The Allegiance

Discovering God’s Will For Your Life

2007-02-14T03:27:00.000+08:00

Whether you are preparing to enter into the new school year, waiting to enlist into the army, or serving your term there, one mind-boggling and often confusing question is bound to emerge: “What is God’s will for my life?”

The first time that I seriously asked God this question was at the Junction 8 bus stop, feeling totally confused and helpless in the choice of junior college to enroll in. I had relatively good grades so all choices were open to me. The final “battle” in my mind was between Victoria JC and Raffles JC and Victoria emerged as my final choice when I clicked the “Confirm” button on the online registration form with my eyes half-closed in uncertainty. While I did not experience a manifest presence of God appearing in glory proclaiming, “Yenchin, you are to go to Victoria!”, there were some signs indicating His direction. But before I elaborate, let us explore the nature of God and how we are to expect and receive the guidance of God.

First of all, “Is God willing to guide us?” This may sound ridiculous to some of us, but recall a major decision in your life when you prayed to God like never before, but only to receive no response. “Is God really going to guide me?” we ask in frustration.

The truth is that God is MORE than willing to guide us. Psalm 48:14 “This is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.” God is more committed to showing us his will than we are in discovering it. He has promised in Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go”.

Since God is willing to guide, let me introduce the 4 “C”s, taught by Nicky Gumbel in the Alpha Course, which God often uses to communicate His will to us. * * *

Commanding Scripture – “What does the Bible Say?”

The fact is, his will for us is already made plain in his Word. Should I go to the up and coming ZoukOut at Sentosa? 1 Thess 4:3-4 has an answer: “It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable”. Or should I tithe to the church? Leviticus 27:30 says, “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord”. Should I date a girl/guy who is not a christian? 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers”.
God’s Word speaks to every situation in life, whether as a direct command, or in the form of a general precept. Hence, before we make decisions, it is wise to consult the Scriptures first.
* * *

Circumstantial Signs -- “What doors are open/closed?”

While consulting the Scriptures should be our No.1 priority, there will be instances when we are unsure. Hence, altering our circumstances is an alternative way in which God directs our paths.

In Acts 16:6-8, we see that the Holy Spirit actually guides Paul and his team by placing obstacles in their way! Doors were closed and they were prevented from entering Asia. Therefore, we ought not to feel too disappointed if we miss out on some opportunities, as it may just be God’s hand at work for our own benefit.

I personally experienced His hand at work when I scored less than my expectations for my A levels. I was disappointed, as I had missed out on a scholarship that will enable me to study overseas, but I realized that it was God’s plan for me to stay, since this “door” was closed. With hindsight, I am glad that I can be involved in our church’s ongoing revival, and contribute to God’s work in my little ways.

What doors has He opened or closed in your life?
* * *

Counsel of the Saints -- “What do my leaders say?”

Proverbs 15:22, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed”.

Proverbs 19:20, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”

Seeking the counsel of the wise and those who are spiritually mature can often throw light upon a difficult situation we face. This enables us to appreciate our situation better, allowing us to make a wiser decision that brings about the will of God in our lives.

Personally, I am constantly seeking the counsel of my parents, my girlfriend’s parents, Hsia Pin, Eunice and Dr Khoo regarding our relationship. Recently, we faced a dilemma on whether we should be committed to the same church. Recognizing that we cannot reach a conclusion on our own, we approached our leaders on both sides, who questioned our intent. This refocused us onto a fundamental question. Are we planning to be in the same church for God or for ourselves? Thank God for our leaders, whose counsel prevented a wrong move.

Are there wise and mature Christians that you can consult in times of uncertainty?
* * *

Compelling Spirit -- “What do I sense in my spirit?”

Through Jesus’s death and resurrection, God has placed in us the Holy Spirit – God Himself – and His Spirit works in us and directs our paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in Jehovah with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

As we trust in the Lord and place our decisions into His hands, He will direct our paths.

It is chiefly the experience of the Spirit’s calling that prompted me to enroll into Victoria Junior College. After weeks of prayer and consulting with God, I felt confident that it was the place for me. There was a strong Christian culture; and I was personally touched by the daily prayer meetings conducted by students. Even as I felt a tinge of uncertainty in making this choice, there was an overall sense of assurance. Having graduated for a year past, I often look back with no regrets and I thank God for placing me there.
* * *

In conclusion, the 4 “CS”: Commanding Scripture, Circumstantial Signs, Counsel of the Saints and Compelling Spirit, is a guide to help us in understanding the various ways in which God communicates His will to us. However, it is much more important to remember the fundamentals: that His greatest command for us is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” [Matthew 22:37]

Without this, His will will never be known. Neither will it be revealed to hearts that do not desire Him.

- Yenchin

Hsia Pin's Note for 2007

2007-02-14T03:22:00.000+08:00

It has been a great year for the Allegiance. From stories of individuals having personal successes and God coming through for them in their studies, to a numerical growth of over 300% (from 4 to an average of 12), God has been good to us. Some of you have even come for Youth Group in spite of being in the midst of GCE exams because you said that Youth Group is where you relax and recharge. That really encourages me!

God has put in my heart some goals for this coming year. My prayer is that all of you will catch the vision and, together as one team, work towards making it a reality.

My vision is of a group of young people
…radically serious about God’s glory.
…bonded by true friendship and agape love of God
…who enjoy worshipping God
…maturing in God’s Word
…pouring out their lives for God’s kingdom
…flowing with Holy Spirit
…experiencing the blessings of God

Goals to help us reach this vision

1. Development of a Youth Band

I want to develop a worship culture. Chee Keen is overseeing the development of a group of musicians and lead worshippers to lead the group in anointed God-honoring worship. I want to give anyone with a heart to worship God a chance to grow as a musician too. I am very excited to see some of you young musicians becoming pretty good. I know this is because you are putting in loads of effort: practicing and playing every week. Keep at it, it is tough but it will be worth it! I believe in you guys!

2. Hang out events

Yen Chin will be leading the bonding department. As Yen Chin leads us to kickstart bonding through events and other activities, I urge every one of you to make an effort to connect with others beyond these activities. True friendships take initiative and time. Invite people out for a meal or a game. Talk about real issues. Ask for help, prayer, advice, its ok to do that!

3. Strategy to reach out

We are still asking God for strategies to reach out. Within this year, we hope to solidfy a strategy of reaching our community and friends. We do hope to use the internet as a means to reach out to the community. Our blog will be one means. We have a mailing list too and we hope to grow that to 100 people by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, we will conduct about 6 parties this year as a platform to invite friends to meet the youth group. These will be held at strategic times:
Valentine’s Day (Feb)
Good Friday (Apr)
June holidays (June)
National Day (Aug)
Nov holidays (Nov)
Christmas (Dec)

So go make lots of friends and bring them to these events!

Also, let us not forget the other youths in our church who do not attend Youth Group. Let us continue to PRAY and reach out to them. We do not want to let any one of us fall down without the rest helping to pick them up.
* * *

I am open to any ideas to help the group reach the goals. If the Lord places any burden and ideas in you, do speak with me!

Together with you for God’s glory,
HP

The Weighing Scales of Giving

2007-02-14T03:19:00.000+08:00

Read the story of 1 Sam 2. In this story, Hannah's willingness to give up her son to God is contrasted with Eli's wicked sons, who tried to take for themselves the lives that they wanted to live, with no regard for God's law. They showed blatant disrespect to God by taking the sacrifices for themselves even before they had been offered, sleeping with the women who served in the temple etc.

Like weighing scales, we find that those who give more 'weight' to God - who place God in a more important position in their lives - will also be given more back. God responds to the way we respond to Him. If we load our side of the balance with an attitude of giving our lives to God, seeking God's presence, and shining for God, He gives us many things in return - tangible blessings as well as peace, joy and spiritual stability. However, if we do not esteem God and refuse to give Him honour, he despises us.

We should not despise our parents' discipline either, and appreciate godly parenting if we have been blessed with it!

Some of the ways that God honours us when we honour Him include

1. Position, favour among God and man. When we honour God, we also become attractive and well-liked in the eyes of the world.

2. Presence - God speaks to us

3. Passion for whatever God has planned for our calling in life - we are granted discovery, a glimpse into His plans for the world, and even honour for it, even if we have very little to go on with. Hsia Pin cited the example of George Washington Carver (1864-1943), a Christian black man in whom God had placed a great passion for knowledge, whose impoverished childhood could not stop him from becoming an agricultural scientist. He discovered hundreds of uses for the humble peanut, such as peanut butter and oil, paper and inks, which turned around the fortunes of the peanut growers. His agricultural ideas revolutionised the economy of the Southern states of America. Of every discovery he said, "God showed it to me".

Using Our Problems For Good

2007-02-14T03:15:00.000+08:00

Chapter 1 of 1 Samuel tells the story of Hannah, who was grieved because she could not have children. (If you have a Bible, turn to 1 Sam 1 and read the story.) No one understood her intense grief - her rival provoked her, her husband could not understand why she was sad, and even the priest who saw her praying for a baby thought she was drunk.

Hannah prayed before God with great anguish and promised that if God gave her a son, she would give him to the LORD for all the days of his life - a difficult decision, because every mother wants to be close to her children, not separated from them. However, having a son was so important to her that she was willing to give him up to God. And God heard her prayers and enabled her to have a son, Samuel, whom she really gave to the LORD after he was weaned. And although she did not know it, because she was generous in giving to God, God went on to give her 3 more sons and 2 daughters! (1 Sam 2:21)

We each read this chapter before we came, and were asked to sum up what we had learnt from Chapter 1 in one sentence.

Joanna: "Give God the first/best thing that you want, even if it means everything to you." (and even if we don't expect anything in return, God gives us even more back)

Yenchin: "God uses circumstances to transform our hearts." (Hannah's desperation led her to seek God and promise to dedicate her child to Him, which led to the birth of Samuel, who when he grew up led the Israelites back to God and prepared the way for King David. A nation was transformed because God had used one woman's problem to raise up a leader!)

Chee Keen: "God answers our prayers and gives us what we want." (only God can really understand our heart's desire when the people around us don't understand why we want something so badly)

Hsia Pin: "Desperation, dependence, and devotion leads to God's answer."

Shaun Oon: "God can do the impossible."

Chee Kit: "Don't poke fun at other people!"

Eng Keat: "Prayer leads to peace."

Shaun Chue: "God can use anyone" (even Hannah, a woman, in a time when women were considered 'low class')

Tim: "God can use different methods to turn us to him."

* * *

All these points tied in with Eunice's teaching...

1. God has a habit of using our personal problems. In Hannah's case, it was a difficult and hopeless situation - she was provoked by her rival, and even her husband could not entirely understand her frustration.

- Troubles often turn us to God when all other human methods have failed.
- Troubles are opportunities for us to forgive people.
Hannah had to learn to forgive her rival (who made fun of her), her husband (for being unable to understand), Eli the priest (for misunderstanding), and maybe even God, whom she might have blamed.

2. God gives us what we want provided that our will and God's will is together (John 15:7 - "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.")

In this case, Hannah wanted a son, and God wanted a boy to walk with Him to turn Israel around. The two were in accord, and God granted Hannah's wish.

3. God's peace enables us to go through life even when our problems have not yet been solved - it's through prayer and coming to God that we find that peace. That's how important prayer is! (Philippians 4:6-7 - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.")

4. Breakthrough leads us into deeper and richer praise of God. (see Hannah's prayer in 1 Sam 2:1-10.)

5. We should challenge ourselves to give the first and best to God.

* * *

Personal Impact

This was a very meaningful teaching to me (Joanna). I shared that whenever I read stories like this which contain imagery of barrenness and bearing children, I am always reminded of my own struggles with my desire to write poetry. For various reasons, I was convicted by God that the path I should take in life was to study to be a doctor. Foremost among these reasons is my wish to spend my life doing something that will be helpful to others in a way that has meaning for many people, not just for a select 'enlightened' few. Also, I do not consider myself a very good writer and often feel 'barren', like Hannah, unable to produce writing of the quality I admire.

Nevertheless, for many years, I struggled with my wish to be a great poet like the poets whom I loved to read (Shelley, Yeats, Auden etc), and had much difficulty reconciling myself to a life which was not devoted to poetry. It was a vicious cycle, because I felt that as I did not write well, I should not choose to devote my life to a venture which may never succeed, and yet because I was deliberately starving my poem-writing side, I would never get better! My love for poetry, and the fact that no one around me seemed to care for it to the same extent and just could not understand and did not even read, caused me enormous grief all through my adolescence and continued to haunt me despite the distance I had placed between us. Like Hannah, no one could understand exactly why I was sad.

Fortunately, God sent me a Christian friend who faces the same struggles with the piano (he loves to play the piano, but for years had also been pretty tortured by the same artistic problems which gave me so much grief). Over MSN, he said something that touched me a lot - "For me, I use it to play for God, coz I know that He will listen, otherwise wasted". These words really pierced my heart, because I had already come to the conclusion that if I spent my life writing artistically good poems about my own feelings which no one would understand, it would all be wasted - but if I wrote things for God rather than about myself, and succeeded in pleasing Him, then that was the only way it wouldn't be wasted, as He is the only audience who can fully understand, and the only one whose opinion really matters! As my friend said, "God will read your poetry if it's for him".

The thought that God would read my poetry even if no one else did was of extraordinary comfort to me (like Chee Keen observed, God knows what we want - and He alone has the capacity to fulfil our deepest longings, because only He can understand them). For the first time I properly understood why someone like George Herbert (a great poet who, at the age of 18, resolved to write poems about nothing but God, and did so, producing some of the most beautiful poetry ever written) would have made a resolution to dedicate his poetry to God alone - literally giving up the best of one's life to God.

When I realised this, for the first time in almost a decade, part of me that had always been grieved and restless finally found peace. I resolved to "tithe" part of the poems I should write from now on to God - perhaps the first poem that I write each month, perhaps one out of ten? - and God spoke to me too, giving me confidence that as I start writing for Him, the way I write will also be changed by this new discipline, and changed for the better. My desire to produce 'something beautiful' has now been changed to the desire to produce 'something beautiful for God" - because, "otherwise wasted"!

The Hannah story was a vivid confirmation of this for me - that it is important to give up the best of oneself, the first, and one's everything - for God, just as Hannah gave up her firstborn son. And God didn't just take Samuel and leave Hannah with nothing, but blessed her richly with many more sons and daughters. What a wonderful confirmation of the generous love of God!

Don't Bite The Apple!

2007-02-14T03:06:00.000+08:00

Don't Bite The Apple!

(Note: The forbidden fruit was not really an apple lah the Bible just says "fruit" - but since tradition has called it an apple we'll just call it an apple for convenience!)

God created us for a relationship with Him. But if all God wanted was a relationship with us, He'd just rapture us into Heaven as soon as we were saved. He doesn't because we were also put here on earth to SHINE for God so that others may know Him too!

But we can't shine unless we are free of habitual sin ourselves. Yet many Christians are not able to shake off some sinful habits which still enslave them after being saved, so that they try to act 'clean' in front of others but are still struggling with sin and are 'half-in and half-out' of the light, so to speak. This weakens our ability to shine for God - and is precisely what the Enemy will try to do.

Some of the strategies of the Enemy to tempt us to sin are illustrated in Genesis 3, the story of Eve eating the forbidden fruit. Recognising them helps us to guard against them:

1. Genesis 3:1 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did GOd really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

The Enemy will prompt us to justify sin to appear not really wrong although in our spirit we know it is - eg justifying premarital or homosexual sex by saying that because it feels 'right' therefore it's "natural" and permissible - 'not really sin'.

2. Genesis 3:4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.

The Enemy will fool us into thinking that there can be such a thing as sin that will not lead to death. But "the wages of sin is death", as Romans 6:23 puts it. Not necessarily physical death (nor, if one has been saved, complete spiritual death), but every sin produces death in some way - death to relationships, to health, to personal peace and joy etc.

3. Genesis 3:5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

The Enemy will try to make us mistrust God by sowing the suspicion in our minds that God is forbidding us to do something because he's conspiring in some way against us to withhold good things from us, that he's really a bad God, someone who can't be trusted, who only seeks to have control over us and doesn't care about our welfare. These lies produce the mentality, "If God knew that this was so desirable then He shouldn't have created it in the first place to tempt me" - we excuse ourselves from succumbing to temptation by by blaming God for creating it, and what's more we blame God for creating misery in our lives by showing us something beautiful and not letting us have it.

This has actually been my (Joanna's) personal greatest struggle in my life. I tend to focus on the one thing that I can't have or can't do according to God's law and end up full of anguish, asking God "Why can't I when I want it so much?" At such times God seems a spoilsport, withholding pleasure when it seems right. All Christians go through times like these when we feel that God's law is spoiling our fun.

It's focusing on the few things that we can't have or we can't do, though, that produces embitterment towards God and a surly attitude that destroys our relationship with Him. In reality, by forbidding us to commit sins, God is saving us from rotten fruit that will make us ill - and we fail to notice that He has made so many other beautiful things for us - He has given us all the rest of the garden, all the other fruits, from which to eat. The fraction of things that look 'good' but in which we are not permitted to indulge is really very small - just one tree compared to the rest of the garden. But we make the mistake of focusing on just that one tree and agonising about its forbidden fruit and thinking, "I'm so deprived!" when in reality we are not deprived at all.

4. Genesis 3:6 ...the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye...

Sin often looks very attractive. Eg. Premarital sex and promiscuity is glamourised in all forms of media, notably the movies, and music and poetry as well. Why does God allow sin to look so beautiful and be such a strong temptation?

God allowed choices so that He could be glorified when we choose the right thing. Hsia Pin used a simple tongue-in-cheek analogy of a man and a woman who are the only inhabitants of a desert island, with absolutely no other temptations - and over the years they just naturally get married since there's no one else around (a la "The Blue Lagoon"). No choice there. But if there're two guys, Man A and Man B, on the island, and the girl has to choose, and she chooses Man A, then Man A is glorified by her choice! In the same way, God would not be glorified if we would automatically choose good, whether because sin were unattractive or if we were 'programmed' to choose good every time. But sin is allowed to look attractive - the Enemy is allowed to paint a picture of how good it looks to us - so that by choosing God anyway, we are demonstrating that we love God more - that He is even more attractive to us, even more beautiful than the sham beauty of temptation, more real.

* * *

In summary, the purpose for which God created us was to shine for Him. So, choose Him! Glorify Him through the decisions that we make in our lives, what we choose to use our lives for. Don't let there be the death in our lives - the loss of hope, of human relationships, of joy and of love - that comes from choosing sin.

Christmas Party // Testimonies

2007-01-09T20:11:00.000+08:00

Chee Kit's Testimony
Hi guys! My name is Lai Chee Kit and I am 14 this year. I am currently studying in Xinmin Secondary.

Previously, I was a ‘worrier’ of every single little thing. I would worry about even the smallest details that you could imagine. I was also very skeptical about God’s words and plans. For example, I would wonder or fear whether I would lose out if I commit myself totally to God even though I have heard many times about the scripture in Matt 6 : 33 “ But seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things would be added unto you”. Therefore, I lived life striving for position and grades. I was my own boss.

Let me give you two examples in my life where I struggled with God in this area of trusting him. One of them would be surrendering my position as a student leader / councilor. God spoke to me at that time to surrender this area to him. That was really a struggle for me as it was really a battle between what I want as well as what God wants. I decided to just do what God wants because it pleases him that we obey him. Even now as I look back at my life, I could really see that this was the best decision. I now had more time to improve and also serve as a guitarist in church. The other senior student leaders also recognize that I had made a good choice and some of them also regret being a student leader. If I have not obeyed God right, I think that now I would be a very tired and bedraggled person. I think that I also could not be up here to share with you my testimony.

Another example would have to be worrying for the future, especially next year as I would have to take up more responsibilities. God also spoke to me in this area. Remember during one of the youth group sessions, I had a word about a person pulling off the petals from a flower, saying “He loves me, he loves me not”. The message that God gave was that we should not doubt God’s plans but trust in his everlasting love. This was such an appropriate message to me at that time and this was also an assurance of his love.

So guys, I can testify that obeying God and trusting in his plans and promises is not a good choice, but it is the BEST choice. I still cannot say that I have stopped worrying completely but I feel that I am now worrying less than before with the revelation that God is faithful and he will provide a way. You will not loose out but you will gain so much more than you could ever imagine. Thank You.

Shaun's Testimony

Hi everyone.. its by God’s grace that I can post my testimony up on THE ALLEGIANCE BLOG!!
My name is Shaun and I’m 16 this year.

When I was young, about 9 or 10 years of age, I had a dream. It was a dream of me in a race and God told me “ I am putting you in a race. In this race, there may be many obstacles but in everything you do, just do your best and I will see you through.”
I still remember it vividly and until now, I still stand on God’s promise that he will be there with me, even in times of crisis. The key thing that God mentioned is that I have to do my best.

This, coupled with a few more inspiring messages, such as the one Eunice shared about having a spirit of excellence has spurred me on to give my all in everything that I do.
As most of you would know, I just completed my Olevels this year. Most people would have thought that I would retain because of my poor attitude towards studies. I’m not saying this to boast or anything but I just want to illustrate how good and merciful God has been in my life.

In primary school and lower secondary, I would say I worked considerably hard but in sec 3, came my mid-life crisis. I totally lost all my desire for studies and my discipline just vaporised. To be frank, I thought that was the end for me. When it came to sec 4, I was just as bad, getting a very forgettable 32 pts for my mid-yr. However, God once again came true for me. He gave me strength and determination to do my best. Further more, He has put me in this community with people who have showered endless support and encouragement onto me. In the end, I managed to get 11 pts for prelims. Praise the Lord!

Also, God has been so real in my life. I used to be a so-called Sunday Christian, merely attending church for the sake of it. Honestly, it was my mum’s incessant nags that forced me to church. That was at my old church. But every since I joined this church some 20 months ago, I have truly experienced God. He has become a reality in my life. The church is real and the people are real. I no longer go to church because I’m forced to but simply because God is present and I get to mingle with fellow believers. In John 4:24, it says “ God is spirit, and His worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth”. I now can worship freely for God and even enjoy it.

God has been so real to me, constantly moulding me and tuning me. He has changed me in many aspects of life. One example is in the area of patience. I used to be so short-tempered, often getting frustrated when things did not turn out the way I wanted it to be. However, God has really changed me. Now, I have the determination and the fighting spirit to accomplish things, in spite of difficulties or time constraints. My mum was so surprised with the change in me. Even my dad, a non-believer, noticed that change.

To all my brothers and sisters, God is real. If God can be so true to me, I am absolutely sure that he will also come true for you if only you desire Him. Keep your faith and have a wonderful Christmas! God bless !

Christmas Party 2006 =)

2007-01-03T12:56:00.000+08:00

The photos are finally here! I'm sure we all had fun during the Christmas Party, and here's proof =)

The testimonies of Shaun and Chee Kit would be coming right up.. really soon.. I hope.

Enjoy the photographs!

Worship Extravaganza Videos!!

2006-11-01T21:13:00.000+08:00

Hey e Allegiance!

Hsia Pin just e-mailed me these videos from Worship Extravaganza to put up. Hope you guys enjoy!

More of You, Interview

More of You, Song

We Can Only, Interview

We Can Only, Song

Salt And Light

2006-10-16T02:32:00.000+08:00

("DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE - Part III)
Teaching by Hsia Pin

Matthew 5:13-16

In Biblical times, people used salt to

1. prevent things from decay and
2. to give taste to food.

Likewise, as Christians, our role on earth is to preserve God's standards in everyday living and uphold certain truths that no one else will uphold. We also 'flavour' society through the way we live. Just as potato chips would be no fun without salt, there would be something missing from life without God's word and God's standards - the most important part, in fact!

We are also to be light in the darkness. Jesus said of himself, "I am the light of the world" (John 12:46). Here he calls his disciples - and us - the light of the world, because after his death and resurrection, when he returned to heaven, it is left to us to bear his light in society! Light represents hope, safety and food - without it, crops would fail and we would feel a lot more alone. Some people don't like light because it exposes things they want to hide - but ultimately no one can live without it! In the same way, no one can live and be nourished without God's light - and it's from us that this will shine.

Some of us may be afraid to let others know that we are Christians, perhaps because we fear rejection, or maybe because we feel that we're not good enough people and will give Christians a bad name. But the task of spreading the light to the people around us is one that can be filled only by those who have the light. And if we hide our light and do not live out the truth, we are depriving those around us of having the light to see by and to read God's word as well.

It is not by words alone that our light will shine - in fact it is the way we live our lives that is a more important testimony to others. Some Christians seem to barge around telling people that this and that are wrong according to the Bible. This is very irritating! Yet their light is obviously shining, because they are not hiding their identity as Christians - so what are they doing wrong? Perhaps they have to learn not to give off so much irritating 'smoke' at the same time as they shine the light haha! We have to learn to proclaim God's word in a wise and gracious way, that will not be irritating to people.

This is why Paul says, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you ay know how to answer everyone." This brings us to another meaning of 'salt':

3. a symbol for God's prudence and wisdom!

So part of our calling to be salt and light in the world is to let the wisdom of God rule in our lives as we influence those around us. And the whole point of the analogy is that we should always be seeking to advance God's kingdom - to inflence those around us and impact society. Not to live for ourselves, but to influence a generation!

- Joanna

Work Is Not The Enemy!

2006-10-16T02:28:00.000+08:00

("DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE - Part II)
Teaching by Eunice

"The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." - Genesis 2:15

Most of us have the wrong idea that work is that it is not really part of the mission God has assigned for our lives on earth and only 'gets in the way' of everything else that we want to do. (Work may be said to be any activity that is not related directly to church, such a studying, planning one's time or cleaning the house.)

Here are three wrong mindsets busted:

Wrong Mindset #1: "We are saved to go to church, not to work".
Truth: We were created to rule over the earth.
Work is not an 'unspiritual' thing. God Himself worked to create the earth! (Genesis 2:2 - "...on the seventh day he rested from all his work."). And Man, who was made in God's image, was created and placed in the garden of Eden - for what? to slack all day? - Nope, it was actually to work!

Two things can immediately be seen: Living in the garden of Paradise was not an exemption from work - man was created to work! Adam would not have been happy if he was idle, just as we are all designed to get true pleasure from the work God employs us to do, pleasure that cannot be derived from idleness. Also, the curse (Genesis 3:17) under which we live today is that in our work, we struggle with weariness, frustration and anxiety - not the work itself.

* * *

Wrong Mindset #2: "Our secular life is not important to God, only church is."
Truth: God is extremely interested in our secular activities and how we fare in life!
In John 21, we read the story of how Jesus gave his disciples advice on how to catch fish when they remained empty-handed after a whole night of trying to catch fish.

Although the disciples were seasoned fishermen, they were not able to catch any fish on this occasion. However, since Jesus was the God of the sea, He knew where exactly the fish were. In each of our lives, God is the master of the problems we face in our work, such as exam papers, difficult essays or nerve-racking CCA drills, etc. and he is looking out for us, ready to provide his help, even at the moment when we think we have failed. Although we may feel that all these things are secular, minute, unimportant and not related to church, God takes as much interest in how we fare in them as in our 'spiritual' activites!

* * *

Wrong Mindset #3: "Work cannot glorify God because it's secular."
Truth: Work brings out the beauty in God's doctrine.

Titus 2: 9-10 - "Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive."

Our attitude to work is really one of the most powerful ways in which we can show those around us how beautiful God's teaching is. Having a good work attitude enables people to take note of our behaviour and our religion. When we work, we should use the opportunity to benefit those around us, not just seek to prove our personal best in our abilities and achievements. Also, the way we live out our beliefs - eg thanking God throughout the day, being mindful of the skills he has given us, and casting our cares on Him, shows those around us that we are doing our work in partnership with God.

* * *

As can be seen, God created us to live with a single passion: to live for His glory - in other words, to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all spheres of life, including work!

What struck me most about this teaching was the realisation that rather than being a chore, work is actually the gift of God, a task entrusted to us and a means God has given us to derive pleasure, not to deprive us of pleasure! Quite a radical shift of mindset from the man-in-the-street's resignation to the thought that work is boring.

And it was very reassuring to know that with Christ looking out for us and ready to help us in our work, it need not be a torture or something that isolates us from God, as long as we involve Him in our daily working life and not be blinded to the fact that He can be with us at all times, not only when we engage in 'spiritual activities'.

- Joanna

More Bible references to think about:

Proverbs 18:9 - Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.

Col.3:23 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men...

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 - For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

James 4:13-15 - Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"--yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

Proverbs 26:13 - The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!"

Just Worship Invite

2006-10-13T23:34:00.000+08:00

Want to worship till you drop? Join us for our first worship extravaganza Just Worship - one and a half hours of pure worship with the best contemporary Christian worship songs. Come and experience the presence of God and the Joy of the Lord. Catch also the new songs written and arranged by our songwriters who will share with us the story behind their songs.

- Click here to download the larger version -

The Allegiance Launch Party Video!!

2006-10-13T14:31:00.000+08:00

The Expensive Perfume

2006-10-08T01:54:00.000+08:00

("DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE - Part I)
Teaching by Hsia Pin

Mark 14:3-9

vs 3: While [Jesus] was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

This is a story that is found in different versions in the different gospels. It could be that it happened a few times with different women - in one of the stories the woman is described as having a sinful paszt, in another story she's named as Mary (the sister of Martha), and in other versions it's Jesus' feet that are anointed rather than his head.

The point of this story, however, is that a woman came up to Jesus at a party and poured a bottle of expensive perfume over him. The whole party must have fallen silent - shocked by the cost of her gift.

vs 4-5: Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly.

Those who were looking on might have wondered why she didn't save the perfume for herself - after all perfume is for us to make ourselves smell nice. Or they might have wondered, "if she wants to give away the perfume, why not spray a bit on Jesus and spray the rest on us so that we can ALL smell nice?"
* * *

Often the world's natural way of thinking is to spend the life that we have on ourselves, to do things that will make us look good (or 'smell nice') to those around us, and to satisfy our human instincts and desires. Or else, one step more noble, it's to help others and make them look good.

But Jesus considered one thing even better than this - making him 'smell nice'! vs 5: "Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

It wasn't as if Jesus wanted her to spend the money on him and not care about the poor - Jesus himself always cared about the poor. But the truth taught here is: the ultimate thing that pleases God is when we use our utmost to make Him 'smell nice'. That is, when we live in a way that glorifies God and brings honour to Him, and helps those around us to see how good He is!
* * *

Why ALL of it - the whole jar of precious perfume? Well every drop of our lives that we use to honour God is pleasing to Him! And when our aim in life is to please God, there is no better way to use our lives. In fact, it would be a waste NOT to!

Recently, HP's boss returned from a trip overseas. It had been easy to slack while he was away, but when he got back he had a meeting with everyone to find out if they had completed the projects they had been assigned to do. HP had done his part, but it was still quite scary waiting for his turn to report in. At that time everyone realised how much they wanted to please the boss! But if they had used their time to enjoy themselves rather than diligently working to make sure the boss would be pleased when he returned - now they would be found out!

This really brought home the thought: When we come face to face with God at the end of our lives, won't it be an even more scary experience meeting someone who's not just our boss but our Lord, the Master of all creation? At that time, we'll realise how much we want to please God and how pleasing Him was the only thing that really counted. And if we've spent all our lives living just to please ourselves, to satisfy our own nature, we'll suddenly feel - oh no, what was THAT all about? If we look back on our lives and find that none of it was spent trying to please God, we'll have done nothing of real value. It'll have been wasted!
* * *

Personally, this teaching was a new revelation to me because I've always had the mindset that "This is my life and I own it and I have the right to use it on myself, on what I feel like doing." (For me this tends to take the form of soaking in my emotions and moods and writing poems to memorialise and sometimes encourage them - which is not wrong in itself but which is wrong when I end up putting me and what I feel above anything else in my life and refusing to budge even if it interferes with my witness for God!)

Yes, I do have the right to spend my life glorifying only my wants and feelings, but it would please God best if I spent my life glorifying Him, making Him look good to others. And for no other reason than that it pleases God, I do want to 'waste my life' glorifying Him - because such 'waste' is not a waste at all.

- Joanna

Testimony - Chee Kit

2006-09-06T19:14:00.000+08:00

Hi, everyone! I am Lai Chee Kit and I am 14 years old this year. My life as a Christian now can be described in one simple word, exciting. Well, in my testimony, I will tell you about my life before I had a personal relationship with God, what happened in my life that changed my entire mindset of being a Christian, and most importantly, how God is working in my life now.

Well, I was fortunate to be born into a Christian family, and every Sunday, I went to church and did all the Christian things. My life revolved round activities, just basically doing, and doing, and doing things. Up to some point in my life, I felt really tired and drained out and I started comparing my life with my other friends. My friends would be watching cartoons, playing computer games every Sunday morning. What about I? I was spending my time, trying to keep awake during messages, and sulking in my seat. I felt that I had a “deprived childhood” and I really wanted to give up this whole idea of Christianity.

I want all of you to look at me right now. Do I look like a grumpy old grouch who would rather rot at home watching Gundam Seed rather than coming to church? So, what happened that caused this drastic change?

Well, when I came to CCC, I learned that Christianity is all about having a personal relationship with God and being his sons and daughters. I realized that my concept of Christianity was really very shallow. The messages in church challenged me to be an all out Christian for God. Soon, I caught the passion and hunger for God, and this has never left me.

Even as I honour God and commit to all my church activities, I can really see
God working in my life and helping me every step of the way especially in my studies. Even during the examination period, I helped to play in the music team and go to church on Sundays. Even though I have less time than my friends to study, I made sure I was adequately prepared. I did extremely well in my exams and got top in science and 6th in the level.

God also helped me in making choices in my life. For example, God spoke to me one day not to be a student leader in my school. Even though I did not know why, I took the step of faith and committed to God my decision. As I carried on in my life, I realized that this was the best thing that God had intended me to be. I have more time to improve as a musician and I also have less stress.

I just want you to remember one thing, that living life is easy as a child of God, I did not have to strive so hard to do well. Even as I honoured God 1st , God also blessed me. Living life is definitely not a struggle.

- Chee Kit, 26 Aug 2006

Testimony - Gabriel

2006-09-06T19:11:00.000+08:00

Hello everybody. My name is Gabriel. I’m here today to share a testimony about how God has changed my life and is ever so real to me.

Let me introduce my family background first. I’m from a Christian family and since the age of nine, I have been going to several churches with my mother on Sundays. However, I did not really experienced God. What do I mean? Well, everytime I go to church, I see everyone lifting up their hands or bowing down on their knees to worship God. As for me, I would just stand quietly, either too afraid or embarrassed to so much as sing. I was scared to “lose face”. In Sunday school, I learnt about God and how He loved us. Yet, I could not see or hear Him. I just knew that there was a God who loved us. Knew and not felt. Knowledge, not feelings. I could not feel God’s love at all! I felt so lonely and cold. Church became an event in the week. Life continued as per normal but I can tell you there was no joy and peace. It was like I am a walking zombie, oblivious to all the good things around me. Everyday was just so boring and life seemed to have no meaning.

It was not till the age of 13/14 when I came to Christian Community Church that I began to experience God. Over here at CCC, people seemed to be really nice and open to me. I still remembered my first visit to CCC, everyone was just so nice and joyful. It was as though life was much brighter at CCC. I could feel the love of people. That was not all. I wanted to find out how these people had so much joy bubbling out of them. That was when I really started to experience God; like father and son relationship. It all happened during one of the Sunday services when I went up for prayer. Pastor Khoo prayed for me that God would be real to me and that I would return to God and let God work in my life. I sought God’s forgiveness earnestly for my ignorance and for all my wrongdoings. Then, I just cried and cried, I felt so awful. The next minute, I felt this sense of love washing over me. It was just so perfect and it made me feel that all my sins were all washed away and I was forgiven. I believe that was God’s love.I no longer felt shy about lifting up my hands or bowing on my knees to worship God. And I could just feel his presence with me, guiding me and protecting me. I was so filled with gratitude that God is so merciful and after all my sins, he forgave me!

The day right after the service on a Monday, I just felt really happy for no reason at all. Church was no longer an event in a week and I really looked forward to it. God became so real in my life. I can hear Him speak to me just like a friend.

I just want to end off by saying that God loves me. He loves you and every1 of us.

- Gabriel, 26 Aug 2006

WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN

2006-09-06T19:08:00.000+08:00

Have you ever felt so low that you thought that life could not possibly
get any worse - but then it DID? In Genesis 39, Joseph must have believed
his life couldn't possibly get any worse.

God had given Joseph dreams that he would be great one day, a glimpse of
a grand destiny - just as He gives us dreams of being great at football,
or becoming a successful teacher or doctor, or of performing on stage or
making a great invention. But when Joseph was sold as a slave, with no
rights at all, these dreams of what his life would be like seemed to have
been rudely interrupted - and he must have thought they were gone
forever.

Then things got even worse for him! When Joseph did the right thing by
fleeing temptation and refusing to sleep with his boss's wife, he got
thrown into jail (Genesis 39) and his destiny seemed even further away
than EVER! Why do things seem so unfair sometimes? When we obey God, one
WOULD think it would be just good manners on His part if He rewarded us
for our efforts, since it was already so hard to do the right thing! But
it doesn't always happen that way. Sometimes by doing right we just seem
to bring more trouble on ourselves.

But God wants to bless us and use us to bless others, and sometimes
hardships are a necessary part of the journey. He has a plan for each of us that will result in the most good to ourselves and the people around us. He has designed it so that this plan will come into effect when we make choices that obey God each step of the way. Some of these choices will lead to sad situations, but they are still in God's plan and are just stepping stones to greater things.

Just think what would have happened if Joseph hadn't tried so hard to do
the right thing. If he had given in to Potiphar's wife, he wouldn't have
gone to prison. But then he would have missed the opportunity to be used
by God to interpret Pharoah's dream (if you don't know the story, do read
it up) - and he wouldn't have risen to Prime Minister and been able to
save a whole country from famine! Obeying God led him to prison where he
got his 'big break'. Though it must have seemed to him at the time that
either he or God must have messed up somewhere, this was the correct path
after all. And, as it happened, it was the path that really did make him
great and by which he blessed a whole nation!

* * *

What I found most encouraging about this story was that Joseph didn't
know at all what was going to happen. When he obeyed God and did what he
knew was right, that automatically put him on the correct track, along
God's plan for him. It's wonderfully liberating that we are not expected
to be able to analyse our decisions and 'know how to' fulfil God's
destiny for us. All we have to do is act as God would have us act, and He
will take care to bring everything together.

Also, I saw that in life the choices we make should not be determined by
whether it makes us happy or sad for the moment - but rather by whether
they are right or wrong. This freed me from thinking that 'if my life
seems messed up, maybe it's because I did something wrong and God is
punishing me' - or from taking the sadness personally and wondering why
God is 'out to get me'. It could be that I'm on the right track and God
has planned this sadness for me in order to bring me to the next stage of
His plan! As Hsia Pin said, "Sometimes it seems like we're going
backwards - but God is just going to use it to bring us forwards again."

Like in the Coldplay song,
'You'll go backwards, but then
You'll go forwards again
You'll go backwards, but then
You'll go forwards'

So, it is true God's methods may seem a bit 'twisted' to us sometimes
when the big picture hasn't been revealed to us yet, but we can be
comforted that He is always very much in control of the whole situation
and that He has an order and a purpose for everything that happens to us,
even the sad things - the setbacks, the misunderstandings and
disappointments. At the end of Genesis, Joseph tells his brothers, "You
intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is
now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:20) Our destiny in
God is a much bigger thing than forfeiting it for our personal happiness
or comfort at one point in time.

This reinforces what God has been speaking to me in my own quiet time
with Him - that when hardships and troubles come, we don't have to view
them as a personal attack - "Why is this happening to me? Can't you see
how hard it is for me, God? Why are you letting this happen and rewarding
my obedience with sad stuff?" but we can see them as another step in the
working out of God's destiny in our lives and trust that in time all will
become clear. And we don't have to fear that the pain we go through due
to our obedience to Him goes unnoticed or 'wasted', because every drop of
it has been counted by God and is being used in His plans for our
happiness!

- Joanna

Leader's note

2006-09-06T19:03:00.000+08:00

GOD IS MOVING
Whoa! God has been good to us. From a puny group of 4, we have grown to
become a bunch of almost 20 youths in a few months. God is moving!
Furthermore, our vision for the homegroup became adopted as the vision
for the entire church. The church has been praying for years for the
youth and finally, we are seeing things happen among the youths. People
are becoming more committed to the Lord and experiencing the joy of the
Lord in their life. Bonding is happening, as observed in the members-only
online Forum (Tim by the way is our record poster – he has more posts
than the rest combined)

MAKING CHANGES
2 strategic decisions were made over the last few weeks. The first was to
move our youth session from Friday to Saturday. This enabled us to reach
out to the NS guys who currently had no homegroup. We warmly welcome you
NS guys Chee Keen, Yen Chin, Shawn and soon-to-be NSF Dezhi. (It is
really strange, but our group has so many guys now! God give us girls!!!!
That sounds like a weird prayer but yup that’s what we need now.) The
second was to move to E-centre instead of meeting at Duchess Ave. This
enabled us to have a larger space and one that had the instruments
available for us to use. Now we can start working on finding people to
play the instruments! Eunice made me play the drums the other day and did
you hear my embarrassingly disastrous crash? Chee Keen was probably too
lost in worship to notice it. Anyway, our time at E-centre was awesome
and God spoke clearly to almost everyone that day. Dr K’s message was s
great reminder for us to follow God if we want to live the abundant life.

"WHO AM I?"- IDENTITY FORMATION
We have always been known as a Home Group. Yup that’s it. No "West Group
1" or "Youth Alive" etc. Just plain 'home group', exactly like all the
other home groups. So it was time to give us a name. Inspired by Dr K’s
message one Sunday, Eunice blurted out "The Allegiance" while we were all
having a wild time suggesting names. That stuck on me and over time, the
group agreed on it. Special thanks to Joanna for relenting :). We caught
on with the battleship idea. Check out the "In His Majesty’s Service"
catchphrase on our T-shirt. Ha....

Now that the baby has got a name, let’s move on! God is going to do more
in our midst so don’t miss out! Join us every Saturday for an awesome
time of encountering God and His Word.

With you for His glory
HP

Homegroup 28/07/06: When Bad Things Happened To Joseph (Genesis 39)

2006-08-11T22:00:00.000+08:00

Hey all, Hsia Pin asked me to post my summary of the sharing on Joseph 2 weeks ago by Eunice - sorry for the delay, had a bit of trouble logging on at first.

28 July 2006
At homegroup this week, we read Genesis 39, the story of how, even though Joseph had been sold to Egypt as a slave, God was with him and blessed him so that he found favour with Potiphar who made him manager of his household. But Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him, and when he did what was right and fled temptation, he got put in prison. God was with him there too, though, and it was when he was in prison that events were set in motion that led him to later become Pharoah's prime minister and save the country in a time of famine.

Some of the major points of Eunice's teaching were:
1. Circumstances may not be great, but it's more important that God is with us than that things go smoothly. At the age of 17, Joseph found himself a slave in a foreign land and must have thought his future was over - how would we as young people today react if we found ourselves in the same position, kidnapped and sold as menial labour, with all our prospects of studies and career derailed, just expected to do the lowest of low jobs every day? Yet God was with Joseph and raised him to a position of honour in Potiphar's household.

2. When God is with us, He blesses us, and we become a blessing to others. Joseph was a blessing to Potiphar because God was with him. God doesn't bless us just so that we can keep the blessing for ourselves, but it's part of his plan for us to use us to bless others.

3. Joseph fled temptation! (vs 12) When Potiphar's wife was trying to get Joseph to sleep with her, he could have gotten his cloak back easily - after all, he was a strong & 'well-built' young man and she was a woman, he could have just grabbed it and ran. But he left it behind because didn't even dare to go closer in case he was tempted. In the same way, we should always do immediately what we know is right. For us, temptation may come in many different forms - what we watch, listen to, read and so on - and we must be ready to drop immediately what is unholy.
Joseph also stood up for God each time he was tempted (vs 9), making it clear that he was acting the way he was because he feared God. We should not be afraid either to show others that we do certain things because we are obeying God.

4. God had a destiny for Joseph, but he had to keep himself holy in the midst of temptation to fulfil his destiny. If he had succumbed to temptation and slept with Potiphar's wife, God wouldn't have been able to use him. His heart would have been wrong - and besides, he wouldn't have been thrown into prison, which was where God's plan for him lay, and he would have missed God's opportunity for him.

5. Hardships serve a purpose for us. It was 13 years from the time that God gave Joseph a dream that He would make him great to the time that God fulfilled his promise and did make Joseph great. In between Joseph had to go through hardships, but they were all part of his journey and each one took him a step closer to his destiny - without them he would not have become Prime Minister.

Homegroup: Working Your Talent For the Glory Of God

2006-08-11T18:19:00.000+08:00

Hi guys and gals. Here’s a summary of my sharing on Friday in case you missed it.

WORKING YOUR TALENT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
Parable of the Servants and Talents, Matt 25:14-30

Everyone of us has “Talents” given to us by God. By Talents, I refer to resources – money, time, abilities, talents, etc. Nobody can claim to have nothing to offer God. The bible teaches us that everyone has a spiritual gift, which can be used to build up the body of Christ. Our responsibility is to discover our gift, to fan it into flame and to exercise it.

OUR TALENTS ARE GOD’S PROPERTY
“The master entrusted his property to them”
In this parable of the 3 servants, Jesus teaches us that all our Talents are God’s property entrusted to us. They are not ours to begin with. He gives us Talents so that while he is away, we have something to work fruitfully with. Not for our own pleasure, or for our own interest, but for the interest of the Master. It is God who gives us our abilities, money, time etc. All these come from Him and belong rightly to Him. And they are to be used for the interest of God while we are here on earth, while waiting to meet him again. Use your Talent for God’s glory! That’s the reason God gives you resources : for His glory!

WHAT IF WE HAVE LESS TALENT THEN OTHERS?
Now, some of us think we are untalented, poor, have a bad lot in life etc. When we see the second servant who received only two Talents, we ought to remind ourselves that this servant did not compare his lot with the one who was given 5 talents. He did not gripe, sulk or indulge in self-pity. Instead, he worked faithfully with what he had, and the master rewarded him with another 2 talents. (God multiplies our talents as we use whatever we have for him!) God’s commendation of the second servant is exactly the same as the servant who brought the master 5 more talents. They were both called “Good and Faithful servants”. God is more interested in our faithfulness then in our fruitfulness. In fact, God demands more from those who have more, so those with less can rest easy that we are not asked to bear as much fruit as those with more. So be grateful for whatever God has given us, do not compare with others, and simply work your talents faithfully for the glory and God.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THESE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANTS?
V16 “he went at once and put his money to work and gained 5 more”

1. Good Attitude. He was positive about the task assigned to him, and went to work on it straightaway. How often do we drag our feets in doing the tasks we are asked to do? Often it is because we don’t really want to do it! In this world, those with good attitudes succeed in life. They get employed, promoted, and favoured by those above them. That’s how the characters Joseph and Daniel were promoted and became so influential, for the glory of God.

2. Initiative. The servant wasn’t told how to make money. He had to find out how himself. This probably took research and effort to figure out the best investments available. Similarly, do not just do whatever is told to you to be done. Take initiative to find out how to work your talent to the max. if you are learning how to play drums, do your research, study drum players, look up websites on drum techniques etc…. Do more then just what your teachers tells you. That’s how you will be seen as being a good and faithful steward of your talent.

LAZINESS is WICKEDNESS
Not using our talent for God’s glory is a sin. God calls it laziness! That was the problem with the 3rd servant. God called him a wicked servant! I pray that none of us will face God on that Day of Judgement and answer his question “What have you done with the resources I gave you to bring glory to Myself?” with a sheepish “err…not very much?”.

As a homegroup we are embarking on a journey, an adventure. One that will require all our efforts and resources. No doubt, this will be an opportunity for you to work your talent for the glory of God. For those that have never used your abilities to glorify God, I pray you will begin to. For those that do, but have done so in an feet dragging way, may you develop an “at once” attitude and initiative.

HOW CAN I GLORIFY GOD IN MY TALENTS?
Some talents are less obviously useful in the church context. How does fencing help me glorify God, you may ask for example? Let me suggest 2 ways: 1) by doing it with a spirit of excellence; 2) by using your influence in this fencing arena to build bridges and sow seeds. Ha…you may even want to start a Beginners Fencing Course in church by which you can reach out to those interested in fencing. Use your creativity and follow the Spirit’s promptings in your heart.

May God be glorified ultimately through our Talents! Live to Glorify Him. Amen!

Together with you for His glory,
Hsia Pin

Homegroup 05/08/2006

2006-08-07T20:43:00.000+08:00

Hey people!

Here's some pictures I took during homegroup to liven the place up...

Hsia Pin posing for the shot!

Hsia Pin and Eunice!

Various pictures of Chee Keen and Jonathan as The Flash!!!

Joanna.. sitting?

Do post up any comments you have to improve the blog or to remind me to put anything else up.. yup!

Also, if you would like us to link your blog to this page, tell Hsia Pin to let him vet it first, and them we can put it up here =)

Have fun and stay cheery!