God's word gives strength

We are on a 3-day beverage-only fast. Yesterday on her way to our J7 rehearsal, June (our songleader) asked God for a message to give us, and during prayer, June reminded us that we are spirit beings and that we should not look at the surface. On the surface, circumstances may be as such, situations may be as such.. Our body may be weak on the outside, but we should always look on the inside. Because externally, we have a body, but internally it is the spirit that lives inside of us. So we should never look at things on the surface, but to look inwards to the spirit and walk in the supernatural. How apt.
She also reminded us that all things sown in faith into the kingdom of God is never in vain. The Lord sees and will reward us accordingly.
She is right. No matter what happens on the outside, I must understand that I am a spirit being merely living in my own body. I should not be letting my body control me, nor look at things in the natural. No matter how tired I may be, I should press in, press on, for all things sown in faith into the Kingdom of God will never be in vain :)

This morning, I read 1 Peter 4:

Therefore since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enouh time in the ast, doing what pagans chosse to do - living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray.

If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength that God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus CHrist. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Moments before this, I was feeling slightly weak from the fasting. Then I received an email from a friend. Feeling encouraged by the message, "It's faith that moves the hand of God" and we could "pray our VICTORY in!!!", I thought I'd blog about last night. As I was copying and typing from the bible, I felt God's presence come upon me as strength seeped into my body.. I feel very much rejuvenated and refreshed now. I no longer feel physically weak, completely unlike this morning! Indeed, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! God's word strength; gives life! I have victory in Christ Jesus. Amen and Hallelujah! :D

Not without sacrifices

During fellowship on Tuesday, whilst playing one of those sharing games, it was brought to my attention that I had come this far not without sacrifices, and that I am where I am through the choices I made. I found this puzzling yet amazing for this had come from someone I never had any close contact with. But he is right, there were sacrifices and choices.
I believe it could be God's way of telling me to keep on keeping on; to persevere.

Romans 6:
17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It also reminded me of a card I picked up:
"All humans on earth have the ability to choose what they want to become but unfortunately, many do not realise this. They allow events and circumstances to dictate and place them in their present status in life. Many have convictions on what is considered a good life yet they fail to Commit themselves to take appropriate actions. As a result, they are kept away from their desired goals.

You must take charge, control the condition of your mind-set and have the courage to step out of your comfort zone. Carry out your commitments consciously and consistently in order to bring them to the conclusions that you rightly desire and deserve."

At times, I feel tired, sometimes, I feel like giving up and slide back into the world. But God is reminding me, I have come thus far..

I guess in every race and every walk, encouragements can help motivate us along the way. Indeed, we have been set free, why should anyone want to slide back to the bondage of the flesh, having been set free. Why would I? That would be ridiculous wouldn't it?

I thank God for motivating me. Thank you Lord.

God never fails to speak to me

I truly am very grateful to God for never failing to speak to me no matter what circumstances it may be..

Situation #1:
I had not gone home one night. Hence, failed to do my quiet time. In addition to that, the next night, as I was feeling very tired, I almost wanted to forego my quiet time again. However, I did it anyways in the end. And as I was reading my daily devotional for the night that I had missed, God said..

"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion..." Heb. 3:7-8

"(a) Warning against negligence Heb. 2:1-4

(b) Warning against sloth. (5:11-6:20) Sloth means laziness. You will find that the Bible warns more against laziness than drunkenness. When you become spiritually sluggish, you lose your ability to hear the voice of God so as to accurately discern spiritual matters.

If we keep rejecting the gentle prompting of the Lord to change, we can move into a place where there is no more room for repentance.
Let us walk in the fear of God, knowing that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."


As I read the above, I was both guilty and afraid, for indeed, God, was speaking to me about my problem. Then I proceeded to read the night's devotional and God said..

"Our inner soul yearns for communion with God. If that longing is not satisfied by communion with our heavenly Father, it will feast on any compelling counterfeit.

God is good. Jesus sympathizes with your many weaknesses and understands the pressures of life that you go through every single day. His throne is a throne of grace, not a throne of judgement."


He showed me that we can come to Him in all things, and I thank God for His grace. We should never forsake Him. He is faithful and His mercy endures forever.


Situation #2:
One of my friends' in dire financial straits so a group of us decided to fast for a breakthrough. Admittedly, I was feeling slightly lethargic. On the morning of my fasting, God encouraged me with Hebrews 10:24-25:
"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

Indeed, we are a team and there should be greater unity in our spirit.
I thank God for His word, for out of His word flows rivers of living water. His word is treasure. His word brings life.

Pastor Eileen told us tonight, that in warfare (attack), everything has to be tripled; the soldiers, the ammunition..
I truly must be prepared. There is no time to lose and I must have greater urgency in my spirit. Holy Spirit, help me :)

Don't lose momentum

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Cor 6:9

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Gal 6:9

On the topic of sowing and reaping, Pastor Eileen says, that we are not to lose our momentum; we will receive our reward if we do not lose heart.
In line with what I’d prayed for a few weeks ago, I thought that I had been rather inconsistent in my spirituality, so I prayed that I’d be more steadfast in my spiritual walk with God, and surprisingly, a day later in a combined zone meeting in church, Pastor Derek prayed that all of us would be steadfast Christians. Strange cos "steadfast" isn’t an adjective my church typically use. But not so strange when you know that it is God who has heard your prayers : )

Peace

Last night at cell group, God said in my heart, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

And subsequently during overnight prayer meeting, Pastor Tan said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will rule and reign in your heart. Do not worry”

This morning, the Daily Bread (July 9 2005) talked about being careful with our thoughts and not worry about life’s necessities. (Matthew 6:25-34)

Gee… God musta really heard the fear and anxiety in my heart.. and God I hear you too. Indeed I will learn to put my trust in You, and depend on You more. My faith is in You.

F.A.I.T.H: Forsaking All I Trust Him.

Ministry meeting

Ministry meeting last night was awesome, and Pastor Tan prayed for J7!
How it happened and what happened thrilled me greatly, and I’ve got several revelations.

1. Pastor asked J7 on stage to pray for us
2. He prayed that we would all treasure where we are, and what we have for the Lord
3. To use our talents for His glory
4. Not to be distracted by the things of the world
5. He prophesied that we will stay not only in Children Church but will also go out into the missionfields.

#1 The very act of going up on stage to be prayed upon meant something to me. We were VISIBLE. In a previous discipleship session with Pastor Eileen, she called us leaders, and mentioned that as leaders, as you go up, you become more visible, and you also have lesser options. As one become more visible, there is greater accountability and responsibilities.

#2 I thank God for where I am, I must say that my spiritual route has been amazing. Especially with J7 being my very first ministry, which is one of the most exciting place I can ever imagine myself to be; Being under Pastor Eileen’s discipleship; Sister Susan personally guiding me after my salvation; Everything so far has been such a blessing! I thank God for His grace and mercy.
*(For those who do not know about J7, it is like an equivalent of the Australian kid group Hi-5! Each member has had to go through 2 rigorous rounds of auditions and amongst many talented youths, specially handpicked by pastor and her team)

#4 It’s hard to make a stand, but God called us to be different and to be set apart for His glory. I must remember that.

#5 During church service last Sunday, we were shown a church video. In it, there were footages of our church members on mission trips. I dunno what happened to me then, but I was immensely touched, something in my heart said I must be there, and I will be there. I knew it was my spirit speaking so I immediately answered God and said, Yes Lord, I hear you. I will go where you want me to be. And I want to be on the missionfield. And Pastor Tan’s prophecy just confirmed what my spirit spoke to me in my heart.

I will always remember Pastor Eileen’s revelation in Acts 6: Seven Chosen To Serve “Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business”
She sent us (J7) this sms before,“We must watch our lives to ensure that we keep ourselves pure and spiritual. We need to set ourselves apart and sanctify ourselves.”

I must always remember to treasure where I am and what I have in the Lord. Thank you God for all Your blessings, and I pray that God You will help me keep my focus on You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

shackles of perversion

On Wed I prayed to God about shackles of perversion, He then spoke to me in my Daily Devotional the next morning (30 Jun) in Colossians 3

5Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Legalism

On Tuesday night, I prayed to God about legalism, and this is what He said to me in my Daily Devotional the next morning (29 Jun): Colossians 2:20-23
Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations-- "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

I also realised the entire Colossians 2 was dedicated to the topic of Legalism, how timely can it be? : )

Phil 4:6-7

bible memory verse #2:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7)

Amen.

Feeling secure

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not
parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek
its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil. (1 Cor 13:4,5)
A wise mom once said, "Take it as a compliment that other girls think
your guy is great, too." Be secure enough to acknowledge their good
taste. If your relationship is about love, then jealousy can't be part
of it. Paul spends this whole chapter defining love. He is clear to
point out that true love is not jealous. Somehow we've confused this
and begun to think that if you love someone, you're supposed to act
jealous and possessive. Love is about serving, selflessness and
caring. Arrogance and jealousy are for the insecure. Have faith in
Jesus. He will bring the perfect mate for you. Learning to love and
trust someone means that you don't have to worry about who he talks
to, or who he's in the same room with. If your guy isn't trustworthy,
then he's definitely not the one for you. Don't even start a romantic
relationship with him. Start making friendships instead of dating.
That way you can spend time with different people until you find one
who lines up with your beliefs and values, the one you can have fun
with, the one you love, the one you trust completely. The possibility
of boyfriends and girlfriends will come and go. Don't give in to the
"gotta have a date" mentality. Commit to having holy courtships and
let God bring the one He has chosen for you. When it's really about
love, jealousy will lose out and trust will win.

Inside my beloved bible, the above spoke to me : )

Prayers work

Prayers do work. God is faithful. Keep praying and meditate on His promises.

(17 june 2005)

He will not let you go. He loves you.

1 Corinthians 10:13

No 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.

Not by chance

This must be told since nothing happens by chance, but that said, it never failed to amaze me still.

On Sunday 19 June, the sermon at my best friend's church was on the perfect will of God. So along that line of thoughts, she was wondering if she should still be as adamant on switching her line of work, cos’ looking back, one can't help but acknowledge that she has been very blessed. All the chances and lessons she received seemed to prepare her for her current job. Though it's never been her dream to be doing what she's doing, let's just say she enjoys her work, and many would die to be in her position. So, she thought maybe this job was God's will, so she shouldn't change it, since it does appear that He's more than led her here..

On Tuesday morning, I was doing my daily bible-reading. That morning's reading was Eph 4.. As I flipped thru the pages, I stopped at Eph 2 to look at the footnotes beneath:

Promise: He Promises To Have A Plan For You.

For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10)

"Most days just seem to go by like every other day. Same old stuff. Same old everything. Blah blah blah. One day runs into another one. You close your eyes and wake up to do it all over again. Doesn't seem like much of a plan, does it?

Maybe not. But God has an exciting plan for your life - a plan that will give you purpose and fulfillment beyond your wildest dreams. Following God's plan takes what He's planned for you to do. You don't just accidentally fulfil what He's planned for you to do. You've got to seek God and ask Him to reveal His plan to you and to give you understanding about how you can fulfil it. Then, you've got to determine to make every day count for Him and for His plan.

Pay attention to every decision you face - even the ones that seem so insignificant. Take seriously every person you meet - even the ones you don't like. Embrace every situation you find yourself in - even the ones that seem to make no sense at all. They're shaping you, moulding you, preparing you for the next decision, the next person, the next situation.

Lose yourself in doing what God wants with every aspect of your life. Live your life in light of His plan!"

Upon reading the above, I immediately checked my Daily Devotional. Guess what? Sunday morning's bible-reading was EPHESIANS 2. I hadn't read the (above) footnotes earlier cos’ I'd used a different bible that day. But look, God speaks, and I always find it so amazing whenever Q&A situations like that happen. God can speak right to our hearts and answer our questions specifically. Just never stop asking, seeking, knocking. I love God. He is my Only God, my love, my Lord.

A healing miracle!

There is a miracle, so miraculous I didn’t know how to react to it, except to keep thanking Him.

After my prayer that night, I went back to bed to read my bible. My sister was sick and she was coughing the whole night. It was so bad that all the coughing made her start to wheeze, and the inhaler did nothing to help… Just hearing her cough made my heart ache cos I know how terrible she must be feeling since I am asthmatic myself. Halfway thru my bible-reading, I noticed her walk to the living room, so after I finished my quiet time, I went out to the living room to look for her. Mum had asked her to sit instead of lying down hoping it would help in her breathing. I sat down beside my sis, and assisted her with two puffs of the inhaler. After the medication, I asked her to close her eyes and think about God. I then laid hands on her and started praying. The whole time I was praying, I noticed that she had STOPPED coughing. There and then, I really didn’t know what to do, except to keep praying and keep thanking Him for healing. After a while I removed my hands, and asked her to lie down to sleep as I laid opposite her. Soon after, I heard her breathing normally as she fell asleep. In my heart, I was just so amazed, cos it was healing right before my very eyes! I so much wanted to jump up and kneel down to thank God but I didn’t wanna wake my sister up, so I just continued praying where I was. The first thing I did in the morning, was kneel before Him and thank Him. My sister went to the doctor subsequently and now her coughing’s completely stopped. Praise God!

Extraordinary, way beyond the ordinary, EXTRAORDINARY!

Daily encounter

We must have a daily encounter with God.

“Life sometimes get pretty routine and you find yourself feeling stale and soggy on the inside. You find that you can’t spruce up your own heart… He promises to ‘quiet you with His love’. There is nothing that adds zest to life more than the breath wind of the spirit of God blowing thru your heart. It does more for you on the inside than a squirt from the garden hose on a steamy afternoon. It brings you back to life. It gives you passion again. It refuels your energy. And it stokes the fire of God that is inside of you. He does it all without thunder and lightning. He does it with such tenderness – just by His love, which touches all your deepest places. Zeph 3:17 (..He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.) Never ever forget that you are the one who makes God sing and He is the one who ‘will quiet you with His love’.

I prayed to God to enrol me for bible school next year. As I prayed about it, I was touched by the presence of God. I told God I was hungry for greater understanding of His word and I have a deep desire to be discipled. Although I know there’ll be challenges but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Towards the end of my prayer, I opened my eyes and looked up into the sky. Staring at me was a face of a goblin formed by the clouds! I was so frightened that my heart started beating very quickly. Staring at the clouds, I kept proclaiming, “There is no fear in Jesus” And I kept repeating that till the facial features of the goblin started blurring to reveal just a plain cloud.

This taught me something. Wherever you are, whatever you do, especially in the face of fear, keep proclaiming Jesus! “Greater is the Spirit of God that is in me than any obstacle that stands before me.” (1 John 4:4) You have all authority! There is no fear in His perfect love. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)

Thank you God, I am just so glad to experience You in my midst.

Indeed we all need a daily encounter with God.

1 John 4:7

Today, I make a decision to memorise 60 bible verses
Lemme start with my favourite verse...

bible memory verse #1:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God;
and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
1 John 4:7 (NKJV)

Preaching challenge

What I also learnt from EMERGE:
The preaching challenge - "REVIVAL"

-by Crystal
#1 ONE-MAN REVIVAL
Be a revival carrier: Revival can happen thru ONE!
ONE Queen Esther!
ONE Moses!
ONE Nehemiah!
"Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young.
Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live,
in your love, your faith, and your purity" (1 Timothy 4:12)

-by Wayne
#2 COMPASSION FOR THE LOST
Aaron, who ran to the altar, caught the fire and saved Israel.
He literally stood in the gap between the living and the dead.
Are we gonna stand in the gap?
Are we gonna leave and abandon our parents who are unsaved?
Are we gonna leave and abandon our brothers and sisters who are unsaved?
Are we gonna leave and abandon our friends who are unsaved?
Are we gonna leave and abandon our loved ones who are unsaved?

"I want to run to the altar
And catch the fire
To stand in the gap
Between the living and the dead
Give us a heart of compassion
For a world without vision
We will make a difference
Bringing hope to our land"


I never really understood revival till now.. Indeed, revival CAN happen thru ONE.
There must be a daily encounter with God. An encounter with the Holy Spirit will not quench your thirst, instead it will make you all the more thirsty for God, more hungry for God.

"Like lovers who never met, their hearts pounded."
Does your heart pulsate to the beat of God?

We are made to worship God.

I want to think of Him everyday, miss Him everyday, hunger and thirst for Him every moment, every minute, to love Him and seek Him in all things.

Spiritual hunger

Night service I @ Emerge conference:
I must admit I wasn't as fit as I was in the morning.. I hate it when tired-ness creeps in and I dozed off duing worship. Sheesh I felt so quilty. During the Word, pastor then spoke about spiritual hunger and elaborated on what it meant to lose the hunger and what happens.. (put almost in a rather biological/ medical way)

When you lose your hunger:

1. Weight declines: you lose glory, lose substance
2. Protein in your muscles break down: there is no more strength
3. Lose the desire/ ability to repoduce. You become Impotent. Unfruitful.
4. Temperature drops. You lose your senses
5. Immunity system breaks down. Can no longer say no to temptations
6. Lose your mind: Brain fails. You go towards carnal thinking
7. Heart failure: heart stops beating for God, cannot pulsate. No longer look Vertically up to Him, you stop loving Horizontally across; There is no more cross in your life.
8. Death: Spiritual death
9. Dehydration: no more water. (Jesus says Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." John 7:38)
10. Lose salt: No longer salt of the earth. (You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Matthew.5:13)
11. Fever, lose spiritual judgement, discernment. No tears when you come before God. You are hot for the wrong reason.
12. Kidney failure: Can't cleanse yourself from impurities. you lose the sanctification.

Perhaps I had lost it a little somehow, but today God reminded me of how I used to come before Him. With hyms of love & intimate fellowship.

I need to renew my love for Him. We need to encounter God DAILY..
Thank you Lord for never giving up on me and I know You will never leave me.

" Draw me, O' draw me away
Messiah today
To Your presence I stay
O' Jesus
Change me
Mould me
That I can be
Evermore true to thee "

Amen.

church

Church is not just church, if anyone will realise that.
It is beyond the singing of hyms, paying our tithes, fulfilling our weekly dues by attending service
It is a life.

I am at the right place

To start this, maybe I need to refer to a previous experience to explain this better. I thought Pst. Phil is such an annointed man. I was in such awe of him. Someone who looked so hip to be so annointed. Anyways, let's fast-forward this to last Sunday. I was in church when they showed us the trailer for the EMERGE (youth) conference. In it, one of the footages was that of Pst. Kong preachin'. Within that few seconds, I was suddenly overcome by a tremendous emotional charge. There was only one thing in my mind:
" I a m i n t h e r i g h t p l a c e . "
That day, I seriously believed that Pst. Kong is such an annointed man of God.

Yesterday was the first day of the EMERGE conference, and like the woman with the issue of blood who pressed in through the crowds believing that if she only touched the garment of Jesus, she will be healed. I thoroughly believed that the annointing of God would flow through to me, when Pastor called us down to be prayed for. Immediately after I came back to my seat, I was in great tears. Shortly before I recovered, Pastor said he wanted to pray for those in the media and the arts, including Mass Comm students. This time, Sun would lay hands on us. With some hesitation tho', I walked down again. As I was worshipping God, Sun walked towards me, I closed my eyes, and as she laid hands on me, my hands were shaking as I fell! (I used to wonder why people tremble when they fall..) Yesterday, I felt it. Pastor Kong and Sun are truly annointed. Indeed the Holy Spirit is right.
" I a m i n t h e r i g h t p l a c e . "

Pastor says, if the economy is flourishing, it doesn't mean that the individal will also flourish, but if the church is moving, its members will be led with the flow. Not just any flow, but with the strong current of God. Thank you God for placing me here. I am in the right place. Amen.

I love my friend

The Bible speaks of a friendship that knows no limits. "A friend loves at all times," said the wise man (Proverbs 17:17). And "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (18:24). Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13).

Jesus is both our Great Physician and our Friend, and He promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He calls us to stand with our friends and family in His name as their earthly journey nears its end. That's what a true friend would do. —David McCasland

A friend is he who always knows
When the cold wind of trouble blows,
Who comes in dark and stormy night
With friendship's glowing lamp alight. —Mason

A true friend stays true to the end.

From Our Daily Bread: June 5, 2005

... OK, yes Amen