Security

Yesterday

Eccelesiastes 3:15

‘Whatever has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.

It’s the end of the year, and for most of us its very likely that we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s flaws and blunders. But God is a God of yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.

Tomorrow

‘The Lord will go before you.’ A very gracious revelation- that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watched so that we will not trip again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our ‘rear guard.’ God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all claims against our conscience.

Today

Isaiah 52:12

‘But you will not leave in haste, or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.’

So as we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. No doubt we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God, God can transform these anxiety into constructive thoughtfulness for the future.

Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.

Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.

Have a blessed New Year my friends =) Romans 15:13 ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.’

Love, Carmen Lai

Utar CF Captain Ball '11

When I was asked to write something about our UTAR CF’s Captain’s Ball Competition, I thought: “What else is there for me to say?”

It was in November 2010 when, for the first time ever, we organized a Captain’s Ball Competition, open to the public. There were 7 teams and 56 players in total.

We had an even bigger one in March 2011, at our very own UTAR Sports Complex. There were 8 teams and 80 participants this time.

Our most recent competition had about 90 participants.

Having always received positive feedback, advertising for this event is very easy – almost unnecessary even. It has become a signature event of the UTAR CF that is highly anticipated!

This is not just because of the fact that every generation of organizers thus far have taken every step to ensure that the event is run smoothly, and that every decision made is to maximize the experience of participants, but, I think, mainly because of the spirit of the event.

We pray hard every time we have this event coming up, because we know that no matter how we plan, the factor that will be the most important to make the event a success is the spirit that participants have.

It is a great joy to have organized this event and so many smiling faces come together and play. I see a lot of teamwork and a lot of happiness. I see people celebrating the chance to pursue something together and I see a lot of new bonds formed that will last. I see a lot of fond memories made.

I see a lot of people losing matches, but winning hearts. And I see very gracious winners.  There’s humour and friendly banter all around!

  Sometimes they pretend to be sad when they lose :P

                                                     
To sum it up, the UTAR CF Captain Ball Competition has always had a great spirit – not lacking in intensity of competitiveness, but always knowing where to draw the line and remember the big picture.

This is a big statement about the general attitude of the participants, be they the CF-ers or friends who come in just for the match.

It is a great pleasure to organize the event for such people. Long may it continue!

Blessings in Christ, 

Ngee Derk 

Person-in-Charge 

UTAR CF Captain’s Ball Nov ’10, March ‘11

Christmas Production 2011

CF Christmas Night has ended 3 weeks ago, now we dig into 3 different perspectives toward this evangelistic meeting. Here we go, 

Ryan Ong,

1)      Hi, little magi! We know you’re one of the casts in the drama. Can you describe how does it feel to be a Russian magi?

yo yo! how i felt as the Russian.. well definitely not very russian LOL! but yeah it was a great experience as the Russian magi.. Especially the costume that i wore...

2)      We have been preparing this event since last semester, all added up would be half a year. What did you learn in process?

What have i learn.. Hmmm i think it would be teamwork, determination and surrendering to the Lord..

3)      What made you so memorable that you did not wish the event to end?

What was so memorable that i did not wanted the event to end huh?.. i think its the fellowship among members and also getting to know someone better. At first i was blur and shy (yeah right).. But as time passes, i get more intimate with the rest.. like derk (tall magi), calvin (chubby magi) and also the others.. i also enjoy see-ing non believers attending this event... it was spectacular, definitely..

4)      What were the God’s workings that you witnessed in the midst of event?

What have i witnessed?? The most tremendous work from the LORD is the the strength and supply that the LORD has provided for each and one of the members.. Yes there were up and down but we get to overcome every obstacle.. Not by our strength BUT from the LORD almighty...

5)      What do you anticipate in the upcoming CF activities?

I'm looking forward to more CF activities that allow both non-believers and believers to learn more about the LORD and also have fun together.. i also want to see everyone grow stronger and bigger for the LORD.. I guess that’s all! GOD bless all of you 

Steven Teh,

1)      Hey Steven, its Christmas and what does it mean to you personally?

Yeah, Christmas! Reminds me that it has once again come to the time of the year that i'm about to get a year older and get a good relax after another year working on myself. There isn't anything special about Christmas in the past rather than just celebration. I still remember when i was a kid i used to anticipate Christmas so that i could ask mummy to take out the Christmas tree and we can start decorating it. We all know Christmas was the birth of Jesus Christ, but we took the celebration more like a holiday season. But this Christmas, ever after i felt so devoted into this work of spreading the true meaning of Christmas thru the Joy To The World event, i felt so passionate about celebrating Christmas as the birth of Christ rather than enjoying it as a holiday season, truly it meant a lot to me personally as this particular day marks a day of hope for me to be saved!

2)      What triggered you to go for choir audition and be a part in it?

I joined CF for only a semester plus approximately, and during that time i found myself having a very strong urge to participate in the CF of all sudden. After attending a few CF meetings, i was given an opportunity to back up the worship leader on one of the CF meeting; and i am so thrilled! Going around churches and watching videos of worship leaders taking the crowd into the flooding presence of God is one of the greatest thing i wanted to do, and here's a first step! As a first timer, i did not expect much and i was glad that it all went well with only minor errors; to surprise i was approached by Ada and Carmen about joining the Choir team for the coming Joy To The World event. I had no experience singing in any choirs before, but somehow i felt that somehow singing may be my calling to serve God and so i give my try. In short, i believe it is God's calling and by God's will, because after a few practices Roy told me that he was about to ask me to join the drama team but i was already picked up in the choir team. Really amazingly God's work. =]

3)       As we all know, some of your choir team is their 1^st time singing in such a big crowd. How did you guys encourage one another?

As we all know, some of your choir team is their 1st time singing in such a big crowd. How did you guys encourage one another? As i mentioned, i'm one of the first timer too! :D I believe we all are well built having faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, although some of our members did have a little anxiety to sing louder, but along the way with more gaining more confidence singing the lyrics and getting used to it, everyone was able to sing well on the day of the event itself. As for me, i just do my best in my parts and hope they would sing their hearts out like i do! At the same time, we are also helping each other by going over and over again on mistakes to get the best corrections.

4)      During those few hours inside the hall on the Christmas night itself, what did you observe?

Joy! Whether it's our own crew or it's the crowd or anyone else, everyone is filled with a joyful smile on their face! It was a day full of anticipation by the crew and with such big crowd of audiences i believe all the crews are superbly thrilled! These observations need no explanation or proof, just ask around any other crews and i believe they perceived the same too. Although being part of the choir team we are unable to get a full view of the event from the audience seat, still we see the audiences enjoying the whole event enthusiastically and that makes us felt even more appreciated of our hard work.

5)      How does this event build your relationship with God?

It changed me. Because of this event, i will start to celebrate my Christmas differently. My Christmas from this year onwards will not be concentrating on decorating Christmas trees or hanging out with friends at the coolest place, but the main focus will be thanking God our Father for this wonderful gift of Christ to save us! This i must say, had thoroughly rebuild my faith with God once again to get closer to him and appreciative in every single way more towards this gift that He had for us. Remember always, it's Christmas, not Xmas!

 

Rosemary Xavier,

1)      Rosemary, can tell us about your job in the Christmas event? You looked busy though weren’t in the cast team.

For the Joy to the World Christmas Night, my job was Logistic and Security Manager. Yes, I was very busy throughout the preparation especially one week before the event and also during the event. Under my logistic department, we had to deal with transportation, refreshment, preparation of props, briefing of ushers, security of participants inside the hall and outside the hall, changing room and VIP room preparation. It was a little rushing though as we had lack of man power right before the event. Anyhow, I managed to find people and settled the job. On the other hand, we had alter call and reply form where my ushers distributed to the audience. Somehow, the alter call wasn't too good as there were too many people and a proper way hadn't been found. Despite of all this, we saw lots of good things happening where the hall and outside the hall, the crowds were overpouring... Many hearts were touched by our great musical drama, dance and choir. All glory goes to God.

One thing that I realize is that in spite of all the busyness, peace and joy filled my heart throughout the event.

2)       How do you celebrate Christmas normally back at home?

I celebrate Christmas with my family, relatives and friends back in hometown. Usually we would go to church and then have gathering and open house. We as one family share the love with one another as we all, family, relatives and friends don't often meet. So, we would grab this chance to come together and share God's love and joy.

3)      How do you evaluate our Christmas event so far?

I would give an excellent rating overall. Everyone of us did a great job in making this event awesome. We all used our different talents that God gave us to make this event a successful one.Even now after the event, its not the end as follow ups are being done by all of us, lead by our chairperson of this event. All the committees and existing CF members are given a few names to do the follow up and invite those who accepted Christ and also those who attended that night for our upcoming CF activities throughout the coming years. So, this is just the beginning of our journey.

4)      What God has taught you during this whole long-some event?

From this event, God had taught me lots of lessons. Firstly, I have learnt to be a tolerant person. It was not easy to instruct people to do something .But throughout the preparation, 1 thing I realize was to deal with people or to tell them to do something with respect and love. By this way, everyone will be willing to help and no misunderstandings that will occur amomg committees, helpers and ushers. Unity was one of the main thing that was obvious throughout the event. Other than that, God taught me a lesson to humble down myself throughout the event. No matter how much of work is given to me, I thank God that He helped me to go through great challenges smoothly and somehow do it without complaining. 

5)      Can you give us a few tips for any potential logistic manager out there?

Everyone have got the potential to become a logistic manager. Different people have got different styles, ways and talents to deal with different things. One advice for a potential logistic manager from me is not to give up no matter what comes your way. Even if it is a heavy job as a logistic manager, there is nothing that is more fun than this job. After all the struggles, at the end of the day when everything turns out to be successful, the one who will be crying with JOY is YOU, POTENTIAL LOGISTIC MANAGERS! :D

After all, i must admit that it's not an easy job to make this event possible. By God's grace, we endured it and i believe everyone have their own lessons learned. In between we may discovered others' strength, talents and as well weaknesses. Accept who they truly are like how God embraces us with His love. Above 3 people have already expressed their views, lemme end with a verse, Phillippians 1:6 [And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.] Way to go brothers and sisters *cheers!

fellow,

Gin