Follow whose guidance?

Casting Crown has a song called What If His People Pray. I love Casting Crown. I'll share the lyrics here.

What If His People Prayed Lyrics
What if the armies of the Lord
Picked up and dusted off their swords
Vowed to set the captive free
And not let satan have one more

What if the Church, for heaven's sake
Finally stepped up to the plate
Took a stand upon God's promise
And stormed hell's rusty gates

Chorus I:
What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His faith, yeah
And turn from their old ways

And what would happen if we prayed
For those raised up to lead the way
Then maybe kids in school could pray
And unborn children see light of day

What if the life that we pursue
Came from a hunger for the truth
What if the family turned to Jesus
Stopped asking Oprah what to do

Chorus I:
What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face yeah
And turn from their own way
Chorus II:
He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear, yeah
If only we would pray

Bridge:
If My people call by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray
If My people call by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray

Choruses:
What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face, yeah
And turn from their old ways
He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear yeaah
If only we would pray

(Choruses and bridge ad lib)

The last line of the 2nd stanza has a reference to Oprah. It is no joke. Do not underestimate the influence of Oprah and the power of media.

I share with you some resources that explains the situation.

The Church of Oprah Exposed
Oprah's Spirituality: Exploring a New Earth
Oprah's Spirituality: It's No Secret
Oprah and Eckhard Tolle's New Earth
Genuine Jesus or Counterfeit Christ?
Ancient New Age

The world is not my home.

Practicing Your Faith When You Face Temptations

(Sorry for posting it late. My modem is not working. I was rather busy in the office yesterday. It did cross my mind to post this but I didn't do it. Here's a shout out to all my readers out there. Be good! Keep the faith. Let nothing and no one diminish it.)

In the month of April 2008, the theme is the Practice of Faith as part of the main theme of Foundation of Faith. We will examine Joseph's life in Gen 37-41.

When Tempted to Sin (Gen 39)

What is Temptation?

Jas 1:13-17 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. (14) But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (15) Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (16) Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. (17) 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 the source of every good thing. We cannot say we are tempted by God. Temptation is an entry to sin in our life. We cannot blame others for our temptations. Adam cited the woman God gave him as the reason for his disobedience.

1Co 10:6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.

Mat 5:28
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Eph 4:22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,

Rom 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Temptations begin in our heart. Temptation is not sin, it's an advertisement to entice us to purchase! Until we purchase we have not sin. The 3-step process of temptation: lust – sin – death. Temptation cannot be evil or wicked. It is part of living.

Conclusion: What lies before each type of sins? Temptations.

What is one of the most important lessons in your hiliness journey?

Immediately identify when … (we are tempted.)

Why?

Because it is at that very moment that you must turn away.

We need to look to God, upgrade our gear and flee rom temptation.

The Relationship – Foundation (Gen 39:1-6a)

Gen 39:3 His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.

1. Joseph's relationship with God was visible to others.
   
2. Joseph's sensitivity to the Lord's presence filled him with a sense of purpose.
   
3. Joseph found meaning in service, he left his past behind.
   

Gen 42:18-21 On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: (19) if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, (20) and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so. (21) Then they said to one another, "In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us."

Joseph dealt with his hurt. Until and unless we dealt with our hurt and suffering, we cannot fulfill our purpose in life.

The temptation every believer face is complacency.

The Bottom Line – Character (Gen 39:6b-9)

Gen 39:8 But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge.

1. Temptation is persistent, see Potiphar's wife's emphatic command.
   
2. Joseph's utter or complete refusal.
   
3. Joseph's appeal to Potiphar's trust in him. He doesn't want to violate Potiphar's trust.
   

Gen 39:9a He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife.

Joseph gave three reasons not to sleep with Potiphar's wife:

1. No one is greater in the house than him. He will not undermine / violate the trust given to him.
   
2. The couple's marriage vows. The wife made a vow with Potiphar.
   
3. Joseph's personal harm. He will be removed if he sins. (He was put in to prison later but that's another story.)
   

Gen 39:9b How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"

Our ability to resist temptation depends on our spiritual orientation / principles of God, not based on what we think or what people say. Joseph doesn't want to miss the mark.

Character = all the qualities that make a person or thing what he, she or it is. Habit is actually character. Character is the sum of your habits. It is how you habitually acts.

Life is built on character and character is built on the decision we made daily. When we don't like to read the Bible but we still read, when we bless even when we are cursed, that it character.

CHARACTER =

Self-discipline

+ Core Values

+ Sense of Identity (what the Bible says we are, not self-perception)

+ Emotional Security

If we grow all of these together, we will build a strong character. Character is revealed through behavior.

Question to Ponder:

When we are tempted to sin, what commitments of your own could help you overcome that temptation? What core values / foundation can help us?

The Approach – Faithfulness (Gen 39: 10-15, 19-20)

Gen 39:11a But one day, when he went into the house to do his work …

1. Temptation is persistent (Gen 39:10)
   
2. Joseph's spiritual sensitivity (Gen 39:10)
   
3. Joseph was faithful.
   
4. Flee from temptation (Gen 39:12)
   
5. Perhaps part of the wantonness displayed by Potiphar's wife was due to her idleness.
   
6. Continual allurement to sin and disobedience has the capacity to diminish our resolve toward faithfulness.
   

Refuse = he did not listen or hearken unto her, i.e. fell on deaf ears.

An idle mind is the devil's battlefield.

Do not expose ourselves to a situation which invites suspicion / false accusations AND tempts us to sin.

What could it cost your long-term if you fail to resist the temptations you face? Perhaps we need more accountability? The moment we share the temptation we face, the power of temptation is broken.

What price would you be willing to pay to avoid giving in to temptation?

In what ways have you paid the price for resisting temptation (Gen 39:19-20)?

1Co 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].

In our quest of personal holiness we need to understand temptation as mentioned in this verse. The greatest struggle in the church today is not that we don't have the Word or we don't read the Word.

Greater is He that is in us that he is in the world. But how great do we allow Jesus to be in our life?

Principles

1. Temptation is common to all.
   
2. God is faithful in His action on our behalf.
   
   1. God gauges the intensity of the temptation.
      
   2. God provides the provision of an escape. ("make" in 1 Cor 10:13 is the same as the one where God made man and women.)
      
3. We are to do the bearing
   
   1. "Bear" = "to bear up under"; the idea of endurance and fortitude under stress & distress
      
   2. We can always find strength to be able to endure it
      

It is useless to pray for victory over temptation if we do not hate the sin.

It's getting scary

From Big Mac to Chici Mac: The future of fast food

Last Friday Sarah White told us about the launch of the 754-calorie, four all-beef patty Mega Mac by MacDonald’s Japan. Mari Kanazawa reports today that MacDonald’s cannot hide behind its food stylists. The Japanese blogosphere is full of actual photographs of the sandwich, which appears somewhat smashed, gray, and greasy in real life.

In January 2002, years before the Mega Mac introduction, Takeshi Fukuda and his friends presciently speculated on what MacDonald’s Japan may have up its sleeves for the future. As they added beef patties they eventually ran out of mathematical prefixes and began to resort to Marx Brothers references. (Takeshi also reminds us that the regular hamburgers at McDonald’s Japan that they bought for this stunt only cost 60 yen at the time.)

Who said one cannot be a politician and love God at the same time?

Nearly 3,000 Rally in Support of Oklahoma Legislator Threatened for Her Support of Traditional Marriage

by LifeSiteNews Staff : Apr 9, 2008 : LifeSiteNews.com
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08040204.html

"This is an awesome experience. We had a fantastic turnout and a fantastic message. Rep. Kern and her husband spoke a message of forgiveness, redemption and hope through Jesus Christ. This is an historic moment for Oklahoma...This is a great day for all who love righteousness."

(Oklahoma City)—Upwards of 3,000 people gathered on April 2 to rally at the Oklahoma State Capitol in support of Rep. Sally Kern, reportedly spilling over onto all levels of the Rotunda. Concerned Women for America (CWA) joined with over 50 pastors to sponsor the event in support of Rep. Kern's Biblical stand for traditional marriage in the face of great opposition from activists.

Matt Barber, CWA's Policy Director for Cultural Issues, said, "This astronomical show of support for Rep. Sally Kern today sends a strong message. People with traditional values who value God's design for human sexuality will not be intimidated and bullied into silence. Political correctness can never trump truth. Sally Kern stood for truth, and she was hated for it. She was persecuted for Christ, but the Body of Christ was there to lift her up. Sally was faithful to God, and He was faithful to her in return. This is a great day for all who love righteousness."

CWA of Oklahoma State Director Linda Caswell said, "This is an awesome experience. We had a fantastic turnout and a fantastic message. Rep. Kern and her husband spoke a message of forgiveness, redemption and hope through Jesus Christ. This is an historic moment for Oklahoma."

Navy SEAL gave his life for his comrades

Navy SEAL paid ultimate price to save buddies

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- When a grenade bounced off his chest and fell to the floor near his fellow troops, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor acted out of instinct.

President Bush awards the parents of Michael Monsoor a posthumous Medal of Honor.

His actions didn't stem from a lack of training. His instant reaction was to protect his comrades.

The Navy says he committed a selfless act: jumping on the grenade and taking the full force of the blast.

President Bush presented Monsoor's parents with a posthumous Medal of Honor for their son at an emotional White House ceremony on Tuesday.

Bush quoted one of the SEALS saved by Mansoor as saying, "Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, 'You cannot take my brothers. I will go in their stead.'"

Monsoor was one of the U.S. military's most highly trained combatants, a Navy SEAL. He's the first SEAL to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq.

On September 29, 2006, Monsoor was part of a major clearing and isolating operation to root out enemy fighters holding parts of Ramadi, the Sunni insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad.

Monsoor was in a sniper position on a rooftop along with two other SEALs when a grenade flew into his location from out of nowhere. It bounced off his chest and landed in an area where it probably would have killed or seriously wounded all three of them.

Don't Miss

• U.S. Navy: Tribute and biography of Monsoor

Monsoor was in a position to escape before the explosion but instead leapt on the grenade.

"He recognized immediately the threat, yelled 'grenade' and due to the fact that two other SEAL snipers, our brothers, could not possibly escape the blast, he chose to smother it with his body, absorbed the impact and lost his life in the process," said Lt. Cmdr. Seth Stone, Mansoor's platoon commander.

The blast did not kill him right away; he hung on for 30 minutes. His two comrades were wounded but survived the shrapnel that ripped through their bodies.

Stone said: "He essentially saved [the] Navy SEALS on the rooftop and three Iraqi soldiers who were there."

Until this month, when the White House announced that Monsoor would receive the Medal of Honor posthumously, few people knew of his story.

Born in 1981 in Long Beach, California, Monsoor excelled as a high school athlete. He joined the Navy before the September 11 attacks.

In 2004, Monsoor graduated from the basic SEAL training course as one of the top members of his class. By March 2005, he had completed his training and was assigned to SEAL Team 3, Delta Platoon.

In April 2006, that unit deployed to Iraq's troubled and violent western provincial capital of Ramadi. Monsoor would not return home alive.

His five-month stay in Ramadi was marked by constant attacks. As a heavy machine gunner, Monsoor had to stay behind the point man on foot patrols and protect the unit from attacks.

Delta Platoon was involved in attacks on 75 percent of its missions in a highly contested part of Ramadi called the Ma'laab district, according to the Navy.

On a patrol less than a month after arriving in Iraq, Monsoor showed some of his selfless instinct when gunfire hit a fellow SEAL in the leg.

Monsoor "ran out into the street with another SEAL, shot cover fire and dragged his comrade to safety while enemy bullets kicked up the concrete at their feet," according to Navy documents.

He received the Silver Star, the third highest award for valor in combat.

His unit continued to endure the constant barrage of attacks and some 35 firefights with insurgent forces over the scorching Iraqi summer.

Monsoor also was saddled with carrying heavy radio equipment on his back as the "SEAL communicator" who called in tank and other support during firefights.

He received the Bronze Star for his work as an adviser for Iraqi troops.

"His leadership, guidance and decisive actions during 11 different combat operations saved the lives of his teammates, other [U.S.-led] coalition forces and Iraqi army soldiers," according to Navy documents.

But it was his instinct on his last operation on that Ramadi roof that solidified Monsoor's standing as a hero.

A church without walls?

Yesterday, the Puchong worship team led the worship in the Chinese service in Kota Damansara. A young (ahem) man from SEA Park preached there.

While I have no intention to take credit (in reality, I cannot. God is the one who allowed it to happen) I rejoiced and I was glad it did happen.

I have this crazy desire to see the various congregation working together. This we can see in the two annual combined celebrations, community projects like the Touch Centre, Touch Dialysis Centre, Pasar Malam ministry, the monthly combined youth celebration, etc. The recent 1st CBC Congress saw hundreds of CBC members from various centres congegrate for a wonderful time of worship, prayer and fellowship (not to mentioned good messages by Dr David Wang.)

But I desire more. The more I see people keeping to their own (that's THEIR ministry, I help when I can / want), touch not my flock, etc. the more I wanted to brigde the gap.

We always talk about establishing a church without walls. We want that, don't we? But how can we break the walls down for our community when we build strong walls AMONG ourselves?

The SEA Park English congregation are always willing to lend a hand as evident by the few occassions they loaned out their musicians to the SEA Park Chinese church. Puchong sent the entire worship team to help our Kota Damansara.

We have pastors, elders visiting different centres to preach. Can we not extend that to the worship team as well? I understand we want to bond with our own congregation but doing it once in a while will be refreshing to both the congregation and the worship team itself. And we certainly can blur lines that separates one congregation from another.

Together we stand. If we pool our resources, we can do even more things. Imagine if we all think the Tough Dialysis Centre as the project of Kota Damansara CBC. It may still work but it would have taken a lot more time and effort.

So, how to break the walls down?

For the first time ...

... we have four children staying over. Pastor Paul and Cindy are overseas for missions. Kelly and Caleb had stayed with us before in our old house. Chia Mei and Chia Ying with us for the first time.

... the Saturday evening group met in the Chinese church where we had all the facilities we wanted. The worship was not bad according to participants.

... the Saturday evening group had a Bible study focused on the book of Mark. One lesson down, 11 to go (for Part 1, another 12 in Part 2).

... we had a visitor, Jaime (sp?) who will play keyboard for us in the future. (Cool!) We are growing already. We are now one step closer to our goal of 20.

... I preached in Kota Damansara. I was asked to help when many leaders were away.

... Puchong, SEA Park joined Kota Damansara in a Sunday service. Desperate to get a worship leader and a musician (pianist or guitarist), I contacted sister Eva, who arranged for the whole team to come over. When I got the mic I said we had 3 congregations united in worship. We wanted to see multiple races doing the same thing. (Insert maniacal laughters by Mel C and Collin C here. I am not given that gift.)

... I was away from SEA Park CBC 2 weeks in a row

... I joined a meeting in progress ... with only 10 minutes left!

Stress Level = Medium

I ran a Stress Level Evaluation on FrankCovey.com. My Stress Level is Medium. I was advised to drink more water, sleep 20 minutes earlier (ha ha) and walk 30 minutes three times a week.

I see myself as the type that is too relaxed. Nothing much jolts me.

What scares me? Organized crime / triads / gangsters when I was in high school.

Other than that, I am generally not afraid of the sky or the earth. (That's a Chinese expression.)

I think I am also very perasan. I am very sensitive about people 'ignoring' me. I keep this to myself. And sometimes it takes a while to take away the feeling, whether is unfounded or otherwise.

Oh, yes. I think my heart (the one that pumps blood) is most strained when my wife is driving. More so when we are late. I'd normally close my eyes and talk to Jesus. I kid you not. She's good in driving. She never had any problem. In fact, there was once on the highway, the car in front of us hit the barrier in the middle and turned 180 degree and halted, facing us. She was driving. She pounded on the horn and stopped our car just in time. She later explained that the horn was to warn those cars behind us. If it wasn't for her quick reflexes and superb driving skills, Jesse would be alone today and you will not see this blog post while not leaving comments.

Ok, I'll try to sleep early today.

Do not park near a fire host

There is a field opposite my house. Before I moved here, I was thinking that I would go jogging or brisk walking there. It's a nice place. It is bustling with activities in the morning and the evenings.

My dad picks me to work every morning. There will be joggers and people doing exercises in the field. There is even a line dancing group.

I noticed that without failed, one champagne coloured Wira will park at the alley beside my house, NEAR the FIRE HOSE.

Being a person who tries very hard to follow the law and rules and guidelines, I cannot take it.

Here. Take a look. Other drivers will stay far away from the fire hose. Not this one. The plate number is WEF 1836. I could not dig up the relevant act or law against this. In US, it ranges from 5 to 20 feet depending on the city. Anyone knows what's the law on this in Malaysia?

This is not a case of being forced. Consider the following: