I really love thursday. After having a heartwarming caregroup on wed, I looked forward to thursday in going to church office to listen to sermon and teaching tapes. I really looked forward to it and the real expository preaching being taught and the Word of God being taught in the way God wants it. We don't say the Word being taught is exactly the way God wants it or exactly perfect to scripture. However, as we desire to teach the heart of God out through His words in the Bible, that's where God's blessings arises.

So Andrew and I met and we took bus there. On the way, I was sharing with him about NYP A. As I share more, I grew more and more excited. Really thank God for many good hearted people He has sent to my group! In my mind were soo many things of them. One had parental objection yet desires to take on leadership role, there are people who just so desire the Word of God, there's a guy who accompanied a freshmen to club crawl. This freshmen's from a Christian family but doesn't really know God personally. So this guy suggested jokingly to the freshmen to join the Buddhist Society and convert everyone in it so that this club may be called "Buddhist Society" in the future with a tagline "BUT we are Christians.." How cool is that?!!!!

You might have guessed who this joker was. But I am really so enlarged in my heart and vision for God when this brother shared this to me. We want the whole campus to be saved. Better filled with God's people. But this alone is NOT what God wants. Better not be Christians who just wanna warm the phew on sat service or doesn't hold any truths in the Bible. This kind of group I've seen enough, they fell in the end. We must have it the way Jesus will like it. When He looks down, does He only desire to see numbers? Churches need to have standards. The level of our people practicing the Word and understanding the Word is the current standard of our group. No matter how the standards fall short of God's perfect standard doesn't mean we don't have a standard. This standard must increase or "level up" so we may grow from glory to glory.

God smiles when He sees multitudes worshipping Him but He dance and rejoices when He sees multitudes fully committed to Him. Numbers alone is too narrow a vision, we will take on the world but with God's lenses. People must stand fully for righteousness, making disciples, winning souls and do all of this biblically.

Bus screeched at the bus stop and we walked to the church office...

In the church office, Jasmine helped us got the tapes and such but the TV and electrical systems wasn't properly set up. She just so naturally went and fix the wires or something for the TV and the systems for us. I dunno why, I am really touched at this sight. Not wanting to waste her time but let her concentrate on her work, I asked her to go do her work lor... But in my heart, I am moved by the welfare of spiritual food.

Church is a family that operates a farm, have an army to conquer more lands for farming, a small hospital at a corner for the large army and a True God-Father watching over it, being delighted with what He sees.

I want the group to be a group that truly loves one another. We may lose people or lose money or lose whatever, just don't take away this love for one another!

Virginia Tech Killing - its really such a tragedy. My heart really aches. One professor of the South Korean student killer noticed something weird about him for the whole semester. He was a English major and wrote some pretty scary and hidden violence kind of thing in his plays. The professor was very troubled of him, but the school faculty told this teacher that the student can write anything they want and they just sent him for counseling.

Because of the wrong basis of freedom America has, to buy guns, to have absolute freedom. That is not the kind of freedom the Bible says. What they have is a human definition that is causing problems today. It is so rootly established they find it hard to erect some of these principles away from their society now. Even with 30 people died, 17 injured, each dead victim found with multiple gun shots...

Thankfully Singapore has a more "restrictive kind of freedom" that we are free from gunshots and many other dangerous things most of the time. For the world to truly be done away with these things is not just to bring salvation to people. Salvation is important because this is the first step. But we have to root biblical principles in our church, in everything we do, then we will be strong and strengthen this society.

Parenting

I am spending my saturdays for the past 3 weeks being a teacher's assistant in a primary school for an external education co. It was really worthwhile to spend my early mornings for these kids. They are so cute hahaha.... but more than that, they have a innocent nature. Last week, we gave out some aeroplanes that they can play and experiment with principles of science. Today a young boy(7-8 years old) just came to me and ask me for another aeroplane cos he said his younger brother who is 5 years old "destroyed my aeroplane." He is very naughty but today became quieter because of no more aeroplane... bet his brother is one "la pi xiao xin"

I don't really see the bad side of them. I wonder how some teachers call these kids "monsters." Because I'm the assistant, I just played with them, tickle some of them, get them to focus on what the teacher is saying. Along the way, as they are distracted, I just go along and ask them what they are doing. With patience and "acting like a big brother" I think many of them were quite obedient to what I ask them to do.

In parenting, I think the impatience of many parents in their tone or behaviour has alot of side effects for their children psychologically. The children are unable to express their fullest potential, either become very rebellious or become very quiet. Personality disrupted. Communication breaks down in the parent-child relationship and some exploded some time later...

When I see how we relate to our heavenly Father, He is so patient! Many times, we just take God for granted. Soon after we got used to our own lives, we kick Him aside. When problems come then we cry to Him. Unlike our earthly parents, their imperfections ensures their constant presence.

Last night, I quarrelled with my mom. I do have some little bickerings with both my mom and dad once in a moon. Whenever, I hear them say things or have ideas that are not from the Bible or the best perspective they could ever have, I will just think this in my heart "imperfect parents are like that... unlike our perfect heavenly Father" I reflected last night and it dawned upon me that my parents probably also have an idea that their son is not like Jesus...

That is the fact we are living on today... constantly relating with people who are imperfect, just as we ourselves are. All of us are imperfect. People may think untruths about us, speak maliciously or shows in their behaviour they don't like you but we still gotta love them because God loves us. And without Jesus in our lives, it'll be so hard to love people. As Christians who follow God, we may have frictions here and there, but because with a relationship with God, through the years I realised that all these are kept in control. They will not explode like how some kids hated their parents, abandon their parents or sibling-hatreds etc etc. Relationships with men becomes better as our relationship with God becomes closer. With God, its a win-win situation. After the bickering, my mom and I just talked as if nothing has happened, just a little bit more polite and appreciative of one another because there's love because of God...

That's why I say "without God, no equation fits."

This is my best Easter so far! I really really thank Jesus sooo much in my life. This easter service reminds me of WHY - why. Christianity is not a baseless religion but a relationship and so when we are busying and caught up with our 'doing', we can ask the question "why".

Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Why did Jesus die on the cross - for me and u
Why do we not feel God all the time - You cannot see God and so, we cannot use our senses to base our relationship with God. We know He loved us and He did touch our lives at some point or another but we cannot base it on feeeling all the time. But we can remind ourselves the experiences we had with Him - answered prayers, healings, Holy Spirit baptism, life changing times etc... It is a relationship by faith and constantly inspired by consistently walking right in His ways. When we walk in His ways, He promised that He will be with us. Mat 28:19-20

Why do we serve God?
Why do we love others?
Why do we come to church?
Why do we face problems?

All these are real questions and there's also a real answer = Jesus

After service, went down to Richard's house and drank the stew soup made by his grandma hahaha... inside there is lamb, potato and onions!! All are so tasty. The onions don't have much taste inside the soup so I just swallowed it.

I am hungry of Your presence...