Cyclone Yasi and Intense Heat

Yep, those two things were the two things that stopped me from having good night of sleep last night.

Cyclone Yasi had all of Australia on the edge of their seats, fearing for the damage that may hit Queensland and the family of many. Moreover, the intense heat over the past few days have just sent people into restlessness and exhaustion.

Have been starting to read John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life; it's quite readable and has been giving me lots to think about, and one of the quotes from Scripture led me to 2 Timothy 2, which I wanted to share with you guys.

2 Timothy 2

The Appeal Renewed

 ¹ You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. ³ Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. ⁵ Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷ Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.  ⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
 ¹¹ Here is a trustworthy saying:
   If we died with him,
   we will also live with him;
¹² if we endure,
   we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
   he will also disown us;
¹³ if we are faithless,
   he remains faithful,
   for he cannot disown himself.

Dealing With False Teachers

 ¹⁴ Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ¹⁶ Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. ¹⁷ Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”  ²⁰ In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. ²¹ Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
 ²² Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
 

Reminders

Since coming back from Japan where it was such a spiritually intense environment while on mission, where it was really a God given opportunity to focus on my relationship with Him while being able to talk to other people about Him. Coming back, I have to admit that I suffered from reverse-culture shock, finding it hard to get used to coming 'home' without the customs of Japan (people don't bow here, or sort out their rubbish, or have sound boxes in the toilets, gasp!) and ultimately being in a spiritual low, always finding reasons to be distracted from God and resting in an ungodly way - I watched a whole drama in about 4 days and became quite obsessed with it.

As a new year of ministry starts, my church held a training day for leaders training and equipping us for ministry this year.  It was really by God's grace that I was reminded of why He placed me to serve at Extreme at the training day - to lead the youth to love Christ, love each other and the city/world by teaching, modeling and praying the bible into their lives. Coming back to my church back in Sydney... I really feel so thankful for the leader's training we've been provided and the older women who are constantly looking out for me spiritually and physically - and I know especially now not to take it for granted. 

I was really reminded of this bible passage when I was reading the other night (before I totally conked out from exhaustion):

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. 

It's really sobering, isn't it? Are we encouraging each other to grow in their love for Christ with cheap materials,  or good materials  - the bible, prayer and discipleship and godly modeling? I have to confess that I'm not confident in the least when it comes to discipleship, especially with 1 to 1... but please pray that God will continue growing His people in their churches towards full maturity in Christ as we run the race together! :) 

It's really hot, so I'm going to go. Happy Birthday Harrylam!  :D

PS. It made me sad that the songs on GDandTOP's album are quite nice and quite catchy, but the lyrics are really quite inappropriate. :(

mission blog :D

http://daikondiaries.blogspot.com/

blog for mission! :)

please keep Japan and the teams in your prayers + check back for updates + please comment :D

THANK YOU!!

2 weeks to go!

Haven't blogged for a while.. haha how has everyone been?


There's only 2 weeks to go until mission.
Wait, I lie. 2 weeks and 2 days, 3 exams, 3 21sts, 1 20th and 1 more Mission Team meeting to go.
:(

See what I mean when I say that it feels like a lot but not a lot at the same time?


Am pretty excited though; stayed up until 3am setting up and blogging on the new mission blog & making a powerpoint to share about the Omagari mission @ FCG on Friday night... kinda scared but after Euge's sermon on Sunday.. I think I have to remember that God tells us that He has a harvest ready and no matter how hard it seems in the mission field, don't be discouraged because God is faithful :) Reading the Manders' newsletter (missionaries at the church we're going to) it's made me realise how impatient I am to see fruit in ministries - they talk about a lady who has shown no interest in Christianity despite coming to worship services for years despite other Christian women sharing their faith with her consistently... until really recently when she asked another sister to read the bible with her! Praise God so so much :) It's really made me repent and see that God has His perfect timing for everything that isn't the same as the time we see..

Will update with the link soon. :)

At the moment, preparing for exams (1 at a time!) is quite draining :( and realising that I do need to take better care of people around me + myself by resting more and being more alert! Major shoutout to John for the notes and I hope you get that position with LSS :)

Really praise God this week by guiding me through changing my major from Int Business to Finance :) I think He really made me realise (read something on Prov 31) how blessed I am to be given the chance to study Business (that I've always whined about and hated) and to be equipped with valuable skills to serve my family, my future family (yay!), church family + others who don't know Christ :) From now on I shall no longer hate but study with joy +; thankfulness! If I'm complaining, someone please remind me! =P I also realise how precious it is to have older sisters in Christ I can ask for wise and godly advice :) many thanks to the brothers + sisters who reminded me that God can be using whatever we're doing to serve and glorify Him.

On another note, am so so excited that Gracepoint Burwood will be so close to Westfield's (and so close to my old house!), and am currently praying and thinking about whether I should go to the Lidcombe Evening service plant next year. God has been so gracious in the mission opportunities He has provided even though our church was having a lot of stress with having nowhere to meet for service, and just a whole lot of uncertainty but God uses these things to make us realise that we only need to rely on Him in prayer, be willing to go wherever He tells us to, and to be ready to hold out the gospel to everyone and anyone :) Please be praying for the ministry God has given to the church to be reaching out and training international students in Cumbo & even (maybe) starting a Christian youth group @ Homebush Boys! :D

I have decided to stay at Burwood Extreme for another year to encourage + support to my lovely little sisters who are starting Year 12! :D It is my prayer that these youth will be serving and loving and growing in Him even when the stress hits! I'm really looking forward to making support packs for you girls + shouting you guys de-stressing cafe adventures + iced chocolates/coffees :)
 - I shouldn't forget my brother in all this.. okay I'll be nicer to you from now on :D

Also, am thinking of going to KYLC and doing Children's Ministry Strand 1 next year, and really praying that many of the Extremers will come and be equipped with how to read + lead with His word :) Seriously, I thank God so much for the way He has been growing you guys this year to step up to lead! So so encouraged!


It is now 12.32am and time for me to sleep so I can make the last 10AM Constitutional lecture tomorrow morning. For once :) Love you all :D


Another thought I had today was that I should really stop fangirling over groups like Big Bang, etc etc. :( I admit I get infatuated/obsessed with things and constantly just maul over it. Approaching the age of 20, time to grow up, further understand my identity in + mature in Christ :)

1 Corinthians 13:11

¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 

Came back with some photos!

FBF!!!! I accidentally thought my cheatsheet was scrap paper so ran over it with my chair a few times. :(

the mission team to Omagari/Sapporo :)

haha white radishes are roots - like ROOTEd in Christ, get it? ;D also, vegetables can't plant or grow themselves, they have to be planted and grown by Christ :)

it's also because we were thinking of what to cook for the Australian Outreach Nights and we realised that we needed a lot of vegetables, but apparently it's really expensive in Japan, so we were (jokingly) going to bring 25kg of potatoes, carrots, apples etc from Australia) :P

How to be Content

I found this Recipe For Contentment in SMH this morning.. what do you guys think of it? I wonder what the reactions would be if added to that list was "Have a partner who considered his glory above all else"..

RECIPE FOR CONTENTMENT

Have a happy partner

Don't be overworked or underworked

Prioritise family and community, and have a partner who does so as well

Don't be materialistic

Don't be obese

On other notes, I am super sick and have had to miss out on everything this week - though I had a very fun midsem break, where I did crazy things like...

PIZZA HUT BUFFET with the girls from uni,

go fabric shopping @ cabramatta + parramatta (!),

go to EXTREME CAMP!!!!! (which was the best camp EVER) where we learnt a lot about growth, bonded a lot with each other, served each other in wacky ways and just had an awesome time,

watch Despicable Me, had Korean food at this restaurant in this alleyway in the city which was really good & went to the Lindt Cafe all in the same day,

went on a walk with Focus from Bondi to Bronte to Coogee + had hotpot afterwards @ the summerhill manor,

went to the Maculty BBQ @ Kat's & had a seminar @ credo about relationships which was quite practical + useful, then had a japan mission meeting,

watched the final episode of MY GIRLFRIEND IS A GUMIHO with viv @ church, visited studylounge where heaps of year 12s were studying & had dinner with some FCG people @ darling harbour, followed by some awesome hat game fun :),

went to Brendan Wong's 21st dressed as villains (I went as the wolf who ate the grandma from little red riding hood.. Ninja still couldn't guess after very obvious clues!! =P )

and yeah.. going out everyday is probably how I got sick. :(

BUT IT WAS AWESOME :) okay, back to bed!

quite a rebuke :)

Ministering When It's Inconvenient

Posted on 02.19.10 by Erin Davis
Topics: Impacting your world, Relationships with Others

In Matthew 15:29, we find Jesus trying to rest on a mountainside. He barely sat down when a crowd of people came to Him looking to be healed. How did He respond? He healed them.

When Jesus received word that His cousin, John the Baptist, had been killed, He tried to grieve alone. But crowds of people followed Him and begged for His attention. Scripture tells us that instead of hiding in His grief, He had compassion and healed the sick in the crowd (Matthew 14:13–14).

On the night before Jesus was betrayed, He didn't hide out. He didn't run away. He spent the evening with His disciples. He even took the time to serve them by washing the mud from their feet (John 13:1–17).

If we look closely, we find an interesting pattern. We know that Jesus spent His time on earth serving others. But have you ever considered how often He ministered when it was inconvenient?

He served others when He was tired.
He served others when He'd have rather been alone.
He served others when He was sad.
He served others when He'd been serving non-stop for days and days.
He served others when things went terribly wrong in His own life.
He even served others when He knew His own death was right around the corner.

I am deeply challenged by this truth. You see, I don't mind serving others when it's convenient for me. I like to help out when it works into my schedule or fits into my agenda for the day. But there are lots of times when ministry is inconvenient. I'm tired. I'm stressed. I've got more important things to do than to meet the needs of those around me. Under those circumstances, I feel justified in giving priority to my own needs and temporarily ignoring the needs of others.

But this isn't how Jesus lived. It isn't how Jesus served. And it isn't what He wants from you and me.

The reality is, serving others requires sacrifice. If we only do it when it's convenient, we're missing the point.

What's keeping you from serving like Jesus? Will you let Him inconvenience you today?

The creeping up of Spring

Heavy sunshine and cool breezes.

Spring and Summer, how I have missed thee.

It didn't seem too long ago that I wore my black thongs everyday in the summer, running around. Yet as I tried them on again, it made me feel like I was meeting my cousins again after a few years; cousins who I could be very close with, yet every time we meet for the first time, there's an awkward shyness, a foreign feeling and sometimes some discomfort when we don't fit together as well as we used to.

Nowadays it doesn't feel like I'm stopping.. there's always something to be done after something else. I'm longing for that time where I'll get to sit around and gaze at insignificant things; the things I never get time to pay attention to.

I've actually been spending a lot of time on sewing and just simple craft design blogs lately. Among my favourites is A Little Red Ribbon - I've realised that a lot of these ladies who run these blogs are mothers who want to express their creativity whilst loving the people around them, and they're a wonderful read.

Bizarrely, the fact that there's only 2 and a half months to go until Japan startles me. So little time.. yet I can feel that God is still teaching me day to day, whether I realise it or not.

Yesterday while on the bus, the gusty winds swung the whole vehicle from side to side - it was quite scary, really. Lately I've been quite unsettled and unsure about some things, and my bookmark that I was quite sure was randomly placed, brought me to Psalm 13 in the bible.

How Long, O LORD?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
²How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
⁴ lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him,"
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

⁵But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Euge has been telling us to do this thing for ages: pondering on the words the psalmist uses, why they use that word, where else in the bible it's used...

Trying that yesterday, it takes a long time to ponder over a single psalm - I can see how someone could be thinking about this for a whole day, or even a whole week!

What does the word steadfast mean? Why does David trust so much in this steadfast love? Should we be trusting in it? What does it mean to be trusting in it? Why does he use the word steadfast and not anything else, for surely God's love is not just steadfast? Is God the only place/one we can find steadfast love in?

Why does David rejoice? Why does it find joy, when the rest of his psalm is in such a longing tone? What does it mean for us to be rejoicing even when we're asking God for answers?

What is the salvation that David speaks of? If the salvation as we know it comes from Jesus, is David referring to Jesus, the one who was promised by God? Or is it another type of salvation, such as from war?

Because. It's a big word. BECAUSE of what He's done already, I'll sing to him - David doesn't say, I'll sing to him so He'll deal with me bountifully... and what does bountifully mean anyway?


Hmm...

Praise God also for Credo mission on campus :) I liked John Smuts' talk on 'If I were God I'd end the Suffering' especially, and the Muslim & Christian debate was especially eye opening -I realise that I have a lot of reading up to do. Be sure to check out the video/audio recordings on the Credo website!

.. and then there's reading for the Constitutional law essay.