Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Food for thought
~Shane Claiborne~
Friday, 24 April 2009
My hello from Malaysia!
I came across this short devotional guide tonight. Though it's simple, I think it captures the essence of our intimacy and devotion to the Lord very accurately and beautifully. I pray that as you read this, you will be encouraged and the Spirit will speak to you. Perhaps, this short verse may be your entree. Go on.... get a main meal tonight. Open your Bible. Read the whole of psalm 27. Meditate on it (disect the Word, crunch it into pieces, chew on every bit, draw out every meaning in every word of the psalm!). And be blessed!!
With lots of love (I miss you all HEAPS!!),
Wengie Yanie :)
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Psalm 27 : 8 [NLT]
My heart has heard you say, 'Come and talk with me.' And my heart responds, 'LORD, I am coming.'
It is in the heart that we hear God's invitation, and it's the heart that responds. The psalmist (David) knew God had invited him to come and talk with him. Yet the context is that David has not felt God's presence. The surrounding verses speak of the fear of abandonment. So this is faith speaking, faith originating from the heart's reception of God's invitation. Faith believes that God is inviting us to come to Him, and that He will receive us. Talk with God today in faith, in response to God's invitation … whether you feel His presence or not.
Jokes to lighten your heart
Don't bury yourself under the busy schedule. With that, new revelation will come... And I believe that these revelation will benefit you in your studies and time management as well :)
1)Teaching the Teacher
One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in a classroom. The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children. The teacher asked a little boy.
TEACHER: Tommy do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Tommy, do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky.
TOMMY: Okay.(He returned a few minutes later) Yes, I saw the sky.
TEACHER: Did you see God?
TOMMY: No.
TEACHER: That's my point. We can't see God because he isn't there! He doesn't exist.
A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions. The teacher agreed and the little girl asked:
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yessssss (getting tired of the questions by this time).
LITTLE GIRL: Did you see the sky?
TOMMY: Yessssss
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the teacher?
TOMMY: Yes
LITTLE GIRL: Do you see her brain?
TOMMY: No
LITTLE GIRL: Then according to what we were taught today in school, she must not have one!
2)How to Get Into Heaven
A man dies and mets St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. Peter says to the man, "Here's how it works. You need to have one hundred points to get into heaven. You tell me about all the good things you've done. They are all worth a certain number of points. If your total is one hundred or more, you can come in."
"Well," says the man. "I was happily married to the same woman for 52 years. I never looked at another woman. I was attentive and loved her dearly."
"That's great," says St. Peter. "That'll be two points."
"Hmmm," says the man. "This is going to be harder than I thought. Well, I attended church regularly, volunteered my time and tithed faithfully."
"Wonderful," says St. Peter, "That's worth another point."
"One point!" says the man. "Okay, okay. I was involved with a prison ministry for twenty-five years. I went into the prison, at least monthly, and shared Jesus with them."
"Wow!" says St. Peter. "That's another two points!"
"Only two points!" says the man. "At this rate, it'll be by the grace of God that'll I'll ever get into this place."
"Bingo!" says St. Peter. "That's one hundred points! Come on in."
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Recruiting Ushers!
For more information, just contact your cell leader or get an usher in cell(Kitty, Janice, myself) to sign you up! We welcome you to join us on the team!^^
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
WHEN I SAY I AM A CHRISTIAN
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I am saved."
I'm whispering "I was lost!"
That is why I chose this way.
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need someone to be my guide.
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and pray for strength to carry on.
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and cannot ever pay the debt.
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
my flaws are all too visible
but God believes I'm worth it.
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartaches
which is why I seek His name.
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I do not wish to judge.
I have no authority.
I only know I'm loved.
Here is your regular feed of poems.... This time by Mr. Grumbly a.k.a Mr. Mean
Friday, 10 April 2009
[10.04.2009] Good Friday
Happy Good Friday everyone! :)
Today marks the day that Jesus died for all of us, many many years ago. It also marks the start of a week-long holiday! Hahah.
Anyway! Today after church service (where they gave free hot-cross buns, woohoo! I was so happy hehe), we headed off for the famous fish and chips in Port Melbourne. I was pretty excited, considering I've heard so much about it. Supposedly there's a tradition about fish & chips and Easter, but no idea what that's about. *shrugs*
So off we went!
The place.
We shared a set for 4 people between 5 of us (Pammie, Jilly, Bianca, Venxhin and I), and we ended up not being able to finish it anyway. Haha.
Chips and potato cake.
Didn't manage to take pics of the fish, prawns and calamari
cause I forgot in my hunger. Haha.
Sat by the sea because there weren't enough seats at the shop.
The view.
Started throwing chips to the seagulls.
The, uh, seagulls.
Not pelicans. Hahaha. *winks to Kitmun*
Can you see the chips in two of the seagulls' beaks?
On his head, my friends, are chips on a tissue.
And finally, you guessed it, posed and took pictures like there was no tomorrow :)
Ah, I take such pretty pics. :p
Group pic.
Ok I know this one is pretty off, but I didn't know the back would be so bright.
Pammie and Jilly!
Stasha with her awesome posing skills! Hahah.
Was trying out the continuous shots and she totally killed it. Haha :p
Us: "ACT CUTE!"
Us: "Seagulls!"
From the looks of it, the first thing in Cheng Joon's (right) head
was the fear of seagulls pooping.
Learning from the sifu, Su Li.
He doesn't seem to be doing very well.
Nick, the pro.
Finally masters the art. Haha.
"Emo boyband group" pic.
Apparently the way Eric emo-s is to blow kisses. Hahaha.
The gay/act cute pic.
To salvage their ego, they did a macho pose.
Girl pic!
Pouting pic!
With a... um... nvm. Hahah.
1 to 10 rule!
Nick: "ATTACK HOT CHIC!"
Eric doing his levitation act.
Later, as I watch the dogs go on their way, suddenly I go, "Oh. Nastasha just pee-ed."
A random sign on the floor.
Monday, 6 April 2009
Facebook of Genesis
In fact, check out Earth's facebook too while you're at it.
So, so good. Hahah. :p
Trust His Heart
Youtube link.
All things work for our good
Though sometimes we can't see how they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blinds us to the truth
Our Father knows what's best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim, and you just can't see Him
Remember you're never alone
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
He sees the master plan
And He holds our future in His hands
So don't live as those who have no hope
All our hope is found in Him
We see the present clearly
But He sees the first and the last
And like a tapestry He's weaving you and me to someday be just like Him
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
He alone is faithful and true
He alone knows what is best for you
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand trust His heart
With love from Wengyan, in a way. Hehe. :)
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Adam: Good man but problems with wife. However, one reference mentions how he and his wife enjoy walking naked in the woods.
Noah: Held a prior pastoral position for 120 years without even one convert. Also prone to unrealistic building projects.
Abraham: Though the references reported wife-swapping, the facts seem to show he never slept with another man's wife, but did offer to share his own wife with another man.
Joseph: A big thinker, but liked to brag. Believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.
Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communication skills, even stuttering at times. Prone to rash and reckless behaviour on occasions. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.
David: The most promising leader of all until news of the affair he had with his neighbour's wife broke.
Solomon: Greatest and wisest preacher, but our church would never hold all those wives.
Elijah: Prone to depression. Collapses under pressure.
Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.
Hosea: A loving and patient pastor but our people could never handle his wife's occupation.
Deborah: Strong leader and seems to be anointed, but is female.
Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, negative, always lamenting things, reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.
Isaiah: Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.
Jonah: Refused God's call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We sent him for psychiatric evaluation.
Amos: Too unpolished. With some seminary training he might have promise, but has a hang-up against wealthy people - might fit in better in a poor congregation. Doesn't seem to believe that God may want to bless some financially.
Melchizedek: Great credentials at current work place, no information on his resume about former work records available. Every line about parents was left blank and he refuses to supply a birth date. Ancient Jewish tradition has it that Melchizedek is really Shem. If you check out the lifespan of Shem in the Bible, it seems to be true!
John: Claims he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn't dress like one. Has slept outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.
Peter: Has a bad temper - has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but rash.
Paul: Powerful CEO type leader and fascinating preacher. However, short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, harsh and has been known to preach all night.
James & John: Package deal preacher & associate seemed good at first, but found out they have an ego problem regarding other fellow workers and seating positions. Threatened an entire town after an insult. Also known to try to discourage workers who didn't follow along with them.
Timothy: Too young
Methuselah: Too old
Jesus: Has had popular times, but once his church grew to 5000 he managed to offend them all, and then this church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he's still single.
Hotter than Hell
The temperature of Heaven can be rather accurately computed. Our authority is Isaiah 30:26, "Moreover, the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days." Thus Heaven receives from the Moon as much radiation as we do from the Sun, and in addition 7*7 (49) times as much as the Earth does from the Sun, or 50 times in all. The light we receive from the Moon is one 1/10,000 of the light we receive from the Sun, so we can ignore that ... The radiation falling on Heaven will heat it to the point where the heat lost by radiation is just equal to the heat received by radiation, i.e., Heaven loses 50 times as much heat as the Earth by radiation. Using the Stefan-Boltzmann law for radiation, (H/E)^4 = 50, where E is the absolute temperature of the earth (-300K), gives H as 798K (525C). The exact temperature of Hell cannot be computed ... [However] Revelations 21:8 says "But the fearful, and unbelieving ... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." A lake of molten brimstone means that its temperature must be at or below the boiling point, 444.6C. We have, then, that Heaven, at 525C is hotter than Hell at 445C.
-- From "Applied Optics" vol. 11, A14, 1972