My flesh & heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart & my portion forever!


Sunday, December 07, 2008

Tragedy revisits!

Flattened houses, buckled roads, uplifted vehicles, uprooted mature trees, fallen electric poles and layers of mud and debris marked the carnage that left many injured, crying, in shock and in fear of more landslides.

Among the heart wrenching stories are that of a father who tracked his son down in the rubble by calling him on his mobile phone only to find his hand sticking out still holding onto the phone; a mother who rushed in to save her son but lost her life; and a mother of a two-month-old baby who perished while the baby survived.- The star 7th Dec 2008

Hearing this news really made my heart sank deeply. Firstly, I rejoice and thank God for His faithfulness & His protection over my family. Really thank God that it happened about a kilometer away from our place, thank God that it happened at a time where my family weren’t on their way down the hill, I thank God that we are saved – the entire household.

On the other hand, my prayers are with those who became the victim of such disaster. It became something so common now… heavy rain & landslide – it got to be Bukit Antarabangsa. Lives are robbed away by an event that took place for few minutes. Houses and families torn apart. The extent of love of the mothers reaching out to save their kids. Just pray that God’s peace and comfort will be with these families. Pray for strength and unity that rest deep in their hearts.

Just reminded of this verse:-

Joh11: 25Jesus said to her, I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live; 26And whoever continues to live and believes in (has faith in, cleaves to, and relies on) Me shall never [actually] die at all. Do you believe this?

Salvation & eternal life through Jesus Christ!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Seasons of Love


Really blessed by this song! As my year coming to an end, it really spoke to me what has my year been measured of... What has 2008 been filled with? Did I share His love? Give love? Spread His love? 525,600 minutes in a year, how much of it is filled with His love??


All:
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Moments so dear
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure - Measure A Year?
In Daylights - In Sunsets
In Midnights - In Cups Of Coffee
In Inches - In Miles
In Laughter - In Strife

In - Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure
A Year In The Life?

How About Love?
How About Love?
How About Love?
Measure In Love

Seasons of Love.
Seasons of Love.

Joanne:
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Journeys To Plan

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand
Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure The Life
Of A Woman Or A Man

Collins:
In Truth That She Learned
Or In Times That He Cried
In Bridges He Burned
Or The Way That She Died

All:
It's Time Now - To Sing Out
Though The Story Never Ends
Let's Celebrate
Remember A Year In The Life Of Friends

Remember the Love
Remember the Love
Remember the Love
Measure In Love

Joanne:
Oh you got to you got to remember the love,
You know that love is a gift from up above
Share love, give love, spread love
Measure, measure your life in love.

ALL
Seasons Of Love(2x)

Joanne:
Measure your life, measure your life in love

Monday, September 08, 2008

Winning the invinsible war!

I was just recapturing the thoughts that Chuen shared with me the other night with one of my urban life member…

We initially planned to have a girls’ outing – playing basketball, among our Urban Life girls last Sunday. However, due to some challenges, it was cancelled! My friend asked me, “Why whenever we plan something for the girls, it always didn’t turn out…”

Here’s the thing…

The work of enemy, the world & our flesh are constantly battling against us – churches are prosecuted & mocked, believers that are ridiculed or insulted, ministry constantly facing challenges & obstacles… the list goes on. But if all these don’t happen, it shows that the church is unknown or unheard. Our ministry is not sound. The enemy doesn’t think it’s worth his time trying to put away or bring down what God is trying to do in this world. The enemy sees that the church is weak enough, hence he doesn’t need to do anything but just sit back & watch as the church fades away from the eye of the world.

But if the enemy is making every effort to bring down, to stop, to oppress the work of God that churches & believers try to do – trying to bring the message of reconciliation in Jesus Christ, it shows that we are doing the right thing! We are heading the right decision! We are fighting the right fight! We are claiming whatever that is rightfully ours (given by God)!

We can’t just give up, or feel discourage we just face a few strikes from the enemy; we gotta keep defending & attacking back until we claim everything that belongs to God & ours! & we are not doing it alone, but God is with us & for us til the very end! So, DON’T GIVE UP! Kick off the thoughts of negativities, the thoughts that says “Someone’s can do a better job” “I am so lousy” “I’m hindering others’ growth” but put on the helmet that Jesus has given us – helmet of salvation.

Phil4:8 (Msg) Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Zeal & Passion for God!

Rom12:11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Joh2:17… “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”


“What is your passion?”

“Is your passion God?

“Is God’s passion your passion?”

“Is your passion serving God?”

“Is your passion hot?”

What is the condition of your heart when comes to God & His Kingdom? Is it still burning fervently or is the fire fading away?

Sunday, August 24, 2008

He comforts me!

Been in peadiatrics rotation for 4 weeks now. Seriously, I’m considering it as a carrier option 2nd to General Surgery. Kids are just so wonderful. Even though they are not well, they are jumping around, feeling happy, just playing… It is such a “naïve” yet pure attitude. As long as their parents are there with them, they are comforted! Just sitting at their parents’ lap, hugging them & having their parents carrying them around or sleep with them – that’s enough! They feel safe in their parents’ presence!

What about us? Do we find comfort from our Father in heaven? Or do we seek comfort elsewhere – friends, partners, studies, success, items, video games, tv… Well these stuff offer temporal comfort & relaxation, but do we want something temporal or something eternal? A comfort that will last, that never fades nor empties, that is constantly fresh & overflowing???

2cor1: 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

But this verse says God is a God of compassion – He understands what we go through, what we face, how we feel, how many challenges we have to overcome – He feels for us, & not just that, He has a solution!!! Cause He is a God of all comfort!! The word here is ALL!!! A-L-L!!! This means, He has all the solution!!! All we need to do is be like a child, sit on His lap, embrace Him, rest in His hands, and let Him take your weight, let Him pat your back…

He called us children… but do we acknowledge Him as our Father?

Friday, August 01, 2008

This is Our Story, This is Our Song!

Due to popular demand (popular being loosely defined as 2 requests), Wen Hao and I have decided to share a bit about the journey which ultimately led to Facebook presenting us as “in a relationship”. Ah, the joys of facebook. The number of congratulatory wall posts we received 1.2 seconds after our changes in status were flattering indeed and thus we feel it is only fair that we give the 2 people what they want (our story).

Seriously though, the reason we’ve decided to do this is really to give thanks to God without which none of this would have happened. As we sat back and reflected (along the banks of Torrens River, pausing every 30 seconds to protect [me : “WARGH IT IS GOING TO PECK ME SAVE THE MUFFINS!!– because they are awesome” wh : “SHOO!” *does not work so we move to another patch of grass* X3 ] our muffins and ourselves from black swans and pigeons ahh sweet memories indeed) on 5 years of friendship prior to this, we couldn’t help but marvel at how much we’ve grown as individuals, at how we never quite expected this to happen and yet it did at just the right time. We’ve each had our own fair share of living, tainted with experiences good and bad. And through it all, we see God’s hand at work guiding our every step just as He continues to do today. A lot of life’s lessons we learn in retrospect, and though we know we have a long way to go as far as this relationship is concerned, our hope is that by sharing some of the things we’ve learnt and experienced thus far, you dear reader, will be blessed and most importantly, that we will be able to give God the glory that He fully deserves.

The Beginning

We cannot quite pinpoint when things started to change between us. All we know is that sometime in the beginning of this year, something changed.

Chuen – And to be quite honest, I freaked out a little for no other reason than the fact that this was him. We’d been good friends for so long and were pretty good at it too. We always joke about how our friendship started over a cup of bubble tea. Which is a story for another day. (It basically involved him thinking I was a nutjob whose only highlight of the day apart from making it to class on time without getting a parking ticket in the process was bubble tea from MAC Centre.) But I digress. Maybe it was because I suddenly realized that hey, here’s a guy, one of my best friends, who shares my interests, listens, encourages and best of all, shares my heart when it comes to the things of God. Everything I’ve always wanted and prayed for in a man. My man, to be specific. Experience has taught me to never act on anything (especially something of this magnitude) without first thinking and praying it through. That and also the fact that when it comes to love and relationships I come from the 19th century school of thought where chivalry was the norm and girls were meant to be seen not heard, the pursued and not the pursuer. And so I did (thought and prayed that is)

I can’t possibly continue this without first saying that the past 18 months in Adelaide have possibly been the best yet in terms of my walk with God. I’d like to think of 2007 as my Year of Self Discovery. Where God brought me on a journey that started right from the basics of my Christian faith. Where He reminded me once again of my identity as a Child of the Most High God. That I was created with love, and made for a purpose. That though life on earth will never be without trouble, through even the worst of times, God’s love for me will never change, His power absolute. With that said, I prayed (and ok, questioned as well because I was naturally worried that this was just a passing thing) and distinctly remembered telling God that my conviction lies in the fact that He loves me, knows my heart and therefore knows just the right one for me. And that was that. I was very deliberate about telling no one in the beginning for a few reasons, chief of which were – I had to at least be sure of what I was feeling and I really just wanted to hopefully hear from God without any external influence that may subconsciously affect my view of things. Understand that I am in no way propagating that we are our best counsels and that accountability bears no importance. I have to stress that this was during the earliest possible stage of our whole (or rather mine at this point) journey. Think of it as the equivalent of the blastocyst stage in the human embryonic development. (yikes just realized what a totally geeky analogy that was. Obs and gynae was my last big rotation la ok) So anyway, not long after, I shared this with someone whom I knew would pray along with me. And so we did.

Wen Hao - I am constantly reminded of the time in A Levels where we were waiting for our lab session to start. It was noon time and at that moment I began to spark a conversation with her – the girl who was always running late for classes yet always managed to grab hold of a bubble tea in between classes.

Little did I know of what would happen from A Levels to IMU to now – she’s continuing her medical degree in Adelaide & I am in Melbourne. Our relationship grew from mere classmates to close friends to best friends – where we share hearts & thoughts together, and now God has put us in a journey of courtship. I’m truly blessed by our courtship now. I remember the early days in college when I had a crush on her, but she was attached to a friend from church, and the feelings faded away. Although their relationship ended more than a year ago, it was never in my mind that it is possible to take our friendship to another level – simply because we were so close. But God had another plan in His mind, & I thank Him so much for bringing us through a personal journey of discovering each other since early this year. I was told by a friend that if we each fixed our eyes on God, it will be like a triangle, and we will soon meet under His covering! But if we fix our eyes on each other, we will leave God out of the triangle & we step out of His canopy of love. After all, He is love & only in Him, will we truly understand & discover the real meaning of love.

The In-Between

Chuen – Picking up where I left off, I was at this stage still doing what I knew best to do. Praying and constantly reminding myself that if this was something approved by God, all I had to do was continue seeking Him and allowing Him to speak into my life. (Bear in mind that up to this stage and actually right till the end, none of us had mentioned anything regarding the issue of “us” for, as we later found out, much the same reason – we didn’t want to ignite anything prematurely or in wh’s words, “let my heart rule over my head”) I truly thank God for showing me through relevant people in the bible that every God ordained journey no matter what the destination always, always, starts, continues and ends with growth. So no matter what the outcome, we still win. With that in mind, I made the decision to focus and pray not for the end result, but rather to fix my thoughts and eyes on Jesus, the One in whom my total dependence lies. Where 2007 was my Year of Self Discovery, 2008 so far has been and I believe will continue to be my Year of Revelation. It’s amazing how many things I’ve learnt over the past year through my own time with God, church, connect group and just life, in general. It’s like everywhere I turn, I feel God revealing something to me in the form of new perspectives and revelations, to name a few. My faith has been stirred and challenged on so many levels that at times it’s all I can do to keep from bursting into song and praise at the grace and power of my God.

Wen Hao – Throughout these 5 years, our friendship has grown from strength to strength. In the early days I wasn’t a Christian, and I remember the times when she tried to share with me how amazing God’s love is (but I was not convinced by it. You see, I grew up in a Buddhist family – even then I did not practice that religion). This perception shifted mid 2004 when I accepted Jesus into my life. I remember calling her that night and hearing her screaming with joy on the other side of the line just tells me how much my salvation brings gladness & joy to her. In the early days, when my parents found out I accepted Christ they were upset about the decision. The response wasn’t what I’d expected – instead of rejoicing with me, there were arguments & I remember the times where she & Chris stood by me – constantly comforting me & helping me to lean more on God & believing God will open my parents’ hearts.

True enough, now seeing how my parents allow & encourage me to be involved in church, and hearing them saying “God bless!” & asking me about church when I was in Melbourne, the testimony stands strongly that God has shifted my family’s heart to a new dimension. Sometime this year, at camp God gave me a personal vision of my family’s salvation, and I called her immediately, & hearing her say “I’ve been praying for your family since day 1” touched my heart immensely. I thank God for such a faithful & loving friend!

The feelings started early this year. In fact it was triggered by my friend saying “You want your best friend to be your partner” & having Chris saying “If you have a girlfriend in the future, both of you can’t be as close anymore.” I prayed about it, and said to myself, “I’ll wait till mid April to decide”… I spent time asking leaders & considering their advice, reading books about courtship, fasting & praying about this relationship. Throughout this period, we stayed in touch via the internet & phone, and somehow got even closer. At the same time, she mentioned that there’s someone in her heart & she has been praying about him. Inside me, I sorta “guess” it was me since she never wanted to reveal who this person really is (that’s really unlikely for her since we share a lot together) We agreed to reveal it to each other when we meet again… Come April, a friend advised me to wait till I go over to Adelaide in July. I decided to take that step & prayerfully hoped that God would groom us to complement each other and grow us to be mature enough to enter into a courtship. AND HE DID IT FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS!

The Now

Wen Hao - It is 7.30am as I land in Adelaide for the 2nd time. It is Tuesday morning, and I can see many different people walking around – some rushing off for business meetings, some returning home from trips & others are like me, visiting! While waiting for her, my thoughts brought me to the phone call I made to KL the night before. I told my parents I was going to ask hers. Although mum said it’s unnecessary, since relationship only involves 2 parties, but I felt it was essential – knowing that her family loves her alot; and it matters to ask for their blessings. Thank God for the APPROVAL! – I passed the most difficult stage J (Chuen : Earning 100 brownie points from the parents in the process)

I never really came out with ideas or a “plan” as to how I was gonna ask her to be my girlfriend. In my heart, I knew the moment was gonna come naturally during my stay in Adelaide. I intended to ask her the following morning over breakfast, since she decided to make pancakes – by the way, it’s the BEST pancakes I’ve had! No doubt!!! (Chuen : HAH TAKE THAT CHUN PENG! HAHA ) It didn’t really work out (Chuen : for reasons that will remain between the Villagers and Chun Peng HAHA), but as I was flipping through the Adelaide map over breakfast, I realized there was a botanical garden over there. She suggested we should drop by after her hospital visit, and I felt that was it!!! So, while cruising along the evening lights at the garden, we brought up the commitment that we had & I told her the person that I’ve been praying about is her! And that’s how it started! A side bench at botanical gardens during a beautiful evening setting in Adelaide town!!! Something that she said stayed in my heart, “Even if you had asked me in April, I would have said “yes”, but I know it won’t be the same as this time. The wait was worth it!” Now I know the time is right! I am at peace about this decision, my leaders & our parents have given their blessings, & friends who know us well congratulate us… It tells me the time is right! Even as we reflect on our friendship over the years as we had breakfast along Torrens River, we agreed that God’s preparation & timing is perfect. It’s our core belief that God is gonna be in the centre of this relationship & we hope that our journey can be a compass that points our friends to Jesus – the Author & Perfector of our faith!

Chuen - So yea, fast forward a few months and here we are. We look back and rejoice over what we have now and all that we have learnt and grown into in the process. Our journeys individual and together are far from over and just like how we surrendered our lives to God the day we made the decision to live for Him and not ourselves, we surrender this too. We may not know what the future holds, but we know and fully trust in the One who does. So at this juncture, what do we do knowing that we’ve only just begun, believing that greater things are yet to come yet acknowledging that our future lies not in our hands? We stick to what we know to do – to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. We entrust and surrender our lives daily to the One who knows our inmost being and loved us enough to suffer for our sins, loving us still today and we try as best we can to live our lives according to the purposes of God hoping that in the process, people may look at us individually and together as living testimonies of God’s love and grace. Because we’ve had a taste of how God has touched and changed our lives and believe that in the same way, God can turn your world around too.

So this is our story, this is our song. We’re praising our Saviour, all the day long!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Normal state vs Fundamental state

"When we accept the world as it is (by living in the normal state), we deny our ability to see something better, & hence our ability to be something better. we become what we behold. what is not normal, is embracing the fact that another state exists."

-Prof Quinn (Building the Bridge as You Walk On It)

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Hand & Feet for Jesus!


It has been a fortnight since 2008 Hillsong Conference. It certainly has been a blessing moment for me. God really shaped my character & core being as a whole – enlarging it to prepare the way for His people.

I began this conference, fasting and knowing that God wanna realign my vision… Not knowing most of the speakers that were coming this year, there weren’t any expectations. As the conference begins, God constantly reminded about “JUSTICE” “POVERTY” “COMPASSION”… I know my heartbeat is to reach out to the young people, so the poor & needy never cross my mind. Not that I don’t feel for them, but this issue never compelled me to move “the other side of the road”. I told God, “Yes, I know about these people, tell me more. Enough telling me about them!” I sorta avoid/run away from these 3 words God constantly placed in my heart.

I remembered this pastor mentioning this verse:-

Mat25: 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'


“God’s heart is always with the poor. If you wanna serve God & not involve these people that He cares, You are not serving God!”


That statement spoke to me deeply. God cares for these people so much, and if I wanna serve Him & please Him but not think/care/remember/consider/do something for those who are in needs & living in poverty, I am not serving God. If I sing “break my heart for what break Yours” and not doing so, then God’s heartbeat is not my heartbeat.


Felt that, for now I should just “do” it… If it pleases God, I’ll do so, and I know as I continue to serve Him in this area, I believe He will cultivate this heartbeat in me. He will break my heart & make me fall in love with these people.


Gal2: 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.


This conference speaks to me about “Loving God & Loving His people!” Never less than that. Felt that it is much more impactful than the previous conference, and the conviction really shaped my heart to be more like Him. I thank God for the good start & I am excited to be a hand & feet to extend His kingdom.

Monday, July 07, 2008

Prepare the way!


Mark1: 2It is written in Isaiah the prophet:

"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way"—
3"a voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.'


I am still learning that it is never about me transforming lives, or never about me impacting the lives of others. It is ME MAKING WAY for God to do that. It is ME setting the environment right for God to move. Our part is to path the way for His Spirit to move among the people we lead. Say Urban Life – it is up to us to stir up an atmosphere of praise & worship so that everyone is in such a conducive environment to encounter God. Even trying to reach out to our friends, all we need to do is bring them to church, & let God’s presence impact them.

What are some of the ways that you can prepare for Him to move? A phone call? A house visit? A word of encouragement? Or simply just buying a friend a gift? It’s not always spiritual. It’s just being practical at times and meeting the needs of the people around us.

Something that God really spoken to me lately through Ps Matt – I was telling him that “we can bring the horse to the water, but we can’t make the horse drink” & he says, the key to this statement is “we gotta make the horse really thirsty. Then regardless whether we lead them to the water, they will automatically go around looking for water to drink because they ARE THIRSTY.” I was like SO TRUE!!! Also praying that God will give me to wisdom to this matter.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

He keeps on coming!

Favour, favour, favour!!!

That’s all I can say from our great & awesome God! Why?

I just finished exams last Wednesday and freedom from books, revisions, medicine is really fantastic… Just waking up doing nothing, or walking around the city without studies in my mind… All medical students understand how I feel now.

But let me tell you what happened on my Long case (this is the exam part, where we are required to spend an hour with a patient, find out why they are in the hospital and examine them, then formulate all your information and present the case to 2 doctors and they get to ask you all sort of questions regarding the patient or nothing at all) last Wednesday.

To start off, I left my house at 9.45am for my 11am session. It sounded a lot of time there, since the time to Austin Hospital takes about 40mins, but when I reached the train station, I was 4 mins away before my train arrives. Relieved! Then I look at the next train time, and it’s 30 mins later. I was like, THANK GOD! If I miss this train, I will certainly be late for my exam – which is a big NO NO!

Next, while I was doing my long case, I was interrupted by a social worker for a while. I thought, “Gosh, I’m gonna waste some time here, but anyway, it’s good to hear what she is going to say to the patient” So, I sorta copied down what she mentioned as part of my issues to be discussed later with the examiners. After she left, the invigilator came and told me I have 10 mins left. In my mind, I thought it was time since 1 hour has passed. So, my heart was like “Wohoo!” But this is the funny part; few mins later she returned to tell me that I get extra 5 mins since I was interrupted earlier. I was like, “Common God!” Apparently the other patients in the ward went to complain to my invigilator, asking her to give me more time since it wasn’t fair that I was interrupted. HOW AWESOME IS OUR GOD!

The rest was great as well… My patient was very cooperative. She was clear & given me all the information needed. My examiners, I thought they asked difficult questions which I couldn’t answer some, but overall, thought I went in with confident & answered the questions the best I could. So, yah my Wednesday was just favour after favour from God!

Gen28:15 “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Victorious, I will be!

Psa144:1 Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.

2 He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.


A friend sent me this verse yesterday! Find it so stirring. Trusting God that He has equipped my hands for the past 4 1/2 years for this exams, & He is gonna bring me through the MCQ & patients victoriously! Will draw His strength & immerse in His power as I go through this week!!!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Activate it!

Was replying an email today, and remembered on the famous bible passage about Peter stepping out of the boat!

A lot of times we said “We’re waiting for our destiny, our calling!” “Still asking God what He wants me to do.” “I don’t wanna do the things unless God speaks to me about it.”

Sounds familiar?

But if we continue to remain in the “boat” (at a position that we’re waiting, not stepping out) we will never know or experience what God has in store for us. Likewise, for Peter to fully experience God’s miracle, He has to STEP OUT! Even for the disciples, before Jesus die on the cross, do you think they know what their callings were? I’m sure all they had in mind at that time is to follow Jesus! Follow what He is doing, apply what He is teaching & imitate Him as He imitates God! God’s work only happens if we make the first move. Always been that way! He will reveal to you what your callings/purpose are, but you must first step out & start searching. That’s when faith comes in. We need our faith to be activated to receive our calling.

Mat17:20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

The word little in Hebrew is not less/small or anything. In Hebrew, it is actually “no”!

Look, Jesus said you just need faith as small as mustard seed! Do you need a lot? No! But I believe at that time He is saying “apply your faith into your life!” “IT’S PRACTICAL TIME! YOU’VE HEARD THE THEORY!”

Monday, June 16, 2008

Monday, June 09, 2008

The next level!

Remembered what Ps Rusell shared about moving to the next level.

Luke5: 17One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. 18Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 22Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 24But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 25Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."

This story about Jesus healing the paralytic man as a result of the faith of these 4 men!

If the 4 guys just remain at the same level, the crowd is hindering them from reaching to Jesus (the miracle). But they saw the need to move towards the next level (up the roof, broke the tiles & lowered their friend down), the paralyzed man was healed! Imagine us miss this miracle cause we didn’t see the next level God has set before us.

It’s never an easy journey to move towards the next level… the thought of carrying the paralyzed men up the roof, break the tiles and slowly lower him down without him falling, that’s a tough job. But Jesus sees everything, He bless accordingly. He is pleased to see the faith-stretching moments!

What is your next level that God has set before you?

Are you willing to walk towards it?

Deligence!

Heb6: 10God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12We do not want you to become lazy (in NLT-dull or indifferent, NKJV-sluggish), but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.


This portion of scripture has been ministering to me these few days!

During the exams fever, we tend to get caught up with revisions, deadlines to meet, etc. Our role as a child of God shrinks back to a certain extent… We started having less catch ups, we rush through devotions, hurry off or sometimes skip church to try and study as much as possible in that 2 hours.

But this verse says God knows our position and condition. In the 24 hours, we tried to juggle the time with studies and catching up with people, attend church & meetings, etc. He feels for us when He sees we began to feel overwhelmed or stretched in our ministry.

This verse says He remembers our labor! & God encourages us to keep pressing on, pressing on with His strength to do the things He has called us to do, to minister to the people He has entrusted to us because as we have this “hope made sure” given by God. It reminded me of Ps Shawn’s post regarding faith. In Heb 11:1 Faith is hope made sure!

Now this is not the blind faith others are talking about, but a hope made sure from God that what lies in the future – eternal life & eternal relationship with God!

That’s why it goes on saying that “we should not become lazy or dull or indifferent” – as in we stop doing what we are called to do because of exams. Rather we should imitate those champions like David, Paul, Abraham, Joseph – these people who persevered through trials in their lives with God’s strength and knowing that God is always in control of their situation! Look how God bless them and carry them through all trials! He is able to do that for us today!!!

This scripture is really encouraging. It tells me that despite all circumstances, as long as we trust in Him, things will be fine. God sees and knows and will bless accordingly! Love every bit of the encounter of I have with Him and His people.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Something is happening!!! :-)

3 weeks left to go!

Hrm, somehow really thank God that His peace is constantly within me. Although there is so much to study, so much to improve in my case presentation, but everything seems to be fine when God is in control!

Today, we had our first ever AUSTIN HOSPITAL PRAYER MEETING! One of my course mates told me they are gonna start a prayer meeting where people – Christians/non-Christians alike can come and pray together for our exams. I was like “Cool! I’ll come!”

So, this afternoon, as soon as I finished my lunch, I rushed off to the hospital chapel. My group members were like “Oh! You’re going for the prayer meet. Can you pray for us too?” I was like “Of course!”

Although at the prayer meeting, there were only 4 of us, as we pray for the hospital & the patients, for each other & our exams, felt God’s presence so strongly in our midst. Then one of them said “Let’s just tell the guys in the lecture later about this prayer meeting. Lets all of us go to the front and each say something about this meeting!”

How many people know that I am totally not the “in front of stage making announcement” guy! I was like, er… “God, do you really want me to do that?” Then, felt God saying, “So, are you making a stand for me? If yes, now is the time!” In the end, I did it. Said what I wanna say (which was just telling everyone what we do during prayer meet), and went back to my seat and got ready for the lecture.

Towards the end of the day, one of my group mates asked us, “So, how was prayer meet today?” & we sorta told him it went well, and my friend invited my group mate along for next week’s prayer meeting, and he said “Yah, maybe I would!” How awesome is that!!! God just reminded me that He is at work even in my work area. I never make it an active point to talk to my friends at work much about God, but now God is saying that He is setting the condition right for Him to be made known to the people in this hospital. I’m excited now, and desire to see more and more people turn up for prayer meeting, just to receive His blessings!

Sunday, June 01, 2008

The fire within us!

Someone once said, " If you don't have a passion worthy dying for, you have nothing worth living for. If you are not willing to suffer for something, you really aren't passionate about anything."

I quote this from the Passion Quest blog. What a powerful statement – this statement stir something within me. It somehow realign my direction as I walk my life journey with God.

Like what the blogger said “If you have one, is it worth living/dying for?” Common, this statement is provoking. It somehow brings me to a point where yah, “Am I sold out to the passion that I have?”

So, what is my passion??? I know I love God a lot. I know that it is my desire to see young people rise up, and start believing God for more and trusting Him to take their natural circumstances to a supernatural intervention! I get excited when I see my friends excited about what God is doing in their lives, and what they believe God is about to do. I get stirred when I see them pumped up to do what God has set for each of them. THIS IS MY PASSION – SEEING EACH OF THEM GROW INTIMATELY & SOLD OUT FOR OUR LIVING GOD!

It is a cause worth living for! I believe even as I am called to be a doctor to serve this community, God’s work will work through my career and my interaction with people!

During this season of my finals, I have so much inadequacy! I need so much miracles & interventions. I dunno how but I need God to work through every bit of my life – in my spiritual journey with Him, in my life as a medical student, in my role as a son, in my Urban Life group, in my personal time with my friends – I need You to take control. The time I have is sufficient, but I need You to make it more effective. Bible says, “The more they are oppressed, they more they grew!” I pray the same prayer will work in my life.

During these 4 weeks of time pressing moments, I’m not gonna let it dilute my passion! My passion is gonna grow even more out of the oppression that it is gonna face/facing! It is gonna be 4 weeks filled with God’s favor & intervention! God, You take Your place and do as You please!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

You Reign over me!

Spirit of God,

We cry out for You now

We cry out

Where would we be without You Jesus

Where would we be without You Lord

As church began a new song they recently wrote, the bridge of that song so captured my heartbeat now!

4 weeks away from my finals, 4 weeks of intense classes where I gotta learn whatever that is need to learn in this last rotation, retain the information, and at the same time, revise my past 5 rotations over the entire year of my clinical studies in Melbourne.

At the very moment, I really don’t know how I can do it – the situation at the moment now is just so overwhelming if God is not in the centre of my life. I keep reminding myself that God is in control, and I can draw strength, wisdom, peace and rest from His Spirit. As I cry out to Him, He will respond!!! Really thank Him that I am going through these weeks with a peaceful mind regardless of the amount of syllabus I have to cover, peers around me complaining and comparing how well you need to do with your case presentation, questions and answers they know more than I do… Not gonna let the situation choke me!

John15: 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

God showed me this when I was reading the bible the other day. I am positioning myself in You!!!

Monday, May 05, 2008

My story

ECF just had their campus weekend on 4th-5th May. Ps Steven was asking me to share my testimony on how has God changed my life, so that the testimony can impact other students! Sharon told me the weekend was amazing, good message, amazing students sharing their passion to see their campus changed!! So excited to see what is God gonna do as the students avail themselves to God's work and believe the possibilities that God can do through their lives.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Share is all I need

Finally got my hands down to blogging!

A lot had been happening!!! The word “revision” echoes in my mind every time I step into the hospital, but thankfully I’m constantly immersed in God’s peace & assurance. I know it’s not an excuse, but I’m blessed to be able to study without feeling stress or panic.

During Urban Life discipleship, Sharene shared about “miracles” & them coming through Jesus, and we were divided into groups where we share our testimonies about what miracle has God brought into our lives. So happen, my group got the topic about “family”!!! Wow!!! I was reminded by what Ps Steven said to me during my last holidays in KL about blogging my heartbeat about telling people about God & how is it different compared to talking it to my family.

Which brings me to the reason of this blog!!!

I have been a believer for 3 years, and every now and then I talk to my friends about God, or share faith with people seeking & wanting to know more about God. It can be challenging at times, because all I want is for them is to get to know who Jesus is, and the things He can do in our lives as we welcome Him into our lives. I don’t do it because church ask me to, or because I wanna be a noble guy to convert everyone, but I do that because I personally encounter such great experiences with Him as I open myself to Him. I want people to have a chance to receive such encounters like I do.

Psa34:4 Taste & see that the Lord is good…

Bible says, taste & you will know. You gotta enjoy it. First encounter is crucial. It’s like me finding a good shop which sells decent laksa in Melbourne, and I went around telling others about it. But until my friend truly tastes it, he wouldn’t know how good it is. He will have an idea about the taste, but he never had an experience because he never tried the laksa.

But I find this exceptionally hard to share with my family. Not that I am doing all these with my strength, but with mum & dad sharing faith isn’t that simple. I don’t have the intention of forcing the details down their throat, but I would like to tell them, why I chose to believe in Jesus, & how much He has sustained me & love me. They see the evidence of God in my life – my life has changed for the better & they themselves affirmed that… but I can’t seem to find proper words or decent opportunities to talk about it.

I might be fearful – afraid that dad will shut me off, don’t wanna offend mum since she’s a strong Buddhist believer, or don’t wanna give them an impression that I’m so sold out for God… I dunno, but I believe it’s harder to share things with the people you’re closed with. Not that they frightens me, somehow, there’s a hindrance. (sounds like I’m contradicting myself)

God has been gracious to me. Over the past 3 years, my family has changed from being so rejectful about God to acceptance that I’m a Christian, support me whenever I go to church, and even had the intention to help me look for one when I first got to Melbourne. Even when mum had her operation, I thank God that I was able to pray for her… Chuen always tells me the change & open doors God has done in my household

But what I truly desire is to see them coming to know who Jesus really is. I know I need God for this miracle, because I dunno how & what way & when things like these can happen. All I need is to believe!!!

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Another thought?

I was reading Jesus M.D. today (love this book a lot) - it's just talking about how this missionary doctor view Jesus Christ as the Great Physician & what are some of the things he learnt, and encountered as he journeyed his life as a missionary doctor. I have no intention whatsoever to be a missionary doctor at this point of time(maybe God will do something in future - I don't know) but I just wanna know more about God's thoughts about being a doctor - a doctor that carry His gospel & light around.
Just finished a chapter and this part really caught my attention:
"It convinced me that being a physician on a mission field, like being a Christian committed to serving Christ everywhere, would mean facing situations for which I could never be fully prepared. It would mean taking the risk of trusting God to use me despite my own inadequacies - in knowledge, skill & experience." - David Stevens

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Thought of the week??

"Serving God is not about ABILITY. It's AVAILABILITY. When you avail yourself to God, He will then will you with the ability"
"When given a task, I don't see it as a hindrance. I don't take it as a challenge. I see it as an avenue of growth. Something that God wanna teach me. If I don't take it, I might miss whatever that God wants to equip me."
Perception shift! Something that I'm pondering about...

Sunday, March 23, 2008

UL4 Core group invades Mornington!

Hope enters life today!

Avalon – Come & Fill my heart

Free, I long to be free
I long for the day I'll believe
That all you say you see in me is true
That's hard for me to do
It's hard for me to die to myself
Entrust my life to someone else
So come empty me out
I'm no good without
You inside of me

Chorus:
Come and fill my heart with hope
Come and fill my life with love
Come and fill my soul with strength to carry on
Because from here the climb is steep, the road is long
Come and fill my days with dreams
Empty me of all the empty things
That I hold onto
Come and fill my heart with you

I need you in my life
Need you like the air that I breath
You've become the very heart of me
And I, I can't believe my eyes
Can't believe the dream that I've found
Lord, your love has turned my world around
So come fill up my heart'
Till I'm like you are
So deep inside of me

Search me, Lord
Try my heart
Come and take me now and make me new
So that all of the world will see you
Overflow in my life


Today is all about Him. All about Him going up to the cross & conquered death to fulfill what is spoken in the lyrics above!

Just being immersed in His love & grace is all I need. It’s sufficient to carry me on. Words can’t fully describe that. It is only revealed by your personal encounter with Him. Really thank Him for all the blessings and His unfailing love for me. From strength to strength He has carried me on throughout these years. Nothing I do can make Him love me less or more. Thank you, Jesus!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Shift!

Felt really overwhelmed & burden yesterday and today. About studies, the thought of exams in June, ministry and random thoughts just made me feel so stretched & tired. I recognized the plot the enemy was setting to weaken my faith especially since I got back from Leaders’ retreat over the weekend. The retreat was empowering and very ministering.

As I was taking the tram back, the bridge of “Sold Out” really spoke!

“I’m holding onto You, All my desires in Your hand. I’m running after You, Jesus!”

Just draw my attention to what God says that He is always in control. His providence is always there to those who seek Him first.

As I got back home, start doing my devotion and just worshipping God, just felt so elevated. Just felt the exchange is happening. He is taking my burden & giving me His yoke for His yoke is light. I am able to find rest in Him!!! & as I was reading the bible, this verse spoke so strongly:

Isa52:1-2Awake, awake O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion.

It talks about clothing ourselves with God’s strength & glory. Clothes give protection, display glory to those who sees us in it! It talks about don’t let the things of the world and people to pull me down. It talks about shaking off the things that hinders us from coming to God. It talks about breaking free things/thoughts/words/situations that bring us down!

Just wanna proclaim this word every morning!