Siow KW
Peter Long
Phoebe Ong, Peggy Tan, Joycelyn Choong
-
Lydia Sim
Jonathan Long
-
Anna Sim
Jaemy Choong
-
Tian Sia, Moses Tan
Hiew FF, Tommy Quek
Monday, 29 September 2008
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Will You Lay Down Your Life?
"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends... I have called you friends..." (John 15:13,15)
Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. Peter said to the Lord, "I will lay down my life for your sake," and he meant it (13:37). He had a magnificent sense of the heroic. For us to be incapable of making this same statement Peter made would be a bad thing - our sense of duty is only fully realised through our sense of heroism. Has the Lord ever asked you, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?" (John 13:38). It is much easier to die than to lay down your life day in day out with the sense of high calling of God. We are not made for the bright-shining moments of life, but we have to walk in the light of them in our everyday ways. There was only one bright-shining moment in the life of Jesus, and that was on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was there that He emptied Himself of His glory for the second time, and then came down into the demon-possessed valley (see Mark 9:29). For thirty-three years Jesus laid down His life to do the will of His father. "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16). Yet it is contrary to our human nature to do so.
If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it cost God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult. God saves a person, fills him with the Holy Spirit, and then says, "Now you work it out in your life, and be faithful to Me, even though the nature of everything around you is to cause you to be unfaithful." And Jesus says to us, "... I have called you friends ..." Remain faithful to your Friend, and remember that His honour is at stake in your bodily life.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. - James 1:2
Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. Peter said to the Lord, "I will lay down my life for your sake," and he meant it (13:37). He had a magnificent sense of the heroic. For us to be incapable of making this same statement Peter made would be a bad thing - our sense of duty is only fully realised through our sense of heroism. Has the Lord ever asked you, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?" (John 13:38). It is much easier to die than to lay down your life day in day out with the sense of high calling of God. We are not made for the bright-shining moments of life, but we have to walk in the light of them in our everyday ways. There was only one bright-shining moment in the life of Jesus, and that was on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was there that He emptied Himself of His glory for the second time, and then came down into the demon-possessed valley (see Mark 9:29). For thirty-three years Jesus laid down His life to do the will of His father. "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16). Yet it is contrary to our human nature to do so.
If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it cost God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult. God saves a person, fills him with the Holy Spirit, and then says, "Now you work it out in your life, and be faithful to Me, even though the nature of everything around you is to cause you to be unfaithful." And Jesus says to us, "... I have called you friends ..." Remain faithful to your Friend, and remember that His honour is at stake in your bodily life.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. - James 1:2
LOVE ALWAYS PROTECTS
by Max Lucado
Genesis 3:21 has been called the first gospel sermon. Preached not by preachers, but by God himself. Not with words, but with symbol and action.
“The LORD God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them” (Gen. 3:21).
God covers them. He protects them.
Love always protects.
Hasn’t he done the same for us? We eat our share of forbidden fruit. We say what we shouldn’t say. Go where we shouldn’t go. Pluck fruit from trees we shouldn’t touch.
So what does God do? Exactly what he did for our parents in the garden. He sheds innocent blood. He offers the life of his Son. And from the scene of the sacrifice the Father takes a robe—not the skin of an animal—but the robe of righteousness. And does he throw it in our direction and tell us to shape up? No, he dresses us himself. He dresses us with himself. “You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ” (Gal. 3:26–27).
God has clothed us. He protects us with a cloak of love. Can you look back over your life and see instances of God’s protection? I can too. My junior year in college I was fascinated by a movement of Christians several thousand miles from my campus. Some of my friends decided to spend the summer at the movement’s largest church and be discipled. When I tried to do the same, every door closed. Problem after problem with finances, logistics, and travel.
A second opportunity surfaced: spending a summer in Brazil. In this case, every door I knocked on swung open. Two and one half decades later I see how God protected me. The movement has become a cult—dangerous and oppressive. Time in Brazil introduced me to grace—freeing and joyful. Did God protect me? Does God protect us?
And you? Did he keep you from a bad relationship? Protect you from the wrong job? Insulate you from _______________ (you fill in the blank)? “Like hovering birds, so will [the LORD Almighty] protect Jerusalem” (Isa. 31:5 JB). “He will strengthen and protect you” (2 Thess. 3:3 NIV). “He will command his angels … to guard you” (Ps. 91:11 NIV). God protects you with a cloak of love.
From
A Love Worth Giving
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
Genesis 3:21 has been called the first gospel sermon. Preached not by preachers, but by God himself. Not with words, but with symbol and action.
“The LORD God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them” (Gen. 3:21).
God covers them. He protects them.
Love always protects.
Hasn’t he done the same for us? We eat our share of forbidden fruit. We say what we shouldn’t say. Go where we shouldn’t go. Pluck fruit from trees we shouldn’t touch.
So what does God do? Exactly what he did for our parents in the garden. He sheds innocent blood. He offers the life of his Son. And from the scene of the sacrifice the Father takes a robe—not the skin of an animal—but the robe of righteousness. And does he throw it in our direction and tell us to shape up? No, he dresses us himself. He dresses us with himself. “You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ” (Gal. 3:26–27).
God has clothed us. He protects us with a cloak of love. Can you look back over your life and see instances of God’s protection? I can too. My junior year in college I was fascinated by a movement of Christians several thousand miles from my campus. Some of my friends decided to spend the summer at the movement’s largest church and be discipled. When I tried to do the same, every door closed. Problem after problem with finances, logistics, and travel.
A second opportunity surfaced: spending a summer in Brazil. In this case, every door I knocked on swung open. Two and one half decades later I see how God protected me. The movement has become a cult—dangerous and oppressive. Time in Brazil introduced me to grace—freeing and joyful. Did God protect me? Does God protect us?
And you? Did he keep you from a bad relationship? Protect you from the wrong job? Insulate you from _______________ (you fill in the blank)? “Like hovering birds, so will [the LORD Almighty] protect Jerusalem” (Isa. 31:5 JB). “He will strengthen and protect you” (2 Thess. 3:3 NIV). “He will command his angels … to guard you” (Ps. 91:11 NIV). God protects you with a cloak of love.
From
A Love Worth Giving
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
HAND DELIVERED BOUQUETS
by Max Lucado
A Love Worth Giving
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
Through Christ, God has accepted you. Think about what this means. You cannot keep people from rejecting you. But you can keep rejections from enraging you.
Rejections are like speed bumps on the road. They come with the journey. You’re going to get cut, dished, dropped, and kicked around. You cannot keep people from rejecting you. But you can keep rejections from enraging you. How? By letting his acceptance compensate for their rejection.
Think of it this way. Suppose you dwell in a high-rise apartment. On the window sill of your room is a solitary daisy. This morning you picked the daisy and pinned it on your lapel. Since you have only one plant, this is a big event and a special daisy.
But as soon as you’re out the door, people start picking petals off your daisy. Someone snags your subway seat. Petal picked. You’re blamed for the bad report of a coworker. Three petals. The promotion is given to someone with less experience but USC water polo looks. More petals. By the end of the day, you’re down to one. Woe be to the soul who dares to draw near it. You’re only one petal-snatching away from a blowup.
What if the scenario was altered slightly? Let’s add one character. The kind man in the apartment next door runs a flower shop on the corner. Every night on the way home he stops at your place with a fresh, undeserved, yet irresistible bouquet. These are not leftover flowers. They are top-of-the-line arrangements. You don’t know why he thinks so highly of you, but you aren’t complaining. Because of him, your apartment has a sweet fragrance, and your step has a happy bounce. Let someone mess with your flower, and you’ve got a basketful to replace it!
The difference is huge. And the interpretation is obvious.
God will load your world with flowers. He hand-delivers a bouquet to your door every day. Open it! Take them! Then, when rejections come, you won’t be left short-petaled.
God can help you get rid of your anger. He made galaxies no one has ever seen and dug canyons we have yet to find. “The LORD … heals all your diseases” (Ps. 103:2–3 NIV). Do you think among those diseases might be the affliction of anger?
Do you think God could heal your angry heart?
Do you want him to? This is not a trick question. He asks the same question of you that he asked of the invalid: “Do you want to be well?” (John 5:6). Not everyone does. You may be addicted to anger. You may be a rage junkie. Anger may be part of your identity. But if you want him to, he can change your identity. Do you want him to do so?
Do you have a better option? Like moving to a rejection-free zone? If so, enjoy your life on your desert island.
Take the flowers. Receive from him so you can love or at least put up with others.
FromA Love Worth Giving
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
Monday, 22 September 2008
28 SEPTEMBER 2008
Liong KC
Peggy Tan
Gigi Lim, Foong Yee, Richard
-
Jun Fhui
Meng Fhui
-
Terry Choong
Anna Sim
-
Richard, Jocelyn Lee
Tom Cheryan, Manjit Singh
Peggy Tan
Gigi Lim, Foong Yee, Richard
-
Jun Fhui
Meng Fhui
-
Terry Choong
Anna Sim
-
Richard, Jocelyn Lee
Tom Cheryan, Manjit Singh
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Prayerful Inner-Searching
May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless . . . —1 Thessalonians 5:23
"Your whole spirit . . . ." The great, mysterious work of the Holy Spirit is in the deep recesses of our being which we cannot reach. Read Psalm 139 . The psalmist implies— "O Lord, You are the God of the early mornings, the God of the late nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea. But, my God, my soul has horizons further away than those of early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature. You who are the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot discover, dreams I cannot realize. My God, search me."
Do we believe that God can fortify and protect our thought processes far beyond where we can go? ". . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7 ). If this verse means cleansing only on our conscious level, may God have mercy on us. The man who has been dulled by sin will say that he is not even conscious of it. But the cleansing from sin we experience will reach to the heights and depths of our spirit if we will "walk in the light as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7). The same Spirit that fed the life of Jesus Christ will feed the life of our spirit. It is only when we are protected by God with the miraculous sacredness of the Holy Spirit that our spirit, soul, and body can be preserved in pure uprightness until the coming of Jesus-no longer condemned in God’s sight.
We should more frequently allow our minds to meditate on these great, massive truths of God.
- Oswald Chambers, from My Utmost For His Highest
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting. - Psalm 139:23-24
Thursday, 18 September 2008
TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE
by Max Lucado
Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions.
Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s temper tantrum.
Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime.
Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse.
Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery.
Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement.
Today’s guilt is tomorrow’s fear.
Could that be why Paul writes, “Love … keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5 NIV)?
Some folks don’t know we have an option.
Paul says we do: “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
Do you hear some battlefield jargon in that passage—“capture every thought,” “make it give up” and “obey Christ”? You get the impression that we are the soldiers and the thoughts are the enemies.
It was for Jesus. Remember the thoughts that came his way courtesy of the mouth of Peter? Jesus had just prophesied his death, burial, and resurrection, but Peter couldn’t bear the thought of it. “Peter took Jesus aside and told him not to talk like that.… Jesus said to Peter, ‘Go away from me, Satan! You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God, but only about the things people think are important’” (Matt. 16:22–23).
See the decisiveness of Jesus?
What if you did that? What if you took every thought captive? What if you took the counsel of Solomon: “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (Prov. 4:23).
You are not a victim of your thoughts. You have a vote. You have a voice. You can exercise thought prevention. You can also exercise thought permission.
Change the thoughts, and you change the person. If today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions, what happens when we fill our minds with thoughts of God’s love? Will standing beneath the downpour of his grace change the way we feel about others?
Paul says absolutely! It’s not enough to keep the bad stuff out. We’ve got to let the good stuff in. It’s not enough to keep no list of wrongs. We have to cultivate a list of blessings. The same verb Paul uses for keeps in the phrase “keeps no list of wrongs” is used for think in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (RSV). Thinking conveys the idea of pondering—studying and focusing, allowing what is viewed to have an impact on us.
Rather than store up the sour, store up the sweet.
From
A Love Worth Giving
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions.
Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s temper tantrum.
Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime.
Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse.
Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery.
Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement.
Today’s guilt is tomorrow’s fear.
Could that be why Paul writes, “Love … keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5 NIV)?
Some folks don’t know we have an option.
Paul says we do: “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
Do you hear some battlefield jargon in that passage—“capture every thought,” “make it give up” and “obey Christ”? You get the impression that we are the soldiers and the thoughts are the enemies.
It was for Jesus. Remember the thoughts that came his way courtesy of the mouth of Peter? Jesus had just prophesied his death, burial, and resurrection, but Peter couldn’t bear the thought of it. “Peter took Jesus aside and told him not to talk like that.… Jesus said to Peter, ‘Go away from me, Satan! You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God, but only about the things people think are important’” (Matt. 16:22–23).
See the decisiveness of Jesus?
What if you did that? What if you took every thought captive? What if you took the counsel of Solomon: “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (Prov. 4:23).
You are not a victim of your thoughts. You have a vote. You have a voice. You can exercise thought prevention. You can also exercise thought permission.
Change the thoughts, and you change the person. If today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions, what happens when we fill our minds with thoughts of God’s love? Will standing beneath the downpour of his grace change the way we feel about others?
Paul says absolutely! It’s not enough to keep the bad stuff out. We’ve got to let the good stuff in. It’s not enough to keep no list of wrongs. We have to cultivate a list of blessings. The same verb Paul uses for keeps in the phrase “keeps no list of wrongs” is used for think in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (RSV). Thinking conveys the idea of pondering—studying and focusing, allowing what is viewed to have an impact on us.
Rather than store up the sour, store up the sweet.
From
A Love Worth Giving
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
Sunday, 14 September 2008
21 SEPTEMBER 2008
Barnabas P.
Terry Choong
Hong Lu, Foong Yee, Jocelyn Choong
-
Grace Lee
Jun Fhui
-
Anna Sim
Kah Yew
-
Moses Tan, Tian Sia
Tommy Quek, Manjit Singh
Terry Choong
Hong Lu, Foong Yee, Jocelyn Choong
-
Grace Lee
Jun Fhui
-
Anna Sim
Kah Yew
-
Moses Tan, Tian Sia
Tommy Quek, Manjit Singh
Vicarious Intercession
"...having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus..." - Hebrews 10:19
Beware of thinking that intercession means bringing our own personal sympathies and concerns into the presence of God, and then demanding that He do whatever we ask. Our ability to approach God is due entirely to the vicarious, or substitutionary, identification of our Lord with sin. We have "boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus."
Spiritual stubbornness is the most effective hindrance to intercession, because it is based on a sympathetic "understanding" of things we see in ourselves and others that we think needs no atonement. We have the idea that there are certain good and virtuous things in each of us that do not need to be based on the atonement by the Cross of Christ. Just the sluggishness and lack of interest produced by this kind of thinking makes us unable to intercede. We do not identify ourselves with God’s interests and concerns for others, and we get irritated with Him. Yet we are always ready with our own ideas, and our intercession becomes only the glorification of our own natural sympathies. We have to realize that the identification of Jesus with sin means a radical change of all of our sympathies and interests. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute God’s interests in others for our natural sympathy with them.
Beware of thinking that intercession means bringing our own personal sympathies and concerns into the presence of God, and then demanding that He do whatever we ask. Our ability to approach God is due entirely to the vicarious, or substitutionary, identification of our Lord with sin. We have "boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus."
Spiritual stubbornness is the most effective hindrance to intercession, because it is based on a sympathetic "understanding" of things we see in ourselves and others that we think needs no atonement. We have the idea that there are certain good and virtuous things in each of us that do not need to be based on the atonement by the Cross of Christ. Just the sluggishness and lack of interest produced by this kind of thinking makes us unable to intercede. We do not identify ourselves with God’s interests and concerns for others, and we get irritated with Him. Yet we are always ready with our own ideas, and our intercession becomes only the glorification of our own natural sympathies. We have to realize that the identification of Jesus with sin means a radical change of all of our sympathies and interests. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute God’s interests in others for our natural sympathy with them.
Am I stubborn or substituted? Am I spoiled or complete in my relationship to God? Am I irritable or spiritual? Am I determined to have my own way or determined to be identified with Him?
- Oswald Chambers, from "My Utmost For His Highest"
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hea from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14
Thursday, 11 September 2008
GOD BELIEVES IN YOU
by Max Lucado
The tale involves a wealthy father and a willful son. The boy prematurely takes his inheritance and moves to Las Vegas and there wastes the money on slot machines and call girls. As fast as you can say “blackjack,” he is broke. Too proud to go home, he gets a job sweeping horse stables at the racetrack. When he finds himself tasting some of their oats and thinking, H’m, a dash of salt and this wouldn’t be too bad, he realizes enough is enough. It’s time to go home. The gardener at his father’s house does better than this. So off he goes, rehearsing his repentance speech every step of the way.
But the father has other ideas. He “had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”
We don’t expect such a response. We expect crossed arms and a furrowed brow. At best a guarded handshake. At least a stern lecture. But the father gives none of these. Instead he gives gifts. “Bring out the best robe … a ring … sandals.… And bring the fatted calf … and let us eat and be merry” (Luke 15:11–23 NKJV). Robe, sandals, calf, and … Did you see it? A ring.
Before the boy has a chance to wash his hands, he has a ring to put on his finger. In Christ’s day rings were more than gifts; they were symbols of delegated sovereignty. The bearer of the ring could speak on behalf of the giver. It was used to press a seal into soft wax to validate a transaction. The one who wore the ring conducted business in the name of the one who gave it.
Would you have done this? Would you have given this prodigal son power-of-attorney privileges over your affairs? Would you have entrusted him with a credit card? Would you have given him this ring?
Before you start questioning the wisdom of the father, remember, in this story you are the boy. When you came home to God, you were given authority to conduct business in your heavenly Father’s name.
When you speak truth, you are God’s ambassador.
As you steward the money he gives, you are his business manager.
When you declare forgiveness, you are his priest.
As you stir the healing of the body or the soul, you are his physician.
And when you pray, he listens to you as a father listens to a son. You have a voice in the household of God. He has given you his ring.
God believes in you. And, I wonder, could you take some of the belief that he has in you and share it with someone else?
You and I have the privilege to do for others what God does for us. How do we show people that we believe in them?
Do not withhold encouragement from the discouraged. Do not keep affirmation from the beaten down! Speak words that make people stronger. Believe in them as God has believed in you.
From
A Love Worth Giving
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
The tale involves a wealthy father and a willful son. The boy prematurely takes his inheritance and moves to Las Vegas and there wastes the money on slot machines and call girls. As fast as you can say “blackjack,” he is broke. Too proud to go home, he gets a job sweeping horse stables at the racetrack. When he finds himself tasting some of their oats and thinking, H’m, a dash of salt and this wouldn’t be too bad, he realizes enough is enough. It’s time to go home. The gardener at his father’s house does better than this. So off he goes, rehearsing his repentance speech every step of the way.
But the father has other ideas. He “had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”
We don’t expect such a response. We expect crossed arms and a furrowed brow. At best a guarded handshake. At least a stern lecture. But the father gives none of these. Instead he gives gifts. “Bring out the best robe … a ring … sandals.… And bring the fatted calf … and let us eat and be merry” (Luke 15:11–23 NKJV). Robe, sandals, calf, and … Did you see it? A ring.
Before the boy has a chance to wash his hands, he has a ring to put on his finger. In Christ’s day rings were more than gifts; they were symbols of delegated sovereignty. The bearer of the ring could speak on behalf of the giver. It was used to press a seal into soft wax to validate a transaction. The one who wore the ring conducted business in the name of the one who gave it.
Would you have done this? Would you have given this prodigal son power-of-attorney privileges over your affairs? Would you have entrusted him with a credit card? Would you have given him this ring?
Before you start questioning the wisdom of the father, remember, in this story you are the boy. When you came home to God, you were given authority to conduct business in your heavenly Father’s name.
When you speak truth, you are God’s ambassador.
As you steward the money he gives, you are his business manager.
When you declare forgiveness, you are his priest.
As you stir the healing of the body or the soul, you are his physician.
And when you pray, he listens to you as a father listens to a son. You have a voice in the household of God. He has given you his ring.
God believes in you. And, I wonder, could you take some of the belief that he has in you and share it with someone else?
You and I have the privilege to do for others what God does for us. How do we show people that we believe in them?
Do not withhold encouragement from the discouraged. Do not keep affirmation from the beaten down! Speak words that make people stronger. Believe in them as God has believed in you.
From
A Love Worth Giving
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
THANK YOU
Dear brothers & sisters in Christ..
I would like to take this opportunity to express heartfelt thanks and gratitude on behalf of my family for your kind concern during my hospitalization.
It is said that you will know your true friends in your hour of need, and I count it my rich blessing to have your encouragement and prayers during my moment of infirmity.
I thank the Lord for seeing my family and I through this week and though the sequence of events that happened, I believe that it has worked together for good in the end.
-
Bretheren..
There is always a silver lining in every cloud and I have learned to take this time to rest and reflect. Sometimes life gets so hectic and out of control that *God forbid* a spanner is thrown into the works just to halt everything for a moment. It's as though God is saying ''have a break, have a Kit Kat''.
He does have a sense of humour, after all.
-
On a more serious note, the near-fatality of this incident has hit home a very important truth. Life is fragile. We are like the morning mist. Our lifespan is but a breath compared to the eternity of God's timing. All the more we should make our lives count by living for our Lord Jesus Christ and serving Him wholeheartedly.
But be encouraged that He has us in the palm of His hand and nothing will befall us except with His permission and His grace is sufficient to see all of us through.
-
Brothers & sisters in the Lord.
I also take this opportunity to encourage you to stay faithful in running the race together. The leaders, the congregation, the shepherd, the sheep, the young and the young at heart. None should be left out or left behind as we take a page from Paul:
A fellow servant,
SK Sim
I would like to take this opportunity to express heartfelt thanks and gratitude on behalf of my family for your kind concern during my hospitalization.
It is said that you will know your true friends in your hour of need, and I count it my rich blessing to have your encouragement and prayers during my moment of infirmity.
I thank the Lord for seeing my family and I through this week and though the sequence of events that happened, I believe that it has worked together for good in the end.
-
Bretheren..
There is always a silver lining in every cloud and I have learned to take this time to rest and reflect. Sometimes life gets so hectic and out of control that *God forbid* a spanner is thrown into the works just to halt everything for a moment. It's as though God is saying ''have a break, have a Kit Kat''.
He does have a sense of humour, after all.
-
On a more serious note, the near-fatality of this incident has hit home a very important truth. Life is fragile. We are like the morning mist. Our lifespan is but a breath compared to the eternity of God's timing. All the more we should make our lives count by living for our Lord Jesus Christ and serving Him wholeheartedly.
But be encouraged that He has us in the palm of His hand and nothing will befall us except with His permission and His grace is sufficient to see all of us through.
-
Brothers & sisters in the Lord.
I also take this opportunity to encourage you to stay faithful in running the race together. The leaders, the congregation, the shepherd, the sheep, the young and the young at heart. None should be left out or left behind as we take a page from Paul:
''Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth untothose things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus''Phil 3 : 13-14
A fellow servant,
SK Sim
THANK YOU
Dear brothers & sisters in Christ..
I would like to take this opportunity to express heartfelt thanks and gratitude on behalf of my family for your kind concern during my hospitalization.
It is said that you will know your true friends in your hour of need, and I count it my rich blessing to have your encouragement and prayers during my moment of infirmity.
I thank the Lord for seeing my family and I through this week and though the sequence of events that happened, I believe that it has worked together for good in the end.
-
Bretheren..
There is always a silver lining in every cloud and I have learned to take this time to rest and reflect. Sometimes life gets so hectic and out of control that *God forbid* a spanner is thrown into the works just to halt everything for a moment. It's as though God is saying ''have a break, have a Kit Kat''.
He does have a sense of humour, after all.
-
On a more serious note, the near-fatality of this incident has hit home a very important truth. Life is fragile. We are like the morning mist. Our lifespan is but a breath compared to the eternity of God's timing. All the more we should make our lives count by living for our Lord Jesus Christ and serving Him wholeheartedly.
But be encouraged that He has us in the palm of His hand and nothing will befall us except with His permission and His grace is sufficient to see all of us through.
-
Brothers & sisters in the Lord.
I also take this opportunity to encourage you to stay faithful in running the race together. The leaders, the congregation, the shepherd, the sheep, the young and the young at heart. None should be left out or left behind as we take a page from Paul:
A fellow servant,
SK Sim
I would like to take this opportunity to express heartfelt thanks and gratitude on behalf of my family for your kind concern during my hospitalization.
It is said that you will know your true friends in your hour of need, and I count it my rich blessing to have your encouragement and prayers during my moment of infirmity.
I thank the Lord for seeing my family and I through this week and though the sequence of events that happened, I believe that it has worked together for good in the end.
-
Bretheren..
There is always a silver lining in every cloud and I have learned to take this time to rest and reflect. Sometimes life gets so hectic and out of control that *God forbid* a spanner is thrown into the works just to halt everything for a moment. It's as though God is saying ''have a break, have a Kit Kat''.
He does have a sense of humour, after all.
-
On a more serious note, the near-fatality of this incident has hit home a very important truth. Life is fragile. We are like the morning mist. Our lifespan is but a breath compared to the eternity of God's timing. All the more we should make our lives count by living for our Lord Jesus Christ and serving Him wholeheartedly.
But be encouraged that He has us in the palm of His hand and nothing will befall us except with His permission and His grace is sufficient to see all of us through.
-
Brothers & sisters in the Lord.
I also take this opportunity to encourage you to stay faithful in running the race together. The leaders, the congregation, the shepherd, the sheep, the young and the young at heart. None should be left out or left behind as we take a page from Paul:
''Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth untothose things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus''
Phil 3 : 13-14
Phil 3 : 13-14
A fellow servant,
SK Sim
Monday, 8 September 2008
THANK YOU
Dear brothers & sisters in Christ..
I would like to take this opportunity to express heartfelt thanks and gratitude on behalf of my family for your kind concern during my hospitalization.
It is said that you will know your true friends in your hour of need, and I count it my rich blessing to have your encouragement and prayers during my moment of infirmity.
I thank the Lord for seeing my family and I through this week and though the sequence of events that happened, I believe that it has worked together for good in the end.
-
Bretheren..
There is always a silver lining in every cloud and I have learned to take this time to rest and reflect. Sometimes life gets so hectic and out of control that *God forbid* a spanner is thrown into the works just to halt everything for a moment. It's as though God is saying ''have a break, have a Kit Kat''.
He does have a sense of humour, after all.
-
On a more serious note, the near-fatality of this incident has hit home a very important truth. Life is fragile. We are like the morning mist. Our lifespan is but a breath compared to the eternity of God's timing. All the more we should make our lives count by living for our Lord Jesus Christ and serving Him wholeheartedly.
But be encouraged that He has us in the palm of His hand and nothing will befall us except with His permission and His grace is sufficient to see all of us through.
-
Brothers & sisters in the Lord.
I also take this opportunity to encourage you to stay faithful in running the race together. The leaders, the congregation, the shepherd, the sheep, the young and the young at heart. None should be left out or left behind as we take a page from Paul:
A fellow servant,
SK Sim
I would like to take this opportunity to express heartfelt thanks and gratitude on behalf of my family for your kind concern during my hospitalization.
It is said that you will know your true friends in your hour of need, and I count it my rich blessing to have your encouragement and prayers during my moment of infirmity.
I thank the Lord for seeing my family and I through this week and though the sequence of events that happened, I believe that it has worked together for good in the end.
-
Bretheren..
There is always a silver lining in every cloud and I have learned to take this time to rest and reflect. Sometimes life gets so hectic and out of control that *God forbid* a spanner is thrown into the works just to halt everything for a moment. It's as though God is saying ''have a break, have a Kit Kat''.
He does have a sense of humour, after all.
-
On a more serious note, the near-fatality of this incident has hit home a very important truth. Life is fragile. We are like the morning mist. Our lifespan is but a breath compared to the eternity of God's timing. All the more we should make our lives count by living for our Lord Jesus Christ and serving Him wholeheartedly.
But be encouraged that He has us in the palm of His hand and nothing will befall us except with His permission and His grace is sufficient to see all of us through.
-
Brothers & sisters in the Lord.
I also take this opportunity to encourage you to stay faithful in running the race together. The leaders, the congregation, the shepherd, the sheep, the young and the young at heart. None should be left out or left behind as we take a page from Paul:
''Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth untothose things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus''Phil 3 : 13-14
A fellow servant,
SK Sim
14 SEPTEMBER 2008
Siow KW
Peter Long
Phoebe Sim, Peggy Tan, Shankar R.
-
Lydia Sim
Jonathan Long
-
Anna Sim
Nicholas Teh
-
Richard, Meng Fhui
Tommy Quek, Hiew FF
Peter Long
Phoebe Sim, Peggy Tan, Shankar R.
-
Lydia Sim
Jonathan Long
-
Anna Sim
Nicholas Teh
-
Richard, Meng Fhui
Tommy Quek, Hiew FF
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Vital Intercession
"... praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit ..." - Ephesian 6:18
As we continue on in our intercession for others, we may find that our obedience to God in interceding is going to cost those for whom we intercede more than we ever thought. The danger in this is that we begin to interceded in sympathy with those whom God was gradually lifting up to totally different level in direct answer to our prayers. Whenever we step back from our close identification with God's interest and concern for others and step onto having emotional sympathy with them, the vital connection with God is gone. We have then put our sympathy and concern for them in way, and this is a deliberate rebuke to God.
It is impossible for us to have living and vital intercession unless we are perfectly and completely sure of God. And the greatest destroyer of that confident relationship to God, so necessary for intercession, is our own personal sympathy and preconceived bias. Identification with God is the key to intercession, and whenever we stop being identified with Him it is because of our sympathy with others, not because of sin. It is not likely that sin will interfere with our intercessory relationship with God, but sympathy will. It is sympathy with ourselves or with others that makes us say, "I will not allow that thing to happen." And instantly we are out of that vital connection with God.
Vital intercession leaves you with neither the time nor the inclination to pray for your own "sad and pitiful self." You do not have to struggle to keep thoughts of yourself out, because they are not even there to be kept out of your thinking. You are completely in other lives. God gives us discernment in the lives of others to call us to intercession for them, never so that we may find fault with fault them.
- Oswald Chamber, from "My Utmost For His Highest"
Let each of you out only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others. - Philippians 2:4
As we continue on in our intercession for others, we may find that our obedience to God in interceding is going to cost those for whom we intercede more than we ever thought. The danger in this is that we begin to interceded in sympathy with those whom God was gradually lifting up to totally different level in direct answer to our prayers. Whenever we step back from our close identification with God's interest and concern for others and step onto having emotional sympathy with them, the vital connection with God is gone. We have then put our sympathy and concern for them in way, and this is a deliberate rebuke to God.
It is impossible for us to have living and vital intercession unless we are perfectly and completely sure of God. And the greatest destroyer of that confident relationship to God, so necessary for intercession, is our own personal sympathy and preconceived bias. Identification with God is the key to intercession, and whenever we stop being identified with Him it is because of our sympathy with others, not because of sin. It is not likely that sin will interfere with our intercessory relationship with God, but sympathy will. It is sympathy with ourselves or with others that makes us say, "I will not allow that thing to happen." And instantly we are out of that vital connection with God.
Vital intercession leaves you with neither the time nor the inclination to pray for your own "sad and pitiful self." You do not have to struggle to keep thoughts of yourself out, because they are not even there to be kept out of your thinking. You are completely in other lives. God gives us discernment in the lives of others to call us to intercession for them, never so that we may find fault with fault them.
- Oswald Chamber, from "My Utmost For His Highest"
Let each of you out only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others. - Philippians 2:4
Friday, 5 September 2008
HIS WING SHELTERS YOU
by Max Lucado
“He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers.”
(Psalm 91:4)
My college friends and I barely escaped a West Texas storm before it pummeled the park where we were spending a Saturday afternoon. As we were leaving, my buddy brought the car to a sudden stop and gestured to a tender sight on the ground. A mother bird sat exposed to the rain, her wing extended over her baby who had fallen out of the nest. The fierce storm prohibited her from returning to the tree, so she covered her child until the wind passed.
From how many winds is God protecting you? His wing, at this moment, shields you. A slanderous critic heading toward your desk is interrupted by a phone call. A burglar en route to your house has a flat tire. A drunk driver runs out of gas before your car passes his. God, your guardian, protects you from
“every trap” (Ps. 91:3);
“the fatal plague” (Ps. 91:3);
“the plague that stalks in darkness” (Ps. 91:6);
“the terrors of the night…the dangers of the day” (Ps. 91:5).
One translation boldly promises: “Nothing bad will happen to you” (Ps. 91:10 NCV).
“Then why does it?” someone erupts. “Explain my job transfer. Or the bum who called himself my dad. Or the death of our child.” If God is our guardian, why do bad things happen to us?
Have they? Have bad things really happened to you? You and God may have different definitions for the word bad.
God views your life the way you view a movie after you’ve read the book. When something bad happens, you feel the air sucked out of the theater. Everyone else gasps at the crisis on the screen. Not you. Why? You’ve read the book. You know how the good guy gets out of the tight spot. God views your life with the same confidence. He’s not only read your story…he wrote it. His perspective is different, and his purpose is clear.
God uses struggles to toughen our spiritual skin.
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2–4)
Trust him. “But when I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (Ps. 56:3). Join with Isaiah, who resolved, “I will trust in him and not be afraid” (Isa. 12:2).
God is directing your steps and delighting in every detail of your life (Ps. 37:23–24). In fact, that’s his car pulling over to the side of the road. That’s God opening the door. And that’s you climbing into the passenger seat.
There now, don’t you feel safer knowing he is in control?
From
Come Thirsty
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
“He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers.”
(Psalm 91:4)
My college friends and I barely escaped a West Texas storm before it pummeled the park where we were spending a Saturday afternoon. As we were leaving, my buddy brought the car to a sudden stop and gestured to a tender sight on the ground. A mother bird sat exposed to the rain, her wing extended over her baby who had fallen out of the nest. The fierce storm prohibited her from returning to the tree, so she covered her child until the wind passed.
From how many winds is God protecting you? His wing, at this moment, shields you. A slanderous critic heading toward your desk is interrupted by a phone call. A burglar en route to your house has a flat tire. A drunk driver runs out of gas before your car passes his. God, your guardian, protects you from
“every trap” (Ps. 91:3);
“the fatal plague” (Ps. 91:3);
“the plague that stalks in darkness” (Ps. 91:6);
“the terrors of the night…the dangers of the day” (Ps. 91:5).
One translation boldly promises: “Nothing bad will happen to you” (Ps. 91:10 NCV).
“Then why does it?” someone erupts. “Explain my job transfer. Or the bum who called himself my dad. Or the death of our child.” If God is our guardian, why do bad things happen to us?
Have they? Have bad things really happened to you? You and God may have different definitions for the word bad.
God views your life the way you view a movie after you’ve read the book. When something bad happens, you feel the air sucked out of the theater. Everyone else gasps at the crisis on the screen. Not you. Why? You’ve read the book. You know how the good guy gets out of the tight spot. God views your life with the same confidence. He’s not only read your story…he wrote it. His perspective is different, and his purpose is clear.
God uses struggles to toughen our spiritual skin.
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2–4)
Trust him. “But when I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (Ps. 56:3). Join with Isaiah, who resolved, “I will trust in him and not be afraid” (Isa. 12:2).
God is directing your steps and delighting in every detail of your life (Ps. 37:23–24). In fact, that’s his car pulling over to the side of the road. That’s God opening the door. And that’s you climbing into the passenger seat.
There now, don’t you feel safer knowing he is in control?
From
Come Thirsty
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
Monday, 1 September 2008
7 SEPTEMBER 2008
Caleb R.
Kai Yew
Siew Pin, Gigi Lim, Lydia Sim
-
Jun Fhui
Meng Fhui
-
Terry Choong
Anna Sim
-
Moses Tan, Tian Sia
Tom Cheryan, Manjit Singh
Kai Yew
Siew Pin, Gigi Lim, Lydia Sim
-
Jun Fhui
Meng Fhui
-
Terry Choong
Anna Sim
-
Moses Tan, Tian Sia
Tom Cheryan, Manjit Singh
The 23rd Channel
Dedicated to all Television Fanatics
The television is my shepherd, my spiritual life does want.
It makes me to sit down and do nothing.
It leads me beside people of no faith.
It restores my desire for worldly pleasures.
It requires all my spare time and keeps me from doing the will of God because it presents so much foolishness which I must see.
It increases my knowledge of nonsense and keeps me from the study of the Word of God.
Even though I live to be a hundred, yet the viewing of my television shall have first place in my life as long as it does operate, for it is my closest companion.
It's sound and its picture comfort me.
It presents foolishness and folly before me continually and keeps me from surrendering my whole life to God.
It anoints my mind with seeds of corruption and fills my head with vanity, which profits me nothing, my cup remains empty.
Surely no good thing will come to my life because I am devoted to my television, which leaves me no spare time to serve God.
Therefore I will dwell in the House of Confusion forever
Adapted originally by Joseph Bakke - a great man of faith in God
Psalm 101:3 - I will set no wicked things before my eyes.
The television is my shepherd, my spiritual life does want.
It makes me to sit down and do nothing.
It leads me beside people of no faith.
It restores my desire for worldly pleasures.
It requires all my spare time and keeps me from doing the will of God because it presents so much foolishness which I must see.
It increases my knowledge of nonsense and keeps me from the study of the Word of God.
Even though I live to be a hundred, yet the viewing of my television shall have first place in my life as long as it does operate, for it is my closest companion.
It's sound and its picture comfort me.
It presents foolishness and folly before me continually and keeps me from surrendering my whole life to God.
It anoints my mind with seeds of corruption and fills my head with vanity, which profits me nothing, my cup remains empty.
Surely no good thing will come to my life because I am devoted to my television, which leaves me no spare time to serve God.
Therefore I will dwell in the House of Confusion forever
Adapted originally by Joseph Bakke - a great man of faith in God
Psalm 101:3 - I will set no wicked things before my eyes.
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