Abraham walked with God

Abraham was the first. Abraham was the only one. Abraham was the first to be called by God to go to a place which destination he knew not. It is almost like buying a ticket and boarding a plane to nowhere. At least now we know our destination. It was a time of travel by foot, donkeys and camels. Yet Abraham left Ur of the Chaldean and walked thousand of kilometres to Haran, and then to Canaan as God called him. Whenever God called, Abraham obeyed. That’s the essence of faith.

There is no Respite

I think I have to work till the last day, even on my official holidays till the end of March. I have worked on most public holidays last year without any extra pay or reward, but God is my reward. Now I am asked to join the church’s group to visit our Bible College at the end of the month, a week after I am supposed to cease work officially. Then, the church in Tuaran that we visited last July will be making a return visit to our church, and again I was asked to be present on the 3rd week of March well into my official annual leave.

Ones & Twos

There are ones and twos. Three weeks ago on 11th Jan 26 (110126), I preached my sermon having handed my letter of resignation and countdown began. Yesterday I preached a sermon and today (020226) it is now less than three weeks before I am free from all men in order to serve everyone. It's a paradox that I preached about yesterday from 1 Cor 9. The whole 27 verses in 49 minutes. I divided my sermon into 4 sections.

The Support of God's Servants

Tomorrow, God willing, I shall be preaching through the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 9 on Paul's teaching on the financial support of God's servants. It's part of the expository series on 1 Corinthians which unfortunately I won't be able to finish as I shall be completing my tenure as pastor on the 22nd Feb 2026. I hope to reach 1 Corinthians 11 and preach it as my farewell sermon on the hierarchy of the Godhead and also in church based on the first part of 1 Cor 11 & 12 as well as Ephesians 4's five fold ministry.

Love of Literature

If one asks me a solid preparation for law studies or for that matter theological study, it will be literature in the humanities in particular. In fact, my law studies were preparation for my study of theology six years on after giving up law practise.

Further Back, 1986

Another 10 years further back will bring me into my 20s, as 1986 was my final year at Law School and then working as a chambering student or legal assistant in a law firm in 1987 before being admitted to the Bar at the High Court of New Zealand in Christchurch. All four decades long until today in 2026. All four decades long of learning and training and equipping in order to be ready to serve the king of kings and the Lord of Lords, our Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking of law studies, my friend commented just a few weeks ago that I was the only church leader in his memory to encourage young people to enter law, to become lawyers.

What were you doing 10 years ago?

One thing I do is to plan 10 years ahead of time. What will I be doing in 10 years' time? What would I like to have achieved in a decade's time? Simply put, visit Europe and Jerusalem and write a couple more books. But what were you doing 10 years ago? 10 years ago, I suddenly received a call to lead our Bible College for one Semester (Jan-June 2016). It was the most exciting times of my life, filled with adventures at College and outside of College.

Vision fulfilled & unfulfilled

I do not want to be a hypocrite. In fact, when I say or said something in the Lord, it will come to pass. My earliest pronouncement last January 2025 when I held the first leaders’ retreat to set the vision for 2025 and one of the first was to visit a nearby church, to establish sisterly or brotherly relationship with a fellow SIB church and the very next week I met a church leader at McD (he told me he hardly ever dined at a McD) and the church leader invited me to bring a team from my church to visit them.

Counting Down, 26

The countdown has begun. It's 26 days before I retire from my current position. No idea where I am going next. Many of my friends think I might be going back to College next year, but it is far from certain. I do not fancy living outside the city in my 60s. I thought when I turned 55 I had done my duty as far as living in the interior is concerned.

The Speech’s Aftermath

As the church hall was packed with worshippers, 138 adults inside with a few outside and downstairs as all seats were taken, I preached a sermon on 1 Corinthians 8 and gave my speech on the reason why I was leaving the church as pastor. Three weeks ago I told my six leaders who were present at the prayer meeting that I could no longer serve as pastor but I could come as a visitor or worshipper.

Parable of an Eagle

I gave a 14 minute farewell speech after a 30 min sermon. Everything went according to plan. At the end of speech I gave a parable of an eagle. I told the church the Lord showed to me an eagle with one of its wings bound - this image came to me often in my prayers and every time I thought of my ministry in church and for the future. My speech was composed and calm.