A sandwich shop

Here's a story that I'd like to share with you! =D Thank you Steve Willis for sharing your story. =)

A story is told about a man who traveled to a foreign city. He checked in to his hotel late at night and—being more than just a little hungry—went out to find a restaurant where he could get something to eat. He found himself in a pretty shabby looking sandwich shop in a rundown part of the city. After taking one bite of the sandwich he had ordered, he decided to forego the rest of his meal rather than risk food poisoning. So, he returned to his hotel hungry and a little disgruntled. The next morning, he found out that there were several other places he could have visited that would have been much better and were even closer. If he had used a guide, he would have arrived at one of those establishments.

We’re often like that in our spiritual lives. We set out on our own, ignoring our Guide, and end up at places where our options are terrible. God ishere and He is more than ready to guide us and bless us. So many times we miss out on preferable options because we don’t allow Him to lead the way. David wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3 ESV). Failing to follow the Shepherd means we will likely end up in places with rancid water, barren pastures—places that will make for trying times for our souls. Let God “guide you along the right paths for His name’s sake” today!  —Steve Willis, US

Also, to those who have not received the cf camp list of what to bring etc, it's posted, well......below this post. =)

Also, school exams are horrid no? It's a necessary evil. =P *naaah, jst kidding bout the evil part* All the best anyway to everyone taking the exam!! =D Can't wait till the holidays and CF camp! *woots*

Cf camp 2012 (AYA) Imperishable seed

Hello! This post is to those who have missed out on camp briefing. So here is the list of things you need to bring.

TO BRING
1. Sufficient clothing for 4 days and 3 nights stay
    *appropriate clothing for indoor and outdoor games
     ( girls - track pants & dark shirts), since we wld probably have wet games
    *decent clothing for all sessions in the hall
     (girls - no spaghetti strap tops, shorts or even shirts that are too short)
    * clothes for special night
    * a jacket to keep warm - with the fact that it's in Cameron.

2. Toiletries - shampoo, shower foam, toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, toilet roll (the camp might
                     not have toilet roll)
3. Bible, notebook, stationery.
4. Money (less than RM50 for emergencies including RM15 for camp shirt)
5. Small gifts, a giving heart & a creative mind (Angels and Mortals)
6. Water bottle (to prevent dehydration)
7. Watch/ alarm clock (to keep track of time)
8. Footwear - rubber sport shoes!!/slippers/ sandals
9. Plastic bags for dirty clothes, etc
10. Towel ('nuff said)
11. Snacks, torch light, mosquito repellent, motion sickness medicine & umbrella
12. A willing and respective heart & mind.

NOTE: Mobile phones & cameras are allowed but to be brought at your own risk.


* Please be warned that the camp authorities reserve the right to send naughty campers home.


NOT TO BRING:
1. Illegal items- e.g. alcohol, cigarettes, etc
2. Games - cards, board games, PSP
3. Magazines, music - CDs, MP3, iPod, Discman, etc
4. Excessive valuables and expensive items and devices
5. Cold and Hardened hearts..


CONTACT NUMBERS:
Camp commandants: Alycia Tan      -  012-3113933
                                Andrew Foong - 017-2078966

NOTE: All valuables brought will be at your own risk.
* This camp is organized by Asian Youth Ambassadors.

Barre IJ Centre Address: Lot 110, Jalan Besar, Tanah Rata, 39000 Cameron Highlands

Where do we meet?
Be at the taman sea tennis court (Map to taman sea tennis court)
Be there at 7.15 am for registration.

Special Night
This year's theme is the letter P seeing as our camp verse is 1 Peter.
So you can dress as anything that starts with the letter P.
eg, pear, pirate, pony etc.

Rules: As of the letter P, DO NOT dress
          'Promiscously' - No, we do not want to see your extra skin. So pls don't come as a "Prostitute"
          Cross-dressing is NOT allowed so DON"T come as a "Pondan" if that came to mind
         
With that in mind, please dress up. If you don't, like the letter P, there'll be PUNISHMENTS! =D


ANGELS AND MORTALS
It's basically a give and take game.
Eg,
1. Person A is given a random name hidden in his name tag. The name is J. Therefore, J is person A's mortal.
2. So, person A wld have to give J presents. Person A is J's ANGEL.

3. Kid M received person A's name hidden in his name tag.
4. Person A is Kid M's mortal.

So with that being said, Person A will be give presents to J and receive gifts from Kid M.

Every person will have an angel and a mortal.

RULES: 1.Pls don't give your mortal a bar of soap you so happen found in the camp. Give naise gifts pls
             2.The joy of this game is not to torture your mortal. Be nice to your mortal.
             3. You have a super secret identity. Don't reveal to your mortal that you're his/her angel. It will    
             be revealed on the last day of camp.

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.