relentless-pursuit

2007-05-01T13:13:00.000+08:00

Updates!

Finally, after half a month........ the photos are finally done up nicely! Do visit www.northeast.multiply.com to view the photos of our NE Events March-April! (:

AND!

Hope Sem/WFL registration ends this Saturday, 5th May! Please sign up if you have not!

Camp is coming up! 11th-14th June @ Singapore Sports School! Be there!

Early registration of $120 ends on 19th May! Or you could pay $50 deposit and pay the remaining $70 by 26th May! Don't miss out! ;)

Our new believers will enjoy $120 all the way till camp!

2007-04-16T21:55:00.000+08:00

Save Money!!!

Camp is coming.
WFL is coming.
Spending money should be the last thing on your mind if you don't have enough money for camp and/or WFL! Saving money should be the first.
Don't just be contented with camp only! WFL is also important!!!
Temporal inconvenience. Temporal 'suffering'. Eternal rewards. Choose the right path!

2007-04-15T21:05:00.000+08:00

Photos for NE Events March/April

Photos taken during NE Guitar Class (March) @ Istana Park & our recent New Believers' Party (April) @ America Room are up on NE Multiply (www.northeast.multiply.com).

Due to some error on Multiply, the album is not completely done up yet. Once Multiply is properly running, it'll be completely done. Do stick close to here for more updates! (:

2007-03-28T14:13:00.000+08:00

Easter Harvest

3Ps
-Partner
-Plan
-Pairs

It's been almost a year since we launch NE 180 Degrees Change. And what change had we seen? We are still far from 180 people! In fact, we just transferred so many O level grads to other districts and tertiary. We need to really grow a lot if we want to achieve 180, 200 and beyond!

It is no easy task. But, if we follow our game plan for this Easter harvest, the 3Ps, there will be no problem breaking our 200 goal!

First, we need to partner up. Much as humans hate to admit it, we can't fight a lone battle. Partner up. Share ideas. Encourage each other. Pray together. Go out into the field together. Cover up each others' weaknesses. Complement each others' strengths.

Second, we need to plan. We just can't drift along & hope that someone will convert. We need to plan concrete steps & actions. Set goals & targets to achieve. Time is short, start planning. Plan when to outreach. Plan when to share Christ. Plan when to intercess for the school. Use that small, little time slots to the maximum.

Third, we need to aim high for pairs of convert. 2 converts may seem difficult, but we need to have faith & trust in God. Question yourself how much God is worth. God is so wonderful, surely He is deserving of us bringing 2 people to know Him!

Come on, NE! Let's work hard for this Easter. Saturday is pre-Easter service. Next Saturday is Masterpiece, our Easter service (12.30pm @ Nexus). There's not much time left, if we don't do something about it, Easter will come & go & we'll realized we done nothing.

I'm sure the leaders are all tired of hearing 180 all the time. I believe it is the same thing with 200. Shall we move together in 1 united spirit to beyond 200? It can only be done if each & everyone of us play our part in this Easter harvest. YOU must play YOUR part.

All the way, beyond 200!

YK

2007-03-12T01:13:00.000+08:00

hey this is for all of you who have yet to get the CONNECT devotion guide. (:
let's gain new insights and walk even closer with God! : D
click to enlarge and pardon the rather lousy image quality, it's the content that matters.

2007-01-29T21:13:00.000+08:00

NorthEast Testimonies!

God is doing a great work all over NE!

As we read all these wonderful stories, let's not just be awed and inspired. Let's desire to be used by God in such a great manner!

NEA
St Nicholas: Had a new believer last week who was so inspired by God and impressed by the church that she sms-ed Kar Chian last Saturday night to say that she will commit to church every week from now!

Jonathan Quek: He has a December convert but the convert only wants to go for Sunday morning service. Jonathan didn't complain, instead he is very willing to wake up by 7+am to accompany this new believer to the Sunday service at 9am.

Pete: He actually woke up early in the morning at 8.30am to play badminton with a non believer! He also mobilized the CG to go down and sow on the non believer.

NEB

Sunny: Had a new believer whose life was so changed in the area of his speech (in the past, he used to say a lot of vulgarities) that his mum was rather impressed by the change. She even asked why there was such a change in his life. His friends was very surprised by this transformation too and requested him to bring them to his church as they wanted to see what was the reason why he changed so much.This new believer also has a great desire to grow. This coming Saturday ESS, his two friends has already been confirmed!

Nicolas: He gave lots of support to the CG! He actually mobilized the whole cg to support his sheep in a school event. He sms-ed the cg to ask who could go and support. He even made a statement that even if no one is going, he will still go down! For the last few weeks, he has brought at least one friend for each service!

Nigel: This new believer brought a friend and he converted! He really desire to bring friends to know God! Now St Gabriels has 3 people!!!

NEC

Vincent and Brandon: During this period of harvest, Vincent and Brandon (who weren’t very outward and excited about outreach in the past) actually initiated to go down to evangelize together! They provided support for each other and spurred one another on. From 1 Compassvale Sec person, now they had grown to a near CG size of Compassvale people!

Zeliang: He called Freedy to find out how he could be a CL and last week he had his first converted sheep!

NEE

Wenhui: She, a new believer grew to desire God. Even while watching movie, God spoke to her and she even had a vision from God. She's also very excited about bringing people. Recently, she found her own sheep and she's very eager to grow her sheep. Her desire and child-like faith encourages the CG a lot! Even more impressively, she started serving in HopeKids on Sunday just one day after she converts!

Zhiwei and Wee Keong: During last Saturday ESS, Zhiwei and Wee Keong (an AJC new believer) from NEE2 brought 2 of their CCA juniors for service after their CCA! The two visitors used to have bad impression of church and Y-Hope. But after attending the service, their mindset of the church changed.

NEE2: JC guys' CG strength has always been around 8. However, during last Saturday ESS, they had a total of 18 people (their goal for end feb is 15). Of the 18, 8 were visitors. 2 new believers who converted last, last Saturday came for CG too!

Isn't God powerful in all these stories? Isn't God the God of your group too? If He can do it in these groups, He can do it too in your group.

Let's continue to work hard in action & pray hard for the remaining EX3 services! Let's break 200 soon & very soon!

YK,
on behalf of Gideon.
Disclaimer: The stories above had been editted for proper English only. However, if in the midst of edition, the original meaning had been unknowingly changed, please tag about it on the tagboard (:

2006-12-31T13:29:00.000+08:00

Christmas Party Photos

http://northeast.multiply.com/

Most of the photos taken by Stephen (our Party Photographer) are all uploaded there.
Videos of the carolling (practice & actual) will also be up.
If you wish for more photos to be added, kindly email me (northheast@gmail.com) or pass me your CD. Maximum 15 photos. (: Other events photos (your unit event, camp etc) could also be sent in. However, decision to post is at my own discretion.
Enjoy!

YK

2006-12-15T00:47:00.000+08:00

A Lovely Christmas- With A Twist Of Rock!

Venue : Hong Kong Tea House
NO 86 East Coast Road. Block A Katong Village
Date: 23 Decemeber 2006
Time: 7pm - 10pm

Pricing!

Shepherds and above: $10

Members: $5
Visitors: Free

Preview!

Food: Nachos, Turkey, Log Cake...

Programe: Carolling, best of the best, live music band

And many many more :D

Yeay! Let's invite people for this super cool christmas event! (:
Breakthrough 1000! Northeast 180 Degree Change!

2006-11-23T20:53:00.000+08:00

Thoughts From Colossians (I)

My recent venture back into the New Testament has been a great mining experience. Each Pauline letters allowed me to mine great truths from the Word of God. Each epistle tells a different story of the early church. From Paul's writings, you can clearly understand the problems & issues the letter was meant to address... ... ...

To read more, visit www.gg-mini-bites.blogspot.com

YK

2006-11-01T23:34:00.000+08:00

hey all!
http://breakthroughcamp.blogspot.com

kar told me that they have the daily devotions all online for us! really such a blessing.
lets be faithful in the daily devotions and prepare our hearts for BREAKTHROUGH CAMP!

-lays

2006-10-09T20:58:00.000+08:00

Project SOS Launch 6th Oct

Wanted to post a video, but it won't work...

I would say that it was quite an exciting evening, but I am not too sure how many of you agrees. But I know one thing: We must be consistent in everything we do. We don't have a big fanfare about the launch of Project SOS one Saturday evening & then sit on it & do nothing about it thereafter!

Let's all work hard to save 1 sheep! I believe that your leaders who are not in secondary schools or JCs (including me) are all looking out for opportunities to bring that ONE sheep into God's sheep pen!

For the benefit of those who lost their notes, those who never catch certain points, those who were not there or those who somehow or another don't have Gideon's sharing, here are some main points about his sharing:

Save
-Means we are bringing salvation to them!
-Salvation in heaven & on earth (continous life transformation)
-Salvation is no laughing matter. We need to take it seriously. We must examine our heart condition toward people and ask ourselves "How prepared am I to shepherd the new sheep?"

One
-Principle of accumulation: 1 of you bring 1 sheep, 10 of us bring 10 sheep, 30 of us bring 30 sheep, 50 of us bring 50 sheep.
-It is not just another sheep! It is ONE soul finding the true meaning of life! What does that ONE soul means to us?

Sheep
-We all know that sheep are hopelessly blur & defenseless animals. Our role is to guide them in the right paths as well as protecting them.
-A shepherd knows his sheep very well. A strong relationship bond exists between them. We must always strive to know them & understand them better.

With this greater understanding of Project SOS, NorthEast, let's charge full force to bring one (more than 1 also no problem!) sheep into the Kingdom by end November! If we all work hard, breaking 180 is a very, very simple feat!

Let's go out to win the schools with our 110%!

YK

2006-09-21T01:29:00.000+08:00

Was doing this for my care group, but thought that it'd be great to share with everyone!

Process of Studying
1 Pray and Keep in Mind God's Promise! ^^ Don’t forget to depend on God who is our source of strength! Matthew 7:7 - Ask and God will give! Pray before you start mugging, could be as simple as - "God please bless me with wisdom and understanding! Help me to overcome Math!" Pray specifically for God to answer specifically and to see greater answered prayers! It works only when you believe in what you pray for.

2 Studying Methods. Try out as many different methods as possible! Eg: study in groups, study/memorize by writing notes, memorize by repeating everything in your mind or by saying, etc. At the same time, note which method works the best for you! Know yourself well, to achieve maximum effect in the future! [Like in the Sec 2 streaming or O levels. =D]

3 Association! <3 Think of stupid and funny things to link to certain facts or dates. Example, Iron(II) Oxide is green in colour, Iron(III) Oxide is brown. Remember, “tree” [referring to Iron(III) Oxide] is not green! And three and green rhymes. Something that would humour yourself and make an impression, so you remember things better.

4 Know yourself well. Know which time of the day you are most alert and can study the best for maximum results. For me is around 30 minutes after I just wake up, as my mind would be clear and can retain information quickly. What is yours? Know the best study environment, and the group of people to study with.

5 Plan! You fail to plan, you plan to fail! Nope this is not to constrict and stress you with what you need to study. This is so that you have a good gauge of how much time you need to finish studying your syllabus. [Also to know that your studying time is numbered and you should stop slacking! Hah! =P] Avoid cramming everything on one day. Even if your brain can take it, your body cannot, and it's not an enjoyable experience. Be specific and realistic when planning. Specify the topic and duration to cover it on a specific day. Take note of your physical state. Eg: Thursday got tuition, so more tired, so study less, etc.

6 Don’t cut corners. =/ Don't slack and omit certain things to study, unless out of syllabus or no time la. Whatever you study now will come in handy in your future years. Eg: your sec 1 syllabus don't just stay in sec 1, it links to Sec 2 stuff. It’ll make your studying in future years much easier. I loved Geography in Sec 2, and studied it really well. In Sec 3, Geography was so easy to study and understand, cause its just a little more complicated from Sec 2, just need to build up from where I already knew.

During the Exam
1 Pray and Keep in Mind God's Promise. Don't forget to depend on God who is our source of wisdom! [Wisdom is applied knowledge, how you apply what you know. Eg: In Math, in inferential questions.] James 1:5 – You need wisdom, ask with faith and God will give! I asked for wisdom in math, and I almost always know how to do after that when I ask with faith! ^^

2 Calm down, don't panic. If you have to, write down all the complicating formulas/facts before you do your paper. The start of the paper is when all the information is the freshest, so you won't confuse the facts with other things as you do the paper. When you panic, your brain cannot think, since its too busy being panicky. So say a little prayer, breathe in and out deeply and silently 3 times.

3 Recalling. The first thing that you remember of about something is usually the correct one, so just put what you remember about something first. Eg: Is this part of the heart named ABC? Or is it EFG? ABC should be the one since you thought of it first. Unless you know for sure that EFG is the one la.

Note: You have to know your stuff well to do well on a test. [Or by God's grace, what you study is what that comes out. Even so, you need to know what you study well to write about it!] You have to control test anxiety to show what you know.

After the Exam
1 Focusing on what is next. Once you finish the test and hand it in, forget about it temporarily. There is nothing more you can do until the graded test is returned to you. Turn your attention and effort to new assignments and tests.

2 Spirit of learning. When the graded test is returned to you, analyze it to see how you could have done better. Learn from your mistakes and from what you did well. Apply this knowledge when you take the next test.

PS: Some of us have parents who emphasize on academics. But do bear in mind that you're not taking the O levels yet. So do try out all the different studying methods and make "clever"mistakes. [Don’t make repeated mistakes] Mistakes do help you remember stuff clearer as well, especially when that 1 mark is needed to your next grade. Hah. =D

Overall
1 Matthew 6:33 Can't think of a better headin.. tis exam period 1 thing u SHLD nvr do is to abandon God! con't to keep close wit God thru cg n service.. dun shut God out when u need Him the most! Matt 6:33* --- Seek first His kingdom n his righteousness, and all these things will be given to u..*tis is NOT the exact verse (i typed it from memory) so some of the words might b wrong, but the meanin is the same

jon!

2006-09-03T00:43:00.000+08:00

We had our NEA and NEC combined unit event today!
Played shi zhi lu kou. It was fun ( :

Upon completion of the fifth food, we were to make our way to MIGHTY Yihui and Freedy to get to know what is our eighth food to complete the game.

Apparently, some groups were asked to take spastic pictures. Whereas for some, they were asked to go around starhub and handshake people's hand.

When they finished the eighth food, they made their way down to Istana Park. The winning team was...

And the last team to arrive was...

Lol. But it's alright. Because we are victorious in Christ! ( :

NEA+NEC!

I'm sure we enjoyed ourselves and know people in our district and other districts. ( :

- Pete

2006-08-31T23:24:00.001+08:00

Whoohoo, reali thk God for NEC2 guys! Well, we got average 1convert everyday! had 5converts within tis week, 2Xinmin, 2HIHS & 1PeiCai & they r reali responsive lik willing to tok wif us on phone, sms & msn etc! God is reali working revival in our CGs! Though we had our Cg tday & didnt work as it is to b, but when we r challenged to change our attitude, & when we r asked to go outreach, our hearts is reali working for it, everyone including those who not v sure how to do, they learnt & they did it themselves also! Like GuoWei sharing christ, it is lik, WOW!

Yes he shared, & tt guy convertted! Reali proud of being one in NEC2, yay, taking a own unit of HOUGANG region, SERANGOON region, PUNGGOL region & SENGKANG region is no something far from us anymore!

Yeep, HIHS now is 1cg size once again, Srgn+SengKang 1cg size & PUNGGOL 1cg size too! Whoohoo, breakthrough everywhere! Shall end off wif best regards, NE180 is reali smth possible!

DesmondMark

2006-08-28T20:12:00.000+08:00

hello everyone! it's my first time blogging at northeast blog.
just wanna share how God has really blessed ZION duirng this harvest season from july till now.

St Nicholas Girls' School as a great example of God's blessing. This school has been barren for the past few years (i'm not joking) although there're a no of lower sec converts however none was retained. Last year, the school faced a major crisis as all five people in the sch were graduating. At the point of time, the situation seems bleak. Although we wanted to bring in people but exams were approaching. However, God has shown himself faithful by blessing us with a sec one convert from the east region before we graduated -- that is karchian. She joined us alongside in the vision to establish a community in the sch. Although there were numerous visitors as well as converts since last year, the sch had only 2 ppl(kar and tomoe) left.

Then a revival happened in July this year. We witnessed a total of 2 converts (Janice and natalie) during closets and they are well retained. The blessing did not end there, the grp continued to multiply as the new bs brgt their frens. And as of last sat, we have a total of SEVEN girls in the sch!

in addition, ZION saw a total of six converts last week of which 2 were during the wkdays. Out of the 6 converts, 3 of them were anderson guys. This is yet another breakthrough cos the grp(NEA3) had been rather unfruitful for the pas 4 mths with only 2 converts. These guys were really desperate(ahem. haha) to bring people to Christ and they shared Christ almost everyday last wk. God really blessed their efforts with 3 converts and today they have another convert!

God has shown himself faithful and true. For the past 7 weeks, our unit witnessed 23 ppl crossing the line of faith and we're expecting more to come! Lastly, here's a verse of you guys, Galatians 6:9. It says "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Let us all perservere on and continue to give our best. God will honour your efforts. Let's jiayou! SIX MORE DAYS TO NE 180! here we come (:

<3 yihui; ZION

2006-08-22T21:20:00.000+08:00

Whoa, I'm very thankful for my new convert today! ( :

Well, apparently I met this contact after school to share christ to him. He was dismissed at 1.40pm and was supposed to reach home at that time (his mother's very strict with him). I thought I couldn't share christ anymore at the canteen. However, I perservered on and walked home with him. Thank God though that his was just 2-3 blocks away from the school.

So when I reached his void deck, I asked him, "Can I share to you a story that changed my life?"

He agreed.

I shared the bridge diagram to him. He wasn't at first responsive when I asked him if he would like to receive Jesus into his life. However I did not give up and continued sharing about my life and how I was changed. Then I shared about my feelings after receiving Christ and everything.

I think God did something in his heart. In the end, I think he could relate to what I felt. Thus he finally decided to receive Christ! Thank God!

Dear Northeast, do not be despaired about the discouragements that you are facing now with your contacts. I'm sure that if you truely desire for converts, God will give you the fruits! I perserved and God blessed me with a convert.
And I would also like to share that bringing someone to receive Christ is so awesome! It's the best thing that I would want to do.

Therefore, don't be discouraged! Continue to work hard for this harvest. 18o for Northeast, 1000 for Youth, souls for God!

PETE!

2006-08-08T20:44:00.000+08:00

Picnic In The Breeze

It happened on 29th July @ Changi Beach. Here are some photos taken during the event:

if u have any other photos, do send to me :D
Credits: Photos from Pamela

YK

2006-07-22T23:55:00.000+08:00

We had our MCG on a Tuesday, 18th July 2006 called Facade- what's the true you?

The invites! ( :

Whooo! The visitors really enjoyed themselves : D

The drama was very coool!

Thank God for all Zionites who contributed to this event!

To the others out there: Continue to jiayou for Closets! Northeast can break 180!

-Pete and JonQuek

2006-07-07T20:43:00.000+08:00

ohno, this blog is so dead. ehh, i want to share about God's goodness today.

NEA1 organised BOWL!, a s-o-w event to be held today (friday)
then on wednesday, there was only one confirmed visitor, and we got quite desperate.
so the workers contd to go out there and reach out to the people and on thursday, we had ard 4 visitors. yet God surprise us, this morning a contact's friends decided to come along, and we had 8 visitors!

after lunch, we realised that the entire bowling alley at grassroots club was fully booked by a school having training classes but we decided to go in faith anw. and soon after arriving there, the call came to the reception, saying that the training class was cancelled and people just left, vacating 2 lanes for us! the entire event went quite smoothly after that, thank God!

also want to affirm some people that has really worked exceptionally hard this week- karchian, seepeng, huitian, sarah. Thank God for all of you!

Loads of intercession + us moving = Him moving.

- Lays.

2006-06-21T23:16:00.000+08:00

Spiritual Childbirth

Now is the hour of childbirth. Now is the time to deliver the spiritual babies.

Childbirth had never been easy. Delivering the baby could take hours & is a painful process for the mother. Yet, when the mother embraces the child, the mother ‘s heart is filled with so much joy & tender love. This is my own flesh & blood child. This is the baby that I suffer so much for.

God had made us all pregnant during camp or even before the camp. We are all now pregnant with His passion & vision for the land. Now is the time to birth out the fruits of that vision.

It is not going to be an easy process but it is a satisfying process, seeing the non-believers turn to Christ. Seeing the lost finding the Way is pure joy. Seeing the hardened becoming soft towards Christ ‘s tender love is heartening. No words can fully express my emotions when a new spiritual baby is born. (That is why the best word I can think of to describe the emotion is the word joy.) We are going to face many difficult people, many unresponsive contacts & many other problems. But what can ever stop the mother from giving birth to the child?

I strongly believe God is pouring out the Holy Spirit over all the schools. Throughout July will be a time where we will see great harvest pouring in. We will see many newborn spiritual babies. However, we must work hard & endure all the difficulties. It CAN be done!

Never lose hope of the rewards of giving birth to the baby. The deep emotional rewards just far & above outweighs the pains & hardships. If we ever lose hope, the baby will just die stillborn.

Stillborn babies are those who die while being delivered. Usually, it is due to lack of oxygen resulting from complications or delay in delivering the baby & the baby suffocates to death in the womb. Stillborn babies are as good as no babies as all.

Who of us would wish to deliver stillborn babies? If we do not wish to, let us persevere on in delivering the babies lest we lost the spiritual babies before they are brought into the Kingdom.

Now is the time to deliver the baby. We can never determine when to deliver the child. We either catch the boat or miss it. We either experience joy of having our own spiritual descendants or jealousy of others experiencing that great indescribable joy.

Let me also caution those who aim higher than just 1 baby. Those who set higher expectations for themselves will definitely experience more pain & difficulties. Who had ever claimed that twins or triplets are easier to deliver? I have never seen people hoping to have twins just to ease the pain! If we desire to see ourselves giving birth to more than 1 baby, we must also prepare ourselves to suffer more pain & hardships. But fear not, the joy is more than doubled or multiplied.

I really enjoy the song “God Is Moving”. We as His children should follow His footsteps & timing. If He says now is the time for childbirth, let ‘s make it NOW! Let ‘s be faithful in delivering the spiritual babies God has planned for us.

2006-05-28T23:29:00.000+08:00

We just had a farewell for the fellow brothers and sisters who are leaving NEA (:
Here are the pictures ( a picture paints a thousand words. )

Yeay! The games! We played toilet bowl game, ate digusting food (RAW: spring onions, tomato and celery), some food name finding game. (:

Spastic and group shots after our games! :D

NEA1!

NEA2!

NEA3!

Yeay! We affirmed all the people transferring after games. It was a very encouraging and touching moments because we know that every single one of them who are transferring have impacted someone's life in a way or another. And we should too feel happy for them as they are going to do someone even greater for God (:

To all transferring out there, jiayou for God! God can use you greatly!

-Pete :D

2006-03-28T00:45:00.000+08:00

Bible says: "harvest is plentiful, workers are few". Are we working hard enough to tell God that, "workers are totally plentiful & harvest are few" instead? What does it means? It means that we must do even more to save the world. Since year2000, ahbengs have been multiplying around the world, terrorist attacks & disasters came. A big compassion starts to impact my heart, is that poors are totally hopeless in this kind of situation, but once they know God, they can find their hope.

Ever since Passion starts, workers have been releasing potential, giving out all they can do to outreach. If this starts long agao, won't the people who know Christ even more? OR, if Passion does not exist, does it means that outreach is not important? NO, outreach should be our daily lifestyle isn't it? & converts should always be increasing. It is so happy whenever I receive message that certain zones have converts. My zone & myself have too, so does the whole NE!

Yay, HIHS is multiplied from 2-4people, & it will goes on, Zion increased in numbers, NEB outreaching in all kinds of areas, MOT having a start in outreaching too, sori, JC guys I not really know them, paiseh...

180 in NE, 1000 in Youth, 55 in MOT & Zion, NEB 30-40 is it?, haha NEE, i still don't know, jiayou in this harvest!

YNEC CL

2006-02-08T12:44:00.000+08:00

NE BLOG VALENTINE SPECIAL

Proclamation of Love

In January, I came across this video where there was this couple that showed their affection for one another in an unusual way. They made a wedding ring out of their own body tissue.

Some time back, I heard of some crazy teenagers who carved on their hands to display their love for one another. We had also heard throughout our lives about the extent a couple would go for one another.

Valentine ‘s Day is all about people proclaiming love. Throughout the ages, humans love to create different methods to display their affection for one another. However, no one can beat Jesus at this game.

Jesus proclaimed His love for us in the most touching way ever in the whole of history. For love, He willingly suffered the vicious scourging of the Romans. He quietly endured the mocking of the Roman soldiers. He withheld His divine power to take up the Cross with human strength. He denied Himself the authority to command legions of angels to rescue Him as the nails were driven into Him.

Whose ‘s acts of love could ever compare to Him? Would you endure such pain & humiliation for your loved ones who totally do not deserve your love?

Valentine ‘s Day is not just a day of displaying affection & then moving on in life. Successful couples would move on in their level of relationship. Some go full time on courting; others continue their courtship in a deeper level while the rest would put on wedding gowns thereafter.

Humans have tried many ways of proclaiming love that were not as drastic as what Jesus did, but yet they succeeded in winning the hearts of their loved ones. Will our hearts be hardened towards His love? On Valentine ‘s Day, as we remember anew how Jesus displayed His deep love for us; what will be our response to His love?

For the younger believers, would you take the step of faith to start a relationship with Him? Would you take the step to discover the fulfilling life He gave you on the day He poured out His life?

For older believers, let us renew our love for God once again. Would we dedicate ourselves again to knowing Him in a deeper measure? Would we choose to give our lives to Him in obedience to His will?

Since we are still too young to love someone of the opposite gender & spend Valentine ‘s Day with him/her, why not we spend Valentine ‘s Day with God? Why not we allow the Spirit to impress on our hearts again the scene of Calvary & reflect on His love?

Spend a meaningful Valentine ‘s Day this year with God.

Have a great Valentine ‘s Day as we tell God, “I love You.”

YK

2006-01-28T13:34:00.000+08:00

Reunion Photos!

Err... what they doing sia...

Alex's Birthday Celebration

The crazy girls from NEA1!

Scandalous Picture of the Year!

2006-01-22T13:24:00.000+08:00

What ‘s The Difference?

There are several differences between we Christians & they non-Christians.

They don’t possess the best method to cure their problems. We possessed it, the Word.

They never understand the meaning of life. We understood it, always putting a smile on His face.

They worry about what ‘s next in life. We worry too, but we have the peace & assurance of our Father ‘s presence.

They ponder about what ‘s on the other life of life. We ponder what it is like too, but at least we know it is heaven with our Father waiting for us.

They attempt to fill the hole in their lives with various addictions. We fill it with the best addiction ever, an addiction to know & love God more.

They crack their brains thinking of gifts for their loved ones on every important occasion. We need not crack our brains to think what to offer to our Lord, He had it all written down clearly.

They long for having a listening ear with them listening to their troubles always. We have one faithful & patient listening ear, our living Savior.

So, are there any similarities between them & us?

There is one. They are selfish creatures, often keeping the best to themselves. Some of us are as well, keeping the greatest thing in the world inside their heart.

Are we the “some”?

Love Triple1, don’t be the “some”. “Date” someone out on that day ;)

YK

2006-01-02T23:02:00.000+08:00

NE BLOG NEW YEAR SPECIAL
Chaos = No Peace
-The Difference Between Worldly Peace & Godly Peace-

As 2005 draws to a close & 2006 begins, one thing that bothers me deeply is what many people wish for in 2006. As I watch TV broadcasting what people from various walks of life wish for, I noticed that many wish for peace in the world.

Peace is not wrong. However, the peace they are anticipating for will never come, at least till Jesus comes back. They define peace as a state whereby there is no chaos caused by natural disasters like those we seen so often in 2005 or terrorism which splash across the news so frequently.

Jesus already prophesied about widespread chaos in the end times in Matthew 24:6-7, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.”
We ARE living in the end times, and more chaos WILL come. You can flip through the Bible and find other end time verses depicting chaos more vividly than Matthew 24:6-7.

With this, we can all safely conclude that “peace” will never come, at least till Jesus returns. To summarize, we are facing a hopeless situation where the world would only get worse till He returns.

However, & thankfully, our dear Chief Shepherd had left a word for the hopelessness we face now. He says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

The peace our Lord gives is unique. It is very much different from the world ‘s definition. This peace is the reassurance of Him guiding us through every stage of life. Chaos can & will come, but we can have peace, knowing that God is in charge of our lives & we can rest in His faithfulness.

This is one reason why I am passionate about sharing the Gospel. The Gospel preaches peace that only God can give. When we share the Gospel, we are helping the people take the step to discovering the peace we have in Him. Though Singapore is relatively safe now, but we will never know the future. When the unexpected happens, won’t it be great to know that through your proclamation of Jesus, you had helped someone discover true peace in God?

A challenge I wish to issue to all is to receive His peace in our lives. In this Christian life, I have discovered each year holds much greater challenges than the previous. In addition, I discover that as I tackle each new challenge, I know that God is there with me, overcoming them WITH me!

As 2006 starts, let ‘s embrace a new meaning of peace. Not the one the world perceives, but the one God perceives.

God ‘s Lens: Chaos = No Peace
World ‘s Lens: Chaos = No Peace

YK
PS: I forgot strikethrough dun work well with "=" signs, haha. N also sry a bit late due to some delays ;)

2005-12-30T22:44:00.000+08:00

While I was spending my time with God just now, reading upon the six chapters from Deuteronomy, I realized that God has set up a lot of commandments- a lot of "do"s and "don't"s in the old testaments. And most importantly, they had been repeated so many times. Example of sins such as adultery, murder and many more, they were highly detestable and God said people who did of such sins should be punished in ways like stoning to death. They were detestable in God's eyes. And God repeatedly said those commands and warned that no one should be merciful towards these sinners. In God's eyes, those were detestable.

And I asked myself these question that many might have thought, "so is God a God of "do"s and "don't"s?"

I mean, seriously, looking at what I've said and all that you might have read- might you not think so too?

So I asked God, "Are You really such a God?"

While I continued reading, I suddenly remember the leaders once told us during a meeting that whatever that has been repeated in the Bible for more than one time shows that it is very important.

They were detestable in God's eyes. They were so detestable that God wants them dead.

But if we think about it- if God really detested us, why would He send His one and only Son to die on the cross for us? If He detested us so much, why was He so willingly die on the cross to free us from our sins?

The truth is- God never detested us. The thing He so detested was what we do. Our sins. And He set all those command because He didn't want to see us sin. He didn't want us to commit those sins that were so detestable in His eyes. And for all these He had done was out of one thing- Love.

It is repeated so many times in the Bible that God hated sin. But as we were still sinners, God already loved us so much more than we could ever imagine. He could no longer bear to see His sons and daughters die, and therefore sent His one and only Son to die for us to redeem us from our sins. And because of this, with just one prayer, we were saved.

And because of grace, we were saved. Even after we were saved, we still sinned. And we all know how much God hated sins. But still, He wanted us to be saved. Why? Because He love us.

And because we understand this fact, we continued to serve God and repent every time we sin because we don't want to hurt God after all He has done- saving us even though He had detested what we do.

Is God a God of "do"s and "don't"s?

No.

He's a God of love.

For those Christians and non-Christians who didn't understand why we serve- this is for you. For those Christians who are serving because of God's love- see you at the end of the race.

(:
yushan

2005-12-25T13:06:00.000+08:00

~NE BITES ARTICLES~
For all to know how to bite the devil

Giving Thanks
-Strange But Effective Weapon Against Our Enemy-

Christmas is all about remembering God ‘s goodness & giving thanks to Him coming down in human form, apart from sharing to others this Good News. However, I believe many, if not most of us do not really see how powerful giving thanks is.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 tell us to “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” Paul included the part of giving thanks because he saw the importance of it as part of God ‘s plan for us.

Personally, I think giving thanks is a very potent weapon we possess. When we say, “Thank You, Lord”, we remind our forgetful being about the realness & goodness of God. We not only recall the power of Christ working through us but also His enduring faithfulness in our lives & as a result, we can all feel assured of our future in Him.

This full assurance of our future in Him strengthens us against the devil. Whenever the devil tempts us, we can confidently tell ourselves that God holds the best future, as long as we trust Him. We can feel His presence so strongly in our lives when we give thanks. Thus, we will not waver in our faith, standing firm in our Rock & believing that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him”(Romans 8:28).

Paul says to give thanks in ALL circumstances. Even when our ministry is not growing, our life seems to be collapsing or whatever difficult situations there may be, it is still possible to give thanks. After this Christmas season of reaping our harvest, problems will bound to come. Our new believers will give problems in a way or another, big or small problems. I never really had seen a new believer with no problems at all.

In trying times, remember some of the things you can give thanks for. Give thanks that things are not more worse that what is happening. Give thanks that He is still there, carrying us through these situations. Give thanks for the time of molding & growing. Give thanks for the wonderful future that have in Him. Whatever the circumstances, you can still give thanks by simply thanking Him for the salvation that He had given to us. Give thanks too, that since He had purchased us with His own blood, He would never forsake us & He will make good His promises.

Another reason thanksgiving is important is in its ability to humble us. When we give thanks, we remember that it is “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6b). I believe this is one reason why God in the Old Testament kept emphasizing to the Israelites to never forget about the God who brought them out of Egypt & did great miraculous deeds before their eyes.

In other words, when we give thanks, we are stopping this very potent sin call pride from seeping into us. Pride eats us up, just as it caused Lucifer to fall. The devil would enjoy the sight of our hearts being so hardened by pride that we would not receive from God the Word that He has to help us grow. Therefore, giving thanks helps us to be strong in Him so that we will not fall easily.

The God in the Old Testament Israel commanded the Israelites in their most glorious days to always remember their Lord & King who had brought about these glories. Likewise, during the Christmas season, when we have a bountiful harvest, give thanks to proclaim that it is not us, but God through us.

I believe giving thanks is one thing God wants to speak to us during this Christmas season as giving thanks strengthens & encourages us against the devil ‘s attacks. I would comment that giving thanks is a weapon that is not really emphasized very strongly in our lives. Nonetheless, its power should never be underestimated.

In summary, when we seems to have nothing left to sustain us on this journey, we must remember this weapon of saying “Thank You, Jesus” as it might very well save your spiritual life.

Bite the devil with your thanks! Start by giving thanks now!

YK
Author ‘s Words:
-This article is written especially for NE so I sincerely hope you all had enjoyed this little article.
-Any comments/improvement points, kindly tag or email me. Would also appreciate any ideas for future articles (:

2005-12-19T20:17:00.000+08:00

HI ALL!
theres gonna be a northeast christmas party on 23rd, friday !
there will be shuttle buses from nexus to the BBQ area in hougang immediately after the 1330 service. look forward to the exciting games!
whats more! there is a basketball court and a football court near the BBQ pit, to burn off those extra kilos after the meal!
fyi, the exact address is Hougang Ave 8 Blk 651. buses that go there include 147, 74, 165, 72, 159, 112, 55, 25 and 854.
please pay $10(believers) and $6(New Believers & Visitors) to your respective leaders for this party (:

lets really grab this opportunity and invite our friends who do not know Jesus to enjoy this fellowship together with us! not let them live in a Christ-less `Mas anymore! for it is written in romans 10 : 14-16 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

lets remember that christ was born to bring this salvation!
what better season than christmas to bring people into His kingdom?

northeasters, jiayou! (:

There's also a Carolling Session on the 24th Decemeber, Saturday! We'll be carolling in the Northeast Regions.
These are the groupings for the Carolling :
; Group1 : NED1 and Jiancong's Unit.
; Group2: Dingchuen's unit and JC girls.
; Group3: JC guys, NED2(YY + Rach)
; Group4: NEC and NED3
These are the venues each Group will be Carolling at :
; Group1 : Private estates at Pamela's house area.
; Group2: Private estates near Shell Station before Serangoon Stadium.
; Group3: Private estates near St. Gabriel.
; Group4: Private estates at Yio Chu Kang/Seletar stretch.

There will also be a Stayover after the carolling!
These are the stayover venues*
; RC: Freedy and Jian Cong's group
; JunHuang's House: Ding Chuen's group
; Clement's House: JC group
; Pamela's House: Sisters
*venues to be comfirmed again.

P.S If there are any changes made to any information, please tag it on the tagboard. Thks!

2005-12-19T19:44:00.000+08:00

~NE BITES ARTICLES~
For all to know how to bite the devil

Multiplication & Expansion
-Applying Mathematics In Spiritual Warfare -

During one of my recent time with God, I was talking to Him & praising Him for what He had done in my group. As I adored Him, the Spirit impressed on me that He is a Multiplier in many, many aspects of my ministry.

As I recalled how I was like in the past, how little I know, it dawned on me that God had expanded my knowledge of Him. I had come to church not knowing anything about God but now I am actively sharing about the God I now know. Also, in the beginning, I didn’t know how to outreach properly & effectively. But as I serve Him, He helped me pick up the right principles & methods to apply to have an effective outreach.

I came to church as one who had no skill, except for the skill of staying quiet. However, God added & multiplied my skills. I was one who don’t even know how to teach Life To The Fullest properly at first, but by His anointing, I am able to confidently teach & disciple others. The me who am able to lead any care group role now was one who totally messed up my first care group role leading Holy Communion. It is really how amazing God has changed me, as I trust Him.

A recent incident about how wonderful God is was when He expanded my faith. One of God ‘s recent calls to me is faith. Through out the past few weeks, I have been asking the Lord to increase my level of expectation, to turn my unbelief in belief. And God was faithful. He removed every part of me that was skeptical at what He was going to do in my ministry. He expanded my faith, such that now I am a faith-filled warrior.

At this point, I wish to emphasize on the importance of increased faith. Faith gives us excitement & passion. It will thus increase our motivation & we will do things with greater zeal & fervor. When we have increased faith, we can bite the devil in a bigger way.

I would admit this is a rather short article. However, I do encourage all of us to really trust in God & keep asking Him to double or even multiply your faith. I hope my story of how God used me to bite the devil will inspire you to desire to be used by God in the same way.

Brothers & sisters, let ‘s keep believing in the Lord & He will expand what you have to serve Him greatly. When our faith is multiplied, our skills & talents multiplied, we will be strong & powerful warriors of God.

YK
Author ‘s Words:
-This article is written especially for NE so I sincerely hope you all had enjoyed this little article.
-Any comments/improvement points, kindly tag or email me. Would also appreciate any ideas for future articles (:

2005-12-12T09:44:00.000+08:00

~NE BITES ARTICLES~
For all to know how to bite the devil

Readiness Is Key
-Readiness Is Not Meant To Be Emphasized In The World Only -

Imagine yourself stepping into a restaurant. The waiter came up to you & hands you a menu. However, when you pointed to a dish & asked about it, whether is it fried, deep fried, steamed etc, the waiter then give you a blank look. He continues by suggesting various answers. Finally, the waiter scratches his head (figuratively) before disappearing for help.

How would you feel? Disgusted? Turned off at the poor service? Regretful that you ever stepped in? Carving in your heart that you would never ever enter this restaurant again? As a result of that waiter who was not prepared to handle queries about the menu, the restaurant lost a customer.

The point of this article is not about the economic implications of that waiter ‘s poor service. The illustration above shows us the importance of being prepared. Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 urges us to “be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Christians are like running a business spiritually. In the world, losing one customer may not have big implications. In contrast, if we are not ready to share God ‘s love to our “customers”, we will lose a precious soul, one that Jesus loves to the extent of death. God shows in Ezekiel 3:18 how precious a soul is to Him, “When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.”

Therefore, we should all be prepared to share the Gospel at all times, “in season or out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). We must not just solely rely on special services but we must be ready to just share the Gospel anytime & anywhere since we never know what may happen the next day. The pre-believer may be open one day, but unresponsive the next. We cannot give the devil a chance to tempt us that since we are not prepared, we can be excused from sharing the love of God.

In addition, not just must we be ready to preach the Gospel, we must also be prepared “to correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). We never know when will Satan strike our flock. As shepherds, we must be vigilant in spotting any issues or problems bugging our flock & resolve them effectively. The only way to be effective is to know at the back of our palm the solutions to different problems. Otherwise, the devil would be able to win them over to his side with ease.

To sum up, I would use the best illustration I can think of-the watchman. Let me briefly list some of the roles of a watchman. The watchman stands on the walls of cities, ever alert. Thus, when danger threatens the city, the watchman would sound the alarm & call everyone to arms to combat the threat. Another role of the watchman is to ensure enemy spies do not infiltrate the city. Many medieval cities employed watchman to police the streets at night. In ancient Rome, the watchman not only kept peace & order in the city, they also double up as firemen.

In our context, the city is like the people we are taking care of. We ensure that they are spiritually protected from external influences by filtering out the unbiblical values/doctrines/influences they received in the day. In addition, we “police” their lives to ensure that internal heart issues do not entangle them from knowing God. Another role I would add for the watchman, which may not exist, is to protect foreigners. In context, foreigners are the pre-believers. Our role is to bring them into this city of refuge to know our Lord & King.

Before I conclude, let me reiterate the importance of readiness. In recent years, in the light of terrorism & natural disasters, we have seen countries all over the world churning out plans to minimize the consequences of such events. For example, after the tsunami in 2004, every household was encouraged to own an emergency disaster kit. If the world can realize the need for readiness, why not us?

Be a watchman this Christmas. Be ready to turn all kinds of circumstances, good or bad, into opportunities to touch the people around us. Be prepared to share the Word inside or outside the context of our special Christmas services. At the same time, keep a close watch on your sheep, ensuring that while new people come, current ones would still stay.

Being prepared foils the devil ‘s evil plans. And gives him a nasty bite too.

YK
Author ‘s Words:
-This article is written especially for NE so I sincerely hope you all had enjoyed this little article.
-Any comments/improvement points, kindly tag or email me. Would also appreciate any ideas for future articles (:

2005-11-27T16:57:00.000+08:00

~NE BITES ARTICLES~
For all to know how to bite the devil

Truly Armed Christians
-Having weapons is not enough, we need to use it effectively-

Most of us would know offhand what is the sword of the Spirit. It is the Word of God, for those of us who do not know (Ephesians 6:17b). It is the only offensive spiritual weapon the bible mentioned we Christians have. In Singapore, this weapon is something that we have the privilege to publicly own. Thus, we are all armed Christians, in a way.

However, being armed is not enough. We need to be truly armed. I have never seen successful & powerful military armies that just arm its soldiers with the latest & the best weapon only. Every time, they would train them to use it effectively to bring out the maximum firepower in that weapon.

Similarly with us, we don’t just arm ourselves with the Word of God by possessing a bible. We must learn to use it effectively to counter every spiritual attack from the devil. We need to undergo a spiritual training to hone our skills in using this versatile weapon.

Let me illustrate the need to sharpen our skills in using this double-edged weapon: In the famous war of words between Jesus & the devil (Matthew 4:1-11), both sides exchanged part of Scriptures. The devil used the Scripture to tempt; Jesus used it to resist the devil ‘s attacks. In this illustration, we can see that the Word of God, in a way, is a dangerous weapon, if we don’t train ourselves in it, it could backfired.

To become truly armed, we need to possess 2 important keys to help us familiarize with the sword of the Spirit.

The first crucial key is desire. Are we desiring to be truly armed Christians? God only speaks when we tell Him, “HERE I AM!” We are using a spiritual weapon. A spiritual weapon requires spiritual training, which comes when we desire for God to train us up.

Desire is very crucial. The devil will send obstacles to stop us from spending time to study your weapon. If we desire to know the Word well, nothing will ever stop us! We will take hold of every single opportunity to immerse ourselves in the Word.

With desire comes diligence, which is the next important key in unlocking the power in this book we possess. The Bible consists of 66 books, which is a lot to learn. That is why we must be diligent, taking time to explore every corner of our weapon. I believe that every soldier will put in effort in experimenting which way of holding a weapon is more comfortable or more accurate in hitting the targets etc. They would not wait till an enemy attack then fumble around with their weapon.

Thus, hard work is important, we can’t afford to wait till the devil attack then we go flipped the entire bible to search for that passage to counter him. In one recent drama I watched, a character phrase my thoughts aptly, “You don’t ask the enemy to wait for you to get ready before they attack.” Put in effort in reading the Word daily.

Another tip I would give here is to keep a journal of all your time with God. Truthfully speaking, every day we are trying to remember so many things. It is difficult to keep in your mind every single verse or passage that inspired you. Thus, keeping a journal helps. Whenever I am searching for a verse or passage, I would flip through my journal & scan for the verse or passage I needed. This saves much precious time & effort. Writing it down helps us to remember the verse better too.

Diligence involves consistency too. Don’t give up or slacken your efforts halfway. The Word is a versatile weapon. Knowing just a part isn’t enough. To maximize the power of the Word, we need to put in equal or more effort to study every part. Every part of the Bible is of equal importance. When we put them together, every part complements one another. If you got a multi-purpose equipment, you would make full use of every single function, not just a few.

When we combine desire & diligence together, it will develop in our walk with God a heart of continually seeking. In my hunger to know the Word deeper, I bought a study bible, which aided me in better digesting the Scriptures. In fact, if I have more time, I would love to supplement my daily dosage of the Word with bible commentaries, which are available all over the net. Another resource readily available is bibles of other translations. Since the bible was written in Hebrew, Greek & other languages, one word can have a variety of meanings. To have a wholesome understanding of a word, explore all kinds of versions! 1 All these ways requires us to have diligence as it is a lot of hard work & needs us to have the desire to help us sustain the habit.

Before we conclude, let us return to Matthew 4:1-11, the devil made use of the Scriptures to fight his battle. In our lives, he will turn this weapon against us. But bear in mind one thing; he uses it in the wrong way. That is why we need to apply these 2 keys so as to know the Word well & deep within our hearts so that we can use it in the correct manner, the manner that would grant us victory against the devil. Remember, just as faith without deeds is dead (James 2:17), desire to hear from God without having diligence to work towards it would reap no fruits.

Truly armed Christians bite. Do you bite?

1The Message version (MSG) is a version that gives a rather clear insight compared to other versions, though it may be a bit lengthy. Explore other versions such as Contemporary English Version (CEV), New Living Translation (NLT) to give you different insights on the passage.

YK
Author ‘s Words:
-This article is written especially for NE so I sincerely hope you all had enjoyed this little article.
-Any comments/improvement points, kindly tag or email me. Would also appreciate any ideas for future articles (:
-I would like to recommend a book I am currently reading by the late Bill Bright, “Discovering The Book God Wrote”. This is an interesting book about studying the Word of God. For more information about it, feel free to ask me.

2005-11-19T23:49:00.000+08:00

~NE BITES ARTICLES~
For all to know how to bite the devil

Power Of Unparalleled Love For Christ
-Power Of Love Is Not Restrained To Love Serials Only-

We all known & seen moving love scenes in the TV. A common one is the lead actor waiting for the lead actress in a fierce thunderstorm, hoping to move her heart. Another one is where the lovers elope under intense parental persecution. In these kinds of dramas, we see that deep love defy any opposition or obstacles. However, most if not all of us believe that theory is not realistic.

To certain extents this is true. However, when a teacher of the law asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' (Matthew 22:36-37)

Think about your non-believer days. Think about one of the craze you have gotten onto. I am sure during those days all your resources – your time, money and strength had been channeled into that craze. During my younger days, one of my craze was trading card games (TCG). During that time, I would spend as much money as I could on those TCG.

That is why to deeply love God is an important thing. If we deeply love Jesus, it will compel us to do anything for Him! Many times in this journey, I remind myself that what I am doing is out of love for Him! In those TV dramas, love compels the couples to doing anything to express their love for one another.

In our life, the devil would stop at nothing to tear us away from serving God. He hates it each time we serve God & advance His Kingdom. Satan would send temptations in our life – our studies, passions & dreams etc. He is like the persecuting parents in the love serials, refusing the couple to be together.

However, we hardly see the couple give up on one another in those dramas. The more the parents persecute, the more they desire to be together, even to the extent of eloping! So should it be with us! Our love for Christ must be so deep that nothing can ever break us apart. It must be to the extent that the more the devil tries to stop us; the more we refuse to give up giving to God our all!

Satan loves to stop us. That is why we need to bite back. The only way to bite back is to keep on loving God. In some of those TV shows, the scene we see at the end is the couple being together. That is the power of an unparalleled love for Christ – To be with Him forever in eternity.

Before I close, I would like to remind all that before the couples become united together, they would face many challenges. Back to the eloping kinds of TV show, the couple might successfully elope at first, but later on; the parents would send people to hunt them down. Similarly, we might bite back at the devil at the first temptation, but that is not the end. He would continue to tempt & deceive us, so we need to continually fight back.

So today, let us examine our hearts. Is the love for Christ lesser than love for other things? Are we loving God with all our heart, soul & mind? If our love for Christ is not threatened by other idols, perhaps we should ask ourselves how could we increase our love for Christ?

YK
Author ‘s Words:
-This article is written especially for NE so I sincerely hope you all had enjoyed this little article.
-Any comments/improvement points, kindly tag or email me. Would also appreciate any ideas for future articles (:
-The next part would be on using the Word of God to bite back at the devil so if you have any interesting testimonies, feel free to email me as I might include it. (:

2005-10-28T22:57:00.000+08:00

Just want to share what i read from the book : God Is Closer Than You Think.

This is a picture drawn by artist, Michelangelo about the relationship between Adam and God.
Notice that Adam only stretched out his hands in a relaxed manner while God is trying much more harder than Adam in order to have contact with him.

I am sure God wants to be close to all of us. All we have to do is just to give a little more effort.
(:
GOD BLESS.

-Pete.

2005-10-21T23:37:00.000+08:00

i believe the northeast blog has not been 'active' enough. Brothers and Sisters, let's turn the blog to be a happening place for both believers and non-believers. Amen? Let’s see posts updated regularly and not once every fortnight, turning the blog into a 'must see' website for everyone so as to check for the affirmations and posts everyday. Let’s use this webby to touch people' hearts, sharing testimonies to encourage believers and to spread God's love to the world.

Okay. This handsome young man (me...hehehe) gonna share with u guys wad i discovered recently. I got into west blog few days ago and saw this story that touches my heart.

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak..."I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there, son?" "Just some old birds," came the reply. "What are you gonna do with them?" I asked. "Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time." "But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do?" "Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll take 'em to them." The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?" "Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!" "How much?" the pastor asked again. The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?" The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. ! The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free. Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story. One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!" "What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked. Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!" "And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked. "Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly. "How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked. "Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!" "How much?" He asked again. Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life." Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price. The pastor picked up the cage he opened the door and he walked from the pulpit. Notes: Isn't it funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Isn't it funny how someone can say "I believe in God" but still follow Satan (who, by the way, also "believes" in God). Isn't it funny how you can send a thousand jokes through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing? Isn't it funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them. Isn't it funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me. (copied from west blog)

I pray that everyone will put God as their first priority in life as He is the only one who knows you totally and love you without any condition. Lastly,since we are moving into the stage of evangelise. I want to urge brothers and sisters that never treat evangelism as a task given by your shepherds or leaders but evangelism is always a lifestyle. Love the non-believers in the world just as Jesus did and share Christ with conviction so that they will be saved too. In this way, the purpose of Jesus's death shall be fulfilled to the fullest ---> saving the whole world. Let's advance the Kingdom of Heaven in one spirit as a church, building lost souls back to their Heavenly Father.

---(RuiYong)---

2005-10-08T21:11:00.000+08:00

It hd been a week since someone posted & I believe if someone don't post soon this place is gonna b a blog for tagging.. haha
But anyway wanna share about this passage shared durin my cg. I won't post in NIV, u all can read urself but I will post in CEV, which I find help us better understand the parable.

1Jesus told his disciples a story about how they should keep on praying and never give up: 2In a town there was once a judge who didn't fear God or care about people. 3In that same town there was a widow who kept going to the judge and saying, "Make sure that I get fair treatment in court." 4For a while the judge refused to do anything. Finally, he said to himself, "Even though I don't fear God or care about people, 5I will help this widow because she keeps on bothering me. If I don't help her, she will wear me out." 6The Lord said: Think about what that crooked judge said. 7Won't God protect his chosen ones who pray to him day and night? Won't he be concerned for them? 8He will surely hurry and help them. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find on this earth anyone with faith? -Luke 18:1-8 (CEV)

Though this was shared during exam cg about persisting in prayer for exams, I believe the principle of pesistence in prayer is very important in our ministry.

What we can learn from this passage is that God is looking for people who have persistent faith, who continue to pray till something happens. God is hearing our prayers but sometimes He does not answer first to test if we are really desiring for something to be done or if we are just praying for the sake of it. What can distinguish us from many other praying Christians? It is seen by our die-hard attitude!

So let us persist in prayers for our sheep, for our ministry & for everything! God is looking for people who die also must see God 's power work!

Are we really desiring revival in our group? Show it thru your persistent prayer!

Also, want to encourage you to show ur persistence in actions too ;)

YK =)

2005-10-02T12:13:00.000+08:00

Thirsts for God.

That day, while I was praying, the following passage/verses prompted to me for my group. But I reckon it is also for those going to have examinations soon.

Psalm 42:1-2
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

Examinations are important because we can use this chance to shine forth God's characteristics and be salt and light to the people around us however; we must not be mis-focused. As much time as we put into our studies, for revision, we should also aim to use this time to draw closer to God and to discover His characteristics and to boldly ask from Him.

As the life of a deer depends upon water, so our lives depend upon God. Those who seek Him and long to understand Him find never-ending life. Feeling separated from God, this psalmist wouldn't rest until he restored his relationship with God because he knew that his very life depended on it.

We, should also be like the deer that pants for the water. However, our water refers to God's word - His presence. When you're mis-focused or you think you're placed in a negative situation, negative remarks will soon come in, take heart! Always return back to the Bible and start meditating on the record of God's goodness to His people. This will take your mind off your present situation and give hope that it will improve. It will focus your thoughts on God's ability to help you rather than on your inability to help yourself.

Also, strive to be an encourager to your fellow Sisters and Brothers around you. Text them an encouraging sms or whisper a prayer of assurance to God for them.

Lastly, remember that everything we do are out of His Love. How much we Love Him is how much we will love the people around us naturally. (:

*Jia.

2005-10-02T00:17:00.000+08:00

YO. conggg here.
haha. anyway. there's one thing i want to announce...

MANU WON FULHAM 3-2!
LOL.

hahaa.
okok.
anyway bunch of us went to yongkang's house
for birthday celebration after meeting with ne coreteam.
yeps.
really enjoy myself.
it's just feel so good with brothers from different groups coming together
to fellowship, to enjoy one another.
happy belated birthday to yeong and yong!!!
hahaa.
thanks to pete and yong.. we secretly planned a secret birthday celebration
for jonAthon! hahaa.
and tomorrow is weilun's birthday! happy birthday!

yeahyeah.
wanna end off by wishing AMK NEA3 dudes!
ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR EOY EXAMS!!!
continue to walk with Jesus and spread the love of God!
study hard too and let's glorify God through our studies!
take care of your health too!!

2005-09-27T11:07:00.000+08:00

Two stories

hmm...two stories I "ka-po" from my friend. Enjoy =)

The father who didn't let go

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.

He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His father working in the yard saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly ashe could.

Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my dad wouldn't let go."

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you.

The Scripture teaches that God loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril - and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-of-war begins - and if you have the scars of His love on your arms be very, very grateful. He did not and will not ever let you go.

Two boxes

I have in my hands two boxes,

Which God gave me to hold.

He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box, And all your joys in the gold box."

I heeded His words, and in the two boxes,

Both my joys and sorrows I stored,

But though the gold became heavier each day,

The black was as light as before.

With curiosity, I opened the black, I wanted to find out why,

And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole,

Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused, "I wonder where my sorrows could be!"

He smiled a gentle smile and said, "My child, they're all here with me.."

I asked God, why He gave me the boxes,

Why the gold and the black with the hole?

"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings, The black is for you to let go."

-Chantel [Jiamin]- NEE1

2005-09-26T01:17:00.000+08:00

Thought yesterday's sermon was a great one. Thx God for Ps Jeff for His great preaching. Most imptly, thx God for His Word and it's power to transform lives.

Two statements that strucked me much yesterday:

1) There's no way you can be more like God unless you know the Word of God
2) How's our diet for the Word of God?

I wanna increase my input of God's Word in my life. I want to deepen my spiritual desire to seek Him and stretch my spiritual stamina in prayers and worship.

I want to fall deeper in love with God, not because of ministry or whatever reasons, but because I SIMPLY LIVE FOR HIM!

There's certain areas that God has been speaking to me regarding my personal life and leadership recently. Planning to draw some time this week to pray, plan and LISTEN to Him extensively.

Let us all continues to be a generation that SEEKS His face, having PASSION for His Name, SHOWCASING our love for Him in every aspect of our lives. Let there be such a flame of ZEAL for Him that ENGULFS all of us wherever we go, drawing more nearer to Him especially now during the examination period.

Food for thought: If God is not the Lord of all, He's not Lord at all.

Gideon Ng

2005-09-24T11:53:00.000+08:00

A BIG hi to all from northeast!
Guess what? This is our very-first NORTHEAST BLOG!

This will be the most happening place across the whole cyberspace man, we're gonna see affirmations flying around touching individual's heart daily. We're gonna hear tonnes and tonnes of powerful testimonies, bearing witness of the mighty work our God is doing all across the schools in Northeast.

Furthermore, we're gonna rock this blog with photos of our loving and dynamic care groups.
Take some seconds and close your eyes to imagine... wouldn't it be awesome???

So what are you waiting for?
Time to insert your entries and bring life into this blog!!!
Suggestion, why not bookmark this blog to be your homepage? :)
Imagine the first thing when you load your internet explorer and you see affirmations dedicated specially to you... isn't it heart-melting?

* The blog is still under massive renovation. Thanks for your understanding and be assure that the team behind this blog will bring it to a higher level!

Gideon Ng & Team.