The Story of the Rich Fool

The following story is one of the many that was taught during a week @ the Sunny Coast. The story is quite bold and anti-cultural in that it challenges our perspectives. It is also interesting as the story contains another story within it.

Someone from the crowd asked Jesus: 'hey, can you tell my bro to divide the inheritance with me?'. Jesus: 'huh :S, who appointed me as judge between you 2?' He then said, 'watch out for all kinds of greed! Life is not all about abundance in $$ slash gadgets.'

Jesus told them this story:

There was a rich man who had an abundance of crops. He thought to himself: 'Hang on, I actually don't have enough space to store it all up! Hmm... what should I do? Ah! This is what I'll do: I'll tear down my smaller barns and build huge ones, so I can store up all my crops. And then I'll be set for my life - I'll take life easy, eat, drink, and chill!'

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night ur life will be demanded from you. Then who will get all this stuff u've prepared for urself?

Jesus, then concluded, saying, 'this is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.'

Ref: Lk 12

This story strikes me with a familiar chord. So often do I get caught up thinking that all there is to life is $$ - watch the numbers in ur back account grow, get good grades --> top job, climb the ladder, etc. Now, $$ and a good career is an awesome blessing from God, so don't get me wrong, but I guess the trick is to be rich towards God through it.

I know in my life, being rich towards God is hard! It's easy to say that you can be rich towards God, but doing it is another matter, entirely!

For me, this story gives me a good reminder, and helps me get my perspectives right.

Goodness and Coffee

Today was my first day of work experience.

It was great - nice and relaxing. There is such a friendly working environment there - a friendly boss and friendly solicitors, unlimited access to the boss' food (their golden rule), and - exceptional coffee.

I'm no coffee expert but, I must say, it's the best I've ever had. It was just amazing. Amazing machine, amazing frothy stuff, amazing coffee beans. There were a nice variety of quality coffee beans available - about 20ish - all subtly and stylishly different. I only tasted one coffee bean type today, looking forward to the next time I work.

But what hit me the most today was: God's goodness. A month or two ago, I applied to many firms. Some responded initially, but not long after the first phone-call/email/interview, there were no more. It made me wonder - opportunities were open and slammed with a bang.

When I came to this particular firm's interview, God reminded me that He is the One that opens doors and closes them. I don't need to fear and be anxious (though I was!), as He shall open and close doors by will.

I had a drama getting to that interview. I was actually late. I somehow got extremely lost - despite it only being a 10 min drive from my place (and I left 45 mins early!). I was speeding and also nearly crashed. But God in His mercy - got me there - and presented me with such an awesome job environment. He provides, hey. :)

But I don't understand God's goodness... Anyways, all I know is that God's good!

Promises

I don't know about you, but I make promises to God occassionally. From selfish asian-bargaining promises: "if you do this for me, I'll do that for you", to promises testing and expressing my 'love' for Jesus. Unfortunately, after the heat of the moment dies, memories of what God has done for me seems distant, His providencial acts forgotten, and the weight of my promises vapourised.

I want these promises to completely evaporate - cuz I've forgotten what God has done for me. I try to justify why I can't fulfil them or whatnot. But they make me unsettled, uncomfortable. It is the knowledge that I have made a promise to my God, and have not fulfilled it. Is it guilt? What's the main trigger of this unsettling feeling?

"When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil ur vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfil it. Do not let ur mouth lead u into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of ur hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God."

Pretty explicit to me. So, maybe a vow to God = binding contract without termination?

Crossing the Finishing Line

I can't think properly, but I'm totally bored right now, so I shall make a short post. :P

Past few weeks have been pretty draining and stressful. But hey, God's shown me again and again that I don't need to stress like crazy cuz He carries me in His arms. Despite the stress, He's been looking after me - helping me keep things in perspective (that God is BIG, I'm not), bringing ppl to support me, and when received encouragement from our God, the God of peace, there's always opportunities to try and encourage others with that comfort. What's also cool is that although exams are pretty big, they're tiny in comparison to our Almighty God!

And so 2 years of uni has nearly come to end. Have my last one tmr! I've been slack with this subject - throughout semester - so don't deserve to do well at all. Oh well. :)

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Look!

"The people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!


Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.


The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived." (Nu 21: 4-9)

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"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." (Jn 3:14)

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Reminder to myself: just look up to the Rescuer. Just look at Christ lifted up. Just, look up!

Where's my heart?

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mt 6: 21)

Mid-sem To-Do list

• Get plenty of quiet time in. Hope to get alot of progress with Romans, and chat with God heaps. Oh, and finish off BSF.
• YF prep
• Catch up on the lectures that I missed (I think about 18hrs in total :P)
• Start and (nearly) finish 2 SLAT assignments
• Get some chores done - eg., clean my messy room
• Catch up with friends (if my health permits)
• Play lots of baddy (if my health permits)
• Apply for Summer work - work experience and retail jobs.

After typing that list...I realise it's a fair bit... arghh... see how much of it gets done. :)

Cont (2) (see previous post)

"A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honour due to me? If I am a master, where is the respect due to me?" says the LORD Almighty" (Mal 1:6).

The next chunk of verses tell of how the priests sacrificed "crippled or diseased animals" to God. God is displeased as "He is a great king", and demands the best from His people in sacrifice to Him.

How often do I make a promise to God that I will give this to God, but then I either do not give it to God at all, or make a compromise, doing an asian bargaining thing with God: God, how about I give this instead (a smaller amount, or if it's something that I promised that I would do, how about I do it later, and do something else altogether). But surely, if He is a "great king...and [his name] is to be feared" (Mal 1: 14), where is His honour? It saddens me that I often don't treat Him as King, and instead, treat Him as my servant - sigh. Malachi is a good reminder to me that He is God Almighty, so I better treat Him and fear Him as God Almighty.

I'm really interested in this Book, and there are alot of things I don't understand:

1. So what actually happened to Edom?
2. When the "dreadful day" is described in 4:1-6, and "judgment" in 3: 1-5) is it referring to the Lord's first or second coming, or both?

Malachi intrigues me! :)

In FEAR and in AWE (1)

I was reading Malachi today, and this Book reminded me to fear and be in awe of our God Almighty - praise God! Here's a few reasons that triggered this reminder:

"I (ie. God) have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated" (Mal 1: 2,3). My first reaction is: what has Esau done to deserve to be 'hated', and what has Jacob done to be loved? I flip to Genesis, and Jacob seems to be the devious & mischevious one. After Esau's hard work he is famished and asks Jacob for his stew. But Jacob is the one that takes advantage of Esau's starving state and makes a deal with Esau to exchange stew with birthright (Gen 25: 29-34). Later, Jacob lies and misleads in order to take Esau's blessing from his father (Gen 27). It's illogical - shouldn't Jacob be the one "hated", and Esau, the one "loved" by God? Doesn't this passage refute the claim that God is love?

But, perhaps, it's not a matter of what Esau and Jacob has done. Perhaps it's not a matter of man's desire or effort. Rather, it may be about God's sovereign choice and mercy (Ro 9: 10-16ish). That He, because He is God - the God Almighty, gets to choose whom He should have compassion with, and whom He should have mercy on. Because He is the Great God, He gets to choose who are His people, and He gets to choose whose land He will destroy (in this case, Esau's: see Mal 1:3-5ish). Knowing how holy and sovereign God is, made me: wow...

(For better readability I'm going to post (2) in the next post) :)

UF camp

I'm back from UF camp - it was great!

Although I came into the camp with a very bad attitude (being extremely tired, grumpy, self-centred, withdrawn), God reminded me of His amazing attributes: that He is a compassionate, just, loving, forgiving, great, providing and an awesomelypeaceful God. Isn't it just an amazing blessing that by knowing that God is who He is (encompassing all these great and more attributes), we can be confident that He will always act in line with His holy character. For example, by knowing that God is a God who provides, we can live our life each day knowing that He will provide for our daily needs. :D :D

I was also reminded to allow Him to take up His throne of my heart. A struggle that I constantly face is that I allow myself and my desires to take up the throne of my heart, and by so doing, kick God of His rightful place. Those desires at their may not be bad, even good. But the problem is when it becomes an idol, and competes for my passion that should be for God alone.

Great camp, overall!

Xie xie ni

YES. Got those 2 assignments done and handed in on time on Friday - thank you, God! God's been showing me again and again that He really does provide for me, whether in big or small ways. And ALL the time I don't deserve this providence at all. It really does reflect God's graciousness. It did take an all-nighter, though. It was REALLY strange seeing the sun rise up... And on Friday it was really strange...that a day had passed without sleep. :O

Pretty cool experience, but not really keen to experience it again. :P

So after coming back from UF camp, I've been paying back my sleep debt with interest. :D Around 26 hrs over the two nights. :D

1:26am

It's going to be a long night...these 2 assignments are really eye-balling me...

...but when I am weak He is strong. :)

Extension!

Yeah...my SLAT lecturer just decided to give us an extension for our assignment originally due tomorrow! It's now due on Friday! Ohh yeaaaaaaaa, PTL!

Extensions: I like!

A Love for Law - God's law

Was reading Psalm 119 this morning - it's beautiful, I love it! It took me a number of attempts to get through it, though. I felt so tired and sleepy (from assignment-ing in the very early morning and night before), so after reading a section I napped for ~20mins, which would energise me through to the next chunk. I think I had about 4 * ~20 min naps in total. Ahh, naps are tops. It was good that it gave me time to allow the Psalmist's words to sink in during the nap. (If I drive to uni, I'm going to bring a small pillow from now on. Coz atm I rest my head on my arms, blocking the blood flow - so I'm forced to wake up after 20 mins as a result of the pins and needles.) ANYWAYS, that's not the main point. :P

What stood out out to me was the Psalmist's deep love for God and His law. When you read it, it is clear of His immense desire and thirst for God. He lovesGod's law "more than gold, pure gold" and "rejoice[s] in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches".

I wondered: why does he, and how can he love God and love obeying God's law THAT much? Is that just a desire as a result of randomness - that people are different, and this dude instead of loving to break the rules he chooses to love God's law at his own will? Or does God play a part in affecting that desire? And if He does play a part, to what extent? (Umm, I don't really know...)

Although the Psalmist has experienced the shame (v.6) as a result of his disobedience to God at times, he has also experienced the blessedness of those who follow God (v. 1). God's Word and His promises strengthens him in times of sorrow (v. 28) and preserves his life (v. 50). He considers God's law as 'righteous', 'good', 'eternal', 'trustworthy', 'a lamp to [his] feet' and 'right' etc etc, the list goes on.

So, it seems that he has really experienced God's awesome & wonderful goodness as he seeks to trust and obey God's law. And, perhaps, by experiencing the goodness of God, it spurs him on to continue to trust and obey God.

As I reflect, I had wondered immensely in the past how I could love God and treasure obedience to His commands to such an extent (as to even love it more than $$ etc etc). But, as God opens my eyes more and more to see His amazing goodness in my life, it continues to drive me to continue to love and seek God more and more.

I remember meeting some oldies who were clearly in love with Jesus - shown by their countenance, actions and words. They were one of the happiest chaps I've ever met. Their countenance just reflected an aura of joy. They were pretty old, a decade or two off being a centenarian. It's awesome to see that their love for our Lord and Saviour has not gone cold, but in fact, is still growing vertically at that age. I hope that, by God's grace, that my love for my God will continue to deeepen and deepend and deepen...and deepen. :)

The Provider

Yesterday I had an assignment due @ 4pm. And it turned quite eventful. :P This is what happened:

In the early morning, I was reminded how God provides for us. A friend sent me an email of God provided for her test. Also remembered how another friend had an exam that day, and I remembered thinking: okay, I look forward hearing how God provides for her. This made me wonder how God would provide for me, especially since my assignment was only half-finished.

2:50pm: I still had not finished my assignment yet. I sprinted to my bus stop and got there @ exactly 2:55pm (my bus was due to come @ 2:55pm).

Waited for 10mins-ish and bus still did not come. Thought: "uh oh", and really wondered how God would provide for me this time. Started singing the first song that came to mind, being: "Seek ye First the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you as well". I thought, there really is no point waiting...I should walk to another bus stop. And then...noticed a car pulled over, and I realised, hey this is my friend. He drove me to Sunnybank, where it's easier to catch the bus to uni.

3:20pm: I continued working on my assignment on my laptop @ the bus station, while I was waiting for the bus. I noticed that there was a passenger getting onto a bus in the corner of my eye. I raced towards the bus - but it started to leave. I thought I'll give it a wave, maybe God will help me out here...but nope, driver ignores me.

3:30pm: Transferred from sunnybank to Griffith Busway. Was waiting for a bus direct to uni now. I thought: now there really is no way how I'm going to get to uni on time. I still need to transfer my document onto a uni comp, and then print it out, and then hand it in. I just wonder why God provide for me bits and pieces (like provide transport for me to go to a more central bus station), but not fully provide - gonna be late! What's He doing?! But then I was also reminded that God is sovereign, and after all, He is God. There's nothing I've done, or ever done that warrants His love and grace. He does whatever to get His name glorified.

3:50pm: Got to uni. I had a thought: God's really going to provide this time. I know it. Jogged to the library. When I got to the library I thought: uh oh, it's pretty hard to find a comp right now at this time. Oh how right I was. Pretty packed library. I thought: Okay, God, by Your grace, by your grace, please. You've provided for me so much, you'll continue providing for me, right. A few more steps, and a guy just in front of me left...Go God!

3:57pm: I printed & stapled the pages of my asssignment. Noticing that my laptop was quite heavy, I approached the librarian and said: "I have an assignment due in a few minutes, would you mind looking after my laptop while I sprint to hand it in on time?" He was okay with that.

3:58pm: SPRINTED & stuffed my assignment down the pidgeon hole @ 3:59pm according to my watch. Acting like a fool, I asked the staff what the time was according to their clock. She said: "1 minute....to 4". :D :D :D

So, God is good. :D He is loving, gracious, compassionate, and amazingly sovereign. Although it was my fault for leaving it so late, He still graciously provides for us. Even tho assignments are so, so incredibly tiny in His eyes. What hit me the most was the knowing that I have done NOTHING to deserve all the amazing things He's done for me. And what Has he done? Yes, provides for helping me get my assignment in on time. But that's not it. MOST importantly, He has provided Jesus.

Friends, He provided Jesus, the only worthy One to take God's wrath. He provided Jesus to take the punishment that we rightly deserved as a result of our disobedience to God. He provided Jesus, so that we might know God, and spend eternity with our loving and almighty Saviour. :D Woohoo!

ps. Sorry for this incredibly wordy post. I hope it makes sense. :)

Again, God provides...assignment completed!

Aiyah

Aiyah, assignment due tomollow!

And again, stress is zooming in.

Look forward how God provides as I work hard at it. :)

Look twice before you sit on a toilet seat!

Man's bottom glued to toilet seat at Cairns Central

PRANKSTERS glued an elderly man's bottom to a toilet seat in the public loos at a Cairns shopping centre, forcing him to sit tight during a highly embarrassing rescue.

The 70-year-old Cairns man was stuck so fast he had to be taken from the men’s toilets with the toilet seat still attached, in full view of a gathering crowd of curious Cairns Central.

He was taken by ambulance to Cairns Base Hospital where it is understood industrial-strength solvents were used to dissolve the glue, Cairns.com.au reports.

Police said it was the second case of a strong, fast-acting glue being smeared on a seat in the same men’s toilets that day, although in the earlier incident the man had been able to get up before the glue set.

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman yesterday said the elderly man, who did not want to be identified, was "pretty distressed about the whole thing".

Cairns Police District’s Supt Brent Carter said he was "ropeable" about Saturday's prank and appealed for public help to identify the culprit.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25972286-26103,00.html

Baddy

Had fun playing 3.5 hrs of baddy today. :D

That's my exercise for this week. :D

Humility

After listening to Driscoll's talk on humility at UF, I feel so very convicted and challenged. I'm humbled to know that I am filled with so much pride. But praise God for His grace that will continually transform us to be like Christ. :D

An interesting point I picked up was: God's calling and God's timing are different in the sense that, God may have called one for ___, but the present time it may not be His timing.

Where does my help come from?

The Psalmist in Psalm 121 says:

I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let ur foot slip - he who watches over u will not slumber...
...The Lord watches over you - the Lord is ur shade at ur right hand...
...The Lord will keep u from all harm - he will watch over ur life;
the Lord will watch over ur coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Recently, I've been going through some stressful issues. Often I try to tackle my problems with my own ability - for example, by rationalising things and solving them with my own strength, without seeking God. Very quickly do I realise that it's foolish to merely solve things on my own, it just does not work!

I'm reminded by this Psalm to seek God and focus on Him especially in this time of need. Just speaking on my present experience, when I entrust to Him my problems and trust that He will take care of them, I see how small these problems are in comparison to our BIG God; and see how mighty He is. I wonder sometimes, why, I don't just go to God when hardship comes. Because I know if I do, I will be peaced out, knowing that God is in full control.

Sigh

Sigh.

Blessings - count them la!

A few days ago, I had a chat with two international Iraqi students. They've been here for 5 months, and are here to improve their already fairly good English.

They shared about their frustration of feeling segregated in this country. Despite their thirst and deep longing (I've never met anyone who are so desperate to know English than those two before!) to practice English with the people here, they simply cannot, since they do not have any non-Iraqi friends. They suggested it might be the result of the media portraying a negative light on the Middle Eastern people.

During the convo, I reflected on my attitude to people of different cultural backgrounds. Quite shamefully, I realise that often, perhaps because of my pride, I am usually unwillinging to step out of my comfort zone to reach out to people of different backgrounds, or just anyone who I consider as strangers.

But, how does God treat people of different age, backgrounds, languages etc? I find it amazing, and remarkable that Jesus came into the world to die for the stuff-ups of everyone, not just for the Israelites, but for everyone. Everyone!

The Iraqi students deep longing to know English (I can't emphasise their thirst to know English in words!) taught me that having the privilege to know English is such an amazing blessing in itself! In the past, I have always taken the English language for granted, never before seeing it as a blessing.

And to be able to use this language to teach others is just another blessing... Our God is such a great God who pours His blessings abundantly.

License

Approaching the 100 hour mark...finally. :)

I'm really thankful to God that He has blessed with such great family and friends. For so long, they have selflessly driven me to so many places...in times when there really is a need, or other times just to make things more convienient for me, even when it's not too convienient for them.

When I get my license, God-willing, hopefully I can return that favour. And also to keep demonstrating this love to others who don't have the convienience of the car.

Hello, uni!

Holidays have finally come to a close. I'm really thankful that it was a fruitful holiday, one filled with refreshing reflection, joy and challenges!

Now I look forward to this coming semester. By God's grace, ready to face the challenges ahead by keeping my focus on my Saviour. And, of course, also by His grace, to share the times of joy and struggles with my awesome family and friends.

Missing Chickens

My chickens have decided that they are adventurous and have done a runner.

Bye bye, will miss your eggs dearly.

RIP.

God's Calling

I've been wondering, what exactly is "God's calling". What does it mean?!

For example, over the years, I've heard these phrases used quite frequently: "God has not called me to do [this]...", or "God has called me into this ministry".

Would love to hear your thoughts! :)

MYC: Relationships

Hello there! I'm back from MYC (Mid Year Camp), it was pretty cool! It was a challenging yet very refreshing week in God's Word and with His awesome people. :) Theme this year was relationships. Here's a very brief summary of the talks:

• We're all made: for fulfilling, intimate human relationships, to live in relationship with creation, and for relationship with God.
• Sex is awesomely good in the context intended by God, i.e. between a husband and wife.
• God creates because of His overflowing love, and nature glorifies His majestic nature.
• Whether in singleness or marriage (both good), live it devoted to the Lord, in a way to further God's kingdom.
• Our life's purpose should be centred on God. When this happens, our relationships, vocation, recreation is in proper order, for God, which has eternal significance.
• Love one another as Jesus have loved us.

After coming back from camp made me really count His blessings, and opened my eye at how GREAT God is. :D

YF Camp: Anchored

Our Youth Fellowship had a camp in early July. :)

Living in a world dominated by ideologies pushing us to place our security in anything but God, for example in wealth, status, self-fulfilling pleasure; Jesus quite radically calls us to place ALL our trust in Him - to be ANCHORED into Him ALONE.

It was amazing to see God's work in the YFers, inspiring them to be anchored to Christ only. Such a decision is not an easy one to make, yet the most secure...one that lasts for eternity. :) The camp was certainly a 'high' for me...and it seems that it was equally motivating for the YFers. :)

But it's a BIG challenge it seems to continue being Anchored in Christ, after returning to usual life. Pretty much everything screams out to us demanding our attention, and yells at us to focus away from Jesus. I wonder how we can help the YFers to continue to work out their committments/goals made in camp. Because sometimes, and often for me, 'the spirit is willing but the body is weak'. :(

I wonder...for the YFers, how their desire/motivation experienced during camp can be maintained...in times of busyness (school!), distractions etc etc etc. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Ps. Praise God 4 making the camp so smooth, and praise Him for using tiny sinful people like us to bring Him glory! :D

Cairns

Haven't been posting for a while, but here's a quick summary of what happened during the six days @ Cairns:

• Snorkelled @ Great Barrier Reef! :D
• Toured Daintree :D
• Sky-railed :D
• And enjoyed 2 seafood buffets! :D
• De-stressed from exams

Highlight of the trip for me was snorkelling @ the Reef. Although water was freezing (even in 'Summer'), was quite spectacular and eye-opening to see the vast life in the oceans...what a creative, amazing and mighty Creator we have! Never seen so many beautiful fish in one spot.

:D

It's holidays! :D

I'm super excited - off to Cairns tmr! :D

A Series of Unfortunate Events

It's now 2:40am. And...I'm up nice and awake! Except I'd prefer to be in bed by now, esp since I have a test tomorrow! But it's at around late lunch, so that's not toooo bad... I'm glad that it's not an 8am one.

Attempted to sleep before 12. Failed. :( Kept tossing and turning with contracts law jumping around in my head! Then, quite randomly, started to have a mild asthma attack. Pretty random, since I haven't had asthma for yearsssss now. After a coughing fit, I'm bright and awake.

This is a first...staying up @ this insane time b4 an exam. Not preferrable, but hey, can't do much.

Back to some serious nerding now. And hopefully...sleep...soon. Sleep is goooood. :)

A Speck in a Speck!

Today our speaker challenged us to see the significance of how insignificant we are. This photograph was shown to illustrate this:

Taken nearly 4 billion miles away, if you look carefully, there's a little dot. That dot is earth! If you still can't see it, it's roughly half-way down the sunbeam on the right.

In the words of Carl Sagan, "look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives... [on] a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light."

So, if I'm (along with several billion others) a tiny speck in that miniscule speck, my worries, anxieties, concerns, upcoming exams, are really not that significant in the grand scheme of things, is it? Like, what if I don't do as well as I'd liked to in this upcoming exam? Boo hoo. No wonder God tells us not to worry. There's nothing to worry about, if we're (a speck in that speck)created by this BIG God, who, as the Bible claims, also created that speck and everything in it...by...a few verbal commands. :O But as a speck who gets absorb in that speck, I keep forgetting this, and often think that hey, my problems are too great for this God. But how can they be too great?

Yet, this same BIG God knows me before I was born, and knows me so well to the extent that the hairs on my head are counted. According to the Bible, He loves me (and all the other tiny, tiny, tiny billions of specklings) so much that He would send His Son to come into this speck to die for me, a speckling. A BIG hunble, loving God who was willing to die for the specklings who reject Him, and actually want Him dead. Why? So that if we specklings believe in Jesus, we can spend eternity with our BIG BIG creator. To me, this is mind-blowing.

When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have sent in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him? (Ps 8:3-4)

My Dodgy Canto

So often we have the privilege of laughing at chinglish. For me, I get my fair dose of beautifully expressed chinglish from the Asian adults at my church. Oh, and I might add that my parents, at times, are quite proficient at this too. :) Though all done in a friendly manner, I've never really understood how it must feel to have your chinglish get laughed at.

Today I had the rare yet unique opportunity of publicly providing some Canto-English humour. As we have an up-coming church youth group camp (for high-schooler's), some of us had the privilege of presenting a short promo for the adults - informing them of what's happening, etc. All in Canto. Wooo. :D

Ever since the last time I visited Hong Kong in 07, my Canto has declined - exponentially. I know that I can't pronounce most, and, alot of the words properly, yet I can't fix my pronounciation. Just like the proficient Chinglish speakers, but with their Chinglish. :)

So, as I was presenting, I know that I mis-pronounced heaps of words. How do I know? Just look at the reaction of the audience. Bursts of (friendly) laughter. Yes, even when we were informing them about more serious things. I had the aid of my own style of "pinyin" during the presentation. Eg., 'qing lin yun yi ga mien dui tsien bien man fa gor cong gik.' Pretty sure this is unrecognisable? I don't know, might be pleasantly surprised. :)

I smiled to myself as I was presenting, as I had a taste of what it felt like being laughed at (in a friendly way of course) for speaking dodgy Canto. Ahhh, the pleasant privilege of being on the receiving end of providing badly spoken Canto, as humour. :)

Pretty awesome experience!

Ohh, I also would like to add that I (and others) were quite nervous about this. Canto is really not my/our forte. So, we were fully relying on God and His amazing ability to provide, which He did, as we got the message across boldly. Fairly clearly as well I think/ hope (the content, not the pronounciation lol). I find it quite awesome and amazing that God will use little humans like us, and use our weaknesses (in my case, my dodgy Canto) to glorify Him.

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Ps. quite unrelated, but go Fed!

BIG Upset

French Open - Nadal lost! :D :D :D Unbelievable...thought he would stomp through the rest of the draw with straight sets wins after he squished Hewitt...

Haha, now this just leaves the door open for Roger. :D :D :D No more Murray or Djokovich either, haha!

No. 14th slam for him soon...hopefully.

Meanwhile...in the women's draw...didn't know Stosur was soo good. She's awesome, go her. Hope she wins...all the way. :D

Swine flu alert

Been sick since Thurs night. Nah, it hasn't been too bad, just a sore throat, on and off headache and a niggling cough.

I'm actually quite grateful that it has to be during this time of the semester that I'm sick. It would not bode well had it got me a few weeks earlier, with the rush of assignments/mid-sems. It wouldn't be that great a few weeks later either, since it's exam block.

Though, unfortuantely, had to skip a few planned activities over the past few days - a meeting, youth group and a coaching session. Oh, and some revision for Mon & Tues test. Oh well, boo hoo.

I also feel rather awake right now, after a good, quality hibernation today! Feels like I'm repaying back my sleep debt, with interest. Hopefully I'll be fully re-energised after this sickness, ready to race on to finish off my 3rd semester of uni!

Ps. Hope it isn't swine flu, haha!

Silly me

I've noticed in particular stressful times, as I keep grumbling my circumstances, it just simply gets worse and worse. The more I complain, I just keep on sinking, lower and lower...and lower and lower...till I cough and splutter...and when I have little strength to keep my head above the water...then do I look up to my Lord and cry for help.

Amid the howling winds and raging waters, this is when I focus on Him and trust Jesus with my whole heart and mind and soul that I feel calm and at peace. But as soon as I get frightful and look around the gusting winds, I tremble and sink yet again. I wonder why time and time again I just refuse to focus on God and to trust Him that is a BIG God, and a God who provides. Rather, I just get caught up in my circumstances, which only makes the situation worse. Ai yo, silly me!

:)

Uni. Church. Coaching. This routine and their related activities have taken a toll, and I've felt quiet drained lately. I've taken more coaching schools this semester, and probably have taken on too much.

Originally, I asked God to give me more opportunities to earn more money as I wished to go overseas in the near future (and other things). It was really quite amazing how, in response, I was blessed with so many more opportunities for coaching this semester. However, it is interesting that such a blessing can become a stumbling book as I decided for myself what to do, instead of seeking what God wants in my life. Perhaps driven by ambition and greed: a love for money (which is strongly disapproved by Jesus according to the Bible), I kept on saying yes to more schools.

I made the decision on Sunday that I would cease coaching at a few schools. Although I'm on casual, it's not easy at this time of the year for my boss to find a replacement coach and is disruptive for students. But anyways, I explained to my boss my situation. To my relief and joy, my boss fully understood my situation, and told me not to be concerned about finding replacement coaches. By me giving up a few schools, normally I would lose those schools, as the coaches replacing me would usually take the schools the following terms.

To my surprise, my boss praised me for my efforts in other schools (my boss is never present - so I guess he gets feedback from teacher/students), and said that he desired that I re-took those schools when I'm less busy next term, which is an extra blessing! So he reasurred me that those coaches who were replacing me, are only replacing me when I'm stressed :O. The first 8 weeks or so of uni I can take up more coaching, but when it's closer to exams, that's when it gets difficult. And next semester closer to exams when I'm stressed out, I think he said that he'll do the same thing.

Coaching sessions for me start decreasing next week, and after next week, things should hopefully be alot lighter, which is awesome!

So I really thank God for His awesome providence, and the challenge for me now is to remember what I have (the material possessions) is actually His, so I'm merely looking after what He's given me to look after and further His kingdom.

Ps 42:11

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?

???????????????????????????????

Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise Him,
my Saviour and my God :) :) :) :D :D.

Plan

Sigh, still struggling to concentrate. We were taught in psyc last year that, goals are more powerful when we write them down and display them publicly. Makes sense. But gonna test this out today :p!

So, I hope to:

1. Finish YF stuff;
2. quickly revise up on the past 3 weeks on Stats, and start the assignment; and
3. (if I have time) finish contracts tute question and make notes and do reading from last week.

Quite a fair bit of work to do. But will look forward seeing how God helps me to be productive for the rest of today :).

Ross

Another Calming of a Storm

I slept straight through my alarm clock today. It was set to 6am. I woke briefly at 6, walked across to my desk, slammed it down, then jumped right back under my cosy covers.

Next moment, it was 9am. Soon, it was 9:30. Now I had Chinese class at 10am, and was due to present my speech at 10:30. Not only did I miss my planned morning practice that I really needed, I was seriously in risk of missing my speech! When I realised this, oh boy was I then awake. Started praying to God for some serious help.

Sprinted to my bus stop, and got there just in time for the scheduled bus, which came late. Had I missed that bus, I would have been seriously late, since I have to transfer - and I'm sure we all know how frequent and reliable the BCC busses are... Anyhoo, long story short, I got to UQ and ran like a highschooler to my classroom, and got there at 10:25pm. Perfect. And the awesome thing, presentations were behind schedule, so I got enough time to recover from huffing and puffing.

The speech went quite well I thought, and so I thank God for helping me through that. I also praise God for showing me again that He continues to provide, that even though I was seriously stressed about my lack of prep and the possibility of being late, He continues to calm all the storms that I face. All I need to do is to take my focus away from the storm, and just look up to trust God as He is there for me.

Another awesome thing is that this situation is just amazingly minute and tiny in comparison to our mighty God. Yet, it does not escape his attention, and He still cares for us :). How amazing is this grace?

Focus. Ross, just focus!

Been finding it quite hard to focus lately. On Thursday night, the beginning of my 4-day weekend, I realised how much work I needed to do. Yet, this weekend has gone in a flash, and I haven't seem to have done much study (or as much as I would of liked). Now, this is frustrating and concering, as work is starting to pile up.

For the past few weeks, I've spent alot of time sitting down and trying to study, but not being productive. Lots of mind drifting. I seem to be more focused when doing assignments, but when I study, my thoughts just wander, my stomach growls, and after eating snacks I get thirsty, and then I just need to stand up and walk around (oh, and I might also add the excessive toilet-ing as a result of too much water after snacks)! I've been studying at home, that might partly explain. That's often my excuse.

I really need to just focus. Any advice?

Now, I really need to finish off my Chinese speech that I should've finished during the weekend. Ai yo, zhen ma fan!

Ross

The Provider

I was quite stressed out today! Coached chess in the early morning, then went to uni to do some cramming for an assignment that was due today, and then rushed to get home for more coaching.

That assignment did really take a long time to do but I did get it done (thanks to God). I started to panic (since the past few days), since there were concepts that I couldn't put my head around for days, how could I understand them in time? So the verses in Proverbs 3:5-6 and Phillipians 4:6-7 (see previous post) really helped me. I think I did (kinda) undertand those hard concepts in time, well in part, at least.

I was planning to leave uni around 2pm so I could comfortably get home in time for coaching (which starts at 3:15pm).

But as always, for me at least, assignments take much longer than expected. I actually left uni I think around 2:30pm and just managed to catch a bus that was about to leave - yes, all that jogging practice came to use! And oh, was I panicking. But thankfully, I got home at 3:15pm on the dot. Ahh, such provision. Had I been slightly slower (20 seconds!?) getting to the UQ bus stop I may have been heaps late to my coaching lesson.

But the thing is, I later realised that the mother of my student had decided to cancel the lesson today...haha, so I just didn't need to stress!

I've always seemed to have panicked about assignments. Although these issues are seriously tiny in comparison to mighty God who created this universe, I'm so grateful to see that He cares for me and faithfully provides for me every time in the past, and still continues to provide today.

Ross

Self-reminder

I'm @ uni, very stressed right now (with assignment). These commands and promises of God remind me to trust in Him.

'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own undertanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight' (Pr 3:5-6).

'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Chirst Jesus' (Ph 4:6-7).

'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men' (Col 3:23).

I look forward seeing how God will provide for me today, as I seek to trust Him :).

Ross

What I really want

Such longing, such great desire do I cry out for. I become consumed. Yet, what I long for I do not have. I was given such short, sharp, salivating tastes of it. Yet it does not quench my thirst. It leaves me yearning for more.

Why does God, the great provider, withhold such great blessing from me, I demand? WHY?! Does He really even know what is best for me?

The reply comes… ‘Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know’. ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’. For ‘no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’.

So, according to God, my role is to trust Him (for He has the best for me) and to seek Him first. Now, that’s hard. That’s humbling. But, I believe, it is the only, victorious way.

Why not just ‘have faith in [myself]’, as Goku was reminded by his grandfather in Gragonball. The answer is simple: I just can’t. It’s not like I haven’t tried that. I have, and it doesn’t work. I give up trusting in myself. Pessimistic? No. Thankfully there is One who I can trust in. One who has never failed me, and One who will never fail me: my loving Creator and Father in heaven.

Though I do not understand why God withholds certain things from me, things I consider right for me, and even good for me; I simply need to learn to trust God for His best in my life, no matter what it is. I don't even know whether He will give this to me. But what I do know is this: He does have the best for me. Not only has he been faithful to me for the past 18 years of my life, but has been faithful to his promises from generation to generation; from Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Joseph, to Moses and the Israelites, to the people in Jesus' time, and to us today.

Adam focused on what God did not give him in the Garden of Eden. He was ‘free to eat from any tree in the garden, but [he] must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil’. There was much to choose from (‘for God made all kinds of trees… trees pleasing to the eye and good for food’), and to enjoy what God had lovingly given him.

In Exodus, after God had powerfully and miraculously led them out of slavery in Egypt, the Israelites soon grumbled against God for the lack of food. God had only led them out of the bondage from Egypt only 2 months ago! Again, God had great things in their lives, blessed them amazingly. Yet, the focus was not on God, but on what they did not have.

Similarly in my own life, I, too, often shamefully focus on what I do not have, rather than to focus on God and what he has mercifully given me. What has he given me? The friends, the family, the education, the talents, the material things, and above all, the greatest gift that is sufficient alone: Jesus Christ.

Now, by God’s grace, let me fix my eyes not on the storm, but let me look up and have my eyes fixed upon my Creator. Only then will I not sink but to stand on solid ground. Is this blind faith? No, simply resting on the promises of God.

(Sorry, I apologise for the vagueness and the rant…had to release the tension :))

Ross

Holiday & 1st week

Uni mid-sem break over already!

Few things I did over the break were:

• Went down to the Coast on Friday and Saturday, which was great.
• Went to an Easter Service at my church to celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection!
• Celebrated baptism, which was awesome to see God's awesome work in people's lives.
• Played a fair bit of baddy :D.
• Watched DragonBall. My opinion: pretty cool. Quite strange/ interesting having an Caucasian Goku and asian grandfather; and its mix with reality and fantasy though.
• Met up with some friends.
• Tried to do some study & assignment work (note: tried). Got some done, but not as much as I would of liked. But hey, it was a holiday after all!
• Had some quiet time. Not as much as I would of liked though.
• And...started this blog!

Overall, a pretty decent break!

And what I just realised 15 mins ago, my first week of classes are also over, which is pretty awesome! Chinese class on Thurs got cancelled/ swapped. Looking forward to a 5 day weekend :D :D :D. Oh yeaaahhhhhhhhhhhh :D :D :D.

Will be spent doing good assignment (due on Friday)... good times ahead... hopefully I get it done and hand in on Thurs... and if I do get it done then, I'll go and play baddy Thurs night (if no YF mtg then). HUGE incentive hehe. Just my hope. Bit optimistic? May not actually happen haha.

In other news, my chess clock arrived. Yes, a chess clock. Sounds terribly geeky, but it's a super cool thing. Super cool. Really. Mainly bought it for my chess kids, for them to practice.

Ross

God's love

As I hope this blog would be a source of encouragement and testimony to others, I’d like to share about how God touched my life in the past and continues to do so now…

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is [God’s] love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Ps 103:11-12).

For many years of my life, I thought I was a morally upright person: a pretty ‘good’ boy. Nope, totally wrong. Quite the opposite, actually! When I compared myself with God's holy standards (revealed to us by the God's Word: the B-i-b-l-e), instead of comparing myself with my own set of dodgy standards, I realised that: hey, I've fallen heaps short of God's holy standards.

Because I had yet to understand God’s great love for me, I became ashamed of Jesus, constantly ignored Jesus by refusing to spend time reading His Word and talking (praying) to Him, and habitually rejected His commands by doing things contrary to His will. For example, I had major problems with pride, lust and deceit. Now these are serious issues according to the Bible. Jesus tells us that “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Whoa! To my shame, because I habitually rejected God’s commandments, I was soon a slave to disobedience to God.

A few years ago, I realised that it was decision time. I had two choices: to follow God and do what He says through the Bible, or reject Him altogether. Although I had the desire to follow Him (by obeying Him), the good I wanted to do I could not do, but the evil (any disobedience to God – for eg, lust, not loving, hate) I did not want to do I kept on doing. One day, completely humbled, I asked God to rescue me from the bondage of rejecting Him. He graciously answered my my request, and taught me to overcome this struggle by keeping His Word in my heart. I did so, and it worked! I was in awe of His mighty power and completely overjoyed seeing that I was now free from the stronghold of disobedience to Him.

As a result of experiencing God’s power, God thankfully opened my eyes and I began to understand how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. I stuffed up big time (because of my rejection of Him, rejecting His just commands) and rightly deserved God’s just punishment (that is, eternal separation from Him). However, God loved me (and you) so much that He gave His One and Only Son to take the deserved punishment from me (and you) and that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. How awesome is that!? And so, I believed, and accepted His free gift.

Therefore, I am saved not by anything good I have done nor by my upbringing; rather I am thankful that it is by God’s grace and mercy alone that I am saved, and it is God’s amazing grace and mercy that sustains me now.

I earnestly hope that all of you have (and continues to), or will one day experience the joy of knowing God’s amazing love for us :).

PS. If there's anything I can elaborate, will be glad to do so :).

Hello and Welcome

Hello there! Welcome to my first blog!

Thought I would give blogging a go. Hope to update and to reflect on my life here.

I am now a blogger, horray!

Ross