Some Smokey Mountain Pixs

a boy playing with water







children playing on a mattress





Inside a typical house. The house is so small, about the size of 2 sofa sets









rubbish and mud strewn all over the place










familiar sight of rubbish and mud..sigh

Praying with perseverance by Bishop John Tan

There was an engaging sermon on Sunday by Bishop John Tan. He touched on the topic of praying with perseverance. As he has put it, it's a difficult topic because the topic itself is a mystery. However, he has put it in such an illustrations-filled manner that he has made his view clear to the audience.

He said that sometimes we have to pray many times, over a long period of time, maybe even over years for some circumstances before our prayers are being answered. Sometimes, we don't even seem to get the answer. That maybe because that is then already the answer given by God. We will never know what God has intended for us and God is sovereign. However, Bishop John Tan gave reasons on why sometimes, sometimes even Jesus has to pray several times or sometimes only the prayers of certain people (righteous people) are effective.

He said when we pray, it's actually a way of releasing the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Sometimes, we may not have prayed sincerely, whole-heartedly. So we didn't really release the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Sometimes, because the matter that we pray for requires more power to be dealt with and praying just once may not have released enough power. We have to keep on praying and allow the power from each prayer to be accumulated so that we have gathered enough power to deal with the matter.

He brought out a very clear illustrations for this release of power. He said that our prayers are like the ingredients for making a chemical, for example water, H2O. You must have enough molecules, two molecules of Hydrogen and a molecule of oxygen before a molecule of water can be formed. If we do not pray enough, there are simply not enough ingredients to cause the chemical reaction to take place. But when we have the right ingredients and the right quantity, the chemical reaction can then take place in heaven and the power of the Holy Spirit can be released through us (Revelation 8:3-5).

Bishop pointed out that our God is present, He listens and He cares, that's why we pray. Our prayers are being stored in "golden bowls" (Revelation 5:8) in heaven. They are highly valued. Every prayer counts. God also looks at the quantity of our prayers and it sometimes requires a certain level of quantity for prayer before God answers.

In fact, Bishop John Tan has given a lot of examples in the Bible and explained them clearly. I really think that it's valuable to check it out. A record of the sermon should be out on the COR website in a couple of days, I think.

Anna

One man’s waste is Another man’s treasure

I have returned from a trip where i visited the Smokey Mountains in Philippines. It has certainly awaken my senses to the poor and their real needs.

The New Smokey Mountain is a dumpsite whereby the poor ravages through the trash to salvage any sellable items they could, just for that few pesos (a few cents) for their meals.

The New Smokey Mountain Project brings a little glimmer of hope to the needy here. Groceries are distributed, games are played, clothes are given and most of all a heart to share the grief. (please refer to http://www.oikoshelpinghand.org/ for more info).
______________________________________________

Personal Reflections:
(an excerpt of my diary)

This is unacceptable. The air is pungent, mixed with choky fumes from nearby charcoal-making wood. This has been a day of great sunny weather but it seems that is the only good thing.

Everywhere you see is landfills of rubbish. It is a graveyard of waste. Somehow, the items that are found irrelevant by others have settled here, beneath my feet. This garbage has nowhere to go. Their final destination is Smokey Mountain. Daily, rubbish trucks make a pilgrimage and place them among their brothers. Likewise, Smokey Mountain is the final stop for the poor. In this rubbish, they found them relevant. They live and thrive on this trash. It breaks my heart. My discards turn out to be treasures for them. How can this be?

The hardy children are scavenging the garbage, hoping to find something useful. Buzzing flies, instead of justice, are their constant companion. They climb on top of rubbish trucks. With their iron claw, they rummage through the trash. They dig and dig; hoping to find something to heal their starving stomach. The chains of poverty have ensnared them. There is no hope. They cannot get out. They must keep digging in order to survive.

What is civilization when we have this nonsense around, whereby one man’s waste is another man’s treasure? My mind cannot comprehend this. Just like the poor in Smokey Mountain, it is empty. It simply does not make sense.

- ed -

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Last Saturday, we did Psalms 37:1-7 and we focused on Psalms 37:4. Till now, this verse has a deep impact on me. I am still meditating on it in my daily life.

I would like to share this verse to those who did not come to cell. Have a great week ahead.

-ed-

My life, a Cross

Recently, I drew the below picture out when i was doing my QT.

Basically, it shows that i am a see-through screen whereby my life and behavior will just be a display of the cross behind me. In another words, I will just be a transparent medium to depict Christ.

It is definitely a challenging thought for me. Just thought i share this with everyone

-ed

God's Love for us

Hi cell group,

I would like to share a beautiful verse with everyone. A verse I read during my quiet time which reminded me of the great love Jesus has for all of us.

Jesus fulfills Isaiah's prophecy of the Suffering Servant.

Isa 53:5

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

The reason we can worship and have peace in our lives was because Jesus took the punishment for us.

May this verse remind us of how much Jesus loves us and the extent that he was willing to go through for us. In light of God's great love for us, Do you trust in the Lord today?

A link below for a graphical representation of what He has done for us. May our lives and all we do be centered around the love He has for us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG5PkU92vpw

Ruijie

Being Baptized in the Holy Spirit

Here comes the analogy of being baptised in the Holy Spirit:

The Greek word for baptize is baptidzo, which means immerse. The analogy used was making pickles from cucumber. One of the processes in making pickles is calling for the cucumber to be immersed and soaked in the brine and the pickling solution for several weeks. What happens during this soaking time is that the marinade or the pickling solution soaks deep into the flesh of the cucumber until it takes on the flavor of the pickling solution so that it no longer tastes like a raw cucumber. Every fibre of the cucumber will be transformed completely and takes on the flavor of the pickling solution. This is what it's meant by soaking. When someone is baptized in the Holy Spirit, he is being marinated in the presence of the Holy Spirit, soaking in the River of God, that he no longer "tastes" like his old, raw nature any longer, but he has taken on the flavor of the Holy Spirit.

I would say that it's also like allowing the Holy Spirit to fill your blood so that the Holy Spirit is circulated throughout your body and regulates and control your every move.

Anna

A glove analogy

I attended the workshop called "Not I but Christ" from the women conference. The speaker was an English and she spoke like a small stream of water, nice and tranquil and it's like music to the ears, yet a bit hard for me to concentrate. But still, I was captivated when she gave us an illustration for the idea of Christ being the power source inside us:

Gal 2:20 — “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”

I may say to a glove, “Glove, pick up this Bible,” and yet, somehow, the glove cannot do it. It has a thumb and finger, the shape and form of a hand, and yet it is unable to do the thing I command it to do.

You may say, “Well, of course not. You didn’t tell the glove how to pick up the Bible.” However, I can instruct, and teach, and coach that glove until my patience is exhausted, but the glove, try as it will, still will not pick up that Bible.

Yet I have a glove at home that has picked up my Bible dozens of times…but never once before I put my hand into it! As soon, as my hand comes into that glove, the glove becomes as strong as my hand. Everything possible to my hand becomes possible to that glove—but only to the measure in which the glove is prepared to clothe the activity of my hand.

That is what it is to have Christ, by His Spirit, dwelling within you. You are the glove, Christ is the Hand! Everything that is possible to Him becomes possible to you, and with Paul you may say, “I have strength for all things in Christ Who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).

(Illustration from The Saving Life of Christ by Maj. Ian Thomas)

There was another illustration on the idea of being baptised in the Holy Spirit. I will write on this...

Anna

Women's Conference

First of all, I would like to thank Sarah for inviting us to attend the Women's Conference. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from the conference but it turned out well. The speakers are really good.

One of the speakers, Wilma, she shared a few of her personal stories with us. One of the stories that struck me is the one about her personal experience in helping others. She shared that back in U.S., her cell has a nice practice of taking care of young mothers during their confinement period. So, the ladies in the cell group will volunteer to cook for young moms who are having their confinement. Despite Wilma's busy schedule, Wilma also volunteered to cook for one of the young mom. One day, when she was preparing the dinner for the young mom (Sally or something), she asked herself: Am I cooking for Sally because I care for her or am I doing it because of other reasons? personal reasons? She realised that she did that so that she can prove to others that she is good.

I was surprised that she can be so honest to admit things like that. Given our human nature, it is true that sometimes we are like her.

Today's quiet time is quite relevant to this topic. Thought I would like to share this. It's about having a Christ-like character - having a heart like Jesus and a mind that thinks like Him. Pray that I will grow closer to that. Same prayer for our cell group.

-Lishan

Promises of Strength in Times of Stress

Hi everyone, I would like to encourage everyone with verses that will help us in our times of stress and fear.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?"
Psalm 27:1

"Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord."
Psalm 46:1-3

"He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power."
Isaiah 40:29

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous hand."
Isaiah 41:10

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."
John 14:27

"Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Philippians 4:13

"Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."
1 Peter 5:7

Rgrds,

Ruijie

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

----
My all-time fav verse for the past 3 days.

-ed-

Intentional/unintentional sin?

I just wanted to write down my thoughts after reading Numbers 15. It is about the penalty concerning unintentional sin and presumptuous sin. The chapter was suggested to me after I brought up my view that having the desire alone or having the action alone does not constitute to sinning. Numbers 15 mentioned about unintentional sin and there was punishment to that, so it may suggest that having the action itself is sinning. That got me rethink my view.

I think the sin that was mentioned in Numbers 15 was referring to those acts that violates the Ten Commandments "that the Lord has commanded you by the hand of Moses" (Numbers 15:23). So at that point of time, if any act that was contrary to the Ten Commandments, that's sin. However, as we have already discussed in the recent Bible study, sin can be interpreted as anything that is not pleasing in the eyes of God. This goes far broader than the Ten Commandments in our present context.

I would interpret the chapter as such: In the context of the Old Testament, God has given the law to the people "as a means of defining themselves ethnically as against the 'unclean' Gentiles" (quote taken from "Encounter with God"). That was a specific set of rules at that time and that's how they automatically judged an act as sinful or not. Therefore sinning in the context of the Numbers was acting against the Ten Commandments. What Numbers 15 emphasized however, i think is the huge difference in penalty for unintentional sin and presumptuous sin. I think the focus is on the fact that something unintentional is not the cause of God's wrath. However if the sinful act is presumptuous, that really brings "reproach on the LORD" (Numbers 15:30).

On the other hand, the death and resurrection of Jesus has brought us forward to another age. We are no longer living just by the law given to the people at the time of the Old Testament, but by the grace of God, or the Spirit of God. We have also discussed that sin is more to the Ten Commandments. Therefore, how we define sinning (not sin, but committing sin) is probably also different. Maybe my suggestion that sinning is a result of both the sinful desire and the sinful act can still hold.

That's just my thoughts.

Anna

Disappointments & Failures

This morning, I was reading Luke 24:13 - 35 and I decided to blog about what I have learnt. These are the 3 main pts:

1. How can we not see Jesus in our life?
2. We can read the bible & still not see God
3. Jesus allows us to live a life of faith with deeds 

1. How can we not see Jesus in our life? 

The 2 men were downcast (v 17) with what has happened. They have so much expectation (v21). Their human perception of how things should work out did not happen. And they were disappointed.

 My thoughts:

The amazing thing for me is that they were talking to Jesus & they did not recognize him. How can it be?

 I will suggest that it is because of disappointments & failures. For me, sometimes, I get so bogged down with disappointments that I fail to see Jesus. When things do not work out as I expect it to be, I over-analyze and I become downcast like these 2 men in the bible. Often, I allow these disappointments to miss the big picture.

 This is strange despite still believing in Jesus Christ and being blessed with so much personal testimonies. 

2. We can read the bible & still not see God

 V 25 -27 shows Jesus giving a sermon or bible study. Yet, despite receiving bible knowledge (or teachings), they fail to recognize Jesus.

My thoughts:

Sometimes, certain of my experiences of QT, sermons, mirror that. 

I do receive knowledge as I listen to these sermons and read the bible. But, often, I fail to understand, i.e. I did not recognize Jesus. At this point, I will like to say that I am not referring to an extraordinary experience like a transformation or conviction. Instead, I guess I am referring to the biblical knowledge that takes into perspective of who Jesus is. More importantly, I do not want to miss the point of just getting the ‘burning hearts’ (v32) feel good factor & fail to see who Jesus is. 

3. Jesus allows us to live a life of faith with works 

After they recognize Jesus (v31), Jesus disappeared. Why did he do that? Why didn’t he stay longer? It is similar to some experiences when there is a deep conviction and, after a while, it disappears and is forgotten.

 My thoughts:

I believe that there is a purpose for this. And it is linked to the principle: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).

 Faith without works is like saying that I can have the faith that Jesus can so easily solve our problems and I need not put in any human effort to solve it. For example, I can pray & faith that I will pass my CFA exams but if I do not work for it, then it is just faith without works. And this faith is dead.

 I believe that if Jesus deposits faith in us, he will allow the opportunity for faith to be manifested into works. The two guys in Luke displayed that. Jesus disappears after they recognize Jesus. Subsequently, in v 33, they got up and returned to Jerusalem and told that everyone that the Lord has risen. This is faith demonstrated through work.

 Conclusion

I just hope that in the busyness of my life, I will not miss out Jesus and learnt to be fruitful in the faith that Jesus has given me. 

Ed

The first lie

I found this on the net..it is quite funny especially after I recall what Ling shared on Sat.

Fortunately, i do not need to tell any lie in cell group..haa

- honest ed-

Prayer Requests

Hi everyone, here are the cell prayer requests as we shared last Fri. For those who were not able to share, please upload your prayer requests too so that the rest of the cell can pray for you. Thank you.

Amy: Seek God for guidance for the rest of the year

Billy: To allocate more time to spend with God.

Brenda: To know the gifts from God for her life.

Edmund Strength and wisdom for work and studies

Ling Ling: To look to God for answers and assurance, to spend more time with God

Sarah: To give God the better time for QT, to be able to clear work in PCC and missions before she leaves, pray for wisdom to handle her work.

Ruijie: To have the discipline to do QT and to give Him the best time, to be able to find a job.

Rgrds,

Ruijie

Jehovah Jireh

This morning, I just thought of writing a poem to God.

Jehovah Jireh

All day
His love

Long Hours
Lasting Joy

A minute
Amazing presence

Every second
His Love
endures forever!!!

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

[Poetic Ed]

Smile

Through it all, God is great and His love is amazing!

-ed-

Fellowship for Friday

For our fellowship tomorrow friday, I would like us to prepare the following 2 questions to facilitate our fellowship session:

1)How has my quiet time with God been? Have I been doing things in my own strength or relying for strength and wisdom from the Lord to meet the challenges I face each day?

2)How I can improve my relationship with the Lord? Have I been spending enough time to read His word and enjoy His presence?

Please take some time to prepare as I hope that we will have a fruitful time of fellowship tomorrow. Thank you and see you :)

Ruijie

Amazing quotes

The bible is really profound and yet simple. Without a doubt, it is the best book i have ever read. With statement like the below, it has never cease to amaze me.

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. - James 2:26

Amazing stuff!

-ed-

Cell Schedule for May-July

Hi everyone, here is the schedule for May-July cell meetings. As previously practiced, if you are unable to make it for the activity in the schedule, please assign someone else to takeover your role for the particular week. Thanks :)

Ruijie

The great book of James

Was reading James today & yesterday. The entire book of James is an excellent book.
It discusses true religion, true faith and true wisdom. Recommend everyone to read James.

The pts i learnt from James 1:1-18

1) Wisdom is given by God
And we can obtain Wisdom freely when we ask from God

Skills and knowlege comes through training.

2) We can ask SPECIFIC things from God.

If we do not know the clear gifts & specific things we ask of God, it may be that we are confused

3) Sin starts from a desire

Desire --> Sin --> Death

-Ed-

Christian at workplace

A quote from the notes given by Canon John Benson during the talk on "SALT + LIGHT, The Christian in the workplace" at the Easter Convention

God's Place [Mark Greene]

"The workplace is God's place...a place of opportunity - a place to express the compassion of the gospel in word and deed, to challenge non-biblical thinking and practice, to grow in faith and character and love.

God at work in us.
God at work through us.
God at work in those we work with."

Further resources given by Canon John Benson:
-Thank God it's Monday, Mark Greene, Scripture Union, 2001
-Working it out, Ian Coffey, IVP, 2008
-London Institute for Contemporary Christianity website at
http://www.licc.org.uk/engaging-with-work/

Enjoy your work!

Anna

Being a servant

I have been struggling with some emotional realisations recently and it got rather bad since the beginning of the week. It's not something new that I am experiencing. I have experienced something more or less the same a few years ago. My reponse and approach were to cry whenever I didn't have to attend to anybody. That's the easiest and most direct way of releasing your locked emotions and the most common reactions for girls.

It's more or less the same response this time. The past experience did not help me. I am stuck in the same situation and feel just as bad, even worst.

I have been reading something on serving God recently: It says we were shaped for serving God. There are a combinations of capabilities that God has equipped everyone to serve Him:

Spiritual gifts
Hearts
Abilities
Personalities
Experiences

In the catergory for experiences, the Bible says, "He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." (2 Corinthians 1:4)

That gives me one of the reasons why I am experiencing that kind of bad emotional struggle. I will have to share it and be part of my ministry to help others who face similar problems in the future. But before I can advise, I must first come out of it. I have been thinking real hard as to how this struggle can be properly addressed. I know the conventional approach won't work for me: talking to people about my problem won't solve my problems; occupying myself with a lot of activities will only keep me away from the issue for a short while. But this idea of serving God and putting my experience in use has given me a new insight. I should response to my emotional struggle by involving myself in ministry.

Serving is one of the purposes of our lives, not being served. By serving even in time when I am emotionally down, I can take my focus off myself and redirect the focus on others and on God. So instead of spending time on crying, I should probably be involved myself with serving for God. When I am down, it doesnt' mean that I cannot serve.

"If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anthing done." (Eccelesiastes 11:4)

Yan

The Wise and Foolish Builders

I read this today and it is such a great verse. Matt 6:46-49


46"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.
48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

-ed-

If you ask me to share about my baptism, this is what I would share...

It was out of curiosity that I went to check out what Baptism was all about and why I should go through it. So I started off surfing the net for some clues. One of the more informative website that I found out was from this:

http://www.bebaptized.org/

It tries to provide answers and gives a lot of quotes from the Bible on why a believer should be baptised. I was quite convinced by it. But of course, I didn't just rely on one internet site, I wanted to hear from other sources. So I signed up for the baptism course without committing to go for the baptism eventually.

As I went through the course, I became very convinced that it was what I ought to do in fact. However, there were three main things that made me hesitate in going for it: my parents' consents; the selling and buying of the flats at that point of time; and my decision whether I should stay in Singapore or go back to HK.

My parents thought that the selling and buying of the flats and the decision to stay or leave Singapore took far more priorities and I should be focusing on these issues. Of course they didn't know that I was thinking about the baptism at that time and didn't know that I've put that as my priority and focus at that moment. That's also why it was hard to bring up the baptism topic to them.

After the baptism, I came to realise, or have been affirmed that I should always put my relationship with God as my priority. Once this is clear in my mind and I act upon it accordingly, things will start to fall into place. This was the case with my parents' understanding of my faith. In fact, throught this baptism, they have also accepted what I believe in; the selling and buying of the flats are going on with a clear direction; I've also had a peaceful mind and heart to decide which direction to go for the future. So effectively, all the three things that held me captive in my stagnant stage before baptism were being dispersed.

Until last week, I thought the main difference before and after my baptism was that baptism has brought me to another stage in my relationship with God. As I started to read the books that I received from the baptism, I made more effort to understand what I was reading. My attitude when I was reading has changed. However, by this week, I realise that the true difference before and after Baptism is that I have been convicnced that I should always put God as the priority. Only then will I have the capacity to think how to live.

Just one short testimony to share: I think I passed my motorbike test because I've put God as my priority also. I used to choose going for the practice lessons over going to church service. This led me eventually to backslide and stopped going to church. But when I have been told that this was wrong and I repriortised, I passed. I don't think I passed the test because I rode well that day. I rode better on other test days but I failed.

Anna

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

I recently read Matt 20:1-16 The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

It is quite interesting. There can be many thoughts if one allow his imagination to run wild.

One of the question i explore: Is God unfair?

Well..maybe not.
God just have the right to do whatever he wants with his money. God's gifts are god's and are distributed not through the merit of the receiver..but on the full graciousness of God.

Likewise, through the entering of the kingdom of God as referred in v1, it seems to imply that the criteria to enter is the grace of God...and never on our merit and ability

Is this the correct reading of this verse?

Ed

Logical decision?

We are always being told that we should try to discern God's plan for us. We should try to listen to God's small voices to us. I've been thinking of my future plans for the past few months and I have been trying hard to practise this. But I just find it hard.

At one moment, the circumstances that I was presented directed me to option A, but within twenty-four hours, something could happen that pushed me to opt for option B. It's just difficult to know what God's plan for me really is.

I've been discussing and writing to a dear Christian friend about me wanting to listen to what God really wants me to do, whether the path that I am taking is really honouring and serving God . She told me that she has stopped trying to go for this fast and easy option to seek what God's will for her is. She said what is more important and real is to search your heart and see what you really want. God has planted what he wants in our hearts. So if we search our hearts thoroughly, we should know what ultimately God wants us to do. Doesn't it sound illogical and emotional?

Her reply is probably in contrary to what most books are suggesting. On the other hand, if I think about it deeper, I guess this can be so if God is sitting right in the middle of our hearts occupying a very important position. Otherwise, we would be blinded by our selfish motives to satisfy our selfish needs and desires.

If this is really true, I am back to square one. I've tried to leave this decision-making task to God, thinking that He will have planned it and He would drop hints for me to pick up. But now, my friend is suggesting that the solution is to ask myself what my heart really wants, because God has already planted the answer there. In fact, this is the questions that a number of friends have asked me when I discussed my trouble in making decisions.

This is probably a big challenge for me because I am very logical. No matter how much I desire something, I would not go for it if it is illogical, never have I really added this element of what my heart really desires to the decision-making process. It's probably logical and necessary to add this element to the derivation of the decision now.

Yan

Why was I tense and frowning on my baptism?

I received comments that I looked tense during the whole baptism service. I didn't really notice that, but I can probably explain by telling you what was on my mind during the service.

Actually I was amazed by the timely reassurances on Friday and Saturday, just before the baptism day itself. They were just so last minute and yet in time. I decided to go for the baptism only on last Friday after Aunty Suat Ngoh ressured me that my parents would be fine with my baptism as long as I was sure that I wanted to go for it.

Their consents have been bugging me for a few months. I mentioned to them once a month ago and they advised me to wait until I have decided to stay in Singapore or leave. If I were to leave, there was no point in getting baptised now and here. That sounded logical to me and there was indeed a point there. So even though the baptism was my own desire to make my commitment clear and to express my personal faith and does not depend on the place, it seemes that it's difficult to bring this up to my parents again. Although I strongly believed that baptism was actually just between me and God, but my parents' understanding and consents were very important to me.

I have then decided not to mention it to my parents before baptism, just only maybe if the opportunity arised, I would mention it. I was chatting with my parents over MSN on Saturday night, there was a main topic to discuss: we have just found a buyer who was willing to give a price for the flat that was agreeable to us. So the whole night I was busy with communicating between my parents and the agent-in-charge. There was no chance that I could mention the baptism. Until when my father suddenly asked me why I went to church on Saturday and then again on Sunday. So I told him that I would be going for baptism the next day. They were shocked of course. But after hearing that I was very certain about it, they gave their consents. That was relieving.

Aunty Suat Ngoh has also asked if there is an additional name, like Christian name that I would like to put in the baptism cert. I just told her "Aileen". That was natural. It has been with me for the past 16 or 17 years, though I seldom use it in Singapore. It was chosen by my teacher in HK. I have not been using it because I found it a bit meaningless to use an English name just like that. Since I were to make it formal, I would rather ask my father about it. I asked him to choose between Aileen and Anna (starts with "A"; means Grace and by just the feel of the pronounciation, I feel is suitable for my personality). In the end he chose Anna, so I changed this to Anna only on Sunday, the baptism day itself.

I told my sister about the baptism also only on Saturday night when I had dinner with her. I didn't even have the courage to ask if she would like to attend. I only asked her after lunch on Sunday. Though she hesitated for awhile, but she agreed in the end.

So, with all these happening just before baptism, I think my mind was just so deformed and couldn't get back to the normal relaxed state immediately. So, I was tense right till the moment when I got baptised. It was also compounded with gratitude that they were able to happen just before my baptism. This was exactly how I felt when I was in front of the pool and Edmund took that picture of me looking tense.

After the baptism, when I was standing in front of the congregation, overlooking the whole hall, something else was on my mind. I was astounded, amazed by the work of God on me in this House of God over the past few months. I converted to Christianity when I was in Munich, the belief must have been strong and convincing at that time; I came back from Munich and attended services at Adam Road Presbyterian. The church environment was nice and so were the members. But during those times, I have never felt the connection with, the strong presence of God so strong as I am now experiencing in COR. I just found it amazing, incredible, awesome and I was deeply touched. That was what was on my mind when you all saw me frowning while standing in front of the congregation.

I think I was only eventually competely light-hearted and joyful when we took group photos at the end of the service.

Thanks a lot for your presence on my Baptism. And thanks a lot for the stylish devotional, the CD and the meaningful card. And of course the pictures that you all have taken.

Yan

Hoi Yan --> Anna

Look at the tension on Hoi Yan's face. Is she willing to give up her old self?



Getting ready now...Rev John Sim is assuring her and praying for her.



Unflattering photo. Nevertheless, it is evidence of Anna's baptism. Cannot run away liao..haa...Dead to her old self...(she will be forever young...)



As a cell, we stand by her and prayed for her. Beautiful



Finally, the lighting of candle. Sweet. Look at Anna glowing in angelic white.

Impossible

I was reflecting on some things yesterday and i came out something. Just thought i share with you guys.

----
There are many things in life that baffles me – the unaminous collapse of the western banks, various genocides, world wars, etc. Closer to home, I see a lot of impossibilities in many areas of my life. For example, despite losing my father during my teenage years, I still manage to live out a reasonable standard of living (My father is a sole breadwinner who is a taxi driver and he has to raise 3 young kids). Certainly, my circumstance warrants grumbling if I chose to look at things in a myopic fashion. If I go down this slippery road, I will say that I should have a better life of riches. I will complain on why my Father must die so early and rob me of his companionship. Life can really be bitter. Fortunately, I did not see life poorly. Instead, I see a life of impossibilities made possible by one decisive factor – God.

Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God.”(Matt 19:26) Further on, in Hebrews, it is mentioned that without faith, it is impossible to please and be satisfactory with God. Also, in Luke 1:37, For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.

All these verses spoke deeply into my heart. It certainly brings a fresh perspective of my life circumstances and the things around me. It tells me that human logic has limited possibilities. Human situations are fraught with finite options. With men, one can only reach the domain of impossibilities. However, with God, nothing is ever impossible. The Creator and Author of our life is simply God. He saves not out of human ways or with a swoosh of his hand. Instead, he sent his son to die on the Cross for us. despite constrained by his values of one having to die for one’s sins. Mind-boggling. How can this impossible act happen?!

Using human rationality, this does not make sense. Though this solution is perfect and free, the world cannot believe it. Perhaps it requires the scales of their eyes to fall down. Maybe, it needs more persuasion and better presentation. Possibly, Christians can try to be better witnesses. I am sure human efforts can bring about an extension of God’s kingdom. But, any efforts without Jesus will at be most human. It will be a situation of impossibilities. On the contrary, any efforts that have a mustard seed-like faith will surely move the mountains. It will cause heavens to roar with rejoicing. It will bring a smile to our Heavenly Father.

So, let us all take this season of Easter to glorify Jesus who came to die on the Cross for our sins. Let us tell this simple story of Jesus to our friends. The opportunity is knocking. Let us pray. Let us ask God how. Let us move mountains. With God, all things are possible!

Church Events for the coming weeks

Hi all,

I encourage everyone to consider the coming church events (see below for more details). These events are specially planned with all of us in mind. Specifically, I urge all to attend the "Come Discover Hope" on Good Friday. This is conducted by Leon Evans whom i heard has a great ability to connect with people as young as us :> i sincerely hope that all can invite your friends esp those that you all brought down for MY HOPE.

Main Event for Cell:

1) Guest Service on 28 March - Neville Tan (the guy who spoke in MY Hope) is coming. I strongly urge all people who come for MY Hope to come. We will going out for dinner after the service to celebrate Brenda's age of maturity :>

10 April (friday), 1930 to 2130: "Come Discover Hope"
Cell may meet up for earlier dinner later. Lishan + HY, please take note. This is so that you can plan the cell activity accordingly.

People gg so far: Sarah (Dancer), RJ, Amy & Ed

Sub Event for Cell:
1) COR 30th Anniversary Dinner, 1800. Must pay money. So, please confirm by this coming cell.

People gg so far: Sarah, Brenda, HY, RJ, Amy & Ed

2) Easter Convention on 10 & 11 Apr..please refer to bulletin or COR website for more info

People gg so far:
Sarah for Creative Arts,
Edmund for Plenary Sessions for both days

Other Events

SAJC Life Concert (3 April night)- the church need counsellors. So, Edmund and Sarah have volunteered. Unfortunately, Sarah is the BS leader. So, may need to change cell to Sat 130. Is this ok for everyone? Still deciding...depends on feedback fro pple

Cell Prayer Requests

Nissi - Getting the firm foundation right
Be real followers of Jesus Christ

HY - 1)For Alice (her sister). Her work is quite bad and she is feeling restless and unhappy. That God will speak to her.
2) To be able to decipher God's plan for me so that I can make up my mind and have courage to carry out the plans.

Billy - Pray for Good Health for his Grandma
Pray that the job application with LTA will be successful.

Lishan - To be less stubborn

Brenda - To continue to be more hungry for God’s word
To focus on him

Karen - Pray for K's manager. She is very cruel to her.

MJ - Pray for God's widom upon him
Amy- Ability to handle the demands of her difficult boss…and also with regards to her relationship with all bosses

Jonathan - Wisdom to know the next step ahead for his life

Ling - Passion to live for Christ & Her exams on Tuesday
Sarah - Keep her mind on Jesus

Ruijie - Exams which are starting in April
Good health and time management

Edmund - Strength & wisdom

Faith

I was watching a christian movie the other day "Facing the Giants"... and one part caught my attention:

The coach was very disheartened about what was happening, and was asking the pastor about what it means to have faith... and this was the reply.

"There are 2 farmers, both desperately crying out for rain. Both were in dire need for rain, and both looked to God for help. Yet only 1 of them went out to prepare the fields, so that when the rain came, he'd be ready. Which of the farmers do you think had greater faith?"

Interesting food for thought eh... How often do we just sit back and wait for God to take the first step... only to grumble when we don't see things moving? What's the attitudes of our hearts when we pray? Are we really enTRUSTing our situations to God?


"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1


-amy

The meaning of marriage

I went to a friend’s ROM recently. It got me into thinking about the meaning of marriage. My conclusion is:

Marriage is meaningful to me only when I link it with God.

I used to think that there was no need to get married. To me, it’s meaningless to be with someone who doesn’t love me. If I am not in his heart, what’s the point of keeping him by my side? A marriage certificate is not a guarantee that both would love each other forever, even if both have said the vow passionately and determinately. The feeling, the chemistry will just eventually vanish.

I was, however, eventually convinced that two people should come together in a marriage and be “one flesh” to serve God. That was after reading the book “Kiss dating goodbye”. I couldn’t summarise or rephrase and give a good explanation for that at that time. I was not a Christian at that time and that was two years ago. This thought came to my mind again after attending the friend’s ROM.

It’s hard for two people to stay together, loving each other for a life time. No matter how compatible, how good the chemistry is, there will be bound to be times when you are just irritated by the other person; there will be bound to be times when there are disagreements. How great can the love be for the other person, especially when you know that you can choose whether you want to marry this person? It is a free will. There are bound to be doubts. I think the only guarantee and binding force for this love is the love for God. In God’s Kingdom, there is a set of rules to guide how people should live. Without following these laws, the society is just chaotic, so is the case for marriage.

Ephesians 5:21-33
21 subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.
22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the assembly, being himself the savior of the body.
24 But as the assembly is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly, and gave himself up for it;
26 that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,
27 that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 Even so husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.
29 For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord also does the assembly;
30 because we are members of his body, of his flesh and bones.
31 “For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will be joined to his wife. The two will become one flesh.”
32 This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and of the assembly.
33 Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

It is by following this law and following God’s words that the two people can stay together for a life time.

“For with God nothing is impossible” (Luke 1:37).

Therefore, marriage is only meaningful when God comes into place.

In the process of growing up, I have been taught that marriage is a milestone in life, maybe a stage that one must go through. However, I just found that somehow all the reasons given to me, supporting marriage were insufficient to convince me. At least, with this reason here, I am convinced.

There are still a lot of things that I have yet to find meaning to...

Yan

Servant Leadership

I have been reflecting on John 13:1-17 for the past few months.

How does one become an effective leader?

I believe it takes a combination of aptitude, people skills, attitude, etc. I shall elaborate on attitude as illustrated in John 13.

Jesus actually washed the feet of his disciples. This is profound and serves as a yardstick of humility and servitude.

When I was in secondary school, my principal and a few teachers actually washed some the feet of some students. This takes place in front of the entire school assembly. The students will sit in a row and my principal will wash their feet. This takes place to show the humility of Jesus Christ.

This simple event has made an impact in my life. It constantly reminded me of the need to be humble and have a golden heart of servitude. I also believe that Jesus deliberately carry out this significant activity before the Last Supper. He wants the disciples to constantly adopt a heart of humility and servitude.

To conclude, I will leave some quotes which I got from Wikipedia.

a) Chanakya or Kautilya, the famous strategic thinker from ancient India, wrote about servant leadership in his 4th century B.C. book Arthashastra:

"the king [leader] shall consider as good, not what pleases himself but what pleases his subjects [followers]"
"the king [leader] is a paid servant and enjoys the resources of the state together with the people".

b) In approximately 600 B.C., the Chinese sage Lao Tzu wrote The Tao Te Ching, a strategic treatise on servant leadership:

The greatest leader forgets himself
And attends to the development of others.
Good leaders support excellent workers.
Great leaders support the bottom ten percent.
Great leaders know that
The diamond in the rough
Is always found “in the rough.”

c) "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:42-45)

-ed-

Running the race!

Hebrews 12:1-3

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles , and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus , the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Good appearance, good heart

Recently I've recovered a bookmark given to me by a friend whom I've known since my internship. She has really sowed seeds for me to know Christ by talking me to across the toilets almost every night. (The layout of the hostel was that there was a common toilet in between two rooms. Both rooms have access to the toilet from either room.) I think I got that bookmark from the toilet door to my room.

Anyway, that's a bookmark with a Bible verse on it:

"For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

1 Samuel 16:7

It didn't appeal to me when I received that bookmark. I just thought that's cool. A bookmark with a German Bible verse on it and my friend wrote some touching words behind together with the translations of the verse. But when I read it now, it speaks much to me.

I was at first quite disturbed and felt helpless by this verse. I am naturally drawn to good appearance. That may make me look shallow, but I must admit that appearance is definitely something that bothers me. When I am walking on the street and come across some handsome guys or girls, I will definitely take a longer glance. It's just natural. I believe that's also natural for many people. So why shouldn't we look at the appearance?

I finally checked out the whole story from which the verse was taken from. The story was about Samuel anointing the King chosen by the Lord. All the sons of Jesse appeared before him. Samuel saw Eliab and thought that this was the one to be anointed because of his appearance. But the Lord told Samuel that that was not the one and so came that verse. Later on, the Lord told Samuel the one that He has chosen. It came out that this chosen one is "ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking". Therefore, the one that the Lord has chosen not only has good look but also a good heart. So essentially, it's not telling me not to look at good look , it's just that the person must have a good heart also.

I always believe that there is a link between the appearance and the heart. A person can have nice features: the nose can be very straight, big eyes, good complexion...but if the heart is not good, the combination of all these attractive features will not form a good appearance. I will just feel that somehow something is not right and it's not comfortable to look at. On the other hand, there are people with average features yet the whole combination is nice and peaceful to look at.

So after all, it's not wrong for me to look at the appearance. I am not looking at the outward appearance only, but I try to see beyond the outward appearance and know the heart of the person. =)

Yan

Godliness with contentment

Recently, I was led into this verse in 1 Tim 6:6 "But godliness with contentment is great gain"

This is a really interesting verse and it has much relevance with life.

There are essentially 2 main parts here - godliness & contentment. I have seen cases of godliness w/o contentment, contentment w/o godliness, and, of course, godliness with contentment. Needless to say, the optimal state will be godliness with contentment. So, it begets the question on how do we achieve that.

Do we fight for it? Is it a matter of attitude? Or is it just one's circumstance that allows you to follow your principle? Or is it even the people around you that encourages and moves one to adopt godliness with contentment?

Well, i will say all and/or some of the above. It really depends on 2 factors - God & you.

Firstly, godliness with contentment requires grace from God. And grace requires love & generosity. The God I know have all these; He loves us and he is wonderfully generous. Through His character, the outpouring of His grace overflows. There are so many examples in my life whereby his simple & beautiful grace touches me deeply.

Therefore, if God allows & in his perfect will, one will surely have godliness with contentment.

Next, if godliness with contentment depends on the individual. A father may give you good gifts but if you do not accept it, it is really too bad. The receiver needs to play his part. God may you give you a powerful toolkit - bible, church, friends and family, and even the Holy Spirit. But, if you one refuses to be a carpenter and build & repair your life, the wonderful gift of Jesus Christ can be futile.

In short, it can be tough or even easy to be godly with contentment. It really depends on God & you.

-ed-

Beautiful Worship Song

Hi everyone , I would like to share a beautiful worship song to encourage all of us. The lyrics of this song speaks of the identity that we have in Christ and the hope and promise that God has given to us as His children. Hope that it will encourage you as it has encouraged me.

The title of this song is Before the Throne of God Above.

Here is the youtube link,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xUK2Dx5RkY&feature=related

Thanks,

Ruijie

Lyrics:

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on his hands,
My name is written on his heart;
I know that while in heaven he stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.

Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I am,
The King of glory and of grace!

One in himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by his blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God

Sunday Service_15 Feb

1) Those who know how to pray & give thanks - will usually have a healthy life

2) Be a man of joy and thanksgiving & prayer

3) 1 Ths 5: 16 - 18 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.

4) Thanksgiving is a gift of God. We must have a positive mood of thanksgiving and appreciation. This will be a blessing to others.

5) Count your blessings. Name them one by one

6) Instead of being critical and complaining, remember the small blessings from God.

7) 1 Tim 4:4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.
Don’t complain about food. Give thanks for your food.

8) Let us focus on God and not our problems. God is bigger than our problems.
Rom 8:28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

9) Pray always, Give thanks

10) We should practice thanksgiving as our lifestyle

11) Thanksgiving => more joy

12) If we are thankful for one another, we will complain less about other people.

-ed-

Sat Service Notes_14 Feb

I took down some notes/minutes from Rev John Sim and there were some really good gems. I thought i share them with you all.

1) Great attitude to love God’s word – equivalent to loving God with all of our mind.

2) Cornelius’ problem with the Jews have not deter him from knowing God
What do our colleagues and friends see in us? What do our colleagues and friends see in us? Like Cornelius, people hope to see a Christian friend. People want to see us handle work with passion, enthusiasm, Christian ethics, hope and fear.

3) We are privileged to know God who lavishes us with so much grace
The world is searching for God. People are looking for church to provide us that.

4) Each one of us must experience spiritual reality for ourselves. Spiritual reality has got to do with belief in God and your walk with God.

When is the last time you heard His voice? It is something we need to reclaim and restore it in our lives. We must be passionate for God’s word if we want to hear his voice.

Key to spiritual growth is training, discipline and your heart. We must be mindful to guard your heart

5) Peter is ready and, thus, was used by God to reach out to Cornelius. Thus, the divine encounter took place.

6) Be an example to others when reach out to other people.
People don’t need to know what you fail. Don’t tell people about the bad news.
Instead, share with people on how good God is. People want to hear how good God is, how he has helped us. People don’t want to hear any more complaints, like everyone.

God is good. Say Good morning to the Holy Spirit.

7) Don’t be like Peter and be judgmental. There maybe something that you dun like but dun let it hinder you.

8) Sometimes, we are anxious and miss God out. Sometimes, our lives are filled with problems and frustration. Maybe our hearts are weighed down by the anxieties and our ground is not saturated by the Holy Spirit. And, because we are anxious, we miss out the things that God is working at. Perhaps, his plans and purposes are through the problem and through the people that God brought to our hearts. And we come away defeated.

-ed-

What is your love languages?

When two people are in a relationship, it is important for each one of them to demonstrate in some way the importance of the other in his/her life. The problem often arises in a relationship when these two people don’t speak the same love language. They don’t speak to the other’s deepest emotional need (a need that has been shaped by their childhood). We want to be loved by the other and valued as worth loving by that person. So how you express your love is important in a relationship. You may be saying, “I love you,” to your significant other, but he isn’t hearing it because he doesn’t speak the same love language.

The Five Love LanguagesBy Gary Chapman:

1) Words of Affirmation-Some people need to hear the words from their loved one to believe they are loved. They need verbal compliments and praises.

2) Receiving Gifts-To others the receiving of a gift from their loved one tells them they are loved by that person. The gifts don’t necessary have to be expensive. The thought behind the gift is what is most important. It tells the person he was thinking about her. In a time of turmoil the gift of your presence can be what is valued the most.

3) Acts of Service-There are some who need love expressed through doing something for them. It could be something like doing the dishes or taking out the trash. It is important that the act of service is given freely, not demanded.

4) Quality Time-Another love language is spending quality time with your loved one. I don’t just mean being with him. I mean really talking and listening to him. You must be totally focused on him to the exclusion of everything else. Within this are also quality activities. When doing things together, one should want to do the activity and the other has agreed. You are showing your love by doing the activity together.

5) Physical Touch-A touch on his arm as you walk by, holding hands on a couch, or a back rub when he is tense can be to some an expression of love. There are many levels of physical touch and not all have to be intimate to show you love someone.With your characters determine which love language he/she speaks and use that in your story to show love as well as to keep a distance between two people. An example: A woman who needs words of affirmation from the man she is dating and he is the strong, silent hero—doesn’t express his feelings well. There are so many possibilities to use the five love languages.

To find your love languages, go to this link:
http://www.afo.net/hftw-lovetest.asp

00's Reflections...

v23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. V24 See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139

v8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. V9 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55

I hope that by mediating onto these verses, my heart and my mind can be refine by Him daily. As the Lord says in Jeremiah 17 v 9 " The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

Love, 00

Past, Present, Future

Recently, a colleague commented that the three most terrible people on the floor are all Christians. I quite agreed with him. No sense of commitment in their work, no compassion and respect for other people and no sign of professionalism. But when I look at them, they are all very happy.

On the other hand, some Christians that I know who may have a good attitude for work and yet they seem to be very unhappy. Maybe they are at a very low point of their lives. But I am not quite convinced that this is the root cause of their unhappiness. They are very devoted and faithful Christians. Are faith and trust in God not enough for them to be reassured and stop being angry or fearful of the situations that they are in?

This is quite disturbing for me. I do want my friends to be happy, but I know there is nothing that I can do. They are smart and matured people. They understand completely the situation they are in and what they should do. They also know turning to God for guidance and support. But why are they still unhappy? I remember receiving a powerpoint presentation called "A Present" ( A Present from God). I think this is the key to this. Smart and matured Christians sometimes hink too much. They think about the Past, the Future, but have forgotten about the Present. Knowing that you are living in the Present is innate to us. But when people start to think too much, this knowledge is forgotten. Babies are happy because they don't know much and they don't think much. This innate knowledge is obvious to them.

C.S. Lewis has said that God wants us to concern with eternity or with the Present only.

“either meditating on the eternal union with, or separation from, Him, or else obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure.”

When people are unhappy, they have probably forgotten that they should treasure whatever they have in the Present. It’s only at Present, are all the “duty, all grace, all knowledge, and all pleasure dwell”. The Past is unchangeable, we can only learn from it; the future is unrealistic, we can only labor faithfully in the present and commend the cause to God. Our lives may be taken away the next day or even the next minute. If you are told that you only have ten more minutes to live, I am sure that all the things that you cannot let go can be let go. All you want to do is to use this ten minutes to tell the people that you love you love them, or you may even love those around you whom you may not quite like if not at this last moment.

The present from God may not be a nice and happy one everyday. But it's still a present from God. We should enjoy each day given by God. If we are being reminded of this, maybe we can be happier.

Yan

The beauty of Esther (esther 2:22-24)

When Queen Esther was faced with the impending destruction of her people, she knew she had to break the law to make a request to the King. Instead of panicking and focusing on the problem, she told Mordecai to fast and pray for three days before she goes to see the king.

This is amazing. It is a tremendous display of courage and faith. Such bravery can easily put Mel Gibson from Braveheart to shame. She is willing to sacrifice her life, reputation and good life.

Over the week, I was reflecting on my personal meaning of success. I shared that it is fulfillment and satisfaction. When I drill this down further, I realize that a lot of things can make me satisfied. A friend shared with me that value creation is his definition of success. I realize that it makes a lot of sense. When one adds and creates value in other people and the things (environment, work, etc) around you, you become useful. It makes you successful. It begins to make me wonder how do I make enhancement to my surroundings and the people I care about. I am not advocating that I am going to be Mother Teresa. But, somehow, I have a feeling that Mother Teresa derives her success in her ability to help the poor.

The reason why I shared this is that it seems Esther’s definition of success is about others. It is not about falling back to her wealth and status as Queen. Her heart to help others portray her true beauty. It is her success story. Besides her beauty, she displayed tremendous wisdom and effectiveness. Perhaps her three days of fasting give her time to assess her situation well and plan her steps. This can be seen in how Esther orchestrate the salvation of her people, despite facing oppositions in Haman.

Dear God, help me to have that reflexive reaction to turn to you in prayer. And grant me wisdom to solve life’s man-made problems. I also prayed that I may possess the strength and courage like Esther and Joshua (Joshua 1:9). Amen

-ed-

29th jan 09, Captivating at curry flavors jap restaurant

Hi all... just to update on our ladies outing on 29th jan 09. We are on our way to do a book(Captivating) that our bro, jon who has kindly brought us a long time ago......We did managed to discuss a bit on the first chapter of the book(10-15mins)... but...we all concluded that we need to read more chapters in order to gain a deeper understanding of what the authors are trying to bring across to us....so...we spent the rest of the hours eating and chatting about other stuffs....hee...anyway it was a great time of fellowship together w/o the presence of the guys in our cell....haha...just joking, no offence.

Okay, personally i find that the first chapter of this book helps us to explore the condition of our hearts as a woman. It also encourages us to examine the common desires that set deep in our hearts but we fail to acknowledge it and downplay it instead. Therefore we need to constantly examine our heart to identify the "pulling forces" in our lives...eg: what are we driven to and why...The things that we are pursuing now, are they a result of our insecurity...? Is God in the picture of our plans? It is important not to miss the heart of a woman as the authors remind us that the scriptures tell us the heart is central. Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

Well, I hope that as we continue to meet up monthly to study and share more about the book, we will be about to build each other up spiritually. We can also feel free to share about the area in our lives that we are struggling...or anything...=)

Love: 00

A Persevering Spirit

was reading Nehemiah a few times this week. What a wonderful book! So many lessons you can get from this book. It seems like almost every passage jumps out at me when i read it. I will share one lesson i learn - perseverance.

Neh 4 & 6 are really amazing. I will focus on these verses v 14, 19, 20.

[v14]...Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome,

[v19 & 20]...The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”

Nehemiah is so focused on God. When he faced a big problem, he further magnify God. He knows that God is not one who walks on crutches. He knows God is great and awesome. He knows God will fight for us.

Personal Application

When i faced certain problems like work or personal issues, i often look at the problem. Sometimes, i get immobilized and use "eye" and "heart" power to try to wish the problem will be solved by itself.

But, i have learnt to go past the 'immobilization' step and take an active role in solving the problem. I have to become less problem-centric but more problem -solving centric. Although, the problem do not get solved overnight. But, at least i try.

It definitely takes a lot of perseverance. In the past, I will give up if i cannot solve the problem. I am one of those students who will immediately look at the worked solutions when i cannot solve the Maths problem. Why work so hard when there is a solution in the next page? I didn't realize that this problem became a nasty habit of mine.

Now, i realize i cannot go on like that. I want to solve problems. I want to persevere. I want to be Nehemiah and those builders and use every ounce of their strength to press on and finish the task at hand.

I hope i can be like them.

Ed

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

I have been brought to the attention of this parable several times for this past two months: I read about it in the evangelistic materials; I listened to it in the Christmas musical; I read about it during quiet time; I read about it even when I was reading the notes on the Law of Tort. Surely, I know the emphasis here is for me to remember that I should love my neighbour.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus said:

36"Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?"

37And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."

(Luke 10 v36-37, NASB)

From the lecture notes, it is stated in DONOGHUE VS STEVENSON [1632] HL that:

"You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbor. Who, then, is my neighbor? The answer seems to be – persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or omissions which are called in question."

The definitions of "neighbour" are slightly different. The later is a more restricted one. One is on offering help, the other is on not inflicting harm. However both are about caring and loving each other.

To love our neighbour is not easy. I think before one can really love, one must first forgive. Last year, I couldn't bring myself to forgive some people who acted selfishly and did things to hurt me. I didn't want to see them at all. The sight of them just made me shiver. Surprisingly, I find myself being able to forgive them this year. My attention has been directed to the word "Forgiveness" in many occasions. If God can forgive our sins, why can't I forgive others? After being able to do so, I feel less burdened.

Hoi Yan

The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast (Luke 13:18-21)

Recently, I am starting a series of reading the parables that Jesus preach on. Today, I am studying the above mentioned parables. So, what did I learnt?

1. As obvious as it sounds, everything needs time for it to grow. No one becomes great overnight. Beckham does not become a great crosser of the ball overnight. From something raw, they grow and become good. Like the mustard seed, all things start small and grow to something fruitful.

2. Everything needs to work hard to get something. Again, this is obvious. Like the yeast parable, the woman has to work through the dough to get something she wants. Like Tiger Woods and Beckham, they practice and practice and work very hard. In fact, somebody says it takes 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration to be great.

3. So, how do I get the fine balance between work and relaxation? I was exploring this question. Would I rather be overwhelmed with work or overwhelmed with lack of work? Honestly, I prefer the earlier. Naturally, I am a lazy guy. But, I know that I like to achieve something. I like to make my life meaningful. So, I prefer to be overwhelmed with work and challenge myself to complete them efficiently and productively.

Back to the first question, I believe it is all about prioritizing and planning. For me, I split my work to a “Things to do” quadrant (of Urgent/Non Urgent; High Margin/Low Margin) and Schedule of “Things to do”.


4. Applying this to Nissi, I realize that cell is like a mustard seed and it takes time for it to grow. Success in cell does not come overnight. It takes time and hard work. But, surely, it will grow and become good. I am confident of it.
5. In other areas of my life, I am very excited and involved – work, church, cell and evangelism. I just can’t wait for it to grow and let God do such a wonderful work in it. As of now, I am prepared to work hard and work hand in hand with God. Like the woman in the parable, God will provide the large amount of flour and I will work through all the dough. So, help me, Lord I pray.

Ed