my walnut shrubbery

2011-05-04T22:01:00.002+08:00

hellooo math paper was horrible. TERRIBLE. oh dear. i may have to s/u to subjects...sigh...

anyway

hahahha

IT IS OVERRRRRR~

and tomorrow is the start of project D...or at least...the first day that i go for it. haha

pray for perseverence (spelling?) and focus. yeap yeap

my mind...is still in shock after math. sigh..no wonder the quizes were so easy.

until my brain recovers. laterr...

2011-05-02T22:29:00.002+08:00

okay...i think i may need to change skins to one that come with dates... (2/5/2011)

anyway...brain wasnt functioning half the day, as expected. but no pain. yay

will be going to study tomorrow. and then THE END. finally.

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
Deuteronomy 10: 12-13

i read this during my Bible reading time in the morning. and i thought it was really amazing that God is indeed the same; unchanging, like in what God wants us to do. to fear Him, to walk in obedience to Him, love Him, and serve Him with all our heart and soul. and it is amazing, how such a great God would allow us to have this relationship with Him, especially since we are so unworthy.

extremely thankful for the grace He has given us, for sending His Son into the world to die for our sins, and bringing forgiveness, for raising Jesus to life again as ruler of the world, for allowing us to come back to Him.

2011-05-01T21:19:00.002+08:00

Okaayyyy...just like the previous post...a long time ago, I'm back, attempting another shot at regular blogging. haha

Okay. My first ever summer holidays are here. Exciting. I expect that there will be lots of stuff to blog about.

Looking forward to project D. Especially the part on how to interprete the Bible. A lil' sad that our regular Bible study might have to be put on hold though, especially since we were going to do a survey of the old testament. exciting, exciting.

I'll also be flying of to korea for a month and a week. I'll be bringing my laptop, so that means i wont run out of space on my camera...(not sure what camera i'll be bringing) anyway..expect many picturess

Okay...unfortunately, i'm still not done with exams. highly distracted, and i know the reason why...thank God that i have at least a day after i get better (i should be better by then) to study.
I just realised that i have a page of math that's faded away, the dangers of using a pencil to take notes.

And im not sure if i'll be deleting my previous posts...each time i delete older posts, i do so 'cause i find them a lil immature...or maybe...in this case. might not be sound...but i havent actually re-read them...so until then, i guess i'll just leave it?

oh. and this would be highly unexpected...considering the way the above was typed...and even this paragraph. i'm going to attempt to type in proper sentences! (not right now, as you can probably tell) but yes..there will be writing courses in utown...and i think i have forgotten how to write..i probably could only write in sec 4. one year in my entire life. haha.

okayyyy

see yaa

2010-09-13T14:36:00.002+08:00

It's been almost a year, and i'm back on my blog.

Why im blogging now, at this very instant? Im having lunch alone, in school, and i just cant figure out how to deal with my politics points and fries at the same time.

Anyway, after entering uni, i have had the sudden urge to blog, or write. I'd want to write a story, but i just dont feel like. Oh well.

So, school. It's been tiring but i'm not drowning. at least, if i had proper time management, i wouldn't be.

zeal. i thought of 'His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." ' (John 2:17). i pray that i will have zeal for the Lord. that i will be brave and speak up if there be need. pray that He will give me the words to say 'For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. ' (2 tim 1:7)

by the way, the chicken came first.

2009-11-18T23:39:00.008+08:00

more on prayer

mm...before i found what i was trying to look for, i found something else...and the verse that i found pretty significant was

Psalm 66:18
If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;

what the site said before this verse was that the Bible teaches that sin will stop God even hearing our prayers. it went on to say that we get clean hands and a pure heart by confessing our sins to God, through Jesus Christ.

right, so what i was looking for was "How can I be sure I am praying according to the will of God?"

Man's highest aim should be to bring glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ), and this includes praying according to His will. First, we must ask for wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.). In asking for wisdom, we must also trust that God is gracious and willing to answer our prayers: “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt” (James 1:6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.; see also Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ). So, praying according to the will of God includes asking for wisdom (to know the will of God) and asking in faith (to trust the will of God).

This is the first paragraph

1) Pray for the things for which the Bible commands prayer. We are told to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ); for God to send missionaries (Luke 10:2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.); that we do not enter temptation (Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”); for ministers of the Word (Colossians 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ; 2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.); for government authorities (1 Timothy 2:1-3 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ); for relief from affliction (James 5:13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.) ; and for the healing of fellow believers (James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.). Where God commands prayer, we can pray with confidence that we are praying according to His will.

more here
http://www.gotquestions.org/praying-will-of-God.html

by the way...i cant seem to adjust the font, font size, and italics...

2009-11-15T19:17:00.008+08:00

Gospel

My church has always been stressing the importance of the full gospel. We taught that at children's worship today, and it was stressed again during sunday school.

For the first part of the year during Sky, we learnt how to share the gospel using some drawings and verses.

These are the verses we learnt to go with the gospel presentation:

Revelation 4:11

¹¹"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being."

Romans 3:10-12

¹⁰As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
¹²All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."

Hebrews 9:27

²⁷Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

1 Peter 3:18

¹⁸For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

1 Peter 1:3

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

John 3:36

³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

^{Well, after learning all this, i think it helped us in being more discerning and careful about the preaching of the gospel. It is true that God does love us.}

John 3:16

¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

^{But it is not the full gospel.}

^{Here's John MacArthur}

more another time...

2009-11-13T23:08:00.000+08:00

Psalm 30
A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David. [a]
1 I will exalt you, O LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me.

3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave [b] ;
you spared me from going down into the pit.

4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;
praise his holy name.

5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

6 When I felt secure, I said,
"I will never be shaken."

7 O LORD, when you favored me,
you made my mountain [c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.

8 To you, O LORD, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:

9 "What gain is there in my destruction, [d]
in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me;
O LORD, be my help."

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

2009-10-24T22:10:00.001+08:00

Chris Tomlin- Wonderful Maker

You spread out the skies over empty space
Said "let there be light"
Into a dark and formless world Your light
Was born

You spread out Your arms over empty hearts
Said "let there be light"
Into a dark and hopeless world Your Son
Was born

You made the world and saw that it was good
You sent Your only son for You are good

What a wonderful Maker
What a wonderful Savior
How majestic Your whispers
And how humble Your love
With a strength like no other
And the heart of a Father
How majestic Your whispers
What a wonderful God

No eye has fully seen, how beautiful the cross
And we have only heard
The faintest whispers of how great You are

2009-10-11T22:04:00.002+08:00

have you ever wondered if God answers prayer? Or if you do believe that He does, you're not exactly sure when it was that He did?

Well, i guess i know of many people who can say that God answered their prayers, and i think that it's really amazing, and i thank Him for that.

The reason why i'm writing about this today was because i realised that God had answered a prayer that i had forgotten i had prayed about.

during sky today, we broke up into groups to discuss some questions, they were like reflections. we were learning about God as creator, and i guess we also learnt about our role as God's creation. well, LM suddenly talked about how we should pray. i say suddenly because my initial thought was wondering how it was linked to the question, then i realised that we had finished answering it...anyway she asked if we know 'ACTS'. it was like steps to prayer...
A-doration (like praising God..(okay..so it's linked to what we learnt))
C-onfession
T-hanksgiving
S-upplication (like requesting stuff according to His will)

when she was at A, i was thinking..oh yea i do that ..then C..'hmmm..that too' then T..'woah this is sounding familiar.' then before she got to S i already knew what it was going to be. then i felt truly puzzled. i was wondering how i could pray in a similar format without hearing it before. (although sometimes i do not follow this structure) then i remembered that a while back, i prayed to ask God to teach me how to pray.

¹One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

²He said to them, "When you pray, say:
" 'Father,^a]"[a]
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.^[b]
³Give us each day our daily bread.
⁴Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.^[c]
And lead us not into temptation.^[d]' "

Luke 11:1-4

then LM said we can follow the structure of the Lord's prayer.

⁵"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us today our daily bread.
¹²Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.^[a]' ¹⁴For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew 6: 5-15

so just from this experience, i know that God answers prayer, and God speaks to us through His word, and through people in the church, and circumstance.

http://breakthroughprayer.com/howto/ACTS.html

it had the ACTS thing. i havent read it yet though...

2009-10-04T12:05:00.004+08:00

^{Ruth 1

1} In the days when the judges ruled, ^[a] there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. ² The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

³ Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, ⁵ both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶ When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. ⁷ With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

⁸ Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. ⁹ May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband."
Then she kissed them and they wept aloud ¹⁰ and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."

¹¹ But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? ¹² Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons- ¹³ would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!"

¹⁴ At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵ "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."

¹⁶ But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." ¹⁸ When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

¹⁹ So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"

²⁰ "Don't call me Naomi, ^b]">[b] " she told them. "Call me Mara, ^c]">[c] because the Almighty ^d]">[d] has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted ^e]">[e] me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

²² So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

After reading some commentaries on Ruth 1, there were some things that were significant to me. Firstly, in Ruth 1:8-9, ruth tells her daughter-in-laws to go back to their homes while she leaves to go back to where she came from. In the commentaries i read, they both asked a question, did she not want to 'save them from the idolatry of Moab, and bring them to the faith and worship of the God of Israel'? Well, the answer is that she probably wanted to do so, but would have rather they followed her on their own account. The commentary goes on to say 'Those that take upon them a profession of religion only to oblige their friends, or for the sake of company, will be converts of small value.' I guess it's not uncommon to pull people along to church activities giving friendship as the reason, but i guess what is achieved is of little value? hmm...stuff to think about?

Another thing was like a comparison between Orpah and Ruth. In Ruth1:10, they both said that they will go back Naomi. This shows that they both loved her very much. But in verse 14, orpah left naomi, while ruth clung on to her. This shows that though orpah loved naomi, she did not love her enough to go back with her. the commentary says 'Thus, many have a value and affection for Christ, yet come short of salvation by him, because they will not forsake other things for him. They love him, yet leave him, because they do not love him enough, but love other things better.' so if we love other things better, then who are we serving?

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Matthew 6:24

mmm. time for reflection and prayer.

2009-08-17T22:58:00.001+08:00

Psalm 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

² Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

³ There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard. ^a]">[a]

⁴ Their voice ^b]">[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

¹¹ By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Indeed, the heavens declare the glory of God. We left school at about 9 today, and as we walked towards the side gate, we looked up, and saw stars. twinkling, shiny stars.

I don't remember where i heard, or read it, (during sky i think) but the guy said that when we look at the ocean, or a beautifully carved out rock in the middle of the ocean, we don't think first about how it was the result of many years of erosion or cycles of change, but we think about how amazing it is.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

what can i do but praise Him, our Creator, our Father, our Lord, our Saviour, our God

2009-06-23T22:48:00.002+08:00

erm. under construction? lol. and yea...i deleted all the links too. gaa. until after cts.. (o: