Grace

Grace is all I need
Have you really thought about what that means?

Grace, essentially, is a gift that we don’t deserve. It’s the highest order and highest valued present that we can ever get, all because it comprises of the death of the Son of God. No other death, not even yours or mine can ever match up to the worth of those forty over years of suffering, pain, anguish, torment and God becoming man.
Simply said, we don’t deserve this life we are living, entirely because we ought to be dead, crudely put. The punishment for sin, no matter how small, is death. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23]. God is holy, and sin is the total opposite of God. Hence, these two can never be together. So because of one man’s sin, humankind is completely and utterly separated from God. A life not linked to God, is no life at all, because Jesus is the tree of life.
Basically, when you are away from God, you are dead. Pastor Kee preached recently that we are in the land of the dead and we are trying to get to the land of the living. It’s only through Grace that we can get to that land of the living.
In my bible study, I learnt that salvation is predestined, for Paul said that God set him apart from birth. Doesn’t this suggest that Grace is given? That Grace is given to the chosen people? Then WHY must you take all this for granted? Do you not realise the implication that Grace is given to a select few and being one of the few, shouldn’t you feel something?
My friend, I write this article not to criticise, not to bash, not to threaten. But I write this out of compassion, of worry, of friendship. My prayer is that each and every one of you might learn something, that the Holy Spirit might open your eyes after reading this.
May God Bless You.


Eunice

God doesn't choose the equipped, He equips the chosen - Sharing by Jun Kiat

Sharing by Jun Kiat at FireAC on 23rd April 2009 Morning =):

Hi all, today, I will be talking about how God equips the chosen, and not choosing the equipped. There will be scripture reading and today’s passage is taken from 1^st Samuel chapter 16 6-13. Some background info: Samuel is on the hunt for a new king—King Saul had disobeyed God, and the Lord has spoken to him that one of Jesse’s sons has been chosen king.

 

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep." Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down [a] until he arrives." 12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one." 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.

 

To be equipped is to have a certain set of skills—maybe being charismatic and extremely brave. This is why Jesse and even Samuel thought that the first few brothers were the possible chosen king, looking only at outer appearances. However, our God is one whom judges a person’s character by the heart and willingness to seek after Him. In the end, it was the most unlikely of the eight brothers, David, a mere shepherd who was anointed king. Personally, I feel that the word ‘chosen’ in this context would mean someone who has that strong faith in God and hence, being a spiritual role model for others to follow. One who does not believe in God cannot set out do God’s will for him. David fulfills these requirements which are lacking in his brothers. This goes to show that in our life as servants of this wondrous king, we need to have this worshipful heart or constantly spend quiet time with him. These things are more important than having bible knowledge but not knowing God at all.

 

Also notice that Man and God judge people differently. In the eyes of Man, Samuel and Jesse, Eliab may have seem the anointed one maybe because he was the firstborn. However, in the eyes of God, it is this shepherd who should be king. When God calls you to his service, do not take heart of others’ criticism that you are not cut out for his purpose. Do not be discouraged and let their comments overrule God’s plan for you. Only God can peer deeply into your character and judge correctly.

 

Since we are on the theme of stepping out of the comfort zone, let me share what I think about it. Prefects camp—workshop on comfort zone—seen as parallel to confidence—increased by building and expanding your comfort zone—can also parallel this to our spiritual life. By stepping out of his comfort zone, David stepped out of his comfort zone from a mere shepherd to a servant of King Saul to the enemy of King Saul and eventually becoming a King and spiritual leader.

 

One other character mentioned in the bible who stepped out of his comfort zone was Moses. Just some background info on him—he was adopted into the Egyptian royal family but after he killed a slave master, he fled, becoming a shepherd. One day, God spoke to him to rescue the people of Israel. However, he was afraid of stepping out of his comfortable position and did not want to be involved in any Egyptian affairs. Furthermore, he was afraid that he would not be able to convince the Pharaoh to release his people. God equipped him with two important things. One, a staff that can perform miracles such as opening up the Red Sea and two, Aaron who served as his mouthpiece as Moses was not good at talking.

 

God equips those chosen for his purpose and we have no reason to be afraid. Lastly let me share about myself stepping out of the comfort zone. Khoen koen mission trip—serve God and change the lives of the people there—had no clue on how to minister to people’s need or pray for them—God provided me with officers and seniors to guide me along the way. So, although I have not made the physical journey—because it was cancelled, I have made the spiritual journey. In all our lives, let us always remember that God has a perfect plan for us and that we just have to trust in his providence.

- Jun Kiat

Purpose of the Church, the Body of Christ

Hey Guys!

Earlier today I shared about the Purpose of the Church, the Body of Christ. For those who were there this morning, can I request that you donít throw the paper (lyrics of the song) away so quickly? The song truly has much meaning to it, and it reflects on how some of us have been treating others we donít exactly like. We should love them, accept them for who they are, whether they are our brothers and sisters in Christ, or non-believers seeking to know the God we put our faith in.

For those who could not come down for todayís sharing and worship, I shared about how we as the Body of Christ should be a living testimony for our God, the mighty and awesome living God.

¹⁴ ìYou are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heavenî
-Matthew 5:14-16

Indeed we have to look at ourselves, and check if we are setting a good example to our friends. We have to constantly ensure that we are glorifying Godís name in everything we do. As Godís people, we should be shining for God that everyone around us would know that we are His people, and through us, how awesome our God is.

Secondly, I shared about how we should treat our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Thought we are many parts, we are only ONE body, where Christ is the head. We can have our differences and similarities, we may agree with each other and also disagree with each other, but ultimately, we are called into unity to point people heavenward toward to our Father. Since all of us are special in Godís sight and all of us have our purpose to play in His Body, who are we to feel superior, or even inferior to each other. For it says in 1 Corinthians 12:22
ì²²On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. ²⁷Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.î

Truly we are to, as brothers and sisters in Christ, help each other, pick each other up whenever he/she is down. Most importantly, we are to glorify God as ONE body. As I said earlier today, many of us may know what we should do and have faithfully been applying it to our lives, but I am sure that all of us have at least one person we disliked in our lives. I shared that a few years back, there was a new guy in church. We all found him extremely annoying because he had this squeaky voice and was always just too high and random. So week after week for three whole years we teased him, laughed at him, and mimicked him, so much so that he chose to leave our church. He didnít blame any of us, just plainly stated that this wasnít the right place for him. This served as a reminder to all of us on how we are to treat Godís people. It was a wakeup call and since then, we have been trying our best to love everyone with the love our God first gave us.

Lastly, I gave all of you a challenge, one that I truly hope you will constantly challenge yourself with. Be a shining example for our God, glorifying God in all that we do that men will see us and know that our God is real. I also want to challenge all of you to love each other with the love our God first gave us, to strengthen each other spiritually and to help each other focus on God.

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ


In His Mercy and Love,
Thaddaeus Tan

Easter Sunday!

About two weeks back, I was helping out my youth pastor in creating this video for Easter Sunday. Basically, I was doing a voice-over narration of what we might normally include in our gospel-sharing or track and I found myself telling the story of Creation, of Adam and Eve, of Noah, and of course, of Christ.

As I was doing the narration, my pastor was right beside me doing the recording, and he constantly stopped the recording midway just to tell me what kind of emotion, what kind of tone he wanted in a particular line. “Oh, that line needs to be more majestic …” , “just imagine God BREATHING the breath of life into them …”, “Imagine Jesus saying John 3:16 …”

I don’t know about you, but at that moment, my pastor’s words really laid bare for me to see how I myself read the Word, how I interpreted it. More importantly, it set me thinking of who God really is to me. What He means to me when He chose to flood the Earth, and when He subsequently chose to promise never to do it again, when Jesus came down to Earth in a manger in Bethlehem, and of course, when Jesus died for each and everyone of us, and rose from the grave. And, the list goes on, the endless events in the Bible, the uncountable things He has done for me. :D That’s my King.

Even over the last few weeks, my view of God and what it means to me to simply know Him has been expanding, changing. Unbeknownst to most people, the last few weeks for me were like the aftermath of a spiritual train-wreck. I spent half my time being really frustrated at my parents for not being able to change my subject-combination, and the other half wondering what God wants to achieve through my situation. It may seem pretty silly, (and looking back, it really is), but I guess we all have those times where God challenges us on a very personal level, at a level where only we understand.

However, when I took a step back, I started to realize the situation I was in simply meant that I had to break my own mental barriers of who God is to me. Indeed, now I know that He is Jehovah Jireh, my provider, El Shaddai, God Almighty, Jehovah Shalom, my peace, Jehovah Nissi, the Lord my banner, and so much more. And just in that moment, in that moment where we seek God amidst our struggles and problems, and really be still before Him or when we simply read His Word, he floods our memories with the reminders of what He has done for us so far, what He has promised, and of course of the fact that He is beside us every step of the way. That’s My King.

Our God is indeed INDESCRIBABLE, UNCONTAINABLE, and simply TOO MARVELOUS for words and comprehension.

During my church’s Good Friday service, they played a video adapted from a recording of a famous sermon by Dr. S.M. Lockridge, entitled “That’s My King”. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzqTFNfeDnE&feature=related) And while, God is certainly beyond description, I was really inspired by this video, and simply reminded that, indeed, That’s My King.

Frederick M. Lehman once wrote this in a song entitled “The Love of God”.

“Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above,

Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.”

Indeed, Easter Sunday has always been, and will always be about celebrating Jesus’ victory over death and sin, and of his immeasurable, infinite love for us.

Now, do me a favour. Let’s try to picture this. THAT God, OUR God, so LOVED the world, that he gave His ONE and ONLY SON, that WHOEVER believes in HIM shall not perish but have ETERNAL LIFE. And

THAT Jesus,

OUR Jesus, was

flogged,

struck,

spit on,

mocked and finally

crucified,

bearing OUR sin, OUR shame, OUR inequities upon that tree.
Now, say to yourself, That’s MY King.

To end off, Hebrews 12:2:

“ Let us fix our eyes of Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”


In the Truth of God’s Love,
Thaddeus

Blog update 12/4

Hey guys,
sorry about the state of the blog these past 2 weeks :P
I have been rather busy with many things.
ANYWAY, now the blog shall be updated regularly again, and this time I hope to get more people to post.
It doesn't matter if you're year 1,2,3,4,5 or 6, just drop me an e-mail or a sms when you feel like you have something which you REALLY want to share, it can be a message that really touched you, a personal experience, anything really!

Since today is EASTER SUNDAY...
There is a special post on Easter Sunday written by Thaddeus Lee :)


Tina

In Christ Alone: REW =)

A few weeks ago, a teacher asked my class, "What would you die for?"

Hearing it, I thought of the long circulated story of a young girl in Communist Russia who refused to spit on the Bible, and was subsequently shot, and more recently, the real-life story of Rachel Scott in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

Then, praying in the balcony today, I was led to pray for next week's REW, in particular that it would not just be a one-week event, of getting a 'spiritual high' for a while, before then allowing school and IB life to set back in again, conforming to this world...

Afterwards, during CF, we had bible study on the church of Thyatira in Revelations 2, and ended with the message of standing up for Christ, and not conforming to this world.

What would you die for? Imagine, bullet-point, right now, "Do you believe in God?". A sister in Christ put forth the question, but wouldn't that be a life wasted? What if it was just a mentally unstable mad man, who just wanted to kill for the fun of it? Wouldn't it be logical then to say no, to then use the rest of our lives to glorify God here on Earth?

Furthermore, what kind of Father would put his children in that position and risk their lives? If God wants us to believe in Him, why does He put us in situations or allow us to be born into environments sometimes that makes it so hard to believe in Him? Can we then blame a victim of child abuse for denying God because he/she just can't see how God's love has been shown in his/her life?

I'm aware I'm rambling, but I guess when it comes down to it, it's really those fundamental questions of faith, and simple questions like "Why does God allow suffering?" that shake our faith and plant those seeds of doubt. 

But addressing back the question, would you die for Christ? One of my brothers in Christ raised the example of Peter, who denied Jesus three times, but in the end Jesus accepted Him, restored Him, and Peter went on to establish the church of Rome. There was no condemnation, only forgiveness, love and acceptance. There is no 'set' way to act in these circumstances, and the Word of God still remains clear; "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." (Luke 9:26) and in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

As for the logical nature of whether making such a choice defeats the purpose of glorifying God with our lives, I can only give the simple (and perhaps unsatisfactory to some) answer, that our lives are not our own, and our lives here on earth are only a temporary place, before the time comes where we can glorify God in heaven for all eternity.

But personally, when it comes to the crunch, of standing up for God and being prepared to die for what we believe in, I feel that it is not in those dramatic, sudden moments at gun-point, but rather in those everyday, fleeting moments of our lives. The devil isn't stupid. Yes, he may try to shake our faith in those outright moments of persecution, but most terrifyingly, he shakes our faith every minute, every second in those moments of temptation, when we unconsciously, unknowingly succumb. And these attacks aren't always harsh-looking and blatently evil, more often than not, they appear in sugar-coated, seemingly innocent, thoughtless facades. 

Like in those moments when we find it easy to avoid those in our class whom everyone refuses to befriend. Or complain that chapel or that lesson is 'useless', or join in criticizing the teaching style and actions of a teacher or a fellow classmate.. Or especially, as I've begun to notice and feel more and more around me, bow and bend to the pressure of IB work and school life, become dejected and pessimistic, stressed out, or even worse, indifferent. 

I'm not saying I'm innocent of all those deeds listed above. In fact, I'm probably as guilty as the next person, and lately, I too have been struggling to experience the joy of the Lord in my life. But really, when it comes down to it, the real battle of faith, to stand up for Christ and be prepared to die for Him, is not in those dramatic life-or-death situations, but in our everyday walk with God. 

And we are not alone in that struggle. As we strive, so too does the Holy Spirit in us strive. Too often faith has been lauded as an antithesis to reason, a rejection of logical thought, just blind belief, and this has led to a subsequent pursuit for something 'higher', more 'spiritual', and we begin to look for those 'holy experiences', place more importance on those life-or-death situations in the testing of faith. But that's not faith.

Faith isn't a passive response, to just let God 'take control', while we sit back doing nothing, either in the misconception that because He is sovereign we don't have to do anything, or for fear that doing anything else would undermine the work Christ has already on the cross. This will only result in frustration at wondering why our lives haven't seemed to be transformed in any way.

And neither should faith be all about striving on our own, constant introspection and pouncing on every sin to clease, repent and purify. This too will only result after a while in disillusionment and despair at the multitude of sins and weaknesses that almost seem impossible to overcome.

The christian walk is a battlefield, and just like soldiers, we are called to be faithful, to trust in our leader, no matter how tough the situation gets, how strong the enemy seems. We may not always know what the next command is or why it is so, but we can choose to simply have faith in God's purpose for us. The bible calls us to 'work out our salvation', and this active obedience does not undermine God's sovereignty, and neither does God's sovereignty render our human actions inadequate. In prayer, we pray believing that our human action of prayer is significant, and at the same time that God is sovereign and has the power to act into our world.

Why does God make us go through all this suffering then? To some, it might still be unsatisfactory to argue that God is in control, that we should avoid such philosophical debate, that we should not seek to reason out everything, because faith is not about reason (a claim in TOK -.o). 

For myself, this simple realization is enough: That as long as we are in this world, we cannot avoid suffering in a world that has rejected God. It may seem hard to reconcile God made the earth and yet there is suffering and evil, or that evil is the absence of God yet God is everywhere... But if we understood all these things, wouldn't God cease to be sovereign? We understand this world as through a camera lens, limited by our human senses. 

Yet, I wouldn't call this blind faith, something totally illogical and beyond reason. Yes, the wonder of Christianity is that it can be explained and understood even by a small child, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we too need not seek to reason our faith and the truth of God's word. True, the Holy Spirit living and working in us can convict us of the truth, but reason is equally important in being convicted of what we believe in, and that confidence and conviction will shine through to the non-believers around us. As one of my seniors once wrote, "A faith without questions is questionable." We need reason, that we might continue to reach out to others and convince them not only of the truth of God's word, but also of the flaws in their alternative beliefs. We must not shy away and become weak in our faith, or be intolerant and respond in stubborn rejection. "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..." (1 Peter 3:15)

Still, I've met many who wonder why, if the Holy Spirit is in them, they can't feel God in their lives, still waiting for that 'spiritual high/experience' to come. 

"The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Look, the Lord is ready to pass by." A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper." (1 Kings 19: 11-12)

Let's stop searching for that 'higher', spiritual experience. Let's start realizing that the Holy Spirit is in us, working in mysterious and wonderful ways. Let's start living out our faith in action, truth and with conviction, struggling to stand up for Christ, not conform to the world around us and take up the cross, "so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe" (Philippians 2:15)

So in the next week of REW to come, let's not just sit there and hear the message that is said, but rather listen, and understand the message that is being said, whether we have heard it once, twice, or over who knows how many gazillion years already. "He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelations) And after that chapel or worship session, let's not forget immediately what God has spoken into our hearts, and return back to a world of school life and IB, get caught up again in silly conflicts, pessimism or indifference, become so wrapped up in our own bottles of self-pity that we fail to see and care for the people around us, the lost who have yet to hear his word. I know, it's hard to let others know the joy of the Lord when we ourselves find it hard to experience it. 

But joy, true joy isn't that fleeting emotion or sense of optimism; that's happiness. Happiness is temporal, but joy is everlasting. And our joy comes not from our circumstances or how good things are going for us at the moment, but it is a joy derived from the comfort of knowing He cares for us and knows the deepest desires of our hearts, derived from the hope of an eternity spent with Him to come. "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation... I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

In Christ Alone, my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song... No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from his hand; Till He returns, or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand!

And let's also have the joy of knowing that we don't run this race alone, not only in the footsteps of Jesus who has already paved the way for us, but also hand in hand with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and the angels in our midst =)

- Pet