Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud – Proverbs 16:19

A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. – Proverbs 29:23

Humble is something easy to said but hard to learn…… You can tell the world you are a humble guy anytime and anywhere because this word is so easy to speak. (*like i tell everyone i am so handsome :P)

Practically, humble yourself is not an easy task especially when you have turned from “Nobody” to “Somebody”….

Once, I was a proud guy!… I am the top student in my course in USM.. When I start work my career life was smooth.. I was climbing my career ladder faster than every one else… I invest a lot in share market, options and futures. And I make a lot of money out of that…

All these “earth” succeed really turn me into a proud guy… Always in my mind, I taught i am better than others, my plan, my taught is always the best one… Anyone who do things differently with my way means they did a wrong thing.. I never know how to respect the variance of individual!!

As proverbs 29:23 said A man’s pride shall bring him low……

God is a marvelous God…. He always give you a lesson in the most proper time… A financial crisis in 2008 almost swept all my properties… He use the crisis teaches me a great and wonderful lesson but He is a good God… He never left you facing any problems alone.. He send a lot of great and marvelous peoples to help me!! I learn from them… They are more successful than anyone else in the society but yet they are more humble than anyone else!

They are humble because they faced too many issue in life and know that a lot of times God is the only one who help them to get out of the “Shit”…. I noticed nowadays a lot of youth are repeating the same issue…. They are gifted, talented and have great potential but because of the gift and talent they have they become so boastful!! Talent is something special from God to you, if you dont use it wisely.. God might take it back!!!

Young man, never think that you are so important for everything because without you the world still goes on! But also never look down of yourself because you really can change the world!!

Ocean is huge because she is always lower than

all the river!!!

Today visited Sue Jane’s mummy blogs– Wenn’s Experience… Discover that she have make a cake for Malaysia Merdeka…. It look nice and delicious…..

So, suddenly think off why i dont make one?? (*since Siew Har not around…. Hehe)

With the materials I have in hand only able to make a butter Raisin cake….

Below was the ingredients:

250g butter    

100g margarine   

250g caster sugar  

1/4 tea spoon of salt

5 eggs

1/2 tea spoon of vanilla essence

250g self raising flour  

300g of raisin and soak them with 5 spoon of rum wine for at least 3hours best is one day (tips it provide a wonderful aroma to the cake)- refer to photo:

 

Prepare a baking mold with paper and spread a thin layer of butter unto the paper to prevent any stickiness when take off the cake.

*Tips: to bake a good cake, you ant dump everything and mix all thing at one time!!!

Then, put the butter, caster sugar and margarine inside the bowl and mix them with a mixture untill it turn fluffy..

  Start mixing….

It turn into fluffy….

*Tips: Don’t add egg and flour in at this early stage of mixing. If you do so the cake would not bake and it will become so solid and would not taste soft and tender……

Then, add in the egg. Important step!! After add in the egg dont mix too long… As long as the egg is evenly distributed.. It is ok di… Or not same result to the tips….

 

Then add in the vanilla essence… and let it evenly distributed…

Simple but important step!… DO filter the flour before you use them dont be lazy…..

Then, pour the flour into the butter, sugar and egg mixture and mix them with hand no machine pls cause it will caused over mixture…

Then add in the raisin and mixed with hand……

   

Then, transfer the dull into the mold.

Pre heat the oven pls….. Untill the oven temperature reach 180 deg….

Important step: Dont ever put it the cake into the oven unless it reach the set temperature…..

When the temperature reach 180deg. Then, put the cake into the oven and bake it for 45 minutes at 180 deg..

Important step: If you oven have two baking channel like my one.. Just use the bottom channel only dont use top or top and bottom… your cake will end up over cook or cook at top and surface only….

After 45 minutes…. It is done…. It look nice with great aroma… Haha!!!

This is how it look like…..

Most important step!!!!!! DONT FORGET!!!!

MAKAN!!!!

It is so delicious…… Wow….!!!!

Today Ps Richard preached a sermon on fathers…. The message striked my heart!!!

I have a father, but i never have a good father and son relationship!! I find it hard to imagine how a father should behave…..  Always in my mind, i dont know how to handle my father… Some time, I did found it heavy to call this guy  - father…. May be he also dont know how to handle me…..

Since i was in secondary school… I never have a good talk or conversation with him….

I live with my father, sad, we hardly talk… Each conversation end up in a quarrel….

As a son, i always yell to my father… Dad you are good for nothing!!  I think, as a father, he will feel so hurt when listen to this phase…….

Today, our siblings bought a washing machine and i requested my cell member to install it for us….

My friend come and he meet with my dad… and they have a good talk and wonderful conversation along the installation… This is first time I heard so many words come out from his mouth!!! If a outsider passed by will think that my friend and my dad is the father and son and i just a outsider…… My dad is so talkative, friendly and nice….. what a surprise….

I have a discussion with my mom and my siblings regarding our dad during the dinner… All of them said that I am the one who inherited most of my dad character…… That why we quarrel so much…..A cold running down my spine….. Am I will be like him????

Oh no!!!

My mom tell us that none of us understand my father…… She tell us that my dad just cant find a position in this house to fill himself in…. Since young all of us (my sis, me and my bro) have been too independent till we sometime we think that we dont need a father in our life…… None of the issues or problems that we faced we seek him for help ….. 

Just now i go through all my photos album… cause i wish to post a photo of my dad and me…. but i cant find any….. Just this, which we take at a photo studio during my brother convocation….. and this photos is put on my house’s TV table…. Besides, this i cant find any… Sad right??…

.

 A lot of times, I always grumble at my dad that he failed to be a father but think deeply I have failed to be a Son…..!!!

Since Pastor Jenny have post so many words for our spiritual! So, I decided to post a guide to teach all of you to make a famous Tiramisu Cake!! Yeah Yeah!!

..~~Tiramisu~~..

Material (all no need to be accurate)

Coffee whitener/coffee mate 1 teaspoon

Coffee powder 1.5 teaspoon

Condensed milk 1 teaspoon

Hot water 75g

Sound familiar yes we r making a cup of coffee!!! :P

Cake flour without baking powder 45g

Oil (normal on can lah) 20g

Sugar 60g

2 eggs (separate egg yolk out)

Baking powder 0.5 teaspoon

Baking Process:

1. Egg yolk, water, oil, coffee 50g and half of the sugar put in a bowl

2. Put the bowl and all ingredients on a hot water bath stir until all the sugar dissolve into the water or all sugar disappear lah!!! And the whole thing will become very smooth!!!! Remember stir until smooth!!

3. Put the egg white???---- egg without yoke lah into second bowl and keep stir it until the whole things become white colour. Meanwhile put the left over sugar in time by time slowly ah!! Best is divide the sugar into three time and put in. Stir until like below the paste won’t fall off!! Whole process is in water bath!! Or not need to stir very long

4. Then slowly put cake powder and baking powder into the coffee and egg yoke mixture (process 2 still remember!!) also put in slowly, best is put all the powder in by two times and stir it slowly. Better filtered the cake powder will make the cake smoother!! like below

5. Put some not all the white paste (remember make by the egg white one?) into the the brown thing up there^^. Then slowly stir and put in the white paste again and again until it finish!!

Then put it into a mold

Then put in a pre-heated oven at 160oC and bake 20-25 minute. Yes this is the cake!!!

Look nice :P take the cake out and let it cool down!!

Ok making of the cream or mousse by cream cheese

Cream cheese 125g

Sugar 50g

Eye yolk 1

Pure cream 180ml

All add together except sugar divide three times to put in!! and stir!!

Cream cheese same put into hot water bath stir it until it become smooth (don’t have any lump)

The egg yolk (after stir) and the smooth cream cheese stir together

Then the pure cream stir until like this then add to the eye yolk and cream cheese paste

Ok cream finish di!! Now cut the cake (after cooling) into 4 pieces

Then again make another cup of coffee but add in coffee liquor 3 teaspoon don’t know wat is coffee liquor see the picture below. We call this whole cup liquid as ‘coffee L’ ok??

Cool!! cut the cake into round shape and the outer layer don’t need

Put in a bigger mold then put the first layer of cake in down remember put a layer of aluminium foil

Finally last part after put in a layer of cake then put a layer of ‘coffee L’ on the cake then put a layer of cream cheese mousse like below repeat the steps until the four layer of cake finish!! Mousse must cover the whole cake and must exceed the cake.

Last layer’s mousse surface smooth it with knife, then put some coco powder on it!

Put in refrigerator for 2 hours then can eat di HAHA its delicious!! Success picture!!

Look nice right!! Try to make it!!!

The Bible uses the picture of a beautiful well-kept garden to describe the spiritual relationship between God and His people. And In our passage Song of Songs 4:12-16 we’ve got a great example of this.

THE LOVER AND HIS BRIDE

Christ Jesus and the Church

The Song of Songs is a poetic love story between a King and a lowly country girl, which uses exotic and striking language. It celebrates love and affection between a man and a woman that cuts across class barriers. But what did God intend in including it in the Old Testament canon? The great key to understanding it is to see that it describes the spiritual relationship between Jesus, the Bridegroom King, and the Church, the peasant girl Bride.

In 4:12-16 the Bridegroom, Jesus, speaks of His Bride to be, the Church, in terms of garden imagery that reflects vital spiritual truths

1. The Church Secure

(12) ‘You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride!’ It’s important to realise what sort of garden we’re looking at here. It’s not your little patch behind an inner city town house; rather it’s an expansive, fertile, fruitful piece of land in the ancient middle-east that supplied the vegetables, roots and fruits that made up most of the householders diet; it was the source of medicines too. There was typically a well together with a place to bath too.
Very importantly, the garden here was enclosed or walled round, firstly, to protect it from intruders – people and animals. Hence the reference in (12) to the Bride being, ‘…a garden locked up.’ As the middle-eastern gardener put a wall round his garden, so the Lord Jesus puts a secure wall around His bride, the church, to protect her from invaders. It’s a wall of grace and mercy that can’t be climbed over or breached. Neither can the door be broken down, by would be intruders.

Lesson: We are protected by our Lord Jesus.

2. The Church Set Apart for Christ

The gardener put a wall around his garden, not only to protect it, but also to ensure his privacy. It belonged to him, and he desired to enjoy it and benefit from its produce. In a similar way, the Church is walled round because she is dedicated for Jesus Christ. This isn’t out of place when you take into account that the chief imagery of the poem is that the church is Christ’s bride. Jesus Christ is committed to His bride; there’s room for no other in His heart. EPH 5;25-27 ‘Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church…’

Lesson:
(1) If Jesus Christ is so devoted to His church, so we as His Bride should be totally dedicated to Him. There should be no room in our hearts but for Him. There’s always a danger that we can be drawn away from that unique relationship with Him. 2 COR 11:2-3 ‘I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I premised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.’
(2) This also highlights the key nature of true marriage. The Church of Jesus Christ mustn’t simply go with the flow but stand firm for true biblical marriage and life-long commitment because that is the ideal and pattern that God has shown us.

3. A PRODUCTIVE GARDEN

The Church And Her Fruits

(13) ‘Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.’

Here the Lord Jesus talks about His Bride to be as a kind of paradise. In fact the Hebrew word translated ‘orchard’ corresponds exactly with our English word ‘Paradise’ and brings to mind the pleasure parks and gardens around the great residences of Persian monarchs. In Christ’s garden there’s a tremendous variety of trees, plants, fruits and spices which please His eye; satisfy His taste and smell sensational.

So here we have pictured the spiritual character of the church. It underlines the fact that where there is life there is fruit – has to be! The church having the life of Jesus must produce fruit that lines up with the will of Jesus. That way she pleases Him. EPH 5:8-10 ‘For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what please the Lord.’

Lesson:

(1) Our aim then should be to please Christ our bridegroom; to display those varied spiritual graces in our personal lives and as a church. What are those fruits? GAL 5:22,23 ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’

The Source of the Fruits
These characteristics aren’t natural to us because of our sinful nature.

So what then is the source of fruitfulness for the church? The Lord Jesus also describes the church as (15) ‘…a garden fountain, a well of flowing water…’ This is a picture of spiritual life; water flowing and springing up from within. But wells and fountains don’t spring up from no-where. They have a source themselves. (15) ‘…a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.’

The heights of Lebanon in Syria were renowned for the cedar trees that grew in the region. But also for their snowy peaks and very high rainfalls each March and November. As a result many streams made their way down from the snowy heights bringing cool and invigorating water to the thirsty lowlands. The prophet Jeremiah (18:14) spoke of ‘the snow of Lebanon’ and its cool waters’ that were ever constant. These cool snow waters set our focus firmly on the Lord Jesus Christ. As the life giving refreshing water flowed down from Lebanon’s snowy peaks, so it’s through the Lord Jesus that the waters of eternal life flow down to us from the heights of glory itself.

Lesson:

(1) Let’s be so thankful that Jesus laid down His life for us at the cross to bring us life from above.

4. A GARDEN ENJOYED

The Holy Spirit’s Ministry

(16) ‘Awake north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad.’ It’s now the Bride’s turn to speak. What’s so clear about her is that her one desire is to please her lover. What’s just as clear is that she’s deeply aware of her need of the God to work in her life. So she speaks a prayer, as it were. George Burrowes: ‘Without [the Holy Spirit’s] influences there can be no spiritual life, no fragrance of piety, no fruits of holiness.’

So what about the winds affecting Christ’s garden? One bible teacher explains what the weather in Palestine was like then: ‘The east wind is…generally whithering and tempestuous; the west wind brings from the sea [Mediterranean]clouds of rain, or dark, damp air; the north wind is cooling and refreshing, it’s power being broken by the mountain-chain of Lebanon; the south wind, though hot, has its heat mitigated in the uplands regions, and is never stormy.’

So how do the north and south winds reflect the work of the Holy Spirit? The north wind, clear, cool and bracing, sweeps away spiritual gloom and unbelief. The south wind, gentle, warm and moist, Christ awakens the life of grace. C H Spurgeon spoke of it like this: ‘…that blessed Spirit can come as the north wind, convincing us of sin, and tearing away every rag of our self-confidence, or he may come as the soft south wind, all full of love, revealing Christ, and the covenant of grace, and all the blessings treasured for us therein.’

Lesson:

(1) How we need as the church today for the north and the south wind to blow over us; to know the fresh, living breath of God to awaken and challenge us.

5. Christ Walks in His Garden

(16) ‘Let my lover come into His garden and taste its choice fruits.’ The Bride here makes what might be thought a rather bold and forward statement. She invites Him into the garden to enjoy what it has to offer. Now she’s not being boastful here. She recognises she’s not worthy of His attentions in herself, but also knows that she has a beauty is from Him.

The Bride’s attitude to herself is summed up in Song of Songs 1:5 ‘Dark am I yet lovely.’

So in this garden analogy she recognises that her lover can enjoy the spices, fruits and smells of the garden that He owns and planted. He’s elevated her to His class so to speak through His transforming love.

Lessons:

(1) You and I can look at ourselves as the church and wonder: ‘How can Jesus take any pleasure in me.’ There’s so much that must displease Him – that awkward temper I give in to; those selfish thoughts I battle with; the coldness of my heart at times . But learn to declare: Jesus Christ has made a difference to us and in us; we belong to Him, are the church, His people, and have that special relationship with Him. Learn to say: ‘Dark am I yet lovely.’

CONCLUSION

Why should we spent priority time on our relationship with the Lord? Because if we’re wrong at this point, we’ll be wrong everywhere else, in worship, service, in relationships with others and so on. As A W Tozer put it: ‘The Christian is strong or weak depending on how closely he has cultivated the knowledge of God.’’

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, we ask for the grace to give our lives totally to you. We repent of all of our self-centeredness and sin that separates us from you. We desire to gaze on your glory with unveiled faces
and be transformed from glory to glory. We want to be intimate with you. We give you permission to do whatever it takes to bring us to this intimacy. Amen


***** JESUS IS LORD *****

Hi guys,

This is a bible study on Song of Solomon 4. I leave it to you to journal using SOAP.

Happy Journalling!

Ps. Jenny

Hi!

This song was sung at the recent VBS and I love it very much. Thought I would like to share with you all.

Enjoy the sweet fellowship with the Lover of your soul - JESUS!

Hey all! I don't really know what to write as an opening post here but all I can say is that it is by God's grace that we are able to reunite as one even in the virtual world. How wonderful!

May we continue be the beacon of Christ and tell the world about Him. The task of spreading the Word might be just like catching lightning in a bottle but we will all try our best, won't we?

The weather is so cool today. Praise the Lord for providing us with rain!

I am beginning to succumb to randomness so I shall end this post before I start scribbling in gibberish. I don't want to be blocked (by Eunice) from writing here. When I am more inspired, I shall write more.

Here's a picture of the girls with Pastor Jenny on Christmas Day last year.


Pastor Jenny is so cute!!

Hi guys!

Our journaling today brings us to Song of Solomon 3: 1-5. I thought I would write something about this passage so that you can understand it better. After commenting on this passage, I will write down what I have written in my journal for today.

Remember: The heart of journalling is to encourage YOU to go to the Word of God daily to feed YOURSELF on His Truth. It is to allow the Word of God to study us and to transform us more and more into Christ's Likeness! "The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6: 63)

The Song of Solomon, also known as Songs, is a love song written by Solomon and is full of metaphors and oriental imagery. As we look deep into The Song of Solomon we see a depiction of life finding its highest fulfillment in the love of a man and a woman, so spiritual life finds its fulfillment in the love of God for His people and Christ for His church. As we read The Song of Solomon we see the book is arranged like scenes in a drama with three main speakers: the bride (Shulamite), the king (Solomon) and a chorus (daughters of Jerusalem). Today’s text (3: 1-5) shows the bride (Shulamite) searching for her true love and in that setting is where we begin today.

The words of the Shulamite girl to King Solomon’s court ladies continues in this chapter. She is relaying things about the search for her true love.

This short and sweet little passage is often misunderstood.
We must remember, the Shulamite girl and the shepherd boy
are only betrothed to one another!

Let’s take a closer look at what she is saying.

1. On my bed, I sought him.
Song 3:1
THE SHULAMITE
By night on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.

The Shulamite girl and shepherd boy were engaged.

Verse 1 does not teach that they were in bed together…
nor had ever been in bed together.
It teaches very simply, while she was separated from her betrothed:

She thought about him at night while lying in her bed.
* She missed him terribly.
* She deeply desired to be with him.

2. I will rise now, and go about the city.
Song 3:2
"I will rise now," I said, "And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love."
I sought him, but I did not find him.

She told these other women that she could not sleep!
- She got up and went looking for her shepherd.
* Her great desire for her shepherd is seen in this verse.
· She even asked for help in finding him!

Song 3:3 The watchmen who go about the city found me; I said,
"Have you seen the one I love?"

- Unfortunately, she could not find him!
- At least, not yet.

Her heart was truly broken.
Remember, she is vividly telling this story
to the rest of the women in Solomon’s harem..

She could not have that desire fulfilled now.

3. I found him the one I love.
Song 3:4
Scarcely had I passed by them,
When I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go,
Until I had brought him to the house of my mother,
And into the chamber of her who conceived me.

- It wasn’t long, though, that she did find him!
- She only passed by the watchmen a few times.
- She kept looking until she found the shepherd!
- Notice these facts about this meeting:

#1 She found him.

· If you are not looking carefully enough,
you won’t find what you’re looking for.

#2 She held him.
This is an interesting word.
When we read it, we think "hug."
It’s much more than that!
It means, "to grasp, to take hold, to seize, to catch, and to fasten."
She looked for him so long and so hard
that when she did finally find him,
she wasn’t going to let him get away!
She latched onto him and would not let go.

#3 She brought him.
The "chamber" here is not a bed chamber!
It was an inner-parlor in her mother’s house.

4. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem. Song 3:5
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.

These are the same words she used in chapter 2:7.
It is even spoken of in the same way.
- She strongly urges these harem women…
not to try to excite or entice her
to change her affection from her shepherd
to the king or anyone else.
- This shows her deep commitment to the shepherd boy!

Conclusion:
This ends this part of her story to the rest of the harem.
No matter what they had to say or offer her,
her mind was unwavering and sure.
Her heart was fixed. She turned her desire into action.
She didn’t just stay in the bed and wish to find her shepherd.
She got up and did something about it.
She wanted her shepherd, not the king.

The Song of Solomon is about our relationship to our Betrothed, Jesus.
Many Christians just sit and think about what it might be like
to have a sweet relationship with the Savior.
Others love Him enough to actually do something about it.

- The Shulamite girl did what it took to find her betrothed.

What are you willing to do
to have that kind of relationship with the Lord Jesus,
the Lover of your soul?

My journal entry (SOAP)

Date: 24.8.09

Title: My Soul longs for you

Scripture: Song 1: 2: I got up and went around the city, in the streets and squares looking for the one I love. I looked for him, but I could not find him.

Observation: The Shulamite lady longed so much to find the shepherd boy that she could not sleep at night. She got up from her bed and went out in search of him. She looked around the city, in the streets but she could not find him. The city and the streets represent the world and all its distractions, like the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. But as soon as she left all these, she found the one she loves. Likewise, there should be a longing in our souls for God, the lover of our soul. We look in the wrong places to satisfy our longing. But as soon as we leave those things or places that distract us, we will be able to find Jesus who is the One who can really satisfy us. So there must be a longing, a searching, a finding, a holding on and not letting go.

Application: My soul will long to have fellowship and communion with Jesus. I will search for him and once I have found him, I will not let him go.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, my soul longs for you, as the deer thirst for the waters. You alone can satisfy the longing and fulfill the desires of my heart. In You will I find true happiness, joy and peace. Amen.

Hi!

Today has been a very eventful day for me. Started the day at 7.30 a.m. We had a one day VBS with the theme One Way. 50 children attended this VBS. Fiona, Eunice, Deric, Emily and Melanie were there to help out. They were the Kor kor and Chei Chei. We had a great fun time! The kids enjoyed themselves very much. You should see the expression on their faces when they came out to claim their rewards.

After the VBS ended, we had our Ignyte meeting. Today is "group discussion week". We discussed on the topic "Spiritual Warfare." We learnt that we have three adversaries that we are in conflict with. They are the world, our sinful nature and Satan. But we know that we can overcome our enemies not through physical weapons but by declaring and proclaiming the Word of God. It is important to memorize the Scriptures because Jesus taught us to overcome the temptation of the devil by quoting Scriptures. The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit and it is the most powerful weapon.

We also say farewell, "chai chien" to Jessica and Nicole Wilson who will be heading back home to England after spending their summer holdidays with their grandparents Mick and Kathy Stratford. As we do not have Ignyte meeting next Saturday, this will be their last Saturday with us. God bless.