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This event is organised by the Contemporary Issue Ministry of Graduates’ Christian Fellowship (GCF).
Month January 2009
After 12 years…
Recently, I replaced my identity card with updated details and photograph.
The old one (on the left) was done near the period of my national service enlistment which explains the botak and beh song (not happy in Hokkien) look.
Now after 12 years, at least I’m smiling and looking more song (happy) in my latest photograph. Ha ha…
The years passed by
As I reflected on the changes, and especially my journey with God through those 12 years, I am amazed and humbled by His wondrous love.
Like what the third line in verse 4 of Isaiah 54 (see previous entry) speaks of: “You will forget the shame of your youth.” I cannot refute His claims.
Over the years, I have indeed experienced how He has really done that for me.
The years ahead
This year, my directive and anchor scripture is Isaiah 54:2-4.
God is making it clear to me- to enlarge, stretch, lengthen, strengthen mysef in order to grow towards His expansion over my life for the years ahead.
Though I know the road ahead will be challenging, but I’m confident that God is faithful and true.
I want not only to grow to know the word of God more, but to know the God of the word even more. I don’t want just to be informed, but be transformed.
I’m not content in merely being inspired by His word, but I pray that I will see every promise He has for me come to pass in my life.
Pushing the Frontiers
“Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.
“Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.”
Isaiah 54:2-4 (NIV)
Spoofs on The Singapore Flyer
Early this week I paid a visit to the Singapore Flyer and found it in a sorry state. It was still closed.
But taking things on a lighter note, here are some pictures taken during the breakdown which were used as a spoof with the Singapore Flyer’s advertising tagline:
Pictures of spoofs courtesy of Ah Gong Hippo’s Blork.
My Wish-list for My Singapore 2009
This may be wishful thinking, but I thought to myself, “What the heck! Anything is possible rite???” LOL…
Here’s a compilation of nine wishes for a better and more fun Singapore to live in for 2009:
- Change the repeated and boring format of our annual National Day Parade (NDP). Cut the “show-off” parade and bring back SWING Singapore!
- Housing Development Board (HDB) to make housing more affordable for Singaporeans with a non-for-profit approach.
- Abolish the People’s Association (PA) as a needless organisation since there are already so many communities and clubs available for Singaporeans and they can do a better job in helping residences.
- Emergence of a visionary, credible, competence and rich political leader and party to take on our ruling party on leveled ground.
- The liberation of alternative voices with another mainstream paper to give another perspective from the ruling party’s- The Online Citizen goes mainstream. Yes I’m biased. Ha ha…
- Singapore and Malaysia re-merged as a sovereign nation giving our elderly more choices to decide where they would like to retire. And also encourages a diverse and synergistic economy.
- More flexibility and control over our CPF savings. Being able to decide when we want to use it and how we want to use it. E.g. Capital for starting a business.
- A new current affairs talk show that highlights some of the societal gaps in Singapore as we work towards nation building. This is a great form of feedback for our government. But I reckon they’re not so ready for open criticisms and discussions of their shortfalls in full display on national tv..
- The retirement of our Minister Mentor. Though he has my utmost respect, I think he should let the Prime Minister be the Prime Minister for his generation.
Which of these do you think will happen first??
My Doodling:
If you are stll in the midst of doing your planning for 2009 and are clueless about it to begin with, let me recommend a goal-setting planner. Hope it might come in handy. Click HERE>>>.
New Year, New Beginning
Picture taken with W236 cellgroup, City Harvest Church at the New Year’s Thanksgiving Gathering on 2 January 2009.
Entering into 2009
Entering into the new year, God moved in a special way.
It happened during my first weekend church service of 2009.
He is faithful
I was in a posture of worship during the corporate worship segment and I was brought back to flashes of my journey in 2008.
God led me to re-visit the ups and the downs; the successes and the failures; the high-spirited and low-spirited moments I experienced last year.
Those flashbacks were mainly surrounding last year’s second major decision that I had made.
I felt God reaching in and taking my bundle of “emotional burdens” that I had carried for feeling that I had let others down and also from being felt misunderstood by some.
By then, my ‘dam’ was breached and I broke down. I teared uncontrollably because I was moved by His faithfulness, love and belief in me; through it all.
I’m His precious
Standing where I was in His loving presence, God spoke these re-assuring words to me:
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.
Isaiah 43:4
It’s one thing to know that you’re precious to God from reading the bible or from others but another to ‘hear’ it personally from Him!
God really spoke into my heart and affirmed what was my cry- to do His will. And His will and highest priority is in people especially those who are lost (c.f. Luke 15:4-8).
Though my original plans to church-plant have been pushed back by my move and coupled with other decisions that I have made, but more importantly, I now know that my plans have now become His plans.
The divine exchange
I’m convinced that if I truly want to plant a church, it has to be built to last right from the start as it deeply concerns the lives of people; not just their salvation, but discipleship towards biblical kingdom-living.
His Church should not be built for a ‘flash in a pan’ season just to boost my own ego or to gain satisfaction by making a tick on my list of lifetime goals.
I believe that the Holy Spirit is raising up a new breed and generation of His leaders and churches in this 21st century and I want to be part of that. That is why I’d moved.
In taking this step of faith and obedience, I know He wants to further equipped me and established me spiritually and practically too.
In exchange for people’s lives, I know I need to stretch myself and grow. The more I grow, the more lives (or at least the chances increases) will be saved.
Thank you God for first paying the price in exchange for my wretched life. Now my life is yours. Use me.
God’s Love Never Fails
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him…”
Lamentations 3:22-25 (NIV)
My Bitter-Sweet 2008
If I may sum up how 2008 has been for me, I would describe it as a bitter-sweet year.
Bitter because of the number of cross-roads I was thrust into where difficult decisions were required of me.
Sweet because after making those decisions, I see myself inching closer towards God and His will for me.
Last year, two major decisions stood out. The first was to call off a relationship and the other was deciding to move to another church.
The course of my love life
The first caused me to lose faith in myself; that I was not worthy to love or to be loved.
I was very close in accepting and believing that I was hopeless and incapable of loving someone else. And that I didn’t deserve to be in any romantic relationship.
But in His goodness and wisdom, He showed me what I was choosing to accept and believe was not true.
As indicated in my previous entry, some time after that relationship ended He allowed me to cross paths with someone whom I can confidently call my ‘missing piece’.
The course towards His vision
My second major decision had led me to City Harvest Church in the later part of last year in which I had briefly recounted in my past entry.
In regards to this, I have to thank His godly visionary leaders and teachers of His word in A. R. Bernard and Kong Hee.
Through them, God further expanded my horizon and my hunger for the things of God and His Church; the summit of my vision became a plateau towards an even higher summit.
Not only has my faith being radically challenged, my identity in Him has also being renewed and further established.
Moving forward, I’m now armed with a better grasp of His vision (not a church’s) and my calling towards His redemptive plans for this world.
Tasting the sweetness after the bitterness
I think it is fitting to say that God was doing a lot of major ‘underground’ work in re-aligning my life and priorities with His plans in 2008.
“In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps”
Proverbs 16:9
Many of those decisions that I had to confront emerged unexpectedly. In fact, they were neither part of my plans nor what I thought were God’s intended direction for me.
Like how a train’s destination changes course with a mere switch of lanes, I believe those decisions I had made were defining ones that will lead me to the destination He wants me to be.
Andrew: Inside & Insights 