Its been a while since my last post about how I'm doing.My class is absolutely WONDERFUL. Seriously. Despite me being a rather quiet kind of person, they still accept me as one of their own. I never feel out of place there and I have already made many new friends there! They are in no way superficial or shallow. Really.Sorry for being so sarcastic in my second paragraph.I miss the DG. I hope they won't forget me in their new schools.The only group that I really belong to is the DG. Soon I'll be familiar with my Arrow CG too, I guess. But the DG will always have a special place in my heart.God Bless.
Abba, You love me.
4:44 PM
Okay, here is last week's DARE/Arrow sermon. Very sorry its taken so long. Wanted to post it earlier but had little time + suffered a fever this week. I hope this blesses you!Let's dive into the Word."There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." Romans 8:1-2.A side note, Pastor Ben shared that the words in italics were not in the original manuscript, having somehow found its way into later translations of the Bible.What is the law of the Spirit of life? Before I get to that, are you familiar with the old covenant? The law of Moses. Basically, under that law, when we obey it, we are blessed! But if we break it, we are cursed. Some people think that's what Christianity is about, a set of rules you must follow to stay blessed. That's religion. Christianity is a relationship, for now we are under the new covenant! Under the old covenant, God demands that "You do, you do, you do, then I will bless you." Praise God that under His new covenant, He says "I have done, I have done, I have done, you are blessed!" These blessings are free for us believers. "But nothing in this world is free!", you might say. You are right. It cost God a high price indeed. It cost God Jesus, His only begotten Son. By the way, the law of the Spirit of life is not an old testament law, engraved in stone for Moses to carry down Mount Sinai. Just like the royal law of love, the law of liberty and the law of faith, it is written in our hearts, not set in stone outside. Another thing. Realise that the Bible calls the Son of God "Jesus Christ" sometimes and "Christ Jesus" at others? Jesus Christ is the man who walked on this earth, fully God yet fully Man too. Christ Jesus refers to the Son of God now at His Father's right hand, all powerful and favoured. "Christ" is both a title and a surname. It means "anointed". Draw your identity from Christ Jesus today! You will become anointed!BUT DARREN! WHAT IS THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE?I'm getting to that. Haha.Its basically the law of no condemnation. When you believe that Jesus is your Saviour, God can no longer condemn you. In fact, He has NO RIGHT to do so! Past, present and future sins have all been punished in the body of Jesus! What a wonderful law. Jesus even defined it as the light of the world.Have a bad habit? Want to break out of it? Don't use your willpower, use God's. Whenever you screw up and fall into the bad habit again, remind yourself: "There is therefore NO CONDEMNATION for Jesus paid the price for that sin! Don't deny that you screwed up but don't receive the condemnation that comes with it! Step 1: Acknowledge that you fell short. Step 2: Remember that failing once doesn't mean that you will fail in life! As Jesus is, so are we in this world. Is Jesus an A student? He's the been the smartest guy since forever! You are an A student because you have an A Saviour! Don't believe the doctor's negative report. Believe Jesus's report: "By My stripes, You are healed."Don't say no to temptation....No, no, no! I don't mean that you should give in to temptation! More importantly, say YES to Jesus! Focus more on Him that your trials!Oh yes.There is a distinction between correction and condemnation. Correction is dispensed out of love, given to improve you. Example: "Maybe you should change this stanza, it doesn't quite fit with the rest of the poem". Condemnation is dispensed out of a desire to belittle and mock you. Example: "You suck at poetry. Just give it up!". People insult you like that to get a reaction. They are usually insecure and many don't know a loving God that can offer them their security. Sometimes even our loved ones laugh at our dreams. But defy the condemnation.God does not correct us with sickness, diseases and accidents. Let me repeat myself. God does not correct us with sickness, diseases and accidents. Would a dad correct his beloved child by driving his car over her legs and saying: "I'm doing this for your own good, so you learn how dangerous the road is. Now don't play there anymore!"Believers undergo persecution for their belief. But always keep this example in your mind:If my friend is sick, I shall lay my hands on him until he is well. People may call me a fool, so be it. I'd rather be a fool and see God working in my life, than be "rational" as the world defines it and see nothing!
Have that kind of faith! Tug against the Goliath you are facing in your life, not by your own might but by God's! So that when that problem falls, everyone will know there is a God that helped you. For to them, that problem seemed to consume you forever yet now you are free from it!
Christian life is a life of relaxation. The inner condition in your heart is in peace, peace in the knowledge that you need not struggle to be right with God! Jesus was alone at the cross so we never have to be. Economics lesson, people. Start looking to God to fulfill you unlimited demands, for unlike the world, He has unlimited supply!
Don't worry about having too little faith. The Bible declares that even faith the size of a mustard seed can overthrow and mountain in your life.
My friend, when you realise that God is your righteousness and He is always with you, you lose your appetite to sin. It's easy to sin against religion but its certainly not easy to sin against a relationship. Especially one where we are so loved unconditionally!
Relax! True deliverance requires no effort on our part. God's holy light is not to expose our gory, but to reveal Jesus's righteousness in our life! The law of sin and death drags you down like gravity. But praise be to God, the law of the Spirit of life elevates us higher and higher and higher!
I hope this message has blessed you :D Gotta run, have to reach Potong Pasir for CG soon! Bye and God Bless :D
Abba, You love me.
3:55 PM
Sorry for the lateness. Today I will be sharing the sermon preached during DARE/Arrow last Saturday. Hope to post last Sunday's sermon soon too!
Abba, You love me.
7:14 PM
Today was rather enjoyable!Ate lunch with Ade and Siying at Novena. I couldn't join Linus, Justin and Hair to eat at expo as has an errand to run...After that, me and Ade went to expo to see Linus working while Siying went for band... She seems quite busy.I never went to expo before in my living memory, its kinda far for me. Food festival was on there! Had the most wonderful fried chicken but since I'm not in the habit of taking pictures, there is none. Sorry. Found Linus after much difficulty. Seems he was serving in the toiletries section. Wow... Wasn't expecting that. He was so blur that it took him 5 minutes to notice Ade and I! His colleagues already noticed our furtive behaviour but not Linus! He really needs to Scatter.While waiting for him to get off work, Ade and I talked with a nice lady who was manning a stall selling Chinese tea and dessert. She was lovely! Gave us so many free samples and said it was ok if we didn't buy now :D But the most EPIC part was this:Lady(Irene): There is another food convention at Suntec.
Me(whispering): Ade! That's our church location!Ade: That's where our church is!Irene: You mean The Rock? New Creation? I'm a member too!Wow.Wow.WOW!Bought 3 packet of their rainbow rice dessert. Not just because we found out that Irene was a sister in Christ, but because its so delicious :D She bid us farewell with a "God Bless".
That's about it I guess. God Bless!
Abba, You love me.
10:35 PM
Sorry for the long delay in posting. I didn't feel very great the last week due to a personal problem.A lot of things have happened over the last week. I went out with the DG a few times, did Project Work (PW) on Monday with my group mates. Today I will be describing the DG outing that occurred yesterday. Met Ade, Line and Hair at Ang Moh Kio Station. Bought breakfast at McDonald's and took a bus to East Coast Park. Ade lost her phone on that bus, thank God we got it back.Everyone cycled. We hung around a large rock by the beach for almost an hour taking pictures while waiting for Justin to arrive.We ate at Burger King and then cycled some more. Went to Flower Paradise and the jetty(which was closed).Took a bus back to Ang Mo Kio Hub where we ate at that same McDonald's for dinner, almost 12hours since breakfast.Was quite fun but I wish more people could have come. Cough*Sara*Cough.After reading through this post, I find it kinda matter-of-fact/bland. Must be because I'm still facing that problem. Sorry about that.God Bless.
Abba, You love me.
3:07 PM
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Abba, You love me.
6:13 PM
Can you believe it? I usually dislike PE and after every session, would grumble and murmur. But today, I was smiling! I applied Pastor's preaching that as Christ is, so am I in this world. So I asked myself: Can Jesus run exceedingly abundantly well?Because I was aware that Christ is my identity, I found it almost effortless to complete my PE when before I would be "near death"! Praise the Lord!And God bless :)
Abba, You love me.
8:20 PM
Sorry that this is so late, but here it is! Sunday's sermon. I hope this blesses you, I sure was blessed! :)Do you know who is the biggest problem in your life? No, it's not an insufferable classmate, an unreasonable teacher/boss, an its not even Satan! Who is it? It's that guy you see in the mirror every morning!We think about ourselves too much. Did you know that both pride and self condemnation both come from the same root? They both result from our preoccupation with our own selves! For example, in a family photo, who do you look for first? OURSELVES! That kind of thing is harmless but it shows us that we all look to ourselves too much. Its a bad habit which is hard to remove.1) Take away the H, you still have "abit".2)Take away the A, you still have the "bit".3)Take away the B, you still have "it"!Friend, the only way to remove the "i" is through the cross (t)!Did you know that sinful passions are aroused by the law? If you try not to do something, you most likely will! Imagine there is this classmate you really dislike. You say: "I will not take offense to him, I will not, I will not...". Then at the first word that the classmate says, you find yourself thinking: How annoying! There's proof that this is so in the Bible you know!"For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death." Romans 7:5It says that our sinful passions which were stirred up by the law, and we bear fruit resulting in death.The law is like fire, and our flesh, our excessive self-love, is like gunpowder. When they come together, BOOM! I guess you can compare law to a mirror. Both are inflexibly true and unbendingly factual. Just as a mirror won't show you mercy and hide from your view that pimple on your nose, the law cannot and will not bend to show you mercy. But there is nothing wrong with the mirror, is there? It just shows you your true self. But as long as there is no mirror, we wouldn't know how imperfect we are! As long as there was no law, we could not see how far we have fallen short too! "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead." Romans 7:7-8.The verse above shows that the law is so straight but we are so crooked that the law cannot promote righteousness. In fact, the law is so exacting and impossible to achieve that sin was free to draw sustenance from it. We hate ourselves because we cannot follow the law. Is this the end?The law is full of "Thou shalt not"s. Grace, my friend, is full of "I shall"!Can the law say "Thou shalt have peace! Thou shalt have joy! Otherwise you will fall short of the law!"? That only breeds fear and anxiety in us. But grace gives us peace and joy! The biggest example of grace was when Jesus bore our sins even as we are unworthy! Doesn't the thought that the most powerful being in the Universe saw such worth in you that He gave His life for you make you feel joyful and at peace?We have to adopt Christ as our new identity. Have you read the book of Exodus? When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, not a single one died before the law was given. Its true! The people murmured and complained yet God patiently and lovingly supplied EVERY need! Now read Exodus 19 and 20. Men rejected grace and demanded to be put under law. They said "Lord! Reward me not because You are good, but because I am good!". And after that, God changed His tone completely. Since He had to judge men based on His exacting, unbending law, every time the people murmured or complained, they died.Don't look at yourself. Look at someone who is perfect and in Him you find invincible and everlasting love and power! Isn't it awesome? The most powerful being in the Universe has the kindest heart! Jesus is known as the "last Adam". When the first Adam fell, all of mankind fell with him. But when we believe in the last Adam, Jesus Christ, we get all blessings through Him!Jesus is also known as our high priest. When the high priest of Israel was good, God still blessed the people even though many were bad. Basically, God judges the people based on the conduct of the high priest. Can Jesus be bad? Since he can't, guess how God sees you as right now!"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." 1 John 4:17.As Jesus is at the Father's right hand, so are we! When we know this truth, there is no way that we will fall into depression-inducing questions. Instead of asking yourself if YOU are good enough, ask if JESUS is good enough. That's your answer!When Christ becomes our identity, we are delivered from anything and are everything Jesus is! Shy? Jesus sure isn't! In Him, you have charisma!Don't care what the world sees you as. We should care about what God sees you as, and He sees you through His son Jesus Christ! We are talking about how GOD sees you, and He is THE ULTIMATE REALITY. Christ is our measure of health, our measure of everything we desire!"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18That is the mirror we should see. Not the hard edge of the law but the glass in which we behold the glory of God! Pastor mentioned that teachings from the pulpit should show more of God's glory, not man's gory! Some preachers find it easier to show man's gory, IE the law and how we fall short, but every religion teaches that.Friend, Christianity is not a religion. It's a relationship with Jesus, who has FULFILLED the law! We need the Holy Spirit to teach about grace. By the Spirit, the more we behold Christ as our identity, the more we become like Him!Let's take a look at the four gospels. When Peter looked at Jesus, he became like Him, striding across the water with ease. But when Peter looked instead at the storm and lost focus on Jesus, he became scared and started to sink. Did he think that if the waters were calmer, he could walk on it? Unbelief is so illogical. And how logical childlike faith is. Just trust in Jesus! Sometimes it takes a lot more faith to dismiss Christ and rely on man-made explanations for any situation. In closing, look to Christ as your identity today! Through His death on the cross, we now have a right to enjoy the abundant life!Pastor is starting a series on the high priest. He actually said that all that was merely an introduction! Were you blessed by the message? :)God Bless, Darren
Abba, You love me.
6:42 PM
DARE/Arrow today. Just checked my tag and found its been inactive for four days! Why doesn't anyone wanna tag me? My friends have all been tagged recently...Anyway, I'll post the message shared at DARE and Arrow. But before that, an update on my personal life.On Thursday I had dinner with DG. Not everyone could make it and I was too late to go skating. Missed Siying and couldn't be a part of the group photo. Sigh.
On Friday I had lunch with DG and afterwards Linus, Justin and Hair also came to my house. Mindy stayed but for a brief interlude.
I feel like a burden has been lifted from my shoulders. Today's message really spoke to me, and it was during DARE that I cried with the most abandon in church :) Here is my summary of the message preached by pastor:
There are testings in our lives. Who has never faced a trial or challenge, no matter how small or big? But don't worry. Out of each one, God will bring out a testimony of His might! Now, I am not saying that God created your troubles. Satan is usually the one behind them. Sometimes, your troubles are self-inflicted. But God CAN and WILL make them all work out in the end! Here is evidence from the Word:"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.Everything! The good, the bad and the ugly parts of your life, the tribulations, will work together for your good! But look closely at the extract. Who are the ones "who are called according to his purpose"? That's all believers! "To them who love God", that qualifies every believer!"Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Romans 8:30.We are all like raw diamonds. Hidden in the deep darkness of the Earth, God found and mined us out into the light. But no matter how valuable a raw diamond is, it can never become as valuable as a refined one. We are shaped by the events in our lives and once we become refined, we will glitter in God's light!Whenever you have a condemning thought that does nothing but put you down, it is the work of Satan. Don't let these thoughts destroy you! Things like: "I'm not good enough","I can never make any friends", "I am a weakling". Reject them!
Abba, You love me.
11:37 PM
Not much to report today, but...Can you find a Pikachu button somewhere on this blog?Click it for something cool :)As always, God bless!
Abba, You love me.
7:48 PM
First thing's first. See my links! There is a new link that directs to the official D.Gray Man trailer for the anime's upcoming fifth season! On a Japanese website so no subtitles. The page address was so long that I used tinyurl to shorten it. That's an online service which shortens webpage names.In school today, I was sleepy then sad then happy. Then sad then happy again. Why?Well, first lesson was econs lecture. I was so sleepy that I almost slept through everything! Thank God I read the notes beforehand so I know what was being taught.Then it was PE time. In CJC, PE is somewhat extreme. After the first two mass PEs I basically became ultra tired and produced more sweat than the mighty Linus. So when I was getting ready for PE I was kinda sad. Today, I tried something different. During the run, I was believing that Jesus was my strength and endurance. I managed to keep a much better pace than last time. Then during the push-ups etc I kept reminding myself that the physical torture Jesus went through as he carried the cross up the hill was FAR worse than my situation, and that through His death, I have victory over PE! It was still tiring but not so much, and I felt happy afterwards.And then I lost my bottle of anointed oil. I felt very sad. It was in a special bottle given out at DARE. Here is a picture of it:And now it's gone forever...
Or so I thought. It was found by the end of the day! All glory to Jesus! :)
Oh yeah, some of you may not have your own anointed oil yet. Here is an excerpt from my church's magazine, "Solid Rock". It is a prayer you can use to set apart your own olive oil and make it anointed! If you are saved, as a king and priest in Jesus you have the authority!
"In the name of the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I set this oil apart to be the holy anointing oil.
This oil is the holy anointing oil with the power to cast out demons and to heal the sick according to the Word in Mark 6:13 and James 5:14.
It sets us apart unto God and makes us more than conquerors and overcomers.
It honours God and man, and brings glory to Jesus Christ.
This anointing oil gives us gladness and empowers us for service unto God.
It speaks of the finished work of Christ and gives us protection from all evil.
This anointing oil blesses us and gives us complete victory in Jesus Christ.
Amen!"
Hey, if you have any testimonies to share about the oil, please let your church know! And tag me about it!
God Bless!
(Wow, Mindy is so loved. So long never blogged and still get tags. I feel so neglected in comparison...)
Away, depressing thoughts! Away!
Abba, You love me.
4:49 PM
And for you to click these! *UPDATE* Thanks for the help!
And this button!
