Tuesday, August 14, 2007
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of having a short holiday at Cameron Highlands. Aside from the bumpy roads and houseflies, I enjoyed every minute of it, appreciating the scenery and God's Creation. I am convinced that we serve a Creative God.
The bible says in Isaiah 45:18
For this is what the LORD says-
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited.
Indeed, God loves us so much that He decided to decorate and fashion Earth as an interesting place for us to live in. Within a span of just 6 days, He created the sun and the moon, the mountains and the seas, the flowers and all living creatures, and most importantly, He created us --- each of us creatively and uniquely different.
It puzzles and amazes me till now that the God of Wonders who made the majestic mountains is the exact same Creator who made me. How big is God?
Here is a picture that I took at Cameron Highlands.
I tried to measure the size of God through this verse in Isaiah 40: 12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?
God measured the earth by the 'breadth of His Hands'! Try stretching your fingers and measure how long is the distance between your thumb and your little finger --- This is how God measured Earth! God is much bigger than the hills at Cameron Highlands! In fact, He is much much BIGGER. Those who study Physics will know what a 'light year' is. Light moves at a velocity of about 300,000 km each second. So in one year, it can travel about 10 trillion km. More precisely, one light-year is equal to 9,500,000,000,000 kilometers.
So can you imagine how Big God is?
Not only did God created the living creatures, He made sure they look good as well, like the beautiful flowers below. (also taken during my trip)
But to me, the most amazing thing is the same God who is so huge beyond our imagination, has the same dedicated Pair of Hands that created all the individual habitants on Earth. He is the same God who held our hands and be our Father and our Friend, and the same God who pursues us with His Love.
Isaiah 49: 16
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...
This verse, again from Isaiah, shows how much God loves us. In fact, He is no different from those madly in-loved people who tattoo the names of their loved ones on their arms!*
What more can I say? Are you confident that the God of such sheer size is bigger than all the problems you face in life? Are you convinced that God cares and watches out for you, and you are significant in the eyes of God? Are you convicted by the Love of the Creator and the Father today?
If you are not, then maybe God is saying to you the same thing that He said to Job,
Job 37:14
Listen to this, Job;
stop and consider God's wonders.
Be blessed by the Pursuing Love of God today!
*Disclaimer: Please don't go tattooing yourself though... Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, please don't hurt it!
Sis Yinting
9:34 AM
(SALVATION)
Friday, August 10, 2007
Hi Mighty Warriors!
Just want to share some thoughts with you today. Have you ever wondered the meaning of our national anthem you sing everyday in your school? Perhaps most of us sang it out of obligation, we sang because it just a national anthem. I have the same attitude when I was in school. Why must I sing? It seems like no meaning! The English title for our national anthem is called, Onward Singapore! It speaks of marching, moving forward as one, to emerge as a strong nation.
As I was watching the national day parade, I was filled with awe. It is a miracle where a nation where there is no natural resources could survive and go on from a third class country to a first class country. Her resource is only people like you and I that will make Singapore known. I want you to know that God has called you and I here to make a difference in our nation. Maybe you don’t feel really what’s the big deal about being a Singaporean, but if you really take time to go to national library to find out about our history, I assure you that you will be amazed at how God could raise up a nation this far. The bible says in Proverbs, that ‘Righteousness exalts a nation!”
I want to encourage you to pray for our nation. You and I have a part to do in this country in the days to come. So now how can you contribute to the nation? Simple, when you gather for national anthem, as you are singing, pray in your heart, pray that God will continue to use this nation to touch the world. Through the progress of the nation, people will marvel the greatness of God in this nation. Let’s make it count for our Lord Jesus in this land he has placed us in!
Onward Singapore!
I want to encourage you to pray for our nation. You and I have a part to do in this country in the days to come. So now how can you contribute to the nation? Simple, when you gather for national anthem, as you are singing, pray in your heart, pray that God will continue to use this nation to touch the world. Through the progress of the nation, people will marvel the greatness of God in this nation. Let’s make it count for our Lord Jesus in this land he has placed us in!
Onward Singapore!
Pastor Gary
12:12 PM
(SALVATION)
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
John 15:17
If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
NIV version.
Many times, we get the wrong idea that by speaking in tongues is not expression of the power of the Holy Spirit but it is a gift and evidence that Holy Spirit lives in us. It does not mean when we speak in tongues more, it means we are more holy but by speaking it, it edfies and encourage our spirit within. That is why we must move beyond just speaking in Tongues but to fellowship with the Holy Spirit daily so that we can know Him intimately.
When we commune with the Holy Spirit, our thoughts and actions begins to change. Our heart finds the courage to stand firm in what we believe, what we have learnt in FUEL will help us apply to our everyday living. I want to challenge you to expect God to speak to you through your TAWG. It’s time to jump into the supernatural because God wants to put his heart into ours!
We live in a spiritual world in a natural reality. We may not see it but we can feel it just like how we experience in our times of worship. We know something wonderful in the atmosphere but we can’t see it but we experienced it. The greatest battle we will face is choosing between the human and the supernatural. Our culture and our education system teach to us to depend on our own flesh, our own reasonings, our own mind and even our own past experiences. But if you want to truly experience the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, you have to strive to live a life of Obedience and Faith for things yet unseen. Only then, you can tell the whole world about the great things God has done in your life. Since when Great man or woman of God accomplish great things without first going through trials and sufferings but they depended on the Power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill God’s will in their lives. I like what Zech 4:6 says, “It not by might and not by power but by the Spirit says the Lord!”
P Gary
5:02 PM
(SALVATION)
July was a super exciting month i say!!
why??
simple. =)
1. MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! mwhahahahhaa. Along with MANY happening people's birthdays.=) candy, kim, grace, marcus, and my lovely friends in PL (yve,ber,etc)!
2. our very FIRST and very much YIPEEEEE combined IGNYTE event!!
3. i had my lovely sleepoverssss!! (and a lot of secrets spillers.=P)
4. embarkation of SS (Sporty Sundays)!!!!!!!=D ahahaha... like, every sunday a good bunch of us'd go sporty-people-ing. =P be it bball or soccer or blading or cycling.. as long as its sports!! we're on.=D
5. and many other random stuffs i think yguys might get bored about ahahahhhah.=P
Now, along with these yipadeedoodah stuffs also came the departure of several ppl and things...
1. vivian and joy(my fellow alpha tracker) leaving singapore for their new season in other countries..
2. went through a season of discovering how heartfelt people closest to your heart can kinda drift apart due to you-dont-exactly-know-what kind of a reason..
3. some other thoughts that leaves us wondering what the future holds that kind of a thing.=)
Well for one, i do know that it is in this month that God has been re-living and sealing the dreams i've known and had in the past few months.Ever wondered how sometimes, as more and more problems come tumbling down in the various different areas of your life, you can actually find yourself stuck in a familiarly unfamiliar spectrum of just being very much alone? not the "nobody loves me,everybody hates me" kind of a basis, but more of the...alone and away from the heartish bonds that really REALLY matter to you,while on the surface,everything is A-ok!.
Its like, with people you look up to when troubles come, those you go to for comfort, advice, etc... Somehow things just orchestrates themselves in such a way whereby you are left quite "far" away from them when you need them most. i know. i've been there. =) and i sure didnt like it. didnt like it at all... =]
But then. God's voice only grew stronger and stronger in this above mentioned period.
As men's voice went dimmer, Daddy's voice came in brighter... ynoe guys, this is sth that hit me pretty strongly. =P
y'see... many times we get into this whole pendulum of being a good child of God and taking up a whole lot of matured ideas on how to grow and groom ourselves (and fellow friends), that this facadification of having good advice and all (having people constantly encouraging and affirming us), can actually come in our way in our pursuit to reach God Himself.
When was the last time you let God Himself tell you that He enjoyed your service to Him, rather than letting your leader's affirmation serve as the sole motivation for you to serve? ynoe how sometimes certain songs just get stuck in your head over different seasons of your life? =)
Well, there is this song thats been very very VERY close to my heart since may, while i was in a certain peak moulding season in alphatrack. It goes: Lord, i want to know You more, deep within my soul i want to know You, Lord i want to know You, To feel Your heart and know Your mind, Look in to Your eyes stirrs up within me, A cry that says i want to know You, Lord i want to know You more...
and guess what? for my birthday, my beautiful bunch of leaders gave me this great book entitled "to know You more" . Neat huh. =) Exactly what i need. =D so....KEEP THE PRAYERFUL SPIRIT ALRIGHT GUYS!!!!!!!! i mean, i find it really amazing how, to know Him more, really, all we need to do is keep that prayerful and worshipful life ongoing.. =D
hahahah.. ok as you would've noticed by now, i'm a very random blogger...=) if you ask me, i'd say i LOVE the prayer chain we had for Played Out.. =P had to take time off various schedules (BIRTHDAY PARTY hahahaha, rehearsals, etc), to pray with dear Ann and Julian. =) And!! It binds the buzz group tighter in prayer, unity, and also in His love. =) But of course, dont just stop at prayer chain la!!! right Lyanne?? =P NOW is the time to step OUT and step UP. I'm really excited to see different ones of you rise up yo!!!! Esp those i've met up with hehehe...=D LETS GO FAN THE FLAME YEAHHH!!!!!!!!
Anws...Something thats really CLOSEST to my heart now is...well, hahaha..something that God just reminded me of several days ago. And.... hehehe...its not exactly anything complicating or "wong".. just sth very simple, but significant. Very, significant.=] Why am i here in IGNYTE ministry, right now, in this season of time.
Have you ever been in a situation or experienced a calling that have in time, grown to become a going? but when the going got going, y'just kinda go without knowing which direction the calling's coming to? and things just get kinda abstract-ish, but you're actually still going on the right path.
Only, without the the calling CALLING OUT to you constantly in heading to THE path. Well for one, i'm quite certain that this kinda thing is bound to happen some time in your life. You go, without knowing exactly where/why you're going. Chasing something without knowing how to grab it. Its like, dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit (having it tied around its head kind of a thing) and making the rabbit chase after it endlessly. You go in the direction where you lead yourself to. But hey...=) we dont have to always feel like a rodent running aimlessly, going all around in circles thinking we're on the right track (with our 'goal' -the carrot- still in focus), while at the end of the road realising that we actually end up at the very same place where we started off. We have much more to a chase than just an aimless race.
Me, i get reminded of this illustration every time i find myself going into this situation... =] By Tommy Tenney:
Its like playing chase with my daughter. Often as she arrives home from a day of school, we play this little game that countless fathers and children play around the world. When she comes and tries to catch me, even with my hulking frame, i really dont have to run. I just artfully dodge this way and then that, and she cant even touch me, because a 6 year old just cant catch an adult. But thats not really the purpose of the game, because a few minutes into it, she laughingly says, "Oh daddy," and its at that moment that she captures my heart, if not my presence or body. And then i turn and she's no longer chasing me, but I'm chasing her, and i catch her and we tumble in the grass with hugs and kisses. The pursuer becomes the pursued.
So can we catch God? Not really, but we can catch His heart. David did. And if we catch His heart, then He turns and chases us. Thats the beauty of being a God chaser. You're chasing the impossible, knowing its possible. and so you see... things and people close to your heart may lose focus certain times along your path of life.. But one pursuit that you can always claim beautiful, is really, this pursuit of being a God chaser. I think through the past 19 years of my life... if there was ONE thing i've learnt more than anything else, and if i could choose ONE thing to stay on unwavered for the rest of my life, it'd be for me to be a God chaser. Being a God chaser means i dont have to chase after anything else not knowing why and how i'm chasing after what i'm chasing after. =]
What are you chasing after today?
4:33 PM
(SALVATION)
