Tag Archive for 'God'

moving in, moving on

Published
by
David
on January 6, 2008
in Faith and Pictures
. 6 Comments

Ah, it’s been 7 days since I’ve moved into the apartment .. and it’s been great. I’ve had better sleep (maybe it’s thanks to the goose feather pillow I got from Liz), but I guess it’s a result of moving in and moving on in life.

Right up till now, I haven’t been able to see a clear direction from God for this year. Having cleared two major outstanding issues (accommodation and transport), suddenly the pieces are coming together and the picture is a little bit clearer. It’s going to be an exciting year ahead, with many things to look forward to, one being a new (well, not exactly new ..) ministry involvement. To be elaborated more once plans from the church leadership firm up.

Looking forward to being involved in missions too, so will be going for MEP (Missions Exposure Program) to be followed up with a trip to somewhere. Somewhere la, see where God leads.

Work’s been forgiving, these few days .. being able to leave home late and return home early. Not because I wanted to .. okay .. (secretly), but because of the appointments that the salesperson fixed. Weird timing. Work conditions here are pretty good, hoping for a good raise and bonus when FY ends! So will stick around for awhile. Get more exposure. Looking forward to being involved in an implementation of a project that I worked on last year .. and we’re almost gonna get the job! Woohoo!

God’s so good.

Here are some pictures of my place!

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Theology of Worship Leading - Holland Davis

Published
by
David
on October 23, 2007
in Faith
. 0 Comments

Here’s a snippet of an article I found while surfing ..

“It means that I need to have my own private life of prayer. It also means that I need to be in touch with the work of the Spirit within the community of believers I’m serving. In other words, I can’t fake it. My relationship or lack of relationship with God will have a direct influence on my ability to facilitate the corporate sung prayer of the congregation.“

I found this, among the many points in the article really true. For you out there who aspire to take up worship leading, or wonder how some of us lead worship, the article outlines some simple but practical steps to leading worship.

Good stuff.

On another note, I’m thankful that I can also relate to many points in the article, such as the snippet above.

big deal, small deal

Published
by
David
on October 6, 2007
in Faith
. 4 Comments

What’s the size of your deal?

My mom called day before yesterday, and she asked me how I was doing. I told her I was tired. Physically, and also with the things at work. Not that I don’t enjoy my work, but I yearn for so much more. I told her that the clients I’ve been meeting were SMEs, some wouldn’t even be able to be classified as that. Small budgets plagued by as-cheap-as-possible mentalities that disregard the obvious benefits, ignore the even more essential business and revenue improvements.

The unwillingness to invest in something that will benefit and bring a return on investment in an acceptable timeframe just boggles me. It’s like, settling for second best when they have the option to go for the best. It’s like, David Beckham settling for a pair of “Adidas Kampung” instead of a pair of Predator.

What’s up with that? Well, I yearn to meet larger clients. Clients that have a better sense of business, that think long term and not just short term cost saving measures but investments that feel like they’ve gained rather than spent. And I felt as though I was not getting the exposure that I would like.

Then in Mandarin, my mom advised me that .. small deals are important too. You’ll never know if a small deal will land you a bigger deal, and consequently land you other bigger deals, or a small company that you’ve been dealing with one day becomes a multi national company.

I am reminded of the parable of the talents. In Matthew 25:23,”Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

I guess I need to learn to be patient and faithful with the few things, and wait for the many things. Small deals, big deals .. need to be worked upon.

So, what’s the deal with the size?

thought, action, habit, character, destiny

Published
by
David
on October 3, 2007
in Faith
. 1 Comment

Sometimes I wonder how people live with themselves, thinking that they know where/what God wants them to be, but don’t do anything to be where/what they think God wants them to be.

Maybe all they do is just think. Easy, aye?

It comes back down to the simple phrase that we are all too familliar with.

No Action, Talk/Think Only.

Charles Stanley said,

A thought reaps an action,
An action reaps a habit,
A habit reaps our character,
Our character reaps our destiny.

If we don’t move beyond thinking [thought] to doing [action], how are we going to arrive at our destiny? I guess it’s always the hardest to take the first step. Wouldn’t you agree? Here’s a great example. How many of you spring out of bed in the morning, right up on your feet? First step of the day! Of course, I’m sure all of you .. eventually .. get up .. to go to work, like this morning .. right?

Back to our destiny. If God has a plan for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future, why aren’t we on that plan? Why aren’t we living the destiny that God has promised us? And the answer to all of God’s promises are YES and AMEN! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us

Back to action. Why no action? Maybe we don’t have enough faith. Some snippets from James 2:

  • What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if people claim to have faith but have no deeds? Can such faith save them?
  • Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
  • In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
  • As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

With no action, no faith, no destiny, no life. Man, this entry is getting more morbid by the paragraph.

So, is your faith dead or alive today?

for the next one year.. [part 3]

Published
by
David
on April 18, 2005
in Faith
. 22 Comments

Ah, I guess there is a third installment! This is gonna be about where I will be after I graduate. Well, unless something else crops up, I guess the two options are either Penang or here in KL/Selangor.

Couple of considerations of which I, in my own human understanding and will, feel of importance are as follows.

Family - My brother’s permanently in China. My mom’s impermanently permanent there too. My dad’s the only one left in Penang. While I would wanna be back in Penang to be with him, there the .. second point that I am torn between.

Friends - I’ve been moving all my life, and I’m just really sick and tired of having to change my circle of friends again. I’ve grown to love some of the people here, and it’s something that I have never been able to enjoy as a child due to the circumstances that I have been in. It’s really frustrating too, having to build relationships with people again, starting from zero again. I mean, I’m comparing the situation between Penang and KL/Selangor now. Frankly, I do not have a group of friends in Penang to return to in the sense of support, true fellowship and also relationship. I doubt that there are people who look forward to my return simply because of my fellowship. I can sense that the people in Wesley Methodist Church Penang do look forward to my return, but I really wonder what they’re expecting of me. Couple of people whom I still hold fast and keep up with are people like Andrea, and another girl called MeiAi who were part of my batch last time. MeiAi’s always been in Penang, Andrea’s returning soon.

Food - Since we’re on the streak of F’s, let’s have the FOOD! I’m suffering in KL. Oh Lord, how long must I wait before I can find someone to bring me around KL/Selangor to find good food? Sigh.

Accommodation - While this isn’t such a big issue, it still is a consideration on my parent’s part. My dad still has that house in SS12, Subang Jaya that is going to be … empty as Elisa’s moving out end of this month. It’s at a good location, albeit the horrendous traffic situation there. Nonetheless, it’s landed property and my brother and I have sentimental values for it. I think I was “made” there. Wonder if my brother was too, causing that sentiment to be in place. Hehe. It’ll be good if I were to stay back and upkeep the house too. Penang isn’t a bad place to stay at all too!

Work - Penang has really good prospects for engineers. I don’t know about the situation in KL/Selangor. Still finding it out.

Aiyah, a lot of considerations. I know that I am supposed to be surrendering my plans and my future to God though He already has it in the palm of His hands, though I can’t help but to .. wanna find out. And yeah. Also put in a few requests. Hehe. I don’t know. I guess, when the time comes, it comes. Jsut have to be prepared for it!

I guess that’s all for .. my tri-part “next one year” blog entry.

David[woohoo!]

for the next one year.. [part 2]

Published
by
David
on April 17, 2005
in Faith
. 3 Comments

Ah, never thought that there’d be so much to write about the next one year, but I guess good things come in 3’s. Hehe. Don’t know if there’s gonna be a third installment, but here’s the second one.

Late last year, I spoke to James Looi, one of the people that I am accountable to whenever I go back to Penang. He’s been like the “church father” to me, while I was in Penang. Why father? Well, he knows my dad cause they work in the same bank. My dad always complains to him whenever I start doing badly in my exams and yeah, he’ll be the one who’ll come and talk to me. Funny, aye? Well, that’s my dad for ya. Anyhow, back to the story…

He told me that I should be taking this last one year in Uni to find out career paths, preparing for the working world and also praying for a direction to take, after I graduate. For now, I am still about 3 semesters from graduating [ excluding the one that I am currently in, which is ending in a couple of days time ].. and I’ve been thinking about plans after graduation, and yeah.. basically things that has been mentioned to me by James. Well, I have thoughts about a backpacking holiday too, but that’s kinda irrelevant here. Haha.

I’ve got 1 subject next semester, which leaves me with ample free time and energy. I actually asked one of my church members about his company, whether they are hiring interns or not.. but well, it hasn’t come through. I’m sure this is good news to a certain person, but I ain’t gonna sit on my butt and live like how I lived this semester [ almost the same situation, but with 1 project ]. So, gonna enquire other companies about their internship programs.. but yeah, with my situation.. needing to be released to go for classes 2-3 times per week in the midst of internship isn’t really appealing. Sigh. Apart from going through an internship program, I don’t really know how to find out about the working world, in an engineering sense. I guess I am really naive in the world. So much for a 22 year old, aye?

Apart from the working world, there’s also the ministry aspect of life after education. Today, not knowing that Ps. Julie was gonna speak about the calling of full time ministry.. I was caught unaware, and unprepared for the message! Well, this isn’t the first time she has changed her message on Sunday.. so I guess it’s no surprise. I guess it’s kinda good that you’re unprepared for … the message, in a way. Then there wouldn’t be any preconceived perceptions or thoughts before hearing from the Spirit. Hehe. Human mind has been complicated by many things. Must return to simple faith. Like a child.

She got the full time ministers of GTPJ [ those involved in the Youth Ministry ] to share about how they were called and how they responded to that call. Yeah, it’s awesome how God called people of different backgrounds, and how He has brought them through the difficult times [ some of them are still in those times ]… and bring them in the ministry. Hearing them share touched my heart, and seeing the testimonies of their lives spoke to me about full time ministry.

I was part of the worship team today as a vocalist, and normally, when it’s altar call time, most of the musicians and vocalists would be up there… but I decided to sit back in my chair and pay full attention to the Spirit. Then, Ps. Julie gave the call for people who have a full time calling in their lives. At first, I was hesitant. I mean, who ISN’T? Gosh. Ahaha. Well, as I began to even concentrate on the Spirit, I started tearing and .. soon after, she opened the call for those who is sure and also unsure if they have a full time calling. I mean, I’m kinda unsure, so I went up to receive. By this time, I was semi-weeping.

Prayed over, got the support of my cell members.. and well, I’m left with questions of whether this is a path that I will take, after I graduate. AlexChan shared with me, and yeah, thanks for that. Don’t know if it’ll be anything, but will wait upon the Lord. Speaking about the questions that I was left with.. it’s not a bad thing? In due time, questions like these will be answered by God and in that I place my confidence.

So, yeah. This coming one year will be a time of … finding my direction, career wise. I wouldn’t have much time to be tinkering around thoughts of which field to be going into after graduation during my last 2 semesters, as I would need to concentrate on my final year. That’s why I am starting early. Haven’t been known to be an early adopter, but maybe things are changing. HEhe.

That’s all for this issue of “for the next year”. Till.. the next year?

David[woohoo!]

egg tarts…

Published
by
David
on April 14, 2005
in General
. 7 Comments

Today, God used egg tarts. Laugh about it, but hear this!

Was convicted yesterday, to revive my own daily show, devotion@8 after a week or two of signal disruption. The station had caused the show times to lag, from somewhere between 9am till 12pm. Gonna get the late night shows out of the station, so that they don’t affect the devotion@8 showtime! Haha. Anyway.. getting back to the story.. I bought some egg tarts before prayer meeting yesterday to have them as breakfast today. After prayer meeting, I left for mamak with EugeneWong to Murni SS2. Had cheese naan and a cuppa limau panas. After supper, I drove home in a sleepy state, so I sped all the way back to Cheras to get home to bed. Little that I know that my egg tarts were sitting “safely” in the back seat of my car.

Got up to catch the devotion@8 show this morning, and after the show ended I felt hungry. Then I remembered that I left my egg tarts in the car! So I went down to my car to get them. As I was approaching my car, I pressed the button on my remote key to unlock it.. and the car locked itself! Baffled, I pressed the button again and my car unlocked! Gosh, I forgot to lock my car yesterday night! Disappointed at myself, I first saw my egg tarts in the back seat, and checked if my MD was still there. Praise God, everything was in place. Except for the alarm system and lock. *doink-ka-doink-doink

It’s funny how God works. Well, amazingly funny. Ah, it’s just amazing how God works. The day when I finally forgot to lock my car, was the day I left breakfast in it, and it was also the day when I decided to wake up early to catch devotion@8. I mean, if I hadn’t gotten up early… and got to the car early in the morning, I’m sure that during the day, someone would have noticed the car door that was unlocked and peered to see if there was anything that they could take. We live in Malaysia. Even if your car door was locked, they would see if there’s anything worth breaking the car door window for, right?

Anyhow, I thank God that everything’s in place.. even my relationship with Him. Moral of the other story is,

GOD CAN USE EGG TARTS!

David[Hehaha!]

limau panas - hot lime

tiring days…

Published
by
David
on March 25, 2005
in General
. 2 Comments

Past 3 days have been tiring. Somehow, when you’re being drained mentally and emotionally, it affects your physical body. First of all, have been caught up with my group project work. Inevitably, group work always requires a lot of you, when the dateline is near. As much as I would have wanted to prevent it, I can’t because I can’t control my group mates. I thank God though, that they haven’t been a hard bunch to work with. I haven’t been able to lead well, in this group but thank God for His grace. Though my brains shine through, in times of need… but yeah.. like I’ve mentioned earlier… it really taxes you. Sleeping late, bad eating habits, having to deal with personal issues, working hard round the clock the whole day, does leave you with quite a bit of fatigue and eats you up.

Well, I still thank God for His presence. In times like these, I praise God for His faithfulness… because in my busyness, I remember that God is there for me.

Thank You Lord.

David[*tired]

PS: Will be done by tomorrow, 3:30pm. Can’t wait till then.

secret place

Published
by
David
on March 22, 2005
in Songs
. 5 Comments

Secret Place - Hillsongs Music Australia
Verse:
Lord of my life
I love You
Lord of my days
I trust in You
Living beneath the shelter of Your wings
My heart’s safe

When I am lost
You find me
When I’m in need
You shelter me
Lord of my life
You are my secret place

Chorus:
Clothe me
In Your presence Lord
Draw me near to You
All my heart
I long to give to You

Living to be near You Lord
I long to see Your face
Lord forever You’re
My secret place

Bridge:
You’re my peace
You’re my rest
You’re my secret place

This song has pulled me through the times when I couldn’t find myself. Times when I realize that I was in need and there was no one around to help me up. Times when I felt so alone, and there was no one to reach out my hand to, no one to call, no one to speak to, no one who would just put their arms around me to assure me that I belong to them. God has been there every single time to embrace me in His arms of love. The thought of it just overwhelms. He has never failed to encompass me with His love and His presence.. every time I was in need. Truly, He shall supply all my needs, according to His riches and glory. Even our needs for love.

Lord, I thank You for Your love that surpasses all understanding. Lord, I long to grasp how wide and long and high and deep Your love is, and to know it, that I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. I may not really understand, Lord.. But well, it doesn’t say “surpasses all understanding” if it ain’t, right? So yeah, thank You for that infinite love. You are awesome. In Jesus name, Amen.

Your child,

David

a good day…

Published
by
David
on March 21, 2005
in Faith
. 1 Comment

What’s your definition of a good day?

Is it picking up a RM10 bill on the floor, or being able to spend your time with a loved one or family members? Or having everything on that day go the way you want it to be? I was just pondering over the question above while washing the dishes after dinner. It was at that moment where I just had the feeling of satisfaction, contentment from having a good day. Though I still had work to be done.. but that didn’t stop me from feeling great about the day that passed.

I mentioned that I has a sense of satisfaction, and contentment from having a good day. I feel, for myself… that to truly have a good day, is to be content with the proceedings that has taken place. What does it mean to be content then? Well, I posted about contentment being a great gain a couple of weeks ago.. but that speaks more of the state of contentment rather than the meaning of contentment itself. To me, contentment is to have joy of the Lord in everything. I realize that when we are joyful in everything that we have and do.. it shows that we are contented. Today, I felt contented about my relationship with God. Yes, there are times when we need to be desperate for Him to move in our lives, but there are also days when we just sit at the feet of Jesus and be in His arms of love. I had such a feeling today. That’s why it was a good day.

So, in conclusion..

A good day is a day spent in fellowship with God.

Amen.

David[woohoo!]

PS : These past few weeks has been a time where God’s been challenging my principles, my train of thought, and my stand on things. Not that they have been wrong all these while, therefore needing a knock to set things right.. but I sense that God’s just helping me be sure of myself. I thank God for being the Author and Perfector of my faith. May He work in your life the same way too!