this blog's close to dead, but hey, as long as the spirit's alive the physical manifestation can wither for all we care right? what's within is more important than what's without. anyways, i'm not sure if any of you are feeling dry or unsure about certain things right now or are just having a plain bad day. but one thing i'm sure of is that God's always there for us, all we need is the courage to own up to the fact that we have flaws and weaknesses and we can't do everything by ourselves.
anyways..douglas sent me a text with this lil short poem in it and i' think it's really cool and it means a lot.

many things bout tmr i don't seem to understand,but i know God holds tmr and he holds my hand - bro duckie

i hope u get it..cos i love it..i think it rocks..what about u?

god bless =)


-wiw

mm

He will finish the work He began in you.

Be grateful for whatever you have today and learn to count your blessings :)

And so the famous saying, "Sharing is caring".

Phina™(: was here

Challenge!

Id like you guys to think about this.. and id like you to challenge yourselves..

What if no heaven or hell exsisted, but God was still there..

If stealing, murdering, commiting adultery, lying, sinning had no consequence
If doing good had no rewards

What would you do with your life?
Would you have fun and sin or would you do what is right?

Love God not for riches nor glory, but for the simple reason that he is who he is..

Joko.. Yeah.. its me again.. deal with it..

Relationship with God

The whole world is like a masquerade..
Everyday, everywhere, people put on masks in which they hide under..
These masks are a facade, nothing more than a projection of what we think God and other people want us to be..
We do things, such as lying, to become popular, give bad attitudes to be a "badboy""badgirl"..
Sometimes we pray elaborate prayers or jump and dance for the wrong reasons, to pretend we're strong in our faith and make others feel inferior.

These masks are based on negativity, and conditioned to suit the world. Furthermore, it discounts our true selves..
By discounting ourselves, and trying to fit into the world, to become what it wants us to be, it is like rejecting God's creation of us, and rejecting what he wants us to be, for he created us all unique and in his image, to do his good work on Earth that he had planned for us a long time ago.
-Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's masterpiece. He created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
-1st Timothy 4:4
Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but recieve it with thanks by faithful people who know the truth.

We are so caught up in the things we haven't got that we often forget the things that we have got..
And because of these masks, a wall, a barrier has been built between us and God..
We feel that God is far away when actually he is all around..
Hes giving to us freely and generously, but we keep focusing on the negatives that we cant see what he is doing for us.
Ephesians 1:8
-He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding..

Now i want to pose a question to you.
Do you really love God or do you want to love him?

To have a relationship with him, you need intimacy.
To love him, you need intimacy.

Intimacy ---> Int-im-a-cy ---> Into me you see

If we have our masks and facades on, its like telling God,"God i dont want you to see into me.. stay away."

So if we want a relationship with him, we need to take away those masks, walls, barriers, and let him see the real us. We have to show him..

God is knocking on the door of our hearts, asking us to let him in..

Lastly, God isn't deal with us on the basis of merit..
He doesnt judge one higher than the other..
In his eyes, we are all the same, no matter what we do, what we have done..
So dont let yourself feel inferior in any way..
Because God deals with us simply according to his love which he lavishes on us..

Romans 8:1
-So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus
38-39
-And i am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ our lord.
Who did Jesus reach out to?
He favoured not the accomplished priests, nor the wisemen,
But instead blessed such as Zacheus, tax collector and sinner,
And the prostitute at the well.

It is one thing for God to love us and another for us to accept that love.
Tc ok you guys?
-J-

Forgivness

People often want things out of their own selfish desires, asking God for this and that, good grades, a good comfortable life, money, the love of people, etc.. But they arent willing to go out to achieve it.. they arent willing to give for it..

People want provision, demand it from God but are not willing to sacrifice for it..

Youd think that its enough that we already owe God so much.. He even lets us chooese whether or not to serve him..
But instead of thanking him, many of us demand further blessings from him..

If you follow the word of God, follow his ways, follow his calling for you, he WILL provide..
Remember the story of Abraham and Isaac?
Where abraham carried Isaac up to sacrifice him as a burnt offering unto the Lord, after he was asked to by God..
God saw his faith and then provided for him a ram that was to be sacrificed instead of his own son.

Matthew 6:14 and 15 says: If you forgive those who sin against you, then your heavenly father will forgive you.. but if you refuse to forgive others, your father will not forgive your sins.

When you cry out to God.. WHY HAVENT YOU HELPED ME DEAL WITH THIS MATTER YET?! out of unforgiveness..

Remember this, it is not because he doesnt want to deal with it, but because he is dealing with you first.. he is telling you," Because i am dealing with you first.. because i love you more than i love the stuff."

Everyone gets hurt, but an offence is only made by you..
If you take it to heart, that is your fault, not the person who said it to you..
It is you who decides to take offence against the other person..

psalsm 86 verse 5:
O lord you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.

The verse says ALL can ask for his help..

You can ask God to help you learn to forgive..

The bible doesnt place you in personality groups, saying: Only extroverts can seek forgiveness,

or only non-cynical people can seek forgiveness.

Matthew 18: 21 and 22

Do not forgive 7 times but 70 times 7

490 times..

If you havent learnt how to forgive that person of his/her faults after you count till 490, you wont have made it so far..

So God is basically telling us to keep forgiving and forgiving..

Luke chapter 6: Do not judge others and you wont be judged..

Back then, when Scottland was being invaded by the Brtions, Robert the Bruce was one of the leaders leading the resistance and a large bounty was put on his head by the British people..

He was hunted down and a pack of hounds finally found him..

He tried to escape, running and running, with a pack of Hounds tracking his scent and running after him..

He was desperate, cause he knew death awaited him if he were to be caught..

But then he saw the river, and a boat up ahead.. and he went onto it and rowed away.

The hounds, when they reached that same river could not find him.

This was because the scent of Robert the Bruce had been washed away.

And so Robert managed to escape successfully and managed to continue to fight many more years against the British.

In this same way, unforgiveness can tie us down like Robert was, with the devil hounding him and constantly pressurising him *im not saying the British are like mini devils... pardon me*

But forgiveness, like the river, makes Satan lose his scent of us. He cannot continue to pursue us with guilt or any other negatives. So let us wash in the river of life and the blood of Jesus, forgiving, and blessing and favour will be poured back into our life and we will continue to lead fruitful and meaningful lives, continuing to fight as mighty conquerors for the Lord, with nothing to tie us down.

-J-

hmm.

Now that the emo period is over, I'm fully recharged and ready to go again =D

So how's things with everyone? There have been news of my dear J2 friends getting burnt out already, while the Poly kias are still having holidays, then there are the working people, Vin serving army and Jo! Who is in Aussie having the time of his life, I think ;D

Ah, isn't it good to know that everyone is still alive and kicking? Well, more or less that is..

Anyway, with school (or Poly rather) starting in approximately 19 days which would equate to April 16th, I'm more or less excited for it. Cause, like I told some others.. New school, new year, new environment, new friends, and maybe.. New life =) But of course, can't afford to neglect God when all these are here for us.

Me got posted to Republic Polytechnic which is all the way in Woodlands. Alicia Tan will be joining me in my adventure to going up North. Told her to prepare for a butt therapy session =P (Blah blah blah..)

Okok, back to the point.. Well, just wanted to share with you all that I've been somewhat busy working in my ex-school, KC, as an admin staff and yes, some of you may know that it's voluntary, so no pay. But what the heck, it's for fun and the experience =D The people there were unfriendly at first, but, as I grew to love the job, I guess God has given me the chance to be there for them.. I'm always there for them to provide a listening ear.. And I guess it was a good opportunity to smile with them, and.. Okay, I admit that I disturb people for a living, but I don't suan them until so bad lah. You know? =D

Just about, one more week left on the job and, haha.. The teachers have agreed to give both my friend and I a working testimonial. That's if they don't lie lah =P Yepp.

Other than that, I am praying hard that I will be able to leave them with good memories that "The joy of the Lord is my strength" =D

That's my motto for now, and it motivates me to work harder even when if the requirement is minimal.. Also, we must learn to serve others cheerfully despite their attitudes towards us. After all, our purpose is to be more Christ-like =D

Good luck you all and don't give up =)

Phina™(: was here.

Humility

Something i learnt from OCF yesterday..

Humility..
How can one be humble when he will feel proud the more humble he is?
I think its to do with the mindset you have basically..
Whether you do it for humans to see, and go oh youre so humble, or whether you do it for God, to please him.

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love..
How can one be completely humble without putting yourself down?
I think its like how Jesus was completely humble, taking the position of the lowliest servant when he washed the feet of his disciples, but he still retained the knowledge that he was the Son of God..

Im not sure about these though.. if you guys have better answers tell mi k? =D
-J-