Tuesday, September 25, 2007
I think sometimes it like that in my walk with God. When I faced with big challenges, I really do not know what to do! Surprise? Pastors are also human too!!! In my mind there are always three options! What are they? Well maybe you can identify,
- Run away!!!! (Easiest and the best options)
- Don’t care!!! ( Can't be bothered, wait for things to happen)
- Take Courage, FACE IT! (Siong man)
Often, Option 3 is the hardest to do but actually this is what God wants his children to do, is to take courage and face it.
God has to remind Joshua the young commander who was leading the entire nation to take courage and face it and he repeated three times!!! God did not tell him the solution but first take courage and be strong. i think young Joshi was caught in that situation, "What to do Lord????" "Why me????" But he made the decision to be strong and courageous even though he was not sure what to do at first.
You see, God only reveals his plans to us ! when we say Lord we want to be strong and courageous. It is not the ot her way round. So friends, when you are caught in that situation that tempts you to go to option 1 and 2. Always remember young Joshi who made option 3 as the best way to go! Remember, be strong and courageous!
You see, God only reveals his plans to us ! when we say Lord we want to be strong and courageous. It is not the ot her way round. So friends, when you are caught in that situation that tempts you to go to option 1 and 2. Always remember young Joshi who made option 3 as the best way to go! Remember, be strong and courageous!
10:51 AM
(SALVATION)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Just 2 weeks ago I went for a 4 days holiday in.........
SINGAPORE.... :)
Wahahaha... Actually i have planned for a trip in Tioman or Rendang, but some precious brothers of mine (You probably know who?? Ha...) pull out of the trip last minute and I had to settle for LOCAL holiday.
As it turns out, the experience of a local holiday is not too bad, in fact it's GREAT~!!!
Who says we can ONLY have fun OVERSEAS??? Local can be just as FUN! >.<
So guess what, i decided to do something out of the ordinary - Dive with the SHARKS~!!!
WOOO HOOOO~!!! Ha ha...
This is one of the picutes from the diving experience~!
- Have you EVER had an Eagle-Ray (Sting-Ray) as big as about 60-70cm swam around you?
- Have you EVER touch the belly of a Sting-Ray as it swam pass you above your head? (It's really Smooth... Hmmm... and Nice... Hmm... Suddenly Adam Hawker comes to mind... I wonder why...)
- Have you EVER had a Sting-Ray eating out of your hands?
- Have you EVER swam beside a shark?
- Have you EVER hug a leaopard shark in your arms? (I was a little tempted to kiss it actually, but decided not to after touching it... You go guess why)
A great experience it was.... :) Btw, if you are thinking of going... Erm... sorry folks, you must be at least 21 years old... :P
Although it was kind of like just swimming in a huge aquarium, I am already very impressed with the creation of God - the fishes, eagle-ray, sharks.
I consider the vast ocean on earth and the millions of sea creatures and Genesis 1 comes to mind... The greatness of God... Wow... Our God is a great God!
Hey folks, I just want to encourage you,
Recently I heard that some of our IGNYTE people are feeling rather discouraged because they did not do so well for their examination.
A reminder of the principles I shared with you during service:
- You reap what you sow principle (If you have given your best, Dont worry)
- Seek Ye first the Kingdom of God principle (If we honor God and put God first, God will honor us)
- It all works for the good of those who love Him principle (An exam result will not change our great destiny that God has for us! - God has great plans for His people - Jeremiah. God can turn it all around)
Trust in Him. Amen?
NDchen
10:08 AM
(SALVATION)
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Phew! I never know that fixing a jigsaw puzzle can be so eye straining until I fixed one.
I came across the game at msn and I decided to give it a try, thinking it may be easy. So after passing so many easy levels, I moved on to the hard level. To my surprised, it was really tough to fix as all the puzzles look the same to me and I had a hard time finding the right one to fix at the right corner. I was on the verge of giving up but my friend who was fixing together with me asked me to continue. She had the feeling that I was losing my cool, if you know me well, I am quite impatient. Ha-ha. But seriously, I felt frustrated and wanted to close the window. Anyway, I hanged on there for another 15 minutes trying very hard to figure out the pieces and fix them up. Eventually, I gave up and closed the window. Then I thought to myself: ‘If only I had persevered on....’
It is easy to fix a puzzle at an easy level and you will have the sense of satisfaction when all the loose pieces form a full picture. And then you move on the hard level, it gets tougher for you to have the loose pieces to form a full picture, perhaps more time needed to complete it.
As Christian, we need to know our destiny in God. Just like fixing the jigsaw puzzle, we will not know our destiny until we embark on the journey of searching. Fixing a puzzle, we need time to find the loose pieces, the harder level, and the more time we need. As we begin to embark on the journey of searching, God will reveal different things at different timing, you begin to have bits and pieces of your life which God has crafted for you.
As you grow older in your Christian faith, you will see that slowly God will not reveal as many things as before and this is where you need to seek God, hear from him the directions of your life. Many times, we tend to give up because we misunderstand that God is supposed to reveal everything to us. Right? Or we thought that God will show everything and have wonderful plans for you ahead then the end.
I mean, yes God has great plans for everyone but to a certain point of life, we need to learn to come before God and seek ye first. It is only when we come before him; let him know our desires and he will then give us the directions. I agree that we may feel frustrated when we do not see the full picture forming, but we do not just give up easily because we need to persevere! God wants us to hang on there in the midst of searching, so as to build up our faith and character. When the time is ripe, God will reveal more things and that you can have a complete picture.
It is not easy once you embark on the journey but always know that you are not alone walking through the journey, God is with you. You will encounter struggles and go through trials in the midst of searching also, but choose to trust in God and believe that he always have the best for you! Just like the jigsaw puzzle, we persevere until we find the last piece to have a complete picture. When you have the full picture and you look back at how God has directed you, you will still have to say ‘You have been good.’
James 1:3-4 says because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Therefore, are you on this journey yet if not embark on it and I promise that it will be a fulfilling one. =)
You have a destiny in God because you are a child of God!
Sister Esther
It is easy to fix a puzzle at an easy level and you will have the sense of satisfaction when all the loose pieces form a full picture. And then you move on the hard level, it gets tougher for you to have the loose pieces to form a full picture, perhaps more time needed to complete it.
As Christian, we need to know our destiny in God. Just like fixing the jigsaw puzzle, we will not know our destiny until we embark on the journey of searching. Fixing a puzzle, we need time to find the loose pieces, the harder level, and the more time we need. As we begin to embark on the journey of searching, God will reveal different things at different timing, you begin to have bits and pieces of your life which God has crafted for you.
As you grow older in your Christian faith, you will see that slowly God will not reveal as many things as before and this is where you need to seek God, hear from him the directions of your life. Many times, we tend to give up because we misunderstand that God is supposed to reveal everything to us. Right? Or we thought that God will show everything and have wonderful plans for you ahead then the end.
I mean, yes God has great plans for everyone but to a certain point of life, we need to learn to come before God and seek ye first. It is only when we come before him; let him know our desires and he will then give us the directions. I agree that we may feel frustrated when we do not see the full picture forming, but we do not just give up easily because we need to persevere! God wants us to hang on there in the midst of searching, so as to build up our faith and character. When the time is ripe, God will reveal more things and that you can have a complete picture.
It is not easy once you embark on the journey but always know that you are not alone walking through the journey, God is with you. You will encounter struggles and go through trials in the midst of searching also, but choose to trust in God and believe that he always have the best for you! Just like the jigsaw puzzle, we persevere until we find the last piece to have a complete picture. When you have the full picture and you look back at how God has directed you, you will still have to say ‘You have been good.’
James 1:3-4 says because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Therefore, are you on this journey yet if not embark on it and I promise that it will be a fulfilling one. =)
You have a destiny in God because you are a child of God!
Sister Esther
8:14 PM
(SALVATION)
I was having my favourite peanut butter toast at Vivo City today when I bumped into a new-found friend whom Ive just met this week. Amazingly, this is the 3rd time that I am seeing her …in a short span of 5 days!
I first met her on Tuesday while waiting for the kindergarten bus to drop off my 3-year old niece at the foot of my block. As I was on M.C that day, I wanted to give my niece a surprise by “picking her up”. I’ve never had the chance to do so as I’m always at work during daytime. As this lady was also waiting for her son and there weren’t much for us to do while waiting, we started chatting. The 2nd time we met was during the National Day holiday. I was having breakfast with my sister and niece at the food centre when Mrs Tan and her family walked by. When she saw me and my sister, she came by to have a friendly conversation.
Ok, back to my peanut butter toast story… As I sat there, I felt it strange that I would meet Mrs Tan on 3 separate occasions in a short span of 5 days. So, I asked God, ‘God, are you trying to tell me something here?’ At that moment, I remembered that I had picked up 2 additional copies of the ‘I Need A Miracle’ brochure so that I could invite my colleagues in the coming week. I told myself that once I’m done with my food, I would walk over and pass one of the brochures to Mrs Tan. In fact, I was rather pleased with the idea and was really determined to walk up to her later.
However, when I was almost done and attempted to look towards Mrs Tan’s direction, she wasn’t there anymore! She’s gone! I felt awfully upset for having missed the opportunity to hand her the brochure containing many testimonies. God, how could I let the opportunity slip by?! Why I was so slow?! Somehow, a similar incident came to mind. Well, I was on the MRT when I saw this elderly woman who looked really sick and was leaning on the shoulders of a teenage gal (probably her grand daughter). At that moment, something within me told me that I should walk up and pray for the sick lady. As I found it awkward to so in the train, I told myself that I would alight at the stop with them wherever it might be so I could find a more appropriate spot to pray for the elderly lady. The ‘divine’ moment came and the pair alighted. I followed them and squeezed through the crowd to get out of the train. Once I was out of the train, my eyes roamed frantically to look for the pair. Unfortunately, I lost sight of them and the precious moment to pray for the elderly lady was gone in just a few seconds!
As I sat there staring at my last piece of the peanut butter toast, I was really upset and disappointed with myself for not acting on the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Yes, on both occasions, I had been self-centered and had placed my own comfort and convenience above what is important to God. While lamenting over what had happened, God implanted an idea in my mind. Perhaps it was a way that God has allowed me to ‘redeem’ myself. I realized that I could attach a short note to the brochure and ask my domestic helper to pass it to Mrs Tan the next day i.e., when they meet while waiting for the school bus. I thank God for this wonderful idea and opportunity to ‘redeem’ myself this time round. For the MRT incident, sigh…. the chance had slipped by ….
If you think that God has called you to reach out to your generation (His Purpose. My Generation), good for you! = ) But I believe that God has greater things in-store for you and me! It’s not only our generation who needs Jesus, folks. For those in Z2, you would remember me sharing 3 weeks ago about how my ‘target’ list has always included the same old group of people. But as I prayed for God to bring new people into my life and create new opportunities or me to reach out them, people around me (some of whom I don’t even know of their existence) started to come up to me and share their problems. My friends, don’t hesitate to exercise audacious fervor in asking God to open doors and create opportunities for you to reach out to those around you -- your teachers, your CCA mates, your primary school friends, your neighbors, your cousins (the list is endless)
Alrightie… I am taking a 20-minute drive to my auntie & uncle’s place to pass them the ‘I Need A Miracle’ brochure and invite them to come for the evangelistic event. It’s 10pm and it’s raining out there. But it’s not going to be a deterrent for me. I do not want to let another opportunity slip by.
Seize the opportunity to be a blessing to someone! I’ve learnt my lesson.
Sis Cheryl
8:01 PM
(SALVATION)
