devotion this week…

Day one:
Reading: James 3:1-12

In march of last year, an oil tanker from Hong Kong named the Pacific Adventurer ran headlong into a tropical storm. The results were disastrous. From a leak in the ailing vessel, almost 250 tons of oil oozed across a 37-mile stretch of Australia’s Sunshine Coast. What’s more, 31 containers of ammonium nitrate broke loose and punctured the ship’s hull. The BBC reported how ‘environmental experts fear [that] the nutrient-rich fertilizer could cause [damage to] algal blooms, suffocate fish and kill natural habitats.’ What a wide swath of mayhem from one ship being tossed in a tempest!

Scripture often warns of the vast destruction that comes from small and overlooked places. We might think that ruin comes only from the sins that get the most attention: adultery, murder, injustice. For most of us, however, the temptations that undo us will emerge from more subtle corners. As James says, “We all make many mistakes” (3:2).

The write goes on to state that a small bit in a horse’s mouth will make it ‘go wherever we want’; and mammoth ships are turned by ‘a small rudder’ (v3-4). Nearer to James’ concern was the tongue, that small piece of flesh that has the capacity to do great good or harm. The tongue ‘praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God’ (v9).

Wise pastors and Bible teachers have taught us that blatant, abhorrent sins rarely arrive all at once out of nowhere. Usually, sins take root after we’ve given ourselves over to long patterns of disobedience as we harbor a heart chilled to God’s voice. Supposed ‘small’ sins do destroy us and others. As we start 2010, let’s make sure we don’t miss the little things that can bring us down. – Winn Collier (taken from Our Daily Journey)

Reflection:
-what small sins have you allowed to go unchecked?
-how might these small sins lead to destruction?

Day two:
Turning It Around for Good

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

With all due respect to Rabbi Kushner, God does allow bad things to happen to good people. He doesn’t cause them, but He doesn’t prevent them either. The world is free and God doesn’t very often step in and alter the fact that the effects of sin are visiting themselves randomly upon the creation. So God lets trials happen to the Christian just like He lets them happen to the pagans so that the superiority of the life lived in God can be demonstrated through our lives. The majority of the world is choosing not to worship God, but a few of us, by God’s grace, can draw down upon God’s promised resources to get us through.

God did not cause the horrible events in your life, but you need to embrace the fact that He allowed them. God could not make a world in which we are free and at the same time guarantee that everyone would choose Him. So the world is broken and bad things happen. But God promises that He will be with those who love Him. He will bring us through the fire, and we will come forth as gold.

God allowed Paul to suffer a “thorn . . . in the flesh.” Paul said that God allowed “a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited” (2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul understood that God allowed this pain in his life for a reason. God allowed a demon to harass, or buffet Paul. The word buffet means to strike with a fist or beat. But God permitted it with a purpose: to keep [Paul] from being conceited.

God is so sovereign. He’s so much in control that even when Satan tries to ruin our lives, God takes the weapon that Satan wants to use to destroy us and turns it into a good thing. God says, “If you will lean hard on Me in the midst of this difficult time, I’ll take that thorn and make it for your good.”

We all have a thorn. We all have something that God has allowed into our lives that Satan meant for our destruction but that God has turned around to help us grow and change.
-James MacDonald

Day three:
Jesus Stands for You

“Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him.” – Acts 7:54-58

Get your arms around a really, really important truth. God is never more present in your life than when you are suffering. The harder the trial, the closer He moves toward you. Are you feeling crushed today? He is rushing toward you to stand beside you and help you.

Jesus Christ is an experienced sufferer. Lest you hold in your mind a picture of an anemic, weak Jesus, replace it with this: Jesus has His PhD in suffering. He has suffered like no other for your sin and mine. Not only does He identify with your suffering, but He is present with you in your suffering. First Peter 4:14 says, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”

There’s a unique intimacy with Christ when you’re suffering for Him. It’s unlike anything else. Think of Stephen in Acts 7 when he was giving up his life for Christ. As the crowd began to stone him, Stephen “gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God (v.55).” If you’re a careful Bible student, you’d question, Why was Jesus standing? Hebrews makes such a big deal about how “he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (1:3).” Yet in this glimpse into glory, Stephen, at the moment of his greatest suffering, saw Jesus standing for him.
And it’s not just emotional support. As we’ve already seen, this new intimacy with Christ Paul describes as “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians 3:10, NASB).

Believe by faith that in the middle of your trials you are experiencing the fellowship of God’s presence that gives you new courage to not give up. I’m not going to lose my faith, God help me. I’m going to keep on. I hate this world, but I’m longing for heaven. I’m going to serve Him until I get there. I’m telling you—in those moments of faith, there’s a wave of grace that God rushes upon you. Sometimes I think I can feel His breath.

How do you keep this wave in motion? Keep your communication open with the Lord. I’m not talking casual prayers over the shoulder. I mean on your face before God – a posture that we’ve had too little of in our lives. And in that place, the Lord will meet you. If you will humble yourself, the Lord will be present with you. He is an experienced sufferer, fellowshipping with you.

God is never more present than when His children are suffering. Draw near. –James MAcDOnald

Day four:
One way
Reading: Acts 4:5-12

We live in a day of options and alternatives. Marketers know that people like choices. Just think of how many cell phone plans there are to choose from or how many cable television channels you can flip through.

But we worship and serve a God who says he is the one and only way. He doesn’t present a ‘build-your-own-way-to-salvation’ plan. The God of the Bible offers one way to eternal life – that’s it.

Scripture speaks right to this truth. There’s just one God. Deuteronomy 4:39 says, “Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord, he is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.’

In addition to that, there’s only one way to this one God. Jesus says in John 14:6, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ There is one single way. One God, available one way through one name.

Renew your mind with this unchanging, eternal truth: God is about ones.
While we may want to have it our way, God requires we do it his way. Why? Reason 1: He is God and we are not. Reason 2: His plan is the most phenomenal plan of the universe. He is able to do ‘far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,’ Ephesians 3:20 says. But we must choose it.

God has grace for everyone who wants to get on his program, but he also has a hand of judgement for everyone who pursues an alternate plan. Second Chronicles 13:12 says, ‘O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.’

Are you among the followers of Christ on this one road to heaven? Jesus alone can satisfy your heart’s deepest longing and your life’s greatest need. Aren’t you tried of your own plan? –James MacDonald (taken from Our Journey)

Day five:
Thanksgiving

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south… He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” – Psalm 107:1-9

Psalm 107 is all about thankfulness. Very specifically Psalm 107 repeats one verse four different times.
“O, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His wonderful works to the children of men.”

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Praise and gratitude are inseparable. Praise starts from the soles of our feet and comes up through the muscles and sinews and joints and organs of our bodies and it bursts from our throat. It’s with all our hearts that we give God thanks. It is not something shallow or frivolous, flippant or superficial. Gratitude is the deepest expression of the soul in love with God. And he says, “With all my heart I give You thanks.”

The original meaning of praise was “to give public acknowledgement.” It’s the thought of telling others about something that means much to us. Not the normal term for giving thanks.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not negative on gratitude. What really bugs me, though, is when people express their gratitude today, late in November and then return to their self-centered, dissatisfied, hopeless and pathetic outlook on life the other 364 days.
Gratitude is more than an annual ritual performed hastily before diving into the Thanksgiving meal. It’s more than a holiday decoration, more than a snappy word that rhymes with “attitude.” Of all the human emotions, gratitude is the most powerful. So powerful is gratitude, it can obliterate fear, hopelessness and doubt. Gratitude can heal a broken heart, slow the aging process and restore broken relationships. Gratitude creates hope and hope brings joy. It is in joy, not fear, that we find strength. –JAMES MacDonald

Reflection: -take some time to write out the many things you’ve to thank God for, for all He has done for you.

Day six:
Do I Wear the Marks?

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” – 1 John 5:13-15

Are you a Christian? How do you know?
You’re not a Christian because you say you are anymore than you’re in Cincinnati because you know how to get there. Being a Christian is not about knowing how to become a Christian; it’s about knowing you are one.

If you don’t have a mane; if you don’t have sharp teeth; if you don’t have a long tail – you’re not a lion no matter what you say.
If you don’t have tires; if you don’t have a motor; and if you don’t have a steering wheel – you’re not a car no matter you say.
If you can’t carry a tune; and if you can’t hit a note; and if your singing doesn’t bless people – stick to the shower, because you’re not a soloist no matter what you say.
In the same sense, Christians have fruit; they have characteristics; they have evidence; they have identifying marks.

John said in 1 John 5:13, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” You can have the assurance that you’re saved. You don’t have to wonder – just ask yourself, “Do I have the identifying marks?”

The book of 1 John repeatedly explains the distinguishing characteristics of followers of Christ. No one has them perfectly, but look at your life and ask yourself if you’re increasing in these marks:

Am I loving more deeply? Not perfectly, but increasingly…
Am I obeying more faithfully? Not perfectly, but increasingly…
Am I living authentically? The Christian life is not a charade. I’m not wearing a mask. I’m not acting like I’m something I’m not. My heart is very tender to the Lord and He’s growing me. That’s part of being a real Christian.
When you see these marks in your life, and you know that you long to know Him more and be passionate about doing what pleases Him increasingly more in your life, then your heart swells with assurance. You belong to Him. –James MacDonald.

Day seven:
Answer the call
Reading: Ephesians 2:4-10

Every person who names the name of Jesus Christ has a threefold call on his life.

First, God calls us to know His Son Jesus Christ personally through faith. Responding to this call changes everything – our life, our purpose, our eternal destiny – but it’s not the whole story. God’s call doesn’t stop at conversion. Really it’s just the beginning.

God also calls you to follow Him. Jesus extends to us the same invitation that He did to the disciples on the shore of Galilee: “Come, follow Me.” This call to discipleship makes a place for you to walk and talk with the Lord daily; it’s an invitation to know and be known by the Lover of your soul.

But again, the call extends even beyond this to the call to serve Christ. Contrary to many people’s priority lists, working for God is not in the options column. No, He could easily do it. He calls us to leave the bench and join in the game because He wants to bless us. jus ask any faithful, fruitful follower of Christ, and they’ll tell you all about the joy of rolling up your sleeves and pouring yourself into the place He reserves for you to serve.

Ephesians 2:8-10 sums up our threefold calling thus: “By grace you have been saved through faith [the call to conversion]. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, … For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works [the call to service], which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them [ the call to discipleship].”

Obeying the call to know Christ, you’ll have the gift of eternal life. Obeying the call to follow Christ, you’ll fellowship with Jesus that brings increasing faith and joy. Obeying the call to serve Christ, you’ll experience the rush of investing in something greater than your life. It takes obedience in all three aspects to experience the abundant life Christ promises. 

Reflection:
-what I learnt about God
-the insights, instructions or inspiration I’ve gleaned
-how I’m going to apply it

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NIMENHAOWOSHIZENGPEINING

There’s gonna be a freeze mob on the 29th dec
a new years eve mob :D
It’s at 7pm at orchard
It’s like a flash mob except you freeze on the spot suddenly for like 5 mins?
Im going as ADAM LAMBERT( you don’t need to dress up, im being extra)
BUT SERIOUSLY, it’s gonna be really fun, so don’t miss out.
Any enquires ask QH,im not in charge.

SEE EVEN ADAM WANTS YOU TO GO HAHA

LOVE,
GLAMBERT

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PHOTOSSS


THE 2 VISTORRRS from korea


OH HAI DERE ANDY


GOOD REGINA YOU LOOK KINDA COOL


Qh looks like the videophone music vid things :D


MEGAN LOOKS VERY PRETTY. PREETY GIRL HOR


REGINA LOOKS VERY VERY PRETTY. All she needs is a mole on her cheek and she can do PCK for halloween next year XD


Tabi: I’ll put my back against yours and you put your against mine and we’ll stare into the sunset OKAY?


I spotted the photo-bomber by accident (:


Qing Hui sits very prettily


FOOD after being attacked


The sponsor of the party.


Michelle:OMG DOGGG (RUN AWAY)
Beatrice: Where? OMG SHIT


MOAR FOOD


tim and delci (:

THEN IT WAS TIME FOR WII

Max and luke concentrating. Max being pwned. Max failing.Max loses.Typical.


TEH POWDERFOOLS



After all the excitement. HAH.See ya’ll should have stayed for Pretty Photos.

I HAD AN AWESOME TIME :D HOPE YA”LL DID TOO
next time we should go to someone’s elses house and bring cards also.
I almost died just posting okay, It is not easy to post using retarded wordpress.
Those who want to post on facebook, go ahead.

LOVE,
GLAMBERT

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Cell outing @ nick’s house 2day :)

Hey guys,
i really enjoyed the cell outing @ nick’s house 2day. I hope
u guys enjoyed it as much as me, playing cards, playing Wii
(*ahem* and trashing Max), eating all that ham and meatballs
and playing with Whitie and erm Max … So thanks nick for
sponsoring your house…

Merry Christmas, ;D
Luke (Skywalker)

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devotion this week…

Day one:
The Christmas child
Reading: Luke 2:1-12

Watch Him. Watch Him. Watch this Child, who grows into a boy, who grows into a man and is found to be so much more.

Watch as He is born – among shepherds and angels and bright lights in the sky. Watch as He grows in favour and stature – as a youngster asking questions, giving answers, astounding teachers. Watch Him in the desert – a young man in prayer, with hunger and thirst and a calling from heaven.

Watch this strange northerner – with His calloused hands and radical ways – who grew up in ‘pagan’ Galilee, whose brothers once thought Him unbalanced, and whose neighbours once drove Him out of town. Yet watch His authority, His acceptance, His patience. Watch Him touch the leper, heal the diseased, cleanse the impure. Watch Him teach the crowds to forgive and pray always.

Watch Him as He kneels – in a garden, and in anguish. “Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine” (Luke 22:42). Radical submission to a heavenly plan.

Watch as the Son of God is betrayed with a kiss. Watch as they arrest Him and His closest friends flee. Watch as He submits to a fate sketched before time. Watch as they spit on Him and hit Him and crucify Him on a tree.

Watch as one final breath slips from His lips – the sins of the world on the shoulders of one man. Then watch, yes watch, as the stone is rolled away; an empty tomb filled with hope, for He rose again!

Then watch as His name and His fame fills the world.
This God, this Man, this Boy. This Christmas Child. – Sheridan Voysey (taken from Our Daily Journey)

Day two:
Jesus, the stranger
Reading: John 1:6-13

The opening of the gospel of John contains a bewildering statement. It is as if John himself still cannot get over the disconnect that had occurred. Neither the world that had been created through him, nor Jesus’ own people, recognized him when he appeared in human flesh. He was, in effect, a stranger.

In the rest of his gospel, John reveals that the reason for Jesus’ estrangement was that the world wasn’t what it should have been – not because Jesus wasn’t what he should have been. The fallen world could not (or would not) recognize the One through whom it had been created. The result was that the last person in the world who should have gone unrecognized was the first person to be estranged by the very world he had created. According to John, he was simply more than the world could comprehend.

All the gospels portray the ‘stranger status’ of Jesus. In all of them he wanders in the wilderness alone. In each one he is seen as the misunderstood Messiah. But it is especially in John’s gospel that the cumulative effect of being estranged and misunderstood comes to a climax when the Greeks come seeking Jesus (12:20-23). Having been considered a stranger by his own people, Jesus recognizes the coming of these Gentiles as the sign for which he has been waiting.

Not only did Jesus come as a stranger, he also came for the stranger. He radically identified Himself with those who were strangers in the world, who were estranger. If you welcome and invite the stranger, Jesus says, it’s as if you’ve invited me (Matthew 25:35). Jesus has come so that no one has to be a stranger to him ever again – including you and me.

The more intimate you become with Jesus, the Stranger, the more you too will become a stranger to the world. After all, if the creation did not recognize Jesus, then how much less can we expect it to rrecognize those who belong to him? – Michael Card (taken from Our Journey)

Day three:
What’s in a name?
Reading: Matthew 1: 18-25

Babies may be small, but preparing and caring for one requires some big things: Fixing up his or her room. Buying a crib, baby clothes, and toys. And one biggie is deciding what to name the little bundle of joy. This is not always an easy task, for most parents want to select names that both sound good and possess special meaning. Joseph and Mary, however, didn’t have to sweat choosing the name that was just right for their first son. Joseph was supernaturally given the perfect choice: ‘Jesus’ (Matthew 1:21).

Two names, in fact, were given to the baby: ‘Jesus’ and ‘Immanuel’. Someone once said that ‘Jesus’ describes His purpose – what He came to do; and ‘Immanuel’ describes His nature – who He really is. Let’s take a close look at the name Jesus.

Jesus, the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, means ‘Jehovah is salvation’ or ‘The Lord saves.’ Jesus was born so that He could die to save us from our sins (v21).

When asked, “What is the meaning of Christmas?” a young woman shopping for Christmas presents sheepishly responded, ‘I don’t know. Is that the day Jesus died?’ She couldn’t have been more wrong and right! That precious little body, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, would one day be ‘flogged with a lead-tipped whip,’ exposing raw flesh and blood (Matthew 27:26). The head of that beautiful infant would one day have a crown of thorns thrust onto it (v29). Those adorable feet would one day walk up the dusty road leading to Golgotha (v31-33). Those tiny hands would be pierced one day by nails driven into a cross (Matthew 27:35).

Jesus saves. What a beautiful name! – K.T. SIm (taken form Our Daily Journey)

Day four:
Jesus’ innocence – Part 1: pilate
Reading: Luke 23:4-22

For unknown reasons, Luke focuses more than any of the gospel writers on Jesus’ innocence. This unique perspective is clearest in chapter 23 with the Roman trial of Jesus. During the previous three Jewish ‘hearings’ Jesus is pronounced guilty on the basis of conflicting evidence of false witnesses and His confession that they are right in saying that He is the Son of God. But in the two separate hearings that follow before Pilate and in His trial before Herod, Luke repeats again from the lips of two of the most irreligious, deceitful and bloodthirsty despots in the New Testaments the truth – Jesus is innocent.

The Jews bring the condemned Jesus to Pontius Pilate early in the morning, knowing they must speak to the governor before he begins his highly orchestrated day of leisure, principally at the baths. Their initial religious charge of blasphemy has been reshaped into three separate civil charges: rebellion, tax evasion, and usurpation of the throne.

Pilate, who say the incident as just another annoyance, asks Jesus one simple question: ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ to which Jesus responds, ‘Yes.’ Certainly there is more than the matter of question and answer, since Jesus’ response should have resulted in, at most, a verdict of guilt or, at least, cause for further investigation. But apparently wanting to brush aside the whole affair, Pilate pronounces Jesus as innocent.

During the second questioning before Pilate, after Jesus was sent to Herod who had found Him innocent, again Jesus is pronounced innocent. It was about this time that Matthew tells us Pilate’s wife sent word to him to have nothing to do with ‘this innocent man’ (Matthew 27:19). Pilate says he can ‘find no basis for a charge against him… Therefore I will punish him’ (v16,22).

Of all the men who pronounce Jesus’ innocence in Luke 23, no one has less to gain than Pilate. Whether his verdict is based on his own hatred of the Jews or some infinistesimal speck of compassion he might have for Jesus, he says infinitely more that he knows. – MichAel Card (taken from Our Journey)

Day five:
Jesus’ innocence – part 2: Herod
Reading: Luke 23:14-15

What’s it like for Jesus to appear before the same man who had executed His cousin, John or of being judged by someone who had married his own brother’s wife? Pilate had earlier also killed some of rival ruler Herod’s subjects (Luke 13:1). What did it feel like to be used as a pawn between the two ruthless rulers?

Only Luke tells us about Jesus being sent to Herod Antipas for a supposedly ‘further investigation.’ Apparently only Luke knew about Herod wanting to see Jesus perform a miracle (study Mark 6:20). Although Jesus has responded to Pilate’s questions, now before Herod, He apparently sees it’s useless to respond. So He remains silent. Herod, who has concluded that Jesus is innocent, with his soldiers, ridicule Jesus. Then they wrap Him up in an elegant robe, and send Him back to Pilate. Pilate clearly sees it as yet another indication of Jesus’ innocence. Luke seems to have access to information which the other gospel writers did not have. Since, by his own admission, we know that Luke was not an eyewitness to Jesus’ life, we are left to search his gospel for clues to just where he heard this particular story.

In Luke 8:3, we read that Joanna, who followed Jesus and helped support Him as the wife of CHuzza. Chuzza was the manager of Herod’s household. It seems reasonable to suppose that she was one of the eye-witnesses Luke interviewed for the writing of his gospel and that she was the source for this scene of Jesus’ story.

If the pieces of this puzzle form a likely picture then perhaps Joanna was even there that morning in the old Hasmonean palace in Jerusalem. Perhaps she heard, through CHuzza, that Pilate was sending someone to the house, for judgment. I imagine her standing beside the outer doorway to the palace. I can see the painful look of recognition dawning on her face when she recognized Jesus’ face, now covered with spit and blood. Perhaps she heard that Pilate had pronounced Him innocent or even heard Herod coming to the same conclusion. If so, she would have been the only one there who would have known it was really true – Jesus was truly innocent. – Michael Card (taken from Our Journey)

Day six:
Jesus’ innocence – part 3: the thief
Reading: Luke 23:39-43

Luke loves to portray moments in Jesus’ life when people who should understand what’s happening do not while simple ‘outsiders’ are able to perceive the truth of the moment. Zechariah, the priest refuses to believe Gabriel’s words, while Mary, the simple pleasant girl, is willing to accept God’s difficult will for her life (1:5-56). The priests cant see the need of the wounded man but the unlikely Samaritan can and responds with compassion. The list goes on.

Now, at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, Luke finds another example of this theme he loves so well. as Jesus hangs on the cross, surrounded by the howling religious leaders who have condemned Him, a convicted criminal sees the truth to which their hatred has blinded them.

He has most likely been flogged, as Jesus has been, since flogging before crucifixion was the custom. He has probably been nailed, hand and foot, to the cross, as has Jesus. If you and I had been passing by the scene that Friday afternoon we would not have been able to recognize a single difference between the repentant thief and the Saviour of the world, except from the charges scribbled in red across the gypsum covered placard above their heads. Scholars tell us that it is probably more accurate to say that the two ‘thieves’ were ‘insurrectionists’ since simple robbery was not punishable by crucifixion. They had probably been arrested along with Barabbas (see Luke 23:19).

He has absolutely nothing to gain by protesting Jesus’ innocence to the other criminal, who is still hurling insults. He has nothing to gain and yet he has everything to gain. As he hangs next to Jesus, gasping for breath as he pushes up on the nails in his ankles, like Jesus he speaks in short gasping phrases. ‘Remember me,’ he whimpers. In that luminous moment he sees two simple truths – his guilt and Jesus’ innocence. And that seeing becomes his salvation. – Michael Card (taken from Our Journey).

Day seven:
Follow the light
Reading: John 3:16-21

The world’s first known lighthouse was built about 300 BC on the island of Pharos near Alexandria, Egypt. It became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Over the centuries, thousands of lighthouses have been built around the world to warn sailors of dangerous rocks and reefs and let them know that a safe harbour is near. Their dual message of danger and safety has never changed.

I see a similar message in the lights of Christmas. The flame of every candle and the brilliance of every twinkling bulb remind me that warning and welcome are at the heart of Jesus’ coming to this world. Throughout the gospel of John, the word light is used to illuminate the two paths open to us. After affirming God’s amazing love in sending His Son, John wrote: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil’ (John 3:19).

The great danger of our lives is that we will be aware of Jesus Christ as the light of the world, yet chose to live in the shadows so we can do as we please. In contrast, our grand opportunity is to walk a path made bright by the presence of the Saviour: ‘But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God’ (v21).

Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the prophey Isaiah foretold His coming: ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned’ (Isaiah 9:2).

Jesus affirmed His identity when He said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’ (John 8:12).

At Christmas, God warns us of the dangers of darkness, and calls us to follow the light – Jesus – into the safe harbour of His presence and love. – David McCasland (taken from Our Journey)

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MUNK ME


I asked my brother to help me post this but apparently he failed and posted the wrong thing.
And the edited photos are in another computer,so i shall make do and use this photo.
You can either choose hoodie or t-shirt. But either way you have to buy the shirt or hoodie and pass it to me. Im letting you buy your own t-shirt and hoodie cos im afraid the size will be wrong, cos well, im super particular about correct sizes and flattering clothes and im a glamour queen
The top photo is the hoodie design.
The top photo with the ‘IM A MUNK’ will be the lamest joke ever as in like MONK=MUNK.geddit? Cos monks are holy and we are somewhat holy? This is at the back the front will be plain
The bottom photo is the Tee design.
And the MUNK’D is what Nick came up with at the back is generally our chipmunk faces. I think it’s like MUNK’D and PUNK’D. It’s also a lame joke :D
I think that we should get tee’s as soon as possible so we can rub in alphawolfsomethingthing faces that HAH WE HAVE COOL TEESHIRTS MAN :D AND YOU DON’T. and not to mention,having matching shirts and hoodies are cool.
For those few who want special hoodies with ears and teeth on them can come to me. BUT YOU HAVE TO PAY.
Oh and for the slow few, munk comes from chipmunk.
If you don’t like the design, write in the comments and tell me.
Criticism is allowed

EDIT:THIS IS PROTOTYPE.
and we’ll choose the colours on sunday

p.s
see you all on sunday :D

LOVE
GLAMBERT

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CHRISTMASS PARTTYYY

Hey guys Nick here,

Hey anw, the details for the christmas thing are,

we’ll head on over to my place after service on sunday for like a christmas lunch and then I will try and get raving rabbids back from andy so that you guys can play like the wii or something or just chill out and watch stuff (not borat though haha)

It would be good if like you guys wanted to bring snacks of your own if you wanted. I will provide the snacks and the drinks

thanks hope to see you there :) Merry Christmas and happy new year to you guys

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Judas Asparagus

A child was asked to write a book report on the entire Bible.

The Children’s Bible in a Nutshell (Through the eyes of a child)

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, ‘The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that.
Anyway, God said, ‘Give me a light!’ and someone did.
Then God made the world.
He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren’t embarrassed because mirrors hadn’t been invented yet.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden…..Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn’t have cars.
Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.
Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.
One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.
After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.
Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh’s people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.

God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don’t lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor’s stuff.
Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.
One of Moses’ best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.
After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn’t sound very wise to me.
After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore.
There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don’t have to worry about them.
After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, ‘Close the door! Were you born in a barn?’ It would be nice to say, ‘As a matter of fact, I was.’)
During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats.
Jesus also had twelve opossums.
The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.
Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount.
But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn’t stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.
Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

Hope you’re not like this
Haha… ;)

Luke (Skywalker)

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hello.

i was listening to this song by switchfoot(cause their awesome) and i thought the song’s really awesome.

God’s love’s like a song. :)

happy holidays people.

megan

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What about fireworks.

HEYYO. (:

There’s going to be a covenant service on… i think 31st or 30th?? It’s to thank God for the year we’ve had, for Him bringing us through the whole year,no matter how hard. Through all our studies and stuff. (:

So after that it ends at about 10pm, then maybe we can all go somewhere as a cell? And watch the fireworks and countdown? (:

COUNTDOWN INTO THE NEW YEARRRRRRRRRR. (:

And while waiting for the countdown, have a picnic and games.(: Haha.

AND WE CAN PLAY WITH SPARKLERS, WHEE. (:

Everything is unconfirmed, so i’ve to ask Nick and Delci(if she’s back??)

Teehee,what do you all think? (:

Ohohoh, plus, the thing is, if we stay for countdown and stuffs, then like, it’ll be kinda pass midnight? Heh.

Seehow yeah?

<3,qh

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