BLACKOUT!

Those of us who were early in church last Sunday would know that we had a short black-out just before the worship service started. For a while it was really really dark in Berlin Room and it startled me as the lights went out just as I stepped into the room. Here are a few thoughts on yes, the blackout.

Light dispells the darkness in a dark room. Light enables us to see. Yet, many of us don't think twice about its importance in our lives, until the bulb blows on us or the fuse trips. The absence of light is known when the blanket of darkness comes like a cover upon us. The blackout, which lasted for slightly less than a minute, reminded me that as Christians, we are called to be the light of the world. Light shines so brightly that when it is brought into the darkness, everyone immediately sees the difference it makes. Are we living in such a way that we make a difference in the lives of the people around us?

Light makes its presence known. Can those around us tell that we are Christians when they look at us?

Light is not smothered by the darkness, but overcomes it. Don't let the influences of this world cloud the brilliant glow of your flame that burns for the Lord.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." --Matthew 5:14-16

Youth Camp 2005 Theme song:

"Black or White"

Black or white oh wrong or right
I’ll let my yes be yes and no be no
I’m living in a world where man is unsure
Why they’re living and where they will go

Deep within my heart
There’s a message that is very clear
I am loved and I am saved
By my God who loves me very dear

I know why I was made and formed
I know what separates right from wrong
I know my Maker
He gave me a Bible for His love for me is strong

I will come love the Word of God
I will come trust for He’s my Rock
I will obey and live the Way my God wants me to live today

Sports and Games Day

Just a reminder that this saturday is sports and games day...not forgetting beading session no. 2 for some of the gals. The sports and games available for this saturday will be soccer, badminton and floorball...just want to remind all of you that this session is not only for us but really it is an opportunity to invite your friends to come and get to know all of us in WAC YF. So i encourage all of you guys and gals to invite your friends...especially now that the exams are over...to invite you classmates to come and just have a fun time of interacting together and getting to know one another through sports and games. So while there is still time...please don't hesitate to ask your friends to come! Hope to see all of you there....

Our guiding principles in life...


Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path - Psalm 119:105 (KJV)

TENACITY

We know David as a man after God's own heart.
We know Ruth as a woman whose loyalty to God was unwavering.
We know Paul as a pull-no-punches apostle of Christ.
We know John as the apostle of love.
And of course...
We know Jesus, as the Son of God who once bore the sins of man upon His shoulders.

What do all these people have in common?

They were determined right till the end.

David...even after he fell from grace.
Ruth...even after her husband left her.
Paul...even after countless scourging and imprisonment.
John...even after he was exiled to the horrendous island of Patmos.

And Jesus...even after counting all the costs.

They were tenacious.

So many a times, we give up. The world tells us to "take it easy!"
But the Christian whose heart has been won by Christ knows life is not easy.
And so the Christian ploughs on.

Like his predecessors in the Kingdom of God, he seeks to be resilient.

And for the prize ahead, he runs, fixing his eyes on Christ alone,
And against all odds, he will be...

Tenacious.

BLACK or WHITE - Youth Fusion Camp 2005

ho ho ho ho! Do you guys remember the COOL song which our Brother Si'er presented during service last Sunday?? It was our 2005 Youth Camp Theme song!! Original composition plus creativity plus most importantly inspiritation from the Holy Spirit has enabled our Brother Si'er (who's the camp commandant if you havent realised by now!) to be able to compose such a catchy and inspiring song... hearing it really made me think! Like how my life is about, what it entails and the many many consequences and circumstances which always hangs on to our everyday decisions! So if you're still hesistating about the camp... WHAT'S THERE TO HESISTATE ABOUT??????????

PS: *waves pom poms* Jia you for those still taking exams! =)

Are u feeling stress? Because of exams? School? Work?

Surrender them to God and invite Him to help you to handle it!

(Psalm 37:3 – 11)
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.

An Encouragement to all who are having either their 'O',

'A' Levels or tertiary exams

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and you minds in Christ Jesus."

- Philippians 4:6-7

'O' Levels

Violet

15th Nov Tues 2pm : A Maths P1

16rh Nov Wed 8am : Geography

17th Nov Thurs 8am : A Maths P2

22nd Nov Tues 2pm : Combined Science MCQ

Marie

16th Nov Wed 8am : F & N

17th Nov Thurs 8am : Geography

22nd Nov Tues 8am : Chem. & Phy. P1

Matthew Chew

16th Nov Wed 10.30am : Chinese Listening Compre.

'A' Levels

Edward

15th Nov Tues 2pm : Econs P3

16th Nov Wed 8am : Physics

16th Nov Wed 2pm : Econs P1 & P2

Janice

15th Nov Tues 2pm : Econs P3

16th Nov Wed 2pm : Econs P1 & P2

17th Nov Thurs 8am : Geography (Humans)

Timothy

15th Nov Tues 8am : Chem P2

16th Nov Wed 8am : Phy P3

18th Nov Fri 2pm : Chem P1

21th Nov Mon 8am : Bio P3

24th Nov Thurs 8am : Bio P1

Please continue to keep these dearest Brothers and Sisters in your prayers! Let's pray for God to strengthen them, and give them due rest, confidence and wisdom to finish their remaining papers!

LOVE AND FEAR...of GOD

Exodus 20:20 (NKJV):
And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”

I had a dream lately. I dreamt that I bought a new bicycle and was really in love with it. And I went riding with friends. But I lost the bicycle one fine evening when I left it unattended for a while. I remembered, in the dream, I was so upset...the sadness remained even after I woke up.

And I thought,

If I could be so, so sad over the loss of a bicycle, when I'm NOT even a cycling enthusiast, when it's all BUT a dream, how much grief could God possibly feel for us whenever He lose us to disobedience and sin?

How much do we really love God?
Do we love Him enough to constrain ourselves from disobeying God?

And as I thought about these questions...I realise...perhaps sometimes I do not understand how to love God enough. And I feel so guilty about it.

However, let us also not forget that God gave us another thing about Him that will aid us to obey Him. And that, is the Fear Of God.

In the verse above, we see how a loving God deliberately left His fear among His people (it must have been so hard for someone so loving to WANT to do that!) so that they may not disobey Him.

Fear of God.
Do you fear God enough?
Do you fear Him enough that you will not take His Word lightly?

The Love of God is such a powerful force...it draws us to know God and to give our lives to Him. However, let us not settle to know just the Love of God in all our Christian lives.

Let us also strive to know the fear of God.
Because only in doing so, will we have a full understanding of who God is and how great is His Love.

Which one are you?

The man who lay invalid by the pool for 38 years. The woman with the issue of blood. The 10 lepers who called out to Jesus. The sick and needy whom the crowds had brought in. The man who was blind from birth. All of these people were touched and healed by Jesus.

It makes me wonder, however, how many of these people actually did follow Jesus after He had healed them. Not much detail is given to us regarding this, but the passage in Luke 17:11-19 gives us a hint that not all who were healed or touched by Jesus did actually follow Him after that.

Of all the 10 lepers, only 1 came back giving glory to God. The actions of the rest were unheard of after that brief encounter with Jesus.

I think it all boils down to this: Are we seeking the giver, or the gift? Are we seeking the gift, or are we seeking for the Master, the Saviour and the Lover of our souls? Do we carry on with our lives on our own after getting what we want from God?

10 lepers were healed, but only one came running back to Jesus, giving glory to God. The other 9 forgot about Jesus and went on their way.

Which one are you?

Bible Quiz

Hey there~ SIA had a fun time last sat playing games which enabled us to know one another better as well as testing our bible knowledge through a mini quiz. Here's a few questions for u guys to try out. hee...

1. Spot the pair which is the odd one out:
A. Sarah-Abraham
B. Hannah- Samuel
C. Rebekah-Issac
D. Michal- David
E. Zipporah- Moses

Ans: B (mother and son relationship while the rest are husband and wife)

2. In which order were Adam, Eve and the serpent cursed?
A. Adam, Eve, Serpent
B. Eve, Adam, Serpent
C. Serpent, Eve, Adam
D. Serpent, Adam, Eve

Ans: C ( Genesis 3:14-19)

3. How long did The Flood cover the earth?
A. 5 months
B. 40 days
C. 160 days
D. 40 months

Ans: A ( Genesis 7:11-8:4)

4. Unscramble the following:
Wne Tinarionetian Sevrnio

Ans: New International Version

5. True or false
Paul said women should never pray aloud in church.

Ans: False (1 Cornithians 11)

6. What did John the Baptist and Winnie the Pooh have in common?

Ans: They both have the same middle name/ both ate wild honey!~ haha....




For answers to the above questions, simply highlight the blank spaces after each question. =)

Something to share with all of you!
By Joanie


Hahaha! God really does have a sense of humour as He spoke to me during my qt today. It is not what He said in the bible that amuses me, but how He reminded me of how He has been supporting me that filled me with joy. Ha! This was what happened…


I just had my first paper, which is on cross cultural buying behavior, today. I left the examination Hall feeling relieved and glad because I thought it was the easiest paper I had ever sat for in NTU so far. Ha thank God for that.


When I did my qt just now, using Our Daily Bread, the bible passage was on Psalm 18:1-3. I praised God as the passage reminded me “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God; my strength, in whom I will trust.” Truly God is with me in the Exam Hall as I was not at all nervous and my heart was in peace. As I continued to read the material, I was surprised to find my exam question in the text! “A picture is worth a thousand words”. How coincidental can that be? Haha! The rest of the material is talking about how images can arouse, evoke and deepen understanding and memory. Guess what? These are all related to cross cultural buying behavior, under the topics on Learning and Memory. It is just too amazing to be true! I concluded that God is openly telling me that He has always been there to bless and watch over me.


If I have done my qt earlier before my papers, I could have burst out laughing with joy. I know God is with me and I want to share this incredible experience with all of you.

What will happen ... ... ?

By Sabrina

Have you ever wondered what will happen if the sun doesn't either rise or set each day?
I know the sun has always been there,
but what if the earth does not rotate?
Who is THE ONE who is holding the universe together?
Who is THE ONE that created the universe?


*pause and think*


Who is THE ONE that had created you and me?

For You [God] created my inmost being; You [God] knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You [God] because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your [God's] works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139:13-14

LOST.

amidst our busy lives,
running schedules,
yelling parents,
coming exams,
countless datelines
and the voice in our head which tells us that we are lousy.
we need...
truth.
direction.
peace.

Have you ever felt lost in the inside?

"By your words I can see where I'm going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path." Psalm 119:105 (The Message)

WALLET FOUND!!!

hey everyone! if u had followed this blog closely, you would have known that someone stole my wallet... BUUUTTTT.... surprisingly 2 weeks later, a stranger appeared at my door and gave my wallet back to me! And there are definitely certain things i wanna thank God for...

1. That He didnt put in my heart a sense of urgency to replace my cards so for the past 2 weeks, i didnt replace a single card... except 1 atm card to redraw cash. And i really thank God for that, for replacing the cards are real expensive now, so thank God i didnt bother.

2. That He made the stranger persistent in returning my wallet because according to her, this was the 4th time she knocked on my door cuz previously no one opened the door.

3. That He made it possible for my wallet to come back to me.

Now... God is really good and nothing on this earth is a coincidence, and all these impossibilities was made possible by God alone.

Remember the Kids' song...

Ah Lord God
Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power
Ah Lord God
Thou has made the heavens and the earth by His outstretched arm

Nothing is too difficult for thee
Nothing is too difficult for thee...

Are you a junkie?

We are far too familiar with the phrase, "you are what you eat". However, it took me some time to realise this. Not too long ago, it dawned upon me that I'm really consuming lots of junk food, not literally rubbish but they are food void of nutrients and not beneficial to my body at all. Food such as pastries and bread though tasty and attractive can't replace the main meals which provide us with the nourishment we need for a functioning and healthy body.

This thought led me to reflect on my quiet time, one of the main sources of spiritual food. Have I too, been a junkie as well? Have I been too reliant on commentries that I have neglected meditating on God's words so as to allow the Holy Spirit to convict me?

There are some parrallels between the "junk" food and commentries. Both are quick fixes, one satisfies the stomach quickly- just grab and go while the other help us to speed through our quiet time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that commentries are bad but I believe we seriously can't lack the mediation aspect which is far more important.

Just as junk food are supposed to be after meal delights, commentries can complement the study of God's words. If you want to be a spiritually "fat" Christian (which is good, of course), I suppose you know what you ought to do. ;p