Paul Long's Ramblings

Just posted my pastor's notes for 27th February 2011. May not be as clear as I want it to be but for what it's worth ... click HERE

True Intimacy Human relationships easily become possessive. Our hearts so much desire to be loved that we are inclined to cling to the person who offers us love, affection, friendship, care, or support. Once we have seen or felt a hint of love, we want more of it. That explains why lovers so often bicker with each other. Lovers' quarrels are quarrels between people who want more of each other than they are able or willing to give. It is very hard for love not to become possessive because our hearts look for perfect love and no human being is capable of that. Only God can offer perfect love. Therefore, the art of loving includes the art of giving one another space. When we invade one another's space and do not allow the other to be his or her own free person, we cause great suffering in our relationships. But when we give another space to move and share our gifts, true intimacy becomes possible.

Just posted up this Sunday's Pastor's Notes (For the 20th February bulletin). To read, go HERE

It has been a while a while since I put any photos on my blog. Still no camera. :-( Will hopefully be getting a 2nd hand one in May! :-) At the start of the magic show. I find it interesting that no matter what country I am in, people generally like to sit far behind, crowd the back and even stand at the back BUT they will not sit in the first couple of front rows. Nice of some of the children to automatically come to the front on their own accord. These were taken by my son's GF. :-) Thanks my dear!  Photos are not in chronological order. Not sure why when I upload them this happens.  Some of the ladies (those who can read Mandarin - or at least the romanized version) preparing to sing a couple of traditional Chinese New Year songs.  Also not been blogging much as I have been feeling rather listless the whole week and been having bouts of headaches and I have tiring dreams every night! . But the good part is that my IBS has only acted up once in 2 weeks! :-) ...

Bulletin has resumed. Summer break is over for most ... so "Pastor's notes" is back. Did anyone miss it? :-) For the 13th February 2011 bulletin To read, go HERE .

Just got back from a breakfast meeting (late breakfast though so I did not eat :-)) with 4 local Samoan pastors. My first meeting with them and as usual I was the odd one out - the lone Asian guy. And all were from AoG or Charismatic / Pentecostal churches But I felt at very home with them - instantly felt a part of the group. Sharing was NOT superficial even though it was my first meeting, and they were all old friends - some going way back! Some may say that this may be because we are all Christians and even more, all pastors (though one was a part time pastor). True but even among Christian groups and pastors groups I do not necessarily feel welcome or accepted in Malaysia (*yikes shocking to say this I know). Nice to have a sense of oneness so quickly ... Before our meeting, there was this Australian guy there (white) - not a pastor, not a church goer, and Pastor Derek (the organizer was happily chatting with him, and introduced me - we all three were strangers). No racism! ...

Returning to God's Ever-Present Love We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior. God doesn't approve of betrayal, violence, hatred, suspicion, and all other expressions of evil, because they all contradict the love God wants to instill in the human heart. Evil is the absence of God's love. Evil does not belong to God. God's unconditional love means that God continues to love us even when we say or think evil things. God continues to wait for us as a loving parent waits for the return of a lost child. It is important for us to hold on to the truth that God never gives up loving us even when God is saddened by what we do. That truth will help us to return to God's ever-present love.

I am soooo tired today. Two late nights and early wake ups in a row. I actually took coffee the last two days to help me stay alert :-) Sermon's not done. As usual too much material - which is a better problem than not enough material, right? But busyness and "tiredness" does indicate that there's a lot of ministry to be done - which is also a blessing. And after this Sunday I have 3 Sundays break for preaching! Yay! I get to enjoy 2 Sundays of Uncle Max's preaching and one of Murray Stevenson (an incredible missionary to the Congo). Thrilled to be able to get him to speak while he and his wife are back for a short break. Three Sundays in a row of listening to two gifted preachers, missionaries and men of God! Anyway, I hope to enjoy a less hectic pace during my break from preaching and do more quadrant 2 stuff. Lots of general preaching / teaching preparation to do plus more visitation and a trying to "network" with some local pastors. Anyway three ...

Two funny comic strips I can identify with during different periods of my life :-)

On the lighter side. I like this! Meal Prayer My friend Bob was trying to teach his daughter, Jenny, how to say grace before meals. After a few weeks of coaching, Bob decided Jenny was ready to say grace all by herself.  Jenny started out fine, thanking God for her mommy and daddy and brother and sister and for the rolls and the salad, etc. She ended with a big, "Thank you, God, for the spaghetti!" and lifted her head. The tradition in Bob's house, though, was to end each prayer with "In Jesus' name, Amen."  So Bob prompted Jenny, "In … " At first, Jenny seemed confused. Then she proudly exclaimed, "In tomato sauce. Amen." - from Da Mouse Tracks