hii, related to what i said at fissions, goodbye all. i was back from malaysia, and by tomorrow i'd have left for china. was back in between for a week, and it was very good. i must say leaving my plans open (and possibly even in His hands)- asking the day to be for Him- looking back upon this week, He has truly answered, and i am in His peace. yay!

i bid you farewell for here and now, and till then, i charge you with the words of chamber-

Begin to know Him now, and never finish.

1) i'm really amazed at how chambers could have written a devotional based on just one verse. talk about reflection.

2) "Now when I, who am asking about this, love anything, there are three things present: I myself, what I love, and love itself. For I cannot love love unless I love a lover; for there is no love where nothing is loved. So there are three things: the lover, the loved and the love."
- Augustine, in talking about the nature of the trinity. and its implications on the community, of course.

3) "'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.'" ... Indeed, what the leprous man recognized in Christ was enough to bring him to his feet in worship. And it is this image that continues to erect the heads of the poorest beggars and bow the shoulders of the greatest emperors. It was the image of Christ that made its way into the insecurities of some in my youth group. Though there was nothing in his appearance that we should desire him, Jesus lived as one touched by another kingdom, obedient to the Father even unto death. In Christ, God supersedes every longing and pain, every sin and scar, with a face that won't go away. It is this image within us, this image we were made to reflect. Imago Dei is the hopeful commission to become more like the one we follow. It is the cry within us to be who we are: children made in the image of the Most High."
- RZIM

revel in the wind

The Spirit is like the wind... In this way, Pentecost serves as a reminder that the Spirit blows through all of our categories and continues to do the unexpected. We may think we have grasped the wind, only to find that is has blown in a different direction. In the face of such a wonderful mystery, we can either shield ourselves from its power, or revel in the wind that eludes our grasp.

Regardless, the Spirit at Pentecost is blowing beyond our "Jerusalem" to the most remote parts of the earth. May we be carried along by this wind.

Margaret Manning, RZIM.

fear and love

1. 'In this world of potential losses, deep cynicisms, and fearful circumstances, might we find this perfect love in such a way that casts out our fears and draws us even nearer.'

2. 'As Yoda observes, true fearlessness would be attainable only through complete detachment to everything and everyone around us. If we loved nothing at all, we would have nothing to fear, but so we would be paralyzed from life in an entirely different way.'

3. What she said.

from proverbs 3

3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

to love it like You do

went for my first vcf agm last night; though (very very very) long, i don't regret going. in fact it makes me regret i never went before.

is it too late that i have come to love student ministry? this has been the question on my heart for awhile now.

The Christian is a person of the Book

"Like ethics, Christian apologetics is a daily activity writ large upon the life of Christians and Christian communities whether they realize it or not. The world hears clearly their message with or without words. For they go about life confessing, commending, defending, and living the gospel, showing the world an ethic and a religion whether they speak of these things or not. Both disciplines are thus inherently Christian activities, disciplines that must take seriously the responsibility the identity imparts. The Christian is a person of the Book, commanded to remember the movement of God in history, the nearness of the Spirit today, and the promise of Christ's return in every word he speaks, in every thing she does.

In the midst of this great reality, the Christian need not live as one who holds every answer, but as one who lives with the confidence that is ours through Christ before God, as we grow further into our conversions and the abundant life Christ describes. In this, both the world and the Church is benefited when believers learn to see their own conversions as a process, salvation as more than a ticket to heaven, and faith as something deeper than sheer preference or unquestionable certainty—for this will likewise help us see that reaching our neighbors is a lifelong activity. In the meantime, John Stackhouse argues that it is imperative for the apologist and the ethicist to take with her the right questions.(2) Instead of evangelicalism's favorite foci—Is he saved? Does she have a personal relationship with Christ? Or, what must I do to convert them?—a far better question was entertained by the one the believer follows: Who shall I say is my neighbor? At this question Jesus recounted a story that left everyone asking appropriately, If the world is filled with my neighbors, how then shall I live?"

Carattini

Faith is not some weak and pitiful emotion, but strong and vigourous confidence built upon the fact that God is holy love

He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. (Chambers)

I like that metaphor. Arrows are mighty weapons, great and solid. a strong arm only can take up the bow and arrow, and strain fully that the arrow may fly. the arrow is deadly and sure and will fly true to the archer's intention. my God's intention is stern and beautiful, His arm more powerful, His mark more true and satisfying than mine could ever hope to be.

God grant me the perseverence to be faithful to Him.

'The Faith to Persevere'.

as promised

dr tan's talk notes-

'farmers and framers'
psalm 141

1. psalm 141, consisting of traditional and untraditional aspect of Jewish prayer.
on framing- David brackets his day with prayer. and pleads for them to be fragrant. for help- because he knows they are not (fragrant). dr tan- if your prayer was fragrant, you'd know it and you wouldn't have to ask for help. but david knew what his was, so he asked.
thus- think of a framework of prayer; frame your day with prayer.

corner joints- David's prayer had 4 corner joints that were the right-angles to his framework:
a) guard over me
b) have righteous men strike me
c) pray against evil
d) safety from snares

b) was untraditional because David was king, and there are not many kings who would pray for righteous men to strike them if they were wrong. often, kings were supported, not dissented. but for David it was a personal prayer. David... lost his best friend Jonathan in battle. he had lost him, and so asked for righteous friendship in his life.
dr tan- how many of you have three or four friends you can call at anytime of the day or night, anywhere in the world you are, and say to them, look, i'm thinking of doing this this this, and they will tell you truthfully, this is inconsistent with who you are, with your beliefs? relationships have to be invested in. they don't just appear. you have to work for them, make sacrifices. for transition from school to work to promotion etc, ask God for friends. for three or four whom you can call up and say i want to do x, and they will tell you to your face this is inconsistent with who you are, with your beliefs and what you stand for.
you know how many men my age commit suicide? and why?
do you have someoneo in your life that could affirm as well as rebuke you?

Proverbs 27:5-6 (King James Version)
Open rebuke is better than secret love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

2. Strength can be a weakness- unless you lay it on God's hand.
dr tan- you know when i married my wife, you know why she married me? because i read book. i don't drink don't smoke don't club, i read book. so she married me. but when we got married, she would come up to me and say, 'want to go out?' i say, 'i reading book'. she say, 'want to go movie?', i say, 'i reading book'. finally she say, 'you read so much, why get married?'. i say, 'you married me because i read book right?'

strength must be given to God.
Godly, iron sharpens iron.- through the fellowship of believers.
Why lives mess up- because you think, your business your business, my business my business.
How are you going to stand before God and account for your choices?

3. [moving on to three words he has on a whiteboard: truth, bondage, love]
Why proclaim truth?
unless it's to show love. all else must be refined.

[on interdenominations and their theological bickerings]
doctrine is important. it is so important it must change our lives. you go check the carpark. whether it's fundamental or charismatic, all same car. you check the labels on the windscreen. all same country clubs.

[lives of bondage]
of gambling. of cheating.
dr tan-i tell you a story. once i went to my fruit-seller in yunan, i told him, 'you are a very bad guy. just because i am a foreigner you cheat me.' he said, 'no, no. not true. i cheat everyone!'. [laughter] then he said, to you it is $.50. what is 50cents to you? nothing. but to me it is a lot. and you see how he rationalises.
of gambling. of anger. of fruit-selling cheating.
and yet we all do it too. we rationalise. our bondages. in our own lives. in daily surrender- to passivity. that we lose our fire. and go under bondage.

+ the strength in our youths- it's not to be better than the local pastor. or anything. the strength is to be used to empower encourage the local pastor. or anyone.
dr tan- i know singaporeans like to be good and better. efficient huh. but when you go on mission trips, do you give the message because you're better educated than the local pastor? no. if anything, you help him to learn.

4. Q&A
[on tent-making vs. church supporting]
:driver analogy
- last time in yunan being the governer's driver was a profession. the governer himself didn't know how to drive. so the driver was powerful. likened to the clergyman or evangelical of the old days.
- now, everyone drives. but it's still a skill, it's a necessity.

: we're all drivers.
-some called to full time... formula 1 drivers, the old day chauffers // clergymen, evangelicals
-but we're all drivers.

~

if you still have stamina :)
- Sibling Rivalry in the House of Faith

1) went for dr tan lai yong's talk last night; twas good and i shall put what i have of it up in a bit.

2) What Has Athens to Do With Jerusalem?