cloaked, not in sainthood, but in humanity.

The next time the fog finds you, you might do well to remember Jesus in the garden. The next time you think that no one understands, reread the fourteenth chapter of Mark. The next time your self-pity convinces you that no one cares, pay a visit to Gethsemane. And the next time you wonder if God really perceives the pain that prevails on this dusty planet, listen to him pleading among the twisted trees.

The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest you’ll ever get to God. Watch closely. It could very well be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the fog is a pierced one.

Catching a stray dog (which is infamous for aggression, lesson from Cesar Milan, with God's favour)

Catching a stray dog (which is infamous for aggression, lesson from Cesar Milan, with God's favour)

I usually do not like to write the details about my work, but today an exceptional thing happened. It was not an ordinary day, and I must write it down - so that I'll remember the details, in years to come. ;-)

Today I received a call, by a person whom sounded very desperate over the phone - claiming that Majlis Perbandaran went to her housing area to catch a few stray dogs. Of the stray dogs, there were two which she successfully "trapped" into an empty house compound. She requested my help to go to the house and catch the dogs, so that the dogs can be neutered and then transferred into a doggy farm.

Upon reaching the house, the lady came to me, introducing herself as someone who fears dog. I was surprised, but was glad that despite her fear she managed still to lure the dogs into the house compound. There were 2 dogs - one was a labrador cross, while the other a belgian shepherd cross. The labrador was tied onto a post, while the belgian was left running around freely in the compound. They could not tie the belgian because it's very fierce.

As I walked near the house, the labrador began growling and barking me, threatening me, but I got hold of the string (thank God, the lab did not strike me), and got her into a pet carrier. Now the real problem...

After putting the lab into the pet carrier, another neighbour actually walked out and talked to the lady rescuer. THey were chit chatting, saying how a gentle and nice doggy this lab was, how they wanted her as their pet, have they had a place. And then they talked about the belgian which was still sleeping behind a car in the house compound.

"That dog ah, very fierce one! Yesterday when I walked near, he jumped out at me and wanted to bite me! Bad dog, I'll never keep him as a pet! bla bla bla (negative comments stacked one upon the other, about the belgian cross doggy). I gulped. I requested them to go to a far away place, so that neither me nor the belgian will be distracted by them.

"You're not scared ar?" The lady asked me.
"No, I'm not, " I paused for a moment. "Please pray for me," I continued.

It did not matter to me, however they may pray, but I called upon my God, "Dear Lord, you are my God. Forgive me all my wrong doings. Please, grant me your favour that this dog will submit to me, I will be safe. I do not want any bite. Please Lord, cover me."

With that, I opened the gate, made my first step into the house compound. Then I heard sounds coming out from behind the car. The belgian has awaken. He walked out and stood at a distance from me, staring at me, gauging my motives and moves. I avoided looking at him, and I remembered what I learned from Cesar Milan's videos. This dog is those kind which exhibits territorial aggression.

Very calmly, I assert my dominance with my body language (Cesar's lessons), very slowly taking steps, walking closer to him each time. Then he ran to the other side of the compound. He's giving up his territory! My heart leaped a little. Again, I repeated my steps, calmly, in silence, walking toward him steadily, until the distance between us was a mere 1 metre. I stopped.

He was trembling. I say that's a good sign. But the tail was not in between the legs, so... this dog may be in fear, but he's ready for a fight. I was cautious. I kept praying in my heart. "Please Lord Jesus, keep me safe, make him submit to me."

Then I noticed one of his front leg shaking and making uncertain movements, which reminded me of what Cesar Milan said - this is a sign that the dog is uncertain of what to do next. So I held out my leash, very slowly introduced it around the head, and suddenly, he rocketed off backway.

So I restarted my steps, getting closer to him, until he was cornered. There was a mere 30cm distance between us. He's trembling hard, but what bothered me was the tail was not in between the legs. And his posture was not a submissive one. I remembered the famous chinese saying, "Don't push a dog to a corner, else having nowhere to turn to, he's forced to strike you." I gulped. Prayed. Please Lord Jesus, grant me wisdom. I want to help this belgian. So I waited for him to calm down a little. When he finally sat down, I slowly introduced the leash. With every small jerk coming from him, I countered with an quick but calm, antagonizing posture.

After a few minutes in this positions, he finally allowed me to loop the leash around his head, and BINGO! I got him! PRAISE GOD, FOR HE'S GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVES & trusts in Him!

Once I got him out of the house compound, he was much relaxed, he licked me, tried to befriend me, and I actually was able to push him into the carrier.

I was so glad,so grateful. I thank God for zero aggression from this belgian, and thank Cesar Milan for his lessons. They were useful. oh yah, I'm safe, so is the belgian.

SUCCESS!! yahooooo......

The biggest sin - disunity of the church/ christians (destined to soar)

The biggest sin - disunity of the church/ christians (destined to soar)

At the end of a devastating three-year drought, all Israel assembled at Mount Carmel. There Elijah boldly challenged them to watch a contest between the prophets of Baal and himself.

After the prophets of Baal exhausted themselves in vain to persuade their god to answer by fire, it was Elijah’s turn to call upon Jehovah.

But before he did, he first rebuilt the altar of the God of Israel: “And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob . . .” (1 Kings 18:30–31).

This act of Elijah is of great significance. These 12 stones speak of the unity that was required before he—or anyone else—could see God’s work accomplished. Then Elijah could only go as far as two sentences into his prayer before the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust and the water in the trenches.

Jesus’ disciples might have felt small compared to the mighty prophet Elijah. However, Jesus told them how they could have the same presence of God and experience His powerful answers to their prayers: by being united in their hearts. “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19–20).

I hope that you will not miss the seriousness here. The work of God goes forward through unity. Without it, what happens to God’s purposes here on earth? Consider this quote from Paul Billheimer’s book Love Covers:

The most important, momentous, crucial, but the most ignored, neglected and unsolved problem that has faced the Church from its infancy to the present throbbing moment is the problem of disunity. . . . The sin of disunity probably has caused more souls to be lost than all other sins combined. Possibly more than anything else, it is the one thing that binds the hands of the Holy Spirit and thwarts His work of convincing of sin, righteousness and judgment.1

Without any doubt, disunity is one of the most powerful weapons Satan uses to hinder the work of God. We should guard against it at all costs.

So often we get caught up in the face value of our lives and situations that we don’t even realize how demons are blowing things out of proportion, twisting the facts and manipulating situations all with the aim of creating disunity. Yet when we respond in a godly manner, we thwart Satan’s tactics. Christlike attitudes will save us from words and actions that would have caused rifts in the Body of Christ. What are the thoughts and attitudes that keep us from responding in Christlikeness and the spirit of unity?

A judgmental spirit. Having a judgmental spirit means we have a critical and unloving attitude toward others. We think we have the only right answers. We measure everyone and everything by our standards while our critical and unmerciful attitude toward others is just as displeasing to the Lord as the sin we see in them.

Jesus vividly illustrates this contrast by comparing our judgment with that of a man who tried to remove a speck from his brother’s eye while having a log in his own. He goes on to tell us that such a self-righteous attitude has severe consequences: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged” (Matthew 7:1–2).

Lack of brokenness. Unless we are willing to give up our own ambitions, we cannot be one with the other members of the Body of Christ. If we are so adamant about our rights and our ways, we are not able to live and work together in God’s kingdom.

Each one of us has to come to a place at which we recognize the depths of our self-love and then repent and be willing to say, “I am sorry.” As long as we are unwilling to admit that we are wrong, we are weak and there is no unity among us.

Unwillingness to become servants. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5, kjv).

Do we serve others because it is convenient or when we know we will be praised? Or will we serve simply because it is our privilege to take a low position?

The way we respond to Christ and humble ourselves before Him is reflected and judged by the way we respond to others around us. Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).

It’s easy to climb up the ladder; the hardest thing is to go down by choice. I believe this is where we are tested—to see if we are willing to humble ourselves and maintain unity by serving others.

Clouded vision. Like soldiers on the battlefield, if we fall down, we continue on. We don’t walk out of the battle. When we face difficulties—times of misunderstandings, differing opinions, disappointment or missed expectations—our vision can become clouded, and we forget the war that is raging.

But Paul urges us, “Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). We are in a battle for souls, and our unity is so crucial to accomplishing this purpose. So don’t let the times of difficulty blur your vision. Remember why you were enlisted.

The destiny of nearly 3 billion unreached people hangs in the balance. Yet not a day goes by that we don’t hear of disunity in the Body of Christ, whether it’s among individuals, denominations or mission groups. So often division takes place over such small issues that are not at all crucial in order to maintain fellowship in Christ. Do you know how 115 The Weapon of Disunity splintered we are? We are one Body, one Church, yet we have more than 3,000 different denominations.

My dear brothers and sisters, we cannot afford to be playing games. May the Lord give us the courage, clear thinking and brokenness to walk together in unity.

Will you lay down your own agenda for the sake of the many who are waiting to hear the name of Christ?

Destined to Soar © 2009 by K.P. Yohannan

If you would like more information about Gospel for Asia, please visit our website. www.gfa.org

This would be my prayer.. a complete prayer.. perhaps can be improved...

This would be my prayer.. a complete prayer.. perhaps can be improved...if I have the time.. ;-)

May you be blessed.

--
Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day,
I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning.

I'm blessed because You are a forgiving and understanding God.
You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me.

Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to You.
I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm.
Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.
Let me make the best of each and everyday to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things.
Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over, and give me the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits.

I know that when I can't pray, YOu listen to my heart.
Continue to use me to do Your will.
Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others.

Keep me strong that I may help the weak.
Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others.

I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way.
I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood.
I pray for those who don't know You intimately.
I pray for those that don't believe.

But I thank You that I believe that God changes people and God changes things.
I pray for all my sisters and brothers.
For each and every family member in their households.
I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes;
that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God.
Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.

I pray that these words be received into the heart of every eye that sees it.

AMEN!!!

Faith and reason go hand in hand — Ronald Benjamin (Malay language bible seized by Malaysian government)

Faith and reason go hand in hand — Ronald Benjamin

March 18, 2011

MARCH 18 — The government decision to release the Malay version of the Bible with conditions such a stamp with the Home Ministry seal and a serial number reveals the inner character of a government that is beginning to lose a sense of decency and civilised behaviour towards Malaysians of the Christian faith.

This is the reason I have been always sceptical of the 1 Malaysia slogan which is crafted through a political conceptualisation with an electoral strategy in mind, to win back lost votes, but beginning to lose its credibility due to overbearing, deceptive public relations exercises, besides failing its stress test on issues of great universal significant such as freedom of religion.

Freedom of religion is not merely the right to freely practise a religion, it is a dignified right of individuals to search for spiritual truths and meaning of life without restriction and boundaries. Search for the truth and making decisions on faith are a fundamental human right.

History would attest that the control of people’s minds would always be counter productive because we live in a complex world where individuals, with various degrees of cultural upbringing and thought patterns that are evolving, are the decision-makers of their own destiny.

People cannot be restricted to any ideology because God is beyond rigid ideology. People can be persuaded but not forced into submission especially if it is related to faith which should be chosen in freedom.

It is puzzling that the ideological religious establishment in Najib’s government has little sense of conscience and truth while they call themselves religious. This makes the government less credible to speak about Muslim rights in other countries.

Just imagine the type of demonstration that would have taken place if this issue of dictating the labelling of a religious book had taken place the other way round. It is worthy to note that an Islamist party such as PAS has taken a broader view of this issue.

Solutions to religious disputes would take place when faith and reason are connected, where the self evident truth of do unto others what you want them to do for you is present.

In the Malaysian context the beauty of religion has been diluted to ethno-religious, ideological dominance and political construct that makes a broad dialogue of reason an uphill battle. It is hoped that an amicable solution to this crisis can found with humility and reason.

* Ronald Benjamin reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

Source: The Malaysian Insider

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/breakingviews/article/faith-and-reason-go-hand-in-hand-ronald-benjamin/

pet/dog evacuation/ shelter in japan earthquake/tsunami relief

A woman shares her food with her dog at an evacuation centre for pets and their owners near an area devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in Kesennuma, north Japan March 17, 2011. – Reuters pic

Source: The Malaysian Insider

ANIMALS ACT 1953 (Revised 2006) PART IV

ANIMALS ACT 1953 (Revised 2006) PART IV –

PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Section 44. Penalty for cruelty to animals
(1) Any person who —
(a) cruelly beats, kicks, ill-treats, overrides, overdrives, overloads, tortures, infuriates or terrifies... any animal; shall be guilty of an offence of cruelty and shall be liable to a fine of two hundred ringgit or to imprisonment for a term of six months or to both.

The "two hundred ringgit" makes me laugh. Malaysia, Malaysia... An animal's life is equivalent to a traffic summon. How pathetic a law.

Taliban militants on Wednesday shot dead Pakistan's only Christian government minister for challenging a law that mandates the death penalty for insul

I was reading the news a few days ago when suddenly a title drew disgust and indignant from within me. The title reads, "Taliban militants on Wednesday shot dead Pakistan's only Christian government minister for challenging a law that mandates the death penalty for insulting Islam"

Surely, what is the use/ meaning of "religion" or "God" when hatred and killings are birthed from this "religion" or "God".

If you have a choice, would you want your "GOD" to be a commander that demands everyone that talks bad about him killed (e.g. similar to Hitler, old Chinese emporers)...

or would you prefer a God that loves even His enemy that He will die for this enemy?

Think about it. This news saddens me, but a scripture quickly came into my mind.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good see in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?

He said to them, "An enemy has done this." The servants said to him, "Do you want us then to go and gather them up?"

But he said, "No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."

.... He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.

There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 13:24-43)

How sad, and cursed are those who allow themselves to be used by the evil one, for the furnace of fire is awaiting them.

A solution for pulling/tugging problem when walkingyour dog

Ever want to walk your doggies peacefully? I've been struggling on this issue with my toff for many years. So far I've tolerated well, until another canine joined our pack - kim.

He... he's a super-copy-cat of the bad habits of toff, and he adds into those bad habits his gangsterism behaviour. You know what I mean? To cut things short, with the two of them now walking on leash equals to a hard time for me.
Toff will sniff every inch of the ground, pulling and zooming without ever considering his poor owner could fall or trip.. and kim simply makes things worse by zooming the other side, and he jumps up and down floppping his hands all around the air... gangster in action.

Anyhow, I sorted for rescue and came to this gentle leader.

So far I've succeeded in putting this beautiful headcollar on them.

Will I succeed in walking them? Let's see. May God's favour be upon me.

get serious about sin - confession

February 23, 2011

Get Serious About Sin

Mary Southerland

Today's Truth
"But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done" (1 John 1:9, NCV).

Friend To Friend
As a little girl, I always looked forward to the first day of summer vacation because it meant two things. First, I did not have to sit in a classroom all day wasting precious brain power trying to comprehend and learn what I considered to be useless information. Second, I did not have to wear shoes except when I went to church or when my mother handed down the decree, "If you are going with me, you have to wear shoes." It had to be a really important errand for me to don even a pair of sandals or flip-flops.

Those first few days of my shoeless adventures were always a painful shock to my tender feet since my "playground" was actually nothing more than a gravel road running beside our house on the edge of town. I played for hours, climbing trees and racing friends up and down that rocky street. At the end of each day, my feet were grimy and filthy, often bruised and sometimes slightly bloody. Even now I can remember the stinging discomfort inflicted by those razor-sharp rocks during the first few weeks of summer. My pain management was firmly rooted in the knowledge that my feet would soon grow callused and tough. I took comfort in the fact that I would soon be running down that gravel road with little or no pain.

Sin works the same way. The first time we commit a sin it is painful. We are filled with remorse and mourn the fact that we have grieved the heart of God, but regret is not enough when it comes to dealing with sin. Unless we confess and turn away from that sin, we are likely to commit it again. If we allow sin to settle into our life and refuse to confess it, that sin eventually hardens our heart and builds spiritual calluses in our soul. When we become comfortable with our sin, we are walking in enemy territory and setting ourselves up for spiritual failure and discouragement.

The good news is that Jesus understands human frailty. He is well acquainted with temptation and the tactics of Satan. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for yours and mine. He paid our sin debt in full.

1 John 1:9 "But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done" (NCV).

This verse was written to believers as an encouragement to deal with sin and a promise that when we do so, God will be faithful to forgive us and clean up the mess that sin has caused. We are not perfect - just forgiven. To experience that forgiveness fully we need to keep short books on sin. That means being sensitive to sin and immediately choosing to do something about it. God is serious about sin. We need to be as well.

1. We must confess sin continually. "Confess" means to agree with and is a present tense verb meaning that we must confess sin frequently, without stopping.



2. We must confess sin completely. We commit sins one at a time. We need to confess them one by one as well.



3. We must confess our sin confidently. Once we confess and repent of our sin, we can put it behind us. God is just and fair - seeking only one payment for sin. Jesus has already made full and complete payment with His death on the cross.



One of Satan's favorite tactics is to resurrect buried sin. Wrapping that confessed transgression in his vain taunts and useless accusations, the enemy hauls it back into focus, hoping that guilt will paralyze and imprison a soul set free. Satan can hold us prisoner if we let him. But how often do we believe his empty lies - and by doing so, grant him access to that which he has no right? To break the hold of sin, we can and must stand against the enemy, trusting not in our feelings but in the facts of God's word. And those facts are unchanging and crystal clear - when we confess sin, God forgives it.



Let's Pray
Father, do not let me ever forget the price You paid for my sin. Thank You for the forgiveness and freedom You purchased with Your death on the cross. Bring swift awareness and conviction when I sin. Give me the strength and power to deal with and turn from the sin in my life. For Your glory and in Your name I pray, Amen.

Now It's Your Turn
Set aside time each day to pray and study His Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of every sin that stands between you and God. Confess that sin. Choose against it and walk on in His power and forgiveness. Ask yourself the following questions:

What sin do I need to confess right now?

Why have I held on to this sin?

What effect has this sin had on my life?

What changes do I need to make in order to "turn" from my sin?

Do I really believe that God can and will forgive this sin? Why? Why not?