Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Taiwan
The Taiwan trip was just fantastic...
Many lessons learnt... a few opportunities to think through of some stuff...
Okay... I just love the jungle... we went for quite a few adventurous hikes... one was at yang ming shan... the other 2 at hua lien... it was fun to go back to the wildlife... where I used to have so much training at.... Managed to apply some of the skills learnt from training last time... so least the SAF training didn't go down the drain....
There were many opportunities to serve each other... We helped each other... helped look out for one another... and helped encourage...
There were so many fun times that I cannot mention each and everyone of them... It was just really great to have such fellowship...
I particularly like the hostel too... cos it like made me remember of my army .. haha... it was like a 6 man bunk... double decker beds... we had to set the rules... and worked for the hygiene of one another... having the room to ourselves for the first 2 nights allowed us to have late night talks... haha.. it was super fun... all the brothers together... talking, sharing, praying... it was great...
The scenery at Hua Lien was breath-taking... The majestic gorges... the beautifully sculpted pebbles and rocks... the gushing waterfalls ... can't be accurately penned down... it's sad that i don't have a camera... but I'll definitely get some pictures from my brothers and sisters..
Well... there were some nights... I guess I was really tired... some may think i was at an emotional state... but I was just thinking through some stuff.. yeah... there were some incidents that sparked off my thinking... and realised that I hadn't fully entrusted some parts of my life to God... some things that I thought I did... but realised I didn't...
Then there was one night when I was again reminded that I depended on myself too much... when problems surfaced... the first thing I did was to try to settle myself... Olivia really believes in the power of prayer... and then she reminded me to pray... instead of being flustered and worrying and trying to solve myself... because then we faced some communication breakdown... and I had no contact with a group of people who were in a different cab....
Alas, everything turned out fine... and we met up with each other at the desired location...
There was another incident... when we were trying to bring Uncle James in for his sharing on some verses... but somehow or another... things were working against us... It started raining when we were singing songs of praises... and to make matters worse Uncle James had a bad migraine... I was thinking like there was some force working against us... and was a bit upset... but later on reminded that it was probably God's way of saying that that wasn't the best method to share to the seekers...
Thank God that through other methods... the gospel was succesfully shared to Winnie and Alene... though both yet to accept Him yet... but hopefully having the seed implanted in them... they'll one day learn that no gift is as great as the gift of salvation from God.... The reunion with your creator... with the being who loves you most...
Now... being back in Singapore... i'm not really used to everything yet... hahs... i think i'm 1/3 taiwanese... it feels so natural to be in taiwan... it's really a nice place.. and i get the feeling that this isn't the last trip to taiwan yet... ; )
Well... went for a swim today... back to my healthy diet after consuming all the oily foods in Taiwan... hahx... likely to go gym tomorrow... yay... okay shan't waste any more time today... will go and read some books... wanna finish my narnia books... bought them and didnt follow thru... a bit wasted... okay.. take care folks ; )
Many lessons learnt... a few opportunities to think through of some stuff...
Okay... I just love the jungle... we went for quite a few adventurous hikes... one was at yang ming shan... the other 2 at hua lien... it was fun to go back to the wildlife... where I used to have so much training at.... Managed to apply some of the skills learnt from training last time... so least the SAF training didn't go down the drain....
There were many opportunities to serve each other... We helped each other... helped look out for one another... and helped encourage...
There were so many fun times that I cannot mention each and everyone of them... It was just really great to have such fellowship...
I particularly like the hostel too... cos it like made me remember of my army .. haha... it was like a 6 man bunk... double decker beds... we had to set the rules... and worked for the hygiene of one another... having the room to ourselves for the first 2 nights allowed us to have late night talks... haha.. it was super fun... all the brothers together... talking, sharing, praying... it was great...
The scenery at Hua Lien was breath-taking... The majestic gorges... the beautifully sculpted pebbles and rocks... the gushing waterfalls ... can't be accurately penned down... it's sad that i don't have a camera... but I'll definitely get some pictures from my brothers and sisters..
Well... there were some nights... I guess I was really tired... some may think i was at an emotional state... but I was just thinking through some stuff.. yeah... there were some incidents that sparked off my thinking... and realised that I hadn't fully entrusted some parts of my life to God... some things that I thought I did... but realised I didn't...
Then there was one night when I was again reminded that I depended on myself too much... when problems surfaced... the first thing I did was to try to settle myself... Olivia really believes in the power of prayer... and then she reminded me to pray... instead of being flustered and worrying and trying to solve myself... because then we faced some communication breakdown... and I had no contact with a group of people who were in a different cab....
Alas, everything turned out fine... and we met up with each other at the desired location...
There was another incident... when we were trying to bring Uncle James in for his sharing on some verses... but somehow or another... things were working against us... It started raining when we were singing songs of praises... and to make matters worse Uncle James had a bad migraine... I was thinking like there was some force working against us... and was a bit upset... but later on reminded that it was probably God's way of saying that that wasn't the best method to share to the seekers...
Thank God that through other methods... the gospel was succesfully shared to Winnie and Alene... though both yet to accept Him yet... but hopefully having the seed implanted in them... they'll one day learn that no gift is as great as the gift of salvation from God.... The reunion with your creator... with the being who loves you most...
Now... being back in Singapore... i'm not really used to everything yet... hahs... i think i'm 1/3 taiwanese... it feels so natural to be in taiwan... it's really a nice place.. and i get the feeling that this isn't the last trip to taiwan yet... ; )
Well... went for a swim today... back to my healthy diet after consuming all the oily foods in Taiwan... hahx... likely to go gym tomorrow... yay... okay shan't waste any more time today... will go and read some books... wanna finish my narnia books... bought them and didnt follow thru... a bit wasted... okay.. take care folks ; )
Monday, June 9, 2008
ARGGHHHH!!!! so happy today !
learnt something new.... I was wondering how come... in times of trial or temptation... even when I tried to quote the bible verses... Sometimes I still failed and succumbed...
Now I understand... when you're quoting scriptures... be wary of the serpent who is similarly aware of the scriptures as well... As Satan tempted Jesus... even he quoted scriptures to try to deceive Jesus... but Jesus believed and understood the word... and quoted the scriptures accurately ... unlike Eve who though understood God's words... but quoted wrongly...
Thus... do not be shocked when there's a battle within you... when you seem to ponder about the truth about a particular verse... Quote accurately... and have faith... and remember what are the principles you need to live out...
HAPPY!
learnt something new.... I was wondering how come... in times of trial or temptation... even when I tried to quote the bible verses... Sometimes I still failed and succumbed...
Now I understand... when you're quoting scriptures... be wary of the serpent who is similarly aware of the scriptures as well... As Satan tempted Jesus... even he quoted scriptures to try to deceive Jesus... but Jesus believed and understood the word... and quoted the scriptures accurately ... unlike Eve who though understood God's words... but quoted wrongly...
Thus... do not be shocked when there's a battle within you... when you seem to ponder about the truth about a particular verse... Quote accurately... and have faith... and remember what are the principles you need to live out...
HAPPY!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Hello !
Dear readers.... haha... sorry ah... soooooo long never update... dunno why also... lost the stamina to.... Guess I didn't quite knew what to blog....
Okay... many thoughts recently... and learnt a lot through Quiet Time with God... church camp ... serving for Him and from brothers and sisters in Christ...
First and foremost... I really see God's work through us in the church camp... He has spoken to many of us and through the sharing and through the actions.... I see growth in many of us... His words cut deep into us... people who live in the city... The problems we face as an urban church...
I always thought... that... methods were secondary... that as long as we shared the gospel... it was alright... until now... that I understand that even with faith... our deeds must be planned... The methods we use to reach out must be catered... suited for our target groups... Even in sharing the gospel... we cannot be rigid... Planning and saying things that are more relevant or more catered to a specific person is not that we do not have faith... but rather we have faith and we have wisdom in speaking to those who need the gospel so much....
Next... I would like to share the eagle story... for those who still do not know about it....
Once there was a farmer... who went up a hill to chop some lumber... He went in the morning... and on his way up... he heard some weird noises near a tree.. He went over... and realised that there was a small eagle in its nest... with its mother nowhere to be seen... He thought that the mother eagle went to gather food for its child and thus continued with what he had to do... After gathering the lumber... on his way back to his farm... out of curiosity, he went to take a look at the nest again.
To his amazement, the young eagle was still there... all alone... seemingly malnourished and he made an effort to locate its mom, but to no avail..
He decided to save the small life... and thus brought the eagle back to his farm.
He looked around his farm for a place to rear the eagle... As he had no idea how to provide a proper environment for it... he resided to growing the eagle with his brood of young chicks. The baby eagle and the baby chicks grew up together... feeding on rice scattered on the floor by the farmer himself... Anyone passing by can hear the sounds made when the chicks and eagle pick up the rice on the floor. " tok, tok, tok..." they went...
As time passed by... it was inevitable that the eagle was sticking out from the pack. It was so much bigger than its "relatives"... One day... one of the farmer's friends visited him... and he mentioned about the unsually large chicken... "How did u manage to rear it to be so big? " "The farmer mentioned that it was an eagle that he picked up in the woods"
The farmer's friend then understood.. He was very insistent that an eagle shouldn't live with chickens... and he managed to convince the farmer to release the eagle into the air...
He shook the eagle for a bit... and then said " Go eagle... you belong to the skies... FLY !" The eagle struggled a bit, but managed to extend its wings... and took flight... The eagle had sharp eyes... and it zoomed in on the rice on the floor that he fed on.... " Time for food" it said... and it flew down to the ground... and then " tok, tok, tok..." It stayed back on land... where it didn't belong...
The farmer's friend intervened again... and was determined to give the eagle back to the skies. This time he brought it up to the farmer's roof... and again he did the same thing... " Go eagle.. you belong to the skies... FLY!" And again the same cycle repeated. The eagle took flight... but due to its sharpness, flew back to the ground... and then "tok, tok, tok..." it fed on the rice on the floor...
This time the farmer's friend was even more determined. He took the eagle up a hill... and on the peak of the hill he released it...
"Go eagle... you belong to the skies... FLY!!!" This time... things were different. The eagle could no longer see the rice on the floor as it was too high up... It was a majestic sight... The eagle fully extended its wings, gliding across the horizon and howled as if in extreme delight...
Actually many christians are like that... we forget that we belong to the heavens... we are just passers-by on this earth... Do not focus on what is seen but what is unseen for what is seen is temporial but what is unseen is eternal... 2 cor 4 : (last part) dunno wad verse.. haha.. i think 18...
I am so stuck in my worldly life... this fallen world has taken so much of our time... Post modernism theories embedded in our heads... Education, money, ambition, hobbies have taken up our time... Instead of loving God... we end up loving the world... loving ourselves...
The greatest commandment... love your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind... and the 2nd greatest... loving thy neighbour as yourself...
How to love God?? An abstract idea? Or kissing your bible...?
3This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1John 3-5
Loving God is obeying his commands... How best to obey his commands??? Through understanding and familiarising and living out His words.... I thank God that my quiet time has improved by leaps and bounds... and He has spoken to me a lot through His words...
Again... Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet,"[a] and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."[b] 10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13 8-10
Loving your neighbour is an action to fulfil the laws... to obey his commands... There are still many instances where I fail to keep this law... to love even non-christians... To be patient... to live out what love is in 1 cor 13.... Sometimes... being a D-character... I tend to be impatient... I just shouted at some Malaysian crewman that day... felt bad about it... I really need to be slow to anger ! argghh...
Also... in the later part of Romans 13... 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature..
Sometimes... it's just so easy to try to gratify your own desires...
Another point mentioned by Pastor Lai during the church camp is that we are to die to ourselves... We are no longer living... Living in us is Jesus Christ Himself... The Holy Spirit lives in us.... And we are not to gratify any desires... as they are but temporary....
I still can't let go of many things... I still can't find enough joy in spending every min. of my life wisely.... I'm working on it...really really... Pls pray for strength to overcome the stupid games... and stupid television... thanks !!!!
Okay.. I'm really tired.. getting a bit frustrated.... feeling so sticky and all... and my dad keeps asking me random questions... urgghh.. i'm boiling up... okay going to bathe and sleep now... Taiwan here we come... ; )
Okay... many thoughts recently... and learnt a lot through Quiet Time with God... church camp ... serving for Him and from brothers and sisters in Christ...
First and foremost... I really see God's work through us in the church camp... He has spoken to many of us and through the sharing and through the actions.... I see growth in many of us... His words cut deep into us... people who live in the city... The problems we face as an urban church...
I always thought... that... methods were secondary... that as long as we shared the gospel... it was alright... until now... that I understand that even with faith... our deeds must be planned... The methods we use to reach out must be catered... suited for our target groups... Even in sharing the gospel... we cannot be rigid... Planning and saying things that are more relevant or more catered to a specific person is not that we do not have faith... but rather we have faith and we have wisdom in speaking to those who need the gospel so much....
Next... I would like to share the eagle story... for those who still do not know about it....
Once there was a farmer... who went up a hill to chop some lumber... He went in the morning... and on his way up... he heard some weird noises near a tree.. He went over... and realised that there was a small eagle in its nest... with its mother nowhere to be seen... He thought that the mother eagle went to gather food for its child and thus continued with what he had to do... After gathering the lumber... on his way back to his farm... out of curiosity, he went to take a look at the nest again.
To his amazement, the young eagle was still there... all alone... seemingly malnourished and he made an effort to locate its mom, but to no avail..
He decided to save the small life... and thus brought the eagle back to his farm.
He looked around his farm for a place to rear the eagle... As he had no idea how to provide a proper environment for it... he resided to growing the eagle with his brood of young chicks. The baby eagle and the baby chicks grew up together... feeding on rice scattered on the floor by the farmer himself... Anyone passing by can hear the sounds made when the chicks and eagle pick up the rice on the floor. " tok, tok, tok..." they went...
As time passed by... it was inevitable that the eagle was sticking out from the pack. It was so much bigger than its "relatives"... One day... one of the farmer's friends visited him... and he mentioned about the unsually large chicken... "How did u manage to rear it to be so big? " "The farmer mentioned that it was an eagle that he picked up in the woods"
The farmer's friend then understood.. He was very insistent that an eagle shouldn't live with chickens... and he managed to convince the farmer to release the eagle into the air...
He shook the eagle for a bit... and then said " Go eagle... you belong to the skies... FLY !" The eagle struggled a bit, but managed to extend its wings... and took flight... The eagle had sharp eyes... and it zoomed in on the rice on the floor that he fed on.... " Time for food" it said... and it flew down to the ground... and then " tok, tok, tok..." It stayed back on land... where it didn't belong...
The farmer's friend intervened again... and was determined to give the eagle back to the skies. This time he brought it up to the farmer's roof... and again he did the same thing... " Go eagle.. you belong to the skies... FLY!" And again the same cycle repeated. The eagle took flight... but due to its sharpness, flew back to the ground... and then "tok, tok, tok..." it fed on the rice on the floor...
This time the farmer's friend was even more determined. He took the eagle up a hill... and on the peak of the hill he released it...
"Go eagle... you belong to the skies... FLY!!!" This time... things were different. The eagle could no longer see the rice on the floor as it was too high up... It was a majestic sight... The eagle fully extended its wings, gliding across the horizon and howled as if in extreme delight...
Actually many christians are like that... we forget that we belong to the heavens... we are just passers-by on this earth... Do not focus on what is seen but what is unseen for what is seen is temporial but what is unseen is eternal... 2 cor 4 : (last part) dunno wad verse.. haha.. i think 18...
I am so stuck in my worldly life... this fallen world has taken so much of our time... Post modernism theories embedded in our heads... Education, money, ambition, hobbies have taken up our time... Instead of loving God... we end up loving the world... loving ourselves...
The greatest commandment... love your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind... and the 2nd greatest... loving thy neighbour as yourself...
How to love God?? An abstract idea? Or kissing your bible...?
3This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1John 3-5
Loving God is obeying his commands... How best to obey his commands??? Through understanding and familiarising and living out His words.... I thank God that my quiet time has improved by leaps and bounds... and He has spoken to me a lot through His words...
Again... Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet,"[a] and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."[b] 10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13 8-10
Loving your neighbour is an action to fulfil the laws... to obey his commands... There are still many instances where I fail to keep this law... to love even non-christians... To be patient... to live out what love is in 1 cor 13.... Sometimes... being a D-character... I tend to be impatient... I just shouted at some Malaysian crewman that day... felt bad about it... I really need to be slow to anger ! argghh...
Also... in the later part of Romans 13... 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature..
Sometimes... it's just so easy to try to gratify your own desires...
Another point mentioned by Pastor Lai during the church camp is that we are to die to ourselves... We are no longer living... Living in us is Jesus Christ Himself... The Holy Spirit lives in us.... And we are not to gratify any desires... as they are but temporary....
I still can't let go of many things... I still can't find enough joy in spending every min. of my life wisely.... I'm working on it...really really... Pls pray for strength to overcome the stupid games... and stupid television... thanks !!!!
Okay.. I'm really tired.. getting a bit frustrated.... feeling so sticky and all... and my dad keeps asking me random questions... urgghh.. i'm boiling up... okay going to bathe and sleep now... Taiwan here we come... ; )
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
I thank God for the sermons on Sunday... that He has finally answered certain queries that were left lingering in my mind...
I'm now more focused in my daily life... being able to withstand temptations better... and use His words as a sword and a shield to fight the daily battle towards sin.
Had a chance to picture what it's gonna be like a few years down the road...
I realised that I've been too engrossed in the mundane things in life... there are so many things that are bigger than I ... bigger than the things that I've been thinking...
There are some things that I don't mind leaving behind for now...
Definitely there are sacrifices...
To carry up the cross and follow Jesus...
To stand firm admist all the trials and temptations...
God disciplines those He loves...
It will definitely not be smooth-sailing... but I believe that all will be worthwhile...
Do you... ?
I'm now more focused in my daily life... being able to withstand temptations better... and use His words as a sword and a shield to fight the daily battle towards sin.
Had a chance to picture what it's gonna be like a few years down the road...
I realised that I've been too engrossed in the mundane things in life... there are so many things that are bigger than I ... bigger than the things that I've been thinking...
There are some things that I don't mind leaving behind for now...
Definitely there are sacrifices...
To carry up the cross and follow Jesus...
To stand firm admist all the trials and temptations...
God disciplines those He loves...
It will definitely not be smooth-sailing... but I believe that all will be worthwhile...
Do you... ?
Monday, May 5, 2008
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