NS Ministry

Wow! It's been 2 years and 6 months  in NS Ministry. I met lots of God loving brothers in this ministry and I feel that I've grown the most in NS. I came to learn of my strength and weaknesses, and that I wasn't the only eccentric person! =)

I think the Church is a place where all sorts of people can "survive" and be accepted. The world isn't that forgiving, make a mistake or two and you will be marked and hated like Cain. I have seen a lot of characters(myself included) which would be made fun and unaccepted if they were placed in the world. Thank God for His community of Love and Grace!

I think my eccentricity offended a lot of people when I was in camp, I have compulsions which makes me different in the way I do things. But, back in the Church I am accepted and my Ministry's brothers don't feel that I'm weird. It proves one thing: They met even weirder people in JC hahahaha! Or that they themselves are humming at my frequency.

Oh yes, my latest MBTI result was an ISTP, and I am amazed by God for putting me in Engineering! In fact, ISTPs natural career path is somewhere along the lines of Engineering and Police work. I find that I can complement the brothers in various ministry events.

God is really good lah!

I feel a bit sad to leave NS ministry but life flows on, I cannot hold it back. We have to grow up and move on in the Spirit. NS helped me to know what I want to do in the future, with so much time on your hands, you can actually choose to think. SAF was generous in giving me the vocation of a Signals Logistician, through this vocation I was able to stay in air conditioned rooms and plan out things.

On a side note, my unit was in charge of half of the cookhouses in SAF and every year there will be an IRON CHEF competition. I get to eat awesome food! Food that doesn't taste like camp food in any way!
Really blessed!

Anyways, I have to decide where to move on to...........

26/2/13

Edited 1/3/13

There has been a lot of "hoo-ha" with regards to PAP's policies. Well, for me I don't  have any thing against foreigners as I haven't really been exposed to working with them academically or within the market place. The ones that I meet are from church or martial arts academies. So, I don't have negative emotions towards them. The only negative aspect which I experienced was just the massive MRT congestion. Then again, Singapore has always had this problem even before the influx, so the imperative thing is for the Government to put on their thinking caps to solve or minimize it.

Perhaps, in my latter years I will understand the competitiveness or resentment my seniors are going through, but I know that I will not be swayed for I put my trust in the LORD, I have heard many testimonies of God putting people in places where their education could never allowed. I made mistakes which caused me to be delayed by a few years, but I believe that God will use my life to tell His story. He will elevate me and let Himself be known, I told myself that I will scale the highest mountains and proclaim that Jesus is God.

Part 2:

Reading notes from my Poly and Uni friends made me humble enough to know that I need to rely on God's strength in order to move forward. I know that even if I do badly in school, as long as I put my faith and trust in God; I won't die, in fact, when God's presence and favor is with you, you will be the head and not the tail.

God questioned me about something a few weeks ago:"Elvis are you living a life as if God is a fairy tale? Or are you living a life which shows that He is Real?" And my reply would be:"give me wisdom to live, a heart which listens to Your Spirit and love to show that You are real."

I think this question made me cringe a little, I repent for the fact that sometimes I answer non-believers in a  way which may seem like a mockery. Example: They share about this guy who does a lot of rubbish and I reply by saying :"He needs Jesus!" and everyone would laugh. Of course, I'm not trying to bring God down, I meant something good but I spoke in the wrong manner.

I conclude that I really need a lot of wisdom and love as I continue my journey into life.

Father, may You bless Your servant and let Your face to shine on me! Amen!

OK, I was bored and decided to make a video on how one can use everyday objects as a weapon. I think I've said for a million times that I do Filipino Martial arts. But, so far I'm still a beginner (3-4 months) of lessons only. September 2013 will mark my 1 year in FMA. I made a mistake on my last post. KALI means Kamut Lihok which means Hand Body movement. KALI/ESCRIMA and ARNIS mean the same thing or at least to me. 

It's a very time efficient art because the mechanics is the same for knife,stick or iphone! In a tradition art like karate or wushu, the form for empty handed combat and the form for sword play are totally different. The practitioner have to "re-learn" the forms every time they switch weapons. I don't have 20 years to spare, I only have a limited time so I had to choose an art carefully.

The funny thing was that I actually prayed and asked God to lead me to the right art to engage in. God has answered me through Kali. 

I don't want to spend too much time on martial arts in case I neglect my studies and fellowship with God. Everything I do , I hope to find a balance. God has been very good to me, His lead me to many disciplines which keeps me healthy and functional.

In terms of Martial arts I choose FMA and combative applications and in terms of physical training I'm doing Kettlebells/Clubs and Tactical Fitness. My body is a temple of God forged with weapons and health hah!

In terms of Spirit, I've came to like the NKJV a lot, I understand that Hope church is primarily using NIV but it's a very personal thing. I use a  NCV(cover to cover) bible to read the whole OT and NT. For academic study I use NASB. And when I'm in the toilet I read the KJV (I left it in the toilet so I can feed and crap at the same time!). At the end of the day if I could only use a specific version, I'll use the NKJV but it's all the same lah, only stylistic differences, as in the delivery. Same chicken rice recipe but different types of chicken.....bad example.

In terms of studying; I've started to do the poly notes which my friends have given me generously. I just need to cover 4 books: Basic maths, Engineering maths 1,2 and Principles of Electrical engineering. If I do finish them, I'll be able to be on par with the 2nd year students. My game plan is pretty simple: 1) Finish the 4 books, 2) Apply for all the scholarships and see which of them accepts me. 3) Do my best in God.

In terms of relationship: I want Susanna cheng to come here and be part of the white paper proposal! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Come dear, Singapore welcomes you and will give you big incentives!

12/1/13

                                  

(Note: I have a lot of grammatical or spelling mistakes, so bear with it! =) )

My Martial arts teacher's teacher just came to Singapore a week ago and I was taught how to use move using sticks and knives in ways I never thought possible. The Filipino Kali system uses a lot of Triangular movements, oh yeah, do not mistake Kali for the indian god, Kali is a Filipino term which means "to Cut". I don't worship any God except Jesus Christ. Kali was created by the Filipinos when Conquistadors invaded them, this system practices a lot of drills and movements which are imminently transferable, meaning; The moves I use in sticks are the same as the ones I use with a sword or blade, same movement patterns but refined for each tool/weapon. I feel quite fulfilled when I am able to execute the moves well as I found out that I have low "body iq"/Kinematic awareness. I cannot catch or recognize movements unless I do shit loads of it! =)

My teacher's teacher is a man call Mark Edward Stewart, his 52 but moves like a 16 year old! Fast and deadly! All the moves he showed were deadly but so attractive to me! =) Making me a full blooded combat soldier! Kali is scary because they use a lot of techniques which amputates or slashes the arteries, completely putting the threat to oblivion. I know that in Singapore, it's quite hard for me to use them as there are not many threats where I come from, I won't destroy anyone's limb in Church...duh! HAHA!

Had a fruitful discussion with Sifu Mark, I'm glad I was able to clear some thoughts he had about Christianity, though not completely but some of the questions asked. I guess God is putting me in places where I hang out a lot with people in the fitness or combat industry, and I hope that I can bless them wherever I can. Oh and Sifu said something interesting! Sifu :"Elvis, you like Martial arts and you do Engineering, why don't you do Security systems, it's a lot of money in there." A church elder also shared about that a few months ago so it's like a Dejavu. I like business, engineering and martial arts, it seems God can use whatever knowledge I have to bless me and His people, so at the end of the day; I don't know what I am going to do in the future but I know I can have a prosperous future in Jesus!

After the Martial arts sessions I had with sifu, I went to watch a movie call "Young and Dangerous Reloaded", it's a remake of the 1996 version. In the Young and Dangerous series there are many scenes where Christians were involved, apparently there's Pastor whose daughter was one of the gangsters and he condoned to it.

I do not know why but it seems to me that Christians are displayed through the Media in 2 ways:
1) Party popper or 2) Worldly. They are either the people who are old fashioned and hypocritical or they are showed to be the same as the world, claiming to be godly but doing all the wrong things.

To me, Christians are supposed to be wise like Jesus! Having God's wisdom in settling matters and yet have Godly values. But, how difficult is that without His grace? Very!

I think somehow, we have lost the idea of how a Christian show be like. The only way to get it back is to read His word. By examining the life of Jesus Christ, we can know the expectations.

I will expound on that at a later time, I am going to sleep now! =)

Regards,
Elijah Wan.

2013

In the past, when I read Ravi Zacharias' books, I just thought that he was able to write subjects in a very personal manner. But, recently I started to see how the things he wrote was accurate in real life basis. I believe that many of us heard of atrocities committed in 2012. The most recent one being the case of the Indian medical student. I see that without God, there are seriously no incentives to remain moral. One could kill, rape or steal without any conflict of conscience and one does not suffer Spiritual consequences. However, I'm not saying that Atheists are killers, rapists or thieves, I'm saying that there aren't good reasons for them not to. A lot of prominent Atheists and Evolutionists are using other types of reasoning for Morality, but I think it can't hold water without God. By stating reasons to be moral, one subliminally acknowledge a moral law giver; I know that it's wrong to beat the red light because there are traffic laws to keep things in order.

 I saw a video posted by a brother from church after the shooting in America, it's heading:"Where was God during the killing?" The host replied:"Where was God in all these? For 50 years we have systematically have God removed from the institutions...etc, we escorted Him out of our culture and was shocked when we found out how our culture became without Him."

I see the world degenerating and the importance of God. I also started to see how important our roles as His children are. Again I'm not claiming superiority, but rather I'm showing why there are adequate reasons to believe in  God. 

The progressive question to ask is:"So which God should I follow?". The wrong type of beliefs produces detrimental effects. For me, I worship and serve Jesus Christ Son of God. Father,Son and Holy Spirit 3 in 1! 

There are various religions in the world, but I find poly-syntheism to be immensely popular. These type of religion claims that they have Jesus,buddha,muhammad....etc mixed into one. 

But, Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, English Standard Version). Jesus claimed to be God and He could substantiate it, like the old saying:"Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk!"

Well, with my views with regards to morality and God strengthened in 2012 I began think of other things. I share similar humanistic views as Erasmus who was a great Bible translator, oh do note that the definition of a humanist in the past is different from modern interpretations. 

A humanist in the past was someone who believe that God has endowed gifts to each individual, who by cultivating them could also glorify God. With that, I'm constantly on the look out for what I display talent in, so that, I can develop it to the next level.

In recent years, I stop reading "self-help" books, what is there to help? What is there to build? I rather get my help from the Holy Spirit.

 I prefer books which teaches me how to think, not what to think but rather; How! I believe that elites in their field, be it sports, math, science...etc have a certain framework or way to process information. If I could replicate that, I am able to achieve succinctly similar results, though not completely but to a certain degree.

If I know how Bruce Lee trains, I know I could never be like Bruce Lee, but I SHOULD be able to replicate a neat level of skill! WADAAAA! I want WADDA Water! Oh yes, I still train in Martial arts, primarily Filipino Martial arts! Who knows? Maybe I will go to the Philippines for missions.

The thing is; I want to know what God wants me to know and what the situation demands. I know that in 3 months time I will be enrolled in an Engineering school, so, I'm meeting up with all the brothers from NS ministry to learn maths. I interviewed many of them to learn how their brain process data from the questions they see. I find it super helpful, as I "copied" them, I was able to figure out how to solve the questions! 

I don't know how well I'll do in Singapore Polytechnic, but if God allows, I want to go up on stage, to the highest place and say :"Today, I stand here because of God's Amazing Grace!"

Even if I don't do well, I know God is with me! If I do well, I know God is with me!

AMEN! 

Something to Excel in!

I couldn't really sleep last night as I was reflecting on myself. I saw that I wasted loads of time doing meaningless things; things like surfing the net for 4-5 hours a day, watching TV and Facebooking. I seem to have thrown it all away, and I think God is making me re-think about the concept of time. I'm 23 this year, and I have grown out of my teenage years, I really want to be good at something. I want to be good not because of pride or ego problems, it's just that between now and till the time I go back to Heaven I still have another 40-50 years, I don't want to live mundanely. I want to look back in retrospect and say: "Hey, praise God, I was good with this thing! I didn't waste my life away!"
 
I did an analysis, and I find that I was really good at one thing at one point of my life. I was really good with guitars! I even got a Grade 8 certification from Yamaha Music School, but I didn't know why I stopped. I guess, I was probably too bored and I wanted to do more sports. I was never good at martial arts; I guess I forced myself to engage in it, probably because I felt weak. I just couldn't find an art suitable for me, till recently, when I found out about a Filipino art call Arnis (stick fighting).
 
Personally, I think there are 2 things which a man should do regardless of what they are good at; 1) Fitness: I think a man should train up for fitness, either through the gym or through circuit training. A man has to be fit to take care of himself and the family, a weak man is incomplete. 2) Self-defence: Like I said earlier, a man must take care of his family, and also to protect them. A man who can't fight is also incomplete! I heard a Pastor say that Jesus was actually Muscular! He was a carpenter and in those days, carpenters had to manoeuvre heavy items.
 
So, Fitness and Self-defence are the two things I will do till the day I die. The thing is, I still haven’t found the thing I can achieve greatness in. I may do those two things which I think all men should do, but I may not be extremely proficient in it. I want to know what I can do well and invest my time in it. Though people may say the opposite, that find what I like then invest time in it. To me, if I can’t excel in it, why should I even put time into it?
 
I see a lot of people taking up hobbies which they will probably never be good at, if they have the time, money and interest then fair enough. I know I am going to have time and money when I have God, but I know that He has put in me a certain talent which when developed will bring me a lot of joy.
 
I started contemplating about guitars again; I passed my Ibanez Prestige worth 1.8K to Matthias. I may want to sell it to him and use the money to build a custom Stratocaster and start playing again. Oh well, I need to think more clearly with what I want as I have not much time to waste.
 
Do help me pray for wisdom to see! =)

 

Lessons learnt from a Christian Wedding

Recently, I attended a Christian Wedding of a very dear brother whose quite a prominent character in the Fitness community. In fact, his the Singaporean pioneer of this revolutionary body weight method call Tactical Fitness or "Tacfit" for short. And I enjoyed myself through out the wedding, he  has a very humble and kind persona, one who is very genuine. I'm glad he found someone(a lady of course!) whose as committed in Christ =)!

 The food was superb, as "meaty" as it gets! He probably thought of gym blokes like us when he placed the order for food.

There was a sermon scheduled in the midst of the wedding. When the pastor said that a man and woman does not need to heed to their parents after getting married, I was like :"Hallelujah!". Of course, in context it means that when a person marries his fiance, they do not need to be bothered so much by their parent's advise or comments though they could analyse them and still pay their dues as a filial son or daughter. One of the problems I notice in many families is when the man or woman is unable to "cut-off" from their own families. A sister in church once shared that her husband was so influenced by his dad and mum that it caused a lot of conflicts when they go about making certain decisions together.

I'm not saying that one should cut off all ties in cold blood(though Douglas knows that I train to be a cold blooded killer), but one has to create a new family, that the decisions made in this new family is independent from their old one. Of course, like I said earlier, we can take advice and suggestions, but we should know that what ever we do as a new family is our own business.

I want you guys to know that I do love my mum and dad, but I know that it's my responsibility to act out as a father and head of the house when I marry my girl friend. And the future decisions I make with my wife is as one flesh.

We need to learn how to think for ourselves and to take other people's decisions into account wisely.

The second part of the sermon was about the dangers of committing without knowing the significance of marriage. The pastor suddenly shout out:"Divorce is TREACHERY!", I was a little bit shocked because I know that there must be people in the wedding who had experienced a failed marriage, I wonder how they would feel by listening to this.

Somehow, this incident made me think of three questions; 1) Were the words the pastor was using too "serious" or "dampening" for this joyous occasion? 2) If I was a pastor, how can I deliver my message(or any sermon) in a proper and tactful manner? The third question applies more directly to Christians, 3) How do we Christians draw the line between being tactful and being weak? Jesus spoke in very serious tones in multiple occasions and He was not weak in delivering His point.

The first thing I have to establish is that, the church was probably more conservative, I know there's no denomination but it's very Presbyterian like. I was personally from a Bible Presbyterian church, so I know the pastors can be very straight to the point. There is nothing wrong with a person's personal preference in churches or denominations, as long as the creed is the same, what I mean is the beliefs which are similar across all denominations. Things like; We believe in Jesus as the Son of God, who came into this world to fulfil the law and sacrificed Himself so we can have the forgiveness of sin, the bible is the inerrant word of God, we believe in One God who is in 3 persons (Father,Son,Holy Spirit)...etc . There's nothing wrong in preferences, it's just like coffee, some like Starbucks but I like a cup of iced Hainan Coffee. I think Paul the Apostle made a good point with regards to Relevance, to be relevant in the current world without being too arbitrary (read his writings with regards to tongues and prophecy).

Perhaps, it would be wiser that we modern Christians choose our words carefully unless the situation demands us to step up and use harsher words to bring about a point.

I quite like the church though, but I know that stepping into a traditional themed church would mean that the language used would be more archaic and the message; straight to the point. As I said, it's all preferences, some people like churches who are more straight forward and others more "rockish"? I don't know the words to represent modern churches though haha! Though I think that at that particular occasion, the words could have been toned down a bit, but yes, the pastor did have a point to make. Which is the significance of marriage. So that is that. I respect the pastor in the way he should be respected

2nd question: If I was a pastor, how can I deliver my message(or any sermon) in a proper and tactful manner?

I think it also boils down to why we want to be tactful. We want to be tactful not because we are weak or shameful but because we want to bring people in to listen to the gospel. How can lives be touched if the first thing you say puts people off? I think I would respond in a different manner because of my personality. Some pastors believe in using very harsh words (listen to Paul Washer), others would use words that are too "kiddy". I think there should be a balance, I've seen pastors being able to pull it off.

3rd: I think being a Christian is a dangerous affair, we are constantly being judged by people. People are waiting for the moment in which we fall and :"Aha! I caught you!". Haha! But then again, what is the the defination of Christianity? We are not robots whose only mission is to do good, we are human beings, influenced by emotions and blood. We will fail but we know that God is there to lift us up again. We don't have to live in a cave. I think as I said earlier, being tactful is being able to draw people in without putting them off and telling them why. Being weak, is being afraid of saying a point and thinking that it would make you look stupid. Yes, there are super intelligent scholars out there who could probably own us in any debate buy using complex theorms which we with our limited intelligence could never understand, but, that does not mean we cannot fight for Christianity. I don't mean the Jihad type of fighting, I mean to fight for love and knowing that even though you lose in a debate, you still show the love tonight.

Regards,
ElvEli1