^ Becoz of YOU

Today I've read Eph 4.

Backdated- Devotion entry:
I read the whole of Eph 4. It was consistent in mentioning the alot of action words(ie: Be, Make, Do and etc). It was like a set of instructions. Wah, can i make it? Just to make applications,
I can do it all through a month. Can i live up to my applications?

The answer: I would be lying to myself. But I was asking myself, if it is then an impossible task to live out those instructions. Why would I be able to do it? I reflected upon Eph1-3. And saw God's blessings (special position: Chosen and inheritance, Grace and Peace) and this will be why i CAN do it!

Because the blessings of God, reveals the Blessor to me.
Because the blessings of God, empowers me.
Because the blessings of God, tranforms me.



Prayer: That I apply the word of God into my life. Therefore, I pray I'll live to be more Christ-like in God's strength.
Application: Not afraid to start reading eph 4 but consistently learn and apply. Apply one common truth(by principal) in one week.


I was unwell to type anything! Need to rest now.


lastly, I thank God for the spiritual family

- They brought me to tears as they took care of me when i coughing madly.
(Thanks to Ps Jo, Camy, KengSan, Saypin, Amos, Teckhorng, Joshua, Eunice)
(Thanks to all those who have prayed for me)

I thank God for healing
- I feel much better now
- Thanks Joshua, Charles and Angela for your concern.

I thank God for finding back my lost Shoebag
- Thank you, kengsan for accompanying me.


Narash (Lion of God)

Frank Sinatra sang wrong!

I was listening to Il Divo's version of "My Way", sung in Spanish... and I always remember how much my Godfather loves the song and how many many people around the world sing this tune, and know the words.. even to sing it in different languages!

So i went to check out the words of the song...

"My Way" - Frank Sinatra

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, Ill say it clear,
Ill state my case, of which Im certain.

Ive lived a life thats full.
Ive traveled each and evry highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, Ive had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, Im sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

Ive loved, Ive laughed and cried.
Ive had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

Was that inspiring? Not really. Why? Because the person who says he has done it his way has most likely missed how to have done it GOD'S WAY.

During this week quite a number of things have gone awry because some people at work don't do their jobs. Frustrating as it is, I have to be very careful not to do things MY WAY and allow things to get ugly. It is easy to fall into quick anger and forget the goal in which all of us strive to achieve. How do we handle such difficult situations at work and still show ourselves as an example of a believer? We are called to "walk worthy of the calling with which we were called" Ephesians 4:1.

I will always remember this verse that was on a wall in my primary school hall.
"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus"
Phillippians 3:14

So brothers, even when things get tough and we are tempted to do things our small way, strive on and walk worthy! Do things GOD'S WAY!

PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES

SIXTHmarchtwoohohseven

waking up at 11.
aahhh.
i miss doing that.

the Holy Spirit says,

"The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains." - Philippians 1:17

whoa, i thought. u mean u can actually preach Christ out of selfish ambition?
hmmm, have i been doing so?
have u been doing so?

it's time for a heart check-up!

for the Lord looks @ the HEART.
he checks our MOTIVES.

the question we should always ask ourselves in everything is:
am i GLORIFYING myself, or am i GLORIFYING God?

sometimes the line inbetween is pretty blur.
sometimes i catch myself feeling like Mr. Knowitall or Mr. Holierthanthou after sharing about God.
do we? should we?

PRAISE God that u have shared Christ with a friend!
but O, that we should never glorify ourselves for that.

to God be the glory.

victory

joshua 8-10

joshua10:42
all these kings and their lands joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.


the torah had been fun to read in that i learnt something new everytime about pleasing god, obeying god and the blessings it reaped, and of course the converse. shoes. hahahha -_-

but that was from the point of view of, living worshipful lives because God is now IN us, the temple IS us and we are a living sacrifice, which means we are PERMANENTLY on the altar, which means we have to be SPOTLESS, and every single split second, at that.

in joshua however, i see the christian life becomes a battlefield. its like, in the pentateuch its like, God is giving the gameplan to his soldiers: you need to follow me. why. and here in joshua he goes: this is how you do it. FLATTEN THEM.

its exciting, even though you know the outcome; i keep wondering what creative new way the israelites will use to win next, or how many kings will they beat at a time.

looking at the iraq war, its quite hard to believe. its like seeing the coalition force sweeping through and squashing all resistance with virtually no casualties and just taking one country after another: afganistan, iraq, iran, turkmenistan, kyrgyztan, kazahkstan, and all the members of the tan family.

you can't quite picture that, can you.


so this is how we please God with holy lives.
decide to obey him.
make it our priority.
be strong.(prepare for scrum off)
march forward.
pwn the devil!!!


haha.
ka-ching!

Bala? No its Balaam

I have been studying the book of numbers recently and this
character Balaam(sounds Indiano) inspired me. I was very impressed by his heart of
obedience in several accounts. Allow me to share them with you.

Num 22 v18, 'even if Balak were to give me a palace filled with silver and gold, i would be
powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD my GOd.'

Num 22 v38, ' I have come, but I have no power to say just anything, I will speak only the
messages GOD gives me.'

Num 23 v12 'Can I say anything except what the Lord tells me?'

Num 23 v26, ' Didn't I tell you that I must do whatever the LORD tells me?'

As you can see... this is one kind of a Stubborn man that has his value build firmly in speaking
only what GOD has assigned him to speak about.

So whats so great about him anyway?

Num24 v15- ' This is the message of Balaam son of Boer, the prophecy of the man
whose eyes see clearly, who hears the words of God,
who has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty...'

You want to be able to see clearly what God has planned for you?
You want to hear the words of God?
You want to have the knowledge from the Most high?
You want to see visions from the Almighty?

Imitate the heart of Balaam. Be odedient to the voice of God.
Think about it, what makes God want to speak to you when you 'Bo chup' whatever he says huh?

^ Power of Love

Eph 3

11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Today, i turned on my MP3 Player and it was playing ''Amazing Love". Indeed amazing is His Love. And as I was reading the Eph3:11-20, the message i felt that was behind this passage is the Power of His love.

Paul prayed for these prayers for them

- A prayer to be rooted and established in love

- A prayer to be to have the power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the Love of Christ.

- A prayer to know this love that surpasses knowledge

So that I can be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God! What is measure of all the fullness of God? Immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!

With one true experience of the Love of God, it will be one that fills us with the Power from God. God's love can help us conquer mountains and brave stormy weathers. God's love shows His reality...

Application: It is to share with one person the reality of God's love. "God, help me!"

Narash (Lion of God)

Early Devotion

Since tmr im going to be in camp doing SOC, getting pumped, doing 2 hour standby by crazy platoon sergeant... I am going to blog now!

Im rather sad that i am going back to regimental army life. But i thank God that he has blessed me so much during this course that i did. I pray that i will be consistent in my walk with Him even as i go back to train!

This is my response:

^Mystery of Christ

It is by the Grace of God they have been saved. From Eph2 verse11-13, why would Paul ask them to remember their past? He made a re-emphasize on the grace of God that only by the Blood of Christ its possible. It shows the extent of the Grace. It speaks about Non-Jews being separated from Christ and the Jews.

But now have been brought near through the blood of Christ. He broke the barrier made by man. The Barrier of hositility that consists legalisam was broken. And its not about being a Jew (was not more spiritual) or a Gentile (was not less important), but God created a new man. And this made peace. Both of the Jews and Non-Jews were reconciled to God. Now, "Friends of God".

This Body is built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets and Christ as the chief conerstone. Whereby the One body rises up to become a Holy temple in the Lord and each person (you- refering to the Gentiles) being built to become a Holy temple for God to reside in.

The whole of that is being referred to as the mystery of Christ in Eph3. It is by the Grace of God to Paul, this mystery is revealed. That now, there's a Hope in Christ and the Promises of God for the Gentiles.

Ephesians 2
11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 3
1For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
2Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. 6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. 8Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

God's agender is for all to know Him. It was the Jews that excluded the Gentiles. But it was God who tore the barrier away. God wants to reach out to all. He died so that we may have access to the Father by one spirit. But it could be us that excludes others from receving the gospel. Why? Because of our own Prejudices (this person very 'hard & CMI'). Its not up for us to decided. But to ask the grace of God to be upon us to reveal the secrets of God to these people.

Application: To pray and ask God for one person at workplace or elsewhere. To ask God to meet the needs of the person and to share with him about God.

Shenyang is where you want to be!

READ NOW!

God is our tester as well as our triumph!

This is my second post cause i didn't post one Sunday... this is today's post... :D

I was reflecting on what the Lord said to me on Saturday at G12 meeting. Remember when Joshua told us to find 1 thing that hinders us from knowing God and another that would help us to know Him better? And then I amazingly forgot what I wanted to say? I shared this with those who stayed till the end of the prayer meeting but i will share more now... :)

God always has His way with me, one way or the other, I learn God's lessons in my life the hard way, more often than not. And I guess God knows that's the way I learn the best. That's why He reminded me on Saturday of this. That I will grow to know Him more through the trials and struggles in my life. Doesn't sound very good right. But actually it's brilliant! This means that I have to learn to see God in all things, especially those in the negative category. A small but classic example just happened.

I just got him from work and had these 2 posts in mind. I was thinking of how I wanted to post it, as well as how tired I was, among other things. Yes, I'm quite a scatter brain. I told myself that the first thing I must do when I get home and switch on the computer is to blog my devotions. Not chat to anyone, surf www.soccernet.com or www.friendster.com or even check my mail. Don't turn on the music, don't switch on the games. DO MY DEVOTION AND BLOG. Simple task right. Not so simple when I failed to do it yesterday. So, inevitably, God stepped in. When I switch on my computer, my internet wasn't working. That really gets me irritated because it does happen often from time to time. I started climbing all over the place, fixing wires, restarting modems and checking connections. Turning my computer on and off, on and off... getting frustrated until I realized it wasn't going to work and I started praying. I told God that if the internet doesn't switch on I wouldn't be able to blog my devotions and if it did, I would get on it right away! To my disappointment, I got up and decided to go out and buy a new LAN cable to see if that'll solve this problem once and for all. But when i got back to my table to grab my wallet, my internet started working fine! Immediately i got onto my devotions. Hopefully this doesn't have to happen everyday to make sure I post in my devotions haha.

Ephesians 2: 4 - 5
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.

v 8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God

Let God prevail in all circumstances!

I'm thinking of you.. are u thinking of me too?

We are FAMILY..

I missed u guys on Sunday because I had a show on in the afternoon at Suntec City. The LORD however, impressed upon me to think about you guys... not in a romantic way haha (except for maybe when Joshua Chong thinks of Angus) but because we are FAMILY.

Check this out:
Mark 3: 31 - 35
Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."
"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.
Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

How very true! Since David flew to NYC for his auditions, I have been thinking about him and his well being more often than I usually do. When I get home from work, I wonder where my parents are, and what they are doing. Some of us think of our closer friends as well. But Jesus says that whoever does God's will are his brothers and sisters! So we are all family! Even more so now that we are in a big G12 family, we should learn to develop that same relationship that you have with your earthly family. Don't be shy to give your G12 brother a call just to ask him how he's doing or where he's at. BEWARE. You may be receiving meaningless phone calls from me pretty soon. Let's catch up sometime. :)

Everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.
- 1 John 5:1

TWO LEFTS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT, BUT THREE DO

FIFTHmarchtwoohohseven

no more school!
sigh of half-relief.
(means no more $$, too)

the Holy Spirit directed me to Psalm 51,
which King David wrote after he was confronted on his adultery with Bathsheba.
and which some of our brothers use as a prayer of confession after sinning.

for clarification, the Holy Spirit then led me to Numbers 16:31-35,
where we see sinful men being consumed by God's wrath.
pretty scary.

upon reflection, i am made aware of how HOLY our God is,
and how ALL of us are sinful.
and how God CANNOT tolerate SIN. not even a bit of it.

if not for Jesus' sacrifice, we would ALL perish under God's wrath.
so GREAT is God's love and grace for us, that he would strike his own Son instead of us.


i felt Mr. H.S. prompt me about 3 KINDS OF PEOPLE:

1. the 'Small Sinner' - the kind that says, "aiya, small sin only, nvm la.."
2. the 'Ungrateful Sinner' - the kind that is unremorseful about sinning, saying, "aiya, God already forgive mah, now sin nvm.."
   
3. the 'Self-Condemned Sinner' - the kind that always feels condemned and under judgement. "aiya, i am not holy enough, God must be punishing me.."

are any of the above correct? NO WAY, because:

1. God cannot tolerate sin. it pains God each time to see u sin.
2. God has forgiven us. do we sin again after being shown such grace?
3. God considers us righteous now. do not condemn urself, but look toward greater things.

YAY!

are u living in sin?
repent, accept God's grace, and be RIGHTEOUS.

Dun be a fool!

"For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly." Proverbs 5:21-23

In line with pastor's sermon. We are indeed people who are easily decieved who falls back into the sins of our lives very easily(old self). Let us remember that God is WATCHING each of us and scrutinising the way we live. Dun think we are okay just because we are "holier" than our non-believing frens... we are all sinners and need to come back to the CROSS of jesus everyday!

And that calls for discipline! Listen to the word: He will die for lack of discipline.
its 100% God and 100% man. If we are ill discipline, it will only lead to death in our relationship with our heavenly father and led astray by OURSELVES. not by the jia lat crisis we are in, not by how much struggles and temptations we face.. but by our own lack of discipline.

Are you a strong soldier for Christ that stands up and take on the spiritual battle. Or you just want to remain in your own comfortable bubble of life? Sign on today. Be a REGULAR!

jericho

joshua 5-7


here we see a real life example of the blessings of obedience and the consequences of disobedience.

joshua's obedience to God was simple, he followed all god's instructions, and two good things came out of it.
1. the israelites crossed the jordan safely
2. all the canaanites balls shrank

so that israel can circumcize the guys upon reaching the promised land.

the first thing they did was honour god!

not very wise strategy, making yourself so vulnerable in a land full of enemies.
but they put god first, and god put fear in the canaanites and kept them away.

and then, by just taking a walk, the thick walls of jericho-the city of giants--on which chariot races could be held, came crashing down, and they went in for the slaughter.

oddly enough all the incredible things God had done wasnt enough to instill fear of Him in his people. or just one joker.

i mean, there are so many cities. God said, just give me this one. ONE. GOD.
this guy, for some reason or the other musnt have seen God as a very big threat, cos he koped a robe, 2.3 kg of silver, and 600 g of gold. that isn't exactly something you slip into your pocket and forget about and "accidentally" discover later that you didnt pay for it or put it back.

in contrast to the earlier situation with jericho, the next place they went, they barely got up to theplace when the bad guys came and beat them, and even killed some of their number. can you see?

at first, no fiight, flatten city.
second time, haven't fight, kena pwned.

and as a result of his greed and folly, that joker that sinned against God, his whole family, all his sheep and donkeys and everything were stoned and burnt. hai.

in contrast Rahab and her entire family was saved.
when you obey God YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY--all the people you love the most--benefit.

more than that, Rahab had the honour of being in the lineage of THE CHRIST.


huge difference.

let us not be caught on the spur of the moment doing something stupid.
oh, god, that i never be found in that position.

Our Family

This is home truly where i know i must be, where my.... Thanks Guys for being part of my life. You all have been a blessing.
.Lets grow deep together.

obedience

and discipline.

doesnt come easy.
or easily.

learning about it is one thing, and doing it is another.

joshua 1-4

God reminded me, he'd give me victory every where i march into battle

in other words, i have to be fighting, toiling, sweating, possibly even bleeding,
but knowing that at the end of the day, the victory is mine.

seems a far cry from my present position.


on a similar note,
God told joshua, be strong and courageous

mostly i thought of it as, "don't fear"


but then i saw it was, BE STRONG.
the fear was the "courageous" part.
be strong.
thats like saying, get off your butts.
work at it.
don't be ninnies.
then, note that, you also shouldnt fear, cos i'll be with you.

God showed me that if he wanted us to do something, he'd always see us through.

somethings you kinda knew all along
and then you KNOW them.

ah,
God, help me to live a life worthy of your calling.

SUPER RICH 3-IN-1 INSTANT DEVOTION-MIX

FOURTHmarchtwoohohseven

3-in-1 mocha lies in a mug beside my keyboard.
ahhh, the wonders of cocoa and caffeine.

(sidenote)
for the ignorant,
HOW TO MAKE HEAVENLY 3-IN-1 MOCHA AT HOME:

1. Pour 1 satchel each of 3-in-1 Coffee Mix and 3-in-1 Milo Powder into ur mug.
2. Dissolve with 1/2 mug of hot water. (Stir until no more sediments.)
   
3. Top up with 1/2 mug of ice. (Stir until ice-cold.)

there u have it, an icecold mug of rich, thick, comparabletostarbucks Instant Mocha.
your life will never be the same again.

due to my recent superbusy supertiring backtoback sleepcompromising schedule, i havent had the slightest chance to type in my devotions.
therefore this day i am doing a 3-in-1 compilation.

prior to my 3-in-1 cuppa mocha, the Lord brought me to Romans 8:14-15.

"because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" - Romans 8:14-15

i felt the Lord was reassuring me of his great love.

on the way back from Ipoh in the car, i had the opportunity to be listening to some of Pastor Joseph Prince's recorded sermons, courtesy of my Mum.
and through that, the Spirit spoke to me in a new way.
(definitely beats sleeping allthewaythrough the journey)

one of the key things that caught me was the attitude of sonship -
in recognising our position toward God is that of sons.

the word 'Abba' is Aramaic for Father, but with a more personal connotation.
the English equivalent will be 'Daddy', or 'Papa'.

therefore, we should not view God as some bigangryperson always scolding us.
"for you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear"
he is our DADDY!

as a child, when we gotobedatnight and thingsgoBUMP and we are afraid of the Monstersinthecloset which are waitingtoGOBBLEusup, we do not (normally) cry, "our beloved Father who liveth in heaven! unto thy hallowed Name i calleth upon! saveth thee now from thine monsters who waiteth to gobbleth thee upeth!"
no no no.
instead we simply cry out, "DAAADDDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!"

and Daddy will come rushing in to comfort and save us from our Monstersinthecloset.
Super Dad to the rescue!

and yes, this is how personal God wants to be to us.
God desires to help us, to bless us.
we simply need to ASK. to CALL UPON Super Dad.

do u always live in fear of being punished by the BIGangryGOD?
do u have needs in ur life?
do u just know about God, or do u know God as ur DADDY?

simply ASK of Super Dad, and he will be mighty to save.





THIRDmarchtwoohohseven

Tribe Prayer Meeting

the Lord led me to Isaiah 55:6-8.

thought for the day:
verse 6 implies that there are times where the Lord may not be found and times when the Lord may be far away.
hmm..

what gripped me was really verse 7:

"Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon." - Isaiah 55:7

substitute 'wicked' and 'evil man' for ur UNSAVED FRIENDS, and u get the idea.
the Lord convicted me to REACH OUT to my PRE-BELIEVING friends!

we MUST be there to let him FORSAKE his ways, his thoughts, and let him turn to the Lord!

even as we know God, let us be bold in changing the habits and mindsets of our pre-believing friends.
TAKE A STAND FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN!
and let's lead our friends to TURN to God!

O God, let ME be there to influence the habits and mindsets of my pre-believing friends. let me lead them away from all that is evil and unclean, and instead direct them toward you who is Holy and Righteous. Grant me God-confidence and boldness, Lord, to take my stand and be the difference. i CLAIM the SALVATION of Ravin! Lord, tear down all the barriers and strongholds in Ravin's life that the devil has set up, and let ur Love consume Ravin so that he may be conscious that True Love can only be found in YOU, O God. Amen!





SECONDmarchtwoohohseven

today is the last day of my 2nd stint of relief teaching.
(flashback)
and ever since i left for sekolah this fineFriday morning, the next time i'll ever be able to sit in front of the komputah will be on Sunday morning.
time was compressed.
what a hectic week.

the Holy Spirit says (said):

"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy" - Jude 1:24

and

"You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." - Romans 6:18

note: he is ABLE to keep you from falling and present you without fault.

i have friend(s) who think that sinning is part of Christian life. true and not true.
i have friend(s) who think that masturbating is NORMAL, INNATE, UNSETFREEABLE.
what a load of bulldiarrhea. satan's lies. DECEPTION. (*ding! Sunday sermon)

Jude 1:24 has just told us the answer - he is ABLE TO KEEP U FROM FALLING!
need i shout it in ur ear? maybe. here goes.
HE IS ABLE TO KEEP U FROM FALLING!!!

blatant enough?

well, i think the key lies in focusing on our righteousness rather than on our sins.
it still blowsmymind (cue Luke's drawing) how God considers us RIGHTEOUS in his sight.
all thanks to the FINISHED work on the Cross. it is finished.
do not belittle the POWER of the Cross!

AMAZING grace, isnt it?

c'mon peeps! all u who are struggling with SIN (thats like 100% of u!):
claim this PROMISE that we CAN be without fault!
lay hold of JESUS who has MODELLED for us and ASK him to keep us from falling!

for HE has triumphed over SIN. period.

Lady Wisdom

Hear the charliebird AudioBible now.


My prayer today is that i will not reject the wisdom of God and that i will have that Fear-of-God!

loving our neighbours

I was considering how often we choose to neglect a certain special group of neighbours when it comes to outreach and ministry.... at least i speak for myself, i struggle to breach that boundary and reach out to my Muslim friends because of the complications of religious sensitivity and harmony.

The LORD led me to read about how He has modeled for us to follow in Genesis 16.
In that passage the Bible tells us about the story of Hagar and Ishmael. Where Sarai, Abram's wife tells Abram to sleep with Hagar, their maid servant, and start a family through her. It was a mistake and it led to Hagar running away from Sarai and her masters. In verse 7 however, God reached out to them.
"The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was a spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from? and where are you going?""
The Lord saw how Hagar was mistreated by her mistress, Sarai and gave her this promise.
"Go back to your mistress and submit to her... I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."

I believe God foresaw all that was to conspire from the birth of the Muslim nation from the time of Hagar and Ishmael till what it is now. Yet because He loves them just as much as He loves the rest of His children, the Lord desires to bless them and watches over them. Let us therefore learn to be a blessing and a good neighbour to our Muslim friends! They are the children that God loves too!

^Peace out!

The repeated word in this passage is PEACE.

1. Christ Jesus is Peace- Destroyed the dividing wall of hostility

2. His purpose was making peace with Gentiles and Jews- Create in himself one new man out of the two

3. Peace is for ALL (those who are Far and who are Near)

Eph 2:11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The other word that is appearing more than twice- "one body".

Let me go, observe and I'll ponder ahout it:)

Narash (Lion of God)

Don't Lose it

24 for all forms
Don't you spend it all on all norms
Lose 24 for norms that fall
Waste 24 to lose it all

Profit equates losses
as one pleases the world of bosses
Boss on the cross paid for the cost
that gained the lost that continued to be lost
Gain or lost is yours to source
For his sake don't get lost

The One @ Palawan

After sending eric off i woke up @ 12. Packed and headed out to Sentosa. Had always wanted to take an excursion there recently.
Got to palawan beach, found a nice sunny spot. Laid down the sesame street groundsheet that was given by our tribe, haha was quite mah lu but nvm. Grabbed bible from bag and turned to proverbs 31. Also very significant because its the sayings of King Lemuel... and its about The Wife of Noble Character. shy shy.

verse 30: "Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear of God." (Msg)

my prayer was that next time, long long time away, when im looking for a girlfriend. this will be the criteria. Interestingly, someone shared with me that on the way home from eric's sendoff. haha.

dear brothers... are you guys looking looking ah? those who are eligible? as in those who are above hmm lets see, 22? May you find someone of Noble character!

steadfastness

everytime i fall away
my life is thrown into disarray
i'd hate myself for not standing firm
and slipping back into the doldrums

today: deut 33, 34

34:10
since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt--to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.


what made Moses so great?
at first he was timid, he didn't trust God to help him speak, and God sent Aaron to help him.
and when Miriam and Aaron opposed him, what they got was leprosy.
God came down and showed himself to Moses.

because?
he honoured God
availed his life to God
risked getting arrested (for murder--for that matter for speaking out-of-line with pharaoh)
risked public disgrace
risked being seen as a loony (what if he was just imagining things?
he led a pure life(if the high priest would be struck down before the ark if he was just a tiny bit unclean, how much more moses, who was FACE TO FACE with God, had to be absolutely spotless? thats what i call leading by example)

if indeed the great men of the past are models for us to emulate, and even surpass, my do we have big shoes to fill.


lord make my heart fertile
aye, and steadfast too
that i may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

One of the goals I wrote down in the "Warrior Of Light" matrix for this year was to complete reading the New Testament (cause i already finished the Old Testament). So today brings me to Mark 1......

V35 - Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Looking at verses 32 - 24, its obvious Jesus didn't really sleep that early the previous night (He started healing people after sunset and the whole town gathered), and yet, he still woke up when it was DARK - like 5+am !!

If Jesus, the Son of God, recognized the need to do his devotion, and could be disciplined enough to wake up early though he was tired, what about us ??




* God help us to love spending time with u......

Giving Thanks

Psalms 107: 1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Some of you might know that Messenger took part in a band competition in NUS this week but didn't get past the semi-finals. Even in this disappointment, as i seeked God for His wisdom, His word for me is to give thanks. And I give thanks to Him in all circumstances!

During the course of preparing for this competition, the almost original cast of the band finally got together again since mid-last year. With Angus, myself, Charlie, Christopher and Edward playing together again. God revealed to me that there are many plans He has for us that we do not see or may not comprehend. And just to be able to come back together in this line up to worship and play songs together again is indeed a blessing in itself and we should all thank God for it! We managed to achieve a certain standard in the songs we were preparing for... we know it, God knows it, that's all that matters. Furthermore, as i put further thought into it, Chris managed to make it on time for his encounter weekend starting friday because we didn't make it to the finals. Angus, Charles and myself managed to make it for a wonderful family dinner in chinatown as well. I believe this is all God's plan! And it all falls into place...

Alright brothers, it's actually 5:50am now.. and we just got back from sending our dear brother Eric off to San Francisco. Excuse me while I go and thank God for the wonderful gift that He has blessed mankind with. SLEEP.

^Gift of God

The word "Grace" appeared 3 times from this passage. I need to be seated with God so that God can display His Grace to me. How amazing!

Ephesians 2
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Questions i was pondering over...
1. Do we know the true meaning of Grace? -Alive with Christ, even when we were dead in tansgressions.
2. Are we taking His Grace for granted? -Living in Coming Ages. We were by nature objects of wrath.
3. Are we dependant on His Grace or do we think we can do it on our own? -Saved by grace, through faith. Not by works, so that noone can boast.


Narash (Lion of God)

Proverbs 30

i was wrong. the book of proverbs was not totally written by King Solomon.

All except two. Therefore it must be so significant that it is added to be placed with the King's words.

Proverbs 30. The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh - an Oracle

And what did this significant "extra" said?

verse 17: "The eye that mocks a father, that scorns disobedience to a mother will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures"

Wow. strong words. Its goes on very very interestingly to list down in a three/four format:

• Three things that never satisfy, 4 that never say "enough"


• Three things too amazing, 4 that i do not understand


• Under Three things the earth trembles, under 4 it cannot bear up


• Four things on earth which are small yet they are extremely wise. hmm.

well. there is much to learn and recieve from this passage but i'll choose to obey verse 17 first!

pain, and restoration

deut 30-32

the Lord repeats again and again the blessings and curses, of obedience and insolence, respectively.

like he wants to drill it into the mind of israel.
they don't seem to get it.

God already foresees israels treachery, and teaches them a song to sing about their treachery. kinda ironic, isnt it.

today i was brushing my teeth as always, so that i wouldnt be so sleepy reading the word.

i grimaced. i winced. i ran out of vocabulary.

its difficult to brush your teeth properly when the mother of all ulcers resides on your upper lip, and the Godfather of all ulcers on your bottom lip. and recently this happy couple that comes together everytime i close my mouth bore a child--the pinnacle of evil, at the gums in the back corner of my mouth.

for some reason i heard God saying to me what he said to the israelites as i was in my diffculty. he said, turn to a life of obedience and you will see blessings, healing, health.

i want to, i do.
i try.

i have to put my foot down.

moses didnt get to go into the promised land because he hit a rock instead of speaking to it.
sounds trivial?
God counted it as breaking faith with him and failing to uphold his holiness in the presence of the israelites.

no compromise.

i have to put my foot down.

^Be a blessing -ILLL

Raining cats and dogs.
Woke up to a cold morning.
Rushing to work.
And i was carrying an Umbrella through it. Then there was this walking guy walking infront of me in the rain. He was without an umbrella. um hum! So should I walk up to him and say "?". Say what? Excuse me, do you want to share the umbrella with me? Thats strange. Ahh nevermind about it. It was his mistake. Raining and never bring umbrella. He thinks he very Macho. In the end, I walked happily sheltered to the train station. Then I heard a small still voice saying, "Be a BLESSING". I reflected on my thinking processes and found out that there were many hinders for me to be a blessing.

1. Pride
2. Blame
3. Apathy/Nonchalant
4. Convenience

Hahaa. Inspired by Daniel. 1st time - err ok no such passage. 2nd time- my voice or who's? 3rd time- Who am i kidding... And I was reminded that there was a verse that talks about 'a fragrant offering and sacrifice' and so I flip find the verse. And there found in Eph 5..

Eph5:1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

I want to take counter measures to rise up above my hinders so that I can be a Blessing. Reading the verse, I came up with the following:

1. Imitate God. For He is Humble. No excuse to ask if they have rights to be blessed.
2. Love beyond Selfish reasons/ Prejudice (dearly loved children). No excuse that I bless people only whom I'm comfortable with.
3. Live a life of love- a Heart full of Compassion. No excuse for having a harden heart.
4. Leave convenience- give yourself up as a Offering and Sacrifice. No excuse when feeling uncomfortable to bless.


Application: To be a blessing (apply ILLL )to one fellow brother. And to find an opportunity to bless someone (out of my comfort zone) and report back.


Narash (Lion of God)

Ouch, its painful GOD, but i surrender to you

I went through a very saddening experience today
To cut the long story short,
We did not make it into the band competition.

I felt that Messenger did a great showdown today.
Messenger you guys sounded wonderful today yeah.
We were all very confident but GOD chose to shut that door.

I was deeply deeply depressed.
It was a feeling that i have not felt for so so long.
The feeling when i was a small kid jumping and screaming my lungs out
of wanting that wonderful toy on the rack, but just gotta bid Goodbye
and to swallow the fact that you can't get it no more.

I asked God while i was driving back 'Why Why Why Why Why?'
I heard the small still voice of GOD, it was a very simple answer.
'Because I love you.' I was like... huh?
God led me back to what i always say and believe.
'If you consider yourself as a child of GOD, there's no such thing as an accident.'
What does it mean when you sing at the altar
'Lord I offer my life to you, everything I have been through?'- I offer my life by hillsongs

I went home and did my favourite thing.
Lie on bed and stare at the ceiling.
This time with Henry Seely singing 'rain down' on my com while it was raining heavily outside. Just the right weather for a sad man.
And in the mp3, Henry said 'Lift your hands and sing it for your family, your church, your school' I lift my hands and surrender everything to GOD.
I felt that the touch of GOD reaching out for my hand and pulling me up to sit beside his
throne just like what Pastor Khong had preached about last week.

Have I surrendered? Yes I have.
Is the pain still there? Yes it is. Hurts so badly.
BUT...I believe that there are still lessons that GOD wants to teach me through
this experience. Pray with me that i'll see it and learn that fast.

Announcements From Bird

Hey guys. This is really a new beginning for many of us... In terms of reading the word and seeking God for ourselves. I pray that we will not let this be a one-off, on the high kinda thing and lose our passion so easily even when we face struggles which we definitely will. The devil is not happy okay... he is plotting how to make us fall now. how to get us to be our old dirty self, how to tempt us to trip and bua toh. So lets press on.! Dun be AH GUA PENG.

I am committed to all of you, so are all of you to me and each other. If you notice that a brother has not been posting stuff. Do drop gentle reminders okay? I think thats something worthy to cultivate. I have set the blog to display DAY BY DAY posts. so we will all know if someone is missing.....

I have ONE request today...

Can we try to make our devotions short and sweet? Not to curb your creativity or underestimate your ability to write thesis and essays.
It would be easier for Joshua and all of us to read too. Well if you have alot to say then by all means! free to express and share! dun mistaken.

but the Main overall idea is about being INTENTIONAL. even in what we type so that the word of God will be etched in our hearts!

Hope to see interesting things happening. I plan to record a audio clip of my devotion just for a change or take a video or something!

Want to be a Pro? Read Proverbs

TISCHBEIN, Johann Friedrich August
German painter (b. 1750, Maastricht, d. 1812, Heidelberg)

Someone in the world owns this picture! The man painted is King Solomon.

Its hard to imagine that the words im reading now was written by King Solomon. The man himself. The man of wisdom. Probably the wisest man has ever seen.

I want to be wise. Wise in the way i live my life.
Therefore: My application for Job 23:12 is that i will read Proverbs again and again and again until God leads me otherwise.

So my devotions will be all from this Wise Book:

"A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed - without remedy" Proverbs 29:1

After completing proverbs once, there are a few statements or key ideas that are being pointed out. And able to be rebuked is one of them. It shows a heart of humility and a spirit of wanting to change for the better. esp if it is regarding our many wrong doings.

So the next time we are rebuked, be humble and seek God for deep truths to surface.
God loves you! hates the pride.

the march hare

today, ohio became the 17th state of the US, 1803

today i read deuteronomy 28 and 29.

chapter 28 tells the blessings of obedience and curses of disobedience.

the blessings part was significantly shorter than the latter part. because its easy to picture the good so we need more bad to wake us up and frighten us into not straying away?

but whether or not that is the case, it really puts things in blackk and white.

obey god = blessings

not = curses

but the passage has alot of 'the lord will lay you waste, the lord will send a plague, ..."

then that means god is really also a destroyer?

blessings in one hand, curses in the other. please him, the throws good stuff at you
dont please him and he throws bad stuff ad you?

the image in my mind is like a vending machine that will drop out something every morning. if you've been feeding it coins, that morninng will come out good stuff, like coffee, coke, or vodka, whichever u like. if however you fail to put it coins it will spit out a can of poison, or a bomb, or a lump of shit.

neither image seems right.

the image i had before was like an underwater city. like the one in star wars. or whichever; quite a few shows have it. the city is in a bubble that keeps back the water. we are the city, God is the bubble thing. if we are good obedient to God, we maintain the bubble, it gives us good climate all year round, gives us a germ-free, virus-free hence disease-free environment. but iif we fail to maintain the upkeep of the bubble, it will start to leak--the curses(the water)--will come in. with it bacteria, dirt, impurities will pollute our engineered environment. the water will ruin our belongings, even drown us eventually.

dunno.

deut 29 writes the covenant and conditions that israel has to follow. the terms of agreement.

one verse makes the "I in sIn" idea very obvious, and in a new way:
"i will be safe, even though i persist in going my own way"
deut 29:19

a foolish thought indeed.

..................................................................................

god said to me,

listen to what the unjust judge says
luke 18:6

He sure knows how to get my attention, such that what he's saying becomes unforgettable.

what the judge said was
4even 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!

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? 8i tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. however, when the son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?

maybe god is saying that he will answer what ive been asking.
maybe god is saying i have to cry day and night before he will answer.

daniel's method;
1st try: mark 14:3? the alabaster jar? i need to worship God and give my all?

2nd try: tehhhhh

3rd try: tehhhhh.


okay.
i got your message, God.
thanks.

SIDEWAYS MOTORCYCLE HELMETS ARE ALL THE RAGE

FIRSTmarchtwoohohseven

brrr.. chilly morning.
it rained through the whole of last night. and is still raining.

today i was led to Galatians 5:22.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." - Galatians 5:22-23

i noticed that all the qualities are described as the fruit of the Spirit, not fruits.
this means they are collective - they come together as a package deal.

if Mr Holy Spirit lives in you, and if ur spirit being is growing, then what is promised is the WHOLE lot up there and not dribsanddrabs of hitherandthither.

sometimes we kid ourselves so:
aiya i'm ok la, i'm quite kind what, and patient and gentle.. i think i'm a good Christian.
wake up and smellthecoffee my dear friend, its the fruit of the Spirit.

LESSON #1: ONE quality missing = not quite the whole fruit yet.
APPLICATION #1: realise we are lacking. and invite the Spirit to RESIDE in u!

LESSON #2: fruit of the Spirit, not fruit of ________________(your name here).
APPLICATION #2: don't try so hard to be patientkindgentlegood etc. fruit GROWS from the Spirit. so all u have to do is WATER the Spirit.

i noticed, too, that my entry title yesterday contained a FRUIT.
coincidence again? i don't think so.

water the Spiritual fruit tree TODAY.

Angus' Devotion 28th Feb

This was a direct application to what i have written yesterday.
In my previous post, i talk about the call to obey GOD right away- that is without delay.

I saw GOD's Reality upon this matter.

I slept real real late or rather early @ 4.00am on tuesday morning,
only to miss my 10am lecture 6hrs later. I woke up at 11am when Jon called me.
If you know me, I take high pride (Specialist pride) in being punctual and I am! 90% of the time!!!
So i skipped the lecture since there is a repeated lecture on Wednesday.
I went for lecture today and during the 10min lecture break, I decided to take a POO (Da Bian)
So i enjoyed myself and took my time only to be late for the 2nd half.
As I entered the lecture theatre, I happen to turn back and saw my 'JC Guy friend' whom I only shared a 'Hi, Bye' relationship with. He was late for lecture.

We sat together for lecture and we had lunch after that.
I was supposed to go and observe the semi-finals Day01 for jam aloud(NUS) band competition to give myself mental preparation, as it would be Messenger's turn the next day (Day02)
However, i just felt that the Holy Spirit leading me to just spend time with this guy.

So I obeyed.. and this guy POURED his heart in sharing with me his recent BREAK UP with his girlfriend episode for 45min!!!! (Good bye to my mental preparation)

These are some words he said 'I don't know what I want'
'I don't know what I like'
'I am very lost'

We happen to take the same bus home (151) and the religion talk came.
He told me he's into Buddhism now because he wants to be a better person.
And the moment came and he asked me 'You're a Christian right, why did you choose to be?'
Somehow Mr H.S came upon me and gave me the annointing of a salesman
and off I go to share with him the reality of GOD.
To cut the long story short. This is how it ended.
'Come with me to church one day ok?'
He replied 'sure thing'
I don't care whether he is being (Public relations) in his answer.
The seed is sown and I'll follow up from there.

This is the most important part of my sharing


Look out how GOD fashioned that opportunity across time and space in the above.
It just blows my mind

Angus woke up late ---> Go for Wed lecture instead (Wed is usually my free day) ---> POO
POO during lecture break ---> Came in at the same time with his friend who was late for lecture.

Now if GOD had not made me have the urge to POO POO, i might not have met him
If GOD did not made me POO so long and I came in earlier, i might not have seen him
If GOD had made the 90% punctual me punctual that day, i confirm would not have met him.
A few seconds of delay would cause a total different blog you would have read.
A few seconds of delay (time) would have caused me to be sitting down in lecture (Space) instead of bumping into him.

But GOD took every detail into consideration to make it just right. Our GOD Is AWESOME
Amen? My friends, learn to look out for GOD. Choose to believe that all this happen because of him. You might have a similar story to tell, but that story did not come because you choose not to look out for him. Purposely look out for him today!