Initially I didn't plan to go but somehow a vision of Swee Kit was haunting me and telling me to go for camp...I mean she has been trying to get me to church or Christian camp from my first year to my fourth semester. This is my fifth semester and she's retired from being a SUFES or Scripture Union Fellowship of Evangelical Students....so technically I didn't see her or contact her this semester but somehow in my heard I hear her voice telling me to go for camp...LoL...
So, last minute I registered myself for the camp.
I overslept and was late for the camp...
Camp was at Broga...theme was N.O.W or No Other Way.
Pastor Daniel Tan from SIBKL
1st day lecture on Hearing God's voice. How does He speak? How to hear His voice and How to recognize His voice.
Speaks through Word/bible, Prayer, People, Dreams/visions/signs, circumstances, audible voice.
Hear through seeking, surrender, still/silent,Stay(wait patiently,don't rush)
Recognize by spending time, if your heart is not right you might hear wrongly, to hear whisper you gotta be near the person.
Morning devotion day 2 reminded me of who I use to be and the people I knew, the heart I had for "special people". I prayed to God when I was younger that I wanted to be an Andrew instead of other apostles cause Andrew's just brought people to God. And God did answer my prayer but the people I brought were not so ordinary, they had some sort of special attitudes in life that annoyed others, make others look down on them and sort of discriminate them. I used to have a special heart for them, pity and wanna reach out to them but when I brought them to church, the people in church didn't really like it and kinda influence me till I started feeling that to layan this sort of person is burdensome and I started feeling ashamed of them and myself. But in my heart I thought, it's this kind of people that God loves and called us to love...so I stop being an instrument of God and stop being an Andrew cause seriously all the people that God send to my way was weird, stalk-type, annoying, rough, some type of downsyndrom mentality or just has a hateful personality.
Maybe cause they never experienced enough love or there was no one to guide them? Mostly are from broken families.
Session 2 was on narrow gate and wide gate. narrow way need to find, put in effort, few enter and you find Life but broad way is easy, common, user-friendly, wide, can carry old baggage, compromise, no need to find the way, you will find destruction.
People rather be wrong than to be correct and alone (Peer pressure experiment of which line is longest)
Darkness prevails because light refuse to shine(they hide under the bowl). You can switch on the Light but you cannot switch on the Darkness.
According to Leviticus 10:10 HOLY is the opposite of Common.
Narrow original word "Thlibo" use feet to press grape juice/wine. If u choose narrow way, u will be stepped on. Jesus could choose easy path but He choose to be persecuted, beaten and crucified.
Narrow way have to be found do need effort.
Only can be saved through HIM. The word THROUGH is the means/reason by which something is done.
Jesus is my glasses, I cannot see clearly without my glasses. See through the fruits of the spirit then heart will be changed.
Old testament is Law...don't do/commit. Law doesn't change us.
New testament is think CHRIST-like...don't think. Thinking changes our heart.
Workshop DRCAB, or CPR. It's the unconscious ones that you need to attend first medically cause it's the most critical.
Urgency to reach out. We take for granted that our friends will live long and hope that others will help the people cause we don't see the urgency. We are in campus for only a limited time , it's our natural setting and we got contacts, Probably it's our only chance to reach out to them cause we might be the only Christ Ambassador they know.
Session 3 Disturb us, Lord. Life is very precious even a dog's life cause it's a life. Don't be so busy with your ministry that you forget the meaning of the ministry. Little bit of time and money can mean something to others, I cannot change the whole world but I can change the whole world of one person. Life is short so the best use of life is to live for a cause bigger than yourself.
God can heal the world, stop evil and make the world a better place in one snap but if He did that, what would we do then? what is the church function? God didn't cause He wanna give us a chance to participate, be a part of the cause/effort.
God disturbs us in a progress. He asks us to start small, then go deeper and finally surrender all.
Jesus never waited for opportunity to arrive but he was attentive/aware to the opportunity around.
Peter and John's boat so full of fish that boats about to sink-if their eyes were on success they would sink. Their eyes were fixed on Jesus, they were willing to leave everything behind...biggest catch in their life also.
morning devotion day 3 reminded Jesus is all we need. When you're alone, you don't have anything, no physical material...see beyond the physical, Life is beyond wealth, material and when you think you are alone, remember that God will not leave nor forsake you.
session 4 when Jesus talks, He doesn't waste words. Jesus said He WILL build HIS Church and the gates of hell cannot overcome it. Church is the pillar and foundation of the truth. (cannot exist without pillar or foundation)
So many social problems.We must do something or not, can you imagine in the future our children open their textbooks and see that prostitution is a LEGAL profession? Can you imagine your child ambition is to be a pornstar? In New Zeland prostitution is already a legal profession.
Don't do good works to convert people but do it cause you genuinely care for them hence living out the gospel. Give only what you have not what you don't have, Jesus only ask of what you have, not what you don't have. You shine by loving others genuinely then people will see Jesus and praise God in heaven. if you wanna shine, focus on what you have-time, money, effort, lending a hand. Stretch your hand to show you accept, lift others up...Restore dignity, not just donate. 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish-give what you got and God will use it to do miracles...it's not the quantity size but giving whatever you have.
It's never too late. The power of togetherness :)
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