Fun time at Sentosa

From a short while back. Pics of our sand castle building. Enjoy.

Click here for Flickr slide show (above photos are all cropped to landscape. See the originals here.)


Joshua Teo

IF WE HAVE TEACHER'S DAY WE SHOULD HAVE A RUBBISH-COLLECTOR'S DAY

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BLOG AHHH..!
fight the monsters called procrastination and laziness!

I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. - John 15:1-2

we are called to bear fruit!
HOW?

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

to bear fruit, we must remain in him!
that means to be in constant, healthy, growing relationship with the Lord.
then WHAT?

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. - John 15:7-8

once we are in deep relationship with God, he can trust us enough to give us whatever we ask, because he knows we can handle it as good faithful stewards.
the focus isn't on being fruitful, it is primarily on our relationship with God. the fruit is a given once we are in healthy relationship with God.

before Ed Silvoso, I used to over-spiritualise 'being fruitful', limiting it to just winning lives for the Lord. I thought in order to 'be fruitful', I had to lead many souls to Christ. however, that was only but one aspect.
after Ed Silvoso, my mind has been broadened to realise that 'being fruitful' also pertains to being fruitful in the marketplace, meaning being successful in your career, schools, families, and social life. we were called to be achievers! this is to our Father's glory. ask whatever you wish and it will be given you.

but first, for all this to be possible, we have to have a healthy, growing relationship with God. we cannot be fruitful working on our own capacity! we need to be rooted in God, and God to be in us, with us, working through us.

Warriors, let us press on, but DO NOT forget to remain in healthy relationship with God! it is of utmost importance! the fruits are a given.

back back back

want to share a passage that i've been meditating over:

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted in prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality."

Romans 12:9-12

indeed winners are people who live in community. some of us maybe doing well. some others may be going through a trying time. others a time of stress and anxiety.
the bible says be devoted to one another in brotherly love.

not lagging in DILIGENCE (quiet time? on the word.)
fervent in SPIRIT
serve the LORD (in our cell groups? 100k blessing?)

application: Be praying for you guys.

can we all pray together? that none of us will lack in diligence or lose steam even though we may not be going thru the best of times. persevere and see God come thru for all of us.

cheers!

Pride must die

Isaiah 6: 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

Isaiah sees angles. And he heard them calling ‘holy holy holy’ In Hebrew language, when they want to emphasize they would stated it twice. In this passage, it shows the highest degree of emphasis. It has been only used in this manner twice. Once in Isaiah another in Rev 4: 8. When they were crying the inner parts of the door which is stable and throne room of God shook. Wah how loud would that have been.

Isaiah Saw. Isaiah6 :5- He realizes who he is in the glimpse of the Glory of God. Angles bring cleansing. Then God speaks. Just like Isaiah all of us need a fresh vision of Jesus. But Stop how was it possible. Lets go back into how this passage started. King Uzziah died. 2Chron 26:1-5 – So long he sought after the Lord he prospered. He restores Judah (2Chron 26:16-19). PRIDE enters Uzziah. A spirit of pride and a spirit of religion comes along hand in hand. They strengthen ach other.

Pride keeps you from admitting you have become religious and religion covers up your pride by spiritual behaviour.
Leprosy – A type of judgement for an outward manifestation of a inward problem. Usually sexual sin is Pride (inward) problem. Pride must die. To the degree PRIDE dies will be the degree you will see God.

Paul in Phil 3:4-6 says that whatever Doctorate in theology (Hebrew of Hebrews) or a Pharisee (Spiritual and Political leader), he counts it to be dung (Phil 3:8). And he would press on meaning there are oppression and resistance to achieve the high goal. What is the Goal of our High Call? (Phil 3:10) So that we might know Him. Primarily it is not to cast out demons or heal the sick or preach the gospel to the nations (although these are good). “ But one thing I do, and forgetting these things behind.

Ed Young- You are creative

"You are Creative genius". Creativity -You've got it Now use it!
Creativity is from God. Being Creative means being Comfortably Uncomfortable.

Why must we be Creative?

Gen 1:1 - Father created/invented it
Eph 5:1 - We are called to imitate the Father

If you wont be you there will be a gap in God's Creative order.

Matt 13:34 - Son modeled it (The creative way he taught the gospel, only now we are discovering it)
2Cor 3:17- Holy spirit empowers creativity

How do we do it in a whole another level?
We have to ride on the raggard edge of creativity IN THE LOCAL CHURCH.
like in Act 2.

John 6:35 - Church is like the table on which the Bread is served.
What must a church look like?
1/3 of those who are hell bound
1/3 of those new believers
1/3 of those who are mature and fired-up

Its about being Consistently inconsistent.
So that we can be comfortably uncomfortable.
Comforted by Christ Uncomfortable for Christ

But Every time you hit a whole new level- you will meet a whole new Devil.
Because change is involved.

Change - Conflict - Growth

Story of the biggest flea market in Kent, taxes
They are eating in a picnic table and there was a lady giving them a sample
of what they were already eating. And she went to the other people who were
already having their lunch. Instead of just going out of the shaded area to give
the sample to those who haven't eaten yet. Ironically its the church today.
we should be feeding the hungry outside.

Jesus said "Go" - sending us in twos as sheep among the wolfs.
He said "go" and It is not to be comfortable.

HOW to apply creativity?

1. Prayer
"God unleash the creativity".

2. Be willing to go through labour and delivery

3. Make time for the faded waves
We are busy. Over-committed. Over the top.
Dive into things that match God's rhythm. "Breaks" our schedule that
is important.

4. Install the confusion principle
Change your workout every month - with that principal it confuses the muscle so that it grows.
Same way. Creatively pray, do QT, do something else.


Application: To be creative in the way I run cell. How?

Eternal rewards

2John1: 8Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.

This talks about a full reward. And rewards has to be earned. 'Rewarded fully' the word fully highlights to us that there must also be a NO and PARTIAL reward.

In 2Cor 5: 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Jesus will judge us. Yes, our sins wont be judged. Rather how we live our Christian lives would be judged.

Judgment- A decision resulting from an investigation.
Decision - outcome would be Reward/ Loss

Hebrews 6: 1Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,[a] and of faith in God, 2instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

Eternal Judgments or Decisions will stand forever. The way we live as believe determines how we will spend eternity.

Believers are judged based on
1. Our involvement in building the kingdom of God
2. How we built individual lives

John 4: 36Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true.

God wants to reward us. The only thing we can take is people and not material things.

Matt 25: 14- 28 ~ 5 talent multiplied into 10 talents, 2 talents into 4 talents and nothing more for the one with 1talent. Both of them doubled what they had. Therefore they were equally rewarded. Talents are 'gifts'.

Luke19: 11-26 ~ Each one given One mina. One with 10 minas was given 10 cities, 5 minas with 5 cities.

They were not equally rewarded.
Minas are associated with "annointing ".

2Peter 1: 2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Wrong way of understanding God's grace. Grace- God empowered us to do beyond what we can do. More Grace, More you can do.
'in the knowledge'- relational knowledge. That is why we pray and Do QT.
Prov 9: 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.

Mulitply ourselves through the Grace of God.
3 ways we can multiply ourselves.

1. Through giving - my offering
2Cor 8 :1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,
2Cor 9: 9As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."
Poor - those who are desperate for the Kingdom of God.

Luke 16: 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. ~ How do we do this?
Through partership. Phil 4: 15Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. 17Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.
'credited to your account' means we can impact more lives by partnership.

2. Through prayer. By praying for Leaders, organization, ministries, movements.

3. Through serving Ministries. 1Sam 30: 24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike." 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.
Acts 1 -5 ~ More were added but from 6 onwards they were multiplied on.

MAGICIANS MUST BE THE SADDEST PEOPLE ON EARTH

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Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed; - Psalm 21:11

victory is the Lord's. no evil plan will succeed against Him.
may we be assured that we are on the winning side.

if the Lord is for us, then who can be against us?

LIFE MUST HAVE BEEN EASIER WITHOUT CARS

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When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water." - Exodus 2:10

everyone knows the story of Moses and how he was found by Pharoah's daughter. but I am again reminded through this story of how God works.

to Moses' Mother, the world was seemingly crashing down on her. it was probably the last time she was going to see her son. she was saying her last goodbyes. the situation was hopeless.

to Pharoah's daughter, the discovery of the child in the basket was purely coincidental - why, she was just going for a bath. the meeting with the Hewbrew girl (Moses' sister) was probably by chance, too.

to Moses' Sister, she was in hiding; watching; waiting; hoping. her Mum had gone back, but she was curious, possibly praying for a miracle to happen, on the outcome of her baby brother. she wanted to see what would happen. she was clinging on to any glimmer of hope.

and it came.

here we see three situations in life. no matter where we may be - no matter how grim the circumstance, no matter how mundane or coincidental life may be - we know one thing for sure: God is in control. Therefore, we have reason to hope.

God orchestrated the series of events - as dismayed as the Mother may have been, as coincidental as finding something in the river, even softening the heart of Pharoah's daughter to have compassion on the baby boy - to bring about His plan. God is the mastermind. God is the scriptwriter. the director. the producer. the wonderful Creator. He is everything. God is in control.

amen.

THERE IS SO MUCH GOODNESS IN THE WORLD THAT THERE HAS TO BE A GOD

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Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Ephesians 6:17

salvation is a helmet. a helmet protects the head. protection of the head saves lives in times of mishap. use your salvation as a helmet to guard against Satan's knowledge-based attacks to our head. be assured! that our salvation is with the Lord!

the word of God is a Christian's weapon. a weapon repels another's attack, and also has the capability to wound the opponent. the weapon is the offensive piece of armour. it is the weapon that gives us the victory. don't just sit there defending Satan's attack; resist! fight back! with Biblical wisdom and application!

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. .. - Ephesians 6:18

the succeeding verse to v.17 starts with an 'And' - indicating a continuity.
we don't just wear the armour and sit there. we go to battle - we pray!


MY APPLICATION: to pray every night during this campaign for my contacts. we are at war, after all.

WHO INVENTED BALLOONS?

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Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? - Matthew 16:9

memory may not be the enemy of faith, after all.

HAS God left a mark in your life before?
if you have, praise God, may it stir up your faith for more.
if not, may you cry out for that first time.

may God be real in our lives.

Lord, give me my fiveloavesforthefivethousand experience!

THIS WINTER IS LASTING FOREVER, AT LEAST FOR TONIGHT

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When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. - 2 Samuel 8:5

the Lord gave David victory wherever he went. David was a victorious man.
even when the enemy's reinforcements came and the situation looked set to turn for the worse, the Lord delivered them into David's hands. and victory was given to David wherever he went.

o, let us believe and trust in a victorious God. a God that overcomes alll odds. a God that turns impossibilities into reality. a God that blows our mind. let us believe that nothing is too difficult for Thee. anything is possible, with God.

CharlieBird's journey

I want to share today how God use me to share His love with a platoon mate of mine and end of with a bit of reflections of today's marketplace transformation conference.
On wed night i was feeling kinda drained out after a long day in camp. i was feeling a spiritual dry. disappointed that i let myself showcase my weaknesses by getting angry and frustrated over silly things that goes around in army. well so i was reclining against the wall in the staircase landing, and a friend of mine came to sit behind me while chatting on the phone with his girlfriend.

Basically, he was going thru some problems outside of camp with some other ah bengs. after the finished i asked if things were alright with him. so he sat down beside me at that staircase and we started to chat. somehow or rather i shared with him about my God. that whenever i have problems He will answer my prayers and gave him some instances where God broke through for me in army.
i plucked up my courage told him that God loves him. and i think for him, and his religious background it was hard to understand that.
So he replied: "are you sure?"
and i turned to john 3:16 and shared with him about the love of God and how Jesus came down to die for him.
I ended off by boldly asking him whether i could pray for him. and he gladly accepted.

Two days later while booking out of camp, down that staircase, he thanked me for praying for him and he said that, that night he slept very well! I really thank God for that because i know he has alot of strongholds and tends to "see" things around.

Thank God for that breakthru in the marketplace. Indeed like Rev Ed Silvoso mentioned - memories are the enemy of faith! our past failures, the things we struggle with (not that we dont do drastic measures to counter them), what people think of us, the personal comfort we have to forgo...
and we just need to let go and let God take control.

there is alot of takeaways for me today at the conference. i really sense the Lord speaking to me about certain things and also affirming issues that i've been thinking about and i felt it was divinely timely.
during the altar call i stood directly in front of him and for a substantial amount of time i was just looking up and staring into the eyes of Rev Ed. as i did that i felt in my spirit that "this man really knows the heartbeat of God for the nations" that fire and passion and sharpness for the things of God resides in him.
i saw a vision. as he was praying for singapore, i saw a picture of the singapore city view lighting up from darkness with a giant cross in the centre of the landscape. then i remember my blog posting a few hours ago that had a banner. yes something like that!
may we take up the challenge and be that warrior for God!

WHITE LIES FALL OFF MY YELLOW TEETH I DIDN'T CONVINCE YOU BUT I BELIEVED

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Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." - 2 Timothy 2:19

the Lord knows those who are his.
do we know? nope.
what can we do? we, who confess the name of the Lord and claim to be Christians, can only do one thing - turn away from wickedness.
Christianity and wickedness do not mix.

everyone who confesses - absolute. all. believing.
we must turn away - it is a conscious effort on our part.
believing must lead to a changed life.

IS your life a transformed one?
transform it today! - watch Transformers.

Be Excellent in Christ!

Recently, I had the opportunity to catch up with a very wise man whom I consider one of my mentors (indirectly). We were talking about my school life and projects and I was sharing how after many disappointments in school, I had grown to be become accustomed to average results. I shared that I had come to a point where results did not matter to me anymore. All I wanted was to pass. My rationale was this: Each time I scrapped through, I asked myself if I was capable of doing better. I was not satisfied with scrapping though but each time, I was not able to do better. So, instead of feeling lousy all the time, I convinced myself that results didn't matter.

I was right. Results did not determine my worth in God or to the family. I was still loved and treasured and valued. However, my understanding was only one side of the coin. That very wise man said to me (paraphrased), "Joshua, I have a problem with that statement. While results do not determine your worth in God, they MATTER because they are a reflection of how much you have learnt and do show your understanding and skill level in the subject." He went on to encourage me to aim for excellence in my studies.

Yes, results DO matter! As Christians, we need to be good stewards of the giftings and talents that God has given us and shine for Him in every possible situation! I like very much this quote from Nelson Mandela.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant gorgeous, talented and fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us... And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Let's be spurred on to be excellent for God in all we do. Our God is a God not just over our ministry but over out entire life and our entire being. And as 2 Cor 2:14 so boldly pronounces, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him."

Can we not trust God that victory will be granted even in our work and school and family life? Yes we can! Pray that into your life today!

Do you know your purpose?

I was looking through my old emails and came upon this. I was reminded again the purpose of why we were created and how we should live our lives.

> In an interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, author of The Purpose
> Driven Life, Rick Warren said:
>
> People ask me. What is the purpose of life? And I respond, In a nutshell,
> life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God
> wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and
> that will be the end of my body - but not the end of me. I may live 60 to
> 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillion of years in eternity.
> This is the warm-up act, the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on
> earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God,
> and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
>
> Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just
> coming out of one or you're getting ready to go into another one. The
> reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your
> comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in
> making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but
> that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in
> Christ-likeness.
>
> This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest,
> with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and
> valleys - you go through a dark time, then you got to the mountaintop, back
> and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and
> valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track,
> and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No
> matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that
> needs to be worked on.
>
> And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something
> good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can
> focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into
> self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain."
>
> But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off
> yourself and onto God and others.
>
> We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands
> of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has
> been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character,
> given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn
> her closer to Him and to people...You have to learn to deal with both the
> good and the bad of life.
>
> Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance,
> this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it
> made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I
> had never had to deal with before.
>
> I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for you to own ego or for
> you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do
> with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages
> that helped me decide what to do, Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
>
> First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our
> lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through
> last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up
> foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan - to plant
> churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate
> the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in
> the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was
> liberating to be able to serve God for free.
>
> We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
> Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am
> I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
>
> When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if
> I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You
> better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more
> interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human
> beings, not human doings.

Recently I was reflecting about my own life, thinking about what to make of it. I thought back about how I had lived so far and what I had accomplished. Then I ventured into the future and wondered about the things that I would do and accomplish. Yet at the end of the day, I still felt a sense of dissatisfaction. What is life about? Why do we bother to chase so hard after our dreams? Why do we bother to persevere on? Do we feel any more satisfied after accomplishing all that we want to?

As I read the interview, I was reminded of a few things.

1. Life is not about myself. It is about God.
If we spend our whole life trying to please ourselves and the people around us, we will probably become disillusioned and disheartened. It is so easy sometimes to think and focus on me me me me me me. What I want, how I feel, my struggles, my pain, my loss, my sickness, my dissatisfaction etc. It gets us no where but the deserted island of self-centredness.

Psalm 37:4 lets us in on a secret, "Delight yourself it the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." True fulfillment can only be found in pleasing the Lord. Be faithful to His calling, to the giftings and talents that He has given you. Do it in a way that will help usher in the kingdom of God. Do it in a way that will influence the people around you to know that precious truth of His salvation gospel and that of Psalm 37:4 too. Do what will bring a smile to His face.

2. Life is not about the doing, it is about the being
What does Rick Warren mean when he says that life is about preparation for eternity? Is it about how much we do? Or perhaps what we do? Maybe it's about how we do it. Not really. To borrow a quote from a wise man, it is about WHO WE BECOME. Our time on the earth is about becoming as Christ-like as possible. And God will allow situations and difficult trials to come our way so that we can be moulded into the person He wants us to be. It is His way of teaching us how to depend on Him. It is His way of drawing us close to Him.

Which brings us all to a very interesting question. If there is not temptation in heaven, and we will all naturally worship God and live a life of holiness since there is the absence of sin, what is all this preparation for? Why does God need to prepare us for eternity? Don't we automatically become Christ-like when we enter heaven? Hmm.... seriously, I don't quite know. But my guess is that God might have roles for us to take up in heaven. And who we have become at the end of our lives have implications on that. What do you think?

I THINK YOU LOST WHAT YOU LOVED IN THE MESS OF DETAILS

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the troops were all lined up for battle facing the enemy. tension was in the air - the clash was about to begin. and

Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to rescue me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will rescue you. Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight." - 1 Chronicles 19:12-13

i think this is motivationally beautiful; beautifully motivational.
as we gear up for battle, let us be strong and fight bravely.
and let us help each other out when our brother is down. for we fight together as a family.
and lastly, we fight knowing that the Lord will do what is good in his sight.

our God is the Lord of the battle.
amen.

STANDING SO CLOSE KNOWING THAT IT KILLS ME TO BREATHE YOU IN

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But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. - 1 Thessalonians 5:8

HOW to be self-controlled?
these 2 pieces of armour will help us: the breastplate and the helmet.

the devil is the antagonist of our self-control. he wants to deceive us so that we will sin. he tells us lies like, "..we are only human.." or, "..i need a break.." or "..just one more time..". however the Bible tells us that if we resist the devil, he will flee!

we need to resist with our heart (the breastplate) and our mind (the helmet). guard our heart with faith and love, and our mind with the hope of salvation. always have them on, 24/7. in a paraphrase, both our will power and Godly knowledge will help us resist the devil.

arm yourselves, warriors! and be self-controlled in preparation for battle!

Let our 'ACT' bless

My friends, I hope we are faithfully fasting and earnestly laying hold of GOD for the 100k blessing!

As I was praying yesterday, I felt GOD impress upon my heart a group of people that he wants us to be praying for.

In participating for the campaign, some of us may be turned down and we would be short of the opportunity to bless that person.

God wants you to know that his heart goes out to that person as well, even if he has rejected him.
So what can we do?
I pray that our ACT of wanting to be a blessing, the ACT itself of choosing to bless and the ACT of our commitment to GOD will itself move these people who reject us. That beyond the offering of blessing, the ACT of wanting to be a blessing will be a blessing to them and through that, may this ACT of ours reflect JESUS.

I HOPE THIS LETTER FINDS YOU WELL

theTHIRDofjulytwoohohseven

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

child-bearing is painful. fact.
but that is our goal, until Christ is formed in them.


i need to do something about Tristan!

CAN'T ESCAPE THIS LINE OF BEST FIT

theSECONDofjulytwoohohseven

holla!
it's been a long time since i last posted.

today i was reading

"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. - Hebrews 12:13

and i found it somewhat weird; out of place; incongruent.
the passages before that was talking about God disciplining his children to produce a harvest of righteousness and peace. and now in the concluding verses it instructs to strengthen our feeble arms and knees, and to make level paths so that the lame may be healed?
if you ask me, the healing of the lame part comes from a higher level of perspective.

the earlier verses mention that God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness, and also that discipline reaps righteousness. now, the connection between holiness/righteousness and healing may be a bit weak, but i'm guessing 'the lame' may be referring to those who are crippled in their walk with God, as with the need to correct their thinking that Godly discipline is in fact beneficial for them. as such, people who are physically and/or spiritually crippled need one thing - discipline, and keeping their paths level, or straight.

what is the point, you ask?
the passage started off with the talk of striving against sin, therefore, in that light, some learning points are:

• God disciplines us as children toward holiness - accept it! - he loves us.
  
• we also need to be disciplined to keep our walk right - apply it! - we love him.
  
• the physically(?) and spiritually lame are healed via righteousness via discipline. - account it! - we love each other.
  

oskay..
ARE you striving against sin?
ARE you resisting to the point of shedding blood?
maybe we need some DISCIPLINE.