Editorial Notes

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to the third edition of our newsletter. It is sad that this issue cannot be released earlier as it had been planned two weeks ago. But, praise the Lord that finally this issue is completed. Indeed God is the God of the impossible! Do you know how difficult it is to publish this issue just before the exam. We were nearly convinced by the devil not to release this newsletter. However, our trust is not in ourselves but in God. For we know that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13) and if God is on our side who can be against us. Definitely not even the mighty time or the devil can.

So are you feeling excited for the coming exams? I am sure that you all are. To see God move in our lives or even in our exams is such a joy. What challenges are there in life that are too big for God! If you think that they are too big, I want to reassure you that our God is even bigger. In this newsletter we can see how God’s miraculous hand is working in Bryan Chung’s life. He gives a testimony which will encourage your hearts. You will be encouraged, no matter what paper you are sitting in the exams. Do you believe that God too can do a miracle in your life? Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight (Prov 3:5-6), Do you believe that?

So let us praise the Lord for His love endures forever, for He is good, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation and let us come before Him with thanksgiving (Psalm 95:1-2). The Lord is good. He declares "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right and says to you, do not fear; I will help you." (Isa 41:13-14) So do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Phil 4:6-7).

In another article, Michael talks about suffering, whether it is good or bad, in his article "A Story Of Patience and Hope". Lastly, Ivan writes joyfully about his discoveries on his journey of praising and worshipping God.

We hope that you will be encouraged by this newsletter. Keep in mind to uphold one another in prayer even during this time.

So are you excited about the exams? I hope by this time you will stand and shout aloud, ‘YES, I am excited!’

Special thanks

I personally want to thank Ivan, Michael, Adele and Bryan for their contribution. Without you all this newsletter would not have been possible. I pray that God will multiply your time and bless you all richly in your exams.

Anthony Raditya
Editor

PS: Special thanks to Pastor & Ivy for service over and above the call of duty.

What's Inside This Issue

A Story of Patience and Hope

Created To Glorify Him

Fear of exams- how do you overcome it?

The cross room

Postcard from heaven

The gripping fear of facing exams is never a pleasant experience. Having gone through 3 years of uni. exams (and still having to sit some more this year), I guess I can identify with what you are going through or what you will be going through. Sweaty palms, heartbeat pounding faster than ever and a mind convoluted with negative thoughts- a typical description of a person as he/she walks into the examination hall. Maybe you are a cool person (like Eric Cantona when he took the 2 penalty kicks at the 1994 FA Cup final!) but where does your confidence come from?

When I came to Australia, I carried with me failures that were hard to forget. This haunted me even more, having obtained rather dismal marks for my assignment. I could remember vividly, the first assignment I did and it was also, my first assignment that I failed. Picture this scenario: You come to Australia, hoping to leave behind what had happened, eager to start anew and within a few weeks, the fail mark on your first assignment stares grimly at your face. Not an ideal start a first year student would want and I should say it was extremely devastating and demoralising. Just when you were hoping for some sort of confidence booster, up comes the nasty needle, deflating whatever confidence that might still be remaining.

So, what did I do? Cry? Yeah, I think I did shed a tear or two and it shook me really badly. It then dawned upon me that I have absolutely no control over the outcome of the exams or assignments. I can put in enormous effort and hard work but there is still the possibility of not doing well. I am not sure about you all but I experienced that during my pre-tertiary years and it made me wonder whether the futile attempts were worth the effort. Being in a helpless position, I surrendered the exams to the Lord and at the same time, putting in the appropriate work into it so that I know I have done my part and to my best ability. God is a God of abundance, not only did I get through all the subjects, He gave me a grade higher than a pass in the subject which on paper seems to be heading for a fail. Tears welled in my eyes but this time it was tears of joy.

My faith was put to the test again in my 3rd year, the most crucial time of my undergraduate degree. I had to choose between going to the church camp or to stay at home and study for a test which is on the day after the camp. Before that, a brother had told me sincerely that I was still lacking in the area of faith. Determined to genuinely exercise faith this time, I attended the camp but came back a day early to recover from exhaustion and tiredness. Note that I was prepared for the test, it was the case of sacrificing 2 days of perhaps, extra study. I got through the paper by God’s promise, God honours those who honour Him (John 12:26). That event was a milestone in my spiritual walk, the result of a simple act of faith being exercised.

Always remember, God has plans to prosper us, not to harm us

So, what am I driving at? Not study and leave the outcome to God, trusting that He will give you good results? Absolutely not! That is being presumptuous and lazy. The Bible says that lazy hands make a man poor (Prov.10:4). The key is to study and have faith. You might not have done well in your assignments or tests but this is where your faith comes in.... this is where your faith is put to test. In times like these, you will need to surrender the outcome of the exams to God and in time to come, experience the wonderful working power and peace that only come from Him alone. Always remember, God has plans to prosper us, not to harm us (Jer 29:11).

I have gone a long way from being one who lacks confidence and buckles under pressure to one who derives confidence from God. Be confident and courageous as you walk into the examination hall, do not let fear take control of you. Rather, take hold of it with confidence, knowing that the Lord will be with you before and throughout the exams.

You may not be totally convinced by the testimonies I gave, but I urge you to believe in God’s promises. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart (Ps 37:4).

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Heb 11:6). And lastly, in Matt 14:31, when Peter lost his faith because he fixed his eyes on the stormy sea, he started sinking immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught Him "You of little faith," He said, "why did you doubt?"

I hope this has encouraged you. Let this exam period this be a time where you can make a difference among your non-believer friends by exuding joy and calmness. I wish you well in your exams and may you experience the peace and comfort of God. Be strong and take courage!!!

In His service, Bryan Chung

The young man was at the end of his rope.

Seeing no way out, he dropped his knees in prayer.

"Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear it's weight,

Just place your cross inside this room.

Then open another door and pick out any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief.

"Thank you, Lord," he sighed, and did as he was told.

As he looked around the room he saw many different crosses;

Some so large the tops were not visible.

Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.

"I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.

And the Lord replied, "My son, that's the cross you brought in."

Author unknown

My dearest child,

The world holds out to you a surface sort of happiness that

Depends on favorable circumstances.

But I hold out joy.

The world offers relationship fraught with hidden agendas and self-serving motives.

I offer love, gracious and unconditional.

The world holds out blame and shame and condemnation.

I hold out forgiveness and the road to a new beginning.

The world rewards you with addictions and compulsion and momentary gratification.

But I will fill you with peace that passes understanding.

The world offers broken contract, vows, and promises.

I give you my Word, that never changes.

The world runs hot and cold.

One day you're valued and respected;

The next you're forgotten like yesterday's headlines.

But my character is love, and I am the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Oh, my child, do not fall in love with the world.

It holds out to you only an imitation of life, abundant and free.

Source from Post from Heaven

You are tired, very tired. You are frustrated. Everything you do seems not to work out the way you want it to be. You feel like screaming but you know it will not help either. You wonder where God is in your so-called difficult situation.

You feel like giving up. There is a voice inside you telling you that it’s all over and you are a loser. However, there is another gentle voice in your heart whispering to you not to lose heart and to be patient. It could be your studies, career, friendship, health, family or even your faith in God.

It could be a very simple or extra complicated matter but the advice is still the same: "Do not make any judgment until we know the whole story and until we see the whole picture." Do not comment whether a picture on a jigsaw puzzle is beautiful or not until all of its pieces are put together.

May be we need to learn about patience from a woodcutter’s wisdom. It’s only a simple fable. Nevertheless, it encourages me and helped me to change my attitude. I pray that it encourages and helps change yours too.

Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before - such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength.

People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. "This horse is not a horse to me," he would tell them. "It’s a person. How could you sell a person? He is a friend not possession. How could you sell a friend?" The man was poor and the temptation was great. but he never sold the horse.

One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. "You old fool," they scoffed, "we told you that someone would steal your horse. We warned you that you would be robbed. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valuable animal. It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been to high. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune."

The old man responded, "Don’t speak too quickly. Say only that horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I’ve been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?"

The people contested, "Don’t make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed. The simple fact that your horse is gone is a curse."

The old man spoke again. "All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone. The rest I don’t know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?"

The people of the village laughed. They thought that the man was crazy. They had always thought he was a fool; if he wasn’t he would have sold the horse and lived off the money. But instead, he was a poor woodcutter, an old man still cutting firewood and dragging it out of the forest and selling it. He lived hand to mouth in the misery of poverty. Now he had proven that he was, indeed, a fool.

After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. "Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us."

The man responded, :Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him but don’t judge. How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read only one page of a hook Can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a phrase. Can you understand the entire phrase?

"Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment! Don’t say that this is a blessing. No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don’t."

"Maybe the old man is right," they say to one another. So they said little. But down deep, they knew he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing. Twelve wild horses had returned with one horse. With a little bit or work, the animals could be broken and trained and sold for much money.

The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgments .

"You were right," they said. "You proved you were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs, and now in your old age you have no one to help you. Now you are poorer than ever."

The old man spoke again. " You people are obsessed with judging. Don’t go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments. "

It so happened that a few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured. Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying and screaming because their sons had been taken. There was little chance that they would return. The enemy was strong, and the war would be a losing struggle. They would never see their sons again.

"You were right, old man," they wept. "God knows you were right. This proves it. Your son’s accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever."

The old man spoke again. "It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this: Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows."1

Got the idea? the old man is right. no one is wise enough to know whether an incident is a blessing or a curse. Only God knows, so be slow in drawing conclusions and passing judgments.

"I never judge," you claim. "This story has no relevance to me so it’s not worth reading any further," you reason. Hang on there, you’ve just passed a judgment. How could you know whether this article will be worth reading when you have only read half way? Who knows that there is a treasure which will change your life toward the end of this article? So, stay on.

Remember about your assignment, job, friendship, family or even your Christian walk which you are about to give up? You complain a lot about them. You keep the frustration and anger inside your tiny heart and you play a negative thinking game. From the look of your face the whole world seems about to collapse, as if time is going to stop right now and as if nothing good will ever happen to you again.

Remember that moment? It may not always be that extreme but I’m sure that we all have these moments in our lives. As the old man spoke, those moments are only fragments. They are only pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. So, be patient. Nobody knows whether something good will come out of these situations. No one knows whether it is a blessing or a curse, so why judge? Only God knows.

A Story of Hope

You are comforted for a second. "Only God knows," you repeat after yourself. "So, why worry," you rejoiced. But suddenly a thought comes like thunder, "but what if it is a curse? What if nothing better will ever come out of it?," you reason.

You may not worry about it. Rather, you suddenly realise the reality of life. That the journey of life is too complicated for you to handle by your own. "It’s beyond my control," you shouted. I agree but it’s within your choice, I will emphasise.

Not convinced? Then, let’s have a look on what the author of our lives has to say. Remember His promises? The bible says everything will work out for good for those who love God and have been called according to His purpose. It said "everything". It means every fragment. It includes every piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

Still not convinced? How about when He said "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."2

How about when He said that we are His beloved and most precious to Him, so we have not to worry about Him looking after our needs. But as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, "all these things will be given to you as well." 3

I can go on to fill the list. But why don’t you open your own bible and get comforted by His kind and wonderful promises?

Conclusion

So folks, the next time the storms of life hit you, take a deep breath and remember the story of the old man. It will remind you to be patient and slow in drawing conclusions.

After you calm down then look up to heaven. Ask yourself, whether you love its maker and whether you are walking according to His purpose. When the heavens shouts ‘yes’ then you can smile. You smile knowing and assured that when the last piece is placed you will see a beautiful picture. Such beauty which will blow your wildest imagination.

PS: For those who do not know Him or do not walk according to His purpose, here is my challenge. Your life is too precious to be laid on a roulette table. The jigsaw puzzle is too complicated to complete by yourself. So why don’t you let the author of your life & the designer of the picture help you to complete it? Remember, it’s beyond your control but it’s within your choice.

1 Taken from "In The Eye Of The Storm", Max Lucado, pp.144-147.

2 Jeremiah 29:11.

3 Matthew 6:25-34.

This article is about my personal journey through the Christian discipline of praising and worshipping God. I know that many of you have journeyed longer and deeper than me, but just reflecting on the joys and sorrows of my own journey, I’d like to share and encourage you with what God has been teaching me in this area of Christian living. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing on this area, and am looking forward to your sharing or correcting me if I have said something unbiblical.

Worship Is A Lifestyle

I find Bob Sorge writes clearly on the difference between worshiping on Sundays only and living a worshiper’s lifestyle- "It is easy to confuse worshiping with being a worshiper. Just because someone worships, it does not necessarily follow that he or she is a worshiper. Virtually anyone can worship as the occasion might demand, but relatively few seem to manifest the life-style of a worshiper. When God asks us to be worshipers every day, he is not asking us to do nothing but sing songs all week. He knows that we must do other things besides vocalise our worship. But God does ask us to live a life consistent with that of a worshiper seven days a week. Once we adopt that life-style, we will inevitably find a song of praise frequently welling up from within. We will begin to realise that everything we do truly constitutes an act of worship unto the Lord, for our daily activities are but an expression of our dedication to God."

The reality of this never hit me until I was confronted with the demands of God for this ministry. I’ve always had an affinity for instrumental music, so I was really thrilled at the opportunity to serve God in the music ministry of church. I always thought that God was pleased in the music I played for Him, and that if I played more excellently, the more pleased He was. Little did I realise the reality that He desires my obedience, not only the sacrifice of my music. Thus I often felt drained and burned out because I confused being a worshiper with worshiping Him, and used my own strength and understanding to worship Him.

Every Believer Is A Worshiper

I now know that God wants me first and foremost to be a worshiper myself. He is more interested in my character than my Em9#5 chord, my heart’s attitude than my playing attitude, that I consistently walk with Him rather than walk a bass line...He would rather me open my heart and close my music book, than to close my heart and open my music book; much rather that my soul worshipped and communicated with Him in silence, rather than if ‘beautiful’ music distracted me from Him- I took a long time to realise this. I thought that practise was the key to an effective ministry. I was to learn that worship is not just music.

Much More Than Music

Worship is not music, no it is much, much more than just music. Recently while in Singapore, I attended a series of workshops which were supposed to equip worship leaders and musicians for ministry. I was surprised to note that more than 50% of all the teaching sessions, even those supposedly on practical topics like playing advanced keyboard, were on preaching God’s word on a lifestyle of worship. I now realise how important it is to have an understanding of God’s perspectives and priorities in worship. I’ve come to learn that worship is the expression of my love relationship to God. I found out God desires me to come into His presence with thanksgiving, singing my praises.

Praise Whom

Praising God seems such a natural thing to do, for He is most worthy of it. I amuse myself when I think of how hard it is for me to even speak some good of some of my possessions (like my 386DX40 personal calculator I’m trying to sell)-yet alone give any praise for them. Oh but when my attention turns to God, ultimately He only is worthy of all praise! Everything on earth is testimony of His glorious handiwork and manifests His praises. Everything- the sun, moon, stars, angels, heavens, waters all give praise to God in the beauty and majesty of their creation.

Praise When

I was surprised at how detailed the bible is on when I am to praise God. It says to praise when I feel like it, when I don’t feel like it, early in the morning, late at night, in hard times and lastly, at all times1.

Praise How

I’ve learnt that praise is to be manifested, that is to be shown in some way (not only by singing). If this does not sound very appealing to any of you, take heart with my former situation and attitude. With my low voice, I have always stayed shy of vocally (read ‘audibly’) singing my praises to God, leaving that instead to the more professional singers (read ‘my brothers and sisters in Christ’). But the bible says that everything that has breath is called to praise Him, so much so that Jesus says that even the stones will cry out if we don’t praise Him! Imagine a rock outpraising us??!

Is Praise = Worship?

So too for a long time I wondered why there were two different names, praise and worship, for what seemed essentially to me to be singing Christian songs to God. Even though I noticed that often praise music was louder and faster, and worship tended to be more emotional, yet I wondered why there was a difference between the two. I learned it is indeed hard to draw a line between praise and worship. Indeed the distinctions between these three elements-thanksgiving, praise, and worship-provide a general progression, but not a rigid formula. As I shared earlier, thanksgiving and praise usher us through His gates into His presence. Worship takes place when we are before his presence.

To Worship

In His presence, I feel my fulfillment in worshipping Him with the highest of intentions, setting my mind on things above, not on earthly things. Furthermore, I was surprised to find in the bible so many prescribed acts of praise and worship besides just singing or playing an instrument to God. These include thanksgiving, good works, prayer, lifting of hands, bowing down, dancing, clapping and shouting. It was such a delight for me to learn that God desires first and foremost my communion with Him.

Worshiping In Spirit And Truth2

When I seriously thought about it, it made sense to me to be seeking God first. Sometimes, I would play pleasant music (to my ears), yet I felt my spirit so far away and distant from Him. Sometimes it was due to some sin in my life which His Spirit was urging me to confess and repent of. But often it was because I was more conscious of the music and people rather than of God. I looked to men, not God during worship. Sometimes I worshiped music. I was to find out that worship is not merely action... it is an attitude of the heart.

Worship With An Attitude

It is possible to do the right things in worship and have an unacceptable attitude3. The first and greatest commandment offers us insight into the proper attitude of the worshipper... "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength..."4 God seriously challenged me on whether I was clinging on to anything else besides Him. I found that I was able to get back God’s perspective on worship when I released every area of my life I was holding on to and submitted daily to Christ’s Lordship. How beautiful it is when worship comes out of a living and real relationship with God through Jesus!

Conclusion

So today I am a Phd holder. I praise Him daily. I also have a Master and am learning to Honour Him daily with my heart attitude and lifestyle. 5 I hope to encourage you to fully experience this journey of praise and worshipping God for yourself. I am a fellow traveller, and rejoice in awaiting our journey’s end when we will meet with our Saviour in heaven.

1 James 5:13, Psalm 42:5, Psalm 57:8, Psalm 119:62, Hebrews 13:15, Psalm 34:1, Habakkuk 3:17-18

2 John 4:23

3 1 Tim 2:8, Matt 15:8

4 Mark 12:30

5 No, I am not planning on being a Bachelor in anything else but Accounting and Computing.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury; pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair; hope;

Where there is darkness, light; and

Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

St Francis of Assissi

Do you have a creative streak in you? Are you urging to get your ideas in print? Or maybe you just enjoy working in a team putting together this publication?

If you've answered yes to any of the above, we need you! Come join us in the CCM editorial team! We look forward to hearing from you. Please contact Angeline Neo or Anthony Raditya if you'd like to join us in this enriching experience.

CCM