A star of a different kind

29/12/2011

A sister is a gift to the heart, friend to the spirit,

a golden thread to the meaning of life!

I thank God for my dearest sister as she celebrated her special birthday. She is fun, sweet and lovely. She gives me much joy!

 

Below are her own words of God’s involvement and faithfulness in her life. She wrote this to be published in a Christian campus magazine. I thank and praise God for the wonderful way in which He has been with her and led her.

 

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming 1 John 2: 28 (KJV).

I was born and raised in a practicing Christian family. Ours was an open home and my parents involved much in church ministry and among students. This being my background, I always acknowledged Jesus as my Saviour and loved Him. However when I was 13 years old I was battling within myself wondering if I really was a Christian. I was not too sure if I experienced salvation. It was in such a phase, God spoke to me through the above verse and since then there has been no turning back.

I was introduced to Evangelical Union just after my 10^th Standard. I am grateful to God for the way He used EU to teach me some precious lessons. I grew in my understanding of His word, developed a passion for truth and learnt the skill of personal evangelism.

Having seen my parents serve the Lord despite odds, I have always wanted to serve God in some form. But it was in a response to a discussion in a committee meeting during my 3^rd Year BDS course, I committed to serve for one year as a staff with UESI just after my graduation. Later on as I began my internship I was so in love with dentistry. I had an ambition to become a famous dentist. It was then that God spoke to me through an explanation of the story of David in a meeting. David had to temporarily leave his sheep to go and fight Goliath. I was also spoken to through Daniel 12: 3- And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. My perspectives changed. My ambition remains. But I am more ambitious to be a shining star forever. I want to be where my Lord wants me to be and do what He wants me to do.

Two preachers- Sam K John and P. C. Verghese have had a huge impact on my growth. One of Uncle P. C’s statements “Say Yes to Jesus and Say No to Satan” has become my motto. Above all people and circumstances, reading the Bible everyday has kept me going and growing. At different instances I was touched by Eph 3: 20 and 2 Peter 1: 3. I could say they are my favourite verses.   

In June 2011, my brother Pauly suddenly and unexpectedly went home to be with the Lord. This was life changing experience. I was broken and in such a state, I was deeply comforted and also challenged through a talk titled “HOPE – when life hurts most” by Louie Giglio. God has been my strength and my anchor. He is so good. He’ll do all things well. I would like to share with you this rather old hymn which I sing to cheer myself at times.

All the way my Saviour leads me,
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;

If you are someone who is not experiencing this beautiful relationship with God, I would like to encourage you to submit your life to Jesus. He will save you, lead you and guide you.

Pauly

 

In Remembrance

 

 

 

 24/09/2011

 

Today we remember our Pauly

Had he been with us, He would have been Twenty Six

 

He is with the Lord

eternally with abounding joy

 

We miss you so much Pauly

We wish we would come to where you are

But there is a lot to be done

Many to be told

About the grace you came under

 

Until our time on earth is done

Until we are beckoned to come over

 

We will miss you,

We will miss you,

We will miss you

 

 Things you shared with us

Dreams you had

Your passion for excellence

Your thirst for success

Your desire for quality word

Your quiet charity

Your struggles within

Your heart for God

 

We will remember

We will remember

We will remember

 

Your life

Your laugh

Your charisma

Your creativity

Your courage

Your days with us

 

We will celebrate

We will celebrate

We will celebrate

 

 

MODESTY: It’s just not for girls

MODESTY: It’s just not for girls

Loving your brothers and sisters means acting differently to the rest of the world

by Edward Sowden

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Modesty is certainly something that is misunderstood or undervalued in our culture today. In fact at times it is totally disregarded. The biggest misconception is that modesty is something that only applies for girls. Here is how the dictionary defines modesty.

“Modesty: regard for decency of behaviour, speech, dress, etc.”

 

 

Decency of Behaviour

Guys and girls reflect on how you act around each other. Don’t be violent or purposefully annoying but rather treat each other with love and respect. Be careful if you are giving out hugs not to lead others astray. Be seeking to act in a humble way rather than a proud, arrogant way. Use Colossians 3:17 as your motto: “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

 

Decency of Speech

Stop gossiping!! It’s not only girls that gossip, boys are guilty too. So whoever you are, think about how you are talking to people to their face or on facebook or behind their back. Before you say it, ask yourself “is that a loving thing to say?”

Part of Australian culture is purposely insulting people for fun. There is never a good time to insult someone (no matter how funny the joke may be!!). See in James 3: “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”

 

Decency of Dress

What we wear is one of the biggest parts of modesty. This is also where the focus is so often placed on females, which means sometimes males think it does not apply to them. I want to challenge this.

Girls: It does still apply to you so think wisely about what you are wearing. Don’t follow the world’s line of thinking by trying to show as much skin as you can. This is obviously applied especially when you are going swimming with boys. Don’t dress to draw attention to yourself, aim for purity. Clothe yourselves in good deeds rather than worrying about the latest fashion. We learn this from 1 Timothy 2: “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”

Guys: What you wear does matter! Girls find it unhelpful if you wear singlets or tight fitting shirts all the time. More to the point make sure you have a shirt on when you are hanging around with girls. Whether you are swimming or not put a shirt on. You should stop listening to your ego and aim for purity. It is unfair to expect girls to cover up when they go swimming if we go around half naked.

It’s all about love

There are others things to think about. But I hope this has got your think about how you are behaving, speaking and dressing. Ultimately modesty should not feel like a set of rules. “It should be part of a God driven attitude to loving your brothers and sisters.”

This is how God tells us to relate to each other:

“Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity” (1 Timothy 5). 

  

Edward is a young bloke who loves music, sport and Jesus!! He has a passion for hanging out with teenagers and  sharing the good news with them. He does MTS at Dubbo Presbyterian Church and loves it!