Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
What are u doing?
by Rev. James Wong
Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4 NIV)
When the sun shines we are able to work but when the night falls, the workday is over. The common problem today is that we may not get a lot done during the working hours; either people or things make us waste our time. Here are the important famous few that impair our productivity.
1. Personal disorganization. It is not so much of time management but it is personal management. If fact, we cannot manage time, we can only manage our activities. If we don’t get organized and decide what to do we will waste plenty of time. Every day, spend some time planning your daily activities. Group similar tasks together so that you can do them in one go. For example, if you need to buy a few items for the office and send the computers for repair, group these tasks together and get them done in one trip rather than many trips.
2. Unclear goals. Unless your Weekly Schedule is determined by your boss, you have a week of free time to do what you like. In this case, without determining your goals for the week you will not know what to do. I use a Weekly Schedule to guide my work for the week. For example, by Thursday my sermon outline and discussion questions must be ready so that the weekly bulletin will be ready for printing on Friday. However, in reality, the urgent often takes over the important. The Weekly Schedule is adjusted regularly to ensure better productivity. Unclear goals make us drift through work.
3. Lack of concentration. A lot of time thieves are internet related. The internet could be our greatest distracter in our work place. Ask parents, most of them complain about their children being addicted to the computer. Adults do not have better control. Surfing the net, replying personal emails, answering chats on social networks, getting the latest news, update the latest happenings on Facebook, watching movies on Youtube and movie sites, answering instant messages, engaging in private calls, reading magazines of interest – all during office hours will seriously hamper our productivity. All these distractions consume time and before we know it, another day is gone. The workday is not really used for working.
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph 5:15-16 RSV). The wise man has a good strategy to use his time wisely at work and living for God. “Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Col 3:23 NLT). Imagine, Jesus is the CEO in your office, we would all give our best to our work.
Caring for the Poor
Welfare Sunday
Rev. James Wong
1. The Dilemma of the Poor
The poor are shunned by their neighbors, friends and relatives. (Proverbs 14:20, 19:4, 19:7). They are powerless and they have little.
2. God’s law to Protect the Poor
“Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him.”
~Prov 14:31 (NLT)
9 "'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God. ~Lev 19:9-10 NIV
“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.” ~Lev 19:15 (NIV)
3. God’s Reward for Us in Helping the Poor
God command us to be generous to the poor: “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” ~Deut 15:11 (NIV)
God will bless us if we are generous to the poor: “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.” ~Prov 22:9 (NIV)
God will reward us if we help the poor: “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord , and he will reward him for what he has done.” ~Prov 19:17 (NIV)
“If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.”
~Prov 21:13 (NIV)
4. What we can do today.
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” ~Luke 4:18 (NIV)
“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” ~1 Tim 5:8 (NIV)
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