Belated New Year Post
Like last year, my New Year post is belated. For the first few days of 2008 I've been thinking what I should write, but never really got down to it.So 2007 sees CGC trying to pick itself up from the post-trial state. After the church camp in Dec 2006, people are kind of motivated in their own ways, and in June 2007, we gather in Mersing (Johor) for a church camp of planning, prayer, visions, and resolutions. It was a motivating camp, God gave us a wonderful time of rest and fellowship amidst the tiredless meetings. I can see that even Pastor James and Aunty Amy, the main casualties of satan's attack got to find motivation and rest through this camp. This I am very thankful. I thank God also that He had used this camp to strengthen my sense of belonging to the church, and burden me to rebuild these Jerusalem walls together with fellow Christ Grace Church memebers.
Our Youth Fellowship had also revamp itself in 2007. We now call it the Young Adult Fellowship, which consist of not only young adults but also seeks to integrate the young secondary school people. So far, God granted us a very blessed time of monthly fellowship meeting in Reverand Joseph's house, learning and discussing practical issues of Christian living, like dressing, relationships, devotions, finance management etc. The rest of the weeks the YAF would go to the blocks around Guillemard Road to evangelise door to door. Evangelism is one channel that God never fail to use to refresh my thankfulness for my salvation. For everytime I see someone who heard the gospel, or know the gospel, or who had actually "studied" Christianity, I pity at their final choice of rejection. Indeed, it is all head knowledge unless God open his/her eyes and heart to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh and this year see 2 addition to our church! Wow! Like, last year I was crying about the people who left, and we keep praying for God to increase our church, and now we have Binqiang and Shaojuan! Both are rather regular in the church. Must pray for Shaojuan though, that she'll overcome her sleepy problem so that she can worship God more regularly. I really thank God for her. I've been good friend with her in secondary school, but she had never really want to come to my church, or go to other churches, or wanting to know more about God in general. I have been asking her to come for my church's gospel meeting every Christmas, but she kept declining. In JC I lost touch with her, until suddenly in June 2007 she messaged me asking whether she can come and join me in my church. It's not just worshipping in the same church that rejoices me, but the fact that she is beginning to grow in knowledge of God and change in her attitude towards the world. Indeed, God would have us to be in the world and not of the world, when we are saved, we can expect our value system towards the things of this world change. Education is not just for myself to gain in status, but so that I may have a good testimony to show to my unbelieving parents.
I was looking back at my old posts in order to prepare for my testimony on the Thanksgiving service. I realised that God indeed had answered my prayers, slowly but surely, according to His own timing. There are things that I was sad about and prayed about, and even blogged about, but after some time I just stop praying about it as life gives you more worries to pray about. So when God slowly grant it, I didn't even realize that God did it. I'm so negligent towards the mercies of God. Sigh.
So I thank God for seeing me through 2007. Indeed, everyday, every hour, if not for God's preservation, I may have lose a limp, my life, or my abilities, anytime. So often I hear of sudden deaths on TV. Just think about it, think about the cars that God had prevented from banging you down, the lightning that never strike on you, the fall that isn't fatal, the cut that did not become an infection which cause you to rot and die. I mean, seriously, just think about it. The invisible mercies of God that we cannot see, that we forget to thank. We gripe about the traffic, but we forget to thank Him for journey mercies.
I pray that He will really teach me to "number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom" in 2008. It is only when we think that we have so much time in our hands that we procrastinate. I am a very great sinner of that. Procrastination means I am a really bad steward of the resource of Time that God has given me. Procrastination, not just in school work and exams (though a very great sinner of that), but also in things of God - service, daily prayer and Bible reading... etc. As I shared in the previous post, I really had failed to STUDY the word of God, to go indepth into His holy word.
May God so help me.
I thank God once again for His many mercies in my life, for being my Father in Heaven, my God, my Lord, my Saviour, and my best Friend in life.