Hi everyone! It’s now 2015! Blessed New Year!
Just want to share some things I learnt and was reminded from the Annual
Teach-In Camp by the NUS Varsity Christian Fellowship (VCF) last year (26-31/12/2014
=P ). Just to give you all a little background, the NUS VCF is an
interdenominational Christian Fellowship (CF) and I am currently joining the
postgraduate cell group.
大家平安！2015 年到了！新年蒙恩！在这里，我想和大家分享我在 NUS 大专团契的营会里学到的一些东西。NUS 大专团契是一个跨宗派的团契。我呢就参加了研究生小组。
Ok, going back to
camp… To be honest, I was a little worried as it would be the first
interdenominational camp I have ever gone to and I was scared there would be a
great clash in opinions. However,
it proved to be a fruitful and enjoyable time as Christians from different
denominations shared their opinions on the subjects discussed. I really enjoyed
my time in the camp and was challenged on my view of Jesus and His ministry.
回到营会，其实我是有点担心因为这是我第一个跨宗派的营会。但是，我发现我非常享受和不同宗派的弟兄姐妹们分享及讨论不同课题的观点。这个营会挑战了我对耶稣以及耶稣的事工 的观点。
The theme of the camp was “Challenge Accepted”.
And I actually didn't know it until the day of camp itself. (Ok, maybe I knew
it when I registered but totally forgot about it after that… I think I am
getting really forgetful! Signs of old age…) There were 5 theme talk sessions on
the Gospel of Luke and the speakers were Vinoth and Karin Ramachandra from the
International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) To be honest, I was half asleep
during all the theme talks as the first 4 were at night and the last one I was
really just too tired and I didn't get a great deal out of the talks. However,
I learnt the most from the group discussions after each session, where we would
discuss in our respective groups on what the speaker talked about and how it
had impacted us. It was just amazing, how many different opinions would come
out from just one topic! We are really such amazing creations of God!
营会的主题是《接受挑战》。其实我是在营会的第一天才知道主题的。（可能在报名的时候有知道一下然后就忘记了。老了…） 主题是讲到路加福音的5堂课。讲员是在国际校园团契服侍一对夫妇， Vinoth 和 Karin. 坦诚来说，我在主题的时候都是半睡状态。可是，我在每堂主讲后的讨论时间里得着了很多。让我觉得非常奇妙的事就是当我们在讨论的时候，虽然只是关于一个事项，但是会有那么多不同的意见和观点跑出来！上帝造的人真的是非常奇妙！
Jesus comes to FREE 耶稣带来自由
The speakers were really challenging and
provoking in their talks and challenged us to see Jesus as he really is, and
what that means to us. Luke 4:14-30 talk about Jesus reading from the scroll of
the Prophet Isaiah and declares that he has come to preach good news to the
poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the
blind, to release the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
“The poor” represents anyone who is oppressed, but not anyone who is honoured
by others even though he has no money. For example, Mahatma Ghandi is not
considered poor even though he does not have good finances.
讲员们带来的信息非常的带有挑衅性，并挑战我们真正的来看耶稣到底是谁并那带给我们的意义。在路加福音4:14-30，耶稣从先知以賽亚的书宣告他来是为了传福音給贫穷的人；报告：被掳的的得釋放，瞎眼的得看見，叫那受压制的得自由，报告神悦纳人的禧年。”贫穷的人”指的是所有被压迫的人，并不包括一些虽然贫穷但被尊敬的人。举个 例子，圣雄甘地不算是个贫穷人虽然他在物质上非常缺乏。
Vinoth also challenged us as to how we can use
our studies to bring release to the poor. Who are the poor among us? Are they
the people who are homeless? Are they the people whom we consider our enemies? Are
there the nobodies in the world around us? Why is there so little barrier
breaking in our churches to reach to the poor & the nobodies? Do your plans
for the future need revision in light of the Kingdom of God?
Vinoth 也挑战我们想想如何用我们的学业为穷人带来释放。谁是在我们当中的穷人呢？是不是那些没有家的人？还是被我们视为敌人的人？还是那些不被看在眼里的人？为什么教会里”打破壁垒”并关怀这些贫穷被无视的人的行动非常少？在神的国度的观点里，你未来的计划需要被修订吗？
Vinoth also shared on Martha and Mary as well
as the Lord’s Prayer in Luke 10:38 - 11:4. He contrasted the active service of
Martha to the thoughtful contemplation of Mary in front of Jesus and how
busyness endangers Christian discipleship. Are we so anxious to serve or please
others that we are harassed, that we forget what God wants us to do? Turning to
look at the issue from another perspective, are we consciously or unconsciously
using the ends to justify the means to what we are doing daily? Are we putting
self-gratification before service? Are we committing the sin of gluttony or have
we been wasting food?
Vinoth 也和我们分享路加福音10:38 - 11:4，关于马大和马利亚及主祷文。他对比了在耶稣面前，马大主动的服事和马利亚安静的静观，并提醒我们忙碌如何危害门徒训练。我们会不会因为太着急要服务或讨好别人而被骚扰，并忘记上帝要我们做的事情呢？从另外的观点来看，我们是不是常常使用不择手段来辩解我们的所作所为呢？我们是不是把自我满足看得重要过于服侍人呢？我们是不是贪食或者时常浪费食物？
On the third day, Karin challenged us to be a
martyr for Christ where we have been placed. However, we were also reminded
that even as we try to fix the brokenness in people around us, we also have to
address the brokenness in ourselves. We need to start identifying our need to
be rescued and redeemed from our own pain and dysfunction while we are also
trying to rescue and redeem others. (We are not perfect heroes as in movies!)
So, when was the last time you were truly broken before God?
在第三天，Karin 挑战我们在各自的岗位上为基督殉道。但她也提醒我们，在我们试着修复人们的破碎时，我们也必须处理我们自己的破碎。我们必须承认，在我们帮助别人的时候，我们也需要从我们的痛苦和无能里被拯救。（我们不是戏里面的完美英雄！）那么，你最后一次在神面前承认自己的破碎是几时呢？
Karin also challenged us with the thought that
“Jesus is not a nice guy!” from his
actions. Everywhere Jesus went, he provoked people – the Pharisees, teachers of
the Law and even called Herod a fox! But on the other hand, he was so
compassionate to the poor and needy. In addressing this issue, it was pointed
out that we should be very careful as to who we provoke. Jesus does not attack the poor, but attacks the slack
people (leaders) who have the power to change things. Also, using the example
of the controversial LBGT issue, it was noted that if the state laws do not ban
adultery, why should it ban homosexuals? Should we be protecting the oppressed
LBGT group or attacking them? Not only that, when coming up with new laws, or
even when reading the Old Testament laws, we should be aware of the questions
we should ask. Whose interest does this law protect? And whose power does this
law restrict?
Karin 也挑战我们说，从耶稣的行为看来，“耶稣不是个好人！”。耶稣到哪里去都在挑衅人 – 不但挑衅法利赛人和律法师而且还称希律王是个狐狸。在谈论这个课题时，Karin指出我们必须在挑衅人里非常小心。耶稣并没有攻击贫穷人，但他攻击了懈怠并有权柄改变事情的人（领袖）。谈到被争论的同性恋课题时，一个非常带有争论性的问题就是：如果法律没有禁止通奸，为什么法律需要禁止同性恋呢？我们身为基督徒到底应该保护被压迫的同性恋者还是逼迫他们呢？在设置新的法律之前，或者读旧约法律时，我们也应该察觉一些必须被问的问题。这条法律在保护那个群体？这条法律在辖制谁的权利？
And lastly, I would
like to remind all of us what I was strongly reminded in camp. If we are to be
students for God, and we say that the good grades we have will honour God, we MUST also study the
Bible as much as we study for our grades. For what use is it, if we have good
grades, but fail in our walk with God? How does it honour God if we say we have
good grades but we do not live out the Christian life?
最后，我想要提醒大家我在营会里强烈被提醒的事情。如果我们说我们是为上帝读书，并得到好成绩是为了荣耀神，我们也一定要读圣经像我们读书一样努力。有什么用如果我们有好成绩，可是没有亲近神？我们怎么能够说我们荣耀神如果我们只有好成绩但没有活出基督的生命？
What then are our roles as students in the
university? Are we called to university just to study and get good grades? Or
is it a training ground where you learn more about society and practice your
role as a Christian in a society? Will you change the society around you by
showing love to the nobodies around you? What are you doing for the poor and
oppressed in the society? The prostitutes, the homeless, the orphans and
prisoners. We need to remember that as followers of Jesus, we are called to
imitate our master and what our master did was to:
那样来说，我们在大学里面身为学生的角色又是什么呢？我们被放在大学只是为了读书并得到好成绩吗？还是大学是个训练的场地，让自己学习关于社会，并实际的练习你身为一个基督徒在社会里面的角色？你是否因为爱你身边的无名氏而改变你周围的的社会？你为社会里的贫穷和被压迫的人带来什么？为着妓女，没有家的人，孤儿寡妇，囚犯带来什么？我们必须记得，身为耶稣的门徒，我们被呼唤模仿耶稣的生命。而耶稣做的就是：
Preach good news to the poor, 传福音給贫穷的人；
to proclaim freedom for the prisoners报告：被掳的的得釋放，
and
recovery of sight for the blind, 瞎眼的得看見，
to release the oppressed叫那受压制的得自由，
and
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. 报告神悦纳人的禧年。
