haha, am in Biz Law lecture now and the lecturer just mentioned something which caught my attention:
"the law normally takes the imaginary reasonable man into consideration in terms of how he will view contracts because in the eyes of the law, you and me are unreasonable man"~
under the old covenant of law, we are ppl who cannot fulfill it's requirements~ imperfect in the eyes of the perfect law~
but under the new covenant of grace, we can stand boldly in the presence of God who sees us in Christ, the finished work~ we're made perfect in the eyes of God through the perfect Saviour who did the perfect work!
but to be honest, if you ask me, as shocking as the news is, it doesn't matter at all~
it's because the truth is the song has ministered to each and every one of us and we're living testimonials to testify to that~ i believe it's still a song that has changed our lives and impacted us in so many ways~
afterall, what made the song so powerful is not Mike... not the cancer... not the hoax... not Darlene being the one who backed up the song...not because it's from Planetshakers... not because it's in Hillsong's new album... not because we think it's true...
...but it's because it speaks of Jesus~
additional stuff:
instead of thinking, why did he lie to make the song famous...
why not think of it...
despite his actions and deeds...
God still made the song famous...
God's heart is to reach out to the ppl and touch their lives with the song~
even more additional stuff:
a bro and me were discussing, there's even a possibility that he was really sick but he dunno, and that God actually healed him already!!! mwahah!!!
just watched part of the show Narnia TLTW&TW (the lion, the witch & the wardrobe for short), and am once again blown away by the show ( slightspoilers ahead so please beware, anyways you ought to have watched the show already... if you don't have you dunno what you're missing out)~
anyways, one of the significant moments that i remembered was when Edmund & Lucy came back from Narnia (Lucy's 2nd visit) but Edmund tried to cover up for his wrong doing in Narnia by saying that he played along with Lucy's "story" and this act of betrayal brought Lucy to tears, which disturbed the professor and lead to this conversation:
Susan: It’s our sister, sir. Lucy.
Professor: The weeping girl.
Susan: Yes, sir. She’s upset.
Professor: And she’s weeping.
Peter: It… it’s nothing. W… we can handle it.
Professor: I can see that.
Susan: She thinks she found a magical land. In the upstairs wardrobe.
Professor: What did you say?
Peter: The wardrobe upstairs. Lucy thinks she’s found a forest inside.
Susan: She won’t stop going on about it.
Professor: What was it like?
Susan: Like talking to a lunatic.
Professor: No. No, no. Not her. The forest.
Peter: You cannot say you believe her?
Professor: You don’t?
Susan: But of course not. I mean, logically it’s impossible.
Professor: What do they teach in schools these days?
Peter: Edmund said they were only pretending.
Professor: And he’s usually the more truthful one is he?
Peter: No. This would be the first time.
Professor: Well then if she’s not bad and she’s not lying, then logically… you must assume she is telling the truth.
Peter: You’re saying that we should just believe her?
Professor: She’s your sister isn’t she? You’re a family. You might just try acting like one.
was just spending some time with Him listening to some old hills' songs (thanks to Benjee =P who did that super old song during CG) that i felt His presence so tangibly embracing me... telling me that all is alright, all is well, and that He loves me for who i am~ this was so in line with today's devotional when i looked through my mail:
Righteousness And Not Sin Imputed To You
Romans 4:8 8“Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”
You are blessed today because all your sins are forgiven in Christ. God does not count your sins against you. Instead, He counts you righteous in Christ. That is why you are the blessed man to whom the Lord does not and will not impute sin!
What happens to such a man? Let’s look at the story of Jacob to find out.
The Bible records how Jacob had deceived his father and cheated his elder brother Esau of his firstborn blessing. (Genesis 27:1–41) Yet, in spite of his sin of deception, God chose to speak to Jacob. And no, God did not say to this cheat, “You terrible sinner! How can you deceive your own father? You are cursed!”
No, to deceitful Jacob, God said, “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants… Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:13–15). Here was a man to whom God did not impute sin!
God did not rebuke Jacob at all. Instead, we hear Him telling Jacob, “I will give to you… I am with you… I will keep you… I will bring you back… I will not leave you…” Jacob certainly did not deserve these blessings. This is one man who walked in the truth of “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin”!
Jacob was not living under the new covenant. Yet, he was so blessed; how much more you and I today, who are under the new covenant of grace established by the blood of Jesus. How much more is our blessedness because Jesus has put away all our sins at the cross!
Today, because of Jesus’ finished work, God does not and will not impute sin to you. What He does impute to you is righteousness without works. And because you are righteous, get ready for His blessings! (Proverbs 10:6)
and the story that someone shared (i think it was alicia, or was it kevin? LoL), just came to my mind while reading this devotional~ she shared about kevin having this poster (or picture, or something like that) at home and that he keeps trying to show everyone who visits the poster~ and what she added at the end was simply amazing...
"That is how our Father in heaven treats us... children whom He is so proud off us he wants to show us off to everybody"
this brought the line "This is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased" to a whole 'nother level~ God wasn't just letting Jesus know He's the beloved (that we in Him will also be considered His beloved) but He loved Jesus so much that He wants to show the world how precious and lovely His Son is~
isn't this what the parents do? they are proud of their children for excellence in academics, achievements in sports, success at work, talent in giftings... and they just love their children so much they gotta tell their friends and relatives about them~ how much more our Heavenly Father, who was so proud of Jesus' complete and perfect work at calvary, who now sees us sitted in Christ like the precious gems on a high priest's garments... shining gloriously and beautifully to all who comes to see~
"This is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased~"
So having succeeded in being intentionally ambiguous to date, it's probably overdue of me to expand on that which is "the I heart revolution"...
Let me break it into 3 parts...
The first and second really serve as a precursor to the third and absolutely most important part..
But first a bit of the "why?"
Our travels have led us to some of the most amazing places in the world, and allowed us to meet too many remarkable people to give adequate reference to.. We've experienced humanity in all it's beautiful diversity; a people spread across different nations - different cultures, differing circumstances and facing different challenges.. Yet for all our differences, one thing remains constant.. People are people.. We are all united in our humanity and in our need for truth and faith.. - Geography, ethnicity, social class and background bare no relevance when it comes to the fact that people, whether they realise it yet or not were created for the sole purpose of worship toward their Creator.. It's the meaning of life.. Ponder no more.. The amazing thing is that in our travels, no matter where we've found ourselves on the planet, we've experienced a movement of passionate people committed to that end.. PART ONE and PART TWO of THE I HEART REVOLUTION is about giving voice to these people and telling this story...
PART ONE/// WITH HEARTS AS ONE.. Coming March 2008...
From rwanda to capetown, buenos aires to mexico city, los angeles to toronto, london to budapest.. shanghai to sydney.. We've recorded almost every united worship service for the last 2 years.. Bottled just some of the moments and put them together for all who'd choose to hear.. The end result is the sound of a generation across the earth singing praise and worship to our God.. The sound of the nations joining as one in the same song..
We've recorded a double album worth of songs old and new, and I have to say, it's all about the people and the passion of their worship toward God.. It's very live... A little rugged in places, but that's the beauty of it - it's not about "united" or even the songs.. It's about the heart cry of a generation consumed with their Maker..
There's something special about unity.. Music has the ability to cross borders and break down walls, and when it's purpose is putting voice to our reason for being alive, something powerful happens.. You realise you're a part of something that is happening all over the world; Something much bigger.. Personally I've been so encouraged in my faith just seeing and hearing the global Church declare the praises of God with hearts as one.. No doubt you will be too..
PART TWO/// WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER Coming June 2008...
If part one is about the confession of our lips.. Part two is about our action..
It takes off exactly where part one left off.. We have literally hundreds + hundreds of hours of footage.. We've documented the entire journey, and we're putting it together in a way that captures what we've been so blessed to experience; The passion, the hunger and the urgency of a generation across the earth desperate to live the life God designed for them... We've captured the worship.. But we've also captured the places.. We've talked to the people.. We've documented some of the best and worst the world has to offer and have told the story in a way that inspires, but also challenges us all to live the worship life that goes beyond just the confession of our lips, but would direct us toward action - Reaching out to the lost and the broken.. Helping the poor and oppressed.. Pursuing justice and fairness for all people..
In short we are releasing a feature length documentary in a double DVD pack + a whole lot of worship.. There's so much more to it, but you'll have to wait and see...
And all of this serves to set up for the main part...
PART THREE/// THE MOVEMENT.. Set to launch officially June 2008.. But it really starts now...
This is where YOU get involved.. part one and two are the story and the mission.. They are united projects aimed at giving us all a global perspective.. Part three is about YOU.. About your projects.. About telling the stories of everyday heroes.. People who are taking it to the streets.. Who aren't just doing Church, but who are stepping out and BEING the Church.. And this is what will decide whether we're a part of generation of hype and good intentions - who sung the songs and talked about making a difference but with little action.. Or whether we can truly say we were a part of global revolution.. A movement of passionate people who laid down our own personal agendas for the good of others and the cause of Christ.. Who stood up and DID something.. With no agenda but LOVE..
I HEART.
It's a locally focused initiative which, if we work together, will have global impact..
Think of it as a GLOCAL project...
Imagine a global online community where at any moment you can see what other like-minded people all around the world are doing locally to make a difference.. It's about being the change.. Locally, and together having global effect..
A social justice hub where the Church can use it's voice and be heard on the issues of injustice that face so many.. And be mobilised to action and operate as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ..
It will work when we as the Church take up the call to act on the "opportunities" that we all have every day to love our neighbours - near and far.. It doesn't matter where you live, or what you have.. There are no excuses.. Everyone can love.. Opportunity is there for anybody willing to open their eyes to it..
Practically it'll depend entirely on all of us choosing to act.. We're gonna do our best to set up a platform and a network where we can be educated on the issues.. Be directed to ways we can help.. Be inspired by the stories of others.. And share our own experiences and challenges... But ultimately this is about YOU taking up the challenge to live your life for OTHERS....
SO THERE IT IS.. I BELIEVE WE'RE ON THE EDGE OF A MOVE OF GOD LIKE NEVER BEFORE.. I REALLY DO.. BUT GOD ALWAYS RESPONDS TO US EARNESTLY AND DILLIGENTLY SEEKING HIM!!! SO CHASE HIM!! DESIRE MORE!! BUT BE READY TO NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.. PREPARE YOURSELF TO LIVE UNCOMFORTABLY; TO BE INCONVENIENCED, BUT TO SEE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY!!! IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS.. THE UNSEEN.. THE SELFLESS.. IT'S TRUE WORSHIP.. IT'S WHAT WE WERE MADE FOR..!!
MUCH LOVE...
Joel Houston Track Listing
Time Has Come (Sao Paulo) One Way (Kuala Lumpur) Look To You (Cape Town) ‘Til I See You (London) Take All Of Me (Lakewood) The Stand (London) You'll Come To Us (Encounterfest, Sydney) Salvation Is Here (Toronto) Breakfree Forever Where The Love Lasts Forever (Kiev) There is Nothing Like (London) Solution (West Covina) Tell The World (New Jersey) Take It All (Beunos Aires) Future Decided (Encounterfest, Sydney) Might To Save (West Covina) All I Need Is You (Cape Town) Nothing But The Blood / Hosanna (New Jersey) Shout Unto God (New Jersey) Your Name High (Encounterfest, Sydney) What The World Will Never Take (Chicago) More Than Life (West Covina) None But Jesus (Lakewood) From The Inside Out (Beunos Aires) Be Lifted High (Manilla) Saviour King (West Covina) All Day
**Please Note: Song choice, recording location and order are subject to change
a song from a secular singer that i'd like to share with all of you, hope you'll be blessed just as much as i was~
I Think Of You by Tata Young
When I'm down and all alone When nothing seems to matter When I lose my hope When I'm sad and confused
When it all gets turned around and 'round I can't seem to reach for solid ground When everything I've believed in seems untrue All I have to do
[Chorus] Is think of you I think of you and it's gone Like you chase away the storm Making it all okay I think of you I think of you and I'm strong And I know I can go on It's like you set me free When life gets the best of me I just think of you
Now I know what love means And whatever life may hold for me Through the fire Through the rain I believe
Cause there's nothing I can't bear Knowing that you will be there If I fall I won't break Through it all I'll make it through Cause all I have to do
[Chorus]
And when I think I'm all alone I can't see the way to go Lost in the rain of my own tears To wash away the pain and fear
[Chorus]
For the good times and the bad times I just think of you Cause you know you get the best of me I just think of you
i so wanna wait till like after CNY eve before i blog everything down one shot but i just felt like now's a gd time instead of dragging it out~ long entry alert!
almost 2 years have past since i enlisted into the army... developed a skill to shut down my mind and just do as i'm told, no qns asked (because knowing the answer doesn't make any diff); nope, muscles didn't improve much... can't run can't exercise only sit in the office and do paper work; taught this new art which only seems to be associated with army related activities called 'chao-keng'; typing faster than ever cause it's a desk job longer than 8-5; mastered how to sleep under any condition, any situation, any time, any position, 24/7~
so many things have happened since i first placed my foot on tekong and finally... in case you haven't guessed, will soon to place my foot out of a military compound permanently on CNY eve~
it seemed only a while back when i first shaved my head 'botak' (bald) and looked like a monk (no offense to monks but i really thought i looked like one when i saw myself in the mirror, cause of the chinese looking face... stereotype~) think army daze, like them, i was like... "Kenny, what have you gotten yourself into?" like asking that sort of qn makes a diff whether i enter the army or not haha~ xD (PS: no where close to the Kenny in army daze... *shivers*)
tekong was pretty much one of the worst part of my army days~ it was there that i realise something... the importance of freedom of choice~ imagine going through life which was pre-planned for you~ i'm sorry but the person planning isn't God Himself, it's ppl who want the best OUT OF you, not FOR you~ to me, who struggled to hold on stubbornly, it was pure torture~ there've been a handful of times when i broke down sobbing by myself and even started qn-ing why He let me go through all these~ i can still remembered the 2nd night, i'm sure my bro could remember too~ never sobbed that bad in my entire life~ but God sure was faithful as i challenged Him to show me His goodness~ in small every things here and there, He revealed Himself to me with blessings of friendships, favour with superiors and even that day when we got 2 whole chicken each... i knew that He was there~
out of tekong, into unit life in the most awesome camp any army personnel will tell you - Sungei Gedong Camp~ how great can it be? it's easily accessible with just 1 bus to rule them all~ and that bus takes you from the nearest MRT station there in just a short trip of 30 mins~ haha, okay enough with the sacarsm~ to be honest, this was a huge improvement for me in terms of how things are run~ as in more freedom~ though being human, we all are never quite satisfied with just getting the great stuff isn't it? we always want the best~ could never imagine why ppl didn't want to put in effort for things that they want to achieve~ but it was there that i formed the first few strong friendships and of course see the other side of the coin - office politics~ things didn't get better for me when a superior had an incident and was on a long term MC... suddenly it's like, i'm in a managerial position overnight~ w/o the rank to back it up, things didn't quite go very well~ it's like Home Alone's lead actor's family - no one takes him seriously and they sometimes just push him around to have their way~ despite all the trouble, i have to admit that His favour was indeed prominent in my life when i found that i commanded more authority that i thought i could/deserved~ this granted me less inconvenience to do my work~ (^^;;
followed by last year, a change in system and management landed me in a new place, new environment... and for the first time, hardly any office politics~ i'm serious~ this current bunch of ppl are the ppl i'm willing to go through whatever hardships together~ we constantly look out for each other and help each other in times of need~ this was the result of the not so favourable environment over here~ across this 1 year, so many unpleasant things has happened here, but i'm thankful to Him for placing me here that i may know these ppl and do this phase of life together~ w/o their support, it would have been worse than my tekong days~ their presence was comfort enough when you have a few superiors picking on you... yes... picking on me~ let's just say if you're away for 4 days, they don't even mention about you~ but the moment you stepped into the office on the 5th day, their first sentence is to scold you about something, whether or not it's directly related to you, as long as it has the slightest thread of link to you~
looking back, now that my service term is ending, i really thank God for putting me through all those trials~ even more so, i'm grateful that He was so evidently protecting me throughout the whole journey from any evil/harm~ there has been numerous instances when i ought to have gotten into trouble, but His Psalms 91 promise stands firm - no plague or disease ever came near me~ it was quite a journey i have to admit, and not something that i'll ever want to go through again, but i appreciate Him for letting me grow in these 2 years~ He gave me so much more than i expected or hoped for~ still lots more to grow~ in the past, if i were in this position now where i'm picked on by ppl, i would've blown up at the first opportunity~ right now, i feel so at peace to let them say what they want~ afterall, it's just words~ words do not decide who i am, my position in Christ is a settled case at the cross~
just wanna share this with you all that no matter what, never forget the most impt thing, "You are your Daddy's beloved, in whom He is well pleased~" Jesus started His ministry only after He heard that from the Father, it came before the first miracle of water into wine~ though my walk might not seem that trying (since it's an office job) but to tell the truth, there has been countless times in these 2 years when i sat at a staircase alone crying out for help, "God save me from this mess." "Daddy deliver me from this situation." "You promised me that my situation will change... but look... "I can't stand this anymore... ahhhhh!" there're times when i lost hope, had unbelieve overwheming me, stared face to face with bleak situations which may affect my life permanantly, but there was one thing i always held dear to my heart, a request to Him now that i come to remember it - that i will never ever forget His love~ and He came to my rescue everytime!
when you messed up in your presentation... when you find yourself in an embarassing situation... when all that you've done seems fruitless... when everything just doesn't seem to go the way you've planned... when all things are just out of place... when nothing seems to go right... & everything seems to go wrong...
the best thing to do is just laugh it off, even if it means at yourself~
was shared this after service today and i was once again reminded about how easily i fell back to giving weight to the mishaps or disability that i face~ we only got this one life on earth, why bog yourself down with what's wrong?
it really makes the whole Romans 8:1 so real and practical to me~ i mean... just to share a lil: i'm a perfectionist myself, no... that itself is an understatement~ those who've known me long enough you'll say that i'm a perfectionist perfectionist~ yes~ a lil too extreme, i know that~ LoL~ but every perfectionist out there can tell you that condemnation is so easy to be a 2nd nature to us~ the moment something is out of place, irritation kicks in~ this then leads to condemnation and to be honest, many a times i tell Him, "Yes i know Romans 8:1... but i definitely don't feel it working in my life... and it sure doesn't seem to be sinking into my heart~" it's like the "knowing-good-and-evil" side of me just won't accept it no matter how much i want to~
after i heard this, i felt so lifted up~ she also shared that once you laugh it off, it's so easy to fall back into worship and fellowship with Him~ which i felt so true after what happened today~ despite everything feeling out of place, being distracting with a nagging feeling, screwing up big time, "missing the mark"... i can't help but feel so loved when He embraced me on my way back~ God didn't even took notice of our failings and He so very much want us to forget about it all~ such issues/incidents make us feel dirty and causes us to distant ourselves from Him, but all He wants us to know that we've been washed whiter than snow and that nothing can ever dirty us again... because we were washed with the blood of the Lamb~
This is the place, the zone of grace Sometimes we call it the 'arrow-space' Here people move with His awesome favour We reign in life coz we have the Jesus factor
We're movers, we're shakers. we're winners not losers We'll take this nation with the gospel revolution We're movers, we're shakers. we're winners not losers We're the solution for a lost generation C'mon Arrow, let's go, go! go! C'mon Arrow, let's go, go! go!
'A' double 'R', 'O' double 'U' x2
We got the tallones The short ones, the big ones, the small ones Finely sharpened arrows in the quiver of the Master We make decisions with Spirit-led precision We're all we are because of Jesus Christ's passion
He looks down from above, He carries us with love He calls us each His own And that is why He's our whole world
i was sick since the afternoon on the 10th Dec (Mon)... down with really serious diahorrea~ to the extend that anything i ate comes out... anything i drink comes out... (this includes water)~ and it comes out in 5 mins~ to the extend that i lost 2.8kg in 3 days~ (haha i know what some girls are thinking)~
it lasted all the way till Wed and that was the day when there was Thanksgiving Dinner for all the servers in the church~ can you imagine what a time it was when you see the black pepper chicken, shepherd's pie, cakes, prawn fritters, salmon, etc in front of you and you can't eat it?
guess what? i figured it was too gd to waste so i stuffed myself with all the oily and fried stuff regardless of my condition~ i didn't even pray about it or spoke to Him about it~ the only thing closest to anything spiritual was a joking thought, "Oh, no choice, i wanna eat... so by faith i'm healed lor~ just eating cause He say must act as if you've already received mah~"~
turns out, throughout the service, nothing happened~ my stomach didn't even growled~ haha~ and until now, i'm still stuffing myself with sundae and prata, etc and no more sickness~ He is faithful even though i was in doubt~ He is gd even though i'm not spiritual at all at the moment~ it's His finished work, not mine~ all glory to Jesus~ (^^;;
what a week it has been with both the gd side and the bad side~
bad side, my office has been like the most happening thing the whole week:
it started off with area cleaning due to VIP visit~ the whole HQ has only 1 mop and 2 brooms can you imagine? and the false accusations didn't quite make the whole issue very nice~
next was a perfectly normal day with everyone making plans to take a break after the VIP visit but ended off with an understudy being charged just after the whole office turned haywire~ this whole you-better-not-make-a-single-mistake-AT-ALL-or-else... thingy just frustrates me so much~ nobody's perfect~
finally, it was going back to office when i'm on MC~ mind you not chao keng, i had diahorrea... a really bad one for 3 days before going to see a doctor~ i don't think you want the details how bad it was~ let's just say i lost 2.8kg in 3 days~
okay enough of the bad side...
teh good side:
i got a really cool christmas gift, choc potato chips from royce~
had an awesome thanksgiving dinner at church followed by an annointed service so filled with His tangible presence~
great fellowshipping with CG members along with the shopping part~
a whole day of rest... but missing out the baking of cookies for arrow service with the CG at Jotham's~
late but still fantastic time with SIM + Arts CG at the HSBC treetop walk~
enjoyable choir prac and blooming ideas for something special for someone~
phews what a week it has been~ despite all the bad stuff that happened, i'm glad all the gd stuff happened~ He is still gd~ and the best is yet to come... *evil grinz*
The Hillsong United 'Next Generation' EP is the anthem of a rising generation of young worshipers crying out to God. With a raw passion and desire to see the Kingdom of God established on earth, “In a valley by the sea – the summercamp experiment” will encourage you to step into the presence of God like never before. Recorded live at Summercamp 2007, with over 1000 young people praising God in a new and fresh way, these under 21’s are taking worship to a whole new level. This is just the beginning of what is to come for the next generation.
recently, i have been starting to like a cappella afresh... ever since i stumbled upon the song "Why So Downcast"~ simply awesome feeling and it made me reminisce about the times when " 'e Gang " (that's what we used to call ourselves haha~) got together to just chill and share our passion for music, singing and namely a cappella~ was really a memorable experience~
i know that quite a number of the group has been "complaining" how much they miss getting together to just try out new songs (a few of you guys even got together as a diff group to work on that supposedly impossible 'Butterfly' - can be previewed below in the player) but well, there's a season for everything~ ever since we graduated, we didn't exactly have much time to spend tog... added on top of the fact that the guys went into NS and stuff~
now that i'm like quite on fire for this whole a cappella thingy again, am hoping that perhaps the choir might have a couple of souls interested in a cappella~ (^^;; already have a few but i'll need more so yeps, pm me if you're interested~
but of course, this is not exactly a post to so-called gather ppl to tryout haha~ just wanted to share with you guys about a cappella...
for those who don't know what it means, here's the explanation:
A Cappella (Italian: “in the church style”) music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way.
and yes, "Bring Me To Life" is pure voice only, 'instrument-less' in case you're wondering~ LoL~
