Ah, to be a child again

Child-like innocence is trusting God with all our heart, not our head. It's about loving Him with all our might, not our minds. There are some things which we may never know til we meet Him again, but it shouldnt affect our relationship with Him.

There are things I will never know about my parents, but I still love them anyway. Am I going to stop being their child just because I don't understand something about them? Are we going to stop being God's children when we're confused and don't understand Him?

We need to hold on to God no matter what, trusting that He is our loving Father. We need to have the pure heart of a child again...

FITNESS FIRST

Coming to Jesus is something like joining a high-tech gym. All you need to be fit is right inside there, ready to be used. But joining a gym won't make you fit, unless you actually sweat it out in exercise! In the same way, accepting Christ wont make your Christian testimony automatically shine out in a dark world. That takes daily commitment and trust in God. Righteousness needs to be built up day by day....

Seek out God every day through prayer, fellowship, and His Word, and you'll become a truly fit Christian.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn. Psalm 37: 5-7

Lord, I don't want to be useless to You. Make me fit for Your kingdom.

RESPECT

Two paths lead to respect, and the one you choose determines your future - so choose carefully.

The first path comes most naturally. You watch your back, strike before you're struck, and butter up the right people until you've clawed your way to the top.

What's the second path? Follow the principles laid down by the Lord. This is not the easy way. It's not a shortcut, and at times it doesn't even seem to work. But it will soon give you self-respect - the first step on the path to success.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all who do His commandments -Psalm 111:10

Father, help me choose wisely when I come to life's crossroads. Give me wisdom to choose the Lamb's path, not the tiger's. Help me be someone who is respected for the way I live, not for the damage I can do.

Break the Dawn

Everyday God paints a beautiful picture just for you. Not once, but twice a day. The majestic sunrise and sunset is but a shadow of the glory of God's majesty. We can't see it on earth right now, but we know we will when we meet Him in heaven again. If we open our eyes to the little ways in which He shows His love to us, we would be encouraged.

Forum I

The speakers: Sydney, Bernice, Shannon.
Moderator: Hosanna
Topic: Peer Pressure.A light moment The audience


Another segment of the audience.

Missing Mercury

Have you heard of Missing Mercury? It's the hottest new band to hit town!

Here they are performing their hit song, "Hit The Road" at their first gig.

Here they are again at the LIFE rally in PJ. This is Sean, the frontman.

Darren, singer and guitarist.Yaw/Aubry, the drummer.Justin "Pino" the bassist.Will try to upload some of their music for your listening pleasure soon. Stay tuned!

Featuring: LIFE

As the first part of this series, I would like to feature the LIFErs on our Transit Blog. For the benefit of those not in the know, LIFE is the younger coutnerpart of Transit, for teens or semi-teens aged around 13-19. They are a crazy bunch.

Let's have a peek at what they do during the LIFE cell:
The guy in the green shirt is Justin Ooi, the current President of LIFE. Don't ask me what he's doing. This is Tammy, the 'baby' of LIFE. She just turned 13 last week. Nope, I dont know what she's wearing either.

This is Lydia and Mandy. Two dancers.

And im still clueless what they are doing.

I dont know what LIFE cell does, but it looks like a bunch of fun.

LIFE meets every Friday 3pm for Youth Church and 8pm for LIFE Cell. Go ask them what they do! :)

Be That Girl 07

Here are some really late photos from an event we attended way back on March 28.

"Be That Girl" was a unique girl-only event which aimed to teach girls the confidence, healthy self-respect and image-enhancement skills found in the security that comes from Christ.

Dancers from LIFE took part in this event, showcasing their God-given talents. Here they are praying before the event.

Some last minute practicing...And it was their turn to appear on stage... All the praying and practising finally paid off.The audience was suitably impressed. Besides dances, there was also a fashion show... quite cool
Some of our friends in Grace Klang were featured in the show, including the irrepressable Sam Oh.Here's the final lineup of all the models.And here are the Grace Klang models with our very own LIFE dancers.

Aubry and Sidney posing with Amelia, one of the organisers of the event. She was also the organiser for Starmaker, check our archives to find out what that song-writing competition/musical was all about.
We dance for joy because our Life is in Jesus!

FAMILY

Father and sons: all different face

Twins who are non-identical. Yup, totally different personalities too.

Sisters who look like twins... well, sort of.

Sisters who look like sisters ( i mean, they sort of do, dont they?)
Sisters who dont look like sisters. Actually got a bit of resemblence... the nose and mouth is similar

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to
Tamera Jayne Nagaratnam (Tammy) 8 April turned 13
Kevin Tan 10 April turned 20?
Lydia Lamit 16 April? turned 19?
Naomi 18 April? turned 19?
Why did they look at the other side???

Hosanna's Housewarming and Birthday "party"

Here's some long overdue photos... on April Fool's day, Hosanna had a housewarming party to dedicate her new house (it's an apartment actually) in PJ. Transiters turned out in full force! It got off to a false start, with the fierce guards almost not allowing the Transiters in. Yup, security nowadays is strict. But somehow they made it.

It's a miracle in fact how Hosanna got the house. Ask her for her testimony on that. We thank the Lord for His blessings and for providing for us. He is good to us all indeed!

Another wonderful year to thank God for (Hosanna shall not reveal her age... but you can guess by the amount of candles)

Here's the Transiters playing Taboo. This game brought out a never seen before side in some of us. Especially Aubry Chong Yuan Yaw. The classic line of the day has to go to his fantastic description of a goat...

Aubry: uh... ah... it's .. the opposite of a cow

and most fantastically, someone even understood it!

Sean: goat!

Wow! pengsan.

Everyone 'conteng'ed the board, inspired by the April Fool's Day mood. By the way, did anyone get fooled?

Meanwhile, some guys busied themselves folding paper planes. Dont tell anyone... they threw it down from the 11th floor balcony! Talk about going all out for the sake of research... kids, dont do this at home.

Hosanna thanks all who came. A house is not a home without people and the life they bring. Laughter adds character to four walls more than furniture can.

Thank you for the printer! If came in handy!

Hi

Dear all,

Sorry for the long absence in posting. I also apologize for the problems with the page layout... i've been having some difficulty with that.

Anyway, the Transit blog is not on hiatus, in case you were wondering. We're still here and we'll be posting more great stuff.

Do drop by! Welcome to all newcomers, visitors, and curious lurkers. To the chatbox regulars and commenters, you guys rock! You make this place come alive. Without your participation, this place is just dead. Thanks again and keep up the great job!

To other out of town transiters and those who are out of contact, do drop us a note to let us know what you're up to, how you are, prayer requests, etc. (Yes, David Chung and Edmund, we're referring to you...) Keep checking back for updates.

Lastly, please feel free to give your comments, suggestions, grouses, etc... it is a great source of inspiration. Your feedback is important to us.

Have a great week ahead, may the peace of Jesus be with you always!

with a smile,
Hosanna.

SUFFERING IS TEMPORARY BUT LOVE ENDURES FOREVER

Jesus' love has never failed me, and it will not fail you either! Every time I sank lower than I thought I could sink, I cried out to Him. I know that even during the times He kept silent, He was there. God's timing is perfect and His ways are not our ways.

What we think is the solution may not be part of His plan. But God is faithful even when I am not. God forgave me even when I failed Him. He loved me even when I didnt trust Him. And He guided me even when I turned away from Him.

God took me through it all. His love covers a multitude of sins.

His love for me is greater than anything, He will never let me go. And as long as I love Him more than anything, noone shall have the power to hurt me more than God can love me.

Friends, be encouraged. God loves us, no suffering in this world can take that away from us. Do not let anything rob you of your joy in God! Be it suffering, bitterness, unfairness, anger, jealousy, pride, or self-pity.

Remember, He gives us all the love we need to get through all the trials we face.

Q: Why must there be suffering?
A: Love needs sacrifice.Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus".A price has to be paid for sin. So Jesus paid the price. He died to save ALL mankind. And he took ALL the suffering of the world upon Himself. So today salvation is open to ALL. We who have been hurt, need Jesus as much as those who have hurt us. Since God is fair to give salvation to all, isnt it fair that suffering happens to all?

Q: I still think it's unfair that good people suffer.
A: Unjust suffering is the only type of suffering that can be considered suffering. Because if I did something wrong, and I suffered for it, memang I deserved it la! That's not called suffering. That's called retribution. But suffering that's undeserved is exactly what happened to Christ. He's God, trying to save men, but those very people he's trying to save, are spitting on his efforts and abusing him! The hallmark of a Christian is to be like Christ. So when we suffer unjustly, we're actually becoming more like Christ.James 1: 2-4"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."Be encouraged! When you suffer unjustly, remind yourself that God is allowing your faith to grow. And when the testing is over and you have passed through the fire, you are refined. You become stronger like gold that has been tested. Then, He will reward you beyond your imagination!

Bad people prosper and good people suffer! Unfair!

Q: Why do 'bad' people prosper and 'good' people suffer?
A: If it seems that the bad do not suffer, that is a mere illusion. They have their own share of suffering. In this world or the next. They dont 'get away with it'. Just because you see them being rich doesnt mean they do not suffer, have not suffered, or will not suffered.Proverbs 24:19-20 says, "Do not be troubled because of evil-doers, or have envy of sinners. For there will be no future for the evil man; the light of sinners will be put out." In contrast, we know that God has a good plan for us prepared in future. Why worry about other people when we can instead put that energy into dealing with our own lives and living out God's plan for our lives?

Q: It's not fair that I'm good but I suffer.
A: Just what makes us think we're better or 'good'? No matter how good we are, we would have sinned before. Whether it's 0.01% sin or 99.99% sin, it's still sin.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God".(Take note: the definition of sin is not doing something wrong. It's falling short of God's glory. So, can we say we havent sinned? I think not.) So since we're all sinners and since we all suffer, what's so unfair about it? Since we have already sinned, it's not for us to argue what degree of sin and what degree of suffering is fair. It's pretty lame for a criminal to argue with the judge that the sentence he's getting is not fair "because some other guy there did worse than me and he's not in jail".

What's the point of asking for less suffering by comparing ourselves to others? Comparison always lead to the argument that God didnt give us what we deserve. But, do we really want to get what we deserve? If God counted and calculated every single wrong everyone did, we deserve eternal death. But He forgave us this! Shouldn't we be grateful?
Suffering may be something we didnt deserve, but Grace is something we dont deserve either! We dont complain when we get grace we dont deserve... so we shouldnt complain when we get suffering we dont deserve.... it's a fair trade off! :)

How Can God Love Me If HE Lets Me Suffer?

Q: Good and evil cannot coexist. If God is good there cannot be suffering.
A: On the contrary, without evil, there would be no good. Darkness is the absence of light. Without darkness we wouldnt know what is light. And pain is the opposite of love. Without pain there can be no love. Without love there can be no pain. Do you realise that you never feel hurt unless you feel love too? For example, if a stranger scolded you for no reason, you wouldnt feel pain. But if someone you love scolded you, you would feel so painful. We can only truly know what love is when we have experienced pain. Only by experiencing suffering, can we fully appreciate the grace of God. I realise now that God loves me more than any man ever can. And God took more suffering upon Himself than I could ever claim to suffer. So, the pain of this world drives me closer the the goodness of God's love and grace.

Q: God is bad because He allows people to suffer.
A: A doctor has medicine to cure sickness. But is it the doctors fault that there is sickness in the world? No, because he didnt create sickness. The doctor gives medicine to those who come to him. But those who didnt come to him, cannot blame the doctor for not helping them. It is the same way with God. He can take away our pain, if we go to Him and let Him. If we let go and take his 'medicine'. But if we do not, there's no point in us blaming Him for our suffering. He's not the one that caused it.

Q: If God really loved me, He wouldnt let me suffer.
A: During my school days I hated my father for forcing me to study things which I didnt think I liked. I felt He was so cruel to make me suffer. But now, years later, I realize why he did it. He had a plan for me which I couldnt see at that time. The 'suffering' in school didnt kill me. In fact, it made me who I am today, it gave me a good career to look forward to. God has a plan for us. Jeremiah 28:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for a hope and a future." God's plan may include some suffering which is temporary. (Even death is temporary, in the light of eternity). But it's all part of His plan for us, which we can't see now. God's plan includes suffering so that it can bring out the greatest good and glory.

Q: Why doesnt God take away my suffering?
A: When I faced a terrible personal crisis in my life, I kept crying out to God and asking Him to take away my pain, heal my hurt. But I never felt satisfied with the response I got. Until one day, as I was doing my usual "please help me get through this," God told me: "I already have!" That struck me. Jesus Christ has already performed the greatest act of suffering on the cross, bearing all our hurts on His innocent back. Not only that, He triumphed over all this. Because of His victory, I, too, could live a victorious Christian life. Why was I still wallowing in my hurt?

Once I bought a fake VCD movie. I knew it had a happy ending. Being of bad quality, it couldnt be viewed halfway. It stopped at the part just where the hero was about to be killed in a tragedy. I was so sad, anxious, despairing...but I knew the ending was supposed to be happy. So I overcame my feelings by telling myself that in the end, it would all work out fine. I was able to get out of the bad feelings because I knew no matter how much the hero suffered, he would have a happy ending.

God has promised us a happy ending with him in heaven. So let's take the director's word for the movie script, even though we're stuck halfway. When I choose to look at the hurts I was facing rather than the cross, I allow myself to feel defeated. I magnify the value of the suffering I was undergoing. But when I chose to rely on the promise of God instead of my lousy feelings, I realise that eternal victory belongs to Christ and I am his heir and daughter. I choose to tell myself I will believe I have the victory no matter how lousy I feel. Feelings come and go, but God never changes. He already has won the victory, so He's already taken away our pain. We just have got to look away from our circumstances and look to Him. When we ask God to take away our hurts, have confidence that He already has. Only when we are fully with Him again in heaven can we experience the complete release. Til then, just keep holding on.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8
"Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord."

Why God Allows Suffering

Q: Why doesnt God interfere?
A: God cannot change the law without changing Himself. There are certain immutable laws of the universe. One is that suffering came into the world because of original sin. Once it came, it struck both the good people and bad people. Indiscriminate. People say it is unjust that good people suffer. But justice means justice for all. Justice means the criminal must have the same rights as you and me.

Once when we were watching a scene on CSI, Sean said, it's so unfair that the criminal used the loopholes in the law to get himself off scot-free. I told him what my professor said: we may disagree with how a man exercises his rights, but we will defend to the death their right to exercise it. Justice means justice for all, even the criminals!

Imagine if the court decided to bend the law to send criminals to jail. For example, torture people until they confess. Does the ends justify the means? Bending to law to achieve the 'just' result we want, defeats the purpose of having the law in the first place. There would be no respect for law any more.

In the same way, God in His infinite justice made the law of the universe. Accordingly, with sin in the world, there came suffering too. Should God interfere to allow His children to escape suffering? If God now takes away all the suffering in the world, the law would be changed, and changing the law would require changing God's character. In short, if God interfered, God wouldnt be just anymore! Do you want to worship an unjust God who bends the rules, even for you? I dont.

Q: Why can't God just change the law?
A: A famous football manages had 2 of his own sons on his football team. The manager was a person who insisted that football must be played by the rules of the game. In one game, his elder son committed a foul, so the other side got a free kick and scored. Then, his younger son scored a goal but the linesman ruled it was an offside, so it was disqualified.

Sometimes, due to his sons' fault or otherwise, the team loses. But do you think the football manager should change the rules of football just so his sons and his team can win the game? Of course not. Nobody is saying the rules of football are unfair. Only sometimes, because of cheats, match-fixing, poor judgment calls, or bad 'luck', our favourite team doesnt win, even though they played well. It's not the team's fault, but the manager cant change the rules of football just so his team will win. That would not be fair.

God cant change the law of the universe just so we never have to suffer, because that will not be fair. God's law is fair, only sometimes, because of cheats, bad people, the devil, or even no reason at all, people we like will suffer. Or we seem to get the short end of the stick. Does that make God unfair? Nope. Should He change the law to prevent our pain? If every time your team loses you change the rules of the game, would anybody still want to play football? Nope. There has to be consistency for a standard to be set. That's why God doesnt change the law just for us.