Strangling Studies

Studying for exams can really get a hold of u can't it? And i don't it's just the studying. It's the anxiety, satisfaction, adrenaline, ambition that's associated with it. It's not just about preparing for the exam. It's also linked to our career, the thought of having 4 straight H1's. Sometimes, it's the fear of disappointment that drives us on. Or even the need to attain a certain grade to keep the scholarship going. It really can be consuming. And to make things worse, to separate yourself from that during the exam periods when ure surrounded by students is not easy at all. I find i get sucked into a warped world where everything's in a hyper-time. It's like a vortex that slowly closes in when u write that last paragraph on ure final exam. swish!!

The exam climate can really be consuming at times.

I've been getting encouraging scriptures from friends lately:

Pslam 16:3

Isaiah 33:6

Psalm 73:26

Thank God for His Word and friends. I'm outta words.

Jc.

On Prophesy

Commenting on 1 Thessalonians 5:20, John Calvin wrote,

By the term prophesying I do not mean the gift of foretelling the future, but as in 1 Corinthians 14:3 the science of the interpretation of Scripture, so that a prophet is the interpreter of the divine will... Let us understand prophesying to mean the interpretation of Scripture applied to the present need.

Cecil Robeck's understanding seems to best encompass the important points. He defines the New Testament prophecy as

a spontaneous manifestation of God's grace, received by revelation, (sometimes as a vision, at other times as impressions or thoughts) and spoken by the Spirit through a Christian who has been given a gift of prophecy, in the language of those who hear the prophetic word spoken."

Source: http://www.joyfulheart.com/scholar/preach.htm

Struggles

I find myself going through struggles everyday.  I mean, some days are much better than others but if you look deep enough, if you honest enough - you'll know there's something you're wrestling with.  It might be a thought, a decision, a past hurt, an uncertainty.  We experience it in our studies, in our Christian walks, at work, in the family etc. 

Struggles. 

Just a reminder to myself though.  I've developed a habit time and again of covering up and sugar-coating everything.  Time and again these unresolved issues that have been pushed aside rear their ugly heads and there i go again - not knowing what to do.  We need to talk about them, we need to be honest, we need to talk trustworthy people about it - we need to talk to God about it. 

I am refering to the type of things we can do something about.  No matter how painful, awkward or inconvenient they may be it is much easier on ourselves to NOT bear it alone and hope that they go away.  Been there, done that - really hard to do.  I recently had one such conversation with a friend.  It was honest, friendship building and at the end...dare i say it...encouraging.   =)

But seriously, things can be so much easier. For me that day, God worked things out through an honest conversation.

Bells ringing in your head? Go deal with em'.  Jesus came to set us free.

Jc.

Being With God

God moves in countless ways in situations we can only imagine. 

i'm just going to blabber on. 

Enough of the religion.  Enough of the peer pressure.  Enough of the weight of expectations and responsibilities.  Enough of the stress from uni.  Enough of trying to fake that everything's alrite. Enough of putting a mask on. 

I love being with God, taking walks with Him, chatting with Him about problems, life, prayers, dreams, people...etc. I love Him because my relationship with Him has grown.  It's developed in a way where i've realized it's at it's best when i remove every mask, quite every act and strip every facade that the human side of me tries to hold on so dearly to.  The world tells me to be strong, to have it all together and to believe in yourself.  It tells me to sell my soul so i can be happy.  

But with God, He sets us free.  Free from religion, from peer pressure, from responsibility..and all that.  

When was the last time we've been vulnerable with Him.  He has an answer for every situation.  It might not come right away but rest assured, i believe with all that I am that He is good and that He knows what He's doing.  

There's really no substitute. 

Jc. 

Trust - simple but difficult

God is SO faithful.  It's taken me awhile, but more and more as I get to know Him and allow Him to have my life and everything in it, the more convinced I am that He LOVES walking this life with me.  He is sooooo willing!

We have a million things in our life we can take control of, or we can let go of it all.  ALL.  It's funny though, i realize that i always overestimate my trust-0-meter.  I think i trust God with my life, but...maybe not. 

And when those times come when God gently challenges you to give ure life to Him again, i want to be able to do just that.  It's a time in my life when i'm living it so i thought i'd write it down.  And everytime we hand it over to Him, whether it's a job, a person, a struggle...it seems we die and He increases a bit more. 

If ure struggling with trust issues, God loves you and has the best in mind.  Life's too complicated for figuring out sometimes.  Ask God for a sign/confirmation, fast..whatever.  So long as we get to that place of trust in Him, in His goodness. 

JC. 

Pancake Good Friday

I had an amazing day today. 

Ben (my housemate) and I invited our urbies (UL27 rawks btw!) over for pancakes this morning.  Ok, here's the deal.  For the record, I've not had this much fun leading a group of people since...forever!  They are just amazing!  let me talk about them a bit:

We're a good good mix really.  Young and old (you know who u are).  But i'm so excited for us, we're on this journey and i see those young men and women growing up to be mighty men and women of God.  We're going to mature.  For those that do not yet know Jesus, i see the day when they do.  I see a bunch of people hungry, eager to learn and follow.  I see God at work amongst us.  I see people that are talented, gifted, willing to serve.  I see us loving each other, building family and really bearing each others burdens as we live our lives for Jesus.  We will fulfill the purpose He's called us to.  

I'm excited.

Jc. 

Picture Perfect

Photographers. I think what they do is amazing because they are able to capture snippets of time and keep them for later.

I was looking at old pictures yesterday night and got fascinated with the fact (not for the first time in my life though) that we could capture time on a piece of photo paper or in digital form. It's as if God knew He created us with good memory but also with the inevitable ability to forget. Pictures capture the emotion, the hype and the environment of the setting.

My dad had this picture of him being part of a circus when he was younger (don't ask mei obviously didn't get those genes), and a portrait that still contained his handsome 17 year old features complete with an complexion as smooth as a baby's..you know.

Then my mom was comparing by brother baby pictures with his daughter's. Better yet, i compared my mom's baby photo with my brother's baby photo and i actually thought they looked alike!

So people, refrain from being cam whores but please, please take pictures. I'm guilty of belittling the power of the camera at times. And to make things clear, you're not a cam whore if you take a few pics of yourself. Btw, you usually can tell a cam whore when you meet one. They seem born for the camera!

One thing about a good picture, everything seems perfect. picture perfect.

Random Photos

My workplace: I'm starting to understand what a desk job means.

Emily (my niece) and me zoning out at a shopping centre.

These are my guy cousins.

We do get our good looks from each other.

As opposed to the girls in the family. XD! (sry eden!)

Good ol' Chinese New Year Dinner with the folks.
Inset: My Dad (in purple) and his brother.

Baby Allison with her new headband and dressed in CNY red! She's my other niece. =)

Embracing Forgiveness

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much.
But he who has been forgiven little loves little." - Luke 7:47

She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful.
If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal. - Luke 7:47 (The Message)

This passage makes sense right? It makes a whole lot of sense. Most of us have probably experienced gratitude in some way, either towards God to man. Maybe when someone gave us a gift that was to good to be true, or when we realized how much parents or friends have sacrificed for us. Things like that u know.

But here Jesus links up love and forgiveness. More forgiveness = more love; less forgiveness = less love. But then this thought came to me.

God's forgiven us of ALL our sins, so according to the equation above, we should love Him with ALL we have right? But what if a lot of us don't receive His forgiveness into our lives? What's the likelihood that there are things in our lives we don't REALLY believe God has forgiven or ever forgive?

Because if we do receive His forgiveness that removes our sins as far as the east is from the west (the last time i checked, that was quite a distance!), we'd encounter this thing called gratitude. Which will..make us love. It is when we realize the passionate love He has for us and how merciful He was in going through all that suffering on our behalf that we realize.

Just maybe.

JC.

Being Human

In Rob Bell "Sex God", I read about how so many of us human beings have become disconnected. Disconnected from nature, disconnected from God, disconnected from each other, disconnected with myself. I think most of us would agree that we know how that feels. Sometimes, it feels like we're living life but not really LIVING. It feels more like we're just existing sometimes. But i'd like to add that it's impossible to feel that way when we're truly connected with God through Jesus. Jesus said He came to give life and life abundantly, how can be bored with life when it's been given abundantly!

We were created to be beings of relationship, beings of connection. Research has shown that this any forming relationships improve one's quality of life. So much of the time i find myself disconnected. I'm overworried about something in my life and set about frantically trying to solve it - disconnected. I'm too busy with work and study - disconnected. I take people in my life for granted - disconnected. (This one's personal) I watch waaaaaay to much TV - disconnected. And when i become disconnected, i myself become less of the person God made me to be. In turn, i become indifferent to the needs of others. Sometimes, i even become indifferent to laughter and fun.

Which brings me to my thought for today. The reason God asks us to love Him and to love others as ourselves is really because loving others and connecting with those in our world is part of our makeup. Those of us that choose to live for ourselves might end up getting what we want but not truly be the human beings we're created to be. We become cheated of life. Like what is says before John 10:10, the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy.

When was the last time we actively sought out someone in need? When was the last time we made a difference in a situation or made ourselves available to be "salt and light"? When we do that, God is glorified and i personally feel and think we get that "this is what life is about!" epiphany.

Ranting on,
Jc.

Renewable Expectation

Renewable expectation.

I've never thought about this before until I heard it at Hillsong Conference 2008 from Ps. Paul De Jong.

When we come before God, do we come with renewable expectation? Instead, do we come with a stubborn mind that feels this is going to be the same whole religious routine that won't make a difference at all? A better question - how are our expectation levels when we come before Jesus? I feel faith and expectation are somehow linked. Kids all expect Santa to be fat and full of presents; we expect the lift to go up when we press the "up" button; we expect a rainbow after the rain.

My pastor used this analogy - when we're waiting on God, it's like waiting for the next train to arrive at the station. It's 2:55pm now, and the sign says the train is due in 5 minutes. WE WAIT EXPECTANTLY!! Thing is, even if the train does not arrive at 3 sharp, we are convicted that it will come. It could be 5 or 10 mins late, but it will come!

Renewable energy is amazing because it is produced from naturally replenishing resources. We can have that too. Isaiah chapter 40 reminds us to wait on the Lord so our strength (energy) can be renewed. I want to have an expectation of God that can be renewed and blown up each time i pray and read His word. I don't want to limit or box Him up.

JC.