thanks :)

i ve been very blessed by ming han and mj, who has been blessing me and taking initiative to ask about my life and care for me. ming han has been a really thotful brother and i just wanna affirm the two of u here :) wanted to do it over cg but yest was quite late already. hahah.... ve been gg thru a rough time and e support tt u guys ve given me thru gifts, encouragement cards or just asking me how am i or affirming me really comforts me and encourages me alot :) I am really thankful for u two and i thank God for u guys for being sensitive to my needs.

I ve been really blessed so wanna encourage each and every one of us to grow in caring and loving one another :) i think we all do, but maybe we can grow in being more expressive and taking initiative. I am also growing in this area of being more sensitive to ppl and meeting one another's needs instead of always being the one talking... haha....

Rem for the last 2 cgs tt we had? we did on love lang? maybe we can start by remembering each other's love lang and love them according to their love lang :) haha... some of us, our love lang is touch. bro and sisters a bit hard to express in such a manner ah... so we can work on the second or third love lang.... anyway if it's sincere, i dun think any one of us will mind also... ahahah....

hope to see us growing in care and love for one another :) i am trying to grow in writing affirmations which i tend to be super lazy to do... hahah.. so prepare to receive cards from me SOOONNNNNNNNNNN... :)

Human rights, conversion and apostasy

Hi peeps! Haven't been posting here for quite some time, I really miss talking to you guys actually. Anyway, I am really in love with my GEK1045 module, Intro to World Religions. It's so exciting and makes me think. Sometimes, I wonder why I didn't become an Arts major; I like writing essays, and I like readings on certain topics, if they interest me.

So anyway, I digress. Coming back to the point, I just want to discuss about certain things here which I hope to get some views on this. I'll just give a basic background beforehand. We're currently on Judaism this week, next would be Christianity. So anyway, about Judaism, the lecturer told us that babies of 8 days old have to be circumcised. According to him, it's a really painful procedure, and may have psychological effects as well (he said he went to google it and found that circumcised kids have a low threshold for pain).

As you know, circumcision is a permanent thing - you can't reverse it. He later went to the topic of the freedom of conversion and apostasy (converting out), which links to the aforementioned topic of circumcision. In Judaism, it's a sign that you've been welcomed to the Jewish community and have accepted the Jewish faith, ie you're officially a Jew. However, at the age of 13, young males (and females, I think) are required to go through a ceremony, where they are asked to declare their devotion to the Jewish faith (not sure if they are allowed to say no).

Question he posed to us was: since circumcision is a permanent one, does it violate the human rights to one's own body? Does it also violate the right of one's freedom of choice to a religion?

It's interesting to see arguments in relation to this, and I wonder what the Bible says regarding this controversial topic. On one hand, is human rights and freedom of choice. On the other, tradition.

I would also like to end off with a court case brought up in Finland in 2006, where a father sued the other parent for ordering the son's circumcision. Judge in this case ruled that "even a life-long tradition does not invalidate a child's right to his own body."

Interesting.. I wonder what does the Bible say about this?

sick sick sick

Think many of you have been quite concerned with my health. Thanks ppl and sorry to keep u all worry. Thanks for all ur prayers and blessings from fruits to drinks and prayers. thanks alot :)

ve been sick for one month... quite xin cu also. Dun worry ppl i ve been taking care of my health just tt my immune system is really abit weak. Since young ve been falling sick like monthly already, so quite used to it. If i m healthy for a few months is like God's blessings and a miracle already.... heee....

went to the doc yest and i m currently on antibiotics, caught some really nasty bacteria and tt's y i m sick for so long and its hard to kill the bacteria. After i recover from this, the doc is gg to try to build up my immune system by taking more vitamins.

ppl really need prayers so do keep me in prayers. Honestly i dun know why i m falling sick and take so long to recover. yup....

We Need Models and Mentors

We Need Models and Mentors
by Rick Warren
(From Purpose Driven Daily Devotional


Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. Philippians 3:17 (NIV)


*** *** *** ***


For us to mature, we need models and mentors.


Many people make the mistake of thinking all they need to grow spiritually is God’s Word and prayer. But the truth is, we need people to help us grow.


Christlike character is built through relationships, not in isolation. There are many things God wants you to learn about life that you’ll never learn on your own. You’ll only learn them in community.


We always grow faster and stronger with living, breathing examples who can model for us what a purpose driven life looks like. We need more than explanations, we need examples.


Paul realized the power of a pattern when he advised, “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you” (Philippians 3:17 NIV). To grow, we need to see principles in practice. We need to see what beliefs looks like when they are translated as behavior in everyday situations.


When Paul would travel to a city to start a church, he would begin by simply living among the people. He was a “living Bible,” echoing the life of Jesus, where “the word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14 NKJV).


After Paul left a city, he would write back, “Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9 NLT).


Who are your models for following Christ? Who are you watching and learning from?


Here’s a tougher question: Are you an example for anyone else? In elementary school, you probably enjoyed “Show and Tell.” As believers, we’re often better at “telling” than “showing.”


In today’s culture, the world desperately needs people who can show us how to love our spouse and make a marriage last, how to relate to our kids, how to do business with integrity, how to handle conflict in the way Jesus would. These are lessons we learn by watching others.


Not only do we need models to grow, we need mentors. Mentors are people who’ve followed Christ longer than we have and are able to share their life lessons. You’ve heard that it’s wise to learn from experience, but it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others. Life is too short to learn everything by experience! And some painful experiences can be avoided if you’re smart enough to learn from mentors in your church family.


Ask yourself this: “What’s been the greatest positive influence on my life?” Most likely it was not a sermon, seminar, or small group lesson. It was somebody who shaped your life through a personal relationship.


Can you see God’s wisdom in creating the church, a family full of mentors and models for our benefit?


That’s why being connected to a small group is so crucial to spiritual growth. It’s a regular opportunity to learn from each other.


Today, spend a few moments getting intentional about this. Write down the names of people in your church and small group that you’d like to learn from. Then identify what you’d specifically like to learn from them. Remember, they don’t have to be perfect to be a model or mentor.


To grow spiritually, you must also be willing to be a model or mentor to others. That may scare you but all it takes is being one step ahead.


People don’t expect you to be perfect – they already know you aren’t. What they want you to be is honest! So let them see your struggles, not just your successes. We usually grow as much from others’ weaknesses as we do from their strengths.

Beijing Olympics 2008

So proud of God's atheletes!
Check out this article that Yufen sent me (for those who know her):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/05/AR2008080503315.html

God is closer than you think

Just finish reading God is closer than you think by John ortberg, can understand but still feel lost in some areas....God speaking thru ppl, how do u know? u know if its align with God's word aka bible, anyone in da family finish reading? lets have some discussion on it soon!!!

Mh

guitar lesson number 2

so happy to learn guitar from bobo on tues, sida came n join us, he has gr8 sensitivity to music, thanks to their patience in guiding me, if not i will forever be playing only heart of worship. Learning a new strumming now, n learning bar chords now........so difficult !!
Huili says if we desire to grow, our growth will be like a stock market trend, i pray that God will allow us to grow up like this uptrend straight line( / ) and not the zig zag uptrend as he present constant challenges to grow us :D

aspire to be like bobo to feel the music, thank God for him n sida

Mh

Spiritual Habit of Worship

Hey bros and siss, i just thought of re-capping the things we have learnt during caregroup on Saturday. As i have said before, although the teaching on worship seems "back to basics", there are still insights to be learnt as we re-visit the truth.

What is not worship?

-Slow music
- Happens once a week
- Raising of hands and kneeling down
- Must be singing songs

What is worship?
- Glorifying and Edifying God
- A lifestyle
- WORTH-SHIP: Telling God the worth he holds in our lives

Why worship?
- Worship simply comes out of a relationship with Jesus
- Worship causes us to be more like God

How is your relationship with God recently? Do you have the habit of worship?

How to worship?
( John 4:20-24)

- In spirit (allow our emotions to come alive)
-In truth (in response to the biblical truths in the Scriptures)

In the passage, Jesus was telling the Samaritan woman at the well that worship is not about the location, but IT'S ABOUT THE ATTITUDE.

God is not trapped on the altar or locked in the temple.

Our body is the temple of God, in which the Holy Spirit given by God takes its dwellling. (1 Cor 6:19-20)

I have found a video clip about worship!



Remember, Worship is not what we can gain from God, it's about coming to the cross daily, to cry, to surrender, to laugh, to be humbled, to confess, TO GIVE OUR LIVES BACK TO GOD!

Spiritual Habits: Word of God, Prayer, Worship
These are the habits we have covered so far during caregroup recently. Let us really put action points to follow thru our understanding.

M&M this week . . .
~ Memorise & Meditate ~

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
(John 4:24)

My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing and make music with all my soul.
(Psalm 108:1)

everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial and constructive

Haven come here in quite awhile!! :( Partly lazy to post things here... oops... thanks for trying to keep this place alive!!! Haha..kudos to all who blogged recently!! Haha...

I’m so glad to see posts about how people are concerned about each other’s well-being, problems and even spiritual needs. In fact I’m encouraged to read how we are making sense of our lives, growing in our understanding of God, and sharing about burdens for people around us. Truly, I feel so heartened that we are learning to love each other more despite each others’ weaknesses and differences.

Just a reminder, we ought to be sensitive about some of the things that we post on the blog as much as we want to be open with each other in the blog.

Afterall, it’s a public blog.

That means, anyone actually can have access/ read the blog. NOT forgetting, this place can be traced and googled quite easily. Considering there’re many “real names” used here, I’m worried about some of the contents that are posted being read, or worse case MIS-understood or MIS-read by some third parties, or especially by the affected people themselves.

So I shall mercilessly remove and edit some of the contents that are not suitable for posting on such public blog. (if you r wondering, i only edited 2 posts, didnt touch much the rest...)

I do hope all of us have the same understanding that the more that we’ve knowledge of, the more is expected of us in handling such things with much care. So one important thing that we have to take extra extra note is the responsibility to handle these info with care and much sensitivity, especially when it pertains people’s lives. It can be about the struggles in their lives; it can be things that they are concerned with the most at the moment, etc etc. We need to exercise wisdom and care in sharing on such public blogs.

To take it even further, let’s learn to love and protect our beloved community by filtering and exercising control of what to blog here ok?

SO, I'm hereby setting some ground rules...

Please, no language that is not edifying. I dont think colorful languages looks "nice" on a site dedicated to Jesus agree?

We can certainly share our lives, the many things of our hearts or our thoughts here on this blog. But it is certainly not the best to share some of the things, esp concerning the others here. If we want to do so, let's rather share it in a setting that is during CGs, or with trustable bros & siss..definitely not a public blog yes yes yes?

Oh my, AND please don't leave your personal details like HP number here as well. What if some wierd person got your number when surfing through the blogs? :S protect ourselves too kaz...(You know I'm so worried seeing some of the posts as much as I'm happy to see the reflections!!)

“Everything is permissible” – but not everything is beneficial.
“Everything is permissible” – but not everything is constructive.
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
1 Cor 10:23-24

Current Affairs - Legalise Organ Trading?

In the first place, do we even have the right to sell our organs?

photo from: network.nationalpost.com

Recently i have been quite interested in the debate on whether to legalise the trading of organs.

After the CG we had last week discussing on this issue, i continue to follow the news for the past few days, I was quite disappointed with the response of our Health Minister pertaining to this issue.

Here is part of the article and my inner response to some of the points:

Let's not rule out organ trading yet, says Khaw

The Straits Times - 15 July 2008

(c) 2008 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

SINGAPORE is not ruling out legalising organ trading.

The surprise comment from Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday is bound to re-ignite the fiery debate on the benefits and dangers of allowing the buying and selling of human kidneys, lungs and other organs.

The Government has stood firm so far on enforcing the present laws, which prohibit organ trade.

Recently, five people were taken to court in the country's first kidneys-for-sale deals.

But yesterday Mr Khaw said that organ shortages and a black market in the region made legalising trading an option.

(Is it? Should we compromise our values to go along with the waves/or so call FORCE? Should we keep shifting the position of the goal post, changing the dimensions? This is chaotic man! This is not a matter of multiplication, where -ve x -ve = +ve. If we allow trading of organs in Singapore, we are adding up negatives with negatives, where -ve + -ve = even more negatives! Selfish minds and Bad policies give us a society that we can't live in.)

'I think we should not write off or reject the idea of selling organs. But I think we need to study it carefully,' he said.

There are no immediate plans to change the law, as there are practical reasons why overturning the ban could backfire - like shrinking the current donor pool, he added.

He said yesterday: 'I remain of the view that organ trading is not the way to go, but we should not reject any idea given the reality.'

(OH man! we shouldn't even think about it)

Meanwhile, the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) has come out steadfastly against legalising the organ trade, following an emergency meeting on Saturday.

Its spokesman, Dr Tan Sze Wee, said organ sellers face an array of short- and long-term medical risks. The sellers, almost always desperately poor, could also be abused and exploited.

Mr Khaw said the best approach is still one of prevention, such as better control of diseases like diabetes.

(Of cos right? Who don't agree? Common sense mah...)

Singapore should promote altruistic donations through the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota).

Mr Khaw added that he hoped to find a solution that protects the interests of the donor and the patient.

'How? I don't know. But if we do not force ourselves to think out of the box, then we will never be able to find a better solution,' he said.

(And what makes us think that we will be able to find a better solution if we force ourselves to think out of the box. Yes, I know, thinking out of the box mah!, we keep hearing it in schools also. However, I believe this issue can be discussed, and MUST be discussed and solved within the 'Morality Box'. Many times, we still need to confine things into a box, or else things will be in a mess! OMG!)

- My thoughts -

Legalising organ trading would mean . . .

Every piece of human body, whether alive or died, becomes a money machine - cheapening the value of human lives.

A leh-long of organs in the 'market place', whoever can match up with the price gets it. The POOR poor patients can only wait til the day of their death. - Sigh . . .

Blood banks need to buy blood from people (at market rates) to deal with demands for blood transfusion during surgeries (accidents, operations, giving birth.). There might be a strike by this greedy generation, trying to create a uproar for blood price hike. - Terrible! You just need blood (that is supposed to be free) to save lives yet some people are demanding for a blood price hike to offset the rise in fuel and oil. OMG!

Having the possibility of you feeling pain when a knife is stabbed into your body while you are walking on the road . . . and you find yourself with only 1 or none of your kidneys left when you wake up... - Pain + Shocked!

Having the possibility that young children are kidnapped by criminals to obtain their kidneys. - Oh no!

Having the possibility that all your family members are left with 1 kidney, and unable to donate their kidney (which is more compatible to yours to obtain higher success rate) to you when you need a transplant. - Desperate!

With only 1 kidney in your body, your kidney will be overworked, and you are more susceptible to diabetics and high blood pressure.
.
.
sorry if it sounded offensive to you. Not my intention. Really. But definitely something that is very possible to happen if we legalise 'Organ trading'
.
I can continue to paint this picture, but it seems too ugly and unsightly and unbearable, EVEN before the full picture is reviewed.

Why tear apart this box and will allow the 'rats and cockroaches' to run wild in this house?

Even movies and drama serials mentioned that a child is a gift from God. Wonderfully conceived at the moment the sperm fused with the egg and continue to form and take shape in the mother's womb.

Since it is a GIFT, what makes us think that we have the right to profit from something that is given to us without a price.

How ungrateful would that be?