Trinity Sunday

What does the word Trinity mean?
It is a word not found in Scripture, but used to express the doctrine of the unity of God as subsisting in three distinct Persons. This word is derived from the Greek Trias, first used by Theophilus (AD 168-183) or from the Latin Trinitas, first used by Tertullian (AD 220), to express the doctrine.

The prepositions involved in the doctrine are these:

1. That God is One, and that there is but one God (Deut 6:4)
2. That the Father is a distinct divine Person, distinct from the Son and the Holy Spirit.
3. That Jesus Christ was truly God, and yet was a Person distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit.
4. That the Holy Spirit is also a distinct divine Person.

JanjiMu Seperti Fajar - Jeffry S Tjandra

Visit To Johor

I was informed that there are some 50,000 Ibans live in Johor. I had an opportunity to speak to quite a number of them in a seminar, young and old alike. It was to my dismay hearing parents communicating to children in Bahasa Melayu. What has happened? It is not that we are against BM, but Iban children must be given the chance to use, communicate, learn and speak their own language (Iban). BM or English, for that matter, are taught in schools. My fear is that in years to come, these children will never be able to converse in Iban, and when that happens, it would be a sad scenario. Come on parents, communicate with your children in Iban, give them chance and they deserve it!

Mujizat Terjadi Di Merakai

One old man, unable to talk for almost three years, finally opened his mouth and talked clearly,  saying "Halleluya", "Terima kasih Jesus' and "I love you" to his wife. It happened when we visited the kampong with Ps Hotben who had come all the way from Jakarta. Hotben and I led the Praise and Worship that night. The songs were new to some people but very anointed! Hotben shared the world of God, and ministered to the needs of the people there. Praise the Lord for the miracles!

Shalom Aleichem

Last Sunday, I taught the members to greet one another with this greeting: 'Shalom Aleichem', and the response is: 'Aleichem shalom'. Just imagine when the Shalom of Jesus is with you!

When we think of the word 'Shalom', we think of the word 'peace'. To the world, the word 'peace' means the absence of conflict, wars etc. But when Jesus used the word in John 14:27, He didn't use the word 'peace'; He used the word 'shalom'. The meaning of the word 'shalom' encompasses everything. It means wholeness, prosperity, health, blessing ... you name it! It means much more than the absence of war or conflict.

So greeting one another with 'Shalom Aleichem'
The Jews when they went to the war knowing that Yahweh was with them, they always won! When the shalom of Yahweh is with you, you can expect and experience success in life, and also reigning in life.

Shalom Aleichem!

Helpless dog

Mildred and I were out buying something last night when we saw a dog lying helplessly on the road. It had probably ran over by a car. It was struggling to move out of the way but to no avail. Pity this poor dog. There are many stray dogs in Samarindah area; too many in fact.

It was rather late and hence, we just passed by it.

Love and Humility

I have learned from life that whatever we do, it must be done in love and humility.

Visit to Korea

We are (about 14 of us from St Helen's Serian) visiting Korea. It is a 10-day trip organized by Prof and Rev Jeung of Sacheon Presbyterian Church of Korea. Leaving on Fri 28 Oct and coming back on 7 Nov. At Incheon Airport we hope to be met by Rev. Paul Shin. Paul spent almost 20 years working as a pastor in Kuching and hence, he speaks good Iban, BM and English. After that Rev. Jeung himself will take us around in the bus that he will personally drive. Looking forward to the visit.

The team members are:

Rev. Trevor Tinda & Mrs Mildred Tinda
Mr Boniface Jirok & Lily Majang
Mr Thomas Bakit & Nancy Buyung
Mr William Abong & Evelyn Landing
Mr Estel Simpol & Julia Sigi
Mdm Nyuhen Linggon
Mdm Newrita Noria
Mdm Katherine Sumang
Mdm Catherine Runyan

An Old Man

This morning, my wife went to BDC for a bite. Mildred ordered a bowl of laksa (which looked nice). I took the opportunity to talk to the old man who cooked the laksa. He was quite friendly and we were able to strike a good conversation. He was telling me about his life as a young man; about his children; and how he had to work hard to survive and feed his family. His talked about his involvement in buying shares, only to be cheated by some bad big shots. Pity him. He talked about his heart ballooning done at Normah. He is 81 years old, still selling laksa at BDC.

There are plenty of things to learn from him. I enjoyed the conversation.

Praise and Worship

We have started to use Praise and Worship in our 8.00 am service. I feel that me as a priest should lead the way for others to follow. I am serious in doing this cos I would want to see people enjoying the presence of God. The very presence of God is what we seek. We are not satisfied with having just His protection without His presence. Indeed, we are highly favored, greatly blessed and deeply loved.

I am Going to Vote

Dear Friends,
This time I am going to vote in the hope that there are going to be changes in the political realm for Sarawak. This is the time to be doing something. We are sick and tired of status quo, not having the power to make changes. I am going to vote in Lemanak. Both Nicholas Bawin and Malcom Musen are my good friends. Personality wise, they are both good and reliable. I have my personal preference of course.

Tanam bubu ridan, bulih ikan masin
Ambi duit Barisan, unid Nicholas Bawin

Election 2011

This morning I was driving along Kuching-Serian road. Upon reaching Siburan, I saw a huge crowd with many colours. It turned out to be BN, SNAP & PKR supporters, rallying behind their candidates for the election. They were given free T-shirts and caps. I was thinking to myself: 'I hope these people realize and know what they are doing. I hope they would think about the future, and not just hoping for a few dollars and free shirts and caps! This is my biggest fear. We need to go for a change for the sake of our children. We are easily bought by a few dollars!'

Nyala

I was in the interior for a couple of days visiting my uncle who is 70+. I took time to go 'nyala' (fishing) with my relative Buyut, who happened to be free and expert in nyala.

As a kid I loved nyala. We would spent the whole day doing it. Those days there were plenty of ikan, unlike now. We loved it so much that we would forget about meals.

So Buyut and I set off for nyala. For the first time in years I saw ikan Kulong. I have never thought that I would be able to see ikan Kulong, because Lemanak river is so, so polluted from logging upstream. I enjoyed the nyala trip so much that we forgot about meal!

Buyut was so good at it and we caught plenty of ikan. It was like going back to my childhood days. I really treasure it.

Glory - God's best cat

Glory - God's best cat passed away yesterday morning. We found her lying dead on the road near our house at 100, Samarax Garden. We had her for some 7 years. One afternoon, as I walked out of the vicarage of St. Faith, I found a white coloured stray cat near the main gate. Seeing her, I quickly ran forward. I found one little Siamese stray cat, and to my surprise it turned out to be unique; it was the eyes: one side blue and other side yellow! I quickly to her home, and from that moment onwards (until yesterday morning), it had been part of the family.

All the kids' names start we 'G', so we had to think of a name that starts with 'G'. So, it was eventually called 'Glory'. (Our cat before this was called 'Ginger'). Glory bore babies once, after that we had her operated. After the operation, her mood suddenly changed. Glory was not the same; not the cat friendly cat that she used to be. She was quite unfriendly and could not tolerate other cats and also us. She prefers to be alone. When it was time to move out of St. Faith to our present house, Glory along with other animals moved with us. Since then, many more stray cats have joined our family. Perhaps this was one of the reasons Glory could not tolerate. It was a bit too much for her. So yesterday, it was so sad, when Glenn and Mildred reported to me that they saw a dead cat lying on the road. Immediately, I went out to have a look. It was confirmed - Glory is dead!
Good-bye Glory. Jesus blesses you. See you in heaven.

Alleycats - Hingga Akhir Nanti

Bintulu Seminar

six of us from St Helen's Church set off for Bintulu on Friday 1st Oct 2010. Five of them traveled by car to Bintulu while I took the MasWings flight. The friday nite rally went well. The committee had expected some 30 to 40 people that night, but praise God, to their surprise, the church was full. I was addressing the crowd about overcoming difficulties in coming to God as we are. It was probably a new thing for them. But I was very direct and straight forward, not beating the bush!
The next day, I was invited to preach at the 7am English service by the priest in charge Rev. Jose Jol. I talked about the characteristics of the life of Abraham. His life is characterized by three things namely: Altar, Tent & Well. Everywhere he goes, Abraham has altar. Altar speaks of sacrifices, sanctification, self-denial. It is our attitude toward. Most of the sins we do these days can be traced to a single word of 'selfishness'. It reminds us of self-denial.
Tent - Abraham never lived in a permanent home. He lives in tent (something temporary). Life is like that, we are pilgrims and strangers in the world. It is our attitude toward change3. We need to change to flow with time.
Well - Abraham settles where there is water because water is life. Without water we cannot survive. We need the Holy Spirit. Dig your own well, don't borrow from others.

9.30am I ministed at the BM service, a small sized congregation but very hungry for God. Half of the people are of Toraja origin, from Sulawesi. They love praise & worship. I shared on topic of Three Judgments. Towards the end of the service we had anointing time. Many people went down under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It was a wonderful service.
In the afternoon, I rested and had a talk with the leader of BM service, Bro. Armysan. We talked about many things pertaining issues involving BM ministry. After that, I was invited to a dinner at Jeremy's place. I got to try many different dishes, especially the spicy Toraja chicken, very nice! It was time to say good-bye and off to airport. Armysan drove his car the fastest possible and I managed to catch the 8.15 pm flight eventually. It was an enjoyable and blessed trip. looking forward to coming again when the time permits and opportunity presents itself. To God be the glory! Amen.

Abiding in Christ

In order for the Father to conform us to the image of His Son (see Romans 8:29), we must abide in Christ. What does it mean to abide? It means to remain, rest, stay, wait, and continue. Abiding in Christ, then, involves waiting upon the Lord and entering into His peace. "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

Abiding in Christ means the following:

• Bearing spiritual fruit — "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ ... Give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall" (II Peter 1:8-10).
• Hearing the Word and keeping it in your heart — "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience" (Luke 8:15).
• Loving Jesus and doing what He says — "Jesus answered and said unto him, 'If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him'" (John 14:23). "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked" (I John 2:6).
• Loving others — "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes" (I John 2:10-11).
• Trusting God and making Him your refuge — "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust" (Psalm 91:1-2).
• Hating the world's system — "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (I John 2:15-17).
• Remaining steadfast in the faith of the Gospel — "Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God" (I Corinthians 7:24). "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father" (I John 2:24).

Idol

American Idol, Malaysian Idol; we are all familiar with the term. Examine yourself, 'Have you become an idolater? Jesus said, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve" Luke 4:8

Spend some time alone with God to examine your heart. Anything can become idols! t.v. job, money etc..

An idol is anything that takes the place of God.

When you know Christ, you want others to know Him too.