“In Him (Jesus Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

The prince of a small, oil rich Asian nation was indicted for allegedly squandering $16 billion of his country’s wealth. Over a 10 year period, the prince is believed to have lost huge sums through poor judgment and bad investments. His nation’s High court said that he spent $2.7 billion on aircrafts, yachts, cars and jewelry.

God showers His grace richly on every one. Let us ask ourselves whether we waste the riches of God’s grace. If we have received His mercy and forgiveness and continue to yield to sin, we are squandering His grace.

After Jesus Christ healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years, the Lord said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you" (John 5:14). It seems that Jesus was warning him not to waste God’s healing touch on his life. Apostle Paul too pleaded with the people who followed Christ in Corinth “not to receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1). Indeed, God’s grace should result in changing lives (Titus 2:11-12).

As God freely forgives us, His grace opens the door for us to change. How tragic it would be to fritter away a spiritual fortune instead of allowing “the riches of His grace” to transform our lives! (Ephesians 1:7).

Written by my friend from India. Be Blessed

I've came to the place where everything is laid bare before me. Is my life pleasing unto Him? Is my actions an act of worship towards Him? Am I a hypocrate? I can safely say YES. Who is Jesus to me? Is He the LORD over my life or is He someone whom we run to when we face problems? Is Jesus God or a Forgiveness Machine, one we run to when we trangressed against Him?

I guess it is time that we re-evaluate our relationship with God. It is time we confront ourselves with the truth, rather than sweeping it under the carpet and pretend everything its ok. No more deceit within ourselves. Be truthful. Before the LORD moves, before Revival falls, we still have time to prepare ourselves, to concerate ourselves.

O how we love to have everything our own way. What a rebellious and stiff-necked people we are! How we have filled our hearts with the things of this World, turning away from the LORD our God and have dug cisterns, cracked cisterns that hold no water(Jeremiah 2:13), our minds occupied by the things of this World, lifestyles which does not please Him, whilst we dare to profess that we're Christians! What a hypocrate we are, what a hypocrate I am!

I can't take it anymore. The internal struggle within me. Whilst one part of me desires nothing more than to serve God and to love Him alone, the other part is just so evil. Sin….sin….sin….again and again and again. Until I can't take it anymore. Many time have I abused the Grace of God, many times have I grieved His heart. How am I able to live a victorious life in Christ like this?

I must confront my struggles head on. No more compromises, no more hiding. If I want to truly follow Christ, to be His disciple, I must count the cost and carry the Cross. I must let Him shake me, to shake out things that hinders our relationship, until I'm unshakeable no more. Only by settling the issues in my heart and putting it at the foot of the Cross will I truly be at peace, will I be ready to be used by Him, when the Time comes.

1.  Besides your lips, where is the favourite spot to get kissed?
Err….No idea.

2. How did you feel when you woke up this morning?
As tired as a hibernating  Grizzly :-p

3. Who was the last person/people you took a photo with?
The Yfers who went to SIBKL for GDOP 2009.

4. Would you consider yourself spoiled?
Nope.

5. Will you ever donate blood?
I wish I could but I’m underweight so I can’t.

6. Have you ever had a best friend who was of the opposite sex?
Erm…. Yes.

7. Do you want someone to be dead?
Nope. ‘Non shall perish but have eternal Life’ even if it’s Ali Khamenei or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

8. What does your last text message say?
Top Secret

9. What are you thinking right now?
‘Will I Grow Up To Be A Man?’ haha…. Where is my life heading to, what will happen to the future of Iran.

10. Do you want someone to be with you right now?
Taylor Swift…. Just joking. Right now I’m a contented old bachelor. <winks-like Henry Higgins>

11. What time did you go to bed last night?
12.30am, right after my quiet time.

12. Where did you buy the tee you are wearing now?
I’ve forgotten.

13. Is someone on your mind right now?
Taylor Swift? Haha.

14. Who was the last person who text you?
Aunty Fer.

10 special people to do this quiz…
1. Shammah
2. Rachel Koh
3. Carissa
4. Jazzie Kan
5. Melissa
6. Joanna Yam
7. Allie
8. Peter
9. Dianne
10. Ali

15. Who is no. 2 (Rachel Koh) having a relationship with?
She’s single.Or is she?

16. Is no. 3 (Carissa) male or a female?
Female. DUH!

17. If no. 7 (Allie) and and no. 1 (Shammah) get together, would it be a good?
HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Imagine if you mix a Democrat and a Republican….

18. What is no. 1 (Shammah) studying about?
Not studying. He’s working for Bill Gates.

19. When was the last time you chatted with no. 3 (Carissa)?
On Sunday.

20. Is no. 4 (Jazzie Kan) single?
Nope. She’s attached to Peter.

Say something about no. 2 (Caleb Raj)
Nice chap.

22. What do you think about no. 10 (Ali) and no. 6 (Joanna Yam) being together?
They don't even know each other! HAHA.

23. Describe no. 9 (Dianne)
She is full of laughter and joy. Plus she is one with her camera.

24. What will you do if no. 5 (Melissa) and no. 7 (Allie) fight?
Fight? It will turn into a dance :-p

25. Do you like 8 (Peter )?

Nope. Jazz will kill me :-p

DONE!

Have we, as Christians, re-evaluate our relationship with Christ? Many a times, we didn’t know or didn’t realise that the lifestyle we lead is pulling us apart from God. Or that the things of this world, aka Idols, take God’s place in our hearts instead of Christ. Sometimes, we think that God’s presence is with us whilst in reality, it’s NOT due to the fact that we continue to live a sinful lifestyle or we allow Idols to take the place of Christ in our hearts.

Why am I blogging about this? Let me tell you a secret. The past 2 months has been really low for me, especially my spiritual walk with Christ. I’ve been having problems praying and reading God’s Word. When I pray I tend to lose my focus and my mind drifts somewhere else, or the Bible seems to be just another mere story book, instead of God speaking to me through His Word. This issue seems to be bugging me and I was so discouraged spiritually that I came to fear that I would fall away.

Well thank the LORD, Pastor David Goh came today and gave us a huge wake up call. As usual, being the man he is, he delivered his God-inspired sermon straight-to-the-point. Though unpleasent it may sound, I was happy because I felt God speaking directly to me. In his message, he shared that Jesus is after our heart, that He wants to change us, our heart. If we allow Him to. (On a funny note, we always think that Pastor Rennie steps on people’s foot, but Pastor David steps on people’s head!) I like speakers who are straight-forward and uncompromising. Though unpleasant it may sound, as long as it is meant to correct us, I’m find with it.

Also, he stated that if we Christians, if we don’t hunger and thirst for Christ, we will naturally hunger and thirst for the things of this World. He also states that we are living in the Last Days and that in the Last Days, there will be a great shaking in the Church and it is meant to purify His Church. Those who remain will be overcomers. ‘The remnant will be saved’.

So to my brothers and sisters-in-Christ, once saved is NOT always saved. We as His disciples must set our hearts right before Him and let God change our hearts. So I urge you all to start thinking seriously and re-evaluate our relationship with God. Don’t only experience God but also allow Him to change our hearts. Use the life that God gave us for His Glory!

Life is like a coin, you can spend it in anyways you want, but you can only spend it once.

It's official. I'm getting married….NOT! Just joking. I've got my finals result last Thursday and thank God I've passed. So that means I'm officially a Diploma graduate. I just want to thank God that I've got my Diploma. If one looks at the way I study he/she will instantly know that I passed due to a miracle.

As you some of you know, I'm a very free guy now. Currently I'm looking for a job (duh!). What's in my mind now is preferably an international company(hint) Eurocopter, which means I can work 5 days a week and it would ensure that I would still be able to attend worship practice and YF on Saturdays. Anyway, a lot of things happened during this break.

Well, the day before I got my results, I just returned from a 3 day trip up north to the state of Perak, specifically to a town called Kuala Kangsar, which is the royal town of Perak for a prayer drive in conjunction with the Global Day of Prayer 2009 and after that, a trip to Taiping where we visited Taiping Zoo on the last day. Those who went for this trip is Pastor Rennie, Ty Fer, Samuel and Sheralyn, Patricia, Aunty Jessie(who replaced Carissa :-p),Shammah, U Shen and me.

In Kuala Kangsar, we had the opportunity to visit a local church there ironically called FGA Kuala Kangsar. In small towns like these throughout Malaysia, the local churches there are small and sadly in some cases, did not have the priviledge of a resident pastor. A gentle reminder to the big churches in KL here. Don't complain about your church pastor, leaders or lack of certain facilities. If you don't believe me, go and checkout these small churches yourself.

The places we went and visited in Kuala Kangsar is the Royal Palace itself, the former palace and the banks of Perak River. Outside the palace gates, Shammah, Samuel and I had the honour of guarding the Sultan's palace. One thing I like about this small town is the town square. There they had this roundabout on which perched a decommissioned RMAF MacDonnell Douglas A4 Skyhawk light- attack fighter-bomber. Yes, the same plane used by the Israelis to devestating effect against her Arab neighbours during their numerous wars and skirmishes.

After our prayer drive in Kuala Kangsar, we went and stayed for a night at Taiping. It was in Taiping itself that we had the best dinner during our 3-day trip. Uncle Nie drove us to a hawker centre which is located on a road! Yes, on a road which was closed to traffic during the nights. That night I had a plate of Fried Kuey Teow which tastes like the authentic one from Penang, a bowl of Fried Fish Noodle and the last piece of Aunty Jessie's Chee Cheong Fun. We left there with satisfied smiles and with a happy tummy.

The next day, we visited Taiping Zoo, which Samuel was especially looking forward to, especially the tigers. Unfortunately he was not able to see them up close due to the tigers resting at the far end of their enclosure. At the zoo I took a lot of photos of the various species of animals there but I can't seem to upload them here. After we returned from the zoo, we went back to the hotel where we took a light shower and packed our stuffs before checking out and making our way back to KL. Well we all enjoyed ourselves, especially Aunty Jessie who said that she's looking forward to another similar one, but instead of 3 days, a week long duration.

Last Sunday night, it was the Global Day of Prayer 2009, where Christians from all over the world gather at a designated spot locally and together with Christians from all over the world, pray. The youths from our church:Carissa, Sheralyn, Victoria, Allison, Joanna, Jazzie Kan, Shammah and me;  and a few others from another church volunteered to be flag bearers. Well I was looking forward to carry the Israeli flag or the Iranian flag but unfortunately it was not available so I ended up with our beloved Jalur Gemilang. This event is beautiful in such that Christians, regardless of denominations, gather as one and pray together. Indeed in Christ, all are equal.

Well I've reached the end of my mumbling. Till the next post.

Who says that only Shaolin Monks can fight? If anyone of you remember last November's news, I bet that you'll remember this. Yes, the story of brawling Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and ressurection.

It seems that there is a 'territorial conflict' between the 6 different sects of Christianity who divide control of the church. It seems they regularly fight over turf and influence and it happened a few times before, where Israeli police are called in to intervene. Guess the Middle-Eastern conflict is not only about Palestinians only.

Here are a few pictures of this 'historical' moment:

'Get him! Get him!.....'

'Got Him!!!!!!' ליןא ידטקק דק!!!!......' Ok ok its gibberish

'What ya starin at eh? Wanna piece of me copper?'

'Give him to me!!!......'

'I'll knock your bloody block off!!!!'

'Esi im deghna!!!!'

After the fight......

Guess the players in the Middle-Eastern conflict is not only between the Israelis and Palestinians but also fighting monks.

I'm sure that there are a number among the younger generation that watched this wildly popular 70s and 80s comedy from Limeyland.  I recently managed to borrow the DVDs of this show from Aunty Fer. Man so happy. The last time I watched this show was way back in 98' on our local TV, when I was a small chap. This show brings back lots of sweet memories. How sentimental…..

For those who don't know what this show is about, its about Mr Jeremy Brown, played by the late Barry Evans, who teaches English at an evening class to a bunch of foreign student. Well, as the title goes, one can guess that this show draws its humour from the mistakes that the students commit. To make things 'worst', the students come from different nationalities and there are always conflict among them.

The students are Giovanni Cupello from Italy, who is also the class monitor, Maximilian from Greece, Danielle, the French 'gatal' girl, the Communistic Su-Lee from China, Taro Nagumi( don't need to guess his nationality),Ingrid Svenson from Sweden, another 'gatal' one, Ranjeet Singh and Jamilah from India, Ali Nadim from Pakistan, Juan Cervantes para Sevilla from Spain, Anna Schmidt from Germany and Zoltan from Hungary. Other characters are Mrs…ops Miss Courtney, Sid the janitor and Gladys who worked in the canteen.

The humour in this show comes from the students mistakes in English. And some political strife. As Mr Brown says to Ranjeet and Ali in the first episode, 'we are here to learn English, not to start a Holy War.' Ranjeet and Ali are always quarreling due to their religious differences whilst Su-Lee and Taro argue over political differences.

One thing about this show that I love is the hard-to-forget quotes and the humourous dialogues. For example, in the 1^st Season, when Mr Brown asks Juan questions, he always replies with 'Por favour?'

Among my faourite quotes are:

Mr Brown: Ali, across the line for 7(during a crossword game), what do you call a 4 piece music band?

Ali: Beatles!

 

Mr Brown: What is another name for an epistle? Giovanni?

Giovanni: Simple, an epistle is the wife of an apostle!

 I have a lot of laughing to do whilst watching this show. All hail Jeremy Brown!

One of my favourite, Giovanni

Another favourite, Ali                            

The whole cast                                                                                             

Well now that exam's all over, I've been doing nothing for like 2 weeks. Well doing things but nothing productive, depending on each individuals personal defination of productive. So bored just staying at home, except for one Friday when I went out with my friends to MidValley to watch 'X-Men:Origins'.

Basically what I've been doing at home is trying to read the Bible, reading a book on how to interpret the Scriptures, 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini and staring at the computer most of the time.

Well, for like a month, the atmosphere's is kind of dry and humid, both meteorlogically and spiritually.  I find it hard to pray especially and whilst reading the Bible, it seems like just reading a storybook. Grrr….. kind of frustrating somehow. Sometimes I wonder does this have to do with my own life or is this kind of like a season?

Anyway, I've got a set of 'Mind Your Language' DVDs, courtesy of Aunty Fer who lend it to me. Love this show. It brings back many sweet childhood memories. I think I should blog about this separately.

Well Josiah, look to God for comfort and help. Don't be complacent and casual until you become a spiritual casualty.

Well today is my last day in college. It's a wonder how fast time flies by. Seems like yesterday when I stepped foot in college for the first time. And today is the time I said goodbye to a chapter in my life.

Looking back, college has been a real eye-opener to me. When I first stepped foot into college, I was shocked. Shocked in terms of the huge number of students, the noice and the smell. Man, I just could not stand this and remembered that my favourite spot in college was the library, peace and tranquility.

One thing I love about the library is the variety of books. Man, imagine my surprise finding books on the Middle-East  haha…. The only place where you can find the truth about the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Such irony eh? Everyone goes about criticising Israel whilst the truth lays hidden in the library.

Anyway, it was during these 2 years that I met and befriended new friends. Amirul, Visha, Eason, Tabitha, Julia, Sarah, Stephanie,Psycho, Jeff, Chun How, Valentina and last but not least, a brother in Christ, Caleb Raj aka Mutton, Cicak from Broadcast. Guys and gals its my honour and pleasure knowing you people.

College was also the time when I first tasted vodka, Absolut vodka, all thanks to Psycho for bringing it in his bag(the only time he brings a bag to class is when he brings liquor to college) Haha. It was eventful, the 4 of us mixing it with 100 Plus and ice. Man it tastes horrible. Wonder how the Russians and the Poles love this.

Stepping into college for the first time brought about a huge shock for me. Being an introverted personality brings huge challenges for me. But I thank God that was the past and now I'm a 'new' person, being more open and annoying. Haha

One of the things about college life is BGR. Well they say that in college besides studying one gets a boyfriend/girlfriend and start discussing stuffs with their partners on what the future holds for the both of them. Blearghh…..What fantasy. I thank God that I've remained single and still am. *I want to be the next Pope* heh heh

Last but not least, you can say that college is like fashion parade, where you can find all sort of weird characters and fashion. You have 'lalas'(thanks Julia for explaining that to me),punks,emos,trolls,half-naked fairies, goblins(nah just joking). What shocked me the most was how liberal the outside world is. Imagine girls wearing clothes that lives nothing to the imagination. Economic downturn so bad is it? No money to buy clothes so you gals wear your childhood clothes?

This semester has been the best so far, due to International Relations. Unfortunately this last sem is the short semester so we have only 8 weeks. Sad…..

Anyway I thank God for these past 2 years, where I've developed and grew in character, becoming  more open to people and getting to know new friends. Who else did I left out? Oh Danush, Puteri, Kenny, Andrian, Mei Yi, Elaine,Zheng Guan,Rachel,Ben and talking about Broadcast, Penny, 'Blonde'  May Ying and Michelle.I thank God that I've know you guys.

Lastly, I thank God that these 2 years has been a fruitful one. Time to close this eventful chapter in my life and look forward to the future, though uncertain, I believe that God will guide me in whatever I do.

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand for 7 month term, viable fetuses.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are more of a threat than nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Iran or Chinese and North Korean communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding and ONLY Federally funded art is worthwhile.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by historically cyclical changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial, but being homosexual is beautiful.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

8. You have to believe that the same teachers who can't teach 4th-graders how to read are somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but PETA activists do....even if they are blowing up people with bombs to make their point!!!

10. You have to believe that being "given" self-esteem is more important than actually making the effort to earn it.

11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make "The Passion of the Christ" for financial gain.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution. If you don't know what we're talking about here......it's time you looked it up.

13. You have to believe that Federal "taxing of the rich" is too low, but ATM fees are too high.

14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Edison.

15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

16. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in
charge. You believe that Hollywood, California has those people.

17. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag queens and transvestites, often unclothed, should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

18. You have to believe that Barbara Streisand and The Dixie Chicks know more about National Security than Condeleeza Rice.

19. You have to believe that The New York Times and CNN are Patriotic and individuals that proudly display the American Flag are NUTS!!

20. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right-wing conspiracy.

GOD BLESS AMERICA............oops, can't say that if you're Liberal.