My Way of the Ninja ...................................

2
Lessons from the OASIS Soup Kitchen ...... 3
Rejoice Always ............................................4
In His Time ..................................................6
Amazing Grace ............................................7
An Unbound Spirit ...................................... 8
The Walk ..................................................... 8
Untitled (by Jonny Wong) ........................... 10
This is a War ................................................ 10
HAM ........................................................... 12
A Lesson not Learned ..................................13
What’s on your iPod? .................................. 14
Time sure passes fast, and these past five
years have been a life-changing journey
as God keeps encouraging, teaching,
molding, challenging, and rebuking me.
There are many lessons I learned from
God’s revelations through prayer and
Scripture, advice from brothers and sis-
ters, personal experiences, trials, etc. In
all, I praise God that Christ is working
in me by the power of the Holy Spirit so
that I can fight for His sake like a ninja.
I will summarize the top 11 ninja skills
God has taught me all these years:
Heart above duty
I have always being a “duty-fulfiller”
even when serving in fellowship. Many
times, I do things just out of duty. Not
that the sense of duty in itself is bad, as
it does create in you a sense of respon-
sibility and perseverance. But when the
only reason why you fight and serve is
duty, then it is easy to be discouraged
and burned out when disappointments
come. A ninja must have a devoted heart
to the Lord, and this devotion drives a
fervent zeal to serve Him. Whatever
you do, work at it with all your heart, as
working for the Lord (Col. 3:23). Seek
God’s heart just like David, who was
commended as a man after God’s own
heart (Acts 13:22).
Engage
A ninja must engage in the circum-
stances he is surrounded with. When
there is a need, he should not complain,
but proactively think of ways to address
it. If action is needed, take initiative and
do something about it. If it is wiser to
wait, don’t be passive, but actively en-
gage in prayer and share this situation
to others, and the Lord will make a way.
2 Matthew 26: 14-15 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are
Adaptable Statement of Purpose:
A ninja is likely to encounter unex- Insight is a newsletter distributed on
pected situations beyond his control. behalf of UWCCF to the CCF commu-
Therefore, a ninja must be adaptable nity. It is an opportunity for others
if his plan does not work. Remember to share their thoughts, experiences,
that it is not about the ninja’s agenda, memories, laughter, and tears with
but about the Lord’s agenda. Wis- their fellow brothers and sisters,
dom is key in knowing how to pro- with the in-tent of edifying the fel-
ceed during unforeseen events. lowship and glorifying God.
Rejoice Contact Information:
A ninja will face good and bad times. Chinese Christian Fellowship
It is important to be joyful in all cir- c/o FEDS
cumstances (1 Thes. 5:16), and to University of Waterloo
know that a ninja is given an inex- Waterloo, ON
pressible and glorious joy (1 Peter N2L 2R7
1:8). This joy is present and perse-
vered no matter what the external Email: waterlooccf@gmail.com
circumstances are. Know that the
source of joy is in the Lord, for the Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed
joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. herein are that of CCF members only and do not
necessarily represent the views and opinions
8:10). of CCF, the Federation of Students, the student
body at large, or the University Administration.
Tactful
Key. A ninja must conceal within the Observe
mist, being invisible and assertive. Look carefully. Don’t assume things and
When a ninja takes action, it should make quick conclusions, but look behind
not be done with impulsiveness or the purpose of everything that is happen-
without proper thought. A ninja must ing. The Lord is funny and uses uncon-
choose the most appropriate way to ventional situations to work in you. Ob-
accomplish missions. serve the needs around you because the
Lord can use these to reveal you a vision.
Focus Be sensitive to the people around you, as
A ninja is constantly bombarded with a comrade might need your encourage-
many things that it is so easy to lose ment and support.
track of the purpose of his mission.
It is essential to focus on the Lord in Recalibrate
everything, to know that everything Even ninjas are humans, so they are sub-
we do is for Him (Col. 3:23). Set jected to the sinful gravity that can shift
your hearts and minds on the Lord their focus from God. It is important to
(Col. 3:1-2). recalibrate your thoughts every once in
a while to reflect on and internalize the
good things, and to prune the bad things.
 Like a balance needs to be calibrated
periodically, our minds should be re-
calibrated to be aligned with God’s
constantly.
Get to know yourself
A ninja must know his strengths and
weaknesses. A ninja needs to know
his limits, his plate of how much he
can handle. A ninja masters himself
so that he will not end up overdoing
many things that will put him in risk
of burned out, or not doing enough
things that will hinder him from
reaching his full potential.
Obey
A ninja must obey his master. There
will be situations which are harder to
obey because they will push us out
of our comfort zone or ask us to let
go of something dear to us. Obedi-
ence goes hand in hand with trusting
our Lord, and we know that the Lord
works for the good of those who love
Him (Romans 8:28).
Develop relationships
Since a ninja meets many people,
he should to be intentional in devel-
oping relationships. Some of these
relationships can be very encourag-
ing to one another. When you con-
nect with peer ninjas who share the
same heartbeat for the Lord, it is so
encouraging! Invest in the younger
ninjas so that they can learn from
your experience and become stron-
ger, and it brings so much joy! You
are not fighting alone.
In all, I encourage you to develop
a heart for God. There is a lot of
knowledge to learn and grace to ex-
perience, but the Lord ultimately de-
lights in your heart. A ninja’s strength
is not based on how many things he
accomplishes, but in his faith in the
Lord.
you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.
The froshies went to the soup want.
kitchen Ray of Hope, in March
this year. Most of the guest who But we must remember that the
come in to the Soup Kitchen are entrance to the gates of the feast
either on social assistance or some was not even our right in the first
form of disability payment. For place. It’s not our privilege; it’s a
most of the night, some of us mi- blessing.
crowaved food, some worked at
our Food bank pantry, and the rest Later that night, we went with
talked to the guests who came in. Rev Colin for a street walk.
Along the way, Rev Colin gave
At 7, people started streaming in. us a glimpse of the stories of our
Some of the guests, especially the guests. Downtown Kitchener is
first few, were really picky about what people would describe as a
what they wanted. If that was my “sketchy” place with a lot going
only meal for the day, I’d be re- on. We passed by sushi star, once
ally demanding too. There was a coffee-time or more infamously
a particular guest who chose a known as the crack-time shop. We
sandwich. But when he saw that passed by the social housing, still
the expiry date was near, he got severely lacking in numbers. We
really upset about it. He wanted passed by the dark alleys, places
something that was at least a week where transactions of sorts took
away from the expiry date. Some place.
of us were like “even I would eat
that”. I mean of course we didn’t The walk was cold and biting. It
say it aloud, but that was what I pains to see that those faces I had
was thinking too (especially so seen were struggling so hard daily.
since I love food). As I reflected It was heartbreaking to think that
on that incident afterwards, I feltthey were trapped in so much sin,
that we’re so similar to that guest.
and stuck in a vicious cycle. Last
We are poor and have nothing to year, I read “Lullabies of a little
offer, but God has freely invited criminal” about a girl’s survival as
us to his banquet. Yet, we continuea street kid in the red-light district
to grumble about the food at the of Montreal. In the book, she de-
feast. scribed the eyes of a drug-addict
-icy and colourless. I saw that
“It’s too little” in the soup kitchen. It was stark
“It’s not what I want” and clear to me. Colin said that
“Why is the food taking so long” thoughts of the next hit usually
It’s all about our way and what we consume all, if not most of their
3
 lives, and they would do everything threshold of humans. There’s only so You are the God of the broken
and anything for that. much we can bear, and so much more The friend of the weak
that we’ll do to numb ourselves from You wash the feet of the weary
The most logical thing for them to the pain. Embrace the ones in need
do is to quit. There is really no other And I want to be like You Jesus
way about it. Colin has been helping But we only have to surrender our- To have this heart in me
out at the soup kitchen for 15 years selves to God, for he heals the broken- You are the God of the humble
but I’m not sure how many lives he hearted and binds up their wounds. You are the humble King
has seen turned around. It’s so im- With him, even the most shattered You are the humble King
possibly hard given the capacity and pieces can be glued together. ~Humble King, Vineyard

1:4). For this reason, there is no lon-

ger condemnation for those who are We are called to be joyful al-
in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1), but ev- ways, to pray continually, and to
erlasting joy. This joy is not exactly give thanks in all circumstance
happiness, but an inexplicable state for that is God’s will (1 Thess.
One of the biggest lessons I learned
of full assurance and contentment 5:16-18). It is God who is calling
in my journey in Waterloo is joy.
that is persevered despite the out- us to rejoice in all circumstances.
side circumstances. There is such a Is it even possible to be joyful al-
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit that is
strong reason to rejoice because God ways? At times, I find so hard to
present in every disciple of Christ.
has forgiven us, and we rejoice even reconciliate what Jesus said, that
We have a big reason to rejoice be-
more because we have a new life and His yoke is easy and His burden is
cause Christ loved us and died for
the privilege to be children of God. light (Matt. 11:30). When I am in
us even when we’re sinners (Rom.
an unbearable stressful situation,
5:8). Christ died to pay the price of
“Though you have not seen him, you I feel so weak and it is so easy
our sins so that the wrath of God
love him. Though you do not now see to give up. I feel that everything
can be satisfied, so that our sins
him, you believe in him and rejoice is falling apart. But God holds
can be forgiven. And not just that,
with joy that is inexpressible and the pillars firm (Psalm 75:3), and
Christ also died so that we can be
filled with glory.” - 1Peter 1:8 when our flesh is failing, God is
reconciled with God and be adopt-
the strength of my heart, and my
ed as children of God! How great is
We face many difficult times that portion forever (Psalm 73:26).
the love that God has lavished on
make it harder to rejoice. When We rejoice in the hope of glory of
us (1John 3:1)! It is not by our own
stress comes, it can be very harmful God. The present sufferings are
merit for no one is righteous (Rom.
as it can shift our focus away from not worth comparing to the future
3:10), but it is all by the exceed-
God, and consequently our sinful na- glory that will be revealed to us
ing riches of God’s grace. We were
ture manifests in us stronger. In our (Rom 8:18).
once objects of wrath (Eph. 1:3),
context, these difficult times include
and God has every reason to con-
school, relationships, ministries, First, focus back on God. As dis-
sume us with His wrath because of
sickness, expectations, uncertainty, ciples of Christ, we are given this
our ungodliness. But by grace, we
etc. joy for the hope we have that the
are made alive with Christ (Eph.

4 Matthew 26: 6-7 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an
alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
 current trials are temporal, and we
should focus on what is eternal (2
Cor. 4:17-18). That is why know-
ing God and being conformed in
the image of Christ is such an es-
sential part of being a disciple be-
cause we start seeing things from
His perspective, and we under-
stand that He has a bigger purpose
for us, and we are reassured that
He works for the good of those
who love him (Rom. 8:28).
It is a pure joy whenever we go
through tribulations (James 1:2)
because suffering builds charac-
ter and refines our faith, and when
Christ is magnified in these situ-
ations, God is glorified. Some of
the things we are stressing about
right now might not even matter in
10 years. The assurance is that the
will of God is the best for us even
though we don’t see it now be-
cause we’re not able to see God’s
big picture. So when we pray in
our struggles, let us not just pray
for the struggle to be gone, but to
pray for God to be glorified, for
dependency on Him, and if the
present struggle brings Him glory,
so be it.
“And we rejoice in the hope of
the glory of God. Not only so, but
we also rejoice in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; persever-
ance, character; and character,
hope. And hope does not disap-
point us, because God has poured
out his love into our hearts by the
Holy Spirit, whom he has given
us.” - Romans 5:2-5
When we are weary, remember
that the joy of the Lord is our
strength (Neh. 8:10). I can wake
up every morning with excitement
about my life struggles and chal-
Matthew 26: 10-11 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful
thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.
lenges because the joy of the Lord is
giving me strength to persevere day Now I have come to understand
by day. Our God is too awesome that I a bit, just a bit about what Je-
just can’t stop from singing His praise. sus said that His yoke is easy
and that His burden is light.
Going back to 1 Thess. 5:16-18, is it It’s about focusing on God and
possible to pray continually? Does it surrendering to Him daily. To
mean literally praying 24/7? Person- know that He has already given
ally, I think that praying continually us so much and that He contin-
means to be aware of God constantly, ues giving us strength day by
to know that He is always with me dur- day. Even if it’s raining hard
ing every second of my day. We often now, we have hope that the the
like to compartmentalize and schedule sun will come out. God has a
God in our devotional, discipleship greater purpose, so let us hope
group, fellowship, church, etc. It is in Him!
so easy to “forget” about God in our
daily routine and in the mundane. That We do everything to glorify
is one reason why we lose joy easily. God. And when we accomplish
Our God wants everything from us, things for God just because we
and when we invite Him to every com- have to or when we failed to re-
partment of our lives, things become joice in the tough times, it does
increasingly better. Even the most bor- not magnify God. When we re-
ing and routine tasks can be enjoyable joice in Him in everything and
when we think about the Lord. When enjoy what God has given us,
struggle arises, there is such an unex- it exalts God by bringing more
plainable joy that reminds us that it is glory to Him. There is a corre-
all good. One brother shared that pray- lation between rejoicing in Him
ing continually is like having a g-chat and glorifying Him because we
window with God, so we always have come to know that Christ is our
an opened channel to talk to Him. most precious and enjoyable
treasure.
We worship God when we rejoice in
Him in everything we do, as it is for
His glory (1 Cor. 10:31). Many people
struggle with doing devotional consis-
tently. It can become routine or hin-
dered by distraction. Devotional is not
just about reading the Word and pray-
ing, but it is a time set apart for God
only, a time to deepen our relationship
with Him. Sometimes, I like to take
walks and contemplate God’s creation,
prayer walk, and I experience Him in
such a way that I am so refreshed. At
night, I enjoy stargazing because I am
marvelled at the beauty and greatness
of God’s work and Psalm 8 comes to
mind. When our minds and hearts are
set on God, our joy is robust and perse-
veres though struggles.
5
 In His time, in His time, He makes all started. The first few weeks of frosh He makes all things beautiful in
things beautiful in His time. This past cell were, in my opinion, pretty chal- His time… Now that I’m here at
term has flown by like a blur, and noth- lenging and dry. It frustrated me that the end of the term, I have tast-
ing has turned out the way I imagined we did not have a set theme, goal, or ed and seen God’s mighty hand
it to be, but somehow God’s plan has a vision for the term, and I was im- work in frosh cell, in ways I
unfolded in miraculous and even better patient and discouraged by waiting would have never guessed. I am
ways. From the beginning of this term, for God to show me something. My honestly dumbfounded at how
till now, it amazes me to see how little original desire for frosh cell was for far God has brought frosh cell;
I’ve done, and yet, God’s mighty hand us to be immensely close in fellow- how many relationships have
has worked wonderful ways. More ship and community, with Christ in been built, and how many new
and more, I have begun to see and ex- the core of our beings. And I want- first years have came out.
perience God’s sovereign-
Psalm 52:9 says, “I
ty, power, and almightiness
will praise thee for-
in contrast to my helpless
ever, because thou
and weak self.
hast done it: and I will
wait on thy name; for
Ephesians 2:12-13 says,
it is good before thy
“--remember that at that
saints.”
time you were separate
from Christ, excluded
I have learned to not
from citizenship in Israel
be hasty, but wait on
and foreigners to the cov-
Him and on His good
enants of the promise,
and righteous plan
without hope and without
for us. I really can’t
God in the world. But now
express exactly how
in Christ Jesus you who
I feel towards frosh
once were far away have
been brought near through the blood ed all this in one term, which was 4 cell, and I really can’t understand
of Christ.” months. But God humbled me down, how we could have gone this far,
and taught me about waiting on Him done this much, in just one term.
Despite my brokenness, and despite during the night of our second frosh
my failures, God’s glorious plan has cell. Before growing together, closer Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has
continued to reveal to me His unend- towards Christ, we first need to know made everything beautiful in its
ing love, and His amazing grace. one another. And I’m talking about time. He has also set eternity in
just plain getting-to-know-someone. the hearts of men; yet they can-
Daddy’s Children is the name of the Hearing the froshies share about what not fathom what God has done
frosh cell group this term. What was their expectations of frosh cell were, from beginning to end.”
first created as a joke and a simple forced me to step back re-evaluate the
way to keep in touch on Face book, feasibility of my own selfish desires God’s overflow of love, His skil-
has now been carved and shaped by for frosh cell. How could I expect ful craftsmanship, and His time-
God into something astounding. Once such huge growth, when we haven’t ly, unfathomable plan has shaped
we took the idea of continuing frosh even taken that first step of breaking frosh cell into something…
cell into the winter term seriously, the the ice between us? BEAUTIFUL.
rough path of getting things together

6 Matthew 26: 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
 Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind but now I see.
I’ve only recently begun to realize what this wretch-
edness means to me. What brokenness means. As
the psalmist writes in Psalm 51 verse 4 “Against
you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil
in your sight”.
What sins you might ask. I’m not talking about mo-
rality here but it may be the sins of unbelief, the sins
of having “idols” in our lives, the sins of not obey-
ing His commandments – to love the Lord with all
our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our
neighbour as ourselves. All these sins against God.
For me, I struggled with not having enough love to
care for those around me. I initially thought I was a
caring person qualified to co-lead Caring/Welcome
ministry this term but I was so wrong. Why was I
trying to please those around me, but not seeking
God first? Why wasn’t I seeing that I myself was in
such a desperate need for God?
Initially, even when I was caring for others, I was
thinking about what I could offer to them. But that
there was so much self-pride! It came to the point
when I knew that sister or brother in Christ was suf-
fering so much physically and/or emotionally but I
felt a dread to start caring. Or that I knew my non-
Christian friends were hurting and they needed to
know the gospel but I wanted to close my eyes to
this. And what about those children in Africa that
I’ve been so compelled to care for? It was as if there
was a crushing weight on me, breaking me down
because I knew deep down that I was so lacking in
love because I wasn’t focusing on God.
But being broken down has been such a blessing. To
come to terms with my wretchedness in order that
I might be completely humbled before Him, that I
Matthew 26: 27-29 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for
many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
might start to have a glimpse of His perfect holiness and
stand in awe of Him has been such a blessing.
Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in mountains of sin I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite heart is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the well the brighter the stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
that every good work or thought found in me
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.
(The Valley of Vision)
May this be our prayer, to learn by paradox, to learn that in
our brokenness He makes us complete…
“It is not what we do that matters, but what a sovereign
God chooses to do through us. God doesn’t want our
success; He wants us. He doesn’t demand our achieve-
ments; He demands our obedience. The kingdom of God
is a kingdom of paradox, where through the ugly defeat of
the cross, a holy God is utterly glorified. Victory comes
through defeat; healing through brokenness; finding self
through losing self.”
(Loving God, Charles Colson)
7
I have often been described as a free
spirit, like a bird that flies away in the
yellow night sky and disappears into the
horizon. Like a child who runs along the
blades of grass with a surge of ecstasy
in his every bounce. Like Grimace (from
McDonalds) finding out that he’s actu-
ally a pokemon therefore finally solving
his identity crisis. Some people view my
free spiritedness as a burden, while some
view it as a gift. As for me, I was always
too free spirited to care to analyze it. But
now that I’ve recently been more con-
scious about my free spiritedness (thanks
to Jorge and Elena), I feel responsible to
at least attempt to understand this bur-
den/gift that shadows me wherever I go.
Being a free Spirit and not having my
own human plans allows more room for
God to work in my life. I feel I am not
obliged to a certain direction in life, and
instead I can let the Spirit take me step
by step into where He wants me to be within so that God can work
his moral will (or in the rare case his sover- wonders in your life, sur-
eign will). Therefore, it is easier for me to passing your planned hu-
“give up” something such as a career plan man achievements in a
or dream house to do God’s work. However, manner that our language
failing to do a lot of planning within my life cannot capture.
also potentially means I lack discipline. In
fact, sometimes I find myself doing whatev-
er I feel like doing on the spot, which often
ends in chaos. For example, one day I instan-
taneously decided to go on a run. Failing to
bring my wallet and phone with me, I decided
to run as far as I could in one direction. I ran
for about an hour before I was completely
exhausted. Needless to say, it took me about
3 hours to get back home. So while there are
many strengths of being a free spirit, there
are also many disadvantages.
To sum up, don’t be stupid. Don’t plan out ev-
ery detail of your life with your own human
mind, but at the same time, don’t act on your
present instinct either. Leave enough room

when I work. Every morning, I look out interrupted by moving objects com-
and admire the view. I first note the sunk- ing into the picture without my per-
en-down area closest to my building, pre- mission. They are people, walking
tending it is my front lawn. A mysterious up and down the path, which further
picnic table sometimes shows up in tatters dictates the border between “my
I love my apartment. I love the on my ‘front lawn’, and I mentally assume lawn” and the public green.
people I live with. I love my the role of the cranky old man who threat-
room – the layout, the colours, ens anyone who trespasses onto his yard. Sometimes it’s weird to have peo-
the view. Ah yes, the view. I ple look into my room, but it’s of-
moved my desk so that I could While I am admiring aspects of God’s ten nice to be open to the rest of the
look out the huge window masterpiece, the picture-perfect view is world – it makes me feel like a part

8 Matthew 26: 74-75 Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. Then
Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
 of the neighbourhood community. I
even have a “WAVE” sign on my win-
dow to encourage passers-by to greet
me. Creepy? Maybe. But I really like
seeing people I know and addressing
them, if even for a moment, to allow
us to identify one another in the midst
of the cloud of anonymity that usually
prevails on public paths.
I have started noticing people’s gaits
– how they walk. Everyone differs in
his or her own style and pace of walk-
ing. Some people take big steps, oth-
ers walk with hunched backs. Some
seem to bounce as they walk, and yet
others look like they wished side-
walks came with express and carpool
lanes.
For the most part, walking is a uni-
versal skill – we are blessed to be able
to walk without any assistance. We go
where and when we need or want to.
But we acquired this ability. I conjure
up images of parents at the park try-
ing to help their toddler with his or her
first steps. One parent, let’s say Mom,
levitates the child so that the feet just
touch the ground, and helps the child
‘walk’ over to Dad. With practice,
the child develops confidence in his
or her own ability to walk. What an
experience to watch someone’s first
steps! As the child walks closer to
Dad, his image becomes bigger and
bigger. If the child looks down on the
ground, he or she will fall. As with
driving, you go where your eyes go.
We each took varying amounts of
time to learn how to walk. We even-
tually learned not only how to start
walking, but also how to stop and
how to run. Finally, we could gradu-
ate to focus on developing faster re-
flexes to flee dangerous situations, as
dictated by our heart and adrenaline,
and to use our mind to coordinate our
limbs, such as in sports. We no longer
Matthew 27: 28-29 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and
set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him.
needed to dwell on the intricacies the journey ahead. Instead, we are
of walking. We could do it without asked to trust our Heavenly Father,
thinking. fixing our eyes only on Him, and
to persevere in our walking les-
What about our Christian walks? sons.
Perhaps, as we begin our walks, Trust in the Lord with all your
we focus on the basics of pray- heart and lean not on your own un-
ing and reading the Bible. Over derstanding; in all ways acknowl-
time, these disciplines become so edge him, and he will make your
engrained in us that we can walk paths straight.
without thinking. How I long for Proverbs 3:5-6
the day that this walking becomes
a part of every segment of my life,
when I cannot help but to pray
continually – when I no longer just
have Christ in my life, but my life
is in Christ.
The difference, I think, is that
we’ll never really master this
‘walk’. We will always be toddlers
who are so easily discouraged and
distracted because walking is hard
work. Plus, if we really did learn
how to walk without working at
it, how easy it would be to choose
our own way and walk away from
God. Just because you can walk
does not mean you are walking in
the right direction. But when we
do walk in the right direction, our
perceived image of God expands.
It will always be difficult to walk,
and sometimes when we try, we
will have had enough. We might
stand in one spot or even lie flat on
the ground, with our arms raised
in utter hopelessness, asking God
to place us on His shoulders. God
may sweep us up and be elated
because we finally realize that we
cannot depend on our own under-
standing. Yet His love remains as
He places us back on the ground
and compels us to walk towards
Him. Praise God that we do not
know the destination or how to
get there. Otherwise, we might
stop trusting Him or take matters
into our own hands and plan for
9
“For God did not give us a spirit
of timidity, but a spirit of power,
of love, and of self-discipline.
So do not be ashamed to testify
about our Lord, or ashamed of
me his prisoner. But join with
me in suffering for the gospel,
by the power of God” - 2 Timo-
thy 1:7-8
So often I feel like I have
something to hide from my
non-Christian friends. Why
do I pray really quickly when
I eat with them? Why do I not
bring up the topic of Christian-
ity during conversations? Why
am I embarrassed to talk about
me attending CCF? Why have I
never truly shared my religious
beliefs to someone else?
Usually, I’d fall back to the
“I’m worse than Moses” ex-
cuse, but what’s the source of
my lack of faith in my own be-
lief in Christ? Shouldn’t I be
strong enough in my faith to
depend on Him and Him alone
to give me the words to speak?
“Then the LORD said to Mo-
ses, “See, I have made you
like God to Pharaoh, and your
brother Aaron will be your
prophet. You are to say every-
thing I command you, and your
brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh
to let the Israelites go out of
his country. But I will harden
Pharaoh’s heart, and though I
multiply my miraculous signs
and wonders in Egypt, he will
not listen to you. Then I will lay
10
my hand on Egypt and with
mighty acts of judgment
I will bring out my divi-
sions, my people the Israel-
ites. And the Egyptians will
know that I am the LORD
when I stretch out my hand
against Egypt and bring the
Israelites out of it.” - Exo-
dus 7:1-5
Another fear of mine is the
result of trying to share my
faith. What if they don’t
listen to me? What if the
conversation becomes awk-
ward? Can’t God just reveal
everything to all unbelievers
immediately?
I am always reminded of
this: Even going back sev-
eral thousand years ago to
Moses’ time, God hasn’t
changed. In the end, it’s God
who reveals Himself to peo-
ple, including the process of
how it comes to be. God has
given us Christians the privi-
lege to be a part of His awe-
some plan that He thought
out long beforehand. All He
wants us to do is obey Him.
It doesn’t matter if I speak
with faltering lips. Kick
reason to the curb and just
spread the Word. God’s go-
ing to take care of the rest.
“And the Lord added to their
number daily those who
were being saved.” - Acts
2:47b
Matthew 27: 37-40 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE
KING OF THE JEWS. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who
“The idea that this world is a playground instead of a
battlefield has now been accepted in practice by the
vast majority of Christians. They are facing Christ and
the world...
The ‘worship’ growing out of such a view of life is
as far off centre as the view itself--a sort of sanctified
nightclub without the champagne and the dressed-up
drunks.”
- A. W. Tozer
It seems that Christians often view the world simply as
a place to enjoy before going to heaven. We just want
to enjoy this life in a ‘sanctified’ way. As long as we
give thanks to God for all the fun we have, then that’s
glorifying God. We try not to cuss too much, try not to
go overboard with the drinking and partying and club-
bing, try not to sleep around, feel bad about our sin
from time to time, read our bible, and that apparently
qualifies us as warriors for Christ.
Going hard for Christ is just for the hardcore Chris-
tians, pastors, or missionaries. The rest of us can just
be normal people with normal goals, normal ambi-
tions, and normal lives. You know, just like normal ev-
eryday people. God gave us plenty of things to enjoy
in life, so shouldn’t we enjoy it?
How much do we dream about all the things in life we
hope to enjoy? How much do we focus ourselves on
worldly concerns? How often do we justify our lacka-
daisical faith by ‘enjoying God’s goodness?’
aw man we ain’t focused on the war, we just kickin’ it/
worried ‘bout our image and our space up on the in-
ternet/
take me out the game coach, I don’t wanna play no
mo’/
if I can’t give it all I got and leave it out there on the
court/
thank you for the grace, for the will and the desire/
got me living for your glory ‘stead of living to retire/
 but I pray I’ll never tire of going hard “For many are called, but few are
It’s as though we think the kingdom of
for Messiah/ chosen.”
heaven is a something-for-nothing deal.
I don’t need no motivation you’re the Matthew 22:14 (ESV)
Believe in Jesus, ask for forgiveness
reason I’m inspired
of sins, go to church, sing the worship
- lyrics from Go Hard (feat. Tedashii) The kingdom will not come easily.
songs, serve in ministries, be a kind and
by Lecrae Should we not find it unsettling
compassionate human being, and that’s
that our Christian walks are easy?
all it takes to go to heaven. I’m afraid
Imagine that Christ were to return this Is it not cause for concern that we
this is terribly far from the truth. I have
very day. Is your mind filled with re- coast through life in relative com-
trouble believing that such a great reward
lief and joy inexpressible? Or, is there fort? And is it not discomforting
could be rendered to a life not marked by
something else? Would there be a part that an easy and good life is what
sacrifice, suffering, and persecution on
of you that regretfully thinks about all we aim for? Sure, we aren’t trying
account of faith in Jesus Christ. If we are
the things in life you would miss out to be the wealthiest people on the
blessed when our faith results in hard-
on? Missing out on falling in love, get- face of the earth or anything. But,
ship, then I don’t think many of us are
ting married, having a family, owning a is it not true that we at least want
very blessed.
car or house, having a satisfying career, to do decently well, to be secure
or making a difference in the world. If and respectable?
“Blessed are those who are persecuted
Christ were to come today, how many
for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the
of us would feel a twinge of sadness And the world is passing away
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you
over not living a long and full life? Over along with its desires, but who-
when others revile you and persecute
what could have been? Sure, we say we ever does the will of God abides
you and utter all kinds of evil against you
won’t really be complaining because forever.
falsely on my account. Rejoice and be
we believe we’ll be in heaven. But in 1 John 2:17 (ESV)
glad, for your reward is great in heaven,
the back of our minds, we lament, “It’s
for so they persecuted the prophets who
too bad Christ came back right now. If The kingdom is not for the com-
were before you.”
only he came back even 10 or 20 years fortable, the half-hearted, the
Matthew 5:10-11 (ESV)
later, then I could’ve enjoyed more of lukewarm, the benchwarmers, or
life. Oh well, I get to go to heaven, so those who fear men. It is not for
So, what’s my point with all of this? It
that’s cool.” My friends, this should not those who would be satisfied with
is this: Our comfortable, flabby, luke-
be so. Everything in this life, even the church life and good friends. It is
warm, happy-go-lucky Christianity does
best things, have no value compared to not for those who are content to
not acknowledge the war that the king-
God. He must be everything to us. It spend their lives smelling the flow-
dom of heaven is engaged in upon this
can never be God and ______. ers and enjoying God’s creation.
world; and, in doing so, betrays a lack
It is not for those who want to be
of understanding about what Christ com-
Should we not echo the sentiments of happy and satisfied in this life.
missioned us to do. Christ does not call
Paul or John of Patmos? To these ser- The kingdom is for those who take
us to a life of comfort and earthly peace.
vants of God, Christ was so dear to a stand, who run the race, who
We are called to pour out our lives for
them that they eagerly anticipated the fight the good fight, who fear God
the advancement of the gospel message
end of their time on earth. Do we yearn and advance the kingdom force-
and the kingdom. We are called to for-
for Christ like this? fully.
sake everything this world holds dear for
his glory. How often do we realize this,
For to me to live is Christ, and to die “From the days of John the Baptist
but push it back in our minds because the
is gain... My desire is to depart and be until now the kingdom of heaven
cost is too much for us to bear? We think
with Christ, for that is far better. has been coming violently, and the
that devoting one’s entire life for the
Philippians 1:21, 23b (ESV) violent take it by force.”
sake of the kingdom is just for pastors,
Matthew 11:12 (ESV)
missionaries, and super-spiritual Chris-
He who testifies to these things says,
tians. And the rest of us can just live like
“Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Soli Deo gloria
normal people.
Come, Lord Jesus!
Revelation 22:20 (ESV)
passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and 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!” 11
There are a number of lessons, thoughts community I’ve ever seen. Enough what He desires it to be. It’s crazy
or ‘insights’ I could share for what would to push people to hunger for God to think that I’ve played any small
likely be my last Insight submission ever… more?? YES… that is pure awe- part in God’s faithful story for this
but rather than sharing about one big super someness. In the end, the grad din- fellowship and campus. UWCCF
lesson God has taught me, I thought I’d just ner was just an amazing mini-pack- is exactly where it needs to be and
share a bit of my final experience here. age of all the amazing memories I that’s in the middle of God’s will.
depart this family with. Too much Just be ready for what comes next!
Humbling. Awesome. Memorable. fantastic. God is a God of Love. If there is
These are the words I would use to describe only one of these three attributes
my final year here at UWCCF (it also forms My story of how much my life has of God to learn in your time here,
an acronym for a lovable food). changed through UWCCF is one learn that He is a God of love.
that reveals so much of God’s faith- Learn that God thinks you are the
Humbling: So many times have I just sat fulness, hope and love in lowly man. apple of His eye and desires inti-
on my own and felt utterly useless and in- I cannot fathom how crazy of a God mate (gnoskos) relationship with
capable of doing anything to bring this fel- He is every time I just reflect on the you. No matter what you do, how
lowship closer to God. Well… thank good- past 5 years and how He has bro- far you stray or how many times
ness it’s not by any of my doing in the first ken, shaped and remoulded me into you mess things up… He still
place, but the spirit working through me someone who is blessed enough to chooses to love. Trust me… this is
and MANY other brothers and sisters who give some of my heart, time and life my life story times 9,000.
have taken up the call to not be complacent to the UWCCF family.
and accepting of the status quo. Thank you UWCCF is thriving. People have
anyone who has poured anything into this God is a God of hope: Never in my a hunger for God and His word.
family. Keep storing up Kingdom treasures life have I seen a place that so well There is a desire to challenge the
^^. resembles the Acts 2 church. No, status quo and question what life is
maybe we’re not there yet… but about. There’s a yearning to be real
Awesome: I know I say that I’m awesome don’t take for granted the glories men and women of God. There’s a
a lot… But all awesomeness is borrowed that God has implanted within this hunger to put brothers and sisters
from He who is the MOST awesome (and family. Keep striving to be more above one’s self. People are com-
also the creator of all awesomeness)!! I like the early church and learning ing to CHRIST. Praise God. Noth-
love this word. Really reflect on what it what it means to live in a commu- ing greater than seeing glimpses
means to be ‘awe struck’ by an awesome nity filled with love and led by God. of the Acts 2 church. Keep it com-
God. Too many times have I found myself I’ve never had a greater hope that ing. There is extreme joyfulness in
just laughing with a smile bigger than my God will use UWCCF to be a place knowing that UWCCF is being left
face because God is just beyond anything I that thrives on His love. in the hands of people more capa-
can understand and just works in amazing ble than myself and fellow grads. I
ways. God is a faithful God. How wonder- have long outspoken this line, but
ful it is to see God’s faithfulness in let our ceiling be your floor, future
Memorable: The grad dinner was one of the this fellowship. UWCCF has been UWCCF.
best nights of my life (maybe even up un- radically changing since day one of
til my wedding day =p). I will never forget my time here and I can only attri- Cheers&Blessings,
all the love you younger years displayed. bute it to God being a faithful God.
It was honestly the craziest accumulation He is working constantly in peo- Derek Ma
of showing God’s love within a family/ ple’s hearts to make this fellowship

12 Matthew 27: 50-52 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two
from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
 Our lives are full of lessons. Unlike the
courses we take in school, lessons from
God are not always offered on term
basis, where you can move on after
passing them. For me, there are many
repeating lessons that I just can’t seem
to pass. Ever since my first year, God
has been teaching me about my attitude
towards school, and trust me, He has re-
ally changed me a lot since then (some
of you upper years can testify). Many
times, just as I thought I have passed
this course with an A+ already, God
breaks me down again and I find myself
back to ground zero. So here I go again,
another lesson about school…
3A is a busy term for accountants.
In fact, there has never been a term
that wasn’t busy for me. Although I
have been learning a lot about how I
shouldn’t stress so much over school,
how I need to put God first in my life
and so on, I found myself on the verge
of a break down on the second week of
classes. Well, let’s just say that I was
a bit caught up in the high-achieving,
mark-focused side of me. Again.
Over the first few weeks, things got
a bit out of control. It wasn’t just be-
cause I was stressed and overwhelmed
by school, but it was more because of
a war that was raging between my un-
willingness to let go and my desire to
keep my focus on God. In other words,
I became even more stressed because I
was trying so hard not to be stressed.
One time during prayer, God spoke to
me and asked why I was stressed and
heavy burdened. Was it because I want
to get high marks? To maintain a cer-
Matthew 27: 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had hap-
pened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
tain reputation? To please my par-
ents, to please myself? Just like
many questions that Jesus asked
the people in His life, God already
knows the answers to these ques-
tions. But do I know them myself?
Or am I too afraid to face the real
answers because I’m trying to sup-
press a sinful motive that is driv-
ing my work? Do I really study for
God? Do I really understand what
it means to live for Him and by His
grace alone?
I would be deceived if I said
“Yes”. Because the truth is, I have
been so wrapped up in having the
right attitudes and motives for
school that I have failed to realize
the root cause of the issue. I have
been fooled to believe that I have
dealt with the issue of academic
obsession and have been preach-
ing to others with my new insights
about how to glorify God through
school, but have failed to realize
that what I have been doing was
quite hypocritical. He was certain-
ly not glorified through this. “God
is most glorified when we are most
satisfied in Him” (Piper). And I
was never satisfied.
So what is the issue? What is the
root cause? As I have heard from
somewhere, the root of all sin is
pride, and that is the case for me.
In an attempt to fix my attitudes to-
wards school, I have imposed the
idea of studying hard for God onto
my achievement-driven mentality
and dressed up the end to justify
the means. The truth is, I have
not dealt with the issue of pride.
I have failed to realize that it has
been my need for achievement,
for human praise, for maintain-
ing a reputation, and all other
manifestations of pride that mo-
tivate me to work.
So when God asked me, would
you be okay if I allow you to
fail a course for My sake or take
away your academic achieve-
ments? No, my answer would
be an obvious “No”. I want to be
seen as competent, to be known
for my academic achievements, I
want to be praised. And since I
have done pretty well so far, that
must mean I’m naturally better
than others and deserve to con-
tinue having these things right?
Wrong. What does it really mean
to live in God’s all-sufficient
grace, to surrender everything to
Him, to live is Christ, to die is
gain, to count everything as rub-
bish comparing to the surpassing
greatness of knowing Christ Je-
sus my Lord (Phil 3:8)? If I’m so
unwilling to let go of my earthly
treasures and ambitions, how can
I sing “You are my all in all” or
“all that I am unto You I surren-
der”?...
In response to my convictions
and as a simple demonstration
of placing God first, I took up
the challenge of taking Sab-
bath, starting in February. Sadly
enough, I found myself over-
13
 whelmed by anxiety again near
the end of my first Sunday, as I
turned my attention back onto all
the school work I had to do. At
that very moment, God reminded
me of the story of Abraham. How
did he feel when God told him to
sacrifice his beloved son? Even
though he didn’t know God had
other plans in mind, it was his
willingness to even kill his son
that made his faith so admirable.
And I, on the other hand, wasn’t
even willing to let go of something
so trivial, so temporary and insig-
nificant in light of eternity.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t
care about our studies. School is
a gift from God and it is a good
thing. It is also a blessing to be
able to study, to learn, to work.
Our time as students is a time of
preparation for the next season to
come, for even greater work that He in Philippians 3:12, not that I have
is calling us to do. But even more so,
already obtained all this, or have
school is another season of life, part of
already been made perfect, but
the journey of walking with the Lord,I press on to take hold of that for
growing in Him, in the knowledge which Christ Jesus took hold of
of His love, learning to trust in Hisme. I have learned that this lesson
faithfulness. School is from God, forabout school, but more so a lesson
God, and should be pursued through of surrender, trust, and obedience,
God. He has the right and power to is something that I have not fully
do whatever He wishes in our lives learned and will take a life time to
through it, and can even take it awaylearn. Just like the courses we take
if it doesn’t glorify Him. Since God in school where we start with the
has so graciously blessed us with this
easy stuff and build onto the foun-
gift, let us treasure it and be good dation, God also takes us one step
stewards of this resource, just as weat a time and teaches us more and
are called to take care of other things
more as our faith grows. At the end
God has entrusted us with. So let us of our lives, we will finally gradu-
not lose focus of the greater purposes
ate when meet Him in person. So
we have in life, a calling to further His
let us forget what is behind, strain
Kingdom and to glorify His name. towards what is ahead, and press
on toward the goal to win the prize
In short, these are just some of the for which God has called us heav-
things God has graciously revealed enward in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-
to me so far. Echoing what Paul said 14).

About a year ago, I was convicted to
get rid of any downloaded music on
my computer (which was all of it). I
started paying for what I listened to.
Recently, I was made to think about
what exactly I was listening to, and
was convicted to get rid of any secu-
lar, worldly music on my computer
(which, again, was all of it).
Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of
your mind, that by testing you may
discern what is the will of God, what
is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2 (ESV)
Though I shared more about this
at sharing night (see http://hid-
deninafield.com/worldliness), in
this article I just want us to think
about what we listen to. It seems
pretty normal to listen to what-
ever’s out there, right? But do we
ever stop to think about what the
songs are actually about? Most
(all?) of the time, the lyrics are es-
sentially idolizing things like love,
romance, money, ourselves, or
whatever. That sounds harsh, but
if it’s not exalting God, then what
is it exalting? As Christians, we’re
supposed to be renewing our minds
in Christ and not conforming to the
world. But it seems like that would
be harder if we’re filling our minds
with worldly, idolatrous music,
don’t ya think?
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the
wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
Psalms 1:1 (ESV)

14 Matthew 28: 18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them
 It doesn’t matter if you’re not listen-
ing to the ‘worst’ music, even the
‘neutral’ stuff is mostly idolatrous.
For example, much of secular music
is about romantic love and longing
for someone to be with and emo-
tions and feelings and all that. And,
from what I can tell, Christians
consider these songs to be ‘neutral’
and find nothing wrong with them.
Meanwhile, sisters are finding it so
difficult to guard their hearts and af-
fections. Well, maybe if we weren’t
listening all day to songs about
‘love’ and feelings and staying up
late thinking about that other person
and teardrops on their guitars, it’d be
a little easier?
Now, worldly music doesn’t usually
diss God explicitly. But sometimes
it does, and we don’t even notice be-
cause we lack spiritual discernment.
Many of us have heard Jay-Z’s Em-
pire State of Mind. Check out the
following lyrics from about three
minutes into the song.
“...and Jesus can’t save you, life
to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
starts when the church ends...”
- lyrics from Empire State of Mind (feat.
Alicia Keys) by Jay-Z
What? He basically calls Christ’s sacri-
fice a lie, and the sad thing is that many
professing Christians like this song be-
cause it’s catchy or whatever. According
to 1 John 2:22, that means you’re listen-
ing to the spirit of the antichrist for your
entertainment. Just think about that for a
second, because that’s huge. You’re lis-
tening to the spirit of the antichrist for
your entertainment. Does that sound like
the behaviour of someone walking in the
light?
If we say we have fellowship with him
while we walk in darkness, we lie and do
not practice the truth.
1 John 1:6 (ESV)
“You can’t keep God’s commandments
and keep Kanye West on your iPod.”
- Pastor Justin Cox of P4CM
We need to be diligent in pursuing god-
liness and fleeing from the world, and
there’s no reason this doesn’t apply to
our music. If you profess that
your life is completely dedi-
cated to honouring and exalt-
ing Jehovah, then your music
should do likewise. That’s just
common sense.
Leave the presence of a fool,
for there you do not meet
words of knowledge.
Proverbs 14:7 (ESV)
Come on y’all. We’re bare-
ly even trying to renew our
minds and sanctify ourselves,
and we know it. We can make
all the excuses to justify our-
selves, but I don’t think that’s
going to fly on the Last Day.
Pursue the Lord and his righ-
teousness in all areas of life!
‘Cause at the end, Christ isn’t
going to accept excuses for
compromise or excuses for
Christians.
Soli Deo gloria
15