Background to the song "More"

Case 1 :
She was stopped at the red light junction. The light turned green but she was a little slow in moving off. The car behind her started blasting the horn continuously while tailing her for some distance (although the overtaking lane was empty). It then veered to the right and back to the left sharply in front of her (causing her to jam her brakes to avoid a near accident), before it sped off. When she reached the church car park a while later, she saw the same vehicle parked there.

Case 2 :
A lady approached a car dealer friend of ours to buy her used car. She was bragging about how well it had been maintained. Over the negotiations, she also told the car dealer how good Jesus was and invited our friend to go to her church. A week later, she handed her car over to complete the transaction. To the our friend's horror, the inside of the car was covered with trash - much unlike how it looked a week ago. When he sent it for a thorough grooming, he also discovered some broken parts deliberately concealed.

These are just a few of the shameful testimonies we encounter from professing Christians. I've been guilty of the same. Being the first in my family to accept Christ, I was young and ignorant. During my early days of faith, I was foolishly and insensitively "zealous for God". I would scoot off very early on Sunday mornings and return home late ; spend the most parts of my Saturdays on "church activities". With whatever time I had left, I would shut myself in the room reading the Bible or Christian books. Incredibly, I was always available to do something "for the church" but hardly free to help with household chores, run simple errands for my parents or tidy up after myself. I would eagerly lend a listening ear for brothers and sisters in Christ, but would not have time to even hold a minute of conversation with any of my family members. Increasingly my family felt they "lost" me to the church. Instead of being God’s light and a testimony to His goodness, my family was inevitably put off. They may not have knowm what the Bible says but they sure knew that I changed for the worse in the first year I became a Christian! It was not a good testimony at all!

However, I thank God for gradually opening my eyes through the mirror of His word, the power of the Spirit transforming me to be more like Jesus and His gracious redemption for my foolish acts. I also thank God for those fellow Christians whose lives changed drastically for the better, kicking off addictions, bad habits and winning family and friends over by their godly conduct. You have been an example for me and for many!

Surely action speaks louder than words. May my talk, walk, actions, reactions and even my demeanour increasingly honor and glorify God. The song "More" is my daily prayer and goal :

"More than words, let my life speak."

Christ's always,
Averil

How do we worship God in 2009?

The first Sunday service at ROLC, 2009

"Worship is a way of seeing the world in the light of God."

- Abraham Joshua Heschel