Meanwhile, Tze Hung has welcomed you into the chapel and while scared at first, got into the flow of things. Similarly, when he first joined WOAH, he was also quite awkward but the people serving in WOAH were friendly and accommodating to Tze Hung, showing him the ropes.

Today, Sara from the 02 Girls will be sharing about how she serves as Teenacity’s very own meme-maker.

Within the Creative Design ministry, Sara has the unique role of blessing us with her relatable and funny memes that often hold some biblical truths as well!. Here’s what she has to say!

-Joseph Lee (03 Guys)

WITH THANKS,
KEVIN SEE TOH (03 GUYS)

Today, Janebelle from the 03 Girls will be sharing about her experience disciple-making in church!

Although the past few letters of service have been rather unconventional, it is still important for us to continue serving in our personal capacities as Christian individuals. Therefore, Janebelle will share with us about what it is like to lead a Christian life everyday outside of simply doing devotions and saying grace!

-Kevin See Toh (03 Guys)

WITH THANKS,
KEVIN SEE TOH (03 GUYS)

Today, Isaiah from the 03 Guys will be sharing about his experience carrying out mission work in Cambodia and Thailand.

He had the opportunity to reach out to youths from other cultures to share about who God is and the good news! This is Isaiah’s testimony towards how serving in mission trips went.

-Kevin See Toh (03 Guys)

WITH THANKS,
KEVIN SEE TOH (03 GUYS)

Today, Sean will be sharing with us about his experience serving God in school!

For those unfamiliar, Sean is a member of the 03 Guys and currently serves with the Creative Design and Worship ministry. However, Sean also initiated a small Christian Fellowship group in his school, and this was his experience serving in a different environment outside the church

-Kevin See Toh (03 Guys)

WITH THANKS,
KEVIN SEE TOH (03 GUYS)

Today, Benedict from the 03 Guys will be sharing about a project he embarked on earlier last year.

Some of you would have recalled playing board games with other DGs after sermons in the Well. This was part of Benedict’s #BondTeenacity initiative where he wanted to facilitate greater bonding between different youths in the ministry!

Here’s what Ben has to say about his interesting way of fellowship and serving God.

-Kevin See Toh (03 Guys)

WITH THANKS,
KEVIN SEE TOH (03 GUYS)

Dear Reader, 

 As you might have already figured out by now, Noah isn’t a particular person. Over the last couple of months, many people have been writing to you anonymously, under the guise of “Noah”. 

Why Noah? 

“Why Noah?” - you might ask. As the Bible describes, Noah was one of few God-fearing men (or women) on the face of the earth at that time, and in many ways that may represent us during the week. Many of us may not be surrounded by Christian friends, and those of us who do might not have friends who actively live out God’s word. 

Through the interactions I’ve had with different youths, I can tell that many of you find that Christianity has little application to your daily life. Growing up, I often felt that way too. The stories and teachings I heard often failed to address the issues I faced at school and at home. These issues ranged from struggling with grades, relationships, social standing and so much more. Like some of you, I often blamed everyone else for not addressing these issues during sermon/DG time. However, over time, I realised that the time we have on a Saturday is too limited to address select issues that some of us may face. Also, talking about these issues openly isn’t in our youth culture (yet). 

Slowly, it dawned on me that I needed to work on my faith outside of regular church time. This involved checking up on my Christian friends, reading books on the issues I was facing and talking to older friends who had walked down paths similar to mine. 

I’ve come to realise that practicing my faith is an everyday occurrence, beyond regular church time. 

What Now? 

Living out our faith courageously is even more pressing today. In these unprecedented times, many of us have fallen away, and we long to return to church for social interaction and to be among friends. I feel this way too. To make up for this absence of interaction, there remains a need for us to go beyond what we’re used to – be it to check in with each other during the week or to pray with one another over a zoom call. 

While it is really difficult to stay focused for the duration of an online sermon, much less hold DG time over zoom, this is a real test of our faith. Are we going to rise up to the challenge and think outside the box to keep our community alive, or are we going to give up, wait out Covid-19 and risk losing our faith, or watch our friends turn away from God and His community? 

Our present situation is not unique. The believers in the early church often experienced outright persecution for their faith, and perhaps that was what motivated them to keep going. We may not be facing the same type of persecution – but we are facing many temptations to stray away. 

In this period of testing, are we going to be like Noah and stand firm? Or are we going to be like the rest of the world and get swept away? 

Let me encourage you with Hebrews 10:23-25.

“23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” 

With Love: Tim

PS: This will be the last episode of TEES/Project Noah letter for the foreseeable future - I hope you’ve been encouraged by it. A big thank you to all the past writers. 

Dear You,

How many Tells do you have? I have… actually, say real, I have none, I don’t even have Tellonym. 

However, I did have Ask.fm. And while this might be suggestive of my age (still not that old guys!), it is actually more telling of how our desire for other people to be interested in our lives is a timeless affair. 

I distinctly remember how I used to anticipate logging onto my Ask.fm profile, all in the hopes of being greeted with a slew of questions from the school friends I followed on the app. I also distinctly remember being disappointed more often than not, since I was almost always greeted by more questions from the bot than from actual accounts. I used to think that this general lack of questions I got clearly meant that people did not care about me. Moreover, it even fed into the broader worries I had about my social standing in relation to the other people I saw around me; from the seemingly cooler, older people I befriended online to the friends I made in school and church. I was afraid that people might have thought of me as lesser and maybe even disliked me because I was boring or lame.

Looking back, it is not difficult for me to see that I was overly fixated on baseless concerns then. Yet, these fears were extremely real to me when I was going through them. Consequently, it is with this hindsight that I hope to share with you three pointers I learnt over time about such social stress:

1. Your worth isn’t defined by numbers

As we continue to use social media as a way to communicate with our friends, it is important to ensure that it doesn’t become yet another source of stress for us. The sheer ease of checking the number of viewers and followers we have, along with the number of Tells, Asks, DMs, likes, retweets and so on, makes it equally as easy to fall into the trap of thinking that “the higher the quantity, the higher my worth.” 

While a previous letter entitled, ‘Social Media’, goes into greater detail about how we can then better conduct ourselves online, I want to drive home the idea that a number is not representative of how other people view you. Just think for a second about whether you could really reduce all the funny experiences you and your friends shared for example to a mere digit. 

Thinking that our friends are invalidating us by ‘refusing’ to respond to a post is therefore unfair to the both of you, as it is akin to saying that your friendship can be precisely quantified and ignoring how your friends might have been genuinely preoccupied – or simply have missed your post altogether for other practical reasons like the algorithm messing up or from following way too many people. A single number cannot reveal these things.

What the Bible does, however, reveal concerning our worth is clearly written in Psalm 139:1-6, and verses 13 and 14:

“1You have searched me, Lord,    and you know me.2 You know when I sit and when I rise;    you perceive my thoughts from afar.3 You discern my going out and my lying down;    you are familiar with all my ways.4 Before a word is on my tongue    you, Lord, know it completely.5 You hem me in behind and before,    and you lay your hand upon me.6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,    too lofty for me to attain.

13 For you created my inmost being;    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;    your works are wonderful,    I know that full well.”

For God not only wonderfully created us, but also knows both the good and bad thoughts we harbor even before we do. I’m not sure about you, but when I first came across this passage when I was going through my struggles, I found a lot of comfort in them and I hope you do too. 

2. Life is not a popularity contest

Meanwhile on the other end of the spectrum, we also have a conception of the so-called popular people that we seem to have it all. Spanning both the online and physical realm, they appear to have something that people just gravitate towards, such that they have many friends in social settings like school and online. 

When we examine these (supposed) individuals we may even subconsciously compare ourselves to them and wonder why we aren’t or can’t be like that. In so doing, we try to identify the features we think they possess that makes them popular and pressure ourselves into believing that we need to change aspects of ourselves to become more ‘like-able’ as they are. 

Although it might be tempting to buy into the common, stereotypical narrative that popular people are by extension cooler and hence better, this is not true. At the end of the day, being ‘popular’ doesn’t actually make you any better or worse than someone else. Life is not a competition. Fundamentally, what these insidious comparisons come down to is, in reality, how we choose to define ‘coolness’. This then results in us subsequently questioning what our understanding of ‘better’ truly is as well. If it simply comes down to having more friends, the notion of quantity quality comes into play again. More so, as Christians and as God’s creation, the purpose of our life is instead clearly outlined in Ephesians 2:10, “10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

I say the above with a lot of caution as there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a part of, or aspiring to be in, such a clique. It’s also perfectly fine if you decide to ‘nope’ out of this real quick. What is problematic is if you ever feel compelled to change yourself because if you don’t, you won’t be accepted and fit in into a particular group. You should never let another person influence you like that. 

3. Know who your real friends are 

Ultimately, if you feel like you cannot be yourself around your current group of friends, warning bells should be going off in your head now. It can range from you being afraid to talk about certain things with them or even hiding your interests and key sides of yourself for fear of them judging you. This also includes whether you feel self-conscious from doing the little things like praying before eating your recess meal in school to big things like them being antagonistic towards you just because you are a Christian.

Even though having a religion may be famously ‘uncool’ to certain people, I personally feel like it is a good litmus test to determine whether your friends will really accept you for who you are: a child of God. 

To end off, there is a famous quote by Oscar Wilde which reads, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” I hope you bear this in mind as you navigate your own social circles – and hold the knowledge, that we are God’s beautiful creation called to fulfil His purpose, even closer to your heart. 

With Love: Noah

Dear You,

I bet you’ve been studying for your tests that are coming up. did i guess it right? 

Regardless of whether I did or not, I’m quite certain that test or no test, you would have a fairly clear reason as to why you’re studying. Yet, I’m also quite certain that you don’t inspect how you really feel when you’re studying. 

“Just Stress Lorh”

Is how I foresee you responding. And while I don’t deny that that’s how we feel most times about schoolwork, I think there’s much more to stress than just saying we’re stressed.

Believe it or not, that uncomfortable feeling you get whenever you think about exams is the exact same response your body produces whenever you encounter a dangerous situation. Although exams may not be an Avengers-level threat, those heart palpitations you feel along with your sweaty palms and shortness of breath are actually how you would react when you’re, say, running from a lion. 

Termed the fight-or-flight reflex, it’s also known as, well, a stress response. I’m not going to bore you with the scientific details and whatnot, but I want to point out that this raises the central idea that what you are feeling in reality is fear -  fear that you might forget what you studied, fear that you might not do well, fear that other people might view you in a certain way because of your studies… the list goes on.

I know that it may still sound weird and even unbelievable that something we all do as students can be compared to literally life-threatening scenarios. However, it is indeed true there is not much of a distinction between the two from a biological standpoint. We simply think of them separately due to the spectrum we view our emotions in and the different words we learn to convey how intensely we feel. As such, it is important to keep in mind that you might hence be constantly undermining how stressed you really are. 

The upshot here is this: that there really is a lot more going on than you think – both physically and mentally – when you brush off any feelings of worry you have concerning your academics.

“Really Meh?”

You may either be entirely unconvinced if you’re not the kind to get hung up on your studies or didn’t even need the convincing because you’ve genuinely been fretting over some aspect of your studies. If you’ve read the previous letter titled, ‘Studying with God’, you may also be questioning whether it is wrong that you’re dreading your life as a student since it’s tied into God’s plan for your life now. 

I’m here to say, firstly, that no matter what boat you’re currently in (yes, even those who might not really care about studying/don’t get scared!), I’m sure that you’ve felt some level of concern over your studies before and that this is completely normal. ((That’s right admitting you might have been uneasy before a National Exam or about streaming won’t make you uncool.)) Secondly, in a similar vein, God actually made us this way. 

“But Why”

Is something you may consequently be wondering. Being afraid of something doesn’t seem that great. Yet, beyond the obviously adaptive function it serves of allowing us to react quickly in response to a dangerous situation, fear does do a few things.

Without fear (and other so-called ‘negative’ emotions), we honestly wouldn’t be capable of comprehending how nice so-called ‘positive’ emotions are. More importantly, the absence of fear would make us fear-less, which by extension means we won’t fear – much less be awed by – the presence of God. 

It is in fact written throughout Proverbs that the fear of the Lord is something we are to aspire towards when we are wondering how we should live our lives as Christians. Though what this should look like is a topic in itself for another day, it is undeniably written in Proverbs 1:7 that, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ Consequently, without this ability to fear, we would also grossly lack the ability to comprehend wisdom. 

It is in fearing that we begin to feel like we cannot take on the world; which can be a crippling thought but also a truth. Yet, it is in this constant recognition that we can begin to seek God’s wisdom and realise His sovereignty over the world and all who live in it.

How?

So, as much as experiencing fear may be annoying, particularly in the context of our studies, it is in slowly learning how to deal with it instead of wishing we were incapable of feeling it that makes all the difference. And while it is definitely not wrong for you to feel worried over your academics, you shouldn’t just stop at this understanding.

Maybe these pointers below can help you inspect why you feel the way you do about your studies! 

1. Remind yourself that you’re (also) studying for God

Tbh, this should be your main motivation for studying. I won’t rehash whatever was written in the previous letters, but know that when you study, you essentially do so to make good use of the time and position in life that God has blessed you with.  

2. Ask yourself again what your motivations for studying are

Even though it’s not wrong (and is even good) that you may have goals you want to strive towards, it may well be that you’re stressing out due to the expectations you have for yourself and/or that others place on you. Questions of where you place your worth in or how you think others might view you definitely apply here too. You should also ask yourself whether you fall prey to deriving these from your studies.

3. Find your stressors (something or someone that causes you to feel stressed) 

The previous point naturally leads into this, so if you find that your ‘motivations’ are consuming your life, it’s good to take a step back and recognise that those motivations are not healthy and slowly walk away from them.

That being said, I also know that for some of you it might be even more difficult to step away as your source of stress isn’t self-derived but coming from other people. I wholly empathise with you and can only imagine how much you are struggling. While it is my hope that you will be able to have an open discussion about how you’re really feeling with the people around you who are stressing you out, I also encourage you to choose to surround yourself with people who are actually supportive and will motivate you healthily. 

4. Cast all your anxieties on God

At the end of the day, it is about what you choose to do with the emotions you feel. Far too often, we choose to search for ‘practical’ ways to deal with our problems and we shove God to a last resort, if at all. In such a case, we end up carrying our burdens around thinking that we can simply deal with the problems ourselves. 

Yet, I strongly encourage you all to just try coming before God and unloading whatever difficulties you may have on Him. You might come to find the indescribable peace of simply being in His presence and surrendering everything to Him.

To end off, Philippians 4:4-7 reads, ‘4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

I hope you find encouragement from these verses and take comfort in the fact that we have a God who listens and who is in control of all things – you only need to seek Him and take heart that your concerns do not go unheard.

Not only that but God will give you His peace, which transcends all understanding. The peace will guard your hearts and your minds; that you will not be troubled but rest and have the confidence in Him. 

With Love: Noah

Dear younger me,

Having just entered youth, you would have been wowed by the new environment that you find yourself in. You will have made new friends, and gotten to know Teenacity as a whole lot better. Somewhere down the road, people will ask you about serving in church. You will have an admittedly naive idea of what this means. You think that serving means being involved in some way with the running of the service itself, such as preaching or leading others in worship. Today, after serving in the worship ministry for a long time, I would like to share with you my experiences serving in church, so that you can have a better understanding of what you’re getting into.

1. What is service?

While being a pastor or a worship leader is certainly one way to serve God, that's not all there is to serving. Romans 6:13 tells us:

“Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.”

This means that serving God is to show others that you belong to Jesus Christ. You don’t have to be a worship leader or a pastor to serve God, all you need is to respond to the salvation that Jesus has brought into your life.

2. Why should I serve?

Right now, you’re probably thinking that serving sounds pretty boring, and not really worth your time. After all, you like to sit around at home and play games all day (you still do btw). To be honest, you started serving because you could play an instrument decently and perhaps “more importantly”, you thought it was cool, especially since you started serving earlier than your peers. You like the glamour and attention that being on stage in front of others brought, and treated service more like a performance. Obviously that’s not why you should serve. 

But as disciples of Christ, you should obey God’s commands for us to serve Him faithfully. By serving, you are able to deepen your relationship with God. However, this does not mean that you will not face challenges along the way. There were times where my instrument-playing wasn’t good enough or I was unable to cope with the added workload, but I trusted in God to help me pull through those seasons. God humbled me and reminded me that ultimately, He was my provider and that I could draw strength from Him.

Practically, you can’t rely on “the older ones” to do everything forever. Some people go overseas to study, some embark on a 2-year fitness plan endorsed by the government, others need to start “adulting”. The people currently serving in Teenacity will not always be around, and there is a need for people to step up to learn from them and take over the work that they do. 

For a more fleshed out argument on why you should serve, check out Pastor Keet Keong’s sermon on the 11 July 2020 - you can find it on the TBC Teenacity youtube channel.

3. What can I do to serve God?

After establishing why service is good, let's talk about the how. You must first understand that God created everyone differently. 1 Corinthians 12: 8-10 depicts the spiritual gifts that God gives, namely the gift of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in tongues and interpreting tongues. While we may not certain gifts may not be as obviously seen today today, this passage makes it clear that God gives each and every person different skills to serve Him. To some, He gave the ability to sing, to others, the ability to take nice pictures during youth camp so that you can repost them on Instagram. After you go through Servant Leader Training, you should have a general idea of what your spiritual gifts are. Learning more about what your gifts are merely act as an indicator of your strengths, and will not be the ultimate decider of how you will serve.

In Teenacity, there are 4 service areas: Worship, WOAH, DGL, and Creative Design - each fulfil a different role. In the worship ministry, I use the musical talents that God gave me to help lead the congregation in praise. But serving isn’t only within the confines of the Bible church. In our day to day life, you can serve God too! Even showing love to your friends and being obedient to our parents can be counted as service. 

4. Dos and Don’ts

There are several pitfalls to avoid when you serve in church. For one, it is easy to think that one ministry is better or more important than another. I used to think that worship was the superior ministry, after all we’re the ones at the front, so worship must be better, right? No. You must keep in mind that everyone is a part of the body of Christ, and no one serves God better or is more important than another. In God’s eyes, everyone is equal.

Additionally, make sure that your focus is on God when serving so that you do not fall into the habit of just getting things over and done with. I have made the mistake of not always putting in my 100% for God, or thinking more about how serving will affect me rather than how it glorifies God – at that point I forgot why I even started serving in the first place. Eventually, I took a break to spend some time away from serving in church, allowing me to reflect on my service journey in Teenacity. When you serve without God in mind, you no longer serve God, instead you chase your own earthly desires.

5. The Epilogue 

I want to remind you of the great commission that Jesus set out for all Christians, to go forth and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28: 19). Through your service to God, you display His redeeming power in the hopes of bringing others closer to Christ.

With Love: Noah

How does me studying glorify God?

In a previous letter entitled ‘Honouring God with our Time’, the writer tells us that we need to honour God with our time. But how does studying honour God?

Understanding God’s Design of the World

Firstly, we need to understand that God created the world to show us His glory, and He created us to see His glory and to experience His love. Understanding that God is the Creator involves understanding that He made us. We were created intentionally by God and for His purposes, as Psalms 139:13-14 says, 

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Understanding God’s Intention for us

So, as full-time students, you might be thinking:  

• HUHHH so God intends for me to study? 

• Is following the systems that were pre-conceived before I was (physically) born, part of God’s will?

• Isn’t studying, social systems and jobs all part of mankind’s works a.k.a. what we want rather than what God wants? 

To answer these questions, we should see everything around us not purely as man’s creation, but as things that point us back to God as the Ultimate Creator. After all, Romans 1:20 says:

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse”

All of creation points back to God. Everything in heaven and on earth is subject to God's commands.Therefore, nothing can happen without God allowing them to happen, including the buildings that we see around us, and the education systems that dictate what we study. Wherever we are right now, we are placed by God’s divine will, for He had the final say of what can or cannot happen in this world.

If you have ever been frustrated at/hated studying, you are not alone.
My first year in university was a really painful journey for me. I was pushing myself to juggle a million commitments – my grades, 4 CCAs in hall, teaching tuition, serving in church, having a bombastic social life. I was greedy to have it all, and I ended up having none at all. I spent many nights up till 4am, studying alone, and many times I will start tearing while typing my essays, because I hated them so much. I didn’t feel like I was enjoying the course I chose, which made me more anxious too. I was tired and frustrated, and at the end of such turmoil, my grades weren’t even that good.

However, at the end of this year, I came to realise that God had actually used that season in my life to expose my sinful heart. 

• Had I not struggled in my academics, would I have seen how much I pinned my worth on them? 

• My constant fretting of wanting to be “included” showed me how I seek my identity in the people around me

• Most importantly, would I have otherwise seen how much I want my life to go the way I want it to go? 

Going through these struggles was tough, and when I was knee-deep in them, it felt like I was in a tunnel, and I couldn’t see the reason why I was struggling. It was only in retrospect  that I could understood that God has showed me how sinful I am, and how much I needed to root everything I am in Him. He had used this season to show how much He loves me, and wants me to come back to Him.

I think, like me, many of us often can’t see the purpose of whatever we are called to; maybe until that season is over. But regardless, we should remind ourselves that even when we do not understand what we are going through or why, God’s ways are always higher than ours and not understanding them does not mean that God has deserted us. As it is said in Isaiah 55:9,

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” 

Some of y’all might be complaining now, “WALAO  write so much just to say God has a purpose”. I know it sounds vague, but I implore you to really meditate on this, and to really seek God and ask Him what He is doing in this season of your life. Is He training you up in perseverance? Is He calling for you to put your trust in Him? Perhaps, you are tested in your relationships in school. God perhaps want to equip you for a certain work in the future. Seek God and ask Him to reveal His purpose to you, do not underestimate the power of prayer 😊

Lastly, I would encourage you guys to ponder over how you study. After all, this is probably what you will have to do with much of your time, at least for 6-10 years (ok suddenly this sound like a prison sentence). I do so by ending off this letter with a personal reflection of mine! 

Here’s my mini-reflection: 

• Now that I understand how I have been placed here by His divine will, I see my work as meaningful, whether I enjoy them or not. As such, I choose to honour God with my time and actions by studying, even when I do not like it, because it is what God has called me to do for now. 

• I also repeatedly remind myself that my work should be used to glorify Him and I ought to work at it with all my heart, as if I am serving Him.

• At the same time, I recognise how I should be aware of my own sinful heart, so that I will not end up worshipping myself like how I used to in the aspect of studies; evident indicators for me would be being overly-stressed about studying and pushing myself for a certain grade. I need to constantly repent about how I use studies as a mark of my identity and recall how my identity lies in Christ instead.

• Finally, I also remind myself to pray about my studies. I know that everything comes from God and that if I do well and am skilled in a certain subject, it is a blessing from Him. Knowing that I am incompetent without God allows me to see how God will equip me to do well if it’s His will (although, this does not and should not deter me from working hard). In particular, I pray for God to reveal how He intends for me to grow in Him using this season in my life and the other seasons to come, whether it be good or bad.

Ultimately, do know that you are not alone even though life may seem very bleak and meaningless sometimes in this cut-throat rat race to get the most numbers of As. Remember that you always have the truth of the Word reminding you of God’s purposeful creation and a Teenacity community that will support you too!

With Love: Noah

Dear You,

On 9 April 2020, Sungei Tengah Lodge became the fourth foreign worker dormitory gazetted as an isolation area, following a rise in COVID-19 cases.  Today, the number of COVID-19 cases in Singapore has exceeded 25,000, with over 90% being migrant workers. Issues such as their unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, previously hidden from view, have quickly become the subject of international attention. 

Since the start of the Circuit Breaker, many churches have looked for ways to respond to the needs of migrant workers, the poor & homeless, getting involved in compassion and development efforts. Our church is no exception. 

On 20th April 2020, Clementi Bible Centre opened its premises as a Safe Sound Sleeping place (S3P) where the homeless can stay during the Circuit Breaker period for free. Within days, all spaces in the S3P were taken up. The S3P is run by volunteers from our church and Mount Carmel, with the homeless referred to the church by family service centres. All the volunteers from our church are students or young working adults, who assist with preparing logistics as well as extend hands of friendship to the stayers. Youths from Teenacity prepared encouragement cards that were given to stayers on Hari Raya, in an expression of care and love. 

The migrant and the homeless are just two of the many communities affected badly by the virus. From refugees to migrants, indigenous people to homeless folk, governments in Singapore and all over the world have been forced to take a closer look at people living in the shadows who are most vulnerable to infection. Christian youths in particular cannot afford to remain bystanders or surface-level participants. This is an opportunity for us to grow in depth of understanding, breadth of wisdom, and scope of service to different communities in Singapore!

Why should we care?

Some of you ask – we already have numerous VIA and community service programmes in school, how is this different from caring as Christians? 

Seeking justice, showing kindness and walking humbly with God are reflections of being Christians. Caring for the marginalized may be something we do out of obligation in school, but as Christians, we care because God cares. The bible speaks about the importance of humility – Humility is key in how we care for others. There are many ways we can look at the poor. We can see them as statistics, objects of charity or as victims of injustice. But true humility is seeing the poor as those who represent God. God gives us an opportunity to know him more through the poor. 

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs us to welcome the stranger: 

When we read this scripture passage, we are reminded that in God’s eyes there is no distinction between the way we treat God, and the way we treat the image of God found in our brothers and sisters. What we allow to happen to another person, we allow to happen to God. This is why as young people, we cannot continue to condone injustice, xenophobia and prejudice. To us, there must be no distinction between the way we treat our migrants, homeless, marginalized people – and the way we treat God. Of course, many of us have our own biases. We need to ask God’s help to see the poor and the circumstances of the poor more truly. Only when we do this are we able to remove the log in our own eye so that we have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Reaching out to the marginalized is also a commandment that God has given to His people. God cares for migrants: “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.” And He commands the Israelites to do the same:

Israelites were to love and respect foreigners, because they too had been wanderers in Egypt. This is echoed in Hebrews where Christians are reminded to: 

Where to begin?

The Lord taught us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread” and not “Give me this day my daily bread”. Even as many of us enjoy easy access to food and basic necessities each day, we need to recognize that there are many who go to bed hungry. One practical way to serve the hungry is to reduce wastage, give food to those in need or, for those who are able to, sponsor meals and donate to organisations supporting marginalized groups. 

Showing hospitality to strangers is not as difficult as it appears to be – it includes befriending the cleaners in your school, showing appreciation for the people who clear the garbage bins at your homes each day, purchasing tissue packets from the auntie at the bus interchange, showing concern for the foreign workers in your midst and treating them with respect. It is okay to start small but it is not okay to do nothing. Youths need to step out to serve the world by going into the world. It is there that you will understand yourselves and grow in maturity. And as non-Christians reach out into the world with Christians, surely there will be opportunity for them to come to know Christ. 

Migrant workers: like prostitutes, the poor, and the homeless, all have stories to tell. Their experiences and their heartaches are matters that demand attention. Go and learn more about them and read their stories online, learn about the richness of their culture .You do not need to travel to another country to experience this. Deepen your own awareness of the local communities, and have conversations with Christians in different communities. This is a powerful way to learn more about who God is through Christians from different cultures and to deepen your own walk with God.

Older youths doing specialized courses – broaden your perspective on how your discipline can be used for social good and benefit the wider society. Equip yourself with soft skills beyond technical competencies taught in an academic setting. Rather than solely spending time with people that look like you, or who view the world like you do and agree with you on every point, seek people who see things differently. And throughout this keep an open heart to how the Spirit wants to direct you.  

These are just some of the ways you can discover and live Jesus’ call to a life of loving service and understand the importance of respecting the rights and responsibilities of all people. As you embark on your journey, grow and develop an awareness of your faith. Do not be afraid to share the spiritual transformation and insights you gain in the process. Young people should not wait to be told exactly what to do before taking action. COVID-19 has opened up even more opportunities for youths to live out the presence of Jesus in Singapore today. May we come together in a way that can impact and transform society and live out the image of God in community unlike ever before. 

PS: When we go back to school, let’s all strike up a conversation with the school cleaners and ask them how they have been! 

With Love: Noah

Wassup! It’s mid-way through our school holidays, what have you been up to? I’ve been binge watching some Netflix series and okay, I admit I also tried Animal Crossing …. not really my kind of game. However, at my age I’ve got to binge on tuition too #rip. I know many of you are experiencing different kinds of holidays; some are just way too free and sooooo bored, while some are trying to catch up on work that snowballed ever since HBL started.

After the letter about doing our quiet time, I tried to start reading the Bible more. I’ve started on the book of Ephesians! I’ve been trying to set aside 10-15 minutes in the morning after I wake up to read some of the verses from there and pray. Here’s what I learnt! 

Honour God with our Time 

I’d like to introduce the phrase ‘Honour God with our Time’. I’m not sure if you’ve heard this phrase before, but for me, I stumbled upon it when I was reading Ephesians.

Like I mentioned earlier, we’ve all had different holidays so far, but what we do have in common is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. So, honouring God with our time means consciously choosing how we spend this time that we have! Remember, we are Christians first before we are students. We should study in a way that reflects ‘honouring God with the time that we have’. 

Where did Work Come From 

However, some of you might be wondering, if studying is good for me, then why is it so painful (especially studying for Chinese). Well, this was not always the case. 

The first account of someone working in the Bible can be traced back to God himself - when he created the world! He made the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th day. He also created Adam so that he could work the Garden of Eden. Up till that point, the Bible describes the work as good work. God even gave Adam a helper in the form of Eve. But, as a result of Adam and Eve’s sinfulness, God cursed the ground (3:17) and said that work from then on would be tiring and burdensome. So, you see, work from God was not always burdensome (imagine actually enjoying everything that you study!!)

So how then should we study? 

After doing a bit of research, I also realised that the Bible does tell us how to study. Although there is no mention of studying and grades in the Bible, there are quite a few mentions of work. In Proverbs 6: 6-10, the writer warns against laziness: 

*Sluggard means lazy person 

We see that the Bible hates it when someone is lazy. There are many parallels from this passage to the way we should be studying. For example: we shouldn’t procrastinate. We shouldn’t laze around and not do anything, nor slack around so much so that work starts to pile up. 

So how then should we study/work? 

There are many practical ways that we can approach our work. 

1. Pray before you start studying (yes, pray every day!!!) 

In so doing, you remind yourself that the work that you are doing is from God and that we should do it to the best of our abilities so that we can bring him glory through it

2. Plan (as the saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail) 

Just like how the ant plans in advance and stores up food for its colony, we should also plan our work. Write down the things that you have to do and when the deadlines are. Also, for those who have project work and submissions, start on them early so that you will have a ‘buffer’ time if things don’t go well

3.Stop Procrastinating! 

Don’t be the sluggard that the Bible says 

4. Work Hard

Give your 100% when you are studying! Set aside all distractions (looking at you, Instagram) and focus on doing the work given to us

5. Take the Sabbath. 

This comes in many forms. For me, I make an effort to not study on the day that I go to church. Crazy huh! But this helps me remember that God is in control - and not me. This also helps me to focus during the other 6 days. However, please don’t use this as an excuse to not go for tuition or procrastinate on work and feed into your laziness!!!! Everyone’s life is different, but the principles that we live by as Christians should be the same. 

6. Find a study buddy 

As a practical tip, find someone that can hold you accountable for your work! It can be someone from your DG or someone from school. Having someone that shares the same goals as you will be a source of encouragement for you when you start to struggle with living up to the standard that God has called us to 

Finally 

As an encouragement, Colossians 3:23-24 says:

加油！！

With Love: Noah

Dear you,

How has your quiet time been? 

Maybe your DGLs nag you about it all the time, but you don’t see the point. Reading the bible and praying is boring, and you would rather do something else. Or maybe you know quiet time is good for you, but you still struggle to do it regularly. You find yourself distracted and confused most of the time. Quiet time feels more like a burden than a joy. 

Or perhaps it’s been going well for you! You treasure moments reading and reflecting on God’s word.

I’ve been in all these places before. There are times where I taste and see that God’s words are indeed “more to be desired… than gold” and “sweeter also than honey”. Yet, there are also days where I come away frustrated and disappointed or decide to press the snooze button for the eighth time instead. Wherever you are, I hope that through this letter, you will find encouragement to get started or keep going. Let’s consider what God says about His word, and then get down to some practicalities. 

What will motivate us?

God gives us great promises about His word! Coming to know and believe them has really helped me to desire reading the bible. Here are a few that keep me going. I hope they will inspire you too! Take some time to dwell on each of them.

Strength, nourishment, fruitfulness, sustenance, guidance, illumination, protection, training, shaping, equipping— do you realize this is what the bible offers?

There are many other such promises in the bible. If you lack motivation, can I encourage you over the next few days or weeks to pray over some of these promises? If we take hold of them, I trust it can make all the difference.

Some practical tips

Now that we’ve looked at the motivations, let’s consider some practicalities. There is plenty of advice out there, but here’s a “starter pack”:

• Set aside a fixed time with least distractions. For me, that is morning time. I make sure my phone is switched off the night before.

• Before reading – Ask God to grant understanding, to enlighten the eyes of our hearts, and to shape our response and lives.

• Read – Think about what is the author trying to say to his readers? Why? How might it, then, apply to us?

• Meditate – Don’t just move on! Do you believe what God has revealed to you? What would it look like to believe? How can you move towards that desired state? 

• Pray in response to what you’ve read and reflected on.

My hope is that in this prolonged period of staying at home, you may start and strengthen and joy-filled discipline of spending time with God through His word and prayer. Quiet time is the most important thing we can do every day (Luke 10:42), and it is never wasted time! Remember, God delights to reveal more of Himself and His Son for those who ask Him and shape us more into his likeness. He surely will, in His good timing, so keep at it!

With Love: Noah

Dear You, 

As much as covid-19 has been spreading around the world lately, I think there has also been an equally rapid growth of doubt, uncertainty and fear. Maybe even annoyance, specifically at our parents. If you’re on the receiving end of constant nags to wash your hands, wear a mask and even not being allowed outdoors because of the covid-19 situation, you are not alone! But before we let our frustration get in the way and possibly cause more problems, let’s remember that God calls us to honour our parents and that there are no exceptions to this commandment. So yes, even in the context of covid-19, honouring them is still something God wants us to do.  

Why should we honour our parents?

First, understanding our parents’ perspective could help us to understand where they’re coming from and make it easier to honour them. Looking at the situation right now, fear is almost inevitable. In Singapore, the number of cases are increasing, and so are the number of measures the government is implementing. Crowds are non-existent and we’re pretty much having virtual everything. All these changes are scary and in fact, it seems that if you’re a parent of three, you’d probably feel the fear three times as much, having three additional lives to worry about. Adding on the possibility that they might lose their job, our parents do have a lot on their plate. So I hope we can see that, really, it’s understandable that parents have heightened worries and anxiety, especially for us.

Second, God chose them. Parents are the people God has chosen for us. He specifically put them in our lives to nurture and take care of us. He could have very easily placed us in any other household, with any other parents and our lives would have changed drastically. Yet, he chose them. He chose these specific people to be the ones to have parental authority over us. Then surely, honouring them would essentially be honouring God.

 The importance of honouring our parents is evident and made explicitly clear in God’s word. In the bible, God didn’t even bother with the long parables and just explicitly said, 

In addition, there is an obvious indicator of the importance of honouring our parents, seen in the living example of Jesus, because even Jesus submitted to His earthly parents.  

In the current situation of covid19, it may be extra challenging to honour our parents when they sometimes say or do things you completely disagree with or don’t comprehend the rationale for. However, knowing the importance of honouring our parents, it is also then in this situation that you have to be extra understanding of where they’re coming from and honour them.

How then can we honour our parents?

Honouring our parents during this time is as simple as being obedient. In times where we may be consistently told to do things we don’t want to do or don’t see meaning in, like wear a mask when we’re not even unwell or wash our hands 9273762372638 times, it is very tempting to not listen to them and just disobey. Or obey them, while grumbling and rolling our eyes behind their backs. The very least we could do though, is be willing to be open-minded. Understanding their point of view may not necessarily have to be equal to agreement, but we should minimally respect their opinions as well as why they feel the way they feel. This could pave the way for the sharing of honest opinions between us and our parents, which could very possibly make honouring them much easier eventually.

But…? 

However, sometimes we face the unfortunate truth that no matter how open-minded we are, our willingness to be receptive to what they have to say may not be reciprocated by them. I know this is very triggering but our assurance is that God looks at the heart. Our parents, though chosen by God, are still human and are imperfect. They could be in the wrong at times and may not choose to listen and/or validate your thoughts, but know that you tried your best and God sees and validates that. “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” (Proverbs 21:2)

No one said that honouring our parents is easy. In fact, I’m sure we can all confirm for ourselves how difficult it really is, and sometimes may feel impossible even. Just like how the bible has always warned us how difficult this journey of faith will be, we need to recognise that we cannot honour our parents only relying on our own strength.

We need God’s help. To that, God says “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be you wherever you go.” So persevere on ma bros, God is with you!!! :-) 

All in all, we have to see the bigger picture and realise that honouring our parents is part of our purpose in life, to glorify God. We know that it is no easy feat, but let’s seek God’s help to try our best anyway, because COVID-19 or not, honouring our parents is part of what we are called to do, as followers of Christ. 

                                                                                                                        Love Noah & Leia

Dear You,

Who am I?  

I’m sure it’s a question many people have asked and struggled with. 

In recent times a lot more people are made aware of who they are through different things. 

Constant scrutiny by others on social media that cause(s) them to understand how they present themselves; an emotional, thought provoking film or show that causes one to reflect and see themselves in the characters; or even in the school system where emphasis is placed on career planning and the subjects and courses students are made to choose.

You are right now probably under some stress to figure out who you are. Before I continue, let me say this. You are not alone. From the many people I’ve talked to, almost no one has their whole life figured out. 

So how does one go about learning about themselves? 

Talk to close friends and family who aren’t afraid to tell you what’s on their mind. You need to have others be honest with you in order for you to know what your true personality really is, not skewed by your own perception of what you want to be or who you think you are. 

Another way for those less inclined to talk to other people is to note down and analyse how you react and act in certain situations. Then ask yourself, “Is this who I want to be?” 

After that you may realise how terrible of a person you are or maybe how things you like doing may reflect poorly on yourself. Before you try to justify your actions, take a moment to think. Are you defending your bad habits because you are afraid of change? Be open minded. Perhaps you can take small steps to move away from these negative behaviors. 

Eventually you will change and find that things will be for the better. You need not fear that your personality, or the things you like and dislike, change. Do not mistake character quirks, hobbies, purpose, job, etc. for an actual personality. They may help shape or be part of a person’s identity but those do not fully explain what someone is entirely about.

Speaking of purpose, it is our calling as Christians to obey the Word of God and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and His bringing of salvation. While it should be a major factor in how you act, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to start working full-time in church. What it means is that in whatever you do and say, remember to place God as the most important factor.

After all is said and done, know that figuring out and weeding out your bad habits isn’t going to happen overnight. It is a long and hard process with many bumps in the road. And sometimes, we may need to take a detour to see if we made the right choice and backtrack to walk a different path.  Last but not least, don’t get too caught up in thinking. Sometimes it may be best to take a step away from your thoughts and enjoy the moments in your life with others.

With Love: Noah

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First, we should continue to take care of ourselves by practising good personal hygiene and observing social distancing (>1mt apart). Before we act, we should also consider the impact of our actions on those around us, especially the seniors and the weaker ones in our midst, who are more susceptible to this virus.

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Third, we can learn to depend on Him and pray for ourselves and others, especially for those who are suffering because of the virus. Think about workers in F&B, healthcare and other frontline industries. They need our prayers! During this time, we encourage you to think about how we can help those around us that are in need. Maybe you have Malaysian cleaners in your schools? Would you consider inviting them for a meal? Or how about praying together with a friend whose loved ones may be separated from them because of the quarantine? 

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Second, other than checking out Covid memes or checking out Phua Chu Kang’s latest viral (haha) hit, we should be spending more time with God and getting to know Him by reading and meditating on His Word. 

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Fourth, we can reach out to friends who may wonder why such a situation is happening as they try to make sense of it. It is true that humans are, to some extent, responsible for our current predicament. But we as believers believe that nothing happens by accident. We should not be surprised that such events can point people to God. In Luke 21:11, Jesus’ disciples asked him what were signs of the end-times. 

(This comes as an accompaniment to last week’s letter)

What is there to live for?

In last week’s letter I talked about how hopelessness is part of every human’s life. This is because, despite being made by God for a relationship with Him, sin separates us from Him. We don’t always seek God. But even when we do, sin stands in the way.

Despite all this, there is still something to hope for!

Our future hope: 

We can hope in our eternal lives with God in heaven. 

The apostle Paul echoes this hope in his letter to the Philippians. He considers his desire to depart from this earthly life and to be with Christ, “for that is far better” (1:23). Paul knows it is far better to be with God in heaven than to continue suffering from the effects of sin on earth, and looks forward to the day when he can do that. We, too, can do the same. Why then did Paul choose to continue his missionary work instead of joining God (1:25-26)?

God’s work in this earthly life:

In Philippians, we also see that Paul valued his earthly life as it allowed him to do fruitful labour in encouraging God’s people in their work and walk (1:22). Paul was torn between doing God’s work and joining Him in heaven, but Paul chose the former.

He did so because it would progress the Philippians and increase their joy in faith - and Paul saw that that was more important than his personal desires. He knew the Philippians would experience this conflict too (1:29-30), and implored them to, through the gospel, stand firm and fight against opponents of the faith.

The idea of standing firm and fighting are also highlighted in the letters to the churches in Revelation. Notice that, in every letter, a promise is made to ‘the one who conquers’. 

To the church in Ephesus (2:7)

I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God 

To the church in Smyrna (2:11)

Will not be hurt by the second death

To the church in Laodicea (3:21)

 I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne

Though the churches faced different difficulties, they all dealt with opposition to their faith, in the forms of passivity (2:4), persecution (2:10), deceptive teachings (2:20) and seduction (2:20) amongst others. It's a fight common to all Christians. But to those who conquer and persevere through the struggle, to these are promised the hope of eternal life with God! 

Why does God allow these oppositions?

It may seem senseless that we have to fight for our faith and struggle along the way. No one can peer into God’s mind and give you the real reasons. However, some books like Job and Ecclesiastes explore the reasons God might put us through suffering. 

One possible reason I would like to highlight for our encouragement lies in 1 Peter 1. Peter shares that trials may come to test the genuineness of our faith (which is more precious than gold) so that our faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. In other words, the pain of suffering may strengthen our faith and glorify God.

Oftentimes however, suffering does not seem to strengthen our faith. Instead, it leaves us discouraged and disappointed. It makes us feel alone. But it is in this struggle, that we intensely thirst for hope and comfort. Personally, it is in these moments that I am reminded of the battle already won by Jesus. We need only to rely on His grace and love that surpasses our failing and our flaws. And because of that, I am all the more amazed by God and convicted by the gospel of grace!

In the meantime...

We now know that there is a hope in the next life and until then, doing God’s work is important. But does that mean we are subject to a life full of suffering here on earth? 

Not really. Firstly, I want to remind you that God empathises with our suffering. In the passages above, God made promises to ‘those who conquer’. In the same passages, He acknowledges their ‘tribulations’, ‘works’, ‘toil’ and ‘patient endurance’. Jesus, in becoming a man, was tempted in every way. He is able to feel sympathy for our weaknesses (Heb 4:14-15). Jesus knows and feels our struggles. He is on our side and will intercede in prayer for us when we are struggle to. You are not alone!

Secondly, God is a gracious giver who gives us good things in life too. In the famous “A Time for Everything” passage in Ecclesiastes (3:1-8), the writer speaks about the cyclical nature of life, where there will be a time for rejoicing and a time for suffering, a time to be born and a time to die. God has made everything beautiful in His time. We may be in a season of suffering now, but there will come a season for rejoicing as well. I hope that we will learn to enjoy the good things and endure the bad. And I pray that in our sadness and happiness, in our weeping and laughter, in our mourning and dancing, may we know and remember our Creator (12:1), and trust in His plan for us, His creation. 

With Love: Noah 

Hello you!

  Introduction

In recent years, there has been a surge in awareness regarding topics like suicide and depression with the rising popularity of shows like “13 reasons why” and singers like billie eilish. There have also been a string of celebrity losses in the kpop industry. We hear of suicides committed and/ or attempted by not only the famous but also classmates, neighbours and family members and I wonder, what do you guys think about it? Do you think about it? What are some of the feelings, thoughts, and convictions that run through your hearts and minds? 

More often than not, I am led to wonder what is this?? What is this evil that compels a person to give up all hope of a better tomorrow? What is this issue that pervades the whole of society? From the poor or the marginalised to the rich and most “blessed” - no one category of people is spared. 

  Why? 

It seems to boil down to the absence of hope – the absence of a cheering anticipation or confidence that things will pick up maybe tomorrow or the day after. Life is harder than we imagine. Seemingly insignificant troubles plague our everyday lives. Making a disastrous mistake at work. Feeling like nobody really understands. Being hurt by a careless remark or a selfish act by someone you don’t care for very much or by someone who matters a lot. Maybe it is even less tangible than that -- when nothing in this world seems to satisfy that gaping appetite in our hearts. Sometimes, we live life on autopilot, aimlessly following the trajectory that has been set out for us. Sometimes, we hunt one thing after another only to find that achieving these things simply leaves us starving for more. 

As a Christian, I believe that we are made with an appetite for perfection and a desire for the supreme good. In other words, we crave for God Himself. And the sad reality is this: the missing piece within us simply cannot be found in anything earthly— be it another person, our career goals/ ambitions, the latest gadgets, or ideal weight targets. This dissatisfaction that we all experience with our present world is arguably shown in the main message of one of the books in the Old Testament named Ecclesiastes. This wisdom book details the thoughts of a preacher who went on a single-minded search for ultimate fulfilment. He considers and adopts several methods, hoping that they will bring about that desired satisfaction: hard work and results (1:3; 2:4-8;); wisdom (1:13); and every earthly pleasures (2:1). None worked (1:8-9). Eventually, he concludes: 

“ So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. [10] And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. [11] Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

  My reflections:

In an earlier part of Ecclesiastes, the preacher works to tell his readers that our meaning cannot be found in this life, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity!”. When I first read this, I was struck by the gloominess of this reality. But I simultaneously found my feelings of inadequacy and my observations of a broken world and humanity gut-wrenchingly and authentically confirmed and reflected in the Word of God. Who would think that the Bible reflects such an accurate picture of a life sometimes filled with unimaginable pain and empty striving? A far cry from the sometimes nauseatingly-positive one-liners you find on self-help insta accounts and common Christian cliches that we dish out to suffering Christians. 

Despite all this despair, there is hope: 

  You are not alone:

If you do find yourself wondering about the brokenness of this world and the state of life itself, you are not alone. It has always been my prayer that as a community of faith, we’ll be more open to share our thoughts of pain with one another. Our willingness to share makes “doing life” as a family in Christ so much more authentic. Nevertheless, people do fail in this imperfect world. Our attempts to share our inner thoughts and feelings may be met with invalidation and hurt in return. And to that, I wish to say that I’m sorry if that has ever happened to you. I pray that you will understand that misunderstanding and miscommunication is all part of open sharing and that you will not give up on speaking to others about it. That God allotted an entire book’s worth of words on this futility is telling! We should not be surprised when we experience brokenness. Pain is part of the human experience. “Doing life” consists of sharing both joy and grief and we can start by speaking authentically with each other. The leadership team is trying their best to equip DGLs and leaders so that they may grow in sensitivity and wisdom as they too learn how to best journey with each other in this life. Don’t give up! I pray that we will all be open to hearing truth in love from the church family that God has placed in our lives. 

If you do feel the aforementioned hopelessness on a more excruciating level - if it feels uncontrollable, unpredictable, all-consuming, that nothing motivates and that even previous interests and sources of happiness no longer excite, I implore you to take a moment to breathe and process what you’ve just read. I hope that it will speak into your situation and that you will feel loved and accepted. I know that it takes more than just a few (or many) words on a page, but know that you are not alone. Speak to someone about it, or think and pray and ask around about someone whom you could speak to about this. The concept of a church in the Bible is always used in reference to God’s people, not the building. Tap on the church and if you should feel compelled to do so, ask to speak to a professional and bring us on that journey with you. 

With Love: Noah 

Dear You,

Roses are red, violets are blue, I’m dateless this Valentine’s, what about you?  

To be honest, I think the realisation that such a day even existed only hit me when I entered my teenage years. This came in the form of a happy Forever Alone Day chain message, which I was just happy I received (so I could busy myself with forwarding it to others and making it look like I had friends). On hindsight, this realisation also gave me the added benefit of understanding what love was – and what it wasn’t.

What isn’t Love?

Like many, I used to think Valentine’s Day was the ultimate show of love. After all, with flower bouquets larger than my face and clusters of heart-shaped balloons that will make the house in “Up” look bad, this did seem like love on overdrive. Nothing says “I love you” more than through an expensive gift form your significant other right? 

Except I’ve come to know it doesn’t.

Going through phases of not knowing why 14th February was celebrated, to making fun of it being celebrated, to finally wondering if I would always be alone when it was celebrated, gave me more than my fair share of time and experience to reflect on its significance and to come to the above conclusion. Simply put, it made me recognise how love didn’t exist because someone decided to give me a box of chocolates or confess their feelings for me. In the same way that not getting presents on my birthday doesn’t change the day I was born, not having someone to spend this coming Saturday with doesn’t change the value of love. Love is not shown like this.

While I am not discrediting how gifting can be an expression of love, it is not an end goal in itself. Instead, the idea behind all this is that we first love and give something in response to that love. Moreover, in spite of what people may want you to think, that something you choose to give and that someone you choose to show your love for is not limited to the confines of stereotypical teddy bears and romantic relationships. Love is so much more than that.

What is Love?

As a fun fact, the English language only has one standard use of the word ‘love’. No duh right? Yet in the Greek language, there are seven variations of the word. Not in the sense of synonyms either, but seven distinct words that all refer to love – in its manifold forms. 

Though I won’t bore you with the details, I do wish to highlight how this not only points to the different ways love can take on, but how these seven ways can be both good and bad. 

Looking at the good, I want to draw your attention to agape love, which defined loosely means ‘the highest form of love, charity’. Yet, this alone does not thoroughly cover the meaning behind the word. Delving deeper, agape love actually represents a pure, intentional and sacrificial love that is not simply limited to giving things away. To have agape love is to willingly give up anything for the greatest good of others, without expecting something in return. It is no coincidence, then, in all its selflessness, that this is the highest form of love. Nor should it come as a surprise that this form of love was used in the Bible to describe ‘the love of God for man and of man for God’.

To illustrate this, perhaps the most well-known use of it in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 would be helpful and it reads: 

‘4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.’

In replacing the word ‘love’ with ‘agape love’ and understanding the detailed meaning behind it, we start to see what love truly is. Additionally, we also start to grasp how we, as Christians, are called to love.

Ultimately, though, love should also point us to Christ; for Christ is love. 

Beyond illustrating this by His death on the cross for our sins, we can similarly replace the word ‘love’ and the pronouns in the verses above with ‘God’ and see how He fits in perfectly with the Scripture. We have the capacity for love simply because He loved us first and is the ultimate representation of love. 

Thus, love is so much more than a feeling or a fleeting emotion. Love is also a choice. A choice we are called to make for God, as a response to His choice to love us. A choice that we are tasked to readily make for the betterment of others, as God’s people. And most importantly, a choice we continuously make, even if we keep falling short of it. 

“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” 

This is not to say that we can’t make the wrong choices about how we choose to love. Returning to look at another one of the seven ways the Greeks describe love, there is a form of love that represents self-centered love. Known as philautia, this way of love has been equated to selfishness and vanity. As the polar opposite of agape love, most would advise steering clear from it. However, I believe that small, appropriate doses of it can be beneficial in assisting with our mission of showing agape love. 

The heart of this lies the view that we also need to love ourselves in order to love others. Alternatively, an apt phrasing of this would be, ‘we accept the love we think we deserve’.  

If we do not first value ourselves, we are doomed to accepting and reciprocating love far below the level of agape for the “kind-heartedness” they first showed us or getting into toxic relationships and friendships for validation. This should never be the way love takes on. 

Hence, in learning to love others, we need to learn how to love and accept ourselves too – and realise that we should never settle. Your worth is, like love, not measured in this way.

How it is measured is, in fact, immeasurable. Much like how God’s love for us is, and how He values us as our Maker. So, until someone makes you feel a semblance of that kind of love and compels you to do the same without being taken advantage of, don’t bother engaging with them.

As you read this now with whatever feelings you may have towards Valentine’s Day, know that I’ve been through all of them and that really, it’s okay. Even if you’re grossed out by this day as I was or feeling alone on this day as I also was, know that the day itself really doesn’t matter much (other than the business that suddenly comes pouring into florists and card shops). What does matter is the idea behind it, which is far more eternal than a rose anyone could buy you.

Love (and lots of it), Leia 

Dear younger GCB self,

No girlfriend = problem(?) 

“Oh man, another valentine’s day where I’m alone :(((” At this stage of your life, getting a girlfriend may be high on your priorities list – beside doing well in school and having a solid group of friends. You just need to pluck up the courage to ask that cute girl in your class (or in church) out, not before getting a feel of whether she’s interested by texting and/or talking to her first, of course. 

Sorry to burst your bubble, sadly, but for some of us, things may never work out in romantic relationships. You might meet someone tomorrow, next week, or next year.  But maybe you will never find a person who will reciprocate the deep feelings of affection you have for them – what then?  

-Insert forever alone meme-

 Are you to remain single and miserable forever? You ask God why, and you begin to get angry and frustrated with Him for not putting someone in your life. But before you go nuts and start tearing pages out of your bible, why don’t you touch your heart and ask yourself - why do you want to be in a relationship in the first place? Or rather, why you so thirsty bro???

Other than simply a desire to have someone to look after you lest you become Carl from “UP” (sed) – aren’t you just trying to fill that void of loneliness and companionship? A person that you can laugh, cry, play, chat, live life with, and perhaps most importantly, to love you? Perhaps losing that last thing is the most painful because sometimes you think so lowly of yourself that you can’t even see the worth and love that God has for you.

I get attached ≠ joy

Ok, first, know that if you are single, this does not define your worth. Not before God, and definitely not before any mockers who feel that life is over just because you are not in a romantic relationship. Also, fyi, Jesus was single for life, as was Paul, and look what they did for God – in Paul’s case, check out 1 Corinthians 7!  

BUT, this isn’t necessarily a letter to promote #singlehood4lyfe, nor is it a letter to slam people in relationships. Let’s not forget that finding a partner for marriage is a beautiful institution created by God for man! But at the end of the day, whether single or married, know that none of these states can bring you the joy and worth you seek. Not unless you seek the source of true joy. When you do, only then can you learn to live a joyful, peace-filled life, regardless of your relationship status.

How can we experience that joy? Well, one way to do it is to realise and understand that the love that God gives surpasses any human love we can experience in this lifetime. Learning about it through God’s word and taking God’s promises to heart and living out a life for Him helps build toward that.  

Another way to do it is by embracing the gift of your relationship status that God has given you! Why not use your time in singlehood to help serve others? Take a leap of faith and say “YES!” to do awesome, spontaneous things for God that you may not have been able to do if you were attached and couldn’t spend time away from your partner. Things like starting a prayer group in your school, volunteering for the less-privileged/marginalised in your community, going for long-term missions…the possibilities are endless!

But, if you do these things, does this mean that you will never be bothered by singlehood? HAHAHAHAHAHA no. There will be many-a-time when you will doubt yourself. Maybe when you see diabetes couple photos on Instagram. Or at times you just feel crappy and miserable because you think no one will ever love you. 

In these moments, I pray that you have friends or family that can remind you of your true worth in Christ. Or perhaps, if you were to stop being self-centred for a minute, you could be that very friend to another whom you know is feeling down about themselves because they doubt their self-worth! But never, ever discount the value of these relationships as compared to that of romantic relationships. For how valuable is a trusted spiritual friendthat can watch out for you and warn you (and rebuke you if need be) to make sure that you keep on a path toward righteousness and not destruction. A true brother in Christ. I truly, deeply hope that you will be able to find bros like that around you and that you may keep each other accountable in your faith journey. 

It is high time to stop beating yourself up over lost love. And stop beating others up for their lack of a partner. Sure, God’s plan for us might not be a Disney-level romantic relationship that the world tells us we OUGHT to have, but He has demonstrated His love through something deeper, richer and more perfect that any love we can seek from any other person on this earth. Take comfort in that. After all, GOD’S VERY SON chose to come down from heaven to die for our sins despite our v. deserved eternal judgement. Isn’t it time we show God (and ourselves) some respect and experience true joy in Christ? 

“What God is this? What kind of sacrifice? Would give so much to gain a loveless soul?”                                                                                                                                                                                                      Love, Noah 

Dear You, 

新年快乐！

I never really enjoyed reunion dinners. That is, until I didn’t have one.

In itself, reunion dinners were great for the food. I mean, having abalone, three types of meat and sometimes even crab for no cost at all was a pretty great steal (cause it’s not like you paid for it either, your parents did). I just had to turn up. 

When I think of Chinese New Year, one of the most immediate things that came to my mind was the dreadful idea of facing all my relatives. Relatives that told me I’ve gained or lost too much weight, relatives that asked how was school and whether I got straight As, and relatives nagging at me to make the right choices in life and to plan for my future. 

Family is familyI’m not saying I came just because I wanted ang pows. Or their stacks of new year goodies. I’m saying this because some time in the future, you will look back and you will regret not treasuring the time you had with them – regardless of how painful it might be right now. As horrid as their blunt comments might sound, they ultimately do it out of the care they have for you. As unbelievable as this may also sound, these will (oddly) be the things you laugh about and try to get back when you’re older. Trust me on this, it’s coming from someone who used to literally run away from them.

At the end of the day, relatives and reunion dinners are neither purely a source of annoyance nor memes. Instead, they form an important part of our tradition and the environment that God has placed us in. It is good to bear in mind that God has a plan for all of us, which definitely includes putting us in a particular place and time and around the people we call our family. Through our interactions with them, we actually learn a lesson of how we are to react as Christians. 

We can’t change who we’re related to, but we can change our relations with them
In spite of all the things I’ve overlooked and forgot about Chinese New Year like the obnoxious music and what four-character phrases to say when I bai nian, one thing I did remember is this: that my extended family never stopped caring about what I was up to. It didn’t matter how frustrating or disinterested I was being, or whether I was the kinder version of myself; they still checked in on me year in and year out. At the heart of all their annoying questions, small talk and criticisms lay a fundamental and consistent concern with how I was coping. This made me fully realise the whole point of this Chinese tradition, which was to gather as a family unit to catch-up, celebrate and forgive each other with the coming of the new year. 

So, every time my relatives tested my patience, I took it as an opportunity to learn how to have patience. I took my interactions with them as a way to show Christ by learning to be gracious and to continually acquire the fruits of the Spirit. Though on a very different scale, the way God first loved us unconditionally is how we, too, are called to love them even if they frustrate us. What this means is that we should keep trying to be that better and kinder version of ourselves. Not because we feel bad about being rude all the time to our loved ones (even if we should), but because it’s what we are called to do as Christians. Our proper response is hence to gain love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control and express that to others. 

 Perhaps the concept of and our appropriate response to Chinese New Year is then best summarised by this Chinese proverb

饮水思源 “When you Drink Water, Know its source”

For all the complaints you may have about your relatives, do know that they, in part, made you into the person you are today. In the same manner, recognise that any change in character you have, such as renewed patience, stems from God constantly equipping you through the Spirit. Whatever we think we’ve achieved over the years is made possible not simply from our own doing, but only through the grace we’ve first received from God and from those around us. 

Therefore, whenever you, like me, may be tempted to ignore your relatives or reply paggro-ly this Chinese New Year, I hope that you will remember how irritating you have been and how you were pardoned in spite of it. I also hope that you will come to show your appreciation for the people that have raised you thus far and to cherish any time you have with them. Arguments and disagreements really come and go, but the time you will wish you had with them is limited and can never be obtained again.

So yes, I never really enjoyed reunion dinners. And truth be told, I never really enjoyed the loud festivities of this Chinese tradition. There was too much noise and the red seemed kinda uncool, especially when I look at Western celebrations like Thanksgiving that just had chill meals in cute knitted sweaters. Yet now, I see the real significance behind it and how it parallels celebrations like Thanksgiving.

While I may not have (nor want to wear) a knitted sweater in Singapore’s heat, in keeping in line with our tradition, I proudly wear red now regardless. Though it may just be a symbol of this festive period, to me, it is also symbolic of blood –and how it is thicker than water. 

With Love: Noah

Dear You,
New Year Resolutions are Pointless (or at least that is what I thought)

   LOL …. Resolutions? I can’t even achieve last year’s one.

To be fair, I don’t even think I gave it much thought at all. Between rushing to finish all the holiday homework, lamenting over the sheer amount of food I ate during Christmas celebrations and the money I spent on gift exchanges, the coming of every new year was simply something that just happened. 

There was no concrete plan for the year ahead beyond “I really need to finish questions 1-10 if not Mr. Lim will kill me” or “how many questions can I not do and get away with?” There was no time spent doing serious goal settings since everyone around me talked and joked about how they already couldn’t meet their goals from the previous year. In fact, there was no difference between 31 December and 1 January to me. I would still date my worksheets wrong weeks into the new year, and I would still feel like I was the same person I was weeks before January started. 

Yet, the one thing I was curious about was why people still bothered to keep to the “tradition” after years of supposed failures in meeting their resolutions. 

   Understanding resolutions

Perhaps an answer I could offer is this: it provides people with a clear direction to work towards. Sounds a bit obvious doesn’t it? However, in practice we come to realise just how often we not only overlook this, but also how we tend to underestimate just how valuable this one easy task is. 

In reality, resolutions are no different from the plans we made over the end-of-year holiday that just passed. In listing out fun things to do off the top of our heads like hanging out with our friends or setting aside a day to play video games, we are actually making a commitment. A commitment not quite in the sense of definitively achieving our aims, but a commitment of taking that first step towards it. 

If we really stopped to think about it, it genuinely is rather impossible to always meet every single one of our friends and to unlock a whole list of game achievements whenever we wanted to. And yet, we still continue to do the same thing of keeping in mind the things we want to achieve every holiday and try very hard to make time for it as it is important to us. 

In the same way, “failure” to meet New Year’s Resolutions doesn’t spell out abandoning the whole system. Moreover, it even highlights the recognition that it is, indeed, something valuable as it can help us better focus our time around the things in life that are truly important to us; the same way that our friends, games and enjoyment dictate our holidays. 

Also, resolutions are also yet another means of centering Christ in our lives. I think that often times, we may recognise that our faith in God is important – but still not take any concrete steps to show that in our actions and day-to-day activities. Instead of keeping God at the back of our minds and confining Him to Saturday services, how about we bring the idea that the Christian life is a daily act of service to the forefront of our minds? We do this by factoring in the time He has blessed us with to do His work; whether it be in serving in church, dedicating time to read His word daily or to be productive with things like our studies. This is because ultimately our time is given by God and we are to be living sacrifices for Him, which means honouring Him with our time and naturally, resolutions fall under this in our effort to plan our time.  

   Undertaking resolutions 

Though everyone is different, personally my struggle was always to have a lofty end goal to reach by the end of the year. However, in having big and seemingly unattainable targets, they seemed both too difficult to start on and too distant in the future for me to concern
myself with.

Consequently, the way I fought that was to have goals that were big enough to scare me, but not to the point where I wouldn’t dare to start on it. By having one large, central goal and subsequently breaking it down further into more workable mini goals, it appeared more tangible. Additionally, it helped me overcome my lack of motivation and tendency to procrastinate, since my time suddenly shifted from looking like a whole continuous year to smaller bulks of weeks and months to achieve something I wanted for myself.

You might still be wondering what the point in all this is. And I think this is when I invite you to ponder over the past year you experienced and try to recall the regrets, accolades and times you can barely remember. If your life was like mine – a blur with no notable, personal achievements – then maybe herein lies the point. Previously, I often kickstarted the year fixated on whatever immediate work I had and just lived life day-by-day. Though I might have had some things I wanted to achieve, my habit of not committing to them in the form of clearly writing or articulating them always hindered me from ever embarking on them properly. To me then, there was always time to do them. That is, until time ran out and I quickly found myself at the end of yet another year. Since time is not only limited but also given from God, how to wisely spend it the entire year instead of just during the holidays seems like something we should all take time to consider this first month of 2020. 

So, what is your resolution this year?

With Love: Noah