ARE YOU A ‘BELIEVER’ OR ‘DISCIPLE’?
“Are you a believer?” It’s very easy to answer “Yes” if someone asks you this question. I tried this on my youth group and I could get a loud and clear answer “Yes” from them. But if we probe more by asking “Are you a disciple”? , it takes a moment for the youth group to answer. In a way, it is consoling to know that the youths are aware of the difference between being a believer and being a disciple. Being a believer and being a disciple is entirely different. Becoming a believer is simply a matter of trusting in Christ as your only hope of salvation. Becoming a disciple is working hard everyday to become more like Jesus and to bring people to the Lord.However, I am not saying that we must work hard or behave like a saint to get to heaven. When we receive salvation through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are saved. But if we call ourselves a disciple, we need to live a genuine faith with our words and action in consistency. If we claim that we love Christ, we cannot say it only on our lips and not doing anything. In order to improve a relationship, we need to spend time with the person and do things and make efforts to please him or her. Likewise, in our relationship with Christ, we need to improve our relationship with the Lord. A true disciple will not be satisfied with just being a believer. An authentic disciple will make effort to spend time with the Lord and learn to be more and more like Jesus, whether in actions and words. An authentic disciple will also like more and more people to know the Lord that He loves deeply and want them to be close to the Lord.Here is a list that makes a great starting point to "examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine" (II Corinthians 13:5).A believer praises the Lord in good times, the disciple at all times.The Holy Spirit resides in the believer but shines through the disciple.A believer loves God with heart and mind, while a disciple commits the will.A believer loves God and others, but they are the disciple's life.A believer lives in hope, but for the disciple, God's hope is certain.A believer seeks forgiveness for sin, but a disciple also determines not to walk that path again.A believer had faith in God but the disciple's faith is tempered in the fire of testing.A believer loves the Lord, but the disciple's love is unconditional.The believer serves the Lord in strength, but the disciple is made perfect through weakness.God is part of the believer's life, but the central focus of the disciple.A believer forgives, but the disciple also forgets.A believer communicates with God at his/her own convenience, but the disciple's heart is open to the Lord at all times.I understand that we are afterall, weak and limited human beings. I encourage you to continue to work diligently as a true disciple even when we are still ‘work-in-progress’ disciple. Let’s continue to strengthen the areas that need to be improved in our actions and words, so as to be like Jesus.Jesus said “ If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)
Source: Pr. Carol Ling (Bethel Presbyterian Church)
CHOOSE ONE CHAIR
There was a story about how the famous tenor, Pavarotti was able to be successful. "When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song," tenor Luciano Pavarotti relates. "He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, I asked my father, 'Shall I be a teacher or a singer?' "'Luciano,' my father replied, 'if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.' "I chose one. It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera. And now I think whether it's laying bricks, writing a book--whatever we choose--we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that's the key. Choose one chair." As young men and women, learning the seriousness of commit to one thing is very important. Whether you keep commitments to your family, your school, your friends, your church and to God, we must be focus on one thing and stick till the end. It is a very difficult lesson though, as there are still many adults who have not learned this lesson. That is because along the way, we meet temptations, distractions and hardships. We may give up and choose to go another route away from the destination. In the end, we are unable to reach the goal.Dear young people, to be truly committed in your life will greatly please God and bring you great rewards. God does not like us to be lukewarm Christians. Being half hearted will get you nowhere. It will also frustrate your friends and people around you because you never keep to your commitment and persist till the end. God has made many commitments to us and keeps each and every one of them. God is always there even when there is no one who cares for us. That is why God values true commitments in our lives. Every aspect of your life requires a commitment on your part to some degree. You will encounter times when a very deep commitment is required, such as attending Church Service, Youth Group meetings every week, successfully completing a very difficult course in school or a musical project. If you keep a pet, you have a commitment to that pet and will try your best to take care of its life because that pet will rely on you for everything it needs to stay alive and happy. Likewise, God requires that we honor our commitments no matter how large or how small. We are bound to meet storms and obstacles in our lives, but if we are prepared to persist, we can do it by God’s grace no matter how tough the situation can get you to. God calls us to be a Christian 24/7. We need to be close to God at all times in order to be 24/7 true Christian.I encourage all of you to do things in your best efforts, choose one chair, even when you think it's small, do it with commitment and focus, and the big results will surely arrive. Do it to shine for the Lord!“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)
Source: Pr. Carol Ling (Bethel Presbyterian Church)
hahaha!!! i'm sooooooooooo lost for words as i reflect back on the whole month of preparation for musical, the rehearsals, full-dress and finally the 6 shows from 27th - 29th Nov, Thurs to Sat!! XD i kinda regret not blogging earlier. quite senile now so it's hard to recall wad had happened, esp when the only purpose why i blog this post must be fulfilled!
initially i bought only 4 tickets for me Mum, 4th sis, 4th bro-in-law and Axios. next, i can't really remember when i asked my dad. but i can still remember how i asked him. i decided to just tear out one tix (that looks really presentable, while the prints on the others are already fading off) utter a little word of prayer, went to living room while my dad is standing at his drawer looking at i dunno wad. in a very very soft voice, i showed him the ticket and i asked, "Lao ba, wo yao qing ni qu wo de biao yan, ze zhang piao shi gei ni de." very unexpectedly, he pasued a while, looking at the tix and then said, "ni de zhui ba wei she me ze me chou?" "wo hai mei you shua ya ma." and then i persuaded further "qu la! ok?" he nodded and i say, i'll keep the tix with the rest. he said alright. with him, 5 tix.
only until 26th Nov i think, i invited my 2nd sistas thinking that her kids, Gerald and Joel may like to go for the musical. after much confirmation, she told me to get 3 tix for them. and i did. with them, 8 tix.
then i asked my da jie if her family wanna go too. she didn't reply. i still remember i carefully structure the whole sms to make it sound very inviting. no reply. asked her to reply again. no reply. next time ask again, STILL no reply. then out of the blue, i tot of my brother. since young, we are not close. and it had never came to my mind that i should invite him and his wife. but something tells me, the only thing i can do is to ask them to go and buy tix if they agree to go. other than that, decision lies with God. just ask only mah... nothing to lose right?? and so i asked him if he and wife wanna go. i smsed him in the morning b4 going NUS UCC and i told him, sadly, Vince cannot go coz he's still a 1-year-old child (the tix indicated that children below 7 cannot be admitted but i still get my nephews to go nonetheless, with the permission of uncle chee an). after several hours, he didn't reply and i find it weird coz usually he will reply almost immediately. and so i tot he won't go. at 1:02pm, 28th Nov 2008, the day before Sat, he replied "I n shuwei wil b goin to support u pls get tickets 4 us" guess wad? when i received tat, i was at the UCC tambourine dancers dressing room. i burst out screaming softly with joy and told the dancers my bro and his wife are going! i can't believe it. totally. i mean firstly, that sms is rather precious in a sense that it was the longest sms i have ever received from him can. and so that makes up 10 tix.
that very day, i still didn't get any reply from my da jie. and i really was confinced she's not going. kinda disappointed but i told God that if it's His will, i'll gladly submit.
next morning, 4th sista called me and then i told her everyone's going except da jie and family. then i guess she already called da jie in the morning while they were still sleeping and they actually want to go too! weird coz i didn't get da jie's reply. haha. what can i say all in all???? thank GOD! :D
you noe, i really wish i can describe or even paint out every scene that had happened thruout the musical production for the past 8 months. words can't describe how God has worked, not only in my life, but in the lives of my family and friends who agreed to go. =) i didn't get much feedback from them tho. just general feedbacks like 'the show/performance is nice!' sigh. you noe, i dun wish to hear that, unless it's from fellow Christians. but it's kinda disappointing that those non-believers went to the musical and go home with indifference. well, but God has assured me that my duty is to invite them, to plant the seeds, not to make them grow. well, i'll try to follow up yah? had a good talk with my dearest daddy on Sundae evening after church. we talked about parker pens and stuff and then finally directed him to talk bout Jesus. like any old folks, he said Jesus is just someone who's able to help people and religions are all the same. but i kept emphasizing what God is looking for with us humans... a relationship, not a religion. it was the most meaningful conversation i had with my dad. how i wish i can go on coz i noe for sure, this kind of topic cannot be started just out of the blue. i was trying to tell him as much as i can. and i challenged him. since he said all religions are the same, why not try mine?? and as usual, he shoooed me away. nonetheless, it's a good start. :D i thank God for that very rare opportunity. truly, i pray God will work in everyone of my family members and of coz friends whom i treasure alot. :D
oh yes. my only purpose to give Him the glory due to His name!! :D rejoice with me!
Glory Glory, Glory Glory, Glory Glory to GOD!!! :D
