Next CA - A Walk to Remember

The next CA will be held on the 3rd April 2008.. usual place and usual time... but an extraordinary CA that will that will make an impact along ur journey..... trust me!!!

Broken Watch

I've been managing this blog for almost a year now. In that one year span, my friends and I have submitted quite a few posts into this blog. However, if you check at the labels, you can see an overwhelming number of message compare to the amount of testimonies. It kept me pondering for days, "How could it be that the messages are more than the testimonies?" In a church, there are alway finite amount of messages that a pastor can preach but there is an infinite number of testimonies that people can share. Because of that, I've decided to put down my testimony here and I strongly encourage all of you to share with others too. Just email anyone of the staff here and we'll post it for you.

This is my story.

I have a broken watch with me. It had not been working properly since December. Because it is an automatic watch, there is no way to fix it except to open it and fix the spring in it. I do not have the capacity to do it. Hence I will have to adjust the watch every morning when I wake up to make sure I have the correct time for the day. Often, it will only last about a day (max) before the inaccuracy kicks in slowly. That have been the case since December 2007 until now. I was frustrated but nonetheless pleased with my broken watch. After all, it had served me well from 2004 to December 2007. I absolutely love the fact that I do not have to change the battery in my watch because there is none. O__O

I was having finals earlier this week. Guess what, my watch never slowed down. It never stopped (like every other time) and the time was surely accurate. I did not pay attention to it at first but after I finished my exam, my watch started to go back to its old habit of breaking down. Only then did I realize the miracle that just happened on the past few days.

An old broken watch that cannot be fixed unless you fix the anatomy of it was working perfectly for about 5 days during my finals week. Who could fix the watch ? I tried to find a few reasons to it. Hmmm... perhaps the weather was doing the trick. Honestly speaking, it was kind of warm (not warm, but at least warmer than winter) for the past few days but then again, once my finals was over (but the warmth was not over), my watch went back to its old self again. Lol... It can't be the weather.

Anyway, I believe it is God and even though I did not pray specifically for my watch to get healed for my finals week, I guessed God must have heard a little anxiety in my heart about the fear of getting late to class for finals and must have decided to do something for me.

Finals week was awesome and it went on smoothly. Praise God.


In His service,
Leen

Die and Rise

The much anticipated Easter CA was finally here! Although it rained heavily in the evening, but the weather didn't stop the hearts that wants to seek God and His greatness. This CA was a special one because we were given the privilege to be the first one to use the newly renovated NLRC's youth centre. The atmosphere was vibrating with the spirit and vitality of God's young men and women, filled with His presence. Amen!

CA was officially started off at 7.45pm by the emcees Hui Theng and MJ, by firstly welcoming the new comers and welcoming all the INTEC students back to a place where we called home. :) The atmosphere was further heated up by game session conducted by Ah Han. Let's break the ice!!! The students were divided into 4 groups, each group consisted of about 10 people. Then, they were asked to form one straight line for each group and sit back-to-back to another group next to you, group 1 with group 2, and group 3 with group 4. Two of the committee will be in front of the two rows, tossing a coin. Only the first person on each row is allowed to open their eyes while the rest were required to keep their eyes closed with hand holding your team member sitting next to you. This is a game testing your reaction and cooperativeness among the team, the information is passed to the other end simply by squeezing the hand you are holding and the fastest wins. In the end, Group 1 turned out to be the winner of the night.

What followed next was worship and praise led by our dear beloved Erin, with a full-power band made up of back-up singers Christine and Shiau Hooi, and musicians Anderson, Joash, Bryan, Chewie and Eliza. In the earlier practise, problems occurred with the new PA system. But with God's grace and mercy, everything went on smoothly during the actual session. Amen! Special thanks to Mark too, one of the NLRC's church member for helping out with the photography and PA system throughout CA. The song sang were My Redeemer lives, Praise Him in The Sanctuary, Lord I'm Amazed by You, How Deep The Father's Love for Us and I Am Forgiven. We were brought into the close presence of God, coming back to Him once again with a heart of repentance and thankfulness for all He has done for us.

After the praise and worship, we were shown of a video clip entitled Above All with the scenes taken from the movie Passion of Christ, compiled and edited by Samuel. From the video, we were once again reminded of all the things Christ had done for us on the cross. Every drop of blood shed, is meant to wash away our sins. Every of the word uttered, is meant to ask for forgiveness on our behalf. Every of the nail hammered, is meant to put an end to our sinful past and to be given an second chance, a hope through the resurrection of Christ three days after that. It touched the hearts of many, bringing us to come before the cross, put down our past and receive his forgiveness.

Next we moved on to the message from Rev. James. An impactful speaker he is, he brings out the most simple truth that lies behind the cross. People may think that only by torturing themselves to go through the same thing Jesus had done for us (hang themselves on the cross with all the slashing and beatings). Only can we be recognised by the Father. But in fact, the truth is, Jesus had paid everything for us when the nails went through His flesh, Jesus had gave everything when He breathed His last. He accomplished EVERYTHING. All He asked from us who are so unworthy of all this, is to respond to His love. Like a father, He is waiting for His children to run back into His arms again. He is ready to forgive as long as we turn back, but are we? If Christ can forgive all we have done, can't we forgive others and give them a second chance again?

Easter CA came to an end with refreshments and fellowship. There was this crispy popiah prepared by Mary and Chien Loo, not to forget those lovely and alluring chocolate cake by Aunty Suzanne (NLRC's church member). Time to have fun and talking is never enough. We were asked and arranged to go back to our hostel by 10.30pm. Thank God for His journey mercy that brought us safely back to hostel in time.

In this season of Good Friday and Easter, let us allow and prepare our hearts, ready to receive this second chance from God to walk hand-in-hand together with Him, and to give a second chance to others who have hurt us before. Easter CA, a night truly and only for God.

Called to serve,

Peiling ^^

Next CA - 20th March 2008

It has been a while..... just want to inform that the next CA will be held on the 20th March 2008. Please prepare your heart during this Holy Week and for this CA. Hope to see you there...

The Reason For God

It's a title of a book written by Tim Keller. He came to our campus last Friday and delivered a mind-blowing message. The following is summary of what he said. I learned a lot and I hope that you will be enlightened too.

Christianity is built based on the exclusivity of the truth claim. So do other religions. In fact, this exclusivity of the truth claim is one of the main reason for lack of peace. Imagine this, Islam says that it is right. Judaism says that it is right also. Soon, fight occurs. Simple logic, right?

So, the question remains. How do people deal with the exclusivity of the truth claim that Christianity throws at them?

1. They hope it away.
What does this mean?
It simply means that the people hope that the religion will just thin out as the technology flourish in our secular society. However, that belief is ultimately false because in the reality, religion has been thriving all over the place alongside with secularism and technological advancement. Thus, it doesn't work to just hope that it will go away one day. You just got to learn to deal with religion and can't hope it will die out sooner or later.

Conclusion, hoping it away doesn't work.

2. They outlaw/suppress it.
This doesn't work too. Foe example, China kicks out all the western missionaries but Christianity continues to grow. The reason for this is that, by kicking out the western missionaries, the Chinese government is actually making the religion even more indigenous. So now, it becomes Chinese Christianity, untainted by western culture. It does not work to suppress the religion because it only makes the religion purer and stronger.

3. They explain it away.
A lot of people tend to do this. They try to explain things off but it doesn't work too. One of the reasons that most scientists will give is that the religion is part of the natural selection in which the ancestor takes the belief of God, chooses it, and that trait is passed on to the newer generation. It is not because you believe in a God, but it is because you are hardwired to believe in God since that belief helps your ancestor survives in the past. To bring this point further, scientist claims the existence of belief forming faculty in our mind that tells us religions make sense to us and that the belief forming faculty is there to help you survive. Thus, you should not believe in your belief forming faculty because it is unreliable.

Question.
If you cannot believe what your belief forming faculty is telling you about religion, how can you trust or believe your belief forming faculty to tell you the right thing about evolution?

4. They argue it away
Normally, people get questions like this:
How dare you say that your religion is true?
The problem like this exists again, due to the exclusive truth that every religion holds. For example, bible clearly says that Jesus is the only way to God.

The following are some of the common points for arguing against Christianity
I. All religion are equally right.
This is impossible because every other religions say that "I am a prophet coming to you to show you the way to find God" except Christianity.

I do like the doctrine of Jesus Christ but I like the teachings only.
That claim simply means you have not read the bible at all. He claims that he is God and that statement is everywhere. How could you believe all that he says except the part where he claims he is God when that is the statement that gets repeated over and over again? If Jesus is indeed that God who comes to find His people, then Christianity has to be the superior religion here.
In conclusion, Christianity can only be superior or inferior to other religions. There is no way of saying that all religions are the same

II You are all equally wrong.
This claim asserts that all religions are wrong because they all say that they have truth but they don't have. The most elegant example that they come out with is the story of the blind men with the elephant. One holds the tusk and thinks that elephant looks like a tusk. Another holds the tail and thinks that elephant are small and flexible. That's the analogy to the current religions. In short, they are all blind.

The problem with that is that the whole point of the story is overlooked. The story is told from a man who can see. Without a man who can see the whole picture, how could you know that the blind people see different parts of the elephant? How could you know if you were blind too? Therefore, the only way to see it is that you can see. So there cannot be all false religions.

What about people who say this:
"No religion is true. You are dogmatic. You are arrogant. What are you trying to do to me? Evangelize? Trying to convert me"
For these people who think that Christians are arrogant and are trying to push their beliefs on others, what are they doing? They are doing the same thing too. So Christianity cannot impose their beliefs on others but others can impose secularity on Christians? How awful. When people say that you are pushing their morality/beliefs on them, it's the same as saying they are pushing their morality/beliefs on us too. If you say don't evangelize me, you are evangelizing me. So who is more narrow-minded here? Ultimately, it is fine to make exclusive truth because everyone makes them.

What is narrowness?
- attitude toward other people who don't share your belief
- if you make jokes of them, you are narrow yourself. You are fundamentalist yourself.

So there we go, it doesn't work.

II Ok, you love your view but you need to keep it private.
To illustrate this, take our modern day. When you argue for public policy, you never use a religious reason. You must always use secular reasonings. Why? Because religion is conversation stopper since there are other people who don't share that view. So let just do things pragmatically and use practical solution. Put religious ideas behind the work.

No, that doesn't work.
It doesn't work because everyone argues. If you say that society must be this/that, there is no God, morality is relative, human has the right to determine right/wrong, can you prove all that? Even those claims are religious statements and more so, not everyone has access to that view point except for those who agree with you.

Example.
Should divorce be easy or hard?
Traditionalist: Individuals are less important than the family - so divorce should be hard
Modernist: Individuals are more important than family - so divorce should be easy.

How can you use practical justification when different people are rooted in different beliefs that are unprovable too?

Let me introduce 2 terms to you.
Privileged secularism - people can only use secular methods to build laws
Procedurral/ Pushy secularism - the state is not going to support any religious ground but everyone has the freedom to argue out of the religious ground.

US is taking the latter approach and you can see how privatization just doesn't work here. Religious belief will emerge no matter what.

So the suggestions to you guys are:

You need to recognize why we have big problems in our country. Take responsibility that you are the problem. Only then can you be the heart of the solution.

If you say, "I'm a good person because I perform" then you are feeling superior to others.
If you say, "I'm good because I'm religious" then you are looking down on other who are not religious.

Remember about the grace narrative. A salvation is accomplished in our weakness. You can never look up to your own performances to feel superior. You must be weak to accept God. If you have a little bit of grace, just a little bit, then you won't have the self-righteousness and pride that you feel superior to others.

Example.

In the past, the Graeco Roman believed that everyone had their own God. And what happened to the society? The weak and the poor were despised.
The Christian came and say that they only had one God. But all the poor are loved.

When trouble came, the Romans fled while the Christians remained to help out with the people there.
So how could Christians be narrow if they live the most inclusive possible lifestyle out of the most exclusive truth claim?

People are linking fundamentalists to terrorism now. NO. It all depends on your fundamentals. If you fundamentals is a God/man sacrifice for people, you will have the most inclusive life. An example of this will be the Armish people. They are fundamentalists too but can you imagine an Armish terrorist? No.

God becomes real and died on the forgiving people. That that to your heart and you will be the heart of the solution to the problems we have now.


---------------------

Later he holds a Q and A session and one of the questions that struck me is this:

Bible lacks details. Parts of the bible looks bias. How could you ask people to forgive other seventy times seven times? There should be justice, there should be vengeance.

Aristotle thinks that same sex marriage is bias.

So if you take either one of the position (same sex is bias of forgiveness is bias), that's because you are bias yourself too.

The bible HAS to be bias if it is the ultimate truth because it won't agree to a certain culture only.

Culture A might think that a is good while b is bad.
Culture B might think that b is good while a is bad.

It is easy to see how bible can never be truly be free from bias simply because everyone has his or her own different views. So if the bible is bias, that means it is good.

^___^

----

In His Service
Leen

Reasons for Faith

Since Antiquity (before Christianity), man has been searching for meaning to life. What is life all about? How should we conduct ourselves? How should we live our lives?

Man has thought, reasoned and rationalized. “There must be some supernatural force beyond our mortal realm!” they concluded.

Indeed, this is what drove man to worship the many gods of Antiquity. Mythical gods spawned by the natural inclination of man to worship, to find a sense of security, to grasp onto something onto which they can tether their hopes.

But while they worship the many gods that they have created, why is it so hard for man to worship the one true God? Why is it so difficult for man to realize that He alone is their source of strength? Why is man so reluctant to place their hopes on Him, even though He loves him so much?

Probably man would say, “Oh, He hasn’t shown Himself to me” or “I can’t see Him nor feel Him, so there cannot be such a god.”

When man fell, the spirit part of man died due to sin. Hence, man lost his communication with God. He can no longer sense God. But even if man does not sense him, is it true that he cannot know if God is there?

I believe that man still can know that there is a God. This is because man has a soul, which incorporates his personality, mind, thoughts and emotions. Man’s logic has led him to the conclusion that there IS a God.

Each person has an innate ability to discern between right and wrong. Even without verbal commands or written laws, man is able to tell that crimes such as stealing and killing are wrong. In other words, there exist absolute moral values. If there were no God, where would these absolute moral values come from? Surely not from man, for who’s to say one’s values are superior to another’s if there were no God. Hence, logically there has to be a God who is above the rules of man and who has set absolute moral values in the hearts of man.

What purpose would man have on earth indeed if there were no God? What does man hope to achieve here on this earth? Riches? Fame? All these can be lost in an instant. None of these physical things last forever. Imagine now, if God did not exist, where would you expect your life to be headed? What is the purpose of life? Why are we even here in the first place? Life makes more sense if God is added to the equation.

More importantly, where would we be after death? Without God, do we really have an assurance of where we will be after death? Will we just be reduced to ashes and be forgotten? Will we just go with the wind? That would no doubt be meaningless.

Much of ancient philosophy has been devoted to searching for meaning to life after death.

Plato, one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived, believed that apart from this physical world we see, there is an eternal world of ideas. He believed that every being on earth is merely a “shadow” of its perfect or ideal form in the world of ideas. What this implies is that there is, somewhere beyond this physical realm, an eternity where everything is perfect in its form. And can we not compare this to the mind of the Creator? Plato also says that the human soul longs to return to this perfect world of ideas.

In fact, many world religions have god or gods as their centre of worship. In Islam, believers who are devoted to Allah will be rewarded in heaven. In Hinduism, believers who are free from the cycle of rebirth will merge with the Cosmic Being called Brahman. What this illustrates is that man has been in a constant search for the meaning of life after death, and it can only be found in God.

So, man’s logic has led him to the conclusion that there is a God. But which one is the real one?

If Christianity were true, then the true centre of worship should be the Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. All other gods would effectively be false. This is because truth is exclusive. No two contradictory things can be true at the same time. For example, Christianity asserts that there is only One God who is above heaven and earth (monotheism) while Hinduism asserts that the Cosmic Being is in all creation (pantheism). The two cannot be true at the same time. There can only be ONE truth.

Is there any basis for Christ being the way, the truth and the life?

Yes, there certainly is. God has spoken to man through His Word, where He has revealed Himself as a loving God, full of grace and mercy. He has revealed His plans for mankind’s redemption and gave His reassurance of salvation to those who believe in Him.

Though many have tried to refute the Word of God by claiming technical and doctrinal errors or contradictions, they have failed in their bitter endeavour to discount it as mere fables or manmade stories. In fact, so many attacks have been made by scholars from other religions, atheists and agnostics on Christianity in recent years, yet it has withstood them all, prevailing against scrutiny and standing up to close examination.

Hence, dear brothers and sisters, there is no doubt that the Lord is the only true God, our Maker and our Judge. He deserves our wholehearted worship and our deepest reverence and fear. But most of all, He deserves our unconditional love because He first loved us.

Therefore, hold on to the faith that you have. Persevere and you shall be given the crown of life! Amen.

In His service,

Brian Chee

CA 28/2 Report- "Heavenly Chatroom"

After almost 2 weeks of preparation, once again, another CA was held successfully, praise the Lord!!! The main theme for this CA was “ Prayer” or just like what is stated on the fliers “Heavenly Chatroom”.

At about 5.30pm, just right after the test for the ALM student that day, the whole worship team departed from INTEC. They went to NLRC earlier in order to practice for the last time before the real worship began. As usual, people started to wait for the transport at the bus-stop in INTEC, Cemara-Akasia, Cendana at about 6pm. Basically, the transportation that day was a smooth one thanks to Amanda and Steffie and all those who were fetching all the people there.
CA started at about 7.30pm. The emcees of the day were Samuel and Jia Jeng.

Basically, people who attended CA this time were lesser compare to the previous one due to the exams for the juniors and trial exams for the seniors. However, all this didn’t stop God from filling the whole sanctuary with His presence. As you can see, the peace and the joy of the Lord still be upon everyone who attend.

Normally, CA began with the ice-breaker. But this time, CA started off with worship. Andersen was the worship leader.

King Of Majesty

You know that,

I love You,

You know that,

I want to know You so much more,

More than I have before

These words are,

From my heart,

These words are,

Not made up,

I will live for You,

I am devoted to You,

Pre-Chorus:

King of Majesty

I have one desire

Just to be with You my Lord,

Just to be with You my Lord,

Chorus:

Jesus You are the Saviour of my soul

And forever and ever I'll give my praises to You,

Jesus You are the Saviour of my soul

And forever and ever I'll give my praises to You,

Bridge:

Jesus You are the Saviour of my soul(echo)

And forever and ever I'll give my praises to You(echo)

My Redeemer Lives

I know He rescued my soul

His blood has covered my sin

I believe I believe

My shame His taken away

My pain is healed in His name

I believe I believe

I'll raise a banner

'Cause my Lord has conquered the grave

My Redeemer Lives

My Redeemer Lives

My Redeemer Lives

My Redeemer Lives

You Lift my burdens

I'll rise with You

I'm dancing on this mountain top

to see your kingdom come

Jesus Lover of My Soul

Bridge:

Worship You, my God,

Until the very end.

Jesus,

lover of my soul

Jesus,

I will never let You go

You've taken me from the miry clay

You've set my feet upon the rock

And now I know

I love you,

I need You

Though my world may fall

I'll never let You go

My Savior,

my closest Friend,

I will worship You until the very end

Everytime I Pray

i will come to You in prayer

i will seek Your face

i will stand between the gap

there will i intercede

for every time i pray

i move the hand of God

my prayer does the things

my hands cannot do

for every time i pray

the mountains are removed

the paths are made straight

and nations will turn to You

i am weak and helpless, God

You my strength shall be

guide me with Your gracious hand

there will my victory be

Up next, is the ice-breaker. Shalisha was leading the ice-breaker. We were divided into 5 group, each group was given an item to act out in order for others to guess what is it. Here are some randomly picked photos.

The winning team, a guy standing in front meowing, and the rest standing behind singing, and the answer is “Elvis Presley” ?!

The night continued with Bro. Chun Chung’s short message on prayer. His message began with a short video clip about Psalm 23. He mentioned that David, to our surprise, was actually praying with his eyes opened. When David prayed, he was looking at the nature, the mountain, and the sea. With his eyes opened while praying, he actually sees God as a shepherd.

Psalm 23:1, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

Through prayer, you can respond to God in any moment of your life. You still can pray even when your eyes still opened wide. Seeing what is around us, and respond to God. It’s a way for us to communicate with our Heavenly Father.

Later, all of us were divided into groups again to pray. Each and everyone in the group take turns to pray. After that, the prayer coordinator, Eliza, briefed about the WSW (World Student Week).

That night ended with the refreshment prepared by Shalisha, Xin Yun and Qian Ru. Really thanks a lot for their effort. The refreshment was nice. Lychee juice with sandwiches and some round round thingy (I’m not so sure what is that called, but I think I tasted kaya inside that round round thing, nice:p)

The 3rd CA of the year has finally come to an end. Everything went on so smoothly in the midst of the presence of the Lord. It was a great and enjoyable night. Once again, praise the Lord for His blessing throughout the night.

-Bry@n

History in the Making

How CA came into existence in my world...

Part 1- At AUSMAT Cafe
Anna: (in Mandarin) Amy, want to go CA?
Amy: (in very broken Mandarin) Huh? What’s that?
Anna: Don’t know. Campus Alive, some Christian gathering I think. Joshua invited me to go.
(Along comes Joshua, blur as usual)
Anna: Joshua! Can you explain more about CA to us?
Joshua: Er....it is our Christian fellowship in INTEC. Er...wait ha. I’ll ask him to explain to you (turns around and talks to a guy half eating)
(Guy half eating stands up half chewing his unfinished rice about to open his mouth)
Amy: Hie, “him” *laughs at lame joke*
Jim: Huh? How did you know my name?
Amy: Huh? What name? Your name is really Him? Finish chewing your food first.
Jim: (finished chewing food) Huh? Never mind. Never mind. Anyonghasaeyo. That’s most probably the only thing I know how to say in Korean. Hie. I’m Jim from the AUSMAT Programme. CA stands for Campus Alive. It is where we gather once every two weeks to worship and have fellowship with God’s people. Do come. It is very nice.
Amy: Oh ok.....

Part 2- During ICS Week
Eugene: Join CATS!
Amy: Ah....what do you guys do?
(Eugene explains. After finishing, he pauses)
Eugene: Ah, I see you are wearing a cross. Christian?
Amy: Uh-huh
Eugene: Do come to CA tomorrow. It is our Christian Fellowship. It’s going to be fun! It’s my last CA though. *frowns*
Amy: Oh......

I came to INTEC, as a believer who was losing her faith. Question, doubts, fear haunted my thoughts day and night. Lost and not connected to a church at that time, inevitably, I backslid. Fortunately, thank God, He sent people to tell me about CA. It was there that God chose to bless my life with people who got me back on track. People who inspired me when I looked at their faith. Joash, Erin, Jim, Calvin..... Back then I could barely comprehend how did they manage to get such faith, but as I continue my walk with Jesus and as He ministers through CA to me, I learnt. Slow but steady. Baby steps.

This year, God used CA as a platform again to launch me further into my Christian life! This time, discipleship. Truly, one cannot really experience Him fully until they start to serve. Last year, Yen Mii asked me whether I wanted to be in the committee. I contemplated, not knowing what I can actually contribute. Somehow, I was moved to take up the offer. So, I did. And from then on, I was made game master. A job I enjoyed. When I first got it, as usual, I wondered was I up to it. A lot of what ifs came up. But God remained faithful. When the first CA came about and I did the games, I knew, it was a job God tailor-made for me.

First CA of the year was a success. There were 3 generations of Intecians gathered together to kick off the year. I was nerve wrecked. Super seniors, seniors and juniors. But, God’s presence was strong and we went home victorious, honouring Him. The second CA was simply a blast! Elder Kien Yiak shared about loneliness, and taught us how to wait upon God, something which I felt helped further equip us as students who will further their studies in a foreign land.

I prayed hard for an unforgettable CA when it struck me that CA is something that I will never forget. It was where Jesus set my feet on solid ground. He replanted the seed that fell on the rocks on good soil. That night, i truly understood why Eugene had a frown on his face when he told me about his last CA, for now I will tell you with a frown that 13/02/2008 CA was my last. Though short lived, being game master has taught me the concept committing something greater than myself to Him first before I do anything.

CA Committee before 2007, thank you for making CA happen and keeping it Alive. CA Committee 2007, thank you for introducing me to CA and putting me into place. CA Committee 2008, thank you for making me part of the team, keep up the GREAT work and continue to burn for Jesus! CA Committee to come, keep the fire BURNING! We would never know how many lives has been, is being and will be touched through CA, only God knows, and I’m here as one of the many testimonies. Continue to make CA a miracle and blessing for the many to come.

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

*CHEERS*

-Amy-