POWER in Weakness

Being weak is probably one of the last things anyone of us would want to be. Most of us like people who are strong figures- dependable, stable and strong. I love superheroes (yea,my favourite is Batman & Spiderman) and superheroes are not well-known for their weaknesses.Superman is well-known for his super strength,X-ray vision and his many other super abilities, NOT for his weakness towards Kryptonite. That's why kids (and many of us adults still) love superheroes so much. There's just that small part in us that imagines ourselves being the hero, saving the world, protecting the ones we love. People always admire people who are strong. No one finds glory in being weak. 


And I guess for me, that is the answer! No one finds glory in being weak. So that when I overcome in my weakest times, no one can get any glory but Jesus alone! I've always tried to be strong, or at least appear to be. I am already physically challenged. Others around me can do things I can't. They can be helpful to others while I always felt useless when I was younger during my school years. 


I've overcome many challenges in my weakest times, and every time I am the victor, it was simply because I found strength in Jesus. The time that you see me being "strong"? Well, those were the times Jesus carried me in His arms! Whatever you've seen in my life so far is only the beginning. One day a challenge will come, so BIG that no one can deny that it is God that overcame,not me. 


You don't have to be Superman all the time. It's okay to be a normal human being every once in a while, you know? And humans get weak. Then will you see that there is POWER in WEAKNESS, simply because it's in your weakest hour, that God's strength shines most in your life. People will your life & they will praise God for who He is!  "...For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10)


POWERED BY JESUS
"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13)

Step by step

The past few months since the end of last year had been a crazy one for me. Crazy, in a good way. God has been showing me things I've never expected before this. I saw my own plans for my future totally go out the window, I saw people around me making preparations for their UK studies as I just sit back,waiting to see what's my next step. At the very same time, I saw God's different (and not to mention BIGGER) plans for my future, I saw God's vision for me that surpasses just UK to all around the world, and I'm very humbled to witness the salvation of 10 young boys through an opportunity that God provided for me to share my life in the Klang Boy's Brigade. 


Most of my coursemates are going to UK soon for their 3-months Degree programme in June. I was wrestling with God for about 2 semesters about whether or not I will be going to UK. My plans were to go to UK get it done quick & come back to Malaysia with a Degree in time for my 21st birthday. That was THE PLAN. Well, at least until God challenged me to another route. I decided to obey and see what He has in store for me. 


However by His grace & mercy, I've seen so many open doors & opportunities that are coming up in my life. Opportunities that I can't even imagine! Too many to tell it all here & do it justice, but I may share some of it with you all when some of them goes through a few confirmations. All in all, this year will be a very exciting year for me. Far greater than the plan that I had- going UK to get my Degree.


It's overwhelming to look back on His faithfulness & His blessings over my life. What I really want to do now is to take everything in baby steps & know that He is in control. It may be a bit intimidating when people keep asking what I am doing in life, or whether I've found a job, or why I am not going for my UK Degree when it's only 3 more months. However, I want to move only when God tells me. So that I can walk in His plan, not running off to head my own way. 

"Your word is the lamp unto my feet and the light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105). When you walk in darkness and all you have is a lamp for light, you don't run. Instead you take it step by step where the light shines. Similarly I want to walk in His light, not trying to be rushed or pressured by people around me. His peace will be with me, this He promises. 

A New Creation,A New LIFE.

"I must NOT stay the same anymore." Those words are sometimes easier said than done. Sometimes, changing may seem to be the hardest thing to do. Each one of us how our own weaknesses; some worse than the another's. Nevertheless, those weaknesses doesn't make us any less than another person, especially in God's eyes.


We each go through a different struggle in becoming a changed person. I've always struggled with my identity as a sinner and God's child at the same time. I may look strong and encouraging on the outside, but I am not very much different from you nor another person. I've been through low self-esteem. I've struggled with unforgiveness. I've been a bully myself too (Trust me when I say that). I've even been through pornography and lust too. Yes, even when people around me were thinking that I was a "very encouraging Christian", I go through lust and pornography too! Outwardly, I may seem fine or fit as a "powerful Christian" but inwardly, I am living a life without the POWER of the Holy Spirit. 


I want to share my life with each one of you, though it could mean that I may not be "so encouraging" anymore. I am sharing this with you to say that I am not any more holy than you. We all go through things that we are not proud of & we often struggle with sin & changing. For you it could be bitterness, or lust, or just a personal part of your life that you'd rather not let people know.


Whatever that may be, I just wanna share that YOU are a NEW CREATION in Christ! The old has GONE, the NEW has COME! 


"..But where sin increased, GRACE increased all the more....What shall we say then?Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! ...Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may have a NEW LIFE." (Romans 5:20- 6:4)


God has a PLAN for a LIFE beyond our wildest dreams. He wants us to have a NEW LIFE! I want to change , not because of what people think about me but because God wants me to enjoy the new life that He has given me. No longer a slave to sin, but more than a conqueror with VICTORY in the hand of my Lord, JESUS CHRIST! 

"God loves YOU just the way you are, but He loves you way too much to let you stay the same." - Daniel L. 

Fingerprints of God

I just finished watching a movie a few weeks back, called "Soul Surfer". An excellent movie on the real life story of a surfer named Bethany Hamilton who lost her left arm from a shark bite while she was surfing one day. Despite all odds, she struggled through various challenges trying to re-learn how to surf with only one arm & eventually fulfilled her dream to compete in the arena as a pro-surfer. 


I believe that in everyone, lies the potential to overcome struggles in life that simply amazes everyone. I hope to be able to say that my life, too, is one that overcomes the odds. When I was younger, I didn't find any "inspiring" purpose of overcoming the challenges of being born with brittle bones. I overcame challenges because all I knew was that I needed to survive. It wasn't like I was doing it for anyone else other than myself. 


Now that I've put my faith in Jesus, I knew exactly why I overcame those challenges in the first place. It wasn't merely for me to survive. No, I believe sincerely in my heart that there is a reason that goes far greater than that. I believe that my life & all the struggles that come along with it are there for me to show the Maker that created me, and the plans that He has for me. 


I believe that in all that I've been through, the fingerprints of God are all over it. I believe that every challenges and hardship that comes my may is an opportunity for me to show the places that God has left His fingerprints on. 


Each one of us are His masterpiece! The ones that He moulded & sculpted with His own hands. He leaves His fingerprints where He touched us and simply by showing that to the world, lives can be changed, spirits can be encouraged, and hearts renewed. You are not very much different from me, nor Bethany Hamilton- in the fact that regardless of how big or how small the challenges that you've faced, you too are a display of the fingerprints of God. 

The movie "Soul Surfer",starring Anna Sophia Robb.

Bethany Hamilton,  in action after the shark attack.

Bethany Hamilton, the real deal.

Never say that your life is worthless, for you cannot measure the value of it when your life touches another person.  -Daniel L.

The Power of WORDS

Teasing, gossiping, bad-mouthing a person, and any other forms of verbal bullying or abuse. All these things- how can I not understand it perfectly well on how words can be so destructive to a person? Ever since I was young, I've been hurt over & over again for things that people say about me behind my back, and also in front of me. I can still remember how when I was younger (probably 7 or so), my family & I went out for dinner & a very young girl (younger than me at the time) was laughing at me, saying how weird my legs looked & that I needed to be carried around by my mother. My dad comforted me saying words from people like that don't matter. All I needed to know was that he & my mother loved me. Still, deep inside those words hurt me enough for me to remember it till this day. 


Too often throughout my years as a primary & secondary student, there were "friends" who said things behind my back that pierces my heart. Many actually laughed at me & some boldly teased me as "cacat" (disabled) in the class. Looking back, I thank God that He gave me such loving parents so that I wouldn't even contemplate on suicide. But really, it hurts.


Now that I'm 20 and as I looked back on all the things that I've been through, I am ashamed to say that I've hurt many many people with my very own words. I've teased people too, and I've said things that hurt people just as how those "friends" hurt me when I was younger. As I trace back my memories of how I've come to be this person that I see in the mirror everyday, I realized that I wasn't like this all my life. As I was physically incapable of defending myself from the things people say about me, I realized that I was good at defending myself verbally. As I honed this "skill" I had, I realized that it was very easy for me to get revenge by teasing the people that teased me in the first place. 


Over the years it became a habit & before I realized it, sarcasm & hurtful words come very naturally to me. I'm awake now at 5.16 a.m. contemplating on this. I can't sleep knowing the damage that my every words has done to the people around me without me realizing it. And so,I prayed & made a covenant with Him and as I pray, I felt very burdened to write this. I want to speak for God & to share His Good News to everyone in the world. I won't want to just "speak well" & get praises while my very life is a contradiction to what I preach. 


I don't want to only "practice what I preach" but more importantly "preach what I practice". I can't do this without His very own WORD. All this while,the words spoken that hurt the people around me are not His words,but MINE. So I'm asking anyone whom I've heard over the past 2 decades of my existence to forgive me for what I've said & done for I was ignorant. I want to learn to LOVE and be able to say "I LOVE YOU" to everyone I meet, regardless what they have done & their past. 

"The power of one word can destroy a person but the Word of God gives LIFE to whoever who hears it. I must no longer live like the Word of God isn't in my life." - Daniel L.

The LIGHT of the CROSS!

The light from the Cross is not the limelight for any preacher. Jesus didn't die to give us a career, but to SAVE THE LOST!

- Reinhard Bonnke

Stepping from the comfort of college life into the uncertain road that God has called me into, one thing that I am certain of- He called me to share my life with others & to share His great love with the rest of the world. Even as I prepare myself to be a speaker for Him,no other preparation is greater than the seeking of His will & the testing of my heart. 

"Celebrity pastors/speakers/preachers" are quite the "hype" nowadays (just my opinion). Don't get me wrong,it's not a bad thing at all that the people of God are famous. I too pray that I'll be touching millions of lives like that one day. But I do see people getting overexcited over a particular pastor or maybe a very famous preacher, similar to the way many people were so crazy over Planetshakers coming, or when Jayesslee came to Malaysia. 


I'm not trying to question the intentions of the "fans" nor am I planning to say some bad about "celebrity pastors". The matter of fact is, as a pastor/speaker/preacher or anything that requires us to be at the forefront, there's always a fine line between shining the light of the cross that points to Jesus, and shining the limelight on ourselves that points to our capabilities. 


I know that because I believe God called me to speak and share my life with others for Him and as a speaker, there is always some part of me that enjoyed the limelight. Even as I'm writing this or any of my other blog posts, there is always some part of me that wants the number of readers to reach a certain amount or even praises and compliment for my writing. It's something that even experienced pastors/writers like Max Lucado go through. There is nothing wrong with enjoying what God has called us to do, but when we start to enjoy the GLORY that is supposed to be for Him then I guess we just need to check our hearts. 


So, even as I prepare to be a speaker for Him, would you pray with me so that my intentions will be pure, and that God will continue to search my heart & teach me to remember that the LIGHT I've seen is not my limelight,rather a humble light that came to SAVE the lost! It's such an honor to be able to serve God in this way, and I'm NOT gonna allow "the enemy" to try and persuade me that my mistakes makes me unworthy to be used by Him.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting. 

(Psalm 139:23-24)

A New Adventure BEGINS

Wow,it's been like forever since I last wrote! Many things had happened since then. Met new friends, made new decisions, moved on to new paths, yet the same GOD still brings me through.  2011 has been a great year of "wrestling" with God and "losing" to Him (obviously). Wrestling with God is NOT necessarily a bad thing as many may think. I've been humbled and amazed by His faithfulness even as he challenged me in various ways. 


When I first went into college, I've had plans of graduating with a degree as young as possible(I'm only 20 now), probably even a Master while I'm at it. I knew that I had a "head-start" compared to the friends around me & with 4 years of college,I'd graduate with a Degree in Psychology from UK by the time I'm turning 21. And if I want to,I can even possibly finish a Masters Degree within a year's time by the age of 22. THAT was THE PLAN. 


Then there came God, who just casually whispered in my ear and "ruined" what I've planned for four years! I was like, "Seriously,God? Why didn't you just tell me like four years earlier. Why now? Why challenge me to let go of my degree when I'm only ONE semester away from going to UK?? Besides,it will only take 3 months in UK for my degree. You sure that's you,God? Or is it just some crazy voice in my head?" 


I thought it was a CRAZY idea not going for the degree when I only need 3 months to complete it. But trust me,when God calls you for something, however crazy it may sound, you'll know that it's the RIGHT thing to do. It reminded me of the time God called Abraham (Abram at that time) out of his home to the "Promised Land". What kind of a crazy person would just leave home suddenly one day & start a journey to a "land" that may not exist,not to mention all the challenges & the dangers he may face while travelling to this new land? But that was what Abraham did. 


 Where exactly am I going? I don't know either,just as Abraham didn't know his next step until God told him where to go. One thing's for sure-God called me to speak of His love by sharing my life with others,and despite everything that may come in my way in this new "adventure" that I'm embarking on, I BELIEVE God's faithfulness will prevail. 

So, please partner with me in PRAYER even as God calls me to this new adventure with Him. 



"Abraham BELIEVED God, and it was accredited to him as RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Romans 4:3) That is exactly what I want to do this year & in the years to come. His love endures forever.