Mistakes

Now that I am done undergrad, it feels quite strange. It is good to be done, but it hasn't hit me yet the fact that I am DONE. It will take some time for emotions to kick in, but definitely there is a mix of emotions being sensed as my undergrad period ends. Though I was not feeling anything in particular when I finished my last exam. But when I walk on campus now, it is strange.

Anyways, some people asked me about the things I have learned during these years. There are so many, and I need more time to process my thoughts. But I have in mind mistakes that I made. There aren't regrets though since God has allowed my mistakes, I know there is a reason.

Every time I wake up, I am aware of how weak I am, and that I am so prompt to make mistakes. But it is only by the grace of God that despite these mistakes, He still do good things through me. It is because of His mercy that I am not consumed by His wrath.

So here are a few mistakes I made:

• Did not build relationships with classmates
• Rarely ate with housemates
• Felt frustration when I see a problem in the fellowship
• Too prideful to ask for help
• Isolated myself in times of struggle
• Too busy to take care of the people who needed me the most
• Failed to integrate in Christian communities in some work terms
• Too scared to share the gospel to the people around me
• Not much friends who are non-believers
• Relied on myself when I should have surrender to God
• Put duty over heart
• Passive in times when I need to speak up or rebuke

There are many more for sure, but these are the main ones.

True Greatness

About 1.5 years ago, I wrote an article entitled "True Greatness" for the CCF Fall 2008 Insight newsletter (page 12). I attempted (with God's grace) to express what I understand about the paradox of what God calls "great" in contrast to the world's views. I briefly extrapolated to include what God considers as truly great men and truly beautiful women.

Recently, a sister shared this link from a blog post that talks about the true beauty of a woman. Pretty intense.

God is too intense ("geng" in canto), and His calling and standards are details of the rich and abundant life that God has intended for us to live, which is truly beautiful. And with this beauty, Christ is exalted, glorifying our Father in heaven.

RAWR

Many people like to put "RAWR" or some similar variations in their g-chat display name during exam times... I really don't understand what it means :P.. but I assume it is an expression of stress and frustrations that is created by the roughness of exams.

I like acronyms :D, so let's play:

Rejoice

Always

With

Robustness

Philippians 4 is such a great encouragement about rejoicing always and in all circumstances as the peace that comes from God will guard our minds and hearts in Christ Jesus. For sure times can get tough, but it is God's will for us to (1 Thess. 5:16-18) to rejoice always. As we grow closer to God it is undoubtedly that trials and challenges will come, but it is a pure joy (James 1:2).

We have to remember who we are, our identity in Christ. We were once objects of wrath (Eph. 2) and there are so many reasons why we deserve the wrath of God. But God is His mercy and grace has given us forgiveness, reconciliation, adoption to become His children, and daily He gives us more and more. Even the current suffering that we have can be considered grace, because God promises that He works for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28).

Some people might not know the word "robustness". It is an engineering term after all! It means to keep constant and strong despite the external disturbance. So, we are to rejoice always despite the external circumstances affecting us.

To rejoice all the time is challenging, and it can only be done by the grace and providence from our Lord. There is victory in Christ, so let's rejoice in all circumstances.

Pillar of support

I enjoy watching the anime Prince of Tennis. It is quite entertaining, and it is a living proof of how the physics I learned in class doesn't apply at all. But yeah, there is a phrase that I am attached with from this series, and I remembered including it (with proper reference) in a serious email that I wrote about CCF:

"Become a pillar of support..."

Basically, the about-to-leave captain says this to the freshman to encourage and challenge him to become an integral part of the tennis team.

As a about-to-leave leader, I feel very compelled to say that same phrase especially to the younger members of CCF. If you consider CCF as your family in Waterloo, I challenge you to become an integral member of this family. To generalize, become an integral member of your local Christian community.

Don't be just a bystander or someone who just attends, but be someone who gets involved, who actively engages, who gets to know other members of the family. Exercise the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given you in the place that God has placed you in to manifest more and more the new life in Christ Jesus.

It is very rewarding to actively partake in a community because we learn how to love, we are encouraged and challenged, we learned to be humble and vulnerable through the invaluable relationships we formed. God can use this community to mold us and make us realize the potential and the privilege we have to co-partner in His Kingdom. All for the praise and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Become CCF's pillar of support.

(this video is automatically time-stamped at 4:15m)

Words of Hope

I know that it is exam time, and usually it is a challenging period. But looking to what life can offer in the future, it might not be as challenging as it seems... but nevertheless, I just want to share these encouraging words that I found from an anonymous source. Persevere with joy!

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." - Nehemiah 8:10

May God make your year a happy one!

Not by shielding your from all sorrows and pain,

But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;

Not by making your path easy,

But by making you sturdy to travel any path;

Not by taking hardships from you,

But by taking fear from your heart;

Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,

But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;

Not by making your life always pleasant,

But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,

And by making you anxious to be there to help.

God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.

Anonymous

Righteousness through Faith

In my manga reading, I came across with a concept about the ancient Egyptian religion, which is about a balance that weights your heart against a feather (after you die). If your heart is heavier than a feather, then you are guilty and you will be punished. But if the weights are equal then you will be fine and proven to be righteous. There is probably more into this, but that is not the point of this post.

Many times I struggle with the guilty conscience from sin, and that can hinder from coming close to God. But then I am reminded that Jesus Christ already finished His work and my sins are already forgiven. It's craziness. Amazing.

"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we maybe serve the living God!" - Hebrews 9:14

Without any doubt, we are all sinners (Rom. 3:23), but for those who are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation (Rom. 8:1). Because when God sees us, He sees our heart being cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and we are forgiven and righteousness is imputed to us through faith in Jesus.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from the first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'" - Romans 1:16-17

Yeah, it is just so amazing that God's grace is so abundant, and that through faith in Christ we are forgiven and justified, not by our actions so that no one can boast.

Investment

5 years of Waterloo has taught me soooooooo much.... like being numb to any pain inflicted by the department of Electrical Engineering =P

One of the greatest lessons I learned is to invest in people. I have been graced by God to be part of this wonderful family in CCF. And it has been a privilege to serve in many leadership roles which has challenged me to depend on God more and more. Due to the nature of CCF, there are many meetings, logistics, emails back-and-forth involved in serving... and they can so distract me from seeing the main purpose of leadership. I believe that it is about people. Christian leadership is to influence people to move towards the God-ward direction. It is all about investing in people's lives. To encourage, support, challenge, rebuke, teach, guide, train, mentor the people who God has entrusted you with. One big reason is because Christianity is about faith expressing itself through love (Gal. 5:6), and this love is expressed and refined through relationship with people.

As leaders, we are to serve willingly as shepherds for the flock entrusted to us (1 Peter 5:2). I personally like to arrange to meet up with different people every week for a meal or coffee to chat and share how God has been working in our lives. Living at the CCF house (westcourt) gives me many opportunities to do that.

One key factor is to be intentional. It is so easy to get distracted, busy, or complacent with superficial conversations. It is important to have the intention to engage in edifying conversations.

After 5 years, an extra note of joy is to see how God has been actively working in the lives of the people who God has entrusted you with. You might not see fruits or results right away, but that's ok as God is who makes the seed grow. All the glory and praise is for God. It is really extra grace that we are vessels to be used by God to impact other people's lives. When you see that a person is bearing fruits from the Spirit and gaining more mature in Christ Jesus, it is a real joy.

Be intentional and mindful in your investment.

Contemplation

Sometimes when I do my devotional or prayer time, there are many thoughts and distractions that hinder me from focusing on God. This could be exams, anxieties, work that I need to do, life struggles, etc.

One "exercise" I like to do is contemplation. This is similar to my previous post about prayer-streaming, which is to have a constant awareness of God in your daily life. For me, to contemplate can be as simple as just staring at the skies and being marveled at God's creation, or taking a walk in the park and meditate on how much God has blessed you, or stargazing and thinking about Psalm 8, or closing your eyes and listening to a worship song. The key is to make yourself decreased, and focus on the awesomeness of who God is by experiencing Him through His work on creation and/or in yourself.

It is about bringing God in the center of all your thoughts. The struggles and distractions might not disappear, but God is in charge, and when you saturate yourself with His word and experience Him through prayer... all the external circumstances won't matter. Because God is captivating your heart in every devotional time.

Devotional time is not just about reading/studying a bible passage or praying, but to really set apart a time for God, and to experience Him, deepening your relationship with Him, and synchronizing your heart with His.

Prayer-streaming

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

What it means to pray continually? Is it literally meaning praying 24/7? Is that even possible? Perhaps this can be interpreted in praying very often. Personally, I think this also means to be constantly aware of God's presence in every second of your life. We might not be able to always think about God. But even when we don't consciously make an effort to think about Him, we can still be sensitive to what He is trying to show us throughout the day. Whenever we have time to think throughout the day, like commuting to work, taking a break, walking, etc, we can always talk to God. I remembered a brother sharing about talking to God in a g-chat window, we can always leave the channel opened to talk to Him so that we invite Him to every part of our daily life.

I think that prayer is not just about setting a specific time to talk to God, but a bonding time when we can share and bond closer to God, and He will also speak and show things that we normally wouldn't be able to see.

Prayer-streaming, a constant exercise of being aware that God is with you, and that He is showing you little blessing throughout the day :) and that He desires your attention as a Father. This will make even the most routine and simple days to be so delightful, because God is with you.