For the past few weeks, I have been thinkin abt these 3 questions which have been given to me during my last cg meetin.

1) Since coming to know God, what are some of te things or areas that you want to give thanks to God for?

Ans: I have so many things I wanna gif thanks for. Firstly I wanna thank God for giving me an inner peace and freeing me from sins, angony and hatred (which I cannot seem to let go in the past). God gave me strength to forgive my sister and to learn to put my pride down and forgive her. Our 1 year cold war finally came to an end. There are still ups and downs in our relationship, but at least we are talkin and I no longer have feelings of resentment and jealousy towards her. God has taught me and given me the strength to love the unlovable and not to love myself only. For this I am thankful and have found new joy in my life. Another thing is forgiveness. I used to be a very hateful person who never forgives ppl who has harmed me or angered me. I was very touched by God's unconditional love and his forgiveness for my sins. The first thing was to let go of my hatred and forgive these ppl. The next thing I know I have to do (which I have not done) is to contact them again and tell them that I have forgiven them. Many of my relationships with ppl ended quite suddenly and in hatred. Have not found the courage to call/email/msg them yet... I really like this verse: In the same way, let your light shine b4 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (matt5:16)
The other verse which God spoke to me when I found myself stuggling with my sinful nature is: Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm23:6) These are some of my fav verses, very meaningful and really gave me the strength.

The other thing which I really truly thank God for is my parents. I prayed for God to soften my parents heart, esp my dad because they were v resentful towards Christianity. Though my parents didn't really object wen i told them I have accepted Christ into my life, they were not happy either. They kept sayin that I was being rash and illogical, kept tryin to persuade me to think it thru. Though there were times whereby I question and doubt God, there was also an inner part of me that ll tell me to have faith and trust in God and tt He is real. Thus, I went for water baptism because I know (without a doubt) that I want Him in my life and I believe that He is the only God who saves us from our sin and I want to be a tue follower of Christ. I want my sinful self dead and proclaim to the world that I ve been re-born into a new life with Jesus Christ. When I told my mum abt my decision to go for water baptism, she was rather against it. She said I shd think things thru and that I am being rash and irrational. She also felt that this is too fast, because I am a new believer, only 2 months old. My godparents who are also christian were initally not v supportive of my decision and kept trying to persuade me not to go. But I held onto my faith and trust in God and pray. I pray that they ll understand and that my parents ll support my decision. I really wanted my mum to come my witness this joyous moment and to share my joy. Initally I asked her, she rejected me outright, without giving much thought to it. Den on 15/2/2006, she suddenly said she wanted to come. I was like hallelujah, praise the Lord. Finally that day came (sunday, 19/20, my mum, godma and my chin teacher came to support me and share this wonderful moment with me. I was so happy, excited, nervous and scared.

When I came out of the water, I felt v calm, peaceful and awed. It was a simple ceremony but the feelings I felt after I came out of the pool was ...... simply amazed. When I came out of the water, my godma placed a necklace around my neck. It was a cross. A v elegant cross with a diamond on it. This wasn't the only surprise, the most amazing thing was that my dad made it for me and my mum bought the necklace while my godparents paid for the pendant. Hallelujah... God answered my prayer. This gift shows that they support me, share my joy and that they r happy for me too. The most surrpising part is my dad. Though my dad didn't come, but i could feel his presence, love and support for my decision. God has truly soften my parents' heart. They used to be so against it, but now they are neutral. ll continue to pray for them and really hope that they ll come to know God to.

Opps, think I got carried away.. haha... another area which I wanna thank God for is my vulgarities. Before I accepted Christ into my life, I had a super foul temper and ll always curse and swear. Think ppl who know me now l find this hard to believe. But.. yar... I had prob controlling my temper and ll even curse and swear at my parents and godparents (ppl who truly love and care for me). It has been two months since I last curse and swear. This may sound unbelievable, but if u tok to my mum, (haha) she ll ve lots to complain and whine abt. Its not tt I didn't face much prob or disputes during these past two months, in fact, I encountered many probs within my family, esp with my sister. However, God spoke to me thru the sermons and His word and from His word, I gained strength and wisdom. Whenever I am down, I pray and God gave me to strength to face these probs. At the same time, God has been very kind by giving me a family of bros and sisters whom I can turn to too.

Another thing which I truly wanna thank God for is for giving me meaning and purpose to my life. Now my purpose is to serve God and to share His word with ppl. So my purpose is to be a light and a testimony, so that ppl will praise my Father in heaven. Really enjoy sharing with ppl, it brings me great joy to share my faith and happiness, especially what God has done in my life to ppl. Cause God is truly a gracious God who has blessed me so much, and really hope that more ppl will be able to experience Him. He has givin me inner peace, strength and so much goodness and kindness in my life... (oh no... i digress again.. haha) In the past, I felt that life was meaningless and unfulfiling. Had always felt that life involve nothin but study and fun. Couldn't find my purpose in life and for my existence here. Although I m not v sure God's plans for me, but I know tt he has great plans for me and tt I can place my faith n trust in Him. While Man will fail me, God ll never abandon me. Now, I live to serve Him (ministry and fellowship). Living a life with God is truly different and amazing.

Haha... still ve 2 more questions I have been thinkin abt, but I ll leave them for next time.. now gotta go mug liao :)

But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he mediates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaves does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1:2-3)

 

Signing off at 2:07 PM