301105

verses read: Daniel 4:19-37, Proverbs 11:6
prayer: 30 minutes

Daniel goes on to interpret the dream for King Nebuchadnezzar; and says that the tree represents the king. And God will cause the king to lose (basically) his mental faculties. He will wander the land like a wild animal but after 7 years, he will be restored. All that happens; and King Nebuchadnezzar is restored when he acknowledges the King of Heaven over himself.

Yesterday was a very mixed day. When you are faced with temptations it is very difficult to overcome; on one hand you feel very satisfied; but you lay 2 bricks by that very same measure. But on the complete reverse side, managed to get a whole lot of administrative stuff done, including a 16-page document for TOFU; printed out 213 A5 pages of a new songbook and 20 pages of the hardcopy version of this online journal. On top of that, managed to tie down more stuff for AnnTiC.

Today, well, going to Sentosa, gate crashing the Sunday School camp! Actually, going there to take the pictures that I wanted to take last week. It's raining now, but I have faith that God will provide nice hot sunshine later. I think after that I will go down to city music; I might as well just get the XT Live, call it giving into temptation again! But this one burns a hole in your pocket instead, but then again I know I won't be happy till I get it, so just get it!

But the day so far have been very sombre. I know this post is posted at 9.15am, but that doesn't mean I didn't get up at 6am. I did, way earlier in fact. To answer the call of nature; but then again, maybe it wasn't nature. Didn't feel like getting out of bed despite the pain in my stomach, but God said loud and clear, "Go! I got something to tell you." So I went. And while sitting down in the toilet, God said He will give me a dream. I've not dreamt in days. But I went back to bed (at exactly 6am) and I did indeed dreamt of something.

I saw an alternate present; a present which is the result me giving in to temptation two and a half months ago. It was quite scary, even though the circumstance was supposed to be full of joy. I don't know what it means, but I will pray for wisdom to understand it. I pray it is not another message that I've to give to someone else, I don't think I can go through that again. But well, like what king Nebuchadnezzar said:

All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" - Daniel 4:35

I cannot claim to understand the ways to God. All I know is that His ways are higher than mine. Once again, the following proverb makes full sense even for the situation I'm in now. Quite amazing, since everything I've been reading them almost in order.

The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires. - Proverbs 11:6

291105

verses read: Daniel 4:1-18, Proverbs 11:5
prayer: 20 minutes

King Nebuchadnezzar has another dream. About a tree, a big tree and with its crown and shade many animals have shelter. But in the dream he hears a voice telling him to cut the tree down and leave its stump behind. And the tree will then be a part of the animals. Something like that! At the end of it, he calls Daniel for interpretation.

This part of the book seems to read as though it was written by King Nebuchadnezzar himself. He begins by exalting God. Well, the full story of this will be in second half of the chapter. That will be for tomorrow or the day after.

Today, on the other hand, will be pretty slack. Don’t know what to do yet, just going to see what needs to be done.

The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.- Proverbs 11:5

no words to say

Let the peace of God reign
Father of life draw me closer
Lord my heart is set on You
Let me run the of time
With Your life enfolding mine
And let the peace of God, let it reign

O Holy Spirit, You're my comfort
Strenghten me, hold my head up high
And I stand upon Your truth
Bringing glory unto You
And let the peace of God, let it reign

O lord I hunger for more of You
Rise up within, Let me know Your truth
O Holy Spirit, saturate my soul
And let the life of God
Fill me now, let Your healing power
Breathe life and make me whole
And let the peace of God, let it reign

(C) Words and music by Darlene Zschech

At peace at last, after a time of turmoil; just like the story behind the album this song is taken from. But anyway, feel very much like deja vu again... somehow been down this road before. Yes, it was good then, good to re-live it again.

I wonder what Abraham felt when he placed Isaac on the altar of sacrifice; and what peace and joy he must have felt when God provided the sacrificial lamb. Many years later God Himself would do the same thing, but this time, there was no scapegoat, just the cross of clavary. I think today, I know a little bit more about God's love, His heartbreak when we disobey and the mysteries of His grace. And today, I got to experience a little of what Abraham felt as God provided the alternative.

Spent the day running around buying stuff for AnnTiC! Went to 4 different music shops around the island to finally get what I need! And I'm still missing cables! But nevermind, will bring my monsters up... they are more than enough for the camp. Anyway, stumbled in the City Music Sale.

NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL A SALE!

I think I'm going to get a POD XT live for Christmas... $545. Then again, why wait! It's considered very reasonble, yeah... retail therapy... giving it another shot! I think it would go very well with my supped-up Ibanez.

Well, in that case, I have a Zoom GFX1 with pedal for sale. Any takers? Click the comment button below.

281105

verses read: Daniel 3:13-30, Proverbs 11:4
prayer: lost count

This is the story of the fiery furnace. Where Daniel’s 3 friends are thrown into the furnace for refusing to bow down to the gold statue that the king made. But God protected them and the were able to escape the furnace unharmed. And after that, even the king acknowledge that because the 3 of them were willing to defy the king so that they do not defy their own God; that they were deserving of praise. And were promoted. Sounds like yesterday to me.

I chose not to defy God; and now, I’m in the furnace. Not burning up, but being purified and justified. It was a road I had rather not taken, but can I say “no” to God? Yes, I guess, but if I had, I don’t want to imagine the consequence. So, where do I stand now? At the same place I was at six months ago I guess. Badly needing a break from this place. Will be going to camp next week, in Malaysia; just need to get away from this place. Then maybe after that, I will just disappear to somewhere for a while, got my thesis to work on.

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. – Proverbs 11:4

Better than I

I thought I did what’s right
I thought I had the answers
I thought I chose the surest road
But that road brought me here
So I put up a fight and told you how to help me
Now just when I have given up
The truth is coming clear
The price of obedience involves doing something that you don't want to do.
You know better than I
You know the way
I’ve let go the need to know why
For you know better than I
Disobedience is sometimes the more tempting route
If this has been a test
I cannot see the reason
But maybe knowing I don’t know
Is part of getting through
I try to do what’s best
And faith has made it easy
To see the best thing I can do
Is put my trust in you
But now I know, the price of disobedience is even worse than the price of obedience
I saw one cloud and I thought it was the sky
I saw a bird and thought that I could follow
But it was you that taught that bird to fly
If I let you reach me will you teach me
So I chose to obey; and it cost me everything.

271105

verses read: Daniel 3:1-12, Proverbs 11:3
prayer: 30 minutes

My minds is just too blank now to write anything. I slept at 3am last night; and I just don't know what to think now. But God's instruction to me is clear, it all depends on the choices other people make. But what I can do is pray that the right choices are made. And if the bad one made, to soak the next few days in literally constant prayer to protect them. So that's what I'm going to do.

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. - Proverbs 11:3

261105

verses read: Daniel 2:24-49, Proverbs 11:2
prayer: 10 minutes

This is the part where Daniel interprets the "Statue" dream. The statue which was made of many materials and metals etc. And he interprets the dream as a series of successive kingdoms coming into power and finally the Lord Himself will establish a Kingdom that will never fall. The study Bible says that the kingdom represented by the half iron, half clay feet is the post-Roman empire, made up of disparate states. But perhaps, we are living in that kingdom, where there really isn't any one real king. But the Day of the Lord will arrive; it's not a matter of if, but when.

I've been feeling different the last few days. Somehow, I felt that my faith was shaken by the whole experience. Laid 2 bricks yesterday. Only adds up to a bigger barrier in the end. Doing the spiritual gifts analysis test; my highest scorer was still faith, but that dropped by one point. Perhaps that's a warning and a message from God that I need to put my trust and hope in Him. Leave the whole matter to His hands, and He will provide something that is good; something that is best for me.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. - Proverbs 11:2

251105

verses read: Daniel 2:14-23, Proverbs 10:29
prayer: 10 minutes

Daniel pleads with the king for some extra time before the king begins the executions of the wise men. And that very night, the king's dream is reveal to Daniel in a vision. Daniel then sings a beautiful song extolling the Lord for the divine revelation.

It's raining today, so I guess I won't go to Sentosa. Will just go to the Integrity warehouse sale and SITEX. It's going to be a short holiday for me. And I've got to resume my honours project; not worked on it since the introductory talk.

I still wonder what the days ahead will bring. But I'm feeling a lot more comforted now. In any matter, I am not the only servant of the Lord. There are always others wiser than me who are in better positions to guide and counsel. That's what I forgot, and I know that is how the Lord will work in the matter. His ways are much higher than mine.

The way of the LORD is a refuge for the righteous, but it is the ruin of those who do evil. - Proverbs 10:29

it's over... for me at least...

My semester has ended. Not on a particularly high note as I thought it would at the beginning of the semester. Instead in a low and painful way. Graph Theory was a killer. To those who know a little, try this:

An Eulerian Digraph D is said to be randomly Eulerian from vertex v, if any trail with v as the initial vertex can be extended to an Eulerian trail. For example, in a directed cycle D, D is said to be randomly Eulerian from any vertex as any trail starting from any vertex can be extended to an Eulerian trail.

i) For n=0,1; find such a digraph D, that is randomly Eulerian from exactly n vertices.
ii) State without proof a necessary and sufficient condition for D to be randomly Eulerian from a vertex v.

That was the unseen question in my paper. (Unseen in the sense that the concept is new; we have to learn it and answer it on the spot.) I think I figured out the answer in the end, but it sure consumed a lot of time!

My exams are over! Thank God! Went to the TRAC closing session after that. Was very refreshing! Tomorrow will be bring new challenges. Like I said previously, going to try a little retail therapy. So, if the price is right, the following are on my wishlist when I visit SITEX tomorrow:

i) Jabra BT110
ii) A bluetooth adaptor for my laptop
iii) 512MB of RAM for my laptop (to bring it to 1GB)
iv) Lifebook P1510 (hehe... just kidding...)

Then after that, it will be off to the Integrity and Alby warehouse sale. I've not seen the latest album offerings in a while, so will go take a peak. And if weather permits, I will go to Sentosa; to get a sunburn. No, to take photographs and print out to use as Christmas Cards. I figured that way, it is a lot more unique and chaper!

241105

verses read: Daniel 2:1-13, Proverbs 10:28
prayer: 10 minutes

King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream but does not know it's meaning. He calls his wise men to interpret it for him, but here is the catch, he does not tell them what the dream is and he still wants them to interpret it for him! Naturally they can't! So the king issues a decree that all wise men be killed; Daniel and his friends are among those sought out to be killed.

Strange... I have been praying for dreams. But well, once again, did not dream last night. But nevermind, let them come at the Lord's timing. Laid another one yesterday; disappoint the Lord each time. But He is still very gracious and merciful; I am just so unworthy of the grace yet He pours it out all the time.

I feel very much at peace this morning; raised all my big cares and worries to the Lord, going to let Him give me His strength and wisdom to overcome rather than use my own. Things will turn out for the better that way. And no matter how God chooses to answer, I know that it will be for His glory.

Today is my last paper! At last! Well, it's been a very emotionally draining semester, much worse than the previous 2, but that is over now. Tonight will go to Trinity Methodist Church for the TRAC closing and ordination service. My cousin is being ordained as a deacon. What that means is that he can wear his clerical collar. Tomorrow, going to give retail therapy another shot.

The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing. - Proverbs 10:28

a tournament of champions...

One will understand my title only if you know a little graph theory. So that probably leaves only U-liang and Weitian. Anyway, a tournament is kind of graph encountered in Graph Theory, and that was the major focus of my efforts today. The most stupid thing I keep missing out on the proofs was the simple and obvious fact every 2 vertices have exactly one arc joining them. How dumb can that be?

Other than that, tomorrow will mark the last time in my undergraduate days that I will be sitting for a math exam. Honestly, I feel a little sad. But hey, I do have plans to progress onwards to masters and above eventually. But I'm very certain that is not what God is calling to me to do upon graduation.

Well, today was a good day. I woke up in the morning feeling kind of blue, stumbled out of bed, at 6am to write the below post. Then at 8am, I went back to sleep. For 5 hours! Yeah, woke up at 1pm, feeling very refreshed. Actually managed to get a good amount of studying done before leaving for the gym. But well, tomorrow will be the last ditch chance to revise whatever I've missed. But it's open book, so there is really nothing I can do! Here is the scene of the tournament:



Today, I felt the feeling of misery lift as well (after that sleep that is). What Joshua told me is right; I knew it was in theory, but could not see it in practice. He told me that he sensed a lot of excitement in my life for the next few months. He shared with me a lot of things that I'm afraid I cannot put up on this blog, but will treasure a lot. But yeah, now I'm beginning to see the excitement.

God is in control. But if we try to wrestle control back from Him, there will be turmoil. That was what happened the last few days. But now, I'm choosing to open my iron grip and let it loose. And yah, I'm beginning to feel excited about what is in store. AnnTic, TOFU, my thesis and most of all, the worship symposium. That one is a big break for me; and I am not going to let it pass me by now.

I feel happy now; I finally feel a sense of peace. God said He will take care of the future for me. He will grant to those who need wisdom the wisdom they need, He will grant to those who need strength the strength they need; but only in His time. I know what He has planned, going to claim it as a promise. Started dreaming again; that's an answred prayer. Like I told a young brother once, write down those dreams that you had! I'm going to write them down too; as they come.

231105

verses read: Daniel 1:8-21, Proverbs 10:27
prayer: 5 minutes

This is where Daniel tells his overseers to give him vegetables instead of choice foods. Reason is he doesn't want to defile himself with foods that were sacrificed to idols. But, neither does he want to anger the king. So he offers an alternative suggestion; and today this is what we call the Daniel fast. The passage ends with Daniel and his 3 other friends being chosen to be advisors to the king; and they were so till the reign of King Cyrus. You cannot tell by reading the Bible how long that actually was and I think many would think Daniel was a young man when he was thrown into the lions den and all, and really cannot imagine him as an old man. But the truth is that King Cyrus' reign took place almost 70 years after Nebuchadnezzar! Daniel lived to see the return of the exiles to Jerusalem, but he himself never saw his homeland again; at least that is what is known from tradition.

I really wonder what today has in store for me. Once again, my heart is feeling troubled. Laid yet another brick yesterday; not good. God sure has a way of telling you that His plan is supreme, you cannot try take another way out without first going through Him. It is a journey of deep self-discovery; and I realise that my plans are not that different from God's. But, its in the journey to the end goal that is different. I have to address the root of the problem; been only scratching the surface. That is what needs to change before God will reveal His will.

The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. - Proverbs 10:27

merry christmas with love

Well, it's the season of advent. So I guess some Christmas music would be nice. This song is "Merry Christmas with love". A very old song, this version was performed my clay aiken. Anyway, the lyrics are in my December 2004 archive. If you are irritated by the song, press the stop button. It will stop. Anyway, it will just play once.

Christmas lightup!

check this out... some people have too much free time!

http://brahm2.com/images/lights.wmv

According the site I found this, they said the guy who did this took individual pictures of the house then recompiled the whole thing and added a sound track. Pretty smart. But still an indication of having too much time on his hands!

221105

verses read: Daniel 1:1-7, Proverbs 10:25
prayer: 10 minutes

Began to read another book; the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel is most similar to the book of Revelations; it contains a narrative which lasts for 6 chapters and then the apocalyptic prophecies begin. So, the book is really important and it's more than just the fiery furnace or the lion's den.

In this first passage, Judah falls to the Babylonians. (In modern day context, Judah is Israel and Babylon is Iraq... so as you can see, nothing much has really changed.) And King Nebuchadnezzar orders men of royal blood or nobility to be carried off to his kingdom to serve him. These are the first exiles. Among them is Daniel and his 3 friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The passage ends with them being given new names. Very sad names actually; their new names are phrases which actually sing praises to foreign gods.

Yesterday was a day of mixed feelings. Temptation comes at any time, and many times, you give in. Laid not one but two bricks yesterday; and that barrier is starting to rise up. Well, will not worry about tomorrow, for today has enough trouble on it's own. And after all, God is in control, who am I to interfere with His plans and ideas? Have to stop trying to do things on my own power and rely on Him for guidance and control. Especially when temptations come. Today, I'm going to school to continue with my graph theory revision; the environment there much better suited for serious mugging.

When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever. - Proverbs 10:25

Strange how for each of the past few days, the proverbs that I post speaks of a mistake which I made the day before. It is as though I should have read them a day in advance. But I guess, with each mistake; God uses these proverbs to teach me a lesson; something for me to learn. The amazing thing is that these proverbs are actually posted in order! This one is really not my hand, but God's.

MA4235: Graph Theory I

This is my last paper for the semester. That's right, I only took 4 modules! Of which, one was non-examinable. So only 3 papers this exam season; of which, 2 have already passed. The last paper is on Thursday night, so that gives almost 3 more days to study for just one paper. Shouldn't be too difficult, or so I thought!

Today, I tried to do some of the tutorial questions, and man... they were killer! Going to take a different approach tomorrow and do the pass year papers! Much easier, and more morale boosting!

Anyway, this module is a sub-branch of combinatorics and discrete math. Combinatorics is what is known to most of you as "permutations and combinations". Well, that's at lower level. But graph theory is more than just that, graph theory is a branch of math that has very powerful and immediate applications in real life. Some simple applications include timetable scheduling and transportation-route problems. The more complicated ones involve the best route a postman should travel to how computer networks work.

And of course, some of you were stumped by the following problem at last year's leadership retreat:

Mr and Mrs Tan attended a party at which there were 2 other couples. Various handshakes took place. No one shook hands with his or her spouse, no one shook hands with the same person more than once, and of course no one shook his or her own hand. After all the hanshaking was done, Mr Tan asked each person, including his wife, how many hands he or she had shaken. To his suprise, each gave a different answer. How many hands did Mrs Tan shake?

Well, those of you who know the answer, don't tell! Let those who don't know use their brains a little! Especially, this is the holiday season, not good to let the brain waste away! I was actually quite suprised at last year's leadership retreat, Faith (Tan) was able to give me the correct answer, and she actually used graph theory to solve it!

I enjoyed graph theory, or MA3233 rather. Had perhaps the best math lecturer in NUS for that module! MA4235 on the other hand... was too discrete for me! The proofs are okay. I understand them. But that kind of proofing involves skills that are very much different from analysis! And that is the main problem for me!

Anyway, Graph Theory is fun. And I am glad that they are introducing it at JC level. As a H3 subject. (H3 replaces what we once called S-papers.) It will be good for everyone to learn graph theory in fact; even in E-math!

And they should remove relative velocity from A-math and replace it with APGP again! Relative velocity is just too tough for secondary school and it's a physics topic not a math one! On the other hand, APGP is so important that it's taught at primary 3 level in China! It's so essential to calculus. I feel that teaching calculus without APGP is like teaching someone how to count to 100 when he doesn't even know what numbers are!

One good (or perhaps bad) thing is that this module is full open book. So no helpsheets! (Thank God!) But that means the problems can be a lot more difficult and unseen in nature!

211105

verses read: Acts 27:13 - 28:30, Proverbs 10:24
prayer: 30 minutes

Finished the book of Acts. My readings have been getting longer and longer each day. Realise that once you settle in to some routine, you really find it easier to do. Will begin the book of Daniel tomorrow. It's one thing to read a narrative like Acts, and another to read an part narrative, part apocalyptic book like Daniel. Going to be a challenge actually. My aim is to at least finish chapters one to six by AnnTic.

Anyway, this final part of Acts is highly detailed. Reading it very slowly and reading the study notes at the same time does give a much greater insight to what goes on. And it's really amazing; the amount of detail put into the book. Paul is on a ship to Rome, what happens is that they are caught in a storm; and are shipwrecked. The manage to reach the island of Malta, and stay there during the winter (3 months) a before continuing on to Rome. When they finally reach Rome, Paul continues to preach even though he is under house arrest. And the final few verses, he quotes the prophet Isaiah and reasons that salvation is even for the gentiles. And he continues to preach for 2 years. The book of Acts ends abruptly at this point.

The central person in the book of Acts is the Holy Spirit. How the Holy Spirit guided the early Christians to spread the message of the Gospel. And how the Gospel was spread from the Jews, and to the gentiles. And even now, the Holy Spirit's work is still not done. The Gospel has yet to really reach the ends of the earth right now. And 2000 years on, we have inherited the duty (so to speak) of the apostles.

Ties in quite nicely to Charlie's message yesterday. Dreams, visions and prophecy; these will be common in the last days. And their purpose will be to proclaim the Good News to the world.

Yet Charlie touched on another aspect of dreams and visions, and how they relate to a person personally. There was a period last year, when I took 6 math modules, when I dreamt of math every night, and on some occasions, through my dreams I would actually see the solution to a problem I had been stuck with. And when I woke up, I would actually just complete the question. This actually happened a few times. Someone told me this was perhaps God's divine revelation to me, in time of need, when humanly, completing 6 math tutorials a week was an almost insurmountable task, somehow, I was able to do it.

Then I remember another dream. Not mine, but that of a friend. And it brings me hope; hope in what is to come. There are more tears to be shed, but happy ones not sad ones. Realised I've not dreamed in a while, asked God for a dream last night, but still didn't dream. (Or rather did not dream that significant a dream that I can remember it in the morning!) But God still provides; and He gave me more assurance to what I prayed before I slept last night in the form of this verse:

What the wicked dreads will overtake him; what the righteous desire will be granted. - Proverbs 10:24

Quite amazing actually!

201105

verses read: Acts 26 - 27:12, Proverbs 10:23
prayer: 30 minutes

Read the passage in two parts again, last night and this morning. I'm trying to finish reading Acts soon, then going to move on to Daniel. This is because we will be studying Daniel at AnnTiC. So I thought I read that book first to get a better idea of what is going on.

Paul now tells his testimony to King Agrippa, and King Agrippa realises that if Paul had not made an appeal to Caesar, he could have been set free right there. So Luke joins Paul again and they head towards Rome. This was no short journey. For many days they hug the coast and make for the Island of Crete. And attempt to spend the winter there. But things go down south (literally!).

Anyway, of the things Paul says in his testimony made me read that portion over and over again. Really as though it was meant for me to read and to take heart.

"To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass:
that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles." - Acts 26: 22-23

Help does indeed come from the Lord; when we are in the darkest times of need. (I know that's not the main point of the above passage.) Was very down yesterday, and the topology paper wasn't fantastic. But I'm learning how to ask others for help in times of need. And learning to use the Lord's strength instead of mine. It's going to be a long journey. Just like Paul, storms are going to come to waylay me. But at the end of it all, no matter how bad the outcome, it will be for God's glory.

A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom. - Proverbs 10:23

More pictures of church (3rd week Nov 05)

This is going to be quite an image intensive post. So bear with the loading, took me a while to post everything, so please appreciate my effort!

Let me begin with those shots where the new part of the church and the old part can clearly be distinguished. A lot of the scaffolding has been removed and the glass panels have been put up. Here is the side view of church, you can clearly see the new glass panels already installed.



Here is the back of church. The scaffolding is still up. The white part of the building is actually not really a completely new construction; it's the old building extended by one floor and the whole section there was repainted white. As you can tell, the stairwell has been extended up to the 3rd floor. Internally, the staircase (the main staircase) has been full contructed, but not opened due to safety issues I guess.



These next 2 shots are front view shots of the church. The first one is a shot of the front of the new wing. The scaffolding has been removed so the cross can now be clearly seen! The second one is a shot contrasting the old and new buildings. The old metal cross has been removed and it has been unceremoniously left on the ground at the base of it's old position! You can tell from both pictures that the new 4th floor of the new wing has a significantly higher roof than the old wing.





Now for some elevated shots. These were taken from the surrounding blocks. The first 2 are pictures of the new rooftop area. The first shot unfortuantely makes the church look like a multi-storey HDB carpark. Probably due to my poor photography skills. The second one shows clearly the 2 entrances to the roof. There will a total of 3 entraces to the roof. If you look carefully at the second shot; the entrance that more to the right of the picture has some glass panelling. That is the new lift that will service all floors of the church.





This picture was taken from the 6th floor of the adjacent HDB block. The rooftop area above the old building is actually the entrance to the new chapel. I will have a shot of this area again later, so take note of this open air area. This area has been designated "rooftop garden" for convenient reference.



This shot was taken from the opposite HDB block. You can see the new chapel cross clearly. I have a shot of the still uncompleted chapel, it will be apparent how this cross will fit in once you see the picture below. So take note.



Now for 3 pictures of the driveway. The first one is a picture of the old carpark and breakfast area. (Try to imagine!) To have an idea of the orientation, observe the slope and the glass panelling near the area where you see yellow paint. That is the side of the existing sanctuary. (Get it?!)



This is the "still-in-construction" new "main-entrance" to the church. To get an idea of the orientation, if you look to the back of the picture, you can see some white canvas. Just behind that is the main lobby. Where the white canvas is, is where the 2 old big wooden doors to the church used to be. Where those 2 doors are now... I have no idea. Maybe Marvin ate them.



This is the new 24 hour prayer room. To get an idea of it's location, that is the area where they used to set up the 2 tables to sell breakfast every Sunday morning. Or if you look at it from another angle, I took this shot while standing at the back gate and looking into the driveway.



Now for the shots everyone has been waiting for! The interior ones! Unfortuantely, due to poorer lighting, the pictures are not that fantastic. But anyway, let's start from the 2nd floor and make our way to the 4th floor chapel. These are solely shots of the new wing. The first is the new admin office. Pastor was giving my mom a tour, that's why you see her in the picture.



This is the new multi-purpose hall on the 3rd floor. Directly above the admin office. Apologies for the poor quality. Anyway, if you look to the left of the picture, where the green colour "exit" sign is. (I know you cannot see the word "exit" but it's quite obvious that it is!) The rectangular frame directly beneath it, is the entrance to this hall. There are two such rectangular frames side by side, only caught one in this shot (ie 2 doors). Beyond the main entrance, is the wall that partitions peace cove.



Now recall the shot above that was taken from the 6th floor of the adjacent HDB. The one where I pointed out the rooftop garden. This is the reverse of that shot. You can see a little of that open air area on the right of the photograph. The rectangular frame you see there is the entrance to the new chapel!



And finally, the interior shot of the new chapel! Now the position of the cross makes sense right? That area will be the chancel (stage). Looks small in the picture, but the area is quite big. And the ceiling is very high.



That was all the pictures I took today! More to come next week!

191105

verses read: Acts 25, Proverbs 10:22
prayer: 30 minutes

Read the above passage from Acts in 2 parts. The first part last night, the second this morning. Paul is really very shrewd. He stands trial before Festus, the new governor and is given a chance to contest the "charges" in Jerusalem. Instead, he appeals to Caesar; and is granted his appeal. This is in accordance to what was commanded of him earlier to preach in Rome. But the study Bible gives another insight. If he wins his case before the emperor, not only will he have completely quashed the charges, but Christianity would have been recognised as a distinct entity from Judaism, rather than just a sect. Very shrewd indeed. But as we know from history, this doesn't happen. And something worse is actually set in motion; but that results in Gospel being spread even further around the world.

My heart is so troubled. Yet somehow I was able to resist laying a brick yesterday. Been praying very desperate prayers to God these last few nights. My mind is totally not set on my topology exam later. Even though I think I'm sufficiently prepared for it, my mental state is really bad going into the exam. I really wish this season would end soon; so that I can get on with my life. December has in itself a whole new set of problems. Feelings of things that are now out of my hands plague my mind every minute. And the peace that was once in my heart is all gone. I know God wants me to leave it all to Him; and I have been trying very hard. I'm still searching for answers, for a reason why this happened. But maybe I'm not meant to know the answers, just meant to accept what has passed. I feel very helpless.

The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. - Proverbs 10:22

Go light your world

Go light your world
There is a candle, in every soul
Some brightly burning, some dark and cold
There is a Spirit who brings fire
Ignites a candle and makes His home

Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, go light your world
Take your candle, go light your world

Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to
Light his own candle some other way
See now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to
Still holds a candle without a flame

Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, go light your world
Take your candle, go light your world

We are a family, whose hearts are blazing
So let's raise our candles and light up the sky
Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus
Make us a beacon in darkest times

Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, go light your world

(C) Kathy Trocoli

The sacred and secular. It's perhaps the biggest struggle for any Christian young or old to grasp. And up till a month ago, I thought I had it all figured out. Since slavation was assured, I simply refused to acknowledge the secular parts of the world; in part I was motivated by this verse:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. - Romans 12:2

And so I told myself never to fall into the trap of falling into the pattern of the world. I told myself that the world's standard can never be satiated; it will always want more. And the minute we attain the standard of thw world, a new one comes about and we fall back into the trap of trying to attain it again. And I applied this priciple to everything the world wanted of me, the way I dressed, the way I spent my money, the various gadgets I used in daily life. I tried to live out of neccessity rather than of want.

And on the reverse side, I came to realise that the standard God has set for us is so much higher. And since we are all sinners, we have to be accept the fact that no matter what we do, we can never attain that standard. So why even try? God provided the "way out", and that was Jesus; and when our heart was with Him, it's sufficient.

But now, after a month of emotional turmoil, the Lord says my attitude needs to change. Because there are brothers and sisters out there who really struggle with the sacred and the secular, and beating them down with my dogmatic approach makes them think I'm full of spiritual pride. It's a stab to the heart, for God revealed that everything that governed my actions was not incorrect, just incomplete.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. - Philippians 2:12-13

Salvation is in me, but now that I am saved, I cannot just stand there and continue to do what I used to do. The phrase "life transformation" has been like a catchphrase of the YM this year. But that cannot come about until we realise what salvation and the death of Jesus really means. (I was pretty shocked that Methodist doctrine actually says that we can lose our salvation; I quite disagree due to the lack of precedent in the Bible. But then, it's merely a doctrine, at the end of the day that is not the main issue.)

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. - Philippians 2:14-16

I guess the song above was partly inspired by this verse. We are to be like stars, to shine brightly in our world of darkness. I've forgotten about the darkness in the world around me. There is no point putting a bright candle in an equally brightly lit room. It won't make a difference. But it will when it is put in a dark room.

I look back at life and I see the abundant blessings that the Lord has poured out on me. And I realise that these blessings are not for me to enjoy alone. I must give them away. So all the blessings that I have, my car, my money, whatever, I put it on the altar of sacrifice that they may be burned up for His service.

So now, one month later. I have begun to struggle with the secular and the sacred again; but in a positive manner. A new handphone, a new pair of shoes. I realise that these things didn't really bring me pleasure at all. I cannot block out the secular, nor can I embrace it. And so, I haven't found my answers yet; but I cannot be so insensitive and desensitized to the world around anymore. I've hurt too many that way, and I hurt the people closest to me the most.

For now, I won't run away from the secular. I will try show a different way. And turn their eyes to Jesus, and then the things of the world, the things that are of the secular, will grown strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

181105

verses read: Acts 24, Proverbs 10:20
prayer: 20 minutes

Paul is put on trial by the Governor Felix. He's really corrupted. Paul defends himself against the charges and personally, he isn't guilty. The governor sees that too, but keeps Paul under guard for 2 years hoping to receive a bribe. 2 years! Sometimes, or rather, most of the time, the concept of time is lost when we just read the Bible and glance through it. 2 years! Wonder how long I will have to be on trial.

God closed the door last night. But He said my feelings won't go away. He wants me to have hope and trust in Him. He has some other plan that I cannot see. I guess that when we start seeking the Lord with all our heart, we will realise our own will no longer means anything. And all we want to do is His will. Only then will we ask the Lord for His favour. And He wants us to knock, so that the door will be opened. But if the door isn't closed in the first place, then how can we knock on it so that it may be opened? That's what the Lord told me about 10 minutes ago.

The Lord's ways are so mysterious. More mysterious than my philosophy readings! Human mind cannot comprehend; it's only after we've gone pass through the trial, passed through the purification process will we understand.

Today marks one month since things went awry and the Lord is still telling me not to give up. The next seven months will be interesting and rewarding. So I'm not giving up. Just going to place my hope and trust and my feelings in God. All this is for His glory.

The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value. - Proverbs 10:20

PH1101E: Reason and Persuation

Well, this is one module that I will not soon forget. Here's the deal, the lectures are on Thursday mornings, and they are webcast and that is the only lecture I have for the day. So what do you think I did? Well, I attended the first lecture at the venue, watched the next 3 from home. And after that, never attended another lecture.

My CA scores are pretty okay, scored 24/25 for my first essay and 21/25 for my second. Both are subject to moderation. Then 7/10 for my blog posts. I assume that I will get anywhere between 0 to 5 for tutorial participation and I attended all 5 tutorials. That puts me in pretty good shape to get a C+. I took this module S/U so as not to be tied down towards the end (ie, now) when my math modules would need more attention. So, it all boils down to how I fare at the final 35%.

21 MCQ questions for the final exam paper. That makes each question pretty loaded. MCQ papers are not fun; not especially this MCQ paper. I will have to read through up to 21 passages (most likely much less) on just as many pages. Each passage will contibut about 1 or 2 questions. That's not funny. I have to read AND analyze almost 21 pages of text in 2 hours.

Did some practice papers today, the results were less than encouraging. First practice run: 15/20. Not too bad, but it was a very past past-year paper, and was slaughtered on the questions asked on the philosophy of mathematics, apparently my own bias crept into the whole mix. Next practice run, 11/21. Not good at all, and this was last semester's paper, so if I score that way tomorrow, I am in trouble. Then I did the Euthypro practice questions, 7/12, slaughtered again. Finally, some light at the end of the tunnel: 12/12 for the Meno practice paper. Well, going to sleep early, sure going to need my mental faculties tomorrow.

This is my 3rd philosophy module. The previous 2 were both level 2000 ones, hence this module was obviously easier. The first, Logic was very technical, basically mathematics. The second, Philosophical Logic was just plain illogical (ironic huh?). It was on paradoxes, and it screwed my mind up big time!

I guess the difference between a level 2000 and a level 1000 philosophy course is this: In level 1000 course, they give you passages with flaws to read. You can possibly draw the arrow diagram and attack premises easily; you can come up with elegant counter-examples to knock the argument down. But it's just tedious work. In level 2000, you can argument chains can be drawn out a lot easier; but they simply cannot be knocked down! Even when they are obviously unsound! ggrrr...

Anyway, many mathematicians are also philosophers. Many problems in math became problems in philosophy and vice versa. In fact, the branch of mathematics known as analysis (APGP to those of you who have no clue what i'm talking about) has it's roots in a very interesting philosphical problem.

And I guess for me, the word "philosophy" has double meaning. Those who know your Greek (literally) would know what I mean. But seriously the persuit of wisdom is advocated by the Bible; so why not? (Double meaning here again.) Well, I really wonder where the next seven months will take me; and I wonder why the Lord has made me feel the complete opposite to what I prayed.

After the paper tomorrow, going to study the proofs of all the theorems in my topology course. That would be pretty fun actually, back to mathematical precision, no more questionable statements. The only questionable proof involves Zorn's Lemma (aka Axiom of Choice), and since I am not an algebraist, I just choose to assume it with no guilty conscience.

171105

verses read: Acts 23:23-53, Proverbs 10:19
prayer: 30 minutes

Paul is being transferred under a heavily armed guard to Caesarea. You can't tell by reading the Bible, but it is about 100km from Jerusalem. And it sounds like the made the journey in 2 days (or slightly more).

Would be a long day for me today. Going to take a break from topology to attempt the philosophy past year papers. If I can do most of them, then I think my mind would be a lot more at ease. Then there is carolling practice tonight. Well, long day, and tomorrow, my first paper. Thank God actually, I thought my paper was at night! Then my mom asked me what time the paper was, and I said at night, then I remembered that they don't have night papers on Friday... so I went to double check and realised that I had made a huge error!

God is very faithful. Could have ended up missing that paper. And I know the prayers that I made will be answered, whether or not they are favourable. But at the end of it all, God has some other plan. Yet, I always seem to falter; laid another brick yesterday. Wonder how big this barrier is going to be before I stop laying them. Strength, cannot rely on my own strength. Need God's help to get through life.

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. - Proverbs 10:19

all in the hands of God now...

... for my Science of Music that is... Got 24/25 for my second midterm. So, two 24/25 for both tests and full 5% for the attendance. The remaining marks come from the essay and the music composition. Really hope they are up to standard! Really hope that my piece would impress him as well!

Studied at home today. Or at least I tried to. Went through my tutorials for Topology. Copied even more results that I thought were useful into my helpsheet. It looks like that now:



Well, bert has given me some advice on imaging and all, but I not going to bother... just going to publish the pics at this size from now on. I think it will still look fine!

161105

verses read: Acts 23:12-24, Proverbs 10:18
prayer: 10 minutes

Some men conspire to kill Paul and take an oath not to eat till he is dead. Paul's nephew hears about this and warns him. And the soldiers agree to take care of Paul and put him under a huge number of guards in order to safely transfer him to the governor.

Well, it's 2 days to my first paper, my philosophy paper. But I'm only going to study that one on Friday itself. Will spend today studying my topology tutorials to find interesting proofs and results. Need to see what else I can add to my help sheet. I can't wait for the exams to end.

He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. - Proverbs 10:18

compacted...

another pretty good day spent in the library... though I am sure those who were there would think I was rather rushed today. Was there for all but 3 hours. But at least I completed my helpsheet. At least the main part of it. Compacted (pun intended) the rest of my lecture notes into this:



and the reverse side is this:



Well, compactness is an important idea in topology; hence the title of this post. Won't go into what compactness is, but having spent half the course on this, I'm pretty sure it has to be a central concept in topology. Basically, an object in topology that is compact has got some nice properties.

Anyway, visited my cousin in hospital this morning, she just gave birth! (AT LAST!) Took quite a number of pictures, but won't put them in my flickr for privacy reasons. I really think that life is amazing. Too bad I'm not a biologist. But still, I see the amazing beauty in life. Are we here on earth due to a series of chances? Or as a product of millions of years of evolution? I don't think so, and I don't believe in evolution at all. Which is a rarity for science based people; those who "need proof" of everything.

But yeah, life is beautiful. Something which we must treasure and spend the time given to us wisely. The trip to the hospital was certain the highlight of a very depressing time in my life. New life. How much more amazing can that be?

151105

verses read: Acts 22:30 - 23:11, Proverbs 10:17
prayer: 10 minutes

Now Paul stands up and defends himself before the Sanhedrin. And he causes quite a lot of unrest with what he said! Interestingly, this is the same Paul, or at that time Saul, wo about 10 years earlier stood among them and condemned Stephen to death. This passage ends with the Holy Spirit telling Paul to testify in Rome, which was effectively the centre of the world back then.

Received an image from God yesterday morning; of a bricklayer building a wall. That wall was a barrier to good things, and every time I do a particular something that displeases God, I lay a brick. Overall, the wall is going to cut me off from some of the promises of God. I do not know how many bricks I've laid already, but I can start counting how many I've laid from this point, ad I laid one yesterday. Like what Ps Aaron said, be brutal about it.

He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. - Proverbs 10:17

MA4266: Topology

Spent the day studying this module. It's the main topic for my honours project as well, but that doesn't mean I am that fantastic at it. Anyway, I'm not exactly done with this module yet, today I started on my helpsheet. I managed to transform the following pages of notes...



into this:



Yup, that's what helpsheets it all about, a way of making NUS students go blind! Spent 4 hours on that one, I would say that it was a pretty good day! Tomorrow will do the remaining pages. And then the next day the tutorials and all.

Anyway, a lot of people have asked me what topology is all about. Well, at a general lower level, its about shapes, how we can stretch and twist a shape into another. For example, take a basketball, and stretch it (somehow) into a rugby ball shape. In topology, the 2 shapes are considered the same or homeomorphic.

Topology is one of the more advance branches of mathematics, it combines disciplines from analysis and algebra and a little bit of combinatorics. So, it's really an all in one subject. Quite scary, since I'm weak at algebra, I though it would be a fully analysis based module! Apparently not! But it was a good module to take. Now I can understand my project a lot better!

141105

verses read: Acts 21:37 - 22:29, Proverbs 10:14
prayer: 1 hour

Paul stands up and tells his testimony. Read a longer passage today, but still was a good read. Trouble is brewing for Paul and this part of Acts ends with Paul being being under house arrest for two years. And he faces a lot of problems and hardships along the way to Rome.

Anyway, today I'm going to get some work going. Going to start studying for my topology paper. So expect a nerd post tonight. Going to school to study, the environment there more conducive for me. I wonder what this day will bring; you never know.

Tired of being in this state. Totally lost my love for food. Everything tastes bland to me nowadays. But well, going to get better, after all, I shouldn't be focusing on such things anymore. Especially after the prayer I made yesterday. God's work; and the opportunity He's given to me; that is more important now.

Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. - Proverbs 10:14

NUMB3RS!!

Nothing like a good show to perk up your spirits! Watched numb3rs for the first time tonight! Really good! The way they portrayed the mathematicians in the show very good. Very close to how someone like me would react! But of course Russell Crowe's portrayal of John Nash is still hard to fight!

The Riemann Hypothesis. That was the topic of tonight's episode! It was one of the problems that I was very interested in when I was taking complex analysis II. And maybe I will ask Dr Chan for permission to sit in the "Introduction to Analytic Number Theory" class next semester just to see what it's all about! (I've completed my math modules already, so no need to do anymore, just take for fun.)

Anyway... here is the look of stress...


exams... but Ber looks quite cool about it...not bad for 2 papers already ... poor guy didn't even go home this weekend... came from NTU in the morning and went back to NTU immediately after church... not even a pit-stop at home!


exams... look at KW man... looks like he's going into shock or something!


er.... this one is a hopeless case... exams haven't started... but already showing signs of post traumatic stress syndrome....

131105

verse read: Proverbs 10:13
prayer: 1 hour

Deviated from my usual reading this morning to spend an extended time in prayer. Today is a significant day, in more than one way. On this day 5 years ago I had my back operation; yet it feels like it was only yesterday. But that was an immense test of faith for me.

Today brings about a new challenge. God wants us to obey more than anything. And obedience sometimes, or most of the time, means that we will have to do that we do not want to do. And so today, I obeyed. Struggled to obey would be a better phrase.

The whole of yesterday was very difficult to pass; was assailed by a voice telling me to do something else. But I realised that God would not ask me to make such a prayer. So I didn't, and God truly spoke during WIN.

Went to sleep praying, prayed till I fell asleep and spent the first hour of today praying already. I made a prayer that I would not want to make. But I already have. And so, I know the Lord will fulfil His purpose for me. I really don't know what lies ahead. The road isn't clearer. But till the day I collect my degree scroll; at least that path has been set. Suddenly, the following proverb makes a lot of sense.

Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgement - Proverbs 10:13

Church Building pics... 2nd week of November

WHY.

Why? Why is God's timing always so perfect; yet it can be so cruel. Why is God's love so plentiful; yet it can hurt so bad at times. Why? Why.

I guess we are sometimes meant to suffer heartbreaks when we disobey God. Even when He promises us something beautiful and someting good; we are disobedient. And when we are, God has to discipline us, just like any good father would. And sometimes, we have to suffer pain in order to realise the severity of our disobedience and learn the lesson properly.

My heart still aches everyday, and I guess after what has happened, it's only right that the Lord allow my pain to be prolonged. So that I may fully understand why. Why all this had to happen. When I see others getting on with their life, I don't know what to feel. On one hand, I feel happy, on the other angry and cheated. But I guess, I have to experience all this so that I may know that this is exactly how the Lord feels every time we forget our First Love and fall in love with other things of this world.

I wish I had the chance to turn back time; but I know I cannot. I only wish for a second chance. But that is not up for me to give. I can continue to wish for things, but I know that they will never happen. So I can only stop dreaming, and pull my shattered heart out of the dreamworld that I'm stuck in and come back to reality.

So once again, for the second time this year, I have to kneel beside a big hole in the ground and stop dreaming. Have to kneel at this hole, to conduct a funeral; a funeral of dreams. And once again, I hear the words of Jesus, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

And once again, I have to follow that example set by a young couple; going to have to bury my love in a container somewhere under the ground. Whereas I once knelt by such a hole alone; today I kneel beside the hole with my Saviour. Whereas I once tried to struggle alone to find the answers, today I know Jesus holds my hand and is leading me there.

This time, the dream I have to bury wasn't mine alone, but it was God's as well. But because of my disobedience, He has to discipline me and take that dream away. I now know that the Father's heart aches just as painfully as mine. And just like how a garderner has to sometimes prune his garden and cut away the most beautiful flowers, the Lord above is pruning my life. By taking what is beautiful so as to allow something even more beautiful to grow in it's place.

I don't have the strength to cover the hole myself; but I know the Lord is beside me to help me this time. And when He is done, I will let Him hide its location away from me. Perhaps the container will remain hidden forever. But maybe, just maybe, the Lord will restore that dream and show me the location of it's tomb and the blood of Jesus will raise the dead to life.

Light of His blessings and waters of His will
Decides to transform us into a beautiful tale

And so, 7 months after I last read that poem, I read it again today. Though not directed at me, I now see what that beautiful tale is. And I know with full confidence, that God is going to give me one as well.

The door is still wide open; but I cannot enter it for now.
Why. That is not a question, but that is the answer.

Wait for me
Darling, did you know that I
I dream about you
Waiting for the look in your eyes
When we meet for the first time
And darling, did you know that I
I pray about you
Praying that you will hold on
And keep your loving eyes only for me

'Cause I am waiting for, praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
'Cause I am waiting for, praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Darling wait

Darling did you know
I dream about life together
Knowing it will be forever
I'll be yours and you'll be mine
And darling when I say
"Till death do us part"
I mean it with all of my heart
Now and always faithful to you

Now I know you may have made mistakes
But there's forgiveness, and a second chance
So wait for me, darling wait for me
Wait for me
Darling wait for me

(C) Words by Rebecca St James

PS: the post is post-dated so it will stay on top for a while. The usual journal entries would still be updated below. Actual date of posting: Wednesday, 9 November 2005, 2330H.

121105

verses read: Acts 21:27-36, Proverbs 10:12
prayer: 5 minutes

And so it happens. Paul was arrested and bounded in chains. Just as the many had warned him, it came to pass. But he faced it anyway. And from here, it was a long journey, all the way to Rome, his house arrest and all.

And so it happened, as the Holy Spirit had warned me that it would. Yet, I feel the heart of God is grieved. And so, the crossroads I stand at, still has the same two choices. But one choice, the choice I'd rather make, will be fraught with many snares and pains for now. So, I have to follow the other route. One in which God will be greater glorified. Yet one in which I will have to suffer even more.

I guess when we really want to get serious with our relationship with God, He will send even more severe trials each time. And trial has it's purpose to build us up in faith. And so, I will walk down that path; and put my trust in God that He has something planned.

I still don't have the answers. And I have a bad feelings on things to come. I can only pray that God will be merciful and gracious; and that the pain won't be so bad this time round. The door is still open, and that disturbs me a lot.

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all wrongs - Proverbs 10:12

111105

verses read: Acts 21:17-26, Proverbs 10:9
prayer: 30 minutes

Paul finally reaches Jerusalem. If you were to take note of the timeline, he has not been back to Jerusalem for quite a long while! Anyway, he is received warmly by James, possibly the brother of Jesus, and told to clear up the misunderstanding that he has caused among the Jews. Unfortunately, this is what causes some unrest.

Today is the first day of the study week, but will stay at home to do some other stuff. Have 3 major things to get done by the end of the day, the notes for Sunday, the notes for next Sunday as well as the invites for LTC. All have to be done by the end of the day. Then there is LG at night.

The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. - Proverbs 10:9

101105

verses read: Acts 21: 7-16, Proverbs 10:8
prayer: 15 minutes

Once again, Paul is warned that he will face suffering when he goes to Jerusalem, and so everyone tries to dissuade him from doing so. But he does so anyway, saying that he is willing to die for the sake of the Gospel. I wonder why, why after so many promptings from the Holy Spirit about what was ahead, he still went ahead and chose suffering instead?

I think the reason is that God is a gracious God. His will for us is not a single road, but is a road made up of different choices; choices that we all have to make. And many times, all the choices that He gives to us are all within His will; the question then is which path will God be greater glorified? And usually, from experience and from history, it's the path of suffering. But along with that suffering, comes a joy so great that it cannot be taken away, and it cannot be contained.

Paul did not choose the easy way out. Jesus Himself did not choose the easy way out. So why should we choose the easy way out and take the path of least resistance? The only thing that stops the will of God from being done is the will of man. And so I guess that Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, as he knew it would glorify God more, even though he knew it would bring great suffering.

So this is the path that I'm going to take. I see a fork in the road ahead. One, a God given opportunity to do something great for The Church. Another, a desperate attempt at salvaging the past. Which should I choose?

The wise in heart accepts commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin. - Proverbs 10:8

PC1327: Science of Music

Just making a rundown of my subjects. Just ended my last class of the semester! And indeed, the last class for the year. Well, technically speaking, it wasn't a class it was a test. It went pretty well!

The science of music, it was one of the best modules I've taken in my 3.5 years here in NUS. And I'm done with it! (ie no exam for this module, so no stress for this one during the study break) Enjoyable module, attended every single lecture; though most of the time I wasn't paying attention...

Will recommend this module to anyone in NUS, just conserve a lot of bid points and show hand! Had a lot of fun, I indeed composed a song in 7/8 time. Although I have to admit that I drew inspiration from a variety of places.

Well, exam study break next week, got 3 examinable modules, but will only study two. The remaining one is S/U, and I am pretty sure that I've already passed (in fact, I think I've done well enough to get an A... but nevermind).

Anyway, I saw the following in science, found it very cute. It was outside the Science Club secretariat, and it was on a poster parodying (i think) some movies.



As you can tell, the resolution of the pictures taken on my handphone have improved significantly, reason my handphone is now a new 6230i! :)

091105

verses read: Acts 21:1-6, Proverbs 10:4
prayer: 15 minutes

Paul and company continue on their way back to Jerusalem, and they reach Tyre. They meet up with some of the believers there, and they warn Paul not to return to Jerusalem. But Paul decides to anyway. That passage ends with the disciples praying for Paul and sending the company off on their way.

Today is the last day of school for me; got the Science of Music test. Followed by CG. I've got that very interesting meeting tomorrow; a project that I am indeed honoured to be a part of. After that it's one last burst of nerdism before the exams. All will end in 15 days time; then the day of reckoning will come.

I realise I've kept this online record for a month now. At least for the past month, I've hit the target of 1 verse per day. It's not that easy actually, but it gets easier as time goes by. I've learnt a lot by doing so; that's what the Bible promised, and that's what Ps Aaron said would happen. A lot has happened in the last month. Serious setbacks to life; yet other opportunities were given. The Lord has never let me down, so why quit?

Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth - Proverbs 10:4

a new sticker

This is a special design for the end of year LTC. But it's won't be for sale.

081105

verses read: Acts 20:13-38
prayer: 10 minutes

The calm before the storm. Paul is on his return leg of his 3rd missionary journey. And now he is sailing back to Jerusalem instead of Antioch for the Feast of Pentecost. Halfway back, he says a touching goodbye to the elders of the Ephesian Church, a place he has stayed for most of his journey. He tells them that great persecution is on the way, and that he may never see them again. He makes the following statement:

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." - Acts 20:24

I found this a very touching and encouraging passage to read. (Even though I am half asleep!) That seems to be the summary of what the book of Acts is about. How the Gospel spread because of the Holy Spirit.

Tried something yesterday, went to sleep praying. Rather I prayed till I fell asleep. Not that I had a better sleep, (my sleep has been quite bad last few days) but that I woke up still subconsciously praying. Was quite interesting and to some extent shocking!

Well, no Graph Theory lecture today, so school only starts at 4pm. Followed by FT. Will be there! Tomorrow is the last day of school for me. Got one final test to mark a semester filled with emotional ups and downs.

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death. - Proverbs 10:2

071105

verses read: Acts 20:7-12, Proverbs 10:1
prayer: 10 minutes

In this passage Paul performs a miracle. A young man falls from the 3rd floor of the building Paul was preaching in, but he did not die! I guess that since it is in the Bible, it must have some kind of significance! The Gospel brings life not death!

Yesterday's messages from Pastor as well as Charlie were so similar! That God will send relief, send healing amidst the storms in our lives. The setbacks we experience are just temporal and God is always in control; but we must trust Him. Like what Pastor said, we can attribute the setbacks to God's discipline, God's pruning and His mysterious will. We will never know why setbacks like this occur, but God allows them for a reason.

A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother. - Proverbs 10:1

paper hearts to mark each day

A paper heart to mark each day
And for the words I now can't say
A sign of my appreciation
A little drop in a big wide ocean

I'm putting my love in an airtight container
Will bury it somewhere I cannot remember
Then I will take and throw away the key
Let the Lord will as He decrees

I will hide it somewhere deep underground
Let the Lord decide when it should be found
But if His plan is to keep us apart
Then let it be so in both our hearts

But the Lord has yet to close the door
This time I’ll wait for what He has in store
I will take it at His pace and not mine
The Lord is faithful, and He will show His time

"Look up my son, and see again
The cross that My blood once stained
I'm still waiting for My bride to be
So be patient and wait with Me

My plan for you will unfold in time
Bend your will and make it Mine
The pain you feel is to restore your purity
And to bring your love to full maturity

You do not know what I have in store
A plan so great, you'll want nothing more
But it’s a plan you may not yet see
So just be patient and wait with Me"

Thank you Lord for your words of assurance
Only You know what's beneath our outward appearance
Help me to learn to wait with Thee
And to look beyond my Calvary

So thank you for the love that you showed
A love that only God could have bestowed
I now know how much more the Lord loves me
You opened my eyes, so that I may see

And if the Lord above allows
We'll one day make a sacred vow
God’s given Wisdom will take away the past
This time I promise that it will last

But if the Lord decides to close the door
Then I will wait for His something more
No matter what happens I will walk His way
With paper hearts to mark each day

061105

verses read: Acts 20:1-6, Proverbs 9:12
prayer: 10 minutes

This passage describes the second half of Paul's 3rd missionary journey. Well, you cannot gather much from it, unless you cross reference with the letters that he wrote to the churches. Other than that, this passage just describes the route he takes; it really is very useful to have a map of his journey as reference. Makes a big difference!

Had a very good chat with a dear brother of mine yesterday. Really needed it! Saw this nick on MSN, an acronym for "FAITH" FAITH: Forsaking All, I Trust Him. Thought is very nice, so just put it here for keeps. Today is Sunday, the Sabbath. This week marks the last week of school!

If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer. - Proverbs 9:12

updates on church... early november

another update on the building, for the benefit of those overseas... sorry for the poor quality

An alternate view of the church. From the block opposite where I usually take the photographs. It's the block with the 7-11. The cross you see in the photo is the same cross I took a few weeks back. That's where the chapel is going to be.


Front elevation of the church. The new cross has been installed. It's yellow in colour?! I really hope that is just the primer coat of paint... or it is really going to standout... and it really looks off.. should paint it the same colour of this blog! That way can match the surrounding blocks!


The rooftop is almost complete!


There are more pictures in my flickr... after the exams or when I am incredibly free, I will pop by church with a real digital camera and take proper photos of the internal areas! Was given permission by the church office a few weeks back!

051105

verses read: Acts 19:23-41, Proverbs 9:11
prayer: 10 minutes

Ooohh... this passage is exciting! A riot happened in Ephesus, when some craftsmen got angry with Paul and started a riot, chanting and all! Hard to imagine such a thing happening in the past, but it did! I guess even till today some things just don't change!

Well, had a few "last lessons" yesterday, and next week is a much shortened week! Next week is the last week of instruction, then the reading week begins. Then on to the exams. I am just waiting for this exam season to be over and done with. Honestly, I am a little tired of studying for now. But well, I am going to work on my honours project a little this week, badly need to do some catching up!

It's the weekend! Going off to Springfield secondary school in a few hours to help out with the BB. Then there is rehearsal tonight. KW and Shaun's group leading tomorrow. Should be interesting. It's the last guy group to go.

Will be posting a proverb or psalm or some short verse at the end of my posts from now on. Just something short to remember for the rest of the day.

"Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life" - Proverbs 9:11