Words of encouragement

Reformation Reflections

2007-09-10T00:19:00.000+08:00

Been a long time since anything happened here! This means that it's been a long time since we've encouraged one another over here :(

Thought I'll share one reflection on what we've learnt today at BASIC. We looked at the Reformation today and what it means for us today.

Through various scenes from the movie "Martin Luther" (a good movie!), we looked at how Martin Luther struggled personally with how to be right enough for righteous God, how he was never good enough, always too sinful for the angry and just God. He also struggled with the teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic church which had no basis in the Bible. His eventual conviction was that it is by faith alone in the authority of Scripture alone that salvation comes, not in Popes, relics, sacraments, bones of dead apostles. That was the seed of the Reformation.

One thing that struck me was the fact he struggled with the just and angry God, because that's so uncommon for us today. Today, we seem to have no problems understanding how God could love us. This is probably what we sound like:

"Why shouldn't God love us? We are not exactly that bad. The terrorist God hates maybe, but certainly not me. It is unthinkable that God could hate us. He's so loving, isn't He? How can he be loving to us if he is angry with us?"

Only the Bible gives both Luther and us the complete picture of God.

Luther, by God's grace, found the missing half of his picture in Romans 1:17:
"For in the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith, from first to last. For it is written: the righteous shall live by faith"
He can never be good enough for God. It is the just and angry God who is loving enough to send Jesus to die for him. It is faith in God's goodness, not his that saves. What freedom that gave him!

I wonder: What about us? What is our picture of God? Is it the Angry and Loving God of the Bible, or a distorted Lovey-Dovey half of Him?
Perhaps we need to serious question why we may feel remote with Luther's struggles. Is something missing?

Dao Gao

2007-07-20T01:15:00.000+08:00

The Chinese worship song I learnt during my local mission trip. A very nice song on why we should pray.

祷告因为我渺小
祷告因为我知道
我需要明瞭
你心意对我重要

祷告已假装不了
祷告因为你的爱
我需要你关怀
我走过的你都明白

有些事我只想要对你说
因你比任何人都爱我
痛苦从眼中流下
我知道你为我擦

在早晨我也要来对你说
主耶稣今天我为你活
所需要的力量你天天赐给我
你恩典够我用

Sunrise and Sunset... in the City of Corinth?

2007-07-14T10:28:00.001+08:00

Thanks Patrick for sharing this! You don't have to wait too long for a reply, ha!

Adding to your reflections...

Our "fruitfulness" may more correlated to the state of our Quiet Times than we think (at least I know it's true for me!).

Because when we don't read the Bible, or read it without care, we are telling God that His words are not important to us. We are telling Him that what we hear and read in the papers (Financial Times?), magazines, on the Net (YouTube?) matter more to us.

Because when we don't pray, we depend entirely on ourselves, and none on Him. Our priority to our Quiet Time is us telling God that He is Lord, and we depend on Him.

By this, I don't mean that it's about a daily routine of reading a chapter of a book that happens to be called the "Holy Bible", and adopting a posture with your eyes closed, and muttering some words that starts with "Dear Heavenly Father". The state of our Quiet Time is more than about reading habits and reflective utterances. It challenges us about one question:

Who REALLY is Lord of your life?

That is the point of the parable of the Sower: where is the place of Jesus and His Words in your life? Are you listening? How's your Quiet Time showing that?

Perhaps we struggle to live the Christian lives that we should, because Jesus is not the Lord that He should be? Perhaps we give people a wrong view of Jesus, because that's our view of Jesus?

Put Him in the right place, and everything else will follow. Get Him wrong, and it really matters little even if you get everything else right, because it will all crumble on Judgment Day.
How do we do that? Read the Bible and pray that the Holy Spirit in us convicts us to listen and obey.

Can we do that? We can, but not on our own.
We need fellowship. I think that's why God didn't call individual persons, but one people into his kingdom, and why we are always described as a body. We are accountable to one another. So let's encourage one another to keep meeting up, and let's encourage one another in getting Jesus right in our lives, in view of Judgment Day (Hebrews 10:24-25)

So what's it got to do with Corinth leh?!
Hmm... Patrick, are you reading 1 Corinthians in preparation for what BASIC is going to do next? Asking because some of your reflections are exactly what we will come to learn about in 1 Corinthians!

Highly encourage us to start to read 1 Corinthians now to prepare for our upcoming studies. In Civil Service and Statutory Board lingo, "highly encourage" means COMPULSORY. The boss who says this is not me. It's the Minister of Reconciliation of Sinners to God.

Not to mention too that 1 Corinthians is such a relevant book for us (which is actually useless information, since every book of the Bible is relevant!). I think we will identify with the Corinthians a lot, and prayerfully, we will also identify Paul's concerns for the Corinthians and his advice/rebuke/exhortation to them (and by extension us) and obey them.

Sunrise to Sunset

2007-07-13T14:25:00.000+08:00

Sunrise to Sunset
By Vernon C. Grounds

An insightful scholar by the name of A. J. Heschel recounts a story from his days as a student in Berlin. Although he was a devout man, he became so preoccupied by the glittering culture that one day he failed to pray at sunset, as his custom had been without fail. He admits, "The sun had gone down, evening had arrived.... I had forgotten God."

Heschel's omission may seem minor to us, but his zeal shows that he understands the importance of cultivating the spiritual life.

Jesus told a story of a sower, a seed and four kinds of soil (Matt. 13:1-9). The soil among the thorns represented those who permit the Word of God in their hearts to be choked by the cares and pleasures of the alluring world (v.7,22).

That's a dangerous possibility for anyone who thoughtlessly responds to God's Word. The world may induce a forgtfulness of spiritual reality and responsibility.

Prayerfully, let us strive to be like the one who "hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces" (v.23).

When the sun sets tonight, let it not be said that we have forgotten God.

My reflections
Please read the parable in Matthew 13.

Many of us have lives represented by soil with thorns. We can never bear much fruit for Him if this continues for us. Having goals and dreams is not against God, but they will be if our motivations and methods of achieving them make us no different from non-believers.

As the evangelistic event is approaching, it's important for us to remember that non-believers see how we live our lives more closely than we think. If our behaviour gives them the impression that we are non-believers, we have plenty to be ashamed of! When we work hard in our studies and jobs, help others who are struggling. Don't be selfish. Don't backstab others. Don't laugh it off and say that there's no other choice but to follow the crowd. Putting God first does not mean that we will end up getting the leftovers in this competitive society. Even if it is, we have much to gain in heaven.

We are not all created by Him to serve in full-time ministry, but we are all created to worship Him with our lives. I do not look forward to this day that anyone of us receives a feedback from our friends, "Oh, you are a Christian ah?"

"Non-believers will only want to find out more about God if they see successful Christians."
If God needs to use achievements of Christians to attract non-believers, as some may think, are we saying that non-believers' salvation are at our mercy? We are undermining God's power, authority and choice.

Watch out how we live. Do not stumble fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Do not give non-believers the wrong impression. I do not think anyone of you want to see your non-believer friends and loved ones go to hell.

I have to be harsh with my words this time. Waiting for replies from everyone.

Greetings from Norway

2007-07-10T22:52:00.000+08:00

Hi hi
This should be my first post and I am realli excited
Have heard of all the changes going on in church
Just want to continue to encourage everyone
I think there are uncertainties and stuff
But i think we can continue to trust in HIM!

I will be back by 25th July
Hope to see everyone real soon!!

Anyway here's a pic of the church I visited in Norway

The state of my cactus

2007-07-09T23:11:00.000+08:00

This was given by all of you on my performance (26/08/06) last year. It's still surviving well as of July. My neighbour's mini cactus long kicked the bucket. Easy to maintain and neglect. A gift that I can remember though. Thanks!

I will be involved in AJ Alumni Cultural Night come 18 August 2007. It's the 1st ever performance put up by the school alumni, with choir, guitar, dance, CO and Chinese Drama group being involved. Dance Alumni notably won an international award in a recent competition. There are many surprises in the way the show is presented and even with many groups being involved, the theatre element is heavy this time. Hint: No emcees in this performance. It will also be my last time performing for AJ CLDDS Alumni, at the stage where I made my theatre debut 5 years ago.

18 August 2007 (Sat)

3pm- matinee

7pm- performance

ticket: $10

Never regret a day in your life

2007-07-05T23:29:00.000+08:00

I want to share the email I received:

One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"

His answer surprised me...

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo," He said.

"In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. "I would not quit." He said. "Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant... But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive."

"I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle." He said to me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots."

"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you." "Don't compare yourself to others," He said, "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet, they both make the forest beautiful."

"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high!" "How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return. "As high as it can?" I questioned.

"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can." I left the forest and brought back this story.

---

I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. He will never give up on you. Never regret a day in your life.
Good days give you happiness; Bad days give you experiences; Both are essential to life.
Keep going... Happiness keeps You Sweet, Trials keep You Strong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keep You Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, but Only God keeps You Going!

was muchten und trinken sie?

2007-07-01T22:13:00.000+08:00

Dinner on sat night was at levisha's parents' restaurant. Had a good dinner..plenty of red wine and good fellowship.
Here's something to disappoint the tastebuds of those that didn't manage to come.. *evil laughs*

We discovered that tandoori chicken and chicken tikka are actually the same except the latter is boneless, and no.. the candlelight is not edible.

Some very nice naan with a very nice mutton curry to go along.

The usual suspects : sambal kangkong

And we were sitting in front of this painting =)

My confessions

2007-06-25T20:01:00.000+08:00

Maybe I was not joking after all that I can't wait for school to start, because in this holidays, I have been less joyful and more stressful. I'm a person who is activity driven, and in this post ICT days, I have more free time and that is enough to drive me crazy. Fortunately, I could spend more time reading on things that I didn't have time to do during my last holidays (music, grammar, God's Word..)..

Barely 2 weeks into the holidays (mid may), my crusade friend dropped a bombshell on me. There were misunderstandings involved and I chose not to have any contact with her until my mission trip. The misunderstandings are now cleared, but the friendship, I doubt, will be as good as before.

As much as I liked the experience of this mission trip, I did not enjoy my role as a team leader. Being a year 1 among the seniors proved to be a challenge. The staff in my team had different working style as me. He's more easygoing with everything, while I preferred things to be planned beforehand. There was also confusion too, because he would step in when I least expected him to do so. On the other hand, he would expect something from me when I thought I could just step back. I felt a bit left out at times, because among the guys, the three of them had more things to share about their graduating class and other things, while I did not have as much to talk to them, but I had a very good buddy that I still treasure now.

I received SMS during my 2nd half of mission trip that I'm now in the worship team. I was informed that my team's first worship practice was on that Sunday stacked between my trip and in-camp training. When I went home on Saturday, it was time to select songs for the following day's practice. I enjoy being in this worship team, but the last minute rush that time was awful.

Some thoughts were also in my mind during those times of irony:
Is God alone enough for me?
If God makes me paralysed one day, how will I live each day?
I also started to compare the haves and have-nots...
At one point, I felt like saying "no" to everything after saying "yes" to many things..

God did not leave me alone during those times. Through His Word, I found answers and encouragement. He wasn't silent at all.

The 3 weeks of contrasts

2007-06-25T19:31:00.000+08:00

In this post, I will briefly share my local mission trip and in-camp training...

(Bethany Methodist Nursing Home Journal)
In my friendster's profile, there's a Chinese worship song that we sang during our final performance for the elderly yesterday. One of the residents, nicknamed "开心果”, cried when I mentioned that it was our last day over the 2 weeks in Bethany Methodist Nursing Home. One of the team members sang solo once, then I introduced them to the idea of prayer and informed the residents that it was our last day there, before the whole group sang again. I wasn't able to sing again until the chorus because I felt emotional when “开心果”cried. That was yesterday, when we also gave out closing gifts - drawings with the photos we took with them.

This is a trip that I won't mind extending. We enjoyed ourselves planning, preparing, interacting, sharing and eating together... Work and fun in harmony. I loved playing Mario Kart at certain nights with the guys and later the girls.

What's in my journal.. (in point form)
28 May
short training of handling wheelchair
impromptu singing plus songs we practised
tried to feed one who didn't have appetite- reduced to skin and bones, passed away the next day-he spoke Hainanese. couldn't strike a conversation
talked to Uncle Phua. "Amazing grace" touched him

29 May
fed 2 persons, but didn't manage to strike a decent conversation
wasn't able to understand how they actually felt, i.e. hungry, receptive etc.
The throwing game (to hit the cans) was quite fun. A few liked the game, but they were not good spectators.
One of them, who sang for us, complained how badly his wife treated him. hmm..

30 May
wheeled "Oscar" to Lot 1-interesting guy, like a leader, pointing me directions. I was touched when he bought paus for his friends.I found myself not able to handle the wheelchair well.

31 May
A long day. Initially, I wasn't keen to have us prepare chapel session on Vesak Day, but to see a few smiling faces made the effort worthwhile. The hokkien song "牵我的手" touched my heart as much as for the residents there at the chapel.
Vegetables printing (ladyfinger, star fruit etc.) - I was with the elderly who can only speak Cantonese. How I wish I know to speak.
My knowledge of basic Malay allowed me to strike a simple conversation with someone, but I couldn't understand much of what he said.
My dialect: teochew. Yet, I have no idea how to speak! The Teochew guy might have wanted to talk to me, but I didn't know what he was talking about.

1 Jun
Parable of the banquet - acted as a king.. didn't have much chance to have fun in this skit. More lines to memorise.. it's boring to be a king.. Hahaha.. I mean on stage.
First time taking out 4SL to share.
Was very encouraged by the girls' courage. -> God is working!
Bingo downstairs was boring. Oscar was more interested with the cookies given than the yawnsome game. As long as he enjoyed, it's alright for me.
Ah Beng is a staunch Buddhist, but I still hope that God will work in his heart.

1st week reflections
Memorising Chinese 4SL is a good move. This helped us in relating to the elderly. In the near future, I will have more courage to share with my Mandarin speaking loved ones.
God's plan
Our sin
God's gift - Jesus
Our response

My heart for them grew each day as I got to know some of them better. This practical experience will help in my social work degree programme. I really appreciate the nursing staff, because their jobs are emotionally taxing and rigorous.

2 Jun (Sat)
Spent the morning writing journal, reflecting on the trip so far and looking into my future.Washed the toilets before the prospective buyers arrived. What a time to stay in GCTC!Team time - preparing for the props for the parable of lost sheep and a short songs medley practice.Shrek 3! Funny! released the anxiety in me.Watched 三个好人 at night on TV. A movie depicting the lives of ex-convicts. It has deepened my desire to be a mentor in the area of prisons service.

3 Jun (Sun)
Went BPGC for service.
Impacted by the sermon - "put behind the past, trust God for our needs".
Got to know more about Dennis from Love Ward during Sunday Chapel.- a young guy who was a SAF regular until a parachute accident.
Left Bethany after chapel to prepare closing gifts for the residents.

4 Jun
The 10 residents were responsive and great participants of the games played in Hall of Praise. A real pity they couldn't be wheeled to the neighbouring estates for games because of drizzle.
First time performing parable of the Lost sheep -> Beng was more open and asked more questions about Christianity.
Three of them went to see a doctor for 3 different reasons - bedbug bites, flu and boil.

5 Jun
Did not feed any resident during the lunchtime. Did Parable of the Lost Sheep at dorm 4.
Barely caught what Mr Lim said, with a mixture of Hokkien, Cantonese and Malay!
He told us he's a Catholic. He sounded bitter and angry. Had lots of complaints about his life.
The other guy said "yes" to everything when I shared 4SL with him. Was he patronsing me or was he unable to process his thoughts?
Another guy was critical towards believing God. Yet, the nursing officer told us that he wanted to get baptised. Only God knows their hearts.
Gerard's mum prepared dinner for us. It was a fun time of informal sharing, i.e. something not related to Bethany, from the usual schedule.

6 Jun
Wheeled Oscar to Lot 1 again. It was more difficult than the week before. He asked me to bring him to the bakery shop, but I didn't know where it is exactly, so I ended up wheeling him past CCK bus interchange. I asked the nurse where the shop is. That opened an opportunity to find out more about her working experience and life in her 4 years in Singapore. A dedicated nurse whom I respect a lot.
The wheeling drained my energy. The phototaking with the residents became a chore and madrush than a joy.

7 Jun
We left GCTC at lunchtime, due to most girls falling sick. A good time of rest in the morning."Security Guard" caught us off-guarded when he opened his mouth to answer a question after our skit. Peixin shared 4Sl with him. He tried to turn her away many times, but she pressed on. Security Guard gave us and just let her talk. Security Guard earned his name because he sits at the sofa near the entrance for the whole day except mealtime and sleep. He was not willing to take part in our activities at all and scolded vulgarities when Gerard tried to talk to him the week before.

8 Jun
As of above

9 Jun
Home Sweet Home

(My First In Camp Training)
1st day: 11th June
When we booked in on Monday morning, most of us were barely prepared for what was in store for us. There was haircut check for everyone. Those who failed the haircut check had their hair cut and/or dyed to black. Handphones were checked as well. No camera phone is allowed in army camps.

The battalion was involved in a mini parade. The discipline required was no less than during our NSF days.In the afternoon, I picked up my organic weapon SAW once again. It was an enjoyable time competing with one another in stripping and assembling rifle parts.

2nd day: 12th June
By the way, my vocation during my NSF days was infantry pioneer.
Infantry + Combat Engineer = Infantry Pioneer-supporting the infantry by setting up and breaching obstacles-most of time on foot-demolition-wire obstacles-mine clustersWe started off our pioneer platoon training by revising on demolition in the training shield. It was a relatively easy day, because we had Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) in the afternoon. Most of us did better than what we had thought. In the first place, most of us did not believe we would pass, but the results were better than expected.

My first IPPT in 2 years turned out to be a joy. The results was not very far off from my peak. Thank God. That was the first time I attempted the electronic IPPT. Gone were the days when somebody had to take down timings and measurements.

3rd day: 13th June
Tough times commenced. We joined the infantry companies in EIBUA training, i.e. urban warfare. We stayed there for only a short while, then we had to make our way to another training ground to practise what we specialised on - mine clusters and wire obstacles (1o coil to be exact). Unfortunately, the rain came and softened the ground. Training was postponed to next morning. We made our way back to camp early, dreading the next day to come.

At night, there was company cohesion. We played frisbee against Mortar platoon, which became the eventual champion. Frisbee was never our platoon's strength during NS days.. The record stands until next ICT....

4th day: 14th June
We had platoon training in the morning, building the mine clusters and wire obstacles we were supposed to construct the day before. The soft ground and "discounts" from the trainer meant that we had a slightly easier time.In the afternoon, we reached our training ground. Each section had to construct a 10-coil wire obstacles and a full mine cluster as part of the mini defence mission.

Based on what my Company Officer Commanding (OC) told us, I came up with this possible conversation:

At 4pm, when the whole battalion was supposed to be on the way back to camp for the battalion chill out/buffet at 6pm.

OC: "What are the pioneers doing now?"
my platoon commander (PC): "They are constructing obstacles.."
OC (thinking that we were dismantling the obstacles asked again): "Are they done already?"
PC: "They are still constructing obstacles."

We were the last platoon to reach back to camp and we had our dinner at 8 plus after an early lunch. During the middle of wire obstacles construction, we had to walk out of that place as a whole team to take a break despite the time running because we were too tired.The trainer told our OC that we were really good in constructing the full obstacles. One NS pioneer platoon was telling the trainer the steps, but the stores were still in the tonner. Others did a bit and asked the trainer to multiply by 5 of what they had done to simulate the full obstacles. In conclusion, this ICT training was no less easy than my NSF days, and served as a wake up call before the high key ICT next year.

After a late dinner, we washed our stores and cleaned our weapons.

15th June 2007 (Final day)
Nothing much. Clear stores. ICT Survey. Talk and more talk. Didn't know that my temperatures were running high despite not feeling well. I went home and measured my temperature (38.3C).

in christ alone

2007-06-12T21:37:00.000+08:00

my favorite song.. simple yet encouraging.

Intensive Weeks

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

Intensive Weeks

After the launch of STAR Ministry on Sunday, I will be away for 3 weeks.
28 May - 9 Jun 2007: Bethany Methodist Nursing Home
9-10 June 2007: resting at home
11- 15 June 2007: In-Camp Training 1

Please pray for us to have:
1. Growth in intimacy, love and faith in our daily walk with the Lord.
2. Wisdom and compassion as we reach out to the elderly in the Home. Most importantly, to love them just as God loves us.
3. God’s love and presence with our team as we learn to serve God in unity and each other in humility.
4. Safety, good health and God’s protection upon us and our loved ones in our absence.
5. Love that cast out fear of not being able to communicate with them due to language barriers.
6. Trust in Him touching the hearts of the elderly as we perform skits and songs.

Please pray for the elderly:
1. For God to prepare their hearts to hear the gospel message.
2. To have good health.
3. To be filled with His love that overwhelms the emptiness in their hearts.

Reaching Elderly For Christ
Growing Closer To God
Loving One Another

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. - Romans 12:10-12

Words of Encouragement forever!

2007-05-20T22:22:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

Been rather quiet, even though I don't have exams as an excuse, ha! Thot I'll post something "short" here, in view of what's happening to PUNJ, or rather "ex-PUNJ" now.

When we started this blog, it was to encourage not just ourselves, but also other people, who may visit us here. Along the way changes happen (like Shumin's moving out to help lead Just Looking, like Huiling moving out to TNYF and now back with us at STAR!)

The most significant thing happening now of course is the birth of STAR from the parents of PUNJ and TNYF.

Big Question: what will happen to Words of Encouragement with all these changes and perhaps more change to come? Will we just become a forgotten blog, like many others?

Well, I hope not! Because Words of Encouragement is not about our group at all. It is about encouraging people who drop in on us, that Jesus is worth believing in, and persevering in, and hopefully in our sharings they see real people living this out :-)

So, it really doesn't matter even if our group changes later on, because wherever we will be (even if we are out of STAR!), we will always need "words of encouragement", and others will always needs "words of encouragement" as well, as you can no doubt see from our tag board :-)

So do keep the post coming still, ya? Coz there are people who are encouraged :-)

Phew, so much for a "short" sharing!

Words of Encouragement forever! Words of Encouragement, Wan4Sui4! Words of encouragement, Banzai!
Eh... run out of languages liao. Patrick ah, what's "forever" in Melayu huh? heh...

Holidays updates

2007-05-20T18:54:00.000+08:00

It has been a bit quiet here. Recently, due to examinations and other stuff, our attendance as a group suffered tremendously. Also don't forget Kristy, who will be back to join us again in about 2 months' time.

On 27 May, life will never be the same again. The launching of STAR Ministry may be a calling by God for us to sit up and serve the younger ones. Maybe we have grown too comfortable in PUNJ.

I thank God for the support-raising for my local mission trip, which will take place a day after the launch of STAR Ministry. I will be away from 28 May to 9 June for the trip and 11-15 June for my first in-camp training. Hope we can go for group outing soon. I also want to thank my supporters - Elijah, Yong Guang, Jeffrey (my YFC fren) and Alan.

NUS exam results will be released on Saturday. I don't know how I will score, but no matter how it turns out, I still thank Him for a good semester. Hope that I do pass my Calculus.

Even though I have the privilege of a great fellowship in Crusade, I still love the time spent in PUNJ and desire that in the second half of the year, we'll grow closer together. Some of us in the group will join Class ARPC in the 2nd half of the year, and there's only thanksgiving to Him for what He's done, otherwise we wouldn't have known one another and most importantly, will still be lost souls out there.

Pray for good health, unity and wisdom for my mission team. For myself, to walk closely with Him to lead this team well. Some of the members of last year's team fell sick and could not go to Bethany Nursing Home midway through the trip. As the elderly there fall sick very easily, the staff won't allow anyone who is of poor health and hygiene to enter the premises.

During my visit there last Saturday, we walked past a room where those who passed away will be put there before being sent for cremation. Life and death is very real there.

2007-05-07T17:58:00.002+08:00

"Christian and Christ-follower sama sama ('together' or 'same' in malay)? Think again. Chanced upon this youtube source from SMU crusaders blog, but it sure rock the house for ahem....cold humour?"
"Got it?"

Gen 12ii Bethany Methodist Nursing Home (28 May -9 June)

2007-04-01T21:08:00.000+08:00

I was telling myself this morning that if I were to reach church on time, I would go and attend chinese servicee, so I brought two Bibles with me.

In the end, I went to the hall as usual because:
1) I was late.. traffic condition didn't help.
2) I met Chris after alighting from bus.

I admitted I was distracted most of the time, but the message seemed to answer my concerns of my loved ones' beliefs of evil spirits to explain my cousin's condition (I'm lazy to elaborate here). I was also reminded that as I lead the team for Bethany local humanitarian mission, I shall not display the kind of leadership that distract my team members from God. It's not Patrick's team, but God bringing us together for a common desired purpose.

In today's studies (Huiling leading us for the last time *sob*), we are challenged to depend on Him. It requires us to be prepared to give up what we hold on strongly to (e.g. wealth, achievements, man's recognition). Let not visiting church or serving in the ministry be a chore, because we forget what He has done for us on the Cross. I hope I won't fall into the trap of "God, I'm doing so much for you" when I serve in Crusade or even in the near future, PUNJ. Let keep us (or me) accountable in this area.

About my local mission trip (going with Cheryl)
It'll be emotionally challenging for the Bethany team. As compared to many overseas campus missions some of my peers are going, we're going to encounter elderly patients suffering from stroke, cancer etc. They can just pass on anytime, so the 2 weeks there will no doubt be trying for us, but I believe we will find joy in blessing them as well. Ministering to Christians + Evangelise to non-believers + performing + feeding are just some of the things we are going to do there. We'll also commit 6 months after the trip to pray for them once a month (Compulsory), as well as possibly going back to Bethany at our own time (optional). The newsletter will be out soon, and I'm excited about this trip.

How you can be supporting us?
1)Pray for us in planning + making decisions + support raising + unity within the team
(1 staff +1 staff family + 11 members)
NTU:3 NUS Arts:4 NUS Sci:2 NUS Engin:1 La Salle:1 (a diverse team indeed)
Guys: 5 Gals: 6

2)Support us financially. As it is a local mission, the amount needed is not as much. But we still need support!

Hard Questions...

2007-03-27T10:39:00.000+08:00

Harloz all,

Long time since I've posted anything here liao! So thought I'll share a bit of reflection on our last Luke study, which was on Luke 17:1-18:14:

Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves.
If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him".
(Luke 17:1-5)

In these verses, Jesus teaches us three things that we as disciples need to do:

1) To watch ourselves that we don't cause fellow brothers and sisters to sin
Jesus is deadly (literally!) serious about the consequences of causing the little ones to sin, and in my case, at least some of the "little ones" bring to mind some very specific names and faces: YOU.
These verses strike me a lot, and remind me what a grave responsibility I, particularly as your leader, have.

The Hard Question (not just for me, but for all of us!) :
Does it matter to me that what I do cause one of my brothers or sisters to sin?

I pray that in the way I've taught, and in the sharing of my life with you, the (many!) faults and all, I've not caused anyone of you to stumble in your walk, which brings us to the second thing that Jesus says we need to do here...

2) To rebuke the brother/sister who sins
It is so easy to stay at a level where we are all comfortable, and avoid the hard questions about how our personal walks really are.
Jesus reminds us here that sin is serious and avoidance and the kind of "tolerance" that the world is so fond of is not an option open to us as his disciples.

It is our duty to rebuke one another in love when we see another sinning.

That's something that's easy to say, but so, so HARD to do.
It takes a lot of courage because it puts the relationship on the line, not knowing how the other will react. The ones who will rebuke us are the ones who see the seriousness of sin and who love enough to do so.

I think Paul's example in Galatians 2:11-21 really struck me on this issue! In these verses, Peter, a "senior" apostle, out of fear of men, practised favourtism, separating himself from the Gentiles, and Paul rebukes him.
What gave Paul, a later apostle, whose apostleship is often doubted (1 Corinthians) the courage to unhesistantly rebuke Peter, the established apostle, who is widely regarded as the chief of the apostles?
Answer: He is fully convinced of the seriousness of Peter's actions, that it causes the Gentile Christians to be misled (or to sin), and he loves Peter (in the platonic sense!) enough as a brother to put his relationship with the latter on the line.

I think the same lesson holds for us all. Being still in our sinful natures till the Day comes, I'll fail you and others despite my efforts, and at times I will need rebuke.
I hope that you will follow Paul's example here if it comes to that. I promise that by God's grace and courage given me, I'll do the same for you!

James Bond has the "License to Kill", granted to him by the British Government. As fellow brothers and sisters, we too have a licnese as well: the License to Rebuke. This one is granted to us by an authority far above any earthly government. It is granted by Jesus Himself. So take courage and do the most loving thing when the time comes!

The Hard Question:
Do we love one another enough to rebuke one another when it comes to sin?

3) Forgiving one another
What's so striking about this is that Jesus doesn't even imply here that the brother who sin has genuinely repented, especially given that fact that forgiveness needs to be granted 7 times in a day!

We learnt in the latter part of this passage that this amazing capacity to forgive comes from the fact that we've in the first place, receive mercy from God (17:11-17).

The Hard Question:

Forgiveness is SO HARD! Why? Could it be that I don't realise how much it cost God to forgive me when His Son died on the cross for me?

I pray for us that we will never lose sight of how wonderful grace is, and that this is what motivates us to forgive, even when it is very hard: because God forgave us.

Amen.

what is work

2007-03-25T22:16:00.000+08:00

First, i must say that this has been a long overdued post. I've been intending to share it with all of you ever since dinesh's talk at smucf. Sometimes we keep procastinating about doing something but we just like keep pushing it back to the back of our heads again and again. Ok, finally found the urgency to really sit down and post this =) thank God.

In this ever pragmatic singaporean society, where welfare is a dirty seven letter word, work has always been a part and parcel of life ever since we got that piece of paper. Some work for the 5Cs, some work for pride and some work just to be able to put a decent meal on the table. But as a christian, it has always challenged me as what is the motivation for my working so hard? Am i working so hard so as to please my superior so that i would be rewarded? or is it just for self-satisfaction that you are the most diligent and hardworking subordinate?

So why do christians work?

1 - For Self
Do not be mistaken when i say this, because it has nothing to do with money or self-esteem.

"For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
2 Thessalonians 3:10

We work to earn enough to feed ourselves and our families, but i'm not talking in the context of les amis style dining though; but rather earning enough to afford the basic necessities. Basically the bottomline is: if you work for the dollar chase, material gains and self-esteem, it will never end as man will never be satisfied.

2 - For God

"22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism."
Colossians 3:22-25

We worship God and serve him in work. Work is a response to God for what he had done for us. We do not work for the eyes of man to please man, but rather we work for God and for his eyes only.
So how should we work? The attitude at work is the defining key, and not about being able to excel at work. We work hard, diligently and with integrity, not for the praise of man but to serve God.

"5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
9And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him."
Eph 6:5-9

3 - For Others

Warning Against Idleness
"6In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.
14If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed."
2 Thessalonians 3:6-14

"11Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

We can see clearly that work should also be other person-centered. Being employed means to be able to take care of oneself so as not to be a burden to anyone: in other words, a responsible way of living. Also, if you can work and take care of yourself, you win the respect of others.

"28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need."
Eph 4:28

We work so that we will be able to share the benefits of work with those in need. (other-people centeredness). We also work so that we will be able to support our fellow brothers and sisters in ministry and gospel work.

"17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain", and "The worker deserves his wages."
1 Tim 5:17-18

"14Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.
We also work so that we will be able to support ministry."
Phil 4:14-16

Some questions to ask ourselves as we read this, sorry for the many bible references tho :)
1 - What should be our attitude at work?
2 - What is your motivation for work? why do you work?
3 - How can you do the work of God in your workplace by reaching out to your colleagues with the gospel?

As a business student, i guess the temptation would really be to make work self-centered where in the banking and finance industry, everybody is attempting to outscale each other on the corporate ladder. Am i working for self-esteem, material gains so that others will look up to me? As we can see from the passages, the only reason that has to do with you is to put food on the table, other than that, all other reasons are other-people centered.

I'm thankful for the fact that we can always ask each other the hard questions and be really held accountable to one another. Had a really long sharing session with the guys in my group.. 2 hrs! but it was really fruitful and encouraging to know about how each of us has been coping in this walk with God and that we could encourage and ask each other the hard questions.
Thank God for that. Amen.

PUNJ sharing

2007-03-16T23:12:00.000+08:00

It's a bit quiet here, so let me share what I'm going to say this Sunday (will add a bit more on that day):

"Hi! I’m Patrick and I have been in PUNJ for two years. I got to know about PUNJ when I started to attend service on a regular basis in 2004, 6 months after I became a Christian. Back then, I wasn’t ready to join PUNJ and was still trying to adapt to life in the army.

At the start of 2005, I decided to join PUNJ to know more Christians around my age. I wanted the fellowship that I couldn’t get in the army. I pulled my JC friend, Alan, along to PUNJ. It was a bit difficult at first, because I didn’t really know any people over there, but I was fortunate to have many newcomers that came in at the same time.

In PUNJ, the newcomers will join Just Looking group to explore the gospel of John. The group discussions helped to enhance my learning process and prompted me to go deeper into God’s Word. At that point of time, most guys in my group were serving the army and now we’re at another stage of our life, either working or studying. Having a common experience helps. My PUNJ leaders have also offered advice and shared their experience that helped us tremendously in making the right decisions.

During my first year in PUNJ, my attendance was erratic because the army burnt up quite a number of my weekends. At the start of last year, PUNJ underwent a re-shuffle. We were grouped together according to age. The guys in my Just Looking group still stuck together because of the almost negligible difference in age.

Strangely, I attended PUNJ more regularly when ARPC moved to Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary than any period of time in Adam Road, considering that I stay in the west. However, it can be explained by the friendships that I made in PUNJ and the memorable time of learning God’s Word and praying for one another.

I was very touched when a number of PUNJers came to support my alumni theatre performance in August last year. They were also the ones who gave me encouragement and their listening ears when I was going through a tough stretch preparing for the performance.

My bible study group started a blog named “Words of encouragement” in October last year. This blog helps me to know what’s going on in my group members’ life outside church and reminds me that showing encouragement and praying for one another is not just confined to Sundays.

I attended PUNJ camp for the first time last year. It was held at Girls’ Brigade Centre. The camp was really an opportunity for me to interact with those whom I didn’t get to talk to much in PUNJ. We had lots of fellowship over food and sports. Sports do bond guys together. The talks by Pastor Yuk Yee gave me a big picture of how God has acted to bring about his plan of salvation from the Garden of Eden to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

My 2 years in PUNJ has been eventful, fruitful and meaningful. I want to thank the leaders in PUNJ for their faithful service in the ministry. God has used PUNJ to impact my life. If you are between 17 to 25 years old, regardless of where you are, come and join us! "

Love

2007-02-23T00:34:00.000+08:00

The love between father and son.. amazing .. *sobs*

basics

2007-02-18T13:47:00.000+08:00

What does it mean to be called a christian?
How are we qualified to be called a christian in the first place?

We are called to be the children of God simply by this faith in Christ Jesus. The faith in that only through him and in him, that we could be made righteous in front of God. So let us preservere in this faith.. unwavering living our lives as christians, in a manner worthy of God, pleasing to God.

30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." 33As it is written:
"See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
Romans 9:30-33

It is by faith that we have been saved, not by works. Some might believe that only by being able to speak in tongues and perform miracles makes you a christian. Let us not hanker over this gifts for the greatest gift has already been given to us: salvation and forgiveness of sins throught Jesus's death on a cross. If we have the gift of tongues, praise the Lord! .. if we don't, let us not hanker over it but rather make full use of the gifts that we already possess to do God's work.

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10

Let us preservere in the faith and encourage one another, living every aspects of our lives as a christian, in a manner worthy of God, being a good example for others.. till the day we see him face to face. Amen.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone =)
cya all soon.

Quote from Issac Slade, The Fray

2007-02-09T20:17:00.000+08:00

"If you are a painter, paint, but you dont have to have Jesus in every picture. Paint well, and if you paint well enough, they might ask you why you do that."
Isaac Slade, The Fray ( a secular pop group)

Would what you do, day after day, impact people toward wanting to know Jesus, even if you never told them you were a Christ-follower?

A song for Him

2007-02-08T09:42:00.000+08:00

After the concert last night, I suddenly had an urge to write a song, using the borrowed melody of "I Believe". I will keep this title too.

I Believe
written by: Patrick
I believe
in my God who gives me life
I find joy
Knowing well that He loves me

I believe
He has given me a hope
I just want
to humbly worship Him

The gift of salvation
I do not deserve it
But He really loves me so much
And I'm touched to accept it

He is my Lord and my Saviour
I just want Him
The world cannot offer
A way to fill my emptiness

He is the ruler of my life
I just want to believe in Him
because He never fails
He's the One to trust
And true love can be found in Him

Another down with blog flu

2007-02-04T18:58:00.000+08:00

Haha.. Sunday is supposed to be a busy day to catch up with schoolwork for Monday tutorials. Aloysius asked me to blog more often in this blog. Now that our group is about to split, is the future of this blog under threat?

I seriously don't know whether I can finish all my work tonight, as it is 99% confirmed that I will succumb to TV tonight. Singapore will be playing in Bangkok against Thailand for the second leg of the ASEAN Football Championship FINAL. Singapore holds a 2-1 lead from the first leg. If this does not attract me enough, I can join my sister to watch Project Superstar Final on Channel U. Saya Mati...

I just went for a >4km run. Didn't ask Alan along as he's sneezing badly. It was a struggle to complete the run. It was purely perseverance that I managed to complete the run. My current fitness is nowhere near even my JC days'.

While campus witnessing was a great experience, relational evangelism is very much in my mind this year, as many things have taken a new twist. See my blog for more.. a bit personal to share here..

Pray for me on mission trip. I have to admit my reluctance to go even for a local mission this year. The deadline for signing up is this Friday.

I have invited a friend to a Mass E concert this Wednesday. It happens to be on his birthday. Pray that he will turn to Him on his birthday. My fellow social work major..

I just found out that there are so many things happening on Mar 10.
-My campus crusade staff, also my DG leader, is getting married.
-Class ARPC
-Chris' Commissioning =)
-My mobilisation briefing =(

IF anyone knows where to get Chinese Bible, let me know. The bilingual Bible is quite ex..

Me got blog flu!

2007-02-01T22:25:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

Have not just caught the flu bug physically, but have caught one of the variants of the electronic flu as well. This variant is called OCLB short for Obsessive Complusive Long Blogging.

This is partly also in consideration of the fact that my long sharings might be rather "intrusive" on this blog which is supposed to be common air time.

To see symptoms of OCLB: http://everbrightlee.blogspot.com

I doubt even Shumin can do anything about this one, ha, ha!

Expect the Unexpected

2007-01-16T00:50:00.000+08:00

I will like to share with you my reflections for my campus crusade camp "Metamorphosis".
After the joy of Christmas carolling and badminton fellowship, I was brought down to earth during that period.

Click on the following:
Expect the Unexpected

I'm a frequent blogger at my own blog...

The struggle to not be ashamed...

2007-01-15T16:05:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

Just wanted to share about 3 incidents which happened to me this morning:

I was on my way to super-ulu Hendon camp (which is home to the Commandos, as Wee Seng can tell us all about!) for a meeting. As usual, you go through all the regular bag checks and exchange of passes and stuff.

Incident 1 at the Guard Room
As the Military Police (MP, the guys are the guardroom), was rummaging through my bag looking for suspicious looking objects, he found my Bible, and commented "Ah, the Bible huh?".
Here's what went through my mind: BLANK. Eh... what to say?? So I just said "Yah".
As it happened, I was waiting for my colleague who was late. So there I was waiting, beside a guy who just asked me about the Bible, with some empty time on my hands.

2 possible things I could do then:
1) Continue to stand there, and hope that my colleague comes soon, and I can be relieved of the uneasy guilt of ignoring the obvious opportunity.
2) Eh...Talk to him? God is sometimes very obvious with his hints!

What's amazing was that how in a short span of minutes, I could come up with so many reasons (excuses) for taking option 1), as follows:
a) What can I do in a few minutes?
b) Don't quite know how to start
c) My mind hasn't woke up yet (a complete excuse, since I can write this now!)
d) I probably won't meet him again, so...eh...
e) He will probably think I'm some religious nut-case.

Only one reason popped in my head for option 2: Luke 9:51-10:24, which we did yesterday, and which I'll look at again at adult DG tomorrow. Isn't it interesting how we quickly forget what we just learnt, despite me telling Huiling how encouraging I was by how our first PUNJ study of the year was? And what of songs we sing? Are we ashamed of who we have believed?

I did talk to him, after a short prayer to God to guide me on what to say. He's a free-thinker, and apparently has been reading the Bible recently! Probably why he commented about the Bible. He was reading Genesis (as most people would with any other book!). I suggested that he should start with the Gospels instead, and no prizes for guessing WHICH one I suggested! Explained to him that Luke is about Jesus who claims to be the Son of God who came to save us, because we are lost from God, and that he did that by his death on the cross and his resurrection

Didn't have much time with him, coz my colleague came about 5 min after I started talking to him (which would have been 10 min if I hadn't spend 5 min first excusing myself!). I just pray that I'm clear enough to get him started on "knowing the certainty of the things that has happened" and what it must (Greek: dei) means for him, and for others who will continue to share with him.

Incident 2 on the way back
Shared a cab back to office with my colleague after our meeting. We were talking about what we do on weekends. Can literally feel the squirm in my bones when I told her that I go to church on Sundays (the warning of Luke 9:26 sort of comes to mind)!

We talked about which church I attended. I asked her if she believed in any religion. She shared that she's the only free-thinker in her Christian family, and I asked if her family shared with her about Christianity before, and what she thought about Christianity. She has not thought much about religion before, and was slightly uncomfortable talking about it, so didn't push it then (or perhaps that's a psychlogical excuse on my part?).

Incident 3 During the Meeting
This actually happened between the 2 incidents above. At the meeting, I was supposed to try and "sell" a particular idea to a group of old Commando officers who were exceptionally opinionated and sharp (must be part of their training!) with their questions and "issues". What's so interesting was how bold and convinced I was in my presentation to them, and my confidence in engaging them on them on it. In other words, I was so sure in my "evangelism" of my idea to them.

Isn't it interesting that I'm far more confident and convincing in presenting a defense of a work proposal than of the gospel that really mattered? What a difference from what Paul exhorts in 2 Corinthians 5:11-21!

Reflections
1) Always carry "A Fresh Start", "Who Moved the Stone?", or something like that in your bag. You never know when someone might search through it, and you might have a chance to give it away!
2) Learn/Revise your 2-Ways-To-Live, for God's sake (literally)!
3) Most important of all: what difference REALLY does what I've learnt in Luke make to my life, especially my attitude towards evangelism? Is it a part of me, or just a part of my doctrine?

Happy new year =)

2007-01-04T00:31:00.000+08:00

Hah.. i shall have the honour of the first posting of the new year.

Hope that those who were able to make it to nightwatch service at the neptune had a good time of fellowship..dinner and of course fireworks. Me? so sorry that i wasn't able to make it.. =( but i still tried to catch some fireworks over at the esplanade but well.. it rained. so i didn't linger on. Oh man.. l love fireworks but too bad.. none this year for me.

Right now for me.. it's a time of studying studying studying harder... and harder... as the exams approaches. Sometimes i got to admit that studying sometimes take precedence over my quiet time for God. On one hand.. i need to conform to society's demand.. on the other hand, i know what are the consequences of not letting God being the sovereign lord of my life. Sometimes while studying in school, i get CF and CC people coming to evangelise to me.. maybe its God's way of telling me to wake up my idea. Well.. pray for me as i learn to prioritize time well and for God to guide me in my studies. Mmm..I always felt that the amount of time spent on my books are not really productive as the infomation seems not to be reaching my brain. Got traffic jam on the information highway somewhere probably.

i'm also quite traffic-jamming on the words i want to write at this unearthly hour..hmm.. so let me just end it here :)

I wish all of you a happy new year and a great year ahead of you.. filled with bullruns!

cya all

Season Greetings

2006-12-26T00:09:00.000+08:00

24 Dec, 2006
Kenneth was telling me about the food that he was preparing for the Christmas party. I told him that I would sneak into Ruth's carolling group so that I could attend that Christmas party as a caroller and grabbed all the food at his plac. In the end, I ended up in Ruth's group not by my own arrangement, but unfortunately, there were changes to the houses we visited. We swopped with another group. =( hee..

My group travelled to Sengkang, Yishun and Thomson for Christmas carolling. The first house was like a warm up for us, because by the time we reached the third house, we had about 80 people as audience. They were actually having a Christmas party cum somebody's baby's first month celebration.

We visited 3 houses over 3 hours. That was really mad rush, but we enjoyed ourselves bringing festive joy and the important message to others.

A different carolling experience from the one I had with Singapore Youth for Christ three years ago after my 'A' levels. Then, if I never remember wrongly, we visited old folks' homes, ren ci hospital, MINDS and Children's Society to carol in the day. We headed to Garden Hotel for a mini public performance at night. I had to hold back my tears when we sang in front of some patients.

In contrast, everyone was in an upbeat mood last night.

25 December 2006
A funny trend continues for me. Maybe I always have nothing to do on Christmas Day itself. In the past, I went for running on Christmas Day. Today, we had our first badminton fellowship in Clementi Sports Hall.
Who came? me, Chris, Yong guang, Alan, Aloysius, Elijah

Sports is a great way to bond guys together.

After the badminton session, we went to have lunch. Yong Guang knew the sugar cane juice vendor very well, so there were free lemon pieces for us to add to the drink.
I spoilt my 6 year old racket today and just got a new one after that session. =(

We will have another session on Sunday. =) Join us if interested!

A little sharing

2006-12-12T01:21:00.000+08:00

Hello! I have a little reflection about my experience as a small group leader in my university's Christian Union this past year, which I thought I'll share here as my first debut post haha. Hope it encourages you that God is indeed the same God everywhere and He works through every situation for His glory :)

From top left in a clockwise manner: Dan / Will / Andy / Me / Emily / Camilla

We had a Swiss brunch cum our last team meeting at Andy's this morning. The brunch was real yummy - toast, pancakes, ham, cheese, nutella, orange juice *drools* But the fei-lo-ship was even more amazing because God *is* amazing.

I remember very clearly standing out in the cold in the middle of the night crying to Gabe that I was really miserable and upset at the Christian Union Houseparty in my first term in York, because I found it really hard to get to know the christians. Shortly after that, I was offered the opportunity to serve as a Small Group Leader in my college CU, which completely bewildered me because I barely spoke or much less did anything during CU in my first term. It was a challenge for me to work through my disappointment too, to love other christians even before they love me as I would like them to.

So Will & I took a small group together and started the 'Wednesday School'. Will is such a wacko guy with all these ideas for games / teasers and stuff to get people excited. I found it real tough engaging the group at first. Realised that the 'sit-down-and-dig-into-the-bible' style that I'm so used to in ARPC didn't quite worked here, and a part of me was intimidated by Will's easy-going nature which helped everyone to relax while I get really tensed when I'm nervous! Things got even harder in my 2nd term when I had to do my social work placement and continue to serve. It helped me to understand how much hard work the PUNJ leaders have to put in - going for CLOBS and preparing for the bible studies after a loooong day of work. Really thanked God for Will during that period cos we could take turns doing the bible study every other week.

We went from 1 John to Psalms and finally, Romans in this term. Just as I am beginning to learn how to balance bible knowledge + application + sharing + prayer, it's time to pass on the buck to the next group of SGLs :) Bit sad about it because I really enjoy doing the bible studies a lot, I would much rather do it than my essays haha (which prolly explains why it was such a mad rush doing my 2 essays at the end of this term!). The most encouraging thing is to see others grow in their conviction of God's Word, to believe in it and desire to put it into practice even though it may be tough, or unpleasant at times (unpleasant to our sinful nature). And I believe this is possible through reading the bible for ourselves and allowing the Spirit to open our eyes to see the Truth. I started off hoping to share lots and lots of bible nuggets to the small group, but I ended realising that it's more important to help them learn how to read the bible for themselves.. so that everyday as they read the bible, they'll pick up the little nuggets themselves :)

It really is very rewarding to have this privilege of sharing God's Word, but it is also equally challenging personally, to walk the talk. So many times I've caught myself not acting upon my words. With the knowledge, it's so easy to sit there and blabber about all these holy stuff you should do as a Christian, but go home and be a gospel scaredy cat or pharisee in your heart. It was very very humbling indeed.

The rest of the team will be continuing to serve in committees in other areas for the next year, and it's really encouraging to see God use them in so many ways to bring the gospel to others on campus. Because of my second placement in my 3rd year, I've decided not to take up any committee position next year. It would be great if you could pray that I'll make use of this 'freedom' that I have wisely, to take hold of opportunities to serve and share the gospel in all sorts of ways that perhaps I couldn't have done so freely if I were in a committee. I'm unsure about next term, but looking back at this year that God has seen me through, I can trust that it will be another exciting year :) All for Jesus :)

stars*

2006-11-26T00:55:00.000+08:00

hey people, i just want to tell you all that i'm so amazed and happy to see all the wonderful posts you guys have been leaving! super cool. keep it up, yeah! i feel really encouraged reading through it.

school's been tough... the environment is just stressful. everyone's pretty competitive cos there's a quota of procedures to fulfil, cases to see, tasks to complete. people are getting frustrated with each other, tempers are flying, conflicts are occuring. and of course, the exam is looming up... starts on 12th dec... everyone is frantic over finding time to study.... constant zapping of notes, buying of books (even when there's barely 3 wks left to study!) etc....

thank God i'm surviving.. i definitely feel stressed by the flurry of activity and the general tension in the air at school everyday, but when i'm alone, it generally feels much better... at least every day when i get home & do my quiet time i remind myself that God's in control.

today as i was walking to my car from the library at night, i looked up and saw a beautiful sight. it just rained in the evening so the sky was totally cloudless... and it was just LADEN with stars! i've never seen stars so clearly in Singapore before. it was breathtaking! some of the stars were seemed so "close" up as well! and i wished i could identify constellations cos i'm pretty sure i would have been able to see one or two! yup, anyway. i just stood there for 5 minutes soaking in the starlight. stars really twinkle, isn't it amazing!!!

and it just occured to me that the God who created the stars also created the whole heavens and the whole earth.... and sustains them as well... and if he can do so then surely he has the power to look after me during my measly little exam.... haha... yup i feel much safer knowing that God's in control! =)

hello :)

2006-11-25T13:45:00.000+08:00

hey everyone.....i hope you all are well and not too stressed over work and school. i just had an exam in the morn which went pretty ok. phew. anyhow 2 down 3 more to go! i just want to share something that helps to remind me to pray, especially when im so bogged down with work that i feel like i have neither the time nor the energy to do so. hope this encourages you.

The Difference

I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,
and heavier came each task.
"Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered.
He answered, "You didn't ask".

I wanted to see joy and beauty,
but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn't show me.
He said, "But you didn't seek."

I tried to come into God's presence;
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided
"My child, you didn't knock."

I woke up early this morning,
and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I had to take time to pray.

I'm on MSN...finally!

2006-11-25T00:37:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

Finally overcome Newton's law of inertia (lazy person at rest, tend to stay at rest) to install MSN!

But me got few friends now :-(

Now... where can I find more friends? **eyeballz**

A week of "godly" distractions

2006-11-24T22:50:00.000+08:00

Harlowz all,

Just wanna share (warning: long!!) about the week past, where some seemingly un-related "distractions" to a week otherwise consumed by work turned out to be not so un-related after all...

Monday 20 Nov 2006 Morning
Was unwelcomedly interrupted by my talktative cubicle neighbour who asked me: "Are Christians usually very busy during Christmas?".

The reason why she asked was this: she and a group of her classmates always met up during Christmas for gatherings for the past years. There is this one classmate of her who is Christian, and sadly, she has never made it even once for the outings, because she's always too busy with church activities during this time of the year.
Her friends have given up inviting her to the gathering, but my nice colleagues says that she still tries to send an invite to the "busy Christian". Had a chat with her on what Christmas means for us as Christians, which left us with one question each.

For her: have you ever wondered why Christians are so caught up with Jesus and Christianity? Hmm... the beginning of a series of conversations maybe? Better go dig out my 2-Ways-2-Live now...just to be prepared.

For me: am I too busy for my non-Christian friends? Isn't it ironic that we understand correctly that Christmas commemorates God's greatest gift to non-Christians, and yet are too busy with the gift to offer it?
I pray that her friend will find time to join them, and be able to truly be busy with what's important: giving God's greatest gift to her friends who need them most.

Wednesday 22 Nov 2006 Dinner
Met up with an old classmate whom I haven's seen for a long time (over 2 years!), and had a good time chatting on how we and others in the class are getting along. He saw me saying grace, and asked about my religion, and we talked a bit about Christianity. Apparently, he's a Catholic since young, though when we were still students, he didn't strike me as being religious, so that surprised me a bit.

We went through our class list, talking about each of them, where they are now, what they are doing...until we came to one name we both avoided till the last: Wei Liang.

He died in a car accident in US 2 years back. We were very close to one another. I'm surprised at how much it still hurts even though over 700 days have passed since. I guess time heals all wounds, but the scars are forever there to remind.

One thought came to me that night: how many of my classmates will die without hope when I least expected it, like Wei Liang? What am I doing with my time now knowing that?

Thursday 23 Nov 2006 Morning
Received a "secure, encrypted" email from my boss' boss, David (He's Christian)! Significance of a "secure, encrypted" email for layman: something important, sensitive, and specifically for me only, something like how in Da Vinci Code, Solphie's grandpa tried to tell her the "secret" through a series of codes and riddles!

This was the "secret" that was in the cryptex for me:

"Do you know any other Christians in our department? I'm thinking of organizing a Christmas event, and I prefer to entrust it to a group of Christians, so that it will be more meaningful, and it serves as an opening for the message of salvation. Are you keen to lead this event?"

Now THAT is a message worth all the trouble! This is the first time that he's done something like that! Thank God for the opportunity!

Only one tiny problem: I'm not going to be around much during Dec, as I'll be either in Stagmont camp, or on course, or at PUNJ Camp :-( :-(
Not sure how this is going to work out. Pray about it!

So what's God saying here?
Through a non-Christian colleague, a Christian boss, and a Catholic friend, one consistent obvious message: I'm far too busy for friends, colleagues, and even family! Missing the whole point of the season!

Thank God for the "distractions", which turned out to be reminders that I am DISTRACTED by work from what's more important!

I pray that I will heed these reminders, and also for all of us who are either busy with exams, or with the big day, that we will not miss the point of Christmas.

Hope that it's been a better week with God for you all!

See ya on Sunday!!

The Love of the Cross

2006-11-24T01:12:00.000+08:00

Press on..

2006-11-19T14:11:00.000+08:00

I still cannot believe that I could actually turn off my alarm clock and went back to sleep on a Sunday morning. By the time I woke up (10.35a.m.), I knew I was not going to make it in time for 11a.m. service. Last Sunday, I trusted myself and did not turn on my alarm clock, because it's not common for me to wake up after 10a.m. All these explained my disapperance for the past 2 Sundays. Pray for me on this issue during this examination period (23/11-7/12). Hope to see you guys next Sunday!

What did I do with my time instead?

12/11/2006
I met Chris for lunch at IMM before he flew off to Brunei the next morning. He will be back on 29th.

Today
I visited Glory Presbyterian Church at Bukit Timah. I went for the 1130am service. The sermon today was so relevant to our lives. This is the 3rd church I have been to, after Adam Rd and Bukit Batok Presby - all Presbyterian churches. There're still some noticeable differences among the three, despite sharing the same denomination.

The title: Under Pressure - When do we give up?
(2 Tim 3:1-4, Rom 12:1-2)

Brief outline:
Do not conform to the world...
How?
-Clarify our values in life
-God gives us a life for us to live for Him
-Fruitful life (life of character and spirit) is more important than a productive life.

What's Sabbath to us?
Time alone - for God, ourselves, family
Instead of: work work work

Encourage one another to live a life differently from others.

Careless photographer using his pillow as the background....

Nowadays, whenever I feel stressed out and discouraged, I will often remind myself that how fortunate I am to be living in this peaceful and prosperous country and more importantly, to know Him as my Lord and Saviour.

In the army, I was out of the comfort zone, without any fellowship in camp. Now that I'm in the comfort zone with Campus Crusade to keep me accountable, it's really important for me to build a good foundation, before I step into the unfamiliar and uncompromising working world. I also want to give thanks for this great year of fellowship with you guys and gals!

add oil

2006-11-15T23:50:00.000+08:00

Being a person of a few words, just want to say:

To all those mugging for exams.. jiayou!! :)

Cya all soon.

on suffering

2006-11-10T00:58:00.000+08:00

on this issue, there are 2 good books that I recommend to us:

1) "If I were God, I'll end all suffering" by John Dickson
This one's good coz it's thin, simple. John Dickson from the angle of exploring the possible answers to suffering offered by different religions and thinkers, and finally explaining why he thinks Christianity's answer is most satisfactory.

This is a great book for enquiring non-believers! I've given this out to a few of my friends who have issues with "God and the suffering world", and it's led to some very good discussions on Christianity.
Even though they are still not open (yet!), at least they are clearer on what Christians think about this issue. I pray that one day God's Spirit will open their eyes to see beyond the problem of evil to the solution of God's grace to them in Jesus.

2) "How long, oh Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil" by Don Carson
This one comes more from a Christian viewpoint. Don Carson shares his reflections on suffering, how and why it is important that Christians have a right understanding of this issue even when they are not suffering, so that they can stand firm in the midst of suffering, and comfort those who are.
From the hands of someone who writes chim commentaries, this book is amazingly clear, though slightly longer. It has been been very helpful for me in understanding some of the issues that I had on the topic.

So don't be put off by the author's name! It's definitely worth and well within the reach of "ordinary folks" like you and me!

And the good thing is: I have both of these on my shelf... somewhere. Lemme know if you wanna borrow them ;-) ;-)

on struggles...

2006-11-09T23:38:00.000+08:00

Yeah, totally agree with Huiling on needing to watch the "cross-over" from studying to working.

I definitely remember 4 years ago, when I first started working. There was a lot of pressure to keep up with people around me (especially since what I was doing was totally out of my field, and I'm a "scholar"). Everyone around me was like geniuses who knew everything, while I was the complete idiot. And it doesn't help that I'm a natural workaholic as well.

So I literally skipped church, ignored quiet time (yup, it was really all "quiet" all right, coz God and I weren't talking at all!), and was completely consumed by the need to be good in my work. I dropped the "O" from "Work is good", and ended up with "Work is God". It was really a period of "Dark Ages" for me then, spritually that is :-(

What really helped a lot was that I was involved in an adult DG around that time.
Only the literally ruthless hounding of my DG mates (true love can sometimes be very harsh, and I for one know that!) jerked me back to the reality of my situation, which I really, really appreciate and was (still am!) very encouraged by. They are very important to me, coz they hold me accountable in at least one area which I'm weakest in.

The other group of people who encouraged me a lot is, of course, you guys and gals :-) :-)
It encourages me even just by praying for all of you, to know about your different struggles, and how you persevere still in the same goal to keep looking to Jesus.

In times of busyness, stress and distractions, one of the first things to get compromised is fellowship. Yet that is precisely what keeps us from in check, and reminds us of what's really important in life.

I think this "habit of fellowship" (for lack of a better phrase) is something we also need to start working on when it's easier to build up during studying, apart from what Huiling mentioned about being grounded in the Word.

So what's the application point here? (Sorry, BS leader occupation hazard ah, must always ask how to apply one!)

Are there people in our lives who are keeping us accountable in areas we struggle in? It need not even be a formal group like a DG. It can be just one or 2 persons know us well enough to be able to ask us the hard questions.

If there are, give thanks to God for these people, and pray that you continue to spur one another on towards godliness!

If not, eh... what you waiting for huh??!

Hint on where to find these people: they could be people you are already praying for (like for example, through a prayer list) or people who you are already meeting regularly every Sunday. **wink, wink**

Please pray for our Christopher (Kong)!

2006-11-08T22:19:00.000+08:00

Hi hi all,

Chris will be going to Brunei soon. Do keep him in prayers.
Been also struggling as he's been rated unfavourably in his platoon, and it's affecting him quite a bit.

Chris, if you ever get to this, we're with you!
Keep your eyes on the big cross in ChrisT ;-)

Fixing our eyes on Jesus

2006-11-01T23:57:00.000+08:00

Hey guys,

Just when I was checking if anyone replied me abt the wedding, I read Aloysius' post on the blog... =) I'm very encouraged to read the entry! Aloysius, you're definitely not the only one who struggles with work, ambition, balancing desires and godliness. Lichuan definitely identifies with you as he is coming out to the private sector after being in the army for 4 years... and I think we all do struggle in our own ways... it may not be wanting to do well in studies, it may be wanting a better job, being envious of what others have, etc... it's definitely tough, but remember our identity is in Christ and CHrist alone...

Personally for me, I think one of the toughest point is actually when you graduate from school and move on to the working world. It is there where you're out of your comfort zone completely... there's no more CF to get fellowship from. It's easy to become workhaholic and forget all about church and God... it's easy to get sucked into the ways of the world... which is why it's all the more important to build a good foundation while in school and when we're out there in the working world, we can be salt and light for Christ. I know it's definitely easier said than done... but through GOd's word, we know that it's possible cos He is gracious.

Let's keep pushing on and fixing our eyes on Jesus! =)

do u struggle?

2006-11-01T00:30:00.000+08:00

We face struggles at various milestones of our journey, as a student.. i struggle with assignments.. exams and the works. I even struggle with caffeine.. been drinking too much coffee nowadays, guess that also explains why i'm still online writing this post.
For some of us out there who are not so well off, we struggle work with studies. In spite of it all, i'm grateful for fellowship and that i have a loving God to turn to.... to jerk me back from the jaws of studies before i become completely overwhelmed and obsessed by it.

Having said this, sometimes i'm also guilty of high-handed sin. I know that i should place more emphasis and priority on Him but somehow.. my time always end up on studies. I can always keep harping about how i want to spend more time on QT and stuff but in the end, it might not end up that way. Guess in the singapore context, it's education that decides your future (unless you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth) that makes everyone so caught up in the whole rat race. It's a long and arduous road.. but i will preservere in Him :) for what if i get blinded by greed and money, gained the whole world.. but i forfeit my soul?

I'm thankful for the sharing by Lichuan after lunch on sunday on his work experiences in the corporate world. It's sometimes sad to know that other christians out there can get so caught up by the whole corporate ladder climbing thingie that they are blinded by greed and money instead of living for Him. This clearly goes to show that the devil is indeed at work and that we can't deny his existence in our lives and that he can still tempt the faithful believer to his cause. For me, being in the banking and finance industry in 3 years, it will be a challenge indeed.

For in the book of Job, the devil challenges God that if the faithful and steadfast believer Job is inflicted with suffering, he will not be as faithful as he was.

Therefore, it is during this periods of struggles that we must remember to hold fast to our faith and therefore let's encourage one another :)

Speaking of struggling, we singaporeans had it the easy way, we struggle with material aspects like money..the paper chase.. see who climb the corporate ladder fastest.. however some people in other countries struggle with necessities like food. Came across this photo some time back, some of you might have seen it tho.

It shows an african girl crawling to a feeding station whilst a vulture was waiting in the backdrop all the time.

Non-believers would ask, if there is really a good and sovereign God in this world, why is there suffering at all? Some of us might have encounter this question before.. because i do. Prehaps this might give a basis for some discussion on this in this blog.

Are you guys coming for my wedding? =)

2006-10-31T23:05:00.000+08:00

Hey group members!

Will all of you be able to make it for our church wedding? A few are confirmed already... Jeremy, Yong Guang, Shumin... how abt the rest? Let me know yeah? Thanks!!

Huiling

Deeply encouraged

2006-10-29T21:27:00.000+08:00

Hi, hi all!

Just thought of dropping you guys and gals a note to tell ya that I'm very, very encouraged by you all during today's study , how you shared about what it means for you to be "unashamed of Jesus" with your friends (or not!).

It's really difficult, and does mean that at times we will need to say "no" to things which we know are clearly wrong, and that means our friends (even family) may not think well about us, and may even become hostile towards us.

At DSTA, I face the same dilemma often:
Should I do what is right in God's eyes, or what would make me right in my colleagues' eyes? Does it matter to me more that my colleagues think right of God, than that they think right of me?

And I honestly know that in some (ok, confession is good for the soul, MOST) of these situations, I HAVE compromised, choosing to do "what everyone else is doing" when I know it's wrong, instead of being honest with them that it's not ok with me, because it's not ok with God.
Always felt in such situations that somehow I've let God down (which is an understatement!) :-(

Thought that our sermon this morning was particularly reassuring (or rather the passage is):
"This is how we know we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence, whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have full confidence before God, and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him." (1 John 3:19-22)

He knows everything
God KNOWS that we WILL fail Him!

His assurance: My heart is greater than yours
"I know your struggles and how you have failed, and you HAVE failed miserably. but look to my Son's act on the cross, which shows you what it means to please me, and He did it for YOU, so that you can please me too. So don't look to your own self-condemnations. I don't condemn you, because Jesus took your place. What I think about you matters more than what you think, don't you think?"

What it means for me: confidence to carry the cross daily
I do fail, but God's assurance is my comfort, which gives me confidence to "ask of him what I will receive": to be able to please Him, and do what He commands, or in the words of our study today, to deny myself and not be ashamed of Jesus daily, despite my failures.

Of course, the 1 John passage is more about loving our brothers and sisters, than about being identified with Jesus in his death on the cross, but we also learn in 1 John that God's test is a complete package: loving one another, obeying His commands, and holding on to the truth are all part of the one test: do we know Jesus or not?
That is exactly the challenge of Luke to us: do we KNOW Jesus or not?

So take heart despite your failures, and pray to God DAILY to help you to deny yourself, to be identified with Him and for Him!

And let's pray for one another as well. That's what the LIST is for ;-)
Thanks Huiling for doing this week's one!
Kristy, Meiting, you are in our prayers as well!

Have a great week ahead of "self-denial" and "being ashamed for (not of) Jesus"!!

See ya next week for our final PUNJ session of the year!

My debut post

2006-10-28T01:37:00.001+08:00

It's been encouraging to me reading the posts in this blog. I shall not be lazy about writing here, since I have already given my time for my own blog, my CC Youth Exec Committee Blog and my performance blog.

Thank God for the good turnout in the STIR Concert organised by Campus Crusade based on the theme of acceptance and belonging. One of the rock band members shared his testimony in this thought-provoking session. Some of them, especially the unbelievers, found that his sharing was a bit long, but to me, it was a great session that reminded me about God's love that we often take for granted. We are these weird people who can be happy without craving for enjoyment, as claimed by one of the band members, who was invited to a youth group and found that these weird people were different from his clique, who went out enjoying their lives to the fullest, drinking and merrying and anything that you can think of. It's a reminder that if our behaviour is of no difference from them, then we are the "black sheep" for the gospel.

Thank God for the surprisingly positive response from my friends. I invited 2 friends to this concert. One turned up because he had a Sociology presentation on Religion and Pop Concert to prepare, while the other was persuaded by me to take this time to break away from studies.

What was most shocking to me was that Joanna didn't know that I was in PUNJ all along. She only knew me as a crusader! Melissa was greeting me when she saw me at the entrance and Joanna asked me how I got to know Mel. I was shocked for words, because I actually assumed that she would have known that I'm in the same church as her.

Have a great weekend!

Wonders all around...

2006-10-27T00:16:00.000+08:00

Looking back, was astonished at how oft we failed to give thankz...
(not mean to b a poem juz kind of run-on-thoughts with all the errors and such)

Happened today and it had happended b4......y do we failed to c so...
Coming in late............................into a fellowship of brothers
Coming in empty........................the dear ideas of friends all around
Coming in unsure....................... the trust of all those around
Coming in worn out....................uplifiting from seeing their joy
Coming in leading none..............lead gentlely by them to take charge
Coming in without much love.....held accoutable by fellow brothers

Wanting to give less....................their passion overwhelms.
.........And HE nvn shortchange us!

Well, this is the exact situation i faced in todae meeting.

At the end of, some stayed back....these r some of Christians.....and we sang song of worship and praise. Thank God. Now b home, comms presentation tmr....LoL.......
God bless.
----
Juz a thought:
it is not high you fly, it is what you flying for that matters...

2006-10-24T19:06:00.000+08:00

hey people!

i really enjoyed today's outing! nice to catch up with some of you and bowling is fun! ha. eh i think my arms are too weak and flabby... by the end of the first game they were aching already.... cannot lift the ball anymore! lol. hope u all had fun too... sorry i had to leave early to get a present for a friend's bday as well as visit my niece! ha. she's going to be 3 months old next wk. and she's beginning to babble (ie, make baby talk kind of sounds)... it's so great to hear something other than cries, burps and hiccups coming from her mouth! haha. and oh she can laugh too =) okie... got to spend the rest of the evening studying =( take care all of u and see u on sunday!

A sown seed growing?

2006-10-23T11:43:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

A sharing on a SMS I received this morning...

It was from an ex-colleague who left DSTA in May this year.
During the time when she was still around, I had a few opportunities to share about Christianity with her. She also came for our APRC Good Friday event in April.
She was "pseudo-open" in the sense that she doesn't mind listening, but thought that this should be something private that she "prefers to explore on her own". The response was largely passive and the feel I had then was that it was a convenient reason to avoid the issue, sort of like saying "I thank you for sharing. It's interesting, but it's not for me".
And then she left, and we have not kept much in contact since.

This morning I received an SMS from her (while my brain was still starting up!)
"Do you know where can get a cheap Bible, and books on Christianity?"

THAT woke me up definitely! Initial sounding (I tried to invite her to come join us for service) indicates that she still has reservations, but the amazing thing is how she's already starting to actively find out more about the Bible and Christianity!

Is the seed sown starting to grow? I do believe so!

As Paul (Heng) has shared, we will never know (at least not without hindsight!) when what we did will, in God's good timing and purposes, begin to make the world (literally!) difference to someone's life, not only for the present but for eternity.
It could be the incidental conversations that we had with them about what work means to us as Christians, or the discussion with a friend on studying about Christianity in her course, like what Ruth (Wok) shared about some time ago.

So persevere, brothers and sisters, though it may sometimes (often!) seem like we are hitting brickwalls with our loved ones, friends, and people around us, coz GOD IS WORKING!
We just need to trust Him. He knows what He's doing, and when to do it :-)

Have been somewhat jaded recently, especially in the area of personal evangelism, due to poor responses, and also personal distractions. Thank God for this timely encouragement and reminder on what's important!

Pray:
1) For this ex-colleague (her name is Li Lian), that in her exploring of Christianity, she may come to realise that God is looking for her, and turn to the Shepherd in His good time.

2) For godly brothers and sisters who will be partners in the Gospel in continuing His work in her.

3) For me to renew the fervent for God's work wherever I am.

A really long post......!

2006-10-18T01:11:00.000+08:00

Yoz peeps!

Actually reopened my own blog after shutting it down for awhile. can visit it guys...
(pardon the english; was ZZzzzing)the ray of hope is continued.

Anyway, this week is crucial with regards to a community project. haha, part of the sch core module but we sincerely believe that the reading and thrift shop program for the intellectually disabled is beneficial. Dun tink anyone done that before, so.....lend us your support! Hope that after our project, there will be a steady stream of volunteers to continue the project. We wouldnt know who they are but at least...

Hhaha... regarding some resposibilities, one of my fellow Christian freshie in SMU cannot comprehend why I kept trying to downplay things to the extend of creating a misleading picture of non-existence. Being humble is good but trying to claim that somehow responsibities, abilities and trust established and affirmed is actually a wild fantasty of others (it-is-your-perception-your-problem kind of attitude) is akin to running away from it. Well, friends should know otherwise and they just wanted to let me know that God works through each and everyone of us. Kinda ashamed that they keep whacking advice at me, offered to pray for me (Ditto for relationsip matters but that is another story....at risk of generalization, RJ and AC gers r trouble..hahaha)..........We do not have to fear our responsibility. Treat it as a gift of God? His ways are mysterious!... Of course, haha that afternoon itself he and some seniors left me alone to face the firing squad in Q and A. (to be fair, they have lessons and had to head b to sch)

Finding it tough to be helpful. I got a friend who actually wanted to copy my homework... a fellow Christian and he is in SMUCF. His accounts is bad and he even want to drop it. Kind of told him that he should do it his own. He sincerely asked for help in teaching him, but althu i assented, i was kind of doubtful of my commitment to. but should i never let him copy again? was struck when he replied to my candid answer that i almost finished the homework (abt 2 hrs) that the usual rate to finish so is half a day. i doubt pple lyke him wanna bid for same module w me ever. i dunkoe what to say to him but juz smile.... to his hair-pulling antics. Haiz.. he is a great friend man. Pray for his studies and.. not to fall away.

Finding it tough to motivate. One of the team in my modules is actually kind of weak in leadership. To be honest, that will make the differences b/w getting a A for a module or a C. One of my frens commented to me that he felt that the team was generally a team of "followers" as in people who are not capable or willing to exercise their initiative with only a few of us pushing things forward. Another, the above accouts problem guy gave the feedback that he observed some communication hiccups [ perhaps this helps: there is a Frechman, a Chinese national, a Pakistan Girl.......Frenchman cant understand me for weeks!...hahah ] here and there. Well, it is difficult trying to pull it though when the energy is low. Then again, one of my mugging buddies have this to say: he admitted that the teammembers might not be brillant or "zai" people (haha.. 'juz ur luck' ...he was kidding) but we cannot always except everyone to be on the same level. Morevover during the course of our teambuilding,we have really experienced the fact that each member has a unique ability which oft and mysteriously fit into the whole picture. Perhaps that is my friend is trying to drive at...... Anyway, weird that from backstabbing and conflicts initially...we are currently looking at some outings which has nothing to do with the project but is the results of friendship.

Similarly i tink mentioned in my blog. Pray for the upcoming y camp. there is always a purpose in evthing and of evone. Well, most of the comms member are experienced in church camps and volunttering camps. Haiz..my DY is a youth group leader somemore. Ditto the staff i am liaisoning with- chruch worker experience. hahha...weirdly, the overall commander has neither of these, and strangly enough is kind of weak comparatively with regards to Faith. Heard of through-train leader anot? i never heard of it, do not believe in it generally ....thrown in striaght to the field to learn the ropes and be ' steamed'. well....... i thought i was truly 'steamed' just weeks ago!

Ditto alot of stuff.......was fortunate to be able to play smoke through for awhile. "i am new......but well, we can....based on limited experience.. " kind of thingy. Hey Alan here Alan,this is ....*no pls no...dun intro me...dun pull me in......i koe nuts* you muz be nuts..........
Excuses for lack of knowledge. Muz really do more to justify the faith shown. haha another advise fm frens: be more courageous. dare it!!!! Well, was grateful that fellow college mates stepped in to give me confidence in discharging the duty, not least the Christian frens who continuously keep me away from self-centric motivations and reassured me of the trust they had in me. Thank God.

Gonna sleep!!!

Cheers!
Alan Ang

Something to share

2006-10-18T00:21:00.000+08:00

Hi pple :)

Just came across something which i like to share.. it's really disturbing that singapore being a first world country, its citizens behave in the contrary.

click here

Just to break the monotony of work or study.. enjoy the read ba.

2006-10-15T20:48:00.000+08:00

harlow everybody!

har... why is nobody blogging?? haha. all too shy is it? actually it doesn't just have to be words of encouragement or prayer requests or whatever... you can just type in anything you want. like.... what u learnt from the studies, any personal sharing, updates on your life, or elaborate on the context of some of your prayer requests. yup! hope to see you all blogging more leh! haha.

personally i thought the part about the seed which grows and gets choked up by life's worries really describes how i sometimes feel. i guess for us Asians.... work/studies is really one of the biggest distractions in life. cos ever since young, our parents have been drilling into our minds that we must study hard, do well, get a good job etc etc etc. well, studies are really the biggest obstacle for me, i think. especially if i want to choose certain specialties next time, i must do well enough to get my first choice. so there's this pressure to do well. also, so far i've been blessed with good results... but then it has become a sort of "pride" issue to maintain those good results.

just want to share something which made me change my views... this year, in jan/feb, life was not going well for me. a lot of problems and stuff. anyway, it was right before my end of year examinations. and i wasn't in the mood to study at all. i felt so helpless at that time. my confidence in my own ability was shattered. i turned to God and asked him to take care of me, and trusted him to carry me through it. not only did He do that faithfully, he even blessed me with much better results than i expected.... results which i didn't really deserve.

anyway, my point is not that trusting in God = good results, but rather, our own abilities are really limited. but through God, the impossible can be possible. and we just have to trust in him to carry us thru the uncertain times. and instead of letting the studies and work clog up our view, we should really just fix our eyes on Jesus and live our lives in obedience to him. if not, once we let all these little "idols" creep into our lives... they will slowly replace the Word of God and end up dictating the way we live.

please pray for me before i embark on my next posting. it's going to be really tough time. probably the most stressful posting i've ever been thru so far. everyone is going to be pretty competitive, and i juz pray i don't get sucked into the competition too. all my friends are like, ace students, so pray i won't be stressed out by them, that i'll not subscribe to the ideas of "success" in this world, but really hold fast to the far-more-impt eternal treasures i have stored in heaven thanks to Christ.

but for now, lemme enjoy my one week break. heh. will be going to kukup, a fishing village near JB on thursday and friday. i hope the haze isn't too bad over there =(

God's timely SMS

2006-10-13T10:14:00.000+08:00

Harlowz all,

Announcement: This is my first blog posting on the surface of this planet!
Yup, yup, thanks Aloysius for setting this up, nice!!

Thought that the title "Words of Encouragement" is very apt ;-)

Here's a first (long) word of encouragement from me (or rather for me actually!)...

The week, like the past weeks, has been torok so far (thank God it's Friday!) and will probably be so for the next 2 months. Been feeling quite negative about the current situation :-(

On Tuesday I receive a sms from Jeremy which was very important.
The message: REMEMBER COLOSSIANS 3:22-24

Why this struck me so hard was that this is exactly one of the 2 passages that I stick on the wall of my cubicle (the other being Philippians 4:12-13) to remind myself of what work should means. But sad to say, in the past weeks, I've drifted so, so far away from it, that the passages on the wall are no more than just ornaments (and not very attractive ones at that!).

God sometimes sends us smses at very appropriate times to remind us to turn back to Him. Thanks Jeremy for being the bearer of this particular one to me ;-)

Pray for me to not be proud and rely on my own strength, but to trust God in my current situation.

Been praying through the prayer list for the past week. Am very encouraged by your prayer requests, and by praying for you all!! Hope that it's been the same for you all too!

Huiling, am praying for both your groggy head and the haze in KL to clear.
Think you better get one of those SARs mask for the trip, ha! Heard from Li Chuan that he's gonna get it for you :0)

Okie guys and gals, need to stop wasting your (taxpayers) money and get back to work liaoz!
Keep praying and trusting in Jesus where you are!

Yongguang

How COOL!!

2006-10-11T00:46:00.000+08:00

Wow! How cool!! =) WHo thought of this idea? Aloysius, thanks for setting it up!!
Haha... am I the first to put up a post?? YAY YAY YAY!

Anywayz, I'm rushing a presentation that is due tomorrow morning... thank God that it's more or less done!! It's now 12.40 am and hope to catch some good sleep...

I need to improve in my prayer life and my qt... u guys can pray for me on that yeah? =)

Huiling