Brotzeit Birthday Blessings :)

Thanks so much dear Father for Huanyan surprising me with a birthday dinner treat today :D Really very blessed by the quality time spent tog and his generous heart - "It's only a small thing." :D deeply blessed!

Yeu Ann

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Eye-Opener

Was talking with one of the Hopekids ministry leaders about the heart of a volunteer. She shared some very good insights into what HopeKids needs: that children's ministry is not just about getting volunteers who are willing - but volunteers also have a strong and deep abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. We might be able to get by in other ministries, but definitely not HopeKids, as we are working with CHILDREN.

The leader's sharing was an eye-opener for me. :) Because up to now, I have stressed to my volunteers that God doesn't look for skills so much as He looks at the heart. But I realized that this is an incomplete understanding of what it really takes to be a servant of Christ. You may be willing regarding the ministry activity... but how about your relationship with God? Do you seek God for who He is, not only what He can do for your ministry? So... is your heart for God there, first and foremost? Keep your desire for God central.

Frankly God doesn't need anyone to serve Him. I was discussing the missions drama script with my teammate Deborah just now, and was telling her that God took Adam from the clay of the ground. She looked at the Genesis passage and said no, it wasn't. She pointed out that it simply said 'dust' not 'clay'.

So I looked more closely and it did say 'dust'. Of course it might be a translation issue, but it struck me how we were made from something as insubstantial and vapoury as ... dust.

Dust. The very picture conjures up the stuff that line your dustpans. The gray flecks that speckle your long-unused books and shelves. The brownish stuff that you find on your shoes. Dust. And of such lowly stuff He made the forerunner of the entire human race - in His image. That God would choose to use such lowly stuff to represent His glory and personhood... I think it shows the beautiful humility that is our God, the Servant King.

So we are made from dust. We are not indispensable. What really matters to God is whether I love Him with all that is in me and with all that I have, and whether I love my neighbor as myself.

Thinking about all these, I feel really grateful to God. That He has considered me worthy to serve Him in children's ministry. It's such an essential ministry... and I really really do NOT deserve to be in this ministry. I am so lacking in character, heart, commitment, etc... yet God in His infinite grace actually invited me to join Him in this wonderful ministry to impact the next generation. It really is totally the grace of God that I can even serve Him in children's ministry.

1 Tim 1:12-16
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me faithful, appointing me to His service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life."

Yeu Ann

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Walking the Plank in My Eye!

Ah! Timely irony. A sister who told me today about some event but didn't communicate the exact day. So I thought it was tomorrow, when it was actually today. So I said to her that it'd be good to state the exact date and time where possible to avoid further miscommunications.

Then... later on, I tried to arrange a meetup with a bro. I said that "we could meet after my trip ends on 5 Dec."

He thought that I was asking him to meet up on 5 Dec. I replied back, "Bro I can't. I said my trip ends on Dec 5. :) any other day after tt?"

He replied back, "I tot the last msg meant meet on dec 5th."

I looked at my last message again. "we could meet after my trip ends on 5 Dec."

Wah. Ambigious parsing! And the irony of it struck me. That I had told the sister that she should use exact dates so as to avoid further miscommunications... and then I went and did the exact date... and still kena miscomm!

So what lesson could I learn from this?

Show grace. Never assume that your own method / perspective / way of seeing things is 100% correct / sure to work properly / flawless. I realise that I had no excuse to be annoyed in my heart when people do their best and still end up miscommunicating. The spirit of excellence is not to be found in results, but in spirit.

So have repented in my heart. Still learning to be more gracious, like Jesus Christ!

Gary Chapman's Love Language Minute: Unhealthy Patterns of Communication

We talk a lot about the importance of communication in relationships, but we don't often evaluate our communication. You see, communication is not enough because how we talk greatly affects the quality of our conversation. Many have developed unhealthy patterns of communication, and wonder why their conversations seem to go down hill. Below are a few of the most common patterns...

The Placator
"That's fine with me." Or, "Whatever you want is fine." It's really not "fine", but this person does not like arguments, so, on the surface they simply agree, but inside they resent the attitude of the other person. We will never have an authentic relationship until we learn to share our honest thoughts and feelings. You might begin by asking, "Would you really like to know my thoughts?" If they say, "yes", then share them.

The Blamer
There are many unhealthy patterns of communication, but none as deadly as "The Blamer." "It's your fault." "If it weren't for you everything would be fine." "You never do anything right." "I don't know how you could be so stupid." No matter what it is, the blamer will blame their spouse and in the process destroys intimacy and make communication impossible.

An ancient Hebrew proverb says, "A fool does not delight in understanding, but only wants to show off his opinions." If you are a blamer, I urge you to apologize to the person you so often blame. Your relationship will never improve until you admit your destructive words and seek to understand the other person's perspective.

The Professor
If you are married and you take pride in being reasonable, and you see your spouse as being unreasonable, you are in the process of destroying your marriage. The person I'm talking about is calm, cool and collected. He believes that if you will listen to his arguments, you will be forced to agree. Any sane person could not disagree.

"Let's be reasonable," they say, as they envision themselves as being a person of logic."Let me explain this to you one more time." The implication is that if you will just listen, you will understand and thus agree. This person makes no room for emotions. All that matters is logic. But I remind you that God made us emotional creatures and if you don't allow for emotions, you will never create an intimate marriage. Learn to listen. Treat your spouse as a person of worth. Ask for their opinions and be empathetic with their feelings.

The Statue and/or Subject Changer
This is the person who doesn't talk. "Ignore her and she will go away" is his philosophy. Such a person will never enjoy authentic relationships. In healthy relationships, people must talk about the things that irritate them. They must seek to negotiate solutions which will respect their differences. Put your head in the sand, and your problems will get worse.

The key is not to ignore your spouse or change the subject when your spouse brings up a topic that you think will start an argument. Simply ask, "Do you want us to share our ideas and look for a solution? If so, I'm willing to talk. If we are simply going to argue, I don't have the energy to do that. If we can respect each other's thoughts I think we can find an answer." Speak the truth in love and you can solve your problems.

Working Towards Healthy Communication
If you see yourself in any of the unhealthy communication patterns above and desire to change, talk with your spouse and develop healthy ways to identify these patterns when they arise. Then, set in place a plan to work towards healthy communication. And healthy communication leads to healthy relationships.

Share your questions, thoughts, insights, or comments:
Join the conversation on Facebook at facebook.com/5lovelanguages

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I think after reading this helpful newsletter, my tendency is to be a blamer. It's subtle, and I can sense it a lot of times. Thank God for His Holy Spirit who helps me be more aware of such tendencies. Used to do this a LOT before I became a Christian. But over the years, He has helped me realize that I have plenty of planks in my eyes. With God's help, removing them one by one. Hee. But yeah, that's so important. To know that I am broken, and to say together with the dear apostle Paul: "I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God... I am less than the least of all God's people... (and eventually, near the end of Paul's life) Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst."

=) Yay! To know my brokenness more and more, so that I can see even better the depth which I have been redeemed from.

Ennui

I think ennui of the soul can be contagious. By choosing to indulge in pleasing oneself, one inevitably falls into ennui. And those whom you chose not to minister to start declining into ennui too.

But even more than all these is that the further you let yourself get jockeyed away from your Shepherd, the deeper you also fall into ennui.

I think we need both to stay in close and constant community with the rest of the flock (not doing our own things as we please) and to keep in close proximity to our good Shepherd if - and especially when - the rest of the flock strays away.

Hebrews 10:25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

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Deepavali at DOME Cafe

Ahh... sweet bliss. :)

A poignant thought. My parents will be 70 years old this year. In ten years' time they will be 80. I find it... so hard to believe, because they still look like they're in their sixties. But... ten years go by fast. I was 20... and next year I will be 30. Ten years really feels like a lot... but also so short.

I ... it just struck me suddenly that I may only have about ten to fifteen more years to spend with my parents, or twenty, if they're very fortunate. I feel a sense of sadness, and a tightness grip my throat. Thank God they're Christians too... but gosh, I think I feel the impending nearness. How brief, how short are our lives on this side of eternity.

I kissed my mum and gave her a goodnight hug. I have learnt to treasure every little hug, because I know that one day, they'll be sleeping. Sleeping. It's such an important word. Because it lends me hope that death does not have the final word. =)

I guess it sounds rather strange, to be ... sad ... about my parents, while they are still strong and healthy. But I think it's good to be prepared, and treasure as much time as I can with them - the earlier I start, the better - before they go home to be with the Lord.

But after they go, life goes on. Abraham had to move on after his father died. And God revealed more of His calling to him at that sad moment in his life. So send me Lord.

I have to cherish every moment with them. Lord, bless my parents with long life and good health I pray. Help me treasure every single moment left with them. In Jesus' lovely name Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:55-58
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

:) Treasure life, and treasure your loved ones. Your time in this world really goes by very fast. It's simply a dress rehearsal for heaven - where things really are more real and more full of life... and full of joy. And no more will be heard the sound of weeping or crying or death or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away. :) May the hope of heaven therefore spur you on all the more to live life as fully for the Lord as you can in this present world.

Knowing the Big Loves through the little loves

... I really want to say thanks to some very dear people.

To all who SMSed me (and spent 5 cents! HAHA!)
To Weizhu for his retro birthday card... 1995 all over again! (And very lame too...)
To Shuyi, for spontaneously organizing an office birthday party for me. =)
To Kin Wee, who helped remind Shuyi indirectly.
To Spencer and Jonathan, who organized a birthday meetup for me. I didn't expect Jon to be in cahoots with Spencer... so it was a genuine heartwarming surprise to see Jon pop out. Both of them chipped in for a Valyrie DVD... only thing is that it's in Blu-ray format so my poor Mac can't read it. Cost them $40 bucks! It really means a lot to me, because $40 is not a small thing for these two brothers.
To my fellow HopeKidders, who organized a surprise birthday dinner for me. =) And they helped buy "The Element" book for me too! :) Yay! Now I can lend it to others since I have my very own copy.
To Huanyan, who wanted to treat me for dinner. A very small thing, but it really means a lot to me. I think quality time is one of my greatest love languages, besides words of appreciation. In fact, think it might be even more than words, actually. :)
To Huili and Jan who both took the time to wish me just after midnight! Very sweet of them!
To my ex-colleague Aileen who sent me one of her trademark 'terrorizing' SMSes! Very sweet of her!

To my dear mum, who blessed me by helping me pay for a book that I've been eyeing for some time already... The Creative Arts: A Process Approach for Teachers and Students.

A lot of little things... but it's the little things that often make a huge difference.

God can give us so many Big Loves straight (and He does - just look at the sky, the earth, the heavens, the galaxies, the seas...), but I think He prefers to express His infinite love through finite little loves... because Daddy knows we are so little that we could never fully appreciate (let alone understand) the Big Loves, no more than an ant could fully comprehend the beauty of a big forest, or a man fully enjoy an elephant burger, for example.

So He breaks the Big Loves into smaller pieces of loves. For the small loves are part of the Big Loves, in the same way that an ambassador is just a small portion of his country, yet represents the entire nation. And so... I may be able to experience in part, how wide, how long, how high and how deep the ocean of Christ's love is, through His little ambassadors that He send into my life.

"His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

=)

Sweet Sleep

Things have been surprisingly busy for me, considering that I'm not working for any company now - 'self-employed' as a writer is my new official occupation.

Wrrrrriter. Feel that word roll off your tongue and savour the sweet taste of being considered as one of the Creative Ones. LOL. I told the brothers & sisters whom I pray together with every month for Japan that I work as a children's book writer, and they all went, 'Whoa...' :)

Yes, it is pretty nifty. But it is pretty tight on the pocket! Thank God Wan Yueh, who's in the same CG as me, has a neighbor who blesses her with lots of bread often. So she gives me free loaves from time to time. I joke with her about her 'giving us today our fail bread'. But really, God does give me today my daily bread - literally! It's amazing how God can provide. Not just plain bread - I get flavored bread too! :))) flavor for this week is corn. Last week it was corn too. So my bread has been corn-again. (Ok you may groan now.) Sorry lah... could be worse. Like how eating dried grapes in loaves can resurrect you because you have raisin from the bread. (Oh, I am so dead now...)

Hee. But more seriously, I guess I've been struggling with time management. It's not easy for me, and though I'd love to do an all-nighter to complete the Great Singaporean Book, I realize my body won't be able to take it well. Part-time work, ministry too and with the upcoming missions trip to Cambodia, things are loading up.

So I've been feeling dryer in recent days. Finding it harder to still my soul, because I fear, to be honest, the call of the night, when I have to confront my inner insecurities, inadequacies and leftover things to clear. But I tend to procrastinate as well.

So I've been finding it hard to sleep restfully actually. I toss and turn, trying to get myself to sleep. Then I try praying for help to fall asleep. But still too many thoughts flood my minds. And so I decide to just get up and surf Wikipedia till sleep overcomes me.

But that isn't healthy as inevitably I wake up very late the next day, and I awake with a sucky feeling of having wasted half the morning. And quiet time gets short shrift as I drag myself out of bed to rush bleary-eyed into the new battle of the new day. And the weariness in my soul grows. Wiki-orgy. It's my nightcap, and might increase my IQ a few points, but at what cost? And greater dangers beckon if one stays too long online, if you know what I mean. (I use the X3Watch accountability software to protect myself just in case.)

But thanks be to God. That He knows and understands... and calls me to Himself. I pray in semi-random spurts and pants through the day. And then this verse from the Psalm tells me: As the deer pants for streams of water...

So tonight, I sit down on my bed, and breathe the clean night air. I'm writing all these down, because... I prayed just now, telling God about all my outstanding stuff that I need to clear. And somehow, within a few minutes I felt that sweet peace that surpasses all understanding calming the worries in my soul. It really felt like God was resting my soul. Actually I believe He is. :) And... I know I could simply fall asleep peacefully right now. "Everything's all right / I've got Jesus with me" That song is so true. He grants sleep to those He loves. :)

So why haven't I slept yet? Because I wanted to thank God for His love and grace and mercy to me before I procrastinate. :) Going to sleep now. Goodnight... and God bless you. :)

Yeu Ann

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The Wiggles ~ Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

My Birthday Manifesto

My birthday wish is not so much for success, nor for personal glory, nor for praises, though to be VERY honest, I'd REALLY REALLY REALLY like all these. :)

But my dearest birthday wish is that this new year, I may not focus so much to cling on to old friendships and acquaintances, but rather, like the apostle Paul, to continually flow forth grace, kindness, truth and love into the lives of every person God brings my way, old or new, friend or foe. To be Christ's ambassador and carry forth His fragrance. :)

I pray that I can be a blessing to whoever I meet along the way, as I walk with God along the path of life, in whatever I do. That streams of living water will flow out of me, and that I may always walk with compassion, graciousness and uprightness.

That I can live out more and more Christ's sermon on the Mount in my daily life, because I have come to understand that only by living out His dictums in everyday life can one be truly assured of a strong and enduring walk with God that outlasts the storms that come and go.

That I can live out the life of a disciple in everything I do... and help make disciples of every Christian I work with, by teaching them to obey everything that Christ has commanded me.

I know that my life is not my own. Each birthday that passes is a strong reminder that my years are numbered - literally - and that I have only one life to live. If I live, I live to the Lord, and if I die, I die to the Lord. So whether I live or die, I belong to the Lord.

I know that I have much dying to self to do, and God knows how much I still sin against Him day in and day out. So I pray too that I can grow to be merciful to others, just as I have received mercy. (And that's a God-knows-how-much-load of mercy I need.)

Feel so thankful this year that God has helped me granted me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that I can know Him better. That He's helped me understand more adequately the way of the Cross. That God has used me in the workplace to be a blessing to my colleagues and boss, and to my fellow HopeKids ministers.

:)

Oh, I have plenty of other wishes. Just that I think God has stirred my heart so much this year regarding discipleship. So yup yup... =)

Ah! This verse describes my wish so well:

Ephesians 5:1-2
"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." :)

The Best Birthday Present - Ever.

Sometimes I wonder whether people only wish you well because they're in the same caregroup or because they genuinely enjoy you. No one wants to be loved out of a sense of duty, but to be loved because their presence is really enjoyed. But every birthday, I feel a nervousness in my stomach. It feels like waiting for the results of an annual opinion poll, or more precisely, an appraisal.

Yet I know my true appraisal comes from God Himself. Still, my heart does tend to feel anxious, because I know... isn't this a natural human thing? Just speaking. If you don't feel it, haha... then I guess good for you! ;) But if you do, welcome friend to the human race. :)

Thank God He doesn't love us only because He's God. Not even because He's naturally loving. Not even because He's Love. Not because He has a sense of obligation or compelled by His own character - as if He had anything to prove. But because He really takes delight in us.

"In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." Because He finds pleasure in doing so. Because He WANTS to.

You know, there was this Singaporean-born journalist who asked his grandfather who had migrated from China to Singapore. He asked him, "Grandpa, seeing that you came from China, do you feel more Singaporean or more Chinese?" His grandpa snorted. "Of course, Singaporean. I chose to come and stay here."

In the same way, I think we really are God's children - children not by a natural process or an inevitable "pray-the-sinner's-prayer-and-you'll-be-automatically-a-child-of-God" mechanistic ritual, but because God chose to adopt us. We are His children thrice-over: children by creation (of the Adamic Convenant), children by election (of the Abrahamic Covenant), and children by adoption (of the New Covenant).

A God who takes delight, pleasure and WANTS us to be born. No matter how high or low your IQ, Now, how is that not the Best Birthday Present - Ever?

:)

An Ephesian Epiphany

So very very thankful that I can get into the Bible class on Ephesians - though I could only squeeze into the 12.45pm-2.45pm slot. And $25, not $15. LOL... :) But because of that, it helped me be really really eager to 'eat' God's Word. One only knows how good bread taste when one has been hungry.

Also delighted to discover a wonderful literary device that I found in Ephesians. Saw how Eph 1:3-10 forms a Greek 'chi' (as in the Greek letter chi) structure, with v7 forming a central theme - literally - of the whole passage. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins..." In that same passage, Paul also effectively and compactly summarizes what the whole book of Ephesians is about.

I know it sounds rather academic, but believe you me, when you see that literary device in use (which manages to still be seen clearly despite the inevitable translation issues), gosh, you see the fluent literary genius in the good apostle's writing style. It's so beautifully written and helps hammer home in your heart the centrality, depth, cost, significance and degree of our redemption. It makes me cry just to think of how deeply - and dearly - we have been redeemed.

(And I love how 'redeemed' and 'redemption' still carries its same secular meaning in today's English language, being used in the marketplace just as plainly as it is used in the pulpit. It's so plain - commercialized even - that I don't think it will lose its potential to punch the hearts of even world-weary businessmen for a long time yet - which I think a significant number of Ephesians were working as. (Yes I know English ain't Greek, but the New Testament Greek word for 'redemption' was also used commercially.))

Anyway, with redemption playing such an important theme in Ephesians, Paul goes on to graphically illustrate our depth and degree of redemption. Imagine, alive physically but dead spiritually... I guess that makes us sound like... zombies! ZOMG! But thank God we weren't Left4Dead... He came, saw and gave the Supreme Sacrifice.

Hee. There's other wonderful themes in Ephesians... Nope, one WFL class won't be enough. But yes, do be inspired by this wonderful epistle! God bless!

Yeu Ann

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Our very own HopeKids actor!

Matthias, Pri 2. Yan dao, right? :D His performance today was very good! :D Hee. Gosh, I remember taking care of him in HopeKinders back during my last semester when I was still in Uni ministry.

So Sweet!

Thank You dear Father! I feel so happy to be able to sign up for the WFL class on Ephesians even though I missed the registration deadline. It's such a joy to be able to study and understand Your Word even more!

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This is the Air I Breathe

Relaxing along Orchard Heeren McDonalds. Alfresco-style, yet Mc-cheap. :) Thank God! And thank God especially for the no-haze! Realized you never really appreciate clean air until you have to breathe polluted air.

Yeu Ann

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A Simple Line of Encouragement

"Yeu Ann I do believe you have great storytelling talents."

Hee. Really very grateful to God for His encouragement through my ex-boss.

A simple line of encouragement... but it really means a LOT to me. Especially since it came from someone who's experienced in writing stories, scripts and creative writing... wow... really very thankful to God for her kindness and encouragement, even though I don't deserve it!

Thank You dear Father for my ex-boss and her friendship. And... for being with me, just as You spoke clearly to me today during Saturday service through Isaiah 41:10. =)

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name be the glory,
Because of Your love and faithfulness. :D

Amen and praise the Lord...

The Art of Freshability

Notes that I took from Hong Teck's CG sharing:

Freshness in ministry is so important. It's like eating an oyster. If it's only half-fresh, half of it has to be thrown away. So it is with our own ministry. If what we do is not fresh - i.e. not of the Spirit but of our own fleshly efforts, it ultimately has to be discarded.

Make saying, "Sorry" and "It's ok" your greatest ability as s leader. Because God's compassion never fails. Likewise ours too should not.

If you have flashbacks of past hurts and bad experiences, then flashback even further to the day that Christ died.

Actually make it such that you don't have to be so easily offended in the first place. Go back to the Cross again and again and see what Jesus' response was. Give thanks in all circumstances. :) Be full of grace and don't take yourself too seriously. Take God seriously but not yourself.

Yeu Ann

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The Power of Christlike Compassion

From the article The Compassion of Jesus by Radio Bible Class:

[T]he best way to appreciate how the example of our Lord’s compassion has impacted history is to consider the lives of individuals who have served as conduits of His caring love. They have been salt in the otherwise tasteless dough of civilization. They have been light in the gross darkness of depraved culture. They have been voices pleading for mercy and kindness wherever there have been eruptions of barbarism, even in advanced nations. Here are just two illustrations of Christlike compassion.

Jackie Polinger, who was born and reared in Great Britain, was a musician by vocation and a Christian by conviction. From the age of 5 she felt that God was directing her into missionary service. But where and under what agency? She consulted her pastor who advised her to start out in faith and let God providentially lead. Jackie followed his advice and eventually found
herself in Hong Kong.

All alone, she began a compassionate work of witness in the notorious Walled City, where more than 50,000 people were crowded into a mere 61⁄2 acres. It was a refuge for criminals of every kind— thieves, drug dealers, murderers, and prostitutes. Its streets were lined with heroin dens and opium dives, to say nothing of the pornographic theaters. The Walled City was a rat- infested horror of filth, ruled by ruthless gangs. Every morning the bodies of pathetic wretches who had overdosed and died during the night were simply dragged outside its walls and left unburied.

Jackie was only 20 years old, untrained and unprotected, when she moved into that nightmare and started as a conduit of Christ’s compassion to share the good news of His forgiveness and love. She met with violent hostility. Windows and furniture were smashed in the Youth Club she opened, and it was smeared with excrement by the followers of a drug lord. But he was so impressed by Jackie and her message of God’s forgiveness that he ordered his guilty gang members to go and apologize to her. They did and, true to her message, Jackie forgave them.

Slowly a change took place through Jackie’s unfaltering compassion, dauntless bravery, and Christ-centered preaching. Hundreds of men and women—drug-enslaved, vice- fettered, lifelong addicts and drunkards—were liberated.

Jackie’s compassion was not an impotent sentimentalism. Motivated by Calvary, her ministry was dynamic and transforming. Indeed it was the very power of God unto salvation. Jesus through Jackie continued His work of compassion.

Mary Reed, born in Ohio in 1858, was another conduit of Christlike compassion. Hearing about the plight of lepers in India, she decided to do what she could to alleviate their distressful lot and share with them the good news of God’s love. How apparently futile it was for one Christian woman to expect that she could bring about any significant change in the lives of such sorely afflicted people in an alien society.

Resolutely and prayerfully, Mary volunteered for service in India. The city of Cawnpore with its overwhelming needs was the site of her ministry. Conditions were indescribably difficult. Little wonder, then, that after 8 years of compassionate labor, she suffered a physical breakdown. So she returned home to recuperate. But did she stay home? Did she abandon the impossible task of making a really helpful impact on so desperate a situation?

No, instead of yielding to any temptation like that, Mary returned and went to Pithoraterth in the Himalayas. On one journey she came across a tragic group of 500 lepers, subsisting by themselves, with no human agency concerned about their misery. Burdened for their piteous helplessness, Mary could not forget those neglected sufferers.

After another year of intense ministry, she collapsed and was sent back to her American home. Doctors were perplexed by her illness. What caused the tingling pain in her forefinger and that spot on her face? Mary knew before she had received a definitive diagnosis. She had contracted leprosy. Yet, rather than being horrified, she thanked God for a disease that ordinarily would have aroused reactions of dread and self-pity. She saw it as God’s gift, an answer to her pleas that somehow she might be permitted to work among those lepers in the Himalayas.

Only her doctors and a sister knew the truth about her condition. When she left for India, she insisted that there be no sad farewell, though she realized she might never see her much- loved family again. Back in India, Mary went to that leper settlement where no missionary had gone before. “I have been called by God to come and help you,” she told the astonished sufferers. And there she remained as God’s agent of Christlike compassion. The difficulties were indeed enormous, yet gradually in Chanbag under Mary’s sacrificial leadership a new order of things developed. Even a hospital was built providing healing, help, and hope to once utterly hopeless outcasts. For 53 years she lived and served at Chanbag, dying there in 1943.

These two servants of the Lord Jesus are representative of a great host of His disciples, the majority of them unknown and unapplauded. But their names are known in heaven, and they have received the only commendation they desired and deserved, their Lord’s word of approval, “Well done, good and faithful servants.”

If we have named Jesus as our Redeemer and Master, we are challenged to follow in Jackie’s and Mary’s footsteps, as they followed in the footsteps of Him who was compassion incarnate. As recipients of saving grace, we have the privilege of letting the costly love of Calvary flow through our lives and out into the needy world. Only as we do so can some of humanity’s need be met.

Hope and pray this inspires you too to ask God to help you grow in compassion for a world that is lost, hurting and dying in pain... and to send YOU. I've already asked God to send me... hope we can see each other there at the finish line, by God's grace, and hear His wonderful words: "Well done, good and faithful servants!"

The Compassion of Jesus

The Compassion of Jesus. Great resource from RBC on understanding Christ's compassion... and what it implies for us.

http://www.rbc.org/uploadedFiles/Bible_Study/Discovery_Series/PDF/The_Compassion_Of_Jesus.pdf

"Eliminate God’s compassion, and God is no longer God—the personal God who interacted with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Eliminate compassion, and God is no longer the God who has experiences akin to our own states of joy, regret, grief, and merciful kindness.

Eliminate compassion from God’s nature, and Scripture must be rewritten, our understanding of the divine nature must be radically revised, and theology must be turned inside out. But compassion can’t be eliminated. It must, instead, be given a place of honor among God’s attributes. He is the caring God."