This was just the usual Sunday but not-so-usual Sunday. Went to church, did homework, and took pictures for this blog. First here's a little preview of my church, Riverlife (Remember the badly-hit church by the H1N1 virus last year?).
As realistic as it looks, that is actually the scale of my church displayed in the atrium (Did you get fooled?). Here are the real ones:
It was a really fun and great time (except for the homework part of it) hanging out with fellow Christians and people serving in the same ministry as I do.
Special thanks goes to the awesome drummer and friend Kenneth for helping me take some pics and showing me good places to take them. I don't think I would have these great pictures if not for him!
His wristband said Dad's for Life!! (Don't get me wrong, he's not a dad yet!)
This day also marks the last time I will ever see Benton till like, 2 years later I think. He's going off to Australia tomorrow. I'll really miss his 'wacky-ness' and sense of humour a lot!
Eventful things happened today. As I was sitting there by myself in the morning in class doing my usual Quiet Time (QT) I was really praying a lot for Wayne. A lot. He's recently been entrusted with the leadership role of the "C" Division table-tennis team, and it seems like many people are not very happy about it. Thinking about what he would probably do in this situation is very disturbing, as I'm not sure if he'll make the right decisions on his part as the leader. Wayne, if you're reading this now I would just like to encourage you not to be discouraged when people look down on you like that, but rather set an example to them as a leader in life, love, faith, spirit and in purity. Hold on a second, those are some pretty big words there, let's explore what they really mean. Don't get me wrong, this section is open to everyone to read, not just Wayne alone.
Life, it means how you live your life, or whether you make the right decisions. Setting an example in life really is very difficult to do (actually they all are). Life in this context means how you live your life, like what you do, your motivation, why you choose to do this instead of that, who/what you are doing what you are currently doing for etc. It involves really making a LOT of right decisions when setting an example, as that way people will notice the difference in you than in other people around, even if both come from the same background and stuff. Authenticity is what young people today want more than anything else, and I encourage you to live an authentic life today!
Love, it just means how we care for others. In this context the particular word, "Love", isn't what you are currently imagining what it is. It's how we care for others. It totally has nothing to do with Boy-Girl-Relationships here, but how we express your concern to your friends. If you are a passionate Christian then your love for your pre-believing friends and family (even) should be strong enough to ask them to come to church. But even if you've started to evangelise and bring people to church nothing much changes in that person or you get rejected, do not be discouraged. You may be the one who sows the good seed in his heart, and another person may water the seed, and finally the third person may be the one that fertilises the soil and that the tree will bear good fruit. So don't be discouraged if someone rejects you, my brothers (and sisters if any are reading this) in Christ.
Faith, it's how much you believe in something. I've seen God transform lives and also His miracles done. If anyone has that faith the size of a mustard seed in God's name he can move mountains. Move mountains? Isn't that impossible? As a living testimony of Christ, I assure you that nothing is impossible with God. Blind eyes are opened, strongholds are broken because we choose to believe in Him, cure the sick and break down all barriers that are keeping us from Him in His name.
Spirit, it's the third element of our being, the other two elements being mind and soul respectively. It's the part of us that can connect with God, and also the part of us that the devil likes to tamper with, the one that makes us feel very discouraged. Sometimes when you fail to succeed we hear that voice in your head that says, "You can't do it anymore. You've lost the battle. You're forever a failure. You'll never succeed." Sometimes I even get that too. That is the devil tampering with your spirit, making you feel discouraged. The soul controls our emotions, which decide how we will feel when we get that. Our mind controls what we will do when we get that. In other words these three elements are interconnected and make us one being. It's very important to have a good spiritual relationship with God. Let me emphasize on this point. Christianity isn't a religion at all, but a relationship with God. Setting a good example in spirit is to keep connected with God and have a close relationship with Him.
Purity, and no, I do not entirely refer to sexual purity. Purity is having clear and clean thoughts, and also referring to the actions that we do. I also struggle with this a lot, and I still think that this is the hardest to set an example in this aspect. Combining all the really "big" words that I have mentioned, people will really see the difference in us and notice that difference, like why we are different from most people, if this is put into practice.
Let me give you a short testimony of what happened today with my spiritual life. It was just a normal Monday, with Character Education lessons primarily. Now this Character Education lessons played a very very huge role in what happened today. Before the lessons the CMC (Class Management Commitee) wanted to address the class about admin matters. Being the monitor I was made the first line of outgoing communication. However almost no one wanted to pay attention and were doing their own things, with only about 3 people responding. It's really discouraging. I asked myself this question: What's the entire point of having a leader when no one submits to authority? My answer is that there is no point. Might as well give up my position to someone that can probably do my job better than me and also get the class to submit to. I was alone then, reflecting on what I had been doing for the past 2 weeks as a monitor. Reflection. It's something that I like doing, knowing how I can improve myself through past mistakes. But that's besides the point. Soon after the teachers screened a video of Nick Vujicic. Nick Vujicic. I remember the time he came to my church a few years ago. He's a really great speaker. I haven't really heard of him much till today. God really spoke to me through that video of his. When they screened the video (I don't know if you've felt it) I felt the presence of God fill this room, and if you were observing me well you might have seen that I started to tear up. Yes, you're right. I'm not ashamed to say this. I nearly cried. I was just at about breaking point. I really got touched by God and I dare say that this is my second divine encounter with Him (For my first you can always go to my other blog, calebyds.blogspot.com to find out more.). It's just like God is telling me, "Nick has no arms nor legs, just a 'chicken wing', and I have helped him overcome this huge barrier of living a normal person's life. What great things I can do with you to help you overcome this very minute barrier!"
Jesus, take my life, use me for the expansion of your Kingdom. Use me to be living testimony unto the World today. Lord, I surrender everything I am to You. Not my will, but Yours be done. Take my life. It's all for You.
Surrender - Planetshakers 2008
(Verse1)
All that I am is yours
All that I have is yours
I give you my heart and soul
Lord I'm yours
(Verse 2)
Lord everyday is Yours
Lord every breath is Yours
I'm giving my life to You
Lord I'm Yours
(Pre-chorus)
You alone are worthy of praise
You alone are worthy of all praise
(Chorus)
I surrender all to You
I surrender all to You
I am nothing without You
Jesus Christ, take my life
It's all for You
(Bridge)
You're worthy of all praise
You're worthy of all praise, Jesus
(Tag)
I lay it all down
I lay it all down
I lay it all down
At Your feet
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