Wednesday, November 18, 2009@8:51 AM
don't lose your flavour
hey salties (:
i'd REALLY love to go for salt camp but i'll be in batam so i'll be missing the whole thing D:
Anyways, i know that you all esp the comm are SLOGGING right now for the camp. I remember working really hard for the camp 3/4 years ago (cant remember heh. too old) getting the planning and logistics ready and all. In the end however, very much of the camp turned out to be impromptu. Why? because what the campers NEED may not be what we've planned for. In retrospect, i think Jeann realised then that she's not just carrying out a plan during the camp. She really served the people attending the camp and their needs took first priority (:
So the point is, the plan is just a guideline but be flexible and sensitive to their needs as well (:
Your work for the Lord is not in vain darlings! The hard work put into the previous camps have brought you to SALT, helped you grow a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot x infinity spiritually and brought out the servant in you (:
I'm excited for this. Even if things doesn't seem very exciting during the camp, trust that God is going to make it exciting (: cause He has an awesome plan.
1Corinthians 15:58
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain."
ADD OIL, ADD LOVE, ADD PASSION, ADD JOY. <33333
praying for you, fishie
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I've been learning a lot from QT. Dancia encouraged eve and I to do QT without materials like ODJ and all. So now, i try to read the chosen scripture in the ODJ first absorb whatever i learn from it then read the devotional last.
and wow, QT is really different. I was always so reliant on learning what other people has learnt from that passage, getting what they've learnt from it. It's not wrong but it's soooo much better when I meditate upon the passage myself and see what God is trying to teach me through it. There's a whole new level of engagement rather than just... reading. You know? okay, i dont even know if i make sense.
I remember telling Dancia i have a problem of not remembering the lessons i learn during QT but now i realise i can remember it better. I think it's because i spend more time thinking about it rather than just reading through. (: YAY!
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Jeann once told amy, kim and i after we watched grudge that we shouldnt watch horror movies. I never understood why until i really really pondered over this verse. It was stuck in my head and wax's for a period of time <3
2Timothy 1:7
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline."
Horror movies make me reaalllyyy scared, and even after the movie, i'll be scared of going to the toilet in case the ghost pops out behind me or something. That is soooo NOT fun. In fact, it's really gross cause i wont bathe the whole night and i'll look like i poured oil on my head. okay, too much info. hahahah anyways, i dont know how i thought about this, i just did.
There are 2 kinds of spirits, the good ones and the bad ones. the good ones are from God (aka the spirit of power, love and self-discipline) and the bad ones must be from satan (aka spirit of fear and timidity). When we watch horror movies, we instill the spirit of fear in us, the BAAAAD spirit.
Satan aims to lead us away from God. and that is scary. even the word scary is an understatement. it's a disaster, catastrophe. Just think about what kind of life you'll be living without God. What then would be your purpose here on earth? What then are you living for if you're just going to lose everything in the end??
We NEED God. Satan leads us away from God, so have nothing to do with him plskthx.
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Another thought on that verse:
Sometimes we dont realise that we actually already have what we always pray for.
Remember, the spirit of power, love and self-discipline is already in us (:
Sunday, November 15, 2009@8:05 AM
Faith
Just for Amy:
From all this we learn that faith is not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune God.
Believing, then, is directing the heart’s attention to Jesus. It is lifting the mind to “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), and never ceasing that beholding for the rest of our lives. At first this may be difficult, but it becomes easier as we look steadily at His wondrous person, quietly and without strain. Distractions may hinder, but once the heart is committed to Him, after each brief excursion away from Him, the attention will return again and rest upon Him like a wandering bird coming back to its window,
I would emphasize this one committal, this one great volitional act which establishes that heart’s intention to gaze forever upon Jesus. God takes this intention for our choice and makes what allowances He must for the thousand distractions which beset us in this evil world. He knows that we have set the direction of our hearts towards Jesus, and we can know it too, and comfort ourselves with the knowledge that a habit of soul is forming which will become, after a while, a sort of spiritual reflex requiring no more conscious effort on our part.
~ extracted from The Pursuit of God by A.W Tozer
It’s really heartening to see how Amy desires to exercise silence and solitude, something she’s really quite adverse too. Honey keep going … ask and it will be given to you, knock and the door shall be opened up to you. I really believe that the height of your expectations, will be the depth of how much you’ll experience God. It’s a whole new level you’re opening yourself up to and as you learn to wait upon the Lord and bask in His presence, His love will quiet you and you’ll be more lovely than you already are because God is taking whatever you’re offering to Him ( thoughts and heart) and doing something beautiful :)
I know that by faith…
I’ve come to understand that one can’t really talk about the whole doctrine of faith, per se. Of course I can share my faith, and experiences in faith but to truly understand faith it has to be practiced. I mean we all know faith in essence, but faith can only be completely comprehended in operation. And my faith has been tested and trialed in order to become real in my life. It’s during that period of trial, whereby you draw closer to God and learn to be real before Him. God then takes your faith and makes it personal, because God always wants perfect faith made real in His children. So dont wish for faith, practice it!
Okay… sorry for the lack of coherence. I’m trying to clear headspace by posting here.
<3 kimmie
Thursday, October 29, 2009@9:52 AM
I like to bathe
TT (:
I was having my midnight shower when the song Anyone Else but You by Mouldy Peaches came on (yes, i listen to music when i bathe sometimes. don't judge) and i started thinking about the movie. How the girl (i'm going to call her A because i forgot her name) decided to keep the baby and be a surrogate mother instead of aborting the child.
I was like wow. What a brilliant idea. Maybe if i want a child in the future i'll choose to adopt from a teen mum/ pregnant teen...you know what i mean. then HAHA my thoughts wandered even further to whether or not i'll ever tell my child he/she's adopted, how will i tell. (OKAY this is so embarrassing but i bet you'll think of stupid things too when you have nothing else to think about so don't laugh) and suddenly, this phrase came to me:
you just HAVE to thank God for planning all this.
and POOF. It hit me. Out goes Juno, in comes my results. =/(if you want to know, i didnt do fantastically well.) okay results were just the first issue that came into my mind but it applies to everything else too. like eeevveeerrryyyythhhiiinggggg.
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I"m becoming a little more aware of what's happening around me lately, where some people stand spiritually and all. and in my room, i dont know why, but there's a bible flipped open to 1 Timothy 4
1 Timothy 4
Instructions to Timothy
1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
6If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
9This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.
11Command and teach these things.12Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
15Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
I get this little feeling that everything is falling in and linking to evangelism. I dont really know what i can do. somehow miss MG where i have people i can relate to spiritually almost everywhere. I guess i have dear sophia <3
Ultimately, i guess i have to remember that :
1. I cannot to take God's work into my own hands because only He has the power to save. I'm only the one to delivers the message.
2. the power of prayer/ depend on God
3. Greater things have yet to come (:
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1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (New Living Translation)
16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Saturday, October 24, 2009@2:28 AM
"Jesus can we talk tonight? Like when we first met?"
kimmie thinks Jesus is awesome and she should stop writing in 3rd person.. so here goes:
its saturday as i'm writing this, and i've gotta leave the house in about 30 mins. I was lying on my parents' bed about to take a short nap, when i suddenly felt like posting here. So here I am.
haha Hiiii, I've been thinking alot lately and God has been speaking to me alot lately. Sometimes, you realise you just need to slow down and listen, even admist school and pw and/or chinese, i close my eyes and i feel very close to God, thinking about how the most wonderful thing on earth has already happened to me, that God has chosen me and I have chosen Him. I feel very contented and other or many things just seem so small. power of proper perspective, according to my friend Mr. Oswald Chambers.
I've started incorporating worship into my own quiet time, i lock the door, sit on the floor with my laptop and sing-along to youtube video/itunes and just close my eyes. Just God and me. Its incredible. I've only actually done it twice so far, its amazing because I can be so real before Him and He knows everything, so i just let it all out before Him. haha i cry and if you know me, i never cry..... okay i do but not at stupid things like korean dramas(ahem seeyue and amy). I mean I cant even begin to tell you how awesome qt can be, if only we allow God to quiet His love over us, give our utmost for Him. Sometimes, i think the day has to start with qt it's like having breakfast before starting your day, or gearing up before you go to war. Because i have no idea how to love others and live love,without knowing that I am loved first.
I've also came to understand the fact that every of us is a worshipper at heart, and worship is the time when I feel closest to God because we're all made to worship. But God is so much more that during that time of our worship, we feel close because we are communing with God and we're made to commune with God. Worship, like Jesus on a donkey is just the carrier of someone far greater.
Learning to have my heart so fixed and focused on Jesus, I've come to realise that is sometimes the only thing we have to do when we're serving. It's only when we have hearts so God-focused, are we able to carry out His will no matter what we maybe facing. Doesnt the fact that doing God's work, mean we're supposed to be so focused and dependent on Him such that we always completely belong to the Victor, and that it's always His Victory, since if you read to the end of the book you'll understand that He has already won. And that's the power of the proper perspective, no other power will be able to waver your faith and trust.
I've been thinking alot about next year as well, with alot to do. And to be honest, I'm not scared. It's no longer as daunting as when i first came to understand my responsibilites. Maybe because i know that I dont need anything but Him. Or that fact that I'm not living up to any expectations but only living His will. Perhaps it is actually trust that God has so graciously exchanged for my fears and insecurities. But I really think it's hope. Hope in God, which comes from above, blocks out every fear and is always there. God says hope never fails and it's true.
He takes my hand, and my heart and my world. So this is how trust actually feels like. And I know that in this season of my life, God wants me single and serving. And I'm learning to believe that there's really a time for everything. Now's the time to refrain and in God's perfect timing, God will build and it will grow it into something beautiful. So friends and friends of friends, spend your youth and singleness thirsting and hungering for God, who is so real only if you allow Him to speak into your life. Delight in Him, and He will exchange the emo-ness we so often and commonly feel in the mundaneness of our everyday life with the joy that He has promised. That comes from above, that satisfies, and that is what counts fifty years from now.
"Take me, have your way, though I dont feel You, i will believe"
Tuesday, October 20, 2009@3:50 AM
I have so many thoughts running through my head. okay basically 2 issues.
1. prayer
2. nature
1. Recently, many things have been reminding me about prayer. started off with this amazing qt that struck me and then there was wax, planning retreat and kimmie. (: i shall share my QT
Acts 12:1-11
Peter's Miraculous Escape From Prison
1It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.
8Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."
King Herod was persecuting and harassing Christians to boost his popularity. He arrested James and Peter. James was mercilessly executed, and believers could see that they couldn't simply expect God's protection for the apostles and themselves. It was an anxious and uncertain time for the church. You can imagine the believers' thoughts, Where is God in all of this? When will He intervene? (I think we can all identify with thoughts like these)
So they responded by praying(v5). Their current plight didnt diminish God or the fact that He was in control.
They trusted him.
Prayer is the most natural and normal response for a heart that is dependent on God. If you are truly counting on Him to do something, you will pray about it. If you are not counting on God, you will not call out to Him.
Oswald chambers said,"We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties."
Part of my QT devo. If you're using ODJ it's May 14th's (: go have a read.
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Thanks wax and kimmie for pointing me prayer for my issues and planning retreat really gave me an opportunity to submit. <3
Just a random thought. you know sometimes we want to run away from work and responsibility because we want more time to do things we like, we don't want to be stressed out. we just want to keep as much time as we can to ourselves to have fun. But by doing that, we're depriving ourselves of sooo much. being stressed, having lots of work gives us opportunities for us to put into practice what we've learnt. about trusting, dependency, purpose...i dont know. sooo maannyy thingsss. If we dont practice what we learn, we'll just end up having a brainful (i made up a new word(: ) of head knowlege. Head knowledge is nothing if it's not translated to the heart and the hands.
head. heart. hands
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2. I was walking home today and i saw people walking their dogs, logs from trees that were being chopped down and i just thought. Aren't dogs supposed to be free in the wild? Aren't trees supposed to be part of vast, beautiful, lush forests? What has it become??? You almost never see wild dogs anymore. They're all pets in chains and leashes ( sorry maomao.)!
I imagined how things were in the beginning and...it's beautiful, stunning, imperfectly perfect. Yes i know we need to cut down trees for housing, for education, a livelihood but i think we're taking it too far that we neglect what God has entrusted us with. We forgot to take care of the plants and animals God has granted us. but then again, many people can't be bothered with God so...i'm feeling kind helpless towards this. So much so much sooo much suffering, corruption and evil everywhere and i cant do anything. i guess we can only hope for a better place when Christ comes again. This world is way too corrupted.
Saturday, October 17, 2009@8:01 AM
Free will
hello darlings, i think many people question why God gives us freewill even knowing that we might make the wrong choices. asked my dad today & here're some answers he gave me which i hope would answer some of your questions too! ((:
Defining Free Will
There are several points on which there is confusion about what is meant by free will. Some have said that it refers to the ability to desire. But a better definition is that it is the ability to decide between alternatives. Desire is a passion, an emotion; but will is a choice between two or more desires. Also, some think that to be free means that there can be no limitation of alternatives—one must be able to do whatever he wants. But the opposite of freedom is not fewer alternatives, it is being forced to choose one thing and not another. Freedom is not in unlimited options, but in unfettered choice between whatever options there are. As long as the choosing comes from the individual rather than an outside force, the decision is made freely. Free will means the ability to make an unforced decision between two or more alternatives.
Geisler, Norman L. ; Brooks, Ronald M.: When Skeptics Ask. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1990, S. 63
IF GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING, AND HIS KNOWLEDGE CAN’T CHANGE, THEN EVERYTHING IS PREDETERMINED AND THERE IS NO FREE WILL
Knowing what men will do with their freedom is not the same as ordaining what they must do against their free choice. God’s knowledge is not necessarily incompatible with free will. There is no problem in saying that God created men with free will so that they could return His love, even though He knows that some will not make that decision. God is responsible for the fact of freedom, but men are responsible for the acts of freedom. In His knowledge, God might even persuade men to make certain decisions, but there is no reason to suppose that He coerces any decision so as to destroy freedom. He works persuasively, but not coercively.
Geisler, Norman L. ; Brooks, Ronald M.: When Skeptics Ask. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1990, S. 32
LOVE AND FREE WILL
It is true that God desires all men to be saved (2 Peter 3:9), but that means that they have to choose to love Him and believe in Him. Now, God can’t force anyone to love Him. Forced love is a contradiction in terms. Love must be free: it is a free choice. So in spite of God’s desire, some men do not choose to love Him (Matt. 23:37). All who go to hell do so because of their free choice. They may not want to go to hell (who would?), but they do will it. They make the decision to reject God, even though they don’t desire punishment. People don’t go to hell because God sends them; they choose it and God respects their freedom. “There are two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in hell, chose it.”3
3 ——, The Great Divorce (New York: Macmillan, 1946), p. 69.
Geisler, Norman L. ; Brooks, Ronald M.: When Skeptics Ask. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1990, S. 67
One more.
Objection Four—Based on the Notion That Omnibenevolence Leads to Universalism
If God loves all people and desires all of them to be saved, then why are not all people saved? He is omnipotent, and an all powerful Being can do whatever He wants to do, can’t He? Further, God is sovereign and in control of all things (see chapter 23): His will cannot be thwarted, and He also accomplishes whatever He sets out to do (Isa. 55:11). But if He can accomplish whatever He desires, and if He desires to save all, then doesn’t it follow that all will be saved (universalism) ?
Response to Objection Four
God’s ultimate will is always accomplished, but His immediate mil is not. God wills some things conditionally and some unconditionally. Salvation is one of those things that is willed on the condition of our free will (John 1:12; Matt. 23:37). God does not desire that anyone perish, but that all should repent (2 Peter 3:9). But not all will repent; hence, not all will be saved. Jesus lamented, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing’ (Matt. 23:37, emphasis added).
God is all-powerful, but He cannot do anything: He cannot do what is contradictory, and He cannot go against His own nature. For example, “It is impossible for God to lie” (Heb. 6:18), and “He cannot disown Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). Once again, God cannot force someone to freely love Him. So while God is all-powerful, He must exercise His power in accordance with His love, and His love cannot force someone to love Him.
Geisler, Norman L.: Systematic Theology, Volume Two: God, Creation. Minneapolis, MN : Bethany House Publishers, 2003, S. 380
God loves us THIS MUCH =D
Thursday, October 8, 2009@2:25 AM
Greater things
LISTEN TO THIS SONG NOW. thanks to wax, i've fallen so deeply in love with Chris Tomlin's Hello Love album. so gonna buy it plzzzz.
God of This City - Chris Tomlin
[Verse 1] You're the God of this City You're the King of these people You're the Lord of this nation You are
[Verse 2] You're the Light in this darkness You're the Hope to the hopeless You're the Peace to the restless You are
There is no one like our God There is no one like our God
[Chorus] For greater things have yet to come And greater things are still to be done in this City Greater things have yet to come And greater things are still to be done in this City
[Chorus] For greater things have yet to come And greater things are still to be done in this City Greater things have yet to come And greater things are still to be done here
This song totally...captivated me. SO MUCH HOPE. and you know even though there's so much going on right now like people turning away from God, denying God, injustice being done, innocent people suffering, starving children, violence, hatred, even despite all the rough times we are going through
GREATER THINGS HAVE YET TO COME GREATER THINGS ARE STILL TO BE DONE IN THIS CITY
and that means so much more. my problems seem so small right now when you know that God can do things sooo much greater than this and HE WILL. i have this urge to cry yet i dont know what im crying for. must have TT later to think through that.
enough slacking! MATH. oh btw, i had a bio paper today. i left 20 marks worth of questions blank. Given the state that i was in last night (thanks jx, amanda, jo and fungi for bearing with me), i should be cutting my wrists right about now or have hung myself or something. aahahah kidding. but i should be in a really depressed state. Hence anticipating this, i had some midnight TT and got some stuff sorted out.
you know sometimes we work hard because we really want to get good results and it's like you're working and working but you never seem to be there. And i thought, hey that's right. good results. this is something I WANT. and halfway bathing (hee. too much info?), i just said a prayer to God that i'll surrender all my wants and desires for His will to be done because i think ultimately it is and will turn out to be waayyyy better than my own desires (greater things!! whoaaa see the link???) . God knows me better than i know myself and maybe if my results turn out good i'll start to get complacent? i dont know.
