Too Blessed To Be Stressed! :))

Sunday, November 29, 2009

I will be going off to OCIP tomorrow. Do pray for me!

Pastor Lawrence preached today! He has really become a much better speaker since the last time I heard him, praise God. He raised a really interesting question today, which I'd like to ask you: why do you read the Bible?

Oftentimes, Christians (including me) read the Bible for two (wrong) reasons:

1) I want to learn what I must do to get blessed. (Self-righteousness)
2)God will be more pleased with me if I read the Bible, so I shall. (To earn favour with God)

Do you know what our focus should be on when we read the Bible? It is to see Jesus in the Bible.

Now, the Bible should always interpret the Bible, so here is proof. Let us look at how Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples. His disciples were in deep sadness after Jesus's death, and Jesus spoke with them, though they did not recognise who He was. His disciples were even in doubt about whether Jesus was the chosen Messiah!What did Jesus say?

He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24:25-27)

Even in The Old Testament, there are so many "Jesus sightings"!

Consider Daniel. He was a type of Jesus. He was thrown into the lion's den, his exit barred by a stone. Jesus was sealed in a tomb, barred by a stone. But just as the lions had no power over Daniel, death had no power over Jesus! Read about it in the book of Daniel.

Joseph was rejected by his brothers and left for dead, but was glorified later at the Pharoah's right hand and saved his brothers from famine, forgiving them of everything. Jesus was rejected by His brothers (the Jews) and left for dead, but was glorified later at God's right hand and has redeemed His brothers from sin, forgiving them of everything! Read about it in Genesis!

Jesus is altogether lovely. No one else is. And by beholding Jesus, we are transformed into His image. For God is the author and the finisher of our faith, not us!

I'd like to go into more detail, but I have to pack for tomorrow. Have a blessed rest!

Abba, You love me.
8:56 PM

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Siying has been raving about the movie Fireproof for a while now. When my youth ministry's magazine's first issue contained an excellent review of the movie, I knew I had to watch it. So I did, yesterday.

Have you ever felt that it is hard to love someone, especially when you feel like that someone doesnt even appreciate you at all? That's the dilemma of the main character, Caleb. He wants to save his failing marriage and does all sorts of things to get his wife to appreciate him. Once, after setting up a lavish candlelit dinner, his wife stepped in and said: "Let me get this straight. I do not love you".

But I won't spoil the movie for you. It comes with my highest recommendations. I really felt the love of God in this movie lots! I really feel like sharing what I've learnt from the movie, but I would rather you experience it first hand. Once you're free, do check out Youtube!

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16)

Abba, You love me.
11:19 AM

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Today's sermon was awesome. Maybe I use this word too often. Hopefully its impact isn't lost. Well then, let me repeat myself.

TODAY'S SERMON WAS AWESOME.

Pastor Lian really preached a message that was close, so close to my heart: that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Now, that truth has been repeated many times, but do let that awesome truth sink into you.

No matter how many broken promises you have made to God, no matter how often you fail while trying to please Him, no matter how weak you are, no matter even when you forget God. None of that matters.

God's love will always be with you. Always. A love that never condemns. A love that accepts you for who you are, but loves you too much to leave you as you are.

Want biblical proof? Lets read a certain story in John 4 together.

In brief, Jesus met a woman who was feeling condemned. Her short encounter with her Saviour changed her completely in an instant. Please read John 4: 1-29. Please do. Take a few minutes to do that now? Thanks!

INTERMISSION INTERMISSION INTERMISSION

Alright, welcome back. How do we know that the woman was feeling condemned? Notice John 4:6. "The sixth hour" is about noontime. Why did the woman come to draw water so late in the day, in the heat, when she could have drawn water in the morning with the other women? She was feeling condemned. She wanted to avoid the other women for fear of their gossip. After all, they all knew her reputation. 5 previous husbands? No wonder she was feeling condemned.

Now, we must realise that having a Jew ask something of a Samaritan is like your favourite idol appreciating a gift you made him/her. Samaritans were considered to be low-class back then. Imagine how stunned -and pleased- the woman was when Jesus asked her for a drink of water! Imagine how shocked she felt when Jesus later revealed that He knew everything about her dark past, and still loved and accepted her unconditionally regardless! At NO point did Jesus say "Return and make ammendments to your life, change your ways. Then return to Me." And what happened after her encounter with Jesus? Set free from her bondage of condemnation, she boldly strode into the city and told everyone (yes, the people she didn't dare to face before!) about Jesus! Her encounter with Jesus's love left her changed forever!

Jesus isn't judgemental. But God is holy too. So God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for ALL OUR SINS. If there is anyone with the right to condemn us, it is Jesus. Yet He remains such a loving Saviour. He is that love we all desire, the love that says "I may have to correct you, but I'll always love you. Nothing you do can ever change that. And neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate you from the love of God that is I, Christ Jesus your Lord" (Romans 8:39)

Feeling God's love? I hope so. His love is always there to pick us up. And it is this sense of no condemnation that will change our lives to be all that God created us to be.

Abba, You love me.
8:55 PM

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Its the middle of the A levels now. All the best to those who are taking the exams! Let God be your answer and source!

I have nothing much to post. But here's a gentle reminder.

God loves you. Do speak with him about anything. He enjoys your company!

Stay restful, God is on your side :)

Abba, You love me.
3:52 PM

Thursday, November 12, 2009

People who know me would know that I find it hard to stay awake and alert for the whole day of school. Well, my OP was yesterday at 2.00pm. Guess what? I reached school at 7.30am!

Well, I had to reach early to do something important, but I was still worried that I would get drowsy and fall asleep before my OP! I didn't exactly have a peaceful night of rest the previous day either. So I did the only thing I could. I smsed my CGL, John, and asked him to pray with me that God will fill me with energy, and that I would only be tired after the OP. Frankly, I wasn't confident that this prayer would be answered. After all, I have asked for energy in the past but didn't really see it manifest in my life.

I'm so glad that when we are faithless, God is still faithful. Thats how much He loves us! Amazingly, I was full of energy for my OP and only fell asleep on the bus on the way home! I think I really woke up everyone in that room, student and teacher alike. Like that song "Speak Peace" by my church, NCC, goes:

"Though I go through waters and I walk through fire
I'll not be dismayed, nor will I be afraid
You will deliver, You will provide
Your arm is mighty to save"

The line in green is the promise I've seen manifested in my life through this whole PW period. I wasn't working well with my group until as recently as 3 weeks ago, and I had no idea how God will turn it around. But with God, nothing is impossible. I can confidently say that I share a good relationship with my group members now. How it happened, I don't know. All I know is Who is responsible for it.

God's arm is truly mighty to save. Remember how I struggled during my promo exams? It was my fault that I didn't get enough studying in. But God's grace saved me.Does this make me want to slack more? No! This makes me want to live life fopr God's glory!

Beloved, if you are facing an impossible situation, remember that nothing is impossible for God.

Abba, You love me.
8:07 AM

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Something happened to me this week that I never thought would happen.

Overcome with distractions like computer gaming, I totally neglected to spend time with God for a long time.

Thank God for CG yesterday. There is truly wisdom to be had in the counsel of your wise inner circle!

Abba, You love me.
11:12 AM