Looking back on the year of victory!
Hi everyone
This year has been a momentous one. Just before the start of 2007, which was christened a Year of Victory, my church had us go through an exercise, challenging us to "look far", "go deep" and "ask big".
For "looking far" I wanted to establish a prayer group in the office that would endure time (and staff turnover!), so that I could build a long-term habit of being a marketplace minister. Thank God that He has allowed our group to be a blessing through our activities - the coffee sales, the zoo trip and the Christmas parties, and for myself, that it has forced me to try to set an example! Amazing what people can do under pressure :) So, prayer no. 1 ANSWERED! I pray that it will yield even more fruit in the new year.
For "going deep" I wanted to ensure that I had a regular QT and word time. I think I might have completely and utterly failed in this, if not for the fact that God forced me to regularly stop, think and reflect in order to churn out these messages! So, prayer no. 2 ANSWERED! Isaiah (from our office, not from the Bible haha) has just sent me a useful link - this link gives info on how to go through the bible in a year. If you've never done it, why not take up the challenge in the new year!
For "asking big" I had actually asked for 3 separate things:
a. to be a serious witness for Christ among my friends and colleagues;
b. that my brother wd come to know Jesus; and
c. that my grandmother wd come to know Jesus.
For (a), thank God for the 100K campaign (see my earlier post on 8 Aug 07), which I was really blessed to be a part of, and which challenged me to fearlessly speak the good news to my friends and colleagues. I really experienced victory in this, throughout the various lunches and at the dinner party at my house, which gave me the opportunity to bless the people I care about with the most miportant gift of all. Prayer no. 3(a) ANSWERED!
For (b), most of you know that my brother passed away in May 07, and some of you might remember the miracle that my family and I witnessed at that time (see my earlier post on 18 June 07). Thanks to everyone who provided support during that very difficult time. Things will never be the same again, but we trust that God knows what He is doing. In fact, I was just sitting in the car this morning and listening to Third Day (who are one of my favourite bands), and this song "Cry Out to Jesus" really tugged at my heart. Check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOb8ihacSM4 and the lyrics at http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/thirdday/cryouttojesus.html. Prayer no. 3(b) ANSWERED!
Finally, for (c), I was sitting in church just this Sunday, when I realised that (c) hadn't yet happened. But it was already 30 Dec 07! Only 1 day to go!!! I actually struggled in my mind for a while, because I was SO TIRED from all the year-end activities, parties, plus the new post is great and all, but it's HECTIC. Then I thought to myself, if I don't make the effort to do this, then I don't give myself the chance to have God answer my prayers. So after church, I took the very important step of translating faith to action, by bringing my family up to Sengkang to visit my grandmother, and tough as it was in Teochew, I shared the good news with her. I don't know if my grandmother completely understood (she's quite hazy and frail), but the bit she did understand I hope, was that my mum, my aunties and I all knew who Jesus was, and it was important to me that she knew who Jesus was. I told her that Jesus loved her very much and I did too. My grandmother said she had known Jesus in Malacca (where she lived for a while) and that he loved little children and that if you walked with him, your feet would never get tired. This is a very rough translation from my very bad Teochew, but if I heard right, then I trust that prayer no. 3(c) is ANSWERED!
So, in a nutshell - 2007, the year of victory!
I think this "look far, go deep, ask big" framework is quite a useful exercise, and I'll take some time to think about what the new year will bring, hopefully with many of you on Thursday.
One of the things I'm thinking of is focusing on building my identity as a minister rather than an executive. I thank God that our office is doing very well, but people tend to build our identity on the things we do well, and that can be a trap. For example, in Tiger Woods' mind, he is probably a golfer first. Similarly, if we do well at work, we tend to think of ourselves in those terms - manager, banker, lawyer, accountant, etc. and forget the giver of good things, in fact the giver of everything. Deu 8:13-14 says: and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
But our principal focus must always be, first, minister, THEN everything else will follow. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added on to you, and let His word be a lamp unto your feet in the new year! (Matt 6:33; Ps 119:105)
This year has been a momentous one. Just before the start of 2007, which was christened a Year of Victory, my church had us go through an exercise, challenging us to "look far", "go deep" and "ask big".
For "looking far" I wanted to establish a prayer group in the office that would endure time (and staff turnover!), so that I could build a long-term habit of being a marketplace minister. Thank God that He has allowed our group to be a blessing through our activities - the coffee sales, the zoo trip and the Christmas parties, and for myself, that it has forced me to try to set an example! Amazing what people can do under pressure :) So, prayer no. 1 ANSWERED! I pray that it will yield even more fruit in the new year.
For "going deep" I wanted to ensure that I had a regular QT and word time. I think I might have completely and utterly failed in this, if not for the fact that God forced me to regularly stop, think and reflect in order to churn out these messages! So, prayer no. 2 ANSWERED! Isaiah (from our office, not from the Bible haha) has just sent me a useful link - this link gives info on how to go through the bible in a year. If you've never done it, why not take up the challenge in the new year!
For "asking big" I had actually asked for 3 separate things:
a. to be a serious witness for Christ among my friends and colleagues;
b. that my brother wd come to know Jesus; and
c. that my grandmother wd come to know Jesus.
For (a), thank God for the 100K campaign (see my earlier post on 8 Aug 07), which I was really blessed to be a part of, and which challenged me to fearlessly speak the good news to my friends and colleagues. I really experienced victory in this, throughout the various lunches and at the dinner party at my house, which gave me the opportunity to bless the people I care about with the most miportant gift of all. Prayer no. 3(a) ANSWERED!
For (b), most of you know that my brother passed away in May 07, and some of you might remember the miracle that my family and I witnessed at that time (see my earlier post on 18 June 07). Thanks to everyone who provided support during that very difficult time. Things will never be the same again, but we trust that God knows what He is doing. In fact, I was just sitting in the car this morning and listening to Third Day (who are one of my favourite bands), and this song "Cry Out to Jesus" really tugged at my heart. Check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOb8ihacSM4 and the lyrics at http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/thirdday/cryouttojesus.html. Prayer no. 3(b) ANSWERED!
Finally, for (c), I was sitting in church just this Sunday, when I realised that (c) hadn't yet happened. But it was already 30 Dec 07! Only 1 day to go!!! I actually struggled in my mind for a while, because I was SO TIRED from all the year-end activities, parties, plus the new post is great and all, but it's HECTIC. Then I thought to myself, if I don't make the effort to do this, then I don't give myself the chance to have God answer my prayers. So after church, I took the very important step of translating faith to action, by bringing my family up to Sengkang to visit my grandmother, and tough as it was in Teochew, I shared the good news with her. I don't know if my grandmother completely understood (she's quite hazy and frail), but the bit she did understand I hope, was that my mum, my aunties and I all knew who Jesus was, and it was important to me that she knew who Jesus was. I told her that Jesus loved her very much and I did too. My grandmother said she had known Jesus in Malacca (where she lived for a while) and that he loved little children and that if you walked with him, your feet would never get tired. This is a very rough translation from my very bad Teochew, but if I heard right, then I trust that prayer no. 3(c) is ANSWERED!
So, in a nutshell - 2007, the year of victory!
I think this "look far, go deep, ask big" framework is quite a useful exercise, and I'll take some time to think about what the new year will bring, hopefully with many of you on Thursday.
One of the things I'm thinking of is focusing on building my identity as a minister rather than an executive. I thank God that our office is doing very well, but people tend to build our identity on the things we do well, and that can be a trap. For example, in Tiger Woods' mind, he is probably a golfer first. Similarly, if we do well at work, we tend to think of ourselves in those terms - manager, banker, lawyer, accountant, etc. and forget the giver of good things, in fact the giver of everything. Deu 8:13-14 says: and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
But our principal focus must always be, first, minister, THEN everything else will follow. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added on to you, and let His word be a lamp unto your feet in the new year! (Matt 6:33; Ps 119:105)
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