yaya's world

We are the Body? Where is the head?!

2010-11-14T10:56:00.001-08:00

I guess it has been such a long time ever since school started that i havent blogged already..i guess its because i didn't think anyone will actually read them. But i didn't know that actually people DO read them. And i was quite amazed that my simple minded posts can actually touch lives. I guess whoever that read this, i hope that it will also serve as an encouragement for you to continue praying, continue seeking, continue reaching, continue doing what you have been doing in the past but may have lost the fire because you thought no one reads or listens. I guess it is the same as prayers. Why pray if no one is listening? Why speak to anyone if you assume they just don't listen or day dream? I guess we will never know who listens, who is not and stuff. We just got to continue doing what we are supposed to do and hold with a hope and believe that the things that we write and say can actually impact lives. If we don't do so, we lose the opportunity to even touch anyone's life or help anyone in any way.

This whole week as Tiffany Tay (my roommate in hall), play a song on her ipod into the speakers named as "If we are the body" by casting crowns. It serves as an encouragement for me as the song kept on playing in my head reminding me about our task and purpose on earth. My mother was sharing with me about what her pastor said once, "when we are young, we work to earn money and enjoy life, when we are old, we use the money to try out best to extend our life."
Isn't it true?
But i guess at the end of the day reality will still strike every single one.
No one is an exception.
No matter how well you live your life, how much money you earn, how many As and how you have impacted your company, every one will need to face one thing. Death.

My mother continued sharing with me about the 5 things that people would want in their life.
1) life
2) wealth
3) health
4) dying peacefully
5) i forgot.

But i believe there is one more thing that should be included into it. That is eternal life. As the chinese temple quotes once said....i translate it into english ah, "heaven's gates got road you don't wanna walk, hell's gates are forbidden and yet you wanna push your way through."
Sometimes i just don't understand as to why people don't wanna believe in Jesus Christ when he is the only one that guarantees a ticket to heaven. I mean, why don't people want to get to heaven after death but choose to go to hell instead.

And i was reading the Bible and it states in romans that how will people have faith to believe in Jesus Christ as the way and the solution for people to be saved is through others. It must be shared through others if not how will people know of this God? And who is going to share it if YOU don't share it?
I guess many will have the mindset that "ai ya, someone else will go and share about it to him/her de. or, he/she heard it before ler..there is no need for me to repeat and share again."
As the song, "if we are the body" states very clearly that we are the body of Christ. And Christ is the head. He is the one that directs and we are the ones that do the work. We are the ones that use our hand to pray, use our feet to travel and kneel, use our mouth to speak, use our heart to show our sincerity and surrender our heart to Jesus, use our body to dance..etc. Before you even talk about "other people will do the work", look at yourself first. Are you doing what you are supposed to do? Are you trying your best? Or are you just too lazy to do it.

God should be our head.
Our head means, the brain, the one who does the thinking, and we just obey and follow. Who are we to question a God who creates the heavens, the galaxies and everything around us whether what he is doing is right or wrong? Who are we to doubt his works? In the Bible it states that nothing can ever resemble Him, not even the skies or animals can describe and represent God.
Think about a pail and a droplet of water in it. Guess what, we are the drop of water. Something like that. Thats our size!
The problem lies as to whether we are willing to obey? whether we are willing to listen? Or we think that our functions as other body parts like the hands and legs can actually replace the functions of the brain?
If a body chooses to move around and do whatever it wants, won't it be disastrous?

Always rmb that we are the body and God is the head.
Where are we placing ourselves again?
Can we replace God?
If your ans is no, what are we doing about it? Stonning?
What are you waiting for?
Go and reach out, touch lives, share testimonies, be a good influence to the people out there. Live your life like Jesus's.
Jia you!

God loves you

Being able to understand and make a difference

2010-09-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

It was the day that i had some "teachers compass ceremony" held at nanyang poly because NIE is being used for the YOG.
In case those who don't know, i am going to go into NIE which is part of NTU,for 4 years, taking a bond for 4 years because it is part of the agreement of scholarship and am going to take Chemistry and Math as my subjects. Its a degree but in education.
So basically, the ceremony ended and people were just heading out.
I met this guy who also wanted to join the "breakdance" cca in NTU and so we talked and so i made a new friend!
We went home in a group with people that i know since the past and people that i just made friends with on that day.

Basically melissa and i was heading towards jurong east and we are at yio chu kang.
There are 2 routes, the red line to jurong or changing mrts from the red line to the green line from the orchard side.
Looking at the number of stops, i was convinced that one straight red line is confirm going to be so much faster than changing mrts and going one big round.
But joel convinced melissa and i to take the latter because even though it looks like a big round, its faster.
I still wasn't convinced..
I asked him, " are you sure its faster?"
He said, "confirm faster, it takes 20 minute to go from yio chu kang to city hall and 20 minute from city hall to jurong. but it takes 45 to 50 minutes to take the red line to jurong."
I was still doubting despite the statistics.
Asking him again, "how you know?"
He said, "last time i always take the trains from yio chu kang area because my gf stays there."

Why am i telling you this normal boring convo that i had?
Because it reminded me of something.
That is the point of this post.
He is able to tell me the numbers so clearly because he used his experiences.
Experiences that everyone go through, including you, can mean alot alot in future..you will never know.
I believe that no one is able to understand another if that person is not able to stand in the other person's shoes and if the person has not experienced anything like it before.
How can you understand the feeling of sadness if one hasn't experienced it?
Or depression, heart brokeness.etc.
Talking about this, i was reminded of one of my close friend, joseph, while talking to me about his past struggles..there was one sentence that he said, "you will never understand, no one will ever understand the struggles that i had and the feeling of wanting to suicide even if i tell them."

There was once i asked joshua ng for help regarding a friend of mine who has gone through heart brokeness because of guy girl relationship.
I tried telling him the advices that i am going to tell her.
Trying very hard to feel what she feels and what it means to be heart broken is very difficult.
The only thing that josh said was, "do you even understand what it means to be heart broken? You have not gone through being heart broken before, how will you understand the pain?"

There was another incident that i was talking to my "ah gong", zhong han! sorry..he is my ah gong because he looks very old. But he is very nice=) not very old, and is my church friend.
I was at redhill market having lunch with him, talking to him about the problems that i face spiritually.
He said something after everything that he adviced me and we talked about.
He said, " i can advice you now because i have gone through it myself and found a solution, thats why i can give you advices as to what to do."

Every experience, be it big or small, bad or good, people learn, grow and understand causing them to be able to be put to good use in future.
It may be used as encouragements, advices for decisions made or even to save a life!
No one knows. but we just got to place everything in the hands of God, trusting that He will use it.

Even God Himself sent Jesus down to become a human being..
for what?
So that he can experience the pain that you and i go through,
The suffering, the happiness, the joy, the struggles, temptations, bonds, feelings..etc
He experienced being a human when he did not even have to do it.
For?
So that He can relate to both you and i
so that He can understand us and have a relationship with us..not just a God who rules and reigns!
But a God who is also a friend and listens.
This closeness that He wants to achieve with us, is what no other Gods will give.
His desire is to be your closest friend.
Will you let him be?
When you think that no one understands?
Think again=)

God loves you.

A Simple Concept

2010-08-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since i ever written my blog..cause i abit lazy to type. heh.
But anws, i have been thinking about alot of things regarding Christianity. And one of the incidences that i truely remember and really be thankful about is what a friend actually did for me.
This friend, i guess some of you all know, is joshua ng zi ern.

It happened quite some time ago whereby our church organised an event called "live recording of the church album, more like you" and it was at 7pm if i am not wrong.
I remember vividly that i had church service in the morning, then we gave out food to the old folks to bless them and then i rushed to orchard to catch a movie "yi man" with my SAJC clique.
But the movie started at 3 plus and ended at 5 plus.
And due to my lack of ability to judge the actual amount of time that i have left, i queued up with my friends at astons until 6 oclock then i realised that i got to walk to the mrt station and take it all the way to gombak to meet another friend, joseph for dinner before the event.
so i chiong and ran, realising that i don't have time for dinner!
I didn't want to cause joseph who was there early to be late so i asked him to go for the event.

Why did i keep on talking about dinner?
Because i was starving, really starving.
For the whole day, i havent had breakfast, lunch was just a cold apple crumble that my SAJC friends bought from the cinema because i really cannot ta han. (i very grateful that i got like at least something to hold my stomach, thx friends!)
so basically, i was starving.
If people know me well, when it comes to food, i cannot not have it. I just love to eat!
But not having anything proper to eat for the whole day brought me to sianess, tiredness and even to tears.
I went for the event with my heavy heart and a very empty stomach.
Sat down alone, i didn't want to find my friends, just watching the live recording.

As i was walking into church, i met joshua who was urshering and passed by me..
It was very coincidental that i met him as i walked into the church building.
He talked to me awhile and asked me, "how come you look so tired and sian?"
I just gave a pass remark, i am hungry and walked away to the second level.

As i sat there alone, he came into the sanctuary and sat next to me, asking me how am i..
I was already tearing and i told him about the whole day i had not much food.
He insisted that i should go and eat and brought me downstairs giving me his urshering food.(actually not supposed to de)
At that point of time, i was really very touched.
It was like food from heaven!
Even though it was just fried rice, i tasted so so good.
Amazing.
Joshua was like my savior then.
Just felt that it was a divine intervention..that of all people, i met him downstairs and because of his character, i believe God knows that he will come and look for me, wanting to encourage me.

Thinking about this, i realised one point and a simple concept.
It was only up to the point of hunger and starvation, can i know what does it mean to be filled.
Benny Ho once said, no one can ever experienced getting healed by God if we were not once broken.
Just like you will never know what is light until you have seen darkness,
you will never know what is heat and warmth until you have experienced the cold.
you will not know what is good until you have seen what is bad.
Human beings will never know that they need God until they have truely nothing in the world to depend on.
Human beings will never know that they need for forgiveness from God until they truely know that they are sinners.

There is a story that i want to share.
There was once 2 brothers fighting.
They are like children.
Then the father came along and grab their hands and ask them to apologise to each other.
They didn't want to do so, so they kept quiet and looked at each other with dagger eyes.
the father asked again.
Again, they didn't do so.
The father insisted the last time, and they mumbled the words.
"Louder" the father said.
They say it with an unwilling heart, "i am sorry!"

Just like 2 brothers who fought, they didn't want to say sorry is because deep in their heart they do not believe that they are in the wrong.
So they didn't want to apologise because they do not see the need to do so.
Its just like, why bother repenting when i am not in the wrong in the first place?
Why must i even ask for forgiveness?

Do you realise why people build relationships and get so close together?
The one factor is that in brokenness, they find that people still cared for them and love them.
Thats the X factor to the build up of friendships. To be there to lend a helping hand in times of need.

God Bless you guys!

Man's best friend?

2010-08-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

Many will say that Dogs are the man's best friend.

I was just lying on my bed and got reminded of my sister's hamster who died previously and how much she loved it and thus cry her heart out when the hamster died.
I guess the best consolation that one can give to somebody who is very attached to an animal is that "don't worry, i am sure ______ is going to heaven and meet you, it is in the hands of God."

But are they like human beings? being able to enter into the spiritual realms of heaven and hell?
Some say that animals have a soul but do not have a spirit.
This means that they are not able to have any feelings but are able to do the daily routines.
Others may argue that animals do have feelings. Evidences of dog's crying and many others do show.
So that means they have a spirit?

I guess we wouldn't really know..but it got me thinking about dogs.
Why are dogs called man's best friend?
what is so special about them as compared to other animals? other pets?
What is so distinct about them that some people choose to have dogs instead of children?
The one reason is, dogs obey instructions and are more obedient as compared to a child.
Obedience is a big quality.
I got reminded that God desires obedience not sacrifice.
Just like any human being desiring for someone that will obey and listen, God desires it too.

If dogs can be man's best friend due to obedience?
Can man be God's best friend because of obedience?

God loves man.

True love?

2010-07-23T09:46:00.001-07:00

Hey hey! I went to watch the free movie, "bounty hunter" on the mon at the cathay's 75th anniversary and there is like free popcorn and drink!
Anws, there is this sentence that caught my attention in the movie.

One of the old couple who owned the honey moon place told the divorse couple who ended up at their honey moon place once again, they remembered them even after a few years with many other couples spending their honey moons in that place.
The divorsed couple were very suprised that they actually rmbed them and the old couple said, " we rmbed you because you two were the sweetest and most in loved couple we have ever seen. One thing that we have ever learnt from you two is that you taught us that true love is when both parties are willing to love and accept even the flaws and imperfections that both have, thats what will keep the relationship going."

I guess these words touched me, and i really think that true love should be this way.
Be it in any kind of relationship, friends or family members, it is when we all are able to accept and love the person despite their flaws can we say that we love the person.

I know of one person that loves me despite my imperfections and flaws and the best thing is that the person is perfect and there is no reason for him to tolerate my sins because he is not like me in any way because the contrast is just too big, cannot even be measured.
That person is Jesus.
This my friend, is true love.

Have a great day!
God loves people who are dirty^^Don't you think its beautiful?

Position

2010-07-11T23:44:00.000-07:00

I was talking to Kun Jie the other day, and he shared with me something that i thought was rather interesting and i thought maybe i should share it with anyone who is reading this.

We were talking about alot of things, from saying grace to how to listen to God to cells and RLs..etc.
One of the things he said was, alot of people can say and pray, "Oh God, people touch me and speak to me, mould me to be more like you and let me experience you." like everytime, or maybe every sun during service or while singing the worship songs..but many do not do anything about it.

Alot of times we only give lip service to God but we never POSITION ourselves to let God use us.
The word here is POSITION.
To help people to visualise, lets just say your friend was supposed to meet you and was calling you from behind you can choose to turn behind and get a clearer view and hear your friend more clearly, or you can choose to walk further away, facing away from your friend.
Even though this may sound very childish but this is the point i am trying to make.
Your friend is God and many of times, we fail to put ourselves in places where God can use us and we can experience God's power.

Some may say, "oh, but God is everywhere what, not only in church or cells ma..so i also can experience God anywhere i go."
I would say, "Yes true."
But i believe in every relationship it is two way.
You got to put in effort and God will too.
And it is only in church whereby you can find people who will pray for you..it is a place where people who wants to invite God's presence to be there, it is a place of fellowship.
All these are so unlike what you can find from the world.
By coming to church, one is positioning themself to want to meet and experience God together with others. where testimonies are shared and people edify each other.

Along with just coming to church which not really of much effort and sacrifice, there is also a need to serve if one is serious about experiencing God.
Serving helps us to position ourselves to meet God.
Through serving, i believe firstly, God is pleased that you are willing to sacrifice your time and effort to sow the seeds.
Secondly, there will be obstacles and struggles or even brokeness, causing God to aveil and work through you.
Thirdly, it is for the kingdom of God! Why wouldn't God work through those who are willing to serve him for the sake of his children right?
But of course one must do it with a willing heart. If you do it unwillingly, then you are not even letting yourself to be used by God but to do things for the sake of doing things.

For those who are not serving (which includes myself), why not try stepping into the will of God and see how God can show himself to you?
For those who are serving, lets do it because you want to experience God and do it with a willing heart ya!

Joey's blog once said, "we plant the seeds, not pluck the fruits."

If you really want to experience God today, stop living in self pity and discouragement, but to stand up and fight for what you want! don't sit there and do nothing!

God loves you.

Predators--->Fear--->Death

2010-07-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i went to watch predators with kun jie and bradley!!
It was a very interesting and scary show i feel...like cause it is M18, it has alot of bloodshed and violence.
I was basically covering half of my face with my jacket half of the time because there were alot of anticipation.

The show had 8 people in some unknown island away from earth at first.
At every attack and experience, someone will die in different ways.
I shan't tell you all the whole story..but it is a show worth to watch..so go watch it~
One thing that the show showed me was something very practical and got me thinking over one question.

The question is "when you face the risk of death and fear, will one still care for others or just care about themselves?"

Perhaps you cannot picture the seriousness of this question because most of us have not experienced before.
The show helped me catch a glimpse of it.
When there were only 6 people left, the people who cared for themselves more and the people who will risk their life to save people showed very clearly.
The only major difference between the predators and human beings, not counting the size and the looks is that human beings have a heart. They have feelings.
And the predators see it as a weakness, attacking their weakness.
They used human being(one of the 8) that are dying as bait to attract the other human beings to rescue them and get into their trap.
They used booby traps to make one of the 8 not being able to walk so as to pull the team down.
Only because the predators understood the crux of the weakness, human beings have feelings and will try their best to save people who are still alive, not to watch them or leave them to die.

There were 2 most distinct scenes, the scene whereby the doctor (one of the 8) got lost from the rest and was panicking and scared.
Because the predators were able to turn invisible, he had to keep throwing smoke sticks to see whether there were any predator around.
When he finally located the rest, they were seperated by a metal door that was slightly torn open.
So he screamed for help!
the rest didn't bother saving him because they may get killed.
But when he was going to get killed, one of the guys, a russian came and shoot the alien. saving him but directed the alien's attention to him instead.
At the end, when he was injured, looking at the doctor for help, the doctor decided to run away, leaving him behind.
At the end, after the alien's knife pierced through his body, he managed to defuse a bomb on himself and killed the alien with it.

The next scene was when the doctor had his leg trapped in a booby trap and he couldn't walk.
The remaining people could have just let him there.
one wanted to go, the other wanted to stay and help him.
The conversation between the girl and guy was, the guy said, "we have got to move, this wasn't meant to kill him, it was meant to injure him so as to slow us down because they know that we will do the very humanly thing, to have feelings." the girl just said, "then what are you?'

Alot of times, we live in peace and comfort, we may not get to experience being in danger, maybe forsaking and risking your life for someone else, maybe just running away to protect yourself and prevent yourself from losing your life.
The thought fear of death and pain is so tremendous that selfishness may take root.
It got me thinking about the Christians in other countries, or even in the end times when martedum (i think i spell wrongly), which means getting killed because they stood up for Christ, Getting killed and tortured just because they are Christians.

I think it is every human being's nature or you can say every creation's nature to protect and
care for themselves.
Its not wrong.
But what makes us not be selfish is because we got a heart. We've got feelings and love.
Thats whats so special and it is the key to unlocking human selfishness, to care for others rather than themselves.
I just think it is amazing and worth to be learnt as to how much people love God, with such intimate relationship with Him that they don't even mind dying, giving up their life for the sake of the name of Christ.

One example is Paul in the Bible..he once said, "To live is Christ, to die is gain"
Lets work for this degree of love for Christ that death will not be of any fear, but of a joy.
Its not easy at all..i don't think i can do it.
But lets give it a shot!

God bless you=)

What is love? Christian songs scary?should be avoided?

2010-05-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

I was just listening to my brother's ipod with several songs by christian singers that i have not heard before.

Spending sometime with God through the lyrics that the songs provide, i started to question, what makes a Christian song a Christian song? What is the difference between singing these songs and the other songs out there in the world?

I remember what Joey told me last friday during a rehma conference meeting at far east "old town white coffee" place.

He said, "we should change the mindset of people. Alot of Christians credit too much to the devil already. We think that listening to different secular songs to be wrong or carry a bad notion into it. Music and songs are just different notes and chords being placed together. Be it Christian songs or Secular songs, they are made the same way. It is possible and nothing wrong to sing secular love songs during worship as well. We can even change Christian songs to secular songs like for example for the song, "Jesus lover of my soul", the lyrics go, "i love you, i need you, though my world may fall, i'll never let you go..." if we add a baby behind it, it becomes a secular song."

Janice added on, "it just depends on who are you actually singing it to."

Song and music plays a significant role in my life. And i believe that it makes a big impact on others as well.

Music can influence the way people think, the way different people view things and the way people react to things.

Music can affect not only the emotional, spiritual, but also the mental state of a person as well.

Music just has its power this way.

Thats why there is a need to choose wisely the songs that you will like to engage in. Songs that will help you, not pull you down and cause you to immerse in self pity and despair.

Coming back to the bus and mrt trip to work this morning, i listened to my bro's ipod, i feel very different just by listening to the love songs written by our church members and several other Christian writers. As i immerse myself in the music and lyrics, reflecting upon them, i felt the presence and spirit of God.

You see, many people try to avoid listening to christian songs is because it carries a notion that it is a "Christian song" and its something "spiritual" and "holy" and people avoid it. But if you think about it, it is no more than just a love song just that the target audience is different. Christian songs can even minister to many who are broken and in trouble, facing with the many issues and problems in life.

A love song to God brings me back to the fact that God is all about love. God is love.

Even my father, a non-Christian tells me that he research on Christianity and it is just all about love and loving others. The life story of Jesus is just to love.

Love is not an easy word. Its easy to spell, but many fail in it.

The solution to all the problems on earth, and i mean all the problems can actually be solved with love. Thats why love is so powerful.

There are many things about love that we don't know and can be learnt from the one who has the perfect love. God. Only because God is love.

This can be learnt through the Bible.

Its not any scary book or "spiritual" book. It is a historical book that we can learn many things about God from.

I would like to end with this song, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NoIJglsGms&feature=related.

It talks about love.

God loves you very much that he is even willing to sacrifice his son for your life.

JUDO GUY

2010-05-22T09:48:00.001-07:00

I don't know whether you all have heard about or got across this article in the news about this Judo Guy from SJI about 1 month ago.
If you all don't know, here is the story.
This Judo Guy is named, Ser Yung. He i 16 this year (taking the O lvls year) but got into a major accident that caused him to not be able to take the major exam.
He went for this Judo competition and fought against this other guy from Hwa Chong and during the midst, his head got hit onto the ground.
After the competition, he walked up to the teacher and told him he was feeling unwell and the next thing was, he fainted.
He was being sent to the hospital and the doctor said there was a blood clot in his brain and he had to undergo a major brain operation to remove it.

Why must i talk about this guy?
He is my friend.
Not say very close, but i know him because everytime for Judo Practice and CCA, the CJC had to train with SJIs and he is one of the better ones.
When Celine and i went to visit him 3 weeks after his operation, we didn't expect things can actually turn out to be so bad.
We couldn't even wake him up properly.
He was transferred from tan tock seng to ang mo kio rehab centre.

When we got there, the situation is that he cannot move at all and cannot talk.
So basically, he understands what you are talking about, but cannot respond at all.
As for his eyes, one eye can be halfed opened and the other can bearly open at all.
I hope you can imagine the state he is in.

Because his two aunties were there, i asked them how long will he take to recover?
The answer is, i don't know...their eyes filled with despair and helplessness.
they also said that he will be staying there for a month before he is again transferred to somewhere else.

It is just so unexpected that someone who is so good with his limbs and pro in judo and study so so hard for his exams to end up in this state.
Its like beyond what everybody else ever imagined and predicted.
Celine and i had to tap him and call him several several times before he can even wake up.

The reason why i am writing this blog is because i do believe in prayers and for those who believe in prayers and that it does work as well to pray together with me for him. For his healing to take place. His two aunties also asked us with sincerity to pray and continue praying.

Lastly, i just feel that alot of times we really take life for granted. We will never know what is going to happen to us next. And alot of people plan so much for the future that they fail to plan for their death and life after death. We invest in the wrong places, indulging ourselves in worldly desires until we forgot what we are actually living for.
Its so easy to fall into the worldly stuff because sometimes it is so enjoyable doing it.
I do pray that we will stand firm in what we believe in and not leave it hanging or stagnant esp in these days when all the attacks are not upon out physically self but more of the mental and emotional self.
Someone ones say, you can got influenced all over by so many things around, but it is a choice as to whether you want to get affected by it and give in to it or not.

Always always not take for granted each day that you live even though you are young. Because time is life. You waste your time away, you are wasting your life.
You will never know nor expect what is going to happen to you next. you really wouldn't know.
Don't wait till its too late before you regret not doing things you could have done and worked on before. This can apply to the many relationships, the things that you want to do and most importantly, the path and journey to the life after death.
Ultimately, what are you going to hold on to when your life comes to an end?

Let us stand united and PRAY for ser yung!
Christianity is all about believe. Let us believe that God is going to heal just like Jesus's time because we are people of faith.

God loves you.

SERMONS!

2010-04-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

Eloise shared with me this website!

I really think it is very cool=)

Basically its a website with several sermons that i think its good.

http://www.spurgeongems.org/audio.htm

Go and listen to some.

God Loves

KICKASS! THE GREATEST SUPER HERO!

2010-04-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hey ppl, i just watched the movie called "kickass" yesterday and its m18 so very vulgar, violent and stuff.

But i like the story line itself.

It is basically talking about this guy who is very ordinary, not popular in school and everything else, however, he dreams to be a super hero. He wants to be people like spiderman, batman..etc. Basically to make a difference in this world with great intentions.

He bought a super hero suit and tried to train to be like a super hero and eliminate crimes.

When he tried to stop crime for the first time when he saw 2 guys trying to pry open the door of a car, he plucked up all the courage he got to confront them in the suit.

He felt very different about himself.

He used his weapon (2 poles) to try to scare and wack the guys away but end up getting stabbed and knocked down by a car.

He didn't give up but tried to train physically.

Once, he tried to save a cat that was missing on the top of a latch but fell down in the process onto a guy that was running away from the many more guys that chased him.

The guy tripped over and was bashed up by the group of guys.

At the end, he used his weapon to wack them to save the guy on the floor.

The whole process was being recorded down by people who came to watch.

He end up getting bashed up quite badly too.

But he never gave up but carried on.

One of the guys from the group asked him, "you are willing to even die for this guy whom you do not even know?!"

He looked for a moment, panting and bleeding and said, "yes, i do."

The group of guys left anws because of his reply and the many people staring and recording.

That guy said, "you are crazy!"

The guy on the floor said, "thank you" with all the blood all over.

The rest of the show is more about action and killings by "big daddy and head girl"...etc quite nice=) should go watch.

However, the reason why i talked about the first part was because it really spoke to me.

A guy without any powers or talents but with a great intention of being a super hero tried to save a guy whom he did not know,risking his life.

Amazing isn't it?

I guess thats what being a super hero is all about, dying for someone one do not even know.

This draws the parallel to the greatest super hero of all!

you guessed it, Jesus Christ!

He not only died for one man, he died for all who do not even know Him.

He did it because he loves us and wants to provide a way out for us, freedom from our sin so that when we die, we do not have to go to hell but be reunited with Him in heaven.

Isn't it such a good thing?

Thank God for it, even if you don't accept him and say thank you, he already did die.

He died in one of the worst ways to die and be crucified in the past, He died on the cross.

Are you going to be that guy on the floor, filled with thanksgiving and happiness because God saved your life? Or are you just going to walk away and not appreciate this free gift that is given?

What is done is done, it is up to us.

God loves and cares for every individual^^

Tithes!!

2010-03-31T21:37:00.000-07:00

Giving tithe has been a very basic custom in many of the churches today.
But many do not really know why do that do it for.
They just follow what they are told to do.
For me, when i give my standard tithes, i always will wonder where the money will go and will be afraid that it will not land up in good hands so i don't really dare to give much.
For others, they give it very unwillingly.
Ask yourself, do you give because the person next to you give?
Do you give reluctantly?
Do you give without praying about it?
Do you give because you are forced to give because of things like pride and face?
Do you give God just tips of your money?
when it comes to money issue, everyone gets sensitve over it because it is a neccessity.
Thats why, when they are asked to give, many would rather not give and terms tithes as a bad thing.
This blog post is going to talk about "the beatitude of giving", basically, what is giving tithes all about.
oh! btw, many of the points here is by Benny Ho, this is one of His sessions from the seminar.

Many always say, "money is the root of all evil"
True?
The Bible says in 1st timothy 6:10, "For the LOVE of money is the root of all evil..."
The money issue is equally as important in the eyes of God.
Why?
A Bible scholar estimated 5280 verses on the subject of money.
16 out of 38 parables refer to money and possession.
When the Bible talks about giving in terms of money, it always speaks of tithes and offerings.

Do you know the story about the israelites making the gold calf and worshipping it instead of God when God already brought them out of egypt, split the red sea..etc.
The same gold that is used to make the gold calf causing God bringing a curse on the people, is used to build the tabanacle, bringing the presence of God in.
This signifies and brings both a blessing and a curse.

"tithes"-"tenth", "10%"
Tithing is rooting theologically in the sovereignty of God in our lives.

Progression of tithing....
Before the Law which means before God give Abraham and 10 commandments and everything else, tithe is volunteery.
It is stated in Genesis 14:17-20, the last part states, "Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything."

It is the first time tithe is mentioned and this took place 430 years before the law was given.
The "him" here refers to Melchizedek (he is both a priest and a king) representing Christ because Christ is the only guy besides this king that is both king and priest.
Thats why "the priesthood of Christ" is called the "priesthood of Melchizedek"
Here is a prophetic picture of Jesus.
Other similarities is that Melchizedek started by giving Abram Bread and Wine and Abraham in return gave Melchizedek a tithe.

During the Law, tithe was made compulsory.
It became compulsory and people do it as an act of obedience.
In Malachi 3:8, tells us that the consequence of disobedience in the Old Testament is that you come under a curse.
In the book of Haggai, it talks about coming under a financed curse.
We end up with holes in our pockets and we come under a famine of finance.

After the Law, tithe was given willingly.
tithing is mentioned 10 times specifically in the NT. 3 times in the gospels by Jesus Christ Himself and each time He did not remove it. Instead, He took tithing to a new dimension under grace.
Today, we give 10% out of obedience and gratitude but we can give the other 90% out of love.
There is this story that he told..very funny de!
Here goes...
There was this China man that has 10 gold coins and he saw a beggar on the way..the beggar looks super pathetic and out of compassion, the china man gave him 9 of his coins.
Instead of feeling a sense of gratitude, the beggar followed him to an alley and robbed his last coin out of him.
when i heard it, i was like huh!
But i realised it is just like us, God provide us with so so much and we still want to hold back the 10% of what he gave us!

The purpose of tithing is in 1st timothy 5:17, 18.
It is to upkeep the lives of the church and its workers
Under the law/Old testament, the people are commanded by Law to pay..
Under the Grace/New testament, the people are compelled by love to Give.
It is proven in 1Corinthians 13:3, "if I gave all i possess to the poor but have not love, i gain nothing..."

God looks at the 1)The principle of Proporation (1corinthians 16:2)
God does not look at the quantity of money, God looks at how much of the total amount of money that you have that you are willing to sacrifice for Him.
It is not the portion but the proportion that matters.
2corinthians 8:2-who ever said that the poor cannot be generous?

2)The principle of Priority.
The simple reason for this is that if you do not put th as priority, you will end up giving God the leftovers.
If we don't cultivate to give when we have little, it will be very difficult to give when we have much.
It is just like if it is to hard to give God $10 out of the $100 that you have, when you earn $1000000, it will be even harder for you to give God $100000.
1Corinthians 16:2, Malachi 3:10.
There is a story about a $50 note and $2 note.
They were all old notes and ready to be recycled and they were having convo, the $2 ask $50 "so where have you been? The $50 dollar note say, "i have been to hotels, restaurants and to this hotel and to that hotel..etc."
The $50 dollar note ask $2 note, the $2 say, "oh! i have been from churches to churches to churches..etc."

3)The principle of Purpose
2corinthians 9:7- we are giving as an act of worship and this should be intentional, not just giving God tips. Pray about it and set the money aside for God.

4)The principle of privacy
matthew 6:1-4-the principle behind this is that when we give, we tend to forget about it and not rmb and exalt yourself or think how generous you were.

5)The principle Privilege
It is not a mindset as to, "I don't have to give, it is that i Get to give."
It is not supposed to be a sacrifice but a joy.
2Corinthians 9:7
2 corinthians 8:4
The whole notion behind this is that IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GIVE IT WILLINGLY THEN DON'T GIVE.
There is this story, "The mother gave her little girl $1 and $0.50 and told her daughter, to test her. She said,"you can choose to give God $1 or $0.50 as offering then the other you keep."
After the service, she said the girl which she gave. The girl say, "I gave the $0.50". The mother sounded slightly disappointed.
The mother ask why?
The girl said," Cause i feel more cheerful if i give $0.50 than $1.
There is nothing wrong with it!
God asks us to be a cheerful giver.

6)The principle of Profit
2corinthians 9:6, luke 6:38, Proverbs 11:25 and Acts 20:35.
Somebody once said, "money is like cow dung, if you keep it and stack it up, it stinks, but if you spread it around it makes things grow!"

God loves to see his children enjoy themselves, have a party.
It is ok to go shopping and buy a car and enjoy life.
But money shouldn't be used to upkeep one's lifestyle according to the income of that person.
Don't fall into the thinking that "If I have a greater income, i must max it up."-becomes a hindrance to God's kingdom.
It is ok to have a million dollars but live a lifestyle of $100 thousand.

God loves you all!

FAITH a gift? a hope?

2010-03-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

Hello!! oh! i just signed up for some seminor at some church, i think it is called st john methodist..etc.
Anws, the speaker is Pastor Benny Ho.
Today was the very first session and i am greatly enriched in the fundamental knowledge of the Bible.
I learnt alot from it and i want to share something that i rmb was debated quite a few times between church ppl.
It is the Topic on, "Is faith a gift from God? So does that mean God chooses who he gives faith to?", "is Faith=Hope?"
Christianity surrounds the topic of faith and i think it is very interesting to know about what he has got to say about this.

There are basically 2 kinds of Faith, "worldly faith"-seeing is believing and "Blibical faith"-believing is seeing.
There are alot of verses in the Bible about faith.
some of them are, john 11:10, 2corinthians 5:17, Heb 11:6, Heb2:3, Rom 14:23, Romans 5:1-2.

Why is Faith so important?
In Ephesians 2:8 it mentions that we are saved by grace through faith.
What it means here is that we access the grace given by God by exercising our faith.

What is not faith?
1)Faith is not HOPE
Backed up by verses Heb 11:1 and 1Corinthians 13:13

The difference between FAITH and HOPE is that HOPE exists in the future while FAITH is now!
What do i mean?
The reason why the 2nd coming of Christ is called the "blesses hope" is because it is a hope for the future that has not yet come.
Faith on the other hand is saying, "i am saved now because i have the faith."

Benny Ho continues saying,
HOPE says, "God is going to do something for me."
FAITH says, "God has done it. God is doing it. God will do it."

The word "hope" is a steady expectation of good whereby it is confirm going to be fulfilled. (totally different from a "wish")

Also, Hope lies in the head while faith lies in the heart (1 Thes 5:8)
Hope-mental attitude of expectancy
Faith-attitude of the heart
Believing with your heart does not mean you deny the facts from the brain.
This is proven by Romans 4:18-21, the Abraham story. Abraham recognises the facts and believe with his heart.
Some of the Christians only have Head-faith which is basically an intellectual acceptance of God without the heart.

I read things like people from somewhere around the world, the practice of their church is that whenever someone is sick, the person is not allowed to take medication, only to pray and pray, hoping that God will heal the person.
If the person dies, they believe that it is because their family or the people around them do not have enough faith.
However, Benny Ho mentions that FAITH IS NOT A PRESUMPTION
Faith is acting according to what God says (God's will) but
Presumption is acting according to what we want (self will).
Faith is a response to God's initiative (totally dependant on God) but
presumption is taking on our own (dependant on our own interpretation).
Faith, God carries the promises through
presumption, we carry it and try to make it come true on our own
When we are desperate, it is always easy to fall into presumption.
Don't make promises on God's behalf!
Do not claim that God has spoken when He has not. (Deuteronomy 18:20,22)
Don't go beyond what the word of the Lord has said and act according to what you may think is the best in the situation. (1Sam 13:8-14)
It can lead to disastrous consequences.

What then is faith?
Faith is a GIFT to us by God (Heb 12:2), his son and the holy spirit(Romans 12:3)
There is no need for us to work out the faith because it is already inside you. (John 5:2-9)
Everyone has enough faith to last you for one lifetime!
What we need is just to exercise our faith in God for ourselves.
Anyone can pray for themselves because each of us got a measure of Faith.

Just like in matthew 17:20 about faith as small as a musterd seed can move mountains indicating that God is not looking for how much faith you have. It is not the quantity but the quality!

To end of, this is something that pastor benny Ho mentioned.
"You don't need to have great Faith but you just need to have Faith in a great God."

hope you all learnt something from this! because i did.

God bless you!

My Very First Interview

2010-03-09T23:03:00.000-08:00

Hey people, just wanna share with you all something real cool=)
I went for a job interview at raffles place on mon at around 4.30 pm.
I was so scared cause it is my very first job interview and i didn't have much of an experience regarding the interviews.
So i have no idea what is it going to be like.
Plus, i was super worried because i was looking for a temp job with a pay of 6.50 and above and can only work for 5 days a week and not 5.5 days and i have to take leave here and there.
Like everything is so not confirmed.
I am supposed to go for a trip to batam with the real people 3 days at the end of march, then from april 1st to 8th i going on a Japan trip with my mother and i am probably going for church retreat from the 7th to 11th june.
So that means i got to keep on taking leave to go for so many holidays.
Which job will want me?
Am i going to tell the person about all these?
As for the 5.5 days, it means to work on saturdays half day too.
But i cannot because i got CAMY training (creative arts for media youth) as they train for my case, vocalists.
It is a commitment on sat 11am to 1pm and i cannot replace it with my job.
And my mother wanted me to find a job asap.
I worry about all these for a few days.

The amazing thing is that when i pluck up my courage with joshua's encouragements and prayer and joseph and samuel's smses, i manage to go for it.
And when i came out i just felt very happy.
Although it is a small little achievement and it may seem nothing to many, it is something big to me^^
I was really thanking God for helping me pull through.
But the job offer was that it is 5.5 days at tan tock seng hospital as a telecommunicator.
And the cool thing is that the job offer is mid april to end of may and its 7 bucks per hour.
Its all just nice and the date is just nice because i don't have to mention about taking leave anymore.
After i left the place, thanking God in my heart, the person called me once again and said that its 5 days and not 5.5 days!
Everything just fit so nicely!

God is in control.
And as for all those who are choosing their career or even which courses to go for universities or have already chosen their courses, here is a word of encouragement.
"we worry when God seems silent on specific issues such as what career should i choose? The truth is, there are many different careers that could be God's will for your life. What God cares about most is that whatever you do, you do in a Christlike manner. God is much more concerned about your character than your career, because you will take your character into eternity, but not your career."
Hope that helps and comforts some=)

God loves you!

The MATRIX + ppl's conversations

2010-03-01T05:52:00.000-08:00

I know some of the people are waiting for me to post up a post about the sri lanka mission trip that i just went to..this is not the post. I'll post it soon k!
Just wanna share with you all things that struck me in singapore.

I was watching the show 'Matrix' as you can see from the title of the blog post.
It was shown on channel 5 like today night.
I watched it quite a few times and only until today's one i realised something very interesting.
Actually i only watched the last 30 min of the show.
My brother who hasn't watched the show yet asked me, "how come the man who died can rise again de?"
This scene is whereby the lead actor was shot like many times by the 3 matrix guys wearing black suits and sun glasses, being able to transform to be anybody anywhere.
His heart beat stopped as blood starts flowing out.
I answered my bro saying that "oh! cause he is the chosen one ma..so he won't die."
My mother added on, " he is here to save the people, he is like the saviour."

All these things struck me at that point of time thinking that it is exactly like Jesus Christ.
The show didn't had any ending, the ending was just the lead actor walking out of the telephone booth saying things like, "I came, not to give an ending, but a beginning." ," To free the people from living a life under rules, boundaries, to be controlled to a life without."
It stuck me once again.

It is the same for us, Jesus came to save us, everyone of us from being under the control of ourselves and satan.
He came, to free ourselves from ourselves means, to free us from self-centredness, from wanting to do things 'my' way, arrogance.
He came to free us from what satan can do to us, not only our physical, but also our mind. things like temptation, hurts to our body, negative and bad thoughts.
He came to free us from being trapped within all these and free us from being manipulated by satan.
Jesus is the chosen one, only His blood and sacrifice can stand in place of everyone and redeem everyone from sin, providing the only way to heaven.
He saved us from hell to heaven for the simple reason, He love us.
Thats why he came to earth to endure all the many sufferings and ridicule of his own creation as the people spit and laugh at him just to show us God in human form and to understand us as human beings.
What better way to understand something but to be in it and with it.
He had to endure the pain not only physical, getting wipped and cut but also the mental and spiritual, to be separated from His father.
This separation is like trying to tear two deep lovers up.
The seperation cuts and tears the heart of Jesus.
But it is neccessary for the sake of us to gain freedom, a way out and for Jesus to do the will of His father.
Jesus came, not to give everyone an ending to life, but a beginning, a new chapter into eternal life.
Many of you have heard this like a trillion times.
Even if you are a christian, you can always come back to the main focus of what you are actually believing in and thank God for it.
Come back to the basics.
Even if you are feeling dry in your spiritual walk today, always know to praise God because of this truth.
For those who haven't believed.
Jesus has given His life for you which is like everything he ever had.
It is only up to you now. its free for you to accept.

Your worth is worth the blood of Jesus Christ

Oh! there is another thing i want to share.
There was once, not too long ago, my mother said something to my bro and i overheard it.
she told my bro,"You must be neat like me"
my bro said,"why must i be like you."
She said, "because i am your mother, i expect you to be like me."
Even human beings like my mother understood this concept.
The Bible always talks about being more like Jesus, if we are true christians, we will hold characteristics that Jesus showed and had so that when others see us, they will know that we are different from the world and know that christ lives within us.
Even a mere human being like my mother expects her child to follow her good points what more God?
I am sure God desires and expects so much more from us because He perfect.
we can never be compared to God, the gap between us reaching God's expectations is too great.
Thats why Jesus christ came down to provide a way out, to close this gap inorder to us to have a relationship with Him.
There is such a thing called 'grace'.
'grace' is unmerited favour.
That means, we do not even deserve it but God still did it for us.
This grace and forgiveness from God of our sins shouldn't be something that we abuse.
It shouldn't be like, oh, i did something wrong, nehmind la, God will forgive me anw, so its ok to do it.
It should not be taken for granted but it should spur us to stop sinning or even struggle to stop sinning.
it should be, oh, God loves me so much, i shouldn't do anything to upset him and make him cry, God please forgive me.

There is another scene that i saw...
I was on the way for tuition and while waiting for the traffic light, there was this grandpa and a little kid.
The grandpa was teaching the little kid, "cannot cross when it is red man ah, it is wrong, cross only when it is green man."
It got me thinking that alot of times even if our parents teach us all the good stuff and the correct things to do, we always end up not doing it and rebel against it when we grow up.
things like jay walking starts to come into play.
it is not as if we don't know it is wrong but it is just that we do not want to do it thats all.
the question is, why?

this is for you to think about. it will be good if you all can contribute the answer to the comments or something.^^

God bless you!

Bintan and simplicity

2010-01-27T22:33:00.000-08:00

hey hey! sorry for not updating for quite a long time..have been kinda busy and stuff with the real programme! and i just came back from my first mission trip! Bintan!
My misson trip in Bintan is only a 3 day 2 night mission trip. sat, sun and mon.
The whole real team, we basically allocated tasks for different people..some did preaching, MCing, organised tuition lessons, children's programme, testimony sharing..etc.
The food places that we went to were so good! really super nice!
For me, i had to lead the second day of the children's church.
I am going to talk about my experience leading the children's church programme.

For me, i am a person who is not really a leader..
I am better at following..i just cannot really lead.
Joey (the person in charge of the whole real programme) purposely placed me in a leadership position).
At first when i heard that i needed to lead a children's programme for like 2 hours, i got scared but at the same time thought it will be ok..cause i love children and i had some dealing with children background (because i was in children's ministry two years back) so i had confidence that i would be able to communicate with the kids.

I was placed at the first children's programme which was held at sat night.
But somethings cropped up and i was placed at the second one on sun morning.
For the sat night's one, we went to a house and there were alot of children! and the house is kinda small..i think there were about 40 to 50 of them squeezed in a small room.
I got a shock when i saw it.
My group wasn't the one leading the children's programme for the first night so i just sat back and observe the situation, thinking of ways as to how to improve my programmes planned to better cater to the lack of space and so many children.
The other group did worship songs followed by one of the guys from real team, samuel stepped in to drag time because the group which is leading,didn't know what to do.
He was real good.
It was like he was basically born to do it kind because he was able to capture the attention of the kids and really had fun with the limited amount of space..doing magic tricks, games..he can bascially run the whole programme by himself.
The group was really glad that he came to save them and i was too..i was really very amazed at how he is about to connect with the kids despite the language barrier.
Next on the schedule was origami...they had to learn how to fold paper hearts as the group that is leading took over from samuel.
during this time, i really panicked.
i sat aside and really try to think of ways to connect with the kids on the sun morning's programme..i was very motivated to run it well for my children's programme (but it didn't last for very long.)
As for the origami hearts, mine also had origami but it is cranes instead.
but because of the huge amount of children and little manpower, the children soon got restless and started to walk around and go into the room i was in.
So i thought it was ok to play with them and stuff but i realised i was pulling them away from the leading group.

Anws, the children's programme was bascially kinda screwed up if not for samuel who is not even supposed to run any children's programme to step in and help.
There were alot of unexpected and everyone left with a heart that is very discouraged.
For me, my motivation disappeared, and i thought to myself, "i can never be as good as samuel..how am i supposed to connect with the kids?"
And all the other negative thoughts start to pop up in my mind...things like, i will not be able to lead..i am not even born a leader..
And all the past failures in church with regards to me leading worship, me as a person, critisisms that i recieved from people, from leaders at start to come in..and i just felt totally drained out and i was so confident that i am not able to do it..it really took away all my happiness.

That sat night after the service, i talked to joey (because he noticed there was something wrong with me) and i told him stuff..
He is one person that motivated me quite abit...there was something that he said that i remembered..."the reason why i gave you this role is not because i have confidence in you..but it is because i have confidence in God that God can work through you."
I was afraid of failures..i was afraid at how people look at me as a failure..and how incapable i am..
I keep on telling him, what if i fail?
he said that it doesn't matter whether i fail or not. fail then fail la...so what?
i got really comforted.
Samuel also keep on telling me that i am able to do it.

that sat night, alot of people came to leng shan's and i the room to help.
Whether related to the programme or not, they all came to help.
these people were..david, joshua. kah sheng, leng shan, samuel, nigel and jia liang.
I asked for ideas and stuff..we did rehearsals for the skit, created by josh. we did story telling by nigel and many others.
The best thing is that it lastest till 4 am in the morning!
And we had to wake up at 6.30 to 7.
Even gaomin who didn't really know why i am so stressed out and quiet wrote for me a note as encouragement.
Josh wrote a note for me too..

Before i lead the children's church thingy on sun morn, people like joey came to encourage and motivate me once again! He kept on saying that i can do it and he will be there to jia you me and stuff..
As for samuel, he pulled me aside and prayed for me..
As for joshua, he keep on telling me that he will be there so got him to back up..don't need to worry.
Leading the children was a very tiring experience because alot of actions and energy is required..
But after the whole thing, i felt very happy about it and it was a success for me personally.
How i wish i am able to stay there with them like longer.

I just got really amazed at how small little things that people do can really speak into the lives of some..
A simple "hello" or a smile can actually brighten some who had a tough day..
A simple hug can actually make one feel loved and accepted.
A simple tap on the back can actually make someone feel so so encouraged.
Simple words like, "well done"," jia you!" "don't worry", "i'll be there"..etc.
can actually touch someone.
There is no need to create fanciful words or actions just to impress someone or speak into the life of someone..
This is one of the beauty of simplicity.
The sad part is, not many people do so..
If you were to ask me what is the top thing that i gained from this trip to bintan, i would say the friendships forged.
i am just really glad and contented to have friends like these in my life to lend me a helping hand in my times of helplessness.
Really wanna thank God for it.

SIMPLICITY OF FAITH

On the journey back to singapore, on the ship, i went to the top level which is open air to look at the scenery, i also learnt some stuffs.
Looking at the sky, the clouds and the oceans, seeing the sun setting, looking at the birds flying in the air so freely...so many colours all around me and with the wind blowing my hair all around...
It was such an enjoyment for me..because i was finally out of city life..out of places with buildings and concrete structures..i love connecting with nature and just to look at it, enjoy it and appreciate it quietly...

One of my two dreams is to become a pilot..because i love the sky and to be with it.
Looking at far away airplanes fly past, i really wish to be the one driving it...

Anws, coming back to the topic, i was looking at the sky, clouds and the seas i was just simply stunned by how big this thing is!
Its like you look all around, there is no ending in it...you don't see an end..the sky and the oceans stretches across a large large area..too big for me to see or comprehend.
I felt very comforted as i look at the sky and the moon. and was in awe at how big and amazing God can be..
He is the one that created all these! and i am so super small and insignificant as compared to it..
I mean like if you compare the surface area that i occupy against these things, i will be almost nothing...like zero.
But still, God chose us to govern the whole earth.
The question in my mind was, 'why didn't He choose someone bigger to take rule and control? won't it be better?'

These are sights which you cannot really capture when you are on land and esp in a city area or areas with alot of pollution and buildings and vehicles kind.
Its just like a frog in a well.
we are like frogs..
The sky that we see is only one small area out of the vast skies that are out there.
It is just like what we see in life is only one small little portion of the entire thing..
it is just like God. what we percieve and know who God really is, is only one small portion of His entire being.
I realised that when i saw that the sky and oceans that i can see and comprehend at the position i am in, is very limited..
It becomes more limited when i am in a city, with high rise buildings all around and very little sky can be seen.
so actually the people who are living in the villages are actually more fortunate and blessed in terms of being able to get intouch with nature and being able to get a better grasp and hold of the sky and the clouds.
In the same way, although the villages do not have alot of money, they are able to grasp the goodness of God so much more easily..because they do not have anything much to start of with.
They have more time to spend with God and not get so caught up with things to do and deadlines to reach..etc. they are able to appreciate the simple things in life.

One more thing that i learnt is that even though i can describe so much to you..like the sky, the sun, the moon, the oceans,the waves..etc. You won't be able to get the full picture and experience because you are not in it.
You really have to experience and look at the whole thing yourself to really get amazed by it.
even if i were to take pictures of it and show you, you won't be able to fully understand.
Morever, pictures can only take portions of it..not the whole thing..
Similarly, God is just like that.
I can tell you..God loves you up till the point that He is willing to die for you!
But at the end of the day you can still feel very indifferent about it.
Only when you take a step of faith and experience the love God can give, then you will get the full experience.
Then will you be able to get the picture and be amazed by it.

Alot of people think that christianity and God is a very difficult thing to grasp..alot of theories and stuff..
But actually it is the simplicity of it that keeps the faith going.
It is just that God loves you so so much that He is willing to sent His son down to suffer and die for us so that we can live with Him once again in heaven. We love Him because He first loved us.
Isn't it very simple?
God just wants us to love Him.
That is what keeps faith going...love.

God loves you!

Sow the Seeds!

2010-01-19T06:37:00.000-08:00

Today i wanna talk to you all about something that spoke to me when i attended the sermon on sun for adults like for a short while while waiting for the youth service to start^^
Its about evangelism..
Eh eh eh...don't go off yet k?
hear what i have got to say..esp for those who totally switch off when this word 'evangelism' appears.
But! it is really very important! because it is us christian's the primary purpose of us living on earth!

I think i have said this before..
An example is like you have just watched a super nice movie like "avartar"!
it is super duper good..and you just go around and tell all your friends about it, recommending them to watch the movie like non-stop.
At least this is what i would do if i saw something real good be it food, a restaurant, a shop or a movie..
It just comes out naturally because you know that when they watch it or eat it too, they will most probably enjoy it as much as you do...(unless your taste is really different and unique from the rest) but usually what you enjoy, there will be others out there who will enjoy it too.

Just like this real life example that i have stated above, if God is really good and the amounts of truth that you really get blown over by it. and somemore God's love for you is something that cannot be measured at all. and the experiences that you encountered with God, wouldn't it be something that is so so much better than what you can obtain from this world?
The most important thing is also that it concerns the people whom you meet and love's eternal life.
Shouldn't it be natural for you to share how amazing this God is? and why one wanted to be a christian?

God didn't say go! gifted ones! He includes everyone..
This means that He includes you and me..no one is of any exception.
Even though you cannot really speak very fluently or with good language..God will still want you to do so..
The best thing is that you are not talented in this area..you are not a natural speaker or be able to carry yourself forward properly..
Why is it the best?
Because if God works through your weaknesses, you will see very clearly and amazingly that God is actually working through you and using you because you will be doing things that you didn't think you were able to do it in the past but somehow you manage to do it. something like a miracle.
God also says in the Bible that He uses the weak and poor, but shames the strong and wealthy.
This does not mean that He will actually torture the strong and wealthy. it refers to those who thinks that they are ok and are better than the rest not those who recognises that they are strong..
God choose to use those who recognises that they are helpless and weak..those who recognise that they need God to do stuff because they cannot do it on their own.
Which is true because human beings have limits but God is limitless and huge.

Anws, evangelism can be just a simple invitation like, "hey hey! would you like to come over to my church one day and attend the service?"
Different people react differently to different ways to invitation.
But the focus is that you do not give up trying even though they may reject you like once.
why?
Because you will never know what actually happens every new day!
I mean like the guy can today say i hate church and super anti church but tmr, he may change his view because of the complications and problems in life right?
If you neh try you will never know..
I have also been struggling with the fact that after awhile, i give up on people and move on.
if they reject me twice or thrice, i will not even try to tell them about christ any longer..
but i guess this is not the mindset that we should have because the world around us is really a EVER-CHANGING WORLD...but God is a NEVER-CHANGING God. thats the difference..God is reliable and trustworthy.

Some people like me will say.."but i scared!"
But do you know that the Bible mentions 365 times things like, "do not be afraid!"
That means like God kinda knows that everyday of the year you will face somekind of fear.
cool right?hahaha^^
Anws, the Bible also reminds us to not be ashamed of God's word or He will be ashamed of us.
You will never know, you sharing your testimony or story, can actually help someone else find God or to even grow stronger in their faith?

Grace told me twice that our God is a very "economical" God.
He will not waste whatever experiences that we have..like every single one..but to use these experiences to mould us to become what He wants us to be.
With every triumph over every situation, God is able to use it to bless others who might be facing the same problems later on and you will then be able to relate to them in a more personal level and emphatize with them.

Another thing is that you got to pray things like "Lord, pls lead me to someone today that i can bless." God will open the doors to those whom you can bless.
But the problem is that you must get yourself already in a ready position not to wait till things come but you are not equipt with anything and try to say something and you cannot then end up panicking.
Its just like that particular day you are going for a battle but you are not equipt with anything and on the way to the battle field this guy comes and attacks...of course you will lose out! and lose out in quite an embarrassing manner..
ok, maybe this is not a very good analogy...but i hope you get what i mean..
always be in a ready position.
ready as in being able to share the gospel when you meet anyone along the way, ready to say the sinners prayer, ready to relate to their lives and think, how can God come into the picture?
Imagine, if got chance the people out there are ready to accept the Lord and you are ready, God will be able to use you to touch people's lives! and not for you to panick last minute.
There is need to be sensitive to the opportunities that may come your way..
There is a need to immediately engage the Holy Spirit speak through you..

There is this last thing that we need to remember..and its very important!
"Jesus saves, it is not our responsibility to save but to build bridges."

There is this song that is named, "make a difference". its a very nice song and the chorus goes, "and i will run to the alter, and catch the fire, to stand in the gap between the living and the dead, give us a heart of compassion, for a world without vision and we'll make a difference, bringing hope, to our land."

We don't know who is going to be saved and we do not have the power to save the people that we love and care for even though we may want to..
What we know is that God promises that if we sow as many seeds as possible, the harvest will be plenty.
But to allow that to happen, we need to sow the seeds and not give up in sowing..if you give up, none will be growing at all and there will be no harvest.
Even though some may fall on hard ground and die off without growth, our job is not to grow it, the conditions of growth, like sunlight and right temperature is not dependent on us..we cannot control it. Only God can.
Our job is to sow the seeds!

God bless you!

One of my experiences at R.E.A.L camp

2010-01-06T05:22:00.000-08:00

Hey hey!! sorry for not putting up any post. Just wanna thank those ppl who put up the comments for me..really very encouraging^^really very nice of you all.
Anws, recently i have been very busy with this church programme for O and A levers called R.E.A.L.
Yupps. there are a total of 16 of us in this programme.
This programme is created by the church mainly to help groom leaders..
Basically it is a programme to help us grow spiritually...we will be doing mission trips, workshops, organising events for the next two months (Jan and Feb)..its kinda like working full time in church just that you don't get any salary.
Anws, we had this log in camp from the 28th to 31st dec in G1.

Today, i am going to tell you some of the lessons and reflections i have done^^
Overall, there were alot of first times for me.
It was my first time watching the sunrise (even though i tried like countless of times to watch it but always fail..cause too cloudy or something)
My first time crying so intensely in a camp or even infront of ppl.
My first time being at changi beach.
My first time going to a camp with grace assembly's church ppl.
My first time waking up at 3.30am for an activity in camp.
My first time doing quiet time (qt) so early in the morning and for so long.

When i heard of this log in camp for the first time and saw the videos of the past REAL people
playing games and stuff, i really was prepared heart and mind that this camp is going to be a great one. One that bonds people together, full of action pack games and fun! To help us get a head start and full of enthusiasm for the real REAL programme to start in Jan.
However, i was kinda disappointed at first that it was really tonned down.
It was a camp that had alot to do with writing, listening, seeing and with little moving.
They had games, but it was just for a short while and it wasn't very actioned packed. Everyday, people tell me how wonderful this camp was and how fun it is but i just kept quiet.

The camp was basically made up of workshops on finding out what kind of a person are you, your strength and weaknesses like the (DISCO) which is similar to sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and meloncholic. Also, things like how to read the Bible, forgiveness, being authentic and stuff...etc.
Just things that are very dry to me personally.

Anws, skip to the part about the morning quiet times.
I just wanna share with you my experience for the morning qt.
There was one at east coast around 6.15am and one at 4am at changi beach.
For the changi beach one i didn't see the sunrise, just the gradual lightening up of the sky.
I am going to share with you my experiences at east coast park.

As i mentioned earlier, everytime i have been to east coast, even if i wake up very early, i still
won't be able to see the sunrise...so i always thought that it can only be seen at west coast park.
(funny right? all along i thought i can only see the sun rise from the west!!)
Anws, Before the sun even came out. i looked at the sky getting brighter by the minute.
Filled with several colours. Blue at the outer most, followed by green then yellow then orange and finally red.

I kinda got disappointed once again because the sky gets brighter and brighter and the sun was no where to be seen.
It just reminded me of the many times i failed to see the sunrise no matter how hard i try.
It reminded me basically, of my failures.
I gave up watching and start to read my Bible...my head was facing down and i didn't bother to look up.
Until Gao Min (one of my friend in the REAL team) called out to me to look at the sky.
I was really amazed by the orangy red sun.
I dunno how to describe. It was just amazing and i just sit there in awe of it. It was really beautiful..you all should have been there yourself.
It was a feeling like wow! and my eyes just can't get off the sun rise above the sea...(just that it was kinda small as compared to how i imagined it to be)^^

Anws, back to the main point.
What dawned upon me was, if i were to give up and walk away, not waiting for God's timing, i would have missed the sunrise.
The devil could be reminding me of all the failures i had in the past to stop me from waiting or even trying to wait and perservere.
I couldn't have seen the sun at all.
Only, if i were to wait patiently and perservere until something happens (PUSH), the rewards are definately worth watching and getting.

It just like the life that we face.
For me, alot of times because of our anxious hearts, we cannot and fail to wait for God's timing.
We want to do things on our own and do the action first then pray later.
My friend once advice me..she said, in everything you do, pray first then do not do first then pray.
Alot of times we do already then in desperate need then seek God and beg God for help.
We usually fail to see that we are to always seek God's will and timing in prayer before we do the stuff.
Only if we were to be patient in every problem we face as we hand it over to God in prayer, waiting for His timing.
Through this, then we can discover amazing products at the end.
The question is, are you willing to wait?

Some people may think that the sunrise is something so common...nothing special, esp those who get to see sunrise and sunset to often and they get so used to it.
Try to think of the sun in a different light.
What is it made of?
How come it is always on unceasing fire?
Who could have created such a huge and amazing thing?

Another thing that struck me was how amazing God can be as i watched the sky, the sea and the air inbetween. God made them to be seperated, not mixing any of them together.
It just so perfect if you can imagine it..how come these layers do not mix when in the outer space, the water can float around and mix kind of thing..

Hearing the splashing of the waves and watching the water go up and down in a repeated cycle with so many so many(billions or trillions) of creatures living within it. Some of us may not have seen these creatures before like evidently. But, we do know it is there because of TV shows and books featuring it. There are even some creatures deep deep down and we only know they exist through machines..not even human beings can get down so deep.

Just like the TV shows and books showing us the things of the unseen, the Bible works the same way.
Just like how the TV shows and books are written and created by people who have went, search and explore the oceans and seas, the Bible is written by people who have experienced God and even seen Him.
They are the witnesses of Jesus.
The question is, are we going to trust the source even if the things are unseen and untouchable by us?
How much are we going to trust?
How reliable is it?

If what we can see like the sun and the surface of the oceans is already so amazing, what more the things that we cannot see?

This camp has really made an impact in my life.
Not that it is really fun and exciting.
But that this is the only camp that taught me the essentials to life.
To be able to know yourself and relate to others,
To love like how Jesus did.
To work for the eternal life.
These can only be done through prayer, reading of God's word, fellowship and worship.
This camp is truely different and it leaves memories like no other.

Thank You Lord

My reflections and thoughts

2009-12-26T07:32:00.000-08:00

Hey hey! just wanna share with you some of the experiences and reflections i have done.
Today i went out with leng shan and eloise after baptism service and stuff and we ate sakura international buffet for dinner and i was kinda starving!
The food was not too bad...i took alot of the seafood and stuff (like that then worth it mah).
I took mainly clams, mussels, oysters, salmon sushimi, prawns..etc.
I really enjoyed the food but it was kinda ex though.

Anws, during the buffet, there is a need for people to stand up and go and take the food.
So happily, i was left alone like twice while leng shan and elo went to take food together..they love to pang sei me..
So i just continued eating..
But for the second time they left for a longer time like 10 min..
So i dunno why i start to reflect about stuff..
I started to not enjoy the food that i am eating even though i am like eating baby octopus and sambal oysters which are kinda good stuff.
And i know the reason why. Its because i am eating alone.

If you think about it. If you were to be given alot of money and alot of good food to eat but you don't have any friends or relatives to share it with.
You'll go shopping alone, eat alone..etc.
For me, i think that even if the best of the best food is placed in front of me, i may feel very happy for awhile, but without people around to share it with you, the tastest food can also become very blend and without taste.
Don't you realise that food can taste real good when you got someone who is fighting for it with you? but when you got the whole thing to yourself it is not as nice anymore?

So actually the purpose of me saying this is because i wanna encourage anyone who read this to think about the people around you. The people that you are in good terms with, whom you go out with whom you have fun, laughter and joy with.
Not forgetting the people whom you do not like talking to and being with, be it your friends or your family members.
One may be quarrelling all day with the person but one day, when it is all gone and the person leaves you, you will realise that something is missing. Something that you once hated to have becomes something that you really want to have.
So, whether it is your loved ones or the unlovables, i believe they are all gifts from God.
Each of them play a special role in your life and there is a reason for them to be there be it your choice or not.
Learn to treasure.

Another thing that struck me today was, i was talking to someone about giving up on the people around me. Giving up on the people that i care, be it prayers or anything else.
Because i just felt very tired out.
I am someone with very little perserverence and loves to run away from everything and very result oriented too. Not in terms of studies but in the spiritual sense.
Be it friends or family, it is very difficult for me to be faithful in prayer for them every single day. Difficult for me to reach out to something which i am not able to see any results in.

Let me rephrase.
Er...it is like i try to spread the gospel, try to provide encouragement and to pray for God to move and touch their hearts that He may use me and give me the strength in bring people back to Christ.
Some people, from what i see are kinda hopeless.
They just shuts themselves up from God's word. Shuts themselves up from allowing God to touch their hearts. Their hearts are hardened like rocks.
Not interested in everything that God has to tell them...not literally, but through friends or sermons if they were to go to church.
And my normal reaction is just to run away and not get involved with people whom i deemed are "hopeless" and cannot be saved because they don't care or don't wanna care.
The more i get involved, the more i get hurt and angered.

Alot of people seek God through the things of this world, one of my friend told me.
Some examples are like people having several boy and girlfriends, go drinking, clubbing, having sex and many others is because they wanna search for something more in life. Be it love, fun, enjoyment, contentment, a sense of belongingness and security. Whatever that can satisfy their heart they will go and do it.
Come to think of it, actually all these things that people are searching and looking for can actually be found in God and it is what God is and what God can give.
These things fill up the void in people's lives as people strive to find meaning and something to do in this meaningless world. They try to find it in the world be it people or doing stuff.
This is because we are made with a yearing to seek and find God and many of us try to find it in people.

Some people just wanna run away from this void that they end up hurting themselves. Doing things that they should not have done or are meaningless to do so.
They do these things to waste or to pass time away every single day.
Maybe the reason as to why they don't wanna turn to God no matter what happens is because they don't wanna get spiritual and stuff and go into any religion, or they once got hurt my the church before. Different people with different reasons and different problems.

Can you identify with these people?
Are you someone who knows people who are like this?
Just wanna encourage those people who have friends or family members who are like these to perservere no matter what happens.
The greatest power is in prayer..even though you cannot really see anything happening but continue to have the confidence that prayer works in the spiritual realms. They are weapons that defeat the devil.
With this confidence, press on in prayer for those whom you love no matter how long it takes until the point of death.
Because when there is one day where the person haven die, there is still one day of hope of salvation.
This may also apply for your christian friends as well...friends that are not living a life as a christian.
It is going to be tough and sometimes you may just feel like giving up.
But always rmb that God hasn't given up on your friend so you shouldn't too.
In every weakness, you can then see how God uses you and works through your life. Because God strength is seen in the weakness of every individual.
In every struggle, its the process of every growth.

As for those who can identify with what i have just said, why not try finding it in God and not end up going around in circles? If you never try, you will never know^^ try accepting that freely given love that God has provided just for you. He died and sacrificed, so that you may live again. Live a meaningful and purposeful life once again.

Lets press in and not give up as one body of Christ!

God bless you guys!

2012

2009-12-09T08:38:00.000-08:00

Hey hey! today i went to watch 2012 movie with my friend^^
I know it may seem kinda late to watch it since it is shown like so long ago..
But i really recommend you guys to watch it if you all have a chance to.
The effects are really great! like fantastic!
I was watching the movie and it was like WO!
After watching the movie, i reflected alot about it.

Alot of the parts of the movie show people who are selfish.
People are struggling for survival, struggling to live, running to preserve their lives!
As buildings tear apart, glass shatter and ground crumbling down.
You see people dying, getting crushed my falling and rolling objects, falling into large cracks in the ground and getting washed away by the tsunami, falling from high lvls just like ants falling down from the table.
As i watch the movie with so many so many people dying, it doesn't really make a difference whether one extra person dies or not. Every life does not seem to hold much significance.
So it really amazed me as to why God holds every person's life with so much significance when He is so huge sees all of us as ants. He knows every person's name and the no. of hairs each of us have! i mean, we don't even know the no. of hairs with have. Thats the amount of detail God looks at us individuals.

As people try to fight for their survival, many of them are at the expense of others. It caused the death of others.
There was a scene towards the end whereby the gates are closed and alot of people are not allowed to get into the ships. As they gather towards the curb, they were pushing towards the front and the people in front who are not strong enough end up falling over and dying one by one as they drop over...
The question is, "why are they pushing towards the front?" because they wanted to fight to live and not care about others.
It is a human nature to be selfish, to fight for one's own rights, one's own property, one's own freedom..etc.
When this happens esp in this competitive world, "who cares about the rest right? i happy thats all that matters."
But God=love. He is the most sacrificial person i have ever known. He is willing to die for you and i when he is not guilty of anything at all. He is willing to die for you and i even when we do not even know Him, even before we are born when He did not need to do it nor go through all these sufferings. When He could have let everyone die and go to hell (all the little ants), He chose to provide a way out. I think this act and choice is the most precious memory that anyone can have of Jesus Christ. When you say someone is selfish? Jesus is the exact opp of it.

The story goes whereby only the chosen ones get to board the ships, with only about 5 ships in total, stationed in china, it is impossible to hold everyone from all around the world.
The chosen ones are the wealthy, the smart ones, different genes to repopulate, the ones that can contribute.
Those which are poor and not as smart do not get a chance to board but just to die.
I started to think if Jesus was in the movie, he will be one of those who are poor and work in a low paid job. He would be amongst those whom are doomed and predicted to die, not having any chance of escape.
I think this is something to think about. Why would Jesus want to mix around with the poor and as the world sees are people who are "nothing"? He could have transformed into someone who is rich and powerful, probably the president.
Because He favours those who thinks they have got nothing but God. Those who needs Him and not the rich and snoty who thinks they have got every right and everything they need.
This is why, He seeks and uses those who are deemed failures and not those who are successful.

At the point of death, i saw families hugging each other, trying to fight to stay together and stay alive. Families calling one another to bid their last goodbye, to seek for forgiveness and love. I realised one thing. What the movie potrays is that family is the most important thing that anyone, even the richest or toughest guy seeks for. Even who may seem as the coldest guy has feelings and that human beings have feelings and seeks love and loves. This is what makes a human human.
I realised that the people that will stand by each other, miss each other and look out for each other even until the point of death, is your family. They are the closest to you even though some of you may not feel that way. I am not a family person too. But think about it and place your focus onto the right place.

I hope this encourages some people out there who reads my blog.

God Bless you

Growing up?

2009-11-26T07:43:00.001-08:00

It has been so super long since i every posted something because i was busy with A lvls and i have got nothing much to say..i guess i have been too involved with me and myself that sometimes i forget to see the things around me.
Oh well..today i just wanna talk about my experiences on wednesday.

Eloise invited me to be a volunteer for a day at some kinderrden because they needed helpers to take care of the children because they are having come major performance at the NUS cultural centre.
What i know is that that kindagarden got alot of branches so they got like so many so many children.
Eloise and i took care of the 3 and 4 year olds...but mostly the 3 year olds.

it started around 8.30 am and ended around 10pm..
The schedule roughly was that the children gather at the kindergarden in the morning then took the bus to NUS then have rehearsal then take the bus back and go home to sleep from 2 to 4.30 then come back at 5 to head to NUS again for the real thing from 7 to 9.30 because of the so many so many performances from ages 3 to 6.
Eloise and i only get the watch abit of the rehearsals full view..

Anws, i wanted to talk about children.
Children? to some it may be something that they really really dread hearing. they just wanna kill them kind.
To some, they just get excited when they see children.
To me, i just love them..and i am going to tell you why..

When i first entered the kindergarden, and the kids came in one by one, they were really all extremely cute! some you can tell will be super cute when they grow up, some only cute at that point of time and some not say very cute la..but most of them are just adorable.
I was a stranger to them at first and i was basically talking to myself.
Not knowing how to relate to them, what to talk about and how to go about making them feel comfortable inorder to talk to me, i just tried my very best to think in their shoes and be who i was 15 years ago.
But i failed at first. they were so so quiet and unresponsive..they just stared at me with their huge sparkling eyes.
(btw, there is this guy that i think super look like eddie if you all know him)

On the bus trip to NUS, i met the 4 years olds and i met this guy that eloise said looked like joseph, his name is kirk...all the bus trips of a total of around 60 min was just basically him and i talking..he was really open as we talked about common topics like ben 10, transformers and stuff as i thought him shadows as to how to make butterflies..etc. He was a really polite boy too!

Skipping to the rehearsals part, as i watched them practice as the song plays with their great looking costumes with many different themes for different groups of kids, the performances were messy..children are like fidgiting around, uncoordinated moves..etc. But overall, it was really very cute too as everyone clap their hands and encouraged the kids despite their failures and the many mistakes. It was good performance..
I asked the kids how was it and are they very scared? They said no..and it was very fun. They can't wait to do it again.

As i sat back and watch the whole scene, i started to think about life.
Life as in the growing up process.
Why is it that as we grow, the many expectations grow with us?
Why is it that as we grow, people demand for more perfection?
Does that mean that as we grow, mistakes should get lesser?
Does it mean that as we grow, mistakes cannot be made and it will just disappear?
Shouldn't performances be something that is fun and exciting? of course i know we must show the results...but at the end of the day what is the thing that lasts? the medal? or the experience?

As i see how anxious and proud the so many parents can be when they pick their kids up,
i started to compare..what will happen in 10 years time for them?
will the parents still treat them the same?
This, really saddens me.

As time passes and i had to help the kids to open their food and bringing them to the toilet and helping them do their businesses and change their clothes, these started to pay off a little by a little.
They started to open up to me.
I started to teach them a new game and played with them, talked to them, read to them..etc while waiting for the bus to come.
They started to come to me for help and shared with me issues like who bully who and who push who kind of thing.
The amazing thing was that they can be angry with each other, showing their faces of anger and guilt, but the next moment they can be ok and happy with one another again.

This point really touches me because the world of children reall differs from the world of the adults.
Not only are the issues different, the people also get changed and get shaped because of age.
I dunno whether you can call it a good thing or not.
We tend to conceal our feelings. We can show that we are good friends with the other party but actually we dislike them deep inside.
Sometimes i do feel that we are like hypocrates.
We always try to only show our happy and good side even if we are angry and sad.
I have no idea why..don't normal human beings have feelings?
I guess it may be due to pride and face.

In the children's world, even when the adults scold them and they got scared by them, or any random kid dislike any of the teachers for example, I realise that once that teacher or the adults treat them nicely and better, they will do the same.
I think this is something that all of us have to learn from.
Some may argue that this is because the kids forgot about the incident.
But i choose to believe that they forgave the person who wronged them very easily and do not hold any grudges.
Don't you think this is just amazing?

I dunno why i started to relate to the kids to old people too...
These two groups of people are people who require the most concern and help.
Why?
Because they are the most vulnerable ones and get cheated very easily especially in the complexity of the world as some might say.
The children are unable to take care of themselves and do basic activities and stuff like peeing, helping them to climb the stairs and stuff..

Oh! The one thing that i saw was that the kids were holding the hands of their friends...they do not bother whether he/she is a guy or a girl..and i thought it was really very cute because they were all so happy to be with their friends..as they try to cheer those who are crying and unhappy up, trying to stand up for the right thing and to prevent their friends from getting bullied..

But as we grow up, all these things starts to blur...

And i myself get into this confusion...

The world of children is just so clear cut and simple.

Even though they might be living in the same world as all of us, they are also living in another world. In their very own little world.

You may think this is just being unrealistic and childish..but i think, the world of children is just amazing.

I guess thats why Jesus loved the little children too.

Someone once told me, "life is complicated."

But i still believe that life is simple. Only if you believe it to be so..because, you once lived a simple and happy life.

God loves you

Death

2009-10-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought about death before?
Death is an issue that is often avoided by many...whenever death is concerned, people will be uncomfortable talking about it.
Death is also can issue that is usually talked about by the elderly, the old, the sick..etc.
You do not really see the young who appear energetic and vibrant talking about death.
Don't you think it is kind of weird as to why people do not talk about it when everyone will get to experience death sooner or later?
Why is it so?
Death is something that is unknown, hidden..
There are several reasons as to why people do not want to die that i currently observe.
1. They have unfinished business..whether it is with regards to family, friends, carrier, education, sports or anything that one desires to complete but is not completed.
2. They are afraid of what comes after death...(who knows? unless one experiences it rite?)
3. They do not want to leave the things and people that they currently have and own eg. money.
4. They just don't want their life to end so quickly.

People always say, "i am too young to die!"
What i can say is, no one is too young to die.
When death comes our way, even science cannot stop it..
Anyone can die anytime...you do not really know or predict when one will die right?
It comes like a rushing wind..
There was a song that goes, "i am, a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tmr, a wave tossed in the ocean, a vapour in the wind."
This song shows how short our life is and how quickly it will come to past.
It also shows the fragility of life.

You must be wondering how come i suddenly talked about death..
These few days, i have been asking God to speak to me, cause i really want to hear from Him..it just feels kinda weird that everything i do, i do it without asking Him nor waiting for His reply..i felt that the things that i say, do not really have the essence of God within it.
What i didn't realise is that God always spoke to me..and today it all started to make sense.

I was rushing for the class party today and i was already quite late...
As i was walking to my house busstop, i saw the bus...so my first reaction was to run to the next busstop..and so, i crossed the road without the traffic light.
The many cars stopped because of the traffic light and i started to run across..i didn't see a motorbike travelling in the midst of the cars and it almost ran over me..
It was kinda fast and if i were to take a step further and faster, i would have been in the hospital already..
Quite scary rite?
But what amazed me was my own reaction...i wasn't even a tiny bit scared..
i just retreated then ran forward again..
I was telling my two other friends that it felt as if i was ready to go..
Because i had previous incidents with cars almost banging me down in the past i got really scared and tramatized..it was different this time..very different.

I started to think about death..
And i recalled about the news of people dying all over the world because of all the natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunami, floods..etc.
It is really getting increasingly prevalent that every week there is at least 1 natural disaster killing thousands.
I also started to think about what me and my friends were talking about this week..

I started off telling one of my classmate, "i think i going to have a stroke soon.."
she said, "why?"
I continued.."cause my eyebrown has been twitching non-stop for like a week already..and everytime i do my work then it gets very irritating..it was as if my heartbeat transferred to my eye brown through the veins..so i felt the heartbeat in my eye browns.."
She laughed and laughed..haha^^
Then she shared it will with rest of the people...then they all laugh..
When my other friend heard this, she started talking about someone she know collapsed and fainted during a bbq or something..then she got up and said she was fine and she continued mixing around and laughing and the moment she got back home after the bbq, she died.
She died because she got a stroke..and she didn't know..

Don't you think it is really sudden? who knows what is going to happen tmr?
So live your days to the fullest.
I was reading a small book on the bus just now..
And it also talks about death.

It talks about us being made to last forever...
That "This life is preperation for the next."
You have probably heard this like 1 million times..but i still wanna share^^
While life on earth offers many choices, eternity offers only 2 choices: heaven or hell."
Your relationship with God on earth will determine your relationship to him in eternity.
The Bible says, "God has planted eternity in the human heart."
You have an inborn instinct that longs for immorality. God designed you, in his image, to live for eternity.
So, even though we know that everyone eventually dies, death always seems unnatural and unfair.
When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realise that life is just a preparation for eternity, you will begin to live differently on a daily basis.
like in every situation, circumstance, decisions..you won't really mind and care about the small little petty things anymore..
You will realise that the clothes you wear, what you have will not last..what will last is your relationships with people and how you act.
Every act of our lives strikes some chord that will vibrate in eternity.
The most damaging aspect of contemporary living is short-term thinking...

Another analogy is your life here is like the nine months that you spent in your mother's womb were not an end in themselves but preparation for life.
Your time here won't be the last of you..
When you die, it will be like your birthday into eternal life.

My geog teacher said something today to motivate us for our A lvls..
She said, "you only have 30 more days to A lvls.."
We said, "but we choose to live in denial."
She said, "But the A lvls will still come, so you just have to embrace it."

Its just like death..if you choose to ignore it and live the days of your life as if you got forever, think again.

Years ago, a popular slogan encouraged people to live each day as "the first day of the rest of your life."
Actually, it would be wiser to live each day as if it were the last day of your life. It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day."

God bless you guys!

A run amongst the terrace houses

2009-09-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

I never liked running...
I find it mentally and physically draining..
I like to do all kinds of sports besides running.
But i realised that sometimes i need to do so...
running is one of the only sports that one can do alone.
I run whenever i feel upset about something and i really needed to release it out..

This has been the second time in my life that i ran...alone.
Why? i just felt really upset, frustrated and confused with my feelings..
As i was running today, i was searching for something, a sign, anything from God.
I just needed a word of comfort from Him.
I wanted Him to speak to me.

I searched really hard, running uphill, down hill, looking up at the sky and everything..only to hear fierce dogs barking at me..
I reached a deserted playground and i sat on the swing, breathless, trying to catch my breath and tasting what i had enjoyed in the past when i was a little girl and the current me.

Going back to a few days ago, i was at my house downstairs waiting for the lift to arrive.
I saw 2 maids and 3 children.
One of the little tiny boy was really very very cute.
he just give the innocent smile and by the shirt he was wearing, he was from "apple tree" a nursery.
There were 2 other girls beside him..they were sitting on a table.

I started to think when i entered the lift, how beautiful the world is to this little boy..
everywhere is just filled with raindows and lots of fun!
Why is it that as we grow, we start to see a world of bleakness?
Why is it that as we grow, our "rainbow world" starts to fade away?
Is it due to human complexity or the so called maturity?
"can innocence and complexity coexist?"
i think they can.
Because it depends very much on how one thinks.
It is just like the little boy and adults. they all live in the same world and see the same things...but they in a way "see" the things differently too..
Thats why i love kids. I love their innocence and happiness which also affects how others around feel. i wanna be like them.

Coming back to the running part.
As i was swinging on the swing and looking at the scenery around me, i realised that if i stretched out my legs straight, the swing will continue to swing back and forth.
The only thing is that i have to make the effort and perservere putting my legs straight for a long period of time.
And finally, i got too tired, i dropped my legs and soon after, the swing stopped moving.
I started to think (i dunno whether it is from the Holy Spirit or not) but i start to relate it to church.
If i continue to perservere on just like me keeping my legs straight, the swing will continue to swing. But if i choose to give up just like that, there will be no chance of it moving anymore, just like my spiritual walk with God.
the message here is, don't give up..don't give up nicole.

I stood up from the swing and turned around, i saw 2 very old couple exercising together..they were like smiling and stuff..i think they are like in their 80s already with pure white hair..
It really comforted me because it showed me that there is actually hope in marriages..
Why i think that way?
I think it is because what i see in this world today is broken marriages of all religions..
divorse rates shooting high up.

There was something else that noticed.
It was the London kind of the telephone booth! (the red one)
i thought there was a phone in there...
As i walk towards it excitedly, and peeked into it, what i saw was nothing.
then i walked away and started running again..
when i ran up the hill, i saw another of the same thing like amongst the houses..
i was very happy at first.
But when i peeked into it, i saw nothing again.
the message that i thought of is, "what appears to be, may not be what it is."
and i thought about other churches this time.
No matter how good i think the other churches are, it may not be what i think it is.

It has been a very interesting run as long as you go with an open heart and mind, searching for stuff to look into and think about, God speaks. (you just got to know how to desifer them)^^

God bless you guys.

A story

2009-09-06T07:09:00.000-07:00

Hey hey...i know that it has really been a super long time since i ever posted a post and i guess maybe this blog is like forgotten already..haha.

Many things have happened and i don reall wish to talk about it..too complicated to type it out..

The reason why i wanted to blog today is that i wanted to share with you all a little story that i read from "chicken soup for the christian soul 2" a book that i borrowed from the library and leng shan introduced it to me de.

This story struck me when i was doing my qt and prayed for God to speak to me..and i randomly flipped a page..and this was the story: "IN GOOD HANDS"

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanted anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

The phone rang early. Hal, my husband, answered it before it rang again.

"Yes?" he said. "Oh...i see." By the tone of his voice i knew it was the phone call we'd expected and dreaded.

We'd watched Hal's father. Harold, grow weaker since his heart attack in January. Dad's bypass surgery eight years earlier had given us far more than the five years doctors had promised. Then Dad experienced several smaller heart attacks. His lungs began filling with fluid. Doctors had reached the end of what they could do for him in the hospital and transferred him to an extended care facility.

With his needs beyond what care we could give and because he lived an hour and a half away, the most we could do was visit him as often as possible. Since we couldn't help him physically, the best care we could give was to care for his soul.

Hal and I had become Christians 15 years earlier, and we wanted to share our faith with his family. His mother, Grace, had taken Hal and his brothers to church when they were young, but his father never went. Grace quit attending after Dad's first heart attack. Did she stay home to make sure Dad was okay after his quaduple bypass? Or had his heart attack shaken her faith? I didn't know.

'Give us an opportunity to tell Dad about you, I prayed to Jesus. He must decide whether he will take you as his Saviour, but please don't let him die without a clear opportunity to respond to you.' I had prayed similar prayers for years, but when Dad became sick my urgency increased.

Hal hang up the phone. "Dad died at 3.30 this morn."

'Lord,' i prayed silently, 'did he have the opportunity i asked for?'

Hal and I had both looked for that opportunity to tell Dad about Jesus, but we saw none. With each visit, Dad seemed less willing to talk to us at all. He just stared at the tv. When we tried to start a convo, he pressed the "up" button on the volume control. The more we tried, the more he increased the volume. The urgency i felt inside increased as well.

We asked a hospital chaplain to visit Dad. He did. We asked our pastor to visit. He made the trip. A pastor from Mom's church visited too, but the result was always the same. Up, up went the volume on the TV. I didn't know what else to do but pray.

And now Dad was gone.

According to my fauth, those who accept Jesus christ as saviour are ensured an eternity in heaven with Him. However, those who refuse this gift of salvation spend eternity seperated from God. I still hoped somehow God had answered my prayer and had helped Dad understand, but had He? I didn't know...

We buried Dad in the veteran of the World war 2 herself, made her own final arrangements at the same time but non of us knew how soon she would need them.

The week after Dad's funeral, she started showing signs of illness. One day, a neighbour found her on the floor, incoherent. Doctors diagnosed Mom with a cancerous tumor in her stomach plus lymphoma.
She was hospitalised and we resumed the endless trips to visit.

Mom was too weak to live alone, and her sons discussed their options, each offering to care for her.
But it became clear her needs exceeded what any of us could give. The best we could do as her caregivers was to let professionals help.
She moved into an extended care facility. The chemo began having small strokes, then a major stroke. And there we were, the week of Christmas, laying Grace to rest beside her husband.
We invited everyone to gather at our home that Christmas. As we quietly celebrated the birth of Jesus, I not only wondered about Harold, I also wondered if Grace had a true understanding of Jesus Christ. How I wished I knew.

The new year dawned, and we all felt emotionally and physically drained.
Nevertheless, the work of dealing with Harold and Grace's estate lay before us.
Each of us sorted, separated, donated, gave away or sold their belongings. We fixed up their home for sale, painting inside and out.
Finally, 6 months later, Hal and I set the few remaining items in the driveway for one last garage sale.

Neighbors, Christine and Alfonso, stopped by.
"you know, we visited your dad in the nursing home," Alfonso told us.
"No, we didn't know that," Hal said.
"one afternoon i told Christine, 'We need to go see Harold.' We went right then. When i walked into his room," Alfonso said," his face lit up! He was so happy to see us. So i just started telling him about Jesus."
"Really?" Hal asked, glancing at me.
"your dad said he wasn't ready to go," Alfonso said."I told him, 'I'm not saying that you're going to die, but we all need to be ready.' I explained to him about Jesus and then asked if he'd like to ask Jesus to be his Saviour. He began to weep and said yes, so i led him in a prayer."

"We had no idea! when did this happen?" I asked, incredulously.
"Well," Alfonso thought for a moment, "he died early the next morning."
"I prayed with your mother too." christine added.
"When the ambulance came for your dad, i stayed with her. I asked her if she was sure she'd go to heaven when she died and she said no, so i prayed with her so she could be sure."

"Your parents are in heaven," Alfonso declared.
I know.

Thats the end of this story...
And i really do hope that you will get touched by this story and just continue to pray for those who are unsaved..
You will never know, maybe right before they die, they will get saved?
Maybe God will send one of His servants to share with them about the gospel?

What i learnt is, only until the day they die, there is still hope.

God bless you always ^^

Love for the lost

2009-07-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

I just wanna share with you how God spoke to me in my times of despair and it is really just amazing..and i think what i am going to share today will be applicable to everyone...so read on k! If you all really very lazy then just read the blue coloured words^^

This whole week of school is really hectic because i experienced the things that i didn't experience before..
Those of you who have my msn, i ever typed this on my personal message, "i am losing something that i had before..."
And that something is COMPASSION and LOVE for the people.

I have no idea why, but i seem to have lost this love for the people and the desire to want them to get saved and it became very real to me last week till this week. (Starting from mon it became worst)
My ability to love my classmates and the push to sharing the gospel and be sensitive to the spirit, trying to grasp every opportunity that i have to share the gospel and just really have this burden for their salvation in my heart. To feel what God feels, to grieve for what God grieves for..
Thoughts like "ai ya..i try so hard already, they all already know the gospel, no point in repeating the same old thing."
I seem to be comprimising to them and do not really emphasize so much on the words and language they use.
My passion for God and doing the work for God just subsided because i felt so discouraged.
I felt as though i try so so hard but i don see God moving at all..i don see the changes, i just don't see even a slightest bit if change...
I start to interceed in prayer for my father, extended family and friends for the sake of interceeding but the hope and conviction that they are going to saved when i pray disappeared though time..

The amazing thing was that, it was only this mon that i brought it up and told the rest in the prayer group in CJ morn meetings and fasting from break periods because i felt like there is a need to share...
They gave me the usual encouragements and stuff..i agree to what they say..but there was not much of a change actually..
Also, I realised that there are so many other christians out there, in churches who do not love nor feel the burden at all...and I felt really sad and helpless as i dunno how to help and support them...
God spoke to me through the 40 day fasting booklet because this whole week was basically talking about being intercessors and showing how jeremiah suffered for God and about just telling and proclaiming God's word to the world. And everyday, God will just speak to me through christian friends and His word..

And today, CJ prayer group did campus evangelism.

At first i really didn't feel like going...but i was reminded of the song i sang in the morn during the prayer group session. It is called "For the Lost" i think and the first stanza goes "In prayer we will seek your will. As we turn from sin. And though it cost us much, We'll give you all we've got. For the fields are white for harvest, Souls to be won for Jesus."

Because of that, i went ahead.

Summarising the things that happened as i went forth to the canteen with people from the prayer group 2-3 people, i just got really angry and pissed off..

Out of the 2 hours of campus e, we used the 1 hour to evangelise to a total of 4 people (2 claim to be christians) and for the other 1 hour the 2 other people whom i went with, try to comfort, encourage and calm me down. They really spoke their mind and told me straight that i shouldn't get angry with them and stuff..

The reason why i got so angry was because the christians claim themselves to be christians, but when i invited them for prayer group they didn't want to come..cause they say too busy and stuff..everyone that we shared to kept on asking us intellectual questions..questions like, "how do you know that your God is real? How do you know that your God is the real and true God when there are like so many other God's around? Who knows? maybe Ala is the real one lei? it is just your own personal belief. Maybe all the historical proof are fake? it is just blind faith!"

I get so so heated up, i really wanted to start a debate on it..i really wanted to show them that the Bible can actually be proven to be right. But at the end, thank God my other prayer group members stopped me in time..

Then i went for cell at night..and we went for some "light up" prayer and service meeting thing organised by hwa chong every year and it was held at bukit timah shopping centre...

I didn't know what it really was so i just went ahead with the other cell people..

And this is the thingy that i wanted to encourage you all with..it was the sermon that i heard and God really spoke to me personally through it.

It was about "The Great Commission" = matthew chap 28 verse 19. "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."

Especially in JCs and polys, there will be many who will try to prove that God does not exist, there will be many that try to beat us christians up intellectually..

And for me, i will usually be the one who try to convince them, reason with them and try to win their arguments and debates about God.

But actually ALL that we need is to love them and bless them.

There was this blessings campaign going around where by, people will go up to random strangers to pray for them just to show them that God loves and cares for them.

And the pastor shared that there was this engineering guy, he held on to the notion that he is the pastor of his workplace and thus went to pray for 1 colleage a day.. and by the end of the campaign, there were 14 colleages queuing up and asking him to pray for them and some even converted to christians..

If we use the intellectual stuff to convince them and argue with them, it is just like taking the Bible and hitting them on the head, making them not wanting to talk to you again, about God especially..so what if you win the argument? They wanna argue because they cannot see. They cannot see the God that you claim to have..they cannot see the things that are said in the Bible.

By loving and blessing them and when they experience God's love and stuff, they can see the real things happening..not only in their lives, but yours.

They are looking at how you present yourself as a christian, a child of God.

Are you willing to offer yourselves to show others that you care?

Offer yourselves to show others that God loves them?

Will you be the first to pray for them with they face certain problems in school, be it studies or falling sick? If you ask them whether they want you to pray for them, and they feel very uncertain, can just say, "you got nothing to lose what, if it works then good for you..if it doesn't work, it isn't going to cost you anything mah." But if they don't want then you don push it on further ler..

Will they feel comfortable confiding in you?

How about all the other people that are considered the outcast? People that drink or smoke? People that join gangs and take drugs?

Many will say, "oh...i don want to go and talk and mix with them, i want to maintain my holiness lvl."

But think about it, if you don't do it, who will? the other non-christians?

One of the difficulties that we face while sharing the gospel in school is that when we try to invite people to go to church, they always don't want to go.

So instead of bringing the people to church, you can bring the church to the school.

Some people will really go all out and to large extents just to evangelise. But actually when you can do is just right in front of you. We are called to love and bless people.

Always ask yourself, what makes me so different by the way we live our lives from the rest of the people?

Is it just a name?

The love of Jesus Christ goes beyond theology or whether your friend can speak tongues.

Someone once said, "if you really have experience with Jesus christ, how can you not share it?" cause it should be something real amazing and outpouring.

Prayer is really important.

God gives us something called prayer so that our prayers can move the heavens and touch God.

1 Peter chap 2 verse 9, "But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."

We are called to be pastors in our school, our homes and even in our workplace.

As long as we pray and seek God, we are able to change the whole spiritual atmosphere in school/ workplace. Lets have unity in Christ. Let us take courage to be different. (in a Christ-like way)

As long as you are sincere and true to yourself about what you really want God to change you or to help you, God will speak. Just like how God speaks to me, as you yearn, wait and be sensitive, God will speak and transform you today^^

There is a verse that i want to share..1 Peter chap 3 verse 1 "....Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives."

God loves and never rejects your sincere heart.

A trip to the beach

2009-07-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought about how amazing is that someone who created so many things that you see on earth?
The trees,
the ocean, the many different colours and variety of animals and plants?
Ain't they unique?

Today i wanna talk about a trip to sentosa...
I went there with ah gong (zhong han), leng shan, ling zhi, david choo and jasmine.
We were supposed to watch some jazz musical thingy..but at the end, i wasn't very interested and ah gong, ls and i went to walk at the beach..
It was quite late like 9 plus and we just layed on the beach and look at the sky, sea, stars and to feel the wind and hear the ocean...
I think it really feels great to get intuned with nature..
Just amazing.

It was my first time lying on the sand bed.
I grabbed the sand and i thought about where it came from..it came from disintegrated rocks from all around singapore and many other countries..
I thought about how we are like the sand..the world consists of many thousand, millions, billions, trillions of people since the beginning of time..
And each grain of sand represents each of us..
All of us are unique and special just like how no two grains of sand are the same.
we are like so puni and insignificant just like, who will take notice of a single grain of sand right?
cause it is like 1 grain of you amongst the so many other people out there..
Thats why i really thank God cause even God, the greatest and most significant being of all cares about this grain of sand and He loves us without any condition..
He loves us just because we are a grain of sand..it is that simple and it depends on us whether we want to accept this love..because no relationship can be established if it is only a one way thing.

I started to think about death..
Ask you, how many of you will actually look at the newspaper page of who died and stuff?
everyday, someone dies...but who will actually care?
Maybe the person's family la...but that is all right?
But there is a God out there who cares about every single soul and He cares even more about where are we going to spend our eternal lives in.
Thats why He chose to suffer and die for us.

I think alot of us get so so caught up with life that we forgot and miss out on some of the things in life..
We miss out on how to appreciate nature and nature itself.
The things we have to do are like always there like forever..it is never ending!
Only when we learn to take sometime out to enjoy and appreciate the fundamentals around us and not get so caught up with wanting and chasing life itself, will we get to enjoy simple joys.
Zhong Han added on to my thought.
he said that he will never forget to enjoy nature because he love nature and it is already part of him..
I believe it is the same as our christian walk and out relationship with God.
We always sing songs praising God and declaring that we love Him and stuff..
But as Zhong Han says..if we love something, we will take it as part of us and we will always no matter how busy we are, find time to appreciate Him and to talk to Him, seek His opinion and stuff..because He is part of us if we are truely His children...

I believe that all these things that we usually forget are things and experiences are we always miss out. And usually they are the most valuable ones.
So take some time out just appreciate the simple and most fundamental things in life today!

God loves you!

TRANSFORMERS

2009-06-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

Have you watched transformers 2, the movie?
I thought that it was not a bad show and i asked like quite a few ppl!
some said it was worth watching, some said it was boring, some said it was too long...etc..
But there was something that the male lead said and i got really inspired^^

You know the ending part whereby the guy went to the location of his brain signals at the pyramid there...
Then rite, he saw the key amongst all the robots?
The key to save optimus prime?
He found hope and when he took it, it turned into dust because it had been there for such a long long time..
The people who followed him there, they all said it was over and gave up..
But he collected the dust in his socks.
The rest asked him what he was doing and why he had to do collect these dust cause it is like of no use anymore..
He said, "because i believe." "there must be a reason for us coming here, there must be a reason for everything that had happened!"

After he said that, i was reminded of one particular friend..
She said that she do not believe in prayers because i tried to pray for her in her times of despair and she told me it doesn't work at all..
i was kinda shocked..because i thought like in times of helplessness and despair, these are times whereby ppl turn towards God.
She is like those ppl that followed the guy in transformers to the place..they lost hope.

But i believe that everything begins with one word. "BELIEVE"
just like the transformer guy.
It is because he first believed that he saved the entire world from the bad robots..

I believe it is the same regarding our faith in God..
It really all begins with a believe that brings us closer..
it all begins with a believe that miracles can actually occur..
it all begins with a believe that prayer works thats why we pray..
it all begins with a believe that God exist in the first place^^
And i am sure the ending for us will be much better than the transformer's ending.

So think about what you really believe in today!
And hold strong to this believe.
Because only when you believe, the unbelievable can happen.

God loves you

God loves FOREVER!

2009-06-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

Hey ppl!! yesterday and today i went for church and i sang the song, "Forever"
I didn't really like the song..dunno why..and ths caused me to focus on it even more today..
the song has a line that is repeated over and over again..."His love endures forever.."
Today, i wanna focus on the word "forever"

How many of you have experienced and know that people around you who loves you are willing to die for you?
And i mean really die for you?
Or, are you willing to die for someone?
I think for me personally, it is a very tough and difficult decision to make..and one must really really LOVE that person before he/she can die for him/her.
And this LOVE have to exceed and go beyond the LOVE for oneself..which goes against the selfish human nature.

Things change, people change, scenery change, your environment change...etc.
They grow and die as the day passes..
Nothing is everlasting, don't you think?
There is nothing on this earth that lasts forever and is stagnant.

As i was singing that song, i really appreciated God alot...
Like, He is the only one who doesn't change, who is everlasting, who provides promises and never fails.
Don't you think it is amazing cause He can go against all the nature of change?

I was reminded of economics..and there was one chapter about exchange rate..
If one country's currency keep fluctuating throughout the year, up and down, it will create the problem of uncertainty and it inturn affects the amount of investments that are going to come in..be it long term or short term.
This is because the investors will be very scared and cannot trust that the country can make funds because of its instability..

Same for relationships..
If your friend keep on changing in character like throughout the year or in a few years, do you think your friendship can still withstand and be maintained?

Thats why i hold trust and faith in something that is never changing and can last forever, because it is firm and stable..
And that is Jesus Christ.
Besides, He loves us so so much, more than Himself as a God that He is willing to suffer and die just for you and I. Because God thinks that we deserve it.
Bet you all heard this like many many thousand times already..But i still wanna emphasize on the fact that He died for you, shouldn't you love Him back the same way?

I mean, if someone, anyone, is willing to die just for you, won't you get touched?
This is sacrificial love.
And what i found out was, Jesus is the only God that is willing to do so just to save us..

There was another thought that i had while i was listening to the sermon for the second time..
Joel was preaching and he talked about facebook...he said something like "if you are transformed from the inside, it will show it on the outside..", "out of the outflow of your heart, your mouth speaks." and "when is the last time you ever talked about God or even mentioned his name? what was your last update on facebook?"

I was reminded of something and i really want to ask you all this..
Do you pass by something, anything whether it is a shop, an item..etc, with the word "Jesus christ / God" on it and not feel anything?
Do you feel anything at all?
What i mean is, do you feel a sense of excitment and it really attracts you to go and look at it closer, even more..
Or will you just not feel anything but just walk past without bothering to look at it...

This shows how much you really love God and how much He really means to you and where you placed Him in your life..
Are you taking God for granted...thinking that He is just there for me to call when i need help and He will help..
Reflect upon this.

It is never too late to pray for a transformation to happen in your life today!
God will be more than happy to change you from the inside out.
Just remember two simple things you must do..
START PRAYING + BELIEVE..
If you don't start you never will..
If you don't believe then there is no point of praying.

GOD LOVES YOU ESPECIALLY!!

For who He is!

2009-06-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

Here is the retreat theme song=) "for who you are"
Standing here in Your presence
Thinking of the good things You have done
Waiting here patiently
Just to hear Your still small voice again

Holy
righteous
faithful to the end
Saviour
healer
redeemer and friend

CHORUS I will worship You for who You are
I will worship You for who You are
I will worship You for who You are Jesus

BRIDGE My soul secure,
Your promise sure
Your love endures
always

My soul secure,
Your promise sure
Your love endures
always

Before retreat and during retreat my church sang this song many many times during worship..
I have been thinking about what it really means to say that "i will worship You for who you are."
whenever i sing the song..

In my point of view, i feel that to worship God for who He is is not easy...
Why?
Cause usually i will fall into the trap of worshipping God for what He can do, or what He does and not who He is.
Like many times, we only praise God and like rejoice in His name whenever we encounter something amazing that happens...or when God touches our lives, or when we pray for something and it came true!
When something just don't go the way we want them to and think it is right, we may blame God or just stop worshipping and claiming victory in His name...
i realised all these through several experiences that i have with God..
I don't blame Him, but i also don't thank Him..

Worhipping God for who He is means to put aside everything that He can do, the blessings that He can give to us..
It means to just rejoice in every situation we are in because our God is in control and He is so much bigger and more powerful..
It means to know Him better through the Bible so that we know exactly who He is..

Have you ever get treasured for who you are and not what you can do?
everyone can admire someone who is all talented in every area, the most popular, the cleverest..etc. (all these 'love' can be easily seen from the world) -everyone try to prove one another as to who is better and stuff..
However, would you rather someone loving you for who you are on the inside and not what you can do?
The measurement here is on the inside of ppl not on the outside.
And God is looking for that kind of love from us..
And this differentiates us from the other people of another religions (they worship their gods to ask for the things they want and need)

We must recognise that God deserves this kind of true love from us.
Because He is God.

Are you willing to worship Him for who He is today?

God loves you for who you are

Servant? God? huh? no link.

2009-06-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

I wanna blog something first before i go for church retret next week!! yay!!
Yupps=)
You know i went for judo camp for 1 day today (supposed to be 3 days but i got things on)..but today was the most intensive...i came for training from 9am to 8.30 pm...
during the training camp i really felt like i was going to die anytime..i was like gasping for air and screaming to God for help..
This is the first judo prac that i cried so so much..over and over again..(not that i want to) but i shan't go into the details..
What i wanna talk about today is the lessons and things that i learnt from this whole day as the Holy spirit speaks to me..

Because we were having lunch at the canteen and i was like sitting with the other seniors (all guys) and the girl coach (who takes care of this whole camp) and after lunch, we stayed at the table just to talk to the seniors and stuff...
Therefore, there were only me and my partner (xing yun) who were the only j2s left there because the rest went up to the classroom to rest..
And the other male coach told me and xy to clear all the rubbish because we were the only ones left..i was like huh?
the male coach said "unless you wanna ask the seniors and the female coach along to clear the rubbish also."
The seniors's reply was, "no no you all should go and clear."
I said," but we clear together issn't it better cause then we will have unity!"
they didn't want and the male coach added on saying, "but there is only 1 big trash bag for you to clear only"
so, at the end, my and xy had to clear it..

I understand that they may want us to toughen up and be responsible and stuff...
But i was really reminded of Jesus Christ..
Ask you, who in the right mind will be willing to step down to a position so much lower than the position that you are presently in?
Lets say for example...would a director of a company or a ceo be willing to suffer a lack of money and become a begger on the streets?
No one in the right mind will do that right?
It is just like a seniors..they are also unwilling to step down from their senior status to help us..

However, there is one person that loves us so so much that he would even do such a foolish act of just stepping down..
And it is not just stepping down to a lower position, but to a lower of the lowest position..
Jesus christ who is the king in heaven, so big and majestic, so boundless, so amazing and had so many angels serving Him and stuff, why would He want to come down to this earth and to limit Himself as a small, fragile human being (somemore, human beings are part of His creation)...
I mean like, if it was me, i would want to reign over everything what..

And Jesus didn't just come down as a human being on earth to enjoy His life and stuff, He came down to endure all the sufferings of mankind. He came to get humiliated by His own creation, laughed at, hit, tortured physically like real badly just for us!
Shouldn't we repay back the amount of love He has for us?

There was once during cell, someone commented, "But Jesus is God and He knows that He will rise from the dead like after 3 days, so it is kinda unfair don't you think?"
Su hui jie (one of the leaders) told us, "it wasn't even fair for Him to come down to suffer even for 1 day and get tortured by us. was it even fair?"

When i was studying for GP midyears and i read about death penalty and stuff...there was one article that says, "it is not morally right for anyone to stand in for a guilty person even though she/he is willing to do it."
Jesus christ is willing to do it, He carried the sins of all of the world just to provide a way of salvation for us!" Isn't it amazing?

There was another thing that i thought about during the training..
because during the training, i saw the seniors and stuff just sitting around...and what some of them did was that they just tell us.."eh! hurry up leh!, do faster, turn in more!, do properly leh!"
These are some of the comments that they made..and we were all super duper shag like really going to die and in pain kind of feeling..
people started telling me about how one of the seniors think it was so easy to do the pt in the morn because they didn't do what my other cca members did early in the morn ( i wasn't there)

This brought me to think about things like....if they have never been through it, how would they know?
They think it is so easy but it is actually so tiring and difficult, not that we didn't put in effort and stuff in doing it..
it is so easy for them to make all the comments when they ain't the ones suffering and training..
If those who train with us and give the comments then i have got nothing to say la..but..
I started to think about God..
think about how God knows how we are feeling exactly, and the several sufferings we face in life because He has been through it?
Because He has came down to earth to suffer in a more extreme manner gives Him the right to tell us what to do and not to do..
He also has the authority to do so because He created us!

But, he didn't exert His authority over us.
He treated us with love that no other human beings could have..
Just like how many other seniors and the guy coach cared for our welfare (which is really very touching especially in the times of need), God cared for us much much more^^

We only have to respond to this love that is free and available...(it really takes 2 hands to clap)
Are you willing to accept this love that He has for you?
Are you willing to run back to the cross?

GOd loves you!

Surrender

2009-05-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry..haven been blogging..cause i have been very busy with school and stuff..
Sometime in this week i felt spiritually drained..
I dunno why but i felt this sense of emptiness in my heart and i couldn't really feel God talking to me anymore...
I do not feel the compassion for the people around me, i started to feel like this passion is not there...
I felt this need and yearning for more of God because i seemed to have lost Him..
I started to pray about discernment from His voice and mine and the many others..
I started to pray for God to speak to me like the past, through songs, friends and the Bible...
I realised that life without God even if it were just a short moment was not a good thing..and i really cannot live without Him..
And finally, today, God spoke alot of things to me..

I have been asking questions on surrendering and placing everything to His control..
Have you ever asked questions as to how to surrender?
What it means whenever you say you surrender everything to God?
i mean like you can say you surrender everything and put everything into His control but still worry about it..eg. exams..
So how exactly do you know that you are surrendering?
By feelings?
How can you tell how much you are actually surrendering to God?

I have been praying about it for a week and...
As i was listening to the song "completely" this morn on the way to school for exams, there was this line that i heard was so distinctively different from the rest...the line was, "take my heart, take my soul, i surrender everything to your control..."
God spoke to me and i realised that surrender really depends on how much trust you put in that person..
And when you surrender, you will really rejoice in any outcome as you know that God is always in control...
Whether good or bad results and outcome, you will rejoice in Him..
And only when you do that, you can say that you have surrendered everything to His control...
So i would like to encourage you all that no matter what may happen in life, no matter what situations, problems and circumstances that you are currently facing now, learn to surrender...it is not easy but only when you learn to do that, you can truely walk in the will of God..
What i know is that the characters in the Bible like paul and many others, they chose to rejoice even at the worst circumstance. They chose to sing praises to God even though they were going to get persecuted..
So, ultimately it depends on the choice you make^^

Another incident was also on the bus this morn..
I was listening to christian songs as usual and the volume was like just right, not too loud and not to soft..
Then there was this guy that sat next to me...
He had his earpiece on..
and the amazing thing was tat i can hear his music loud and clear!! and every single bit, every single tune..
so it is like his music is so loud that it can penetrate through his ear piece, through the air and through my ear piece into my ear!
amazing right? i was kinda amazed also...
And suddenly, it dawned upon me that this is especially true in the real world..

I dunno why but last sat when i went for the church's revival service, i really didn't want to go back to school cause i know i will face the many challenges and temptations once again from the people that i come into contact with in school..
I really just hope i can remain safe in the church forever..
I started to realise that when we are alone, we are like listening to christian music by ourselves like at home or in a quiet place..it is loud and clear..
But once we step out into the world, all these music is interupted and mixed with many other sounds and the words of the music becomes blurred and almost inaudible..
It is just like how we as christians try and struggle to live our lives as children of God when others are not..
Sometimes, it is just very hard to stay on focus and keep yourself in track, you seem to tend to fall into sin unknowingly and so easily..
Not easy for me too..
But i always try my best, tempted to do what others are doing and sinning and at the same time trying to focus on the question on "what would Jesus do" in every situation is not easy..
But as long as we try and pray, the Holy spirit will lend us a helping hand and give us an extra push..
I would just like to encourage those who try so hard but seem to fall back into sin and the ways of this world..
Just keep praying, just keep pressing on and seek for revival from God every single day.
It is not easy, but remember that what you are facing, Jesus faced the same or even greater amounts of temptations..
What you are facing is also faced by many other christians out there!
Jia you! just keep your faith in God and He can do wonders..
Learn to surrender.

God loves you!

Here today, gone tmr

2009-05-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

Do you rmb the "who am i song" that i was sharing like a few post before?
Today i was singing it when i am bathing..
And i felt a sense sadness and it was kind of depressing..

I would like to focus on the first 2 lines of the song chorus, "I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow."

I am reminded again of how fragile life really is and how many are focusing on what can they gain from this earth...
I started to think of my studies...
Sure, many will say, studies is very important! cause you can get a good degree, then go university, then can get a good job, good pay, good life!
But is that what life is really all about?
Yes i agree that studies can help me gain survival and a easier life in future...
But besides wealth riches and all the material stuff, what else can we take or gain?
I can be the cleverest, smartest or even the riches person on the face of the earth, but is there anything beyond this that i can take?
so what if i got all these?
I realised that there is nothing to all these things..at the end of the day, all these things will mean nothing...
Nothing much will come out of it..
Thats why i cannot understand what the people are chasing it for..

Anws, i was also reminded about the story that kenneth (my regional leader) said today..
He told us about his friend's friend.
She committed suicide just recently..
Guess what, she is sec 2 (14 years of age)
She jumped down from the 4th story and didn't die immediately..
It was when she was sent to the hospital, on the way, she died of internal bleeding..

And kenneth's friend had been feeling very guilty about this matter because she didn't tell her about christ at all and she didn't know that she was facing problems.
She really regretted alot..

Someone gave a comment when the story was heard..."Huh? sec 2 only leh...how much suffering she have to go through? why is there a need to end her life?"

I started to think about the comment when i came home..
It is because that person has lost hope...
She has lost purpose in her life...even at such a young age..
She couldn't find anything on this worth on this earth that is worth living for..

you know, i ever felt that way before...
I will wake up in the morn and prepare for school and think about what am i doing all these for..

The reason why i am writing this is that i really want to encourage you all to keep this flame for God burning
Keep the passion of saving and sharing about God's word to the others burning always...
It may be difficult at times, fear may overwealm you and stop you..
Disappointments from all the rejections of your friends and family members may cause you to stumble and lose faith...thinking that it is kind of impossible and you have to wait for a long long time..
You may also think that someone else will do it for you...someone else will share the gospel in your place..

No matter what the reason may be, just remember that you will never know what is going to happen to the people around you..
You will never know when they will die, what they are facing and stuff...
When you share the gospel, you are actually providing hope to the person in despair and helplessness..
Don wait until it is too late...do it today...
But always rmb to pray and ask God to use the holy spirit to say what God wants to say to the people around you..because God always wants to save them more than you want them to be saved...
Lastly, learn to be patient...God has his perfect timing for them..
YOU can be one of the little chains that joins up and save the people around you...

God loves you always

Have? Don have?

2009-05-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

I went to the hospital today and i felt that God spoke alot of things to me through the holy spirit..
You must be wondering why i went to the hospital (SGH) rite?
My grandma is really really sick..she got kidney failure and she did an operation on her neck area to stick 2 thick needles into her neck for blood washing, she cannot walk, she cannot control her pee, she cannot swallow properly then the water that she can drink have to be thicken by adding some powder thingy to prevent choking...and stuff..it is really very cham one..
Pray for her k!

Anws, my emphaize today is about my trip there^^
There is this maid that attended to her like almost 24 hours (the maid is last time from my uncle's house de) because my grandma was like very scared..she don want to be left alone..
When i went there for the first time today, the room was without aircon and i talked to my grandma and the maid..then when my grandma fell asleep, i talked and laugh with the maid..

As i see how the maid take care of my grandma, i started to realise that it wasn't easy...
Cause when the maid go off for a short while, my grandma wanted to puke and stuff..even i have difficulty trying to help her..
I think people like my grandma and many other grandma's in the ward requires alot of patience to be taken care of..
Every single action that my grandma do, auntie budi(the maid) will take note..even when my grandma speak very very softly in hokkien, budi will still be able to hear and she will immediately attend to her with a cheerful heart...
it ranges from taking the tissue, wanting to turn the body to sleep, wanting to adjust the bed up and down, wanting to place the pillow in a certain direction, wanting to vomit...etc.
budi also do not even have a nice bed to sleep at night, every single night...she could only sleep on the chair...but she always attend to her happily and really go all the way out for her, even when she wants to sleep..
It is like my grandma will wake up anytime and budi must be there to help.
And whenever my grandma want to eat sweet stuff, budi will say, "Don't eat" in hokkien..and my grandma will insist and of course at the end budi gave her alittle..
Because of that, she vomited...

Sometimes i look at her, and i really admire her for the things she has done.
Think about it, she has no blood relationship with my grandma and she has to do all these, i really don understand how happy can she feel...but still, she do it will love...
At my grandma's most helpless and vulnerable state, she is there to lend a helping hand..

As a look at my grandma's back view when she is sleeping, i realised that she is just like a child that needs to be attended and supported alot as it grows..

I started to think about God's love..
i think God's love is just like how budi cared and loved my grandma..
Always taking care very sincerely and always there whenever people call out to Him..
Every single time we call for help, He has always been there helping and just being side by side with us, walking through the problems or situations that we are facing with us...
He is always carrying us on his back.
Everytime we want to do certain things (like how my grandma wanted to eat sweet stuff), God will be there to stop and correct us with love and the intention that he wants to give us the best and what is good for us...and if we do not listen and still want to do it, he will not forcefully stop us, but to help us to learn and to stand up on our own feet with his help, after we suffer the consequences even though it may hurt him to see us suffer...
Even for those who are not children of God yet, those who are unsaved, God still provides for them, God still give them the many blessings..whether it is in material terms or people around them who cares for them...etc.

I ever read this book, and it talks about God giving us a taste of abit of heaven and abit of hell on earth...so there is good and evil (suffering) on earth until we die..
So it is up to us to make a decision as to what kind of life we want to lead and choose in our afterlife..
And i feel that it is quite amazing as to how many always choose hell in a way..
Alot of times they know that doing something is wrong but they still do it anyways...

I started to shift my view towards the bed next to my grandma's.
That patient is also another grandma..and she have a huge thick tube stuck to her neck and is connected to some machine..
i heard from my brother, who heard from budi that she also have a huge tube-like thingy stuck to her stomach..
That means, she got a hole at her neck and stomach..
and it is only through those holes that she can then breathe and eat because her body could no longer do that for her..

Just breathing and eating, such basic tasks of a human body, she cannot even do and have so so much difficulty doing it..

I started to think about the question on, "Are we taking our lives for granted?"
We always think about the things that we don have, then always say, "i hope, i wish this this this will happen/ i wish, i am born pretty/ i wish i didn't have to live/ i wish my family wasn't like that..etc" All these hopes and wishes shows us that we are focusing on the things that we don't have that are beyond our control..
And as we focus on the things we don't have, we will tend to neglect and forget about the things that we actually do have...
People out there are trying their best to survive..
People like the grandma, she cannot even breathe and eat!
Shouldn't we appreciate and treasure the fact that we are healthy? the fact that we are able to breathe...etc.
For everything in your everyday life, there is something to thank God about..
for the grandma, she can be thankful to the fact that she is living in singapore and have the technology to help her...at least she got a bed to sleep on, at least she got hands and legs, at least she still has a God that loves her..
It depends on how you view things in the many situations that you are facing..

If we keep on focusing on the things that we don't have, we will be a very very unhappy and uncontented person..
Just rmb that there will always be someone worst than you in everything that you face, you will feel that you are really already very blessed by God.

Learn to treasure what you have today! especially on the things or people that you have difficulty loving and treasuring.

God loves you more than you can expect!

Our focus

2009-05-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

I was singing and bathing at the same time last week...
I was reminded of the song, "five loaves and two fishes" by Corrinne May...
As i sang, i started to realise somethings...
Here is the lyrics of the song...

A little boy of thirteen was on his way to school
He heard a crowd of people laughing and he went to take a look
Thousands were listening to the stories of one man
He spoke with such wisdom, even the kids could understand
The hours passed so quickly, the day turned to night
Everyone was hungry but there was no food in sight
The boy looked in his lunchbox at the little that he had
He wasn't sure what good it'd do, there were thousands to be fed
But he saw the twinkling eyes of Jesus
The kindness in His smile
And the boy cried out
With the trust of a child

He said:"Take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender
Take my fears and my inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all to feed them all

"I often think about that boy when I'm feeling small
And I worry that the work I do means nothing at all
But every single tear I cry is a diamond in His hands
And every door that slams in my face, I will offer up in prayer
So I'll give you every breath that I have
Oh Lord, you can work miracles
All that you need is my "Amen"

So take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you willI surrender
Take my fears and my inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
I hope it's not too small
I trust in you
I trust in you

So take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will I surrender
Take my fears and my inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
No gift is too small

You see all the bolded words?
These are the things that i am going to focus on today..

Just imagine yourself as the boy...when you look at what you have in the lunchbox, it is so so little, how can it be possible for food that is not enough for even one adult to consume to feed thousands?
why is it so hard of me, if i was a boy to believe so?

The several disappointments that we face in life,
disappointments relating to God and christianity led us to think feel discouraged and think that many things are impossible to happen..
For me at least it seems that way..
I find it really difficult to believe in miracles even though i have heard testimonies and stories about others who experienced miracles from God...
Not everyone experiences miracles from God..you don see christians raising up from the dead daily, you don see miracle healing happening to every christian who trust and pray and have lots and lots of faith occuring...

The verse on faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains do not seem evident to me..
I do not doubt on what God can do...but more on whether God wants to do it or not..
Because of all these doubts, all the disppointments, all the unanswered prayers, we lose sight and faith on what God can actually do in our life.

For me personally, in the past and some periods of my life, i will be very enthusiastic about evangelism...
things like school evangelistic event or even street e, i will be willing to sacrifice time to go and do it..
but as the times i try passes me by and no one that i shared to are like interested to know about christ..
i find that no matter how much i try, how much i pray for my friends and family, it doesn't seem to work, they are like unmoved..

Not only that, i started to feel how incapable i am as i see so many other christians out there who can speak better and organise events who can bring so many people to christ, who can pray really impactful prayers, who can do lead, who can encourage and do so many so many things that i cannot...
I started to lose faith in what i can do...started to lose faith in what God can do with my life..
I cannot see what God has installed for me at all..what is see is myself being very incapable..

As i was singing this song, i realised that the main reason why the boy decided to surrender all the food that he have and decided to trust in Jesus to feed the thousands is because he saw Jesus...Jesus's kind face and twinkling eyes..

It is the same as us...
As long as we place our focus on Jesus and just look upon Him always, we can learn to trust and not get distracted by the other forces and things around us that pulls us down...
As long as we keep our focus on Jesus, giving Him all the glory with pure intentions, you will start to realise that he can use you to do amazing things...
You will see God using you to do things beyond your capabilities..
He will use your weakness to transform it and use it as your strength..

There is a story in the Bible (jesus walks on water)...

Matthew chap 14 verses 28 to 30, "Then Peter called out to Him, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water. " "Yes, come," Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted."

what point am i trying to make here? I am trying to say that there was wind all around already, before peter even stepped on the water...why is it only that that certain point of time after he take a few steps then he saw the wind?

It was because his eyes was focused soely on Jesus when he took the first few steps...all his attention was on Jesus..all..

It is just like us. If we put all our attention on Jesus and placed him in focus and in the centre of everything, we will realise that we can actually do things that we can never expect ourselves to be doing..things that are out of our control but in God's control...everything around us will fall into place

If we start to get distracted by the things around us and our attention is not on God, we will realise tat we will start to sink...

Mother theresa once said, "The work will always be there, but if we do not rest and pray, we will not have the presence to do our work."

Place your attention and focus on God today! Because there is nothing more to life than Him.

God bless you^^

Who am i?

2009-05-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

I was listening to this song online...it is called "who am i?"
Here is the song lyrics...

Who am I,
that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I,
that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm callingLord,
You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours,
I am Yours

Who Am I,
that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love,
and watch me rise again
Who Am I,
that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm callingLord,
You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours,
I am Yours

Not because of who I am
But because of what
You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow

A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm callingLord,
You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours,
I am Yours
I am Yours
I am Yours

Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear'
Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

This song really touched me..because i was reminded of this video that was being shown to me in school..
It was a video about this girl called terri who died from euthanasia.
What is euthanasia? it is when a suffering patient who lives on long term medication or machine for survival and asks for death..the family members have the right to ask the doctor to kill them also...like in cases whereby they are brain dead, vegetable or just suffering from stroke and stuff..

This girl named terri..
She was young,
She was pretty,
Guess what happened?
At the age of 26, dunno what happened, she suddenly collapsed onto the ground and due to the lack of oxygen to the brain for like 5 min, she suffered from brain damage.
she had to stay in the hospital for her whole life from then on...
She couldn't do anything by herself, she couldn't even talk..only make sounds...
after a few years, due to the financial situation of her family and her father finding another mistress, they no longer have the money to support her..
At the end, her father requested and asked the doctor to not give her food and water even though she wanted to live..

How do i know whether she wanted to live?
Her aunt asked her before..she made soft sounds in agreement and made louder sounds to allow
everyone else in the room to hear..
Despite all the protest for her euthanasia, the doctor went on with her father's wishes..
She died after 10 days without food and water..
Her heart burst due to the lack of water..

As i was listening to this song and looking at the lyrics,
i really agree to the fact that we are or rather, i am like a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow...
we will never know what life holds for us...
we will never know what is going to happen tmr...
and when something goes wrong, what are we going to hold on to?
the things of the earth? studies, wealth,fame, money, job, life-time partner?
Or are we going to hold on to something eternal? that is eternal life..
The decision lies on us today.
Our life span on earth is really very short..but life after death is eternal (infinity).
We cannot bring of the things on earth that we are chasing for and after we die..
make a choice before it is too late, life is so fragile.
What we decide today affects our future..
Don live life, just to die at the end of the day...
Live to live.

In 1 corinthians chap 9 verses 24 to 26, "Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing."
No matter how tired one may get for running this race,
No matter how we get distracted and get lazy and undisciplined,
always be reminded that we are running for the eternal prize..
and it is a prize that is not only given to 1, but to many who choose to run this race.

You know, i was very touched by the first verse of the song...
i am so so small, just 1 little human being in the billions, when i die, who will notice only? less then 1 percent of the population.
who am i?
that such a great and majestic God of all the earth will even care and bother more than anybody else bothers?
Who am i that deserve such great love and sacrifice?
i feel like an ant on the ground...so fragile and weak..that anytime i can be so easily killed and squished.
Since someone so big and great cares so much for us, especially the broken hearted and those who are finding hope, why don we just turn towards him?
He is just asking for what is on the inside...
He is just asking for our heart..
He wants to love us,
He wants to care for us,
He wants to listen,
He wants to be there for you,
He wants to provide hope
He just wants to clense us of our sins and provide a way out of the punishment of sin (eternal death in hell)
These are the many gifts that are free, just there and cannot be found in anyone besides Christ, why don we just take it by faith?
These are good things, things that we can build our trust and faith on...

Sometimes i am just amazed at how God manages to love everyone, every single person at the face of the earth, helping them, guiding them through all their problems...every single one of them..

Think about it, who are you?
Who am i?
Why will someone so great love someone so small?

BIBLE (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)

God bless you^^

Songs

2009-04-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

sorry for not putting up any post for a long long long long long long long...........infinity....time...
Cause i have been busy with school, studies and stuff...haiz..
anyways, today i wanna type something not very long...

It was about a week ago when i was like bathing and singing and worshipping God.
And not long after, this week when i went back to school some of my friends were singing christian songs..i felt very comforted..cause i don really see and get to hear them sing christian songs..
But at the same time, i felt in a way sad..
Why?
because they were singing for the sake of singing..

The main reason why i love to listen and to sing christian songs is that i find it different from other normal songs...
Ever since i became a christian, i realise that i cannot sing the christian songs, songs that worship God just like any other song..
which makes the christian songs that i sing unqiue and special..

What do i mean?
do you realise that other songs you cannot really meditate on it?
To me, for the other songs, i am not singing to anyone, i am just singing for the tune, singing for practice, singing just for the sake of singing..like an empty box.
we sing those songs, we don really need to bother about the lyrics..we don't even know what we are singing at times.
But, christian songs are different...there is a recieving end not just a giving end..
There is someone that you actually sing to and praise..there is someone actually listening..
we sing for the words...
and that someone is God.

When we worship and sing, we are actually launching a spiritual warfare to declare that satan has lost and God has won!
We are proclaiming His greatness and celebrating His victory^^
Because satan was the previous worship angel, he led worship and stuff in heaven last time, when we sing praises and worship God, we are actually telling satan that we can do better and have a better worship without him.

The way we sing songs determines how nice the song will be and what the song really mean.
Songs which is sang from the heart can be differentiated from those which are sang just for singing..
Because it is different.
Do you realise that good singers are those who sing the song using their heart and soul kind?
We determine how we want the songs to be potrayed out.
A song without the heart is very meaningless to me..

I want to encourage you all that when we sing songs that worship God, let us sing it with conviction and with the heart. lets not sing songs for the sake of singing, not like the other everyday songs that you sing, or just to follow and go along with others...lets sing whole heartedly for God because he really deserve it^^

Sing for God,
Sing for Life.

God bless you always!

Imperfections + Love

2009-04-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

Many people convey their love message to others in someway or another...
You may or may not like the type of love that the person may shower you with,
But, they are still love..

Be it friends or family, cousins, uncles or aunties, grandma or grandpas,
They each have their own unique way to show us that they actually cares and loves us..

The reason why i am writing this is because i was reminded of my mother's love for me..
I was walking on the way home today when joseph in the midst of one of his sms, he said, "your mum is going to nag at you again.."
Because my curfew was at 11 and i only reach home at 11.20...
I started to imagine what will happen when i go home..
How my mum will just shout at me and nag, asking questions like "why you come home so late?!" in a very angry and irritated manner...
Usually my respond will be..."haiz..here she goes again..then i will pray and ask God to help me before i enter the house."
however, this time, instead of having fear and panick, i realised that she actually loves me alot.
The way she convey her concern and love for me is to reprimand me..
She actually bothers to scold me because she actually cares whether i go home annot..she actually waits and anticipates for me to go home...
She actually wants to know why...

As i was saying, different people convey their love in others ways..
My father gives me the things that i asks for,
my bro just want to irritate me,
my sis just want to offer me her listening ear and share with me things in her life regardless of whether i am listening annot..
Small little things that friends and family do to you and me,
i may not like it and find it a nuisance...but it is their own unique way of showing love, care and concern for me..
I started to think about if all these were gone and taken away from me one day, i think i will miss them...

It also shows God's love for us..
His love is conveyed to different people in a different way...their own special and unique way..
We may not like it..but it is his way of loving us..
An example is when God allowed and place trials in your life, whereby you face a moment or even moments of weaknesses, you may blame God and get angry and irritated with him..
However, if you look at it another way, God loves you thats why he wants to have a more intimate and closer relationship with you..
He loves you thats why trails come in your way so that you can learn to seek and yearn for Him..
Problems come so that you can learn to rely and surrender it all to Him..
He wants you to grow spiritually..
He wants you to grow deeper in relationship with Him..
Alot of times we are blinded by anger and we cannot see what He has planned for us..we cannot see what is ahead...
We learn to come out of that by trusting, having faith and growing in His word, holding on to His never-changing promises...

There is this advertisement on tv that has repeated alot of times...
There is this women and her husband died...
During the funeral, she gave a speech..
Instead of saying all the achievements of her husband or all the good stuff that he did,
She said the bad habits of her husband..
she say her husband snores like a motorbike trying to start the engine..
he husband farts so loud and smelly when he is asleep that he will get woken up by the sound himself...and when he wakes up, he asks his wife," what was that? what happen?"
She will say.."oh, it was the dog barking...go to sleep"
Now, when he died, no longer could she hear those sounds...and she misses them...
she said, "It was because of all these little imperfections, that made their relationship and lives perfect."

It is the same as God and us...
Even though we are sinners with several imperfections while God is perfect, God still loves us the same..
and it is because of all these imperfections that God sent down Jesus christ, His one and only son to die on the cross for us, to convey his sacrificial love..
It was only then when the veil tore and we were made whole, restoring the perfect relationship that we had with God before..
"It was because of all these imperfections that our relationship is made perfect."
Think about it.

Learn to treasure the small little things that people around you does for you..don wait until they are gone..

God loves you always^^

Success and light

2009-04-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since i ever blogged because this whole week i am not really inspired and i just feel that my passion to share to people about christ, to do street e has slowly died down...
Today, i just want to share about what was being taught in my mini retreat amongst the cj prayer group whereby we went to Jasmine's house (which is at thomson there!)-so far...anws, we went to her house from about 6 plus to about 10 plus!!
We had dinner (ta baoed KFC) then shared about stuff and our feelings towards the school evangelism that we did before going her house..
Also, we had worship and somebody from YFC (youth for christ) is invited to come speak to us...she taught us a lesson which i wanna share with you all today!! cause i feel that it was really good^^

Anws, i wanna bring you all back to last sun..
Because our church had a street e event and leng shan invited me to join in to evangelise to the people at tiong baru...
Usually i will be very enthu and really go ahead with it de..
But at the end, i said i didn't want it..
Why? i was afraid of rejections..and because God didn't show me any "success" in sharing the gospel or allowing anyone that i shared to get saved, be it friends or family members, i was kinda drained out and disappointed...hope of salvation don't really seem to be there because i don't see God working amongst the people that i love..

So, anws, i was just telling grace and leng shan last sun about how sad and disappointed i was feeling because i just wanna see 1 success, i just want God to show me that salvation actually occurs amongst my loved ones...i just want 1 salvation..but God just don't give me any despite all my prayers and stuff..
So, i was feeling kinda helpless and the 'whatever lor, nvm' feeling..
And today, God answered my problems through the lesson taught.

She talked about the Ezekiel found in the Bible..
And if you got your Bible, i would encourage you to read chapter 2 and 3.
There are some things that i want to focus on..
chapter 2 verse 3 to 5, "Son of man,' he said, 'I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me to this very day. They are stubborn and hard-hearted people. But i am sending you to say to them, 'This is that the Sovereign Lord says!' And whether they listen or refuse to listen-for remember, they are rebels...."

These verses show that God is sending Ezekiel to hard ground..to people who are stubborn and hard-hearted.
In chapter 3 verses 7, it is said again that "But the people of Israel won't listen to you anymore than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn."
Since it is repeated twice, it shows that it is important.

Ask you, lets just say you do street e or school e, then before hand you already know who will listen to you and who will not...lets just say you can see a label above their head..
Who will you share to?
Will you share to the people whom when you share about God's word they will not listen in the first place?

Ezekiel faced several challenges and difficulties while sharing the gospel...
He had to become this "mad man" (paul also--but paul said, if i are to be mad about God, then let it be) he had to wrap himself up and lie on one side of his body in the town square (something like city hall) for many days and then turn over the other side for many more days...he also had to dig a hole underneath the gate with all his barang barang to show the people that this will be the days in future for them when the people of babylon (people who are very cruel-how they chain the people up is to pierce a spear through the palm of one person to the other and to the other) even though he is able to walk through the door..people think he was mad..
But imagine the amount of humiliation and great lengths that he had to go to reach out to the people...

At the end, he didn't even taste success...
Success in the way whereby the israelites that he tried to share to, non of them are salvaged because at the end, the people of babylon came and capture all of them away..
But, God sees him as being successful...
In what way?
he follows God and is obedient to Him through everything..
He holds on to the promises and follow and do what God wants him to do..
The most important thing that he is deemed successful is that he walked strongly with God and trusted Him...
God will still say to him one day,"Well done, good and faithful servant."

There is one thing that one other prayer group member, marcus, shared later on..
He asked us, "what is the difference between sheep and goat? and why are we referred to as sheeps rather than goats as said in the Bible?"
"When the mama sheep jumps, the other small baby sheeps also jumps and follow the mama sheep even though they do not know what is going on and what is going to happen. they just follow. As for the goat, they are abit smarter...when the mama goat jumps, the others will stop and think whether to jump or not...and they will not follow.."
It is just like how we as children of God...as long as we stay obedient and trust and follow Him, we will not be left behind...just like how the mama sheep and goat jumps further and further away, it is up to us whether we would want to follow? or just think that we are very smart and be left behind..

It is also said in Ezekiel chapt 3 verse 9, "I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don't be afraid of them or fear theur angry looks, even though they are rebels."
It shows that even though the people that we shared the gospel to, especially in my school, many of them have heard the gospel like alot of times..they got the head knowledge, but their hearts are hardened and may not even want to listen.
But God promises us that He will make our forehead even harder than the hardest heart!
So, we shouldn't fear about anything but really go forward and share the gospel!

In ezekiel chapt 3 verse 1-2, "The voice said to me, "Son of man, eat what i am giving you-eat this scroll!Then go give its message to the people of Israel. So i opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll."
When i first read this verse, i was like huh? eat the scroll? why God want him to eat it?
She explained that God not only want Ezekiel (representing us) to only have the head knowledge to teach the people but to 'eat' means to allow whatever that we teach and share to others, we ourselves must also do it. Instead of mastering the word, we must let the word master us.
We must live out our lives as christians, as good representatives of the children of God.

Actually i got somemore things to share with you all de..but i think it is like too long...so yar lor..you can ask me personally!! hahaha^^

To end off, i would like to encourage you all to continue doing God's work and purpose for us to be on this earth, which is to evangelise.
We are supposed to be light and salt of the earth..whether it is in school, in class, in our family and stuff...
If we, the only light source do not shine brightly for God, who will? (instead, there will be darkness)

God bless you!

My siblings and I

2009-03-30T03:40:00.000-07:00

Yay!! finally i have the chance to blog once again! cause i got no hw!!!
Anws, today i want to focus on treasure and forgiveness...

It all has go to do with me and my sister, Athena.
Last Sat, i didn't go for judo because of various reasons...okok i admit i pon judo because i really really do not feel like going at all! somemore my mum is like bringing the whole family out for sushi tei and i don't want to miss it!
Anws, because i was sleeping from 11am plus to about 1pm, being reluctant to wake up, i continued sleeping despite several "nicole wake up!" calls from my mummy...
so at the end, because of me and my bro who doesn't want to do his hw, we drag for a long time.
Because of that, my sis doesn't want to go because she has piano lessons at bukit timah plaza and she doesn't want to rush through the eating part at holland v then rush back for her piano lessons..
It has been a long long time since we as a family go out and eat...because usually i am not around...bleah.
Anws, i really really wanted her to go..cause without her things will be different and i really wanted the whole family to be together..
So, i went up to her and said, "athena, go la..i really really want you to go...we very long never eat outside together ler...dunno when can we do this again...pls go.."
My heart was really eager and really really desired for her to go.
But at the end she said, "dun want la...i don wanna rush and i really don want to go. Next time confirm got chance de."
My heart sank and i just walked away and went to change my clothes and stuff...
when we are about to go out, like just when we are about to go out,she walked out with her wet hair saying "i am going"
I dunno why but my spirits lifted and i sense this great joy in my heart!! i was really really happy at that point of time!!

You must be wondering why i talk about this right?
From this the holy spirit reminded me about something...
And that is that We do not learn to really treasure something until we are losing it or have lost it.
For my story, if my sis were to be able to come like way before, i won't have the wanting for her to go and i will just take it for granted that she is going...
Alot of people in our lives, our friends, family, your neighbour, the sweeper, foodstall aunties, taxi drivers, many many insignificant ppl, people that you do not even notice...
People that we come into contact with every single day, we tend to take them for granted...
We just see it as 'they are just there' kind of mindset.
But have you ever treasured them? it will make a whole lot of difference if the people are not around...
So, learn to treasure them before it is too late and once you lost them, you will not have a chance to even say a simple "thank you" or just to smile and to treasure their presence already...
This doesn't only occur to people, it occurs to the things that you have too...
An example is a simple cup, it is a very insignificant thing amongst all the other things that you have...you can take it for granted and just use the cup every single day, not noticing its presence...lets just say one day, you broke the only cup you have. Drinking water and brushing your teeth at home becomes a difficult and inconvenient task...then one will start to think "how good it will be if i got just a cup."
It may not be a very good example...i am sorry...but i hope that you get the meaning across^^
So, why wait? start today!

Let me continue...
The Holy spirit also reminded me to something that i read..
I realised that alot of times God make himself seem hidden and quiet and invisible even though he is there is to allow us to learn to seek Him, yearn for Him, treasure Him and to thirst for Him...
Think about it, if He just appears to us just like that and talk to us the way He did before in the past, will we learn to seek for Him? Or will we just take it for granted that He is always there?
Think about it.

Oh! there is another story between me and my siblings..
It happened like just now, only just now...
I have to make this clear ah...he did something to disturb me first.hehehe
Anws, I admit i was playful and i started throwing lots and lots of maple used cards at my bro...
he was sitting on the sofa and i just kept on shooting him with it and of course some did hurt him, i realised it when he kept on saying, "ouch, ouch!"...and then he was trying to take the cards and throwing back at me...
But at the end, i always win but he ended up tearing and crying..
So, i stopped and i went to him and hug him and said, " sorry la...forgive me k?"
He was like, "go away, go away!" trying to shove me aside...
then my sis who was sitting quite close, seeing the whole incident, she said, "How can you expect him to forgive you? imagine i hit and wack you a million times, and then you ask me to stop ler but i still continue then afterthat i say sorry sorry and seek for forgiveness, will you forgive me? you won't right!"
Then she added on," you let him hit you back first then he will forgive you."

The Holy spirit again reminded me of something..
Yes, you guessed it! forgiveness...
Imagine our God as my bro, the one that is being hit many many times..(somemore for God it is like a large scale thing! because of the trillions of people in this world.)
We as his creation keeps on defying and hurting him is ways that we can never imagine!
We smoke, we drink, we steal, we lie, we commit crimes, we take sex as a norm, we turn away from Him, not acknowledging that He is there or that He even exist!
We do many many many many many many countless of things that hurt him and make him cry...
Even though he sends us reminders through people that we shouldn't be doing certain things, we just do not listen...
He knocks frequently and never-endingly knock on the doors of our heart...but did we open?
Alot of times, we are so caught up with our lives, in studies, entertainment, computer, work...etc. up to the point whereby we could no longer hear His constant knocking on our doors...
But, He never gives up...never until we die...
He do not need to hit us back or to cause the same amount of hurt inflicted on Him to be inflicted on us inorder to make Him feel better so that He can forgive...
We are sinners and we deserve to go to Hell and it is a fact.
But instead of wanting us to suffer just like how my sis wants my bro to hit me back, God provided us with an amazing thing called "GRACE" which means 'unmerited favour'
We do not deserve it, but God gave it to us...isn't it a beautiful thing?
How wonderful amazing is our creator, so perfect and so different from men like us.
Everytime when one come to Him and earnestly ask Him for forgiveness, He forgives even though we hurt Him time and time again!
I think forgiveness is not something that can be easily fulfilled...it is hard to forgive someone so many times when they hurt you time and time again repeatedly...
But, our God can do it...isn't He amazing?

God bless you!

A PE LESSON!

2009-03-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

Hey hey!! today i very free because it is the first day of school and i left my notes in school so i cannot study! i so smart right?! hahahaha^^
Today i wanna tell you all about my PE!
Cause as i was writing on a book between me and leng shan de then the holy spirit somehow linked my experience with God...which is kinda cool and encouraging..so i just wanna encourage you all with it!

Today, our class had issac lim (an odac cum pe teacher) he is like the super hiong and train ppl to be very tough kind you know..
Anws, today is our second time we had pe with him...
The first time was bad enough...we had to climb 32 GSTs!( grandstand torture) means going up and down the grandstand 32 times!! cause up and down is considered as 1, so we climbed a total of 64 grandstand flight of steps!
Anws, today's experience is really a once in a lifetime experience..
Without any warning, we had to go down to the big drains at the outside of CJC....
And you know the big drains will have like a slightly smaller circle tunnel at the end one?
Yupps, we had to walk and crawl through that!
i cannot even stand up straight kind..and it was so so dark! i cannot even see what i am stepping on!
There are spider webs (cause when we came out of the tunnel, some of us had spider webs stuck to our hair), and all the other gross stuff in the drain water...which i cannot see la..
Anws, we were all kinda shocked to find out that he wants us to crawl through the tunnel!!!! cause it is a mon! and most of us wore school shoes which are white in colour...
Anws, at the starting of the tunnel, i tried to keep myself dry by doing sort of like a split and using my hands and legs to crawl through..not touching the floor..but at the end, i got so tired and out of breathe, i gave up...also got kinda scared...
As we got deeper and deeper into the tunnel, the light source seems to disappear!
Finally, i couldn't see a thing! i couldn't see even my hands nor the person in front or at the back of me...
so freaky right?
ya..i was kinda scared..but i prayed and i dunno why the phrase "let God be my light" kept on appearing in my mind..
then my friend in front held my hand and lead me forward...i feel so so secure...
then right, finally i manage to complete it and get out into the light once again!
Phew...
but because there were alot of screaming and vulgarities and stuff, we had to do push ups across the big drain...
The last activity was to go up a steep slope...
Our teacher emphasise on the fact that we cannot help ppl and we cannot get helped by others...
So right, we all tried to chiong up with our wet and soggy shoes..we kept slipping as we climb...for me, it was a struggle and i grabbed the grass and soil and stuff...

At the end of everything, our teacher said the story behind our wet shoes.
It is that alot of people wants to be in our shoes...like our place in CJC is actually taking over somebody else who wants to be here..
If we complain about our wet shoes, we must be thankful that at least we've got shoes...whereas others out there do not have and want to have...they only got sandals..
If they complain about their sandals, they must be thankful that they have got sandals while others out there have to "grow their shoes" which also means growing a thick layer of skin at the soles of their feet as they walk barefooted around..
If they complain that they have to walk barefooted, they must be thankful that they have got legs to walk..
All in all, it is about how fortunate we actually are!
I dunno why, but when he said this sentence, i thought about hoe fortunate we are as we get to build churches openly, worship God openly and declaring His name out loud...however, in other countries like china, when you do all these, you will get killed and persecuted physically!
Then the lesson about the drain was that our teacher do not want to see all our hard work and efforts in terms of studies and cca trainings to go down to drain....
He says that we must put up a good fight and earn the respect from ppl even though we may be on the loosing end...

yupps! so now i am going to create the link..between my experience in the tunnel and God..
Rmb i said that there is one thought in my mind and it was "let God be my light?"
It shows that in times of depair and when we are at lost, not knowing what to do or where to go, as long as we look towards God, He will show us the way! He is never changing and His promises are always there yesterday, today or tomorrow, He is the same...and there is no one else on earth that you can place your faith and trust in besides Him..

Anws, as i travel from darkness to light, it reminded me that i once was blind, but now i see!
Because it was so dark in the tunnel, i felt like a blind person...it is like talking about my past (blinded) but now, i see^^

Also, the long, dark and scary tunnel represents the obstacles that we are facing, the tough christian life that we have to lead on earth...and even though it may be difficult, as long as we grab hold and work with the holy spirit (which is in this case my friend, serena), holding on to the promises of God, we will be able to perservere, sercure and succeed this long and tough journey and get out into the light (which is the kingdom of God)!
We may not be able to see it now but it doesn't mean that it is not there...(it doesn't mean there is no opening)

The tunnel is only travelling in one direction and there is no turning back!
just like how we cannot turn back time and go back to the past but to continually focus, move forward and continue to grow in the Lord as we take every single step in the tunnel...
Also, there is only 1 way to heaven and that is through Jesus christ=)

EXTRA: i thought about it and i decide to put it down...cause i scared the blog post too long then ppl lazy to read mahs..hahaha^^
Anws, as i was eating dinner with my family just now, my mum talked about my grandma complaining about her eldest son being the most loved one however as he grew up, he is unable to love his mother back as much as how much his mother loved him in the past...
I was reminded of how much God love us and we always do not love him the same way..just like how my uncle treat his mother...
and since his mother which is my grandmother will be so upset because of this lack of love, even though she got like 6 more other children, how much more will God be upset because of our lack of love for Him or even to forget all about Him?

God bless you!!

Intentions

2009-03-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

Heys!! tmr my school is like kinda starting again=(
So i wanna blog a post today!!
Today i just wanna share with you all some random stuff that God has reminded me with...

Today as i was on the bus on the way towards church like super early in the morn, there was this uncle who left his seat but as the bus moves, he has this plastic bag of things that were going to drop...
I look at the plastic bag and i was thinking whether i should help him...
Then at the end, i reached out my hand..and before i could even touch the bag, he took the bag...
He said thanks and gave me a smile^^
His smile really made my day cause i didn't expect it...
So right, never underestimate the power of your smile!
Anws, i started to wonder why he even say thx...then i realised that actually even though i didn't even help at all, it was the intention that counts..
It was the intention of me trying to help...

In the same way, God looks for the intentions of our heart!
I was reading bible stories to my bro and i started sharing about intentions..unknowingly...
The bible story was on david....about the King Belshazzar, son of King Nebuchadnezzar.
he knew about the laws of God but did not follow them...at the end, God was unhappy and He killed him...
I told my bro that it is just like us christians, we go to church or even sunday school and learn about God's word and stuff...we may have the head knowledge of all the bible contents and what God wants us to do and follow, but if we do not carry it out, we miss out the main point and God will not be pleased at all...
We will confirm fail because we are human beings...but God looks for the intentions..just like how the man thanked me for my intentions..
As long as we are willing to try, God will be pleased already...
But if we give up before even trying, we will not have the characteristics of the children of God..

I was reading this book named as "Disappointment with God" by Philip Yancey...
If there is a chance i would really advice you all to go and get this book from christian bookstores..because i feel that it is a really good book! and it answer the 3 questions on "is God unfair? Is He silent? Is He hidden?"
It really helped me grow alot on my spiritual walk...but the book is really suitable for christians and non-christians=)
I will tell you more about it when i finish reading it...
But it will be better if you were to read it yourself...
I tell you, it is really a really really good book! Go get it today! hahhaha^^ i feel like i am advertising...hahaha
okok i shall stop here...
Stay tune for more!

Here is something that i copied from Eloise's blog...i think it is real good...
I have come to you in search of Faith
Cos i cant see beyond this place
You are GOD and I am man
So i'll leave it in your hands.

God bless you!

Bestest friend

2009-03-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

Alot of things have happened to me the past few days....but thank God it all started during the hols...i think if it happens during my school time, i may just break down...
Sometimes i do wish that the world was just black and white...everything so clear with no grey areas...
Sometimes i just don't understand how people can think so so much and so complex while i just cannot get into their deep thinking world..
Sometimes, i just wish i will never grow up and remain as a child...
I really do admire children...they can be so free, they are simple minded and they potray themselves to others just they way they are...just the way they are created..
If they are happy, they laugh...
If they are angry, they will show you that they are angry..
If they are sad, they cry...
Some of the basic emotions that God gave to us becomes hidden as we grow up..
What is so good about growing up?
The adult world is too complicated for me to handle and understand..it just overwealmes me...
Just like a shark that is going to swallow me...and i am trying my best to swim, trying my best to get away...but the shark is just too fast....
I have to be accountable to so many other ppl...i cannot behave like a child anymore..i cannot become my true self...i have to change because my age is on the rise...
i am no longer the happy pri school kid that i used to be...i need to grow up...i need to be mature...

Alot of people tell me so many different things about being mature...how can i ever be one? i am afraid that if i act mature, the true side of me will be gone forever...
somebody told me that changes are good...and we are bound to change...
is it really good? do i need to change to please others?
There was a friend of mine whom tried to change and change and change just to please others and to have more friends...until, he lost his true self...
I always tell him that just behave like yourself, your true self..because God made you just the way you are! and there is no need to please others...just to please God..

I dunno what to do..
i feel lost...like i am in a jungle with no way out...
i feel like running away and to live like the life i had before...

In the bus just now, i was wondering...
If i was dead, who are those friends who will cry...
Who are those who will weep..
Who are those who will be so sad because i leave them...
Out of the so many friends that i have, i realised that there are only a few...
I don't have many True friends...alot of them are in pretence...
What is deemed to be true by me seems to fade away as time passes...

True friends are friends that are there when you needed help..
They are there when you need a listening ear..
They are just there to comfort and encourage you in times of need and helplessness...
Even when you forget about them, they will still care for you and are always on a constant lookout for you...
They are not their just to share your joy, but also your pain..
Not many are like that...as we grow up, i find it harder and harder to find true friends...
Alot of them just come and go...

I wanna share with you all the one most important and bestest friend that one can ever have! and that is, God...
He fulfils every single criteria and characteristic that a true friend can ever have!
Even if at times, one may forget about this friend, He is always there...never giving up on this friendship that He wants to have with you..
He is the only one that is able to accept everything of you, no matter how screwed up your life is...
He is, my bestest friend.

God Bless you!

Recognition

2009-03-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not blogging for such a long long time!!
Was trying to seek for inspiration from the holy spirit...
Anws, i found one! today, i am going to talk about how amazing and how wonderful God is!
Please continue reading...

As i was like leading the life that i always lived, going to school, coming back, going out with my friends, studying, eating, sleeping and interacting,i found out something...
I realised that alot of times, people want to be recognise for what they do!
What do i mean by that?
Alot of people even us want to be complimented and rewarded for the things that we have done..
In schools, people work really hard and try to score the best they can, wanting to be recognise for their hard work and achievements by compliments by the teachers, affirmation by friends or in monetary form from their parents or even the govt...
Alot of times when we do things are others like our friends or family members, we want them to know how much we do and sacrifice for them in terms of time or acts of service...
As for me, i will feel very sad and uncomfortable when the other party do not know the things i have done for that person...so i will purposely go and tell so that the person will notice..
Not many people will stand behind the scenes and just do things secretly for the person without the person knowing...
We want to be affirmed of...we want to be praised and recognised^^

Thats why i always wonder about God...
Alot of times people around me be it christian or non-christian friends, they pray and ask God for help when they need them...they seek earnestly and even if God knows that afterthat they will not give Him the honour and the recognition that He deserves and will just forget about Him, He still provide so many blessings for them and to answer their prayers!
He loves even the unloved and every single one on earth, providing each and everyone with blessings like family members, air to breathe, water to drink, entertainment...etc..so many so many^^
Thats why sometimes i just don't understand the love that He has for us that He have to be treated so unjustifyably and not being recognised and thanked for...

Thats why i feel that my God is truely a sacrificial God who cares so so much for us! which God can you find that is the same as Jesus christ? is willing to free us from all our sins and bondage even if it costs Him to step down from kingship, to be a servant, to be tortured and to die...it is for us to find a reason to live...

There is something that i learnt from PNP!!
The pastor said that alot of times the devil gives us a thought...and this thought is for us to either entertain it or to forget about the lies...
The example that he gave was that he found out this lump on his stomach and the first thought that the devil gave him was that it was "cancer!" then he chose to entertain it and continued on with that thought which leads on to pretention whereby what may seem real is not real at all..
A pretention is just like how the people on stage does a full dress rehearsal...even though it may not be the real thing but they act out as if it was real!!
So it is like he got worried and feared for his lump...
After the pretention, it can lead to things like fears, which can be like bondages in your life that grip you down and cause you to lose your freedom that God wants to give to you...things like fear can control and take over your life instead...
Oh! anws, after like 6 weeks of fear, he went to see the doctor and found out that it was fats! he got a shock and told the doctor "you mean i fear for like 6 weeks just for a lump of fat?!"
What i learnt for this is that there are alot of times whereby your doubt or several thoughts of failure may come into your mind...but as long as you do not entertain it, it will not lead to pretention which will also not lead to bondage, holding you back from the freedom that God wants to give to you...

So, just have faith and work on the promises of God and block out all the lies that the devil tells you about yourself and your capabilities...
It is either you focus on God, or you listen to the lies...
It is your choice.

God bless you!

Prayers!!!

2009-03-03T06:02:00.000-08:00

Actually right, i got so many thousand things to write on my blog!! just that i always don't have much time...cause my CA is coming up like next week...so i will be like a mugger this week..
Anws, i just couldn't contain all the info that i wanna say on my blog any longer..so i decided to release some of them today!!

Today, i wanna talk about last fri!! we had our prayer group cell thingy in school and amos lead worship and taught a lesson on prayer!!! i just wanna share with you all what i learnt from him! cause i think it is really good^^

He asked us this question..."What is prayer to you? what is the purpose?" there are like thousands of answers! like to bond with God, to spend time with him, for healing, a form of worship, it is important..etc...
There are so many things that can be done in prayer...but what are things we shouldn't do regarding prayer? there are like only a few...one of them that he shared was that prayer is unlimited and shouldn't be confined...
If you still don't get what i mean, here is an example...(this is not to condemn like the catholics or anything..)
In luke chapter 11, "He said to them, 'when you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day your daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation." Because i am from like a catholic school, so everytime i hear this prayer in the morn, especially like in my sec school..
It is just like an everyday ritual...like it is so confined to this...but when Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, it is just an example..
For example, for the first line, it is praising God and asking for his will in our lives to start off a prayer...and the second one, asking God to forgive us of our sins when we love others and forgive them first...something like that la..
So it is not just confined within that prayer which will make prayer very limited!

Anws, he talked about "God is not a gene in the bottle" He is not someone who like when you need help then you go rub the bottle and find him and ask him for things and He will grant you kind...
He is a God that emphasize alot on your everyday relationship with Him...
What i heard from Leng shan is that at the end times, at the rapture, those which are able to go heaven will hear a ringing or trumpet sound first before they are being brought up to heaven...
So it is like if you didn't hear the trumpet or ringing sound, you won't be taken away but left behind...
Even though you may serve alot in the church ministry, being friends to church and manage to save many and stuff, all these things will not bring you to heaven..the one most important ingredient is your relationship with God!
So it is very important to place your emphasize on praying, reading His word and really spend time bonding with Him! cause you will never know when will He return...
Scary right?

Anws, as i was saying, "Prayer should no longer be a difficult duty, but a grateful delight!"
What this means is that prayer should not be a tiring thing and you really hate doing it and you do it because of your duty as a christian...
God always gives us choices so that He can recieve true love from us unlike robots..so it is the same when you do your qt or spend time with God for the sake of doing it...
Pastor Ronald previously gave a sermon example...he said, "There is a husband and wife...then the wife want her husband to give her a goodnight kiss for example...then she tells her husband...then her husband took out a pen and a note book...he wrote "goodnight kiss tonight at 12 pm. Then the wife wanted a hug...then the husband take out his notebook again and he wrote, "give hug after goodnight kiss." then whenever he finish doing what his wife wants him to do as a husband duty, he will tick done at the side.." will the wife ever experience true love? or it is merely just a duty of her husband to do all those things?
This story is just like our relationship with God...
Think about it^^

Oh! let me continue..
The one thing that drives prayer is FAITH.
It is FAITH that reaches your hand out to God!
Prayer is like putting a card into an ATM machine...
you can put in the card and press the no.s, you need the faith to believe that the money will come out..
If you wait a while and nothing comes out and you walk away, the money is not recieved by you...we must always be patient and wait for the money and stretch out your hand to reach out to God's just like reaching out to take the money...cause it is God timing you are looking at...and when we pray, God is working! so don't stop praying k!

Prayer is also very powderful!!
things like revival, miracles, healings are happening!
You may not see how powerful your prayers are right now...but as you pray, God's angels are sending and chasing the demons away in the spiritual realm!!

Also, prayer transcends time!!
An example is in a christian orphanage, there is this one time whereby they are in need for a bottle and they are quite poor...they need the bottle to contain milk...
Then there is this girl that said, "why not we pray and ask God for a bottle?"
The teacher, being an adult and don't have very strong faith, she just agreed but was quite doubtful...
The the girl kneel down, closed her eyes and hands and said, "Dear lord Jesus, i pray for a bottle. Amen"
Then, you know usually they will have this box of toys donated by organisations for the kids being sent,...and in the midst they found a glass bottle...(which is kinda weird cause usually they do not place the bottle in the box because it is to the orphanage and there are children there..so it is kinda dangerous.)
So cool right?
So, before that like weeks ago, this bottle was already placed inside! because God knows! and He can transcend time!!!

Lastly, i wanna tell you all that every single one of your prayers are very important!! and they are like treasures to God! so pray more!!
And Praying can be done anywhere, at any place at any time!! so convenient!
Just rmb that when you persist in your prayers and have faith that God will work, God will reveal His works to you! because even an unrighteous and sinful man, if you keep on asking and asking and persisting, he will give you what you want..
What more God right?
Jia you!

God loves you!!

My 18th birthday!

2009-02-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

I just want to say a big thank you to like every single person who wished me happy birthday and gave me presents!! i really really appreciate them!! i can tell that you all placed alot of effort and heart into it!
i shall list a few to show my sincerity^^

I would like to thank LIM LENG SHAN!!(my bf!)--she provided me with so much so much love and surprises!! like she gave me a total of 3 surprises leh! can you believe it?! i never had like so many surprises before!! (for more details, you can ask me when you see me^^). And, she only slept for 3 hours doing my present...and she spent alot of money too! She planned out everything like 1 week ago!!

I would also like to thank Elo!! although she didn't really get to celebrate it with me...but the presents that leng shan gave it to me is like partially from her!

I would also like to thank Grace and minyang! who gave me a bear, a card and a fruit cake!! asking me to "bear fruit!" hahhaa^^

I would like to thank those who spent the sun to celebrate with me!!
Ppl like Phui See, Elliot (who like smashed a mango cake right at my face!), alder, joseph (who provided me with encouragement and presents!!), joshua lui (who spent hours doing my present too! like slept for 4 hours and almost suffered from food poisoning!!), zhong han my ah gong (he gave me presents too!), kenneth (shared the present with ah gong!), and my SA clique!(they all bought me a cake!--Xin Ying, Kai Yuan(tried to smash the cake on my face), wen rong (got me a cream puff! very nice), jonathan.
Also, the twisters!! the first cake that i recieve!! and they gave me one more extra one somemore!

There are also so many so many others who gave me sweet smses and msn messages to wish me HAPPY bday!!

Oh! on my bday!! i would like to thank MY CLIQUE!!
Thank you so so much!! you all really made my day an enjoyable one, brightening up with fun laughter and joy!!
They gave me ALOT of presents and put in so so much effort into it!! and a CAKE! white chocolate with martini I love you guys!!
Serena, Jas, kai ling, celine and louann!!
I feel so so happy that day! hahaha^^ i am like on cloud 9!!
My class also sang bday song for me!!
michelle from the prayer group gave me a present too!!

Even though it ended off at a low note cause i went home after school..no one was free to celebrate with me..haha^^ i was very emo! then joseph kindly offered to come and find me...but i was glad at the end that no one was free cause i celebrated it with my family! get to spend some time with them..it wasn't as bad as i expected^^Oh! my sis and mum is like really nice too!! they gave me presents and they forgot to take out the price tags! hahaha=)

Through all these love that others have showered upon me, i feel so so blessed to have friends like you all around me!! i really want to thank God for what i have now^^
At the same time, as i looked to the past, i feel that i am actually a very self-centered person...sadly..cause i always want my bday to be like the best and it is like the most important! whereas the bdays of the others are not as important...thats why it made me feel so guilty when ppl spend so much time and effort just for me...but i didn't really do that for them..
I am going to change this year! i will really try to make my friends' bdays as important as mine!

And, God will help me achieve it! yay!
Cause He is also someone who celebrates every single person's bday with true love and joy!!
Everyone's bday is super duper important to Him!
there is a song.."change my heart Oh God...make it ever true....change my heart oh God....may i be like you!"

Ultimately, i want to thank God for the showering of love through friends and family and his word! cause it is because of Him that i am what i am now...it is because of Him, that i got friends like you all!! And i am really really grateful!! truely!

oh! i wanna share with you like the verse that God provided me with on my bday when i was doing my quiet time...cause my ultimate wish is to see the people i love to get saved and to not lose the friends that i have now^^ And as i flipped through the Bible to a random page, this verse caught my eye...in ezekiel chap 34 verse, "I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and i will bring them safely home again." i think it is really very amazing how God speaks to me!! yay! He rocks!

Thats all i wanna say!! Thank you so so much!!

God Bless you!

What is in the centre?

2009-02-21T07:59:00.000-08:00

Heys!! sorry that i didn't write anything for a long time..cause things are getting real busy...
Anws, today i want to talk about what gladys taught us on fri's cell!!

Oh! wait, i wanna share with you all a thought that i had when i was doing my qt in the morning..
It was the thought on whether i will still stand firm and believe in Jesus Christ despite our friends and family around us being non-christians?
What if you are the only christian in the world?
What if there are no church friends nor church to back you up or to cheer you on?
Are you still going to believe that Jesus Christ exist?
Do you go to church because you want to meet up with friends?
Do you go to church because it is a duty that like you are a christian and you have to go?
Do you go to church or even becoming a christian because of peer pressure?
These are the things that we have to keep on reminding ourselves about..
It is not about the friends, duty or any other things that you go to church for...
The one and only thing i know is that you go to church for God...
You may think that it is something easy to achieve..
But many of the times our motivation to go to church is not God but other things...

Gladys shared something on fri..
She say that every sun we go church and sing worship songs and stuff...
Are we worshipping worship? Or are we worshipping God?
You may think that you are worshipping God but actually you are not...
very confusing right? hahaa
So, you must constantly remind yourself and ask God to reveal it to you..
Oh! and you shouldn't ask God to let you feel him..
Cause we cannot depend on our feelings, like how we feel to determine that God is there and God is real..
Our faith is planted and placed on the truth of God's word...not based on feelings..
There was once Grace told the cell that even though we may not feel God during worship, we still worship. Because He is worthy of it and He is still there...

Oh! back to the point!
The cell lesson was on placing God in the centre of your lives..
There was one point that i learnt was the colossians chap 23 to 24 "Work willingly in whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ."
this verse struck me alot..
why?
Because i started to think about so many christians, including me, serving in ministry, a leader in church..
Alot of times i start to wonder...am i doing this because i have to? am i doing these because of the pastors or my cell members or to account to the people in church or am i seriously doing these for God?
Am i placing God in the centre of everything that i do...whether it is in studies, ministry or family?
We can do lots and lots of things in church, school or in the family...but who are we ultimately serving? God? or human beings?
Alex shared something..he said that his friend told him..." as long as you put God first and in the centre of your life, the other things around you will fall into place."
How about you?
What is in the centre in your life? it is up to you to decide...
Think about it...

God bless you!!

Be the light!

2009-02-15T07:05:00.001-08:00

Today, i just want to tell you all about what i heard from the sermon like in youth service at g2!!!
So cool right? First time i went for both youth and young adult service on sat at g2!! i feel really replenished with God's word to last me for this week! God is great! and he helped me to realise somethings!!
Anws, the youth had a speaker from the chinese ministry....but He is like bilingual....so, there nobody had any difficulty in understanding him^^

He gave us this analogy...
He told us to imagine 3 pots of boiling water...
He placed a carrot in the first pot,
an egg in the second pot and
coffee beans in the third pot.
The hard carrot will become soft after boiling,
The egg will harden and
The coffee beans will dissolve and change the colour of the surrounding water...

What does all these mean?
It means that all three things go through the same obstacles and circumstances of the boiling water...just like how we go through problems and situations in life...
It is our choice as to what we want to be..
We can be like the hard carrot, after we go through it, we become soft and weak..
Or like the egg, after we go through it, be tougher and harder...
Or we can choose to be like the coffee beans, after going through it, we will use it to impact others, to affect the people around us and help them to grow...eg. your own personal testimony...

We only got one chance in the primary school education,
one chance in the secondary school,
one chance in jc.
How are we going to use this chance for God?

During the YA service, one of the things that the pastor said that impacted me was that,
There was this boy, he handed up an assignment...
The teacher looked at it and marked...
Content-good
language-good
flow-good
structure-good
overall-good
grade-F
The reason for his grade to be an F is : You handed up the wrong assignment.
It is the same as us christians...
We always do alot of things for God, trying real hard to serve him in many ways in church, in school..etc..
But, are all the things that we want to do part of God's purpose for us?
Everyone has a purpose on this earth...and the purpose can only be known and understand from our creator...
Only the creator of us knows what we are made for..
So, are we on the right assignment?
Are we doing what is God's will for us?
We can be happier and get all the things that we want and enjoy just like all the good things said from the analogy, however, we may be in the wrong assignment...and doing that will not bring us success (may not be material but spiritual needs), doing that will not help us to find the true purpose of our life.

The sermon for today's youth service talks about being a light and salt of the earth!
The end times are nearing...are we ready?
We must be reading everytime for God's coming...
The pastor said that the reason why God hasn't come down until now is because He is a fair and just God! He wants everyone to get an opportunity to hear the gospel like all over the world!
He wants to give everyone a chance to come back to His kingdom!
The Bible says that once everyone gets to hear the gospel, He will then come down...
Are we feeling the urgency yet?
Friends, family members and so many so many people who matters so much to you who are still unsaved or haven't even hear God's word....share, interceed, before it is too late in God's time...

Are you willing to find your purpose, step out of your comfort zone and be a light to shine for God, impacting the many lives around you just like the coffee bean?
It is your choice...

God loves you!!

choices

2009-02-12T04:34:00.000-08:00

Actually i wasn't really planning to go online today..
But God placed a word in my heart and i want to share it with you!
I was travelling home on 970 bus today from like queenstown library! Was like studying and colouring while waiting for leng shan!! then we went for dinner, talk and talk and talk=)
Ya! as i was saying, i was on the 970 bus...then right, i was reading the bible...then i saw this guy, he had short hair and wore the ear phone like to the back of the head...it looked like short hair and had a long strand of hair at the back (the ear phone wire)...
The more i look, the more i feel that it looks more and more like as if he was a robot and the wire is a power supply to the back of the head! it really really looked like that!! cause the wire was like so tightly stuck to the back of the head!!

Then i thought about what if the whole world is made of robots?
What if i am a robot and all other human beings are robots, being controlled and created by God?
Wah...as i thought about it, i think it will be real cool! but i would rather not have it that way..
Cause right, if we are robots, we cannot think for ourselves, love others using our heart like very sincerely, to have emotions...etc..there are so many so many things we cannot do...what we will be able to do is just to do the things that we are "programmed" to do.
Don't you think that will be like super sad?!!

I started to think about the reason why God did not want to create us as robots and to fix it like only one way and one direction in doing things..
Also, about the reason why God wants us to choose and gave us choices!
There was a talk held in CJC on tues for the j2s...and the speaker asked us.."Do you know what is soo different between human beings and animals?"
The answer is "human beings are able to make choices while animals cannot" Animals do not have the brains that we have...they do things mostly without thinking...but we do..thats why, we have the ability to make choices and God made us different in that way!

It is only through choices whereby true love can be found...
If you choose to accept God just because you are programmed to, it is not true love anymore...don't you think so?
God is a loving God and He really really wants to fellowship with us and to have a relationship with us!! Thats why alot of the things that He wants us to do..eg. to pray, is to really spend time and to bond with Him!!
Just think about it, He is God! He can like do all things by himself...and we know that His will will confirm be done on earth...there is no need for us to help him...
So right, the reason why we need to pray is because, God is holding back some of His power and things to wait for us to pray and interceed!!
In simple words, He just wants us to talk to him and have a relationship with him every single day! (i learn all these from like prayer and power night (pnp) last fri...hahaha=)

Anws, my uncle, non-christian, (studys the bible for like 25 years and then gave up cause he found no point in going on..), believes in any God that provides peace and the things that anyone needs..., once ask me "since you say your God is such a loving and compassionate God, how can He condemn those who made a mistake by not choosing Him? How can He condemn those whoes family background disallow one to believe, eg. my grandma, being in a buddist family all her life! Under the influence of buddism for her entire life and recieved healings, happiness and peace from it....
At that point of time i cannot really answer...but, now i can, because i finally found the answer that i wanted from Grace!!
She say that it is true that our God is a loving and compassionate God...but, He is also a just God! He is like a judge, although He may love us alot and aches to see us burning in Hell, but He have to do the right thing..He cannot go against his nature of being Just...

I dunno why but God kept on reminding me of something that rachel said during street evangelism last sun..
She said, " If you see a car coming. And it is like going to hit your friend or anyone else, you can only warn them, shout and ask them to move away...but, the choice is on whether the person want to move annot.."
It really encourages me alot as to the fact that i can do my very best and put in all my effort and strength to share the gospel and try to save someone...but, it all boils down to the choice of the person...

Tmr the prayer group is going to do campass evangelism already!! for all those who read this pls pls pray for God to touch their hearts and to interceed for the lost souls in school k!
Love you guys!!

God loves you!!

Slowing down

2009-02-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

Oh! when i went for the cny visitation thingy at my coach house right? i told you in the previous post that i was like really high!
After that, when i reach home, my highness subsided and i started to think about alot of stuff..like people and God...

I really like all these personal time spend between me and God...
Cause it is only during these times whereby you will start to appreciate the people around you and all the blessings that God provided you with...
I just feel really blessed to have friends around me, best friends, church friends, school friends..etc..
Also, having family members who love and care for me=)
Somemore it is like my mentor grace celebrated my best friend's and my birthday together like that morn...she and her bf gave me a teddy bear and also a fruit cake. She said that she want us to "bear fruit" I think it was really sweet of her and her bf=)

These quiet times are times whereby i will start to sms and thank the people that i love and really appreciate the things they do for me...they are times whereby i get to sit down and reflect upon certain things like my actions or the words that i say or just about my observations...
It is a time of interceeding for people that i love, a time for contentment (eg, the air that i breathe)...you will start to realise that there are so many so many things to be happy about! so many so many things to be really thankful when you start to appreciate the many blessings that God gives you^^

Actually, today's topic is not of like a lesson or anything, but just to encourage you to take time from your busy and hectic scedule to slow down and detach from the busy and past paced world for a moment..to really sit down and think about things...you will then realise and find out things that you have never thought about before...

God bless you!

Running

2009-02-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

I am so so sorry that i didn't type any post for like a long time...
Guess i was just too lazy to come online..hahaha^^
Anws, i just came back from some CNY visitation from my judo coaches house! got alot of people there! and i was like super high and super loud!!

Anws, today, i would like to talk about running...
I have been putting the "i am running this race for God!" like on my nick in msn for quite sometime now...

For all those who know me, i am someone who really do not like exercising...
I will not exercise unless i am being forced to..
If you ask me to play sport games like badminton, floorball, handball, basketball..etc..i will still be willing to play..
But, one of the things that i dislike to do the most is running...
I just don't like running and i find running very pointless and not even fun at all! it is something real boring to me...
Running is also a sport that requires alot of mind power and stamina...which i, being a lazy person will not want to do...
Anws, my school had like mass PE for like more than a month and twice a week!!
I am then forced to run!

You know when i run right, i got to keep on telling myself..."Go nicole, run! you can do it! God will help you de!! God pls help me! This is for God! Don't give up! don't ever stop running! Breathe properly and slowly!Look at the scenery around...okok, don't rush...etc!!"
There are also voices telling me, "Ai ya...this is not even official, just stop la, it doesn't make a difference."
So it tires out my body, physically and mentally!
Because it is just mass PE and people can stop running because the timing is not recorded and stuff, some chose to walk...

I started to reflect upon this, and i realise that our walk with God is also like this...
The non-christians are ones that haven't started running,
The christians but backslided are those who give up while running halfway..
The christians are the ones that run all the way!!

It is not easy being a christian and following what God wants us to be, we may even come to the point whereby we dislike it and it is very tiring for us to continue this journey...
It is just like us having a choice as to whether we want to continue running, to give up halfway or to not even start running and give it a try...
It is like we know it is right for us to run. We know it is right for us to run all the way to the end because this is what is suppose to be done! But how many of us do the things the way that it is suppose to be done? How many of us choose the right way and make the right decision? But instead give up halfway or even to turn the other way, away from God?

God promised us the kingdom of heaven if we believe and confess to him...
God is our creator and it is only right for us to worship and obey him...
We focus alot on worldly and temporal stuff, stuff that we see now...
Alot of people do not even care about the future or anything got to do with the kingdom of heaven!
As for christians, if we focus not on God but on the situations that we face now or the weariness that we are feeling, we will soon loose the breathe and the mental power to continue this journey to the kingdom of God! Because every step that we take, brings us closer and closer to God and the kingdom of heaven!

The Holy Spirit is then like our mental power and fuel and drives us and help us to complete the journey..
The other voices that call us to give up and stop us from finishing the race is just like the the devil trying ways and tempations to stop us from reaching to the kingdom of heaven!
When we stop listening to the Holy Spirit and do what is right, we will give up and fall away, not completing the race..

It is impossible for anyone to reach the ending just like that without going through the process...
And, whatever problems, situations, persecutions..etc that we are facing, God is testing us and helping us to grow and be more deep rooted in him...to really force us to endure and persevere for him! So that when more obstacles come our way, we will be able to face them strongly!
Just like how we run and train to build up our bodies even though the process is terrible, the ending is sweet!

I think that if you are not facing any problems weariness or obstacles regarding christianity at any point in your life, but is like very comfortable in being a christian as you are in the world,amongst your non-christian friends, you should pray about it and ask God to help you grow more and more in him, rededicating your life to him once again!

Even though sometimes we may feel that it is impossible to reach the kingdom of heaven, it is impossible to complete the race, it is impossible for your body to take it...etc.
I just want to tell you that God is an awesome and real God that can make the impossible, Possible!

We can always look our for each other and provide support for each other as we grow more and more in christ!
Jia you!

God loves you!

Food

2009-01-29T23:10:00.000-08:00

As i was walking home from school just now, my stomach was like very hungry...
I was thinking about eating maggie mee with egg for lunch...haha=)
I started to think about me, going home and doing the daily routine of eating and watching tv, then tired already then go and sleep then wake up, hungry again, then eat again, then full then go to sleep...it is always like that for my case..what i do at home is eat, sleep, watch tv and use the com..

I realise that no matter how much i eat, no matter how full i can become from eating, i will still get hungry again!
A thought came into my mind, the "Bible is our spiritual food" and "man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
It is saying that the bible is like a food source, the bible is your food..
And no one can survive without food...everyone will just die without food after a few days..
My uncle told me this in chinese during the chinese new year!
He said, "wo men ren jiu shi zhe yang, chi bao ler jiu shui, shui bao ler jiu chi!"
Which means that human beings are like that, we eat already then sleep, sleep already then eat again..
I realise that the physical food that we eat, we can never be full and satisfied like forever...
However, the food we consume from the bible being a neccessity lasts forever..
Because the bible holds God's promises which lasts forever!

Another way of interpreting this is that we have to yearn for God's word from the bible...
Just like we get hungry and is in need of food after a while, we need to get hungry for God's word!
Just like how animals and people search and hunt for food when they are hungry, we must search and yearn for God's word every single day!

There is something that i learnt from the cj prayer group today (known as the SHOP! (school house of prayers)) is that the reason why we christians do quiet time and read God's word is not because we are christians then it is compulsory to do it..
It is not because we want to gain some blessings from God then we do..
It is simply because God is God, and we love him, his love overflows within us, thats why we do it!

Actually the reason why i talk about this today is that through the CNY period, i realise how important it is to know God's word well...
Inorder to let the word master you, you got to first master the word!
We are just like soldiers going out for a battle with the world out there...We cannot battle and win the battle without any weapons and equipments right?
So, the only way to win the battle is to be fully equipt!
There was once su hui jie prayed for me, she said, "God gave me a vision, you are like a tree that wants to bear fruit, however, your roots are placed in loose soil."
Through the many spiritual attacks that i had from my uncles and cousin,
i realised one thing, i got to grow deeper in God's word and know more about God's word...
I tend to use my own understanding and what i know like little bits and pieces from the bible to "fight" this spiritual battle with them..
So, obviously i will lose right!!!
I will get rebutted and pushed back easily...somemore i was relying on my own strength to fight in the spiritual realm...not on God's.

So, are you willing to read more on God's word and spend more time upon what he has to say and has planned out for you?
Set time aside, have FAITH (forsake all, i trust him) because you love him for who he is...^^

God bless you!

Failures and love

2009-01-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

Have you ever thought that the world around you is tumbling down,
whereby you realise how small and worthless you can become?
Whereby you think that you are like a small gross and disgusting little creature that God created and can never be compared to God.
Have you ever thought about the fact that you do not even deserve the love from God who is perfect?
Have you ever thought about how amazing God can be, not in terms of the blessings, power or even the help that he can provide, but just that he is God and it is only right for us to worship and love him for who he is...not what he can do..
I have.

And i can see that we always fail to realise and to recongnise all these..
From my point of view, i feel that people are very realistic and superficial..(including me)
Do you realise that many of the times you love someone because he/she can do things for you?
You love the person according to their abilities..
The world today accept people and embrace them according to what they can do..
Let me list you a few examples, lets just say you are talented in playing the piano or any other musical instrument, or that you are talented in singing, there are several competitions that comes with fame and recognition...fans, crowds and crowds of people love you for what you can do...
Even in schools, in the classrooms, your classmates and teachers usually love those people who are smarter and scores well in their examination. You will realise that they look basically on acadamics or ccas and stuff...not on just who you are.
Even your parents, they sometimes fall into the trap...they can say how much they love you, buy you things that you want when you did well in school...but, they will also scold you, hit you and ignore you when you cannot reach up to their expectations of you...

But there is one love that you can find that is totally different and seperates from the worldly love that we experience...
This love comes from God...he loves you for a very simple reason that you are you...
Even if you ignore him, he loves you.
If you hate him, he loves you.
You do things that he hates or loves, he loves you just as much...
He is more concerned with your personality, what is inside and not on your abilities...
Thats why there is a song that has a title called "change inside of me"....the chorus goes..."i will raise my voice like thunder, leave the world in wonder of this change, the change inside of me...and i will never stop believing, you are the reason for this change, the change inside of me.."

There was once i was feeling really down and unworthy for God because i cannot find any one thing that is worthy of me to God...
I just feel like a fail in so many areas in my life,
I fail as a christian,
I fail as a friend,
I fail as a daughter,
I fail as a sister...
I just feel like i fail in everything...
I spoke to my mentor Grace about it...
She told me that i should not feel unworthy because even God says that i am worthy..
And she told me the talents story in the bible in matthew chap 25 verse 14 to 29...
For all those who don't know, i shall summerise for you..
There are 3 servants, they each recieve talents from their master...
their master leave them to the talents and went away on a journey...
The first man got 5, the second got 2 and the last got 1 talent only...
Both the first and second men use their talents to create more talents for their master, except for the last man with only one talent..
When the master came back, he was happy with the first 2 men but not with the last..
This story shows that God give people different talents and different gifts..whether it is more or lesser than others...
As long as you use what you have for God, to sow the seeds, he will be happy.
You may not seem to have many gifts or the abilities that you want, but just remember that God will use you mightily for his kingdom in his own time.
You may feel that you just wanna give up and grew tired of carrying the crosses, growing more and more stress about doing the works of God and being a christian...
(go listen to the song sang by Corrinne May-The Answer)
Even though you fail many times, as long you are willing to stand up and try again, you are not a failure!
Phui see tells me, "A true failure is one that gives up trying."
When one is weak, he/she is made strong in God!
2 corinthians chap 12 verse 9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."
so when you are facing times whereby you just wanna give up, always pray and look towards God, about how much he loves you and places things in your life for a reason!

There is something that i learnt from Grace...
Have you ever asked the question as to why must God use us to evangelise and sow the seeds?
God is God! he is so powerful! There is no need for us to help him, he can do it by himself!
The reason why God wants us to sow seeds and get persecuted and go through all these is to let us get a feel of how He feels...
He wants us to have a compassion for the people, compassion for the lost just like He does..
He wants us to have a feel of the pain when your friends turn away from you just like how people turn away from God when he loves them so so much!

God loves you!!

Listening to music on my way to school

2009-01-21T06:35:00.000-08:00

Hey!! just wanna tell you all a really good news!
Our not so established CJ prayer group has been established like after we join forces with like the other cj prayer groups!! cool right?! i think God really rocks!!
God works in amazing ways! when we need help, he provided us with help!
Today, i really had a great session!! like we had worship and somebody called da ye shared with us about the bible verses and his life testimony..it really helps me in my christian walk cause it really short of like confirms me what God is trying to say in my struggles that i shared with many and cried about...
I got lots to say....but i had to go for cca...=(

Anws, today i am going to talk to you all about what i experienced like in the morning!
As i woke up as usual, and walk to the busstop while listening to my christian songs like from my handphone as usual...the volume of the music is like the same throughout my walk from like my house to the busstop...

At first, the volume was just nice, not too loud, not too soft...
Then, as a walked from my house estate area to like the busy roads area, whereby buses and cars zoom by, the volume of the music seems lower..
And as i get to the busstop, the music is like so soft until i can barely hear anything!
I raise the volume up to the lvl whereby i can hear the lyrics, but if only i concentrate on the words...
However, as i kept on looking around, i couldn't really concentrate! words from the songs just flew pass my ears...i didn't even know the song ended...
Once i got up onto the bus, it was so much quieter..
As a closed my eyes to really concentrate on the lyrics, i

I realise that it really applies the same to our christian walk...
When we first become a christian, we have so much passion for God, we yearn for God's voice everyday! We can see him working in our lives and hear him speak in our minds!
Or even like during the holidays, when we have time for God, we read his word, we pray and stuff, we can actually have a conversation with God!

However, once things become busy, once the passion wears out...
God is forgotten!
We will slowly slowly hear from more of the world and follow the ways of the world than to really follow closely to God..of course, this includes reading his word...
We will forget God slowly, bit by bit until God's voice becomes so tiny and standing in such a small portion of your life up to the point that it may cease to even exist!
You cannot hear God talking to you and working in your life...
You get distracted, doing so many others things besides anything got to do with God..
Studying,
Watching tv,
Going out,
playing computer,
Basically anything that places God away from the position that he is worthy of in your life! when God is like forever trying to reach out to us!
We get so involved with the world that we forgot totally about God!

There is this song called "Never give up" (really nice!) that goes,
"Time after time, you've been left behind, like a sun we need starting to rain....Time after time, you've been forgotten, like a picture thats faded away...Time after time, you ran after me, while i was still running away..."
It shows that God is always running after us, but we tend to lose sight and forgot all about his amazing love for us and turn our backs against him...
I feel that we are always like that..and really don't deserve God's love at all! We are so so unworthy...but God still chose to love us!!

Anws, only when things starts to become rough and problems start to come, then we will rmb God and turn back to him...
We will then be willing to surrender it all to him because we realised that we cannot handle and we need his help...when this happens, it is when we will set aside time for him..and really sit down and pray and to read his word once again..only then, then we can hear his voice once more...

What i learnt from this is that we should really place God in the centre of our lives! Not because we can recieve blessings from him, not because he can help us, not because He solves our problems...etc..but it is because he is God!
The reason is very simple! He is God, and we are his creators! we are suppose to worship him and love him!
Somemore the God and King we are serving is a good king!
1 John chap 4:19 "We love Him, because He first loved us."
Are you willing to love Him for who He is and not upon what he can do and provide?

God loves you alot!

Yoga and Taichi

2009-01-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

This is something that i learnt from Elsa when i joined the saltshakers for cell!!

Anws, these are things that not many people know..even christians fall into it..
Do you know that Yoga and Taichi has got to do with some spiritual thing?
Have you ever heard a phrase from Yoga? "mind body and spirit"?
Yoga as many think is just an exercise that keeps you calm and fit...it is just like any other stretching exercise!

However, Yoga is being created to open up the spiritual realm...whereby you are opening your body to invite other spirits to come in..
There are some stretches and teachings from Yoga that opens up the door to spirits..
Lets just say for example that particular action that you do, it just unlocks the door..
So, it is better not to do it...

It is the same for taichi!
There was one experience that Elsa's family experience on one trip!
It was a trip to China and they had to stay with a family and the mother of that particular family learn taichi and is very into it..

Anws, there was one night from 12am to 1am..
While Elsa's mum was reading the bible and praying, she heard Dogs barking really loudly from like downstairs!
Then, she just went to sleep..
The next morn, she asked Elsa's bro, her son whether he heard the dogs barking!
He said no, he heard the women downstairs burping really loudly!
Then her mum ask the woman, is there like Dogs outside barking yesterday?
The woman say yes..

After they got back from China, Elsa's mum found on the internet some tachi thingy..
It says that taichi has got to do with some inviting the animal spirits into one's body...
And the most vulnarable period of the body is from 12am to 1am!
Isn't it scary?
The devil is using all these things to trick us...trick the ignorant to do it...
What i heard was taichi can heal ppl by inviting the spirits and stuff..
So do not be tricked by it!
Pls learn to discern the truth from the lies that the devil creates to trick ppl into hell...
God is the truth!

Here is the website for the taichi thingy...go take a look!^^
http://www.chinaforjesus.com/resources/qigong/index.htm

God loves you!

Friday's cell!

2009-01-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

You know what?!

On fri's cell, i did a trust fall in church!
What is trust fall?
I stood on 4 chairs and is suppose to face towards the front while my friends are on the ground, interlocking their hands together to catch me while i fall!!
Many of you may think that this is very fun and there is nothing to be afraid about!
However, because previously i did some cheerleading in school and i was also suppose to fall back and stuff, no one was there to catch me..
Guess what...
I fell straight down in a classroom and my back hit the floor!
From then on, i got the phoebia of me falling backwards already..
However, on fri, kenneth, gaomin, yiqing, nicole tan, amanda, matthew, encouraged me and forced me to do it!!!
AHHH!!! i was so super duper scared! my legs were like shaking and i just keep on standing up and sitting down on the four stacked up chairs! I struggled with them for like 30 min!!!
Finally, i fell....
I felt good that i did it but also super scared!! My legs were like shaking when i walked to the busstop, i cannot get rid of the shock i had..
Somemore! i have to do it tmr! to show the sec 1s that i can conquer my fears!
Dunno whether i can..
hahaha=)

Anws,
Today, i want to talk about what is being taught by kenneth on friday's cell!!
It was a lesson on 2 Corinthians chap 5 verse 17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW
CREATION ; the OLD has GONE, the NEW has COME!"

When you accept christ into your life, you are FAT!!!

Why?

Firstly, it is because you are Forgiven!!
In psalm 103:12 "He removed our transgressions from us totally.
In John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he will forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness."

You may ask, why is forgiveness so important?
Forgiveness helps to break any barrier that prevents us from coming into the presence of God...
It is just like if you cannot forgive any particular friend that you might have, you will not be close to this friend or may even break up...
Therefore, it is important cause it brings us closer to God instead of total seperation!

Secondly, it is being Alive in Christ!
In John 3:5-7
"You should not be surprised at my saying, you must be born again."
In 2 corinthians 5:17(said just now)

What does being born again mean?
It means having a 180 degree change in your spiritual life. Being aware that there is a God! To go away from your old sinful life to a new righteous being.
It is when you know that you are a child of God and eternal life is being given to you..

Thirdly, you are a Temple of Christ.
Gal 2:20 " I have been crucified with Christ and i no longer live but Christ Lives in me. The life i live in the body, i live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
This verse means, dying to self....
It is means that your flesh will conflicts with God's ways.
A process of struggling to obey God.
I know it is not easy to not follow the ways of the world since like we are in the world and there are several other people out there that belongs to the world, sinning like nobody's business...
Sometimes, we also fall into temptation when we face peer pressures and other pressures regarding issues like the fear to lose friends because of God and stuff...
Kenneth said that "If you are struggling, it is a sign of spiritual growth"
I think this sentence can be used as an indicator to see whether have you been growing in God,
and really be someone that steps out of their comfort zone, not fear man and be different from the rest!
It is a slow process of disobeying yourself and wanting to obey God.
But there is something that i learnt in the midst of all the struggles that i face, wanting to share the gospel and correcting my friends away from their sins is that, i need to learn to be tactful..
To not put others down but to do it in a peaceful manner..
Most importantly, i got to pray!!

Just continue to follow closely in God's ways and do not give up!
Don't set standards to fit yourself and to make yourself comfortable...when it is just actually self-deception! ^^
God is looking for those who follow him NO MATTER WHAT!!
Even though you may not receive praises from man, but isn't it better when the praises come from God?!
Jia you!

God bless!!

Contentment and interconnectedness!

2009-01-13T01:27:00.000-08:00

There is no major inspiration that i have..
Today, i will just like to talk about contentment....

When the O lvl results are being released yesterday, there are many tears of joy and sadness..
People cry over the results they get because they worked so hard for it...
As long as they they get a result that is different from their expectations, people will react so greatly on it...
I had once cried so badly for it too...
Being someone who had gone through all these, i stepped back and took a larger glance at the picture...
Year after year, people take PSLE, O lvls and As,
People cry and laugh over it...
People compare results and realise that they didn't do as well or even did very badly even though it may not be the case..

I realised how many of the times when we are really happy, we tend to forget about God and think that we achieved this results is based on our own strength not on God!
We fail to rmb those times whereby God lend us a helping hand for the process...
Also, when we are sad, we blame it on God for letting it happen...
We blame him for not letting and granting us with what we want...

I think that we should really place our trust in God cause he is far sighted and what we see is things that are only right infront of us...
We do not have the ability to find out what is going to happen before it happens...
So, we need to rely on God even more! make sense?

I feel that since we cannot change the score and God gave that particular score to you, one should be contented with what we have..
It is the same as the air that we breathe, the plants that we have, the weather,people who love us..etc.
These are all given by the grace of God!
We cannot change the weather to suit us or change the people around us..etc..
We should really be contented with what we have..
Sometimes i do fail to be contented...
I only am after i lose that particular thing or person...

There are somethings that we cannot change, we can only accept..
So, accept it with joy!
Because no matter how much achievements you get, there is always a way..
And if you are willing to place your trust in God,
God can make the disasters right to do his will on earth!
Besides, studies is not everything that one should focus on...even though it is percieved to be SUPER important in this society...
I feel that studies is important..but it shouldn't come inbetween friends or even family members...
It shouldn't be something that creates conflicts and breaks people up!
Relationships between people are important! More important than paper and ink...
Just wanna tell everyone that no matter where you are or where you are about to go, as long as you are willing to let go and trust in God, you will find success, happiness and joy in whatever you are doing one day!
One day, when you look back at how God has walked you through, you will find out that everything is within God's plan and it is still within his control..
Jia you!

Another thing that i wanna say is that i am really glad to know that there are so many christians all over the world that are looking out for each other!
It is like people uses the internet to communicate and get to know each other, but, christian uses prayer! Cool right?!
Anws, i just recieved a book in an envelope like yesterday...and when i open it i realise it was a christian book on "Revolution in world missions"!
It shocked me cause i remembered that i once chanced upon this website whereby they offer free christian book and i just anyhow type in my address and stuff!
Never knew that they will send the book all the way from America! and even had a letter!
I feel so at home!!
Last sun, our church invited like christians from many countries to come together and sing Christian songs in different languages and stuff, i realised that as long as the people of God come together and sing praises to God, no matter what language and in what country, i feel so at home and real happy! Cause they all speak the same language!

Just type free christian books in yahoo or google and you will find many websites giving free books!
Our God is a really generous God who is willing to reach out even to those who cannot afford the books and to spend money to help people grow spiritually!!

God unconditionally loves you!

Hell (cool information)

2009-01-11T05:18:00.000-08:00

Tmr my school is starts like for the year 2009!
So i am like super scared...cause i really dunno what to expect at all...
I think it will be just one whole year of studies and studies and studies!
But, i would want to place evangelism as my priority instead!
I know it is not easy...but i am willing to try...
Anws, today i wanna talk about hell...

You may not believe that hell is real..
But i can tell you that i would rather you to believe it and accept Jesus Christ then to realise that it exist after you die..
Because, by that time, it will be already too late and it will be for eternity!
Hell is true and i am not just trying to scare you..

The bible describes about hell in mark chap 9 verse 48, whereby it is a place "where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out."
Hell is thought to be at the centre of the earth..
Up till now, no mankind has ever dug so far into the centre of the earth despite the technologies that we have...
And, i don't think mankind will ever be able to...cause satan won't allow people to see hell, only after death..

I read this from a book..
It says that false prophets want us to believe that "Hell is an old religious concept invented to scare people into obedience, but are we too modern to believe such things now!"
Is this really true?
Science has shown that the Biblical description of Hell is startingly accurate.
The Bible says that Hell is under earth.
Under the earth is not Atlas as the Greeks claimed, or a Turtle as the American Indians claimed, or elephants as the Hindu Vedas claim,
But it is layers and layers of heat increasing in intensity!
The estimated temperature of the earth's core is 6650 degrees!
The element sulphur (Blibical brimstone) has been discovered as a component of the earth's mantle.
It would suffocate every breath you would try to take...

Hell is a place whereby you will not have a single drop of water to drink from (can you imagine no relief from thirst forever?), nor fresh air to breathe (can you imagine not being able to breathe properly for eternity?), nor sunlight to see (can you imagine total darkness?), nor opportunity to rest (can you imagine needing to sleep but never sleeping again for eternity?),
nor a friend to talk to(can you imagine no convo with anyone anymore?), nor a sense of purpose whatsoever (can you imagine absolutely nobody caring about you?)
None of the things that you enjoy on earth like the sun, air, rest , friends, work can be enjoyed in hell...cause these things are blessings provided by the grace of God..
And hell is a place devoid of God's blessings.

What will be there?
Everything evil that we have ever encounted.
Worms, maggots, snakes, beasts and terrible monstrosities(found in the bible)...
All things that will HATE you, because they hate God and YOU are made in the image and likeness of God..
They will torment you forever but you will never die.
Can you imagine? On earth, one sting or bite can kill you. But in Hell, you can be stung, bitten, torn apart and you cannot die..

Some people may ask, wah! these kind of place God also wanna built? i thought you say he loves us?
Suppose you were God, what will you do?
Would you allow liars, rapists to go into Heaven?
All those who sin and continues to sin after death without repenting and turning to God will have to suffer Hell..that is the fact because sin makes us unworthy of going to Heaven but to Hell..
Think about it..
How else can God deliver justice to victims and protect the innocent from becoming future victims?
What makes Hell so bad but not Good?
It is just the absence of God!
He just needs to put all the sinners together be it angelic or adamic without God, that place will be beyond imagination!

God let us experience abit of Hell and abit of Heaven on earth so we get to choose what we want for eternity...
Lets just say if we got a war happening on earth...the people may think it is hell! But do you realise that war on earth will eventually stop?
In hell, there is no God to stop them...

So, after reading so much, it all ends up to what your choice is...
You have to take charge of your own life and take 100% responsibility!
Heaven and Hell are real...what is your choice today?

God Bless you!

Changes

2009-01-09T07:46:00.000-08:00

Just came back from my new cell today!

Today, i am going to talk about changes...
Ever since the new year has came, changes started to occur in my life...
And when school starts, there will be more changes!
In church,
In school,
My lifestyle,
My friends,
my walk with God...etc..

Changes to some people maybe a good thing!
As they always say..."the old don't go, the new will not come!"
I know changes are good..
I love them too...
But there are some times whereby i do wish that nothing will change...

I had judo open house until 6 today..
I was suppose to join leng shan and phui see for dinner....
I even requested to leave early and to skip the judo dinner cause i having dinner with my friends...
It turned out that leng shan and phui see wanted to have dinner at great world instead and i cannot make it there..
Anws, what i know is that i am very hungry and i really wanted to eat with my friends no matter what i am eating..
But they were unavailable..
I missed those times whereby i call edith and cheryl (my previous cell mentors) to ta bao for me and we will go church early, eat, talk and laugh...
I missed those times whereby eloise, edith, phui see and me walk to the bus stop late at night after cell..
I missed the times whereby i take bus with edith and we will talk all the way back home...
I missed how shash worship God without music, just with our voices..
I missed edith, cheryl and eloise...
Things are just not the same without them...
At first i didn't feel the impact, only after the change started to happen...
sometimes i just feel that the world is going on, leaving me far far behind..

But, there is one thing that i know will never change with the world..
That thing is God's love for us..
No matter what we do as a human being, no matter what we become, no matter how much we sin, no matter what we go through, God still loves us just the way we are=)
I am sure that even if all the things around this world changes,
God will never change...
His word will never change...
So, you can find assurance in him.
You can find the hope, the strength and the promise in him..
Cause he is the only one that does not change and lasts forever!

God loves you!

Surrender

2009-01-06T06:48:00.000-08:00

I was just lying on my bed like at home like after i watch okto like at night..
then i started to sing a song..
It is called "five loaves and two fishes"
It is about a boy at the age of 13, only has like 5 loaves and 2 fishes in his lunchbox and he sees Jesus christ preaching to thousands of people.
the chorus goes like this...
"take my five loaves and two fishes, do with it as you will...i surrender"

This small little boy, even though it is the only food he had and he was hungry,
is willing to give up his all for the sake of thousands...
He do not know who Jesus can do, he do not know what his small little share of food can do to feed thousands....
He just trusted Jesus and surrender it all to him!

I think we should learn from the little boy...
He did not have alot to give, but he still gave his all..
God is not looking for people who had lots to give, but for people to really surrender his/her all!
If you were to see, a poor women, giving all the money to has to save the less fortunate
And another women who is rich, giving just a portion of his/her money,
Who do you think God will look at? Who do you think is more sincere and show more love?

I think the main reason as to why people have so much worries nowadays is because they are unable to let go..
They are unable to let and give everything to God..
Maybe it is because they think they can handle it?
I dunno...
For me, it is very difficult to let go certain things like if i lost my wallet, i will worry over it...
Before exams start, i will worry...
Alot alot of things! I just cannot help it!
But what i know is that since God is willing to help me take my burdens and shoulder it for me,
Why not?
I mean i would rather let God to handle then i handle right? isn't it better?

What do i mean by surrender?
I see surrendering to God as really placing your full trust and faith in him without doubting!
Have you ever heard from the bible that faith that is as small as a mustard seed can move mountains!

God is looking not for those with many capabilities and those which has loads to offer,
He is looking to people who are available and willing to do his will...
Even if you think you are the most lousiest and incapable person in this whole wide world, as long as you are willing to surrender your all just like the little boy and the poor women,
God will use you to do great things to impact others and to do his will!!
You may not know what God is going to do, but as long as you trust and surrender, miracles will happen! Cause our God is the one true and loving God!
It is the key...but are you willing to take it and open the door?

God loves you!

Plan for the future

2009-01-04T02:43:00.000-08:00

Hey! i am back from Genting!!
I made quite a few friends like leng shan's cousin, bro and her mum's friends!!
Although we didn't get to play like some of the major rides because it was too misty, i had fun with them! And i really thank God that it didn't rain!
Cause the next day and the day before the 2nd jan it rained!!

Today i would just like to talk about plans for the future!
What do i mean?
I realised that many! especially teenagers plan for the future...
Children have got their own parents to plan for them...
They plan about the schools, where are they going to go...
They make sure that their kids will have a future later on...
Even adult these days plan for this and that..
Plan for house
Plan for job
Plan for injury...etc.
Like everything, people think and prepare for the future!

However, there are some things that people do not plan and prepare...
Things like where will they go after death....
They usually see their life on earth and what are they going to achieve with it.
They don't really care about death cause they think that they are still young and they won't die so early and stuff...
However, life here on earth is only a super duper small portion of eternity!
But people just do not care about eternity!
Since the Bible is proven to be real and God is the one true God, what have you got to loose when you believe and accept him into your life?
Heaven and Hell are real!
And Hell is a very terrifying place to dwell in for eternity cause it is not even made for human beings in the first place!
Don't regret after you die, cause there will be no way out!
You can never know when you will die!

Oh!
Do you know that the BIBLE stands for "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth!"
cool right?

Anws, there is one more thing that i observed..
It was during my genting trip like on the way there on the bus...
I was closing my eyes at a stop when i heard the convo between leng shan's mum and her two other friends..
Guess what they were talking about?
They were talking about xiao niang re! Some chinese drama serial!
Everyone is like watching that show! (including me)
Anws, i realised that there are very few instances whereby people talk about religion...
Why?
I guess people do not want to create any conflicts
People are so caught up with the things and ways of the world when they fail to even realise and find out that there is a God out there!
Or they just can't be bothered about the future and are unwilling to step out of their comfort zone...
I dunno...
But i feel that we should talk about religion and be open about it!
Cause it will be our future!
Why hide something that has a consequence for eternity?
Shouldn't you share the solution that Jesus provide for us?
Isn't it a super good news?
Just talk about religion!!
Understand more about other religions and how they work so that you can relate to them and bring them to christ! Cause our God is the one and only true God! And he will always win!
Don't just stop by saying...what is your religion? "oh! i am a buddist", "ok" and just stop there...
Talk about it and be open=)

There is one thing that Aaron shared and encouraged me with..
Whenever you are scared,
You must think that you do not have the right to be scared and fearful at all!
Cause God promised that he will be your refuge and told you not to be fearful!
It is God talking to you...so what right do you have to fear?=)

The end times is coming and facts from revelations are coming up!
Make a point this year to evangelise!
You will never know, souls can be saved because you planted the seed=)
Jia you!

God loves you!!

Haw Par Villa (a hell like place)

2008-12-30T17:44:00.001-08:00

Hey hey!! sorry that i didn't post like alot these days cause got no inspiration...hahaha=)
Anw, i jus wanna tell you all about my experience at Haw Par Villa!
Have you ever been there?
It is at bouna vista area!

It all started off when i met leng shan at bras plaza and we wanted to go tecman..
Then she said that she wanted to bring me to a very cool place..
A hell like place!
So we went there lor...
Haw Par villa is a place built by buddists and for buddists...
When i first entered, what i saw was like a place full of statues...
Like budda, sun wu kong, animals and several faces!
Everywhere is just statues and figurines of the people in the past and how it links to the different chinese cheng yu being taught today..
It is like super warm and we had to walk..haha=)
i don't really like walking alot so....
Anw, i started to ask leng shan eh! lets go to the hell like place like now!
She told me, no...the best for the last!

After all the walking, we went to eat maggi mee at some restaurant over there...
each one cost 3 dollars! of course got give egg and stuff la..
After that, we went to the hell like place..
admission fee is 1 dollar for adult..
before entering some grey concrete enclosed area, what i saw was human faces on the stone...and they are crying blood!
The first thing that i saw in the concrete area was the judge...it makes me think of satan..(but in a chinese form i guess)
as i walk inner, there are like several different sections..the whole place is called the "10 courts of hell"
it gives descriptions of the sin that one commit and what kind of punishment one will endure in hell..
Eg, if you are unfilial or cause trouble to your parents or speak vulgarities, you will get smashed by a stone or get your legs and hands and head chopped off..
Stuff like that..
They use figurines of human beings to illustrate!
Blood everywhere, people in bloody lake, people's tongue gets pulled out, people gets smashed under a large stone like a grinder, people burnt, people pierced..etc..
So many so many!
It really freaks me out..
Imagine, when one go to hell, there is no way to escape!
It is too late...and you will have to endure these kind of torture over and over again!
Worst thing is you cannot die! but it lasts for eternity!

Sometimes i just cannot understand why people on earth just continues to sin, continues to enjoy their lives when time of earth is just so short as compared to eternity!
There is a heaven and hell! and no one can run away from it!
Even budda, such a wise man, says in one the the four nobel truths that the purpose of life is to find a way out of the wheel of suffering which no one can escape from...and the one way is Jesus!
Jesus provided the way cause he is the only one that did not sin even on earth or in Hell for three days!
He is the only one that can escape from suffering that all other human beings suffer due to sin!

Before it is too late, pls, accept Jesus christ into your life today! (if you don't know how, leave a comment k?)

Oh! you all should go and read the post on "Pls believe me" on http://www.chowzy.blogspot.com/...

I won't be writing any post from the 1st to the 4th of jan! cause i going genting with leng shan!! yeah!!!

God loves you always!

Children

2008-12-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Today, on the bus, i thought about something...

Because i saw a little girl and she is really adorable!!
i started to imagine how i will carry the girl in my arms, how i will love her and how i really really want her to love me back...
cause she is so so cute!
But dunno why, i started to link to God...
God also loves us so much and find each and everyone super cute and special!
And i am sure he also wants people to love him back!

There was another thought...
I found out the reason why God loves children..
Children are very innocent and have child-like faith....
they do not really think much and everything around them is just very simple!
The reason why as we grow older, it is not easy to get saved...
As we grow older it will be more and more difficult to accept the simplicity of things and we always think that everything is very complicated...regarding both the world and God...
Children are the ones that accept and believe things easily,
they are the ones that think that the world is like a playground and they are happy and contented with what they have...
they are the ones that are always happy and joyful, full of energy!
they are the ones that show others what they are actually feeling on the inside...and not to bottle it all up!
they don't care about pride, face or anything else that older people cared about...
they are just happy, living in their small little world...
thats why i do not want to grow up at times...

God loves little children...
Cause they are able to accept the simplicity of everything...
Just like if we were to tell them saying, hey!
Do you know that Jesus loves you alot and died on the cross for your sins?
Are you willing to accept him into your life?
They will not bother to search for answers...they just accept and believe!
Thats how amazing children are!
And sometimes, i really do admire them=)

God loves you!

Christmas

2008-12-26T07:10:00.000-08:00

Every year we recieve presents, go to church and celebrate christmas as just any other festive season...
This is the second year that i celebrated christmas with Jesus in my heart..
Every year i recieve presents with high expectations but when i unwrap the presents, it will always be below my expectations and i will always be kinda sad...but of course still must accept right..

Anyways..
This year it is kinda different cause i understood one point..

The point is that i feel that christmas presents are not important at all!
If people buy for you, it just shows that they care and love you..
You may buy a super expensive gift and that person may give you something real cheap, it doesn't really matter..cause your gift made someone smile!
i feel that presents are suppose to make the reciever feel happy...if you did it, you succeed!
And christmas is not just about giving gifts and recieving them,
It is about the fact that God came down to earth as a human being!

You may say...haiz..i hear this story 10000000...times!

But i still wanna emphasize on the point that a God that is willing to step down from the throne and his comfort zone to go through all the trouble, pain and sufferings just to save us from going to hell because of our sins, that God, is a good and amazing God!

There is a song called above all,
One of the sentence is...
"you lived to die, rejected and alone, like a rose, trampled on the ground, you took the fall, and thought of me, above all..."

Before i came to really know christ, i used to wonder..
why must God come down just to save us...
here is a story that i heard and i wanna tell you..

There is this son of a man...
The man is a judge...
The son committed a huge crime and was being placed in court!
This man have to follow the law and give his son the punishment that he deserve!
So he has to painfully judge his son...
After judging, because he loves his son so so much, he took down his wig, step down from his judge seat and took the punishment that his son has to endure upon himself...

It is the same with God...
God loves us so so much that he is willing to take our place..
To be born as a human being called Jesus to take upon our punishment..
"For the wages of sin is death"
He loves you so so much!
Are you willing to love him back?

God loves you!

Inspirational

2008-12-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

I found this really very inspiring!

Pastor lip yong said that..
God's plan and purpose for us christians is really to evangilise!

Okay, ask you something..
What is the one thing that us christians cannot do in heaven but on earth?
Many may answer..sin!
But it is actually evangilise!
Do you realise that you cannot evangilise to anyone when you go up to heaven?
You can have the best worship, you can pray and do all the stuff in heaven..and i am sure that it will be so much more perfect as compared to earth!
So it does not matter whether you have the gift to evangilise annot, you still have to do it cause it is God's purpose for us on this earth...

I was wondering today..
Have you ever wondered like how life will be like in your friend's life if you don't exist...
Because i was sitting on the bus like on the way to the choir performance at orchard...
The people behind the bus are like making alot of noice and stuff...
I started to wonder, whether is it very important for me to be there...whether will it make a noice difference when i am in like their convo..
I started to realise that it doesn't matter whether i am there annot...they are having so much fun talking..
Then, i feel that at some point of time i am not very important in the world...whether i exist annot, the world will still go on and rotate...

I started to appreciate God more, cause he really loves us as who we are and not according to what we can achieve and what we can do...
He loves us just because we are here...
And i started to realise that he is the only one that loves us even if we no longer seem to be important in this world...
He still treats us like princes and princesses!
This is the beauty of our God...

I love God!!

A story

2008-12-16T07:25:00.000-08:00

They rhema conference that my church organised was real good so far! especially the night time rally...
My friends kai yuan and xin ying cannot make it for today's one...and today's message was very touching!
14 people got saved!! praise the lord!
But, i can't help feeling sad...cause my none of the friends that i wanna save, are saved...=(
anw, i just wanna tell you this story that pastor lip yong talked about today!

there was this boy...
He was holding a cage with three birds...
A man walked over and said, "what cute birds you have!"
The boy said, "yah! i love them alot! i am going to pluck out their feathers one by one and poke them..."
the man said, "huh? then what are you going to do to them after that?"
the boy said, "oh! after that, i am going to kill them and feed it to my cat!"
the man felt pity for the bird and his heart soften...
he said, "how much for these birds?"
the boy said, "ai ya! you won't want these birds one la...there are so many in the park! you can go catch some for yourselves!"
the man said," no, how much are these birds?"
the boy thought to himself, "wah, this is a good opportunity to earn some profits!"
the boy said, "er, 10 dollars for these three birds!"
the man took out his wallet and passed him the 10 dollars...
the man brought the cage to the park, open the doors, tap the cage and set them free...

There is Satan and God...
Satan holds a cage and inside this cage were people...
God asks satan," hey! what are you going to do with these?"
Santan says," oh! i am going to let them fight amongst themselves, hate each other, torture them..oh..it is so fun! i am going to give them alcohol, cigerattes, drugs to make them feel terrible and helpless..i am going to have so much fun with them!"
God says," then what are you going to do after that?"
Santan said," oh! after that, i am going to kill them and throw them into fire!"
God felt really heartbroken for the people....
He said,"how much for these people?"
Satan said," ai ya! you wouldn't want them one...they will betray you, hit you, insult you and not appreciate what you are going to do for them!"
God said," no, how much?"
Satan thought, 'wah, this is a good opportunity to get back at God!'
Satan said," ok! if you want them, you will have to pay using your blood!"
God said, "ok, deal"

I think this story is really touching because through all these rhema stuff, i realise how great God is...
He created so many solar systems and ours is only one of them...he created the whole universe!
He created all the animals, insects, plants, sea and so many so many...
He created the earth which is the only planet able to support life..
I think we are very previllaged to be his people..
Cause it is like He is God! and He is perfect and so powerful!
He don't even need us to do what he wants to do!
We are useless to him...and uncomparable..cause we are so imperfect...we sin...
Sometimes, we even forgot about him and not believe in him...
But he loves us so so much that he is willing to take down his crown and step down from his throne to die for our sins!

Imagine God! willing to die for people! What a huge sacrifice! just because he loves us unholy people..

He is our maker...he makes us from dust...

I ask you, if you make something, wouldn't you want that thing to honour you to worship you and love you?
It is the same!
However, God came down as Jesus and get insulted by us, hit and stonned by us, scolded by us
when he is the one that made us!
Don't you think God's love is so so great and amazing?!
So shouldn't you love him back?

As the song goes...."the greatest love that anyone could ever know, that overcame the cross and grave to find my soul..."

I love him, cause he sacrificed so much because he loves me...shouldn't you do so too?

God loves you alot!!

Crossing the road

2008-12-15T07:21:00.000-08:00

Oh! There was one incident that i experienced not long ago...
I was like going home crossing the road that crosses from Bukit Batok MRT to the interchange...

It was like a super short and small road...
I was walking to it to wait for it to turn green before i can cross, loads of people just came rushing and hitting against me as they cross the road with the red man...it was like a flow kind of thing. I seemed to be dragged by them just like a force pulling me over...it is like any normal person will just follow the flow kind of thing...

But, I stood there with everyone passing by me and hitting against me...
Until there is green man then I cross...

I had a thought going through my mind...

Are we Christians going to let the flow of the world carry us through just like that? Sinning against God and following what the world do, not being a point of difference, crossing the road at the wrong time (going into hell) OR are we going to stand for doing the right thing and standing for God no matter what and wait patiently and hold on till the very end.

Even though temptations may hit us and push us, are we going to stand firm and wait for the green man to appear to indicate us to cross over to the kingdom of God?

God loves you!

Leading worship

2008-12-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

Hey hey!! couldn't come online the past few days cause i always come back late...hahhaa=)
Anyways..today i had choir prac at G2 then leading worship at G1 for children's church (CC) then Choir combined prac at G2 again!
Really had a super busy day travelling around...
Oh! anws, i wanna talk about the part whereby i lead worship at G1 for CC..

Today, i lead worship at CC...it was a terrible one...actually i expected it before i lead..
For all those who don't know, leading worship here means to stand infront, holding the mic...etc..
Do you know why i expected it?
Cause previously i led before for the P5s and P6s for 3 services and i totally screwed it up...=(
i got like leaders in the church saying that i can do better and saying that this time it is not very good previously...etc..
Actually, i would prefer them not to say anything...cause i already knew i screwed up...they made me feel worst..
It was never easy leading worship...we had to use hand gestures to signal the musician like when to sing the chorus, verse and bridge...and we have to know when to come in with thee music to sing and we have to pray in between songs and do the transitions..etc..with fear!
It was never easy...and the leaders in church always have such high expectations of me being a leader and being able to lead..they never considered that it was my first time previously...

This is like my first time leading worship for the P1s to P6s...a larger group..
And as usual i was scared...
The first two songs is i choose one...it is amazing God and with Christ in the vessel..they are action songs...
The last two are everyday and from the inside out..chosen by eloise(my loved one!)
the first two songs were ok...but when it came to the third and fourth song, everything went bad...i couldn't go with the pianist (abigail)...and the children, only a few were singing...i was scared...i screamed for God's help...
After the whole thing, i was just in a state of shock and sadness...
i told eloise, elo, i don't think i am meant to lead worship...i don't have a gift in this area at all...i wanna give up...i don't think that i am able to lead worship..and my voice sucks=(" actually i expected it la...
eloise say,"no! God give you a nice voice for a reason! and your gift is here! the worst thing is to give up on yourself and to have self fulfilling prophesy!"
Oh! i haven tell you all, cause my dream is to become a christian singer in future....so i was real sad...

After that, while i was still feeling real discouraged and sad, while i was watching some christmas movie in the children's church ministry, the Holy spirit spoke to me....
i realise that i shouldn't give up just like that...cause maybe God is preparing me to lead in future...thats why he is placing so many opportunities right infront of me now to let me practice, fail and learn...when i fail i learn...i should thank God that he let me fail in church, in front of a small no. of people...i dunno what the future has install for me...but what i am sure is that God will take care of it!"
A song came into my mind...the song is"voice of truth"
one part of the lyrics goes...."To step out of my comfort zone, to the realm of the unknown where Jesus is, and he is holding his hand. But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me, reminding me of all the times i tried before and failed. The waves at keep on telling me, time and time again, Boy, you'll never win!.....But the voice of truth, tells me a different story..."

As long as you look to God in everything you do and not focus on the times you have failed, but the on times you have succeeded, i am sure God will allow you to succeed oneday!
Do not focus on whats other's comments are on you, but focus on what God has to say to you...
As long as you do that, even the hardest wind, can never blow you away...
Look at the future and not what you might be facing now!
Rmb to read his word daily! and God will speak to you!
Don't let satan win!! yeah!!
Jia you!

God bless!!

Self-centredness

2008-12-10T00:50:00.000-08:00

I was just helping my sister to search for something online when i chanced upon a website...
There was a video that i found it was quite interesting...

There was a sermon...
And the sermon was on self-centeredness!
He say that whenever something goes terribly wrong, we blame it on Satan...
Satan is like our enemy and we place all the blame on him...
we may think that Satan is our greatest enemy. The enemy of all mankind...
However, what we do not realize is that our greatest enemy is not Satan. It is our self-centeredness!
God sent Jesus down to die on the cross for us to free us from the self-centredness present within us...
To not focus on ourselves but to focus on the world and the people around us...

As you see several natural or man-made disasters happening around the world...
earthquake, tsunami, floods, riots, terrorists..etc..and many lives are being lost just like that...thousands and millions lives are gone so quickly, entering into hell...
When is the last time that you feel sad and prayed for them...when is the last time that you moan and fast for this matter...when is the last time you sat down with your family and pray?

There was this website that may answer some of your questions about religion and christianity..i think it is real cool!
so you all should go and check it out! yeah!
http://www.gotquestions.org/questions_salvation.html

God Bless you!

worshipper VS complainer

2008-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Today, i would like to talk about the sermon that was being said last sun...

There are two kinds of people on the earth...
1) worshipper
2) complainer

What is considered as being a worshipper?
It is when even in the worst circumstances, you will turn your eyes upon God and look into his way, not on yourself..
It is when you thank God for everything and in whatever situation that you face...
An example is that when God's people are trapped within the cell like the inner dungeons where all the human wastes are, just because they did good, as said in the bible. Instead of complaining and acting out the way that any other normal human beings will, they sing praises, worship God and thank him!
Don't you think it is amazing?

How about a complainer?
it is when even if you are in the best situations, you can always find fault and something bad to complain about...
the pastor gave an example..
He say that when he got his O lvl results, he got a total of 12 points after the minus...
He was real happy and thank God for it!
All his other friends including all the girls got like 6 and 7 points before the minus...
They plan to go to all the top schools in Singapore...
There was one particular friend, he had 8 points (which is very good already!).
However, he complained "ai ya! how come i get an A2 for chemistry! if not i can get 7 points ler!"

After he said this, i had a thought in my mind...
i recalled about the times when i went overseas with my classmates...
even though we stayed in like a not so bad hotel, they still complained, just because it is not up to their expectations...
Do you know that an average Singaporean complain at least 3 times a day? (i think i said it before)
Are you guilty of it?

He said that A human's mind can turn heaven into hell or hell into heaven.

You may ask, how do i become a worhipper then?
It is when you close your eyes and zoom out...zoom out to see the larger picture...zoom out to see how fortunate you are as compared to others and not focus on the tiny little details that causes you to complain...

There are several things that you can plan and schedule...
like mon you are going to do what, tues do what, wed do what...etc.
However, there is one thing that you cannot plan.
And that is trails from God..
you cannot say...ok, i am free on thurs like this time, so God you can test me here, at this timing...
God can place situations in your life to test whether you are a worshipper or a complainer.
So you must always be prepared...
But there is one thing that i wanna tell you...
is that people are watching...
your friends, family members are watching how you react to certain situations...
Are you ready?

We always talk about the need to follow Jesus...follow the ways of him...
The story about Jesus multiplying 5 loaves and 2 fishes to feed the 5 thousand ppl, Jesus thank God for the food and it increased in numbers..
Thanking God unleashes supernatural powers and it is also the key to a miracle..

There are 4 kinds of prayer
1) Mercy
2) Petition-request for help
3) intercession-when you interceed for someone else
4) Thanksgiving
The last one unlocks the presence of God..
When you thank God, it unleashes miraculous powers into your life!
Always always look towards God in every situation you are in, and you will find joy!

Are you going to be a typical Singaporean, always complaining?
or a worshipper? someone that is different.
Jia you!

God loves you!

Quiet time!

2008-12-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

Hello! i just came back from church leader's retreat!!!
yeah! it was fun! the second day only...
However, i recieve several problems in relationships as well as me being a leader....
Pray that i will not give up while facing all these emotional problems, but to grow from it!
For now, i just feel like the whole world is tumbling over me...i didn't realise that i have so many expectations to meet, so many stresses...even in church...i thought church is suppose to be a place of taking a break from the outside world, just to worship God...just feel like giving up and taking a break from church and from serving God...i just feel terrible on the inside...

Anyways, today i wanna talk about quiet time.
Quiet time is something that my church always emphasize on and stressing on the importance of quiet time...
For all those who do not know what is quiet time, it is a time whereby you meditate on God's word as you read the bible or any other christian material...
It is a time being placed aside for God and God only...to communicate with God and to seek for God's will in your life...
It is a time of focus on God...
what i realise is that there are so many thousand things going on in our lives that we always complain that time is not enough...
So, even i as a christian may sometimes not do my quiet time cause i spend my time doing something else like watching tv, using the com...then by the time i wanna do quiet time, i already lose the focus and it gets too tiring and sleepy for me to do it already..

There was once recently, i asked Jondave from like young adults ministry whether he got do qt annot, the answer that he gave me was that he didn't really do much cause he got several tests this week...
i told him how important qt is regarding one's spiritual walk with God and to bond with him...
telling him that if your really love God, just like if you love someone, you would want to talk to the person like everyday...
morever, it is like taking like 10 to 15 min of your time like 24 hours for God!

He taught me something new...
He say that doing qt is just like a secondary factor...it is not as impt as living out your life as a christian..
He asked me,' How are you assured of your salvation?'
And said that ' not all who call Jesus as lord will enter the kingdom of God.'
I answered...it is when you take up the cross and follow Jesus..it is when you let God's word to master you and to really live out a Godly life!
he say that qt is suppose to be part of our life as a christian...
And that, you are actually doing qt when you spend time with God...it can be on the bus reading the bible and praying, when you are with your friends and talking to God...etc. Anywhere at any time, when you worship God...
God deserves more than just 10 to 15 min of your time...
If you think it this way, you wouldn't be bounded with the question of whether you have done the 15 min of qt cause qt is actually limitless!!
Doing qt is good...if you can do then it is better...but spending that 15 min of your time with God is not the main focus...

I started to think about it and accept the fact that qt is not as important as i think it is...
I told this to my best friend leng shan...
Her opinion is that she do not want to feel so comfortable...
Lets just say you just pray and talk to God when you are free...or when you just think of him like on the bus or even walking back home....she wants to get out of her comfort zone to serve God...

I also told this to cheryl, my senior cum friend from church..
I told her this during the church leader's retreat..
Her reply was that qt is something that is really impt!
why?
she say that qt is a time whereby you really sit down and meditate on God's word and listen to what he has to say to you...
Not whether you think about him annot...
It is a time that you schedule in your day specially for him..cause he is special..
It is a time of focus whereby you step out of your comfort zone for him...
cause it is difficult to focus like on the bus or when you are with your friends even though you may be praying...
Morever, if you really love God, you would want to do something for him..
Since we are children of God, and we take Jesus as our example to lead our lives according to, we should follow his way of praying and talking to God...
Going to a quiet place without anyone to look at you doing it, close the door and do it...
It is a special time that you and God share...only you and God...

So, rmb to do your quiet time.
Just start out with like 10 min of your time...
I am sure that as you grow in God, the time spent with God will be lengthened as one hunger and thirst for more of God's word...
Jia you!!!

God Bless you!!

Just a thought to share about faith and trust

2008-12-04T23:14:00.000-08:00

I was reading this verse while doing quiet time...
mark chap 4 verse 38 to 40 "Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?' And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And he said to them, 'Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

I recalled there was once, i brought a friend to church....he is a non-christian..
Before and throughout the whole service, i was so so worried...i was so worried that God will not touch his heart and open it...i was so worried that he will not come again...i was worried that he will feel uncomfortable in church..
I was worried about this and that...so so many worries!

My best friend Leng Shan told me to place everything into God's hands and to trust in him...
i said i did! but i just stop myself from worrying!
i told her it is just like you going into an exam...you tell yourself to place everything in God hands and tell yourself not to fear cause God is here...
But, you will just fear de...

i realised through this verse that if one really have the faith and the trust to believe that God can do anything and everything, you wouldn't be scared at all...cause you are placed in good hands...
It is just like if you really trust that someone to do something for you and that that person will do it for you de kind, you wouldn't be worrying that that person won't do it for you right?
You will be able to focus fully on doing other things..

I can only just keep praying and asking God for patience with me that he can help me to grow the trust in him...and really have total faith in him...

God bless you!!

Sin is pleasurable

2008-12-04T22:29:00.000-08:00

Hello! I am back from mawai!!
I can only tell you it is an eco trip and it is both fun but not fun at the same time!!
For more information, you only can get it from me!
Oh! God has been helping me throughout this trip and made it enjoyable and fun for me...
i found out how amazing God can be from creating all the stars in the universe with several other solar systems on the outside and about why the stars twinkle from Gabriel (a guy from my group)...
Since it is an eco camp, we had to be one with nature and it had made me realise how every single root of a tree is important and how great and mazing my God is in creating the seas, rivers and insects...i love God!!

Anws, what i want to talk about today is about Sin...
What kind of sin you may ask?
It is the knowledge that the thing you are doing is wrong, but still purposely do it...
I was with a group of friends on the way a shopping centre in malaysia like on the bus...
They started talking about pirated cds..
They said that they wanted to buy and what shows they wanted to watch and to buy...
In the midst, there was my friend (A), a christian...and she was those kind on fire for God kind...
I told them said that "eh, don't buy pirated cds la! my mother even wanted to throw away all the pirated cds..."
the reply that i got from her (A) was "she rich mah..."
My other friend (B) said "why cannot?"
i said "cause it is wrong to buy pirated cds."
my other friend (B) said "wah...you very guai leh.."
(A) said "but why waste money on such an expensive cd then watch already then throw away? my mother and i always buy de..almost all the cds in my house are all pirated"
All my other friends agreed...
i repeated myself again to not buy pirated cds cause it is wrong....but nobody listened...
I thought friend (A) will help me like at least give me some support that this is a wrong thing to do...
The sermon of pastor ronald came into my mind...
i decided to just cut myself out of the convo and stopped talking...just looking out of the window of a moving bus..
Why did she support sin? when i already made it so clear that it is a wrong thing to do?
i was very disappointed in her at that point of time...really...
What to do?
Sin is pleasurable....sin is pleasurable..
we are made to enjoy sinning...
when we sin, we feel really pleased and happy..
But God gave all christians the Holy Spirit to fight against sin to remind us that what we are doing is wrong...
This, is the difference between a non-christian and a true christian..

It is not only this kind of sin, there are so many so many sins in this world...even the choice of words we use...even though we know that saying all these things are wrong, we still do it...
Why?
simply because this world supports sin!

what is feel is that if you sin without knowing that what you are doing is wrong, it is still not as bad and knowing that you are sinning but can't help doing it...
But what i know is, me, being a christian, is suppose to shine for God's name! knowing that when others see me, they will know that i am leading a Godly life and shine for God's glory...to show the world the truth..and the right thing to do...with the help of the holy spirit!
i want to be the point of difference!
Jia you to everyone!

God bless you

Persecution!

2008-11-30T02:44:00.000-08:00

Oh! i will be going mawai like tmr..so i will only be back on the 4th dec!
Today, Pastor Ronald talked about the last beattitude....
It is on the verse matthew chap 5 verse 10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

He talked about many christians having to master the bible just like a walking bible...
like whenever you need a verse, he can just tell you straight kind of thing...
It is not say not good, but it is BETTER to let the bible master you!
What do i mean by that?
If you let the bible and God's word to master you, you are actually carrying out God's word in your life...you live a Godly and Christ-like life!
It depends on what kind of christian you wanna be. Those which are mastered or are just only mastering...
But one thing i can be sure is that. If you are a christian, like a true one, you WILL face persecution in one way or another.

When we talk about persecution, many people will think that ai ya..in a place like Singapore, me being a christian will not face any persecution de...only God's 12 disciples as said in the bible face persecution. Or, only those missionaries who like go overseas to some exotic places to spread God's word will face persecution...(physical persecution)
Their flesh will be ripped apart...their heads will be chopped off...their body parts will be cut off one by one, they are set on fire, stonned etc...just because one is a christian...
It is like even found today!
Statistics show that 40 million people died because of Christ after Jesus died until now...
Also, out of this 40 million, 60% are children!
As for now, everyday, 300 christians dies!
In Singapore, we don't face it...but as we live our normal lives, eating breakfast, going church, eat lunch with friends, maybe go for a movie, shopping etc. 300 christians are dying!
If terrorist were to come, the first people that they will pick out to have some fun with will be the jews...then they will ask for christians...they will not ask for buddist or any other religion...

However, God did not only mention having physical persecution. Persecution includes other factors like verbal and scandal.
In matthew chap 5 verse 11" Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me."
what do i mean by verbal/scandal persecution?
Verbal persecution is one that i always face...people talk behind your back and gossip about you, saying how holy you are, mocking you and making fun of you just because you chose you lead a Godly life! A life that follows according to God's word! In my case, my friends always say..."wah...somebody so holy ah.."
The world loves sin and rejoices with it...people take pleasure in Sinning...thats why when doing the right thing comes along, they will hate it!
For example, if your friends are like gossiping and talking about other people, you wouldn't be comfortable with them cause they are actually sinning...you will just walk away..or have the courage to be a peacemaker! to tell them that "Hey! this is not right, we shouldn't be talking about this. stop it."
Do you think when you tell them to stop, they will be very happy about it?
Will they be like wah! so good..i really wanna be like you..thank you for telling me what is wrong...you are so nice to us...
No! they won't!

Jesus did not die because he did good...he died because he was different from the rest...
The Scribes and Pharasis did not like Jesus and hated him because Jesus was righteous and holy...Jesus was so good as compared to them..thats why they wanted to get rid of him...the world do not like Godly people....

If you were to ask your friend to come to church, the first time your friend may say, ai ya...don need la...
if you ask again, your friend might say no...
if you ask the third time, you friend may say...NO! which part of NO do you not understand? the N or the O?!
if you ask the fourth time, your friend might just seclude you...
You won't be very much well liked by your friends..

In 2timothy chap 3 verse 12"Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
Are you as a christian being persecuted?
If you are not, are you really one?
If you are not being persecuted, one reason is that your friends can tolerate with your Godly life...or is it that you are not even leading one? Is it that you have lowered your standards of what a Godly life is all about? Have you entered and become part of the world...being indfferent?
Maybe your friends don't even know that you are a christian...

If you don't want to be persecuted then just don't care about saving your friends...then don't care about whether they are going heaven or hell...don't care about being a christian and leading a Godly life...don't care about how God sees you...don't need to share with them about christ...don't need to tell them that they are going to hell..

If you are facing persecution, it can tell you that you are actually children of God...
Because if you are children of God, you will enjoy God's glory with him and suffer the same thing that Jesus suffers!
Also, it can serve as a conviction that you are actually doing the right thing and leading a Godly life whereby God is pleased with you...
matthew chap 5 verse 12"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Rejoice and be glad that you are persecuted?
Is God saying that we must like throw a party and are like super happy when people persecute us?
No!
it is the WILLINGNESS to get persecuted..NOT SEEK for persecution but will carrying out all the other beattitudes said in the bible at matthew chap 5, we will confirm be persecuted...
Don worry!
Cause our reward is not found on this earth! our reward is more than we can ever expect!
Only when we are weak from all the persecutions that we face, then, we can be strong as we depend more on God rather than ourselves!

2corinthians chap 4 verse 17-18 "For momentary, light afflicition is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

James chap 1 verse 2-4 "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Leading a Godly life is not one that is being lead by an extrovert..one that talks alot...it can be lead by anyone! introvert or even people of all ages! As long as you are willing to take this step of faith out and pray and ask the holy spirit to lead you and give you courage, you can be the point of difference and shine God's light to the ends of the earth!

God Bless you!

God's will

2008-11-29T08:08:00.000-08:00

When i was on my way back home carrying like all the stuffs from batam, taking the 61 bus, i took out a small bible to read...
I came across this verse in matthew chap 27 verse 42 to 43 when Jesus was crucified and the people are mocking him.."He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; Let God rescue Him now, If He delights in Him; for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' "
When i was at the batam trip, i was finding opportunity to share Christ...whenever i see one, i will grab it...
Even in like Singapore, i will do that when i am amongst my non-christian friends.
I realise that even though the priests and people ask Jesus to come down from the cross and through that, they will believe him, Jesus did not come down at all even if he had the ability to. He really follows and go according to God's will in like everything that he do...he clearly understands his purpose for coming down to earth and does it!

God creates everyone with a purpose and everyone has a different purpose...we have to keep on praying and seeking God for our own purpose in life...
We have to fully understand what is God's will for us to live life to the fullest.
I realise that i shouldn't use my own understanding to plan and see when am i going to share the gospel and what to say to my friends..but i should first seek God's will and plan before carrying out anything...
Only through this, then i can save more lives than i can ever expect!
People these days use God's will so easily like everything and anything that happen is all God's will...they fail to truely understand what exactly is God will....
Since Jesus seek for God's will, what more us?

God loves you always! muacks!

My batam trip

2008-11-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

Hello! miss me?!
I came back from batam like on fri evening!
Anw, i would just like to talk about my trip cause i am like going mawai which is somewhere is malaysia from like 1-4 dec! so i won't have time to blog! ahhhh!

Hmmm...the purpose of me going there is to make friends with the orphans, help them to build a house and to provide basic necessities for them!
On my way to the orphanage which is like outside of the city area, i just saw a small part of the lifestyle of people..
What i saw outside of my window is just houses. Houses made out of cardboard and zinc roofs...
People walking around without shoes...etc..

Then, a thought came into my mind...i suddenly rmb what my father asked me like a few months ago..
He said "If your God is real, why would he allow some people in certain countries to suffer poverty while others are like rich?"
I couldn't answer him at that point of time...
Now, as i was looking out of my window, i realise that God is actually fair!
What i see is people gathering together, watching tv, playing football, bathing or even just talking...
As the bus went by, children and even the adults there waved and smiled at us very happily!
I started to ponder, why are the people there so happy while my friends and Singaporeans are like complaining about this and that...
Do you know that an average Singaporean will at least complain 3 times a day?!

I feel that even Singaporeans are like rich materialistically, they are not contented with what they have and still want more...
Singapore is even considered as one of the most umhappy country amongst all the other countries!
While as for indonesians, even if they do not get to enjoy the material stuff, they are happy...
Cause the only thing that they have there is people...their emphasis is more on bonding...both family, friends and even neighbours!
This is something that Singaporeans should actually learn!
Their buildings are also one lvl kind...so they also get to see the broad sky across!

There are some things that i learnt about that country...
Do you know that you cannot touch the indonesian's head like even the children? it is considered as being rude...
They also sell bottles of oil to fill their motorbikes in mama shops!
Also, their motorbikes are really cheap! like 400 to 500 sing!
Anyone of any age can also ride a bike! and it can seat up to 5 ppl!
Also, they do not like and cannot eat things that are too hygienic just like how Singapore cannot eat things that are dirty.
I ever saw one scene...there is this orphan...she is like only 4 years of age...
She ate a cup of ice cream that my friend bought for the orphans when the "icecream man" drove in...
She accidently drop it...and the whole cup drop on the floor..She wanted to cry! but another indonesian incharge of the orphanage, she scoop the icecream up, wipe off the sides and hand it over to the girl! Inside the icecream still got dirt!
I was just stunned! i really dunno what to say...
Also! after the orphans bathe, they can actually play in the sand and get themselves all dirty again!

At the end, we didn't complete the house even though we work from 8 to 6 like for 2 days still cannot finish!
We only completed half...
Who knows that building a house can actually be so so difficult and really tiring!
We go to carry the bricks from there to here, here to there...
Carry water from downhill to up hill to make cement to fill in the holes in the bricks (apparently it is because of budget)
tranfer land into the inside of the foundation..etc.
The kids there were really cute and adorable..we played soccer with them!

Oh! i tell you! the things in batam is really cheap! the exchange rate is really good!
It is like $1 to 8000 rupiah! pity that i didn't bring enough money...if not i will buy like mad ler!
Everything there is like super cheap! you know converse shoes are like 16 dollars! and i bought this rip curl cap for like 10 plus dollars only when the actual price is like 30 plus!
You know i am not those kind that like to shop de...hahaha=)
And the hotel was great!!!

God bless you always!

Peter (one of the disciples)

2008-11-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

When i was on my way home from plaza singapura, i read this on the bus..and this thought came into my mind...
It was matthew chap 26 verse 34 to 35 "Jesus said to him, 'Truely i say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.' Peter said to Him, 'Even if i have to die with You, i will not deny You." All the disciples said that same thing too.
Jesus was talking to Peter, one of the disciples...

Oh! i was reading the rehmma booklet before reading the Bible!
and guess what?!
they talked about peter too! cool right?
it was the topic on Nothing in Secret!
somemore it is i anyhow random flip one leh!
One sentence said "Will you slink away like Peter when your faith is being tested?"
God works in amazing ways!

Anw, i was thinking about this topic that God provided me with...and i started to think...are we as christians going to really be like Peter? Are we going to be singing songs in church during worship about how we love God and are willing to die for him kind and not mean it?
Maybe we do mean it..but are you sure one is going to overcome the fear of death and die because of God? or are we going to run away and turn our backs towards him?
For me, although i always sing and i mean it from my heart...
But who knows what will i do when i really face with a situation to die for God?
Who knows how i am going to react in a moment of fear and despair?
Let just say when a gun points at you asking you whether you are a christian annot?
I fear that i will be like Peter...being so confident at first, but at the end, denying God=(

May God bless you!

Peacemakers Vs Peacekeepers

2008-11-23T06:24:00.000-08:00

Hello! i am going to batam for ocip like from the 25 to 28 nov! rmb to pray for my safety k?
so i won't be blogging during this time...hahaha=)
Today, pastor ronald preach on the verse matthew chap 5 verse 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." so, i am going to help you define what is the difference between peacemakers and peacekeepers!

At first i thought they are both like the same!
Anw,
Many people in this world are usually peacekeepers...
At home, some people just keep quiet whenever the family members scream and scold...
Some people just get out of the way, trying to keep peace and not anger the other person any further...
Some people will just pretend nothing has happened just because they are afraid of conflicts happening...
Lastly, some will ignore..
These people are peacekeepers...they may have alot of hatred and anger in their hearts but they just do not want to say it out...just bottling them..

Peacemakers must have peace themselves...do you agree?
If they have peace, then they can bring about peace to others right?
Peacemakers must have righteousness...
Peacemakers must love God and understand God's defined peace...
There are a total of 3 characteristic to show whether you are a peacemaker or just a peacekeeper!
1) Know peace inwardly.
This is saying that we have to make peace with God first. eg. when you sin, you ask God to forgive you and make peace with him...and it must be an everyday thing!
2) To bring peace spiritually.
This means to CONSTANTLY try to make peace and to bring people to make peace with God!
And the only way to help them make peace with God so that they can gain the God defined peace, is by evengelising...
So! are you going to be one?
3)Pursue peace socially.
This means that we shouldn't purposely do things that cause conflicts and to RESOLVE to conflicts! not to run away from it.
Will you today, go up to the person that you are hurt by and you just hide the matter but still rmb, to go up to the person and say "although i was hurt by you, but i forgive you."

This verse helped me when i had a conflict with someone not so long ago..and it taught me to forgive that person and to show love...
matthew chap 18 verse 22 to 35! it is like super long..so i will summerise...it is about this King and a slave owed the King 10 000 talents. But the slave do not have the money...the King wanted to sell him and his family for repayment...the slave fell down to the ground and pleaded to more patience with him and he will repay...the King felt compassion and released him + forgiving his debt.
When the slave went out, he found out that one of his fellow slave owed him 100 denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him and demanded his money to be paid back. The slave asked for patience too! But he was unwilling and threw him in prison.
His fellow slaves saw this and felt sad...they reported to the King all that had happened...
The King was super angry! He summoned him and said, "You wicked slave, i forgave you all the debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not do the same?"
The King sent him to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed.
In the same way, God will do the same if you do not forgive your brother or sister with your heart.

We have the rights to tell those which are doing wrong, especially our brothers and sisters in christ that what they are doing is wrong...
You may ask, won't this create conflicts?
When you tell someone the truth nicely and with love, they will either get more agitated or accept what you say...
But it doesn't matter...not everyone will be able to accept the truth! and truth doesn't really sound very good to some...
But! as long you bring peace and truth, you are a peacemaker..and peacemakers are? sons of God!
what do i mean when i say that?
It means that God takes pride in us! and thats all that matters!
of course when the person don't accept what you say, then don't go on and purposely agitate the person...you just have the right to let the person know...

So! as long as you have peace in your heart, help others make peace with God and make peace with others, you ARE a PEACEMAKER! and God is proud of you!
Pray to the Lord for strength and courage to do so too!!

God loves you!!

Blindness

2008-11-20T07:27:00.000-08:00

Today, when i was on my way for work at the child care centre...like on the 961 bus, i closed my eyes and listened to a christian song...the Holy Spirit showed me things...

The Holy Spirit showed me the advantages of being blind...
In this world, there are several seeking and persuing material and the physical stuff. Things that they can see to ask for what they want...eg. statues.
They never really think and use their heart to understand it...
Being blind gives the blind an advantage to not see...
hmmmm....you may ask, huh? what do you mean?
Try closing your eyes and just quieten down your heart....
Try to think and imagine...without your eyes to see, what other tools can be used to see and feel what the other person is feeling...
If you are blind, what you will use is your heart...
You will use your heart to see..to see the world around you...to feel the people around you whether it is filled with love or hatred...don't you think so?
And the blind will find themselves feeling and understanding the love of God with their heart because they cannot see...
They also won't get distracted by the things around them and focus on God..cause it is like when we pray, we close our eyes to concentrate and focus...so, same concept.

Oh! the Holy Spirit led me to a previous verse that i didn't understand and question my friends about...it is John chap 9 verse 41 "Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains."
At first i really do not have any clue on this...until now!
Because Jesus was talking to the pharisees that do not know him as the son of man, they do not actually see the truth...they can only see with thier physical eyes...
So if they say they see, they are lying...because actually they do not!

I was just sharing with my mum and sis about this particular story that touched me..
It was a story shared by Pastor Cui Xian...try to visualise!
There was 4 business men...they were like super late for their flight back home..
So they were like rushing for their flight in the airport..
4 of them were like running and sliding around...
then, they knocked into a stall selling apples..a girl was selling them..
all the apples fell onto the floor...
some were damaged..
However, the 4 business men ran away because they got no time to help her pick up the apples..
The last business man felt guilty.
So, he told the 3 other business men to tell his family that he will take the next flight and ask them to go first..
he turned around and went back to the fallen down stall..
he saw the girl frantically searching for her apples..
she was blind.
he went over and picked up the apples, separating the good ones from the damaged ones..
he took out his wallet and gave the girl money saying "i am so so sorry that your apples are damaged...here, this is to compensate for all the damage we have caused."
the blind girl took the money and when he was about to walk away, she said "wait, are you Jesus?"

God loves you all the time!

Prayers!

2008-11-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

On my way to famosa, i just randomly flip the bible and just chanced upon this verse that i wanna share with you all today!

It is Luke, chapter 18 verse 2 to 8 " saying, "in a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in the city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, " Even though i do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, i will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.' And the Lord said, 'Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?"

It took me awhile to figure out what this parable was...
This parable is talking about prayer!
It shows that even an unrighteous man, afraid of being pestered over and over again, gave the widow what she wanted. What more God?! When he is like so righteous and perfect!
As long as one have the faith to believe that all things are possible and keep on praying and praying, never giving up, God will answer your prayers ASAP!
You can try fasting and praying too! i heard that it works! must "pester" God! hahaha=)

I shared this verse because i want to encourage those who are praying for anything!
For healing, for friends and family to get saved, for revival, for strength..etc. ANYTHING!
I wanna tell you to press on and pray! Wait upon God and he will be able to do wonders!
Even if it takes 20 years, 30 years or even 40 years, as long as you press on, even the most stubborn man can be saved! Jia you!

God is good, all the time.
&
All the time, God is good!!

My God can do wonders!

Afamosa trip and my cousin bernice!

2008-11-19T06:15:00.000-08:00

Hey hey ppl!!
I just came back from a famosa trip in malacca!
It was a 2 day 1 night trip (tour)-organised by my yi zhang from G1!!
It gave me a break...but! i struggled alot on the inside...

Oh! i brought my super duper big and heavy bible to famosa! cause i wanted to do my quiet time with it...
Anw, i went on this trip with my family plus my uncle's (mum's side) the family and my grandfather and ah yi pat and yi zhang!
My grandmother have like 7 children in total! so you can guess how many cousins and family my mum's side have!
However, the sad thing is that we are not close at all...i guess it is because we are self-contained...
2 of my cousins, Bernice (one year younger) and Benny (a few years younger) went for the trip.
They are very smart! cause one is in nanyang girls high and one is in hwa chong...
I struggled alittle, at first, to try to talk to them so that i can built a better relationship with my cousins and share the gospel with them (cause must bond first then easier to share mah)...but at the end, i managed to talk to them!
I asked them about their cca, sch and whether they go to church...then, i realised that they are backsliders...
i couldn't really bond with them cause it takes two hands to clap! if i am the only enthusiastic one trying to make friends and the other just answer to my questions then stop talking kind, it will be very difficult for me to communicate with them...
I asked Bernice "hey! why are you not a christian anymore?"
She said " oh! cause i prefer to be a free thinker..."
then i said "oh...okay." cause i really dunno how to reply her...i am loss for words..
Hmmm...afterthat, i just sat on the bus and thought of several things...i thought of how am i going to approach them...thoughts just filled my mind! like at night, what am i going to say, what i am going to do with them...and how to i spread God's word so that i can save them kind of thing..
Wah..i tell you, i think and think and think until i very stress..i really dunno what to do!
I decided to seek for God's help...i prayed saying "Lord, show me what i am suppose to do and give me the courage. Speak to me through this book"..."this book" is the rehmma book...something like a guide book on john...

Do you rmb the post on backsliding?
I was just randomly flipping the book for the first time and i just randomly came to a page and started to read it like the day after i wrote the post and God spoke to me!
It was on "He is Peace"...
One of the application question out of the two was, "Do you feel weary, wondering whether you have lost your passion for God because of your value that contradicts the world? Tell God about it." Don't you think that it exactly pin points the problem that i am facing? And God is saying that he knows!
You may think it is just coincidence, but, i do not believe that there are so many coincidences especially after i became a christian...

Anw, so i asked God to speak to me through the book...
i prayed and opened the book to any random page!
It was the article on "Trust and Obey"
After i saw this heading, the immediate thing that i thought of is, you sure this is an article that can solve the problem that you are facing now?
Hmmm..the application question is "Have you been like the enthusiastic crowd - volunteering to help God fulfil his plans in your own way? Tell God about it."
Don't you think God is amazing?!
I realise that i have been trying to save ppl. When i see one unsaved, i would be like a tiger, pouncing on the person without thinking...i realise that i was desperate to save lives by my own without understanding and knowing what God really wants me to do. I didn't know God's will for the person...i just plan things on my own. Do you?

So, i just prayed and prayed for myself, as well as for my cousins until i fell asleep...hahaha=)
Sometimes, i look at them, i will have some element of love, sadness and anger....
Love because they are my cousins and i want them to be saved and not fall back to the satan controlled earth..
Sadness because their hearts are cold and hard...their hearts are like a door that is previously opened, but they shut themselves from God..
Anger, because it is very difficult to love somebody that belongs to the earth...

I feel that although they are like super smart, win several prizes and are given several glory by men, they are lost souls that cannot find their Shepherd.
They have several external and material stuff like grades and stuff, but at the end, what is the whole point of having all these? To become successful in future? to earn lots of money? to make parents happy?
Is there a purpose for all these?
So what if you become really successful? they are all worldly stuff...
They have got no purpose in life...they don't have the interior fulfillment and joy...they don't have internal life!

Bernice, you may be reading this. Although this may sound harsh, but i really want to tell you to really make wise decisions in life. Life is short, and i really do not want you to regret.
You said you don't want to become a christian because you want to be free..
I can tell you that the true freedom that you are finding, can only be found in God...
Without God, you are being pulled down by the sins of this earth.
You are heavily chained with burdens, with satan pulling you back and making you sin and sin and sin...there is no freedom at all...
I can tell you that being a christian isn't easy, but being a christian, these chains can be broken and you gain internal fulfillment more than any other grades can bring you to!
If you are touched by God and you really love God, i am sure that you would be more than willing to go to church to just praise him and to hear his word...it shouldn't be a burden...

We all have choices to make in life.
Make the right one!
And once you know you make the right one, hold on to it and never let go no matter what!
Never let go=)

God loves you alot and he Never gives up on you!

Faith

2008-11-16T06:10:00.000-08:00

Hmmm..today, Pastor Ronald talked about matthew chap 5 verse 8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (i will talk about this the next time...cause, change of plans=))

You know, ever since i became a christian...like a true one...i have always wanted to see God, hear God or even feel God!...anything!
My friends in cell or even leng shan (my bestest friend) told me that inorder to hear God, you got to really quieten down your heart...and be really sensitive to God's voice...
I tried. I prayed even, just hoping and wanting to hear God...
But, i heard nothing...
Afterthat, i realise that God doesn't really talk to you like anyother ordinary person talks to you...God communicates to different people in different ways...
Through thoughts, friends, family, bible or even through songs! as long as one is willing to listen out for him..

I became a christian not seeing God, not knowing anything, but just believe and by faith...
i started out wondering, i cannot feel God, God hasn't really reveal himself to me yet...why do i still believe in something that i cannot see?
I didn't get the baptism of the holy spirit, i did not feel God's power over me, i don't have any experience of God making me cry, get slain...etc.
I am not like the other christians...
so why bother holding on to him?
I realise that i hold on to him because i know, deep inside that he is the true God as everything in this world starts to make sense..
everything in this world starts to link..
as i grew as a christian and learn more things, this confirmation grew stronger and stronger..
One key factor that drove me and let me hold on to God no matter what...
is my promise to him..
the promise that i made that i will hold on to you no matter what happens. I will just cling on!
This is faith...
Faith is something that keeps you going as a christian!
know why?
cause i believe any man's love will fade away...this is so unlike God with so so much love..i would say, God is the only one that fulfills the true meaning of Love and no one else can!
God being right beside you, is not a feeling...
Faith is believing in something you do not see.
Even if you do not feel, touch nor smell, you will still believe...
Many christians backslide because they lack this faith...because they don't feel God and thinks that God isn't real...
It does not have to be God always chasing for you....why not you hold on to God and take his outstretched hand? don't let go..
I believe that God will reveal himself to you one day...
And i am waiting for that day too!
my question is, do you have the faith to hold on to God through everything?
My everything is through all times, all attacks, all problems, troubles, happiness...etc.
Think about it.

Usually the broken hearted and troubled people will then come and seek God...
i feel that human beings are really funny creatures...they must wait till something really bad happens, then, they will open up their heart to God...if not, their doors will always remain shut real tight!
Why wait till then when you got today?
God has already died for salvation of everyone...the deed is already done...it is just there for you to recieve it!
It is free! (i thought Singaporeans love free stuff, and will queue super long just to get it? haha=))
Just take it then! (why wait?)

God loves you! will you love him back? (it takes 2 hands to clap!)