And we start talking...
SIM CG Reflections 04 08 2009
Posted on Wednesday, August 5, 2009
VERSES:
Deuteronomy 4:32-40 (New International Version)
The Lord Is God
32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.
39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.
1 Chronicles 17:16-27 (New International Version)
David's Prayer
16 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:
"Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 17 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O LORD God.
18 "What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, 19 O LORD. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.
20 "There is no one like you, O LORD, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 21 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.
23 "And now, LORD, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, 24 so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, 'The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel's God!' And the house of your servant David will be established before you.
25 "You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. 26 O LORD, you are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. 27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O LORD, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever."
Ben Tay:
Both passages record the greatness of God, His deliverance, His faithfulness, His mercies. When both Moses and David were facing testing times, they cried out to God. God heard their cries and came to their rescue. It is not that God was taking a break and not know what is happening around them. God was there all along. He just wanted to help both David and Moses rely on Him and be magnified through the tough moments.
Through those tough moments, they relied on God for everything. Miracles happened which they remembered and held them firmly in their hearts. They kept His promises deep within them, using the past encounters with God as an encouragement and hope. They turned their sorrows into joy by dwelling in His presence, reminding themselves of the sovereignty and the lordship of God Himself. It is only through challenging times that most of us turn to God. I know that God is God, but do I really believe it? This is when God shouts out His sovereignty when I am proud and self-righteous.
The entirety of my reflections can be found in Deut 4:35. Always, God has been belittled as I want to take control of my life. God is then neglected till the point where I find no through paths. It is only then that I seek God and recall of the past experiences, His promises and the visions He has given me.
I have to treasure all the little things in life that is happening at the moment. Make sense of them in God’s point of view and see how these things are going to fit in well in the many bits of a mega jigsaw puzzle.
Li Ping:
Was reminded of this:'You must be greater in me O Lord.Let all the rest fade away~~'
David was not simply saying that his house might be established, but that God’s name might be magnified forever. It is indeed challenging to lose sight of our personal interests in our keen desire for His glory. In times of hardships,inadequacies or even blessings when we declare'"Christ you are my all and in all" the magnitude of this sentence involves total surrendering.I pray that the attitude of my soul be more toward the glory of God; and as I quote promise after promise for the enthroning of Christ, the saving of men, and the sanctification of my soul, dare in humble faith to say, Do as Thou hast said, that thy Name may be magnified forever.....
Shawn Yeo:
Main reflection points: Are we strong enough to settle all our issues? Do we lean too much on our own capabilities? Do we only look to God when we experience triumph in our life? Are we serving God, or is God serving us?
We should not lean too much upon our own judgements and capabilities to solve our problems. We should follow His commandments. Whatever we have is given by God. We should acknowledge every now and then to remind ourselves that God is our Sovereign leader.
Alex:
Deut4:40 sounds like Pro3:6 "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
In my Good News Version, 1 Chronicles 17:18 says this:
"What more can I say to You! You know me well, and yet You honor me, Your servant."
God, I am still here because of Your Grace. If You had not rescued me many times, I would have disappeared - physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually (or any combination). Lead me to grow in gratefulness - I want to worship You more than I ever did before! Lead me O Lord as I commit my heart into Your hands. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.
Cai Xuan:
As I was reading the verse, the song "There is None Like You" came into my mind...there is none like You, nobody knows us deep down inside except our mighty God. Even if we search forever, God will never change. At times, we tend to take God for granted in good situations and forget to give thanks to Him. I am more convicted that whatever God has promised, He will surely fulfill. It may be not at the time that we wanted, but He has the best plan for us. Let us really spend time to think about God's goodness and tell Him in your prayers
:-D Trust in the Lord always.
Junyao:
What really caught my attention was in 1 Chr 17: 25b which said "So your servant has found courage to pray to you." cos it strikes me that many times we can take prayer for granted that we don't know that they are pple who don't even has the courage to pray! and God wants to give us courage to be in His presence cos He longs for us to be in His presence. I just wanna pray that when times that i lost the will or focus to pray, God will give me the courage to pray! prayer is a powerful spiritual weapon that we tend to forget but rather we choose to focus on our limitations.
P.U.S.H - Pray Until Something Happens
p.s. u want something to happen in ur life? PRAY!!!
Deuteronomy 4:32-40 (New International Version)
The Lord Is God
32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.
39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.
1 Chronicles 17:16-27 (New International Version)
David's Prayer
16 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:
"Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 17 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O LORD God.
18 "What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, 19 O LORD. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.
20 "There is no one like you, O LORD, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 21 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.
23 "And now, LORD, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, 24 so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, 'The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel's God!' And the house of your servant David will be established before you.
25 "You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. 26 O LORD, you are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. 27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O LORD, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever."
Ben Tay:
Both passages record the greatness of God, His deliverance, His faithfulness, His mercies. When both Moses and David were facing testing times, they cried out to God. God heard their cries and came to their rescue. It is not that God was taking a break and not know what is happening around them. God was there all along. He just wanted to help both David and Moses rely on Him and be magnified through the tough moments.
Through those tough moments, they relied on God for everything. Miracles happened which they remembered and held them firmly in their hearts. They kept His promises deep within them, using the past encounters with God as an encouragement and hope. They turned their sorrows into joy by dwelling in His presence, reminding themselves of the sovereignty and the lordship of God Himself. It is only through challenging times that most of us turn to God. I know that God is God, but do I really believe it? This is when God shouts out His sovereignty when I am proud and self-righteous.
The entirety of my reflections can be found in Deut 4:35. Always, God has been belittled as I want to take control of my life. God is then neglected till the point where I find no through paths. It is only then that I seek God and recall of the past experiences, His promises and the visions He has given me.
I have to treasure all the little things in life that is happening at the moment. Make sense of them in God’s point of view and see how these things are going to fit in well in the many bits of a mega jigsaw puzzle.
Li Ping:
Was reminded of this:'You must be greater in me O Lord.Let all the rest fade away~~'
David was not simply saying that his house might be established, but that God’s name might be magnified forever. It is indeed challenging to lose sight of our personal interests in our keen desire for His glory. In times of hardships,inadequacies or even blessings when we declare'"Christ you are my all and in all" the magnitude of this sentence involves total surrendering.I pray that the attitude of my soul be more toward the glory of God; and as I quote promise after promise for the enthroning of Christ, the saving of men, and the sanctification of my soul, dare in humble faith to say, Do as Thou hast said, that thy Name may be magnified forever.....
Shawn Yeo:
Main reflection points: Are we strong enough to settle all our issues? Do we lean too much on our own capabilities? Do we only look to God when we experience triumph in our life? Are we serving God, or is God serving us?
We should not lean too much upon our own judgements and capabilities to solve our problems. We should follow His commandments. Whatever we have is given by God. We should acknowledge every now and then to remind ourselves that God is our Sovereign leader.
Alex:
Deut4:40 sounds like Pro3:6 "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
In my Good News Version, 1 Chronicles 17:18 says this:
"What more can I say to You! You know me well, and yet You honor me, Your servant."
God, I am still here because of Your Grace. If You had not rescued me many times, I would have disappeared - physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually (or any combination). Lead me to grow in gratefulness - I want to worship You more than I ever did before! Lead me O Lord as I commit my heart into Your hands. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.
Cai Xuan:
As I was reading the verse, the song "There is None Like You" came into my mind...there is none like You, nobody knows us deep down inside except our mighty God. Even if we search forever, God will never change. At times, we tend to take God for granted in good situations and forget to give thanks to Him. I am more convicted that whatever God has promised, He will surely fulfill. It may be not at the time that we wanted, but He has the best plan for us. Let us really spend time to think about God's goodness and tell Him in your prayers
:-D Trust in the Lord always.
Junyao:
What really caught my attention was in 1 Chr 17: 25b which said "So your servant has found courage to pray to you." cos it strikes me that many times we can take prayer for granted that we don't know that they are pple who don't even has the courage to pray! and God wants to give us courage to be in His presence cos He longs for us to be in His presence. I just wanna pray that when times that i lost the will or focus to pray, God will give me the courage to pray! prayer is a powerful spiritual weapon that we tend to forget but rather we choose to focus on our limitations.
P.U.S.H - Pray Until Something Happens
p.s. u want something to happen in ur life? PRAY!!!
Labels: Our Reflections
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