Bowlnoodlers

updates

2008-09-19T00:11:00.001+08:00

Well i haven have much time to post lately but oso because i was lazy to post. Haha guess it happens... Anyway everytime i wanna post something my brain goes blank, it's not like the writer's block kinda blank but a dunno where to start kinda blank. I guess it's cos haven post for long time so got a lot of things wanna say but dunno where to and how to say it.

So i'm gonna share wat's on mind, well Lucien (Lubin's brother) has been studying the bible and is progressing quite well and i'm looking forward to it! it's definitely been encouraging studying the bible with him, helps refresh my faith and convictions. Oso help me revise how to study bible wif people. Haha super rusty... But it has also helped me in many other areas as well. Like last sunday when we watched Passion of Christ together, my heart haven be soften for a long time and it was a good reminder. I cried a bucket load and i am proud of it. I dun think i can watch the Passion wifou t crying.... Anyway the most important i learned thru the bible study is about God's forgiveness! The one thing tat can heal the world and wat we all need.

So all said and done please go find someone u can study the bible with, better still come to the teens we'll find someone u can study the bible with! Jokes aside i really think this is the best way for us to remember wat it is like to be a Christian, a Christ imitator. To God be the Glory!

Importance of our quiet times

2008-08-07T11:15:00.002+08:00

I guess we know the importance of our QT, to be close to God, to help our lives and etc... I think the importance of God's word is not just for us to our QT. It's like why we study, so that we can use it for our work next time. So that we have a skill in life.

In order to do God's work we need to read God's words it's as simple as that. They go hand in hand, you can't say that you are doing God's work when it contradicts the bible. Similarly you can't do God's work if you don't know what He wants you to do. At the end of the day we all belongs to God and we need to do what God wants us to do. We are God's fellow workers how can we not do our parts?

1 Corinthians 3: 5-16,

5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"^[a]; 20and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."^[b] 21So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas^[c] or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

We all belong to God, so we need to do what God wants us to do. Have you done your QT? Are you prepared to do God's work today? Remember in the book of James it says faith without works is dead! Work without God's word is meaningless! So the meaning and importance of our works lies in our QT. So lets be eager about our QT so that we can go out there to reach out to people. We're God's field, God's building.

Love
David

1 Corinthians 12:12-26

2008-07-21T15:40:00.003+08:00

Hi guys i have been reading this passage quite alot to glean more insights from it. I have also shared this passage with band 2. I think we can learn alot from this passage as well and the best part about this passage is tat is very simple and clear.

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by^[c] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

This passage mainly talks about being unity. There are many aspect to it, from knowing our roles to doing our best. Also on how we should treat each other.
What are the differences in this small group? How are we accommodating each other?
Are there things that needs to be dealt with yet we're not dealing with it???
Hope all of us can meditate on this passage and think about what you can and are contributing to this small group.

Love
David

My prayers

2008-07-17T00:23:00.002+08:00

Hey everyone,
Sorry i haven't been posting, but here's one of my prayers i took out of my prayer journal to share with u guys. (least it's a post).

"Dear God,
Thank you for today, for life, for friends.
I know that today alone, i've sinned so much, especially due to situations in school.
Lord, give me the discipline, sef-awareness and desire to always want to do good in your eyes. I pray that you help me to always have it clear in my eyes, the difference in your standards, to that of the world.
I know for sure, that you put many different situations in my life for a reason.
From people around me smoking and gossiping, to the worries about life, to my feelings and matters of the heart.
I just pray that God, you be with me through all of these struggles and that i will always be, first and foremost, a disciple.
God, give me the strength in leading my household, in setting a positive example for my mom, sister and granny. Lord, i pray too, that you guide my mom & granny's hearts, showing them the way to salvation once more.
Lord, that is al i have time for right now,
I love you,
and in Jesus' name i pray,
AMEN!"

If there's one sermon i remember most vividly, it would have to be the one which spoke of being a prayer warrior and presenting my troubles and woes in life first, in prayer and petition.
Also, that i should not only pray in times of trouble, but in joyous times too!
To praise, worship, give thanks and so many other things.
To Shape my life around prayer.

Peace,
ej.

Sister appreciation Nite

2008-07-09T14:52:00.001+08:00

A video done by Teck for the Sister appreciation Nite!
You can find it at the teens blog oso

ROCK IT

Quiet Time

2008-06-13T10:50:00.002+08:00

I am doing my QT on ACTS as part of my revision for Passage to Patmos.

In Acts 7:1-53

It's quite a long passage that share briefly about the histories of the Israel from Abraham to about Moses time where they eventually inherited the land, in the latter part of the passage this was what Stephen told the Pharisees just before he was stoned.

Acts 7: 51-53

51"You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."

It definitely takes alot of courage to say that and i respect Stephen for that, the heart to please God more than Man. And you know that Stephen said these not because he is self-righteous or hated the Pharisees but he said it just before they stoned him. Just before he died he prayed 'Father please forgive them for they don't know what they 're doing'. He loved his enemy more than himself, someone who wants to murder him and stone him!!!

I must admit i don't have this kinda love, i'm struggling to just be loving every single day. There are more angry thoughts and complains than thoughts of sacrifice and love. I really wanna do something about this, to be more positive and loving. To think more about God than my complains! So my motto is complain less!!! please keep me accountable thanks.
Have a great day!

Love
David

Some random thoughts

2008-05-29T10:46:00.004+08:00

After reading what EJ wrote about self-righteousness, I think we can all learn to be humble and not judge others. That is not exactly an easy thing to do but we got to love others. So i just want to encourage all of us to love.

Love the poor, the needy, is easier than to love someone that might have offended you or someone you don't know. These are the people where i find it easiest to be judgmental and self-righteous to. For example the person who cut queue when boarding the bus or the train, or the person who kinda shoved you when boarding a crowded bus. These are the people that really gets on my nerves! (An opportunity to work on my patience) Anyway thanks for sharing your QT EJ. Remember to look at ourselves before we judge others.

On another note, i think this blog can be more personal, yes we should share out QT but i think it's ok to include our response and feelings as well. i hope this blog can be abit like the FREEDOM WRITER 'journal' as well. Write what you want us to read, knowing that there's is nothing to hide and no one will judge you when we read this blog. Write something we want to share and not boast. Something vulnerable and sincere. Well these are just some thoughts, but i must qualify you should not share all your sins on this blog so as not to stumble others :-p Thanks for all your contributions i hope there will be more to come.

Love
David

EJ: Quiet-Time 3

2008-05-27T23:49:00.002+08:00

Hey all, here's today's QT.

Today, i continued my reading from Luke.

Luke 18:9-14

" To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that i am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all i get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Reading this up, i just feel impacted by the fact that i am like the Pharisee. Many a times, i fail to see the plank in my own eye, but the speck in others'. Self-righteousness is definitely a struggle at times. God's standard, once again, i have yet to live up to.

I shall work harder, HaRdEr, HARDER! =). pls be prayerful all.

Humble myself in the sight of the LORD.

Humbled,

E.J.

EJ: Quiet-Time 2

2008-05-27T01:44:00.002+08:00

Hello all. Here's today's QT.

Sitting on the train today, i read up on Luke.

Luke 16: 14-15

- "The pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.""

This goes somewhat in line with my previous QT post.

I got really impacted and it really made me think when it mentions how the contrast between the world and the kingdom is SO different. "God knows your hearts". Whoa, no escaping for me. haha. But anyhows, it really made me think about how my standards are set so far off track from God's standards. REPENT ej, REPENT.=).

Peace, E.J.

My turn to contribute

2008-05-26T10:39:00.004+08:00

Hi guys Sorry i haven post my QT yet, i'm juz glad that we got this blog going. i think this will be a good reminder for us to be spiritual when we visit this blog. this is not my QT but i juz wanna share something regarding to our group.

In Daniel 1:8-17 (i included the passage below so that u dun have to turn to ur bible to read it)

8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."

11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

Well some of us in the small group are fasting for our own spirituality, and i juz want to remind us that when we fast, we need to remember to honor God, to do your best and God will do the rest. As i think back the past 2 weeks when i started this fast i remembered when i was really tempted and kept forgetting at first that i was fasting.
It soon became a habit and i thought less and less about the fast. I was convicted when i think about this because even when i fast i can forget about it, unless we constantly remind ourselves and meditate on God's word our fast will slowly lose it's meaning.
So i juz wanna encourage u who r fasting or doing whatever u r doing to remember and honor God. God is watching us with a smile when He knows we're fighting to be close to Him!
Have a good day!

Love
David

EJ: Quiet-Time

2008-05-23T00:54:00.002+08:00

All right, finally i post my quiet-time.

Today, i decided to pick up the book "every young man's battle", since i haven't touched it since Danny gave it to me a long while back. Reading 2 chapters of the book, i find that I am so unworthy of god's love, god's grace. I am stained with sin that even i may not know about so directly. As i compare my standard of sin to God's, in the bible, i see that i am merely getting by, that i am not worthy by any account of his love.

In Ephesians 5:3, it reads "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity".

Though in this particular verse it is specifically talking about sexual sins, when i look at it from a more general perspective, i see that his verse not only applies to sexual immorality, but to any other sin; since all sins are equivalent to one another.

I may be falling short of God's grace, God's expectations for me as a disciple, but i know i must strive on.

My prayer for the day was taken from Psalms 51:1, 12-13. It reads:

"Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions...

Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit,

to sustain me.

Then i will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will turn back to you."

Peace, E.J.

Apology

2008-05-22T01:00:00.003+08:00

Whoops, sorry guys for the mass post wipe. In my haste I forgot to consult you guys first.
=\

Fred.

No worries juz dun do it again :-)

David

Manfred: Quiet-Time

2008-05-22T00:47:00.002+08:00

James has recently been one of my few favorite books in the Bible, and I decided to actually start examining it.

As I read through the first part of Chapter One in James, verses 6 through 8 stick out in particular.

"6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

As I read through this couple of verses I am reminded of a lesson someone once preached a few months back. About expecting from God, not hoping.

Personally it's really hard to expect from God. I mean, he's God! He provided us with everything that is around us now. He can simply just blink his eyes, and all that we have is gone in a second. Such awesome power! I'm reminded of a quote "A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything from you".

Let's us be grateful for what we have today. Don't take it for granted, cause who knows, the very next second, it might be gone from your life.

Manfred.