Why do i go to Church?=]

hello peepos! haha it's my turn now.=]

As most of you know, i am not a born-Christian. But somehow, my journey with God began ever since young. Even though my parents are "freethinkers" so when i was a child, they brought me to the temple ocassionally. And before entering the temple, my mom and dad would always tell me not to point at the statues or say anything offensive to the "gods" lest they punish me for my disrepect.

Even though i was really young and was really afraid then, i kind of questioned the existence of God because of whatever i have heard. In my heart i was thinking to my self "well, since they are gods, besides being all powerful they should be ALL-LOVING as well, isnt it? because even my mom and dad who are humans can forgive me even when i've done wrong. Why cant the gods be as big-hearted as they are? this doesnt make sense at all!" So i did not believe in the existence of God or gods from then on.

But Daddy God was still really really gracious to me. For some reason when i enter primary school, i was surrounded by many Christian friends. And they would they me about sunday schools, and their church friends yada yada. Jesus was not mentioned at all, but that alone interested me. It sounded really fun to me.

However, i still wasnt quite sure if Christianity was the right "religion" because all religion sounds the same to me! they're all holy moly and they bind us to their set of beliefs, which is what i hate.It was until i met charlene and many other christian friends from my secondary school. On 6th of june 2004, my friends and i decided to go for Festival of Praise. guess who was performing? HILLSONG!!! AND guess who was preaching on the pulpit? PASTOR JOSEPH PRINCE!! haha well that was when i received Christ and the rest is HISTORY!! hahaha=]

OK BACK ON TRACK. THE REASONS I GO TO CHURCH.
i used to go to church for the purpose of socialising.not for friends, but socialising, get what i mean? but as i attended more and more services, Daddy God somehow just took over my heart. and the reasons i go to church now change too!!

SO NOW I GO TO CHURCH BECAUSE :

- i really really wanna know more about Jesus and His heart for me. He's like a drug can!?( in a good way haha) Once you get hooked onto Him, you cant help wanting more and more of Him=] And it just take ONE touch,ONE, for you to get hooked on FOREVER=]=]=] so ya. I guess deep in every believer's heart, whether they know it or not, they really wanna know more about Jesus. so going to church is the BEST way cuz you dont have to interpret the bible yourself!!! =]

-And not to forget, my LOVELY JC SOUTH AND BELOVED JC CLUSTER AND MY IM TEAM!!! It's the people that makes going to church and attending services an enjoyment. even though i may not know everyone in the cg or the cluster and for some of you i hardly ever talk to or share my heart out with, or some i find it so hard to clique with, THERE IS STILL THIS REALLY SPECIAL BOND BETWEEN ALL OF US. it's unexplainable. i can only say Jesus is the One holding us together!! you guys may not be my best friends or my closest friends or my good friends BUT you are DEFINITELY my KINGDOM FRIENDS. And kingdom friends are the most special out of all because i know you guys are the one who will stand by me, pray in faith with me in times of trials, love me as who i am even though i'm like "so jo". i know deep in my heart you southies are the people i can really count on, not just as a whole, not just the cg leader, but EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.=] It simply thrills me to get to know each one of you more-who you truely are, your likes and dislikes, your desire and your walk with jesus yadayada, as the journey goes on!!=]

And for this reason alone, YOU PEEPOS ROCKS!!!=D=D=DLOVES

why i go to church..

hi guys! its been quite a few days since people blogged about this, so i guess ill do it then! (:

ANYWAY, this is my FIRST blog post on this blog..so YAY!

hokay hokay..moving right along.. why do i go to church? hm..when i was young, my parents would bring me to this church and i totally see no point in going. i remembered i will wake up very early on sunday mornings and sneak out of my room to watch cartoon shows without waking my parents up so that by the time they woke up, we would have been late for church so we didnt have to go... it wasnt until i went to to praise kids in primary two that i really enjoyed church services ever since..probably because of the nice songs that we will sing and because of the company and stuff..

but as i grew older, going to church didnt just become a i-go-because-my-parents-wants-me-to or because i have to thingy, but it was really in that i know that there IS a God out there and there've always been a void in my heart in which deep down, i know that only God can fill it..and pastor messages have indeed taught me a lot a lot..sometimes i will feel that the whole world have failed me (when actually they did not) and it seems as though everything in this world have disappointed me..and it is at this point of time that im really thankful that i know that God has never and will never give up on me..even when i feel/think that i've reached the lowest moments in my life.

that would be the main reason because i know that im quite a emo person and am pretty easily affected by my surroundings like my peers and stuff BUT sometimes for me, the hardest problems i encounter is when my mind battle against itself..its like i could be having world war two inside my mind..thats why i know that i need God in my life to save me and to teach me and also for me to stay rooted in what His Word says about me and not what the world say/think about me..and going to church to feed on His Word and to be filled with His Love all over again is really what meant a lot to me.

that aside, the other reason why i go to church is because of YOU GUYS. you know i may not be very very very very x1000000000 close to everybody..but there's just this peaceful and happy feeling in knowing that we have something that we all believe in and He's REAL. and i just know that i can come to you guys even in my ugliest moments (like my sore eyes ha ha) and you guys will still care and love me..but the thing i like the most is, you guys always point me back to the cross and His love for me whenever im going through some trials in my life.. cause whenever i face problems in my life, i tend to forget that He still loves me so its really really really cool that when i forget, i have commando friends like you to point me back to God and im really really thankful for that. (count the number of 'really's)

so yeapppp thats about all..haha God bless! cheers! :D -winks-

-clarice(:

Why i go to church?

Harlowharlow! my story would be long long ago, since young, my dad would bring us all to church. at dat time, i din really understand wat was going on, but simply to attend church coz my dad wanted us to. n we wouldnt want to disappoint him. even Praise kids din seem to have any effect on me n my sister. yep, n to go up to receive Christ, honestly, it wasnt much to talk bout. i only felt i think i want to go up. ya lor. like for me, nth much changed. coz i still din noe Jesus personally. den over the years, we still attended church, n i really thank my dad for dat. so slowly i got to noe Jesus n learn to trust in him. but dat wasnt really enough but i din do much bout it since life went on.

It was not until in JC, dat i met Charmian who brought me to then called campus. N to noe Charmian in school, i really think its God planned lor. i mean. it would really be impossible to noe her at school since we were quite different. yep! though the start was still quite rocky n shaky coz not noe-ing much ppl can really put u down, i feel. ya, but im glad i did hang on n dat Jesus was with me throughout. so Thank You so much, charmian! lol. i noe i learnt so much more bout Jesus at arrow n cg. yay! Praise God.

N also also, it was not till i broke up with my previous bf, did i not want to noe Jesus more n even trust completely on Him. i mean i could feel e difference. i would even look forward to services n not dread it like in the past. yep, so im so glad for my christ life happenings. though i noe it seems kinda slow to actually really personally noe Christ Himself, but im glad i did n is still noe-ing more bout Him each day.=)

so bout y i go to church? it would be a long list of reasons, but definately not e 'coz i have to' reason. one would be to personally feel God's love to a greatt extent n be encouraged despite all the worries of the week. Though all these could be done on our own at home, but its really a different experience altogether at church. The annointing n God's love juz flow n flow when believers come to praise our Almighty God.

Also, Pastor's msges are like omgosh awesome lar. haha. as in they really r revelations after revelations which can carry u thru the weeks ahead. They r dat strong can. yepyep! i love going to church, no doubt. even arrow services. n another reason would be to meet up with ppl from cgSouth lar. of cox! lol. lol. =D

Why I Go to Church.

The earliest memories I have about the things of God was when I was four. I still remember riding in the backseat of the car on my way to school one day. My dad was driving and he was telling me about Jesus.

Even then my parents always took me to Sunday school and I was studying in a Christian school but my dad still shared Jesus with me. At first I thought it weird that he asked me whether I wanted Jesus to come into my heart. I thought that I already was a Christian then, but I agreed and followed him while he lead me in a prayer.

It took me a few years to learn to appreciate that moment. Just because my parents were Christians and they sent me to Sunday and Christian school that did not make me a Christian.

Throughout the years I grew up a Christian. I loved Sunday school because I could play with my friends and I loved it when the "grown-ups" had caregroup at my place because the other kids would come over and play.

As I came into my early teens and increased in understanding I began to understand more of what was taught and preached in church. That understanding brought fear into my life; I wondered whether I was really saved, I wondered whether if I would be with Jesus in Heaven if I died. I doubted the assurance of my salvation. I remember hearing a preaching saying that if I don't even remember the exact date of when I asked Jesus to come into my life then I'm not saved. That really terrified me because I do not even remember the exact date.

I thought of asking Jesus to come into my life again so that I could have a date to remember. I wrote the date down on my Bible but I forgot the date again and that Bible is long gone. I was not sure of my salvation.

I remember crying one night for fear that Jesus would come back and leave me behind (watching the Left Behind Series did not help at all).

It was only until we moved to Singapore that I began to know Jesus in the way that he wants everyone to know Him - the true and living Saviour.

I praise God for bringing me under the teaching of God's grace. After hearing about the power of Jesus' blood and how it has surely washed me as white as snow, I began to lose any doubt of my salvation. I was fully assured that my salvation is forever and no moment of weakness and failing can ever take that away.

(Gosh this is really long and a little out of point.)

At first I just attended main service and refused to go for the youth service. I had my own "rebellion" against my parents because I was still angry that we moved to Singapore. I remember telling them, "Why should I make friends if I'm going to lose them anyway?"

But I loved the preaching from Pastor Prince's ministry and so I always went for Sunday service. At that time it was December and Teenzeal camp was coming. My mom signed me up much to my displeasure.

That camp changed my life. I've been attending youth services ever since. I made a lot of friends and learned a lot about friendship over these past few years.

I love how the Word has changed my life so much. I wish everyone and even other Christians could know Daddy God the way we know Him.

So that's basically how I started going to church. =)

the reason i go to church :)

Okay, im more than happy to start first. ( pls dont let me be the last too!haha.)
Heres the gist of it.. theres so much to it, cant really put into words. But, i think on the surface, it sounds like this...

Why do i attend church?

i dont know, i guess it was influence from my aunt, who shared the same room as me when i was young. she was a catholic who would lit a candle every night and pray. i was curious so i joined her. then, i went to a catholic church for some time. I guess, from then, i just got a sense that God existed.. and i talked to God too. and, i havent told anyone this before, but in (i think pri 3), i made a pact with God, like, if you give me good grades i promise to go to church(in the future, cos at that time my mom didnt allow me to)! haha.

Being barred fr church i still continue to talk to God and all, cos, you cant dismiss the feeling that theres someone up there looking after you. and, my grades were actually good. So, i felt like God really kept his promise, and i needed to keep mine. (actually for many other thigns too) so, in sec sch my friend invited me to teenzeal and i went in secret. yups. did that ever since.. initially it was also bcause she was really cool and it was all for the company.

But then one day, i had this realisation.. even blogged abt it. http://missy-y.blogspot.com/2007/09/new-revelation.html. from then on my faith was like.. going up up up..

basically, i was struck by how superbly blessed my uncle is. ( i knew him when he was still in uni and courting my aunt, and basically saw his life go from student to my idea of a good life) i asked how he got to where he is.. and the whole story is just grace, grace, grace.. every step of the way. It was brought before my eyes how you can let go and let God! a-m-a-z-in-g! and i asked myself, How? How can i have that too?? so i saw how he and my aunt would dedicate lots of time in church, and how strong believers they were since young. they are people i admire a lot. character-wise and all. and i'd like to be like that too. and i realised that, it was all from the bible. its full of STUFF, know. It can teach you to be the best person u can be. and the best thing was that i could have it too!

So thats why i go regularly, cos i want to know more. What reaffirmed me, was that while serving at rock kidz, i was introduced to this "mana theory", like, if you take care of God's business, he wil take care of yours. In a sense like if you just keep him in the centre of your life, everything around you will fall into place. Then i realised, hey, i did that ever since i was young!( naturally, even b4 i knew it as a 'theory') my whole life, God had a hand in it. and since god wrote the bible, i believe theres a lot more answers in there, things i can learn.. going to church helps me understand it better, or uncover things i didnt notice. Its hard to list down exactly WHY i do it, i just feels right, know.. yeah. thats why. it feels right...