 | About Me | Aug 24, 2007 |
Most of us will know TGIF ( thank God is Friday) and we will also know Good Friday. Have you ever wondered why it is called Good Friday?
On this day in history, a man who loved deeply and who offered forgiveness died. Since he died on this day, how it be called Good Friday?
This man died so that we do not have to die for our sins or wrong doings.
He died so that we can have eternal life and be spared from going to hell.
He died so that we can receive forgiveness and a new life to start all over.
He died so that we can have victory over temptation of doing wrong things.
He died so that we can have physical, mental, emotional and psychological healing.
He died so that we can be set free from our bad habits.
He died to give us freedom.
This man is Jesus. He loved deeply and he offered forgiveness. When he was on the cross, he said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." He asked God, his father to forgive those people who nailed him to the cross. And before he died, he said this famous sentence with his last breadth,'It is finished."
What does this sentence mean?
1. Jesus paid the price for our sins or wrong doings once and for all.
2. He forgives us of our sins.
3. He made a way for us to go direct to God. Now, we do not have to have a priest to help us get to God.
To receive such a great gift, we need to ask him into our life.
If you are interested, you can ask me.
I feel that God had taught me something today that love is when the relationship is more important than winning an arguement. Ultimaltely, it is not who should be blamed but whether we can get this relationship back on track.
Sometimes it is easier to want to win that argument, but is it so good to win an argument and damage a relationship? If the relationship is so important, we will want to save it at all cost even if it means not going full force to win an argument. Let the argument rest so that our relationship is saved.
You are not alone. This is a beautiful song sung by Michael Jackson. Below is a short abstract from his song.
That you are not alone
I am here with you
Though you're far away
I am here to stay
But you are not alone
I am here with you
Though we're far apart
You're always in my heart
But you are not alone
Just the other night
I thought I heard you cry
Asking me to come
And hold you in my arms
I can hear your prayers
Your burdens I will bear
But first I need your hand
Then forever can begin
There is always someone who is there for us, be it our family, our friends, our boyfriends or our girlfriends. These people are always in my heart. They share our joy and sorrow. When we have burdens, they walk alongside us and share our burden.
However, there is someone who has been always with us even before the day we were born.
We were on his mind.
He created us and formed our inmost being.
He knows who we are.
He knows the moments when we are happy.
He knows the moments when we are sad.
He is not far from us.
He was the first person that ever died for us.
He died so that we need not die for our wrongdoings.
He died and rose from the died to give us a new life, a new beginning.
He wants to hold your hand.
He wants to walk through life with you.
He wants to be there for you.
He wants to share in your joy.
He wants to share in your sorrows.
He wants to carry your burdens.
He is Jesus.
He is always there.
He is waiting for us to receive him.
If you want to receive him today, feel free to ask me more=)
Jesus You alone shall be
My first love my first love,
The secret place and highest praise
Shall be yours shall be yours
To Your throne i'll bring devotion
May it be the sweetest sound
Lord this heart is reaching for You now
So I'll set my sights upon You
Set my life upon Your praise
Never looking to another way
Day and night I lift my eyes
To seek You to seek you
Hungry for a glimpse of You
In glory in glory
You alone will be my passion
Jesus You will be my song
You will find me longing after You
To Your throne i'll bring devotion
May it be the sweetest sound
Lord this heart is reaching for You now
To Your throne i'll bring devotion
May it be the sweetest sound
Lord this heart is reaching for You now
So I'll set my sights upon You
Set my life upon Your praise
Never looking to another way
You alone will be my passion
Jesus You will be my song
You will find me longing after You
As Valentines' day is nearing, I was reminded of this song. 'Jesus you alone shall be my first love.' Most of us as Christians will spend Valentine's day with our boyfriends or girlfriends. However, let us not forget that Jesus alone shall be our first love. Jesus loved us so much.
He loved us before we loved him (1John 4:19) and that is why we love him. He loved every imperfection of ours but of course he did not love our sins. That is why he died on the cross to save us. As said in the bible, 'But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5' When he died, his arms were spread out wide, this shows the extend he loved us.
Also, do you know that God sings over us? In the bible, 'For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Zephaniah 3;17' I think God is very romantic and affectionate to us.
Lastly, God thinks we are beautiful or awesome. In Song of songs, the Lover can be interpreted as God and God says 'All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you. Song of songs 4:7' For those of us who struggle to accept ourselves for who we are or who struggle for people to accept us, remember that the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the King of kings and Lord or Lords loves you and think that you are gorgeous or fantastic.
Sometimes I struggle in this area too, because I have skin problem. At times, I wonder if others will love or accept me. However, when I know that God loves me and says that I am beautiful and flawless, I rest assure and cling onto his words for strength. God's words matter to me more than what other people may say or think of me.
Therefore, as we celebrate Valentine's day we our loved ones, remember to celebrate Valentine's day with God our first loved. For those who are single like me, don't worry, GOd is there for us and we can celebrate his love for us.
When we are stress and upset, what should we do? Most of us may just vent out our anger on others or cry. However, I have learnt something from the bible that helps us to deal with such feelings.
Luke 10:38-42
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Sometimes we are like Martha, always being distracted and busy doing things. In fact, because of doing such things, we get stress and upset. That is when we need to learn from Mary by sitting at the feet of Jesus and just soaking in his presence. That is when we can be like Mary, not distracted, less stress (or not stress) and happy.
| Category: | Books | | Genre: | Religion & Spirituality | | Author: | Rick Warren |
This book has over 10 million copies sold. It is a great Christian book to read for those Christians who are seeking a godly purpose driven life.
All of us have something that drives our life. It could be friends, family or even pain and shame. This book shows us as children of God, what should drive our lives.
Also, this book shows us our ultimate purpose in life. I love the way the first chapter of the book starts, 'It's not about you.' This simple statement stunned me. It if wasn't about me, then who is it about? I thought that for whatever happens, I am the main character in it. However, this book changed my perspective and life. In fact, this book became like my 'life-book'; a book that changed my life 180 degrees. - Thank God for a great year, though there were ups and downs.
- Thank God for a great family and many friends.
- Thank God that I made new friends at SIM, especially Christian friends who are like-minded and who share my burdens and joys.
- Thank God for teaching me to learn to let him be in control of my life.
- Thank God for allowing me to earn much money before entering SIM.
- Thank God for speaking to me everyday, be it through his word, whispers, books or others.
- Thank God for showing grace and mercy to me each time I sin.
- Thank God for reminding me to never be proud and to think that I have reached there, instead I should always be learning as that is part of being humble.
- Thank God that though some friends are not as close as before, we shared sweet memories.
- Thank God for teaching me to be a steward, such that I must be responsible for whatever he has entrusted to me like my friends and family and to give it back to him when he ask of them.
- Thank God for teaching me to tithe even though I am no longer working.
- Thank God that I picked up jogging this year and really loved it.
- Thank God for the discipline to jog often.
- Thank God for teaching me to learn to love myself whether I am fit or not as God loves me the way I am; his love never changes even though I change.
- Thank God for friends who help me adjust well to uni life like giving me tips on how to do well.
- Thank God for friends I can encourage and pray for.
- Thank God that I went to META camp and never regret it.
- Thank God for open communication with my parents especially on issues we don't see eye to eye.
- Thank God for giving me parents who hear me and are open to talk to me about sensitive issues.
- Thank God for who he is and being faithful to me all these years, even when I am not faithful.
The list can go on and on for eternity=) 2 Peter 1:3
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. May we tap on God's divine power to live a life of godliness in the coming year!!
I often ask my younger brother why he loves me. His simple, straightforward and sincere reply is , " You love me, so I love you." One day it occurred to me that that is just what God wants. He wants us to love him back because he loves us. 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
After we have experienced love from someone, isn't it easier to love the person back? For example, if your parents love you and show you love by doing your laundry and sending you around in their car, isn't it easier to love them too?
Xmas is coming soon! Have any of you heard of the story of candy cane like what the candy cane symbolises? Here it is: The 'J' shape represents that Jesus is our shepherd and the letter "J" is for Jesus. The white colour represents Jesus' purity and the red stripes stands for Christ's blood. The three small stripes speaks of Jesus' pain when he died on the cross.So each time you eat the candy cane, remember this meaningful story behind it=)
The beautiful picture below, was used my my church a few years back=)  I must say that I was seriously disappointed with my grade for my Philosophy essay because I felt that I put in lots of effort but did not get what I want.
I prayed and voiced out my grievances to God. At the same time, lots of things came to mind. Did I put so much emphasis on my results that God takes secondary place? Was my result more important than God? This verse came to mind. 1 John 2:16-17 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.I realised that sorely chasing after good grades could be the pride of my life as I felt that when I had them, my self-esteem got boosted up; it was if they made up who I am. But thankfully, God reminded me that it is not my grades that made me who I am, but it is what he thinks of me. Ultimately, when I face him on judgement day, he will not be questioning me on my qualifications, but to give an account of how I live my life. Also, I felt that now I have nothing left to lose, but to surrender to GOd and believe that my final exam can pull up my total grade for Philosophy. But I believe that God will bless me after all he has done that many times. For example, just recently, I managed to get 2nd-hand textbooks for next semester. It was amazing how God provides as sometimes others may get the book you need or there are few people selling their textbooks. It was God's grace to me!=)
On the other hand, I am not sure about those who have lots of lose and find it hard to surrender to God. I am reminded of Paul who had lots of things he could lose or should I say surrender to God. They include his pedigree, qualifications, status and prestige. Yet as what Philippians 3:8 says, 'What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.' This is my encouragement for those of us Christians who find it hard to surrender certain areas of our life for God.
However, if God allows you to go through what I have been though, let it be the case that when we have nothing left to lose, we surrender to God and not fight to be in control of the situation.
Philosophy is in every subject. For people who are not into Philosophy, I wonder if this statement sounds scary or maybe too ambitious. Philosophy is the critical study of the basic principles and concepts of a particular branch of knowledge, especially with a view to improving or reconstituting them: the philosophy of science as stated i dictionary.com . For example, when we are talking about Mathematics, Philosophy comes into play when we assume some foundation principles in Mathematics like '1+1' will always become '2'. It cannot be '3'.
However, do you wonder if there is Philosophy in Philosophy in the subject itself. I will like to propose that there possibly is. When we discuss Philosophy, we tend to assume that there is no God. Thus, we will argue a topic without acknowledging of the existence of God. For example, how if God is good, how can he exist in the midst of suffering? ( Of course this goes against my belief. I still believe that there is a God even in the midst of suffering.)
In conclusion, philosophy seem to permeate every subject, i guess that's amazing!=) Imagine if philosophy was based on religious beliefs, then it would permeate every subject. We may be learning things like in Galileo's time where the church believed that the earth rotated around the Sun.
I think some of us may dread going for wakes along with our parents, especially the person we are visiting is not someone we know. However, as I grow older, I seem to like going to wakes with me parents. I feel I do learn important life lesson from the people related to the deceased.
Today, I tagged along with my parents to go to a wake. My dad's colleague's husband had passed on. The wife of the deceased who is a Christian, was sharing that she should be happy that her husband is now in heaven and no longer suffering. I thank God that she could be positive even in such trying times. Indeed, death is not a end for us, Christians, but it is a new beginning of our life in heaven. She even joked that maybe heaven had not enough guys, that is why guys die earlier than ladies. It is really God's grace upon her such that she can joke and be positive amidst how depress she may be.
After that, she want on to share how her son appears to regret not spending time with his father and wept bitterly at his death bed. She encouraged my brother who was there to spend time with my dad. Indeed, some of us may not really bother spending time with our parents. We could be more zealous to advance our career, hang our with our friends or take care of our family that we have started. Yet, we forget our parents. If we do not spend enough time with our parents, when they pass on, we may just regret it and weep so bitterly but like what my dad's colleague said that is too late. Indeed, if we do not want to live in deep regret, let us take effort to spend time with our parents.
You are not a God
Created by human hands
You are not a God
Dependant on any mortal man
You are not a God
In need of anything we can give
By Your plan, that's just the way it is
You are God alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
You are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
You are God alone
You're the only God
Whose power none can contend
You're the only God
Whose name and praise will never end
You're the only God
Who's worthy of everything we can give
You are God
And that's just the way it is
Unchangeable
Unshakable
Unstoppable
That's what You are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xPzTSpbYmk
I thank God for blessing me so much ever since I have stepped into uni.
I have met many friends that I could hang out and share life with.
The first thing to thank God for is that he provided me a 2nd-hand textbook. I was praying that he will provide one as it was expensive to get a 1st-hand textbook.
After class, I went down to relax at a bench. Then I remembered that I had to get a book, so I went up to the bookstore. As I went there, my heart was feeling burdened. I was thinking, " God, are you telling me something? " I went there and got my book. Then I met this friend of mine whom I have met during camp registration and even met a few times in school. I casually asked her if she had a friend selling the 2nd-and textbook that I wanted. She happily put her arm around me and said that she will help me find that out.
Within less than an hour, she said that there was someone selling the textbook that I wanted! Praise the Lord!!!
Next, before I went into this uni, I told God I wanted to join Campus Crusade there. Yet, I was unsure how I was going to do that.
Last week, I met this friend in Philosophy class. I only knew her then and we sat together. During a class group discussion, we were in the same group. After discussion, we talk about random things. We realised that we both Christians and she mentioned that she was from this uni's Campus Crusade. Praise God!!! I told her I was interested in joining it and she linked me up with it.=)
I don't think it was coincidental that we sat together and talked=) I believe God orchestrated this whole thing, because this week I didn't see her as she had dropped the module. The only time I saw her was before the Campus Crusade meeting.
Lastly, I meet this Caucasian exchange student recently. I don't know her well and we have only meet like 3 times. However, today I met her and we could talk a lot. It was interesting how we met. I got to know her through her other friends. We talked a lot and she was interested in seeing Campus Crusade so we went together. Though she was a free thinker and I didn't really know her well, we went to Campus Crusade meeting together. Talking about God's divine appointment, this sure is one=)
God sure is amazing in how he plans things out perfectly=) God's timing and plan is perfect=)
There are changes in our lives.
When a new sibling is born into the family,
When your father or mother remarries,
When you graduate and stop hanging out a lot with your school friends,
Until now, I occasionally feel nostalgic when i relieve the memories of my friends and I in jc. The good times we spent. How much we shared our lives with each other. The pain and joy we shared still lingers in my memory......
After graduation, the girls went on to study, the guys went to NS. It is hard to meet up everyone. Everyone has their own lives to live. Everyone has their own commitments. Naturally, our friendship cannot be what it used to be. It was a harsh reality that I struggled with. Now, I have slowly learnt to accept it.
I know that each time we meet up again. Our friendship is not at ground zero, yet it is not as what it was....
Deep down inside, I wished that our friendship is what it was when we were in jc. But I know that it can't be because we seldom meet up and keep in contact less often.
Thus, each time we meet, I always tell myself that our friendship is not as what it was last time. All I can do is enjoy the times we spent each time we meet.
There were times I wanted to distant myself from them or I may have unconsciously done that. I did not want to put in so much effort when I hang out with them. Each time I did so, the nostalgia about the wonderful times we had in the past slowly resurface in my mind again....
In the end, it came to the point where I know I have to let go of the past and move on with them. Even though we have different lives to live, I can still share in their lives each time we meet. ( Though it may not be as frequent as last time =) ) I believe most of us have asked this intriguing question before " Who am I ?"
Am I what people say I am?
Am I what I say of myself?
Am I what the media says?
If I am who I am because of what people say of me, don't we always have to live out to people's expectation? If people say that we are helpful, don't we always have to be a helpful person?
If I am who I am because of what I think of myself, don't I always have to live out to my own expectation? Like what the Chinese will say, "不要对不起自己. " If I think that I am a tough cookie, don't I always have to be a tough cookie?
If the media says that thin people are appealing, then being thin, I am considered appealing.
Personally, I used to struggle with this question too. Who am I?
I used to unconsciously think that I am who I think I am, what my parents, relatives and friends say of me. Sometimes it is draining to live up to other's and my own expectations. I feel as if my life is driven by trying to please others. I am trying to be someone that sometimes I may not be.
But over the years, I thank God for revealing to me that I am who I am because I am his child, his creation.
A creation is someone or something that the creator created with a identity. For example, someone creates a phone for calling. The identity of a phone is for calling and not for eating ( it is not food that is meant to eat).
In the Bible, it mentions how God sees us, his creation, his children. (Those who are believers in Christ.)
1. We are his creation. 2. We are his children. 3. We are a chosen people. 4. We are a royal priesthood. 5. We are his friend. 6. We are his servant. 7. We are his beloved. 8. We are the sheep of his pasture.
We just need to be how God sees us. That is who we are=)
You left Your crown
Your thrown behind
My wounded heart
Weighed on Your mind
You sought our heart
Though we had failed
Our friend became our sacrifice
(Pre-Chorus)
How I fail to see
Why You first loved me
(Chorus 1)
Now all I know
Is I'm washed as white as snow
My lins I wore, are not with me anymore
My burden ment, when my saviour's blood was shed
Just to meet with me
(Verse 2)
With all I've said
With all our shame
Your prefect life
Was mocked as mine
No precedent explains the love
That took my place upon the cross
(Chorus 2)
Now all I know
Is I'm washed as white as snow
And all I bore, they're not with me anymore
My ransom ment, When my Saviour's blood was shed
Just to meet with me
Just to meet with me
(Chorus 3)
Now all I know
Is I'm washed as white as snow
And all I see is my Saviour's love for me
My only cry echoes out my one desire
Just to meet with You
Just to be with You
The art of communication is something so hard to master.
How often when we communicate, people do not understand us or vice verse? The art of communication cannot be solely learnt from books but also through experiences.
There are many ways of communication: 1. Calling on the phone 2. Email 3. SMS / MMS 4. Writing a note / letter 5. Verbal
All of us have a certain way of communication that we are comfortable with and work well with.
For example, I communicate not too badly verbally, through email, SMS. If people were to communicate with me verbally, through email, SMS, most of the time they can get their message to me.
However, let's say person A communicates best verbally. However, the person he communicates with receives the message better through a SMS. Then we all know that it is hard for him to get the message to that person.
Many times we expect people to come on our terms and conditions. For example, we communicate well verbally, so we expect people to be able to receive the message well. However, like what is stated above the person we communicate with may receive the message better through a SMS. Hence, it is hard to get the message to that person. Communication breakdowns as a result. We can upset with each other and sometimes grudges may slowly take root.
Looking at this well-known and ubiquitous problem, there are a few ways to avoid it.
1. Know how you communicate best. 2. Know how the person best receives the message.
If I know that the person I am communicating with best receives message through an SMS, then I can drop him an SMS. However, if I communicate better verbally, then I have to learnt to communicate through an SMS so that the person can receive the message.
Sometimes we just refuse to communicate with others in a way that they can best receive the message. Is it because of pride? I guess most of the time it is pride. We expect others to come to our level and not us going to their level.
Communication can be easy if we follow the above two steps. Many miscommunication and hurts can be avoided.
I thank God that we can talk to him in any way we like. We do not have to use perfect English or say so much. He understands our every thoughts, our every sentence, our every word. We can write a prayer journal to him and he still can understand.
I believe all of us have met people in our lives that want it there way.
" I want to shower now!" says your sibling.
" Do not change the channel, I want to watch this." says your sibling. " But you have watched the tv for too long. It's my turn." you say.
" You must give in to me. It will be the last time." your spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend says.
I believe we cannot stand people who always want their own way. It feels as if they do not think for others. I guess while we feel upset or injust towards people like this.
A good question to ask is, " Have I always been wanting my way? Is it hard to give in to others? "
Of course, if you have to give in to something wrong, I will gladly ask you to stand firm in your stand. But if that issue is not a moral one, why can't we give in?
Could it be pride? Could it be that we do not want others to step over us like a carpet? Could it be that we are selfish?
I guess we all know that nobody likes a person who always want his own way. So I pray we will not be such a person like that=)
Sometimes unconsciously or consciously we try to be someone we are not.
We try to be funny when we are not.
We try to crack silly jokes when we may not be such a person.
We try to be popular with everyone when we just be popular with only some groups of friends.
Isn't it tiring trying to be someone we are not?
Why do we try so hard to be someone we are not? 1. We want to be accepted. 2. We want others to portray us in a certain way. 3. We admire a certain person and we just want to emulate his good traits.
But if we will just try to be who we are.....
Wouldn't it be less tiring? Why not just be transparent about who you are?
It's true that when others know that this is the true us...
We are not as strong as we seem to be.
We are not as funny as we seem to be.
They may judge us for who we are. They may pass hurtful remarks at us.
However, there is just ONE of you on this earth.Your personality is special! I guess it's time that we all learn to accept who we are. We do not have to try to have a personality that we are not born with. However, of course if there are good traits we can emulate from others, then I don't see why we shouldn't=)
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