I Will Be....

There was this day last week (I cannot remember which day) while I was in the shower I suddenly thought of the song. I've sung this song for like 10 years of my life but I have never fully understood the meaning of this song. And it was almost like a lightbulb that day in the shower. This is the song..

I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.

I would be friend of all—the foe, the friendless;

I would be giving, and forget the gift;
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up, and laugh, and love and lift.
I would look up, and laugh, and love and lift.

I would be faithful through each passing moment;
I would be constantly in touch with God;
I would be strong to follow where He leads me;
I would have faith to keep the path Christ trod;
I would have faith to keep the path Christ trod.

Yes, for those of you from my secondary school, this IS the school creed. I can't believe this is something so beautiful and I sang it for forever not appreciating the lyrics. Every single line in this song is so beautifully written. Like yes, I WILL be strong, for there is much to suffer. I WILL be humble because I have weaknesses. And only when I was looking for the lyrcis, I only realized that this is actually a poem and it continues. (We don't sing this part in school)

Who is so low that I am not his brother?
Who is so high that I’ve no path to him?
Who is so poor, that I may not feel his hunger?
Who is so rich I may not pity him?
Who is so rich I may not pity him?

Who is so hurt I may not know his heartache?
Who sings for joy my heart may never share?
Who in God’s heaven has passed beyond my vision?
Who to Hell’s depths where I may never fare?
Who to Hell’s depths where I may never fare?

May none, then, call on me for understanding,
May none, then, turn to me for help in pain,
And drain alone his bitter cup of sorrow,
Or find he knocks upon my heart in vain.
Or find he knocks upon my heart in vain.

I mean.. This is how as Christians our mindset should be. This poem is originally written by Howard A. Walter and S. Ralph Harlow. Howard A. Walter is a missionary goes to India and Sri Lanka to do missions work and the doctor actually advised him to not continue his work due to his poor heart, but he insisted that he "must be true", hence he wrote this hymn while he is in Japan and sent it to his mother which then becmae fameous because it was published on a magazine. He died at the age of 35 because of a flu pandemic. I'm going to continue to meditate on these lyrics cause they are just so beautiful. 

If you want to listen to the hymn, click on this link: http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/I_Would_Be_True/hifi/  

CHURCH noun.

1. a building for public Christian worship.
2. public worship of God or a religious service in such a building: to attend church regularly.
3. ( sometimes initial capital letter ) the whole body of Christian believers; Christendom.
4. ( sometimes initial capital letter ) any division of this body professing the same creed and acknowledging the same ecclesiastical authority; a Christian denomination: the Methodist Church.
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So I was showering and thinking of some things that has happened the past week while singing some worship songs. So suddenly it struck me, what is church to people around me? As much as I hope the answer won't be "a place to find friends" or "a place I go because I have no choice", I cannot deny that there are some people out there that will give these replies. I think that church is something more. So what is church to me? Let me use the acronym to explain.

C - Christ
Definitely, church is a place where I come to know Christ and a place where I hear His word. Church is also from the word 'Christ' itself. So the church is also the body of Christ. If a church is not about Christ, then why else would it be called a church? It would be just another organization where people come together to sing songs and have fun. Hence, going back to church is going back to Christ.

H - Home
To me, my church is my home. It is a place where I feel comfortable and I feel loved by the people around me. I can be who I am when I am at church, it is also a place where I want to stay because the people accepts me for who I am and people care for me. The church is like a big family, a big body, an army of Christ.

U - Unending grace
Church is a place I experience grace and mercy from God and also from the people around me. I learn new things and I make mistakes along the way, but everything is okay. :)

R - Relationships
Needless to say, church is a place of relationships. Not only relationship with one another, but also relationship with God. Going to church help me to build my spiritual relationship with Jesus and also my relationship with my friends around me. Indeed, church is a place where I get to know many friends, but it is also a place where I get tested when I need to do things on my own and I have to depend on God. Many people stay in church because of the relationship with people, but I feel that the more important relationship is the one with God because people can fail us, but our God is a God that never fails.

C - Change
It's a place where I am changed for the better. Every single times I experience a touch from heaven, something inside of me changes. I grow from glory to glory over the years, my habits change. This is also why I believe that it is important to go to church with a open heart, and be willing to be changed by God at any point of time and not just to take everything as a routine. We should also be prepared for a change!

H - Holy Spirit
Church is a place where I get filled with the Holy Spirit, where I experience this fullness that I can never find elsewhere. It is a place (but not the only place) where the Holy Spirit speaks to me. It is also a place where I can see the works of the Holy Spirit in the lives of other people.

THIS is church to me, what about you?

I felt like sharing this little inflection, but not everything here is my revelation, I took bits and pieces from my leaders/peers and also added some of my own thought and words into it. Much thanks for these people who share their revelation and now it has became my revelation! Indeed, you never know when your revelation might be someone else's greater revelation, so I encourage those of you who are reading to really be not afraid to share, especially about the goodness of God in your life! You never know who you will bless ;) So here's my personal sharing to every one of you reading out there. 

Good Ground.

The word of God that we hear weekly (or even daily), be it from church service, from your home cell group leaders or any other conferences that we have attended are all seeds that are sown into our hearts. Every single seed is capable of growing into plant that eventually flourishes and produce fruits, and like what Mark 4:8 says ".. some (produced fruit of) thirty fold, some sixty fold, and some a hundred" Like what a recent friend of mine has shared, 30-fold isn't just 30 times of the amount that we have sowed. It is the amount TO THE POWER OF 30. Just imagine folding a paper, 1 fold becomes 2; 2 fold becomes 4; 3 fold becomes 16.. so on and so forth. Imagine a crop that produced a hundredfold of fruit, it would be a stunning number of 633825300114114700748351602688 fruits! wow! I'm very sure every single person living on this world would want this amount of blessing!

But there's a catch and a condition to this fruit-bearing - the seed have to be sown on good ground. Our hearts are the ground that the seed has been sown onto, and hence whether the seed is able to bear fruit definitely depends on the condition of our heart. Firstly, let's see what are the other grounds that the seed did not flourish when it was being planted on.

Firstly, Mark 4:4 it says "And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it."
These are like the hearts of the people who did not want to hear the Word, they are not open to receiving the seed that the sower wants to sow. Hence whatever that were ever spoken to them fell on deaf ears.

Secondly, Mark 4:5-6, "Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away"
These ground are like those where the people that hears the Word but the Word wasn't planted deeply into their heart, once they face tribulations, these people will go away. This is why it is important to meditate on every single Word that were ever spoken to you because you never know when trials and tribulation will come. The devil come to take away your faith, and if you are not rooted in the Word of God and you lose your faith, the devil has won the battle.

Thirdly, Mark 4:7, "And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop."
These are the people who got distracted halfway. Sometimes this seed that was sown needs a faith respond, and like what Pastor Phil Pringle said, "You need faith when it's obvious something is not going to work." The response that is required to let the seed flourish may seem impossible and a definite failure, and people who are distracted tends to look at the natural. These people are distracted because they lack faith to look beyond the natural and into the supernatural. Just because on the natural, the response seems like a definite failure and hence they do not respond to the seed and that's why the seed does not grow.

These are the 3 grounds that the seed did not grow. Now, let's look into the ground that the seed grew in. I looked up the internet and found out what makes a good soil (or ground) for seeds to grow and there's a few that I want to share:

1. Microorganisms & chemicles - speak of our daily habits.
A good soil will consist of a balanced amount of alluvium, ash, sodium and other microorganisms. These are the littlest things that are found in the soil but they are of utmost importance. Just like our daily habits, they may seem like something so natural and we usually do not think much about them. But do we include our quiet time into our daily schedule? What is our commitment and our priorities? These are small little actions that make a big difference in the heart when we receive a Word.

2. Manure - speaks of the trials and tribulations.
Manure may not seem like the most pleasant-smelling thing you want to put on the soil, but guess what? It is of great help to the growth of the seed! And yes, to be a good ground, you must have to go through many trials and tribulation. Like the saying "a calm sea does not make a good sailor". Sometimes in life we face things that are not so 'nice-smelling' and it really stinks.. But remember James 1:2-4 "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." Do not despise those days that stink, these are just the preparation period before God do greater works in your life! If you do not like the manure in your life, you will not be able to grow! So what do you do when you face trials and tribulations? Romans 12:12 tells you to continue to "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;" So you got to PRAY and understand why God put you through what you are going through right now. See the way God sees, and understand the way God understands! And when you have the heart of God, no seed sown into your heart will fall sideway again.

3. Air and Water - speaks of what we feed into our lives daily.
Who do you choose to open your heart to? Do you listen to the things of this world or the Word of God? Who are your friends? All these things, they are the air and water in our lives. These are the things that we come into contact with every day that in one way or another affects our walk with God and even our personality. What do you allow yourself to see/hear? Have a pure heart and only allow things that are pure in, do not feed yourself with things that are worldly, but feed yourself with things that are Godly! Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God." Keep your life pure, breathe in the breathe of God, be filled with the living water, and you will never thirst again! Meditate on the Word that was sown daily, spend time to water this seed!

So today, let's make a decision to check ourselves:
- Are you forming the right habits?
- Are you praying? If yes, are you praying enough?
- Are you keeping your heart pure?

If your answer to any of the above question is 'no' then I think that it is time we ask God to help us change our heart, so that we will be a good ground that His word will be able to flourish and we will be able to do amazing things for God! :) Amen!