But I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me.......

Hey there! This article is written by an awesome dude name Jeremy Low. Read up peeps! This article truly deserves your time. =D

 

But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me... Psalm 40.17 (NKJV) 

This verse may be strange considering it came from a psalm of David. A king, especially one so esteemed would not usually be thought of as someone poor and needy, especially one so favoured by God throughout his life. Indeed, many of you reading this might not think yourself poor and needy. Oh, says one, I have a comfortable house, TV, computer and so on. And yet, how was King David able to call himself poor and needy at this time?

First, David saw himself clearly in relation to God. We too often try to fool ourselves by comparing ourselves to others, like the Pharisee belittling the tax collector. Instead, try to see it from God's point of view. We are firstly, poor. Not necessarily in the material sense but also in terms of having anything of worth that has not been given to us already. All blessing in life comes from God, even if we don't see it. On top of that, we are also morally bankrupt, especially in light of God's holiness. How many times have we sinned in thought, word, and deed? How many times have we done something wrong and not even realised it? Every sin is hated by God. His holy nature cannot stand it. We need grace from God to stop us from spiralling downward into sin.

This brings us nicely to the fact that we are not only poor in God's sight but also needy. Many people assume the two are the same. Sadly, this is not necessarily the case. In Revelations, the church of Laodicea said "I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing" while our Lord Jesus Christ called them poor and blind. Our dependence on god is absolute; we rely on him for our life and anything necessary to go on living. We have continuous need of his blessing and grace especially for salvation. Our sinful nature makes us disgusting in God's sight. We would surely be destroyed had not God sustained us.

I hope you are not too depressed right now. Yes, we are in a sorry, pitiful state and yet there is good news! '...yet the Lord thinks upon me'. Stop now and think about this for a minute. Why should God think about us? Aren't we filthy to him? Doesn't our sin go against his very nature? The psalmist understood all that and yet is true in saying that God still thinks of us. God is so high above us that we are like dust to him. However, it matches God's loving and merciful nature that we should even enter his thoughts. On top of that, the original word has a similar meaning as "to focus on". God's ability is unlimited, so much so that he can focus on each and every person as though there were no one else, all at the same time. Does your head hurt? Rest assured, even if it does, God' will never get a headache.

Finally, I would like to leave you with something to take back with you into your daily lives. Firstly, do not worry about your problems, trials, and difficulties until you lose sight of God. He is even now thinking about you, about what you will have to face and how He will equip you to face them for 'we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose' (Romans 8.28). Secondly, think more about others, no matter what their condition. We are called to grow to be more godly and this quality of God is definitely something we should imitate. Spare a thought for those sick and dying. Lastly, be humble and trust in God. We are poor and needy, and must rely on God to live. Always remember this, and hope and have faith in the Lord.

Practice practice practice

Self control is like a muscle. With each use of our muscle, it temporarily loses some strength. This leaves us with less strength and energy to handle the next self control challenge that appears. 

However, the more you exercise the muscle, the smarter you can be about using it. Your muscle is also stronger. 

It is said in Proverbs 16: 32 ( NIV )

³² Better a patient person than a warrior, 

   one with self-control than one who takes a city. 

Also, self control is one of the fruits of the spirit as stated in Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

In Titus 2:2 (NIV), it says 

² Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

What does self-controlled mean in Titus 2:2?

Paul uses this word, mostly in his letters to Timothy and Titus, to mean resisting temptation. It means emotional control - a disciplined balance of emotions and will. Self control means living in gentle strength, able to withstand the influence of passions and environment.

Self control helps us make better decisions because we don't just simply base a decision on emotions. At times, better decisions are made if we did it from thinking and not feeling. It's just like how we should be patient with someone because it's right rather than exploding in anger because we're plain angry. Do what is right, not what you like. =)

Self control makes sure we don't get overboard in doing things. Like drinking too much water. Eating too much. Playing too much video games. Everything needs a balance. Even studying the Word of God until we lock ourselves out from the world and stay stuck in our room for months, isolated from society is not good because you also have to share the word of God, make an impact in ppl's live etc. Basically, it's best not to go to the extreme. 

Whatever self control there is like self control to anger, food etc we should have a balance in everything we do. =D

And just like a muscle, we should continue to exercise it. It also helps us become better leaders as it we can make rationale decisions. For example,

 The apostle paul instructed church leaders and their wives to make self-control workouts a regular part of their leadership training regimen. "Exercise self-control," Paul exhorted as the group, "live wisely, and have a good reputation" ( 1 Timothy 3:2 )

So set some goals toward strengthening your self-control muscle today. 

Do you practice self control? 

Lord Lord

Food for thought: So how do we respond when God asks us to do something?

The 1st of the year!

Hellooo! =D There's always a first for everything. So why don't you come for Cf's FIRST  meeting which will be conducted this FRIDAY! =)

Date: 20th January 2012
Time: 12.45p.m. - 2.00p.m.
Place: Block F   ( the one near the guardhouse)

It's really fun! You just gotta attend it to experience it.
Are you serious?
Yeah i'm serious.
So see you there or be square! =D

Prayer Meetings

Hello! To the afternoon sessioners, prayer meeting is now in session! =D *pun not intended* To the form 1's, I guess this might be new to you. It's a time where a group of people, (namely you guys) gather to pray and share the Word of God with one another. Share your testimonies etc. And don't worry, you'll have 2 awesome people who will guide you who is Alycia Tan, your Cf president and Andrew Foong, Cf vice president. So form 2's and form 1's!

It'll be held every 

Tuesday

Thursday

and

Friday

during

recess

in front of the 

hall

So c'mon guys! It's really fun and you'll learn a lot by attending prayer meeting. Plus, it's great to learn about the Bible etc in a group. So see ya there! =D

The new year

Wow, it's 2012. A new year full of new experience to fill our memories, nice or just plain rotten. Wasn't it only a month ago when Christmas decorations were hung up to lit the skies and the tunes of Santa and Jesus filled up the air. Now, all I hear is "GONG XI FA CAI!" Hard to believe that Chinese New Year is coming too soon.

And as many of us brace for what 2012 will bring forth into our lives, I'm sure fear/stress must have hit us somehow or rather. Some of us may wonder how we might be able to cope with all the activities we are taking up or even how we might be able to balance between the mental, emotional and physical demands of life. And all we want to do is say to Life "GIVE ME A BREAK WILL YA! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" before you may reach the pinnacle of craziness.   

Fortunately, God can provide special strength for us - just as He did for Elijah.  In 1 Kings 18: 41- 19:8 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2018:%2041%20-%2019:8&version=NLT), after Elijah's showdown with Baal, Elijah executed 450 false prophets. He then climbed Mount Carmel and prayed for the ened of a 3-year drought (1 Kings 18:1) . That's when "the Lord gave special strength to Elijah" (1 Kings 18:46). This strength enabled Elijah to run all the way to Jezreel, about 25 miles away.

And if you see in 1 Kings 19:4, Elijah prays:

 "I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”

God knows our limits. He is God after all. And He can supply strength in any way He chooses. From words of encouragement, ministry help or guidance from the Holy Spirit. I don't know. In Elijah's case, God sent an angel to provide with bread and water - twice.

Also, it is important to pray to God and cast our anxieties unto the Lord. To surrender our worries and lay our worrisome woes at the cross. To basically, trust God.

God provided strength for Elijah's ministry demands. Even David found strength in God in Psalm 18: 1-6.(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2018:1-6&version=NLT)  Personally, God has in many ways strengthen me whether I was anxious or even tired.

God can sustain us as we help others - with strength to spare. 

It's just the beginning

Hello! Here's a video that is really touching and deserves a few minutes of your time. So press the play button! ( lk NAO)   =D

CF Christmas Party 2011!

At 7.00 p.m. on 16th December 2011, something happened. An amazing event was held, to be precise. It was so awesome, that it was supposed to be in the TIME magazine (but due to unforeseen circumstances, it was taken off ) , it practically shook the Earth, it almost shifted the Earth's axis, it almost killed off Chuck Norris, it almost halt global warming , it had stopped all wars on Earth and it made the act of defying whatever you can possibly think of possible!

Naaaah, none of those stuff could have happened. DJCF Christmas party happened, but hey, it was still awesome!

The party was to start at 7pm but some of us came early to set the place up. Some were decorating the living room with strings of red and blue lights, courtesy of Samantha and some were sprucing up the area, shifting the chairs and well, you get the gist of it.

As the sun sets, darling Cf-ers started arriving with all smiles and of course a present for our Exchange gifts activity.

We placed all our presents under the Christmas tree! =D

This was how it was like before the party. Oh and you see that television? We were using Yi Qian's magical television of wonders to screen the lyrics of Christmas carol songs we were going to sing later that night.

Soon enough, more people started arriving, and everyone was bonding so well, that we didn't even need icebreakers to warm things up! =)

The committee brought lots of foods! Pizza, smores! Oh wow, in fact, we had 2 types of mash potatoes served on our table! One was with raisins and the other with egg. I'll stop naming all the food that was there now, or I'll make you readers really hungry! =) But before we could insert delicious food into our mouths, we started the night with a word of prayer.

MAKAN TIME!

One of the best parts of our Christmas party this year, was that DJCF-ers weren't the only people present at the party; we also had DUCF-ers, Tmn SEA CF-ers and even juniors who aren't even in Form 1 yet! It was such a delight having them join us! Also, like every year, we also had a number of  our beloved ex CF-ers who took their time off to come for this party. It was so heartwarming to see people of different ages and backgrounds bonding with one another all under one roof! =') Truly, we have God to thank for that wonderful night of fellowship!

(From the left): Joanna, Brandon Lee, Alycia and James Lee

(From left): Sasha Kow , Jason, Samantha, Christopher and James.


The atmosphere during the party.

Then next, came the time for CAROLING led by Alycia, James and Ken Vyn! =)We started off with the song "Silent Night"- indeed, all of us had to keep silent for a moment to focus our attention on God after about 2 hours of fellowshipping with one another. Yi Qian's magical TV of wonders came in very handy for those of us who didn't know the lyrics, until it hung while we were halfway singing. But hey, we didn't let that stop us from singing to God! So we went on singing more carols, such as "Angels We Have Heard On High", "O' Come All Ye Faithful", "O' Holy Night" and "Feliz Navidad".

Alycia also shared something briefly with us during our session of caroling. Her message was basically this;  God gave us the GREATEST GIFT anyone could ever ask for, His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Sometimes, when we face struggles in life, we may tend to wonder, "How can they say that God gave us the greatest gift, when I'm facing so many problems in my life and not even enjoying this gift? How can they say that God loves me?" Well, here's a reminder to all who ask this question. Remember, that no matter what we go through in life, God still loves us and will NEVER stop loving us- rather, it is we who are often too caught up in our struggles that we tend to miss out on God's endless love for us. Remember this guys, whenever you're facing hard times. =)

We ended our caroling session by going around, shaking everyone's hands/ hugging one another, wishing them 'Merry Christmas' while singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas". All of us also received cute beautifully decorated Christmas cards done by our lovely Cf-ers (special thanks to Isabel and Karina!). THANKIEW!!

After much singing and annoying the neighbors ( naaah, we didn't, well I hope not) we resumed our previous activities, talking and playing games!


I think that all of us were somewhat high that night. Honestly, and no it wasn't drugs. It was something much more addictive than that.

MARSHMALLOWS!!! Courtesy to Naomi who awesomely brought 2 containers of these! =D
Look what it did to this guy. I'm sorry Josh, I had to put this on the blog. =P

Hmmm, looking at my pizza??

I don't trust you with it!

GET AWAAY FROM ME PIZZAAA!!!!


I have no idea what had happened looking at this picture but from my deduction, Timothy ( guy pointing ) is accusing Daniel ( guy who is being pointed ) of eating all the food at the party. No wonder Joshua was so uptight about his pizza! XP

So was the party fun?

YES IT WAS!!!
And that's why you shouldn't miss out on whatever events CF has! =D

A HUGE thanks to Yi Qian's parents for allowing us to use their house for the party, the comm. and everyone who brought food and everyone else who helped to decorate the living room before the party started and cleaning up the place up after. Also, thank you to all who came because the party wouldn't have been as awesome without your presence! And credits to Yu-Jun and Yi Qian for the pics!

Above all and most importantly, thank GOD. For everything. =)

Also, since Christmas is coming up.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!