I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. [Gal 2:20]
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
http://www.ourdailyjourney.org/2011/06/22/behind-the-scenes/
Today's devotion came from the book of Esther, talking about God's work behind the scenes. Interestingly, the word God was never once mentioned in that book, however, His hand at work is ever so evident in the events that took place.
After reading about His "behind-the-scenes" work in the book of Esther, I am compelled to share about His "behind-the-scenes" work in my life in 2 particular occasions: neuro supp, gerontology late assignment.
NEURO SUPPLEMENTARY EXAM
One thing that definitely contributed to my hectic crazy second year in uni, was the hectic crazy unit called Neuroscience Neurodevelopment. Even by reading the name, one can easily see that it's meant to be 2 separate units instead of one. Clearly it felt that way to me. Weekly Neuroscience lectures, Neuroscience tutorials, Neurodevelopment online lectures, Neurodevelopment workshops, + readings + tutorial/workshop preparation worksheets... this was the most interesting yet challenging unit I've ever come across. Juggling this with 3 other units and other commitments throughout the semester, I came to realise that my knowledge of the brain was negligible when the exam study break arrived.
I had made prior arrangements with a friend shuling, to go for a roadtrip around Perth in the winter break after exams. However, after learning from ongtingtong that it was the supp exam period at that time, I decided to call it off, just in case.
Also during that winter break period, will's (a friend from Overseas Christian Fellowship) auntie's friend's friend's friend's friend's friend had a daughter, muimui coming to perth to begin uni and was looking for accommodation. Knowing that I was living alone (Geri my cousin was in Milan for exchange for a semester), he asked if my house was available to accommodate mui2 for the first few days in perth before she finds a house to settle in. [God's hand: thankfully i was not away somewhere on roadtrip, otherwise I wouldn't have had the opportunity to accommodate mui2 and wendy, her sister :)]. At that same time, I learnt that I had failed my neuroscience exam, but was eligible for a supplementary exam (THANK GOD! imagine having to repeat that unit! *shock horror shock horror horror*) so YAY: that I was not somewhere in monkey mia being a tourist and being too far away to come back to revise for my exam, and BOO: having to study instead of spending my holiday like a TRUE BLUE HOLIDAY.
The day before my supplementary exam.. I was still clueless about the brain. I could memorise certain information, but my understanding was non-existent. Drove muimui to UWA for her orientation in the morning and walked with her to wherever the orientation was, and as I was on my way to my car, there was Judy, fresh out of the exam hall.. after her NEUROSCIENCE EXAM! Exchanged greetings, told her about my doomsday yada yada and left UWA and headed home. Later in the day, Judy texted me to tell me that we could meet up if I needed any help and i was like.. YES OF COURSE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I'M DESPERATE. And so we met. And finally after one whole semester, I understood THE BRAIN. Judy taught me all these cool diagrams of the circle of willis and the cerebral arteries and etc etc which i drew on my supp exam paper which the teacher said was cool (woohooo). and VIOLA! I passed my supp exam because of God's behind-the-scenes work and perfect timing. :D
And with mui2, I'm so thankful that I could accommodate her for that short period and introducing her to OCF, because being surrounded by Christian brothers and sisters, she eventually knew about the gospel and decided to ask Christ into her heart to be her Lord and Saviour in OCF Easter Camp 2010 :)
All glory to God, whose plans are perfect and AWEEEEsomeee!
GERONTOLOGY LATE SUBMISSION
I have a problem with handing in my assignments on time. This also stresses my parents. A LOT. So one of my resolutions this year was to hand in my assignments on time but oops, i did it again (hahahha lame chop). The penalties for late submission: 10% of total assignment mark. I had a Neuroscience poster and Gerontology essay due on the Monday after Easter Tute Free week. That is crazy. But as a part time student doing 2 units, I've got it really good. But I don't know.. being the slowpoke that I am before submission date, I managed to hand in my Neuroscience poster on time, but could only hand in Gerontology the day after the due date, which meant a penalty of 4% from 40%. (which is dangerous when you are required to type 1600 words in one day). We received our essay results a few weeks later and to my amazement, I got 30.5 out of 40.. THANK GOD! but then i realised that I wasn't penalised yet for my late submission. I struggled with the decisions i had to choose from. a) keep quiet, keep the marks, keep feeling guilty? OR b) tell the teacher, get penalised, live guilt free?
it was a great struggle but thankfully after deducting 4 marks will still give me a pass mark so that made the decision making process so much easier. I chose b), because God has reminded me time and again through experiences that everything that happens in my life may not be within my control, but they are in His control. Scoring well may mean the world to me, but if that was to be done in a way that displeases God, does scoring well matter to God then? If I were to be teaching kids in Sunday school not to lie or cheat, what gives me the right to lie and cheat before God? So yes. Made the tough decision and told my tutor who told me to email the unit coordinator which I did.. Just a few days ago, here's what I got in my email inbox:
"
and for this, which was really beyond my control, I THANK GOD, who taught me to let go of things that may seem important in this lifetime, but does not last for eternity.
when I compare what I experienced to that of Esther's, I must say, hers was clearly a tougher decision to make. It was a matter of life and death. Yet, her faith in God led her to come to this decision:
(Esther 4:16)
“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Today's devotion came from the book of Esther, talking about God's work behind the scenes. Interestingly, the word God was never once mentioned in that book, however, His hand at work is ever so evident in the events that took place.
After reading about His "behind-the-scenes" work in the book of Esther, I am compelled to share about His "behind-the-scenes" work in my life in 2 particular occasions: neuro supp, gerontology late assignment.
NEURO SUPPLEMENTARY EXAM
One thing that definitely contributed to my hectic crazy second year in uni, was the hectic crazy unit called Neuroscience Neurodevelopment. Even by reading the name, one can easily see that it's meant to be 2 separate units instead of one. Clearly it felt that way to me. Weekly Neuroscience lectures, Neuroscience tutorials, Neurodevelopment online lectures, Neurodevelopment workshops, + readings + tutorial/workshop preparation worksheets... this was the most interesting yet challenging unit I've ever come across. Juggling this with 3 other units and other commitments throughout the semester, I came to realise that my knowledge of the brain was negligible when the exam study break arrived.
I had made prior arrangements with a friend shuling, to go for a roadtrip around Perth in the winter break after exams. However, after learning from ongtingtong that it was the supp exam period at that time, I decided to call it off, just in case.
Also during that winter break period, will's (a friend from Overseas Christian Fellowship) auntie's friend's friend's friend's friend's friend had a daughter, muimui coming to perth to begin uni and was looking for accommodation. Knowing that I was living alone (Geri my cousin was in Milan for exchange for a semester), he asked if my house was available to accommodate mui2 for the first few days in perth before she finds a house to settle in. [God's hand: thankfully i was not away somewhere on roadtrip, otherwise I wouldn't have had the opportunity to accommodate mui2 and wendy, her sister :)]. At that same time, I learnt that I had failed my neuroscience exam, but was eligible for a supplementary exam (THANK GOD! imagine having to repeat that unit! *shock horror shock horror horror*) so YAY: that I was not somewhere in monkey mia being a tourist and being too far away to come back to revise for my exam, and BOO: having to study instead of spending my holiday like a TRUE BLUE HOLIDAY.
The day before my supplementary exam.. I was still clueless about the brain. I could memorise certain information, but my understanding was non-existent. Drove muimui to UWA for her orientation in the morning and walked with her to wherever the orientation was, and as I was on my way to my car, there was Judy, fresh out of the exam hall.. after her NEUROSCIENCE EXAM! Exchanged greetings, told her about my doomsday yada yada and left UWA and headed home. Later in the day, Judy texted me to tell me that we could meet up if I needed any help and i was like.. YES OF COURSE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I'M DESPERATE. And so we met. And finally after one whole semester, I understood THE BRAIN. Judy taught me all these cool diagrams of the circle of willis and the cerebral arteries and etc etc which i drew on my supp exam paper which the teacher said was cool (woohooo). and VIOLA! I passed my supp exam because of God's behind-the-scenes work and perfect timing. :D
And with mui2, I'm so thankful that I could accommodate her for that short period and introducing her to OCF, because being surrounded by Christian brothers and sisters, she eventually knew about the gospel and decided to ask Christ into her heart to be her Lord and Saviour in OCF Easter Camp 2010 :)
All glory to God, whose plans are perfect and AWEEEEsomeee!
GERONTOLOGY LATE SUBMISSION
I have a problem with handing in my assignments on time. This also stresses my parents. A LOT. So one of my resolutions this year was to hand in my assignments on time but oops, i did it again (hahahha lame chop). The penalties for late submission: 10% of total assignment mark. I had a Neuroscience poster and Gerontology essay due on the Monday after Easter Tute Free week. That is crazy. But as a part time student doing 2 units, I've got it really good. But I don't know.. being the slowpoke that I am before submission date, I managed to hand in my Neuroscience poster on time, but could only hand in Gerontology the day after the due date, which meant a penalty of 4% from 40%. (which is dangerous when you are required to type 1600 words in one day). We received our essay results a few weeks later and to my amazement, I got 30.5 out of 40.. THANK GOD! but then i realised that I wasn't penalised yet for my late submission. I struggled with the decisions i had to choose from. a) keep quiet, keep the marks, keep feeling guilty? OR b) tell the teacher, get penalised, live guilt free?
it was a great struggle but thankfully after deducting 4 marks will still give me a pass mark so that made the decision making process so much easier. I chose b), because God has reminded me time and again through experiences that everything that happens in my life may not be within my control, but they are in His control. Scoring well may mean the world to me, but if that was to be done in a way that displeases God, does scoring well matter to God then? If I were to be teaching kids in Sunday school not to lie or cheat, what gives me the right to lie and cheat before God? So yes. Made the tough decision and told my tutor who told me to email the unit coordinator which I did.. Just a few days ago, here's what I got in my email inbox:
"
Dear Jeannie
Thank you for your honesty. Because of your email I decided to keep your mark for the assignment on 30.5.
Well done for doing the right thing and write to me. It takes courage.
"and for this, which was really beyond my control, I THANK GOD, who taught me to let go of things that may seem important in this lifetime, but does not last for eternity.
when I compare what I experienced to that of Esther's, I must say, hers was clearly a tougher decision to make. It was a matter of life and death. Yet, her faith in God led her to come to this decision:
(Esther 4:16)
“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Labels:
God working behind the scenes
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Getting There (3)
Text Size: Zoom In
Jun
13
2011
. . . come, follow Me —Luke 18:22
Where our individual desire dies and sanctified surrender lives. One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is the excuse of our own individual temperament. We make our temperament and our natural desires barriers to coming to Jesus. Yet the first thing we realize when we do come to Jesus is that He pays no attention whatsoever to our natural desires. We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself (see Romans 12:1). If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you— and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing Well, which is a continual Source of original life. The Spirit of God is a Well of water springing up perpetually fresh. A saint realizes that it is God who engineers his circumstances; consequently there are no complaints, only unrestrained surrender to Jesus. Never try to make your experience a principle for others, but allow God to be as creative and original with others as He is with you.
If you abandon everything to Jesus, and come when He says, “Come,” then He will continue to say, “Come,” through you. You will go out into the world reproducing the echo of Christ’s “Come.” That is the result in every soul who has abandoned all and come to Jesus.
Have I come to Him? Will I come now?
If you abandon everything to Jesus, and come when He says, “Come,” then He will continue to say, “Come,” through you. You will go out into the world reproducing the echo of Christ’s “Come.” That is the result in every soul who has abandoned all and come to Jesus.
Have I come to Him? Will I come now?
Your Spiritual Pipeline
Text Size: Zoom In
June 13, 2011 — by Dennis Fisher
Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn
Read: Psalm 57
My soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge. —Psalm 57:1
Bible in a year:
Ezra 6-8; John 21
Ezra 6-8; John 21
The believer’s spiritual pipeline to heaven is built upon firm trust in God. But if we are inflexible in our expectations of how God should work, we can run into trouble. In a crisis, we can make the mistake of shifting our focus from God to our painful circumstances. Our prayer should be, “God, I don’t understand why You have allowed this painful situation. But I am trusting in Your ultimate deliverance despite all that’s going on around me.” The psalmist expressed this so well when he wrote: “My soul trusts in You . . . until these calamities have passed by” (Ps. 57:1).
When the earth seems to move under us, let’s be flexible in our expectations but firmly confident in God’s steadfast love and care.
Press forward and fear not! Though trials be near;
The Lord is our refuge; whom then shall we fear?
His staff is our comfort, our safeguard His rod;
Then let us be steadfast and joy in our God. —Anon.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
it's interesting looking back at old text messages to see how i used to talk to some people so much but now, it's quite awkward to start .. or carry on a conversation..
it's also quite cool to see how God has blessed me along the way with different people in my life..
memories.. are so interesting.
LESS THAN A WEEK TO PREEDOM!
it's also quite cool to see how God has blessed me along the way with different people in my life..
memories.. are so interesting.
LESS THAN A WEEK TO PREEDOM!
Monday, June 06, 2011
Thank You Jesus for the cross - the symbol of forgiveness to those who believe. You were ready to give up Your life for sinners; broken, imperfect, ungrateful people who make empty promises and make ourselves our own god. You loved the people who broke Your heart time after time. You sought forgiveness from the Father on behalf of those who nailed You to the cross. In the midst of mocking voices and excruciating pain - love was on Your mind. Salvation of the nations of people who were initially headed for eternal separation from God was done by Your act of selflessness - the very reason You entered the world for. You showed us how to love and You covered and filled us with Your radical love.
In knowledge of this fact that You have died for our sins once and for all, we ought to be living in gratefulness and repentance from sinful ways that break Your heart. But how thick this wall of sin has become - blocking Your still small voice out of our lives even though we have been reminded of Your amazing grace. Forgive us Lord, for making light the message of Your love - for taking things into our own hands even though we know that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to You. Forgive us for choosing what we want over what You know we need. Forgive us for the hate, bitterness, pride, jealousy in our lives. Forgive us for all the times we ignore the poor and the needy. Forgive us for thinking that we are of higher social standing than others.
Come Lord Jesus, heal our land - renew our hearts - purify and polish them. Dwell in our hearts and reign in our lives. Come take Your place as king - our Lord and Saviour. May each day of our lives bring You glory and praise. May Your name be magnified.
Luke 6:35
...because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful...
In knowledge of this fact that You have died for our sins once and for all, we ought to be living in gratefulness and repentance from sinful ways that break Your heart. But how thick this wall of sin has become - blocking Your still small voice out of our lives even though we have been reminded of Your amazing grace. Forgive us Lord, for making light the message of Your love - for taking things into our own hands even though we know that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to You. Forgive us for choosing what we want over what You know we need. Forgive us for the hate, bitterness, pride, jealousy in our lives. Forgive us for all the times we ignore the poor and the needy. Forgive us for thinking that we are of higher social standing than others.
Come Lord Jesus, heal our land - renew our hearts - purify and polish them. Dwell in our hearts and reign in our lives. Come take Your place as king - our Lord and Saviour. May each day of our lives bring You glory and praise. May Your name be magnified.
Luke 6:35
...because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful...
Monday, May 30, 2011
Keeping The Wonder
Text Size: Zoom In
May 29, 2011 — by David C. McCasland
Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn
Read: 2 Peter 1:2-11
If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. —2 Peter 1:8
Bible in a year:
2 Chronicles 7-9; John 11:1-29
2 Chronicles 7-9; John 11:1-29
On a recent trip, my wife was seated near a mother with a young boy on his first flight. As the plane took off, he exclaimed, “Mom, look how high we are! And everything’s getting smaller!” A few minutes later he shouted, “Are those clouds down there? What are they doing under us?” As time passed, other passengers read, dozed, and lowered their window shades to watch the in-flight video. This boy, however, remained glued to the window, absorbed in the wonder of all he was seeing.
For “experienced travelers” in the Christian life, there can be great danger in losing the wonder. The Scriptures that once thrilled us may become more familiar and academic. We may fall into the lethargy of praying with our minds but not our hearts.
Peter urged the early followers of Christ to continue growing in their faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (2 Peter 1:5-7). He said, “If these things are yours and abound [or are increasing], you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.8). Without them we become blind and forget the marvel of being cleansed from our sins (v.9).
May God grant us all grace to keep growing in the wonder of knowing Him.
On such love, my soul, still ponder
Love so great, so rich, so free;
Say, while lost in holy wonder,
“Why, O Lord, such love to me?” —Kent
Continual growing in Christ
comes from a deepening knowledge of Him.
For “experienced travelers” in the Christian life, there can be great danger in losing the wonder. The Scriptures that once thrilled us may become more familiar and academic. We may fall into the lethargy of praying with our minds but not our hearts.
Peter urged the early followers of Christ to continue growing in their faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (2 Peter 1:5-7). He said, “If these things are yours and abound [or are increasing], you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.8). Without them we become blind and forget the marvel of being cleansed from our sins (v.9).
May God grant us all grace to keep growing in the wonder of knowing Him.
On such love, my soul, still ponder
Love so great, so rich, so free;
Say, while lost in holy wonder,
“Why, O Lord, such love to me?” —Kent
Continual growing in Christ
comes from a deepening knowledge of Him.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
I don't know where to start, but let's just say that I am feeling overwhelmed by God's blessings in my life.
after a 2 hour talk on our fieldwork placements for 2012 from 12-2pm, i walked out of hollis theatre and bumped into Janice, who felt the same way as i was feeling at the moment: VERY HUNGER (puan, 2011).. So, we walked to the main cafe together and had a straight to the point catch up session while savouring our $4.50 guild special - curry and rice.YUMYUMYUMYUM..
Oceanic Conference
Rick Warren - Hearing God's Voice
1. Scripture
2. Thoughts/Ideas
3. People
4. Pain
I've been so blessed. I can recall my first semester in uni, when I received grades so good that it didn't match the amount of effort i had put into it compared to my coursemates, I even felt bad that I scored such good grades. I thank God.
My second year was a time of trials and challenges where my life seemed to be going in a downward spiral, mentally, I felt I was going to breakdown. Having overcommitted myself to various opportunities to serve in ministry and struggling to balance and prioritise, my grades were the first to plummet, and to cut a long story short, I ended up having 2 units to repeat and that pushed me back by one year. It was a challenging learning experience but by God's grace, I've been able to accept these successes and failures as moments that have shaped who I am. I have been also struggling with an issue of not being able to hand in my assignments on time.. ever since the first late submission, it just seemed impossible to hand them in on time. I thank God for weaknesses and failures to remind me that I am only human and I am flawed. But also reminding me to place my confidence not on my earthly successes or myself, but in Him - the unfailing, almighty - the one who has all authority, and His amazing plans for the world.
ok i needa do other stuff hehe
after a 2 hour talk on our fieldwork placements for 2012 from 12-2pm, i walked out of hollis theatre and bumped into Janice, who felt the same way as i was feeling at the moment: VERY HUNGER (puan, 2011).. So, we walked to the main cafe together and had a straight to the point catch up session while savouring our $4.50 guild special - curry and rice.YUMYUMYUMYUM..
Oceanic Conference
Rick Warren - Hearing God's Voice
1. Scripture
2. Thoughts/Ideas
3. People
4. Pain
I've been so blessed. I can recall my first semester in uni, when I received grades so good that it didn't match the amount of effort i had put into it compared to my coursemates, I even felt bad that I scored such good grades. I thank God.
My second year was a time of trials and challenges where my life seemed to be going in a downward spiral, mentally, I felt I was going to breakdown. Having overcommitted myself to various opportunities to serve in ministry and struggling to balance and prioritise, my grades were the first to plummet, and to cut a long story short, I ended up having 2 units to repeat and that pushed me back by one year. It was a challenging learning experience but by God's grace, I've been able to accept these successes and failures as moments that have shaped who I am. I have been also struggling with an issue of not being able to hand in my assignments on time.. ever since the first late submission, it just seemed impossible to hand them in on time. I thank God for weaknesses and failures to remind me that I am only human and I am flawed. But also reminding me to place my confidence not on my earthly successes or myself, but in Him - the unfailing, almighty - the one who has all authority, and His amazing plans for the world.
ok i needa do other stuff hehe
Monday, May 23, 2011
so because it feels like winter is here...a tip to those fighting the chilly wind/ chilly even without the wind.. WALK TO THE TRAIN STATION WITH A THICK BLACK JACKET.
that's what i did this morning in supposedly 5 degrees celsius according to my dad but it would probably have risen with the sun.. pretty sure that if i took my jacket off at the train station, water vapour will rise from my body and i'll be walking with a cloud right above my head.
anyway, came across this verse which i have not read in a while and thought that it was pretty timely as ocf curtin committee starts hunting for the next term's comm members.
1 Cor 3:7 "so neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
Paul was addressing the church in Corinth, as they were divided over which leader was greater and who they should follow. They have failed to recognise that all the leaders were working towards the same goal - for the church to grow in Christ. And also, that it is God who makes things grow.
Indeed, we can do all things through Christ, and Christ alone :) And I'm thankful that it is God making things grow :D how much are man capable of compared to His BIG HANDS?
that's what i did this morning in supposedly 5 degrees celsius according to my dad but it would probably have risen with the sun.. pretty sure that if i took my jacket off at the train station, water vapour will rise from my body and i'll be walking with a cloud right above my head.
anyway, came across this verse which i have not read in a while and thought that it was pretty timely as ocf curtin committee starts hunting for the next term's comm members.
1 Cor 3:7 "so neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
Paul was addressing the church in Corinth, as they were divided over which leader was greater and who they should follow. They have failed to recognise that all the leaders were working towards the same goal - for the church to grow in Christ. And also, that it is God who makes things grow.
Indeed, we can do all things through Christ, and Christ alone :) And I'm thankful that it is God making things grow :D how much are man capable of compared to His BIG HANDS?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)