A prayer

At times when ends barely meet, when the heart can no longer take any
pain and life seems really impossible, remember what the Lord said, *"Before
they call, I will answer".*

*Isaiah 65:24* And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will
answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.(KJV)

*This story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa ..

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite
of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a
crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby
alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).

We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator,
nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went
for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would
be wrapped in.

Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came
back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst
(rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). "And it is our last hot water
bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled
milk so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst
water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down
forest pathways.

"All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and
sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job
is to keep the baby warm."

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of
the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters
various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny
baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough,
mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it
got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because
her mother had died.

During prayer time, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt
conciseness of our African children. "Please, God" she prayed, "send us a
water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so
please send it this afternoon."

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, "And while
You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so
she'll know You really love her?"

As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly
say, "Amen". I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I
know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But there are limits,
aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would
be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had been in Africa for almost
four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home.
Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water
bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I
was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there
was a car at my front door.

By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was
a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could
not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.

Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded
the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting.*



*Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box.
From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes
sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the
leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box
of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the
weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the ... could it really
be? I grasped it and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water
bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly
believed that He could Ruth was in the front row of the children. She
rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent
the dolly too!" *



*Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small,
beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!

Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you and give this dolly to
that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my
former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's
prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the
girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in
answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that
afternoon."

"Before they call, I will answer" (Isaiah 65:24). This awesome prayer
takes less than a minute. When you receive this, say the prayer, that's
all you have to do. No strings attached. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.
There is no cost but a lot of rewards.Alot of times we are so overwhelmed by the problems

of our everyday life and become so helpless and we forgot that all we have to do is just look up to Jesus.He is

Forever there with us.All we have to do is just pray...

Let's continue praying for one another: Father, I ask you to bless my
friends reading this right now. I am asking You to minister to their
spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and
mercy. Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence to work
through them. Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I ask You to give
them understanding, guidance, and strength as they learn submission to Your
leading. Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask You to renew them by
revealing Your nearness, and by drawing them into greater intimacy with You.
Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release to them Your courage.
Where there is a sin blocking them, reveal it, and break its hold over my
friend's life. Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up
leaders and friends to support and encourage them. Give each of them
discernment to recognize the evil forces around them, and reveal to them the
power they have in You to defeat it. In Jesus' name. Amen!



"Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you're not willing to move
your feet."*

Seek Him while he may be found

55:6

当 趁 耶 和 华 可 寻 找 的 时 候 寻 找 他 ， 相 近 的 时 候 求 告 他 。

55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.

Freshies@MYhome 10.1.2007

Yeah! Outing at my house!!! Guess what we were doing?? Bao Shui Jiao! Dumplings!!!

Introduce you to the Freshies!

My Freshies Cg =)
Top row From left: Bernice, Jieying, Xuehui, Me
Bottom row From left: Hua Chuan, Doris, Si Xiu, Shuyi, Guoyuan



At shuyi's place preparing ingredients =)


At my place making dumplings


What are they so fascinated with?


Dumplings!!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1Cct2TRmyYuhg

在 你 手 中 aka 诗篇16篇

From the song "在 你 手 中" lead by Xuehui during our cg outing. And also during my QT today =)

Very beautiful Psalms..... This Psalms protraits the Love, Joy, and Trust for the Lord that David has. Something that i cannot feel yet.

"You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." Beautiful... David has experienced God for himself so many times during his battles, his refuge from his enemies. Such that he really can proclaim that there is nothing good besides God himself....

Beautiful... take some time to read the whole passage. Verse 2, 5, 8, 9, 11 are just as meaning ful. Only someone who has really experienced God himself can sing praise to God in this way. =)

16:1		（ 大 卫 的 金 诗 。 ） 神 阿 ， 求 你 保 佑 我 ， 因 为 我 投 靠 你 。
16:2		我 的 心 哪 ， 你 曾 对 耶 和 华 说 ， 你 是 我 的 主 。 我 的 好 处 不 在 你 以 外 。
16:3		论 到 世 上 的 圣 民 ， 他 们 又 美 又 善 ， 是 我 最 喜 悦 的 。
16:4		以 别 神 代 替 耶 和 华 的 （ 或 作 送 礼 物 给 别 神 的 ） ， 他 们 的 愁 苦 必 加 增 。 他 们 所 浇 奠 的 血 我 不 献 上 ， 我 嘴 唇 也 不 提 别 神 的 名 号 。
16:5		耶 和 华 是 我 的 产 业 ， 是 我 杯 中 的 分 。 我 所 得 的 你 为 我 持 守 。
16:6		用 绳 量 给 我 的 地 界 ， 坐 落 在 佳 美 之 处 。 我 的 产 业 实 在 美 好 。
16:7		我 必 称 颂 那 指 教 我 的 耶 和 华 。 我 的 心 肠 在 夜 间 也 警 戒 我 。
16:8		我 将 耶 和 华 常 摆 在 我 面 前 。 因 他 在 我 右 边 ， 我 便 不 至 摇 动 。
16:9		因 此 我 的 心 欢 喜 ， 我 的 灵 （ 原 文 作 荣 耀 ） 快 乐 。 我 的 肉 身 也 要 安 然 居 住 。
16:10		因 为 你 必 不 将 我 的 灵 魂 撇 在 阴 间 。 也 不 叫 你 的 圣 者 见 朽 坏 。
16:11		你 必 将 生 命 的 道 路 指 示 我 。 在 你 面 前 有 满 足 的 喜 乐 。 在 你 右 手 中 有 永 远 的 福 乐 。

"The Room"

"The Room"

This story is extracted from a book I am reading.



A dream the author had one night - "The Room"


In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features save for the one wall covered with small index-card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attentin was one that read "Girls I Have Liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realise that I recognised the names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a ccrude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match.

A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their contents. Some brought joy and sweet memeories; otheres a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed."

The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I Have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed At." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've Yelled at My Brothers." Otheres I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in Anger," "Things I Have Muttered under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes there were fewer than I hoped.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my twenty years to write each of these thousands, possibly millions, of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked “Songs I Have Listened To,” I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn’t found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the vast amount of time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked “Lustful Thoughts,” I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed contents. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.

Suddenly I felt an almost animal rage. One thought dominated my mind: “No one must ever see these cards!” No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!” In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn’t matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took the file at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore “People I Have Shared the Gospel With.” The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.

But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus.

I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn’t bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?

Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn’t anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn’t say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.

“No!” I shouted, rushing to Him. All I could find to say as “No, no” as I pulled the card form Him. His name shouldn’t be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, and so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood.

He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and continued to sign the cards. I don’t think I’ll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, “It is finished.”

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

Merry Christmas to All

Hi guys,

Just wanna wish you guys merry merry christmas!!! Wish you guys have a joyous and meaningful christmas!

And do let me know who can turn up for outing on the 5th jan early, so I can make changes to the date if the attendance is too low =)

I'll be going on mission trip from 26th dec to 1st Jan to Bukit Pelandok. Xuehui's in my team too. Do pray for our safety, especially with the flooding condition. Pray also for our work there too. That god can use us to do his work =)

See you guys at the outing!!!

Lotsa love,
mingyuan

Overdue Pics

Sorry guys, i know these photos are seriously overdued. Haha. My camera kind of malfunctioned thus i was unable to upload the pics into my computer. Just got back my camera from repair today. Yup... =)

Whose the monkey?

At the picnic table

Indian Movie 1

Indian Movie 2

Can you make out a word?

Cool

V
Kung Fu

Serving

Yoz all,remember that time we had a bible study about shi feng??here is something to encourage you and let you think about why you should serve our god :)

If you're not involved in

any service or ministry,what excuse

have you been using?

Abraham was old,

Jacob was insecure,

Leah was unattractive,

Joseph was abused,

Moses stuttered,

Gideon was poor,

Samson was codependent,

Rahab was immoral,

David had an affair and

all kinds of family problem,

Elijah was suicidal,

Jeremiah was depressed,

Jonah was reluctant,

Naomi was a widow,

John the Baptist was eccentric

to say the least,

Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered,

Martha worried a lot,

the Samaritan woman had

several failed marriages,

Zacchaeus was unpopular,

Thomas had doubts,

Paul had poor health,

and Timothy was timid.

That is quite a variety of misfits,but

God used each of them in his service.

He will use you,too,if

you stop making excuses.

Rick Warren,The Purpose -Driven Life,

"You Were Shaped for Serving God".

Many times we gave ourselves excuses when God called us to serve..common for us students is that we think we do not have the time now to serve as we should be doing our "job" of studying..this may be true to some extent,but I think we should not use our own judgement to decide when or where to serve,especially if God especially show you His will in your area and time of service :)

One major obstacle for me whenever I was asked to serve in a new area of ministry was that I kept thinking I'm not good enough for the post or that I'm not shu3 ling2 enough to serve in that particular area. But I would always remember what was written above and trust God in whatever I do and it all turned out well!! :) I realised I should not use my own limited wisdom to judge God's will and decisions.If I had followed my own thinking and passed up on all the chances to serve HIM,I would have lost all those knowledge that I had gained throughout..more importantly,I would not have been able to experience His grace for me in helping through all the difficulties I faced during shi feng!

Some of us may be new Christians and feel that we are not ready to serve,the rest of us may have been Christians for the whole of our lives and feel that it is time we take a break from serving God,but I wanna say that it is not up to us to decide and we should obey and serve Him if we really love Him :)

Need for Both Knowing and Applying Bible's Truths

As I looked out into the garden one day, I saw three things. First, I saw a butterfly. The butterfly was beautiful, and it would alight on a flower and then it would flutter to another flower and then to another, and only for a second or two it would sit and it would move on. It would touch as many lovely blossoms as it could, but derived absolutely no benefit from it. Then I watched a little longer out my window and there came a botanist. And the botanist would lean over a certain flower and he would look for a long time and then he would write notes in his notebook. He was there for houors writing notes, closed them, stuck them under his arm, tucked his magnifying glass in his pocket and walked away. The third thing I noticed was a bee, just a little bee. But the bee would light on a flower and it would sink down deep into the flower and it would extract all the nectar and pollen that it could carry. It went in empty every time and came out full.

- H. P. Barker (A. Naismith, 1200 Notes, Quotes and Anecdotes [Chicago:Moody, 1962], p.15)

Some Christians, like that butterfly, flit from Bible study to Bible study, from sermon to sermon, and from commentary to commentary, while gaining little more than a nice feeling and some good ideas. Others, like the botanist, study Scripture carefully and take copious notes. They gain much information but little truth. Others, like the bee, go to the Bible to be taught by God and to grow in knowledge of Him. Also like the bee, they never go away empty.

May we all learn to be like the bee in reading His Word... meditating in it day and night that we might observe to do all the things that are written in it. For if we love Him, we will keep His commandments and His commandments are not burdensome. =)

False Teacher Alert

Kobus, who spoke at COOS, publicly declared that he believed in the false theology of 'manifest Sons of God'. He declared that it wasn't a heresy but was largely misunderstood. He also said that he was to carry on the work of William Branham, whom he calls a godly man. He taught that Jesus only became divine upon baptism. And so was empowered to carry out His 3 yr ministry. His divinity expired when He gave up the Spirit on the cross. Only then did Jesus become human & could die.
[Author's note: this is what Docetic Gnosticism (false teaching) teaches]
So he did an altar call calling for everyone to receive the anointing (just like Jesus rec'd at His baptism). 1200 ppl responded & went fwd to receive the anointing.
there were so many things that he taught that is so 'off'. One of which is that we can become immortal. all his messages are on CD, which can be gotten from TG Tay (teach His Word), entitled 'Catch the Anointing'. Pastor Tay Cheng Kee, of Bethesda Cathedral, was so caught up in all this that he went to S Africa to look for Kobus. Subsequently, Kobus brought him to see TB Joshua, Kobus' mentor. And so that's how the link between the 2 African men was revealed. Internet doesn't say anything abt Kobus.... and so this piece of news is indeed very revealing.

-By Cecilia Perh, a Bible Teacher from 2 Tim 2 Ministry-
In cases of controversy, only the Word of God alone can judge (Hebrews 4:12). It is only in our days that we are able to make the distinction between where bone cells begin and where bone marrow cells begin, and God says that His Word alone can make the distinction between what is soulish or spiritual, and what are thoughts and what are intentions of the heart. None can because we don't see all, neither do we know all.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

You will be reading conflicting reports about Prophet T B Joshua from proponents and opponents.

What does God says in His Word:

Deuteronomy 13:1 "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 "You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.

When miracles and signs and wonders abound, you are not to be gullible and accept this person as from the Lord, but you are always to judge the doctrines that a man teaches against the Word of God.

Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'

Miracles, signs and wonders are not sure evidences of salvation. Even Judas Iscariot could do signs, wonders and miracles and preach the Word. Nobody knew he was not truly of God except our Lord Jesus. Our Lord Himself tells us that prophecy, casting out demons and miracles can be done by those who call Him "Lord, Lord" and still not be born again, but are instead workers of lawlessness (anomia = without law, i.e., they do things their way, not the Lord's way).

Matthew 24:4-5 – 4 And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. 5 "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.
Matthew 24:24 - "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
1 Timothy 4:1 - But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,
2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 - �8 And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

What is abundantly clear is that the Scriptures warn us about an end-time deception that will cause many to be led astray and to listen to false prophets, and thus be led into destruction.

Also our Lord specifically warns us to not listen to false prophets. The people in Jeremiah's day listened to the false prophets who prophesy to them "Peace, peace" and would not listen to Jeremiah, God's true prophet. As a result they were led into captivity and many killed by the Babylonians.

Jeremiah 23:16 Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD.

If you read Genesis 2:16-17 and Genesis 3:1-5 and compare the accounts, you would realize that the first human sin came from two SLIGHT deviations from truth. How much error is needed to cause Adam and Eve and the entire human race to be judged by the Lord?

Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die."
Genesis 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'"

Eve added to God's Word "or touch it" and she watered down God's Word "lest you die". Although Adam and Eve will be with God, yet many of their children suffer tremendous consequences from their parents' sin as they chose to rebel against God and not submit to His Word.

From that time onwards, the serpent has been deceiving the people of God through
1. taking Scripture out of context (Matt 4:5-6 compare Ps 91:11-12),
2. distorting the truth (2 Peter 3:16),
3. turning the grace of God into licentiousness through an overemphasis on grace without a balance of teaching on judgment on sin (Jude 4-7),
4. an imbalance in either sound doctrine and/or first love (compare the church in Ephesus with the church in Thyatira, Rev 2)
5. misunderstanding what God means by what He says (eg Romans 5:20, compare with Romans 6:1-2), etc

Even a slight deviation from truth led to God's judgment and disastrous consequences for His people. I wonder if it's because of the miracles that most people are intimidated and daren't speak out, or it was the miracles that deceived – exactly as our Lord Jesus warned. I wonder why Matthew 7:21-23 doesn't come to mind.

God help us all because it will produce a division – Amos 7:8 – where the Lord will use the judgment of the plumb line to divide between those who will walk in accordance to His Word and those who want only signs, wonders and miracles and experiences rather than the Word or even a combination of both.

May God still grant us grace and mercy despite all these things in SG

The fascination with miracles is nothing new. Note that the wilderness generation actually SAW GOD yet within 40 days, they made the golden calf – to prove that visions of God do NOT change the human heart! It's the gospel of Jesus Christ alone that can change a sinful heart to an obedient heart when responded to in repentance and faith. The need to test one's own salvation is becoming more critical and the truths in 1 John will strengthen and help us share with others what God says

Should we or should we not??

Ok babes and dudes,have asked ganshi about whether we should ask god for gifts and the following is his response,without any extra/less words from me :)

Hi Jie Ying,

Have read the interesting discussion on blogspot you pointed out, just some quick comments:

1. J is right that "zelos" does have the negative connotation of covetousness (e.g. see 1 Cor 13:4), however, note that it has also been used in a positive manner (e.g. see 2 Cor 11:2), and hence contra J, we cannot come to an immediate conclusion that here the negative sense is employed. A closer reading of the text is then necessary.

2. Also, as J has pointed out, the indicative and imperative forms of "zelos" are identical. So which one is it then? While the indicative option is attractive, because of the polemic that Paul was already engaged against the Corinthians as J has pointed out, I would lean towards the imperative reading of the verb simply because of the existence of a similar clause in 1 Cor 14:1.

In 1 Cor 14:1, the exact same form of "zelos" is used (i.e. "zeloute"), but is clear that 14:1 uses it in the imperative sense. This verse also ties in the two related ideas of "follow the way" and "desire greater gifts" as per 12:31 (note however that 14:1 uses "spiritual" gifts instead of "greater" and is significant, but not in this discussion yet), making it much more likely that 1 Cor 12:31 was using it in an imperative sense.

3. So it seems that here Paul did command the believers to seek gifts from God. But does that mean love is the greater gift to be sought? Actually, this is a common misconception for love has never been described in the bible as a "gift". Rather it is described here as a "way" (also in 14:1). Love forms the context and background for which the spiritual gifts that are desired should operate, without which the church would descend into self-centeredness and one-upmanship, with the Corinthian church as the first example of this but not the last.

Hence based on this text alone, there is insufficient support to conclude that spiritual gifts are not to be sought by believers. Rather, Paul's main concern was that gifts should be sought in an environment of love, for without love, all the gifts are meaningless.

Hope I have not misinterpreted your query. Great job J.

Blessings
Liyu

i know some of you might find both guoyuan's and ganshi's parts abit hard to understand (dun worry you are not alone..im there with you!!wahaha..),but any more questions about what they are saying im sure they are more than willing to clarify for you :) so just shoot!(your questions i mean...)

FINALLY!!

Yoz everybody!!YES,AS THE TITLE STATES,I CAN FINALLY COME IN AND POST AFTER NUMEROUS TRIES!!(i almost type "i finally can....",then i remembered bern...stress...but i shall not care since it is late at nite le..)

1st,i muz really say sorry..i mean,im the one who gave the idea of this blog and yet i almost never post..coz im really not tech savvy and im getting old so cannot remember my login and im super lazy as well..but now that i can finally come in i shall persevere and do so after cg ends this sem!!(tml,opps today,since it's after 12am le,is the last cg!!!!)

2nd,i muz thank bern for the super touching post about cg being good for you :), for a number of reasons.
1)i din do much and it's really god's work.
2)im reminded that i have a great helper aka MY.
3)im reminded that i have great members who care among themselves and is willing to share with each other regardless of whether it is during cg.

3rd,thanks to everybody who kept this blog going!!woohoo!!!i really wonder how can one always maintain and update his/her blog...so this is really amazing to me..hee

hmm i muz say i enjoyed cg (except when im really stressed leading..ha)alot :) i look forward to every mon evening and like bern,i would leave in high spirits and thankful for all that i had juz experience during cg.. i know that some may still not feel a sense of belonging to the cg or have negative experiences etc and im sorry for not being able to do my role well,but i hope next sem we'll all make it better ya?

ok this is all for now..nothin spiritual this time round,coz was juz so surprised that i finally got in here when i least expected it that i din prepare anything..hee..and i cannot think right now coz it's so late liao and im old.ha.looking forward to seeing all your posts!

Self-Sacrificing Love

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Galatians 2:20

When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set at naught, and you sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ --- that is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient loving silence --- that is dying to self.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, or any annoyance, when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus endured it --- that is dying to self.

When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any attitude, any interruption by the will of God --- that is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown --- that is dying to self.

When you see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances --- that is dying to self.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart --- that is dying to self.

- excerpt from an unknown source

Indeed, the standard of God is that high and let us not fall into the trap of the devil thinking puritanism is just a thing of the past and is not applicable in the age today. Throughout the Bible, God's command for us is to be HOLY than to be HAPPY. Yes God does want us to be joyful, but in the right things that is... especially the preservation of the saints, without which i find no joy at all to be a Christian knowing that my salvation is not assured. Pray for grace that we will continue to strive hard in this pilgrimage towards Heaven and may we learn to encourage as well as strengthen one another along the way. =)

A Good Semester :)

Dear CG,

Been wanting to write this entry for a while, but been busy with school work etc. I just wanted to thank our two CGLs, Jieying and Mingyuan for making this semester's CG such a fun and enriching one.

First, there's always food every week. I like. Hee.

Second, I really appreciate the deep sharing that we seem to have almost every week. Somehow or other, everyone is willing to open up and share the struggles that they have. This is something I've not experienced in a CG for a long time (maybe when I was Year One with other Arts seniors). But I don't think the credit is only the CGLs - rather the Holy Spirit :) Amazing. And it is very encouraging for me - to know that we are accompanying one another on this road.

Third, CG is a place full of laughter and joy for me. Even though I'm so tired every time I come at the end of a long day (and sometimes I am reluctant to come) but when I leave, I always thank God I went. Because I leave encouraged with a smile on my face.

Thank you for a good semester :)

See you all on Monday!

Hi guys,

the blog has been pretty "calm" and peaceful recently, just like xuehui's room. Guess everyone's busy with studies and shi feng.... Let us all jiayou for the final one month, knowing that after the one month, we shall all have a deserving rest... And do remember to stay close to God =) Any prayer requests, do feel free to post them up on the blog... We can pray for and encourage each other =)

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isiah 40:31

1 Cor 12:20-31

1 Cor 12:20 But now there are many members, but one body.
1 Cor 12:21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
1 Cor 12:22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;
1 Cor 12:23 and those {members} of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable,
1 Cor 12:24 whereas our more presentable members have no need {of it.} But God has {so} composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that {member} which lacked,
1 Cor 12:25 so that there may be no division in the body, but {that} the members may have the same care for one another.
1 Cor 12:26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if {one} member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
1 Cor 12:27 ¶ Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it.
1 Cor 12:28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, {various} kinds of tongues.
1 Cor 12:29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not {workers of} miracles, are they?
1 Cor 12:30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?
1 Cor 12:31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. ¶ And I show you a still more excellent way.

Hi everyone!! Hope all of you are doing well =) Do you guys remember about this verse (v31) which i promised you guys i will find out the right contextual interpretation?

Ok, if you guys read the whole chunk of text before v31, Paul stresses God's sovereignty in distributing the gifts and believers' responsibility to be content with them, it seems impossible to interpret v31 as an appeal to seek the showier gifts. Paul's repeated point has been that we do not choose or seek the gifts.

Because in the greek text of 'earnestly desire' zeloo usually has the negative connotation of coveting jealously or enviously. Also, because the Greek indicative and imperative forms are identical, the first half of the verse could be translated "But you earnestly desire the greater gifts"(indicative) which seems much more appropriate to the context, both of what precedes and follows. It is consistent with the tone of the letter and the sin of the Corinthians because they clearly prized the showier gifts, the seemingly greater gifts. It would seem ridiculous for Paul to command them to do what they already were eagerly doing.

What the Corinthians needed to seek was a still more excellent way, the way of contentment and harmony that he has been exhorting in chapter 12 and the way of love that he is about to show them in chapter 13. These things they did not have but desperately needed.

Therefore going in line with the whole context of 1 Corinthians, God never asked us to seek the gifts. He instead exhorted us to be contented and seek harmony as well as to love rather than seek spiritual gifts. Hopefully you guys will be able to understand what i've typed. =)

In the meantime do keep each other in prayers and continue to study God's Word everyday.

Imperative - Grammar. noting or pertaining to the mood of the verb used in commands, requests, etc., as in Listen! Go!
Indicative - Grammar. noting or pertaining to the mood of the verb used for ordinary objective statements, questions, etc., as the verb plays in John plays football.

Experiencing God

One word to describe today's jiang dao: heart-piercing. The speaker is one of the rare godly people whom I know who can preach with such conviction, such clarity and such astounding spiritual insights. He not only brought out the Truth, but also exposes the wickedness in the human heart, warning us not to be entrapped within ourselves. In the words of the prophet Jeremiah, The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9). How can we human trust in our own hearts, in our own feelings then? May God have mercy on us.

Just want to kind of give a broad overview of his jiang dao as an entry for the benefit of those who couldn't make it for this dazhu. I just had this strong burden in my heart that what he said should not be just 'heard and done with it' but to really ponder upon the lessons we ought to learn.

Today's topic was on 'Experiencing God'. He put the point across clearly, that experiencing God is God's will and no one can come to know God unless God first reveals Himself. First and foremost, man being spiritually dead, on his own accord can never come to know God. It is only by God's initiative to awaken the spirit in us to respond to Him that we can even come to know Him. (Read Ephesians 2 for better understanding) This is speaking in terms of salvation.

He also brought out the omnipresence of God, being God is everywhere and always around us. Not experiencing God (i mean as a Christian) is not because 'God isn't there' but because of problems we have in ourselves. Our fault...not God's fault. (Ref Jer 23:23-24, Lev 26:11-13, Rev 21:3)

So what are the reasons that might cause you not to 'experience God' then?
He listed down the following (i shall further elaborate on them)

1) You're not born-again
Checking one's salvation (an assurance of salvation) is the duty of every single one of us. We must always check to see if we are truly born-again. There are many verses in the Bible that expound on that.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine youselves! Or do you not recognise this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you - unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Cor 13:5)

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble... (2 Pet 1:10)

Now both Apostles Paul and Peter exhorted us to EXAMINE ourselves DILIGENTLY to see if we're indeed BORN-AGAIN. Now, what exactly is born-again then?

No one gets saved by uttering a 'saving prayer'.
No one gets saved by water baptism
No one gets saved by doing all the Bible taught us to do
No one gets saved by keeping all the commandments
No one gets saved by going to church, sing psalms, pray, study the Bible etc.
Let's look at what our Lord Jesus said...

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)

and He repeated it again...

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:5-8)

*just to clarify that the 'water' as mentioned above is NOT referring to water baptism but a spiritual renewal and cleansing of the word (ref Ezek 36:24-27, Eph 5:26) lest some people think that water baptism is part of being born-again.

The comparison of the Spirit to wind is to illustrate that the Spirit's sovereign work of regeneration in the human heart can neither be controlled or predicted. Yet its effects can be seen. Now... Jesus mentioned that the effects of this regeneration (born-again) can be seen... thus implying that we can test to see if we're born again. So the question now is, how do we know if we're born again?

i)The fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control... (Galatians 5:22)

for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth (Ephesians 5:9)

See if you're bearing these fruits... if your life is changing gradually... have you become less hot-tempered when u come to Christ, have you become more patient etc...

ii)Test yourselves with the test Apostle John has written for you in his 1st epistle (1 John). In this epistles were doctrinal and moral tests that we can use on ourselves. You guys can also go to www.john3-16.blogspot.com to read 'Are You Born-again', a tract written by Ryle.

2)We do not know we have experienced God before
How often do we expect a 'supernatural' experience from God when He always commune with us in our normal daily lives. We seek 'spiritual experiences' but neglected the presence of God in our daily living. May we truly open up our senses and come to experience God every moment of our life. Make every minute count for Jesus.

3)Unconfessed Sins
As long as we harbour sins in our lives, we can never come to God with a clear conscience. Either we will be too ashamed to come to God, or our hearts will be too hardened to react to God at all.

God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)

Your eyes are too pure to approve evil,
And You can not look on wickedness with favour. (Habakkuk 1:13)

God is PURE and HOLY and tolerates no sins. How can then we even be able to come to Him if we still harbour sins inside? God knows all things... there's no use hiding anything from Him at all. Rather we just strip down all pretense in front of Him and cry out to Him for mercy.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Confess our sins and truly repent. That's the way to start a close relationship with God for our hearts no longer condemns us (ref 1 John 3:20-21). It is best to confess to a close brother or sister also. The Bible clearly states that it is always good to have a spiritual partner who can help us in our dealing with strongholds of sin by praying for us and reminding us. (read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

4)Self-Centredness
Let us ask ourselves this question: do we do things for God or for ourselves? Sadly to say, most of us (myself included) often push God far far away from the neurons of our brains most of the time in our everyday life. But this is a very serious issue. IDOLATRY is a very serious issue. Yes, we might really be living our lives for God. But let us ask ourselves this question: Do we live for God Himself alone (meaning one day if our circumstances were as bad as Job and yet we would still praise God) or do we live for God-and. What i mean by 'God-and' is that do we live for God plus an attachment with it. This attachment might be 'eternal life', or 'fear of going to hell', or 'blessings from God' etc. However, if one does not live a life for God alone and live a life for God-and, he is an idolator. Can you see the tremendous grace of God now on wretched sinners like us? May God have mercy on us all.

5)Our Age of Efficiency and Speed
We want the fastest way, we want the shortest route. Isn't that the mindset of us people nowadays? However, sadly to say, spiritual growth and maturity in the Lord takes a long and painful process. There's no shortcuts... the shortest way is to abide in the long way. Bcos if one really takes the shortcut, the discipline of God will come and one will realised he has wasted so much time (40 years in the wilderness ref Exodus) all for nothing.

6)Greed
another form of idolatry. 'nuff said.

7)Impatience
can refer to point (5)

8)Self-reflection
How often are we so busy with our daily activities that we do not set aside time to really reflect upon ourselves. If we do not reflect on ourselves, how then can we know what we've done wrong or what we've done right?
How often do we fall into the trap of thinking that as long as we just keep studying the Word and praying SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER we will be closer to God and be more conformed to His image.
Sounds right doesn't it? Seems to have nothing wrong in it...
But i want to bring your attention to this. We should never put ourselves in a passive position. Experiencing God requires a conscious willing to really want to seek God for Himself. It is an active tone. Yes we must still continue to study His Word and pray, but yet at the same time, reflecting upon ourselves and consciously willing ourselves to CHANGE the things we've done wrong or could be done better. We have a responsibility here... yes we leave it to God... but at the same time we ought to DO something about it.

So how can we experience God then?
He listed down 3 main points

1) Your choice of God for Himself or something else

2)a spirit of thanksgiving

in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess 5:18)

Not only does a thanksgiving attitude help us to fix our gaze on God, it also helps us to avoid grumbling for the things we do not have but give thanks to the things we have.
One way to avoid grumbling is to always count your blessings... and see God's wondrous work in your life. =)

3)Last but not least, using the story of gazing the stars at night, we must come to be firm in the knowledge that irregardless of our feelings and circumstances, by His Word and by faith we know that God is always around us. And the more amazing thing is, He is not only around us, He is in us.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)

...through the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5)

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the SPirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because he abides with you and will be IN you. (John 14:16)

If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. (John 14:23)

Hopefully through this post we can come to know more about God, and more importantly to know more about ourselves and how we ought to live a holy life.

In the words of A.W. Tozer, 'At the base of all true Christian experience must lie a sound and sane morality... The true Christian ideal is not to be happy but to be holy. The holy heart alone can be the habitation of the Holy Spirit.'

Pray that we will continue to strive on to be warriors of Christ (2 Timothy 2:3) bearing the armour of God (Eph 6) to fight this spiritual battle (bear witness to Christ via being Light [sharing Gospel] and being salt [live a righteous life]) around us. How can we, seeing other believers being matyred for their faith, still continue to sit on the flowery bed waiting to go to heaven? (ref Numbers 32:6)


I must apologise for my bad structure, grotesque grammar and super-horrendous English. Please don't hate me Bernice! =S

Photos Photos!

Yeah !!! More photos for you guys!

Lunch @ Marine Cove Mac


E girls pale in comparison w Guoyuan


The 3 Chio bus


The 3 Yandaos


Xinshengs @ East Coast!


World "de ECP"


Admiring e marvellous creation


Resting after cycling



Yandao & Chio bus


“三只大象”


That's all folks!

Freshies@ECP 28/9/06

Yo!!! Thanks to all for making this outing so Fffffuuuuuunnnnnnnnn!!!!! Thank God for the fine weather, and the haze to stop yesteerday.... Really glad to have such a fun day! A perfect break from the torturous half-sem of studying. Xuehui and si xiu, why din you guys join us?? you miss out all the fun le!! Here's the link for the pictures! Go view it =)
(**Super er xin*** Yuckz***)


http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1Cct2TRmyYuaA

Jellyfish, Sun, Sand, Sea and Crazy Pictures!

The outing was rather fun today :) Xue Hui - we missed you today! And can someone ask Si Xiu to join the blog too?

Discovered that there are jellyfish (shui mu!) near the shores of ECP! So exciting :) We saw lotsa them all heading out to sea ard 3pm!

And the sun was super sunny la (for lack of a better word). MY and I agreed that we got a bit dizzy initially when we started cycling ard 2pm. But it was great in the evening...when we hung out at the beach (I'm so glad we didn't go bowling in the end - who's the one who doesn't like being indoors ah? Guoyuan ah?) the weather was just nice. Strolling along the beach with Shu Yi and finding a 'magic' pencil to draw with on the sand - ah, bet you guys didn't know Shu Yi could draw so well! Go check out the pictures! And Jieying, Shu Yi and I had a lot of fun with doing stupid poses and taking pics of them. Heh. So silly, but so fun!

Before leaving the park, we had a hilarious time taking pictures of us with different themes shouted out to us by our photographer Guoyuan - CVCF, hiao (vain), act cute, attitude and martial arts (did I leave out any?). Super crazy la. But the pics turned out well - when will we get to see them ah? Efficient MY has already sent us the link to his pics. Wah. :) Let's post them on CVCF website too ok? Hee.

Thank God for the great weather, sunny sun to give us much-needed Vitamin D and wonderful sea breezes to cool us! Thank God for the jellyfish :) Thank God for the good time of fellowship, of laughter and with food! Thank God for today!

P.S. I'm taking a break from the tons of assignments awaiting me...Bleh.
P.P.S. Hwa Chuan didn't send me his prayer requests yesterday leh :(
P.P.P.S. Guoyuan - you were actually doing your essay ah?! Wow. First time I hear any mention of you studying/doing anything that resembles work. Heh. :)

ECP outing

Hi guys,

East Coast Park outing will be on thurs. We be meeting at 12pm at Mac at east coast park. Can each one bring some snacks along? =) thanks.....

See you guys =)

Out Break? Break Out?ing Out breaking??

Yo,

Bern.. the first glance at your title, i thought there was some "Out Break" eg. Pimples outbreak, Stress outbreak... Eyes can be deceiving yah? haha...

Oh, I have a suggestion. Let's make out outing to be an outreach programme to our non-believers. Each of us bring a friend along for the outing =) Can interact with them =) It's better than just "us" interacting with "us"... A good opportunity, muz make good use of it.

Suggestion: East Coast park cycling, or play balls in school (captain's ball, soccer, basketball), eat steamboat!! Or study session together!!

PS: Shuyi, Xuehui, do post e dates that you be in singapore before you all go back, so we can arrange a day =)

That's all folks =)

oh yah, Happy birthday to Shuyi's dad!

Semester Break Outing!!

Hello All,

As mid-semester draws nearer, a lot of us will be busy with term papers or mid-term tests/CAs. Xian Kun, our pharmacy freshie has 4 tests next wk leh! Let's keep him in prayer! But let us not stop meeting up, and when we meet up to encourage one another with God's Word. God has given us this promise:

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

Other than Xiaozu (next Mon! - so JY & MY, are we having BS?), the mid-sem break is coming soon too! Yippee! :) It'll be a time not only for us to catch up with our readings, but also a time to have fun as a xiaozu too! Anyone has any suggestions about where we should go, what to do etc?

Post your suggestions here - so that our CG leaders can get your feedback and plan something everyone will want to do! :)

P.S. I think this blog is such a good idea! :)

Passage for devotion

Hi guys,

this is our first passage for devotion together. It is rather long, but I have chosen it because it really reflects on my attitude sometimes. The story tells of David, who's considered one of the greatest people of God ever, falling under a sin for committing adultery with Bathsheba, making her pregnant.

After having committed the sin, David tried to cover up his sin, and only managed to cover up by committing another sin, ie, killing Uriah, Bathsheba's husband.

David managed to keep his "reputation" among his people in this way. But how can he be accountable to God? By his sins..... God knows! (verse 27)


Reflection:

Do we sometimes behave in ways that are pleasing to people, but not the least bit pleasing to God?
It can be simple things. Eg, we dun like a person, yet we behave like good fren with him. Deep down, we are cursing him or thinking of bad things bout him.

Perhaps we should be transparent to people, behave in the way our heart thinks. Do not think that as long as people dun see how we think, our reputation is upheld. God looks at our heart.

Just my two pennies of thought.
Do post your thoughts guys!

11:1		过 了 一 年 ， 到 列 王 出 战 的 时 候 ， 大 卫 又 差 派 约 押 ， 率 领 臣 仆 和 以 色 列 众 人 出 战 。 他 们 就 打 败 亚 扪 人 ， 围 攻 拉 巴 。 大 卫 仍 住 在 耶 路 撒 冷 。
11:2		一 日 ， 太 阳 平 西 ， 大 卫 从 床 上 起 来 ， 在 王 宫 的 平 顶 上 游 行 ， 看 见 一 个 妇 人 沐 浴 ， 容 貌 甚 美 ，
11:3		大 卫 就 差 人 打 听 那 妇 人 是 谁 。 有 人 说 ， 她 是 以 连 的 女 儿 ， 赫 人 乌 利 亚 的 妻 拔 示 巴 。
11:4		大 卫 差 人 去 ， 将 妇 人 接 来 。 那 时 她 的 月 经 才 得 洁 净 。 她 来 了 ， 大 卫 与 她 同 房 ， 她 就 回 家 去 了 。
11:5		于 是 她 怀 了 孕 ， 打 发 人 去 告 诉 大 卫 说 ， 我 怀 了 孕 。
11:6		大 卫 差 人 到 约 押 那 里 ， 说 ， 你 打 发 赫 人 乌 利 亚 到 我 这 里 来 。 约 押 就 打 发 乌 利 亚 去 见 大 卫 。
11:7		乌 利 亚 来 了 ， 大 卫 问 约 押 好 ， 也 问 兵 好 ， 又 问 争 战 的 事 怎 样 。
11:8		大 卫 对 乌 利 亚 说 ， 你 回 家 去 ， 洗 洗 脚 吧 。 乌 利 亚 出 了 王 宫 ， 随 后 王 送 他 一 分 食 物 。
11:9		乌 利 亚 却 和 他 主 人 的 仆 人 一 同 睡 在 宫 门 外 ， 没 有 回 家 去 。
11:10		有 人 告 诉 大 卫 说 ， 乌 利 亚 没 有 回 家 去 。 大 卫 就 问 乌 利 亚 说 ， 你 从 远 路 上 来 ， 为 什 么 不 回 家 去 呢 ？
11:11		乌 利 亚 对 大 卫 说 ， 约 柜 和 以 色 列 与 犹 大 兵 都 住 在 棚 里 ， 我 主 约 押 和 我 主 （ 或 作 王 ） 的 仆 人 都 在 田 野 安 营 ， 我 岂 可 回 家 吃 喝 ， 与 妻 子 同 寝 呢 ？ 我 敢 在 王 面 前 起 誓 （ 原 文 作 我 指 着 王 和 王 的 性 命 起 誓 ） ， 我 决 不 行 这 事 。
11:12		大 卫 吩 咐 乌 利 亚 说 ， 你 今 日 仍 住 在 这 里 ， 明 日 我 打 发 你 去 。 于 是 乌 利 亚 那 日 和 次 日 住 在 耶 路 撒 冷 。
11:13		大 卫 召 了 乌 利 亚 来 ， 叫 他 在 自 己 面 前 吃 喝 ， 使 他 喝 醉 。 到 了 晚 上 ， 乌 利 亚 出 去 与 他 主 的 仆 人 一 同 住 宿 ， 还 没 有 回 到 家 里 去 。
11:14		次 日 早 晨 ， 大 卫 写 信 与 约 押 ， 交 乌 利 亚 随 手 带 去 。
11:15		信 内 写 着 说 ， 要 派 乌 利 亚 前 进 ， 到 阵 势 极 险 之 处 ， 你 们 便 退 后 ， 使 他 被 杀 。
11:16		约 押 围 城 的 时 候 ， 知 道 敌 人 那 里 有 勇 士 ， 便 将 乌 利 亚 派 在 那 里 。
11:17		城 里 的 人 出 来 和 约 押 打 仗 。 大 卫 的 仆 人 中 有 几 个 被 杀 的 ， 赫 人 乌 利 亚 也 死 了 。
11:18		于 是 ， 约 押 差 人 去 将 争 战 的 一 切 事 告 诉 大 卫 ，
11:19		又 嘱 咐 使 者 说 ， 你 把 争 战 的 一 切 事 对 王 说 完 了 ，
11:20		王 若 发 怒 ， 问 你 说 ， 你 们 打 仗 为 什 么 挨 近 城 墙 呢 ？ 岂 不 知 敌 人 必 从 城 上 射 箭 吗 ？
11:21		从 前 打 死 耶 路 比 设 （ 就 是 耶 路 巴 力 ， 见 士 师 记 九 章 一 节 ） 儿 子 亚 比 米 勒 的 是 谁 呢 ？ 岂 不 是 一 个 妇 人 从 城 上 抛 下 一 块 上 磨 石 来 ， 打 在 他 身 上 ， 他 就 死 在 提 备 斯 吗 ？ 你 们 为 什 么 挨 近 城 墙 呢 ？ 你 就 说 ， 王 的 仆 人 ， 赫 人 乌 利 亚 也 死 了 。
11:22		使 者 起 身 ， 来 见 大 卫 ， 照 着 约 押 所 吩 咐 他 的 话 奏 告 大 卫 。
11:23		使 者 对 大 卫 说 ， 敌 人 强 过 我 们 ， 出 到 郊 野 与 我 们 打 仗 ， 我 们 追 杀 他 们 ， 直 到 城 门 口 。
11:24		射 箭 的 从 城 上 射 王 的 仆 人 ， 射 死 几 个 ， 赫 人 乌 利 亚 也 死 了 。
11:25		王 向 使 者 说 ， 你 告 诉 约 押 说 ， 不 要 因 这 事 愁 闷 ， 刀 剑 或 吞 灭 这 人 或 吞 灭 那 人 ， 没 有 一 定 的 。 你 只 管 竭 力 攻 城 ， 将 城 倾 覆 。 可 以 用 这 话 勉 励 约 押 。
11:26		乌 利 亚 的 妻 听 见 丈 夫 乌 利 亚 死 了 ， 就 为 他 哀 哭 。
11:27		哀 哭 的 日 子 过 了 ， 大 卫 差 人 将 她 接 到 宫 里 ， 她 就 作 了 大 卫 的 妻 ， 给 大 卫 生 了 一 个 儿 子 。 但 大 卫 所 行 的 这 事 ， 耶 和 华 甚 不 喜 悦 。

2 Samuel chapter 11

David and Bathsheba

1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then ^[a] she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."

6 So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house.

10 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"

11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"

12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."

16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth ^[b] ? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?' If he asks you this, then say to him, 'Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.' "

22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."

25 David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab."

26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.

From 2nd xiao zhu

Yo guys,

Thanks for the session today! Shuyi, your ling chang was great, Thanks! =) so cannot say you dun noe how to sing next time le hor =)

Yup, this session is particularly beneficial for me, and hopefully for everyone else. It's a really good reminder that we, as instruments of God, should always be ready to share the gospel of God, and to wan wan chuan chuan bring everyone to God. Also, it doesn't matter if we cannot bring people to christ through our sharing. We might just be the first few "Siew Mais (Jieying hor??)". And we might just be doing the work of sa1 zhong3, God will do the harvesting when the time is ripe. =)

News update

Remember to pray for God to show us the friend whom we will put under our "Peng You, Wo Ai Ni" list =) That will need a lot of committment to follow up, so do consider carefully who we will be asking =)


Yeah! the welcome chain has been set up le. Here's the sequence: (Correct me if I am wrong)

Sixiu-> Shuyi -> Guoyuan -> Xuehui -> Mingyuan -> Hua Chuan -> Jieying -> Bernice

So Sixiu will send her prayer request to Shuyi, Shuyi to Guoyuan ....... Bernice back to Sixiu.

The prayer chain will be on every wednesday =) Xuehui, remember to send me hor, I'll surely forget one =)

Ok, enough from me le. See you guys on thursday =)

MSG FROM JIEYING

hi dear all,

yup it's me again!!this coming mon we'll have our 2nd cg!!this time it's bible study :)...erm..maybe not so biblical ba..so do bring your bibles and files along ya???we'll meet at arts AS1-02-05 ya?this is in prevention of last week's wasting of time..the venue is near arts canteen,but one floor lower,juz follow the signs or call me!!we'll meet 630pm sharp..and i mean SHARP,at the classroom.if you are unable to eat b4 coming,da bao your food along or ask one of us to da bao for you ya? :) pls remind me in case i forgot at the end of cg(you know how absolutely old mingyuan and i are)abt the forms we have to fill(which some of us did last week),the blog proj and the prayer chain k??we are counting on your guys!!with yuor fresh minds uncluttered with nus yrs of study materials this should be no prob..hee.. ok that should be all..for those who still dun have my no,it is 96995264 and mingyuan's is 97314757!!take care my dears!!!

oh,forgot to ask you all to reply to either me or mingyuan whether you are coming or not so that we know whether to wait for you or not..juz click reply or reply to all ya?and shuyi,are you leading praise and worship this time??

cheers,jieying and mingyuan

1 Corinthians 13 (LOVE)

Do meditate upon this Bible verse this week =)
It's the one we're supposed to memorise for Da Zhu last Thursday.

我 若 能 说 万 人 的 方 言 ， 并 天 使 的 话 语 却 没 有 爱 ， 我 就 成 了 鸣 的 锣 ， 响 的 钹 一 般 。 我 若 有 先 知 讲 道 之 能 ， 也 明 白 各 样 的 奥 秘 ， 各 样 的 知 识 。 而 且 有 全 备 的 信 ， 叫 我 能 够 移 山 ， 却 没 有 爱 ， 我 就 算 不 得 什 么 。 我 若 将 所 有 的 周 济 穷 人 ， 又 舍 己 身 叫 人 焚 烧 ， 却 没 有 爱 ， 仍 然 与 我 无 益 。 爱 是 恒 久 忍 耐 ， 又 有 恩 慈 。 爱 是 不 嫉 妒 。 爱 是 不 自 夸 。 不 张 狂 。 不 作 害 羞 的 事 。 不 求 自 己 的 益 处 。 不 轻 易 发 怒 。 不 计 算 人 的 恶 。 不 喜 欢 不 义 。 只 喜 欢 真 理 。 凡 事 包 容 。 凡 事 相 信 。 凡 事 盼 望 。 凡 事 忍 耐 。 爱 是 永 不 止 息 。

哥 林 多 前 书 13:1 - 8a

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;

1 Corinthians 13:1-8a

Up and going!!!

hohoho..was really surprised at the efficiency our dear guoyuan the shy has shown..wahaha..thanks guoyuan!!yup now that our blog project is up let's hope we can keep it going for the rest of this yr!!! :)

*i lost my way trying to figure out where and how to post something and to scot out other blog skins..in which i failed..hee..will explore my way around soon and contribute something useful..*hopefully*

1st Official Post (NOT TESTING)

Greetings to all!

I've finally put up the blog, along with a tagboard for our cellgroup. Do feel free to use (and i stress 'use'...not 'misuse') this blog for edification purpose. Well, hope you guys are satisfied with the layout of the blog cos (confession) i didn't really put in that much effort in doing this. Yup... In the meantime, let us continue to be strong in His grace to live a life that glorifies His Holy Name.

Shalom,
Guoyuan

testing....

Hi, testing testing.....