We are a group of NSFs
currently serving in the
Singapore Armed Forces and
Singapore Civil Defense Force
attending Riverlife Church
As part of the Highlife Ministry,
we are an NS Area, comprising
of 3 NS cell groups
to provide each other with
Physical, Emotional, Mental
& Spiritual Support
we can be contacted at the following emails:
nsarea.highlife@gmail.com
nsarea.highlife@yahoo.com
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Hey all, This was what i promised in last week's cell. Hope it's useful
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Deuteronomy 28 speaks of many physical blessings which God promised to Israel. Note that Deuteronomy 28 is not addressed to believers in the body of Christ. In order to receive the physical blessings, Israel had to “hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments ...” (Deut 27:1), failing which they would be cursed (Deut 27:15).
In contrast, as members of the body of Christ, the Bible tells us that God “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). We do not have to work for these blessings and, in fact, we can’t.
What follows is a study of our blessings as believers in the body of Christ.
1. We have received forgiveness of sins.
Col 2: 13 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;”(KJV) / “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,”(NIV)
Col 1:14 “in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
Eph 4:32 “even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. “ (KJV)/“…just as in Christ God forgave you.”(NIV)
2. We have been regenerated or made alive spiritually.
Titus 3: 5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” (KJV) / “not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” (NIV)
Eph 2:4,5 “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” (KJV)/ “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions”(NIV)
3. We have been justified (i.e. declared righteous).
In our unsaved condition, we were seen as unrighteous in the eyes of God:
"There is none righteous, no one; For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ” (Rom 3:10, 23).
Rom 4:5 “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness “ (KJV)/“However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.”(NIV)
4. We have peace with God.
Rom 5:1 “Therefore being justified [declared righteous] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
Rom 5:9 “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
Gal 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us …”
Eph 2:14-18 “For he is our peace, … Having abolished in his flesh the law, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; ….. For through him we … have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
1 Cor 1:9 “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
5. We will not lose our salvation.
Rom 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
6. We have been sanctified.
Sanctify (Gk hagiazo) means to make or set apart as holy or pure.
1 Cor 1:2 “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints [sanctified ones].”
1 Cor 6:11 “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
Heb 10:10,14 “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering [sacrifice] of the body of Jesus Christ once for all ... For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
This blessing of sanctification has, therefore, nothing to do with our conduct. It is the result of the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Nevertheless, in our walk, we are exhorted to behave as saints should behave.
Eph 5:2-3 “And walk in love, as Christ hath loved us, ... But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; “
1 Thess 4:3-7 “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, ... For God hath not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness.”
Rom 12:1 “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
7. We can rejoice in the hope of a new glorious resurrected body.
1 Cor 15:52-53 “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: … the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
Rom 8:18,22-23 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. … For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”
In conclusion, when we focus on all the above spiritual blessings, we can:
(i) “Rejoice in the Lord always … “ (Phil 4:4)
(ii) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
(Phil 4:6,7)
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The 5 Crowns
Crown of Life - James 1:12
Crown of the Imperishable - 1 Corinthians 24:27
Crown of Exultation - 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
Crown of Righteousness - 2 Timothy 4:5-8
Crown of Glory 1 Peter 5:2-4
Monday, August 4, 2008
I can't wait for our ministry to be as vibrant as this
Monday, April 7, 2008
This was an old email from Pastor Joyce, that inspired me and i just wanna share with you all.
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(1) The Lord fights for you. - Deut 1;30, 31;
(2) Repentance from an "unwilling spirit".- Deut 1: 26, 3:22
(3) Eyes of faith for all Deut 3:27
God is simply awesome. He moves among us in an amazing and unexpected way yesterday
Do not be satisfied with yesterday's glory. Ask God for a fresh FIRE from heaven to consume and revive our hearts further, deeper and just more of him. Every single week! Every single day! Let's live in step with the Spirit all the time.
Let’s be challenged to do the following:
(1) A call to true discipleship
(2) God is looking for the Davids who has a passion for his name, who will
say what David said, "Who is this uncircumcised Phlistine that he should
defy the armies of the living God!"
(3) Submission and support to leadership (repentance of your rebellious
spirit towards leadership) A pledge of commitment and renewed loyalty
(4) Leaders to reckon that it is an awesome responsibility and repent if
there has been any unwilling spirit to serve the people and lead.
(5) Unity in the body of Christ: We are FAMILY
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Dont look for the easy options. You are better off living in an environment tt's a lil more demanding, more challenging, more stretching, a lil busier, if its where God has planted me, im better off there than somewhere that's cheaper, easier and or convenient. Im better off in a much more challenging environment but in the Father's blessing, than taking easier options but in a way that's drawing me away from the Father's blessing.
I will NOT settle for the cheap. the easier option is the path away from the Father's blessing
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Hey guys guess what! We serve a gracious God man I managed to contact the driver and he was willing to pay the $70 damage cost. So we're cost-free when it comes to the damages! All that's left for NSNC post admin is the miscellaneous cost. And I'll get back to you real soon! Especially after I return Nigel and Renhao the money for the 100plus, cake and petrol. Cheers!
- Nicholas
Sunday, March 16, 2008
It's a wrap! :)
First and foremost, I'd like to thank the Team that worked so hard to make it possible! Planning's the tough bit, and we saw the fruits of our labour on Friday through the smiles and various conversations along the way. God used many people during the planning stages and ministered to us as an Area, even if you guys didn't notice then. And I'd like to share that experience with everyone. The key thing is, even the PLANNING PROCESS can be aligned with the objectives! We hope to build up not only Men of Faith, but also to equip you with some useful planning experiences and to bring you on a journey of Leadership development!
Let's start off with the objectives our OC (Davi.dKoh) laid out for the team:
The objectives for the NSNC 2008 are as follows:
1. To increase cohesion in the NS Area, especially on an inter-cell level.
2. To forge a strong identity as an Area.
3. To unite the planning core team and to also glean experience in planning for such events. In future, the objective of such events would be more evangelistic in nature.
The objectives were pretty clear, but after looking at them for a while, I realised the fulfilment of all three objectives could only be achieved in two ways:
(1) The Core Team would be small and focused, each person with a large job scope.
(2) The Core Team would be big and the job scope will be less for each person on the team. Basically the Pie is cut up into smaller pieces as compared to (1).
However there are Pros and Cons to both approaches, and I had to weigh them out to best fit the objectives before executing.
The Cons
Our Area comprises of a large group of NSFs and this poses a few restrictions. Availability would be a problem for committee members.
If I chose Approach (1), and formed the committee of purely ORD Personnel (hehe) to organise the event, things would have been more efficient simply due to our availability and prior experience ie Marcus & Nigel. BUT, the rest of the guys in the area wouldn't learn much and that would defeat the purpose in the planning of this!
If I chose Approach (2), most of the team, me inclusive, would be largely inexperienced in planning for a Night Cycling event. Moreover, having to juggle planning commitments and tasks relating to the event on top of your daily duties and tasks in camp would be tricky. Therefore, outsourcing too many tasks in Approach (2) will make everything messier and harder to coordinate (basically as Supervising I'd have a hard time ensuring many things on too many fronts), and quality is expected to be compromised in certain areas.
However, looking at:
The Pros
A big team means greater ownership of the event by the members of the Area. It also means all of you (NSFs HAHAHA:P), would be exposed to the planning process and would learn from it! ORD Personnel aren't going to be in the NS Area forever, you know? :D Basically, Approach (2) fulfils the objectives more than (1) as we get more contact time in planning!
So, I decided to take Approach (2) and deliberately chose the committee across all three cells in the Area to optimise contact between different guys in the Area. REMEMBER, objectives can also be met even through the planning stages!
And now I'd like to thank individuals for their contributions. In no order of merit of course. :) And the objectives were met too! So praise the Lord! :)
DavKoh, for trusting me enough to handle this without prior experience. For your constant prayers and affirmation and for helping out in any way you could. Thank you for obtaining the TP permit for us, and for providing much insight to Jenson and I in the planning.
Jenson, for your wealth of experience in planning for Night Cycling trips. Thank you for laying out the route and settling the bike rentals. Also for handling situations in calmness and grace. Thank you for your trust and patience with me, and for gathering the marshals and briefing us beforehand.
To Vernon and Wei Ming, thank you for your commitment despite your busy schedules. Vernon thank you for displaying a confidence on the roads which I'm sure, rubbed off on others. For Wei Ming thank you for sprinting down to join us as a marshal after a long day of work and teaching guitar lessons, your tremendous spirit is extremely commendable.
To Nigel, I love your resourcefulness and that you strive to do the best in everything that you do. Thank you for coordinating beyond your job scope, for obtaining the stores from church, for the 100plus, for getting the cake, covering safety and even just organising the back of the Kangoo. It grounded and anchored procedures, it tied up those loose ends and thank you for your kinds words of advice. To lead, to excel, to overcome! :D
To Kenneth, whom I learnt alot about in this planning. I understand you had to come out of your comfort zone to plan for games and that it's not exactly your "thing", but I thank you for agreeing to just help out even in the smallest of ways anyway. Thanks for inviting Jeriel and Calvin! I hope they enjoyed themselves too.
To Yu You, who kindly availed himself to cover safety during this event despite commitments in camp. Thank you for settling the First Aid Kit with Renhao, and for leading the convoy in Seng Kang/Punggol. You stepping up was great to see!
To DavidLau, who constantly reminded me to check on the status of the safety vehicle LOL. Who despite being so actively involved in the upcoming Easter production, availed himself to support the event anyway. For coordinating with Thambi for the Cambro, for initially helping to obtain food but fell through simply cos the budget didn't allow for that. But the effort is greatly recognised and I appreciate it.
To Darren, for contacting that insane number of people just to consolidate attendance for the event, for doing it a SECOND time to confirm the well, unconfirmed hahaha. Thank you for doing up the document. YEAH COMMANDO (clerk)! Red beret (from the E-mart)! :P :D
To Renhao, woah thank you for coordinating SO many things. For confirming the attendance for NS3, for availing the Kangoo and being the safety driver despite being sick AND after a full day's work too! Thank you for obtaining so many resources from church. The First Aid Kit, the walkie-talkies, the mineral water.
And most importantly to our Lord Jesus Christ who heard our earnest prayers for good weather and by His grace, cleared the skies and kept it that way for the whole event! We serve an awesome God man our plans are NOTHING without surrendering all to Him. He also kept Jeriel safe despite that slight incident with the Cab. Thank you for covering us and for providing for our every need! Praise be to God!
On that note, the damage to the bike cost $70. But don't worry, I will inform Com.fort of the incident and follow-up action will be taken. I will update everyone on the situation when there are further developments.
Also for the miscellaneous costs, I will update everyone on the surplus and will be accountable as to where the money goes as post-event admin irons out.
So here are some pictures and tired-but-happy faces! :)
Before setting off.
HAHAHA Sorry Darren it's two wheels for you!
Introductions/Conducting Brief
Jenson and his FBO (Full Bicycle Order)
Happy Birthday David!
Supper at Circuit Rd
At Jalan Kayu Prata for a night snack! Calvin, Abel, Kenneth, Ruiwen
Hmm a bit blur .. Hahaha. Darren, Daniel, Alexi, Wei Ming
Group photo!
Again!Cheers all, til the next time!
- Nicholas