the time of singing has come!

It's not because I don't have a date.

Haha.. today is Valentine's Day. But nothing really special to me.. In fact, I spent the afternoon after school shopping alone at Tampines! got a new dress and pumps!! And when the valentine crowd starting coming in at evening time, I decided that it was time to go home. Yeahh I see alot of men hanging around behind all the women trying on shoes and checking out clothes. haha Some are probably bored... Actually I felt the CNY atmosphere more than the valentine one!

Anyway, I find it hard to explain to people why I don't celebrate Valentine's, but I do make it a point to state that "I don't celebrate it." to them. (:

Valentine's day in fact has its origins in an ancient Roman festival Lupercalia, which is actually a fertility celebration to the god Lupercus. So, it is in fact a pagan festival. It was later that the Catholic church assimilate this day, and change it into a christian festival, St. Valentine's Day. (Although they took it away in 1969 i think.) And in fact, the romantic stories about Saint Valentine are likely to be just legends. Furthermore, Cupid, whom we associate very closely to Valentine's, is actually a Greek god (or some say Roman god)! In any case, we are actually allowing ourselves to mingle with such paganistic ideas, which is very very dangerous!

Especially for Christians, I think in all things that we do, we must consider the origins. If something has got a pagan connotation to it, we have got to consider if we still want to go ahead with it. Most likely, many will think that "aiyah.. its only a day that we celebrate love, not just romantic love but friendships etc..." But, why go with the world? We can celebrate love anytime. Why follow what everyone else is doing, when you already know that it has pagan origins?

"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." 2 Corinthians 6:17

"Depart! Depart! Go out from there,
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out from the midst of her,
Be clean,
You who bear the vessels of the LORD." Isaiah 52:11

God has already told us to come out from the world. Jesus even prayed for us that we may be sanctified by the truth, ie God's Word. (See John 17:17) The Greek word for "sanctify" means "set apart for sacred use or make holy". Are we truly set apart for God? Or are we really a part of this world?

And I won't even go on to Christmas or Easter. Actually these are touchy issues, even within the Christendom. But if you would care to type "origins of Valentine's/Christmas/Easter" into any online search engine, Im sure God will open your eyes to let you see the truth. And these are not stuffs fabricated by me or my church. They are all there, resources and materials online readily available for anyone who wishes to seek more. But I wouldn't say that everything online is the truth. (In fact, only God's Word is the Truth.) We will still need to discern everything that we read. But these materials show the need to search more, and not just readily accept the norm as the world accepts.

As for me, I really like to be separated from the world. Of course not all the time, Im not that holy yet.. hee. But at times when the whole world is busy with merry-making, money-making, money-splurging, so-called love-showing, pleasure-seeking and all sorts of indulgences, being out of this picture actually feels very good. I feel that I am different. I feel separated, for God. I feel very near to Him.

I pray that you may feel this too. That being different from the world isn't such a bad thing. God's Word is very clear and very simple. It actually sets the boundary of our faith.

Our hymn 138 goes like this:

如果棄絕救主，勢必越過界線，從此聽不見聖靈呼喚；
若只隨波逐流，盲目取樂追歡，細想：樂盡悲來，是否合算？

逸樂不過一時，痛苦卻是永遠，罪海最無情，回頭是岸；
隨從罪情一點，喪失永福無限，細想：貪小失大，是否合算？

趁著得救門開，恩典日期未，不要再奔向地獄邊緣；
應當聽主呼喚，悔改信靠耶穌，出死入生，此乃無比妙算。

神的寶貴真理就是分明界線，越此界線即地獄邊緣；
靈魂若是喪，得全世界何益？權衡輕重，得失應當明白。

There's a line that is drawn by rejecting our Lord,
Where the call of His Spirit is lost,
And you hurry along
with pleasure mad throng
Have you counted, have you counted the cost?

You may barter your hope of eternity's morn,
For a moment of joy at the most,
For the glitter of sin
and the things it will win
Have you counted, have you counted the cost?

While the door of His mercy is open to you,
Ere the depth of His love you exhaust,
Won't you come and be healed,
won't you whisper, I yield
I have counted, I have counted the cost?

Have you counted the cost,
if your soul should be lost,
Tho' you gain the whole world for your own?
Even now it may be that the line you have crossed,
Have you counted, have you counted the cost?

One of my favourite hymns. Are we sure we have not crossed the line?

"And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I have hoped in Your ordinances.
So shall I keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings,
And will not be ashamed.
And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.
My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments,
Which I love,
And I will meditate on Your statutes."
Psalms 119:43-48

May God guide us.

She is still looking for her soulmate in church.

She like the fact that she can mix into the older crowd, being a small girl in front of them, and being the one to be taken care of.

She enjoys the fact that she can mingle with the younger youths as well, appreciates it when they approach her, tell her things or just to joke, and she enjoys caring for them as much as she can.

She thank God for the bunch of close sisters she has and for the laughter that never cease. But, sometimes something seems to be still missing. She feels that nobody has time to hear her talk about her feelings. Everyone is busy. Nobody seems to prioritise her first and set aside time for her.

She waits. But she never gets it. She cries. But what's the point? And then she remembered how God had given her friends when she had prayed so hard for them. That was at the point when she was most lonely in church. And amazing God gave the most amazing miracle. Suddenly, she had friends. Suddenly, she is talking to more youths in church. And suddenly, she is one of them, in the big family of God.

So maybe she just has got to pray again. For that special someone in church. Someone who also looks forward to going church. Someone who can't wait for choir to start. Someone who feels jittery yet excited about doing church work. Someone to share testimonies with. Someone who will be there to pray with together whenever you need to. Someone who may not be perfect (because she isn't) but who, too, desires to love God with all that she has. Someone to scold her and bring her on the right track when she is going off the heavenly path.

She looks around in church. Who will be that girl?

She really envy the younger youths' friendship. If they continue to grow together in the Lord, their friendships will be the most precious gift from God.

She looked at the older youth's friendships. Friendships that were built up over these years in the Lord together! How precious they seems to her! She really hopes that in the years to come, she too can build up her own precious friendships in the Lord. Friendships that will be everlasting.

She shall pray. And she knows that God will give her what she needs.

But most importantly, she is beginning to really understand that God will be her everlasting friend, the one she should always seek first, and the one who will never fail her.