Redeemed!

hey guys, have you ever wondered how we all came back into the fold of christ. have you ever wondered how we all strayed far and wide, and left the arms of the Lord who loved us? have you ever wondered how amazing this is, that he called us back even when we left. that he never stopped trying to win our hearts back. that he never gave up on us. you know jesus said something that just shakes my inner soul.. He said, HE WHO IS FORGIVEN MUCH, LOVES MUCH.

and the more i think about this, i feel like this is the Y.A's verse. for a time in our history, we were non existent. we were away from god,we were on the outside looking in. and yet, he forgave us, and everything we did and will do.and because of this, we will love him. Its great to just see that despite our 'exile', we are slowly comin back to the lord. What joy ..what joy. he saved us.

anyway..just wanted to share these verses from John 10.

11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

reading that just gives me so much confidence, to know that Jesus IS, and HE CANT LOSE(as winston says)...HE IS going to redeem all our lost brothers. another verse in the bible talks about JESUS NOT LOSING A SINGLE ONE OF THOSE GOD ENTRUSTED TO HIM.

knowing that god performed such miracles in our own lives, in calling us back. of course some of us never left..i sure did.. If god can do such a thing within us, it is NOT beyond him to call ALL our brethren back. For he laid down his life for his sheep, and doesnt abandon us even when the wolves close in on him.

thank you God.

Updates

Alright bros who have been left out of the loop, i shall give a quick update on what's been going on in and around all the bros' lives (in alphabetical order):

Ed: is hard at work at Morgan Stanley. well done bro!
GLam: is going to graduate soon. has an amazing story to share about how he met his gf (but that shall be his story to share and not mine; i'm just updating haha)
Isaac: has got a gf too! oh and he sometimes doesn't sleep for up to 3 days in a row
Ivan: is chilling at home and giving tuition; was baptised on May Day together with Isaac
Jon Ng: is serving the country with zest and contagious enthusiasm
Jon Wong: will be in USA, Ohio, Cleveland from 12 May - 11 Aug
Kevin: is hanging in there i think :)
Mat: is going to Israel in July
Noel: is going for a knee op in June
Raja: is happily married to Leli and is planning for his future missions
Sam Boey: is blowing his trumpet (sax i mean haha no offense)
Sean: is dreaming of a blue sky holiday in Aussie and NZ
Sheng: is a sea soldier in the Navy pending perm downgrade
Stephen: is rocking with his Armani specs! (lotsa practice in front of the mirror)
Wins: should have ended exams by now and will be doing an attachment in UK for 6 wks before heading back to the land of Bak Chor and Prata Bomb!

**ps apologies if i've left anybody out; not intentional