Writing and blogging – Page 8

Category: Writing and blogging

Not too late to write

28 August 2009 blogpastor 8 Comments

John I have written out of necessity to pass my theological exams and in the course of pastoral work. I have also steadily kept journals since I was in National Service, after I became a Christian. These were mainly my devotional jottings, prayers, feelings, and sermon ideas. However in recent years, I have experienced an unrelenting consuming desire to express myself through blogging. I now recognize it as a call to write, though at that time I merely viewed it as an act of faith and obedience to God’s prompting to enter blogosphere.

I wished I had started writing more seriously when I was younger but God knew better. I needed to live and serve and reflect. I needed to fumble and experience and grow. Furthermore, the writing passion in me could only be released and expressed through Web 2.0, a platform that is just five years old, and that makes publishing online so easily accessible to computer illiterates like me. So it wasn’t too late, but actually in good time, in His time.

Moses was a senior citizen when the Lord told him, “Write down these words…..”(Exodus 34:27). It was not in the most ideal of times when the call to write came to Moses. He was under great stress. He was pastoring about two million grumbling Israelites in the desert. He had no time to spare. He was eighty years old.

My heart leapt when I saw that John of Patmos received the call to write at the tail end of a ripe old age. While he was in enforced silence and solitude in the island of Patmos, the Lord appeared to him and said, “Write on a scroll what you have seen…” (Revelations 1:11).

Its not too late to write. And write I will.

Teaching and writing

13 August 2009 blogpastor 14 Comments

Jesus writing They say the early manuscripts do not carry this pericope but I am unreservedly captivated by it and more so last Sunday as I meditated on it and was struck by the timely insight that the gifts that God uses in my life were strongly figured and exemplified in Jesus’ ministry in this passage in the gospel of John chapter 8. You know the woman who was caught in adultery and the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought her to Jesus as he was TEACHING, and asked him a trap question, ” What should be done with this woman. The Law stipulates that she should be stoned.” The word “teach” got underlined and highlighted as I notice that all throughout my life I have had a passion and anointing to explain and apply spiritual insights from God’s Word to people’s lives. And I have always had good feedback about the clarity and impact of what I teach. So over the years I have become convinced that this is the Lord’s spiritual gift woven into my life to build up the church.

Jesus not only taught by speaking. In this case, He demonstrated the forgiveness of the Kingdom through action, firstly by stooping down to write. Some said he wrote on the floor the ten commandments, as the Law made the accusers conscious of their sins and they left in shame one by one when Jesus said, “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” I am Pentecostal, so I am biased to a Pentecostal twist as to what he wrote. I think he wrote on the ground the specific sins of each of the accusers with great accuracy and the Holy Spirit convicted each one of his sins. Anyway what struck me is that he WROTE. My dad did not encourage me much and tell me what I am good at, but I remember him saying that I can express myself well in writing and so it has been a strength I have been sort of conscious of though I have never intentionally developed it. However four years ago, a step of faith into blogosphere has helped me to see writing on the web as an extension of my ministry, a modern means of communication that surpasses books in its reach and impact, and one that is geared to the new generation of internet savvy young people. I have since begun to see writing as a gift of increased value, and which I need to develop deliberately and deploy faithfully. I am also mindful as I meditate on this passage that the first and only recorded incidence of Jesus writing was combined with his teaching ministry to eradicate shame, fear, and condemnation by a declaration of full and free forgiveness available in Him.

I was blessed by the meditation, as I have been focusing more and more as a leader seeking convergence, so that all my experiences, and training and skills, and my understanding of what God had been doing, and is currently doing in my life, is moving towards the sharp tip of the arrowhead hitting the purpose the Father had painted. Our giftedness and anointing always point to our destiny and purpose of being. I feel focused, enthused and confident.

The new blogpastor.net

9 July 2009 blogpastor 10 Comments

While I was taking a break from blogging, my blogpastor.net website was hacked. By whom and for what reason, I do not know . Attempts were made to remove the fraudulent sites, but when that failed, the webmaster had to shut the site down.

Thank God the old files were not lost. This meant that about four years of writing, both the fluff, and the significant memories, were intact. I could restore them within a new skin. Or I could just start all over again. I have weighed both options and felt that I have been given an opportunity to start over again.

My blog designer, Vee, busy all through that period, has just graduated and has kindly helped to set up the blog again. Thank you for being patient and supportive. Do pray for this site to be a blessing to the body of Christ.