Discerning the Lord's Will

It's time for me to reflect on the year, normally come November which is less than a week away. When I submitted my "Anak Panah" for publication last week, I listed all my speaking engagements from July 2023 to Dec 2024 which encompasses a 18-month period. There are 38 separate invitations and a few invitations involved speaking two or three times like Christmas in Papar last year where I spoke 3 times over 2 nights and a full day in church. So altogether I had spoken more than 40 times within 18 months making it at least once a fortnight and for about 10 months from July 2023 to May 2024 I taught 7 courses that ran 15 weeks, three hours of lectures per subject per week.

It has been an intense 18 months and in the past 4 months since I left my former College last June, I had written a memoirs in Malay which I hope courier copies of the new book would reach me by end of next week to be sold as pre-launch copies. The book, God willing, will be officially launched on 30th Nov and also 1st December coinciding with my 30th anniversary in Christ's service.

I have also written more than 24,000 words for my 2nd volume of a commentary on John's Gospel 13-21 in Malay coming to the end of chapter 16. But this proposed commentary will have to take a back seat as six weeks in a row and then 4 Christmas services in December I have to preach in 7 different places and churches. Out of the eight speaking engagements, five are outstation engagements, though Taginambur (twice) is only 90 minutes away and with traffic I will probably take 2 hours to reach the village there. 

When I reflect on the past ministry of the last 16 months, one verse comes to mind - when God opens doors, no man can shut it. Like Paul in Corinth, it is written that he faced much opposition but the Lord showed to Paul that there were many people there of like faith and would support Paul's ministry. Last Sunday one of the 7 points I made during Jesus' visit to Jerusalem on the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7) is that Jesus was a divisive figure. Some people said he was a good man, and some said he led people astray. Most dare not say anything about Jesus in fear of the Jewish leaders. I don't suppose I would face anything different from the Lord whom I serve. As Jesus said, "If the world hate you, know that it hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18).