Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The man with a name

WHAT’S in a name? I wonder if you have ever thought about what your family name means, pondered its origin and speculated about who else may be related to you. They are big questions. In England alone there are around 45,000 different surnames, each with a unique history attached to it. Our name identifies who we are, or at least narrows it down a little.

Before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, people did not have family surnames that were passed down generations. They were known simply by a personal name or nickname. That was OK in a hamlet or village, but imagine how confusing it would be among millions of people.

The sources from which surnames were drawn were many and varied – nicknames, physical attributes, counties and trades. Later, with immigration, new names were brought into the country.

In biblical times, a baby might be given a name from circumstances associated with his or her first days – as in the case of ‘Moses’ which means ‘draws out’, after he was discovered and pulled out of some reeds where he had been hidden for safety. In other cases children were named from nature – for example Deborah, which means ‘bee’, and Jonah, which means ‘dove’.

Some names were given at the prompting of God and some hinted at the destiny of the child or of a whole nation.

Jesus was given the name that the angel Gabriel instructed his earthly father Joseph to give him – a name of divine inspiration and destiny. Jesus means ‘God is salvation’.

After Jesus had completed his work on earth and had returned to Heaven he made a supernatural appearance to Saul on the road to Damascus. He declared: ‘I am Jesus’ (Acts 9:5 New International Version).

God used Jesus to bring salvation to all people.

Unfortunately, today the name of Jesus is often used disrespectfully as a swear word. But his name means everything to people who love and follow him.

It is the name that reminds them they are free to live the full life God wants them to have. It means that they can be forgiven for the wrong things they have done and receive a new start from God.

The Bible also says that Jesus is ‘the name that is above every name’ (Philippians 2:9) – it is the name that can change our lives.

UK War Cry June 2010


Monday, July 12, 2010

TSA Penang Corps Outing

Corps member enjoyed the journey to the Penang BM MengKuang Dam Outing on the 10 July 2010. The journey started from the Corps at 6:30am and reach there around 7:20am. Everyone enjoy the nature walk and jogging around the dam. Bro Chin Keng who was our tour leader took us to the location and also brought us to nice coffee shop for Hokkien Mee breakfast at Taman Indrawasih.

We praise God for this great outing. Our numbers are few, however the end result count ~ "God is Good all the time".




Sunday, July 11, 2010

Announcements

1. Corps Cleaning Day (Gotong Royong)
Date: 7th August 2010, Time: 08:00am Venue: Penang Corps
Cleaning the Corps compound and beautify the house of the Lord.

2. Adults Cell Group
Date: 16th July 2010, Time: 08:00pm Venue: Community Hall

3. TSA Open Day
Date: 28 Aug 2010, Venue: Penang Children's Home
Target to raise RM60,000.00 for Corps, Children's Home and Community Service Centre. Please help to sell coupons.


Prayer Request

1. Pray for our Candidates & Potential Candidates

2. Pray for Cadet Andrew and Cadet Fiona who on SFOT training till end of this year.

3. Penang Open Day, pray for our sponsors and donors, selling of the coupons.

4. Continue to pray for Sis Jenny Ooi who is now at Australia.


Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The man who makes things possible

IT was impossible to miss the hype. In 1996 Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise, burst on to cinema screens in the action thriller Mission: Impossible.

Hunt is a secret agent framed for the deaths of his espionage team. Fleeing from government assassins, breaking into the Central Intelligence Agency’s most impenetrable vault and clinging to the roof of a speeding bullet train, the action man raced to stay one step ahead of his pursuers.

Cinemagoers were so taken with the action that a further two Mission: Impossible films have been made since. Another is on its way.

The films are based on a television drama series. The episodes chronicled the missions of a team of American government secret agents known as the Impossible Missions Force.

The missions on which they were sent seemed so difficult that only this particular force could hope to tackle them.

The Impossible Missions Force revelled in the challenge; but describing a mission as doomed from the start is not normally the best way to recruit people. Failure is not held in high esteem. To have tried and failed is not acceptable to our modern way of looking at things. Credit is not given just because we tried.

Jesus sent his followers out on a mission. ‘I am sending you,’ he said (John 20:21 New International Version). The mission was to go into the world and spread the good news of what Jesus was doing and teaching.

This may have appeared to Jesus’ followers as another mission impossible. What could they do that he had not already done?

But Jesus sent his friends out with all the resources they needed. They would not be left on their own. He would be with them all the way.

This is the amazing thing about the ‘sending Jesus’. He does not ask us to do something or go somewhere and then leave us to fend for ourselves. Through his Spirit, he goes with us, helping us every step of the way.

Jesus really is the best person to have by our side, the one who will never let us down or forsake us. He makes the impossible mission possible.

It all boils down to trust. Can we trust Jesus, who sends his followers out to do a job? The answer from thousands of people who have followed his way is a resounding yes.

UK War Cry June 2010


Thursday, July 1, 2010

The man who'll be back

I’LL be back’ is the catchphrase associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He spoke these words in the 1984 science fiction film The Terminator. The words that Arnie uttered were a slight departure from the original line ‘I’ll come back’, which might not have been as memorable. In 2005 the American Film Institute ranked Arnie’s promise as No 37 in their top 100 movie quotes.

So successful was the phrase that it was used in subsequent Terminator films, and Schwarzenegger introduced it into many of his other movies. It could be said he has made it his personal quotation. Even as Governor of California he has used the phrase during public speeches.

Like many a catchphrase, it often raises a wry smile when people use it in everyday conversation.

Although ‘I’ll be back’ was used as a threat – an intention to return for revenge – not all promises to return are so terrifying.

Welsh boxing hero Joe Calzaghe is rumoured to be looking to return to the ring. The unbeaten fighter known as ‘The Pride of Wales’ turned 38 this year, and has not fought since November 2008. Such a promise of a return would be welcomed and applauded by sports fans in Wales and further afield.

A promise of return can generate hope. The promise of Jesus, ‘I am coming soon’ (Revelation 22:7 New International Version) filled his early followers and, indeed, Christians through the centuries with hope.

History tells of the dark times Christians have endured around the world. Many still suffer persecution and marginalisation today.

On his return Jesus will gather his followers to be with him and establish a new Heaven and a new Earth. In this new world Jesus will rule with justice, put right iniquity and enable us to live as God originally intended, free from the taint and curse of sin.

When Jesus returns there will be no more suffering, sorrow or pain. Death and sin will finally be defeated.

Although Jesus says ‘I’ll be back’ he hasn’t told us when. Whether his words are a threat or a promise depends on our attitude towards him.

UK War Cry June 2010


Sunday, June 27, 2010

Prayer Requests

1. Pray for our new Territorial Commander, Colonel Gillian Downer.

2. Pary for Sis Carmen. She will be going to Sweden for the World Youth Conovention from 15-18 July 2010.

3. Penang Open Day. Pray for our sponsors and donors, selling of the tickets.

4. Please pray for Sister Jenny Ooi who travel to Australia

5. Pray also for Sunny Family's.


Announcements

1. New Territorial Commander.
Colonel Gillian Downer will be install on 3rd July 2010 in Singapore as our new Territorial Commander.

2. Ladies Fellowship
Date: 3 July 2010. Time 8pm
Venue: TSA Penang Corps, Quarters.
Fellowship title: Enzyme

3. TSA Open Day
Date: 28 Aug 2010,
Venue TSA Penang Children's Home
Target to raise RM60,000 for Children's Home, Corps and Community Service Centre.
Please help to sell the tickets.

4. Corps Sports/Outing
Date: 10 July 2010
Venue: MengKuang Dam
We'll meet at the TSA Penang Corps at 6:30am


Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The man who serves

HAVE you ever dreamt of having a robot who would do all the boring chores around the house, maybe even serving you breakfast in bed?

Robots have long been used in carrying out repetitive tasks, such as assembling cars. Scientists have also been developing robots that can carry out intricate surgical operations.

The use of robots took an unusual turn last month when i-Fairy – a four-foot robot developed by the Japanese company Kokoro – conducted the wedding of Tomohiro Shibata and his bride Satoko Inouye at a Tokyo restaurant.

Developers of technology hope that robots will become a familiar sight in our homes. So should we be concerned that robots may take over or should we embrace the new technology, giving ourselves more leisure time?

In days gone by, having servants was a sign of affluence and power. But if we go further back in history, we find servants who were slaves, owned by their masters and often brutally treated. They were not employees but counted among the chattels of an estate, the lowest on the ladder of life.

In parts of the world, even today, that is still the case. Sudan, for example, has seen a resurgence of slavery since the 1983 civil war. The writer Francis Piol Bol Bok was a Dinka tribesman who in 1986 – at the age of just seven – was captured and enslaved during a militia attack. He was a slave for ten years.

In Jesus’ time slaves and servants were commonplace. Yet Jesus said: ‘I am among you as one who serves’ (Luke 22:27 New International Version).

On one occasion when Jesus was with his closest followers he took a basin and a towel and washed their hot, sweaty feet. It was a powerful illustration of what he meant when he said that he was one who served.

His actions spoke louder than his words. He was prepared to serve, to put himself in the place of a slave.

Jesus challenges those who would follow him to do likewise – to serve others rather than want to be served.

It is a revolutionary idea, but being prepared to serve people in the name of Jesus brings a tremendous freedom and joy.

TSA War Cry June 2010


Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Banana Leaf Ministry 5 June 2010

Picture for Banana Leaf Ministry 5 June 2010




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Monday, June 14, 2010

Mother's Day 9 May 2010

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Mother's Day Dinner 8 May 2010

Picture for Mother's Day Dinner 8 May 2010



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Sunday, June 13, 2010

Easter Sunday 4 Apr 2010

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Good Friday 2 Apr 2010

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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Not of this world

ARE we alone in the Universe? It’s a question that intrigues many people.
From H. G. Wells’s War of the Worlds to last year’s blockbuster Avatar, there appears to be no end to the public’s appetite for a good story about weird, wonderful and sometimes frightening creatures from outer space.

But, according to astro-biologist Simon Conway Morris, if there are life forms in other galaxies, they will be ‘very like us’. The academic, quoted in The Guardian, argues that carbon-based bipeds must, according to the laws of evolution, be roughly the same throughout the Universe’s 250 billion galaxies. As the paper described it: they would be ‘boringly humanoid’.

But I would be surprised if the comments of Dr Conway Morris suddenly brought an end to the books, TV programmes and films speculating on what aliens might be like.

The Swiss author Erich von Däniken has made extravagant claims about extraterrestrial influences on early culture on the Earth. In his book The Gods were Astronauts, he suggests that some of the gods described in ancient religions were actually extraterrestrials.

That sounds far-fetched but, judging by the number of websites on the subject, some people even believe that Jesus was an alien.

Perhaps the website authors have misunderstood the words of Jesus when he said: ‘You are of this world; I am not of this world’ (John 8:23 New International Version).

But did Jesus mean he was a visiting alien? No, he didn’t.

Jesus was explaining to the religious leaders of the day that he had been sent from God and was going to return to him. His hearers failed to understand what he was saying.

Jesus was ‘not of this world’ because he offered an alternative to the conventional ways of the world. While many people aim to please themselves, Jesus modelled a lifestyle that puts others first – even if it meant making tough, painful decisions.

While many people base their lifestyle on ‘if it feels good – do it’, Jesus taught about the benefits of self-control and being aware of, and trying to meet, our neighbours’ needs.

We don’t have to look for evidence of a different and exciting life on other planets. Jesus offers us a new way of living here and now.

War Cry TSA UK 2010

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Prayer Request

Continue to pray for the following

1. Please pray for our father's day programme

2. Pray for Territorial Youth Camp, Malaysia, 7-11 June 2010, Penang.

3. Pray for the Secret Angel Programme.

4. Pray for revival to our spiritual life and serving God.

5. Pray for Penang Open Day, pray for our sponsor and donor, selling of coupons.

Announcements

1. Father's Day Programme
Date: 20 June 2010. Venue: Corps Time: After Sunday Service. Programme will be organized by the ladies. All are welcome.

2. Territorial Youth Camp
Date: 7-11 June 2010. Hosted by TSA Penang. There will be about 80 participants including youth, volunteer, officers.

3. William Booth Corps Youth Visit
Date: 17-19 June 2010. They will be conducting some activities for our children and youths.

4. House Warming
Date: 26th June 2010. Venue: Francis's new apartment.

5. TSA Open Day
Date: 28 Aug 2010. Venue: TSA Penang Children's Home. Target to raise RM60K for Corps, Children's Home and Community Service Centre. Please help to sell coupons.

6. Secret Angels
Programme already started. Secret Angles and Angels, please take note and be active in this programme.


Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The man who is the last word

AFTER the new Doctor’s first four adventures, fans of Doctor Who are getting used to his latest regeneration.

It’s always a big deal when the BBC changes the Time Lord in the long-running sci-fi series. It has now happened on ten occasions, and the popularity of the programme remains. People still have their favourite, though, whether it is William Hartnell, Tom Baker or David Tennant.

Whatever we may think of Doctor Who – and whoever is playing the part – it is one of the BBC’s success stories. It was first broadcast in 1963 and is now avidly watched around the world by a huge army of fans.

Even the TV trailers are eagerly awaited. At the start of the new series we were told: ‘The end is just the beginning.’

That is an interesting thought – the end and the beginning existing together. But it’s not completely original. The Bible records Jesus as saying: ‘I am the alpha and the omega’ (Revelation 1:8 New Inter­national Version). Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. So, what did Jesus mean by saying that he was the start and the finish, the A and the Z?

Everything has a beginning and an end, a start and a finish. Jesus claims to be both, as well as what’s in between. Jesus was at the start of the world and he will bring it all to its conclusion.

That is a tremendous claim. He who started will finish. And it is not just this world which Jesus is interested in. Jesus is interested in you and me. If we trust him and allow him to be a part of our lives, he will work on changing and improving us. The transformation he starts he will bring to a completion. As such we are a work in progress. The change Jesus brings about in our hearts and our minds continues.

We may not be fully aware of this change taking place, but those around us will be more than aware. When Jesus is in control of our lives it shows. The changes can be quite dramatic, because Jesus changes who we are.

War Cry 2010 - TSA UK

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Pastoral Letter - COUNTING

Dear Fellow Salvationists,

This 19th Pastoral Letter comes to each of you with warmest good wishes and greetings in the Lord Jesus Christ.

As I prepare this letter in an upstairs room in my home in London, England, I look out to see the green and blossoming evidence of late spring. The trees are suddenly abundant in leaf. The sky is lighter and the days grow longer. We discern the hand of God in nature once again and we are filled with gratitude.

Readers in the southern hemisphere are in autumn, waiting for the darker nights and colder temperatures of winter to arrive. The seasons march on with seemingly inexorable pace. We feel our smallness, our creatureliness, and we sense too the overarching mind of the Creator in it all.

Little wonder then that we can burst into song to declare: 'How great Thou art!' We offer praise amid the awe. We bring to God our smallness, ready for him to help us rise in Christ to all the fullness of what we can be.

It is God's plan that each one of us should be all we can be. You matter, you count. Tell yourself out loud: 'I matter! I count in the eyes of Almighty God!'

Now suddenly my mind is racing off in another direction as I see the word 'count' appear in my script. The Bible tells us that even the number of hairs upon our heads has been counted and is known to God in Heaven. This is a powerful reminder of God's intimate knowledge of us. I find it enormously comforting, but many find the thought menacing. Not everyone wants a Creator God who interacts with us. Instead they seek freedom to wander, licence to please themselves, falsely supposing this to be freedom.

Our God is a counting God. We see this in Jesus who spoke about a flock of sheep numbering 100, but one was lost thus reducing the flock to only 99. The shepherd would not rest until the lost one had been found. That lost one is you. It is also me. We are 'Sheep Number 100'! How good that we have a God who can count and who searches tirelessly for us when we go missing. This divine attribute is ever before us when we do the sacredly routine work of counting how many folk are in a worship meeting, or how many have used the Mercy Seat, or how many names appear on the soldiers' roll and other rolls.

If our Creator is by nature a God who counts, then we in turn must expect also to be like him. We can count our blessings, we can count the days he has allotted to us and give thanks for each one of them.

God stands alongside us as we count. He knows how many Army soldiers and junior soldiers there are in the world, and how many there are in your local corps. He knows the number of Army officers in the world and the number of cadets in our training colleges. He loves to see these numbers grow. He knows too that we are at work now in 121 countries of the world. Best of all he knows personally and in detail every individual soldier, junior soldier, officer and cadet. He knows those who are his.

We bask in this knowledge.

Commissioner Helen Clifton joins me in greeting each of you in the precious Name of Jesus.

Please continue to pray for us.

I commend each one of you to the grace of Christ.

Sincerely in him,

Shaw Clifton

General