To the Children of God

Differences, a word that is so beautiful, yet very often misused.

We are all made different, no two person on Earth is completely identical. This gives us the beauty of uniqueness, and individuality which offers us a variation to appreciate. I used to think that saying everyone is special only makes everyone normal but no, each person is actually very special, unique in their own way, because everyone is different.

But like the thousand times i blogged about differences, despite differences, we can't be completely different as well. You can bring a native from Sarawak and someone from the White house and despite their difference in race, social standing, background and religion, the truth is they are both creations of God, and they both belong to Him. Even if the former finds satisfaction in catching a boat-full of fishes and the latter is to be the President of the country, they both will find true satisfaction and the best things in life when they know God, which is of no difference through out the whole universe.

I really felt led to urge the Christians in my school or all around the country to look beyond our differences, to stop drawing lines just because we're different, to not submit to one another just because of our denominations. Truth is, we are forever different, we are made that way, but we do know our God is the same Almighty One, Our God has the same heart for each and everyone of us whether you're a Catholic, Methodist, Anglican, Prespretarian, or "no denomination" as how i would usually say. Our God looks beyond our differences and He wants to reign in our life, marketplace and wherever we are despite how different we are.

I believe all of us have experience how great and awesome Jesus is! However, above enjoying Him and having a great God to ourselves, we know there is more than that. We know there is more than keeping our God as our personal provider that "whatever we ask and believe, we shall receive," we know that He is not just our personal Healer that died so that we may pray for ourselves or just our family and friends. We know that God's heart is for His people and this people are all around us walking by our lives everyday not knowing of this great God that loves them as much.

I understand that our comfort zone is truly comfortable if not it would not have been called that way but these few months i just know that there is something happening in our college, our area and this country. The whole spiritual atmosphere is changing and it is literally tangible! The great news is i believe Revival is gonna hit this land real hard and real soon! So i do encourage everyone us to take that step of faith out of our comfort zone because out there, there is where the true fun begins :D !

People called me "crazy", or "over" and at some point of a time i do feel discouraged, but the truth is, who do heck cares! We know what and how it feels like to walk in His will and its way beyond persecution. I have been constantly praying with a few brothers and sisters outside the hostel for more of His presence to filled our land and each time we do we know we're drawing closer to God and He is answering our prayers for sure.

I don't care if people don't read my blog no more cause i'm too Christian, i don't care if people think i'm showing off, what i do care is that if you're a Christian and you're reading this, i really hope you will have the fire for God to reign in our land, to pray and cry out to Him to shower down revival upon this place, that "all knee shall bow and all tongues shall confess this Jesus Christ is Lord!"

I may not have the best words here to share with you about what God can do in your life but let us just "boldly come to His throne of Grace" and let Him transform us into Christ-minded Christians, to ask for a compassion for the lost and a hunger for Him to show up in our campus, to pray like never before because without prayer nothing can happen but with prayers all things are possible!

Brothers and Sisters,

Let us invest our time and strength in seeking His kingdom and not spend it to save our lives because "those that love their life will lose it." We have a purpose on Earth, and to really think about it, what is our purpose on Earth? If we know God to go to Heaven we might as well die now, if we know God to ask for blessings then why can't any of those be brought to our everlasting home, and if we know God to be called Christians and go to church, would that be even close to purposeful.

Our purpose on is to be the light and salt to this world, to not go to Heaven empty handed seeing our dear ones not coming with us. We might all already have it planted in our head but how much is this purpose really burning in our hearts and our actions?

I'm really sorry if this post sounds cocky or whatsoever but you have my word that that's not my intention and i really do HOPE that we would all live out our purpose and to pray till Revival fall on this place. Try googling or check on wikipedia about revival, its just amazing and i can't wait for it to happen.

So if you're heart felt led to pray for revival, get a few friends and start seeking Him and praying for your area, 10 minutes a day for a start. (I was truly amazed when i found out that my form 5 brother and a few friends started a prayer group in their high school and pray from 6.4 5am till 7am every morning!) or if you're from TAR College you can join me and a few others which are praying outside the hostel gate where the buses are parked at 11pm on most nights. We're not promising great prayers with powerful preaching but all we know is, God is always there :)

God bless all of you!

Let the flames begin!!!

916

The sixteenth of September. I never really gave much thought to this date when i first came across it on my sejarah book, which has a picture of the "Jalur Gemilang" at the bottom right corner of that page. Few pages back was the independence day of Malaysia with the well-known "Merdeka" picture of black and white with Mr.Rahman lifting his hands up high that marks the significant date of August 31st. The date 16th of September was not mentioned much, just a light brush across.

Growing up in this country, one would never be foreign to the criticism and complains of the country. If it was the first thing that i learn about Malaysia it would be that its people did not like the country. Doubts and grapevines of politicians, stories of corruption from the highest to the lowest of society, the labeling as a developing country, the constant comparison with Singapore or any other countries, the list goes on and on.


But to pull myself out of the chaos of mouth battling and grandpa whining about the country, it is actually a horrible joke to see the citizens and locals of a country knowing nothing but criticism for their own country. Japanese fought till death for their nation's pride, American's are born to live up their national flags, people in Indonesia call themselves Indonesians, and even though having the size of just an island, Singaporeans love their country. And yet we Malaysians are a funny kind, who admire every part of the world except the land we're sitting on right this moment :)


I might not be the extremist which literally curses my homeland, but i wasn't a lover of my country as well. With a dream of going overseas all the time, i never bother to find out who's my local MP or what budget 1990 to 2009 says. I didn't know the legal age for voting cause i most probably won't be voting and i literally ignored the names of all our Agong's which can only be found in the uniqueness of Malaysia's ruling. ( I did memorize it for SPM essays though, gosh that's pathetic)


But i repent.


While in KL, i've came to know groups of people that gathers and pray for Malaysia once a week. My first reaction in mind was, nothing. I had no respond to what they were doing and have no conviction to do the same. Malaysia seems to be not even at the bottom most of my prayer list.

However, as time grows, i realize Malaysia is my country. I'm born here, not by accident. That statement does not just mean i have to live here because i'm born here. I am a Malaysian, and Malaysia is my country! I guess i need to repeat that a few times to truly grasp what it means. My generation may not have went through the war against independence so we never knew how to appreciate the country's independence. But of everything the country has gave me the least i can give back in return is to love this country.

Malaysia is our land, we might not have to fight in wars to protect the country's identity, but i think we should definitely uphold it with pride and gratitude. To be proud of our country isn't to deny its weaknesses and live with it, but i believe we can accept them and be a part of improving it instead of complaining as if we're not Malaysians. Talking bad about the very place we are born into is just bringing shame to ourselves.

Yes there is a lot of holes in this country that are yet to be filled, there is corruption in everyday life, there is poverty and unfortunates in areas all around the country, there is racial sensitivity that till now still remain a dilemma. I too wish they could be solved. But instead of creating a catastrophic bomb out of all the holes we can start being a part of solving it. To be deeply unhappy with our status quo and yet doing nothing about it , isn't that foolishness? ignorance?

Our young generation needs to snap out of the continuous adoration of United States or Korea or Taiwan and start living like you're actually in Malaysia. (we are actually living in Malaysia!) To stop criticizing and have a low-class mindset of Malaysian brands or artist or ministers, (you see we never discriminate Malaysian food, that's a good start :) To stop being ignorant and ungrateful for what this country has made us into. Think about it, we are unique! We speak at least three languages and some could even write in all, we never had a serious natural disaster and we have been heavily subsidized in petrol all this while. Our education is free and our poverty rate is going down year by year. We can have cross race marriage that could make babies of funny "mix race" like Ci-ban,Ci-dayuh, Melayu-Cina, Baba Nyonya and the newly booming race of Bananas.

A few months back, a few hostel mates and I met up and started a prayer group to pray for Malaysia. We were all blunt and confuse at first because the love for our country was so dried up that a simple act of praying for the country felt so distance and unbelievable. But as we went through prayers and prayers, God gave us a heart for our country. To love and not discriminate. Praying may have very different definitions to different people. The general meaning would be to seek God for help and for Him to intervene. But to be able to just start the simplest act of faith of praying for the country and to be able to put Malaysia in our heart, a revivalic change for this land would have begun. The heart to accept and embrace the country would have been sown into our hearts when we put Malaysia into our request to a Higher Authority.

Friends, Malaysia was formed in 16th of September 1963 where Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah joined Malaya to form MalaySIA. Without this date, we would not be called Malaysians but Malayans, which is slightly less cool. So give thanks! And let us embrace this country and be a part of changing the country.

"If my people who are called by my Name would humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked ways and seek my face, then i will hear from heaven, and forgive their sins and heal their land"- 2 Chronicles 7:14

I am proud do be a MalaySIAN, are you? :)

*outside my house, in Malaysia :)

Raining in Hostel