GBS2002

Love or Life

2007-10-30T09:04:00.000+08:00

Love or Life

27 Oct 2007

The Third Place

Ice-breaker games!

Thinking hard... ...what's the answer??

Must state the disclaimer before the show begins...
"We are NOT professional actors!"

Discussion....

More discussion...

Kevin in action... why love or life?

Sharing the message...

A candid shot!

A group photo! Thank you everyone for coming!!!!!

Love / Life?

2007-10-08T23:02:00.000+08:00

A Slice of Infinity
Love
by Ravi Zacharias

I have so far presented two essential components for finding meaning in life: the experience of wonder and the pursuit of truth. I now suggest that the third component essential to meaning is love.

Christopher Morley has said, "If we all discovered that we had only five minutes left to say all that we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that we love them." Isn't it true that we intuitively know that life would be unlivable were it not for love?

I'd like to tell you a parable I heard as a boy growing up in New Delhi. Please pardon its bluntness. A young man fell in love with a woman from a neighboring village. His love for her was genuine and he sought her hand in marriage. She, however, felt no such affection for him and exploited his feelings to her own advantage. She made it a game, ever demanding more and more proof of his love.

At last, she demanded the unthinkable. "If you really love me," she said, "I need to know there is no rival. Prove it to me. Take your mother's life and bring her heart to me as a trophy of my victory over your love for her." The young man was thoroughly confounded and grief-stricken. Unable to withstand his "loss" any longer, in a frenzied fit he killed his mother and took the heart out of her body. He ran as fast as he could to present this trophy to the girl he loved. But in the woods he stumbled and fell, and the heart tumbled out of his hand. As he feebly rose to his feet he frantically searched the undergrowth for her heart. Finally, he spotted it and picked it up and as he dusted off his knees he heard a voice coming from the heart saying, "Son, are you hurt? ...Son, are you hurt?"

No one needed to explain this story to me, even as a small boy. And as I have contended throughout this series, such a sacrificial love could not have come from mindless matter but only from a Personal Being, indeed God's heart. May I add something more? Only in the Christian faith does love precede life.

Love is, therefore, the posture of the soul and its entailments are binding. What meaning we find when the sacrifice and the origin of love is understood. We drink deeply from its cup and are fulfilled.

More to this life?

2007-10-03T13:48:00.001+08:00

There's more to this life..Or is there?

Love/Life?

2007-10-02T00:03:00.000+08:00

There's more to this life, than living and dying, more than just trying to make it through the day. Or is there?

Come, bring our friends and together we shall explore the significance between love and life!

Details are as below:

Date: 27 October 2007 and 3 November 2007

Time: 7 pm

Venue: http://www.thethirdplace.sg/

More to this Life, by Steven Curtis Chapman

Love/Life?

2007-10-01T15:50:00.000+08:00

Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT) March 13, 2003
Mother who died saving child 1 of 13 honorees

Christian Woodford and his father, Donald, read the award given posthumously to Claudia Woodford at the Heroes of New Haven County awards breakfast at the Omni New Haven Hotel.NEW HAVEN - Every step toward the podium at an awards breakfast Wednesday brought a tortured mix of pride and pain to Donald Woodford.

The Derby man attended the Heroes of New Haven County ceremony at the Omni New Haven Hotel to accept an award from the South Central Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross on behalf of his late wife, Claudia Woodford.The 31-year-old woman was struck down last September by a hit-and-run driver as she carried a friend's infant across Derby Avenue near her home. She is credited with saving the boy's life, at the cost of her own.

She was one of 13 recipients of hero awards chosen by a committee from 60 nominees. Woodford took the award in the good Samaritan category for saving the life of then 14-month-old Jack Andrews on Sept. 20.

Woodford was carrying the child and turned him away from the oncoming vehicle, sustaining the brunt of the impact herself.

Driver Wade Murphy, 42, of Shelton, allegedly hit Woodford with such force that she and the baby were thrown 40 feet.

She sustained serious head and internal injuries and died two days later. The baby suffered only minor facial lacerations.

The delicate blown-glass trophy was a painful reminder of the fragility of life for Donald Woodford and several of his late wife's friends, who struggled with their emotions during the ceremony.

"It hit home again. It was like it happened all over again," said Woodford.
"She was a hero to all of us, her family and friends. For her to be honored here, for the community to recognize her as a hero, is special," said Woodford, whose 6-year-old son, Christian, accompanied him to the stage.

Daughter Taylor, 9, was too emotional to join her father and brother. She stayed in her seat burying her tearful face in the comforting fur of another honoree
Salle, a 7-year-old therapy dog from Stratford.

"A hero is someone who puts others' needs before their own, so Claudia was a hero long before she saved baby Jack. She was a blessing in my life," said Kellie Steeves, one of the victim's closest friends.

Michelle Miller, another dear friend, said the honor is well deserved. "I'm just so proud of her," Miller said. "She always had the best interests of everybody in mind."

Jane Wasyliw, spokeswoman for the Red Cross chapter, said Claudia Woodford's story stood out. "She had an amazing story but very tragic, unfortunately. She truly put someone else's life before her own," Wasyliw said.

About 400 people attended the early morning event. They gave a standing ovation to each recipient, among them Gina Corso of North Haven. Corso received this year's medical award for her work as a full-time 911 dispatcher for American Medical Response in New Haven.
Corso also volunteers as an EMT for the town of Stratford at least 12 hours a week.
Elsie Cofield, founder of the AIDS Interfaith Network in New Haven, received the humanitarian hero award.

Love/Life?

2007-09-24T17:24:00.001+08:00

Love/Life?

2007-09-24T17:19:00.000+08:00

Grandfather gave life to save baby

By Corey Stephenson
Uploaded on 12:00pm Tuesday 7th August 2007 Southern Daily Echo

HE risked his own life to save that of his granddaughter and paid the ultimate price for his selfless act.

Edward Moore, who was airlifted off Lepe Beach after saving the life of his baby granddaughter died in hospital just hours after the dramatic rescue.

The 43-year-old from Atherfield Road, in Maybush, Southampton, was at the beach with his partner, his 11-year-old daughter, his daughter's friend, his son and his granddaughter.
He was playing a ball game in waist-height water off a sandbar with his granddaughter, daughter and his daughter's friend.

A police spokeswoman said the ball was thrown out into the water and the man passed the baby to his daughter and went to fetch the ball.

It is believed that the tide began to come in rapidly and Mr Moore's daughter became out of her depth in the water and passed the baby back to her father.
Mr Moore then got into difficulty himself and lifted the baby above his head, out of the water, as he attempted to get back to shore.

Family members helped get the baby back to the shore and members of the public went to aid Mr Moore but he was brought to land unconscious after he had been under the water for some time.
Eye-witnesses said the two men started CPR to resuscitate him before Solent Coastguard and ambulance crews were on the scene at around 3.30pm on Sunday afternoon.
Steve Holding, 52, of Lordswood, Southampton, was on the beach with his wife when he saw the drama unfold.

He said: "One or two people reacted to the noise and found a group of about four people in the water not far out from the shore, up to their necks in water.

"The man was holding a small child above the water. One of the guys took the child from him and took her to the shore. But then the guy started wallowing around and looked like he was in trouble.
"He was rescued by another person, and people surrounded him and gave him first aid. But he didn't look good.'' Helen Whitehouse, from Hedge End told the Daily Echo how her husband Nick was one of the rescuers.

"We heard two girls were screaming before we realised what was going on," she said.

"Nick and another man managed to swim out to him but his head was already under. They put him in the recovery position and my husband started doing chest compressions while the other man gave him mouth to mouth."

Mrs Whitehouse said that for a while Mr Moore started breathing again.

"My husband told him his family were safe and he nodded at him," said Helen.
Senior coxswain Ian Blomquist from Solent Rescue said lifeguards on the beach joined the rescue effort and continued resuscitation.

A police spokeswoman confirmed that despite resuscitation attempts Mr Moore was pronounced dead at the hospital

Badminton Game @ Clementi Sports Hall 2pm-4pm 15/9/2007

2007-09-14T23:06:00.001+08:00

Treetop Walk Pictures

2007-09-14T22:39:00.000+08:00

Change of Time for the Tree Top Walk on 1st September 2007

2007-08-31T00:57:00.000+08:00

Hi all!

This is a friendly reminder about this saturday's (1st Sept) happeningz event: THE Treetop Walk! Pls remember to invite your friends down for an afternoon of fun, work out and adventure with us!

IMPT NOTICE: The meeting timings have been brought forward by 30 mins.

meeting place 1: Bishan MRT at 2.30pmh

meeting place 2: MacRitchie Reservoir Carpark at 3.00pm

We will set off at 3.45 pm sharp to arrive at treetop walk before the gate closes.

Please bring along :

your own water bottle as you will need to hydrate yourself along the way.
mosquito repellent if you have
small face towel/ tissue paper to wipe your sweat

Once again, let us continue to keep one another, our friends and the event in prayer. Let's look forward to this sat with joy and anticipation!

In His love,

Wai Mun

Tree Top Walk on 1st September

2007-08-28T22:28:00.000+08:00

Come join us for the Tree Top Walk held this coming Saturday 1^st September. Details of meeting places will be provided in a while. 1^st, a brief outline of the event:

We will be starting the trek from MacRitchie Reservoir carpark up to Treetop Walk then end at Venus Drive carpark. The entire trek is estimated to be about 8km taking about 3 hrs to complete depending on our walking pace. We will gather at the MacRitchie carpark at 3.30 and we MUST set off by 4pm as the Treetop Walk gate will close at 5pm sharp.

Have a peak at the map: Click on attachment

After the trek and a well worked-up appetite, we will proceed to Someplace nearby for makan and fellowship. Somplace can be decided on the day itself depending on our mooooood and cravings. It shall remain a mystery for nowwww. Heheh.

Due to the unpredictable weather, there will be 2 meeting venues you can choose from(Why? Explained later):

Meeting place 1: Bishan MRT at 3.00pm

Meeting place 2: MacRitchie Reservoir carpark at 3.30pm

(By Bus
Take bus nos. 52, 74, 93, 130, 132, 156, 157, 162, 165, 166, 167, 852, 855 or 980. Alight along Lornie Road at the bus-stop in front of MacRitchie Reservoir Park.

By Car
Entrance to the MacRitchie Reservoir Park car park is along Lornie Road.)

For those who want to meet at Bishan MRT 1^st, Diana will be there to gather you. You will all leave the MRT by 3.15 making your way to MacRitchie by bus. Thus you will be meeting the rest who went straight to MacRitchie at 3.30 pm.

Wet Weather Plan

If it rains too heavily, those at Bishan MRT will stay put and those at MacRitchie will proceed to Bishan MRT. People at either meetimg places will be informed what to do by ICs should it rain heavily. We shall persist, just that the form of it will change from a trek-dinner to just the dinner cum fellowship session. (Yaybie! for some not-too-physically- inclined siblings-in- Christ whose main highlight has always been the meal after the activity. Heheh)

Sorry for the long email…hope it is clear and not too long-winded. Pls feel free to contact Joseph ( 91158410) or myself (Wai Mun 98559330) if you have any queries or suggestions.

So so, you are warmly invited to have a great time of fun, exercise and good fellowship while sharing God's love with our friends this coming Saturday 1^st September at our TreeTop Walk.

See you there!

Be there or be bleah. =P

Thank you for reading thus far and God bless!

In His Love,

On behalf of FEP comm.,

Wai Mun

Lessons on Evangelism

2007-08-28T22:18:00.000+08:00

Dear Bros and Sis,

It is a great joy to share on this blog some lessons that we are learning together, to "go and make disciples of all nations".

On 25 Aug, Kevin led a session on the urgency of evangelism, and notes to his sharing can be found here.

On 8 Sept, Kevin led a session on conversational evangelism. Check them out here!

East Coast Cycling and Blading 18 Aug 07

2007-08-28T22:06:00.000+08:00

Here are some pictures of our East Coast Cycling and Blading outing on the 18 August. It was a lot of fun! And the weather did nothing to dampen our spirits, and they soared as the wonderful sea breeze gently blew the rain clouds away. =)

The whole gang!

Claudia learnt to blade after the outing! Good job!

Action Plan for Outreach 2007

2007-08-28T21:51:00.000+08:00

Kevin has updated the action plan that the committees will be following, with details on the schedule for the events.

Please click on this link.

Enjoy!

Testing God

2007-02-28T17:27:00.000+08:00

Is God doing right by me? Most of us will ask ourselves this question sooner or later. Hard times seem to offer strong evidence that God is not on our side. We are tempted to charge God with neglect and even hostility. If God wants me to trust Him, maybe He had better start by improving the way He directs the course of my life.

That we ask such questions is not surprising; in fact, the Bible tells us that our troubles are intended to raise such questions. God has an agenda for His people, and high on the list is His intention that each of us confront the issue of God's character. Raising the question is part of our learning process. Even Jesus confronted this question when Satan tempted Him three times in the wilderness. We will examine one of those temptations here, to use Jesus' response as a model for our own.

The Second Temptation of Jesus

Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give His angels charge concerning You'; and 'On their hands they will bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (Matthew 4:5-7)

At first glance, the lesson of this temptation may seem to be nothing more than "Don't try to make God do tricks for you." Speaking for myself, I am not tempted to throw myself off skyscrapers expecting God to catch me. The issue, however, runs much deeper. To understand the issue as Jesus sees it, we must understand the Scripture He quotes in response to the temptation. In each of His three temptations, Jesus quotes from the same sermon in Deuteronomy. Moses delivered this sermon to Israel after their wandering in the wilderness for forty years. Jesus clearly sees a parallel between the lessons Israel learned in the wilderness and His own experience, between their temptations and His own. To understand the lesson as Jesus sees it, we must find that parallel. In this case, we must ask the question, "Why is jumping off a temple like grumbling about water?"

Israel in the Wilderness

Jesus quotes Moses from Deuteronomy 6:16: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah." What does Moses mean by "putting the Lord to the test?" In order to understand this verse, we must go back and look at what happened at Massah.

Then...the sons of Israel...camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water that we may drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" ...And he named the place Massah [which means "test"] and Meribah [which means "quarrel"] because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us, or not?" (Exodus 17:1-7)

Israel had seen God do great things in the past. He saved them miraculously out of Egypt; He parted the red sea; He sent them manna to eat. God also had promised to do great things in their future. He promised them all the blessings of Abraham; He promised to take them to a land of peace and abundance. The problem for Israel was the present. They were in the middle of the wilderness, and they had no water.

Israel's reaction might seem perfectly reasonable. Given the lack of water, anyone's natural reaction would be to worry. But Israel had much evidence from the past that God was powerful and trustworthy; Israel had great promises that the future would be wonderful. Why was this present situation so worrisome? Because at heart the people did not trust God. They gave no thought to what God had done in the past nor what He promised for the future; they thought only about their lack of water now.

This helps us understand what "putting God to the test" means. Each Israelite looked around at the bleak wilderness and asked, "Why has God brought me here?" God clearly was not to be trusted; look at the scary and dangerous place to which He had brought them. However, if God were to apologize and come through with some water, maybe they would be willing to forgive Him and follow Him again.

Notice how Exodus describes it: "...they tested the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us, or not?'" The lack of water caused them to question whether God was really on their side. All that He had done in the past didn't count; all that He had promised to do in the future didn't count; what counted was the frightening present. God couldn't really be there, couldn't really be powerful and trustworthy, if He would bring them to a barren wilderness.

The question should have been settled already; God is there; He is powerful and loving. Instead, each new difficulty caused Israel to question His power and goodness. They "tested" Him by making Him prove His faithfulness all over again. Years later, Moses looks back on this event and warns the people: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah." This is the verse Jesus quotes when Satan tempts Him in the wilderness.

Jesus in the Wilderness

Some people suggest that Satan was tempting Jesus to put on a show for the crowds, to prove to the crowds that He was the Messiah. This is unlikely, since very few people could have seen what Jesus was doing. We would be wrong to picture Jesus standing on the point of a steeple in the middle of downtown Jerusalem, with multitudes gazing up at him in wonder. The pinnacle of the temple is most likely a corner of the outer wall of the city; it looks down on the desolate Kidron valley. Unless a few travelers were walking by far below, no one would have seen Jesus jump. The text doesn't mention a crowd; Satan was tempting Jesus to do something for His own sake, not for the crowd's sake.

Jesus was facing the same situation Israel faced in the wilderness. Like Israel, Jesus could look back on God's kindness in the past. Only forty days earlier the voice of God had announced from heaven that Jesus was His beloved Son. Like Israel, Jesus had great promises from God concerning the future. As the Son of God, Jesus was promised that He would rule over creation at the right hand of the Father. No human being has ever been promised a more glorious future. But like Israel, Jesus' present circumstances were difficult. Instead of being carried off to glory, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He faced great hunger and hardship. Imagine it: God has promised to make you king of the world, and then He takes you into the wilderness to starve. Certainly Jesus faced the very real temptation to question the Father's goodness. Jesus faced the same question Israel had faced: "Why has God brought me here?"

This temptation was potentially very attractive. On the surface, jumping off the temple seems like such a powerful act of faith. Certainly nobody would jump unless he truly trusted God to catch him. Very few of us would have the faith and courage to do it, but Jesus had such faith and courage. What a powerful demonstration of faith jumping off the temple could have been!

But Jesus knew that jumping off the temple would not demonstrate faith; instead it would be a gross act of unbelief. God hadn't asked Him to jump off the temple; to jump would not be obedience, but presumption. Why would He want to? Because it would force God's hand. Because it would make the Father prove that He indeed was on Jesus' side. Things were looking bleak for Jesus at the moment; how tempting to force the Father to send a legion of angels, to demand that God prove again that Jesus was His beloved Son. Like Israel in the wilderness, Jesus would have been asking the question, "Is God with me or not?"

Jesus didn't need the answer to that question; He knew already. Yes, the Father had led him into a barren wilderness and afflicted Him with hunger and lack. But Jesus knew that God was with Him; He didn't need to prove it to Himself, to Satan, or to anyone else. God had proven Himself in the past; God had made great promises for the future; Jesus could look at His difficult present circumstances and say, "The Father has nothing to prove to Me."

You and I in the wilderness

Like Israel, like Jesus, you and I are on a journey much like their journey through the wilderness:

We can look back at God's kindness in the past. Each of us has personal ways that God has blessed us in this life. Most importantly, we have the Bible to tell us of God's great love demonstrated on the cross of Christ. We can't emphasize this enough. No greater act of love has ever been committed than Jesus' death on the cross for us. We have every reason to believe in God's goodness towards us.
We have great promises from God about the future. God's people have been promised an eternal life of righteousness. What is more valuable in the world? The people of God have a great destiny.
Today our present circumstances are sometimes difficult. We suffer. We struggle with sin. We let each other down. Life can be painful, difficult, and disappointing. We are often led to ask: "Why has God brought me here?"

Moses tells us--Jesus tells us--that we must not put God to the test. To test God means much more than trying to get Him to do a miracle; to test God is to insist that He prove that He is trustworthy. To test God is to look at today's difficulties and say, "A loving God would never let me suffer in this way. Maybe if things get better, then I can trust Him." To test God is to ask, as Israel did, "Is God with us or not?" God has shown us that He is with us; He has nothing to prove to us. If we refuse to see it, we are as blind as Israel was in the wilderness.

Israel and Jesus were not in the wilderness by accident; God led them there. Neither is it an accident when life pushes hard at believers today. We can, if we choose, interpret our troubles as evidence of God's indifference. We would be wrong. Because God loves us, He uses our troubles to confront us with the spiritual issues we would rather ignore. Our eternal destiny is riding on the choices we are making today: will we trust God in the midst of our troubles, or will we put Him to the test?

Ron Julian has been a teacher at McKenzie Study Center, an institute of Gutenberg College, since 1982. He is also a tutor at Gutenberg College, the author of Righteous Sinners, and a co-author of The Language of God: A Commonsense Approach to Understanding and Applying the Bible. With a degree in linguistics, Ron's focus is biblical exegesis and communicating the gospel. Other interests include biblical languages, film, music, literature, and computer technology.

Copyright February 1998 by McKenzie Study Center. Retrieved from http://www.mckenziestudycenter.org/bible/articles/testing.html on 28 February 2007

Cultivating Christ-like character through the Fruit of the Spirit

2007-02-21T16:40:00.000+08:00

Need I say more? See ya there bros and sis!

Dianna's Birthday!

2007-02-01T11:15:00.000+08:00

Hi people!

Check out this cool picture taken on Dianna's birthday at Ambrosia!

Pictures taken after Discipleship@Work

2006-12-29T11:12:00.000+08:00

Hi peeps! Time to check out the makan session after the super duper exciting Discipleship@Work 2007!

My Child, Allow Me Your Time - copyright christianity today

2006-11-10T05:02:00.000+08:00

Allow me your time
To show you I CareFor in this time
You’ll knowI Am, always there
We may not be the same
We may not always agree

My Child, Allow me your time
I’ll show you
These differences
Are not important to me
Some may sayI see through "stained- glassed eyes"

My Child, Allow me your time
And You’ll seeAbstract as I seem
I live not in a disguise
Some have said
How does he hear my unspoken words
How does he see my silent tears

My Child, Allow me your time
And You’ll Know
Within you, I am
Without Hesitation or Fear

My Child
Earth is now your home
Live it with love
Allow Yourself
The Time
I'll Guide You
From Above

July 2001

2006-10-09T09:10:00.000+08:00

I was trying to dig out some very old info from my very old laptop which had since crashed... and I found these photos. It gives me a strange feeling looking at these photos. We looked so young then! On a serious note, they bring me much encouragement and joy as I go through every face in the photos. I trace God's faithfulness and goodness in all of our lives. I'm recounting how much I have grown, and how much all of you have been a great blessing in my life.

These photos were taken in July 2001, Matriculation, NUS.

Remember all that packing at GC?

At the end of the programme every evening, we would have a thanksgiving session. And it would be dinner at ke ai ji after that. Does this ring a bell?

S.E.A. in action!

Look at Jon Kee!!!! And during the time that this photo was taken, who would have thought that Derek and Serene would get married??????

You are my Hiding Place

2006-10-06T11:55:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone!

Just want to share one of my fav songs with you, and it's You are my Hiding Place, by Michael Ledner. I know, it's a super old song (written in 1981!), but it never fails to lift me up in any circumstances, knowing that I am safe in Him.

You are my hiding place,
You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance.
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.
I will trust in You.
Let the weak say I am strong in the strength of my Lord.

You can listen to it at these 2 links: Midi or in MP3.

Check out Pastor Michael blog here! You can find some pretty interesting articles. I enjoyed reading the article on " A Word on Character & Impartiality".

Do enjoy it folks!

Weicheng's Baptism

2006-09-23T15:12:00.000+08:00

Harlow everyone!! These photos were taken by Diana during Weicheng's baptism. Honoured to be tasked to put them up on our blog! Enjoy the pix!

Foundations of Our Faith

2006-09-22T13:20:00.001+08:00

Praise the Lord that we have started on the "Foundations of Our Faith" series. Please do check back this page for the latest updates, bible study material/answers and queries pertaining to this very meaningful and relevant topic for each and everyone of us today.

Week 3: Nature of God Part 1
Nature of God Part 1 with Answers

Week4,5: Nature of God Part 2
Nature of God Part 2 with Answers

We will like to thank Raymond for all the hard work that he has put in! God bless!

GBS Blog Registration Instructions

2006-08-21T10:18:00.000+08:00

Good morning brothers and sisters!

I will like to explain the procedures on how to become a member and post in our own unique, spanking new GBS blog!

1)Accept the invite to the blog.
I have sent the blog invites to the email addresses that you are currently using to receive the emails from our GBS2002 yahoo groups.

2)Create a Blog in Blogger.
It does not matter if you do not blog on Blogger, however you will need to register as creating a blog is part of the process. Once you have registered, you will be able to see GBS2002 in your main page, the Dashboard.

3) Post! Post! Post!
You can start creating new posts by clicking on the big Posting tab. Add in a title and type and share away! You can also attach pictures by clicking on the small little bluish box.

Yup that's all folks! Hope you start blogging and tagging soon! Have fun!

Once again, our bloggie address is gbs2002.blogspot.com
In His Love

How's Life?

2006-08-17T16:03:00.000+08:00

hello everybody, I wrote this article for Weilong's blog...and he posted it up on his bloggie's b'dae....hehz, so sweet rite (to the blog, I mean, not to me :p)... anyway, hope you enjoy it...

How’s life?

I’ve always disliked this question because I find it too vague. What do you want to know? Which part of my life are you really interested in? Finances, social life, physical health, etc. Suffice to say, I am an engineer and I like my world to be precise and sharp. Most of the time, I would just mouth off safe but forgettable replies like, “Oh fine, I just bought a new LCD monitor” or “Great, I got an A for my exams” to throw off my questioner.

The other reason why this question irritates me is because I don’t really know/have the answer. How do we measure the quality of our lives anyway? For some, it would be their own personal happiness while for others, it is all about a life of status and popularity. At the end of the day, most of us are still quite confused as to what we really want in life. I was reminded of this the other day when I caught Gayle Nerva singing “If I Ain’t Got You” on Singapore Idol:

Some people live for the fortune
Some people live just for the fame
Some people live for the power yeah
Some people live just to play the
game
Some people think that the physical things
Define what's within
I've been there before
But that life's a bore
So full of the superficial

Someone once said that before we can know what something is, we first have to know what it isn’t. Its like that in life sometimes, before we know what we want in life, we first have to know what we don’t want. I like this song because it is therapeutic to me in the above manner. It makes me reflect on my life and helps me identify the driving forces behind some of my most important decisions in life.

I do believe there is nothing wrong with fortune, fame and power. Life would be pretty much unbearable if we are to do without the above 3 entities. Picture an existence without money, popularity and control. Without money, we would have no food and life would be quite sad if no one likes me. And without a certain measure of control over our lives, we would live in fear, trembling at what tomorrow might bring. I don’t have a problem with these resources, the more the merrier. But the problem arises when I allow, as the song says, “the physical things to define what’s within”.

Now, I firmly believe that nobody of reasonable intelligence will define himself solely by his salary and status. We as human beings instinctively know that there is more to life than all these. But having said that, why is it so easy then to measure life by the externals alone? I guess there are a few reasons, the first one being that our society actively promotes a materialistic lifestyle. In a highly materialistic society like ours, our quality of life is measured by how much we have.

The second reason is the mistake of allowing our identities to be defined by the status symbols of this world. If we are not careful, we will start to measure our self-worth by our academic prowess, friends, or looks.

And the flip side of living life this way is that we end up “running on empty and running after emptiness*”. By exchanging what’s within for what’s without, our lives become rushed, bored and isolated. Our relationships turn shallow because we are no longer interested in loving people, but rather in using them to fulfill our material wants. We network to increase our business contacts, make friends only with the rich and the intelligent and spend time only with people who are useful in our climb up the status ladder. We forget to cherish people for who they are and are only concerned with what they can do for us. Children are judged on their academic grades, wives are judged on their looks and husbands are judged on their salary.

One of the things for which I am very grateful for ever since I started working is the fact that I am a Christian. I have lost count of the endless number of dinner meetings that basically revolves around money, women and position. If we are not talking about our paychecks, then it must be about our future marriage plans; if it is not about our marriage plans, then it is inevitably about so-and-so who has just been promoted to managerial level. These things aren’t bad in themselves and actually do enhance the quality of our lives but something inside me tells me that there is so much more to life than life itself.

And God offers me just that in the form of His Son Jesus Christ. He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins while I was still a sinner. In Him, is forgiveness of sins through the shedding of blood. Even though I’m still messed up and have my ugly moments, but God still accepts me unconditionally through His everlasting love. And because I’m accepted by the almighty God of the universe, I no longer have to strive to merit the acceptance of this performance-obsessive world. I no longer have to define myself by what I do but by who I am in Christ.

If you would like to experience the freedom and joy that comes from following my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, you can do so by praying the following prayer:

Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Saviour and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make
me the kind of person You want me to be.**

If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, I invite you to pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life.

God bless!!!

Reference
* Quote by Pastor Edmund Chan
** Sinner’s prayer taken from the 4 Spiritual Laws

GBS Roadmap Yr 2006

2006-08-17T15:39:00.000+08:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This is the roadmap and direction of our GBS this year.

Be Blessed!

Joseph Bible Study

2006-08-17T12:00:00.000+08:00

Hi everybody!

We had a great time learning about the character of Joseph in the bible! This is the collection of bible study materials for your reference and your reminisce(remember the big cow eating up the small cowz? =p)

Episode 1: Dare to Dream
Episode 2: From Penthouse to Prison
Episode 3: From Penthouse to Prison.. and From Prison to Palace
Episode 4: The Wounded Healer
Episode 5: Facing the Music of the Past
Episode 6: Life Begins at 130
Episode 7: Take the Higher Ground

God bless all of you!

Genesis

2006-08-04T11:53:00.000+08:00

Genesis