Fear and Shame

Had a wonderful worship service at New Life Church today. The service started at 11am. They had a countdown screen about 4mins before the service starts. The song leader led us with the first song which has a line that says "dance the dust off the ground". He shared the origin of this phrase was during a mission trip to Mexico and the people had no carpet floor and they danced selflessly on the dirt ground until the dust was filling the air. He challenged the congregation to give our worship selflessly to God regardless of how people look at us. It was the kind of worship that I miss much from home. I feel so much at home but it is too far for me to commute to this church.

Brad Byod, the Senior Pastor, shared the message on David and Goliath. I underlined a few lines in my Bible which I have not paid attention to those details. Firstly, Goliath specifically asked for a strong MAN from Israel to fight with him, but David, a BOY, represented Israel. Secondly, David has no fear at all. He even asked King Saul not to lose heart. David refused to wear Saul's tunic but take up his own staff and his sling to approach Goliath. Thirdly, when David came to Goliath and said "I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel." choosing to involve God in his battle.

Most people cannot move forward in life because of fear and shame. Once we can cross over our fear and shame, we can live a fulfilling life courageously. A great reminder for me.