The Bonus

there once were a group of people who talked a lot about God's gifts to humanity..everything was a gift from God..and they are right in saying that everything we have is due to God's grace..however, and we all know there is a big "but" behind this..they wanted to show that God would only act as human beings thought was good..and chose to ignore other parts of God's character..they were like the man who looks through a narrow slit in the wall and sees the elephant's trunk, and to him, the elephant is the trunk and nothing more..

today, i'm gonna talk about tasting God's bonus a little bit..in the book of Judges, we find God's people in God's promised land, the land of blessing and rest..God took His people through hell and high water literally to bring them to this land..and everything else from the time they entered the land was to be God's blessing, peace, rest and bonus..

but God's people took for granted God's blessing and turned to serve their idols..the Baals and Ashtoreth of their neighbours..and of course God, Israel's father, was very very angry..so much so that he sent evil rulers to judge and oppress His people..

of course, God was so merciful that He raised judges from amongst His people to free Israel from the judgement that God Himself had passed on them..now, we are different from the Israelites..in Jesus, God's Spirit lives in us and we are not stubborn and disobedient like those people..we have true peace with God and God forgives us when we sin..He is no longer angry with us and does not judge us like those stubborn Israelites..the Promised Land and God's bonus in that land point us to Jesus..God's greatest blessing and Promise for us..and as a result, if we have Jesus, everything else is really secondary..if i have a family, it is God's bonus..if i have a wife, it is God's bonus..if i have a great career as an Architect or Lawyer, Accountant or Doctor..it is God's bonus..if i have nothing, still i am blessed because God has given me Jesus..

you see, God's bonus only makes sense if i have God's greatest blessing, Jesus..without Jesus, every bonus is just rubbish and counted as loss..that is what Paul says..

and now, for the punchline application: why participate in ministry? why bother about a conference like SPRTE or a mission to Japan which takes away time from my family and my best frens back home in Singapore whom i want to go on holidays with, to some exotic beach resort with some diving thrown in for good measure?after all, a little bit of water sports never did any harm..why spend time away from family over Christmas? and why the heck should one try to care for God's people when my own needs are hardly met and i don't feel like it and i want to be the happy and comfortable?

Jesus is God's greatest blessing to me.the rest is a bonus..i'm living on borrowed time..should not we have gospel priorities and kingdom concern?should we not give of ourselves just as Jesus gave of Himself? Brendan and Aaron and Emmerie encourage me at this point..they're not FOCUS helpers or ministers..they're not that close to the members of NCS who are so keen on SPRTE which is really an Aussie thing, organised for Aussie Christians..they dun have an obligation to come..yet they do..why? Kingdom living..who's really our king?

Boys Warfare Post

was thinking of doing my weekly update post but realised that i really dun have that much to update about these days as i'm a pretty boring dude and i'm just waiting for SPRTE to roll around and Japan mission..pretty retarded if u ask mi..will update everyone about my battle at packing everything away for storage cos college is gonna kick me out on 29 Nov..dun worry, they do that for all college students cos thats when our contract ends and Summer accomodation begins and the money-grubbing b*st*rds need the rooms for rentin to summer students..hey but no complaints..capitalism has no heart u should noe if u wanna stay in a Bourgeois country..but that update later..first..

i recall a conversation with Tim Wong last year where we had a typical boys' talk about warfare and weapons and which gun u like versus which gun i like...n i realise that i miss that convo n the ex-radiology student..n i never got around to doing a post in honour of ya Timo (the Hom..never mind ;-) well if you're reading this Timo i hope ya like it..hang in there in pilot training ol' buddy...n gals, i'm sorry we're losing ya from this moment on..

now, Tim i noe we disagree on weapons and u think i have weird tastes and i think u've got too conventional western-indoctrinated tastes..so u like the M-16 (n i've fired it before) whereas i prefer the Ak-74 (not the earlier 47 version)...but still, u gotta agree, the world's best n most terrifying machine gun is...

Maschinengewerh MG-42

sounds like ripping cloth and with a rate of fire up to 1200 rounds per minute..chambered for the 7.92 X 57mm Mauser round..psychologically terrifying for troops that have ever faced it in action..roller-locked short recoil action for the bolt..too bad the poor Soviets din copy it and place it in production the way they copied the Sturmgewehr 44/45 and turned it into the famous AK-47...most important of all to those of us who have fired real machine guns before like the Fabrique Nationale (FN) MAG aka GPMG..it is extremely resistant to dust and dirt, weighs only 11.6 kg versus the 11.79 kg weight of the GPMG (n considering that the MG-42 fires a 7.92 mm cartridge versus 7.62mm for the GPMG, this is significant)..

i fantasized firing this weapon and throwing molotov cocktails (that other famous weapon) during the last day of my A-levels..n there were so many times in the SAF i was tempted to treat my GPMG like an MG-42 and turn it on my officers..now u noe how du-l*n i was with some ocs-iffers back then..actually dun need GPMG, SAR-21 can already...apologies to all my Second Lieutenant and First Lieutenant friends hor..this Third Sergeant (NS) say some not so nice things tonite..but i'm prob not talking about u if u are my fren..

by the way, there is a successor to the MG-42..in the post-ww2 German Budeswehr, the MG-42 was modernised and used as the MG3..similar except that it was now chambered for the 7.62 x 51mm NATO round.. n they still use it today..due to be retired in 2011..but still going strong after all these years..

Budeswehr Marines with post-war MG3

well Tim, nice reminiscing bout Boys' Ultimate Toys, Guns..dun take gun n zhua anyone hor..please..

NCS Ball and Japan Trip

everybody has a happy song or a few of them..this is one of mine..and a high candidate for a wedding song..(dat is, IF i do get married)..i'll reform the old Scout campfire band with Tsang on the guitar and myself on the Bass..maybe have to get a stand-in drummer and some singers..but it'll be fun..

anyways, this song was played again at NCS Ball..where Joyce, Matt and myself had a swell time dancing n going crazy..in part thanks to Chris Webb who started the crazy twisting and jiving like he was 16 or maybe 14 again..the idea of dressing up formally for dinner to bid farewell to graduates and then having a dance floor with amazing tunes where pple can just embarrass themselves doing their lil' 2-step shuffle like myself is a pretty cool idea..and its one of those things that work only with Australians where everyone is willing to be a fool for the fun of it..unlike us uptight Asians..i was not acting in character as an uptight Asian international last Thurs nite and i loved it..haha..even though my Australian frens' view of me probably dropped a few notches because of such undignified dancing..then again, dignity is NOT a fruit of the Spirit but Pommie cultural imperialism..haha

And, i feel sad to see my frens leaving, some of whom entered uni about the same time as me..i'll miss u guys, Bambs, Luke Marshall, Josh Allen, Claire Foster, Katie Pearson..its been a wonderful 3 years..just wish i'd gotten an opportunity to hang out with u guys more..and Chris and Karen Webb are leaving us to go to SMBC next year..and just as an aside, i got to know most of these guys through my first Wintercon where i was the Only international around..and i absolutely do not regret it..on a happier note, Steve Watts is joining NCS for MTS apprenticeship next year..MTS is a 2 year ministry apprenticeship programme to prepare graduates for Bible College and eventual ministry and i absolutely recommend it for pple who are contemplating ministry..its available in Singapore now u noe? and as a final note on NCS Ball, Julie Lindemann has got a Perfect voice..;)

Moving on..Japan!its coming up very very soon..i guess i'm kinda an Adrenalin junkie who needs his regular dose of excitement every sem..last sem i travelled to Cairns and dived plus snorkelled at the Great Barrier Reef..which kinda put my whole first sem in great perspective..dis sem there was Melbourne but it really was kinda a let down...but now, Japan is coming up!! and it looks like we're gonna be budget missionaries..Mission on a Shoestring sounds like a great reality TV Show huh..am looking forward to the culture shock and clash of civilisations between West and East..especially between doing church in Japan as compared to Australia (huge difference expected) and with the rest of Asia (still a critical gap expected)..and it would be nice being a blessing to other Christians and non-Christians rather than senselessly taking all the time..at this point my Social Democratic Conscience, Post-Modern Skepticism and Christianity meet..but enough about ideology..

ilook forward to staying in Tokyo and Osaka and Biwako and travelling on the Moonlight Nagara (sounds so culturally Japan, like Cherry Blossom Airlines) and serving in Megumi church...hmmm, i need to find out the actual church names where we'll be serving..anyways, check out FocusinJapan.blogspot.com for more info..dat is, if u give a damn..if u dun, forget it, (such bourgeois utilitarian-materialist self-interested schnobs)

A short Exam Reviver

To those of my friends who are currently hard at work studying for their exams or who are sitting for them as we speak, rest assured that my prayers and hopes go with you all.. i am sure that in this difficult period stress mounts and sometimes tempers fray..sometimes we feel like the end of the world has come..or sometimes we feel that everything takes on negative shades of grey..or maybe we just can't imagine it all ending and if it does, that will be the day of deliverance or salvation or vindication..but again, it will end..This too shall pass..as they say..

Well, at this point no amount of reassurance from this humble friend would quieten the fears and tensions of hearts that are laden with worry and wracked with tension..and the objective eye that wants to place things into perspective for you is cold comfort for your stomach..so probably the only worthwhile thing (and probably the best) that this friend can offer is what Job's friends did for the first 7 days they were with him..and dat is, to sit in silent respect and moral encouragement with all of you and try not to make a nuisance of myself..and NOT to become like Job's friends After the first 7 days when they opened their mouths and became a royal pain in the butt..from their performance we get the term "Job's Comforters" and rest assured, it is not what i desire to be to all of ya..

and, dear friends, here's a final word i'll throw in the mix..God is in charge and watching us in these times...so stop sneaking answers into the exam hall written on your shoes and socks...;)

End Game

Blogging from a uni Pc does have its significant advantages over working from a boring monochrome Mac..well, well...i am at the strange portion of the year where i've finished my last assignment and am getting ready for my final presentation on Monday..which will end it all for this year.. and then i do have one exam on th 22nd of November..which would be for the Introduction to the Bible course under the Provisional Theological Certificate done by Moore College in Sydney...pretty rapid actually, from start to finish of the course..

working with Darius over the past few days was really cool..for once i got to work on a project with a fellow Architecture student rather than separately from them..cos Architecture is a fiercely individual, independent and competitive course which builds up one's hardness, leaness and intellectual defence..i've built some pretty tough muscle in the area of defending my work and counter-criticising my Crit tutors ..anyways, working with Darius reintroduced me to whole new genres of soft rock and pop music which i'd previously abandoned after high school...and some sappy love tunes like Taylor Swift's Teardrops on my Guitar..man..the incurable tragic romantic in me was stirred out of his deep slumber for those few days listening to Darius' music collection..and singing along while working at 3 am in the morning really helps train both the vocal chords and one's ability to handle stress...and of course, his trance music helped me carry on at the ungodly hour of 6 am every morning..even if i was working mechanically in wat i call Zombie Slave mode..even now the tunes play recalcitrantly in the deepest recesses of my mind..

and a last word which is more reflective (like in Reflective Design Theory)...i was talking to a friend recently about...lotsa stuff actualli..and one topic which came up was singleness and relationships. And my friend, being the ever kind and compassionate one who cares for all living creatures and would never harm an ant except for occasional red-back spiders which aren't classified as ants anyway..she promptly compares me to someone who once complained about the same issue and was rebuffed for being selfish and self-centred, and this was given as the probable cause for this person's long time singleness..at first i thought i was being called selfish and self-centred and it was pretty upsetting..den as i prayed and thought about it, i realised that there were lessons indeed to be learned..such as not being too hung up on singleness or marriage, that God is in control and has His plans and reasons for things and that He means us no harm even if it is painful or difficult (which again human beings never consider)..and that i often do care only for myself where relationships are concerned, rather than for others..of course, one might argue that human beings are selfish and so are our relationships, but i think that by God's Spirit, Christians should be different..so yes, i will admit that i often am selfish and self-centred, much as i try, by God's grace, to be God and other-people-centred..and that singleness is an opportunity to learn to care for others in Christian ways without false intentions or wrong motives..and this does prepare Christians in relating to their spouses within the context of marriage..because if we can care for pple and Christians not related to us as Christ intends, so much more will we care for those whom we love dearly.. i won't try to be over-analytical at this point, but i do want to be reflective as a Christian..and at his point, i will say that my friend has encouraged me in a helpful way..even if she probably wasn't thinking things through that widely or thoroughly then..

thus, it is with confidence that i will say to my fellow Christian brothers who deal with this issue on a daily basis that we should place our confidence in Christ and, to quote 2 authors i admire, " when forced to make a difficult decision, take the choice of honour"..and honour is not our own petty male ego-led honour, but Christ's honour..and what is honouring to Christ? Let Him be King and God, over our will, our desires, our ambitions, our wants, everything..