blasting my iPod Shuffle on my bro's laptop while composing this entry. of course, have to use headphones, as it's past the unearthly hours liao. Just came back froim church prayer and praise night. Pastor Ed is excited about the upcoming IDMC (Intentioanal Disciple Making Conference). He's going to talk about postmodernity and the influence on the church, and how the church should rise up and retake the contours of the intellectual landscape. Quite a mouthful and those are the simpler words he used. His prayer request is that the Holy Spirit guide him into wisdom in delivering the message, how to make the difficult and challengng message relevant yet understandable to the masses.
me, i'm not really motivated to go for the conference. dunno why leh. ah well, as He leads. am waiting for my friends to come back and share what they learnt from the conference... I know already! i'm just too lazy... :P
Next, about work. Just now a few of my care group people were just chatting about work. well, more ranting and complaining how work life is crazy in Singapore. how people do not leave offcie by the clock, but stay back to put in "unproductive" hours, just to get that "face time" with their bosses. Not that my friends want to do that, but sometimes it's due to their bosses appearing at the 11th hour and 59th minute, asking them questions which the bosses could have asked earlier. Or different scenario, where my friends are torn between showing good testimony at workplace, thus have to pitch in more than 100%, in terms of time and resources; but that option will leave them feel like little squeezed rags. the other option is to be "bo chup" like me; but that definitely won't leave you with a good testiomony at the market place. I guess the proverbial balance must come into place.
Anyway, it is possible to be godly and still shine at the workplace. In the Old Testament, one such figure was Daniel. For those not familiar, he was one of the people carried off to Babylonia during the exile of the Jewish nation. So to make a long story short, he started from a lowly position and rise to greatness (2nd only to the king himself). Not because of his own capabilities, but because of his devotion to God. Even when Daniel's enemies tried to ensnare him, he did not give up on his daily devotion to the LORD. And God delivered him from the lion's den, because of God's faithfulness.
And in the New Testament, we have "da man", the King of King, and the Lord of Lords, the GREATEST, Jesus Himself ~ who came not to be served, but to serve. If you really want to talk about job extremities, you cannot find a worse job description than that of Christ (in the last moments of Jesus' time on earth). Dragged away, spitted upon, birched, beaten, questioned, humiliated. Yeaps, i think that will beat anyone's worst day at the marketplace. Yet, did we find "da man" complaining?
e.g. "Heavenly Father, 'bway sai la' ("cannot la"). How can? 'Bway ta han la' ("cannot bear la")!!!"
Of course that was not His resposne. Jesus knows what is He made for, to complete the works of His Heavenly Father, and to do His will. And that is why I stay up so late to write this, because I know if I don't write this out, probably can't sleep tonight.
But this is getting too long, even by my standards. Here's my parting shot. Got this while reading the Bible this morning.
The death he (Jesus) died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. - Romans 6:10 (NIV)
How wonderful this single verse is. May it brings comnfort to those who are weary, and may it spurs us on to live for God's glory.
“ For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. ”- Romans 1:20
