OPEN ARMS

by Max Lucado

If you ever wonder how in the world God could use you to change the world, look at the people God used to change history. A ragbag of ne’er-do-wells and has-beens who found hope, not in their performance, but in God’s proverbially open arms.

Abraham- God took what was good and forgave what was bad and used “old forked tongue” to start a nation. Moses- would you call upon a fugitive to carry the Ten Commandments? God did. David- his track record left little to be desired, but his repentant spirit was unquestionable. Jonah- God put him in a whale’s belly to bring him back to his senses. But even the whale couldn’t stomach this missionary for too long.

On and on the stories go: Elijah, the prophet who pouted; Solomon, the king who knew too much; Jacob, the wheeler-dealer; Gomer, the prostitute; Sarah, the woman who giggled at God. One story after another of God using man’s best and overcoming man’s worst.

The reassuring lesson is clear. God used (and uses!) people to change the world. People! Not saints or superhumans or geniuses, but people. Crooks, creeps, lovers, and liars—he uses them all. And what they may lack in perfection, God makes up for in love.

Jesus later summarized God’s stubborn love with a parable. He told about a teenager who decided that life at the farm was too slow for his tastes. So with pockets full of inheritance money, he set out to find the big time. What he found instead were hangovers, fair-weather friends, and long unemployment lines. When he had had just about as much of the pig’s life as he could take, he swallowed his pride, dug his hands deep into his empty pockets, and began the long walk home; all the while rehearsing a speech that he planned to give to his father.

He never used it. Just when he got to the top of the hill, his father, who’d been waiting at the gate, saw him. The boy’s words of apology were quickly muffled by the father’s words of forgiveness. And the boy’s weary body fell into his father’s opened arms.

The same open arms welcomed him that had welcomed Abraham, Moses, David, and Jonah. No wagging fingers. No clenched fists. No “I told you so!” slaps or “Where have you been?” interrogations. No crossed arms. No black eyes or fat lips. No. Only sweet, open arms. If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, just look at those he has already used and take heart. Look at the forgiveness found in those open arms and take courage.

And, by the way, never were those arms opened so wide as they were on the Roman cross. One arm extending back into history and the other reaching into the future. An embrace of forgiveness offered for anyone who’ll come. A hen gathering her chicks. A father receiving his own. A redeemer redeeming the world.

No wonder they call him the Savior.

From No Wonder They Call Him the Savior
© (W Publishing Group, 1986, 2004) Max Lucado

BELIEVE & RECEIVE by MAX LUCADO

“. . . whoever believes in him shall not perish . . .”

Can I really trust that “whoever believes in him shall not perish”?

Jesus’s invitation seems too simple. We gravitate to other verbs. Work has a better ring to it. “Whoever works for him will be saved.” Satisfy fits nicely. “Whoever satisfies him will be saved.”

But believe? Shouldn’t I do more?
The simplicity troubles many people.

We expect a more proactive assignment, to have to conjure up a remedy for our sin.
Some mercy seekers have donned hair shirts, climbed cathedral steps on their knees, or traversed hot rocks on bare feet.

Others of us have written our own Bible verse: “God helps those who help themselves” (Popular Opinion 1:1). We’ll fix ourselves, thank you. We’ll make up for our mistakes with contributions, our guilt with busyness. We’ll overcome failures with hard work. We’ll find salvation the old-fashioned way: we’ll earn it.

Christ, in contrast, says to us: “Your part is to trust. Trust me to do what you can’t.”
By the way, you take similar steps of trust daily, even hourly. You believe the chair will support you, so you set your weight on it. You believe water will hydrate you, so you swallow it. You trust the work of the light switch, so you flip it. You have faith the doorknob will work, so you turn it.

You regularly trust power you cannot see to do a work you cannot accomplish. Jesus invites you to do the same with him.
Just him. Not Moses or any other leader. Not even you. You can’t fix you. Look to Jesus . . .
and believe.

From 3:16, The Numbers of Hope
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2007) Max Lucado

BELIEVE IN HIM by MAX LUCADO

“. . . whoever believes in him shall not perish . . .”

The phrase “believes in him” doesn’t digest well in our day of self-sufficient spiritual food. “Believe in yourself ” is the common menu selection of our day. Try harder. Work longer. Dig deeper. Self-reliance is our goal.

And tolerance is our virtue. “In him” smacks of exclusion. Don’t all paths lead to heaven? Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and humanism? Salvation comes in many forms, right? Christ walks upriver on this topic. Salvation is found, not in self or in them, but in him.

Some historians clump Christ with Moses, Muhammad, Confucius, and other spiritual leaders. But Jesus refuses to share the page. He declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6 RSV). He could have scored more points in political correctness had he said, “I know the way,” or “I show the way.” Yet he speaks not of what he does but of who he is: I am the way.

Many recoil at such definitiveness. John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 sound primitive in this era of broadbands and broad minds. The world is shrinking, cultures are blending, borders are bending; this is the day of inclusion. All roads lead to heaven, right? But can they?

The sentence makes good talk-show fodder, but is it accurate? Can all approaches to God be correct? Every path does not lead to God.

Jesus blazed a stand-alone trail void of self-salvation. He cleared a one-of-a-kind passageway uncluttered by human effort. Christ came, not for the strong, but for the weak; not for the righteous, but for the sinner. We enter his way upon confession of our need, not completion of our deeds. He offers a unique-to-him invitation in which he works and we trust, he dies and we live, he invites and we believe.

We believe in him. “The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent” (John 6:29 NCV). This union is publicly dramatized in baptism, for to be baptized, as Paul wrote, is to be baptized into Christ. (Gal. 3:27)

Believe in yourself? No. Believe in him.
Believe in them? No. Believe in him.

And those who do, those who believe “in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

From 3:16, The Numbers of Hope
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2007) Max Lucado

KNOCKING ON HEAVEN'S DOOR.. CRYING FOR THIS GENERATION

13/3/08

The Pastor/Elder/Leader
NECF Member Churches
Malaysia

Dear Pastor/Elder/Leader,

Urgent Call for Continued Prayer

We thank God for the smooth, event-free election. We believe this has come about through all our prayers, so thank you for praying.

We look forward to a new era of inter-racial respect, religious freedom, respect for places of worship and integrity in governance.

We look forward to a nation free from corruption, communal hatred, political intimidation, judicial rot and many other ills that have plagued the system.

It is therefore imperative that we continue to pray, especially during this critical transitional period.

Pray:

1) For smooth handover of power to the four new state governments;
2) For the candidates who have won that they will remain humble and work diligently to fulfill their promises to the rakyat;
3) For those who failed to win that they will be gracious in their loss, they will continue to serve the rakyat and play an effective “check and balance” role;
4) For harmonious working relations among the Barisan Rakyat parties – PKR, DAP and PAS;
5) Against those who are out to stir dissension and create strife and unrest;
6) For all to refrain from spreading messages, such as SMS and e-mails, that may cause racial and religious misunderstandings;
7) For harmonious and productive relations in all aspects between the Federal Government and the five states under opposition rule; and
8) For the elected members of parliament (MPs) that they will uphold the law-making institution, and live up to the rakyat’s expectation as role models of integrity, courage, fairness and selflessness.


Yours in His Service

Rev Wong Kim Kong, J.M.N.
Secretary-General

A GOOD HEADSTART

The Young Adults Fellowship's change in timeslot to Sundays after Sunday Service has seen an encouraging and promising turnout..
*More so when lunch is provided*
Praise God for His favor and faithfulness..
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Let's continue to support this budding ministry through prayer and participation..

SINCERELY YOURS

A gentle plea for unity in the body of Christ.
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Brothers & sisters in Christ:

• do continue to support the Young Adults Fellowship with your presence, participation & prayers.
• we are the next generation of leaders that will carry the torch and run the race till Jesus comes again.
• this Fellowship where we can build a strong familial relationship with each other and the present church leaders.
• progressively building concern and care for each other, the church and the nation.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The Young Adults Fellowship will be having the next meeting as follows:

Date: 24 February 2008 - Sunday

Time: 11.30 am

Venue: Church Library

There is lunch provided after the fellowship at the Hospitality Room.

Please take note. Thank you.