DE_7000 devotions

Facing the Giants!!!

2009-07-23T10:21:00.002+08:00

You know your Goliath. You recognize his walk, the thunder of his voice.

He taunts you with relationships you wish could be better, people you can’t please, habits you can’t break, failures you can’t forget, and a future you can’t face. But just like David, you can face your giant, even if you aren’t the strongest, the smartest, the best equipped, or the holiest.

David. You could read his story and wonder what God saw in him. His life has little to offer the unstained, straight-A saint. He fell as often as he stood, stumbled as often as he conquered. But for those who know the sound of a Goliath, David gives this reminder:

Focus on giants—you stumble.
Focus on God—your giants tumble.

If you're ready to face your giants, let his story inspire you. The same God who helped him will help you.

Today as i begin a new series of sharing from this book and my devotion.
May the Holy Spirit encourage and strengthen you to face the Giants in your life through the GOD who can tumble them with PEBBLES.

WE HAVE MOVED!!!

2008-08-25T01:29:00.002+08:00

Hi Lovely People,

We have moved and our new blog is at www.detribe.org
Do feel free to visit us.

God Bless.

PsD

2008-06-06T16:00:00.000+08:00

Last week was officially the 5th week of NDP training thus far. It is a battle to wake out of bed early in the morning and drag my feet all the way to Simei ite for training especially when there is cell on Friday night for me and it usually ends quite late. Nevertheless, the fun, fulfilment and joy NDP brings always overrules the tireness of the mind and body.

Last week we had our practice at this circular area of simei ite. First we had our very first lesson for the re-choreographed dance for the people who had street-magic as their ndp speciality, for the rest, its was probably the second or the third lesson. I tell you, at first we all look like chicken when we dance because it is so difficult to coordinate the legs and hands, ok, at least for me. I had fun laughing at myself and the people around me but honestly it was a beautiful sight seeing everyone putting in their very best while trying to synchronise each and every movement with the beats and rhythm of the song. I think if we could present God with a beautiful masterpiece, that precise moment would beat the famous picture of Mona lisa hands down (no offence to Mr Leonardo btw).

After dance practice, we broke off to our individual speciality to brush up on our skills. As there were a few of the guys who forgot to bring their magic kit, some of us ended up sharing with them ours. It was a hilarious time of talking about our lives, performing and acting audience to each other's performance.

To me, serving in NDP is not only a way to show my patriotism to the country, it is also about connecting with people and making the world a smaller place. It is amazing how people growing and living in two complete different environment can be, not that different after all when we take the first step and effort to know them more. Plus it also re-emphasized how we are, all the same in God's eyes and how through this, we can 'love our neighbours as ourselves'. I guess at the end of the day, it is not how perfectly we have managed to motivate the crowd, it is not about how we can boost to others that we have served in a national event. It is ultimately about the bonds forged, how we were all there for one another and how, we can make a difference in the life of that person who was once a stranger to us. It is also about how, we can spread the love of God to them. We love, because He has loved us.

In His love,
Paulina

2008-06-05T17:54:00.000+08:00

Hi there, ndp has been really fun and enriching so far. I remembered when i first entered ndp, i was kind of worried that i was not able to juggle both my school work and the training. However, I must say that our Lord has been faithful and it was amazing that I was not experiencing that much of a difficulty with my school modules this time round in terms of understanding. It has been around 4 weeks since ndp training commenced and I must say it has been very
enriching thus far as i got to know a lot of people and had fun learning the dance steps.

Ndp has also helped me to overcome my fear of standing in front of a crowd of people, motivating and entertaining them at the same time. Hence, I feel very honoured and proud
to be able to take part in this year's ndp as it made me discover the love and passion I had for my country, Singapore.

During the training, each of us were given four spealities to choose from namely, juggling, face painting, balloon sculpturing and magic. I was so grateful that I went into magic as it sparked off a very magical time and journey for me. Last week during ndp, the project smile team taught us more new trick such as rope trail, vanishing and disappearing of coin etc. It was interesting in the sense that we actually got to do it instead of watching others performed. Once we learnt the trick, we realised that it was not so much of a mystery after all but the way of performing and presenting it. Therefore, I feel very blessed to be able to participate in this year's ndp and I hope to be a blessing to the nation!

Rachel Foo

2008-05-30T13:32:00.000+08:00

The past few weeks was really tiring for me with all my tests every week and the need to be able to cope with my other committments like korean lessons , cca , piano , motivator training , church and all. However , thank God that my korean lesson is coming to an end real soon and hopefully I'll be able to cope better with my studies. God has pulled me through it all and soon 2 months of my first year in poly has gone by ! I survived. Although it's really frustrating at times when I don't catch what I'm learning in school , but I believe that God has been kind enough to enable me to scrap through each tests and I believe I'll be able to do well.

Thank God for even using my school life to draw me closer to Him each day. As I meet different kinds of people in my class and school whom are really different from me , and sometimes they do things that irritate me esp when I'm feeling so tired , but God has been good and He has enabled me to understand them and and He has been teaching me lessons each day and has brought me to know how fortunate I am.Sometimes I feel really upset with myself when I'm unable to catch up with the pace of learning in class , unable to blend in with some of my classmates , even get affected by my friend's family problems and at times I just feel so alone and lost and that's when I'll turn more to God.

For sure , things will get tougher as I move on-The worries on my peformance in school , the courage and tolerance I need as I mix with my classmates , etc. Although I've no idea what my future holds for me , but I got to perservere ! I believe God will make a way and He will watch over me.

Psalm 18:1
I love you , O Lord , my strength.

Renette

2008-05-22T00:30:00.000+08:00

Life has been really tiring. Struggling with my studies and even with friendship has definitely drained all my energy. I thank God for blessing me a very caring teacher-in-charge who talked to me and gave me assurance. She texted me and asked me to pray for perseverance and strength, and till today, I’m still drawing strength from God. A levels is so near, yet my results are still so bad. Sometimes I just want to give up. But God, He really heard my cry. Not only has He blessed me with teachers who never give up on us, He also blessed my heart with the verse below:

Romans 8:20-21 "For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God."

In the same chapter, God spoke to me about this verse as well:
Romans 8:24 “…But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

Indeed, God is good and I give thanks. (:

Love,
kriss.

2008-05-21T09:22:00.000+08:00

Last week started off with ice breaker lead by Chuan Lian. We played “husband and wife” and that was the first time I had to keep running and running around. Everyone had a great time that we didn't want to stop. After that we are also assigned to our specialization. Some are allocated to ballooning, some to juggling, face painting and magic. We proceed on with ballooning and we tried sharpening skills of the sculptures we have learnt the previous week.

NDP helped bonded us together closer as a cell and as we see each others bad habits and attitudes, we started learning how to accommodate one another and work together despite the differences. I know anyone who joined NDP with us this year will never come out from it the same. The Lord will change us and help us in growing in him if we are willing.

I joined NDP because this is a year of Sabbath and for me it is to grow in intimacy with the Lord and also to equip myself with skills like ballooning and leadership qualities. This is another year of breakout as well.

I hope to grow in faith too in trusting the Lord that he will balance my school, FYP and my other commitments for me. And I can simply rely on him whenever I am unstable in juggling the many things in my life.

One thing I caught so far is, “Don’t quit, for you’re not a failure until you fail to try.” NDP08 motivators, let’s strive on together! Brothers and sisters, please pray for us! Thanks.

May the Lord bless your hearts,
Jovii=pP

2008-05-20T10:37:00.003+08:00

Everyone at some point in their life faces a crossroad where choosing either way determines how they are going to lead their lives. For me currently,the decision of where to further my studies leaves me completely clueless(currently awaiting university admission)

Yet I believe whichever way it is,God has a plan mapped out for us to prosper us cause He is a God who wants to bless. That was a point I caught during Pastor Tommy Tenny's sermon. When he said that,something clicked in me. Yes God loves to bless, why didnt I see that?

Then I realised I've been focusing on the way that God didnt bless instead of the many things that He have constantly blessing me with. Since God loves to bless, then the path that He wants us to take must be one that will certainly be a good one.

Candy told us the story of Jackie Pullinger, about how she had a degree in music yet she left everything to go to Hongkong Wall Street, a place of desolation and even did miraculous works there. She could have chosen to stick with her degree and become a renowned person in the music scene yet God called her to a higher purpose, to help even the lives of people in need, making differences in lives of people. When you have nothing you only have God.

That was exactly what Jackie Pullinger did, bought a one way ticket, and had so little money which I dont know how she can possibly survive unless only by the grace of God and that is when there is true desperation and hunger for God, by doing so fufilled the purpose that God has planned in her life.

Being a young believer, I used to think maybe God's purpose for me is just to pick up a tissue paper on the streets which may cause a butterfly effect and cause a difference in someone's life. Yet the Word says that the thoughts of God for us are so profound and so many that they are like sand. Uncountable. I suppose picking up of a tissue paper wont require so much thoughts.

Believing in the purpose that God has set for us is also a display of the fear of the Lord.
Romans 8:21 'Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?'
Because it also equals surrendering our lives to him,letting him take full control.

So whichever choice I make eventually, I believe as long as it's what He has planned, it will be good.

-Juliana

2008-05-12T22:21:00.001+08:00

In This Season of Celebrating Mother's Day!!!

May we also pay tribute to the Mother of the Multitudes!
MOTHER TERESA

PsD

THANK GOD FOR MOM'S!!!

2008-05-12T22:10:00.001+08:00

THANK GOD FOR MOM'S!!!

POLLS - GOING TO SERVICE

2008-05-12T16:26:00.002+08:00

Hi Guys,

Pls follow this Web-Link and Do a Poll.

http://dreammakers.xlynk.org/survey/index.php?sid=82253

Thanks.

PsDE

2008-05-11T10:27:00.002+08:00

Stress management

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on.

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."

Stress is pretty much common to us all in today's world. It is our responsibility, however, to do what we can to lessen the stress factors in our life wherever possible. To do this the following tips can help.

1. Write down all your cares and worries. Classify them under
(a) important but not urgent
(b) urgent but not important
(c) important and urgent
Then put them in order of priority.

2. Know what your limit is and limit yourself to what you can handle.

3. Accept the fact that some things can't be changed.

4. Make time for rest and relaxation ... get sufficient sleep.

5. Ultimately, however, we need to learn to trust our life to God in all circumstances.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
-Phil 4:6-7-

2008-05-06T17:01:00.001+08:00

1) Blessing is found in Obedience to God's Word
- Don't Be Deceived

2) Blessing is Found in Complete Obedience to His Precepts
- Don't Be Selective

3) Blessing is Found in Putting God's Word in Our Hearts
- Don't Be Superficial

Let's take time to deal with our Lives this WEEK as we seek His face and obey His Word to us.

PsD

2008-05-02T15:57:00.003+08:00

As I read the entry by Elizabeth, I was reminded of how God honored, blessed and touched me 1½ years ago when I participated in NDP as motivator. I guessed one of the most common struggles was schoolwork. There were 2 girls who failed the first financial paper in my class and I was one of them. It stirred a bit on the inside with the thoughts that I only looked good on the outside and whether should I continued since I was at the initial stage of NDP only. But thank God, there was a retest and I got a better grade. Other than just getting a better grade, I believed God honored the heart as I chose to continue serving.

The other struggle was to cope with pressure from my classmates. During the time of NDP, I just entered Poly Year 2. All the problems happened when it got nearer to the NDP itself because I would need to spend a whole day in the stadium and that was also when my projects deadlines were mostly due. I was unable to make time for the project meets as my Saturdays were packed with NDP, leaving with me Sundays (then, I had not accepted Christ) and weekdays (usually my lesson end late).

On top of that, I had group mates who were very focus on schoolwork, who wants to do really well. It was not that it’s bad, just that they would expect me to put in the same amount of commitment as they do. There was one occasion when my weekend was packed and she actually voiced out her unhappiness of my commitment. But still, I thanked God that I survived somehow, and that they did not kick me out of the group or do peer-evaluation (where group members get to assess how the other group members do). I also thank God for His blessing of good classmates who tried to make situation better when quarreled happened and since then, we became very good friends.

Lastly, other than serving God, it is also a good time to share the goodness of God in your life. My grandma passed away the week on the last NDP preview. I remembered Pastors and leaders came and they told me that if I cannot make it for the preview that weekend, it is okay. Despite these, I decided to go for the preview and I was thankful of how God prepared my way. Terry came that weekend to share his life with me and it spoke to me a lot. It kept me thinking and I accepted Christ the next time I went to church. I will always remember how this NDP changed my perception of God. I am sure in the midst of us, there are some non-believers, ask God how you can share and you never know you could be the mouthpiece that God is using. Some opportunity comes only once, grab hold of it.

I agreed that this whole journey was not easy for some of us, trying to cope with schoolwork, pressure from family and even friends. Despite all these, I encouraged all of us to press on and I am sure God honored the heart of serving and will definitely bless and make the way easy for you.

-shAn-

God's Hands Over Our Lives!!!

2008-05-02T15:35:00.000+08:00

Thump-Thud, Thump-Thud
by Max Lucado

When a potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of the oven and thumping it. If it “sings,” it’s ready. If it “thuds,” it’s placed back in the oven.

The character of a person is also checked by thumping.

Been thumped lately?

Late-night phone calls. Grouchy teacher. Grumpy moms. Burnt meals. Flat tires. You’ve-got-to-be-kidding deadlines. Those are thumps. Thumps are those irritating inconveniences that trigger the worst in us. They catch us off guard. Flat-footed. They aren’t big enough to be crises, but if you get enough of them, watch out! Traffic jams. Long lines. Empty mailboxes. Dirty clothes on the floor. Even as I write this, I’m being thumped. Because of interruptions, it has taken me almost two hours to write these two paragraphs. Thump. Thump. Thump.

How do I respond? Do I sing, or do I thud?

Jesus said that out of the nature of the heart a man speaks (Luke 6:45). There’s nothing like a good thump to reveal the nature of a heart. The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics but in the thump-packed humdrum of day-to-day living.

If you have a tendency to thud more than you sing, take heart.

There is hope for us “thudders”:

Begin by thanking God for thumps. I don’t mean a half-hearted thank-you. I mean a rejoicing, jumping-for-joy thank-you from the bottom of your heart (James 1:2). Chances are that God is doing the thumping. And he’s doing it for your own good. So every thump is a reminder that God is molding you (Hebrews 12:5-8).

Learn from each thump. Face up to the fact that you are not “thump-proof.” You are going to be tested from now on. You might as well learn from the thumps—you can’t avoid them. Look upon each inconvenience as an opportunity to develop patience and persistence. Each thump will help you or hurt you, depending on how you use it.

Be aware of “thump-slump” times. Know your pressure periods. For me, Mondays are infamous for causing thump-slumps. Fridays can be just as bad. For all of us, there are times during the week when we can anticipate an unusual amount of thumping. The best way to handle thump-slump times? Head on. Bolster yourself with extra prayer, and don’t give up.

Remember no thump is disastrous. All thumps work for good if we are loving and obeying God.

This is an devotion from Max Lucado that i've recently read. May we all find the good at the end of the tunnel. "In every cloud there is a silver lining".

God Bless, PsDE

2008-05-01T10:36:00.000+08:00

NDP motivator training started with a lot of whoosh and hooha over it 3 weeks ago, I started out really hyped up and all excited about it. I still am, however I have to admit that my excitement did diminish, after awhile along with school, and tuition, and other commitments, it became a struggle to wake up early and to go for NDP motivators training.

Despite that, I believe that travelling down to Simei ITE every saturday has been a very fulfilling experience. Time spent together with the brothers and sisters have been interesting, and also a greater bond has been forged. Not only that, it has taught me to have a greater acceptance of people from different walks of life, people who are different from me, different from us.

Not only that, but the skills that we learnt has and would benefit us greatly. I've always wanted to learn to do a dog, or a flower but somehow I've never managed to, and I felt an immense sense of achievement, after completing my first dog and flower.

We also learnt part of the dance, for the national day parade song, it was exhausting and slow, however seeing us complete the first four or five bars as a team together, really further inspired me, that we are serving the country as one, no matter how different our thoughts may be, our reasons for doing NDP motivators, is that we are still serving the country with one heart, in sync and in harmony.

I felt that the NDP motivator training was applicable to our walk with Christ, likewise when we first start out in our relationship with God, we are all on fire, and as months and years pass by we lose our flame. In addition, the sculpting of ballons required child like faith and patience, likewise our walk with God, a constant nurturing and grooming and a child-like faith to trust that everything would turn out fine in Christ alone.

Love,
Elizabeth

2008-04-30T09:43:00.001+08:00

& Its amazing how God sends human angels along in your life.
Not long ago, last week, I was shopping with my mummy and daddy, and we decided to take a cab home. The cab that we'd flagged was driven by this middle aged, uncle, he had a huge wooden cross hung at his rearview mirror. Out of habit, I started up a conversation, and the uncle surprised me. I asked him which church did he go to, some methodist church, and i told him I was from FCBC.

Then assured me of my faith, he launched into the conversation, talking about putting on the full armour of God. He further specified that this was a time of darkness, that the world was ruled by satan, and we have to protect ourselves against him. Feeling more excited, the more I encouraged his talk with my comments, he shared with me that there are 3 things that we must fight against,
1)the world.
2)the desires of our flesh.
3)satan.

In addition, I asked him about his wife and children, there was an uncomfortable silence, but he told me that his wife left him, because apparently she loved what's of the world more, he said he had one child, but he didn't mention much about it, and I deduced that his child left along with his wife. I really admired his courage, of how much he trusted God, that he placed utter faith in him, even when his family left him, he still held strong to his faith in Christ.

Futhermore, he mentioned that in life we encounter storms however God wants to test and see that in these times of trouble, will he just be forgotten or would we hold on, and live by faith and not by sight.

I felt that what he said was really meaningful, and he even encouraged me to spread the word of Christ, with his army stories, where his sergeant would stay back late, carrying his bible around, and sharing the word to his army mates, which thus was the reason why he converted. I believe that I've learnt much from this encounter with this taxi driver uncle.

These points are so applicable and true in our life right now at this point of time, lets not give up, but instead protect our heart and soul from the world, and press on to continue to be warriors for God! (:

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 16:26

Love,
Elizabeth.

2008-04-28T21:42:00.002+08:00

Today, i will just like to share how good God was to me during this period of time when it was my exams.

During my examinations, i felt like giving up. I told myself that if i cant do it, i will just give up andre-module that entire subject again, which means paying for that subject and repeating it again. I was not able to take the stress and concentrate at all. Among all my friends, i seem to be struggling the most. To top it off, i got a severe migraine five days before my exam. There was not any chance that i could rest as i have not completed half or even a quarter of what i am supposed to.

My flame for god started to flicker as the whole entire time i was just studying and mugging myself to sleep. Of course, in my mind, i know things like trusting in god and letting him handle the rest.The problem is, how do i expect god to help me when what i am doing is last minute studying plus the fact that i cant even seem to complete anything. It is not like god will click his finger and i would know all the facts even without revising.

However, god just reminded me of psalm 92: 5 "how great are yr thoughts oh lord how profound yr thoughts.. you oh lord is exalted forever". God is good, I never understand what he is thinking and doing in my life.

He reminded me that life wasnt a bed of roses but god is always there by yr side. Never forget his hand holding yours always. My exams are finally over and the amazing thing is that i can answer the questions though not all. There were many questions which i blanked out upon seeing and was super afraid cos what i studied did not seem to go in at all. The questions were unfamiliar but god somehow recovered my memory bit by bit. Even now when i recall the exams, it just makes me sick and i felt even worse than my O's. However, god's grace is upon me and i know that getting a credit for my exams is a blessing from god!!.. Without the lord, i might have just given up.

Rachel Foo

2008-04-21T22:31:00.002+08:00

You of Little Faith, Why Did You Doubt?

[Now I know why ppl say lawyers are bloodsuckers, just look at how much we resemble vampire bats.]

What do you want to be when you grow up?

At 8 I wanted to be a lawyer. I was largely motivated by the then ongoing drama serial that had this pretty actress in a pantsuit arguing her case in dramatic (come to think of it, OVERDRAMATIC) fashion.

I wanted to be just like her. The fashion (Okay maybe not, we know the 90s is DEAD), the confidence, the click of her shoes when she walked, or rather strutted around cross-examining hapless witnesses…

That could be me.

Now 12 years on, I’m close to finishing my first year in Law School and I guess I should be happy. Truth be told, I have never felt so disoriented in my entire life.

3 more years to graduation, and then what?

Who will want to be my client?

I look like a kid, I am unfortunately vertically challenge and female (not that that is unfortunate, but.)

Will I make it big?

Wait, hold it, will I EVEN make it?

My limitations, my weaknesses, why did I not see them before?

How dare I even think, even presume that I could do this?

What was once confidence, I now see as delusion.

I have been struggling with this for quite a bit now. I have also started mapping out alternative career paths, just in case. Maybe I should start some Aunt Agony column and just to personalise it call it Chaperon Chiang or something since everyone seems to think I am the go-to-person for emotional waste disposal. I just could not see any good coming out from my stint at law school.

Until yesterday when I read Matthew 14 and sobbed when Matthew recounted Jesus’ feeding of the 5000. I have read this passage a million times, so to speak, but never has it spoken to me like that. 5 loaves of and 2 fish and 5000 men, BESIDES women and children and somehow those tummies were satiated. Beats me. It’s a miracle. It just speaks of how God can turn your LIMITATIONS into the LIMITLESS.

I have been so overawed by my limitations that I forgot about my limitless God.

I am sure many of you feel or have felt the way I do, we all feel not up to par sometimes, especially in Singapore where whatever you can do, there always springs up somebody who can do it better.

Sometimes you feel as if you’re drowning. (Matthew 14: 30) But know that Jesus is there to reach out his hand to pick you up and catch you (Matthew 14:31)

You of little faith, why did you doubt?

Remember that you can walk on water if you believe.

I still cannot see myself succeeding in that dog-eat-dog world.

But I believe.

I will see it and I have the will to see it.

Keep holding on,
Krystle

2008-03-24T13:34:00.001+08:00

Results Thanksgiving!

A couple of weeks have passed since I received that slip of paper with my A Level results and I am still very extremely thankful to God for my results. My results may not be very fantastic, but nonetheless, I am thankful for God's hearing of my desperate pleas. (Which was that He will allow me good-enough results to get into at least a local University.) Though some subjects failed to attain a so-called excellent grade, the grade suffices for university entry requirements. And I am very thankful for that. Also, I managed to get a very good grade in my GP, something that I had been praying very strongly about. I really thank Him for his goodness to me.

Some may remember that I decided to make the verse:
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
- Philippians 4:13
...my verse for the year during my A Levels. Indeed it was a very trying period having to juggle the demands of my CCA and my not-too-good results (right from J1 up till J2 Mid Years). This verse has brought me through my As and everytime I felt like I couldn't go on, the Lord reminded me of His grace through this verse. He has provided and I know he will continue to do so even after this. Praise the Lord. (:

-Sarah

GOOD FRIDAY

2008-03-22T11:52:00.005+08:00

OUR GRATITUDE TO A GREAT GOD THIS GOOD FRIDAY!

PASTORS DE

2008-03-17T23:16:00.000+08:00

It was really surprising how I actually managed to spend that one hour with God everyday.

When Ps Khong said abt it , I was telling myself probably it is not a compulsory thing and further more , it is totally impossible for such a person like me to sit down for an hour just praying and speaking to God. However since everyone in my cell is doing it so I thought I should just try out for a few days first.

Well , it started out ok. I started off by spending around 30 to 40 minutes with God. It was really very distractive when the phone started ringing and when i started to wander off thinking abt other things. I remembered Ps Khong's words abt resting in the Lord so I decided to try extending my time to an hour and i actually felt restless and almost fell asleep.

As time went by , I understood the meaning of just dwelling in His presence and I actually enjoyed that peacefulness when i had my time with God and most importantly , He spoke ! How amazing to know this reality that truly when you draw near to Him , He will draw more to you. Slowly as i began to get used to that one hour , I actually realised that I have a whole load of things to tell and to pray to God. I enjoyed that hour everyday spent with Him and I believe that it is discipline that we need to be able to place aside time for God.

Therefore I made a committment to God that I'll continue to spend one hour with Him every day. May this be an encouragement to all of us ! Lastly , word for the day

- Psalm 46:10- Be still and know that I am God.

Renette

2008-03-12T00:26:00.002+08:00

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. She read the letter,

"Dear Ruth,
I’m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I’d like to stop by for a visit.
Love Always,
Jesus"

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. “Why would the Lord want to visit me? I’m nobody special. I don’t have anything to offer.” With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. “Oh my goodness, I really don’t have anything to offer. I’ll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.”

She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents. “Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least.” She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of french bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk…leaving Ruth with a grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday.

Nonetheless, she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.

”Hey lady, can you help us, lady?”

Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn’t even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.

"Look lady, I ain’t got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it’s getting cold and we’re getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we’d really appreciate it.”

Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and, frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.

“Sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I’m having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.”

“Yeah, well, OK lady, I understand. Thanks anyway.”

The man put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.

“Sir, wait!”

The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.

“Look, why don’t you take this food. I’ll figure out something else to serve my guest.”

She handed the man her grocery bag.

“Thank you lady. Thank you very much!”

It was the man’s wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering.

“You know, I’ve got another coat at home. Here, why don’t you take this one.”

Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman’s shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street…without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.

“Thank you lady! Thank you very much!”

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn’t have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.

“That’s odd. The mailman doesn’t usually come twice in one day.”

She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.

"Dear Ruth,
It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus"

The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.

God is always around us but He shows Himself in different ways. He uses other people to speak to you, to reveal Himself to you. So when you think God is not around, look around because He might just be infront of you.
-gwen

2008-03-03T23:17:00.001+08:00

i just want to thank and praise God for His goodness, for His mercy. The past few days have been very hard for me. I find it so hard to believe that I can make it for my block tests (it's kinda important cos' if we fail it, the principal would advise us to return back to J1). && God kept encouraging me every time any negative thoughts come to my mind.

"On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadows of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me."
-Psalm 63

Sisters and brothers, lo and behold the power of God when you sek him earnestly. Today I just got back my Econs test (although it's not very well done but..) I scored above average! Yeahhh, praise God.

Pray without ceasing,
kriss. (:

2008-02-26T19:24:00.001+08:00

Psalm 50:9-12 - 'I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.'

This is always a reminder to me when I am uncertain about things that are going to happen. Everything on this universe belongs to God, not only physical items (clothes, money, etc) or spiritual gifts, but also emotional items such as RELATIONSHIPS between us and our family or friends. We always thank God for this family/sisters/brothers/friends when things are well, but how many times do we thank God for his blessing of the relationship when things do not work out. We asked God to solve the conflicts or misunderstanding, but yet it is so hard to say, “God, this relationship belongs to you, you gave it to me as a blessing and if you want to take it away, then take it because it belongs to you. I surrender it to You.” Often, we only see that physical person as someone that belongs to God, but we forgotten even the relationship is a blessing from God.

To me, to surrender relationship (which a lot of times means a lot to me) to God is not ‘not-easy’; it is VERY difficult, because emotions are something that is very hard to control. However, through the past month, I am learning to surrender it and at the point when I said I surrendered it to God and asked God to guide me through, freedom and peace come into my heart, I no longer worry and believing that God will work all things well for me. if God say ‘this is not for you’, then He definitely has something for interesting in store for you. This journey is not easy at all, really. But as you progress to take a small step to LEARN to surrender each day, God will take the small step together with you.

-shAn-

2008-02-25T16:12:00.001+08:00

God Will Make A Way!

None But Jesus

2008-02-25T16:05:00.002+08:00

None But Jesus!
Will you make that Prayer Today!

An Indescribable God

2008-02-25T15:56:00.008+08:00

An Indescribable God!

An Indescribable God!

2008-02-24T20:19:00.000+08:00

Psalm 51: 16-17 ' You do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it,you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,a broken and contrite heart,O God you will not despise'

contrite= deep regret for doing something wrong.
thats what i got after checking the dictionary. When I first read the psalm the verse struck me.Firstly cause David who wrote the psalm said it confidently and sure that this is what the Lord wants,showing his great understanding of God's heart and the close relationship between him and the Lord likewise with a close one.

Candy also msged us the verse reminding us though how imperfect our condition is,God still delights in us entering into His presence.

A broken spirit,a contrite heart.
the God of the whole universe,of all wonders desire nothing but a true heart willing to draw near to Him despite the condition of it,whether tattered or torn,whether it used to be filled with anger and bitterness,whether it is filled with sins in the past,the Lord looks past all of these and says no matter what happens I will want you to be by my side.The world goes around seeking for acceptance,afraid of rejection yet the Lord says I delight in you.You meaning,no matter what shape what size what colour,you, yes you.

Matthew 9:12 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor,but the sick.But go and learn what this means:I desire mercy not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners.'

so what can I say and what could I do,but offer this heart O Lord,completely to You.

-Juliana

2008-02-21T10:25:00.002+08:00

How to rest in the Lord? Ask for more storms.

As per normal, whenever it's the holidays, it will be working time for me. For the first time in my working life, I tried office work. It is trying something i have never tried before. Got to admit, I didn’t really like it. I struggled going to work on the second day. But for money and contract sake plus it is only a week assignment, i told myself to hang on.

Life got better at work as time passed. Found a companion for lunch breaks and to go home. My assignment was extended for another week (I prayed for it), if not I will be jobless after the one week. Prayer works!

Day two of the extended work week was the reason for this devotion. It started off with a nice day with my friends coming for interviews arranged by me and new job scope, different from facing the thousands and thousands of contest forms the past few days.

Then the last assignment of the day was packing the prizes for one of the lucky draws, admission tickets to a very grand competition. The first mistake I made was counting the tickets from 270 to become 220, 50 lesser than what it should sum up to. After getting the numbers right, here comes the packing. It took me a few hours. In the midst, I realized I got odd numbers of tickets. After opening up some of the envelopes I have packed into, I found. Feeling relieved, I continued on trying to be more careful. Everything went on smoothly until I completed. It was just drizzle in the beginning. Now then the thunderstorm starts.

It was 5.58pm, 2 minute to time to knock off. I counted the number of sets, one set missing! I kept recounting again. No choice, got to open envelopes after envelopes to find the missing 2 tickets meant to be packed into that envelope.

My go-home-together buddy extended her help. We opened all the envelopes only to find more and more headaches. An envelope with two lanyards and no tickets was found. Next was one with 4 tickets and 2 lanyards. Eventually I got 4 sets without tickets, meaning eight tickets missing. Each ticket cost $60 and if I lose the 8 tickets, $480 will be added onto my debt list. Throughout the whole opening and repacking process, I didn’t panic; I felt assured that I will be able to find the tickets eventually if I pray. But at the same time I questioned God. God, why are you making me go through this? I spent hours packing these and when I am supposed to knock off and meet my friend, you made me destroy my hard work. Everything is reduced to zero once again. What are you trying to tell me? What are you trying to do? I admit that I was actually a little angry with God that I had to stay back, most probably not paid because it was my mistake and not able to meet my friend.

God took some time to reply me. I was reminded of the sermon two weeks back. Pastor Khong said, if you want to find rest in the Lord, ask Him for storms in your life. I asked, adding on a condition. I told God, if you want to give me storms, you must be with me, you must guide me through and God gave. He never fails His promise. His words never return void.

I could have broken down and cried instead of being so clear minded and doing all the unpacking and checking. $480 is more than what I would have earned these two weeks of work. Because I know the Lord is with me that’s why I could just rest in Him with assurance that when He brings me through a storm, I will be able to go through it with Him and my shepherd and protector.

I feel that this is what the Lord wants me to share. What Pastor Khong said was for real. Want to rest in the Lord? Ask God for storms. I tested it out myself. How about you? Is your heart willing to do so? Self- reflect.

Love,
Jovii

13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Isaiah 58: 13- 14

2008-02-18T12:48:00.001+08:00

1 John 3:1-3 (New International Version)
1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

It was Valentines' day last Thursday. As couples flooded the streets and atempt to commemorate this day, businessmen are trying to exploit the season by jacking up the prices of flowers. To me, V'day was over-rated and definitely very commercialised. Glad to say, i was doing my devotion and i came upon this above phrase and it dawned upon me that, be it valentines' day or not, and be it whether you are single or attached, we are all well-loved by God. God lavished his love on us, he did not simply give it but he gave it in abundance, making sure that it blanket us whole. the word 'lavish' indicates extravagance, it indicates unstincting. So, with such great love that has been poured upon us, lets not be pondering over how untreasured we are, but instead, be thankful and start to orientate our focus on God instead on man. God, is our best companion, not only on earth but also in heaven (:

The best place to find love is not in another person but in a book, the Bible. The Bible tells of God’s great love for us. In John 3:16. When you combine all the Red words, you'll get VALENTINE, isn't it amazing?

For God so loVed the world, that He gAve His onLy begottEn soN That whoever believes In Him should Not perish, but have Everlasting life.

-paulina

2008-02-15T00:56:00.000+08:00

From Lilo and Stitch: "O'hana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind"

A familiar quote and it really means alot to me. During our last cluster cell, Kristine shared about this topic where she emphasized the importance of family. It's really great to have a spiritual family standing with you through all times. Times when you just feel like giving up and just walk away, they will pull you. When you just wanna spread your joy, they will share it with you! Like an old saying: Shared sorrow is half sorrow, shared joy is DOUBLE JOY!

Here's to appreciate each and everyone of you in this family! Even as we call ourselves family, may love overfill our hearts for each one of our brothers and sisters.

1 Cor 4:1-7 " Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres."

kwai hoong.

GROWING IN TRUE DEVOTION

2008-02-10T22:57:00.000+08:00

Today Youth BuZZ Reads:-

Growing in true devotion.

Many times i believe we post the question to God, are You Real.

Is what we go thru For REAL?

I believe many of our walk with God begin when we were lost and searching for a new meaning or solution to the troubles that surrounded us. In that crisis or moment of truth, God revealed Himself and we were suddenly release from the burdens that weighed heavily upon us.

GOD WAS REAL!

In that moment of gratitude, we grew in eagerness and in the passion of that first love with God. We gave ourselves to His desires and in the many subsequent journeys we made Him our foundation stone. His desires became ours, No Sacrifice was too great for Him. Spending hours in His presence, worshiping and praying, seeking and waiting upon Him was not much a struggle.

However, as time passed and life returned BACK TO NORMAL. There were moments of high and we return to that momentary close relationship with God. Learning from the Holy Spirit was circumstancial and incidental.We begin to put God as a daily supplement to the many things we needed to achieve. We still gave alot to God, but we keep a small space for personal desires. Slowly, He became good advice and not too long later He became a spiritual vending machine.

However, life doesn't let up. Good careers, marriage, children, better grades, BGR, studies, CCA, or life sturggles and many little things slowly begin to crowd out the intimacy with God we once enjoyed. Going to church became just a weekly thing that we do. God was in our minds but not on our minds.

So for many, the cycle begins again when crisis hits. Than we are drawn into a second chance with this re-dedication to the Lord. However, if God wasn't our foundation stone again, the cycle will repeat itself in our lives. Incidental to Supplemental to Ornamental.

This unfortunately is the life cycle of quite a few brothers and sisters i have known. Many i have known for many years. Giving God all in the beginning and through time losing that desire as PERSONAL DESIRES or LIFE"S BUSYNESS grinds away that surrendering spirit.

The good news is you have a BETTER ALTERNATIVE. You can become part of the other growing minority. They do not say that they have lay hold of what Christ has set for them. But their's is a simplicity in a surrendered faith. They place their complete trust and strive towards a daily denial of their desires while putting on God's desires. The Holy Spirit is their daily companion and counsel.

Christ grows as the foundation in their lives as the word of God is their daily meditation, their hearts are open daily and yielded even as they struggle. They live lives that slowly reveals the reality of grace, increasing provision and growing abundance in the blessings of God. They are unyielding in their faith, steadfast in oppression and faithful in times of troubles.

Grace is prevalent in their speech and love covers their every step. These are the God chasers you want to follow, cos you know they follow the Lord TRUELY. For in them though you will see human failings but also often you will see God's redeeming grace. Because their hearts are true, teacheable and yielding. They will be and are constantly transformed from glory to glory.

Don't envy them or admire from afar. Join them by doing the simplest thing they did. They surrendered their will completely and decided take up the cross daily. It's hard but it's both amazing and freeing. As you do so, Christ will become your foundation stone as you daily walk this road of total dependence unto the LORD. For they are simple people like you and me.

Let today be the day of our humble beginnings in God. As we pray that His will be done, daily in our lives as we walk in dependence on Him, yielding and with open hands.

Learning daily just like you, PsD

The Youth Buzz

2008-02-10T22:44:00.001+08:00

Please Take Time to Read the youth Buzz This Week!

It's GREAT STUFF!!!

2008-02-10T20:26:00.000+08:00

Recently my friend has been speaking to me about the second coming of Christ.
As told to her by her friends and church, this year is the year in which the treaty would be signed and the seven years of tribulation would begin. How true or reliable this fact is, I do not know. However it has struck a chord in me in the sense that there is an urgency, that Christ is coming!

Complacency I believe has infiltrated my life. To feel so safe, just resting and being surrounded with God's love and God's people. Somehow I've forgotten about Christ's second coming though its somewhere floating around in my mind.

Having read Matthew 24 during quiet time, rang a bell again. Matthew 24:6-8 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Indeed all these have already happened, are happening. What if Christ would come tomorrow or next week? Or next month? I thought to myself that there would be so much things left undone.
My family's salvation, My friend's salvation etc.

Therefore 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

As the saying goes, Ignorance is bliss, but indeed the verse states otherwise. But instead there is a compelling urge to be vigilant and also to encourage and support each other, brothers and sisters.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Matthew 24: 42, 44. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come...So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Are you ready? I know I'm not, not yet at least. But I'm starting. The time is coming and there is a greater need to be vigilant, to encourage and support one another meanwhile! (:

love,
elizabeth

2008-02-08T14:58:00.000+08:00

CIRCUMSTANCES

There was once when i was lying on my bed and was wondering about my God. I tried to understand what he was doing in my life. I tried to comprehend the plans he has for me and I tried to grasp the concept of the way and extent He is reaching into my life. I tried to figure out the way He works. I had my full thinking gear on and I thought and I thought…and at the end of it.the closest answer that I could ever wonderfully realize was,

LOVE.

For a while I was startled. I was taken aback. But at the same time I realized that it was not just an emotional encounter with Him. But it actually made sense for the very first time. There, I realized the circumstances in which I’m in may not be that joyful. BUT the PURPOSE of His works which leads to this circumstance is just an awfully and an amazing remarkable expression of God’s love for me as well as for the people around me! If there was a name to His plan, it would be God’s love for __your name__

Everything that happened was a plan. A plan by His love. And I’m glad that I was in it.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

"The things that God would do just to tell you how much He loves you..."

Michelle

2008-02-02T00:01:00.000+08:00

Okay this is long overdue but here goes:

How often we usually say something in ‘a slip of our tongue’ then later regret it?
How often do we so generously compliment our friends?
And how so often has foul languages/gossiping/lying integrated into our way of life?

I shall address the first problem: Our Tongue the Devil

When I was younger, whenever I told a lie and I got caught for it, my parents will say: ‘Lie some more I will cut your tongue’
Recalling back, now I know why they’d like to ‘cut my tongue’
Our tongue really is powerful; we use them for praise and worship unto Him, we use the same tongue to tell tales regarding him, or to lie to him. (if you get what I mean)

JAMES 1:19
“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,”

Too often we practice: Speak now and think later.

We are used to emotions governing our lives that we usually will let our heart do the thinking than our minds. Chances are that words that come out from our mouth, if we are using our heart to think, will often not be pleasing to hear.
I’m not just referring to anger here, but also jealously, envy, betrayal, sadness, etc.

Sometimes even the simplest and the most innocent thing someone could say i.e ‘Aye I think you put on weight,’ ‘eh you shut up lah,’ ‘oh but XXX is not a good school what,’ ‘IDIOT!’ can indirectly hurt the person involved.

And again, admit it, we all have pride, however hard you want to deny. So when we get insulted/accused by someone else, we tend to want to do the ‘right thing’ to prevent ourselves from getting hurt. At that point in time, the only ‘right thing’ our heart can register is to get onto overdrive and further insult the other person.

1 PETER 3:10
“If you want a happy, good life, keep control of your tongue, and guard your lips from telling lies.”

Honestly even for me, it’s not an easy to thing to constantly be thinking about what to say and what not to say, to not gossip when it seems like it’s the only right thing to do with your peers, or to not silently curse and swear when something goes terribly wrong. But whenever I do that, I’ll recall about this tongue-issue.

It is like having bad breath and then running to kiss Jesus on His lips. Eww, that’s gross times one million please. Besides, how hypocritical!

I’d say, be slow to speak. Maybe if we could silently consult God before speaking, thinking and praying about it (and our anger/jealous/blah) – before we said it – our lives will be well, different.

Secondly, Our Tongue the Angel.

I can go around telling people that I love them, no problem.

But going ‘I love you’ even to any tom dick and harry is a norm now and SO overrated that the 3 words ‘I LOVE YOU’ carries no weight no more.

I’m not suggesting that we should STOP ‘i-love-you-ing’ our friends/loved ones, but perhaps, Do something more: Write a note of encouragement, and if you are lazy send an SMS of love. Doing it via msn is okay too I guess, but if you do love your friends, surely you wouldn’t mind wasting 5cents to sms them, or 50cents to call and talk to them or even 5mins of your time to write a post-it to them?

Even a random ‘Hello Quakers I think you are like the hottest girl I’ve ever seen’ can make someone’s day.

Grant your friends the compliments they deserve.

We could all do with little compliments in our mundane lives, and again however hard the person you compliment try to be humble, denies and rejects all compliments, but come on, flattery gets us everywhere.

Words are powerful and should be used to accomplish a purpose.
Don't just talk for no reason. Alternatively, we can just shut up (no pun intended) and always learn more by listening than we can by talking.

PROVERBS 17:28 NIV
28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and
discerning if he holds his tongue.

-Gen

2008-01-25T12:41:00.001+08:00

School just started about a month ago and the past two weeks was just filled with project submissions and tests. Although all the deadlines were close to one another, but the lord never fails to amazes me. And that I could really say that he has a perfect plan for every one of us. And that he really know what we need.

If it’s just the rushing out of projects, those won’t a problem to us. It’s the presentation that’s stressing the whole class out. Well, not only the presentation itself, but also the formal attire that we all have to purchase. And I really don’t have the time to go and browse through G2000 to look at the type of formal wear that I want to buy. However, we received a piece of news from the tutor today that we don’t have to wear formal attire during the presentation (which is next wed). This really bring a sense of relieve to me, cause like, I really don’t have the time to go and buy the formal wear.

So, thank god for his goodness! (:

Chuanlian

2008-01-20T21:33:00.000+08:00

Ever since school started, I have been tackling insecurity issues. It’s all nice and dandy to call yourself a law student and hear all the praise heaped on you by your nosey relatives but sometimes, keeping up to that ‘awe-inspiring’ image is seriously TOUGH and if I may say so, sometimes impossible. I know that it’s not by my own strength that God deposited me in that far flung campus in bukit timah but I really wondered if I could carry on there without going insane(apparently a large majority of law students suffer from one type of mental illness or another). In fact insanity seemed so imminent that I went to Friday’s tribe session feeling horrible. I was desperate for encouragement and I knew I needed a change of attitude.

It was during the solitude time we had that God spoke to me. I was reading Psalm 18(which by the way is a frightfully LONG psalm) and I was reminded by God’s omnipotence.

“For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, And by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.’
Psalm 18: 28-30

Seriously, if I can leap over walls and run against troops without sustaining any injury with the Lord by my side, what is school in comparison?

With a God so amazing, there is really, really, NOTHING to be afraid of.

Stress what stress?

Love,
Krys

2008-01-19T15:58:00.001+08:00

Thank God for all the blessings he has given me.

During this long holiday , i've learnt what it means by placing aside a time for God. Even having to read a palm a day has taught me to seek God first every morning and it is definitely the best way to start off each day. Through king David , I've also learn that in everything we ask from the Lord should be asked with boldness and also believe that no matter how long it takes , God hears our prayers and will surely answer us.

Psalms 4:3- Know that the Lord has set aside the godly for himself ; the Lord will hear when I call to Him

However our time spend with God shouldn't stop there. We should also learn to seek Him during the entire day. Above all , we must trust and depend on Him.

Renette

2008-01-18T15:57:00.000+08:00

The adventure camp was really fun and I have enjoyed myself there. Although this is not my first time going for an adventure camp, I was really scared and unsure about going for it as I did not know anyone and I wanted to leave when I met everyone at the mrt station as I did not recognize a single person. I think the biggest challenge for me during this camp is that I had to be alone without the people I am comfortable with and being able to open up to people I do not know. I felt really uncomfortable for the first day and had many thoughts of leaving the camp, but I felt better because everyone in the group tried to talk to me and tried to get to know me.

That very night, I had gastric pains and because of this incident, I felt very cared for and I started to feel more comfortable around. I think this incident had teached me how to trust others more, also not be so stubborn.

The second day, the high ropes. I did not have any fears for height but I was really scared that my injuries will not be able to take everything in one go. And I did not want to do rock-climbing at first cause the very first time I did it, which was during my P5 camp, I was not able to reach the top and I ended up injuring myself, so I was really worried when it came to that station. As usual, I got myself stuck up there for a while, and when I was going to give up, I heard people calling my name, telling me where to step and all, I was encouraged and I told myself that I should not give up here and just go down. I should at least give a try and give my best. However, I still was not able to reach the top, but I know at least I have given my best.

The challenge pole was the next challenge I had. As I got stuck up there alone for quite a while before, I did not want to go up at first but I had to accompany Jialing so I went up. This time, it was much different as the previous time cause there was someone next to me. Due to some comical moments, I ended up there alone again. At first I thought I was going to stay up there alone for quite a while, but as I looked down, I saw the belayer, and I started to tell myself that I should trust the belayer and have courage to take that step out, and I did. It was not successful, but through this challenge, I realize that even though I am scared but I should find the courage to take the step out to talk to everyone and not wait for them to talk to me.

The BBQ was really nice and I also had more courage to talk to everyone. I started to open up more and was able to sit down and crap with anyone and I felt much more comfortable with everyone.

The very last night, as I was listening to the testimony shared, I started to think of what have been happening during that period of time. And when Pastor Evelyn came and say that she was going to pray for me, everything started to flash through my mind again. As she placed her hand on me, I just started to cry. Then after everyone left for supper, Pastor Evelyn talked to me and she asked me this, “what was stopping me from taking that step out?' I started to think about what she say and I realize that this was not the first time, something similar have happened to me before and each time, I just did not have the courage to take that step out. Until now, I just cannot find the courage to take that very step out, finding all kinds of reasons to just say no.

Overall, I think the camp was really great and I had lots of fun:D I’ve learnt a lot of things that I would not be able to learn if I did not have gone for the camp. And I’m really great to get to know everyone. I didn’t regret going for the camp, although my friend was not able to make it. Thanks:D

- Lee Huang -

2008-01-17T11:56:00.000+08:00

2 months back during one of our monthly DE tribe prayer meetings, i gave thanks for how the Lord has brought me to VJC and then brought me thrh the 2 years as i graduated from VJ and etc etc.

during that sharing, i basically summarised everything in order to save time. i've been wanting to write down my personal walk in this area of studies for a very long time, but i was waiting for the most suitable time.. and hearing from certain sources, it appears that the O's results will be out nxt wk (i'm trusting that person who told me, so pls dont hit me if i'm wrong)

so what better time to share this personal testimony of how the Lord brought me to thrh my O's, thrh PAE and later JAE.. and finally thrh my A's. everything i share today may seem like new discoveries abt who Darren is, as it contains both gd and bad things..
but i hope this testimony will be an encouragement to all those receiving results, whether it's for the O's or the A's. (esp for those receiving O's)

happy reading..
WARNING: it's very very very very long

__________________________________________________________________

Dream Come Through
my dream since young: Victoria School.. Victoria Junior College.. NUS

my brother was a role-model to me when i was young, and i wanted to follow in his footsteps, which is the path that is mentioned above. but after scoring 217 for PSLE, a part of my dream was shattered. VS was totally out of the question. through God's grace, i managed to transfer from Chai Chee Sec to Bedok Green Sec (BGSS). Obviously, i wasnt happy with where i was. Never in my life would i imagine myself to be in that school, because it was a neighbourhood school. I set very high standards for myself, and BGSS definitely dont fit in my criteria of high standards.

during my 1st year in BGSS, i cheated for an exam (surprised?) and i was caught for it. and after that incident, i started to wonder whether i would ever be able to get promoted to Sec 2. i was caught for a History midyr exam paper, so the weightage is quite high. plus if u know, the percentage in ur end of the year report card is calculated very weird-ly. it was hard to predict whether i could promote or not.

looking back, this was the incident that brought me back to reality and most imptly, this incident was the 1st step at which God took to get me back towards Him. i rmbed very clearly that my parents were disappointed with me, and although they didnt say much, i felt so pathetic.. i really thought i let them down. the most vivid moment was when i saw my mom cry in her room. i knew i broke her heart, and more and more i saw my dreams faded away.

but i gained new motivation from that incident, i told myself that i'm going to prove everyone wrong and do outstandingly well. i'm goin to be the best. (FYI: i had not returned to Christ yet, so everything was about ME ME ME.. haha) i kept to my word, i entered the best class in sec3. slowly became one of the hotshots in sch as i continued to ace my tests and exams. most of the time, i was the top few in my cohort. and for a few times, i was no.1

and then in year 2005, i returned to God.
God always mentioned giving up my studies and grades into His hands and see how He will work things out. It was difficult for me to understd this, bcos i was always the top few. How much more can the Lord bless me?.. after getting no.1, what more can there be?? i didnt knew then, that the greatest test from God was about to arrive..

let's continue reading..
i scored 7pts for my prelims. And praise be to God, i applied for VJC during my PAE period and i successfully got it. I was overjoyed during that period, bcos that faded dream seem to resurface again. And i knew it had to be the Lord's hands over me.
the 1st three months in VJ was amazing.. i think being able to live the dream really makes the dream so worthwhile, that u wont even think of complaining and stuff.

for my O's, i emerged as top student of BGSS. i scored 8pts and i had topped Physics, Amath and Emath in my entire school. yep, my results were that gd. i was so happy.. i counted the no. of pts that would be deducted and calculated whether i could stay in VJ. and yes i had 5pts, which was just nice.
however my JAE proved otherwise, my 1st choice was VJ but it somehow failed.

those were the toughest moments of my life, with regards to studies. just think abt it..
i topped the sch
i topped 3 of the subj
i had exactly 5pts to enter, and VJ's cutoff was 5pts.. so it was on the dot
yet... my JAE failed
plus.. i got rejected from my 2nd choice, TJ

i was posted to SAJC and although SAJC was my 3rd choice.. i wasnt happy. i cried at home. i cried at church. i cried at altar call. i cried even when we left Hall 10. i was broken.. and once again, the dream i had slipped from my very hands.
i had doubts of God. i asked God..
"hello, 5pts just nice leh. where got such thing one? it's super irritating lah. MOE did smth wrong right? why i cant go in? God, why why why?"
i struggled with the Lord and at that period, i decided to appeal back to VJ and to TJ try test my chances.

i received a call frm TJ and they refused to accept me, mainly bcos TJ wasnt 1st choice. and mind you, TJ and VJ are like rivals.. the TJ pple interviewed me and asked, "if VJ gave u a spot, and if we gave u a spot, which sch would u go for?".. u can guess my answer, and my answer was all they needed.

but praise be to God, and super super alot alot of Hallelujah with that. VJ called me, and said, "hi Darren, we would like to inform u that ur appeal back to VJ was successful."..
i literally jumped around the house, which is abnormal for a rather quiet guy like me. after that joyous moment, i went to pray for forgiveness. despite all the joy and stuff, i actually felt guilty for not trusting the Lord.

and yes i was back at VJ.
and i heard... there were only 5 successful appeals back to VJ, and guess what.. i'm one of them.
some say it's luck, but then if it's really luck.. then i would have stayed at VJ oredi, no appeals would be needed.
FYI: in God's dictionary, coincidence and luck cant be found.
this was God's blessing.. this was God saying, "Darren, rmb your dreams and rmb Proverbs 3:5-6"

...

i've just finished my A's 2mths ago. and yes i've understood a deeper meaning of surrender. i have never passed Econs in my entire 2yrs in VJ. i've never gotten C and above for Chem. my phy was usually disappointing, and my math has never been consistent. but i'm trusting these things in His hands. afterall, i have one more part of that dream that hasnt been fulfilled and yes, i'm trusting Him.

each time i return to BGSS, i see my name...

TOP O' LEVELS SCORERS
.................. 2004
DARREN KENG 2005
.................. 2006

i mean it's cool to see ur name there.. but i realised no one really cares abt it. they're only concerned of their own top scorer each year. but i'm so proud to say this.. that name was written on the board not bcos of me, it was 100% God and i mean it. guarantee and chop. i knew i couldnt have done it w/o Him.
the Lord took my failures as someone who cheated during an examination, to be the new creation that He wanted me to be. He turned failures into real-life dreams. He turned me upside down and did what He said He'd do in me.

this is my miracle. this is my real-life dream.
___________________________________________________________________

when the Lord says that He would never short change you and would multiply ur efforts and make u achieve so much more.. and asks for u to surrender, as painful as it is, just do it. if u need someone to tell u a miracle, then here is the miracle and testimony u've been waiting for..
lay ur deepest desires and dreams into His hands, bcos u never know.. they may come thrh in the weirdest and most non-understandable ways. u may even turn out to be one of that 5 successful appeals.. u will never know how much faith can take u, not till u give it a shot.

i hope i have encouraged all of u.. i hope that as u receive ur results and look at ur score, know that the Lord has blessed u. maybe u wont have the exact grades as mine, maybe u wont even be in a JC. but i feel this story shows the gdness and faithfulness of God, and hence it extends beyond studies alone. so be encouraged.. so as i type this, i'm so glad that i can share my personal victory even though it didnt happen in the Year of Victory. Praise be to God..

-darren
PS: now u know why i didnt share everything during prayer mtg right? it would take ages

2008-01-16T11:51:00.000+08:00

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them:"Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?"
"Twelve," they replied.
"And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?"
They answered, "Seven."
He said to them, "Do you still not understand?”
–Mark 8:17 -21

Frankly speaking, I’m at a loss of words when I finally understood what God was talking about.

In Mark chapter 8, Jesus fed 4000 people with only 7 loaves of bread, and all of them were satisfied. After that, they picked up 7 basketfuls of pieces. Logically speaking, 7 loaves of bread can feed 4000 people; in a sense, probably each will have a pinch of the bread. Also, after distributing the bread to SOOOOO many people, there shouldn’t be any left, oh, probably the bread crumbs aye.

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” –Matthew 19:26

indeed, it is only the Lord who can do miraculous deeds. When you think you can’t make it, remember this verse, for you have the Lord, and He will make all things possible.

love,
kriss

2008-01-15T13:48:00.000+08:00

An Extra-Ordinary Night

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’” –Luke 2: 13-14

There is one word that describes the night he came-ordinary.

The sky was ordinary. An occasional gust stirred the leaves and chilled the air. The stars were diamonds sparkling on the black velvet. The sheep were ordinary. Some fat. Some scrawny. Common animals. No history makers. No blue-ribbon winners.

And the shepherds. Peasants they were. Probably wearing all the clothes they owned. Smelling like sheep and looking just as woolly.

An ordinary night with ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds. And were it not for a God who loves to hook an “extra” on the front of the ordinary, the night would have gone un-noticed. The sheep would have been forgotten, and the shepherds would have slept the night away.

But God dances amidst the common. And the night he did a waltz.

The black sky exploded with brightness. Trees that had been shadows jumped into charity. Sheep that had been silent became a chorus of curiosity. One minute that shepherd was dead asleep; the next he was rubbing his eyes and staring into the face of an alien.

The night was ordinary no more.
The announcement went first to the shepherds. Had the angel gone to the theologians, they would have first consulted their commentaries. Had he gone to the elite, they would have looked around to see if anyone was watching.

So he went to the shepherds. Men who didn’t know enough to tell God that angels don’t sing to sheep and that messiahs aren’t found wrapped in rags and sleeping in a feed trough.

The Lord came as humble as He could possibly be and changed our perspective. He showed us the way of life and thus know each and every circumstance that tears us down or destructs us. Reason being, he has gone through things which are far more difficult, and that includes his time and place of birth. He could have chosen to be born in this era
at some private/ best hospital in the US. But instead, he chose an era which was undeveloped and a place that is not even of a 1 star hotel standard. How amazing the Lord our God is!

Lisa

2008-01-07T17:12:00.000+08:00

Reflections for DE Adventure Camp 2007 (Part 3)

And to end off the trilogy of reflections for the DEAC, we have Sebastian and Yu Han!

Reflection #4
DEAct was fun! I really enjoyed myself there. It was a new experience for me too and I really learn a lot about conquering my fears through God. The low ropes course on the first day was fun. Though it was not really challenging , it helped me know more about teamwork as in how the team think of the solution together and work it out.

The second day was a lot more challenging that the first day. The ‘broken bridge’ was quite scary for me but after I fall the first time , I realize the belay was there so falling wasn’t a problem but walking on the bridge was as the bridge shakes with your legs.

There was the rafting for the second part of the course on the second day and I think the team really bonded together to build the raft and sail it. After that was rock climbing and I felt that rock climbing is all about pushing yourself. It rained after that , but I wanna thank God for only letting the rain come and everyone has already finished all of the activity course. The BBQ that came after was great.

In all the camp was great and I really wanna thank God for making the camp a success and not letting any injures or bad weather dampen the camp.

Seb
Primers
God bless!

Reflection #5
I really want to thank God for everyone who made this wonderful camp possible!

Initially, I was very hesitant about signing up for the camp. I didn’t know anyone other than my cell group, and did not take to new people particularly well. But God smoothed over all the awkward moments, and I experienced the family’s love and warmth. I got to know many of my brothers and sisters, and had great fun in addition to worshipping the Lord and drawing near to Him.

I never looked back.

I was also very blessed by Clarissa’s testimony. Her courage in sharing about her life to others, even total strangers, was touching to behold. Through her sharing, God also reminded me that though all of us are sinners, God loves us all the same. I have been running away from God the past year, what with innumerable exams, projects and whatnot. But that day, I learned that all things were temporal except that in the Lord. There and then, I decided to put God first. Although I am sorely tempted to renege on my promise to Him even as school has already begun, I believe that as long as I trust in God, all things are possible!

An important turning point came when we were asked to read the second devotion on Sunday. I teared as I read. Asked to answer the questions it held, I had nothing to say. To the world, Christianity is a commercialized affair. Christmas means nothing more than expensive presents, pretty baubles, and a myriad Christmas traditions- none of which has to do with God. In my family with its many non-Christian relatives, Christmas is celebrated pretty much the same way. It was only then that I realized that sure, there was nothing wrong with having the spirit of giving, but more importantly, Christ has to be at the centre of our life, especially so on Christmas Day. For without Christ, there is no ‘Christmas’!

Oh yes, my cousin (Liu Ying) enjoyed the camp tremendously as well, so thank you very much for this camp!

God bless,
Yuhan

2008-01-05T11:46:00.000+08:00

Reflections for DE Adventure Camp 2007 (Part Two)

Reflection #3
It was another camp, however what makes it different is that I am going to this camp with my tribe. Somehow I was getting really excited for this camp for a long time. My group members are Clement, Gifford, Hui Xin, Sarah, Candy and Yaohan.

Let me do a little intro... Clement is the daredevil of our group, you can see from the challenges he took up. Gifford is our calm and compose leader who is deep in his thoughts. Sarah is the over comer of obstacles and huixin the person who is willing to try hard.

We had Long John for lunch before proceeding to site-Saribun camp. Guess what we saw Steven that group alighting happily at the wrong stop. We were like dots. It was an adventure to reach the site because walking in was quite a long distance.

Coming back to this camp brings back a lot of memories… good ones especially. Then we began to place our things in the A huts (lodging) before proceeding with the activity. The first day activity were mostly team-building everyone worked together.

What I have learnt is the changing of mindsets I had for quite some time. There was a thought I needed to change- ‘I think I know but the fact is I don’t’. When I think I know I don’t bother to find out. Anyone got same thoughts??

Then evening fell and we got ourselves cozy in the auditorium. It was a sharing by my cell leader Kenny. This is the first time I got to know my leader more through this way.

It helped me to understand him as I am his spiritual son. It spoke to me a lot through his message and understanding within the family of Christ. Then it was time for some rough activities.

The physical activity of “all times” left us physically drained. This was a different kind of bonding as we cling on to our dear lives as the girls tried to separate us apart. I mean those girls got good teamwork skills you know, this is the first time I cry for help in this game. Boys will be boys… I even went to the extend of hugging someone* because I don’t want to get separated. It was a fierce battle indeed.

We were really tired thereafter and proceed on to sleep. We talked quite loudly, were discussing about Vimel entry on primers website... Steven was teased.

Next morning came, woke up at 7am. Darren* came and shake my hand… and I was like huh?
After which was the first activity-rock climbing. It was super fun as the group scale the large wall ahead of us. We cheered for the people whom were climbing and encourage them.

Become people success. I remembered GuoJun told me this-‘Just want to tell you I am committed to your success.’ God wants me to be committed to my brother’s success.

Following on is the high ropes activity. It was a nerving experience for most. My first thoughts were this should not be that hard but I was wrong. When I have ascended the pole and looked down, my first thoughts were Holy Jesus!

Trembling and breaking out in cold sweat I felt weak. A faint voice sounded…’ Junkai you can do it.’ This encouragement spurred me to take the first step. God placed people in our lives to encourage us.

When the (high ropes) rope is in front of me... It feels like a lesson on HOPE. The path in front of me that I had to walk is like me in times of great distress. It was the time when life was extremely choppy and unbalanced. One would question themselves how is this even possible? However God say in Matthew 19:26 ‘with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’ It reminds me a lot about Christian life that it is filled with a lot of daunting problems and challenges but each step of risk you take for God bring about his glory.

Then it was the sharing of testimony by Clair at night bring me these thoughts-

I always had this emptiness in my heart. Hoping that someone or something would fill it

I would often bury my face in the pillow to cry alone hoping that my saviour would come and pick me up and to wipe away me tears. I missed my Dad dearly... just the thought would ache my heart painly. So pain that it seems unbearable for me.

I yearn for Love of others and you God. I am lonely still, my eyes dried up from weeping. Father removes my worries and sins, for a man like me is weary. My heart filled with uncertainty and fear. The lord says he will calm the storms of my heart; I stumbled at the trials he has given. You saw my wounded heart, won't you heal it?

Gifford pray for me and it was the answers to the question I had asked God some time back.
God is already working in your midst before you even know it. I felt the warmth of this family through this camp.

That was my 5 star adventure camp! Thanks DE24 and Pastor Danny and Eve.

Junkai

2008-01-04T01:49:00.000+08:00

Reflections from DE Adventure Camp 2007 (Part One)

Hi! Welcome to the Tribe Blog! To kick start the new year, we will feature a series of reflections from the gals and guys from the tribe! Today we start off with a reflection from Bjorn Ng and Chantel from the recent Adventure Camp and do come back daily for devotions and stay tuned for the new features that the blog team has in stored for 2008!

DE Blog Team

Reflection #1

I feel that the camp was a fruitful one ; I gained more knowledge from there, especially all the low and high rope elements ; each element has a meaning behind it, and its all those things that we can apply to our daily lives. Teamwork, support, trust, faith, and much more. And mostly importantly, it once again brings us all back to the word ‘family’. I’m sure that this camp has helped us all to bond together and to trust each other. How God has stopped the rain from coming really amazes me too, as (quoted from Ps Dan) every part of Sg’s raining, and only our side is not. So, praise be to God !

- Bjorn Ng

Reflection #2

I really thank God for the camp! :D
Firstly because the elements helped me to build my confidence of overcoming my fear of heights and also taking the faith to challenge myself to do each activity. I always have a mindset of "I can't do it". But after I tried, I never knew it would turn out to be otherwise! And I enjoyed doing all of them!

Secondly, I got to know some people better and even talked to some whom I'm never talked to before. I've always been so close to my cell group. Now, that was time to get out of my comfort zone and mix around with others. It's always good to make new friends. :)

Last but not least, I really felt the love of this family. The low rope elements were all based on group work effort. And I can see that by helping each other out, planning and doing it together really led us to completing the challenge with victory! Although the high rope elements were done individually, I felt that I wasn't doing them alone. Even the bellayers played a part! Not forgetting God, who's always reaching out His hand to me. Also, my groupmates cheering me on when I was doing the challenge. So everyone played a role in every person's success of completing the elements! :)

One more thing, if you feel that you should offer your helping hand to your sister/brother who needs help, know that God is using you. So dont hesitate and ask God why not that guy beside you. God has chosen you, so it's you!

And also thank God for everything that made the camp a successful one!

God Bless!

Love,
Chantel.

2007-12-27T12:05:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas

On Saturday night, I was watching a show on the TV. The story is about a human, Barry who was brought up by an elf in some magical land in North Pole. The child grew up being taught everything like an elf. He lived like an elf, ate like an elf, worked like an elf and did everything that an elf does.

One day, he found out that he is a human. After knowing how he ended up there and who his parents are and where is his Dad. He set forth his journey looking for his Dad in New York. His Dad was labelled by Santa as a bad person. All that was on his mind is just money, money and more money.

Barry’s appearance in his Dad’s life changed his Dad to a person who knows how to express his love for his family and see his family more important than money.

Jesus came on Earth with the purpose of bringing salvation to his people; the greatest present we can ever receive is eternal life. Then the spirit of Christmas is low, the purpose of celebrating Christmas had become more of relaxing and enjoying ourselves and not celebrating Jesus’s birthday. In the same way, when we start spreading the gospel, the spirit of celebrating Christmas as Jesus’s birthday will rise. There will be an opened door. An example will be when Pastors gave the awakening call to celebrate Christmas the way it should be celebrated, we all woke up to that. I believe when one person start and the rest follow, a new revival will come.

Another message God showed me is: The bible says that one cannot serve 2 masters. This show demonstrated it. Barry’s Dad served money at first and he had to give that up when he chose family. When Barry left a note saying he is leaving them, his Dad left an important meeting which would decide if he will be able to keep his job to find him back. The same way we need to choose if we want to serve our own desires or God. Something to take note of is that if we chose to serve God, he will never shortchange us. Don’t believe me? Ask around for testimonies.

Be blessed this Christmas with precious time spent with the Lord.

Love,
Jovii=pP

2007-12-27T12:03:00.001+08:00

Where is the baby?

I came across this small booklet on the table, suppose it is my Mum’s. The whole booklet is written in Chinese, so whatever I am writing will be translated by Professor Jovii.

This is very similar to what Pastor Eugene has preached about the week before Christmas service. Here is one page from the booklet. The story goes like this:

There are two ladies dressed in beautiful clothes who went to a restaurant for dinner. A friend saw them and went forth to greet them.

Friend: What special occasion is it today?
2 Ladies: We are celebrating the 2nd birthday of the child at home.
Friend: But, where is the child?
Child’s mum: Oh! He is at my Mum’s house. During the celebration party, my Mum will take care of him. If he is here, the party will not be fun at all.

Isn’t it ridiculous? The party was supposed to celebrate the baby’s birthday and yet the baby is not welcomed. Think about it, during Christmas, we come up with all kinds of celebration activities and yet forgot that it is Jesus’s birthday. He is the one that should be glorified.

However, the truth is that is how many people celebrate Christmas, they are so enthusiastic in attending Christmas gatherings, buying presents, gather with their family… but forgot totally whose birthday it is!

So, when this Christmas is approaching this year, when you and your friends and family spend this nice time together, please do not forget Christ himself who should be glorified.

Love,
Jovii =pP

What are you doing if this is your last day?

2007-12-15T11:57:00.000+08:00

Dear Family,

I am very touched by this speech by Steve Jobs, founder and CEO of Apple. It made me reflect on this question that he touched on, "What would you do today, if tomorrow you are going to die."
I will post my reply to this question next week.

the text version.
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

2007-12-11T11:44:00.000+08:00

Called to Love God

Hi guys, wanted to share with you something that the Lord has placed upon my heart recently. And manifested itself last week.

Last week, we sang Thank You for the Cross during service rehearsal on Thursday. This song has always been VERY SPECIAL to me because this was the song that led me to accept the Lord as my saviour.

In 1997, i was in sec 4 and it was the TGIF week. In my secondary school, every Wed there is chapel service, but for TGIF week, there is chapel service every day! On monday i heard this song for the 1st time, and was touched by it. I remembered i sang this song for 3 days, deliberating in my heart before finally giving my life to Him. The Lord courted me with this song.

In 2004, during G12 conference I felt the presence of the Lord very strongly for the 1st time after i had been stagnant in my walk for almost a year. This song was sang and the Lord wooed me back into His presence.

Last thur, as i sang this song again, i was reminded of my salvation and my returning to God. Both incidents I was that clueless, empty girl trying to figure out LIFE. 10yrs ago i was nothing and could do nothing for Him. I asked the Lord, "why did you did you bother to save me 10yrs ago when i could do nothing for You? I mean, i was really useless and probably cant amt to much? What did You have in mind for me?"

The Lord replied gently and said, "I didn't need you to do anything for me. I just wanted to love you, and hope that you would love me. Not 10yrs ago, and definitely not now."

I sensed that the word that the Lord has for us today, is to know that we are not 'recruited' by the Lord to be part of His 'company', to slave and slog for Him. We are not 'recruited' by merits or efforts, of what we can do for Him. We are saved, simply because God loves US. The reason why He saved us 10yrs ago, 5yrs ago, 1yr ago, or even 1 month ago, is the same as the reason why He is saving our friends now.

Is the Lord speaking to you now? Are you wondering if you are worthy of this love? Are you calculating what you can do for Him? We are loved, and we are called to love Him. The greatest commandment of all "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." - Mark 12: 30, Luke 10: 27

Lets simply love Him. Out of this Love, will flow deeds of Love. Lets do as Love leads us.

+cand+

2007-12-07T12:59:00.000+08:00

Couple of months ago, my handphone was stolen at sengkang. Liangming and the cell should know how sian I was. Just to show you the extent, I must have called 300 times to that number and combed all the possible places. I almost went into a state of apoplexy. Over the next several days, I called the number whenever I think there’s a suspicious person who could have taken my phone. So that I can say: ‘ah ha! You were the one who stole my phone’ when I hear my ringtone.

Er hem, as I was sayin…

So I prayed fervently everyday. And God taught me in the rudiments thereof.

I have faith in God, that He will find the phone for me. But after weeks ambled past me, I felt that maybe God wants to bless the person who has my phone. Yes, the uncompromising lineaments of mingchin. Losing faith so soon. I believe that if its God’s will, I will lose my handphone, but by His will, I can also find my handphone.

God has also taught me to forgive the person who stole my handphone-from my bag somemore.

I also gave thanks to God about that incident. Because God wants us to give thanks for both the good things and the bad. I gave thanks that it was my old phone that was stolen, not the new one, which was also in the bag!

Bet you thought that was all. Yesterday, I received a phone call from my old number. I was a little surprised. Later, im goin to amk to get my handphone back. An auntie with a relatively benign voice (hope she’s not expecting a reward) chanced upon my phone. Apparently, she read the message I had kindly sent to that number and contacted me. She found the handphone somewhere in serrangoon north-where I ve not been for years or at all. I assume that the person who took my phone must have dropped it there.

Indeed, God works in ways we cannot see. Having your phone being stolen = zero chance of getting it back. But God can make the person lose it and let the phone be returned to you. And He is always on time to do that. like how He chose the point where i ve already given up hope, or the time for me to do devotion.

Glory to God

mingchin

Lets keep lionel in prayer!

2007-12-03T10:42:00.000+08:00

Something from Lionel for us to pray for him in thailand as he leads the team up!

behind the scenes!!

Sentosa Videos

2007-12-03T10:03:00.000+08:00

Hello all I do hope you have fun watching the D6 have fun in our 3 days 2 nights retreat at sentosa. Not all of us could be there at all the time but we did have tons of FUN!!!
So something to share with you guys k!

A point to note: give it say about 2 mins to load this page! alot of videos so relax and wait k. It is worth the effort!!

Sentosa intro 1

Sentosa intro 2

Sentosa intro 3
finally we get it right!

There are actually alot of people during the week days at sentosa!!

kenny loser moment of the year?

Kenny having fun with the dolphin

Kenny having more fun with the dolphin!

This is a different camera with the same content as the above video, but be patient and watch till the end when you hear the question being pop at kenny and hear the background laughter!!

Dolphin advert1

Dolphin advert2

Dolphin advert3

when we heard about " I WANT TO JOIN DANCE!"

feeding the rays!

Underwater world travelator

lets hear bear about his thesis on jellyfish!

intro to the HILL thingy...hahaha

Up the hill

We can see terry's car!

Can bear fit in the LUGE?

helmets ON!!!

Well if you have watched every single one of the video in this post, give yourself a pat on the back!! you have done very well! so a treat for you. the experience of a 3D MAX movie. First part of the video is normal viewing, and then the 3d effect comes when the camera is fitted with a 3d lens!! watch it!!

2007-12-01T08:59:00.000+08:00

Nick Vujicic's visit to FCBC is just 1 day away, have you invited your friends to have an opportunity of hearing the message of hope and salvation? Dun give up, you still have 1 more day to invite them. Go on!

The Blog Team

2007-11-29T12:41:00.000+08:00

Words have power.

What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'

Sometimes, we're unaware of those words that come out from our mouth would hurt someone so deeply and really make an impact on that person. And how true this verse is. Definitely, not what we eat that makes us unclean. but what come out from our mouth.

and when i was reading this verse a few days ago, the lord brought me back to the question when i first saw this verse. Have i been unclean? have i been letting unwholesome talks coming out from my mouth. Have those words that seems so insignificant to me hurt someone?

and maybe it's time to ask yourself the very same question too. Even before you speak , just ponder whether those words that will be coming out from your mouth affect someone, or will it spoil the relationship with that person.

after all, it's not about looking at the pictures and saying your own stories. It's about looking from both perspective before jumping into conclusion. things may not be like what you see. you can never judge a book by its cover.

Be blessed,
chuanlian

2007-11-29T12:38:00.001+08:00

I really thank God for the E tribe BBQ night last Friday. It was a fun night together with all those girls that came. And I really thank God that it all went well. Many may not know that the BBQ programs were settled quite last minute and games that we play were decided on that day itself. At that point of time, I really don’t know how to handle the games and the flow of the BBQ. However, God made it happened. The whole BBQ went smoothly without raining etc.

And also, through out the brainstorming sessions to the last minute decision. I sort of remembered the heart of serving God. That I’m not doing it for Etribe, not for Pastor Eve but for God. And also, through this BBQ, I managed to catch a glimpse of the Joy of serving. I really did enjoyed myself as our cell planned for the event and when we meet up to do publicity for the event. And the thought of our heavenly father smiling at us for what we’ve done for him really warms my heart. And it really makes me want to do more for him.

Chuanlian.

Our recent under17 encounter videos!

2007-11-22T15:03:00.000+08:00

Guys,

for those who were not in the encounter, these were some of the fun we had there!!!!

The first "fight of the season"

Re-match time!!!

Bear feeling pain!

The best play ever??

Our dear pastor Danny worshipping with us

Well for me this under 17 encounter has been a first of many sorts. For one it is the first time I am a guide for a under 17 encounter. and it was a big shock to me when i first receive my list of encountees.

Most of my guys were around 13-14 years of age. I am so worried about connecting with them. Thinking hard what are some of the stuff I can do to reach out to them.
But thank God most of them are angels, nice guys...and yah I managed to survived thus far!

More importantly I saw their heart for God. All of them were serious about their need for God, and when they made the commitment to give up their sins and start living for God, I knew they were set on loving God with all their heart. This to me was a big lesson, as I saw how God moved people irrespective of how young or old they are and I brought back with me a reverent awe of this wonderful God we have.

Also, when I see these guys worshipping God, I know Singapore has a hope and a future with them around and of course with me around. My advice? well go and help in anyway you can in encounters, you will be richly blessed and also will most likely to have the most fun!!! I definitely did!! Right guys?

Kenny Foo

2007-11-20T15:11:00.000+08:00

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." -Matthew 20:21-22

“..I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." -Matthew 17:20

Faith, a word that is repeatedly mentioned by God in the bible, in the chapter of Matthew alone, I have already found two verses. I’m a very academically-conscious (If there’s such word) person. I would want to do well for all my tests and exams. But you know, the strength of man is limited. In contrary, God’s power is unlimited. Even through this promo exam the Lord really taught me many things. He allowed me to fail my Mids very badly with triple Us for Econs, Math and GP because He wants me to learn from my careless mistakes.
The power of faith is never to be underestimated. I pray incessantly for the Lord to be with me, to hold my hand to write my Econs essay, to help me memorize those mudslides and sedimentary rocks. Promos came. The Lord helped me in ALL my subjects (Although math was still QUITE tough).Till today I still cannot cease thanking my Lord. I passed my Econs, GP and sub-pass Math.

Like all parents, God give the best for children. And. He always leaves the best for last.

That’s why on Oct 23, I got back my promo slip and I passed every single subject and my ranking point improved by 20++ points! Thank God!

As we finish our exams, let’s not forget to thank God for everything that He has done for us, everything that is for the best of our interest.

kriss

2007-11-16T11:34:00.000+08:00

Thank You? Thank You!

As I was searching desperately for the voice of God, he did not spoke. I thought he did not. But sometimes we really need to remind ourselves of a truth. God is not human and His ways are always higher than ours.

God reveals His word to me through flashing back of my memories and the things that are happening around me (mostly in my cell group). Take some time to reflect now. Have you been prayed over by a fellow sister or brother? When you encounter problems, is there someone who had been your listening ear? When you need something, are you able to get it by asking around? Is there someone that will accompany you for dinner after service? When you need support in some areas, do you gain any from your spiritual family?

I thank God that I have such people around me. There was once I didn’t feel comfortable going for alter call (that was when I am in hospitality attire); I know I needed ministry so I walked up to Lisa, and just ask her to pray for me after we exchanged smiles. No doubt, she was shocked and gave me a “Huh?!” but still she prayed for me after that. God used her to speak to me and I felt ministered even as I took that step forward and responded to God by asking a sister to pray for me.

I remembered times when I and some other sisters are not feeling well, they sent out sms to each other and we all prayed. When we have prayer requests, just simply ask and there will sure be people who are so willing to pray for us.

The convenience that the variety in communication tools have provided, enables us to talk to one another even when not meeting up. MSN, phone call, sms and even blogs helped in allowing us to know one another better. When we need anything we are able to just put it on our personal message on MSN, call up and ask, sms one another and even blog it down so that anyone who visited your blog is able to know not just your daily lives but also your needs and wants. I remember seeing many blogs with wish lists, maybe we can go and read some and know more about what our sisters and brothers are going through.

Shouldn’t we be appreciative for the advanced technology? But we should be more appreciative to the people, who send us songs when we asked for, told us the venue and time for the next cell group meeting, be that listening ear when we are vexed, gave us opinions when we are making a hard decision we could not decide or accompanied us home or for dinner after cell meetings or service.

I thank God even for the people He has placed around me in my life. My grandma and aunt then now my mum that brought me up, Valerie that brought me to cell group at Laurel’s house, Laurel that led me in saying the sinners’ prayer, Liang Ming that pulled me back onto God’s track when I disappeared for two years, Pastor Eve that helped me through deliverance, sisters and brothers from church who supported my chocolates, my sisters who gave me a listening ear during “my”(our) always side tracked sharing and even those around me. The list is simply too long but the heart to say thanks is much more. Thank you for all that you have done for me. Thank you for even your presence in my world. Yes, I’m talking to you. Don’t look left or right. “Points finger straight* Yes, it is YOU, the one reading this now. Thank you.

The question at the end of the day is, “Have you been appreciative of your physical/spiritual family? Or have you taken them for granted?” it is still not too late to do so. Don’t be afraid that it will be embarrassing. If you are, I will be more to announce to the world here. =p You should be more conscious when that person is no longer around, even if you want to appreciate them, it will be too late. Don’t waste your chance now and just go forth now!

If what that is on your mind now is, “I am always a loner, I do not mix around with people in the tribe and my cell, no one helps me when I am in need, I do not ask people for help, I am also afraid to ask or talk to them.” Then maybe it is time to step out of your tortoise shell and get to know your family and the people around you and enjoy the privileges or the warmth from this family. You have missed out a lot, don’t hesitate and miss more. =)

In His and my love,
Jovii =pP

2007-11-13T23:27:00.000+08:00

Children see, Children Do

A sobering message for me as I contemplate how I have been living for the Lord.
Every actions counts, and our children will only grow the way they see us walk with God.
So how have you been walking with God.

Kenny Foo

2007-11-13T22:36:00.000+08:00

2007-11-12T23:09:00.001+08:00

Thanksgiving

During the week of the encounter, a series of event took place that made me felt very uncomfortable. I lost my thumb drive in school and there was this assignment that was due on that week. The thumb drive was very important to me because it was 4GB, it has most of my assignments in it and it was bought by my mum. I felt pretty upset about it, because i heard from my friends who have lost their thumb drive before, they claim that they never manage to retrieve it. In my heart i wanted it to be found. I prayed a simple prayer and soon got over the entire issue. haha! thank God. On the following day, i decided to buy a new thumb drive. After buying a new one, someone called. This girl said that she found my thumb drive! Thank God!!! I then went to collect it from her. Thought it was difficult to rejoice at that moment when i lost my thumb drive, but at least i tried to rejoice a short while after. This entire incident taught me one thing- With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm. My thumb drive was in God's mighty hands.

Want to also thank God for the encounter camp. This round of encounter, i did not went as a participant, i did not went as a guide ( not eligible yet) i did not went as a helper, neither did i went as an intercessor. I went there as a logistic assitant. My main role there was to assist my friendly and helpful log head- Mr Daven Koh. haha! Despite the lack of sleep and the many things to do, i came with a heart wanting not just to serve, but also to receive. And as i thirst, the Lord filled me.

A little background, i wasn't feeling very well on the first day of camp, some things happened before the camp as well. I forgot to bring my laptop for the camp and thus had to rush back to get it. And during the night, I felt feverish, thus took panadol from Daven. When i woke up on the next day, my nose started running. This was when i started to question whether I'll be able to pull through the camp. Then during one of the session, the Lord started His ministry in me. I was giving out tissue during the ministry of hugs. And after a while, Ps Eve came to pray for me. The Lord touched me through her with the hug that she gave. It reminded me of the security that i have in Him. His comfort was all i needed for me to pull through this entire camp. The Lord also reminded me of His strength and the assurance of sustaining me for this camp. Thank God that in desperate times like this, the Lord came through for me.

During the night session, the Lord spoke again. When Jocelyn prayed for me before the session begin, i felt the Lord saying that he understood whatever stress that I was going through and His promise for me was- "I will carry you." Tears filled my eyes...often i tell the Lord, i don't deserve all that the Lord gave. And till today I still never understood the love He has for me.

During the SIN session, i was doing the power point slide for the song 'O Mighty Cross'. As the lyrics played on the screen, my heart was weeping while my eyes were controlling the tears. All i did throughout the session was meditating on the lyrics of the song. There and then i realized that this is the measure of His love, and He will do it all over again even if there is only me on this earth. The above phrase is what you may have heard many times, but you will never understand the full meaning and the pain that the Lord has to go through until you meet Him face to face.

On the last day of the encounter, i received the Holy Spirit afresh in my soul. The pain that He released was amazing. Despite of the cough and flu, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit was great, it was not like the ones which i've encountered. Praise God for His destiny in my life. I knew that I was made to run this race for Him. And the peace and healing work He did in that moment moved my heart. After that encounter with the Lord, I was healed of my flu and cough. All glory and honor belongs to the one above. One thing I understood- to the measure we thirst for the Lord is the measure that He will come and pour forth the Holy Spirit on us.

The Greatest Story by Avalon
Some days your own resolve is strong
And other days you rant
It took two steps forward, one step back
And you stumble no and then
You wonder if you'll ever really make the difference
You've prayed that you will
Well, I know that every pray will be fulfilled, 'cause

Your life woven day by day
Is a new design of the glory God displays
On the canvas of creation
Through the poem of history
In the pattern of redemption
Running through the tapestry
Your life in Christ can be
The greatest story ever told

You cannot see the hands of God
Or feel the grace that flows
From Him through you to those you touch
In ways you'll never know
You cannot measure worth by human standards
That's always a lie
Oh, you have to see through heaven's eyes how. . .

In the light of eternity
Standing face to face you will finally see
For the very first time you'll understand
You're perfect place in the master plan and how. . .

Your life can be the greatest story ever told if we start living in the destiny plan by the One Above. Our life in Christ can be the greatest story ever told. I hope that my thanksgiving will encourage you to live and run for God. Amen!

Love,
lisa

2007-11-12T14:56:00.000+08:00

Often, questions would flood my head because I had always seek God, but it seems as though He's never there. Yes, I need to confess that I do doubt God..

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" - Jeremiah 29:13

However, after reading His word, it makes me understand that I should seek Him with all my heart, (which I never really really did, because I am quite easily distracted) and be hungry and thirsty for the holy spirit to manifest me, show me the way. God, thus, will be made known to us. Focus our mind on the Lord, and push everything else aside, think only of Him as we worship and pray and step into the spiritual realm. Ask God, with all our heart and mind set only on Him, to reveal something to us or show us signs as and when we feel lost and in search of direction. With a sincere and a heart full of faith, I believe that God will reveal himself to us, and show us the way!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

I do question God sometimes, especially in times when I feel emotionally hurt. I would wonder, if He loves me so much, then why the torment? But often, because of the pain and injury that we go through during that particular time, we sometimes do forget that God has His own plans and He knows that, whatever He does is the best for us. He wants us to learn something from each hurdle we go through. He will not destroy us, for He loves us! Hence, we must always make it a point to remember that even if we feel down in the dumps and that the world has left us, or perhaps, maybe we'd blame God for landing us in this sorry state, God has still paved this path for us for He wants us to learn something from this situation. And, bear in mind that, even if all else fails, God will not fail us! ;)

Thus, in conclusion, we should always bear in mind that He is always around us and that He will never forsake us, for he is our faithful God.

Whenever Satan starts weaving his lie, or whenever it happens that it seems as though the world is crashing down, flip to these verses and meditate on it. Think and think through again and let His peace be upon you!

- Carol.

2007-11-02T15:35:00.000+08:00

If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, "Be pulled up by the roots and bre planted in the sea," and it wil obey you. Luke 17:6

I got back my result slip today, which means that i'll know whether i'll be promoted or retained. I was really scared that I would be retained, as my results are not really fantastic,. However, last week as i'm doing quiet time,praying about this matter, God spoke to me, He reminded me of the verse above, that let faith be within my heart and he will do the rest. People always say, must have faith must have faith, but it was during difficult times like this that we know it is actually not easy to do so. During this period of time, I admit i doubt, i fear, but the faith for God really did overcame all. It is not easy, but with God, everything that are impossible,are now possible. I really want to use what has happen to me to encourage those who are facing difficult times, trust that God will bring you through, having faith that God will bless and provide. God will not put us through the things we cant handle. Have faith in God, be it as small as a mustard seed or as big as a elephant!

god bless ya!

Kwai hoong

2007-10-25T01:53:00.000+08:00

I recently read this interesting article on the different pathways we each have that bring us to a place where we feel particularly close to God. When we are able to identify our own pathway, we can revitalize our walk with God.

Relational pathway
These relational people find it hard to grow in their walk with Christ when they try to do it alone, because they feel isolated and suffocated alone. But when they pray, study the Word and worship with others, God’s presence becomes stronger and everything is more meaningful.

Intellectual pathway
These people grow in their walk with Christ when their minds are completely engaged and stimulated with the truth. They need to study books and theological stuff, if not they will probably dry up spiritually. When they love God with all their mind, they grow closer to Him.

Serving pathway
These people feel most alive and closest to God when they’re constantly serving Him and His people. When they actively do things for Him, they get a greater awareness of His presence and become more joyful.

Contemplative pathway
These people often stay away from busyness because they are easily tired out by relationships and activities. They feel closest to God when they are in solitude with Him. They can spend days just being alone with God, because that’s when they feel His presence. Often idealistic, they help others see what kingdom life is supposed to be like.

Activist pathway
These people are at their best when they’re running from place to place, serving in more areas than they can handle. They feel closest to God when they have given Him every last bit of their emotional, physical and spiritual effort.

Creation pathway
These people grow in their walk best when they’re around nature, as they come alive when they’re surrounded by God’s beauty of creation. They prefer doing devotions close to nature, as they find spiritual meaning from nature.

Worship pathway
These people grow close to God especially when they are worshipping Him. They feel most fully alive when they are singing praises to Him, because they are then able to sense His presence in their lives.

All these aren’t the only pathways. There are others. But these are just some of them. Identify your pathway. Try it. Appreciate other pathways too. They all offer opportunity for spiritual growth.

-benita :)

DE Adventure Camp 2007!

2007-10-22T16:59:00.000+08:00

Hi sisters and brothers! This new skin is brought to you by DE Tribe Blog Committee! Hope you like it! You may want to link one of the icons below to this blog for information on the upcoming adventure camp.

Follow the instructions below to link the icon to DE Tribe Blog:
1. Save the icon to your desktop/folder
2. Upload the icon(create if you don't have one) to photobucket, shutterfly, etc.
3. Type this code into your blogger/lj/xanga/etc. account (Edit HTML mode)

Ta-da! You got it!
If you can't get just approach your cell leaders for more info on Adventure Camp. (:

2007-10-19T22:42:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, Pastor Eve met us at Lynn’s hse. We really talked a lot. Our cell always digress from the initial topic during sharing time. and its no use when Liang Ming sets a time limit. You see! Im doin it agn!

Among our topics were bout spiritual attacks. Considering that my verse for this year is perfect love drives out fear. I rmb Lisa telling us before that the Lord is omnipresent. The Holy Spirit is always in us. all we hav to do is to let the Holy Spirit grow in us, and the devil will tremble in fear. or was it flee? Ok so the devil will tremble And flee in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Because the Lord is OMNIPRESENT. You hear me?

"God's spirit who is in you, is greater than the devil who is in the world."
- 1 John 4:4

So the message that day was all bout this verse.

Nothing can hurt us. not the devil, not some witchcraft, nor curses from any tribal group. Because why? Because as our capacity as a child of God, Because we are under God’s protection. this is one of the perks we receive. We cant be touched unless we let the devil do so, by not seeking God’s protection.

We don’t even need ‘good luck’ because God’s blessings far engulfs it.

And God’s shelter encompasses not only protection, blessings, but also the source of comfort and strength.

Im a totally different person in my dreams. I am so brave I tell you. I have dreamt bout encountering ghosts, mr s.a.tan several times. so I shall teach you what I always do. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by some force or influence or strictures, just shout ‘BE GONE! IN JESUS NAME!’ ER HEM… yes.

Lastly,
1 john 4:18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

-mingchin

Prayer Meet

2007-10-16T17:24:00.000+08:00

Something to encourage everyone.. PLEASE COME FOR PRAYER MEET! :) ITS REALY GOOD.. personally i see God moving in a very strong way as we gathered and allowed God to speak to us. Below are some testimonies:

I knew I wanted to go for the prayer meeting this time. Deep down I knew but because of some personal issues which I have shared with the cell, on the surface I did not want to go. Went one big round, I still went eventually. Reason was Holy Spirit won over Jovii. I thank God for this.

Everything started when I opened the door. I could sense the Holy Spirit’s presence when I opened the door. Everyone was on their knees asking God for something for themselves. I knew the people will be ministered to because the presence of God in that place is overwhelming.

The session for asking something for ourselves did not really impact me alot because i was late.So people, try not to be late for prayer meetings.

I was not very at ease at first but still worshipped the Lord with the rest of the people. When pastor asked us to sing his favorite song, how great is our God, tears started rolling down. I was reminded how great was and is God to me.

When I was receiving and continue crying, Pastor Eve came to pray for me. I forgot everything else except the word “surrender”. I did have many things that I am allowing to affect me and I am not willing to surrender and instead, holding them tightly to myself.

Although till now I am not able to release fully to the Lord, I would still be trying because I know if I hold on to them, I will not be having that peace from God, i will be having my own hard time with life. God is so good to be willing to take from me and solve all those issues for me!

God does everything for some reasons, just like I didn’t know why he wanted me to go in the first place. Learn to trust in his ways and know that his ways are always higher than ours.

yours truly,
joviijia=pP

I want to thank God for the things that He did for me in the last 2 prayer meetings. For the first prayer meeting that i went to, I remembered that Pastor Danny told those who are in need of prayer to step forward. After which he told the remaining of us to go and prayer for that person in tongues. As the Holy Spirit directed me to prayer for that person (which i forgot who it was) I felt the power of the Lord falling on me. As i prayed, it felt different from the rest of the times which i've prayed. I felt warm and it felt as if the Holy Spirit was using me to bring comfort for the person whom i'm praying for though i did not know her needs. That prayer meeting opened my eyes to see the power of praying in tongues.

For the second prayer meeting, i went with a heart of serving. I was rather distracted by the fact that my aunt and my cousins will be returning to Chiang Mai and also by the fact that the new semester is about to start. However i still went for the prayer meeting because i want too be blessed and i know that as i commit, i will be blessed. Amen! As worship started, i did not really felt the presence of God but i wanted to press on, because i know that the Lord will not allow His people to leave the place empty handed. When the last part of ministry begin, i was there mainly to serve, i did not dare to go forward to receive, because i wondered that if i do not then who will? since most of the leaders were praying for the people to receive the Holy Spirit. As Liang Ming approached me i knew that it was my turn to receive something from the Lord..and as she prayed, i felt the presence of the Lord. She prayed for me to rise up and to receive the spirit of mothering. As i laid there, the Lord came and reminded me of the story of the prodigal son, there and then, i told the role of the father for the first time ( i manage to see from the perspective of the father). Usually when i was reminded of the story of the prodigal son, i also felt like the son who ran away from the father, after which returning to find new love and comfort from Him again. This time, when i told the role of the father, the Lord put a sense of disappointment in me when the son left and then a gush of GREAT JOY when the son returned. The feeling was amazing! I thank God for this new revelation. After that, the Lord became silent and allowed me to dwell and receive even more of the Holy Spirit. I thank God for this experience!

One thing, i believe is whenever His people come together, He will be in their midst, and He will NEVER let you go before receiving from Him. Amen?

Love,Lisa

Prayer meeting was great and powerful. and the presence of the holy spirit is so strong that i keep speaking in tongues super loudly. and i dare to say that the lord had spoken to each and every people there at the prayer meet. and the lord really used pastor eve to spoke to me. when pastor was praying for me, she said a sentence that until now, it's still repeating in my mind everywhere i go. "let your happiness turn into strength and your sadness into happiness" i think it's really the way we look at a situation and the perspective that we're looking from, in order to turn our sadness into happiness. are you looking at the problem in a small or big dimension?and also, to let every happiness that's in us to act as a motivation to chiong for the lord and to really press on with what we're doing. it may seems impossible. but god is a god of IMPOSSIBILITIES.

Chuanlian

Seriously, I did not planned to go prayer meet on 12/10 as I’m not very sure if my mum will allow, or should I say I’m afraid to ask. But, I still went that day, calling my mum quite last minute before the prayer meet start. Surprising but true, my mum kind of allow me to go, just telling me to come home early in a frustrated tone. For that, I really thank GOD for that. In my heart, I really felt that I can go, thus I would tell Liangming I’m going for prayer meet even before I ask. I guess this must be faith. Having faith that I’m able to go and most of all having faith that god will make a way. I guess that the message God wants to tell me after I get back my promos result that day, which I only thought about it as I do my reflection. God will make a way for me, even though my promos result are not fantastic but no problem, because, GOD who is so ever mighty will make a way cos I believe, I trust.
For the prayer meet, I really felt that it was a powerful one though I did not stay till the end. God really touched me as we worshipped and prayed. In each of the songs we sang for worship, I really felt God’s presence within me. I really felt that his presence is really strong. Every song, every sentence, really touched my heart. God is really amazing. And for the time where Ps Danny wanted us to feel God’s brokenness, I really felt it, and for that moment I felt sad and just couldn’t stop crying. Yet I also can feel God’s forgiveness upon me, which I feel is just too amazing, his love for us is just too great.
I’m really glad I went that day, for the many things I’ve learnt and the closer relationship I have with him.

Kwai Hoong

Deep down inside my heart.. i'm quite lookin forward to the prayer meet on fri.. so i went along...i realise that GOD is very amazing..& i'm very amaze by God on that day or everyday..Recently i prayed to god.. i've been askin god when can i see u.. i want to see u, look at u, smile at u LORD.. but i don understand y i can feel him i can sense his presence but i can't see him.. i dont get the reason.. so i keep on prayin to him..FINALLY, i met GOD on the PRAYER MEET...though it was a VERY short period but i very glad..i'm gald tat whatever things that has happens to mi.. & i really thank GOD 4 EVERYTHING!!& want to PRAISE GOD 4 EVERYTHING!!

& on that friday, i learn how to pray in tongues i'm so happy.. but it is in very simple one lar.. but i'n already veri gald with that!!!& i want to THANK GOD 4 that!!! I'm quite amaze by myself that i could pray in tongues.. as i don't know how..When i realise that i've been prayin in tongues i feel things is so different from before..IT IS REALLY DIFFERENT!!! & I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PUT IT IN WORDS!! HAHAAHSSS.. (: though its short but all this words are from deep down INSIDE my heart & GOD knows all about it...

(: LOVES!!!JIALING.

love,
liangming

Hope beyond suffering

2007-10-11T22:52:00.000+08:00

Lisa Bevere, the wife of John Bevere parallels the hope beyond suffering to plastic surgery.

She wrote:

Think of it. Those who undergo plastic surgery or an extreme makeover of any kind are first consulted about their desires and expectations. Then the realism of those expectations is discussed. The surgeon may say," We can do this, but it will look like this rather than that. I can't give you Ashley Judd's exact cheeks, but this is how close I can get." (Her beautiful smile has made her cheeks the most requested). Then, with most procedures, implants and/or incisions are discussed in detail. Then there is the amount of time necessary for the healing process and the risks involved with the procedure. And finally, the amount of money it will cost to achieve the results is tallied. And then the patient must weigh the promise, the pain, the recovery, and the price.

They are put to sleep whole, and though they realize they will wake up swollen and in pain, and more often than not with some marks and scars, there remains the promise of a difference. Something will be changed or rearranged, and though they may suffer pain, if they will endure the healing and wait patiently for the swelling to subside, they will discover the beauty on the other side of the process.

God's promise to us is sort of a flipped version of this. In His makeover we go to sleep wounded and scarred, aged and worn, perhaps even sagging and swollen, and we wake up pain-free, new, youthful, fresh and strong.

This is the long awaited of eternity in men's heart.

Suang

2007-10-10T12:48:00.000+08:00

Jigsaw Puzzle.

As I attended the re encounter a few weeks back, one thing that really spoke to my heart and causes me to press on and work hard was actually a vision given by one lady in the re-encounter. She went up on stage and said that she saw an unfinished jigsaw puzzle. And god is slowly piecing each and every piece of jigsaw puzzle up to create a beautiful painting.

Maybe you are going through some difficult times now, or maybe things now doesn’t seems to work out the way we wanted them to be. But god is still willing to work on this jigsaw puzzle. It may be a 1000 piece puzzle or a 5000 piece puzzle. No matter how much, god is still willing to piece everything up, until the very last piece. God still cares.

ChuanLian

2007-10-06T19:31:00.000+08:00

But he gives us more grace. That is why the Scripture says: " God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" [James 4:6]

God opposes the proud. it does not mean God hates them it just means He does not agree in people being proud, because in whatever the circumstances, God loves us. Being proud is too, sin but God will still love you.

Gives grace to the humble. Grace here is the love and kindness God gives to the people. So, towards the humble, God showers more love and kindness. When you are not proud,God will shine his light upon you and lift you up but when you are, He disapproves of your doing and you will be punished. But God still loves us no matter what. God shows us unconditional love and we ought to love as well as have faith in God just as He has done so to each and everyone of us. God has humbled Himself and we too should humble ourselves as well, following the footsteps of Christ our Lord.

-gwen

2007-10-06T19:28:00.000+08:00

Thanksgiving!

Very, very extremely thankful for my Prelim Exam results. Thank God that for the first time in my whole JC life, I passed all my subjects. Also, I made marked improvements in Literature (D to an A) & Maths (U to a C). And I passed Biology for the first time ever! I was so shocked at my results. But our God never fails to surprise. I was so stressed over this because this would sort of determine if I was ready for my As. But the prayer meeting we had a week or so before my Prelims, God told me to leave everything to him. And as my verse of the year says, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength", I decided God shall take full charge in this Prelims. And I'm glad I did so. I'm committing everything to him for my As because He has proven himself & I'm sure He will do many more works in my life.

For those who are in the midst of studying for our final exams, press on! :)

-Sarah

2007-10-04T16:20:00.000+08:00

know it seems you’re all alone no one to really care,
with such a heavy burden that you alone must bear.
I may not know just what to say nor exactly what to do,
but may be assured to know I’m praying just for you.
So even though it seems that many storm clouds fill your day,
I know that the Lord heard our prayer, and help is on the way.

I received a card with the poem from Moomo during Encounter this year. My eyes watered after I read this because it really touched my heart deeply. At this critical period, I really cry out to the Lord, “Help me, help me, I must get through this.” Together with the cell, we prayed that we (i.e. those in jc) will get promoted. And I must really declare God is really good.

I really want to thank God for reassuring me so, so many times even before my promo arrives. He showed me many verses that encourage me to press on.

“Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

And then one of the days I found a bookmark that Moomo gave during O’s and it has Psalm 23 on it.

Recently, chuanz gave me a bookmark too, and it says,”Don’t quit”.

“If God can bring you TO it, He’s gonna bring you THROUGH it.”

At this moment, I realized God has placed many people to help me as well. My dearest friend Dina has been helping me with my Math since the start of the year. If not for her, I think I won’t even know how to a simple sum of AP/GP. Just a few days before Math Exams, my classmate actually taught me how to draw derivative graph. Without her help, my 2 marks will be gone. Even for my GP, the Lord has blessed me with a teacher that never fails to offer help when we are in our dire straits. I’m really thankful for all He has done for me.

No matter what result I get, I will still be thankful, because my Lord is faithful to me.

Love,

kriss.

2007-09-29T11:55:00.000+08:00

WALK BY FAITH =D TRUST GOD AND DON'T WORRY

"whatever is not from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23)
"but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all there things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things" (matthew 6:33-34)

Therefore worry is a sin. Many times we would worried about loads of things in our life .But do we ever know that worrying is also a sin? when we start to worry, we lose faith, which means we lose faith in God too and that we do not trust GOd's words. we do not trust God that He will not help us through and worry about things when we never even seek Him for help. God wants us to walk by faith and leave everything to Him.

So why worry? just BELIEVE GOD. Because He is so great that everything is nothing to Him. And He will make a way and bless His children. And so we shall be anxious for nothing and just pray to God. he will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."be anxious for nothing, but in everything in prayer. And supplication, with thanksgiving,let your request be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understandings, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

love loads,
maytze(:

2007-09-27T00:18:00.000+08:00

Is this gonna happen to you?

I knelt to pray but not for long
I had too much to do.
I had to hurry and get to work.

For bills would soon be due
So I knelt and said a hurried prayer.
And jumped off my knees.

My christian duty was now done,
My soul could rest at ease.
All day long I had no time.

To spread a cheer
No time to speak of Christ to friends.
They'd laugh at me I'd fear.

No time, to give to souls in need.
But at least the time to die
I went before the Lord,

I came, I stood with downcast eyes.
For in his hands God held a book
It was the book of life.

God looked into this book and said,
"Your name I can't find,
I once was going to write it down,
But never found the time."

this may be a short poem...but it spoke a lot to me. Let us find the time for God today... put aside our busy schedules and find some time just seeking Him... God bless you...i hope it will speak to you.

ps. thanks to chuanz and mings. credits goes to them...=)

Love,
lisa

2007-09-21T18:09:00.000+08:00

BELIEVE
Footprints.

There was this man dreamed that he was walking with the lord . And for each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints. But he noticed that when he was at the lowest and saddest time, there was only one set of footprint. This really bothered him and he questioned the lord. "lord , you said that once i decided to follow,you'd walk with me all the way. But why do i see one set of footprints, i don't understand why when i needed you most you would leave me." THE LORD REPLIED,"MY PRECIOUS CHILD, I LOVE YOU AND I WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU. DURING YOUR TIMES OF TRIAL AND SUFFERING, WHEN YOU SEE ONLY ONE SET OF FOOTPRINTS , IT WAS THEN THAT I CARRIED YOU.

God's love for us is everlasting .God always care for us . He will not forsake us . this story really touched me. being a christian for one and a half year , God really made a lot of miracles in my life. though there are times i will blame God and get angry at God, but after that i will reflect on the things i have done to the Lord and i will feel really sorry for the things i have done. many times along the path of my life, i face a lot of problems. but when i cried out to God i would feel peace in my heart ,than i could have the courage to face the problem and solve it. there's this period of time i totally can't feel God ,and of course i was really very sad, i kept praying and praying to him but there's no reply from God ,nothing happened, this period of time last quite long. GOD maybe reply me and i did not notice it. but i know GOD do things step by step so god may want to use this 'no reply' period to test for my patience.

GOD was always be there to accompany,care ,love,bless me .(psalm 13:5) Because there is GOD ,that's why my life is so colourful , GOD has put the colour in my life. no matter what the evil do to us,remember there's God ,He will protect his children. no one can harm us ,no one can seperate us from GOD .AMEN!

jiajing.

2007-09-16T22:15:00.000+08:00

The not-so-dreadful reality of Maths

i was preparing for bed and decided to spend my last moments on the net when i blog-hopped to my fren's blog. this post immediately spoke to me. in the midst of this exam period, we're all looking for better ways to improve our grades. long mugging hours, constant notes-reading, health supplements, strengthening of psychological mind, burning of midnight oil... and burning of more midnight oil..

okay i know how much u guys may hate math, the tough equations and the stupid, illogical Amaths and stuff.. but read this post, i promise u the maths involved is kindergarten kind (err sort of).. here goes..

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111
9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888
Brilliant, isn't it?
And look at this symmetry:
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111= 12345678987654321
Now, take a look at this...
101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:
What equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%.
How about ACHIEVING 101%?
What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
And:
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%
But:
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
.
.
.
.
.
THEN, this is how far the love of God will take you:
L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%
Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close,
and Attitude will get you there, It's the Love of God
that will put you over the top!
It's up to you if you share this with your friends &
loved ones just the way I did.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on
your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and
He will direct your paths." Proverbs 3: 5-6

i donno how much u dislike studying or how dreadful math is to you. i onli wanna tell u this, God is as concerned as you are for ur math and for that matter, ur studies. here's an encouragement for the whole DE family, rely on God's love and His goodness & assurance that He'll bring u thrh this exam period. in the midst of all the stress and tiring hours, i urge u guys to continue to seek Him. and if u ever think u cant handle anything, rmb that the love of God is 101%.

-darren
(PS: happy mugging!!)

2007-09-15T16:02:00.000+08:00

Sometimes it’s so hard to let go of the anger you feel towards other people.

Just this week, I was so angry with my uncle for his behaviour towards my family. Just to set some background, we cabbed down to tanah merah country club for his birthday celebration only to be snubbed in really distasteful fashion. There were two tables in the restaurant booked by him and he was sitting at one so my mom and I walked up to his table to wish him happy birthday. Instead of thanking us, he merely retorted, ‘Can you sit at the other table please.’

That was when I started wanting to use the dinner napkins to strangle him and getting my sis to pelt him with nuts on the way (the things you can do with appetisers and dinner settings).

I just felt so ANGRY with him because his obnoxious behaviour was so uncalled for. We could have done so many better things than show up for your dinner and we would have been so much happier skipping it. I had piles of homework waiting for me at home and it is during times like that that I find homework so immensely lovable. I was just plain disgusted at the way he treated his family members. Granted that he’s rich and successful but that is no excuse for snobbery.

I knew deep down that I had to forgive him but I just could not find it in myself to do so. I just could not relinquish that anger that I was holding inside me. So I was praying about this and God spoke to me through today’s (15/09/2007) devotion in the daily bread.

It spoke to my heart directly because it talked about how instead of feeling good about other people’s weaknesses, you should be called to examine yourself instead. To quote directly, ‘The failures of others should cause us to be more aware of our own weaknesses and need for the grace of Christ. Only in the knowledge of our weakness will we be dependent on the strength of God.’

I am still struggling but I can sense myself giving in a little. It’s really hard to let go of your anger sometimes, especially if it gives you a sense of moral superiority like ‘But he deserves it what. He’s such a complete _______’ *insert your own derogatory noun*’. But do remember that anger against sin can always turn into sinful anger and that the way to a lighter heart is through relinquishing all such ferocious thoughts and leaving it to God.

I hope this encourages! (:

-Krystle

2007-09-15T15:56:00.000+08:00

psalm 96.
verse 4 - For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise ; He is to be feared above all gods.
verse 11 - Lets the heavens rejoice , let the earth be glad ; let the sea resound and all that is in it ; verse 13 - they sing before the Lord , for he comes , he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the people in his truth .

because it was monday night , so tomorrow would be tuesday which is the day that i always fear as i have 5 consecutive lessons of art .. which is actually quite stressful so i think that this verses really showed me how much God loves us and He really indeed cares for all of us :) besides when tuesday came , everything seem to pass by smoothly as my teacher decided to extent one more week for us to complete all our preparatory work ..thank God for that. and on tuesday night , although i was really feeling tired after staying back in school from early morn up till 5 plus eveing , i still did my quiet time and God spoke to me again through the next chapter that i was going to read .. Psalm 97.

psalm 97.
verse 1 - The Lord reigns , let the earth be glad ; let the distant shores rejoice.
verse 10 - let those who the Lord had evil , for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked .
verse 12 - rejoice in the Lord , you who are righteous , and prasie his holy name. AMEN.

thank God for the wonderful word he provided me , i am indeed EMPOWERED in God's grace.
THANK GOD :)

-Suzanne

2007-09-13T16:42:00.000+08:00

During last week's cell, we shared about "the great house of god" by Max Lucardo, chapter 10, God's Sufficient Grace. And guess what??? When I was reading a book that was given to me by my god mom, I was surprised to open the book and realised that the chapter was about God's Sufficient Grace too! So I decided to share it with everyone! (:

[ And he said to me, "my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities ,that the power of Christ may rest on me. ] - 2 Corinthians 12:9

Human strength is a strong deterrent to trusting God. When we rely on our own strength, resources, and knowledge, we assume we can handle situations without help from God. We tend to divide problems into two categories: -

1) Problems that we know we require help from God
2) Problems we think we can handle it on our own.

Paul had a tenacious personality and an exceptionally string will. He courageously faced angry mobs as he travelled far and wide to promote the cause of Christ. He had spent the first half of his life serving God in his own strength. However, once God gained his attention, Paul had to learn to rely on God’s strength and not his own.

Paul was afflicted with a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7). Whatever this was, it humbled him. He had performed incredible miracles, even raising the dead; but he could not remove the affliction that God had given him, an affliction that made him depend in God. The world had seen what Paul could do in his own strength, and it was horrifying! Now God wanted to exercise His power through Paul’s life. When Paul thought he was strong, he neglected to rely upon God’s strength. Only in his weakness did Paul trust implicitly in God.

If you feel strong in an area of your life, beware! Often your strength, rather than your weakness, hinders you from trusting God. God will bring you to a point of weakness if that is what it takes to bring you to trust Him. Do not despise your weakness, for it leads you to trust in God’s strength! (:

-Lynn

2007-09-10T23:31:00.000+08:00

Luke 6:31 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Christians know them by heart, but how many have been able to do that. The Lord brings me back to this verse which I sometimes leave out because its too familiar to me. I see the irony that I have to learn this verse all over again even when its so simple.

Some people are hard to get along. And the problem remains even when I attempt to spend quality time with them and be nice to them. So I have begun to be aloof to such people. But the Lord tells me that he will provide a way that is easier for me, and that is loving them in Him. So no matter what kind of people they are, even when they never appreciate me for making that effort to be nice to them, on my part, I should have loved them all the same.

Therefore, respect people if you want them to respect you.

Ming Chin

2007-09-08T15:04:00.001+08:00

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"
- 2 Corinthians 12:9

I thank God for the Prayer meeting last night, where I received a huge portion of the Holy Spirit & the Lord revealed this verse to me.

Living in a competitive society like Singapore, us being students often find ourselves giving way to the school work load or to the stress in school & from our parents. But there is a God who says that when we find ourselves not being able to go on, he tells us, "My grace is sufficient for you.". And He goes on to say that in this weakness, it is then that he can perfect His power in us.

Power perfected in weakness, seems pretty ironic, but that's the way our marvellous God is.

Will you believe that God's grace is indeed sufficient to tide you over? :)

- Sarah

2007-09-08T15:00:00.000+08:00

Recently, my prelims had started. It was a bad one. However , through it all , the Lord has been faithful and has been always guiding me even in every exam I sit for. It'll be a miracle if i pass my maths ! Anyways , what I want to share is that I'm really thankful for what God is doing in my family. After praying for the past 4 years for God to move in our family , finally ,since the last few weeks , my relatives were really open in hearing us share the gospel with them. Normally they would resist it or persecute us however even my grandma has become open towards christianity. It's really a miracle , and we all pray that God will continue using us to be an instrument to his work ! God has his timing in all that He does !

-Renette

2007-09-08T14:56:00.000+08:00

Psalms 95:1
'come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation.'

i am really happy to be 'chosen'by Him.. in the 100k challenge,i told myself that i got to overcome all my fears to approach people.. and i did it!!! And my second target was to get people to believe in Christ.. which i failed.. but God told me to stay strong and not give up just because of one failure...and indeed i manage to complete the challenge... realizing that it wasn't easy to introduce people to God, i instantly knew that i was really chosen by God to be one of his daughters.. without Christ, there wouldn't be a SOKHONG today..

Sokhong.

2007-09-04T22:48:00.000+08:00

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it.

'Lord, You said that once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.'

The Lord replied, 'My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I Carried You.'

This is a poem that most of us have heard before and it is my personal favourite. For the past few days, this poem has been in my head, especially when i got back some of my common test results which i did not do well for.

I felt so helpless, felt so distant from God. My heart's question was, 'where are you God?', then my heart remembered this poem. 'My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I Carried You.'

God never left me. Dear brothers and sisters, if you ever feel that God feel so far, so distant from you, read this poem, remember that our ever-loving father never leaves us, he's there with us. When we are happy, he share our joy. When we are sad, when setbacks charge towards us, he is there, with his loving hands guiding us along. He is there for us. Let us be thankful for everything we are going through for we are not alone. He is watching us, guiding us. :)

Kwai hoong. (:

2007-09-03T16:48:00.000+08:00

Live in His Presence
Adapted from God's Daily Word (GDW)

In the message "Enter His Sanctuary" we saw how the seemingly complex and confusing portions of our life are most often made clear as we open the door of our heart and enter His sanctuary. His ways are much higher than ours, "as the heavens are higher than the earth" (Isaiah 55:9), and His true purpose cannot be understood without a heart dedicated to glorifying Him in worship.

We are called to a life of worship; and though we use the phrase "enter His sanctuary," I pray it comes as no surprise that the presence of God is not confined within the walls of our church buildings. We do not call Him "down" to join us as we sing our songs, and He is not any closer because of the outward expression of our worship.

Matthew 28:20"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

One of the last promises Jesus made was though He was returning to the Father, He would always remain with us - to the very end! The presence of God is with us right now! He is as near in our most decorated centers of worship as He is when we are on the bus or alone in our car; "never will I leave you" (Hebrews 13:5).

One of the great blessings most believers miss today is that our Heavenly Father is much closer than we realize: "If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast" (Psalm139:8-10). He is VERY near, and His great desire is that we would join Him in an intimate and worshipful fellowship in whatever circumstances our day may bring.

We fellowship with our Creator by continually communing with Him, whether in deep prayer or simple conversation, throughout the day. We must present love. When impure thoughts or our deceitful tongue pulls us away, we should immediately turn them away, ask His forgiveness, and return to His presence. As impossible as this may seem, this is the worship God desires - and the worship He deserves. We ought to adopt this as our lifestyle today and continue until He takes us home.

His presence is available to every believer! Some jobs or home environments may pose a challenge, but He has promised to be with those who desire to walk with Him, regardless of the circumstances. Let's be determined to bring Him glory and honor, and love Him through ALL we do, say, and think. Let's be determined that for all our remaining days we will worship and live in His presence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During the Hillsongs Dance Conference, Ps Michelle (Hillsongs Dance Director/Pastor) shared with us the same msg, that the Lord is ALWAYS with us, its just that we are not aware of Him or did not involve His participation in our lives. Sometimes in cell groups, i find that i also pray prayers to invite Him "down" into our gatherings, sessions. There is nothing wrong in that, in any sense. But i learnt a new way that we can pray. That is "Holy Spirit, i want to be more aware of your presence". Sounds too simple?? You've gotta try it to know it. =)

Have a Christ Centered Day!

+cand+

2007-09-03T15:06:00.001+08:00

It's morning. I know it is because I wake up to the sounds of Glenn Ong and the Flying Dutchman crackling through the radio. On with the morning routine.

I look out the window and catch the train afar rushing through the tracks without straining my naked eyes. I still have perfect eyesight. Wonderful, I think to myself.

I shower. I brush my teeth. I hear the pit-pattering of water on my skin. I smell the mint on my toothpaste and what joy it brings to my breath. I feel the hot water trickling down my frame. I taste the mint working its magic in my mouth.

I open the wardrobe and I don't know what to wear. Red or green? I'm spoilt for choice. I pick one anyways.

In the kitchen I pour milk atop my bowl of cereal. Spoonful after spoonful I crunch on calcium soaked flakes. I imagine how ecstatic my taste buds must be to register milk, honey and crusty grains all at once.

I put on my shoes. I step out of my flat and I'm greeted by the slight sting of the morning's ray upon my skin and I make a mental note that it's going to be a hot day.

I see, touch, feel, smell, taste, hear. And I thank God. I thank God that I'm still very much alive like how I was before I turned in to bed last night. That my senses are still working, my body parts still functioning. We always want results of answered prayers. Of good results in school and favourable conditions at work. As much as God wants to bless us I know, I can't help but feel selfish sometimes. Selfish that I'm not thankful for the very thing God has given me: the air I breathe for a healthy functioning self. Not everyone wakes up to what I'm able to take for granted. When the time comes for thanksgiving, do we really have nothing to thank God for?

"So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them." - Genesis 1:27

Dylan

2007-09-01T11:43:00.000+08:00

"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them" Romans 1:32

This verse has kept me bewildered for awhile so I thought about it and wondered what it meant. I figured it out and even have an example.

If your friend so happens to gossip about others to you, and you listen or even give comments, you are, in fact, approving of your friend who is gossiping. If you go one big round you'll find that you are gossipping and that's a sin. I realised that when you approve of others' doings, you yourself are not aware of it at all. So I thought through and realised that I am giving approval of others' sins, whether directly or not. Now I really have to try to see, in my daily life, if I continue to do it. So now think about it: Are you aware of wrong and giving another approval of their sin?

-Gwendolyn

2007-08-30T15:27:00.000+08:00

romans 5:11 ''we rejoice because of what God has done through our lord Jesus Christ, who has now made us God's friends''

we can be joyful no matter what the circumstances are, because God is always with those who believes in Him, no matter where we are or what we are facing. as believers, we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. we have become God's friends, and this friendship, lasts forever.

"when you pass through deep waters, i will be with you; your troubles will not not overwhelm you. when you pass through fire, you will not be burned."

when you are a believer, God is with you and nothing can overwhelm you. nothing can destroy you. you will never go through the problems alone. God will be with you.

-wendelyn.

2007-08-27T17:35:00.000+08:00

Psalm 105:4
"Look to the Lord and His strength, seek His face always"

For everyone that are taking their exams or will take their exams soon, beside studying hard, don't forget also to pray to the Lord and ask for strength to face the exams.. Jia You!

-janet

2007-08-21T18:00:00.000+08:00

I am the difference

National day was a few weeks ago but I just feel that I need to share this with you guys. If you didn’t catch the national day parade, I’m sure that you will have surely heard of this year’s national day theme song. Yep, the theme song spoke to me. Many people actually told me that they didn’t really like this year’s theme song and that the MTV was a bit ‘over’, but as I was listening to it. I could just sense god trying to speak to me through this song.

The chorus of the song goes like this,
Will you swim the current?
Will you scale new heights?
Will you make it happen?
Will you let your dreams take flight?
So, will you make the difference?
Will you seize the day?
Will you live each moment,
will you dare to find new way?

God is trying to say that each and every one of us CAN make the difference. The thing is whether we dare to do it, whether we dare to seize that moment to take that step of faith. Many times, we may think that we cannot do it. Making a difference is for those leaders and pastors to do. But now, god is telling you that YOU are the difference. YOU can make the difference.

So brothers and sisters, rise up! And be that warrior of god that says,

I WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

-Chuanlian

2007-08-21T17:33:00.001+08:00

100k reflection
Here's to testify that the person who blesses is more blessed than the people who are being blessed.

Doing the 100k was really a process whereby I learnt more and grew closer to God in my walk with him and not a stopover to rest and take a break from my learning journey with the Lord. I am still learning and I've learnt more than usual. Why do I say so?

Blessing for myself then blessing for others
In the process, I realized there is a need for me to testify what the Lord has done in my life and to recieve the Lord's blessings before I can bless someone who needs the blessings. I found it hard at first to convince people that prayers work when I myself am in need myself.

Through approaching many people and going around blessing them, the many reactions of the people and the process of me approaching them made me learnt a lot of things and grow. This process changed me once again. I feel changed by the Lord whenever I answered His call or chose to open my ears to his voice.

Here are some of the lessons i've learnt.

1) There is always someone knows they need God:
My mum is the 1st person I blessed. I knew that she needed prayers. She ticked all the boxes and I think she is the first person I have prayed for in Mandarin. I gave my first time to my Mum!

2) Touching others’ hearts with breakout actions:
This is my first time praying for one of my colleague and she told me she is very touched by this gesture of mine. After this, we became closer and became more open with one another and even shared our troubles with each other at times.

3) Learn to love people that are hard to love:
Seriously speaking, I do not really enjoy working with some classmates in my class. This was in the past and things had indeed been changing. There is this girl who is not liked by the people in my class. There was this time when she suddenly broke down and cried in class. This shocked everyone that day. After some time of crying she stopped and because my friend did not want to have lunch and i had nobody else to ask, I unwillingly asked her for lunch. That was when I got to know her better and of course blessed her with the 100k blessings during that lunch. This changed our relationship. I felt I had more compassion for her and will want to protect someone who is being bullied or harassed in class. We are now closer and I will want to love someone who is not easily loved or being disliked by my other classmates.

4) Stop giving excuses:
I was prompted by the Lord to bless the people living in my block. It was not easy, seriously. I couldn’t make myself do it because I will be approaching people I do not know and there's a high possibility I would be seeing them again. I gave a lot of excuses just to drag time and tried not answer God’s prompting. Eventually I did it. I set a deadline for myself and said I will do it after a certain show that I was watching then ends, knowing I will have to do it somehow. I forced myself to do it at last. And I am glad I did because I manage to bless 2 of my neighbors after trying to bless about ¾ of the population at my block.

5) Having the heart of God – desire to see the many lives touched and hurting when they reject salvation
Being reminded of the verse which says “His kingdom is near.” I was filled with a sense of urgency at that point of time. I want to see my family and friends saved before the second coming of Jesus. I really felt the desperate heart of the Lord to see all His sons and daughters in heaven with Him.

6) Experiences with Strangers
– 1st prompt from Holy spirit - Caucasian at MRT
I did not answer the prompting of the Lord when I was prompted to ask one guy on the train. The process was so divine that I could not explain myself. I could actually sense what he would do next and which stop he was going to alight. But still, I could did not have the boldness to ask the key question, “Have you heard of the 100k?” I was quite sad after that but since I could not do anything about it; I decided not to be such a disobedient daughter the next time God prompts.

– 1st stranger I approached – the lady sitting beside me on the MRT
This really challenged me when I asked my first stranger. One of my sisters gave me the courage by first doing it herself. After some mental fights in my mind, I finally plucked up the courage to do it after some on-the-spot prayers. The lady agreed and I blessed her although I did not get a chance to pray for her as she is rushing off the MRT train. I passed one of my limits, to bless people whom I do not know.

– NDP ticket aunty
After the take the city walk (the walkathon for charity) , I went to look for people to bless with some other sisters at Marina Square. We met a lady who asked us if we had any tickets for NDP that day and after chatting a bit with her, we blessed her with the 100k and went around asking people for the tickets for her, like some weird girls. We didn’t manage to get any of the tickets but I have to say it was indeed a satisfying and meaningful day. After catching up with her, i found out that she is open to church. I believe our act of kindness has planted a seed in her heart and the Lord is taking good care of her.

- More than normal
Well, I prayed that I will meet people who had problems so i could pray for them. I finally met my first one when I reached my number 57. That was my taxi driver. I was going to be late that day and decided to take a cab and bless the uncle that was driving. When I asked him if there was anything he needed prayers for other than the 12 blessings which are listed, he paused and then told me he want to have his son coming back home. We talked quite a little. Then he told me that he actually threw his son out of the house and his son did not come home for about 2 weeks already. His 15 year old son was initially staying at a friend’s house and eventually stayed at his uncle's house. I could see that the uncle wanted the son to come back and he also confessed that when he asked the son not to come back, but he was just trying to scare him. Thank God for answering such a prayer of mine and showing me that such cases do not only happen in drama series but also in real life.

My ex classmate was really surprised and kept asking me why I chose to bless her. I was seriously just randomly picking man of peace from my msn list. She told me she was crying and feeling very sad that night and could not sleep. She had been encountering many problems at home and also in school. She was quite lost and could not think of anyone to talk to. Through this 100k blessing window I am able to catch up with her and give her someone whom she can talk to when she is feeling down.

Through this 100k journey, I also learnt about the joy to be king makers and not just becoming a king. To commit me to my spiritual family’s success and not mine.

From the many encounters with people through the 100k, I really desire to bless more people and look forward to making it a lifestyle. The official 100k campaign ended with 108k people being blessed and I also reached my personal target of 60 people. I felt more blessed as a person who blesses and even someone who wanted to bless me in return.

Even as we mark the end of the 100k campaign, I felt quite lost without blessing others with the 100k pamphlet. The loss of the feelings I feel when I seek to meet my 100k blessing target in the last week of the campaign makes me feel weird now. I was hoping I would have blessed more people. I really look forward to the next time we do such blessings campaign.

-Rujia

2007-08-19T01:02:00.000+08:00

Somebody Loves You

One miserable rainy night, a man named Mark decided to end his life. In his mid-fifties, Mark had never been married, had never experienced the joy of having children or spending holidays with his family. Both his parents had been dead for seven years. He had a sister but had lost contact with her. He held a menial job that left him unfulfilled. Wet and unhappy, he walked the streets, feeling as if there was nobody in the entire world that cared if he lived or died.

On that same soggy night, I was sitting in my room watching the rain hit my window. I was six years old, and my life revolved around my Star Wars action figure collection. I was dreaming of the day when I’d have earned enough money to add Darth Vader to my new collector’s case. To help me make money, my father paid me to jog with him. Everyday, seven o’clock, we jogged together. And everyday I was fifty cents closer to getting Darth Vader.

When I heard the doorbell ring, I jumped from my chair and raced out of my room to the top of the steps. My mother was already at the door.

Opening it, she found herself face-to-face with a very dishelved-looking man with tears streaming down his face. My mother, overcome by pity, invited the man inside, and he sat with my parents in our living room.

Curious, I snuck downstairs so that I could get a better look. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but the side of the rumpled man, holding his head in his hands and crying, made my chest ache. I race back upstairs to my room and stuck my hand into my money jar. Pulling out the Kennedy half-dollar I had earned that day, I ran back downstairs. When I reached the door of the living room, I walked right in. The three adults looked at me in surprised as I quickly made my way over to the stranger. I put the half-dollar in his hand and told him that I wanted him to have it. Then I gave him a hug and turned as fast as I could out of the room and back up the stairs. I felt embarrassed but happy.

Downstairs, Mark sat quietly with his head bowed. Tears streamed down his face as he tightly clutched that coin. Finally looking up at my parents, he said, “It’s jus that I thought nobody cared. For the last twenty years, I have been so alone. That was the first hug I have gotten in – I don’t know how long. It’s hard to believe that SOMEBODY CARES.”

Mark’s life changed that night. When he left our house, he was ready to live instead of die. Although my family never saw Mark again, we received letters from him every once in a while, letting us know that he was doing fine.

Being a six-year-old kid, I hadn’t thought about what I was doing that night. I had just reacted to the sight of someone else’s pain. On our morning jogs, my dad and I had talked about the importance of giving, but I hadn’t had any idea of what it really meant. My life changed that night, too, as I witnessed the true healing power of giving. Even if it’s only a gift of fifty cents.

Before Mark left, my parents asked him why he had knocked on our door. Mark said that as he walked the streets that rainy night, hopeless and ready to die, he had noticed a bumper sticker on a car. He’d stood in the driveway and wondered about the people who lived in the house where the car was parked. Then in a fog of unhappiness, he had made his way to the front door. It’s hard to imagine that a bumper sticker and fifty cents could change two people’s lives, but somehow they did.

The bumper sticker on our car read:
SOMEBODY LOVES YOU.

~ Wil Horneff

This story really tells me the importance of giving and showing love and kindness to the people around you. God had showered us with LOVE so that we can in turn also give out our LOVE to other people. A hug may be nothing to you but it can be a true healing power for someone. It can means A LOT to a person. So give a HUG to the people who need today! It may meant SOMETHING to them and know that SOMEBODY DOES LOVE THEM! =DD

LOVE LOADS,
May Tze =D

2007-08-19T00:54:00.000+08:00

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
- Romans 13:8-10

I'm sure most of us (if not all) already know the Ten Commandments. But did you know that it could be summarised into one commandment? Paul says in Romans 13:8-10 that "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

It's a commandment I often find myself struggling with. Sure you can love those who are nice to you. But what about those who aren't all that nice? Do you ignore them, treat them badly?

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
- Matthew 5:43

Apparently not! Jesus wants us to love our enemies (or people you don't really like) too! It's a question I've asked myself tons of times. Why love them since it's so hard to? You see, when we love God, we must recognize that everyone is part of His creation. And if it's His creation, then we ought to love the person too.

No one ever said it was easy, but if you don't try, you'll never know won't you?

For the 100K, one of my last few blessings was shared with someone who I've had several 'conflicts' with. We're friends, but just that we don't quite agree on everything & when I was looking to bless people in the final stretch, God asked me, why are you being so selective about who you're blessing? I didn't quite want to bless that person beause I really couldn't imagine myself praying for her, but I could sense Him telling me that I should love each and everyone of his creation, including that particular friend. So I finally asked, and she seemed surprised but she agreed after a day or so. And now not only have I blessed her, she's definitely been a lot friendlier around me too. :)

Have you loved your neighbour yet?

-Sarah

2007-08-15T18:46:00.000+08:00

John 1:38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked."What do you want?"

Whenever Jesus asks us "What do you want?", usually the answers would be health,wisdom,progress in career,financial freedom and so on. It suddenly dawned onto me that, sometimes, we miss a chance to spend time with Jesus because we're seeking something else other than His presence. Jesus always longs for our fellowship more than we long for His.

Sometimes when we've not done what we ought to do(homework,project..etc), we'll tend to procrastinate about spending time with Jesus. That's when we start to place other issues as our top priorities, and Jesus, second.

I used to have this struggle between my studies and God, but after placing my priorities right,
I have found much peace when I spent time with Him as well as learning how to cope well with my studies. I know that no matter how much I've tried, it will not be as productive as seeking God and relying on His strength. Once it's surrendered to Him, I'll know that He'll just take care of everything , and I did not have to worry.

Just like this verse from Ecclesiates2:10-11 says "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;I refused my heart no pleasure.My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless,a chasing after the wind;nothing was gained under the sun."

Hope that this devotion will encourage all of you to always seek God in all circumstances, because He is your pillar of strength that will always be a source of support for you!

God bless you!

-Chantel :)

(ps:I've blessed my vice-principal as part of the 100k!)

2007-08-14T17:32:00.000+08:00

I may be a very absent-minded person, but I seldom lose my personal belongings like handphone or wallet or house keys. (Okay maybe once.)

It's really wonderful to see how God works.

I remembered I lost my house keys and my sister found it in her car a few months later. Then I lost my handphone (yes my pink razor) and my sister found it in her car too.

But this time it was different. I really left it somewhere, and not in my sister's car. I was so caught up in my own thoughts (rmb to take chuanlian's pressie..rmb to take her pressie..) when I was in the toilet, I forgot to take my phone (yes the same pink razor) which I left it on the cover of the toilet roll, you know what is it right. SO. Unknowingly, I took train with chuanz, and when I reached Kovan, I REALISED MY PHONE WASN'T WITH ME. (FYI, I was at compass point)

I tell you I was really, really, very panicking at that moment I kept praying and praying and imagine myself holding the phone in my hands again. "I believe God will lead me to my phone again..yes yes He will..yes.."

And you know, it's really HARD, and I mean VERY HARD to get back our phones back once we lost it somewhere and didn't get back within say, 5-10mins?

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT.

After calling my phone umpteen times, someone finally picked up! I was like,"OH MY GOSH, erm, I'm the owner of the phone can I get it back yes yes THANKS UH!"

So yeah, you got it, I have my lao ya handphone back, and I seriously gonna hold it tight no matter how lao ya it is. (UNTIL, I got a new phone, that is. Lol.)

To me it feels like God picked up my emergency call, i.e., my prayer and lead me back to my phone. It's the same with anything else, you just need to present your request, and God will hear definitely. The book that my cell is doing on, The Great House of God even says that God silent ALL, and He really means ALL the trumpet sounds and singing just to hear to say something. Your prayer means a lot to Him, and so does you. (:

So savour every minute with Him. It's precious.

love,
kriss.

2007-08-14T17:29:00.000+08:00

Want to thank God for blessing me with 5 people to bless that sunday. When Ps Khong challenged us to bless 5 people, i felt that it was a little difficult. At first i was supposed to meet my friends to edit the photos at mac for my assignment, however, there was some last minute changes thus we aren't able to meet up. In my heart i was thinking, there goes my slightest opportunity to bless people....However i thank God for a sister. I felt the urge to go and bless no matter what, hence my sis and i decided to roam around central for our target audience.

We approach first at old lady and her husband. They say that they have already been blessed. Oh my! this 100k is really roaming our streets. After which we decided to approach the girls sitting at the side... however to our dismay, they did not understand english...thus we had no choice but to look for our next target.

We headed to the bus interchange...however we were rejected by a few people...so after an hour or so of roaming around...we still had none. Our spirits were pretty low...Wanted very much to give up...but i know that the Holy Spirit was prompting us to go back to macs... On our way back, we each did our first blessing. Thank God! The girls we blessed were open and sweet towards us. They even gave their address if i'm not wrong. At first they felt pretty uneasy. But then, it went well.

Next we manage to bless suzanne's friend and her collegues. Thank God for the open hearts, one of them was quite negative, the other was more open... After blessing them, we headed over to the night market at our place. There we managed to bless most of suzanne's friends. It's like they tend to just appear out of no where. Haha! I guess the Lord just decided to put them there. After hitting out target of 10, we headed for home.

Thank God that i manage to bless this girl in NYP. It was just one of the mornings that i decided to head down early to school to bless people. Upon reaching , i prayed a simple prayer of asking God to open my eyes. There and then, the moment i walked into the canteen, there was a girl sitting alone at the canteen...immediately i took a breath and head over with my warrior pack. Before long i found our that she was from school of design as well, it's just that she was in her first year and her course was industrial design. We chatted till she needed to head to class. Thank God! I manage to finally bless a stranger.

Last thing to thank God for was seeing me through the week, thank God i'm well. I survived through the nights doing my assignments!

Love,
Lisa

2007-08-13T17:04:00.000+08:00

For the Lord, He is good...

Thank God for this wonderful week..A really enjoyable and relaxing week after my long CA week plus all the confusing preparation for Asean Dance....Finally, everything is over... I try to be thankful for whatever result I got and will get...Looking forward for the next project from God, and feel this victory when I conquer all those painful days....

Cindy--

2007-08-12T20:16:00.000+08:00

The year is almost coming to an end.. I have been thinking and reflecting on my spiritual walk with the lord..

As we all know, this year is a season of looking far, asking big and going deep and to me the hardest of all was going deep.. Despite being a Christian for almost four years, i still encounter
difficulty in going deep with the lord.. Initially, i thought thatwhat is required for me to go deep was just reading and understanding the scripture.. However it was only when i stumbled upon this passage in a book which dawned upon me that my definition of going deep was really superficial..

It is said that there was this man who read the bible 12 times yet there were still moral disorders in his life that were not dealt with.. Well this proved that reading the bible is simply not enough but also allowing the bible to read us and be changed by it.. In the book, the author emphasised the importance of highlighting a verse in the bible that you come upon.. After which you allow your mind to meditate and ponder on it. Reflect on the verse and probe it with questions thus triggering your mind and making you think. I believe that this has a powerful effect as its one of the ways of how God has showed me his revelation and manifestation..

There were also a lot of times i cannot perceive or understand what the lord is doing even though i do read the bible. The funny thing is i can't recall a single thing that i have read at the end of the day .. This led me to the fact that is not just about reading, understanding and memorising the verse but also meditating and pondering on it.. It is only then the lord will reveal certain things in your life that you do not understand before.. That is HIS revelation.. Even so, it is time consuming as this means that i have to spend more time with the lord.. However i got the conviction to do it especially when the author said that reading the bible but not meditating on it is like eating your food without chewing on it..

Rachel Foo