Genesis 22:1-14: combined YF leaders' retreat

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

combined YF leaders' retreat

i praise and thank God for making this combined camp possible. it all started when last year's combined YF comm started talking abt having a combined YF camp, instead of the usual combined YF meeting. although tt camp didn't come about, by God's grace and design, the various YF youth leaders/ advisors/ supervisors came together and planned a combined YF retreat for the leaders (or ex-co members). i want to thank God too, for still allowing me to come to camp, despite stepping down from ex-co last month.

during this 2 ½ days, i've learnt tt the God i worship is a God who will not give up on us. if He wants you, He'll get you...and if you run, He'll pursue you, just like how He pursued jonah when he fled to tarshish. knowing tt my God is a persistent God has encouraged me not to give up on a friend whom i've been trying to reach out to. the study of jonah has also reminded me tt my God is a compassionate God, Who has no pleasure in the death of the wicked or lost ones.

couple of years back, 'cher gave me a small card with a note written on one side, and a character she sees in me, on the other. the character she wrote was "compassionate". after studying jonah 4, i've come to realise something abt myself - that i am not tt compassionate after all. yes, it's definitely easy to be compassionate towards the ppl i love, and to little children too. but whenever i read abt ppl getting away from their evil doings, it's not easy for me to be compassionate towards them. of cos, there's nothing wrong in wanting justice to be done...becos my God is a just God, Who states in His word that "...he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death." (leviticus 24:21). However, after this retreat, should God ever will tt i go back to reading law, or the next time i read in the papers abt someone accused of murder, i will not just pray for God's will, or justice to be done...but also for the salvation of tt person.

i thank God for answering my prayer requests to be well, with a "no". during one team prayer session, i shared tt i thank God for saying "no" because it's a reminder to me tt it's time for me to rest, and tt i alone, m weak and need Him. today, i want to thank God also for keeping me unwell the past 2 days becos thru this, i've felt the sincerity of brothers/sisters-in-Christ around me. many came to ask me how was i, whether i was feeling better etc. for tt, m very thankful to God, and m very encouraged by the ppl who showed love and concern, esp since most of them are ppl i've met only 2 days ago!

i want to thank God too, for the camp speaker, rev stephen and of cos, my 2 team counsellors. m really encouraged by the team counsellors for making the choice to sacrifice not just 2 ½ days, but weeeeks to prepare themselves for this retreat. to allvina and yong jie, thank you so much :) i don't have anything to give you in return for your precious time, but heyy, your rewards are in heaven! heh

the thing i enjoyed most abt this camp is...(don't be surprised!) studying God's word :) i personally always believed tt studying God's word is the best and probably the only way for God's ppl to grow closer. no amt of games or camps would be able to build this special bond tt's built thru studying God's word together...

my committment to God this camp: by His grace, i want to be more compassionate to ppl, even when i find it very difficult to do so...and to be obedient and say "O YES LORD!" to whatever God wants me to do or wherever He wants me to go!

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