Penultimativity

By this time next week, I will have sat for last and final exam for my degree. No more subjects and no more exams till the end of my degree. Being the penultimate semester in my degree, there is not much left to finish except FYP. 

As this chapter of life comes to an end, a verse pops into mind:

From the text, an inevitable question reveals itself: Will I continue to fear God and keep His commandments? Will I continue to keep trusting in the Lord day by day, morning by morning?

This, I realize, is another choice I make on my own:

May the Lord, through the grace, mercy and peace of God my Savior and of the Lord Jesus Christ my hope, lead me in the way everlasting. (1 Tim 1:1-2; Psa 139:24)

Memorization so far

It's been about 2 weeks since I started memorizing verses. Although I was never able to memorize more than the said 4-5 verses per day, 1 verse a day was quite an achievement.

So far I have memorized 16/20 verses of 1 Tim 1. Probably once I finish the first chapter, I will attempt 2 verses a day.

Memorization

Over the past weeks and months, I have been wondering: "How many verses should I memorize a week?", "How often should I memorize?" and "What should I memorize?".

As the Lord would have it, He made it so that I would chance upon a site for techniques of memorizing His Word. In fact, the amount of verses which I thought I should memorize in a week paled in comparison to what was recommended by the websites!

It's been one week since I started memorizing from the book of 1 Timothy, but it has helped me gain an insight into why the memorization of God's Word is so important for Christians:

1. It's our sword for the spiritual battles that we face day by day!
2. When we don't have a Bible handy, we have God's Word safely stowed away in our minds, ready for use.
3. Helps us to meditate on His Word at anytime of the day.

However, I acknowledge that it is so easy to be puffed up with great Biblical knowledge. But the Lord has made me realize that the purpose of memorizing His Word is the godly edification of His saints. It is not for our own glory, but rather for the glory of God.

Websites which I chanced upon (or rather that the Lord brought me to 😄)
http://www.greatpreachers.org/bible_memorizing.html
http://www.faithfulwordbaptist.org/page8.html

A Semester Past – A Semester Gone

A semester has gone by since I last blogged (January 2015). A lot of things have changed over the course of 3 months, both personal and spiritual.

Last semester probably wasn't the easiest, but through His grace, I made it through. Although I will probably never have a semester as tough as Autumn 2015 in the future, a year-long project lies ahead. A test of endurance and teamwork indeed!

With my time in UOW coming to a close, the question of "what next?" remains. Further studies or work lie ahead of this life-chapter, but God alone knows where He wants me to go.

Key events that happened:
W S became a Christian. Indeed I'm ecstatic that this young man has decided to put his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

People to remember: M Z and A Z. I wished that you, dear sisters in the Lord, were more zealous for the Lord. But then again, I'm reminded that in this age of "the rights of the people", with the watering down of the core doctrines of Christianity, it is hard to be a faithful saint of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I pray, that God will use you mightily regardless of the amount of zeal that you have for Him.

God’s Word Will Stand

A beautiful song by Greg Day I found today. Indeed it is true that the author of Psalm 40 writes:

The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
~Isaiah 40:7-8

God’s Word Will Stand by Greg Day

All down through the ages, many people have tried

To stop the power of God’s Word

They tried to control it, even ignore it

Anything so it could not be heard

But the Word has survived, yes it’s very alive

And it still has the upper hand

You see before we came along

And after we are all gone

God’s Word will stand

Chorus: 

Oh I’ve taken my stand with the book in my hand

And it’s stood the test of time

It’s weathered the storm while scoffers roar threatenings of every kind

Eternal survival, that old black Bible

It’s true, will never end

So whatever may come, when it’s all said and done

God’s Word will stand

From the beginning till now, it has not lost it’s power

It is still God’s inerrant Word

From cover to cover, it’s still the bestseller

Of any book in the world

Written down in those pages are the answers for the nations

And the truth to guide their path

But whatever they decide

They will surely realize

My God’s Word will stand

**Chorus**

*I couldn't find the song on YouTube but here's the link to the Greg Day's website where you would be able to find the song: www.gregdayministries.com