i hate it when god humbles me. its not a nice lesson to learn, esp this time cos my heart had pride itself in sth else for a while. but something prompted me to just google 'devotions' and this is what the lord has to say :
(www.devotions.net)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3-16-17 NRSV Bible)
If you want a picture of what the heart of God looks like, then you look no further than the Cross. Do you realize that God loves you and me so much that even if you and I were the only people on the face of the earth he still would have sent Jesus to die for our sins that we might have life in all its fullness? One of the early church fathers, Iranaeus, said it was by a tree that Adam sinned, and it was also by a tree that Jesus died on to save us from the penalty of sin and grant us the forgiveness of our sins. One tree represents our rebellion and sin. One tree represents our forgiveness from God. Somebody died that you and I might have the forgiveness of sins. On one tree we see the gravity of our sin; on the other tree we see the majesty of God.
In Stroudsburg, Pa., there is a tomb to an unknown Union soldier who died fighting in the Civil War. When President Abraham Lincoln heard of it, he had the tomb inscribed "Abraham Lincoln's Substitute. He died that I might live."
The cross of Jesus Christ today represents our substitute. Jesus died in our place. It is that simple. Christ died for us because God loved us!
Lord Jesus, thank you for being my substitute! Amen.
Ron Newhouse
it is apt, but i still need time to let it sink in and bite me. but meanwhile,im a tad cynical.darn.
i may like to drive, but that does not mean i like to repair vehicles..............
oh Lord..为什么这个样子！！！！！
so im back. i finally fainted..i mean, passed out from bmt. hmm 2 weeks of block leave, ive kinda made plans of what to accomplish this 2 weeks.going to clean up the whole house(particularly my room), my hall, the mini hall outside my room etc. heading to batam for a short getaway,planning my uni application, open house, watch tang xin feng bao and ye man nai nai 2. ok whatever, but the first thing i did after i came back to civilisation was to catch a movie with timothy and leonard.
August Rush. Initially, we wanted to watch ps i love u, but it was sold out so tim got tickets for this show. not knowing a single thing about this show, tim just told me "its a story about a boy". well done! since the ticket has been bought, i tot, well, darn, im gg to watch a retarded show about some stupid drama of a boy growing up or sth like that. but NO!it was a FANTASTIC show. i cant emphasize more, it is the only show that sk kwok ever thought it'd be worth re-watching in his entire lifetime(not just on hbo but really go watch it in e cinemas AGAIN). its this bittersweet story that talks about how a family(actually, not even a family, the parents just had a one night stand. haiii), all musically inclined, but were separated due to their reasons, but were reunited by music . Very good show and music i say, and i love how they combine cello and orchestra music with rock stuff. and whats more impressive, is how they made use of the daily motions in life to create music, not just ur usual pot and pans and traffic lights, but really cool stuff like basketballs, trains, electricity cables and erm..cant rmb the rest haha. im quite impressed with how e little boy whacks his guitar too. and robin williams played a bad guy in this show, and he REALLY did quite well. go watch e show and be impressed w the music!
tim was so in awe and was telling me all e crap abt how this someone really plays e cello very well, and he himself is some guitar guru and he was fascinating about how itd be so splendid if things does turn out e way for him in e movie. well, i told him just not to have a kid just after a one night stand. its not good, and just plain unlucky to strike jackpot after once. haha otherwise, the entire show is pretty wholesome. ive not feel good after watching a movie for quite some time. not even stardust or that magic movie w christian bale. heh people, this movie is a MUST watch! tim and i were so hooked, that we ran around orchard to look for its soundtrack, but there was NONE. none in hmv, none in that cd shop at paragon, none at cd rama at orchard station, none at jurong pt's music junction. NONE IN SINGAPORE. the last copy was koped by timothy at gramophone at taka. darn!i never tot hunting for a soundtrack could be so jialat. if i want it that badly, id have to go down to plaza sing or tiong bahru plaza to get it tmr. HMMM
in other news, mr kwok has learnt to save. he must save. save money for future education, girlfriend expenses/marriage, housing, ok im only serious about the first one. heh it feels good to earn my own keep! and im not going to splurge my pay on some ipod itouch, i shall be satisfied with my video. hmm. finally updated my ipod. yayy. now its with canto songs too. haha!
alright, now to my A level grades. im glad my classmates were all satisfied with their grades. for myself, there's really nothing much words can describe the awe and gratitude that overwhelmed me. the week prior to results, i was just telling my bunk mate buddy and sarah and eve, how ive been asking god to prepare my heart cos i was really expecting to fail math(i counted that i could only answer 28 marks out of 100 for math paper 1.well anyone with logic will kinda guess im going to fail). good grades were not even in my prayers, but ive been asking god to even let me have an E will be great! been making plans how im going to retake As or do sth else. cos my chem and econs also weren't fantastic. my prelims for math and chem was S(45-50marks) while i had E for Econs(hrmm..) which was abt 50 marks. when e results came, i couldnt believe how e Lord has splendidly blessed me with C for math. oh gosh and B for chem and econs. i was just so in awe, really!! even right now, i feel that ive not thank e lord enough for his grace and provision. indeed, god really makes things possible! thankyou Lord! The gracious lord kindly reminded me by making me receive the letter that i sent out to myself during last yrs youth camp before i went to sch to collect my results. in it i wrote, " sk, whatever grades u are going to get, just trust in the lord for his provision, ok? you must trust in him! yes u can! yes u can!"
indeed, as long as i bring whatever requests and put it down at his feet, surely if its good and in His divine plans, he will chart the way out for me.
the past 7weeks in camp has been my best time with the Lord. constantly in communication with him, which was just what i set out to achieve at last year's youth camp, which was to be in constant communion with the Lord. i really relied and depended on God's strength and grace to walk me through my initial loneliness, then my results and vocation interview. Really, i dunt even know how to praise god and im not even sure if im speaking coherently!
right now ive to apply for my uni courses, tho some of what i wanna apply for is challengin and what i hear people saying about my grades has been demoralising me greatly, i shall learn, once again, to lay it at his feet and surely He will make a way somehow. i dun want to end up my whole life doing sth that i really dun want to.ive been struggling with the fact that the lord has always been giving me my second best choice, never my first. but having said that, im very happy with my life up to today. Oh lord, teach my weak heart to rely on an unchangingly good God.
Just before i left camp, i heard this song with some beautiful lyrics titled I Am Blessed by Rachel Lampa. It encouraged me alot, and she sang quite well too.
I may never climb a mountain
So I can see the world from there
I may never ride the waves
And taste the salty ocean air
Or build a bridge
That would last a hundred years
But no matter where the road leads
One thing is always clear
I am blessed
I am blessed
From when I rise up in the morning
Til I lay my head to rest
I feel You near me
You soothe me when I'm weary
Oh Lord, for all the worst and all the best
I am blessed
All along the road less traveled
I have crawled and I have run
I have wandered through the wind and rain
Until I found the sun
When watching eyes ask me why
I walk this narrow way
I will gladly give the reason
For the hope I have today
You've given me joy
You've given me love
You give me strength
When I want to give up
You came from heaven
To rescue my soul
This is the reason I know
This is to my friends who are down and out with their grades: Don't get disappointed just yet, you never know where and what the Lord has prepared for those who wait on Him! As Saint ChrisYong said, God will make a way, when there already has a way! =)
