Quiet Time a.k.a Mini Sermon:

"Let us live in awe of the Lord our God for He gives us rain each spring and fall, assuring us of a harvest when the time is right." Jeremiah chapter 5 v 24.

Living in awe of our God... yes... in AWE. surprise. amazement. Splendour. GloRy. respect. fear. ReVerence... so many words describe it...

what it means to live in awe of God?
It is acknowledging God's works in our lives, catching where God is, and joining in partnership with Him... It is worshipping Him wholeheartedly, singing praises to Him in all your circumstances, and giving Him glory in for your testimonies... It is fearing Him, with so much respect, and reverence, that we don't take Him for granted in our lives... It is loving Him with all our heart, our soul and our minds... It is hearing His words so carefully and clearly that you don't go off the wrong path...

See a harvest when the time is right! an assured harvest... yes. God is the Lord of the Harvest... :)

don't let each day pass like a routine, let life waste away,
- sometimes its so easy to make life a routine of day-ins and day-outs

but live in awe of God... ...


you know what this verse actually is?

It is a verse of faith and expectation... see, the harvest hasn't come in yet, and the rain has not come yet... but when the time is right...

so give God "YET" praise, and still stand in awe of God :)


ok now... just for laughs*





this is what cheng yu drew in the CALENDAR...hahaHa.

Yesterday, I went to a traditional chinese church... everything was in chinese, but, I understood what was preached! haha... my chinese isn't that bad i suppose. Anw, the preacher was called Liang Mu Shi (Mu Shi = Pastor in chinese), yea. What I found amazing was that she said the same thing as Pastor Song, that God's using the chinese people now, to bring the gospel back to Jerusalem. Raising up Chinese people... It was exactly the same thing that Ps Song shared, and yah, so amazing... the words she used, the same too!

haha. maybe they are friends? I don't know.. but yea, I learnt a lot.

I think the sermon was what I needed to hear! really..

Mr Wu, the landlord, describes the preacher as a machine gun... preach so much, so much! you know? For a whole straight 3 hours! haha.


Some questions that I got out of the sermon...

What can I do to help a person love God a bit more?

Are you willing to change? to be broken?

You know, I read Jeremiah, about the POTter and the clay... a very famous Scripture in the bible. It says in Chapter 18, "but the Jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.... .... as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand". This is a very very powerful verse... you know? I'd rather be broken, and smashed into pieces, and remoulded into God's plans, than stay as an ugly pot.


Will you love each other?

God's love brings about 2 things, healing and freedom... and WE are called to love each other with the Love that God has shown to us... She preached about something that is very important.
Is church a social club or a place where God's love overflows to each other? She said that, if we come to church to meet people only, then it would not last... if we come to church to love one another, then that'll be a strong church.


Will you love God?

She said that loving God is supposed to be a very natural thing. Just like dating, how a guy would naturally want to make time out for the girl... Our time spent with God is not an appointment, not a business apopintment to be set and scheduled... Although it is still important to dedicate a portion of your time to God, to spend with daily, it cannot become a business appointment.


Is what you are doing pleasing to God?

and she mentioned a similar example that Pastor daniel's used last saturday... WWJD... what would you do if you were in Jesus' shoes... wear Addidas... haha.
Ask God for 2 things: Wisdom and Love...



PART II:

You know that what you say bears a great impact on others?

How did God form the earth? It was through speaking! Words! And we are created in God's image... you know the words that you say can give people hope of a life, or destroy someone? The tongue has power of life and death... literally..

Why so? You know how the devil uses fiery darts, bearing influence to a person's mind? Well, what you say has a lot of impact, because the devil can use it to gain a foothold in someone's life...

Well she taught me very practical lessons!

For one, when someone praises you... "Oh you wear a very very nice dress!", don't say, "No lah, it's a very old dress..." or for parents, "Your little boy is very smart!", don't say, "Aiya, my son '笨 笨' de..." ... that's not being humble. Don't take praises and make it curses... that's what Chinese people always like to do... you know how to answer when someone praises you?? LIke suppose someone says to you, "You are very smart!"... reply " 感謝 祖, 謝謝 ni"... give thanks to God, thank the person for his comment...sometimes, do an exchange, "You are just as smart too!"... Learn to accept praises graciously :)

From your mouth, you can be the very tool that Satan uses to destroy someone, or from the same mouth, you can be the very mouthpiece of God to bring hope and life to people! Say the right thing... You see, faith comes from hearing, and hearing the word of God... the word of God is like a seed, that is planted... and brings forth LIFE into a person.

But just like how the word of God is a seed... so are all words like seeds too... Just like there are good seed, there are bad seed to that can take root... You see, the words you say can plant seeds into the lives of others. Seeds grow over time, one rooted and grown into a big tree, it's hard to pull out! If someone has a very low self-esteem, say more discouraging words to the person, and what happens? Whar you say becomes like the bad seeds take root in his/her life, and destroys the person...

So start to encourage one another! not with flattery, but honest words of encouragement...

and yes, i learnt something from her. Everytime someone says something wrong, like says, "Aiya, you die already! You're gonna be dead meat...", words that can discourage you or another person, maybe another friend, reject it in Jesus name, and pray that the devil cannot use such words, and gain a foothold in either you or your friend's life...

Well, I want to be a person that talks and bring hope into people's lives! speak things that are good... speak things that are righteous... speak things that edify others... speak encouragement...

You know the power of words? In numbers chapter 14, God says, "As surely as I live, I will do exactly what you say..." When the report of the spies came in, all but 2 gave a positive report, JOSHUA and CALEB... the rest? They spoke discouragement to the people, and because of their report, that generation did not enter the promises of God...! * so don't let what you say also stop someone from entering God's promises for his/her life too! Encourage them... and spur each other on into God's plans! really...

everyday, keep a lookout for opportunities to say something good to people around you :)






mmmiiiisssssssiiinnnggssssiinnnggaaappppoorrreeeee

i did my laundry... and you know what?

it was a disaster...

haha.

after i took out my blank long sleeve shirt, the one i wore at the airport,

it was filled with white flints.

Day 4 Quiet Time a.k.a Mini Sermon:

I read Jeremiah chapter 4, "Plough up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns."

I asked God what this verse meant? You know what it meant?

Remember the parable that Jesus preached, the seeds that fell among thorns? that's what it meant. The when God's words are planted, those are Good seeds... and Good seeds spring up from the ground giving rise to plenty of fruit. So Fruits, yea, Fruits of the Spirit - Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithful, Self-Control. And you know from sermon on Sunday, I learnt that these fruits, they come out of you and guard your heart. Prevents you from getting a heart attack.

But what does the thorns represent... those are the cares/pleasures/riches of life that distract you, stunts your growth and pulls your focus away from God. You know? This can also happen or maybe happens most often in quiet time... when you read the word, plant it, but get distracted by other cares and thoughts* very applicable. It's not just a salvation message that's good seed that gives life! There's so much more of God's word's that are good seed too!

So the verse says also, plough the hard ground of your hearts!

What does that mean?

A hard ground could represent a hardened heart. Soil that's dry, don't take in seeds. You know? The bible makes mention of hardening of hearts a lot... and a hardened heart does not accept, or see God's Works and hear God's Words... you know? I prayed weeks before, that I want my heart to remain soft always! Soft! I don't want it to be harded just like how so many adults have become... really... and it's my time to become an adult soOOOOn, so very soon... i ask God to keep it soft... He tells me to plough it. :)

you know one of the reasons why many people have hardened hearts? Because they go with the weather... wind and rain errodes the soil, the good soil, the sun causes it's moisture to leave... soil becomes parched, hardened and cracked... You know? allowing youself to become used to the weathers of life, causes your heart to be hardened.. Just like hardships, pain... bitterness... very common causes of a Hardened hard. Signs and Symptoms? Numbness. Medication? It's hard to treat, but water it daily... no matter how hard it is, water heals. That's why they say always plant a tree by the riverside... the soil there is always soft.

and Yesh. Ploughing your heart means not letting yourself get influenced with bad things... but constantly staying in the influence of Good shepherds and in the influece of God.





:)

Day 3 Quiet Time a.k.a Mini Sermon:

You know when I asked God for people to spur me on in my walk with Him... the most amazing and appropriate verse came, Jeremiah chapter 3, "I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding."... isn't it cool?

I take it, claim it, and hold on tight to that promise. Yea, there'll be people to guide me, people who love God so much here... and Yup. it's already started to happen...!

On saturday, when I woke up, in the morning, i told God i wanted to go to church on Sunday... cos no more Y.I. on Saturday for me... and that's why I rambled on about what Saturdays used to be like on a Saturday morning. Well, that was the night, an accountant named Tiffany knocked on my room door, and asked if I wanted to go to church with the landlady's son...John. When that question popped, it was like, oh mannn, i was so happy. really!

and I can't thank GOd more that day, cos so many things happened :)

I think i'll be joining the Hillsong church cos' it's like, at least it seems like every week guest speaker... haha. why guest speaker? cos in Singapore, most of our guest speakers are ang moh... haha. and many australian pastors have came to Y.I. and spoken before. Church's about 20 minutes away from house... so it's great. Service is great too. I haven't been to the 5pm service where more young people would attend, but adult service is something like COSBT adult's service, quite but less formal... haha. yup!

And so it was a 2-in-One God answered day package for me... no make that 3-in-1, because, they gave me a free coffee...*just kidding. but they really did give a free coffee... you know? Gloria Jean's coffee is a company set up by Hillsong? haha.. I didn't know.

3-in-1 because I got to know my first group of friends already, and really, opportunities are starting to open up... :) i'm really glad.







and on the random note:



A reward goes to Jordan. *claps. for the most updated blog... presenting to you, an honourable mention for dutifully updating your blog. With much appreciation from the association, we would also like to present to you the blog of the month Medal plated in the finest 24k carat gold. The very first award of it's kind. thank you* thank you*

Day 2 Quiet Time a.k.a Mini Sermon:

Jeremiah chapter 2: "I remember how eager you were to please me as a bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness."

Are you eager to please God? How eager are you? these are the questions that I'm asking myself...

the barren wilderness... the bible makes mention of the wilderness several times. Isaiah says, "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD ; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God."

it says, prepare the way for God... it's not just about preparing myself... it's making it easy for God to turn up! see, a HIGHWAY... what road's bigger than a highway? and what can be more easy to go through than a straight highway?... see, it's about making it easy for God to show up. Loving God makes that easy... loving God wholeheartedly makes it a lot easier... Loving God and Loving your friends makes it the easiest.

And, wilderness has a tinge of a foreign feel to a place, a place that you have not set your feet on... and why does God go through the wilderness? I mean, that verse says they followed God through the wilderness...

You see, the desert/wilderness was a place that God met the Israelites, and where they were called to Worship God... where there's no cares/desires for other things that can stand between you and God... it's just You and God... when Jesus was taken to the desert, it was just GOd and God..haha. kidding. somewhat like that... You know? That's why quiet time also, we call it quiet time because we go to quiet places... but what I learnt so far is that quiet places is not really quiet sometimes, because our thoughts make up bulk of the noise...

Arriving to australia, for a few days already, and sitting in my own room felt like a wilderness... yea... just a much smaller and more concrete one... but there was no one else I sort of even knew one slightest bit, it was me, and just God... and you know what? God speaks to me so clearly. So clearly it's amazing... more clearly than before... and the difference is that now, it's just me and just God... and playing my guitar and singing songs of praise and worship to God is an amazing experience... I really don't know how to explain it... but yea, it was hearfelt p & w... and maybe because I'm all alone with God. Yea, maybe just like the Israelites who were called into the desert/wilderness to worship God... I was called into this little concrete "wilderness" to worship Him too...

but this wilderness, it'll last for a few days, or maybe one or two weeks till school starts. Then that'll be when this place don't seem so unfamilar anymore.

And yUp! compared to my previous quiet times, quiet time these days are different... previously, even thought it may be dead silent, or in the quiet comforts of my own room, there were many many many thoughts that make my mind wander away from the bible and from God. they were "noise" in a quiet place... get what I mean?

Sometimes it's like... no... Many times... it's just... take out bible, read read * read * aiya I forgot to pack some paperclips into my luggage *.... den continue read read * oh man... I need to study for that * ... * read... ok.. time to sleep. That sort of thing. But just spending time alone here with God, when you are free of so much distraction, and free to spend 100% of it with God, changed the way Quiet time was for me.

Moral of the story? Go to bukit timah hill and read your bible... or fly to australia. haha.

I think the most important point is do your quiet time properly... haha. i hope that when school starts, no... i pray that when school starts, quiet time will still be awesome every day for me... like it has been for the first few days... God taught me a bit more of how to worship here :)


everyday's special.

ok. i got a mobile number... it's +61 433 911 915 finally :D it was quick.

Quiet Time: Guess what? I asked God what to read in the bible, and then I came to Jeremiah.

Day 0 Quiet Time a.k.a Mini Sermon:

To start it, on the first day, before my departure, this was the verse that God showed my dad...

Jeremiah 29v10, "You will be in babylon for Seventy yearts, but then I will come and do for you all the good things that I have promised, and I will bring you home again."

So I will be in Australia for 70 years...



just kidding. 7 years yup, and but God will do all the good things He has promised to do, and He will bring me home again. that was a great start...

So when I arrived, I started reading from Jeremiah chapter 1,

I've read it before, the whole of it, but this time reading it is different... there's new perspectives to so many verses I read.

Day 1 Quiet Time a.k.a Mini Sermon:

Chapter one: Jeremiah's calling.

See how God has called Jeremiah. It's so cool, because God has called me too...

"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations."

mmmmm, prophet jordan. nahhh... doctor.

but yea, God has his plans for all of us, and set all of us apart... appointed us as ________ in His plan. So, doctor? yea... that's His plans, way before I was born.

"O God, Soverign God. I can't speak for you! I'm too young!" Jeremiah said.

"Don't say, 'I'm too young' for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. Don't be afraid of the people for I will be with you and protect you." God told Jeremiah.

Take that verse, that's God's words... and look at it as if it were speaking to you... yea, it speaks to me. I was afraid, yea, cos its such a foreign place... so many fears and worries. But God's with me... now, i'm not so afraid anymore... really.

"Get up! Prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them or I will make you look foolish in front of them. For today, I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured. Like an Iron pillar or a bronze wall..."

Wow! that's a warning, and a promise... You know, fear makes a person look foolish... but be courageous. This is so in line with Joshua chapter 1v1-9... where God says repeatedly, "Be strong and courageous!" Yes... courage... You know God tells me again to be courageous :) and yea, see this, He makes me strong too, like a fortified city! And how to be like a fortified city? Proverbs 25:28, Whoever has no rule over his own spirit, Is like a city broken down, without walls... Rule over your own spirit :D.... 4 times God showed me Joshua chapter 1 (through zB, through my Mum, through my Mum's office and through an iPod sermon...) to be strong and courageous in Joshua chapter 1, and now another time, in Jeremiah chapter 1... :]

and also, this verse says, Get Up! Prepare for action... I can't just sit around and be laid back... prepare for the Harvest, prepare... start praying... start getting your bank accounts settled... start getting administration things done... start finding friends and people to reach out to... start now...

But you know something,

To Jeremiah, "They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you and I will take care of you..."

To Joshua (chapter 1v9) "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Just like what God told Joshua in chapter 1 too! can draw so many parallels between the 2 Chapters... both says, God is with me....

while typing this the John (landlady's son) gives me a pizza to eat! he's such a nice guy :D

and so, yea... Joshua chapter one... God says to walk into His promises, and Jeremiah chapter one, God says to enter His calling for my life.

Both Joshua and Jeremiah chapters are such GrEat chaptErs for A greAt start to a Great Plan. So consistent in what God says to me... really it just can't be coincidence... ... :D

so that was day 1, first Quiet time in Australia :D



everyday God answers my prayers so faithfully.

today's an amazing day... or maybe the least boring day =D... cos I got to see the biggest cruise ship ever...

Had breakfast in the morning at a taiwanese shop in china town. Not expensive.. $8.00 AUD dollars for a meal... which if you convert to Singapore dollars, its still quite expensive. But that's the norm for a meal here.

Then went to Hillsong church. You know, they've got 8 services... each is about the size of Y.I... and 2 branches in Sydney. and you know? they're gonna do another Live Recording Album in about 1 and a half week's time. Yup. it's free to go... I'll be going to see what's it like :D... cos it's nearby.

and you know yesterday, when God said in the bible that, He'll give me sheperds to guide me... it's already started to happen :)

today, the student I met, well, she's not really a student. She just finished accounting, and working now... but she's really a nice person, and yup, I think she's a strong christian. How she became a christian, was just through reading the bible, the whole bible... and then she just believed. I thank God for people like that, that I've gotten to know today... it's really a blessing to know her, and yup. So many christians are coming to sydney, so far, 3 singaporeans i found, they're all christians...

I like the hillsongs church... it's not a stadium kind of church actually, but a hall that's about twice the size of Youth Impact's Level 2 hall, and quite a number of seats. And they share similar visions and goals with Y.I. too, about bringing people, multiplication, growth, and going after God's heart... today's sermon was "How not to get into a heart attack?"

and yea, the pointers I learnt are very practical, and very concise...

1. Your heart's gotta be well-guarded...
This means not only trying to keep out things that shouldn't go in your heart, but putting in things that you should allow into your heart! That's why the Pslam says, Your word I have kept in my heart that I might not sin against You... take God's word, put it into your heart, and it will guard your heart well.

2. A heart's that set on one thing...
In colosians 3:1-2, set your heart on the things above... Prov 16:9 From the heart comes the plans of a man, but the Lord determines his steps... You see, when you set your heart on the things above, on God... like david who set his heart after God's own heart... things start to change.
You know, we can do many things, but not put our heart into it... like doing the dishes, cooking a meal... stuff. But if we have our heart set on, suppose, soccer, we scream our lungs out when a goal is scored. Why? Because of what we set our heart on... set your heart on God.

3. A heart that rejoices...
Ps 105:3 "Let the hearts of those who see the Lord rejoice"
Philippians 4:4 " rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice..."
You know, when your heart rejoices in the Lord, that becomes your strength. The joy of the Lord is my strenght... yup.

4. A heart that is not troubled...
John 14:1, "Don't let your heart be troubled but trust in God"
Philippians 4:6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, with prayer and petition... "
Proverbs 3:5 "Trust inthe Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..."
Here there's two words,

Trust Vs Trouble

Either you trouble, or you trust in God... so simple.

5. A pure heart...
Sin makes your heart sick... Sin takes away heart... When you put your heart into something, sin destroys that... That's why we always need to keep a pure heart before God.


So after church, we made our way around the city... headed to Circular Quay, and pass by the Sydeney Opera House... and the Cruise Ship was so big, it blocked off most of the view to the Opera house... so could only see a bit of the opera house for a while. Queen Victoria was humongous...! Seriously, it looked like building on water... and the sides of the ship were all rooms, and balconies... so people could see outside the ship from inside of it...

Then we went to the contemporary art's museum. It didn't have much... and I never understood how to appreaciate the art too.. see a white canvas, with one line... that's art. and one more is a totally black canvas too, and another, a totally white canvas... not a design on it, but it was art.

The more interesting one was the Aboriginal art, where we try to make out a story after each paiting... we saw pictures of kangarooes that were sawn into pieces, or how they were hunting.. stuff like that.

So anyway, got to know my first 2 friends here... one's the landlady's son, John, another is tiffany.. yup.

Today's another amazing day... thank God =D

btw, bus rides are super expensive... it's 3 AUD dollars per ticket, one way... and so I had to spend 2 tickets, that's 6 AUD dollars... and another 1.80 AuD to take a bus to Circular Quay. At least now I know how to get around sydney already... finally able to travel around on my own if I need to... got a bit familar with the city, shopping area's not that big.. maybe the same size as oRchard? yup. or maybe smaller...





anw,

Queen Victoria cruise ship arrives in Sydney

February 23, 2008 08:12am

Royal visit ... the Queen Victoria arrives in Sydney for the first time / AP

THE Queen Victoria cruise ship has arrived on a sparkling morning for her first visit to Sydney.

The two-month-old luxury liner entered Sydney Harbour just before daybreak surrounded by an escort of private yachts.

Stretching 294 metres in length, the 90,000-tonne ship is the second largest in the Cunard fleet and the newest liner ever to visit Australia.

Her much older sister, the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), arrives in Sydney tomorrow.

The Queen Victoria will have stay overnight in Sydney, and the two ships will pass each other around 6.30pm (AEDT) at Fort Denison tomorrow evening.

While this is the first world voyage of the Queen Victoria, it will be the last visit to Sydney and final world voyage for the QE2.

wahhh.. God answered prayer again...

i'm going to hillsongs church tomorrow... =D, oh man, i'm so excited.

I actually prayed that I could go to a church on Sunday... and you know what?

its 10.47pm here, and yup, the landlady's son and one of the student occupants knocked on my door, and asked if I wanted to go to church tomorrow... so cool.

how cool it that?

while I am soooOO free, I will write a sermon on JosHua and the battles for the Promise Land.

Lesson learned from the battles...

1) It's always God that brings about every victory... and defeat too! No wonder they say, the battle belongs to the Lord...

If you notice, I think, every battle that the Israelites won, it says, and the Lord handed over _____ to the Israelites, or the Lord has given you victory over _____ ....

But in chapter 7, when Israel experienced their first defeat against Ai...

This is what Happened,

Chapter 7:

From the previous battle, a victory over Jericho... Achan, one of the Israelites, disobeyed God took the plunder, and hid it for himself. He took 200 silver coins, a beautiful robe, a bar of gold. These were supposed to be given to God, dedicated to Him, and put into His treasury. So God was angry... Israel sent 3000 warriors to attack Ai... Just 3000 men to attack Ai! and with 3000 men, Israel was defeated... So God told Joshua what had happened, and mete out the punishment against Achan. After that, God was no longer angry...

Chapter 8:

So this is the part that really told me something about how God really works, and how we still need to have faith to believe that the Victory was from God, no matter how the victory was brought about.

You see, now instead of sending 3000 warriors, God told Joshua to send all his fighting men, and they ammounted to to 35,000 people. That's 11 times of what had been before... and you know? By human strenght, maybe they could have won the battle... Ai only had 12,000 people altogether, including women and children.

You see, it seems to be a logical victory! 35,000 Warriors men against 12,000 women, children and Men from Ai... How could the Israelites have lost anyway?

So this is what we must all know, that every victory belongs to God... You see, no matter how God does it, He brings about victory. Know that before this, God used a miracle, to bring about the fall of Jericho... and for the battle against the southern armies, the Sun and the Moon stood still over the earth (which meant the earth stopped spinning), and God gave the Israelites a miracle victory... and when the Israelites fough the northern armies, it was against a vast horde, that covered the landscape like the sand of the seashore... and God gave Israelites the victory.

Logical ones, and seemingly miraculous ones, all these victories belong to God...

so give thanks to God in everything that you do. Be it you studied very hard, and prepared very well for your exams, and so you scored well for your Exams, or your mind was blank in fear, but God gave you words to write in your History test. All good things come from God.

And all battles belong to God, victory or defeat, God remains sovereign.

You know what sums it up? The last Chapter of Joshua, chapter 24v12b, "It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory. I gave you towns you did not build and land you had not worked on. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them."


2) Miracle Provisions to Practical Promises... Miracles are more practical than we think...

In Joshua 6v12: "No manna appeared on the day they first ate from the crops of the land, and it was never seen again. So from that time on, the Israelites ate from the crops of Canaan." You see, God provides miracles when needed...

How were the Israelites expected to find crops in a desert... So God was there to perfom that miracle. But you see, when they entered the Promises of God, where they could get food from the land itself, God didn't have to thrown Mana from heaven.

Miracles are actually sometimes very practical... God gives Mana not for the sake of showing that He can throw bread from heaven, but to provide food for the people... So its the same, when God heals, it's for a practical purpose... maybe to allow the person to function a new life, to ease the pain... it's not just to show that God can heal...

God's very practical too you know... sometimes we ask for Miracles, like "God take this headache away from me", when all we have to do is take a panadol. You know? I kinda like that story where there was a flood. And this person rejected all the rescuers offer for help, becasue He believed that God would perform a miracle... it works the same way. and Just like the battles, it doesn't always have to be of a miraculous nature, cos in the Bible it said, by His stripes we are still healed, with panadol or not.

and yup... so I used to struggle about whether God actually needs me to be a doctor... You see, He can just heal people like that... *snaps finger. And they always say, Luke was a doctor too, and encouraged the people to take wine, to relieve illnesses... and that God uses medicine too... but that never really convinced me that God actually needed doctors around too... but after reading this, I know that I'm still part of God's plan. =D

God can still use me to bring about healing in people... in more "practical" ways that some may say... but it doesn't always have to be a miracle... cos like Canaan, when the people could feed on its' crops for food, there was no need for Mana anymore. same thing, When people can see doctors to get healed, sometimes there would not be a need for that miracle... (blessed is the man who does not see, yet believe =>Faith :D)

still, it is God that brings about the healing =D I mean, we call God, "Jehovah Rapha" our Healer... not just a "miraculous" Healer... a practical one too =D *yup

3) Preparation and Testing...

Why doesn't God answer all our prayers sometimes?
Or give us everything that He promises to give us immediately?

God did not give all the land that He promised the Israelites immediately for 2 reasons:

Read Judges chapter 3 verse 1, "These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. He did this to teach warfare to the generationsof Israelites who had no experience in battle... ... these people were left to test the Israelites - to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses"

Just 2 reasons:

1. Preparation
"to teach warfare to the generationsof Israelites who had no experience in battle"
2. Testing
"to test the Israelites - to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord"

Isaiah 55:9 says
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Ok... i was just kidding...this is not a sermon. this is just Quiet time.haha =D

have you ever cut mangoes before in your life?


well today was my first...

today i paid a visit to a nearby shopping mall i found on the map... on the street directory. It's call Royal Randwick Shopping Mall. I must say, it was a fine discovery. There's everything there to sustain a normal human... From fruits/vegetables to meat and food and clothes, and yea, basically there's a Save $$ supermarket there... and there's mobile phone shops all around. You know what they call opening hours here? They call it trading hours...

Actually I was all ready to get an Australian mobile line, when the person said I had to get a statement from the bank indicating my billing address. But the banks don't open on weekends... at least the commonwealth bank doesn't. So i gave it a pass, and headed straight to the Supermarket... Things there are not that expensive... I bought 15pack Value for Dollar Potato Chips for 3.75, and 4 forks for 4.65AUD, the forks weren't cheap though... but i needed something to use to eat my instant lunch.

For lunch, I had one mango, one apple, 2 packets of chips (small packs), and one Sphegetti Bolognese (costs 3+AuD dollars). That's gonna keep me full till about dinner... then I'll think of what to eat again, if i'm still hungry.


vhad can i do besides blogging?


I study sometimes, blog even more sometimes, and nothing much left to do... play with the dogs sometimes... and wander around the place sometimes... play the guitar too... praise and worship in a small little room sometimes... sleep most of the time... haha :D it's a different experience.

today's saturday!

skip to the end >>

every saturday was a Great day that I really looked forward too... where I'd play soccer with my friends in the morning, and go to church in the afternoon... oh i miss those times, I will miss it very very much... Saturday is something like a meet-with-friends day, and a spend-time-with-God day... its like a two-in-one package... And yesh, all my friends were very dear to me. I remember how I used to wake up by 9.30, spend time with my fairfield friends, playing soccer at a nearby soccer court, until 12pm-12.30pm. It was really fun! running around the court, scoring GoAls... and laughing off each other's miStakes, from holding the ball, to losing the ball, to falling down, to scoring own goals, and stuff... it has been since, yearS... let's say... mmm since secondary 1 that these friends have been around with me. that's 8 yEARs! we formed a grop that we called, LPU... don't ask me how it came about... can't remember, but it's a funny name... and since then, up to now, about 11 of us met up frequently. Saturdays mornings were usually like that for me for the last few years, but saturdays now will be very very different, from what I used to have... the times were great. then would rush down to church after that... and looking forward to a great day ahead. Well, today's slightly different... I wake up, prepare a cereal, turn on the computer and here I am, blogging online at about 5a.m. Singapore time, which is actually 8a.m. here. How at 1.30pm, we'd start ice-breakers! and laugh so much sometimes... and then head up for service... and every time a newcomer comes, we'd try to make them feel welcomed :) And then there was praise and worship, yes! jumping during service, praising God freely... it's great that people jump, cos makes praise and worship more free! imagine a service where people stood stuck in front of their seats... and worse with glued hands by their sides... and maybe tight sealed lips... ahHh, i so wanna praise God like i do on saturdays. But you kow? praising God in Australia, in the comforts of my little room will do too, for the time being... well, being alone, it's different... but i've come to know God more, just in a few days... come to see God work in my life... that's all worth praising God for, really! and there was sermon, weeks and weeks of learning... I really thank God for Pastor Daniel and Sis Wp. If not for them, I don't really know how'd my walk with God be in another place, or whether I'd be where I am today. really. aNother specially crafted plan by God. how i joined the church so long ago, was random droPping into one of the cAmps called - Dare2Run! haha. it was the first camp for many people too... :) And then after service, there's small group last time, and there's cell group recently... and it was fun! cell group's a time where I hear how God works in each of our lives, and yea, it's so cool man. you know, every single testimony, is a sprititual marker that God places in our lives to direct us to Him, serves as a reminder etched in stone that remains forever as a testimony of God's faithfulness. Every testimony, means your friends are knowing a bit more of God, depending a bit more on God, appreciating a bit more of what God has done, and thanking God for what He has done, giving glory to God for what He has done, acknowledging God for what He has done... and I remember how i'd always like to go last, when sharing about what God has done for me, just amazing things. Now, saturdays just feels so different. i'm not used to it yet. Of course! I mean, it's only my first saturday... it'll get better soon. And yea, I pray for great lifelong friends ahead, and christian friends to spur me on in my walk with God. And there was discipleship, with Cheng Yu! with Eugene, always telling him 18 occasionally.. and with Timothy! with Ken a long time ago..haha. yea! you know? I pray for you guys... A great bunch of friends. And there was Rosaline, Rachel, Stacy! well, the guys outnumbered the girls in ex-small group, until Siew Jia and Qi Ying came... Then Chapmen came... and the guys still outnumbered the girls...haha.* yea, yea, I miss those phone conferences with Rosaline and Eugene, every one of them! sometimes it was with much laughter! sometimes it was sharing difficult times! sometimes it was quiet-time! haha. and yea, every one of the phone conference, i really looked forward to... and also last time phone conferences with Rachel, and with Stacy.. yea, helped me to know them so much better when I didn't really know them at first... and when I came to know them better... haha. Rachel can be quite fierce sometimes... hAHa. only to Eugene! and stAcy's become more cheerful! haha. and then after multiplication, there was KarYn! haha. i thank God for her... you know when I was preparing a lot for Australia, when there are times I slackened a bit... no... not a bit... a lot... you know what Karyn does? On phone conference, "Have you done your Quiet time? Did you write your spiritual Journal today?..." so scary... hahaha. kidding! but that put me back on the right track... on God's track. and then there was grace! the super drama person... wahHH. always funny and so cheerful. thanks for the calendar.. you know it's so funny! haha. during Chinese New year, in popular bookstore, when I appeared at one corner behind Eugene, you quickly mumbled, "Jordan's here...psst" haha something like that. I pretended not to hear...hahha! just like how Rosaline too, whispered to Ken when buying the sweater for me. but really, I appreciate all the surprises! it's really touching! and there's zeeJay, who saluted me (like how they salute an important person like, a president on National Day!!!) on Steamboat day, from far across the dinner-carpark! hahaha... and suddenly came all the way across to apologise to take back the salutation... HAhaha. i'll miss you. knowing him goes a long history... but since history lessons are always boring, you'd be bored if I told you the long history... haha. and there's gabriel... no make that 2 gabriels! one always jumping around, with bubble tea... ... haha that's the smaller one. And bigger one, always sing the second floor song, and Army songs... like's dragon ball... and blushes easily, when he laughes *waves hand in front of mouth and giggles. haha. and there's noel! who got into mechantronics. study hard! =D and do very well, because God opened up this door for ya. and there's kai siang... seems quiet, but actually he talks a lot. haha. and has a hidden humour that, sometimes, he shows, and haha, really funny! and there's JOhN! hmm i call him St John... he's super lame... really! haha. and when I got to know him, we cliqued quite well. I always come up with my lame joke and share it with him! haha. he's really a nice guy, and lame, but very humourous... appreciates my Lame JoKEs..hahaha! yea, and there was SufAn too! a.k.a dee-Niece or The-niece... haha. i don't know how to pronounce the english name, so I just call her SufAn. hahah.. you see her always cheery! and very funny... =D very fun to talk to and be with. and there was dreY. Jus like zeeJay, a long history! but yea, when I saw that she went to Australia and was fine, that gave me some assurance that God will be with me too, jus like how God's with her. and there's mEL... you hear her from across the place because she laughs so loud. hahah. and screams too! and there's siew Jia, she gave me a floWer and a cupcake... and a note. hahah sort of like her farewell present, but it's the first flower i got from someone, if I can remember. haha. and there's s club 7's fan, annabel! and jaclyn, she can speak JAPANESE you know?! i only knew that during ignite conference... and also, there's aLEx, another drama person who waves her hands when telling a story... haha. and there's cheng Yu... you know what happened during YI camp at night, when cheng yu's beside me?... My little finger somehow touched his eyes, and suddenly heared a pop sound... and I felt a snap at my little finger... and the next thing I knew, his hand flew across from his sleeping bag and hit my face. hahaha. it was so funny... "static" if could be used as a verb...then i "static"ed his eye. hahhaha. i don't know how it ever happened, but yea, it did. anyway, Chengyu's a super funny guy, and you should see how he tells jokes when he's eating...haha food can fly out of his mouth. and eugene! airport! haha... I remember where during a conference, he shared with me from Eugene chapter 1 verse 1... and verse 2... and verse 3. haha. it was so funny... ... then he would say,I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face. . . haha* that came from a letter in the New testament. and yea, all the times he shared with me problems, and thank-God testimonies, and homework too! ahhhH... things will be different now. and there's botak TimO in army, and there was kEn! you know what Ken did that I'll always remember? always doing cheeky things... like taking his shirt and wrapping around my face from behind, ahhhhHH SO disgusting! it was sweat-filled... ahHHH.



much ramblings about Saturdays-used-to-be's... and days-used-to-be's...
if you read between the lines... it just... I MISS everyone so much... and I am EmO'ing in a small room in Australia on a saturday morning. Just because it is a saturday...

Thank God for all the wonderful Saturdays i've had for the past... errrr... many years in Y.I. and with Fairfield friends.

and yea, God tells me I'm in His promises and plans...
you know? I'd never give anything in the world than to start walking in His promises... really.

Everyday, God speaks to me through quiet time... You know, when I asked for Christian friends to spur me on with my walk with God, you know what God told me, Jeremiah 3v15, "And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guid you with knowledge and understanding..." How cool is that?

everyday's an amazement. :)

Thank God yet again,


This is the e-mail I got...

You have been allocated to:

Hospital Prince of Wales
Hospital Group POWB1
Scenario Group B1

A high number of students have not been allocated a high preference hospital.
We were unable to accommodate all students with their first preference
e.g. Prince of Wales Hospital had 67 places for students to be allocated,
186 of the 250 students put Prince of Wales as their first preference.


Managed to get a place to study for clinicals in the most sought after Hospital for first year.
I think it's most sought after because it's soOOO near to the university, the nearest hospital to the university,
and just a short walk away, maybe just about 7 minutes walk from where I stay... it's gonna be such a convienient
year, don't need to travel much to far away places for learning anymore =D thank God, thank God.


isn't God amazing?


and yea, just now I typed a more than an hour long email to my Mum, and know what happened?
My Computer HunG... I prayed, and thought that maybe the the computer would Un-HanG or something,
but nOOooOo, it was dead still, no progress, not loading... just deeeAAAD still.

I thought I lost it all when I finally decided to close my internet browser window,

but nOOOOooo!

thank God I managed to recover it... don't really know how I did it, but the WHOLE e-MAIL reply appeared again on my Hotmail Reply page... =D




everyday of God answered prayers.


:)


and because I am soooOOOO free now, I'll post some photos.
:D

You know these dogs? they are very very noisy, if they don't know you, they bark non-stop.
But they don't bite, and its fun to play with them... they've been barking at me since day one...
but now, they sorta stopped barking a lot... i think because the dogs found out i'm a nice guy...
there are total of 3 dogs I think? the white one's very cute. one of them is 12 years old, and is the
nicest one amongst the 3 dogs... Completely white in colour... :D
All very cute dogs, but cannot replace the handsome HusKy, tuffy! I miss my dog...

The mug that my fairfield friends gave me, and the calendar from YI people I'll always remember
See the laupok phone? that's the phone since National Service, and if you didn't know, I've got spectacles,
that's my spetacles Box, and also the keys to the house... and the watch? why I wear a watch... it's because
i'm growing up already. haha. it's gift from my Mum... so anw Cheers! one can drink is only 35 cents AUS = 40 cents SGD.
So cheap. I must find out how to go to the supermarket soon, before my store of food runs out.

and Macdonalds for Dinner... I took a walk around, and found out that Macdonald's not that expensive.
5.75AUD for a Big Mac Meal,
and 4.25 AUD for a Cheeseburger Meal...
about the same price as Singapore.

and guess what? I've already started studying! haha. cos nothing to do... so I'm following my timetable,
and started to read on Histology... the study of tissues and cells at the microscopic level. I thank God for
A level Bio, because most the things come from there. I remember some, not all because I've got bad memory,
but it's like a recap to A level biology... phosolipid bilayer? protein channels? lysosomes? glogi apparatus? nucleus?
nuclear envelope?... blah blah... it goes on :D

studying hard.

you know what?

i searched the internet for mobile phone plans, and guess what? this is what I goggled, UNSW, Mobile phone plans, blogspot... I was hoping some students at UNSW blogged about their phone plans, so I know what to get... cos I need to get a mobile number and phone sooonnn.

I found somebody's blog... that topped the search list... it was the first in the search list! so i found the segment that talked about how this person chose from a list of phone plans... blah blah.. goes on...

Normally, I wouldn't read on... but a few posts down, I saw pictures of Medical text books and pictures of the University... at first, I was thinking that this person probably studied medical science, or pharmacology, or some healthcare course in UNSW, but then, the last picture, a picture of a stethoscope... and yup, reading on further, i found out more.. that its was his first year medicine in UNSW too! He came from Singapore too (but I think He's indonesian chinese), just moved into a campus hostel nearby, probably 10 minutes walk away from where I live and Christian too, and now just waiting for school to start... He's a first year sutdent too, totally NEW to the place... Arrived on the 19th Feb too, after touring Sydney with his family...

I managed to tag him and yup, he replied... and now, trying to contact him now and maybe we can meet up before school starts... Just like me, he's got nothing much to do till school term starts... and from what I read, he has found a church to go to also.

how amazing is that? =D can you see?

this is one super duper God-planned opportunity to get to know your friends, even before school starts, yuppp.. another God-answered prayer and yet another amazing testimony I wanna give thanks to God for...

I prayed for friends that I'll be going to meet, prayed for Christians friends too, prayed for God to prepare the place there for me... my cell group people prayed for me too... and ya, God answered so fast, and so unexpectedly... I thought that I'd only get to meet friends like only when school starts. I told one of my fairfield friends before that during the first 2 weeks, I won't be doing much... and would only get to know friends when school term starts 1.5 weeks later.

ButtT, God plans are perfect... amazing... and full of pleasant surprises... and timely... how can so many things fall into place so nicely, something that's so impossible to think about, but to actually know how super super duper faithful God is... really so amazing... Never fails to amaze me up till now...

i mean, how can random googling of mobile phone plans actually lead me to somebody's blog, who's gonna study medicine at UNSW too, and first year student, and came slightly earlier before school term starts, studied in Singapore before this... and open such an opportunity like this for me... isn't it amazing? God-orchestrated, God-planned, God-lead...


I also wanna thank God for yesterday, where I met up with my Father's Friend's Cousin... Mr Doan. He's got a nice family, and took me out for dinner. Somewhere walking distance from my house, and so that now I know how to get around to find food. Yup. After the first night, I figured I needed to find out where to get food, and yup, this is another God answered prayer. Now i know there are so many eating places, that's just 5 minutes walk away, and there's a petrol station with a minimart, and a McDonalds that operates 24 Hours, and a McCafe too! And yea, dinner with them was great. He gave me a map of sydney too, which is super useful.. =D

After dinner, he brough me to drive through the City area... well, it's big, but not like orchard... there are way less people walking around at night... but yea, it was an eye opener... Buildings looked different, architecture and everything... Mostly shorter buildings, unlike Singapore. Now I know a rough idea of how to get around the place, and what to expect if I go visit the city.


Thank God for so many things that happened yesterday... and it was yet another amazing day. =D


oh yea, one more thing i missed out from the prev prev post, is that... The landlady rents the place out to a few students and I was the last person she accepted, just because she couldn't recieve any other offers on that day, and just because God planned it that way.

the landlady's really nice =D

Credits to my sister, Lisa... missygoody2shoes.blogspot.com there are more photos there :D

Photo's galore =D














first post from Australia.

maybe i've never felt more down in my life than the days before my departure... some nights I just couldn't sleep well, some days just thinking and thinking... and time flies by so fast, when you really want it to slow down, it just won't... even though I knew it was all in God's hands, and He has never failed to amaze me even up to now, I couldn't help but still feel so sad.

You know? in the morning before my departure, I played the guitar and started to sing Heart of Worship... I'm coming back to the heart of worship, when it's all about You... and then, suddenly it reminded me of Abraham. I wonder how abraham must have felt when God called him to sacrifice his only son... and that was Worship... even though it meant seperation from the ones you love so much, you'd still choose to obey God. Abraham must have felt so sad... and when He was called to leave his homeland, and go to a land where God will show Him, abraham must have felt sooo sad too.So going overseas, yea, it's an act of worship. It's obeying God.

and even up to the aiRport, i must say, GOD IS FAITHFUL... you know? eugene asked me for my prayer requests, and that night, karyn prayed for me... for the excess baggage I had... I was over by 12 kG, and which meant, 12kg x 40 dollars/kg=840 dollars...

just kidding, it's not 840, its actually equal to 480 dollars additional charge...

so we went to the airport early, and the timing was perfect! you see, there was no queue when me and my mum reached the airport... and then we approached the counter. When I measured the luggage, it was 25kG, which exceeded the limit by 5kg. So my mum explained my situation, and then the lady at the counter said she'll overlook the thing and allowed up to 30 kg. So i asked if I could transfer the enormous weight from my hand-carry bag to my luggage, and she allowed. After adding in the stuff, it became... ... 32KG!... i saw the weight counter, and said, "oh, it exceeded the 30kg weight, errmm, can I take some things out?"

The lady replied, "ohh, ermm, ok. I'll let you go through for this time only... "

there it was, God answers prayers! and then, my hand carry luggage was added on to more than 10 kg... so i brought a total of about more than 42kg to Australia... isn't God amazing?

faithful till the end. and you knoW why the timing was perfect? there was no queue at first... after we finished checking iN, and walked a distance, sat down for 1-2 minutes, the queue grew by 10 metres... and continued to grow.

it was super super duper touching to see all you guys at the airport? make me feel like crying, but you know, my mum said, it was a joyous occasion... must be really happy and move on in life... While walking into the departure, i felt kinda excited, felt really different... maybe that's what Joy really is, somewhat like a sense confidence as I lugged the heavy bag, guitar and laptop towards Gate number A2...

As I sat there to wait, I began to thank God so much for my family, for my fairfield friends, for my church friends. Thanked God for so many things... so many thoughts rushed through my head, and really, i felt kinda dazed too, kinda haven't let reality set in yet.

and then, while waiting for the gate to open.... *nothing happened... dang dang DANG!! haha kiding. (only eugene will understand this joke) you know what happened?! I recieved an SMS by mR neo telling my sister about SiSterhood... oh man!... but see my sister's blog missygood2shoes.blogspot.com - taken from lisa, "the SISTER of i4c... eugene, the leader of the sisterhood.." hAHahAHahaaa. oops!*

so in the air plane, maybe i cried, maybe not... haha. I won't tell you...

so when I reached, everything seems to go smoothly, I met the person holding my name on an A4 paper, followed him to the house, met the landlady and moved into the house...

so it was, i finally reached Australia.

That day, I was really tired, but I had to do some things like getting my banking accounts settled, getting my student card, registering with the university ISS... those were a few things. I started at 1pm, and by the time I've finished, it was already 5pm... navigating around the place wasn't really too hard, because I had a map.

and so it was, when I walked across the road, back to the room, I took a bath, and then, I fell tight asleep... 1 hour, 2 hour, about 3 hours passed...

I woke up... I remembered I had not eaten yet! and everything outside looked so dark... sigh* so i decided to go back to sleep, but not eating was not a choice, because I didn't want to get gastric. The last time I ate was early in the morning at about 5a.m. on the plane, where i took two bites off a piece of bread, and a cupcake. Breakfast on airplane's aren't nice at all... haha. so it was then that I went to my bag, took out an Anti-gastric pill and ate it before I tried to sleep again... so 1 hour passed, about 2 hours passed... my stomach was growling... but I almost fell asleep

then suddenly, one knock...

two knocks...

three knocks on my door.

There was the landlady with a plate of rice, and curry (tasted like rendang), pork and losta drinks... there was lemonade, and 6 packets of green tea.

ohh man, have you ever said grace, and was so thankful you felt like crying... well, it was my first. Because it showed me that God loved me so much, and His love shown though the landlady to me... that He was still watching over me, and didn't want me to go hungry at night.

it was about 10p.m. when I got up, and ate the food. I was full, really full cos it was a lot of food. Then I went online, got my internet to work finally, chatted for a while, and then went to sleep...

I woke up at about 10 a.m. today, and had a good night's rest.. really! there was no need for aircon at night, because it was cooling, but not cold enough that you need to huddle under a blanket.

ok this is what I thank God for in addition to the FOOD! ...i thank God for the internet (it's wireless), I thank God for the water heater... there's always hot water, but don't know where it comes from... haha. their water heater must be turned on 24-7. I thank God for the Good rest....

so, the landlady decied to take me out for some shopping.. she decided to bring me around to buy some necessary items like a bedsheet, pillow...blahh a lot of things.... haha. the list goes on... and then I want to thank God for that time too.

I was talking to her, and she asked me what religion I was... I told her Christian, and she looked at me and said, "Wow! That's good, I'm christian too, and my family is christian too..." So she told me about her family, and her church... and but, it's all cantonese speaking. Also she says that one of the student that she rents a room out to is christian too, and she goes to Hillsong church. Another goes to the unichurch. Now, i've got some choices to choose from you know... yuP.

so now, that makes my accomodation more perfect than ever.

so she was telling me about how through Alice, she finally agreed to rent the accomodation to me. "you are very lucky", she likes to use that phrase... "you are very lucky" she said. It turned out that she had many many offers... and that she actually didn't want to rent the room out to me. But, alice said, "jordan's a very good boy... his family very nice people..." and which, my mum told alice, that "jordan's a very good boy, don't drink, don't smoke.... ... " So she agreed immediately... and that day, she couldn't be contacted on her mobile, so she couldn't recieve other offers... so she said, "you are very lucky..." and today, when she heard from me that I was a christian, she said that she was very happy that she could bless me with this place and let me stay. Yea, isn't it all God-planned?

she began to tell me about a house that she owned too, that's further away, when she advertised, immediately 20 students called in, and she brought them to view the house. Immediately, they paid the deposit and took it, and it's not even half as near to the university as where I am right now... all in the same day she put up and advertisement. That's how hard it is to find accomodation around, and how God had showed me that He was faithful, and how blessed I am to be in this place...

so it's a perfect place in a perfect plan... 7 the perfect house number... and the nearest accomodation anyone could get, to the medical faculty building I'll be studying in. How awesome is that?

and I managed to get so many things that I needed to get.

joshua chapter 1:1-9

"Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I'm giving to the People of Israel. I'm giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It's all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you. I won't give up on you; I won't leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take."

-God

the longest post ever

i can't thank God enough for his provisions - Jehovah Jireh.

now with accomodations settled, I found a perfect home to live in Sydney.

Well, at most, it seems to be perfect =D everything seems to be perfect about it...

It's just across the road to the University Library,
nearer to the Medical Faculty than most hostels, or maybe its the nearest,
it's a room in a big, big bungalow,
the toilet looks beYOOotiful (i saw a photo of it),
the son of the owner's gonna study Post-grad medicine also on his first year of it,
so we'll have a little in common...
and its house number 7, a perfect number, just like home... my house is 7 too. 7 is one of the numbers God likes a lot in the bible, like how 7 days describes creation... the 7th day is the Sabbath day... dId you knOw? (I didn't until I saw it on the internet.) SEVEN is used over 700 times in the Bible. 7 representws a number of perfection...

so it seems,

A PERFECT HOME in sydney.... =D

and you know?

This is a God answered prayer.

Well, the thing about going overseas is that Accomodation's the biggest hassle. And, its just got confirmed last week. Next next week, I'll already be flying off the Sydney. Just imagine what I'd supposed to be doing, with about 30Kg of luggage and no idea of a place to go to... figuring my way around Sydney to a maybe a hotel, lugging around my baggage, being totally lost and confused... going to a VERY VERY new place and all alone is a scary thing. Yes, and I've been praying for accomodations for a long long long long time.

There seemed to be totally no progress on finding an accomodation.

But God answered my prayer, first it was Eugene's friend, Ian... He introduced me to Sydney, UNSW and everything that I needed to know! He was a great help, seriously... gave me an idea of what to expect, what to look out for, and now I know that the first thing I need to do is to head for the UNSW student services counter to the right when I come out of the Sydney arrival hall...

Thereafter, I still couldn't find a way to settle my accomodations...

Then, I remember there was a day, I told God, "Can you help me with by accomodations by the next day?"... AND, You know the very next day, Gary, an education counsellor called me up and said that he'd be checking with the university on the progress of my hostel applications. That phone call was was important, because it was a God answered prayer, and that phone call was really really comforting... You know how God can speak through people to give you moments of peace/comfort? God did that just for me. At least I knew that something was being done for my accomodations... if not, I'd be still so worried then. The phone call made it a whole lot better... so all I had to do was to wait.

So I waited... ...

And then, a few days later, Gary called back to say that all the hostels very full and my offer did not make it through. At that time, I was worried, really really worried...

AND however, one thing did really comfort me, and that was that God couldn't have opened so many doors, and provided so much for my education, and made it all possible when at times it couldn't have been, to show me that it was really really 100 percent without a doubt that going overseas was His plan, and YET not be faithful to follow through till the end...

How can God not provide for my accomodations, after all that He already provided me with already...?

AND so, God was silent for a while... maybe He wasn't really silent. It's just that He didn't answer my requests immediately, like how they do it in a Fast Food restarurant. BUT, He did give me peace. You know, a Serene Chaos? and an Peaceful Anxiety? just like that movie on Saturday...

And so, through my Dad's very very good friend's cousin's friend, Alice, came the answer to my prayer, and God slowly revealed what he had in store for me.

I remember that day, just before calling Alice, I whispered a prayer to God... you know like a "passing" prayer just before you start an exam... that kind... ... I asked God to be in that conversation, to be with me when I speak to her about my accomodations... and that was about 2-3 sentences, and then I picked up my phone to call...

when I called a few times, trying all sorts of combination of numbers, country codes, area codes with an International Call Card, I just couldn't get through... *sigh* I wanted to give up... and just tell my Dad that it was the wrong number. But, just before I was about to, I finally managed to get through, and when I asked for Alice, she immediately responded as though as she was already expecting my call. Well, she actually did, cos apparently my father's friend's cousin told his friend about me...

Ok. So I told her about what I needed for accomodation, like Internet, a furnished room... the price range... ... the location... And the conversation went so smoothly, and she said that she'll find a place for me, and it'll take about a week.

So in Just a few days, she emailed me back to say that she found one that was 15 minutes walk away from the university... Mmm that's about 3/4 the distance from my house to church. Well, I was delighted! At least it was near the school... I quickly said that I was okay with that, and would accept it. To be honest, I thanked God so much for it... I thought it was a great place, and what God had in plan for me...

But, no... it wasn't.

Then came the bad news about 2 days later, that the student living in the house did not was to move out until the end of the month, so I couldn't get it by the time I fly over to Sydney.

So then, she began to describe how if I looked for house outside Kensington, that was about 15-20min bus ride from the university, it'd be a lot easier and there'll be a lot more choices, and how in Kensington, it was a peak period where so many students are finding accomodations, and how rental jumped by 10-20 percent in cost...

and then she finally got to this house, saying that there was one available that was 1 minute from the University, and that the landlord's son was a medical science student intending to do medicine in UNSW also. And so, I told her I had to discuss with my mum first and get back to her as soon as possible. But she kept urging me to be quick about it. And actually, I had wanted to wait for my parents to reach home before consulting them at night, but I didn't. God urged me to call my parents and tell them at that very moment. So I called my Dad first, then my Mum. And told them about this place. Then my mum decided to call her to confirm this place...

And so, she told my mum that she was not sure if it was still available because they currently have many offers for it... you know what my Mum said? "Jordan, he's a very good boy lah. He don't drink, don't smoke, and go to church every saturday..." hAhaha. ok.

10 minutes later, Alice called back to said that it was settled.

And my Accomodations were finally settled... at first it seemed just okay. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised how it's not just an Okay thing that happens... It's a miracle.

When I thought of alternative options to this, I realised that every other option for Accomodation like living in a hostel, or renting an apartment, or looking up for temporary accomodation for the time being, every other option was way more costly and wasn't as good as this. The price difference in this and other alternatives could go as high as 500-600 dollars a month or maybe even more.

And there was not a single accomodation option that's as suitable as this one...

So it seems perfect.

Everything seems to fall in nicely.

Everything about how God provides for me to go australia seems, sOOo God-planned.

From the time, I re-activated my e-mail just the day before the e-mail for the University Medicine interview came in, when I absolutely would not have done so because I totally don't use that e-mail and had no idea it was de-activated because of that...

From the time that God provided finances for my parents to support me overseas in the very most miraculous way, that absolutely would not have happened with such timely'ness... and now that I go with a peace knowing that it's not as much a financial strain on them as it would have been... which maybe would add a lot more stress and burden on them. You know, this was my biggest concern when my parents persuaded me to try out for an overseas university... and day after day I prayed for God to provide for it somehow... I was actually sOOo reluctant to go because of this, and only about 3 months back, wHAM... God appeared and provided miraculously...

From the time, in Secondary school when I told God I wanted to be a doctor, and that God says, that He gives us the desires of our hearts... and of how, I had wanted to go NJC just because I wanted to do well enough so that I could qualify for medicine... that was in Sec 4 and and but I thought it was simply impossible...

From the time that I almost decided to give up my pursuit of medicine, a dream that I held for years until my Dad pushed me to apply for Australia...

From the time that God used my Sis to introduce me a book, The Gift of Pain, by Dr Paul Brand, a person who really inspired me to really want to pursue a dream when I did plan of the possibilty of giving up...

From the time when I told God I didn't want to waste my time in NS... God made a way for me to become a MEDIC in the SAF. NOT a job in the SAF that couldn't be more appropriate than this... Allowing me to learn so much, and see so much in Hospitals (like the A & E ward), and do so much like being an Attendant in treatment dives for DCI cases, like learning how to sustain a person's life... provide 1st Aid, use an AED... injections, setting up Intravenous Fluids... protocols for many many health emergencies.... what could be more appropriate than this?

God was in IT ALL...and finally,
When zi Bing shared the verse about crossing the Jordan on one saturday, and the next day, on my IPOD, I heard a "random" (random because my IpoD was on shuffle, 1 in 1000 chance of being played for every song inside) sermon by Ps Jurgen, which was... ... yesH... ... it was on Crossing the Jordan and what Crossing that river really meant,

and just 1 week ago, my mum gave me a bible, with a verse attached to it that she wrote just for me in the front page, Joshua chapter 1v1-9, on Crossing the Jordan...

Now, God does speak through bible. Not many coincidences happen everyday like that.

Crossing the jordan means, entering into the promises of God. That's why they called it the promise land...

This is God's promise and plan for me. I take it...
I thank God so much for it...
And I couldn't thank Him more...
He's faithful throughout... God's name really is Jehovah Jireh a.k.a My Provider...

Now, I just pray I don't ever forget about what God did for me in the midst of studying there... That I will always remember God and what He has done for me...

That's why it's on this blog...
I want it to be a testimony worth telling many people about what God did for me! =D