Four (4) Things about Sacrifice that Leaders Should Know

If you desire to become the best leader you can be, then you need to be willing to make sacrifices in order to lead well 🙏 The Law of Sacrifice, writes John C. Maxwell, stated that: “A leader must give up to go up" 🔝 If that is your desire, then here are four (4) things you need to know 👇:

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THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

5 Lessons I Learned from Chinese New Year (CNY) 2019

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Angelus' Quote: Quit Now or Don't Quit Later

There is nothing wrong with quitting. Quit smoking. Quit heavy drinking. Quit being a bully. Also, there is nothing wrong with quitting your work or quitting negative relationships. Quit focusing on your weaknesses and focus on your strengths is a good idea. But then, once you're committed to doing it, when you see the end goal is worth the fight, when in the long-term you see the better you - and for the glory of God - don't quit! For example, I can play the guitar and sing well, so I thought I want to be a worship leader. But I also love to study and teach God's Word. I can do both but I won't be great at either, so, I quit becoming a worship leader and concentrate on teaching. At first, I have difficulty in delivering a message, I was somewhat shy, stutter, and disorganized. But I practice, practice and practice. I know this is my calling so I don't quit. I'm a much better teacher than a worship leader. So, Quit NOW (while it still early) or don't quite LATER (persevere, endurance, don't give up). Araso?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus can Transform Us: From Self-Centeredness to God-Centeredness

Phote taken from: holidaycamps.org.au

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?’”
(Matthew 16:24-26, NLT).

Recognizing and confessing belief in Jesus as the Messiah is only the beginning of discipleship. Jesus invites every person, but those who want to follow him must be willing to “turn from,” “take up,” and “follow.” Jesus didn’t make being his disciple sound easy. To those who were hoping to have special positions in Jesus’ earthly Kingdom (see Luke 22:24), these statements would have been tough to hear. Denying their personal desires and taking up a cross in order to follow this man was not the life they had imagined.

To “turn from your selfish ways” means rejecting the “me first” attitude. Our normal, sinful human tendency is to take care of ourselves, focusing on personal desires and security (I just describing myself). Jesus was saying that anyone who wanted to follow him first had to turn away from those selfish desires and earthly security and put him in charge. This attitude transforms self-centeredness to God-centeredness. It means dying to self and living for Christ, putting personal desires and life itself into his hands.

Jesus went on to say that those who willingly “give up” their lives will “save” it. This statement was as jarring to people in Jesus’ day as it is today. The Greek word for “life” is psyche, referring to the soul, the part of the person that includes the personality with all its dreams, hopes, and goals. Those who “hang on to” their lives in order to satisfy desires and goals apart from God, ultimately “lose” their lives. Those who willingly “give up” or “lose” their lives for the sake of Christ, whoever, actually “save” them. Think about this: Nothing we can gain on our own can compare to what we gain with Christ. Jesus wants us to choose to follow him, to turn all that we are and have over to his disposal. Instead of letting us foolishly try to control our futures – which only he know – he wisely wants to take care of our lives for his own glory. In Jesus we really live. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

The Most Difficult is the Easiest

In his classic book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis writes,

“Teachers will tell you that the laziest boy in the class is the one who works hardest in the end. They mean this. If you give two boys, say, a proposition in geometry to do, the one who is prepared to take trouble will try to understand it. The lazy boy will try to learn it by heart because, for the moment, that needs less effort. But six months later, when they are preparing for an exam, the lazy boy is doing hours and hours of miserable drudgery over things the other boy understands, and positively enjoys, in a few minutes. Laziness means more work in the long run.

Or look at it this way. In a battle, or in mountain climbing, there is often one thing which it takes a lot of pluck to do; but it is also, in the long run, the safest thing to do. If you funk it, you will find yourself, hours later, in far worse danger. The cowardly thing is also the most dangerous thing.

It is like that here. The terrible thing, the most impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self – all your wishes and precautions – to (Jesus) Christ. But it is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead. For what we are trying to do is to remain what we call ‘ourselves’, to keep personal happiness as our great aim in life, and yet at the same time be ‘good.’ We are all trying to let our mind and heart go their own way – centered on money or pleasure or ambition – and hoping, in spite of this, to behave honestly and chastely and humbly. And that is exactly what Christ warned us you could not do. As He said, a thistle cannot produce figs. If I am a field that contains nothing but grass-seed, I cannot produce wheat. Cutting the grass may keep it short: but I shall still produce grass and no wheat. If I want to produce wheat, the change must go deeper that the surface. I must be ploughed up and re-sown.

Indeed, the most difficult (giving and surrender our life to Jesus) is the easiest.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

When there’s Nothing you can Do… Wait

Picture taken from: http://loveandacupofcoffee.wordpress.com/

In a ‘Do-Do-Do-World’ today we all somehow have become merely a ‘Do’ing Person rather than a ‘Be’ing Person. Here is my thought for today: Taking actions is crucial whenever we face troubles, it is human to do so. But whenever you realize that there’s nothing you can do…

Wait.

Wait patiently.

Don’t keep going.

Restrain yourself from anything hasty. Whenever possible, put on the brakes! There is a red light in front of you. Slow down. Often, we seldom made wise decisions in a hurry. Wait. Don’t you agree that we’re seldom felt sorry for things we didn’t say or do? Abraham Lincoln, my friend says, “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” Wait.

My thought comes from David’s thought in God’s Word, Psalm 40:

"I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,

and he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair,

    out of the mud and the mire.

He set my feet on solid ground

    and steadied me as I walked along." (40:1-2NLT)

As you read Psalm 40 carefully, you’ll realize that David’s situation didn’t changed. In fact, it was David changed. When you wait, your situation may not change, but you will. Wait, you may discover that the time of waiting is one of God’s ways to show you that He is God, and you’re not. Thus, surrender the situation to Him. So be cool, patiently wait. Ahhh… as I wait, most of the time I realized that I’m the one who need to change, not the situation.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Week 80: Beauty that is more than Skin Deep

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30ESV)

Marvelous Creature

Most of girls in this world are naturally beautiful. But not all girls however are physically, stunnedly beautiful, to be honest. So what they do? Modern girls would use all sort of methods to improve; lipstick, powder, eyebrow pencil, nail polish, hairspray, perfume, deodorant, moisturizer, facemask, shampoo – not to mention all the other things they do to get themselves in good shape~

The result is usually pleasant for both boys and girls (okay, let me make it sound more matured; both men and women). And don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of girls being as beautiful as possible as they can be. Of all creatures, I think woman is the most marvelous one.

Between Beauty and Suggestiveness

But having said that, it must be pointed out that there is a difference between beauty and suggestiveness (word ‘suggestive’ here mean ‘stimulating further thought.’ Therefore, my use of ‘suggestiveness’ here refer to ‘sexual suggestive’). Girls can dress themselves so that the result is either one of those two. A girl can be beautiful without being suggestive, and she can be suggestive without being beautiful.

I was sitting with my brother’s friends when they told me about their experiences attending the local church. One of them, named Cristol, spoke out this topic;

“We were late for service so I and my friends have to sit at the back row. After singing few hymns, it was time for sermon. As I’m about to concentrate my attention on the speaker as he share the Word, my eyes wandering at the girl in front of me. The way she dressed lures my desire within. Hers’ back was exposed… and when she walks by, I saw how short her skirt was [Pause]. I’d like to say that by the way she dress; I find it hard to keep my thinking clean, even in the church. It stir me up inside.”

Silly Joke or Honest Confession?

I can identify with his problem. We do. All men do. It’s hard to keep our thought pure with that kind of ‘exposure’. When I told this similar situation to my girl friends, they sometime burst into a silly giggle. They thought that what I said was a joke. But on behalf of all men, hear me say: This is not a joke! With frankness and seriousness what Cristol said was absolutely true. I want readers (and your friends if you share with others) to get the message: maintain Christian standards in your dressing and help one another to keep our thoughts pure from lustful and evil desires – by God’s grace, we can.

As I write earlier there is a difference between beauty and suggestiveness. Beauty, in my definition (in this context), is like, for example; you can look at a beautiful sunset and be amaze by its splendor (like what the sunset does to me last evening). But you don’t want to possess it, to own it. You can’t take hold of it and put it in your pocket, except, like most people who have camera would perhaps take pictures of it.

Suggestiveness on the other hand is like, for example; you may see a beautiful Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). If you’re normal person, if you’re hungry, you don’t want to just stand there and look at it, don’t you? You want to take hold of it, possess it, consume it, and be satisfied with it.

This is the kind of feelings that beauty and suggestiveness create when boys look at girls. Like the later example, improper dressing creates in the male mind not just a feeling of admiration, but a desire for possession, for satisfaction… this is the beginning of men’s failure to keep their eyes and heart pure.

Behind mere Attraction

Now, let not put the blame on girls alone. I understand that most girls don’t realize this (and boys are naturally perverted, including me in my carnal mode). They are duped with fashion designers into thinking that boys like looking at them just because they are attractive. But the psychology behind this is much deeper – men are able to imagine much more than what it is. When girls dress provocatively (meaning, ‘arousing sexual desire or interest, esp. deliberately’), it to suggests nakedness… men fall mightily down to Sheol!

“But what’s wrong with nakedness?” you may ask me, “Didn’t God create the human body? Isn’t it a beautiful thing?” For this argument, I’ll let Barry Chant, the author of Straight Talk about Sex (Whitater, 1977) to answer these questions (let me relax first);

“If we look in the Book of Genesis, however, we find one or two very interesting things about nakedness. The most important of all is this: You remember that after Adam and Eve sinned, the first thing they did was to make clothes out of fig leaves? And then when God asked them, ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ They couldn’t answer? For no one had told them! They just knew (Read Genesis chapter 2 and 3).

What had really happened was that through sin they had become spiritually naked. The protective righteousness with which God had surrounded them was removed. And because they were spiritually naked, they also felt physically naked. So they try to cover up.

To blatantly display the naked body – or to dress in such a way as to suggest nakedness – is virtually an act of defiance against God. It is saying in effect, ‘We have no need of covering, God. We’re OK. We don’t need You at all!”

Dress for the Glory of God

Dress modestly..

Let’s pause for a moment, and reflect on what you had just read [Pause]. Girls, with humble heart and gentleness, I plea with you, for the sake of one another, and in respect for the holiness of Almighty God, be careful how you dress. I’m not going to suggest what kind of dress you shall wear – enough for me to say that it is helpful if you dress modestly. Again, girls, for the boys’ sake, try to be beautiful without being provocative. In the old time, Christians were persecuted and suffered physically for the sake of Christ and His Name. Perhaps today, we, us, have to let go of some clothes and let go of the desire to be always updated by the latest fashions in the market that doesn’t bring Glory to God. Thus, join the God’s Army to also ‘suffer’ worldly desire by dress properly and modestly for the sake of Christ. It’s our duty and joy.

My Long Last Words

Too often, Christian girls (and boys alike) allow the world to dictate their standards of dress. Placing popularity (even in the church buildings) and the approval of their friends at the top of their lists of priorities, they allow God’s standards to come second or third or fourth – or even lower than that. I’m still young and fleshy too – thus I understand that we all are facing daily temptations to conform ‘to the pattern of this world’ (Romans 12:2). We live not in the perfect world yet, but in a mixed society with pagan, godless and sinful community. We are, after all, forgiven sinners. Not perfect, but under sanctification by God, namely being made holy.

Again (I may don’t know when to stop sometime), girls, (boys, take note too!) you may have to face social pressures, perhaps even scorn from school, college – even work-mates. But it’s worth to live by God’s standards. One of it is by the way you dress. If you don’t dress carefully (I know that sometime you are simply unaware of it), don’t lay all the blame on others if you get into trouble… you know exactly what I mean… you may asked for it. The End.

THINK BIG. GO DEEP. START SMALL.

Week 10: Let go - Dare to be no.2?

No.2: I have problems with this number. It doesn't sound right. Really, for me either I'll be the last (or not included in the lists at all) or the first are the only place I want to be. I want to be lead singer and not drummer (Done that!); I want to be on the spotlight, not sound system engineer; I want my name to appeared in notice board with bold and underline or if possible with some fancy color so that people may notice which one was mine, not with small font and italic; I want everyone to accept my way is the best of all, while theirs are just addition to choices etc. These are my example. Do you familiar with that? I can add hundred more example of what I want to highlight in this note- that we are all sometime somehow; -self-centered. John C. Maxwell writes:

If I like it, it's mine.
If I can take it away from you, it's mine.
If had it a while ago, it's mine.
If I say it is mine, it's mine.
If it looks like mine, it's mine.
If I saw it first, it's mine.
If you're having fun with it, it's definitely mine.
If you lay it down, it's mine.

If it is broken, it's YOURS.

It is hard to let go, yes, it's hard to ignore the question: "How about me?" Today, there's almost no reward for second place. Song by Abba, "The Winner takes it ALL" was composed base on real life story, yes, winner takes it all- the popularity, news coverage, people's attention, large sums of money and the worst of all could be our loved one’s heart. But give me your precious 5 minutes to show you the best sides of being 2nd most important person:

1) In reverse, you're the most important person.
Example, if lay and unknown citizens didn't voted for President Obama or YB Hannah Yeoh or our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in their election's day, these important persons cannot become what they are today. You could be an usher, parking enforcement worker, Sunday school teacher or cleaner in the church you're important! You could be a dishwasher (like my mother), telephone receptionist, store boy, normal staff, janitor, plumber etc; you are important, without you none of the 'big' person 'big'.

2) You can set your ego aside.
My girl friends said men are full of ego. I would like to justify that, let’s face it: We have our own ego regardless our gender. When you start to think that you're number one: You expect to be no.1, want to be treated like no.1 and with nose up high- you're no.1 (at least in our own though) - when the truth is reveal, which is: "No one is better than anyone" because as we experienced, there're always someone is better than us- we will burst to shame! Therefore, isn't it better to think ourselves as no.2?

3) So that the other person can be no.1
Years ago, people claimed that I'm the funniest guy they ever knew. Of course, I like to live with that. With this 'title' and confident I can wins people to myself easily. Whenever try-to-be-funny guy try to get my 'flock'- I would simply drive then away with my ultimate jokes jutsu. (Japanese word for technique) Then, I realized that what I did is not fair for other who also has talent with sense of humor. Now when ever I meet someone funny, I would like to laugh together and let them be the main character under the spotlight. What are you good at now? Will you let someone else to rise and shine? Can you take a step backward, and let the other one step closer?

4) When the time is right, God Himself will lift you Up.
When you take a step backward to let others one step forward, not just people will recognize your selflessness but that will draw the attentions heavenward. In His Time, He will lift you up! I said in His time because lets face it; don't we just want everything to be fulfilled in our own timing? My brother, Warren working at bottle factory, handling machines so that it can work properly and to make sure that the shape of the bottles is according to the standard. I observed that he never complaint of being the least in the company. I'm proud of him because he almost never compared himself with others and because of this he's the best in what he does. One Sunday morning my mom asking him, "Why you need to work on Sunday?” He replied, "Because my friend is having his emergency holiday" "Can anyone else doing it?” my mother curiously asking. "Nobody mom, only me and John (his friend) can handle the machine." After 3 years my brother was promoted as Store Keeper. Maybe for you it's not a big deal, but for me, his humble attitude not to compare himself with others who are better in positions gave me a life time lesson: Don't rush your way to be a number 1, rush your way to be the best in what you do NOW. Who knows, when the time is right, God Himself will lift you up.
Learn to be number 2, focus on others, let go of 'me' attitude, involve others in what you do, let people know you need them, give compliments freely, tell others that 'you can do it!' sincerely and keep your eyes off the mirror. Les Parrott said, "Success in life has everything to do with what you do for others". Now, do you dare to be No.2?