I hope my entries made you laugh, tear or encouraged!

Where does the word MUGGING comes from anyways?

Some thoughts came into my mind this week.

I am not sure if studying hard pleases God, but I am sure studying hard by faith pleases God.

I don't feel stress or insecure nowadays because of exams, God's Presence? I am not aiming for First Class Honours(FCH) because I know where I am going. Isn't that exciting? When I hear of how people DESPERATELY or say they are willing to die for FCH, I felt "disgusted". Are we blinded by success? Don't get me wrong, FCH is a good thing BUT NOT the ONLY thing. Why die for it? - *Smackz forehead*.

Life is exciting because it has failures and success, bitterness and sweetness, sadness and happiness. Ultimately, the bible says,"Count it all joy!" - Because it trains your character for your eternity.

Last night I heard my spirit within SHOUTED AT ME real loud! In the middle of like 1am? Somehow I felt another part of me - talent, potential was awaken. First time I felt this way in my life. Somehow, my spirit man awakened to a whole new level.

I had changed quite a lot in NUS, knowing that I can only trust God, I grew up in the spirit! Not blinded by success or following the usual crowd. I felt so great here even though yes, NUS is a pretty stress-up learning environment (We are not learning as much as going through lecture notes. haha.)

Dav
11:19 AM;

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"Lord, the world is so seductive and my flesh is so weak. Precisely my heart is made of flesh that You can carve Your commandments in my heart. Lord, I don't want the world to carve their commandments into my heart, I want Yours." -D.L

Dav
12:57 AM;

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Suddenly, a scenario came into my mind of how one can be so skeptical about God. Vehemently questioning about God and the existence of faith itself.

I thought of this random scenario and random structure. Hopefully you can understand.

1st Scenario:
God is a real person to me. -Why? How you will know?
Because I have faith. -Faith?! Ridiculous! You can't see God at all.
True, I never seen Him before but I felt Him before. -Sorry, I don't have your faith.
How would you know we are breathing air? You never seen it before.
We know air exist because we feel wind, which is moving wind. Same as when God moves, we feel it.

2nd Scenario:
Christianity are for those who need help, those are always thinking in a "airy-fairy" way. Christianity are for for hypocrites. People are added into His Kingdom because they went through a tough time and so chose God, otherwise, why would they choose God?

Same theory as air. Even if you believe air exist, but you still can't see it, you still can choose not to believe in the existence of air. I can throw you to the moon now, and you will realize the importance of air! You will then treasure air even though YOU CANNOT see air(with oxygen)...

Same as how human deals with the awareness of God. Alot of evidence had shown God existed but they just refused to believe in God. Well, wait till they are thrown out to a "moon" then they will realize they needed God to live a total purposeful life.

Why people suffer? First of all, because of our own sins' cause-effect. Secondly, we harmed the earth so much, the earth is crying in pain and thereby natural disasters happened more frequently these days. Thirdly, sometimes God allowed it to make us stronger.

If you know you have to go through a path bumpy and full of stones, think if as this way: The stones are not to make things more difficult for you, they are for you to throw at any goliath you meet along the way. The bumpy paths aren't bad either, when you bump and bump around you tend to slow down and are more aware of any dangers(pit-holes, mud) in front.

Dav
3:44 PM;

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"... the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Corinthians 2:8)

Understand, Satan is a created being. He shares none of the attributes of Almighty God -- not omniscience, omnipresence, nor omnipotence, meaning that he is limited in knowledge and space and power.

When it comes to predicting what God is going to do next, Satan has to rely on what he can figure out, what he remembers from the timeless past when he resided in heaven as a favorite angel, and what he reads in Holy Scripture. Since the Holy Spirit does not enlighten his understanding, Satan sees as the world sees, not with the mind of Christ. Once we understand this, a hundred puzzles fall into place.

The Apostle Paul pointed out that had Satan known what God was up to, he would never have crucified Jesus. One might say that God pulled the wool over the devil's eyes and fooled him. On that first Easter Sunday morning, an imp rushed into the presence of his satanic majesty, interrupting the two-day celebration over the death of Jesus. The demon breathlessly announced that the tomb was empty, the body gone, and the soldiers looked like they had seen a ghost. Satan spewed out his champagne and cursed. He had been had and he knew it. He had played right into God's hands and was defeated.

Sometimes in biblical history, we see that the Lord manipulated Satan, as in the cases of Job and Joseph. Sometimes, God gave him a good comeuppance as at Mount Carmel when Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal in a fire-calling contest. At other times, the Lord used subterfuge to fool His enemy. Christmas is one of those times.

Satan can read. He knew from Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. What he did not know was the timing of the Savior's birth. So, in another of his endless efforts to thwart the purposes of God, Satan pulled in demons from around the world to concentrate on the Holy Land, specifically the region around Bethlehem. That's one reason for the ubiquitous demon-possession in the New Testament. The devils practically outnumbered the citizens. They served as Satan's spies and were charged with keeping an eye out for godly young couples about to have babies.

Satan was lying in wait for the Messiah

The first thing God did was to choose a man and woman not from Bethlehem, but from Nazareth, far to the north. Secondly, He saw to it that the woman's purity and morality would be doubted. The devil can count; he knows it takes nine months to make a baby. He had no way of knowing of Gabriel's visits to Mary and Joseph or of the miraculous conception of this Baby. If he heard at all of this young Nazarene couple, he quickly discounted them, certain that the God he remembered from heaven would never deign to use obvious sinners for so holy a role.

The third thing God did was to arrange to move Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem in time for the birth, but not so as to draw attention to themselves. When Caesar Augustus put out a call for a census of the empire, God had put it in his heart. "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes," as the Bible says in Proverbs 21:1.

Mary and Joseph were among thousands returning to their ancestral homes for the census. Perhaps the roads experienced a primitive form of gridlock. With Bethlehem's inns and available homes filled, the young couple took the only thing offered, a stable. "She brought forth her firstborn son and laid him in a manger, for there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). If the devil's imps were vigilant, they would have dismissed the young family camping out in a barn for good reason.

The God whom Satan remembered from heaven resided in a level of glory unimagined on earth. Satan was unsure of a lot of things, but one thing he knew -- God in heaven would not allow His Son to be born in a barn. Doubtless he had told his demons to check the finest homes for the most illustrious surroundings and outstanding parents. But the Lord fooled him. "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:27). This is a basic lesson of spiritual warfare which historically Satan seems incapable of grasping. To this day, no carnal mind believes it.

When Jesus was born, God prepared a welcoming committee of the lowliest people on the planet -- shepherds -- primarily to reassure the young parents that all was well. Satan had no way of seeing the angels that appeared to these sheepherders that night or hearing their clues on how to identify the Baby. "And this will be a sign unto you: you will find a Baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12). No one noticed or cared when a small company of ragtag shepherds ran breathlessly through the village looking for -- what else? -- a stable.

Later, after Joseph had moved his little family into a house in Bethlehem, a delegation of foreign visitors arrived. These "magi from the east" had created no small stir in Jerusalem as they naively announced their search for the one "born king of the Jews" (Matthew 2). From the gifts they presented, Joseph was able to finance a sudden trip to Egypt made necessary when murderous King Herod sent soldiers on a search-and-destroy mission for the babies of Bethlehem. Satan would have fumed to learn that the objects of his wrath were already out of town, slowly making their way toward Egypt where they would remain until Herod's death. Eventually, when the holy family re-entered the country, they moved to Nazareth where Joseph opened his carpentry shop.

Satan had lost Jesus

Jesus grew up with a normal Jewish childhood in Nazareth. He was not a "Superboy in Smallville," amazing the hometown folks with His miracles and inspired teaching. Had he done that, Satan would have heard the talk about the boy wonder and come calling. The first the devil learned of Jesus' identity was the day the Lord stepped into the waters of the Jordan and waded to John the Baptist. Nudged by the Holy Spirit, John called out, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" And that's how everyone learned that the Messiah was Jesus from Nazareth.

Jesus' baptism was His coming out. The gloves were off. God in heaven was saying, "There He is, devil! Do your worst. We're ready." The game was afoot; the battle was joined. It came to a head one day three years later on a hill outside Jerusalem. For a couple of days, Satan reveled in his victory. Then, on that first Easter Sunday morning, an imp came running in, all out of breath....


- By Joe McKeever

Dav
3:41 PM;

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You would most enjoy a career that allows you to meet new people. You would also be happiest in a career that allows you to be free and flexible, and allows you to be extremely creative. Some careers that would be perfect for you are:

* Stockbroker
* Secretary
* Receptionist
* Director
* Recruitment Consultant
* Politician
* Marketing
* Human Resources Manager
* Religious Minister
* Teacher
* Lawyer
* Advertising
* Consultant
* Financial Adviser
* Financial Planner
* GP
* Physical Therapy
* Occupational Therapy
* Public Relations
* Estate Agent
* Travel Agent
* Restauranteur
* Hotel Manager
* Events Organiser

You are a great leader. You genuinely enjoy being around other people. Your relationships with others are very important to you. You love talking and meeting new people. You are very enthusiastic about work and about all that you do and have in your life. You love being the focus of attention. You enjoy a fast pace. You are very socially oriented. Therefore, you are much happier being with others than you are alone. You crave interaction with others.

You are very spontaneous and often act before you think. You are always quick to answer when you are asked a question, even if you aren't sure of the answer. It is easier for you to improvise as you go along. You enjoy thinking out loud, and are most creative when brainstorming with friends or colleagues. You enjoy being involved in many activities.

You are very easy to read, and often wear your heart on your sleeve. You are never afraid to tell people what you think. You are very empathetic and genuine. You can sometimes be seen as over-emotional or too involved by others. But that is only because you tend to get so involved in the things you do that they become personal. You want to be adored, loved and appreciated. You like to please others and to make sure people are happy.

You trust your gut instincts. You are easily inspired and trust that inspiration. You are very innovative. You analyse things by looking at the big picture. You are concerned about how what you do affects others. You worry about your actions and the future. You tend to use a lot of metaphors and are very descriptive and colourful in your choice of language.

You are very creative, and get bored easily if you don't get to express yourself. You like to learn new things. You don't like the same old routine. You like to leave your options open.

Dav
12:27 PM;

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I had been pondering over the issues of cloning. Before I read the article found here, I thought cloning would be okay.

Based on Wiki, there are basically two types of Adult DNA cloning (a.k.a. cell nuclear replacement) and Therapeutic cloning: (a.k.a. Somatic cell nuclear transfer or research cloning).

Of course, it would sound horrible to you when you hear of DNA cloning. What about Therapeutic cloning? Initially, I thought it was beneficial for mankind.

From:http://www.religioustolerance.org/clo_ther.htm:
This starts with the same procedure as is used in adult DNA cloning. The resultant embryo would be allowed to grow for perhaps 14 days. It's stem cells would then be extracted and encouraged to grow into a piece of human tissue or a complete human organ for transplant. The end result would not be a human being; it would be a replacement organ, or piece of nerve tissue, or quantity of skin. The first successful therapeutic cloning was accomplished in 2001-NOV by Advanced Cell Technology, a biotech company in Worcester, MA.

Isn't that great? As in if you need a kidney or a heart transplant, you can clone your own organ? haha.

But what are the implications involved here? I will not be talking about the science part, I will begin with my understanding of reading the many websites on cloning.

You will need embryos for cloning, of which we will extract the stem cells and leaves the embryo dead(as good as abortion/murder?). Stem cells will then be encouraged to grow into different parts of the body we need. Sounds great?

The tricky part here is, the embryo is dead. So I was thinking aloud, talking to God in my hostel room about the verse in Psalms 139:13-16.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

So I asked God, do you mean conception by sperm only? What is conception anyways? So I concluded that the bible did NOT say whether conception is by sperm or by technology, I would agree conception means... well.. conception. Who cares how was it conceived.

I further look up the Strong's Concordance and looked up on the word "to know". We all read of the verse saying God knew us before we have a form(Embryo, early stages of pregnancy). Does God knows us when we are still an embryo? Answer is "yes".

Strong's H3045 - yada "to know"

c) to perceive and see, find out and discern

d) to discriminate, distinguish

to know by experience

to recognise, admit, acknowledge, confess

2) to know, be acquainted with

It means God experienced us when we are "inside" the embryo.

But.. would God be so silly? Would God plan out a life, mark this person's destiny; knowing that this embryo was actually artificially conceived and not by natural conception? It doesn't involves sex or sperm right?

So I asked if I am God Himself, would I do that? I said NO but God said YES. Why? this violates His own word! God is the MASTER of ALL sciences, if He says, LIFE begun at conception, so be it. Yes?

Then, it led to the next revelation, the tower of Babel. One article noted that cloning is like the event of the tower of Babel. Is this cloning research like the research of building the tower of Babel? Maybe? Science always ask, "CAN WE?" instead of "SHOULD WE". Science is good but science is too young to understand God at this current moment.

Science exceeds human limitations but deficits on divine wisdom.

Now, to the question about Tower of Babel. I asked God why would He confused them and scattered them to the face of the earth? God's answer was,"I love them".

God being God knew if humans continue to be one of MIND, anything will be possible.

Can I suggest that Nuclear weapons, cloning, Internet were already on the minds of these people during the Tower of Babel incident. It is like the ENTIRE human race thinking of how to create an atomic bomb or cloning a person. Isn't that scary? Human would had spiraled into their own destruction earlier. Well before Jesus can come as the second Adam. Yes? haha.

Therefore, God scattered them, this slowed their technological advances SIGNIFICANTLY, when did the Internet came about? When did weapons of mass destruction came about? It could have happened in the Before Christ(BC) ages. Men could have annihilated one another before you and I were even born. haha!

Like I said, imagine the entire human race innovate one idea. Perhaps it may take 2000 years lesser to have what we have now.

God is Sovereign, God is good. Thankfully, He scattered them when they tried building the Tower of Babel.

It was interesting reasoning with God and try to think in His perspective.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. Isa 55:9

Many shows talks on the ethical issues of cloning. One of which I enjoyed was "The Island".

Dav
6:50 PM;

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Its monday! Though I was pretty concerned about my maths modules in UNI especially this semester, I decided to do my best for Math. I always say the same thing whenever I encounter maths: "I don't enjoy maths but I will try, I do not enjoy maths not because I am lazy in the present but because of my past laziness and thus had a very weak foundation." Last night, I took awhile to sleep thinking about maths, I even thought of re-looking secondary 1 to 4 maths for O levels. HAha, the thing I am glad is that I don't really have a big problem with other modules, especially programming and technical networking skills. Why? Because I had a solid foundation! I started being hardworking in ITE! haha!

My lessons from 12-4pm every monday. I woke up at 8am today to start my day by reading my bible. Decided to read New American Standard Bible since Ronald told me its the closest to NKJV version.


Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Romans 8:26
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

Dav
9:20 AM;

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Feeling real excited to study in my first year in NUS! The orientation games were really very fun and creative.

Thank God for all these:
Bought a Fujitsu laptop for Uni studies.
Hostel fees got subsidized by my aunts and uncle.
Tuition fees is not a worry for me because of a NUS scholarship.
Modules that I wanted to take this semester, I gotten it.


The Greatest Verse
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"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn. 3:16).

God - The greatest lover
So loved - The greatest degree
The world - The greatest number
That He gave - The greatest act
His only begotten Son - The greatest gift
That whosoever - The greatest invitation
Believeth - The greatest simplicity
In Him - The greatest person
Should not perish - The greatest deliverance
But - The greatest difference
Have - The greatest certainty
Everlasting life - The greatest possession

- author unknown

Dav
8:01 PM;

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Hidden from view. Put it here first.
Working towards my dreams
Grades in NYP: 29 DISTS, 13 A, 1 B+, 1 C+

Through the grace of God
NUS: Tuition fees covered.
NYP: Diploma With Merit
NYP: Director's List 2008/2009 Sem 1&2
NYP: Top Student for FY 07/08,09/10
NYP: Lee Kuan Yew STEP Scholarship to Polytechnic
ITE East Macpherson 2001-2003:
ITE Top Medallist 2003 - Awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal 2003
ITE Top Graduate 2003
ITE Course Medallist 2003
ITE East Top Achievement Award 2003
NITEC in Info-Communications Technology(Distinctions in all modules)
Obtained Certificate Of Merit
ITE EAGLE’s Award - Edusave Awards for Achievement, Good Leadership and Service
Lee Kuan Yew Model Student/Trainee Award 2003
Rotary-ITE Excellence Award – ITE Top Student for July 2002
Leadership and Adventure Award 2003 (OBS Classic 21 Day)
Awarded ITE Alumni’s commendation on Project (ASOWPAN) - Team Leader
Project commendation for ITE East Outstanding Project (ASOWPAN) - Team Leader
North East CDC Mayor’s innoBiz Award Open Category Top 6 (ASOWPAN) - Team Leader
Lee Kuan Yew Technology Award 2003 Top 8 in ITE East (ASOWPAN) - Team Leader
ISO Webpage Design Team Leader, Consolation prize
S21 Webpage Design Team Leader, Consolation Prize
Secondary:
1st in English Literature in 1997, Hongkah Secondary
2nd in public speaking competition in 1997, Hongkah Secondary