Sand, Sea and Rain??

Went for my first formal outing with the Punggol boys and it sure was a wet one! Still thot I could get some Vitamin E but it turned out that it was drizzling the whole day through. Nonetheless, we had our fun of basketball, frisbee, swimming and "turtle-making".

Boys having so much fun making a mascot for me... wahahhaha...

Version 1 and Final version of my mascot. I prefer the first one though...

Final group photo! (Minus Yaoqi who helped with the photo taking)

Looking back, after having fun with nature and visiting to the National Geographic store at Vivo with YQ (It's a pretty cool place to go to.), the earth is indeed amazing. But yet there are still some who thinks that the world existed by chance. Now, THAT is amazing...

reactive vs reflective

The speaker on Sunday was just mentioning a truth which is so simple and common yet a needful reminder for me as a Christian. He said,

"We need to be reflective Christians, not reactive ones.."

How true it is for us to only turn to God when we need help or when something goes wrong in our life and we need comfort, direction or assurance from God. At least it is true for me. As I think about the time I spent in the army during reservist, everything went well so there wasn't a consious effort to keep myself close and sensitive to God. I thank God for helping me realize that I have drifted away from Him over the past month simply because I was not consious to spend time reading His Word. How dangerous this is! Just 2 weeks away from ministry and the company of Christians can throw me off my balance. My pastor shared this simple example he heard from someone else. He said:

"Our Christian life is like a car located in a country with four seasons. During seasons of warmth, an occasional start up of the engine will keep the car in good condition. But during the colder season, there is a need to mantain the discipline of starting the car engine everyday, in order to not cause the engine to be frozen and have water seeping into the engine, finally causing the whole engine to fail when we do need to use it."

The discipline of studying the Bible must be maintained at all cost. Though it can be tough to do so in the "colder seasons" of my life, but the moment I choose to lax on this area, that is when my engine has the potential to fail me. I guess this short experience taught me what I will need to look out for if I am to going to be studying or working outside next time.

sobriety

I attended my army mate's birthday party yesterday and almost got to fulfill one of my childhood dream in the process. That is to get involved in a "Gang Fight" and beat the daylights out of someone. To cut the story short, though there were a lot of hustle and verbal exchanges, thankfully the matter did not blow out of proportion and we left the place in one piece. Though I say I want to experience what it's like to be in a "gang fight", there was a moment yesterday where I wanted to just fade away, disappear and not get into trouble. But I realized that I shouldn't because they are my army mates. So rather than run away, which is so irresponsible, I stayed to try to ease the tension.

But what really intrigued me about this whole incident is the power of alcohol. A overdose of this liquid can give one much courage to do things one usually won't do because the power of reasoning is lowered, or sometimes, not even there. We would normally hesitate to do something wrong because we consider the consequences. But alcohol takes those considerations and throw them out of the window. This reminds me of what was shared during PlayMax. Fun is something we all want, but it is not everything and cannot replace the more important things in life. If in the process of pursuing fun, we compromise our values and principles, we are going to find ourselves getting into loads of trouble.

So I guess the take away for me from this incident is the need to make sober decisions. It need not be alcohol. Sometimes peer pressure, man's approval, lust for certain things, can cause me to make decisions that are not sober. And by the time I realize it's a mistake, it can be too late sometimes. That's why the Bible always tells us to be alert, because the devil is like a lion, prowling around us and waiting for the opportunity to pounce on us once we let our guard down.

THINK BEFORE I ACT!!!

blessings

^{Eph 1:3}Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

During service today, the speaker was sharing on how Moses pronounced the different blessings to the 12 tribes of Israel. As a Christian, God has also pronounced blessings to all who believe in His Name. As Eph 1:3 says, we are blessed with EVERY spiritual blessings. I ask myself. Do I really believe in that verse? Though I may be able to say it out, I guess I have hardly lived it out.

The issue is really one of contentment. Am I contented with what God has given to me in my life? Sad to say, nope. I find myself striving to have the best I can have (within my capabilities of cos) then settle for the bare minimuim. Take my wanting to buy a bike as an example. Why do I want to get a bike? For transport. Now if that is the reason, can I settle for a Honda Wave? Which is often identified with old uncles. I find myself wanting the cooler Gilera Runner, which sure looks cooler but costs more as well. This is but one example of how I want better and more stuff and try to kid myself by thinking that I have good reasons to buy that particular thing. The truth is I've been caught up in the worldy pursuit of possessions in this life. It's a hard reality but it's nonetheless the truth.

What's left now is for me to take a step back each time before I make a purchase and really think whether the purchase is for the meeting of my needs or it's to meet my needs AND blah blah blah... I guess I can really save up a lot if I am tighter in this area. Can't complain that I dun have savings when I am not careful with how I spend my money. Thank God I don't earn a lot. I can imagine the struggle a high earning person will have if he/she is not careful to watch this part of their lives...

David vs. Saul

David sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba and plotting to kill Uriah. Saul sinned by disobeying God's commands time and again. Both confessed their sins when approached by the priest. Yet David was forgiven but Saul was not. Why? The difference lies in the motivation that moved them to confess and repent. Saul repented as he was afraid that his kingship was in danger. But David repented because he knows that it is against God whom he have done wrong against.

I asked myself. Why will I feel guilty when I've done something wrong? The truth is I am often more afraid of the response I will get from the person I are confessing to and concerned about how that person will look at me, then to the fact that I am sinning against the God Most High. For example, when I turn up late for a meeting or appointment, do I feel guilty? I will, depending on the person who is waiting and the nature of the meeting. But shouldn't I feel guilty because I have not kept my word and was irresponsible to ensure that I was on time? Am I then not inconsistent in my principles? This is just one example of how in my response to things, it showed my inconsistency and areas of weakness.

I guess God shed some light on the issue that have been bugging me over the past few weeks through this. I will need to learn to ask and challenge my responses in order to grow in sensitivity to His Will and then I will be able to point put issues I need to work on. The day I stop questioning will be the day I stop growing. As God showed me this truth while I was preparing for team meeting and spending time evaluating my life during my ICT, I thank God for teaching me this once again, as if to tell me to give a good hard look at this aspect of my life if I am to grow in my walk with Him.