Saint Patrick Day by Jeremy Koh En Tian

Saint Patrick Day 

by Jeremy Koh En Tian (my son)

1/4/15

Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain Romano family. His father was a deacon  and his grandfather was a Priest in the Christian Church.

According to the declaration, at the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish Raiders and taken as slave to Gaelic Ireland and spent six years there working as a Shepherd and during this time he found God. God told Patrick to flee to the coast where a ship would be waiting to take him home.

After making his way home, Patrick went on to become a priest and according to legend, Saint Patrick used the three shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish Pagans.

What I learnt By Playing Games

What I learnt By Playing Games

16/1/15

Edwin Koh Boon Leng

After Farmville, I told myself no more games as they can be so addictive. Nothing wrong with the game, just me haha. How I got into Clash of Clans was by "accident". My little boy started of the game, but he just did not carry on after a few plays. So one day, I picked-up my wife's phone to check the game out and what was so interesting about this game? Since then I've been hooked. Its a simple game where you form your own "territory" and then you join a "CLAN" to battle wars with other "Clans".

These are what God taught me. Go figure ! God uses whatever He can to teach you truths too ! He can ! Why not ! He is God. So here are lessons that He has given me and here I share them with you.

1.Life is very much socialising. Being in the right group does not mean you necessary will overcome all of life. We are not in life to be mere CONSUMERS and Takers. To go further, we have to contribute to the "CLAN" by contributing to the needs of others too. How can we contribute? Its by becoming generous and kind. In Clan, we don't ask of judge them who they are..we just donate troops and reinforcements !.

2. You can leave the clan if you are not happy. Its like you can jump jobs or job hop frequently. However assuming job hopping, frequent instability in life does not mean you go forward. Most of the time you start from the bottom again. It brings instabilty to your progress.

3.One of the major ones God showed me was about myself. Sometimes we "dare" not attack major targets because we prefer targets that WE KNOW we can overcome easily. Why stress ourselves so much right. But of late, I asked God..is the ministry or my life just about 30% only?

You see if we see blessings of 30% it means..God is 30%..we are 70% still in charge.  If we see blessings of 60% it means..God is 60%..we are still involve but at 40%. If we want to live on the edge of faith ! it has to be 100% God and ZERO % of us.

When we went to Australia Sri Lanka last year, the effectiveness of the ministry was 100%. That's why I ask God the above.

In 2015, something in me has to break and give in to God so that God can do much more thru me . What is it ? I'm not sure too. Maybe I know but am afraid to commit to it..because it means FACING the bigger challenges not knowing if can overcome..but surely can because in facing bigger challenges, we stop relying on ourselves but OH DEAR LORD !!! HELP ME right ...

4. How to go forward? If we have tried going forward in Clans..but can't and our territory always gets overwhelmed..it is time to sow and sow and sow to upgrade..upgrade and upgrade. Because level 3 cannons surely can't overcome level 5 giants or troops. So there must be a process of paying the price to sow and sow and invest ! Its a cycle ..this one. 

So you see ! God uses what we do to teach us sometimes !

So glory to Jesus Christ !

God Bless

Edwin Koh

WHO'S THE BOSS ?

Who's the Boss

Mt 25 - Parable of Talents and Virgins

(1/1/15)

The first blog post of 2015 is about a lesson on leadership especially in leading a Church as its founder and pastor. Sounds great right but when you are serving God, having a theology degree does not mean instant promotion and salary increments. Titles and self importance is of no value in God's sight. You may be founder and pastor..but honestly people don't want to follow you..but they want to walk with God. I may be founder and pastor..but at Church God is supreme and boss. 

So how should I lead ? Simple answer - let God tell you.

You see 2014 was a year the vision in my heart of raising-up leaders that would walk with God and giving them the space to do that was confronted over and over again. Honestly I never felt so uneasy in my life ! You see when you let people have space to do what they feel led to do, it will not be in accordance to your expectations. Why? Because everyone is different and God loves it that way.

In the parable of talents and virgins in Matthew 25, we read of the person responsible for the talents or the whole matter ..what does he do ? He hands his underhands the talents or command..and what he does next ?...

HE LEAVES !!! In our mind...hey ! that is not a responsible leader. Shouldn't the captain be the first be there and the last to go ? Shouldn't a leader be responsible from start to finish ?

In our world, when the boss is not around..what do we do ? We sleep on the job right ?. Or we play solitaire on the PC ! . Just like the one with the one talent, in our minds we think the boss is unfair and a lousy person.

However I learnt something this past Christmas Party project at Church. The person that was suppose to do the CP planned everything and organised everything..but suddenly had to depart due to other commitments that were important and necessary too. So the entire group had to grapple with what to do and how to do?. I on the other hand ..didn't like it because haiyah ! means the job comes to me and my wife again ..already with so much on our hands. In my mind was, " this is no way to raise-up leadership in Church !". I was furious...but in my heart, I sense God's hand in this from start to finish.

In fact 2014 has been a year wah ! I've been so overwhelmed with all kinds of feelings and emotions from one end to the other end..Wonder how my heart can take anymore by December ! But it was a year that God had me all to himself in running Word of Life to overseas missions. I had no "senior pastor" to turn to but God himself..only God. It was either I dig deep or sink. Sink was easy..but God was giving me grace to go deep and draw from Him.  

He purposely arranged such a situation to do one thing. Teach us or me a lesson. What did I learn ?.. I learn that :

1. eventhough I am the "boss"..I am not THE BOSS. God still is.

2. eventhough the "key" person is not around..just like the parable of talents..we are not to sit on it. We are to dig deep to be faithful and use ingenuity and creativity that God has placed in us to "do it !". Otherwise you'd never know what you can actually do. Sometimes we depend on others too much that we become like those people in that cartoon - "WALL-E". In crisis...people come together..in crisis..people will choose to either give-up or dig deep to discover solutions. So 2015, lets not say its imposibble..lets say in God all things are possible !

3. The biggest thing I learnt is : as a leader, but yet in a spiritual organisation..following God is more important that doing it "my way". If I want people to be discipled by God and to hear His voice..I need to get out of the way and let the people have space and space and space to walk with God. If I force people to do it my way..they will do it..BUT for who? for me! but they will not enjoy it at all ! But if I stop playing God, they can then learn to do it God's way. 

Will I change the way of doing things in Word of Life..of course not !. When people have been entrusted with responsibility..that's it ! give them space to walk with God ! Just like a couple that runs a cell group at WOL..They do not have consistent weekly meetings..but whenever they have meetings..people come ! and hey I too have been blessed ! God helped me to see that this couple are human bridges to connect people with people and people with God.  Precious they are.

Why people ask where is God? Because there are too many people playing God..too many insecure people in leadership that do not know they are not boss..but God is. Instead of WHERE IS GOD...Tell them ..HERE IS GOD ! 

WALK WITH GOD !

2015 ..make it your God..because God will help you to do that !

Luv Edwin Koh Boon Leng

1/1/15