Monday, July 31, 2006
The Invisible World
14 Salvations.
22 Re-dedications.
37 Interested to know more.
Should God's work be defined and measured by sheer numbers alone? I believe it is simply an encouragement to continue to walk with Him and be in partnership with Him. We have all done our part already.. Like Paul and Apollos, we 'planted the seeds', but it is God who causes the growth. Some have said they did not understand the plays. Some have said they felt the pastor was too forceful. Others have shifted their focus to commenting on the performers and the performances. Still others were touched. Not very many people saw the heart of God in this event. Thankfully God does not depend on our responses to be faithful and patient...
The Journey
Stage Lights. Red, Yellow, Green, Blue. The music is pumping and there are people on stage dancing their hearts away. I look up at the flickering stage lights and my thoughts wander off to the time when we first started off at the camp. The apprehension that I felt back then is still in me moments before I step onto the stage. The desire to see my mom at the event still beats strongly with each accelerated heartbeat. Much had happened since the start of the preparations, I mused even as I waited for my turn to appear on stage. At the very last minute a riff happened between us that nearly jeopardized her chances of coming to the event. Yet God was faithful and supernatural blessings came in a form of free NDP preview tickets that my good buddy decided to bless me and my mom with. It is all in God's plan! She goes for the parade and is the happiest mom in the world. I like it when she's happy cos she's agreeable to anything. In fact she takes the initiative to ask what time and where the performance is.. God is faithful.
The first performance has ended with the crowd wild with applause and wolf whistles. My thoughts drift to the times in camp and the kind of people God has sent to be under my charge. I had extended the invitation to seven of them. Three made it today. Praise God. There is one of them I especially feel for. I sense he has a heart for God. He has the same name as me. His response was positive. He has his heart in the right place, bless him. Looking forward to invite him for more events. The other one has a case of depression. The performance has spoken to him more than he will admit. It has become a conversation topic among us. Sometime's it's shallow, other times it's thought provoking. To me it's evidence of the invisible work God is doing when we have reached the end of ourselves.
It's time for me to take the stage. I walk out in darkness, taking a deep breath at the same time I take the microphone. We get into positions and everything else is a daze. I vaguely remember times I feel a surge of desire to worship God. All throughout the presence of God was assuring and strong.
It is time for Pastor to give the message. Most of the cast are praying profusely. I walk around and get myself settled down. Then I too begin to pray. Pastor gives the call to raise hand. Something like a wave of murmur pulsates backstage and a multitude of tongues are heard. It is overwhelming. It is warfare. Pastor calls for the people who have responded to come forward. More profuse prayer. This is the first time I have experienced such unity in the Body of Christ. I am honored to be part of it. This I will remember for a long time to come. Not the performances. The audience never heard the fervent prayers and cries for their souls to be saved. It matters not. God heard it. He will answer.
Mantou at 7:34 PM
Monday, July 24, 2006
Down Memory Lane
It was like any other mornin,
any other day.
Till I felt Jesus calling me (he called me by name),
'My friend', he said, 'let's take a walk down memory lane'.
He took my hand and led me down the places I had been before,
And as we walked he pointed out to me,
The hurts I had and caused,
The pains I had and caused,
The sins I thought no one knew about,
The sins I thought no one cared about.
I was burning with shame by the time we were done,
yet He told me there was one last place to go.
'My friend', he said, 'let's take a walk down memory lane'.
He took my hand and led me down the places He had been before,
And as we walked He pointed out to me,
The hurts He healed and forgave,
The pains He healed and forgave,
The sins were brought to light,
The sins He washed till it was white.
And He brought me to the place,
the old familiar ground; Calvary.
And He reminded me all He bore on the Cross for me,
all He did to set me free..
It was like any other mornin,
any other day,
Till I heard Jesus calling me (He called me by name).
- Vincent Wang
Mantou at 9:08 PM
OMG! A blog update!
Haha.. Discovered I have some readers to my blog! *shrugs* So I shall be a leetil more responsible and update it as and when I can, which is rare. :p Disclaimer: Readers are advised to read at their own discretion as contents were never meant for public viewing in the first place. *cracks knuckles* Ok, here we go...
Some Random Thoughts..
I must be getting sappy.. Should I even use such a word? Well, it's weird but things that didn't matter to me as much are slowly but surely becoming higher on my priority list. Over the years what seemed like an ideal to pursue became a value to uphold. What seemed to be unbelievable to me is slowly becoming something I can relate to.. Guess that's what becoming a Christian can do for you? Cynicism has no place in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father. Realized I judge people quite a fair bit after a while. Like in a passive way. Because of my inability to express myself on my opinion about people's behavior, the negative aspects stay in my heart and develops into a subtle grudge called judgment. That leads to me raising a barrier so friends can rarely gain access into me. Those who try definitely need to pry it out of me. Why? Because even though I judge ppl, guess I'm blessed with a heart for the 'underdogs'. *Sigh* What a complicated life. Then even though I have a heart for the 'underdogs' (i use quotation marks cos really, I'm the underdog that misses out the most in life), I never believe they will be able to understand me or be interested to know who I really am. And that's the deepest issue in me. One of the universal problems of men and I'm the epitome of it. CLAM.
Today I invited Jesus to come and fill my dark places with his marvellous Light. Wonder what took me so long. But this is one of best promises of Jesus. Acknowledge him as an aspect you discovered him to be and it unlocks that power to transform your life.
Discovered a few more things about my dear bro today. It's just nice to noe that you will always discover more and more about a person as you interact with that person. There never seems to be a time things get stagnant if it's a mutual friendship/relationship.
Had a really meaningful time at the full dress rehearsal today. It was truly a challenge to have to focus on each role and get immersed in each role so quickly, not to mention change costumes! *wipes sweat* Thank God for his guidance and opportunity to learn the dynamics in this ministry. Wonder if this leads to an open door in drama ministry?
Mom's closed the door on me. It's sad that things suddenly took a turn just like that, out of the blue. I guess I'll never know why, or maybe I did, like it was just a time bomb waiting to explode. Well I was reminded about what Jesus said about Him coming that parents will turn against their children, etc. I'm prepared for that outcome if it ever boils down to it. It's also said that a prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown. I think I understand how that feels. Not that I'm a prophet, but I guess I'm really serious about my faith but it doesn't impress my mom, nor does it impact my mom. Ha, she even called it evil. Sheesh, so much for being a good testimony. She attributes it to her credit, saying that she gave birth to me with such a character in built already. Whatever.
Some random thoughts huh. Ciao
Mantou at 2:58 AM