IBA Unplugged 2011 winners, Undecided, with their version of My Jesus I Love Thee:
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Thursday, August 11, 2011
Friday, July 01, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Role of Prayer in Spiritual Awakening
Do take the time (just about half an hour) to watch this video on The Role of Prayer in Spiritual Awakening by Dr J. Edwin Orr.
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Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Menghala Timur
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| Streets of Sibu |
The various posters of the state elections...
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| Longhouses are really long. Bet you didn't know that. |
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| Smile! :-) |
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| Bersidai. |
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| I see you! |
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| Dedication. |
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| "...so is My (God) word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) |
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| "The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul." (Psalm 19:7) |
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| Uncle Nic working his 'magic' with the kids. |
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| Uncle Nic in action. |
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| Mesmerised by the many 'tricks' up Uncle Nic's sleeves. |
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| They really went out of their way. |
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| Wild boar fat. Just the fat. That's what they love. |
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| "Along the road of life I have a Friend Divine..." |
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| Sunset over Bintulu. How great is our God. |
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| "The moon represents my heart..." |
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| "I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes." (Romans 1:16) |
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Thursday, May 05, 2011
Hard Times
Many of us in my church have been experiencing hard and painful times recently: loved ones passing away at a relatively young age, tragic accidents, serious and also chronic illnesses.
After praying together as a church last night, I was chatting with one brother, who himself had just recovered from H1N1 and pneumonia. He related that he wants to share a song with all of us to encourage us, just as it had helped him through tough times.
It's a good song, written by Don Moen. Haven't heard it in a while, but it's relevant as ever. I'll let the words of the song speak for itself:
Lord, You seem so far away
A million miles or more it feels today
And though I haven't lost my faith
I must confess right now that it's hard for me to pray
But I don't know what to say
And I don't know where to start
But as You give the grace
With all that's in my heart
I will sing, I will praise
Even in my darkest hour
Through the sorrow and the pain
I will sing, I will praise
Lift my hands to honour You
Because Your word is true
I will sing
Lord, it's hard for me to see
All the thoughts and plans You have for me
But I will put my trust in You
Knowing that You died to set me free
But I don't know what to say
And I don't know where to start
But as You give the grace
With all that's in my heart
I will sing, I will praise
Even in my darkest hour
Through the sorrow and the pain
I will sing, I will praise
Lift my hands to honour You
Because Your word is true
I will sing, I will sing, I will sing...
So I'm reminded that the Christian faith not only recognises the reality of suffering and provides a reasonable explanation for the existence of suffering, but most of all it gives the reality of God's very own presence with us through the suffering. This is the God I worship, this is the Jesus Christ I follow.
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After praying together as a church last night, I was chatting with one brother, who himself had just recovered from H1N1 and pneumonia. He related that he wants to share a song with all of us to encourage us, just as it had helped him through tough times.
It's a good song, written by Don Moen. Haven't heard it in a while, but it's relevant as ever. I'll let the words of the song speak for itself:
Lord, You seem so far away
A million miles or more it feels today
And though I haven't lost my faith
I must confess right now that it's hard for me to pray
But I don't know what to say
And I don't know where to start
But as You give the grace
With all that's in my heart
I will sing, I will praise
Even in my darkest hour
Through the sorrow and the pain
I will sing, I will praise
Lift my hands to honour You
Because Your word is true
I will sing
Lord, it's hard for me to see
All the thoughts and plans You have for me
But I will put my trust in You
Knowing that You died to set me free
But I don't know what to say
And I don't know where to start
But as You give the grace
With all that's in my heart
I will sing, I will praise
Even in my darkest hour
Through the sorrow and the pain
I will sing, I will praise
Lift my hands to honour You
Because Your word is true
I will sing, I will sing, I will sing...
So I'm reminded that the Christian faith not only recognises the reality of suffering and provides a reasonable explanation for the existence of suffering, but most of all it gives the reality of God's very own presence with us through the suffering. This is the God I worship, this is the Jesus Christ I follow.
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Friday, April 15, 2011
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Poco-Poco
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/2/nation/8399167&sec=nation
Harussani's Law of Logic:
Poco-Poco has cross-shaped movement. The cross is normally associated with Christianity. Therefore, Poco-Poco contains elements of Christianity.
Yup. I like pasta. Pasta is normally associated with Italians. Therefore, i'm Italian.
In the name of reason, we need to stop these kinds of associations and conclusions.
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Harussani's Law of Logic:
Poco-Poco has cross-shaped movement. The cross is normally associated with Christianity. Therefore, Poco-Poco contains elements of Christianity.
Yup. I like pasta. Pasta is normally associated with Italians. Therefore, i'm Italian.
In the name of reason, we need to stop these kinds of associations and conclusions.
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Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Saturday, March 05, 2011
at the breakfast table
It was a typical Saturday morning at the breakfast table....
me: (reading newspaper) Quite a few scholarships being advertised in the papers today.
her: Banana?
me: Huh? What banana? I said there's quite a few scholarships being advertised today.
her: I said "Khazanah" lahhhh.
me: Oh.
Yeah, I heard "banana" pulak.
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me: (reading newspaper) Quite a few scholarships being advertised in the papers today.
her: Banana?
me: Huh? What banana? I said there's quite a few scholarships being advertised today.
her: I said "Khazanah" lahhhh.
me: Oh.
Yeah, I heard "banana" pulak.
Friday, March 04, 2011
Pakistan's only Christian Government Minister Shot Dead
Republished from http://www.barnabasfund.org/pakistans-only-christian-government-minister-shot-dead.html (Wednesday, 2 March 2011):
Pakistani Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian who opposed the country's controversial "blasphemy law", has been shot dead in Islamabad.
He died after gunmen opened fire on his car as he was travelling to work this morning (2 March). The Pakistani Taliban told BBC Urdu they carried out the attack, and pamphlets attributed to them and Al-Qaeda were found at the scene. They warned that anyone who criticised the blasphemy law would be shot.
Mr Bhatti (42) had received death threats for urging reform of the blasphemy law and because of his support for Christian mother-of-five Aasia Bibi, who was sentenced to death under it last November. But he remained defiant, saying last month, "I have been told by pro-Taliban religious extremists that if I will continue to speak against the blasphemy law, I will be beheaded. But he said his faith gave him strength:
"As a Christian, I believe Jesus is my strength. He has given me a power and wisdom and motivation to serve suffering humanity. I follow the principles of my conscience, and I am ready to die and sacrifice my life for the principles I believe."
Mr Bhatti's death comes just three weeks after he retained his ministerial position in a major government reshuffle - a decision that Pakistani Christians hailed as "astounding". It also follows the assassination of Punjab Governer Salman Taseer, a Muslim, who was gunned down by one of his own bodyguards in January because he also had spoken out against the blasphemy law and supported Aasia Bibi.
MP Sherry Rehman, a Muslim, who put forward an amendment in parliament that sought to abolish the death penalty for defiling the name of Muhammad, has also received multiple death threats. She was forced to withdraw the private member's bill last month.
In the wake of a hostile Islamist backlash to proposed amendments, the government has repeatedly stated that it has no plans to change the law.
Here's what the late Shahbaz Bhatti also said:
"I am mindful that in the struggle to protect the religious freedom, the rights of minorities...I can be assassinated. I can be killed. But I will continue to follow the principles I believe. I will continue to raise the voice of the voiceless. And I will not feel fear because of these threats, because I follow Jesus Christ who has given His own life for us."
*******
"Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." (2 Corinthians 1:10)
*******
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Pakistani Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian who opposed the country's controversial "blasphemy law", has been shot dead in Islamabad.
He died after gunmen opened fire on his car as he was travelling to work this morning (2 March). The Pakistani Taliban told BBC Urdu they carried out the attack, and pamphlets attributed to them and Al-Qaeda were found at the scene. They warned that anyone who criticised the blasphemy law would be shot.
Mr Bhatti (42) had received death threats for urging reform of the blasphemy law and because of his support for Christian mother-of-five Aasia Bibi, who was sentenced to death under it last November. But he remained defiant, saying last month, "I have been told by pro-Taliban religious extremists that if I will continue to speak against the blasphemy law, I will be beheaded. But he said his faith gave him strength:
"As a Christian, I believe Jesus is my strength. He has given me a power and wisdom and motivation to serve suffering humanity. I follow the principles of my conscience, and I am ready to die and sacrifice my life for the principles I believe."
Mr Bhatti's death comes just three weeks after he retained his ministerial position in a major government reshuffle - a decision that Pakistani Christians hailed as "astounding". It also follows the assassination of Punjab Governer Salman Taseer, a Muslim, who was gunned down by one of his own bodyguards in January because he also had spoken out against the blasphemy law and supported Aasia Bibi.
MP Sherry Rehman, a Muslim, who put forward an amendment in parliament that sought to abolish the death penalty for defiling the name of Muhammad, has also received multiple death threats. She was forced to withdraw the private member's bill last month.
In the wake of a hostile Islamist backlash to proposed amendments, the government has repeatedly stated that it has no plans to change the law.
Here's what the late Shahbaz Bhatti also said:
"I am mindful that in the struggle to protect the religious freedom, the rights of minorities...I can be assassinated. I can be killed. But I will continue to follow the principles I believe. I will continue to raise the voice of the voiceless. And I will not feel fear because of these threats, because I follow Jesus Christ who has given His own life for us."
*******
"Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." (2 Corinthians 1:10)
*******
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Friday, January 21, 2011
Surrender & Commitment
A Christian leader from Romania was asked, "Why is it that the church in the Western world has lost its power with God and man?"
He said, "The church has substituted commitment for surrender."
The committed life centres on doing; the surrendered life centres on our being.
The committed life emphasizes what we can do for Christ; the surrendered life realizes that we can do nothing apart from Christ.
The committed life exalts competence; the surrendered life exalts character.
*Excerpt from Edmund Chan's Growing Deep In God*
Nothing wrong in commitment per se. Commitment is good. Commitment is needed. It's a practical outworking of surrender. But I believe surrender needs to happen first before the commitment can be of any real value. Otherwise my commitment will be misplaced.
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He said, "The church has substituted commitment for surrender."
The committed life centres on doing; the surrendered life centres on our being.
The committed life emphasizes what we can do for Christ; the surrendered life realizes that we can do nothing apart from Christ.
The committed life exalts competence; the surrendered life exalts character.
*Excerpt from Edmund Chan's Growing Deep In God*
Nothing wrong in commitment per se. Commitment is good. Commitment is needed. It's a practical outworking of surrender. But I believe surrender needs to happen first before the commitment can be of any real value. Otherwise my commitment will be misplaced.
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Thursday, January 06, 2011
Twenty Ten
2010 was filled with quite a few significant moments...
From a fear experience in an underwater sandstorm, to the passing of my dear music teacher, Agnes Yong.
From seeing Guatz learning to swim, to talking to people facing extreme persecution & risk of death because of faith in Jesus Christ.
From experiencing my first time speaking at a church youth camp, to playing the piano at a choral production in personal memory of Aunty Agnes.
From sitting & struggling through issues with people, to seeing them enlightened by God's truths & finding meaning in Christ.
All moments tailor-made by The Grand Designer - no accidents, all very purposeful.
On a lighter note, here's my 2010 summarised in facebook statuses:
2011 started with me getting 11 warts on my left foot lasered, burnt, scrapped off and removed. Yup, 11 warts, 2011, go figure :) So I'm just bumming at home for a week, resting it out, confined to the house because limping is all I can do for now. And Nurse Guatz is doing a great job! :D With the kind of weather we're getting these days, it's great to just be in bed :) Heehee.
A blessed new year to you all!
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From a fear experience in an underwater sandstorm, to the passing of my dear music teacher, Agnes Yong.
From seeing Guatz learning to swim, to talking to people facing extreme persecution & risk of death because of faith in Jesus Christ.
From experiencing my first time speaking at a church youth camp, to playing the piano at a choral production in personal memory of Aunty Agnes.
From sitting & struggling through issues with people, to seeing them enlightened by God's truths & finding meaning in Christ.
All moments tailor-made by The Grand Designer - no accidents, all very purposeful.
On a lighter note, here's my 2010 summarised in facebook statuses:
2011 started with me getting 11 warts on my left foot lasered, burnt, scrapped off and removed. Yup, 11 warts, 2011, go figure :) So I'm just bumming at home for a week, resting it out, confined to the house because limping is all I can do for now. And Nurse Guatz is doing a great job! :D With the kind of weather we're getting these days, it's great to just be in bed :) Heehee.
A blessed new year to you all!
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