‘Tis The Season?

It’s Christmas! Whee! It is the time of the year for ‘goodwill to man’, giving, and forgiving. The season when we remember the greatest gift of all – the birth of the Lord Jesus in a humble manger.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

John 3:16-17 [NIV]

It is often at this time of the year that we truly make time to thank God for giving us a Saviour so that we will not have to face eternal damnation. It is also at this time of the year that we decide that we should be nice to people, and we would go around with good wishes to friends and foes alike. We would forgive the mistakes of our acquaintances and declare our love for practically everyone we know.

The question is: Do we only do this during Christmas? Or do we also do all that for the rest of the 364 days in the year?

I was watching a Christmas-themed episode of the kids’ cartoon Kim Possible with my younger sister when the arch nemesis of Kim Possible, Dr Draken unexpectedly invited her to celebrate Christmas with him, declaring that “ ‘Tis the season for goodwill. I will declare a truce for the season and get my freak on after Christmas”.

As innocent as it may seem, it got me thinking: Are we, too, like Dr Draken, forgiving and making peace only during Christmas?

Forgiving people is an extremely difficult task for most people to do. It might be even harder than asking for forgiveness, especially when the hurt runs deep. Often we think that we have forgiven, but when the issue is brought up again, we can’t help but feel that prick of pain stabbing at our hearts again.

To forgive isn’t as simple as saying ‘It’s alright. I accept your apology. No big deal.” To forgive is to not be filled with hurt and rage each time you think about the incident. To forgive is to not hold anything against the person or persons involved. To forgive is to be able to call that person “friend” and truly care for him or her. To forgive is being able to look past the mistakes that were made and the hurt that was caused.

As impossible as it may seem, it is imperative that we learn to forgive, no matter what time of the year it is. The Bible too records Jesus teaching His disciples to forgive:

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Matthew 18:21-22 [NIV]

Jesus Himself forgave the very people who persecuted Him as He hung dying on the cross. Overflowing with mercy and love, He asked the Father to not hold their sins against them, ‘for they do not know what they are doing’. If the Almighty God can forgive us of our sins, who are we to deny forgiveness to another, when we are nowhere near perfect ourselves?

It may not always be easy to sincerely say “I forgive you”, but then again, neither is it impossible. Ask the Lord to teach you and help you forgive others. Also ask Him to help you to do it all year round, not just during Christmas, for forgiveness should not and must not be confined to a short period of time each year. You will soon find that forgiving isn’t such a difficult thing to do after all. All it takes is the perfect love of God within us to guide and lead us.

Have a blessed Christmas as you remember and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. :)

Christmas Celebration!

22nd December 2010 : Christmas Celebration in KTT was fantastic! =D

Praise and Worship!

Emceeeess

Pastor Dave Yeoh

Awesome choir!

Beautiful Christmas kolam by ICS!

Deco preparations

Mr. and Ms. Snowman

30 seconds dating :)

Awww..... =)

Praise God for such a wonderful celebration!

Thank you to everyone who had a part to play in this event :

- All the committee members for planning, preparing and sacrificing time to make things work! I know we did many things behind the scenes, sacrificing our study time to get things done properly. Thank you for setting up the DU, and taking initiative to set up the place, despite how much tiredness it brings. It really amazed me to see you to be the first to move, and do everything without complaining. Like the Bible says, in that way, "We may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which we shine like stars in the universe." I love eleven of you!

- The performers! You guys did a wonderful job! Thank you for giving your utmost commitment to practice almost everyday and putting all your effort into your singing, acting, playing music!

a) Choir - I remember being in DU right before the event, and you guys had one of your last practices in the LH above. Your voices rang throughout the whole college. It was so powerful and rich!

b) Lifehouse Skit - For all our practices, and bringing this precious message throughout the skit, and all the spontaneous moments that came out of our practices, and the bonding time through the "girl talks" and "guy talks", and Ben being soo spontaneous, etc etc.

c) Duet - Rachel, Esther, and Riss - The talent God blessed each of you with was so outstanding, and it really made my heart rejoice to watch three of you using your great God-given talents with this beautiful song, and giving God back all the honour and love He is worth of! =)

- Indian Cultural Society (ICS) for spending many hours to produce such a beautiful Christmas kolam! Thank you for volunteering to make this effort!

- Every person who came! We are really very glad to see all of you come and just have fun to celebrate Christmas with us!

And most of all, we have to thank JESUS for being our reason to celebrate Christmas!

You are the reason for this season.

Thank You for filling our hearts with so much joy and love, that everything we did was for You, and no one else. Not even ourselves. You have taught us to be selfless, and now, we use all our talents, time and energy to celebrate Your birth this great season!

"Christmas isn't Christmas til' it happens in your heart..."

Merry Christmas! XD

Just Remember

Hey you.

Yes, YOU.

The one who just got their exam results. The one who may or may not be happy with that score that was scrawled on your paper. The one who either wore a brilliant smile or put on a frown or even shed more than a few tears. Here’s something for YOU.

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If you are one of those people who have been so blessed with satisfactory or amazing results, remember this:

You couldn’t have done it without God, without His blessings of wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

If you feel that your academic excellence is because you have a mind that is so sharp, so capable of absorbing and understanding your studies with ease, remember this:

Your intellectual ability was a gift from God. You couldn’t have created that mind of yours on your own.

If you think that you achieved what you got solely because you put in so much effort, remember this:

You were only able because God made it possible for you, and that He gave you the strength to do it. Otherwise, you might have faltered along the way.

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If you are one of those people who did not achieve the mark that was set for you, and you are upset about it. remember this:

You have many more chances, and that God did not and will never abandon you. There is something to learn from every mistake and error.

If you feel that there is no way that you would ever be as good as the next person, remember this:

You are special – gifted in your own way. Do not be discouraged or disheartened. Do not give up, because He has not and will never give up on you. He is always there to pick you up when you fall, and to nurture you towards excellence.

If you think that failure is a sign that God is no longer with you, and you want to blame God for it all, remember this:

You were made in the image of God. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will never give you a burden and leave you to stumble around in the darkness with it., all alone. He is always right next to you to offer you His guiding hand.

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Through every storm in life, through every painful journey you take, through the times of rejoicing, and through the celebrations of life, remember this:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 [NIV]

“But BLESSED is the man…

…who trusts in the LORD,

whose confidence is in Him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream;

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

We all want to be blessed. I suppose it is part of human nature to want the good in life, and there is hardly any wrong in that. We loathe it when things get bad, and we look for a way to blame someone else for our predicaments. More often than not, when we can find no mortal man to blame, we turn to God and say, “You did this to me!” in our most irrational state of mind.

But what does the Lord say? Believe it or not, He wants to bless us, to keep us with Him at all times. He wants so much for us to be like the ‘tree planted by the water’ – the one that will not wither in the scorching heat, the one that will not cease to bear fruit.

And there IS a way to attain that blessing. In Deuteronomy 10:12, He tells us just what to do:

…what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul

It is not always easy to walk in His ways, and sometimes we wander off the straight and narrow path, but He has given us His Holy Spirit to be our Counsellor and Friend. If we are willing to live our lives wholeheartedly for Him, and if we are willing to surrender even the smallest area of our lives to Him, then serving the LORD ‘with all your heart and with all your soul’ will not be so impossible anymore.

The ‘year of drought’ can be equated to the hard times that we have, all those things that we would categorize as “Bad Things That Should Not Happen To Good People Like Me”. Notice how God does not promise us a problem-free life. What He does tell us is that, even in the face of trouble, we will still be able to stand tall and continue to ‘bear fruit’. This can and will happen when we decide to place our full confidence and faith in God, because He will be in absolute control, and everything He does will be for our good, although we may not realise it immediately.

So when the heat comes and burns you, what will you do?

Will you blame God for it, or will you trust in Him with unwavering faith and confidence?

It is YOUR choice.

God bless! (:

The Will of God

I was leafing through some things of mine when I found a bulletin from the first time I attended Nilai Gospel Chapel. There was a poem on the cover, and I remember I smiled the first time I read it. I’m sharing this, in hope that it may inspire, comfort, touch, or simply bring a smile to you the way it did for me. Enjoy. =)

Christmas!

Christmas plannings are underway!


As we've announced last week (17th Nov 2010), we have come up with a mime and a choir for Christmas. It's going to be exciting and FUN! Please give your names to Rachel Ling by Wednesday (24th Nov 2010) to join.


Don't worry if you're camera shy. We have many roles involved :
a) Actors and actresses
b) Stage manager
c) Lighting
d) Props

We definitely have a place for you!



Christmas Captain Ball!
Date : 14th December 2010
Time : Evening (to be confirmed)
Teams : 6 guys, 4 girls in one team

Just submit your names to Jacinta aka Boy by this Friday (26th Nov 2010). We can arrange the teams for you. This is open to any and every student in KTT.

Don't worry if you can't play sports.
It's all about the FUN! =D


So many fun and exciting activities coming up;
don't miss out,
be A PART of them! =)

From No Limbs, to No Limits

Nick Vujicic is a 24 year old man with a BIG heart :)

The 2010 KTT CF Shirt is here!

Hey everyone! Good news. The KTT CF Shirt is here already.

You can come pick it up from me, Corine, starting tomorrow (:

Oh yeah, and if we can get about a dozen more orders, we can actually do a reprint. So if you're still interested, you can always come look for me.

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

The 2010 KTT CF Shirt (:

Hey guys. If you didn't come to CF last week, then you probably have no idea that you can now place orders for your very own KTT CF shirt.

You can send in your orders to me, Corine, latest by Wednesday.

The price quota we have so far should be less than RM20.

We have sizes XS, S, M and L.

If you guys hurry, we should get then by 10th November.

So please. Place your orders as soon as possible.

Front.

Back

God bless (: Tell your friends about the shirt too!

Exams!

Exams are looming, and anxiety sets in. Cut-off points to pass, expectations to meet, scores to improve on. The prospect of entering the examination hall grips you like a fever, prompting you to study, to push yourself that extra mile.

Mental fatigue sets in, but you persevere, wading through, looking for the proverbial ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. And when you turn to the person next to you, and you see them diving intensely into their great pile of books, you will yourself to do the same.

It is so easy to give up. So easy to say “I can’t do this”. So easy to sigh and proclaim “I’m just not good enough”.

But we tend to forget, that when we give up, there is always someone who won’t. When we let go, there’s still someone who will hold on and pull you back up.

And that person is our Abba, Father.

From the very beginning, He has always been there, to hold us gently as He leads us and walks beside us. He’s not only present when things are going great, He’s also there when we go through all those ‘downs’.

If the God who named each star in the universe (which has about 3 to 7x10²² stars!) is also the God who knows the very number of hairs on your head, then surely He will never leave you nor forsake you. And think about it, if He spent time creating you in His image, then you must be worth a whole lot.

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 31:8 [NIV]

So when you feel discouraged, and you feel like giving up, remember that God is always there for you, and that His promises stand through the ages. Look to Him, and you will never be disappointed. He loves you more than you could ever fathom.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7 [NLT]

Face your exams with courage, giving all glory to the One who deserves it. Do your very best, sit back and let God take His rightful place in the driver’s seat.

God bless, and all the best! :)

Hope

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 41:20

Do you have any idea how powerful this verse is? There are many things we put our hopes in, with a self-assurance that it will not fail us. We put our hopes in our studies, career, certain people, maybe some of us, money. The norm believes that money is the license to fulfill your desires. Maybe to go on an expensive holiday, buy a brand new car, shopping, etc. In reality, it is true that money does enable us to have possessions others may not have, or perhaps a top-notch quality of something.

But the love of these things are only temporary. On the frank side, you will never be satisfied with what you have. These hopes are fallacious, they make you, and then break you.

But hope in the Almighty Creator, whose description is beyond explication, who created the heavens and the earth, is unfailing.

The ultimate unfailing love that we can ever have. A relationship that grows through intimacy and trust, that will fill your life with an acceleration of hope and love.

God bless you heaps!

KTT Soup Kitchen- October 9, 2010

It was late on a sleepy Saturday morning when a handful of young gentlemen made a somewhat surreptitious trek to the female living quarters. No, not what you think. They were loaning their strength to help carry trays of rice, peanuts, and sambal, as well as a huge pot of steaming hot mushroom soup, down to the Bintang Walk of our college. Earlier, the industrious ladies of the CF had been cooking through the night (and in some cases well into the morning) in order to produce the food now being transported to the Bintang Walk. The guys, on the other hand, had been carrying tables and chairs to the same location, getting everything ready for the big event.

It all started a couple of weeks before that, seeking the Holy Spirit during our morning prayer at Campus Revolution, when we sensed that God was showing us that we should have a soup kitchen, or a distribution of free meals. Taking time, manpower and budget allocation into consideration, we decided to cook free nasi lemak for the entire college that day. The idea was consolidated through several meetings and continuous prayer, and eventually took form as we prepared for the event during the week up to the 9th of October.

Now, the whole CF committee was mobilised to get everything ready. Tables were arranged, chairs were placed, servers took their stations beside the hot steaming food, and the rest of the workforce placed themselves to welcome the hungry guests.

The steady trickle of people began to build into a real crowd as afternoon approached. The small tables were quickly filled. Conversations started, jokes were exchanged, new friends were made. It was a great time of fellowship--a golden opportunity to share the love of God through a simple act of kindness.

The event ended after 2.30pm, and the tables and chairs were returned, the rubbish was packed up and promptly disposed of, and the excited team of dedicated KTTians gathered for a quick debriefing. We left with high spirits. It was our CF's first major event since we inherited the baton from our seniors. We prayed for lives to be blessed, and for the effects of our small act of kindness to snowball into something bigger in the lives of others. More than anything, we prayed for people to come to know the source of the true joy that resides in the heart of every true worshipper. May God bless KTT, and may we keep loving our college until it loves Jesus back! Amen and amen!

Welcome To Our New Website!

Hey everyone! Greetings in Jesus’ name!

Welcome to Kolej Teknologi Timur (KTT) Christian Fellowship’s new website! For the first time, our Christian Fellowship has its own home on the web. And we’re excited about it!

For those of you who are still in doubt, we are the new committee of the Christian Fellowship. After the seniors officially retired from active service, the baton is in our hands now. We pray that God will continue to lead us and that we will achieve even greater things in His name, both this year and the years to come!

CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP COMMITTEE

President- I-vonne Lim
Vice President 1- Benjamin Oh
Vice President 2- Loo Xiu Jing
Secretary- Geraldine Una Jetony
Treasurer- Joseph Lim Yong Kee
Praise and Worship Coordinator- Lynton Edviano Loo
Prayer Group 1 Coordinator (Campus Revo)- Jude Raphael Bajagap
Prayer Group 2 Coordinator (Campus Revo)- Esther Tan
Event Coordinator- Corine Tangau
Music Coordinator- Rachel
Sports Coordinator- Jacinta Toimin
Media and Publicity Coordinator- Chia Yong Kuang

Remember guys, our website does not belong only to us, it belongs to you! So feel free to contribute and add colour to this little niche in cyberspace. We welcome testimonies, devotionals, wholesome jokes or even your musings for the day. If you have any comments, feel free to drop in your two cents’ worth—any constructive comments are greatly appreciated.
Have a great day, and see you around!