In this series of blog posts, I'll be summarizing what I took away from the book "Guidance and the Voice of God", two chapters at a time. (3 chapters in this post because the first chapter is really short)
Being a summary, the points will naturally be underelaborated, so please do pick up the book to read it for more biblical references and further elaboration! I can lend it to you too once I'm done with it!
Chapter One
A very brief chapter, which outlines the purpose of the book: "to outline God's will for our lives, how he guides us in it, and what we are to do in response".
Chapter Two
This chapter outlines a few key characteristics of God to help us 'understand God'. There are 3 main points:
1) God is the Sovereign Creator - he's all powerful and all knowing and he created the whole world down to the smallest detail. Yes, he has created amazingly complex stuff such as... our EYES.
2) God is the Shepherd of his people - (e.g. Psalms 23) Not just a gentle leading, but just like how real shepherds 'whack their sheep to keep them in line', we may be prodded to get us moving in the right direction. God shows us the way and guides them along it.
3) God is the Planner - God's master plan of saving his people covers centuries of human history - all the events recorded in the Bible didn't just occur by chance! (the book provides a sequence of events that unfolded over time, with biblical references, but I'm lazy to copy paste)
If we can understand God, if we know what his motivations are and what his plans are, we'll be better equipped to understanding his guidance.
Chapter Three
So previously it was mentioned very broadly and briefly that God's master plan is to save his people. But how so? This chapter breaks down God's plan into 4 main points:
1) We are destined for sonship - Eph 1:10 "... to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Read verses 3-9 for more context).The goal or our lives is to be under Christ.
2) We are destined to inherit - (1 Pet 1:3-5) - we have an inheritance in heaven that will one day be ours!
3) We are destined for glory (Rom 8:28-30) - God wants to help us to be like Christ, to be 'conformed to the likeness of his Son'.
4) We are destined for good works (Ephesians 2:8-10) - We are saved for.. fun? No! It is for us to 'do good works'! (But what are these good works? DUN DUN DUN. Hopefully they'll elaborate further in the book!)
The first two chapters (I'm ignoring Chap 1) have laid some good groundwork for us - it paints a clear picture of what God is and wants, and what he has planned for us. Personally there really isn't anything new here, but I'm looking forward to see how the authors bring in specific real life implications later on (last 3 chapters).
So how do we respond, knowing all these? That's what the next 3 chapters are about! The 'right way' to respond, classic misunderstandings, and 'the wrong way' to respond. Till next time!
Sunday 16 March 2014
Guidance and the Voice of God - Part Zero
I received a pleasant surprise in church today when Graham told me 'Serene has something for you'.
"For me?" I replied, taken aback.
Several minutes later, Serene came along and passed me a book with a smile. She told me to read the note on the inside and I would understand.
I opened it, and it read:
"Dear Alan,
Saw your FB post asking for career advice, and I thought this book will be perfect for you.
I pray that you will seek and obey God in whatever you do.
Serene."
Aww!! So sweet can! Like I'm not say very close to her or talk to her often. Just smile at her and say hi when I see her weekly and smile at her cute little boy. Feel blessed :)
Anyway, I'm not really a book reader, but some people actually asked to borrow the book from me after I'm done... and then they said hey, why dont you just summarize it for us?
So.... I'm hoping to use that as a little motivator for myself to keep reading the book, and I will summarize them two chapters at a time, with my own personal thoughts. Hope I finish the book!
"For me?" I replied, taken aback.
Several minutes later, Serene came along and passed me a book with a smile. She told me to read the note on the inside and I would understand.
I opened it, and it read:
"Dear Alan,
Saw your FB post asking for career advice, and I thought this book will be perfect for you.
I pray that you will seek and obey God in whatever you do.
Serene."
Aww!! So sweet can! Like I'm not say very close to her or talk to her often. Just smile at her and say hi when I see her weekly and smile at her cute little boy. Feel blessed :)
Anyway, I'm not really a book reader, but some people actually asked to borrow the book from me after I'm done... and then they said hey, why dont you just summarize it for us?
So.... I'm hoping to use that as a little motivator for myself to keep reading the book, and I will summarize them two chapters at a time, with my own personal thoughts. Hope I finish the book!
Thursday 13 March 2014
Bintan Getaway!
It's amazing what little conversations in life do for you. I was just randomly chatting with Vivian 1-2 weeks ago, and she invited me along for a 2D1N Bintan trip with a few others from church. Woohoo! Mini getaway!
We stayed at Nirwana Resorts Hotel, which was quite pricey ($60/pax/night) but it's good because all the activities are basically around where we stayed, and the service overall was very good. So we paid more for convenience and service I guess.
I don't know what is it about the trees but it somehow looks very nice and islandy? (See the distant trees in the background). The long stretchy trunks and how they lean in a very specific arrangement.
The building behind me is the Activities Centre, which is basically a 5 minute walk from the main building where our rooms were. The range of activities here were bowling, tabletennis, elephant riding, horse riding, archery, air rifle, flying fox, kayaking, bodyboarding, etc. (All of the above for free if you buy the all in pass at SGD$40++)
There was even an area called the 'mini Zoo', which was basically a short walkway with a range of animals along the side, such as pythons, some fish, some birds, guinea pigs (yes, in the wild. super cute, those little balls). No payment to walk through it.
Can't really tell but this is me Bodyboarding!!
Bodyboarding turned out much more fun than I expected. You take this board, go out into the ocean, and try to catch a wave to ride it towards the shore. It's hard to explain how it is done, and all of us could only do it like 50% of the time, but you have to jump at the perfect timing to catch the wave, otherwise you'll only move forward a bit and not coast quickly forward a long distance.
(Ok I initially wanted to attach a bodyboarding video here but realized it was way too pro compared to what we did. We rode waves that were much noober (tho much much stronger and higher than Singapore's waves))
We had dinner at The Kelong Restaurant,which is basically an al fresco restaurant on stilts overlooking the water! It has a super romantic ambience and great!
There's this nice boardwalk which you can walk down from the restaurant. We got to watch the sunset! Really pretty :)
We ordered 2 crabs, one veg, one calamari, one large plate of fried rice, and a fish, and our bill came up to SGD$33 / pax. Not sure if that's reasonable price but it was quite filling and tasty! Crabs were meaty too (though it could have been because we had 2 crab experts with us who picked the crabs for us ^^ )
Included in our room package was a breakfast buffet, which had a decent spread of both western and asian stuff, such as sausages, eggs, crossaints(sp?), noodles/rice, fruits, juice, milk, cereal, toast, nasi lemak ingredients + porridge, etc.
After that we went kayaking, which turned out not as fun as bodyboarding because it's pretty hard to stay out in the sea with the waves constantly bashing us back, and ... kayaking is so much more tiring and less fun than bodyboarding :(
In the afternoon, we did more activities (part of our all-in pass)
I really like vivian and my poses here! I told her we look like tributes from the same District lolol. #hungergamesreferenceyo
I kinda sucked at archery, shooting all around the bullseye and hitting it only once (the yellow zone). Plus it was really tiring as it takes considerable effort to draw the arrow back each time you fire.
I was much better at shooting heh. Shot down many targets. BANG BANG.
We also went on an elephant ride - one short 5 minutes ride around this area. It was so painful! There wasn't a seat on the elephant so I basically sat on its back which was quite pointy. But ok the rider with me was nice to chat with so it took my mind off the discomfort. He has been doing this for 20 years! That's crazy. Can't imagine such a simple life... riding elephants everyday.
The cool trees I was talking about.
Overall a pretty fun and chill trip - we chilled a lot on the beach (and thus I became super black and abit burnt), and it was a very relaxing time there - just sitting on the soft sand (like, really soft) and letting water run by underneath me.
It was good company too, everyone was fun and could get along. Wish I could have more of these getaways with such company :)
We stayed at Nirwana Resorts Hotel, which was quite pricey ($60/pax/night) but it's good because all the activities are basically around where we stayed, and the service overall was very good. So we paid more for convenience and service I guess.
I don't know what is it about the trees but it somehow looks very nice and islandy? (See the distant trees in the background). The long stretchy trunks and how they lean in a very specific arrangement.
The building behind me is the Activities Centre, which is basically a 5 minute walk from the main building where our rooms were. The range of activities here were bowling, tabletennis, elephant riding, horse riding, archery, air rifle, flying fox, kayaking, bodyboarding, etc. (All of the above for free if you buy the all in pass at SGD$40++)
There was even an area called the 'mini Zoo', which was basically a short walkway with a range of animals along the side, such as pythons, some fish, some birds, guinea pigs (yes, in the wild. super cute, those little balls). No payment to walk through it.
Can't really tell but this is me Bodyboarding!!
Bodyboarding turned out much more fun than I expected. You take this board, go out into the ocean, and try to catch a wave to ride it towards the shore. It's hard to explain how it is done, and all of us could only do it like 50% of the time, but you have to jump at the perfect timing to catch the wave, otherwise you'll only move forward a bit and not coast quickly forward a long distance.
(Ok I initially wanted to attach a bodyboarding video here but realized it was way too pro compared to what we did. We rode waves that were much noober (tho much much stronger and higher than Singapore's waves))
We had dinner at The Kelong Restaurant,which is basically an al fresco restaurant on stilts overlooking the water! It has a super romantic ambience and great!
There's this nice boardwalk which you can walk down from the restaurant. We got to watch the sunset! Really pretty :)
We ordered 2 crabs, one veg, one calamari, one large plate of fried rice, and a fish, and our bill came up to SGD$33 / pax. Not sure if that's reasonable price but it was quite filling and tasty! Crabs were meaty too (though it could have been because we had 2 crab experts with us who picked the crabs for us ^^ )
Included in our room package was a breakfast buffet, which had a decent spread of both western and asian stuff, such as sausages, eggs, crossaints(sp?), noodles/rice, fruits, juice, milk, cereal, toast, nasi lemak ingredients + porridge, etc.
After that we went kayaking, which turned out not as fun as bodyboarding because it's pretty hard to stay out in the sea with the waves constantly bashing us back, and ... kayaking is so much more tiring and less fun than bodyboarding :(
In the afternoon, we did more activities (part of our all-in pass)
I really like vivian and my poses here! I told her we look like tributes from the same District lolol. #hungergamesreferenceyo
I kinda sucked at archery, shooting all around the bullseye and hitting it only once (the yellow zone). Plus it was really tiring as it takes considerable effort to draw the arrow back each time you fire.
I was much better at shooting heh. Shot down many targets. BANG BANG.
We also went on an elephant ride - one short 5 minutes ride around this area. It was so painful! There wasn't a seat on the elephant so I basically sat on its back which was quite pointy. But ok the rider with me was nice to chat with so it took my mind off the discomfort. He has been doing this for 20 years! That's crazy. Can't imagine such a simple life... riding elephants everyday.
The cool trees I was talking about.
Overall a pretty fun and chill trip - we chilled a lot on the beach (and thus I became super black and abit burnt), and it was a very relaxing time there - just sitting on the soft sand (like, really soft) and letting water run by underneath me.
It was good company too, everyone was fun and could get along. Wish I could have more of these getaways with such company :)
Sunday 2 March 2014
Two sweet fruits
Imagine this.
In my village, there are some ancient fruits that have been hidden in the temple (e.g. Fruit A and Fruit B). After waiting for 12 years, I've been told that I can finally eat one of them - Fruit A - if I want to. But that would mean I can't eat Fruit B or other Fruits.
I can't see either of them, but I've heard things about them.
I heard Fruit A is the biggest fruit among the fruits of its type. How big exactly I'm not sure yet, though I've heard rumors it's about 4000 cm3. How does it taste? I've no idea, haven't heard much about it.
Fruit B is smaller than Fruit A, maybe about 3300-3500 cm3 in volume, and is it is known to be sweet too. But I can't really describe it, since I haven't actually tasted it nor Fruit A before.
The problem with Fruit A is that it's protected with a very hard shell, inpenetrable by human teeth! I've tried to bite it, and was left with an aching jaw and not much for my effort. If I try to eat it, I may lose my teeth which will make me really sad in the long run!
The large size of Fruit A make me want to ignore this problem of the hard shell. Hey, maybe I'll get used to biting through this hard shell and I won't be that sad. Maybe no teeth is alright? But many other people seem to complain that having no teeth is horrible and really major source of unhappiness!
Now suddenly the gods-to-be said I can choose Fruit B. This complicates matter a bit. Fruit B is a bit smaller, but does not have the shell. In fact, it's only surrounded by a mildly tough membrane! Easily penetrable.
But wait! A legendary monk from the temple descends upon me, and tells me as much as he could about Fruit A. He described it as sweet too. But what kind of sweet? Chocolate sweet? Sugar sweet? Sour sweet? I have no idea. I haven't tasted it or other fruits before, so I don't know which I will like more!
So do I like Fruit B more than Fruit A? I don't know! I haven't even seen it, much less tasted it. I think I may like both the same. After all, all I want is a nice fruit to eat that will sustain me in the long run.
THEN. Suddenly another legendary monk appears and passes me this tool - a fruit-splitting device. It can split the toughest of shells - including that of Fruit A. Suddenly, I can easily get to eat Fruit A without the inpenetrable shell.
So now what do I do? Should I choose Fruit A or Fruit B?
In my village, there are some ancient fruits that have been hidden in the temple (e.g. Fruit A and Fruit B). After waiting for 12 years, I've been told that I can finally eat one of them - Fruit A - if I want to. But that would mean I can't eat Fruit B or other Fruits.
I can't see either of them, but I've heard things about them.
I heard Fruit A is the biggest fruit among the fruits of its type. How big exactly I'm not sure yet, though I've heard rumors it's about 4000 cm3. How does it taste? I've no idea, haven't heard much about it.
Fruit B is smaller than Fruit A, maybe about 3300-3500 cm3 in volume, and is it is known to be sweet too. But I can't really describe it, since I haven't actually tasted it nor Fruit A before.
The problem with Fruit A is that it's protected with a very hard shell, inpenetrable by human teeth! I've tried to bite it, and was left with an aching jaw and not much for my effort. If I try to eat it, I may lose my teeth which will make me really sad in the long run!
The large size of Fruit A make me want to ignore this problem of the hard shell. Hey, maybe I'll get used to biting through this hard shell and I won't be that sad. Maybe no teeth is alright? But many other people seem to complain that having no teeth is horrible and really major source of unhappiness!
Now suddenly the gods-to-be said I can choose Fruit B. This complicates matter a bit. Fruit B is a bit smaller, but does not have the shell. In fact, it's only surrounded by a mildly tough membrane! Easily penetrable.
But wait! A legendary monk from the temple descends upon me, and tells me as much as he could about Fruit A. He described it as sweet too. But what kind of sweet? Chocolate sweet? Sugar sweet? Sour sweet? I have no idea. I haven't tasted it or other fruits before, so I don't know which I will like more!
So do I like Fruit B more than Fruit A? I don't know! I haven't even seen it, much less tasted it. I think I may like both the same. After all, all I want is a nice fruit to eat that will sustain me in the long run.
THEN. Suddenly another legendary monk appears and passes me this tool - a fruit-splitting device. It can split the toughest of shells - including that of Fruit A. Suddenly, I can easily get to eat Fruit A without the inpenetrable shell.
So now what do I do? Should I choose Fruit A or Fruit B?
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