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From CRMS to NOVO Singapore

29 July 2023 blogpastor 2 Comments

CRMS (Church Resource Ministries, Singapore) is now NOVO Singapore. CRMS was founded by James Creasman, and it was affiliated to CRM (US). CRM US decided to change their name to NOVO, which means “make new”, and invited other countries using CRM to change theirs too. The committee in Singapore decided to follow suit, and with that change of name a new emphasis on being missional. Read more about this in their website HERE.

I was blessed by the CRMS’ Focusing Leaders and Coaching programs and together with others facilitated a few runs of Focusing Leaders Network in the church I served as well as outside. I also served in their committee for a few years, and before I left, I recommended Abraham Sim(Vice President, NOVO), a senior leader of World Revival Prayer Fellowship, who loves and honours pastors, with the right spirit and abilities to help CRMS, and I was pleased that he has so faithfully served in this mission for these many years. Thus when he personally invited me to the 20^th Anniversary celebrations, I simply could not say No.

I enjoyed renewing contact with old comrades like Pastor How Beng (a stalwart of CRMS), Pastor Andy and Pastor Charles(the President, NOVO). Furthermore, I was surprised to meet again with missionary Mike Crow, who was the special guest. The program was ably and smoothly chaired by Abraham Sim. I heard exciting stories and presentations about the ongoing ministries that NOVO are doing from missional work in a specific community and sports outreach, to missions mentoring and member care, focusing leaders networks, coaching, and some new ones for making disciples. There was also a thanksgiving for the founders of CRMS, James and Kimberly Creasman. After the program, we had a lavish Peranakan lunch, and I sat down with marketplace leaders from other churches and listened to their stories of how the NOVO helped them. It was a happy and meaningful morning for me and I felt pleased with all that the Lord has done for and through them.

Have you been blessed by this ministry? If you have been blessed, do drop a comment and share your personal thanksgiving or well wishes for NOVO, to celebrate their 20^thanniversary on 8^th July 2023.

Christ’s Finished Work: Quietude

23 July 2023 blogpastor Leave a comment

It is obvious why this post took the longest time ever. What blessing that is derived from Christ’s finished work begins with the alphabet “Q”? I was wavering between “Quenching of spiritual thirst” and “Quietude” and finally decided to write about both!

Quenching of Spiritual Thirst

We can clearly observe in society that there is an insatiable thirst in humans that cannot be satiated by material wealth, great achievement, human love, powerful control, extreme thrills, nor worldwide fame. No matter how much of these a person has, there is always a feeling of emptiness, meaninglessness, a yearning for more. It is as if there is a hole in the heart that is yet to be filled. It was St Augustine of Hippo who described this emptiness well in this prayer in his autography: “Thou has made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee”.

Jesus recognized that human beings are not mere flesh and bones but have an eternal spiritual dimension to them. He saw that to quench that undying spiritual thirst of humans, sinful man has to be restored to right relationship with God. This is made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Knowing his finished work will make available a reconciliation of separated humans with God, he told the Samaritan woman: “Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water (from the physical well) will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him (the Spirit) shall never thirst; but the water (the Spirit) that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life (italics mine).” The spiritual blessings of the Spirit’s presence in us are multi-faceted and satisfies the deepest void and hole in our life. It is so complete that one may not have any of the earthly possessions or experiences that humans mistakenly seek, and yet be able to find full satisfaction and deep contentment through a trust relationship with Christ. In another setting, Jesus gave this invitation to people: “If anyone is thirsty let him come to Me and drink.” It is by coming to Christ and believing in his finished work on the cross that we can truly find satisfaction and true contentment. Our thirst will finally be quenched.

Quietude is another blessing

The dictionary defines “quietude” as “a state of stillness, calmness and quiet in a person or place”. The picture I get is of a person with utter serenity and unruffled poise in the midst of the challenges and difficulties of life. Jesus death and resurrection proclaims God’s character to us. God is love and seeks our well-being and wholeness. God is good and intends only good, never harm. God is wise and knows the best means and plans to achieve his purposes. God is all powerful and in total control though sometimes it appears that nothing is going right. When we exercise child-like faith in this loving God, we cannot help but find our troubled soul gradually find itself stilled, and calmed, and quietened. Our prayer will be, “Father, I do not understand, but I trust Your love, Your goodness, Your wisdom, and Your power. When we do this “quietude” will be established within our soul.

This is part of a planned series of writings on the topic, “The A to Z of Christ’s Finished Work”. I am writing it alphabet by alphabet. Thus far the others that I have written can be found HERE.

A Visit To Plastify.sg

15 July 2023 blogpastor Leave a comment

Paul Lee Wen Por, my nephew, an actor with Fly Entertainment, has been working at Plastify.sg, an environmental organization in Singapore that gives plastic waste a new life. He arranged for several of us uncles and aunties and his family to visit his workspace. The church, World Revival Prayer Fellowship, is about ten minutes away, so we decided to visit on a Sunday, after the morning church service. It turned out to be an interesting visit.

Located on the second floor of the Yu Li industrial building, we entered into a space that looked like a sizeable workshop with machines, work-tables, stools, and storage shelves. Yew Jin, the technical director was there doing his thing and we were introduced to him. Then, Paul did a presentation to us, showing us the space and explaining the step by step process of converting plastic waste into pretty and useful new products, like carabiners, coasters, and wall décor.

We had an opportunity to see the bits of plastic waste melted and pressed into a mold and made into beautiful recycled coasters (see above). These folks are very committed to recycling and cutting wastage. Even the machine that melts the waste was designed and made from odd metals and what not. The machines look like some alien lifeform with long metal limbs and spouts that excretes melted plastic lava that enters a mold and like magic…. trash becomes treasure!

I reflected on this and thought of how this is so like my life. I was useless, worthless, ugly, purposeless, rubbish. Jesus came into my life and through a process of transformation made my life meaningful, valuable, useful, relevant, and admirable. This was what the gospel did to me: it cut me to shreds with conviction of my wrongdoing; melted my resistance with the love of Jesus; and molded my life by his Spirit.

I was glad I went for that visit. It was a lesson for me of the redeeming and transforming power of God’s love. God sent Jeremiah to the potter’s house to give him a spiritual message of warning that he was to deliver to the idolatrous people of Judah(Jeremiah 18). The message I received is one of hope and love. I hope you receive a similar message: God never gives up on you and can recycle the worst of you into the one of his millions of unique masterpieces. Trash into treasure!