“As Jesus came ashore he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things.” (Mark 6:34)

In our daily lives, we often encounter difficult people whose behaviors do not meet our expectations – a lazy employee, a selfish colleague, an attention-seeking kid or a rude person in public. Almost instantly, we tend to judge and label them as useless, hopeless or good-for-nothings.

God views people very differently from the way we do.

He always sees the best in people regardless of their inadequacies. When Jesus saw the lost multitudes, he had compassion on them and started to teach them many things.

How heart-breaking if a sheep does not have a shepherd. The next time when we encounter a “difficult” person, instead of being upset, would we take a different perspective and consider that perhaps this person is just unfortunate to not have a “shepherd” in his life?

Let us recognize that laziness stems from a lack of motivation, selfishness from insecurity and attention-seeking behavior from a lack of affirmation. When a “Shepherd” is present in our lives, we get transformed.

Jesus is our shepherd. He is the best motivator, who secures us, affirms us, guides us and fills us with His love.

As parents and leaders, would we be willing to spend time to shepherd those under our charge? It is easy to dismiss a difficult person, but our Shepherd Jesus would leave the 99 and go find that 1 lost sheep.

We who have experienced the love of Jesus are fully capable to love and serve others in return.

Let us reflect about the way we regard the people around us and purpose to always see others the way our compassionate Jesus would see them.

by Keith Khor

The post Jesus, our Shepherd appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

“耶稣一下船，看见一大群人，就怜悯他们，因为他们好象羊没有牧人一样，就开始教导他们许多事。” (马可福音6:34)

在日常生活中，我们经常会遇到一些特别困难，行为不符合我们期望的人 – 可能是一名懒惰的雇员，一个自私的同事，一个故意引人注意的孩子或一个无礼的公众人士。我们的自然倾向是立即下判断并在他们身上定下负面的标签。

上帝对人的看法与我们的却截然不同。

祂总是看到每一个人的善而不是他们的不足之处。当耶稣看见迷失的人群，祂就怜悯他们，开始教他们许多道理。

没有牧羊人看顾的羊群是一幕多么令人感到郁闷的情景。下一次若遇到一个“难搞” 的人，我们能否以不同的观点考虑，也许他是迷失人群的一份子，在生命中没有一个 “牧羊人” 领导？

让我们意识到，懒惰乃因缺乏动力，自私乃因缺乏安全感，故意引人注意的行为乃因缺乏肯定。当我们生活中有一个“牧羊人”的时候，我们整个人就被感化，转变。

因为我们领受了耶稣所赐的爱，我们便能完完全全的去爱与服侍别人。

让我们定意常本着耶稣怜悯的心肠看待他们。

耶稣是我们的牧羊人。祂是我们的激励者，祂保护我们，肯定我们，引导我们，并用祂的大爱填满我们的心灵。

身为父母以及领袖的我们，是否愿意花时间牧养我们的孩子和所领导的人吗？想要屏除一个“难搞”的人是何等容易，

但我们的牧羊人耶稣会把九十九只羊留在山上，去寻找那一只迷失的羊。

撰稿: 许智信|

The post 我们的牧羊人耶稣 appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

A question that looms in the minds of most graduating students. Graduation marks the end of a season and the beginning of the next.

What does God have in mind for me in the next season? What do I want my life to be like?

I had 2 options.

Safety: with the major I graduated from, I can easily find a job and live a (seemingly) comfortable life.

Adventure: I can do something to fight human trafficking.

Both are good.

Which is God’s best for me?

I chose adventure.

6 months ago, I flew half way across the world for a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with Youth With A Mission (YWAM).

I would say that it was really good, but really hard. It was like an open heart surgery every day, especially during the first half of DTS.

God unearthed stuff within me that I did not even know was there, stuff that was buried deep down – Insecurities, lies that I believed in, hurts, unforgiveness, pride, fears.

Thankfully, God is a good God. He does not leave us hurting, instead, He brings healing and freedom.

I no longer have to be a slave to all these. Seems so easy right? But we, being the humans we are, tend to carry our broken chains along, clinging on to the identities that the world has placed on us. Why so? I guess we are just so used to carrying it like a safety blanket ， that being free feels weird and uncomfortable.

It really is a process of surrendering to God daily, and choosing to let go of that safety blanket and to put on the freedom given by God.

What is your safety blanket? Would you surrender it to God and allow Him to bring healing and freedom into your life?

Hard but trust me, it is worth it.

In the second half of DTS we were sent to other nations to be God’s hands and feet.

We met refugees, trafficking victims, traffickers, buyers, missionaries, pastors, volunteers, and people of all nations going about their daily lives..

One thing all of them have in common is that they are all precious children of God (you are too!!).

And that means we are family in Christ. God showed me that it is worth slowing down and going the extra mile for people. A simple “hello” can make somebody’s day, a simple smile can show someone that they have value and worth.

At a warehouse in Athens sorting
shoes to send to refugee camps

These 6 months have also deepened my desire to see modern-day slavery come to an end.

Interacting with trafficking victims face-to-face, hearing their stories and becoming friends with them has further fuelled my passion.

Their faces and their smiles that hide feelings of hopelessness and desperation, will forever stay in my heart. They are the reason why we continue to fight even if it seems like it’s going nowhere, the reason why we can allow our hearts to be broken and restored by God again and again, the reason why my team and I spent hours interceding. They are worth it.

What is God stirring in your heart today? It could be anything — compassion for a co-worker, compassion for the uncle selling newspapers along the streets, compassion for fatherless children…

God is choosing you to bring His love to people.

You are so unique and God has put you in the right place, at the right time to reach people that nobody else can.

Would you respond to God today?

by Sharon Ang

The post Safety vs Adventure: How I Chose God’s Best for Me appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

大多数毕业生心里都会想起了一个问题。 毕业是一个季节的结束和下一个的开始。 在下个季节，上帝对我的下一步有什么想法？ 我的生活该如何？

我有2个选择。 安稳：随着我毕业的专业，我可以很容易找到工作，活个（看似）舒适的生活。 或冒险：我可以做一些打击人口贩卖的事情。

两者都是好事，但那一个是上帝的最好呢？

今天，我很高兴我选择了冒险。

6个月前，我飞往美国参加青年使命团所举办的门徒训练学校。总结我的门徒训练学校经验，我会说真的很好，但真的很难。上半学期特别像是开心手术。在门徒训练学校开始的时候，我给了上帝许可，让祂做祂该做的。祂带出的东西，有我不知道的，有深埋的。感谢上帝是一个善良的神，他不会让我们埋在伤害里，而是带来愈合和自由。我不再需要成为这些东西的奴隶。但是，作为人类，我们倾向于把我们的破碎链带在我们身边，坚持世界对我们的身份。为什么这样？我想我们只是习惯于将它们全部携带在我们身上，就像安全毯一样，反而自由感觉很奇怪，很不舒服。在这过程里，我们天天都要选择放下这张安全毯，并施加上帝给予的自由。

你的安全毯是什么？将它交给上帝，让他将医治和自由带入你的生活吧！这很难，但相信我，是值得的。

在门徒训练学校的下半部分，我们被派往其他国家，带着上帝的爱去爱别人。在那里，我们遇到了难民，贩卖人口的受害者，贩卖者，传教士，牧师，志愿者和个国的人民。他们都有一个共同之处，就是他们都是上帝宝贵的儿女（你也是！）。这意味着他们是家庭。上帝告诉我，放慢脚步，关心他人是值得的。一个简单的“你好”可以使某人的一天更美好，一个简单的微笑可以显示给人说：你是值得的。

这6个月也加深了我想看到人口贩卖结束的意愿。与被贩卖的受害者面对面交往，听取他们的故事并与他们成为朋友，进一步激发了我的激情。他们的面孔和那隐藏着绝望的微笑，永远会留在我的心里。他们是我们继续战斗的原因，是我们花上几个小时祷告的原因。他们是值得的。

上帝在你心里煽动了吗？可能是对同事的关心，对在街上卖报纸的叔叔的怜悯，对无亲的孩子的同情… 上帝选择你把爱带给每一个人。你是如此独特，你可以达到的，是可能没有其他人能够达到的。

你今天会回应神吗？

撰稿: 洪雪伦

The post 安稳或冒险：选择上帝的最好 appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.