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Through Trials and Triumphs

  (Photo unknown source)  I  have faced many struggles in life - challenges, as I call them. They encompass every aspect of my being. Spiritually, there were moments when I questioned whether God was still with me. Socially, life’s battles made it difficult for me to engage with people, so I focused on working hard, as I did not have much to spare for socializing. Mentally, the weight of my problems either numbed me or left me overwhelmed. While I never entertained suicidal thoughts, there were times - especially during my studies in Master's Degree - when I said hurtful words to myself for not doing well academically, leaving  myself in moments of deep despair. Emotionally, I found it hard to accept criticism, especially in my work. Financially, my family was never wealthy; we always had just enough. And in terms of health, perhaps genetically, my sister and I have always been sickly, much like our parents before us.    But even as I recount these str...
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When God Feels Near Yet Far

Photo Credits Leeklin Flickr When I was 20 years old, on this same day March 4, 2002, a tragedy struck our family. Our house was robbed, my mother was killed, and my sister barely survived. The irony of it all was that my father was a policeman in our town - someone sworn to protect others, yet he could not shield his own family from harm because he was on duty serving our town. While me, I was 8 hours drive away from my family then. Just two days after my mother’s burial, I stood in the seminary hall for our graduation, where we were to be  vested by the Bishop for full-time ministry after 4 fours years of training. I cannot recall what the Bishop preached that day as my mind was consumed with questions:   Had God abandoned our  family? Was He still present with us? That season of my life forced me to wrestle with one of the attributes of God - His  omnipresence.  How near is God, yet how far is God?  When tragedy strikes, is He close enough...

When Praying with the Children

 When praying with children, I avoid saying, "We should aim to be like Jesus," in a way that might overwhelm them. To them, Jesus is God, and the idea of being like God - saving the whole world from sin - feels unattainable. Instead, they see Jesus as their special friend, which is a relationship they can embrace and understand. I explained that "being like Jesus" doesn't mean they have to do what only God can do, like saving the world. Instead, it means reflecting His holiness in simple ways. For children, holiness can mean being kind, loving, and obedient. However, I noticed that the idea of holiness sometimes feels like a burden because they wonder if they are already "good enough." To address this, I emphasized that Jesus loves them as they are and helps them grow to be more like Him, step by step. It's not about being perfect or doing everything right all the time. It's about letting Jesus' love fill their hearts and letting that love ...

Providence - Does It Really Matter If We Pray?

  Photo by  Harold Moses God’s Providence Does It Really Matter If We Pray? Good evening everyone.  I came across this statement written by Daniel T. Niles, a renowned Sri Lankan Methodist evangelist and theologian in 20th Century and he wrote:  We must make sure that we do not decide that we shall succeed. If we decide to succeed then we may succeed without succeeding in God's way. But if we go on from day to day seeking to do his will, then we shall be prepared to receive success from him if he wills it ; and if he does not, then humbly to say - It is God's decision David shall not build the temple, but he will raise up Solomon. - Daniel T. Niles  In just one short paragraph, this can be framed into several doctrines for discussion such as the Sovereignty of God, human will and divine will, prayer and divine providence. But I only want to touch two things: God’s Providence and Prayers. First, I would like to define the doctrine of Providence....

“We Know God / Truth Only because He Has revealed himself” Dr. Mark Chan

  g.efthymiadis   “We Know God / Truth Only because He Has revealed himself” Dr. Mark Chan (Sept 21, 2024)  Reflection  I just would like to share this statement shared by Dr Mark Chan at the Bible Study on 21 September 2024, Saturday and I quote him: “We Know God / Truth Only because He Has revealed himself”  As I was pondering on this statement, it has caught me once again how our understanding of God originates from His plan and his decision to make himself known to us.   So how does God reveal himself?   God’s revelation or self-manifestation basically comes in two forms and these are the general revelation and the special revelation.   The first one, general revelation refers to the knowledge of God made available to all people through the creation, nature, history, moral order in the society. It’s made available to all humankind and it is accessible to all people at all times but it is limited in providing a complete understanding of God’s...

The Message of the Ascension of the Lord

ACTS 1:1-11 We've probably heard news about the appearance of the Aurora this weekend. So I googled why the aurora appears in the sky. Aurora is the display of dancing lights in the sky at night. When the aurora appears in the northern part, they call it Aurora Borealis, and when it appears in the southern part, they call it Aurora Australis. What causes these dancing lights? It is the sun. The sun doesn’t only emit heat and light but it also sends electrified energy and particles around its solar system, known as solar wind. It is like gaseous energy coming out from the sun.  Since the sun emits solar wind, it also produces outbursts of gaseous wind, known as solar storms. During these storms, the sun sends massive particles and electrified energy into space. However, the earth has a magnetic field that controls the solar wind and storm. This magnetic field traps the small particles and electrified energy, preventing them from penetrating into the earth.  When the so...

Success and Failure

And let's be real—when things go the opposite direction, it's not just about external challenges; it's also about the mistakes we make, the flaws in our own hearts and our human sinful nature. This can make the journey of life and our mission to serve God in the world pretty tiring. But instead of getting hung up on aiming for success, our focus should be on staying true and faithful to God through obedience. What keeps us going is the big-picture idea that ultimately, it's God Himself who's going to establish a world ruled by His kingdom of love, righteousness, peace, fulfilment and satisfaction.