Please Release Bibles

Authorities asked to release 15,000 seized Bibles

By SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) has called for the immediate release of the 15,000 Bahasa Malaysia Bibles being withheld by the authorities.

It said the seizure contravened Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which gives all Malaysians the right to profess and practise his faith.

“This constitutional right is rendered illusory if Christians in Malaysia are denied access to Bibles in a language with which they are familiar,” said its chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing and executive committee in a statement Wednesday.

They said withholding the Bibles deprived Christians in Sabah, Sarawak and in the peninsula, a large majority of whom use Bahasa Malaysia, “the right to use the Holy Scriptures in Bahasa Malaysia, to practise and profess their faith and to nourish themselves spiritually.”

They said it was baseless to withhold the Bibles on the ground that they were prejudicial to public order since they had been in existence before independence and had never caused public disorder.

“Since the 1970s and in consonance with the Government’s policies in education and the national language, Christians in Malaysia have received their education in Bahasa Malaysia.

“To deny the same Christians the right to read and study the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia is thus ridiculous and offensive. In fact, it is this action by the authorities themselves which is an affront to good public order.

“We call on the relevant government officials who have neither the authority nor the right to act in this unconscionable manner to explain their action to the church leaders and to the public,” they said, adding that churches stood to their commitment to Bahasa Malaysia as the national language.

They said the Government had in an agreement in 2005 stated Bahasa Malaysia Bibles could be distributed so long as the symbol of the cross and the words “A Christian publication” were printed on the front page.

They called on the Government to walk the talk of its 1Malaysia policy and not impose conditions on the freedom of citizens to worship, pray and read the Holy Scriptures in Bahasa Malaysia.

“How can the first pillar of the Rukunegara, that is, ‘Belief In God,’ be made a living reality if the Government imposes restrictions and conditions on the constitutional and fundamental right of citizens to freedom of religion?” they said.

Published in TheStarOnline: Wednesday November 4, 2009 MYT 1:26:00 PM

LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

1 Corinthians 13:6, New International Version

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Like oil and water, good and evil, black and white - love dictates how you act.

Love for God, love for your spouse, love for one another.

We claim that 'love is lacking' in a person, thus he/she acts so indifferent or angry or unhelpful.

But we always forget that the root of such love is from God. We tell the person straight in his/her face that "HEY! YOU DON'T HAVE GOD'S LOVE!"

Hmmm...

Not the most tactful way of telling. But nobody likes to acknowledge the fact that they don't love God enough.

We all WANT to and KNOW that we need to love God with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our soul.

Decisions are hard to make, but making the decision to love God is essential to start loving God.

Love will change our perspective on so many things in life that hurt us and disappoint us. Love will cause us to look at people through God's eyes. Love will fuel us to do what is right and good.

Let us make the decision to think about the love God has for us since the beginning of time.

It will change your life forever...





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What do You Love More?

The story goes like this. . . . . . .

A man was polishing his new car..., his 6 yr. old son picked up a stone and scratched on the side of the car. In anger, the furious man took his child's hand and hit it many times, not realizing he was using a wrench.

At the hospital, the child lost all his fingers due to multiple fractures.

When the child saw his father, with painful eyes he asked:

'Dad when will my fingers grow back?'

The man was so hurt and speechless. He went back to the car and kicked it many times. Devastated by his own actions, sitting in front of the car he looked at the scratches; his son had written:

'LOVE YOU DAD'.

Next day, that man committed suicide.

Remember, Anger and Love have no limits . . .

Always remember... "Things are to be used and people are to be loved"




But the problem in today's world is....

"People are being USED & Things are being LOVED"

The Eyes of Love

(Taken from http://amazinglyblessed.com)

A grandmother and a little girl whose face was sprinkled with bright red freckles spent the day at the zoo.

The children were waiting in line to get their cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them with tiger paws.

"You've got so many freckles, there's no place to paint!" a boy in the line cried.

Embarrassed, the little girl dropped her head. Her grandmother knelt down next to her. "I love your freckles," she said.

"Not me," the girl replied.

"Well, when I was a little girl I always wanted freckles" she said, tracing her finger across the child's cheek. "Freckles are beautiful!"

The girl looked up. "Really?" "Of course," said the grandmother. "Why, just name me one thing that's prettier than freckles."



The little girl peered into the old woman's smiling face. "Wrinkles," she answered softly.

-Author Unknown

Family

God created a family because it is in our nature to require communication and a sense of belonging.

Since we broke that sense of belonging with God by sinning, God gave us the ability to create children so that we can have a community to belong to.

It was from the beginning that God separated us into tribes and clans. Starting from Cain founded a city, naming the city after his son, Enoch.

We find comfort and security in our family. When the secure bond between God and us broke, God gave us our family to reflect what we had, and what we can have, with God our Father.

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Psychologists have observed and tested and verified that people who grow up without a family, as orphans, tend to be more defensive, they don't trust easily and the percentage of being mentally and emotionally unstable is higher.

Humans are made to love. Humans are made to have communion with others. Humans are made to have a relationship with God.

Without love (whether from other people or from God), we feel lonely and depressed and our other emotions become very extreme.

Without contact with other humans, we become isolated and many 'good' and 'healthy' characteristics such as kindness, gentleness or even generosity will not be learnt and portrayed.

Without a relationship with God, we feel empty. It is best described as empty because that is exactly how we feel. There is always a spiritual element in us that has been evident from since the stone ages, when people have worshiped almost anything and everything.

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God our Father, gave us our family.

Despite all that has been done to wreck or destroy our relationship with our family, where we are and who we are in our family is God-appointed. Hence, let's not blame God for anything, but in all things, know that God has good plans for all of us.

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FOCUS on DISTRACTION

We are continously distracted by everything and everyone around us.

Distraction is such a common occurrence that we do not even realise we are being distracted.

To be able to focus on one thing and one thing only is slowly becoming impossible.

Information is easily available and our minds are being opened to all forms of ideas and facts - both good and bad.


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That is why I am always reminded to think about Him and all he has done.

At a recent dinner, there was a speaker who mentioned about copying great leaders and reading about their biography. To emulate successful people.

For us, we copy Jesus. His biography is the bible's new testament, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

From leadership skills, to character building and personality enhancements - we use Christ as our benchmark.

Some say it's a benchmark too high to attain. But if it's easily attainable, then Jesus would not be called the Son of God.

:)

Therefore, let's continue to focus on one thing only - Jesus.

Indonesian Worship Songs

I like this song...

May it bless your heart today....

11. Betapa Hatiku - Nikita

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ...

Now is the time

for us to

hold firm to the Word of God

and

pray

like never before

Church Camps / Retreats

It is a common practice for churches to have church camps or church retreats, where the congregation goes off to some holiday resort or faraway place, to spend a few days in one another's company and to dwell upon God's word for the few days that they're there.

We shall be having our church camp at Sri Malaysia Hotel at Genting Highlands.

With the theme:

MATURITY in CHRIST

The place is old and in the middle of the highlands, making it not as cool as people would like it. There's no fun facilities like the theme park or beautiful garden or a golf course or arcade games.

Sometimes, we are so pampered by holidays and vacations that we squirm and complain and go 'eewwww' when we go into a room and find the paint peeling off the wall.

Yes, we would like to have SOME comfort.

If it was about general cleanliness, by all means, say it out.

But if it were because the TV wasn't working. Or if it was because the cup had a crack. Or if the toilet didn't have those free shampoo. Does it warrant a big complaint and telling yourself, "I won't go for another church camp. Such lousy lodgings."

In order to appease all parties in the church, we go to all measures to find a cheap and good place. Serviceable, affordable and comfortable enough.

We should be thankful. For some who did not know. Several trips were personally made and TONNES of phonecalls made to the hotel to confirm and to ensure that they give us everything that we want.

Thanking God is in order...

Fellowship with God is not determined by the venue. Fellowship with people is not deterred by surroundings.

Each individual plays a part in making the whole camp successful. God will already be there, to welcome us with open arms and to tell each of His child:

"I'm so happy that you decided to spend some time with Me."

God the Artist

God's creations display not only God's magnificence, but also his humour and creativity.

A little panda cub. Cute as cute can be.

God created them for our pleasure. God created them for us.

God made us such that we would appreciate these things He gave us. It's like a Christmas tree with heaps of presents underneath. There are still some boxes we have not opened yet.

Boxes which include the sea creatures at the bottom of the sea, flowers that grow on icy cold mountains, the kindness of a stranger, or even the colour of your eyes.

Let's put our life on PAUSE - then look around at God's love - just next to you, for you.

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I was looking at the full moon on chap goh meh (15th day of the chinese lunar calendar, marking the last day of chinese new year celebrations), and i was so taken by the large round orange moon.

It was right there, so near, yet so far.

Glancing upon the moon and thinking how complex it was for God to ensure that we get moonlight, time, gravity and the change of tides - because of the moon.

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It's All Right

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God — for God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us.

1 John 4:7-12 (NLT)

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To take the intangible,
Hold on to it firmly,
With the assurance and trust that the intangible is so very good
- It eventually becomes tangible in us.



Because God first loved us, we are given a gift, a feeling. This feeling will naturally overflow out of us to others around us.

But how do we obtain or acknowledge this love God has for us?

1. It was already given the day we were born.

We do not need to seek it. It's already there. So, it is a question of whether we want to accept it in our hearts and believe in it. God made it our choice to decide if we want His love in our lives.

2. Love is tangible.

Love is an emotion. It is deemed as unseen. We cannot see God. But how do we know He's there? We were created to 'know' certain things. I call these things 'truths'. It could be a mere belief. But once you believe, the actions and manifestation of the love you receive will be what makes it tangible.

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We're not only commanded to love. We're politely asked to realise that we have this ability and this emotion of love, to love others. We're well-equipped to love others.

Enjoy your day... loving someone with the love of God.

Blessed New Year 2009

From all of us at Church of the Good Shepherd...

BLESSED NEW YEAR

and

MAY YOU SEEK HIS KINGDOM FIRST

Let 2009 be a year of new experiences with Jesus!