sports day in greece (6 june)

this is the day that deserves it's own post... cos the photos are too nice =P
we took a boat tour this time, got chaotar on a tour of the islands, climbed a dormant sea volcano (70 deg celsius), swam to the hot springs... swam in the hot springs (haha we had to jump off the boat and swim in open sea... cool huh) and watched an amazing sunset.

amazing...
flowers growing on volcanos...
and the sunset - man... we simply take for granted that we'll see the sun everyday - and i think that if i lived in santorini i'd take for granted the beautiful sunset everyday... but this is creation - God's creation, and every bit of it is amazing and for us to enjoy

let the pictures do the talking

huuge chillies in the supermarket
jun-liang fruit juice advertisement
our tourist ferry
'crocodile' island
winding paths on the sea volcano
flowers growing on the volcano! amazing.
an attempt to show off the muscles
and God divided the waters from the waters - and God called the firmament heaven
'london' in greece
we climbed many many stairs to avoid sitting on poop machines (aka donkeys)
but that meant i could get amazing photos
'city on a hill'
the person who painted this had amazing colour sense
i like the ship - if only i had a telephoto lens
the sunset begins
i love the character of the place
too much exposure - but it makes for a nice magazine shot
sunset on the city
halfway setting sun
junli's sunglasses and a lot of squinting made for this photo =)
more squinting
i think the photo doesn't do it justice
and when the sun was set... everyone clapped (for the creation instead of the creator. how sad)

beautiful.

what a way to wake up

to two adults screaming their heads off at each other -.-"

by psychological definitions of parenting and all the parenting models... i should be mentally and emotionally unstable and present with medical problems.

thank God for Jesus and for grace

sunny days (4-5 june)

4th june
4am bleary eyed and sleepy and running on adrenaline we took the bus to the train to gatwick airport to the plane to athens and made a temperature transition from 8deg to 30deg. in athens we got lost, asked various people who couldn't speak english where we could find a bag deposit, walked in the sun from one underground station to another, found the lockers eventually, stuffed the bags in... and got the locker key stuck in the door.

two guys shoving at the door trying to keep it closed... and one trying to get the key out. and nothing worked... but we were saved! praise God... by the station guy who shoved the locker and got it to close properly. greek strength ehe. [this was godsend #02 actually... the first one was li-en actually making it to the train cos she didn't wake up -.-]

the underground actually has archeological exhibits for the stuff they found while digging the tunnels

walked along the shopping belt in athens for a while before heading off to catch the ferry to santorini. godsend#03: we thought the ferry was an overnight one... therefore didn't have accomodation. thank God titus' group were also headed to santorini and already booked accoms - so we managed to get some just by calling.

red light district??
how to make a japanese flag with tissue paper: travel to a hot country and have a nosebleed
i love this photo... it's like some primary school oral thing
i can do chin-ups better than you on a support bar of the ferry!

anyway... we reached santorini safely at around 1230am where the hostel owner packed 17 of us into a van (i think it was a 10 seater) with luggage sitting on top of us and drove us up the cliff from the port to the hostel *wow*. there weren't rooms together so gordon chrissie and i got carted off to a neighbouring hostel (probably owned by the same guy) whereupon the hostel lady, gordon and i each killed a cockroach in the room in the span of 30 min. hurrah. oh and the toilet door smelled like dead fish everytime we moved it. thank God we got a room in the main building the next day!

5th june
woke up... changed rooms... and signed on for a bus tour of the city: museum... architecture... and quite a lot of walking

arms before tanning 'nippled ewers' the sign said
house photo... apparently there are more churches than houses... and the bells represent the holy spirit 0_o

second last stop of the tour was perissa beach and lunch. i don't particularly like black beaches... they're hot hot hot hot... as if the sun isn't hot enough already... but the photos we got were hilarious... and lunch was awesome

greek salad *drool*
from this photo... i got called 'chunky legs' and chrissie got 'flabby thighs'
attempting the ballet pose again... harhar
from this gordon got called 'weak hips'act cool onli =P
the four kung fu stances: monkey, eagle, drunk, snake

last stop of the day was a winery... where we got to taste their local produce. the factory design was quite ingenious... using gravity instead of pumps (so green!) and the view from the tasting place was amazing

buggerit

i can't simply walk out of people's lives for 9 months and simply waltz back in just for the summer can i.
.
.
.
.
can i?

last 2 days of camp

the normalcy of life is rather infuriating - rather... the fact that i have no control over my schedule and the parents keep asking me to do things. right-o. but i want to spend time with them... not doing things for them -.-"" (ok stop whining now)

...

my previous post was so wordy... so some pics

um... RSM = cool?
jer and his towel - i said it looked like a hair salon... therefore we have this picture
camera crew at work (and i'm slacking off and taking the pic)

Day 4
session 4:
to round off the preaching for the camp in the morning...
ministering by pastor... amazing stuff... he went around laying hands on everyone (i bet RSM people were really stressed) and people were just getting slain left right centre. cool huh. basically the anointing was for impartation of giftings and callings

that said... when i kena the anointing, what Daddy was talking to me about wasn't quite on the same topic. giftings-wise... i definately received something, but i have no clue what it is specifically lol.

they changed the program yet again and cancelled the malacca race in the afternoon. really thank God -> it was an answered prayer cos the whole time i was longing for some time of sharing with the servers... to hear what portion other people got and how Daddy has touched their lives. but as servers... all the cluster time that's planned into the camp schedule is usually spent preparing for service and 'fighting fires' of program changes along the way (i applaud the camp comm... i think they barely slept for the whole 5 days)

i was surprised to be singled out during the big-group-sharing - but i was really affirmed i think... didn't expect what was said at all... to me it's just normal to serve (even though it was one day from touching down to sg and all)... a heart of a server? me? really? i'm just faithful to the One who was first faithful to me... who pulled me out of the darkness i couldn't escape no matter how much i ran

last session:
or more of a celebration... heh. we had the time-honoured pool-side dinner, with no pool to be seen -.-" cos the covered area and the pool was separated by a wall lol. then performances by each cluster, worship and non-sleep that night

i can't pinpoint what/ who i was blessed by that night... only that there were a few 'dmc's in the course of the night... and also rubbishy things lol. made new friends... made new-old friends... learnt that people aren't as frightening as i've always thought they were... a lot of little little things, bits of 'building-up' and confirmation

Day 5
gosh this post is really disjointed.

i got latched out of the room when i wanted to go to sleep at 5am *tsk* by mistake at least... cos the latch was half closed but i just couldn't open the door. slept in the ballroom... on the chairs outside the ballroom (and found out on sat that my cg was awake and sharing in JJ's room just opposite mine. it wasn't meant to be i guess haha.)

then it was breakfast and packing and trying to wake my roomie up and leaving for singapore. i ko-ed for the first half of the bus ride... had a bit of worship in the 2nd half and then found myself in sg eating fried blue cheese with vid people..

congratulations. you have reached the end of the camp experience. fortunately this is not the end of the God experience...

i think camps are amazing... cos they're an awesome opportunity for acceleration... 5 days of God knocking you off your feet with revelation after revelation, and experiencing more and more of His love. i kind of feel like i've been to a chiropractor... bones aligned, well stretched, dusted off and ready to run another year. eh Lord... i want to learn to walk in this kind of revelation... in Your kind of life.

HIS-tory making in 5 days

i'm back from camp - therefore i will post about camp before i forget cos i only managed to journal something like 2 lines per day. here you go... 1X long post (hope whoever's reading it doesn't get bored)

to begin with... getting into camp was a miracle in and of itself:
- i don't qualify in terms of having attended cg or services
- i was in London and had to source for the camp forms, get parents to do the sign-up etc etc
- camp dates were nicely put such that i came back from greece to london to singapore with about a day's buffer time

favour. indeed... with God and man

Day 1
blurry-eyed and jet-lagged i went to clementi to report at 7.15 for the coach ride to malacca. there i was greeted with 'you're back!' and 'wow haven't seen you for so long' etc. you get the drift. it's good to be home =) though it was rather odd to hear singlish again. the bus ride up was spent with much anticipation, sleeping and taking vid footage of malacca signs. serving right from the start =D another of the things i've really missed over in London

arrived at hotel equatorial, checked-in, dumped bags, off to lunch and to the ballroom to hide behind the av stuff. i was quite happy to hear that vid min had expanded - selfishly happy haha. that other people would serve at some point in the rotation so i could go up to receive. then kind of disappointed when hwei told us the rotation - ie. the videographers served every service cos there were only 3 of us at any one time and the services were really long. nevertherless. it was my decision to serve... and my decision to receive. so somehow God would have to make sure i got both in the end.

well i got my request. i was blown away by the very first service heh. by a lot of things (that maybe people in arrow take for granted)
1. the presence of God in worship that was so tangible
2. the fact that people were all worshipping - that the people were worshippers. being in vid requires you to be in a vid position... not a position of worship. ie. eyes open on screen - thinking about the framing, about the next framed shot etc
3. how i was able to worship and video at the same time (never before was i overwhelmed by God's presence and crying with my eyes fixated on the vid cam LCD screen and filming)
4. pastor went up and began preaching about calling (which was what the camp was about). precisely what I had asked God for. it was positively amazing

i was filming for half the sermon... so i don't remember much and have no notes - but just trust that the word has been deposited in my spirit. that Daddy's done/ doing the work even if i can't remember

Day 2
session 2: was largely about choosing to see things through God's perspective. ie. do you see the problems around you or the help that Daddy has sent?

what impacted me (i'm reading from my notes here) was pastor's comment that boasting in God's love for us brings favour - which may bring envy and misunderstanding. and the challenge to declare what God has put in your heart. that was so real.. cos it's so difficult to do that over in London - to declare 'Jesus' is difficult in the first place... to say that 'Jesus did this n that' you'd be labelled a nutter. i'm nowhere near there. so Lord You have to fill me up

case #47223:
ran around with camera =) caught some crazy green flour fish sauce games on tape... went through crazy green flour game with camera as if the camera was playing the game - you get my drift. i half wish and don't wish that i got to play the games =P that's one thing i really miss when filming - though standing and staring through a lens at people going crazy and getting dirty is amazing heh.

session 3: i have no notes... and no memory of the sermon (as always... when i do a live feed) but i trust that God has implanted the word in my spirit. all sermons were based on on joseph's story at any rate... with different aspects on different days.

i believe this was the session where there was ministering and such amazing love just poured out... restoration of so many lives and relationships. this session was also the one where i was wondering what i was doing standing behind the camera... going 'hey Lord.. i wanna be called up front to receive... i want more of You... but pastor isn't calling for my situation and i'm behind the camera... so i'm gonna stay here. give it here Lord' and i got a reply... 'I see you even if nobody sees... good and faithful servant' and so simply i was filled till i thought my heart would burst. no fanfare, no prayer, no one nearby, no closing of eyes, no raising of hands, no crying... but i was loved... so loved till i thought i would burst... that it would bubble out of my eyeballs or something if love could be seen

Day 3
amazing day of ALOT of grace... cos pastor decided that we would add a session cos we were so hungry for the word of God - therefore the program was completely screwed up and all the leaders didn't know what was going on either lol.

Q&A: again no notes... though i wasn't actually videoing anything hmm. stuff that's been repeated many times to me i guess.. since i've grown up in NCC (though whether or not there's revelation... tt one must ask God)

conference:
7 concurrent sessions of equipping - i went for the one on leadership and one on time... some really good principles (God really answered my prayer i think... this was equipping to the max) what i loved about the whole thing was the emphasis on Jesus... 'duh' you may say. but i think all too often we forget the most fundamental thing and dive straight into how 'WE' can do all things in and of ourselves with various skills

a funny moment with deacon sam:
me 'i don't think i'll be in leadership in the next 10 years... or at least not a leader in ministry anyway'
dn sam 'then where will you be?'
me 'ummm in MOE.....'
dn sam 'ok la that's still ministry... ministry of education'
everyone '*cold laughter*'

i must say i came away with more questions than answers... questions for God about what i'm doing and what He wants me to be doing in life etc. but for now those questions are for God's ears only

women's meeting:
oh this was hilarious. ps benjamin's wife pauline was sharing... the usual stuff i would say, in terms of principles... but it was that much more intimate and personal - all the life stories came out in answering people's questions... (dirty laundry aired hurhur.)

i was happily getting a few shots of her sharing on vid. then i walked back to the sound/video table. and guess who i saw hiding behind it? -.- pastor benjamin. so we of the vid ministry were blessed to have a commentary on what pauline was saying by the very man she was talking about. hoho.

[okay this is incredibly long and has taken me 3 rounds to write so i'll just post it first]

in-flight entertainment

2 flights in 24 hours... go me
and i haven't slept properly since yesterday cos i'm pack pack packing to go back to sg.

greece was amazing.
some of the things that happened were surprising
others were just rather suay
and i am rather burnt

trip summary in 4 lines lol.

quick update from greece

very very exciting so far... with one hostel lacking hot water and having OBS style facilities...

pray that the trip goes well - i got pwned by a rock in the sea and am now hobbling around with a 2 inch cut on the bottom of the ball of my right foot... and that it heals before camp. ugh... can't walk properly, much less play games =(

oh and also that i won't be quarantined when i go back - manz.

quote(s) of the day

"excuse me... are you from china? ... ... i work just around the corner at russell square. here, let me give you my number, we can meet up for coffee if you like"
~random guy outside a chinese buffet place i walked past

"oh yeah it's a book i wrote. you can find it on amazon"
~guy i met at the kt youth group (like wow?)

"oh you must be bored of the usual newcomer questions' and all that. so i'll ask you something different... do you have a boyfriend?"
~girl i met for the first time at the youth group (hehe i really like her)

"church is like a gang you know... it's all just a cover for a revolution"
~girl in the leadership i met for the first time at the youth group (i agree! the gospel revolution haha)

*pulls up in a car and winds down window*
"excuse me, would you like to give me a blow job?"
~weird guy in a car


all in a days 'work' of being sociable. right.

yay!

2nd day of freedom

what have i done?
- i cleaned my room - pulled out all the furniture and cleaned under them =D
- cleaned all the shelves of the kitchen

what am i going to do?
- clean more of the kitchen (haha!)
- send my guitar for repair/ servicing whatever you call it
- a ton of admin
- pack pack pack
- go ice skating
- hang out with people & watch a musical
- farewell party

and then it's greece!
and then it's singapore!
and then it's camp!

wow so fast

i need steam

One more day all on my own...

One more day before the storm...
At the barricades of freedom

One day to a new beginning
Raise the flag of freedom high!

Tomorrow is the judgement day
Tomorrow we'll discover
What our God in Heaven has in store!

One more dawn
One more day
One day more!

...

oh how apt. lol.

good-o-meter

i had a look at the new arrow site and saw this...

this totally rox my sox!

it is 12:25 am

i am in the school library.
no. i am not a desperate workaholic who sleeps in the library

this is london.
therefore the lights of my house went out at 7pm.
and not just my house... the whole street too... no traffic lights, streetlamps nothing.

it's kinda hilarious and tragic at the same time.

4 DOWN: to eat

2 write till hand falls off papers, 1 'ugh' paper, 1 'ugh ugh' paper and i've one to go. thankfully it's next week cos i haven't prepared for it at all (lol had to search for the lecture slides today) that said. i'm slacking today for a bit... and my friend sent me this

An old Cherokee Indian grandfather was talking to his grandson. He said, "I want to tell you about a struggle. There is a war going on inside me. It is a war that is in all of mankind. It is the war of two wolves. One wolf is full of hate, anger, jealousy, greed and selfishness. The other wolf is full of love, joy, compassion and faith."
The little Cherokee grandson thought for a minute and said, "but Grandfather, which wolf wins?"
The Grandfather looked at his grandson and said..........
"The One You Feed."

...

that reminded me of 'being a Christian' actually.
it's all about the 'thing' we feed on.
Jesus, the Truth of our salvation and the forgiveness of God and His blessings?
or the futility of the world and our attempts to salvage what we can.

ehhhh now it's this stuck

my mom added me on facebook T_T
and probably found this place too. damn

stuck in my head this:

ggxx

should mean grace grace times 10 instead

that said. I HAVE NOT ENOUGH TIME!!!!! *wail*
cos of 2 reasons
1. anime/ manga
2. stupid mistake

elaboration:
1. i nicely planned out my schedule and was on-time/ ahead of it... so i slowed down the working pace and got myself hooked on manga/ anime after the first paper when i was chilling out. therefore i cover 1 topic a day very slowly - and remember about half of it (vs most of it if i put in some attention)

2. i thought my health and clinical module was tested as 'pick 3 qu out of 9'... probably because all the previous years had that format. but NO. this year it's 'pick at least 1 question from section A and 1 from section B'. guess what? i studied almost all of section A and only 2 of 9 of section B. so there went my schedule.


aaah. ohwell. exam's in God's hands
and He saved me from being shocked in the exam (lol.) cos i was contemplating studying more of the section B stuff but thinking that i'd covered about half the syllabus already and was safe. so He sent a friend and an msn conversation and a 'you haven't been checking your email have you -.-'

ggxx

(oh. and this would be a very scary gift to receive)

another reason to stay in london

Forbidden Broadway is coming!
http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/news/latest/view/item105364/Forbidden-Broadway-comes-to-Menier/
and running from 25 june - 13 sept

*wail*
i'm in sg till 25 sept...
*pout*

lol. someone tell me why i bother to check my email for theatre discounts =.=
maybe they'll extend their time here cos business is too good *prays*

7 years short

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long
To live as friends

on sunday (3rd May)... i met gillian.
after 7 years (and loss of contact)... after just one meeting
talk about amazing? 0_o

7 years ago i accepted Christ proper (all the sunday school prayers don't count - didn't know what i was doing then). 7 years ago i was at the peak of depression and suicidal. strangely enough, we wrote letters to each other (though she's more than 7 years older than me - haha cannot reveal age ya). even stranger is the fact that i talked about my feelings in the letters - and she was kind of like a 大姐, one of the people who were factors in keeping me alive.

i don't believe in coincidences. only God-incidences =)

tag please =)

well. paiseh i haven't been updating.. have some inspiration but no time to do it
anyhow can you please please tag me so i know who's reading this? if you've done it before then no need =)

ohoh and my daddy has a blog! cool huh?
http://90yearsyoung.blogspot.com/

i feel like staying in london

cos Bobby McFerrin is comingg omg. me want to see him live.

inhuman range... and i think he sings chords 0_o

SG day in london

heh against my better judgement i volunteered for this thingy (on the 25th)... and had to go down one day before to be briefed (the day with cloudless sky and camera-less me. ohwell.) anyhow it was held at hampton court palace - it shouldn't be called 'in london' haha. it's in surrey - and 'london' is normally used to refer to central london. not to mention you need to take a train there =P

but the suburbs are really pretty

i didn't get to go into the castle even with the sg day security pass =(
but it's real pretty from the outside - the kind you dream of when you're a kid and wanting to be a princess =)

the event was held in this far corner of the palace grounds - huuge empty space... probably for equestarian stuff since there's a paddock next to it. on briefing day we actually took the shortcut in and had to avoid A LOT of horse shit.

i think the coolest part of volunteering is being able to see how things are run... and to be on the inside when things start. heh. but no perks for volunteering: we still had to queue for the free food. although er. being rather despo we actually went ard asking the aunties & uncles if they had food on the briefing day.. heh.

on the day itself we got in before the 'doors' were open to public and tried to wrangle some food before we needed to queue. got stopped by a couple of marshalls though - "we're not serving till 1015 queue up later!". but yum. got my quota of food w/o having to queue =) it was really weird though... speaking to the hawkers in singlish - in london no less. seriously. reverse culture shock. esp on briefing day... being briefed in english with hokkien/ canto/ malay phrases thrown in as exclamations... chatting up the aunties & uncles for food. lol.

road signs sprouted up overnightso did the road tax hahasingaporean national past-time: queueing up for free thingscalm before the stormbefore:after: (this is actually quite empty cos i took the photo in the first 10 min of the event)

the MOE booth was a walk-through thing... but was quite a hit with the kids.. i spent the first part of the day hiding behind the display in the 'storeroom' and mugging. (heh. RJ kid la) then i spent the next part of the day in my shift thrusting balloons into people's hands and counting every single person that crossed the boundary into the booth. ohwell. but it was super fun... shoving balloons at people and going 'you're never too old to have one!' haha. and they adults all look uber amused and actually take it!

some of the more funky stuff at the booth was this art & craft thing... and an old-school classroom (angus... got your wooden table and chairs and chalkboard) with old-school games. thay also had this area for chapteh and zero-point. lol i had various ang-moh's coming up to me and asking whether they could find chapteh in london.couldn't get into the palace but managed to walk around the grounds a bit - beautiful... esp since it's spring and the flowers are out =) i got to see tulips though i didn't manage to go to amsterdam this reading week heh.

lego treeslavender is really lavender... there were enough that we could smell the flowers on the wind
i like this photo heh

awesomely unproductive day =) but *yum*
and lol. i didn't quite make the deadline of posting this 'tomorrow'

i promise to blog tmr about singapore day when i take a break...

that said. my daddy was so amusing today when i called home.
i got greeted with a prayer which went something like 'you will remember all that you have studied and go into the exams with a cool head. and you will score 90 marks and distictions'

my response *AMEN!*

hah. 90 marks. more exams = more bread
i need more days like this lol.


Lord I thank You for my first class in every single paper that i take this season of exams... not by my works but by Your favour and grace. i claim financial provision - this year and the years to come. I thank You for overflowing abundant blessings... supernatural favour with my profs & coursemates... supernatural wisdom and love in my work and relationships. In Jesus name amen!

today, we broke down the kitchen door. -.-

prosperity message

heh... this was the sermon on sunday check it out! i think the guy's incredibly blunt - but it's really cool to hear sermons that essentially have the same revelation as pastor =)

and wow it's been a week since i last posted
pray for me... can't seem to concentrate properly this week =S

waiting for my hair to dry

so after muggging... i started cleaning the kitchen at 12am and had an interesting convo with jason about well. theologians' interpretation of 'work' in paul's letters.

our conclusion? "er... why can't it be both then, they aren't mutually exclusive"

then i was reminded about the rapid fire (and some rather nasty) comments on this person's blog i was reading last night. no idea who the person is... but basically the person says that pastor prince is a heretic and that everyone in NCC is deluded and being led astray by false doctrine...

(nothing new there lol. been like that for what... 10 years or more? and the things he was called a heretic about back then are now being preached in churches - even in london)

what i don't understand... is why debate these things like there's no tomorrow? must we prove that 'my interpretation is right and yours is wrong'? granted if you see practices that shouldn't be in a person's life you should correct in love. er. but where's the love in arguing and shooting a person down? isn't it more like... share what you believe, pray for them to get a revelation (and do it in private so you aren't indirectly telling them off) - and maybe God will reveal that you're wrong instead lol.

well the bible says:
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
~Hebrews 8:10-11

maybe we should start taking God at His word ;)
chill a bit more... since it's the Holy Spirit doing the teaching anyway

this bit of sermon was playing last night

if someone says well pastor prince, if someone renounces Jesus and all that they don't have salvation anymore...

A: well pastor prince, do you believe that a person has free choice after he's saved?
B: yes i do
A: ya that explains it, if someone with their free choice renounces Jesus he is gone and the person loses his salvation
B: now here is where i'd like to ask you a question: does a sinner have free choice?
A: yes
B: can a sinner by his free choice renounce satan and satan is gone?

(long elaboration... but basically. no.)

B: wow. so a sinner with his free choice renounces satan and satan is still around... whereas a christian renounces Jesus and Jesus is gone.



ehe that begs the question... who's bigger in your life? Jesus or satan?

your heart is good

koped from zj's blog:

The new covenant has two parts to it: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26). God removed your old heart when he circumcised your heart; he gives you a new heart when he joins you to the life of Christ. That’s why Paul can say “count yourselves dead to sin” and “alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11). You have a new life—the life of Christ. And you have a new heart. Do you know what this means? Your heart is good.

Each person knows that now his body is the temple of God: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Cor. 6:19). Indeed it is. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16). Okay— each of us is now the temple of God. So where, then, is the Holy of Holies?

Your heart.

That’s right—your heart. Paul teaches us in Ephesians that “Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (3:17). God comes down to dwell in us, in our hearts. Now, we know this: God cannot dwell where there is evil. “You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell” (Ps. 5:4). Something pretty dramatic must have happened in our hearts, then, to make them fit to be the dwelling place of a holy God.

It’s undeniable: the new covenant, accomplished through the work of Christ, means that we have new hearts. Our hearts are good. Or God’s a liar.

Until we embrace that stunning truth, we will find it really hard to make decisions, because we can’t trust what our hearts are saying. We’ll have to be motivated by external pressure since we can’t be motivated by our hearts. In fact, we won’t find our calling, our place in God’s kingdom, because that is written on our hearts’ desires. We’ll have a really hard time hearing God’s voice in a deeply intimate way, because God speaks to us in our hearts. We’ll live under guilt and shame for all sorts of evil thoughts and desires that the Enemy has convinced us were ours. God will seem aloof. Worship and prayer will feel like chores.

Of course, I just described the life most Christians feel doomed to live.

Now listen to Jesus:

Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. (Luke 6:44–45, emphasis added)

Later, explaining the parable of the sower and the seed, Jesus says,

The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. (Luke 8:15, emphasis added)

Jesus himself teaches that the heart can be good and even noble. That somebody is you, if you are his. God kept his promise. Our hearts have been circumcised to God. We have new hearts. Do you know what this means? Your heart is good. Let that sink in for a moment. Your heart is good.

What would happen if you believed it, if you came to the place where you knew it was true? Your life would never be the same. My friend Lynn got it, and that’s when she exclaimed, “If we believed that . . . we could do anything. We would follow him anywhere!”

~Waking the Dead

the greatest freedom came in the gift of Love

a gift that cost Jesus His life
but is free for me to receive.

and i now stand righteous before God
a free man
but more than that

i've been adopted into His family
to call God Daddy
and to receive the abundant blessings from His unfailing infinite supply.


now this i need to remember. more so than all the stuff i'm studying.

有收获 =)

i haven't blogged for 5 whole days... amazing... considering the fact that it's mugging season and my mind normally wanders (which is blog-writing material)

anyhow it's been mugging mugging mugging... without 大哥 so no crazy photos or exploits to blog about. pretty productive though, with some worship prac and random meals (and too much anime =.=) thrown in. and there was this productive waste of time today... in an expedition to camden loch and burning a hole in my pocket =P.

i got stuff for my roomie, and some people back home (haha angus i'm not gonna give away what's on the badge tho i really wanna take a photo of it). oh. and i got this shirt.



LOL.