CREATIVE SILENCE

ndia, where I live, is a country of wide, sweeping farmlands; huge mountains jutting their peaks into the sky; broad rivers lazily moving over rocks. The land is as peaceful as it always has been, but the people who live here, like anywhere in the world, are often stressed.

Dr. Hans Selye, a prominent medical research scientist, has observed, “In this hurry-up world we are subjecting ourselves to too many stresses. We hurry constantly and worry incessantly.” Unfortunately, many have yet to learn to develop inner peace.

An excellent technique for overcoming stress is the practice of silence. It entails going into a quiet place and doing your best to be still and shift your mind into neutral. William James (1842–1910) said, “It is as important to cultivate your silence power as it is your word power,” and Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) declared, “Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together.” God’s Word gives the same advice: “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

I recently read an interview with a rubber manufacturer who pointed out that his industry did not learn to make efficient tires until they were redesigned to absorb road shock rather than merely to resist it. We too would be more successful if we learned to relax and let the pressures and stress of life flow right through us rather than rigidly battling them.

Sumit Dhamija is an Activated reader in India who says, “I have been reading Activated since 2005, and the spiritual content has helped me hold on to my faith during turbulent times.”

If you are to maintain power to meet your responsibilities and to continue effectively over the long pull, you must give as much consideration to that delicate, yet powerful mechanism known as your human personality as engineers give to their engines. You can purchase another engine, but that “engine” known as yourself cannot be reproduced if it fails, and stress is a major cause of that failure.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993), American minister and author

We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. See how nature, the trees, the flowers, and the grass grow in perfect silence. … We need to be alone with God in silence to be renewed and to be transformed. For silence can give us a new outlook on life.
—Mother Teresa (1910–1997), founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity

ANTI-FEAR THERAPY

I was cleaning up my brushes and paint cans after some volunteers and I finished painting a large mural for the local Sunday school when Maxim passed me a note:

I was really encouraged to meet and work on this project with people like you, so full of faith and positiveness. Can you please remember to say a prayer for me, as I’m going through a very tough time in my life? Thank you.

I was rather surprised, as he didn’t appear to be someone with a lot of problems. He was a successful, well-mannered, friendly gentleman.

Some months later, Maxim invited me to his home for dinner. It was then that he confided how he had been battling for years with debilitating panic attacks that prevented him having a full social life. Lately, even just the fear of having an attack was enough to discourage him from going out. Therapy hadn’t seemed to help, and he was so ashamed of his condition that he’d begun making up excuses whenever he was invited to an event.

As he was sharing this, I felt I could relate, as I had also experienced a recurrent fear that brought on distress and worry, albeit milder than his.
For several years following a car accident, I had become very fearful of driving, particularly on busy highways. My heart would start beating faster and I’d break into a cold sweat, and eventually I started dreading getting into any kind of vehicle. It took a while to get over, so I understood what Maxim was going through.

Maxim told me more about his condition. At first, I just listened, then I told him about my own experience.

“How were you able to overcome this?” he asked eagerly.

I shared how trusting in Jesus, praying, and listening to uplifting music was the key. Things didn’t change for me instantly, and even now I occasionally have small bouts of the same fear, but these mostly serve to remind me of how far I’ve already come. Before the evening ended, we prayed together for him to learn to entrust his fears to Jesus.

The good news is that after a few months of following the same “therapy” as I had, Maxim was freed from his panic attacks. He has resumed his social life, started traveling again, and opened up his home and heart to other needy situations.

LAUGHING WITH ABANDON

How easy it is to listen to the advice of others and change ourselves into something we are not. To quit being our unique and wonderfully made selves. To base our worth on what others think instead of what God thinks.

An elderly family member came for a visit. “A lady does not laugh with her mouth wide open, head thrown back, submitting all viewers to the spectacle of her tonsils,” she advised.

I was crushed. “Do I really laugh like that?”

She did an imitation of me that was pretty frightening.

I grew careful. I would catch myself laughing, enjoying the moment, but then my relative’s words and impersonation would flash through my thoughts. So I’d close my mouth a little to shield spectators from the sight of my back teeth, lower my chin until I was looking straight ahead, and try to relax my lips into a smaller, more controlled shape and manner.

I wanted to enjoy life, laugh with abandon, but my self-consciousness haunted me and was stealing my joy. “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

Then one day I forgot and laughed like I had before. The sun kept shining. No one said my tonsils were unusually shaped. No one moved away calling me a hyena. I began laughing again, enjoying the sound and rhythm.

One day while in Ireland with family, my daughter, who loves to snap pictures unawares, took a candid camera photo of me laughing. It is one of my favorite images.

We had stopped on the sidewalk during our walk around Dublin and had started joking with each other. In the picture I am sharing a laugh with my dad. My arm is reaching out to touch him, my head is tipping back, my mouth is opening wide, and I am laughing. Not just with my voice and lips, but with my whole body. My whole spirit.

Psalm 4:7 says, “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” That’s how I want to approach life. Laughing. Truly laughing and enjoying this temporal, messy, and yet so mysterious life that is God’s gift to me. I want to laugh with abandon because God is on my side and He also has a sense of humor. Just look at a platypus.

THE SECRET

Oh, how divinely sweet it is to come into the secret of His presence and abide in His pavilion!
—David Brainerd (1718–1747), missionary to the Native Americans

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.
—Psalm 37:7

God does not stand afar off as I struggle to speak. He cares enough to listen with more than casual attention. He translates my scrubby words and hears what is truly inside. He hears my sighs and uncertain gropings as fine prose.
—Timothy Jones

My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
—Exodus 33:14 ESV

My little boy came in one day and stuck his little head into the doorway of my study. Now he knew he was not supposed to disturb me during working hours. And his conscience troubled him a little on account of this. But he looked at me nevertheless with his kind, round baby eyes and said, “Daddy, I will sit still all the time if you will only let me be here with you!” That he received permission when he approached my father-heart in that way, every father will know.

That little experience gave me a great deal to think about. Is not that just the way we often feel with regard to our Heavenly Father? We do so love to be with Him, just to be in His presence! Moreover, we never disturb Him, no matter when we come nor how often we come!
—Ole Hallesby (1879–1961), Norwegian Christian teacher

Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.
—Psalm 55:22 NLT

Peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God.
—Unknown

Dear restless heart, be still, for peace is God’s own smile,
His love can every wrong and sorrow reconcile;
Just love, and love, and love, and calmly wait awhile.
—Edith Linn Forbes (1865–1945)

Learn to know Jesus so well that we feel safe when we have left our difficulties with Him. … As … we learn to know Jesus better and better, our prayers become quiet, confidential, and blessed conversations with Him, our best Friend, about the things that are on our minds, whether it be our own needs or the needs of others. … And especially will our prayer life become restful when it really dawns upon us that we have done all we are supposed to do when we have spoken to Him about it. From that moment we have left it with Him. It is His responsibility then.

“A little while with Jesus—
oh, how it soothes the soul,
and gathers all the threads of life
into a perfect whole.”
—Ole Hallesby

It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.
—Hans Selye (1907–1982), pioneering Austrian-Canadian endocrinologist acknowledged as the “Father” of the field of stress research

DEATH OF HORSESHOES

I vividly recall the men in our neighborhood gathering every evening after work in a vacant lot next to my house for a game of horseshoes. The pace of life was more relaxed when I was a child. Work was from nine to five, and then it was time to knock off and play horseshoes.

You may not know the game of horseshoes. A U-shaped metal horseshoe is thrown toward a metal stake placed in a sawdust or dirt square about 13 yards (12 m) away. The player to land his horseshoes closest to the stake is the winner. When a horseshoe encircles the stake, it is called a “ringer.”
It was a perfect time to chat about the day. The men would relate their latest triumphs or woes, or talk about current events. It all went over my head, of course, but I could see they enjoyed it.

All of that disappeared with the advent of TV. As each family bought a TV set, people spent less and less time playing horseshoes. Instead they spent their evenings in front of the new marvel with its flickering black-and-white images. And that was just the start.

According to recent research, Britons spend more than 50% of their waking day using technology devices, including watching TV, surfing the Internet, and communicating via social media. The daily average of 8 hours and 41 minutes is more than an average night’s sleep!

The first commercial flights were only one hundred years ago. Now more than 8 million people fly each day on average. It is questionable whether this speed has made us happier. Nor do I think the advance in technology has brought us peace of mind.

We race from birth to death with hardly time to stop and smell the roses. Do more, do it better, do it yesterday, get rich quick—or in debt quick. Fast food, fast computers, fast money, fast cars in fast lanes, fast talk in sound bites. “Live fast” seems to be our slogan.

Sometimes we pile so much stress on ourselves in this speedy lifestyle that we find it hard to cope. Sometimes we get under stress and don’t even know it. On a recent trip to the dentist, I found that I had developed cracks in some of my teeth. My dentist explained that stress had apparently caused me to bite and grind my teeth in my sleep.

Major studies have been done on the subject of stress alleviation, as inefficiency, lost production, and absenteeism—all of which have been linked to stress in the workplace—sap the economy of billions each year.

So what’s the cure? We can’t turn back the clock, nor do we necessarily want to. The world today is different from the one I grew up in, and we need to adapt our strategies. Thankfully, some of the practical solutions these studies have come up with seem easy enough to do:

• Take up gardening.
• De-clutter your home or your work environment.
• Give more love and affection, and allow yourself to receive them in return.
• Get a massage.
• Work on developing loving relationships.
• Make healthy changes in your diet and lifestyle, such as drinking less alcohol, cutting down on caffeine, or stopping smoking.
• Exercise, in nature if possible.
• Give three sincere compliments at work each day.
• Get a good rest.
• Have a good laugh.
• Listen to soft music.
• Take a mini-vacation.
• Get a pet.

All of these practical suggestions are helpful, but finding that peace that passes all understanding takes more. It takes listening for a moment to God’s still small voice in our hearts that reassures us that He still loves us in spite of our shortcomings.

Take a moment today to be refreshed in prayer so that you may find rest for your soul. The problems you face will come into perspective as you experience the awesome love of God. A prophecy about Jesus given shortly before His birth said that He would “guide our feet into the way of peace.” May you follow the way He shows you.

Senior Soldier's Enrollment Jan 2016

Heaven rejoice and glory and honor to God our Father who have brought the Corps with new senior soldiers.

We are glad to have Major Harry coming all the way from Singapore to enrollment 10 of them on this important occasion.

They are Vinoth Rao, Shawn Langes, Thomas Tham, Yee Kah Wai, Gunaraj, Joshua Lim, Lucas Lau, Rocky Ong, Terry Tan, Jeremy Ng

We also thank our Corps Sergeant Major - Bro Tan who help in recruiting and train them in the Senior soldier class as well our Corps Officer Captain Andrew and Fiona.

My Life Must Be Christ's Broken Bread who the theme song for the enrollment.

To God be the glory. Please do pray for these new soldiers as they continue to seek Him, live their life for Jesus and server Him according to His will. Praise be to God forever and ever. Amen.


Click here for more photos

GETTING THE BEST RESULTS

When you have so much to do, slowing things down and taking time to meditate, getting your mind off the work at hand and onto Jesus could be the last thing you feel like doing. Even if you try, you may find that “resting in Jesus” is often easier said than done. Yet He tells us, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. … Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

So how exactly do you “rest in Jesus”? It means trusting that once you have asked Him to provide solutions to your problems or to help you with the work at hand, He will do just that. It means trusting that He will show you what you can do to help the situation, that He will empower you to do your part, and that He will do what you can’t. It means stepping back from your problems or work, shutting out the world around you, and letting your spirit be strengthened through communion with Him.

In short, resting in Jesus means turning matters over to Him and then trusting Him for the outcome. If we want to get the best results, our time with Jesus in prayer and communication with Him can’t just be quick and superficial, squeezed in while our mind is still full of the business of the day. We have to take time to connect with Him, share our heart with Him, and let Him clear our mind and soothe our spirit.

Your time with Jesus is really the most important part of the day. If you get in the habit of giving it priority, His presence will linger with you all day to guide and help you.

The Bible says, “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter into that rest.” That sounds a little contrary—making an effort to rest—but it takes effort to pull back. The concept of resting in Jesus isn’t complicated, but actually doing it—leaving your old way of operating behind—takes work, and it can be difficult at first. But once you get the hang of it, it will save you so much time and effort and stress and strain that you’ll wonder how you ever did without it.

A PERFECT DAY

Today was perfect!I t wasn’t a perfectly lazy day, or perfect in terms of accomplishments, or without problems. Still, it was so perfect from start to finish that I now feel compelled to retrace my steps and try to figure out what made it that way. Maybe I can make it happen again.

I woke early and greeted the new day with a two-mile walk, thanking God for my loved ones and praying for them. Afterwards I read some devotional material, contemplating what I read and praying that it would change me. I listened to some Christian music, letting the inspiring lyrics fill my soul, then spent a few moments watching as a prism hanging in the window caught a sunbeam and sent rainbows around the room.

After breakfast, I planned the coming school year and ordered study materials for my homeschool students, and then I helped them with their first, seventh, and ninth grade classes. It was a full morning, but surprisingly free of pressure. That time I had taken with Jesus surely paid off.

I was beginning to sag as I cut vegetables for lunch, but I found myself thanking God for the abundance of healthy food. My hands were busy, but my heart and mind were far away, sitting at Jesus’ feet and enjoying communion with Him. That was just the boost I needed.

I listened to some piano as I ran an errand in the car. I kept pace with traffic, but without the usual tension in my shoulders. An elderly man driving ahead of me made a slow turn, which aggravated some other drivers, but I found myself praying for him and feeling impressed that he was still able to get around.

Back home, between email, phone calls, and a visit from a neighbor, I cooked, cleaned, and spent some time with my teenage son. Sometimes I worry about him, but as we sat together and he shared his opinions, concerns, and dreams, Jesus helped me see a sweetness and depth in my son that I sometimes overlook.

My husband and I went for an evening walk, and as we held hands and watched the setting sun paint the clouds lavender and pink, we counted our blessings together.

I know I can’t expect every day to be perfect, but I know how to increase my chances: I’ll take time to connect with Jesus and renew that connection throughout the day by turning my thoughts to Him and His goodnes

Prayer points

1. Please intercede for Corps Family:
Freedy Cheong, Alice Ong, Ailyn, Daniel, Sandy and Isabel.

2. Please intercede for our New Senior Soldier's
- Vinoth Rao
- Shawn Langes
- Thomas Tham
- Yee Kah Wai
- Gunaraj
- Joshua Lim
- Lucas Lau
- Rocky Ong
- Terry Tan
- Jeremy Ng

3. Continue to pray for each another for spiritual growth, good health, unity and fellowship in Christ Jesus.

Announcements

Strategic Mission Plan (2015-2018)
In the name of JESUS we will:
- Make Disciples
- Pursue Holiness in Life
- Engage in Mission
- Promote Justice

Corps Sports & Outings
Date: 25 Jan 2016 (Monday) / Time: 7:30am (wait at the down hill starting point)
8:00am (at the top of the dam for those who want to go by vehicle)
Venue: Air Dam

Women's Ministries Camp 2016

Date: 11-13 March 2016 (Fri-Sun)

Venue: Hotel Sentral Melaka, Malacca

Fees: 

1 person/room - RM310

2 persons/room - RM210

3 persons/room - RM190

Closing Date: 5 Feb 2016 (Friday)

Local Officers & Ministry Leaders Weekend Conference
Date: 15-16 April 2016 Venue: Kuala Lumpur Corps Fees: RM50

Flower Offering: Susan Zachariah

THANKSGIVING TAKEAWAY

The day before Thanksgiving, I saw an article about a “Turkey Operation” here in Austin, Texas. The organization was calling for volunteers to help serve and pack meals for those not fortunate enough to already be looking forward to that wonderful Thanksgiving dinner that I enjoy so much. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry jelly, peas and carrots, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie … and that’s just the beginning!

The next morning, a girlfriend and I headed out bright and early to volunteer. We arrived at a large restaurant and immediately saw the throngs of fellow volunteers. There was a long line of cars backed up to turn into the full parking lot, and what seemed to be hundreds of people were standing outside the restaurant awaiting instructions. I hadn’t expected that.

As it turned out, there were over 1,500 volunteers on site, and it was a small challenge just to find everyone some work to do, but the organizers—all volunteers themselves—did a good job delegating tasks. There were teams deboning turkeys, mashing potatoes, handling every aspect of the Thanksgiving meal, plus organizing donated clothes and coats. Kids drew pictures on the Styrofoam meal boxes, adding a cheery and personal touch. I ended up leading the “pie” team.

By midmorning, with the many pies cut and serving well underway, I joined the long line of people boxing the dinner meals. Each volunteer would take one empty box, walk it through the various serving stations, close it up, and drop it off for the delivery team. I was standing in line for quite a while, so I struck up a conversation with a woman behind me. It was one of those immediate connections, and we ended up spending the next hour or more talking about our lives, travels, and families.

Within a few hours, a few thousand meals had been prepared, served, and boxed, and volunteer drivers whisked them away to be passed out to those in need. There was music in the air, a lot of enthusiasm, and a great sense of camaraderie. After cleanup, people gradually headed home, and so did we.

Driving home, my friend and I swapped stories about how it had gone for each of us. We passed a group of homeless men off the freeway, and spotted Thanksgiving dinner boxes by their sides. We talked about the people we had worked alongside—the fireman, the woman who hosted benefit events professionally who was helping things run more smoothly, the obviously well-to-do older couples, the catering professional making sure the volunteers wore hair nets, and so on. There were people from all walks of life, young to old, rich and poor—all there to give several hours of time on their day off in celebration of our many blessings.

The next day someone asked me how the volunteer experience was, and the highlight that came to mind was meeting the woman in the serving line. I’m glad I didn’t miss that, but I have to say I easily could have. You see, I was feeling a little out of place in that line. Some people were volunteering with their family or a group of friends, chatting away, but I didn’t know anyone standing around me. I don’t know why I sometimes forget that others are just like me. Sometimes it can feel like everyone else has their act together, is 100% happy, problem-free, has their life all figured out, and their friendship fold is full up. I was reminded that day how untrue that usually is, and how everyone (or at least, most everyone) is looking for others to interact with, to befriend, and to potentially connect with on a deep level.

My takeaway from this Thanksgiving was a reminder to just take a step. To reach out. To open the conversation. To give Jesus a chance to put someone in my path who needs a friend, and who perhaps, in time, I can share my faith with. If I do what I can—make some effort, take some action—however small, I can trust Him to keep me in a place of usefulness, regardless of my personal limitations.

FEED ME

“It’s not fair! They’re getting more than we are.”
“Things are tough enough as it is. How come they’re being favored?”
“What’s the difference between us? Only our language!”

Comments like these were apparently flying around in the daily food line organized by the burgeoning early church for their growing membership. We read in Acts: “Some of the ones who spoke Greek started complaining about the ones who spoke Aramaic. They complained that the Greek-speaking widows were not given their share when the food supplies were handed out each day.”

Life often doesn’t seem fair. About 800 million people go to bed hungry every night, many of whom are children, while almost one-third of all food purchased in some developed nations is thrown away. At the top end of the scale, there are celebrity chefs cooking sumptuous feasts for the rich and famous. It can easily set you back hundreds of pounds to dine in a top London restaurant, yet Britain has also seen a rise in hunger. Hundreds of food banks, often organized by faith-based organizations, provide millions of meals every year to prevent parents and children going to bed hungry. It seems incongruous to witness this type of food poverty in the seventh-richest country in the world, but of course, this isn’t only in the United Kingdom. Unequal distribution of resources is a global problem.

So, no, life often isn’t fair, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t responsible to do our part to change our world. Let’s look back to the new believers and the unequal distribution of resources. Things weren’t just left to stand: the apostles recognized there was a problem, appointed some competent organizers, prayed for their wisdom, and left them to sort out the matter.

The result: “God’s message continued to spread,” and there is no further mention of strife around food.

Few of us are in positions of political power such that we can make a radical difference in the organization of our country, much less the world, but we are all in a position to do something, like the Good Samaritan—one individual helping one other individual. That’s all it takes: one parcel of food, one bucket of rice, one donation, one offer of a meal to a lonely neighbor.

Any action that results in even one less person going to bed hungry is progress.

THE KING’S BANQUET

My mother often cooked something special on Sundays. I can still remember the big open window in the living room, the unfolded table spread in the center, the delicious food, and the joyful family conversation.

We usually went to Children’s Mass at 10 am, while she stayed back and cooked and my dad did some fixing around the house. The story I remember most from those child-friendly sermons was the parable Jesus told of the king who invited his nobles to a banquet, but they all gave excuses why they couldn’t attend. So he sent for the beggars and poor peasants, who gladly came. Though at the time I didn’t understand its deeper meaning, that story left a deep impression on me.

Food is often connected with unity, good times, and celebrations. When I was a teen, a popular song went: “We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land. But it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand. … All good things around us are sent from heaven above. Then thank the Lord … for all His love.” Even though I was an unbeliever at the time, this song filled my soul with joy.

Soon after that, I began to grow in faith again and eventually entered Christian service. A few years back, at a time when my problems seemed to have multiplied, I started to think God had forsaken me, but I didn’t go far before reading “The Lord is always with me,” “I have loved you with an everlasting love!” and “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Throughout my life, God’s Word has helped me countless times to grow and better understand God and others. Sometimes His words are like a snack, other times a full meal, like my mother’s delicious Sunday specials. I am so grateful that the King invited me to His banquet, and that I accepted the invitation!

Come and Dine
“Come and dine,” You said to Your followers after Your resurrection, and You give the same invitation to everyone today. I accept. I want to know You, to receive You. I want sit at Your table and eat with You in paradise.

Be present at our table, Lord;
Be here and everywhere adored;
Thy creatures bless, and grant that we
May feast in paradise with Thee.
—John Cennick (1718–1755)

SETTING THE MENU

Christians who are interested in spiritual growth recognize that spending time taking in and absorbing God’s Word is of utmost importance. It is within the Bible that we learn about God’s love for humanity, Jesus’ message, and how to live in harmony with God and our fellow human beings.

Setting aside daily time to read the Bible provides the opportunity to connect with God each day. It opens us up to receiving His instruction, guidance, and help through life’s problems and difficulties. It reminds us of the moral code upon which we try to fashion our lives and provides us with guidance when we are faced with decisions. It’s a key element for those who seek to be like Jesus, because it is in the Bible that we hear His teaching, see the example of His love, and are introduced to the relationship with His Father that His sacrifice has opened up for us.

Each day we are flooded with a barrage of input from a wide variety of delivery systems that try to influence us in one direction or another. Taking time daily to read what God has said provides a way to navigate through the maelstrom of input that we are faced with. It enhances our spiritual ability to discern truth and falsehood. It makes it easier to keep our hearts centered on those things which are important, to living lives of true happiness, inner peace, and alignment with God and His will. It helps us to survive and overcome all that life brings our way. Abiding in God’s Word brings us in regular contact with His Spirit. “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

Carving out the time to read daily is no easy task—it requires self-discipline. Like the workouts and training that maintain our physical conditioning and improve our performance, taking regular time to read God’s Word will strengthen your spirit and make you a stronger Christian—one who is grounded in God’s truth and love. The connection you’ll develop with God will help you be Spirit-led in your daily interactions with others, in your decision making, and in your ability to stay strong in the face of temptations.

There is no specific formula for how much you need to read daily or what portions of the Bible you should read. The key is setting aside the time to do it and then sticking to it even on busy days. Finding and following a Bible reading plan of some kind can help you persevere with your reading and forge ahead when you find yourself in the more difficult portions of Scripture. It may also be helpful to use a contemporary translation that you’re comfortable with.

Ideally, you should try to read when your day is the most free from distractions, perhaps early in the morning before your day begins or late at night when all is winding down. The quietness and absence of activity around you facilitates meditating on what you’re reading. And if you can’t carve out some quiet time, you can still read on the run, in whatever time opens up for you—or listen to the Bible in audio form as you go. It’s a fight to keep your commitment to read and study God’s Word, but doing so will make a difference in your life.

When you read the Bible or listen to others expound on it, think about what you’re reading. If a passage stands out to you, read it again. Think about it; ask yourself why it stood out and what God might be trying to tell you through it. He desires to speak to each of us directly, and by meditating on what we read, we create the opportunity for His Word to speak to our hearts. Take the time to commune deeply with God through His Word. It will change your life.

Digestion
There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We would be better Christians if we were alone more, waiting upon God, and gathering spiritual strength for His service through meditation on His Word. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nourishment out of them.

Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but it is by digestion that the food becomes assimilated. Our souls are not nourished merely by listening awhile to this, and then to that, and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning, all require inwardly digesting to complete their usefulness, and the inward digesting of the truth lies for the most part in meditating upon it.
Let this be our resolve: “I will meditate on Your precepts.”—Charles Spurgeon, adapted

EAT, PRAY, STAY TOGETHER

Not so long ago, the various members of our family had different schedules, and as a result, we were seldom able to eat together. I couldn’t help feeling that our family was drifting apart—especially since visiting an Italian friend who taught me what a joy “breaking bread” together can be.

A meal in an Italian home is an event. It’s not about grabbing a quick bite on the run; rather, it’s a time to swap stories, to chat, to debate, to share hopes and wishes. Then, just when you think the meal is finished, another delicious dish is set in front of you. Before you know it, two hours have gone by, and maybe many more. No need for any other evening entertainment; the meal is an event in itself.

We may not often have the opportunity to indulge in an Italian-style feast, but even in our busy lives, surely we can find a way to share a meal. There is a lot of research that supports the benefits of families eating together.

The opportunity to talk over a meal strengthens bonds, creating warmth, security, and a sense of belonging. A home-cooked meal is likely to be more nutritious and cheaper than fast food. Younger members of the household learn manners—asking to pass food, not putting elbows on the table, and eating slowly all contribute to the pleasant experience. Language skills are reinforced as we listen and tell stories around the table. Eating together also increases the whole household’s awareness of food preparation—another great way of giving the children a good start in life.

No matter the composition of your household—even if you’re alone—taking time to stop and enjoy your food is going to be good for your digestion and emotional well-being.Meals are also a great time to pray for our specific needs and show appreciation to God for what He’s done.

My visit to Italy has inspired me to commit to calling our family together at mealtimes as often as possible. What we get is a lot more than just the food. We receive bonds of love, joy, and togetherness that will last.

SALTED CUCUMBERS

A friend of mine was showing me the large number of old cucumbers she was planning to preserve in salt.

“Are old cucumbers all right to eat?” I asked.

“These are quite dried out, but they’ll be great to pickle!” she replied knowledgeably. For my busy friend, having pickled cucumbers to supplement on-the-go meals is convenient and appreciated.

The thought of these dried cucumbers being transformed into something delicious and healthy reminded me of a story I heard about kimchi.

Although kimchi has always existed in Korea, some trace its massive popularity as a food staple to the shortages of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). New varieties of kimchi were developed by pickling bits of vegetables that weren’t appealing as they were or that were on the verge of rotting with lots of spices in order to make them edible and preserve them. I marvel that one of my favorite foods was developed during a time when there wasn’t enough to eat!

This brings to mind a situation in a rural area of North America where rattlesnakes were making an unwanted appearance. The villagers were scared by the sudden increase in the snake population, and some people even began to move away. Other more enterprising citizens began using the rattlesnakes’ leather skins to manufacture bags and belts. It turned out that the diamondback rattlesnake, which had previously been such a pest, ended up contributing greatly to the development of that area’s economy.

And so it often is that in the midst of situations that appear to be defeats, God can use that very thing to bring something better. We are surrounded daily by problems and unwelcome occurrences. However, God always has a plan. No matter how horrible a situation may appear, we have a God who will never fail us. When things don’t go as planned and when dreams are torn, He may very well be preparing something better.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
—Romans 8:28 NIV

Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances which we know to be desperate.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936)

The Promised Land always lies on the other side of a wilderness.
—Henry Havelock Ellis (1859–1939)

THE BREAD OF LIFE

“I am the bread of life” is one of the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus. …
Bread is considered a staple food—i.e., a basic dietary item. … Bread is such a basic food item that it becomes synonymous for food in general. We even use the phrase “breaking bread together” to indicate the sharing of a meal with someone.

Bread also plays an integral part of the Jewish Passover meal. The Jews were to eat unleavened bread during the Passover feast and then for seven days following as a celebration of the exodus from Egypt. Finally, when the Jews were wandering in the desert for 40 years, God rained down “bread from heaven” to sustain the nation.

All of this plays into the scene being described in John 6. Jesus was trying to get away from the crowds to no avail. He had crossed the Sea of Galilee, and the crowd followed Him. After some time, Jesus inquires of Philip how they’re going to feed the crowd. Philip’s answer displays his “little faith” when he says they don’t have enough money to give each of them the smallest morsel of food. Finally, Andrew brings to Jesus a small boy who had five small loaves of bread and two fish. With that small amount, Jesus miraculously feeds the throng with lots of food to spare.

Afterward, Jesus and His disciples cross back to the other side of Galilee. When the crowd sees that Jesus has left, they follow Him again. … He accuses the crowd of ignoring His miraculous signs and only following Him for the “free meal.” Jesus tells them in John 6:27, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” In other words, they were so enthralled with the food, they were missing out on the fact that their Messiah had come. So the Jews ask Jesus for a sign that He was sent from God. … They tell Jesus that God gave them manna during the desert wandering. Jesus responds by telling them that they need to ask for the true bread from heaven that gives life. When they ask Jesus for this bread, Jesus startles them by saying, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

This is a phenomenal statement! First, by equating Himself with bread, Jesus is saying He is essential for life. Second, the life Jesus is referring to is not physical life but eternal life. … He is contrasting what He brings as their Messiah with the bread He miraculously created the day before. That was physical bread that perishes. He is spiritual bread that brings eternal life. …

The key is found in another statement Jesus made, back during His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” When Jesus says those who come to Him will never hunger and those who believe in Him will never thirst, He is saying He will satisfy our hunger and thirst to be made righteous in the sight of God. …

The Bible says God has placed [the desire for] eternity in our hearts. The Bible also tells us that there is nothing we can do to earn our way to heaven because we’ve all sinned and the only thing our sin earns us is death. There is no one who is righteous in himself. … When Christ died on the cross, He took the sins of mankind upon Himself and made atonement for them. When we place our faith in Him, our sins are imputed to Jesus and His righteousness is imputed to us. Jesus satisfies our hunger and thirst for righteousness. He is our Bread of Life.

Christ compares the needs of men to hungering and thirsting. Now hungering is no sham. Those who have ever felt it know what a real need it indicates and what bitter pangs it brings. Thirst, also, is not a sentimental matter; it is a trial, indeed. What pain can be worse beneath the skies than thirst?

The heart, also, has its hunger, for almost unknown to itself it cries, “O that someone loved me and that I could love someone whose love would fill my nature to the brim.” Our hearts are gluttons for love. They hunt here and there, and are bitterly disappointed. But when they hear that Jesus Christ loved them before the world was, and died for them, their roving affections find rest. The love of Jesus casts out all hankering for other loves and fills the soul! He becomes the Bridegroom of our heart, our best Beloved, and we bid the more common things depart.—Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892), adapted

Prayer Points

1. Pray for Colonel's Lyndon and Bronwyn for a great time with family while on furlough in New Zealand.

2. Pray for Colonel;s Paul and Evelyn, God's grace and strength, as they lead us, an as they prepare to take up their new appointments in the Philippines Territory.

3. Pray for Salvationists in Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar for continuous commitment to follow Jesus in every aspect of life.

4. Continue to pray for each another for spiritual growth, good health, unity and fellowship in Christ Jesus.

Announcement

Strategic Mission Plan (2015-2018)
In the name of JESUS we will:
- Make Disciples
- Pursue Holiness in Life
- Engage in Mission
- Promote Justice

Senior Citizen Fellowship
Date: 16 Jan 2016, Time: 8:30am, Venue: Restaurant Zim Sum - Macalister Road

Women's Ministries Camp 2016

Date: 11-13 March 2016 (Fri-Sun)

Venue: Hotel Sentral Melaka, Malacca

Fees: 

1 person/room - RM310

2 persons/room - RM210

3 persons/room - RM190

Closing Date: 5 Feb 2016 (Friday)

A STRAY MUSHROOM

Chopping vegetables for dinner, I twice caught a stray mushroom before it rolled from the cutting board off the counter.
You’re so good to me, God! I thought.
Somewhere else in my mind, I was thinking about the apartment rental application I had put in that morning. Please be good to me, and let them accept my application.
—As if there are times when God isn’t good.
My thoughts went to a YouTube performance I’d seen a few weeks earlier of the Newsboys singing “Blessed Be Your Name.”
Blessed be Your name
In the land that is plentiful,
Where Your streams of abundance flow,
Blessed be Your name.
Blessed be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place,
Though I walk through the wilderness,
Blessed be Your name.

God is good and fair in happy times and hard times. His goodness shows both in what He gives and what He withholds, what He allows and what He denies. This is one of those “a lot in one” concepts. With this attitude, you can’t help but also experience increased joy, faith, peace, and gratitude.

I hope that reflecting on this familiar truth and the message of this song will help it to go a little deeper into my heart—more than a convicting phrase or a moving song that comes to mind now and then, but part of who I am.

King David practiced this: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

James understood it: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (God is not given to being moody when it comes to answering prayer or acting on my behalf.)

Job immortalized it for faith generations to come: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
I got the mushroom.

I might get the apartment. Or not.
Either way, God is good.

DAILY NEEDS

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, only one of the things He told them to ask for was a physical need—“Give us this day our daily bread.” All the rest of the prayer is praise to God or requests for spiritual gifts or blessings so that we can better please and serve Him. His including a request for material supply recognizes that we live in the natural world and that God wants to supply our physical needs. But it goes deeper than that.

When the Samaritan woman met Jesus at Jacob’s well, He told her that physical sustenance wasn’t enough. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.” Jesus is the bread and water of life, and His presence in our lives is even more important than our physical food and water.

Just as food and water are needed every day to sustain life, so we also need a daily supply of spiritual strength. Just as God expects us to work hard to procure our daily food, He expects us to put effort into procuring our spiritual food, by reading His Word and spending time with Him in prayer, reflection, and meditation.

Thankfully, God wants to give us what we need—and most importantly, He wants to give us Himself. God wants everyone to eat His spiritual food. Going back to the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus was teaching His disciples to not only pray for supply of their daily needs, but also for His Spirit—“the living bread that came down from heaven”—to be present in their lives each day.

I hope the articles in this issue of Activated will be a blessing in helping you to learn about and absorb His goodness so that you too can “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

NEW YEAR CHOICES

I’m quite excited about my New Year’s resolution, and I think it’s going to work. No, I know it’s going to work. It’s got to, because I see now that my future hinges on it. “Think small.”

That may seem like a contradiction of the usual New Year refrain—“Think big”—but actually, it complements it. I hit on “Think small” after a friend pointed me to “The Formula,” an online article by Jim Rohn. Here are a few excerpts that sum up the “think small” strategy:

Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. To put it more simply, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day.

On their own, our daily acts do not seem that important. A minor oversight, a poor decision, or a wasted hour generally doesn’t result in an instant and measurable impact.

Failure’s most dangerous attribute is its subtlety. In the short term those little errors don’t seem to make any difference. Since there are no instant consequences to capture our attention, we simply drift from one day to the next, repeating the errors, thinking the wrong thoughts, listening to the wrong voices, and making the wrong choices.

Now here is the great news. Just like the formula for failure, the formula for success is easy to follow: It’s a few simple disciplines practiced every day. As we voluntarily change daily errors into daily disciplines, we experience positive results.

What better way to further our major life goals than by determining to make better “small” choices, what better time to start than the New Year, and who better to help us make and stick to those choices than the One who made us and knows exactly what we need! With God all things are possible. “Think small.”

Choose
Choose to love, rather than hate.
Choose to smile, rather than frown.
Choose to build, rather than destroy.
Choose to preserve, rather than quit.
Choose to praise, rather than gossip.
Choose to heal, rather than wound.
Choose to give, rather than grasp.
Choose to act, rather than delay.
Choose to forgive, rather than curse.
Choose to pray, rather than despair.
—Author unknown

—

Romans 8:7 ESV / For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

1 Kings 18:21 ESV / And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

Deuteronomy 30:15 ESV / “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

HOLDING ON

As a young child, I would lie in bed at my grandparents’ house, listening to the sounds of the television downstairs and looking at the pictures on the wall. One was a picture of a woman with wavy reddish hair in a nightdress clinging to a stone cross in the middle of the raging sea. Pieces of a boat drifted around her and the waves threatened to drag her back into the water, but her eyes were fixed on the cross and she held on with all her might.

At the time, I really didn’t understand the meaning behind the picture, and I remember thinking about it as I drifted off to sleep. I wondered why the woman was hanging so tightly to the cross and why she didn’t let go and just grab one of the pieces of wood floating around her. Holding on looked very difficult.

As years passed and I encountered some of my own crises of faith, the picture began to have more meaning for me. During those times, I tried holding on to various other things that did all right at keeping me afloat, but my life had no direction or purpose. I realized that holding on to God—especially when it’s hard to do—is really the most important thing.

There’s another deeper meaning to that picture that struck me when I saw it again years later: Most of the painting was dark, with the exception of one ray of light that shone directly on the cross. I realized that was another reason why the woman was holding on to the cross rather than grabbing a piece of wood and floating away. She could have drifted around in the darkness, but she wanted to stay in the light.

As we enter the new year and face a world filled with unknown troubles, it can be quite frightening. We have only one solid place in the middle of the storm, and one light in the darkness. Disaster, danger, and death may be all around, but God is my light and my salvation. He is the strength of my life and will help me hold on.

—

Romans 10:17 ESV / So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Matthew 21:22 ESV / And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Hebrews 11:6 ESV / And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

ON THE RIVER’S EDGE

As the children of Israel were preparing to cross the Jordan River, Joshua sent the ark of the covenant ahead. He instructed the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.”

“Never been this way before”—I often feel that way! I run into a situation or a dilemma that’s all new to me, and I have no idea how to tackle it. Should I go or stay? Should I take this offer or turn it down?

Some decisions are easy to make. Sometimes the path ahead seems pretty straightforward, even if you’ve never taken it before. Other times, it can feel like there are potential dangers and pitfalls all around. Looking ahead can be exciting, but it can also be a little frightening because of the many unknowns.

As I write this, I’m facing a dilemma. I’ve been offered a job that seems pretty appealing. It’s work that I’d enjoy and the pay is good. But it would mean a major move to another city—when it feels like we’ve only just gotten settled where we are. It would mean putting other goals on hold and moving away from relatives and new friends. It’s exciting, in a way, but it’s also challenging, because I don’t know how things are going to turn out.

The children of Israel didn’t know how things were going to play out for them either. They knew there was a promised land ahead, but there was also the River Jordan blocking their way.

The Israelites hadn’t traveled that way before. That’s why they had to follow the ark, which represented God’s presence and His promises. By following the ark—by following God—they could walk confidently, knowing that they were headed in the right direction.

Sometimes, the way God leads doesn’t seem to make sense. Sometimes it can look downright crazy, like when He instructed Joshua to tell the priests who carried the ark of the covenant to “take a few steps into the river and stop there.”

I imagine some of the people were more than a little anxious as they approached the flooded riverbanks. But we’re told that “as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away.” The priests stood in the middle of the dry riverbed while all the Israelites walked safely across.

I think this story offers a pretty awesome formula for making decisions. When you’re facing tough choices, when you “haven’t been this way before” and you’re dealing with brand-new challenges or seeming impossibilities, keep your eyes on Jesus. Only God knows what’s ahead, so it’s a good idea to follow His lead.

God cares about your problems and concerns and dilemmas just as much as He cared about His people stuck at the banks of the Jordan River. The Bible promises, “The Lord is kind, and as soon as he hears your cries for help, he will come … and he will guide you. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice saying, ‘This is the road! Now follow it.’”

God’s Word contains solid promises that you can stand on and claim in prayer whenever you’re desperate for His answers and direction in your life. Then as you keep your eyes on Jesus and follow His lead, you’ll be able to march confidently into the future God has in store for you.

—

Joshua 3:8 (NIV) Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

Joshua 3:15-16 (NIV) Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

Isaiah 30:19-21 (NIV) People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”