The final breath.

Here I am again at 11.35 pm trying to think about the subject of this post. I personally do not feel that my previous posts are really 'good enough' as we're not talking about the everyday homework assignment or blog-creating project, this constitutes of 50% of my Continual Assessment 1 (CA1). Alright, let's talk about this week then.

This week has passed by unreasonably fast. It just feels like a second since it's Monday and I only have 22 minutes left until Friday. On Tuesday was the Secondary 1 Regional Studies Programme (RSP) orientation, and frankly speaking I think my group was the most unprepared for the music presentation. Besides that I found out that my classroom key and my class pass had mysteriously disappeared into thin air. At home I was panicking to find the items and at that time I just felt that my whole life had collapsed on top of me. Just like that, when I was starting to feel that I was beginning to do a good job being the class monitor. The two most important class documents went missing, all in one day, literally.

Then it hit me.

Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock on the door and it will be opened to you. 

I have actually forgotten about this Bible verse for a really long time, and I was starting to take my problems into my own hands. This week I felt spiritually dry, as I didn't really get a lot of chances to do Quiet Time (QT) in school just before morning assembly. I started to pray. And pray. And pray. And pray. And pray. The words just seemed to float in my mind: God, please help me find my class key and pass. The words never stopped playing in my head, for the whole time until I went to sleep.

Faith, that was all I needed.

The next day upon reaching school I knew I would get scolded by Mr Li and probably other teachers as well. I actually thought I was going to get into trouble. Big trouble. However it seemed that God answered my prayers in this very morning. It turned out that I had forgotten that I lent the key to Hudson for the Secondary 1 RSP orientation 'treasure hunt'. The pass appeared in the sense that Marcus revealed to me that he had put it into Wayne's pencil case just the day before after using it. Through this I really grew stronger in my faith.

Now, as I sit in front of my mum's laptop trying to get this blog post together at five minutes to midnight (this has no reference to the song by Boys Like Girls of the same name), it really feels that this week has passed unreasonably fast and that I only have 5 minutes left of Thursday (which means 5 minutes to Friday!).

Wait a minute! It's already 11.57 in the night, why are you still awake? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping by now and putting this post together earlier?

I only have one answer: Today's homework was comparable to Mount Everest. Math, Chinese, Home Economics and the printed version of this blog post all by tomorrow. Or should I say today? It's already midnight and I think I'm about to get this final breath of caleby-allforyou.blogspot.com done and over with and I'll be reverting back to my usual blog soon enough.

In case you are still wondering what the 'You'  in my blog name 'All For You' refers to it simplly means All For Jesus, for what He has done on the cross for you and me, and He lives in me today!

The final breath is over. When the old is gone, the new will come... soon.

Faith... Saving Lives...

Hello everyone, once again I'm here at this "Create post" link tab, and this will be my fifth (and probably last) blog post. On Saturday I went for band practice and then service and cell. Finally Wayne came for cell. Hooray! (But I'm not sure if he'll be coming again...) Sermon: Done by Pastor Chye Aik. It's about faith. Now in general faith is "eating and excercising" correctly. It is also believing then seeing, not the other way round. But that does not mean that we have faith that we will score well for a test, for example, and ten slack off for the weekend just before the test.

Well frankly speaking, that isn't faith. That's irresponsibility.

It's just believing before seeing, eating and excercising it correctly, faith can do great things.

But how do I eat? Excercising is excercising faith, but I don't understand the 'eating' part.

That's when some applications come in. The Bible can help you grow in your faith, believe it or not! Reading the Bible correctly and excercising faith correctly can become very very powerful. The power of faith is real.

Now at this juncture I would like to share with you guys something that really touched my heart on Friday. Not because it's a Christian movie, not because it is a low-budget one, but the content really touches my heart. Check it out.






To save a life. I know that in modern society there are outcastes. Everywhere you go there will be outcastes. Now at this point let's consider what it means to Jake in his position. He has everything. However, his childhood friend, Robert, is outcasted. So one day he kills himself, causing Jake to rethink about his former attitudes and reflect on what he wants his life to be about. He decides to go around school looking for other "Robert"s' and reaching out to them. But it's not always smooth sailing. Now he has to choose between two parties: Popular but uninteractive to the outcastes, or outcasted himself. What would you do in his situation?

At some point in your life you've got to ask yourself, "What do I want my life to be about?"

That point is now. It's either now or never. If you have no motive in life (yet), I suggest that it's about time. What do you want your life to be about? Friends? Girls? Popularity? For me I want to spread God's love to those that need it. I want to reach out to the pre-believers of the world. It's called saving lives man. There's this rumour that the world's gonna end in 2012 and 2011. 2012, it's not going to happen scientifically. 2011. Now this may be a little new. This marks the 7000th year since Noah's Ark and some people suggest that Judgement Day falls on the 21st May of this year. I feel that it's not up to us mere mortals to decide when the Judgement Day falls upon, but only the Father knows. Nevertheless, even though I feel that these are not real, I tell you. the end is near. It may be in a day or a million years. They will all pass in the blink of an eye.

How far will you go, how much would you risk, how hard would you fight, to save a life?

I feel that it's about time we start reaching out to pre-believers and let them know what Jesus has done for them on the Cross. It's about time we save lives and reach out.

What's the point of all this if you're not going to let it change you?

I'm ready to reach out to people and get outcasted myself. Are you?

When the old is gone, the new comes.

Yes, it's more problems again and again. It's like it never seems to stop. Somehow I find myself in a situation of responsibility (again but this time it has nothing to do with monitor duties). Also I think that this subject is too sensitive so I would not write anything about here (It's the internet!). The other problems that seem to arise (besides the one stated earlier that I don't want to mention) are my internet speed and yeah, my internet speed. I think I can take a meal before this page finishes loading completely. My internet speed is that slow. It's so slow that this 1-year-old (Windows Vista) computer loses out to my mum's 5-year-old (Windows XP) laptop. I'm really dying for a software upgrade to Windows 7.

But for now I think I just need to put up with this excruciatingly slow speed. Oh well.

I just want to share something that happened in mission trip (I forgot which day) debrief last year. We were supposed to do follow-up on the orang aslis' newfound faith (I think). A cell-mate carried a little boy that was around 5 years old in a certain village, who was not wearing anything. Later we distributed clothes to the villagers and they were very happy to receive them. The next day my cell-mate saw that same boy, but this time he was wearing pants. During that night's debrief we were supposed to share what we have learnt so far in this trip. He said, "I have learnt that people change." There is a punchline to that, but there also is a much deeper meaning to it. "People change." Now that's quite interesting. Besides that punchline there may be a couple of reasons why they change, not meaning the clothes and anything but the inner character. Just like how we change our clothes we also have the tendency to change our character (in this context I refer to the character change to be positive unless stated) when the time comes. These many times that our character changes is, for example, new environment, reflection, times of trial, emotional maturity, impacted by people/God, and so on and so forth.

There's this Chinese saying that goes, it's easier to change the mountains and rivers than to change your character (Jiang shan yi gai, ben xing nan yi). I totally disagree with that. Totally. Absolutely. 100%. The time will come where everyone will have a character change, for better or for worse. There may be a time that something in the spiritual realm that touches you heart or impacts you in such a way that you're never going to be the same. I've seen it happening to my friends, I've experienced this situation before, and things are never going to be the same again in my life. I really hope that God can impact all of your lives, my friends, impact you so hard that you'll never be the same again.

When the old is gone, the new comes.

Problems--Solved

Problems are solved, or so I think. Today Mr Li wasn't present for English lessons today, and so the class committee had to take charge. It was really frustrating as many people took and excruciatingly long time to get settled. Everything seemed to mount up upon my responsibilities as a monitor, and it was as if I had gone past breaking point. Towards the end of the period I actually addressed the class and shared with them my deep troubles, and also how it's like being a monitor and stuff. I explained to them that being a monitor was not what they thought it would be. However, it feels very discouraging when many many people vote for you and in the end very little people submit to authority. I also shared with them the question, "What's the use of having a monitor when very few people (or even none) submit to authority?" In conclusion of my 'speech' I gave my classmates a challenge to submit to their leaders' authority and not to make their jobs harder than they are already are.

Frankly speaking I was pretty surprised that many people found the impromptu 'speech' a very impactful/meaningful/inspirational etc (I didn't know I was so good at that stuff.). I feel that this really warms up my heart by a lot knowing that there are people out there that are going to put it into practice. Just for a little illustration imagining me and you playing tennis, just hitting balls to each other. Now if I hit a ball to you and you don't return after a while it gets a little discouraging for me won't it? Yeah, so now that there will be some people responding to authority it gets a lot more encouraging.

It's been a great encouragement after getting this problem solved and in this year with this leadership position I hope to:

1. Emphasize that leaders aren't supposed to sit there, slack and be served like what some of my classmates think but rather to serve others.
2. Make a huge difference in 2A and impact many people's lives (through God who strengthens me).
3. Encourage and have unity in 2A as many of us are staying inside our little circle and no one is going out of their comfort zone . Also there are some people with harsh feelings to one another.
4. Start a class cell to fellowship with fellow brothers in Christ. Evangelism is strongly encouraged here.
5. Be a better example to people around me in life, love, faith, spirit and in purity.
6. Last but not least, to be the best monitor I can be.

17/01/10 and 18/01/10

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

Welcome

Hello everyone, Teachers, Peers and strangers who just came to visit,


Welcome to the first post of the blog for the blog creating assignment. This blog shows recent updates and happenings of my life and my views of it (I don't intend to post objectionable content) written in proper English, as per the requirement. 


Now that I've finished the Introduction, let me give you a tour of this blog. This blog has been created on the 15th of January 2010, with the blog skin known as "scribe" provided by blogger. The title, "All for You," has its inspiration from the ELEVATE camp, and if you know me pretty well, like how I go around doing stuff and my motivation, you would probably have a rough idea of what I mean by "All for You". The URL address is caleby-allforyou.blogspot.com, having my name Caleb and well, the 'Y' is just extra to get that amusing pronunciation (and also because of another reason that I wouldn't want to disclose on the Internet). Scroll down a little and you will see the music player, which is probably playing Break Free by Hillsong. I love this song, absolutely love it. The lyrics speak to me in a really special way.

Would you believe me, would you listen if I told you that

There is a love that makes a way and never holds you back

So won't you break free

Won't you break free

Get up and dance to His love

So won't you break free

Won't you break free

Get up and dance to His love

Who would have thought that God would give His one and only son

Taking a stand upon the Cross to show His perfect love

So won't you break free

Won't you break free

Get up and dance to His love

So won't you break free

Won't you break free

Get up and dance to His love

His love's never ending

There's no escaping the truth
There's no mistaking it's You
God forever we'll
Get up and dance,
Get up and dance
And praise You

Theres no escaping Your light
Theres no mistaking Your love
Across the world we will
Get up and dance
Get up and dance and praise You

Now is the time to take this freedom that has come our way

Offer our lives to see the glory of His Name

So won't you break free

Won't you break free

Get up and dance to His love

So won't you break free

Won't you break free

Get up and dance to His love

His love's never ending

There's no escaping the truth
There's no mistaking it's You
God forever we'll
Get up and dance,
Get up and dance
And praise You

Theres no escaping Your light
Theres no mistaking Your love
Across the world we will
Get up and dance
Get up and dance and praise You

And for all our days

We are holding on

Holding on to all Your ways

We are holding on 

Holding to all You've said, and You've done

We are holding on to Your love

Now we will dance

So won't you break free
Won't you break free
Get up and dance
Won't you break free

So won't you break free
Won't you break free
Get up and dance
Wont you break free

So won't you break free
Won't you break free
Get up and dance
Wont you break free

So won't you break free
Won't you break free
Get up and dance to His love

His love's never ending

There's no escaping the truth
There's no mistaking it's You
God forever we'll
Get up and dance,
Get up and dance
And praise You

Theres no escaping Your light
Theres no mistaking Your love
Across the world we will
Get up and dance
Get up and dance and praise You

Reflecting on the lyrics once again I feel this is a really meaningful message to all the pre-believers and 1st generation Christians out there. We all want to break free from all barriers, and all barriers keeping us from Salvation. Looking at the pre-believers this can be used as an evangelistic tool, and for the 1st generation Christians an encouragement to break free from parental objections (if any). I would definitely want to elaborate more on this point but I am not sure if this insight is classified under objectionable content, so I will stop here for now, until I get a little bit more information on objectionable content. Enjoy your stay!

Caleb

All for You