Grazin' Grass Mini Bites

2008-08-02T23:23:00.000+08:00

6 Long Years

Today's altar call was very touching because a couple of factors. One was the altar song - one song I had been singing all these years. Another was today's sermon. Pastor Jeff preached a lot on commitment, especially in Luke 14: 28, 31. He shared about the need for us to "sit down and consider" about following Jesus.

And this was somewhat what I had actually being doing since June camp. During camp, God spoke to me about a particular area to settle with Him. It was not easy, I thought long and hard about it. Eventually, I decided to give in to Him, coz I know it was the best decision to make so as to grow in Him even more. God promised that as I surrender, He will bring me to new heights. If not, I do not know how long more I can last spiritually because God and the area cannot coexist together. It is either one or the other.

And I also recalled on how God is the One who brought me into this family, gave me such great friends. I recalled how He gave me a purpose in life. Most importantly, He gave His life for me. I must honor Him.

Since camp, I had also another "sitting down" session, when I was reminded again of what He had given and that I had also surrendered my life to Him and He is my Lord. No matter what He does, I will still follow; this is my covenant to Him. To bring this session into context, I had to say that I was facing a very spiritually demoralizing point of my life. I felt like giving up once for all. But well, that "sitting down" session encouraged me once again.

At the same time, 10th August was drawing near. It will be my 6th spiritual birthday. Each year, I will always be reminded of how God had brought me closer to Him and how God had brought me further into His amazing plan for me.

In the midst of all these, I was led to remember once again that love is a commitment, which was also quite today's sermon theme. It was indeed close to my heart, especially since I had unknowingly been doing so many "sitting down" sessions with God.

To add onto the emotions in me, the altar call song was one that I had been singing for so many years and which reflected the cry and desire in my heart to be close to God. Singing the song brought many thoughts to mind. I thought about how this 6 years been such a bittersweet and tough journey. It had basically been repetitive cycles of being encouraged, resulting in recommitment and rededication, and then burning with passion again and many times also enjoying spiritual growth before I slip back into disappointments, discouragements and near giving up and breaking down.

I thought too that I will still be living for next 50, 60 years. Now is only 6 years and it is already so tough. What about another 8-10 “sets” of these 6 years? Each of these “sets” will become tougher. Will I still remain as committed? Will I continue to pursue after intimacy with God?

It is a deep commitment to continue to walk. Despite it all, I know it still will be worthy. Many times I had said this, for it is the right thing to say, but ultimately, I believe deep down it is truly worth it. Jesus gave me a life purpose. Jesus gave me a family. He gave me everything, every single part of my life; I do not know how to live life without church even.

Through these years, He had brought me step by step in His perfect plan and I had grown so much closer to Him. The next many, many years will be tough. Yet, my hope is that I will still continue to follow. It will never be easy, but I yearn to be able to decide to hold Him close to me for the rest of my life. I hope that when I face another down point, I will believe that as I follow, He will lead and He will guide me to His very best. For now, all I know is that I will want to continue to love Him and know Him more and more.

Now is 6 years, another 60 ahead? May I have the strength and courage to persevere on :/

2008-04-07T22:48:00.003+08:00

Psalm 16

1 Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."
3 As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.
5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Probably one of my most favorite passage for now. Spoke a lot to me during today's QT.

2008-03-20T10:30:00.003+08:00

Hunt for the Happiest Person

Recently I read about Singapore's hunt for the happiest person. It may be due to the fact that 9 out of 10 Singaporeans are stressed in their life so they want to do something. Read http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Singapore/STIStory_218461.html.

Also another stimulus for this post is the fact that magazines always seemed to enjoy writing about 'How to be Happy' or the like.

My take is that since people are so stressed, all the more we should go out and free them from a life deprived of joy through the Gospel. They are looking for happiness but not looking in the right places. The common sources: friends, do something they like etc. These are just too temporal. In fact, they are just channels God can use to channel joy in our lives but they are not the source themselves.

My view on the hunt is that we should nominate some Hope leaders for the award. I think we are the happiest people around. But, secularism may stem us from winning since our source of joy is religious. Even if we did win, we can only talk about our source of joy in general (ie because of religion) vs in specific (ie because of knowing Jesus). Well, if religion is the source of joy identified, hopefully people can realized that only Christ satisfies and not anyone else.

2008-03-20T10:10:00.002+08:00

Reflections & Renewal

Tuesday was a day that brought renewal to my spiritual life. God reminded me of honoring Him through the book of Malachi. God also reminded me of how blessed I am through the few songs I was listening to.

One key Word that struck me was the fact that living everyday with such a magnificent God who really loves me a lot is a blessing in itself. He is the God of all the earth and universe. I am just a small, sinful human. Yet, to walk everyday of my life with Him is just a big, big blessing!

Malachi 1:14 also spoke to me. ""Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations."

Though we do not offer such sacrifices in this time and age, our form of sacrifices are our lives or the part of our lives that we had promised to commit to God in. Yet, many times we break this promise in many ways. He is the great King and He deserves some form of respect at the very least.

All these years I had committed so much of my life for His Kingdom. I had made so many promises. And I want to continue to devote my life for this cause. I know He is real and I desire to honor Him through persevering in my service.

Wednesday was also an uplifting day. Extended worship helps in bringing me to question how deep my hunger really is.

Today had been an encouraging day. Am really glad that a brother is returning back to God. Our burden for those far from God is from our knowledge that the fullest life is found in this wonderful relationship with Christ. Tonight I must remind myself to invite people for Easter service!

2008-02-28T23:18:00.002+08:00

The Wrong Question

An interesting thought pop by my mind the other day. Often times, when things do not work out, we question God, "Where is the fruits I desire?" Yet many times, we also forget to pray and still ask God where is His power. I think God should really knock us on our head and ask us, "Where is the prayer?"

Prayer is our request for heaven to work on earth. If we do not pray, we do not give God the 'permission' to work something out. Of course, there is still the balance that God is in control and He does things according to His will. The bottom line is, remember to pray! If not, ask yourself, "Where is the prayer?" and not "Where is the power?"

2008-02-28T21:48:00.002+08:00

Nineveh - An Interesting Fact

Recently when I read through the book of Jonah, I discovered something interesting that I never noted before. As Jonah preached, the city of Nineveh repented immediately which was in sharp contrast to Israel who was struggling in her sins at that period of time.

Revival of Israel only came when the kings were good, here, the people started repenting before the king does. Years and tons of prophectic message cannot turn Israel away from her struggle with sin, yet 1 sentence from Jonah turned the whole city to God. (Read the book of Jonah for further understanding)

Goes to show how much change has to take place within us first. Though I do not know what happen to Nineveh afterwards (whether they returned to sin or not), I am just impressed that 1 sentence changed the city, yet hundreds and thousands of prophecies cannot turn stubborn Israel to repentance.

2008-02-12T20:54:00.000+08:00

True Love

True love is a decision of commitment. It goes beyond feelings. After walking this path for so long, there are many more times when feelings are not enough to sustain my love for God. It is very unlike my young believer days, when everything is so fresh and so interesting. It is easy to indulge in loving God all the time.

Whereas now, I had come to know and understand so much about Him. It is this point I realized the essence of this beautiful phrase that true love indeed require commitment to sustain. It is a commitment to pursue Him every day of my life whether in the good or the bad.

Some days are bland yet it is a choice to seek Him. Some days are wonderful and it is still a choice to share it with Him. Every day is a decision to commit to Him in everything I do. It is not easy, but I will strive to obey Him.

God, help me to love You more each day by making my every decisions for You and not for myself.

Additional Point: The ‘commitment’ part of love is what makes it so tough for people to finish this race. When the feelings for God wear out, feelings for other things develop and these things start to take God’s place. It is indeed hard to stay steadfast, but we have a great God whom we can depend upon!

2008-02-06T12:12:00.000+08:00

Well, I had not played Warcraft Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) for a long time. But had an interesting random thought this morning about DOTA and God. I thought of God as a very powerful level 25 hero, with damage of like 180-250 with critical strike, high armor and with 2000+ health points (HP), and many powerful items that can kill another hero almost instanteously. The normal creeps stand no chance at all.

And when God came to earth in the form of Jesus, it is as if this level 25 hero as described above is just transformed into a critter, with 50 HP, 0-1 damage, no armor and can use no magical items. And this rather pathetic critter can just be slaughtered by the creeps so easily.

In fact, if you do not play DOTA, just think about some fantasy game where you control the almost ultimate hero and suddenly your hero has been transformed into some helpless critter that can try to run (with the slowest speed) or just wait and die. I believe you only have a word, 'ouch!'

But well, God chose to bound Himself in the limitedness of human skin. From the highest, He became one of the lowest. This thought brought a slightly new dimension to my knowledge of how much He sacrificed for us. As humans should be grateful, we should continue to renew our awe and love for our Savior.

2008-01-06T23:27:00.000+08:00

Richly Blessed in Christ
(Written on Friday, 4th Jan 2008)

Today morning was super hectic for me. There was a project which had so many ends to tie up. And yesterday I had fever which made things worse as I did not have enough strength to get things done and therefore lessen today's work.

In the morning I barely had time to finish up the report before rushing out of house already late in meeting up my project mates.

In the midst of the rush, there was so much stuff to grab and pack that I left out 2 rather important items to include in the appendix of another report.

The only time I discovered that I left them out was when I was halfway to school on the train. It felt awful that I could had actually forget about them and hence will lose a couple of bonus marks just like that.

But God was with me. Though the 2 items did not miraculously appear, His presence was with me and that was really all I need. I was reminded again that He is the One who is with me and it does not matter that I left out the items. There is nothing I can do about it.

Rather I should remember of who is the One working in me and guiding me through these projects. I should remember what really matters in life is His love. His love assured me that nothing terrible can really happen to me.

Joy does not depend on circumstances. It depends on His love for me. Even though the day may not be going well, I can still simply rest in His presence knowing that He is with me.

Eventually for the main project we managed to submit a patchwork of research. At least it looked presentable though many parts were not properly arranged. Which by that time, I had learnt not to worry needlessly about these minor parts.

I know I given my best in these projects. I know I had a good God who loves me. It is already a 'good' ending.

Also want to thank God for my big hearted lecturer. I can hardly think of a lecturer who will welcome you into class and mark your attendance even though you are 30 minutes late just because you are rushing to hand in projects.

At the end of the day, though the projects was not submitted in the way I had intended it to turn out, I still know I am still richly blessed by this love I have in Christ. For I "know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." (Romans 8:28)

2007-12-31T22:58:00.000+08:00

Compassion

I was reading through the book of Isaiah on the train and there was this little girl seating beside me.

Along the journey, I realized the little girl had some stomach pain. Then, God seemed to prompt me, "why not pray for her?"

After all, I am reading through the book of Isaiah and one key theme is helping the weak, the poor and the sick. And at the same time, probably I may help to point the mum to God.

I struggled with the thought and this ‘war of thoughts’ with God helped me gained some insights on true compassion.

I wondered and knew that if it was Jesus who was seating at my place, He will not hesitate to pray for her. In fact, one of His hobbies is praying for strangers and guiding them to the light. On the other hand, I kept trying to find excuses and delay it till I parted ways.

But true compassion is doing what Jesus will do, being someone who freely offer prayers and advices, even to those who did not ask. I guess as Christians, we should not hide our identity to everyone else but the people around us. When we go around and see someone in need, should we not offer a prayer to them? Of course, sound discretion should be applied.

I guess that there is much for me to grow in this area. Probably I should be more courageous in denying myself. This is definitely one area where we lose something and we gain something much better. My denial may result in one's salvation. If I choose to hesitate or ignore, I will simply bypass a chance of showing God’s love and power to another who needs it.

Hmmm. This is quite a random thought that kind of impacted me greatly. Next time if I was to encounter such a situation, I think I should really go up and pray. What is there to be afraid of?

2007-12-28T23:11:00.000+08:00

Isaiah 54:10

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

This was one of my recent QT verses. And it touched me deeply for I was reminded once again how much God really love us. In fact, I will encourage everyone to read the whole chapter for greater appreciation.

The whole chapter highlights so beautifully that ultimately God really loves us. He is never really 'angry' at us even when we strayed. Compare the words "brief" and "deep" & "surge" and "everlasting".

No matter how far we had gone,
No matter how disappointed He may feel,
No matter how great the sin was,
The Cross forever stands,
A reminder of how far He had gone,
A reminder of how grieved He had felt,
A reminder of how great God's love is.
-YK-

2007-12-26T16:21:00.000+08:00

Presence VS Pleasure

God taught me a very powerful lesson today. If we choose the pleasure of sin, we choose to sacrifice His Presence. A sinful life cannot experience the full presence of God.

His Presence or sin's pleasure. Which is more important to you? We can only have one.

May this thought impact your life as much as mine. For I was reminded very deeply to guard my life well, and not take His Presence lightly.

2007-12-24T13:39:00.000+08:00

Some Cartoons to Share

I realized I had been so busy over the past couple of months that it's been exactly 2 months since I last blog.

Anyway, I had just pop over at Reverend Fun and saw these 2 very interesting cartoons. Please click on the link to go and have a look.

http://www.reverendfun.com/index.php?date=20071221
-This one really touched my heart. The greatest gift of Christmas is Jesus & the eternal life He gives to us who believe! The caption really warms my heart.
http://www.reverendfun.com/index.php?date=20071224
-This one further reinforces that being good doesn't mean automatic heaven citizenship - you need Jesus!

2007-10-24T20:33:00.000+08:00

A Burden

CG404 and CG08. Both are essentially the same vision, except that CG404 involved the Poly/DI group while CG08 involves the JC & NS group. 1 big difference is that the hope for CG08 is to complete it by end of 2008, which is more than 4 years after CG404 had gone past unfulfilled.

Sadly, most schools that labored for so many years had not seen that many fruits, though a few had seen explosive growth. It has been so, so long since we had this dream to win every single school. Generations of leaders had yearned for a godly generation of youths rising up to worship God in every school. And so many of them left without even seeing a glimspe of their vision being fulfilled.

Prayerfully, CG08 will finally be the time when we will establish God's Kingdom firmly in every single school. Hopefully, this will be the moment where the aspirations of the numerous pioneers will finally be completed.

Shall unite with the workers in prayer. I really want to make it my daily prayer for the chains of darkness to be finally broken. Salvation light must shine in every single school. I myself had toiled so hard for many schools without fruits, I deeply desire that the schools will be won by this current generation.

Just so, so many souls. Too many lost sheep out there. Time for them to be gathered under one Shepherd!!!

Lord, I offer my life to You
Everything I've been through
Use it for Your glory
Lord, I offer my days to You
Lifting my praise to You as a pleasing sacrifice
Lord, I offer You my life

What can we give that You have not given
What do we have that is not already yours
All we possess are these lives we're living
And that's what we give to you Lord

2007-10-17T11:18:00.000+08:00

A Thought

What is cannot also must can. What is don't want also must want. Not because He is an authorithian, but because He gave His all and my life therefore is a complete surrender. After all, at the very end, His plans are forever good.

A rather complicated thought. But some pondering will help you understand it. This is one essence of my prayer today.

2007-10-12T20:18:00.000+08:00

Your Joy Is My Strength

As I was listening to another of 'Savior King' album song 'Your Are Faithful', one line that caught my attention was 'Your joy is my strength'.

I paused for a second and reflected on this one line. It is simple yet so deep truth of our motivation to serve.

Our strength to serve may come many different sources. But probably 1 important motivation will be the smile on His face as we served His Kingdom.

As children of God, we work just to put that smile on God's face. Knowing that gives us strength to carry on whatever we are doing, be it pastoral or support roles, for we know that it is all worth it. As long as God is pleased, we know our efforts are indeed not in vain. His smile is our everything.

At the very end of day, even though the going may be tough and even seem unfruitful, will we still take joy in the knowledge that God is pleased with our every action?

This is one fundamental that God is speaking to me and probably you today - His joy is our strength.

2007-10-10T10:05:00.000+08:00

Here In My Life

You are my freedom
Jesus You're the reason
I'm kneeling again at Your throne
Where will I be without You
Here in my life

Recently I am rather addicted to this song from Hillsong's latest album, Savior King. The lyrics are very meaningful especially the chorus.

In the past, we often remind ourselves of who we will be, if not for His salvation in our life. This song reminded me once again of the greatness of His love.

I dare not imagine what my life will be now without Christ. Life will be a dead routine and I wonder what my purpose in life will be. Probably I may be a slightly depressed kid bored out by the routines. Probably I may be a kid that is forever captivated by games.

And this brought me once again to the wonder of the greatness of God. The God who stepped down into earth to intervene and change history forever. Such a heavy price, the price of my sins. My countless and still counting sins. And who am I to deserve a Savior King?

I made a prayer once again that I will forever live my life to love Him & glorify Him. If you do not know Jesus, please do read "here, He's calling".

2007-10-01T13:35:00.000+08:00

A Thought, A Prayer

"Though I do not know how to do what You had asked me to do, I do know that You know how to do it. And I trust that You will guide me to do what is best."

2007-09-26T20:47:00.000+08:00

"Dancing"

1 Kings 18:21 - "Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing."

I am not referring to the physical action of dancing. It is the mental action of wavering between 2 or more decisions, as in the above verse. In the days of Elijah and Elisha, their ministry revolves very much on convicting the Israelites to choose God above their idols.

Read 2 Kings 4-8 here. These few chapters described certain key events in Elisha's ministry. All concerned very different people: a poor widow, a rich lady, a pagan general, a member of the prophet community, a king's officer and Elisha servant.

All had different outcomes and stories, but one same underlying principle we can learn from - obedience and trust to God to experience His blessings.

Instead of appearing money and treasures to the poor widow, he asked her to fill up jars of oil. It requires action on the widow's part.

Instead of doing some mystical actions to heal Naaman's leprosy, he asked him to wash in the muddy Jordan river. It requires faith on the general's part.

Those are just 2 examples of what God do if we have trustful obedience to Him. And that is the message sent out to the Israelites. Elijah and Elisha are calling people back to Him and stop following the idols. They want the people to know who the Lord is. And with this knowledge to decide who they will serve.

Today, it is the same message to us all. God wants us to know who He is. God wants us to choose between Him and the world, and to entrust Him our all or nothing. No more dancing about, being neither here nor there. Simply put, using my pastor's humorous illustration: after you die, you will be neither Satan's or Jesus', both Satan and Jesus will deny you and say, "I don't know you."

Decide to live for God alone. Obey Him alone. Only then will you be able to live in all His blessings.

2007-09-18T20:08:00.000+08:00

JUMP Concert Reflections

"Am I really excited and mean it when I shout out His name?"

That was 1 question I asked myself. Do I really burn with deep passion for Him?

And I realized it may be one area to really grow in. God reminded me that whenever I hear His Name, His love and mercy should come to mind. And from then within that gratitude and thanks, I will declare "Jesus!" as if He is my deepest idol. After all, He indeed is!

I do not want to just shout "Jesus!" because everyone is doing so or to up the atmosphere. I desire to make an effort to praise His Name with all my heart and all my soul. I want to burn with excitement whenever I hear His Name being proclaim!

As Pastor Jeff pointed out too, we can sing without loving but we cannot love with singing!

2007-09-17T12:46:00.000+08:00

"Living with no challenges can be rather challenging too."

Just a sentence that went through my mind which sounded ironic though rather logical. Challenges are one way we can really grow.

2007-09-11T22:14:00.000+08:00

An Article to Share

Thought this is an interesting article to share here.

http://www.intervarsity.org/studentsoul/item/names-of-god

It's about understanding some of the names of God and how we can apply them. I also read a book on the names of God earlier this year. And I remember that the name really tells a lot about a person in the ancient past.

In fact, now baptism names are usually chosen to reflect who we want to be. Thus, one great way to understand God is through His Names and how He reveal them to relate with us.

Personally, I think it's a pretty helpful article, considering it's not a book. Concise and to the point. Enjoy (:

2007-09-07T10:25:00.000+08:00

Problems

Recently I read through the all familiar passage of 1 Samuel 17 - David vs Goliath. And I was pondering what are some new perspectives I can adopt when reading through it. The one perspective that came to mind was problems.

The following is not exactly the primary message of the passage, but rather some secondary thoughts we can infer from the chapter.

In this passage, we can see both a big and small problem. To David, Goliath was the gigantic problem. To Goliath, David was the incredibly small obstacle.

We had always known the fact that David went up against Goliath just as he is. Without armor and sword in contrast to heavily armed and well protected Goliath. And we know David overcame this mountainous problem with the Name of God.

But did we ever also see the other side of the picture? Let's put ourselves in Goliath's shoes. "I am a mighty warrior, who had (probably) slain numerous other powerful renowned warriors of other great nations. I am a highly experienced fighter, but who is this from Israel coming out to fight me?"

Many times we may be like this too. We think we think we are very strong and powerful. After all, we had overcome so many big and tough problems. We are well armed for every battle. And this next problem is so small, it cannot even be considered a problem!

Yet, what killed Goliath? Was it an even stronger opponent? Was it an incurable disease? It was small, untrained David.

In whatever problems we face, go through it with God. Goliath failed not because of a wrong move he made, but because God was against him.

Guard yourself against seemingly small problems. It may be the lethal blow to your walk with Him. If we truly walk with Him, we'll walk with Him in all kinds of situations and not just in the perilous ones.

2007-08-09T11:44:00.000+08:00

5th Anniversary Reflections III

So much changes through these years, yet You remain the same.
So many storms had turned my life upside down, yet You weathered them with me.
So many chapters had ended and begun, and in each chapter, You had molded me and grown me.
My life will forever sing of Your goodness & love, of how You had brought me through the years, of how You drawn me to Yourself.

5 years ago, now and forever, these song shall stay true...

KING OF MAJESTY

YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU
YOU KNOW THAT I WANT TO
KNOW YOU SO MUCH MORE
MORE THAN I HAVE BEFORE

THESE WORDS ARE FROM MY HEART
THESE WORDS ARE NOT MADE UP
I WILL LIVE FOR YOU
I AM DEVOTED TO YOU

KING OF MAJESTY, I HAVE ONE DESIRE
JUST TO BE WITH YOU MY LORD
JUST TO BE WITH YOU MY LORD

JESUS, YOU ARE THE SAVIOUR OF MY SOUL
AND FOREVER AND EVER
I'LL GIVE MY PRAISES TO YOU

NOW THAT YOU'RE NEAR

I STAND BEFORE YOU LORD
AND GIVE YOU ALL MY PRAISE
YOUR LOVE IS ALL I NEED
JESUS YOU'RE ALL I NEED

MY LIFE BELONGS TO YOU
YOU GAVE YOUR LIFE FOR ME
YOUR GRACE IS ALL I NEED
JESUS YOU'RE ALL I NEED

HOLD ME IN YOUR ARMS
NEVER LET ME GO
I WANNA SPEND ETERNITY WITH YOU

NOW THAT YOU'RE NEAR
EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT
EVERYTHING'S SO DIFFERENT
LORD, I KNOW I'M NOT THE SAME
MY LIFE YOU'VE CHANGED
I WANT TO BE WITH YOU
I WANT TO BE WITH YOU

AND I WILL SING FOR YOU ALWAYS
CAUSE IN YOUR PRESENCE GOD
IS WHERE I WANT TO STAY

A short reflection. But I'm truly thankful & grateful. Thank You so much for being with me. I've grown so much. My walk with You is so much closer, I'd been praying more & reading more of Your Word.

Especially over the past year, You had brought me so, so far. You had gifted me with such talents and entrusted me with so much, I'm just so humbled & awed.

Who am I that You entrust me to take care of most of the entire NorthEast's finance & admin?
Who am I that You had used me to be a blessing to the Youth in so many ways?
I know I'm nothing without You. With You, I've everything. Thank You, Lord.

Last year and now and forever, my prayer remains. Help me to stick close. Let me not fall. You are just too good. Too good to let go of.

-A collection of random reflections & thanksgiving to the One who alone is worthy-

2007-08-09T11:11:00.001+08:00

5th Anniversary Reflections II - People in My Life (I)

In this past 5 years, many people had come & go in my life. And today, I want to highlight 3 people who had truly made an impact in my life and will be forever in my heart. Without them, I may not be who I am today.

There were also others who touched my life, but I want to keep this short through showcasing the top 3 who impacted my life in the greatest measure. A BIG THANKS to them all.

Here they are (not ranked in order of significance):

David (Seng Cheong)

Background: UL of NEC till 2003. Moved onto YWAM, Tertiary and now finally in Young Adults.
His Impacts: The fact that he was the one who brought me to Christ made me have a ‘special connection’ with him. Perhaps, if he was not a UL, he might be my first shepherd. In any case, I know he truly care and love me in my new believer days.
To this day, I only remember a few events with him. One is that he brought me my first Bible and in fact during that week, I was thinking of buying a Bible, but did not know how to (and no money to, since I was just a pretty poor Sec 1 boy then). And o, back then, I was pretty secretive and he has no idea that I wanted one (unless he has a powerful gift of discernment).
The one thing I’m truly grateful for is the fact he decided to outreach to me AND follow through on me. I honestly think I will not actually outreach to a person who was like my past self. Probably I will come up with 101 excuses like, 'not responsive', 'no leadership potential', 'share Christ already but never convert', 'few friends' and whatever not to excuse myself fro following through.

David (Jun Huang)

Background: My CL in NEC2 when pioneering SengKang and Punggol. Eventually became NEA3 leader overseeing the AMK and Serangoon zones before transferring to Young Adults.
His Impacts: These 5 years had not been very easy. That’s an obvious truth. And through most of my most difficult times, he was the one who was with me and seeing me through it.
I will say he played a big part in refining my life to become a better Christian and many of my life’s greatest principles were from him. The greatest of all truths he taught me was one that had kept me going in every tough situation. If not for it, I will not definitely be who I am today.
And finally, I had much fun times under him. So much funny, stupid, perhaps childish times while in his core team with Jovin and Ian… Notably, the Virtuous Speaking Church times...

Gideon

Background: Too long to even mention briefly. But very, very briefly, he was UL of various units in North East before rising up to be the leader of North East. O, he has been my shepherd for a year already (I had very few shepherds who led me more than a year).
His Impacts: I will say Gideon is a leader who knows how to get to your heart. He will be one whom I can trust in comfortably. Especially in a recent incident, he gave me an insight that encourages me a lot.
Also, he has pointed out and changed many of my blind spots over this one year. It has really helped me a lot and truly appreciate it lots.Though he’s busy and has much to do, he still tries to find time to meet me. And we had many ‘weird’ places for shepherding. And yes, with such a comical leader, a big dosage of comedy and laughter is injected into every meet up.

By the way, a full list of my shepherds through these 5 years... All had made an impact in me to some degree. If you know them, then you know. If not, don't bother.
Sihan (Luke): Aug 2002 - Oct 2002 (around there, I was unknowingly transferred)
Jiong Yao: Oct 2002 - Dec 2003
Peter Wang: Dec 2003 - May 2004
Jun Huang: May 2004 - July 2005 (can't remember exactly which month)
Jian Cong: July 2005 - June 2006
God: June 2006 - August 2006 (yes, I was 'shepherd-less' for about 2 months)
Gideon: August 2006 -

2007-08-04T23:22:00.000+08:00

5th Anniversary Thoughts I

I did not plan to write this today. But today His Presence is just so strong, I just cannot help, and can only think about how far we had gone together.

5 years ago, I was only a small & young boy. Basically the reason why I converted was because someone persuaded so much till I gave in. And the reason I stayed was that I'm too friendly to decline. Besides, I had so few friends, thus I might as well hang out with them.

And that's pretty much how I treated God in the beginning. I'd never took Him very seriously for quite a while. Served God without God will be a great way to describe it.

However, now is very different. This week had been a pretty tough well. My tiredness over-amplified my emotions within. Hence, today I had really look forward for an encounter with God.

And God shown me really how much I had changed. In my life, He's becoming more and more a part of me. We had become closer and closer and I have been more and more aware of His Presence in me.

That's why today worship was really great. I really want to continue to give my life to Him.

2007-07-31T18:17:00.000+08:00

Before I post a thought of the day, will just do a short update... I will be coming up with some reflections of my past 5 years walking with God over the next week. As I walk more and more with Him, I have grown really appreciative of how wonderful God had been and I want to just share it out here. I will also write a bit about the key people in my life over these years, so do tune back in soon!

--------------------------------------------

Random Thoughts - Museum Pieces

Was having random thoughts through my mind just now. And one thought was about museum pieces and it just occured to me then, that we are pretty much like museum pieces.

I had just been to two museums not too long ago and one thing (and probably the only thing) that intrigued me was the condition of each artifact. Every piece is so beautifully restored and appears so new that I wondered if they are the originals.

After all, they were all dug up from the soil. Every piece had probably been buried for hundreds of years, imagine how much mud and dirt are on it. And time wears out the color and designs on it.

We are just like every museum piece. God dug us out of the dirty ground, each of us so unimpressive and fragile, perhaps even broken. Yet God patiently restored us - Adding new color, piecing us together, redrawing the designs and cleaning the dirt away carefully.

The effort put into restoring every artifact is really a painstaking one. Yet every archaelogist patiently work on every piece, naming and numbering them. And their effort is never in vain. Their work will eventually be displayed in gliterring glass exhibits for the world to marvel at, "Wow, what a beautiful piece! Such extricate designs, such interesting colors!"

However we are more than artifacts. We do not allow just allow others to see and comment about how different, how great we are. We point to the awesome power of our God, the One who called us from a hopeless life of sin to an eternal life with Him. He truly is the One who restores our souls.

2007-07-08T00:20:00.001+08:00

Weird Blogger

Apparantly, at least on my computer, it seems that if I don't post something, yesterday's post won't appear.

So yeah, this post is to make yesterday's post appear. Scroll down to read. Enjoy! ;)

2007-07-06T21:56:00.000+08:00

Numbers 9:13-25

Click here to read Numbers 9:15-23

This was kind of a reyma word that God spoke to me this week. A reyma word is a word that just hits you, that you just know that God is speaking to you. It is not just the plain written word.

Though this is in Old Testament contexts, the principles on God's direction in our life is the same. It is emphasized again and again that the people obeyed God fully, even though His direction may be incomprehensible.

Sometimes, God may command for us to camp at certain stages of our life and there does not seem to be any new movements or directions. It could be for a short while, for the Israelites, a day or a long while, or a year even for the Israelites. But yet, at least in this context, they did not grumble and resist God's plan. If God says 'go', they go.

Likewise, God reminded me once again that some seasons are seasons of waiting. His next command seemed to take forever to come. We need patience to wait upon Him, to listen for His next move.

God also showed through this passage, about that sometimes, God may ask us to move under difficult circumstances. In those days, and in the desert wilderness, I'm sure night travelling is nothing enjoyable. But yet, whether by day or night, as long as God commands, they set out. Personally, I'm reminded of the numerous occassions God's direction seem that tough to obey.

On the brighter side, there are some times God's commands are easier to obey. He will stick by the 'normal hours' of day travelling.

But still, whether His direction is wait, or to move in tough and easy times, will we obey? It is emphasized in about every verse that the Israelites moved at the Lord's command. No one grumbled, no one rebelled (at least in this context).

Will we have the same obedient heart? Or a heart that haggles with God over His perfect plan?

2007-06-17T16:48:00.000+08:00

First Frontier Camp

First, apologies for not updating here for the past 1 month half. Nothing much to share & also was a little busy.

Anyway, First Frontier Camp just ended days ago (11th-14th June). Honestly, it was a really inspiring & exciting camp. Though I am more on the support ministry and this camp is themed more on the pastoral side, I can really sense the energy in the air.

And I'm very excited about the fire God had burnt in so many people's hearts in the camp. I'm very excited too about what God will do in CG08, especially in the North East schools, I sense a great revival & new beginning dawning on some schools and a spiritual awakening in others. I'm excited over the number of people who had decided in camp to commit their lives to Christ.

Encouragement to all who belong to the above paragraph: Never give up. You could read the post below, I guess it's rather relevant for you all. Let this seed which God planted in your heart not die out. Keep up your passion & excitement. Don't let your fire be extinguished weeks down the road. Please don't, this is my plead with you.

God can't work through hearts which only burn for a little while. If you want your school to experience a spiritual awakening, don't let anything stop you. I seen too many people fall away after camp and thus lose out on God's great plans for them.

These are some words for dear brothers & sisters out there who pass by here and had received plenty from God in this camp.

As for me, camp had been a time of sorting out thoughts & making important decisions in my life. The decision in my heart is way too sensitive to share and is not 100% confirmed. But one thing God reminded me very clearly is that He'll be with me and bring me from glory to glory. Amen.

2007-05-03T20:20:00.000+08:00

Never Looking Back

Recently, this song 'How Can I Keep from Singing' keeps ringing through my mind. The chorus is very well written, and it touches my heart deeply. What I'll be writing will be very much inspired by the lyrics of the song, especially the chorus. To keep this as short as possible, I'll only put up the link to the song and I advise all to view the lyrics @ http://www.pwarchive.com/song.aspx?SongID=2801&v=1 first.

When I think about this very song, it relates very much to a lot of the difficult moments in my spiritual life. Not once, but many times, I've experienced tough storms in my life till the point I'm so discouraged & just want to throw in the towel.

But yet, one truth remains, I just can't tear myself away from God's love. No matter how hard I struggle, I always come to learn that He is the faithful God whom I can trust always. His constant love is the cause of my 'singing' in troubled times.

In fact, there was this point in my life when I felt really very down. I told myself very firmly to reject God; I kept telling myself not to love God. But guess what? God's love still won. In a matter of hours, I just simply surrendered myself back to Him. I was totally amazed by how harden people could be to reject God, especially those who had tasted His wonders.

Thinking back, I also realized that there's hardly any turning point for me. All these years I grew up in the church. I had matured in this church, all my priorities, values & beliefs had come from the church. I had devoted so much time, talent & treasures to God. My life is just filled with His Kingdom. Apart from it, I find nowhere else in this world I could go.

But that's not the main reason why I chose to stay on in God. It's because I, by faith, see the fruits of my devotion. I 'see' the eventual joyous reunion with my Savior, my King & my Father. Perhaps my spirit is the one Jesus demands of His disciples in Luke 9:62, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

When God called this verse to my mind, I put myself in the shoes of a farmer. Before I plant the seeds, I'll think through carefully all my other alternatives. I'll wonder if I should go plant other seeds, or if I should do a career switch. When I've finally decided to plant, I know the future I'm looking towards.

When I start plowing the field, I can't start to think of regrets. My life has already been poured out into the seeds. No matter how dry a drought may be, how terrible the storms may be, or how harsh the enemies (birds) attack, I'll never, ever give up. Why?

Because I know, at the end of it all, the harvest awaits me. I don't just say, 'Enough!' halfway through the season. It's the same thing as our spiritual walk with Christ. We know what awaits us & we'll strive on towards it.

Just like how a farmer will put in his everything for the season, leaving no other backdoors open, we'll put in our very all for the Kingdom. This is the spirit Jesus calls for in His disciples. A spirit that never gives up, a spirit that knows God's love is waiting there down every tough leg. A spirit that says "Never looking back" and not "Enough".

I've thrown my whole life into this spiritual gamble. I know for sure that this gamble will work out. I will never look back. Will YOU do the same?

2007-04-11T22:48:00.000+08:00

Crowds of People

A thought to chew upon.........

I'm currently in the midst of studying the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke John) and a thought came to my mind just today about the crowds of people who followed Jesus.

Bible always talked about the crowds that flocked around Christ. Many of these people were not rich people, every moment meant a chance to earn that little bit more money to get by life. Yet, they came to Jesus. Why?

Because this man came and healed all kinds of sicknesses, many of which were totally incurable in those days. He probably healed more people than all the doctors in Israel could heal in their lifetimes (those 'major' illnesses). Bible says people were amazed at His miracles & teachings.

This man seemed to be the answer to their hard, miserable life under Roman rule. They came, from all over the region to see this man. Another point to note is the distances they have to travel to find Jesus.

However, the sad truth was that most of these people did not really know Him & drew near to Him. As we could read, everyone abandoned Jesus as He was dying. Why?

Because Jesus came to meet our spiritual needs. Not just our physical or emotional needs. Most came for physicasl or emotional needs and they missed the whole point of God's love.

Today, in Singapore and developed nations, we are considerably well off & healthy. Let these not hinder us from knowing Christ. The people abandoned Him when He couldn't meet those needs any more. Today, will we reject Jesus & this wonderful relationship with Him because we are already physically and emotionally rather well-off?

For any non believing friend out there, will encourage you to go the 'here, He's CALLING' section (navigate above) to find out more about Christ.

2007-04-08T14:30:00.000+08:00

Wrote this last night as an Easter special, but well, it's more of a Good Friday special...
Enjoy...

Perhaps [Good Friday 2007 Special]
- What Were They Doing on That Day? -

The chorus of one of my favorite songs, At The Cross, by Hillsongs goes (part of it):

At the Cross I bow my knees
Where Your blood was shed for me
There’s no greater love than this…

This song is a very ministering song and captivates my heart. One reason is the fact that the whole song is very aptly written, and a song that you can visualize rather clearly the day of Calvary.

My inspiration for this piece came when I was thinking through about the song & visualizing the cross. And I was reminded of the very fact that on that very first Good Friday, no one, not a single person, were at the cross bowing down to the King of Kings, whose blood was being shed for their sins. I believe if there are, one of the four Gospels should have recorded of it.

This truth just simply hit me straight in the face. Here, right before their eyes, the Messiah was dying in great pain, just for us & them. But yet, there was not one grateful soul responding to His great love, the love that can never be compared. John 15:13 reads, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

Perhaps some of them just didn’t have enough faith to recognize that Christ is the Messiah. Perhaps they just saw Him as one of those fake messiahs whose end has come. They just don’t believe that dying on the cross could do anything, let alone forgive their sins. Perhaps part of this people just fled somewhere to think about their next stage in life, after all, they don’t have faith to believe that Jesus will work something out, somehow.

Perhaps another group of people were skeptical. Outwardly they may not be mocking Him, but inwardly they are. “Here’s the man who said to the blind, “see!” but can’t seem to see that His end is here”. “Here’s the man who told the lame & paralyzed to get up & move but is now stuck on the cross crying out in pain”.

Perhaps some others were cowards. They fear persecution & opposition for following Jesus and thus were hiding somewhere in fear. They chose to blend in with the community and follow that ways, instead of God’s ways.

Perhaps some were lost or confused. “Isn’t this the guy who awed everyone with His teaching & miracles? Why is He up there? Isn’t He supposed to be performing signs & wonders or teaching? What is He up to?”

Perhaps the people’s action could be justified. After all, it’s such a shocking twist of events, perhaps even if we or our leaders were standing in the people’s shoes; we might react in the same way…

But Good Friday today should not be the same. We have the full picture of why Jesus did what He did. We know that when He died, He tore the veil shielding the Holy of Holies, symbolizing that we can have a full relationship with Him and that sin has no more power over us.

We know fully why He chose not to summon the twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53). If He had done so, salvation is gone. In fact, He is God; He does not need twelve legions of angels to help Him.

At the cross we find courage & power. The same power working in us is the same power which raised Jesus (Ephesians 1:18-20). It’s also the power that healed the blind, sick, lame and crippled etc. What’s there to be afraid of?

All the doubts have been cleared. We know that Jesus only meant to spend a short time here on earth with us. We know that Jesus’ role is to pay the price for our sins on the cross, not to preach and do miracles.

Today there are no justification for faithlessness, for skepticism, for fear, for lost & confusion. Today, the believers of Christ can testify to His great awesome love. Today, everyone alike has the chance to experience the sweetness of His love.

The love that came from heaven to earth. The love that lived like a fellow man, giving up the luxuries of heaven. The love that stretched out His arms on that cross to show His love. This is the sweet love Christ has for us.

Today, there’s only room for two groups of people. The first are those who reject His love. They just walked away from the cross, hardened to the voice calling their names. The second are those who choose to accept it. They come to the cross in humility and bow their knees to worship the King who gave His life.

Perhaps you may choose to be in the first group. But I hope that you will not choose to. Decide your path, for each path leads on to a different eternity. One leads to eternal separation from God, the other a relationship with God through believing in Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.

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

What would YOU choose today?

2007-04-03T23:17:00.000+08:00

My Conversion Story

Prepared this testimony of my conversion when I went for Perth to organize my thoughts should people ask me about my conversion story. So might as well post up here for others who does not know to read & be inspired.(: (btw, this one is the same as the one I brought to Perth, no edition made)

Was also thinking a bit about my life story and was reminded Ordinary Man + Extraordinary God = Powerful Lives. And also about how faithless I could be at times. I describe my conversion as somewhat a miracle, yet I still can't find at times, what an irony!

So here it goes, enjoy!

My conversion story could be described as somewhat a miracle.

I was an introvert who only knew life as playing games & school. Everyday after school, only with the exception of after-school activities, I will pack my bag & immediately go home. If you were to ask me to outreach to the person I was back then, I doubt I’ll agree.

I don’t look like the type who will go to church, let alone convert and eventually serve God. And indeed, this was the first impression the person who brought me to church had. This guy was David. He initially even decided to just leave, even though he had no fruits at that point of time.

But God had other plans. After he walked a short distance, God prompted him to turn back and outreach to my friend and me. I thought he was asking for directions, but no, he asked us to do a survey. He then invited us for the youth service, which was friendship themed. Thereafter, he shared Christ to my friend and me.

As church was a concept I was uninterested in and know nothing about, I didn’t accept Jesus there and then. However, the friendship-themed service appealed to me. And David made sounded as if it was fun.

However, I had tuition on Saturdays. So I had to ask my mum for permission and thus she found out that it was a church service. She even asked me, “What if they ask you to convert?” and I even had replied, “No, I won’t convert.”

As always, God had other plans. I went for the service, though my friend didn’t want to go. And during the altar call, I refused to say yes to receive Jesus. But somehow, at the last moment, I just caved in and decided to receive Jesus.

To this day, I didn’t really know why I just did it, though now I know that from that moment on, my life has been changed. It marked the start of my walk with Him and thus far, I had not once regretted making that decision to follow Him till the end.

One lesson perhaps we all can learn is that nothing is impossible for God. My conversion story in itself was pretty much a miracle. I was a guy who didn’t respond the first time I heard about Jesus. I was a guy who was pretty sure I didn’t want to convert. I was a guy who persisted in resisting Jesus till the last moment. And I am the guy who is standing here today, serving in the Kingdom of God.

2007-03-28T21:30:00.000+08:00

An Interesting Thought

Just the other day, a thought came to my mind as I was talking to God about His plan for my life. This thought really touched me because it made me see my current ministry in a very different light.

It just struck me that this current ministry I am serving in is much better than I serving as a CL/ULa/UL.

Why? Because I could have been transferred to the tertiary group long, long time ago. If I had, I foresee that I will be most probably a ULa now. But, that's only plan B in God's plan for me!

His Plan A is what I'm doing it now! And God's plan A is always better than His plan B. I'm sure it is His plan A, as it is one that my leaders decided for me.

I won't say in what aspects this plan A is better, because God's definition of better is too wide to comprehend. But this new light gives me a renewed sense of privilege, perhaps the feeling, the joy I felt can't be really felt by younger people. Older believers will really understand the wonderfulness of being a leader...

Forget it if you don't understand. The feeling is not easy to describe. But, it is a good archive for me to look back upon...

2007-03-21T17:11:00.000+08:00

More from Reverend Fun

Lately, RevFun seemed to have interesting cartoons, so wish to share some...

First up...

Read the warning part. Indeed, the consequences of sin are horrible!

Secondly...

This may seemed comical, but it's rather true... I can't say 100% hell has fire, but I know one thing: you can't escape from it. For example, if hell has fire, stop, drop & roll won't extinguish.
Somehow, this cartoon reminded me the importance of outreach, as you can only have hell or heaven for eternity. If you choose hell, you can't run away.

Anyway, I just added a very simple link to my blog. It's just above the tagboard under 'your comments/feedback'. As always, do pls drop a tag! Or an email (:

2007-03-20T00:01:00.000+08:00

I believe many new people will swarm this blog over the next few days or even weeks.
So, will take this opportunity to state that I have 2 blogs. This is my more 'spiritual' one, the other is less. The other is my main one, www.tanyk.blogspot.com. Read & compare both to see the big difference in both's purpose.
Here is where I exercise my writing skills on 'spiritual' issues, the main one is about my daily life etc...
God bless!

2007-03-04T11:41:00.000+08:00

Reverend Fun

Reverend Fun is one place I enjoy its cartoons a lot. This is one interesting & meaningful one I saw last week, but didn't have time to post it up.

This cartoon is potraying an asset transfer tool, where you exchange what you have (all your sins, flaws and weaknesses etc.) with what the Holy Spirit has (power, salvation etc.).

Hope you enjoy it!

2007-02-17T15:10:00.000+08:00

A Quote

With the living & great I Am, the dead & small 'I m' will fade away to make impossible possible... -YK

Well, my own quote. Because during yesterday's service, God reminded me of His unfailing promises through these years. And His promises had always made something out of nothing, a possible out of the impossible.

Hope it is not that hard to understand (:

2007-02-12T10:29:00.000+08:00

Part I of 'A Sheep's Letter'

I believe that conflicts are part of our everyday life and in fact, this was inspired while talking with someone close to me. It is written in a more letter manner to make it more close to heart. I also purposely written some parts in a more light-hearted manner to make things more realistic.

Hope it expresses what is many times in a sheep's heart when s/he faces difficulties in his/her relationship with his/her leader. Enjoy...

Dear Shepherd,

Thank God we have disagreements & problems in our relationship! This shows that we are walking so close we are stepping on each other's toes. But well, we should strive towards a better relationship nonetheless. So I reflected on why we clashed at times...

I figure that many, many times, it is just my plain stubbornness. I choose to close my eyes & shut my eyes to what you are trying to point out to me. And other times, I just simply refused to see what you are seeing - I only look at the mirror at myself and looked at what I wanted.

And not just that, there are many times where I looked everywhere but where you are looking at. I choose to be bothered by other issues than what bothers you.

But, it is not all my 'fault'! God also has a 'fault' in it! He gave you better eyes to see things that I can't see, a mind that perceives things better thsn I do. No wonder sometimes we just can't clicked.

And, and, He opened our eyes to more problems around us as we grow together in Him. No problem became a problem - because He made us see it as a problem.

And finally, you! There are sometimes where you are really, really wrong. But, what to do? You are Christian, which means you are not perfect. Cos' if you are, you won't need Christ. And since you are imperfect, your flaws will always produce problem somehow.

Yeah, so I can figure there are really many moments where we simply can't overcome problems & friction. Any wisdom or advice? ... ... ...

It will be pretty long if I add on a second part, so I guess I'll leave things as it is now. But don't worry, I'll add the second part in the next couple of days. It will be the shepherd's reply to his beloved sheep. And till then, won't talk much more...

Note: This is purely a work based on my experience & reflection on the issue.

2007-01-24T18:40:00.000+08:00

We May Not

We may not understand your pain,
We may not experience it too,
And we may not be the best counselors in life,

But,

He understand fully your pain,
He truly experienced your suffering,
And He is the best Counselor you can ever have,

And yes,

He will always there,
Through every ups & downs,
With an open arm,
And a wide smile,
Ready for His child to cuddle in His arms…

Written by: YK

Yes, one of my own writings. The 1st of the year too. I've never been good at writing lines (don't dare to classify it as a poem), I'm better at writing paragraphs.

Anyway, hope it is enjoyable. And do leave your critique at the tagboard! (:

2007-01-19T23:13:00.000+08:00

Sorry!

Blogger still can't edit posts. So I shall resort to posting a major mistake I made. Couple of posts down is about the word 'Elohim', not 'Eloihim'. It's a typo error I made, there's no 'I' befor the 'H' in 'Elohim'.

Sorry once again.

2007-01-19T22:57:00.000+08:00

Where Got Sacrifice?

Hope using a Singlish title won't turn people off. I'm trying to sound a little more informal here. But anyway, today was really thinking about 'Where Got Sacrifice?'

I'm not trying to preach a new doctrine that Jesus didn't sacrifice His life or what for us. But one issue we leaders usually face is unresponsive believers, who always think that serving God is too burdensome, too much to give. As a result, they refuse to commit their life to His Kingdom.

However, today the thought 'Where Got Sacrifice' came twice to me. First was when I was thinking about the price Jesus paid for our lives. The sheer value of it easily outweighs the value of us devoting our whole heart to Him. So who are we to complain it is too much?

Besides, even if we don't serve Him, the time, energy, treasures etc. will all be used for something, somehow. It could be enjoyment, relationships, studies & achievement. These are items that have not paid a price for us, last only for this lifetime at the very most and yet some could foolishly invest all they have into it!

Second was during District Prayer Meeting. One of the songs were Paul Baloche's 'Offering'. The thought came to me again. God reminded me once again, there's no sacrifice, it is just a diversion of what we have! As mentioned, all we have will be used for something.

Our time could be used for relationship. Our treasures for pleasure-seeking. Our energies into studies & achievement. But what will truly last? What truly love us a lot?

So why not, instead of diverting our life into worthless channels, why not divert it to a more meaningful & lasting channel - the Kingdom of God?

Where got sacrifice? Diverting of our life then got lor!

2007-01-09T18:18:00.000+08:00

Eloihim

I recently started reading a book I had for quite some time. It was on the names of God, and seeks to help readers understand God better through His names.

The first name was Eloihim, the first name in the Bible that referred to God.

Hence, it shows God as the Creator of all things. As the Creator, He is naturally the Source of all things.

And recently, I started to listen to songs while journeying. Hence, I was thinking about some songs and the devotional I was reading during my journey to school.

As always my tendency, I tend to link things up if possible and I started to think about God's goodness in my life.

He is a dear, affectionate God. Everyday He never fails to draw me close to Him. Everyday He never fails to shower me with His providence. Furthermore, He loves me by creating me in His image. God has so many creatures that I could be made in, yet He displayed His special love by creating us in the best image of all - His.

This year I'll be celebrating my 5th year in Him. And these days, I been really thinking through of how much He loves me. And today, I was reminded once again how good He really is in my life. He has tenderly sustained me through all these many years. He has given me so much strength and anointing.

Discover God's love for yourself, of how He really care for you, just as He cared for me.

2006-12-29T10:45:00.000+08:00

'Unrelated' Post

Decided to put my role as District Adminstrator instead of ??? under the section 'know more'. Though I feel it is quite an understatement of what I am truly serving as, I think it is better than 3 question marks.

Seasons greetings to my far & few readers out there. 2007 is coming, another year is gone, we are one step closer to Him (seeing Him face to face literally included too).

2006-12-24T18:10:00.000+08:00

Noteworthy Research

Stumbled upon the Barna Group website today while at ThinkChristian.net. And fished out this article that caught my attention the most. I think it is really worth reading, after all, it is rather short & pretty simple.

http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=245

Let me translate some numbers. Hopefully I don't go wrong here, if I do, please just drop your tag to let me know.

The survey done in America shows that about 80% of all the 20-somethings were 'churched' in their teens. 60% of all the 20-somethings had become disengaged (i.e. something like backslided) while 20% remained as active as they were at least. This means out of 4 teens, 3 backslided when they grow up!

This is significant! There is a need to keep our passion burning even after we had grown up! Though there are many who continue on (25% means a lot), but there are even more who left the race!

The 'Research Perspectives' offers interesting insights on what could be done. And I pretty much agree with the first paragraph that we must disciple our youths well. We must ground them thoroughly in the Word well and soak them in God's presence thoroughly that they won't want to leave Him!

Lastly, my encouragement to all, let's be that 25%! Let's not give up on our faith! And also, let the percentage increase further! Christ is so good! How can 75% leave Him!

The Barna Group website also has many interesting research results on interesting topics. One surprising research reveals that so many Christians could even think that salvation can be won by works! [Eph 2:8-9if you don't know why I say it is surprising]

2006-12-22T22:50:00.000+08:00

Faith, Hope, Love
Realized these 3 words seemed to be popular among a few Christian organizations. Simple 3 words, but essential to our faith. So I decided to post some reflections on the 3 words.

Faith
Key to Christianity! Who has ever seen God or touched Him (literally)? Some may not have hear His voice literally! However, we have experienced His power & love in our life. We have experience some diving Power working in our lives. But faith is essential to assure ourselves that it is God, and not some other gods doing those miracles and touching our lives.

Hope
Jesus (God) had nowhere in His Word promised a smooth sailing life, full of roses. In contrast, He promised sufferings & hardships for all believers. But, we always can take hope that God is eternal, His unfailing love will never fade. His goodness is behind every trial & difficulty. He is with us through all ups & downs. In addition, we have hope He has a great plan for each & every of our lives.

Love
Jesus' Great Commandment is to love your neighbour as yourself! Jesus came to love. So what more to say? Love is important if we want to be Christ-like.

Faith, Hope & Love. 3 important cornerstones of our Christian faith.

2006-12-17T13:43:00.000+08:00

Amazing, but True

Follow the link below & read for yourself this story. Read it some time back too, and yet still as amazed as ever.

http://www.actsweb.org/articles/article.php?i=135&d=1&c=8&p=1

The power of Christmas causing 2 bitter enemies to lay aside all differences & hatred and unite as one. Will YOU accept it as there is a supernatural power at work behind Christmas? Or will YOU reject it as just a pure coincidence or pure stupidty?

Truth is, there is supernatural power at work. Christmas is all about the greatest gift of all - Jesus Christ, son of the living God. His birth that started a life saving work. This work that unites all kinds of differences, no matter how deep or shallow.

Readers out there, if you have yet to believe in Christ, come & experience the true Christmas. Hope Church Singapore we are having Christmas services over the weekend at Kallang Theatre. Please tag if you are interested ;)

2006-12-13T21:12:00.000+08:00

Definition of 'Spiritual'

Pastor David Chen during recent Youth Breakthrough Camp 2006 defined it as 'anything that is done unto God' (personal paraphrasing of his actual words as I didn't catch the exact sentence).

This definition is a comforting reassurance to my life. Serving so much in support ministry tend to make me wonder quite a bit about the significance of it. In fact, I think anyone who serve as much as me will identify with me. So many times, we can't see how what we do can save souls, as compared to pastoral ministry, directly impacting lives.

But truth is, as long as it is done for Him, it is a spiritual act. I need not feel 'inferior' and worry. But instead, I can serve Him with joy. What I am doing is as important as the padtoral ministry. None is more or less superior.

God is pleased as long as you serve Him with a pure heart.

2006-12-05T22:16:00.000+08:00

Hebrews 6:10-12

(NLT)
v10: For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.
v11: Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.
v12: Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.

This year has been a year of recapping, of remembering. I served Him so hard to a point I suddenly woke up to the reality of how much I had given to Him & how much He has brought me through.

And it is true that He remembers. He never forgets the small little details we did for Him. Those small little sacrifices we made to advance His Kingdom. He sees it all & prepares His rewards.

Especially for me, my specialization & enjoyment is in doing those nitty gritty matters behind the scenes. And who observe them but God? So He's my source of joy & reward!

But I know v11 is a bit hard for me to relate to at this point. My workload are really huge & I had gone quite haywire. I have serve pretty hard that I have kind of deprive myself of joy, which I should possess. I believe, if I loosen up slightly, I'll become clearer about my passions & the joy I receive from them. Because, the more satisfaction I enjoy from serving Him, the more I know it is just a taste of what's in store in heaven.

v12 is true. The more you love people, the more you will start to become like your leaders before you. You will start to mature spiritually & follow their example of wholehearted devotion. You will start to feel & understand God's love more & more. Serving God is a very interesting thing - the more you serve, the more you will grow. Try it & taste it.

2006-11-30T20:21:00.000+08:00

I Know You Love Me

At The Cross, a song that never fails to touch me.

Living so many years for Him, fighting numerous battles for Him has made me stand in awe of Him.

Those who read my main blog about last Saturday would know about how touched I was. Truthfully, I am quite a 'harden' person, I don't usually get overwhelmed by emotions easily. But His love is so strong, it just penetrates my heart.

From the day He died on that cross, He has never given up on me.

From the day He called me His own, He has never once abandon me.

Even though I may struggle & fight, He still clasp me close in His hands.

So young, innocent & naive, now so mature, stable & wise.

And till the very end, He will still continue to love me.

Many more fierce battles. Many more troubles & struggles. Many more doubts & uncertainities. Yet I'll trust You till the end.

You are real. You love me. I know that full well.

I know I sound incoherent, but I am just letting my emotions take control. Just letting it flow...

I know You love me

2006-11-23T20:34:00.000+08:00

Thoughts From Colossians (II)

As the earlier post is pretty long, I've decided to break today's post in 2 to make it more readable. It will also be neater since the post are about 2 different verse. So Thoughts From Colossians (I) is below this post, don't forget to read it too.

Colossians 4:18b: Remember my chains.

I was kind of amused by this ending of Paul. Of all things, remember his chains. Who would want people to think of chains when they think about him/her?

As a result, I pondered deeper as to why. Colossians is the only book by far (I am only at 1 Thessalonians) that ends off this way (if I remembered correctly).

Perhaps one reason is due to the fact that Paul wants them to not forget that Christianity is not a bed of roses. There are bound to be challenges along the way, and he desires for them to remember to keep going even if the going was tough. It is almost as if 'don't forget the fruits of my labor: being locked up in chains.'

Another reason may be to encourage them to never stop preaching the Good News. The Kingdom of God then had advanced greatly under Paul's efforts. 'Remember my chains' henve also seems to imply that 'I've given greatly to the Kingdom, now it is time for you to continue the good work! Don't let my efforts go down the drain! Don't let me be in chains for nothing!'

One possible application we can glean from this verse is for us to never stop giving our best. One ministry has to be passed down from a generation of leaders to the next. When this ministry comes into our hands, let's remember the effort our pioneers had put in to see the current fruits. Don't let their efforts be wasted, expand the ministry to greater glory!

2006-11-23T19:58:00.000+08:00

Thoughts from Colossians (I)

I finally found some time to slow down & post some updates. Thursdays are my final hurdles for a week, apart from Saturday, perhaps that is why I am able to post more on Thursdays. But anyway, I am here to share a few thoughts on a couple of verses in the book of Colossians.

Colossians 2:7 (NLT)
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

My recent venture back into the New Testament has been a great mining experience. Each Pauline letters allowed me to mine great truths from the Word of God. Each epistle tells a different story of the early church. From Paul's writings, you can clearly understand the problems & issues the letter was meant to address.

The Colosse church appears to be a church that has sprung up false teachers, leading people astray with "empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ." (Colossians 2:8, NLT)

And one of Paul's encouragement to them: Be rooted. These 2 words reminded me of the seed that has no root in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:5, 21, NIV).

In the parable, Jesus talked about a seed that grew up quickly. However, it has no root, so as a result, it falls away quickly. Though the parable was refering to the seed falling away as a result of trouble or persecution, we can still extract the principle of the fragility of a seed with no or shallow root.

Hence, Paul needed to encourage the Colossians against falling away quickly, of being swayed by the false teachings. Similiarly, in our world today, we can also apply the same principles. Our world is so corrupted. There are so many interesting & fascinating ideas & doctrines out there about divine beings. Even within Christianity, there are many cleverly disguised falsae truths.

However, we should be deeply rooted. We must grow in our understanding & maturity of the Word. We must depend on Christ, the One who brought us to Himself, to grow us. We must keep close to the true spiritual family which cares for us & which strives to teach us in godly ways. Only then, will our roots go deep down. Our faith will then be so deeply rooted in Christ that nothing in this world can sway us.

A few good questions we can really ask ourselves are "How am I growing in God daily?", "How can I see even greater growth in my life?" and "Do I really desire to keep strong in the faith?"

2006-11-16T21:30:00.000+08:00

Psalms 23:1-3a

v1: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
v2: He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
v3a: he restores my soul.

This morning I was really worn out, after many days of laboring & having morning classes till evening.

So was kind of in a very 'grumpy' mood on the bus. And God spoke this passage right into my heart.

I had always known this verse. But today came to me very differently. My soul was pretty worn out & down. Yet, the Shepherd is there. He tenderly care for me. He restores my soul with the quiet waters.

My soul was rather refreshed & restored. Though outwardly I was really tired, but inside, I can sense my soul being gently restored. My faith & confidence was renewed. The feeling is just so indescribable, my heart just feel so at rest & peace.

2006-11-06T20:12:00.000+08:00

2 Corinthians 9:15

[NLT] Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!

It appears that there was 2 different versions of 2 Cor 9:15 in the NLT. The above was taken from Bible Gateway, but my printed Bible (below) reads slightly differently.

[NLT] Thank God for his Son - a gift too wonderful for words!

If not for the 'his Son' part, I might not have been struck by this verse. The context was talking about generosity to bless the Jerusalem Church. Thus, if not for the obvious reference to Christ, the verse appears to be describing the gift.

The reason I was struck by the verse was the way it stands out. Paul was talking at length about giving generously to the Jerusalem Christians & suddenly he concluded his piece by giving a one-liner on how wonderful God's gift (Jesus) is.

You might need a bit of imagination here. I believe you encountered preachers who suddenly came up with a 'random' & 'out of context' remark while preaching. They preach & preach till they talk about a point so close to their heart, they can't help but carry on & on about it, even though it may be unrelated to the sermon.

Paul is like that. He talks on & on about why we should be generous givers etc. & suddenly, he comes up with an unrelated point about God's goodness.

So when I read this verse, I was imagining of Paul, as he wrote with conviction about gifts, his heart just can't help but be overwhelmed about the greatest gift of all - Jesus Christ. So I was pretty much 'wow'ed because I was struck by how much impact God's love has in Paul's heart.

And I was reflecting too, how wonderful God is! The NIV & a few other translations described the gift as indescribable. Wow! His gift of salvation that redeemed us from eternal condemnation & separation from God is just too good that no words can describe! Not just that, He has poured out every kind of good gifts on us believers too.

He is just so great, till whenever we talk about gifts, we just can't help, but need to praise Him!

2006-10-25T20:12:00.000+08:00

1 Corinthians 1:8-9

v8(NIV): He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
v9 (NIV): God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

v9 (NLT): God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

I came across 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 about a week ago, and this verse struck a chord with my heart.

Serving God for so many years had made me seen many ups & downs. I had seen my spiritual life took a downturn during certain periods in my life. I encountered many tough & tricky discouraging problems, throwing my spiritual life into chaos.

Yet, God had remained faithful thus far. And I know He will continue to do so till the end. In each of my most down moments, He never failed to send people in my life to encourage me or speak His living Word in my life.

One very reason we know why He will remain faithful is the fact that He Himself invited us to the friendship. In fact, the way He started this wonderful relationship is not by our human ways - a chat, then a decision to be friends because of certain reasons. But He gave His life to initiate this relationship. He will never let us go!

To further drive this point in, I recalled a newspaper article I read just this morning, that reports about two friends reuniting after being separated for almost 20 years! The reunion was brought about as a result of one party's efforts to trace down the whereabouts of another person. Human is imperfect; yet they are so faithful. How much more faithful is God? He is the Perfect One!

He will be faithful & He will give us the strength to face & overcome all of life's trials & challenges. He will be with us whatever may come. Our part is to decide to keep close to Him.

Never abandon the boat when the storm come in. If we remain in the boat, He will steer it to clear waters ;)

2006-10-24T21:59:00.000+08:00

Completion Of Revamp

Jesus My Messiah (JMM) is now officially revamped to Grazin' Grass Mini Bites (GG Mini, or Grazin' Grass Mini or somewhere along that line)!

In line with the change is the blog skin & URL, so please relink. Thanks.

Thanks to Pete for helping me tidy up the HTML such that the background looks better.

Do post your comments ;)

New posts will be up in the next few days. Keep in tune (:

2006-10-09T16:36:00.000+08:00

Awesome God

Awesome God (United Live)
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power & love
Our God is an awesome God

This song was sang during Saturday's altar call & also Sunday's Combined Team Meeting worship. And it was Sunday that this song reminds me of how awesome a ruler God is.

Throughout history, we seen some rulers with wisdom & power but without love. Perhaps one example could be Hitler. He may be rather smart with strategies and commands a rather powerful army. But it is apparant he lacks love. Others rule with wisdom & love but no power or power & love with no wisdom. Rarely do we see earthy rulers who reigns with wisdom, power & love.

But God rules & reigns with these 3 qualities. He is wise, knowing the best for our lives. He is powerful, controlling everything on earth. He is loving, tenderly loving us His children.

How awesome God is indeed! Our response should be humility and surrender - humble in knowing that we are just limited human beings and surrendering all control to Him.

2006-09-29T20:56:00.000+08:00

Romans 12:3

One simple and small thought these couple of days was humility. God reminded and reinforced the concept of true humility again through Romans 12:3 (NLT).

Romans 12:3 (NLT) - As God's messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.

Faith determines how big or small our ministries for God will be, as faith brings power. Bigger ministries requires bigger faith as they need more divine power. Faith determines our standing in the Kingdom of God. Humility is about knowing where we really stand.

But of course we do not proclaim loudly what we had done for all to see. If people recognized our contributions then we'll rise to acknowledge it. We don't hide in a corner and say 'No, it is not me." After all, we know that it is God who has given us a good standing, so through our acknowledgment we can encourage and spur people on.

In short, if God give us a weaker faith than others, be proud of it. If God gives a stronger faith, don't hide in a corner when people talk about it.

Another verse close to my heart of late is Romans 13:14 (NLT) - But let the Lord Jesus Christ to take control of you, and don't think of ways to indulge your evil desires.

It is so close I even memorize it, so I typed it from memory, though with very minor mistakes that were corrected by referring to the actual verse.

Sometimes, we let our thoughts entertain sinful desires and think about it till we eventually do it. But our thoughts must be subjected to our Lord Jesus and not used to think about sinful things.

Note: The portion on humility is a difficult and sensitive issue. If you felt I had made any mistakes about it, feel free to highlight it by tagging it. I am open to discussions on the issue and if I indeed made any mistakes, I will make neccessary amendments.

2006-09-13T11:24:00.000+08:00

Heartbreaking News

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB115741786888753373-lMyQjAxMDE2NTA3NTQwMTU3Wj.html

This article was picked up from ThinkChristian.net and I felt pretty heartache when I read through the entire news article.
It requires quite some fair bit of deep comprehension, since I myself took quite a while to digest it.
But in brief, I felt that such related news about churches splitting over some matters was not exactly rare. This article is not the first one I picked up in fact.
On this article, I believe the issue lies in balancing. Jesus both emphasized on salvation & judgment as well as His glorious plan for us. He Himself made His teachings contemporary to the people then, that is why we can hardly fully understand what Jesus meant at many things.
However, sad thing is that many people refuse to change. Teaching about repentance, salvation, hell etc. are great, but it needs too to be balanced about God 's plan to disciple and mold us into His plan. Having worship services catering to the new generation is wonderful too, but we must not neglect the older genration.
In short, they should not had been too extreme in their views. In Hope, the degree of emphasis on anything we would definitely try to match that with the Bible, i.e. we don't over/under-emphasize anything. Perhaps that is why fellow Hope people might not really identify much with the article.
Dialogues are defintely neccessary, with prayerful and insightful words of wisdom exchanged in every dialogue to create the glorious and balanced Bride of Christ. Churches should not split up over these differences.

~The thoughts above are of mine about the conflict~

2006-09-08T20:35:00.000+08:00

Important Announcement

This blog would soon be renamed Grazing Grass Mini and hopefully I would be able to change the URL to something along the new name.
The renaming will officially bring all articles here under my Grazing Grass banner, as a new section under it. Read on to find out more about Grazing Grass.

Grazing Grass is my official trademark for all my leisure writings. It does not include those articles I specially written for specific purposes or those articles who were written as a reflection of my thoughts. Grazing Grass is geared towards sharing what I had learnt and hoped to teach to feed the hungry sheep of God.
Currently, Grazing Grass is being expanded into 3 new sections.
Grazing Grass is the main section, currently with 11 articles, since its launch last September. Grazing Grass will be celebrating its 1st anniversary in a few more days. Grazing Grass articles will only be featured very occasionally in this blog.
Grazing Grass Mini will be launched somewhere in October through this blog. Due to time constriants, Grazing Grass Mini would soon have more articles than Grazing Grass.
The third section had not yet been named and launched. This section will contain mini books that I will be writing very rarely. Currently, I only have 1 mini book, but a second one is in the planning stage. When the second book is completed, this section will be launched!

2006-08-31T21:22:00.000+08:00

No Inspiration

Tonight I am free, but unfortunately, recently I had been pouring over the book of Ezekiel & there are no major truths to talk about.

~God Bless~

2006-08-23T22:08:00.000+08:00

Important Announcement

For all my faithful ones out there, just wish to announce that JMM will be updated only very occasional or not updated at all for the next 4weeks+.
Posting a post requires quite some time, which unfortunately I don't really have, due to my studying for exams & working for IMF.
Rest assured, after IMF, I will get this blog in a better shape because it will be my holidays and I would have quite a bit of spare time. So bear with the inconvenience meanwhile ;)
Sorry, thanks & God bless.

2006-08-14T22:50:00.000+08:00

Jeremiah 40-43

Click here to view Jeremiah 40-43

The main passage is Jeremiah 42-43 but Jeremiah 40-41 and even earlier chapters might be useful to provide the context. Hence, I would encourage reading them through to gain a batter understanding.
In Jeremiah 42-43, we could learn a few mistakes never to make in our own life. First is to have an open and obedient heart when seeking God. Have a true heart, not just outward sincere appearance. Outwardly, the Israelites in chpt 42-43 appeared sincere, promising twice to obey what God says.
However, as it turned out, they were asking God to get the answer they want. Not the answer God truly had planned. They were merely telling God, "Ok, here is our plan. Approve it." Instead they should, "Ok, here is our plan. What do You think? What can be changed?"
As I was preparing this piece, God reminded me of my own conversion story. Seng Cheong always remind me about the work of the Holy Spirit that eventually brought me into His family.
He initially decided not to outreach to me. After all, I believed I looked like a very nice and good boy, and very no potential to be anything great. And so, though he saw my friend and me, he walked away, even though he was there to outreach and he had no fruits thus far.
But well, the Holy Spirit prompted him to outreach to me. Imagine if he was like the Israelites, their plans already sealed in their own hearts, what would happen to me? I won't say I am very, very important, but I believe, the Kingdom may not had advanced as quickly without me joining the battle.
Thankfully, he responded to God and decided to outreach to me. He wasn't like the Israelites. Then, Jeremiah was like the Holy Spirit, an instrument God speaks through, since Holy Spirit had not been poured out yet. The Israelites disputed if Jeremiah spoke the real Word of God as their hearts were set and hardened. But, Seng Cheong did not dispute the Holy Spirit voice, he didn't continue to fight God and stick with his initial decision. That is why I am here today, pushing the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
How important it is indeed to be soft and obedient. I had not read what happened exactly to them, but in chpt 43, God proclaimed judgment on them. It is always our tendency to stick with what we initially always thought of. I do struggle with it many times but it is all about how much we love Him. If we love Him, we will obey Him 100%.
We never will know the true consequences of our obedience. If the Israelites obeyed, they could had enjoyed the wondrous harvest of the land, a blessing of God! Because one man obeyed, I am here today, His Kingdom is being advanced in an even greater measure!
To end off, here is another nugget of truth about how harden the Israelites were. The Israelites in fact, in chpt 40-43 were just the remnant of the nation. They had just experienced the consequences of going their own way, of disobeying God. And yet, they still did not learn. They persisted on. How tragic.

2006-08-13T23:11:00.000+08:00

Acts 23:11

Acts 23:11 - The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.

God 's promise never fails. Though this is the only (or one of) the reference that Jesus/God spoke to Paul (after his conversion), I believe God had encouraged Paul many, many times in a similiar way.
And His promise never fails. Whatever happens happened for His will. Though circumstances may prove unfavorable, take courage! God is with each of us and His plan is the best for us.
The situations around us can never overthrow what He planned for us. Acts 26:14 (NLT) - We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to fight against my will.'
In fact, it is not hard to fight against God 's will. It is IMPOSSIBLE! Men can do all things to oppose us, situations may be like the cloudy skies, but nothing can win God 's perfect plan!
Take heart, believe in God. He had never failed Paul. In the entire book of Acts, I could see God 's hand working clearly in the life of Paul! God 's hand was there guiding Paul and leading him from place to place, to preach to both Jews and Gentiles.
Eventually, God made a seemingly hopeless situation into an opportunity to go to Rome! When he was behind bars and the Jewish leaders hounding the governors for his life for more than 3 years, everything seemed grim. But well, we know in the end, it was an opportunity for him to go to Rome, the place he longed to go!

2006-08-10T16:19:00.000+08:00

4th Spiritual Birthday Special

Just spent about 40min in Punggol giving thanks to God and celebrating my 4th spiritual b'day. Punggol had much significance for me as it was that ministry that trained me for true life in the Kingdom - a life with toughness and difficulty.
The place I chose was the place we had the Chinese New Year CG last year, a HDB shelter. It was relatively quiet but for those times there were people, I completely ignored them as if they were invisible and continued my rendezvous with God. I just talked to God aloud and just praise Him for His wonderful work in my life.
I bought a slice of coffee cake and ate it as I prayed. Interestingly, I didn't tear as I was remembering my years with God.
My 'theme song' for today was Amazing Grace. I particularly enjoyed the verse.

But for Your grace
I would not be saved
But for Your grace
I would go my way
I am forever grateful
That You 've been faithful to me Lord
For Your amazing grace

Down on my knees I sung it. I am just completely amazed and humbled by this great mighty God 's love. Though it was in public, God had just created the right setting when I went down and prayed. Even the birds were not making noise!
These 4 years, I knew very full well of who I would be if not for His grace. I would just go my own way, living the life I once lived and not the life He had planned for me.
I am just so grateful for Him. God is like a coffee cake, His presence is so strong, so thick and so sweet. He is just so real, so amazing in my life.
I recalled the most dramatic happening in my life, Chinese New Year 2005. I believe I would never forget as long as I live. And that happened as a result of this Punggol ministry. CNY 2005 was a tough period of struggling with a ministry with nearly 0 consistent attendance for service, though for CG had around 5. A ministry where practically everyone is backsliding. Everyone means 7-10.
I thanked God for placing David and Daniel in my life then, though David played a greater part in restoring me. David shared with me something I also believe I would never forget: That I am the best person God can ever put in the ministry then.
This phrase had stuck with me since then. Looking back, I knew God had used that time to prepare me for greater challenges ahead. So many points since then I had doubted my capability to lead. But each time, I remembered what David said and found the strength to carry on.
I also thanked God for the other David, Seng Cheong, in my life. If he had not saw me through lens of faith, I doubt I'll be here today. It was him that I am received Jesus 4 years back. I also thanked God for SiHan, who 'forced' me to convert. If not for it, I also would not be here today.
I also thanked God for other people He placed in my life to lead me. He is just so faithful to me, through all these people.
Today, I made a prayer to God, a commitment that I would never give Him up. I prayed for Him to remind me of this very day where I remembered His goodness should I ever fall. He is just so real, I just don't wish for the day when I abandon this race altogether. I just want to simply live the rest of my life for Him alone, advancing His Kingdom wherever I go and whatever I do.
I really had a great day today, reaffirming who He is in my life, the great Almighty. Enjoyed His deep presence with me there and then. Enjoyed remembering the faithful Father who was there all the way withe me.
Love Him lots.

2006-07-30T13:37:00.000+08:00

Some Reflections...

Yesterday 's sermon was very close to my heart. Ps Jeff preached well but the altar call songs touched the core of my heart. I nearly teared when singing the 2 songs, especially Lover of My Heart (lyrics can be found on Y!Scoop E-Bulletin, but I'll post only the chorus).

I want to walk with You
Everyday of my life
To talk with You in the good and the strife
You’re my Friend, You’re my Father for all time
Nothing can keep us apart
You’re the Lover of my heart

An old song indeed. One I sang long ago, but with only a head knowledge. Then I know that I want to walk with God, but I know I had walked with God these few years, walking with my Father, following His every direction. Though some points may be more difficult then others, I still followed. I still followed His every footstep and continued to love Him deeply.
That is why I am so convicted of helping people mature in Christ. It is just such a wonderful experience. I know my past 4 years had been great, but the coming years would be even greater. I know the future is glorious because HE holds the future and I don't wish for people to miss out on it!
Thank You for all these years. Thank You for Your wonderful gifts. Thank You for revealing who You really to me through these years. Thank You for holding me close to You, sheltering me through all the storms. Thank You for everything. Though our 4th anniversary is 11 days more, I am already in the mood to celebrate and praise You forever. HALLELUJAH!

2006-07-24T20:41:00.000+08:00

John 11-12

Before I start, just wish to let all readers know there is 2 posts today, but posted separately (this is the one on top of the other). I also wish to say what I would be sharing here is not exactly from John 11-12, but it would also draw a little from other parts of the Scriptures too. Hence, it would be useful to know your Scriptures, especially the Gospels, well.

12:19(NIV) - So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"

This was a comment by the Pharisees on the day of the triumphal entry. I am ever amazed by the people 's fickle hearts each time I read about the truimphal entry. One day they gloriously welcomed Jesus in Jerusalem, the next they can't wait to see Him die.
Today, as I was reading this chapter, I received a new insight of the people 's heart and mindset. In fact, as I was re-reading the Gospels, I gained new insights of the people spiritual condition.
The Israelites are spiritually hungry people. God had 'abandoned' them for hundreds of years. Their national sovereignty was a thing of the distant past. Now, they are eager to see the Messiah lead them into greater glory than at the past.
And here comes along Jesus, who did great miracles, healing the blind, casting out demons etc. But these miracles pale in comparison with the miracle Jesus did just before the triumphal entry.
A brief simple search I did turned up that this miracle had only been performed twice as recorded in the Bible, one by Elijah, another by Elisha. This miracle was raising of the dead.
In chapter 11, Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead. And it is not just a person who died recently (as was in the case of Elijah & Elisha), but one who was in the grave for a FEW days.
All the days of your ancestors and you yourself had been looking out for a Messiah. But none came close, except when Jesus came and resurrected Lazarus. Who of you would not be one of those at the crowd welcoming Jesus?
These people were so mad about Jesus that the Pharisees thought the worse. (To appreciate this part better, refer John 11:48-50) The Pharisees knew that if such a mad crowd would to go after Jesus, the Romans would sure be worried about an uprising and defintely come in to crush the nation and get rid of any brewing trouble. Remember too, the Jews were a troublesome & rebellious lot at that time.
I hope that you can understand as much as I do, how massive and awesome this crowd was.
I shall not elaborate much on what happened later on. Later on, a few days, after Jesus was betrayed by Judas and then condemned by the religious leaders, the people turned their backs to Him and participating in pushing Pilate to crucify Jesus.
I believe, one lesson we can truly learn is to be passionate all the way. Don't be like the crowd, who after seeing/hearing about Jesus' raising Lazarus flocked to Him but after a few days abandon Him all at once. Don't be excited about serving Him one day after experiencing a mountaintop experience with Him and the next start to grumble and complain and refuse to serve Him or even come church. Be like the seed that grows in the deep fertile soil that is rooted firmly, and not the seed that has shallow roots and dries up easily! (:

2006-07-24T20:14:00.000+08:00

John 9:25

v25 (NIV): He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

The blind man was healed by Jesus & the Pharisees were offended as it was done on a Sabbath. Hence, they were investigating the entire issue, hoping to discredit Jesus' miracle. Thus, they questioned the man if Jesus was a sinner and v25 was the blind man 's reply.
Perhaps in v25 he still doesn't recognize Jesus as the Messiah, that is why in v25 he wasn't certain who Jesus was, but he know of one fact - his life has been changed!
Later on, in v35-38, this same man came to recognize Jesus as the Savior of all and worshipped him. Now, he is sure of 2 things: Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus changed his life forever.
We as believers, we not just know that Jesus is the Savior, we also know for ourselves that our life is changed. How can we not give praise & worship Him?
When people ask us who we think Jesus is, we should reply, "Whether you believe Jesus is Messiah or not, I don't know. 2 things I know. He is the Messiah and He changed my life forever!"

2006-07-21T21:32:00.000+08:00

John 4:35-36

v35 (NIV): Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
v36 (NLT): The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!

True to what I had mentioned in my main blog, here I am posting one of my recent QT verses. Since we are in a season of harvest, I had specially selected this wonderful verse.
The harvest we are harvesting in are the souls who find eternal salvation! These are souls who find the missing piece in their heart - intimacy with a greater being (God). How joyous this occassion is!
It is joyous for the Father, because all these souls are His beloved children! It is joyous for the harvester (us), because we knew we had finally brought another person to the wonderful Light and given him/her the best gift we can ever offer!
Never give up fishing, harvesting (whichever occupation you, fisherman or farmer)! The joy of seeing soul receiving the Messiah into his life is so beautiful and indescribable. It far and above outweighs the hard work, the sweat & blood put in.

2006-07-15T22:07:00.000+08:00

God The Chess Master

This past few weeks God had been revealing a macro view of the past few years through many stimulants stimulating my sentimental side.
And I been discovering how powerful God is in chess; He is like some professional world-class top chess master. He is playing chess with Satan, slowly putting the right pieces to the right place.
But first, I need to give a history lesson to help understand why I said God is a great chess master.
I am more or less the last non-UL & above in the whole NE HS who really know CG404 very well. CG404: To plant a caregroup in every one of the 94 courses in polytechnics, 179 high schools and 5 diploma awarding institutions in Singapore by April 2004. Truthfully, I couldn't remember any of the figures, I copied them from an old bulletin. But, I could still remember the gist of it & the hard work put in by the CG404 generation.
The CG404 generation had mostly moved on from High School ministry already. And this generation most probably didn't realize their roles in God 's eternal plan. This fact was kind of confirmed when I asked David.
This explosive generation is the labor & the fruit of the CG404 generation. I strongly many of the CG404 generation people would not had imagined that their passionate work then had resulted in an even more passionate & excited Youth now.
Personally, I felt that God had placed the CG404 generation there to set the stage for the mega outpouring. God had used each & every single one of them to be like John the Baptist, preparing the way for a mega spiritual harvest & waiting for the right time to replace them with their fruits to climax the spiritual outpouring.
Now is the right timing. God had already moved out of Youth most of the CG404 generation. The stage for the first climax in Y-Hope is ready, now is the time where the new generation will rise up to take over the good work from the previous generation.
Though it is a different batch of spiritual warriors, the calling is still the same - the Great Commission. Though then was CG404 & now is Breakthrough 1000, the objective is the same - to bring the Great Commission closer to completion. Though the passion & excitement then may be slightly lower than now, it is all about one thing - to shout God 's fame through the school. Though He may had a different purpose for each generation, Youth ministry is all about a bunch of crazy youths wanting to conquer their schools for Jesus!
CG404 as I recalled, was not fulfilled in the end. In fact, only about 50% or even lesser was accomplished! Perhaps one reason may be that it was not the right timing to pour out such a great harvest.
And I feel that it could be a very probable reason. If that harvest would to be poured out then, perhaps today most of that generation would still be around serving. Youth might be aiming for 1500 or even 2000 now. But, God 's intention could be to use this present generation in a much greater way by preparing the stage through the past generation.
However, we must understand we can't comprehend His thoughts & plans fully. But one thing I know, it is such a great privilege to be serving God & breaking 1000 with Him! God had especially chosen & appointed this current generation to act out the grand show!
I would call this the first climax because never before had I seen such great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Youth & the church will grow from glory to glory & this climax will result in many other climaxes. All the past efforts made by the past generation to build the stage had finally ended. Now the time has come for all to put on a grand showdown, each showdown greater than the next.
Sincerely, I hope that this post really shed more about God 's mighty plan & that His plan for each generation is different but yet am instrumental in His eternal plan. We are all like chess pieces, being shifted around, placed at the right timing, moved away at the opportune time, but with one end goal: To fulfill the Great Commission by defeating Satan through winning all the souls from the Kingdom of Darkness.
Never complain about how little or boast how much God is using you. It is quite a natural tendency to want to do complain or boast. For those who tend to complain, understand you are in God 's chess board & He know how & when best to use you. The CG404 generation mostly only had a small taste of what is brewing. For those who boast, realize that it is a privilege to serve & that it is because of His grace that you are where you are today. He could have just placed you in the previous generation, working so hard yet so little fruits!
Through the Holy Spirit, God had pieced His glorious plan thus far together as one whole picture & inspired me to wrote this piece to hopefully encourage all readers towards 1000 souls!

2006-07-12T20:54:00.000+08:00

Be Contented

These are 2 words God reassured me today on my way home from school today. He further confirmed it through 2 verses in His Words, Luke 10:20(NLT), 24(NIV)

v20(NLT):But don't rejoice just because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered as citizens of heaven.

v24(NIV):For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

v20 was what Jesus told the 72 disciples who joyfully returned from their mission trip & had done miracles wherever they went. Yet, Jesus told them not to be happy because they can do wondrous things, but because they have salvation & hence are citizens of heaven. God reminded me that I should be contented that I am saved regardless of what I had achieved in my ministry, whether big or small, tangible or intengible. Indeed, as I was pondering, i realized this - these 4 years, I had left very few direct spiritual descendants, in fact, Derek only. My leadership (being a functioning CLa above) period was relatively short. I had moved from ministry to ministry, most of which never flourished beautifully. Even if it did, the ministry just died down after some time. Yet, I know, being contented with my life don't exactly depend on what I had done, but being happy with the fact that I have a home in heaven!

v24 further convicted my heart. Knowing God is the most important factor to my contentment.Knowing Him intimately is the best thing that had ever happened to me & something many many great ancient men of the Bible didn't had the chance to.

Be contented. Amen.

God, I know I can be contented with what I am today, though I have few tangible noteworthy achievements, because what matters is that I OWN a CITIZENSHIP in heaven & that I am Your child & I know You intimately. I am contented. Amen.

2006-07-05T21:12:00.001+08:00

Unintellectual Man Outwit Intellectual Teachers

well, i tried to present a news article type of title but i couldn't present one tat is more decent than tis.. -.-
o anyway.. yeahh.. it is related.. this title try to encapsulate somethin i was amazed abt the other day when i was readin the concludin chapters of mark..
if u read ur book of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John carefully, u would realize the Pharisees and teachers of the law tried all means & ways to try to arrest Jesus but they couldn't. eventually, it was juz tis one guy called Judas Iscariot who did Jesus in.. say a wow.. tat y i say an unintellectual man outwits intellectual teachers
yeah.. but. one thing to note. Jesus was the One who allowed Himself to b did in
yeah.. actually i dun think there is much spiritual lessons to learn.. perhaps how marvellous God works is one, i mean, God allowed Jesus to go at the right moment, the best time.. but actually, juz wish to let u all out there to know tat the Bible is quite interestin if u read it carefully.. ;)

2006-07-05T21:12:00.000+08:00

2006-06-25T20:25:00.000+08:00

John 21:25

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

Well, just sharing somethin i 'learnt' yesterday @ Tecman.. lol.. they had a grand (yet simple) opening ceremony wit p&w (choir & guitarist) & even a Pastor sharin from the WOG. The Pastor shared on John 21:25 abt the greatness of Christ.. such tat no writers can even fully write finish on Him
Great ppl were known for 5, 10, 20 years n they r forgotten.. books go on bestsellers for them for some years then fade away.. but Jesus, so so so many books written yet none hav exhausted the topic of Christ. in fact, the writers were exhausted b4 they exhausted the topic of Christ.
Jesus done how much wonderful things tat it is impossible to fully write on it. Even if it is written, like wat John said, the world is nt big enough to b its library. wow.. it is just so great..
realli amazed at this great God i serve..
if u r a writer, even small one like me, u would realli b so wowed by the pastor 's word.. coz u r talkin abt inexhaustible content to write abt!!!

2006-06-23T22:27:00.000+08:00

12 Apostles

of late, my boredom forced me to catch up on my readin of 12 Ordinary Men.. when i realli catch up, i read real lots in a few days.. i finished like 2/3 of the book in 3 days or so.. i read abt 1/3 (somewhere there) of the book ard the beginning of my 1st term & had put it mostly on hold since then..
but anyway, coupled wit my personal QT coverin the Gospel of Matthew, i personally gleaned quite a lot abt the 12 apostles as a whole.. actually, until of late, i haven't fully comprehend the ordinary-ness of the disciples, k, mayb nt fully understood, but wat i understand now is almost whole..
these ppl r super ordinary & plain ppl. n quite stupid too.. Jesus taught them so much yet they didn't fully absorb in. Jesus lived so closely wit them, yet they hardly understood He was the Messiah. it was almost until or after the death of Jesus then the apostles slowly begin to realli accept He is the Messiah. 2 n half years of livin among them but tat is the result.
In fact, right up till the end of His time wit them, Jesus had to keep on emphasizin humility & faith to them. [there could b other things Jesus still need to emphasize but these r 2 keys things i picked out].. imagine, who of u would need ur shepherd to teach u one simple & basic doctrine for 2 n a half years b4 fully graspin it???
but yet, God still used them powerfully.. God even used them to impact ppl BEYOND their known world. tradition records them going east to India, north to Russia, north west to Northern Europe, all areas beyond the Roman Empire (or bein conquered by the Romans).. by watever the case, such simple ppl but such xtraordinary sphere of influence.
amazing.. but it is because of their deep hunger for God & willingness to learn, unlike the Pharisees. coz of their hunger, they were able to b touched by God in such a way they r nvr the same as b4.. tax collectors, zealot, fishermen etc..
yeahh.. tis post is abt the apostles as a whole, if u need in depth, prepare abt $24, hope into Life Bookshop n grab a copy.. Campus Crusade & Tecman shld hav, but prices nt much diff lol.. i m nt advertisin for 12 Ordinary Men anyway, John MacArthur dun pay me a cent for tis lol..

2006-06-19T21:20:00.000+08:00

The Weeping Prophet

if u dunno who is the weeping prophet, u shld increase ur bible knowledge.. lol
the weeping prophet 's book is the longest book in the bible, in terms of words.. if u dunno tis, it is ok, onli found out thru my study bible..
if u can't guess who he is, it is ok. he is Jeremiah :D
realli enjoy his book as much as the rest of the books in the Bible. can really see his heart for Israel & his hardships.
enjoy so much so tat i kinda dun wish for anyone to b baptize as Jeremiah lol. though he has a heart of compassion, but his compassion were unrequited. it was met wit much hardship. in fact, he died quite a lonely death wit no family & veri few friends (well, at least he died naturally at quite an old age if i rmb correctly). he was rejected by the ppl whom he loved so much & pleaded for b4 God. his messages all fell on deaf ears.
in the end, tis poor prophet saw the destruction of his beloved nation & wrote the book Lamentations. sad book too. btw, coz of his sad life, he was named the weeping prophet.
but well, to sum up tis post...From Jeremiah i learnt 1 key characteristic we shld possess - compassion. though the ppl 's fate was kind of sealed & doomed, Jeremiah nonetheless called out for repentance. he persevere though the ppl rejected him & persecuted. as i onli at chpt 20, i onli so far hav read abt 1 minor incident where the ppl beat him up aft he openly prophesied against the ppl.
realli admire tis guy a lot coz of his compassion but i dun realli wanna baptize as him lol.. :D

2006-06-15T15:53:00.000+08:00

Found this article juz now while surfin the net came across tis article.. think it is rather interestin..
it is abt lovin God for who He is n not juz what He can do. a rather insightful article personally, though it is a bit long.. would encourage all to check it out =>
http://reformedperspectives.org/newfiles/kev_cobb/th.kev_cobb.agenda.html

2006-06-11T12:10:00.000+08:00

Camp Reflections

a totally refreshing camp for me, though time flew veri fast..
tis camp was a bit different for me coz tis time i m nt exactly seekin for Words to encourage me for ministry, as such i felt God spoke to me nt so much in a way.. i mean, tis camp is mainly 1000-centred n God was movin greatly to move ppl towards 1000... but for me, 1000 will nt b my congregation end year goal.. hope u get my point..
but anyway, God realli spoke a lot abt my personal life & principles to apply
as i was copyin l2, God reminded me abt the main purpose of the Holy Spirit.. it is all abt empowerment.. from times of old, God had empowered ppl durin the Spirit & since beginning of NT, leaders expect the infillin of the Spirit on all believers coz from the Spirit comes power..
L1 was an interestin lesson. the most vivid thin was the clarification tat the Holy Spirit is a HE not a IT! lol, personally many times i always use IT, but since L1, i hav always refer it to HIM liao
L3 was also on the first nite by Shirls n wat struck me was lack of faith & appreciation as the obstacles to bein Spirit-filled.. He moves in proportion to our faith, i need to hav full 100% faith & definitely it will b done! thru faith, i will b able to appreciate the gift better, coz when i hav faith, i 'll exercise His gifts more n more in my life.. realli wanna exercise my giftings more.. o gosh, exercise giftings = go tp also b UA (?) lol..
tis camp was indeed Spirit-filled.. for the FIRST time in my life, i seen the gift of tongues & interpretation at work!!! i always thought it was some super-pastors from overseas who r super-anointed who hav tis gift, but well, eelee has it too, n she is nt some super-pastor or wat, she is juz a DL!
God also moved thru me greatly as i spoke words to encourage the grp.. i could realli sense my gift of word of wisdom at work on the last nite as i challenge the ppl & God juz spoke thru me n inspired certain verses to speak! indeed, God is pouring out His Spirit in the Youth to anoint His ppl to go out & brin the rest of the 200+ souls into the Kingdom to hit 1000!!!!!! i could feel God movin greatly as i HAVE NEVER seen such a powerful movin of the Holy Spirit in my years of ministry.. but sadly, God refuses to allow me to play a part in this show, coz He has another plan in mind for me.. a grand glorious plan, tis i know deep in my heart thru the Spirit 's conviction
also wanna share tat one of my main application was to make it a habit to pray in the Spirit daily, to allow Him to strengthen me & fill me for the day 's work!
actually, i prefer to use IT to refer to HS coz it giv a better differentiation between God the Father & Son n God the Holy Spirit.. but well, respect God! :D
hope u guys realli learnt lots :)
to my guys out there, God has too much to speak tat i hav inadvertently missed out some points ^^

2006-06-02T20:31:00.000+08:00

Ecclesiastes

hope i nvr spell the name wrongly :P solomon too wise alreadi, tat y he thought of such a complicated name lol.. no lah, solomon wrote in hebrew nt english, it is the translators who gav it the name.. o watever, name does nt matter, it is the wonderful content inside the book tat matters!
yeahh.. i finished tis book todae n was reflectin a lot on it.. coz some parts realli chim n todae 's passage quite short so might as well reflect on my few days of reading..
tis book is a great book abt meaningless-ness of everythin on earth. even wisdom is meaningless. tis stumped me.. coz i thought wisdom is from God, wisdom abt God is useful.. but well, i read thru, n realized, tat wisdom is abt comprehending earthly matters, tat y it is meaningless. indeed, onli a relationship wit God is meaningful!
Solomon tried everythin, done everythin - as a result of that, he realized, onli one thin he didn't declare as meaningless: Stand in awe of God.
amen n amen! Stand in awe of God, tat wat the OT ppl can do! they can't hav a livin relationship wit Jesus like us, so most of the times, their meaning of walkin wit God is to stand in awe of Him!
many things r great n useful, but the thing tat matters is JESUS!

2006-06-01T20:37:00.000+08:00

Joshua & Caleb

2 powerful men of God.. names tat appear in my mind every thurs
haha.. my first line of tis post sounds no link, but well, they hav a link.
every thurs (thankfully nt todae) for the past 3 weeks or so, every time i go sch, there is tis mum wit 2 kids (pre sch) who r called Joshua n Caleb.. as u might know, i m veri irritated by young kids coz of their playfulness!
esp on the way to sch, i read the Word.. so how to when so noisy!!!! worse still, they stay at tampines! so peace will come in the last 5-10min o.O
so thank God, think its either todae holidays (for them?) or coz i went out slightly earlier, i nvr met them..
k, tis doesn't sounds like a post u shld find here lol ^^.. BUT, read on.
last week, when i 'met' them n todae as i was going out, my prayer was the same: "God, if You let me meet the real Joshua & Caleb i dun mind, but not these 2!" lol.. yes, the real Joshua & Caleb were such awesome & fearsome warriors of the LORD, tat y i dun mind meetin them, experiencin their courage & boldness come alive!
indeed, when the 10 other spies rebelled & had cold feet, these 2 men were the ones who took courage in the Name of the LORD. these 2 men were the ones who stood firm as Israel rebelled. as a result, these 2 men led Israel 's next generation into the Promised Land.
Out of the entire generation, onli these 2 entered the land. Moses onli had a chance to take a look before he died.
how great were these 2 men. their story is one of the best kept stories in my mind. i rmb i was so inspired the first time i read it tat i bookmarked tat page aft my qt.

2006-05-29T21:21:00.000+08:00

Jeremiah 1:6-7

v6: "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
v7: But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.

This verse is part of the passage which depicts Jeremiah 's calling.
The "must" struck as I was readin it today.. when God calls us, we MUST obey, no excuse, reason accepted.
Jeremiah responded to God 's call with "I am a child, I don't know anything" but God rejected tat excuse bluntly but saying tat Jeremiah MUST go.

If God has called us to do somethin, r we steppin out in obedience or givin Him 101 reasons nt to do it?
Don't worry if u lack the skills, God will supply as u obey, just as how God put words in Jeremiah 's mouth.
Don't fear rejection & persecution, God is with us, n tat is sufficient.

2006-05-26T23:27:00.000+08:00

Personal Da Vinci Code Reflection

As I posted on my main blog, I promised to post my own reflection abt the show since i watched it todae..
as i mentioned before, i realli wanna see wat r the enemies bringin against us.. however, i do nt encourage ppl to watch it for the followin reasons:
1. Maturity: Until u r trained wit fire, dun play wit it, simple logic? similiarly, until we r mature enough, watchin da vinci will b harmful to our faith.
2. Usefulness: age is NOT an issue here. if we could let cg watch m18 passion of Christ, y nt nc16 da vinci? but the diff is whether is it useful. personally i feel tat w/o strong, or even basic knowledge of church history [esp catholic related history] n related issue, u wun realli b able to sift out wat is right n wrong. in the end, u 'll end up like me, brandin everythin the movie talk abt as wrong.
3. (In econs terms) Its Income Elasticity Of Demand to u: if u think tat it is between 0 n 1 [normal, necessity good] or even less than 0 [inferior good] (in simple terms, u r VERY rich), then i got nothin to say. but if u r like me, (Income Elasticity is more than 1 [normal, luxury good]), dun waste money watchin it. serious. if points 1 & 2 not convincin enough, tis point i hope is. coz realli, tis movie, the main thing is abt knowin wat they r sayin, so if u dun understand, then wats the point?! it is nt as if the action scenes r tat fanstatic (for action, there 's X-Men III to watch), so truthfully, dun waste ur money.
one last word: Da Vinci doesn't realli attack at fundamental truths of Christianity directly. however, to accept its view of Mary & Jesus means to completely reject the real Truth, the Word. To stand on its view is as gd as standin on the side of "heretical Christianity", i dun even know even to name it Christianity too, coz the doctrine is completely different [part of the view is based on Gnostic gospels, Philip, Mary, Peter & Judas]. so indirectly, it is tearin away our very basic truth - Christ is God & man & He came to pay the debt for our sins & He rose on the 3rd day as proof of His divinity.
yep.. tis is my revised view on da vinci: DUN WATCH IT WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.
p.s.: if u hav any comments, views, u could juz tag or even email at tan_yk89@hotmail.com (:

2006-05-24T20:28:00.000+08:00

My Spiritual Walk With Christ

i m very sorry tat tis blog has become like a weekly updated blog ^^
1 reason is coz of my relatively tight schedule which jam up my time n energies so i can't blog here.. wed nite r lighter coz there 's no h/w to rush for the next day :D
but, in spite of my tiredness, slight lack of time, my spiritual walk has been flourishin.. been spoken to by God deeply, esp in the area of my love for Him of late. perhaps 1 reason is coz of the restructure, which made me realized tat ultimately, i m servin Him for the sole reason tat i love Him, n nt coz of achievements or wat..
my Word life has also been strong. since sch started i had been faithfully readin the Word on the bus to sch. God has inspired me in the books of Psalms & Proverbs. i recently started the book of Proverbs n i hav been enjoyin it.. both r realli beautiful books for effectively livin.
Psalms is a book where I am so inspired by the Psalmists way of life.. so close to God, so prayerful, so dependent on God.. tis life of utter dependence on God is soooooo beautiful tat it melts my heart..
Proverbs focuses on another aspect, our actions & speech.. to b wise & think thru, so tat we may live a life tat is successful & God-glorifyin.. together, these books r wonderfull...
yepp.. juz wish to share so insights into my spiritual life of late & hope it inspires all :)
pls do tag ur comments too

2006-05-17T21:51:00.000+08:00

DaVinci Code

This mornin on the way to sch, i realized tat DaVinci Code opens todae or tmrw (?). but it does not matters when it opens, coz i m gonna watch it anyway next fri.
todae CNA was interviewin tis Filipino Catholic abt wat he thinks abt DaVinci.. i can't rmb anythin except tat he commented tat watchin it undermines our faith.. in other words, i guess he tryin to say dun watch it coz it will erode our faith..
but wat i feel is this, we shld watch it. critics of Christianity r forever out there opposing us, bringing false truths against us. r we supposed to hide n nt stand up & face it?
i feel tat it is gd to hear wat our enemy is claimin, so tat if ever we encounter skeptical non believers [not skeptics] who were blinded to the Gospel due to such truths, we could effectively counter their arguments & brin the truth to them.
as long as we watch it with a careful heart, n nt allowin it to cast doubts on God, it is worth veri bit to watch it if there is a chance ;)
btw, wat i posted here will b posted on the Q&A section too in due time

2006-05-16T21:28:00.000+08:00

Abel

I am so sorry I haven't update it so long.. too many stuff to catch up on & esp wit recent restructure I am less in the mood of late..
btw, would take a break from psalms ;) n juz briefly comment on my baptism name: Abel!
to giv u a background of this man, pls read Genesis 4, Hebrews 11:4
Abel is a man of God who gav a better offering than his brother coz he offered it in faith, nt coz meat & blood offerings r better.
When the leaders chose tis name for me, the onli significance it has was tat Abel was a man who gav his best, full stop. but todae, as i reflected on it, a deeper meanin dawned on me - tat is faith.. Faith refers to Abel bringin these offerings out of his heart desirin to giv his best to God & nt as an obiligatory duty. Faith also meant he gav a thoughtful offering, aft thinkin thru what is the best to giv.
This man whom God took delight in is 1 simple guy who simply choose to giv in the right attitude. We can all learn tat as we serve God, we shld bear in mind, the sarcifice tat is acceptable is 1 in faith - desirin to juz giv our all.

2006-05-09T20:57:00.000+08:00

Psalms 89:30-33

v30: "If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes,
v31: if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands,
v32: I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging;
v33: but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.

tis passage does not sound veri pleasant, since it talks abt punishment.. but it is a beautiful verse like all other verses as it clearly shows God 's love towards us!
God says clearly in tis passage tat if we go astray, He will punish us, as a lovin Father would. though it might b painful at times ["with flogging"], but God still loves us. No matter wat God does, He reassures us in v33, tat God will still love us & b faithful.. He will nvr forsake us, abandon us coz of our sins, no matter how big or small! ;)
take encourage! sufferin will come, but God 's love is unchanging! :D
also wish to giv some updates abt wat 's comin...
1. coz i recently taught my sheep abt fruitfulness, God dawned upon me abt His power in makin Abram fruitful! so gonna post abt tat in time to come. need some time as i wish to make it more visual, b patient ;)
2. pls post comments on tis blog on the tagboard! thanks!
3. pls post any interestin qn regardin Christianity on the tagboard too! or email! thanks!!

2006-05-06T23:44:00.000+08:00

Psalms 63:1-5

Psalms is a VERY beautiful book, i enjoy tis book thoroughly as there r so many powerful verses tat comes alive daily!

todae juz wish to share tis beautifully written passage written by King David in the Desert of Judah:
v1: O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
v2: I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
v3: Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
v4: I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
v5: My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

v1 is a veri straightforward verse, a verse tat echoes my heart of late, a desire to realli b close wit God, to wan to hear God 's Word come alive daily! v5 con't tat when our lives r filled wit God 's love n praise, we 'll b "satisfied as with the richest of food"! in the desert, I seriously doubt King David had much choice food to eat, but yet, he knew tat wit God 's presence wit him daily, it is as good as eatin choice food, meat, wine etc
v2-3 relates to WHY we love God. it is because when we enter God 's hse n experience His power & glory transformin us, we r juz so amazed tat we can't help but worship in awe. we giv God our whole heart also because His love is so magnificent. His love is nt an ordinary love we can find outside, but it is an undyin, unwaverin, unchanging love - love displayed high on a bloody n painful cross. as a result, v4 comes in, coz of how great Jesus is, we will giv our FINEST & BEST adoration to Him! AMEN! n we will surrender our lives & lay them at the Cross!!! AMEN!
as tis is a long post, i hav tried to keep it short yet enlightening, hope u understood wat i meant! ;)

2006-05-03T18:08:00.000+08:00

Psalms 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

tis came as a reyma word to me todae.. reyma means a word from God tat came alive in my life
indeed, God spoke to me deeply todae as i read tis verse on the bus & was alreadi quite sleepy. in fact, these few days i had been spiritual n physically tired/worn out.
spiritually i believed was due to lack of spiritual fellowship, lack of bein ard my guys coz durin those times [i dunno how to explain but i would roughly explain] i m "connected" wit God more n His truths r constantly ard me. however, now tat sch starts, i can't do much except to shpd my guys & watever is done on sat.. so i was feelin veri spiritually weak n hungry..
physically due to lack of sleep.. been sleepin on the bus of late, somethin i NVR do before unless i am VERI VERY tired..
now tat u know how m i roughly when i read tis verse, u can better understand the impact tis verse had on me. God reminded to come b4 Him in the broken state I m in now, He wun reject. In fact, bringing our brokenness, tiredness, weaknesses etc. to Him is pleasing to Him!
so i was realli encouraged but tis reyma word from God! n i prayed in the bus [i think i breath a short one under my breath] coz i was veri tired n fell asleep soon after so my memory can't trace back..
but i believe tis is the prayer i can make todae:

God, i come broken as i m n i ask for ur strength n power to fill me. I ask for Your Holy Spirit to restore me & remind me abt Ur Presence always.

2006-04-26T21:23:00.000+08:00

Psalms 16:8

I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

tis is one verse tat particular struck me todae.. tat as we put God b4 us daily, we can b strong against all obstacles coz He is right beside us! the day would nvr overwhelm us! ;)

todae i read from psalms 11-20.. other particular passages of note are Psalms 15 n Psalms 19:13

Psalms 15 speaks of the one who will dwell wit God, wat that person is like. One characteristic is love, which is the key idea behind msny verses.. yep think abt it urself ;)

Psalms 19:13 is of special note, since we could see sinful King David desiring to live a holy life by nt sinnin wilfully.. n its is a prayer we shld emulate too.. yep some food for thought ;)

2006-04-25T21:05:00.000+08:00

Daniel 6

Click here to view

tis is basically an add on passage for the post below.. coz tis passage retold abt daniel being thrown in lion den for nt obeyin the king 's order: bow to his [the king] statue n nt pray to other gods.. daniel defy it by nt bowin n prayed to God 3 times even.. n God delivered him from the lion
so sorry there r no new insights of late coz i hav been studyin prophecy books lately, but tmrw i will b readin Psalms

2006-04-23T17:11:00.000+08:00

Daniel 1:8-17 & Daniel 3

Click here to view passage

Both passages records incidents where Daniel & his 3 friends stood firm in their beliefs n thus was greatly rewarded by God.
In Daniel 1:13-17, we can see veri clearly tat as Daniel obeyed God 's commands by choosin to live on vegetables, a miracle happened: ppl who ate choice food looked less healthy then ppl who ate veggies! In addition, we can also see tat in v17, God blessed them wit wisdom aa a result of their decision to follow God!
Daniel 3 records a similar lesson we can learn. In Daniel 3, God rescued Daniel 's 3 friends from the furnance which killed the soldiers throwin them in.. How amazing!

Some application: Choose to follow God daily in all ur decisions n nt b wavered by the world 's teachings :D

2006-04-21T23:22:00.000+08:00

Psalms 1-10
i m very glad to announce tat i hav officially started to read my bible on the bus! :D hope to make it a habit n i m 1 step closer ;)
btw, todae was rewarded wit much learnings
shall post abt tis interestin/amusin verse: Psalms 6:5
No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?
When u think wit an imagination as rich as mine abt King David prayin to God, u get y i find it amusin.. perhaps u can try Singaporeans' ways of mixin chinese n english n havin an "attitude"
ok, now the verse to learn from: Psalms 4:3,6-7
v3: Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him.
v6: Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?" Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
v7: You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
God has "reserved" us for Himself.. so definitely He will protect us n care for us! i m thinkin a bit like a typical Singaporean, watever they "reserved" they will definitely make sure no one else snatch it away or destroy it.. so yeahh, hope u get my train of thoughts.
tats how it links with v6-7, coz of how good God is, when His face shine on us, we can hav joy! "grain n new wine abound" r times of great rejoicing coz in those days, such times meant prosperous days.. imagine a joy greater than wat u can ever think of..
some application: Daily ask God to shine His favor on u! Coz His goodness will flood ur life wit blessings n joy! :D

2006-04-19T22:10:00.000+08:00

Song of Songs aka Song of Solomon 2:14b-15
v14b:show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
v15: Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

Background of Song of Songs: tis book is often intrepreted as a divine allegory between Christ & the Church (His bride). allegory means a representation.. in other words, the loving couple in this book represents Jesus & us, and the stories recorded of how Jesus wooed us (the church)

With this background in mind, we can better appreciate tis passage.. v14b is how Christ feels towards us, how He long for us, our voice, our face! God 's love is just so tender! v15a may sound a bit of context wit v14b, but it is not. The little foxes refers to temptations/distractions tat will draw us away from God! to catch them means to get rid of them so tat we can enjoy intimacy wit Jesus!

some application today: God longs to be wit us - But r we allowin God to do so? Are we removin the "foxes" so tat we can enjoy the presence of God?

Great News

2006-04-19T20:46:00.000+08:00

finally.. found a template tat looks nice & decent.. also typed out an article to help non Christians find God.. next step is tat i gonna add a tagboard soon..
hope to hav support for tis blog! do ask questions tat i xcan post ;)
also, tis entry section will b called regular meals --- i 'll b postin verses n reflections on tat verse from time to time.. regular is coz once a week seems too long, but daily is too taxin.. regular means a few times a week
do check back soon ;)

YK

2006-04-18T12:36:00.000+08:00

This blog is still under construction. Main tasks to be done:
-Looking for a better blog skin that will make this blog more convenient for all.
-Writing an article about why we must receive Jesus etc.
So please check back soon.. Hope to get this running in a couple of days' time
:D

YK