For we simply cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

This Christmas.

Dear brothers and sisters who read this,

Christmas is coming soon. To be exact, Christmas is coming in precisely 25 days. This Christmas, let us remember our need for our Saviour; let us remember why Jesus had to come in the flesh, and hopefully grow to cherish and love Jesus Christ - to the point where we would want to share the real reason for the season with everyone possible.

Here are 3 sermons by John Piper, that helped me to remember. They might take awhile to listen to completely, but it is worth the time.

Why We Need a Saviour: Dead in Sins
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/why-we-need-a-savior-dead-in-sins

Why We Need a Saviour: Captive to an Alien Power, by Nature Children of Wrath
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/why-we-need-a-savior-captive-to-an-alien-power-by-nature-children-of-wrath

But God...
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/but-god

I hope listening to these sermons will stir up a passion within you for Jesus Christ, and lead you to use this season fully.

Remembering Christ, Seb.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Sanctification

To be like Jesus, to be like Jesus;
All I ask is to be like Him.
All through life's journey - from earth to glory -
All I ask is to be like Him.

I pray we may never be consumed by the pursuit of the created - grades, scholarships, career, universities, relationships, sex - that we forget the one who gives ultimate joy, the Creator Himself.

Friday, September 9, 2011

I want to be in the light


This is "In the Light" by DC Talk. I am personally fond of this song for a few reasons:

  1. It hints that there is a fundamental problem with man.
  2. It does not keep dwelling on the fact that there is a problem. Instead, it goes on to say how this "confirms my suspicions: that I am still a man in need of a Saviour."
  3. It admits that the solution does not lie with "me", or that I can do anything about the problem at all.
  4. It suggests that the solution is in the "Lord" being "our light and our salvation".
  5. It is as much a declaration as it is a prayer of my heart's desire: to be in the light.
This I pray.

In the Light - DC Talk
I keep trying to find a life on my own, apart from you.
I am the king of excuses; I've got one for every selfish thing I do.

The disease of self runs through my blood; it's a cancer fatal to my soul.
Every attempt on my behalf has failed to bring this sickness under control.

What's going on inside of me? I despise my own behaviour.
This only serves to confirm my suspicions: that I'm still a man in need of a Saviour.

I want to be in the light, as You are in the light.
I want to shine like the stars in the heavens.
O Lord, be my light and be my salvation.
'Cause all I want is to be in the light.

Heavenward,
Seb.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Just a thought

Zhengliang and Janice, I admire their compassion.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Reading & Thinking

And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to [Jesus] as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus answered them, "I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?" And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From man,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

-Matthew 21:23-27

This temper of mind is hostile to precise definitions. Indeed nothing makes a man more unpopular in the controversies of the present day than an insistence upon definition of terms. ... Men discourse very eloquently today upon such subjects as God, religion, Christianity, atonement, redemption, faith; but are greatly incensed when they are asked to tell in simple language what they mean by these terms.

-Extracted from What is Faith?, J. Gresham Machen, pg 13-14.

The Immorality of Relativism

Relativism Cultivates Duplicty
The immoral dimension of relativism is most obvious when relativists live their lives. They simply do not live them as though relativism were true. Professors may play the academic game of relativism in their classes, but when they go home they get upset when their wives don't understand what they say. Why do they get upset? Because they know that there is an objective meaning that can be transmitted between two human beings, and we have moral obligations to grasp what is meant.

No husband ever said, "Since all truth and language are relative, it does not matter how you interpret my invitation to sleep together." Whether we write love letters, or rental agreements, or instructions to our children, or directions for a friend, or contracts, or sermons, or obituaries, we believe objective meaning exists in what we write, and we expect people to try to understand. And we hold them accountable (and often get upset) if they don't.

Nobody is a relativist when his case is being tried in court and his objective innocence hangs on objective evidence. The whole system of relativism is a morally corrupting impulse. It brings with it duplicity and hypocrisy. It is a great bluff. And what is needed in our day is for may candid children to rise up as in the fairy tale and say, "The king has no clothes on."

Relativism Enslaves People
In John 8:31-32, Jesus said, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." If we cultivate a view of truth that makes it unreachable or nonexistent, then we create a kind of Christianity that will simply colonize slaves. People are not freed from sin and death by the fog of relativism. They stay in chains.

There is a remedy: "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17). But if the people are led away from a love of the truth, they will not be set free, they will not be sanctified, and they will perish. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:10, "[They perish], because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved." We are not playing games. Relativism leads people away from a love of the truth and so enslaves them and destroys them.

The Bondage of Relativism
The list of damaging effects of relativism could go on. I have not spoken of the multicultural relativism that silences the prophetic indictment of the destructive forces of personal and social dysfunction. I have not spoken of the poisonous effects of relativism on personal integrity as it erodes the sacred duty to tell the truth and keep one's word. But perhaps this is enough.

Remember the chief priests and the elders in Matthew 21:23-27? Because they had no intention of submitting to the truth, they were trapped. If we say John's baptism is "from heaven," we will be shamed for not believing. So we can't say that is true. If we say it's "from man," we will be mobbed, because they say he's a prophet. So we can't say that is true. So we will make up a truth. We will say "We don't know." What bondage! They cannot own the truth because they are enslaved to the fear of shame and harm.

And what a prostitution of the gift of thinking! How seriously they thought! How carefully. Their minds were in full force. "If we say this... then that." "But if we say that... then this." "Ah, conclusion: we don't know." They thought they had escaped. They thought this was freedom.

This is what happens to reason and language -- thinking and speaking -- when the roots of relativism are spreading. This is not what thinking is for. It is God's gift. Together with gospel-liberation, and prayer, and the illumining work of the Holy Spirit, the gift of thinking can know the truth and be free indeed.

The chief priests and the elders were enslaved to the fear of being shamed and being hurt. Or to put it another way: they were in bondage to the craving for the praise of man and the pleasures of security. Either way, what governed the use of their minds was this fear and this craving.

-Extracted from Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God, John Piper, Crossway, pg 108-109, 113-114, 115.

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For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

We so often think of what our treasure is by thinking of what we spend our time on. And if we cannot do it for the day, we will instantly have low morale. Or something of the sort. And we can name so many, many, MANY things, that take up so much of our time and on which our morale depends on, and that take God's rightful place in our lives. Such treasures include: grades, exams, computer games, pornography, KOI bubble tea, and the list goes on.

But have we considered what it will look like if our treasure is in the right place? Here are two questions to help us consider if Christ is really our treasure.

1. Do we spend most of our time and energy and money, thinking, reading, talking, sharing, about Christ?
2. If we fail to "have" Christ for one day, will our morale be crushed?



My Lord and God, You are so rich in mercy!
Mere words alone are not sufficient thanks.
So take my life; transform, renew, and change me,
That I might be a living sacrifice.

Thinking along with you,
Seb.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

A Christian marriage is a beautiful one.

A little something from desiringgod.org on the topic of biblical man-/husband-hood, that made me realise that Christian marriages are so beautiful, and helped me understand why without Christ, a marriage simply cannot work.

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Jesus—The Pattern for Manhood

The reason I am using the title “Lionhearted and Lamblike” to refer to the Christian husband as head of his wife is because the husband is called to lead like Jesus who is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5) and the Lamb of God (Revelation 5:6)—he was lionhearted and lamblike, strong and meek, tough and tender, aggressive and responsive, bold and brokenhearted. He sets the pattern for manhood.

But it may not yet be crystal clear to some that the concept of headship involves leadership as its main meaning. That is what I think is the case. The key verse on headship here is Ephesians 5:23: “The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.” So the husband is to take his unique cues in marriage from Christ in his relationship to his church. I take that to mean that the husband bears a unique responsibility for leadership in the marriage

......

3. Leadership in Spiritual Protection

The spiritual dangers that beset the family today are innumerable and subtle. We need valiant warriors like never before. Not with spears and shields, but with biblical discernment and courage. First, husbands, pray for your family everyday, “Lead them not into temptation but deliver them from evil.” Fight for them in prayer against the devil and the world and the flesh. Pray the prayers of the Bible for them. Don’t grow weary. God hears and answers prayer for our wives and children.

Set standards for your wife and children. Work them through with your wife. Remember the path of leadership here is primary responsibility, not sole responsibility. Wives are eager to help here, but what frustrates them is when we don’t take any initiative and they are left to try to determine and enforce the standards alone. Take the initiative in thinking through what will be allowed on TV. What movies you and the children will go to. What music will be listened to. And how low your daughter’s necklines will be. I am tempted to preach a whole message on the relationship between dads and the way their daughters dress. Yes, mom is the key player here in helping a young woman learn the meaning of modesty and beauty. But dad’s role for both of them is indispensable both in celebrating what they look like and telling them when the way they dress means what they don’t think it means. Dads, you know exactly what I mean. What you need here is courage. Don’t be afraid here. This is your daughter, and she must hear from you what she is saying to men with her clothes.

One other example of leadership in spiritual protection: Paul says in Ephesians 4:26-27, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” In other words, one wide open door to the devil in your house is unresolved anger as you go to bed. In the children and in the marriage. Leadership means we must take the lead in reconciliation.

I don’t mean that wives should never say they are sorry. But in the relation between Christ and his church, who took the initiative to make all things new? Who left the comfort and security of his throne of justice to put mercy to work at Calvary? Who came back to Peter first after three denials? Who has returned to you again and again forgiving you and offering his fellowship afresh? So husbands, your headship means: Go ahead. Take the lead. It does not matter if it is her fault. That didn’t stop Christ. Who will break the icy silence first? Who will choke out the words, “I’m sorry, I want it to be better”? Or: “Can we talk? I’d like things to be better.” She might beat you to it. That’s okay. But woe to you if you think that, since it’s her fault, she’s obliged to say the first reconciling word. Headship is not easy. It is the hardest, most humbling work in the world. Protect your family. Strive, as much as it lies within you, to make peace before the sun goes down.

4. Leadership in Physical Protection

This is too obvious to need illustration—I wish. If there is a sound downstairs during the night and it might be a burglar, you don’t say to her: This is an egalitarian marriage, so it’s your turn to go check it out. I went last time.” And I mean that even if your wife has a black belt in karate. After you’ve tried, she may finish off the burglar with one good kick to the solar plexus. But you better be unconscious on the floor, or you’re no man. That’s written on your soul, brother, by God Almighty. Big or little, strong or weak, night or day, you go up against the enemy first. Woe to the husband—and woe to the nation—that send their women to fight their battles.

For God’s Glory and Our Good

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and God came to call them to account, it didn’t matter that Eve had sinned first. God said, “Adam, where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). That’s God’s word to the family today: Adam, husband, father, where are you? If something is not working right at your house and Jesus comes knocking on the door, he may have an issue with your wife, but the first thing he’s going to say when she opens the door is, “Is the man of the house home?”

When a man joyfully bears the primary God-given responsibility for Christ-like, servant leadership and provision and protection in the home—for the spiritual well-being of the family, for the discipline and education of the children, for the stewardship of money, for holding of a steady job, for the healing of discord—I have never met a wife who is sorry she married such a man. Because when God designs a thing (like marriage), he designs it for his glory and our good.

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/lionhearted-and-lamblike-the-christian-husband-as-head-part-2

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Peace. And joy. That lasts.

Today I watched in silence, as people passed me by,
And I strained to see if there was something hidden in their eyes.
But they all looked back at me as if to say,
"Life just goes on."

The old familiar story told in different ways.
Make the most of your own journey from the cradle to the grave.
Dream your dreams tomorrow because today,
Life just goes on.

But there's more to this life than living and dying,
More than just trying to make it through the day.
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see,
And there's more than this life alone can be.

-More to This Life, Steven Curtis Chapman.

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To a dear friend. I pray you find the peace I've found.


As some of you may know, I am in my school choir. And tomorrow will be a big day for many, as we present our work of 6 months, on that stage for 15 minutes. The journey has not been smooth, but God is still God.

As I see the determination in my choir's eyes, how they strive to achieve an award of highest prestige, it pains me greatly to see so many dependent on this one award for joy, and for peace, knowing that they have sustain the "honour and glory passed down from our seniors". I think that for the individuals, it is less (if it even is) about the seniors, but more about some personal gratification of sorts.

And is it not this way with the rest of life? How we keep wanting more this and more that; more cars, more houses, more grades, more comfort, more investments, more insurance, more.... All our lives we have been bombarded with the notion of "having MORE", or "MORE securely what we have". The strange phenomenon, as accounted by some of the richest people in the world, is that our hankering after these things will never cease, our hunger for these things is insatiable. People who have more want even more. Isn't that the case in first world countries, like Singapore??

Some people argue, "But that's the way life is!" To which I say, hogwash! Life was never meant to be about chasing things that will one day perish, chasing things that cannot give us joy or peace that lasts. In fact, the joy and peace that comes from getting that Gold Award (with Honours) will certainly not last very long, and will probably be insufficient to tide us through tough times. How terrible it is for us to spend so much of our time and money and energy and effort and mental strength chasing after something that is transient, so transient it can barely satisfy! How sad it is to spend our lives on things that do not last!

Romans 1:22-23 tells us exactly what fools we are. The people of the time worshipped idols made of silver and stone and wood, but we the people of today worship idols like money and prestige and fame and popularity and honour and grades, and the list goes on. But like the idols of old, these turn us away from the living God, who made the heavens and the earth, who made and sustains us, and who is the very One who determines and knows even before we were born what result we will get tomorrow at 530pm. In the words of apostle Paul, we "exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images". We have given up God for the temporal joy and peace we receive from these idols!

And that's precisely why Jesus came to die: to free us from the chains of idolatry, that we may find what truly brings us maximum joy and peace, namely, Himself. You see, we who were made in the image of God were meant to have a perfect relationship with Him. We were made to love Him and to know Him and to savour that relationship that brings us eternal joy and peace. But we chose to turn away. We chose to chase after the idols that we made for our own pleasure. We chose to give in to the very things that make us bend over backwards to go after them, only to realise that they do not satisfy. For that, Romans 1:18 tells us that "the wrath of God is revealed (to us)... who by our unrighteousness suppress the truth." Romans 1:21 tells us that we became "futile in our thinking, and our foolish hearts were darkened." We made ourselves unable to have and enjoy true, lasting joy and peace. Not only that, but we were condemned to eternal damnation apart from Him, never knowing what this joy and peace ought to be.

But God, loving us, knowing that we would have no joy or peace from the things that the world has to offer, not wanting that we should perish forever without Him, sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our rebellion against Him. Jesus took the punishment in our place, that we might be reconciliated to God, that God's wrath against our unrighteousness may be satisfied, in order to restore that relationship that will most definitely bring us ultimate, supreme, and eternally lasting joy and peace.

(I must clarify at this point that it is not a zen kind of peace I am talking about, neither is it about feeling peaceful. The peace I am talking about comes solely from the knowledge and experience of being at peace with a God of wrath. It is this very peace with an angry God that allows for peace within ourselves, and peace with others.)

(Similarly, joy is not just about being happy. It is the sheer exhilaration, that overwhelming enjoyment, that unending pleasure of being in a personal relationship with our Creator. It is a joy that is enough, even more than enough, to tide us through testing times.)

So maybe you're looking for peace, or maybe you're looking for joy, from things that are transient, temporal, and which only last for awhile. I urge you, stop chasing after the things that you know do not last. They will never bring you the peace that you are looking for, that you were made for. Surrender and submit to the loving rule of our Creator, God and King, over all part of your life. And Jesus promises in John 10:10 that you will "have life and have it abundantly", exactly the way we were designed for.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. John 3:36

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How can I be free from sin? Lead me to the cross of Jesus.
From the guilt, the power, the pain. Lead me to the cross of Jesus.

There's no other way, no price that I could pay.
Simply to the cross I cling.
This is all I need, this is all I plead:
That His blood was shed for me.

How can I know peace within? Lead me to the cross of Jesus.
Sing a song of joy again, lead me to the cross of Jesus.
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Shalom,
Seb.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

To the sisters

A short but insightful read on love and modesty. Read and think. =)

CBMW, Sarah Bubar, 6 April 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

There is nothing good in careless dressing.

I want to start off this post by saying this. For those of you who disregard the idea of absolutes, especially an absolute moral standard (ie absolute right and wrong), I would advise you not to carry on reading for you will simply be wasting your time. Now, on to everyone else.

People who know me will know that I am very particular about the way a lady dresses. I already hear the cries against chauvinism. But the reason for this is that there is really nothing good about dressing carelessly, which I will attempt to explain as clearly as I can later. Why only ladies? Simply because of the way men and women were made. We were made different. I don't claim to know very well about the way a lady's mind works, but from what I hear, girls are not affected much by the way guys dress (unless they don't at all), or at least much less than guys are by the fairer gender.

There are a few reasons why I absolutely detest carelessness in dressing. Dressing carelessly says nothing good about a lady. I can think of a few things that it can say about a lady:

1. The lady is ignorant. She bothers not about how the way she chooses to dress up can potentially affect other people. "I don't know how it affects you, and I don't care."

2. The lady is selfish and uncaring. She knows how her dressing may affect other people, but chooses not to do anything about it. She wears what she wants because it is beneficial to her (eg. less warm, less cumbersome, etc.), without giving two hoots about the impact on other people. "I do what I like, and it doesn't matter to me what you think about it, or how it affects you."

3. The lady is evil and cunning. Knowing how her dressing affects other people, she still chooses to dress as such in order to gain some benefit. Now this is slightly different from the one before in that the benefit actually arises from someone else (eg. more people looking at her, people think she's good-looking, using this to manipulate others to get what she wants, etc.). "I know how it affects you, and I use it against you."

By this point, many of the ladies who ask me about this will rebut. "Don't push the blame on us when YOU GUYS cannot control yourselves and your mind." Now, don't get me wrong. I do not condone the lust-filled thoughts that guys may have. But the fact is that many ladies don't even bother to help. In fact, many of them make a guy's effort to prevent such sinful thoughts even more demanding. So, it goes back to no 2: selfish, uncaring, and no love for people.

Some of my guy friends tell me to "just give in" and "stop suppressing your natural self". My simple reply to them is this: if entertaining such evil and selfish thoughts is natural, if not loving my future wife enough to keep my mind and body pure for her alone is natural, if I not loving my friend (or even the lady I do not know) enough to keep her pure in my mind (and perhaps sometimes even outside of my mind) is natural, I'd rather be unnatural.

People ask me what I think is acceptable, and they know full well that society today allows people to have relative standards. That is, one can say "You like, good for you, but you have no right to tell me I'm wrong." But as a Christian, I look to the Bible for principles on how a lady should dress, because I believe that if a lady dresses properly, according what God determines is right and wrong, it will please Him. What then can we count as "dressing properly"?

Well, one of my leaders aptly summarised several biblical principles: Don't show me what is only meant for your spouse. As long as you think what you wear will reveal, directly or indirectly, a part of you (and you know where) which is meant for your husband's eyes only, don't wear it. That is the reason why I am against tight shirts, short skirts, and the like. But this also applies to guys in their dressing as well. For example, there is no point in wearing a shirt that is clinging to all your muscles and/or (like me) fats. It is as good as not wearing a shirt.

So even if you don't take the principles about dressing, I think the reasons not to dress indecently or, more so, carelessly are generally agreeable with. I hope you carefully reconsider the way you dress. For me, I will, to please my Lord. How about you?

This life I live is not my own, for my Redeemer paid the price.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Thursday, March 3, 2011

'A' Levels, as told by Cara.

This is the testimony of a sister who went through 'A' Levels last year, and is now speaking based on experience and in retrospect. It's a long read, but a worthwhile one.

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Hi guys, I have a brother and he's 19 this year and this Friday, in less than two day's time, he's going to receive his A-level results. Although he doesn't show it, I think he's pretty nervous inside. And I guess, you too, my other brothers and sisters out there, are feeling nervous and fearful. Fearful of what the cert is going to say, fearful of the future: where you're going to be the next 3 or 4 years because so much, a crazy lot seems to depend on that cert.

I know I thought that. That's why I had a super massive breakdown during my prelims last time, because there seemed to be so much banked on this one exam. So I know how you feel, because I've gone through that. And now with the benefit of looking back to this one day last year, I hope to be able to tell you something.

Now I know I'm not the best person to say this. I have mega-doubt issues and worries and selfishness all bundled up inside. But please look past my imperfections and hear what I have to say, and it is this:

Live for God and don't look to the world, to yourself for security, for your future or your hope. Whatever is on that cert, that is so small, because ultimately your time here is so short. Don't limit God's will to be just giving you good grades, or a good career or a future with good "prospects". God may give you good grades, a wonderful career, good health and a wonderful family life now, but if that's all you're looking from Him, if that's what you're living for, if you're banking so much of yourself, your self-worth, your joy, your purpose on these temporary and fallible things, then I'm sorry but it's very sad. And I know because I used to live like that, I used to have those very small dreams, and even now I struggle with myself on wanting to live for that.

I know I spammed the words "Trust God" during the exam period, and then studied as if my life was determined by this one exam. And that was wrong. When you love the world and the promises, the security, the dreams it gives, you can't truly love God and you won't truly trust Him. Unless He's all that you really have, and all that you really want, you can't truly depend on Him and you may even reject the good He wants for you, because there's so much of your own selfish wants that you cling to. The Bible ends a whole section on God's provision for us in Matthew 6 with the condition that we must seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first.In Romans 8:28 all things work for good, FOR THOSE WHO LOVE GOD. And what kind of good things are we looking for when we say we're trusting God's will? Because if it's mere success, if it's the golden 5 As that will get you that moment of glory on stage, then we're highly deluded.

What do I mean?

The good things that God works in our lives, His plans to prosper and not to harm us, are SO MUCH MORE than our own expectations of good things. Our hope, our joy, our purpose can be based on SO MUCH MORE than just the grades we get on that cert, or a prestigious university. Why? Because God has secured the greatest thing already for us through the awesome sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ...and that is a right relationship with Him that lasts forever.

It's the joy and assurance that every single day He's there with you, empowering you to live life to the fullest, to live life for HIM, enjoying Him and savouring Him as you were meant to. It's the joy that comes when you know that no matter what hits you, whether you suffer poverty, loss, cancer, failed relationships, it is within His sovereign will for you, and everything bad turns for good because you belong to Him through the blood of Christ. It's the hope that at the end of this life, when all the material things we have pass into ashes and dust, when all our human bonds of love have been broken by death or otherwise, when our bodies that we spend so much time taking care of decay, we will pass into glory and WE WILL SEE CHRIST, our Saviour and Lord, and spend eternity worshipping and marvelling His beauty, His glory and love.

So as you go into the hall, as you sit in the rows of seats and see the people go up on stage, and maybe you join them, and maybe you don't, I hope and pray for myself and you too that you won't see this cert and cry or rejoice as if your whole life depended on it, because it really doesn't. And I hope you remember too, that beyond the big A Levels, beyond all the uni exams you'll face, there is another final exam that you and I must face, and as we prepared SO hard for this one human-set exam, I pray that we too are praying, and dreaming, and working, and living towards glorifying and enjoying Him, so that we may excel in that final judgement too.

I end with a quote by D.A. Carson:

Pity the person whose self-identity and hope rest on transient things. Ten billion years into eternity, it will seem a little daft to puff yourself up over the car you now drive, the amount of money or education you have received, the number of books you owned, the number of times you had your name in the headlines. Whether or not you have won an Academy Award will then prove less important than whether or not you have been true to your spouse. Whether or not you were a basketball star will be less significant than how much of your wealth you generously gave away. The one 'who does the will of God lives forever.' [1 John 2:17].

-Cara Chiang, Christian student.

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For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21.