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NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New Death and Suffering:Reflections from a Medical Student Written by: Christoph, Medicine year 4, Giant Grapes SG Published on: 12 April 2022 “Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.”    Psalm 144:3-4 I once read a post that said the walls of hospitals have heard more fervent prayers than the walls of churches. In the four years since I started medical school, I’ve certainly found this to be true. I’ve seen the first breath of a child, the agony of the dying and the untimely demise of souls. In times like this, I find myself in turmoil as I try to reconcile my experiences with the God I know. This world, filled with so much joy and happiness, is also marred by suffering and inevitable death. We praise God for the good times, but blame him when things go wrong. Sometimes, when everything within me screams injustice, the only response I can manage is to weep in the presence of God, confessing my inadequacy and asking him to justify his injustice. One such instance was during my Pediatrics posting. A child is wheeled in with giddiness and headache. In hours, he is fighting for his life with a massive bleed in his brain, his skull removed and his airway intubated. If he makes it, he is unlikely to ever walk or talk again. I watch as his mother walks in, having said goodbye to the child as he left for school earlier that day. Little did she know that it might be the last conversation they would have. My heart and mind go numb. Everything within me screams foul play. Evil. Injustice. Unfairness. Crime. Straight from the depths of stinking hell. How can a loving God allow such injustice? I remember sitting in the rain, huddled up tight, tears freely flowing before God. Watching such suffering ripped my heart to pieces. I could but manage a fleeting whimper of a prayer to Father God. In my tussle with death and suffering I am reminded of the story of Job – a man who went through unspeakable suffering in this world. In his lament he points his finger directly at God. He demands that God justifies himself for allowing this unfathomable calamity in his life: “let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing”. And God does not even dignify Job’s accusation with a direct answer. Instead, he asks Job which puny human dares to question his plans with words without knowledge? Where was Job when God laid the foundations of the earth? Where was he when the universe was made? Is Job the one who creates and sustains all things? And God says to him: how dare you discredit my justice? How dare you condemn me to justify yourself? And the response of Job is this: “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” One glimpse of God’s power and Job was too busy repenting in dust and ashes to question God’s authority. And so when everything within me screams injustice, when the only feeble prayer I can pray is “why?”, it’s in these moments that I flee into the arms of Adonai. As sure as I am weak, God is strong. As sure as I am blind, my God sees it all. My humanity is as sure as my God’s sovereignty. The only appropriate response is to clap my hand over my mouth and repent, for who am I to approach the God of unapproachable light and call Him to account? Can the dust of humanity stand and cogitate before the Ancient of Days? How can the finite endeavour to reason with the infinite? Sterile gown worn before operating on a child To the unsearchable and inscrutable God (Rom 11:33), may our ignorance never lead us to accuse you of injustice. Help us not to ask for a better fate, but for a stronger faith. May we find rest in your sovereign hand, for you know the future and are working all things for our good (Rom 8:28). Help us to step out in faith and find peace in the God who helps us to walk upon the deep waters (Matt 14:29). Amen. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”    Isaiah 40:28 Back to the top © NTU Christian Fellowship 2023

NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New The Rhythm of Rest Written by: Jason, Chemistry Year 4, Bread Fish SG Published on: 7 April 2022 With the academic year coming to an end for most university students, many of us are making preparation for this final stretch before the long semester break starts. It’s crunch time in every undergraduate’s journey as our schedules are filled with deadlines, project meetings, revision, and examinations. With so many things drawing our attention, sometimes, it takes a toll on us as we strive and hustle to finish strong, especially when immense stress kicks in. Fatigue and burnout are very real struggles that many if not all, students face that would make us question this process of university life. Thankfully, we have our Heavenly Abba whom we can look to in prayer, trusting that He will see us through. As His beloved children, it is important that we know His heart for us as we lean close and abide in Him. # thought 1 your worth is found in chasing after the blessing of the lord.    Let’s start by seeing the opposite of rest which is hustle and its definition. In short, the hustle is humanity’s quest to transform our time and energy into value, gains, growth, increase or profit. We expect to obtain a desirable outcome and succeed, given the time and hard work that we put into something. In the book of Isaiah, it says that God is the one who teaches us to profit and leads us by the way we should go (Isaiah 48:17). The Lord’s heart is not against gains and profits, but He wants us to go about it in His way. His plan for us is that we may be complete and equipped for every good work as we discern the Scripture that He breathed which is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17). King Solomon is known to be called a man of rest (1 Chron. 22:9 & 1 Kings 5:4). As he ascended to the throne, he prayed for and received wisdom and a hearing heart from the Lord (1 Kings 3). During his reign, Israel was in the most prosperous period and King Solomon achieved much more than those before him (Eccl 2:4-10). However, all that his hands hustled and toiled, in the end, he counted all was vanity and grasping for the wind (Eccl. 2:11). The man of rest ended up becoming the king of the hustle life. The moment Solomon started to hustle, he began to look within and was occupied with himself. In the proverbs of Solomon, it says: “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.”   Proverbs 10:22 (NKJV) rich = to grow, accumulate; abundance (health, finance, relationships, etc.) sorrow = wearisome, toilsome, stressful painful labour True riches and the abundant life in God’s economy are not found in the self-occupied, painful pursuit for worldly wealth. The Lord invites us to chase after the blessing of the Lord, the source of all our needs. He loves you too much to leave you in a state of painful hustle and His heart for you is much greater than worldly treasures can offer. # thought 2 rest is not inactivity. it is jesus-directed activity.  Now, let’s talk about rest! In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus illustrates a picture of His yoke as He calls us to Him, wanting to give us rest (Matt. 11:28-30). The yoke is a tool for oxen to work the fields, so it’s not talking about inactiveness. Rather, Jesus is inviting us to be yoked with Him and learn from Him, just in common practice where a younger ox is yoked with to an older, more experienced ox. He wants us to follow His rhythm of grace as we journey life together with Him. The yoke is a picture of the cross that our Lord has already bore for us and it is a finished work. The Lord cares for us so much and He wants us to be concerned with the things concerning His heart. # thought 3 faith is a rest. be rest-conscious, not giant conscious. And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? and why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet i tell you, even solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.   But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’    For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. but seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.     “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.   matthew 6:27-34 (esv) Jesus compared Solomon to the lilies of the field that neither toil nor spin and yet still grew to what they were. Being fully man, as He is also fully God, Jesus knows the struggles and anxiety of the world that we live in. The Lord calls us to have faith and to seek first the kingdom of God of His righteousness and the things that we need shall be added to us (Matt. 6:33). Faith is believing what God has said in His Word and being fully persuaded by His mercies and grace – faith is having a good opinion of God. The more we discover how good God is, the

NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New Cancel Culture Written by: 3 Pecks of Flour Small Group Published on: 12 March 2021 What is cancel culture? It has been defined on Christianpost as such: “Cancel culture is rooted in the postmodern assertion that all truth claims are individual and subjective. Each of us interprets our experiences of the world in ways that are unique to us. As a result, we are told, there can be no such thing as ‘objective’ truth.” In its most official definition, cancel culture refers to a ‘structural cancelling’. It is mostly done by the public to people with platforms of influence, where they are thrusted out of all social spheres such that the person loses his/her legitimacy in every context. However, among our own social circles, we do observe a sort of ‘casual cancelling’ culture. This can be observed in how the phrase “you are cancelled” is so often thrown around among friends. In cancel culture, everyone upholds their own sense of justice and has their own spin of the narrative. This often becomes contentious because due to many differing views on the truth, there is no Truth. But in God, God who is Holy and the embodiment of Truth and Light, He is the truth that we hold on to. As Christians whose standard of truth is found in God, let us not rush to be part of cancel culture. Before we speak, let us pay attention to what is God’s truth. (Proverbs 4:20-22) Let us speak out of love, instead of engaging in quarrels. (Romans 14, Ephesians 4:29-32) For cancel culture focuses on cancelling the person, instead of the idea. With this judgment that we place on people instead of their actions, this absence of grace does not allow for repentance and restricts their redemption. So as disciples of Christ, may our posture in engaging be pure and approved by God. (2 Timothy 2:14-17, 23-26, Philippians 1:15-16) May our speech always be gracious and seasoned with salt, that we may know how we ought to answer each one. May our spirit be sensitive and prioritise seeking and waiting on the Lord. When the time comes for us to obey, may we be filled with boldness and diligence in praying for others. And above all, may love that covers a multitude of sins guide our responses. Shalom. Back to the top © NTU Christian Fellowship 2023

NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New Speaking the Truth with Love Written by: Jacob’s Lentil Stew SG Published on: 21 December 2020 / This post is the first of our CE spotlight series, written by our CF members. / To live a life of integrity, a life that pleases God is hard. While the Bible speaks of the importance of truth, it is increasingly difficult to speak the truth in today society where many prize “truth” as subjective. From a seemingly mundane thing such as doing an online quiz with a friend to simply copying our friends’ assignments when we are clueless, these temptations are constant reminders that we are often standing on a very fine line between right and wrong. Our words have the power to heal, comfort and hurt others – be it intentionally or unintentionally. Yet, it is often because of this that we hesitate to speak the truth in certain situations. As such, we end up hedging the truth or avoid speaking the truth altogether just to avoid a conflict with our peers. However, let us not forget that we are also living testimonies for God and our actions and words reflect who God is. Thus, we should always humble ourselves and look to God with confidence that He’ll guide us when we put our faith and trust in Him. Finally let us speak the truth of God with love, in our actions and words as Christian students. Back to the top © NTU Christian Fellowship 2023