My Life’s Heroes

It was 1977, and Karl and I had left Germany in a camper the previous year. Our journey had already taken us through Italy, what was then Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and India. We hoped to make it to Nepal next, buy a mountain farm there, and settle in a peaceful life away from modern society.

Our budget was tight, and we usually ate at small roadside cafés or bought food from local market stalls, so perhaps it was not surprising that I contracted viral hepatitis. We had reached a lovely bay on the Goan coastline, but unfortunately there was no medical care nearby, and my health deteriorated quickly. Some local villagers noticed my desperate state and took to visiting daily to feed me a diet of papaya and fresh coconut milk. Thanks to their help, I recovered and got back on my feet, 10 kilos lighter, but healthy again.

When we finally made it to Nepal, we eagerly joined a Buddhist monastery for a trial period, but didn’t find what we were looking for. I believed there was something bigger than me, but I was confused. Which God should I pray to? I often wondered while gazing at the multitude of stars in the clear mountain sky.

It was Karl’s turn to contract hepatitis next. By that time, we were back in India, and I drove all night, while Karl was sprawled in the back of the camper with a high fever. In the early morning, I found a lodge where some young European travelers were staying. One of them, David, spoke German, and he helped us find a doctor and a room to rent.

David also decided to stay a few days with us. “Let me read to you from the book that changed my life,” he said when we met the following day.

Reading a short passage from God’s Word became a daily routine while Karl regained his strength. Before David left, he introduced me to his Savior, Jesus, and as a result His words from the Bible became my guiding light from that day onwards.

The Goan villagers were poverty-stricken strangers, but their compassion and concern saved my life. David was a stranger, but it’s thanks to him that I found purpose and direction. My circumstances today are a result of the combined kindnesses of those selfless strangers I met in India that autumn.

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John 13:34-35 ESV / A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Galatians 6:10 ESV / So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

James 2:14-17 ESV / What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Quarks in His Glory

Peter and I were taking a few days’ break at a small beach town. One late afternoon, I was taking a walk along the beach, when I looked up to find one of the most stunningly beautiful scenes taking shape before my eyes.
The scattered clouds began to take on pastel hues of peach, violet, and gold against the deepening blue of the sky. I love sunsets, but every once in a great while I encounter one that is so awe-inspiring that I can’t take my eyes off it. And the Great Painter was certainly getting my attention with this one. It was as if He was pouring liquid colored light into each cloud. The colors crept higher and higher until they seemed to overflow, and their streams became a living, swirling kaleidoscope of ever-changing beauty.

Everything else faded into unimportance alongside this masterpiece developing before my eyes. Gently, the expanding display flowed downward until it seemed to swallow up the ocean, turning it into a sea of vibrant colors, soft and smooth like a mirror in the distance, and spraying showers of golden light as the waves shattered on the sand just a few feet from where I stood. I felt immersed in its beauty. It was as if the sunset were communicating God’s encouragement and love to me.

The colors began to spill down in darker hues onto a promontory crowned with a small peak that jutted out into the water some distance away. It was as though the flow of living light had splashed over the edge of the sky onto the peak and the buildings dotting it, transforming them temporarily into glowing gems of iridescent reds and golds.

The vivid transformation of the sky gradually shifted from soft pastel hues to deeper and richer shades of blood red and burgundy, splashed with royal blues and copper streaks. Finally, after what must have been fifteen minutes, but had seemed like mere moments, the grand display began to recede. Its glory slipped peacefully into the gentle mists of the evening to paint the world another day.

As I stood there in the growing dusk, like a little child whose mind had been awed by the grand finale of a massive fireworks display, hoping against hope that it might all start over again, it struck me that this astoundingly glorious and impossibly complex show of power and beauty was a mere thought, a twinkle in the eye of God. It was only a tiny speck in the immensity of His abilities—just a mere quark in the vast universe of His power. If this small and fleeting moment stirred my soul like this and left me speechless with its awesome beauty, how could I possibly imagine or comprehend the Creator of it, who could gloriously splash the sky with such grandeur and wipe it clean in a moment, as if it was just His aura or atmosphere as He passed by.

We get so caught up sometimes in our earthbound realm, fretting and worrying that we are all alone in our troubles and have to try to solve them on our own. But at moments like this, the resounding reality that we are deeply loved by one who can explode the sky into such beauty with nothing more than a passing thought reminds me of just whom it is that I’m trusting in. What God said to me through that glorious heavenly art was, “I can create anything. I can sustain anything. I can protect anyone. I can solve any problem. I am beauty. I am power. I am love, and I do this for you.”

Times like this help me to remember that this same all-powerful one who creates such momentary grandeur for His creations is closely attuned to our tiniest needs and desires, guiding and caring for us in ways big and small. How could we ever worry that He might forget us, or that He might not be in absolute, perfect control of every detail of our lives?

When comes the golden sunset
That trails God’s way on high,
And with its radiant splendor
Illumes the evening sky,
How are the hills and valleys
Aglow with crimson rays,
While nature’s deep toned organ
Lifts heavenward its praise:

“Holy, holy!” Angel voices sing it;
“Holy, holy!” Cloudy pinions wing it;
“Holy, holy!” Gleaming towers ring it;
“Holy, holy, is the Lord most high.”

So God reveals at sunset
The grandeur of His throne,
The deeper, fuller glory
Reserved to be our own;
And in that hour’s unfolding
Forgot are fear and pain
In love’s abounding solace,
In heaven’s great refrain.

Then come, blest hour of sunset,
Along the golden way,
And thrill us with the splendors
That fill life’s perfect day.
God is the end of living,
He satisfies the soul,
And they who seek His glory
Will find in Him their goal.
—Calvin W. Laufer (1874–1938)

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Genesis 1:1 ESV / In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 ESV / Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

John 1:1 ESV / In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

A True Good Samaritan

Recently, after reading an article on the BBC News website, I found myself faced with a few tough questions. The article, a modern-day “Good Samaritan” tale, is worth checking out as an inspiring example of the impact one sincere loving deed can have.

Reading this story made me evaluate my own track record of late. Would I have done the same? Would I be willing to risk my job to help a stranger in need? Unsatisfied with my replies, I also tried some less dramatic-sounding questions. Would my friends say I’m someone who lends a helping hand? Have I done any purely altruistic deeds recently?

If I’m really honest with myself, I’d have to say I’m more often than not absorbed in my own world. I think we all have days when we become a little too focused on our own problems, issues and desires, days when we walk through life staring at our feet instead of looking up and out and around us. I’m reminded of the painfully honest quote: “There are two kinds of egotists: those who admit it, and the rest of us.”

So I guess for“the rest of us” it’s healthy to be reminded every now and then about the world around us, about the needs of others, about the power of love; to stop and have a little chat with our conscience and see how we fare. There are lives we could touch if we’d look outward more, and sometimes we may need to hit the pause button and take a look around in order to do so.

The great thing is that we can reach out with love no matter where we live, what job we have, or what direction our life is going. I think this will be my prayer for some time to come.
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks [with] compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are His body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks [with] compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
—Attributed to Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

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Matthew 6:33 ESV / But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Romans 12:2 ESV / Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Luke 12:34 ESV / For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Announcement

Helping Hand Project
Date: May-June 2017
Details: Kindly take note that this year projects will be Walkathon and Recycle Programme.
Please contact Sis Jasinta for more information.

Flag Day Street Collection
Date: 1-30th June 2017
Details: Volunteer needed. Please contact Capt. Fiona.

Penang Open Day
Date: 30th Sept 2017
Details: To be announce later.

Please intercede for the above events.

Good—Or Upright?

I recently came across an interesting verse that fits with this issue’s main theme of goodness. I had read it before, but this time it made more of an impression on me.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul says, “Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.” The New King James Version uses “righteous” instead of “upright.”

That got me thinking. What’s the difference between an upright or righteous person and a good one? Theologian John Gill suggests Paul meant that the former is someone who is outwardly moral and keeps to the letter of the law, whereas a good person goes beyond their duty.

I think the secret is simply that goodness is righteousness mixed with genuine concern for others. Without God’s love to motivate us, we can’t be good, but with it, we’re able to go beyond simply doing the right thing, and make a more lasting difference.

Of course, Jesus is the only one who is fully good, but He expects us to try to imitate Him in our lives and actions. He said, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart.” If we fill ourselves with His goodness and His love, we will be able to pass that on to others as well, to do good to all, whenever we have the opportunity.

—

Romans 5:7 ESV / For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—

Galatians 6:10 ESV / So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

John 18:36 ESV / Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

The Unsung Hero

The story of the boy who gave his lunch to the disciples to share with the multitude is well known. Jesus took the five small loaves and two fishes, blessed the food which was multiplied miraculously, and thousands of hungry people were satisfied. Who was the little boy? What was his name? What was the name of his thoughtful mother who provided the packed lunch? These details are not provided.

Unsung heroes quietly performing simple acts of kindness provide the backdrop to so many miracles of deliverance, healing, and supply. Consider the men who carried their paralyzed friend on his bed; they were so eager to bring him to Jesus for healing, they opened up part of the roof to get him into the crowded house.

The bearers who were carrying the body of the widow’s son stood still at Jesus’ command and witnessed the miracle of the young man’s return to life. And we cannot forget the friends of the centurion who bore the message to Jesus, pleading in his stead for healing for the centurion’s devoted servant. Upon their return, they found the servant healed.

These nameless individuals showed kindness, often more than duty demanded. There is no record of them receiving thanks or reward. Their kindness was from the heart.

You’ve probably guessed the topic for this issue’s exercise: Make it a point over the coming week to do a kindness for someone—a colleague, friend, family member, or stranger—without telling anyone what you’ve done or expecting anything in return. Better still, try to do this every week. You may not witness an outstanding miracle, but you will have brought a smile to somebody else.
Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.—Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997)

Born Anew
A single moment surely
Will be my fixed desire:
To pour the ruddy fire
Of wine of kindness down throats parched;
To overturn, spill joy upon the scorched,
Hate-caked mud of earth.
Their joy will be my birth!
My only peace, their peace,
Their pleasure brings me ease,
Their dream will be my dream.
And my heartbeat the throb
Of hearts that beat with God.
Sound that ringing through infinity
Each day calls echoes of divinity:
“Today I’m born anew!”
— Amado Nervo (1870–1919), translated from the original Spanish

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Colossians 3:12 ESV / Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

2 Corinthians 6:6 ESV / By purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV / Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Change the World

Question: I’d like to do more to improve things around me, but I don’t feel there’s a lot I can do. Changing the world seems like such a huge task—how to know where to start?

Answer: The good news is you don’t need to be someone powerful or famous to make a difference. Each positive change—no matter how small—is changing the world for the better. We can change the world by improving the lives of those around us, through deeds of kindness and consideration, and by showing faith in them. Here are some practical tips to help get you started changing your part of the world, one heart at a time.

Build up excellence. Try to think of at least one thing that you find outstanding in a person, and then make it your task to let them know. Don’t be shy; they won’t get tired of hearing it. What you’re doing is building confidence in that one area, and as they gain confidence, they will start to improve in other areas as well.

Share the responsibility. Give others responsibility in the areas in which they are strong. Make them feel trusted, needed, and appreciated.

Appreciate who they are. Appreciating others for what they do is important, and people like to be thanked and acknowledged for it, but being appreciated for a personal trait feels a lot nicer than only being appreciated for the outcome of that trait.

Keep appreciation simple and doable. Don’t feel that you need to have wonderfully warm feelings about a person, or be their best friend and really know them deeply before you can make a difference in someone’s life. You can be a near stranger and still have a marvelous effect on someone.

Slow down. It takes time to see people in a new light. Go slower in your interactions with people and give God a chance to reveal His perspective.

Pause to meditate. Think of the positive ways that someone has helped you. You will have a change in how you view others, because you will have taken the time to go deeper, past the surface assumptions that are so easy to make.

Let go of the past. Everyone dislikes being labeled or put in a box. Be willing to see who the person is today or the potential of what they can be tomorrow, and don’t let your view be marred by your past experiences.

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Ephesians 5:19 ESV / Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

John 8:16-18 ESV / Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

John 4:24 ESV / God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Net Worth and the Breeding Patterns of the Common Hug

The signs were nothing but rectangles of white-painted plywood adorned with bright red words proclaiming, “abrazos gratis” (“free hugs”), along with flowers, hearts, and other cheerful splotches of eye-catching color. We drove to our rendezvous point at a nearby university campus to meet up with the rest of our crew, and then struck out around downtown Guadalajara, Mexico, to search for strangers upon whom to shower random acts of kindness.

Signs held high, we fanned out, an advancing army of affection. “Would you like a free hug?” was our battle cry.

Our first real challenge was at the rolling concrete waves of a skateboarder hangout. Sweaty youths were taking turns trying to impress their peers with various amateur stunts, to the tune of cheers and jeers from their grungy audience. There is a sort of fearlessness that comes with free-hugging, so we swarmed into their midst and conquered. With every hug also came a free tract, and if they stopped for long enough, a prayer.

Next, we flocked to the park across the street, another teen hotbed, with all the favorite youth demographics present and accounted for. A group of Goth girls shyly motioned us over and we invaded their auras of black shades with our pastels and neons, spreading smiles all around.

We sang a few simple songs to small groups of people, music with a message of love and appreciation. The last chorus was of course always punctuated with our trademark embraces.

As we crisscrossed the center of town, a man in a restaurant paused in his meal as the waitresses and hostesses rushed by him to receive their hug helpings, along with seconds, thirds, and refills. He called us in and quizzed us about why we were doing such a thing. We were simply aware of the importance of showing love and kindness, we told him, and in a world starving for love, a little more of that couldn’t hurt.

And our agenda?—Jesus loves people. We wanted to make sure they knew it.

—

Galatians 5:22-23 ESV / But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

John 15:16 ESV / You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

1 Peter 3:15 ESV / But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Boomerang

When I was a little girl, I went to my first circus. There, before my awestruck eyes, were three rings in full action—performing animals in one, and acrobats leaping and flying through the air in another. What interested me most, though, was taking place in the third ring. A girl and a boy were flinging brightly colored missiles, which, after they had crossed the ring, turned and returned to the very hands that had flung them. No matter which direction they were thrown, the things curved and came back swiftly to the young performers, who would catch and fling them again.

I watched in amazement. “They are boomerangs,” someone beside me said. It was the first time I had heard the word, and I tucked it away in my young mind.

I’ve heard the word many times since, of course, and I’ve also seen the principle behind it play out in life. In fact, life itself is a boomerang. God’s Word says, “A man reaps what he sows.” Every word or action we fling out comes back some day. Whether good or bad, it will return to us, and it often gains momentum as it does.

One morning I visited two women in the same hospital. One room was filled with flowers and cards and all sorts of gifts from friends and acquaintances, thoughtful gestures of love, concern, and sympathy. That was a reflection of her life, for she had sown love and thoughtfulness throughout the years, and now it was all coming back to her in her hour of need.

In a room down the hall, another woman lay alone. Still as self-absorbed, suspicious, and critical as she had always been, she lay with her face turned to the wall—a wall as hard and cold and bare as the ones she had built around herself all her life.
What a difference there was in those two rooms! The boomerang had come back to both women, but in very different ways.

“If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated.” Anyone who lives unselfishly, caring for and lifting the burdens of others, easing their pain, and helping to supply their needs, will see that boomerang come back in the form of blessings some day!

—

Galatians 6:7 ESV / Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

Luke 6:38 ESV / give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Galatians 1:10 ESV / For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Pausing to Care

I don’t know how she did it, but the cashier’s eyes peered right into mine. I’d been discovered. I had tried to avoid eye contact as I was finishing the grocery shopping. More embarrassing than being seen in public coping with a rare meltdown would be someone discovering the “nothing to cry about” interaction that had triggered it.

I was holding it together—as long as I didn’t have to talk. My husband tried to phone me, but I couldn’t respond. It would have been messy (and noisy) if I attempted to communicate anything at all.

Then it was my turn at the checkout. I knew from past experience that in this store the cashiers work like automatons, processing items in a jiffy. That was fine by me. I was ready for the speedy processing and looked forward to getting out of there as soon as possible—before I let it all out.

Then she had to ask me, “How’s it going?” And it wasn’t a casual don’t-care-what-you-say greeting. She actually wanted an answer.

“It’s nothing, nothing…” I tried to say, wanting to just get on with it. But for the first time ever—I mean ever, in that store—the kind woman cashier wouldn’t touch a single item of my shopping waiting to be scanned until I told her what that problem was.

Yes, there were people in line waiting, and her skill at her job was no doubt being monitored. But I was made to feel more important than everything else. I was shocked. Somehow it cushioned the embarrassment I would have felt blubbering about it.

If I could have said something like, “I found out I have breast cancer” or “My best friend died,” I would have felt justified in raking in as much sympathy as possible. But I knew that sharing what had actually happened just wouldn’t have the same pathos. Yet I got the impression that this woman who cared enough to sincerely ask how I was doing was going to treat me with compassion, no matter what in the world I was sniveling about—just because I was important to her.

Seeing I wasn’t going to get out of it, I responded briefly, “I kept someone waiting in line at another store, and she made a big deal of it!”

My day had started at 3 am, when my baby woke and couldn’t fall back asleep, and the tiredness and stress had coalesced at the wrong time and place!

First, it turned out that I shouldn’t have been in the express line, because I had miscalculated the number of items in my basket and ended up with several more than the limit. Then when it was time to pay, I went blank and couldn’t remember my PIN number! The next lady in line wouldn’t let up and began verbally harassing me. Meanwhile, the cashier continued her patient reminders that, “You just need to enter your PIN, Ma’am.”

I found out that there is something more stressful than being late and having a customer in front of you hold up the line—that is being that customer! I finally stepped aside for a moment to pray, and thankfully, the number came back to me. After apologizing to the lady behind me—whose response was cold and unforgiving—I quietly left, tearing up.

The contrast between what happened in that checkout lane and in the second shop was stark. After I had experienced being misunderstood, unforgiven, pressured, put under stress, treated as though I was the root of the world’s problems, this woman made me feel important and cared for, worth more than time or money. The kind lady even ran off to get me a handful of tissues. All embarrassment was covered in a warm blanket of care.

The world doesn’t usually pause because I have a tear to shed, and it felt good when it did! I was reminded how important love is, and how painful and hurtful it can be when we are so focused on what we have to do that we neglect to make those around us feel important.
During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” Surely this was a joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.

Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. “Absolutely,” the professor said. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello.” I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned our cleaner’s name was Dorothy. —Joann C. Jones

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Ephesians 4:32 ESV / Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Mark 6:34 ESV / When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Genesis 6:6 ESV / And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

The Gift of Listening

I had just moved to a new country with my husband and family. That meant new schools for the children and a new job for my husband. It was a difficult time of adjustment for all of us, but I was especially feeling the strain. My marriage was feeling it, too. There was a growing list of subjects that my husband and I stopped talking about, because we knew they would lead to arguments.

But then I got to know Toni.

Toni was my next-door neighbor. She had a family of small children, and her husband only worked sporadically. She was the glue holding their family together. And that was a full-time job.

Somehow, though, she always had time for me. Whenever things got to be too much at home, I knew I could always go to Toni.

I would knock on her door, and she would usher me in with a welcoming smile. She would stop whatever she was in the middle of doing and sit down with me, letting me pour out all my troubles and woes. Then she’d do the best thing a friend can. Simply but with all her heart, she would pray for everything I’d just burdened her with and commit it all into God’s hands.

That’s how I learned the secret of how Toni could always stay so calm, and where she found the patience to always hear me out. Instead of trying to carry the weight of my troubles along with her own, Toni had learned how to cast her cares on the Lord and let Him sustain her.

The Lord and His Word were a very real part of her life. They were what helped her through the difficult times, as well as what gave her the capacity to reach out to others in their need, like me.

Since then, Toni and I have parted ways. Our children have grown up, and my husband and I have since reconnected. But I’ll never forget her kindness in always having time for me. Looking back, I can see that she was instrumental in helping me make the right decisions at a turning point in my life. I was like the man left by the wayside, emotionally beaten up and robbed, and Toni was like the Good Samaritan who rescued me.

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1 John 5:19 ESV / We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

1 John 4:18 ESV / There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

1 John 4:4 ESV / Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Announcements

Helping Hand Project
Date: May-June 2017
Details: Kindly take note that this year projects will be Walkathon and Recycle Programme.

Flag Day Street Collection
Date: 1-30th June 2017
Details: Volunteer needed. Please contact Capt. Fiona.

Penang Open Day
Date: 30th Sept 2017
Details: To be announce later.

Please intercede for the above events.

Kindness—the Irresistible Fruit

Kindness is love in action, love translated into simple everyday terms. It’s being considerate of others. It’s living the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s turning a blind eye to the flubs and foibles of others. It’s being as tenderhearted and forgiving toward others as God is with you.

Kindness generates goodwill. Your kind words and kind deeds tell others that their happiness and well-being are important to you, and that makes them want to respond in like manner. Kindness is one of the hardest things to give away, because it’s nearly always returned. Kindness costs nothing, but can accomplish so much. A kind smile or a kind word can make all the difference in the world to someone who’s having a hard day. A little bit of love goes such a long way!

Kindness is a language that everyone understands. As Christians, we are ambassadors of God’s love to others; the kindness we show conveys God’s love and care, and helps draw and win them to Him.

The North Wind and the Sun —From Aesop’s Fables
The sun and the wind once had a conversation, in which the boisterous and argumentative wind contended that he was the stronger of the two.

“I’ll prove it!” said the wind. “Do you see the old man down there? I bet I can get his coat off him quicker than you can!”

So the sun sighed and hid behind a cloud, and the wind blew and blew until it was almost a tornado. But the harder it blew, the tighter the old man clutched his coat to him. Finally the wind gave up and calmed down.

Then the sun came out from behind the cloud and smiled kindly on the old man. After only a short while the man mopped his brow and pulled off his coat.

The sun had shown the wind that warmth and kindness were stronger than fury and force.

A Smile
It needs so little sympathy
To cheer a weary way,
Sometimes a little kindness
Lights up a dreary day;
A very simple, friendly word
May hope and strength impart,
Or just an understanding smile
Revive some fainting heart;
And, like a sudden sunlit ray,
Lighting a darkened room,
A sunny spirit may beguile
The deepest depths of gloom.
—Author unknown

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Matthew 7:12 ESV / “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Ephesians 4:32 ESV / Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Romans 15:13 ESV / May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Be a Giver of Kindness

On a flight I took some months ago, there was a little girl sitting in the catty-cornered seat from me. She had a beautiful new coloring book that her mother had obviously brought especially for the flight. Occupying the same row was another girl about the same age whose father was seated behind her. This girl had no coloring book, and in fact, didn’t seem to have anything to occupy her.

The girl with the coloring book was soon busily coloring with her crayons spread out on the tray table, and the other girl was looking longingly at them. I felt bad for the girl who had none, so I prayed that the first child would feel moved to tear out a page from her nice coloring book and share it. Sure enough, after a while I saw that she had indeed torn a page out and had given it to her seatmate and was sharing her crayons with her.

I leaned forward across the aisle and told the girl that sharing her coloring book was such a nice thing to do. She brightened up and was obviously pleased that someone had noticed. I don’t know how far that little exchange will go, but I would like to think that the next time she has to make a choice whether to share something or not, she will be reminded of the woman who was proud of her because she made the right decision.

Everyone craves encouragement. I believe that God wants to encourage people, but a lot of times He needs us to do it. If you feel like you have no time, no energy, no expertise, no money, or too little, to give, don’t worry; that’s common to many of us. But we can all give through our words of encouragement, and we can spread God’s love wherever we go. In just a few minutes, we can make a difference at a bus stop, on the metro, crossing the street, at the shop, at work, at school, online, on a walk, and the list goes on. Our words don’t need to be profound or eloquent—just simple words that meet a person’s need for love, hope, significance, or comfort.

Here’s a question we can ask ourselves: What can I say to people that will help them in some way?—Lift their spirits, brighten their day, and make them feel good about themselves, appreciated, valued, worthwhile, and that what they’re doing counts?

Everyone appreciates knowing that they count, that they’re valuable, and that they’re doing something worthwhile. Perhaps our words of encouragement will just be one step in a person’s journey. Sometimes we might see the results of our encouragement; at other times, we will never get to see the results. But the important thing is that we are givers. Love never fails, so even if our words don’t result in someone getting the point right away, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that people feel loved, appreciated, and valued. It’s a privilege to be a giver of kindness.

Even brief encounters with people lend themselves to “a word fitly spoken,” something that will give people faith in themselves and faith that there are people in the world who are good and kind and concerned. This in turn may cause them to think about the Man of Love who inspires these qualities. If not, it may be a seed planted or watered that will be reaped at some future time.

Have you ever noticed how much of Christ’s life was spent in doing kind things—in merely doing kind things? Run over it with that in view, and you will find that He spent a great proportion of His time simply in making people happy, in doing good turns to people.

What God has put in our power is the happiness of those about us, and that is largely to be secured by our being kind to them.

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“The greatest thing,” says someone, “a man can do for his Heavenly Father is to be kind to some of His other children.” I wonder why it is that we are not all kinder than we are? How much the world needs it! How easily it is done! How instantaneously it acts! How infallibly it is remembered! How superabundantly it pays itself back—for there is no debtor in the world so honorable, so superbly honorable, as Love.
—Henry Drummond (1851–1897)

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Proverbs 30:5 ESV / Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Psalm 28:7 ESV / The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 34:4 ESV / I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

My Moment of Glory

During the spring of my junior year in high school, some girls suggested we practice for the junior-senior basketball game, and I thought it might be fun, so I tagged along. I did poorly in practice, more focused on my friends than on the game; but despite getting on the nerves of some of the more competitive players, I decided that I would go through with what was going to be my one and only basketball game.

Throughout the match, the seniors consistently held the lead, while my teammates were struggling. I had passed the ball a couple of times like a hot potato, happy to get it out of my hands as quickly as possible. Until…
We were two points behind with seconds left in the game when one of my friends managed to intercept the ball. She tossed it as far as she could, and I realized with dismay that it was coming straight at me. I caught it easily, but now what? None of my teammates were near the basket.

I must have appeared frozen in time, uncertain of what to do, when I saw the face of Stan, one of the athletic boys in my class, sitting in the front row in the crowd. He called out, “Just shoot the ball! You can do it!”
I remember looking at the basket from my place at half court, taking aim, and shooting with all my might. What happened next is somewhat hazy. Somehow the ball miraculously swooshed into the basket at the last second, and we won the game!

As everyone crowded around me during my moment of glory, my eyes searched the crowd for Stan. He finally came up to congratulate me, and I said, “Thanks, Stan, for showing confidence in me when I needed it. You were the one who thought I could do it, and I did.”

We all need someone who spurs us on when the faces in the crowd are a blur, when the voices seem unintelligible, and our steps falter—someone like Stan to tell us to go for it when we are hesitant and unsure, to boost our confidence to try the impossible, to say “I know you can do it!” Though we might get a pat on the back in our moment of glory, we know deep down that they are the ones who really deserve the credit.

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Joshua 1:9 ESV / Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV / For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Psalm 37:4 ESV / Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The Boy Sitting Next to Me

This should be easy, I thought as I prepared to enter high school. I didn’t expect to have any problems making friends or interacting with my classmates. Unfortunately, my confidence was shattered on the very first day of school, when I met the boy seated next to me in class.

Sean was about my height but twice my weight. He was careless in his studies, never studied for exams, and yelled and cursed at teachers and students alike. He bragged endlessly about the violent computer games he played every chance he got, and their influence was evident in his angry, destructive behavior. I quickly wished I didn’t have to sit next to him.

Weeks passed, and Sean went from bad to worse. He failed nearly every exam, daily got into fights with other classmates, and made no friends. I did my best to be polite, but kept my distance.

One day at lunch hour, the seat beside Sean was the last vacant one in the cafeteria. I reluctantly sat down, and we exchanged some small talk. During the short conversation that followed, I found out that Sean’s father had died when he was very young, and that his mother worked long hours on a night shift. Consequently, he was home alone most evenings and only got to spend time with her on weekends.

I was ashamed of my harsh and judgmental attitudes, and determined to reach out to Sean with love, kindness, and acceptance, even though that went against my natural inclinations.

At first, my attempts were only met with mocking refusals and deriding curses. Sean had been the brunt of ruthless bullying ever since the first grade, so in order to protect himself he had developed a very hard and unfeeling exterior. It was a struggle to include him whenever we picked teams, and it was tough trying to get through to him when my efforts were rewarded with snide remarks. I was often tempted to get angry and wondered if he was worth my trouble.

As the months went by, however, Sean gradually grew friendlier. Then one morning, over four months after that initial conversation in the cafeteria, Sean insisted on pairing up with me for a class activity. I was shocked. “You’re always saying you never want to see me again,” I told him.

“That’s not true!” he replied, smiling broadly. “You’re my only friend—the one person who cares about me. I want us to always be friends.”

That day, I not only gained a friendship that is ongoing, but I also discovered a precious truth: regardless of how a person acts, looks, or behaves, everyone wants and needs to feel love and acceptance. Beneath the rocky surface of a person’s hard exterior is often a beautiful flower waiting to grow. Kind words and loving deeds are to human hearts what sunshine is to flowers. It can take days, weeks, or sometimes even months or years for the results of our efforts to be rewarded, but one day that person will blossom.

When Jesus said to “love your neighbor,”1 He wasn’t just talking about the person living next door. He wants us to love anyone who needs our attention and care, whether the postman, the cleaning lady, the clerk at the counter, or the school bully in the next seat.

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2 Timothy 4:1-2 ESV / I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

2 John 1:10-11 ESV / If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

1 Corinthians 5:11 ESV / But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.