160912
by obedoei
shib o [25]
CHURCH DAY TODAY!!
awesome day... loved every minute of the service. God is truly gracious...
the worship session [in song] was awesome.. not because of the song leader, or the lyrics or the songs themselves (as a matter of fact I only knew Your Grace is Enough out of the 4 songs we sang), but rather it was the atmosphere and a true feeling that God was present.
Never Once by Matt Redman is one of my now favourite songs and for both today's service and last week; it was hard to contain my emotions (almost bursting out in tears both days).
Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us
Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us
Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
last week this song spoke to me reminding me that despite how lonely i feel in Korea, being away from all my friends + family, God has always been there with me...
- the time I felt alone the moment i walked past those departure gates at Sydney Airport.
- the moment i landed in Korea - a truly foreign place with no familiarity whatsoever
- the first morning in Korea when i knew i had to somehow manage self-provision of food, shelter, friends.
- moving into my dormitory
- making new friends after failing to fit into a culture of drinking and late night partying
- fighting with past struggles and a new resolve.
during those times (and other unmentioned), God has been with me and not once have I walked alone...
the sermon today was on Luke 18.. in particular Jesus telling his disciples of the fulfillment of OT prophecy about him being mocked, ridiculed, crucified and to later rise on the third day. It is said that the disciples did not understand any of these things.. and of course, if I was there, I too would not have understood...
Pastor Douglas then said.. if anyone is able to tell the future.. that person would definitely be trustworthy. if we knew what would happen to us tomorrow or if we knew that taking a certain road would mean hours in traffic due to a car accident, we would most definitely avoid that path.. the same way, if we knew that we would get killed if we decided to go out late at night and crossed an unfortunate path with a criminal, we would most definitely avoid that fate.
the truth is... if we knew what the future holds, most of the time we would flee from an unfortunate fate...
Jesus knew the future. Jesus knew that he would be mocked and crucified by the same people he came to save... he knew that by climbing up that hill to Jerusalem, it would mean his crucifixion.. did he run? no.. he remained faithful till the very end. that's the kind of God we have..
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
John 15:13
Furthermore... it gives us even more comfort to know that we are placing our trust on a God who is infinitely wise and powerful - who knows what the future held for us.
if God wasn't in control of the future... it would be the same as placing our trust in a fortune teller now wouldn't it..
I may not know what the future holds... but I know the One who holds it.
Had a chat with Hemi (my older brother) tonight about some things that were going on... it was an awesome talk and definitely helpful... made me think about where I'm really placing my trust with a certain issue... I am fearful that if I let go of this, I may forget about it completely... but at the same time, if I don't let go, I'm afraid that it will act as an obstacle that basically says to God - "God I place all my trust in You with all my life... except for this one thing... please let me take care of this one thing."
For those of you who are reading this and know what I'm talking about... please pray for me on this topic... I fear that when my time passes here and i return to Sydney, my feelings will not be the same...
It's rather funny how as I am typing this right now... I feel compelled to really submit to God this one thing... I know that controlling the outcome is not with my hands, but with God's.. and whether or not it's right for me, is not my choice...
It will be a hard thing to do... but if i do let it go and in one year God presents to me this same issue... let it be a sign to seek it out even more... but for now, there is much room to grow and no room for unnecessary feelings.
Thank you also Shawn Tan for bringing up this issue with me on Thursday night... and Josh + Ed for having a chat with me about it.
No. 2 - "If Jesus isn’t motivation enough to grow in maturity and pursue godliness, then you are not ready to pursue a woman. "
God I'm sorry for thinking that I can somehow alter my future.. that maybe if I tried hard here on exchange, you would secure a positive answer concerning this issue.. little did I know that it is now acting as an obstacle and causing me to put You second in terms of motivation... God may there be less of me, so there would be more of You..
tonight.. I submit to You everything.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On another topic, I've decided also to join a small group here in New Harvest. It will be a good way to meet new people and to establish perhaps an accountability group with the men of the congregation.
The topics that I am interested in and have applied for are:
- Leadership in the Church [MEN ONLY] - 1 Timothy
- Deliverance and trials (Red Sea Rules)
- Prayerful Life
I am very excited to start Small Groups and I hope I can get something out of it that will impact my life radically. I've been very unfaithful with small groups in the past (I'm sorry Boon)... but upon signing the sheet for these Small Groups, I've also signed a statement of commitment.
When i got back to the dorm.. it was around dinner time (5pm ish) so i just chilled for an hour or so and had an early lunch/dinner?.... I was then supposed to see Jo at 7pm (for my third meal of the day).. but I had readings to do and thought maybe it would be better to see her some other day this week when I had a later start the next day... Sorry Jo =[.
At around 9ish... Lyna called me out to meet her halfway from Wangsimni and accompany her while she got food...
it was raining and i did not like the wet walk very much... but she rewarded me with chicken + rice cake.
$5 !! it was pretty big.....
these are the blurbs of the SG topics.
Leadership
Praying Life
Red Sea Rules
Bulletin
Bulletin.. mmm CCC style... ish.
overall a wonderful day... loved every minute of Church and the deep chats I had tonight with Hemi + Ed...
my mind is exhausted, my body aches.. but my heart and soul are at peace.
it's time for bed now so i can wake up and welcome a new week here in Korea... i can't believe i am approaching a month already... and i'm excited to see how God will continue to teach me new things here..
Thankful: An awesome day at Church and a true Sabbath. Thank you for Your Word and thank you for Your servants who willingly serve You in the Church in all sorts of ministries (songs, ushering, tech team).
Prayerful: I have been thinking about serving again at Church (upon returning to Sydney). In particular, with the worship [song] team. I will be meditating on this decision and the intentions behind it. I will most definitely also pray against distractions here in Korea that may hinder my growth and to trust 100% in God with everything.
Dangers: Getting into a fair bit of 1 on 1 situations with Lyna... Our encounters are nothing serious... but I do know that we've grown rather comfortable with each other.
