My personal thought on current church

#还我教会 Personal reflection on church. (Posted 1 year ago)

Matthew13.58
And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Mark 6.5-6
He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.

James1.27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I personally feel that today we are "doing" church in a very wrong way. In Annual Meeting, we try to select people to represent particular group so that their voices can be heard. Not entirely wrong in a sense. But sometimes the voices are to control the the priest power and authority who genuinely wants to develop the spiritual and physical of the church.

We make decision based on finance but not faith. Although it is important to use and invest wisely by looking into our financial condition. But in church, we cannot ignore the aspect of faith and also compassion.

Churches today lost its faith and compassion. We concern how money is used. Even when it is used to help the poor, to train future leaders, it got questioned by people "Why spend a lot?" and forgetting that money have been given to Church. People show concerns by words and not action and they got the applaud by saying the right thing and not doing the right thing.

There is a new wave of ministry that caused by this situation that entangles people of faith. Jesus just leave an assembly that doesn't have faith.

If an assembly doesn't want to please God with their faith, is it worth to stay on? How long will institutional churches can last?

Sometimes I feel so guilty and as sinful that we just build the church, solve church problems where if the people don't repent or change the problem can never be solved, and have totally ignored the salvation of others, the welfare of neighbors and to build the next generation to prepare to face spiritual challenges.

The Leader's Voice

John 10:14-16,26-27   14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--  15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-- and I lay down my life for the sheep.  16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.  27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

This thought has been bugging in my mind. It keeps bugging in me perhaps because of the reality that we are in today.

The leader's voice is very important in any organization, nation and church. Miscommunication happens because the voice are not clearly heard or the voice of the leader is misrepresented. The voice of the leader carries the words of the leader, the instruction of the leader. The words of the leader create picture, emotion and also vision from the leader.

Miscommunication happens not only because the voice of the leader is not clearly heard or misrepresented, but it happens also because there are too many voices on top of the leader's voice or instruction. How does this happen? One of the thing that I have encountered was that personal opinion has been put on to of the leader's voice. We think another type of voice or "repackaging" of the leader's instruction is better than the original instruction from the leader. Second thing that I have encountered was that leader doesn't know how his/her voice has been carried out. This has been the frustrations of the leader and the follower. The leader got frustrated because his/her instruction is not carried according to his intention. The leader's voice creates an apple, but it was delivered as orange to his hearers. The followers got frustrated to because they got the correction and rebukes from the leader himself. And mostly, the voice has been miscommunicated and misrepresented by the communicator whom the leader entrusted. This is also how the "messenger" or the entrusted communicator communicates the voice from the leader. The messenger certainly could not convey the voice as if he/she was in the position of authority! This would create more resistance from the hearers. "Who are you to say this?" "Are you the boss?!" The messenger should always position him/herself as a messenger of the voice. Look at the prophets in the bible. Why they begin the with "Thus says the Lord"? It is to tell the people that he is bring the voice he heard from God to the people.

The voice of the leader is so important because it will set the sentiments of the team. The passage quoted above says, "there shall be one flock and one shepherd (verse 16)." One flock (one team), and one shepherd (one leader) which means there must be only one single voice in a team to lead us to the vision that God has given to the team! Read carefully on verse 27, "My sheep listen to my voice (singular one voice!). When you have a clear one voice, the leader will know his people and they will follow the leader. Why no people follow you? Perhaps it is because your voice is not heard or it has been miscommunicated and misrepresented by your messenger!

What happened if there are more than one voice in a team? I could not excuse my mind from thinking what happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve listened to the second voice, the voice of the serpent instead the voice of God. The whole team will fall!

Next, I will post (hopefully no procrastination) on "How can we ensure our voice being heard correctly"

Isaac

Can you put old wine into new wine skin?

Luke 5:36-39   ³⁶ He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.  ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.  ³⁸ No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.  ³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.'"

We often struggle to keep or to balance with tradition and doing new things. When you want to do new things, older people would worry that their tradition will be lost. And if you keep the tradition, younger people would find it irrelevant. And sadly and mostly, most established organization – churches, schools, companies or even government, would rather choose to keep the tradition in order to please their current people. With this decision, many younger generations are left out and eventually leave the church (coming from my context). We certainly cannot please everyone. But can each generation tolerate with one another?

Jesus teaches a very familiar parable which we often use if we want to do new things. He says that “No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.” This is really a familiar passage to many Christians. But one day, as I was doing my devotion and was reading this passage, one interesting thought in the form of question came to my mind – “Can you put old wine into new wineskin?”

If we cannot put new wine into old wineskins because it will burst the skins, can we put old wine into new wineskins? I have the great conviction that we certainly can put old wine into new wineskin. Look at the wine shops nowadays, how many of them using wineskins? Most of them are using bottles! You could transfer the old wine from the wine barrel into the bottle. Of course you would argue that the taste would be different so on and so forth. But the question is that will you lose both wine and the wineskins? The change in taste is perhaps what I call toleration. Older generation should tolerate with the new wineskins, the new method of storing wine.

When this came to my mind, the first illustration came to me is about smartphones. I was asking how many older people are using smartphones. I believe many older people (over 60 years old) are using smartphones so that they can continue to communicate with their children. If they can tolerate with the change of method of communication, they should be able to tolerate with changes in church so that younger people can continue be in church and find that we are still relevant.

If we choose tradition over next generation, we are putting the new wine (new generation) into tradition (old wineskins). In the end, we lose both younger people and no one would continue the tradition. And perhaps we often preserve the wrong tradition – the manmade tradition rather that God’s commission.

As church leader, this is ultimately important to us because we are losing the younger generation – children, youth and even the young adults! When our preference is to keep the tradition so that people could remain, we are losing the next generation. We are not reaching out to them. I am inspired by Carey Nieuwhof saying, “Focus on who you want to reach, not on who you want to keep.”

Inasmuch as I am saying all these, I don’t mean that the older people are not important that we should ignore them. Remember that Jesus said in Luke 5:39 that the old is better. I think inasmuch as the next generation is important, we should educate and work with the older generation to reach out to these generation. If they can tolerate with changes in smartphones, why can’t they tolerate in tradition to accommodate the new generation?

No doubt that my mind was thinking also how Steve Jobs presented the first iPhone. If you have watched the presentation, I personally like the part when he dismissed the QWERTY keypad in traditional phones. In fact, he did not really dismiss the QWERTY keypad on a phone. He just changed it a different method to type messages. This is one of the things that make iPhone iPhone. Can you imagine if Jobs listened to criticism by consumers to put back the physical QWERTY keypad because without it, it would not be a phone? I think the phone would lose its identity.

It is the same with the church, we have heard too much criticism about the next generation without even trying to understand them and going into their lives and world.

So, can you put old wine into new wineskin?

Baymax has died. Baymax is "risen". Baymax will come again

Baymax has died. Baymax is "risen". Baymax will come again
(ps: Don't kill me with this title :P)

"Are you satisfied with your care?... I will always be with you"
_________________________________________

I was watching this particular part with two children during Chinese New Year. There was an impromptu moment that when I saw this part, I said to the children that somehow what Baymax did is like Jesus - He sacrificed to save Hiro and where he said, "I will always be with you." Of course, the children suddenly got the connection.

It might not be theologically sound here. Somehow, "Are you satisfied with your care?" is a question to all of us on the sacrifice that Jesus did on the cross. Unless we satisfied or in another words, unless we accept the reality of Jesus' death, we will not be saved!

As tomorrow is the Resurrection day, we know that in the end of this story, Baymax was resurrected.

God was there in your failure

I am currently attending the Eagles Leadership Development Program in Bali. It is a wonderful place. I thank God for such a good timing for me to partially take a break from ministry.

In the first day of retreat, Peter became a significant person in my reflections. I have been reflecting about his life and ministry - from his calling from Jesus until he disown Jesus. We can learn three things from Peter's failure as disciple.

1. God Knows That You Will Fail

Matthew 26:34   "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you (Peter) will disown me three times."

We need to know that all of us are subject to failure.Many great people went through failures before they succeeded. Jesus knew that Peter will fail him - disown him three times.

2. God Were There When You Fail

Luke 22:61  The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times."

One important thing we need to know as well is that God were there every time we fail. I want to share why sometimes we fail. Sometimes we fail because we think God is a loser. Imagine the scenario Peter was in. He saw Jesus was being beaten, weak and helpless. Peter saw this and doubted.

Sometimes, when we face difficulties and when God seems like a loser, we would fail God. But once you fail, you need to remember that God already knew that you will fail.

3. God Is Still With You After You Fail

John 21:17   The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 

Most of us would think that once we fail God, God will leave us. In fact, failure is a transformational moment in our lives. Three times Peter disowned Jesus. Three times Jesus asked if Peter still love Jesus. 

Before this, Peter was afraid to die because he knew Jesus. But after this incident, Peter recovered and transformed. 

John 21:19  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" 

Isaac

God heard our cries

Exodus 2:23-25   23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.  24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.  25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

Judges 3:8-9   8 The anger of the LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years.  9 But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them.

1 Chronicles 4:10   10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request. 

These are only few verses that shows to us when people of God cried out to Him in time struggles or suffering, God hears their cries and deliver them. God hears our cries and responded to our cries but interestingly, when Jesus cries out to God when He was hung upon that cross, God could hears it, but He did not respond to it. IF God responded to it, then sin could not be broken.

Mark 15:34   34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"-- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Imagine how painful it is. Jesus responded to our cries - the cries of bondage of sins, being chained by the power of darkness. Jesus responded to our cries by sacrificing Himself on the cross. And when He cried, God did not respond to him, but rather to our cries. Because of what Jesus had done on the cross, God hears our cries.

Isaac

Stick-man and fat-man

This is my reflection on the political situation in Malaysia and how it affects the church. It has been a while that I was reflecting on this issue. I am particularly reflecting on how people (especially church members who have been affected by political situation) view on a person who has been blessed by God, and a corrupted person.

The Bible clearly mentioned that if a person obeys the Lord, blessings will come upon us – not only spiritual but also physical. Physical blessings could be a tangible evidence of our obedience to God.  

Deuteronomy 28:1 -2 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. ² All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

We know one of the reasons why the Lord prospers us – so that we can help the poor.

Now, just imagine this. A ‘stick-man’ obeys the Lord, and the Lord blessed him physically – health or materials. This ‘stick-man’ became a ‘fat-man’ after being blessed. That is the result.

What about politics? It is generally accepted that when the citizens saw a fat minister, one word came to their mind – “CORRUPTION”.

Again, just imagine this. In political arena, a corrupted ‘stick-man’ will become a ‘fat-man’ because of corruption.

Here is the thinking error which members could bring into the church - when they only focus on the result – the ‘fat man’ as a corrupted person not as a person being blessed by the Lord.

This is a paradoxical equation: ‘stick-man’ + obedience = fat-man; but fat-man does not necessarily mean corrupted stick-man.

This is an error when we bring in this thinking that happens in our current political situation. If you see a government minister driving a luxury car, using luxury stuff, staying in a mansion and others, the word corruption came into our mind. We bring the same thinking into church when we see the pastors or the fulltime staffs using latest gadgets, or even using an iPad to preach, we accused them of corruption rather than seeing that as a blessing from God as the results of their obedient to God.

The church is an institution of God; the government is an institution of man. We cannot bring the same thinking into the church. But we certainly can bring church thinking into the world. What happen in our country now is not so much to get people to be responsible to vote. But what matters is to get Christian to be responsible to spread the gospel to this nation – cultural mandate which has been given to us.  

Theology and Methodology

This is just a reflection on our church, All Saints' Cathedral equipping course on Bible Overview. It is a 2 weeks condense course. We had just finished the first week. Here is one of my reflections on the course.

After the incident in Garden of Eden, where man had sinned against the Lord, the rest of the bible talks about  God's gracious action to reverse the effect of human's sin and to establish a new creation. This was taken from Moore College's ITB, Introduction to the Bible.

As I believe that there should not be dichotomy between spiritual and physical, my reflection would be the practical side of this spiritual action from God. One example would be in this scenario:

Imagine you are to stay in your friend's house for a certain period. Your friend provides you with a good place - clean and tidy. And during your stay within the period of time, you have messed up the whole house - the house is untidy and unclean. Therefore, as God's action in the world is to reverse the effect of human sin, our action "to reverse this effect of human sin" which we have caused - the untidy and unclean house, is to clean and tidy it. It is just as simple as that. God's action is to reverse the effect so that we can live like Adam and Eve were in Garden of Eden - to be in the presence of God. Our action to reverse the mess that we have caused is to clean it as it was before when our friend gives us the house to use. Cleanliness is next to holiness.

The word of God becomes alive only when it is being practice in our lives.

Isaac

The Barber Who Wanted to Pray

Open publication - Free publishing - More christian

My personal testimony Part 1 - Dedicated and Rededicated

Received a call from a Presbyterian church youth pastor. He came to visit FCC 3 weeks ago and I have shared my testimony to his group that day. He called me to ask me whether he can share my testimony, and I can write it to him. I said okay because if he feels that it can help his youth and edify his youth to serve the Lord, why not? As I was writing the testimony, I kinda being refreshed of what the Lord has done in my life. Indeed, he is a faithful God.I decided to share it in my blog here. I will divide it into few parts (I do not know how many parts are they :D). Here is the first part:

I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and saviour personally in 1998 when I started to join youth meeting in St. Patrick Church, Tawau. My faith in Christ grew since then as I continued to experience God’s grace in my life.

However, I have backslidden, ran away from God in 2001. Even though I was still gone to church that time, but my heart was away from God. I could not figure why my heart was not with God anymore, all I know is that this life is getting bored because it seems like a routine for me to go to church and cell group without any purpose. Perhaps one of the reasons is, I got tempted with what the world offers to me that time – cybercafé life, hanging around with friends, and all that can fulfill the desire of my flesh. I ran further from God when I leave my family in 2003 for business foundation study in Kota Kinabalu . It was my first time leaving my family. I thought I got the freedom I wanted when I stayed away from my family, but it wasn’t true. I filled my life with alcohol and wasting time around – hanging around with friends. Thank God that my study was not affected. Before I went to Inti Nilai for my degree, I have started a relationship with my course mate. We went to Inti Nilai together. Our relationship did not work out well. It started to break before the semester itself.

I felt so miserable, and I was depressed because she was my first love. But through this broken relationship, I have come back to God. I was invited to an Alpha Course during my third or fourth week there in Nilai. In fact, this person, Nickson, a fulltime staff in the church that I am currently serving, has been calling me even before I came to Nilai. It was their Holy Spirit weekend. I joined it, and God ministered me. I told Nickson what happened to my relationship, and he prayed for me. When he prayed for me, I felt so guilty because I have run away from God who is faithfully loves me all the time. God loves can really never fail us! There, I re-dedicated my life to God in May 2004.

Isaac

'tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

When I was doing my devotion this morning (just now), this hymn came to my mind - 'tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. A lot of things happened to me since the beginning of the semester - family problem, financial, thesis, and the struggle of mind. All these are affecting my progress in thesis, my readings and assignments.

Of all these struggles, the Lord comforts me with His Word and this hymn. I learned one thing - TRUST in Jesus! By God's grace that we can trust Him more and more. This hymn was written out of struggle of Louisa Stead (click the name) who lost his husband who was trying to save a boy from drowning. Perhaps, it is not a coincidence that I led this hymn during the Anglican retreat.

Not all Christians can really trust in Jesus in times of difficulties. After all the things that had happened to composer; what has happened and still happening to me, how can a person really say that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him?" - Romans 8:28.

The ability to trust in Jesus is grace to us. The ability to trust in God who works for the good of those who love Him even in the time of difficulties is grace. Let's trust in Jesus, the precious Jesus; O for Grace to trust Him more.

1. ’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just to take Him at His Word;
   Just to rest upon His promise,
   And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
   • Refrain:
     Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
     How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
     Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
     Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
2. Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just to trust His cleansing blood;
   And in simple faith to plunge me
   ’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
3. Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just from sin and self to cease;
   Just from Jesus simply taking
   Life and rest, and joy and peace.
4. I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
   Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
   And I know that Thou art with me,
   Wilt be with me to the end.

Isaac

They are human too

I was reading a friend's blog. She is a pastor's kid. To me she always looks so tough and strong and independent. I seldom read her blog, but that day I read her blog month by month. I seen the struggle that she had gone through. And all the things that she had gone through and is going now is just like any other people. Suddenly came to my mind is that, "Oh she is a human too". Just a phrase and my thoughts developed.

I see how high expectation it is to the pastor's children to behave within the expectation of the congregation where the congregation's children are not behaving the way they are expecting the pastor's children to behave. It makes the children not growing in a normal way, and always living in fear because every act they do will be penalize by people - they just could not grow up as children. It is no wonder not many pastor's children have the passion to serve as fulltime!

This kind of expectation same goes to the fulltime and to the pastor.

I think we should see each other as a human where we all live under the same grace from our Lord Jesus Christ! We go through the same pain and struggle. We call upon the same Lord in times of trouble. We belong to the same body of Christ every time we partake the Holy Communion.

Isaac

Obediently Praying vs. Praying Obediently

In the midst of stress in doing my thesis. Along the journey, most of the lecturers will say just write something down, then you'll know where you are heading to. As I reflect back in the journey of doing my thesis, I read a lot, I research a lot; but I have not written anything yet.But I thank God that I'm now in my chapter 3 just because I wrote something. I was very ambitious last year to finish at least a chapter, but I failed because I kept on reading and researching but did not put anything down on paper.

Well, that is the introduction to what I want to share in this post. Sometimes our prayer life is liken to my thesis journey. Sometimes we keep on praying and keep on waiting for an answer. We do not realize that if we obediently follow, we will find the answer. Take answering the fulltime call for example. It is always a struggle to answer the call because it is really a cost to follow Jesus. Most of us including myself will have this reaction to pray but scare to make decision to answer call. If we keep on praying and do not answer the call we will not know whether we are call or not. Sometimes we just need to obediently follow and take the courage to answer the call.

Imagine if Joshua has no courage to lead the Israelites into the promise land, and did not obey the call that God asked Moses to pass down the leadership to him. I do not think that the Israelites will win all the battles that they have gone through. Of course one will say that if Joshua is not obey, God will call others to do his will, perhaps Caleb.

This reflection was inspired by the Bishop message in one of his sermons in FCC. He said one thing that captured me and it disturbs my mind. He said that sometimes we have to 'stop' praying and start to obey with action. By saying this, he did not mean to ask us stop praying.

This caused me to think further that OBEDIENT IS AN ACT OF PRAYING as well. It is an act of praying with faith that we might see the results that God has intended for us to see with this step of obedience.

Praying is just the most simplest answer a person could give when they are challenged. We won't move to another higher calling if we do not obey!

That is the difference between obediently praying and praying obediently. Where an adjectives is put can make such a huge difference to an action. Obediently praying is act of praying and obediently answer the call with faith. Praying obediently is just praying (hopefully with faith) without obediently act on it.

An example I can think of now is Abraham. When God commanded him to go to Canaan, he obediently praying. He packed up all his stuff and starts his journey. He does not know what is going to happen, but with faith he knows he will reach his destination as God has promised. Each of his steps to Canaan is a prayer of faith; each of his steps to Canaan is an act obedient in faith.

May the Lord bless us and guide us as we obediently praying in our lives. AMEN

Isaac

Learning Theology through Steward Group Duty

Theology that learned through book I think is only stop at head but not hands. Theology, I think, is best learned through the simple thing that we do in our daily lives. I remembered my first day in All Saints' Cathedral for practical, I asked one question "how can I learn theology through folding the bulletins?"

Last week was my steward group's turn to do our duty. I was so encourage by one of the members, saying that she is so happy whenever she saw the forks and spoons are so organized because she said that she knew that this person must have "use his heart" (transliteration from Chinese) or put in effort in doing this, and she said that in STM I'm the only person who does that. Then I gave a reason to her, how can we study Systematic Theology and we do not behave systematically? Through this act, I know that God is an organized God. Just look at how He plans for the Ark. Therefore, I always sigh when I saw the forks and spoons are in a mess!

Second thing that I can put my theology into practice during duty is that God is a God of grace or perhaps He is not a calculative God. If He is calculative, then all of us will live under His wrath! Even single thing that we do will be wrong even though we think that it is right. I say this because every meal in STM we seemed to have only 20mins to eat. After 20mins, second bell will ring and the door will be closed. I've observed that some people really so particular with the time because if many people are still eating then they can wash less. They are so calculative! I think the vision of our student body is not clear to the community here, "Sharing God's grace". I told my group members that they can ring the bell, BUT not close the door. Washing few more plates won't makes any difference after having washed all other plates! Don't be so calculative. Share the grace. I think we have to think like this: we have been served by five different steward groups and we serve for one week only. Compare the 5 times you receive and 1 time you give. Why do we need to be so calculative!

Theology affects methodology. How you treat people or how you behave affect your understanding about God.

James 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

Isaac

Blessed are the poor in spirit

Just want to share on my reflections on being poor in spirit. I quote this from Monika Hellwig on the "advantages" of being poor.

1. The poor know they are in urgent need of redemption

2. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on powerful people but also their interdependence with one another.

3. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.

4. The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own importance, and no exaggerated need of privacy.

5. The poor expect little from competition and much from cooperation

6. The poor can distinguish between necessities and luxuries.

7. The poor can wait, because they have acquired a kind of dogged (persistence in effort) patience born of acknowledge dependence.

8. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less exaggerated, because they already know that one can survive great suffering and want.

9. When the poor have the Gospel preached to them, it sounds like good news and not like a threat or a scolding.1.

10. The poor can respond to the call of the Gospel with a certain abandonment and uncomplicated totality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything.

Charles Simeon Con't

I was thinking what are we going to do for tomorrow pastoral group. Either play a game or do some reflection. I decided to do a reflection on Charles Simeon. This person really inspired me a lot as I read more about him.

As I read what John Piper has commented about him, I was touched with his life and perseverance as a rejected-friend and rejected-priest/vicar. I wonder how can this guy can stand for such "persecution" surrounding him yet he still can have the passion to continue to preach!

John Piper says that "Simeon saw his suffering as a wonderful privilege of bearing the cross with Christ.": One striking witness to this was during a time when the university was especially cold and hostile to him. He reflected on his own name "Simeon" which is the same as Simon who was compelled to bear the cross for Jesus. And he exclaimed about that text: "What a word of instruction was here - what a blessed hint for my encouragement! To have the cross laid upon me, that I might bear it after Jesus - what a privilege! It was enough. Now I could leap and sing for joy as one whom Jesus was honoring with a participation of His sufferings." (Moule, 59f)

This person is really positive in thinking and during his hard time. I think we should have the same attitude as Simeon. We should see that it is a wonderful privilege of bearing the cross with Christ. We must be able to see that in time of our suffering, we are actually bearing the cross on our shoulder. Having faith that God will deliver us through times of suffering, we must persevere!

Isaac