My God is mighty to save

Luke 24:1-12
1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8Then they remembered his words.

9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Saviour, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever, Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

Good Friday

Matthew 27:32-44

32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 34There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.[b] 36And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"

41In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " 44In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Matthew 27:45-54
45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,[c] lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"[d]

47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."

48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son[e] of God!"

Alas, and did my Saviour bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred Head for such a worm as I?
Was it for sins that I had done, He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown and love beyond degree.
My God why would You shed Your blood, so pure and undefiled
To make a sinful one like me, Your chosen precious child?

Maundy Thursday

Luke 22:39-46
39Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." 41He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

45When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46"Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

5 facts about Alicia most people don't know

Now here’re 5 facts I’m quite sure most people don’t know about me. Maybe closer friends might know a couple of these facts but I’m pretty sure there’s at least 2 people don’t know.

I’d choose reading Game Axis over Cleo magazine

Games or fashion, I’d choose the former. In Mass Communication, I chose to write for the games column over the fashion section because I simply can’t write anything for fashion. Unless I get a professional dermatologist to give facial advice and then churn an article out, if not I’m blank at this subject. The best beauty advice I’d ever given was to Jami who wanted to buy eye cream. All I told her was about the eye cream I used which was given to me by mom, who by good-will wanted to save my eyes from getting blacker rings. On the other hand, I played Counter Strike competitively and had enjoyed it. It’s where I met Terence even. Right now, I’m playing Guild Wars. Many other ladies in the world play it to so it’s not that bad.

I had wanted to be a meteorologist

I wanted to chase tornadoes and study weather patterns and natural disasters. But that is only possible if I shift myself to places that experience extreme weather, unlike Singapore which has only one season. It’s also because of my interest in natural catastrophe, I like movies like The Day After Tomorrow and Twister. I would still like to see a tornado first hand, if I ever get a chance.

I am obsessive compulsive

This habit comes most obviously in my design work and also my bed. Yes my bed. I absolutely hate it when my bed sheet is left creased. I will most likely straighten it before I leave the bed to do something else. However, I don’t carry this habit of mine into hotels or camps. So if you think you can bunk in with me in hope of me clearing the bed, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Another place I display this habit is my office desk. I usually know it when someone touches something on my desk in the office. It’s ok for people to touch my desk but I get extra annoyed when people use my stuff and don’t put it where it belongs after that.

I am hydrophobic

Bet almost the whole world didn’t know that. I might swim more often than many people but I’m actually hydrophobic. I have the fear of being sucked into the pool in the middle of swimming but I still go on anyway because I do enjoy the exercise. It’s like therapy. I have no fear of shallow pools of course but I do have to pluck up courage and say a prayer before swimming across the Olympic pool.

I am battling inferiority complex

Yes I am. Mostly from childhood negative rejection and what-not. It is actually a mental condition and I display most of the symptoms. It’s hard to reverse the things said to me in the most vulnerable years of my life. But thank God, I did not resort to cutting myself or even committing suicide. During my teenage years, I suffered from acne problem and people despised me for that. They even called me ugly. Yes they used the word. Add on the fact that I was not into the mainstream money-making industry like law, medicine, finance, engineering and the like but I’m into arts. My family wasn’t happy with that. I was always seeking approval but never got it. Perhaps I’m different in my behavior and the way I carry myself that most girls seem apprehensive about hanging out with me. It isn’t so bad anymore but it’s still a battle, now a spiritual battle.

And that’s 5 facts about Alicia for you.

Happy Birthday to me

Yes I turn 23 today. It's almost tragic how fast one ages. Coolios is we never age in heaven. Thanks to all the good people who took effort to make me feel special. Biblical reflections for this week were brief and I haven't touched this week's BSF assignmnet. I need more discipline like sleep and wake up earlier. That sort of thing.

Jinfu and Shirley's wedding this Saturday! Very exciting when we went through the rehearsal last evening. At the very last minute, Yeeling asked a few of us to do "When I Fall in Love" as a surprised item for the couple at their banquet. We scraped it basically because there's absolutely no time for much needed practises. Ah well.

Work? Sucks. Can't wait for a new centre principal to come in so I don't have to pull my hair everyday. The previous guy didn't leave clean. Simply, he left a load of problems for me to solve. Worse, I got scolded by a customer because of him. And, my pay is delayed.

Last weekend took me to the National Museum to see the Greek Masterpieces from the Louvre. I'll be posting on that some other time. It was very educational, loads of history on the Greek culture. Other than that, the National Museum just had a revamp and it looks really good, not as rundown as I had remembered it to be.

I had no mood to catch any movies until I remembered the existence of the Leap Years. Maybe, just maybe, I might be on my way to the cinemas afterall.

The Leap Week

The final week of February wasn't as pleasant as one would hope for it to be. Well firstly, I was tired out the end of it and not to mention having to tolerate nonsense all round, and I do mean all round. I just don't like to answer for people and don't like to be faulted for things I do not know of. But that's life, no? It's ok though. I'm forgiving in this aspect because I'm like that sometimes.

Suddenly there are so many issues at work. People have accused Harvest Care Centre for exploiting teachers. And there's a pressing need for students to come to us which suddenly became solely my responsibility. Much prayer is needed for this and it mainly looks bleak to me.

Last evening, we had a debate on the question posted at last week’s sermon. Should we lie to save another person’s life? Interesting question. It’s one of those questions where there’s a definite answer each person can set for himself or herself but hard to stick by it. Sounds a bit like caught in a situation of confessing your faith in an anti-Christ society. It’s easier to lie and deny than to say the truth and face the consequences. My stand is that since the bible has stated clearly in stone that we should not lie then we shouldn’t. And God’s commands stand in all situations, whether there’s a life involved or not. And God had in mind these situations too when he gave his commands. He doesn’t just pass decrees and leave us to die obeying it. On the other hand, God is sovereign and he doesn’t need us to lie for his plan to work out. God places us in superhero positions sometimes but God is God and we are not. We just ought to be convicted of what we know what God require us to do.

Bailamos passed with a smash. Joel’s performance was fantastic and I’m honestly looking forward to the next salsa event. Apart from performances, there were social dance segments for people to show their salsa moves on the dance floor. I spotted a couple of dancers that were really good. I should be on my way soon to take up salsa. It’s fun to be able to do it.