Current affairs

Haven't been reading news at all. But just heard about the news about the AWARE grp. With all the sharings about homosexuality and lesbianism in schools?

Sigh.

What's your stand on it? I know mine...

Romans 1:18-2:8

God's Wrath Against Mankind

¹⁸The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

²⁶Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

²⁸Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

God's Righteous Judgment

¹You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ²Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? ⁴Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? ⁵But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. ⁶God "will give to each person according to what he has done."^e]">[e] ⁷To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. ⁸But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

Birth verse

Apparantly, this is my birth verse. Haha. I wonder how they chose the verses, but mine sounds romantic. I like nature. Looking forward to a less cloudy night cos' someone has just resparked my passion for stargazing, but i guess it's a gd reminder of God's blessings too. :)

Zechariah 10:1 NIV
Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men, and plants of the field to everyone.

http://www.birthverse.com/mybirthverse.cfm

CherMel again!

CHERYL'S BACK!

big and heavy secret withholding too. *grins* i likes. :)

Have a gang

Have just started a 15min gang to stay accountable to friends to spend time with God, away from distractions and really pray and seek his word. So far, we've got 3 in the grp! I should be more structured in how we keep accountable though.

One of the main reasons was that i've been been very inspired by how much Aunty Merrilyn depends on God and shows it through her emphasis and urgency to pray and read God's word. I was SOOO sad and feeling so guilty for calling her up quite late to ask her to speak at our centre for OCF. I msged her, then called her. But she didn't pick up or reply.. so i waited till night time, before calling her again. When she answered her mobile, she started telling me about how busy her whole day was: supposed to meet only 2 girls but in the end another 12 turned up unexpectedly, and her pastor and also her doctor. She haven't had time to eat dinner till 9pm+, and all her 6 bags of groceries were not yet unpacked too. And she kept saying also that she needed and wanted to pray before she called me back cos she hasn't had time to pray since 10am+. And she sounded soooo frustrated, not because she had to meet and talk to so many ppl, but because she just needed to pray and retreat with God. Found out that after she put down the phone, she wanted to pray for the couple she's meeting the next day for pre-marriage counselling, and also for our centre too. Found out also, that she prayed till like midnight before going to bed. Even though her meeting the next day was early in the morning.

So i realised how much.... i 'know' that prayer is impt, but that i'm not actually convicted by it! That i haven't been praying for soooo many things that bother me. That i'm not enough sensitive to the Spirit because i'm not talking and listening to God enough! I was soooo sad for myself, but yet spurred on by Aunty M.

So... in the 1 week after Easter camp, 15mins increased to 30-45mins for me. Since i lie in bed doing it anyway, before i rush to the toilet to pee or brush my teeth, which signals my stomach to start getting hungry for breakfast and wanna start my day. And... so far, reading the Gospel Parallels is fantastic. And as of today, 2 prayers have already been answered miraculously! It's a long time since i've felt this experience. The most major one i can last remember is gd grades with the Golden key, or Chuan Zhi agreeing to come for Easter camp. But not more than that. Cos' i haven't been praying much more than that.

Anyway, 1 of which, i must share. I've got a new mentor!!! I've been praying for another mentor cos' Darrell left last yr.. :( And it's difficult to catch up... Ok. Alot of it's my fault, cos i didn't really call her in Spore, facebooking now is not enough... Only in the past 2 weeks have i been seriously praying, cos i'm feeling a lack of discipleship. Both being discipled and to disciple others. So.. I persisted in prayer.
And... God told me very silently... Aunty M. I was like.. Woa. God, are you sure? Busy busy woman, board of advisors for whole OCF Australia, missionary to so many countries, currently ministering to already so many ppl......
I have this reverent fear for her. Her authenticity makes me so excited and spurred on, yet there's always this conviction too when i'm near her. Like i've got so many things still not sorted out right in my spiritual life. (e.g. Perhaps not walking right? not having the right attitude for God? not knowing my bible well enough? not giving many issues enough prayer? I don't know. Maybe it's her seniority also, and the fact that she knows so much more and has so much more experience too. That's why i'm usually very quiet when i'm around older and much wiser ppl. Cos i've got sooo much to learn, and i think the best thing to do is just keep quiet, listen and learn, rather than give opinions.)

Anyway, to cut the long story short. SA Leaders met up with her at her house, and just out of the blue, totally off topic, she just asked us all if we're currently being discipled. I said i was still praying for one mentor. And she simply asked if i didn't mind her being my mentor! Gosh. That was such a confirmation. I was thinking of asking her, but didn't have the guts at all. She actually asked me instead!


Aunty Merrilyn. When i talked to her for the first time at Convy 2008.

Wow. Mentor number 3 now. So many ppl have sown into my life. And i have learnt tons each time. Aunty M says she'll give me homework, with a firm tone. And i know that it'll not be pretty if i don't do it. :S But still, i respect her lots. Not cos of her title, but cos' of her Christ-likeness. And each time she shares, i feel that i need soooo long to actually apply her teachings / preachings / or even just simple stories about her life into my life.

I'm VERY grateful for a God who listens, who cares, and who loves me enough to teach me. And i'm blessed to have women of God sowing into my life. Thank you all...

Time to start discipling too... We're called to make disciples of all nations. Doesn't matter how young we are, or how un-knowledgeable we feel... Will Chin Chin say yes?

3 salvations on the edge for Flinders... What will i do about it?

Easter Camp 2009

Easter Camp 2009 was.... THE BEST. Let me share some experiences:

1. Managed to get to know so many new ppl from UniSA and AU.

2. Spent alot of time getting to know the newer members from Flinders.

3. Had a word in season encouragement by a friend, plus we've decided to start a spiritual discipline together. Simple, but practical. 15mins time alone with God every morning before we do anything else. (Already, 1 more friend has joined us in our accountability grp, and.. God has already answered some prayers of ours!)

4. Aunty Merrilyn, the most outstanding (to me) of the Board of Advisors was our speaker.. And she showed Christ in an INCREDIBLE light. Her face literally lights up when she talks about Christ and I would daresay, the best example of Christ i've ever met in my life. Her feet carries the gospel to the ends of the world in various countries, and she never ever stops ministering, showing love to the needy, and even us members and she never forgets out names or what is happening to us. Thing is, it's not about the theology or the teaching or the charisma or the eloquence. So what if she always gets carried away with her countless stories? So what if we're all sitting on the wooden floor and our butts are really sore by the the end of each sermon and the muscle (or fats, haha) aches even after camp? I think we were all sooo ministered to and inspired to live for Christ with just her living example. Modern day Paul equivalent.

5. 2 ppl gave their lives to Christ!!! And 3 non-Christians from our centre went for camp as well. 1 of which i've been trying to sow (in lots of frustration, but not yet tears) and i hope one day someone will reap in joy. They didn't commit but the seed has been sown, 2 of which in fertile soil.

6. A prophecy was spoken that really shot through my heart. 'The arm of flesh will surely fail you, but I will never fail you'.

7. Learnt about the pre-requisite to the title 'Leader'. Which is servanthood. Ok, we prob all knew this already. But somehow, it's the determination now to want to serve, rather than just be pulled along with the programs. I say this now. I hope i won't be discouraged later...

8. Attended a 'Reaching out to unsaved family members' workshop too. I learnt tons. All along i thought reaching out to unsaved family members are like reaching out to any other non-christian. But there are differences, and those usually make it Very difficult. However, i'm gonna try and see if i can put what i learnt into practice. Again, it falls back not onto what the teachings are, but the real life example that the speaker showed. One point that really spoke to me, and i'll share cos' i think it'll benefit many others is that: Usually the closeness you have with your family members are the factors that are pulling you back. You might be too frank with them, you might feel awkward cos' you're spending so much time with them everyday that it makes it SO difficult to share. However, turn this around and use the proximity to SERVE them. Preach the gospel by first serving and touching their lives. Give your time to them, instead of just hanging out with Christians ALL the time. Two other very impt points that cannot be left out are also PRAYER and preparing how you're going to articulate your story, cos sometimes the opportunity just arises. So write a 2 min, 10min, and 30min testimony. Ready to share whenever you've got the chance.


It was freezing cold there at nights. The 1st night, it even reached 8 degrees. And all i had was a 16 degrees sleeping bag. Guess what? My water bottle spilled onto my bed, and half my bed and sleeping bag was wet that night too.
3/4 of the camp was girls, about 60-70 of us, and we only had 3 toilets and 4 showers and 4 sinks. Even so, 1 toilet couldn't flush and another shower broke. So all of us shared them all.
Some guys had to sleep in the freezing cold gym cos there wasn't enough bunks.

But so what? I'm not complaining, cos we're not going for a rest and relax comfortable resort. We went there because we're hungry and thirsty to 'Focus on Jesus' (Theme for camp). And our hearts were realigned.

I've been praying for a new mentor... and someone to approach Aunty Merrilyn with me if she was to be the one. Interestingly enough, i talked to Naomi yesterday just out of the blue when we were having dinner and watching TV together. She told me her vision from a long time ago, and I just found out of her desire to want to be a missionary in Nepal. GUESS WHAT? Aunty Merrilyn is coming to Flinders this Fri for OCF, and she's a missionary, and her compassion for the ppl is mainly in NEPAL! Gosh... We're gonna approach her this Friday. Keep me in prayer that i will be in the centre of God's will... I wanna learn and get a diffusion of her passion for Christ and ppl, how to reach out and disciple and also, just how to shine like never before as a Christian. Managed to, in this way, persuade Chin Chin to go to. Heh. She's a non-Christian, but her heart is almost ready... Just abit 'nua' sometimes. So needing lots of encouragement!! And prayer... :)

WOOO.
Pictures!

E camp

Easter CAMP! With 11 non-christians in our midst. And 3 of them i'm quite close to. May God do something great... *EXPECTANT*

Facebook will be flooded with another thousand photos next week. haha.

And i'll also be able to stock up on chocolates for more chocolate dessert projects after Easter cos of the sales. YAYYY.

HD! and Golden Key cos of past HDs!

God has blessed me abundantly. More than I asked or imagined!!!

I took back my exegesis essay. And I got a HD for that!!! Furthermore, my prof said that my paper was the best of the whole class, so she wants a copy so that she can print it out for the class to learn from. Oh my gosh.
I still remember i was so stressed during the whole week of attempting to do it, cos scholars all agree and disagree and there's so many different stands (unlike many foundational scientific theories). And they make me SOOO confused. When i finally finished it, and printed it out just in time to catch the bus to my class to submit the paper, i read it one more time on the bus.. and went something like... 'Shucks. I think i got the emphasis wrong. Don't even know whether i'm using the right tool to exegete the passage...'
But i actually did well!!! Somehow, i need to thank God for making me a perfectionist at times... Well, 1 down for exegesis. 3 more to go!

Also, today i got a letter from Golden Key International Honour Society. I've been offered to become a member cos i'm top 15% of undergraduate students at Flinders University in 2009 (meaning my last yr's GPA i guess)!!!!!
I have to pay a hefty sum of $95 for a lifetime membership. But it's a non-profit organisation.. and a summary of the benefits i get are:

• Official recognition of your high academic achievement by an international organisation
• Undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships available only to members
• Career development guides
• International networking with students and academics when travelling within Australia, the US and Canada for conferences and postgraduate study
• Opportunities to participate in the chapter's community service, career development, social activities and to serve on the executive committee

www.goldenkey.org

It's been such an amazing journey being with my God, and obeying his command to come to Australia, to serve in his ministry, and to continue being a hardworking student. May I continue to know his heart more, and walk in step with his plans...

:)

Back to more work.... and more meetings... and another presentation for OCF tmr... and another Katagana test to study for next monday.

But had a great Korean dinner just now and am refreshed, and probably fatter. (homemade and simple style. SUPER duper healthy cos we finished two big bunches of different lettuce and 2 whole carrots too. We made wraps with them and rice and kimchi and hot chili paste and sliced garlic. ) with ex-Korean housemate, Naomi and Cheryl... Pictures still with Cheryl, cos my camera is too lousy. So we used hers. haha. Show you all another time.

OnWARD, to honour God even more.