Life

I am back from my cycling trip today!!!! Haven't been cycling for quite a while.
Today as i was cycling, I stopped beside a big tree to catch a breather. As i stood below the tree God reminded me of an essay I wrote during my secondary school days.

Tree Of Life

Trees though unlike humans do not speak nor express emotions yet their aging process is very humanoid. Have you ever seen a tree in a season where it is shedding it leaves? Most probably in a green city where we live everywhere we see falling leaves from trees.

The falling of leaves from trees have an uncanny resemblance of us humans memory. We all grow up and things that happened in the past cannot be turned back. They can only be remembered as memories. Childhood memories, Good memories, Undesirable memories. These all are part and parcel of life that everyone go through. We only can reminiscence but never relive memories. Our memories are like falling leaves, once are the leaves separated from it's parent tree it will only be remembered but it can never go back.

Think of the fallen leaves in our lives. Schooling days??? Fun-filled days in school, mischievous acts, boring lessons. Childhood days? The days where everyday responsibility are just to eat and grow. There are times where we would really want to relive those moments what went by. Either to enjoy the fun-filled times or turn back time to correct the present regrets.

Yet, trees devoid of humans emotions are much better at management of their 'fallen leaves'. The fallen leaves falls to the ground gradually degenerate and goes back to the parent tree as nutrients which allows the tree to grow stronger.

Memories like fallen leaves once past and fallen are forever gone. Yet like the fallen leaves we can let the memories be of our 'nutrients' learning from the memories, we have the choice to make this present moment a great memory or a memory filled with regrets.

As God, reminded me of this, i once again understood that we as children of God should never dwell on the past but look at the future that God has in place for us. So let's take charge of our present situation and create a splendid memory so that the day we look back we can truly say that we had run a good race!

Bobby

Self-Evaluation

Dear family,
despite my busy schedule, i had a strong prompting from the Lord to even share this in the blog. Sorry for not blogging on what I promised on Perseverance. Will find time to do so very soon.
Short post here, but a rather important and urgent one. Do take time to read this.

2 Timothy 4:3-4
"3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

2 Timothy 3:1-4
1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God

Dear family, let's all evaluate our walk in this life. We all know that this is not right, however, have we unknowingly fallen victim to any of these traits which have been stated in the Word of God? Let's re-evaluate our lives once again, and commit our lives to the Lord's hands once again.

Love,
Cornelius

Go North!!! Gedong Gedong...

Just a short update..

1. As of right now, I'm officially a Medic of the SAF! (Praise God)
2. Pray that I'll find lots of favor from his people in my New Camp!! (yes, it's no longer in Nee Soon, but in Sungei Gedong!!! wahahaha.. this means i can meet bobby for supper very often, provided i want to go out la.. haha

Jasper Bro!!!

*BOOK OUT LOH*

Nothing But God

Hey guys I have attended Nick Vujicic service twice. I realized that he came this time round he said the same thing yet it dawned on me in a very different light.
Guys look at him in the picture… Hands and legs none of those he have, yet he has such confidence. So where does his confidence comes from???

His confidence is not from his extraordinary background being able to grow up with his physical conditions and even graduating with double major in Accounting and Financial Planning!!!
Neither was his confidence comes from him being a wonderful motivational speaker touching millions of hearts, not even being invited to attend the Oprah Winfrey show!!!!
Was it because of the ten and thousands of people he led to Christ???? NO!

Looking at him I see that he had nothing yes!!!! Nothing!!! He had no Hands or Legs and that actually means he has nothing. He needs assistance for all stuff meaning if no one helps him he has nothing. Yet through his deficit he displayed the only thing he has in life! That is GOD! He has only God, a God that is so big that it makes his disability seems non-existent. Through him I understand the true spirit of John 3:30 “He Must become greater; I Must become less” He has lessen himself so much so that God has used his disability to even reached out to the multitudes. He exudes such confidence From the Lord that when he speaks, we do not regard his disability and are even in  awe of him as he has displayed the fact that without god his truly nothing!!!!!

In our lives when we fail our exams, lost the relationship, had things go against us and we feel like the world has taken a tumble so bad.
I would like to share this illustration i read from Max Lucado book :Travelling Light

A man once went to a minister for counseling. He was in the midst of a financial collapse.
“I’ve lost everything,” he bemoaned.
”Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve lost your faith.”
”No,” the man corrected him, “I Haven’t lost my faith.”
”Well than I’m sad to hear that you’ve lost your character.”
”I didn’t say that,” he corrected. “ I still have my character.”
”I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve lost your salvation.”
”That’s not what I said,” the man objected.
”I haven’t lost my salvation.”
”You have your faith, your character, your salvation. Seems to me,” the minister observed,”that you’ve lost none of the things that really matter”.

Guys! In what’s most important is our Faith, Character and our salvation. Whatever things that are lost, broken are nothing that really matters!!! So guys let us be less so that the Lord our God can truly reign over us and be great!!!

Bobby

LINGO!!!

Well well... This are some of the lingo used in the cell... So that in case when we use it u dunno wat we're talking abt, nw you will know...

1. PCA = Poltically Correct Answers (Ask brother wayne to demo if u still dunno)
2. BIBO = Blur In Blur Out
3. CMI = Cannot Make It
4. XZB/XCB = Xian Zha/Cha Bor = Attract girls
5. AWOL = Absent without official leave
6. MIA = Missing in Action
7. MX = Mai Xian = Dun PCA (often accompanied by a "lar" behind)
8. Cui = Sian + Tiring (shack out)

EMO? What's that?

VaZe here and today i wanna share on emo

What is emo exactly? the idea that got me thinking abt that is that this "emo" word appear a lot of times in my conversation with the brothers and my friends...
The dictionary defines emo = emotional = overwhelming strong emotions + the state of the mind is governed by emotions...

In today's youth lingo, emo = a state of isolation of oneself + coldness to others around you... Well, many of my brothers such as wayne, jasper and frans says that I, Vasily Alexandrovich Zaitsev (not my real name) also slumber into a state of emo many times... My brothers and friends (who are all guys) find that emo is an indication of nt being steady (or zai), nt being matured in thinking. This is rather true though....

My opinion on emo is that emo is essential and critical at junctures if emo = isolating oneself from other people... This may sounds strange but emo (isolating oneself) in times of overwhelming troubles are often the first step to solve problems... In the event of stress & problems, emo (isolation) helps to block out the distractions in our minds so that we can focus on God to find the root cause of the issue and appropriately find the best solution... However, this state of emo (isolation) should not last forever and should be used as a step to re-align our problems and thoughts to God, receive the truth and encouragement from God then get out there to wallop your problems... In short, emo (isolation) is a pause & think process

Over excessive use of emo (isolation) will lead to permanent isolation... It separates the person from the community and prevents any form of outsider intervention and help... Excessive emo (isolation) leads to the person being deceived that by leaving the community, they will be able have more concentration to solve their problems, which is NEVER the case... Thats why some people leave the church at times as well...

Another type of emo is the emo (influenced by feelings) type... This kind of emo only appears when one is overwhelmed with feelings such as when my grandfather passed away, i'm overwhelmed with grief and sadness... Yes, we do not deny our feelings, but prolonged emo (influenced by feelings) will lead to non-rational thinking and actions, leading to more mistakes to be cleared later...

I, VaZe, have a strong liking for love ballads and songs... so i often put up some of the lyrics of love songs as my MSN nickname... Sister Joa asked me why i put up such emo nicks... and i thought to myself in wat way is a lovely dovey nickname emo according to definitions? Things like "nothing's gonna change my love for you" is not emo but mushy... (Nt to penalize Joa sis), but the english must be used correctly nxt time to avoid complications....

In conclusion, emo (be it isolation or influenced by feelings) will happen to anybody who calls themselves a human... There is no IRONMAN who do nt emo...
Yet, emo MUST be used correctly:
1. To seek the Lord for comfort, encouragement and solutions
2. To pray to block out distractions, temptations and instability of the heart
3. And rarely for short periods of time... U do NOT SPAM IT!!

As I progress in life as a Christian, i met obstacles and i emo (isolation) at times to sort out my problems before i learn from mistakes and grow.. But as i grow, my capacity of handling problems increases and hence I emo less frequently and for a shorter period of time.. Thats why when u mature, u emo less as u're more able to handle problems and stress...

THEREFORE, LOOK BACK IN YOUR LIFE... If last time u emo for a period of time and now still the same, maybe its time to check on ur growth in character and do sth abt it... I am nt saying u cannot emo at all, but the period of time to emo shld be lower and lower as u grow...

Look at the Lord!

I had a pretty undesirable day in school…..
I was accused by a project mate in school being “Useless”
Gosh! I was so infuriated by it as the classmate was a free-rider in my group who contributed basically nothing to our group!

At the moment I retaliated at the classmate by screaming off my lungs at her, Yes! It’s a her…. I am rarely so angry. So, today I came back home feeling very unappreciated sometimes and I totally felt like a 烂好人！！!

I remembered in James 1:19-20 It says “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” 
Though I know about this yet there was his feeling of unrest within me!!!

Than God told me son, what will rebuking do you? Yes! you feel justified for the unjust that others had upon you but you will fall short of me, your anger is not going to display my righteousness. I was finally brought to peace when God showed me Pslam37:3

Psalm 37:7-8
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – in only leads to evil.

I will only turn to be a evil grudge ridden man, harboring only hatred to my friend and what good does it do to me. Be still and God will vindicate me! I do not yearn for who I am in others eyes but I only yearn who I am in Jesus eyes. 

Bobby

To Know Your Name....

hello everyone =) so sorry for not blogging for such a long time haha I think this line is getting very cliche for every post I do haha but hey if not for me cheonging at Lim Chu Kang with "Pea blanks" and "Universal Rounds" d' you think you can sleep safely at night ??


I dont know about you guys but have you ever slept with your MP3 on and had a particular song stuck in your head after you woke up ?? Well that exactly happened to me ... but the funny thing was that I had no idea of the song title because I just bought the CD... but this particular tune and stanza just kept playing in my head for the next 2 weeks..


Arrested by your truth and righteousness,
your grace has overwhelmed my brokenness


I didnt have the opportunity to look for the song in my I pod because of all the cheong sua and lectures I had to attend in camp, so it got quite frustrating because there's an urge to know what in the world is this title!!!!!


It's like a horrible itch which you cant reach to scratch especially when the tune is soooooooo immaculately catchy..... it was only till yesterday did I discover the title of the song.....and that is "To know your name" by hillsong from the Saviour King album


No surprises on how I discovered the song... everytime I go home from town, I prefer taking Bus 16 and walk home from the indoor stadium ...there I would dedicate the 20 mins walk home to God... its those sort of "Hi Lord what do you have for me today ??"


So I began scrolling through my song list when I suddenly felt prompted by the spirit "hey frans listen to this song" ... Well initially I wanted to skip to another song because I wasnt in the mood for new songs but reluctantly I did


what came next was 20 mins of holy spirit session haha I realised that God wanted me to know how much we meant to him and no matter whatever we do, his grace is the biggest umbrella which will shelter anything the world may throw at us. I am sure all of us know this but sometimes the phrases, and words of encouragement get dilluted through constant use and we need to just experience it all over again


The reason why I m posting this is not only to say that God cares for us and love us but ask "Do we listen to God? and do we have a conversation relationship with him??" It took me 2 weeks to understand Grace all over again but it was simply overwhelming.....


God works in wonderous, mysterious ways and we shouldnt brush it off as a form of coincidence

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim he work of his hands;
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no language where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth their words to the ends of the world . " Psalm 19 :1-4

I WANNA BE CAPTAIN MARVELOUS TOO!!!

I've been a Chelsea fan for half of my life and apart from just enjoying their great and 'use to be' boring 1-0 win football, I've always been admiring their superb team spirit and never ever saying die spirit!

One of the Chelsea player I've started to admire more and more over the past few years is their team and England's Captain John Terry.

I use to think that Good players = Score many Goals. If that's the case, then JT would have been a lousy player as his name hardly appear on the score sheet and he is only a defender.

But, one of the reasons why Chelsea can be a successful club is that Captain Marvel is always leading his team from the back, ordering and motivating his team to go forward and to press on with such benevolence.

Players feel save venturing forward as they know that Captain Marvel will always be there to stop any threat should they fail to keep the ball.

They call him 'Mr Chelsea', they call him 'The Man of Steel' as he never throw in the towel and always making it a point to be with the team with or without injury. This is commitment to the Highest Level!

One thing I ask of the Lord, This is what I seek: that He will mould me to become a Captain Marvel just like John Terry. It's not easy and there are many things in me that I really need to change in order for that day to come. But I'm not going to let those negative attributes (insensitivity, impatientness just to name a few) rob me from becoming a role model too the younger ones and the people around.

LORD I WANT! I WANT! I WANNA BE A CAPTAIN MARVEL TOO!!!!

What a Year!!!

Hey! This Turtle super cute right ha .....

Ha apart from the picture , today's post is a reflection post of mine!!!!!

Yes! like what the title states "WHAT A YEAR!!!!"
I have to admit as i look back at the past months of year 2008, it has really been heck of a year to me !!! Other than that , it's also around this time last year i came back to God so it's like am back for about more than a YEAR!!!!!

Year 2008 : Year of Sabbath
Am sure am not the only one feeling this way where in our minds we think "It's the Year of Sabbath, but why is it so Xiong!!! (Xiong= Hard pressed)"

It hasn't been an easy year for me, even it's the worse page of my life. Just on the past 10 months waves after waves of undesirable events hits me:

1. Parents Divorce
2. Attrition from Poly to ITE
3. Financial Problems
4. Mum's bad health

I have to emphasise i am not posting another book of Lamentations but i believe by blogging about our thoughts gives us even a clearer outlook on where we are..... Like the picture i posted of a turtle. To some it may look cute but take a closer look it looks actually pretty sad and it is even in the posture of preparation of hiding in it's shell.

At times i feel myself being like the turtle saying "God, things are just overwhelming for me..... Can i just do whatever i want for this once?" I guess many at times i did not even just harboured having just one thought. Many other thoughts comes up . The "Can i __ __ __ __ __" will manifest and multiply and the gaps will be filled up with thoughts of Can i, miss service this week? ; miss Cell? ; do quiet time tomorrow ? ; don't pray???

All sort of easy way out will come into our minds !

We will always run for the exit, wallowing in our emotions as if things will change after all the wailing and mourning.

But if i had only relied on my on efforts i believe i would have already left church and forsaken my faith but God sustained me!

Romans 5:3

3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us

By the holy spirit that God has bestowed on me he sustained me. God did not allow all these troubles to come to us just to make things difficult for us but to sharpen us. God used this sufferings to mould the spirit of perseverance in us giving us character and through the character giving us hope and God did these all for the sake he so  dearly loves us.

I will never forget during cell Eejay shared "In Christ we are not WIMPS" 
I was greatly reminded that God had the gift of holy spirit thus i had a god-given strength! How can i go on being like a wimp! Am not saying this without proof it states clearly in Philippians4:13 (I can do everything through him who gives me strength) It say everything not one thing , something but everything!

The purpose for me on this post is to give thanks to God who stood by me through all circumstances, giving me strength to continue my race!

GOD BLESS!!!!

Bobby

Hotel Oscar Lima Lima Alpha November Delta

Dear spiritual family =) I know I ve not been updating this blog regularly but I am sure I ll be more free and dedicated to when my trainee phase is over. Please continue to pray for me as I embark on 3 field camps over the next 3 weeks. Yes I sometimes do have thoughts of OOTing (out of training) and be a violinst at Music Drama Company but my personal stand is to finish whatever I started at all cost no matter what the outcome will be. SO family please pray for me =) over the last few years in my christian walk, I realised how powerful prayer can be so heres a lists of what I need

1. not to holland tommorrow for Navigation
2. for the week long field camp to go smoothly
3.more spiritual guts to reach out to my section mates
4.(hehe optional) no pimple outbreak from camo cream

I know I ll graduate from this course on the 15th of november because of your prayers
Love you all =)

P.S I am praying for all of you too =)

Random thoughts...

Dear family, as you all know, I'm currently serving NS, so i cannot blog as often. But I strongly believe that it is also my responsiblity to matain this Tribe blog, so i'll make it a point to blog at least once a week regardless of whether i have anything to blog about.

As for this week, I really have no idea of what to blog about, but fear not, with infinite wisdom to tap from and with my 'PCA skill' to the highest level, I will surely smoke through!!

So here's a random picture:

Behold!!!

It's a Bunch of Bananas!!

• To some, they are tasty. They are also a good source of energy, that is why they are given out during marathons.
• To the monkeys, they are an obsession.
• To the companies that produce dairy products, they can be a source of income, as they can be added to milk to provide flavour. It can also be used in desserts, e.g Banana Split, Banana milkshake.
• To some countries, like Singapore, they are a local delicacy. Goreng Pisang (spelling?) or fried bananas.
• But to others, they are yucky. A source of destruction, especially if being stepped on.
• To me, they have such an unpleasant smell that gives me headaches, never fail to make me tear and feel like vomiting. I remember one faithful night during my BMT where I took a bite out of a piece of banana cake as i mistook it for a slice of butter cake. The HORROR!!!! Therefore, if you are unsure, ASK...

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (NIV)

14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

Just like the Banana, when we serve the Lord, some people will like us, and others will dislike us because the kingdom values of God is totally opposite from the values of this world.

You see, If we are like the world, living by it's values, then surely people can accept us as we are just like them. But if we choose to be like a sore thumb sticking out, some may still be able to accept it, but to others, they just cannot accept it. That is the reason why many great men from the Bible get persecuted and persecuted even to the point of death.

Therefore family, let's care less what people may think about us and continue to shine and be that aroma for Christ. Let's choose to be GOD PLEASERS rather den people pleasers.

Bro JC

Is love blind? Or are you blind?

Hey....... VaZe here again...

Today is nth long... I always blog so much chim stuffs that KO ppl before they even read to the mid portion....

Today, what makes me post is the area of BGR...

Well... As i venture thru life, i see a lot of my friends getting girlfriends, yet i oso see a lot of breakups... A kaypo like me sometimes go and ask my friends like why u break up and the common answer i get is that no feelings for the girl/guy anymore... Then when they hop into another relationship, i asked them wat do they see in the girl/guy and they say the vice versa statement: got feelings lor...

In short, the idea of modern day BGR revolves around this one thing called feelings, of which the world calls it love... Hey!!! If feelings = love, the dictionary oso no need to come up with so many words to quantify love, such as infatuation, affection, sizzling... Clearly that there are different stages of mutual attraction, the last being pure solid love of course...

The rather scary thing today is that when i talk to many ppl out there, other than the feelings reason they give me, they could not give me anymore answers... They do not even know wat they are going for, wat they are "feeling" for, and they call this love. Thats why the world says that love is blind... DUDE!!! There's a difference between love is blind and YOU ARE BLIND!! My comrades, love is not blind but people are blinded by infatuation. Infatuation = crush = mostly physical attraction, where the guy finds the girl cute or vice versa... When couples come together due to crush/infatuations, they confirm break very fast because they'll find people out there who are much better physically endowed or "cuter"

Infatuations are perfectly normal, it goes to show that as guys and girls we're properly wired up... But it can be suppressed by mental strength and will fade away as time passes... I admit that I have several crushes/infatuations back in those days until now, but it can be suppressed using mental strength and discipline... If u get together with the girl/guy because of his/her looks, then its nt love anymore, but its LUST...

Bottomline, I feel that most young people today are not ready for love... Because:
1. They do not know wat qualities in the girl or guy they are going for...
2. They are not ready to be commited to each other, to sacrifice for each other
3. They are unable to even take care of themselves, not financially independent, emotionally strong to withstand the knocks of life
(Imagine you spend most of the time hearing the girl lamenting to you abt her seemingly small problems day in and out, you'll confrm feel sian lor)

I'll end with the definition of love - 1 Corinthians 13. Love involves sacrifice and will put couples thru the test of faithfulness and commitment... Its not about feelings

Warranty of LIfe!!!

I have this funny thought today haha....

Look at the picture above it states "Warranty void if broken" We always find such labels on all kinds of electronic products and many of times it will also be a attached condition that says "If found tampered with or incomplete seal of warranty , product will not be elgible for any warranty either repair or replacement"

Than i realise ha isn't we Man also created like many other electronics we have around in our household? We are created by God personally with his seal on warranty on us .

Genesis 2:26-27

26Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27So God created man in his own image in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

God created us in the very likeness of him and in his very own image. All the goodness of God has been packaged nicely inside us and even sealed with his Warranty Of Life!!! But despite of that we man decided to tamper with the seal that God has upon us and thus we lose the gurantee of rejoining God back in heaven as the sealed is stained, soiled by man's sin and thus losing the authorisation of the validity of the Seal!

Romans 6:23

23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

See in Romans 6:23 it clearly say the wages of sin is death. It's not the physical death but a DEATH IN THE SPIRITUAL BODY and death in the spiritual body results us being seperated from the union of our heavenly Father!

WAIT!!!!

No worrries here is the good news God has sent his son Jesus to atone for our sins thus meaning God is renewing the tampered Seal with a new one! Meaning we have a second chance!!! How can i prove??? Look at Romans 3:25-26 
God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demostrate his justice, because in his forberance he had left the sins commited beforehand unpunished - he did it to demostrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus

See for yourself God has replace us with a new lifetime warranty!!! The sins we committed in the past has been atone through Chris Jesus! So let's make good of it this time and not tamper with the renewed seal this time! Let's remain in the goodness which God has made us to be !!! 

REMEMBER WE ARE MADE IN THE LIKENESS AND IMAGE OF GOD THUS WE HAVE THE GOODNESS WITHIN US SO DON'T CONTINUE DEGRADING THE GOODNESS INSIDE US !!!!

Ha this post was copied from my own blog into the tribe blog ha ha enjoy reading!!!
Bobby

Wake Up Your Idea!!!!

Hi!!! To all ..... Ha ha as all can see this is a picture of rain falling over a body of water ... Why a raining picture??? Hmm  i am not emo OF COURSE!!!!! 

I went jogging in the evening today and it rained in the middle of it!!! It was a heavy downpour yet i did not stopped my running and went home. Instead of that i kept on running in the rain. I have to say it was an invigourating  run in the rain. The cool icy droplets of water falling upon my skin gives me a very refreshing feeling and a sense of peace being enveloped in the rain.

When i was enveloped by the rain during my run, i prayed to God and i told God "God, if you are willing, use the rain to wash away my iniquities, the wrong that i have done and even take away all the worldy values that's stucked within this puny yet corrupted head of mine"
After the prayer, I feel amazingly...................................

Nothing... bummer that made me felt like a LOSER ....

But when i went back home , i decided to do my quiet time cause i had nothing to do (Yes am guilty of that at times doing quiet time when i have nothing to do) I was meditating on the Book of Matthew when God spoke to me. 

Matthew 5 : 3-12

The Beatitudes

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek ,
for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteouness,
for they will be filled

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persucute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, becacuse great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

It is a familiar verse that all know but i had another question "God , how than can i receive those blessings you had for me???"

Thus i looked on the following verses from (Matthew 5:13-7:12)

I than realised that the following verses are actually the instructions on how am i supposed to receive the blessings stated in Matthew 5 : 3-12

These are all what God stated throughout Matthew 5 : 3-12 to help us identify whether we are living our life - "The Jesus Way" They are the do's and do not's and how to do it guide:

1. Salt and Light (Am i the Salt or Light?)
2. The fulfillment of the Law (Am I obeying the Commandments?)
3. Murder (Do i harbour any grudges?)
4. Adultery (Do i look at the opposite gender in a lustful way?)
5. Divorce (Not Yet Married so N/A :P )
6. Oaths ( Is there any oaths that i've made yet i failed to fulfill?)
7. An Eye for an Eye (Am i revengeful ?)
8. Love for Enemies (Do i harbour hatred towards those who are against us?)
9. Giving to the Needy (Am i hoarding to things that others need more than i do?)
10. Prayer (Am i praying deceitfully?)
11. Fasting (Am i Fasting with a sincere heart?)
12. Treasure in Heaven (Wordly Posessions Vs Heavenly Posession)
13. Do Not Worry (Are we excessively worried about life?)
14. Judging Others (Do i Pass judgement onto others?)
15. Ask, Seek, Knock (Do we turn to our heavenly father for provision?)

These fifteen points are all the conditions of our lives that we have to keep in check so that we are able to receive God's blessings freely . Note: It does not mean that God doesn't bless us if we do not meet all the conditions stated , God looks at the transformation of the spirit-man, thus the blessing that God bestowed upon us can only be seen if we make the decision to live out out our life according to his teachings 

Thus to all my brothers following Jesus is a way of life, it is about constant checking of self taking away wordly values and replacing it with the doctrines of God's word. Out of all the fifteen pointers i dun't even dare to say i pass half of them but let's make it an effort to work towards leading a blameless life!!! 

So brothers let us be always be enveloped in God's rain of transformation till the day we can see the rainbow after the rain!!!

B.A.M
Bobby Ang Ming

Can we ever overcome the devil and the world?

VaZe received Christ since August 26th 2005 and my initial mindset abt the devil and God is that God had not planned for the creation of the devil to torment the people... the devil is a backslided angel because of greed and pride.

As started my journey with God, it was the toughest thing, cos' there are so many things in my life that wasn't right with God, and i hesitiate to give it up... Such as to lust at girls, to watch pornography, to masturbate, say vulgarities etc... When i finally got spiritually sick and tired of my sinful nature, i decided to commit to the Lord and to start afresh my journey with Him... Then to my horror, i realized that its so difficult to give up the sinful nature, cos I'm so deeply rooted into it...

When i tried to put up a fight against the temptations, the challenges come... The devil come with everything to bring me down, stumbling remarks from friends, scoldings from parents, lousy academic results, lack of finances... And being pressurized from all sides, I gave up my fight most of the time and went back to where God first found me - the sinful nature... I faced hopelessness + disappointments (why i did all that i can but still cannot???) and sometimes i really feel like throwing the vulgarities at the devil who made my life so difficult to live...

I lamented to God and asked why on earth He created the devil to torment us, to make us so tired and weary, to tear us down since He desire all of us to be saved and to do well... I thought all my sorrows and problems can be solved if the devil is thrown into hell... God explained to me in Isaiah 54 that HE created the devil, and the devil forges a weapon for his work to torment us, yet his weapons will not prevail against us, this is a vindication from God signed by God's very name...

I realized a few truths as i meditiated...
1. God made the devil, and the devil torments us so that God can sift out those who stand firm to the end.. (Matthew 10:22 says that he who stands firm to the end will be saved). You see that God knows that we have flaws and weaknesses, and He is not looking for a perfect man such as Jesus. But God looks for a man with weaknesses but yet says I don't care and will fight all the way for a righteous life to the very end. God wants to sift out people with character to enter His kingdom....

2. God wants to mould us... Imagine life with no devil, torment and sorrows, we will all be stuck in our character growth as everything is so perfect... (Judges 3:2 says that God left some enemies of Israel intact to teach future generations about warfare). God wants to cultivate in us a spirit of warfare (pray like Moses, war like Joshua) so that we can be people of strong character for God...

3. God wants to see our hearts aligned to Him... (1 Sam 16:7: But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.") God wants to see the moulding and growth of our hearts....

To end off... I'll share with you one of my favourite biblical movies... The Lord of the Ring...
From the movie, you can see 3 distinct warfronts: Frodo + Sam trying to get the ring to the volcano, Aragorn + Gimli + Legolas trying to fight off the invading armies, Merry + Pippin trying to get more people to fight in the war against the evil... Each front is fought on different territories, yet all for the same goal to kill evil... Each front has its own challenges as well, Frodo has to learn to mental strength to suppress the evil from the ring, Aragorn has to be physically strong and fit to fight the armies...

What caught me in the movie is when the fairy-like elf female appeared to Frodo and told him a truth: If you do not find a way to destroy the ring, nobody else would. This is very biblical and real. As people from different backgrounds, we fight on different fronts.. like Frans is facing physical challenges to stay afloat in SISPEC jus like aragorn, me myself training my mental strength to fight the temptations from the devil.. Yet all of us push for the same goal to lead a Godly life.

Each brother ultimately is responsible for his life and we cannot run the race of life for each other... (thats the rule) This means that if I dun find a way to complete the race of life, nobody else will ever complete this particular race simply because God designed this race solely for me to go thru... Applying to church context, if a brother dun wheel himself to rise up and bring down the stronghold of porn in his life, nobody else would be able to do that for him... Thats why EJ and Alvin say "you can talk to us all you want, we can give all the advice, but its all up to you and i solve ur problems for u"

I pray that the spirit of God reveal to you the conditions of ur heart and give you the strength and conviction to run finish ur race... I'll see u at the finish line...

I think I'm an Idiot....

Before i blog, let's see some pictures first...

Wow, Somebody is busy at work...

What's this???

It' a decoy!!!

Yes, Seriously, I think I'm totally insane.. I've done many stupid things, said and proclaim the dumbest things and behave like a total idiot.

Here's a list of rather crazy things i think i have done in the past few years:

1) 2004, end of the year. It's my O level period, not only did i faithfully attend every cell meetings and Church, on top of them, I helped out in Extreme Teens Church every sat from 1pm -5pm..

Den How? Lesser time to study for Os and i have to pusposely force myself to wake up earlier on sat to study in bukit merah mac.

In The End... I actually did better then my prelims! *Phew*

2) Late 2004 - early 2005, JAE, I chose NP Biomedical Sciences over Tp's. (Seriously it's a tough decision.)

Den How? Spend lots of time and money travelling. No CCA in school cause if i have a CCA, I'll most prob reach home close to 0000 hours and i don't want that to happen. (Lazy mah)

In The End... I was blessed with a very slack Attachment, 8am-9am from mon-fri and i even scored an A for it. Happening FYP, have a personal lab with my project partners, good project supervisor and A for FYP. No CCA = More time for Cell Group stuff. Being in the West enables me to spend more time fellowshipping with church mates staying in the west and staying in the east enables me to meet up with Spiritual Father and other church mates too. Therefore, I available to anyone. Ngee Ann Open Cell..

3) Ready to Strike?? Recce Tropper?? Combat Engineer?? Those were the vocations people say I will get when i Strongly declare that I want to become a combat medic..

In The End... Guess who is having the last laugh? CALL ME MEDIC!!! (later kana xiong unit, den you all can have the last laugh, but as for now, let me be happy..)

I guess the conclusion of the matter is this: God is a God of Faith, and sometimes or actually most of the time, faith requires one to do things that makes no sense at all. To see something illogical happen, maybe we have to do things illogically. So take a chance, put your stake on God, honor Him above all else and if you have to, do something silly for Him, and God will certainly honor you.

Kitkat Bro

Today attended SOL lessons  It was on : COURTSHIP!!!

It was great made me realise that hmmm finding a right one one is so important!!! I do not deny there are people who are happily in love and their relationships do work out but take a look on the contrary ha look at the failed relationships or insecure relationships..... Ha i am not stereotyping at the young people this days but since most of such occurs to the youth age groups.

Going into relationship isn't only about two person of the opposite gender being fond of each other and thus get together being steady . So ONLY GO INTO COURTSHIP IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO LOOK FOR A LIFE PARTNER!!!

Today's culture many people are going 'steady' or 'stead' but they are never going into relationship on a basis where they are looking at marriage. Many are just going into relationship for many reasons . Which you can refer to Wayne's previous post for deeper insights.

Guys think why are the church so strict and even our leaders being so persistent in the area of lust, relationship???? It is not an easy task for our leaders to be keeping tabs on our BGR relational affairs .

1. It takes up their time
2. It worries them
3. It's huge dissapointment to them

Our leaders are doing this out of their own obligations. We have to understand that it is God will for us to find our designated one that God has for us.
Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.(Genesis 2:22-25)
The leaders are doing this too as they understand the grave circumstances of going into relationship which is not of Godly appointment. Other than that, when we go into an relationship without the blessings & spiritual covering of our spiritual leaders, the  relationship will not develop into a healthy one, many risks are adherent from it e.g adverse effect on personal spiritual walk , risk of uncontrolled intimacy (pre-marital sex) , failed relation which might lead to strongholds within self

So we have, to be patient and wait for the correct appointed spouse that God has designated for us. God has planned the best one for us so let's not compromise God's standards and even deprive ourselves of the best that God has for us .
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the  Lord (Proverbs 18:22)

B.A.M(Bobby Ang Ming)

FAIL

Just for Entertainment :)






Hope you get it :P


And one more...

This isn't as obvious ( Clue: Photo taken just 2 days ago )

Hope you enjoyed it.


From your beloved,
Corny Photographer(e) :)

The reality of lust...

Well well... in line of so many posts on quite a few blogs which i read abt porn, peeping toms, mini skirts... i can categorize them all under 1 roof: LUST!

A scientific person i am, i will start with the basic definition of lust. Lust is nt abt watching porn only, but it is abt looking at the opposite gender (girls) and having filithy thoughts in our minds of erm erm....

Unfortunately, lust is a prob that many ppl face... girls included as well... Definitely, the world always like to dilute the term lust, so we hear things like he/she is my eye candy, etc.... I am not a man of steel (superman), and i do nt possess a mind and heart of steel in order to nt have a liking at times towards girls... In fact, i was quite glad when i have a crush on a girl, because it goes to show that i'm wired correctly...

As a guy, infatuations are common, whereby u have a stronger feeling towards a girl compared to other girls, thats why u're a male... But when u start to ogle at the girl, with all those dirty thoughts generated in ur mind, it becomes lust. Definitely, i struggle with lust everyday of my life, especially with that infamous FBT shorts, super mini skirts and modifications to the school uniform...

I fight lust with both spiritual and practical tools... Both must come together for an effective approach... On the spiritual side, reading the Word of God renews the mind, inspires willpower and faith to abstain lust... Praying keeps ur mind focused on God rather than girls, seminars and conferences to equip with latest fighting techniques to combat lust... On the practical side, there's much to be done... Shifting your computer out is a smart move, keeping urself occupied with work can be an approach. For me, i'll rather stay out of home to study so that i wun be facing the computer alone at home (with no one watching)

When outside, it is akin to a warzone... Bullets of temptations shoot all over the shop to kill you with all the lacy dressing and shorts... Grenades of PDA can blind ur eyes when there are couples smooching each other... Artillery shells of provocative advertisments and magazines of FHM bombard u... Yet, u are equipped with more to fight back, the word of God as ur ultimate AK-47/M4A1/SAR 21, the Holy Spirit with ur common sense to turn ur eyes away as ur bullet proof Kevlar to shield the damage... and of course, intensive prayers that work as Holy Air Strike (HAS) or weapon of mass destruction (WMD) to NUKE satan's tools of lust back to hell where it belongs...

Sigh... easier said then done some may say... Well... it's a tough and small start, but it has to begin somewhere if u wanna see urself as a man after the very presence and heart of God... U will definitely stumble and fall many times.... thats why we need to constantly renew our covenant with God and ask for daily bread + clensing of the blood of the Lamb... Yet despite all the grace that abounds us when we fall into lust, we cannot take grace for granted... I believe that the grace of God is here for us when we fall but choose to confess our mistakes, repent and stand tall like a man and fight till the end.... Should we choose to fall time and yet again into lust, taking God's grace for granted, we're jus tampling Jesus under our foot (Hebrews 10:29) and incur God's wrath...

Ultimately, the thing which encourages me the most is from 1 Peter 5:9 where it says: Resist the devil, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. Everytime when i feel that i'm abt to give up, i thought abt my brothers kitkatbar, snuffy, Cornelius fighting the same battle of lust... and i told myself, shld i give up, i nt only let God down, let myself down, but let my comrades down as well... While they're fighting it, I shld stand beside them and fight with them till the end of this hectic life....

A true man is one who executes self discipline, has control over his actions by not acting impulsively, and is able to withstand all forms of punishment without yielding.... Fight ON!

Signed Vaze

Round 2.... FIGHT!!!

Nope, this is not BTB lesson 2, but this is just an update post about phase 2 of army life.
But before that happens, let's take a look at some pictures...

What a cute looking dog, I bet his owner is just as Cute... (And God's people say : "AMEN")

Ji Ji : "Oh Yes, My owner is really Cute!!! Just like me!!"

He's also as cool as his owner.. *wink wink*

Ok, that settles the picture part again and no reward for guessing who the dog's owner is..

BMT is over for me and Frans and now we're moving on to another phase of our army life; Vocation Training. My field pack is packed, my Smart 4 is folded, now all that's left is to wake up on time, drag my bags down to the main road and off I go to Nee Soon Camp for my first week of Medic Training.

Right now, I'm very excited (as usual), cause I don't really know what is going to happen next, how my new bunk mates will be, how my commanders will be, how the environment will be, when will i book out, blah blah blah and the list goes on...

So do pray for me, that everything will be fine and for many many open doors for both brother frans and me in our new camps.

Bro JC

Back To Basics - Module 1

Ok Gentlemen, welcome to your first ever BTB lesson, I'm your Cellgroup Commander (CC), S K Chia, so you can call me Cellgroup Commander Chia (CCC).

Yes Yes, I know nowadays when you come to the tribe blog, the posts all very CHIM, all very COMPLICATED. Everytime you all read (Excuse me, I'm talking to those spiritually younger ones), about half of you also don't know what is going on. So because we are a CARING Cellgroup, who puts a lot of emphasis on building Strong and Confident CHRISTIANS, who are upright and deeply rooted in their ways and their faith, I, your Cellgroup Commander, Commander Chia, took the Initiative, to come up with this modules to help guide and keep your walk with God on track.

Ok, Let's begin with the lesson..

Ok, gentlemen, below are some pictures, take a look...

Nice Colourful Fishes...

Beautiful Scenery

Ok, so by looking at those 2 pictures, can you all guess what Module one is going to be already? I tell you the Truth, if you can guess what the module is going to be, you are a genius, because those pictures have nothing to do with the module, they are just there because we've received feedback that our blog is CONTENT, CONTENT and CONTENT and no pictures. (CHEY)

Now, with the picture part settled, let's move on to the content.

Yes, Gentlemen, It's my Duty to inform you all that it is a CHARGEABLE offence to not do your Quiet Time. Yes, I can send you to Spiritual DB, if i find out that you have not been doing your quiet time.

Yes, you can give me all sorts of excuses, like busy, tired, at home got no conducive place to do your QT and it is not very respectful to do your QT with God in the toilet.

BUT... I tell you the Truth!! It is better to do your quiet time in the toilet then not to do it at all.

Therefore Gentlemen, if you want to grow more in God and know His Word more, Do your quiet time!!!

Otherwise i charge you....

Young People These Days - BGR!

Disclaimer: If you are offended by anything written in this post, do forgive me for I know not what your stand is, cheers ;)

Attraction happens Anytime, Anywhere ( Try finding out where i got this cheesy line from :P )
Finally back from my vacation from Atlantis, The Corny Professor(e) is back!

And today, what I've learnt from Atlantis ( hope you all get the pathetically redundant joke ), I learnt about BGR.

And what about BGR?
It's about an analysis on BGR ( and incidentally, maybe BBR or GGR, oh well :/ )

Why do people jump into relationships?
- Peer Pressure
- Seeking Love
- For fun / experience
- Low self-esteem!

Ok, maybe there are more reasons, but at least these are 4 general reasons that I found, afterall, I too, am human.

1) Peer Pressure
There isn't much to say on this but, yes, peer pressure is one driving factor that causes people to jump in relationships.
"Ridiculous huh," you might think, "People are ridiculous", that is my reply.

Scenario: Ah-hock is an ordinary-looking Secondary 3 boy in his school, whereby his group of friends, Ah-leong, Ah-tiong and Ah-huat , happen to be attached with the best looking girls in the entire school. Because of this, Ah-hock felt a lonely at times when his 3 other friends went on group date, thus, Ah-hock, determined to stay in the group and not feel left out, decided to find a girlfriend.

You see Point #1 now ( and do you agree that people are ridiculous )?

2) Seeking Love
Come on, we know that everyone seeks love, but where?
People are practical, they want things the easiest way and the best way. In this case, where do they seek love? From friends of the same gender? They would say that it is disgusting, however, it is a different type of love!
The kind of love which ( they think ) that can satisfy the void in their hearts lies in a romantic relationship ( normally from the opposite gender ). Why a romantic relationship? This is due to the fact that a romantic relationship will cause a person to feel loved indefinitely. In fact, a large amount of people are unable to appreciate the kind of love received from friends.

Continued from Scenario above: Ah-hock felt left out at times when his friends were away paktoh-ing, and wondered if his friends truly appreciated him as a friend ( in this case, his friends really do appreciate him as a friend ). Therefore, feeling lonely, Ah-hock went out to seek love, from a girl whom he had a crush on for sometime. His love was requitted, and thereby, they soon became a couple.

3) For fun / experience
This is true! Some people (mainly guys) jump into relationships just for the fun, thrill and experience.
Fun - There are those just in for a fling! And after that short fling, all is done and they break up. This is a behaviour unlike humans!
Experience - This is a common thing, especially for younger people. Many get into relationships for the experience of being into one.

4) Low Self-Esteem
People DO jump into relationships because of Low Self-Esteem!
You might be asking me, "Does it?", "It does" is my answer.
When a person has low self-esteem, they will try to find ways to prove that they have a 'value', and to do something with a sense of achievement.
One way to do so is to woo the most popular person in the school.

Scenario: Ah-keong is a boy who suffers from low self-esteem. Day after day, he never felt good about himself. Till one day, he walked past the school belle. He was bewitched by her beauty! He then decided that, this day, he would want to prove his 'value', day after day, he tried all kinds of means and methods to get her contact. And he finally managed to woo her and he then managed to win her heart ( a quick conclusion to cut the story short ).

Conclusion: People, do not be hasty into getting into a relationship. If getting into a relationship that you're not confident which would last till marriage, why do so? A breakup would be hurtful not only to you, but for your partner too. And this hurt would be somewhere in your heart permanently.

Brothers and sisters in Christ whom are not ready for a relationship, seek your love not from men, but from God first! :)

From your beloved,
Corny Professor(e)

( Edited by request of anonymous )

Wake me up, When September ends....

Just here to pen down some thoughts...

It's been 2 months since I've got enlisted into the army and boy things are changing at a super fast rate and I'm trying my best to keep up with it.

Heard of news of people leaving, people Hwa Hee-ing under the table, many brothers are enlisting, I'm getting my posting and soon there will be many adjustments to be made.. Changes, Changes, Changes...

I don't like changes.. But I've come to a point of realisation that changes are inevitable and that changes can be for the good as well. However, if I were to choose, I would rather things to stay the same. But I know that things can never stay the same.. (My thoughts are rather messy)

OK, here's the bottom line. Though things are changing, 1 thing will never change. It won't change now, it won't change forevermore. Doesn't matter the circumstances, through happiness, through sadness. Joy or pain. Even if the sky falls or the earth stops spinning, God's love will never change.

Yes, I still don't like changes, but in this period of many changes, I want to grow out of it stronger.

Bro JC

How to grow God!! Its tough!!!

Dear brothers, its VaZe here again

I apologise, due to my prelims and my computer crashes, i'm unable to actively blog... But now, I'm back.

Jus a short update of me life... Prelims have jus ended... I have another about 7 weeks more to A levels... Once after this 1 week break, gonna cheong and mug again....

Today.... I'll be sharing a little on how to grow in God....
When I first started out, its tough man i tell you... I gotta reschedule everything in my life, make time out for every sunday service and friday cell group, attend all the SOLs and conferences.... An effort needs to be made in order to kick start the momentum to grow....

Next... QUIET TIME!!! This is yet another challenge for me... I must admit that until now, i still dun have a very very zai and steady, everyday quiet time... I still miss it on some of the days... But what challenges me is when i started reading the Word and begin to "force" myself to understand the word, setting aside my "prime time" to do quiet time so that i wun fall asleep during QT, going to college early so that i can really do QT without any distractions... Penning down some thoughts that i have so that i can keep God's word in my heart and remember it during critical times of my life, where i dun have the bible with me...

U see, the key to grow is an effort and sacrifice that has to be made.... We can jolly well use our time to do other things such as playing and phoning and chit chatting, but we chose to give it all for God... Keyword: DISCIPLINE!!! u need to ahve a heck amount of that in order to go on and on despite having difficulties surrounding u...

When i first started quiet time in college every morning from 0700 to 0730.... its tough.... I gotta wake up at around 0545 and set off at 0615 to reach there on time so that i wun make God wait for me... (Imagine that a king has to wait for you!!). Sometimes i need to take a cab down if I'm really running late, money is spent!!! Sometimes i have unfinished work to do... and its very tempting to give up the QT for the sake of the unfinished work.... But i still say that this 1/2 hr is consecrated for the Lord, i wun touch it regardless of work.... If i cannot finish my work, so be it... i"ll resume after the QT session....

I hope u see that it takes effort, discipline and perserverance to start doing things... Looking back, i really thank God that i've made this effort otherwise i wun be well equipped with the Word to press in thru the difficulties and storms ahead in life with more ease and assurance...
DUN GIVE UP!!! Try and try again till u find a QT method and timing that suits urself, it varies from ppl to ppl...

DONT ASUME YOU ARE BOOKING OUT RECRUIT!!!!!!

hello family haha maybe you all do not know but that is my officer's favourite line... This week has been one of the most tiring week I ever had since entering army.. I had a 16km route march IPPT, SOC and Battle Assualt Course over this whole week... to make matters worse, my knees and ankles were quite cui already from the previous week of training haha I dont know la but maybe my body takes a longer time to recover compared to my other friends haha

But what Jasper says about drawing near to God instead of drifting away from him is really true =) Generally my platoon is really strong...all of them have at least 4 pecs and are all very garang haha my platoon had a 95% Ippt Pass and 77% silver.... of which I am one of the 3 who didnt get a silver.... (half a pull up more zzzzz) anyways back to my point haha being less physically fit than my platoon mates really put me in a situation where I learn not to depend on my own strength but really tapping on the faithfulness of God =)

The Night before my Ippt, I prayed to God to help me pass CONFIDENTLY for the test. My SBJ and shuttle run is really quite jia lat haha I cant seem to jump far hahah and as for the shuttle run, I keep droping the blocks =.=" on the day of IPPT, I managed to clear the stations confidently but there was sense of pride seeping in through... I wanted more and more... I wanted to show everyone that I was equally capable of getting a silver award....and that was when God pointed out to me that I left him out of my endeavour to strife for glory.... it was all about me and not about his faithfulness and grace

Naturally I was disappointed with my perfermance but it struck me to wonder that if God allowed me to get that half more pull up, would I be 100% dependent on him for everything I did or will do ? would I be approaching my section mates and buddy to pray for me like crazy few days before any ippt ?

Ask and it shall be given unto you
I asked for a confident pass and God gave it me =)
Seek and you shall find.
I wanted a silver award for the wrong reason and God taught me not to be complacent. Sometimes you need to seek through disappointments to find the real victory

All in all, BMT has brought my relationship with God to a higher level. With more challenges and less time to spend with him, you end up learning to depend and appreciate him in a whole new way hahah like praying during route marches..... praying with your buddy at night.... doing quiet time at 5 30am when you have to fall in at 5 40am hahah

Come Holy Spirit...

Hello guys, back to blog...

As you all know, I was not able to book out last week due to Field Camp and boy that 6 days in the Jungle is sure a pain!! But I really thank God that it's fnally over.

Some people say that it is very easy to lose your Faith in the army because of the harsh and the 'not so Churchy' environment and people you will meet in the camp. As for me, the past few weeks in army have made me Grow both Physically (The half left Knock it down will really work those Mucles I tell you) , Mentally (If you cannot take the punishment from your commanders like a man, You'll proberly have a mental breakdown) but also Spiritually.

God have been very faithful to me in camp, my section have escape many many punishments over this few weeks and God is always trying to show me in many different ways that He is with me in camp all this while.

Since my last book in, I was really fearful of my 12km route march and field camp. Fearful that i won;t be able to take the long 6 days in the jungle. I remembered praying to God that night to pull me through this period and the song Come Holy Spirit (not the City Harvest version but the 1986 version) just filled my mind and every morning i will be singing that song as my morning prayer.

"Come Holy Spirit, Fall Afresh On Me. Fill Me With Your Power, Satisfiy My Needs. Only You Can Make Me Whole, Give Me Strength To Make Me Grow. Come Holy Spirit, Fall Afresh On Me"

Yes, God has satisfied all my needs in the jungle, gave me the strength to finish my field camp and 12km route march. (I remember I almost died for my 8km route march, but this time it's only after the 10km march that i started to feel the pains).

So Guys, a worship song is nothing but a nice tune and words, unless you really make it a deep, sincere, heartfelt prayer to God. And God really take our deep, sincere, heartfelt prayer very seriously.

Kitkat Bro


P.S. I just bought the planetshakers latest Album "All For Love" and you won't believe what Track 1o is. Enjoy the song..

i may be struck down but i am NOT DESTROY!

Brothers, sharing what the Lord has spoken to me.. Give thanks for all your encouragement and may i be a blessing to you by being a "jonathan" in your lives. Enjoy reading.. =)

Before i prepare myself for another exciting sunday service, i always asked myself if i can still remember what was been preached without any aid from any notes or reference. This is to really test myself if i really captured what God is trying to speak to me by heart and not memory. Because if you capture it in your heart, you not only will not forget but also apply it too! "Resurrection Power!!" came into my mind.. and yes, that's what i captured in my heart..

There are so many things happening that i can hardly take a break of not thinking and seeking help for God to speak to me in wisdom and direction. Things too overwhelming that i really feel like dying, stop thinking and don't be bothered! But i can't!!! i know i cannot and simply i just cannot!! Because God knows me and i know God. I do not want to be rich bcoz being poor will i have Jesus always in my mind.. I do not want to be wise in knowledge bcoz it may cause me to die my feelings for God.. i do not want to live long life without meaning and purpose in life bcoz i want you Lord..

Things happening in ministry.. boys not coming, one want to leave, some i know they are struggling in sins.. Things in NTU, people may be unsure about why they need to be in the open cell, leaving or even not coming at all.. Things in family, howcome i just cannot get my parents' approval after working so hard!! These are matters that always struck me down, make me helpless..

For ministry, i scare not bcoz my number in cell or cell attendance decreases but i may become selfish and lose the heart for the lost. For NTU, i scare not bcoz why people is not committed but we leaders cannot be clear of sight what God wants us to do. For famly, i scare not bcoz not being accepted nor approved by my parents but when can my whole family come into salvation.. No matter what, i am NOT DESTROYED!! bcoz i have JESUS!! i have the resurrection power through Him! =)

John 10:17-18
"The reason my Father loves me is that i lay down my life-only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but i lay it down of my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command i received from my Father."

Prayer:
Father, i am already dying to my self and my own desire. Really tired and cannot make it already. Only You can make me whole. So please give me strength to move and to keep on giving. i am not superman i know. But unless a kernel of wheat dies, it shall only remain as a seed. i want to be fruitful for You! not bcoz of numbers You send me to lead and change but bcoz You will use me to glorify and testify that You truly are the bread of life! i choose to lay down my life for You so that You may lift me up together with You. God, You're my resurrection power!!

AMEN!!

The Victory over the evil of the world

Hey all.... Good Morning.. its VaZe here....

i wanna share with u a new devotion i have here... Its a powerful one, i assure u... These scriptures which i gonna share with u ppl really pulled me out of the mud when i hit the lowest points of my life.... I wanna this to be a great encouragement to u ppl when u are facing the downs of ur lives....

Wat are some of the downs of my life:
1. Results nt going ur way... Plenty of hardwork and input, yet, small results. U feel unfair as u think to urself why the earth is this happening? Its nt like i never do anything wat!!

2. People giving u a lot of discouragment - Persecutions from "friends" who mock ur belief, question and insult the faith, parents who dun understand the things u're going thru and blast u with a lot of nagging...

3. U dun seem to be able to rise up to fight the strongholds (sin and temptations). There is a sense of dissapointment, failure and the CMI (cannot make it, cannot overcome it) attitude

Wat the scriptures says:

#1 (From the life of David, the very moment when he challenged Goliath), 1 Sam 17:35:
David said to Goliath, "You have come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom u have defied. This day the Lord will hand u over to me, and I'll strike u down and cut off your head

One of the anchor verses of my life.... Versatile and powerful.... I quote this scripture practically everytime someone tries to shoot down my faith by insulting my faith and when the devil tries to tempt me with any crap and nonsense.... These people and the devil come against me with their spears, javelins and swords, all the physical things that they throw at me... Be it the temptation of the lust of the eye when a skimpy-dressed girl walks by, or the vulgarities hurled, and the jeering by people at my faith.... Yet, i counter all these physical attacks when I apply this Scripture.

I COME AGAINST ALL OF YOU IN THE NAME OF THE LORD GOD ALIMGHTY, WHOSE RIGHT ARM WORKS JUSTICE FOR HIM, WHO WIELD THE IRON SCEPTER OF JUDGMENT, WHOSE WORDS PIERCES THROUGH EVERY DIVIDING SOUL AND SPIRIT, JOINTS AND MARROW.... SO NOW, THE LORD IS GONNA LIFT ME UP AGAINST THIS TEMPTATIONS AND INSULTS, AND IN HIS NAME I WILL EXTERMINATE ALL THESE FALSE ARGUMENTS THAT TRIES TO SET ITSELF UP AGAINST ME AND THE LORD!!

yup!!! When u start to quote scriptures to fight back the crap thrown to u by the devil, its very effective as the words from the scriptures are the very Holy words of God, spoken by Him, imbued with His Spirit. From Ephesians 6, the word of God is the sword of the Spirit, the one hit KO weapon much stronger than the nuclear missile or hydrogen bomb... So start spiritual warfare with power drawn from His word!!!

Voice of Truth Part II

Hey all, i know its been very long since i last blog, was busy studying for prelims in 2 weeks time....

Ok, continuing with the Voice of Truth, we read from 1Kings 19:11-14 that God send a powerful wind before him to shatter the rocks (otherwise known as a hurricane), followed by an earthquake then fire....

As i sought the Lord wat's this is all about, i had a revelation and insight into the matter....

First, this hurricane, earthquake and fire are destructive elements that can easily take the life of any man away.... This clearly proves the supreme holiness of the Lord, a holiness that comes with reverence and judgment...

From Hebrews 12: (v18) You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; (v19) to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, (v20) because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." (v21) The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."

Second, these 3 elements can also represent the storms of our lives.... Notice that after the 3 elements, God came to Elijah in a gentle whisper... This is so in line with our daily lives, where the "hurricanes, fire and earthquakes" which are our daily life and problems seems to draw our attention away. Yet Elijah knew these things were nt the voice of God until the gentle whisper came.

In fact, sometimes when we really wanna seek the Lord, we may encounter these fires, hurricanes and earthquakes that act as a test and obstacle ordained by God to test the integrity or substance of our walk... Yet, with the obstacles in place, God never fails to come to us in the end to help us and to teach us. This is the same as Job, where everything is taken from him to test him, and in the end God spoke to Job and affirmed his actions and faith, thus rewarding him with so much more in return.

In conclusion, I admit that it is really difficult to tune our ears to hear the gentle whisper of God in the midst of our busy lives... Yet, when we are convicted and really make an effort to seek Him, our walk with Him will grow exponentially, and after some time, we will find it much easier to integrate God into our daily lives, and have a much larger capacity to deal with the sticky situations of our lives without feeling stretched out and torn....