My Work, My Ministry

“You are super, it’s really our blessing to have you.” I would never forget this text message that I received from our chairman – and this is my favourite (so far) among all his sms.

I still clearly remember how our boss treated me on my first 2 weeks of job. He bombarded me with all his pressuring and humiliating emails that everybody can read. I knew it then that how he saw me wasn’t really me so I chose to remain and unleash my true identity. Little did I know that GOD was just preparing me for bigger things… and not long enough, his treatment started to shift.

There are times that we are just clueless on how to reach out our colleagues and even bosses. We may have an unending list of what to do’s but most of the times, still end up fruitless. BUT, are we really required to open the Bible to them and preach for us to fulfil our calling in our offices? Are we really obliged to tell them that they have to follow Jesus or they will go to hell? If you would ask me, I would definitely love sharing them GOD’s words. BUT, first of all, we have to set our record straight!

Working abroad is really not that easy. Given the pressures of work plus throw in all these different cultures and work ethics, it would sometimes blow our mind. But I still think that this is a lame excuse for us not to stand, wherever we are, because before we could say any word on how one should live his/her life, we must first show them how one employee should work.

So, what’s our true identity? We have the very genes of CHRIST – it’s the same CHRIST who walked on the water, healed the sick, caused the lame to walk and even the dead to arise. Our identity is doing supernatural things or accomplishing extra-ordinary stuffs! Putting it in simpler words, EXCELLENCE is just a flow of our identity.

INFLUENCE/CONNECTION is, I believe, one of the greatest powers one can have, but creating a “positive mark” is a prerequisite in aiming for this. A mark of “excellence” coupled with “love” is my number one bet. Once you have those, even our quick casual chit-chats with our officemates would be very fruitful. We don’t need to have a manual on “How to reach my officemate 101” because the answer is within us. Set your record straight and HE will do the rest!

As a final note, here’s one simple conversation of a sister (who made a connection) with her Chinese officemate (simple conversation and yet it served as a platform to share the word). The sister told the officemate the story of a demon-possessed person who got healed after they prayed for her during the African Call.

Officemate: what language did you use in praying for her?

Sister: it’s in English

Officemate: So your God can understand any language? If I pray in Chinese will He understand me?

Sister - yes, even if it’s in Tagalog, He will understand you...

Telling stories like that would not be such a struggle once we have made the difference, once we have built the connection. So remember, never ever underestimate your small talks during quick breaks. As for me, my work is my ministry.

Cherries on top

Different people know us in different ways. Like me, many say that I’m “what you see is what you get” person whilst some says, “I’m more than what meets the eye”. But whichever camp you are in, many have just actually scratched the surface.

People usually notice my smiley face and distinctive laugh. They also say that I’m sporty, a statistician/analyst, a loyal friend, generous giver and some also admire my unwavering faith, passion, determination, driven-for-excellence attitude... and the list goes on… But this list? These are just the cherries on top.

I, myself, am still in the pursuit of knowing the deepest core that God has designed for me. He is not done with me yet. Each day is indeed a new day with God filling my vessel with new things and I would never dare to put a halt on my growth. He fills my cup with joy incessantly and I’m loving it.

No matter how much we try to sketch the whole picture of our image, there's always a need to redraw it. Time and time again, new things will just fall on our lap. You will sometimes just find yourself in awe how God perfectly designed His masterpiece. Each fibre, each moment and every little thing, they make the whole of you. And this where vagueness comes in. There is a mystery on each one of us and we can only unravel it when we SOLELY seek OUR CREATOR.

The way you see yourself even adding up the way others see you still doesn’t speak the totality of you. These are just your cherries on top and God holds the main flavours. And remembering what God said after He created Adam, “it is so good”, is a good start in finding the mysteries imprinted within us. Yes, Adam was good and so are we.

The day He created us is already a mystery. Our journey is even more. We are thrown with many unanswerable questions and sometimes when we don’t find a satisfying answer, we tend to settle with our own assumptions, thus, failing to seek the truth. Like the famous quote say, many are just breathing but not really living. Yes, life is indeed a mystery.

With so much that we can see and feel, don’t just scratch the surface. Dig the treasures. Solve the puzzle. Unravel the mystery. And there is only one starting point - seek your CREATOR.

The Price and the Prize of a Disciple

This exhortation is one of the basic things of Christian life - one of the things that we should have already known... But, while I was preparing last night (or morning I should say) for our cell meeting, I was prompted to share with you my notes and I think it's good to start by quoting John Bevere, "Many preachers/believers focused so much on sharing the promises of 'resurrection' but sometimes forgetting to stress the message of the 'cross'. WHY? Because many are afraid to lose their people… If we will only preach like Jesus did, many will walk out..." Remember the rich young man who walked out sorrowful after Jesus told him to sell his possessions and follow HIM (Matthew 19:16-26)?

While I was reading Matthew 10:38 “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me”, 2 questions came to my mind.

First, why "cross"? Why take up the "cross"? The first thing that always come to my mind when we talk about the cross is "Jesus dying on the cross for us" but when Jesus said those words, He has not gone through the "crucifixion” yet so He must not be talking about His death. To put things at the right perspective, it’s always good to check the history. Taking from Wikipedia, the cross “depicts a purposely painful and gruesome method of public execution.” To put it in simpler words, CROSS means DEATH. So when Jesus said take up the cross, He meant death, but not His but ours – DEATH TO SELF. He meant denying ourselves (Matthew 16:24).

Second, why did Jesus had to say “take up the CROSS”? Why did He not just say “follow Me”? Jesus just drew the line! “Taking up the cross” will separate the “true followers” from the “self-proclaimed followers”. Many think and confess that they are CHRISTians and yet still living and loving their old selves.

To set the record straight, let’s take Jesus as our model. Let’s now talk about HIM carrying His cross. When Jesus “literally” took up the cross (note of the word “literal”, that must be a classic example huh!), He bleed and experienced death… and when we take up our cross, we will bleed, surely we will... We will have questions like, “Father, why have You forsaken me?” but like what John Bevere said, that only after dying we will experience resurrection…

So you think following HIM means losing your life? Nah, on the contrary, it’s actually a choice given to us for us to enjoy life to the full (John 10:10). The promises of GOD to us are countless and they are more than the riches of this world… You give HIM your life and HE will surely outgive that. Many get scare of the “price” but the “prize” is actually priceless!

Right Choice 2

I have written about this last time, that it's all about making the right choices... From the time you open your eyes in the morning, there are already many choices given to you. The choice if you still want to stay longer in bed and adjust your alarm clock or not. Or, if you still opt to spend few minutes in stillness and solitude with God despite the thought that the clock is ticking and you're late for work or a meeting.

Eating in a restaurant is an example. You are given a menu what food you are going to take so if you end up not satisfied with what has been served to you; it's not the restaurant's fault but that was the choice you made. Granted, you may not know the taste of the food by just looking at the list of options but still we can’t take off the fact that it was you who picked your meal.

I know a lot of people blaming "life" or "fate" to what they are in right now. For many times I've heard the word, "kapalaran" and they start blaming the events in their life; I myself is not excuse with this deception; I've been there so I know. What many can’t understand, or maybe just ignoring the fact, is that life is full of choices and every choice we make has a corresponding consequence. Let me echo these familiar quotations, "we are a product of our yesterday's choices" and "what we do today is what we become tomorrow". There are times that we think we are left with no other alternative but the truth is, even to the last resort, we still have that choice if we will say yes or no.

When I was in college, I was asked by a friend. We were having a breakfast then and I was winning her for God. She posted me this question, “God is all-knowing, right? He knows who will end up in hell or not? So, if He knew that I was going to hell, why did He still create me?" I didn’t know how to answer her then and for many years that question taunted me.

Many around us, even us believers, sometimes blame "fate" to what we are becoming. We sometimes use "fate" as an excuse to make the wrong choices. And, admittedly, the "victim feeling" is sometimes teasing us, but what would be our response is always our choice. So, yes, God knew us even we are still being formed in our mother's womb and His plan for everyone is something greater and bigger. God did not plan for us to end up in prison of pain with the consequences we made. If we can only envisage His plan that awaits us, “wow!” I said, “WOW!” We will be awed, it's something unfathomable. Jesus did not die on the cross for us to settle for anything less. BUT we have to understand that we will only get to that right destination if we will make the right journey. If you know that your destination is Baguio, what ticket will you buy? With all the ticket booths lined up, will you queue at the right line? If you know that there's a great reward awaiting for you in Singapore, will you book for a flight going to China? Again, it's all about choosing the right choices.

Everyday we have choices, in fact, we will not run-out of choices, and the choice to get back on the right track is always and will always be there. Looking back at the conversation with my friend then, it was only now that I've come to realize that it was actually one of God's ways for her to drive back in to the right road. That’s how free will operates and that’s how good GOD is.

Going slow to go fast

“If you want to go fast, go slow”, Gil Grissom said to Sarah when Sarah can barely wait to solve the crime... (That's from CSI Las Vegas) Ironic, huh? Well, life is I guess full of that.

Imagine a high school student working on his project. Wanting to have more time playing, he finished and submitted his work so fast without giving a second thought. But, to his surprise and dismay, after a day he submitted his work, the teacher returned his project because he missed some important little things... And all he could say would be, "Ooops, I didn’t notice that..."

There are times that we just want things to roll faster... Maybe because we feel like the agony of waiting is killing us. Or maybe, we just can’t bear to stay much longer to our situation or could also be that we’re too excited to hop-on to the next level… Here's a big BUT for that: BUT there are some precious gems in small packages that only those who will look intensely will be able to pick them up- some little things that may seem unnoticeable. The sad thing is, they are too little to identify but too significant to miss out. Altough admittedly, there are also times that they are placed in a way that can be seen palpably but we just intentionally ignore them to skip the painful process.

But guess what? Unless we make our “projects” right, we have to do it over… and over… and over again... And when you are caught at that same situation, these familiar and most of the times annoying questions will play again, "Why do I need to be here again? Have I not learned my lessons yet?" Because of our “desire” to shorten the painful process, we end up to a more painful and longer process. Want to mitigate all these unnecessary pains?

Go slow.

Go slow if you want to go fast... Pausing once in awhile is never a bad habit. Take time to think… Evaluate… and never forget to get HIS approval first before making your initial step.

“Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

Quoting John Bevere, “A good tree naturally bears fruits. You don’t force them to bear fruits…” But why there are still many “strong” believers who don’t understand why their journey is going in a circle when in fact, the “very nature” of the “good tree” is in them? They know that they are called for something greater and deserve something better but they just can’t see what’s missing… Again, go slow and take time to see your face in a mirror. Maybe that “good” tree is placed in a pot- in his little world of comfort zone? Or maybe, that “good tree” should be planted somewhere around the “north” but now waving his leaves on the south?

Sometimes, we just find ourselves wishing things to be just plain and simple but well, it’s not. So I guess all we can do is savour on the food that GOD has placed on our plates… Go slow.

Communicated knowledge vs Revelation knowledge

(Excerpt from Driven by Eternity (John Bevere))

Many believers are too comfortable just listening to preachings/teachings (the “communicated knowledge”) instead of getting things directly from GOD (the “revelation knowledge”). What they (we) are missing is that believers with just “communicated knowledge” on hand are easier to be deceived than those who have “revelation knowledge”…

Going back to the story of Adam and Eve: Adam received the “revelation knowledge” not to eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil whilst Eve received the “communicated knowledge” from Adam. Adam committed the sin of “disobedience” or “rebellion” since He disobeyed GOD and had chosen the luring of Eve than GOD. Eve, on the other hand, was easily swayed or deceived by the enemy holding just the “communicated knowledge”. Remember the lethal question of the serpent to Eve, “Did GOD really say…?” Here’s the “what if” question then, what if Eve received the first-hand message? Well, we can’t draw a line what would have happened but the clasp of the message to Eve’s heart would have been “stronger”.

That’s how vital communicating to GOD directly and not to be satisfied with the passed-on-message. Of course, we take delight on the food that our spiritual parents serve but being fed by our FATHER Himself is a completely different story… and this is also the reason why it is very essential for us to lead our “spiritual daughters/sons” to our FATHER and not to ourselves…

But taking the “revelation knowledge” would not exclude me from deception; in fact, this gives me a “greater-weight- challenge” that links to my obedience… and gives me a “heavier accountability” in passing on the message vigilantly…