^ Not chase Chickens but a God chaser

I was reading Eph 1 and zoomed in on ver3 to 14.


Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

I was excited as I saw the words "blessed and blessing". So i wanted to explore what are the every blessing God has blessed me with.

Blessings
of being a Son : Predestined us for adoption
of being a Friend : Restored by the redemption through Jesus Christ & making known to us the mystery of his will.
of being a Co-heir : Obtained inheritance
of being Anointed : Sealed with the promised Holy Spirit

Exploring the Blessings of God, itself brought me back to the Blessor.

Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd) For only in Him, I can be holy and blameless.
El Olam (The Everlasting God). Yes, He is "The Eternal God." Somehow vrse 11-14, helps me to see that our God who is timeless.


Reflections: I recalled this scene from Princess Diaries2. The (new)Princess Miah was standing beside the Queen while the commoners came up to the queen with their petitions. And together with the Petitions, they brought gifts to offer the Queen. There was a guy who brought a box. And the curious Princess asked if she could open it. The guy and the Queen agreed. And when she did, a chicken jumped out of it. It jolted her. And soon together with the servants, she started chasing the chicken all around the palace. Amazingly hilarious sight, it was. Just then when she ran past the Queen. The queen grabbed her by the arm and said " A princess should'nt be chasing chickens!". And that stopped the princess.

Sometimes like her, I go make a mistake at work or elsewhere and go all panicky and flustered. Losing my cool/temper or even ability to think. Doing strange things like "chasing the chicken". And yes forgetting my position in God and starting to depend on myself. Thus making a fool out of myself! And i felt God saying "My Child, you don't need to chase those chickens!" Funny but real. "Chickens" for me symbolizes things that are in the grey areas (not sinful but lead to sin) which affect my relationship with God.

I must STOP being a Chicken chaser and be a God chaser.. Alot of times, I forget my position in God which ultimately affects my walk with God! My position is a Son, a Friend, a Co-Heir and annointed.

Application: To remind myself not to be a Chicken Chaser. When I'm in such a occasion to pause and pray! To do sanctified thinking- What would I, a son of God do in this occasion? I must lean not on my own understanding.


Narash (Lion of God)

guess who's back..

hey guys . . .

haha i'm finally blogging again!
i actually went to check out my old blog and realized it's still there! although dead after many many years...
it was very much a website for my rantings and complaints... not very positive and quite full of nonsense.. after reading a couple of posts... i'm glad that the blog is dead...

Thanks to this blog however, i'm gonna change that!! from now, i'm going to be blogging about God's goodness and what He speaks to me in my walk with Him... a brilliant change don't ya think? thanks to bird bird for starting it up for us and making it look so cool!

anyway my devotion...

In our hectic schedule, or in our chosen mode of busyness, sometimes it's hard to stop and hear what God is teaching you or showing you. Considering all the things in my hands now and how vague and uncertain my future is (in terms of university, etc.) there is cause for worry or anxiety.

But THANKS be to God who in Phillippians 4:6-7 tells us this:

"Do be anxious about anything, but in everything, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Today the Lord revealed to me a little of what it means to be able to be still and know that He is God. Often we sing that beautiful song... but living out the lyrics is to be able to seek God in all things, knowing that He already has the best plan for us. So there is no need for anxiety or worry! Of course the Lord reminded me not to confuse this with being heck care, lazy and not be bothered with life's various concerns... but to be able to leave them in His hands and according to His will because "The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus". Amen!

On a further note, just as Pastor has been calling us to put on the armor of God and to take His written Word much more seriously, God brought me back to one of my favourite verses in the Bible. A verse that my Dad always reminded me of when I was a young gun. Sadly, it's also a verse that I haven't been able to live up to. TIME FOR THAT TO CHANGE! I hope this verse means as much to you as it means to me as we strive to know God better through His word as a family.

Psalm 119: 9-16
How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees; I WILL NOT NEGLECT YOUR WORD.

Administration

Dear Brothers...

• Please LABEL your posts under your name. angus and luke, i have done them for you so carry on doing them alrite?

Its really a joy to see all these reflections being posted up for everyone to read. I really really believe as we do this we are going to grow deeper in the Lord.
Lets trust God for breakthrus in for our spiritual family

The battle is real. Are we an AH GUA PENG or a CHIONG SUA soldier?
As we declare war on Satan lets open our eyes and be careful of the things that will entangle us in the snare of sin which will lead us to death in our relationship with Christ.

My cry is that we will be a righteous family for God!

Be Transparent

I read proverbs 28 today...

"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy" Proverbs 28:13"

Are there any secret sin that i'm hiding?" i asked myself as i meditated on this verse. This is really in line with what i have been learning in my christian walk recently that if we really want to rise up as Holy people, we got to start getting those dirty sins out of our lives and sometimes we very pai seh to say... Its gotta do with pride, with self-image and everything fleshy and the devil uses that as a stronghold in our lives!
But if we confess. indeed we find mercy and we can prosper.
Stop living out our old self. The victory has been won.

"Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble"

Something that i really want is a tender-heart. A heart that will come before God in humility and brokenness knowing that God is sovereign. A heart that is pure and not contaminated with worldiness.

deut 24-27

God's love for his people and such that there was no detail he overlooked in giving commands that governed their way of life.

like:
24:5if a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. for one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.
(and you think, why don't we have the same law? haha)

in the torah it is often said, do ______ or do not ________ because you were once slaves in egypt.....
i thought it made sense that, knowing the suffering of oppression you do not oppress others
but i don't know why this had never occurred to me before:
God was teaching them "love your neighbour as yourself"
even though in the old testament all the laws were very much prohibitive
they surely had a function.
why didnt the israelites seee that?
i mean, like give to the alien and widow, do not sleep with your father's wife and dishonour him, save your neighbours donkey, do not withold justice form the widow, fatherless and alien, leave stuff in your fields/vineyeards for the widow/alien to pick up.
these were the physical aspects, but surely it was obvious(especially to those who studied the word--like the pharisees) that there was a trend in all these laws that you do not treat some one the way you dislike being treated, that what the law really meant was for us to show love to one another?
i mean if they couldnt see that coming to him in worship at the tabernacle was all about his love, well that might have been slightly difficult i guess. since he seemed so fierce but on the other hand he always provided food, water, and deliverance from enemies. back to my point. if they couldnt see God's love in the way he comanded them to come to him, still can close one eye.
but something as obvious as this in treating each other?

also why were there poor people in israel? God CLEARLY commanded there should be no poor in your towns.
"however, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the lord your god in giving you to posses as an inheritance, he will richly bless you "
deut 15:4
vs 7
if there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the lord your god is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward you poor brother. 8 rather be openhanded and freely lend him whateer he needs.
vs 10
give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the lord you god will bless you in all your work and everythig you put your hand to.
okay, god did say in vs 11
there will always be por people in the land. " but it went on to say " there fore i command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land."

so how come the pharisees are like that?!?!?!


so many laws, to help them see that, but all they saw were laws.



also i'd like to note,
27:26
"'cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.' then all the people shall say,
'amen!'"

that being said, chapter 28 is going to be blessings for obedience. tmr i shall read.

but that means brothers sll the more we cannot afford to sin!
i think if we want to figure out something in the new testament just go to the old testament and it will be alot m re blunt and obvious.

haha.

me out.

TIME FLIES LIKE FRUIT FLIES LIKE A BANANA

TWENTYEIGHTHfebruarytwoohohseven

early in the morning six o'clock
daniel and so-and-so went for a walk
halfway through, his pants drop
so-and-so's eyes went pop pop pop

i asked.
i heard.
"Isaiah 56:2"

"Blessed is the man who does this, the man
who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his
hand from doing any evil." - Isaiah 56:2

Sabbath? sure anot? now 21st century leh.
i asked for a confirmation on the word 'Sabbath'.
first try: dehh! no such verse.
second try: dehh! no link.
third try: Luke 6:7. jackpot!

"The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath." - Luke 6:7

so what is the Lord telling me?
i sensed the message was:
Have a break, have a Kit Kat!

hmmm, i thought, and glanced back at my entry title yesterday.
"I So Want To Sleep" it read.
this message is definitely God's word for me!
whoa, talk about random blog entry titles.

Truths about the Sabbath:

• the principle of the Sabbath came from the fact that God rested on the 7th day after 6 days of creation
• we are commanded to do likewise in respect and acknowledgement to God
• the Sabbath is biblically on Saturday (the 7th day)

so how?

*Application: i am convicted to observe the Sabbath on Saturdays. no work, just holy rest in the Lord.

*Reflection: i am comforted by the Lord's word for me to rest in the midst of the busiest week of my lifeasitisnow. even as i have asked the Lord to show me more of his mind-blowing love yesterday, he has already demonstrated so today, in careandconcern and tenderlovingcare. rest, my child. take a break.

*Refection 2: yesterday in my tiredness, i asked the Lord to grant me Godly rest and a supernaturally-goodnight'ssleep in my 5 hours of slumber. amazingly, today i woke up FRESH and feeling verywellrested. it is a MIRACLE! praise God.

*Lesson Learnt: the Lord can bless us with Godly REST!

will YOU ask God for supernatural sleep?

My devotions

Man.. i can't believe I'm typing a blog! Cause I keep a diary of my own. Very girl right?
The thing i love to do most is to flip to the previous years to 'Today's date' and see what i have done 2, 3, 4 years back at this date, this time. Its very very interesting, perhaps you should try doing it too! Let me give you an example..

This was my 28 Feb 2002 post 'WORD FOR WORD'

'Release of the O'level results!!! Still calm when i woke up. Went to Alex house to meet him and Joshua Chong... Get result that time Mr Wong (Principal) called those with 4 distinction to stand up. I saw Meng Kiat stood up and my name wasn't called. I was super disappointed! But to my surprise, what he did next was called those with 5 distinction to stand up and my name was inside!!! But Chey 13 points only. Camy got 12, Meng kiat got 12 but Bang (Jon Tay) got 21 points. I felt very sad for him but dunno how to comfort him. At night went to eat Yoshinoya with family. Coincidentally, we met Jon at Bugis Junction and he looked disappointed. Jia you bang! '

-Man reading that maybe me feel so pai seh sia... but somehow it was interesting to remind
myself of the 'La Sup Secondary school kid' that I used to be. Maybe still kiddy and la sup now!

Well for those of you who know me. I'm a person who likes to keep things as simple as possible. So here goes my devotion!

I was reading numbers20 and this verse slammed right at my face.

v12 'But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough, to honor me in the sight of the israelites, you will not bring this community into the land i give them." '

Your disobedience due to the lack of trust can lead you to totally miss out
God's plan for you. Don't spoil the show. Decide today to react straight away if GOD is calling you to do something. If GOD has called you to do something, definately he WILL provide whatever resources that you need. 'Where GOD guides, he provides.'

iSOWANTTOSLEEP

TWENTYSEVENTHfebruarytwoohohseven

wee in the morning.
for some reason i heard the still small voice say, John 3:16.
and i was like, harrrh?

the most famous text of the Christian faith.
our "motherhood" verse.
our bread and butter and kaya and toast and honey and jam and peanut butter and jelly and..

and i was like, haaaarrh?
Lord, what are You trying to tell me?

for those who already know:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

i sensed this time (after some meditation) the keyword was LOVE.
God LOVEd the world so.
beyond our wildest imagination.
"so what?"

***FLASHBACK***
tribe meeting it was.
convicted we were.
go deep in the word we shall.

but beyond the conviction, beyond the pledges of application of going deep, i then felt the root issue was LOVE. or the lack thereof.
it was true we did not love God ENOUGH. we chose to neglect his Word.
but i did not want to force myself to read his Word simply out of fear of being "scolded" or wanting to be "praised".
i wanted to want to do it because i LOVE God.

so the question(s) is now: HOW to love God? WHY should we love God?

***FAST-FORWARD TO PRESENT***
we love God because he FIRST LOVED us.
"For God so loved the world.."
this is a powerful truth that we know in our heads but not in our HEARTS!
i asked (and am asking) God to show me more of his full-blown LOVE for us.

as we start to realise the true mind-blowing magnitude of his LOVE for us, we cannot help but to respond in LOVE to him.

and it is this LOVE that should be the motivation for our going DEEP with him.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." -John 3:17

in a nutshell, do NOT walk away from tribe meeting feeling CONDEMNED.
do NOT feel like u are an unholy, unrighteous, failure of a Christian!
it is the evil one trying to discourage u.

pastor was only convicting us of our lackofLOVE, but God LOVES us regardless, so DO NOT condemn yourself!
instead, respond in LOVE for him! because God LOVES you SO!

go DEEP because you LOVE God!

^Where did i put my sword?

I'll take out my Armor and weapon. stand and fight, fight, fight

14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

1. Belt of truth - Truth to counter Deception

2. Breastplate of righteousness - Righteousness to counter lack of Integrity and of Moral rectitude

3. Feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace - Peace to counter Insecurities

4. Shield of faith - Faith to counter Doubts

5. Helmet of salvation - Salvation to counter Damnation /Defilement

6. Sword of the Spirit - Word of God is the only weapon of ATTACK against the Evil one.

The things that caught my attension was the Word of God is ONLY Weapon of Attack but how of us know how to use it to its fullest potential? Handling a sword a skill. Isnt it a great opportunity in being able to use it? What have I missed out on...

In verse18, the words like pray, prayer and praying came up 3times in just one verse. Yes, prayer is one that bring in the Power of God. And the words like "all occasions", "all kinds of prayers" and "all the saints" looked distinctive to me. Therefore, I decided to explore those words.

"all occasions" - to be prayful at all times. Situation prayers to be darted out and Devotional prayer must be time that is set apart.
"all kinds of prayers" - public, private, and secret; social and solitary; solemn and sudden; confession of sin, petition for mercy, praising His name, and thanksgiving for favours received.
"all saints" - basically for everyone in My spiritual family and extended family and friends.

"Be alert and always keep on praying" - Only shows the human tendency to slack off! Yes, I admit at times it does happen to me. But.. Dear Lord, I pray that I'll always go back to you and sit tight,walk right and stand & fight.


With that i end off my devotion for today!

APPLICATION: From this day, i want to make it a point to pray for at least an hour a day! Lord, may i hunger for more and more of You each day...

Narash (Lion of God)

if you say so

today my calendar brings me to Deuteronomy 20-23. i learnt that, God detests cross-dressing.

hahaha

but yes he does.
deut 22:5
speaking of which, God also detests homosexuality.
lev 18:22
needless to say, God also detests prostitution.
deut 23:18


but seriously, from this passage i read,
i found that a rebellious son has to be stoned to "purge evil from Israel".
sure makes us think about how we treat our parents.

for that matter, any sin that could not be atoned for
(like rape, murder, adultery, or not keeping a vow)
the consequences were life-long.
in fact, some of the consequences were life-short, since they involved being stoned to death. by rocks, not drugs.

point is, back then, things were harsh because the consequences took place in the realm of the physical.
what we've been led to believe is that since grace is now come, things are ok.
au contraire, just because we don't have to sacrifice an ox, a lamb and two doves any more doesn't mean that sin has conquered social prejudice and has come to be accepted by society.
well actually that wouldn't be far from present society but
THE CONSEQUENCES ARE REAL.

God help us walk right.
............................................................

last night i uttered something that i couldn't take back.
the consequences were real.
an insensitive remark, albeit in jest, only added strain to that relationship.

God, give me prudence.

^Wrestle NOT flesh and blood

Today what really caught my eye was this phrase in Eph6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

So i decided to read the whole of Eph 6: 11Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3"that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land." 4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.


5Slaves,obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. 9Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.



It was interesting how Paul started off addressing relationship issues. And even before that it talks about Wives & Husbands and how that refers to Christ and the Church. Goes on to talk about Children & Parents and Slaves & Masters. I believe it speaks about How to live in love for one another? At the same time, its talks about Flesh and Blood.


For the relationships above mentioned, it is highly possible to be easily wrestling with the other party anyday or even anytime. I struggle with my relationship with my parents or my superiors. Amazing but my fight is NOT against them. Yet, it so easy and so real to be involved in "a fight" with them. Therefore, Eph6 starts off by teaching us on our correct approaches to the relationships in our lives. If that didnt break the mindsets, Paul then re-emphasizes that its not our wrestle against flesh and blood.




What is God saying to me?- Stop fighting "them"!


Application: To submit to God and Guard my relationships against the evil one.



Today, there was a problem at workplace which concerns the Slave and Master issue. I found it easy to tell someone to submit to authorities but not always that someone (non-christian) will listen. But this gave an opportunity to put into practice/say what I've meditated upon during my quiet time.











Narash (Lion of God)

^How to be Strong in the Lord?

I was just reading this passage over and over again.

Eph6: 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

The question that came to me: How to be STRONG in the Lord and in the strength of His might? The instructions were very clear- Put on the WHOLE armor of God. Why? To be able to STAND against the schemes of the devil.

Then the verse immediately to say: For we DO NOT wrestle against flesh and blood. I was then pondering upon it more as i felt that we have higher tendency to fight against what we see. Then i came to a realisation that it was the schemes of the devil. To keep me/us occupied in fighting the wrong battle. The real battle is in the spiritual realm.

How to withstand in the evil day? The key is in taking up the whole Armor of God. Therefore, I've decided to meditate and internalise this.


Narash (Lion of God)

unLog bLog. ready go.

Okay. This is a post for all you guys who have not used blogger before. Please take time to read as i take time to write.

• Its all going to be in steps. Dun miss anione.
  Set up a google account https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount can use any kind of email to register one. Another way is to sign up for gmail. www.gmail.com
  
• SMS me your email! <---- important
  
• You will recieve an email to acknowledge to be a contributor to this sacred blog entitled: "Subject: You have been invited to contribute to charliebird's blog"
  
• click on the link there... something like "https://www2.blogger.com/i.g?inviteID=4401281157573713645&blogID=3959725587506163139" they will ask for your google password so just type it in and you are ready to BLOG!!!
  From there it will bring you to the DASHBOARD. and click +new post icon to type your devotion. note: when you start up from scratch, type www.blogger.com/start (click "new blogger" and type in your account info and it will zip you to DASHBOARD)
  
• The rest should be selff explanatory. If you are putting up pictures then...

Happy blogging guys...

Can we try to kick start(as in everyone) by mid week? these two days i will chase and chase you to start with the first steps...

Charles

A Great Start

My devotions can be found on the new blog I have started, "I am an Architect of Man, but a Servant of God"

Can we start blogging our devotions from today onwards? For those who have not used blogger before, it is really quite idiot-proof. It will take you all but 15 min to learn how to use it. By the end of the week, I should be seeing your daily devotions consistently. Please take time to do this. Like I said before, it's not meant as a rule for you to follow, but rather, to help you spend time with God intentionally.

For those who are in camp, I would still like to see your posts on Saturdays and Sundays. It will be a good idea for you to keep a small notebook where you can journal down short entries of your daily devotions during the weekdays too.

Let's be serious about out walk with God!


Joshua Teo

A New Discipline In Life

Dear Brothers...

As you can see. The ahteoclan is really set up and ready to launch. We are really going to start to force ourselves to be disciplined so that we may grow more and more!

A few gentle reminders before the posts start flooding...

1. Those of you who havent sign up for a google account please do so.


2. Try to make your input focused and sharp

okay thats probably about it for now... got to get back to class right now. continue to do my sewage system! haha. its probably done up already. like playing lego. so im going to find somewhere to sit and read "the case for a creator" whee...