07-09-09 (Wednesday) "The Future"

Just got back from Kioloa for an OCF Bible Study Leaders' Retreat just now. Its been a great time of refreshment, learning and of fellowship.

With no regards to that, I've somehow been looking into the future these few days. My own, in particular. I wondered (and still am wondering)... What will I be doing after my degree? Working in Shell Miri? Working here in Australia?

What kind of life will I be having, 9-5 working hours and doing nothing but being a couch potato after that? Or maybe I'd still be able to squeeze in regular exercise then?

Will I maintain my marital status permanently? Maybe even be able to enter the missionary field or voluntary workforce because of the absence of family to hold me down?

Will I even start looking for girlfriends in the near future? What if I were to become a father? Would I be capable of bringing up God-fearing children, ideally through example? Should I even be thinking of this whole "issue"?

Will I have changed for the better much (I'm only hoping for the better, don't wanna think of the worse)? Will I have increased my capacity to bless? Am I gonna be a greater giver and a lesser receiver?

Thinking through all these stuff, I'm constantly reminded of having to trust in God to have THE BEST plans for me and my future (Jer 29:11) and not having to worry about it (Matt 6:34). Sure... That's true but... Can't help wondering every now and then, no? After all... I am only human. :\

Of course, I also ponder upon how interesting it is that despite knowing how insignificant all these will be in light of eternity, I will still hafta be putting in effort to achieve certain things.

And now, Colossians 3:17 pops up. Its all for you, God. All for you.

" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord,
'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' "
~ Jeremiah 29:11
"Therefore fo not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own."
~ Matthew 6:34
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
~ Colossians 3:17
The Bible (NIV)

30-07-07 (Monday) Gathering of Thoughts

Had some thoughts to just let out all at once.

Why are some ppl(like me) so... hypocritical? I'm referring to those of us who go to church. We can accept the loud/weird/annoying laughter of our pastor or elder and just say,"they're only human, why expect perfection?" but when it comes to other ppl in our lives, we just can't accept them as they are but have to condemn them to eternal(as long as are mortally alive, that is) damnation in the 'Hell of Embarassment". Why? We can accept the occasional mistakes in grammar and pronunciation some senior in church makes but when we're in the world outside, we just grab every opportunity to humiliate others when they make the slightest mistake. Can you tell me why? So many ppl just keep God in their lives on Sunday. It's like a Sunday-pass thing. When Sunday comes, you go around doing everything showing this pass to everyone that "Hey, it's Sunday and I'm a Christian today!"

For those who aren't so, I thank God for your being a role model for the 'less fortunate'...

The sermon Rev. Edmund preached the previous Sunday mentioned sth that struck me. When Jesus was being baptised, usually big occasions like that would be marked by lightning striking a tree nearby, or the clouds all turning dark in a split-second or maybe just some massive flower blossoming session to happen.(Maybe these just happen so much in movies that God decided NOT to go for cliches but..) However, I only came to realize the significance of what God did to show that Jesus was His beloved Son. He sent the Spirit down on Jesus in the form of a dove! Not an eagle with a lightning scar across its forehead or some roaring lion pouncing into the water but a DOVE! Rev. Edmund went on to say that this shows how God wants us to be gentle in everything that we do. In a world full of revenge and tempers raging, it really IS quite inspiring to think of sth like this. What have you done lately to show some gentleness within you?

Just finished reading "The Problem of Pain" by C.S. Lewis last week.

He put in a lot new insight that I never really thought of. He's really quite a thinker. It really takes a lot of understanding to read his writings though. I tried to read his book here and there like on the bus while going somewhere and even while waiting in a queue(which Singaporeans LOVE to do...) but the stuff really got to the point of being processed fully except for the times when I was just sitting silently reading it. I recommend this book to all those out there who like reading stuff that just makes you go,"Hey! I never thought of it that way!"
Two lines from the book that struck me the most was this...
"God whispers in our pleasure, speaks in our conscience, but shours in our pain."
"A man who admits no guilt can accept no forgiveness."

And finally...
I just find English really peculiar. How can two words which SUPPOSEDLY should be antonyms turn out to be totally different? "in" is the opposite of "out", right? Isn't it cool that "income" has nothing to with being the opposite of "outcome" at all?(Except that income only comes as an outcome of input becoming output... Sth like that...) I'm sure you can come up with many more examples. Don't mind sharing, yeah?

14-07-07 Can a true Christian lose his salvation once and forever?

Just came back from Care Group(CG) and got really inspired to share sth with you out there.

Can true Christians lose his/her salvation forever?

According to Hebrews 6:4-6, a true Christian CAN lose his salvation. Salvation is a very precious gift. We must not take it lightly but protect it safely.

But seriously, if one has ALREADY tasted the wonders and greatness of God, why in the material world WOULD one turn away from God? Unless... It's a DELIBERATE ACT to test God, right? And clearly Jesus has also told us NOT to do that in Matthew 4:7b and Luke 4:12b "You shall not tempt the LORD your God."

I mean, sure... You say,"But God is a merciful and loving God who's very, VERY forgiving!!!"

Of course, He is. But does that mean you are ALLOWED to push Him to see far you CAN go until you WON'T be forgiven?

My CG leader gave quite a good analogy. Imagine you're being swept down some rapid river of life by temptations and worries of the world and Jesus comes along and throws you this Rope of Salvation. It's only up to you whether or not you WANT to grab the rope or not, right? The fact of the matter is that if you opt NOT to grab that rope, it's your loss but the rope will STILL be there, right? Salvation will always be there, available for you to grab onto.

Okay, next situation. This Ezrah and I came up together while having a wonderful discussion just now. Let's say you decide to grab onto this Rope of Salvation. While Jesus pulls you onto the Shore of Eternal Life, free of all the sins and hardships of the world. Then, while He's pulling, you suddenly, for your own reasons, decide to throw away the rope... It'd be out of your reach should you want to grab on to that rope again, right?

John 3:16 ~ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^[a] that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Right? According to my CG leader, the original Greek version goes to say that whoever CONTINUES BELIEVING in Him will CONTINUE TO have eternal life.

So... Guys and gals and aunties...(Uncles all too busy working, won't be here reading one...) I urge you all to ponder on this thought and to take your gift of salvation seriously and do NOT, I repeat... Do NOT take God for granted. Our imperfect humane self has a limit to our patience which we tends to be pushed often but do NOT try to push God's limit... He IS God.

Here, I hafta give lots of credit to Ezrah Nyanat and Chung for their wonderful insights on the topic as we pondered on it tonight. They unceasingly provided many quotes from the Bible that I had no idea existed before... My hats off to you both!

"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, becauseto their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace." ~ Hebrews 6:4-6
Verses courtesy of www.biblegateway.com

14-07-07 "Alamat Hari Kiamat Makin Hampir..."

Flipping open the Straits Times this morning, I just felt sad and sorry for the stuff that I find...

Indonesia again eh? This ain't much news...

Well, with all the amount of pollution they're making, this ain't surprising too...

But... Japan??!! This I don't recall much though...

You may see this is some normal phenomenon with the change of the typhoon and directions of the monsoon but... '12m-high' waves don't happen every year, okay... At least, not much in places other than Indonesia...

I just start to wonder again whether or not God actually had in mind for us to leave Him no choice but to come back and deal Judgment on us faster as we destroy the earth so hard, so fast...

On a different note... I got bored in class last few days and did something 'bimbotic'

You girls pay so much for those fancy nail polish and I can get such sexy and funky designs for practically free...!(Oh shoot... It won't go away...!)

11-07-07 Because I hate you...

I just happened to read VJC's own blog and got to this interesting post on Aaron Hall. If you wanna know what happened to him, click here.

It's pure brutality what ppl do to achieve their goals nowadays. Just this morning, I read news of the Lal Masjid and all the violence that took place there. Is there ONLY violence in the world nowadays? Why do we human just INDULGE in others' pain? Why is it that accidents are the ONLY thing that makes us slow our vehicles down to poke our noses into and those courteous drivers letting drivers drive out of busy junctions only get a simple wave and the ppl behind just honk away at the 'good Samaritan'?

Why is it that when fights break out in school, 70% of the student body turn up within half a minute and 30% of the staff appear within the next half a minute but when some student helps pick up some rubbish or helps carry some kid who took a fall, everyone just turns away and stares with the "omg-look-at-that-silly-lil-kid-doing-good-stuff" look.

This attitude of ppl nowadays is the very reason why the media focuses mainly on the nasty stuff happening around us, causing great hype that last weeks on stuff like Cho Seung Hui's massacre, Altantuya's murder and China's faulty products.

I guess this is what God meant by not focusing on appreciation in this worldly realm for our reward is in heaven. Do not be dismayed at being sniggered at for picking up those Milo cups at the stadium, my brothers. Ignore the stares while you guide the old lady across the road.

I think the lack of good public transport has caused us to lose out on many possible chances of helping ppl out when walking along the streets. Stuff like giving your seat to those who need it more is no longer present when you're driving your own car or just have your own transport.

Just a chain of thoughts after reading Cosiety's post and the news. Lastly, speak up for the weak. Defend those who deserve it. Let justice continue to breathe in our world...!

30-06-07 Which Type of Person Are You?

There're a few ways ppl get along in life. Some get along doing everything that can be done to fix a situation; some just sit around doing their own stuff, ignoring what others do or what help they can render; some sleep(Zzz...) while others do their stuff, pretending they don't know that others are doing something for them and; some others just complain that others don't do their job properly.

Which one are you?

The Bible doesn't only tell us to "be the salt and light of the earth", to do what we can for the better of this world. The Bible also asks us to "do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe".

Think about it... If you're cleaning the toilets at home and you're frumbling and grumbling away... Do you think others will be going like, "Wow, what a good boy/girl he/she is... Doing chores without being told despite complaining..."?

I must say that this is NO easy task. I imagine how my parents used to be sweeping the floor or mopping the floor or doing the dishes or clearing the table or gardening or... all those stuff and I'd be working out my 'potato couch' skills. Now, AFTER leaving the comfort of home and I start to HAVE to be doing stuff by myself, I feel what they must have felt, suffering there doing all that hard stuff while others who are MORE than able to help out just laze around and STILL can complain about stuff. For those of you still home, I hope you start doing what I rarely did... Help out at home. As for those who aren't... I urge you to not be so bitter about doing something for others or just something you weren't supposed to do. No credit here on earth means God decided to save it for the long run... in HEAVEN! It even earns you interest, from just a temporary pleasurable word of praise from friends to sheer pleasure... For eternity!

10-05-07 Black. Colour? Comments. Racism?

Just gathered a few more thoughts and thought to share it.

Is black a colour? I mean... Okay, another example would be... Is cold a sort of heat? Is evil a type of good? These two examples came to mind as I thought abt the 'black' thing. Someone mentioned this to answer some question on why God let evil exist. This is what I think. Dictionary.com defines 'colour' as "the quality of an object or substance with respect to light reflected by the object, usually determined visually by measurement of hue, saturation, and brightness of the reflected light; saturation or chroma; hue." So... since black means NO light is reflected, IS it a colour? In other words, black just means the ABSENCE of colours, right? Similarly, cold is just an ABSENCE of heat as evil is the ABSENCE of good. Do you get me?

Okay. Next point. If I call Chinese ppl too competitive and selfish, it wouldn't really sound wrong coming from the mouth of a 'fellow Chinese', right? jia1 ne2 ma...(Foochow...) But... should that comment come from one of ANOTHER race or nationality, it'd sound like a snide, racist remark now, wouldn't it? Another example, if I refer to any other race as lazy as compared to referring to Chinese as lazy, chances are only the comment of ANOTHER race would cause controversies, right? Interesting how ppl work... "You can say all the bad you want abt me as long as you're of the same race/character/situation as me. If you're different, shut up."

05-05-07 Time of Deep Thoughts

I gathered quite some thoughts over a period of time but didn't put them into words. I guess this is a good time to just let it all flow. Oh... My memory did NOT improve all of a sudden. I jsut had them saved in my hp. Heheh...

I'm quite enraged by many guys in my hostel, that is.. If they ARE still guys. Why am I over-reacting? Okay... Our hostel is 11 storeys high. I stay on the 10th floor. The laundry room's on the 8th floor and a few more floors. The TV room's on the 9th floor. There aren't any pantries on the 9th or 11th floor. When some guys need to use a room or meet some friends who happen to be on the next floor above or below, what SHOULD they do? Take the lift? Or the stairs? Wahlao eh... They take the LIFT!! And when a group of us come back from some place and enter the lift from the 1st floor... Why are there 3 CONSECUTIVE FLOORS which glow red??!! Why can't they get off at the closest level and take 1 FLIGHT OF STAIRS UP or DOWN?!? It's even more despicable when it's just 1 floor DOWN!! They think the lift works on the change in potential energy and kinetic energy without electricity one ah? WAHLAO EH!! AND they're less than 20-yrs-old!! Kids nowadays REALLY spoilt with luxury already ah. Back in India and China, if no lift, what can they do? Ask their parents to carry them up the stairs ah? The lifts should be manipulated so that no buttons for 2 consecutive floors can be pressed at any one time, and that the buttons for the floor below or above that floor which one enters cannot be pressed as well. You must be wondering whether I practise what I preach? Well, when I get on the lift, I let others select their floors first. If someone presses the 9th or 11th floor, I'll just wait till we reach the floor and I'll take the stairs to MY floor.

This other day at McDonald's, I saw this activity going on at Ngee An City and some MRT stations where a few ppl were holding cardboards saying "Free Hugs". The idea originated from Australia. The video showed how ppl responded to these few 'volunteers'. I think in the midst of the busyness of life, ppl totally forget abt the necessity of "love" and "relationships" in life. The hugs these ppl give may not give them anything of materialistic value but it sure can remind them of what they've been missing that's only found in the comfort of home and family and also friends. I take my hats off to those noble persons!

Holidays. We all want them, don't we? But if we have too much of them, it gets boring and sick, does it not? Ever wondered why? This is my opinion on it. I think that we love holidays ONLY because we're always bushed due to work and studies. Holidays give us a chance to put everything down and really enjoy life. Some ppl just keep hoping that holidays come more often. I've come to realize that holidays are only enjoyable because they come so rarely. If they were to happene every week, then it'd have lost it's flavour, would you agree? It'd become just like an ADDITIONAL day to our weekends already, no? With the holidays kept at bay, we wouldn't run out of stuff to do and get bored so quickly, would you agree?