THE Cell

Written by Country Director of Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ. Do reflect on it as Good Friday is coming.

"Don't look down on me just because I seem to be an insignificant nail. I traveled the world and I have seen much in life. The highlight of my life was the day I was taken by a Roman soldier along a dusty road that led to Calvary.

When he took me out of his bag, I saw three men waiting to be crucified. Serve them right, these criminals! But there was something different about the man in the middle. Those weeping women called Him "Messiah". A plaque on the cross read "King of the Jews". So this was no ordinary man. He seemed to be well loved and respected. I hate to see this man die. For once, I wish I wasn't a nail.

A soldier placed me at the wrist of the man in the middle and hammered me in. "Ouch, ouch!" my head hurts. How self-centered I was. The pain must have been excruciating for Him, but He was silent. As His head turned, I saw those eyes. They were not eyes of anger and hatred, but of love and compassion. I heard Him say, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

"There was something I didn't understand. What crime has He committed? "He claimed to be the Son of God," one woman told another. But...to be crucified for that? Later, I gathered it had to do with what man called "sin". This man had to bear the sins of the world. That sounded pretty heavy. Poor man.

It wasn't long before He breathed His last. Honestly, I was sad to see Him die. If He claimed to be God, and if it is true, surely He can save Himself? Why didn't He come down from the cross? My fellow nails and I secured Him to the cross. But it was love, love for the world that held Him there."

The story of a simple nail triggered much thought about all that Jesus had done. Who drove those nails? Was it the crowd-pleasing Pilate? The religious establishment of the day? Or the dutiful Roman soldiers?

The apostle Peter, in addressing the crowd at Pentecost, said, "...and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him' (Acts 2:22-24, NIV, italics mine).

It was our sins that drove those nails! And it was love, God's love for us that held His Son to the cross.

This Easter, as we ponder on the significance of our Savior's death and resurrection, may we love Him even more. Let us take this opportunity to bring someone into the loving embrace of His nail-scarred hands.

hey everyone,

just a reminder, our cell's scheduled date for the 365 prayer chain will be this coming FRIDAY (12 DEC 08), 7 to 8pm. i've attached the list of prayer pointers. didnt get a chance to tell you guys about it yesterday, so please read this email carefully!

as some of you guysl might know, our church has been involved in this 24.365 prayer chain for some years. this year, COOS is in charge from 7-14 Dec 2008, and the Youth Division is assigned to be the prayer watchmen from 11-13 Dec. Each cell/ministry is assigned a 1-hour prayer slot.
for our cell, each of us will pray individually for about five minutes. using the prayer pointers to guide you, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, to lead you to pray for whatever God has impressed upon your heart. you dont have to pray for every point listed on the guide. my prayer is really that each and every one of you will take this seriously, and set aside time to pray for our country and our church. for the benefit of those who didnt come for service just yesterday, pastor michael shared about faithfulness to God. faithfulness that will stand the test of time, of trials, of setbacks and of mockery. personally, it really spoke to me, because in the world we're leaving in today, its so easy to forget about God when we're with our friends, when we dont want to feel left out, or be seen as uncool. but we must see that ultimately, all the worldly things that we're striving for, or that we're obsessed with, will become nothing when we all go to heaven to be with our heavenly Father. and if we are able to be faithful in our walk with God, i really believe faithfulness will come naturally to us in other areas of our lives. even though this 365 prayer chain thing might seem a tad trivial, and you might think you're just one out of millions who are praying too, God sees each and every one of our hearts. and each and everyone of us count when we cry out fervently to God for our nation and our church.

yup, so heres the list of who prays at what time, try to follow it as best as you can. if you want to pray together (eg. through phone), feel free to (:

7-710: joshua, sam710-720-justin, rachel720-730-renhui, kaien730-740-lynnette, michelle740-750-brenda, zachary

oh yes, please also keep alex in prayer. he'll be on mission trip to timor from 9-16dec.

lastly, i wont be coming to church this sat, so we'll be combining with grace's cell, most probably in our same room, 214.

Father, i thank you for each and everyone whos in cell, i thank You for their faithfulness to You, and i thank You for Your faithfulness in their lives since the day they were born. I pray that even as they have their holidays now, it'll be a meaningful one, one filled with happiness and joy, and through events and happenings, they'll learn something new each time. I pray Your blessings and protection upon everyone, regardless of whether they're in sg or overseas, that You'll guard them from any harm and You'll keep them safe in Your loving hands. thank you Father, Your grace is sufficient for us, and we have nothing to fear. amen.

Jesus loves you alot (:

prayer pointers are in the email i sent, PLEASE CHECK (:

Something for all of you to read and reflect as part of your quiet time ....

You can find the article HERE.

FOR 50 YEARS, cartoonist Charles Schulz gave us pictures of ourselves wrapped in a smile. One of the last strips I clipped from our Sunday paper showed Snoopy the dog sitting on top of his doghouse with a typewriter, writing about his life. He titled his story . . .

The Dog Who Never Did Anything

Snoopy remembers it this way, “You stay home now,” they said, “and be a good dog.”

So he stayed home and was a good dog.

Then he decided to be even a better dog. So he barked at everyone who went by. And he even chased the neighbor’s cats.

“What’s happened to you?” they said. “You used to be such a good dog.”

So he stopped barking and chasing cats, and everyone said, “You’re a good dog.”

The moral, as Snoopy typed it, is “Don’t do anything and you’ll be a good dog.”

As I turned the smile around in my mind, I noticed a quirk of the English language. Snoopy and God have something in common. They are related not only by alphabet (dog and god), but by what “creatures in the middle” expect of them. The idea intrigued me enough to try another version.

The God Who Never Did Anything

“You give me what I want now,” they said, “and be a good God.”

So He gave them what they wanted and He was a good God.

Then He decided to be an even better God.

He started knocking over the furniture of other gods, and He used pain to help people in ways they could not understand.

“What’s happened to You?” they said.

“You used to be such a good God.”

So He stopped knocking over the furniture of other gods, and He stopped using pain in ways that were beyond people’s ability to understand.

And everyone said, “You’re a good God.”

The moral, as angels might see it, “Stop acting like God and people will think You’re good.”

The God We Want

Many of us imagine God as we want Him to be. To our wishes we add expectation. We expect Him to encourage us when we are afraid, to comfort us when we’re hurt, to forgive us when we fail, and to give us what we think we need when we think we need it.

Yet, along the way, we keep stumbling into the awareness that the King of Heaven is more apt to come to us in His own style, time, and mystery. He is seldom as we imagine Him to be. He is more like the God who reveals Himself in the pages of His own history.

There He comes to us in the unexpected surprises of joy, in the unwanted nights of our misery, and in the solitary sounds of our own loneliness. He comes to us in the unexpected joys of Adam, in the numbed grief of Eve, in the inconsolable tears of the childless Hannah, in the murderous anger of Moses, and in the madness of a powerful Nebuchadnezzar.

But me? Until He responds, I’d rather have it my way. In the moments of my dissatisfaction, I don’t want to have to wait for what I want. I want it now. Now. I’ll pray. I’ll pay. I’ll bargain. I’ll crawl on my knees. But I want God to prove that He is good—right now.

The God Who Has Been Good

Even in our “maturity” we can be like 2- and 3-year-olds pulling at the pant leg of heaven. Our Father isn’t surprised. He knows how to raise physical, emotional, and spiritual toddlers. He knows how to run with us in our youth, and how to walk with us at 74, 84, and 94.

And for those who go further, He is still there, hearing once again our whimpers in the night, and reaching down with the affection of an adoring mother who carefully lifts her children from their crib to herself.

No, He has not always been the kind of parent we wanted Him to be. Yes, He has been good on His terms rather than on ours. He has not answered our prayers in the way we asked. Seldom has He allowed anything to play out according to our own expectations or childish demands. Yet His determination to lead us in the paths of His own choosing is what has made Him so good.

The God Who Will Be Good

The promise of tomorrow comes with the wrinkled snapshots of yesterday. Even though our memories are not as sharp as we’d like them to be, and even though the happy times are mixed with regret, our albums contain memories of a God who keeps reminding us that He is better than our expectations. He is better than our demands. He is better than anything this life has to offer.

If He allowed a relationship to be lost, He stayed with us to remind us that we weren’t made for one another as much as we were made for Him. As our bodies give way to time, they become painful reminders that we were not made for these bodies. We were made for the One who said from the top of a thundering, burning mountain—to a people huddled in the middle of a life-threatening wilderness—“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”

This is the God who, because He is good, refuses to “stay home and do nothing.”

Father, thank You for a man named Charles Schulz who brought us elements of truth amid our smiles. Thank You for being God on Your terms rather than ours. May Your name be hallowed as we wait on You. May Your kingdom be reflected in our patience. May Your will be done in our disappointments. Please, give us this day our daily bread.

i thought i'll write down something that i felt God telling me these past weeks - to be thankful. you might say, but i'm thankful for everything i have. i guess most people can say they are thankful for things, but how many of us ARE actually and genuinely thankful for everything we've have, our family, school, teachers, friends and all? and in life, everything really happens for a purpose, because afterall, our lives are in God's hands. nothing in life happens by chance, and in the end, although you may think the situation's hopeless, feel crushed or even on the verge of giving up your faith because you feel God hasnt been there for you when you needed Him the most, everything works out good for those who love Him. and its in sad times, trying moments where theres pain, hurt, guilt, regret, and all the unhappy emotions associated with it that we have to thank God, praise Him and seek Him all the more. because, how do we ever learn if we dont fail? how do we ever grow if we havent fallen? trying times only serve to make you stronger, and to prepare you for whatever's ahead. being thankful also means treasuring every single thing that you have, big or small. and being contended with the life God's given you and the people and situations that He has placed in your life. "comparison is the root to dissatisfaction" one of my teacher used to remind us way back in secondary school, which looking back, was a rather sound advice. often we compare ourselves with our friends, whos prettier, whos cooler, who has more friends, more tags, more happening life, more smses, whos smarter, whos taller and the list just goes on. but although comparison per se isnt a bad thing, more often that not, it leaves us feeling bitter, unhappy and resentful, against ourselves, the people and God. if you dont get anything i'm trying to say, its fine(: just remember, each and every one of you is special in God's eyes. dont have to compare, and remember to be thankful for everything, because you never know when you might leave this world, or when things you have been taking for granted will get robbed from you in an instant.

just a reminder, be at redhill mrt at 2.15pm this saturday!
have a great week!(: