Good to be back!

Yes, I can see that it has been a long time since I posted anything.

I'd just survived 10 straight days of standby for the recent IMF. It was a tiring affair, and an extremely hectic one. It's my last duty as the logistic spec, and I'm glad the madness is now all....

...OVER!

Yay!

I've been trying to loosen up alittle the past few days. Played Catan with the gang on Wednesday after an abortive attempt of trying to break into Sentosa. Met G.Tan, Shaun and Ant on Thursday for some long awaited Axis And Allies action. It was truly an exciting campaign we played. And even though I lost while playing Germany, it was indeed a good game. (Pics will be up very very soon!)

And today was Super Saturday! Nomad/Salt combined with the guys from MAD for a time of worship, sharing and ministry. Thank God, I believe He spoke to many hearts, and challenged many to live a life of no compromises. Ps ben shared on the message of Daniel and his friends, and we had a great time of ministry, where the cell ministered to each other.

The stories of the Heros of fait hnever cease to amaze me. The story of how Daniel's 3 friends stood against the King of Babylon, refusing to worship the idol which the king has set up, choosing the possibility of a horrible fate in the fiery furnace. Listen to what they've got to say:

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

What words of faith! Let us aim to live like them, holding on to the promises of God and never letting them go! And because of their faith, God delivered them, and even used them as a testimony of the power of God to a pagan king.

Thank God for Singapore.

Now, I'm not trying to be too political here in this blog, but I would like to post this short and simple post.

I was catching the latest update on the Taiwanese "Anti - Chen Shui Bian" Protest and I commented to my dad:

"If this was held in China, they would most probably all be dragged away and shot."

My dad laughed, of course he did; he's pro-China, and who else knows best other than pro-China dad? =P

Anyway I also remembered this documentary I watched recently about the Singapore Government from the point of view of the West. Several human rights group and political watchdogs have rated Singapore low on the "political freedom" ratings, saying that we are "primitive" in our political system, and thus we should not be given the title of "first world country" at all.

This was a discussion topic at a BBQ I attended some time again. There was the pro-government group, and the other group who had some rather interesting thoughts about how things are ran in this country. I declared myself neutral, (It's true! I did!) and after hearing all the points, I broke my silence.

"Hey look, the reason why people don't really protest in Singapore is because there's no need to!"

We've got a honest government, we got security, our standards of living are high, education is made widely available, our rate of unemployment is low.

Why would people then want to protest? What can they protest about?

Do you think they really care about political freedom when everything else is fine? I have seen the so called “democracies” of other countries, and they are constantly faced with turmoil and disunity. Everything seems to be in chaos.

Singapore's meritocracy is actually not bad. We are judged according to what we do, and no favoritism is shown. (Of coz I have this strange feeling that this is a romanticized view) But that also means that people will stop at anything in climbing the ladder of ambition.

Nevertheless I'm thankful that we've got a good government.

And then I continued chewing my chicken wing as the discussion winded up.

Anyway I’m thankful that the Kingdom of God is not a democracy or a meritocracy, but a benevolent “dictatorship” under the great and awesome King who is full of justice and mercy. =)

Faithfulness.

The key to surviving and shining in National Service is very simple;

Be faithful.

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' Matthew 25:21

Many say that army is the time for you to "keng", meaning to escape as much work as you can. Okie, generally I would try to too, but when given responsibilities, we must act rightly. For when we are faithful in the little things of life, we honour Him, and God will grant more.

Even though sometimes you may suffer just that little bit, or loss out on the benefits. Be faithful.

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." Phil 2:14-15