MK 2009

I just cant wait!!! =)

John 15 - Study

The True Vine

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another.

If we love God, we obey Him.
And we obey whom we fear. Perfect love casts out all fear(all kinds of fear except the fearing God) So.

If we fear man, we love ourselves(imperfect love), for we worry of what man thinks of us.
If we fear God, we love God(perfect agape love), for we worry if we are giving Him the respect He deserves.
If we love our lives, we will lose it.
If we hate it, we will save it.

Too many people want agape love but don't do anything to obtain it. Because they fear man's opinion rather than God Himself. However, let us Christians start loving God by obeying Him. We can't obey Him unless we fear Him, so let's start fearing Him. We can't fear Him when we treat as common the things God regards holy. So let's fear Him by living holy lives. This is done by obeying His voice when He calls for our obedience. Pray for opportunities to obey Him.

And let's remain faithful to God.
We can't remain faithful to God unless we lose our lives for Him, because once we lose our lives for Him, we live only to please Him. Wanting to lose our lives is not enough. We've got to actually lose it.Obedience ignites our love engine, but faithfulness is what keeps us going. Will we be good and faithful servants of the LORD?

Love, Godly fear, Obedience, and Faith are not mutually exclusive events.
They are intertwined to determine our relationship with God.
Time to give up loving myself.
Time to love God.
Time to love others.

To PERKEB

To the people that have helped me be me again =)

2008 - 2009

Honestly, at this point, I don't feel inspired to write anything.. All I can feel is the garlic cheese naan slowly dissipating within the abyss of my digestive system.. It's kind of late to begin blogging about entering into a new year. Anyway,I was at PERKEB meeting a few hours ago, and Ps Reuben was sharing about letting go of the past.

Letting go of the past huh.
Success and failure have one thing in common, they are events of the past. What's important is who I am now. If I were to die today, what would the world matter to me? Nothing, I guess, since I'd be in heaven.. I've been through my fair share of peaks and troughs (if you could imagine a sinusoidal transverse wave pattern in 2D).. The peaks and troughs have been of different magnitudes, different intensities, different frequencies..

Okay la layman terms: A rollercoaster ride.
I have changed a lot. My priorities have transformed, cultured some good habits and bad ones too.. Looking back on a whole year, I did not come up with a 'Things I want to achieve by the end of 2008' list.. However,

There are things I wish I did that I did not do,
There are things I did that I wish I did not do.

In retrospect of 2008, there is one fact that has been more real to me in 2008 than any year in my life, one fact that I don't have to wish for to be true, one fact that I am fully assured of;

That is His GOODNESS, His LOVE, His FAITHFULNESS.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5

What more could I ask for? I have JESUS =)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

Efficiency vs waste

Today was productive. Really enjoyed catching up with my mom, Dan, Shu Xian, Chee Liang, Kristy, Josh F, and Rebecca... Lets hope it'll be productive tomorrow. =)

17 Jan (today)
10.00am - breakfast with mom
11.00am - local youth prayer gathering, PPBC
4.00am - youth church
7.30pm - dinner with friends who returned from the land down under..
11.59pm - Z z Z catching

18 Jan (tomorrow)
6.30am - travel back to UKM =)
9.00am - choir annual dinner-venue hunting
1.00pm - lab prep reading, vector calculus work
6.30pm - choir night committee meeting
7.30pm - Malam Krismas meeting
11.59pm - mamak

19 Jan (monday)
8am - classes begin.. boohoo


Now that I've laid out my short term schedule, I had better stick to it. Yawn

Misi Orang Asli - Kg Serigala

DAVID LEONG KIN MING
A123427
FKEJ / JKMB 1



Pengalaman di MOA.....
LOKASI: KG SERIGALA, TJG MALIM


MOA kali ini merupakan 'mission trip' saya yang pertama. Saya terhutang budi atas kemesraan orang asli di Kg Serigala. Mereka bukan sahaja sudi meluangkan masa dengan kami, malah memasak untuk kami pada suatu ketika. Walau bagaimanapun, saya paling bersyukur atas tanganNya di atas kehidupan mereka, walaupun mereka tidak diberkati dari segi kebendaan seperti kami di bandar, dan UKM. Saya pun terfikir kenapa saya selalu merungut dan rasa tidak puas hati walaupun Allah telah memberkati saya dari segi kebendaan... Tuhan pernah mengatakan kepada seorang pengkhutbah dalam satu 'DVD sermon' yang telah saya tontoni, "merungut umpama mengatakan kepada Tuhan: Tuhan saya lebih tahu apa yang penting dalam hidup saya berbanding dengan kamu, saya lebih memahami situasi saya berbanding kamu. Kamu seharusnya melakukan begini, begitu..." Saya sedar dan teringat akan diri sendiri yang sering merungut, biar di mulut mahupun di hati.

Genap satu bulan selepas MOA, saya tidak tahu jika cara hidup saya berubah baik. Sebenarnya, pilihan menyertai MOA untuk tujuan mengubah hidup sendiri amat baik, namun saya percaya bahawa perubahan tidak berlaku selepas satu malam.
Perubahan adalah hasil daripada pilihan manusia untuk mentaati dan mematuhi seruan Tuhan ataupun tidak, dalam jangka masa yang panjang. Walaubagaimanapun, persepsi saya terhadap golongan orang asli telah berubah sekaligus.

Pergilah ke MOA. Biar satu kali pun, untuk pengalamannya. Pergilah ke MOA lagi(jika anda pernah pergi), sebagai cara menyembah Tuhan, sebagai satu persembahan kepadaNya. Berikanlah masa, kewangan, dan daya usaha anda, dan sediakan diri anda untuk rencanaNya melalui MOA. Pemberian ini diumpamakan sebagai 'serpihan yang amat kecil' berbanding pemberian Tuhan melalui kematian Yesus demi kita. Dengan segala pemberian Allah atas kasih karuniaNya, kita sepatutnya berikan yang terbaik kepada Tuhan Bapa di syurga.

"....supaya kamu mempersembahkan tubuhmu sebagai persembahan yang hidup, yang kudus dan yang berkenan kepada Allah: itu adalah ibadahmu yang jati." - Roma 12:1

Sekiranya kita sentiasa sibuk dengan pekerjaan atau pelajaran dan tiada masa melayaniNya (misalnya MOA), saya percaya bahawa kita harus mempertimbangkan prioriti-prioriti diri. Mementingkan pelajaran bukanlah salah, namun lebih mementingkan pelajaran daripada Allah jelas salah. Ia dipanggil keberhalaan(idolatry).


Pendek kata, jika kamu tahu bahawa Roh Kudus inginkan kamu menyertai MOA, jangan teragak-agak lagi! (tapi pergilah dengan motif-motif yang betul)

Apa yang mampu kita berikan kepada Tuhan? Tiada apapun. Semua yang kita ada adalah hasil kasih karuniaNya. Puji Tuhan!

Dean's List, or God's?

Although a harsh reality, most Christian students have to choose whose shortlist they wanna be on.

Complaints:
Dean's list
22 credit hours of lecture.
4 tutorials for all 4 subjects,
Laboratory sessions for 3 subjects,
and 2 projects.
Ethnic relations
Classical music.
Weekly choir practices... ahh!!!

God's list
MK'09 -> The Malam Muzikal Krismas production, which is only a month away.. Only yesterday, we changed our venue, creating a whole new list of pros and cons... A whole new proposal has to be sent, and major readjustments to be made, paperwork, discussions, etc. HOW LA HOW. Help, Holy Spirit. SO MUCH WORK TO BE DONE...
MYPG(should I involve myself in this work?)
PERKEB



LORD, help. What do I do? I need wisdom and lots more. We had a time of waiting upon the LORD at the prayer meeting outside the uni hall this afternoon.. Ben shared two verses with Jyan and I:

Matthew 6:31-33

So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

THEREFORE, our GOD is still GOD.
Of whom shall I fear?
God, or the Dean?

Malaysian Youth Prayer Gathering, Kuantan

If you are looking for something inspiring, look for 200 young people from all corners of the peninsular just meeting up to pray.MYPG Kuantan was just awe-inspiring. It's so awe-inspiring that I'll just cut to the chase. We had prayer warriors from Alor Setar, Kulim, Kluang, Kuantan, and the KL-PJ area. Each city had their own Local Youth Prayer Gathering(LYPG). Now it's going inter-state. We're gearing for the next MYPG to be held in the KL-PJ region, aimed to unite young people just to meet and pray for our nation. Visions revealed, work is being done.

The goal of LYPG and MYPG??

100'000 Malaysian young people on fire for Jesus, united and engaged in prayer.

LYPG's and the MYPG are merely events that symbolise the revival to come. They both are part and parcel of the work our awesome God is doing for our nation's people. The whole highlight about MYPG Kuantan wasn't the different cities' representatives coming to pray together. We have that all the time. Rather, it is the fact that God is using prayer as the CATALYST FOR REVIVAL.

And my breakthrough came at a 6am prayer we had on that cold Saturday dawn, only after a mere 2 hrs of sleep. Some people came for the 6am prayer to prepare before the event began at 8am. There were reports of spiritual attacks on the organising committee. Spiritual oppression only proves that Satan is afraid. And he is doing everything in his power to prevent people praying. But God did not let that happen. NO He did not. We confessed our sins publicly at the 6am prayer gathering. and broke the power of sin over each person's life there that morning. Talk about chains loosened? That was chains broken

We had corporate repentance for the same sins later that morning, which were:
1. Sins of sexual immorality and lust
2. Pride
3. Rebellion.

As for me, I am a sinner in all those areas. And confession of sin holds great power.
So here goes,

Yes I watch pornography.
Yes I masturbate.
Yes I look at women lustfully.
Yes I act and think higher of myself than I should.
Yes I have a rebellious attitude.

Yes I am a weak person, and that's who I am. But also, I am His child, forgiven.
It was difficult to confess it back then, it's hard to confess it now. As I was confessing, I knew I would disappoint so many people. But I figured I'd rather disappoint people then disappoint God if I disobeyed His call to repentance and confession.


I shared this particular Bible verse at the 6am prayer session at MYPG:

1 John 1:8-10
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

That word spoke so true for me, and for the rest there, at that time. As we repented, of sexual sin, of pride, and of rebellion, I just knew that His forgiveness just took the heavy yoke of sin off my shoulder, and replacing it with a robe of righteousness. That knowledge is a resounding of His word in Romans 6:18 -> You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

It's true joy to be a slave to righteousness. It does not just mean 'walking right with God'. It also means 'being bound and living with no choice other than to obey Him'. Of course, you can still disobey God, but it should be every Christian's goal to be bound to living righteous lives. Anyway, we all need to come humbly before Him, and repent, and give Him the glory He deserves. I've become so convicted about so many matters. Matters of giving Him the firstfruits of my time, sacrifice, and obedience. This particular sentence struck me as Pas Kenneth Chin was sharing:

Obedience is better than sacrifice. Sacrifice is giving God what I want to give. Obedience is giving God what He wants me to give. And most of the time I believe, He wants me to give up my pride so that I can willingly obey Him.

Yvonne went on stage to give this verse:

2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

LORD, thank you for planning out the event so I could be there. Thank You for the opportunity to repent. Enlighten my spiritual senses even more so that I may know You, and Your plans better. Help me to walk in obedience and faith as I live for Your glory and kingdom. Keep reminding me to repent at anytime I set an idol for myself, and at anytime I take the glory that You deserve. Everything belongs to You, and is for You. Not to me, but to Your name, be all glory.

A New < >

Emotions: New year only mah.
Regrets: God was not first everyday of my life.
Resolutions achieved: I never made new year resolutions before.. resolutions come anytime in the year, as I feel like it.
Resolutions made: Stop computer games altogether.

Things I have not done since last year:

1. Piss.
2. Eaten Mamak food.
3. Made a phone call.
4. Sat on a bus
5. Have dinner

Aha. Well, with all the fruitless talk behind,

Looking on the past year, it's only natural to be thankful of what God has done for me.
But last year was last year. Last year will never be this year, and neither will this year be the one after. So what makes this new year so special?

Right now, from a narrow PointOfView, a 'year' merely represents 365 ¼ days, or 8766 hours.. a mere time frame, a chrono-jargon. So a new year somehow doesn't mean much to me.
I never really understood why people relish the thought of a new year.
Maybe it's a career bonus? Promotion? Who knows? Sure, it's another year closer to being deceased. Sure, it's yet another study semester that I have to face.

So, to me, what's so significant about this year?
Aiya, so pessimistic lar, but nothing's special about this year.

Hmm. Our LORD invented time itself, and since we live within the boundaries of time, we're so limited. We could always define a year as 300 days, or a minute as 25 seconds.Just like how the alphabet was created. 'A' could have been '♠'..

But I know there's something more special than just a new year.
I think the most special thing I will ever experience is His love. No time-frame is going to determine whether His love for us increases or decreases. A new year does not trigger whether or not his compassion for us have dropped one bit.

So maybe I won't celebrate a new year. I'll celebrate every new second. I'll celebrate every new minute, every new hour, every moment... every (insert time frame here). I won't celebrate a new year because it's a new year. I'll celebrate a new year because I'm celebrating His continuous, limitless love.

Why not celebrate God's love with unending praise unto Him?
Is it not so, that only unending praise will fit His unending love that we experience every (insert time frame here) .

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

When I was not faithful, you were faithful.
When my love for You has dulled, Your love for us has never changed.
Frail as I am, You never look down on me. Instead, You love me enough to know me so intimately, every sub-atomic particle.

So, therefore, let every sub-atomic particle within me celebrate His infinite, unending love for me!

Praise, people, PRAISE!