Think D.E.E.P.

Hi people...I'm back again after more than 1 month of not blogging. I thank God for another month of faithfulness. Much has happened in this month in both positive and negative ways. But as usual I will choose to see the positive side of things because our God asked us to give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18).

One of the positive things that happened is that my youth group is now exposed to the gospel. We showed them the movie 'Passion of the Christ' and it definitely planted a seed in their hearts. Now my job and all the others youth leaders' job is to follow up and evangelize them by challenging them to receive Jesus in their hearts. For those who are already Christian, God is bringing them through a tough time. Which is a good thing because it means that God loves them. The bible tells us that God disciplines His sons and daughters. As it states in Hebrews 12:7-13.

⁷Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! ¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. ¹²Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ¹³"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Hang in there people. We always have hope in Jesus Christ.

as said before i planned to actually update my blog on a daily basis... then something come up hen from there i didnt update already....will do so more often starting from today/tomorrow....see ya

Sorry sorry my mistake....After I changed the blog template my counter gone...thats why always show zero visitors haha... Thanx for continual support!!! bye!!!

I just realized something...no one reads my blog! Even after I started posting more often! Someone commented that my posts are too long. Oh well, i guess people are more willing to read about people's daily life rather than reading stuff that has relation to God's word.

Since that's the case, I might as well blog about my daily life and then put a bit of biblical principles on it. Or perhaps put videos of short messages on my blog. Whichever it is, I hope this blog will continue to impact others if not, I'm planning to stop blogging. Ciaoz.

This is something that has been on my mind for the past few days. I've read it in a book and this biblical principle is really bugging me. I know that there is something that I need to give up but it's not easy doing so since it has been part of my life for so long. Normally when God asks you to give up something, that thing is normally useless and not good for you. And I have weighed this thing that God wants me to give up. It is totally useless. It doesn't affect my life in a negative way if I give it up. But it will only bring me good.

In my writings you will realise that I do not reveal everything because I know that a lot of people are reading this. But i wanted to share with you guys what I learn from Jesus as I walk with Him daily. All of us have something that we need to give up at every point in our life. If there was nothing to give up, we would be perfect. But because we're not, we still have something to give up.

Some of the things that we need to give up includes our wrong thinking, wrong believe, sinful acts, selfish desires, time and even our comfort zone. In every season of your life, God will ask you to give up something that you able to give up at that point of time. Trust Him. He knows our ability to give up something. He wouldn't ask you to do so if you couldn't. And it is our response to His call to give up the things He want us to which will determine whether we go 'up' or we stay the same. Someone once said this, "If you continue to do the same thing you did before, you will end up having the same results as before."

I'll end with this. This phrase was the thing that ultimately made me decide to give up that certain thing that God wanted me to give up. "If you have to give it up sooner or later, why later?" I pray that God will help me and enable me to give it up once and for all. Give up, to go up.

I've decided to write about my daily readings of the bible in this blog. I wanted to try writing a journal but i guess i'll just start with writing it on my blog.

I just started reading my bible again seriously after a period of dryness. Was discouraged about certain things but as usual God is good and He helped me by providing friends and leaders that were available to help me and encourage me.

There was something that Uncle Don (my mentor) said when i was having breakfast with him last Friday. i told him that i was discouraged and wanted to go somewhere far away to pray and seek Him again. Then he said something interesting. He talked about spiritual survival skills. Here is how it sounded like.

"When you are hungry, and haven't eaten in weeks, you don't hope and wait for good food to come your way. You eat whatever you have."

That is so true. After a period of dryness, I know actually what he was trying to say. I should just read the bible. I should just 'eat'. I might not feel that the food is as good as set C in Chang Jiang (:Þ *drools*), but i still gotta eat. So i started eating again. When I read, i didn't feel like some special feeling or something like that but i know that God is feeding me with His Word.

Joy told me that last time I told her that no matter how we feel, we should continue to read the bible and have a habit of reading it. And she did exactly that. According to her she read the bible everyday and developed that habit. We all need that. We won't go to hell if we don't. But I sure want to fall so in love with Him that I will do it. I want to love God enough to be commited to read His word everyday.

For those who are feeling dry, who feels that they have drifted far away from God, just 'eat'. Don't wait for that special experience or feeling. Continue to feed on the Word of God. Trust Him that He is there all the time and no matter how we feel, He's always and I mean ALWAYS good.

We all need food to survive. And the Word of God is more important than food. If you don't continue to have it, you will die spiritually.

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' (Matthew 4:4)

Just eat it.

I'm thinking about blogging about my daily bible readings....should I do it? It should be a good accountability tool for me...hmmm....

Jesus Shows You How To Control Your Emotions!

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. -Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)

Sometimes I forget that Jesus faced the same challenges that we come up against every day. But, Satan's tricks don't change. He recycles them and dresses them up a bit, but he has been pulling the same old stunts since the fall of man. And Jesus had to deal with them just like we do today.

What better way to learn how to control emotions than to look at how Jesus handled His. A great example of this is right before the crucification. Jesus knew what His destiny held. His date with the cross was growing closer and closer, and His human emotions began to rear their ugly heads.

Let's take a look:

They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said,
"Sit here while I go and pray." He took Peter, James, and John with Him,
and He became deeply troubled and distressed.
He told them, "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.."
-Mark 14:32-34 (NLT)

Can you even image the thoughts and emotions that must have been going through His mind? So, what did Jesus, or savior and example, do when He realized that His emotions were raising up against Him?

He sought the Father in prayer.

He went on a little farther and fell to the ground.
He prayed that, if it were possible,
the awful hour awaiting Him might pass Him by.
"Abba, Father," He cried out, "everything is possible for You.
Please take this cup of suffering away from Me.
Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine."
- Mark 14:35-36 (NLT)

Jesus' desire was for the torment to be taken away. His emotions were kicking in, and He wanted out of God's plan. But, more than appeasing His emotions, He wanted God's will.

We can learn so much from this passage. Jesus felt the fear, but He did not allow His emotions to stand in the way of God's will and God's way.

Our emotions are not the law. In fact, many times the emotions that we feel are being manipulated by the enemy to stand in the way of God's will for our lives. He knows that, if he can keep us bound up by fear and anger, he can keep us from walking in all that God has in store for our lives.

Whenever Satan tries to plant a thought or emotion in my mind, the first step I must make is to recognize it as a threat! It's a threat to my joy, my peace, and my relationship with God.

Jesus says:

Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy,
and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them.
Nothing will injure you.
- Luke 10:19 (NLT)

You do not have to bow your knee to the tricks that Satan tries to play on your emotions. God Himself tells you to "hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil" (Ephesians 6:16 NLT).

So, when you begin to have emotions that are threatening your joy and peace, or feelings that urge you to stray from God's plan for your life, do what Jesus did. Seek the Lord in prayer, and ask Him for the strength to feel those emotions, and do God's will anyways.

The more you ignore your emotions, the less you will feel their control. Then you will have officially learned how to control emotions instead of allowing them to control you.

How to Control Emotions

Your Feelings Don't Have To Control You

Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city. ~ Proverbs 16:32 (NLT)

Controlling Emotions
Are you fed up with letting your emotions get the best of you? Feel like learning how to control emotions is an impossible struggle.

Well, "Nothing is impossible with God!" (Luke 1:37 NLT). With His help, you can finally learn how to control your negative emotions, and stop letting them control you.

I used to think that if I were a mature Christian, I wouldn't have any more negative emotions. I thought that I'd never have a feeling of fear or an emotion of anger once I reached a certain point in my Christian walk.

But, God revealed something to me through His Word that I want to share with you today - The goal is not to be free from emotions. The goal is to be free from their control.

And, truly learning how to control emotions is only possible when you enlist the help of God's Holy Spirit.

God Wants You Emotionally Stable

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
- 3 John 2

There are two parts to this scripture. The first half talks about life prosperity and health. But, the second half talks about the prosperity of your soul.

Many Christians get confused about what the Bible means when it talks about our souls. But, your soul is actually made up of three parts.

1. Your mind
2. Your will and
3. Your emotions.

When God says that He wants you to be prosperous in your soul, your emotional stability is included. Controlling emotions is a part of God's plan for your life.

God says that:

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, he who rules his [own] spirit than he who takes a city. Proverbs 16:32 (AMP)

Controlling Emotions

God does not want you to be ruled by your emotions. He loves you and wants you to have the peace and joy that comes with knowing how to control emotions.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that we have no control over how we feel.
We hit a challenging situation, a wave of emotions sweep over us, and we feel powerless to change them. But, just because our emotions feel powerful, does not mean that they are ALL powerful.

You have the power to overcome your emotions. Just because you feel them does not mean you have to act on them.

I decided to blog now because I received a comment from Joy to update it!! Haha..

Complainers vs Contributors

These are the two types of people in church (or in this world perhaps). When a problem arises or somethings goes wrong in the church, there are these two types of people that give two different types of response.

Complainer

This type of church member obviously is the type that complains. Yes, complain and full stop. Does nothing about anything. Just complain. They are the type that see many things wrong with the church and does not lift one finger to help or improve the situation. Typical excuses of these people normally are as follow:

1. Let the young people do it.
2. You're the leader, you should do something
3. I don't know how
4. I'm too tired
5. I don't have the time (I'm busy)
6. It's your responsibility, not mine

Well, there are more that can be added to this list. Maybe someone more creative (or someone who is a complainer) can come up with more excuses for me? haha...

These people are a leader's headache. The fact they complain and not do anything to help normally gives a leader another thing to worry about or it adds another thing into his/her to do list. Worse still if they express their opinion to other people who have no clue what's going on and create a negative image on the church and it's people. Next thing you find them talking among themselves in Old Town Kopitiam about issues in the church. Haha! Don't get me wrong, discussing something about the welfare of the church is not wrong if you are genuinely concerned by actually trying to help out or at least come out with a solution or suggestion for your leader. instead of discussion, it turns into.............COMPLAINT!

Contributor

This type of church member obviously is the type that.........complains as well!! But they do so because they do not accept the status quo and has a genuine desire to see the church improve. They are called people who have a constructive spirit of discontent (huh?!?). It means that they are discontent, but in a constructive kind of way. Unlike complainers, they dont just complain. They do something about it. It's easy to spot a contributor. This is normally how they sound like

1. Why not we try doing this?
2. I see that there's a problem here, is there anything I can do to help?
3. Hey, I have a suggestion.
4. I don't know what to do, but I'm willing to learn
5. Use me Lord!

There will always be problems in the church no doubt. Contributors might not be able to solve all the problems but it at least eases the burdens of their leaders. And leaders (hopefully) being able to discern their gifts and talents, will place them in the right place to serve or help out so that they will be effective in service for Jesus and the church.

One note for contributors though. Due to my own experience, I know that being a contributor doesn't mean that all our suggestions and our offers of service will be accepted due to certain reasons. I give you a good example.

If someone like William Hung came and told you, "Hey, I feel that this church needs a bit more enthusiasm during worship. We should dance like this!" And he starts doing the 'she bangs' move in front of you (go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsn3WkxKvG4 if you don't know what I mean). We admire his heart for the Lord, but not his suggestion!

Leaders are supposed to see the big picture so don't blame them if they don't like your suggestion. Of course leaders also need to be careful not to do something unbiblical. Alamak, out of topic ni!

In conclusion, in every church there will be the two C's. And its the third C that will determine whether you are a Complainer or a Contributor - your Choice. I know that if you choose to be a contributor, God will definitely give you whatever is necessary to do the task that He wants you to do. God never rejects people who avail themselves to serve Him. Let's all serve Him and do our part.

Verse:
Will I believe you when you say
Your hand will guide my every way
Will I receive the words You say
Every moment of every day

Help me to rid my endless fears
You've been so faithful for all my years
With the one breath You make me new
Your grace covers all I do

Chorus:
Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
Because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me

Bridge:
Well I'm broken- but I still see Your face
Well You've spoken- pouring Your words of grace

Hallelujah, hallelu

I will walk by faith



Nuff said...

It's time to emo again..:P. Recently made a lot of mistakes which caused other people to actually stumble. That's the thing about leaders, every move and everything that they do actually affects others around them. Perhaps that's why I'm not like a great leader yet but just someone learning to be one. It's funny. You try your best, but you still fall and make all sorts of mistakes. It hurts both me, and the other parties involved. Don't worry, this post is not about some particular thing that happened but as God is humbling me, I start to see more mistakes. More weaknesses. More noobishness. I came to a conclusion after seeing all this. I'm not a good leader. If I am good, will all these happen? Will not GMC grow and flourish? Sometimes I really wonder, why God chose me? Sometimes I even think, whether is it really God who chose me or not.

For those youth from GMC who are reading this, don't be surprised. Leaders have this struggle. We are chosen by God to help you guys grow. The problem is, we are still human. And we make mistakes, plenty of them. We are sort of the center of attention to the devil. The devil knows how to 'strike the leader, take out the army'. That's why we struggle still. This is more of an emo post but there is something to learn from here as well. We can't run away from making mistakes.

If we really are honest with ourselves, we will see that we sin terribly and bountifully everyday. I am starting to see that more. Actually, we're not even better than a serial rapist or a mass murderer. In the bible Jesus said that if we look at a woman lustfully, we have commited adultery and if we are angry at our brother, we fall on the same judgement and murdering. How many times we actually had lustful thoughts or was angry at someone? Even for a short period of time? Plenty, countless, almost everyday. That's why, we are like serial rapists or mass murderers. So what does mass murderers and serial rapists got to do to be saved? To improve? To change? Believe in Jesus.

You know, we don't really like to see our own faults because it makes us vulnarable, it shows that we are not good and it means we have to leave our comfort zone and put effort to change. That's why we try to hide our weaknesses and every chance we have we will try to say something or do something to cover our mistakes so that no one knows about it. I'm guilty of course.

When it comes to mistakes, Jesus likes a humble and contrite heart. A humble heart is a heart that admits his/her mistakes and a contrite heart is a heart that feels sorry and repents of his/her mistakes. Since we can't run away from making mistakes, why hide? Just admit it to God or someone close to you that can be trusted (must be a Christian). When we do that more often, God will change us and forgive us. That's a promise He made. 100% true.

About me being a good leader or not, only God can answer that question. But one thing I know for sure. I can't do it without Him. I'm might not be a good leader but He is good. If GMC grows, it will be because of Him. I only did my part, that small 1%. Holy Spirit, do your work. We need You. If You don't do anything, we won't be able to grow. Help us please. I still believe God chose me though, for whatever reason He has for doing so. Help me improve. Amen

Anyway...not emo di...coz I know that God is with me...Just wanted to share this thought...ciaoz.

wow...looks like it's been a while since i've posted anything...totally busy with camp stuff and after the camp i had to reoraganise some stuff...be ready for new posts!! I guess this blog has it's purpose...some of my friends are leaving already for futher studies...i guess this blog is like some "preaching" that they can "hear"...haha...i hope and pray that it will be a blessing...ciaoz

sorry guys for not posting for almost a month now...I have a post in mind but dont have the time to type it out yet because i'm busy with organising a camp for my church youth. Details of the camp are as follow:-

Venue: Tapah SUFES Campsite, Malaysia
Date: 7th to 10th June
Price: RM50

This camp promises nice outdoor adventures including a outdoor in the woods style BBQ on the last night. Plus you get to meet friends as well.

Anyone that is interested please drop me a comment with your contact number and name. (dont worry i wont approve your comment so that your contact number is safe with me) and after that i will contact you. Will blog soon after the camp. Ciaoz

I really dont understand....why people treat God like santa claus? It hurts my heart when people ask me..'why God doesn't answer my prayers?'. Nowadays, our view of God is like He HAS to listen to our prayers like that....after all He did promise that when we ask anything in His name, He will give it to us right? (John 14:14).

In my life, I have always prayed in this manner, "Lord, I really desire this to happen, but if it's not your will, please don't do it. Let your will be done Lord." I thank my church leaders for teaching me this way of praying. In this way, I ask God for something that I really want but I still yield to His will at the end, which is far better than what I can ask for.

Sigh....Some people don't get it....God doesn't answer your prayers because HE IS GOOD. God is someone who doesn't change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He has certain characteristics that doesn't change and that's what makes Him God. He doesn't change according to His mood. He is true to His Word.

"If He is true to His Word, then why doesn't God answer my prayer like what He promised?", you may ask. Whilst He promised that He will answer our prayers, He doesn't answer it if it's clashing with His nature.

I'll give an analogy. A good dad tells his 6 year old son, "Hey son, I'll be there for you whenever you need any help ok? Because I love you." So the son goes like, "OK!" (I mean any son would be happy to hear that). So of course the son remembered what his dad told him and suddenly there was something that he needed help with. So he asks dad with some tears coming out of his eyes, "Dad, help me up please, I wanna play with the knife like how mommy does. Looks like fun!! Daddy please?!?!???Can I??!?? Please?!?!?????"

Well, I guess and hope that there are not any cruel father's out there that will let their young son/daughter play with a real knife. Sometimes we really ask God for something like how that kid asks his father in the analogy. We always think that a certain thing is good for us or we always had something that we always wanted and asked God for it. You know what's the worse part? We complain when God doesn't grant us that prayer.

Imagine that in the same analogy, the kid starts to say things like "Dad!! You told me that you'll be there for me whenever i needed help. But why when I asked you, you didnt keep your promise. WHY?!?!!!?!!???" Can you imagine how the father would have felt. He only did it because he loved his son and all his son did was complain and in a way called him a liar.

Sigh... All God did was care for us and we get mad at Him. I used a 6 year old son to represent us because in comparison to God, our knowledge of what is good or bad or anything else is far superior. In fact we are like 1 year old babies or younger. Can you see now how much God loves us? He loves us so much not to answer some of our prayers because He knows that answering some of them is either bad for you or it's bad for you at that time. The problem with us is that instead of feeling that God loves us by doing that, we feel that He doesn't love us.

Actually, I am one of those people. As humans sometimes or most of the time it's really hard to see how certain prayers unanswered can be a good thing. But by faith, I know that HE is GOOD and I choose to trust that He always does things that are good for me no matter how it seems.

Here are some promises for us to remember when we have unanswered prayers or when we feel that God doesn't care or love us.

Romans 8:38-39
³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

With this few verses, I hope that it will encourage you to continue to pray and ask God for stuff but always yield to what He wants because Daddy knows best. God loves you all. If He gave his only prized possession (Jesus) will He not give you things which are good for you? I'll end with this passage of scripture

Matthew 7:9-11
⁹"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

God Bless...

In this post, I just want to say sorry to God. I started this blog for the reason of encouraging others and writing some of the thoughts that God put in me. However I totally forgot one thing. In my first serious post entitled 'Thinking D.E.E.P.', the first acronym stands for depend.

I realized that recently it's so hard to post anything because I did not depend on Him. I used my brain to think of the things I wanna write but nothing comes out. If I want to make a difference in the world either in using this blog or other means, I need to depend on Him. People who wrote the Bible all wrote through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In 2 Peter 1:21 writes, "For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." That's what made the bible so powerful, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

So from now on, I will not post anything unless prompted by the Holy Spirit.This doesn't mean that I will be posting less. It just means that I will post topics which the Holy Spirit tells me to post. For instance, the series on purpose was more of my own idea. God told me to write some other stuff but I thought of finishing the series first. I guess now the series will have to wait. For those who are anxious for some guidance on how to know God's will in your life, I guess you'll have to wait. Sorry about that. But I know that God has His timing of doing things. And I want to follow His plan.

Sorry Lord! May You continue to speak to people through this blog using Your way not mine. Amen.

Some people might ask this question, "Why do I need to know my purpose? I just live my life as it comes. I don't want to think much about it. The more I think about it, the more frustrated I become." I can assure you that it may be frustrating at first when you don't know your purpose, but when you find it, there will be a sense of liberation within you. You will finally know that you are not wasting your time.

Here are some of the benefits of knowing your purpose:

Knowing your purpose gives meaning to life

Here's a scary statistic for you guys to think about. In 2008, over 30,000 people committed suicide n the US. Which means that in every 16 minutes, someone commits suicide. Let's ponder on that for a moment. Everyone dies at one point in their life. Some die early, and some later. But why should we continue living? Since there is so much pain and suffering and if there is no meaning to life, we might as well end our life now. Have you been told to do something and you didn't know the meaning or the purpose of doing it? I remember my friend once told me during the exam period of Form 5, "Why do I need to study Additional Maths? It' not like I'm gonna use it or apply it in my life anyway!" However, my friend did try his best to practice doing his Add Maths, but he dreaded it for 2 years. In this scenario, my friend only needed to suffer for two years, but life lasts a lifetime. Not knowing your purpose in your a lifetime will result in a life of suffering without a purpose. Which makes life pretty much meaningless.

Knowing your purpose simplifies your life

Especially nowadays, life is much more complicated. In a research that I read about recently, by the time we are 25 years old, we would have made over 80% of the decisions that would form the course of our entire life. Wow...Complicated huh? (for those older than 25 don't worry...haha!! I always believe God allows u-turns). Knowing your purpose in life would simplify your life in a sense you know what you will do or become in the future. For example, If I know at the age of 15 that I am suppose to be an astronaut, I wouldn't have to make difficult decisions on whether I want to apply for going into engineering, marketing, or any other course that does not help me be an astronaut. I would just take an astronaut's course (sorry la..don't know what it's called). That makes life easier and simpler.

Knowing your purpose focuses your life

Being focused in what we do is an important thing. As human beings we all know that our time on earth is limited. We actually do not have time to do everything under the sun. Rather than doing everything, it is wiser to choose which to focus on and master it. Jesus Himself was very focused in His life. He knew what His purpose was and He did plainly what He was meant to do. No time wasting, just a very purposeful life according to God's purpose. Because of that, by the age of 33, He made a long lasting impact in the world. We need to know our purpose too so that we can focus and be more effective in whatever we do

Knowing your purpose motivates your life

Whenever somebody knows the purpose of what their doing (especially if it is a good purpose), the person is motivated to do the task, whether or not he/she likes the task. Let me give you an example. Jesus had temptations to give up on going up to the cross because He knows very well that He is going to suffer terribly. But He yielded to God's purpose for Him and went up the cross. Even in our life, sometimes there are certain things we don't want to do because it's hard to do. But when we know our purpose, we will be motivated to do it because we know that somehow there will be a positive outcome. As for myself, I know my purpose and I like doing what I'm doing now. But there are times when I struggle with fulfilling my purpose in life. But I know that one day, all these will be worthwhile.

Thanks for reading, I hope you will be motivated to know your purpose in life after reading this post. I guess the next question is, "How am I supposed to find out what my purpose in life is?". The next few posts will give you some guidance on how to know God's will for your life. And please pray for me that whatever I write here in this blog will continue to glorify Him and encourage other people. God bless.

Wow...only 2 post and i got visitors from other countries to my blog...lol...

Anyway to those who want to post any comments..i would appreciate it if you guys were to put your name and city and country...

Would love to know who's viewing my blog....God Bless

As promised in my last post, this post will be about purpose. I'll start this post by quoting a famous saying,

"The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder..." Thomas Carlyle

How true. Normally when a ship is without its rudder, the ship normally sways to wherever the wind blows. It's pretty much same with life. Each of us have our own 'wind' in life (don't think of fart please!). 'Wind's are deciding or influencing factors as to why we take that particular course of action. For example, an after form 5 student who just got his/her results for SPM will start thinking on is/her next step. During this decision making process, there will be 'winds' that will influence him/her. For example, some people will base their decision on the subject which they like the most. If a person likes the subject physics, he/she most probably will go into engineering or any other course which has something to do with physics. Other's might treat money as their 'wind'. They might choose a course based on the amount of money they are able to earn after they graduate. Same goes to choosing a job. People might choose their job based on career advancement oppurtunities or simply the fact whether that job is stressful or not. Whatever it is, we all have 'winds' that blow us to a certain direction.

Now back to the ship and the rudder. When a ship has a rudder, the rudder is the one that controls the direction of the ship. But of course, we need someone to be in control of the rudder in order for the ship to stay on course. It can't steer itself. Not only that, but the person who steers the rudder needs to be someone who knows the way to reach the destination. In this analogy, I would like to put the ship's journey as our life's journey, the ship as our life, and the rudder and the person steering the rudder as God. The only one who knows the purpose and direction of our life is God. No one else. He created us and therefore He alone knows what the creation is for. As long as He is the one steering our ship, we are heading the right direction.

I believe many Christians are missing out on the blessings of God in this life just simply because they fail to put Him first in their life. Most of us think that God's blessings are riches or material things. Oh no, it's much more than that. It's things that money can't buy. Peace at heart, inner joy, a purposeful and etc. When I say put Him first, I really mean put Him first (Duh! right?). I'll give both examples on what is putting Him first and what is not.

Let's say Mr. XYZ wants to look for a job. He is a Christian and he did not really do well in his studies. He only passed his SPM. Let's say he got two job offers. One job was a job as a Marketing Executive with a basic pay of RM2000 (in Ipoh is quite a lot) and has many posibilities of career advancement (promotion, high yearly pay rise, high commission rate, etc.). However this job, requires Mr. XYZ to work overtime to meet his target sales which maybe twice in a month, work on a Sunday morning (church time) inclusive of a five and a half day minimum. Whereas the other job, was a job as a clerk with a basic pay of RM1300 with a yearly increment of RM50 and without much job advancement opportunities. However, this job requires Mr. XYZ to work only five and a half days a week (exclude Sunday). Well, obviously Mr. XYZ should take the job as a Marketing Executive because God really blessed Mr. XYZ with such a good job which is normally very hard to get. I mean come on...If it's not God's will how come He blessed Mr. XYZ with such a good job? He doesn't even have a degree or a diploma. It's impossible to get a job like this with his education level but with God we all know that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!! Amen?

BLASPHEMY!!!!!

God wouldn't 'bless' us with a job, a university course, a scholarship or anything that will potentially take away our relationship with Him. The marketing job requires him to work at least twice in a month on Sundays. You may say "Twice a month only ma, I'm sure God will understand one, He's so good to us. As long as I got go to church one a month can already". God understands alright, understands that you don't love Him enough to spend at least every weekend with Him together with other believers like how He likes it. God really treasures our relationship with Him. He treasures so much until He is willing to send His Son to die on the cross for us. You've seen it in the movies. Wives who treasure a close relationship with their husband might end up in divorce because he was always working and was never there for her. Well you can still try and think "Twice a month only ma, I'm sure my wife will understand one, she's a good wife. As long as I got come back to drink soup once in a while can already". Good luck with your marriage.

I think you guys got the point by now. Mr. XYZ should put God first and choose the job as a clerk or any other job that puts God first. For those smart fellas who already knew the answer, don't get too cocky because knowing what is the right thing to do doesn't make doing the right thing any easier.

Well, that ends another post. If you guys like my posts, please continue to drop comments so that I know you all like it. It will serve as an encouragement to me as well. My next post will be on 'The benefits of knowing your purpose'. Ciaoz.

I'll start my blog with explaining what the acronym D.E.E.P. means as it is posted as the title of my blog. Uncle Don (my church leader and mentor) ask me to write a personal vision around 2 months ago. I gave it much thought and prayer and the acronym D.E.E.P. became my personal vision. This vision is something that I live by. I pray and hope that in every day of my life, I do only these 4 things or least whatever I do leads to these 4 things.

The first letter is 'D', Which stands for 'Depend'.

For the first part of my vision, I want to make sure that it has something to do with Jesus. I'm working part time for church and depending on Him really is a must. In John 15:5, Jesus said that apart from Him I can do nothing. This is one thing I realize in my life. Whenever I am close to Him (depending on Him), things seems to go much better. But when I don't things seems to go tougher. Some people may disagree about this. For example, someone who studies diligently will get good results for their exam. I know that without Jesus people are able to do many things. But I know that none of those things will matter because what we do on our own strength will not bring glory to Him. I prefer to depend on Him because I want all glory to be for Jesus. Truthfully speaking, this part of our lives are often neglected. We rarely seek Him or depend on Him. But be rest assured that when you do, you will find it a joy, rather than a chore.

The second letter is 'E', which stands for 'Equip'.

I believe that God also wants me to impact other people by equipping them with the Word of God and with skills that I currently possess. As a result, I too will have to equip myself so that I have something to offer to other people. This is the hard part. As a leader I need to be above other people in terms of my spirituality, attitude and knowledge. Although ultimately I want all of those in my youth group to follow Jesus, I know that as a leader I play an important role in setting a good example. "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ," apostle Paul said to the church in Corinth. Apostle Paul here urged the Corinthian church to follow him. However it's not just him, but as he follows Jesus' example. My call is to follow Jesus' example, and hopefully, those who are under me will follow me as I follow Him. I accept the fact that this is my calling, so I will try my best. I pray for all those that I am trying to equip so that they will see Jesus in my life and start to follow His footsteps

The third letter is again the letter 'E', which stands for 'Encourage/Excite'

One of the gifts that God gave me is that He gave me the ability to restore passion for Jesus (I don't know whether this is true but so far it has been proven). I believe God gave me this gift to make young people excited about the things of God. We all should be excited about Jesus. Why shouldn't we? He died on the cross for us right? If that's not enough of a reason to be excited, Jesus also gave us joy, love, peace, forgiveness of sin, help in times of trouble and the list goes on....However, excitement comes and goes, when times are down it's hard to be excited. That's why I also include encourage into the acronym. I also believe God wants me to encourage those who are down and out so that they be lifted up again. We all need someone to encourage us once in a while. I thank God for the youth and friends that He has blessed me with. I hope that I am someone who is encouraging to them.

Last but not least is the letter 'P', which stands for 'Proclaim'

Somehow deep inside me there is a desire to let people know about Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. i won't forget the time I organized a concert in Ipoh. I've organized around 3. Be it as a coordinator or just a committee. In the first one I organized, I remember that there were around more than 10 who received Jesus on that night. When that happened, I remember kneeling down, and with tears in my eyes thanked and worshiped Jesus. The thought of someone receiving Jesus just drive me to tears. I don't know why. Maybe it's just the fact that I know that those who received Him will change their lives forever. This drives me to share the gospel. However, I don't believe I have been doing that enough. I pray that my life and my words will proclaim Jesus and His gospel to everyone that I meet. I won't shove it down their throats, but I pray that those people that I meet will have their hearts opened to Jesus.

That ends a very long post. I hope you all have not fallen asleep halfway. My next post will be on the topic 'Purpose'. I already shared this with some of the youth in Genting. But I hope this simple message will touch others who read this blog as well. God bless.

i just changed the background of my blog...well i dont know why i chose this one...i like black and i like guitars...i guess so far this is the one i want...haha..ciaoz

hmmm...I figured since many people i know is blogging... wanted to try it out and see...haha.I don't really know whether i have the time to even update it but we'll see how...lol...here goes..