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Thursday, August 31, 2006
@ 9:43 PM )
alright man the holidays are here again! but not for long, it's a mugging holiday. the exam's are coming in 4 weeks time! arghh, but here's the bestever way to start off your september holiday:
my church's having a cool seminar this weekend! a pastor from sweden's coming, i saw e prog and i was immediately blown away. it's a showdown between so many schools!
if you have been wondering what my church's all about, what better time then to come down this weekend! it's going to be power-packed, action-drived and awesome!
if you want to catch the essence of my church, then this week's the week.
it's all worth it. everything's lined up. all we need is YOU.
i long to see Your face and hide in Your embrace
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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
@ 1:23 AM )
tired but REWARDING ! (: (
Sunday, August 27, 2006
@ 1:16 AM )
Footprints One night, a man had a dream. He dreamed that he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him,and he questioned the LORD about it. "LORD, You said that once I decided to follow You, You'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed You most, You would leave me." The LORD replied, "My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
My feelings for our Father was encapsulated in this short passage. you know that He is that with us through all the seasons, regardless of whether we're celebrating over our A1s that we got in our test, or whether we're crying over the loss of a loved one, our Father is there. After 8 months of being a Christian, i learnt that no matter how far you've walked or grown in the Lord, you just have to keep coming back to the most fundamental basis that keeps you going - God's unlimited, unconditional, perfect love, and that this love is not far away from us but is the gift of God's Spirit dwelling within us. Sometime around mid-April, i really found myself getting bored at all these routine stuff, Sunday service, Praise & Worship, Sermon, Prayer, besides all these, my life was very much the same as before. But i was worshipping God one day and i heard the Lord asking me this question, "how much do you love Me?" That time, all i had in my mind were the times and encounters with Him, the day i was saved, the joy and happiness i expeienced, the revelations i got, and i felt really challenged but motivated to get back on the spiritual track.
Then again, when Jesus died on the cross, he didn't just do it for SELECTED people. His death and resurrection are God's way to open for ALL people the door to eternal life. Jesus said: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself" (John 12:32). All people, from all times and places, are lifted up with Jesus on the cross and into the new life of the resurrection. Jesus' death is a death for all humanity, and Jesus' resurrection is a resurrection for all humanity, not just for you and i.
"I am the Way; I am Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). When Jesus said this, again He meant it for everybody. He opened the door to God's house for all people, also for those who never knew or will know that it was Jesus who opened it. The door's open to everyone and anyone! Can't it get any better ? Hahah.
And if this isn't enough, actually the Lord isn't waiting for us to go to him, He comes and find us! Pastor How shared in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve committed the first sin and hid from God, "the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” We love Him because He loved us first! xD
For people like us who have experienced His amazing love, the best and only thing that we can do is to share this abundant love! Let us "proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ" and "make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 3:8-9). What we have received is so beautiful and so rich that we cannot hold it for ourselves but feel compelled to bring it to every human being on earth. (:
Like what Pastor How said two weeks ago, the window of opportunities is wide open now, but it's going to close in two months time when the exams are coming. Once it's closed, it won't open again until the holidays, but then the circumstances and situation will be totally different already. Let us not be like the people in Jeremiah 8:2, “ The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!” Let us really just go all out in the last sprint before the exams start! Let us all be radical and on fire for Him cause He will provide. I really cannot imagine next year when so many people graduate to the junior colleges and yet not making any impact on their secondary schools. Like for Hwachong, when minyang and i graduate, there's only jianrui left to hold the fort. Let us just press on in faith and prayer, for God "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesian s 3:20). let us all breakthrough! in numbers, in faith, in everything! (:
I know the next few months will be physically and emotionally tough for all of us, with the workload increasing, especially in studies. imagine doing mock papers everyday o_o, but think of it as chances and opportunities to stretch yourselves even further! On top of all these, we still have our Bible reading, Quiet Time to do, being a Christian indeed isn't easy! hahah but this should not deter you to compromise on your faith. Instead i encourage all of us to rely on God's strength! Like what Pastor Lia does, take pitstops and just zoom in to His Presence whenever you're feeling tired and weary. For "He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength" (Isaiah 40:29). When you've done this, the whole scene is brought to a whole new dimension and level!
Our lives are fragile and destined to death. But since God, through Jesus, shared in our fragile and mortal lives, death no longer has the final word. Life has become victorious!