Poly Day of Prayer

I was offered a wonderful opportunity to serve God in Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Poly Day of Prayer. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Vanessa who is the worship coordinator and worship leader approached me to be their team's keyboardist and I was quick to agree!

Time: 6.30pm

Date: 15 July 2008

Venue: Ngee Polytechnic Lecture Theatre 26

How to get there: Bus 154 or 184 From Clementi Mrt Station

We had our rehearsal on wednesday and boy, it was really a test of our muscles, patience and perseverance because of the logistics, instruments, the heat etc.. Thank God, we survived! Any how, it was really an experience for me as I worked with other musicians from other churches and denominations. The passion for Jesus was really evident in each of their hearts as the whole entire team work together for just one purpose - Jesus.

As I stood in a corner observing, I realized that the team worked well because there was an overall respect for one another and more importantly, a submissive heart. Whatever they were told to do, they followed without doubt. No there wasn't any bossiness, quick temper, unedifying remarks and so on. There was a strong sense of unity and willingness to serve Jesus instead. It's amazing to see how they had fun in everything they did, enjoying themselves each moment and not grumbling or complaining when there were hiccups.

It was truly an eye-opener for me.

This actually reminded me of the fragments of thoughts I had when I was serving God in the band one day. I remembered vividly that I had to play through an entire service even after the worship session had ended. I admit that I was tired, and in my weakness I told God "I'm tired, can I rest now?" After that selfish thought popped in my head, it was as if I slapped myself in the face as I answered myself "Why can't you thank God for every opportunity to serve God instead?" I felt shameful, regretful, and remorseful. Immediately tears started rolling down my cheeks as I asked for God's forgiveness.

After that incident, I came up with 3 principles of our service to God.

1. Give thanks for every opportunity to serve God.

We are considered very fortunate to live in a country where we do not face persecutions for our faith. Instead, we can freely come to church and serve Jesus in every way. In other countries, persecutions are so strong and some might even have to resort in worshiping God in underground tunnels in fear of getting caught. So shame on us if we ever grumble to God that we are tired. There is nothing wrong with feeling tired if you truly are, because God sees our heart and He honors our willingness to serve Him. But if we can't give all our heart, mind and strength to serve God, then I would say that God deserves our best, really.

2. Our service to God should not depend on our circumstance.

"Oh the piano isn't working.." "the guitar sounds too distorted.." God doesn't really care about the material things that are not working or the technical issues or even the logistics! He is more interested in your heart that anything else! So what if something is not working? God gave us hands to work, feet to travel, mouth to sing, and a heart to desire a relationship with Him.

3. Our service to God should not depend on people.

I'm quite certain many of us fall into this trap, myself included. Because we enjoy the company of certain people, we form cliques, and hence we "prefer" to serve God together with these cliques. Nothing wrong with that I must say, but for me, I admit that there were times I felt as if I worked best with a particular person. And when I wasn't serving with he/she, somehow the level of my service is affected.

Ha probably it's just me, but I'm just being really honest and transparent here. These 3 principles are in fact lessons that I have learnt through many incidents. I hope this ministers to you people as much as it has served as a guideline for myself each time I serve God!

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