Uni Ministries

It is great news to know that there's a sizeable number of Christian students in the largely secular universities in Singapore. The same rules hold: live in religious and racial harmony to safeguard the nation's security. We live alongside the Muslim, Buddhist, and other smaller religious groups around the campus, thinking of how to evangelise (maybe) while trying hard to be sensitive to them lest we say or do something offensive. 

I've been in NUS for half a semester. So far, I have seen or heard of 5 Christians group on campus. Some official, some not. I am rather heavily involved in two of them. From what I can tell so far, as a freshman, these groups, even though Christian, they say, do not exactly share the same values. I am not qualified to comment on all 5, because I have no clue to how all of them work except for the 2 that I am in. 

Regenerate  

"New Lord, new life, in Christ – receiving, growing and continuing in the new life in Christ"

Regenerate was planted in NUS by staff from one of the churches in Singapore. The main aim of regenerate is to help students understand the bible better through expository teaching and exploration of the bible during bible studies, led by full time bible teachers from the church. We use tools from the book "Dig Deeper" to help us discover and dig deeper into God's word. 

The bible studies were largely helpful, and I would say with certainty that they are focused on Jesus, not what we do. Being a fairly new ministry in NUS, regen has grown over the past couple of years. I have found myself learning a lot more and encouraged to read to bible on my own, using the tools and skills taught during bible studies. Having the bible as the core of the ministry is important, because the Word of God is not replaceable by any other human ideologies or literature. 

USP Ministry

"We are united by the transforming power of the gospel, working together for the advancement of the gospel in our community."

USP Ministry is a fully student-led and student-run ministry. It caters to the Christian community in the NUS USP. The main aim of this ministry is to gather Christians in the programme, encourage each other and work as a single unit to reach out to the community both in the residential college and the university. Similar to regenerate, students come from different churches that teach different things about the bible, and have slightly different values. However, the absence of bible teachers means that no one is there to teach the bible, or to ensure the validity of what was being shared during devotions. 

Without a proper structure, USP Ministry has been rather slow and cold to respond to needs of the ministry. When a problem arises, there isn't anyone you can approach to discuss about what can be done. There's an extremely high tendency for people to stick within their own comfort zone. Being a Christian community, if you do not even know what your issues are within the ministry and just want to remain status quo, nothing can be done. 

By no means am I saying that God won't touch the hearts of the non-believers in the community. We are called to live lives in a manner that honour and glorify God. We have to start with our Christian community before we say that we want to reach out. No amount of equipping and knowledge will be useful if they are all kept to yourselves. How can you love others when you don't first love Christ and your brothers and sisters who are in need?

I am in no position to judge either ministry. If I have to, I will choose to drop the USP Ministry. Yes, it has potential to grow and it is a good initiative. But I am not comfortable with a group that does not embrace the gospel and what we are taught we ought to do.   

a new chapter

Full of tears, I begin a new chapter in my limited time I have in this world. Broken, beaten, thrown into a corner, writhing in pain, and weeping non stop. Things haven't been easy, and they won't be if we continue as infants in this fight of faith. Things do not and will not always turn out the way we want. Grow up, I tell myself.

God has promised many things, but the greatest promise is salvation. It is hard to believe that things will ultimately turn out well seeing that things never ever go my way. The bible did not say that things will, but instead promised persecution and struggles. True enough. Here's the hard part of things. I'm cut off, and it is time to find myself in God's big plan. Put my trust in Jesus. It is going to be a vertical uphill battle.

I don't know what to expect from life. I can't cope with so many things going on in my life. I'm hurt, very very hurt. I have lost a part of me, among many other misplaced hopes. I don't know what to do, I feel like just giving up. I'm not handling this well. Why do I still bother so much about things? Why am I still here? What's my purpose in this world? It's time for me to go, isn't it? Why should I still be struggling here?

Fear? Fear Not.

Where do I stand as the only Christian in my immediate and extended family?

On the surface, it seems like I'm fighting a losing battle. I'm losing my cousins to the other religion that runs in the family–Buddhism. With relatives so eager to tell me about how good buddhism is and bad mouthing Christians, I sense fear when I want to tell them about the goodness of God and His Son. I fear souring the family ties, I fear that I won't be able to talk to them about Jesus in a loving manner.

Deep down in my heart, I know that I am not losing at all. Turning vegetarian, burning joss sticks and papers, and keeping to a strict rules set down by other people do not earn anyone a place in the kingdom of God. What we do will never be enough for us to enter God's kingdom. I repeat, what we do will never earn us a place in God's kingdom, because it will never ever be enough. It is only through Christ that we can. Christ is the one who died for our sins and he is the one who has risen from the dead to be at the right hand of God. It is through Jesus Christ, the propitiator, that we can enter the kingdom of God. 

Believe in Jesus and you will be guaranteed a place in heaven. It is not about what we do, but what Christ has already done. 

Difficulties of a Christian student in a secular university

As I look at my schedule before the start of each week, I will notice the "empty" slots for sure. Those are just time slots that I have nothing planned beforehand, not free time. Each day as I head to business school, I think about how I can better make use of the limited time I have. My schedules are packed to the brim and I am stretched to near maximum. How can I set myself apart from the rest, but still be able to build good humanly friendships? I don't think I will ever stop thinking about relating to other people. I don't live in God's world with Christians only, and Christians face problems in life too, not that everything is smooth sailing all the time. Sometimes, I think that Christians think about more things and struggle than non-believers for a very good reason.    

I struggle daily with all the temptations around me, the money-centered values in business school, the people who are aiming to bring you down and trample all over you. Being a Christian isn't an easy task to begin with. Each of us are then given different difficult circumstances to be in, and we strive (I hope) to behave in a Christ-like manner all the time. I want to glorify God in all that I do. People know that I'm a Christian, they are all watching and waiting like vultures to see how I fail as a Christian, and pounce on me when they see that I've blundered. 

Students from all faculties, well-read or poorly-read, strong or weak speakers, all have their own idea about who Jesus is. Some (mainly Christians) are for the biblical view, but many are not. Those who disagree with the bible will usually try to disprove the validity of the bible because they believe in some other pagan deities, had a bad encounter with overly aggressive 'evangelical Christians', or misplaced hope that God will do something that He did not promise. A few others see themselves as god. It is a mission field in uni, and it can be a battle field. It's a battle against different schools of thought, 'Christians' (they said they are, but believe in something else), people of other faith, and those who think that the world revolve around them. Responding to them in love is important, but that does not mean giving in to everything that they do. Stand up for our faith in a loving manner, pray for the non-believers and unbelievers, put aside all the Christian pride what we have. All to be done in love. Never stop trying or looking to God for guidance. 

It is ultimately not about what I do, or how I fail as a mere human, but what Christ has already succeeded in doing. I don't earn my salvation by doing good in front of people. I live not for money, fame, or pleasure. What I do does not change the fact that God is good and Christ died for all humanity, regardless of race, gender, family background, height, weight, how much paper we burn, how well we keep to prayer times, or even the number of figurines we own. It is always about Jesus and never about me. 

Thank you, Jesus, for your love and abounding love.  

Work-Life Balance

There seems like an endless flow of work piling in all the time. Looking at the work plan for this semester, it's only the start. I'm getting almost all the slots on my timetable filled up with something everyday, every week. Assignments due, reports to write, interviews to plan for, project groups to meet up with for discussion, bible reading, bible studies to attend and prepare for. 

How am I going to spend my time? It isn't all about grades. It is about God. 

I've been thinking about how I can talk to my neighbours about God, how I can live out a life worthy of the gospel I have heard, how can I encourage Olivia in her walk with Christ, how can I relate to other Christians better, how can I relate to God better. It is a commitment I want to make to have God in every single aspect of my life. It is such a good news that Jesus has suffered and died for my sins and he has raised us up in him in his resurrection. A great and amazing love that calls us to believe and respond. How do I live my life for Christ?