Saturday, September 30, 2006
11:47 am
To all visitors: This blog is being 'time-capsuled' and will not be regularly updated anymore. We will be setting up new blogs for the new groups that we are in.
Thank you for visiting. God Bless! =)
You were blessed by EJ
Saturday, September 09, 2006
2:58 pm
West Area YFC Meeting, 9/9. Speaker: Pastor Sim Kay Tee, RBC Ministry
Topic: How much do you Love me? (Adapted)
Why do we spend our time, energy and money on Christian stuff, like going for Prayer Meetings, Church Services, and Evangelism when all that time could be used for something more "useful" Every hour which we spend in church is time which could be used to say, study or relax or do a number of other worthy causes. And if we search in us, all of us would probably be able to say that its because we love God.
Passage used: John 12, Parallel Passage: Mark 14.
The story is not unfamilar to us. Jesus was having dinner with Simon the Leper when Mary came and broke an Abalesta Vase of Perfume made from Lard on Jesus and let down her hair. The back drop is equally familar. Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead and the Pharasees are now plotting to kill Jesus. There is even a reward for those who gave information regarding where to find Jesus.
So lets examine a 3 characters in the story. First, there is Simon the Leper and Lazarus. They were risking much by having dinner with Jesus, because Jesus was wanted. It may seem to be a stupid thing to do, but they were willing to pay the price for following Christ.
But the main story is about Mary. It is said that the flask is worth about a year's wages. Translated to today's terms, it could mean about $12 000 on a conservative estimate. We should also note that it is probably Mary's most precious possession (in all sense of the word, Monetary value, emotional value etc). This is because a young girl like her probably don't have much. This could be what was prepared for Mary's wedding. Yet she gave it up for Jesus. Now the question is, are we prepared to do the same? What is your Abalesta Flask?
The other thing which Mary did was to let down her hair. This provoked strong responses. Judas for example, said that the money could be put to better use. Judas is a classic example of a person who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. Yes, the Flask may be worth a year's wages, but when it was given to Christ, it is priceless. One worthy question we should ask is perhaps Is there a Price to Love? How much are we willing to pay to follow Jesus? We had already started to pay the price by going to church, by giving offering and etc. But what is our limit? Perhaps we should consider the passage in Matthew 10:37 which says :" He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. " (MKJV). Following the footsteps of Jesus will inevitably lead to the cross.
Mary was able to see this opportunity to bless Jesus because she was sensitive to Christ. After this dinner, there is little chance to do such things again, for Jesus was swiftly betrayed and crucified. The other diciples did not realise that Christ was about to go to the cross. Peter for instance, said that he would not allow Jesus to be taken. But Mary understood that the cross was where Christ had to go to. Activity is not a mark of spiritual Maturity. We may have many ministries and still miss the point. Rather, it is the sensitivity to what Jesus is telling us that is important. Which is why our daily devotion and relationship with Jesus is so important. Are we sensitive to what Jesus says?
Be Thou my Vision (Part)
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
Really? Are we prepared to heed not riches? Who among us is ready to go full time or into mission work the moment Jesus Calls? That question is perhaps a little less relavant to me as a student. But upon some reflection, I realised that there is at least one Jar of perfume I am quite unwilling to pour out. It may or may not be the most precious, but it is what comes to my mind. If Christ calls me to leave my education and do something else, I don't think I would be able to do so. I would rationalise, and promise to be more active in school, and church and so on, but I don't think I would be able to go. I know, I know, and I know that God has a plan if He calls me in such a way. But there is a difference between knowing such a plan and actually trusting in it. (Please note that I am not saying that God had called me to do something like that, its just an example of something I will not give up on yet).
As such, I hope we would not be so quick to say that we are ready to give our all to Jesus. That may be true for some, and well and good; but among the rest of us, it will just be a mark of pride or ignorance. What is the most dear, most treasured in your life? Will you give it up if Christ tells you to do so? Will you give it up even if there seems to be no explicit plan after that?
Count the cost. Then hopefully, we will decide to pay it anyway.
Lord, please give us Faith.
You were blessed by P{ZM}
Saturday, September 02, 2006
11:53 pm
Night Cycling 06 was a success! Praise God! =)This was our zone's 3rd ever night cycling 'tour', and it was testimony of God's goodness and many answered prayers once again. From East Coast Park to Changi Airport to SAF Ferry Terminal to Changi Village to Tampines to Bedok Reservoir to Kaki Bukit to Marine Parade and back to East Coast, I believe that God was with us all the way. Thank God for all the answered prayers: The weather was good. I noticed that there were huge rain clouds forming far out at sea when we were back at East Coast in the morning, so thank God for keeping those clouds back. Everyone returned safely too, so we maintained our '0 accidents, 0 injuries' record for the 3rd time running! =) Many invited friends came too. Finally, I want to testify that God answered prayer and healed me! Cyrus would know about this because I sms-ed him to keep me in prayer. I actually had a headache after work yesterday and it was one of the last things I wanted since I was supposed to be the front rider last night. It would have been dangerous. It got better before leaving the house but I still brought along panadol as a precaution. As it turned out, the headache was fully gone when I reached East Coast and it didn't return for the entire night. I didn't need to take the panadol at all. Praise God! =)Finally, just wanna say 'Well done!' to Cyrus and Joel for organizing the event!
31 riders + 6 helpers at Bedok Reservoir
P.S.: If you're reading this and you're from Bethesda Cathedral's youth group, we were the other big group of cyclists at East Coast Recreation Centre heh.
You were blessed by EJ
Thursday, August 31, 2006
2:51 pm
Happy Teacher's Day!!
Daniel 12: 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
You were blessed by P{ZM}
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
12:45 am
Hope everyone had a good start to the week today! I did =) We had a a professional imaging course in the office =p Everyone picked up quite a number of important pointers on personal grooming. Maybe we should have something similar in church someday soon, hee. It might be more appropriate to call it a 'Church Imaging Workshop', haha. I found out today that I need to wear a tie in my office everyday... arghhh =p
Anyway, the new cell structure was announced on Saturday. I'm not sure if it has sunk in fully for everyone yet... but the reality is that some of us will regularly be in new cell groups very soon. I am thinking of what to do with this blog, since our new cells will probably have new blogs. I have considered some options, but if you have any suggestions, please let me know by the end of this week k?
In the meantime, here's an advertisement for the night cycling outing! =)
You were blessed by EJ
Sunday, August 27, 2006
9:36 pm
Hi everyone!
I'm back from Penang! I thank God for a pleasant 5 days there =) We had lectures in the day for the first 4 days and our evenings were free. As such, we would tour the city in our self-organized groups once the day ended at 5.30pm. My table won the Logo & Cheer and Presentation competitions heh. The only one we missed out on was the technical knowledge competition, for which we came in 2nd. The food was good and plentiful (buffet breakfast and lunch, and 2 tea breaks a day with food. In other words, we ate ALOT, haha). I got to try some of the well-known Penang dishes too, of which the 'Penang Char Kway Teow' was the yummiest. Must try if you get to visit Penang!
Here comes the best part heh. I managed to share the Gospel with a new colleague, and I actually got to do so on the monday morning flight to Penang! =) She's open to Christianity, but would prefer to remain a Buddhist at the moment, partly because her whole family is Buddhist too. I hope to share more with her soon. I got to meet unchurched believers among my colleagues also during the trip, and I hope to invite them to join us for cell/service soon. Last but not least, God also gave me a few opportunities to engage in a spiritual conversation with me roommate, who is also open to Christianity but not ready to follow Jesus yet.
It was a memorable trip and I can confidently say that prayers were being answered throughout the 5 days, praise God! =) If you had been praying for me, I wanna say THANK YOU! This thought kept ringing through my mind while I was there, and I hope we'll all think about it too. Here's the thought: "I am a Christian first, and everything else is second."
Team AXECEL: My table-mates and I with our winning logo. Its quite simple, so we were actually quite surprised that we won. The bosses seemed to like it though, possibly because its meant to communicate that 'we want to excel in everything that we do'.
That's me in my 'street-fighter' attire for the skit heh. I'm wearing the bath-robe from the hotel room, haha (its clean and unused hoh!). In the foreground are some props that we used.
You were blessed by EJ
Sunday, August 20, 2006
11:37 pm
Hey everyone! I'll be away from Mon morning till Fri night this coming week for company training =) Yup, starting work liao! =pPlease keep me in prayer over the following areas:1. Travel safety;2. Leave a gd impression;3. Chances to make good friends; 4. Opportunities to share the Gospel.Thank you! I will praying for you guys too with the requests that you sent in! Take care and see all of you again soon! =)P.S.: I would still be reachable via e-mail at least I think.
You were blessed by EJ
