Youth Fusion

2008-01-19T19:40:00.000+08:00

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT...?

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT...?

(to the tune of Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move")

Cont'
David Bear Letterman: Your recent endeavours in the movie industry has caused quite a stir. Critiques are split between praising and condemning your new project. Some call your new concept the catalyst that will revolutionise all future movie making, while others say it is a big mistake that threatens to permanently destroy your hard earned reputation. Let us hear your side of the story.

Timothy Spielberg: What can i say? Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I can't please everybody can i?

David Bear Letterman: Tell us more about this new concept?

Timothy Spielberg: I call it A.W.: GENESIS. The audience's desires control the outcome of the movie's storyline, sequence, characters, soundtracks and backdrop real time. What they think is acted out on the movie screen. Using the thoughts we gathered via my telepathy device down at Honour room, I leave you with this trailer. Good night folks.
(Joanie switches off the teevee and departs to a solitary place to pray.)

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come."

"Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the the days are evil."

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus...May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

::Atomic Weekend::26th January::3pm::Expect The Unexpected::

2007-12-26T21:32:00.000+08:00

Last friday, we had a wonderful cell dinner at PizzaHut, followed by our Lightstix cell name launch at Honour Room!

The pizza which was covered in a mountain of cheese and chilli flakes.

More importantly, i decided to post what Si'er shared as a reminder for Lightstix:

Ephesians 3:14-21

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us," Ephesians 3:20

We cannot be who we can be, till we know the power in us.

Just like the chemicals in the glass tube inside each lightstick, God has given each of us power!
Hebrews 12:4-10

"If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons." Hebrews 12:8

You will never be the person God wants you to be, till you're disciplined and chastened.

Just like the glass tube in a lightstick, we must be broken so that we can release the power in us. Hence, we must be broken and chastened by God first!
2 Peter 1:2-4

"Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." 2 Peter 1:4

To realise the power in us, you have to be disciplined, and then you will be a partaker of His divine nature.
Matthew 5:14-16

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Remember what we said before we broke our lightsticks?

Let it be shown through our actions.

Just like how lightsticks glow brighter when they're placed together, may Lightstix unite in one spirit and purpose in Christ, shining brightly together as a cell, that the world may believe God sent Jesus into this world to die for man.

2007-12-24T15:23:00.000+08:00

Offering

Christmas?
Although we Christians proclaim Christ as the centre of it all
have we allowed the festivity to creep into 1st place?
I think it's important for us to constantly check our hearts,
and we can begin by evaluating our actions,
for more often that not, they reflect the desires of our hearts

As what Pastor Raymond shared yesterday, it's a really important question to ask, which many of us, including myself, tend to neglect asking

what gifts are we bringing to Jesus this Christmas?

Be specific
God was specific when he sent Jesus

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Are we more concerned with the gifts for one another?
of course, we want to express our thanks to the people dear to us this Christmas,

but have we said thank You to our Father in Heaven for giving us Jesus?

Let's take time to reflect on the greatest gift of all - our Salvation through Christ
Then shall we be able to respond in a manner that glorifies our Father

OFFERING
Over the skies of Bethlehem appeared a star
While angels sang to lowly shepherds
Three wise men seeking truth traveled from afar
Hoping to find the child from heaven
Falling on their knees
They bowed before the humble
Prince of Peace

CHORUS:
I bring an offering of worship to my King
No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing
Jesus may You receive the honor that You're due
O Lord I bring an offering to You
I bring an offering to You

VERSE:
The sun cannot compare to the glory of Your love
There is no shadow in Your Presence
No mortal man would dare to stand before Your throne
Before the Holy One of heaven
It's only by Your Blood
and it's only through your mercy
Lord I come

2007-12-12T11:20:00.000+08:00

I think Sab or Junhoong has posted these images before, but I was reading straits times online this morning and I saw this article on northern lights and just thought, it's great to share with you guys

it's really amazing and I find it hard that anyone should believe that the existence of this earth was via a big bang!

And yes, this is the God who parts the red sea,
Our God of tremendous might and details!
---------

Always
Hillsong United

Did You rise the sun for me?
Or paint a million stars that I might
Know Your majesty?
Is Your voice upon the wind?
Is everything I've known marked
With my maker's fingerprints?

Breathe on me
Let me see Your face
Ever I will seek You

Chorus:
'Cause all You are, is all I want, always
Draw me close in Your arms
Oh God, I wanna be with You

Can I feel You in the rain?
Abandon all I am to have You
Capture me again
Let the earth resound with praise
Can You hear as all creation lives
To glorify one name?

2007-10-28T23:50:00.000+08:00

Let Us Rejoice...

because

our dear sister, Casie, has received Christ on 27th October 2007!!!!!

It's very encouraging to see a young lady making a confession of faith and willing to desire God!

Let us all welcome her to this family that we all belong to!

Together with the host of angels,

let us REJOICE!

*clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap*

2007-10-17T18:09:00.000+08:00

Secondary School Cell Outing to East Coast Park - 14 October 2007

*oops sorry it's all gals pix.. dun worry there are guys in secondary school cell... more pix be out soon... :)*

2007-08-23T22:16:00.000+08:00

Baptism

18.07.07

Congratulations to Sean, Nicholas and Elissa!!

May you continue to walk in the path of the Lord!

God bless!!!

2007-08-20T21:02:00.000+08:00

I went to the Lord’s Clinic to have my routine check-up and I confirmed I was ill:

When Jesus took my blood pressure, He saw I was low in tenderness.

When He read my temperature, the thermometer
registered 40º of anxiety

He ran an electrocardiogram and found that I needed several “love bypasses” since my arteries were blocked with loneliness and could not provide for an empty heart.

I went to orthopedics, because I could not walk by my brother’s side and I could not hug my friends, since I had fractured myself when tripping with envy.

He also found I was shortsighted, since I could not see beyond the shortcomings of my brothers and sisters.

When I complained about deafness, the diagnostic was that I had stopped listening to Jesus’ voice talking to me on a daily basis.

For all of that, Jesus gave me a free consultation thanks to His mercy – so my pledge is to, once I leave this clinic, only take the natural remedies He prescribed through His words of truth:

Every morning,
take a full glass of gratitude
When getting to work,
take one spoon of peace
Every hour,
take one pill of patience, one cup of brotherhood and one glass of humility
When getting home,
take one dose of love
When getting to bed,
Take two caplets of clear conscience

Do not give in into sadness or desperation for what you are going through today.
God knows how you feel......
God knows exactly and with perfection what is being allowed to happen to you in your life at this precise moment.
God’s purpose for you is simply perfect.
He wants to show you things that only you can understand by living what you are living, and by being in the place you are now.

May God give you... For every storm, a rainbow, For every tear, a smile, For every care, a promise, And a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, A faithful friend to share, For every sigh, a sweet song, And an answer for each prayer.

2007-08-16T11:52:00.000+08:00

According to tradition, King Solomon aka the wisest man in all of history wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes offers a philosophy of life — and shows how God fits into it. The Hebrews used it as a book of instruction; it showed them how to find spiritual significance in a life that would otherwise be meaningless. However, further study of this book must be understood within the context of the whole book and, ultimately the whole Bible. Let's take a sneak peak at the surprise ending......

"Now all has been heard;
Here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring into
judgement,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil."

Either way, the doctrine of the Old Testament is summarised in a few short phrases. The reader is urged 1) to have a right relationship with God [fear God]; 2) to maintain the relationship by following the law [keep his commandments]; and 3) to anticipate a final and future judgment [God will bring every deed into judgment]. For that is Man's all. That's all we really need to do.

2007-08-09T13:46:00.000+08:00

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

"The very best proof of your love for the Lord is obedience. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else"

~Charles R. Swindoll
link

2007-08-02T11:15:00.000+08:00

***Announcement***

(Please stand by for announcement)

This Saturday (4th August) Youth Fusion will be having

Games Day!

Where where where?

Christ Church Secondary School

Meeting place?

opposite Jurong East Popular Bookshop

Meet what time??

3pm sharp

Why 3pm sharp?

Coz there will be a bus provided and it will leave at 3pm lor!!!

If you have more questions to ask, pls ask your cell leaders!!

Muahaha!!

So, please sign up with ur respective cell leaders and be there!!

^Ciao^

2007-08-01T02:27:00.000+08:00

A Humbling Experience

Hello everyone, welcome back to youth fusion weblog. Its been awhile since i've added an entry, so here's an account of my recent encounters with God's gentle rebuke during my QT and from conversations i've had with godly leaders above me. Quite a humbling experience for me cuz i tend to have many opinions on a wide spectrum of topics, and am ever so eager to justify those opinions whenever given a chance, even for those that i hardly understand.

It's taken from Matthew 12:33~37. Jesus said:

"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

And also...out of my mouth i sing praise to God, and before you can say 'Nebuchanezzar', I'll most probably have said something to irritate someone, judge someone else, gossip or take offense easily and curse someone, especially on a tiny mrt cabin packed with inconsiderate commuters. I believe it is quite serious to neglect the discipline of guarding our tongues and just speak our mind without hesitation, because words have a huge potential either to encourage or to hurt. How den can we live a life above reproach? How den can we be salt and light to this dark dark world we live in? Thank God that He's forever faithful and patient, and yet so loving that He will not allow us to remain in our foolishness. And i am humbled once again.

2007-07-19T18:01:00.000+08:00

Sec School Cell Timeout Weekend @ West Coast Park

we had a great time enjoying the nature!

the SUN!
the CLOUDS!

the GRASS!

the WIND!

the ANTS!

woohoo!!!

one new friend joined us too... *drum roll*

introducing.....

IAN!!!
*clap* *clap* he's LeFa's friend!

we had a nice dinner at mac! and followed by playing some games... the boys played scrabble... and the girls played some mind games...

and we had a SURPRISE birthday cake for Yue Seng... which he almost te**ed!!! awww....

the rest of the photos can be viewed at here... enjoy!

2007-07-14T23:27:00.000+08:00

Time Out!

This week's time out was held at Sean's house. Thank you Sean's family for the delicious fried bee hoon, curry chicken, drinks, snacks, and fruits. All of us enjoyed ourselves with games after games. It was comparable to Settlers or Minds Cafe. Haha. Simply shiok!

Laughter and excitement...

A game of taboo

The remains of what we had...

Card games

Our new friends..

Peiling's brother, Jing Wei...a smart kid who is a master of most games.

This is Hong Chuan. He is 22 yrs old. Studying at ACCA. As sweet as Peiling! Ha!

We had lotsa fun. Do you think a time out every week is good? Hmmm...

Moments like this make us wish the night could last forever...

2007-07-12T15:06:00.000+08:00

Secondary School Cell on the 7th July!

What did we do at cell? hmm...

We concluded our 3-week Text mapping lessons with this MEGA 8 PAGES SCROLL taken from the Book of Ruth.

Separated into three groups, we read and analysed our papers...

and presented our answers to the rest of the group!

of course, with really funny moments, like how Emily spelt thrEshing ground as thrAshing ground!

and someone (AS SEEN IN PICTURES BELOW) who tries to look involved and doing work...

Nevertheless! what junhoong concluded at the end of the lesson is true - if textmapping doesn't suit you, just throw it away. There are many other ways of studying the Bible. It's a means to an end!

The main key thing is to learn through the Holy Spirit's revelation to you, as He's our Teacher and Guide! =D

2007-07-02T11:26:00.000+08:00

WE ARE ALIVE!!

-Si'er

23rd June 2007

Notre Dame Cathedral

Alive.

Are you ALIVE today?

Ok, I'm not asking if you are breathing...haha.

I'm asking if you feel lousy and SIANZ....or....joyful and POSITIVE, full of the life of God!!

Do not be like the churches you see above: cold, boring and dead.(Btw...their Jesus is still on the cross, OURS IS RISEN AND RULING in POWER! woohoo!!!)

You know, Jesus is very clear on this: the evil one came to steal, kill and destroy. STEAL your liveliness, KILL your joy and DESTROY your hope!

BUT JESUS IS MORE POWERFUL THAN the evil devil.

Ask Him for LIFE! JOY! HOPE! You can do it!

And guess what.

When you and God come together, IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING.

Hallelujah! :D

2007-06-29T21:08:00.000+08:00

Gone
By Eddy John Sng

Psalm 42
5a Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?

Are there times when you feel that God is very far away from you, as if He’s gone? I do. There are times when I come to my QTs expecting Him to show up…and He doesn’t.

Was it something I said

To make You turn away

To make You walk out and leave me cold?

If I could just find a way

To make it so that You were right here

Right now

Many times I know why I can't feel God's presence. It’s because I’ve sinned, either by doing something I shouldn’t have or by not doing what He has commanded. Still, that doesn’t explain away all His absences. Why doesn’t He show up when I seek Him? Why does it feel as if He’s…gone?

I've been sitting here
Can't get You off my mind

I've tried my best to be a man and be strong

I've drove myself insane

Wishing I could touch Your face

But the truth remains

You're gone

There are many different theologies to explain why I can’t feel God's presence from time to time. But you know what? I’ve learnt not to care. What is important is not how I feel about Him but how I behave towards Him. So what if I can’t feel Him? I can still praise Him and worship Him with all my heart. And I will. Will you?

Psalm 42
5b Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

2007-06-26T18:17:00.001+08:00

more photos from sec school cell chalet... :)

2007-06-22T12:00:00.000+08:00

Secondary School Cell
had a chalet on Mon and Tue (18 - 19 June)

we had a great time together... playing, eating, worshipping, cycling, playing bridges... :)

2007-06-15T13:34:00.000+08:00

Loving God

by Eddy John Sng

Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.

This is the greatest commandment that God gave to us, and the most important. But what does it mean to love God with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds and all our strength?

Heart

1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

Soul

1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

Mind
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Strength

1 Peter 4:11b If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.

2007-06-14T14:29:00.000+08:00

Our phenomenally awesome SecSchCell stayover at Jethro's house (9 - 10 June 2007)

Pictures please!

Some of the girls!

And the boys (please take a closer look at eddy's face!)

Movie starts! We watched Hitch and Be Cool!

Breakfast on Sunday Morning. Aunty Selena's yummydelicious food!

Thank God for this wonderful fun time together, and that things went well! Also special thanks to Uncle Tony, Aunty Selena and Jethro for allowing us to stayover! Also, Junhoong for organising this! =D and of course, to everyone who came!

Well, continue to pray for our upcoming chalet event too! hope it'll be a great time of bonding and sharing, as we melt together into one big piece!
whooooooooooooosh!

2007-06-13T15:30:00.000+08:00

Thank God for the LOVE of a Family

As most of you know, I live with my granny. But last Sunday, I decided to stay at my mum's place till Tuesday, which was her bday. Those were truly precious moments. Everything seemed perfect!

Imagine waking up in the morning, and having your closest kins sitting around the living room with you, taking breakfast and watching tv together. We went shopping together, did so many things together. Everyone cares for each other, not leaving anyone out in any activities.

I guess most of you will not be able to understand the sweetness I have experienced, as these you have taken for granted. As for me, the knowledge that my family cares, that they miss me, that they wanna include me in things they do delights me. We are still ONE although we aint staying together.

So, you lucky ones with a proper family, please treasure and appreciate what you have. Just to encourage those who wish to experience a greater intimacy with your family members, you can be the one pulling them closer. Show them God's love and you shall be the light in your family.

Family Comes Together

Family comes together

For always and forever

In sickness and in healthIn poverty or in wealth

Family comes together

For always and forever

Without any reason

Anytime or any season

Family comes together

For always and foreverIn death or in lifeIn happiness or in strife

Family comes together

For always and foreverIn anger or in kindness

Whether all seeing or in blindness

Family comes together

For always and forever

Whether for work or for play

They somehow find a way

For family to come together

Because families are forever

Glaedr the poet

2007-06-08T09:05:00.000+08:00

Every morning, from the moment we awake from our slumber, a hustle of activities rush to us like a pack of hungry wolves ready to devour its prey. And it isn't until dusk that they leave us alone once again. Such is the way of life for almost every working adult in Singapore, a nation ranked one of the highest among developed countries in terms of a population deprived of sleep.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up each morning? Do you look to God, at all the fullness of his glory, and say a little prayer in submission to His will; or do you succumb to the pressures and burdens of this world and hurry into each day? The psalmist was wise to "delight in the law of Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night"(Psalms 1:2). What will you do? The ball is in your court.

2007-06-06T10:21:00.000+08:00

One Life...

LIVE IT!

Just like a match stick, our life is short. So, how we ought to live our lives?

How would you live your life?

When a friend is ill, you can be the one saying "take care", or the one bringing her to the clinic.

When a friend is poor, you can be the one saying "o poor thing", or the one sharing your wealth.

When a sister is being ostracized, will you date her out?

When a brother is sad, will you pray for him and lend him a listening ear?

When your mother is busy with housework and getting all tensed up, will you be the one watching TV or lending her a hand?

Dear friends, there are so many incidents where we can shine for Christ through our actions. What will Jesus do(WWJD)?

What are some ways to live our lives truly reflecting God's glory? Just keep in mind...Actions speak louder than words.

1 John 3:18

"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

2007-06-01T22:41:00.001+08:00

Ever gazed up into the sky at night and got mesmerized by the quiet twinkle of the stars or by the thrill of seeing them fly across the sky? In a dark place on a clear night, with your unaided eyes, you can see about 3000 stars. From Singapore, probably only a handful are visible since the streets are chockfull of light pollution.

Each civilization has had its own legends about figures in the sky. In fact, many of the constellation names we use today come from the ancient Greeks, and these constellations can be found all over the northern hemisphere. As the Earth rotates, the stars appear to move across the sky. Over a few hours, the appearance of the sky changes drastically. And from season to season, different stars become visible.

Today, the International Astronomical Union has divided the entire sky into exactly 88 constellations. NASA spends billions of dollars on countless space expeditions with no tangible reward. Their saving grace is probably these photos from the Hubble telescope:

Star-Birth Clouds in M16: Stellar "Eggs" Emerge from Molecular Cloud

The Cat's Eye Nebula

Hubble's Latest Views of Light Echo from Star V838 Monocerotis

Interacting Spiral Galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163

Hubble Images Chronicle the Inner Ring's Light Show

With all this fascination with the skies above, it comes as a surprise to me that God accounts for them with just a little footnote in Genesis 1:16 which says “He also made the stars”. How absolutely cool is that?

2007-05-30T15:52:00.000+08:00

Hey dear friends, for those who have watched Chronicles of Narnia, here are some thoughts after reviewing the show again during our 2nd Surprise weekend.

Recap:

NARNIA
Once a peaceful land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants.

The downfall...

Turned into a world of eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis

The Saviour

Aided by the wise and magnificent lion Aslan, the children lead Narnia into a spectacular, climatic battle to be free of the Witch’s glacial powers forever.

-----------------------------------------------END-------------------------------------------

That’s all fantasy…How about in this world you are living in?

THE WORLD

Once a peaceful and perfect place where Man has the liberty to enjoy all that God has created

The downfall…

Turned into a sinful and plagued world caused by Satan and the fallacy of Man.

Our Saviour

Aided by the son of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, we are called into God’s saving grace and to spread the FULL gospel to the world.

Will we be able to fulfill our great commission and set the world free?

2007-05-29T13:03:00.000+08:00

Our New Friends

Firstly, let me introduce the girls to all of you!

They are Hui Wen, Yu Ping and Hui Qin!

And now, the guy!

Let's welcome Alex (on the right)!

Do continue to join us for our weekly Youth Fusion gatherings on every Saturday, 3.30pm!

2007-05-25T13:47:00.000+08:00

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Romans 5:1~5

Paul, the traveller and Roman citizen, had made three prolonged and extensive journeys, pioneering the Christian message throughout the eastern provinces of the Empire and establishing churches. Having significant contributions in building the early churches, i would assume that God will probably make his life easier thereafter. I would imagine God would make Paul the Dean of some mega-church, let him be an invited speaker in churches worldwide, or maybe let him retire early with a big fat pension, or even give him a all-expenses-paid holiday to Hawaii for a sabbatical. Alas, it was not meant to be......

Paul was arrested in Jerusalem(Acts 21:27), spends two years in custody in Caesarea, was called before the authorities three times(Felix, Festus & Agrippa), was extradited to Rome to be brought before Caesar in court, but before he could reach Rome, he was shipwrecked with the "Perfect Storm"(Acts 27), with quicksands and whirlwinds off the North African coast, and with neither sun nor stars to set a course or calculate their position. So Paul reaches Rome at last, though hardly in the way he imagined. Later on in AD64, Emperor Nero made a scapegoat of the Christians, laying the blame on them when Rome went up in flames. Paul was imprisoned and executed in about AD67 in the ferocious persecution that followed.

For my braadders and sistaars who are disheartened by troubles in your life, take heart, cuz we never face any of them alone. And like King Leonidas, or King Peter(for the younger ones), let us rise to the occasion once again...

2007-05-18T22:47:00.000+08:00

You and I are made in God's image (Genesis 1:27)

He will remain in us if we remain in Him (John 15:4)

so, with our loving Father on our side, doesn't that make us as tough too? ;-)

2007-05-15T12:13:00.000+08:00

Past, Present and Future
By Eddy John Sng

Recently I heard the song Angels by Robbie Williams with fresh, new insights. I had listened to this song years ago, but this time round, God spoke to me through the lyrics of the song [adapted to reflect God instead of angels]:

And through it all
He offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I'm right or wrong

Past
These four lines sum up my first year with the Lord [I entered WAC around this time last year]. As I reflect on what has happened to me during this year, I realise that through all the good times and bad times He has always been there for me, sheltering me against sins, temptations and the Devil's works.

The LORD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.
Exodus 15:2

Even when my behaviour was less than acceptable to Him (giving in to temptations, disobeying His will), He did not cast me out, but instead poured out even more of His love and grace into my life.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won't break me
When I come to call
He won't forsake me
I'm loving Jesus instead

Present
Having just finished my studies at NTU, there are many decisions I have to make that will determine my future. Initially, I was very worried and constantly thought about many things. I did not want to end up making a wrong choice that would take me away from the Lord. But as I sought and prayed for His guidance, I came to realise that all I needed to do was to rely and depend upon Him to chart my life's path.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

As of now, I still don't have a concrete idea of where I'll be serving the Lord. But wherever God sends me, whatever trials I face, I will not fear, because I know that He is with me, and He will never leave me.

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5

Future
Friends, how has your year with the Lord been? How has God been speaking to you? Has He been telling you to move in a direction you never anticipated?

If He has, do not worry, but place your trust in Him and take that leap of faith to accomplish what He has tasked you to do.

For I know the plans I have for you, "declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

2007-05-15T08:38:00.000+08:00

New every morning

i woke up this morning to a pleasant, fresh and cooling morning
it rained last night, i think some of you are still asleep ;-)

i propped my head outside my window and took a deep breath
woah, F.R.E.S.H.!

immediately, i was reminded of my NS days where we had field camps or overnight outstations where we would be out early before the sun rises
waking up on grass patches
or in push up position to have an upclose look on how morning dew looks like ;D

i'm really amazed at how articulate our God is
a God of details
how is it ever possible to control every kind of molecules in the air structure that our bodies have just enough oxygen through the air we breathe?

there's a newness and freshness every morning
(if not, why do you think the old uncles and aunties are doing at your void decks so early?)
just like the morning dew, it's a reminder that God's grace for us is new every morning

He puts in 100% to keep us alive
no less
not just by providing us a wonderful environment to live in

but most importantly
His work on the Cross

------

Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.

John 4:14
but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

-----

alright,
off to work
have a blessed and FRESH day in the Lord ahead! =)

2007-05-09T23:23:00.000+08:00

HELLO?????

where has everyone gone to???

hmm... seems rather quiet these days huh?

oh well, nvm

doesn't matter

at least YOU are reading this right?
lol ;-)

well, let me first bore you with some of the things I'm busy with currently:
Marking exam scripts
Marking exam scripts
Marking exam scripts
Marking exam scripts

oh, wait a minute, let me put down my red pen
didn't realised i was still holding on to it
no wonder i m typing a little slow

*puts red pen down*

ok.
i understand many of us are busy with exams, work etc
it seems like everything has become a bore/chore
you don't find meaning in the things you do

or maybe
you have come to a point where you can't be bothered to find a meaning

or maybe
you are so satisfied with what you have now

maybe you think
you do not need..... God

well
please take a step back,

seriously,

physically,

lean back on your chair (provided you have a backrest)

turn off the lights in your room
turn off that noisy mp3 (yes, i don't care if that's hillsongs or planetshakers that you are listening to)

i want to share this verse with you
just a simple verse
----------------------------------------------
Psalm 46:1-2
God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
----------------------------------------------

as i took a step back
i realised i have missed out alot by being TOO INVOLVED in the things I do
yes, i do enjoy doing the things i do
but i find that i have come to such a comfortable point where i realised i m relying so much on myself..

i seem to have missed the whole point.. have you?

do i want to wait till the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea to begin to appreciate God?
do i need to wait for every weekend to come to church to meet with God cos throughout the week, i'm too busy?

God is not just marvelous on weekends
He wants to marvel you every single day.

and trust me,
when you marvel at the awesomeness of Him

You will then realised that it's not simply well written poetry that says "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea."

but literally,
His ever strong and open arms are there to welcome you
to increase You
to give you strength
to give you wisdom
to give you so on and so forth

and most importantly
He wants to
to show you His LOVE for you

if only

YOU

CHOOSE

TO

so what are you waiting for?
take a step back and discover
the really Important Thing
or rather
the really Important Person

2007-05-02T20:22:00.000+08:00

III. FAITH & SURVIVAL 12:13

A. Personal 12:13a

1. "Fear God" ... a personal call.
a. This kind of fear means “respect" or "honor!"
b. The bottom line to the whole book of Ecclesiastes is found in this verse, a call to personalize our relationship with the Creator God!

2. To "fear God" in such a way that you are too afraid to let go of the Lord!
a. It may be hard to serve the Lord but have you ever considered the alternative? It is much harder not too!
b. God offers us safety for our soul; the alternative is to lose that soul!
c. "Hanging on" is not a bad option, "letting go" of God may prove to be more dangerous!

ILLUS: LIKE A MAN NAMED HENRY DEMPSEY WHO WAS TAKING A COMMUTER FLIGHT FROM PORTLAND, MAINE TO BOSTON. HENRY WAS THE PILOT OF THE PLANE. AFTER TAKING OFF HE KEPT HEARING A NOISE IN THE REAR OF THE SMALL PLANE. FINALLY HE DECIDED TO GO LOOK. HE TURNED THE CONTROLS OVER TO HIS CO-PILOT AND WENT TO THE BACK OF THE PLANE TO LOOK AROUND. HE DISCOVERED THE PROBLEM QUICKLY ENOUGH, AS SOON AS HE GOT NEAR THE TAIL THE PLANE HIT AN AIR POCKET THROWING DEMPSEY AGAINST THE DOOR WHICH IMMEDIATELY POPPED OPEN SINCE IT WAS LOOSE ALREADY ... THE SOURCE OF THE NOISE TO BEGIN WITH. HE WAS INSTANTLY SUCKED OUT OF THE PLANE AS THE DOOR OPENED. HIS CO-PILOT SAW THE RED LIGHT COME ON INDICATING AN OPEN REAR DOOR AND HE RADIOED THE NEAREST AIRPORT FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING. HE REPORTED THE LOSS OF HIS PILOT AND REQUESTED A HELICOPTER SEARCH BE MADE OVER THE AREA WHERE HIS DOOR SUDDENLY BLEW OPEN. HE HAD HOPED THEY WOULD FIND THE BODY OF HIS FRIEND FOR THE FAMILY. AFTER THE PLANE LANDED THEY FOUND HENRY DEMPSEY ALL RIGHT, HANGING ON STILL TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LADDER OF THE AIRCRAFT! HE HAD HUNG ON FOR 10 MINUTES AS THE PLANE FLEW AT 200 MILES PER HOUR AT AN ALTITUDE OF 4,OOO FEET, AND THEN WHILE LANDING SOMEHOW KEPT HIS HEAD FROM HITTING THE RUNWAY, WHICH WAS ONLY 12 INCHES AWAY! IT TOOK SEVERAL MINUTES FOR AIRPORT PERSONNEL TO PRY HIS FINGERS OPEN FROM CLUTCHING THE LADDER. HE HAD WEIGHED THE CONSEQUENCES OF HOLDING ON AGAINST THOSE OF LETTING GO AND DECIDED THE PAIN OF HOLDING ON WAS LESS THAN THE PAIN OF LETTING GO! THERE’S A GOOD MESSAGE HERE ABOUT HANGING ON TO GOD VERSES LETTING GO ... HANG ON BRETHREN! – SOURCE UNKNOWN

3. It is better to fear God more than fearing this world!

2007-04-26T17:20:00.000+08:00

Following up from "FRASTRATING STRUGGLES"...

B. Perspective 12:6-8

1. Now the author adds, "Remember Him before the silver cord is severed."
a. When death starts to close in, the most vivid memories that we keep are those of our youth!
b. The last things to leave us are our oldest memories, this demonstrates why it is therefore important to remember God while young; this will be some of the longest memories for us to hang on to!
c. While the elderly may sometimes forget the things of the recent past, they retain vivid memories of the distant past.

2. This provides then a shelter for older age, when death is not far away!
a. These memories of serving God in youth will bring a sense of joy and satisfaction even at a time when the physical decline would bring discouragement!
b. The ability to look back and feel good about your life is established by the patterns of our youth!

3. There will be nothing more satisfying in old age than to be able to look back and see the hand of God from your youth to your death!
a. This will help us put our life in perspective.
b. It will give great meaning and wealth to our life if we have walked with God through it all!
c. The lifetime of walking with God will enable us to be masters of our fate!

ILLUS: A WOMAN HAPPENED TO RUN INTO THE FAMOUS PAINTER PICASSO AT A RESTAURANT, AND SO BOLDLY SHE APPROACHED THE MASTER AND ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD PLEASE JUST SCRIBBLE SOMETHING ON HER NAPKIN, SAYING SHE WOULD BE HAPPY TO PAY HIM WHATEVER HE FELT THE QUICK DRAWING WOULD BE WORTH. PICASSO TOOK HER NAPKIN AND DREW SOMETHING AND HANDED IT TO HER ADDING, “THAT MY FINE LADY WILL BE $10,000 DOLLARS!” THE STUNNED WOMAN THEN SAID, “BUT YOU DID THAT DRAWING IN BARELY 30 SECONDS!” PICASSO ANSWERED, “NO, IT HAS TAKEN ME 4O YEARS TO DO THAT!” – SOURCE UNKNOWN

4. The seeming "easy" faith of those who are older did not come so easy, it was the lifetime discipline of serving God from their youth onward, their faith may appear to come easy only because it has been practiced so long. The foundation of youth was established on God!

a. Those who grow up without God get more and more despondent as they age, for all they know is loss and the soon approaching death, life loses meaning for them as they age, they dread time as it marches on!

b. But for believers, we know that death is not the end, thus for those who have lived for God, they find meaning in old age, satisfaction that reward awaits them, they can look back satisfied, and not fear the future!

c. This is the perspective of those who remember God in their youth, and carry their faith throughout their life!

2007-04-23T20:48:00.000+08:00

Youth Fusion's Surprise Weekend photos!

Presenting the groups..

Secondary School Girls!

Secondary School Boys!

Matchstix!

Remembering the burying of Gladys in sand on her 21st birthday!

Captain's ball games

And of course, being Gladys' 21st, a special birthday surprise for her!

Thank God for the weather, protection and a fun time together!
and also, Edward's cell for organising it!

Keep tuning in for more wonderful weekends coming up!

2007-04-20T12:13:00.000+08:00

The Greatest Man in History

In Chemistry, He turned water into wine.

In Biology, He was born without the normal conception.

In Physics, He disapproved the law of grativity when He ascended into Heaven.

In Economics, He disapproved the law of diminishing return by feeding 5000 men with 2 fishes and 5 loaves of bread.

In Medicine, He cured the sick and the blind without administering a single dose of drugs.

In History, He is the Beginning and the End.

In Government, He said that He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace.

In Religion, He said no one comes to the Father except through Him.

So, who exactly is He??

*drum roll*

He is none other than Jesus!

Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master.

Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.

Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.

He had no army, yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.

He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today!

It is such a great honour to be able to serve such a Leader who loves us! Amen? :)

2007-04-19T16:15:00.000+08:00

SURPRISE WEEKEND THIS SATURDAY

a time together with games, food and fun!!

where are we going? SENTOSA!!!
what time? 2pm!

gather together at the beach with your cell latest by 2pm. the competition starts exactly at 2pm!! latecomers would have lesser time to build their creative fortress! :D

here are some things to note:
1. bring at least $3 for the entrance fee and transport into sentosa
2. bring extra clothings for change
3. provide your own refreshments and entertainment (if any)

2007-04-18T23:43:00.000+08:00

TIME OUT WEEK END

On the 14th April, my cell went to Steven's house for a good TIME OUT:) We had a great time fellowshipping, worshipping, eating, and just hanging out together. Here are some snapshots of what exactly went on that day...

WeeJin was dancing with joy after he managed to psycho Steven for a cup of apple juice.

There was something strange going on...

A Series of HORROR EVENTS (R21)

Monsters in the room...

Afraid? Scared? FEAR Not as God is in our midst!

We had a superb time of worship and prayer.

Worshipper of God....God's instrument of worship

God is good all the time! Those that seek Him shall find rest. Shhhhh...Do Not Disturb....

2007-04-18T23:39:00.000+08:00

II. FRUSTRATING STRUGGLES Ecclesiastes 12:2-8

A. Physical 12:2-5

1. The author now launches into a vivid picture of diminishing capacities as we age!

a. Poor eyesight

b. Weakness

c. Hearing problems

d. Sleep problems

e. Graying hair and decreasing muscle tone

f. Endurance decreasing

g. Greater effort at doing little things

2. This is the one positive thing about aging and spiritual life, while our physical capacities decrease with age our spiritual capacities can actually increase!

3. What we lose physically, we can gain spiritually!

4. This picture is not intended to discourage but to simply call attention to the importance of not neglecting God while young, when it is much easier to set a foundation of spiritual dynamics in our life.

a. As we age more of our attention gets diverted to burdens and needs, this is where that foundation really pays off, we have the strength to deal with them then!

b. Those who keep God in their youth never lose the inner strength, even when the outer strength is gone!

ILLUS: IN JUNE OF 1955 WINSTON CHURCHILL WAS NEARING HIS DEATH. HE WAS ASKED IF HE COULD GIVE ONE MORE PUBLIC SPEECH TO A BRITISH UNIVERSITY. HE AGREED EVEN THOUGH HE WAS TERRIBLY ILL. HE HAD TO BE HELPED TO THE PODIUM AND WHEN HE GOT THERE FOR SOME TIME HE JUST STOOD HANGING ON THE SIDES TO KEEP HIMSELF UP, HIS HEAD BOWED DOWN FOR SOME TIME BEFORE HE RAISED IT TO SPEAK ... AS IT WAS, FOR THE LAST TIME IN PUBLIC. AFTER MUCH SILENCE HE FINALLY RAISED HIS HEAD AND UTTERED THESE WORDS, “NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE UP!” AND THEN HE RETURNED TO HIS SEAT. THE AUDIENCE SAT SILENT FOR SOME TIME, AND THEN TOGETHER THEY SUDDENLY EXPLODED WITH APPLAUSE! THE FIGHTING PATTERN OF HIS SOUL HAD LONG BEEN ESTABLISHED IN HIS HEART FROM YOUTH AND EVEN THOUGH HIS BODY WAS WASTED HIS SPIRIT CONQUERED! – SOURCE UNKNOWN

5. You will need something to carry you through the years of decline, which will be the patterns you established in youth ... “remember your creator in the days of your youth!”

2007-04-15T18:50:00.000+08:00

Honor God and He’ll Honor you

By Eric

Last semester was extremely trying. Having just received Christ, I was making adjustments to my lifestyle to incorporate things such as daily quiet time and church on Saturdays and Sundays. Moreover, quite a few things happened in the family - passing away of my grandparents, the implications in the extended family after that – hence, I never really got into stride in my studies.

There was this particular module that I was not confident in from start to end – forensic psychology. That module was full of abstract concepts due the nature of the field. It did average for the mid-term test and other assignments, thus, I was depending on my final exam to pull the grade up. However, I was so badly behind time, no thanks to some degree of procrastination, I only managed to revise about 65% of what was required for the finals.

Exam day. 8 questions answer 4. I could only manage 3. We were given 10 mins of perusal time, so I used some time to pray. I asked Him to give me peace and calmness to face this little challenge; it was just but an exam. I also asked Him to reward me accordingly to my efforts – if it’s a Pass, so be it. God answers prayers, in ways you don’t expect. Instead of 3, I could answer only 2 questions; I’ve misread the last one. Nonetheless, I completed the exam.

This Wednesday, I received an e-mail from Dr. Stephen Motson, the subject co-ordination in forensic psychology in Australia. Initially, I thought I failed the exam. After reading through the e-mail, I was in total shock and awe. Dr. Motson had written to me personally to congratulate on the excellent performance in the exam. According to him, I did extremely well for all four essays and he actually gave me the highest scores he has ever given to anyone in this module.

I am very certain it was God. As I reflected upon this incident, it occurred to me that God did answer my prayer. He rewarded me accordingly to my efforts - it was not how much I studied but my devotion to Him during the exam break. I made a commitment to do daily QT during that week even though I was behind time. In fact, I think God made it such. Whenever it reaches about 8pm, if I do not start my QT, I would feel a little uncomfortable, hence, unable to concentrate. But after QT, He gave me peace and tranquility that allowed me to concentrate fully.

Even as most of us approach the hectic exams period, remember, do not rely on your own strength to work. I would like to encourage everyone to continue to be devoted to God. If your daily QT is 30mins, continue to do 30mins, if you do QT twice daily, continue to do so and do it with faithfulness. Because you know, He will give you the peace of mind even though it seems like you’ll never finish what needs to be done. Above all, He will not discount you for what you’ve done for Him. He may not reward you like He did for me, but surely, He’ll record down your devotion and you never know when He’ll return you manifolds of it.

2007-04-11T07:35:00.000+08:00

Last week, we talked about building our strong foundation in Christ Jesus. This week, we shall focus on buiding our innerman to withstand trails ahead.

B. Pressures! 12:lb

1. The author now explains the meaning of his command to remember God in youth, because tougher days will come that will be hard to deal with and only a frame of eternity can help us through those temporal sufferings!

a. Inevitably our frailties will show, not so much in youth, but later in life.

b. These "breakdowns" will make it difficult to appreciate life unless we have a larger frame of reference in which to place suffering, hence the importance of remembering the good days of youth and our Creator.

2. It is important for those coping mechanisms to be already in place before the tough times come, this is the author's point.

a. The course of growing older includes greater pressures and less physical strength; therefore we need something in our inner man to carry us through.

b. Forewarning here is the point; take the time to be prepared spiritually when young!

ILLUS: Like the mighty Niagara river which plummets some 180 feet at the falls. Before the falls however there are mighty violent rapids, and further upstream it is quite peaceful, here boats are allowed on the river. As a boat glides down the river however, they will arrive at a point where they will read this sign:"Do you have an anchor?"Followed by this " Do you know how to use it?" The only save way to be on the river at this point is to have prepared in advance before traveling down it this far...The very point the writer in Ecclesiastes 12:1 is trying to make! -Source unknown

3. We have only one chance to be young, how critical for youth to recognize the importance of knowing God at this stage of their life, they will later look back and thank God for the knowledge of the Lord when young!
a. Remembering God while young will also help you fight against the temptations of youth and thus avoid consequences that can last a lifetime.
b. Many young people ruin their lives or complicate them later by ignoring God's laws when young!

2007-04-06T00:31:00.000+08:00

DIRECTIONS TO NUS UNIVERSITY CULTURAL CENTRE (UCC)

Overview

Red line - 96 from clementi interchange.
Blue line - 151 coming down from clementi road

Up close

96 (loop trip)- from clementi interchange; enters NUS from school of design and environment; drop at bus stop C (after Yusof Ishak House bus stop)

151 - coming down from clementi road; enters NUS from University Cultural Centre; drop at bus stop A

33,183,188 - drop at bus stop B

2007-04-05T23:47:00.000+08:00

Evidence Of God

There are many people today who remain just outside the gate of eternal life. They have heard the gospel message but are still not convinced of its absolute truth. They may concede that religion is a "good thing" but they need more proof before actually committing their life. Going to church on Sunday is one thing, but walking with Jesus every single day?

How many of us are like those standing outside the gate, refusing to commit? We tell ourselves that if God would give us signs like He gave Abraham and Moses, then all doubt would be removed and we would follow in true obedience. But we wouldn't. Jesus said we must first follow before we will truly know; "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own" (John 7:17). God has revealed Himself. He has called us to follow - to step out in faith - and receive a wonderful confirmation of His truth.

My own life is my greatest "sign" pointing to God. I've never seen the Red Sea part nor audibly heard God's voice in a burning bush - I've never seen water changed to wine, a blind man made able to see or a lame man made able to walk - but when I look back at the "mud and mire" (Psalm 40:2) from which I've been saved, I see an absolutely clear miracle. And as I walk with Jesus day in and day out... I KNOW!

In addition, Paul reminds us that all the wonders of creation are a sign of God's Hand.
Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

There are signs of God all around. Yet sadly, our senses are too often closed. We cry out for evidence, yet we see, hear, smell, touch, and taste evidence every day - He is here with us in infinite detail.

It's not surprising that the world fails to recognize the evidence; "the sinful mind is hostile to God" (Romans 8:7). The world lives in darkness and is blind to Heavenly wonders, but we no longer belong to the world; "He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness" (Colossians 1:13). We now must walk in the Light and "see" according to what the Light reveals.

God is calling us into a life of continual and passionate devotion. Let's begin to worship Him every moment of every day as we see His glory in the flowers, trees, and stars; as we hear His beauty in the songs of a bird and the cry of a baby. We're surrounded by an abundance of Spiritual signs - confirming signs that He is real! Let's step through the gate with full commitment and continue our walk in humble submission. Let's live to glorify His name and open our senses to the true evidence of God.

2007-04-04T17:16:00.000+08:00

Hello, I'm back with the continuation of my previous post,

"Remember your Creator in the days of your youth"...

Our topic today is...

FOUNDATION SET! 12:1

A. Patterns 12:la
1. The author (probably Solomon) recognized how important it was to know the Lord as a young person, he is writing here at the end of his life.

a. The significance of this principle is born out by modern studies which show that with increasing age there is even less of a chance of someone coming to Christ.

b. The percentages for a born again experience decrease with age.

2. The reason for this is obvious; we establish "patterns" in our youth that carry through the rest of our lives, patterns change later with great difficulty.

a. This is why it is so critical that we teach our youth about the Lord, both by word and by example.

b. We are helping to set the foundation for their lives; it is a big head start for them when they have been raised to know the Lord.

3. This is precisely the meaning of one of Solomon's other statements: "train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Prov. 22:6

a. Establishing in them a pattern of righteousness will help them return even if they go through a rebellious stage.

b. It is hard to escape those patterns of youth, good or bad ones!

c. The rewards of walking with God from youth not only come to those who walked with God, but even to those who follow in their family!

ILLUS:

Bill Gaither tell the story of how he and his wife Gloria were able to purchase a piece of land they desired in Indiana shortly afetr they were married.

They were teaching school in his homw town of Alexandria, Indiana and they wanted a land to build a house on. They noticed a parcel of land south of town where cattle grazed, and he learned it belonged to a 92 year retired banker named Mr. Yule. He owned a lot of land in the area and the word was out that he would sell none of it to anyone. The 92 year old banker always gave the same answer to anyone who asked about buying the land, " I promised to let farmers use it for their cattle, can't sell it".

Gloria and he went to the bank where he still went in a few hours a day to work and requested him to consider selling some land to them. The old man looked over his bifocals at Bill Gaither and said strightforwardly, " Ain't selling!" Bill Gaither responded," I know, but we teach school here and thought maybe you'd be interested in selling to someone planning to settle in the area." The old man curiously asked,"What did u say your name was young man?" Bill replied, " Gaither Bill Gaither Sir". The man said, "Hmmm, any relation to Grover Gaither?", "Yes Sir" said Bill, "That was my grandfather"Mr.

Yule then put down his paper and removed his glasses and said, "That's interesting, Grover Gaither was the best worker I ever had on my farm, full day's work for a day's pay, and so honest. What'd you say you wanted yound man?" Bill Gaither again asked about the land and the old man said for him to come back a couple days later, he would think about it. A week later, he went back and the old man said ok--and only $3,800 For 15 Acres! It was worth more than 3 times that. The good name of his granddad had won him that land! A wonderful pattern had been set in his family by an early relative that paid dividents generations later!- Source

4. Establishing these patterns before the demands of adulthood come helps to frame the way we will respond the rest of our life.

a. It is important to give attention to those spiritual dynamics early in life.

b. This builds the frame of reference that we will respond from.

2007-04-04T16:45:00.000+08:00

Andy would like to share....

Greetings to my dearest brothers and sisters, I’d like to share the lyrics of my newly-written song with all of you. God bless!

In You I Rest My Faith
Andy Philip

Verse 1:
In You I rest my faith
For You are the way
Humbly You came, endured the pain
On the cross, You bore all my shame

Verse 2:
In You I rest my faith
For all of my days
With Your grace, I will embrace
A life that glorifies Your name

Chorus:
Lord as I run this race
Fix my eyes on Your face
Your love remains the same
Nothing can replace

Lord as I run this race
Fix my eyes on Your face
Never will I be afraid
In You I rest my faith

Ending:
For all of my days

Music is the heart of my voice.
Worship is the voice of my heart.

2007-04-02T13:47:00.000+08:00

THE IMPORTANT THINGS: A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES

By Jasmine Pang

Hello people! The Easter play is in six days and I hope all of you are excited about coming down to watch it! Yup we’ve all been working really hard but anyway I just wanted to share with you some stuff I’ve learned throughout all this.

As we count down the days to the 7th of April, I really hope all of you will keep this event in prayer. Doing a play for church is quite different from doing a play outside. In acting, we’re taught to act with emotional truth – to relate what the character goes through to our own experiences. The more important thing that we have to achieve in this Easter play, however, is spiritual truth – the actors need to be convicted by the Spirit as they perform in order to touch the audiences. The latter is something that definitely isn’t within my power as a director– the most I can do is to pray for the actors. What this play really depends on, therefore, is not my direction, but on God’s direction! Only He can bring a normal stage production to that spiritual level, in order for the message of His love to be brought across.

That’s something I struggled with for a while, actually, because I’m a perfectionist, and I don’t like knowing that certain things can’t be under my control. Along the way, however, I’ve learned to give things up to God, and to trust that He’ll take care of everything. There was a period of time where I had sleepless nights, and kept on staying up to rewrite the script again and again, to think of how to direct scenes and design the set. But one day, as I was in the middle of one of those things, Eric messaged me Psalm 23:1-2. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul.”

That made me stop in my tracks and think – that pushing myself to the limit wouldn’t be the answer to anything, and that I had to depend on God instead. Not saying that wanting everything to be good and up to standard is a bad thing – it’s only right that we do things to the best of our ability in service to God. But that’s only half that story, because we can only accomplish so much in our own strength!

If I were to judge the play right now by professional standards, I would say we aren’t ready to go on stage in UCC, in front of the public. But I believe that on Saturday, we will be amazed, because what will shine through is the glory of God. Ultimately, what counts will not be the play itself, but his presence in UCC. He’s the one who will be in control! Be there to experience it!

2007-03-31T00:10:00.000+08:00

[The Important Things]

It's easy to know what's important.

But it's difficult to know WHO is.

Don't get lost in the crowd.

Sent to help a rich, successful young man Jonathan, Astrid the Angel is determined to change the world. and make Jonathan's life better. For under the facade of success in his studies and career. Jonathan faces difficulties that will challenge his priorities in life. And also bring to question the emptiness he feels in his heart. Will he truly discover The Important Things?

And will you discover them too?!

*tickets are running low.. get your tickets SOON!!!* *There are no available tickets for 8 April, 8pm show*

I'm EXCITED!!! ARE YOU!? WOOHOO!!!

have you invited your friends yet?! if not... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!

2007-03-30T10:37:00.000+08:00

Since we're into illustrations, lets take a look what D.L. Moody has to say about how the Holy Spirit chooses whom to empower:

When I was out in California, the first time I went down from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and dropped into the valley of the Sacramento, I was surprised to find on one farm that everything about it was green - all the trees and flowers, everything was blooming,...and just across the hedge, everything was dried up, and there was not a green thing there. I could not understand it. I made inquiries, and I found that the man that had everything green, irrigated; he just poured the water right on, and kept everything green, while the fields that were next to his were as dry as Gideon's fleece, without a drop of dew. So it is with a great many in the church today. They are like these farms in California - a dreary desert, everything parched and desolate, and apparently no life in them. They can sit next to a man who is full of the Spirit of God, who is like a green bay tree, and who is bringing forth fruit, and yet they will not seek a similar blessing.

Well why this difference? Because God has poured water on him that was thirsty; that is the difference. One has been seeking this anointing, and he has received it; and when we want this above everything else, God will surely give it to us.

D.L.Moody, Moody's Stories: Incidents and Illustrations (Chicago: Moody,1899), 75-76.

2007-03-28T16:47:00.000+08:00

Joanie wanna share...

Hey friends, I came across a website that gave interesting illustrations on Ecclesiates 12:1-8, 13. I shall review bits and pieces of it every Wedensday. Quite a long write up actually. Haha...

"REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH!"

INTRO: Have you ever known someone who is always late for everything? They are always in a rush just to catch up because they are always late. At times, this kind of habit can be costly, they miss out on important things or information because of a late arrival. How much better to be on time and start early, this is precisely the idea behind this passage.

ILLUSTRATION:

Like the man who came rushing up to a lake, he arrived breathless after running full steam to get there. But the gateman shut the door in his face. He just missed the boat!

A bystander remarked to him, " I guessed you didn't run fast enough!"

The disappointed man answered, " I ran fast enough, but i didn't start on time."

TO ACCOMPLISH THE MOST FOR GOD IN A LIFETIME YOU MUST START EARLY ...“IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH” Ecc. 12:1 – SOURCE UNKNOWN

Statistically we know that the longer a person goes without accepting Christ the less likely they are to find Him ... the patterns of our life are set down in our youth. How important it is then to remember God in our youth!

Therefore, I would like to urge all youths to reach out to your friends RIGHT NOW! Reach them early before they missed the boat!

2007-03-26T17:03:00.000+08:00

By T.i.m.o.t.h.y W.o.o.n

Woohoo it is that time of the month for me again. It is blog entry time. Let me share with you guys something I shared with my matchstick brothers over the most recent guy's gathering. God has been speaking to me rather miraculously over the last month and it was through all these ultimate experiences that led me to share with them about the topic of love. It all started when I heard the phrase,"faith, hope and love," spoken during one of the Sunday services (though if you ask me now I frankly would not be able to recall which one).

By the way, this phrase is taken from a verse in 1 Corinthians 13 aka the love chapter. Anyway, what struck me initially was the word ,"faith," in the phrase because, as you all know, or rather as most of the matchstick guys would know, I shared about faith during the January guy's gathering. So I thought," Wow, I could settle 3 months worth of guy's gathering sharing with these 3 topics. Furthermore, it sounds rather 'cool'." This probably would not be what we associate with very Godly reasoning.

Anyway, I shared about faith already leaving me with 2 choices, hope and love. I pondered about these 2 topics and seeked God in prayer about the matter, unlike my earlier approach. Though I believe God has been subtly answering my prayers through quiet time, which touched on Jesus death and resurrection with a greater than usual regularity, I was not wholly convinced.

Right up until last Saturday, I was still anxiously undecided. However, my quiet time that night confirmed what I ended up sharing with the guys without a shadow of a doubt. That night, God seemed to have amplified His voice during my quiet time. I remembered asking Him in my prayer, prior to reading His word, to show me whether I should share about love.

Guess what? The devotional passage was 1 Corinthians 13. That totally gripped my heart and I was and am convinced that the love of God is what God wants to gently but firmly remind us during this season.

2007-03-23T15:25:00.000+08:00

With Good Friday just around the corner, let us ponder upon the depths of God's love for us. And if you need help with that, here's a link to a song entitled "When God Ran" by Phillips, Craig & Dean, with footages from the movie The Passion of Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

"I have identified with Christ in His death, and it is no longer i who live, but Christ that lives in me. The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Gal 2:20

2007-03-22T11:05:00.000+08:00

An encounter with God

By Violet

When was your last encounter with God? How did you feel? Have you changed since then?

Well, my last encounter with God was last Sunday during a fellowship session in Steven's house. A few of us that consisted of Steven, Jasmine, Wei Qiang, Andy, Eric and my cell leader Celine gathered at Steven's house actually planned to just play around with the guitars and fellowship. But God had other greater plans. Around 6.45pm as soon as Steven came back from sending Jasmine to the MRT station, Celine started playing and praying, and we just started to focus on God and started worshipping. Eric shared something that God impressed on his heart. God was saying to confess all sins, pull down strongholds in life. I broke down. Why? Because I know there are some parts of me that God has not dealt with yet and He wants to deal it with me, but I was not willing for God to deal with them. And partly was because of the disappointments.

Sometimes in life, when things gets good and high, the devil always wants to pull down that feeling and pull down whatever positive feelings and emotions that will leave us feeling down and thus draw away from God. Beginning of this week, God told me something and promised that to happen and the next day it did. My spiritual emotion, trust and faith went up by a notch.

Everything was running smoothly till Saturday when I had an enrolment service committee meeting. There were people in the committee that I cannot work with, because of the past experience I had when I worked with them before. I actually even had a quarrel with them before the meeting and so, that was not so healthy for my spirit. I was judging them. And because I felt so much bitterness because of previous events, I didn't want to forgive them. I couldn't bring myself to. In my heart, I really hated them. I cried before because of what they said to me. And I just couldn't forgive them. The meeting was long and draining, a lot of work hadn't been done, and that too wasn't very beneficial, to both my physical and spiritual body. After the meeting, I tried to rush to church, saw something, someone that didn't make me too happy. By the time I went to church, I tried to ignore and forget what had just happened and went on with my time with God's people. Came Sunday, when Pastor said there are a lot of opposition, I just had to agree.

There are times when you feel like praising God is the last thing that you can. But these are times whereby God breaks your heart and mould you. These are the times where God wants you to be strong and stronger. Every time you feel like this is the end. You are wrong; this is just the beginning of a change for the better person in you. Going to Steven's house to me was just something that I thought would be a short sharing and fellowship then I can go home. But it ended up being a 2-hours long of worship and prayer. It might sound long, but after being refreshed by the Spirit, it is really amazing how once God touched you, you can be so moved in the spirit. And when you are moved by the Spirit, you just need to leave everything to God and then you would be able to experience God daily in your life.

So have a God-led week this week! Even though the devil might want to pull you away from God, take comfort that God is with you and He will strengthen you.

2007-03-21T09:11:00.000+08:00

the significance of Easter Outreach

As Easter Day draws nearer, Youth Fusion is also getting busier. Why?

Most of us are involved in the Easter production, featuring "The important things". I am sure Jasmine is going to polish you guys up till perfection :P That includes MORE practices!
We have to take time off school and other personal agendas to help publicize for this event. Giving out flyers to the lunch time crowd at specific schools. Easy task?
Apart from reaching out to the community as a group, we have to reach out to our own friends, which means meeting up, and following up with them on separate times.

My friends, are you guys geared to take up this challenge? Or are you already feeling the weight of this mission? If you are, make sure that you have the right focus in mind!!! If not, it's easy to fall...BEWARE...

How to stay focus?

Sier has shared last Saturday about having the right focus in mind. I guess it is relevant when it comes to serving God too.

Some questions to ponder about.

"Are we doing it for man or for God?"
"What is the significance behind all these work that we are doing?
"Is it a showcase of your talents and good works?"
" Is it about you?"

As I was doing my QT this morning, God reminded me of His marvelous love for all mankind.

Taken from ODB 21st March,

1 John 3:11-18 (New International Version)

He called us to love one another.
He called us to even lay down our lives for our brothers!

I am sure we know that we have to love one another unconditionally, even people whom we do not know. Jesus loves everyone, including the most hated tax-collecters, and the adulterous who was being looked down upon. He has came to seek and save the lost, and we are called into this mission to work alongside Him.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Scripture teaches that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). It also teaches the importance of “faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). So the great problem we all face is how to rid ourselves of sinful self-love while sincerely loving God and neighbor (Matt. 22:37-39; 1 John 3:14). The gospel with its message of the life-transforming love of Christ provides the only answer to that problem. Paul declared in Romans 5:5, “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” [ODB, 21st March]

Therefore, let us learn to love the lost, those who need God as much as we do. The sacrifices that we have made for the outreaches are minimal compared to what Jesus has given, his life!

Our focus thus should be on His love and our mission. Let us look upon God and fill our hearts with joy, knowing that we are serving our God and glorifying His name as we do the little things to accomplish our mission on earth. Jia you!

2007-03-19T11:09:00.000+08:00

An Unforgettable Time Of Fellowship
By Steven

A group of us, which includes Celine, Violet, Jasmine, Eric, Andy, Wei Qiang and I went to my house last Sunday for a time of fellowship. It was indeed a wonderful time being able to seek God face to face. We sought the Lord for direction towards our serving in our individual's ministry and also in our walk with God. Somehow, some of us had a clearer view and focus in our spiritual life.

I can sense that the Spirit flowing in my room, so strongly that we couldn't resist and started going into deep worshipping and started praying in tongues aloud. During this time of fellowship, God spoke to me to lean on His understanding and even tear down the strongholds that Satan is trying to place in front of our path leading us to Eternity. The style of worshipping we adopted was great as we just sang as the Spirit led us to.

Though sometimes we might not know the lyrics, the Spirit just sang within us! Praying for one another is very important and that is the reason why God told us that we need to come into a time of fellowship, which includes coming to church. I truly believed that God has impacted every single one present in my house as His love was revealed so clearly to us as we prayed. I was in fact very impacted by the song ‘The Power of Your Love.

In fact, I trust in the Lord that He will turn our weaknesses into strengths and also that as we desire to draw near to God, we will soar like an eagle as the Spirit leads us on. It was a time where we experienced what it really means to be worshipping all day long when we are in Heaven. We worshipped till we forgotten that it was late and we were hungry as God has fed us with His spiritual food which quenched our thirst and filled our stomach. I am seriously looking forward to more of such gatherings next time.

Therefore, I would really want to encourage every single brothers and sisters to come together more often for a time of fellowship as it will indeed be a time whereby we can really spur each other on, which includes coming for cell. This is very vital as we will be able to grow together as we share and discuss about God's words together.

2007-03-18T20:21:00.000+08:00

I just want to share 1 article with all of you... Although it is quite a short one, but notice how much truth it has in it..

And God Said No

I asked God to take away my pride. And God said "No". He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. And God said "No". He said her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience. And God said "No". He said patience is a by-product of tribulations. It isn't granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness. And God said "No". He said He gives me blessings, happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me pain. And God said "No". He said suffering draws me apart from worldly cares and brings me closer to Him.

I asked God to make my spirit grow. And God said "No". He said I must grow on my own. But He will prune me to make me fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. And God said "No". He said He will give me life, that I may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me love others, as much as he loves me. And God said "Ah, finally you have the idea!"

Mark 12:31 ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

2007-03-16T18:03:00.000+08:00

Sec School Cell Presents to you......

18 of us headed down to the Zoo yesterday and we had a really good time there! looking at all those animals, each is a creation of God, it's just so amazing!!! *notice our shirt?! we are all in green or brown... except.. ehhhhhhhhh.. a few.. :)

the greens! *someone says she is green.. but we dun really agree... :p*

the brownies!

and lastly the 3 of them.. :)

let's see what some of them have to say for this trip... :)

I like the Zoo alot! We should go there every year. Although we didn't go to the playground, we saw many animals. All of them were very cute but most of them were sleeping. I had a great time at the Zoo because we were all very excited to see all the animals!! (: We took alot of pictures!

The Zoo, the Zoo, the pig deer BULL
The Zoo, the Zoo, the elephant baboon!

Astrid's Video Version 1

Astrid's Video Version 2

-Astrid-

It was fun.fun.FUN! being able to appreciate God’s creation is fun. I look forward for the next one. -Scarlet-

I had fun too.. manage to refresh images of the animals.. haha -Nicholas-

It’s not bad. Good timing. Fun. -LeFa-

it was good fun, nice opportunity to bond. I enjoyed myself. -Sean-

I love the white tigers and baby elephants! The trip was really nice (minus the rain n dirt), and I enjoyed the company! -Eunice Ng-

It was a really good time, we all had fun, and I hope that we will have more gatherings like this to spend time with each other! -Samantha-

Very fun... Although i was having a fever. Thanks to the cell for the concern durng the trip... The animal shows were cool! Though throughout the show i could CLEARLY hear Astrid screaming excitedly... haha Was amazed at how God created the animas with special adaptions suitable for the conditions they live in... I wanna go there again! hehe... -Elissa-

This trip was tiring but fun! -Eunice Koh-

The zoo trip was fabulous! I really enjoy the encounters with the animals. -Rachel-

Check out the photos of the day!

2007-03-16T14:07:00.000+08:00

This song was one of the few contemporary christian songs that made it through to secular radio stations a few years back. Quite a feat in itself. I first heard it during worship back when we were at JP GV theatre 3, lead by Matt See. Newer additions to our family probably don't know who this elusive character is. Back then, Pastor Stephen was still around and he didn't quite like this song due to its ambiguity, because it was after all written by a contemporary artist whose background and motives one can never really be sure of. Having said so, please listen to the lyrics of ~icom~ with discretion, and be ministered to by the bible verses in the video. For the more adventurous ones out there, go check out MercyMe's original rendition of this song and let your sanctified imagination take over=)

"For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life."

2 Corinthians 5:4

2007-03-16T11:21:00.001+08:00

Youth Fusion Welcomes...

Carol... *on the right
she's PeiLing's friend... and if you don't know who is PeiLing she is Janice's friend... :)

Johnson (joanie's cousin)

Aaron... (Eunice Ng's cousin)*on the right

the next time you see them rember to say Hi to them! :)

2007-03-15T12:58:00.000+08:00

Grasping The Lifeline

A sharing extracted from "When I hear His call"

"For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels won't, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God's love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are - high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean - nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when He died for us."

Romans 8:38-39 (TLB)

Two commercial window washers evaluated the skyscraper office building windowswaiting to be washed. They had started early to have enough time to complete the job. With scaffolding and lifelines in place, the workers followed routine procedures before ascending, including hooking lifelines to their safety belts. After cleaning supplies were loaded, they were on their way up.

But when they reached the top, something gave way. Supplies and framework plummeted toward the streets below. Lifelines snapped taut and brought both men to an abrupt stop in midair. The helplessworkmen swayed precariously in the chilling wind.

Terrified, the men swung from the ropes for hours while rescue crews frantically worked to help them. Fortunately, if they lost their holds on their lifelines for even a spilt second, the reliable safety clamps would still hold them secure. Thanks God, both men were eventually lowered to safety.

Just as how the two men had experienced, we too may face frighthening and stressful challenges as we go out to serve God. We may have done all the right things and carefully clung close to the Lord, but something can still go wrong.

Can bad things happen even when we are obedient to God? I believe so. There is a real spiritual battle going on out there, and Satan is trying to break us any way He can. The devil is no gentleman. In 1 Peter 5:8, it describes how the evil one is like a roaring lion, searching for someone to devour.

No matter how tough things get, God promises He will never allow us to endure more than we can handle. When we become frazzled, brokenhearted, or weary and lose our grip, He is still there, firmly holding onto us.

God loves you and knows how much you love Him. He's there for you in the good times, as well as you go through the storms in your life. He's holding tightly onto you when you soar, and more so when your life is crashing down. When your strength ebbs to nothing, God's powerful, firm grip takes hold. His strength shows up best in our weaknesses. God is strong even when we are weak!

As you prepare to go about doing your routine each day, be sure and above all else, draw close to God and check out His lifeline. Then fear not! Go and serve with His peace, power and presence in your life. This week, God showed me that serving Him is not only restricted to serving in church, but it means to be a servant in our homes so that the love of God can be demonstrated in us to our families. Start being a servant right where you are placed in your home. :)

God says in Hebrews 13:5 that "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Today let us take a closer look at this verse and discover how much God desires and longs for us to be with Him. Looking at the same verse, now let's read it the reverse way and see what God wants to say to you.

This is how much God loves you when He says "you forsake, I will never; you leave, I will never."

2007-03-15T07:14:00.000+08:00

By God's grace

-A life testimony from Clara-

For the most recent testimony, I would like to thank GOD that he has given me a full cert for my O levels at last. When I got my O level results, I have scored D7 for my English. Which is quite an expected grade for it.

In my secondary school days, I do not score well for English at all. Usually it is between C6 to D7. No matter how hard I study and practice for my English, it will never be better. I lost hope of my English actually. When I get into RP, my mum has always been nagging at me to retake my English. However I was thinking "Ai ya, no need to take la. The result will still be the same". So I did not take it when I was in the first year in RP. But with the constant nagging from my mum, I decided to take the exams so that she will not nag at me. So I sign up to retake my English O level paper.

After signing up, I did nothing about it. When the exams came I just went and took the paper without studying, practice nor even revise. I was just hoping that I would not do very badly for the paper. However, when the results were out, I was in total shock and happiness. I scored a C5 for my English paper. I was like wow. I did not study for it and yet I am able to pass. I would like to thank GOD for allowing me to get through my English O level paper last year.

2007-03-14T16:11:00.000+08:00

Violet shares on her thoughts on the song "We Are The Reason"

I always thought that the song ‘we are the reason’ was only sung on Christmas. But as I look at the lyrics and reflect on my life. I realized, no, that song was sung because sometimes we have remind ourselves the reason that we are living. Yes, we were the reason that He came down; similarly, He is the reason that we live; He is the reason that we can be going to church, He is the reason that we can have amazing encounters with God.

This week has been a hectic week. I’ve been through a lot of things and events. Refreshing ones and tiring one. Refreshing encounter with God took me to a higher level of relationship with God. Tiring events let me down at times, but I would draw strength from God because He is the one who give me all the strength I need for the day. And through all the work that we are doing, be it ministry work or just work. Sometimes as human, we complain about things, we complain about how tough it is. But we fail to look at the deeper truth which is we have a reason why we are on this earth, and the question we should constantly ask ourselves is, are we living the purpose and reason why we are on this earth? Or are we just living on our own?

And every night as I finish my work, I sit in front on my computer, listening to the song ‘we are the reason’. Refreshes me, always. Why? Because it says that we ARE the reason that he suffered and died. God sent his beloved Son to die for us. We know this for a fact, but we have missed the meaning of it. We have missed the impact of this. GOD SENT HIS SON. Think about it. Would you send your son to die for sinful people and you also know that you would not be able to save all of them and some of them would be ungrateful to you, etc. GOD STILL SENDS HIS SON. So take comfort in Him today, because HE sent his son so that we can return to HIM. After knowing this, wouldn’t you want to return to HIM? Because HE so so so loved us!

Even as we enter the mid week and things seems monotonous and long, take comfort and rest in God’s presence, spend time with him more this week. You WILL feel the change. And when you feel the change, you would then hear God speaking then you will feel refreshed, energized and ready to shine for God in the world! So be blessed this week, take heat in His word and HIS will show you HIS plans!

2007-03-13T16:19:00.000+08:00

It's easy to get know what's important.

But it's difficult to know WHO is.

Don't get lost in the crowd.

Angels, mortals, and someone else.

Westside Anglican Church presents a light-hearted play...

*click on image to view a clearer image

Will you let this opportunity go, to invite our pre-believing friend?
Do invite ANYONE to come and watch this Easter play!

Free admission, call 96484778 for booking of tickets ASAP!

2007-03-12T17:40:00.000+08:00

Andy would like to share this with you...

God Song

I encourage you to spend some time reading and pondering over the lyrics.
May the Lord enlighten you through this song. Amen.

Song Link: http://www.box.net/index.php?rm=box_v2_mp3_player_shared&node=f_47704900

We Are The Reason
Band: Avalon

Verse 1
As little children

We would dream of Christmas morn

Of all the gifts and toys

We knew we'd find

But we never realized

A baby born one blessed night

Gave us the greatest gift of our lives

Chorus 1

We were the reason that He gave His life

We were the reason that He suffered and died

To a world that was lost, He gave all He could give

To show us the reason to live

Verse 2

As the years went by

We learned more about gifts

The giving of ourselves

And what that means

On a dark and cloudy day

A man hung crying in the rain

All because of love, all because of love

Bridge
I've finally found the reason for living

It's in giving every part of my heart to Him

In all that I do, every word that I say

I'll be giving my all just for Him, for Him

Chorus 2
We are the reason that He gave His life

We are the reason that He suffered and died

To a world that was lost, He gave all He could give

To show us the reason to liveHe is our reason to live

2007-03-08T23:05:00.000+08:00

The Source of Abundant Joy

Adapted from "My Utmost From His Highest"

March 7, 2007

"In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" - Romans 8:37

Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that "in all these things we are more than conquerors." We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.

Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let's apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against - tribulation, suffering, and persecution - are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. "We are more than conquerors through Him" "in all these things"; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn't know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation" (2 Corinthians 7:4).

The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to "separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).

2007-03-08T15:31:00.000+08:00

HE WILL COME AND SAVE YOU

Say to those who are fearful hearted
Do not be afraid
The Lord your God
Is strong with His mighty arms
When you call on His name
He will come and save

He will come and save you
He will come and save you
Say to the weary one
YOURE GOD WILL SURELY COME
He will come and save you
He will come and save you

He will come and save you
Lift up your eyes to HIm
You will arise again
He will come and save you

Say to those who are broken hearted
Do not lose your faith
The Lord your God
Is strong with His loving arms
When you call on His name
He will come and save

He is our refuge in the day of trouble
He is our shelter in the time of storm
He is our tower in the day of sorrow
Our fortress in the time of war

2007-03-07T00:40:00.000+08:00

Have you been feeling dry in your walk with God lately? Or have you lost the vision that He has given to you. I was greatly encouraged by today's devotion from the book "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers.

AMID A CROWD OF PALTRY THINGS
". . . in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses." 2 Corinthians 6:4

It takes Almighty grace to take the next step when there is no vision and no spectator - the next step in devotion, the next step in your study, in your reading, in your kitchen; the next step in your duty, when there is no vision from God, no enthusiasm and no spectator. It takes far more of the grace of God, far more conscious drawing upon God to take that step, than it does to preach the Gospel.

Every Christian has to partake of what was the essence of the Incarnation, he must bring the thing down into flesh and blood actualities and work it out through the finger tips. We flag when there is no vision, no uplift, but just the common round, the trivial task. The thing that tells in the long run for God and for men is the steady persevering work in the unseen, and the only way to keep the life uncrushed is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the Risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to damp you. Continually get away from pettiness and paltriness of mind and thought out into the thirteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel. (John 13:1-17)

2007-03-05T00:55:00.000+08:00

Anywhere and Everywhere, God works!

By Calvin

Hi all! How have all of you been?

Over in Australia, it is turning autumn so it is pretty cold whereby the temperature is about 17 degrees in the morning. I just want to write this short testimony to testify that God is greatly performing wonders even over here in Australia!

When I first came here to Perth, my accommodation had been screwed up. They gave me a room that was like situated on the ground floor, facing the common corridor. I couldn't even open my curtains up and allow the sunlight to enter the room cause if I do so, people will be able to see the whole of my room in a glance. Therefore, my room was dark and stuffy and I was very depressed about the whole situation. Thoughts such as "why am I so unlucky to get this kind of room?" bombarded me throughout.

I became depressed and began to think of ways and means to get out of that room. I went to speak to the principal and he told me that he will see if it is possible for him to change the room for me. I was very grateful but in my heart, I was still very worried about whether my room will be changed in the end. I went online and I spoke to my parents and also some of my friends about what I was going through. But apparently, the management told me that it was very difficult for them to change the room immediately. I was told that I would have to wait to see if there is anybody who is willing to change their room with me. On hearing this, I could really feel my whole heart sink to the ground. I prayed and cried out to God with anxiety, and all I found myself crying out was "God Help Me, Please".

Later in the day, while I was online chatting with my parents, my mum told me that that day in church, the whole sermon was about patience and not to be anxious about anything. She told me that God was telling me that He will make a way for me and that He had the best plans for me. Hearing this, I felt much better. But, the peace did not last really long; the worries began to overcome me again.

Then something happened. One day while at lunch, there was this residential advisor who was sitting at my table and was chatting away with us. He told one of the girls that there was somebody who was opting to shift out of the Hall. Immediately, upon hearing this, I went to find the room and saw that that room was much better than mine. I went and told my parents about it and they told me to check it out with the principle who is handling my case. I went to search for the principal who was handling my case but in vain. I had to head down for my orientation. So my parents told me that they will tell the principal if they saw him.

Then something coincidence happened. My dad was coming out of the toilet in my Hall and he was telling my mum that if he sees the principal, he will speak to him, but if not, then I will speak to the principal myself instead. As he was talking about this, the principal was just walking behind him. My dad had a brief chat with him. When my dad told him about the room, he was shocked because he didn't know about the girl moving out of the Hall. He told my dad that he will check it out and get back to us asap.

I was very delighted and waited anxiously for the news. But the news came back differently. I was told that there was another room available and if I would like to have it. I immediately took the key and ran up to check out the room. The room was super cool. The room was very bright and I could open my curtains without fearing anyone will be able to look inside my room.

I was extremely delighted and immediately took the room. I shifted my things into my new room. Really want to praise the Lord. Indeed, He will make a way where there seems to be no way, He works in ways we cannot see and He has made a way for me!

2007-03-01T15:55:00.000+08:00

Forgive and forget??
By Violet

Forgive and forget, that's what a lot of people will say. But what hit me that I probably will never forget it was what my secondary school chaplain shared with us before. He said, one person could never forget what happened, unless you have some brain problem that makes you forget things. But besides that, it is very hard for you to completely forget what happened between you and another person, and is even hard when you have to face that person often. So what do we do at this point? He changed the phrase to, forgive and CHOOSE not to remember. Choices. Like what Si Er shared with us few weeks ago. Choosing to do this or not. Similarly, choosing to remember and bear that grudge and to be hurt or not.

You might think that you are not bearing any grudges, hurts or pains, but the devil likes to use all these to distract us. He puts in little thoughts and doubts, little by little, one by one, until we gradually get affected by it if we do not stand strong enough in God's truth. Like me, I was attacked by the devil and he brought in my childhood pains and hurts to just rub a little salt on the wound. But thanks for brother and sister in Christ, who prayed for me, I went through it and am indeed being refreshed by His Spirit. These kinds of hurts will not heal over night, but it might even stay for a long time. But God's love, God's mercy, God's goodness and God's grace is new every morning, renewal of the Spirit is a daily thing. It is not a one off thing whereby once would solve the whole problem, but this is a daily process. And these processes cause you to realize the greatness of God's love and experience His love.

Once I read in 'Our Daily Bread', a pastor said "the idea that God forgets my sins isn't very reassuring to me. After all, what if He suddenly remembered? In any case, only imperfection can forget, and God is perfect." So what does God do? God didn't say that He'll forget out sins - He says He'll remember them no more! His promise not to remember them ever again is stronger than saying He'll forget them. Now isn't this more reassuring? For it says in Hebrews 8:12 "their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more". God actually promised to forgive us and never bring up our sins again!

Similarly when we forgive people, we have to choose not to remember them, rather than saying that you will forget them. And this does not happen overnight, it might not even happen over the week, it might take a long time, for me, I took about 3 years and sometimes I will still find it hard. What should we do then? We should renew and strengthen ourselves in the Lord every day, praying that He will help us, because it is not by our strength that we can do this, but by every strength of God.

Another point that God dropped into my heart to share is to keep praying. There was this phrase in my QT devotion that impacted me, which was God may deny our request but He will NEVER disappoint our trust. Faith is not demanding what we want; it is trusting God's goodness in spite of life's tragedies. If it doesn't happen after you pray, do not stop praying, continue praying. In Luke 11: 10 "Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened".

I question not God's means or ways
Or how He uses time or days,
To answer every call or prayer
I know He will, somehow, somewhere. – Whitney

Whatever you are praying for, do not lose hope, because God hears it and He will answer it when the time is right and perfect because God is a perfect God! God bless!

2007-02-28T12:23:00.000+08:00

Now, back to the story of
Audrey Aw...

"And God spoke to me through Steven."

I've experienced God's words before. But I had always dismissed them as coincidences and probably just my imagination.

This time I felt it very strongly. When Steven told me not to feel unworthy of God's love, somehow I knew it was God talking to me. And I had not mentioned to Steven how unworthy I felt before. That was God's reply, so direct and clear. That day, God took the sense of unworthiness in me away and filled my heart with gratitude.
I am grateful that God never gave up on me. I was the one who chose to give up on Him. I keep praying that God, please strengthen my faith in you. This time I will trust you with all my heart and I will not turn away from you anymore.

I am grateful that I have a friend in you, Steven. Thank you for leading me back to God. I think this is the greatest gift from a friend. Am forever grateful. On the day when you meet God, He will say to you "Well done my faithful servant!" :)

2007-02-27T15:43:00.000+08:00

~Eric Matthew's monologue~

What is your testimony?

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the results of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Corinthians 3:1-3

As I was cleaning my room during Chinese New Year (I was too lazy to do it before that), I came across all the testimonies that I have received from school and military. Reading through them, I was flattered by all the beautiful remarks and recommendations that had been written about me. Yet, it did not take me too long to wonder if I am truly the great person that is written in all these testimonies. Many a times we look to others to define ourselves. We seek the regard and acknowledgement of others for our efforts, our abilities, our competencies, even, our personalities; we establish our sense of self-worth on things others say about us. Moreover, we take pride in all these praises and approvals, attributing all that is good to ourselves. But these testimonies were written by men and they only observed me when I was before them – probably when I put on my best performance, etiquette and attitude. What would God have written about me if He is the one to pen it?

The Lord does not look at thing man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7

The Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct.

Jeremiah 17:10

I suppose many of my supposed ‘good deeds’ and ‘great works’ would be nullified if my testimony had been written by God. Because many things that I did were to gain favor or show off my talents before men whom I thought as worthy - men who would write great things about me that satisfies my own pride and presents a favorable impression of me to others.

If my mercy, love and righteousness comes from my corrupt mind and deceitful heart, then I’ll always have mercy but never merciful, always love but never loving, always upright but never righteous.

I thank God for showing this major flaw that is hidden in me for too long. Brothers and sisters, I hope that every good thing that we do comes from the heart. Let us not perform and gain favor, let us not act and desire praises, but let all the good deeds that are done be true and honest. For all good that is done doesn’t earn us anything, but it gains glory for Him who teaches us to be such. Let us lead our lives in a way that when we see Jesus, the testimony that He writes about our lives will be one that is pleasing to Him.

2007-02-25T22:47:00.000+08:00

By Marie

Helllo Lovely ones... been reading this book ''Streetwise Spirituality'' by Jim Thomas and there's this small portion that i wanna share with you guys..

Chapter 5. How can i learn to trust God more?

Part2. Leaving the Driving to Him.

At times when God seems unpredictable, and i can't figure out precisely what He is up to, Which way He is leading me, or why. I pray and then pray some more, hoping to gain some clarity. But sometimes, even when my world seems to be falling apart, heaven appears to be running silent. Isn't God listening? Doesn't God Care?Has that ever happened to you? If so, don't worry, you re not alone. There are many of us. We may have varying levels of anxiety and different things we like to control, but the problem is still the same.

We basically have difficulty trusting God because it means we have to let go of the steering wheel and leave the driving to Him.How should we handle our hesitancy and inability to trust God? That question remiinds me of a day in the life of Jesus disciples that is recorded for us in the fourth chapter of Mark's Gospel.The Fact is, all of us have to face some pretty scary stuff in life. Trusting God is not an option for us, it's a necessity! But as we look a little closer at the story of Jesus and the disciples out on the stormy sea, perhaps we'll see that trusting God is also a wonderful privilege that can set us free from living a life with anxiety.

yup yup.. indeed!! I ll go continue reading my book.. and i share with you guys more next time.. You guys have a great week and lets all CONTINUE TO TRUST IN HIM!! =) Smiles...

2007-02-24T00:53:00.000+08:00

Ever caught this movie? For those who didn't, it's basically about Adam Sandler, playing the not angry guy, learning to be angry through a series of seemingly unfortunate and random events, with Jack Nicholson as the hilarious anger management therapist, Dr. Buddy Rydell. This anger solves anger philosophy ends up with a small twist.

[from trailer]
Dr. Rydell: Temper's the one thing you can't get rid of, by losing it.

Countless videos, self-help books and therapy sessions have been made to address this issue on anger management, and it is little wonder why.

Buddah said: "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intention of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

Confucius in his Analects said: "When anger rises, think of the consequences."

Malcolm X argues that "usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change."

Harriet Lerner in "The Dance of Anger, 1985" said "Anger is a signal, and one worth listening to."

"A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." ~Proverbs 29:11~

Is anger a necessary evil? If so, what can we do about it? Find out more when you join us at German Centre@3:30pm later today and next Saturday in a series of lectures by Miss Pang, a leading expert on this critical issue.

2007-02-22T22:56:00.000+08:00

Your Time Matters To God

Ephesians 5:15-18
"Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."

Hey everyone, can I ask that you lend me a portion of your time as we look closely into this verse together? I assure you that it will not be a waste of your time, but instead, a blessed time as you allow the following 4 pointers to be invested into your spiritual "bank".

A. Examining Your Life
"Be careful how you walk..." (v15) As we have entered into a new year, it will be good to take some time to reflect upon and do some introspection on the days that have passed... to see how your life was.

Was it revolved by things of the world and bound by circumstances... or was it rightly surrendered at His Throne? This verse speaks forth of the future, on how we should be careful to examine the things we do, we think and how we walk with God in our hearts.

B. Redeeming Your Time
"Making the most of your time..." (v16) Making the most of our time and making the most of every opportunity. There isn't such a privilege of buying back time. All the things we have done or not done in the past... we shouldn't let that be constant obstacles and stumbling blocks in our lives, but instead, set our vision ahead and make the most of the time that's yet to come. And well, that very much translates to planning.

C. Determining Your Purpose
"Understand what the will of the Lord is..." (v17) Actually when the will of the Lord was mentioned, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 immediately came to mind.. "to be joyful always, to pray continually... to give thanks in all circumstances... for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Too often people get engrossed with finding the specific will of God for themselves... like what profession to be in, to marry or not to marry... that people tend to overlook the general will... something that all brothers and sisters in Christ are called to - to become more and more like Christ... and live just as how He's lived... to spread the salvation message.

That... ought to be the central purpose. To live as He's lived.

D. Establishing Your Priority
"Be filled with the Spirit..." (v18) Being filled with the Spirit is to lead a life knowing that He's always there guiding and showing the way. But one thing He has left with us... it's our freedom of choice.

We have the freedom to listen... freedom to obey... freedom to take action. The Holy Spirit's still there no doubt... but everytime we go contuary to what is to be done... we quench the Spirit. And that's where decisive action takes place I guess... that we don't wait for the sky to drop (like shouting Tian Ah...) but instead go forth after gettting reassurance and comfort from the Lord that He's always there.

Taking initiative is something that I myself have to learn to grow in as well... not to let circumstances, whether good or bad, take you by the nose... but know that you have the power from On High to turn situations around. Woot!

2007-02-22T12:42:00.000+08:00

Eskimo Wolf Hunters

Found an interesting article thought I would share with you guys...
------------------------------
According to tradition, this is how an Eskimo hunter kills a wolf.

First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. He then adds layer after layer of blood until the blade is completely concealed by the frozen blood.

Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder, the wolf licks the blade in the cold Arctic night. His craving for blood becomes so great that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue. Nor does he recognize the instant when his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite continues to crave more until in the morning light, the wolf is found dead on the snow!

Many begin using drugs, drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or engaging in unsafe sexual behavior for the same reasons that the wolf begins licking the knife blade.

It seems safe and delicious at first, but it doesn't satisfy.
More and more is desired, leading to a crisis or death.

Don't be fooled by the temptations of sin. Like the wolf, we can get away with it for a while. Eventually, however, its true character is revealed. Sin leads to death and destruction.

Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

2007-02-20T14:13:00.000+08:00

By Timothy Goh

Hi all!

Just a little news from down under! Uni life is starting today for both me and Calvin! A little rough start to our new life in campus but we’re alright. Anyway, just a little short passage that I wanted to share with everyone. I’m new at this kinda thing so please excuse my short little testimony.

Matthew 6:5-6

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

While reading the book, Sermon on the Mount, by Sinclair B. Ferguson, this phrase was one that really struck me deep in my heart. If one was to know me well enough, they would call me a very boastful proud person who likes showing off. This is one of the things in life that I find very hard to change. This Sunday morning; the pastor in my church in Australia (Faith community church) was telling the congregation to join some ministries. As some people might know, I really enjoy playing the guitar and wanted to join the music ministry. However, as he was preaching to us, my mind kept thinking back about this phrase. I was questioning to myself, by signing up for this, am I doing this just for my own pleasure? Or am I doing it to serve the Lord. This was one question that really bugged me throughout the entire sermon. However, after listening more carefully, the pastor from FCC (Faith Community church) told us, that the Lord has commanded us to serve unto him as he has given spiritual gifts and talents for that very purpose. After listening to this, I knew very well that the Lord was sending me a message. He was telling me to serve him, but still be humble in what I do.

And there you go! Both Calvin and I miss you guys! But we’ll see you again in June! We’ll try to send some pictures next time!

2007-02-20T10:51:00.000+08:00

A story told by...AUdRey Aw

"To be honest, every time Friday came, I hoped I could just fall asleep and wake up to Monday again."

For the first 2 weeks at WAC, I felt totally miserable. To be honest, every time Friday came, I hoped I could just fall asleep and wake up to Monday again. But somehow, some unknown force made me turn up. I'm not a new church-goer. However each time after I've been to church for a while I stopped going because I felt so out of place and I just couldn’t bring myself to trust God or anyone.

I know God was there watching over me all my life. Every time I thought I was a goner, He picked me up from the deepest pits and laid me on soft green grass so everything was wonderful again.

Example...

When I was in secondary school, my parents were on so bad terms they nearly got a divorce. Dad was seldom home. Mum was always threatening suicide. And because of the quarrels, my results suffered badly. I didn't care about my studies and I was associating with people who were wasting their lives away. I was the bottom of my cohort for prelims. When the O levels came, I thought that's the end of me.

But ...

I prayed everyday that things would get better and He answered my prayers. Not only did my parents become better, my O levels result was 13 points (23 less than prelims). I know it is definitely by God's grace that I passed because I didn't study for the exams. Likewise for my A levels, I did badly. But amazingly, I got a place in university. Still, I couldn't trust God because all my life I've locked myself in my own prison of hurts, unforgiveness and bitterness. I was too disappointed in the people closest to me and whom I respected the most.

The first weekends at WAC, I felt miserable. It wasn't because I felt out of place. But I could hear God asking me why I turned away from him. I was so filled with remorse and shame. I asked God. Why did you lead me back to you again? Are you sure you want me here? I'm so unworthy of you. I didn't trust you wholeheartedly and I've done so many wrong things which I cannot forgive myself of. I'm too undeserving of your love. I am so unworthy.

And then... God answered me through Steven.

To be continued...

...To be continued...

Wanna know what exactly God revealed to Audrey through Steven?

Catch the second part of "Audrey's story" next Wed...

2007-02-18T22:12:00.000+08:00

ERIC's sharing...

Every year on Chinese New Year’s eve, my family and I would head down to my grandma’s place for reunion dinner without fail. We’ve been doing that since I could remember. During my early childhood days, I was afraid of dining at the same table with so many adults. Usually, they would pop a couple of questions and my response would either a) to smile and turn away or b) to dig into my food more and let the question pass by. I never really got comfortable chatting with them during those early years. Reunion dinners seem to be more like an ‘I’m a shy boy’ experience more than anything else.

Years went by and I became a restless and indulgent adolescent. At times I found this ‘routine’ to be a chore and never really appreciated having reunion dinner together with my (extended) family. I would hurry through the meal and glue myself to the television and rejoice when my parents decide it’s time to return home.

Things changed a little though when I became 16 (after the ‘O’ levels). I started working and it seem as though my uncles and aunts had a little interest in what I was doing. Being the over-zealous and boastful adolescent, I would be eager to share with them my work experience, the income I was getting and practically anything I could brag about. It felt as though I had ‘earned’ the right and ‘transited’ into the adults’ realm and found a niche within that circle. Reunion dinners took on a new meaning – a time to brag about something or anything. This would be the pattern for the following couple of years until the nation decides that it’s time I put on green and become a man. Given the limited time I had with them, the harsh and puff of trainings, I mellowed and started (only a little though) to really enjoy reunion dinner for what it is – reunion.

2006 came and I was into the final days of my service term. Cry as we might, beg as we could, but the nation recognized that it needed a standby force during the CNY period and my company was given (or shot with) the arrow to undertake this mighty task. We were to stay in for 7 days straight from a day before CNY eve all the way until the 5th day on the lunar calendar. Reunion dinner wasn’t exactly on my mind – I just didn’t want to be trapped in there! Well, we did have considerable fun though. There were a couple of prayer meetings and worship services conducted by my 2IC, Cpt Tan, but regrettably, I never attended any of those even though the invitation was for everyone (I was still a non-believer back then). But these mates seemed to be really enjoying themselves and it’s as though the presence of God more than made up for the physical separation from families.

Few months down the road and I’ve been discharged from service and it’s all about inoculating back into the civilian world. Things weren’t really great but I never knew what was to come will change my life entirely. My grandpa would fall terribly ill in June and then my grandma in October. When my grandpa first got admitted into the hospital, I knew not why, but the first thought that came to my mind was – am I going to have a reunion dinner that involves everyone? It was quite out of the way, but this thought was the first that flooded me. From then, just before I fall asleep on most days, I would wonder about how CNY in 2007 would be. I wasn’t around in 2006 and I dearly wished that in 2007, everything would still be the same old routine. We’ll be glued to the television at about 6 and our parents would need to scream, shout and literally drag us out of the house and head down to our granny’s place for reunion dinner. At the dinner, there will be some awkwardness initially, but some conversation would be struck gradually. My granny would be her usual busy self, cooking, washing, hurrying here and there to make sure everyone gets well fed. Everything would just be like last year, the year before, and the year before……

When my grandpa passed away in October, I knew the chance for me to have a reunion dinner with everyone was gone. About 2 months later, my granny would, too, pass away and it seems like the chance is not only gone, but reunion dinner would never be the same again… At times I’ve struggled and came close to tears as I tried to accept the fact that I’ve missed the last opportunity to have reunion dinner with my entire family in 2006.

Fortunately, Jesus found me and led me back to the Father. Even though my grandparents are no longer around, the reunion dinner pattern would never be the same anymore, but the love of the Father has come into my life. And that love surpasses all the disappointment, hurt or even regrets that I may harbor within me for failing to make it for the reunion dinner in 2006. I also want to thank God for my granny’s salvation – though she’s not feasting with us now on earth, she’s feasting with the Lord in heaven. I even thank God for the salvation of my family – for now I have something to look forward to: the day when all of us will be in heaven together with the Lord and feasting together with Him.

Let us not forget to witness to our relatives even during this festive season. Though it may seem inappropriate and perhaps even undesirable (since persecution is bound to follow), but let us not kid ourselves in this temporary joy of CNY. For we know this joy is short-lived and the only true joy that lasts forever is the one that can only be found when we are with God. Continue to pray for our loved ones, so that we may all worship the Lord together in heaven and participate in the reunion that has no separation for ever and ever.

2007-02-18T14:37:00.000+08:00

THE POWER OF CHOICE...POWER OF CHOICE...POWER OF CHOICE !!!!!!

We have been learning about the tremendous Power of Choice lately.

How have you been taking it all in?

I hope you have been blessed as we learn to make Godly-honouring choices EVERYDAY!

We did not have Youth Fusion meeting on the Saturday which just passed, but I've got something GOOD in store for you!

(Better than my favourite PINEAPPLE TARTS man! Hehe!)

I have "INVITED" A.W. Tozer, one of my favourite writers to share with us!

CHECK THIS OUT!!!

http://www.dimensionsoftruth.org/aw_tozer/tozer4.html

It is a bit long...BUT!

I TELL U...

YOU ARE GONNA LOVE THIS POWERFUL MESSAGE! Hehehe!

Enjoy and Happy CNY!

2007-02-16T10:10:00.000+08:00

ANNOUNCEMENT

Please take note that there will be NO youth meeting this week.
Enjoy your reunion dinner with your family! :)

See ya on this sunday at 8.30am or next sat! ;)

BLESSED CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

2007-02-15T20:59:00.000+08:00

His Word, Our Light

Psalm 119:105

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

Have you ever jogged in a park during the night?

This verse came about in the midst of a night jogging session.

Was jogging along the park when the light emitting from the side lamps caught my attention. Each lamp is spaced out, equidistant from each other, ensuring that the entire jogger's path is being lit up at night.

Somehow, the darkness that lurks beyond the lighted path seem rather tempting... tempting enough for people with the "adventurous" and "rebellious" streak to veer off course.

The row of lamps and the lighted path remains there, lighted in the midst of the darkness that surrounds, beckoning to those who've ventured away.

Some perhaps will grow tired... or perhaps even scared... that they decide to turn around and return to the lighted path, no matter how dim the light has become due to the distance.

Some run on and on... until they realise that all that surrounds is complete darkness. There comes a point where directions and bearings are lost.

Thank God that there's no such a thing as venturing too far out... less He comes again.

The first shall be the last... the last shall be the first... Even if one chooses to believe just a second before He comes, His Word promises that salvation comes.

Cheapo? No... Such is the grace of God.

Whenever you go on a night jogging, may it not just be a time you exercise and sweat it out, but a blessed time in the presence of God as He reveals His truths to you even as you jog. :)

2007-02-14T18:37:00.000+08:00

Self-centered? God-centered?
Written by Tiffany

What matters to us more? God or things?
.
When we are into making a decision, who did we think about the most? God or ourselves?

Before I became a Christian, I have to admit that I’m a very self-centered person; even my parents think that I am one too. I will be always trying to make myself happy and satisfied with everything that I decided and did. Whatever choices or decisions that I have made, it will always be for my own sake.

After I accepted Christ, things started to change gradually. Praise God! When being a Christian, I know that there is someone else whom I need to think of before making that decision. Moreover, there are also things that I know that I have relied upon God for leading the way and making the decisions.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all ways acknowledge Him, and he will make plans straight."
-Proverbs 3:5-6

Gradually, I turn myself to God in more decision making as I believe God has great plans ahead for everyone.

And through my QT, I also know why sometimes we are still making decisions in our own ways (including myself), because we have not yet fully trust God. I have to admit that sometimes I still follow my own feelings, temptations and influences around, leading me into making wrong decision.

I believe that because we are still living in this world, that’s why there is always a possibility of getting influences by friends and the living world, which cause us to have wrong choices and decision.

So I believe that before in making any decisions, pray to God for guidance and rely upon Him in making the decisions for us.

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation"
-Matthew 26:41

To prevent from falling into making wrong decisions due to influence/temptations, everyone have to be even more God-centered, and pray to God every time when u need to make a choice or decision.

Lastly,

"No temptation has seized you except that is common to Man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it"
- 1 Cor 10:13 -

I just want to thank God for everything that He has done for me. I want to thank God for being so faithful even at times I fell into temptations which cause me to make wrong decisions. And I want to thank God for forgiving me for all the wrong decisions that I've made due to my self-centeredness. And God is always there for me, constantly reminding me about the decision made and not to fall easily to temptation in the living world.

So Lord, I want to thank you for saving me back from the temptations in this living world and also your guidance in making choices in my life. Praise God. Thank You Lord.

2007-02-13T22:30:00.000+08:00

Do we REALLY love God?

written by Priscilla

God loves us. This is real love.
1 John 4:9-10 This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

“O, the Bible! To be sure, it says a great many things; but, then, nobody ever thinks of doing them.”

All men fall short to the glory of God. Yet, while dealing in anger for our sins, we are forgiven by the grace of God. Learning to trust in God is a process, and along the journey we begin to understand more and more about His character. As we walk out this adventure with God, our lives are filled with opportunities to take steps of faith, often requiring us to face the uncertain and the unknown.

Let us show our love to God by OBEYING Him!!!
John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.

THIS IS A PROMISE FROM GOD
Romans 8:39 Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2007-02-12T17:09:00.000+08:00

WHAT ABOUT -------> TWO-OH-OH-SEVEN?

Have you read the super-long entry by Calvin?

WOW.

I was totally stunned.

Inside my heart, I just knew that was what exactly God wants to tell us.

ALL of US in Youth Fusion.

For those of us in Matchstix, 2006 was truly amazing.

We saw so much happened.

But as I pray, I hear some...growling.

Hunger.

And I find myself asking ONE QUESTION:

WHAT WILL GOD DO IN 2007?

I waited for the answer to come.

I thought it would be a statement...but it was not.

It wasn't a statement.

It was a question.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT GOD TO DO?"

wait.

that sounds so true.

What do I want God to do?

revival?

friends saved?

families saved?

great numbers added to MATCHSTIX and the SEC SCH PEEPS?

What do I want?

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

My dear brother and sister...the wind of the Spirit is blowing once more.

I believe it is by NO MISTAKE or CHANCE that God brought us to think about these:

1. "I have a plan for you."

2. "You gotta respond."

3. "But first, know Me intimately."

4. "Hunger for your God. Do not be a fool and live for yourself, anymore."

5. "I gave you the POWER OF CHOICE. Now, you choose."

I can feel it. There is a soft and gentle voice speaking in your heart and in mine.

You can hear it.

What do you want in 2007?

Let's make no mistake about it.

God DESIRES revival more than us. MUCH MUCH MORE.

But He is waiting.

For us. For me.

For you.

What do you really, really...WANT?

2007-02-11T22:09:00.000+08:00

By Calvin

As I was reading through “Driven By Eternity” written by John Bervere, something that he asked struck me deep in my heart. Have we really sought God earnestly? Have we really planted ourselves and Are we entangled by the worldly things?

As I was reading through the book during my own quiet time, I came upon Chapter 11, “God’s Custom House”. In this chapter, he was telling us about the house that the Lord our God wants to build his house using us. But are we ready to assist him in building his most MAGNIFICIENT and WONDERFUL house?

MY DEAREST BROTHERS AND SISTERS, GOD WANTS TO USE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US. May it be that we are from different upbringings, different personalities or even different life experiences, God wants to use us. He wants to use us to MULTIPLY his kingdom, but than the CHOICE now falls on whether we CHOOSE to fulfill his desire or to fulfill our very own desire.

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. "(Psalms 127:1)

Indeed, it is only when we truly follow in the Holy Spirit than are our works fruitful. For if we were to do the works by our own strength, our works will be in vain. We may have done a lot of works that are deemed to be good, but are those works for our own selfish gains or are those works truly for God? Brothers and Sisters, if those works are only for very own desires, than we must really REPENT and ask God for FORGIVENESS and ask him to change our heart desires. But moreover to this, we have to spend time to really earnestly seek God in our prayer because GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS and it is only when we pray that God will listen. I always remember what Si’Er said: Works make up 10% and the rest of the 90% is nothing else but prayer.

One very good example will be our very own cell group, “MATCHSTIX”, we prayed and ask the Lord that more people will come to know him through us and did you know what. Just in the year 2006 alone, we GREW by 100%(excluding the recently added members of S.I.A). PRAISE THE LORD!!! HALLELUJAH!!!! Our God truly answers prayers.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS, isn’t our Lord wonderful? Isn’t he marvelous? He has truly blessed “MATCHSTIX” and I truly believe that “MATCHSTIX” will continue to MULTIPLY even in the years to come. But always remember that the DEVIL will always try means and ways to try to prevent us from truly seeking God. May it be the Lust for money, Setbacks in life or even our Work, we must always remember that we a
re only staying in this world for a short period of time, we will be staying with our heavenly father for ETERNITY. So we should not be storing our rewards on this world but in Heaven.

SO HAVE WE REALLY SOUGHT GOD EARNESTLY?

When I read this question, I suddenly realized 1 thing, that is God has indeed blessed me with a lot of things. May it be in my Family, Studies, NS life, Taekwondo or even what I am doing. I suddenly realize that in my past 20 years of walk with Christ, I have taken him for granted. When I needed him, I will allow him to enter my life but when that need is over, I threw him out of my life. What a fool I have been! I only realized my greatest mistake only after experiencing the setbacks in my life. 1 good example would be after my ‘A’ Levels and my applications for all the 3 local Universities were rejected. But God AMAZINGLY made a way for me in my studies.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS, God has a plan for each and everyone of us. His plans are that of PROSPERITY and not DESTRUCTION. We must always look at God in whatever we do. First and foremost, our hearts MUST be RIGHT before him and than slowly by slowly, his PLANS for our lives will come to light. We should not just because of a little setback turn our backs on God and forgotten what he has done in all of our lives. For the bible states that when we are faithful to him, he will be faithful to us. Seek God EARNERSLY and God will bless us in whatever we do. I believe that all of us have in some ways or other been blessed by our God Almighty. Won’t we be fools to give up all of his blessings just for a little setbacks in life?

One very good example would be JOB who despite losing everything in his life; his family, livestocks, servants and even his own house, he CHOSE to follow the way of God. Because of his FEAR and his CHOICE to follow the Lord, all that he had were BLESSED and doubly MULTIPLIED. SO FRIENDS, CHOOSE WISELY!!!

HAVE WE REALLY PLANTED OURSELVES?

According to John Bervere, he states that it takes a Healthy Body of believers to experience great MULTIPLICATION. Many of you will be thinking what does Healthy Body means. Well, it refers to a group of believers who are planted into a church which includes serving in the various ministries in the church, moreover to these, they are also reaching out to their friends and colleagues who are still non-believers.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS, those people that are close to us and yet still do not know Christ need to be save. They need to be saved from the depths of HELL and be brought to HEAVEN. They can be save only if we share Christ with them. And in order for us to share Christ with them, we have to be well versed in the words of the Lord.

Here is a question that all of us may want to ponder. What would you do if a conflict occurred between you and the leadership in the church? It could be a due to the different views in the way the offerings are taken or the money spent, don’t like the way that the pastor preaches, lack of attention given by fellow congregation members and so on.
Would you:

CHOOSE to leave the church and find another church where there appears to have no
conflict?

OR

CHOOSE to forget about what happen and continue to stay in the church?

Here is the truth as stated by John Bervere: even if you may choose to leave the church to another church, you will never be able to find a church without conflict. Lets face it: Only Jesus is the perfect pastor or member of the church. Always remember that the church is the place that God places us in to learn about his words but that is also the place that the DEVIL wants to offend us and get us out of. So if we were to leave the church just because of a little conflict, than you have allowed the DEVIL to be successful in his attempt to lure you further and further away from God. This is because as time pass, and the conflict is in all the churches that you are in and you continue to run away, you will not be able to learn God’s words with a peaceful heart and your walk with him will greatly suffer. For it is God’s will that when we leave the church, we should be in great joy and not sorrow.

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace: the mountains and hills will burst into song before you and all the trees will clap their hands.(Isaiah 55:12)

Let us continue to draw closer to God and continue to mature in our walk with him. For we should be the mature trees that the Lord delights in and not those uprooted for their lack of fruit. We should not resist the very thing God allows us to live through in order to strengthen us in our calling.

ARE WE ENTANGLED BY THE WORLDLY THINGS?

Last but not least is the question that is stated just above. There are many things that are indeed holding us back. These are our worldly desires.

Many times or rather, we have placed other things in first priority and not God. Many times, we are unable to really put away those desires of ours. We can never serve 2 master but only 1 at 1 time. This can be found in the verse Luke 16:13

No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one or love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.(Luke 16:13)

Moreover to this, most of the time, we are unable to give up the riches that are right before our eyes because the riches seems so real to us. Thus that is why Jesus says that it is so difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. This can be seen in the story of the Rich Young Man (Matthew 19:16-22).

As shared by Jin Hang on Saturday during cell group with regards that we should be God-centered and not self-centered. This is very true because when we become self-centered, we will definitely fall to the temptations of the world . But if we were to be God-centered, God will always pull us away from these temptations than to allow us to fall into it.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS, let us continue to grow in our faith in the Lord and continue to seek him in what ever things that we do. Even though we may continue to face temptations from the DEVIL through the Worldly things, Let us never forget the sufferings that Jesus had to undergo in order to cleanse our sins.

LET US CONTINUE TO FIGHT THIS SPIRITUAL WARFARE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY WIN THIS WAR!! SO THAT WHEN WE GET TO MEET OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR IN HEAVEN, HE WOULD SAY,

“WELL DONE, YOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT.”

P.S I know that this message is a little too long but I hope that after reading this message, all of you will be able to find God speaking to all of you.

Thank You

2007-02-08T23:40:00.000+08:00

Have you been missing out something?

By Qiu Feng

As I was seeking God this week, I felt a burden and empty heart within me but do not know why I was feeling that way. It was only until Tuesday evening when Celine called me up to ask me to join the prayer meeting on Wednesday. Over our phone conversation, I got to share with Celine about the troubles I have and the emptiness that I was feeling deep within.

Through that one-hour long of sharing, I really believe that it was definitely not by chance that Celine called me up to speak to me. Rather, it was by God's appointed timing that He used Celine to speak to me.

Through Celine's sharing, I realised that though I may be weak, but there is no need for me to put up a mask and a brave front of everyone. My heart was stirred and was reminded that all of us are weak in many areas, and how often have we tried so hard to cover up our weaknesses so as to be accepted by men. Then it hit me that I needed to place my confidence in God and not in men, so that there will be personal breakthrough for me in this area, which I have been struggling for years.

I was being reminded, and at the same time, very encouraged to know that we, as God's chosen children are called to build one another up, encourage and edify. It is definitely not by our own strength but by every grace that God lavishes on us. His love for us shines so brightly that is enough to lift us up from the bottomless pit of darkness. I believe that you will also believe (as I have chosen to believe) that Jesus is truly the Light of this fallen world that we are living in, and He is the Truth, the Way and the Life.

After our conversation over the phone, I decided to take time away from what I was doing to just spend time seeking God. So as I went down for a walk and to enjoy the breeze, as well as being in His presence, God revealed more things that I was unsure and doubtful of, and all my doubts became clearer to me after much scrutiny by God.

Through the conversation that I had with Celine earlier on, I realised that all these years, I have actually allowed myself to stumble and fall in my walk with God by simply disobeying God and letting the enemy tempt me. And then through the time spent alone with God, I received revelation from God. All these while, I may be desiring to want to draw closer to God by coming back to church, however, I have missed the whole point of it. I was so overwhelmed with the doing and have actually forgotten that I need to first love God with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. I failed to take God seriously. I did not love Him as I love myself while all along, I thought that I love God.

God revealed to me that I need to get back to the first love that I once had for Him, and to place Him in the center of everything. Without the Lord in the center of my heart and my life, and without loving Him with the first love I once had for Him, this is why I have been feeling empty and even doubtful of my relationship with God.

Imagine 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle which is close to completion but was short of just one piece of it, it wouldn't be complete because that one important piece, as small as it is, is missing. I have allowed the worldly things to take control of me so much that I was blinded and lost my focus on God. But I truly thank God for speaking to me through the following verses. I pray that God will come and encourage and touch you as you read His words.

Matt 16:26
"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits His soul?"

1 John 2:15
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

Matt 16:24
"If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow after Me."

Heb 13:8
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

"The riches of this world are vain, they vanish in a day; but sweet the treasures of God's Love--They never pass away"
By Bosch

Bro and Sis-in- Christ, I encourage each one of us to find back our first love with God today. God is ever waiting for us to return back to Him, and to go back to His embrace. He is the same God who never change even when the day we see Him face to face because He says so! :)

2007-02-07T11:26:00.000+08:00

Surrendering my heart
By Steven Jeremiah

This is something that I have been pondering about on the Words for many weeks. God's continuing message for me has revealed to me various things, which I have summed it up as 'surrendering my heart'.

It all started when I read a book about children's ministry. This book is called 'making the children's ministry the BEST HOUR of every kid's week'. Isn't that wonderful? In it, HEBREWS 11 was mentioned about what we can actually share with the kids. It also talks about how the faith of the author, Sue Miller, has brought her the vision that God revealed to her to serve in the children's ministry once again after she left the church to another state to be a teacher.

The children ministry started off with only 5 children and it ended up to more than 3000 children and it is the main ministry in the Willow Creek Community Church, which had saved many families through the kids. It was named as the PROMISED LAND. It triggered me at that moment and I saw how marvelous I can actually strive to achieve in this ministry to serve the kids, to impact their lives in God's presence and to tell them of the Promised Land God has for everyone of us.

Following up, I went for the guys' gathering at Pastor Raymond's house and HEBREWS 11 was emphasized once again. I was like thinking, it’s so coincidental. Next, my team had a lesson for the Boys’ Brigade and the bible study we did is on Moses (in book of Exodus). To come to realize, MOSES was mentioned in HEBREWS 11 too. What really amazed me was on the previous Saturday, Jin Hang shared about MOSES once again about HUNGER FOR GOD. Immediately, I went home and did a deeper bible study on the book of Exodus.

As I read it, everything was normal till I read on EXODUS 7, when God sent Moses to Pharaoh to ask him to release His people. But even though God revealed the miracles He can do, Pharaoh still REFUSED TO SURRENDER FULLY God wanted him to. At this point, a sense of sorrow etched in my heart. I have always thought that things were always in the right track, and that my life was fully surrendered to God, but instead of that, it’s not totally true.

There are still things that I have yet to give up. I read about Timothy’s and Eric's sharing, and I realized I do am too busy in my life, not able to spend quality time with God. I have been busy with too many things, that I almost lost my focus. It is actually a matter of CHOICES of what I desire to make to how to spend my time. Surprisingly, Sabrina shared about CHOICES last Saturday. I was like, my dear God, what do you actually want to speak to me about? And after all the doubts, God finally answered me with an end to His message for me through Pastor Timothy’s sermon about CHANGE ME LORD.

I strongly believed that God has a plan for me, which requires me to change myself and to do it in God’s wills, and not my own wills. It reaffirmed me in Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Therefore, I would like to encourage everyone to ponder on this issue too as to have you surrendered fully to God? There is nothing worldly issue can compare with God's business! We seriously need to seek God with all your heart earnestly as in James 4:8 it says, come near to God and He will come near to you. So let's continue to come in prayers in our own cell groups and also not forgetting to encourage each other. In addition, in Hebrews 10:25, it mentioned, let's not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and the more as you see the Day approaching. Let's continue to shine for God together as one YOUTH FUSION, that on the day when we meet God, He will say to every single of us, "Well done my faithful servant!"

*Welcome Audrey into the Family*

Lastly, before I end this sharing, there is one thing I really want to thank God for. He has made me one who is no longer fearful to share Christ with my friends. It is also through this change He has given to me through His grace that saved one of my friends, AUDREY'S LIFE. For your information, she recited the sinners' prayer with Joanie last Saturday and she told me she is not fearful to declare to her friends that she is now a Christian. Therefore, let's welcome her into our big family of God. Do get to know her more if you have yet to! God bless and may this message from me trigger hearts of those who felt the same way as me.

Look at the words in RED
The message God gave me is through Hebrews 11 --> Which was linked to Moses --> Through Jin Hang's sharing --> Hunger for God? --> Read on the book of Exodus --> Message about the surrendering of my life --> Choices I made --> Confirmed through Sabrina's sharing --> The thing that God wants me to do --> Mentioned in Pastor's

--> CHANGE OF HEART

2007-02-04T21:17:00.000+08:00

By Caroline

For this week’s devotion i have 2 things that i want to share.

Firstly, it’s the sentence, "The adversity in your life that causes these difficult times should be seen as a blessing because of what you can learn from it". Our spiritual walk likens a marathon. For those who had participated in a marathon would know how it feels. At many points in time, we feel like turning back, or even giving up. However, let us continue to press on towards the goal set before us, setting our eyes on God, the author and perfector of our faith. At times, we would face difficulties, hindrances or even fall, but let us learn from our mistakes or setbacks, pick ourselves up and run again. Take it as a molding process. Be not afraid to strive for spiritual perfection but understand that perfection is for Jesus and we can only come close. He will guide and lead us through this marathon. We are never alone running this race, God knows what you are going through.

Secondly, it’s a devotional material from Joe Stowell, The Power of a life well-lived, really amazes me. Here it goes: When we maintain the witness of a life well-lived even in the face of hardship, we have the power to make a difference in our home, workplace, and significant relationships. Live in such a way that your boss will be prompted to say, “I don’t always get it about Christians but one thing is true- our business is a lot better place because they work here!”

This sentence really let me see things in a different perspective. Hope these short sharing has touched you as it has touched me.

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” Phil 2:14-15

2007-02-02T23:57:00.000+08:00

The God Who Pursues

By Mei Yan

God may not always be nice to you in order to make you believe in Him and eventually be made into his likeness.

I've been pondering over why God had allowed certain things to happen to me.. And I always wonder why do God allow bad things to befall on good people until I realised that there is no such thing as "good" people because no matter how good we try to be, we still fall short of God's glory, the perfect example.

I believe that, even before I became a Christian, God has been reaching out to me, but I was ignorant of it, as I did not know Him yet. He allows the same thing to happen to me not once but a few times. I used to think a lot and have been questioning God this and that every night that gradually became a habit for me before I can get into my sleep.

Although at that time, I did not know God yet, but deep down in my heart, a truth was etched in my heart that a Creator who created all beings is real. I believe He must have His reasons for everything that He had created or even allowing things to happen to each individual.

I am guilty for the times when I found myself blaming God for the things that He had allowed to take place in my life, and even questioned of His nature of being a loving and just God when such unpleasant events took place in my life.

Till recently, as God slowly revealed and opened my eyes to see, I came to realize that He made and caused certain things to happen in my life so that I will seek for Him even more. By seeking Him, I came to know about Christianity and how He had made the greatest sacrifice for mankind, including me. If those events did not occur, I guess I wouldn't be bothered to even question or know about God. And I am very sure that I would definitely not be who I am now if I do not know Him, and I wouldn't be here today sharing my testimony, testifying of a God who is so real.

Exodus 10:1-2
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord."

Like what God has done in the past when He performed miracles through Moses to Pharaoh, God did the same to me by showing me who He is-the Lord of all creations- through the circumstances I have gone through.

2007-01-31T21:18:00.000+08:00

Here are the new friends who joined us for service for the past Sunday (28/01)..Although this post comes a little late, but it serves as a good reminder for us to make continous effort to reach out to people in our life (It's never too late!) and be a true AMBASSADOR FOR CHRIST!!!

"I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light" —Acts 26:17-18

Dezhang (from BPGC)

Qiufeng and Dezhang!!

This is Olivia who is currently studying in Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Flim and Media Studies - Year 3) I think she is a lovely lady, after chatting with her.. Next time you see her around, give her a BIG HIGH 5 and welcome her to join us more often!!

2007-01-31T10:47:00.000+08:00

Testimony by Rachel Lam...

"God is still working in my life and that I should continue to trust and have faith in Him"

Just this Monday, I got a call from the police saying that they're recovered my lost hp. It was really unexpected and unbelievable since it had been gone since last October and I had given up hope of getting it back again. Some of you might know; I left my hp behind at a Cineplex, someone got hold and switched it off; end of story. Anyway, fast-forward to Monday, I was still in a stupor of digesting the good news then when my non-believer friend commented, "Woah, you are so lucky…second time already. Must be your God help you again. "

Her mention of God was so alarming that straightaway, it occurred to me that throughout this whole matter, my trust in God was barely half-hearted and merely less than mediocre to the point that I never really prayed for His help. To be honest, my biggest fault's that I look up to sell-sufficiency a lot and have a strong inclination to stray towards that direction. Because of this, many times I've overlooked God of His position and power, whether in good times or bad times. (I'm sure most of us are familiar with this.)

All the more, this was the second time I had managed to retrieve something that I've misplaced outside. The other incident wad last year when my wallet was found by a kind stranger who left his phone number and requested that I return his call as he had something important to tell me. The surprising thing was he was a Christian and he told me that this was a miracle by God's Grace as he was really old and rarely took the bus. He said God had planned for him to board the same bus that very day and spot the wallet the very moment he sat down. When he asked if I had prayed hard for this, I could only respond with an embarrassed laugh because I haven't exactly done that amidst all the panic and distress.

I believe God was trying to speak to me through him that day, telling me that God is still working in my life and that I should continue to trust and have faith in Him. However, I failed to reflect on that and really give thanks only until the occurrence of another similar event. Last Saturday, our cell group was discussing about how we all tend to take God for granted and want to know Him only on a conditional or seasonal basis. I do not want to have a weather-relationship and only seek him out of desperation but isn't the ignorant behavior I've shown far worse? Instead of making God first on my urgent help list, I had placed him last. I've been so indifferent to His grace and blessings that I needed other people to remind me that God was the reason behind these miraculous events.

However, despite my disappointing behaviour, God has been really good to me. I really thank God for His mercy and still continuing to be faithful with His protection and blessings. This event has been a wake-up-call for me to put God back 1st in my life; where He originally belongs. <3>

2007-01-30T22:53:00.000+08:00

Seek the Promiser, not the promises

By Eric Matthew

After reading Timo's posting, I felt strongly convicted. In fact, this is how I have been feeling for the entire of last week and I was planning to share about this when it's my turn to blog. Just where is God in my life? I sing 'I want to know You' and say 'Amen' to every prayer that reads 'I desire you to be the sole focus in my life', but am I doing that? After what happened last week, I have no doubt (though regrettably) Jesus has never been the center of my life. Yes, this is even after God has shown me many wonderful things that he can for to me.

As I reflected upon how I ill-treated my relationship with God last week, I wonder what kind of a fool I really am. I've seen, I've felt and even tasted how good our God is, yet time and again I turn away from Him to feed on, rely on and dwell in things that can never ever fulfill the void that is in me. Indeed, I felt extremely empty the whole of last week because I haven't been praying to Him faithfully from Mon to Wed. The more work I did, the further away I slipped, the lesser I prayed, the poorer I became spiritually. My grades may shine and praises from men will flood in, but how true are their praises? How long does their flattery last? Do I desire the regard of men so much? What worth are my grades if I need to sacrifice my time with God to achieve them. Just where is God in the midst of all this studying and working?

Finally, it dawned upon me just this morning. God has been blessing me, too much in fact. I asked for a focused mind whenever I study and He gave that to me. I asked for understanding whenever I ran into tough topics and He gave that to me. I even asked for extended datelines, the functioning of my computer (it's frequently down) and good tutors and He gave them all to me. But I've rarely thanked Him for what He has done for me. Worse still, I've occupied myself entirely with what He has blessed me with and conveniently chucked Him aside after He's given me all that I've asked for in prayer.

Do I believe in God only because He answers prayers? Do I construct my faith upon the concrete things I received from Him? Do I desire Him more or do I prefer to seek the promises He holds.

Yes, even as we live on this earth, we'll continue to ask our loving Father who will grant us with many things that will make our lives easier. And we know by faith, if what we ask for is right and is according to His will, surely, He will bless us with it. But perhaps it's more important to seek the Promiser before the promises. Our relationship with Him is the one thing that He desires the most. Let us not forget that we were created in the likeness of His image to have fellowship with Him. For the earthly things that we receive from Him will still pass away eventually, but He, our Lord Almighty God, will remain from everlasting to everlasting. Even as our loving Father continues to provide us with things that we need for survival and functioning on this mortal world, let us not be indulgent in these things. After all, without Him, we'll never receive of these things. Hence, isn't it more important to truly seek Him first without the regard of any promises that might be prepared for us?

I thank God for showing me where I've gone horribly wrong in my walk with Him. And I hope I won't be a fool again to revert back to my old ways by fixing my eyes on the promises. For now I know, the Promiser is greater than anything that He has provided me with on this earth.

2007-01-30T07:01:00.000+08:00

By Timothy Woon

This week has been a busy week for me. As most of you should know, I am currently serving the nation which, in itself, takes up most of my time during the day. On top of that,I give tuition as well. My schedule this week reads like any other week. Tuition on Mondays and Thursdays, prayer meetings on Wednesdays, guard duty etc. The list of activities are endless. Oh wait, something is amiss. God.

These questions have been resonating within me with alarming regularity. Where is God amidst our work, studies, recreation etc? Have we set our priorities right? We often sing " Jesus be the centre " but is He the centre of our lives, or just the centre of our weekends spent in church? After much reflection, I realised how big a sanctified liar I am when i sing a number of praise and worship songs.

I say that God is my first priority but look at my schedule and that is very far from the truth. Indeed actions speak volumes louder than words. I have cluttered myself with too many activities that mean little and left out the one thing that matters most --- leading a God-centred life. I believe I am not alone in this struggle.

As I look to the new week ahead, I thank God for the busy week that has just passed because He has shown me this weakness amidst my business. By God's grace, I hope to let God take the panteon of my life, that amidst all the hype and buzz, I will be able to take a step back and look to Him.

2007-01-26T11:39:00.000+08:00

i just started reading this book... "If You Want To Walk On Water You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat" by John Ortberg. i'll share with you one part of the 1st chapter...

25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" 32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

Water Walkers See Failure As An Opportunity To Grow

As soon as Peter asks for help Jesus is there. He helps Peter physically by pulling him from the water. But he also helps Peter grow by pinpointing the problem: "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

I don't think Jesus is being harsh or critical here. In fact, one detail I love about this story is that Jesus makes this comment to Peter when they are alone on the water. The text says it is only after this comment that they got into the boat. It may be that Jesus - like any good mentor - did not want to embarrass Peter in front of the other disciples. So in the privacy and safety of his strong right hand, he gently helps Peter locate the source of his problem.

The problem was quite clear: Whether Peter sank on water-walked depended on whether he focused on the storm or on Jesus. But now he understood his dependance on faith much more deeply than he would have if he had never left the boat. It was his willingness to risk failure that helped him to grow.

Even more than we hate to fail, we hate for other people to see us fail. If I had been Peter, I would have been tempted to try to cover up what happened when I got back into the boat with the other disciples: Yes - water-walking was great for a while. But then I got hot and thought how good it would feel to go down for a quick swim...

Because Peter puts himself in a position to fail, he also puts himself in a position to grow. Failure is an indispensable, irreplaceable part of learning and growth. Here is the principle involved: FAILURE DOES NOT SHAPE YOU; THE WAY YOU RESPOND TO FAILURE SHAPES YOU.

Sir Edmund Hillary made several unsuccessful attempts at scaling Mount Everest before he finally succeeded. After one attempt he stood at the base of the giant mountain and shook his fist at it. "I'll defeat you yet," he said in defiance. "Because you're as big as you're going to get - but I'm still growing."

Every time Hillary climbed, he failed. And every time he failed, he learned. And every time he learned, he grew and tried again. And one day he didn't fail.

in our lives we will meet all kinds of situations, and failures... but.. how are you going to respond to that failurE?!

2007-01-25T22:50:00.000+08:00

The Greatest Commandment: L.O.V.E
By Eddy John Sng

At the end of my Quiet Time sessions, I usually ask God if He has any word or message for me or for anyone I know. Recently, I did the same and He said to me: Love.

29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
Mark 12:29-31

As I reflected on God's word, a message surfaced in my mind: I wasn't showing much love to my neighbour (the people around me). It was a revelation. Up until then, I had thought that my Christian life was quite healthy.

Well, I was wrong.

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Can I speak in tongues? Yes. Have I received words and visions from God? Yes. Do I have faith in God? Yes.

But do I have love? No.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

It pains me to confess that I exhibit more of the negatives - what love is not - than the positives - what love is. Despite what God has accomplished through my life, I am still severely lacking in love.

God's word showed me the truth: my Christian life is not healthy. Without love, I am an unhealthy Christian. Without love, I cannot claim to know God intimately.

Dear friends, please forgive me: I have not loved you enough. I pray that God will change me and fill my heart with His love, so that I may love as He does.

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7-8

2007-01-24T08:49:00.000+08:00

By Carolyn...

As some of you may know, my grandfather passed away on 29th Dec 2006. He was a Buddhist.

During the funeral, there were many disputes among the relatives because of religion, and hence, to avoid more quarrels, my mother, uncle and aunt (who are Christians), had to conform to the Buddhist religious rituals to send the spirit off.

Luckily, for my two brothers and me, we had the option of not doing the rituals as we are “outside” grandchildren, meaning that we are related to him through our mother, and not our father.

The last night of the wake, the rituals started. Luckily that night, I was in charge of collecting the money given by those who visited, so I had an excuse not to do the rituals. My two brothers were asked to do, but they went, “Aiya, lazy lah…”, so my relatives let them off, as they are young kids.

The next day we sent our grandfather off to be cremated. Before we left, there was one last ritual. This time round, I had no excuse. But I didn’t want to join in the rituals. My cousin told me to, but I told him that I refused to do so as it was wrong of a Christian. And he scolded me, saying that he knew he should never have let my mother turn us to Christians.

That one sentence of his really hurt me, although I didn’t show it. At that time, I started to think if I was wrong, if my stand was wrong. I disobeyed my cousin whom I’ve looked up to and respected since I was young. He was always looking after me and looking out for me. As I always tell my friends, my cousin is the most important man in my life (besides Jesus of course!).

Thus, I was very troubled throughout the whole day.

This incident has always been weighing on my mind, and the burden finally lifted when I told Si’er about it, as I needed some confirmation of whether my stand in refusing to do the rituals was right or wrong.

You can’t imagine the joy and relief I felt when he told me that I made the right choice. As he said, sometimes, we have to disobey our parents to do the right things.

I never had my faith tested in such a manner, and I used to wonder if I would be able to stand up for Jesus. But this incident helped me to grow stronger in my faith in Christ, instead of drawing me away from Christianity.

2007-01-23T01:37:00.000+08:00

Just like to share with you guys an old song by Chris Tomlin 'Enough'
A thought to ponder, what are we really thirsting for in our lives?

Isaiah 55:1 [ Invitation to the Thirsty ] "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You are my supply
My breath of life
And still more awesome than I know
You are my reward
Worth living for
And still more awesome than I know

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You're my sacrifice Of greatest price
And still more awesome than I know
You're the coming King
You are everything
And still more awesome than I know

More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know
More than all I can say
You are more than enough for me

2007-01-22T13:08:00.000+08:00

By Jasmine Pang

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

How is it possible for us to see the invisible?

Because of faith, and I believe faith is one of the most important
parts of our walk with God, and in our service to Him. When Jinhang read this
verse to us last Saturday, a lightbulb went on in my head because I've been
encountering so many passages on faith lately in my QT, and I'll be sharing two that have really impacted me.

The first is from Matthew 17:20.

"So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say
to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,
'Move it from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."

Just some background on this verse - A man brought his epileptic son to the disciples for a cure, but they were unsuccessful in casting out the demon that was within him. This puzzled them, and they asked Jesus if he could explain why. He gave them his reply - "because of your unbelief."

In other words, they were unsuccessful because they lacked faith.

To me, this really spoke about how we must have faith in order to accomplish the work that God has prepared for us. Believing in His strength and power, and His ability to work through us can enable us to move mountains. Isn't that exciting?

We can overcome the problems that we may face in school or at work, pluck up the
courage to bring our friends to church... nothing in the world, be it a big or small issue, is impossible for us because we are empowered by God.

The second is from James 1:2-4.

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

Trials can certainly cause our faith to waver - a least from personal experience, where I've probably asked/told God more than once, "Why is this happening to me?" "I don't understand. It's not fair." "Why are you letting this happen?"

But this passage showed me how trials may be used by God to refine our faith, and to make us more like His Son. Instead of blaming God and losing faith in Him, why not look at each trial as an opportunity to learn and to strengthen our faith in God as we seek Him for strength?

Yup hope these two passages have encouraged you all just like they've encourage me. Remember, in God all things, in all circumstances, are possible! =)

2007-01-19T16:24:00.000+08:00

Adrian here. This post is a little late but better than never. :)
P.S. Sorry it's so long.

May every one of you who care about a spirit of real, encompassing love and warmth in our precious fellowship be encouraged and strengthened by these words. I put this hope of mine in God's hands as I ask God to write this through me to all of you.

This will be about Philippians 2:2-8.

Philippians 2:2, NASB. "Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose". I gave some of the Matchstix bookmarks i made with that very verse on it for Christmas. I went for a Bible seminar last night, covering Philippians 2.

"Mind" in the above verse doesn't refer to the brain, or solely intellectual thoughts. The word used refers to character, attitudes, values; everything internal to us that makes us a "good" or a "bad" person. In fact, "mind" and "purpose" in the above verse use the same Greek word: phroneo.

"Being of the same mind"; the mind of Christ. What's a good summary for the mind of Christ? Let's put it this way. The mind of Christ = The heart of a servant. Why is that?

Verse 6-11 of Phil chapter 2 is about what Jesus abandoned for us. He emptied Himself, says verse 7. Of what?

It's not his glory. John starts his gospel by speaking of how God's glory shone through Jesus; Hebrews says Jesus was the "radiance of His (the Father's) glory".

It's not his deity, his godhood. Without that the crucifixion would have no power to save the dead; it would have been the death of just another man.

What He gave up was his rights. His spirit of "My agenda, my way, my plans, my honor first."

Verse 7 says He took on "the form of a bond-servant". A bond-servant is a slave; not someone who can leave at any time, but someone who chooses to place himself under unbreakable obligation to serve. The word "form" here doesn't mean the 'external shape', which is "schema" in Greek. It is written in the original as "morphae"; a word meaning essence.

Jesus forfeited and abandoned his right to honor, his right to be the leader; right to his own pleasure, comfort, ease or peace; he in his ESSENCE became a servant.

When He washed the disciples feet; it's not like us now, with "relatively" clean feet, hidden from the world in socks and shoes. The men of Jerusalem walked in open streets with open flowing sewage and filth on the roads in sandals; they ate their meals in a reclined position next to the table, so the feet had to be cleaned of filth. This was the job of the lowest servant in the household.

No disciple could do it. It was unthinkable.

Jesus did it.

No bitterness, no spirit of wanting to shame his disciples. It was simply what He was. And Jesus was what he was, with the pure essence of servanthood, because gave up His rights. He made that choice.

He followed that choice, with the very essence of servanthood in Him, when He died on a wooden cross, nailed and suspended to it by his wrists, naked and dirty and encrusted with blood, with His own people screaming for his death; with his dear disciples hiding away; no one to turn to, and no one to care.

Most theologians say that the crucifixtion of Jesus had one very special, particular, specific, very real aspect to the situation.

Something no Christian ever experiences. Ever.

I believe it's the thing that makes it the really horrific thing that it was.

It's this:

The Father turned His back on Jesus as well.

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani. Jesus own words: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

On Earth Jesus was a man who was God who knew clearly what his own state was, at all times. God forsaking Jesus - He would not have said that, unless He felt God's presence gone. No reassurance and no strength. No power, no Spirit, no more peace.

No love of the Father.

That is real loneliness.

Our lives are based on what the Word tells us. God is always with us, that He will never forsake us. We get through life following this when everything else betrays our needs. Men and women, missionaries, servants and slaves to God have lived in pain, in suffering, in fear, in agony, in perscution and by sword and flame and alone and afraid, and died, clinging to that promise when there is nothing else, finding peace and joy in it when it should have been impossible and ridiculous; earning their rewards in Heaven.

"Nothing seperates us from the love of God", we tell ourselves, we remind ourselves that the Bible says. "Neither depth nor height nor heaven nor hell", Paul says. When trouble comes, when pain comes, when our children die and our parents are taken away from us, when our lives crumble and our name is a curse on the lips of men, we cling to the Father.

Not for Jesus. Jesus died alone. Not like a child of God, but like something lower than a sinner.

How can that be? Yet that was the plan; Jesus died alone so that we could have the Father.

It was the plan.

For the first time, Jesus had no one. He came to earth to serve, to follow the Father, and he died alone and in shame and in darkness. And that was the plan.

Nobody was there for Jesus when He died. Enough pain to force from Jesus' lips that cry of abandonment, of a child thrown away by his father. It was the plan.

It was so that He need not ever do it to us, poor pitiful mortals made of dust, who don't deserve anything at all.

Because God loves us, that was the plan.

Nothing else could save us.

No other plan.

Jesus lived and died with no agenda, no rights to his own comfort, or peace. No right to the love of God to sustain him! We can't even imagine! Yet Jesus followed all the way to the end; and in the end He was brought to the right hand of the Father, glorified for what He did.

He bowed his head, and washed our feet, and died alone and with his name a curse, because he loved us.

That is the mind of Christ.

Phil 2:3 is about what would destroy that unity.

Selfishness. Empty conceit.

My needs are most important,
and my honor is most important.

Let us as the redeemed children of God, covered in Christ's blood, face this bravely: We all have agendas; egos; "my way or the highway".

Ourselves first. Our comfort first. Our "fair share" first. Let's be realistic: even the pagans know what a "fair share" is. Did Jesus have his "fair share" ? Who do we follow?

Paul wrote "he was the greatest of sinners" when he wrote his last epistles; it used to be "least of apostles", and then "least of disciples" in earlier epistles.

I'm not much either. What kind of thoughts do I think?

"I can teach better than Si'er."
"I can plan a play better than that."
"You all are not serious about this."
"I know more than all of you."
"You all don't know what you're doing."
"I know what I'm talking about! I'm the one here who has the understanding. It's a waste of time to listen to all of you."

My agendas, my plans, my way of doing things, my way or the highway;
my bitterness when my fair share is not given me,
my not talking to people who look depressed in favor of "fun" people,
my blaming others for what goes wrong in life.

My pretending to act blur when i play my computer games and my mom is doing household chores, at 2 am in the morning.
When I scream at and criticise my mom, not even in ignorance but in the knowledge of how much that will hurt her.
Turning off my msn when I see my friend and they have a sad nick, because i have "other things I need to do." Right. I need to read my online comics and relax. More important.

Greatest of sinners, that's my name. That's not Paul's title, that's mine. It's only right for all to look down on me.

But God doesn't.

He tells us, I give you My power. My only Son died so this power will come into your life.

It will change us.

Change us until what? Until how good?

Until we're "quite nice"? Until we're "decent people?" Until we're "read my Bible, go to church, go for Youth, shake hands when the worship leader says so, serve in a ministry" people?

Can already right? After all, Jesus died for us only what.

No big deal.

So. Change us. Until?

Until the people around us don't understand any more. Until they don't understand why we don't argue and backstab them back, when they betray us and "eat" us in horrible ways.

Until our fellow students think we're idiots because we refuse to make fun of our strict and demanding teachers behind their backs.

Until we take over duty in church or army or ECA or school project for someone else who keeps avoiding their work, and then pray that God will come and help them with their problems - because we finally realised they're not happy like that. Not happy at all; dying without knowing it.

God will change us until we're like Jesus.

Phil 2:12. Work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

We work as hard as we can, because we know what our salvation cost.

Phil 2:13: for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and work for His good pleasure.

And we cling and rely on God, because even the will to do so, and the strength to work, is God working in us. We have no power to change on our own.

Do our quiet time so that we can be closer to God. We will change. Pray so that we can commune with God and intercede for others and ourselves. We will change. Confess to Him our sins and confess to each other our sins. We will change. Throw away everything that hinders us, that makes our life complicated, things we idolize. We will change.

Jesus died for us. We will change.

Let's steathily, quietly, do things, do them well, do them quickly, carefully and excellently, and sneak away, so that no one sees our work for God. Jesus sees.

Let's encourage people who will never encourage you back, show people who will never speak well of us all the love we can. Jesus sees.

We shall sneak into the lives of the people around us, look after their needs, give to solve their problems, smile and spend our time finding out how they are, sacrifice our conceit to reassure them with our own past stories of failures. And we'll never hope for them to tell others how nice we are. Jesus sees.

Let's love each other, forgiving each other's faults, doing each other's duties if there is such an opportunity. Not a pain, but an opportunity. Jesus sees.

Let's tell each other our shames, encouraging each other, letting no one suffer alone in his own guilt and fear. Jesus sees.

Let's be a family not of goodie-two-shoes, but of sinners. Let's comfort each other's struggles with our own, reduce each other's shame with our own shames, restore each other's strength with our own lips. Jesus sees.

Let's cling to God like desperate sinners. Let us know what we do wrong, begging for the Spirit to change us, not letting a single drop of the blood of Jesus be wasted.

Jesus sees.

And what Jesus sees, He will tell the universe. He will say, This one is My follower. This one is My friend. This one does what I tell him to do.

What this one has become is what I died for.

Let's live for Jesus.

2007-01-18T17:31:00.000+08:00

Don't Lose Sight Of The Goal

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

Numerous sources have told the story of Florence Chadwick, who on one foggy morning in July 1952, waded into the waters off Catalina Island, intent on swimming across the channel to the Southern California mainland. This challenge was not too difficult for Chadwick as she had been the first woman ever to swim the English Channel in both directions.

However, on this day, having lost sight of the land because of the fog, Chadwick decided to give up. As it turned out, she had only been one-half mile from reaching her goal. She was not exhausted or cold. Rather the fog, having obscured her vision from the goal, was the reason she quit. Still, some two months later, on a clear day, Florence Chadwick attempted the same challenge and this time round, she succeeded, setting a new speed record because she was able to keep her eye upon the goal.

As Christians, we have a goal to pursue: to follow Jesus, to become more like Him, to love and serve Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. But, we often encounter the world's fog, which can obscure our vision and keep us from seeing the goal clearly.

Many a times as we travel along life's journey, we find ourselves choosing to give up pursuing the goal because we have become distracted by the fog - the fog of busyness, of career, of material pursuits, of self-interest. We will all experience foggy days, spiritually speaking. Don't quit. Persevere. Do your best to keep your eyes focused on Jesus who awaits with reward in hand, at the finish line.

As the words of that old hymn written by H.H. Lemmel goes:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dimIn the light of His glory and grace.

Today, let the fresh breeze of the Holy Spirit's presence in your life blow away the world's fog. Fix your eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

2007-01-17T23:28:00.000+08:00

Posted by Joanie...

Hello guys, just want to share this beautiful image that Marcus sent me some time ago. He put the Names of God on a picture of the cloud designs over a photo of Lake Awoonga. Check it out!!