happy birthday regen!

Regen turned three this weekend. An old friend, Big Mix, came back for the party (well, not really, he's actually here for another party next weekend, but hey). Here is the group pic from Mez's house.

Mez played the awesome host and made party pies and sausage rolls! Wooohoo! And we also had birthday cake (from some place) and coffee made by John Tan - barista extraordinaire. There was a bit of excitement when two drunk girls rocked up at Mez's house and then later kicked open the garden gate and tried to come in through the back door (!). We called the Police and they came by in record time - but by then the girls were long gone.

The night ended with a late-night game of Imagine Iff - an awesome-fun board game that Wendy had brought - and Adrian, Truc, Mez, Wendy, Micah, Darrell, Lynette, Juls, and myself discovered what we really thought of one another.

battle ready

It was 1400 hours and the soldiers were preparing to leave Base Camp for battle. Armed with swords in one hand, tracts and surveys in the other, and filled with the Holy Spirit - they made their way out to the battlefield in their four-wheeled-engine-powered chariots. Shortly after this, they assembled at the front line - Forrest Chase, and Murray & Hay Street Malls - and marched out in twos and threes.

Some dedicated soldiers remained in the Base Camp to uphold the troupes in much needed prayer. Troupes in the battlefield communicated with the Base using a highly-cryptic-code of telecommunication signals to relay their needs. Communications Officer, Private Wendy, interpreted these codes back at the Base and communicated these needs to the other troupes at Base.

Meanwhile in the Chase of Forrest and the Malls of Murray and Hay - the troupes continued to battle. I was privileged to accompany Cadet Claudia who entered battle for the first time. Cadet Claudia and I encountered hostile after hostile and managed to block several bullets with our shields of faith. We made contact with Base on a few occasions and were boosted by their prayers. As we continued to fight, we looked around and were encouraged to see our fellow soldiers in the heat of battle, fighting on for the name of our Saviour.

Time continued to pass and at 1700 hours we made our way to the pick up point where we returned to our chariots and headed back to Base. Following the debrief at Base, the soldiers enjoyed their home-cooked mess prepared by Private Jason and his crew. Though the battle was over today, we realised that the war continues to rage on outside of Base and we look forward to the next time we are called to battle.

OK... that went on longer than I planned. I was only supposed to do Army talk (albeit Rowena try-hard style) for the first paragraph and then share a bit about what I had learnt, but I got a bit carried away and three paragraphs later here I am... So the lesson I learnt starts here :)

I think one thing really stood out to me today as I walked around with Claudia for Street E. It just seemed as though we talked to one hardened heart after another - an old self-righteous lady, a middle-aged evolutionist/skeptic, a homeless man who just didn't seem to understand what we were saying, and a young Muslim girl (who was smoking and had no veil thing) who was obviously not devoted to her own religion but chose to continue with it without any real reason.

I felt kinda sad for them - their hearts had all been hardened to the point where I just thought is there any hope of salvation for them? Will they ever come to that point where they realise that the Bible is true, that they are sinners, and that the only way of salvation is through Jesus Christ? Some verses came to mind...

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Psalms 126:5-6 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

I don't know what's going to happen with these people - whether they will die without Christ or go home and somehow have the desire to find out more and, through God's grace, come to the saving knowledge of Christ. But whatever happens, I know that it is God's will and that I had done all that I could to let them know the truth. The rest is up to God.

I also realised that maybe, just maybe, if these people had been reached out to with the Gospel in their earlier years (especially the old lady and the middle-aged evolutionist), things may have been different and they may have ended up being one of the people in the group singing hymns with a piano accordion on Murray Street Mall. Wow, makes you wonder eh. It just really makes me want to evangelise more and more to people my own age lest they become another hardened heart in the city.

makes you wonder...

Today while sitting at the City Evangelism Registration Table, I was looking at the registration list thinking about all the people who had not signed up. Part of me started to get a bit disappointed because out of the many youth that we have at church, only a fraction had signed up to serve next Sunday. (As I have posted before, it's not that I feel sad that people aren't actually doing it, it's more that I feel as though they are going to miss out). But the thought that if more Christians got over their fear and went out to evangelise to strangers, then we would truly see a revival in this world wouldn't leave my mind.

I kind of realised today that despite my enthusiasm for people to sign up and join in, there will always be some people who will never, no matter what I or anyone else says, come along to City Evangelism (or if they do go once, will not go a second time). And though it is difficult to accept (knowing that it is a commission from God Himself), I realise it is true and that frankly, I can't do anything about it.

What struck me however, was that God must feel the same way - but even more so and with other stuff. I believe that God has a whole heap of blessings that He wants us as His children to enjoy, but often we end up making the choice to disobey Him and we ultimately end up missing out on the blessings intended for us. It must sadden God to see what we end up with especially while He also knows what we COULD have had. God must look down from Heaven at us all the time thinking 'Noooooooo! Don't do that! Oh how I wish you could see what you just missed out on! You would have loved it sooooo much - it was perfect for you!'. It must break His heart - especially because He has to pretty much sit on His hands and watch as we do what we do using the autonomy God gave us to make our own choices.

God doesn't (and never will) force us to do something. If He did, our response to Him would not be one of true gratitude and love, but rather one of inanimate, feelingless, meaningless, remote-controlled-obedience. In the same way, if I (or anyone else for that matter) try to get people to go to City Evangelism through persuasion, guilt, peer pressure (maybe not so much peer pressure seeing as the majority don't actually go), or any other means, the response of the people will likewise be less than genuine.

God can really only hint to us what the right thing to do is through His Word and I guess, similarly, with City Evangelism, all I can do is try my best to encourage people to go and just really hope and pray that God will continue hinting to them and through that give them the true motivation to serve.

gospel of john

The evangelism committee organised a screening of the Gospel of John movie today which was a real blessing for all who attended - well it was for me anyway. It wasn't just because we had a coffee machine (courtesy of Jason), fresh hot cross buns and good fellowship, the movie itself was really, really good. What better way to spend Good Friday than watching the book of John come alive through the screen, and really seeing WHY Good Friday is SO good.

I found that the movie brought to my attention a lot of verses that I had never really taken notice of. I would hear one of the lines in the movie and think - huh, I've never realised such and such. So it was pretty cool for that reason alone. But what was also really cool was seeing Jesus' ministry while He walked on earth. It just made me think - how COOL would it have been to be one of the Disciples and just follow Christ around and hear all the things that He said for the first time.

I mean, the stuff Jesus taught was head-turning-material in those days. The Pharisees and Scribes made the Jews jump through all kinds of hoops and were just so legalistic about everything, so when Jesus came along and told them they were wrong and that they had been missing the point of pretty much everything, and they were a bunch of hypocrites - man, that would have been awesome to see their reactions for real.

Funny bits: I just love how John refers to himself in his Gospel as 'the disciple whom Jesus loved'. What is also funny is in chapter 20:4 John writes So they (John and Simon Peter) ran both together: and the other disciple (John talking about himself) did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. Gold.

Interesting: that the guy that plays Jesus in the movie is also the same guy that plays Desmond on Lost (the Scottish guy that says 'brother' at the end of each sentence).

good friday

King of my life I crown Thee now
Thine shall the glory be
Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow
Lead me to Calvary

Lest I forget Gethsemane
Lest I forget Thine agony
Lest I forget Thy love for me
Lead me to Calvary.



Above all powers
Above all kings
Above all nature
And all created things
Above all wisdom
And all the ways of man
You were here
Before the world began

Above all kingdoms
Above all thrones
Above all wonders
The world has ever known
Above all wealth
And treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure
What You're worth

Crucified
Laid behind the stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

toddler on the tube

This little guy is a whole bunch of cuteness in one pint sized package!! Apparently he is a bit of a celebrity in South Korea because there are a whole heap of other videos of him in TV shows. Anyways, hope you enjoy the vid...

the end of an era

Last night the last student in the Cheng Household finally graduated. This not only meant that another degree will be added to the lounge room bragging wall, but it marked the end of an era = everyone has officially completed their studies. Furthermore, Caleb also accepted a job offer, so it also was the start of a new era - all three children working full-time!

It's kinda strange really, because it seems not too long ago that all three of us were playing together without a care in the world - but now we are all 'grown up' with things called 'responsibilities'. Next thing we know, we'll all have our own families, mortgages and debts. That's a crazy thought...

Chancellor, I present to you Caleb JiLiang Cheng...

a new soul

Man I love this song. It's so happy and catchy - every time I listen to it, it makes me smile. I hap'd across her video and I love it... Have a squiz :D and don't come after me if it gets stuck in your head too :D - Oh and yeah, it's that song from the Mac Air ad hehe.

ebi: old testament survey class - sessions 1-2

The new semester of Evangel Bible Institute started last week and tonight was the second lecture. This semester I decided to do both the Old Testament Unit (video messges by Ken Casillas) and the Pre-Marital Counseling Unit (video messages by Jim Berg - yeah we use Jim Berg a fair bit at our church!). I am currently doing both units as an Audit student but I am still deciding whether I should change to be a Credit student later for the Old Testament unit (the name of the unit is 'The Pentateuch and Historical Books' and it looks at Genesis to Esther).

While I decide, I thought it would be a good idea to consolidate what I learn at EBI by blogging main points for the Old Testament Unit. So I will start off now and summarise last week and tonight's lectures.

Here we go...

Lesson 1: Getting Motivated

- each book has a 'message' that helps us have context when reading
- the OT has unity and progression when looked at as a whole
- there is a practical relevence in the OT that we can understand

We often have insufficient motives when reading the Bible. These aren't wrong motives, just insufficient. They will be insufficient in keeping us passionate about reading God's the Word. These motives could be things like...

> To fulfil our duty or obligation. We think that God's love and acceptance of us is dependent on us keeping to our duty, but 1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us that we are already accepted by God through Christ.

> To accumulate information. e.g. the Corinthians were rich in spiritual knowledge but carnal in their personal lives.

> To find a 'verse for the day'. This can distract us from the intended context of the passage we are reading.

The ultimate motives for Bible study will keep us motivated to read and study His Word. These include:

> Communion - to fellowship with God. In the Psalms God aids and ministers to the psalmist through the study of the Word and the psalmist responds to the Word. The bottom line is that studying the Bible is not for your self - it is for GOD. The Bible isn't just a group of principles to live by, it is the self-revelation of God, the unfolding of His character, thinking and relationship with man.

Something to be reminded of was that when the psalmist writes so passionately about the Word and the love for the Word (e.g. O how I love Thy law.. etc) he only had books like the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible), Joshua, Judges and Ruth. Can you imagine having such a response after reading Leviticus? It's a sad indictment on our own love for the Word isn't it? Ok let's keep going..

> To be transformed by God (2 Timothy 3). The Bible changes us in doctrine (by teaching truth and giving instruction), reproof (proves it wrong), correction (makes it right), and instruction in righteousness (keeps it right).


___________________________________________________

Lesson 2: Why the Old Testament?

The OT is often seen as irrelevent for the following reasons:
- the size and breadth of historical coverage
- distant historical / cultural settings
---(e.g. Sarai giving Hagar to Abraham to wife - our culture says 'what the?', in their culture it was normal practice)
- the inclusion of moral perplexities
- unfamiliar or enigmatic styles of expression
---(e.g. Song of Solomon, complements to wife sound strange)
- the differences between old and new dispensations
- the inferiority of the old covenant

So why should we study the OT?
> It makes up 77% of the Bible!
> Deals with some doctrines more completely than in the NT
>>> e.g. creation, attributes of God, sin, Satan, angels, eschatology
> provides perspective on God's work throughout history
>>> not reading the OT will be like watching a play from Act 2.
> The OT was highly valued by Jesus and the Apsotles
>>> NT writers quote OT (almost 1/3 of NT is OT quotation)
>>> NT writers base arguments on OT texts

Why does the NT value the OT?

A. Because the OT continues to be God's means of spiritual enlightening. 2 Peter 1:19-21 refers to OT writers.

B. The OT continues to be God's instrument of salvation and sanctification, leading to effective service (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

sharing is caring

(pic by Angeline Yong - designer extraordinaire)

When you are on to something good - you want to share it. Right? Well I do. The other day the Evangelism Committee decided on the date for the next City Evangelism - 30 March 2008 (I've been hanging out for this, because it feels like ages since the last one). And since then, I have really wanted to encourage as many people as possible to go to City Evangelism.

I love seeing God change people. It makes me so happy. I love it. And I really think that when a Christian starts to share the Gospel and to share his or her testimony, they really take one step further toward spiritual maturity. There is a difference between an evangelising Christian and one who doesn't. I am always so encouraged when I see people go out there for City Evangelism, and then come back to share a testimony about their experience with excitement and joy in their eyes.

I think that's why I can come across as a bit pushy and over the top when it comes to getting people to go to City Evangelism, or EVEReady Workshops, or Evangelism Prayer Group, or the various events we hold at church. And I guess that's why over the years, one part of my ministry that I have continued to serve in has been in the Evangelism Committee. To me, evangelism isn't just about winning souls, it is also about firing up saints! It's about making the church look outward instead of inward. It's about learning about the reason of the hope that it in us, and knowing how to defend our faith with the Word.

I may be pushy but at least I'm not like this... yet.



I have experienced how God has used evangelism in my life to increase my faith and understanding of just how awesome and amazing and gracious and loving and faithful and everything else God is. I want everyone to experience what it is like to really depend on God and see Him work before their very eyes - changing the heart of the sinner right in front of them.

It's been a while since I shared the Gospel with someone, but just yesterday after church I had the opportunity to do so with one of the new girls at church. And it was such a blessed experience. I felt a bit 'rusty' and at times I felt my voice shake a little - but my heart was so emotional the whole time. I think it's because when you talk to a complete stranger and share the Gospel with them, you cannot help but feel overcome with the depth of God's forgiveness and love. And although you are talking to them about it, you can't help but remember that it was for YOU and YOUR sins that He suffered and died too. I often tell people It seems too good to be true but that is Calvary love - there is nothing in the world that is, ever was, or ever will be like it. That's real love.

So yeah, if somehow you have been moved to read this far, I sincerely hope and pray that you will sign up for City Evangelism and encourage those around you to sign up too. Even if you have been before and you got rejected or had a bad experience, don't let that stop you. Remember that those who sow in tears will in time also reap in joy. Don't miss out on the blessings that God has in store for you.

testimony on the tube

I came across this testimony of a serial killer in New York named David Berkowitz. I started watching this video thinking that it was just a short video but it was surprisingly interesting, and even when I found out that it was 3 videos long, I ended up watching to the end. And, posting it up here for anyone who is interested too.

God can change the hardest heart.

This video was a reminder to me to never write off anyone because they are so into their sins that they won't be interested in the Gospel. It may be that the person we are thinking about sharing the Gospel with needs to know about God much more than we'd ever imagine.

welcome dinner

Thank God for the Welcome Dinner tonight. There were so many people! Thank God also for the opportunity to serve in chairing for the program. Yorkie, HengLee and myself all had a good time - especially when filming the video (they are pretty talented actors hey?). We played this video at the beginning of the program to help lighten the mood a little bit before the program kicked off.

I thought it would be good to give the video a longer life by blogging it onto here for the rest of webdom. Caleb did an awesome job of making our video come alive with awesome editing and filming - I've said it before, and I'll say it again, that Caleb is one talented little fella.

Enjoy the video!

isaiah

I finally finished Isaiah last night. And my overall impression of the book was that it is just such a beautiful piece of writing with some of my most favourite verses in the Bible. I remember the first time I really appreciated Isaiah 53, it brought me to tears - the suffering that my Lord went through for me. For US. There is nothing in the world that compares to Calvary love.

Verses like Isaiah 41:10 and 26:3 encourage me and remind me that His love for me wasn't just limited to Calvary, it is still there today and through Him I need not worry or be afraid and I can truly be at peace.

Isaiah 40:31 inspires me and reminds me of God's perfect will and timing.

44:22 reminds me of God's redemption of me.

Isaiah 6:8 gives me the inspiration and desire to have a heart of obedience and just do all I can for God.

What am amazing book.


Now, after being inspired by Ken Casillas during EBI (video course on the Old Testament), I have decided to read Genesis. I am thinking about doing this course as a Credit (doing the exams and all the 'memory work') because I don't really have much on in terms of commitments outside of work - but like I said, the jury is still out. We'll see what happens eh.

found!

I've been whining for the last few weeks about my glasses. I lost them somehow, somewhere and I have been glasses-less ever since. It hasn't been good because I have been leaning forward in my chair to read my computer, squinting when reading, I haven't been able to see Pastor Ed properly when sitting in church, see the tv, read road signs from distance.. the list goes on. I searched EVERYWHERE for these glasses and to no avail. I was convinced that I left them in the church library and I checked the library regularly on the off chance that someone may have found them and put them somewhere. No such luck.

I prayed. I searched. I prayed some more. I gave up. I started to accept the loss. I took my glasses case out of my handbag. I started looking into doing my Private Health Insurance (something I have neglected for a while now) with the hope of being able to eventually get a new pair of specs. I started to tell myself that maybe my eyes would turn normal without the glasses....

And then today, after Evangelism Prayer Group, as I was walking out of the room, I noticed a familiar-looking shape on the wall-thing. No, could it be? I got closer and whoa! It was my glasses!! Thank God!! I was so happy. I gave them a quick wipe and I haven't taken them off since (except for when I showered hehe). God is awesome! It's funny because He only chose to let me find them when I had given up hope. His timing is mysterious sometimes, but always perfect.

O-what-a-hot-Day

Yesterday was the orienation day for UWA and as usual, our church set up a stall there to welcome new students, invite them to our church through different welcoming events (like the Beach Games today and the Welcome Dinner next Friday), and also to share the Gospel.

I joined the group late, but a bunch of them started at 7:15am(!) for a prayer session at church before heading over to UWA (you guys are soldiers!). It was a warm day because even at 9:30ish when I arrived, I had already started to feel the beads of sweat accumulate on my nose. It was hot! And it pretty much stayed hot all day (as you can see in the pics below, everyone has a shine on their skin). But it was worth braving the heat because we had an awesome response from the Freshies.

Our little stall was nestled between some Indian dancing group and the rather rowdy 'Leisure' group (complete with wading pool full of jelly and other organic substances I'm sure! Might have been a good way to deal with the heat, but might not have been too). We weren't located in the 'Religous Corridor' as usual which we all thought was a mixed blessing - less 'competition', more traffic, but more erm, other stuff (like the guy a couple of stalls down from us who was wearing an apron... by itself *shudder*). We also had a monopoly on sunscreen it seemed, because even a guy from St John Ambulance came up to us and asked if it was OK if he sent people to our stall to get sunscreen (we eagerly said 'yes').

This year we organised proper sandwich boards (well, proper compared to last year's makeshift carboard + permanent marker style sandwich board) to 'advertise' the Beach Games and Welcome Dinner. We also brought with us costumes and props to go with the boards! (the Chef outfit Victor wore all day may not have been the best thing to wear while standing in the heat, but it was consistent with the 'theme' of the Welcome Dinner sandwich board). We also gave out invites to the events (really pretty ones designed by the talented Ms Angeline Yong) sunscreen (as I mentioned before), ice cold drinks, and mentos.

Thank God for the turnout, for the people we met and for giving us all the energy we needed to withstand the heat (He provided us with lots of free drinks throughout the day and sent us a few nice sea breezes to cool us down too).

A few of us took an annual leave off work to serve at O'Day and we all agreed that it was well worth the sacrifice. We will all keep praying that God will continue to add His blessings on our efforts.

Photos courtesy of Truc Pham (photographer extraordinaire)