HISTORY MAKER

New Year Countdown_East Coast Park

2008-01-03T16:17:00.000+08:00

A new year, a new beginning and good / bad memories of past year. We had a fun time celebrating countdown & of cos the nice food BBQ by the guys. Time to make some resolutions for the coming year because I believe that if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. 2007, is a very trying period for me whether is it for my work, ministry or marriage. God is indeed faithful throughout this time as He strengthens me every part of the step.

Here are some snapshots of the time @ East Coast.

24th Sea Games 2007

2007-12-13T14:40:00.000+08:00

24th Sea Games 2007

Rank	Country				Total
1	Thailand	121	102	85	308
2	Vietnam	59	43	61	163
3	Malaysia	45	38	72	155
4	Indonesia	38	47	66	151
5	Singapore	38	33	32	103
6	Philippines	33	54	78	165
7	Myanmar	8	19	29	56
8	Laos PDR	4	2	24	30
9	Cambodia	2	3	8	13
10	Brunei Darussalam	1	1	4	6
Last Update: 13 Dec, 13:03 +7 GMT

Delicious food @ Geylang

2007-11-28T17:50:00.000+08:00

Food Feast - all the way to Geylang to eat our long awaiting frog porridge. in the midst of eating, we talk about fulfilling our destiny especially in the area of pursuing our studies. Many love to continue to study in their area of interest but perhaps blog down by financial issues while others are not sure of the area of pursue should be.

It takes decision and willingness to sacrifice certain areas to attain advancement. "No pain, no gain" The more we rationalized, the more indecisive we can be and of cos the longer it will take to fulfill our destiny.

To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act (Anatole France, 1844 - 1924)

Heavenly Dwellings

2007-08-15T16:41:00.000+08:00

All of us have a dream house whether in what kind of condition, shapes or sizes, colours, etc, we want it to be the most comfortable that we can stay in.

Like what Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, we want an eternal heavenly dwelling where the Lord builds for us. It will not be destroy by any form of disasters / decay / wars but continue to stand forever.

Therefore whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Do not just build your earth house & forgot the heaven house that you are going to live for eternity. Remember to send enough materials so that your house will not be like a hut but a mansion.

NDP Preview 2007

2007-08-03T09:06:00.000+08:00

This is my first time to attend live NDP and the atmosphere was excellent. When we reached City Hall, there was a huge crowd quening there with many of them wearing the "red" uniform. My dear & myself happily waitet, got our goodie bags & proceed to the "BLUE" section which was good enough for an overall view of the parade.

Theme for this year is City of Possibility which sounded good because with God all things are possible. Therefore this year, you will see all the SAF high tech equipments coming on display. Generally, we enjoyed the time there & see the process of how the nation of Singapore grow from a small island to a developed country. May the Singaporeans all over the world celebrate the birthday of Singapore with great expectations that this year will be an exciting one.

Here are some of the interesting / nice snapshots of the NDP 07.

When the going gets tough.......

2007-07-27T18:08:00.000+08:00

When the going gets tough… the tough do not get going. And they certainly don’t go shopping.

They don’t?
No.
Then what do they do?
They get… thinking.
So when I lose my job, my marriage is on the rocks, my kids are on drugs and I am two months behind on my mortgage or rent payments, I am not supposed to “get going” and push myself to solve my problems?
Right.
Just “think”?
Uh-huh.
And that’s supposed to help?
It’s the first step.
How, exactly?

When I am faced with a crisis, the first thing I need to address is my “thinking” or “mindset.” If I see the issue before me as a crisis or problem, then I have adopted an adversarial or “fighting” attitude towards it. A more productive attitude is to view the crisis as a challenge or puzzle to solve, or, if not to solve, at least to deal with. It is not there to “break” me, but to bring out some hidden strength or ability from within me. It doesn’t make me evil or bad or a loser. These difficulties are not sent only to me. Everyone faces difficulties in life. If I am willing to adopt this attitude, then I can “make friends” with the challenge, and then I am much better equipped to deal with it.

Isn’t that just a mind game? By calling something a challenge instead of a problem, aren’t I just fooling myself?

Not really. By abandoning the attitude that the world is out to get me, I transform debilitating negative energy into positive practical energy, which I can then use to help me solve my problem. My challenge is to harness as much of the mental and emotional energy at my disposal and make it work for me, instead of letting my pent-up anger and negativity drain me. This “mind game” has very real effects. Look at it this wayit takes thirty-eight facial muscles to frown, and only eighteen facial muscles to smile, so it makes sense to save my physical and emotional energy, and smile at my problem.

But, why me? Always me! Why does everyone else have it so easy?

First of all, it’s not true. Even though it may appear that everything goes smoothly for my neighbor, friend, or boss, it is simply not true. That person may not be going through what I am, but each person faces challenges tailor made for him or her to bring out their unique hidden strengths and abilities. Each person has a unique array of inherited DNA, genes and chromosomes and a special set of parental, social and economic circumstances that make up his or her personality. Just as there are approximately six billion different human faces in the world, so too there are six billion different, special and unique individuals in the world, each with his or her own challenge. I am unique in the universe. No one else has my set of abilities and weaknesses, therefore no one else has my set of personal challenges.

Now, when a difficulty or problem comes my way, I must realize that it has never been presented to a person with my genetic or behavioral makeup ever before in world history. This is my special project or mission, for better or worse. It has my name on it. Only I can solve it or deal with it, in accordance with my unique set of abilities and weaknesses. My neighbor’s marriage, job, house, and all of his or her issues are his to deal with. Looking over my shoulder or envying the situation of my neighbor is merely a waste of personal energy that I should be conserving to deal with my own challenges.

Now, when the “going gets tough,” I consciously step into my “thinking mode” and view the difficulty as my unique challenge. I will be able to factor out any “why me?” issues and be able to focus on the task at hand of dealing with my challenge. I will not waste physical or emotional energy by comparing myself to others, but I will harness all of my special strengths and abilities to enable me to concentrate and deal with the issues before me. Therefore, when the going gets tough… the tough get thinking, and step into the positive mindset that is best suited to help meet the challenge before them.

All will go through different stages of life but when the rubber meets the road, what would you do? ? ?

What a question to ask & ponder about? But since we are all surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perservance the race marked out for us.

Family Systems Therapy

2007-06-29T10:08:00.000+08:00

What is a System? Basically it is a set of elements standing in the interaction between and among parts, in such way that affects one part of it affects the other parts. In other words, in a family there are different systems and every little shift in one part would affect the response on the other components. Looking at this angle, many of the presenting problems encountered with individuals are often stemed out from the issues occurring in their family systems. Hence when engaging in helping, we got to look at the family system to understand the fuller picture of the causality. Causality in family system is not linear but rather in a circular manner whereby the response of one part continually influenced the other parts of the system.

Fundamental characteristics of Systemic thinking

Wholeness - the family is functional not matter how bad the situation seemed to be in the perception of others. Viewing the family as a whole and seeing the interaction of the members (This can also include others sub-system of that individual, ie. friends, colleagues, and believers)

Boundaries - "Who is in and out of the system". Most of the time, people limit who should be in the system and who is out and hence creating boundaries.

Hierarchy - Power control in the sense who has the final say in the system. Who holds the "Yes & No" answers.

Therefore working in a systemic manner gives the helper a fuller view of how the issues might be precipitated.

662 Guards Reservist / Building a Prevailing Generation Camp

2007-06-18T12:39:00.000+08:00

First In Camp Training - the 11th June to 15th June. I was posted somehow back to my original company and saw many changes in individuals. Some really became larger in size that I almost couldn't recognise them whereas some remain as they were 5 years ago. As for myself, most of them said that I slim down quite a lot which is true. Our friendship still remains and I enjoyed the time spent with them in training and leisure. Throughout the camp, God has been with me and blessing me richly. Here are some areas that the Lord helped me:

I passed my IPPT with silver which most of my company did not managed to make it. In fact, I have no confidence to pass because 2 days before my reservist, I went for a run and I couldn't even complete 1.2km. I really worried that I could not pass and have to stay back for remedial training but God gave me the strength and I did faring well in most of my station.

At the end of the day, I managed to book out early and find my way to the Church camp in Melaka. Although I was on there for the sat and sun session, the presence of God is tangible and real; He spoke to me. I felt encouraged as I'm going through difficult times but He showed me in Him I can do all things. Went to a workshop called "Fear Factor", quite interesting but not so challenging for most of us. Overall, it's good because it call us to think about the fears that Man has but don't often talk about it.

Ashley's 21st Bday

2007-06-18T10:52:00.000+08:00

Ashley is a very strong girl since i know her. Being in my group for a year, she showed great enthuiasim in the God, and activities. Before you see her, you will hear her voice, ie. sound travel faster than light??? If you talked about friendship evangelism, she is the woman, who brought almost all the friends from different walk of life into the church. Although, she did not see much fruits at the moment of them coming into the Kingdom of God, but her spirit spurs many of us to continue to share our faith to everyone in our sphere of influence. If you have the chance, get to know her better and your day will be a :-) face.

On behalf of the whole CG, we wished you a happy and joyful birthday. May this year you will experience the power of Holy Spirit working extensively in your life. :-)

Here are some of the snap shots during the celebration of Ashley's birthday.

Ashley's Beautiful flowers

Biggest-ever gene scan throws up new links to diseases

2007-06-07T17:34:00.000+08:00

PARIS - The widest-ever genetic probe into inherited disease has identified at least 10 new genes linked to seven major ailments, including diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, bipolar disorder and rheumatoid arthritis.

Published on Thursday in the British journal Nature, the study is being hailed as a vital gain in knowledge about the cause of these diseases and as a ground-breaking demonstration of the power of genomics. The 15-million-dollar, two-year investigation by 200 British scientists entailed comparing and contrasting DNA samples from 17,000 Britons.

Working in 50 research institutions, the team sifted through almost 10 billion pieces of DNA, looking for telltale genetic variants associated to the seven diseases. "Many of the most common diseases are very complex, part 'nature' and part 'nurture', with genes interacting with our environment and lifestyles," said Oxford University professor Peter Donnelly, who headed the consortium.

"By identifying the genes underlying these conditions, our study should enable scientists to understand better how disease occurs, which people are most at risk and, in time, to produce more effective, more personalised treatments." The net cast by the gene-sifters covered 2,000 patients for each disease, making 14,000 samples. These were then compared with samples from 3,000 healthy individuals. What they were looking for are so-called Snips -- single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) -- which are tiny flaws in the genetic code that can subtly affect the cascade of processes to make and repair the body's tissues. Previous work by the consortium has already helped identify the clearest link yet to obesity and three new genes linked to Type 2 diabetes, a disease that is gaining epidemic proportions in many developed countries.

Another new insight is into bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, from which an estimated 100 million people around the world suffer. The team exposed several balky genes among bipolar patients that, collectively, affect the way brain cells communicate with each other.

Nick Craddock of Cardiff University, which led the bipolar work, said the path was now open for better diagnostics for mental disease as well as new treatments, which could include drugs as well as education and advice on lifestyle choices. "With the ongoing scientific advances in understanding of (bipolar) illness, we have the opportunity to make things very different for the next generation," said Craddock. "This should be a time of great optimism for those individuals and families that have experienced illnesses like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression."

The inquiry also yielded the first-ever genetic link between Type 1 diabetes and the inflammatory bowel disorder known as Crohn's disease. A gene called PTPN2 is common to both auto-immune diseases, which implies they share biological pathways. The Wellcome Trust, a British medical research charity that funded the research, described the outcome was a dazzling show of genomics, the ability to unravel, compare and analyse the human genome for human benefit.

"Just a few years ago, it would have been thought wildly optimistic that it would be possible in the near future to study a thousand genetic variants in each of a thousand people," the trust's director, Mark Walport, said in a press release. "What has been achieved in this research is the analysis of half a million genetic variants in each of 17,000 individuals, with the discovery of more than 10 genes that predispose to common disease."

This is definitely a breakthrough in modern science and hopefully will be a platform for recovery in many patients.

STM Ubon Ratchatani

2007-05-30T18:26:00.000+08:00

Ubon Ratchatani is a large province even bigger than Bangkok but with a much lower population.

We arrived at Ubon Ratchatani after the Thai camp with approximately 6 hours of bus trip. Throughout the journey, we were all resting and getting ready to embark on a exciting time. Pastor Sumet picked us up at the bus terminal. He is a humble and soft spoken man of God. We went to the Hope of God Ubon Ratchatani to stay there for a couple of days. According to Pastor Sumet, God actually through him planted a total of 37 churches in the different places out of the 71 districts in Ubon area in a time frame of 16 years. Wow, that was amazing.

During our first meal, Pastor Sumet's wife cook for us a sumptuous meal with delicious vegetables, tom yam soup and beef. Rest for the night and continue our journey tomolo.

The next day, we went to visit a CL's place and Pastor Sumet wanted us to help the Ah Yi to bring back her son back to the church as he had been away for some time. We prayed for them and the son felt better and we saw him in service on sunday. Soon after we went to Hope Chongmek located near the Laos border. According to the Pastor Sumet, the church started with only a few pieces of zinc sheets and till now a full pledge store that sell food. There we had our CG with about not more than 15 people in the church. The people there are really poor but their joy in serving God is no doubt genuine. When I looked at them, we living in Singapore are really fortunate but took things for granted. I was asked to share a lesson with them and something that came to my mind is to tell them that God can and will provide for their needs (even a church building as they place their trust in Jesus). There we had our lunch with the spicy Tom Yom and beef.

Pastor Sumet then brought us to the Laos border to visit one of the member there and we spend time ministering to her. This is my first time to be at a border and distribute tracks to people (and it's hard because we don't speak the language and we just go around saying it's free, please take).

Visited Hope Srisakat Church and also a language started by the church to coach locals to learn English. The JS language is doing quite well and recently got a couple from Brisbane Australia joining their team. The guy is actually pastoring a church in Brisbane and looking for a church to be committed. Beside that, Hope Srisakat is aiming to have a new building which requires an enormous amount of 5 million baht. As we told them the story of Hope Singapore Debt retiring testimony, they were greatly encouraged and believe that it will happen in their church. Three cheers for Hope Srisakat!!!

On a Sat, we went for a Thai Massage from a member of Hope Ubon and that was authentic with a cost of only 200 baht for 2 hours. Soon after, we are on the way to street evangelism and it rained. We knew that it was a deterrence from the devil and we quickly pray in the name of Jesus to clear the sky. Initially, it rained even heavier but we continue to believe in God and finally it stopped and we went to the place for evangelism. But the rain suddenly came pouring in. We just do with the shelter that we had and pray for people to come in. And true enough, some of them came it to seek shelter and an old lady received Jesus for the first time. The heavens rejoices and the angels were singing praises unto God.

The last part of this STM was on sunday when we had service very early in the morning at 7:ooam and prayer meeting at 6:15am. We saw one person accepting Jesus for the first time and we are so happy. Ending off with us sharing testimonies on the stage and appreciation for Hope Ubon and the rest for hosting us. We will miss those time we had with everyone.

The Dawkins Delusion

2007-05-28T16:39:00.000+08:00

In The Beginning
As I thumbed my way through the pages of "The God Delusion", a question dropped into my head. Does Richard Dawkins really exist?
Being a scientific and rational person, I decided that I wasn't going to just accept any old theory on this question. If Richard Dawkins exists, then I would need to be shown the proper evidence for it. Others can have their own superstitious beliefs, based on who-knows-what, but I would only be convinced by empirical science. If there is a Dawkins, why hasn't he shown himself to me?

What Happened Next
As I pondered this, a man wearing a pointy hat wandered into the room. He erected a little box a few feet off the ground, climbed on to it, and began speaking to me.
As he talked he began, rather dogmatically, to insist on a number of things. Apparently, it was clear and obvious that Richard Dawkins existed. Did I not have his own book in my hands? Did it not have Dawkins' name on the front, and the imprints of his thoughts on every page? If I wanted to see evidence for Dawkins, was it not to be found throughout this little tome? Dawkins, he said, had shown himself to me everywhere. What could be a sufficient cause for such a book, if not a Dawkins? The alternatives were incredible. They required far more faith than simply to accept that the pages were the work of the said Richard.

Enter The Expert
As I pondered this idea, a man with a white coat suddenly appeared. He smiled warmly, showed me a piece of paper with a huge number of letters on it, and began to address me. As he did so, he drew my attention to a number of undeniable facts. The book that I was holding, you see, was made up of pages. And each of those pages could be shown to be composed from a certain type of paper, made from wood pulp. Upon the paper, were a number of very tiny dots, arranged in a kind of code. Everything about the book could be explained, and he had explained it.

I was impressed by the man in the white coat, because he did not point to uncertain theories, or dubious inferences. What he was talking about was plainly fact. I could see with my own eyes just what he meant! The book had an obvious explanation, and needed no magical theories of Dawkins to be invoked on its behalf. Furthermore, theories of Dawkins' existence had been responsible for a terrible amount of wrong-doing. All over the Internet there were to be found gaping non-sequitors, caricatures, allegations of child abuse and all kinds of evils - all being promoted in the name of said Dawkins! If Dawkins did exist, I reasoned, he's got a lot to answer for.

To this, the pointy-hatted man took exception. I was, he said, denying the obvious. If there was no Dawkins, then there would never have been a book. The book was his handiwork, and had all the hall-marks of Dawkins' character, dispositions and ideas displayed on every page. If I wanted to see the evidence for Dawkins, it was staring me plain in the face.

All Easily Explained
But by now I knew that old funny-hat was just talking pure superstition. I could see that the book was a simple re-arrangement of only 26 letters. To be sure, I didn't understand the picture on the cover too well, but this doesn't mean we should invoke any kind of Dawkins. To do so would just be a "Dawkins-of-the-gaps" - a Dawkins who would vanish once science had made further progress.

Looking over to my shelf, and perusing the Internet, I was able to find that the book contained ideas and arguments that were hardly special or unique - they were but re-hashings of things said a thousand times in the past. As such, it was clear that the book had developed by a purely natural and unintelligent process. A little moving around of the a's, e's, i's, o's and u's, - shift this paragraph and shift that paragraph. Replace this argument with that one, and you can get from the most primitive forms of argument up to any book with no problems, just given enough time. No, hat-man was clearly some kind of fundamentalist, irrationally wedded to the idea that there was a Dawkins. If people like him are allowed to have their arguments heard, then sound logic proves we will all be killed by bearded mad-men, and reason insists that the world will be turned into a Dawkins-ocracy. I began to wonder if the whole Dawkins idea wasn't rather dangerous.

A New Twist
At this juncture, another man suddenly arrived in the room - I do not know where from. He was wearing glasses, and frankly looked a bit of a nerd. And it was to the a's, e's, i's, o's and u's that he drew my attention. He would prove, he said, that they were not the product of a random accident, for they were arranged in patterns. The little letters, taken together, spelt out complex codes, which were drawn together into sophisticated arguments. This, he said, was the clear mark of intelligence. It had not developed from a previous volume, for modifying letters from their inter-related arrangement turns a book into useless gibberish. Deliberate design was evident in the book, and simple science and reason proved it. What is more, some arguments which I had thought were quite redundant and evidence of missing intelligence, could be shown to have a real purpose.

As the nerdy man was saying this, I could see that the man in the white coat was turning into some kind of shade of beetroot. The nerd, he said, was a man he had seen outside the room, wearing a pointy hat. As such, he had nothing more to say than the other fellow, and should simply be ignored. His white coat was obviously bogus, for nobody had ever been seen wearing both a white coat and a pointy hat. What was more, were I to ask him whose was the intelligence behind the code, I would most likely find that it was none other than the discredited Dawkins.

Pointy Hat In A Tux!
As I looked hard at the third man's glasses, they did start to look a bit odd to me. And there was a clear cogency in white-coat's argument. This talk of intelligence was obviously but a poor disguise of the "dawkinsdidit" thesis. If a Dawkins designed the book, then who designed the Dawkins? This only moves - not solves - the problem; it is no answer at all. For it was clear that nobody would be able to explain just who was responsible for the Dawkins.

The nerd protested that he was merely using science to identify intelligence. His science, he said, was valid whether or not the author was Dawkins, and could not be denied using philosophy and sophistry. But such protests were an obvious violation of my own constitution, which clearly separates faith from reason. Moreover, as I pondered the book, I could see numerous violations of logic, arguments by mere assertion, and the like. If there was some kind of intelligence behind this book, then it was obviously a pretty poor one! And so, using my great powers of rational thinking, I concluded that there was no evidence of intelligence in it at all.

The Conclusion Of The Matter
No, Richard Dawkins does not exist. I have never seen him. Science has given a full and satisfying explanation of the book alleged to be his handiwork. It is but a collection of fortuitously ordered a's, b's and c's, recombined from previous patterns. There is the alphabet, there is a book of nursery rhymes and there is "The God Delusion" - and one developed from the other, though some of the details of which is the most primitive remain to be sorted out. The links between them may still be missing, but Science will have that worked out at any moment. Anyone who doubts this fact is either lying, mad or stupid (or wicked, but I'd rather not think about that possibility).

Having settled the case, I congratulated myself on my acute use of logic and reason. After lunch, I have another pressing question to tackle.
Do I exist?

DoWn UnDeR (Aussie)

2007-05-28T15:17:00.000+08:00

Been a long time since our honeymoon and missed those times that we relax.....

Here are some nice photos to reminsence the past experiences.

Falling from Grace

2006-11-16T22:41:00.000+08:00

Recently in the Christian arena, there have been discussion regarding this leader Ted Haggart who have fallen into sin. Much negative talks have been on this particular issue and the integrity he showed through his "glamorous" life. Everywhere, people are speaking of how he has "fallen from grace", but in reality, Ted's repentance reveals the "beauty of grace" - where a sinner (and that includes all of us) finds mercy and forgiveness when we come in repentance before God. Unlike many others who commit sin and yet uses the Word of God to justify their stand, Ted repented and maintained his view on sexual morality.

For example in the bible, where Jesus ask the teachers of the law, "Let the one with no sin cast the first stone". In reality, all of us sin but the grace of God took us into the light. Although it might be hard for many to accept this fact that he went into an area that was so detestable in the eyes of the Lord where the bible calls homosexual behaviour an 'abomination'; but the same word (Hebrew תועבה / תעבה to'ebah) is also applied to a proud look and a lying tongue, for example (Proverbs 6:16-19). Such sins are not exactly absent from the church in general, including those in the eminent corridors of 'Christian power', but it is unlikely that their practitioners will suffer public disgrace.

http://www.newlifechurch.org/TedHaggardStatement.pdf

When King David sinned and broke God's commandments, he fell before God in repentance. Likewise, Jesus showered mercy upon the woman who fell before Him in repentance and humility, but resisted the self-righteous pharisees. I am reminded how all of us, like Ted Haggart have to come before God - willing to be corrected and willing to humble ourselves in humility instead of compromising or making excuses for sin. For God resist the proud and give grace to the humble (James 4:6) It is when we are broken and contrite before God, that we see the beauty of His grace. Let's us not be judgmental but pray for this man that he will be restore in His timing.

W H A T A P L A N ! ! !

2006-10-21T11:16:00.000+08:00

It have been an exciting period that God is doing in my life with different areas to mature in.

Thanksgiving points:

1. The Lord had make my modem work and that's why I'm able to blog now.

2. The Lord bless me with a transfer of work to another centre at the Jurong new centre called "Youth Reach".

3. The Lord touched Zane's heart that he has a desire to come back to church but still in the comtemplation stage (I pray hard that he will be back soon).

4. The Lord is strengthen my faith in Him daily with the enormous mountains placed on my path.

Therefore God loves you has a wonderful plan for your life. The moment that you decide to trust in the Lord, He will bring you on a journey of adventure. Read the following for an inspiration.

Lifted from http://wayofthemaster.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=150

It is true that God loves you, but you decide if His plan is "wonderful." If you have heard that happiness comes through Jesus Christ, you may like to think again. The first thing Jesus said of the Apostle Paul (who wrote most of the New Testament) was that He would show him "how great things he must suffer for (His) name's sake.1 Three times Paul was beaten with rods, once he was stoned, three times he suffered shipwreck, a night and a day he spent in the sea. There were times when Paul was so unhappy, he wanted to die.2

The Bible says, "All who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."3 It says we enter the Kingdom of God through much distress,4 and that we were appointed to afflictions.5
Jesus said if we followed Him we would be reviled, persecuted, hated, and all manner of evil would be said against us falsely, for His sake. He warned that we would have to take up our cross daily, deny ourselves and follow Him, saying, "In the world you shall have tribulation," and even that we may be called to die for our faith.6

My wife once spoke to a young man who had believed alluring television advertisements and joined the navy to see the world; and what did he see? He saw the sea . . . and found nothing but hard work. Now he couldn't wait to leave the navy. If they had been honest in their advertising, the navy may not have got as many recruits, but at least the ones they did get would be committed, rather than deserters at heart.

I have told you the truth about Christianity. Oh . . . I forgot to mention one thing along with the trials comes "the gift of God" . . .everlasting life!7 The Apostle Paul lost everything for the sake of his faith, and said that compared to what he had found in Jesus Christ, all the riches of this world were nothing but "dung."8

If you are interested in your eternal salvation, with a tender conscience, answer the following: Have you ever lied, hated, lusted, stolen, committed adultery, had sex outside of marriage (or desired to)? Have you kept the Sabbath holy, always honored your parents, have you put God first in your affections, have you blasphemed His name (using it to curse), have you made a god to suit yourself (been guilty of "idolatry" making a god in your own image)?

If you have broken even one of those Ten Commandments, then you have "sinned against God."

On Judgment Day you will be found to be guilty. Forget any thought of a "wonderful plan" without God's mercy, you will go to Hell. Unless you repent, you will perish.9 God doesn't ask you to consider His plan for your life, He commands you to repent.10 When Jesus died on the cross, He took the punishment which was due to you and me for our sins. In doing so, He satisfied the demands of Eternal Justice, and at the same time He demonstrated how much God loves us. If you repent and put your faith in Jesus, God will forgive your sins and grant you the gift of everlasting life. Don't say you will "give it some thought" instead obey the command.

If you stepped into a courtroom and offered to pay a $50,000 fine I couldn't pay, what an insult it would be for me to say I would give your offer of help "some thought." Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, then by the grace of God hold on, because you have just begun the "abundant life"you are going to be busy swimming upstream against the world (with all its sinful pleasures), the flesh (your sinful nature) and the devil (you'll find out about him). Read the Bible daily, obey what you read, and you will never fail.

For further reading Foxes Book of Martyrs (at your Christian bookstore).

Bible references:1. Acts 9:16 2. 2 Corinthians 1:8 3. 2 Timothy 3:12 4. Acts 14:22 5. 1 Thessalonians 3:3

C H A R G E _ F O R _ H A R V E S T

2006-10-03T12:41:00.000+08:00

It has been a an exciting time after coming back from my honeymoon as we are recharged over in Aus. We went for Hope Brisbane church prayermeet and also the Hillsongs service. The Lord spoke to us in the area of faithfulness towards our people and we are committed to do better when we come back.

Now back to Singapore, I'm all out and ready for the journey of faith and work for the Lord. I thank my coreteam qiuying and robert for taking care of the group throughout this period while I'm busy preparing my wedding. Back to reality, there are enormous things I need to accomplish, conflicts to resolve, relationships to settle, people to be integrated into the group and etc. But I trust fully in the Lord that all things works for the good of those who trust Him. People may not understand you but all you need is Jesus who is there to comfort you in your time of sorrow n cries n you shall soar on wings like eagles. Although it seemed that my CG is not really stable but nothing is impossible for Jesus. The more unstable it is the more grow I can expect.

For those who may be discouraged, let's focus our eyes on Jesus who is the perfector of our faith and allow Him to work through you. All you need to do on your part is to be faithful and the Lord will do the rest. Something is going to happen and we shall see the kind of breakthrough you will never see before your very eyes.

Singlehood into Marriage

2006-09-04T13:47:00.000+08:00

In another few more days will be the end of singlehood and entering into another phase of my life. With the remaining few days, there are really quite of no of things to tight up. The Lord is with us throughout this period of preparation and I know that He will bless this wedding & marriage to let it shine for His Kingdom. Just like the song, "Reflector", we want to be a reflector for Christ in this marriage and may His grace continue to abound in us, 'till death shall us part or till the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ'.

As our theme, 'All for Love', we also want our relatives and friends to experience the Love of Jesus through this wedding ceremony because He saved us & gave us a new life. Let pray for hearts to be touched & respond to the calling of Jesus. "Only one life to live, only what's done for Christ will last". May all who come for our wedding be blessed and celebrate our matrimony.

Time is Coming

2006-08-15T12:27:00.000+08:00

In less than 4 weeks, I will be getting into a lifelong commitment as the Lord bless me with such a lovely wife to be. However, throughout these couple of weeks, it have been so busy for us as we prepare for the wedding doing up the church invitation. This invitation is really difficult to make but I pray that it will bring encouragement to all Christians and revelation to non-believers that Jesus is the only way. All who comes for the wedding ceremony will be touched by the love of Christ and respond to Him.

An exciting part of these preparation is that we saw how God works and the blessing He gave upon out lives. Many things we have not actually finalized but at the last minute the Lord showed us and we thank God that we waited and din waste our finance. Talking about this, our honeymoon trip is one of the great blessing given by God as we are searching through many different agencies for a good price but did not manage to find it. However last sat, we got it and the package was really good and Praise the Lord. I can finally fulfill my dream of visiting my friends in Brisbane since my graduation.

Time is running short but we will continue to do whatever we can (not just the wedding but also the coming of the Jesus). Let us not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. But let us encourage one another, and all the more see the Day approaching.

Dangerous Minds

2006-07-06T13:26:00.000+08:00

It have been some time that I updated my blog as my job is really busy and tied up with many things. Recently have been busy in preparation for my wedding and quite a no of things need to be done. However, I still thank God for the many happenings and He is still real to me.

It seemed to me that many people that I know are suffering from some form of mental illness and are on medication. I do feel upset as I see the suffering they go through. Like many of my clients, they are being in this state for many years and still trying to climb out of it. In a way, it dawn upon me that many Christians are in this situation and are unable to get out of it. Others are still in sin and refuse to come out of it and may the Lord show it clear & plain the consequences of dwelling in it. Therefore, I will encourage all Christians to take good care not only their spiritual life but also the psychological aspect. I pray that God will intervene and bring them out of their condition. Life is really unpredictable and anything can happen when the trigger comes. At least in the church, there are support the people can fall back on and find relief in the midst of crisis.

I just completed my 2 days of suicide intervention workshop and it's a real eye-opener when I found out that men committed suicide more than women. Perhaps research was right that men tends to keep everything to themselves as compared to women. Hence when stressors are presented, they tend to take the 'easy' way out of life. For the life you have does not belongs to you but God owns it. Hence we have to treasure it and take good care of the temple of God. The Lord bless you richly as you continue to walk in His ways.

Kawan Go Melaka

2006-06-14T12:39:00.000+08:00

Kawan Go Melaka came to an end on the 11th June 2006 and all had a great time fellowshipping during the 4 days. Many happenings occured during these days as the presence of the Lord was present. Times of coming together to prepare for the showcase till 12 midnight plus, unit chill out, teachings about friendships, and of cos the ministering of the Holy Spirit to all during the extended worship. This is perhaps the experiential moment for most of the people. The amazing thing is that our showcase went in first and we are all quite shocked. Many people commentated that the songs we composed are really great. Praise God for that too...

Personally for me, I rested well throughout the few days as I slept till 8am almost everyday which I do not have the opportunity during my working days. I really praise God for that because I know that throughout my camps I normally wakes up at 6am plus in the morning and would not get the chance to have this kind of luxury. My body rested and also my mind and the best is yet to come when the Lord moved during the extended worship and He encouraged me that He is with me. That is perhaps what I really needed during this period because many things happened. The Lord is good and His love endures forever. He will do anything for His children because He loves them and making sure that they will not get lost. Praise God for everything and indeed this is a totally different experience kind of camp for me in my life.

I pray that we will continue to treasure our friendships and do the work of the Lord.

Pentecostal sunday

2006-06-03T09:38:00.000+08:00

It has been quite some time that I post, life have been quite busy with the new responsibilities in my new job. There are many things that I need to learn and expectations are high. Living in a fast paced and demanding society, it is very easily to be under stressed. Like many of my clients suffering from Schizophrenia, Major Depression, Bi-Polar disorder and OCD. It's really difficult working with them and helping them to get out of their stuck position. Although things might not turn out the way I want it, God is still with me throughout this period.

In a day time, the celebration of the 100 years of Pentecost sunday is arriving. All Christian especially the Charismatic movement are awaiting for this time to come. Will the outpouring of the Holy Spirit comes again and bring about a revival in the city of Singapore? When will the prophesy of Singapore being the Antioch fulfilled? We will all wait in expectation and see. I pray for the move of the anointing of the Holy Spirit descending upon my people that they will have a breakthrough in their lives. Depressed people will be released, physically ill will be healed, blind will see, commitment to the Lord will arise and many others will say 'Yes' to Jesus. Will this day arrive for me to see? I believe so because faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Fact or Fiction

2006-05-17T16:57:00.000+08:00

On the 15th May 2006, Ps Ben presented the Fact behind the fiction and it filled the Nexus auditorium. About 80 or more people are waiting outside the reception viewing the seminar through the screen. Generally it was a well informative seminar and many people benefited from it as many queries were answered by the panel of judges. As what was mentioned by Ps Ben that what makes this novel a hit in the entire world due to a couple of reasons.

Since it is a thriller, people would tend to be swirl into the suspense of the story and might find it convincing. It feeds the desire of mankind the need for something different from their current state of understanding, probably psychological. One of the main anchor of this novel sprung out from the radical feminism. Other possible areas could be the degeneration of the clergy in the catholic church. The DVC indeed open the pandora box and invited many skeptisim of Christianity and waters down the building blocks of our faith. However, throughout history, many such incidents happened but the Word of God still remain, never destroy, rather it became stronger.

For many who may be shaken in one way or another, do approach a spiritually matured Christian who will be able to answer your queries in regards of the DVC. For this is a great opportunity that Dan Brown created for the gospel to be shared. May the Lord be with all the Christian in the world as they tackle the questions raised in Da Vinci Code.

Breaking through - Growth

2006-05-10T16:35:00.000+08:00

Growing is an interesting and tough process. According to the Erikson developmental model, all humans will encounter 8 stages of life and often then not, the process might be painful. One have to go through the different facets of life and adaption like a snake breaking through the thin membrane. But if growth does not take place, perhaps life would not be present. Even in an evoluntionary point of reference, an unicellar organism also will go throught the process of mitosis. Therefore, every living organism will grow in one sense or another. Let us grow in our love for Jesus, love for His people & also love for the Great Commission.

Yesterday was my first experience riding on a bike dashing through the rain. I sat on zane's bike as we passes through the jammed traffic during the peak hour. I spend time sharing my life and the Word of God to Him. His eagerness to learn and the humility he showed really inspired me to be as simplistic as possible in Jesus. Although he came from a vastly different background from most of us, but the courage emitted through him is fantastic. Let us learn from his example the way he desire God and the passion he has. This is a good seed rooted in the good soil and pray that God will continue to work through his life to bring revivial in his community.

The Growing Seed

2006-05-09T14:26:00.000+08:00

I remembered the parable of the sower where some seeds fell along the path, others fell on rocky ground. While some fell among thorns and some fell on good soil (Mark 4: 1-20). As I was looking through my life and others, this parable came to my mind that many times, we may fell into either one of them too. We are surrounded by many worries of life and we lost track of God as out main source of power. Many times we don't depend on God as much as we ought to but rather rely on the richness of our experience. Hence this resulted in the downfall of our spiritual life. Some many have wrong motives in serving God and therefore may seemed very exicted but in fact did it for the wrong reasons.

This is something that I will always caution myself as personally I'm a quite a doing person and might fall into the trap. As I looked at some of the young guys, I know that their motives are not right and often is motivated by the glory of serving God. Perhaps this might be one area that we can look into and help them even when they are in their teens. Although this might be one of the pitfall in their life, perhaps it might also be a learning curve for them as they mature and hence able to see the whole notion of serving God.

Lastly, I just want to thank God for this new convert that He brought into our midst and I can see him slowly growing in his relationship with Jesus and I really pray for his foundations to be laid correctly. Otherwise the older he gets in church, the harder to change areas which are wrong in his life. I pray for God's protection on this new brother that he will grow up loving God deep and fulfilling the Great Commission.

Psychopathology

2006-05-05T10:21:00.000+08:00

It was a great encounter with the regent University professor & the PhD students as we exchange thoughts & theorectical approach. I thank God that they came over to Singapore to give us training as it would really benefit a whole lot as we get the authentic framework from US. I also learned that they really have a very stringent criteria for registration and they got to work real hard before getting their license. Unlike Singapore, the standard is too low that anyone can registered themselves with a minimum of 400 hours of supervision. It also gives me the drive to work towards the area of clinical psychology.

We had a interesting training by them yesterday and a number of issues dealing with sexuality, mental health ie. depression and some parts of personality disorder. The fun part was that I discuss with them the using of the DSM IV - revised and how each axis can determine the final diagnosis. We did a no. of advanced counselling skills like miracle questioning, solution focused brief therapy, empty chair technique, 2 chair technique, assertive training and so on. All these sharpened my counselling skills and also brings it into another dimenion. I enjoyed the time with them and asked a lot of questions that I had regarding psychoanalytic and psychodynamic. Tonight there will be a second one by them going through some of the simple psychometric testings and hope the glean more on their speciality. Let this training be a real advancement of my skills in psychology.

White Concepts

2006-04-27T10:01:00.000+08:00

It have been four weeks since the renovation started and finally they started the painting works. Just a caution to those who are renovating house in the future, make sure that you also be there to supervise to make sure the right stuffs they promise to give you.

Like the paint, we asked for the higher end paint & to my astonishment during a sudden check, they gave a much lower end paint to us. That was a shock of my life and the difference of each paint is about $50. So make sure that you check the stuff (esp the code no and brand of the paint) they give you and also the layer of coating on the wall. But thank God that they changed the paint and gave the one we asked for.

The general work of the house is almost okie and now left with the carpentary works where the kitchen cabinet, platform, build in cupboard, feature wall, divider, shoes rack and so on. They said that in 2 weeks time, everything should be ready. Finally the new house is going to be ready and the White Concept of this house is going to be revealed. Then the furniture will be coming in soon. Although we did not get quite a fair bit of the stuffs, we trust God that He will provide. And soon, we can have a house warming for you. Wait for the news to be released. :-P

Rebuttal to heresy

2006-04-25T10:45:00.000+08:00

On the 23th Apr 2006, we have our first ever outreach clinic and the Da Vinci rebuttal was launched. It was quite amazing to see more than 20 people attending this and a number of them I dun normally see them.

But Praise God for His presence and I have tried my best to explain as simple as possible. I hope that they can take back whatever they have listen and further their knowledge so that they will be able to share with their friends.

I believe the very foundations of Christianity will not affected by the unhistorial truths of Dan Brown, rather it will be stronger to stand and defend. This coming week will be another exciting week as the Lord is with me.

It seemed that my CG is facing some interesting issues / challenges but I love challenges. It will not detour the directions the gp will be moving. In 1 cor 15:58,

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work to the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain."

"The moving gets tough, the TOUGH gets moving."

Da Vinci Code

2006-04-19T16:50:00.000+08:00

This is the hot topic in the town right now and many views are aired but which is the accurate one?

Recently the national geographic screened the Gospel of Judas and hit the city with a wave of doubt during the Good Friday period. It implied that Jesus is asking Judas to make the ultimate sacrifice - to sacrifice himself so to enable Jesus to fulfill his mission on Earth.

Is the anti-Christ waiting to launch an attack on the church? Or are the gnostic gospels being supressed for a long time and await the right time to let the world know the 'reality'?

Furthermore the movie, "The Da Vinci Code" will be out in mid-may and how is the church going to defend this fictitious fabrication by Dan Brown.

Please post your views here...

Jesus Lover of my Soul

2006-04-19T09:51:00.000+08:00

It have been more than 2 months since my last post.
Praise the Lord for the good friday and Easter as we remember the Passion of Jesus going through the suffering. Thank God for the many people who came to hear about the good news of Jesus during last week and may the seed grow in their hearts.

Very soon will be the start of my new job at the Singapore Association for Mental Health and I'm really very excited. I believe that the challenge would be great but I will be prepared for that. I know that this job is going to mold my character and get me a step closer to the vision God had planted in my heart many years ago.

Yesterday the Lord placed in me a song,
Jesus Lover of my soul
Jesus I will never let you go
You taken me from the miry clay
You set feet upon this rock now I know

I Love you I need you
Through the world may fall
I never let you go
My Saviour My closest friend
I will worship you until the very end

Let all people remember that Jesus is our ultimate lover and no matter what happen, He will be there for us. This kind of faith we have in Jesus will sustain us throughout our walk with the Lord. Since He is the creator, He will know what is best for you. Keep Praying Until Somthing Happens.

Now is the time

2006-02-08T15:33:00.000+08:00

This is a good story as we reflect on our lives...

When I was a boy, my father often travelled to other cities to speak and sometimes my mother would accompany him leaving my brother and me along for a few days. We enjoyed being independent, but we detested doing the dishes.

I remember the time we tried to put off that dreaded chore as long as possible by stacking all the dirty plates, glasses, and silverware in the oven after every meal. At the end of the week, there was hardly any room left. Then, on the evening before Mom and Dad were to return, we rolled up our sleeves and cleaned up the whole mess. It took hours! How ashamed we would have been if our parents had come back earlier than we expected.

Because we don't know exactly when Christ will return (Matthew 24:36,42,44), we must not get lazy in our Christian walk. The expectancy of His any moment appearance should help us to be faithful ans wise servants.

Do you have any dirty dishes to clean up? Now is the time to get ready. Live as if Christ is coming back today.

Dwell in the house

2006-02-02T12:08:00.000+08:00

Today is already the 5th day of the lunar new year and I'm very blessed by all the goodies, fun, and reunion with people. When I think that next year will be a very different one (I have to start to give ang baos to others, and people have already book their ang baos), I'm happy and sad. Anyway, it also mark a new stage of my life and I thank God for everything.

In my daily devotion today, a very interesting question that David asked, "Lord, who may abide in your tabernacle? Who may dwell in your Holy hill? Psalms 15. What kind of person dwells close to God? David continue to give the answer that he who walks uprighly and works righteousness and speaks the truth in his heart (v2). Well, it's so easy to know but so hard to carry it out. We can find out so much about God but never know who He really is. We may be busy with many things like work, ministry, family, relationships and so on but let us not neglect the time we can meet God.

This morning when I wake up, my heart is fill with a sense of joy as I sang onto the Lord. I want to take this time to thank my dear to be to lend me the MP3 becos it have been a long time that I can listen to Praise & Worship songs. This raised my spirit and keep me occupied in the presence of God. Continue to walk close to God that nothing can come between as we know that nothing can separate us from the Love of God. Romans 8:37-39

LNY

2006-01-31T01:34:00.000+08:00

Halo,

How's everyone? Do all of you have a fun celebration and great time with your family? I ate alot and the food is so delicious and hope that all are enjoying themselves. However, do take care of your health and drink more water during this season. See you'll soon.

Happy CNY 2 every 1

2006-01-28T15:05:00.000+08:00

hi everyone, hope every 1 is happy with the things way are going.

Nyway, happy CNY, may God Bless u. Any prayer request, feel free to post =)

Freedom on the way

2006-01-26T12:09:00.000+08:00

Recently I have been reading the book of Galatians during my quiet time and I found it very interesting as how the people became so legalistic trying to include works in the equation of salvation. Probably many of us at like that at some moment of our lives as we thought that we will gain some merit when we perform good works in the church. However that is not the case, God looks for the genuine and pure heart in loving Him. Let's us be free from the bondage of legalism and pursue righteouness and holiness. Hope that this coming year we will see breakthrough in all areas of our lives.

Greeting from History Marker

2006-01-26T11:01:00.000+08:00

hi everyone,

Happy Lunar New Year to all the people around the world and may the Lord bless you. Please do feel free to post here. :-)