Jack, one more month to go. Everything will be over. God knows you are really tired... of everything.
Though assignments and exams are approaching near, you will push your limit to finish all of them. It is extremely hard to accomplish all the papers with good result. But you will try your best. You should give thanks to God for you have been given time to do most of the assignments. You must believe you can do it.
Jack, time is getting nearer. You will have a good task to do again. You will do something which people will first misunderstand you.
Jack, as time goes by, people will figure it out. However, you need to stand strong in time of crisis. Learn to face another reality. Therefore, you will rise up and push to the full force again. Remember that what people said about you, do not put it in heart. You will depend on God, your Lord because you believe in Him. He will not forsake you. He will remember what you have said to Him. He will always remember...
...because He listens to your prayer.
Jack, You will face lots of insult and criticism. You will face new enemies in future. You will gain no support from friends. However, that is a greater goal in future. God, your Lord will keep you in His hands. And you will never be alone. And those who love you will welcome you into the family of God.
Once chosen this path, no turning back. Are you ready, Jack?
Psalms 16:11 "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
Sometimes, we wanna start a new life. But it is hard. The people around us will know about your background, and your history.
How can we start a new life? We will go to a new place where no one recognize you or know you, where everyone starts to know you from afresh, where your history will not be mentioned again and again... Well, who actually manages to do that successfully? We are living in a place where all people are familiar with us. How can we hide our history?
As I always say, Life is given only once. We cannot turn back time; once past, it is past. Even when we want to correct our mistakes, the scars are still there. It is good to remind us that we should not commit the same mistakes again. However, people around you will always rememeber your mistakes or yoru past for the rest of their lives. Just like my life now, someone actually did that on purpose to me. She hate my history. Now no longer friend. This is how bad it can be.
How I hate about my history. My history will hurt people's feelings. My history will make people fall. I do hate my past. People will say to me, "It's ok! Let's forget about the past and move on life man!" Well, do you think these words are RUBBISH?
Readers, your friends will remember your past and mistakes for the rest of their lives. They can forgive, but they cannot forget. NOT EVEN YOU YOURSELF! NOT EVEN GOD HIMSELF WILL FORGET THE PAST!God can forgive people's sin, but it does not mean God forgets! No matter how beautiful we live in the future, the scar remained! We got to live our life in a better way. We gonna save our "History". Hence, when you move on in your life, people will not find any mistake in your life. I really hope to restart my life again.
God, do You have an eraser? So that I can erase my bad history which no one in this world will know, including myself. But, this is impossible. Look at the verse below. People around you will remember your past.
Deuteronomy 32:7 "Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you."
Time flies really fast. It is coming to the end of the year.
As far as I can see, I am actually handling both ministry and study at the same time. It is very heavy to me. I am actually very panic about my study.
Here is the situation: I have some ministries on my hand. I have six major assignments which are needed to be done (due date: end of Oct). I have four books to study so that I can do my assignments. I have two final exams coming soon.
I found myself overloaded. I do need a break. I do have a great plan awaiting for me to be done in the future. Now as time comes nearer, my heart started to pump more and feel that my fear and stress is increasing.
Jack, you know that there are many assignments to do. One normal assignment (ten to twelve pages), you need to do research and writing for at least two weeks. It is considered FAST!
Now I only have six weeks left till the semester ends. Am I going to finish each assignment by using one week?Then what about my exam? I do not have enough time to complete my assignments. I do need time to study for my final exams.
Oh God, this should not be. Have mercy on me. I do hope I can let go every ministry and focus on my study. This is my thought right now. However, it seems to be impossible. Guide me and lead me.
Psalms 73:24 "You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory."
7 people from Doulos came to our Youth Cell and give us a 40 minutes presentation.
As one Mongolian woman was assigned into our group, she started to share about her life. Her English was not good, and she needed much effort to express herself and letting us knowing that Jesus Christ is really important in her life. As a conclusion, she was trying her best to convince the youths to put Jesusfirst into their lives.
She was not well-trained in her preaching and sharing. I was thinking that she was not even guided to know what she would be sharing to us. However, I appreciate her passion - to convince the youths in the right way. Her actions and her passion reminded me when I was in Myanmar mission.
When I was first sent to Myanmar for God's mission, I was not trained. I was not familiar with Bible. I only believed that Holy Spirit led me to that place and preach the gospel. At that time, when I was sharing the gospel, I was very passionate and kept on sharing about Jesus Christ. It was extremely difficult because I did not know any Theology. I only started my journey with God during that time. In other words, I did not have many testimonies to share too. Yet the Holy Spirit led me and guided me on sharing Jesus Christ. On that year in Myanmar, more than 300 people accepted Jesus Christ.
Therefore, as I looked back to this Mongolian woman, I did not despise her way of sharing. Though she was not trained, I appreciate her passion. That is why God always chooses those who have no experience before. Hence, those people will humble themselves and depend on God at all times.
After the sharing, Roy was singing "Light of the World". As the music went on, and Holy Spirit ministered us, Cava (one of our youths) bowed down and prayed. I was surprised that he actually did that. That was the touching moment when a person who was not passionate for Jesus Christ came to bow down and pray!God, I thank You for leading this young guy. It was indeed touching.
Luke 12:12 "for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."
My best buddy, Finian, called me for lunch. Hence, we decided to meet at Starbuck Coffee, Warisan Square.
When I reached there, I saw Finian talking to another man. As that man turned around, HEY!!! Archdeacon John!!!
In the end, Archdeacon John joined us for lunch.
I was glad to see Archdeacon John recovered from his sickness. Last two weeks, he was in a serious situation where no one was allowed to visit him. The doctor gave a serious warning that no visitor was allowed during his medical leave. I even heard that he could not even walk around and found himself seriously weak. We can imagine that he was really sick!
During the lunch, I asked him, "What's the disease?" "Pneumonia." (a sickness which the liver is infected. It can be fatal)
Health is very important in our life. Readers, do take care of yourself, because God only gives us one body. We do need to cherish the goodness of God. For us who are working, we hardly find time to rest or sleep. To us, sleeping time is one of the most important things in our life. So, when there is time to rest, rest. When there is time to exercise, exercise. When there is time to relax, relax. When there is time to sleep, by all means, sleep.Regain the strength once again, and start everything afresh again!
Psalms 63:1 "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water."
I praise God that Archdeacon John is away from fatal possibility. He is now safe in the hand of God. God is faithful. He will take care of His faithful servant.
Moreover, Archdeacon John is like my spiritual father.
"Jack, your youth live concert video is amazing!" "Oh! Thanks so much! I am greatly encouraged!" "Ha ha... I wish I was there." "Ya! Don't worry. Anyway, how are you?"
"I am crying actually. I am making a hard decision."
Huh????
A girl was chatting with me in MSN. "Ok, girl. Tell me what's going on? Maybe you need an ear, I am here to listen."
This girl started to tell, "I have 2 boyfriends now. Both are at different places. The old one doesn't know I am having a new boyfriend. I love the new guy more than the old one."
I was completely stunned! "Wow! Ok... Continue..."
"My old boyfriend treats me very well. He will give me whatever I want. He never control me. However, the new guy does not treats me well. He always criticises me saying I have affairs with other boys. He demands so much from me, that I need to change so much for him. Yet it is ok. Because I love this new one more."
I was speechless, replied, "Ok, continue..." "This is my problem now. Who am I going to choose?"
"It is better to choose the old one. He does not do anything wrong to you. Yet you have betrayed him. Since you say he is so nice to you, why not finding him back?" I answered,
"Why do you say that? I love the new one more." "The new one will not give you happiness. He treats you very badly now. In future, there are more worse to come. He cannot give anything to you, unlike the old one. He disrespect you. I tell you the truth - this relationship will not last long."
The girl interrupted, "You seem to know the situation very well. The new one even say we are done. He does not want to share his girlfriend with others. Even if I break up with the old one, the new one will not wanna continue too."
"Girl, this is serious, man! You better take his words. He really does not want to carry on with you anymore. The reason is he is the third party. If you break up with the old one, he will still think there is a possibility that you will have a new affair in future. It is hard to trust. You cannot blame him."
"Ok, what should I do now?" "Listen to my advice. Stop this new relationship right now. And find back the old one. And promise me that you will not do this again in the future. No more third party relationship. The old one is very pitiful. He loves you, respects you, and gives you everything you want. And you betrayed him. This is tragic!"
Lastly, she concluded, "Ok, I will give this new guy another chance. If he does not change, I will break up and find back the old boyfriend."
WHAT?! *Faint*
Romans 7:15 "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."
Last Wednesday, I went to watch the movie "Final Destination 4". The theme is "Rest in Pieces".
I was shocked to see that among all the FD, this is the most disgusting one. The movie is mostly to summarize that a guy foresaw the future that they will die tragically at the car racing stadium. Then he warned a group of people who are supposed to die, escaped their destiny of death. In the end, the "death" returned and let the people pay back to their own death.
Indeed, it is very interesting.
This movie, though disgusting, has a moral story inside. It is good for us think about one question - What is your life?
When that group of people thought they had escaped from their death, a guy smiled and said, "Now I would like to cherish and not waste any moment for the rest of my life."
What about us?
Life is given only once. Will you cherish your life? When you escaped from your death, what are you going to do next? Life is interesting. Though ridiculous things happen in our life, we still need to face them.
When hardship comes to our life, that is when our life start to become interesting. When our life have no hardship at all, it means we are living meaninglessly. Sure enough to say, everyone needs a break when hardship comes!
When hardship comes to us, that is where God will reveal Himself even closer to us. When our life have no hardship, it means we are not that close to God though our lips praise "Jesus! Jesus!"
I was wondering when you supposed to die today, yet you escaped from your death, given a second chance to serve God, will you do that?
When we can only live once in our lives, we better take opportunity to build up our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He is the one who bless us in our life.
Again, what is your life?
James 4:14 "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
Last Tuesday, my sister Rachel recommended me to try the ice cream on Doulos Ship. She said, "The Ice Cream is really nice! You must try it!"
Hence, we went there.
As I was entering the ship, I saw many books and different kinds of bible. No doubt. It was very stuffy. Everyone in there was sweating. I also met many church friends. And I was surprised to see that many people were quening for one thing. And I did not know it could be the Doulos Ice Cream!
After buying the Ice cream (the ice cream really tastes nice), we were about to leave the ship, one crew who was standing in front of the exit door, gave everyone a Doulos card. I read the card, at the same time, walking back to my car.
I read... "20 million people in over one hundred countries have visited the onboard book fair.
"The all-volunteer crew serve on board as a practical expression of their Christian faith. Their lifestyle and personal experiences are testimony of lives transformed by God's love.
"The international crew and staff you met come from over 50 nations, but they all have one important thing in common: each one has chosen to live as a follower of Jesus Christ."
As I was reading the card, I was amazed with the founder of Doulos. He must have a big vision which aroused him to start this ship. Where does the fund come from? What about the maintenance fees? There are many troubles which he may face. However, he pursued it. Great! He aroused those who have the same vision to serve onboard to reach out different nations.
I really appreciate those who work in Doulos. They give their life for Jesus Christ and reach out people in nations and serving them with God's love. And they are mostly young people.
Last thing which impresses me the most... The world knows that Doulos is a Christian ship. Yet it was accepted throughout the nations. Nations give Doulos a port to settle down and launch its bookfair. What about Islamic nations? What about Buddhists' and Hindus' nations? They stopped missionaries from sharing gospel in their nations. Yet they allowed Gospel to enter their country? Isn't it funny? So they should know the ultimate purpose of Doulos is to share Jesus Christ throughout the world.
Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
God, You are great! No one can stop You from sharing Gospel. As the followers of Jesus Christ are increasing, the Gospel will be widely spread in a rapid speed. God, have mercy upon us, sinners. Save us from our sin.
This song "Forever You Reign" is made for my God, my Savior. I wanna share this with my readers, to let them know that the song is ultimately inspired by God Himself.
On 12 September 2009, in the Youth Live Concert, this song will be placed at the last. I do hope everyone who comes to the concert will enjoy the presence of God, and the touching of Holy Spirit.
My life and my all are in God's hand. My life is unworthy, yet God still uses me for His kingdom. God reigns in my life. He will forever be my God.
Therefore, one day, when I was resting on my bed, I saw a picture in my mind which many people were bowing down before God, calling out with all their strength "You're my God! You're my God!"
All Creations around God were praising Him for His mighty work. The voice of praise was so loud that it was blended into one voice. As the creations were praising God, the fear of God became to grow deeper and stronger. Naturally, everyone raised up both hands and declare that Jesus reigns forever. When I see the people of God were fearing His Name, I began to fear even more.
When I fear God, I could not do anything, but to raise up my hands and agreedly saying, "You're my God! You're my God! Jesus! Forever You reign!"
God, I love to worship You. And I wanna worship You for the rest of my days. Though my life is broken, yet You won't despise it and take it all. Therefore, God, do not forsake me and have mercy upon me.
Use me in Your kingdom and glorify Your Holy Name.
Revelation 19:6 "Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns."
** Please note that I am not a prophet. This is not a prophency or special revelation. Please do not think I am trying to make myself special. I am only composing a song which I can imagine all people fearing His name.
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Forever You Reign Melody and Lyrics composed by: Jack's Stuff
Verse 1: Mighty God, the world is in Your hand Every knee shall bow down in Your name You are God who deserves all our praise Here we are, our sacrifice of praise
Pre-Chorus: All the heavens and the earth tremble and fear Your name There is no one else like You, for You are great
Chorus: All Creations shout Your praise As we lift our hands, declare Your name You’re my God, You’re my God Jesus, forever You reign
Verse 2: Who am I? Not worthy of Your grace My broken life, You won’t despise and take I once was lost, You bring me back again Use my life for the glory of Your name
When there is a situation where the team's spirit is not united, how do you feel?
Let me confess one thing: yesterday night, during the practice, I was very frustrated. I confess my attitude and behavior were untoleratable. I know people cannot stand me yesterday. Therefore, before I start to write this post, I wanna say that God does not delight in my attitude too. I have my wrong too. Or else, people might criticise me, saying "This Jack says as if he has no wrong at all." Hence, forgive me for I do not know what I am doing, God.
Why was I frustrated? Here are the reasons:
Some people in the worship team were trying to be leaders. Some thought they were very talented, so they were not teachable. Some, who did wrong, did not even know they were wrong so they will point to others and say "Ah ya. You don't know they are like that?" or "I cannot stand them." Some thought they were very smart and good, so they kept pointing out others' problems. Some even tried to argue unnecessary things so time was wasted. Some even make the final decision without asking "Is it ok?". In the end, some went home because their parents had come to fetch them home. Why? Unnecessary time was wasted, so the practice was incomplete.
Someone asked me, "Jack, you look unhappy. Is it because your composed song 'Forever You reign' is not the response song?"
This is not the thing which makes me frustrated. If my composed song is cancelled in the concert, it's fine with me. Because it is composed for my GodJesus Christ, not for the church. Am I writing this song for the people? God knows my worship. Why should I be frustrated? Am I worried about the concert? The answer is "NO".
I wrote "God, have mercy." in Facebook status. I am not pointing to the concert. Do you think the concert will be lousy? Certainly not! All are skillful people.
Yet why I pray for God's mercy? I am pointing to our worship team. I pray for God's mercy upon our pride, our foolishness, our stubborness, our life.
Fools, do you think that when the concert is performed wonderfully, God will delight in our worship? Are you glorifying God? No! You are glorifying yourselves. Do you think you are a skilled musician, then God will be pleased? No! Even if the whole world says it is a wonderful concert, God will find it disgusting!
Why? Because of your own intelligence, your stubborness, your PRIDE! Why do I pray for God's mercy? When the concert is over, you will continue to show your pride in your life! As if you are a genius! As if you already know how to worship God? God detests that! Where is your HEART OF WORSHIP?
Oh God, have mercy on us. I cannot change this. God, hear my cry. Change the worship team, turn their heart back to the heart of worship. God, forgive us for we do not know what we are doing. We divided ourselves and do not unite in the body of Christ.
Luke 23:34 "Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots."
Note: If anyone in the worship team is reading this post now, and think "No. I am not like that." Obviously, it says about you, because your pride makes you say that. Ask God to vindicate us.
