Spending time with your loved one.

It is the time of year again where most people spend a lot of their time thinking about their loved one and what to give them as a show of their love.

Many consider it to be lucky to have someone they can share their joy and love with. Many are waiting for this very special moment all year long.

I guess most people would agree with me if I say that the number one gift you can give to your loved one is time. No other things are as valuable as time.

Are you still unsured about it? We know from history how many of our grand or grand-grand parents when they passed away, they left something called a will, whether it's a house, a trust fund, a car, etc. But, they also left something called a history. This history is the time that you have spent with together.

The word "I miss you", "I love you" can easily be translated to "I want to spend more time with you"

Time is boundless. It can cross land, water, even wall. It exists simultaneously in different places.

Some people get paid for their time spent at the workplace called wages. Some seems to get paid higher for their time than others.

But, regardless, everyone agrees how time is a valuable thing that one can possess.

Do you remember the concept "opportunity cost", which means as we spend our time doing something, we are not doing something at that moment. In other words, time continues and is not replacable.

So far, we have identified how time is valuable and irreplacable. What about this last description of time - it is eternal.

We know how in our society, we have put certain limitation in time with things such as calendar, clock, our aging bodies. But, in actuality, time is eternal. Maybe it's not eternal in this world we're living in right now, but it would be eternal when we leave our earthly bodies.

It is said that Christ has died so we may have eternal life. It may be hard to understand how that Christ, the son of God had spent His time in this earth, with the poor, unwanted, widows, lepers, sinners, tax collectors, ordinary people like us just because He loved us so much.

I just want to ask a simple question, how much time do you spend with your loved one? How much time do you give willingly to help others in needs?

...

I have good news for you ... many may have worried about how little of time they have and have been asking how could they give limited time for others? many wished they had more time so they can earn more money, etc. but looking back to the verse above, Christ has died so we may have eternal life.

It seems that God has given us all the time that we need to live according to His will. We no longer need to worry about not having enough time to help others or to work or to spend with our loved one, because we already have all the time that we need in this world to do what He had asked us to do.

"spend your time with your loved one."

Thanksgiving '06

Here, we are again presenting another joyful day with the Lord in Elmhurst, Queens. God is faithful in protecting over His church. The day started off with the congregation worshipping and giving thanks to God for all the blessing God has given us. We were dancing and enjoying His presence. If you look at the picture above, you may wonder what happened during our thanksgiving service. Well, in short, there is a wedding ceremony, a birthday celebration, and of course, a free thanksgiving luncheon.


Here are a couple more pictures on your left from the service.

Thanksgiving day is a national holiday in US, and this day is a special day, especially for some who could never make it to church on Sunday because of their work schedule.

The pastor shared the message about the Holy Spirit, how as Christians, it is very important to live according to the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will teach us how to pray, what to do, and always keep us align with God's will.

The food were great. There were different stations where you can choose your menu from: spicy (minang asli), not so spicy (forley cafe), hot food (bakwan campur), desert, roast pork (babi guling).

And of course, it didn't end there. I was kindly invited to a church member's house to join their thanksgiving dinner.

And so the blessing continues. Everyone shares their experiences, makes funny comments about "black friday" (the day after thanksgiving where many stores provide massive discounts on their products to mark the beginning of Christmas season), while eating the delicious turkey, mashed potato, sweet yam, crab meat soup, roast chicken...

Before the day ended, all the children posed by the stairwell, and gave their warmest thanksgiving smiles.

God bless.

Whose Hand?

It's all in God's hands.
Problems, Joy, Friends, Jobs, Lives, Future.

If they are not, then they are in the wrong hands.

Mistakes

"But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:13)

I wonder how many times, we as human make mistakes. These mistakes will have consequences, whether we commit them to others (cheating, mocking, fighting) or to ourselves (smoking, drinking, drugs).

Think back to the time when you were in kindergarten: if it weren't for you teacher, would you know that hitting somebody on the head is wrong, or cutting someone's hair is bad. You were taught also that if you make a mistake to say sorry to the person whom you wronged.

And as you grow up, you learn more, "do unto others as you would want them do unto you".

I am here not to condemn anyone of their past mistakes, instead, to remind everyone, including myself how we sometimes forget that we also commit mistakes that are invisible to human eyes but not to the eyes of God.

How many times that we have wronged God. Would you say being indifference to God or ignoring God's Spirit is as bad as ignoring your friend? I know that they are not the same. But, think about it.

Remember the story of Zaccheus, a greedy tax collector. Jesus came to his house and dine with him. Everyone else think how could Jesus, a holy man eat with Zaccheus, the sinful collector.

Jesus didn't come to tell about all the bad things that Zaccheus has done. But, Jesus come to offer forgiveness to Zaccheus.

Repent because the kingdom of God is coming.

Just like to Zaccheus, Jesus wants us to acknowledge our mistakes, and learn from it. The Son of God, Jesus Christ has come to the world to sacrifice Himself, so our sins can be forgiven.

Come and ask Him to forgive your sins and to guide the rest of your life.

God bless.