Four Keys To Success

Hi ! It has been a long time since I last updated my blog. Been very busy at work and church. Just want to share something which I hope will help us experience success even in challenging times. Even as we go through so many challenges in life and amidst the chaos and turmoil in the world, here are 4 Keys to Success which are :

1. People of Vision - We are to be a people of vision, God's vision - in order to be people of success. In Numbers 13, Moses sent out 12 spies to survey the Promised Land and to give a report of what they saw. 10 spies came back with a negative report, but 2 spies namely Caleb and Joshua came back with a positive report that they are well able to take the Land. We are to see with "supernatural eyes" and not with our natural eyes. We are to see what God sees. You will see what you are looking for. If it is success you look for, then success is what you will see and the opposite is also true, that is, if it is failure that you see, then failure it will be for you. Remember that God has given us His Holy Spirit, and just as Caleb and Joshua are of a "different spirit", the One in us is greater than the one who is in the world. We are a people of vision and overcomers in Him.
2. Attitude - Our attitude determines our altitude. How high we soar or how low we sink depends a lot on our attitude towards life and people around us. When you see the right things, you believe the right things but if you are always having a negative attitude towards life, you cannot have what you hope to have. Your attitude will either push you to attain what you set out to do (just like Caleb and Joshua) or it will prohibit you (like the other 10 spies).
3. Presence of God - In Numbers 14 : 44, the ark of covenant which represents the Presence of God continued to be at the camp of the Israelites and we read that wherever they went, the ark of covenant was carried with them. If we do not have the Presence of God in our lives, it is difficult to have success especially in our spiritual battles. No Presence = No success. In Psalm 16 : 11, David wrote : "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." David always pursued the Presence of God, whereas for us now, we have the Presence of God in us. It is either active or dormant as we at times grieved the Holy Spirit and is not even aware that He lives in us. May we always be conscious of His ever Presence in our lives.
4. Prayer - Our most powerful weapon and key to success is prayer. When Abraham's servant was asked to look for a wife for Isaac, he prayed to God : "Give your servant success today." Whatever you do, and wherever you may be; whether in a meeting, doing a project, etc, just shoot a quick prayer up to God : "Give me success today, Abba Father".

May these 4 Keys to Success help you in your journey in life and give you peace.

Lunch With A Group Of Pastors

Today (19th Oct 2008), my wife and I were invited by our Senior Pastor, Ps. Chew to have lunch with him and Ps. LT Jeyachandran of Ravi Zacharias Ministry as Ps. Chew wanted me to send Ps. LT back to USJ 6 which is near Bandar Sunway where I stay. Little did we know that Ps. Edmund Chan and his pastors from Covenant Evangelical Free Church of Singapore were in town and they too were invited. All in all, there were six pastors who had lunch with my wife and I ! Awesome !

There were Ps. Chew, Ps. Chandran, Ps. LT Jeyachandran, and Ps. Edmund Chan, Ps. Tony Yeo and Ps. Fabian from CEFC, Singapore. What an overwhelming privilege it has been for me to be having lunch with God's anointed servants and in the brief one hour or so, I learned so much from these servants of God. From Ps. Edmund, I learned that it is a good practice to live not just within our means but below our means so that we have some to save and some to bless others. He also stated something which was profound : "To have freedom without maturity is lame" and "To have maturity without freedom is blind".

Ps. LT commented that in India, the Christians are suffering now although the Indian Constitution allows freedom of religion. This is because Indians do not know how to handle their freedom with maturity.

From Ps. Fabian who is a Worship Pastor, I learned that worship is not just an activity we do during the weekends when we gather but in every aspect of our lives, it should be a worship unto the Lord and we also opined that most worship ministries in churches today have deteriorated into "golden calves" to which Ps. LT commented that the songs that we sing now are about how much we adore the worship we give to God rather than just worship God and God alone.

Ps. Chew then asked the pastors how as pastors are we to address the congregation in the wake of the current economic/financial meltdown. To this Ps. Edmund commented that as a Pastor, he has always hold on to the principle of : "Nothing to lose, nothing to prove and nothing to hide." So, to pastors the current meltdown is not so much felt by them as they hold no stocks and shares but to the business people, it could mean a total wipe-out or almost half of one's assets being wiped out overnight.

So, as Pastors he opined that they have to feel their pain as well and point them back to the God of all comfort, the One who has the answers to life's problems, and assure them that God is still in control of every circumstances. There will be a new generation of poor but there will also be the next generation of the rich.

There were many other topics which we talked about but suffice to share here in my blog that it has been such a "blessed" afternoon for my wife and I. May God continue to use these pastors to build and encourage the Body of Christ ! Amen !

Words

With more than 8,000 satellites currently orbiting the planet, 2 billion or more cellphone subscribers and a trillion signals being transmitted from earth to the satellites and back, we live in a world where words, good words are hardly spoken to fellow human beings.

Our short messages (or SMS's) are really short and the more common ones are : "c u (meaning "see you"), r u gud ? (meaning "are you okay or alright ?"), etc. Kids hardly talk to their parents and vice versa. With so much technology which is supposed to "improve" communication, the irony of it all is that communication per se has degenerated to just a mere few words or short messages.

May we be wise with the words we speak to one another and may we as we see the picture above about "kind words" be not stingy with our words but have a right word to say for the right season and time. May we deposit the Word of Life (i.e. the Bible) in our hearts, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So, if we have nothing deposited inside of us we are just an empty vessel with no words to speak, get it ? So load up your "word bank" and let it roll !

A Little Concern

There is an air of expectation in the political environment in our land. It is as though the whole nation is holding its breath to see what happens tomorrow. Some are a little concerned as to whether the change, if it does happen, would be good, smooth sailing and incident free. Others, to be on the safe side, are stocking up. Whatever it is, tomorrow may just be a non-event i.e. "business as usual".

However, that is the name of the game. The saying goes : "It's always darkest before the dawn". I sense that we at at the threshold of a new era. An era where we will be one step closer to realising the dream of a truly Bangsa Malaysia. We may be a little concerned while others have much to be concerned about because it affects their "rice bowl" and "golden goose"

The future can be a scary place. The unknown can be overwhelming, especially when the known has so many struggles. Nevertheless, as God-fearing Christians, we can depend on God's promise of help - regardless of what trouble the world will be in. God said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13 : 5). And Jesus said, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28 : 20). Those are great promises to depend on when we start to worry about what the future holds, whether it is ours or the next generation's.

We may not know who will be the next PM yet, or what the future holds but we can trust in the One who holds the future. Peace to all !

Anwar Ibrahim as PM on September 16 ?

It seems to be a never ending topic that people are talking about these days. Will Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) really have enough MPs to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat and will he be the next Prime Minister ? Whether it happens or not, it is just a mere 9 days more before the deadline is up and in the words of a renowned politician : "One week is a long time in politics".

So, as responsible citizens, do we just sit and wait ? My recommendation for all of us is : "Be watchful and pray". We need to pray like never before. To see change, we must prepare for change and there will be resistance to change and it can take any form. The more the current ruling party thinks their ship is "sinking", the more the resistance to this change will be.

Whether DSAI pulls it off as our 6th Prime Minister or not, let us pray that peace will continue to prevail in the country. May the transition (if it really happens) be smooth with just an audience with the King and the dissolution of Parliament and the immediate swearing in of the new PM and his Cabinet. May it be swift and without resistance or untoward incidents, etc. This we can hope and pray and when DSAI does really become the PM, may we pray that Pakatan Rakyat will truly bring forth a change that ALL of us will be proud to be called : "BANGSA MALAYSIA".

MALAYSIA BOLEH !

Free Apple iPod Touch ?

Last week, I received an invitation to attend a complimentary seminar on Data Governance and advances of Data Management by a renowned IT Solution Vendor with a catchy statement thrown in the invitation : "Free Apple iPod Touch for attendees". Thinking that this was too good to be true, I called up the organisers and asked whether each attendee will really get an iPod Touch for free.

An Indian gentleman on the line replied : "Yes, sir. You will get a free iPod Touch when you attend but it will be by lucky draw." So I asked him : "How many iPods are up for grabs ?" And he replied : "Hold on, sir, let me check (sound of chattering...) Only one is for lucky draw, sir." I said thank you and was wondering how could one advertise something as free when it is by lucky draw. So, in essence, there is no such thing as a "free lunch". You have to endure hours of boring speeches and lectures/workshops before the "lucky draw". Forget it !

This really is nothing but a marketing gimmick to get people to attend the seminar. When our Lord Jesus Christ offer us the free gift of salvation, it is really FREE for the believer although it costs God His only begotten Son's life ! The Bible says in John 3 : 16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." For the believer, all we need to do (no payment on our part) is to just believe and confess our sins. The price for our sins has been paid by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have seen the show "Passion" directed by Mel Gibson, you will then know why the whole show is so "bloody" and there was a scene where Jesus' mother used a cloth to wipe His blood because it is indeed His precious blood poured out for the remission of our sins. If you want this TRUE FREE GIFT, all you need to do is to accept the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart. This is no gimmick, it is truly an invitation to the FREE GIFT OF SALVATION with the price PAID IN FULL by the Lord Jesus Christ ! Would you say "Yes" to this free gift of eternal life ?

Keeping Your Focus When Your Dreams Are Shattered

This Sunday (7/9/08), I will resume leading a class in my church on "Precept-Upon-Precept" where we will learn about my favourite character in the Bible i.e. Joseph the Dreamer. The story of Joseph appeals so much to me because in many ways, I too am a "dreamer" as are many of us out there. Even Martin Luther King has a dream for America which started the "equal rights" movement where all U.S. citizens irrespective of colour or creed are to be accorded equal rights.

Like Joseph, God has spoken to me via dreams quite a few times before. I dreamt who my future wife will be and God even showed me in a dream how my father-in-law would die (he slipped and fell in hospital) and in his last moments, we managed to share the Gospel with him and he went into eternity accepting Jesus as his Saviour. You see, God gives us dreams for a purpose and it can range from confirmation of some future event, a warning, an instruction we are to follow, etc.

Some of us have dreams that could have been shattered and we ask God : "Why Lord ? Why is the realisation of this dream not forthcoming ? How long more ? " This must have been the cry of Joseph when from being the favourite child, he was sold as a slave to Egypt. He was then bought by an Egyptian officer named Potiphar and was made overseer over his household. He was then accused wrongly and thrown in jail but even there was made to be in charge of the prisoners. He was left there for 2 years but was made Prime Minister when he was able to interpret Pharoah's dreams.

In many ways we too can prayerfully consider how we can relate the events of Joseph's life to our own. In Romans 15 : 4 we read that : "whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." Despite the seemingly non-fulfillment of Joseph's dreams, he never lose focus but continued to trust in the God Who has seen him through so many circumstances. May we learn from Joseph to keep our focus on God when our dreams seem to have been shattered. Hang in there, He will carry you !