Hey Guys!!
What a night (and day for those who served and performed) SFAS was eh?! Really really awesome stuff!! Great to see we are truly growing from strength to strength each year, and isn't it a great feeling of (good) pride that we are contributing and part of this growth? Don't ever take it for granted yeah? You guys rock!!
Well .. SFAS is over ... but 40 days of love has begun! Time to clock some book reading time eh? Isn't it cool we all get to have the same daily devotion for the next 40 days? What I personally look forward to is the different revelations each of us can get from the same reading material!
And guess what? For the next 40 days, each of you will get to share with my dream! Why? Because in the next 40 days every Zone Sup, Cell leader and Intern of this FANTASTIC zone will be taking turns to pen down (well ... type actually) their thoughts on each chapter of The Relationship Principles of Jesus! How cool is that?!
Speaking of which ... here's the list!
So guys, I hope everyone is excited and ready to be impacted! Do bear in mind that this sharing should always compliment YOUR OWN READING, so ... let's have a little rule. We read on our own first, reflect upon it and then come here after to read what others thought about the same chapter ... deal?
You can expect the sharing to be present every morning by 7am ... I can hear the leaders groaning already hah But hey, we need to think about those who do devotion in the mornings right? So there you have it folks, 40 days of adventure starting ... NOW!! God bless and journey mercies!
What a night (and day for those who served and performed) SFAS was eh?! Really really awesome stuff!! Great to see we are truly growing from strength to strength each year, and isn't it a great feeling of (good) pride that we are contributing and part of this growth? Don't ever take it for granted yeah? You guys rock!!
Well .. SFAS is over ... but 40 days of love has begun! Time to clock some book reading time eh? Isn't it cool we all get to have the same daily devotion for the next 40 days? What I personally look forward to is the different revelations each of us can get from the same reading material!
And guess what? For the next 40 days, each of you will get to share with my dream! Why? Because in the next 40 days every Zone Sup, Cell leader and Intern of this FANTASTIC zone will be taking turns to pen down (well ... type actually) their thoughts on each chapter of The Relationship Principles of Jesus! How cool is that?!
Speaking of which ... here's the list!
| Day No. | Date | Day | Blogger |
| 1 | 20/09/09 | Sunday | Peter |
| 2 | 21/09/09 | Monday | Max |
| 3 | 22/09/09 | Tuesday | Stanley |
| 4 | 23/09/09 | Wednesday | Letitia |
| 5 | 24/09/09 | Thursday | Suling |
| 6 | 25/09/09 | Friday | Eunice |
| 7 | 26/09/09 | Saturday | Jacquelyn |
| 8 | 27/09/09 | Sunday | Allison |
| 9 | 28/09/09 | Monday | Rachel |
| 10 | 29/09/09 | Tuesday | Joshua Lau |
| 11 | 30/09/09 | Wednesday | Jeremy Tan |
| 12 | 1/10/09 | Thursday | Joshua Lim |
| 13 | 2/10/09 | Friday | Steph Sim |
| 14 | 3/10/09 | Saturday | Isaiah |
| 15 | 4/10/09 | Sunday | Jamie |
| 16 | 5/10/09 | Monday | Lucas |
| 17 | 6/10/09 | Tuesday | Yaushu |
| 18 | 7/10/09 | Wednesday | Steph To |
| 19 | 8/10/09 | Thursday | Jiali |
| 20 | 9/10/09 | Friday | Jim |
| 21 | 10/10/09 | Saturday | Max |
| 22 | 11/10/09 | Sunday | Steph Sim |
| 23 | 12/10/09 | Monday | Stanley |
| 24 | 13/10/09 | Tuesday | Isaiah |
| 25 | 14/10/09 | Wednesday | Letitia |
| 26 | 15/10/09 | Thursday | Jamie |
| 27 | 16/10/09 | Friday | Suling |
| 28 | 17/10/09 | Saturday | Eunice |
| 29 | 18/10/09 | Sunday | Lucas |
| 30 | 19/10/09 | Monday | Jacquelyn |
| 31 | 20/10/09 | Tuesday | Yaushu |
| 32 | 21/10/09 | Wednesday | Allison |
| 33 | 22/10/09 | Thursday | Steph To |
| 34 | 23/10/09 | Friday | Rachel |
| 35 | 24/10/09 | Saturday | Jiali |
| 36 | 25/10/09 | Sunday | Joshua Lau |
| 37 | 26/10/09 | Monday | Jim |
| 38 | 27/10/09 | Tuesday | Jeremy Tan |
| 39 | 28/10/09 | Wednesday | Joshua Lim |
| 40 | 29/10/09 | Thursday | Peter |
So guys, I hope everyone is excited and ready to be impacted! Do bear in mind that this sharing should always compliment YOUR OWN READING, so ... let's have a little rule. We read on our own first, reflect upon it and then come here after to read what others thought about the same chapter ... deal?
You can expect the sharing to be present every morning by 7am ... I can hear the leaders groaning already hah But hey, we need to think about those who do devotion in the mornings right? So there you have it folks, 40 days of adventure starting ... NOW!! God bless and journey mercies!
SFAS (19 Sept, Saturday)
Getting there
Pickup: Murdoch LT, UWA Carpark 3 (enter via Hackett Drive entrance 1)
meet at 1800 hours
Dropoff: PCLC, Canningvale
Return
Pickup: PCLC, Canningvale
depart at 2230 hours
Dropoff: UWA Carpark 3
Church (20 Sept, Sunday)
Getting there
Pickup: Murdoch LT, UWA Carpark 3 (enter via Hackett Drive entrance 1)
depart at 0850 hours
Dropoff: Curtin University (enter via Beazley Avenue)
Return
Pickup: Curtin University
depart at 1330 hours
Dropoff: UWA Carpark 3
Getting there
Pickup: Murdoch LT, UWA Carpark 3 (enter via Hackett Drive entrance 1)
meet at 1800 hours
Dropoff: PCLC, Canningvale
Return
Pickup: PCLC, Canningvale
depart at 2230 hours
Dropoff: UWA Carpark 3
Church (20 Sept, Sunday)
Getting there
Pickup: Murdoch LT, UWA Carpark 3 (enter via Hackett Drive entrance 1)
depart at 0850 hours
Dropoff: Curtin University (enter via Beazley Avenue)
Return
Pickup: Curtin University
depart at 1330 hours
Dropoff: UWA Carpark 3
SFAS (19 Sept, Saturday)
Getting there
Pickup: Murdoch LT, UWA Carpark 3 (enter via Hackett Drive entrance 1)
meet at 1800 hours
Dropoff: PCLC, Canningvale
Return
Pickup: PCLC, Canningvale
depart at 2230 hours
Dropoff: UWA Carpark 3
Church (20 Sept, Sunday)
Getting there
Pickup: Murdoch LT, UWA Carpark 3 (enter via Hackett Drive entrance 1)
depart at 0850 hours
Dropoff: Curtin University (enter via Beazley Avenue)
Return
Pickup: Curtin University
depart at 1330 hours
Dropoff: UWA Carpark 3
Getting there
Pickup: Murdoch LT, UWA Carpark 3 (enter via Hackett Drive entrance 1)
meet at 1800 hours
Dropoff: PCLC, Canningvale
Return
Pickup: PCLC, Canningvale
depart at 2230 hours
Dropoff: UWA Carpark 3
Church (20 Sept, Sunday)
Getting there
Pickup: Murdoch LT, UWA Carpark 3 (enter via Hackett Drive entrance 1)
depart at 0850 hours
Dropoff: Curtin University (enter via Beazley Avenue)
Return
Pickup: Curtin University
depart at 1330 hours
Dropoff: UWA Carpark 3
Amazing discovery by The Science Team
Yes, the "LOVE" compound does exist, and it is found in all of us. Although it still remains dormant in some of us, it's symptoms only manifests when the "CHOICE" compound is present. The link between the two compounds still remains a mystery, however The Science Team is confident that we will find the answers to this mystery during the 40 Days of Love "research campaign".
At the moment The Science Team advices the constant practise of the compound "CHOICE", for which it is readily available to all. Be ready for a massive chain reaction!
Amazing discovery by The Science Team
Yes, the "LOVE" compound does exist, and it is found in all of us. Although it still remains dormant in some of us, it's symptoms only manifests when the "CHOICE" compound is present. The link between the two compounds still remains a mystery, however The Science Team is confident that we will find the answers to this mystery during the 40 Days of Love "research campaign".
At the moment The Science Team advices the constant practise of the compound "CHOICE", for which it is readily available to all. Be ready for a massive chain reaction!
Only 4 days left until 40 Days of Love kicks-off. So far 126 books have been sold to UWA passionites... It looks like we're all in this together. Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that every day during the 40 days of love campaign one of your leaders will put a post on the blog with their thoughts from the days reading. So stay tuned to the blog for updates and sharings and random stuff. We'll also be putting into practice as a zone what we are learning so be prepared
God bless,
Peter
Oh, and btw smEHLY, i don't think i'm that despo. Just trying to help you guys see that the evidence of God's love is in all of creation. The universe in only just big enough to display His splendour :-)
Only 4 days left until 40 Days of Love kicks-off. So far 126 books have been sold to UWA passionites... It looks like we're all in this together. Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that every day during the 40 days of love campaign one of your leaders will put a post on the blog with their thoughts from the days reading. So stay tuned to the blog for updates and sharings and random stuff. We'll also be putting into practice as a zone what we are learning so be prepared
God bless,
Peter
Oh, and btw smEHLY, i don't think i'm that despo. Just trying to help you guys see that the evidence of God's love is in all of creation. The universe in only just big enough to display His splendour :-)
God is Love. We are able to love because we have Christ in us. We have the threshold to love like Him. With the verse, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, substitute;
Love = Christ in Your Name
Christ in Your Name is patient, Christ in Your Name is kind, Christ in Your Name does not envy, Christ in Your Name does not boast, Christ in Your Name is not proud. Christ in Your Name is not rude, Christ in Your Name is not self-seeking, Christ in Your Name is not easily angered, Christ in Your Name keeps no records of wrongs. Christ in Your Name does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ in Your Name always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Christ in Your Name never fails.
Christ in Your Name is patient, Christ in Your Name is kind, Christ in Your Name does not envy, Christ in Your Name does not boast, Christ in Your Name is not proud. Christ in Your Name is not rude, Christ in Your Name is not self-seeking, Christ in Your Name is not easily angered, Christ in Your Name keeps no records of wrongs. Christ in Your Name does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ in Your Name always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Christ in Your Name never fails.
You will never fail with Christ in you. You will never fail with LOVE.
Yay!! Let's show some Love!!!
Yay!! Let's show some Love!!!
God is Love. We are able to love because we have Christ in us. We have the threshold to love like Him. With the verse, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, substitute;
Love = Christ in Your Name
Christ in Your Name is patient, Christ in Your Name is kind, Christ in Your Name does not envy, Christ in Your Name does not boast, Christ in Your Name is not proud. Christ in Your Name is not rude, Christ in Your Name is not self-seeking, Christ in Your Name is not easily angered, Christ in Your Name keeps no records of wrongs. Christ in Your Name does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ in Your Name always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Christ in Your Name never fails.
Christ in Your Name is patient, Christ in Your Name is kind, Christ in Your Name does not envy, Christ in Your Name does not boast, Christ in Your Name is not proud. Christ in Your Name is not rude, Christ in Your Name is not self-seeking, Christ in Your Name is not easily angered, Christ in Your Name keeps no records of wrongs. Christ in Your Name does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ in Your Name always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Christ in Your Name never fails.
You will never fail with Christ in you. You will never fail with LOVE.
Yay!! Let's show some Love!!!
Yay!! Let's show some Love!!!
1 Corinthians 13
Love
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
LOVE.
Let's together discover the true meaning of this word called "LOVE". Are you ready for this weekend, loves?? =)
1 Corinthians 13
Love
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
LOVE.
Let's together discover the true meaning of this word called "LOVE". Are you ready for this weekend, loves?? =)
Only 6 days left. Books that have been paid for will be distributed before church on Sunday morning by your cell leader. Currently in the lead for the cell group prize for exceeding their target number of participants by the most is Max's cell, closely followed by Letitia and Allison. Remember that the cell who beats their target by the most will be served in cell one week by both of your zone sups who will prepare food, do transport, games, worship, word, vision sharing, cleaning, announcements, etc... yikes! So invite all your friends and coursemates to join us for 40DOL and learn what the Author of life and God of love has to say about the 'L' word.
God bless,
Only 6 days left. Books that have been paid for will be distributed before church on Sunday morning by your cell leader. Currently in the lead for the cell group prize for exceeding their target number of participants by the most is Max's cell, closely followed by Letitia and Allison. Remember that the cell who beats their target by the most will be served in cell one week by both of your zone sups who will prepare food, do transport, games, worship, word, vision sharing, cleaning, announcements, etc... yikes! So invite all your friends and coursemates to join us for 40DOL and learn what the Author of life and God of love has to say about the 'L' word.
God bless,
Only one week left until we can start reading. So far there are 122 ppl participating in UWA Passion!!! Only one week left until we can start reading. So far there are 122 ppl participating in UWA Passion!!!HI! I came across this and it has been something that really encourages me. Hope it does the same for ya! :)
I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit
Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has
been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow
down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight
walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions,
mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,
regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by
patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my
way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted,
or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the
pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of
mediocrity.
I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed
up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop,
preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My
colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)
By Dr. Bob Moorehead
Love,
Jacq
HI! I came across this and it has been something that really encourages me. Hope it does the same for ya! :)
I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit
Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has
been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow
down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight
walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions,
mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,
regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by
patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my
way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted,
or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the
pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of
mediocrity.
I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed
up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop,
preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My
colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)
By Dr. Bob Moorehead
Love,
Jacq
So this guy comes up to me and says, "What's the vision? What's the big idea?"
I open my mouth and words come out like this... The vision? The vision is JESUS - obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.
The vision is an army of young people.
You see bones? I see an army.
And they are FREE from materialism. They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the West was won.
They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.
People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free, yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.What is the vision?The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.
It makes children laugh and adults angry.
It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago - to reach for the stars.
It scorns the good and strains for the best.
It is dangerously pure. Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers choose to loose that they might one day win the great
"Well done" of faithful sons and daughters.
Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night.
They don't need fame from names.
Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!" And this is the sound of the undergroundThe whisper of history in the makingFoundations shakingRevolutionaries dreaming once againMystery is scheming in whispersConspiracy is breathing...This is the sound of the underground And the army is discipl(in)ed. Young people who beat their bodies into submission. Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."
Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes.
Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ?
Can hormones hold them back?Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them? And the generation prays like a dying man with groans beyond talking,with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 - 7 - 365. Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide.
Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials.
The advertisers cannot mold them. Hollywood cannot hold them.
Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries. They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive inside. On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate, but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell.
A throne for an electric chair.
With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,
they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them. Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings.
They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.Don't you hear them coming? Herald the weirdos! Summon the losers and the freaks.
Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes.
They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.
And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.How do I know?
Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God.
My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D.
And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great "Amen!" from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself.
And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner. Guaranteed.
"The Vision – a call to discipleship that was found graffitied on the walls of the first ever 24-7 prayer room and quickly spread by word of mouth from that single room in England to Washington DC and the underground churches of China, inspiring artists, DJ’s, film-makers and countless ordinary people along the way."
I open my mouth and words come out like this... The vision? The vision is JESUS - obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.
The vision is an army of young people.
You see bones? I see an army.
And they are FREE from materialism. They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the West was won.
They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.
People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free, yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.What is the vision?The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.
It makes children laugh and adults angry.
It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago - to reach for the stars.
It scorns the good and strains for the best.
It is dangerously pure. Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers choose to loose that they might one day win the great
"Well done" of faithful sons and daughters.
Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night.
They don't need fame from names.
Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!" And this is the sound of the undergroundThe whisper of history in the makingFoundations shakingRevolutionaries dreaming once againMystery is scheming in whispersConspiracy is breathing...This is the sound of the underground And the army is discipl(in)ed. Young people who beat their bodies into submission. Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."
Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes.
Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ?
Can hormones hold them back?Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them? And the generation prays like a dying man with groans beyond talking,with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 - 7 - 365. Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide.
Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials.
The advertisers cannot mold them. Hollywood cannot hold them.
Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries. They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive inside. On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate, but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell.
A throne for an electric chair.
With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,
they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them. Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings.
They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.Don't you hear them coming? Herald the weirdos! Summon the losers and the freaks.
Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes.
They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.
And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.How do I know?
Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God.
My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D.
And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great "Amen!" from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself.
And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner. Guaranteed.
"The Vision – a call to discipleship that was found graffitied on the walls of the first ever 24-7 prayer room and quickly spread by word of mouth from that single room in England to Washington DC and the underground churches of China, inspiring artists, DJ’s, film-makers and countless ordinary people along the way."
So this guy comes up to me and says, "What's the vision? What's the big idea?"
I open my mouth and words come out like this... The vision? The vision is JESUS - obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.
The vision is an army of young people.
You see bones? I see an army.
And they are FREE from materialism. They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the West was won.
They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.
People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free, yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.What is the vision?The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.
It makes children laugh and adults angry.
It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago - to reach for the stars.
It scorns the good and strains for the best.
It is dangerously pure. Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers choose to loose that they might one day win the great
"Well done" of faithful sons and daughters.
Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night.
They don't need fame from names.
Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!" And this is the sound of the undergroundThe whisper of history in the makingFoundations shakingRevolutionaries dreaming once againMystery is scheming in whispersConspiracy is breathing...This is the sound of the underground And the army is discipl(in)ed. Young people who beat their bodies into submission. Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."
Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes.
Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ?
Can hormones hold them back?Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them? And the generation prays like a dying man with groans beyond talking,with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 - 7 - 365. Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide.
Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials.
The advertisers cannot mold them. Hollywood cannot hold them.
Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries. They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive inside. On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate, but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell.
A throne for an electric chair.
With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,
they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them. Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings.
They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.Don't you hear them coming? Herald the weirdos! Summon the losers and the freaks.
Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes.
They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.
And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.How do I know?
Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God.
My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D.
And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great "Amen!" from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself.
And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner. Guaranteed.
"The Vision – a call to discipleship that was found graffitied on the walls of the first ever 24-7 prayer room and quickly spread by word of mouth from that single room in England to Washington DC and the underground churches of China, inspiring artists, DJ’s, film-makers and countless ordinary people along the way."
I open my mouth and words come out like this... The vision? The vision is JESUS - obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.
The vision is an army of young people.
You see bones? I see an army.
And they are FREE from materialism. They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the West was won.
They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.
People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free, yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.What is the vision?The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.
It makes children laugh and adults angry.
It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago - to reach for the stars.
It scorns the good and strains for the best.
It is dangerously pure. Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers choose to loose that they might one day win the great
"Well done" of faithful sons and daughters.
Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night.
They don't need fame from names.
Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!" And this is the sound of the undergroundThe whisper of history in the makingFoundations shakingRevolutionaries dreaming once againMystery is scheming in whispersConspiracy is breathing...This is the sound of the underground And the army is discipl(in)ed. Young people who beat their bodies into submission. Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."
Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes.
Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ?
Can hormones hold them back?Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them? And the generation prays like a dying man with groans beyond talking,with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 - 7 - 365. Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide.
Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials.
The advertisers cannot mold them. Hollywood cannot hold them.
Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries. They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive inside. On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate, but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell.
A throne for an electric chair.
With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,
they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them. Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings.
They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.Don't you hear them coming? Herald the weirdos! Summon the losers and the freaks.
Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes.
They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.
And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.How do I know?
Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God.
My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D.
And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great "Amen!" from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself.
And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner. Guaranteed.
"The Vision – a call to discipleship that was found graffitied on the walls of the first ever 24-7 prayer room and quickly spread by word of mouth from that single room in England to Washington DC and the underground churches of China, inspiring artists, DJ’s, film-makers and countless ordinary people along the way."
Some of you might know that I play basketball. I use to play every Sunday at Wesley College. There’s this guy who’s a good player but I find it very difficult to get along with him. The things that he does, things that he says, his actions on the court even his hair gets on my nerves. I tried talking to him but found it difficult let alone get along with him. It came to a point that at times I would purposely sit out games where I have to play with him on the same team or play against him. I just couldn’t get along with him. That’s just one example of someone that I find difficult to get along with. I'm sure that all of us have someone we find hard to get along with. If it’s difficult to get along with that person how hard would it be to love that person?
John 13:34 says "Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another" Its is written in the bible that we must love one another like how God loved us. But how do you love one another. Have you ever wonder what does it take to love that person whom you find difficult to get along with? How about loving that person whom has hurt you before or someone that has caused you a lot of pain?
ZPH will be embarking on a campaign called 40 Days of love. Through this campaign we will discover what LOVE truly is and how we can show love to the people God has placed in our lives here on earth. How we can communicate more like Jesus. How do we love our creator, our neighbours and ourselves? Through this campaign let’s discover together a love that is patient, kind, forgiving, and unselfish and always speaks the truth.
Discover the true meaning of love through the weekend messages, the Relationship Principles of Jesus book, DVD teachings by Rick Warren in cell groups and through weekly scripture memory versus. Everyone in ZPH from kids to 02 to Passion to YA will be taking part in this campaign. However don’t just keep this to yourself. I would like to encourage you to excite your members to participate in learning to love together. 40 Days is a significant number in the Bible and I believe that these 40 days will be significant to us as a church as well. We will be transformed by love, through love, to love one another. In 1 Thes 3:12, it says “May the Lord make my love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else”. That is my prayer before we start this journey together. I truly believe that after this campaign relationships in our church will go to another level and we will be one step closer to loving one another like how God loved us.
40 days of love is starting on Sept 12th and 13thPrice is $15 which includes The Relationship Principles of Jesus book and workbookSign up with your cell leaders today.
Campaign Coordinator- Chin Seng
Some of you might know that I play basketball. I use to play every Sunday at Wesley College. There’s this guy who’s a good player but I find it very difficult to get along with him. The things that he does, things that he says, his actions on the court even his hair gets on my nerves. I tried talking to him but found it difficult let alone get along with him. It came to a point that at times I would purposely sit out games where I have to play with him on the same team or play against him. I just couldn’t get along with him. That’s just one example of someone that I find difficult to get along with. I'm sure that all of us have someone we find hard to get along with. If it’s difficult to get along with that person how hard would it be to love that person?
John 13:34 says "Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another" Its is written in the bible that we must love one another like how God loved us. But how do you love one another. Have you ever wonder what does it take to love that person whom you find difficult to get along with? How about loving that person whom has hurt you before or someone that has caused you a lot of pain?
ZPH will be embarking on a campaign called 40 Days of love. Through this campaign we will discover what LOVE truly is and how we can show love to the people God has placed in our lives here on earth. How we can communicate more like Jesus. How do we love our creator, our neighbours and ourselves? Through this campaign let’s discover together a love that is patient, kind, forgiving, and unselfish and always speaks the truth.
Discover the true meaning of love through the weekend messages, the Relationship Principles of Jesus book, DVD teachings by Rick Warren in cell groups and through weekly scripture memory versus. Everyone in ZPH from kids to 02 to Passion to YA will be taking part in this campaign. However don’t just keep this to yourself. I would like to encourage you to excite your members to participate in learning to love together. 40 Days is a significant number in the Bible and I believe that these 40 days will be significant to us as a church as well. We will be transformed by love, through love, to love one another. In 1 Thes 3:12, it says “May the Lord make my love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else”. That is my prayer before we start this journey together. I truly believe that after this campaign relationships in our church will go to another level and we will be one step closer to loving one another like how God loved us.
40 days of love is starting on Sept 12th and 13thPrice is $15 which includes The Relationship Principles of Jesus book and workbookSign up with your cell leaders today.
Campaign Coordinator- Chin Seng
Hey UWA leaders (who are drivers tmw)!!!
It's time to hit the sun, sand and ... lake? hah!!
These are the directions to get to the unpronounceable lake tomorrow! Hard copies will be given out tomorrow morning BUT it is much MUCH better if you see the route via internet NOW!! So CLICK THE LINK!!!
Leaving from UWA
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=107777115306654071986.000472c818c55dca83dfe
Leaving from Curtin
Just get to Great Eastern Highway (the direction towards the airport), and follow the same trail as the first map!
The journey will take approx 1-1.5 hrs to reach. Please go check your tyre pressure and pump your tanks full of gas before meeting at the Myers, 930AM!!
God bless and see you guys there!!
It's time to hit the sun, sand and ... lake? hah!!
These are the directions to get to the unpronounceable lake tomorrow! Hard copies will be given out tomorrow morning BUT it is much MUCH better if you see the route via internet NOW!! So CLICK THE LINK!!!
Leaving from UWA
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=107777115306654071986.000472c818c55dca83dfe
Leaving from Curtin
Just get to Great Eastern Highway (the direction towards the airport), and follow the same trail as the first map!
The journey will take approx 1-1.5 hrs to reach. Please go check your tyre pressure and pump your tanks full of gas before meeting at the Myers, 930AM!!
God bless and see you guys there!!
Hey UWA leaders (who are drivers tmw)!!!
It's time to hit the sun, sand and ... lake? hah!!
These are the directions to get to the unpronounceable lake tomorrow! Hard copies will be given out tomorrow morning BUT it is much MUCH better if you see the route via internet NOW!! So CLICK THE LINK!!!
Leaving from UWA
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=107777115306654071986.000472c818c55dca83dfe
Leaving from Curtin
Just get to Great Eastern Highway (the direction towards the airport), and follow the same trail as the first map!
The journey will take approx 1-1.5 hrs to reach. Please go check your tyre pressure and pump your tanks full of gas before meeting at the Myers, 930AM!!
God bless and see you guys there!!
It's time to hit the sun, sand and ... lake? hah!!
These are the directions to get to the unpronounceable lake tomorrow! Hard copies will be given out tomorrow morning BUT it is much MUCH better if you see the route via internet NOW!! So CLICK THE LINK!!!
Leaving from UWA
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=107777115306654071986.000472c818c55dca83dfe
Leaving from Curtin
Just get to Great Eastern Highway (the direction towards the airport), and follow the same trail as the first map!
The journey will take approx 1-1.5 hrs to reach. Please go check your tyre pressure and pump your tanks full of gas before meeting at the Myers, 930AM!!
God bless and see you guys there!!
Check this out...
The Lord is my Shepherd (that's relationship!)
I shall not be in want (that's supply!)
He makes me lie down in green pastures (that's rest!)
He leads me beside quiet waters (that's refreshment!)
He restores my soul (that's healing!)
He guides me in the paths of righteousness (that's guidance!)
For His name's sake (that's purpose!)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (that's testing!)
I will fear no evil (that's protection!)
For you are with me (that's faithfulness!)
Your rod and the staff, the comfort me (that's discipline!)
You prepare a table before in the presence of my enemies (that's hope!)
You annoint my head with oil (that's consecration!)
My cup overflows (that's abundance!)
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life (that's blessing!)
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord (that's security!)
Forever (that's eternity!)
Hope you are blessed,
Love,
Peter :-)
The Lord is my Shepherd (that's relationship!)
I shall not be in want (that's supply!)
He makes me lie down in green pastures (that's rest!)
He leads me beside quiet waters (that's refreshment!)
He restores my soul (that's healing!)
He guides me in the paths of righteousness (that's guidance!)
For His name's sake (that's purpose!)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (that's testing!)
I will fear no evil (that's protection!)
For you are with me (that's faithfulness!)
Your rod and the staff, the comfort me (that's discipline!)
You prepare a table before in the presence of my enemies (that's hope!)
You annoint my head with oil (that's consecration!)
My cup overflows (that's abundance!)
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life (that's blessing!)
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord (that's security!)
Forever (that's eternity!)
Hope you are blessed,
Love,
Peter :-)
Check this out...
The Lord is my Shepherd (that's relationship!)
I shall not be in want (that's supply!)
He makes me lie down in green pastures (that's rest!)
He leads me beside quiet waters (that's refreshment!)
He restores my soul (that's healing!)
He guides me in the paths of righteousness (that's guidance!)
For His name's sake (that's purpose!)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (that's testing!)
I will fear no evil (that's protection!)
For you are with me (that's faithfulness!)
Your rod and the staff, the comfort me (that's discipline!)
You prepare a table before in the presence of my enemies (that's hope!)
You annoint my head with oil (that's consecration!)
My cup overflows (that's abundance!)
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life (that's blessing!)
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord (that's security!)
Forever (that's eternity!)
Hope you are blessed,
Love,
Peter :-)
The Lord is my Shepherd (that's relationship!)
I shall not be in want (that's supply!)
He makes me lie down in green pastures (that's rest!)
He leads me beside quiet waters (that's refreshment!)
He restores my soul (that's healing!)
He guides me in the paths of righteousness (that's guidance!)
For His name's sake (that's purpose!)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (that's testing!)
I will fear no evil (that's protection!)
For you are with me (that's faithfulness!)
Your rod and the staff, the comfort me (that's discipline!)
You prepare a table before in the presence of my enemies (that's hope!)
You annoint my head with oil (that's consecration!)
My cup overflows (that's abundance!)
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life (that's blessing!)
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord (that's security!)
Forever (that's eternity!)
Hope you are blessed,
Love,
Peter :-)
Hey guys,
not sure if you've come across this but heres a long speech by Adrian Tan, litigator & writer of "The Teenage Textbook", where he shared at NTU's convocation just last year 2008. Found it extremely funny yet inspiring and meaningful. Have a good read!
Life and How to Survive It
not sure if you've come across this but heres a long speech by Adrian Tan, litigator & writer of "The Teenage Textbook", where he shared at NTU's convocation just last year 2008. Found it extremely funny yet inspiring and meaningful. Have a good read!
Life and How to Survive It
I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.
My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.
On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument.
Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You’re done learning.You’ve probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that?
Teachers. Don’t you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.The good news is that they’re wrong.The bad news is that you don’t need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You’re in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.
I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.
Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you’ll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they’re 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy.
I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average. Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much. That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste. If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.What you should prepare for is mess.
Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.
Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free. The most important is this: do not work.Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust. There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful. People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan "Arbeit macht frei" was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense. Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway. Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play.
Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself. I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions.
By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher. Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.
I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.
One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone. Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise.
Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul. Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.
Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.
You’re going to have a busy life. Thank goodness there’s no life expectancy.
Hey guys,
not sure if you've come across this but heres a long speech by Adrian Tan, litigator & writer of "The Teenage Textbook", where he shared at NTU's convocation just last year 2008. Found it extremely funny yet inspiring and meaningful. Have a good read!
Life and How to Survive It
not sure if you've come across this but heres a long speech by Adrian Tan, litigator & writer of "The Teenage Textbook", where he shared at NTU's convocation just last year 2008. Found it extremely funny yet inspiring and meaningful. Have a good read!
Life and How to Survive It
I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.
My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.
On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument.
Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You’re done learning.You’ve probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that?
Teachers. Don’t you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.The good news is that they’re wrong.The bad news is that you don’t need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You’re in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.
I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.
Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you’ll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they’re 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy.
I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average. Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much. That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste. If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.What you should prepare for is mess.
Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.
Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free. The most important is this: do not work.Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust. There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful. People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan "Arbeit macht frei" was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense. Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway. Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play.
Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself. I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions.
By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher. Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.
I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.
One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone. Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise.
Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul. Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.
Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.
You’re going to have a busy life. Thank goodness there’s no life expectancy.
