Nowhere Tickets

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"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12

We kept getting tickets to nowhere. We had finished a missions trip to Jamaica and were trying to get home. However, our airline was having problems, and no matter what our tickets said, we couldn’t leave Montego Bay. Over and over we heard, “Your flight has been canceled.” Even though we had purchased our tickets in good faith, the airline could not back up its promise to transport us to the US. We had to stay an extra day before boarding a plane that could take us home.


Imagine thinking that you are headed for heaven, but discovering that your ticket is no good. It can happen. If you trust the wrong plan, you will get to the gate of eternity but be denied entrance into heaven to live with God forever.


The apostle Peter said there is salvation in no one else but Jesus (Acts 4:12). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The only ticket to heaven goes to those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross as payment for their sin.


Some offer other ways. But those tickets are worthless. To make sure you’re going to heaven, trust Jesus. He’s the only way. — Dave Branon




Lord, I know I’m a sinner and cannot save myself. I need You as my Savior. Thank You for dying in my place and rising again. I believe in You. Please forgive my sin. I want to live with You in heaven someday.

Jesus took my place on the cross and gave me a place in heaven.

Be Still

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Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! - Psalm 46:10

As I sat in the dentist’s chair, I braced myself for the drilling that would begin my root canal. I was ready for the worst, and my body language and facial expression exposed my sense of dread. The dentist looked at me and smiled, saying, “It’s okay, Bill. Try to relax.”

That isn’t easy to do. It is actually very difficult to try (requiring effort and exertion) to relax (requiring an absence of effort and exertion). Try and relax just don’t seem to fit together—not only in the dentist’s chair, but in the spiritual realm as well.

Far too often I don’t limit my efforts of resistance to visits at the dentist’s office. In my relationship with Christ, I find myself not pressing for God’s purposes but for my own interests. In those moments, the hardest thing for me to do is “try to relax” and genuinely trust God for the outcome of life’s trials.

In Psalm 46:10, we read, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” In the moments when my heart is anxious, this verse reminds me to “be still, and know.” Now, if I can only put that into practice and rest confidently in His care, I’ll be at peace. — Bill Crowder

Lord, we know that true rest can be found only in You. Help us to end our striving and to trust that You will provide. In Your loving arms we find rest. Amen.

God knows the future, so we are safe in His hands.

Help from Above

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No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

In just about 2 weeks time, I'll be having my first assessment exam. Medical life is a total new experience for me, in which I believe the others feel the same. During the past few weeks, my group for our assignment (elective subject) went high and low to gather information from different sources. More works are underway and are to be passed up in the coming weeks. The cafe is overflowing with students who returned from their holidays (plus the other students). During this period of time, flies are at their highest activity rate as you could see a large number of them flying and stopping on things they could spot.

At present, the weather is just at its optimum temperature, though it may be really hot sometimes. Being a student among the approx. 200 students in my batch, I'm getting used to it already. The lecturers are excellent in their lectures and lab sessions. Classes are as usual, starting at 8 a.m. and ending mostly at 7 p.m. (with some breaks in between). The study area, surprisingly, is heaty at night due to some air-conditioning problem at which I decided to go and check the main switch out to see if there's anything that I could do. To no avail, the main switch is on but the air-conditioner doesn't seem to work. Nevertheless, outside is much, much cooler.

Getting caught up with so much work and activities, I often pondered over the time spent with God. Faith, I realized, is truly important in putting Jesus first in our life and surrendering our life to Him. When I am in deep troubles and facing things that I cannot do, I believe that He will be with us and that we should halt in our footsteps and be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). During my Christian Fellowships, I learn to gain strength by God's help to move on in life and with prayers and thanksgiving, for with our mere mortals' capabilities we cannot succeed, but with God, nothing is impossible. Through prayers and study on His Word, I saw how Job praised God although his life was almost destroyed in his ultimate test of faith. I saw how Paul's letters brought comfort and strength to the early churches in times of prosecutions. Though the end seems near, the early Christians placed their trust in His name- Jesus Christ.

Thinking of it, all things come from Him and we should continue serving our Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Jesus died for our sins on the cross and rose from the dead, having triumph over sin and death. Each one of us is given a chance believe in Him and to return to our Heavenly Father's arms. For there is nothing that could separate us from the love of God. And that 'we love because He first love us' (1 John 4:19).

God's grace is sufficient for me, I am wholly His, and for that, I desire to offer my body as a living sacrifice for Him and for His glory.

Please continue to pray for me in faith, wisdom, health, and education.

Take care and God bless! : )

In Present Time

The present me


A photo with Dr. Diwakar, our Biochem. lecturer, who left for Libya for further teaching.

Praise God for His guidance all along! Glory be unto Him!

Life

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'Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.' (Psalm 136:1)

This coming Monday will mark the starting of my fourth week as a medical student.

My classes are on-going mostly in the morning, from 8-12 pm, with 1 or 2 hours break(s) in between. I would have my lab sessions in the afternoon. For most of the days (except for 2 of the days), my classes would end at 7 pm.

The lecture hall is freezing cold sometimes (combined with the cool weather), and with a hundred+ students in the hall, it's almost impossible not to 'close' your eyes for just a while. But many thanks to the lecturers, they keep us awake for most of the time. Classes are quite interesting and the lab sessions are enjoyable.

Looking back in time, Medicine is very different from that than any pre-university and school-related studies. In degree, the slides could mount up to a hundred and a chapter could be finished (lecture) in an hour's time. Thick, expensive books are essential (though it may not be so for some) to add up to the lectures and tutorials.

Rain pours down almost every hour here (since last week) in Kedah. Though it may appear to be a trouble (especially for those students who do not have an umbrella, and I'm currently one of them too), I prefer it to be this cooling than being under the scorching heat. The cafeteria food is much much better compared to the time I first entered. Facilities are ever ready and the surroundings are beautiful. Not much haze is seen here in Kedah, very different from the haze-invaded states. Clubs are set up for students to participate. From the time I graduated as a foundation student here, the town still looks much the same to me- food, clothing, groceries, transportation, you name it- the prices offered are much lower than what I would have to pay back in KL or other metropolitan cities.

Praise God for His grace and for the people whom I see are growing together in Christ. It is truly wonderful and a joyous moment to see old time friends hanging around again after so long.

The years to becoming a graduate medical student are going to be challenging and remembering on how my lecturer once said, it is like waves at a rough sea. Praise God and glory unto Him once again for my scholarship and for my family who help and guide me for the past 19 years. Thank God for giving me you- mom and dad, bro, sis-in-law and sis. I must say again that no words can describe my feelings towards to all of you! Love y'all!

Lord, I just want to thank you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins, that I may have a new purpose driven life in you. Thank you for providing me everything I have in life. Your grace is sufficient for me. May all glory and praises be unto your Holy Name. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

P/S: Please pray for me in health, faith and education. I may blog less as my timetable is quite pack. Till then, take care and God bless!

First Week

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"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass ... Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." (Psalm 37:4,7)

My batch's orientation ended today. Last night's orientation was the best (eight station games were ready for us). Our seniors are friendly and also humorous in some ways. Others were jokingly trying to ask us to accomplish some 'No-Way!' tasks. Nevertheless, I believe my group and my batch mates enjoyed ourselves very much and got to know each other better. Though it seemed that my group's cheer was somewhat awkward in the first place.... our group cheer and teamwork improved a lot more as we moved forward. There were winnings and losings but it didn't matter much, cause after all, games are meant to have some fun. We realized how important leadership and teamwork are and the power of brainstorming. We were given limited time to complete each section game before moving on to the next station. I reckon that the best game was the Water Game (what I call it). We all got the chance to work and had fun together with our seniors!

The orientation (Games- last night) ended approximately at 10p.m. . By then everyone was really tired cause we hadn't take our dinner. Cutting the story short, I later went back with a 85%-exhausted body and had a shower and got ready for bed. Soon after my head rested on the pillow, I was in Alice's Wonderland. It was goooood to finally rest after a hectic yet memorable day.

Till then, my classes are starting next week. Please continue to pray for me (faith, health, and my education in medicine).

Take care and God bless! Jesus loves you! :)

'Sakura'!

- image courtesy of Evangelheights -

Thus says the Lord, Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go." (Isaiah 48:17)

My three months of holiday is coming to an end. I'll be back to my campus once again next week. There are lots of memories in times like these that will be cherished! Praise God that everything went well!

Just about two to three weeks ago when I'm on my way home, I saw some trees beside the road with flowers covering almost the whole of it. The trees look somewhat like cherry trees. It was a beauty. So I decided to just a stroll along the pathway the next day and capture this rare scene.

I read from somewhere that the flowers usually bloom during this period of time. Others say that it is due to global warming that this blooming could happen in Malaysia.

At first sight of the flowers, my mind wondered off to the blooming Sakura in Japan. Sakura means Japanese flowering cherry in English. Some of us may prefer to call it cherry blossom . Both are actually right, depending on how you use it.

Thousands of tourists and locals flock Japan early in the year for cherry blossom viewing. It is very fascinating and thoughtful. Cherry blossom can also be found in the US and Europe.

Without further ado, here are the photos that I took that day:

These were the two tress that caught the eyes of many passerby. There were only two distinct flower colours: purple-pink and white.

Branching out together.

Flower petals and leaves on the grass floor: Still maintaining its best sight.

Dry leaves and petals on the fence wall: Creating a must-shoot opportunity for photographers.


White 'Sakura' reaching out to the sky.


The purple-pink flowers were very competitive.


But when I saw how the white ones performed, I concluded both were absolutely great to see and capture.


An up close.


Beautiful, isn't it?


The whole scene.

Till then, I'll most probably blog again when I returned to West Malaysia and after everything is settled.

Please pray for me in faith, health, studies and people around me. Take care and God bless!

Jesus loves you! :)

Night of all Nights

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'Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.' (Psalm 119:105)

Gearing up my DSLR, I head out into the hot Monday night (July 27th). I was caught in a heavy jam along my way to the Kuching Waterfront (along the Sarawak River), where there would be a float procession and a display of fireworks (in conjunction with the New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building/ Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) opening ceremony by DYMM Yang di-Pertuan Agong). Preparations at the Waterfront were being made earlier to welcome the VVIPs (Sultans and Ministers) and most honorably, His Majesty the King of Malaysia, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. Police and roadblocks were everywhere for security purposes. Even as I am writing this post, a helicopter just flew past my house and sirens can be heard in the distance. Sarawak is honoured to have the 218th Rulers’ Conference held at the DUN on July 29 and 30.

The New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building/ Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) boasts a cost of RM 300 million and has become an iconic landmark in Sarawak. Peculiarly for the citizens of Kuching, it is indeed a joyous and proud achievement. Upon reaching there, I used my telephoto lens to capture the moments without wasting much time. Surprisingly, despite the H1N1 cases that are spreading like wildfire, there were still many people. As far as I could see, none were wearing masks. Praise God for the good weather that night. Though it drizzled, it didn't last long. At the first thought of rain, the crowd quickly dispersed. This gave me a chance to stand at the 'front line', or what I call it 'my first-hands-on' to have a better view to shoot this spectacular event.

Here are some of the pictures I took that night:

Above: A beautifully lit float and the famous Fort Margherita in the background.

Peekaboo! : The Melanau sun hat-shaped roof State Legislative Assembly Building behind some trees.

All of the Above: A series of floats sailing past (approx. 21 in all) and 'harbouring' in front of the DUN just in view for the important guests.

Ghostly: Crowds at Waterfront (passing and stopping-by)



My first firework abstract.


The photos below are some of my very first firework shots. With a few lessons learnt from this experience, I hope to do better next time. Thank God for this wonderful opportunity.

The fireworks lasted for at least 15 minutes or so before ending the night with a powerful yet graceful blast, in which it then turned into a shower of delicate sparks.

Here's a video (above) of the fireworks from YouTube. (Credit: jackie6138)

Colours: Floats lined up for a clearer public view.


Lights on Water (all of the above): Close-ups of some of the floats.


Majestic: The New State Legislative Building from a further perspective.


Calling it a night: The dazzling State Legislative Building overlooking the passenger boats at the Sarawak River harbour.

The Pride and Joy of Sarawakians: The New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building/ Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Sarawak.

Zooming-in: A close-up view of the main entrance of the building.


Lone Float: Stopping for a long night ahead.


Spectacular: A scenic view from Waterfront.


National Heritage: The Astana, official residence to the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak, the Governor of Sarawak.

Cool and Comfortable: Marquees set up for the VVIPs.


Beautiful and Fragrant: Fresh flowers surrounding the marquees.

A Panoramic View of the Sarawak River.

Last but not least, this photo above shows a part of Kuching City (the building pictured is the Hilton Hotel), in which I will update more of it in the near future.

Till then, take care and God bless.

Jesus loves you! :)