Centre for Transformation and Development

There will always be trials and temptations in our lives. God uses them and allows them to build, train and discipline our lives. But what is crucial when trials and temptations happen in our lives is our response to them. Do we draw nearer to God or do we run farther away from God? Like someone once said that in our life journey, there will be stones. But we can choose to trip over it, go round it, step on it or build on it. Paul said that we should consider it pure joy when we face trials. Obviously, he saw it as an opportunity to draw nearer to God rather than to hide from God. Our attitude is the key. The key is not how big the problem is as some have mistaken it to be. They feel that it is too hard to come near to God when they are feeling painful or sinful. But running farther away from God will only make the matter worse. It is only when we face the problem together with God can our load be lightened and experience joy. Let us not run away from God when we are faced with tribulations for there is no way we can hide from Him. In fact, He is our only best source of comfort and strength.

In this society, there are many people who are good at using things to advance themselves. They are good at making use of the environment, the timing of events and the people around them to achieve their goals. Sometimes we call these people shrewd, some even consider them smart. Some even consider them as professionals. It becomes a skill to acquire. While it may be good to have a certain sense of shrewdness so that we can read the times well, we should learn to allow the Holy Spirit to prompt us and guide us. If not, we can actually fall into the trap of manipulation easily. We can be so confident that we depend more on our knowledge, experiences and techniques. We can end up always asking what we get in return and how worthwhile is our investment. We can get so consumed by our goals that we manipulate the conditions. We can end up twisting God’s arm or even tying up His arms. We may just be waiting to get something back from God in return.
Are we a utilitarian trying to make use of those things around us so that we get what we want? Don’t think we are so smart lest we commit the sin of witchcraft when we manipulate things and people. Don’t be too goal-orientated, so much so that we think that everything we do must accomplish our purpose. There is room for enjoyment and relaxation too. Don’t always think that we must get something in return. Jesus is the best example. He died for us without any conditions. In fact, He emptied Himself and humbled Himself so as to be an Instrument of God. In the same manner, we can give of ourselves like how Jesus gave His life for us. We need to learn to let go rather than always trying to control and manipulate things to accomplish our goals. Are we only willing to invest in things that can give us a profitable return? How about lives? When we invest in the kingdom of God, do we know that we may not see immediate return? Are we willing to invest in an area that is hard to evangelise or we are only interested in areas with the fastest growth rate? Are we keen to spend time to disciple someone who is weak and seemingly with no leadership potential or are we only interested in people who are promising? The utilitarian always need to get something in return in order for him to invest time, money and energy. But those who know God see the return in heaven, and continue to plough faithfully because the Lord calls them to the work. If God calls us to a ministry that is tough, stick to it faithfully, even if we do not see the immediate result. Do not just merely measure the work of God as the world sees it. When God calls us to a work, there will be a purpose in it.

We live in a world that value qualifications more than character. If we have the qualifications, people assume that we have the intelligence and therefore the competence to get the job done well. Perhaps it is because qualifications are more tangible and measurable. This causes many to overlook character as the main criteria. As a result, people are focusing more on getting qualifications rather than building character. Actually our academic pursuit should encompass character building too. The two should not be dichotomised. But due to the fact that our society values qualifications more than character, people are looking for ways to get their qualifications within the shortest time. In this way, they ignored or cut short the character building process.
This thinking has influenced the church in the same manner. Bible institutions can end up focusing more on teaching biblical knowledge rather than character formation. Churches can end up focusing too much on doing ministry rather than shaping the being of their believers. We, ourselves, become more concerned about our academic qualifications and social standing rather than transforming our lives. There is a need to integrate the two again. The purpose of biblical knowledge is to transform our lives so that we can pass on the teachings of God correctly and truthfully. The purpose of Christian ministry is to glorify God so that more would come to taste the goodness of God. The purpose of our lives is to conform to the image of God so that we can be effective witnesses for Him. If we are not careful, we would end up building this generation with big heads, big hands and often big mouths but with small hearts. This would put the Church into a crisis. Let us return to the call for character formation for this is the will of God. Let us never forget to translate our knowledge into shaping our character. What we do should be an outflow of our being. Let God grow our hearts big enough to contain the kingdom of God.

In our daily life, we seldom forget to take our meals regularly, especially for those who are health conscious. Not only do they take their meals on time, they also make sure that they have a balanced diet. Of course, there may be a few occasions when we miss our meals because of our busy schedules.
How are we taking our spiritual meals today? Do we take them regularly? Do we have a balance diet? Or do we just focus on those bible passages that we like? Are we so busy that we give our spiritual meals a miss? The Bible tells us that man shall not live by bread alone. This implies that spiritual meals are actually more important than physical meals. We can miss our meals through fasting, but we cannot miss our spiritual meals. This is also true for those who are teachers of the Bible. Ironically, Bible teachers often forget to feed themselves while preparing spiritual food for others. But the truth is that we must always feed ourselves first before we can feed others. Or else we faced the risk of running on empty tanks. We should always encounter the truths of God first so that they bring conviction to our hearts before we can teach others effectively. Don’t think that we are so noble because we sacrifice our time to prepare our teaching without feeding ourselves first. We may just be serving God with our knowledge and not with our hearts. This is perhaps the only thing that we should get selfish about. Always feed ourselves first before we feed others.

We all know that love must come with actions. But there are some people who do not know how to express their love. They just keep it within their hearts. Sometimes, this love can manifest itself as aggressive and abusive actions too. It is like a typical Asian father who tends to scold and beat his child without knowing how to express his love through encouragement and affirmation. Some even use their authority to manipulate their children’s decision without trying to understand them.
There are also those who act without love. They just do a lot of things to impress or get someone’s attention.  Their focus is very much on themselves than the other party. Imagine buying a present that we like for someone without trying to find out what the other party really likes. Or it is like a big company that donates a lot of money to help the poor but the real intention is to improve the company’s image.
Now, we also see more people expressing their love in the wrong manner. Love is a matter of the heart but we tend to reduce it to a matter of material needs. A good example would be replacing our time with our children by giving them various things they want. They might end up spending more time with their computer games than their parents. We also see domestic helpers having a better relationship with the children than their parents.
Love is an art. Not only must it come with actions, the intention must be right. But intention and action are still not sufficient. We need to have the right expression too. Right expression when coupled with understanding and sensitivity, would then be able to touch the hearts of others, not just at the cognitive level but the affective level too.

In our road of discipleship, we are often told that we should count our cost. It tells us the need to think seriously before making the commitment to follow Jesus rather than making any rash decision. However, after we have make this decision, we should not just count our cost of discipleship, but we should begin to see what we gain in Christ. Paul was definitely aware of this. What he considered as a profit had become a loss to him when compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ. There was obviously a change in mindset to cause Paul to see what he gained in Christ rather than what he had to give up. Many Christians after deciding to follow Christ just continue to ‘count the cost’, as such the road of discipleship becomes tougher and tougher. We need to adopt a different mindset. Following Christ is not just about losing; it is also about gaining. In fact, we gain more than we lose. If we see what we gain is much more and has a greater value than what we lose, obeying Christ would not be so difficult for us anymore. Remember, what we lose for Christ will never be more than our gain.

There is no doubt that God can still perform miracles today. However, the way miracles are performed has changed. In the Bible, Jesus performed miracles to help those who were sick or demon-possessed. His focus was on the person. It was usually carried out in a low-profiled manner so that it would not attract too much attention. It was never done to increase His popularity or to make Him more well-known. He never allowed the miracles to point to Himself but to God the Father.
Some churches today has departed from this truth. Miracles done today are  targeted at the audience. They are for show, more like a performance. They would publicise their churches or the healer to attract more people. Well, though it is said that they wanted to give God the glory, but the preacher seemed to get more honour than God. It is not that I do not believe in miracles, but the flaw of today’s healing ministry is that it reinforces the prevalent belief of the world about ‘what works’ more than ‘what’s true’. It is not that God’s name is not mentioned but the ministry caused people to put their faith on a few individuals more than on God. I am not against healing ministry but I am calling for a better balance so that when the churches do not perform those spectacular miracles, the people would still believe in God firmly. We do not just believe in God because of those miracles but because of the greatest Miracle of Jesus Christ. The incarnation, crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest Miracle. No other miracle can replace this. Even though we may know God through other miracles, but all believers should place their faith in the greatest Miracle eventually. Our faith is never solely built on what works but more importantly, what’s true too. Glory should be given to God and not cling on a few individuals who have the ‘power’. Healing is also just directed at our physical infirmities, but includes inner healing and transformation that bring our lives to be  right with God.

Even the biggest vision starts with a small step. We must not be pressurized to do something big all the time. It is all right to take small steps. Our step can be small like a little mustard seed or a little yeast, yet the effect can be great. What is important is that we must go deep. A mustard seed can grow into a big tree because it has deep roots. A little yeast can lift up the whole dough because it works in every portion of the flour. As such, we need to build strong and good foundation for our faith and life. There is no point we seemingly make a giant leap but we have no foundation. In the end, everything would just collapse. We can take a small step at a time, but let us make sure it is making a lasting impact in our lives. With these little steps, they would accomplish great vision from God.

Many people live their lives as segments: family, friends, work, recreation and religion. This might sounds good and I do agree that there is a certain degree of segmentation that we need to apply. But the main issue is with our faith. For most Asians, they see that their faiths have very little to do with their lives. They could be swearing and cursing outside but suddenly turned very religious in their place of worship. After worshipping, they are back to their old self again. For them, there is no need to demonstrate consistency between their life and faith. However, Christianity should not be like this. God never dwells in a confined segment called religion in our lives only, He is our whole life and being. In fact, Christ should permeate every segments of our lives so that we might be changed in all aspects.
If we were to segmentize God, we would end up putting on a spiritual mask. Not only that, our lives would remain unchange no matter how long we believed in Him. It is therefore important to be connected with God in all areas of our lives. We need to open up our lives and let God change the way we handle ourselves, our family, our friends and our work. Only then, can we live out authentic Christianity. If not, Christianity would just be like an ornament – just fit for show. Let us allow God to impact our lives as a whole and live lives that are connected to God.