I love God more than ever

christ_knight

Josh Groban - You Raise Me Up

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up, To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up, To more than I can be.

"Lord, raise me up"

christ_knight

Appreciation.

Before you continue reading, whoever it is, I want to thank God for you. I want to thank God for whatever good things you have done, for whatever contribution you have given to your family, church or friends. I want to thank you that you are spending time reading this. I know God loves you and He will guide you.

The one thing that I remember about "I not stupid too" movie when I watched it 2 years ago was a statement that was shown at the beginning of the movie.

"When was the last time someone praised you?"

This statement struck a chord in me. I thought hard when I was watching the movie 2 years ago : Really, when was the last time someone actually praised me?"

2 years ago, I really could not think of anyone praising me.

Now, I have the same feeling again. I was just asking myself a few days ago.

"When was the last time someone caught me (or you) doing something right?"

For the record, I am not a person who DESIRES praises or appreciation. I understand totally the principle of "everyone matters, and no matter what you are doing, you are contributing significantly, even if you are not seen." Praise and appreciation do not affect whether I do things or not.

I always remember being taught to always "catch people doing the right things.". I am also taught to always create an atmosphere of praise and thanksgiving, with which I always do with my friends and members in church.

But of recent times, I cannot help but think of when I was last praised for something I did which was good.

When was the last time someone "caught me (OR YOU) doing the good things"?

Sometimes, all we can do is to correct, correct, correct, and correct. All we can do is to catch people doing the wrong things.

Now, where is the human touch?

2 possibilites: Either I have not been doing ANYTHING right for the past 1 year plus, or the good things I have done have been overlooked.

The only appreciation I can remember are the ones said to me by certain young members from my group. These members are really sweet, and their thankful attitudes encourage me to do a better job.

Well, I wish there were more of such people around, appreciating each other, and creating an atmosphere of praise, thanksgiving and appreciation, not just for me, but for everyone else.

I am pretty sure most of us would never go seeking for praise and appreciation. But without praise and appreciation at all, are we being thankful?

(1 Thessalonians 4:18 NIV) Therefore encourage each other with these words. 

(1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV) Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

(Philemon 1:7 NIV) Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

(Hebrews 3:13 NIV) But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

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When was the last time you said "sorry" to someone, for something you might have done?

When saying "sorry" becomes harder, is pride creeping in OR has it crept into your heart?

Thank God I still apologise for things that I do wrongly.

Always apologise for the wrong things we have done.

I always remember what my primary school teacher taught me.

She told us, "These 2 words can change your life if you use them often : Thank you and Sorry"

I guess its more of keeping our hearts soft against pride.

So start today, give thanks, appreciate, and apologise when needed.

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I love Radical Conference and Pastor Preston. He is very real and sincere about what he is trying to tell us. So I will pay very close attention to what he has to share.

Pastor Preston said something that is true.

Sometimes, church becomes a place where people get accepted and recognised when they are doing well.

And church can sometimes be so pressurizing because of "unspoken" expectations.

I really hope my church would never be like that. I don't wanna be only caught for doing the bad things and serve under "unspoken" expectations.

I want my church to be a place, where people will want to help you get through tough times, and understand what I am going through,and not judge me and say "Oh its because of this or that that he is spiritually down".

Sometimes, we (yes even leaders) just want our church to listen, and not come up with IDEAS WHY we are spiritually down. We don't need reasons. We need a listening ear.

I don't want my church to say things like "Leaders should not be self-centred and should not be focusing on our own needs", because the big fact is, leaders are humans, and leaders have needs too.

Just as a member needs someone to hear him/her out, a leader also needs someone to hear him/her out sincerely, and hear us without any biasness or pre-conceived ideas of us being "bad spirited".

Now, when was the last time you spoke your heart out about certain matters?

I want my church to be a church that says, "Leaders and ministry workers are important" and SHOW in action, that leaders and ministry workers ARE indeed important. Appreciation creates an atmosphere and attitude of thanksgiving.

I don't want my church to keep quiet and be silent, when our ministries are growing well, when everything seems fine, but correct us, give us unnecessary pressure and "counsel" us when something goes wrong, or when attendance goes down etc.

 I would rather my church come and ask me if I need help when ministry is not ok, or ask me if any assistance can be rendered.

I want a church that listens. A church that is willing to listen to a leader's concerns, a leader's stress, a leader's worry to juggle work/army/studies and church ministry. And if there is no time to listen, then, to TRULY understand our situation.

I don't want the reasoning of "If -you-truly-love-God-and-love-people-you-will-definitely-find-time-and-serve-and-do-as-much-as- you-can", because a leader's job is superbly challenging too.

I don't want a church that has no human touch. I do actually hold a few leaders in church in high regard, because they have the human touch. They are quick to listen, and slow to correct. And honestly, I love being with them when I am down, because they comfort me, just by being there.

I don't want a church that dictates everything I do.

I want to be able to choose. To choose what God tells me to do even when my authority figures say otherwise at times, and still be truly respected for the choice.

I want to be not afraid that if I shared with a person of authority about my experience with God, about my dreams and visions, I will be put down.

I know no church is perfect, but at least I want a church, that will understand, that will really be family. Not just talk, but actions too. I want an imperfect human church, not a robotic church.

Oh and I definitely don't want a church, upon seeing this blog entry, approaches me and tells me that it is inappropriate for me to post such feelings online.

THAT, I would say, would make us no different from PAP.