Chai Hwa left for Japan on 21 May 2009 to serve as a missionary under the umbrella of Overseas Mission Fellowship. Here, he updates us on what is happening, as well as tells us of his prayer requests.
I have just completed my 3.5 weeks Orientation Course (OC) with OMF International. It has been a very enriching & helpful time. I have been much blessed by the interaction I can have with other missionaries, the directors of the fellowship and just learning about the work God is doing & wants to do in East Asia. Everyday, I thank God that He would choose to involve me in His mission, knowing so well I really have nothing to offer Him.
Medical counseling often includes self-examination. For a woman, self-examination of her breasts is imperative. Early detection of breast cancer may mean the difference between a lumpectomy (removal of the early cancerous lesion) and a radical mastectomy (an extended mutilating procedure that includes the excision of the entire breast and dissection of axillary lymph nodes), or even between life and death.
In his closing comments to the Corinthian Church, Paul instructs them to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.” (2 Cor 13:5) As 2008 comes to a close we, perhaps, should take heed of Paul’s admonition and do a critical self-examination of our walk with God to determine whether we are really “in the faith” or deluding ourselves. What do we look for then?
1. First, let us examine our heart. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:21) What do we love? What or who is on our mind? Is our relationship with God by far the most important thing in our life? Are we so consumed by work, studies, finance or other pursuits or even a perceived wrong done to us that our Lord Jesus Christ is Lord in name only? Is spending time alone with God a priority in our life? Is pleasing our Lord Jesus constantly on our mind?
2. Second, James advises us to use a mirror to examine our walk with the Lord. This mirror is the Word of God itself. (Jas 1:22-25) We must study and know the Bible. With the advent of high definition TV, we actually can see the cutaneous imperfections of our favourite TV stars magnified. How very unflattering! In the same way, if we yield to the Holy Spirit and allow the light of His Word to illumine us, we too may see the imperfections of our character and our walk, and if we are wise, attend immediately to them by humbling ourselves before God and walking in obedience in His way.
3. Finally, our Lord Jesus tells us to examine our fruit. “By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matt 7:20) No Singaporean will mistake a durian for a coconut! Let us ask ourselves what we have to show for all our years of being a Christian. The Chinese word for “ugly” is “nan kan” – literally meaning “difficult to look at”. Is our character difficult for someone else to look at without wanting to throw up? Do we reflect the beauty of Jesus in our life? …… or otherwise? The difference is between life and death.
As we reflect on 2008, let us take to heart the words of the Psalmist:-
“Search me O God, and know my heart test me and know my anxious thoughts See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”
1 Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. 2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord— now and always.
Psalm 131 records the meditation of someone going up to worship in Jerusalem. He was probably reflecting on the many questions about life. God had led him to the point of acceptance and surrender. He would not occupy himself with the mystery of God which was beyond his understanding. (cf. Deut 29:29)
Certainly, he had his struggles, regrets, doubts and insecurity, like we all do. However, he was prepared to leave them in God’s hand. He had calmed and quieted himself. He stopped fretting. As a result, he experienced the peace, security and satisfaction that a weaned child found in his mother’s bosom.
The Psalm ends on a triumphant note of calling God’s people to trust in Him.
Psalm 131 presents a picture that we would like to see ourselves in, especially when we have bidden farewell to the old year and have ushered in the new. Let us lay down our pain, our regrets, our failures, our unresolved issues, etc in the past year before our Lord. Let us not concern ourselves with the whys. Allow Him to work out all these things for our good in His time.
Let us journey in the new year with the calm assurance that we are in God’s hand. We are secure and satisfied in the almighty and all sufficient God. Praise the Lord!
Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
"The first would-be disciple had his own idea of what it means to follow Christ. He thought he could follow Jesus and still keep his current lifestyle. When told of the material comfort that he would have to give up as a disciple, he backed out. He was not prepared to pay the price.
Aren't we like him sometimes? When we are called to serve, or to live out the life of a disciple, we struggle with having to give up our material comfort, or to adjust our current lifestyle..."
"The prevailing notion in many Christian congregations seems to be that discipleship is an option. "I will be a Christian first; I am not fully committed, equipped or gifted to be a disciple." This misconception is common even among established church leaders. Let us therefore examine the Scriptures regarding discipleship..."
"Denial of self runs contrary to human nature. Self-interest and self-preservation are natural instincts. Why must we deny ourselves? Did not Jesus call us to the "abundant life"? And what about the cross? Did not Jesus bear the cross for us all? Why must we bear the cross?..."
Christmas is a time which many associate with food and fun, presents and parties and that fat old man in red carrying a sackful of gifts. The more serious-minded among us may think of carols and candle-light services and perhaps even reflect on God the Fathers love gift to the world the gift of His only begotten Son .
I want to consider in this article a fact not obvious among the festivities - the Son's submission to the will of the Father with regard to the salvation of the world, and lessons that we can draw from His example.
Written by Rev Nga Mee Hee (Pastor-in-charge), on 25-12-2007
Matthew 1:23 The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means, God with us.
Names are significant. A name given to a child embodies the parents hope for the child. Many Chinese parents named their daughter meili, hoping that the daughter would grow up to be a beautiful girl; or zhaodi, hoping that she would bring about the birth of a brother. They named the son yaozhu, desiring for him to bring honour to the ancestor; or tiancai, hoping that he would add to the wealth of the family.
Written by Mr Samuel Wee (Associate Lay Leader, Discipleship & Nurture Chairman), on 14-11-2007
A young teen just after his first break up. A pre-believing corporate man retrenched. A single mother struggling with managing her child's studies and working full-time. Strange tales? No, these may just be the people needing the Lord and a touch of His love in a tangible way.
As Christalite Methodist grows numerically, meeting such needs would increasingly be a challenge. It is with this backdrop that the Cell Ministry comes into play.
Written by Rev Nga Mee Hee (Pastor-in-charge), on 13-11-2007
"Have you ever been in a situation where you long to have someone to speak to and yet can find none? You run through the people you know in your mind and yet there is none that you can confide in. You feel that you are all alone and there is no one that you can turn to! Suddenly, you realize that you have neglected to cultivate deep relationships with people in your social circles.
Do not despair. It is never too late to start building deep and trusting relationships. To be in a cell group is one good starting point. Currently, most of our members and regular worshippers are in a cell group. The cell groups also adopt members and regular worshippers who for various reasons are not able to attend the cell group meetings...."
Written by Dr Lui Hock Foong (LCEC), on 10-11-2006
I am writing this article not as an authority in prayer. Far from it, and this is for many reasons. First, I certainly do not measure up to what is considered a proper prayer warrior, or intercessor at this point in time. Second, my shallow knowledge of the scriptures does not qualify me to do any semblance of an exposition on this topic. This will therefore be an article very much written from a personal perspective, recounting my experiences, challenge, difficulties and joy in my checkered journey of learning and discovery in this area of prayer.
Written by Rev Nga Mee Hee (Pastor-in-charge), on 09-11-2006
Currently, I am reading through the Gospel of Luke during my daily devotion. My intention is to study the healing ministry of Jesus and to learn from His way of ministering to the sick. As I read, I have come to appreciate afresh the importance of prayer in the life and ministry of Jesus.
At His baptism, as Jesus was praying, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and He heard a voice from heaven, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Lk 3:22) With this affirmation of the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus faced the temptation of the devil and thereafter began His public ministry.
Prayer, instead, is a loving intimate relationship between our Father in heaven and us. One of the first lessons that Andrew Murray teaches in his classic "With Christ in the School of Prayer" is the importance of the "Secret Place", the closet where we meet alone with our loving Father. It is the place where we can love Him and express our love for Him in holy abandon, where we can worship Him in the quiet beauty of holiness or express our joyful praise with shouts of triumph and where we can pour out the deepest longings of our heart to the One Who knows every anxious thought and meandering imagination of our heart.
Written by Rev Nga Mee Hee (Pastor-in-charge), on 09-11-2005
Christalite Methodist Chapel was constituted as the 19th Local Conference of Trinity Annual Conference on 31st July 2005. By God's grace, we started off with 152 founding members. It's my prayer that CMChapel can count on each of you to bring glory to Christ.
Let's be guided by 1 Peter 4:10-11:
"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."
"Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you." (Jos 3:5)
"Surely the Lord has been in this place." (Gen 27:16)
These were Jacob's thoughts when he awoke from his sleep under the stars at Bethel. We echo Jacob's thoughts when we consider the presence and the hand of the Lord even from our small beginnings at the Chapel. From God's initiative at conception and establishment of the Preaching Point at Geylang Methodist Secondary School in September 1996 to the present status, a fully developed "foetus" at the threshold of birth and the establishment of Christalite Methodist Chapel at Geylang Methodist Primary School as a Local Conference of Trinity Annual Conference, we have been guided and blessed by God's Holy Spirit.
We look forward to 2005 with excitement. God has done wonderful things at the Chapel to establish His Kingdom. Many have grown spiritually into more mature Christians; there is numerical growth in all areas of ministry; there is a deeper bond of love amongst us; a sense of belonging and of owning the ministry of the Chapel pervades our people; and finally there is the excitement and anticipation of becoming a Local Conference in the coming year. There can be many aspirations in a community such as ours. We can strive to be the fastest growing congregation, having the most dynamic youth ministry; and we can work towards having the most talented worship team and boasting utterly dedicated leaders.
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