What is love? Christian songs scary?should be avoided?

I was just listening to my brother's ipod with several songs by christian singers that i have not heard before.

Spending sometime with God through the lyrics that the songs provide, i started to question, what makes a Christian song a Christian song? What is the difference between singing these songs and the other songs out there in the world?

I remember what Joey told me last friday during a rehma conference meeting at far east "old town white coffee" place.

He said, "we should change the mindset of people. Alot of Christians credit too much to the devil already. We think that listening to different secular songs to be wrong or carry a bad notion into it. Music and songs are just different notes and chords being placed together. Be it Christian songs or Secular songs, they are made the same way. It is possible and nothing wrong to sing secular love songs during worship as well. We can even change Christian songs to secular songs like for example for the song, "Jesus lover of my soul", the lyrics go, "i love you, i need you, though my world may fall, i'll never let you go..." if we add a baby behind it, it becomes a secular song."

Janice added on, "it just depends on who are you actually singing it to."

Song and music plays a significant role in my life. And i believe that it makes a big impact on others as well.

Music can influence the way people think, the way different people view things and the way people react to things.

Music can affect not only the emotional, spiritual, but also the mental state of a person as well.

Music just has its power this way.

Thats why there is a need to choose wisely the songs that you will like to engage in. Songs that will help you, not pull you down and cause you to immerse in self pity and despair.

Coming back to the bus and mrt trip to work this morning, i listened to my bro's ipod, i feel very different just by listening to the love songs written by our church members and several other Christian writers. As i immerse myself in the music and lyrics, reflecting upon them, i felt the presence and spirit of God.

You see, many people try to avoid listening to christian songs is because it carries a notion that it is a "Christian song" and its something "spiritual" and "holy" and people avoid it. But if you think about it, it is no more than just a love song just that the target audience is different. Christian songs can even minister to many who are broken and in trouble, facing with the many issues and problems in life.

A love song to God brings me back to the fact that God is all about love. God is love.

Even my father, a non-Christian tells me that he research on Christianity and it is just all about love and loving others. The life story of Jesus is just to love.

Love is not an easy word. Its easy to spell, but many fail in it.

The solution to all the problems on earth, and i mean all the problems can actually be solved with love. Thats why love is so powerful.

There are many things about love that we don't know and can be learnt from the one who has the perfect love. God. Only because God is love.

This can be learnt through the Bible.

Its not any scary book or "spiritual" book. It is a historical book that we can learn many things about God from.

I would like to end with this song, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NoIJglsGms&feature=related.

It talks about love.

God loves you very much that he is even willing to sacrifice his son for your life.

JUDO GUY

I don't know whether you all have heard about or got across this article in the news about this Judo Guy from SJI about 1 month ago.
If you all don't know, here is the story.
This Judo Guy is named, Ser Yung. He i 16 this year (taking the O lvls year) but got into a major accident that caused him to not be able to take the major exam.
He went for this Judo competition and fought against this other guy from Hwa Chong and during the midst, his head got hit onto the ground.
After the competition, he walked up to the teacher and told him he was feeling unwell and the next thing was, he fainted.
He was being sent to the hospital and the doctor said there was a blood clot in his brain and he had to undergo a major brain operation to remove it.

Why must i talk about this guy?
He is my friend.
Not say very close, but i know him because everytime for Judo Practice and CCA, the CJC had to train with SJIs and he is one of the better ones.
When Celine and i went to visit him 3 weeks after his operation, we didn't expect things can actually turn out to be so bad.
We couldn't even wake him up properly.
He was transferred from tan tock seng to ang mo kio rehab centre.

When we got there, the situation is that he cannot move at all and cannot talk.
So basically, he understands what you are talking about, but cannot respond at all.
As for his eyes, one eye can be halfed opened and the other can bearly open at all.
I hope you can imagine the state he is in.

Because his two aunties were there, i asked them how long will he take to recover?
The answer is, i don't know...their eyes filled with despair and helplessness.
they also said that he will be staying there for a month before he is again transferred to somewhere else.

It is just so unexpected that someone who is so good with his limbs and pro in judo and study so so hard for his exams to end up in this state.
Its like beyond what everybody else ever imagined and predicted.
Celine and i had to tap him and call him several several times before he can even wake up.

The reason why i am writing this blog is because i do believe in prayers and for those who believe in prayers and that it does work as well to pray together with me for him. For his healing to take place. His two aunties also asked us with sincerity to pray and continue praying.

Lastly, i just feel that alot of times we really take life for granted. We will never know what is going to happen to us next. And alot of people plan so much for the future that they fail to plan for their death and life after death. We invest in the wrong places, indulging ourselves in worldly desires until we forgot what we are actually living for.
Its so easy to fall into the worldly stuff because sometimes it is so enjoyable doing it.
I do pray that we will stand firm in what we believe in and not leave it hanging or stagnant esp in these days when all the attacks are not upon out physically self but more of the mental and emotional self.
Someone ones say, you can got influenced all over by so many things around, but it is a choice as to whether you want to get affected by it and give in to it or not.

Always always not take for granted each day that you live even though you are young. Because time is life. You waste your time away, you are wasting your life.
You will never know nor expect what is going to happen to you next. you really wouldn't know.
Don't wait till its too late before you regret not doing things you could have done and worked on before. This can apply to the many relationships, the things that you want to do and most importantly, the path and journey to the life after death.
Ultimately, what are you going to hold on to when your life comes to an end?

Let us stand united and PRAY for ser yung!
Christianity is all about believe. Let us believe that God is going to heal just like Jesus's time because we are people of faith.

God loves you.

SERMONS!

Eloise shared with me this website!

I really think it is very cool=)

Basically its a website with several sermons that i think its good.

http://www.spurgeongems.org/audio.htm

Go and listen to some.

God Loves

KICKASS! THE GREATEST SUPER HERO!

Hey ppl, i just watched the movie called "kickass" yesterday and its m18 so very vulgar, violent and stuff.

But i like the story line itself.

It is basically talking about this guy who is very ordinary, not popular in school and everything else, however, he dreams to be a super hero. He wants to be people like spiderman, batman..etc. Basically to make a difference in this world with great intentions.

He bought a super hero suit and tried to train to be like a super hero and eliminate crimes.

When he tried to stop crime for the first time when he saw 2 guys trying to pry open the door of a car, he plucked up all the courage he got to confront them in the suit.

He felt very different about himself.

He used his weapon (2 poles) to try to scare and wack the guys away but end up getting stabbed and knocked down by a car.

He didn't give up but tried to train physically.

Once, he tried to save a cat that was missing on the top of a latch but fell down in the process onto a guy that was running away from the many more guys that chased him.

The guy tripped over and was bashed up by the group of guys.

At the end, he used his weapon to wack them to save the guy on the floor.

The whole process was being recorded down by people who came to watch.

He end up getting bashed up quite badly too.

But he never gave up but carried on.

One of the guys from the group asked him, "you are willing to even die for this guy whom you do not even know?!"

He looked for a moment, panting and bleeding and said, "yes, i do."

The group of guys left anws because of his reply and the many people staring and recording.

That guy said, "you are crazy!"

The guy on the floor said, "thank you" with all the blood all over.

The rest of the show is more about action and killings by "big daddy and head girl"...etc quite nice=) should go watch.

However, the reason why i talked about the first part was because it really spoke to me.

A guy without any powers or talents but with a great intention of being a super hero tried to save a guy whom he did not know,risking his life.

Amazing isn't it?

I guess thats what being a super hero is all about, dying for someone one do not even know.

This draws the parallel to the greatest super hero of all!

you guessed it, Jesus Christ!

He not only died for one man, he died for all who do not even know Him.

He did it because he loves us and wants to provide a way out for us, freedom from our sin so that when we die, we do not have to go to hell but be reunited with Him in heaven.

Isn't it such a good thing?

Thank God for it, even if you don't accept him and say thank you, he already did die.

He died in one of the worst ways to die and be crucified in the past, He died on the cross.

Are you going to be that guy on the floor, filled with thanksgiving and happiness because God saved your life? Or are you just going to walk away and not appreciate this free gift that is given?

What is done is done, it is up to us.

God loves and cares for every individual^^

Tithes!!

Giving tithe has been a very basic custom in many of the churches today.
But many do not really know why do that do it for.
They just follow what they are told to do.
For me, when i give my standard tithes, i always will wonder where the money will go and will be afraid that it will not land up in good hands so i don't really dare to give much.
For others, they give it very unwillingly.
Ask yourself, do you give because the person next to you give?
Do you give reluctantly?
Do you give without praying about it?
Do you give because you are forced to give because of things like pride and face?
Do you give God just tips of your money?
when it comes to money issue, everyone gets sensitve over it because it is a neccessity.
Thats why, when they are asked to give, many would rather not give and terms tithes as a bad thing.
This blog post is going to talk about "the beatitude of giving", basically, what is giving tithes all about.
oh! btw, many of the points here is by Benny Ho, this is one of His sessions from the seminar.


Many always say, "money is the root of all evil"
True?
The Bible says in 1st timothy 6:10, "For the LOVE of money is the root of all evil..."
The money issue is equally as important in the eyes of God.
Why?
A Bible scholar estimated 5280 verses on the subject of money.
16 out of 38 parables refer to money and possession.
When the Bible talks about giving in terms of money, it always speaks of tithes and offerings.


Do you know the story about the israelites making the gold calf and worshipping it instead of God when God already brought them out of egypt, split the red sea..etc.
The same gold that is used to make the gold calf causing God bringing a curse on the people, is used to build the tabanacle, bringing the presence of God in.
This signifies and brings both a blessing and a curse.


"tithes"-"tenth", "10%"
Tithing is rooting theologically in the sovereignty of God in our lives.


Progression of tithing....
Before the Law which means before God give Abraham and 10 commandments and everything else, tithe is volunteery.
It is stated in Genesis 14:17-20, the last part states, "Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything."

It is the first time tithe is mentioned and this took place 430 years before the law was given.
The "him" here refers to Melchizedek (he is both a priest and a king) representing Christ because Christ is the only guy besides this king that is both king and priest.
Thats why "the priesthood of Christ" is called the "priesthood of Melchizedek"
Here is a prophetic picture of Jesus.
Other similarities is that Melchizedek started by giving Abram Bread and Wine and Abraham in return gave Melchizedek a tithe.

During the Law, tithe was made compulsory.
It became compulsory and people do it as an act of obedience.
In Malachi 3:8, tells us that the consequence of disobedience in the Old Testament is that you come under a curse.
In the book of Haggai, it talks about coming under a financed curse.
We end up with holes in our pockets and we come under a famine of finance.


After the Law, tithe was given willingly.
tithing is mentioned 10 times specifically in the NT. 3 times in the gospels by Jesus Christ Himself and each time He did not remove it. Instead, He took tithing to a new dimension under grace.
Today, we give 10% out of obedience and gratitude but we can give the other 90% out of love.
There is this story that he told..very funny de!
Here goes...
There was this China man that has 10 gold coins and he saw a beggar on the way..the beggar looks super pathetic and out of compassion, the china man gave him 9 of his coins.
Instead of feeling a sense of gratitude, the beggar followed him to an alley and robbed his last coin out of him.
when i heard it, i was like huh!
But i realised it is just like us, God provide us with so so much and we still want to hold back the 10% of what he gave us!

The purpose of tithing is in 1st timothy 5:17, 18.
It is to upkeep the lives of the church and its workers
Under the law/Old testament, the people are commanded by Law to pay..
Under the Grace/New testament, the people are compelled by love to Give.
It is proven in 1Corinthians 13:3, "if I gave all i possess to the poor but have not love, i gain nothing..."

God looks at the 1)The principle of Proporation (1corinthians 16:2)
God does not look at the quantity of money, God looks at how much of the total amount of money that you have that you are willing to sacrifice for Him.
It is not the portion but the proportion that matters.
2corinthians 8:2-who ever said that the poor cannot be generous?

2)The principle of Priority.
The simple reason for this is that if you do not put th as priority, you will end up giving God the leftovers.
If we don't cultivate to give when we have little, it will be very difficult to give when we have much.
It is just like if it is to hard to give God $10 out of the $100 that you have, when you earn $1000000, it will be even harder for you to give God $100000.
1Corinthians 16:2, Malachi 3:10.
There is a story about a $50 note and $2 note.
They were all old notes and ready to be recycled and they were having convo, the $2 ask $50 "so where have you been? The $50 dollar note say, "i have been to hotels, restaurants and to this hotel and to that hotel..etc."
The $50 dollar note ask $2 note, the $2 say, "oh! i have been from churches to churches to churches..etc."

3)The principle of Purpose
2corinthians 9:7- we are giving as an act of worship and this should be intentional, not just giving God tips. Pray about it and set the money aside for God.

4)The principle of privacy
matthew 6:1-4-the principle behind this is that when we give, we tend to forget about it and not rmb and exalt yourself or think how generous you were.

5)The principle Privilege
It is not a mindset as to, "I don't have to give, it is that i Get to give."
It is not supposed to be a sacrifice but a joy.
2Corinthians 9:7
2 corinthians 8:4
The whole notion behind this is that IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GIVE IT WILLINGLY THEN DON'T GIVE.
There is this story, "The mother gave her little girl $1 and $0.50 and told her daughter, to test her. She said,"you can choose to give God $1 or $0.50 as offering then the other you keep."
After the service, she said the girl which she gave. The girl say, "I gave the $0.50". The mother sounded slightly disappointed.
The mother ask why?
The girl said," Cause i feel more cheerful if i give $0.50 than $1.
There is nothing wrong with it!
God asks us to be a cheerful giver.

6)The principle of Profit
2corinthians 9:6, luke 6:38, Proverbs 11:25 and Acts 20:35.
Somebody once said, "money is like cow dung, if you keep it and stack it up, it stinks, but if you spread it around it makes things grow!"

God loves to see his children enjoy themselves, have a party.
It is ok to go shopping and buy a car and enjoy life.
But money shouldn't be used to upkeep one's lifestyle according to the income of that person.
Don't fall into the thinking that "If I have a greater income, i must max it up."-becomes a hindrance to God's kingdom.
It is ok to have a million dollars but live a lifestyle of $100 thousand.

God loves you all!

FAITH a gift? a hope?

Hello!! oh! i just signed up for some seminor at some church, i think it is called st john methodist..etc.
Anws, the speaker is Pastor Benny Ho.
Today was the very first session and i am greatly enriched in the fundamental knowledge of the Bible.
I learnt alot from it and i want to share something that i rmb was debated quite a few times between church ppl.
It is the Topic on, "Is faith a gift from God? So does that mean God chooses who he gives faith to?", "is Faith=Hope?"
Christianity surrounds the topic of faith and i think it is very interesting to know about what he has got to say about this.

There are basically 2 kinds of Faith, "worldly faith"-seeing is believing and "Blibical faith"-believing is seeing.
There are alot of verses in the Bible about faith.
some of them are, john 11:10, 2corinthians 5:17, Heb 11:6, Heb2:3, Rom 14:23, Romans 5:1-2.

Why is Faith so important?
In Ephesians 2:8 it mentions that we are saved by grace through faith.
What it means here is that we access the grace given by God by exercising our faith.

What is not faith?
1)Faith is not HOPE
Backed up by verses Heb 11:1 and 1Corinthians 13:13

The difference between FAITH and HOPE is that HOPE exists in the future while FAITH is now!
What do i mean?
The reason why the 2nd coming of Christ is called the "blesses hope" is because it is a hope for the future that has not yet come.
Faith on the other hand is saying, "i am saved now because i have the faith."

Benny Ho continues saying,
HOPE says, "God is going to do something for me."
FAITH says, "God has done it. God is doing it. God will do it."

The word "hope" is a steady expectation of good whereby it is confirm going to be fulfilled. (totally different from a "wish")

Also, Hope lies in the head while faith lies in the heart (1 Thes 5:8)
Hope-mental attitude of expectancy
Faith-attitude of the heart
Believing with your heart does not mean you deny the facts from the brain.
This is proven by Romans 4:18-21, the Abraham story. Abraham recognises the facts and believe with his heart.
Some of the Christians only have Head-faith which is basically an intellectual acceptance of God without the heart.

I read things like people from somewhere around the world, the practice of their church is that whenever someone is sick, the person is not allowed to take medication, only to pray and pray, hoping that God will heal the person.
If the person dies, they believe that it is because their family or the people around them do not have enough faith.
However, Benny Ho mentions that FAITH IS NOT A PRESUMPTION
Faith is acting according to what God says (God's will) but
Presumption is acting according to what we want (self will).
Faith is a response to God's initiative (totally dependant on God) but
presumption is taking on our own (dependant on our own interpretation).
Faith, God carries the promises through
presumption, we carry it and try to make it come true on our own
When we are desperate, it is always easy to fall into presumption.
Don't make promises on God's behalf!
Do not claim that God has spoken when He has not. (Deuteronomy 18:20,22)
Don't go beyond what the word of the Lord has said and act according to what you may think is the best in the situation. (1Sam 13:8-14)
It can lead to disastrous consequences.

What then is faith?
Faith is a GIFT to us by God (Heb 12:2), his son and the holy spirit(Romans 12:3)
There is no need for us to work out the faith because it is already inside you. (John 5:2-9)
Everyone has enough faith to last you for one lifetime!
What we need is just to exercise our faith in God for ourselves.
Anyone can pray for themselves because each of us got a measure of Faith.

Just like in matthew 17:20 about faith as small as a musterd seed can move mountains indicating that God is not looking for how much faith you have. It is not the quantity but the quality!

To end of, this is something that pastor benny Ho mentioned.
"You don't need to have great Faith but you just need to have Faith in a great God."

hope you all learnt something from this! because i did.

God bless you!

My Very First Interview

Hey people, just wanna share with you all something real cool=)
I went for a job interview at raffles place on mon at around 4.30 pm.
I was so scared cause it is my very first job interview and i didn't have much of an experience regarding the interviews.
So i have no idea what is it going to be like.
Plus, i was super worried because i was looking for a temp job with a pay of 6.50 and above and can only work for 5 days a week and not 5.5 days and i have to take leave here and there.
Like everything is so not confirmed.
I am supposed to go for a trip to batam with the real people 3 days at the end of march, then from april 1st to 8th i going on a Japan trip with my mother and i am probably going for church retreat from the 7th to 11th june.
So that means i got to keep on taking leave to go for so many holidays.
Which job will want me?
Am i going to tell the person about all these?
As for the 5.5 days, it means to work on saturdays half day too.
But i cannot because i got CAMY training (creative arts for media youth) as they train for my case, vocalists.
It is a commitment on sat 11am to 1pm and i cannot replace it with my job.
And my mother wanted me to find a job asap.
I worry about all these for a few days.

The amazing thing is that when i pluck up my courage with joshua's encouragements and prayer and joseph and samuel's smses, i manage to go for it.
And when i came out i just felt very happy.
Although it is a small little achievement and it may seem nothing to many, it is something big to me^^
I was really thanking God for helping me pull through.
But the job offer was that it is 5.5 days at tan tock seng hospital as a telecommunicator.
And the cool thing is that the job offer is mid april to end of may and its 7 bucks per hour.
Its all just nice and the date is just nice because i don't have to mention about taking leave anymore.
After i left the place, thanking God in my heart, the person called me once again and said that its 5 days and not 5.5 days!
Everything just fit so nicely!

God is in control.
And as for all those who are choosing their career or even which courses to go for universities or have already chosen their courses, here is a word of encouragement.
"we worry when God seems silent on specific issues such as what career should i choose? The truth is, there are many different careers that could be God's will for your life. What God cares about most is that whatever you do, you do in a Christlike manner. God is much more concerned about your character than your career, because you will take your character into eternity, but not your career."
Hope that helps and comforts some=)

God loves you!