News Update!

Straits Times News 1: Snatch thief tracked down through his sweaty shoe

Hey brothers and sisters, I just read the newspaper today, saying that a snatch thief was arrested after the police traced him by the DNA of the perspiration in the shoe he left behind at the crime scene.

The DNA of perspiration in shoe matched his sample provided a year later when he was convicted of another theft.
LIKE Cinderella, Mohamed Ali Abdul Ghani fled in a hurry, leaving not a glass slipper but a shoe behind.
Unlike Cinderella, there was no fairy-tale ending for the 35-year-old snatch thief, who had grabbed a purse from a 25-year-old woman in August last year.
He had escaped despite being pursued, but did not get away.
The perspiration from the sole of his foot, left in his shoe, was what did him in.
Police who arrived took away the shoe, had the sweat tested and obtained Ali's DNA profile.
Every individual's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which is easily obtained from blood, saliva, skin and semen, has a unique fingerprint.
But even then, the police had to wait more than a year before they could find the man.
In the meantime, Ali had been arrested for another theft, convicted and jailed for 10 weeks in July. As a convicted criminal, he had to submit a body sample to be included in a national DNA database that helps the police solve crimes.
His profile matched that obtained from the shoe, and Ali.
He is not the first criminal nabbed here with the help of DNA profiling.
In 2005, a 39-year-old man was jailed for eight years and caned six times after he killed a woman who had provoked him. The police tracked him down from DNA samples on 10 cigarette butts found at the woman's home.

Scientists say it is extremely difficult to erase these telltale bits of generic information. Even washed clothings retain enough semen and blood stains for forensic identification of who it beongs to.
Under the law, anyone who is under arrest, detention or police supervision will have body samples taken for DNA profiling, along with photographs, fingerprints and particulars.

My thoughts after reading this article:

Previously i wrote about my thoughts as a life science undergrad studying the mechanisms of a cell to such a depth and that "Life is so complex, human is so intricately made. Conditions have to be so precise in order for life to exist." I am so in awe of God's creation. However, this time I am more interested in the uniqueness of each and everyone of us. We are all so complex, yet very unique. Everyone of us has our very own set of fingerprints and DNA. It makes me think that all of us will have to account for the things we do. Even the policemen can use these 'fingerprints' to trace who is present at the crime scene, what less can the LORD our God see beyond all these, He who is 24/7 awake?

Everyone is responsible for every action he/she does.

Merry Christmas!

Wow! This is my 3rd Christmas as a Christian, and each year i learnt and experienced this season differently. Still remember my first Christmas as a christian, i was still serving in the army. I spent the Christmas night watching 'Passion of Christ' movie in the bunk with my fellow instructors. Being a new believer then, I didn't know about bringing in spiritual conversation at that time, but i remembered all of us, christians and non-christians were so impacted by the graphics, loss of words.

This year, I was involved in the planning of the Christmas party. There were times when i really felt stretched by the work and alone in my family. In my mind, I was thinking and asking God when will i have a peaceful Christmas, whereby i can walk along the cool streets with my jacket, watching carols, stop by some coffee place and ponder on the things at the back of my mind over coffee. Thank God that I re-visited the meaning of Christmas and the reason for serving. I asked myself what does God wants me to do as a Christian during this festive season. I re-aligned myself to God, and gained greater understanding and joy of serving God and serving people who came for the party on that day. I realised that for a christian, all the more we should grasp this opportunity to share to people boldly, what Christmas is all about. Thank God for the National Council of Churches in Singapore, for bringing together a series of programmes and performance by various church groups - dance, choir, band, acapella... outside Tangs plaza, PS, Paragon... There was one night where Qiao Ping, Ian & myself sat down outside Tangs to watch the performances for 2 hours. I felt so blessed by the groups and the atmosphere of love and peace was really in the air. The hosts even share a bit here and there about God's love and the sacrifice of Jesus so that we can have eternal life, proudly proclaim the glory of God to the huge crowd there.

Through this Christmas, I have learnt more about what it means to serve God, joy thru serving, and what it means to celebrate Christmas as a christian. It is a big lesson i learnt from this season.

The year is coming to an end, perhaps we can take time to record down such experiences (things which we had made sense of) we had in our walk with God this year. Time to stock check our journey, before we step into the brand new year 2008.

want to share with you guys.. =D

Heart-warming video:

This is super cool! No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted:




Scary-but-interesting video:

How to get into the Gates of Heaven?

I came across this meaningful clip at Godtube, once again reminded of God's grace and mercy. Enjoy!

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

~ Eph 2:8-9 ~

Praise the LORD - It's Over!

Yeah! So happy to finish my last paper!

Let me type down my reflections on this exam period here.

It's my 3rd time going thru the exam period with God, and everytime i have learnt different things about God and also myself. Frankly speaking, this sem is a hard sem for me - never been so worried for my exam. Because i have not been able to catch-up with my core mods all along, always lagging behind.

This exam preparation i experienced some really emotionally down time - tired, worried and a heavy heavy heart. I was not able to lift myself up at times, i found no joy in me.

Luckily, my shepherd recommended this place to me - EA rooftop.

(this is the place where i have my quiet time with God, enjoying the breeze quietly, looking at the cars, sometimes birds in the air, reading the bible, playing guitar plus singing out loud, ...)

Everytime i ask God for stamina to last thru this exam period, in return i am assured by God of His faithfulness and goodness, His promise to deliver me once again from this exam.

This sem I experienced the joy and blessings of sacrificing time for others. One night i was preparing for paper the next day, but after dinner at the 'Exam Wartime HQ' i chose to help my life science junior Xu Mei for his general biology, helping him to clear certain doubts on the chapter. Never did i knew that the particular issue we were discussing that night actually came out for my paper. Actually that issue was not something that was well explained during the lectures. Yeah!

This sem I met my primary sch friend started to see each other in NUS and he confronted me on several occasions to challenge my faith. But many times when i pray to God for someone He wants me to share about His love, this friend will happen to pop-out physically from nowhere, making me wonder if it was coincidental or I should stay confident and anticipate his 'questioning'.

Recently on the night before my last paper, i went on msn and decided to invite him for service.

he says:
i saying this cos i view u as a very close friend. why shld i attend sth i know for sure is false?
i say:
I am inviting you because i view you as a close friend also. of cos i respect your current decision and stand though.
I am not saying that u must take it or agree to what i say now, just wanted to invite u to look and hear it from the sermon for yourself.
he says:
thanks man, but not interested.
i say:
but i just want to pray that your heart will remain open to me sharing to you
i say:
(just to let you know i appreciate every conversation you have with me recently)
he says: ok, i let u know again! Nite!

Although it seemed that his heart is still very hard, i just want to continue to pray that he is still willing to explore God with me. Actively being challenged by people around me keeps me on the alert and pushes me to structure my thoughts and things that i would be sharing, whenever i am free. Let me end with a verse which i keep in mind.

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

- Philemon 1:6 -

An excellent chance to share with our friends! :)

Thank God :) Testimonies to share!!!

God has really blessed me and kept me safe throughout this period of exams. Really wanna give thanks to God for blessing me so much!! When you do your best by giving your 100% effort, God will do the rest and the outcome will be 200%!!

Wanna share my testimonies:
1) I fell down last week and it was a super bad fall. I slipped off the stairs and I landed on my back against the edge of the stairs. It was a truly bad fall because i landed on my back. Though I had bruise on my back but i think God has really kept me safe and protected me. If not i would have broken my back or seriously injure it. Really wanna give praise and thanks to God for looking out for me.

2) This is the first sem I experienced wisdom from God in my exams. It happened for my last paper, plant physiology. This module is a crazy module with lots of information to remember and also our prof is very demanding. She said that if we only quote from textbook can only get c. Hee... though i really doubt so but i think wont do very well like get A. Think even getting B+ would be hard too. I had 2.5 days to study for this module and think it was really torturous man. hee... cause i was really saturated from studying and memorising and reading. But think God really sustained me and helped to stayed focused despite my tiredness. For this paper, i managed to study my notes quite thoroughly, did only two chapters of textbook and never read research papers at all!!! scream....

hee.. but god's way is higher than my way and god really gave me wisdom for this paper. For my past exams, i experienced god through peace and strength and the assurance i needed. However, this time was true wisdom which i knew came from god.

As i was doing my paper, there was two parts which i wasn't very sure and god just gave me insight into it and so i just wrote my answers down. It's not that i do not know my stuff but its just that God added on to what i knew and the extra thing in fact, are things that you would know if you study the practical and read the extra research readings.

Another thing i wanna share is that before my paper shu yi actually ask me about a part of our notes which i knew briefly but not in detail (as in extra information from textbook). Den suddenly our common frien heard our discussion and came over and started explaining to me the everything to us about that chapter and guess what? he explained with extra diagrams and information.

Guess what? it came out for exams and it was 20% 1/3 of my paper already!!! Wow... thank you God :)

Think this sem my attitude towards studying is very different. In fact, I like studying this sem and i find myself being more focused and growing in faithfulness even towards my studies. Seeing meaning in my studies and not just seeing it as a chore just to scrap through to get good results. But now, god has showed me deeper meaning as in why He puts/ places me to study here in uni. This is my stage of life to help me mature and grow not only in my knowledge but also in my character :)

For example, through the many semesters i have learnt the meaning of being faithful in the things that God has called me to do (even if they are things that i do not fully enjoyed). Also, learning the meaning of serving God through my daily life which includes my studies and also to do my best in everything that God has called and placed me to do.

Honestly, if i cant even be faithful in the small things like studies that God has called me to do, then would God entrust me more?

Can read the parables of the Talents: Matt 25:14-30 :)

Let's serve and honour God through our daily life.

putting on out thinking caps!

It' s been quite some time since I posted or looked at this site..;p Well, I'm only a last paper away..so thought of typing down some of my thoughts and reflections recently..since I'm in a rare mood to type on my PRESTIGO laptop (eh..though it's not exactly a fantastic brand, it's still usable and fine..=P) ..Here're some questions that maybe some of us may thought of before:

What if I can't find the "right one" before I reach 30yrs?
What should I do to win the favor and maybe approval of this person?
I'm so fearful to having to boldly tell others that God's real..What if they dont believe what I say? What if they look down on me as a "out-dated religious freako"?
Why on Earth am I supposed to do in and with my life? What if what I do is wrong?
....

So many of these internal dialogues and thoughts..have you ever had any one of such "conversations" with your heart? This inner struggle between even what you think you should know, and what you really feel and believe about? "I know God's good, but if that's so why did this and that happened to me?" "I know loving people is important and I want to do it, but why is it so difficult when it really comes to doing it?"

As far as our theoretical mind can make sense of, our heart sometimes cannot keep up with its pace..it falls behind, feeling strended and lost, feeling lonely and sad because it doesnt understand why it has to do the things it need to do..sometimes the mind takes a break because it's too tired of the struggle or it just gives up thinking..the heart takes control and do all it desires, only to find that it starts to do things that dont make sense when looking back..

God gave us brains to be intrigue by His powers, wonders and greatness..Hearts to feel His love, grace and mercy...But these two sometimes just dont work well together dont they?

Of the so many people that I've met and seen, there are people who think too much, only to end up very lost and even blurrer than before they started off (ironically..we should get clearer as we think and make sense more?) Some think so much that they just sit there to think everyday, but not do anything much constructively..(and I'm not refering to day-dreaming) Some people just dont think that much..they just live day by day as it gets by, emotions led by the ups and downs of triviality of life and circumstances..When asked why they feel the way they feel and why they do the things they do, they could only strug and not know why..

To a certain extent, I could feel and understand what all these people felt, because I've experienced them before. In saying so, I dont mean that I've overcame and make sense of all these things that I felt or do, but I think somehow or another, everyone would have experienced this too..

oops..dont mean to drown ya in my long long essay..haha..But in the quest of our search for meaning and purpose in life, what do we make sense of all these things that we're going through? To all the questions of "whys" and "hows", where do we look to find all the answers? Sometimes, we really just need to put on our shield of faith (Eph 6:16), to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), to seek our Maker, and trust in God, for His ways are always higher and better (Isa 55:9)

About the issue of heart and mind struggle, my personal conviction is this..if we're able to really obey this verse,

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor 10:5)

so let the heart reconcile with the mind in line with the bible. Maybe at the end of the day, it's not a matter of how the mind and heart don't click well together..but rather, either one, or sometimes both, are not flowing in linel with the bible..

Fellowship before service :)

Think it has been quite some time since all of us gather to share our lives with one another, complaining and encouraging one another.

Yest the time we had before service was indeed a refreshing one for me. Encouraged by MJ's, nicoles's and nicholas's testimonies of their lives and how God has been working in their lives and encouraging them.

Think in times of stressful period we need to be encouraged more and also to encourage one another more.

Yest, nicole and Mj both shared about prayers. MJ shared about answered prayers, she made a simple prayer. Prayed in faith and trusted God to work things out and God really did. It was really amazing and really very encouraged!!! Reminded me that God is boundless and all things are possible through Christ. Amen!!

Nicole prayed and God strength her and assure her through the prayer. Giving her strength and the peace and assurance that she needed. Think this is one breakthrough that nicole is experiencing and I'm really glad to see you taking that faith to pray and believe in God. Always, from nicole's sharing, we can be sure that God is relevant even in our studies!!!! Havin a relationship isn't just an another thing of our life (that just involves church and cg), but God is real in every single part of us and our lives. He is the air we breathe and the food we need. He is our everything and He is the reason for our existence.

Let's continue to spur one another on and encourage one another, keeping one another in prayer too :) A short passage to encourage us :)

Jas 5:13-16
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore 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.

We can always put our prayer requests here during this period and keep one another in prayer :)

Mark 11:22-23
22"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

The Hammer

Hello my bros and siss!

I want to share with you a testimony that i really really want to thank God for protecting my dad today.

Actually during service today, i received a message from home, telling me that my dad just got injured by a hammer that dropped onto his head in a factory, and was given 5 stitches above the side of the forehead. My heart really sank. I prayed heavily during worship time that he will be alright after the stitches. After service, i called home to ask about the condition of my dad, and thank GOD, my sis told me he is alright and still can watch vcd.... Waaahh... i started to pick my heart up again and put it in place. Thank GOD that after the worker on the upper level accidentally kicked the hammer off the ramp, the hammer hit a machine beside it before it landed on my dad's head. I really want to thank God for breaking the force of the hammer, or else things are going to turn out really bad.

Please also help me keep my dad in prayer, that my dad will recover soon and will not have any side effects after that. Praise the LORD! "God, I really want to thank You for the protection!!! I am so thankful"

Hi everyone~ This is my first official post in this blog, wanted to share some of my brief thoughts about today's sermon.

I was very struck by the part where Pastor Jeff asked us whether we had experienced any growth as a Christian recently. Yah, that's one thing I definitely did not experience this semester. Think was quite affected by events during and before the term, and as a result have been drawing very very distant from God.. in fact this 12 weeks have been the driest period in my walk with God so far. o_o

Come to realise that during times when you face situations that are beyond your control in life, one can either draw closer or run away from God. Think it's human nature to blame God easily rather than to draw nearer to him. The book that I'm reading now The purpose driven life really helped me make sense of things - I find several parts of it very meaningful. Highly recommend the book to those who haven't read it yet :D

And oh yah, the discussion during wednesday's QT was a very meaningful and thought provoking one. Glad that I didn't miss it esp the topic Huili brought up the topic about how we feel about the CG.

Haha one of the things that I realised about myself is that I tend to share different sides of myself to different people. For example in church I tend 闲聊 only to certain people and spiritual things only to (other) certain people. From now on I will try to mix it up a bit.

And yay we have a new sister in Christ!

Jiayou everybody for the exams =)

'Corn flakes with Jesus'

Haha... just now was playing on the guitar after i got home. This few weeks i have been picking up my guitar more often, spending time worshipping God and also brush up on my guitaring skills as well. For myself, i just found a good timing to play the guitar in my house - it's after midnight 12 o'clock! so exciting! i will take my guitar out of the room and sneak into the kitchen and close the kitchen doors, and then worship God in the kitchen. Wow! amazingly it seems like my guitaring skill has improved, with the help of the silence of the night.... nevertheless, the atmosphere then was really good.

Recently i picked up a habit of eating corn flakes and reading the bible in the middle of the night. i just enjoy the intimate and casual time with God over the corn flakes. Both the spiritual food and corn flakes = yummy!

Let us also get the habit of reading the Word daily, even as we are going into a period of preparation for the exams. Let us take time off from our revision once a while, to reflect and chat with God alone, with your favorite cup of hot coffee, and pour out to Him who is there to listen to our worries, no mater what time it is.

blessings

Just wanna share some things with u guys :) i just finish my thai oral exam. Really wanna thank god manz... He has really blessed me with a good partner who really helped me alot. Yest she gave me a session to help me with my pronounication and also to teach me on how to use words. den today during the oral exam she helped me with my part during the short preparation period before our testing. Really thank God for her and for guiding me in studying the right thing. Though i did not say many long and fanciful sentences and my pronounication is abit off. But think I did a pretty good job, with the limited amount of time i had.

And i didn't cough throughout the oral exam at all!!! hee... now going to mug for my 2 tests tmr already. This week is a crazy week for me but hey God thanks for seeing me through manz!!!

the aftermath of a 5min thunderstorm

heyy heyy! first time blogging here.... and its 5.23 am. weird eh?
just wanted to share about several things the Lord told me..
i believe he woke me up on purpose, and with a purpose.
you know whyy?

cos the "thunderstorm" only had thunder and heavy rain and it lasted for about 5mins.
!!!
a thunderstorm is suppoesd to last for about half an hour!
or at least it usually does at my house..
what with it being so close to the malaysia sea.

so anyway, i was praying to God about several things in my life.
indeed, he opened up the eyes to my heart,
as i was asking about whyy things between certain friends and i are so different from things between you guys and i.
the thing is.. im more reserved with them.

He told me, that i hold back sometimes, as im too conscious, too afraid of the things i might say, when instead, as long as they dont hold negative connotations, it should be fine.

i also prayed and ask him to help my family come to know about the gd news of Christ, through me or some other channels. i prayed and asked for my dad to be relieved of his burdens, to be able to enjoy the fruits of his life, instead of worrying about stuff all the time. he was sleeping, and his face was so wrought with wrinkles i was so afraid his face would get smaller with all that frowning. it was a miracle, cos immediately, his facial expression slowly started to relax.. =]]

He showed me things about my relationship with jiawei too. we were having problems, but its minor yet not minor... dont know how to say. He opened the eyes to my heart and showed me how to improve, both on our relationship and in myself.

im really glad for that 5min thunderstorm.
im glad i listened to the call for me to wake up.
(i was thinking if i should bring the clothes in.)

there's so many things to thank Him for, im just listing the few things that ran through my mind this early early morning..

Praise the Lord.
-trust, believe and follow

love you guys =D
study hard, and eat well!
see you later!

M&M #3

Heb 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before him endured the cross,

scorning its shame,

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Gal 6:9

Let us not become weary in doing good,

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest

if we do not give up.

Filling the open chair

Today's sermon was really a good reminder for me to be urgent in sharing the love of God to ppl. PPl are impt to God and God desires to use us. Think just now during dinner many of us mentioned a few names here and there and some of us have shared how we were impacted by the sermon (especially the part on urgency and the part on not to be discouraged by rejection).

Let's really respond to God's word and take time to pray for the many names or faces that God has reminded us. Be it our 'just friends' or family or tutorial mates. Let's really commit these souls to God and take their lives seriously!!! It is about their salvation, eternity. As what Jasmine has said: the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2pet3:9)

haha... I think many of us ve many names flashing across our mind, not sure where to go from here (do i invite all? do i work on all of my friends?) Let's focus on 1-2 of our friends or family members during this period and we can work towards bringing them to the Christmas service. In the meantime its exams time, its a good time to provide support not only within the cg and bro/sis, but also to our friends who could be very stress over studying. We can bless them in small ways such as cards or prayers.

After thinking and praying through for our friends, we can add onto this blog and share to one another our thoughts, and even fears or burdens for our friends.

Let's go in faith, love and power from God. Pray that God will empower us to share and the courage to go beyond our comfort zone. But we have to take the step out first. Let's really trust God in this area. While we can plant and water the seed of salvation in their hearts, it is God who grows the seed. Lets go plant the seed ba :) Cheers!!!!

Love the sinner, Hate the sin!

I have been reading alot recently on the issue of repealing of the Penal Code Section 377A. Thought of sharing with u my thoughts after thinking thru these few days.

"377A. Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years."

I must admit that my initial intention was to beef up my knowledge on this hot issue, so that I can DEFEAT anyone who dares to challenge my stand on the retaining of 377A.

Pride and Judgemental are the 2 big bricks I have on my wall.

As Christians, should we discriminate the homosexuals? or simply disagree with their act?

Who are we to say what is morally right and wrong?

We believe that God wants us to live our live accordingly to His Word, to keep away from sins in this world.

In the beginning, God has created Adam to be in charge of taking care of the Garden of Eden.
In the bible, Genesis 2:18, The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
God made Eve, as a helper and companion for Adam.

This is the brief account of the creation of Man, and this relationship and union of men and women is something which God has constituted.

(take note that God created 'Adam and Eve', not Adam and StEve!!!)

In the bible, GOD has outlined the godlessness and wickedness of men in Romans 1:18-32

Yes, now knowing that homosexuality is detestable in God's eyes, what's next?

Does God also condemns the homosexuals, like what some of us are doing?

NO! God didn't leave us although we kept sinning, in big and small ways. He yeans to bring us back into a loving relationship with Him, our author and Creator.

"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." - John 3:16

This love and grace from God is not just restricted to us who are believers in Christ Jesus, but is also extended to those who are still far away from God. Its quite hard for me to comprehend such a love and grace that God has for his Creation.

Many times I would "stand-on-the-mountain" and pass judgement, deciding who should be saved by God and enter the Heavens.

Many times I ask God: "Huh? This guy also can meh?". But God recently answered me very clearly. He told me to think about how He accepted me to be a child of God, when I received Christ in 2005, even when there are so many flaws and brick walls I had built over the years of growing up.

I was humbled.

Indeed, when we acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God ( our Savior who died on the cross, bled and died and rose again, to wash away our sins with His blood ), God has assured us that He loves us and accepts us as who we are, as children of His who wants to live our lives right, according to His will and purpose for us. God wants us to reconcile back to Him. He wants us to lead a life that is confident and fruitful, turning away from sins.

He had sent His Son, Jesus Christ, for this purpose.

Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." - Matthew 9:12

For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." - Matthew 9:13b

God sees hope in everyone of us, believers and non-believers, even the homosexuals. We recognise that they are in the midst of our society. Let us not be self-righteous. Let us, as brothers and sisters in Christ, not discriminate them or despise them, but learn to see the hope and love that God has for them to overcome this hundle in their lives eventually. If we choose to stay away from them, how can God use us to share to them about His love for them? Amen?

Debate on retaining of Section 377A in parliament?

Video Link (right click and OPEN IN NEW): http://video2.channelnewsasia.com/cnavideos/multiplevideos_206x220.asp?skin=player5.swf&bgskin=playerbackground_206x220.swf&filename=_Parl%20English_20071022_thioLiAnn_penal_lo.flv

You can click on the video link above and refer to a highlighted and edited version of short key remarks (below) of NMP Professor Thio Li-Ann’s speech in Parliament, on her stand on retaining 377A and outlining the dangers of appealing 377A. For a full version of the speech, u can refer to my blog @ www.artsfantasy.blogspot.com

NMP Professor Thio Li-Ann is currently a Nominated Member of Parliament (11th Session). She teaches in NUS Faculty of Law and has published widely in the fields of public international law, human rights law, constitutional and administrative law. She is a Christian.

‘Conservative’ here is not a dirty word connoting backwardness; environmental conservation protects our habitat; the moral ecology must be conserved to protect what is precious and sustains a dynamic, free and good society.

The real question today is not “if” we should repeal 377A now, or wait until people are ready to move. This assumes too much, as though we need an adjustment period before the inevitable. The real question is not “if” but “should” we ever repeal 377A. It is not inevitable; it is not desirable to repeal it in any event.

when we consider the moral issues related to 377A which require moral judgment of what is right and wrong - not to take a stand, is to take a stand!

Neither the majority or minority is always right – but there are fundamental values beyond fashion and politics which serve the common good. Religious views are part of our common morality.

The issues surrounding s377A are about morality, not modernity or being cosmopolitan.

Singapore is an independent state and we can decide the 377A issue ourselves; we have no need of foreign or neo-colonial moral imperialism in matters of fundamental morality.

while homosexuals are a numerical minority, there is no such thing as ‘sexual minorities’ at law. Activists have coined this term to draw a beguiling but fallacious association between homosexuals and legally recognized minorities like racial groups. Race is a fixed trait. It remains controversial whether homosexual orientation is genetic or environmental, perhaps both.

Homosexuality is a gender identity disorder.

While all human persons are of equal worth, not all human behaviour is equally worthy. We separate the actor from the act. In criminalizing acts, we consider the wrongfulness of the act, the harm caused and how it affects the good of society.

Public sexual morality must buttress strong families based on faithful union between man and wife, the best model for raising children.

While we cherish racial and religious diversity, sexual diversity is a different kettle of fish. Diversity is not license for perversity.

Law is a Moral teacher and makes a moral statement.

Repealing 377A will further batter the institution of ‘marriage’ which we must bolster!

Homosexuals as fellow citizens have the right to expect decent treatment from the rest of us; but they have no right to insist we surrender our fundamental moral beliefs so they can feel comfortable about their sexual behaviour. We should not be subject to the tyranny of the undemocratic minority who want to violate our consciences, trample on our cherished moral virtues and threaten our collective welfare by imposing homosexual dogma on right-thinking people. Keep 377A.

But if we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything.

It is important in life not only to have a Brain, but a Spine.

The Wall by Gloria Jay Evans

The Wall by Gloria Jay Evans

I don't know when I first began to build the wall. I suppose it was when it occurred to me that I could keep people out if my life by building a simple wall. The wall would be a kind of boundary - a kind of protection. At first the little wall was only knee high. It was really quite attractive, made of native stone I had found in my life. The wall was so small that some people didn't notice it and would stumble right over it and fall flat on their faces. Others saw it but would step over it and come very close to me. I found this very uncomfortable. So I built the wall higher.

This was really much better, but I found that some people would come and rest their arms on the wall while they talked to me. Some stayed too long. And some were not my kind of people. And even when I edged the top of the wall with sharp stones, they didn't seem to notice. One day one of them vaulted over the wall and stood right inside.

This made me angry. I decided to build the wall higher. As I continued to build, I became more and more self-sufficient... (and soon) no one could see in or out...

But then I realized that no one had stopped by to talk for sometime. Some walked by not seeming to notice me or my wall. Others stood sadly by and watched me build. I thought they were jealous of my wall, and I resented them - all of them...

Some of my stones were so dear to me that I polished them carefully several times a day. Then one day I realized the wall was so high that I no longer saw anyone go by...or heard anyone. "Is anyone there?" I yelled. There was no answer. It was dark and the air was foul. I stayed there fora long time. It was quiet and dark and lonely. Only the whispers of my memories could be heard...

One day someone yelled from the other side, "Your wall is ugly. It is twisted and gray and misshapen!" Now, I did not accept this willingly. I liked my wall. In fact, some of the stones from which I had built it were so dear to me...

It was the day the flower fell at my feet that I began to cry. I ran to the wall and climbed to see who had thrown it over.

By the time I reached the top, no one was there. I returned to the flower and sat for a long time looking at its perfection. I began to see the folly of my wall and its imperfection. Floods of tears brought me to my knees. "Oh, I am so alone. My wall is too high and too thick and ugly. ... I have nothing left. Won't someone help me... please? Then a strange thing happened. Something inside me stirred like a remembrance of peaceful times passed. And in the stillness of my broken world I knew... God was there, a blessed presence, that God would come to me, that my darkness had been penetrated by this blessed light... I stood in the joy of this presence. I knew that God had watched me build my wall and that God had waited patiently forme to see it was in vain.

Finally it occurred to me that the Divine Creator would know why my wall was so ugly. When I asked, God began to teach me... my error. God gave the stones names: "This stone is jealousy. You must remove it."

Sometimes I would... protest. This was my favorite stone. It was one I had saved and cherished for years.

When I was finally ready, God helped me remove the stone... (And so it went, through stones named envy, disillusionment, resentment, childishness, stubbornness, some with God's help, sometimes with the help of strangers...) As we removed more stones, the light came in. I felt a hand reaching through a small hole one day.

There was a stranger who walked in one day and told me he had let God tear down his wall. I told him how I had suffered so and that I would never forget how forsaken and lonely I had felt inside my wall. "Yes," he said, "self-pity is a terrible thing." When he left, I found my stone of self-pity in my wall. It was wet with my tears. I dried it off and laid it with the other stones I had taken from the wall.

Overwhelmed by all God had done for me and all God had taught me, I stood on a large remaining stone and began to tell anyone who passed by what God had done for me. I was appalled that no one seemed to hear what I was saying... I noticed others working on walls and ran over to plead with them to stop, but no one would listen. In my frustration, I lay face down on the stone I had stood upon. It was extremely large, highly polished... It was more than life size.

"Do you want the answer to your question?" God asked. "Raise your head, and look at the stone you are lying upon." I raised my head and gasped, for I saw my own reflection in the massive stone.

I knew the stone was pride. Quietly, we removed it.

Then God said a strange thing. "Now you must go. I will go with you and yet I will stay here." I protested, "There are still other stones to remove. I want you here."

"I said I would go with you. Do you remember the flower that fell at your feet, the hand that you clasped, the stranger who showed your self-pity?" "Oh, yes", I sighed, "Oh yes." "Then you must go and do likewise. For to whom much (grace) is given, much (grace) is expected. Wherever you go, I go with you. And whenever you come back here to be tempted, or to remove more stones I will be here for you." And so I went out. I saw the walls of others, and when I could, I threw a flower over, or reached my hand through. The walls were unbelievably ugly.

I heard great sobs behind the walls and my heart ached. "Won't you please help this person?" I cried out to God one day. I returned to my wall and God the Blessed Presence was there. Together we removed the stones of fear, mistrust, and indifference. Then God said, "Now you begin to understand love. Without love, the things I have told you would be meaningless. You will begin to live in peace and understanding of all those people around you whom you thought were not your kind'."

So it was that I went forth, reaching out - sometimes just waiting beside a wall, sometimes tossing a flower, sometimes grasping a hand.

The big bang theory

This is something interesting that i have learnt during lesson today. So thought to share with u gus :)

The big bang theory : creation of galaxy and universe

Our galaxy/ milky way/ universe started from a point of compressed mass, high density, high energy and high temperature. The energy was so large that it could no longer be contained in that point and so it expanded (the big bang theory). As it expands, temperature decrease and this resulted in the existence of quarks. Quarks is the simplest makeup of anything. temperature continued to decrease and this allows the quarks to have the ability to combine and form neutrons and protons. Neutrons and protons then combine to form nucleus and then atoms and basic element, such as hydrogen. Which eventually leads to the deveopment of matter (which consists of many many atoms)

Although scientists have spent many years discovering this and it seems rather logical, scientists were unable to explain what happened before the big bang or what was in the universe before the big bang. Till today, this remains a mystery to many. From the big bang theory, we can see how systematic the formation of the universe was. Although the energy informed was so great, one incident led to another and one formation led to another. (There ought to be something bigger that is determining all these). If the big bang/ formatiom of the galaxy was mere randomness, under such high energy and temperature, things would have gone really wrong. Take for example nuclear fission.

From the big bang theory, we can see that the creation of the universe is very physical, consisting of quarks and mere 'dead' atoms. Bacteria, fungi, plants, animals and especially man who have life in them can never be created from the universe itself which is a makeup from energy and quarks. Especially man who has the essence of being in them and has feelings, thoughts, emotions and intelligence. How could man being so unique and personal be created out of the physical galaxy of energy and quarks?

you are the reason

You are the reason, Written by Petrina Yim

You Are The Reason
(left click to listen, right click; save target as to download)

I pray that this song will encourage those who are going through struggles in their life, overcoming areas of sins in their life, which God has brought out. Lets continue to fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith. Through the power of Christ we can overcome all things, and all things are made possible with Him. Amen!!

You're the reason

Written and composed by: Petrina Yim

Verse 1:

E A C#m A
Lord I come into your presence and humbly bow at your throne

E A C#m
You’re all I seek and you’re all I need,

A
And I will run to you

Verse 2:

E A C#m A
My guilt and shame lies in the cross and Your truth sets me free

E A
So with all my heart and with all my soul

C#m A
I will sing of your great love

C#m B
I will sing of your great love

Chorus

E A E
You’re the reason that I live

A E
You’re the reason that I breathe

A B A
You’re the reason I find my strength in

E A E
You’re the reason that I hope

E A E
You’re the reason that I have joy

A B A
You’re the reason I find my strength in

E A B A
You’re the reason I find my strength in

E A B A
You’re the reason I find my strength in

Bridge:

A E A E A C#m
Jesus jesus jesus

B/E A
you are my king

A E A E A C#m
Jesus jesus jesus

B/E A
you are my lord

A E A E A C#m
Jesus jesus jesus

B/E A
you are my guide

A E A E A C#m
Jesus jesus jesus

B/E A
you are my strength

God truly knows and cares for us

Think I was really reminded of God's love for us in the last sermon.
Jon 4:11 "But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

God rebuked Jonah and I was reminded that God in fact truly knows every single one of us. Would you sometimes wonder if god truly knows his plans for you? Whether you are important to Him though you am just another "small" person on this earth and whether God truly knows your inner thoughts and my desires and my struggles. Have anyone of u ever wonder about this? Feeling insecure about ur identity in Christ?

This morning God reminded me that He truly knows!!!

In the NT, we can see that Jesus knows the life of not only his disciples, but also the sinful people and "insignificant" people who came to Him. Many instances, when these people just came to Him, asking Him for forgiveness, God knows what is going on in their life and would forgive them, giving them a new life.

Some instances include:
1) Zacchaeus the Tax Collector and Jesus (Luk 19:1-10), Jesus knew that Zacchaeus was up in the tree (even before Jesus saw him) and knew his heart for God. Although he had committed sins and was considered sinful in the eyes of man (because he cheated people of their taxes), but Jesus knew what was in his heart and that Zacchaeus acknowledge Him as Lord. What i am trying to bring out here is that God knows our inner thoughts, even if we are sinful and insignificant in this world. Every single one is important to Him. God's love is patient and kind. From this passage we can see that God's love keeps no record of wrongs and it is not easily angered. Thank God His love is 1corin 13:4-7, if not ..... hahah.... we would still be lost sheep without shepherds

1Sam 16:7 "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
- God looks at the condition of our heart.

Matt 10:30-31 "30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

Psa 139: 1-4
"1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD."

Psa 139: 13-16
" 13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be."

Let's take some time to thank God for his love and really grow to understand this love that God has for us. So that we may continue to grow in our confidence and faith in God.

God, threatened by science?

Hey bros and siss, wanted to share with you my thoughts after finishing the book "The Language of GOD"

I am so amazed by God's Creation.

I feel so fortunate to be able to study Life Science in university. Every lesson keeps me so excited!!! Life is so complex, human is so intricately made. Conditions have to be so precise in order for life to exist.

Recently i learnt from my lecturer that " if we unwound the 46 strands of chromosomes from a single cell, and link them end to end, the distance is 8000 times from Earth to moon and back to Earth" wait a minute..... take some time to try to visualise it.....Wah piang!!! For a moment I cannot comprehend such an analogy... all these 46 strands of chromosomes present in each and every cell we have, contains all the information that is needed for us to exist and grow from birth til death. Such a huge set of information/instruction, yet it has to be packed into a single cell nucleus, which an unaided human eye can't even see.

I just finished a book named " The Language of GOD - A scientist presents evidence for belief " - by Francis Collin. When I saw the book from TIMES bookshop, I was drawn by the name of the author. What has this director of the Human Genome Project got to do under the religion section of this bookshop?

Francis S. Collins is a pioneering medical geneticist who once headed the Human Genome Project, adapts his title from President Clinton's remarks announcing completion of the first phase of the project in 2000: "Today we are learning the language in which God created life."

Collins explains that as a Christian believer, "the experience of sequencing the human genome, and uncovering this most remarkable of all texts, was both a stunning scientific achievement and an occasion of worship."

This marvelous book combines a personal account of Collins's faith and experiences as a genetics researcher with discussions of more general topics of science and spirituality, especially centering around evolution. Following the lead of C.S. Lewis, whose Mere Christianity was influential in Collins's conversion from atheism, the book argues that belief in a transcendent, personal God—and even the possibility of an occasional miracle—can and should coexist with a scientific picture of the world that includes evolution. Addressing in turn fellow scientists and fellow believers, Collins insists that "science is not threatened by God; it is enhanced" and "God is most certainly not threatened by science; He made it all possible."

What is my stand then? Is Darwin's Evolution Theory outdated? How much was Darwin able to understand life given the kind of technology he had in 1879? Why is it still being taught in schools as if it is already a proven fact?

Being a Christian who happens to be a student in the Life Science field, i certainly believe in a God who created the earth, light, water, skies, stars, plants, water animals, birds in the air, and lastly, humans (yes, u and me included). I can't take it when some of my lecturers mentioned that we come from ape? Is there an option for the students here to consider between Creation and Evolution?

I believe science will draw Man to God eventually. As God's language of life - DNA, is being looked at by more and more scientists, under increasingly sophisticated machines, more and more people will tear away pages from their textbooks which attempts to explain life using BIG Bang theory or macro-evolution...

M&M #2

2weeks ago, we heard the sermon about the truths and myths that we believe in our lives. Though sometimes we may unconsciously and subtly believe in some of the myths not of God, it is important to recognise that Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life. The one way that we can grow is really learning from the Word of God. Let the Spirit guide and teach us in all truths and understanding as we meditate upon God's words.

Let us pray that we may learn to grow in obedience and understanding of His Words as we embark 0n this journey of M&M (memorising and meditating)

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long. " (Pslams 25:4-5)

===================================================================

Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Some questions and food for thought as we meditate upon the verse:

- What does it mean to say "love rejoices with the truth"?

- Are there times when God Himself first demonstrated such love for us? (Can be from personal experiences or from the examples of the Bible, e.g. Jesus dying on the cross)

- Who are the people whom I think I love in my life? Why do I love them? How am I loving them in the way that God intended it to be?

-Who are the people (or what kind of people, e.g. of certain character traits or personality, maybe) whom I can't bring myself to love in the way that is mentioned? Why?

- Which aspect of love that I struggle and find most difficult in? Why? How can I grow in it?

Let's post our responses and thoughts online, if not we'll find the chance to share in the next QT. :) (note: u may choose not to mention names, let's be sensitive to others even as we share openly)

Huili

WEEEEeeeeeeeeeeee...

Thank God for Nic who set up this blog for us to be able to share our lives & thoughts together online! :) Let this place be filled with love, joy, testimonies, and even encouragements and affirmations!! let's post freely to spur each other on in our walk with God together as a caregroup! :)

I'm so blessed in many ways by God in my life, I really cant imagine what'll I be doing and how'll I be right now if I haven known God! Being in this CG has been a great and wonderful experience for me as well, be it serving as a leader, shepherd, fellow sis-in-Christ, or just a crazy friend who loves pure fun and laughter...though there may be many inadequacies and weaknesses, God saw me through it all as I peservered the race...He's the one who gave me the power and the confidence to walk through all the difficult paths and struggles...Let Him be your strength and only One whom u'll fix your eyes on everyday!

Here's a devotional that i wanna share with ya guys, I thought it's quite good..:)

It Starts in the Heart
by Jon Walker

For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all other sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. (Matthew 15:19 NLT)

We tend to think that if we clean up our behavior, then we’ve got a good handle on being like Jesus. But Jesus says behavior starts in the heart, so we need to be cleaned from the inside out. And once our hearts are right, godly behavior follows.

The Apostle Paul says one way to monitor the condition of our hearts is to track what comes out of our mouths – anger or acceptance, criticism or encouragement, bitterness or forgiveness. In addition, Paul explained, “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-13 MSG)

Rather than trying to hide the condition of our hearts by being insincere in what we say or do, God wants us to hand our hearts to him so he can scrub them clean. King David, confessing the sin in his own heart, invited God to change its condition: “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 HCSB)

When you allow God to capture your heart, he’ll then set a guard around your heart: “And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7 HCSB)

You can maintain a vigilance over your heart by dealing with issues immediately, instead of allowing them to fester for days, weeks, or even longer.

What now?
· Daily questions for you – Andy Stanley, from North Point Community Church outside Atlanta, suggests asking these questions daily:

Is everything OK in my heart?
Am I waiting for someone to make things right with me?
Have I been having extended conversations (debates) in my mind with anyone lately?
Am I holding on to any secrets?

· Daily questions for your family – Andy Stanley also suggests you ask these questions of your family each day:

How's your heart?
Anybody broken a promise to you today?
Anybody been mean to you today?
Anybody hurt your feelings?

© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.

Hui Li

love song

Love Song For A Savior

In open fields of wild flowers,
she breathes the air and flies away
She thanks her Jesus for the daises and the roses
in no simple language
Someday she'll understand the meaning of it all
He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on her lips
Someday she'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call her and she will come running
and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray,

I want to fall in love with You

Sitting silent wearing Sunday best
The sermon echoes through the walls
A great salvation through it calls to the people
who stare into nowhere, and can't feel the chains on their souls

He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on our lips
Someday we'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call us and we will come running
and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and we'll pray,

I want to fall in love with You

It seems too easy to call you "Savior",
Not close enough to call you "God"
So as I sit and think of words I can mention
to show my devotion

I want to fall in love with You

My heart beats for You

M&M #1

Heb 4:12

For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Jos 1:8

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.