RUTHY FUNG

I had a test early this morning. It went ok. After my test, i went to the library to use the computers. I read an email from one of the members in lifegroup. My heart sank. The devil loves to attack us when we are weak. I was having mixed feelings, sorta upset and questioning myself many many things. Later on, i couldn’t take it anymore, i decided to spend time seeking God. I sat on the grass at the Botanical Gardens – best place at QUT! I needed time alone with God, just Him and me. I just cried out to Him, believing that when he puts me through situations, He will see me through. I sang the song ‘Still’ and God spoke. I couldn’t stop crying. God is my comforter. It’s been a while now, challenges after challenges. At times i really wonder if this will ever end. But i believe I will grow stronger each time i have passed the tests and challenges God has put before me! I tried to put on a smile at lunch today even though i was quite hurt inside! Hope it worked! Praise God in all circumstances!  

Life group was awesome tonight. Instead of having the let’s-split-into-discussions-group time, many of us shared our life testimonies. Some were teary, many we could relate to. God is so gracious to us. Many of us went through tough times and God’s grace is sufficient for us and He would never let us go through what we cannot bear. When we were singing the song Amazing Grace tonight, i was just reminded of the time when i was ‘blind’.

I woke up one day with a very bad headache. It was those sharp pains that would almost kill your brain. I took plenty of panadols and it would only help for an hour or two, and then the pain would come back. I was addicted to panadol. I was on drugs. I went to see doctors after doctors, and no one could tell me what was wrong with my head.

The headache continued, on and off, until i almost couldn’t take it anymore. I was up to a point where i wanted to go to sleep and never wake up again. Basically, die peacefully. And then one morning, i woke up with blur vision. Everything seemed to be so blur. I walked out and i couldn’t read the signs properly on the road. I was like..oh man, this is it! Do i need glasses or what’s with this? I was so scared… the feeling of not being able to see. I was already starting to imagine ‘what if i can’t see forever’ what if..what if… All the what ifs running through my head. 

At that time, i could only turn to God. I did many many check-ups From MRI scans, to CT scans to various blood tests to lumbar puncture. I had more than 10 needles going thru my body in 5 days. Believe it or not, i had to do lumbar puncture 2 times, because the doctor got it contaminated with blood the first time. If you do not know, lumber puncture is when the doctors take out some liquid from your spinal chord, very painful! Especially when u’r still awake and conscious. I screamed my lungs out. Just thinking about the procedure brings tears to my eyes.

Despite all the pain, God was with me all the time! I went through it, knowing God is going through this with me. At that time, i felt so helpless, and i could only rely on God. I had to go on steroids after to decrease the inflammation in my eye. As a result, i grew…fat..yes i gained more than 10kgs. Very embarressing - i cant believe i’m saying this in public. During that time, i also felt the love of the people around me. I don’t think i’ve ever felt so loved in my life before. I had the most visitors in the hospital, i felt like a princess. I couldn’t have felt better. Life group members brought me sushi, pearl tea, mp3 players, ipods, cd players. I had everything! Haha. Felt so spoilt! And of course, God healed me through doctors and medications. Praise God now i am strong and healthy again!

Just wanna share a verse which touched my heart during that time. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” -2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Discussion group time was awesome tonight. We talked about God’s love for the backslider. Surprisingly everyone in my group has backsliden before. I thought they were all ‘goodie goodie’ but i was wrong. Haha. Let me testify about God’s grace in my life.

I was born in a Christian family. I grew up going to Sunday school. I was the best kid, sorta. I loved church and i had an intimate relationship with God. It’s such a blessing to be brought up in a Christian family. All the values that i learnt since i was young was based on the Bible. However, things changed when i turned 15 and i had to leave home to study overseas. I backslided coz my friends in high school were not interested in God. Church was boring, 10 minutes in church felt like 10 years.

Soon later it turned from bad to worst! I went to uni in Townsville (JCU) and i was the popular girl among the Malaysian boys. I hung around them because i thought they were the only people who understood me because we share the same culture. I hung around bad company. They drank, they smoked, they clubbed, everything they did were against the Bible. But i wanted to be in the ‘cool’ group so i hung around them. Soon later i fell into the trap of ‘love.’ I got ‘involved’ with some guys and when i realised what i was doing, it was too late. I could not turn back time. Time flew and it was the end of semester. The guy i ‘liked’ was going back to Malaysia because he has finished his studies. My heart broke, thinking how i could go on without him. I know what you are thinking.. how stupid of me. So blinded by love at that time. It’s so true how people say ‘love is blind’. I can so relate to that phrase at that point in time.

He went home, leaving me heart broken. I felt so helpless. The day he left, i decided to start a new life. I applied for QUT because it has the best business faculty in Queensland. I didn’t do very well in my first year of uni but God is gracious, i got in!! Here’s my testimony of how i came to QUT. I’m so glad that God also prepared a church for me. A spiritual home where i can grow in Him. God is so faithful to me, He still loves me even though i backslided for 4 years. I was once a backslider but it will never happen again! I do not regret anything that has happened in the past. I believe God planned this for me, so that i can share this testimony to people around me and help people who are going through the same situations that i did! The greatest thing is that God still loves me even though i backslided. His love for us will never change. For i know the plans i have for you, declares the Lord, plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

I prayed for favor on the way to work today. Favor from my boss, favor from my mentor, favor from customers, even favor from strangers. Guess what? Prayer works! I challenged myself today to walk into the newsagency with the most positive attitude and putting on brightest smile on my face. Work today was heaps better. I’m a bit more steady now. At least i know how to use the cash register, sell phone cards, use the Eftpos machine and the lotto machines. The boss didn’t really talk to me today. He was so busy -first Monday of the month so he had lots to do! He just asked me how i was going. Maybe he’s scared i’m gonna cry again!haha. Anyways, let me tell u the reason why we work today. Ruth starts preaching…

1) God commanded us to work

Work is a blessing that enables us to imitate God, the creator of heavens and earth. In the beginning, He created mankind in His image. In the Bible, even right from Genesis, after God created Adam, God told him to work and look after the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 2:15). This is one of the reasons why we work today.

2) Transformation

As you all know, people in church are all nicer than the people at work. Reason being those people do not know Christ. We can learn a lot in the workplace. Lately, I’ve been learning about humility. I have to put God first, others second and myself last. Even when i didn’t do anything wrong, i get scolded. I have to say sorry even if it wasn’t my mistake. This is a challenge for me because I’m not a person who would say sorry so easily, especially when it’s not my fault! It’s a very competitive world out there. People try to get you down as much as possible. Dad was just telling me that some people actually find joy in pointing out the mistakes you make. These people ah… By experiencing all this, we can be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

3) To be the salt and light

We can be the light and salt of this earth for God. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we can impact people for God! Let me challenge you to be the influencer, not the influenced. As we grow into more like Christ, people will start to realise that we are different. We need to start salting the people and bring light where there is darkness. When we do this, people will start thinking, ‘hey..how come this girl seems to smile and be joyful even though she gets scolded everyday’. Matthew 5:16 says ‘Let you light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.’ I want to be a blessing to my boss, the newsagency, the customers and even the strangers that walk around there!    

I hope this short preaching sharing has blessed your heart. Just wanna remind you that you are not only working for your boss, but you are working for God!

What an awesome weekend! Learnt heaps at the healing conference. Not only did I learn the theory about healing in black and white paper, but i also had the opportunity to exercise my faith praying for people! One of my friends, Douglas, came all the way from Tasmania so I invited him to the healing conference. He has been having very bad migrain for a while now – due to stress?, pray that God will heal him completely! Waiting to hear the good news!

Apart from that, I also went down to be prayed for on Friday. In my previous post i was complaining about my boss, mainly because i was hurt deeply. And yesterday, Sunita prayed for me for inner healing and I felt so much better after. I choose to forgive him no matter how bad he treated me. I am made whole in the name of Jesus. God has healed me from the inside out.  

Since i was young, my parents were very protective of my brother and I. They were our problem solvers. Everytime we had a problem or issue, they will be like superman and superwoman coming to rescue us. Because of the way i was brought up, I haven’t seen the ‘real’ world yet. Now that i’m in the workplace, i could see more of the different people with various attitudes. I know it’s not going to be easy but i choose to persevere and carry on. I’m glad God put me through this so that i can experience more of Him and depend on Him even more. Truly, people in the world are not as lovable but we must learn to accept them for who they are. Praise God for all He has done for me! Keep shining and keep smiling for Jesus=) Let me encourage you with this ‘When life gets tough… toughen your faith!’

Wow, i slept for 11 hours last nite!!! Mainly coz i was sick..i feel heaps better today..! I think it’s because of the weather change..it was officially the first day of winter yesterday! Coming from a country which is summer all year round, I am FREEZING! It’s 19 degrees outside now…colddd lah..*shivers*..! And all those people from Sydney and Melbourne say…’Cehhhh’. Thank God for heaters!! Anyways, despite being cold and sick, I did my quiet time…and i shall share what i learn today..

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. -Matthew 7:12 

We hear it time and time again, do to others what you want others to do to you. Earlier on in the chapter it talks about judging other people. It is so easy for me to judge other people..even when i’m passing by people on my way to uni. I don’t say it out loud..but i do think it in my head. Many times when i walk pass certain people..i judge them..when they look different or dress differently from me. I don’t wanna put any ideas in your head so i won’t give any examples here. I learnt not to judge other people. It is so easy to judge other people…but it is so hard when other people judge us. Don’t you think? Don’t get me wrong, correcting a person or speaking into one anothers life is good! It helps us to improve ourselves and to grow to be more like Christ! But there are some things that cannot be changed..like how a person looks or how a person dresses. So these things shouldn’t be said…as it is not necessary or beneficial to a person. What are your thoughts about this?

Oh yeah, it’s Kimberly and Leon’s water baptism today!! How exciting!! I’m so glad you both made this decision to follow God all the days of your life=) Declare it to the world! Go the KK-ians…proud of yas!