God's Grace

2012-03-10T01:44:00.000+11:00

2012-02-25T23:23:00.000+11:00

Weeds

2012-02-25T23:19:00.000+11:00

I just came back from youth leaders retreat today and found this weed at the backyard of the house that we stayed. I thought to myself, even though this is a weed ( plant of less or no value), it is sooo beautiful. Weeds that look like it has no meaning and just an additional stuff that people normally throw away was made beautiful by God.

God's amazingness in making small and insignificant things like weed to become beautiful, reminded me of how he saved me from my desperate sinful life to a hopeful and meaningful life in Jesus.

This AWESOME God I have :)

2012-02-20T00:11:00.000+11:00

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

-Mark 10:45 (NIV 84)-

I am so glad that I have a God who is not self centered like me. A God (who i get to call dad) who cares about his creations and is proactive in fixing the broken relationship that we have with him because of sin.
A God who is sooo loving and compassionate even to the point of death.
A God who comes to serve instead of demanding to be serve.
A God who is powerful over life and death.
A God who is super patient with my every behaviour and will always forgive my every wrongdoings.
A God who generously showed me his grace day in and day out.
A God who will oneday wipe away every tears and put an end to all sufferings.

Do you and i share the same God??
What kinda God do you have??

2012-02-12T00:45:00.001+11:00

2012-01-21T13:03:00.001+11:00

http://www.joshharris.com/2011/12/prompted_by_his_word.php

No need to Worry

2012-01-16T23:52:00.001+11:00

If God takes care of the ground by clothing it with flowers such as above (im sure there are many other awesome flowers that i havent see!!), should i not worry about my life and all tht i need knowing that God will take care of them?? Yet I often worry about it as if im less worthy than the ground that i need to work on stuff on my own because God doesnt care about it!!

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. (Matthew 6:30-32 ESV)

2012-01-11T02:17:00.003+11:00

I don't wanna hurt you
But I know I will
Part of me wonders if
You'll love me still

I don’t want to fail you
But I know I will
Part of me wonders why
You love me still

Jake Nauta- Here with you

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 ESV)

My vow

2011-12-05T21:41:00.000+11:00

I vow to you My saviour

That where your feet have trod

I will serve and always follow you

My Jesus and My God.

Garage Hymnal- Fairest Lord Jesus

Credo and CBM

2011-11-30T00:00:00.000+11:00

Credo is a christian group at uni that I am a part of this year and next year too. Its hard to believe that its almost the end of the year!! I remember going to the commissioning service with my church friend (who used to be part of credo) earlier this year and here I am at the end of the year saying "be right back" to small groups and public meeting, i'll cu next semester :D:D
No more feeling guilty of skipping my monday morning small group and tuesday public meeting, no more trying to wake up early to try to make it to small group until next semester... Of course I need to skip less public meetings and small groups next year and committed to one instead of trying to do a couple like this year... so hopefully there will be no more skipping small groups and public meetings too next year!!

I am definitely blessed with the privilege to be able to attend and build relationships with the people at Credo and also CBM (christian group at my previous uni) :D:D

Thank you God for Credo and CBM.

I hate tricky papers!!!

2011-11-12T18:30:00.000+11:00

When i was studying for my today's exam, I felt pretty confident and was expecting to get great mark for it too but...

Turned out tht the questions were a lot more tricky than those given in the sample practice questions and i got so confused and couldnt do as well as i thought i could.. im pretty devo about it and being thankful was definitely not the first thing that came to my mind after the exams but instead to complain (which i did)!!

As i think about it, what more can i do apart from doing my best and i did my best when i was studying.. shall i worry about it now?? the answer would be no but gggrrrrr, its hard :(:(:(

Father God, help me to be okkie and still be thankful regardless of how i think and feel about my paper this morning.. help me to not be anxious about it and leave it all up to you as i already did what i was suppose to do.

Trust

2011-11-10T00:01:00.000+11:00

http://www.girltalkhome.com/blog/what-if-sometimes

:D:D

Our God

2011-10-30T22:38:00.000+11:00

Water, You turned into wine
opened the eyes of the blind
there's no one like you
none like you

And if our God is for us
then who could ever stop us
and if our God is with us
then what could stand against

Our God- Chris Tomlin

Full lyrics and song sample can be listen here. This is a new song that we sang at church for the first time today and i was greatly encouraged by the words, so i thought i share it with you :D:D

Our God is so awesome that no one can be compared to him. Because he is that awesome, nothing will stop me from coming to him, not even sin, not even when my heart is telling me i am not worthy to come to him. Because he is for me.

A great reminder that i have an awesome father in heaven who is with me and as a result, i am secure and safe in his hands. Because nothing can stand against me, even my sinful acts and heart.

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NIV 84)

Dream Job

2011-10-26T15:08:00.001+11:00

Last night at bible study, each of us was given an opening question that are different from each other. The question that i got was something along the line of "what would be my dream job in 10 years time?"
I didnt really know what i wanted to do because i enjoy doing a few things like cooking and doing admin (just to name a couple now that i can think of more), but theyre not really my dream job. A friend of mine said "doing ministry" and i paused. Not because i dont really wanna do it but because i felt like theyre a bit odd to be a dream job.

Opening up proverbs 31 changed my mind about doing ministry as a dream job. Proverbs 31 esp verses 26-31 draws a beautiful picture of a wife with noble character. I am not exactly a wife and dont think i'll be one sometime soon but those godly traits are definitely ones that God's daughter should pursue whether or not theyre married. Of course how they look like on a daily basis would be different as each has different roles but you get the point ;);)

So in 10 years time, my dream job would either be "the wife of noble character" or "god's daughter of noble character" depending on whichever god has in plan. :D:D

2011-10-19T08:11:00.001+11:00

"If Jesus is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all "

Thank You, Dad

2011-10-16T01:11:00.002+11:00

I went to a friend's baby shower yesterday and there was a sharing about what people had been telling the sharer about what to do and not to do during pregnancy.. what to do and what not to do after the birth and so on. She didnt share about tips on what to do and not do do though because she knew that a lot of people wouldve talked about it with my friend however at the end of her sharing about what her kids had been teaching her, she had one tip for my friend that was passed on when she was pregnant and i thought it was so sweet. Here is what she said:

" to make sure that the day when my friend and her husband bring home the new baby, they would start reading her (the newborn baby) God's word and do it daily, so that later on she (the daughter) will say 'I dont remember a time where my parents didnt read me from God's word.' "

I thought that it was sweet and i wish i can say that but i cant because my parents dont believe in Jesus.

For a second i was jealous but then greatly reminded that it is not necessary to be able to say that because my parents has been such a great blessings regardless of whether or not they believe in Jesus.

Yes, they dont believe in Jesus like i do but the fact that my heavenly father had put me in this very family that is just as awesome, why should i envy and i have no reason to be jealous or complain but to be thankful INSTEAD :D:D

I am left with no reason to be jealous whatsoever but to be thankful because my heavenly father always give me good things and he has given me good things :D:D All i need to do is ask and he will give it to me if he thinks that theyre good for me. If he doesnt give it to me then it simply means that theyre not good for me even when i think theyre good!!

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13, NIV 1984).

Chat about Suffering

2011-10-14T00:15:00.000+11:00

A: do u know who actually rules this world??

me: God

A: no ure wrong!! let me give you this magazine tht tells u who actually rules the world..

me: why dont u tell me who rules the world and give me a snapshot of the magazine??

A: we believe that god doesnt rule this world but the devil and humans, thats why we experience sufferings n tht this world is broken becos if god rules the world, he wont let suffering occur!!

me: but suffering occurs becos of sin not becos of God is out of control of this world...

that was a short version of the long chat with 2 people that came to my house.

what do you think?? do you think that god is n control of this world or he is out of control of this world?? Check him out for yourselves and find out who God really is, whether he is a loving God or a God who likes to punish people and let people suffer??

I gain NOTHING!!

2011-08-31T00:58:00.001+10:00

The wise man has eyes in his head,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
that the same fate overtakes them both.

Then I thought in my heart,
“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?”
I said in my heart, “This too is meaningless.”

For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
in days to come both will be forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise man too must die!

Ecclesiastes 2:14-16 (NIV 84)

Neither rich nor poor
Neither ugly nor pretty

Neither lonely nor surrounded by lots of friends

Neither smart nor dumb

Neither single nor in a relationship/married

Everything will come to an end and one day perish and become MEANINGLESS!!

Why find meaning in the meaningless things that we know are temporary and oneday will perish?? Ironic that i still find myself doing so knowing that it is useless!! Finding meaning in career and status are so much more attractive than in Jesus who already sacrificed so much for me!!

BUT knowing that Jesus wont perish and fail me when career and status will, do I keep walking towards career and status, or do i stop and change direction towards Jesus?? I am stopping and changing my direction,

how about you??

Community

2011-08-28T00:36:00.000+10:00

A community of people in the church together encouraging and helping one another. Holding each others' hands and shoulders that noone can fall down. If one do fall, the rest are there to help him/her to get up again. A community that is not self centered but one that is doing all things for the benefit of the whole church.

What is then the point of doing all these if they are not marked by love?? No point rite?? I dont even think that we would do all those things if we dont have love. No love means no point. So brothers and sisters, let us build a community that is marked by LOVE in all things that we do :D:D

" A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35, ESV)

In the Valley

2011-08-18T00:30:00.000+10:00

And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley's where Your power is revealed

In the Valley by Sovereign Grace Ministries

The more i think that i can stand on my own and rely on my own ability to finish and do things, the more i will think that i dont need God.

The more i try to stand on my own, the more i find myself fall and fail to stand up properly..

The more i try to be good and do good things to find favour in God's eyes, the more i find myself not being able to meet His standard..

The MORE i look for my greatness, the LESS i will find and get disappointed instead!!

Thankfully, i dont have to try to stand up on my own because i have a God who will help me to stand up properly. A God who is ready to pick me up when i fall and fail. A God who gives me strength to go on even when i fail again and again. In fact i find His love and greatness through my failure.

We're All in This Together

2011-08-10T23:57:00.000+10:00

Let us TOGETHER

Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ

No matter at what cost

Because we have HOPE

-quoted from one of my uni staffworker-

Those simple sentences were just spot on!! It was what i needed to hear esp during this mission month to get me up from my comfortable seat and get going to invite my friends to come and hear the gospel. Not only to not be embarrassed and self conscious when im wearing my mission jumper but to also live out a life as one of God's children.

2011-08-09T00:00:00.000+10:00

Not mine but Yours

2011-08-01T23:49:00.001+10:00

Something that I was encouraged by a few days ago as I was listening to a song. A song that ive been listening to for quite some time but still strike me again and again as I ponder about it more. I was encouraged and challenged at the same time to give up my own desire as my life is no longer belong to me but my heavenly father who set me free through Jesus' blood on the cross. My priority has now changed from self centered to Jesus centered because of what he had done on the cross for me.

Choosing to submit my whole life to someone that saved me who was his enemy even to the point of death is the best decision I made.

Take my silver and my gold
Not a mite would I withhold
Take my intellect and use
Every power as you will choose

*Take myself and I will be
ever only all for thee

Take my Life- Garage Hymnal

Certain and Unchanged

2011-07-26T01:25:00.002+10:00

You, you did not back away
As the hour came
As the darkness fell
But you, you finished everything
We're alive again

Garage Hymnal- Hallelujah

A song that reminded me about that time at the cross where Jesus was punished for my sins. Where I was the one who made the mistake but he was the one who willingly took my punishment.

Where he could just give up and let me deal with my own consequences but he chose not to.

I cant imagine if Jesus decided to change his mind and give up, not wanting to take and bear the punishment of the mistake that wasnt even his own. Having someone like Jesus who I can hold on to (and definitely been keeping me by his side) gave me a certain hope. A hope that this world cant offer as i find it hard to find certainty in this world. A hope that guarantee that at the end of the day I wont fall and will stand still by his side as he is certain and unchanged.

Are you certain that what you are holding to at the moment will keep you stand still till the end of the day??

Looking in and Looking out

2011-07-20T21:15:00.000+10:00

We had a conversation regarding predestination at bible study yesterday. Some asked how can we be sure whether or not we are God's chosen people and others wonder about the possibility of christians falling away in future. Some suggested that christians cant fall away because God will never let go of his people but in fact, i heard a few cases where christians do turn away from God.

To be honest, Im not sure where i stand in terms of christians falling away. I know that God will never let his people go away from him (as I have been seeing his faithfulness in my own life) but at the same time there are christians who turn away from God. One thing I do know is that predestination is not suppose to make me doubt about whether or not i am one of his chosen people because it is a gift in the first place not out of my own will. Predestination is pointing out to me all the more that I am purely chosen by grace and nothing else.

My bible study leader put it this way in regards to all the doubts and unsureness about being a christian in the future
"if you put your faith outside Jesus, you would doubt on whether or not you will be safe in the future because of the many uncertainties, but if you put your faith inside Jesus, you will be sure that in the future you will still be a christian because Jesus never change!!"

I thought that was helpful as a reminder and hope that it would be helpful for you too :D:D

Hard love

2011-07-14T23:31:00.000+10:00

For some reason that I dont even know, a thought of loving people when its hard came to mind. It got me thinking about unhelpful comments that people made. Those comments were made out of full ignorance which was what got me annoyed and kinda hurt!! Scary how a simple thought like that got me thinking and feeling the pain again, before i know it, i spent at least the last 30 minutes thinking about it and getting angry and annoyed at what happen.

As im walking down the valley of bitterness and hurt from those unhelpful comments, my heavenly dad is pulling me away that i may come back to the top and not reaching the bottom of the valley. By that i mean my heavenly dad is reminding me about his awesomeness and goodness towards me before i start to hate those people who hurt my feelings.

If my heavenly dad is able to forgive me who was not just making unhelpful comments but fully reject him inside out, i should be compelled to do the same to those who hurt me. I was such a big pain in my dad's eyes because of sin that i carry around with me, but regardless of that, he still loves me and forgive me.

What reason do I have now to complain and get angry at those who were just making unhelpful comments?? Surely people unhelpful comments are are nothing in comparison to my sin!!

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV, 1984)

2011-07-09T14:25:00.000+10:00

Catching up with friends + a good cup of coffee = AWESOME :D:D

Some things that I enjoy and love doing on a saturday. Im so thankful that I am given the time to just sit down and relax and rest not having to worry about the business of life and having to catch up with the rest of the world. <3

Psalm 28

2011-07-06T23:07:00.000+10:00

1. To you I call, O Lord my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.

3. Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts.

Psalm 30

2011-06-14T18:16:00.000+10:00

I will exalt you O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

O Lord My God, I called to you for help
and you healed me

O Lord you brought me up from the grave
you spared me from going down into the pit.

What an awesome heavenly dad I have. If my dad in this world wouldnt even let me get hurt, how much more would my dad in heaven heal me from my wound!! Thanks2 dad!!

(v1-3, 1984 NIV)

Escaping this semester

2011-05-26T04:50:00.000+10:00

I thought not having a proper mid semester break due to mid semester exam is annoying/ the worst i'll get at uni this semester. But unfortunately not!! I was just looking at my course outline and found out that there wont be a study break period too before exams (normally called STUVAC). I used to always have a proper 1 week STUVAC at least but this time around, not at all!! There will still be a few lectures happening and even tutorials on the week of the exam period. The exam period starts on a saturday and I would still have classes that weekdays!!

Last time no mid semester break, this time around no STUVAC!! What a great way to start my first semester at a new uni.

Too many things that I feel like i need to do and too little time given. I would normally be sleepy by now but im not because my brain is still up working, thinking and worrying about exams and assignment due this friday and monday!!

Oh well, complaining about it wont change the fact that i wont have STUVAC. I guess the best option now is to use my time wisely and productively.

Dearest my brothers and sisters in Christ who are in their busy period and are having a more hectic schedule than me, lets be reminded to not look for our identity on our busyness because it doesnt last forever. When our identity depend on how busy we are, we'll lose it as soon as we are not busy anymore. Lets look for our identity in something that is bigger, better and eternal that is Jesus.

Desert Song- Hillsong

2011-05-18T22:37:00.001+10:00

"All of my life
In every season, You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship."

Those lines come from the bridge of the song. As I ponder more about the words, I was encouraged from being reminded that regardless of what happen to me and what happen in my life, it doesn't change the fact that God is still my God. I change but God doesn't. It is comforting to know that God doesn't change even when I often change.

I used to be excluded from God's family but now I am one of God's children. Even at times when I disappoint God again and again, my status as his children doesn't change!! Because of that, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship. God's decision to adopt me wasn't because of I do good things and it doesn't change when I do bad things. It was pure out of God's grace :D:D
I am so thankful that I am adopted through God's grace and NOT through anything that I do because knowing how sucks i am, there is no way I can be adopted if everything is on me.

"Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."
Ephesians 3b-5.

Psalm 25

2011-05-11T23:06:00.000+10:00

4-5. Show me your ways O Lord, teach me your paths
Guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God my saviour,
and my hope is in you all day long.

16-18. Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart have multiplied, free me from my anguish.
Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.

Representative (reps)

2011-05-04T00:29:00.000+10:00

I had a quite interesting today. Maybe not as interesting as you might think it is but a few verses from Exodus 19 was discussed twice, one briefly and one quite intensely at both uni christian group meeting and church bible study group. I went to uni public meeting today and the talk was taken from Exodus 19:1-6 and Exodus 20:1-21. At church bible study tonight, we touched on same verses taken from Exodus 19: 4-6. That coincidence is what i found interesting :D:D Let me highlight the point that I found most encouraging.

‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Exodus 19: 4-6

The fact that God chooses to use us (who used to not care about him and rejected him) to be his reps in this world that he created is a big and amazing fact. That same fact was what encouraged me today and reminded me that I am God's reps and therefore I need to act like one not out of obligation but out of love. I need to act like God's reps out of love because I have been loved in the first place and that is shown by his willingness in bringing me to himself (v4).

Resting at home today...

2011-04-28T19:08:00.000+10:00

This week is the mid semester break at uni. I was very grumpy to find out earlier this week that I would have to come to uni and do group work on thursday (which is today). I was grumpy because thursday would be my only day off from uni and work because I had my mid semester exam yesterday and am working tomorrow. I was planning to just rest and relaxing at home but my friends sent an email out asking for a group meeting. I had no choice but to say yes because it is a group work.

It turned out that my friends cancelled the group meeting which means that today will be my day off :D:D I slept in and woke up thinking "God, thank you for rest and thank you for canceling the group meeting!!" hehehhe
Today is the perfect day to stay at home and rest too because its been raining outside and pretty cold, so staying inside the house with a cup of tea is the best alternative to group meeting and be outside :D:D

Being at home and not wanting to do anything just yet, I decided to turn to psalm 23 and verse 1 and 4 particularly struck me. It says " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."
I am encouraged and challenged at the same time to not fear anything even to the point of death because I know that God will be with me. To have God instead of anything or anyone else gives me a HUGE comfort. Why?? Because God never fails while everything else in this world fails!! BUT
Those verses are a big claim (in my opinion) that David wrote in his psalms and it left me pondering about what would it look like in my life now that I am rebuked to not fear and be in want. Clearly, there will be times in my life where I would want more and better of things and also worrying and getting scared about life and future.

Knowing and understanding God and who he is will leave me with fighting against temptation. It is going to be rough, painful and hard but I know that God will NEVER leave me alone and that he will give me the strength to cope. Therefore, I trust him to be my shepherd who will guide me in path of righteousness.

Post KYCK and ETC

2011-04-25T22:35:00.000+10:00

I am so blessed to be able to go to 2 christian camps 2 weekends in a row. Theyre both full of awesome bible teachings and great fellowship with the people who went. I've never done anything like this before and to be honest, my brain is now overloaded with intense bible teachings (regardless of the intensity of the teaching, they are still awesome and challenging and encouraging).

My life post KYCK and ETC has been and will be face with studying for mid semester exams. I had an exam last monday after kyck and will have another exam this coming wednesday. I had to put aside further reflections on what i learned at both ETC and KYCK till after this wed. Life after this wednesday would still be busy because i still have assignments to do and lots of uni work to catch up. There is a tendency to put aside what i learned because life is now back to normal.

I am particularly challenged to reflect more on what i learned and not putting it aside for too long and eventually forget it. I am challenged to NOT only letting the knowledge that i learned go into my right ear and at the same time letting it go out from my left ear because there are just soo many infos that i need to reflect and take on from both weekends and my life is now back to normal (let alone all the many things i learn from church on a weekly basis).

I would like to encourage you my brothers and sisters in Christ too to not only be hearers of God's word but also doers. As we are called to be holy because our dad in heaven is holy, it is important to put into practice what we learn from the bible not just listen to it and forget it!!

"As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:14-16

KYCK and ETC

2011-04-20T16:27:00.001+10:00

I just came back from KYCK with my youth group earlier this week (fyi, KYCK is an annual conference for high schoolers up in the mountain). It was more tiring that usual but was awesome as it usually is. The greatness of being with the youths learning from God's word and enjoying each others company overcome the tiredness. Lacking of sleep hours at night from talking and chatting was definitely worth it. Encouraging and sharing with each other was something that i always look forward to from kyck.

I am still excited from kyck last weekend and am excited for etc this weekend (fyi, etc is an annual conference as well but for UTS uni students). I am looking forward getting to know the people at credo (the christian group at uts) and being centered in God's word. Hanging out with each other and being encouraged and encouraging others too.

I love the fact that i can go to both camps one after another. Being able to learn from God's word intensely with his people 2 weeks in a row.
As much as i love going to camps and being taught from the bible, i am scared that i only hear it and not reflecting on it. I am scared that i only listen to it at camps and forget it as soon as i go back to real life after camp. I often say to people who tease me that i dont take their tease and jokes seriously because it goes into my right ear and goes out the other way. I hope that this wont be the case for all the things that i learned at kyck and will learn at ETC.

Please pray that i would be able to stop and reflect on the teachings being taught so that i would be able to apply it to my life as well. Please pray that my heart would be softened and challenge as i hear God's word being preach at ETC and reflect on the words preached at kyck last weekend.
Please pray for us who are going to ETC that our hearts would be ready to be rebuked, encouraged and challenged. Please pray for us who went to kyck and are going to etc that we'll be doers of God's word not just hearers.

love,
ikan :D:D

This Life I live

2011-04-10T00:28:00.000+10:00

This life I live is not my own
For my Redeemer paid the price
...

His is the right to rule my life
Mine is the joy to live for him

...

I cannot know what lies ahead
But know that he has gone before

...
I will not fear to meet him there
I know my life is hid with him

Words & Music: Michael Morrow

Please find the full version of the lyrics and song here.

Studying

2011-03-26T02:05:00.000+11:00

I grew up in a family that value education very much. My parents like many other parents wants the best education for me. Growing up in this kinda family is awesome but there is a danger to it at the same time. My parents always provided me with schools and everything else that I need so I take education for granted. Started with kindy to primary to high school and now uni. It feels like a pattern that has been set and i have to go through in life.

Studying is something that is very precious now that i realise. I never see studying as something that is very precious. It is very precious because not many people are able to study properly due to many reasons like financial or other commitments like family.

I tend to complain a lot about my study but thinking about what a privilege i get to be able to study let alone studying overseas makes me feel a lot more thankful.

Friends, lets use the opportunity and time given to us to study properly and faithfully, knowing that it is a privilege to be able to study wherever we are. Sharing this thoughts with you guys doesnt mean that i wont be complaining over my study anymore in future (unfortunately because i am still someone who gets frustrated and complains a lot). I just wanted to share because i wanted to encourage you to appreciate study more and be motivated to study perhaps (if you are in your tired stage of studying like me).

Uni days has started again!!

2011-03-14T18:57:00.000+11:00

Its March and definitely no more holidays even during the mid semester break which is coming in a few weeks time. I thought that i'll be getting 2 weeks for the mid sem break but i wont get 2 weeks because the first week is for mid sem (lucky for those who dont have any mid sem)

The thoughts of going to uni was great until i realised that im so behind with my uni work. So many readings that i have to do and im behind with my readings :(:( I used to say that im not a big fan of maths and that i wont do any maths subjects at uni unless i have to. Here i am ended up doing accounting and finance which are all maths subjects. Ironic i know.

Now that i think about it, i started to enjoy doing accounting and finance more than managements subjects purely because of the amount of readings i have to do for managements. God knows that i wouldnt be able to keep up with all my readings if i do management subjects, hence he let me do accounting and finance and started to like it.

I changed my minds in the past years regarding on what i want to do at uni. I ended up majoring in areas that i never think i would do but here i am doing it and wont change anymore because i wanna graduate asap :D:D Things in life doesnt always go the way i wanted at times and when it happens, i tend to get annoyed and frustrated because i feel like a failure for not able to achieve what i wanted to achieve. Sometimes what i plan doesnt reflect in real life. I get confuse and feeing kinda hopeless when it comes to planning for my future.

One thing that always cheer me up when those feelings come across is that i know i have a GOOD heavenly father who has planned everything out for me. I dont have to worry or get frustrated when things doesnt go according to my plan because everything will go according to his plan.

Last day for january 2011

2011-01-31T20:23:00.000+11:00

It's been a month already since the new year 2011 started. In a few hours time, the new month would begin and without reliasing it, it'll be the end of the month again...

I was at KL when this new year and month begun and here i am at my indo home writting a blog at the end of the month. Here i am looking forward to go back to sydney but at the same time i dont mind staying here a bit longer too because i want to spend more time with friends. I thought i can get away with this kinda feeling. Feeling of wanting to be at sydney and jakarta. Clearly i can't get away with that feeling as i am feeling it now. I dont even know whether i would be able to get away from those feelings but oh well, its just something that i have to go through in life.

I woke up today thinking that in 3 days time i wouldnt be able to see my indo friends till i come back sometime at the end of the year or early next year. Sad but at the same time im glad knowing that i'll be back in sydney in 3 days time.. I wonder why do God let me feel this way.. again i questioned why!!

But after a few moments i realised that i am such a lucky kid. I get a chance to get both my indo and sydney friends to be part of my life. Its harder to hang out with my indo friends because we are so far apart but i get the chance to hang out with them this holiday at least even for a short period of time.
Saying goodbye is always hard and never easy but the fact that i get to spend time in both cities and i enjoyed them is something that i should be thankful about not complaining.

One village near Merapi

2011-01-25T16:00:00.000+11:00

I visited a village near the mount merapi with church people 2 weeks ago. We were told that there would be no toilet but phone reception was awesome!! The first thing that i wanted to do when i got to the village was to pee (how inconvinient) but thank God we found a few houses that have closed toilets inside their house..hehehe :D:D
Even though closed toilet was rare, I enjoyed every moment i spent in that village. I spent most of my time interacting with the kids because I was helping out with the children's program that my church held in the village. Another reason was because they are the ones who are able to speak indo while with the older people I have to talk in javanese as most of them dont know how to speak indo...

The kids love to sing more than games.. They sing and dance too, not a big and fancy dance but just a little movements. They made me enjoy singing with those little movements and they taught us (my friends and me) a couple of sunday school songs in javanese. I only remember how to sing one song which i have to be honest i love the song :D:D As far as i can remember, I've never enjoyed singing sunday school songs as much as i did in that village.

One thing that amaze me most from that village is their hungriness of God's word and i want to be as hungry as them in my spiritual life. For me it is easy to forget God and to put him aside but those villagers taught and encourage me to not forget God and to keep trusting him whatever condition i am in.

Image and Pride

2011-01-20T01:28:00.001+11:00

I am one of those people who try to live up to people expectations. What people think and say about me are very important to me and I dont want people to say bad things or think bad about me whatever it is.
It comes to a point where im tired to live up to people expectations becoz no matter what i do, i can never live up to their expectations. The reason being is becoz they keep raising their expectations once i meet their standards. All of a sudden, i become a failure becoz i can never make people happy.

As the time goes by, i realised that regardless of what i do, i am a failure anyway becoz of my sin. My sin would always cause me to fail becos the nature of sin is to make people fail.
As a christian, i am not a failure anymore because i am no longer bound to sin. I am free from sin because Jesus sets me free from sin through the cross.
My image and pride is no longer depend on me now but depend on Jesus which is far better because I know that Jesus is certain unlike me who keeps sinning and sinning and uncertain!!

Gone in a second!!

2011-01-18T02:36:00.000+11:00

I visited a place that used to be a village or combined villages near the mount merapi. The village (s) that used to be there is there no more!! It was destroyed by the heat clouds during the eruption of the mountain. Nothing was there apart from dead trees, huge rocks, sulfur smell, huge empty space covered with dust, and endless memories of pain and tears.
It was heartbreaking to see what happened to people over there. To wake up one day and found themselves had to run for their lives. To wake up and saw that their house and everything that they had was gone with the heat clouds. To wake up and found that their loved ones were not with them anymore.

Life is very short and noone really knows what is going to happen to us or the people around us. Wouldnt it be a waste if we build/ live this life for some thing that will not last for eternity?? something that will fade away as the world fades away.

Standing among those remaining villages makes me ponder about the purpose of life.

What is the purpose of you life??
What are you building your life on??

Snorkeling with a Life Jacket

2011-01-06T03:27:00.000+11:00

I am currently on holidays with a couple of my friends and went snorkeling a few days ago. The thought of snorkeling scared me even since one of my friend suggested it. I am paranoid with waters but i thought to myself, just deal with it this time plus i would have friends around me anyway so i ended up going snorkel but it didnt last long.

After 10 minutes being in the water, i decided to go back to the boat and stayed there not wanting to go snorkel again because i was struggling to breathe and i just couldnt do it!!

My friends told me to have a second go but i refused because i was traumatised. So, everytime my friends went snorkelling i would just stay on the boat looking around and taking pictures...hehehe, i still enjoyed staying on the boat though ;);)

We spent 2 days and a bit in Mabul Island (the place where we went snorkel) and on the evening on the last day i finally decided to have a second go but with a life jacket. I felt like a little kid who is learning how to swim but i didnt trust myself enough to swim out in the sea without a life jacket. I would rather feeling like a little kid and look like a little kid than feeling insecure. Not the best thought to have i know but i couldnt help it!!

There was even a little kid who jump multiple times from the wharf to the sea and i was sitting on the wharf stairs amazed by the braveness of that little kid :D:D

It is a bit ironic because my nickname is ikan (fish) but i get paranoid of waters and just learned how to snorkel with a life jacket... oh well, i had a good time and enjoyed everyone company...

Christmas Gift

2011-01-06T01:54:00.000+11:00

I know that this is late for a christmas post but I am going to write the post anywayy :D:D

Coming up to Christmas everything is about last minute shopping to buy christmas gifts and there were so many discounts around for the last minute shopping... (being an asian, i was excited about the discounts bit but the excitement stops there :D:D)

I dont grow up in a christian family so christmas is never about giving or receiving present from anyone, so i dont really think much about gift (s). I grew up knowing santa and gifts but because my parents dont know much about it either hence they didnt really talk much about it!! i only saw santa's decrations at shopping centre and thats pretty much it!! I never really see christmas as a season for presents.

But I was reminded from the christmas that just passed that christmas is all about Gift. It is about receving gift MORE than giving gift though, let me explain...

Christians get the ultimate gift for Christmas and that gift is JESUS... Jesus is the greatest gift because he is incomparable with any other thing that this world has to offer. God who give us the gift (Jesus) didnt just give us a normal and impersonal gift but he gave us HIMSELF in Jesus!! complicated?? i know, but this is the awesomeness of christmas for christians that our gift giver gave us the ultimate gift which is himself :D:D

Now that i have jesus in my christmas, christmas' excitement is not about big discounts and christmas shopping anymore but because i was given the ultimate gift which is JESUS :D:D

A gift that is better than any gifts i received and will receive because Jesus will last while other things will eventually fall!!

I hope that everyone had a meaningful christmas and not one that was just a tradition or a celebration without knowing or understanding the real meaning to it!!

When its hard to be thankful

2010-12-12T00:12:00.000+11:00

Do you agree with me that if you get more than what u asked or expected, it is very easy to be thankful and not complaining, or is it just me?? The thought of failing this semester is always at the back of my head throughout the semester even during and after exams. As much as i dont wanna think about it, i cant help myself but to always have that thought in my mind!! Well, my results came out last tuesday and im very happy with it. I got MORE than what i expected hence i am very thankful for it.

But what if things doesnt go the way i want it or the way i hope it would turn out??

It is deffinitely hard to be thankful when i dont get what i want or what i hope for but to be reminded that God is still in control over all things give me great comfort knowing that i am safe in God's hands. I still remember clearly that day when my cousin told me my UAI results (year 12 results that i need to get into uni). I didnt get what i want and I didnt get what i hope for!! I remember asking THE question "why?" and feeling hopeless. At the same time, i felt peace knowing that my future is good in God's hands even though i didnt know what was going to happen to me with such an unexpected results.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, when life is good, lets be thankful and when life is bad lets also be thankful knowing that God is still in control over all things and that he loves his people so much till the point of sending Jesus to die for us!!
So if he sacrificed his own son to die for us who WERE his enemy, can u imagine how much more he loves us now that we ARE his children?? :D:D

Where has the time gone??

2010-11-30T23:47:00.000+11:00

Many says that after you pass a certain age which is sometime after 20, you can barely even remember how old you are because birthdays keep coming time after time and time flies pretty quickly too!!
I am still under 20 (only slightly) but i dont have to wait till i am over 20 to feel that time flies pretty quickly and birthdays come very quickly too...i dont know whether it means that im old on the inside but regardless of anything the more quickly time flies the quicker my heavenly father would come and pick me up :D:D

i have been repeating the idea that my heavenly father would oneday come and pick me up a lot of time in the past few months both in my head and also at bible study..thank you for my bible study girls for their patience and endless smile when i verbally convey the idea and also for continuously sharing the joy with me :D:D

This life is temporary and
This life is coming to an end
When this life comes to an end,
Do you know where you are heading?

Im done for the year

2010-11-17T02:36:00.000+11:00

woot2...im done for the rest of the year :D:D
i can sleep in without having to worry or feeling guilty about studying...
i can sleep late and not worry about procrastinating too much...
i am ready for holidays and the plan i have for the next couple of months...

Exams is not something new anymore since i have been a student pretty much all my life and the feeling post exams is deffinitely not something new too!! But what is new this time around is that the peace i have post exams. Post exams is normally when i get freaked out and worry waiting for the results especially when i dont feel confident with my answers. What i tend to do is thinking about what i couldve done better or how i couldve study better.

My approach to exams this semester is surprisngly different in a good way. Let me explain. I came out of the exam room thinking whether or not i answered the questions properly and whether or not i just blabber about the topic and not answering the questons properly because if i did, i wouldnt get any marks no matter how much i write in the exams paper. But even though i was feeling uncertain about what i did in the exam, i was still be able to go home without worrying too much about my answer. I feel that my results are good in God hands and am clinging to his promise on romans 8:28 that says "and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Things like failing is deffinitely not good in my eyes but this is when i need to put on my gospel glasses and start seeing things from God's eyes. In fact, i should put on my gospel glasses all the time and start seeing my life in God's eyes so then i would be able to live a life that is pleasing in his eyes not mine.

God, let your will be done not mine.

Studying is hard :(:(

2010-11-06T15:48:00.001+11:00

Another year of my uni life is coming to an end. less than 2 more weeks till my last exam for the year then im done!! Cant wait till i finish and i have been waiting for that time to come because i havent been able to find myself being motivated to study or even understanding/getting the materials being taught at uni most of the time :(:( Hence i just wanna skip to the finish line (holidays) if possible so then i dont have to go through this "have to study" period, but i cant skip time!!
I even wish to have that remote control on the "Click" movie so then i can skip this time but then im glad that i dont have that remote control just because i know i would regret at the end of it..

As this week is the peak where i have to push myself to study even when i dont want to. I remember thinking that life would be great when Jesus comes back because i might not have to study and even if i have to study later on, im sure that i would do it with joy not like now with lots of guilty feeling because i am not using my time productively. As i long for that day to come (when Jesus will come back for the 2nd time) i will have to live my life in this world which means that i can never get away with guilty feeling or regret. This is when the idea of perseverance got to me.

My friend reminded me to keep focusing on the hope i have in Jesus that even though i have to go through many things in life at this moment (including trying to study hard at this stage). My friend also reminded me that there is going to be an end of all these things!! The day that i long even more than when i finish my exams in less than 2 weeks time. With the hope that i have in Jesus, i need to persevere a little bit more and be patience in waiting for that day to come.

Taking that idea of perseverance into studying for the moment:

There is going to be an end of all my exams this year (in fact less than 2 weeks)
I need to keep study faithfully and persevere
Persevering knowing that in the end, i will receive the reward :D:D

2010 is coming to an end !!

2010-10-27T00:03:00.000+11:00

I knoe that its still a few months away but this year is coming to an end very2 soon. Cant believe how time flies very quick...in a blink of an eye 2010 will be a past...It feels like I haven't achieve much this year and yet im close to finishing another year.

With the year 2010 approaching to an end in a few months time, there are a few things that I look forward to and they are:

finishing my exams
going on a holiday
catching up with a few friends without having to worry about any uni work !!
enjoying a nice and long summer holiday

I know this is too early for a yearly reflection because i still have a few months to go but i'll do it anywayy :D:D i have been reminded that as each day go by, it is closer to the day where my heavenly father would pick me up from this temporary world and on that day i get to be with him and other brothers and sisters in christ eternally where there would be no more tears and suffering and pain.
I do long for the end of the year 2010 to come because I have a few things that i'd like to do and simply because i just wanna get over and done with exams but i am all the more eager for the day that i get to see no more pain or tears as i see many of them everywhere in these days.

Busy Period

2010-10-23T00:44:00.001+11:00

Its that time of the year where to do list is mounting up especially since exams are coming up too in a few weeks time!! I cant believe how time flies so quick, its october already!!!
I was just reading this blog post and am deeply encourage by it.

As sometimes there are many things that need to be done, i forget that i cant do them all and find myself not saying no to them because i feel obligated to help people around me. I sometimes push myself too hard and come to a point where im just tired and cant do anything else anymore. I find myself in denial most of the times that I am not God and that I cant do many things. I like to tell myself that I can do many things as long as I push myself a little bit more and find myself feeling dissapointed at the end because I cant do many things. I am not a superman and should stop trying to be one because i am a human with many limitations. I also need to be reminded constantly that i need God to help me go through this busy period and not relying on my power because I dont have the power to sustain myself.

Friends, lets pursue humility in the midst of our busyness just as the woman who wrote the post i shared earlier remind us to do.

My Sinfulness

2010-09-30T20:31:00.001+10:00

I was freaking out pretty bad 2 weeks ago because i had one of my major assignment due and also had a mid semester. Both i did last minute studying and finishing up the assignment which i plan not to do but clearly my plan was just a plan wthout action!!

Long story short, for the assignment i didnt quite understand of what i had to do and even till the point of last minute i wasnt sure whether what i was doing was right or wrong. For the mid sem, it was for finance and i knew how to do the quetions and stuff but i wasnt sure which formula to apply to which questions and things like that plus a few other confusing things that took me a while to take in but anywayyy i did it and got my results back this week.

I was waiting for the results with a big hope that God would at least give me a pass and God was so gracious that he gave me more than what i was hoping to get. I still got a pass but it wasnt just a pass 50% but wayyy more than that :D:D
Now you think that i should be thankful for this rite but my sinful and ugly heart wants even more than what i was given. I wanted just a 50% pass and God gave me more, given a more than 50% pass now i wish god would have given me a credit.

I am reminded to be thankful of what God has given me in terms of my marks whether it would be a fail or pass or credit. I clearly didnt deserve that mark considering the effort i put into my study but yet God was so graciously allowing me to pass those assessments and helping me got through that week.
Father, i am sorry for the attitude i had towards your graciousness. You can clearly fail me but you chose to answer my prayer in allowing me to pass. I pray that you would help me to be thankful with my marks whatever it is and to not forget about your goodness and your sovereignty over my life. I ask the same for my brothers and sisters in Christ too, amen.

Identity by Lecrae

2010-09-23T20:09:00.003+10:00

I love this video as it is a great reminder that my identity is found in Christ not on temporary things like car, clothes or career.
It is very tempting at times to rely my identity on the stuff that is visible or if theyre not visible for example career, at least theyre like an intangible asset. (Intangible asset is an asset that is not visible but they still have value to the person/ business who ownes that like a brand name). :D:D But whether or not theyre visible, things like career, and fashion dont last forever.

Identity in Jesus or in temporary things??

Knowing name is important ???

2010-09-12T00:15:00.000+10:00

I met a few people today and they said that God has a name and that it is important just as my name is impotant. I thought to myself "God has a name and that it is important?" They said that by knowing God's personal name, we may have life through it.

I said that it is not neccesarry for me that God has a more personal name than father or Lord. But they insist that God's name is important so i said " alrighht then if u wanna think that way but for me it is not as important and that what give me life is not the name but the cross."
I also insist that by calling God Lord or father, it is personal already so having the more personal name is not neccessary.I couldnt explain my reason properly to them :(:( oh well next time maybe if i bump into them again?? ;);)

As the day goes by, i thought through my reasons and making it clear in my head so then when i bump into them again, i would be able to explain it better :D:D

Name is important as it is useful to differentiate one person and another. There would be noone who would call himself/herself God right?? so the more personal name of God is not important as there is one God anyway. Not like we need a more personal name for Jessica because there are many Jessicas out there (sorry for those whose name are Jessica) :D:D
The people that i met insist that it is important to know God's personal name because it can gives us salvation. Does salvation comes from knowing his name or from the cross?? I think that salvation comes from the cross because without the cross we wouldn't know God and wouldn't even bother to know him. The cross is how i can call God father and he call me children. Hence, the cross is the centre not the name!

Living for Jesus ???

2010-09-09T21:29:00.000+10:00

As christians we are ought to live for Jesus because we belong to him now and not the world. But what does it really mean to live for Jesus?? Does it mean that we have to do everything for him?? For example, sometimes when we help a friend with their homework, we just do it without even thinking that we're doing it for Jesus. Does it mean that we have to constantly have Jesus in our thoughts and not thinking about everything else because they are not godly?? Never talk about anything else but the bible??

This skit is a great example of what it means to live for Jesus. It does not neccessarily mean that we talk about nothing else but the bible or the sermon that we just listen to. "Jesus wants us to live in him so then we would understand who we are and what are we living for". It is easy to just go to church or pray and read the bible regularly but if doing those stuff has no meaning at all then whats the point of doing them?? The line "I want something deeper" strucked me!! Often doing christians stuff such as reading a bible doesnt really mean anything to me. It doesnt challenge me or anything like that because i am just reading it for the sake of reading it. As christians, we have to read the bible.

When Jesus open your heart box, would he find an empty box for all the things you said and do, or would he find a heart full of meanings because you understand what it means to live for Jesus??

Keep Persevering!!

2010-09-04T12:47:00.000+10:00

The sermon at church last sunday had this analogy that i find very encouraging. I didnt remember the exact words by words but it goes something along this line,
" My parents put me in an orphanage and they promised that they would pick me up one day! Years go by and they still havent pick me up. My friends at the orpahnage tell me to not wait for my parents anymore because they will never pick me up. They tell me to put on my cute face and behave nicely and stuff so then i would be adopted by other parents and move on to a new life."

As christians living in this 21st century world, it is so easy to forget that Jesus will oneday come back and pick me up from this world. Many think that i am stupid following this Jesus guy who is very outdated. Many also says that he wll never come back as it has been more than 2000 years since he said he would so why bother following him and live my life for him.

BUT

I love the picture that oneday he will pick me up and the waiting would be worth it!! and i am grateful that it is not just a picture but it will deffinitely happen. How can i be so certain with what i just said?? the bible say so (John 14:28a). He hasn't come yet because he is being patient waiting for more to come to him. The hope that I have in Jesus that he will pick me up oneday is not just a hope that has no future or uncertain!! Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, Lets keep our eyes fixed on the day where Jesus will come back and pick us up. Lets not be discourage by the world because it is against us and hates us. My prayer is that we would be able to persevere and stand firm together in the midst of our life in this world.

Lets be Thankful

2010-08-25T00:10:00.000+10:00

I find it very annoying when i get bad lecturers or tutors at uni especially if they cant teach properly. The first thing that i would do is deffinitely complain about them.
A friend of mine reminded me to be thankful for them no matter how bad or good they are. My friend reminded me to be content with what i have and do my best regardless of how they are. I thought to myself, she's very true! Im sure that my lecturers put an effort in teaching at uni knowing that it might be hard to do so considering that people at uni tend to not listen at class or can be very distractive at times because we would just talk and talk during lectures.

The fact that they cant teach properly is not entirely their fault because they dont choose to be that way. Some people can be very great at teaching and some just dont have the same gift but surely i shouldnt compare them or complain about it.

Repentance

2010-07-23T00:33:00.000+10:00

I hear so many people say something along this line
"Since we are forgiven as christians, why bother doing good works then?"

I learned this week that we often forget that we are forgiven through the cross and that God is behind the cross. It didn't come up randomly or all of a sudden but it was plan by God. We are often too selfish to think that we are forgiven already so why bother putting so much effort in being a good person or doing good things.
We are forgiven through Jesus and because of God. Not because we have been forgiven, we can be slacking off and live the way we like to live! We need to repent when we think this way or act this way. We are not saved because of our works in the first place so we need to live a life that is worthy of that salvation. We should live a life that is pleasing to him who saved us!

When a doctor successfully saved someone who was diagnosed with horrible lung problem because of smoking, the doctor would expect he/ she to stop smoking rite?? The same idea applies here. We had been saved from eternal death so God is expecting us to stop doing things that will lead us to that death again.

As part of our sinful nature, we would do things that shifts us away from God. An act of repentance is an ongoing process and action against our sinful nature and leaning towards Godliness. It should be our high priority as christians even though we have been forgiven because too often we forget that we are saved by God's grace and that we need to live worthy of the salvation given to us.

Do you think you need to repent??
How sure are you that when we return to God, he will forgive you??

The Great Escape

2010-07-13T17:45:00.000+10:00

I was listening to one of the talk from equip conference 2010 because i just got the mp3 from camp last week. What a great timing to hear the talk from Di Warren about "the greatest escape" as i have been wanting to escape from the business of this life. I had a hectic and tiring weeks and all i wanted to do is just sleep more and escape!!

Di said last night in her talk that we live in a broken world that is caused by evil desires (2 peter 1:4). Because we live in this broken world, we long to be saved from this condition and constantly wants to escape from this situation. I thought to myself " thats so true!" (dont u agree too??) I continuously feel tired from the things that i have to do and even if i have rest, it is temporary because sooner or later i will need to rest again.. the whole rest and tired cycle would go round and round in a circle and i often feel tired of going around in that circle pattern.

I was reminded that as a christian, Jesus saved me from this broken world. I have escaped the corruption of the world which means that i have hope in the eternal rest where i wouldnt have to go through the emotional feeling involved in the circle pattern anymore.

The true escape is not all about going away on a holidays or running away from the business of life but the true escape can be find in Jesus alone because he saved us from the corruption of this world through his death on the cross. Holidays and rest are great and thank God for giving us rest and relaxing things to do but lets be reminded that the true escape from this broken world relies on Jesus!

I am now ready to face the second half of the year by remembering the greatest escape story i have in Jesus. Life will deff gets busy or even busier (maybe) but when i feel tired or burden, i have Jesus that i can come back to and gain my strength to persevere from.

My 3 Wishes

2010-07-02T00:45:00.000+10:00

I was watching the aladin cartoon last night and when it comes to the bit where the genie pops up and said that he would grant 3 wishes. I thought straight to myself "what would my 3 wishes be" What a surprising thing that was for aladin to only have 2 wishes and the last one he would wish for whatever the genie wants. I thought that was sweet... How many of us lets be honest would give away 1 wish for the sake of others?? It certainly didnt came across my head!

The last time we had similar question at bible study, my asnwer was a selfish answer too and i am surprised and glad to hear that some people are not as self centered as me. The questions goes like this, " if you are guaranteed a success in the next 5 years, what would you do?"

Would you have similar self centered answer like me too when u are faced with similar question?? i was rebuked through this simple thing that i am a selfish person and that i need to change that habit! God is not self centered and so as Jesus. If they are self centered, there would be no such things as grace and salvation. And if there is no such things as grace and salvation then what would this life be like?

My 3 wishes now would be:

to live a NON self centered life
to give away one of my wish
still in the process of thinking my thrid wishes :D:D

Bridge to Life

2010-06-17T22:17:00.001+10:00

What a great picture to show how Jesus brings us back to God!

Completely Done

2010-05-27T22:23:00.001+10:00

Reflection of the song by sovereign Grace Ministries "Completely Done".

This song reminded me that Jesus did everything that is needed to be done to fix my broken relationship with God. I dont have to do anything else to fix it! I sometimes wonder whether Jesus is really all i need to be able to be safe and the answer is YES he is enough!!!
Romans 3 talks about how we all sin against God and we dont meet his standard (v 23). The punishment of sin is death (romans 5:12) and to show his justice and love, God poured out the punishment on Jesus thats why he died on the cross in our place. We dont have to do anything else to be safe from death because all that is needed to be done is completely done in Jesus on the cross. All we need to do is just to believe in Jesus and his death and resurrection! Does this sound too good to be true?? it certainly is and that is the beauty of grace.

Are you personally convinced that Jesus is really enough??

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3: 23-24)

Identity in Busyness

2010-05-21T22:59:00.000+10:00

Check out this post about where your identity rely as a christian here. The answer is Jesus! Most of you would know this answer already, but when you say your identity rely in Jesus, do you really mean it?? I sometimes say it without knowing what it really means to me. I would say my identity rely on Jesus but then my action doesnt reflect on it. I would make myself busy with helping out at church, helping my friends, and work hard in my study because all those things give me identity (identity that can be seen by people too). My life would be surrounded with so many things but Jesus.

That post reminded me that i dont need to do anything to find my identity because it relies on Jesus. It relies on Jesus because he bought me with his blood. It is so easy to fall into temptation like this. So busy with all the things that i have to do and eventually shifting my true identity away from Jesus. I know that Jesus died for me to save me, but because im so busy, my work is much more important than Jesus and this is what defines me. If i fail in completing my work, i would mean nothing. My life becomes me centered instead of jesus centered.

I belong to Jesus now, so my identity would rely on Jesus too. It is like the identity that i get from my parents because i belong to my parents.

100% Satisfaction in Life

2010-05-20T23:09:00.001+10:00

"What would you request for if a genie pops up and you get to ask for anything you want but only 1?"

A girl in the bible study said "More Genie." I 100000000% agree :D:D I didnt think of that until she said that. I was trying to think of one thing that will satisfy me for the rest of my life and found one. I would ask to not have to worry anymore for the rest of my life. Comparing my answer with the answer that my friend said, make me change my mind straight away! More genie means more wishes that i can request. Then i thought to myself, if everytime a genie pops up, i ask for another genie, i would ended up with asking a genie and none of my wishes would be granted.

I am still not satisfied with having no worry in life. I am never satisfied and will never be. I am too greedy to feel satisfy in life. I will always look for more and more and more. What can i achieve after i get a pass, move up to credit, move up to dinsctiction then move up to HD...whats after HD?? im sure more HD! (sadly enough i havent been getting HD but i know that when i get HD, i will not feel satisfy and look for more things that is greater than getting a HD in my transcript!)

John 4 says that Jesus offers living water. A water that will make people who drink it never go thristy again. A water that will gives eternal life (John 4:14). The water that Jesus is talking about is salvation. Salvation that leads to eternal life and that can only be receive through Jesus because he is chosen by God and God is pleased with him ( Colossians 1:19-20).

How does salvation gives me full satisfaction in life:

Full assurance to have eternal life
I get to have a relationship with God
It is given to me hence i can stop wondering around looking for something that is pointless
It is what i need! To be saved from my sin

Have you find antyhing that give u complete satisfaction yet??
Do you wanna receive the complete satisfaction that Jesus offers or would u rather wondering around seeking out other things that can give u full satisfaction??

A little reminder

2010-05-13T00:12:00.000+10:00

Life gets busy as the time goes by. We started the busi-ness of life from kindy to primary school to high school then uni and then ended up in work where its for a lifetime until retirement age come. If you have been a christian for a while, there is a tendency to forget or ignore the message of the gospel so easily because we are busy with other things. It feels like we have no time for God because we have many other things that needs to be done as soon as possible.

Life has been busy for me these pasts few weeks primarily because i've been lazy with assignments thus i have to do them last minute. With exams coming up in slightly more than a month, life is not gonna get any easier/ less busy either. Too many things going on at the same time and its just so easy for me to forget the fact that I have salvation in Jesus and to live my life around it. Im too caught up with the things i have to do and i forget that my life is rely on Jesus.

Bible study, testimonies and sermons has been very helpful in reminding me that in Jesus i have life not in this world i have life! Last weekend at the women conference i was reminded that i should not be lazy to live a godly life because Jesus already paid for my ticket to escape. I shouldnt want to go back living ungodly life again because im no longer belong to it thus i should live out the new life i have in jesus.

Setting aside a time to reflet on God's word and seeing how he has been working in me is a great way to get me back on track not being caught up with all the things i have to do. Yes i still have to do my job but then my purpose in doing the job is different. I dont live to do my job but i live to make God's name known among people through doing the job i am given.

"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"
(2 Peter 1:10-11)

My victory is certain!

2010-04-19T23:37:00.000+10:00

I was reading Hayley Lewis' blog from the biggest loser website, dont ask me why because i also dont know why did i do that but i found something interesting towards the end of the blog. She said something along regretting not having the confidence in herself that she will be victorious oneday in her sporting career which cause her lots of stress in life. You can look it up in the website. I was reminded of the book of colossians when i read that ending part where it talks about having confidence about receiving future glory in Christ (not in myself knowing that im not capable of doing that). Future glory = victory of receiving salvation in Jesus.

Knowing that I can be sure with the hope i hold on to now is the greatest feeling ever. I used to hope that I would get great UAI but i didnt. I used to hope that i would never have friends that would ever dissapoint me again and im wrong. I always hope that i would use my time wisely in my days off and again it hasnt been happening the way i hope it would. Im tired of feeling sad because I dont get what i hope i would and its a constant sadness because i will never be sure whether i would ever get what i hope i would!

In this cylcle of unending sadness and dissapointment, God gives me certainty! Certainty that he will wipe away every tears later on when Jesus comes back for the second time (Isaiah 25:8-9). Certainty that I will oneday be with God in heaven because of what Jesus had done for me on the cross (Colossians 1:21-23).

My confident relies on Jesus and not anyone else including myself! It is so because Jesus had done everything that needs to be done on the cross, so that left me with nothing else to do apart from living under his rule and authority. I am complete in Christ and he is all I need (Colossians 2:9-10).

Are you confident with the hope you hold onto now?? I do hope that you can confidently say "I am 100% sure with the hope i have!"

Uncertainty Avoidance

2010-03-20T21:07:00.000+11:00

Uncertainty avoidance was one thing that I learned this week from one of my subject about cross culture. It measures the extent to which people in a certain culture avoid uncertainty (according to textbook definition). It basically says that there are some cultures that don't like to be uncertain in regards to everything that they do in this life.They consider uncertainty as life threatening and must be reduced (again quoted from the textbook :D:D).

I was sitting there in the lecture room thinking, "yup, thats me!" I am one of those people who doesnt like being uncertain. I would plan most of the things that i need to do beforehand so then i know what am i doing and if needed, i would spare sometime to think about plan b just in case plan a doesnt work the way i wanted it to be. I dont always do that these days, but most of the times i would.

I need something that is certain, something that i can hold on to and depend myself onto. I need more than hope because hope is not certain.

I need an assurance as well in regards to what is going to happen with me after i die?? am i going to hell or heaven?? what am i gonna do later on?? I certainly want to go to heaven and i dont think that i want to go to hell because its an unpleasant place to be in.

Then God showed me that there is this CERTAIN hope where i can hold onto everytime i need. And that hope is Jesus :D:D Many might wonder "why am i so into this Jesus thingy and so sure that he can give me the hope that i need?" Well here is my reason

The bible says that Jesus died in my place to take away my sin. Which means that I dont have to do good works to go to heaven. I always fail to do so and that makes me uncertain whether i will go to heaven or not. Jesus did everything that needs to be done and its completely done.

Now in Jesus, i have more confidence to say that i am certain i am going to heaven because Jesus did what needs to be done in regards to my sin and i dont have to worry about being uncertain about heaven again only because I keep failing to do things that pleases God.

^"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ"

(Colossians 2:9-11)

I am NOT a hero!!

2010-03-13T00:22:00.000+11:00

Having too many things to do will deff make us feel tired. We find ourselves at times not having the courage to say no to take on more things because we want to help those in need or simply because we feel bad. Helping people is a great thing to do and we should be doing them but we cant do everything all at one. We have to prioritise the important things that we need to do and focus on them not adding more stuff each day because it'll just makes u feel overwhelmed and trust me, it is not a great feeling to have and you want to avoid this as much as u can.

My cousin said to me once that I dont have to do all things at once. I am not a hero and the world is not going to end if i say no to do one thing. The world doesnt depend on me!! (thank God for that ) I cant imagine how is this world going to be if it depends on me...

The danger of feeling tired is that you neglect other important things such as eating. Both eating for ur physical and spiritual life. We often caught up doing all the things that we have to do and we forget to feed ourselves as often the case is. I do love food but yet tend to neglect it when im busy because I feel that i dont have enough time to finish the job i have to do if i eat.

For those who are feeling tired from anything (work, study, life issues, etc) just like i do most of the times, lets take sometime to just relax. I knoe that you might feel that your work is chasing you if you stop for a second but taking sometime to relax and be refresh is important. It'll allow u to focus more on the stuff u need to do and be happy with it so then ur work wouldnt become a burden :D:D

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Transforming Grace

2010-03-05T23:53:00.000+11:00

I wish I can write the whole book review for transforming grace now but as u can probably guess, I havent finish reading it. Now that uni starts, i dont think i would be able to finish the book sometime soon :(:( and i think when i have the time to read it i might have to skim read the book from the beginning to refresh my memory which means it might take a lil bit longer.

So far, the book encouraged me a lot especially when it talks about "the parable of the workers in the vineyard" It is a story about A landowner who agrees to pay his workers a denarius at the end of the day and throughout the day he keeps asking more workers to come and work for him. In the end everyone get the same amount of wages regardless of how long they have been working for. Many people would think that the landowner is unfair because some poeple have certainly work longer and harder than the other so they deserve to get more wages. I Second that, but Jerry Bridges pointed out a different point of view which is what rights do the workers have to say that they deserve better than anyone else. They agreed in the first place to work for the landowner for a denarius a day (v2). It is the landowner's land not the workers so he can do whatever he wants with his land.

Another point that he also pointed out is that, those workers who work in the lasts hours must be so grateful because they do not have to wait long to receive their payment. We would agree that they do not deserve what they get but they get it anyway which is why it is grace. It is like us who dont deserve to be saved but God chose to save us anyway through Jesus.

Jonah and me

2010-02-23T22:30:00.000+11:00

I just came back from retreat last weekend and we learned from the book of Jonah in great detail. I said in great detail because I have never look at the book of jonah in depth and one thing that i always know since sunday school about jonah is that, he is the prophet who run away from God and was eaten by a fish and was there for 3 days. Nothing much more apart from that.

Another thing that I learned about Jonah last weekend is that he is an unwilling prophet who is used by God anyway to accomplish his desires which is to bring many people to him and build his kingdom. Through Jonah unwillingness, God brings the captains and people on board to be christians when they realised that Jonah's God is powerful even he is able to calm the sea ( Jonah 1:16). God also brings the nation of Niniveh to come to him even though Jonah was unwillingly telling them that God is against them. It shows that God is sovereign above all and he will accomplish whatever he desires regardless of our obedience (Isaiah 55:11).

What struck me most from the book of Jonah is when I found out that he was running away from God and his responsibilities because he knows that God is a compassionate God and will forgive the people of Niniveh. Basically, he doesnt wanna to go Niniveh and tell them that God is against them because he knows that they will turn back to God and God will forgive them thus God will not destroy them. He is so selfish that he wants God to destroys the nation of Niniveh.

God deffinitely doesnt wanna see sinners to die thats why he sent Jesus to die in our place, but Jonah selfishly wants the people of Niniveh to be destroyed.

Jonah has God's word but he doesnt have God's heart because he wants to see the people of Niniveh to be destroyed.

When i ponder about the kingdom of God, I wonder whether my attitude is the same as Jonah. I wonder whether i pick the people i want to share the gospel with, whether i love my group of friends too much and dislikes other people, whether the kingdom of god for me is limited to certain people only, whether i have an unwilling hearts like jonah and or whether i am running away from my responsibilities as a christians.

When it comes to the gospel, it is available diffinitely to all people not just my friends or those who i pick.

Are you sharing the gospel to build your own kingdom (that is to build up your own pride) or to build God's kingdom (that is to be God's centered) ???

Big relief

2010-02-10T23:10:00.000+11:00

It fees like a huge weight has been taken from my shoulders knowing that tomorrow is my day off. A day where i wouldnt have a burden to wake up so early in the morning and able to sleep anytime i want tonight without having to worry that i'll be tired at work tomorrow because I dont have enough sleep.

Always feel exhausted on sunday night and feeling excited on friday night.

Thinking about future scares me. It will come to a time where i have to work full time continuously (for the rest of my life maybe) and not having add up to around 6 months of holiday in a year. Working hard definitely needs a lot of effort and will not be easy. At times it becomes a burden and becomes so hard to do it and we get tired and stop working hard.

It is such a huge relief too to know that I dont have to work hard to earn God's favour because Jesus did the hard work for me. I dont have to work hard for the rest of my life just to purchase my ticket to heaven. I fail everytime i attempted to have a good habit so then it can balance out my bad habit because of my nature that is so reluctant and lazy.

I once read a blog post about feeling exhausted and the writer was saying that one of the reason of us feeling exhausted is because we rely on ourselves and we always fail.

I reckon this is a good news for everyone who doesnt wanna feel weary and burden by all the things that we have to do which are overwhelming. I feel tried already now having to think about working hard all my life to earn happiness because i know that my attempt would never meet God's standard. Many might think that after we submit our lifes to Jesus, we still have to work hard to do good things because we have to live a life that is pleasing to God which is putting off our sin aside. Are we signing up to a bunch of rules if we submit our life to Jesus??
I am reading a book called transforming grace by jerry Bridges at the moment and he discuss the issue of grace and good works which I would share later after i finish reading the book :D:D

Yup, there is no such free gift in this world, but through Jesus I received my salvation in full for free :D:D

I Love Church because...

2010-02-04T14:20:00.001+11:00

Joshua Harris posted a blog a few weeks ago about wrong reasons to love the church which i find interesting and something that is worthwhile to think about as a christian.
I personally agree with his point about if you love the church because of the human leaders, they will let you down and yet I dont think that it only applies to human leaders. I think it applies to humans in general, the fact that we cant rely on human to give us complete satisfaction.

Love is Not a Fight

2010-01-26T19:31:00.001+11:00

If you have the time, go and check out Warren Barfield's song called "Love is not a Fight" which lyrics I used to shown in this page because I wasnt aware of the copyright issue.

Google it up and look into the lyrics because I think that they are sweet and great. The definition of love in this song is definitely different to what the world's definition.

Looking at 2009

2009-12-30T23:28:00.001+11:00

I Have a Shelter

By Steve & Vikki Cook and Bob Kaufli (Sovereign Grace Ministries)

I have a shelter in the storm
When troubles pour upon me
Though fears are rising like a flood
My soul can rest securely
O Jesus, I will hide in You
My place of peace and solace
No trial is deeper than Your love
That comforts all my sorrows

I have a shelter in the storm
When all my sins accuse me
Though justice charges me with guilt
Your grace will not refuse me
O Jesus, I will hide in You
Who bore my condemnation
I find my refuge in Your wounds
For there I find salvation

I have a shelter in the storm
When constant winds would break me
For in my weakness, I have learned
Your strength will not forsake me
O Jesus, I will hide in You
The One who bears my burdens
With faithful hands that cannot fail
You’ll bring me home to heaven

Tomorrow is the last day of the year, I cant belive time flies very2 quick. I've been listening to this song again and again these past few weeks and its a great song to end this year for me. There were certainly many ups and downs throughout the year and through this song, I am reminded that I can always hang onto Jesus because he bore my condemnation and bears my burdens. I am able to come to him anytime and everytime I have problems because he died for my sin and had encountered many problems himself when he was a human. He protects me from my sin and eternal death just as an umbrella would cover me from rain and getting wet. God's unconditional grace through Jesus gives me hope in my trials and suffering in this world and it also helps me to persevere till judgement day which ultimately leads me to heaven, my true and perfect home.

I would like to wish you an early happy new year 2010 and pray that you keep persevere in your faith as it is one year closer to Jesus' second coming :D:D

Christmas is...

2009-12-26T01:13:00.002+11:00

I woke up yesterday morning didnt feel like it was christmas but it was Christmas day. What is Christmas all about?? Christmas for me personally is a challenge. A challenge to really2 take to the heart the true meaning of it not just acknowledging it and celebrate it over and over again year after year after year. The true meaning of Christmas is that Jesus comes to this earth to save us sinners and restore our relationship with God. It is not about holidays, presents, chocolates, santa claus, traditions, christmas trees, food, etc.

As christians, i've been hearing about this message many times not just during Christmas but over and over again on Sunday's sermons, bible study, and easter. The excitement I have over the gospel faded away as the time goes by and I come to feel dry and numb. I am scared that I come to a point where I feel very numb and refuse to listen to the gospel again and it would be the worst thing that happen in my life because it means that i ignored the message of the gospel. Ig noring the gospel would lead me to eternal death and i dont think i want that to happen after tasted God's forgiveness.

Let us encourage one another this Christmas to keep feeling excited about the birth of Jesus and be reminded that Christmas is all about Jesus not presents and santa or any other things. Let us be joyful as well over his birth because through him we find salvation, eternal salvation not just temporary one.

Do you take the message of Christmas to your heart or you're too busy to ponder about it??

What response do you have towards Christmas??

Merry Christmas brothers and sisters in Christ and I wish u had a wonderful and meaningful Christmas.

Love n prayer,

ikan :D:D

This time last year

2009-12-17T15:11:00.000+11:00

This time last year I got my hsc results back. It wasnt great according to me becoz I felt like I deserve more than I got at the time. I doubt at that time whether God really2 loves me becoz with the results that i got it doesnt seems like he loves me. It ended up that the mark I got was enough to take me to the place I am now, in uni and doing the course that I wanted to do. I believe that this is part of God's plan for me. No matter how low my mark is, he wanted me to go to uni and here I am in uni :D:D

To all year 12s out there wherever you are,

I want to encourage you to keep trusting God regardless of ur hsc results. I also pray that you would still be thankful for it. Know that God had prepare a way for u in life wayyy before u were born and his plan would be the best for u as he is ur heavenly father. Take comfort in God knowing that all he cares is ur faithfullness in how u study not how great ur results are.

Dont compare urself with other people as well if it discourage u. God created people differently with different talent so then we can help one another and ultimately bring glory to god (1 corhinthians 12: 12-30).

This is also apply to all students everywhere in the world. As exams and assignments are still part of our day to day meal, so that encouragement doesnt only apply to yr 12s students but everyone who are students :D:D

Fail in exams, doesnt mean that we fail in life. Fail in life in my opinion would be like trying so hard to do good things in this world and find out later on that it doesnt give us anything.

love n prayer,

ikan :D:D

God's grace :D:D

2009-12-12T23:54:00.000+11:00

I was watching tv yesterday and people were kinda critisizing christians for grace. They were mucking christians around because christians believe that everyone can go to heaven only if we believe in God. Even murderers can go to heaven if they belive in God and they dont agree with that. What is the difference really between killing someone physically and killing someone's heart by saying something that is inappropriate to that particular person or people?? they're both bad and hurt in someway...do u really believe that one sin is better than the other???

Yes saying bad things about someone is not as bad as killing someone physically but they're both sin and God hates sin.

As the time goes by, I realise that Im just making up excuses when I say that one sin is better than the other to make myself feel better so then God would deffinitely allow me to go to heaven because Im a good person and I never do bad stuff to people around me. That shows that Im relying on my good works to get me to heaven.

Would I be good enough in God's standard by never committing crimes?? Romans 3:23 says no! because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

If we can go to heaven by trying hard to do good works, why should Jesus bother came down to earth and died for my sin?? He certainly didnt have to do that because I wouldnt need him to help me to go to heaven and there would be no such word as grace. As the word grace means getting something that you dont deserve. that is how I get to go to heaven. I dont deserve to be in heaven because I keep sinning in a regular basis, but God gave me the salvation anyway purely because he loves me.

Would you choose good works or grace??

What happen to those who have never heard the gospel??

2009-12-10T00:06:00.000+11:00

Thank You God :D:D

2009-12-09T00:45:00.000+11:00

I complain when the food that I eat is not nice or doesnt taste as perfect as i think it should be. I dont know how precious it would be for those people who are not as lucky as I am. I get to have great foods everytime i want it but yet I still complain about it. I simply take things for granted which often lead me to not giving thanks over God's gift in whatever form it is.

Its been a while since I started pondering about thanking God for all the things he has done for me. There were certainly many good things happen in my life but because of my sinful nature that always crave for more things, I feel that there are more bad things happen to me than good things thus Im angry with God more than thanking him of all the things he has given me.

Do you ever have the same feeling as I do?? complain all the time to God because what God has in his plan is not accordiing to our plan??
When I look at all my complains, I realised that its all becoz of my selfish reason. I want everything to be me centered instead of Jesus centered while as christians I meant to live a jesus centered life because I am no longer belong to the world who keep telling me that the most important thing in life is about me...me...me... and me...
All media advertisements are all urging us to have this and that to be like this and like that so then we can be a better person ourselves. Because I am no longer belong to the world, I should not live the way the world urges me to live.

What I wanted to say from this post is that I want to encourage you all to be thankful with everything that God has been given to you. It is hard definitely as I still struggle with it, but lets keep reminding one another to be thankful. Bad things definitely happen in life and when that happen it would be hard to be thankful but knowing that everything that happen in our life whether theyre good or bad are not out of God's control and they happen for our goods is comforting to me and I hope to you too.

Whats gonna happen to me??

2009-12-01T23:55:00.001+11:00

My friend said that 2012 was a reminder that the end of the world is about to come...

My other friend said that she watched the interview of the movie stars and they were saying that they didnt believe it becoz its only a movie, people made that up...

And apparently a few people say that someone predicted that in 20 dec 2012 (or something like that) the world is going to an end...

The important thing is, what is going to happen with me when the world is ended whether its gonna be in 2012 or not??? what would i be doing after that??? is there anything after this life???

We learned last saturday at youth group that we need to becareful about how we listen to the gospel and what we listen shows the truth about our heart. Why is it important in the first place to pay attention to the gospel?? what is the gospel and why are christians so into it??

The gospel is the good news about Jesus's death on the cross to pay off our sin and his ressurection which showed that he conquered death (1 Corinthians 15). Christians are so excited about sharing the gospel because we heard about this good news and want to share it with the rest of the world.

The gospel is worth it to focus on because for me personally, the message of the gospel gives me hope, a living and certain hope that is not like any other hope that the world has to offer. A hope that gives me a secure and certain place in heaven. I wanna go to heaven and I dont think I would be able to reach God's standard to be a good person so then I can go to heaven because I keep failing when I attempted to do so. In other words, my good deeds would never be able to cover up my bad deeds because I keep failing and failing in doing so.

The saturday talk at youth group was based on Luke 8:1-18. It was about the parable of the sower and the parable represented different responses people can have towards the gospel. People can:

completely ignore the gospel
excited at first but when they face suffering, they fall away
hear the gospel but influenced by other things in the world thus their focus in the gospel shifted away
hear the gospel and respond to it and persevere till the end

The passage reminds me that knowing which group I belong to is important because it allows me to look at myself and where my hearts is heading towards. If my heart is heading towards Christ then I can be confident in him that I'll be with God later on when the world is ended whether it'll be in 2012 or sooner or later :D:D
It means that I dont have to worry about doing good works and all that to cover up my bad deeds before the end of the world. Because I know I am saved through Jesus' death and resurrection not by doing good works and it is all happen on ly by God's grace.

"But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."

Belonging

2009-11-19T01:41:00.001+11:00

I always hate being the odd one out and i dont think anyone like being the odd one out. I came to one stage where I didnt feel belong the group of friends i hang out with becoz they would ignore me completely sometimes. I also felt that i was so boring that my friend wouldnt be happy to talk to me and straight away talk to my other friends. I didnt know whether it was my fault because I was being too sensitive or my friends really2 did that in purpose because they didn't like me.

1 peter 1 says that I am strangers in this world which also means that i am the odd one out. Why am i strangers in this world?? becoz it says that we are God's elect which means that we are christians. Christians are strangers in the world because we received and accepted the offer of salvation and we do not want to go back to do things that are unpleasing to God which is sin. Romans 6 talks about how as christians, we was dead because of our sin but had been raised from the dead by God as he raised Christ from the dead. Now that we are alive, why do we wanna go back to do things that would lead us to death again??

So christians are strangers in the world because we do not belong to this sinful world.

Lets have comfort in God as christians that its okay to not feel belong to a certain group of friends or to the world or being left out, because we belong to God now and lets focus our mind and energy in God rather than on the world because the world would come to an end when jesus returns while god is eternal. In the end true friends would never ditch you no matter what condition your are in or how bad you are.

"If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

(John 15:19)

Forgiving Others

2009-11-18T00:48:00.002+11:00

I was watching "the amazing race" the other day and one of the challange was you had to slide down a steep and very tall water slide to get your next clue which was the clue to the pitt stop. I was frustrated by one couple but amazed at what the guy did in the end. Basically, the girl was scared of height and water so she didnt want to slide down which made them eliminated from the race. In the end, the guy was saying something like " you have to be forgiving and no one is perfect. I thought to myself, "wowwwwwwww" He was very frustrated at her before but eventually genuinely forgave her. What an awesome attitude and I think forgiving others is one of the key to a healthy relationship, whatever relationship it is.

Before knowing what the guy would say, I thought to myself "they would break up after this race" what a normal thought i guess considering the guy was so frustrated at the girl and it was only becoz of a small thing. It seems small to me becoz its not my problem, but if i put myself in her position, i would've do the same thing as she did and it would be a big thing for me.

Hearing what the guy had to say, reminded me of God's grace and how he genuinely forgive me and my sin everytime i make him dissapointed. He never give up on me and would never break the relationship off.

I am challenged as someone who has tasted the Lord's forgiveness to do the same to others as well, whether they would be my family or friends or even strangers who happen to annoy me somehow.

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephessians 4:32)

Dont let sin drag you down...

2009-10-23T21:41:00.000+11:00

" I know I need to study, but Im too comfortable sitting on my couch in front of tv. Exams are a few weeks away anyway and I promise I'll study tomorrow."

" I know I need to spend time with god through personal devotion, but Im too busy doing assignments and studying for exams. I get tired at night and its hard to wake up in the morning to read my bible and pray to God."

I was planning to study after I woke up the other day and do as much as I could to make my day off productive. What ended up happening instead?? Yup, procrastinating pretty much the whole day. I've been wasting my time doing things that are not necesarry/ not productive such as facebooking for hours and hours, allowing myself to sit in front on tv for hours as well, and im sure I wasted my time doing other things that I cant event remember what they are at the moment but you get the point :D:D

I know that I am wrong and I know that I need to change, but my heart is dragging me down and saying that I should be okkie with the way I live now. Why am I like this?? Here are my reasons:

I havent been feeding myself with the word of God which would protect me from my deceitful heart
I am relying too much on my own power hoping that I would change sometime soon
Im lacking of motivation and focus to be productive
I let my deceitful heart take control of my life

By God's grace, I come to realise that my sin is causing me to feel and act that way (not using my time productively and letting my heart rules what I do.) Romans 7: 14-20 describes how I do things that I do not want to do because sin is living in me and it is sin who is causing me to do the things I dont desire. Romans 7: 24-25 continue to talk about how sinful I am and God rescued me from my sinful desire through Christ which transform my mind to be slave to God not to sin.

How should I deal with sin then knowing that it is my biggest problem now??

I wouldnt be able to deal with sin if I rely on myself because I am still living in my sinful body and my heart still deceives me so I am hopeless if I rely on myself. God knows that I would never be able to do so thus he sent Jesus to deal with my sin by dying on the cross. We have Jesus who knows how to deal with sin and able to sympathise our weaknesses just as Hebrews 4:15 says : "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin."

Jesus is the answer of my problem. He fixed my problem of sin and thus I can cling to him to help me fix my deceitful hearts which leading me to allow myself to stay comfortable in sin and lacking of motivation to do what I have and want to do. My encouragement to you who have the same feeling as I do towards procrastination and sin are:

let us fix our eyes and thoughts on Jesus who tranforms our minds to God
ask God to help us fight against sin through prayer
let us feed ourselves and protect ourselves from our deceitful hearts through regular bible reading
keep encouraging you brothers and sisters in Christ to fix their eyes on Jesus too

"But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death." (Psalm 141:8)

Leading towards final exams

2009-10-17T01:00:00.000+11:00

Time flies soooo quick, a year had gone by since i was sitting my HSC exam, the most important exam ever in my life and the hardest too. Now i think every exams are equally important. Why do I say that?? if u have the same thoughts as i do towards this particular issue, u'll agree with my view of exams. Let me put it this way:

In primary school final exams in year 6 was an important thing because if i didnt do good in them, i wouldnt be able to go to a good high school. In fact, to be able to go to a good high school, i had to do another test which are important as well. (this happen in indo as i was in indo a few years back and im sure some selective school in australia would test ur academic skills apart from looing at ur school report before u can get into the school.)
In high school, year 12 HSC exams were important as well, in fact it seemed like the most important exam ever, because without great UAI* (ATAR they call it now) i wouldnt be able to go to a good uni
In uni, exams are pretty important as well even though u need only to pass the exam in order to pass the course but passing an exam in uni are not as easy as it sounds... besides passing, who doesnt want to get distinction and or high distinction???

One encouragement that I find very helpful regarding exam is God does not care about how great my results are in the end but he cares most about how faithful i study. Why would i study faithfully while i can just study for myself though in the end its my mark and i get to do anything i like with it?? Because i am God's creation and as a christian i am living my life to glorify God's name in all things that i do (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Study faithfully means that I do my best with my study and leave up the rest to God. In a day to day example, it'll looks like this: I study my best for my exams but not neglecting other commitments i have such as church and family. In the end, whether i get good mark or not i would thank God for that knowing that he has something plan for me and it will always be for my own good (romans 8:28).

I am not saying that we shouldnt put an effort in our study since God doesnt care anyway about our mark. I am saying that we do our best which means study hard with a different intention and focus now. Instead of striving great mark to get good job and having a security in future by relying on ourselves, we're striving good mark because we want to do our best in our study given the opportunity to do so and trusting God with our future knowing that he knows whats best for us.

Who am I- Casting Crowns

2009-10-12T23:59:00.002+11:00

What a good rhetorical question to ask myself as i take God's forgiveness for granted most of the time. By forgetting the fact that I am saved by grace affect the way I live in a day to day basis. I can be easily influence by things that the world has to offer and say. It'll leads me to rely on tangible things for security and identity such as popularity, having an awesome boyfriend, friends, great mark in study, getting a high paid job, and many more.

"Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth,Would care to know my name, Would care to feel my hurt?" God who has the authority over all things would come down to earth for me?? He could just sit and relax in heaven without having to worry about me in this earth facing eternal death as the result of my sin. I am nothing in God's eyes and I was a sinner after all (romans 3:10-12).Why would he come down from the greatness of heaven to suffer on earth? The answer is Love (john 3:16, romans 5:8). Not because I am a good person (never kill anyone physically, never steal, loves peace), not because Im trying to do my best to behave in a good way, not because I am smart and so on but ONLY because of his great and awesome love to me that he would willingly suffer in my place and died in my place.

Being reminded that my identity now relies in Christ who died for me and loves me so much makes me wonder why do i often go back to rely myself on earthly things which in the end would dissapoint me... i assume that this is a struggle for us as christians. It is not easy living as a christian in this world that is against us. I pray that as christians, we would encourage one another to focus on Christ and to always hang onto God not worldly things.

Assurance of going to heaven

2009-10-08T03:04:00.001+11:00

I thank God so much for revealing Christ to me and make me realise that no matter how much good works i do to balance out my bad works (so then i would earn favour in God's eyes) would never be enough because God's standard is perfect while I failed to reach it because I sin. Not only once but keep sinning and keep failing to not to sin because its around me and tempting me in everyway.

How can I be sure then whether I am going to heaven or not since I keep failing to not to sin???

Doubts and temptations come and go in a day to day basis which might lead me astray eventually. Ways that I find helpful not to be lead astray by worldly temptations and doubts are being honest and talk about my struggles with other christians who i know would keep me accountable and rebuke me if they need to as well as reminding me to go back to God's grace and rely on God.

Pray about it and feed myself with God's word are also important in bringing me back to the right way of living my life. Ultimately, I think that me myself would have to change my heart and willingly want to change after being rebuke and again pray to God that he would soften my heart to want to change in the way i live my life because he is the only one that knows my heart and change it.

I cant do anything actually to earn my spot in heaven, because I am going to heaven not because I do something to earn it but because of what Christ had done for me which was paying for my sin through shedding his blood on the cross.

High priests in the old testament had to sprinkle blood once a year to wash away their sin and also the sin of the whole nation and it has to be done in the most holy place which can only be accessed by the high priest ( Leviticus 16). What a privilage we have now as christians because we do not have to do that again every year because Christ died ONCE AND FOR ALL people not just Israelites (1 peter 3:18).

How can I be sure then that I am definitely going to heaven??

I have Christ now as my high priest who sacrificed himself for me thus I am sure that I am going to heaven through his death and resurrection :D:D

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:23-24)

Laziness that might leads to Regret

2009-10-03T02:02:00.000+10:00

I've been very lazy to do all the works i have/wish to do such as uni assignments and start preparing for final exam as I hope I started earlier in the week but hasnt been happening *sighss :(:( What have I been doing all week instead??

finishing up my assignment because its due last wed and procrastinating pretty much most of the time... (:(

I got a smacked in the head earlier on before I posted this blog by Josh Harris'video about Self control. He doesnt specifically talks about lazy in study but the idea is there. As I've been struggling with laziness and lacking of motivation for a few weeks now, God slap me in the face and wake me up to do other things that I should be doing instead of procrastinating and procrastinating... Investing my time in a more useful things than just sitting in front of the computer for the whole day and just never stop till the night comes and I get tired.

I keep telling myself to study faithfully but what I've been doing is not studying faithfully becoz procrastinating is deffinitely not a form of studying faithfully. What would studying faithfully looks like in a day to day basis???

it means i would use my time wisely
it means i have to control myself not to procrastinate
it means that i would rely on God regardless on the results i get
it doesnt mean that i have to study 24/7 but it means that i have to be commited in all other things that i have to do as well apart from studying
it means im doing my best and not being lazy with my study

Matthew 25:14-30 ("The parable of the talent) encourages us not to be like the lazy servant who did not do anything regarding the talent that was given to him and thus the master took away the talent and give it to the other dilligent servant. I am given the opportunity to study and if what i do is being lazy and not using the opportunity given wisely, God might take away my opportunity and give it to other people and it would be too late for me to regret.

I personally thank God for the bible which reminds me to the fact that I am so lucky to have this opportunity to study that I often take for granted and I would continue to pray that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we would encourage and remind one another not to be lazy in terms of anything that we do and I pray that we would glorify God's name in all things that we do.

"Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

1 Peter 2: 12

Father We Commit to You

2009-09-28T23:04:00.002+10:00

I first listened to this song at my cousin's wedding and I thought to myself... what a wonderful song this is. It is wonderful as it reminds me about how great and awesome God is. He is awesome because he is always with me and never leaves me alone, in happiness and in sadness, in pain and in joy, in suffering and in gladness, whatever situation im in, he is always with me.

Commiting life to something or someone is a big issue that needs to be think carefully. Why would I commit my life to God??

because he knows whats best for me thus he wont make any poor decision regarding my life
he gave himself up for me to pay for my sin

Why wouldnt I commit my life to someone who protects me and loves me so much till the point of death...

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." ( John 3:16)

In a relationship or stay single...

2009-09-23T17:12:00.001+10:00

Seeing the picture on the right reminded me of a friend who happen to remind me about being single or dating, and I would like to share a bit with u here :D:D

A friend of mine reminded/ challenge me to think again whether what I wanted is according to God's plan (in terms of marriage and dating)... Society today influences me to think that singleness should be a BIG NO in my life dictionary and if im a single then i failed.How grateful i am to know God and he gives me a new purpose in life. Im not a failure anymore and if i dont happen to get married later on I know that God has a different plan for me and it is all for my best and since he created me, he knows what is best for me:D:D

The same friend of mine said " what matters is how you see life, the purpose of your life. As christians we live to be in a relationship with God, to worship and glorify God and that is what matters most."
That particular sentence is what strikes me and challenges as well as encourages me to change the way i think about life and see life and I hope it does the same to u :D:D

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (romans 8:28)

Good skit, I recommend u to watch it if u havent :D:D

2009-09-17T19:41:00.000+10:00

Lifehouse Skit- "Everything"

Genuine relationship is not legally binding

2009-09-17T01:22:00.004+10:00

Communication is the key thing in a relationship.
Good communication leads to good and healthy relationships while misscommunication leads to negative relationships and im sure that everyone wouldnt want to have negative relationships with people around them.

Im talking about 2 ways communication here not just oneway. Oneway relationship wouldnt results in good relationship either, because only one person talk and eventually that person will feel rejected and broken relationships will be resulted from that action.

Think about ur relationship with ur friends, family, boyfriend or girlfriend and think about what would happen if 2 ways convo happen compare to oneway convo...

God calls us to have a relationship with him. To be in a relationship with God means to be a christian. So being a christian is NOT about being legalistic in doing all the things that we do but having a 2 ways communication with God through praying and bible reading. We dont only talk to God through prayer (which is vital) but to listen to God too by reading God's word because God speaks to us through the scripture.

Lets think about bible reading and praying as having a 2 ways communication with God instead of thinking of it as something that we as christians should do in a daily basis. It is good to do it in a daily basis but dont feel guilty if u dont read it for a day or so because u wouldnt feel guilty if u dont talk to ur friends for a day right?? indeed you would want to talk to them.

It doesnt mean that we can have an excuse for not reading the bible because its okkie anyway if i dont talk to God today because I would want to talk to him more tomorrow (what normally happen is that once we tend to delay something, we'll delay it for even a longer period).

Pray instead of complaining

2009-09-10T01:05:00.004+10:00

Complaining is part of everyone's day to day life. How many times do u complain in a daily basis??? small complain such as "i dont like the food" counts because they are still a complain...
why do u complain and what do u complain about??

Complaining doesn't do any good to anyone...it means that we are not thankful with what has been given to us (as christians, i believe it means that we are not thankful with God's gift).
How lovely would it be if someone say 'thank you' to u after the long hours and hard work u put in finding them a special present instead of complaining about it because they dont like the present we gave??

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"

God plan everything for us and he done that because it is for our good.What is bad in our eyes doesnt necessarily mean they are bad in God's eyes too. Remember human's standard are very different with God's standard.
Sometimes things doesnt go the way i wanted it to be, but knowing that God has a plan for us and it would be the best plan, it gives me a new hope that all the things that are happening to me are according to God's plan and it is for my good,as romans 8:28 says.

Lets keep reminding one another to value God's gift (whatever it is) with joy and thankfulness, not complaining as what we often do. I would definitely encourage you to pray instead of complaining because pray would show your dependece on God but complaining is just a totally different thing regarding showing our dependence. It doesnt showour dependence but rather showing our displeasing attitude in God's eyes.

Christians vs hypocrites

2009-09-03T16:00:00.006+10:00

"Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites because they always say do this and do that but they themselves dont even do it!"

does that statement sounds familiar?? or perhaps we used to say that statement to other person (either with exact/similar words or ideas)??? or someone had encountered you before with that statement??
what is christian and what is hypocrite anywayyy?? are they different or the same???

a hypocrite is:

a person who PRETEND to do good things (such as fast, pray and being generous to people) to be honoured by other people THUS they dont do it from the heart (matthew 6: 2,5,16) in this case they are pretending to be a christian.

a christian is:

someone who is forgiven (romans 3:23-24)

Christian and hypocrite are NOT the same. They are totally 2 different groups. Bible believing christian would genuinely admit that they are bad people because they are bad people and would humbly and honestly asking God for help, and this is not hypocrisy.

Being a christian is not a matter of having a perfect life and not sinning at all because this is impossible as we still live in our sinful body (romans 7: 15-17). THUS a christian will still keep sinning and this is why we need our brothers and sisters in Christ. As brothers and sisters in Christ we should keep encouraging one another and rebuking one another so that we all will keep walking in God's way.

How can we do this?? Church is a place where we can build relationship with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Bible believing Christian goes to church NOT to be save but to keep encouraging and spurring one another in Christ (hebrews 10: 25)

Can i say a person is a christian by going to church and being involved in church activites??
No, because someone is regarded as a christian not by the things they do but because of what Jesus had done for them.

Can a christian be a hypocrite??
Bible believing christian would not a hypocrite.

Lets not let bad behaviour by certain people who consider themselves as a "christian" hinder us to think and respond the truths about Jesus.

which type are u??

2009-08-23T19:38:00.002+10:00

Matt Chandler spoke at RICE rally* last night and the theme for RICE this year is "torn identity."
He describe that we as a single person can fall into three different categories. They are:

the ones who are saved
religious lost
completely lost/ ignorant

"the ones who are saved" are christians who realised that they are a sinner and need forgiveness and it is only through Jesus that they have a new life and receive salvation through faith in his death and resurrection. This is a secure position to be in as we have hope in God that we'll have eternal life and he is faithful in keeping his promises.

"religious lost" people are those people who look like a christian outside but inside they are not really a christian...they can be going to church all their life and busy doing church stuff and doing a lot of ministries / church thing but outside church they are a different person...by this i mean that they are living 2 different lifes...when they are at church they are acting as a christian and when they are outside church they are acting as a non christian and they stuck with this repetitive cycle or even they confuse themselves and/or people around them perhaps who know them from both sides of their lifes.

"completely lost" people are those people who just dont know God at all or they know about God and/or admit that he is God but still rejected him because of various reasons (they dont wanna be bound by all the christian rules, they are having fun with the life they have at the moment, etc). In response to that they will be separated from God forever which is what the bible calls 'hell' (separation from God)

So according to those three categories, which group do u think you can relate urself most with??

we want to make sure that we are standing in the save position and will always stand firm in that position until Jesus comes for the second time which can only be done through the power given by God because we wouldnt be able to do it by relying on our own power. certainly!

* RICE is an event where youths around Sydney who go to youth groups get the opportunity to bring their non christian friends mainly to hear the gospel about Jesus.

Hardships mode = on

2009-08-20T01:30:00.005+10:00

"where is God when we need him???"

that is a typical question we comes accross in times of suffering/trials in this life no matter in what form they are...
the "footprints in the sand" story by Mary Stevenson (google it up if u dont know them :D:D ) reminds us that God is a God that will never leaves us alone especially in times when we tend to think he is leaving us alone ( "why when i needed u most, you have not been there for me?" )
from the story, i came to realise that we are so selfish thinking that God is leaving us alone to deal/face our troubles...i mean how do we know that when there's only 1 set of footprint thats our footprints???

2 corinthians 1:3-11 tells us that hardships happened so that we'll rely on God since we deffinitely cant rely on ourselves because we do not have the power to face them alone. In God, we have hope to be delivered from hardships and get comforts from him which then can be shared to our brothers and sisters in Christ as they might face the same hardships.

Christianity and Law

2009-07-29T23:17:00.003+10:00

I was sitting in a lecture tday and listening/thinking through what the lecturer said about "what do we think about law?" and "what do u think law means??" It reminds me to all the law we have in the bible... i didnt know why was that in my head but it was a good reminder as i meditated on it that as christians we are not obeying the laws to earn our spot in heaven. We are actually obeying it because we were transformed to be a good person that longs for God and want to be like Jesus and thus using jesus as a model to shape our changing behaviour.

Romans 6: 1-14 explains that we were dead through sin but made alive through Christ. And we were dead through sin because we were sinning against God which can be said in another word we're doing bad things in God's eyes. Since God loves us he sent his one and only son to died in our place as John 3:16 said. As we are alive in Christ, why do we wanna do bad things again that will lead us to death??? its like being saved from a car accident because we were speeding but then moments later after we found ourselves save we were speeding again which would eventually lead us to a car accident...

does this sound familiar???
" i dont wanna be a christian becoz that means im signing up to all these christians regulations"
" being a christian means u have to be holy becoz u cant do this and that because if not then u're not a christian!!!"

being good all the time is definitely hard especially there are heaps of temptations around us but lets keep persevering in it and keep encouraging one another to do so too. let us enjoy too having have to obey God's law knowing that it will glorify our creator's name plus benefit us in the end.

" The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lod are trustworthy, making wise the simple."
psalm 19:7

is God selfish???

2009-07-20T22:36:00.002+10:00

Ezekiel 36: 22- 23
"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes."

sounds like God is selfish aye...thinking only about his glory ot for everyone elses' glory!!! Why should he cares about everyone elses' glory though??? who else cares about glorifiying their name...animals/plants??? certainly not...so im refering everyone elses here as us, yes as u and me...
so why should God cares about our pride/ name??? he created us so basically he own us and therefore he is worthy to be glorified by us.
Let me put it this way, if i created something that is alive and can talk, i centainly want my creation to glorify me and tell other ppl about me who created it so that ppl will think im smart or something like that by being able to create things like that...wouldnt u feel the same???

is that mean that we are selfish??? yes we are selfish definitely because God created us but we want ppl to glorify our name instead of our creator's name...

Why is God worthy of our praise???
1. he created us
2. he has the power that we do not have (forgiving ppl like u and me from their sin)

So, is God selfish??? totally not!!! but rather he deserves our praise...

How do we know that the bible is true??

2009-07-08T23:25:00.001+10:00

Many people argue that the bible is not true because who can guarantee that all things that is in the bible is 100% true and all those things were really happen??? who knows that people might misinterpret them since we are now using the translation bible which means that it wasnt written in the language we speak today???
As human it is normal to think like that and to have doubt about the bible. I used to doubt a lot too about the bible. I even doubt that all the things that was said in the bible including the miracles that happen were true. I mean those stuff doesnt happen these days and i wasnt there to witness those things so it is very hard indeed to believe in the bible.

Many people also argue "how can i believe in the bible if i dont even know/see that God is exist??" What do we want?? miracles to happen so that we will believe that God is exist??? will we really believe in God if those miracles happen these days like wht most of us have to say "if u can prove that God is exist, i'll believe it" do we really mean that or we're just using that as an excuse because we dont wanna believe in God knowing that those miracles wont happen these days???
I mean even people in Jesus' days who saw Jesus' miracles were ignorant and doesnt believe in him, so how can we guarantee that we will believe in Him after seeing miracles???
John 6: 42 says that the people were grumbling becoz they didnt believe in Jesus is the son of God even though beforehand they saw/ experienced he did miracles ( feeding the 5 thousand and walk on the water)

How can we be sure that the bible is trustworthy??
- All scripture is God's breathed (2 timothy 3:16)
- it was written by eye witnesses who lived on Jesus' days
- it was written by many people in different time but they're talking about the same thing which is all about God.

what am i gonna do next knowing that the bible is true and it is trustworthy???
what am i gonna do the next time i have doubt about the bible thus the word of God???
knowing that it is the word of God, what should i do with it???

Praising God

2009-07-05T22:36:00.003+10:00

we had a discussion a few days ago at music practice about "praise"
what does praise mean:
- looking up to someone and worship him/her
- singing
- acknowledging someone and glorify that person's name
- few other ideas tht i couldnt remember:(:( :):) perhaps u can/ want to add some ideas?? :D:D

we often think of praise as singing only in church and tend to only praise him when we're at church, but what does the bible really say about praising God?? Lets look at Romans 12:1-2: " ¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^a]">[a] act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
That verses is telling us that we have to offer our body as living sacrifice which should be our act of worshipping God and in a way praising God too becoz when u praise someone u'll worship him/her too.

Then what does it mean to praise God with our body and how do we do it in a practical way??? do we dance for him, do we sacrifice our body to him??? what do we do?? Romans 12: 1-2 is urging us not to conform to the pattern of this world in viewing God's mercy and having a new mind so that we are able to understand God's perfect will. So it means that in a practical way, we are encourage to be different from this world and not following its rule. For example, if the world is telling us to show off our talent when we sing/ play music, we dont do it because we knows that if we do that we're not viewing God's mercy as we sing/ play music (even christian music/songs) but rather to gain glory for ourselves and its not an act of viewing God's mercy. To offer our body as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God means that we act differently with the world and change our minds so that we can understand his perfect will for us.
To praise God with our body means that we're using our body to please God and praise him and it doesnt only happen through singing. Singing is only oneway to praise God but its not THE ONLY way to praise God. To use our body means that in everything that we do in our day to day lifes, we praise him through doing those things and by having a new and transformed mind, we are able to discern God's will and act in a way that is pleasing him.

So to praise God with our body is to use it everyday and praising him with it through things that we do everyday and by having a transformed mind we are able to differentiate what should we do that is pleasing him.

Knowing all this, what should we do so that we'll praise God everyday through using our body???

i hope u find it encouraging guys to change the way u live knowing that we are given this body so that we can used it to praise him just as i did find it encouraging... :D:D
lets praise him becoz he is an awesome god and how do we know that he is awesome???becoz he loves us and sent jesus to died for us in the cross in our place even while we were still sinners (romans 5:8) :D:D

Religion vs Gospel

2009-07-01T20:25:00.006+10:00

Philippians 3: 1-11

Earlier today I listened to Mark Driscoll's talk from his church website and he was talking about religion and gospel and he was preaching from Philippians 3:1-11 and I thought I would like to share it with you here.

That passage is talking about how Paul is reminding us to rejoice in the Lord because of his grace. Because of what Jesus had done on the cross and the fact that we do not have to do anything to go to heaven becoz Jesus did it for us. We dont deserve it but yet we get it anyway:D:D (those of us who go to church would hear this so many times but do we really get wht it means???). For those who do not know Paul, he is a guy in the bible who was a very2 bad guy because he persecuted christians in those days, he killed many christians for the sake of obeying the law. He then became a christian becoz God appeared to him on his way to Damascus. As he become a christian, he is now persecuted by people instead of persecuting people.

So, Paul is encouraging us to keep rejoicing in the Lord because of his grace. He is also reminding us to becareful with false teaching about God. Many religion will tell its followers to do good things so then they can be a good people and in the end go to heaven and Jesus is not enough to make us go to heaven. But how can we really go to heaven? well from Christians point of view there is only one way to heaven and to the father which is through Jesus (John 14:6). Many religion teaches people that to go to heaven you have to do good things so that God will accept u or do as many good things as u can while u're alive to balance out ur bad behaviour.

BUT:
- how many good things do we have to do to balance out our bad behaviour since we sin all the time??
- are we able to reach God's standard???
-what if we died but we havent finish doing good things to balance out the bad behaviour we did??
- what sort of good things i should do to meet god's standard???
- what is god's definition of good people??
- am i a good person in God's eyes??

Why would Paul convert to a christian if going to heaven is through being a good people and following all the law because he certainly did follow all the law thus he persecuted christians because the law said that at those times. Paul is missing something which is Jesus, God had mercy on Him by giving him grace and allowing him to share this great news to us.
Mark said that religion is rubbish because many religion teaches people to do good things and to be a good person dont do this and dont do that so that we can go to heaven neglecting the fact that the only way to go to heaven is through Jesus.

I guess, from this passage i wanted to share to u guys that i found it very encouraging knowing that i am saved by grace alone not by my works and i hope as christians you will be reminded of his grace and find it comforting.
The final question that I guess worth asking esp to myself is "what does it mean to live as christian knowing that I am saved by grace?"