HOPE SIM

Dynamic Worship

2010-04-26T07:31:00.001+08:00

Title: Dynamic Worship

Date: 24.4.10

Speaker: Pastor Denis Lu

Passage: Isaiah 6:1-8

- Every person in the world is a natural-born worshiper. Everyone worships someone, something, or both.

- Before we came to know Jesus, we were worshiping something else.

- There are still times when we get distracted away from Jesus. There are still idols and concerns in our lives that draw us away from him.

- For Isaiah, who was on his way to the temple, he saw the Lord. He saw beyond the physical.

1. It’s Attention Grabbing!

- When we’re worshiping God, we’re shifting our focus from something else to God.

- King Uzziah was one of the great kings of Judah. When he died, the people were troubled and distressed – like anyone would when someone important to them has passed on.

- Isaiah was probably disappointed and lost as well.

- Many times when you worship God, you’re not really in the zone because we’re occupied with other things e.g. people, projects.

- For worship to be dynamic, it has to be attention-grabbing and bring our focus from man to God.

1.1 It shifts our focus!

- Real worship begins when we consciously realize that God wants to shift our focus.

- God was actually saying to Isaiah in v1, “Stop looking at the human king. Look at the divine King!”

- How to breakthrough and get deeper with God in worship? We gotta understand that God is King and sovereign over our lives and everything else.

- God is still in control and knows how to take care of his people.

- Look to God who is on the throne.

1.2 It draws us into God’s presence!

- This doesn’t happen automatically. Sometimes we just have to bring a sacrifice of praise – “I don’t feel like it, but I choose to worship God.”

- Going towards the temple brought Isaiah into a state of preparation.

- This spiritual preparedness allows us to enter into God’s presence faster.

- Position-wise, Isaiah was prepared to meet God. And God showed up.

1.3 It does depend on our spiritual readiness!

- How ready and hungry are we to enter into God’s presence?

- Worship is not what happens on stage. It is a lifestyle that occurs wherever we go.

- The more ready we are, it is like lighting a lighter in a room full of gunpowder.

- [1 Corinthians 14:15] => everyone has 3 parts – spirit, soul, body.

- Real worship is a total immersion experience! Spirit, soul and body have to be involved.

- Spirit: human spirit, which is engaged by the Holy Spirit.

- Soul: intellect. Our thinking component.

- Body: our body.

- When we worship God with a song, try to get into the meaning of the lyrics. Get into the spirit of the song. The depth of meaning will be different.

- Worship is about the heart. Worship is a progressive deepening experience over time.

2. It’s Supernatural!

- Isaiah was in the presence of God and he saw into the spiritual realm.

2.1 We catch on to who God really is!

- We get a better glimpse of God in some aspect of his character. God is exalted. High and lifted up. Worthy of praise and worship.

- Seraph: angelic beings. In Hebrew, it means fiery zeal.

- True worship occurs when, even though the worship leader and team is leading, they are so fired up in worshiping God that this causes you to take your focus off them and onto God.

- We see the holiness of God.

- The whole earth is full of God’s glory – sometimes it’s hard to believe so, because the world is so ugly.

- But when we are able to appreciate God for the wonders of the world, we’ll be able to worship God in his glory.

- The whole earth is full of God’s glory – but we have forgotten that. This is why we find it hard to worship God.

- We’ve got to rediscover a fascination with God’s creation of the world.

- When we see the holiness of God, there’s a change in position. We realize that we’re nobody, and that God is awesome.

2.2 We are gripped by who we really are!

- The more we see God for who he is, the more we’ll see ourselves for who we are.

- We begin to recalibrate ourselves to God.

- [Joel 2:28] => we are Holy Spirit-empowered people! Pray in the Spirit more.

- We will see the things of God and who God is.

- During worship time, God will deal with our heart and remind you of certain situations. Sometimes he gives us words of encouragement too!

- So… Write down all these tweets from God!

- Be enriched in the worship atmosphere.

3. It’s Being Real with God!

- No pretense. Isaiah was real with God. He saw himself in comparison with God’s holiness – that he was a man with unclean lips.

3.1 We are broken before God

- Pride is broken. Stubbornness, lack of trust and faith, hopelessness etc. are broken.

- Unless you are broken before God, you won’t go to a higher level with God.

- In worship, there’s no shame in admitting our failures.

- Worship is not a feel-good time. It is a total immersion transformation.

- You come in defeated, but you go out having hope in God.

- [Psalm 51:17]

3.2 We respond freely, immediately and passionately to God!

- Sing to the extreme without screaming.

- Draw out that passion! Go all out. Spirit, soul and body.

- Come clean with God. Worshiping God actually brings us to the point of brokenness. It doesn’t show us how good we are.

- We are always left in a place where we realize that God is so great.

- [Hebrews 3:12]

- Trust the Lord when he speaks to you.

- Learn to receive and write down what God has spoken to you.

- [Hebrews 3:15]

3.3 We get on board with God’s agenda

- This means we’re gonna say, “Yes, Lord. Amen.”

- Respond to God.

- [Psalm 40:6-8]

2010-04-21T22:05:00.002+08:00

WHY PRAY TOGETHER?
(Intercession-corporate)
-Brother Michael
17/04/2010
[Matthew 18:19-20]

-go on morning walks with Jesus
-Have I grown to be a better disciple of God?
-corporate intercession: praying together with one or more believers/ praying together as a corporate body.

1) Blessing of God's presence (v20)

[Jeremiah 23:23-24]
[2Chronicles 5:13-14]

-manifest presence of God,not only omnipresence of God
-when we feel God tangibly, our intimacy with Him is deepened
-He will be there when 2 or 3 gather tgt
-God will bless us with His presence ( better with a community of believers)
-God really cares abt our corporate life (much more than we actually think abt)
-link between corporate life and personal life is very deep and strong.(more than we actually think)

[Numbers 14:30]
[Numbers 14:32-35]

-why must we suffer from the consequence of e sins of people around us?
-we should help each other, do life tgt. (if you know sth is wrong, but you're not doing anything YOU ARE DOING STH WRONG)
-God's design is so that, together, we can achieve more.

[Ecc 4:12]
[Genesis 11:5-6]

-you can do more things together.
-this is about SYNERGY.
-when we are caring about our corporate life, we are caring about our individual life.

2) The power of a united prayer (v19)

-pray in unity (God will answer our prayers, but it must be according to God's word)
-pray the prayer of agreement

[Psalm 133:1-3]-NIV

-when we are impatient, we fail to agree with what they say.
-see God answering our prayers when we are united.

Michael's conclusion abt prayer meet:
-prayer meetings are generally not well attended
-prayer meetings are boring

BUT

-we must see the value of prayer meeting
-our prayer is going to change things (HAVE FAITH)
-we go to prayer meet not to be entertained

10 April- Esermon

2010-04-12T20:41:00.000+08:00

10 April 2010

Wen Jiang

God’s Aim- Intercession
Prayers that amounts to much
(Daniel 9:1-19)

Daniel's Prayer
1 In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus [a] (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian [b] kingdom- 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:
"O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 "Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
"Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
15 "Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
17 "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name."

***

What is prayer?
Why do we need prayer?

If God is sovereign, why do we still need to pray?

(Genesis 1:26)
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

God’s purpose is to rule and reign over the earth.

(Ephesians 3:10- 11)
10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Belonging to a universal church is good but we need to belong to local church.

We are God’s link to His authority and activity in the earth.
God will not move without us.
We need to be the vessel that God can work through.

(2 Corinthians 5:16-21)
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors”
“We are gotta be God’s ambassadors”
Prayer is dependence on God.

Definition of Prayer/Intercession
1. Man giving to God the legal right and permission to interfere in earth’s affairs
2. Man giving God earthy license to influence earth.
3. Man exercising his legal authority on earth to call upon God’s influence on planet earth, to summon heaven’s power on earth.

(Ezekiel 22:30-31)
30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. 31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."

(Daniel 6:10)
10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

***

1. Pray with understanding and obedience to God’s word (v3a)

If you do not know God’s word, you will not pray with understanding.

(Revelation 1:3)
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Daniel pleaded with the Lord.

(Jude 3)
3Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

If you give up taking the easier route, you are contemplating faith.

2. Prayer with humidity and repentance (v3b-18)

Why did Daniel use “we”?
He identify with the people, representing and praying for them.
That is a sign of humidity.
Not self- righteous in praying.
Repentance must have an outcome of fruit.

Grow in security and maturity

3. Prayer with kingdom-mindedness (v19)

We bear your name- it must be consistent
Prayer with kingdom in mind!

The Timeless Words Of Jesus

2010-04-04T19:22:00.005+08:00

Pastor Jeff

Luke 23:32-46

Last words make lasting impression, what's important to the person, shows whether the person is ready to meet their maker.

*What do you think your last words will be?

1. Words of Forgiveness (v34)

v35-36: the people were apathetic, indifferent, sneered, hurled at Jesus, but Jesus still forgave them because He loves them.

[Matthew 26:53-54] : Jesus could have retaliate, but He chose not to

The use of 'if' shows that the people know there's possibility that Jesus is Son of God, the Messiah - they know it in their head, but not in the heart.

Put the 'if' in our hearts with faith, otherwise it will remain as it is.

[John 8:51]

2. Words of Assurance (v43)

Shows the sacrificial love of God in our lives.

When Jesus said ' I tell you the truth...', means sit up and listen

Whatever situation we are in, Jesus has words of assurance for us

[John 14:27]

[James 10:3]

[John 14:1]

*Are you listening when Jesus is speaking?

3. Words of Blessedness (v46)

All of God's goodness, power, etc. are there as Jesus had removed all obstacles between God and us.

[Ephesians 1:18-20]

The power that sent Jesus to the cross, grave and made Him alive is the same power we are experiencing now.

[John 20:15]

GOD'S AIM - Abstinence

2010-03-27T17:20:00.000+08:00

GOD'S AIM Series
Speaker: Wenjiang 28/3/2010
A for Abstinence

What is fasting?
The willing and voluntary setting aside of our appetite to talk to God and hear from God.
Appetite for food, hunger, fun, sleep.

Why is fasting good?
Do we fast to deny ourselves so that God will pity us?
Benefits of fasting/ abstinence
A. Humble ourselves before God and entrust our lives into His hands
B. To spend time to seek God
C. To be more spiritually aware of God's presence and His will for us in our lives

Instances where fasting fails/ do not work:
Fasting that fails
Isaiah 58:2-7

1. Fasting that fails to engage with the truth (v2-5)
God cannot be mocked and deceived
Fasting will fail if it is inconsistent with the truth
Matthew 6:16-18
Zechariah 7:5, 8-10

2. Fasting that fails to contend for your faith (v6)
God wants us to break from our bondages through fasting

3. Fasting that fails to lead us to compassion (v7)
It's about feeling for others that are suffering
Isaiah 58:9-14

D for Devotions (Mark1:35-39)

2010-03-21T14:16:00.003+08:00

Italics are for verses or REFLECTION POINTS

http://alexanderhope.blog.friendster.com/2010/03/d-for-devotions/

Mark 1:35-39 (Amplified Bible)

35 And in the morning, long before daylight, He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed.

36 And Simon Peter and those who were with him followed Him, pursuing Him eagerly and hunting Him out,

37 And they found Him and said to Him, Everybody is looking for You.

38 And He said to them, Let us get going on into the neighboring country towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out.

39 So He went throughout the whole of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Introduction:

ID2010 is the year of discipleship.
It occurs in 2 phases: Being a disciple to Being a disciple-maker.

Jesus is not as interested in what we do as much as WHY we do - the motives, attitudes, reasons behind it.

Disciples take responsibility for their lives!

If Jesus were to ask us if we lived out our full potential and influence for Him, can we confidently say yes to Him?

Spiritual discipline are spiritual exercises given by God to transform and strengthen us!

Devotions bring us to the highest high and sustains us in the lowest low.

Personal time with God keeps our inner fire burning - it helps us to walk closely, love God, love people and serve Him effectively!

Even Jesus spent devotional time with God!

1) The Discipline of Devotion Helps Us to KEEP OUR FOCUS (v35)

1.1) Jesus Took Deliberate and Initiative to Spend Time With God

Sunday 0300 HRS (v35....early in the morning.... as in 3am kind of EARLY)
Jesus, only nine hours after a powerful ministry, got up at 3AM to seek God.

Jesus wanted to be in the Presence of God! Jesus GOT UP Himself. Nobody woke Him up - not even the Father was mentioned in this entire passage!

1.2) Jesus Got His Life Re-Focused (v38)

The whole town of Capernaum was there.
Jesus's popularity soared because of His miracle ministry among the towns people.

Like all opportunistic humans, Jesus's disciples must have wanted to cash in and milk on His popularity.

The town loves Him- His ministry could receive alot of support and respect from the locals. With the whole town behind Him, it's hard to imagine that Jesus and His disciples will have material lack in that town!

Yet in v38 ......get going on into the NEIGHBORING country towns......that is WHY I came out.

Instead of choosing to remain in the town where everything is cool with Him, Jesus urged his disciples to move on and go to the nearby towns. He remembered God's mission for Him from the very beginning- to preach the Good News and ultimately die on the cross for Mankind!

Jesus got His life re-focused after His 3am devotions with God.

Have we been so busy fulfilling tasks and assignments that we forgot our calling in our respective marketplace (workplace, universities)?

Had you lost focus on WHY you do what you do?

Are you merely a serving machine now?
If you are, please wake up and know that God loves you as His child, and you serve Him out of love, not to hit goals or to "earn" God's favor or human approval!

Warning: Just because your ministry is doing well does not automatically mean that your personal relationship with God is doing well!!!!!!

1.3) When We Spend Time with God on a Daily Basis, We Allow God to Adjust Us on a Daily Basis

1.4) It is Most Advisable to Do Devotions in the Morning

Psalm 5:3
"In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."

Research from University of Pennsylvania had shown that the mood you start your day with has an effect on the rest of your day.

Morning is the time where you are least distracted.

We may remember to bring our keys and cash before we leave our house, but do we bring God with us before we go out?

1.5 )If you want to hear the still small voice of God, you need to be still before God!

Exodus 14:14 "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Psalm 46:10-11
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

2) The Discipline of Devotion Helps Us to CONNECT WITH GOD

Let's put the situation into perspective:

Saturday 1200 - 1800 HRS
Jesus was having a powerful miracle ministry in Mark 1:32-34

Saturday 1800 - Sunday 0300 HRS
The town people left. Jesus and His companions went to rest.

Sunday 0300 HRS (v35....early in the morning.... as in 3am kind of EARLY)
Jesus, only nine hours after a powerful ministry (and tangibly experiencing God's presence and anointing working through Him), got up at 3AM to seek God.

In contrast, we often left the Bible in our bags after we returned home on Saturday night after service.

2.1) It is not Enough to Connect with God Only a Few Times per Week

Connection with God is our source of strength and anointing!

Connection with God cannot be accumulated! Do you eat buffet one day and then go without food the next day?

John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

2.2) The Human Heart Wanders Easily

The Gospel of Mark recounts Jesus's solitary time with God on 3 occasions:

Mark 1 After the miracle ministry in Capernaum

Mark 6 After feeding the 5000

Mark 14 The night before Jesus was arrested.

Do you feel tired physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually?

What gets you the most distracted from God?

What takes away so much energy from us?

eg. family issues, burdens and tasks, strained relationships, repeated failures, worries?

WILLINGNESS NEEDS TO BECOME INTENTIONALITY

SPEND TIME WITH THE GOD WHO WANTS TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU!

E-sermon : Outreach- What does it mean to outreach, really?"

2010-03-14T18:53:00.006+08:00

Becoming a disciple: God's Aim Part 2

13/3/10 - Joshua

Outreach- What does it mean to outreach, really?

[romans 10;14-15]
[Philippians2:12-14]

1) Working out of our salvation (v12-13)

-What does it mean to be saved?
-We approach God with fear and trembling because God is holy.
-He opposed to sin
-We shld live a life worthy of the Gospel
-God will help us in the work of salvation if we co-operate with God.
-If our realtionship with God is seared, we will see no value in doing God's works.

[1timothy 4:16]

2) Being blameless (v14-16)

-Do things without complaining or arguing when doing God's work
-we are still trapped in a cycle of "i hav not enough" and we tend to forget to give thanks to God with wad we have now
-when times are bad, what's ur response towards helping fellow brothers and sisters?

3) Be committed (v17-18)

-Time is short
-What u intend to carry to ur next life?

[2 Cor 5:11-15]

Godly Fellowship

2010-03-06T18:11:00.001+08:00

Becoming a disciple: GOD'S AIM
10 Part Series

Gathering for fellowship
Outreach
Devotion with God
Stewardship
Abstinence
Intercession
Ministering to God

Acts 2:42-47
Pastor Jeff Chong 06.03.2010
Part 1: Gathering for fellowship

1. To experience covenantal relationship (v42b,44-46)
- Committed to fellowship
- It's about covenantal relationship
Hebrews 10:24-25
- People didn't meet for fellowship for convenience, they were devoted and committed towards it
- Be committed to work things out biblically

Commit to authenticity
- in order to experience fellowship, there must be authenticity
- no secrets between them
Genesis 2:9-10
- only can be loved to the extent that we are known
- authenticity preceeds community
James 5:16a

2. To experience God (v42-43, v46b-47)
2.1 Through His words
Acts 2:42 Proverbs 25:11-12

2.2 Through Communion
- experience silence to seek God
Isaiah 30:15a

2.3 Through Prayer, Praise and Worship
Acts 2:46-47
Acts 2:42

Relationships series - Friendships

2010-03-01T16:10:00.001+08:00

Hong Teck

Ecclesiastes 4:9-11
Lasting friendships in the church is possible and 4 ways to build lasting friendships in church are..

1) Insist on growing honesty in our friendships Proverbs 27:5

Why is there open rebuke in a marriage? It's because marriage is a lasting friendship, and there has to be honesty in marriage.
The only reason why marriage/friendships breakdown, is cos communication does not exist. So steps to undertake for building honesty in friendships.
Step 1, call a friend for a drink
Step 2, come slightly late
Step 3, come looking distraught
Step 4, and ask what's wrong with me

God is likely to use your friend to tell you what's wrong with you.

After all, your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you!

2) Express appreciation openly

Encourage one another frequently, our friends are burnt out because they are discouraged, if we love them, we gotta constantly show them we appreciate them!

3) Practice trust first, & let distrust be earned.
Wounds from a friend can be trusted.
The level of distrust is high in our world today. Society is moving away from community, to individuality.
As God's people, we have to live like hos children! To trust first, and let distrust be earned! Trust our leaders, submit to them so that their work will be a joy!
Leaders must also trust their people, and believe in them.
The foundations of Friendships are based on trust first!

Everyone we meet is likely to be human, they'll have good and bad sides. So the key is to Try to look for the good side of the person!

We can never replace a friend. When a man is fortunate enough to have many friends, they will all have unique aspects that make them special.

4) Beware of sweet things
The enemy multiplies kisses, beware of things that are too good to be true. Sweet things are sweet for a reason, they tempt us into distorting the truth. In friendship there are 4 types of sweet things. The temptations of 4 Ps.

1) temptation of possessions
2) temptation of people's adoration
3) temptation of power
4) temptation of possessiveness

Don't let possessions hold you, Tan Qian Shang Gan Qing. (Direct trans: Talk money hurts feelings)

Don't let peoples adoration get to you. The temptation of power is when we let ourselves think we are deserving of all these things. We see ourselves higher than what we are.
Balance out perceptions, know where your security lies, it lies in God.

Phillipians 3:16
Don't try to falsify more than you are, all people have attained a level of character.
Colossians 3:12-14
I am a lean mean loving machine!!

An Outstanding Young Adult

2010-02-21T14:13:00.006+08:00

Ps Simon Eng
Genesis 39:1-7

Joseph accomplished his fullest potential in life through God.
God has a plan for all of us. We have a significant purpose for our lives, ordained by God, so...

How to get to God's destination?
Firstly, We are in a preparation stage. The process of preparation has to be full, for us to fulfill our fullest potential for God.

1) Wholeheartedness towards God.
We can see that though Joseph went through many difficult circumstances, even so Joseph never gave up on God. His heart was never disappointed to God, he learnt to trust God completely.
What causes me to last to the end of the race, is the preparation of my heart.
Throughout all of his circumstances, through the entire race, his heart remained loyal to God.

*Key note* God's favour is with those who walk right with him.

God was with Joseph in all that he did, because Joseph's walk was right with God.

App point:
Be wholehearted towards God.

2) Righteous living
Joseph chose righteousness as a servant, as a prisoner, as a second in command in all the kingdom.

Do I choose righteousness in all that I do?

a) He was righteous in what he possessed. Joseph did not steal from his master. Do we steal from others? Their time, energy, possessions? (Do we steal office supplies..) Don't take shortcuts in your job.

b) Dont engage in immoral activities. Keep your moral life intact before God.
There is spiritual warfare involved even in the seemingly harmless things we do. It is a vicious cycle, don't let the devil have a foothold.

*Key note* God favours the righteous. God's strength and annointing is with the righteous. God can restore our hearts, but we will bear the consequences. We reap what we sow, so don't sow the seeds of destruction.

c) Responsibilities given to me.
We must be faithful and trustworthy on everything that we handle.
Responsibility entrusted to you unveils our faithfulness or unfaithfulness.

The smallness of the task, unveils the bigness of our hearts.
Jesus says he who is faithful with the little, will be faithful with the much.
Honesty and integrity is proven when no one is watching.

3) Perseverance

Even as Joseph persevered through the many seasons of his life, he came out of them with a stronger faith and character.
Perseverance is the internal self-discipline of never giving up. Without self-discipline we'll never reach our goal. Go through each season, and come out stronger.

Building better relationship. Turn your house into your home.

2010-02-13T00:12:00.001+08:00

12th Feb 2010
Touch Centre
7:45pm - 9:45pm

LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Sermon Verse
1 Peter 4:8

(1) Make it your top priority to LOVE
House is made of walls.
Home is made of love.

Money can buy house, but money can't buy love in a family.

(2) Make every excuse to express LOVE
EMILY. Every minute i LOVE you - Express your Love

Proverbs 27:5

1 John 4:19
We love because He first loved.

Romans 5:8

Ephesians 2:8-9

Love is a catalyst to heal relationship.
Love covers all evil.

(3) Make LOVE your catalyst to better relationship

Proverbs 10:12

Pour sugar into bitter coffee to make it sweet.
Likewise, pour LOVE into stagnant relationship

Giving LOVE is the best when things are not going well, covers multitude of sins.

Initiate LOVE.

Proverbs 11:27

Proverbs 25:21-22

2010-02-07T10:01:00.003+08:00

Understanding singlehood--to be or not to be
[1 Cor 7:25-38]

man has walked away from the will or desires of God (far away from God)

1) Understand that we have a choice: be content (v25,36-38)

-God is not telling us that we MUST get married/ be single (we have a choice)

3 kinds of singles: by creation, by circumstances, by choice

1.BY CREATION: gift of celibacy
-dont have the desire to get married
-very focused,high flyers.
[1 Cor 7:7]

2.BY CIRCUMSTANCES:
-right person hasnt come along yet, studying, not married

3.BY CHOICE:
-could be married if they want to but they decided not to
BAD: they may have suffered previous hurts b4.
-MOST IMPORTANTLY, they must know why they are doing it.
[Matt 19:12]

ARE YOU SINGLE BY CREATION, BY CIRCUMSTANCES, BY CHOICE?
[Philippians 4:11,13]
Be @ peace with God, no matter what happened.
[Psalms 118:24]
- If we're not whole now, we will see difficulties in our marriage one day.
-to understand why we are where we are.

2)Understand singlehood has its benefits: Be devoted (v26-35)

(a)Singles can easier deal with catastrophes (v26-28)
[Prov 21:9,25:24]
-Are you ready to go thru e problems of marriage?

CRISIS: one crisis is seeing Christ-less ppl march towards Christ-less eternity.
(many ppl are gg to leave this world without coming to know God)
-the media is also playing a part in bringing ppl away from God.

(b)Singles can give a larger and greater portion of time to the Kingdom (v29-31)
-whatever we see on earth is temporary

(c) Singles can have a complete and undivided devotion to Christ (v32-35)
-married women have to think of how to please her husband.

In our hearts, we decide how we want to devote our time for the Lord.
--> be sure of our choice and why we made the choice.

Why Fulfilling the Great Commision is Possible?

2010-01-31T19:11:00.003+08:00

Speaker Pastor Jeff
Verse Matthew 28:16-20
Date 30th Jan 2010

1) God's Amazing Grace(v16-17)
- enables us to do great things
- His grace is sufficient for you (in whatever level of faith you currently have now)

1 Corinthians 15:9-10

When God sees the desires of your heart, His grace will bring us through.
Faith is needed in the process.

2) God's Complete Authority
*All authority has been given to us

Matthew 16:18-19

ASK God to open doors for you
ASK for passion & faith

Let's not be another Singaporean but let's really look into the world through His lens not ours, allow God to use our certificate to His plans.

3) God's Inseparable Presence
- in the context of fulfilling the Great commision not our needs like "give me a decent job"

John 14:21

Let's really experience Him by obeying Him, only then He will reveal to us His Vision.

Knowing God's Will for us

2010-01-25T23:48:00.002+08:00

Speaker: Wenjiang

Title: Knowing God's Will for us

Verse: John 21:15-17

Date: 23-Jan-10

1. God's will for us to receive His Will

Did you truly receive God's love?

2. God's will for us is to be fully committed to Him

3. God's will is for us to give His love to others

E-SERMON: INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP 2010

2010-01-18T20:51:00.006+08:00

17 January
Combined Service
Senior Pastor Jeff Chong

We need to prepare ourselves to be the new wineskin

1. Prepare our lives

2. Prepare our leadership

a. We need to have the right character
b. We need to be competent

3. Prepare our base camp

a. Unless the Lord build the house, we labour in pain >> so that we can reach out locally and globally
b. “Building Up” ; “Reaching Out”
c. We are as strong as “everyone is strong”

(Matthew 28:18-20)
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Becoming a disciple
A disciple is defined as:
- a follower
- a trained person
- one who embraces and assist in spreading the teachings of another

Jesus desire us to be disciple.

Crowd + Disciple

(Matthew 14: 22)
Jesus Walks on the Water
22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.

(Matthew 23:11)
11The greatest among you will be your servant.

He loved the crowd but he wants the crowd to grow up to be disciple.
There is a difference between crowd and disciple.
God wants us to be a disciple.

A) DISCIPLE ACQUIRES GOOD SPIRITUAL HABITS

GODS AIM

What are God’s aim?
They are necessary habits that help disciple to stay in line with God’s purpose for them. Therefore, spiritual habits are important.

G – Gathering
O – Outreach
D – Devotion
S – Stewardship
A – Abstinence
I – Intercession
M – Ministering to God

(Isaiah 43:18-19)
18 "Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

Do things in a fresh way!

B) DISCIPLE TAKES PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR SPIRITUAL LIVES

Spend time to do devotion, pray, fasting, outreach >> These are spiritual habits.

(Psalms 23:1)
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
Most abuse verse

C) DISCIPLE POSSESS GODLY ATTITUDES

The beautiful attitude brings about God’s approval

(Luke 14:25-27)
The Cost of Being a Disciple
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

“I want to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ!”

D) BECOMING A DISCIPLEMAKER
A true disciple makes disciples

(Matthew 28:18-20)
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

(Galatians 4:19)
19My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

E) DISCIPLEMAKERS ARE INTENTIONAL TO TEACH AND TO MODEL

(Matthew 5:19b)
19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

(2Timothy 3:10)
Paul's Charge to Timothy
10You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,

Frequency of meet-up is important. We got to be intentional.

(Philipians 3:10-11)
10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead

Encountering God

2010-01-10T22:18:00.004+08:00

Uni-YA Service 09 January 2010

By Pastor Michael

Encountering God
2 Kings 5:1-18

Naaman Healed of Leprosy
1 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. [a]
2 Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

4 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents [b] of silver, six thousand shekels [c] of gold and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy."

7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!"

8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."

11 But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.

13 Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant."

16 The prophet answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.

17 "If you will not," said Naaman, "please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. 18 But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this."

-To encounter God is to experience the reality and the power God in my life
-To encounter God is to receive from God the breakthrough and miracle I need

Keys to Encountering God

The 1st Key: Faith (v1-9)

Luke 4:24-27

How can we cultivate faith?

-Ensure that you have sufficient and regular word intake
Romans 10:17
1 Thessalonians 5:23
-Remind yourself of your own personal testimonies

The 2nd Key: Humility (v4,10-18)

Expressions of Humility
-Willingness to listen (v4,10-14)
-Obedience (v11-14)
-Thanksgiving and worship (v15-17)

Hindrances to humility
-Status (v1)
-Pre-conceived Ideas (v11)
-Human Logic (v12)
Numbers 12:3
Isaiah 57:15

What's so special about Christmas?

2009-12-23T01:48:00.002+08:00

1) The Relevance of Christmas: God came to Earth (v5 - 8a)

5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man

(Col 1:15-16) Jesus is the visible image of God
(Matt 26:62-66) Jesus is fully God
(Phil 2: 7-8) Jesus is fully Man

God became man because He wants to fully identify with us! Jesus is very ordinary like every man on earth this is so that He can understand us. (Heb 4:15-16)

2) The Reason of Christmas: Jesus Came to Die (v8b)

he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Jesus live to die. His purpose on earth is to DIE! Why did Jesus die? He loves us.
(John 3:16)
(Romans 5:8)
(1 Peter 2:24)
(Luke 2:11-12)

3) The Result of Christmas: Jesus Is LORD (v9-11)

9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The cross of Jesus is not the end, Jesus died and rose again. He is alive today.
Lord means Master, Ruler, King of Kings, Boss. He has complete control.

Jesus is Lord means He takes the number 1 position.
(John 21:7)
(Romans 10:9)

We give our life to God.

Keeping true to the Covenant

2009-12-14T02:32:00.001+08:00

Date: 12.12.2009

Speaker: Wenjiang

Passage: Nehemiah 13:1-31

What Nehemiah found out of the pple?

-No1 observed Sabbath

-Ungodly marriages

Judges 3:7-9/ 3:12-15

-people are prone of turning away from God

1. Ensuring there is no enemy intrusion (v1-9)

-Does the devil have a foothold in areas of our lives?

-What is a foothold?--> Consistently falling into something which draws us away from God

-Prolonged foothold will lead to→Stronghold

Mat12:43-45

-We can clear up our house or things around us but it won’t forever remain that way it needs constant clearing up.

-To overcome stronghold something needs to be filled to occupy that void within us (God is a good void occupier!)

-Turning away is not enuff ensure that its occupied wit the right things→replace with a desire to live for God do not leave it empty.

-Grow in the things which builds up the house

-Danger→we may grow into a harden hard

-When we are faced with stronghold ask ourselves”Are we loving n desiring of God more n more??”

-Root issue is more important den our actions or words or verbal repentance

1 Peter 5:8

-Struggling with things again n again how can we reflect a changed life?

2. Ensuring there is support for God's assignments (v10-14)

-God has entrusted us wit the church so it needs financing

-Ensure there is support in doing God's work!

-Give our best so that the work of God is not compromised

Haggai 1:2-4

-Are we building our own paneled houses instead of his?

-Do not allow our worries to eat us up!

3. Ensuring your heart is at rest (v15-22)

Mat 21:12-14

Mark 2:27-Sabbath was given by God to us to remember God's covenant

3.1 To rest from stress

Deu 5:12-14

-Our emotions will affect our ability to think and live out the life God has intend of us therefore rest when rest is needed!

3.2 Rest from distress

Deu 5:15

-Remember God is in control of our lives.

4. Ensuring there is no incompatible Partnership (v23-28)

-Today are we unequally yoke wit someone who is not a follower God?

-Putting God where he’s suppose to be!

-Testing will arise when we try to put God where he should beà stand firm!

-Are our lives changed or is it just a change in schedules? (We just occupied with more church stuffs and deem we are “serving” hard)

Aids for changes:

a) Holy spirit

-Be sensitive to His prompting

-Be honest and seek God over the issue we struggle

b) Spur one another on

-“Nag” at one another to obey/ love God

-Speaking truths into one another

Title: The Worshipping Community

2009-12-14T02:01:00.002+08:00

Date: 13.12.2009

Speaker: Wenjiang

Passage: Nehemiah 12:1-47

Theme: Rebuilding our community

Proverbs 3:5-6

-The path may not be easy but God is With us!

-God is not mystical (Beyond human understanding)

1. Giving of ourselves to God (V1-30)

-To be holy means to set apart (1 Peter 2:9)

Romans 12:1

-Worship is more den singing its giving of ourselves holy to God

-Build a church that every member lives out for God

-How do we practically offer ourselves to God?

àbeing active in sharing of our faith!

2 cor 5:18-20

-If we have the desire to share Christ God will open door

2. Giving of our praises to God (v31-43)

-Act of faith to claim God's blessings

Gen 13:17

Joshua 1:3

-Praise n worship God wit a right understanding

-Watch out that we do not fall into lip singing by really checking and a lining our hearts

-Praising and worshiping provides a testimony to the enemies n for the world to see God through us through good or bad times

-Worshipping during hard times we are telling the devil feelings come n go but God will never change..

-It also proves our reliance and strengthens our inner man!

Romans 8:28

3. Giving of our resources to God (V12:44)

-They gave joyfully n cheerfully

-It’s better not to give than to give out of obligation.

-Dollars n cents can be spiritual if we give it with the right heart

Phil 4:18

-At the end God sees the value of wad we have given him not the financial amount.

My Personal Reflections

2009-12-04T12:12:00.002+08:00

When faced with a dead-end in my ministry, more often than not, I get demoralized when I do not see tangible fruits even after praying for long periods of time. Then this innate challenge from me to God arises. “God! Help me with this issue by _dateline_. I need to see You work. I want to call it quits, yet, I know that by doing so, I will be sinning against You. When is then a time to give up and pursue greener pastures in the lives of others?”

The fighting spirit we caught in our secondary school and college days are not of without use. I got to learn to translate this fighting spirit and make it submissive to the WOG. I need to have the spiritual fighting spirit! Fight on because we do not live for ourselves. Fight on because we know that one word from God can change eternity. Fight on because we never know when the moment of divine intervention will just occur. Fighting spirit means being available to God no matter the circumstances. Though I may be crushed in my spirit, if I choose to obey and avail myself, God will use me.

I remember the time where I obeyed the Holy Spirit to just pick up my phone and call a friend. That chat over the phone, the HS moved so strongly and it prompted me to invite him down for the ESS which will be happening 2 days later. Certainly it wasn’t planned out. Sat came and he raised his hands in response to accepting Christ to be his Lord and Savior. The feeling of walking down the aisle with him to the altar was one of true joy and relief. Salvation is here.

When we decide to wage war with the devil, he will not sit back and let us attack his kingdom. He will wield out his WMD, comprising of the perception of us by others when we share the Good News, the fear of rejection, the fear of losing our status, being a goody nice polite Christian by not actively living out the Word. Many incidents where I have given such excuses, including “That person looks fine. How can effectively share the WOG when he/she doesn’t seem to have any need?” How wrong I was. Everyone has a soul/spirit. Everyone needs God.

It becomes dangerous when we take the worldly values as to gauge which Godly values we will obey. If we follow social norms, would God be smiling at homosexuality activities? Would God be pleased with us when we party our youth away? Would God be proud with the fact that we cheat in examinations to attain high marks and then give glorify to Him? Homosexuality, partying, cheating has become an acceptable part of society. All these are of the world. What does God say?

From the article, I was reminded that what my physical eyes see might not be what God sees.

Under the section of “Not Closed At All”, I pondered and saw the intrinsic link to the 4 BUTS OF OUTREACHING as preached in GC. It was only when Luis chose to believe in the power of God, when he chose to hear from God, when he chose to preach the WOG, when he chose to be sent, he was empowered by God. Linking this back to my life, had I not come to accept Christ, I would not have known His goodness. I would then not be able to pass down this Good News to my friend. Had I not chosen to hear from the HS, things would not be in this way! Had I not mustered the courage to share the WOG and decide to go forth, HE WOULD NOT BE SERVING HARD IN THE KOG TODAY.

I must remain equipped. I must be relevant in knowing current affairs, sports, the WOG, sharing current life testimonies, EQ, culture, games etc. What I do not know, I must be willing to find out.

Lifestyle is a very powerful tool, act of worship, and for evangelism. Without the proper guidance and on-job-training (OJT), it would be extremely difficult for others to catch this vision and mission. Skills need to be sharpened, and God needs to be bigger while the self must diminish.

Lead me back to the cross, where I was born.

bentay

It Is Hard... So What?

2009-12-04T10:15:00.001+08:00

Telling Others the Gospel, Even When It's Difficult

Luis Palau

Renowned Evangelist

Telling others the gospel isn't easy. I know -- as a young man, I was convinced I didn't have the gift of evangelism. It was obvious. No matter how hard I tried, no one was coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing I did seemed to make a difference. I was inspired by the things I read and heard about Billy Graham's ministry, but I knew I didn't have his gifts.

I remember giving God a deadline: If I don't see any converts by the end of the year, I'm quitting. Oh, I would still be an active Christian, but I planned to resign myself to simply teaching other believers.

The end of the year came and went. No converts. My mind was made up: Now I was sure I didn't have the gift of evangelism.

On Saturday about four days into the New Year, the small church I attended in Argentina held a home Bible study. I didn't feel like going, but went anyway out of loyalty to the elders.

The fellow who was supposed to give the Bible study never showed up. So the man of the house said, Luis, you are going to have to say something. I was completely unprepared. I had been reading a book by Billy Graham, however, based on the beatitudes. So I read Matthew 5:1-12 and simply repeated whatever I remembered from Dr. Graham's book.

As I was commenting on the beatitude, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, a lady suddenly stood up. She began to cry: My heart is not pure. How can I see God? Somebody tell me how I can get a pure heart.

I don't remember the woman's name, but I will never forget her words: Somebody tell me how I can get a pure heart. Together we read in the Bible, The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin (1 John 1:7). Before the evening was over, that woman found peace with God and went home with a pure heart overflowing with joy. How delightful it was to lead her to Jesus Christ!

When you win someone to Christ, it's the greatest joy. Your graduation is exciting, your wedding day is exciting, your first baby is exciting. But the most thrilling thing you can ever do is to win someone to Christ.

Yet today, in an effort to be sophisticated and contemporary, many Christians have stopped trying to persuade others to follow Christ. There's an underlying feeling in our society that nice people just don't go around persuading other people to do things. We don't want to offend people, appear strange, or lose our newfound status. So we do nothing.

I, too, have been guilty of this. When I lived in Mexico City, my next-door neighbor was a young television personality. We would chat from time to time, and he even mentioned that he listened to our radio program occasionally. But I didn't share the Gospel with him. After all, I thought, he seems completely immune to the problems of life.

Eventually, though, my neighbor changed. The joy seemed to have left his face. He and his wife started driving separate cars to work. I could tell their marriage was souring, and I felt the need to talk with him, but I didn't want to meddle in his life. I went about my business and headed off for an evangelistic crusade in Peru. After all, that was the polite thing to do.

When I returned home, I learned my neighbor had killed himself. I was heartbroken. I knew I should have gone to him and persuaded him to repent and follow Christ. But because of false courtesy, because I followed a social norm I didn't do it.

It's very convenient to make excuses for not persuading others to follow Christ. We may say we don't want to be overbearing or offensive. We may think we can't possibly witness to someone because he or she will become angry.

Not Closed At All

But over the years I have learned that some of the people I thought would be most closed to the Gospel often are the most receptive. Although they may outwardly fear it, in their hearts they welcome the message of the Gospel.

I saw this attitude clearly during a visit to the Soviet Union. Christians there were persecuted for decades. Now, evangelism is permitted. I've traveled all over the world, and I've never seen a place as hungry and desperate to hear the Gospel. But many Soviet Christians are just beginning to realize the fields are white already to harvest.

Just before my evangelistic team's Soviet campaign was over, a Baptist pastor brought an acquaintance to one of our meetings in Moscow. The friend, head of an academic department at the university and a leading scientist, listened as I preached the Gospel. Then, to the pastor's surprise, this scientist prayed out loud to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior. And then, with tears, he came forward to confess Christ publicly.

The Russian pastor was astonished at his friend's response to the Gospel. He was equally surprised by the phone call he received at 7:15 the next morning. I would like to express my gratitude to you, the scientist said. You invited me to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. I didn't sleep the whole night. I just prayed. I asked God whether He would accept me, whether He would pardon me.

So the pastor asked, Well, do you think God pardoned you? And his friend replied, Yes, I'm absolutely sure that God accepts me as His prodigal son. Later the pastor told me, I never thought a scientist would accept the Lord Jesus as Savior. But now I've seen it with my own eyes. What a great experience!

Having a part in leading a friend or acquaintance to faith in Jesus Christ is exciting. But actually praying with someone who wants to make that decision is even more thrilling.

Yet I've seen Christians lead someone to the point of decision and then panic. A Christian woman was witnessing to a Hungarian businesswoman sitting in front of me on a flight from Budapest to London. At the same time our team's European director and I were discussing the evangelistic rally we had in Budapest the day before.

While we were talking the Christian woman stood up, turned around and said, Excuse me. Are you talking about the rally yesterday with Luis Palau? I said yes. Do you know where brother Palau is? I said that was me. Then she said, I've been talking to this Hungarian lady, and I think she's ready to be converted. But I don't know how to do it.

I told her, I've been listening to what you've been saying and you've done a terrific job. But she felt afraid of doing something wrong when it came time to pray with someone who was ready to receive Christ.

I agreed to talk with the Hungarian businesswoman for a minute. Did you understand what this lady said to you?

Yes.

Are you ready to trust Christ and follow Him?

Yes.

At that, I asked the Christian woman to lead her in a prayer. I could have done it myself. It would have been great. But I just sat back and watched as the Christian woman in front of me at first hesitated, then turned to this Hungarian woman, put her arm around her, and for the first time led someone to Christ.

A Challenge

I challenge you to pray: Dear God, I want that experience. I want to know what it is to win someone to Jesus Christ.

Why be ashamed of the Gospel? It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). It changes lives here and now, and for eternity!

The Dutch evangelist Corrie ten Boom had a God-given desire to win others to Christ. One of her poems says, When I enter that beautiful city / And the saints all around me appear, / I hope that someone will tell me: / It was you who invited me here.

Whatever our place in the Body of Christ, let's actively and prayerfully invite others into God's kingdom. After all, God doesn't have a plan A, a plan B and a plan C for evangelizing the world. He has only one plan and that's you and me.

Copyright 2001 -- Luis Palau -- All Rights Reserved.

adapted from http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/1172292/

Feel free to air your reflections here.

e-Sermon 28.11.09

2009-12-02T11:32:00.001+08:00

Title: The Keys of a Strong Community

Date: 28.11.09

Speaker: Wenjiang

Passage: [Nehemiah 11]

-During this time, Jerusalem was actually empty.

-[Nehemiah 7:4-5]

-Jerusalem had been rebuilt, but no one inhabited the place!

-An empty city is actually a defenseless one.

-In the OT, the physical things that happened to the Israelites are a reflection of what is happening to us spiritually.

-Spiritually speaking, will God find an empty temple/city/church?

-Would God come back and find His people (who have everything needed to do what He wants them to do) being unfruitful?

-“populate Jerusalem” – God wants us to be present in His temple.

1) The Key of Sacrifice (v1-2b)

-These Israelites owned properties, but they left their own houses to build God’s church.

-Sacrifice is needed to build God’s house!

-[2 Samuel 24:23-24] – David said this: “…I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David wanted to use the threshing floor to present offerings to God (build an altar to the Lord, v21). He wanted to give God a sacrifice that cost him something.

-“This is what I signed up for, and this is what I need to do.”

-Sacrifice is needed so that we don’t give something to God that costs us nothing at all.

-But when God calls us to do something, it is entirely up to us whether to respond or not.

2) The Key of Affirmation (v2a)

-The people went to Jerusalem voluntarily.

-Do we commend people who make a difference in our lives? Who willingly sacrifice?

-Do we take time to affirm what they have done for us?

-It takes people with a servant’s heart to go the extra mile for people. Do we affirm them?

-Give the commendation when it is due.

-[Romans 13:6-7] – When it is due, give the proper affirmation.

-[1 Timothy 5:17-20] – “worthy of double honour”

-[1 Corinthians 4:8-21] – Are we giving honour where it is due? Are we swayed by the words of the people around you when their words are not of God? Do you stand up for what’s right?

-Affirm what’s right!

3) The Key of Involvement (v3-36)

-These verses talked about who was in where and what they were serving as.

-All the Israelites were involved in one way or another.

-Sometimes when we do things frequently, we get complacent. Or we get discouraged and disillusioned.

-We start to focus on doing the ministry instead of God.

-Serving is like being on the military frontline. For the frontline to hold, the ENTIRE frontline must hold.

-Each and every one of us is in the frontline.

-We move forward in the frontline when we grow.

-But sometimes, the going gets tough and it becomes a matter of digging in and holding on. – When we get discouraged and disillusioned.

-As we all honour God and keep to His Word, God will be faithful.

-Continue to do what’s right. Continue to be involved.

-FAITHFULNESS.

-Will we be faithful to FINISH what God has called us to do? To hold our part of the frontline that God has called us to hold?

-God will not test us beyond what we can bear.

-Be faithful.

-Do what God has called you to do!

-[1 Corinthians 10:13] – do you still choose to believe this verse when the going gets tough?

-Live it out. 1 Corinthians 10:13 will be proven true when we live it out.

Another verse I came across the other day, in relation to the point about sacrifice:

Psalm 4:5 – Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord.

-Li Yin (:

Hope Run

2009-11-24T01:12:00.001+08:00

Run For Hope 2009

10 seem like a small digit. But when it comes to running, it does seem daunting for a person who has been feasting non-stop and not been exercising for months. Factor in the 3 plus hours of sleep the night before and having meat buffet, suddenly, the run looks horrifying.

This run is indeed a very memorable one for me not solely for the fact that we interacted and encouraged one another during it, but also for other things that happened before the run. On sat night (the night before the run), I bumped into an old JC friend in Carnivore when I was there for a SJI gathering. On the train to Benson’s house, another old friend of mine caught my attention. He has just touched down from Australia a couple of days back. After he alighted, I bumped into another old friend. We had hearty chats on the train.

While waiting for Benson at the Mac’s, a young man walked past me and waved. Another old friend! I just cannot bring myself to believe this – bumping into 4 random old friends. I enjoyed the time at Benson’s house watching soccer and wrapping exam packs.

The next morning, had a very short breakfast with Benson and Jolene. This was our pre-run activity and we shared some laughter. Shortly after, I remember the time we started running as a group of 5 (Jolene, Benson, Cai Xuan, Jesline and myself). It has since been a long time that I last ran in a group. Rarely do I like running in a group of friends due to different running pace. I always like the run at the head of the pack so that there would not be any obstruction by other runners and that I can keep my momentum. There is no responsibility in running alone too, where I don’t have to inform anyone anything, which frees my mind for other thoughts and appreciation of nature. So, this run is a new experience where I was able to take it slow.

To breeze through 10km would not be much of an issue; unfortunately, life runs much more than 1 hr for that 10km. Amidst the hectic schedule of UB, I managed to make full use of the time I had to talk to another Buffalo.

The sheer number of participants only goes to show the big heart inside many people. I am so proud that there are so many people who are ready to chip in for a worthy cause. Can this be then translated to the cause of Christ Jesus? I’d love to see all denominations gather together for this very cause. I’d love to see all of us in there. Never give in, never give up. The devil may strike, but we (us and God) will fight.

bentay

Hope Run 2009

2009-11-23T10:18:00.003+08:00

At the start of the race, the sight of the young, the old, the middle age, the youths, the disabled is a truly inspiring. You see most of them running to their best ability here, perhaps still full of energy? I saw the parallel how wonderful it is to run in this race of faith with God, with many other brothers and sisters! Some might be young in faith, some might be older, some is running despite their personal setbacks and hurts, but everyone is running and doing their best to finish the race.

As i was running along with caixuan, there are many times along the journey i wanted to initiate to stop and walk. Walking is surely a easier option! Less straining and tiring for the body! I remember the times in my life, even now, that you may feel tempted not to pray, tempted to play church without God in the picture, tempted to do the easier way out. As I thought of these, i remembered what i wanted to grow in for this season! Being disciplined in God, to continue to focus on Him and do things according to His ways, obeying fully and not taking short cuts!

We are reaching almost half the journey, when most of us are scattered throughout the race tracks already, some ahead of us, some behind us. But since caixuan and I decided that we will do the entire race together, we stick together throughout. If ah cai tired then i will walk with her and similarly otherwise even if we feel like running ahead on our own. I remembered the covenant we had with one another! The promise we share in building each other up in God, the promise to stick together for support, love and protection in this spiritual family. If we are truly committed to this, we can be the ones who will pull our team mates on when they are tired, we can encourage them, help them, 'scold them' for their good, push them but never desert them! When we are committed to each other in sticking together, there is a greater chance that all of us will make it to the end together! BUT it takes the heart of deciding and choosing to love and commit to your team.

This race is meaningful, even though i am very tired due to the lack of rest and training prior to the race. However, i thank God for the fellowship and many lessons i learnt! Hope to be trained continuous in my self-disciplince. :)

Jesline

REnewing Our Covenant With God :)

2009-11-22T21:27:00.003+08:00

REBUILDING OUR COMMUNITY SERIES
BOOK OF NEHEMIAH

TITLE: RENEWING OUR COVENANT WITH GOD
REFERENCE: NEHEMIAH 9:38 - 10:39
SPEAKER: Wen Jiang

(INTRODUCTION)

The Israelites were disobedient and rebellious, taking God for granted yet not repentant of their sins. They had broken their covenant with God.

Now they come together once again to renew their covenant with God.

(1) THEY RENEWED THEIR COVENANT WITH GOD SERIOUSLY AND COMPLETELY
[NEHEMIAH 9:38, 10:28-29]

God deserves nothing less than my whole heart - He is worthy!

God knows all my struggles and thoughts, yet He is also sovereign and in controL!

(2) THEY RENEWED THEIR COVENANT SPECIFICALLY
[NEHEMIAH 10:30-39]

(2.1) NO MORE MIXED MARRIAGES (10:30)

To not be unequally yoked - in their context, they prohibit mixed marriage because of the conditions it entails, which will eventually result in the Israelites' deviation and backsliding from God.

PRINCIPLE: Righteousness - Follow God, not worldly systems!

Matthew 6:33

PERSONAL QUESTION: Do I consult Godly counsel? Do I only selectively listen to God's Truth?

2 Corinthians 6:14-15 Do not be swayed by worldly advice.

1 Peter 2:9-10 Walk out from the darkness - do not dwell in it!

(2.2) OBSERVE THEIR SABBATH BETTER (10:31)

Without Jesus's cleansing us, we'll not be able to be holy. But now that He died for us, we can be holy!

PRINCIPLE: Holiness - Be set apart and holy, just as I Am holy.

1 Peter 1:13-16

My mind needs to be renewed - to have the attitude of Christ and to live according to His Word!

PERSONAL QUESTION: We often bring our mentality from our old way of life (or our perspectives while growing up) into our present life. What are some unbiblical or unsure ideals I hold on to dearly?

Make a clean break from my old ways!

(2.3) TAKE CARE OF THE HOUSE OF GOD (10:32-39)

We serve God and bring our firstfruits to His House. We grow and mature through humbly receiving guidance and feedback, and improving in serving God and His people!

Malachi 3:10 Time, resources, money, talents - it's more blessed to give than to receive!

Malachi 3:14-15 Give to God my commitment to serve Him and follow His ways all the way!

Matthew 13:24-26, 29-30 God had sown good seeds in our lives but somehow weeds had grown and crowded the wheats!

Whatever God had started in your life, He had started by sowing the good seed of salvation =D Along the way, we all need some weed cleansing!

PERSONAL QUESTION: What do we need to weed out today so that God can lead us to a harvest of righteousness in our lives!

Psalm 119:105

I may not see the full picture yet but as much and as far as I know, I will choose to respond fully and wholeheartedly to God.

Run for Hope 2009

2009-11-22T15:14:00.006+08:00

Hey everyone,

HAPPY SUN-DAY!! After a few days of raining, the sun is finally out today! Today was a sunny day and also a day of running for some of us. Today (22 November), some of us(junyao, jesline, shuning, bentay, benson, jolene, caixuan, liping and I )woke up super early in the morning and went for Run for Hope 2009.

Photos taken after the run.

Do we look shag?

When 6 girls tried to squeeze into benson's car..

- JasmIne

Our reflections after the race

JasmIne:
Two words flashed in my mind while I was running - "Momentum" and "Perseverance". The race reminded me of our spiritual run with God.

At the start of the race, all of us was very excited and woohoo for the race. We ran together with the partners beside us. At some point of time, we felt tired, we feel like giving up. But it's because of the partners beside us who keep cheering for us, running together with us that we continue the race.
How does it relate to our spiritual walk?
At times when we face spiritual dryness, we feel like giving up this race with God, spiritual brothers and sisters are with us, cheering for us. We have our spiritual leaders, shepherds who look after us, watch over our lives. We go through tough and rough times together, running the race together so that no one is lagging behind. Our running pace maybe different, distance covered maybe different but we are in this race together.

Momentum
We have to keep our momentum and continue in the race. When you start to lose it, it's very hard for you to find back the momentum. Even though you are tired, continue to persevere on. You can run, you can slow jog, you can brisk walk, you can walk, but YOU CANNOT STOP. Since you have started this race, must as well end it at the finishing line right?

How does it relate to our spiritual walk?
There must be a progress in your walk with God and not staying at the same spot where you were previously. DO NOT quit this race with God. You have to grow somehow. Keep the momentum going by attending service, cg, shepherding, QT-ing. Every day, you must be moving ahead and not backwards or on the same spot. Even if it's a little baby step, it's also an effort of growing stronger.

Perseverance
10km is really a challenge for me. I think the last time I ran was during the Matric amazing race? And some more, no training before the race. But I persevered on until I saw the finishing line.

How does it relate to our spiritual walk?
There's no such things like smooth-sailing walk with God. Many things will start to come in your way and prevent you to finish the race. We face persecutions from people- friends, parents etc. Are you persevering enough to complete the race?

E-sermon for 14/11/09

2009-11-15T19:21:00.003+08:00

Speaker: Pastor Jeff
Verse: Exodus 14:10-31

Drowning Impossibilities With Red-Sea Faith

1) Stand firm in the face of possibility (v10-14)

-As we live a godly life, we are bound to face challenges.
-Satan will do anything to push back the advancement of God's kingdom

Response that Israelites had:
a) Fear (v10)
-natural response of Man.

b) Blame (v11) [Genesis 3:11-12]
c) Regrets (v12)
-God wants to build faith in us but the devil is always keeping watch on us.

2) Persevering in the midst of impossibilitites (v15-18)

How?

a) Obey God's divine guidance (v16)
-To have a desire for divine guidance ->Fast and Pray

b) Discern God's divine purpose (v17-18)
-Ask God for wisdom
-Nobody is able to steal glory from God. [Psalms 15:7]

3) Experiencing God through the impossibilities (v19-20)
-God wants to glorify His own name. (v23-25)
-God wants us to trust in Him. (v26-28)
[2Cor 9:6-7]

E-sermon 7/11/09

2009-11-12T12:47:00.005+08:00

Speaker: Wen Jiang
The Community in Prayer [Nehemiah 9:1-37]

1) See God for who He is

a) He is Great (v5)
b) He is God alone (v6) – At that time, the Israelites were struggling with idolatry but the priest led them to proclaim He is God alone.
c) He is Righteous (v7-8)
d) He delivers us (v9-12) – God delivers us from problematic situations.
e) He guides and provides for us (v13-15) – God use human shepherds to guide us.

Question: What is the thing that we bring when we come before God?
· Acknowledge Him in our lives – When we come to God in prayer, we need to recognise who He is.

2) See ourselves and our situation (v16-30)

The Israelites were in repeated rebellion (v16-18) and they were disobedient (v26-27a). Their actions were repeated – they sin and turn back to God, sin again and turn back again. Therefore, are we like the Israelites? Have we forgotten the miracles that God has done in our lives?

In v29-30,
· We need to humbly take stock of our situation.
· We need to recognise our sinfulness.
· We need to confess (v2-3).

3) See God in light of our situation

· God was still loving (v17b)
· God was still merciful (v19-21)
· God still provided (v22-25)
· God was still faithful

4) See the future (v32)

It means to have an expectation. As we pray this is what we hope to see, we should see and the key word is ASK!

Reflections on..2 Timothy 3:16-17

2009-11-09T23:26:00.002+08:00

Hello everyone!

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

"All", 'thoroughly", "every" - absolute. All Scripture comes from God; all of it is useful. The purpose of Scripture here shown is that we may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Good works as mentioned in the Bible have a whole lot of meanings.. 1) Good done to people (Galatians 6:9-10) - helping them, being there for them etc. 2) In Philippians 1:6, good work is used to mean the transformation work that God is doing in our lives. "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Through Scripture we can be taught, rebuked, corrected etc. and when we realize our faults, we make the decision to allow God to do His transforming work in our lives. Yep.

Ephesians 2:10 - For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. =) We are created in Christ Jesus to do good works, and Scripture is like that "so that" we may be equipped. We aren't saved by works, but we are saved to do good works. And whoa. God created us, He gave us a new life, AND He gave us His Word to live by, His instructions. "so that". God's provision of His Word didn't end with the "oh it can give us guidance" part. There's a "so that" after that. =) Aiyo I don't really know how to put it into words leh, hope you guys can understand what I wrote.. whoops.

Oh and... Was reminded of Isaiah 55:10-11 - As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. =)

eSermon 31 Oct 2009

2009-11-02T17:00:00.003+08:00

Title: Spiritual Renewal through the Word

1) Understand the Word
Do we understand the WOG for what it is worth?
Opening the bible is opening the Word of God.
Thinking Cap: How have the Bible change your life? Where is the position of the Bible in your lives?

2) Respond the Word with Right Emotion
It is not right to :) when we sin.
It is not right to :( when God has forgiven us.
a) Our emotions is tainted by sin and is not always an accurate representation of fact.
b) Our emotions often follow our will and our will may not always be God's will for us. <2>
Bring emotions in line with WOG. It is not about psycho-ING your negativity and force yourself to be :). You have to read the bible and understand what God wants you to feel at this point of time. If you dwell into negativity, you are not allowing God to enter into your life.

3) Apply the Word

SIM 1 Day 10 PnF Reflections

2009-10-31T10:37:00.002+08:00

Jolene says:

What does the psalmist remember in the first two verses? Why is it important to remember such things?
The psalmist rem how God have helped them out of slavery and won many battles over their enemies. God knows we are forgetful.

What lesson does the psalmist teach in v3? Why is this lesson always important to keep in mind?
That it is not by our own strength that we have won the battle but God who brought us through. Exactly how i felt during my first paper.

Why did God give his people victory, according to v3? Can this same truth give us victory today? Explain.
Because he love us and already have the victory. We are made to be the head and not the tail. Yes, victory in the area of our struggles.

Si Yuan says:

I think verse 3 have the greatest significance. To know the "light of Your face" means the Israelites must have at least met God spiritually! Success starts with seeking God's face - His insights, commands, Plan and direction ! This devotion may end, but the today's theme is fitting : We need to continue to seek God's face beyond this unit activity.

Application: I will post my devotions on my blog everyday :)

Caixuan says:

The psalmist rmb his forefathers' testimony of God.God tore down nations, build up communities and increase the numbers of those who have faith in Him..It is important to rmb because its by God's grace that we are here in this place not by chance or some special force which place us in our caregrp.In verse 3, the pslamist teaches that it is not by our own strength or efforts tt we overcome a particular problem but its God's right hand tt pull us through difficult times.Sometimes, we tend to credit ourselves when we accomplished things. "Thanks to me tt im able to solve this problem" but instead we shld give thanks to God..because He loves us tats why He plans to prosper us not harm us.

Prayer pt:
Give thanks to God in all circumstances

Jun Yao says:

Today, Dewen taught me something very powerful, "No Joy No Jesus"! He was speaking to me abt my attitude in trusting God for this exam. i do have to admit that i really struggle with trusting God with things that i can control, that i can put in effort to make things happen. This exam really taught me to put my faith and my hands to work together at the same time. God really wants me to work hard but at the same time have full dependence on Him. I think pple like me who believes in hard work will find it hard to reconcile with this truth but this is really the Truth bcos God told me that no matter how much i can prepare for my exam, i can never prepare my exam questions. But in him, there is certainty in the uncertainties.

Pray that my attitude in faith and trust will really grow so that with Jesus, i will also have joy!

Maurise says:

God is the most powerful. Any movement of His hands can either crush us or lift us up. However God chose to stand by us and back us up when our "enemies" attack us. He not just lift us up but mould us up as well. WE never won. It is God that allow victory in whatever we do.

I am, thus, grateful to His grace and mercy. Because i know i'm nothing without His blessings.

Prayer points: victory belongs to God, so all the more i should strive towards it!

Li Ping says:

The many victories Israel obtained, were not by their own strength or merit, but by God's favour and grace.Victory is God given and by trusting him we will triumph in him as well.Many times i forget that I'm not fighting the battle alone and that he's always with me.I'm reminded that unless God fight or I have fought in vain...Its him not me!

Prayer pt: Pray that I let God take control instead of myself.

Bentay says:

Remembering testimonies is of help. Remembering the times where God intervened when things looked so impossible, increases faith and assurance of our identity. My identity in Christ is not based on material successes. It is based on the Truth that God reigns and He came to die for my sins. When I look at things with my physical eyes, I see a whole load of bleakness. But when I recall the moments when God swept through the circumstances, they all faded away and the glory of God stood before me.

What are some of the successes that I am still taking credit for? The number of sheep I have today? The academic results that I achieved? The tournaments that I took part in? Being able to juggle things? God, I don’t want a single drop of pride of myself in my life. May I be upward looking.

Prayer point: be upward looking. Humble heart.

Jasmine says:

"Our victory belongs to God" comes to my mind after reading today's point. All the wonderous things that the forefathers did wasnt by their own power, authority, but it's by the hand of God. He takes control of things and settling things right for us. Who we are today is not because of what we've done, not because we are very zai. But it is because God is always with us whenever and wherever we go, that's why things are smoothly done. Therefore, our victory belongs to God. So, stop claiming credit!! It's God's!

SIM 2 Day 10 PnF Reflections

2009-10-31T00:29:00.002+08:00

SIM 2 shouts out:

Michelle

This passage reminded me of focusing on God. Whenever bad things happen, we will focus at the situation instead on God. But from this passage, despite those bad stuff happen, we are always victorious for God is there to help us overcome these problems. At the same time, this passage also reminded me of those times that God helped me to overcome my problems. Whatever successes that I had, serve as a reminder of how powerful God is and how He is always there to help, so that whenever bad things happen, we will not panic but be reminded of those good times we had with God and overcome it with Him.

Prayer: pray that I will always look up to God and always keep in mind all those successes that I had with God.

Jesline

V1- this nudges me to think if I have truly ‘heard’ with my spiritual ears the goodness of God. It is important to be someone who constantly hear about the faithfulness and goodness of God through what the bible has recorded as well as from people who give testimonies to God. The ability for man to remember who God is, His graciousness and love towards us is to constantly talk about it, share it and live it as well. This will keep us from forgetting God as well as His love for us.

Prayer: God, I pray for you to fill me with your love and goodness so that my lips will always give you praise and my heart will always be loyal to you.

Li Yin

Whoa. "what you did" (v1), "With your hand", "you drove out...planted...", "you crushed...made" (v2), "your right hand, your arm, light of your face...", "you loved them" (v3). Not what the people did, but what God did. So many times in these 3 verses the word "YOU" was emphasized. In the first 2 verses the psalmist remembers what God did for the people. He prospered them, gave them victory. We as God's children need to remember what God has done for us so that we won't be complacent and think that all our successes are of our doing. We need to remember also so that when times get tough and the going gets rough, we'll be reminded of God's providence. That He who brought us through our previous struggles will bring us through any challenges we're facing right now. And... God gave the people victory because He loved them. Not because the people were extraordinary, not because they deserved it, but because God loved them enough to do so. Not just victory over circumstances, but victory over our sins as well. God did it. Not us, not any powers, not anything else. And I believe God does this so when people look at all those miracles in our life, and they ask us about them, we can only look back and say, "God did it." and in doing so giving glory to Him and sort of bringing people to Him as well.?

Prayer: that I will be reminded of what God has done for me, and that I will not take credit. Also, having known this God that gives me victory over my sins, my struggles, I will claim His promises by faith. And... because of what He's done for me, that I will do my best to live for Him, and continually depend on His strength.?

Li Yi

This passage speaks to me a lot because it was the same passage my shepherd showed me last semester when I was taking my papers. Today, the very same passage was shown to me when I took my 2nd paper.

v2 talks about what God had done, ‘with your hand you drove out the nations, and planted our fathers; you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish’. It was written to show and serve as a reminder about God’s goodness and power. Further on in v3, God granted the people victory but ‘it was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory’. It was written to tell us that success does not come from the people but God and we are to give glory to Him. As imperfect beings, we would at times take credit for ourselves and by doing so we take away the glory of God. However we should not boast about ourselves but boast in the Lord my God, boast in the One who’s worthy! Most importantly, God gave them victory because He loved us.

How is this similar to what I’m facing today? To me, taking exams are equivalent to a battlefield just that exams are more taxing on the brain. So I was preparing for my paper and the passage really reminded me to give glory to God for bringing me through 4 semesters of school. At times, I entered the exam hall feeling unprepared because I knew I have not completed my revision and what added on was that the paper was tough. After the paper, I always made this prayer: God I asked for favour upon my paper. The paper that I least expected to do well, God helped me to score well. It was God! No doubt, I felt good when my friends will say ‘wow you’re so smart, never study still do well’. I know it wasn’t the case, it wasn’t me but God. So I told myself this today: it’s not about me, it’s not about me, but YOU!! Like how you’ve brought me through 4 semesters, you’re going to bring me through this semester too. I know that victory is given to me because you love me.

Prayer: Not to claim credit for myself but give glory to God and for your favour to be upon my papers.

SIM1 PNF JOHN 9:1-38

2009-10-30T16:29:00.001+08:00

How is the question asked in v2 very much like some questions still asked today?
Actually I think in my daily life, I think very much like the pharisees. I just want to know the reason or cause for all the bad things that is happening. And I always have this mentality that God punishes those who does wrong or not walking close to Him. I mean, its a wrong mentality of course but I guess I was just trying to be self righteous.

How does Jesus answer the question? In what way must his answer have greatly surprised the crowd?
The crowd must have been greatly surprised because some times things happened not because of the bad things or sins that have been made but just for us to believe that Jesus is God.

How does the man respond to Jesus (v38)? In what way did this glorify God?
The man accepted Jesus into his life. He caused the pharisees to be speechless and convinced people that their beliefs were nothing but a set of traditions and custom. He was indeed being brought to the pharisees for questioning but this in turned became a time to glorify God, he convinced the public that Jesus is God and it is shown by the people being divided.
-jolene

Reflection points: It speaks of the faith the blind man had. He knew that only God and His chosen prophets could perform signs and wonders. He might have tried out other methods to get his sight, but apparently none worked as he remained blind until Christ restored his sight. The faith he had was unwavering in times of judgment from the Pharisees and the disbelieving community. He could have taken the credit or given the credit to someone else; however, he chose not to rob Jesus of His credit. Humility, strong faith, a man of strong character is portrayed here.
There are many reasons as to why I am deficient, dysfunctional, or even disabled in my spirit. It is not only for me to realize and change, not only because I sinned, therefore being judged. It is more than that to the extent that it was all for God’s personal glory. Until I learn to look at things from the lens of God, to look for my purpose of life from Him, I will not understand my weaknesses and will keep blaming God or worse still, bear a grudge against God. At the end of it all, it is God who created me. I belong to Him. He draws out my purpose of life; not the other way around. He will see things happen that will increase my level of faith according to His timing and plan. Let not my will, but His will be done.
I ask myself “When are the moments that I am likened to the Pharisees?” I know about God, in fact I know Him. Yet, I choose to sweep Him aside and lead my own life. I choose not to believe in things that He has presented to me. I remember the miracles He has shown me in Thailand, The Philippines, Singapore etc. But when the tough times come, I choose and contemplate giving up. I ignore His calls, His plans. This is as good as the Pharisees who knew of the existence of God. They knew the law really well. But there is no life transformation because they didn't believe in the living law. The living covenant must be adhered to if I am truly to say that I love God with all my heart, soul and strength.
Blessed is the man who believes without seeing for faith is being sure of what we do not see.
Prayer points: I will count my blessings. I will choose to believe and put my trust in God even under trial and scrutiny.
-Ben

God gives us alot of good things such as healing but we are often blind and do not appreciate Him. We need to thank God and give glory to Him.
-Ryan

When I read this passage, I see myself not as the blind man but as the Pharisee. There are times when I know what I ought to do but do not do. In essence, the Pharisees know what is lawful but they are stubborn and blind to the ways of God. I need to repent and change, learning to become more like the blind man who exalts Jesus Christ wholeheartedly!?

-Si yuan

I was concentrating on John 9:7. In John 9:7, the Bible mentioned that Jesus made some mud with the saliva and put it on the blind man's eye and asked him to wash in the Pool of Siloam. Two points that I learned from this verse are (a) Faith in God (b) Obey God - Follow and not question.

If I'm the blind man, I will definitely scream and pissed when Jesus put the mud on my face. Imagine someone just put mud over your eye without your permission? I will think "what is this man trying to do?..How could he spit and put mud on my eye". But this blind man not only trusted Jesus, he also followed what Jesus told him to do (which is to go to Pool of Siloam). He obeyed Jesus even though he doesnt know what's ahead of him.

What we can apply here is to have faith in God and obey Him. In times of difficulties, down times etc, we often question God why is He allowing all these obstacles to hinder us. We often concentrate on the "why am i so suay.. why am i facing all these". We become more inward-looking and miss out the part to look to God. We concentrate on the limitations we have and not the blessings that God gives us.
-Jasmine

I'm just glad and thankful that Jesus really understands what i'm going through. is really not easy to always do the right things especially when situations or pple really make me so frustrated that i would really want to cut corners, give up my birthright and really give that person a piece of mind! but i didn't and i'm glad that i have a God to turn to and vent my frustration to.

Pray that i can respond the way Jesus do, love like Jesus! So that others will know that is not me but is Him.

Junyao

God receives glory with his healing power and also when people endure their own sufferings through the power of his grace.Though many believe that there is no suffering without iniquity but sometimes it might just be the sin-sick world that contributes to it which also leads to commonly asked questions'' why does God allow sufferings?''.To some it might be the incuration of God's wrath, others might think that he is using it against us but I think its to let us see God's purpose and intent in our lives.Believing after being ostracized by his people,the man who had been blind, makes me understand what it truly means to follow God.

Prayer pt:
Physical blindness vs Spiritual blindness reminds me to check my life ... Do I really need to physically see in order to have the faith to believe in him?

ping

John 9:1-38...

2009-10-30T00:33:00.001+08:00

Li Yi says:

When the question ‘who sinned, this man or his parents?’ was asked, Jesus replied ‘neither this man nor his parents sinned’. This happened so that the work of God can be displayed in the blind man’s life and it was shown when he was healed. Later Jesus asked if he believed in the Son of Man and when He told him he was right in front, the man immediately said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ The man had just glorified God when he acknowledged that Jesus was the one who had just performed a miracle on him.

Jesline says:

This passage reminds me of the times I keep asking God “why?” and many times we either heard no answer from God or the answer is obvious but we fail to accept it. There are many times in the Bible when Jesus asks ‘Do you believe? If you believe…’ Many times the question is not asking God why but rather, “What is God’s purpose/will?” When God answers, the response from us shouldn’t be ‘it’s not logical’ or ‘how come’ but rather it should be acting upon what God has spoken with faith. Because God wants us to believe and not doubt Him.

Prayer:

I thought of the things I’m trurly helpless of like how I am not as smart or as fast as others, how I am not outspoken or competent as others. But today I pray that I will not just ask God why but rather accept myself as how He created me and believe that I am created for His glory. When I respond with faith and belief I ask God to open my eyes to see His hands upon my limitation and use my limitation for Him. So that through my limitation I will experience Him.

Mich says:

From this passage I was reminded of obedience. There are many times when we seek help from God and when He provided ways for us, we tend to choose not to follow it. We may think that the ways that God provided was illogical, we doubt and sometimes not willing to step out of comfort zone. But for the blind man, it's impossible to get heal just by rubbing mud on his eyes and washing it off, yet he chose to obey and believe Jesus and he was healed! So what about us? Are we like that blind man or are we like the pharisees who know how to doubt? This passage really serves as a reminder for us to really sit down and reflect on our walk wif God. Indeed, there will be many times when we will face struggles, but we have to remember that what we went through is something that God has planned for us ad He will not give us problems that we can't handle.

Prayer request: Pray that I will be more obedience and not to doubt what God has for me. Though it may be hard, God is powerful enough to pull us through tough times.

Li Yin says:

The man was born blind. Jesus said, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.” Wow. God allows us to face certain challenges, weaknesses so that His hand, His mighty hand, might be displayed in my life. And… Jesus was in fact saying that the man was placed in His path for that very reason – that Jesus could make a difference in His life. Anyone that came into Jesus’ path, Jesus did not pass them by. Jesus made a difference in their lives. He left a lasting impact which may not be felt at first, be seemingly insignificant. But it had a long-lasting impact on the person’s life. Yes, God has placed people in our paths.

Prayer: In the way I treat these people, help me to have a lasting postive impact on them. Help me not to despise the little things I do for people. And that I may view challenges and weaknesses for what they are. As long as I am here on earth, as long as I can live, move and breath, pray that I will make the decision to partner with God in doing His work.

And yeah, the man had to go where Jesus told him to and do what Jesus told him to do. It was his choice. In v11, the man said, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, then I could see.” Sequence: Meets Jesus -> Jesus sort of tells man that He can change his life -> man believes, takes a step of faith and goes. He had to GO and wash, THEN and only THEN could he see. Same for us. We need to walk in God’s ways and obey His calling. Take steps of faith. Just go.

Another thing: the man didn’t know much, but he did know one thing – that he was blind but now could see. Full stop. That phrase is repeated 3 times in the passage eh… yeah. That was the only thing that mattered to him. All the rest weren’t important. Jesus did a miracle in his life, that was more than enough for him. Childlike faith. I pray that God will restore childlike faith in each and everyone of us.

Oh and… today, during CSE lesson, the teacher Mr Choy told us this: when we were young, we were so innocent, so easily fascinated by the world around us. Now, we’ve come to take things for granted. We fail to see the beauty in small things. We fail to notice, we fail to stop and ponder, we fail to smell the roses. (He was actually using this to illustrate the importance of knowing how things work, instead of merely relying on Youtube. And I pray that God will help me hate sin as much as he does. Actually linked to the following: the Pharisees’ focus wasn’t on the miracle. It was actually on the fact that Jesus healed on a Sabbath. A beautiful description of God’s love. And they missed the whole point. The point was that Jesus healed the blind man, Jesus approached the blind man, Jesus worked through the man’s weakness, Jesus loved him. Contrary to this, the Pharisees went on and on about the Sabbath thing, and they missed out on what God really wanted them to see. God doesn’t care much whether we jump in praise or merely clap, He doesn’t care much about whether we sprinkle or immerse, He doesn’t care much about whether we pray in tongues or not, He doesn’t care much whether we’re Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal or non-denominational. God cares whether we’re in a right relationship with Him or not. He cares whether we love His people or not. Prayer: For God to restore our childlike faith, and to keep our minds on things that really matter. =)

SIM 1 FnP - My body is about Him (Romans 6:12-14)

2009-10-29T12:37:00.006+08:00

Ryan:
If we continue to sin we are disobeying God, we must pray more to God read our bibles day and night. Pray for a renewal of the mind and let the Holy Spirit to clear our evil thoughts and desires .If any areas of our bodies have sin ask God to heal you .God is a wonderful healer. He listens and hears but we are disobeying Him.

Prayer points

I pray that there will be new revelation ahead of us if we fulfill God’s promises commit to Him with all your heart and mind.
I pray that God will renew us completely in the areas of trouble and pain.

Ben Tay:

Sin always exists and never fails to find inroads to my live. Sin should be blocked out as I seek a righteous lifestyle before God. Sometimes, the sins waiting to pouch onto myself is easily spotted; whereas in some cases they are tough to spot. This requires a lot of accounting to fellow brothers and sisters as they would be able to help keep a lookout for the sins awaiting to trap me.
What I can do to further ensure that sin doesn't creep into my life is to follow God closely. This means that I have to think and pray through every action that I take. With an intimate relationship, discernment from the HS will prevail and I would be able to flee from temptations. The battle doesn't start on the action itself, but it starts in the mind.
Prayer points: Fruitful and Spirit-led GFG on Thursday and Saturday

caixuan:

Sin is everywhere.Temptations, peer pessure etc.But once u set your mind to stop sin from entering your life and with the help from the holy spirit.Sin will not have a place in our lives.we will live a victorious christian life.how do we go abt doing it? I must pray to God, telling Him i need to depend on Him and build a deeper relationship with God.With God in my life, He will constantly remind me of the consequences of commiting sins and wad i want to bring to Him is glory. Prayer point: dependence on God, pray more

When i read this passage, the word that struck me the most is the word "evil", so i begin to question myself and pray, and realised that "evil" is anything that do not honor God! evil does not mean only the crime that we commit in the eyes of the Singapore law but it can also be things like faithlessness! bible said that not having faith is a sin! and i also remembered that Jesus put "wicked" and "lazy" together! being lazy is also a sin! God is not just talking abt sin on our outer being but also the sin that we commit in our inner being too!

Pray for me to stop being faithless in this grueing period!! Jesus take over!! woo~~

Regards,
Junyao

As much as we always talk about taking ownership in our school, about our life, in whatever we do... God takes much more ownership about each and every one of us! Even though we may not be as fine as pure as silver(gosh.. not even gold), God still wants the best of us.

prayer points:
be always convicted in ownership of my life, so that glory may be to God.

Mau

This verse is reflected very often, yet to live up to these standards is an uphill battle. Everytime we choose to yield to our impulse and selfish nature, we gave a part ourselves to sin. In our struggles, we must pull ourselves away from being overwhelmed by all the areas we feel defeated and inadequate in and instead recognise what is truly God’s concern. What God is truly concerned about will be emphasised in His Word. It is in the greatest 2 commandments:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and all your strength.

The second is this: Love your neighbour as you loved yourself.

These 2 commandments are worth pursuing and should be a continual focus on our personal growth.
Prayer point: Lord, help me to be closer to love You with all my heart, mind, soul and strength everyday. Amen.

Si yuan

Romans 6:12-14

I was reminded that I need to guard my heart when I serve in God's kingdom.Its easy to start compromising and yielding to sins when we are not aware and alert but we need to know that we can be in the world but not of the world...By his grace you and I can have life and have it to the full with his unconditional forgiveness.Offering and surrending our lives totally to God isn't an easy task but because we were chosen by him, we were equipped with his love.Grace is priceless and I'm experiencing it everyday of my life!

Prayer pt:
Pray for the renewing of my heart right now; I pray that my heart will be strong against its enemies and as I serve the one above all,I want to offer my life to you lord!

Ping

Do not let sin to take control of our lives. Satan always work in the dark and sneak in when we are not alert. Satan seizes the chance when you are not armed. Although Christ has died for our sins, it doesnt mean that sin will be gone forever. When Christ died on the cross for our sins, we are reborn. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, it says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Ya! We ought to live a new and different life in Him and through Him. Sin is still there but it's a matter of whether we are able to say "NO!". I think this whole passage is reminding us to stay on guard and be senstive of the surroundings, to be sensitive of the possible sins around us so that we will not fall for it.

Prayer:
Alertness of the traps that are set up to make me fall

-JasmIne

PNF DAY 8 [Romans 6: 12-14]

2009-10-28T23:10:00.007+08:00

SIM2 is here to SHAREEEEEEEE:)

PNF DAY 8 [Romans 6: 12-14]

Legomaster Liyin says:

“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness…” (v13) We offer parts of our body to sin by allowing sin to dictate our thoughts and actions. And yeah, it’s a choice leh. “…do not let…”, “Do not offer…”. A conscious decision. It’s a choice whether? to continue living in sin or take hold of the grace given and live a new life. Instruments of wickedness. When I offer my body to sin, I choose to allow it to go against God’s purposes. But when I yield my life to Him, He can use it to fulfill His purposes. It’s a choice I have to make to join in His work or do nothing or even worse, hinder it.

How can I refuse to “let” sin reign in my body? By not offering any parts to sin, and offering them all to God. By acknowledging God as the Lord over my life. My thoughts, my actions, my decisions, giving all these to God. 1 Peter 3:13-16 – Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” =) I have to make a CHOICE to offer my body to Jesus as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. I have to obey. I have to surrender and let Jesus take control. Romans 12:1-2 – Do not be conformed any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. =)

How do I sometimes offer the parts of my body to sin? By filling our minds with worldly things. We fill up our minds with all these things except things of God. We prioritize our own selfish desires, motives and agendas above God’s. We take our eyes off God and set them on seemingly important things. We let ourselves be led by emotions, by our own thoughts, rather than being led by God. We consider ourselves to be more important than others.

In what way can sin become my master? I didn’t really understand, so I asked this question instead: how can God become my master? God is only truly my master when I decide to give my life to follow Him. If I call God my Master and I don’t obey, then God isn’t really my Master because I didn’t submit to Him. So… Sin can become my master when I allow it to overrun in my life. When I consciously allow it. God reminded me that yeah, I must make the decision to be holy, to be set apart. If I don’t allow God to work in my life, then I won’t be who He called me to be.

How can I depend on God’s grace to make sure that sin doesn’t become my master? We’ve got to receive grace first. How to receive? We need to realize that we need it. “T’was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.”? One way to not let sin rule over me: Remember that not only was I saved by grace, I am loved this day by GRACE. How to depend on God’s grace? Stay close to the cross. Regularly and honestly examine myself, confess my sins and shortcomings and accept God’s forgiveness. Stay close to God lo. =)

Prayer:
-To be more conscious of God’s presence.
-To be more aware of my inadequacies, my lack, and realize my need for God’s grace.

"Mary" Wong Li Yi says:

we have already died to sins so we cant live in it any longer which means not to keep on sinning. We should not allow ourselves to be taken over by sins because in that way we're slaves to our own sins.Instead, our obedience should be to God. I need to keep reminding myself that it is by grace that ive been saved and in me begins a new life which i live to God.
Also, in e later part of Romans6, it says that by offering our body to sin is equivalent to impurity. We should be offering our body to righteousness which will lead to holiness which results in eternal life.

Jesline says:

v12- evil desires to me refers to self centred worldly and humanly desires. As we start to know God more and understand His purposes, there should be a shift in our desires from One that satisfies self to one that constantly seeks to satisfy God. When we do this, we can be certain that we are living according to God's will and not for self interest.

v13- since we wil always offer ourselves to either God or sin, we ought to be wise in choosing which we want to submit to bcos even though God's way may not be easy, pleasurable, but it is the best for us and it will bring us great blessing.

Prayer:
- to persevere in walking in the ways of God even though sometimes in the world what we do for God, what we believe in seemed to be stupid in the eyes of others. Ask God to help me in making tough decisions for Him so as to honour Him in my ways.

LOOLOO michelle yueling says:

This passage reminded me of WWJD (what would Jesus do?). We tend to get anxious easily when bad things happen and these caused us not to think properly and as a result we sin. Example, being angry, impatient. And of cos, we are not perfect. that is why we have to stay real close to the HS. Allow e HS to guide and remind us b4 we commit any sins. Also to think of WWJD.And as we confess our sins to God and repent, and with God's grace and mercy, we are free from being slaves to sins. Since our body is a temple of Christ,we have to take good care of it and not allow it to commit any sins.So,i wanna pray that i would keep "WWJD" close to my heart, so as to make me think twice b4 i make any decisions.

Shu Ning the cute says:

This reminds me to guard my heart and to purify my thoughts and not to let sin take control of my body. Temptations in this world might be great.but OUR GOD IS GREATERRRRRRR.in fact, He is the greatest:) even in times where our thoughts sin against God, look to Him in total surrender and repentance.even evil thoughts will take control of our minds. Do not give in to bodily pleasures and be like ppl of the world.Instead, remember that your body is a temple of God. even when your mouth sins,you are sinning against God.
Speaking in vulgarities, gossiping, talking behind somebody's back can also be a form of sinning. Do not let that take control because, how can the mouth that praise God be used to do these things.
Therefore, most importantly, to be a salt and light in our community.

Elaine the Jellybean says:
we are God's creation and created us in the image of Him. We tend to show a good image of Him outwardly but inside us, we may harbour negative thoughts which we have unknowingly sinned. In the bible, God has given us a perfect example to follow which is Jesus. The bible shows how Jesus led a holy life despite the situation He is in.

Prayer point:
To control my inner thoughts.

SIM2 PNF Reflections Day 7 [Isaiah 48:10-11]

2009-10-28T10:16:00.006+08:00

Sharon:
"I have refined you in the furnace of affliction, but found no silver there, you are worthless with nothing good in you at all" (The living bible translation) Testings/obstacles are part of God's molding, at the end of our life time.. When we meet Jesus face to face how would we want to be greeted? "My good and faithful servant" or what is stated in v10 saying "you worthless with nothing good in you at all" - after enduring through the test of 'life' do we try our best to pass obstacles or try our best to avoid them? Live a life that pleases God -> Do not only hate the obvious sins in our lives but also the socially acceptable ones which we tend to over look or conform to due to our environment (grey areas) Life worth living is a life lived in reverence of God!

Hanyun:
Reading the verse alone made me very confused, and i checked out the previous chapters. The Israelites were stubborn people. Though they had heard and seen the greatness of God, and despite repeated warnings from God, they refused to acknowledge Him. This was when God said these verses, because God knows them well. People, are often very self centered, and sometimes we think that the world revolves around us. Being absorbed in our own problems and perceived tough times, we tend to be self centered even in our relationship with God. This is when God wants to humble and bring us back to reality. His grace and mercy towards us is a gift! All along it was ALL about God, not us! And still, though we are inadequate, God yearns to use us and show His glory through us. I pray to sit humbly before God's throne, hearing Him speak and not telling Him what i want. At all times to acknowledge that He is sovereign.

Michelle:
We are sinful in nature, but when we accept Christ, we sin less, but still not to the point of being sinless. But we are different in a way that we are being transformed to be more Christ like and that when people see the change in us, we are actually glorifying God. This reminded e of areas that I'm still sinning or I'm holding on to. And if I'm able to overcome it, I'm able to show the glory of God for humans are limited, while God is powerful. What seems impossible is possible for God. Want to pray that I'll overcome it together with God. Allow His glory to be shown through me.

Jesline:
God is not a god of contradiction. Although God can destroy us everytime we disobey and turn away from Him, when we refuse to obey him and harden our hearts, He still will be patient in teaching us His ways. He may teach us by allowing us to experience difficult or painful things in our life but it is all for the sake of upholding His promise that is both loving and just. 2 Peter 3:8-9. God is patient in transforming us in His glory.
Prayer- That i will not take advantage of God's kindness and patience towards me, even as i go through exams, i want to allow God to do His work in me so that i may be refined to become more like Christ in character.

Shuning:
God put us through these testings so that we can glorify Him through our molding. Through our molding, we become better people to glorify His name. Allow God to take control of our lives and allow Him to mold us.

Elaine:
It's by his grace and forgiveness that we are forgiven. Because Jesus died for us so we can have the freedom and eternal life. As a believer we should reflect how jesus is like. It's not easy to do that because we are imperfect, we can never be the standard of God but we should not have this mindset and stop seeking after God's intended purpose for us. As a christian is not about how we treat people well from our own strength but rather it's how god use us as a channel to show the people his love.
Prayer point- i want to find out more about his purpose for me.

Liyi:
I think this is one of the toughest passage as it took me quite some time to understand. From the passage, what i understood was that the people of Israel were full of sins and they were stubborn. Thus in v10, God talks about refining the people to purify them. By using the analogy of silver, it takes a long and tough process for the silver to become pure. In the same way, i see God as my goldsmith and He wants to refine me into someone who is pure. However, i really don't know what to expect as God will test me to get me refined and molded. Rather, i can be stubborn to not give in to God's testing. I would want to allow God to purify me and at the end of the day, i can give glory to God and say that He is the one who molds me to who i am today.

Liyin:
Didn't understand the passage, so read Isaiah 48:1-11 instead, which was about stubborn Israel. God was questioning them. For Israel, by its sinful ways, did not acknowledge God as GOD. But God reminded the ppl of who they were, where they had come from (from v1 to 2). That they were God's ppl and He was their God. And the way God phrased His words showed them that they were believers in name but not in deeds. Yes, they were called by the name of Israel, come from the line of Judah, take oaths in His name, invoke God's name, but they don't do it in truth or righteousness. God then proceeds to say "you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and rely on the God of Israel". Through the ages, God had given them prophecies of what is to come, and then brought those things to pass, to show that He is God, to reveal Himself to them (v5-6). And He asked the ppl in v6, "Will you not admit them?" God reminded me that all His prophecies and revelations to the ppl are to build them up, but more importantly, to reveal Himself to them. He knew His ppl inside out, and knew how they would react to certain situations.?

God went to great lengths to bring Israel out of its stubbornness, its refusal to acknowledge God. "For I knew", "Well do I know". God KNEW His ppl from the inside out. He knew their character and their responses, that's why He did what He did for them. Same for us. Whatever troubles God allows us to go through, they are CATERED, specially designed to mold our character in the ways God knows best. Everyone's different, with different character flaws and mindsets. That's why what we go through is different and unique, just nice for us.?

And God says He tests and refines us for His own sake. Well, it occurred to me that if we made something, we would want it to be the best it can be, to reach its potential. God knows exactly what we need, as seen from the verses in front. And God is molding and refining us into who He wants us to be. Because God is holy and righteous. And His work is of eternal importance. He called us out. We are called out BY God and FOR God. If we call ourselves His children, and then don't live according to His Word, then we are showing the world how unreal and how small our God is. I believe that's why God said "How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another." 1 Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. =)

Prayer: To see challenges in this light, that they are specially designed to address my character flaws and help me reach my fullest potential. And yes, to be reminded of WHO called me to do what i'm doing, WHO placed me where i am.?

SIM 1 FnP -my salvation is abt Him (Isaiah 48:10-11)

2009-10-27T23:54:00.007+08:00

JASMINE:

There's a reason why God put us in trials and temptations. He wants us to go through all these so that we will be able to learn and grow. He will not test us beyond what we can bear. I think this verse is trying to assure us that despite having difficulties in our lives, God will not leave us. Since these are the areas God wants us to grow,we should receive the trials with an open and assuring heart. This is because no matter what happen, God is with us and He is in control of all things.

Prayer Request:
To grow in reliance on God when in tough times.

CAIXUAN:

God puts us to test and temptations so tt we can have a breakthrough in our lives.Like God said:" I have tested you in the furnace of affliction". God allows us to go through high heat and compression so tt we can grow stronger and firm.God has a plan for everyone here, in which, for his own sake, and the glory of his grace, he saves all that come to Him.

Prayer request:
pray for a breakthrough in any areas of my life.

JUNYAO:

today's verse really let me have the image of a discipline father who want the best for me... the best for my character growth... this is something that i find it hard to reconcile with God sometimes bcos many a times He will use uncomfortable, unfavourable situation to stretch my character which most of the time i really dislike it and at that instance, i always find it hard to recognise that is God who allowed those situations to happen so that i can learn and grow to become the person He wanted me to be.

Pray for me to see people and situations from the eyes of God so that i can really grow to "give thanks in all circumstances"

RYAN:

We must give glory to God in the time of the furnace!

SIYUAN:

When I read this verses, they baffle me. Then I read in context and realize that we need to read in context. It's about rebellious and stubborn Israelites being tested and found to be "not of silver", but impure and useless! Yet for His Name among the people, God did not allow them to suffer the wrath they deserved. From my point of view, God is like having pride issue LoL but upon closer examination, it speaks of His mercy... and the context: that was the Old Testament - no sacrifice by Jesus yet. By rule, they should have perished but God still held back. God's doesn't need pretend to be merciful to gain glory for Himself - He was glorious all along! His mercy merely reflects an aspect of His glory.

BEN TAY

Reflection points: This song came to my mind

Light The Fire Again – by Vineyard

Don't let my love grow cold
I'm calling out
Light the fire again
Don't let my vision die
I'm calling out
Light the fire again

You know my heart, my deeds
I'm calling out
Light the fire again
I need Your discipline
I'm calling out
Light the fire again

I am here to buy gold
Refined in the fire
Naked and poor
Wretched and blind I come
Clothe me in white
So I won't be ashamed
Lord, light the fire again

The passage is a promise to me. When I go through the valleys, and pain due to pruning, I know the purpose. It is to glorify God. It is for my own good too. I get refined. My motives are tested so that I stay pure for new oil.

Prayer points: Expend all the time I have on hand for God’s glory through the success of my academics, being faithful in taking care of those in my care and those around me, focus on my own rest and health, and on God’s eternal strength to last through this absurd period.

POH LIPING

I once read from an article that we were determined by God as chosen vessels, and a good work of grace begun in us, in the furnace of affliction. It is comforting, that God will secure his own honour, therefore work deliverance for us.If God delivers his people, he cannot be at a loss for instruments to be employed and I'm glad that his refiner's fire is ever present to purify my heart as seen from this verse.

prayer pt:
Purify my heart once again lord so that when I live each day of my life I can see you being lifted up.

God's great love Day 6

2009-10-27T21:53:00.007+08:00

Jellybean 1: Jesline

Reflection: The understanding of God's love towards ourselves and the people around us is not something natural to human knowledge. It is the holy spirit that lives in me who helps me to understand God's love and this love is not exhausted. It will continue to grow and build up.

Prayer point: today i am praying for God to expand my ability to love myself and the people around me. i pray for a heart of compassion towards people which comes from the heart of God. also praying for my family salvation!

Jellybean 2: Michelle

Reflection: God;s love is unconditional and cannot be compared to anything in the world. this love is also so special that we are able to overcome all circumstances. not just that, God's love reminded me that i am special too! and that we are priviledged to be able to experience this love that it should overflow.

Prayer point: God's love will overflow through me to others. i will love people more, just like how God loves me.

Jellybean 3: Sharon

Reflection: If God have changed his purpose, the sons of jacob would have been consumed. however, because god has a purpose that he has been working out from the very beginning. he looked beyond what these people were doing to destroy and remove themselves from his purpose. God, in a sense overlooked what they were doing- all the way to the future, to the conclusion of his purpose for them. God says, 'i do not change,' he has never altered his purpose from the beginning. in our own lives many times we fail to live out a life pleasing to God but one thing for sure is God does not change his love for us! many times there are valid reasons for him not to bless us due to our sinful nature but God is a man of his words! reminds me of my favourite verse 2 tim 1:4: "guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you- guard it with the help of the holy spirit who lives in us." linking to v16. indeed our inner being- heart requires strengthening and guarding by the holy spirit in order that God is able to dwell and sustain in us to walk through the right path during this lifetime. v18b shows christ love for us measured in areas of: wideness- he embraces us despite the wide "varities" of sin we commit. longness/deepness- he know certain "deep" sins that has taken root in us that we tend to fall into again and again, the journey of us having a breakthrough is long but he never forsake us despite our many disappointment to him. this kind of love is something man sometimes cannot phantom out, as it is beyond what our mind can reason out which may bring skepticism about his love that despite the many times of falling him.

Prayer point: never fail to understand the 4 elements of God's love. wide/high/long/deep

Jellybean 4: Shu ning

Reflection: first we have to allow God to work in our hearts then can God show us how much he really loves us, this love that we will receive will be so magnificent that we have never experience before. give yourself fully to God so that he can work in us.

Jellybean 5: Hanyun

Reflection: "Fullness of God" in the amplified bible means to "have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself". Is not this what we aim to strive towards, to become Christ-like. And in these verses, Paul reveals the way to be closer to this, In fact, this should also be a prayer for ourselves and our fellow believers. The love of God, something that we're undeserved of, something that is so majestic that our human brains can not fully fathom, but yet is the basis of our faith. We all came to know God because of His love yea? And i pray to be rooted in this love, and allow Christ to dwell in my heart. God does not force His way into our hearts, and we must be aware and allow our hearts to be softened towards Him. And Paul's usage of the word "dwell" means Christ's presence to be lasting (not something that comes and goes, which might be the case for us at times).

Jellybean 6: Li Yi

Reflection: Like what was written in the passage ‘how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ’, Christ’s love for us is so great that it cannot be measured. The love of Christ is not just a head knowledge thing. In John 3:16, it says ‘for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’. From this verse, God’s love is so great that He can even sacrifice His Son to die on the cross for us and even before we were saved, His love was already there for us. And, God’s love for us is abounding and unfailing. I know many a times I may fail Him and even do things that hurt Him but He still loved me the same which also points out to what Paul’s ultimate prayer is. In order to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God, I must first die to myself. I must first allow God to come work in me before I can experience the fullness of God.

Prayer point: Like how God loves me, I want to love Him with all my mind, heart, soul and strength.

Jellybean 7: Li Yin

Reflection:Knowledge, as said in the Bible,?teaches ppl the right way to live. Wise, prudent people store up knowledge and act in knowledge. And.. in Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Others are?Proverbs 10:14, 12:1, 13:16. Knowledge is also considered knowing God (or rather, the knowledge of God), in Isaiah 11:9, Habakkuk 2:14, 2 Corinthians 2:14, 4:6, 2 Peter 3:18. God's love for us surpasses all knowledge - He loves us even before we come to know Him, He loves and treasures all the works of His creation. His love also surpasses the knowledge of His glory. Reminded me of the song 'So You Would Come': "Before the world began, You were on His mind. And every tear you cried was precious in His eyes...Nothing you can do, can make Him love you more. And nothing that you've done, could make Him close the door. Because of His great love, He gave His only Son, everything was done so you would come."

In what way does God's love surpass knowledge? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. His love surpasses all understanding, all boundaries. He loves us even when we fall, and His love for us never changes. Sometimes we find it hard to love even our own selves, because of the things we've done. But God loves us anyway.

Paul's ultimate prayer for his friends was that they be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Whoa. I didn't understand what it means by fullness of God.. Haha. Reading from Colossians 1:19 and 2:9, I found out that the fullness of God is found in Christ. "No longer I who live but Christ who lives in me." Paul's desire was that we as Christians would be made more and more like Jesus each and every day of our lives. Being constantly transformed by the power of His love. For He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. Therefore, in God's love, He disciplines, rebukes, encourages, corrects and affirms. Paul's ultimate prayer was that we might find a life worth living in Christ Jesus! Whoa. Dying with Christ, alive with Christ. Dying to sin, dying to self, living a new life with Him and for Him. Colossians 2:6-7 - So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. =) Reminded me of the song 'Overtaken'. Hee.?

Prayer point:The following is what I wrote la.. So maybe can help me pray along these lines? XP okay here goes: "Lord, I pray that You will overtake me. God, take over all of me. I'm letting go, so come and have Your way in me. Lord, here I am. Fill me to the measure of all Your fullness. Help me to die to myself and live a new life in You, for it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. Let my heart be changed, renewed. And Lord, I know the weaknesses I see in me will be stripped away by the power of Your love. So come Lord, and do Your work in me. Pull out the weeds in my life though it's painful Lord, mould me, refine me. Thank You Lord. In Jesus' name amen. =)"

Jellybean 8: Elaine

Reflection: God's love has no boundary. his love for us is so deep that at times we find it unbelievable. his love is not just for us but for the non-believer too. that he is at work in everyone life. our love for him cannot be compared to his gracious mercy and grace.

Prayer point: to hold fast his promises.

SIM 1 , DAY 6 (23/10/09) : EPHESIANS 3:16-19 GOD’S GREAT LOVE

2009-10-26T23:40:00.006+08:00

Siyuan
Some things are beyond human comprehension or whatever human devices. Why did Christ died? What is the significance? How can we prove that God, much less His love, actually exists? I don't know the "deep" and scientific reasons behind them. All I know is God's principles transformed my life, His Spirit spoke through and to me at crucial timings in my life, and if I ever leave Him now I'll be making the greatest possible mistake in my life. God holds my life together. His existence explains most things I could not comprehend.

Cai Xuan

when i read the verses again and again, many thoughts went through my mind.They set me thinking how deep is my love for God, do i love God and people around me like Jesus did?

Does God rank first in your life?

"being rooted and established in love" then you are "able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of chirst".this is easier to say than done.coz Man is imperfect, we cant reach standard of God's love.Despite this, we still can witness the great extent of God's love in our lives. For example, God forgives when u repent with sincerity, God is there to listen to our problems and show solutions through His Words.Let us work on this area of our lives. =)

Maurise

It reminded of how God really really loves me and his fellow children on Earth

¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

God knows us true and through, every single hair on our head, every thoughts that we have and even every step that we're going to take, etc. However even with all this that He knows, He loves us. this impresses me the most. this shows His unconditional love that is constantly showering onto us!

Prayer points: increase my love just like how much God has loved me so.

Junyao

God' love, the most amazing thing i can received but yet the most complicated thing that i can understand with my own human brain. But today i learnt abt how God's love can bring security into my life. God's love enable me to know that He has the best plan for me, He'll give good gifts to me, He'll be in control when things are bad. I don't need to be doing great things in the church, i don't need to be a leader, i don't need to be in the limelight for Him to love me. He loves me for who i am.

I am Yours, God!

Pray for time extension!! haha kidding! really pray for my brain to be able to stretch and "save" all the memorising that i've done so far for my papers!!

Jasmine

1) Reflection Point:

I read, re-read, and re-re-read this passage to grasp what it wants to say. The passage is talking about Fullness of God. In order to receive the fullness of God, there are a few steps we need to do. So, I came out with this "flowchart": Grasp the love of Christ>Receiving strength and power>Christ dwelling in your hearts>Fullness of God.
So, the first step of the "journey to receive fullness of God" starts with grasping the love of Christ. In verse 19, it mentioned that God's love surpasses knowledge. I think it is trying to say that by "knowing" God's love is not enough, we need to have "hands on" experience so that it can register to our hearts. Knowledge will goes to the brain, not the heart. We heard of this word "brainwash", but never heard of the word called "heartwash" right?. If we register God's love into our brain, it will fade away as knowledge will fade as we grow older. So let us "file","save as", "God's love" to the directory called "the heart".

2) Prayer Request:
To be always reminded of God's love so that I can spread the love to people around me.

Shawn

Reflection: This is a short passage on God’s love. Only when being rooted and established in love, our spirit will be refreshed and strengthen.

Love one another

Prayer pt: Discipline in my studies

Li ping

reflection

Ephesians 3:16-19

I'm always amazed by God and the journey to fathom out how deep and wide is his love seems to me as a never ending quest. Truly encouraged by this love which was with me when I walk through the valleys of studies, friendships and the many problems big and small.Ultimately, I can only say what I've experienced is only a scratch of what he wants me to and come what may, the ultimate prayer of mine is definitely to know his love and trust that his love can and always will push me forward when I don't have the strength to do so.

prayer point:
Wanna care for others like how he cares for me.

24 October 2009 - eSermon

2009-10-25T15:27:00.006+08:00

Hey guys, eSermon is back! If you've missed out the service for the week, remember to log in to our own SIM Unit blog to look at the sermon. I will try to update every week. Let us learn together as a whole unit and that no one will be left out ya? You are also encouraged to leave your reflections on this blog that you've learned or something that God has spoken to you, ya?
-JasmIne

Date: 24 October 2009
Title: Sustaining Success in God's Community
Speaker: Pastor Jeff Chong

1) We need to enlist leadership (7:1-3)
Qualities of God-chosen leaders should have:
(a) Integrity Eg: Hanani, who is a trustworthy man
(b) Fear God <2> Eg: Having a health respect to God, Walk with God, having a strong sense of God-consciousness in your life
Good leadership must have competence and character.

2) We need to establish membership (7:4-5)
V8-25: Categorised by families
V26-38: Categorised by cities they live in
V39-42: Categorised by religious leaders and priests
V43-45: Categorised by Levites and singers
V46-56: Categorised by temple servants
V57-60: Categorised by descendants of Soloman's servants
V61-65: Categorised by people with pure Jewish blood
V66-69: The whole company numbered 42360

3) We need to encourage ownership
Invest in the kingdom of God. Leaders must set good example.
(a) Tithing
(b) Church Building Fund
(c) Time to God

Reflections:

SIM1 PnF Reflections Day 5 [Malachi 3:6]

2009-10-24T22:23:00.005+08:00

Siyuan
If God is unchanging from the Old T to the New T till now, it means that by right I'm supposed to die but by left He spared me and loved me! It shows that His love is unchanging the whole time! God is faithful and I should be faithful to Him too.

Cai Xuan
God is known to be unchanging. His love, His grace and mercy always remains the same. Whatever He promises you, He will fulfill. It is just a matter of time as the bible has written: there is a season for everything. God's unchanging nature will allow us to seek Him and tell Him our problems as He is always there for us.
Prayer point: Give thanks to God for His unfailing love.

Jun Yao

Haha! I think God like to question me these days man! He asked me, "Are you being faithful to me today?"

I was like "Wow! This is a tough question!" hmmm... i think God has been always constant, the same today and forever in my life, but i don't think I am like that to Him. I can't even always trust that He can handle what i'm going through when He always believe in the imperfect and sinful me. Haha! if u think i'm doing a self-condemnation here, it is not but is a realisation and reminder of how God is REALLY faithful to me.

"He who brought me through what i went through last time, will be the one who will bring me through this time"

Pray for consistency in my being and doing in God and also a consistent trust in Him

Maurise

This verse is short, but it made the greatest in my heart so far!

It just gave me another light of how wonderful, awesome is the God that i'm serving right now!
all insecurities and fear of the world would be gone with the wind!
because of His unchanging nature, i do not worry which standards to follow, i do not worry about my faith in the Almighty one, i do not beat the air with aimless purpose.
I'm loved forever till eternity, just as our God doesn't change.
Amen.

Jasmine

1) Reflection Point:

"God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and in the future."
People can disappoint us but God will not disappoint us. This is because people are always changing. Today, they will say ABC is good and then, tomorrow they will say ABC is bad. But God will not change. His standards on us do not change just because we look ugly, we look pretty, we are smart or we are stupid.

2) Prayer Request:
For a heart that will believe

Li Ping

Malachi 3:6

His unchanging nature is an assurance for me as I walk with him and let me know that many situations and people can change but definitely not him.We are not consumed by sins because our jehovah's compassion and mercy fails not.

Prayer point:
See the everlasting compassion of God and have the confidence that since he's consistent, he will bring me through difficulties and challenges.

Ben Tay

Malachi 3:6

His unchanging nature is an assurance for me as I walk with him and let me know that many situations and people can change but definitely not him.We are not consumed by sins because our jehovah's compassion and mercy fails not.

Prayer point:
See the everlasting compassion of God and have the confidence that since he's consistent, he will bring me through difficulties and challenges.

Shawn Yeo

Reflection: God does not change, which means that He is the same in whatever era. In our modern society where morality is relative, God’s word from the bible does not fickle with the changing times. By not changing, it shows that the standard set is the perfect standard, and we all fall short of it (one way or another)

Prayer pt: discipline in study. Please pray for facebook to be destroyed.

SIM2 PnF Reflections Day 5 [Malachi 3:6]

2009-10-23T23:08:00.003+08:00

Liyin Proclaims:
The following is adapted from the writing in my journal..?
Actually when I read the verse, I didn't really get it, so I decided to read on to see what was happening throughout the whole passage.. Right after God said, "I the Lord do not change" He went on to say "So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed." Because God doesn't change, His love for His people never changes and He keeps His promises to them. Because always and always, God still loves them. And His promise to them in v7 holds true for them as well, despite their great sin: "Return to me and I will return to you." God's love for us doesn't change, the fact that He cares for us doesn't change, His providence doesn't change. And God reminded me that because of His unchanging nature, people like to take advantage of Him. Not that we can take advantage of God, but as humans sometimes we do try. In v8: "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me." But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings." What I wrote: Lord, help me not to take advantage of Your unchanging nature. Help me not to rob You by not giving You all that I have and all that I am.

And another thing. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the Alpha and the Omega, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Revelation 1:8. God is still as hard on sin as He was before. God is still righteous and holy. And was reminded that because He doesn't change, because He is eternal, because His Word stands firm forever, we need to fear God. Because He is God and He does not change. in addition to fearing God because of His unchanging nature, God reminded me that we need to also take comfort in His unchanging nature. Isaiah 26:3-4 - You will keep in perfect peace he whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal. =) And in Deuteronomy 33:27 - The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, "Destroy him!" And in Psalm 90:2 - Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. =) Yeah.. We need to fear God, respect Him and obey Him. And also to love Him, be real with Him, trust Him and walk with Him all the days of our life. Stand in awe of God. Give our best to Him. And remember that He is forever holding our hand. And yeah thank God that He doesn't change!! Cos to put it bluntly, the world can kiss itself goodbye if He does. XP

Prayer:
That this truth (that God doesn't change) will be so evident in my life. That i'll experience God's unchanging nature throughout my life and be constantly reminded of it. Experience how His unchanging nature affects the way i live?

Liyi Proclaims:
This verse reminded me of the verse in Hebrews 13:8 ' Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday and today and forever'. Even if we turn away and return to God, He is still the SAME. Knowing that my God is unchanging, humbles me and this song 'From the Inside Out' came to my mind.

A thousand times i fail, still your mercy remains
And i should stumble again, still i'm caught in your grace
Everlasting your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending your glory goes beyond all fame

1st 2 lines really expresses how i feel towards God's unchanging nature

Ning Proclaims:
God is forever the same.
though in the world,the most constant thing is change.
only God stays the same.
today, tomorrow and forever.
His mercies and grace never fails.
i am suddenly reminded of a song.

DESERT SONG
This is my prayer in the desert
When all that’s within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

CHORUS:
I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I’ll stand

BRIDGE:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favour and providence flow
I know I’m filled to be emptied again
The seed I’ve received I will sow

this song really touches me every single time.
esp the last part which says, IN EVERY SEASON YOU ARE STILL GOD.
in my sad times,in my happy times,in my i-really-want-to-give-up times.
God hears me and He delivers me thru it.
it makes me have increased faith in Him.

Thank God that in every season, He is still God and He is the one who provides.
im glad i serve a perfect God:)
what abt you?

Jesline Proclaims:
The passage reminds me of God's trustworthiness. His will, his purpose, his promises, his nature do not change regardless of who we are and how we have been. Reading this reminds me of the times when i have failed myself or people around me.This is a very terrible feeling of disappointment and condemnation, however i thank God that he is not like me. I can fully trust in him and his word. God's trustworthiness gives me courage to face my past and future.

Prayer:
Today i ask God to release me from my past-the disappointments of my own failure, allow God to heal the hurts that i hardly want to face and the courage to move on towards my future.

Elaine Proclaims:
Our God is an unchanging God. We should put our trust in him because he is the same yesterday,today and forever.His love for us endures forever but we should not take it for granted.
Prayer: To walk closely to him and know more of God's character.

Mich Proclaims:
From this passage it reminds me of past experiences.People do really fail us but God dun! humans are imperfect and cannot be compared to God. This reminds me of a verse saying Jesus Christ is the same today,yesterday and tomorrow, God indeed do not change He's always e same. N bcoz of this, we r not destroyed easily, for He does not help us according to His mood, if He does, we wud b defeated by e devil. Yea. So i wanna pray tt I'll keep this in mind, as in God do not chng, n rmb tt we r not easily defeat for our victory is in God alr.

Sharon Proclaims:
What i have learnt is that:
-If God had changed His purpose, the sons of Jacob would have been consumed, However, because God has a purpose that He has been working out from the beginning, He looked beyond what these people were doing (to destory and remove themselves from His purpose.)
By saying "I do not change" He has never altered His purpose from the beginning.
In our own lives many times we fail to live out a life pleasing to God but one thing sure is it Doesn't change His love for us!
Many times there are vaild reasons for Him to not bless us due to our crooked ways but God is a man of His words! SO MUST WE!

Han Proclaims:
The descendants of Jacob then, did not recognise God's ever present mercy towards them, and questions God. And this verse was where God reaffirms His unchanging love for them. In the same way, God in our lives has always been faithful, and in certain ways, sometimes we turn a blind eye to His presence in our lives. When in all times, we are the ones who change, never God. God's purpose for us remains the same, in times when we lose our way, make the choice to go back to His path. I pray to constantly remember my first love with God, with the assurance that God's hand and will is in my life, no matter the circumstance.

SIM2 PnF Reflections Day 4 [2 Corinthians 4:13-18]

2009-10-23T15:56:00.005+08:00

Li Yi:
Paul is trying to sat that the presence of God will be with us and this is what keeps me going in my walk with God. Towards the end of the passage, I was reminded of how often we're preoccupied by things of the world which suck away our physical and mental strength. Not only that, we may wonder why are we working so hard at those worldly things. I think that what is important is not to lose ourselves to the world but constantly seek God and allow Him to work in us. It is the work done in us that is going to last us till eternity and the achievement of the world. V18 is applicable to what I'm facing right now - studying. I always think of how I want to score well for exams but at the end of the day, my results are just papers of qulifications that will help me get a job. It doesn't help me to earn a place in heaven. Instead of focusing on doing well alone, faith is what I should ask for each day. It should be my faith in God that allows me to trust in Him that He's going to bring me through my exam season.

Prayer: To fix my eyes unto God and pray for more faith as I study!!

Han Yun:
2 Corinthians 4, the passage of "Treasures in Jars of Clay" has always been one of my favourite passages in the bible! In tough times, this passage always encourages me, and reminds me of God's promises and the power that He has already given to us. Jars of clay are plain containers, they dont stand out. In those days i guess rich people would keep their treasures in magnificent trunks. So why would Paul use this description? Even in v13-18, Paul highlights the different contrasts between what is seen and what is unseen. In other words, what is transient and what is permanent, appearance versus truth, what happens to us (our circumstances or the person that we portray) versus what is within living in us. Evidently it is the latter that is more important.

Paul, I feel, goes through the worst trials and tribulations ever! And I really look up to him, how he is never losing heart, keeping his faith in God. How much my troubles and circumstances pales in comparison to what he went through!! I pray to be someone who, the busier I am the more time I spend in His word to refresh myself. The more troubled or disillusioned I am, the more I seek God to realign my perspective and direction to Him. People in nature, likes to be secured of a good future, study hard, plan well to ensure a better life. But our future is not of this world, our future is eternity in heaven!!! Let's not be pretty boxes that store rotting 'treasures', BUT be humble jars of clay that stores these great treasures that God entrusts into our hands!

Jesline:
V13, our faith in God should not be kept iside us alone, when we believe in God for something, we must speak out our faith. Eg: God I believe you can work in me! God you can give me strength! God in You I have salvation! We must learn to proclaim our faith. Also given that all is seen is temporary. V18, we should not work on outward things but rather we should labour in things of the unseen. like our inner man, our character in God. This is what will last forever.

Prayer: God I pray for me to know what are the outward things so that with my limitations I will invest what I have in the eternal things. Also pray for myself to proclaim My faithin God more.

Li Yin:
I think the reason Paul was able to consider his troubles as light and momentary (when in face they weren't - he went through persecutions, beatings, insults, hardships, etc.) was cos he saw them in the light of eternity. In v16, not losing heart=perseverance. God reminded me of Hebrews 11:27 and 12:1-3. About Moses, in Hebrews 11:27-... he persevered because he saw him who is invisble. And 12:3 - Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Fixing our eyes on Jesus becomes our focus and the troubles become the background. In all our circumstances, we need to realise that God is greater than whatever comes our way, and run this race WITH Him and FOR Him.

Elaine:
It enourages me that we should have faith and practice faith. We alltend tothink what you see is what you get. Instead we should all look towards spiritual reward which is the everlasting instead of temporary gifts that fulfil our temporary needs. When we trust that God is the evrlasting while all else fade, the more we should spread about His goodness to the people around us.

Prayer: To trust and notthe next moment forget that God is for us.

Shu Ning:
Don't lose heart. Though we may be growing older, yet imwardly we are refreshed by God's love everyday. Whatever we may be facing now will pale in comparison when we receive the glory for mGod. Therefore, we should focus on God and not what we can see because faith is believing what we can't see. Put your faith in God that He will bring you through these trials to achieve something that far surpasses wah we are going through now. Don't give up. Go and do what God commands you to do.

Sharon:
All of us should hold on to this hope in eternity as we live out our lives. It convicts in me if I believe in somethingtherefore I should proclaim! Why keep? In v15 and 18, shows a different perspective of viewing problems and limitations seeing them as benefits
1. They help us remember Christ's suffering for us.
2. Keep us from being prideful (Thinking we are able to live a life on our own)
3. For God to demostrate His greatness through the troubles and proving our faith to others! (that's why we should always have tons of testimonies to share!)
With all these positive outlook, it's easier for us to embrace problems and limitations seeing them as opportunities God gives for us to testify about Him! Look towards eternity! Outwardly waht we are doing is just a 'chasing after wind...it's meaningless!' (book of Ecc)But inwardly we should seek to be refreshed daily!

Michelle:
Sometimes when come to sharing about God, I'm not confident. Therefore there is really a need for me to really have that faith, that trust in God, believe that I can do it with God's power. Just like Paul, despite all the trials and hardships he went through, he did not stop proclaiming God's love. Also know taht what we are going through in this world is to mould our characters, strengthen our faith in God, also to focus on God whenever we face problems, for God is eternal and worthy of our all.

Prayer: Continue to fix my eyes on God and not br afraid of going trials in my life.

SIM1 PnF Reflections Day 4 [2 Corinthians 4:13-18]

2009-10-23T09:37:00.008+08:00

Siyuan

Give thanks to God for the troubles that I face! Fix my eyes on the eternal - make sense of why I do what I do. Keep obeying and desiring to hear from God. See eternal value in the things that I do and discard all the distractions that restrain me from working at my full potential!

Ryan Kong
We as christians must not lose heart in whatever is given for us to do. We must be renewed day by day. We must therefore see the achievement from the eternal point of view in order to receive the glory.

Poh Liping

Focusing on the eternal... hmm seems like many times as we serve we wanna be able to see the physical outcomes and what lies ahead, probably a better sense of security for many...I've gradually learnt that what I can't see,the eternal, is the main thing of the main thing and thats what really kept Paul going.

Prayer Point:
Its not easy to fix my eyes on what is unseen but at least I know what is seen is temporal.Pray that as I walk I will give my very best and not be hindered by the physical things in my life.Really wanna overcome what he set for me to face so that I can soar with him.

Johnny Depp (celebrity blog)

Reflection: paul spoke because he had believed. the point here is he had faith. in v18 it says, fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen for what is seen is temporal but what is unseen is eternal. faith even without fully understanding. though sometimes in life, things appear vague or blurrish or sometimes even impossible but we must have faith that God will bring us through. God has the best plan for us, for me and we should hold on to the promises.

prayer request: discipline in doing my qt in every season. refreshment as im tired from acting in new film about schoolwork.

Reflection: What I reflect from this passage is “Faith”. Especially in 2 Corinthian 4:18.

Shawn Yeo (letter format)

Dear SIM, blog,

Greetings.It is important to look beyond the tangible things in front of us.
Prayer pt: discipline

Cheers
Shawn See Heng, Yeo

"Winning isn't everything, but the will to win is."
- Vince Lombardi

Li Junyao

What caught me today was God asking me whether I believe in the Power that resurrect Jesus cos the power that resurrect Jesus was also the power that is present in the Holy Spirit that is living within me. This PnF really came at the right time cos during exam i will feel helpless a lot of times due to the overwhelming load of stuff to understand and memorise and seeing time keep ticking away and me getting tired as it goes does not help me to cool and steady. But today God really question me the do i believe in the Power that resurrect Jesus!

and today i could also identify with what is outwardly wasting away and yet inwardly we are being renewed. Was really depending on this verse as i fast and study today... Is definitely shiok to study with Jesus!!

Pray for me in the area of being submissive to the power of the Holy Spirit cos is only when we submit then God can work through!

Regards,
Junyao
Get Paid To Read Emails. Free To Join Now!
(I won't read)

Jasmine Tan <3

Hey guys,

Here's my reflection:

1) Reflection Point:

"Have faith!"
I think this is the message I got after after reading today's passage. We should focus on the unseen and not the things we are seeing as these are temporal. When we are too focus on the "seen", we tend to look at the limitations we have, the problems we are facing. In this way, where's God now? Is he even in your picture? Our problems are temporary. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Do I even have faith that God will help me in the situation that I'm in?

2) Prayer Request:
Trust in God and rely more of His strength and not mine.

-JasmIne

Ben Tay

Reflection points: There has to be faith and believe in the things I speak about God and my salvation. It is certain that Jesus is the only way to eternal life not because it is written in the Bible, but more importantly, the Bible had stood the test. With so many prophesies already fulfilled and the historical evidence all pointing towards the existence of God, how can I not be convicted and believe? Moreover, it is not all about knowledge. It’s about the life that He has changed in me.

I need to take a step of faith for the things that are ahead of me. With the power and promise of God, how can I feel so helpless? Helplessness shouldn't be my emotion. I see the lack of trust in Him to deliver me although He has done it time after time.

Living life with or without God will have its own set of problems. However, the angle that we look at things and the importance of things is different. The differences in views are because of the lens of God. Many things may seem to be a must have and urgent such as excellent academic results, expansive wealth, perfectly toned legs, athletic build, smooth skin etc. All these are not even looked for in the KOG! What matters in the KOG are salvation and the spiritual well-being of people. I don't need to create new word (BOOMZ). I just need a solid heart filled with love for God. This love sounds simple. That is just the surface. Love compels. It is the driving force to the things I do in my life.

Cai Xuan

What kept Paul going was his faith in God. By His Word our spiritual being is renewed day by day, even as we grow older. As we live day by day, our faith is put to test by trials and temptations, thus we need to focus more on His Word.

Prayer Point: Not to fall into temptation. Eg. Sleeping monster.

Jolene

What hope keeps Paul going (v14)?
The hope that God will raise us and present us in his presence.

How does Paul keep from losing heart (v16)?
He renews his spirit every day by walking close with God.

What important comparison does Paul make in v17?
That whatever difficulties we are facing now will earn us the eternal glory which is so much more important to us.

What important life instruction does Paul give in v18? How can you follow this instruction in practice?
About faith, faith is believing what is unseen. About trusting God, that He knows what I can bear and he is not here to harm me,

SIM1 PnF Reflections Day 3 [Isaiah 6:1-8]

2009-10-22T00:31:00.008+08:00

Prayer and fasting Day 3, Isaiah 6:1-8

Junyao's PNF
After reading this passage, my instant thought is that "God wants to work in us before He worked through us"!

I think many a times, i myself will focus more on v8 that i will tend to respond very fast to tell God to use me in a great fashion but i failed to see that God will want to do something great within me too! Like i was sharing to Ben Tay and Benson today that many a times that i have no problem to trust God and have faith in Him in the area of ministry but i always struggle with trusting and having faith in Him in the other little areas of my life.

I don't just want to be victorious in the area of ministry, i wanna be a victorious Christian!

Pray for me to grow in the area of faith to trust God in the area of health, finance and my study.

Jasmine's PNF
1) Reflection Point:

God is above all, AMEN! Even if King Uzziah was passed away, we see that our God is still sitting on a throne, high and exalted. God will never fall even if our world came tumbling down. It reminds me that we should focus on eternal and not temporal things. Temporal things can fade away but not the eternal. Even if we find that "it's not our day" and that everything is not our control, ulimately we should put our focus in God.

The passage also talks about HOLINESS OF GOD and a FORGIVING GOD.

HOLINESS: When Isaiah saw the Lord, he was stunned. This is because he saw the holiness of God and he was ashamed because of his personal sin. When the unholy confronts the holy, we became very conscious of our own sinfulness. In the presence of God, darkness cant hide as all hidden things will be exposed.

FORGIVING: God is forgiving because Christ died for our sin. When God saw Isaiah, He didnt say anything or scold Isaiah of his sins but sent one of the angels to touch his lips. God did this because He didnt want Isaiah to live in a sinful life filled with guilt.

2) Prayer Request:
N/A

Caixuan's PNF
in V5, isaiah realised his sin (man of unclean lips).But he confessed to God and God took away his guilt and his sins.thus each and every one of us have the ability and opportunity to be used by God in all areas of our lives.Be it in our ministry, school as well as our family.God can use us in many ways.I think God is trying to tell us that we must first scan every single moment of our lives, realised wad we have done wrong or right, after which tell it to God.then,we are the clean vessel that God will use to do His works.most of the times, people think tt they have not enough time to reflect upon their spiritual walls,or they dont bother to even have the thought of doing it.we must be aware abt how we build up our spiritual walls.

Prayer pt:

develop sensitivity towards how we live our lives

Shawn's PNF
Reflection:

From this passage, I reflect upon humbling oneself, and be truthful to God in our sins. Only through recognizing that there is sin in your life and willing to offer this sin to be cleansed, that we will be able to live without being bondage.

Prayer pt: Discipline in studies, loving to others.

AHPING's PNF
Isaiah 6:1-8

The righteousness of God cannot be reduced to our standards when trying to justify our behaviours because his holiness is far greater than what we can imagine.When we come before him, we need to have a repentant heart just like Isaiah and after receiving God's grace and forgiveness, I'm really encourage when he ask God to use him.'Here I am.Send me' spells out the willingness to give the very best to God, nothing less than that.

Prayer request:

Seeking forgiveness with a repentant heart make me realise that the more I know God the more his holiness exceeds my own understanding.Just wanna be more like him and be the kind of person he wants me to be....

MAURISE'S PNF
1. Reflections
Seraphs are also known as Seraphims. They are the highest rank of Angels of God.

It reminded me of how Holy,Righteous is the God that i serve and worship. If God were to reveal himself in front of me, i guess i could die just by being too overwhelmed from the holiness that He shone. No matter how unclean, sinful, guilty we are... God is always there to sent angels and in present days, HS, to comfort us and release us from condemnation of the world.

I'm thankful for the Grace and Mercy that God has showered upon me. Hallelujah! God to be praised!

2. Prayer points
- Be thankful in all circumstances, for God is good.

Si Yuan's PNF
I need to be cleaansed by God in my mind and my speech! When I look at the passage, I saw how after the cleansing, Isaiah was able to come before God free and confident to approach His throne! It is at this point where Isaiah is ready to receive God’s assignment! (Notice before the cleansing, he dare not even stand before God) I need God’s cleansing to do His will! Amen!

Bentay's PNF
Operation Seeking

Day 3

Reflection points: When I saw this passage, instantly a song came to my mind – “I Will Go” by Desperation Band. It is a song centered on this passage. This passage has a deep impact in my life and I always read it in preparation for missions.

Isaiah lived in an era where the Israelites weren’t responding to the call of God. They were even rebelling against the commands of God. Isaiah knew that in every circumstance, it was going to be a tough time for him to carry out God’s mission for Israel. Despite this, Isaiah answered God’s call. He stood up to be counted. Isaiah was fully immersed in the culture of Israel in those days, yet he stood strong and lived according to the heartbeat of God.

When he saw the full glory of God, he couldn’t help but to stand in awe of Him. He was humble before God. He spotted his weaknesses and sins before God as light drives out darkness. God knew of Isaiah’s weaknesses and sins. God had shown His glory before Isaiah to purify him. It was also an act of encouragement. With the purification and the approval of God, Isaiah decided to respond.

Had Isaiah not responded, the history of Israel would not be what it is now. Had Moses not responded, Israel might still be in captivity. I need to realize that it is God who chooses and anoints. God sees the weaknesses in me and longs to turn these weaknesses into a place where His glory will be manifested in. He will turn these weaknesses around for His purpose and glorify His name.

I want to be a clean vessel for God to work in. The love of God, for God and for mankind will be my key driving force to answer God’s call. Experiences will not be a thing of the past. It shall and will be used to further extend the KOG. I need the faith to answer when my phone rings.

Prayer points: My life to be pleasing to God by me dying to my fleshly desires constantly.

Collated by HUMMY

SIM2 PnF Reflections Day 3 [Isaiah 6:1-8]

2009-10-22T00:00:00.004+08:00

Shuning

As we confess our sins, mean it with all our hearts and allow God to work in our lives. Let God take away whatever is not pleasing to Him. Do this so He can be glorifed.

Liyi

Isaiah knew the serious consequences of sins so he sees the need to quickly repent. It's like many a timei can ask God for forgiveness but soon I'll commit the same sin again unless God makes me a broken man. It's experiencing such pain/hurt then i fully repent before Him. Likewise God uses anyone and everyone to do his work but we got to check our own motives. They have to be pure and right.

Prayer:
not to have selfish motives but to have clean hands and prue hearts as i serve God

Elaine

Isaiah acknowledged himself as a sinner and allow God to take over his life. He received God's forgiveness and is able to proclaim his identity in God. His attitude may seem easy but in real life, it takes alot of courage to be like Him

Prayer:
to allow God to work through me and acknowledge that God is in control

Sharon

Isaiah's view of God in 6:1-4 gives us a sense of God's greatness! He recognised his sinfulness(v5) before God encourages us to confess ours too, his picture of forgiveness(v7) that we too are forgiven and we should be convicted that we are! And stop living a life of condemnation! When we recognise and understand how great God is, vs our sinful being leading to his unconditional forgiveness for us it should drive us even more to love him and fulfill his commands!

Michloo

This passage reminded me of the need to identify my sins like Isaiah did. N also to really take it seriously.Once we confess our sins to God, have the heart attitude to really wanna change and turn away from those sins again. I believe when we really die to our sins and are convicted of God's grace upon us, He will use us greatly when we ask Him to use us, just like Isaiah.

Prayer:
wanna pray for God's guidance in my life, to stay close to the holy spirit. N also not be so afraid to be used by God

Jesline

From this passage, God spoke to me about 2 things.

1) A new life in Christ- if Isaiah can respond by confessing his sins to God and trust in God's graciousness upon his sinfulness. What more us, when we have seen/heard the message of the Gospel-which should give us greater confidence in confessing our sins to God and also believing in his purifying work in our lives.
I will want to learn from Isaiah, the way he looks at sin upon his life. He did not think sins are something small but rather he sees his own brokeness before God.

2)We are imperfect, we are sinners, we will stumble and fall again BUT God will still use us. However the key is the desire of having a pure life.

Prayer:
For myself to be broken for my sins. Ask God to open my eyes to my brokenness and the need for Him.

For the Holy Spirit to be upon me so that i can guard my life, my thoughts,
my emotions, my words, and desires. May God set Godly desires in my heart more

Liyin
in v5: "...For I am a man of unclean lips," this shows Isaiah's acknowledgement of himself as a sinful man and also how holy and righteous God is. Isaiah stood in awe of God, and in His presence Isaiah was humbled and realized that he was unworthy. But then in v8 Isaiah was able to declare with conviction, "Here am I. Send me!" What caused the sudden change in perspective?

The Isaiah in v5 was humbled, broken and knew himself to be unworthy to serve God and stand in His presence. In v8, he was convicted, and he was able to declare confidently that "yeah, God, send ME!"

Because in v7, God cleansed Isaiah. He cleansed Isaiah from his sins, and in doing so sort of stamped His seal of approval upon Isaiah. Isaiah, humble, broken, unworthy. God cleansed him, stamped His approval on him. Then and only then was Isaiah able to declare with conviction. What this holds for myself, for all of us is that we need to remember that we're able to do what we're doing (serving God etc.)

because of God, not because of ourselves. We are all unworthy before Him. But because of what God has done, we are able to find our confidence and hope in Him and declare with all conviction, "Here I am, send me!" And another thing is that truly receiving God's forgiveness leads to action. As in, we would want to do our best for God because we're so thankful for what He has done for us. Yep. I think that's one of the reasons why Isaiah responded to God's call so willingly too. =) oh oh oh and.. in saying "Here I am, send me!", Isaiah didn't say go WHERE, send him where.

In saying so, Isaiah was willing to let God take control of his life. And he trusted that God would bring him to where He knew was best for him. Isaiah responded with a willing heart and total surrender, and that was all that was needed. it's like saying, "God, here I am, send me. To wherever You want me to go, to do whatever You want me to do. You are the One who sends, therefore I will trust in you." It's not so much about who is going, but more about who is SENDING. =)

Hanyun:
I forgot where i learnt this, so to confirm it, i researched abit, and indeed, the Seraphims represent the highest rank of angels in the Christian angelic hierarchy. And they are forever in God's presence and praising Him constantly. So for God to reveal his throne, his highest angels to Isaiah, how much must He treasure and love Isaiah! I think if i were Isaiah i might faint right there. Something that i really admire Isaiah is his readiness and instant willingness to respond to God. After repenting and after the assurance that his sins are atoned for, he immediately responded to God's call straightforwardly!

In our case, God has already gave us Jesus. We know that our sins are forgiven. But alot of times, I can get clouded by my fears and insecurities, and ask God MANY times, "God, are you suuuure?? Like reaaaaaally??", before readily stepping out to answer to God's call. Today is Day 3 of PNF! For the past 2 days, we have been repenting of our sins and recognising God's glory. Today is the day to answer, "here i am. send me." Even in the areas of our sins and struggles, let's claim this assurance and confidence in God!

SIM2 PnF Reflections Day 2 [John 12:23-33]

2009-10-21T10:00:00.006+08:00

Li Yin ponders and says:

In facing all these things, Jesus was troubled, Jesus was fearful. But what did Jesus do? He remembered His purpose, He remembered that God has it all planned out. And He took ultimate pleasure in God's Name being glorified. In His surrender alone, God's Name was glorified. For myself, God reminded me of the need to surrender my family, my friends, my relationships, all to Him. And to die to my selfish motivations, comfort zones, pride and irresponsibility. Glorify God's Name in my surrender. This was what I wrote in my journal: Lord, I want to live my life for You today, lead me, guide me as to what You want me to do, and help me to do them. God, prune me, shake my foundations, build them up strong in You. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Lord, You intended me to pass Your tests. So Lord, I will trust in You, no matter what comes my way. Make me more and more like You. Stretch me etc etc…

Shuning ponders and says:

Unless we give up the parts of our lives that are not pleasing to God, we will not bear fruit. Give our lives to God fully. Jesus died so that we could have eternal life.

Michelle ponders and says:

This passage reminded me of the life I’m leading. Am I leading a fully surrendered life or are there still areas which I’ve not surrendered fully to God? Also, am I giving my full 100% in serving and following God? Jesus knew He is going to die in a painful way, yet He surrendered everything to God. He also knew that His death would draw ppl to Him and He died willingly. He gave His all to us. What about me? Did I give my all to Him?

Prayer: As I continue to walk in Christ, I would give as much as possible I can in serving the Kingdom. Also pray that God will show more and be clear in areas that I need to surrender and how I can serve Him more.

Sharon ponders and says:

Reading through the verses reminds me of how I’m living my life now. Am I prioritising on things that bring about eternity? Or am I just going about life a worldly being and I think most of us would make this prayer in v27, once in a while praying to ask God to deliver us when we feel like there’s no end to troubles but indeed we are created and placed in wherever we are for a reason too! Through testings to be more like Jesus and live a life that causes others to be “interested” in us! Take heart! Jesus is on His way…in time to come there will be breakthroughs as the prince (Satan) will be casted out!!

Elaine ponders and says:

We can be in the world but not of the world. Unless we die to ourselves and give this life to God, we have eternal life. It means we’re no longer leading our life but rather allowing God to be the driver of our life. The reason for our existence is to glorify Him.

Prayer: To be more Christ-like, surrendering my rights and follow God’s way

Jesline ponders and says:

This passage reminds me of the degree we’re willing to die to ourselves ie. Choosing the things of God and the ways of God over ours especially when it is hard to surrender. V26’whoever serves me must follow me and where I am my servant will also be’ when we choose to serve and follow God, it’s like doing what Jesus does-going to the cross and die. Sometimes it might be tough to do so and we might struggle, but it will bring about great power and blessings ie. The death of Jesus has the power to draw all men to Him and many will escape eternal death through the death of Jesus which brings the blessing of a new life. Similarly for us, the power and blessing God can pour into a life that chooses to die to himself.

Prayer: To allow God to reign in my life-family, school, church and for myself to follow Jesus in His footstep in obedience so that His power and blessing can flow in my life.

Li Yi ponders and says:

Jesus knew that He is going to die. Instead of asking God to save Him, He died on the cross to fulfil what is being written in the bible. He did it because He knew the great purpose behind it-to save and redeem ppl. And many will come to witness the power of God when He rise up from dead and will follow Him. As we’re saved and followers of Jesus, are we still denying ourselves to the cross? Any areas in my life that I’ve yet to surrender fully to God?

Prayer: Whatever plans and thoughts that I have, to be in line with God. For strength as i study for my exams this week!!

Hanyun ponders and says:
Being more like Jesus, being Christ-like, what does it mean? In this passage, we learn to model ourselves after Jesus, in picking up the cross, losing our (worldly) lives to follow God. Parallel verses from the other books:
[Matthew 16:24-25] "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 2For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it"
[Luke 9:23-25]"Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"

Personally, i find it a daily struggle to "pick up the cross" every single day, when sometimes i would tell God to let me rest for a day etc. HAHAHA. But I pray, and as a constant reminder, that i would not want to take the comfortable/easy way out, but hold this mission close to my heart and desire to seek after the glory of God. Also to recognise and be obedient to which part of ALL of heart, mind and soul that i have not handed to God yet.

SIM1 PnF Reflections Day 2 [John 12:23-33]

2009-10-21T00:05:00.008+08:00

Li Ping

reflection pt:
Was reminded by my promise to God to bear his cross and as I look at my walk with God there were indeed times where I wrestle with him over the problems and difficulties that happen in my life.Indeed whoever serves him should bear the cross though it will be a tough journey but if we look at the eternal instead of the temporal, count our blessings instead of our losses then our father in heaven will indeed be glorified through our everyday walk with him!

prayer request:

Wanna see jesus lifted high in my life... to let go and let God when I face difficulties.

Ben Tay

Divine self-promotion

Reflection points: v24 has been quoted often to refer back to us living surrendered lives which God will work in. When I read this verse from the passage again, I saw it in a different light. Jesus is prophesising here that in the coming days after His death on the cross, the message of salvation will spread like wildfire. The importance of the death that He has to go through on the cross is emphasized.

As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, a voice from heaven spoke. This is the signal of God’s approval and backing of His ministry on earth. There could be many reasons as to why God chose to interrupt at this moment. One of it would be to reinforce the points Jesus mentioned. Another would be to heighten the level of agreement and quash the disbelief among the people. These inferences were made from v30, “this voice was for your benefit, not mine.”

Prayer points: To do ministry God’s way

Jun Yao

After reading today's passage, the phrase "If Jesus is not the Lord of our life, He is not Lord at all" came into my mind. I mean how many times i had cried out to Jesus calling Him my Lord but yet i do not let Him take control certain areas of my life particularly right now dealing with my exam that i will tend to want to do my best but not really trusting and have the faith that He will guide and protect me. And i was thinking abt other areas of my life that sometimes i let my own emotion, personalities, preferences, likings to be my lord rather than Jesus.

After two days of doing the FnP guide, i realised that is about our lives bringing glory to Jesus. a lot of questions came into my mind. one of them being "how can i being glory to Jesus if i don't depend on Him, don't follow Him?" I really pray and hope my life will show forth His glory and not mine.

A question for all of us today, "is Jesus the Lord of every areas of our lives today?"

Prayer points:

Pray for me to increase my faith and trust God in the areas of study and my health. Really afraid that i might need to spend my holidays in the operation theater.

Pray for my dad as he is not feeling well. Feeling giddy for the whole day le.

Maurise

reflections:
Something that struck me when i read v26, that is the big word- PRIDE.
"v26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."
I guess being able to disown our own pride is as much difficult as trying to be god of our own lives? That's why God knows our weakest link in life. That day might come when we would soon crumble while trying to hold on to our pride. It is so true that we should die to ourselves(pride) and allow God to catch us from below when we release this kernel(pride). Let it fall onto God's hands!
God did not use other words such as 'should', 'could', etc.... He uses MUST. God yearns for us to be able to humble ourselves completely and have a heart that is totally after Him. this is something i'm struggling as well, thus the word 'must' is a great encouragement to remind me about my focus. i don't think Jesus is forcing us to imitate him in what he do, but the spirit should be like him. likewise, principles in the bible should be much focus on, methods and all could be contextualize and suit our community.

Prayer points:
- pride to decrease, humility to increase!
- be discipline to study

Si Yuan

When we follow Jesus, we need to see things from an eternal perspective - not just to save our life on Earth, but to invest for eternity! My heart must be irrevocable (no turning back) as I follow God! The pleasure is not in a hedonistic sense. Rather, it is a pleasure to fulfill the ultimate purpose God set for him (Jesus) !

Jasmine

1) Reflection Point:
Surrendering of our lives to God for a transformed life, so that we are able to live and bear fruits. In order to live (better and healthier), we have to get rid of the sins (guilt, disappointment, letdowns, hurt, wrongdoings that we've caused) and not carrying the sin of our lives along with or bury it underneath. God doesnt want us to live a life of avoidance. God didnt promise us a life in timidity/emo-ness but He wants to give us a victorious life. So are you game?

2) Prayer Request:
I've been trying to run away from an issue, like burying underneath and not touching it. Recently, someone reminded me and asked me if im able to forgive the hurt that the person has caused. I gave a silent answer "NO." I know that running away will not solve the problem. Pray that I am able to face this probl! em bravely with God and tackle it sensibly. "Give me a forgiving heart like God's"

Cai Xuan

Reflection: Jesus was speaking about his death, His resurerection and his exaltation.. Jesus did not want us to concentrate on our own success but to love Him like how He loves us that He went up the cross. Definitely Jesus was not looking forward to what lay ahead for Him.. but instead He prayed to glorify God's man. Because of Jesus, we are able to come before God with righteousness. Because of Jesus, we are cleansed

Prayer Point: love others and put them before myself

Shawn

Reflection: Surrendering and putting God in the center of decisions we make.
25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Humility and the choice to follow God, must not be partial.

Praer point: Discipline, humility and wisdom

SIM2 PnF Reflections Day 1 [2 Corinthians 3:7-11]

2009-10-20T20:07:00.008+08:00

Jesline says:

God intends for his ministry to be glorious-the ministry now to be more glorious than the previous one compared to the time before Jesus made a new covenant for man. In the old convenant, no man has direct access to God, it is always the priests who act as in bridge from man to God, performing the roles of offering sacrifices to God. In the new covenant, man has direct access to God through Jesus. If man now has direct access to God now, how much more glorious will this new ministry be compared to the previous one? I thought about the times when i am faithless in believing that God can transfrom me, transform the people around me, transform his church to be one that is more like Him.

prayer point:
- ask God to unveil my eyes to see the his work in my life and not see through human understanding
-ask God for faith to believe in his promises that will not fail, that his church will indeed grow from glory to glory
- to concentrate and study to my best ability to glorify God :)

Sharon says:

I find that the real power of living a good Christian life comes from God (through His Holy Spirit), not from our human efforts, and the most fulfilling Christian life is not to be found in humn praise, but true spiritual results! The glorification of God provided by the Holy Spirit should be something on the inside of every Christian, and manifesting God's glory on the outside. According to Paul, this "new glory surpasses the miracles of the Old Testament" meant that the faith, hope and love that flows from us through the Holy Spirit, is greater than any miracle that was once performed.

Ning says:

We should be a salt and light to other ppl around us and when we receive blessings from God and give Him our complete glory. When we do something for God, we shouldn't do it for the sake of getting somehting in return, but do it so that we can give glory to God. Go out there and make a difference to the people around us. It will bring glory to God. =)

Mich says:

It's like showing how things in the past will be faded no matter how glorious it were, and that we should look forward, things would be even more glorious than before we move on. This reminded me of a time when we, be it as an individual, CG, unit or church, would stay at the point where we felt the most glorious, but if we stay on, we would not be able to experience even more glorious moments that God has installed for us. So I wanna pray that, even in tough times, i would move on, let go and let God. Allow God to perform glorious moments in my life to glorify His name.

Li Yi says:

I'm very glad that we're not following laws now because it was Jesus who died on the cross and set us free. In the times of Moses, it seems like people follow laws blindly. So, post this question to ourselves: "Are we ppl who follow laws which are just an outward expression or do we want to be ppl of the Spirit who obey inwardly?" And glory should be coming from God as our lives are transformed. =)

Elaine says:

It's not about what humans can do with their own strength to glorify God but rather it's the right heart attitude that truly brings glory to God.

Li Yin says:

One thing God reminded me of is that the glory of the present house will be greater than that of the former house. God has great things in store for His people, this unit, this cg. More than that, God lis looking for people, committed disciples to walk with Him. Those who will say "God's will be done"and who have Kingdom mentality. The time has come for God's house to be rebulit, foundations tested and strengthened, people to be pruned. And thank God that we're now free from sin and laws and free to live our lives for Him. =)

Han says:

This passage reminds me to repent as i reflect on God's greatness and yet how He came and gave us a way.

In the case of Moses' time, the commandments (engraved in stone) showed how the standard and justice of God is everlasting, and never compromising. In that period of time, i believe that God is concerned about His people and thus revealed to them His righteousness. And as we know from God's character that He is holy and no evil can come from Him,
we know that these rules are not to harm but to humble the people.

And when Jesus came, the ministry of the Spirit glorified and magnified the love of God. The standard of God remains, recognise that we are still inadequate, BUT now because of the gift of God's grace, and the Spirit lives in us, we are able to be close with God. The Spirit is living and eternal, so we are no longer bounded by our sins.

Am reminded of a recent teaching of how sometimes we are afraid of the consequences of sins MORE than afraid of the sin itself. And how we are sometimes also aware of how people around in church sees us (ie. do we seem 'spiritual') MORE than being aware of how God sees our hearts. This passage affirmed that we should no longer dwell in these false pretenses. And to build a ministry that seeks after this glory of God.

Sorry late!

SIM1 Operation Seeking - Day 1 [2 Corinthians 3:7-11]‏

2009-10-19T23:41:00.006+08:00

Show Me Your Glory

Jasmine says:
1) Reflection Points: One question that came to my mind after reading today's prayer point was "Am I in the ministry of Moses?" or "Am I in the ministry of Spirit?". It is something like "do i serve because my leader told me to do so or do i serve because this is what God wants me to do?". What if one day, my leader stops asking me to serve, will I stop serving? Ministry of Moses is like ministry to the law, which is engraved on the stone while the Ministry of Spirit is like ministry to the spirit, tablet of human hearts. Stone can broken but spirit cant. It will not be broken by all physical means. It is important for us to have a transformed heart that is fully cleansed. Ultimately, the most important thing is to have a heart that is after God and not after people.

2) Prayer points: Pray that my mum is touched by what I've done for her today. And that I can be salt and light in the family.

Maurise says:
1)Reflection points: After my 1st reading, the first thing that came to my mind was that Jesus' death was confirmed and that Hope came along together with His resurrection.
the ministry of God are no longer just words engraved on tablets and unreachable to us but when Jesus redeemed our sins, the ministry of God becomes 'flesh' in our hearts. This makes us even more victorious that what was victory in the past!

2)Prayer points: stop slacking, study harder for the upcoming jap exams!

Junyao says:
1) Reflection points: The passage really reminds abt how we human beings will look to things on the outside like how successful our ministries are, as a leader or a shepherd am i that zai and as a followers, we would also prefer to follow or submit to leaders that are zai or at least be 'similar' like us. But today's message really spoke to me and humble me in this particular aspect of whosw ministry am i really building on? My ministry? Your ministry? or ultimately really God's ministry?

I think nothing wrong with being zai or competent or charismatic, in fact if we have that is really a bonus to the KOG! but at the end of the day for myself, i really think i need to build this SIM ministry with the Spirit of God.

2) Prayer points: going thru exam period is definitely not easy man! Pray for me to be strengthened by God's power to stay awake for at least 16 hrs each day! pray for wisdom to understand concept easily.

Pray with me to see this SIM ministry to be built in God's way to please Him and not any one of us. pray with me that more and more pple will rise up to be GENERATION to take up God's call to be strong and biblical people.

Bentay says:
1) Reflection points: The ministry of Moses was of the old covenant where Jesus wasn’t born yet. The ministry of the Spirit symbolize the covenant where Christ had come.
In the old covenant, no one could see God face to face and still live. No one could go to God directly without the priests or God appointed prophets. God would reveal Himself hiding His face and He would write on stone tablets which show the distance of God and Man. This isn’t the case of the new covenant whereby we can approach God on a personal level and present to Him our petitions and requests as Jesus has died for us, tearing the curtains of the Holy of Holies from top down suggesting the barrier between God and Man as broken and nonexistent anymore.

While the stone is a dead object, the Spirit is alive and moving.

This passage reminds me of Nehemiah, where there was a promise that the glory of the later house will surpass the glory of the present house. In Christ, we shine His glory for than ever as compared to the older times where people couldn’t come to God straight.
One question that I ask myself is “Am I leaving trails of glory along the way to the people I meet?”

2) Prayer point: A generation that will rise to answer God's calling.

My mum to be able to gain strength in her limbs

My dad to stay fit under harsh weather conditions

Struggle past this peak time of studies with all my senses working to notice God's glory in the midst of them all

Li Ping says:
1) Reflection points: Moses physical ministry that is temporal compared to the ministry of the spirit that is eternal ...From the ministration of condemnation to the ministration of righteousness, all the more God's glory prevails in this passage and I'm encouraged to seek the future glory that will indeed last after the letters on the stone. How bright was the glory that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses and I do hope that as I serve, I'll focus on the ministry of the spirit that last and outshines.

2)Prayer point: I pray that operation s.e.e.k.i.n.g can help me take a step back as I search within me the areas that I need to rely on God's strength and I hope that even in the midst of school in this coming week, I can find solitude in him.

Si Yuan says:
1) Reflection points: The condemnation in layman's thinking summons an image of a draconian, bloodthirsty and sadistic being. This is not the case for these verses. In this case, "condemnation" is an act of justice, exhortion and objectivity. It serves to reveal our flaws and demostrate that indeed all Man have sinned and fallen short of the perfect standard. In some sense, the ministry of Moses and ministry of the Spirit are consecutive - if the ministry of Moses had not operate to show the futility of Man's self-righteousness and depravity, where is the need for forgiveness, reconciliatory role of the ministry of the Spirit? The ministry of Moses -of condemnmation - is paradoxically not in its objective to condemn, but to expose our folly and pave the way for the saving grace by Jesus (and sanctification by the Spirit).
http://alexanderhope.blog.friendster.com/2009/10/uni-ya-sim-operation-seeking/

collated and posted by bentay

Global Conference - THE CORE (19 - 21 August 2009)

2009-08-18T12:13:00.004+08:00

The future of our movement has never been more exciting. The possibilities have never been more appealing.

It is our privilege to invite you to our first ever Hope International Ministries Global Conference: The CORE – Revisiting Our Values.

The CORE is a three-day conference that gives Christian leaders an opportunity to sharpen and expand their leadership and influence. More than just a gathering, The CORE also represents a fresh step in our movement as God begins a new work in all of us. It is about building the essential basics, our roots and foundations. The Core is all about revisiting and strengthening our values.
We believe this Conference will only add, strengthen and champion what God is doing in your own individual life. Come join us as we journey together to understand the values that underpin the church.Let us get ready for all that God has for us!

Calling to those going for THE CORE GC:
1. To revisit and strengthen the core values and principles we have held onto as followers of Christ.
2. Through e teachings, think and pray through (individually and tog in ur CGs) these values n principles that can last us through the race.
These are the foundations and basis of our Christian beliefs.

Let us examine if we are holding onto the right things in this race. We will follow through on this in a Unit meeting after this week.

Carrie

Food for thought and chewing

2009-08-18T09:42:00.002+08:00

"But let him who boasts boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends." 2Cor 10:17-18

A reminder from God that, lets run a race that God approves, not by our standards or praises of men, not by how much we felt that we have done or how righteous we may feel, but by God and Him alone. How have we been living and serving Him? Are we subconsciously disqualifying ourselves along the race.

A food for thought for you all as well.
Will add my reflections again.

Carrie

not saved by service but saved for service

2009-08-17T22:52:00.000+08:00

You were saved to serve God. The Bible says, “It is he who saved us and chose us for his holy work not because we deserved it but because that was his plan” (2 Timothy 1:9 LB).

God redeemed you so you could do his “holy work.” You’re not saved by service, but you are saved for service. In God’s kingdom, you have a place, a purpose, a role, and a function to fulfill. This gives your life great significance and value.

It cost Jesus his own life to purchase your salvation. The Bible reminds us, “God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God” (1 Corinthians 6:20 CEV).
We don’t serve God out of guilt or fear or even duty, but out of joy, and deep gratitude for what he’s done for us. We owe him our lives. Through salvation our past has been forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured. In light of these incredible benefits Paul concluded, “Because of God’s great mercy . . . Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service” (Romans 12:1 TEV).

The apostle John taught that our loving service to others shows that we are truly saved. He said, “Our love for each other proves that we have gone from death to life” (1 John 3:14 CEV).

If I have no love for others, no desire to serve others, and I’m only concerned about my needs, I should question whether Christ is really in my life. A saved heart is one that wants to serve.

***
read this devotion by rick warren.

Are you someone who is driven by service to make you assured that Christ has saved you? The bible says that we are saved by grace through faith, not by our works, our salvation is a gift from God ( Eph 2:8, phase in my own words) We love, we serve, we give, we put others before ourselves because we have experienced the great gift of grace from God. We can't but God can, we are not enough, but our God is enough, we are weak but God is strong! The grace of God allows us to be sufficient in Him.

Let's thank God for his grace, giving us all we need to serve Him, even in the midst of busyness, stress and inadequacy. Are you experiencing the grace of God today?

RMIT peeps, are we depending on the grace of God as we mug and project today? :)

Jes

burn and drink?

2009-08-16T18:07:00.002+08:00

Exams aren’t the best period of time. Exams = more studying = better prioritization and time management = little sleep = more caffeine

It is the time where I get most stretched. Can you imagine the amount of work to cover especially when projects are still coming in? It was simply an awful situation to be in. And I thought that this was all, but I was wrong. I still had to clear my IPPT by 31 July, if not I would be fined and RT would be calling out for me. Not a wise thing to skip or fail IPPT.

A week before the exams and I have not finished studying; let alone revise. I can vividly remember the days just before my 1st 2 papers (Micro Economics and Sociology) which fall on the same day. There was barely time for me to finish studying as I was lagging by 5 chapters in Economics, and another 5 in Sociology. To complete studying was a real tall order and impossible task. Downed cups of coffee to stay awake, took essence of chicken daily, prayed. There is simply nothing I could do now.

I tried my real best and even managed to commit time for FOP. I really wanted to hear and experience God through that event. I also needed a break from all the studying. Ps Mark Conner was the speaker and the message he delivered was what I had needed – a break through in terms of worries. I’m so blessed by the time spent with God there and His people. I shall elaborate about this more in the next post.

Over the weekends, I did what I could to cramp Econs into my brain. For the whole of Sunday, I could only cram 3 chapters of Econs in SMU. That left me with 2 more to go before I would be more prepared for the exam. Embarked on the second last chapter at midnight for 2 hours with coffee by my side, after which I gave in to the Z-monster.

5 alarms were set to force myself to wake up at 6 to continue cramming the last chapter. However, I couldn’t take it and fell asleep after half a chapter. I knew that I had to be faithful to complete what I had set out to do, so I decided to nap for a while before continuing as my eyes were very pain. The moment where I was supposed to start my final lap came. I just couldn’t wake up. Thank God one of my friends called to borrow a calculator from me. Immediately, I jumped out of bed to just read through the last part of the last chapter and browse through my assignments and quizzes.

The time had come. I stepped into the exam hall on the dot. I was very relieved that some of the questions were repeated from the assignments and quizzes. Now that Econs paper had ended, I rushed home to touch the 5 chapters of Sociology.

Frantically, I flipped through the pages of the textbook just looking at the title and sub-titles. There was simply no time to dwell on a page. Scanned through the notes I had made earlier in the semester. All these happened within an hour. I was soon running out of house and speeding to school. My paper starts at 1415 and I left my house only at that time. Ran up to the exam hall and was very glad to be able to take the paper. I was 15mins late. Waited a while to catch my breath, but upon looking at the first MCQ, my heartbeat increased. Many of the MCQs were more of statistics than of Sociology, where one has to have photographic memory to remember the percentages and ratios of people who committed this and that. About 1/3 of the MCQs were like that. I prayed. This is one module that would help to pull my CGPA up as I was in the B+ region prior to the finals. I could pull the grade up to the maximum of an A- if I scored near full marks.

When I saw the essay questions, my face lit up. I had spotted the right parts to read through and just did my best in writing. I even managed to walk out of the exam hall way before the stipulated ending time.

Rushed home to catch some rest and prepare my testimony. Soon, it was back to studying for the next module – Statistics. 8 chapters were to be tested, but I have only studied a couple of them. How exciting is my life? Managed to complete the syllabus with sufficient practice and took the exam. Boy, it was out to kill. I really thank God for the blessing He had showered upon me for the previous test on Statistics which I topped the cohort. It helped to pull my grade up as I knew that this exam would be a disaster. To get A-, I had to score a perfect score.

Wednesday came and it was the OG outing. I knew that I have one final exam on Friday. Music was standing in my way. Yet I decided to put more faith in God after experiencing Him carrying my through the fiercest of weeks. Continue to burn the midnight oil to clear the syllabus for music; 37 chapters. ZOMG.

Friday was finally here. Music is my only visible hope of getting an A this semester after hovering around the A- region towards the end. The others had gone up in smoke. Music was unexpectedly easy! Handed in my script way early and went down to carry out my highly anticipated post-exams plans. Finally, hell is over. The sun is shining with a rainbow appearing.

It has been a day since the results have been released. I couldn’t believe what I got.

Theory of Music: A

Sociology: A-

Micro Economics: B+

Statistics: B+

I laughed out loud when I saw my results.

This is definitely not my work as I had to get near full marks in my exams to secure these grades. Remember the fact that I had only started to study from 1 hour to 2 days. Studying in the midst of attending cg, service, FOP, training and taking IPPT, OG outing, and ministry is no simple feat.

People believe that by burning the textbook, then drinking the ashes does wonders to academic results. People say that sleep using the textbooks as a pillow works. I say,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;”

Proverbs 3:5

Praise God. He didn’t and will never short change me.

-bentay

2,000 Christians have settled in the middle of the road

2009-08-16T14:48:00.000+08:00

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- They are not war refugees, not displaced by violence; rather they believe they're here because they are Christian.

A mother of two sobs as she tells us, "I have no money. No money for books or uniforms to send my children to school." It's around 110 degrees Fahrenheit in this squalid camp in downtown Islamabad, where 2,000 Christians have settled, literally in the middle of the road.

The Christian population of Pakistan is only 5 percent of the overall population. Overwhelmed by a Muslim majority, at times they face violent attacks. Other times, they believe they're expelled from their lands -- faced with a distant and dark future.

This group has ended up living in tents for the past 3 months.

They say the government kicked them off their land without warning: only because they are Christian. The government tells a different story, saying that they were given plenty of warning. Further than that, they say they will take care of this problem, a problem they are well aware of.

The minister of minority affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, says, "We are constitutionally bound to protect the life and property of the minorities and to look after the interests of the minorities in this country. Because they played a role in the founding, they are equal citizens of the country. Yes, there is a problem, but we are trying to solve those problems."

The truth is, regardless of any religious strife, people are dying of poverty in this camp. Two have died since the group settled here, and children lay in the sun, totally exposed to the sun, suffering slowly. We brought a doctor to the camp; he seemed stunned, both at its location and the conditions.

"I think there's a danger here, especially with some of the younger children, that they could just die from dehydration or from all kinds of infections," says Dr. Rixwan Taj. "I am very surprised, really because this is the center of Islamabad, just right in the center. And every facility is not but 10 minutes from here."

The water the camp is using to survive on is a broken pipe that runs underneath the road and out one side. At the camp, the water is used for drinking and washing. It happens to run over a pile of trash and directly down into the makeshift toilets, which are two holes in the ground. Taj tells us the obvious: Typhoid will come to this camp -- the conditions are ripe.

Other countries of course deal with religious strife; minorities all over the world face an uphill struggle. But here, with the addition of poverty, in the oppressive heat -- in an over-crowed camp on the side of the road in downtown Islamabad -- it seems that much worse.

A little girl stares into our camera and rhythmically says, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah." Her religion teaches her that "the poor" will inherit "the kingdom of heaven."

I saw this piece of news on cnn web. Aren't we fortunate where we are. Let's pray for God to be close with them, delivering them and protecting them, also to keep their faith strong being people who claim the promise of God that the poor will inherit the kingdom of heaven!

Matthew 5:3-11
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jes

Reflections

2009-08-14T17:38:00.001+08:00

Acts 8:26-40,Phil 1:6

Being sensitive to the HS calling and trusting God by taking the step of faith to share the word can indeed be challenging.Philip trust and obey therefore God moved as well.Was thinking about how often I respond to the HS's prompting and the times I hesitated because of past experiences or uncertainties.Opportunities are God given and I start to see how he can move in situations and circumstances if we choose to take up the challenge by trusting and obeying.We may never know how God can use us to touch lives and furthermore our Father will provide more than we can ever imagine.For those who have planted seeds, lets water them well and take ownership of these opportunities even after matric.Fighting!!

ping

PnF reflections

2009-08-13T22:39:00.001+08:00

caix

As i prayed through during my QT with God, He showed me [Acts 15:8] "God, who knows the heart,showed them he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them" LIkewise, Philip was spirit-led to talk to the eunuch and God provided this perfect opportunity for Philip to share God's gospel of truth.God was moving at that point of time and now Hes moving right now.More and more ppl are experiencing God's love right now and it really touched my heart, seeing them grow closer to God. =) To those who have put in effort in doing God's work, God is pleased coz He sees it all and we will experience more of His holy spirit,which will give us a clearer view, the right approach tt we need to take in order to share our faith.of coz, life is not always smooth-sailing.but lets us pray for more opportunities in our life.and whenever we meet any difficulties, endure hardships as discipline like wad the bible has written.

Fast & Pray 12th Aug.

2009-08-13T12:13:00.003+08:00

Reflections on Philemon 1:6 & Acts 8:26-40

On what philip did, he was just merely following instructions to head to chariot. There he met a man and started sharing the goodnews. In doing so w confidence, we must first equip ourselves w our daily bread, the WOG. & constantly pray that ourselves would be active in sharing our faith. Sharing the faith, testimonies to both believers and non believers. We should have this mindset of sharing our blessings with each other among our caregroup or even the unit. This would not only show our evident God is in our lives but also educate each other w verses we are touch with. "two are better than one." So lets start sharing now!

Fast and Pray 12 Aug 2009

2009-08-12T23:52:00.006+08:00

Philemon 1:6 (New International Version)
6I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

Acts 8:26-40 (New International Version)

Philip and the Ethiopian
26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a]eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.

31"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth."[b]

34The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"[c] 38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Siyuan:

Looking at Acts 8:29-30, the specific command of the Holy Spirit to Philip was NOT to share the gospel, but to merely “go near” it. Yet Philip took the initiative to ask - bear in mind it is an official he is speaking to - and to share the good news to the eunuch!

We often ask God for promptings to share. We commit our fears to God. But we fail to initiate sharing to the people! You see, the Holy Spirit didn’t need to prompt Philip to share - he’s like a gospel-machine on autopilot mode!

All the Holy Spirit need to do is to lead him to the right person and he’ll just go ahead and share without hesitation! Let’s really be courageous and make evagelism a lifestyle like Philip!

Matric is nice, but it’s not over. People still exist after matric season, and where there is people, our mouth cannot stop sharing!

Philemon1:6 talks about sharing our faith…WITH ONE ANOTHER! Even as we share to non-believers regularly, let’s really learn to share our faith with one another. I don’t mean play monopoly deal, share teaching points only - those are great (especially if I win LoL) but we need to go further to share our convictions and our daily walk with God!
It’s been quite some time since someone in the group shared to me about their blessings, testimonies, life lessons or QT! That’s not healthy considering we meet at least 3 times per week (Service, CG, some random meet up) ! Really hope to hear more from you all so that we can all be sharpened and build up!

God reminded me too in Luke 8:37 during my QT:

Luke 8:37 (New International Version)
37Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

Often we judge non-believers and unchurched as stubborn towards the Truth. On the other spectrum, we sympathetically try to clarify their doubts. The two rationales mentioned are valid in most situations, but the verse indicates that they also have certain fears when they come before Christ.

Let us pray that God will specifically soften their hearts specifically by answering their deepest fears and releasing them from bondages so that they may confidently receive Jesus!

Lord, remove the stumbling block of fear from their hearts that they may be assured and come to know You! Amen!

Shawn:

From Acts 8:20-46, we can delightfully see that God works wonders in our lives, and as long as we follow and obey his commands, He will deliever. This can be evidently seen from the (v29)29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." Hence we see Philip obeying to the Holy Spirit's command and stay near the chariot, what happens for the rest of the passage, we see God really working through Philip who merely obeyed the command.

I can really attest to this wonder of God. As most, if not all would have known, my sister converted during the first ESS. As a brother (or a Christian), I will not readily agree that I am a good testimony of God, and neither did I share anything extensively to my sister throughout my walk with God for the past two years. What I merely did was just to invite my sister to the ESS, and I really prayed, during my bus-ride to service that God will touch her with the drama and the teaching. Similar to Philip (who just went near the chariot), I just invited my sister to service, and allowed God to do His work in her. God is faithful, and He really delivers.
Our harvest will be fruitful, if we are faithful.

Ben Tay:

Acts 8:26-40
One attitude that can be learnt here is the pursuit in understanding the WOG. I look at the fervor of the eunuch in wanting to fully understand what the WOG is trying to say. When presented an opportunity for him to learn, he gladly accepted it.

Next, this passage shows the importance of knowing the WOG. One will never know when the WOG will be used, in what context etc. It is always very good to have a bank of not only the knowledge of the WOG; but, also own a bank of the experiental touch from God. Knowledge is power, experiences last forever. Knowing the WOG helps to build faith - TRUE FAITH. True faith is unshakable by external forces. It leads to Godly repentance and the embracement of God's commands and decrees.

Another thing that I took home from this passage is that we can always take the initiative to share our QT, thoughts on verses to each other. Instead of waiting for people to ask for help, why not offer help to study verses together?

Philemon 1:6
Storing up a bank of the knowledge of God is useless unless it is put into actions. Allow the logos to be rhema. Allow it to come alive within you through the Holy Spirit that convicts. There are so many ways to share our faith. Am I doing it?

Not only does sharing our faith gives souls an opportunity to enter the KOG, it also encourages and strenghtens out faith. How many times have I shared and felt worse than before? NONE! Sharing of my faith never left me drained. It has always reminded me of who I am without Christ, and His transformation power that lives within me.

Courage is something that I lack at times in sharing the truth too. God, I do not live for others. I live for You. As You have mentioned "Be strong and courageous", I don't want to look at things from this naked eyes that I have. I want to put on Your lens. Help me see through what's beneath the skin and bones; souls.

Reflections Theme: Watch Out, Look up!

2009-08-12T22:37:00.001+08:00

Acts 8:26-40, Philemon 1:6

finally maurise is saying something..:

As i was reading and meditaing, God showed me a few things through these 2 passage.

Philip was alone but his hearts was ALWAYS with God. As soon as he heard God speaks, he went immediately to attend to God's direction.
even though, the bible didn't state philip's feelings at that point of time.. i guess he must be really anxious despite acting to God's calling. afterall is not just any man but an high ranking official! haha... perhaps in our context... the minister of finance? i guess i would be afraid and nervous to approach him! hahah! "Be courageous and do it!" was what God drop into my heart. Having a lifestyle of evangelism is really important, philip was always on the go to reach out to people not only when God calls. he travelled between countries just to spread the good news, to shared about Jesus when opportunity comes beside!
seriously, i dont think God just *phoof* then philip was gone to another town. i guess philip was really fast to react to God's calling and went off immediately even without properly bidding farewell to the eunuch. this is something i must keep with me- to be sensitive to God's calling and have the sense of urgency~! totally fitting to my situations now! cool...don't miss any chance of inviting friends, maurise!

"I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."
to wait until you understand everything you're gonna do for God.. why not experience the truth of God while doing it ACTIVELY? yeap, responded! i want to do that!
as years gone by... certain things that i thought i know already is starting to grow faint because familiarity is starting to overtake it. this is what i pray that it would not happen in my life. i want a child-like faith in doing things for God!!!...keyword- ACTIVELY! haha!

Amen!

Carrot Bao's......

God always provide opportunities for us to reach out to people. When the Spirit told Philip to go to the chariot, Philip obeyed. God has been giving us chances and ways. It's a matter of whether we are taking up the call to step forth and share about the good news. And in Philemon 1:6, it reminded us whether we've been sharing the good news, our faith to the non-believers. Are we the one who will run away when people reject us? Are we persevering enough that despite many rejections, we still have the passion and the fire to continue the task God has given to us? Let's have the Energizer Spirit "Never say die". A few more days to the 2nd ESS. Are we trying hard enough to invite our loved ones, our friends and family member to let them know how much God has loved them that He died on the cross for our sins? Brothers and sisters, why not we take some time to look at the circles of friends around us and seek God for direction on who we shall invite. JIA U my friends.. Keep inviting!!

Siyuan:

Looking at Acts 8:29-30, the specific command of the Holy Spirit to Philip was NOT to share the gospel, but to merely “go near” it. Yet Philip took the initiative to ask - bear in mind it is an official he is speaking to - and to share the good news to the eunuch!
We often ask God for promptings to share. We commit our fears to God. But we fail to initiate sharing to the people! You see, the Holy Spirit didn’t need to prompt Philip to share - he’s like a gospel-machine on autopilot mode!
All the Holy Spirit need to do is to lead him to the right person and he’ll just go ahead and share without hesitation! Let’s really be courageous and make evagelism a lifestyle like Philip!
Matric is nice, but it’s not over. People still exist after matric season, and where there is people, our mouth cannot stop sharing!
Philemon1:6 talks about sharing our faith…WITH ONE ANOTHER! Even as we share to non-believers regularly, let’s really learn to share our faith with one another. I don’t mean play monopoly deal, share teaching points only - those are great (especially if I win LoL) but we need to go further to share our convictions and our daily walk with God!
It’s been quite some time since someone in the group shared to me about their blessings, testimonies, life lessons or QT! That’s not healthy considering we meet at least 3 times per week (Service, CG, some random meet up) ! Really hope to hear more from you all so that we can all be sharpened and build up!

Junyao:

Reading Acts 8: 26-29, really convict my heart that seizing outreach opportunities is more than just being skilfull or knowledgeable. well... having all these are good! but the main thing here is are we listening to God and obeying His still small whisper? like what our Hope pastors would said that sometimes we are more spiritual than the Holy Spirt that when He spoke to us to approach our frens, loved ones or even strangers, we can tell Him that whoever and so and so is not ready to receive or is too hardened to receive. but here we saw how Philip responded to God in obedience that he just do whatever God told him to and then there is the opportunity to outreach!!
Bro and sis, i just wanna take this time to ask u to think abt ur own conversion. i think none of us actually walk into the church ourselves out of nowhere and then decide to receive Jesus right? Many of us are here in the Kingdom of God now is bcos someone out there obey the voice of God and seize the opportunity to introduce this eternal salvation to u!
So why not let take sometime this week to listen to God and look around our lives! Maybe our new bro or sis in Christ is just beside u? =)

signing off,
the one with 5 S! :)

PnF Reflections 11.8.09

2009-08-12T21:48:00.001+08:00

PnF Reflections 11/8/09! on Genesis 18:16-33..

Jes:

Genesis 18:17-19

17 Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

This part of the passage makes me ponder over one thing. Why will God think if He should hide from Abraham what He is about to do to Sodom? The other thing that caught me thinking is, why God, in the end, still revealed to Abraham the 'fate' of the city.

I see God's actions towards Abraham (telling him what was about to happen to Sodom), a test of Abraham's heart towards the people. A man God has chosen to direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just (v19) will have a heart like God for his people, even the ones who are going to be destoryed.

This brings me to a question, that is, what does it mean to have a heart for people? When we really know that people are facing an eternity without God what will this stir us to do? If we really can't do anything at all, did we at least pray? I reflected that a man (woman) after God's heart pray prayers that is really align to God's heartbeat. I learn that i need to not just pray, but pray confidently trusting that God is a merciful God. Abraham's conversation with God has reflected that he has confident how much God does not want to destory, but rather save. Therefore, this confidence He had in God also allowed Him to pray and ask God boldly. Are we confident as we pray today?

Li Yin:

Abraham didn't list out his conditions to God. Yes he prayed, he interceded for the people, but he left the outcome to Him and trusted Him to do what's right. He couldn't stop the men of Sodom from sinning. Likewise, we can't stop our friends or family members from rejecting God. These are some things that are out of our hands. BUT, like Abraham did, we can pray for them, we can ask God and believe by faith that God will move in their hearts. Abraham is mentioned in Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-19, because he lived by faith. His prayers showed him to be a person that trusts God for who He is and who believes by faith that God will do what He knows is right. Quoting from Adam Clarke, "Prayer has been termed the gate of heaven, but without faith that gate cannot be opened." Without faith it is impossible to please God. For Abraham, 6 times he interceded for the people. He prayed by faith, and in humility as well, and God answered his every petition. And God didn't stop promising to show mercy to them until Abraham stopped praying. Just wanna encourage all of us: continue to fear God, knowing Him to be holy and righteous, and keep praying for our friends, our relatives, people we don't even know. God will answer in His due time. I really need to be reminded of this too, to believe Him for the lives of the people around us. We can wait for a person to come to know God for 5 months and yes it's tough. But God has been waiting for that person to come back to Him ever since the fall of man. He longs for it much much more than we do! There's this story I read quite some time ago, about this woman who prayed for her mum for TWENTY years. After 5 years of praying, she asked herself: why am I still doing this? After 10 years, she wondered: is God really going to answer? After 15 years, she asked herself: why do I even bother? But she kept praying, and finally, after 20 years, her mum came to receive Christ. Her conclusion? "I will never doubt the power of prayer again." Mmm. =)

Shuning:

How many people have we saved today? Reading these verses, I'm reminded of the reason why I sow, the reason why I give my all in saving lives. :) and it puts a smile on my face. Knowing that no matter what difficulties I face, I will overcome them, and the rewards are sweet. And that keeps me going on. :)

PnF reflections(10/8/09)

2009-08-11T15:51:00.001+08:00

Genesis 18:20-33
For the sake of ten Abraham pleaded with the lord...Was reminded of my own sowing process when a particular sowee is not responsive and I wrestled with the lord to open her heart but that being said,a part of me which I find lacking would the perseverance to plead with God just like Abraham.Interceding for righteous people with the trust in God can help us understand how our Father would never give up on ten righteous people not to say if there is only one.Let's have a divine fear for God that he will definitely show mercy and reveal the best plans for us when we know the God we are serving love and cares for us.Continue to pray and intercede for those we wanna reach out to and those seeds that are already planted because we want to see them receive salvation at the vey end....

ping

P&F reflections

2009-08-11T12:13:00.007+08:00

Jasmine says:
This passage highlights the Mercy of God. Abraham knew that God must punish sin but (from the passage), we also see that God is merciful and just to sinners. This reminded me of Psalm 103:8 - The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. One of the reason why Abraham asked God to spare Sodom was because his nephew, Lot and his family lived there and Abraham didnt want them to die, so he interceded for them. This is what we, Christian should do for our world - intercede for people around us!! We are the spiritual descendents of Abraham in the world and we ought to be the salt and light in this world. Do we have someone in mind that you can "bless" and intercede for today? Let's love the people around us (family members, friends), be a blessing to this sinful world by interceding for it.

Benson says:

Genesis 18:20-33 From this short reflection passage. We witnessed the conversation between abraham and the LORD. Abraham was seeking for God's mercy to be upon the village. At first, he told Him that there were fifty righteous people in the village and asked if God would spare the village, God agreed for the sake of the fifty people. Slowly it went on, the number got lesser as abraham questioned God's mercy. It was clearly shown in the passage that we God's mercy is ever wonderful, He learnt of this righteous people in the village and spared the village because of them. Im sure as we continue to draw closer to God, He sees our heart, our intention towards people. Our father would definitely pours His mercy unto us when we needed it the most. Not only that we are reminded of this mercy but also, as we are receiving, we could bless other people as well. "i cant contain it, i wanna give it away!" At this point of time, we know we are secured in Christ and also the take away point here to me is to also bless people. Sometimes we take, sometimes we give. I am sure God wants to see this merciful heart in us towards people. People matters to Him and as channels for our Father, we should potray the image He longs for us to be. God blesses us unconditionally and in fact sometimes overflowing but, are we loving the people and blessing them in our lives right now?

Ben Tay says:
[Gen 18:20-33]

Abraham was very brave to stand before God and make his claim and negotiate. Try negotiating and persuading a stranger, then tell me about the success. Very rarely, would one even dare to negotiate with a total stranger unless one has the buying power or holds the trump card. This is like the game of Monopoly we played, where we tried to negotiate for our desired properties. It works in the same way as we have to have something that interests the other party - be it lifelong free rental, monetary trade, an exchange in properties, logical discussions and mind games.

In this case, Abraham had a close relationship with God as God had been speaking to him throughout, even before this encounter. As he stood before God alone, he knew how to conduct a negotiation with God as he knew about the character of God – righteous, compassionate, the Judge, holy, all powerful. With this knowledge of God, he was able to persuade God to shower mercy on His people.

Notice that God doesn’t change His mind. Everything in our lives have already been laid out and planned out. He wants to hear our petitions before acting on the same plans that He had laid out way before we were born. This is the supremacy of God.

Siyuan says:
My 1st impression seems to be a repetitive story of Abraham bargaining with God over some people’s lives. I don’t see the 10 people as non-believers who turn back to God.
Rather, they are the ones who are already proven credible and righteous before the Lord. The presence of 10 righteous people can save a city of numerous inhabitants!
It leads me to a question, that are we taking ownership of our metaphoric cities and the individual lives each city represents? Our righteousness comes from Christ (no messiah complex here -_- ) and by the virtue of His righteousness we testify God’s truth to non-believers.
Knowing we are held and helped by God’s righteousness (not of our own) will shape our attitudes towards non-believers. The judgemental attitudes, the combativeness to win arguments and the fear of speaking and standing for biblical truths will collapse in the light of God’s righteousness working in us and through us!
The most important Truth for them however is found in John3:16. It’s a Truth that we ought to burn for! At this moment I’m still cultivating my desire for the Word of God.
Towards non-believers, I genuinely feel a mingling sense of strong wanting to tell them about Jesus and yet also held back by fears of rejection and past refusals by the same friends I try to share to now. It’s not easy, but I pray that God will nurture this area of my life.
Colloqually, I will just give my bloody best to connect friends and testify and leave the rest to God! Amen.

Jun yao says:

today's theme remind me of a few things. 1) do i know my identity before God? Abraham did not take advantage of his relationship with God and make him forget that at the end of the day, God is his Creator,God is his Source of Life, which some time when i thought i'm on good terms with God, i'll easily forget who am i before the Mighty One.2) is my relationship with Him is so friend-friend type tt i can 'bargain' with Him? I think God really see Abraham as a friend tt He dont want to hide things from Abraham to even 'bargain' with Him. i really wonder whether i can do wad Abraham did. 3) my burden for the ppl around me.i think many a times, i can talk a lot abt outreach and church planting but if i dun hav compassion and burden for the pple around me, how can i REALLY love those whom i dunno overseas?

caixuan says:

when i read abt Abraham with God, i learnt of God's greatness and his mercy.we can see the great extent Abraham has went to intercede for the people in the city.it really touched my heart tt Abraham has a burden for the people..i asked myself whether will i do everything or sacrifice for the people..will i love the people around me like Christ has done? i believe tt love is the most fundamental quality tt Christian must have in order to do great things for God. without love, theres will not be no compassion for ppl.we should really learn from Abraham.his love for God and people.the ultimate expression of our love for Jesus will be found in how we obey Him in whatever He tells us to do! sometimes, i would feel tt im not worthy enough to be used by God. no confidence.but im reminded by God through a teaching, tt we are chosen by God because He sees the potential in everyone of us..Everyone has a role to play..this coming week would be another ESS.wanna encourage all of us to bring a friend or relative along for service to let them know tt theres a God who loves them. =)

Testimonial

2009-08-11T01:10:00.002+08:00

It is my spiritual birthday on August 5th 2009. I am 3 years old and going; gonna run the race to the end with my fellow brothers and sisters. First let me give a brief background of myself, we may just know each other by name or how old are we but i guess it is important to know each other lives deeeply. i will then take the honor to be the first :)

I received Christ in my life 3 years back, i was brought in by a sister in NYP Group at that time, now SMU Group. My conversion took place when i attended the second time of service. I was transferred to NS Group the following week and started my journey there. Jeremy was my CL and my shepherd at that time. Eilton and Donald were in my group that time. i could not quick find myself to be able to have a common topic to the caregroup at that time and i felt so left out. I know the only way to be able to join them in conversation is to know more about WOG. I tried being enthusiastic about it but it was to no avail. I backslided. I found my life quite interesting in the world, i was totally tempted and sucked into the world of sins. My Attendance in class was comparable to the number of public holidays singapore has. I could game all day and thought having a religion was a total waste of time. After a while, i felt bored. I wanted my saturdays to be filled, like what the first ESS actually potrayed. Keeping myself occupied, i wanted activites after activities. That was the sole reason to why i went back to church. After a while, i felt weary of this routine thing about caregroup, shepherding, services. At that time, i was just transfered to Sim group, it was refreshing to me and i decided to hang on. But after a while, i backslided again. That time SIM1 and SIM2 were a caregroup itself. I stopped contacting the caregroup, ignored smses, phone calls, missed calls. I needed a break. and the whole cycle starts again, i was sucked into the world again being who i am comfortable being. I was having fun outside in the world then i started to pondered upon myself. Do i have a purpose? Am i feeling empty inside? Then it was then, i wanted to give Christ one last try. Because at that time point i was tired of this whole thing but despite my condition of the heart i decided to came back. It took me a lot of courage coming back knowing people will question about my faith in Him and also how am i suppose to answers the questions that i know i have no answers for it. I came back, tried very hard to bond w the group like how i was bonded in the past, i could not. I felt left out, lonely. Matric season came, i was appointed AGL? and i was comfortable leading people although i look hesitant on the outside, deep inside i was delighted. I love people, i want to lead people! I am comfortable doing this role, i was like YES INSIDE MY HEART. The whole matric season was tiring, energy taxing but i perservere! prayers and my desire kept me going. Indeed God has been faithfull to me, He has indeed opened me a path back to my my caregroup during this process. I was very happy after the whole season. I kept my fire burning, my desires growing everyday. I want this child like faith to never disappear in my heart because i never want to leave my Father again. People, i have come thus far, not in terms of my spiritual life but the experiences i have been through. I tell you, God has a way when all else fails. His grace for us is sufficient. He is a very forgiving Father even when we fail him time and time again. Most importantly, His love is extraordinary, unfailing, unconditional and lasting. I really wanna thank Him when i am up in heaven. This third year is very special, im thankful for the SIM Unit for who i am today as well. Bubbly and cheerful, yet biblical! Im so proud to be part of this generation of SIM people. Lets run this race together okay, i hope to continue this race for as long as i can. :) Oh btw, brothers, thank for you the book, Purpose driven life. I hope to find my purpose here! and the cake, thank you very much i was shocked when i saw it! im just speechless. (i dont know if i left out anything in my whole 3 years, but this shoule be more or less about it, sorry if i miss out any by accident and being brief in my speech)

Thank you SIM1 & SIM2 for moulding me to who i am today. I appreciate a lot for the little little things you guys did for me, especially the birthday last year. Thanks. :) Special thanks to also a few people who made a tremedous impact in my life.

Junyao - thank you for making who i am today. you have been super faithful w me. im sure you put in a lot of effort in me. i hope to heed your advice throughout these years and continue growing.

Bentay - SAME AS JUNYAO, HAHAHA. okay lah but thank you for sparing your precious time for me. thanks for your many smses, it encourages me greatly. Im thankful for you for being there for me when i was at my lowest.

Shawn - brother, really thank you for your presence. i mean you are really a great person to hang out with. i really enjoy a lot when you are around and hope to know you better in the future. Thanks a lot brother.

Maurise - turn behind and show me your silky hair. alright. mau, you left a deep impression in me, i enjoy working w you and hope to in the future as well. thanks for showing me the ropes all this while. really wanna take this opportunity to show my deepest appreciation.

Shuning - thanks shuning for your initiative to know me deeper. i really enjoy heart to heart talk although you don't really have one. although we split cg, you never failed to be concern about my day :)

Hia di - brother, really wanna affirm your presence. its really a very positive one, at least to me. im glad to have you in my group, you have been a good spirited member of this unit and i long to have it. thank you for being a model to me, the model is Godly model not the victoria secrets. :) we need people like you in the group!

Blogging Instructions

2009-08-08T08:22:00.000+08:00

Dear all,

Before we start blogging, would you please read this entry? (http://sim-biosis.blogspot.com/2009/03/step-to-everything.html)

Please also note that this is a public blog and everyone is able to access this blog. Remember not to disclose any of your personal details like handphone no. etc here. Any queries, please approach Tangerine Tan.

- Tangerine Tan

PnF Reflections

2009-08-08T07:53:00.001+08:00

Li Ping reflects...
Sometimes as children of God, we forget the God we know when we face hurts, disappointments or hardships.We cry out countless times to him but are we even laying down our lives before him? The God I know, his heart beats within me, he strengthens the weak and he is faithful and true.I believe God is reminding you and I today,whether we've been a christian for a few months or a few years,come what may,will we still love God and his people?Till today I still find it unbelievable for someone to love me to such an extent and this makes me wanna love and desire more of him no matter what I may be facing in my life right now because he loves me and he is love. Above all else,I know that as I serve,grow or even share the word of God to my friends its all for the audience of 1,my Father in Heaven.

Cai Xuan reflects...
As I prayed through the prayer points, God gave me this verse 1 John 16-18.. We loved because he first loved us! The power of his sacrificial love is what we cannot fathom and through love, we indeed can see life transformation in us and also touched the lives of others.. "let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth".. Ever heard of words without actions are dead. Through this sowing period, really encourage all of us to practise love for others not just lip service cause we wanna see a big harvest with quality!

Jun Yao reflects...
As I was praying about the point 1, I was reminded by the verse in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing can separate us from the Love of God not because of ourselves but because God really really love us! God really love me so much that He was the one doing all He can, protect this relationship with me. and yet what have I done to this relationship? I always take this relationship for granted by sinning! Even so, His love for me made me more than a conqueror in Life. Bro and Sis, just wanna encourage all of you that our identity in God can only be clear when we understand how much God loves us.

PnF Reflections

2009-08-08T00:03:00.002+08:00

As I was reflecting on these verses, it reminded me of a prayer which I chose to respond. Few services back, David asked us to respond to 3 things and 1 of them was to surrender our life plans unto God. In v24 it says, ‘Then Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’. This verse is applicable to the situation which I’m in now. Many a times, as human beings we always think that we are smart and capable in the things we do. So, we start planning for ourselves. We start to plan for our careers, our marriage, our savings etc… Personally, I have already plan for my own future. It’s like I have in mind a specific career that I’m interested in, I want to graduate with a degree of distinction, I want to earn a certain amount of $ by a certain age, I want to own a mini-cooper(just an eg.)...lots. Everything sounds good and realistic to me but what struck me was-is that the plan God has for me? Surrendering my life it’s not just about entrusting my weaknesses to God, it’s about entrusting my EVERYTHING to Him. It’s about surrendering my ALL to Him, even my life plans. Am I able to deny myself in this area to follow Him, to follow His plans for me? Truthfully, I would say I’m still challenged but I made the decision to respond because I want to surrender fully unto God and I trust that he has the best plans for me.

Li Yi

Reflections

2009-08-07T18:04:00.001+08:00

Matthew 16:24-26,John 15:5-8

"Remain in me and I will remain in you."When I'm walking in the valleys, when life sucks the energy out of me and when the task ahead seems impossible,these words would come to my mind.Am I remaining in God by letting him take control or am I taking things into my own hands? My heavenly father love me unconditionally so how can I want the best from him when I do not surrender totally or when I depend on my own strength.He wants 100% of me just like how his love is 100%, nothing less...

Reflections; 5th August 2009

2009-08-05T23:11:00.006+08:00

Take Up My Cross

Matthew 16:24-26
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

John 15:5-8
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

JunYao:

John 15:5 should be mindset of us every Christian that apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. This verse reminds me of my prideful nature that many times as I served and things turn out to be good when I use my gifting and talent, I'll tend to claim the credit for myself that I am good! But God really humbled me to my lowest point to let me realise that at the end of the day is not about me, it is really about Him who is not just the giver of my talent and gifting but also the source of my success! I've not totally ovecome my pride as I am still a work-in-progress but I've learnt to handle my pride as much as I've know how. As a Christian, without Christ. I am NOTHING. =)

Ben Tay:

From the passage in John, I think about the sweepers who keep our neighbourhood litter-free every day. Random rubbish such as newspaper, cups, cigarette butts are cleared from the streets everyday. However, the majority of the rubbish swept from the floor belongs to the trees around us. Look at the enormous amount of leaves and twigs/branches on the floor! There are leaves dropping from the trees every single second! These leaves and twigs are of dead and hence of no use for the tree and the tree just dispose of it by allowing them to drop when there is an external force.

Without food, leaves and branches die and are detached from the main body of the tree. Likewise, when we fail to feed ourselves with the Word of God, the relationship we have with God does not get knitted closer. Instead, we tend to sway away, depending on ourselves.

When we remain in God, that is to have the same passion as God, the same heartbeat for Him, our requests will be for His kingdom. Our desires will be aligned to God’s and all of what we wish for will be granted and fulfilled by Him who promised. This will lead to fruits of spiritual descent, and will last.

In Matthew, we are asked to deny ourselves and take up the cross. Denying oneself is probably the toughest thing to do. It means to forgo the things our carnal nature would want to do, by doing the exact opposite things. It is not so much about the doing too without focussing on the heart attitudes. It is simple to follow someone else; however, it is not easy to imitate someone who has never complained, bore our shame and guilt so willingly, and forgo His majesty and splendour up in heaven. It is to this extent that makes it such a tall order to follow. Yet, if we choose to do things our way, if we refuse to allow God to move and correct us, we will lose our souls to another. Could ‘another’ be something very sinful such as murder? It could well be in the form of studies, where we neglect everything else for our studies. Then, this is idolatry which is a sin too. There is no difference in the degrees of sin. A sin is still a sin.

Shawn:

From these two passages, I reflect upon whether I am a follower of God, Himself, or just a follower of fellow Christians. Do I really see the value of God in me, or do I value more how others see about me.

It is important to carry the cross, and the burdens of God when we are actually doing things for the Kingdom of God. In that case, we will share the same burdens, and will show the same concern that God will show. There must a motive and objective to be met, but these motives and objectives must include God in it.

Any motives that excludes God is as good as what Matthew 16:26 says, "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? " What good are the achievements achieved, if God is not in the picture?

Si Yuan:

Very often when we talk about taking up the cross, we see it as an obligation. The fact however is that Jesus don’t need us to help Him carry the cross - He’s not that weak! We need to have a paradigm shift:

To grow and actualise my potential in Christ, the cross is a must and my need !

Apart from the cross - the daily life of surrender - I can do nothing! Unless I surrender everything to God, He cannot make me to be everything He wants me to be. Carrying the cross of surrender is our free will and we do it knowing that God’s future blessings outweighs our current surrender!

Personally, I’m working on the area of daily surrender to God in terms of my prayers and gleaning from and obeying the Word of God. I still have a long way to go. That is all.

SIM CG Reflections 04 08 2009

2009-08-05T01:19:00.005+08:00

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!!!

hello unit!

2009-08-04T22:55:00.002+08:00

hey everyone!

Today, i felt sick. haha, its actually very minor but its great discomfort. The fever, headache and backache all at one go is killing me.

Here's sharing some thoughts!

Its about my project mates. Actually, its really hard being a good salt and light! In school, its hard to keep up during project seasons. I remembered few semester back, i was so stressed about my schoolwork and church that i cried in class. Looking back now, it reminds me of how much a bad testimony I have been.

Today, the same friend that witness me cry when i can't cope with stress, actually said she has absolute faith in me completing what i need to and what i was assigned. It's not her compliment that amazes me, but its the kind of character in me that she has trusted, through the semesters she has been working with me.

Sometimes, we hesitate to give to God, because we are afraid what our friends may think of us, what our parents may thnk of us, what the world may think of us, but actually the only thing that matters is how God thinks of us.

After screwing up few semesters back, i told God i really didn't mean to represent Him in a bad manner. In fact, God wasn't the one who stressed me then. It's my own inability to priortise and cope. I have seen how far that lesson had brought me. Now, there are still stress in life but i snap less easily and what I am amazed is how God has built a character in me that my friends around can trust.

Greatly reminds me of this verse-

1 Peter 2:12 (MSG)

Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.

Are you stress today, feeling like a bad testimony today? Hope this testimony refreshes you!

Jes

Li Yin's reflections

2009-08-04T22:40:00.001+08:00

Just some thoughts when i was looking at these verses..hehe.

Matthew 9:27-30

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; and their sight was restored.

Are there any sins in our life that we're unable to overcome, any problems that we foresee or are even facing right now? Be it studies, work, family, temptations, contacts not responding, starting school soon...the list goes on. And we may wonder, how are we gonna cope? It seems so tough, everything seems to be coming our way. But Jesus didn't ask the people to have outstanding strength or self-confidence, he didn't even ask them to have an extraordinary amount of faith. Just this: "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" God can and God will make a way; He will help us overcome. Not by works, not by our own strength, effort, abilities etc., but by God. After all, He's the One who moves the mountains. Not the size of our faith or abilities, but the size of our God, and all glory goes to Him. :)

2 Chronicles 20:12

...We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.

We can't, but God can. We aren't, but God is. Jiayou! :)

-Li Yin

Reflections on John 4:7-15

2009-08-01T10:37:00.003+08:00

On the passage of 'Jesus Talks With A Samaritan Woman'

I see from this passage that one ought to take initiative in starting a conversation
I see from this passage that one ought to take initiative in starting a conversation. Yes, though Jesus was tired at that point of time, it seemed to be legitimate for Him to ask her for some water. However, looking at the context here, Jews and Samaritans aren’t supposed to have any relations nor contact. Despite this, Jesus still started a conversation with her. There on, He seized all opportunities to bridge into a spiritual conversation.
Another thing that I have taken note is that as humans, we often focus on what we have and what we don’t. In short, we tend to look to our own strengths. This can be seen clearly in v11 and 12. So many a times, we look at our limitations and tell God that we are unable to make an entry or improvement in the areas/scope of our lives. We are at our wits end. We cannot seem to comprehend what is going on. And when God speaks, then we realize that we have to let go and let God. This is where we are brought to our knees in complete surrender, where we thirst and desire so much of God.
Water is used here to convey the message that everything that God wants to give us and do in our lives start from the inside out. Water is consumed. It flows into our blood vessels. It keeps us hydrated and it is a source of energy. Humans cannot last for more than a few days without water. This shows that we cannot last long without God and there is always a continuous thirst for something that truly satisfies and lasts. So what is that something? Christ is the living water which transforms lives from the inside out. Once one accepts Christ into his or her life, the inner being of that person is slowly being changed and the thirst for the things of the world die down gradually as this living water flows through his/her entire body.
bentay

Let the journey begin!

2009-08-01T01:32:00.005+08:00

Hello my dearest unit!!...Yes,we are embarking on this prayer and fasting journey in preparation for the upcoming ESSs and the harvest.Let's be faithful with the seeds that we've sown during this period of time though some might fall along the path, others on rocky places and still others on good soil, remember to leave the seeds in our Father's care because unless the lord builds the house,the buiders built in vain.Do this with God!Amen?!

Friday 31 july

Today's meditation passage:John 4:7-15 (Jesus talks with a samaritan woman)
Reflection point:Who's providing the living water of our souls and lives?

Personal Reflections:
Jesus is the provider of this spring of water within us.He provides,so that we'll not be thirsty again.But there are many others out there who are still drinking from the well that will deplete and they will feel thirsty yet again.We, as believers should be the spring between these thirsty souls and the ever-flowing well of God
- Shawn-

The woman at the well had her sins "washed away" by Jesus. Jesus offers divine mercy in the living water of grace, which washes away sins and cleanses souls. The woman went to the well to get a jug of water .Instead, she got much more, including a cleansed and refreshed spiritual life.

This reminds me whether I've been going to the well to be refreshed by God?As the deer pants for water all the more my soul should pants after thee,the living water of my soul and life. No doubt it can be a period where we plunge straight into sowing but am I first being renewed in order to renew others? Since I've the opportunity to seek him where my sins are forgiven and the chance to make biblical confessions, I want to cherish this spiritual refreshment and recharge.Definitely would like to experience a renewed spirit as I pray and fast for the coming harvest.

- Ping-

Please continue to add on to this chain of reflections and continue to keep one another and our sowees in constant prayer.

Serving with you,
Ping

To continue.. 4th Post on the Reflections of a Disciple..

2009-06-09T16:18:00.001+08:00

Illustrations of Christian Victory - Winning a Battle

This is a continuation from yesterday’s discussion about the Illustrations that the Bible uses to relate to Victory in Christ. Winning in a Sports Game is one such illustration, while today we will learn that Winning in a Battle is another such illustration that the Bible refers to.

In the Old Testament, God’s people (the Israelites) were frequently engaged in warfare, either for survival or as God’s chosen instrument to rout nations and peoples who were warring against God. The imagery of fighting and battle existed still in the New Testament, but as reference to spiritual battles, and not physical ones.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. - 2 Cor 10:3-4

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. - 1Tim 6:12

Christians are also often referred to as soldiers in the Bible.

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. - 2Tim 2:3-4

to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home: - Philemon 1:2

There are 2 things which God is impressing upon us when victory in Christ is described as winning a battle:

1) We need to be on the offensive.

(I’m gonna hold back here quite a bit, though I am really tempted to write on this extensively, because as a young kid I dabbled pretty much in military warfare, history, strategy and hardware. Even my baptism name, Joshua, had significance in that Joshua was a well-known military commander in Christian history)

The age-old adage, that offense is the best form of defence, does hold true to a certain extent in our spiritual lives and endeavors.

See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them. - Deut 1:8

God did not tell the Israelites to become sitting ducks for their enemies, but rather He told them to go and take possession. Double action words were used in one breath, suggesting that God wanted the Israelites to take action.

In the same way, God may be telling some of us here that we need to get up and get out to take charge, to take on what God is going to give us. God wants us to be eager, to be on the offensive, to seize the initiative. Recall a verse we had mentioned yesterday, Paul said that he wanted to take hold of that which God took hold of him. Meaning Paul wanted to fulfill the purpose that God had for him, for his life. God didn’t have to force it upon Paul; Paul wanted to accomplish it no matter what.

In warfare, an army will have the upper hand if it possesses the initiative. Hence seizing the initiative is the number one priority for any self-respecting combat unit. Take for example, on land, you try to take the higher ground. You try to increase the range of your missiles. In ancient naval combat, you manoeuvre your ships so that a larger surface area of your broadside will face the enemy fleet. Many moons ago, Adam lost the initiative to the devil when he disobeyed God. Man came under the curse of sin as a result and has been on the backfoot...fighting sin, trying to obey God’s laws but failing to do so... living under the curse and penalty of sin.

So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.

And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."

To the woman he said,
"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you."

To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'
"Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.

It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return." - Gen 3:14-19

2000 years ago, God came to personally retake the initiative from the devil, by defeating the penalty and curse of sin on our behalf. As a result Man can be justified before God, can approach the holy God once again, can relate with Him, can call upon His Name and know that He will answer us. Having the confidence of being forgiven and justified.

This is the initiative that God has handed back to us since His dramatic death and resurrection... are we still riding upon it, are we still seizing the initiative given us in our lives? Brothers and sisters, it is war out there, not a physical one but a spiritual one. Our enemy the devil is always prowling and seeking to destroy us, mankind, to lure Man to live a life apart from God. Unless we take hold of that which God took hold of us, we will lose that initiative, we will just ‘cruise’ as a believer, neither affected much, but neither contributing much as well. We cannot wait for things to happen; we have to make things happen. We have to want things to happen. It is up to us, our desire, we seizing the initiative. Failing which, the devil will take ground in our lives, will take back what we had believed in, lure us into unbelief, inaction and purposelessness. Is this what we want? Hence we have to take the offensive.

The LORD said to me, "See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land." - Deut 2:31

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." - Num 13:30

We need to be like Caleb, to speak with faith and act upon God’s promises.

2) We also need to be on the defensive.

While this point seems so counter-intuitive having said so much about being on the offensive, nevertheless the art of defense is very necessary as well in warfare. There are times when we need to stand our ground, dig in, get into the trenches and hold the line. This means persevering, going through the grind, being faithful with the little details, biting the bullet somewhere if necessary. It is especially so after we have gained ground/territory. Defense is needed to safeguard what we have achieved so far. If we slip into complacency as well after gaining much ground, not defending it well, we will end up losing what we have gained. God teaches us also to defend and stand our ground.

Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. - Jer 1:18-19

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. - 1Pet 5:8-9

Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. - 2Tim 1:14-15

Only hold on to what you have until I come. To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— Rev 2:25-26

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. – Prov 27:22-24

Conclusion

There is a need to strike a balance between taking the offensive and being on the defensive, to achieve victory in battle. We could always be on the offensive but fail to take sufficient defensive measures, say for example, safeguarding supply lines, training soldiers well, pre-empting enemy manoeuvres, watching out for attacks on our flanks where we could be blindsided. We could take ground, but we could similarly lose them. On the other hand, if we are always talking about defending, we will never score a goal for Jesus. We will not gain new ground, influence more, not be blessing others more. We will become inward looking and not look outwards to many people out there who need to know Jesus, experience more of Jesus, whether they may be pre-believers or lost sheep. Let us plan well, our stratagem, and take and hold ground for Jesus.

Reflection points

Have you been gaining ground for Jesus recently? How intentional was that or it came more by way of chance?

In your personal life or ministry, have you felt that certain ground has been lost? If so, how has that happened and what do you think had led to that?

Against all odds

2009-06-09T11:42:00.003+08:00

Hey guys,
Just wanna share a video that I saw on my friend's facebook. This is a Thai Pantene Commercial. The story of a deaf and mute girl who learns to play the violin against all odds. Although it is just a commercial, but I think it also reminds us to persevere on despite of the tough situation we're in. As you can see from the commercial, the mute and deaf girl attended the music contest despite her damaged violin. It tells us that though times are tough; roads are uneven; the situation is not in favour of us, we should have the never-say-die spirit just like the girl.
Hope you will be inspired

Love,
TangerIne

Law Courts

2009-05-21T22:58:00.003+08:00

Law Courts [Deut 17:8-13]
8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the LORD your God will choose. 9 Go to the priests, who are Levites, and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict. 10 You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they direct you to do. 11 Act according to the law they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left. 12 The man who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the LORD your God must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. 13 All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.

Read this passage last night and while I was reading it, there are 3 things which can be pointed out. (We don’t possess all wisdom. There must be actions accompanied. Obedience is essential.)

About the first point where we don’t have all wisdom, it is evident from verses 8-9. Notice that there are many things and cases which are beyond our wisdom to make decisions? So, what are we supposed to do when we meet an obstacle in our daily lives and do not know what step to take next? Have we forgotten that God is Almighty, possess all wisdom, understanding and knowledge?

Many times, we turn to our closer friends, turn to teachers and who not, but we fail to inquire of God. God has already a plan lay out before we were all born! He is just waiting for us to ask and seek Him. You may ask me, “So how can I know of the plan He has for me?”

Obviously, it is to pray to Him! There are many ways where you can find out His plan in addition to praying. Open your eyes and see what He has done for you in the past. Where has He been leading you too? To be more efficient in this, you must be accountable to your spiritual overseers. There is a reason as to why there are spiritual leaders in your life. They are there to help us see the things we can’t see.

Secondly, there must be actions accompanying the aftermath of the query. This is reflected in verses 10-11. We cannot afford to stop short at the first step of just identifying that we are in need. A problem is not solved by being able to identify it. It is solved when we act upon it with the wisdom that God has granted us and the visions He has shown us. The word that God has spoken to us must not be just mere words! It must be carried out in accordance! No compromise must be allowed. A compromise is cutting off some slack in what God has said, which is a direct disobedience shown to God. Then why did you inquire of God in the very first place? We need to see the importance of affirming and respecting God’s word. We need to not only listen, but do what He says. We can choose to turn a deaf ear and forget what He says. We can turn away and forget the voice of God. If we do this repeatedly, we will lose the unique sound and tone of His voice. This is when spiritual deafness and death creeps in. How scary is it for one to lose this sense of hearing of a beautiful voice but the One who is our Savior, Redeemer, Creator, Father!

Moving on to the last point of being obedient, this can be explicitly seen in verses 11-12. If we do not believe in God’s plan, then why are we praying to Him? Why do we ask Him for His opinions? Definitely we ask because we acknowledge that there is a far more Supreme Being, which is God Himself. So with trust, comes obedience.

Remember the times where you asked God for a direction and yet doubted? It is common to Man as we are creatures with a very short memory span, you might argue. Come on, we can remember things we learnt in the kindergarten, so that is not an excuse. The reason why we don’t put our COMPLETE trust in Him is because we trust in ourselves more. Do we pray for Him to be magnified while we are to be diminished?

When we reach the stage where we fail to execute EVERYTHING that God has commanded us to do, we have reached the stage where we are utterly blinded by our strengths, especially when we fail to look beyond our abilities. Have we forgotten where our strength comes from? It comes from the Lord!

With obedience comes faith; with faith comes spiritual renewal and awakening.

Hence I conclude that we ought to take a look at our individual lives everyday. See and listen intently to what God wants to do in your life. Give all you have to Him and He will embrace you with His riches. In Christ, we have victory!

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Ps119:105

bentay

3rd Post of Reflection of a Disciple!!!

2009-05-08T04:03:00.006+08:00

Illustrations of Christian Victory - Winning in a Sports Game

We had gone through yesterday, about what it means to have true victory in Christ. Today, we will explore some illustrations that the Bible uses to depict victory.

Many of us play and enjoy sports. And those of us who do may have participated in some competition at one point or another. Some of us would have experienced victory in winning some game or tournament. It is certainly a wonderful feeling, after all the hard work put in to train and prepare. Coming back to today’s discussion, the Bible relates being victorious in Christ to winning in a sports game.

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. - 1 Cor 9:26

One of the games quoted in the Bible is boxing. In boxing, you score by striking your opponent. In the above verse, Paul uses boxing to illustrate Christian victory, that one does not beat the air aimlessly, but hits the opponent. This means that as we attempt to be victorious in Christ, there is real purpose and intent in our actions, like the boxer who throws the punch, to hit his opponent, to achieve a result. Are our lives filled with such purpose and intent as we go about ministering and living out a victorious Christian life?

Another game that was used before to illustrate victory would be wrestling. In the Bible, there was a real wrestling match that took place between Jacob and God.

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." - Gen 32:24-28

Wrestling is an intense sport and requires every part of our body. It is impossible to remain aloof and unentangled from the opponent. The opponent will seize every opportunity to regain his advantage. No, in order to win the wrestling match, one must involve his whole body in combat, and be constantly pushing oneself to be better than his opponent. Jacob was engaged fully with God in wrestling and did not give up until he got what he wanted from the Lord.

In the New Testament, wrestling is also described as struggling:

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. - Col 4:12

I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. - Col 2:1

It is easy sometimes for the Christian to fall into complacency, into a lull, when he fails to realise that achieving victory as a Christian is like being in a wrestling match. When one becomes complacent, he lets his guard down and the enemy or opponent can quickly seize the chance to gain an advantage in our lives. The victory we had achieved moments earlier could turn out to be shortlived if we do not keep up the struggle. As we deal with an opponent (the devil and our own sinful nature) that never sleeps nor tires, we can only achieve victory in Christ by constantly being on guard, and constantly struggling to defeat our opponent, with God’s strength.(Tangerine says: Do we have this mentality of "aiya..like this can already.."? When we get complacent of our own spiritual life, and stopped a certain spiritual level, Devil will try to do something. As we became more spiritually matured, Devil also becomes more powerful too. We grow, he grows. When we get smarter, Devil also gets smarter. Even if you dont see Devil now in this point of time, do you think that Devil really disappear for good? I think the answer is NO. Though we may not see him now, actually he is back to his military base to think of greater plans to make us fall.)

Finally achieving victory is also likened to running and finishing a race.

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. - Acts 20:24

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. - 1 Cor 9:24-27

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Phi 3:13-14

Paul described winning for the Lord as finishing the race. It is worthy to note that in Paul’s illustration, winning is not about running faster than your fellow runners, but rather finishing the race. Furthermore, while anyone can start or run the race, Paul suggests that not everyone will or can finish the race. (Tangerine says: what strikes me here is the word "running". The word "running" to me means we are walking right beside God, that we are continually building up our spiritual life(not staying on the same spot), doing what God wants us to do. "Running" is kicking away our bad habits, and always continuously learn from Jesus and to be more like him, and not staying at the same spot, the same self when we said the sinner's prayer.Our christian lives is like running a marathon.

At the start of the marathon, all of us are very enthusiastic, wanting to reach the finish line. This is like when we are young Christians, we are new to everything. We are eager to know more about Jesus, what He has done. In the middle of the marathon, some of us feel tired. At this stage, we can see two groups of Christians. There are some who persevered on despite the bad conditions of the road, the weather, and completed the race by crossing the finishing line. But there are also some who chose to give up running and finish their race when they haven't even reach the finish line . When they see the obstacles in front of them, they gave up. When Satan comes, they feared and raised their white flag immediately without fighting back.

All of us eventually will finish our race. But is the finishing line that you cross over is God's, or our own finishing line? )

As a naturally competitive person, which most of us may be, the first point was particularly important to me. I used to think that my value and purpose is achieved in defeating the person next to me, my competitor. If I can do that, I would have ‘won’, achieved victory, gained respect. However this is not the case in the Christian context. Achieving victory in Christ does not mean defeating your fellow runner, but rather defeating yourself (sinful self) or anything or any authority (Satan, his schemes) who stands in the way between you and the finish line. It is to cross the finishing line well. It would be even better if we could help and inspire fellow runners to finish the race with us.

All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. - Matt 10:22

Conclusion

All in all, when we say that achieving victory in Christ is akin to winning a sports game, we need to be fit to win. Like any good sportsmen, we need to train, condition our body, our muscles, to be able to win the game. Be it a race, a wrestling match or boxing, we need good spiritual muscles to sustain the fight and achieve victory. Let us train our spiritual muscles well to last the race, to win the fight.

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. - Hebrews 5:14

Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. - Hebrews 12:10-12

Reflection points:

Is there purpose and intent in the things you are doing for Jesus now? How effective are they in ‘flooring’ the opponent?

Are you spiritually complacent? How does that usually happen?

Response to the Posts sent!!!

2009-05-07T16:13:00.000+08:00

Hey peeps,

If you have a on the spot response regarding the Posts as u read them, I suggest lets do sth different! On the spot go and edit, add in your response or comments to the passage itself with a different color (and indicating your name!).. So that it is quite a free and easy response and not only that, we do see one another responses to the Posts as well..!

And of cos, do take these reflection posts seriously as well, to continue to think and ponder and pray through them. =)

Hope to see more colors coming up on the Reflection Posts k!!

serving together,
Carrie