Living In The Light Of Truth

Birthday

2009-03-01T22:05:00.002+11:00

Its been awhile since i wrote to you blog, there are alot of changes that has happen since. Writing everything that has changed in one go will not justify you but a brief overview is, graduated, working, have mortgage, got a puppy, taking a break from some important things in life, and having greater responsibility at home to take care of family and house. The weight is heavy at times but I just go on each day knowing that it can only be better. There is a plan and purpose beyond the cobwebs and mazes. Even if the world fails me, the economics come crumbling down, humanity tears in half, God doesnt fail, because He loves me.

Today is just like another day, although its my birthday, without a mention to my dad, he would have forgotten but thats alright, there are many things on his mind with whats happening to Pacific Brands. The well wishes become less each passing year. This year decided to just go out for drive but was interrupted this morning by putting up a lamp post outside my place. Hopefully this will shine light through the darkness and provide guidance and hope. Afterwards, my father invited his friend and her kids and it happens one of the kids cousin is a friend of mine back in high school. Its strange, some things dont change but alot has change. Time, place and attitudes change. Looking back through the years, I had so many turning points in my life that is countless, turning points referring to where i would end up and what i would be doing at this moment in time if i didnt make the decisions i did during that time. I do thank God for all those decisions i made as it turned out to be rightfully planned by Him.

I feel there are so much things to come, the song God of this city by Chris Tomlin is inspiring. I know there are many more adventures, many greater things to do and achieve. Building the city for God, greater things to be done in this city and nation. This is a new chapter in my life, and i hope i can succeed and continue to do the right decisions once again for God. To achieve and make a change in society and how its been running. I need that light to shine my path once again, because i know there is still greater things to be done....

"Giving God the Honour and Glory that He deserves!"

2008-08-24T12:24:00.005+10:00

My Early walk with God
->I struggled to commit to Christ: Giving God honor by obeying him, taking all opportunity to be closer to Him, putting Him in the second chair; Sometimes taking decisions into my own hands and grieving His heart at the same time.
->I struggled to commit to Church: Sometimes being late for meetings and missing events that I was not excited about because it was uncomfortable. With people, I did not make effort to know and build deeper relationships
->I struggled to commit to School: I didnt attend the classes, nor do some of the homework at times
->I struggled to commit to deep meaningful relationships: the pain and hurts that I experience through the unhealthy relationships with different people. Some of you's have heard of my stories about finding true friendships out there

The Past 2years
->Although there has been many struggles for those who know my experiences, personal battles, being misunderstood by many, struggle with studies, one time wanting to drop a degree and waiting on victories that didnt come soon enough. I began to commit to God more and trust in His goodness
->I began to serve Him with all my heart, sometimes I'd be down in darebin 5-6days a week, attending Kairos course after the church conference was a challenge because you would have been tired after 4 days of intensive sleepless nights of camp. The course condense in 4days compared to 2weeks.
->God is still good, he used myself (lorena+jeanneth) to connect to korean girl to HOPE Brisbane and in turn she bought many visitors; She stills attends lifegroup up there, met alot of new friends including visiting local Viet Christian guy who came from melbourne. It was tiring but God was at work
->All through this, God has been blessing me with success in studies, having great project partners one of them Christian, a strong student group team at latrobe, many salvations and personal growth
->No doubt at times, I ask God where is it all leading, all that I do, sometimes seemed not enough to see those victories. After my last exam and graduation, I applied to several jobs, there were number of rejections, number of those required relocation but alot of times my experience left me behind others cause I did not do summer internship rather helped out in church. I was tempted to apply to other states because there were more job prospect and seemed easier. Even a recent opportunity with Cadbury Schwepps, I thought I had good interview, but it turned out its not what they were looking for although i match all their criteria.

My learning
->I still Thank God for all the support, encouragement, prayers that people have given to God on my behalf. God is still good as always, He is faithful in all the pieces of jigsaw that He gives me; Although at times, confusing and frustrating not to see the bigger picture, I have and continue to learn to trust in God, put Him first, because He is faithful God

Deut 7:9 "Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His convenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments"

->Loving and walking with God is beautiful, everything even though it may seem insignificant is perfect in His plans. I encourage everyone to put trust, faith and honor towards our God, our Lord Jesus.

Our victories are His, and His ours. On a side note, remember that local viet guy i mention about, I met him once and continue to contact him as he had a job opening down in melbourne. I contacted the company and thought initially no chance for me cause of my results, and also just before going on the midyear CCM camp and driving some folks to the campsite, I had interview 1hr before. After that, I didnt hear from them for a month as they were waiting for my transcript and graduation. Last week on monday I got a call, to ask when I can start work and if I can sign the agreement and bring it in. I will be heading into the office tomorrow at 8am! Praise God for His plan and providence, it is amazing how He works in brisbane and brings it down here to melbourne. He is faithful in all His promises. Amen!!

Faith Alone

2008-07-16T00:00:00.002+10:00

Why cant good works save us?

1. Good works cant cancel your sin, but sin ruins your good works. Suppose you invite me over for breakfast and offer to fix a three-egg omelet. As you begin to cook, I smell a putrid odor coming from kitchen. Whats the awful smell? Its just a rotten egg. But you added a few good eggs to cancel out the rottenness. Do you think i will would eat the breakfast? Not for a million dollar. Because goodness doesnt cancel rotteness, but rottenness ruins goodness. The same is true in spiritual realm. You can't be good enough to cancel out the putrid effect of your sin.

2. Good works can't save you because God doesnt grade on a curve. He demands perfection. It takes one sin to send you to hell. Let's suppose you somehow commit 3 sins a day for entire life, thats impossible because before getting out of bed in morning you'd probably committed much already. That would be more than 1000 sins a year and you leave up to 70yrs. Say if those sins were speeding tickets, you'd end up in jail for long they would throw away the key. Do you think God is any different?

3. Good works can't save you because you can never good enough, long enough. Just when u get a good streak going, you sin and have to start all over again.

4. you can never be you've done enough. Religious people have no assurance of their salvation. They believe being good will get them to heaven. But as we've already seen, we can never do enough to pay for our own sins.

5. Good works can't save you because if they could, you wouldn't need Jesus. Its either all by Jesus or all by your own efforts, there is nothing in between.

This means there is nothing you can do to add to the work of Christ. It stands compelte on its own. You either accept it or reject it.

Where do you stand with God today? Have you been justified by faith alone?

The way of excellence faith - Ray Pritchard

Pots n Pans

2008-06-07T16:00:00.003+10:00

The story goes like this, one day a young girl went to her mother while cooking and ask her, "why do you chop off the legs and parts of the chicken and throw it away?" Her mother thought to herself, hm... I'm not sure, this is the way I was taught by my mother. So on the next visit to grandma, her mother went and ask her mother, " Why is it that we dont use certain parts of the chicken ...?" The grandmother took a pause and thought, "I'm not sure, I was taught by my mother to do it this way" and she went to see her mother, which was great grandma and ask her, "mother why do we cook it this certain way, is it because it taste better?"

Her mother gave the reply, "In the old days, we had smaller pots and pans, so the chicken couldn't fit on the pan, so we had to chop those parts off"

We go through life doing the things we do without knowing the reason and purpose at times. It's maybe because we are so used to it, its convenient, or we have been taught a certain way through our families, traditions and teachings. Sometimes these small things can really become an obstacle to knowing God deeply and experiencing his full grace and mercy. We need to find these old nails and pull them out and replace them with new ones, Jesus nails. It's a process and we need the Holy Spirit to renew us each day in our thinking, our character and our actions to be more like Christ. To die to self but live in Christ is the ultimate goal. It will be painful, long suffering but the promises and blessings are there if we are faithful to follow.

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"
Titus 3:5, KJV
Psalms 119:9, KJV
John 15:3, KJV
2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV
Romans 12:2, KJV
1 Corinthians 2:16, KJV

Prayer

2008-04-16T22:39:00.002+10:00

Skeleton discussion lesson on prayer:

1. What does it mean to pray to you personally?
2. What was your last prayer?
3. What are some sort of prayer answers do we get for prayer?
4. Why do prayers become ineffective?
5. Who are your prayer warriors in bible or your fellow brothers and sisters?

Prayer: Various for individual, unique and special like all relationships, spiritual hunger is met, changes our lives and situations. ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication.

Answers in prayers can be Yes, no and wait. He hears and answers all prayers just maybe not the answers we want to hear because he can not act in a way that is inconsistent to his character. Discuss what are some Yes, no's and wait answers.

Prayers become ineffective when things in our life separate us from God, choosing to reject God's truth or help, knowingly rebelling against God. Having the wrong motives of what we ask.

Some prayer warriors in the bible, moses, david, daniel+friends, micah, prophets, samuel, Paul and ultimately Jesus.

Example prayers Daniel 9:4-19, 2 Samuel 7:18-29, Matthew 6:9-13

Specific examples:
1. Jehosophat:
Prayer type - 2 Chronicles 20:1-14 War raging in the land
Answered Prayer - 2 Chronicles 20:20-30
What type of prayers do you see in these verses?

2. Shadrah, Mesach, Abednego
Prayer type - Daniel 3:17-18
Answered prayer - Daniel 3:26-27
Prayed no matter circumstance, food matter, forced to worship idol and gold -> fire furnace, outlawed prayer but still prayed -> lions den. He stood strong for conviction in God and continued to trust in God

3. Paul
Prayer type - ephesians 3:14-21

Prayer is not a set of rules or repetitions, it is unique communication and relationship to everyone, it is being real to God and opening up our hearts for him to speak as well as for us to share our thoughts and feelings.

Extra verses: Eph 2:18, Mtt 18:19-20

Alms

2008-02-23T23:45:00.002+11:00

"Alms" are not some kind of tree, but something you should know about -- and do. The Greek word translated alms in the New Testament originally meant mercy or kindness, then came to represent the kind deeds caused by mercy and kindness. So it came to mean charitable giving to the poor -- or giving motivated by love. Many times this word is translated as "charitable deed."

LUKE 12:33, MATTHEW 6:2-4, ACTS 10:2,4,

Alms are not offerings to God, or His ministers. Alms are charitable deeds -- gifts to the poor and needy. Helping people who are in trouble. Alms impress God. (A Devotion)

A Lifestyle Of Leadership

2008-02-17T10:36:00.002+11:00

Any organization, whether for profit or non-profit, depends on successful leadership to provide direction. Everything rises and falls on leadership. Every issue in every organization, every decision that is made or postponed, is ultimately a product of leadership. Find an organization achieving excellence and you'll find leadership effectiveness. Find failure, and you'll find leadership failure as well. When a leader emerges confidence is restored and hope is renewed. Leaders seize the moment and meet the challenges of today with the courage of their convictions.

1. Leadership Is Not Found In a Position, But In a Person.
We often mistake leadership for a title, position or station in life. But true leadership comes from personal influence, not a job title.

2. Leadership Comes From Servanthood, Not Appointment.
Leadership isn't granted from an organization, but earned out of service and commitment to others. There is no better commentary on this than the life of Christ, the master leader, who "...set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave!" (Philippians 2.7, The Message).

3. Leadership Is Character.
"The main ingredient of good leadership is good character. This is because leadership involves conduct and conduct is determined by values." (Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, retired). Leadership can never be divorced from the individual. And as a leader, you cannot impart what you do not possess.

4. Leaders Model Leadership Principles.
Leaders act out of principles and convictions and teach others by their own example. Courageous and consistent leaders model what it means to live by God's commands. This is character on display.

5. Leadership Is Ultimately a Relationship.
Genuine leadership begins and ends at the same place - a passionate walk with the Savior. Only to the degree that we are followers of Him will we influence others. If that part of our leadership is not developed, it is just manipulation or the latest personnel management techniques.

By Greg Morris

Courtesy of http://www.leadershipdynamics.org

Question Sharing

2008-02-15T20:51:00.002+11:00

Here are a few questions that can move the conversation from a secular topic to a spiritual topic. The questions act as a funnel to introduce the Gospel.

Do you have any kind of spiritual beliefs?

To you, who is Jesus?

Do you think there is a heaven or a hell?

If you died tonight, where would you go?

By the way, if what you were believing is not true, would you want to know?

Share Jesus Without Fear - Let God's Word Speak

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

"In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again'" (John 3:3).

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).

"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame'" (Romans 10:9).

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Corinthians 5:15).

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

Invite your friend to read a verse aloud and then have him explain the verse to you. Take him through all the verses listed above. If your friend interprets a passage incorrectly, don't argue or offer your interpretation, but politely ask him to read it again, and then explain it a second time. Misinterpretation should not be much of a problem if you use the Bible verses listed above.

Even if your friend mentions that he doesn't believe in or agree with the Bible, it is best not to argue. You can state that you simply want him to understand what the Bible says about eternity. Isn't it wonderful to know that it's not our responsibility to convict? Conviction is God's job. All we can do is share. Once we have shared, we have done God's will.

http://www.allaboutgod.com/share-jesus-without-fear.htm

What is Praise and Worship?

2008-02-05T22:18:00.001+11:00

what is P&W (shared by Jessica 5/2/2008)
1) Spirit: intimate response to God
- John 4:24 response to God who you love and know; do we experience a personal intimate relationship with God? In Psalms David desired to know God's heartbeat, he wanted to know God on an intimate level.
- relationship with God through the spirit; Man has spirit and his spirit wants to commune with God's spirit;
Passage John 4:24: ²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

2) Truth: real response to God
- acknowledge the truth that we need God; We need to check ourselves, to be honest, wholly dependent on God only. We need to be who were made to be, unique in every way.

3) Thankful: thankful response to God
- 1 Peter 2:9-10 we are chosen from the darkness to be holy to God; The fact is it should be enough to bring us thankfulness and joyfulness. No matter what situation happens in our lives that may drag us down, we must remember that God is good all the time. We should be grateful for the salvation which we have.
Passage 1 Peter 2:9-10: ⁹But 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. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

4) Foolish response: our foolish response to God
- 2 Samuel 6:14-15 see the way David danced for God, glamorously foolish, unreserved expression of joy, shamelessly and no calculation of how I ridiculous i look etc.
- when worship God we should not care people's eyes
- feel free to worship Him even you cannot sing well or your voice is so awful or your dance no one understands
Passage 2 Samuel 6:14-15: ¹⁴ David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

5) Heard response: our heard response to God
- 2 Chron. 20:18-22, Psalm 66:8
- sing out before the enemy coz we know God will bring the victory to us
- focus on pleasing God
Passage 2 Chronicles 20:18-22:

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with very loud voice.

²⁰ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." ²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his ^[a] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
"Give thanks to the LORD,
for his love endures forever."

²² As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. Passage Psalm 66:8: ⁸ Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard;

6) Declaration of Gods goodness and glory:
- Psalm 108:3, 92:4-5, 105:1-2
- cooperated worship inspires people to response to God, it is evangelistic because there are two groups of people, the worshipers (believers) and the observers (un-churched) whom are looking for something different. We dont need to follow the contemporary modern music because the observers are looking for something different e.g. techno beats in church same as in disco which they are escaping. It must be different as it is corporate worship compared to just band playing, watch movies, ballets etc. It should inspire people to respond to God, should suggest how great God is and declare his glory to the nation
- cooperated worship is more than (beyond) a good performance
Passage Psalm 108:3: ³ I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. Passage Psalm 92:4-5:

⁴ For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

⁵ How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your thoughts! Passage Psalm 105:1-2:

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.

² Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

None Christian who come together they should be able to come away with:
- Why is God so great?
-Why are people so passionate about God?

simple preparation
1) holy life
- 2 chron. 5:12; 2 chron. 29:15 holiness, righteousness
- our hearts have to be right to God; white symbolizes holiness and people can see the righteousness we have in God; We need to consecrate, purify and sanctify because we need to be ministers of God to the people. We need to be right and not sinful because we will be ministering the wrong spirit. We can't get ourselves right, only God can, hence we need to come to Jesus. It is also a privilege and righteous position to have. We need repented heart and lay it before God at his feet. We need to factor in time with God to see if our heart is right. Because people can see God in us.
- on stage we focus on our ministry rather than how beautiful we are
Passage 2 Chronicles 5:12: ¹² All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. Passage 2 Chronicles 29:15: ¹⁵ When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the LORD, as the king had ordered, following the word of the LORD.

2) knowing God personally
- open your ears hear God's voice John 10:3-5
- develop your relationship with God consistency, and knowing God personally in order to hear from him. As leaders we need to be able to hear the chief shepherds voice, to received and guided ourselves by him.
- should not take it seriously just only the week when your on duty but should be ready in and our of season.
- Hebrew 5:11-13
Passage John 10:3-5 ³The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."
Passage Hebrews 5:11-15: ¹¹We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. ¹²In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

3) life style
- teachable spirit (1 chron.9:33)
- be ready to worship God all the time
- 1 chron. 25:6-8 ability (invest time for develop skills & training)
Passage 1 Chronicles 9:33: ³³ Those who were musicians, heads of Levite families, stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night.
Passage 1 Chronicles 25:6-8: ⁶ All these men were under the supervision of their fathers for the music of the temple of the LORD, with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the supervision of the king. ⁷ Along with their relatives—all of them trained and skilled in music for the LORD -they numbered 288. ⁸ Young and old alike, teacher as well as student, cast lots for their duties.

heart burden
- for non believers worship should show
a) why God is so great? and
b) why people passionate about Him?
- how to choose the song
the song you want to sing or the song God guide you
- culture and style
different church different culture or style
should not allow anything stop you worship God
maturity "grow in Christ"

check their attitude & hearts
note that God need obedience rather than sacrifice

Drums

2008-02-05T16:49:00.000+11:00

How to play the drum?

As we know, the Drum is in the group of rhythm instrument, duty is to make timing to be perfect order. Our duty is How to play well for GOD? This is a question for all of spiritual musician. Surely, we could have a good spirit, good skills and a last is good discipline to practice.

I would like to share my personally principles. which have 2 parts first is principles second is my tactics.

Part I Principles

1. Relationship

It is an important part of the successful team who want to serve in this ministry. With the deep relationship among us that changed the difficult thing to be easy thing. As you know, the Bangkok Worship team has been served GOD together over 17 years, I can tell you that we knew each others and understands what they gonna do next. Seem like a family, we have the same blood same spirit of worship, we have mission to led people to worship GOD and proclaim his glory to all nation.

In the Bible has showed as about family who have serve GOD with their Skill 1 Chronicle 25:1-7 told as about 3 families that King David chooses to play music in his tabernacle each family very exported in each instrument. Relation between brothers and sisters will help them serve well in worship ministry.

2. Sense in God's Spirit

To have very good sense in God’s spirit is the important things of all Christian musicians. My opinion, for Christian the sense could be a positive way. The positive senses come from how much to have relationship with God? Bible say in 1 Corinthians 2:10 “ but GOD has revealed it to us by his Spirit” See it’s not because of outside encourage factor, but from inside us. The Holy Spirit will show us how to play drum well. Our job is to prepare our sense for receiving the Holy Sprit‘s message. And the Holy Spirit is not for only one person but for everyone in team 1 Corinthian 12:7, say that

PART II My 7 tactics

1.During play the drums you must make yourself joyfully, change your mind from sorrow or sadness.

2.Cut off all the things that disturb you, then you can concentrate to the drum.

3. Intend to play, not just to play but have responsibility to the brothers and sisters in church.

4. You can used 50% from your personal skills and others 50% should come from Holy Spirit. Not 100% from yourself. Believe me allow God to help you play.

5. Prepare yourself by worship and pray, Start your good day by worship and pray to our God.

6.Play as your last chance, if today were your last day in the world what would you like to do for God? Do it then! Play as a last day every time your have chance to do.

7. Play with LOVE and LOVE to play, 1 Corinthian 13:1-13 talking about love without love, we can do nothing. By Love our ministries will complete.

Thanks to International Lets Worship

Why Tithe

2008-02-04T12:46:00.000+11:00

Although tithing is not commanded because what we do with our money is a test of our love and commitment to God. In truth, all we have really belongs to Him and 10% is a low figure, yet it is a starting point, sadly many Christians have never reached.

I practice tithing to God because:
* Tithing is a way of expressing my worship in a tangible way.
God is worthy of my all -- my best -- and so much more. Nothing
I could ever give would be sufficient, but that is no reason to
do nothing. The money I give is tangible evidence that I do
value God.

* The Lord promised blessing to those who tithe.
There are books full of testimonies from people -- even non-
Christians -- who put God to the test, as He challenges us in
Malachi 3:10, and found God faithful to prosper them, as He
promised.

* Tithing is an act of faith, which pleases God.
It takes faith to give when you don't have enough. Many people
do not tithe for this very reason; they are afraid God will not
come through and take care of them.

I have experienced miraculous provision many times. I can
testify that God is faithful, and will always, somehow, take
care of His children who trust Him.

Snippet from A Devotion

Forgiveness in Psalms

2008-02-04T10:49:00.001+11:00

Passage Psalm 32:1-6:

¹ Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.

² Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

³ When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.

⁴ For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Selah

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Selah

⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.

Passage Psalm 51:1-17:

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

² Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

⁶ Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

⁹ Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

¹⁴ Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are ^[c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

Passage Psalm 86:2-6:

² Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.
You are my God; save your servant
who trusts in you.

³ Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.

⁴ Bring joy to your servant,
for to you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul.

⁵ You are forgiving and good, O Lord,
abounding in love to all who call to you.

⁶ Hear my prayer, O LORD;
listen to my cry for mercy.

Passage Psalm 103:1-13:

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

² Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

³ who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

⁶ The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

⁹ He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

¹² as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

Passage Psalm 55:22-23:

²² Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.

²³ But you, O God, will bring down the wicked
into the pit of corruption;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
will not live out half their days.
But as for me, I trust in you.

Belief in God

2008-01-31T13:44:00.000+11:00

Belief in God
by: Bruno Hagspiel, The Millennium Stories by Frank Mihalic

There was a well-educated man who solemnly announced to his friends that he would never believe anything which he could not understand.

An old farmer overheard the remark, turned to the young intellectual and said, "As I went into town today, I passed a field where some sheep were feeding. Do you believe that?" "Yes," said the young man. "Not far away from the sheep some cows were also grazing. Do you believe that?" "Yes," was the reply. "Not far from the cows were some pigs eating grass. Do you believe that?" "Yes." "All right, now you listen to this," said the farmer. "The grass the sheep ate turned into wool. The grass the cows ate turned into hair. The grass the pigs ate turned into bristles. The grass that the chicken eat turned into feathers. Do you believe that?" "Yes," the young man said. "Do you understand it?" "No," admitted the young man.

"Young man," said the farmer, "if you live long, you will find that there are a great many things which you believe without understanding. God is one of them."

Tithing New Testament

2008-01-29T23:17:00.000+11:00

Verses for New Testament Tithing
Matt 6:19-21
Matt 6:24-34
Matthew 7:11
Matthew 10:38-39
Matthew 25:34-40
Acts 20:35
Matt 23:23
Matthew 25:21
Matt 25:35-40
Mark 12:41-44
Mark 10:21
Luke 3:8, 10-11
Luke 6:24
Luke 6:38
Luke 11:42
Luke 12:15-17, 19-21, 33
Luke 14:33
Luke 18:12
Luke 18:22-25
Luke 19:8
John 3:16
Acts 2:44-45
Acts 4:32, 34-37
Acts 10:2-4
Acts 20:35
Romans 8:32-33
rom 11:35
Rom 12:13
1 Corinthians 4:2
1 Corinthians 10:26
1 Cor 16:2
2 Cor 8:2-21
2 Cor 9:5-15
Galatians 2:9-10
Gal 6:6
Philippians 4:15-19
1 Tim 6:6-11
1 Tim 6:17-19
Heb 6:10
Hebrews 7:6
Heb 13:16
James 2:14-17
1 John 3:16-19

2008-01-29T15:12:00.000+11:00

Giving Tree
by: Shel Silverstein, Source Unknown

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

Time went by. The little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree everyday. One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad.

"Come and play with me," the tree asked the boy.

"I am no longer a kid, I don't play around trees anymore." The boy replied, "I want toys. I need money to buy them."

"Sorry, but I don't have money. But you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money." The boy was so excited.

He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily.

The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. "Come and play with me" the tree said.

"I don't have time to play. I have to work for family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?"

"Sorry, but I don't have a house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house."

So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. "Come and play with me!" the tree said.

The boy said, "I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?"

"Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy."

So the boy cut the tree truck to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.

Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. "Sorry, my boy. But I don't have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you." the tree said.

"I don't have teeth to bite" the boy replied.

"No more trunk for you to climb on"

"I am too old for that now" the boy said.

"I really can't give you anything. The only thing left is my dying roots." the tree said with tears.

"I don't need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years." the boy replied.

"Good! Old tree roots is the best place to lean on and rest. Come, come sit down with me and rest."

The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.

This is a story of everyone. The tree is our parent. When we were young, we loved to play with Mom and Dad. When we grown up, we left them, only came to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could to make you happy. You may think the boy is cruel to the tree but that's how all of us are treating our parents.

How am I growing?

2008-01-29T13:37:00.000+11:00

Deepening the Vertical Relationship:
(i) Through prayer we can express our feelings and thoughts to God. When we spend more time speaking to him, praying to him, hearing from him, waiting upon him, we can deepen our relationship with him. Just as any relationship we need to communicate with that person.
(ii) Reading God's word to understand him better, the way he communicates to his people through his guidance, counsel, rebuke and correction. The bible is made up of history, poems and songs, prophecies, teachings and many more which have been inspired by God. He can and does speak through his word to us and to understand someone we need to study them, observe them.

Deepening the Horizontal Relationship:
(i) Fellowship is building friendships with people in church. The bible speaks about being part of the body and we need each other to function fully, how can the head say i don't need the leg? God can use people to encourage, remind and build us up. Being part of church helps us to stay focus and learn to serve just as Jesus did.
(ii) Witnessing is bringing the gospel to those who are lost, who have not heard of the good news. Our life testimony and experiences of God should be shared. If you win a billion dollars, would you not share it? wouldn't it be much more joy if we shared it? Sharing our faith helps us know where we are at and what we lack in order for us to grow.

These are important parts of Christian walk to grow in relationship with God and his people. I hope this diagram is simple and easy to remember. Evaluate yourself, where do you need to grow most at this present moment?

Old Testament Tithing

2008-01-29T12:23:00.000+11:00

An offering known as tithing, is a percentage/portion of our earnings given to God out of obedience and thanks giving. The word "tithe" is an Old English word meaning "tenth."

Passage Leviticus 27:32:
³² The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD.

These are a few verses that can be used in giving thanks and tithing to God in the Old Testament

Gen 14:18-20
Gen 28:20-22
Exod 35:4-29
Exod 36:3-6
Lev 27:30-33
Leviticus 25:23
Num 18:20-21, 23-24, 26-28
Deuteronomy 6:10-12
Deut 8:18
Deut 12:5-7
Deut 12:17-19
Deut 14:22-29
Deut 16:10
Deut 16:16-17
Deuteronomy 17:16-17
Deuteronomy 26:12-15
Deut 28:12-13, 43-45
1 Samuel 8:15,17
1 Sam 30:24
I Kings 17:8-16
1 Chr 29:2-9
1 Chr 29:11-17
2 Chr 31:2-12
Neh 10:35-37
Neh 12:43-47
Neh 13:10-13
Psalm 24:1
Ps 50:9-12
Prov 3:9-10
Prov 11:24-25
Proverbs 19:17
Prov 22:9 / Prov 28:22
Prov 28:27
Proverbs 30:8-9
Ecclesiastes 5:10-15
Isa 32:8
Hag 1:4-11
haggai 2:8
Mal 1:6-14
Mal 3:7-12

Refiners Fire of Gold and Silver

2008-01-29T10:59:00.001+11:00

Passage Proverbs 25:4-5:

⁴ Remove the dross from the silver,
and out comes material for the silversmith;

⁵ remove the wicked from the king's presence,
and his throne will be established through righteousness.
¹¹ A word aptly spoken
is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

Context: It says to remove the "dross" meaning waste, worthless, impurity from silver before the silversmith (God) can use his craftsmanship to mould and build the silver into a fine product of beauty and glory. Only when we ask forgiveness does this process begin. Because lies, deceptions, and sin in our lives will not build holiness and righteousness in our character. We can not be changed unless we want to and ask God to help us. So when we are corrected by God's word, we should be delighted that God wants to speaks to his children to make them stronger and better. His words are like treasured apples of gold that is worthy and precious in the grounds of silver. Although hard at times, but it is to remove the dross in our hearts.

Passage Haggai 2:8-9:
⁸ 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. ⁹ 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."

Context: Haggai speaks on rebuilding the temple of Judah after the return from Babylon which they were held captive under the Persian king Cyrus for many years. The promise that glory of the new House will be greater than the old. The promise of Jesus coming, the claim of Gods wealth in the universe being used to build the new house; its all his and he will make his present house greater than the glory of the former house where he will grant it peace. This is a promise that God will restore our lives, he will help us along the way when we face trouble just as Judah faced opposition in the 16 years they tried building the temple. God will forgive us when we ask him, he will teach and guide us, he will use us to bring him glory through our life transformation when we come, when we come and seek help from him.

Passage 1 Corinthians 3:12-15:
¹²If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Context: Paul writes to strengthen the church on division, mature levels of spiritual babies and solid food, and how God is the one that makes things grow. It is by Gods foundation laid by Jesus that we stand, but if we were to build by other materials such as gold, silver, etc when the day comes, the fire will reveal if it will with stand the heat. If its pure, if its true, if its solid, any material that passed through fire it will stand firm but those that are impure will be sifted like wheat. Paul encourages us to come to repentance of our pride, of our possession and of self so that God can work in our lives, so that our foundation is solid on the day of judgment.

New International Version (NIV)
9But 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. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Context: Peter shares about Jesus being the corner stone and believers as the living stone of a building, the church. That believers ought to bring themselves as pleasing sacrifices through Jesus. That is to be made holy and cleanse before God. These called are the chosen people of God who used to walk in darkness but now walk in truth and mercy. Hence, there needs to be sanctification in our lives with the remembrance that Jesus died for us once and for all.

2008-01-28T14:20:00.000+11:00

Communion poem:

In memory of the Saviour’s love,
We keep the sacred feast,
Where every humble, contrite heart
Is made a welcome guest.
By faith we take the Bread of Life
With which our souls are fed,
The Cup in token of His blood
That was for sinners shed.
In faith and memory thus we sing
The wonders of His love,
And thus anticipate by faith
The heavenly feast above.

2008-01-28T13:57:00.000+11:00

Passage "Lords Supper" Matthew 26:26-29 / Mark 14:22-25 / Luke 22:14-23

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

²⁷Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

Passage 1 Corinthians 10:16-17,21
¹⁶Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.²¹You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.

Passage 1 Corinthians 11:20-34:
²⁰When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, ²¹for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. ²²Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!

²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." ²⁵In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." ²⁶For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

²⁷Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. ³¹But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. ³²When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

³³So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. ³⁴If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.

Passage Acts 2:42, 46
⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

Passage Exodus 12:26-27
²⁶ And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?'²⁷ then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.' " Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

Passage Exodus 12:5/ John 1:29
⁵ The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats
²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Passage Exodus 12:8:
⁸ That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.

Passage Numbers 9:12:
¹² They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations.

Passage Exodus 12:7:
⁷ Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.

Passage Matthew 26:27, 29:
²⁷Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.
²⁹I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

Passage Exodus 12:43:
⁴³ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the Passover:
"No foreigner is to eat of it.

Passage 1 Corinthians 10:16-17:
¹⁶Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?¹⁷Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

Passage Colossians 2:12:
¹²having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Cleansing Vessel

2008-01-28T11:57:00.000+11:00

Isaiah 66:20 (King James )
And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.

Context: God detests human efforts to please him by keeping ritual laws without respecting moral laws. Sacrifices meant nothing to God if they were offered by merciless, unjust people or immorality. Rituals and outward righteousness but inward hypocrisy is not what God desires. These detestable things that are associated with idol worship, superstition and immorality will not help purify them but bring judgement. Only when they offer themselves as a pleasing sacrifice with repentance, made clean inside out by the Lord, that is acceptable. Shows importance of being made right before God by asking forgiveness. How can a rusty knife be used in surgery if it is not clean and sharpened first. How can we be used by God if we are not first washed by him. Mark 13:1-17

1 John 1:9 (New International Version)
9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Context: John wrote to encourage and strengthen believers that only the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Some claimed that they live a sinless life of perfection, others say they never sin but we all know we live in a fallen world and no one is perfect except God. Additionally, although perfection and idealistic is not attainable at least here, but forgiveness and cleansing of Jesus blood gives us the free gift to heaven where it is without sin and this available to everyone who believes.

2 Timothy 2:21 (New American Standard Bible)
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

Context: Paul encourages believers to present themselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. And to be someone that God can use for noble purposes, he needs to be cleaned and made holy before God to use as instrument to do his good works.

Leviticus 14:2-9 (NIV)
² "These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: ³ The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease, ⁴ the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. ⁵ Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. ⁶ He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. ⁷ Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields. ⁸ "The person to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. After this he may come into the camp, but he must stay outside his tent for seven days. ⁹ On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair; he must shave his head, his beard, his eyebrows and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will be clean.

Context: Ceremonial ritual for cleansing, and the two birds represented the person being cleaned and the other killed showed the death the person might have suffered but it was atoned for his uncleanness.. This freed bird symbolized the person's physical and spiritual restoration. However we know that when Jesus came, he was the ultimate sacrifice and his blood is the strongest cleaning agent to remove the hard grind sins that people have in their life. It is only through asking forgiveness, trusting and turning to him that he begins purifying our hearts.

Footprints in the sand

2008-01-28T08:48:00.000+11:00

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Mary Stevenson, 1936

Broken Dreams

2008-01-28T08:36:00.000+11:00

Broken Dreams

As children bring
their broken toys
with tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams
to God
because He was my friend!

But then instead
of leaving Him
in peace to work alone,
I hung around
and tried to help
with ways
that were my own.

At last I snatched them back
and cried,
"How can you be so slow?"
"My child," He said
"What could I do?
You never did let go."

Author Unknown

Bulletin Bloopers

2008-01-27T09:47:00.002+11:00

It contains words that were found in Church
Bulletins.
___________________________

They're Back! Those wonderful Church Bulletins! Thanks for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences (with all the BLOOPERS) actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:

--------------------------
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
--------------------------
The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'
--------------------------
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
--------------------------
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.
--------------------------
Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
--------------------------
Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
--------------------------
For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
--------------------------
Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
--------------------------
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
--------------------------
A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
--------------------------
At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.
--------------------------
Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
--------------------------
Scouts are saving aluminium cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
--------------------------
Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
--------------------------
The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
--------------------------
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
--------------------------
The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
--------------------------
This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
--------------------------
Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.
--------------------------
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
--------------------------
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
--------------------------
The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
--------------------------
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Baptist Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
--------------------------
The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday: 'I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours.'
------------------------------

Don't cry because it's over - Smile because it happened...

thanks to God's minute

Charing a Focus Group Discussion

2008-01-25T16:58:00.000+11:00

Disclaimer: This is only a description / tips to chairing role, so don't be restricted to the form but allow the Holy Spirit to free flow. And allow discernment of Gods leading in chairing :)

Chairing

It is a honor, privilege and responsibility to take the role as chairperson since the first meeting point with members and visitors is the chairperson. So the chairperson should be welcoming and joyful, have a good life example, so that we can be good ambassadors for Christ . Therefore the role should not be taken lightly and we should prepare as much as we can and leave the rest up to God.

Preparation of the heart is needed in the week leading into the role, as we must ask God to forgive us if we have done anything wrong, get into his word, pray and seek for God's anointing. The heart attitude and our countenance needs to be consistent with God even though we may go through difficult situation that week. Because we know that our God is sovereign and guides in times of trouble, and provides in times of need, heals the sick and sets the bondage free.

Another thing to take note of is that the chair person should know the roles of other people in the group for the week that they are leading (speak to Facilitator for info of roles). And make sure that everyone is prepared and know what they are suppose to do on the day of group discussion. This can be done through emailing respective people and ensuring they are prepared. Another email that is needed is to inform members and visitors of the venue and time, perhaps include the word of God to uplift people during the week and perhaps encourage members to bring friends to small group.

On the day, pray before starting and commit the rest into Gods hand. Below is somewhat a format that I think is quite good for university students.

4:00-4:15 Chairperson to welcome visitors and members, get people mingling and comfortable
4:30-4:40 Ice breaker, can be showing a short video, a role play, a game or anything that helps people feel comfortable to be themselves. "Opening the door to their hearts"
4:40-5:00 Praise and worship time where chair person can either share short message before, in free worship, or at the end with prayer. If there is a word from members, they should normally speak to chairperson before sharing but as a small group, it is more flexible. Hence when someone shares word of encouragement: (1) re-affirm the word that person shares if it speaks to you by summarizing it and asking people if they want to respond (2) if the word may be misleading or not full, correct it so misunderstanding is not there in a appropriate way. This part is to "soften and prepare the heart" of people to receive the word
5:00-5:10 Announcement, testimony, "Connect journal" sharing, news, and get ready for discussion; buffer time
5:10-6:15 Discussion time where it is passed onto the discussion leader gracefully. This time is for the "word to fall on peoples heart".
6:15 -> If there are events such as dinner, invite and encourage people to join, for those who are seeking more, can stay back and share more. For those who are leaving, remember to get the contact or ask member to help get contact of visitor. If it was a larger group for discussion broken down to smaller maybe its good to come together again and do something together to end the night. This is only a suggestion to create unity and flow, can be thruogh another worship song or prayer.

With all that is said, its not meant to be rigid or strict but to allow the flow of the night to be more smooth. Try avoiding using statements such as "now this is the time for games" etc because it does not build continuity and becomes formal. Be creative and personalize the style and the best way to learn is on hands experience. So feel free to ask question as well as for feedback :)

Chair Person in Caregroup

2008-01-25T15:42:00.001+11:00

One year ago, I wrote a description on the role of a chairperson in small group discussion. Here it is....

Taking note of the chairperson on Sunday service, you will notice how the chair person keeps watch of the time and moves "items" such as testimony, announcements, communion, prayers, and welcomes for dinner in a short and clear way. The chair person needs to makes sure people who are on duty know their roles and are prepared. And that everyone is comfortable and the environment is conducive for Holy Spirit to act upon. Importantly the role of a chairperson represents the church and directs the church members according to the holy spirit.

Similarly, the chair person in caregroup welcomes the members and visitors with excitement and joy. If a visitor comes, the chairperson should get to know them and introduce visitor to the group. Chairperson normally guides "discussion items" during the course of the night and control the time and "content" in a way. Some people like to talk very long and far off from subject so chairperson needs to know when to step in and take control of conversation again in a polite way. Hm, another thing is, chairperson writes the weekly email to send out to visitors and members to inform them where the meeting place is and what time and a word of encouragement during the week, hopefully it is written early in week, so that people are prepared and they can encourage to invite their friends to caregroup, so that one more soul is saved!

Young Professional time format:
6:30-6:45 We know people are sometimes late so allow some buffer time, chairperson welcomes and introduces new visitors. This is a time that he/she connects visitors to members so that they know each other and exchange contacts later on.
6:45-7:30 Dinner time is when chairperson plays host, prays over meal and entertain people with light discussion, and ask people about their week.
7:30-7:40 Games can be nominated by chairperson to someone else to take responsibility (sometimes dont need game, its just ice breaker)
7:40-8:00 Praise and worship, can share a word of encouragement during this time, end with prayer and ask people to take a seat.
8:00-8:05 communion nominated again by chair person who he/she can do it.
8:05-8:20 chairperson ask if people have testimony or word of encouragement, normally chairperson would ask someone the week before to prepare some sharing.
8:20-8:30 Updates and announcement and some buffer time here
8:30-9:30 Hand over to discussion leader gracefully

This is a rough guideline that the chairperson needs to keep in mind and not be to rigid on but to ensure that it does not go over time as some may work the next day or may be late to go home. It is up to chairperson to deem what is appropriate to do as he is the person organizing how small group discussion will be ran.

Keep in mind that the role of chairperson in caregroup is more a transparent role, that is let the people who are in charge of e.g. worship, games, connect journal know when to start and end (dont have to be formal and say "this is the time for worship", or this is time for games, can just give them a signal). Normally during worship chair-person may share Gods word if God speaks to them. In church, not everyone is able to share in front of the church, so the chair person will act as filter, as in do not let some stranger speak and distort the truth to the rest of the members. (in cg however, most are members, so as long as the word is encouraging its good). Re-affirm person who shares a word of God if its appropriate.

Some note to take:
- prepare your heart days in advance so that Holy Spirit can work through us. This may be asking forgiveness, getting into the word of God, and praying
-Have a clear time format and make sure that everyone knows their roles before the meeting
-Chair person can add and remove parts of the format depending on time and people at present

That is all from the top of my head. So yeah if you have any questions, let me know :)

Nothing is beyond difficulty

2008-01-20T08:19:00.000+11:00

1 Corinthians 10:13 (New International Version)

13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Jesus is the ultimate victor as he went through all temptations that we all face today and overcame it. As children of God and co-heirs with Christ, we are given the same victory to overcome it too. Since God knowing us deeply and personally, he will not tempt us or put us in situations that we can not handle. But if we do face trials and temptations that seem difficult, he will provide a solution and he will guide and teach us to overcome it when we draw near to him. These experiences then will help mould and shape our character and strengthen us in trusting our Lord Jesus more. And sometimes just at the moment of falling out or weakening, he will give us that extra bit of strength to go on, and just a bit more to go on and on, so that eventually we will overcome it...bible says we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus our Lord Saviour

--- Came across this comment and think its quite interesting to look at it this way
"I heard a story once about temptation that made so much sense to me. A little boy's mom told him not to eat any sweets before dinner, because it would ruin his appetite. A little later, the mom found her son standing in the pantry with an open cookie jar, just peering into it. She asked him what in the world he was doing, and he replied. . . "Oh, I was just fighting temptation!" Sometimes we get into a tempting situation, simply because we chose to put ourselves there. There is still an escape, but we have made it so much harder on ourselves to resist it."

Tempting thoughts may abound, but as Martin Luther once said, and Billy Graham has repeated, "We can't prevent the birds from flying around over our head, but we can keep them from building a nest in our hair!"

Separation Illustration

2008-01-20T00:30:00.000+11:00

How to share this diagram (total of 2 minute sharing):
1. draw the circle "God/Man". Share that God created you and I for a personal relationship. Initially we were together with him (Genesis 1). Then draw the arrow that leads to eternal life with him.
2. draw the circle "Man". Because Man chose his own desires, disobeyed and sin against God. He fell and became alone. Explain what sin is e.g exclusion of God in our life, lie, cheat, steal etc
3. Explain that Man tries his best to bridge the gap with God again, but try as he may, it is never enough through good works, donations, religions, etc Everything falls short of it and the consequence is death, eternal separation from God. (Romans)
4 Draw one side of the cross only with the arrow pointing down to ME. Explain that since there is no way that man can bridge the gap, God so loved the word (John 3:16) he sent his only Son Jesus to die for our sins. This point is where you share your testimony, answer questions that they may have about God and Jesus. And ask them this is where you are at, would you like to accept Jesus into your life?
5 No, we don't complete the other half of the cross because they chose the line that goes to death
6 Yes, finish the other half line of the cross that connects back to eternal life. Ask person to say a prayer to acknowledge that Jesus died on the cross for his/her sins, and he has risen and that he/she will dedicate their life to follow him.

Thanks to Richard (Hope i did not miss out on anything :))

2-6-2 Evangelism

2008-01-18T23:53:00.000+11:00

2 QUESTIONS:
Ask the questions to your friend and family:
-Do you know for sure that you will go to heaven someday?
-If I could tell you in less than two minutes how you could know, would that be good news?

6 POINTS 'GOSPEL':
God created us to be with Him. Gen 1:26. God's desire in creating humankind was that we would live in a perfect paradise enjoying perfect fellowship with him.
Our sins separate us from God. Gen 6:5-6. The wrong things that we have done (sins) have placed a barrier between humankind and our Creator.
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. Titus 3:5. There is nothing we can do through our own efforts that can restore our broken relationship with God.
Paying the price for sin Jesus died and rose again. 1 Co. 15:3-4. Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect life, died a horrible death, and rose from the grave to pay price for all of the sins of humankind.
Everyone who trusts in him has eternal life. John 6:47. By simply placing our trust in Jesus death and resurrection as our only hope of salvation, we receive the free gift of salvation.
Life that's eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. Rev 22:5. Those who have placed their trust have forgiveness of sins and restored relationship with God forever.

2 QUESTIONS:
-Does that make sense? Make absolute certain that the person completely understands the gospel. If he/she doesn't, simply go back over the six points and clarify.
-Would you trust in Jesus as your only hope of going to heaven?

If they say yes, then they have just became a believer. Remember that praying a prayer is not what saves a person but if he/she desires to express his/her trust in Christ through a prayer, you can use the following as a sample:"Dear Father, I know that I'm a sinner. I realize that my good deeds will never get me into heaven. Right now I believe that Jesus died in my place for my sins. I trust in Him alone to forgive me for all of my sins. Thank you for your free gift of eternal life."

Greg Steir

Thumb Illustration

2008-01-18T21:47:00.000+11:00

Thumbs Up: Good!
A good way to begin by saying God is good. He is perfect and He wants what is best for us.

Pointer: You've Done Wrong!
We have sinned against God by wanting our own way, not God's way, even though He made us and wants the best for us.

Tall Man: Jesus Christ stands tall above all men. He never sinned. Yet He died on the cross for our sins so that we can stand faultless once again before God.

Ring Finger: For wedding ring, a symbol of love when a couple gets married. Every sinner can be brought back to a new relationship with God when he gives his life over to Him.

Last Finger: Furthest from the thumb. When we want nothing to do with God and we reject what Christ has done for us, the distance between us and God remains forever.

When you share the Good News, have these at your FINGERTIPS!

* Find out his view about life
* Illustrate with stories
* Never argue or force
* Get to know his interests and needs
* Explain your convictions gently and respectfully
* Refer to the Bible
* Take time to listen
* Involve him in your life activites
* Pray for him
* See yourself as God's tool!

Bridge Diagram

2008-01-18T21:23:00.000+11:00

Bridge Illustration (1 Verse Remember)

Most Powerful when shared with love, clarity, and simplicity

Write out Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" then ask the person if they would like to see a simple picture based on this verse that explains God's relationship with people.

Wages: "how would you feel if your boss refused to pay you the wages that were due to you? Deep down, we all know it is only right that we get what we deserved. Similiarly we earn wages from God for how we have lived our lives"

Sin: ask your friend what he thinks when he hears this word. You might explain that sin is more an attitude than an action. It can be either actively fighting against God or merely excluding him from our daily lives. You can ask "Has God ever seemed far away?" If he says yes, add that thats one of the things sin does - it makes God seem far away. Now draw two opposing cliffs with a gap in between.

death: ask what thoughts come to mind when you see it being circled? Explain that death in bible always means some kind of separation.

but: mention that it is important because it means that a sharp contrast in thought is coming. What we have just looked at is bad news; what follows is good news.

gift: Ask, "If wages are what a person earns, then what is a gift?" Remind your friend that someone must purchase every gift.

of God: explain that the gift you are talking about is free. It is from God himself. It's so special that no one else can give it. Ask, "How do you feel when someone gives you a special gift?"

eternal life: ask "How would you define these words?" Contrast one side of the cliff, death, with the other side, eternal life. Ask "what is the opposite of separation from God?"

Christ Jesus: draw these words so they create a bridge between the two cliffs. Help your friend to consider that every gift has a giver, and only Jesus Christ can give the gift of eternal life.

trust: Write these words over the bridge you just drew. Explain that friends trust each other, and tell your friend Jesus wants a trusting friendship with him. All he has to do is admit that he is responsible for the "sin" of either fighting or excluding God from his life. That is what trust means - trusting that Jesus wants to forgive us for rejecting him from our lives. At this point, you can ask him if he wants to start a relationship with God that will last forever. If he says "Yes" invite him to pray a short prayer in his own words, asking Jesus to forgive him.

Close by reminding him that this simple illustration shows what God is like: Someone who really cares about people, especially him. Invite him to read all about it in the bible, perhaps beginning in the gospel of John.

Tips:
Successful evangelism is simply sharing the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. Technique dont bring people to God, the Holy Spirit does. Pray that God will open their heart to his good news.

Use some questions to kickoff the bridge diagram (Use their name through the presentation):
-If you were to die today and you were standing before God and he asked you, "Why should I let you enter into Heaven?" What would you say to him?
-If a friend at work were to ask you how to become a Christian, what would you tell him?
-On scale of 0-100% how sure are you about going to heaven?

Community Leadership Institute

Christianity a pocket guide

2008-01-18T18:42:00.000+11:00

Creation: In the beginning, God created the world, including human beings. Everything and everyone belongs to him. Genesis 1:1

Humans defy God: Before long, however the first person had turned their backs on God, and today is still the same. The result is God's judgement Romans 5:12

Promise of a new start: God then unfolded across the centuries a rescue plan for his world, pointing ultimately to the sending of a great Savior Jeremiah 31:31 and 33

Judgement: The final destiny of those who continue to reject God is his rejection of them. He condemns all who remain outside his rescue plan Acts 17:30 and 31

Life Jesus: True to plan, God's son came as promised died for sinners, rising again and winning eternal life for all who trust in him, even today Romans 4:25

John 14:6 "the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but for me"

To become a Christian: Accept and act upon God's message in the bible: Acknowledge past failure to treat God properly. Surrender your life to his loving authority, Rely on Jesus alone for acceptance by God.

A short prayer of acceptance and forgiveness: "Dear God, I admit i have tried to ignore you and resisted your right to be in charge. i no longer want to live that way. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that his death is the grounds of forgiveness for sinners as a free gift, and that he rose again. I commit from this day forward to follow Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, trusting and obeying him in the knowledge that I am eternally secure in your kingdom. Amen"

Written by Kim Hawtry (Pilgrim International)

G.R.O.W.T.H

2008-01-18T18:33:00.000+11:00

Our relationship with Jesus Christ grows as we trust God more and more with every detail of our lives. This trust is developed through:

G-Getting to know God by reading the bible 2 Tim 3:14-17. Start with the gospel of John
R-Responding to God in prayer Phil 4:6
O-Obeying God moment by moment Luke 6:46-49
W-Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit Gal 5:16, Eph 3:14-21, 5:18
T-Telling others about Jesus Christ Through the way we live and our words Matt 28:18-20, 2 Co 5:17-20, eph 4:1
H-Having fellowship with other Christians Heb 10:25, Acts 2:42-47 Take initiative to be with other people who have also found Jesus Christ as their savior and are experiencing his love. Attend church this week where Jesus Christ is honored and his word is preached.

2008-01-18T18:01:00.000+11:00

These two circles represent two kinds of lives:
Self-directed life (S- self on throne of the life; T-Christ outside the life)

The circle illustrates a life where the relationship with God is broken. Such a life is under the judgement of God. John 3:17, 18

Christ-directed life (S- self dethroned; T-Christ at the center of the life)

This circle represents a person who has received God's forgiveness adn willingly chooses to obey Jesus Christ as Lord.

Which circle represents your life?
Which circle do you want to represent your life?

Put Your trust in God

Knowing God Personally

2008-01-18T17:34:00.000+11:00

Point 1: God loves you and created you to have a personal relationship with him
-God Loves you: John 3:16
-God wants you to know him: John 10:10, John 17:3

Point 2: Man is sinful and guilty before God, who is perfect and just. Sin has separated man from God and the relationship between them is broken
-What is sin? God created u to know and love him. But we have failed to love and obey God and have gone our own way. We show this independence by being hostile or apathetic towards God. This attitude is what the bible calls sin. Romans 1:18-21 and Isaiah 53:5,6
-Who has sinned? Romans 3:23
-What is consequence of sin? Romans 6:23
-The death spoken of here is spiritual separation from God. The diagram with God being Holy and man being sinful illustrates the great gulf separates the two. The arrows indicate mankind trying to bridge this gulf in an attempt to find security and satisfaction through such things as wealth, religion or relationships. However, all attempts will eventually fail because they do not deal with the problem of sin.

Point 3: Jesus Christ is God's only solution for man's sin. Through him you can have a personal relationship with God
-He is unique: God and man in same person John 17:5, 8:58, Isaiah 9:6, Hebrews 1:3
-Fulfills prophecies made centuries before he came Luke 24:27
-He claimed to be sinless and backed it up by the way he lived John 8:46, 1 Peter 2:22
-He came back from dead just as he said he would Luke 9:22, 1 Co 15:3-6
-He died in our place 1 Peter 3:18, Romans 5:8
-He rose from the dead Acts 2:32
-The resurrection of Jesus Christ shows us that: He is son of God Romans 1:4; God has accepted his death as the complete payment for our sins Acts 13:34-39
-He is the only way to God John 14:6
-Diagram of cross that bridges Holy God and Sinful man "We are condemned to death because of our sin; but God sent his Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in our place. Thus he has bridged the gulf that separates us from him by dealing with the problem of sin. Therefore we can have a personal relationship with God and receive his forgiveness"

Point 4: We must each respond to Jesus Christ by placing our trust in him as our saviour and Lord. Then we can know God personally.
-This involves: agreeing with God that we are sinful and deciding to turn from our sin (Repentance) Acts 2:36-38 ; Trusting Jesus Christ to forgive us completely because he died for our sins (Faith) Romans 10:9,10
-The relationship is a gift of God and begins when we put our trust in Christ Ephesian 2:8,9
-The relationship is personal John 1:12

You can place your trust in Jesus Christ by expressing your faith through prayer. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as he is with the attitude of your heart. Here is a suggested prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I realise that i have been running my own life and have sinned against you. Thank you for dying for my sins. I want to be the kind of person you want me to be. I receive you as my saviour and Lord. Thank you for giving me eternal life"

Could you say this to God and mean it?

If so, pray this prayer now, and you will become a child of God as he promised.

Campus Crusade
www.ccca.org.au

If not, or you are not yet sure, consider that you are responsible to God for your decisions John 3:18

Received this email today, thought it was interesting

2008-01-17T09:41:00.000+11:00

The Breaking of the Storm

"And there arose a great storm" (Mark 4:37).

Some of the storms of life come suddenly: a great sorrow, a bitter disappointment, a crushing defeat. Some come slowly.

They appear upon the ragged edges of the horizon no larger than a man's hand, but, trouble that seems so insignificant spreads until it covers the sky and overwhelms us.

Yet it is in the storm that God equips us for service. When God wants an oak He plants it on the moor where the storms will shake it and the rains will beat down upon it, and it is in the midnight battle with elements that the oak wins its rugged fibre and becomes the king of the forest.

When God wants to make a man He puts him into some storm. The history of manhood is always rough and rugged. No man is made until he has been out into the surge of the storm and found the sublime fulfillment of the prayer:

"O God, take me, break me, make me."

You have been in the storms and swept by the blasts.

Have they left you broken, weary, beaten in the valley, or have they lifted you to the sunlit summits of a richer, deeper, more abiding manhood and womanhood?

Have they left you with more sympathy with the storm-swept and the battle-scarred?

The wind that blows can never kill
The tree God plants;
It bloweth east, it bloweth west,
The tender leaves have little rest,
But any wind that blows is best.
The tree that God plants
Strikes deeper root, grows higher still,
Spreads greater boughs, for God's good will
Meets all its wants.

There is no storm hath power to blast
The tree God knows;
No thunderbolt, nor beating rain,
Nor lightning flash, nor hurricane;
When they are spent, it doth remain,
The tree God knows,
Through every tempest standeth fast,
And from its first day to its last
Still fairer grows.

Top Songwriters and Worship Leaders

2008-01-12T22:48:00.000+11:00

Ranked Top Artist that I like....

Number 5

Micheal Whitaker Smith (1957):
Reunion Records + Provident Label Group + Song BMG;
Top Hit: friends,
Album:
Worship again (2004)
I'll lead you home (1995)
Micheal w. smith 2 (1984)
Healing rain (2006)
worship (2002)
This is the time (2000)
live the life (1998)
go west young men (1990)
holy holy holy (1989)
I 2(Eye) (1988)
The big picture (1986)
micheal w. smith project (1983)

Number 4

Shawn McDonald (1978):
Eugene Oregon
Albums:
Simply Nothing (2004)
Live in Seattle (2005)
Ripen (2006)
Scattered pieces: live (2007)
Roots (2007)

Number 3

Matt Redman (): Survivor Records now St Paul's Catholic College in Brighton England. Passion Conference.
Top Hits: Heart of worship, let everything that has breath, once again, undignified, blessed be your name
Albums:
Wake up my soul (1993)
Passion for your name (1995)
The friendship and the fear (1998)
Intimacy (1998)
The fathers song (2000)
Where angels fear to tread (2002)
Facedown (2004)
Blessed be your name (2005)
Beautiful (2006)

Number 2

Tim Hughes (1978): Survivor Records, attends Holy Trinity Brompton in central London
Top Hits: Here I am worship, Beautiful, Jesus you alone, consuming fire, whole world in his hands
Albums:
here i am to worship (2001)
When silence falls (2004)
Holding nothing back (2007)

Number 1

Christopher Dwayne Tomlin (1972):
EMI records; from Austin Stone community, Grand Saline, Texas
Top Hits: How great is our God, Forever, Famous one, holy is the lord, we fall down, indescribable, made to worship, how can i keep from singing
Albums:
inside your love (1995)
authentic (1998)
too much free time (1998)
The noise we make (2001) GOT
545 promo (2002)
Not to us (2002) GOT
Arriving (2004) GOT
Live from austin music hall (2005)
See the morning (2006) GOT
The Early Years (2006) GOT

Spring of Life

2008-01-04T16:22:00.000+11:00

I happen to chance on this song today as I walked home after meeting Eric for lunch. Today I was really blessed in a different way from my mentor and I appreciate it very much what he has done. May God bless him abundantly more and more. Also a friend i made recently has asked if I want to go into traineeship and she would hand my resume for me. God is kind and compassionate is he not?

This song has become my favorite as it really speaks about my heart, how beautiful is our God, how gracious is he to give us new life in him, for the times of trouble he has protected and guided us through, his love is endless. So I will love him, seek him, lifting my voice to him with all my heart. May our love for him endures as his does!

Spring Of Life - Hillsong

How beautiful are You Lord
A spring of life to me
Words of love caress my soul
You fill my every need

And precious are Your statutes
They guide my every move
I'm so in love with You Lord
Your love shines over me

And I will seek You with all my heart
I will lift my voice to You
No matter how I feel my hope's in You
For You have rescued me from calamity
Set my feet on solid ground
Oh Lord You are a spring of life to me

Your Word secure within me
Has kept my feet from strife
Forever I will thank You
For giving me new life

And I will love You Jesus
My life's within Your hands
Teach me guide me
Into Your master plan

Ps. Jeff Chong entry on Effective follow-up

2008-01-04T08:09:00.000+11:00

Effective Follow Up

1. Effective Follow Up Through Relationship

One of the most important keys to effective follow up is relationship. God is a relational God. Spiritual growth takes place best in the context of genuine and authentic relationship.

We can build such relationship in our care groups (Hebrews 10:25) and 1-1 follow up (Acts 20:28).

2. Effective Follow Up Through Experiencing God

We need to help the new believers to experience God as soon as possible. We have to help them come to a personal conclusion that God is indeed real and active in their lives.

Do our best to help them experience the reality of God in the course of their daily life: in their work, studies, family life, in various relationships etc.

We can encourage the new believers to ask God for 3 things in their lives. However, we need to explain to them in a balance manner. (Philippians 4:19) God will answer their prayers according to His timing and if it is for their good.

We should also help them experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This would help them in their personal prayer life as well. (Romans 8:26-27)

3. Effective Follow Up Through Small Groups

We should do our best to ensure that we have a conducive atmosphere in our care groups for the new believers to grow in. The atmosphere should be one that is supportive, meets needs and shows care & concern. (Acts 2:42-47)

4. Effective Follow Up Through Selecting The Appropriate Follow Upper

We need to get this right such that there will be minimal barrier for the new believers in relating with the follow uppers.

Do take note of factors like gender, education level, campus and school they come from, availability, existing relationship etc.

5. Effective Follow Up Through Teaching The Bible

Let's do our best in giving them practical teaching that they can apply in their lives. Then they can reap the blessings of obeying God’s Word. (Acts 20:32)

We want to reap the harvest and store the harvest into the God's house.

Summer

2008-01-03T08:23:00.000+11:00

Identifying our growth seasons help individuals to maximize personal growth, to develop self-awareness, team awareness, situation awareness and God awareness. Helps in our personal learning curve (holistic growth) upwards in the 5 dimensions (spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, social). So it is good to recognize, respond and result harnessing of each season. So we can learn with victory rather than become a casualty!

Summer (Growing/Training/Stretching)

Growing is a process that takes time and patience. As we serve actively growth can be and should result in our character, word of God and skills to develop. So focusing on the events, the convention camps or conferences, we will feel empty when its over. But when we focus on serving, that will be the major growth point.

Example: When we begin to serve God in worship, our confidence, our voices and skills will increase and importantly our worshiping life style will change to please God. Putting theory and head knowledge into practice will determine if you really understood all the teachings in the first place!

The need to develop skills in worshiping, teaching etc in ministry is important, so let God shape our character, patience, loving kindness and not just the skills. e.g. How do we handle difficult people and difficult situations. Is the our heart attitude right?

What specifics do you need to work on in your character, in the word of God and in your ministry skills?

Effective training builds competency and confidence that pays off in better results. This requires a personal relationship with God and professional training and discipline. The K.A.S.H training goes like this:

K-Knowledge (bible): understanding and using the word of God in the correct way
A-Attitude (teachable, open heart): Have to have heart of humility and love for people. e.g. A student passes his studies to become a doctor but has the wrong attitudes, he can not maximize his help to others.
S-Skills(practical ministral): to be effective in minstry
H-Habits (needs to be cultivated): Discipline to plant good seeds to sow good crops

Stretching speaks of willingness and the discipline to go further and try harder than before. It is making the most of the time before summer ends in order to achieve certain results. It will pay dividends to go the extra mile!

So the question is are you willing to go that extra mile and what does the stretching really mean to your context?

From workshop "Maximizing personal growth seasons"

2008-01-02T23:23:00.000+11:00

An end of a Era....

It really feels that way as 2007 passed by, felt that there has been many adventures, many things that has happen over this year that made it quite eventful and significant. Lead caregroup in young adults, joined the evangelism region in darebin, formed many great relationships with people in university+church+strangers->friend, help play a role in pioneering a new church, publish a paper in ISSNIP with my understanding supportive project-partner, and many more...

But I guess today there was one thing that I was letting go off...I picked up the guitar at the beginning of 2007 and started playing since then. I bought a guitar that i really liked called les paul epiphone black beauty 3 that year from a music production manager and today I had to sell it to a band called the curious few. The guitar looks like...
The guitar was made in Korea which is quite high quality to the gibson model which goes for 2-4 times as much. They now make them in China as the factory has moved. It was and is really a beauty that I will not forget...farewell friend.

Tomorrow my BOSS GT3 will be sold too as I just got email from a person interested in it and will purchase it for the price i put. God really provides and brings the buyers when you need them, as my previous experience took me a month to sell my fender guitar and another for my V.O.X amp.

Now I am guitarless except with the borrowed guitar from Ying.....in future, not anytime soon, I hope to get a guitar that i like....at moment fender telecaster looks good but also an acoustic electric might be good to. But one can only think about it now :)

I trust in the Lord, he is my provider, supplier and multiplier. He will forever bless his people in the days to come. A story that i recall quite often to remind myself this is...

A father and son went to McDonalids one evening and the father ordered the Happy Meal for his son. The Happy meal consisted of a burger, some fries and small coke. As the father drove away, he leaned over and took a few fries from his son. His son grabbed his hand and looked angrily at the father blurting out, "these are my fries, you cant have any!" and he started to cry....The father however didnt want the fries but wanted to teach the son a lesson. He wanted to let the son know that he is the one who provided the fries for him in the first place, the one who supplied it to him, and the one that can multiply it if its not enough for him (by buying more).

If only the son knew this, he would give to the father back as he is the source of providence. For only when he recognize the father as this then he knows everything belongs to the father. He giveth and taketh and he will provide for all the needs of his children.

2007-12-31T09:35:00.000+11:00

1. Be Proactive
It means that human beings have responsible for our own lives. Our behaviour is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to values. We have the initiative and the responsibility to make this happen. Look at the word responsibility - " response-ability" - the ability to choose your response. Proactive people do not blame circumstances, conditions or conditioning for their behaviour. Their behaviour is product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feelings.

Reactive people are often affected by their physical environment. If weather is good they feel good etc. Proactive people carry their own weather. They have large circle of influence to others in a positive way and their circle of concern is slightly larger however the circle of influence will push outwards rather than vice versa. They focus on their efforts in the circle of influence, work on things they can do something about.

The "Have's" and the "Be's" one way to determine which circle our concern is to distinguish between the have's and be's. The have's would say something like:
"I'll be happy when I have my house paid off"
"If only I had a boss who wasn''t such a dictator"
"If I could just have more time to myself"

The circle of influence is filled with the be's - I can be more patient, be wise, be loving. Its the chracter focus. Anytime we think the problem is "out there", that htought is the problem. We empower whats out there to control us. This is outside-in but the proactive is inside-out to be different, to effect positive change in whats out there- I can be more resourcefulm i can be more diligent, I can be more creative, I can be more cooperative. e.g. The story of Joseph in old testament when he was sold into slavery.

e.g Viktor Frankl Jew captive who chose to be proactive rather than reactive in the death camps of Nazi Germany. He could decide within himself how all this was going to affect him. Between what happened to him, or the stimulus, and his response to it, was his freedom or power to choose that response. He inspired many people even the guards themselves.

2007-12-30T21:04:00.000+11:00

Chris Tomlin - See the Morning

Thanks Richard for your CD and for you friendship, you know Chris and I go way back and you got him for me so i can complete my album collection... haha

Its very timely as I have been getting back to the foundation, the fundamentals, the basics of my walk. To come back to worship God for who he is and how much he loves me and not what the circumstance suggest. Knowing that there are road sections that will be rocky and paths that seem to stretch endlessly, and sun rays that are scorching especially in melbourne with 38+degrees. However, knowing God and trusting in his word, he has said, he will be our shade, the sun will not scorch us nor the moon. So no more shall i fret but trust.

I know those who are mature in the Lord, will have a strong firm foundation, so my prayer for all who reads is that we all continue to build our foundation layer by layer each stronger and sturdy each day. May we deepen our relationship with him with every step we make and may we share his love for all to see.

Song from his album "Glory in the highest"
"You are the first, you go before, you are the last. Lord, you're the encore. Your names in lights for all to see. The starry host declare your glory. Glory in the highest....Apart from you, there is no god, light of the world, the bright and morning star, your name will shine for all to see, you are the one...you are my glory...and no one else could ever compare to you, Lord...."

A Story i heard.

2007-12-28T17:32:00.000+11:00

One day my grandpa told me this story, one night as a man was drifting off to sleep, he had a dream, he didn't know where he was, it was bright and white where he was. A man stood before him dressed in white and shining as bright as the sun.

The man having the dream asked "who are you?"

The man in white answered "i am Jesus"

The other man said, "really? prove it. When i was a child, do you remember what of candy i took from the candy shop?"

Jesus replied "no."

The man asked again, "how about what i did at the party when i was seventeen?"

Jesus replied, " I have not a clue."

The man responded, "but your Jesus, you have watched over me all my life! how can you not recall my sins?"

Jesus in a comforting voice replies, "you were forgive the moment i took my last breath on the cross. i keep no record of wrong. your sins are at the bottom of the ocean floor. "

It shows to tell that there is no condemnation, complete forgiveness and cleansing as we accept Jesus into our lives. He has died once and for all for our sins even though we are not perfect and unworthy.

2007-12-25T11:07:00.000+11:00

C.S Lewis calls this quality, "Leaders with chest". It likened the properly ordered soul to the human body: the head (reason) must rule the belly (the sensual appetites) through the chest (character and spirit). Without a strong chest, men would succumb to excuses, relativism, and compromise, hence people with no character or integrity are men without chests.

Job posses such integrity as a leader because:
1. strong security: he felt emotionally secure enough to take criticism
2. clear conscience: he kept a clear and sensitive conscience regarding sin
3. pure motives: he refused to entertain self-indulgent motives.
4. solid character: he was committed to doing the right thing at any cost.

(the maxwell leadership bible: john c maxwell)

2007-12-23T19:08:00.000+11:00

Job's Maintains his Integrity through self-discipline despite hardship.

1. Worship: Job worshiped and articulated Gods sovereignty in his life
1. Perspective: Worship enabled Job to capture God's perspective and power
3. Humility: Perspective allowed Job to see his limited knowledge
4. Teachability: Humility caused Job to hunger and seek Gods insight
5. Victory: Teachability ultimately led Job to gain victory over his losses

2007-12-23T18:05:00.001+11:00

This Christmas.

Seems this Christmas feels different in many ways. It feels more warm then the previous years and I guess its because of the hearts of the people I have come across this year. Its the sharing of one anothers lives, its the heartbeat and the togetherness that brings people closer. And the season to be festive and celebrate the joy that Jesus was born draws the warmth and love out of people.

Although this Christmas I may lack tangible things but I do not lack the relationship with God, my family and my dear friends. Thank God for his compassion and love. The past few days I have just been unwinding and reflecting many things about this year. It really has been an adventure of faith for many including myself with pioneering church in Darebin....

As Christmas day looms closer, I can only give thanks to God and praise him for all his done. I'll probably spend sometime in city walking around and just absorbing the atmosphere, looking at the decorations and the songs that sing the joy of Jesus coming on the streets.

2007-12-20T01:39:00.001+11:00

Feeding the Flesh

Recently, I preached from Romans 13:14 which says, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." In my message, I wanted us to consider what "the flesh" is, and how it functions in our lives. As I was thinking about this, I started doodling on my notes—something that helps me think more clearly (I tend to do it in meetings, which sometimes irritates my friends). Anyway, these doodles gave me the idea of sharing a bunch of the cartoons I drew to try and explain the flesh and how it functions in our lives. So, here goes:

1. This is you. Or us, a human made in God's image. Ladies, sorry you have to identify with a little guy. I'm not sure why he doesn't have a shirt.

2. This is the flesh. He's kind of a Jabba the Hut meets WWF wrestler. The Flesh represents the sinful, corrupted desires of our heart. It's not a reference to our bodies—our bodies are created by God and are good. The flesh represents our sinful cravings to live for ourselves and disobey God's laws and commands.

3. Before Jesus saves us, this is how all of us relate to the flesh. The Bible says that we are slaves to our sinful desires. Our flesh is boss. If you're not a Christian, I'm not trying to offend you. I know this isn't a flattering picture of your current condition but it's true of all of us apart from God saving us.

4. This is what happens when we trust in Jesus. Because Jesus died on the cross and conquered sin and rose again, we are freed from the power of sin. It's no longer our boss. See how the chain is broken? And we get clothes, which is really great.

5. But our flesh doesn't disappear. It still hangs around to entice us. After we're Christians, we're no longer slaves to sin, but the flesh can still tempt us. We can choose to give into temptation and indulge the flesh. This is what theologians call "indwelling sin." Jesus broke the power of sin, but we still live with the presence and influence of sinful desires.

6. That's why the Bible is full of encouragement to fight our fleshly desires. We can't live at peace with it. We have to attack it and deny it. (In hindsight, I guess the "sword of the Spirit" would have been a bit more biblical. Oh well.)

7. The problem is that too often Christians make friends with their flesh. In fact they feed their flesh. We give into our sinful desires. We pamper our flesh. We provide it three rounded meals a day with snacks and dessert. We might think that since we've been freed by the cross it's okay to indulge the flesh. But there's a real problem. When we feed the flesh...

8. ...it grows! And before you know it, the flesh is bigger and stronger than you and starts to push you around. That's why Paul is telling us in Romans 13 that we need to...

9. ...starve our flesh!
That's what we want our flesh to look like. We want the flesh gaunt and feeble.

When Paul says "make no provision for the flesh" he's saying don't feed your sinful desires. Don't do things—don't think things, don't watch things, don't meditate on things—;that strengthen your sinful inclinations.

Let's think for a minute about our media diet. I think one of the biggest ways that Christians today feed their flesh is through what we watch on TV, in movies, and online.

We each need to ask the question "Are the things I'm watching feeding my flesh?"

And if the answer is "yes," it doesn't matter what the movie is rated. It doesn't matter if everyone you know watches it. You need to act on what God shows you. Don't feed your flesh. Don't make provision for your sin. Turn away from it.

• Maybe for you the sensual scenes, or even plots, in certain movies or TV shows increase the strength of lust in your heart. Turn it off.
• Maybe violent movies and shows feed anger and a desire in your soul to use violence to get your way. Turn it off.

• Maybe the advertisements and the values you expose yourself to are feeding your cravings for material things or wrong ideas about your body. Stop watching.

• Maybe the things you watch feed your unbelief and fear. One mother I spoke to recently requested prayer because her dreams were filled with demonic images. She was afraid to sleep. When asked her about her television viewing habits, she told me that she often watched TV shows about real-life crime that were very violent. As we talked, she began to see the connection between what she watched and the bad results in her heart.

Friends, what we view in media becomes our meditation. It either feeds our desire for godliness or it feeds our flesh. Which one are you feeding?

If you added up the time you spend reading God's word, praying, listening to sermons or reading Christian books, how would it stack up against time spent watching TV and movies? If you give more of your time to worldly entertainment and pursuits, is there any reason to be surprised that sinful desires are so strong in your life? No. If we're feeding the flesh, it's no mystery that we're not growing in holiness.

2007-12-17T16:03:00.000+11:00

Setting Objectives explained in a conversation:

A: How do you set goals and objectives and achieve them?
B: Let me give you example of a cycle...you first be self aware of your current situation, financially, career wise, education, networking, experience, liking and disliking and so forth. Then you do a reality check on where you are heading and what direction you are heading the moment.
B: Next set some goals on what you would like your direction to be. After setting up your goals, do a reality check on how long it will take to achieve your goals and what are the plan to do so.
B: Following the review and finalisation, you can now MAKE IT HAPPEN.

B ending note: All i can say is, be a sponge - stay on top of things, learn from all those around you...listen to everyone. You can't learn much when your the only one talking!

2007-12-17T14:23:00.000+11:00

Ikea of Sweden by Ingvar Kamprad

Ikea's success in the retail industry can be attributed to its vast experience in the retail market, product differentiation, and cost leadership.

Mission statement "Ikea's mission is to offer a wide range of home furnishing items of good design and function, excellent quality and durability, at prices so low that the majority of people can afford to buy them (IKEA 1994)"

Culture "Ingvar Kamprad, believes that: "Most things still remain to be done - a glorious future! Time is your most important asset. Split your life into10-minute units and sacrifice as few as possible to futurities" (Mclvor, Laurance, 1994: 38)" + "simplicity and common sense should characterize planning and strategic direction (Bartlett et Al, 1993: 78) "

Strategy "suppliers are usually located in low-cost nations, with close proximity to raw-materials and reliable access to distribution channels" + "Ikea's role is not only to globally integrate operations and centrally design products, but also to find an effective combination of low cost, standardization, technology, and quality"

Theory "Michael Porter argues that an organization can enhance its competitive positioning by performing key internal activities in the value chain at a lower cost and better than its competitors (Bartol et al, 1993: 211). The value chain approach identifies two major activities- primary and secondary. Primary actives include production, marketing, logistics and after-sale functions. Secondary activities, on the other hand, are identified as support processes to primary activities. These include, firm infrastructure, Human Resource Management. Technology development, and procurement. The ultimate purpose of the firm is to add as much customer "value" in each of the primary activities (Pearce et. al, 1993: 184-187)." +

"strategies are:

Achieve overall low-cost leadership in the industry

Market products that are differentiated

Focus on market segments for growth in cost and/or differentiation

Create a good product

Draw advantage from many sources

Study the competition

Make cost a part of corporate culture. "

2007-12-12T23:40:00.000+11:00

Another way of sharing the need to know God (Nicky Gumbal - Alpha)

Ask a few questions as follows and allow time for pre-believer to respond.
1. Who do you think is perfect?
Try to get to the point that only God is perfect;

2. Can you name a few people who are considered good and bad morally, principally etc? And place them on the scale where they best fit. e.g. Mother Teresa quite good nearly there in perfection with kindness and compassion; e.g. Creditor always chasing after money no heart :)

Draw to the point that even the person we think most is perfect, or near perfect fall short of Gods standard. Hence that gap no matter how big or small, theres a gap. Everyone falls short of Gods standard and the consequence of this gap - sin (imperfection) is death. Eternally separated from God. So only through Jesus that gap is bridged and that we are able to come to God who is in heaven.

Q: What if i do good deeds, doesn't that entitled me to heaven?
A: No, there are some scriptures that speak about doing deeds only but no faith; Importantly draw on the point that a personal relationship with God is needed. E.g. Say a stranger comes up to your house and knocks at your door. Would you let the stranger in if you dont know them? Similiar we need to know God personally and invite him into our hearts.

2007-12-10T00:00:00.000+11:00

Project Compassion.

....this message will continue to be proclaimed after the beep....

...The world is calling for history makers; heaven calls them to make a difference in peoples lives
...People are suffering from disease, famine, natural disasters, war torn countries and the lack of the essential basics of life. They need you to do something!
...They need to know the name of God so they can call to for help, someone needs to tell them there is almighty God who delivered Israel out of slavery and gave them the promise land. Who sent his only son, to die for them so that they may be reconciled to Christ. And He wants them to live a life to the full and to receive the blessings from him and with him. He needs you to share this good news to people. The calling is to the compassionate heart, the calling is to you.

End message. beep.

Does putting a band-aid on the problem of famine, war, poverty etc by providing physically tangible needs 'only' work for long term? The difference in sharing the good news is detrimental...it changes lives and changes the situation. When God is in the picture, he changes the people of authority, peoples characteristic and lives, and from people, the situation is changed instead of placing band aid on it. Importantly it makes a eternal differences to those who hear and accept the good news.

There is a greater suffering then what we can see physically, there is a spiritually suffering and death. People need to know God. Will you rise up and respond to this calling people of God?

2007-12-09T23:45:00.000+11:00

Interesting to see that people may have giftings, talents, knowledge and understanding about vast things in music, in fields of biomedical, physics, mechanics and philosophy and arts but it becomes meaningless if you dont have God in it. Even wealth, fame, beauty, power and popularity becomes meaningless when you dont have God.

In all of us, there is a God size vacuum in our hearts that only God can fill. People search and search for answers in life, filling their lives with accumulated wealth, with relationships, with achievements, with authority, and with other earthly things.

King Solomon was a smart man of his age and even to this day, his quotes are being used in main stream media and classes. He had everything but he said its meaningless. Until he really understood the meaning of life, when he understood that he needed to have a personal relationship with God.

We can be running around in circles in life, chasing cars from one end of the road to the next. Being lost in the crowd and feeling alone in it even though amongst millions of people. We can be doing great things in helping people, making world records, or getting to places of power. What God desires most is us, is to know us, not any sacrifices or any deeds, but to know us. To love us and to love him back. Thats the key to being fulfilled.

2007-12-08T10:23:00.000+11:00

So many things has happen in the past two weeks that I haven't had time to note down, but I guess this weeks highlight was going to the sponsored and paid ISSNIP conference by the university at Langham Hotel which were for published papers in the fields of engineering and computer science. Since partner and I were to present ours there. Many scholars and doctrates were there from overseas and local so it was a privilege to be there among them all.

Apart from that there were many highlights and many lowlights which brought me thinking at times and wondering where all things lead to, beside to God the more obvious, I'm talking about the road straight ahead. Where does it go sometimes with people, with decisions and with plans. Whats going to happen? what is the next anticipated move? How does this other person feel?

Many times I have thought it would be easier if i just made my thoughts and feelings much clearer. Wouldn't it be easier if we just be honest to ourselves and others, taking initiative and out of care speak to people. To be real people without wearing any masks. To act and speak on unconditional love.

I guess to conclude, be yourself, you are who you are and no one else can be you nor can u be anyone else. You are unique and special to God. And love God foremost and love your neighbour! Thats the greatest commandment we should live by.

Does God the creator exist?

2007-12-03T10:26:00.000+11:00

Can we say confidently that there is no God?
Draw two circles, circle A has knowledge of entire universe, circle B has 10% of our knowledge and 90% of what we dont know. It would be arrogant to say "there is now God" when we stil do not have knowledge about the 90% of universe, the best is "I am not sure if there is a God or not"

Encourage non-believers to find evidence about God
Example; If we look at two statements "there is a cat in this room" and "there is no cat in this room", second statement is much harder to prove. First is we can see, smell, touch, hear the cat in room or look for signs. But the second statement must scrutinize every nook and cranny of room to ensure that there is no cat in the room.

People use wrong measures, criteria that are impossible to fulfill, such as "i will not believe that there is God until i can see him, hear his vioce, or touch him with my hand"
This kind of reasoning is invalid cause makes wrong assumption that can prove Gods existence using five senses, which is logically compared to statements such as "i will not believe that there is a moon until i walk on it" or "i will not believe there are electrons until i see them"; Even though we haven had not chance to walk on moon we can use our eyes, even though we can not see electrons we can see the effects of their existence from the way light bulb gives light. Can not measure something abstract to concrete terms. Even though we cannot prove Gods existence using our five basic senses, the evidence for his existence is very valid. He is spirit John 4:24 and leaves us evidence of his power.

Pantheism is not answer
God of all christian is different from god of those who believe in pantheism (hindu) which unites with the universe which means he is everything and everything in universe is part of god too. It is strange because one part of god can be expect understand everything about god (nature) and whole god or things in nature cannot understand the condition of man. how can material things that do not have personality be part of God the creator who has personality.

First evidence of order in universe (Psalm 8:3-4)
Einstern believed in God the creator while developing the theory of relativity as he saw the law and order of the universe. he knew we did not come about by chance.
e.g ozone layer, our eyes

moral reasons (Rom 2:14-15)
God inscribes what is good and evil in mans heart, hence we have a conscience. The believe of good and evil implies that standard of judement cannot be established by man but by God. For true justive to come about, there must be God, experience in lives of Christians.

Hope resources "principle of evangelism"

2007-11-24T21:06:00.000+11:00

Action and Result

Passage 2 Chronicles 7:14:
¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Passage Psalm 27:4-8:

⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

⁸ My heart says of you, "Seek his ^[a] face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Psalm 95

¹ Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

² Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.

³ For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.

⁴ In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.

⁵ The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Passage Isaiah 6:3:

³ And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."

2007-11-19T14:15:00.000+11:00

A simple song "Found" by Hillsong that conjures feeling of security and peace in finding a place to rest...on those long long endless days, the road map of life can be a stretch and difficult at times when we are walking by ourselves. But when we find Jesus, he gives us rest Psalms 23, he gives life, transforms us inside out, and we find our purpose in our life. Finding ourself in Jesus...we find wholeness that our hearts desire to fill...there is no greater feeling then knowing that you are love...Jesus desires us to come to know him, to come to his full embrace....

Verse 1:
Amazing love,
now what else shall I need
Your name brings life,
it's more than the air I breathe

Verse 2:
My world has changed,
when Your life You gave for me
My purpose found
and all that You want for me

PreChorus 1:
And I've found myself in You, Lord
And I've found myself in You

PreChorus 2:
And I've found myself in You, Jesus
And I've found myself in You, Lord

Chorus:
So take me to a place
where I can see You face to face
and all I wanna do, all I wanna do
is worship You
So take me to a place
where I can see You face to face
and all I wanna do, all I wanna do
is worship You

2007-11-18T21:54:00.000+11:00

Yesterdays image "As I pointed around the room to the visitor sharing how God transformed people lives, I looked around the hall on my left side, there were people sitting in circles praying for the baptism of the holy spirit fervently, on my right there were individuals really seeking God earnestly, and behind me the song of worship is played, and in front of me stands a visitor touch by the sincerity of people and Gods love, I felt for that moment, the light of the hall through that small window near the ceiling shone brighter for an instance"

I was chairing yesterday's service, introducing many new elements to the service and i know that it was not the best that can be done, and the praise and worship was simply a guitar, the preaching was no other than our regular brother in Christ. It was simple to say the less. But throughout the night, Gods presence, Gods love, Gods forgiveness and compassion reigned. As the message throughout the night is to seek him, we sought after him and he answered our prayers. One more salvation for the Lord. One more for Jesus.

Visitors members they feel the love that Jesus has bore upon the cross for us, people feel it and there is no words that can explain it except an expression of acceptance and gratitude to our king...

Share from your heart, share Gods love to the lost, it makes a eternity of a difference...

2007-11-15T15:34:00.000+11:00

Passage Luke 18:1-7: The Parable of the Persistent Widow

¹Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. ³And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

⁴"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "

⁶And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

Praying, never to give up doing so no matter what challenges we may face and answers yet to come is the lesson learnt from this widow. The comparison of a unloving and unbelieving Judge who answers the widow's persistent prayers, how much more of a loving and compassionate God would hear our pleas. So don't give up when your prayers have not been answered yet, if it has, accept it because God will open opportunity for something else to come. For what father gives a stone when the son asks for bread? God is a just and righteous king, he will give you what is best for you and i.

Praise God for he hears my prayers, I have been asking God please make me a testimony for my dad open a way for him to accept Christianity. Today while having lunch, turned on the "mighty to save" dvd borrowed from a friend. Dad surprised me by watching it with me and enjoying the music even though not understanding completely. He opened up and said that if it was in viet he would be able to understand and feel the music too. He would be touch and cry like those seen in the clips. Breakthru on the topic of Christianity and Catholism as well which was more light hearted discussion. So praise God, i neglected to think that my dad enjoys to watch music, concert dvds ...I must get some Praise and worship dvd :) Thank God for this opportunity :)

Furthermore i feel a deeper passion to get better with my guitar knowing that I am inadequate, but the promise that he will provide me with the skills and talents will increase has pushed me more to practice. I want to worship in connecting with God and bringing Glory to his name. This is my desire to increase my skills and my voice to bring him glory and honour.

2007-11-12T17:56:00.000+11:00

Martin Seligram "Signature strengths" describes the generally human abilities fall into certain categories:

Wisdom and knowledge (which include abilities like curiosity, love of learning, judgement, and social intelligence)
Courage (perseverance and integrity)
Humanity (capacities for kindness and expression of mercy)
Justice (ability to bring about fairness and leadership)
Temperance (qualities like self-control, prudence, humility)
Transcendence (appreciation of beauty, expression of gratitude, ability to hope, capacity for joy)

We all have capacity for each of these strengths but a few resonate more deeply in us, they are the signature strengths. We can seek good life using our signature strengths but the best life - meaningful life being on mission is when we use our signature strengths in the service of something larger than ourselves.

From "It all goes back in the box" by John Ortberg

Take a moment to find out what is our signature strengths :)

2007-11-12T13:31:00.000+11:00

Interesting day yesterday, woke up continued doing my work, reading devotional and Gods minute and the word was a warning to be alert to the serpent and lion that seeks to lie and destroy. There's nothing new about this, it has happen before with Adam and eve and still happens today. The funny thing is, this message popped up a few times during the week in my readings as well as last nights preaching by LayChien. The night before, i was wrestling with the serpent in my dreams, remembering that I struggled to gain control of my hands whilst calling on the name of Jesus. Slowly I was able to move and grasp my fingers and move again and it was so vivid the calling I made and how I felt peace after that as I drifted into my dreams. I have shared before with caregroup that in our hearts, in our subconscious, and in our life we should make Jesus our saviour, our king and our Lord. For no name is higher in heaven and earth. I recognize that the hardest part of life is to control is our thoughts, our mind. Sometimes laying down at night, thoughts race, the processes that has been queuing during the days and months even years begin to become active. Our dreams is another part that we are unable to control. So how much more should we allow Jesus to take control of our life, to make it automatic and internal without thought that he should be the first person we call upon. Only he has the power to deliver, to protect and to guide us in our life. All Glory goes to Jesus.

THEREFORE SUBMIT TO GOD, RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU. For when you DRAW NEAR TO GOD AND HE WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU. ( JAMES 4:7-8 )

"BEHOLD, I GIVE YOU THE AUTHORITY TO TRAMPLE ON SERPENTS AND SCORPIONS, AND OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY, AND NOTHING SHALL BY ANY MEANS
HURT YOU." ( LUKE 10:19-20 )

2007-11-10T00:39:00.000+11:00

The past few days I have been feeling spent physically and spiritually, studying, sleeping, reading devotion, practicing the guitar throughout the day as it cycles back and forth. One thing I notice is when i study in my room, there is the temptation to lie on my bed and do my work where its warm n comfortable but when i begin to read my eye lids begin to weigh like a tonne. Turns out I have a short nap which actually most of the time makes me feel more tired for some reasons... So I have decided to go to the university library to study as when i look back at the bed behind me at times, there is that temptation to hit the hay. Not only the bed, but there are several factors, music, guitar, tv, etc at home that can be distractive. Just as their are distractions in my work there are also distractions that pull me away from God. When focusing on the circumstance of how to resolve the situation, when looking towards peoples shortcomings or mine for that matter, when looking at the thought patterns and emotions of current situation, these distraction can spiral and go out of control when left unchecked. I have notice times that by entertaining these thoughts and feelings, it resulted in unproductivity and even worsen the situation. But....

When I focus on what is right, what is true and what is from God, there is a peace and serenity knowing that these distractions i must keep it under control or else i will lose sight of God. For the times I surrender to God and put him in the centre of my life, he has seen me through the stickiest of situations. So i learnt by keeping close to God, he brings and guides me through life filled with blessings.

Hebrews 12:2'Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.'

2 Cor.4:18 'So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.'

Heb.3:1b 'fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.'

Ps.141:8 'But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge.'

2007-11-07T12:34:00.000+11:00

Second Chance...

Time line
Events before Abraham: Creation and the fall; Cain and Abel; The flood; Tower of Babel; Nimrod the Babylon;
Abraham 2000 BC ; The calling; destruction of Sodom and Gomarrah; Abraham & Sarah promise; Isaac and Rebekah; Jacob and Esau; Joseph;
Moses 1500 BC ; Crossing red sea; ten commandments; wandering in wilderness; promised land caputured; Judges
David 1000 BC ; David and Goliath; Bathesheba; Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah prophets; Saul and johnathan;
Daniel 500 BC ; lions den; fiery furnace;

A place where there are no worn torn countries, diseases, poverty, bloodshed, natural and man made disasters, a paradise that is free from suffering and sin. This was Gods plan for us. Given the choice of freedom to choose what is right and wrong to do, many times men fall short. Seeing the pattern that is in the ages of time, the fall begins when men stirs in the heart a selfish carnal desire where faith & trust in God is cast aside while monetary faith increases => causing the fabrics of Gods morality to be just a silhouette of the times. The fall of people in each generation after once believing in God wholeheartedly is repeated in the later generations of Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel and our generation . Reading the historic stories of the past, men can uncover how gracious and loving God is towards his people, in having a redemptive plan to bring people back to him. Giving people a second chance. Knowing well people are undeserved. But his love covers multitudes. He lifts those who call on his name and draws near to those who seek him. Taking the penalty of sin on the cross, bearing it all for the love of his people. This is our Lord Jesus Christ...a second chance is given...

Hillsong United - Second Chance

You called my name, reached out your hand

Restored my life, and I was redeemed

The moment you entered my life

Amazing grace, Christ gave that day

My life was changed, went from my shoulders

Fell the weight of my sin

So it’s with everything I am, I reach out for your hand

The hope, the change, the second chance I’ve gained

On you I throw my life, casting all my fears aside

How could greater love than this, ever possibly exist?

Consumed my thoughts, as I rest in you

I’m now in love, with the Saviour

Bearing the marks of his love

So I wait upon you now, with my hands released to you

Where a little faith is enough, to see mountains lift and move

Yea I wait upon you now, dedicated to your will,

To his love that will remain, a love that never fails

2007-11-06T23:27:00.000+11:00

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction" Proverbs 1:7

Your power, precepts and wisdom I can not fathom for no tape measure can gauge the depth of knowledge and being. After all, you are the creator of all things, you set the universe in motion and breathe life into men. And you delight to those who seek your will and humble oneself before your throne. "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him." Daniel 2:20-22

Shall I not come to the source of wisdom to petition and request that I may receive wisdom just as Solomon and Daniel did? "For the the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding." Proverbs 2:6 . For your ways are higher than mine, and my understanding is decimal compared to yours. So I come before during this time and after, that you may bless me with your wisdom, your understanding and your ways as I have little. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5

"Who is as the wise man? who knows the explanation of things? wisdom brightens a man's face, and changes its hard appearance" Ecclesiastes 8:1. May your wisdom bring me joy in making the right decisions and to understand my work.

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." Psalms 18:32

2007-11-02T22:59:00.000+11:00

Had a good day today going to koorong for the 20% sale and all, the temptation was great to buy just about anything i saw, ended up buying John Ortberg when the game is over it all goes back in the box which was a recommended good reading. Also ended up purchasing Chris Tomlin "Early Years" which included his album not to us and the noise we make for the price of normally one album...great buy :)

Chris Tomlin (born May 4, 1972), or Chris or Tom has become my buddy and top artist because his simple songs yet heartfelt tunes has touch, uplifted and brought praise to me from listening to his music. Although the music uses minimal instruments, the song is magnified through the words. The words pours out like what the heart feels for God...sings with passion and conviction. Not to mention the nice acoustic guitar he plays while singing. Bit bout his background, worship leader and songwriter in Austin Stone Community Church in Texas, US. and was contacted by Louie Giglio to work with Passion conferences and his first album "the noise we make" released in 2001. Some of his hits were how great is our god, we fall down. holy is the lord, indescribable, how can i keep from singing has seen him peak the charts :) Get his music if you have a chance..

2007-11-01T07:03:00.000+11:00

Your voice calls out to me, your hand brings me forth, your presence felt so ever strong, REJOICE in the Lord in all our circumstance. How timely it is that I share on rejoicing church whereby it has also reminded me the pure joy of having Jesus in my life.

God created the world to be a joy to him, all creation radiates the joy of God and since we are made in him image, we share his spirit of joy. His joy is not of the world which is temporarily but an everlasting joy.

"Surely the joy of mankind is withered away" Joel 1:12 and "the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment" Job 20:5

For the fruits of spirit is joy that many philosophers, scientists, empires do not understand and fathom. How can joy be experience when there is unbelief in God. Alexander the Great conquered the entire known world of his day, but after he had done so he wept. "There are no more worlds to conquer, where is happiness to be found"

Christians are real people, living in real world, having real problems yet have the ability to have joy in the midst of them all because they know they have a great God and can rejoice in spite of lifes circumstnace. For Gods mercy, goodness and greatness as we claim and declare it!

"With Joy you will draw water from wells of salvation" Isaiah 12:3 and "whoever drinks the water i give him will never thirst. the water i give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" John 4:14.

(base on Rejoicing Church)

Stumbled on a song this morning from Chris tomlin's new album

Chris Tomlin "Rejoice"

See the morning, see it rising
Over the mountains high
See the mercy in the mighty hand of God

Living Water come and fill us
Only You can satisfy
Turn our sorrow into singing
The song of life

Rejoice, Rejoice
Sing with the angel voices
Rejoice, Rejoice
All Heaven and earth rejoice

Lord, Your strength is a tower
The righteous run into
Lord, Your love is a banner over us
And we hold on to the promise
That Your hold on us is true
There's no other like You, Jesus
No one like You

Always
Again I say rejoice

2007-11-01T05:29:00.000+11:00

Woke up at 4:44pm with a laden heart before the lord, the thoughts of the previous day and months that has past are put into question. The desire to seek answers propels me to lay awake in this hour of morning, knowing the only truth and comfort comes from you Lord. Before the dawn of this day, I take hold of your word and you have spoken your words to me...."Trust in you God, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on your faithfulness" Psalms 37:3

Knowing full well that I should trust you in all my circumstances continuing to do what is good despite admist persecutions and coming to acknowledgement that your faithfulness will see me through the darkest of valleys and highest of heights. I will stand firm and "I will not allow my heart be troubled. But trust in you God. Trust in you Jesus alone" John 14:1 For you are my answer and my rock.

For you know my heart, you know my words and actions before it springs forth. "O Lord, hear my prayers listen to my cry for mercy in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief" Psalms 143:1 and so in the the dew of morning, "bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you, show me the way I should go for you I lift up my soul" Psalms 143:8

And I shall sing praises to you Lord for your sovereignty and your ever compassion for the injust. For you "are good to all, and have compassion on all you have made" Psalms 145:9 Trusting in your goodness that will follow me for the rest of my days as I will walk with you, for love is unfailing and your mercy is everlasting. Praise be to you Lord, my God for ever and ever. Amen.

2007-10-30T13:22:00.001+11:00

Just a few well known Christians in the science community:

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543 Polish Astronomer)
mathematically based system of planets going around the sun;

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Mathematician, scientist and philosopher;
Seeked to bring knowledge together in one system of thought by asking what could be known if all else were doubted - suggesting the famous "I think therefore I am". Actually, it is often forgotten that the next step for Descartes was to establish the near certainty of the existence of God - for only if God both exists and would not want us to be deceived by our experiences - can we trust our senses and logical thought processes. God is, therefore, central to his whole philosophy.

Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1627 philosopher)
scientific method of inquiry based on experimentation and inductive reasoning;
"It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion; for while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them confederate, and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity."

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642 Italian Physicist)
theoretical work, which was on dynamic;
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630 German Astronomer)
Early work on light, laws of planetary motion about the sun, close to reaching the Newtonian concept of universal gravity;
"Since we astronomers are priests of the highest God in regard to the book of nature, it befits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God."

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662 French Mathemetician)
"There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ. But by Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ, we prove God and teach doctrine and morals. Jesus Christ, then, is the true God of men."

Newton Isaac: (1642-1727 English Mathemetician)
The solar system itself could not have been produced by blind chance or fortuitous causes but only by a cause "very well skilled in mechanics and geometry."; In Principia he stated, "The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion on an intelligent and powerful Being."

Michael Faraday (1791-1869 English Chemist)
electricity and magnetism revolutionized physics;
"Since peace is alone in the gift of God; and since it is He who gives it, why should we be afraid? His unspeakable gift in His beloved Son is the ground of no doubtful hope."

Lord William Thomas Kelvin (1824-1907 British Physicist)
"I believe that the more thoroughly science is studied, the further does it take us from anything comparable to atheism."

Robert Boyle (1791-1867 Scientist)
Boyle's Law" for gases, and also wrote an important work on chemistry

Max Planck (1858-1947 Physicist)
quantum theory & understanding of the atomic and sub-atomic worlds

A few others:
Samuel Morse (morse code)
Arthur Eddington (mathematical cosmologist)
Henry F. Schaefer (theoretical chemists)
William Phillips was co-recipient of the . 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics
Francis Collins (director of the U.S. Human Genome Project)
Rustum Roy (materials scientists, holds three chairs)
George Washington Carver*
Kenneth H. Cooper - "Father of aerobics"
Jim Irwin* - astronaut, Ark Hunter
Louis Pasteur*
Hugh Ross - physicist
Wright Brothers*

Unfailing love

2007-10-29T23:09:00.000+11:00

UNFAILING LOVE - CHRIS TOMLIN
VERSE 1
You have my heart
And I am Yours forever
You are my strength
God of grace and power

Many times I felt misunderstood that no one really knows me, no one really has cared to see my heart. They either could not be bothered or misunderstood it. But there has been one person who has seen my true heart and has captured it. It is you God. You have been my tower of refuge and fortress of strength in the times I cried out to you. You have seen me through with your unfailing love....

PRE CHORUS
And everything You hold in Your hand
Still You make time for me
I can't understand

There has been times I needed someone to speak too, someone to listen too, someone to be there. But I found no one. No one is free or everyone is busy with their lives. But you Lord, are the busiest person with all your creation and taking care of everthing, you still make time for me. You still hear my prayers and answer them in your time. How special you have made me feel, your unfailing love never cease to amaze me....

CHORUS
Praise You God of Earth and sky
How beautiful is Your unfailing love
Unfailing love
And You never change God You remain
The Holy One, My unfailing love
Unfailing love

My creator, my provider and my father how beautiful and majestic you are. Days past by, people come in and out my life, things change but you stay the same God. I have felt the turning of time, the anguish of lost, failure and success of life, the seasons change but your constant love overflows my heart each day, a source that never drys and ends...

VERSE 2
You are my rock
The one I hold on to
You are my song
And I sing for You

I have cried out many times in the darkness of night for hope and I have been searching for the perfect love. Now that I have my rock, I am able to stand upon it and praise your name for the goodness you have brought into my life. You have brought light and love once again in my life. Your love has shown me so much, I am confident that you love will forever endure. Amen.

Aurora

2007-10-17T00:05:00.000+10:00

Aurora borealis (the Northern Lights) and Aurora australis (the Southern Lights)
Formed at the magnetic poles when solar winds with charged electrons from the sun reach earth and follow the magnetic flux lines. When these electrons hit particular atom(dependent on altitude) creates a color. Magnetic and electrical forces react with one another in constantly shifting combinations creating a "dancing" light show.

In the darkest of nights, there is a splendor and display of light shows dancing before your eyes; Its truly amazing; There are really few things that capture me and keeps my interest for long, one of them is the night sky especially the aurora. The light soothes me, speaks to me, and directs me to my home where its warm and safe. It always lifts my spirit when i look up at the night sky and see stars and moon.

Indescribable

2007-10-12T00:29:00.001+10:00

Whirlpool Galaxy (also known as Messier 51a, M51a, or NGC 5194)
Location: approx. 23 million light-years in the constellation Canes Venatici
Right ascension: 13^h 29^m 52.7^s
Declination: +47° 11′ 43″
Apparent dimension:11′.2 × 6′.9
Discovered: Charles Messier on October 13, 1773.
Nick: Spiral galaxy

Fusion: Large sources of gravitation pull from nearby passing galaxies interact producing compression waves sweeps through hydrogen clouds causing diffuse gas to compress into tight pockets of opaque and dense gas, these dust lanes are seen as spiral arms. In regions where the concentration and density of gas reaches a critical value, further collapse under its own gravitational pull occurs, and stars are born at the center of the collapse.

In the X-core structure, the nucleus of M51 there are two dust rings around the black hole. Can you see what shape it forms? ....

Ecc 3:11
¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Psalms 147:4,5
⁴ He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.

⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

Isaiah 40:28
²⁸ Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

Psalms 8:3,4
³ When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

Matt 10:30
²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. ³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

The universe is immeasurable to man but the universe is finite in Gods finger tips. He created everything from the stars, moons and planets of the sky night to the small oxygen molecules we breathe. There are many things that we will not understand, we will not be able to fathom but what God wants us to know is his with us... He is the creator, he is the author and writer of life. He created everything. He has been there since the beginning of time, the alpha and omega (Rev 22:13). When comparing the universe to ourselves in size, we may feel very small and insignificant. However in God's eyes we are the most important people, we are his apple in his eyes. He love us so much that he sent his only son, Jesus Christ to relate to us in form of man and to die for us on the cross. So that we may have relationship with our father in heaven. He loves you and believe it or not, God knew you before you were even born.

Ray of Hope

2007-10-11T10:44:00.000+10:00

What do Testimonies have in common?

"In 1986, I was in jail and heard God said trust him, i didn't understand what it meant but I have tried everything else and still messed up my life. So I gave God a try and invited him into my life. From the moment I learnt two things, I can not save my own life and that Jesus has taught me to love others by sharing the difference he made in my life. Currently witnessing to 100s of people from foreign and unreached places. Next place is the Amazons. God has change my life."

"One one day I lost my job and my health. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and Chlorestreol, I lost everything, ambition in life at the age of 32. Doctor put me on high dosage to lower sugar and Chlorestreol. My wife told me about "revival night" in two weeks time and initially I didn't want to go but in the two weeks God spoke to me and said "Go I will be there". All through the service I felt Jesus presence sitting beside me and hearing his comfort words and after teh service the Pastor placed his hand on me and said God has healed you, you will be protected by him, he has blessed your seed and made you successful man. When I got home i checked my readings and it was normal. The doctor was amazed at my condition and a week later my wife fell pregnant. "

"I was on holidays and was eating alot of carbohydrates and one day I experience diabetes mellictus which is excessive urination. It came to the point that I was loosing weight and the Docs werent able to understand why. One evening i happen to found tapes about Jesus and listened to it. The words in the tape convicted me and I accepted Jesus asking for his help for my condition. I was healed! "

There's a common thread to to these testimonies and its the message of HOPE.

Definition of HOPE given on google is this:
-have confidence and trust that it will happen
-wish/desire accompanied by confident expectation of fulfillment
-something/someone on which expectation is centered

Are we struggling to get up each morning, lacking joy and peace? not feeling fulfilled? Reasons for so:
-struggle with everyday tasks and chores
-burden with assignments, work, projects
-heavy ladened with relationship issues
-worried and anxious on waiting for answers

Sources of HOPE:
Where does your HOPE come from?
-From our self, self confidence and independency
-Encouragement and support by others
-what we have
-what we know and gifting

True Source of HOPE
Rom 15:13->God of Hope
Heb 11:7->hope in what is sure and certain not what is seen
Rom 5:1-2 -> Rejoice in hope
Heb 3:6-> hope in God
Psalms 42:5 -> place hope in God
Col 1:5->hope in heaven

Shared HOPE.
1 Thess 4:13 -> need to share hope
Heb 10:23 -> Hope, trust and faith unswervingly and firm
-HOPE in Jesus Christ
-HOPE in our life of the changes that has happen and will happen
-HOPE in looking forward to the future

Where is our HOPE place at? Place your hope in the right things as when we misplaced our hopes we will feel disappointed.

Pressed and not depressed.

2007-10-09T10:57:00.000+10:00

Sitting in a room, looking at the four walls,the ceiling and the floor. Sometimes one would not help but feel that its like a box. One can definitely can go insane staring at the walls for too long. Especially when faced with mountains of pressure of this world. From the mounds of assignment, homework, and tests. Or the projects, overtime and meetings at work. From our family and friends who may be calling us to pay attention to them in some way. Our finances and resources can be heavily exercised. Our ministry that needs a push and devotion to. Are just a few examples that one would experience in a normal day.

However as we add more and more, the things that are in and out of our control. For example issues in relationhship, waiting on an answer for a circumstance, becoming sick and deadlines with limited time to be met. It feels like a weight has been placed in the heart, feels like being pushed from all directions when your in that box. Imagine a frog that is placed at the bottom of a 10m well, it sees darkness all around just a source of light high up there. How is it possible that the frog can climb this wall?

The frog has two options, one is to give up and stay there at bottom of the well until it dies. Two choose to persevere and climb the walls even though every 2m it climbs it may slip down 1.5m. (Roman 5). Over time with what God has given the frog, the special legs that acts as suctions to climb the well, it will reach the top, where the light and life shines. Where the frog will enjoy the freedom and warmth of the sun.

Lesson learned is to have a simple, faithful and persevering heart. No matter what we face, we need to hold our integrity and faith that God will bring our circumstance to light just as the frog. When we trust and stand firm on his word, even though it may be tough and people who are close to us may misunderstand us, we need to continue our walk with God and take it in our stride. Asking God to prepare the way, prepare our hearts, and to come to our aide when it becomes too difficult that we can not do on our own. (Footprints in the sand)

Remember that we are pressed but not depressed because our God is the almighty and he delivers us from the darkest of valleys into green pastures. (Psalm 23)

2007-10-07T23:28:00.000+10:00

Shout to the Lord, is one of the first songs I heard before becoming a Christian....over two years back...standing at the doorway entrance of Kensington Community Center and hearing this song brought a stirring in my heart. Looking at the people worshiping God with their lifted hands and their voices. I felt a sense of peace and love that God impressed in my heart. I felt his strong presence. The only friend I knew from church did not come yet, so I stood there listening to the song...

"My comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and stray. Let every breath, all that I am never cease to worship you....shout to the lord all the earth, power and majesty praise to the king. Mountains bow down and seas will roar at the sound of your name...I sing for joy at the works of your hands, forever I will love you, forever I will stand. Nothing compares to the promise I have in you..."

After the song i left and drove back, as I drove past the last train station that is near Kensington, I saw my friend walking towards church. He saw me and waved. I U-turned my car and picked him up,went back to church and did not turned back since then.

Although there has been many tribulations n trials some that men put before me, some from myself and many from God. The reason I have stood firm in church and persevered through it all is because of truth. The answer. The love. All accredited to my God.

He is my tower, refuge and fortress in times of trouble. He is my strength, power and hope when I am running. He is my all in all. He is my Lord Jesus. No matter what i have and would be facing, the crossroads and the circumstance. When I choose to prioritize God, to choose to do what is right although people would not understand. I have made it through clinging to the promises that he has given me. He is my provider, my protector, my healer, my strength, my wisdom and my God.

2007-10-06T21:11:00.000+10:00

Timely song that really speaks to my heart at the moment. With everything that goes on in life, alot of distractions, confusion and misunderstandings. We know that God sees us, he hears us in prayers and he knows our hearts. .... Am trying to play it on guitar now...dont know it sounds good but here it goes....can u hear it??

How Can I Keep From Singing
Chris Tomlin & Matt Redman

Verse 1:
There is an endless song, echoes in my soul, I hear the music ring
And though the storms may come, I am holding on
To the rock I cling

Chorus:
How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough, how amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your Name
I know I am loved by the King, and it makes my heart want to sing

Verse 2:
I will lift my eyes in the darkest night, for I know my Saviour lives
And I will walk with You, knowing You’ll see me through
And sing the songs You give

Bridge:
I can sing in the troubled times, sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step and fall down again
I can sing ‘cause You pick me up, sing ‘cause You’re there
I can sing ‘cause You hear me, Lord, when I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath, sing for I know
That I’ll sing with the angels and the saints around the throne

Jaci Velasquez "You"

2007-10-06T19:36:00.000+10:00

Who makes
The sun light up my shadows
When the darkness tries to follow me
Who makes
The air that bring me life
So I can breathe the love that's given to me

CHORUS:
You make everything good
Everything wonderful
You grace my days
And heaven fills my view
Let's forever sing
You make everything pure
Everything beautiful
You make me see the only thing that's true
It's you

Who makes
The waters of my sorrow part
And leads the gladness into my heart
Who makes
The rivers run that wash away
And clean my soul to make a new start

You hung the moon
You placed the stars that shine your love for me
I hope all that I do
Will show reflections of you

Back to the Basics (the desginer)

2007-10-04T18:09:00.000+10:00

Just looking at God's creation, the majestic and complexity that goes behind each design of each animal and plant. It's wonderfully and fearfully made. It must have taken high intelligence, creativity, power and love to bring this full picture into life. How can then, evolution philosophy ( forensic science, study in macro) brought about the different species and plants that all act in harmony and co-dependent on one another? How can we leave it up to random process, by chance, and over a long period. Just looking at the carbon n radio isotopic dating methods, it is fact among scientist that such methods are inaccurate. There has not been any real concrete evidence and fossils that has been bought up through claims of evolution. Even Charles Darwin himself, claimed that he may have been wrong in his theories. But it is still taught in school as fact and not as theory. Real observational science is based on evidence, that it is able to be duplicated each time with same result. Not assumptions.

If there has been any change of genetic to bring us to the present, it would be the loss of genetic material rather than evolution with new genetic information. There is simply no new input into the system. Furthermore evolution would have taken a long time, millions of years, but if this were true, most species of animal and plants would have been long gone. We would be long gone. Because time + chance are required to happen all at one same time for the species to survive. All the parts that are evolved must be instantaneous and how is this possible when evolution is a process over millions of years? You can not have partial lung, partial liver, partial heart to survive can you? Even the parts that we thought were useless like the appendix plays an important role in the development stage of a child.

We can conclude that God made everything to the very exact detail that they are. Evolution does not have explanation for Gods creation, only the designer has. So think about it, can it be that there is a designer, some power, genius that design this all. That every part and every little thing work together perfectly and in order. If there is art work there is artist, if there is creation there is a creator. Our God is our the creator.

Some of these thoughts have been mentioned in "incredible creatures that defy evolution" i purchased today. Wanted to wind down with a movie haha. With all that is said, I just like to think simple. I just want to look at Gods beauty and splendor. To enjoy everything that God has made like the birds in the trees and flowers on the side of the road I see everyday. I want to thank him that he made all these things for me to enjoy and take pleasure in.Thank you God.

Cheap Lesson

2007-09-27T12:00:00.002+10:00

Charming words is likened to sweet melodies that plays all the right notes to the ear and heart. Inclusive of me, people like to hear sweet n pleasing things. Who doesn't? We like to choose and select what people say or think about us. However, there's always two side to the coin and not just one rosy side. Have you heard of the expression, "You want the truth, you can't handle the truth" ? Its true isn't it? When confronted with aspects of truth in relation to ourselves, we feel uneasy and don't want to hear it even though we know it is true. We want to hide or switch off cause its not the notes we want to hear. At other times, we can even add in our own notes, we can sometimes twist and distort the note (truth) to see fit to our ears. I remind myself, just as a music piece is played, there is the buildup, the slow parts, the reflecting parts and dramatic parts in the song. We need to listen to the whole original song to fully enjoy it shouldn't we?

Proverb 9:8 "The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin" and 12:15 "The way of a fool seems right to him but a wise man listens to advice"

Take a look at Isaiah 30:6-26 where the people of Judah was confronted by the prophet Isaiah who proclaimed destruction and repentance. Take a look at their response in verse 10 "They say to the seers, see no more visions and to the prophets, give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way get off this path and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel". Its funny in a way that history, mankind repeats itself. We have two extremes, one set of people would see the world as optimistic and the other pessimistic. Either case we fall in, we should look at the truth as a whole as these two are just glasses we wear, either one we wear, the TRUTH is still there, it doesn't change. What happened during the time of Isaiah is Judah, the people of God, they believed God and knew the truth, but they were double minded. They shun truth and sort after what was pleasant to the ears to feed their needs and egos. Eventually when they disobeyed God, when they turn to the worldly treasures and self understanding, destruction came. People suffered, people died, people were lost. But there's hope, when they repented and turn towards God.
Only when they repented and turned to God though the adversity and affliction, God led them through and they were blessed more than before because they listened and trusted in the truth of God. The goodness of God increased as shown in verse 26 where the sun and moon shone 7 times brighter. The encouragement is to listen to the correction, only then his goodness in our life increases when we walk with him. This is his promise to us. He has plans to prosper us and not harm us right!

Application wise, this week as I was collecting photos for sunday, I saw that there were no cars on both direction and it was a red light, so I quickly did a U-turn while putting on my seat belt and within that 4seconds a police car came out. Guess what happened? I was booked. The price was exactly the price of a guitar that I wanted to get but decided to save money for. So my pocket felt the pain but I learnt something. My first reaction is I am a good guy, why aren't you catching those drunkards or those speed racers who are worse offenders. My fault compared to them is smaller. You know, although I felt this way, I knew I was in the wrong because the law says before you drive off, you need to put on the seat belt. No matter how good of a driver I am and how I normally do this, I was still in the wrong. I didnt feel good about it, but the lesson is do we have small habits that we see are passable but deep down we know it isnt right? Because these small things can take root in our heart and it will trip us up in the future. We need to deal with every aspect of our life. We need to crucify it to Christ. Or else it will catch up to us and bite us in the behind one day. Another point is are we able to swallow and stand corrected before the law, and not only the law but Gods counsel?

So I thank God for this gentle reminder. Because it is true we need to follow authority, especially Gods authority. We should have a heart that is able to be corrected, listening and obeying. The policeman shared to me that he had accident before, within that 4seconds without seat belt his head hit through the window screen. So even though its small time frame, something can happen. Hence the law is there to protect us just as Gods word is there to guide us out of harms way.

Correction doesnt sound pleasant at times. But just as medicine when you are sick, you need to take your medicine no matter how bad it tastes. It will help you get better!

Relating to People

2007-09-27T08:53:00.000+10:00

1 Corinthians 9

¹⁹Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Paul a great apostle of Christ was able to win many souls throughout different churches and along the roads of evangelism. He was able to relate to many different people from all nations he came across. How? He learnt and understood the culture, the language and the peoples hearts. Paul speaks of relating to everyone being a servant to all so that he is able to win peoples hearts. He became a Jew who was under the law, which meant knowing the law very well. Although he knew the law well but he was not under the law of the Jews but of God. Similarly those who did not have the law, Gentiles, the commoners, uneducated, he would relate to them in their terms not that he was out of the law (still under Gods law). For those who are suffering, poor and downcast he would relate to them in their terms by sharing what his experiences of hardship has been like. He was able to relate to all in order to win people for Christ.

Our skills to assimilate and become accustomed to external and cultural matters will allow us to win friends from different nations. Remembering that we do not violate the clear teaching of the Word of God nor our identity in Christ in any way.

Application wise, listening is key to conversing with people. When you listen you are able to catch peoples thoughts and hearts. Ask sincere questions so the person can open up and find a common ground to speak. When you ask questions people will realize you are truly interested in them and in that way, they will feel comfortable when you personal testify about Christ. Therefore, sometimes our general knowledge needs to be increase in order to win different people. Only then that we can relate and speak on their terms, their culture and lingo. Then we are able to speak further in the matters of the heart to them.

e.g. In past I met Columbian girl during evax and I had no idea about columbia except that country had great coffee. So I went home and did a google search on columbia history to find out what columbia culture, government, people, industries and places of interest were in order to relate. People do like speaking about what they know best. By creating opportunity you show genuine interest in them. In the end we want to win friends for Christ genuinely and sincerely. So make no mistake, we do this from the right heart.

e.g. For working people I would ask them general questions and go deeper. If you have some idea of the type of job they do, go further into details of how its done, what the future prospects are, what its like to work in the company. If you have no clue ask questions to show that you want to learn what it is to be like in the life of YOU. Similarly for students, ask about course and future plans moving towards personal hobbies and their thoughts on certain topics in news and music. When you are able to capture someones heart, you are able to share Christ to win them over for Christ.

In summary, have empathy and understanding in order to relate to people. It does not mean that when you meet a African person that you braid your hair, wear their clothes and speak their language. If you can, great but the true meaning behind communication is in order to understand someones heart and to relate to them heart-heart. The tools on how to relate to is to understand where they are coming from, from their culture, experiences and teachings of their past. This will give us a clearer picture of person to relate to and to share Christ in a way that will speak to that person. Noting that in all we do, we shall not undermine Gods Word.

BUSTOP (EClub)

2007-09-26T10:22:00.000+10:00

Jesus naturally shared gospel by establishing new friendships. An example how he shared to complete stranger, a Samaritan woman is in Jn 4:5-12;

Background - Discover about person by asking simple questions about person can help start friendship. E.g. occupation, hobbies, interest, cultural background etc.

Us - share about ourselves to help build the rapport with them

Salting -find opportunity to talk about spiritual matters by asking questions like "What do you do on the weekend". Tell them you are Christian and attend church on Sunday.

Testimony - Share personal testimony how you became Christian and how Christ has changed your life.

Open Questions - Ask them some spiritual questions to discover their knowledge understand about God and Christianity. e.g. What do you think about God?

Probing Questions - Ask further questions discover root of their objections so can adequately refute. e.g. Can you give me reason for not believing in God?

Let's extend our friendship and win people over for Christ, sharing the gospel everywhere and every opportunity.

Four Spiritual Laws (EClub)

2007-09-26T09:53:00.000+10:00

Steps to Sharing Christ
1 Sharing Testimony
Testify about Gods goodness in our lives and how we came to know Christ pesronally. Share from your heart and expect the Holy Spirit to embellish.
H -istory
I -vitation how you became a Christian
M -iracles how your life has changed

2 Sharing Gospel with diagram
1: God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life. He desires to have relationship with you since the beginning of time. (Jn 3:16, Jn 10:10)
(Draw love heart and two people side by side with a gap in between and point at the heart in middle to show Gods love and desire for us to know him)

2: Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life. Explain what is sin and the consequence of sin is death. We live in a fallen world where its imperfect, there is suffering because of sin. (R0 3:23, 6:23)
(Draw the separated standing ground/cliff between us and God)

Men can try as much as they can to fill the gap with money, career, relationships, good marks and good deeds but it will not be enough

3:Jesus Christ is Gods only provision for man's sin. Through his death on the cross you can know and experiences Gods love and plan for your life. And its because of the love of God, he gave his only son for us. (Rm 5:8, Jn 14:6)
(Draw the cross in the middle as the bridge and point at the heart again because of his love for you' Explain that the result of this is eternal life and no more suffering or sin)

4:We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives. (Jn 1:12)
(Point at the heart again as you speak because it is afterall because God loves us so he has this plan to save us)

3 Sharing Sinners Prayer (4 points)
Explain and invite pre-believer to sinners prayer. Use short sentences, personalize and keep it simple.

"Dear God, I admit and confess my sin to you. I ask for your forgiveness of my sin. I acknowledge that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sin and came to life again on the third day. Right now, I want to invite Jesus into my life. And I accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour. Amen."

4 Congratulate
Welcome new believer to family of God with hand shake and congratulate them for taking step of faith there is celebration in heaven when they returned to God. Reassure new believer of any doubtss and fears. Followup in 24hrs to pray and meet up.

The RACE

2007-09-25T10:31:00.001+10:00

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

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.

25 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 for ever.

26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.

27 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.

Paul speaks in relation to the Olympics held every 2yrs where men and women train and compete towards the GOLD medal. By relating to the Greeks in this analogy, he is able to share how the athletes ran the race physically to the race that is run spiritually when we become Christians. The Faith Race.

v24 The runners were totally focus, fueled with determination and single-mindedness in winning the race. Just as people of God, we need to be excellent in all that we do, to be excellent stewards of God in our studies, our work, our family and our church. To be focus on the task that God has given us. To be able to prioritize the importance of each task.

More so, we need to run the race that God has called us, to move forward in his kingdom, to share the good news, to testify his goodness and to do our best in all! Keeping focus on our purpose that God has given us, and not being distracted by the world. Many times we will be distracted, lose zeal and determination in our faith towards God. But we need to be reminded that the race isn't over. e.g. We sprint at first with our joy of being Christian but over time we can tire and slow down. The race we are called to run is not a sprint but a endurance race.

v25 The word of God prepares us in training, equips us with the tools we need to run. The circumstances/experiences God places before us, are the training ground for us to overcome and used to share and teach others.

E.g. In todays australian swimming team, their goal is to be the top swimmers of this world. They train day and night for most of the year from dusk to dawn. Doing their warm-up laps, sprints, cool downs, and time laps. Apart from that they take care of the their bodies by watching what they ate, they exercised in the gym with weights, treadmills and all the other programs that would enable to them to maximize their potential in winning. How much more should we train for our race?

Some would say Gods word is strict, but in actually fact, everything that God has placed for us is through love. Just as a coach gives pointers to improve in the race, God gives us pointers on how to live a purpose filled life. Through obedience of our coach, we can improve / moulded and grow towards our potential.

By competing in this race, we will receive a prize that would not fade with the world, but a heavenly prize That is the crown that God will bestows on us, "My faithful son/daughter here is my gift to you".

v26 Picturing this verse, it looks funny as a crazy man wavering his arm around in the air for no aparant reason. Paul suggests that winning the race requires purpose and with clear direction. Without a goal discipline and training is nothing.

v27 Winning requires discipline, hard work, self-denial and demanding preparation. Furthermore we dont stand on the sideline or jog a couple of laps each morning but training takes diligence and consistency. This would mean giving up on something we like in order to do what God wants. And practicing everyday to make it become a habit, part of our life.

Paul refers to being disqualified not of salvation but to lose the privilege of telling others about Christ. It is easy to tell others how to live and then not to take our own advice so we must practice what we preach.

Future scriptures to look at on running the race:
Hebrews 11 and 12:1,2;
Philippians 3:12-16
1 Timothy 6:12;
2 Timothy4:7-8

Memories of mum

2007-09-24T10:26:00.000+10:00

I woke up early today to visit my mother alone, its been awhile since I have gone there and somewhat feels weird. As I prayed and spoke to God...the memories of my mother came back. I knew there was a time that I tried really hard to suppress all memories of the hurt and pains and eventually i succeeded in blocking ALL memories even the good ones of my mother because it hurts too much in the past to remember her love for us kids....but now I am set free to remember and embrace the memories.

I remembered, when i was 8ish, I remember after coming home from primary school my dad took me to oval, to take some memory pictures ...Unknowingly, my mother was at home baking and decorating the birthday cake for me. She cooked all the dishes I like as a kid, it was really like a banquet whenever my mother cooked. When I got home, she brought out the cake with candles and with the family we would sing happy birthday. I never really receive any presents as my family is not the wealthiest but the greatest blessing is having my family with me. They have shown me how to love and through Christ I have grown in understanding of my love to people.

Sadly, when I was 16, my mother past away due to cancer...leaving us behind. She gave so much to the family, her whole life was centred around the family. She poured out her energy, time and emotion in supporting the family to make it the way it was. She sacrificed so much and took the short end of the stick so many times so that my brother and I can have the best in our lives. She didnt ask anything in return. She didnt even get a chance to taste the labour of her fruits, but if I were to ask her now. I know what she would say, "I have you kids, that is my joy" I remember she told us that, we kids were her life. This is the extent of her much mother loved us.

I remember her specific smell, when she was in hospital I would sleep with her jumper...her smell was motherly and sweet. My mother would wake us kids every morning sometimes jumping into bed with us and hugging us kids, showing her affection through touch. And when we got home from school, she would shout from the kitchen, how is my handsome boy, smart boy, or piglet doing today. I do miss her immensely but I know she is at a better place. She is in heaven with God. She does not need to suffer and work anymore but to enjoy his presence. I know she was a special gift from God, a blessing for us, and God wanted to call her early so that she can enjoy life in heaven with him. She must be singing and praising God 24hr, having joy and peace up there...I thank God for my mother and pray that he can pass on the message to my mother, that I am doing well and I miss her. I thank God, because through my mother, and my lost, I have come to have relationship with Christ who have shown his unconditional love to me before I had even known.

2007-09-23T21:53:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow is my mothers anniversary. The whole family today, my dad, brothers family, uncles and aunt went to see my mother today. Tomorrow I would go there to see her, to pray. A short extract from what I read on internet which i can relate to is below...

A poem for my sweet mum / Story of an Angel
by Harry - 31 Aug 06
Mum, you left us so soon. You left when you never thought you could do. You laboured so hard but never waited to eat the fruit of your labour. Sweet mum, you are the best mum that ever existed. You thought us in the way of the Lord. You thought us to always do good. You laid us good examples by putting smiles on the face of your fellow neighbour.Even if you are dead, the Lord God Almighty will reward you. My bible tells me so many things; it tells me that the expectation of the righteous shall not be cut short. I know your expectations are not cut short. It also tells me to give thanks in every situation I find myself. God I bow down to you only. I called you moinmi anytime I remember how God had greatly blessed me to have a mother like you. Mama you are one in a million, you will forever be remembered for every works of your hand, you were always there for us. We 'II forever miss you.Your memory shall continually linger in our heart. I love you mum.

We miss you so much. Mum, rest in the bossom of the Lord God Almighty
Adewale says "Good Bye"
Adeyemi says "Goodnight"
Oluwaseun says "Sweet dreams"
Harry Adetola says "Till we meet again"
Everyone says "Adieu"

Boxing Match

2007-09-22T23:27:00.000+10:00

Inspired through a conversation :)

Picture a boxing match, the stadium, the ring, the crowd, and camera flashes. The atmosphere of the crowd roaring and cheering. The bell rings.. DING DING.

A boxing match is a sport of endurance, strength and stamina, there isnt just one round but many. The rounds usually begin with a few jabs testing the opponent how strong the opponent is, analyzing their moves and strengths... testing the waters. If we were to look at the opponents size and speed, sometimes it can feel very overpowering and we can wonder how are we going to beat this opponent, it then becomes a feeling of impossibility at times. Especially when we encounter opponents that are twice our size and who are much tougher and quicker than us. We can become fearful and afraid even. If we were to feel this way, we have already lost the match. An example is shown when Saul heard about Goliath who was huge in stature and never lost a battle. Saul became fearful and did not trust in God to deliver Goliath to him. David on the other hand, a small shepherd boy believed and trusted in Gods divine power, went to fight instead. The outcome was David won through his faith that nothing was impossible if God was for him.

Then there are times when the opponent punches from all directions, left, right, uppercut and stomach punches. It feels like this sometimes in our life, the pressures we face each day that comes from all direction, our work, friends, family and at times church. We may feel overwhelmed with many responsiblities from all facets of our life. We can feel like we are pulled under water and difficult to breathe at times. This is because we are not defending, not prepared, by putting our hands up to our face and shielding the blows. We need to be equiped to defend ourselves. We need to protect our hearts for it is the well spring of our life. We need to have a firm foundation on what is true. That is the word of God. Allow the foundation of our walk with God consolidate during the off-season. Because when the foundation is tested and proven strong then it will withstand all the blows. Hence we train and practice hard before our match!

Then there are the rounds where we seem to be doing all the right moves, hitting the opponent at all the right places but it seems the opponent just bounces back like rubber. Like the trouble seems to be lingering and the situation does not change no matter how much effort we're putting into it. Is God trying to say something to you? Are you waiting on his time instead of reacting too fast? Is he developing you in some area? We need to persevere and trust at these times. Knowing God has a reason for allowing things to happen so that we can be moulded and reach our full potential.

When we are down, are we going to give up? Throw in the towel when all seems impossible to get up?

No, we know that our strength comes from God and he has super punches. All our trainings before the match was to build us up to this level. It was to build up our muscle, strength, speed, endurance and technique. They all represent a aspect of our life. Our knowledge, our perseverence, our with, our wisdom ....

So when we are struck down on the ground, getting up is hard on our own strength, but always remember the encouragement from the sideline, the coach (God), the family and friends (church family) cheers you on. Telling us to pick ourselves up, encouraging us that we are more than able to knock this guy off his feet. The coach would say "You can do it my son, use all the things i have given you and taught you, put up your hands when he hits. Jab his stomach when its open, go for the right then quick left when his blocking below".

So remember, we have been trained and equipped, we have been given the authority and power. We have Jesus and God on our side who reigns above and below. How much more do we need to realize we already have victory through Jesus? We need to persevere and knock the enemy to its feet. We don't provoke him but we need to stand firm on Gods promises of victory and push back with strong conviction for what Jesus paid for. (If we are timid, what do you think the reaction is? Please mr. S, i rebuke you. Or I rebuke you mr.S in Jesus name for all authority has been given to me!) Use your heart, mind, body and spirit of God to fight the good fight. Finally Jesus has given you his special punch, the T.K.O that knocks the opponent out of the ring and left to unconsciousness. Since, he has conquered it all, the temptations, life itself through his resurrection.

2007-09-22T22:58:00.000+10:00

6 Aspects of a Pastor

P- Principle oriented
A- A Visionary man
S- Sensitivity to Holy Spirit and against Sins => righetous life
T- Teaching ability to preach and teach so people grow in Christ
O- Organized person, so that can mange and organize house of God
R- Relationship; Able to relate to other people well, no matter where you are people feel your warmth, people like to gather around;

Are you ready for relationship?

2007-09-17T14:05:00.000+10:00

Are you sufficient mature in age and emotionally?

Unable to adequate distinguish between infatuation and love
Usually unable to exercise sufficient self-control to maintain a relationship without getting overly emotional or physical
Yet to work out the type of person they will be able to settle down with for the rest of their lives.
Insufficient mature to handle issues that arises in relationship with wisdom. This can lead to unwise decisions that can wreck the relationship

Are you ready to get married within next 3 years? As courtship should lead towards a possible marriage, courtship should not simply for fun or experimentation. It should be very serious commitment, there shouldn’t enter courtship unless certain that soon you will be ready for marriage. The span of 3 years is rough guideline; consider readiness in terms of maturity, economic situation and Gods will. Ecc: 31, 8

Have you developed consistent walk with God? If your relationship with God is neither stable nor consistent, it is better not to be distracted at this stage and focus on growing in God first cause can get distracted once they get involved in romantic relationship. It is recommended the first year of young believer’s walk, they should be discouraged from any romantic relationships.

Is your ministry to which God is calling you sufficiently developed? Will your service to God continue to grow or stagnate? It is very much like aeroplane attempting to take off but has not had enough time to build up critical speed. It is question of faithfulness before God in our ministry (1 Co 4:2, 1 Pet 4:10). Remember our marriage should enhance our service to God.

Will you be able to put God first? (Deut 6:5, Ex 20:4-5) Can you still put God first and make sure you do not make your relationship an idol?

Can you adequately manage your time and lives? If cannot adequately manage yourselves at present, you cannot hope to manage another person. Will your studies, work or ministry suffer significantly if you get involved in romantic relationship?

Have you prayed and asked God? (Jam 1:5). You should not make decisions on your own alone but seek Gods wisdom and approval. God knows what is best for us and you need to trust his answer.

Have you sought wise counsel that confirmed you are ready? (Pr 11:14, 1 Pet 5:5, Heb 13:17). Have you sought mature leaders, parents, and listen to their objective answers? It is important to submit to counsel of God’s delegated authority such as godly parents and church leaders (Prov. 11:14). At times we may not be aware of certain shortcomings in our lives which will hindrance to fulfilling relationship. Wise counsellors can discern those shortcomings and alert us to it. Key is to humble ourselves and seek wise counsel.

Is this the right timing? Although you obtain positive answer to all above, may not be good time to initiate romantic relationship, before major examination, going away for long time, family problems to deal with. Or you made some promise to God that you not get involve until finish study, grow care group etc. This is keeping integrity of our promise.

Stages in developing romantic interest:

Initial evaluation

Are you ready for romantic relationship on platonic level?
Do you know them well enough on platonic level? Their friends and family, how they hand problems, see person’s shortcoming, see appreciate person
Does the other person fulfil appropriate criteria for possible partner?
Is it right timing?
For man: will we be able to lead the relationship spiritually and natural terms? For woman: will we be able to accept their leadership? Eph 5:23-24
Have you received confirmation from wise counsel? Pro 1:5, Pro 5:1, Pro 15:22; They will protect us from making wrong decisions, unnecessary embarrassment
Is it OK with God?

Expression of interest.

Spiritual Covering:

Importance of spiritual covering: 3 types of relationship influence our lives. Our relationship with immediate family greatly influences how we grow up in our lives, relationship with God determines our eternal destiny and third important relationship is that with our spouse for it greatly influences what we do with our lives.

Benefit of spiritual covering: Purpose of spiritual covering is for wise and experiences people to be able to look over the relationship in order to give sound advise on helping the relationship develop biblically as well as to help avoid potential pitfalls. They can pray and help protect us from enemy who seeks to ruin all relationship.

Who can cover us? Spiritual leaders matured Christian couples or godly parents.

God has designed marriage to be beautiful union between a man and a woman. The extent to which we enjoy this heaven on earth depends considerably to whether we follow Gods principles in our courtship.

Romantic Choice Hope Brisbane.

M e Tarzan, You Jane!

2007-09-17T13:21:00.000+10:00

How to make the best choice!

One day as Adam and eve were enjoying the beautiful sunset, Eve turned around and asked Adam, “Adam, if you have to do it all over again, would you choose me?” Adam reflected for a moment and replied, “Who else?” Sometimes we might wish that choosing a partner would be as easy as it was back then. Then we would surely hit God’s will right on the target. Who is Ms or Mr Perfect Will for me? Some believe that God has perfect will for which we should marry, but in general God wants us to make wise prayerful decisions. Supported by many scriptural verses that exhort us to find a good wife and reflect by example of various biblical characters (Pr 18:22, 1 Sam 25:39).

Criteria to look for in a life partner

Vision and goals in life: (Amos 3:3) Share same vision and goals in life, important to know Gods will otherwise you will not be able to accomplish it or be all that God wants you to be. When couple does not share same vision, it may seem fine at first but later problems will arise. Disagreement may arise due to differences in perspective in regard to:

Finance: gain more for personal use and comfort versus use for Gods kingdom
Career: to advance as much as possible versus which suits Gods purpose
Time and energy: spending more time for family versus spending time for God
Ministry: nominal ministry versus whole-hearted ministry
Raising children: own cultures way versus Gods way

Our vision should be in line with Gods overall vision Mt 28:19-20 and God is pleased when we choose to follow Gods vision and look for those with same vision Phil 2:2.

Maturity: every Christian is to reach maturity in Christ (Eph 5:26-27, 4:13-14), hence we should look for those who intend to develop unto maturity (2 Cor 3:18) in all aspects of their lives: spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and socially.

Example maturity in life of Ruth:

Loyalty (Ruth 1:16) loyal to friends and family? Do they give honour and respect to others? This will reflect how loyal they will be to you.
Responsibility (Ruth 2:2). Are they dependable and take responsibility towards their assigned duties? This will indicate how dependable they will be to you.
Humility (Ruth 2:7) Are they humble and teachable? And arrogant person is very hard to live with. God can change a humble person and they will become better person with time.
Diligence (Ruth 2:7)
Gratitude (Ruth 2:10)
Thoughtfulness (Ruth 2:14, Ruth 2:18)
Submission (Ruth 3:5) Do they submit to their parents and leaders in church? Do they submit to Gods word?

Example maturity in life of Boaz:

Kindness (Ruth 2:8-9, Ruth 2:14). Are they kind to others or do they take advantage of others?
Integrity (Ruth 3:12). Do they handle their affairs with integrity? If they cheat others, they could cheat on you.
Nobility (Ruth 3:14). Are their actions noble?
Responsibility (Ruth 3:18)
Generosity (Ruth 3:15)
Wisdom (Ruth 4). Do they make wise decisions in their life such as studies, work, finance, lifestyle, etc?

Are they continuing to grow in walk with God? It is not where they are today but where they are headed in spiritual walk. Are they sufficient in mature spiritually?

Compatibility: Must be compatibility in key areas so both can work together well. Lack compatibility can cause major difficulties in communication and understanding one another’s way of thinking.

Spiritual: 2 Co 6:14
Personality: be able to work and relate well together both be able to support each other as friends and get along with each other in daily life.
Intellectual compatibility: vast difference intellectually can cause problems in manner they approach life
Social compatibility: differences in this area can adversely affect our social life as we have mix with very different types of friends
Other: likes/dislikes, habits can accommodate differences, physical looks, stature, medical condition, talents and gifting.
Complimentary: Gen 2:18
Love: Love provide initial spark but it is also commitment of love that will bind the relationship together. Col 3:10
Commitment: Are they sufficiently committed Christian, neither cold nor lukewarm. Rev 3:16
Effectiveness: will person as life partner make us most effective for the kingdom of God? Sum of total of couples life and ministry should be greater than their own individually. Lev 26:8.

If we devote ourselves to God’s purposes, we will always get the best from God. Rom 8:28.

Based on Romantic Choices seminar Hope Brisbane

My testimony (Baptism of Holy Spirit)

2007-09-16T20:22:00.000+10:00

(written one year ago; Shared at Hope City centre)

Good day church, how you all? As introduced, my name is Logan, I’m from Caleb 1. Today I want to share with you, on how baptism of the Holy Spirit has empowered me to step out of my boundaries and how it has transformed my life.

Before receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I was a very timid person, I was joyless and I was very powerless when it came to making decisions in my life.

My story starts 6 years before this. Picture a family, closely knitted together, going to church every Sunday, wearing our best attire. And in school the kids would take part in athletics team, they had good grades and scholarships to private schools. This was my family. I was very confident in myself and my abilities, I wasn't lacking anything.

Then a turn of events took place, my mother had cancer and there was no cure for it. The cancer had spread throughout the body by now, she was operated upon but it failed. My mother past away. My world was shattered. My mother meant a lot to me and she was now gone. She was my source of encouragement and a rock that I can depend upon. From that moment, my life started to crumble. This was when I left God and began to rely on my self. It was difficult years ahead, strings of events transpired and the result was I lost confidence in others and eventually myself, I lost hope. My own abilities weren't enough to survive.

As I came to this church, I began reading the 24 lessons and taking part in CDS classes. One of them was on baptism of the Holy Spirit. Initially I thought I couldn't receive the Holy Spirit because I thought the HS only came out on Pentecost day as was a fireball. But from my readings, my understanding and amazement on what the Holy Spirit can do increased. I read the Holy Spirit can do this, really? It does that, wow. Then seeing brothers and sisters in church being led by the spirit, I said to myself, I want some of that. The following Sunday, my care group was praying for another member to receive the holy spirit and I happened to be standing around, so I was called to the group, and hands were laid upon me and prayed for. I was filled with the HS that day and begun speaking in tongues. I believe it is not an accident that I was there, but that my God wants to give me this precious gift that I can know Him better.

As I continue to use my new gift until this day, I can see one of the signs that the holy spirit is working within me, is when he began to restore my life, my emotions, my thought patterns, my character. From the gloomy days came joy, from my closed up heart to loving heart. He has revealed parts of his plans for me, giving me confidence to make decisions in my life that are in line with his plans. I believe I can not make these changes and decisions on my own, but from the power of the Holy Spirit. I still miss my mother, but now God is the rock that I hold onto.

I heard a great analogy recently, when the power of the Holy Spirit is activated in you, it's like the sport button in the new BMW series 5 pushed on. On the cruise mode, its ok, quite smooth ride, bit of bumps here and there but when the sport button is pushed, wow, it gives you the boost, the power and the confidence to do great things. It brings me out of my comfort zones and gives me the strength to overcome situations that I would have said no or stop at. For example, going on missions to share the gospel, I am not really a person who would walk up to a stranger and start talking. It’s quite frightening actually. Then the HS begun to nurture my talents and heart to function in church and outside, and at this moment to stand in front of the church to testify on empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

I want to share a verse to encourage you that the HS will empower you to great things for God. In Acts 1:8 "But you will receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth"

I believe the filling of the Holy Spirit will propel me further in Gods ministry and in my life career in the future. As a leaving note, if you want something to change in your life, your situation, your character, your faith. And if you want the empowerment from the HS to do great things for God. Ask for the Holy Spirit to be filled in you. Ask and it will be given. Amen.

Walking by Faith

2007-09-16T19:26:00.000+10:00

Hi my name is Logan, I’m from the Darebin centre! I’m currently studying at Melbourne Uni in my final year as a bachelor of computer science and engineering. Today, I want to testify how God has really ordered my steps as I walk in faith with him since I joined the Darebin mission team. Personally I had no prior experience in evangelizing nor am I the most eloquent speaker for that fact. But God still chose me to do his will in me. And I thank him.

My faith journey started at the beginning of this year when I first handed out invitation flyers for friendship discussion nights. I didn’t really know what would happen as a result but I knew something would happen. I just simply trusted in God that he would provide people for that night. Praise the Lord, he brought several people from different nations to come on the night. These nights I could really feel the presence of the Lord working among us and a few comments that I received from the visitors were that they never met so many nice people who were joyful, friendly and loving. One thing they didn’t know is it’s all because of Jesus and how he died for us, his unconditional love for people. At the end of the friendship discussion program, we celebrated by partying at Eric’s house inviting over 15 visitors to come. That night, the first fruit of Darebin was born! Since then, I have had privilege to bear witness to this brother’s faith filled life, since he accepted Christ, baptised in water and HS, and have been healed in his ear for hearing loss when he placed his faith in God.

Just another short testimony of how God provides when we step by faith. On an occasion that we haven’t seen many fresh faces in our meeting, we pushed ahead in evangelism. One Sunday, after church service, a small group of us went to Preston. Looking around, I could see that the markets and shops were closed, parking lots were empty and no one around. It looked really, really gloomy. So we prayed, we prayed that we would walk by faith and not by sight and that God would provide divine appointments. After that we set out and true to his words, God placed people strategically along coffee corners, park benches and the library. One of these contacts later came to know Christ and has since been baptised. A lesson that I learnt from this is, my faith needs to be extended during the fruitful/non and when it does, God compliments faith with answers.

As mentioned it hasn’t all been smooth sailing, I personally can say on behalf the team that we have really been stretched in all direction with late night meetings, work, study and other commitments. Pouring our lives and sacrificing our time towards the visitors care. I know at these times, our hearts are flesh and they grow weary and tired but in our Lord Jesus Christ it is renewed and revamped! And through Jesus, I saw the team rise up to a higher calling in leadership. Those that have not mentored before became shepherds and those that have not lead discussion hosted. Also, I could really see, the team came together by faith and walked together by faith in times of disappointment and joy. Sharing the same heartbeat, Gods heartbeat, striving to do our best for our God. Just updating up until now, we have held 4 water baptisms and God provided close to a dozen salvations from high school students, uni students and young adults. People from Japan, China, Australia, Singapore, and Columbia.

Finally, I’d like to share a verse in 1 Co 3:5-7 that Paul writes, “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” Personalizing this passage, I realized God is the one doing most of the leg work, I simply needed to walk by faith in following what He says to do. That means, to be obedient and share the good news and the rest is up to God. Therefore, I learnt not to limit myself to my understandings and feelings when reaching out but to claim by faith his promises for his people, only then that God delivers and confirms. Amen!

Before I end, I like to give thanks, this sounds like a Logies award night but here goes, special thanks goes to the support of the church for sending people to invite and follow-up during mission days, the leadership Pastor Mark and Eric for providing direction and prayer, the team for their whole hearted passion and pouring their own lives in mission. And importantly our God which we could have not done nothing without. Glory goes to God! Amen.

(Shared at 17th Anniversay with City, Frankston, Glen waverly and Darebin)

2007-09-15T21:21:00.000+10:00

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him" "

Lamentations 3:22-24

2007-09-14T13:28:00.001+10:00

"Faith makes all things possible...
Hope makes all things work...
Love makes all things beautiful.."

May you have all three...as you begin each new day.

sms to me

Reflection

2007-09-13T16:07:00.000+10:00

"So I'll give You praise and sing with all my heart.
I will give you glory.
And my life, a pleasing sacrifice to You"

(Jesus Christ, Son of God)

Like most, I am a normal person who seeks and serves the Lord with all my heart.... I have been serving him fervently since the beginning of the year like no other time in my life. I have been through a number of experiences since then that has shaped and moulded me to be the person that I am at the moment...And I know that these plans has a purpose in my life. Its God's way of equipping me for the future and enlarging my heart for his people. And I thank God that he has chosen me for this.

There has also been times which I felt very zealous, faith filled and Joyful because of what he is doing all the time with e confirmations along the way. Other times such as tiredness, troubled and exhaustion, I turn to him ASAP. At these times my heart becomes heavy ladened, tired, weak and complicated. This is where I come back to the basics of my faith. I simplize my thoughts and feelings into one. I was made to worship God. So I pick up my guitar, play the songs that I can play, play with the music and those that I cant play I sing with my voice. Worshiping God and drawing on his strength alone. These are times of refreshing, that I draw my focus back on Gods goodness in my life. Renewing and recharging.

"For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." KJV
"For I have given new strength to the tired soul and to every sorrowing soul in full measure." BBE
Jeremiah 31:25

Just reflecting back from the humble beginnings of the year and until now, somewhat, I feel a sense of nostalgia and excitement for what there is to come in the future. It feels weird in a way that I couldn't picture this back then but I knew that God had a plan all the way long. Its strange but not a coincidence. I Look forward to more promises that God will fulfill real soon! I look forward for what lies ahead!

Words from OT

2007-09-12T08:25:00.000+10:00

Last week I happen to flip to Isaiah 54 as I was driving to meet David, Leo and Mingxiu. I was praying that I would receive a word from God, and behold he gave me this chapter.
- Promise of a barren woman (fallen Israel) who is not bearing children (bearing fruits/characters/good results) will become with many child. That is we may have seen discouragements, setbacks but the promise is we will see results because our work in God is not in vain. The seeds planted will begin to spurt with growth.
-Promise of enlarge the tent (house of God/his people). Prepare as the promise says more and more people will come to know Christ and we need to make room and prepare for them. Prepare in our hearts that God will stir and begin his work on personal note.
-A reminder that we have been redeemed just as the widow has been by God. Although we may have slacked off and even disobedient, but God has taken us back in because he has deep compassion and everlasting kindness for us.
-Promise that he will not hide his face anymore but he will always be there with us no matter what happens. This is his unfailing love and the covenant of his peace to us.
-Promise that his people will have great victory and the faith will strong, and the church would be greater than before where we walk in righteousness with deep conviction for God.
-God is the blacksmith (the potter/ the creator) who made people for different purposes for his use. The promise that he is in control hence "no weapon formed against you will prevail" transcribes that God has favor on us, we can overcome opposition and disappointments that occurs when we are walking with God. He has given us the giftings and his Spirit empowers us to overcome. This is his promise.

And yesterday I happen to flip to 1 Chronicles 9 again while meeting Eric, but I prayed in my heart a short prayer that he may give me a word again. And this is what I got from the chapter.
-Importance of our genealogy where we come from, the exile of Babylon to the people of God. From a lost person to Gods chosen people. Confidence in our heritage.
-Gatekeepers are people who protect the church of God, allowing those who want to seek God and stopping those who stir trouble. Protecting all corners of the church, from east, west, south and north. The word "to be aware and alert" speaks out. (The word house known as TENT stands out here.)
-It also says that we are accountable and gatekeepers of one another. That is to keep watch of each other with our spiritual walk. They took turns to keep watch of the tent, working as a team and spurring each other on.
-Gatekeepers were stewards entrusted and taking responsibility of their positions given to them. Meaning in all aspects of our Church life/ministries, they should function as their intended purpose. Not only that but with our personal life we should tie loose ends and do our excellence in our responsibility in society.

All this was to Glorify God in his home, as in 1 Chronicles reminded readers the focal point of peoples life and the house of God is to worship him. Worship him is not with just prayers, attendance etc but it is every aspect of our life. This is a life worship. In summary be confident in heritage -> protect hearts of self/church -> good stewards of our life as we develop our relationship with God and expanding the tent of the Lord.

Carrying the Cross

2007-09-09T07:36:00.000+10:00

Todays God minute goes like this...

THEN JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES, "IF ANYONE WOULD
COME AFTER ME, HE MUST DENY HIMSELF AND TAKE
UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME."
( MATTHEW 16:24 *NIV )

It then says in devotion that we have crosses to bear in our lives and perhaps our crosses seem to be heavy one, however when you look around, you will find much bigger ones than yourself. So when your cross "seems" to be heavy, God is there to help carry it for you. God has said "NEVER WILL I LEAVE YOU; NEVER WILL I FORSAKE YOU." ( HEBREWS 13:5 ). So we need to put our faith in God "DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED. TRUST IN GOD; TRUST ALSO IN ME. ( JOHN 14:1 ) . A poem is than attached, here it is.

May the wings of faith uphold you
When your cross is hard to bear,
As temptations surround you,
And no one seems to care.
May the wings of faith surround you
And shield you from the pain
When sorrows overcome you
And teardrops fall like rain.
May you know that God is with you
In times of deep despair.
May the spirit, who's within you,
Confirm that He is there!
May the valley of the shadow
Provide angels unaware...
May the wings of faith uphold you
When your cross is hard to bear.
Poet, Clay Harrison

"Cadbury Timeout"

2007-09-06T19:50:00.000+10:00

1 Kings 19

Tired and on the run, the prophet of the Lord, Elijah, had been preaching to Israel to restore their relationship with God (Covenant) and to turn away from the idol Baal and Asherah. He had challenged the prophets of Baal previously to light fire by calling on their gods to burn the pieces of meat, however Baal did not answer their request(Baal was a idol). Upon his turn, he called on the Lord almighty and miraculously fire was set alight and people declared that his Lord is God. That day the prophets of Baal and of Asherah were slaughtered.

Hearing this news, Jezebel put down a decree to kill Elijah. Elijah afraid for his life ran and when he reached Judah, he prayed "I have had enough Lord,take my life, I am no better than my ancestors". At once there was angel who told him to get up and eat and drink. He ate and slept in the Lord. The angel came down again and told him to wake up, eat and drink for journey ahead is long. He got up, ate, drank and he was strengthened for the journey ahead.

Times like this, when I am serving the Lord with my heart, taking responsibility at home and managing my studies, taking sometime timeout can be hard to find and in the end as i run I get tired. For in the end I am an ordinary man, i am flesh and bone. These are times when I become impatient, weary, tired, and emotional. YES I have emotions too. At these times I will ask God why, why did this happen, how come it had to be this way? couldnt it be the other way Lord? What could I have done better?

These are times I just shout and cry to the lord, expressing my feelings, through my joy and pain. I have a secret place that I would go to, and just let my prayers feel the night sky. Sometimes in frustration, I would shout at the top of my voice over a passing bridge (or somewhere no one can see just myself and the Lord). Then looking from afar his magnificent creations I can see his mighty hand, his faithful presence in my life. I see the beauty the Lord has made upon the chaos and complexities of life. I am assured that God is sovereign and loving, all I need is trust.

I learnt from Elijah that when we are on the "run", busy with our life, we may feel burnt out and emotional, we need to express our feelings and thoughts to God in whatever way that does not compromise Gods goodness. We need to call on his name for help and strength. He surely answers our prayers, he has for me. He encouraged me through his word, through my friends and through circumstances to reveal that his with me.

Practically what needs to be done? Pray to the Lord, feast on good food (spiritual and physical), food that you like that will give you energy and sleep early. Read his word that he may speak to you. Pray to the lord that you may have a good rest and that tomorrow the Lord will speak to you because God does not want you to run on dry. Just as Elijah was restored so that he may continue to do the good work, it is not wrong to rest, to take it slow and have our own time to be refreshed and restored. May the Lord bring balance and rejuvenate us!

p.s have a timeout chocolate or kit-kat helps too ;)

My Adonai

2007-09-04T13:04:00.000+10:00

Its a strange and wonderful feeling when you know your loved. Yesterday I receive a song from Tony Tui in HOPE bangkok that he sung in english. I met this brother during the thai worship team stay in melbourne last year. I have forged good friendship with him and Torchie from Brisbane through the opportunity of giving them a simple lift to and from the venues. I thank God I was given this opportunity as I have learnt how to serve one another in minuscule ways even though it may seem insignificant and unworthy.. but true blessings always come in disguise...

As I listen to the song, I have never felt more loved than any other time for awhile. I feel the everlasting love that God has poured upon my life. The times I have been weak and stumbled, he has lifted me up by one hand and the other hand guiding me along the path. The times when i was joyful and soaking in his warmth, he smiled and laughed with me. Even at this moment as my heart grows tired, he has poured into me a freshness, a joy, a feeling that can not be describe by words but by experience. The experience of His Love.

As I wait for Him, as I wait for my prayers to be answered, as I wait for my plans to be revealed, I feel assured by his presence, i feel confident in his plans. I feel his Love in my life. I am joyful for he has been in my life even though at times its painful, confusing, and "lonely". I know he has been there all along even when I did not recognize he was calling out to me....but now I do...so Thank you Lord.

As for me, I shall serve him with my heart, my mind, my soul and my body. I shall serve him with my love and wait for him. I know one day God shall provide and I know he shall provide the best for me. I shall serve you Lord and trust you with all my heart.

"I come into your presence,
Drawn by your grace.
I come into your presence,
the lovely as friends(?),
full of your mercy.
You have given to me....

I'm soaked in your love Lord, my God.....

My life, is yours.
My soul is not my own.
And all that, within me.
Will live to please you Lord,
you alone Adonai.
I serve you until i die...."

Full Worship with our Body

2007-08-31T12:30:00.000+10:00

Have you ever gone to service feeling that you didn't get something out of it?

You probably have missed the point of true worship if you have thought this way. When we come to a place of worship and leave with the feeling that we did not get anything from the praise and worship, we should reconsider the meaning of praise and worship.

Worship is not for the purpose of obtaining anything from God, but giving to God. True worship is a life of respect and adoration for God because of who he is. In revelation 5 aspect of worship: “adoration of Gods being, declaration of Lambs worthiness, a celebration of Gods presence, submission to his authority and fearing and serving him”. The right attitude begins with recognizing God as the sole object of worship.

When we begin to understand this, we will automatically feel the need to express our gratitude, our thanks, our adoration, our praises to him with all our heart. This is not for our benefit, or for the onlookers but it is the expression of our heart towards God, and God is pleased with this! We should worship him without being conscious of what others are doing, we should look up when we worship him, we should lift our hands, dance, kneel, bow, as what the bible teaches.

Worship involves the complete self, our body, mind and soul. A example of free worship is given below, for motor heads, I think you will like this example :)

"I thought about the above phrase and used a car to illustrate worship. The Spirit in like the petrol in a car. Without the petrol, you cannot start the car. After starting the car, you need to engage the gears. This is like engaging our soul, which consists of our mind, will and emotions to worship God. You need to worship God with your soul. Never park your brains outside when you worship God. Finally, worship is always expressed in our body, whether in a dance , song, laughter, lifting of hands, bowing down etc. Our body moves. This is likened to the wheels of a car. If a car does not have wheels, it cannot move. Some of our worship are like cars without wheels. We are totally frozen instead of being God’s chosen.

All worship must begin in our spirit. Our hearts must long for God. Our soul which is made up of the mind , will and emotions should then be engaged. Finally, worship should be expressed in some form of physical movement or vocal sounds."

-Ng Wah Lok

Worshipping God

2007-08-31T11:24:00.000+10:00

Words of Worship
"Shachah" - Hebrew for depress, bow, crouch, fall down, humbly beseech
"Proskuneo" - Greek for falling down to kiss the ground before kings feet, paying homage
"Sebonai" - Greek for reverence hold in awe
"Latreuo" - render religious service homage

These are a few words translated from Greek and Hebrew to define worship. Worship in the old English language means "worth-ship" meaning to acknowledge the worth of someone. For Christians it means to acknowledge the worth of God.

Old Testament
In OT, the Israelites worshiped the Lord by paying homage and devotion whereby it takes place at certain time and place. Performing rituals and sacrifice for repentance and seeking God through the ark. Below are some examples.

John 4:20 - All went to Jerusalem to pray ; Daniel 6:10 - Direction of place
Psalm 138:2 - In temple ; 2 King 18:22, Isaiah 36:7 - Acts of worship at altar
Jeremiah - At the gate
Leviticus 1, 16:20, - Burnt offerings, scapegoat,, unblemish lambs etc

These type of worship tended to lead to legalism where people tend to be sidetracked by rituals of worship and miss the true essence of humility before God, most evident with Pharisee and Sadducees in OT/NT. It was a matter of lip service (Matthew 15:8, 9; Isaiah 29:13), they had exchange truth for tradition, it could be said they worship the worship more than God.

The type of worship God really wanted was a broken and contrite heart as David writes in Psalm 51:7 whereby Worshiping in practice is a lifestyle of brokenness before God. We present ourselves as living sacrifice (Roman 12:1,2). It's not to say, worship should not be separated from service as everything we do should be for Gods glory (Phil 4:18) and in our everyday life (Roman 14:8).

New Testament
Worship in NT (John 4:7-26) is to worship in the right attitude but there is more to it, there is no longer special place or time to worship God as God is spirit and is omnipresent. It no longer is outward worship but a spirit-to-spirit devotion to God. Hence speaking in tongues (Holy Spirits language), where our spirits pray while our mouth speak. We worship God from our spirits but there is always outward response. Worship in truth is sincerity and doctrinal truth. We speak truth and live by the Spirit of God in our daily lives, through doing mundane things to making important decision. We ask God for guidance, counsel and help through his word and prayer. Making God the center of our life.

John 4:23-24 "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

This is the highest form of worship that God intended and purposes made us to be.

Communication

2007-08-30T17:33:00.000+10:00

Communication

Interlude:
Communication is crucial to human beings, if we don’t communicate we wont be able to form relationships. God intends us to speak, to share our thoughts and encourage one another, hence he gave us a mouth so words can come out of it.

Role Play:

Wrong approaches to conflict:

Explode and lose temper.
The bible teaches us to be slow to anger. James 1:19 “My dear brothers, take not of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”

Are you a perfectionist who have sky-high standard for everyone as well? Our intentions are good that we want to do the best but our expectation can cause us to get angry easily with those who fail to meet those standards even when they are doing their best. Yet we do not understand why they are not meeting “our” standards.

What we need to aim for is to be kinder, more understanding, and more willingly to accommodate.

Defensive attitude.
Sometimes before we say something we have to make a wide range of excuses before we say it. Otherwise, we blame someone else, shut up and keep quiet. Some may even break down and cry, women’s best tool in conflict is their tears. Mens best tool is avoidance.

Genesis 3:!2 “the man said, the woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit for the tree, and I ate it”

Silence aka cold war.
Some people pride themselves on always being collected and calm. They would never explode all the time. However it does not mean that there is no anger; it just happens to be inward, introverted anger that is kept ever so tightly bottled up. The lid is kept on it, one day it will erupt.

Attitudes we should have in communication

Honesty

When we mean yes, we should mean yes, and no to be no. Matthew 5:37 “simply let your yes be yes, and your no, no; anything beyond this comes from evil one” ; Ephesians 4:15, 25 “instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is Christ… therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body”

Love

We must check ourselves before we speak if it is from anger or out of love. Ephesians 4:15 “instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow into him who is the head that is Christ” ; Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones”

Humility
Be willing to admit that we are wrong and that we have sinned against other person that we acted wrongly and perhaps judged them wrongly. Romans 14:15 “you, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat” ; Galatians 6:1 “brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted”

Wisdom

Speaking proper words at the appropriate time requires wisdom. Colossians 4:6 “let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” ; Proverbs 15:1 “a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” ; Proverbs 25:11 “a word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver”

Optimistic faith

Believe the best is given situation and that god is going to lead us to the best possible outcome. Proverbs 20:24 “a man’s steps are directed by the lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?” ; Ephesians 5:19 “speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the lord”

Right approach to solving conflicts

1. Admit mistake first.

Be the first to admit our mistake, even if we are only a teeny weeny bit responsible. Our minute contribution to the conflict is still weighty in Gods eyes. If we do not forgive, or admit your mistake we are wrong before God. It takes humility. Must examine ourselves before we start point fingers, “where have I gone wrong in this situation” ; Romans 2:1 “you therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

Explain our mistake.

We can explain why we did what we did, yet we have to ensure that we are not making excuses but really explaining what motivated us. If we do not explain our actions/reactions, some misunderstanding may remain. E.g. had a long day at work feeling down, flu coming on, worn out etc. This helps create understanding.

Let the other person know their mistake.

Good way is to ask a question, “would you give me permission to tell you where you upset me?” then “well, maybe I’m wrong but I see it like this…” and gently put it to them. Without condemnation. Never mix fact with interpretation. Need to get our facts straight. So people can come and give us the interpretation of the facts and not the facts itself, so be careful!

Let the other person explain their mistake.Hopefully other person also apologized and let the other person have chance to explain their point of view.

Forgive one another.

Follow all above we should apologize to one another and reassure one another of our constant love. We then tell the other person that we wholly forget this incident and that it will never be talked about ever again. God has forgiven us, we have forgiven each other and it is gone.

Pray for one another.

Ask god to bless us and give us more grace and maturity.

(Based on Family Church)