May the grace of the Lord;the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us

2010-04-05T10:23:00.000+08:00

TGIF was a blessing for us all. PTL.

Moses is speaking...

2008-03-30T03:38:00.002+08:00

Psalm 90

Woohoo! we are at book 4 of the psalms le. And this psalm was written by Moses! How old. HAHA. It's talking about the eternal nature of God and the temporary life of ours here on earth. In verse 4, thousands of years are like one day to God. He is really eternal. And in verse 10 and 12, we recognise how how our lives are, at most 80 plus? So what do we want to do with our lives? What do you want to see before you die? Hopefully, we will live our lives effectively and wisely for God.

And verse 8 caught my attention alot. Our secret sins, God knows. There is no need to hide before Him, and He loves us and forgives us. Reminds me of sanctification day 1. God wants us to remove the veil that covers our face. We do not have to act good, holy. We do not have to cover our sins. When we learn this, we recognise that our security is in the Lord, not on how people see us. Then we will reflect the glory of God.

Verse 14, come to God and receive His love which is new every morning, and you will have joy throughout the day. What happened yesterday is over, today you are loved again. =)

more psalms....

2008-03-30T02:48:00.002+08:00

Havent been updating, cos busy with school work and weekend were burned with activities, but i hope we have been doing our psalmy days... and growing closer to the Lord even through sanctification and spending time with Him. Here's just a quick summary of the psalms.

Psalm 76
Vs 1-3 referred to God, His name, tabernacle, dwelling place etc... But vs 4-1 referred to God as You. Seems like Asaph was first praising God, then moving closer to have a dialogue with God, addressing Him as You. Perhaps this is something we need to do too.. we can praise God for who He is, but learn to draw nearer so that we have talk to Him as our friend/Father.

Psalm 77
Here Asaph started with crying out to the Lord to bring his requests before Him. vs 1-10 was all his cries, "I-s". Then vs 11-12, he was reminded of what God has done, and from vs 13 on, his focus was shifted to God, to worshipping Him, "You-s". Similarly, when we pray, there is a tendency for us to focus on ourselves, God i need this. God, help me. God, see my situation and deliver me. God, answer my prayers. But as we pray, He will shift our focus to Him, His power, His deeds... and we can have faith in Him.

Psalm 78
Familiar story of God's glory. He delivered the people from slavery, parted the red sea, provided food for the people, guided them through the desert. Yet the people rebelled and were not faithful to Him. The kept making demands, testing God, turning away from Him, didnt follow God with their hearts. In the end, God did not bring them into the promised land. They wandered 40 years in the desert. Only the later generation entered.

Are we like the stubborn and rebellious people? God has been blessing us, guiding and providing for us. Are we faithful, obedient and listening to His word? Let this story of the Israelites remind us not to be unfaithful towards God who gave us so many miracles.

Psalm 79
In times of difficulties, cry out to God. Dont be angry with God, He never plan to harm us, only to bless us. If we continue to trust in him, we will see that in the end, He will turn things around. We must learn to go through time of trials so that our characters are built in the Lord.

Psalm 80
A prayer for revival and restoration after destruction. God is our only hope for salvation. Well, we need to be in the constant process of humbling ourselves and repenting from our sins, then receiving His forgiveness and find ourselves being restored.

Psalm 81
HAHA. It is recorded that this is a holiday psalm. But i guess it means for us to remember God's goodness. Just like how Israel remembers how God delivered them while they were unfaithful, we should remember what God has done during Christmas, Good friday and Ester.

Psalm 82
God judges.

Psalm 83
A prayer for God to show Himself to all the nations. All may know that God alone is the Lord!

Psalm 84
I like this psalm. =) "How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!" "Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising You. Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage." "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elesewhere"

God's presence is the best place to be, there is great joy and peace, and we will grow in strength, grace and glory.

But does that mean that we need to be in church everyday to be in God's presence? I'm learning that God's presence is always around, because He is everywhere. He is with you in class, at home or even on the bus. Entering into His presence is to recognise that He is with you, and you can talk to Him, hear from Him and fellowship with Him, everywhere!

Psalm 85
God can be angry with us. especially when we sin and refuse to obey Him. But there will be a fear because we know that God will deal with us, that reverence will turn us to God and seek Him. When we seek and obey Him, He will forgive us, and restore us with His love.

Psalm 86
I like this too. =) I guess the whole psalm is summarise by 2 verses. "Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours" Praise God!

"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name."

Psalm 87
The city of God, Zion, where all believers will one day gather. Will you be there?

Psalm 88
Written by Heman, a son of korah. When there is no relief in sight, everything is bad and getting worse, and you are so low in life that you are depressed and upset, you can tell God. This is a psalm you can use. And it is one of the few psalms that gives no answer or expression of hope. hopeless. But it's ok, you may not be cheerful and positive always, depression and hurts take time to heal. Just talk to God...

Psalm 89
This psalm records God's promise to preserve David's descendants. But we see that Jerusalem was eventually destroyed and there was no kings from David's line. But this can actually be talking about Jesus' reign... His kingdom, glorious and established forever.

2008-03-20T21:56:00.002+08:00

HEY ALL!

Long time no post. xD Here's a little nonscence to get all you people retarded. xP

sin, no sin

2008-03-20T00:07:00.002+08:00

School has started. More things to do... but will still try my best to post. =)

Psalm 74

God was angry with Israel and rejected the people He loved. Huh? I thought God is loving and merciful? Is it possible for Him to be angry with us and reject me???

God is slow to anger and is merciful, always forgiving our sins. But His patience can also run out if we persist in our sins. His patience? He is always waiting for us to respond to Him. But are we taking Him for granted? Patience may run out, love never end, but judgement will still come.

vs 8: People who hate God want to remove everything about God. But God is so powerful, He is God, no one can ever remove His presence. He is real. No matter where we hide, how we ignore Him, we can never leave His sight. He is always looking at you.

Sometimes we may feel that God is not there, but He is.... no one removes His presence remember. And we need to remember what He has done for us in the past, then we can be alive spiritually and continue trusting Him.

Psalm 75

vs 2: It is God who selected the appointed time and who judge with equity. He will act when His time comes. But we often cannot understand God's timing, always wanting things now. But God will do what needs to be done, not what we want Him to do. Wait for Him, dont take matters into our hands. Because when we do things in our own time, we may miss His perfect timing and the results may not be what He wants or we want. Often people fall and fail to receive God's blessings because of this.

vs 8: the cup represents God's judgement. The wicked will be judged, like drinking down to the dregs, which symbolises being punished completely. It's like drinking medicine, hopefully, with bits of it, we will recover and no longer need it. But if we keep on sinning, we will be spiritually sick. So we will need to drink the medicine, accept the punishments.

In His Sanctuary

2008-03-14T02:45:00.002+08:00

Psalm 73

Asaph, the author of the psalm, was expressing his confusion that wicked prospered and are carefree and arrogant. It seems like he has kept himself pure in vain. Sometimes we may be like him, seeing others prosper and doing well, and we wonder why are we still keeping the faith, when God seems like not blessing us. And we may feel frustrated, disturbed and lack of faith...

But in verse 1, Asaph praise God and said that he almost slipped because his focus was turned upon the people and his circumstances. vs1-3. When we turn our focus from God, and look at our circumstances, we often lose focus and start to envy others, start to lose our faith. Like peter... when Jesus called out to him, he looked to Jesus and started walking on water. But once he started looking around him and realised he was on water, he began to sink. Similarly, when we look at our circumstances, we begin to sink into our emotions, failures, negative feelings, lack of faith. We need to look to Jesus, who will keep us going because we can hope and have faith in Him.

Remember God is just, the wicked will not last forever. But we who remains faithful and work for the Lord will be rewarded for eternity. So what to do now? I guess the answer is in verse 27-28. To stay near to the Lord. When asaph came into God's sanctuary, he saw the truth, he realised that God will bless him. We need to come into God's sanctuary, to draw near to Him, so that we can see the truth, so that we will find our security and hope in Him.

In His sanctuary, we dwell in His presence and focus upon Him, so that no matter what life's circumstances are, we can have faith and hope.

Know Him

2008-03-13T02:24:00.002+08:00

Psalm 71

This psalm seems to be an old man reflecting on what God has done for him and giving thanks for all. We too, need to find time to sit down and think about what God has done for us, then we will see the consistency of His grace, trust Him for the future and share with others the benefits of following Him.

This psalmist was thus able to keep his hope in the Lord, even when his enemies attacked him, or when circumstances were against him. Because he remembered God's grace and that it will be with him forever.

From an audio sermon i just listened to: When you don't have hope, you dont have faith. Without faith, you cant please God. And you will not see His power revealed in your life. Only when you believe it, then can you see it. Don't focus on your circumstances and what you cannot do, focus on God, and you will see His power coming through in your life.

Psalm 72

Leaders should rule with righteousness and justice. This psalm was written by solomon as a prayer for his son to be able to rule the nation justly and wisely. So this psalm was written about a perfect king whom solomon wanted his son to become. But we see that this psalm also describes Jesus, the perfect King. A King who will be feared by all, who nourishes His people so abundantly that they flourish. He rules all over the earth, all will bow down to Him and serve Him. His enemies will be defeated.

He cares for the needy, afflicted and weak because they are precious to Him. We too should love and help these people. Talking about becoming like Jesus ah...

This psalm gives a clear picture of God, vs 1-4: He is just and righteous. vs 5-10: He is glorious and blessed. vs 12-15: He is loving and compassionate. vs 16-19: He is everlasting God and wonderful savior. Question: How you experienced and know God in all these aspect? Ask of Him to show you more of Himself today, so that you will get to know Him better.

Not a vending machine, but a friend

2008-03-12T01:38:00.002+08:00

Psalm 69

This psalm can also be referred to Jesus' life, how He was rejected by His own brothers, how He was scoffed at, insulted, humiliated, how He suffered and the soldiers gave Him vinegar to drink... Many things to learn from this psalm, from david's and Jesus' lives.

vs 1-4: David was so tired he felt like he was sinking into the ocean. He cried till his eyes were tired, called out till his voice was parched and his vision failed. He faced many enemies who hurt him greatly since many are his close friends or even son, and was wronged. Yet he trusted God to save him. We too can trust in God! The tears we cried will not be in vain, because God collects them, sees them...

God sees all our sins and deeds, we cant run away from Him. We can only pray that our deeds will glorify Him and that we will carry our crosses daily for Him. Look at David, he faced many problems, he was mocked at, insulted, humiliated and gossipped about. Jesus too, faced all these, and was betrayed by his close disciple and hurt by people He loved. Both of them still turned to God and God delivered them, honouring them in the end.

Similarly, we may face bad circumstances and are hopeless about certain things, we need to set our minds and hearts to trust God. He will glorify us. It is not easy, but God promises His lovingkindness and to deliver us, never to let us fall. He is the most faithful friend we can ever have, dont keep Him out.

vs 31 talks about our sacrifices. Very clearly, God is more please with our praises and thanksgiving than monetary or time sacrifices. He wants us to be humble, to know that we are nothing and can do nothing without Him. So we must seek Him first, then we will be glad and joyful. True joy does not come from money, success nor friends. True joy comes only from God.

Psalm 70

When people hurt or disappoint us, we feel empty or broken. That's when we need to beg God to come quickly to help us, to restore our security and joy. He can!

But we must not forget to praise God because praise helps us remember who God is. Dont take God for granted and treat Him like a vending machine, to request for all the provisions, healings, blessings.... He is your friend.

praise to the awesome God

2008-03-11T17:27:00.002+08:00

More to go....

Psalm 66

Have we praised God today?

Verse 5-7 reminds us of the great deeds of God. He dried the sea so that the Israelites can be delivered from slavery. He can perform such miracles in real life and for us even now, not just in the past.

Fire refines silver such that it comes out shiny and pure. Similarly, God puts us through the trials in life to refine us, so that we will be wiser, purer and come out more like Him. Life is a gift from God, we shouldnt take it for granted. Thus in life, we should continually confess our sins, check ourselves and live according to God's plans. God will remember his promises for us. =)

Psalm 67

A psalm that speaks about the joy of sharing the gospel. We need to pray that God's grace be with us and bless us, and let us radiate with His glory. The people will see and know God through us and be saved. They will praise Him for the good news, for what He has done for us, and be glad that we have a righteous judge who will guide us.

Our prayer will be that we will be the one who praise Him and share the gospel so that the harvest will be abundant and all the earth will fear Him!

Psalm 68

Psalm 66 and 67's authors were unknown. But psalm 68 was written by David, when he was bringing the ark into Mount Zion. There was great joy among the people, the righteous, fatherless, widows, lonely and prsoners can rejoice and be hopeful in the Lord. We too can find joy in loving and praising God!

But how can we find that joy? When we see God in His majesty and for who He is, we will have no choice but to praise Him. vs 19-21, God is our salvation. He died to set us free from our sins and death. But those who refuse to accept God will be trapped by the sin they love and be destroyed by the death they fear.

As Christians, we know Jesus poured out all His blood and life, suffered all humiliations, betray and pain for us. When we think about all these thatGod has done for us, we would be overwhelmed with awe and thanksgiving. His unlimtied power and unspeakable majesty will leave us breathless in His presence. He holds the earth in His hands! We will praise Him!

security, friend, lover

2008-03-10T01:40:00.002+08:00

oops... here's moe updates.but feels like i'm talking to myself. HAHA.

Psalm 63

We are created with a God-shaped vacuum in our hearts, so without God, we would feel lonely, empty and that life is meaningless. If that's how we are feeling, lonely or thirsty for something lasting in our lives, like David in verse 1-5, we can call out to God. Only He can satisfy out deepest longings.

I like verse 63, that we should meditate and reflect on what God has done for us at night. That will bring us peace and comfort, and helps us to rest well at night. What is more comforting, assuring and able to give us security to sleep in peace, than God? When we hide under the shelter of His wings, we can be at rest because His wings will shelter us from all the stones thrown at us. He will deliver us and vindicate us.

Psalm 64

Sometimes we may feel that God only wants to hear the right things from us, prayers, confessions of sins, praises, worships.... Yes, God desires and wants all these, but He is also willing to hear our complaints and grumblings. Because He is our friend! He wants us to talk to Him like we would talk to a friend.

And we have read so many times that God will deliver us. Even when people say the wrong things about us, even backstab us, we do not need to fear if these accusations are untrue. Because God will return these wickedness such that those against us will fall and everyone who sees will know that God delivered us. See, He will deliver us, for His glory!

But we must remember, that is if we are wronged. But if what people say about us are true, time to check ourselves and make corrections. God is a just God. Then we can be at rest, because we know we do the right things, and that we trust in God to deliver us.

Psalm 65

Other times, we may feel horrible or negative about ourselves because of our sins or wrong doings. Not sure if you have felt this before.... but i do. Feeling that i have let God down, frustrated that i sinned, guilty, unworthy.

But God reminds us that He forgives ALL sins, no matter how big. Even when we feel unworthy or that God will never forgive us, God says again, "I forgive you. And i will always forgive you, because i love you."

Not only so, He promises He will take care of us and provide for our needs. just that He takes care of the nature, He would pour forth even more for us, because He is generous and because we are important to Him.

From the ends of the earth, i will praise You

2008-03-05T00:00:00.002+08:00

yo! Anyone miss me? Sorry havent been posting because have been really tied down with school work. anyways, here's some update, more will come soon since it's school hols next week ;)

Psalm 61

Verse 1-2 are very nice and comforting. From the ends of the earth, i call to You. David may be chased out of his nation, away from the temple of God where he always went to. Which is why he said from the ends of the earth, far away from the place of God. But this is an assurance that not matter where we are, in church or not in church, God is with us and can hear us!

In verse 2, there is also a picture of God lifting us up to the rock with is higher than us. The rock is symbolic of God, stability, firm, never changing... We can find our security and stability when we stand upon the foundation of God. It is also a picture of Him lifting us up to where He is. When we are lifted to Him, we are also lifted from our problems! So cool right. One action, two purposes, to get away from our problems and to get nearer to God.

God promised us so many things and He will make them come true, because He is faithful. We ought to learn to be faithful too. Remember any promises you have made to God? For david, he promised to praise God everyday, something we should learn to do too. When we praise Gd, we can find our hearts lifted from distraction and growing deeper in love and faith in God!

Psalm 62

Prayers can release our tensions in times of emotional stress. Feeling tired, negative, emotional, stress? Pray!

If we trust in the Lord to be our Lord of all, the way we look and live our lives will change. We will have the stability in life. Doesnt mean that we wont face any problems, but it means when problems come, we can stand firm and not fall emotionally, physically or spiritually.

So, let's live our lives for God. The world says to live our lives to build our power, fame, wealth or honour. But will they last? Sadly no. Look at lydia shen, she has $200k? i think. cant rmb, but my mu was saying she left a huge fortune for her daughter. left... u cant bring ur fortune to eternity. And God says, these are not important. What is important to Him is our faithful work for Him, which will last!

David calls, God answers

2008-03-02T03:12:00.002+08:00

Psalm 59

David wrote the psalm asking for deliverance as Saul sent men who watched the house in order to kill him. Which is why in verse 7-8, he wrote about evil men who curse God as if God cannot hear and will not react, men who do evil thinking that they wont be judge. But God laughs at such people, because He is just waiting patiently for the day of judgement, the perfect timing for Him. So for us, we must remember that God hears and sees all that we do. Dont do silly things.

Saul who someone who used to love David, but was overwhelmed by jealousy and so wanted to kill David. Absalom, David's son, wanted to ascend to the throne, so he planned to kill his own father. Poor david... and sometimes, we may face the same thing, people we love failing us. There is only one person who never fails. God. He is never-changing, everlasting God.

Psalm 60

Again, written by David. But he wasnt on the run this time. Different context. This time, israel was away at war with Aram in the north, and Edom invaded israel from the south. (2 sam 8)

Times of trial again for David, But God revealed in verse 1-3, He may allow times us to go through difficult times so that we can be broken. Which is true... who will be humbled and broken if he/she is always having a good life and success?

God says too, in verse 6-10, that all the cities and nations belong to Him. He owns them and knows the future of each nation. Wow.... in other words, He also owns us, and know our future. He is in control of everything.

But i guess the biggest lesson for me from ps 60 is that when we are drawing nearer to God, our enemies will attack us and try to bring us down. Mr S.A.Tan doesnt like it when we are walking in God's way. So... when we are facing many spiritual attacks, we can be glad and encouraged to press on, because it means we are going to right way! And we may be like David, oppressed from every side, north, south.... but we can trust that God will be our help.

are u a snake?

2008-02-28T00:09:00.002+08:00

Psalm 58

Still remember what pastor khong said on sun? We by ourselves, are sinful and will do evil because of our selfish intentions. We lie to cover up our mistakes, backstab people so that we can climb up the ladder faster, gossip about people to satisfy ourselves, put people down or speak with an intention to make ourselves look good. Without God, we are sinful.

Just like the snake in psalm 58, use venom to inflict harm on its prey, attack people.. Snake gives people the feeling of being sly and evil. But under the control of the enchanter, the snake will actually listen to the music and flow in movement.

The Holy Spirit is like the enchanter, we like the snake. He will direct our lives and help keep us from doing evil. But we must open our ears to listen to Him.

No doubt about it, God will judge the people, even if He seems not doing anything now. He will. The question is, after reading, learning and knowing about God's justice, where do we stand? Are we the righteous standing before Him, to whom He says, "You will be justified. Come enjoy your rewards." Or are we the ones who ignore God, to whom God says, "You will be judged. Come face your punishments."

"Lord Lord, show me today, that i can be evil and sinful, without You. Let me humbly come before You, recognising this fact. Help me to be the righteous, not one who ignore You. Amen."

in quietness and in confident trust

2008-02-26T23:53:00.002+08:00

Psalm 57

David wrote this psalm, and by now we know that David faced many adversaries in life, being chased by saul and then his son absalom. There were people who betray him, hurt him...

We may just be like david. In life, we may face people who gossip about us, criticise us negatively and speak injustice against us. Words have power. These verbal cruelty can damage us as badly, or even worse than physical abuse. But the question is how are we responding to them? Fight back? use hateful words? an eye for an eye? Then... what makes us different from these people?

In contrast, verse 7 talks about david having a steadfast heart. It shows his firm and quiet faith in the Lord. There is no need for loud lying, or defense, or boasting. We just need to be quiet and praise God, realising that our confidence is in His love and faithfulness. (verse 10)

Are you in any suffering? Dont turn inward to self pity. Dont turn outward to revenge. Turn upward to God. He will offer us the best solution!

no man but God

2008-02-26T00:33:00.002+08:00

Psalm 56

I like verse 3,4,11. The Lord is with me, what can man do to me? If God is with us, He will protect us and be with us, nothing can harm or hurt us, unless He allows it. But we also know when He allows it, He will provide the care, love and provision so that we can go through it. =)

What can man do to me? Maybe man can hurt our feelings, cause us suffering and pressures, maybe even physical pain or death. But no man has the ability to rob us of our souls and hope in eternal life. Even when people hurt or harm us, we can recover and be well again. The only thing that can destroy our hope in eternal life and rob us of our joy and souls, is when we reject God. Left empty and lost. (Mat 10:28)

And the very comforting thing is God says He cares alot for us. He collects our tears, count the number of our hairs (Mat 10:30) God sees every situation, hears every prayer, knows our heart and thoughts... He cares, He sees our tears. =)

"Lord, be with me!"

cast your cares on Him

2008-02-25T00:25:00.002+08:00

Psalm 54

The people betrayed David and went to Saul to report where he was. But David continued to trust in God, even when man hurt and betray him. We can too, because God will save, vindicate and sustain us.

David usually pray to God, speaking truthfully about his feelings and needs, then he will go into praise. This is because when we praying and expressing ourselves to God, our spirits are lifted up because we have entrusted everything into God's hands!

Psalm 55

Sometimes, we have moments we want to escape from our problems and pressures around us. I have too. =) my greatest ambition... is to be... a... tabernacle attendant! just maintain and tabernacle, offer incense and sacrifices to God. How nice.. free from all the problems. But of course we cant. We can take delight though, that through all the problems, God will help us, and we will grow stronger in our faith and spiritual maturity.

Verse 12-14 talks about being hurt by friend. It's just like Jesus, who was betrayed by judas, his disciple. How does it feel to be betrayed by someone close to us? Usu the people who hurt us the most are the people we care and love. We cant do much about it i guess.. But we can go to God for comfort, because He is our real friend. Real friends stick by you in times of trouble and bring healing, love, acceptance and understanding. I hope i can grow to be a real friend for each of you too! learning la... =)

Then verse 17 talks about praying in the evening, morning and noon. Daniel did that (dan6:10), peter too (acts 10:9-10). It's really like u can come to God anytime to complain, to talk, to share happiness, sorrow.... And God says He will listen! And we need to keep praying, to keep our faith strong and to overcome the evil that is pulling us down everyday.

Finally, i like verse 22. Cast all your cares on the Lord, be it your studies, CCA, issues at home, with friends, negative feelings, pressures, stress.... tell God and let Him carry it for u... dont hold on to them. Trust in God and He can sustain us. =)

are you an olive tree?

2008-02-22T02:40:00.002+08:00

Psalm 52

This psalm was written by david, when doeg the Edomite betrayed him and Ahimelech, then killed God's priests. (1Sam 21:7, 22:9-23) Doeg boasted about his actions, thinking that he did well. But accomplishment may not necessary be good, like a skilled liar or someone who accomplishments were built on others' sufferings.

Similarly, we may do well in somethings, but it doesnt mean they are good. We need to check our actions and deed with God and His words, so that we do good, even if we dont achieve as much.

Vs 8, david contrasted himself with doeg, saying that himself is like an olive tree because he kept God's way and praise God. An olive tree is the longest-living tree and they flourishes. This shows God's eternal protection for His righteous versus the destruction of the wicked. I wanna be an olive tree!

a broken spirit and a contrite heart

2008-02-21T02:39:00.002+08:00

Psalm 51

Back to David. =) This psalm was written by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba. Adultery and murder of Bathsheba's husband. (2 Sam 12:1-33)

When we sin, we hurt ourselves and the people around us. And we hurt God too, because we offend and sin against Him. Sin is in a way rebellion against God's way of living. And remember, sin is not limited to things like murder, thief, adultery.... but it includes gossiping, living our own lives, and disobeying God, putting ourselves first....

David was sorry that he sinned and knew that his actions hurt the people, Bathsheba and her husband. He repented and God forgave him, which is why we still know him as a man after God's heart. God does not condemn us for a single sin. No matter how terrible we think we are, God can and will forgive us!

There will be consequences for sins, just like David, whose first baby with Bathsheba died. We have to face the consequences of our sins one day. And there will be more if we don't confess. If we do, the consequence may come, but we can be glad, God will then bless us after that. Just like David, who had Solomon with Bathsheba.

In verse 5, David said that we are born sinners, probably so, since we have a greater tendency to want to please ourselves instead of God, and to live our own ways. That's why he said in verse 10, we need God to clean our hearts and spirits, to give us new thoughts so that we do not sin.

Sometimes we may not know what we are doing are sins. But God loves us, so He will reveal it to us. Sometimes, we hear it loud and clear from Him, others we may have some indicators. For example, when we feel that we are stagnanting, when we cannot draw near to God, when we cannot hear Him.... May be signs of sin, because sin separates us from God. That's when we need to identify our sins and confess them, and let God restore the joy of salvation, the joy of being set free!

I like verse 17. God is never please with our actions and deeds, if our inward heart attitude is not right. If we give hundreds of dollars to the church, if we look spiritual, and try to do many things for Him.... yes these are important, since God tells us to give to the church. But He looks at our heart. He wants a broken spirit and a contrite heart, a humble spirit, a remorseful and sorrowful heart because we know we have sinned, and we are genuine in repentance. That pleases the Lord. =)

"Lord, may You search deep into my life, heart and spirit today, and show me the sins in me. Break me, that i may come before You humbled and remorseful for my sins.

So that i will be genuine and humble in repentance."

great is the Lord

2008-02-20T01:57:00.002+08:00

Haha, sorry that my internet was down last night, so couldnt update. Here's psalm 48 and 49.

Psalm 48

So amazed by God. Read the psalm in the morning, and the song, "Great is the Lord" came to my mind. Sang it. Then during worship in church, we sang the song again. And vanessa sang it so well, chill ran down my spine. HAHA. It's not like scared, but like oh gosh! And truly, Great is God!

The chorus goes "Lord we want to lift Your name on high." How do we lift God's name on high? By living as a testimony for Him, being a vessel for Him. You may not know it. But we carry the name of Jesus with us, because we are called Christians and most importantly, because we trust in Him. Call on the name, we have the power with it, to heal, to minister, to bless....

The psalm also includes a part on walking around Zion to check on the towers and citadels, this is for the people to see how God has protected them, and also they can check their defenses. We have seen so many times that it times of trials or battles, we cant trust God to protect and deliver us. And it is during trials, that we pray harder, seek Him more, read the bible....

We are reminded that after trials, we need to remember what God has done and praise Him. Not go and celebrate, or enjoy life, forgetting about God. And it's also in times like these that we pray less, seek Him less and maybe not read the bible because we have no needs. But on the contrary, the bible teaches us that in such times, we need to check our defenses, to build our faith in Him, to read the bible and to pray. So that our defenses will be strong and ready for battles in life.

Psalm 49

Psalm 49 teaches us that we cannot trust in wealth or worldly possessions to redeem us from our sins or bondages. When we die, all these possessions are left for our children, we cant bring them with us into the grave. And even if we have alot of possessions or talents, can we escape from the grave?

We cant. Only God can redeem us and take us to Himself. So why are we still investing in worldly things that will be gone, and have no use eventually? Isnt it better to invest our time and energy into things that will last? Like our faith in the Lord, our characters, obedience to Him and to use what we have for His work...

time to repent, time to return

2008-02-20T01:44:00.002+08:00

Psalm 50

God looks at our hearts, not our deeds. He desires sincere thanks, trust and praise from us. He doesnt want us to be superficially religious people.. (vs 1-15) People used to offer sacrifices to God for forgiveness of sins or thanksgiving. But God doesnt need these sacrifices, He created them. What He desires are heart of obedience and faith in His unfailing love and mercy as the people offered sacrifices.

In today's context, our sacrifices are in the form of tithes, attendance in church and serving and giving to Him. I'm not saying that these things are not important, they are. But God wants us not to go through them like habits or just going through the motion. God wants us to do them with a heart of obedience. Like in verse 14, God desires true thanksgiving and faithfulness from us.

God will also judge the wisked and hard hearted people for their evil or immoral lives. (vs 16-22) In psalm 1, we learnt that wicked are not only those who do wrong, but includes those who know the right things and not doing them. It is also a sin when we only want God's blessings but not want to obey Him. Maybe there are some areas in our lives we refuse to let God take charge. Maybe we want good lives, but in our own ways and ask God to bless us.

God may seems to be silent, and we may seem to get away with our sins, or living our lives the way we want. But God does not condone our sins. He is withholding punishment, giving us time to repent. (2 Pet 3:9, Eze 33:11)

God is love, that He sent Jesus to die for our sins. God is love, that He disciplines us. God is love that He doesnt want us to perish, thus He is patient and forgiving. He is waiting for us to repent, to come to Him. Let's not take Him for granted, lest we regret when He really comes.

hams to be

2008-02-17T03:17:00.002+08:00

Psalm 47

Can you see God sitting on His throne, with the angels and people around Him, praising and shouting joy unto Him?

God is called the God of Abraham. Because He remembered Hsi promises to abraham, that He will make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the beach. And God is still the same God, the God of abraham, we can have the Abrahamic covenant. The blessings of the three generations, the calling to be mothers of nations.

And i wonder, why would God want to name Himself the God of Abraham, why does He want to be associated with him? Can you imagine, such an awesome and powerful God, naming Himself together with a man?

But He did. Why? maybe to remember His promises and for future generations to remember it too. But there must be something about Abraham that God doesnt mind being associated with him. Because he was a man of God, faithful to the point of believing God with all he had, even his son. Obedient to follow all His commands, even if he had to leave everything he had and go for something unseen and uncertain. Blessed because God blessed him, that those who blessed him will be bless, those who cursed him will be cursed. Wow. I want to be charisham.

"Lord, i may not have the faith of Abraham, but i pray that i will grow towards it."

Want peace, joy or love?

2008-02-16T02:57:00.003+08:00

Psalm 46

The psalmist teaches us that we can have great faith and assurance in the Lord, even if the earth should end, God is always our refuge and strength. He is always present if we call on Him.

Historically, there is no river in Jerusalem, but God was there to sustain them. but when the people abandoned God, Jerusalem fell. He cant help us if we choose not to let Him, but to leave Him.

If we link the two points, we see... God can stop all wars, stop our fall and destruction. He can also stop the wars within in us, be it spiritual or emotional. He is always present and willing to help, if we ask of Him.

I like verse 10. And in the NASB version, it says "Cease striving and know that I am God." We dont have to strive! How great! Dont have to strive for achievements, for attention, for approval, for love, for care, for success, for wealth, for power, for anything... Because God can give us everything, He can bless us with success and achievements, wealth and power, most importantly, He approves of us, loves and cares for us, and we have His 100% attention! We just need to be still, dont need to strive and let Him work.

Have you ever enjoyed the joy, peace or love of the Lord?

Glorious, can u see?

2008-02-15T02:23:00.002+08:00

Psalm 45

This psalm talks about Jesus, the King. He is beautiful, graceful in speech, blessed. He holds a sward in His hands, victorious and majestic. His throne will last forever and His scepter will bring about justice. He loves righteousness and hates wickedness. He is anointed by God. His garments are fragrant and He is praised.

Daughters of the king - that is us. We will be honoured and glorified and can enter His Kingdom with gladness and joy, if we listen to the Lord. He tells us to forget our people and our family. HUH? God wants us to do that?? Yes, luke 14:25-27 says, we should hate our father and mother. HUH? Sure? yes. But God does not mean it literally. He means we should learn to deny ourselves, to put aside our own desires and wants, to carry our crosses and follow Him. Not that we should really forget our family and hate them, God's command is to honour them. That's why He said, "He who had ears, let him hear." May God speaks to you... =)

Can you see Jesus standing glorious before u? Verse 1, the psalmist said his heart is full of joy to write about Jesus and he was all ready to write. He had so many things to write about Jesus! Are our hearts full of joy when we think about Jesus? Do we have many things to say about Him?

"God, please show more of Yourself to us, and for us to learn more about You.

Let me hear! Let me see!"

God's light in the storm

2008-02-14T17:46:00.002+08:00

Psalm 43

The psalmist was lamenting about the trials and sufferings he was going through, but he came to to the most important point, which is to ask God for guidance and to help him dwell in His presence. In His presence, we can find joy amidst the sufferings, we can have hope because He is with us. Who can be against us? And God reminds us again, in the storms, if we ask of Him, He will shine His light through the darkness, and we can see it and follow the light.

Psalm 44

verse 1-3: Remember the things God did for His people in the past? He brought them out of Egypt, out of slavery, won battles for them, chased out the nations before them and gave them a land flowing with milk and honey. God says, He can do all things, if we are obedient and do His will. (remember what pastor said on sun? When God's will is our will, He will make all things happen for us.)

verse 9-22: The psalmist could not understand why the peopl were defeated despite their faith and obedience to God. I couldnt too, until i read Rom 8:36. Paul quoted this psalm to show that we may suffer for the sake of Christ. But even so, we will be able to conquer them eventually because God loves us. (Rom8:36-39)

Sometimes, it seems that He is asleep or have left us, but actually God is always with us and ready to help, but He wished first to build our faith in us. Be patient, be faithful!

God is faithful, God is love

2008-02-12T03:02:00.000+08:00

Psalm 41

Verse 1: God's heart is always for the weak and poor. He will also reward those who care for these weak and poor. There are many poor people around us, in finance, emotion, spirit... let's be a blessing to them, bringing God's touch and love to them.

verses 7-9 talks about our enemies going against us, and sometimes, even our best friends betray us. Man can fail us. But God reminds us again, He is faithful. =)

Psalm 42

If you remember what pastor melvyn preached during the first sermon of the year, the book of psalms can be divided into 5 books. We have completed the 1st book! Now we are entering into the second,with slavery and bondages as theme, it is like exodus.

Psalm 42-49 were not written by david. haha. They were written by sons of Korah. If you are interested, you can read up on the history. (Num 16:1-35, 1 Chron 6:31-38, 2 Chron 20:18-19)

Verses 1 and 2 might be familiar to us, because of the song, As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after thee.... But let's ask ourselves, how much do we thirst for God? Like we thirst for water? Crave for our favorite food? How much is our desire for Him? God says, He desires us, crazy about us....

And as i read this psalm, it seems like the psalmist was feeling very downcast and was mourning. But at the end, he said, we are to put our hopes in the Lord. When we focus on God's ability to help us rather than on our inability to help ourselves, we can have hope and not be depressed. Most importantly, we can have hope... but God loves you!

waiting...

2008-02-10T02:28:00.000+08:00

Psalm 40

Do you like to wait? I dont really like waiting. It seems to be a waste of time, and i'll get pretty bored. if my mood is good, i'm still ok, but if i'm not feeling good, i can get quite frustrated. Waiting for God's answer and will for our lives can be quite difficult too. Like i don't know God's will for my life, uncertainty, painful.

But psalm 40 reminded me that there are blessings when we go through trials of waiting. 1) He will lift us out of our despair. 2) He will set our feet on a rock. 3) He gives us a firm place to stand. 4) He will put a new song of praise in us. Simply put it, God will bring us out of our pain and give us joy and security. He will change our spirits and mould our characters.

Psalm 40 also talked about the sacrifices and offerings God desires. In the old times, people sacrificed animals and bring offerings to God for forgiveness of sin, blessings etc. Now, we don't sacrifice animals nor practise some of the older rituals. But we have sacrifices and offerings to God, like going to church, partaking in holy communion, tithing, singing praises and worship to the Lord. But God reminds us again, that He doesn't want us to do them as duties, or for selfish reasons like wanting God's blessings or rewards. He wants us to do them out of obedience and submission to Him. (1 Sam 15:22)

Psalm 40 is also about us doing God's will, His work for us is to share His goodness and faithfulness. What is God's faithfulness then? Who are the people you can think of when we talk about faithfulness? Usually these people accept and love us even when we are unlovable. They keep their promises and are trustworthy. God? He has an absolute and perfect love for us, and accept us as who we are, because He created us! He will keep all His promises He has made, despite us being unfaithful.

"Oh Lord, You love me and accept me for who i am, and You have always and will always fulfill all Your promises toward me. Let me do Your work in obedience and submission in return.

Help me to wait patiently for Your promises and plans as i do Your will. Amen."

A short life preparing for eternity

2008-02-09T02:36:00.000+08:00

Psalm 39

Life is short, what do you then hope in?

In verse 1-3, David was keeping quiet, trying no to sin, maybe by complaining, by grumbling... Then, what are we saying today? Are we complaining about people, situations or our problems? Are we grumbling about our sufferings? When we complain to others, others may think that our God cannot take care of us. It also looks as if we are blaming God. Oh dear... But then how, must we bottle up all our feelings and be oppressed? Vs 3 says, let's meditated and go to God, when we cannot contain our anger or negative feelings, pour out to God. He listens... =) Most importantly, He helps.. can our friends or parents help?

In the rest of this psalm, david expressed how short life is. How long can we live on earth? 70, 80,90 or even 100? that's long right. So we need to do planning so that we can enjoy our old age and are taken care of when we cant work. We study hard now, so that we can have a good career, earn money, have a good life.

We work so hard for that 50-80 more years that we are living for. What about the eternal life after death? Living forever in God's kingdom, how are we preparing for that? Yes, God will provide everything, food, money, provision, necessities for living. But what about our characters, fruits, work for the Lord... what will remain today, if God's consuming fire were to come and burn everything of us?

"Father, i know that You are a loving Father who disciplines us for our good. Forgive me for the times i complain and have not been a good testimony. Help me to prepare for eternity. Amen."

2008-02-08T01:23:00.000+08:00

Psalm 37

3 things to take home from this psalm. 1) Delight in the Lord and He will delight in you. How do u feel when you are delighted? Happy, joyful, pleasant? We all know how it feels to be delight and take delight in someone, to take pleasure and joy with being with him/her. We would want to be with people we take delight in and these people are usually people we know well. So do you take delight in God, to want to be in His presence and get to know Him well? God wants to take delight in us! When we follow, obey and trust Him, He is delighted and will watch over and direct us.

2) Commit everything into His hands. This means we entrust everything to His control and guidance, trust in Him and be patient as He works out everything in our lives. In verse 8-9, God tells us not to be angry nor to fret/worry, because these feelings are very destructive. They arise when we dont have faith in Him, not committing everything into His hands.

When we focus on our problems, we often become angry or anxious. Why cant things happen the way we plan? Why cant the people understand us or be coorperative? What will be the result of all these things i have done? However, if we focus on how BIG God is and to focus on His love for us, assuring us that He WILL be with us, we can have peace.

3) Remember the poor. In verse 25, God reminds us that the righteous will not be forsaken. It means that God will always provide for us. But God also means that we need to remember and not forsaken His people, the poor. We often see the poor in our midst, maybe poor in finance, health, emotional, even spiritual. What are our response to these? They deserve what they are facing. Or this is a test for them, to be patient and trust in God. He will deliver them. Or, i will help. When we remember the poor, we must also remember, God's focus is us too.

Psalm 38

This psalm seems to be about sins and there are again three things about sins for us to recognise.

1) Sin can leads to health problem. Sure anot? If i lie, steal, disobey God, how can these affect my health? Looking at verse 1-8, david seems to be having some health problem. Not enough, read Acts 12:21-23, 1 Cor 11:30-32... When we sin, our health or physical condition can be affected. Which may be why some people suffer from many sicknesses, we also see many times when God stuck the people with diseases and plagues. But God causes this, not because He is a tyrant, or like want retribution, He doesnt. He just want to bring us back to repentance, back to Him (Heb 12:5-11)

2) Sin can affect our emotional lives. verse 9-14 Sin leads to separation between God and man. We may not be able to "feel" or experience God, cant seem to be able to talk to Him. Not only that, our relationships with other people will also be affected. I always remember one of the pastors said that how your spiritual life is, will affect your physical life. If your relationship with God is not too good, all other relationships will be affected. How? I'm not too sure. maybe maybe when you cannot relate well with God and find your security in Him, you become shaky when with man. But i have definitely experienced that before. Doesnt feel good...

3) Sin has to be brought before God and repented from. Verse 15-22. We saw that david turned back to God, to confess his sins. Similiarly, the only way to be free from the physical suffering, and emotional loneliness, is to come to God and ask Him for mercy.

Psalm fear for the Lord

2008-02-06T03:09:00.000+08:00

Psalm 36

Remembering what pastor eugene shared on sun, that we need to have the fear of the Lord. Today's psalm showed a man who does not have the fear of the Lord, who became proud and full of him/herself and fall into sin because he/she thinks that nothing will happen. This person is not fearful of the Lord's punishment.

I guess it may be difficult for us to imagine how the fear of the Lord should be, maybe because we havent really experience God's punishment before. But like what pastor eugene shared, the fear of the Lord can be learnt, by turning away from evil, doing good, seeking peace and persevere in the race with God. We can all learn.

God also reminded me that we can grow in our fear of the Lord, when we experience Him and grow to know Him more. When we know how holy and righteous He is, how powerful and almighty He is, we will grow in our fear for Him. because of His holiness, no sin can come before Him, and in His power, He can destroy us and punish us seriously. It is not a fear like fearful... but it is a fear where we are respectful and honours Him more than ourselves.

Somethings i feel like my spiritual life is stagnanting, yearning for more of God's touch and revelation. And He spoke in this psalm, that He is the fountain of life, providing fresh and cleansing water to give life to the spiritually thirsty. It's not about the "wow" feeling or great breakthroughs or miracles that we need, it is the refreshment and relationship with the Lord, which will quench our thirst. Come and drink...

"Lord, help me thirst for You, so that i will yearn to spend time with You.

Help me to grow the the fear of You, by letting me grow to know You more. Amen."

After His heart

2008-02-05T01:56:00.001+08:00

Psalm 35

Seems to me that psalm 35 is a call for God's justice, to deliver us from our enemies, and cause them to fall in their own traps. We can always call upon God to be our judge and His hands to be upon our enemies. Seems wrong for us to call God to go against our enemies, when we are suppose to love?

I found it abit confusing, but i guess there are times we can call on God for His justice, esp when we are wronged, when it's for the benefits of others... most importantly, we leave everything to God to do whatever He wants. We dont have to defend ourselves or seek revenge, God can fight for us.

And in verse 13, david had times when he felt that God wasnt answering his prayers and was sad. David was a man like us! We may feel like david is a holy man, so he could write all these psalms to the Lord... He is a man after God's own heart, he is good, he is a king, different from us. He can praise God and had such faith and love for God, i cant.

But here, we see david was just like us... he felt sad and lament about times when it seems that God is not answering his prayers. But we also see that he still trusted in God, that's when God came through for him. Remember, God hears every prayer, He answers them according to His timing and wisdom. Our part is to pray and trust. In times when we feel that our prayers are not answered, let's not be frustrated, anxious or angry. Let us learn to be like david, to trust in God and turn these times of waiting into times of deepening our faith in the Lord.

May us then be like david, real human with emotions and struggles, but transforming by times of deepening our faith and moulding by the Lord... we can become like david, woman after God's own heart!

" I want to be a woman after God's own heart. Lord, help me."

He is enough

2008-02-04T01:44:00.000+08:00

Psalm 34

Pastor eugene did such a great job going through this psalm, i have benefited from his sharing, hope you all have to. =) (shuwen,you can watch it on webcast.) So i wont elaborate on what he has shared, but just adding on sth which i have learnt from the psalm.

I like the verse, "taste and see that the Lord is good." It's like, God is good, and He gives us a chance to experience His goodness in our lives, so that our lives will be good too! And of course, this psalm adds on the part of fearing God. Fearing God means to show deep respect and honor to Him, to obey Him in His ways. So we come before Him with humble attitude and genuine worship. Because when we obey God, we experience more of Him and His goodness everyday.

And the promise is that we will lack no good things. But it may not mean that we will get what we want right... i guess it's more like an assurance from God, that He knows what is best and will give them to us, so that we will not have anything lacking. And... God is really enough, we need to have a greater desire for Him, than for the other desires in our hearts.

yep... and share one last point which i learnt from the life application bible. It says we need to actively seek peace. We often pray for peace in our lives, hearts, families.... but peace doesnt come just like tt. We need to seek it. A person who wants peace cannot be argumentative and contentious. Because peaceful relationships come from our efforts at peacemaking. So real eh... how to have peace, when you yourself are making ugly comments, having negative thoughts and attitudes...

"Father, i really want to taste You and see Your goodness in my life.

Because i want my life to be good. So i will learn to fear You and obey You.

More than that Lord, i know that You are more than enough for me,

with You in my life, my life is good!"

Our God sits in Heaven

2008-02-03T03:42:00.000+08:00

Psalm 33

When i read the psalm, it seems to bring me to focus on one person, His character, what He does, how He do things.. like seeing Him at work. yes, God is at work. =)

His words... are right and true, and He is faithful. He doesnt lie, forget, change His words or leave His promises unfulfilled. He is a holy, trustworthy and unchangable God. Is there sth God has promised you, or said He will do it? He will! I trust that He will bring me to a school where He planned for me to be in, and use me mightily to do His work and He will open up the way for me, and watches over me. =)

But sometimes, we cant trust in Him, because we cannot trust the people around us, or even ourselves. Well, remember God IS trustworthy, whether we can trust Him or not, He promised to give us good and perfect gifts. (jas1:17) Simply because you are His daughter and He loves you, so He will give you only the best.

His character... is all-powerful and loving. He can create the earth and makes all things work. He can also destroy man who turned against Him and cause everything to obey Him. What reverence we should have for such a mighty God? Yet, He is also a loving God. He watches over us from heaven everyday, to lead us and care for us. Imagine, every action, thought, word, feeling, He sees them ALL.

His work... is to bring us His best plan for us. We may still face death and famine, trials and crisis, pain and sorrow. God can deliver us if He wants, but sometimes, He choose to lead us THROUGH them and not from them, because it is His greatest plan for us.

"Lord, as You look down from heaven and see me,

may my actions, thoughts, speech and feelings be acceptable in Your sight,

so that i will not make You angry or sad.

I don't want Your punishment, i want Your blessings. Amen.. "

forgiveness of the Lord

2008-02-02T03:22:00.000+08:00

Psalm 32

Didn't really understand the psalm when i first read in NIV version, only some verses that stood out, like vs 8, the Lord will guide us in our lives. Then when i read the NASB version with the study guide, things became clearer. Just to give you a background, this psalm was written by David, about the forgiveness of the Lord after he had sinned against God by committing adultery with bathsheba and murder uriah. (2 sam 11-12)

That's why he started in verse 1-2, expressing the forgiveness of the Lord. God wants to forgive us when we sin, because forgiveness has always been part of His loving nature. When He spoke to Moses (exo 34:7), to david, even to the world through Jesus Christ, He wants to forgive.

Sometimes we want to hide our sins from God and man, out of shame, pride, addiction, stubbornness... But when we keep silent about our sins, we are blocked from God and cannot experience true joy. God's hand will be upon us to convict us and bring light into darkness.

I was reminded of how i used to hide one of my sins, actually the "biggest" sin in my life, because i was so ashamed of it. I didnt want people to know about it, for fear of how they would see me. I confessed my sin to God, burnt the sin list and stopped sinning. But there was still darkness, because i was fearful of people knowing it, i have not been set free. Until God convicted me, and MADE me confess it to ms seah. God is really good, though pastor laifun and ms seah know about them, they never judge me. And what's more important is, i am totally set free and feel so light, because the fear is gone. Now i can experience true joy. =D

But some people are stubborn and refuse to let God deal with their sins and lives. Well, God loves us, and He loves us so much that He must use discipline and punishment to keep them us. But God really desires to guide us with love and wisdom instead. Like the case above, i refuse to share and confess my sin to ms seah, so God had to sent pain and discomfort into both our lives. HAHA. poor ms seah... we were SOOOO uncomfortable, we had to talk, and i had to confess my sin. But after that obedience to share, the journey to cut off the sin and shame was much easier, as God led me with His love.

It was raining so heavily this afternoon, and when i was in the toilet, suddenly there was a very VERY loud thunder which cracked like near the window. I was shocked and suddenly fearful... The voice of the Lord shakes the earth! even louder and more powerful than this! I was suddenly very fearful of God's punishment, like... the scenes i heard from the audio bible last year, screaming,shouting as the Lord send down punishment and judgement.

"Oh Lord, let me not be the one to go through the punishment and judgement of You.

Show me Your ways, that i may repent and go in Your guidance.

Cause me to be obedient, so that You do not have to destroy me. Amen."

Into Your hands

2008-02-01T13:09:00.000+08:00

Psalm 31

Who is God to you? David said God is His strength, His deliverer, His refuge.... What about you?

One verse that stood out alot to me is verse 5, "Into Your hand i commit my spirit." It shows great dependence on God, like putting all our bets on God. Jesus said this when He died on the cross(luke 23:46), Stephen said it when he was stoned to death(acts 7:59). It represents giving everything to the Lord and surrendering everything. Can we say to the Lord today, "Father, into Your hand i give up everything"?

If we can, God will definitely take charge of our lives and bestow great favor on us. But maybe some of us struggle... If we have idols in our lives, wealth, material possession, achievements, talents, people in our lives... we will not be able to commit our lives into God's hands and He will not be able to guide us, because we will be guided by our own desires. Can you give up the thing that is most important to you to the Lord?

Wah, christian life is so difficult ah? must give up everything, so many constrains, restrictions. But remember, while God wants us to obey His commands and commit ourselves to Him, He never meant for us to feel restrain. If fact, He gives us much freedom within His safety boundary. We can be free from all our sins and be relieved from all our pains. (verse 8)

How can we be sure that will be the case? verse 9-13 tells us about David's feelings of helplessness and hopelessness when he felt hated or rejected. Have you felt that people dislike you or reject you before? The distress, sorrow, eye wasted away by crying, sighing, feeling weak... david then gave a contrary in verse 14-18, if we recognise our true self and relationship with God, it will be easier to accept what people think or say of us. Because our security is in the Lord.

How can we know that we will be relieved? When we know that God loves and cares for us. We will be steady despite of circumstances, will not break down so easily and be upset. And we can trust in the Lord instead of going our own ways...

"into Your hands, i commit again, with all i am, for You Lord.

You hold my world, in the palms of Your hands, and i am Yours forever.

Jesus i believe in You, Jesus i belong to You,

You're the reason that i live, the reason that i sing, with all i am."

mourning into dancine

2008-02-01T03:50:00.000+08:00

Psalm 30

Will God ever be angry? yes... Will He punish us? I guess so. But i thought God is all-loving and gracious, why would He be angry? God has feelings, and even human will anguish, pain and be angry when we see our loved ones doing wrong things or going against us. God will be angry and sometimes, i guess He will cause certain things to happen, no so much to punish us, but to warn us to turn away from our sins. It may be painful, but one thing we can be thankful for, His anger lasts only a while, the pain is momentary... His love and favor last forever. =)

In verse 6-7, David talked about himself feeling confident and secure, because of His wealth, power and fame. These caused him to feel self-reliant, self-secure and independent of God. We will too, depending on our own intelligence for exams? Satisfied with our finances since we get money from our parents... not thankful for the things we have? Achieving because of our own talents?

But maybe God punished david, and he wrote in verse 7, when God cover His face, David "was dismayed". Losing the security.. Just that we can become bankrupt one day, lose in competitions, fail tests? Earthly security is uncertain, we cant depend on money, power, or even relationship w people. The only security that we can be secure in, is the security in the Lord. He never fails.

"You have turned my mourning into dancing, You have turned my sorrow into joy!"

Power!

2008-01-30T00:55:00.000+08:00

Psalm 29

At His Word, the earth and heaven and every creation were formed...

At His voice, the cedar breaks, lightning flashed, desert shakes....

If you cannot imagine, cedar trees can grow to a height of 120 feet tall and 30 feet wide. (A girl is about 160 cm,which is 5 feet 3in, so the tree is 24 times taller, 6 human wide. gasps.) A normal rain tree we see along singapore's roads are only like around 3/4 times taller than us, 1 human wide? And a huge storm, so powerful, even a typhoon, is needed to break it, so rather uproot it. A cedar tree... at the VOICE of God. Gasps!

Eph 1:18-23. I pray that God will open your eyes to see His power, His hope and inheritance for you, the power that rose Jesus from death,placing everything under his feet. The power is available for us every day. This power which can overcome the power of death and controls all creation is available for you!

God says, "My power which can overcome death and controls all creation is for you. What can it not overcome, what can it not control? Ask and it will be given to you, according to My will."

sharing....

2008-01-29T02:02:00.001+08:00

Just read one of my friend's blog.. and i was so encouraged, i decided to paste some here... hope it encourages you.. =)

'The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and i am helped. My heart leaps for joy and i will give thanks to him in song.'

this verse stood out to me when i was reading the psalm this morning because it says 'i am helped'. i found it interesting bcos the word 'helped' suggests that we are both(God and me) working at doing something. I was expecting it to have said something like 'i am saved'.

'Saved' suggests a kind of helplessness. That maybe we have got ourselves into a super jia lat situation and we are super stuck that the only way out if for God to supernaturally come and move the mountain away from us. But 'helped' on the other hand suggests that we are not totally useless/dependent, but we are 'assisted' by God. It doesn't mean we stop trying and let God do everything. It means that we keep on trying, keep on doing, and God will give us that extra boost, that extra assistance that will help us finish the task.

Sometimes we try and solve everything on our own, missing out on/refusing God's avenues of help for us because they may seem too 'commonplace' or 'unspiritual'. God can meet our needs in simple, practical ways too, and doctors and medication are no less of answered prayers than the miraculous healings at service.

God is our help, and He sometimes sends help to us through others too.

God wants to help us! No matter how small or big the thing is. Let Him help.. and things will be ok! =)

Not going to miss You

2008-01-29T01:41:00.000+08:00

Psalm 28

David doesnt want God tobe silent, or he would become like one of the men who do not know go and were destroyed. Do you want God to be silent in your life? How would it feel if God doesnt speak to you? That will be terrible to me, cant hear God, it's like, i would be left lost, without hope, without love. Then how would it feel if you call and He will not hear you? When He ignores you? *glurps*

Verse 3-5 talks about the wicked, who are those who do evil, speak well with people, but actually have evil intents in their hearts. In other words, they are hypocrites. How many of us meet people like this? Or even are like that ourselves? God says these people have no regards for God and His work, thus God will tear them down and they would never be built up again.

But those who are willing to be His people, God will be their strength and shepherd. Again, God is not referring to those with strong faith in Him. Our faith may be small.. What God is looking for is willingness and obedience.

And i was reminded of a passage that hit me pretty hard on sun, luke 9:41-44. Jesus wept for Jerusalem because of the condition of the people. They did not receive the peace of God, through Jesus, nor were obedient to Him. They did not recognise the time of God's coming to them. Thus Jesus said they will be destroyed by their enemies. Wah... Are we recognising God when He comes to us? Though He is always with us and waiting for us, though His love and grace are unfailing, if we miss Him coming to us, we will be destroyed! Be it physically, like the people in Jerusalem, by war or attacks, or emotionally, or spiritually. Teared down and cant stand up again. So scary...

"Lord, i pray that we can recognise You coming to us today, so that we will never miss out on Your peace and blessings. Lord, teach me to be true and live a pleasing life to You. My faith may be weak, but i am willing. Amen."

Dwelling in the presence of God

2008-01-28T12:14:00.000+08:00

Psalm 27

Are you feeling lost? Fearful? Lonely? Fear is a dark shadow that envelops us and finally imprisons us within ourselves. We may be fearful of many things, fear of rejection, fear of people and their disapproval, fear of failure, fear of sickness and death, fear of being weak and helpless, fear of letting people see our weaknesses or true self or background or sins... And many times, fear cripples us, causes us to make the wrong decisions. Like sometimes, we choose to hide our fears, choose to act strong, choose to ignore it. But these wrong decisions do not solve our problems, and finally, we may be imprisoned within the fear itself, living life with fear, losing ourselves.

How then? The only solution, is confidence and trust in the Lord, because God says He offers help today and hope for the future. When we conquer fear with God's light, we can stand in confidence and hope. But how to have confidence and trust in the Lord? We cant keep telling ourselves "trust, trust..." Eventually, we will becoming tired, dont see results and lose heart.

That brings us to verse 4. Huh? dwell in God's house? Means we stay in church 24 h? Actually, i love to do that, especially in the past, because church is where i can find my spiritual family who would love and accept me, where i can be in God's presence, cry when i'm hurting, receive peace and don't have to face all the problems and issues. (that's why my greatest wish was to be a tabernacle attendant, everyday just serving in God's house, don't need to face the problems.)

But actually, we don't have to be in church 24 hours in order to be in God's house. Being in God's house also means to dwell in His presence. How can we dwell in His presence? Then answer is given in the verse too.. To gaze upon His beauty and to seek Him. We can focus on Him and look to Him every moment in life, talk to Him, building a relationship with Him. And God's call is "Seek my face". "You shall find me, if you seek Me with all your heart."

Then we may think, we have tried to seek God. But... There is no answer. It seems like God is not answering or don't understand the urgency. God's answer to us is, "In My time, I make all things beautiful." He uses the waiting time to refresh, renew and teach us. So, "Be strong and take heart. Wait for the Lord."

In a world, people are often hurt, esp by people close to our hearts... being forsaken by our own parents, some literally, some cos the parents have different beliefs, addicted to drugs or alcohol, working and thus not spending time with their children, bad relationships.... The pain may linger, But God's invitation is for us to let Him take that place in ur hearts, fill that void, and heal that hurt. He may even place people over us to take the role of father or mother.. (thank God for my spiritual parents. =D) He reminds us again, His love is sufficient for us.

Growing through the Psalms

2008-01-27T01:29:00.000+08:00

Psalm 26

The first thing i caught from this psalm is that David actually says that he is blameless, and ask God to test him. Like, wah... imagine God testing me, He will find so many "blames". So i guess i wont have that confidence to tell God, i am blameless and for Him to test me.

Then i went to read the NASB version. It says "trusted in the Lord without wavering." So actually blameless doesnt mean sinless. Well, it is impossible for human to be sinless. But being blameless means asking God to examine us, trusting Him to forgive our sins and clear our records according to His mercy. Trusting in the Lord, without losing the trust.

That has to do with our relationship with God. Another point is our relationship with man. Vs 4-5 resembles psalm 1. We are not to be like the sinners.. But does that mean we should stay away from prebelievers? Nope. In fact, we should go among them so that we can help them. However, it is important for us to watch ourselves, that being among them dont make us less obedient to God, nor does it affect our relationship with God.

So it ends off with telling us how we should be living our lives in verse 12, to praise God in the assembly of people. Are we comfortable in praising and sharing about God's goodness in the public, with our friends?

"Lord, i want to live a blameless life, knowing that You will forgive all my sins. But i do not want to take Your grace for granted. Teach me to receive Your grace and allow it to transform my life so that i live praising and pleasing You. Amen"

2008-01-26T22:47:00.000+08:00

Reply to charis' tag;

The movie's not out yet, gonna be out soon I hope!! I searched on youtube, check out the trailer. (:
PS:It takes quite some time to load.

Gosh I'm SOOO excited!!!! Lucas is the voice of Jericho!!! AHHH!!! If anyone see's this vcd/dvd in stores please tell me kay!!! I hope it comes out in the movies then we should all go watch it together but I highly doubt it though.

Fearing God

2008-01-26T00:18:00.000+08:00

Psalm 25

God is good.. =) I read the psalm in a hurry in the afternoon, because my mum was hurrying me to have my lunch. One verse caught my attention, and i felt "wow", that meant alot.. Thought about it. But since i read it in a hurry, nothing else really spoke to me. Until just now, i sat down to read it again from NIV, God spoke to me about three things we can learn from the psalm. Then i went to the NASB, life application bible.. and WOW, the three points were further explained and emphasized.

1) Deliverance of the Lord - Vs 7, 11, 15-21 talk about His deliverance, and in fact, throughout the psalms that we have been reading, David spoke about asking God for deliverance and praising God for His deliverance. God will remove all our sins, He will deliver us from our pains and enemies. And enemies do not stop at those people who are against us, but also those who are against God's way of living, meaning temptations like money, success, pretige, which draw us away from God. And definitely, the biggest enemy, satan.

2) Guidance from the Lord - vs 4-5, 8-10. The first step for us is to want to be guided by God. And then God will guide us, through leaders, Him speaking to us.. and of course, the bible. By reading and learning from it, we gain wisdom to peceive God's direction for our lives. Do you find yourself becoming wiser in the Lord as you read psalms?

Many things in this world call for our attention and lead us in different directions. Just like advertisement tells u slim is beautiful, so many people choose to go on diet or go for slimming when some are not very fat. Shows, people around us tell us that only when you are successful, rich and famous, then can you have power and enjoy happiness. What about those people like leslie chung who committed suicide? (no offense to him though, i like some of his songs..) Remember always, God's way is the best way for us.

3) Confidence in the Lord - Vs 3. When we trust in God, He will deliver us, and guide us so that we prosper. But God did not promise a bed of roses, we may still face trials and setbacks in life. But one more thing we need to remember, God can and will always turn bad situations into good. He makes all things beautiful in His time. If we put our hopes in the Lord, we will never be put to shame.

Remember i said there is one verse that caught my attention in psalm 25? It is verse 14: God confides in those who fear Him. In NASB version, the secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him. WOW. Imagine God confides in you?! He let you know His secrets?! How many times we wish we could know God's plans for us, how many times we pray and waiting for His answer is quite painful? I want to know! But this verse says there is a criteria...those who fear Him.

To fear God is to recognise God for who He is: holy, almighty, righteous, pure, all-knowing, all-powerful and all-wise. And when we have a correct view of Him, we see ourselves correctly: sinful, weak, frail and needy. It's not for us to feel bad about ourselves.. but it is for us to see how BIG God is, and how small we are. When we recognise who God is and who we are, we will fall at his feet in humble respect. Only then will He show us how to choose His ways.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

receiving the glory of God

2008-01-25T02:15:00.000+08:00

Psalm 24

At first, when i read the psalm, i found verse 3-5 familiar, because these verses always remind me to keep myself pure or i will not be able to enter into God's presence. And truly, ascending the hill of the Lord and to stand in His holy place really means dwelling in His presence. Only when we are cleansed and come before God with the right heart, can we dwell in His presence. And we must watch ourselves too, that we do not lift our souls to idols, meaning giving ourselves to chase after money, fame, power... acceptance of people, ourselves... etc.

But i was abit lost like, why did the psalmist include verse 1 and 2? What is the link to having pure hearts? Then verse 7-10 is about inviting God's presence...What is the link? Then i was reading the life application bible tonight, and i had a new revelation. vs 1-2 talks about the earth and everything belonging to God. We are just stewards.. So we should be committed to take care of the things God has given to us, our talents, blessings, but we must also not become devoted to them, or they will become our idol... So time to ponder... are there anything in life that we are devoted to besides God?

And the psalm ends off with vs 7-10, open the doors display a symbol of the people's desire for God's presence among them, to invite Him in.. So remember, God reminds us that everything is His, we should not be devoted to other things, so that we can dwell in His presence. And we should have that desire to want to see the King of Glory, not just His glory and blessings in our lives.. and open up the gates of our hearts, so that He can come in and cleanse us, that we may dwell in His presence. =)

"Lift up your heads, open the doors, let the King of glory come in. And forever, be our God!"

2008-01-24T18:57:00.000+08:00

Hey, all. I'm gonna POST. HAHA.

Shu wen's birthday pics. (=

Check this out... I was really encouraged when I saw it. (= Apart from it being the voice of lucas grabeel and that the happy song at the end was composed by himself!! It is really encouraging. LOL.

He is with us always. (:

Growing through the Psalms

2008-01-23T23:26:00.000+08:00

Oops.. Sorry girls, late for a day. Was having a throbbing headache yesterday, so couldn't type in my reflection and pointers for psalm 22. But here it is... with psalm 23.

Psalm 22

This is a psalm with many of Jesus' last words, filled with prophecies of what will happen to Him and the eventual victory He will have. Really seems like a record of Jesus' life, and sometimes it may relate to us too.

The psalm pointed out the times when we may be rejected by people around us, even our loved ones. And we may be treated badly and felt like worm (vs6), worthless, rejected... "Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, i'm going to eat some worms."

But again in verse 9-11, David reminded us that God loves and cares for us.. not only at birth, but throughout eternality. We may face many trials, like the sufferings mentioned in verse 12-18, having people going against us, feeling weak and oppressed, even naked(vs18) when our sins or secrets are exposed. But verse 24 promises us, God will never despise us, nor will He hide Himself from us. He will hear our cries...

Psalm 23

A very familiar psalm i guess... But let's remember what it is trying to tell us. The Lord is my shepherd. It's really saying that God is our shepherd and we are His sheep. Sheep are obedient and follow the instructions of the shepherd. In John 10, it says the sheep will recognise the voice of the shepherd and the shepherd loves the sheep so much, that He is willing to lay down His life for them.

I guess we have to remember that God, the shepherd knows the best ways for us, to feed us, restore us, comfort us and anoint us. But if we choose not to listen to Him and go our own ways, we may walk into dangers (wolves, cliffs...).

Even through death, God promised He will see us through and bring us back into His Kingdom. Only He can do that.. and verse 5 and 6 assure this again, that God will bless us and we can dwell in His presence forever!

"My shepherd, Help me to hear Your voice today, no matter where i am, no matter what's the condition of my heart. Help me to recognise Your voice, and go in Your ways, so that i will walk in the correct paths, away from danger. Amen."

Righteousness vs evil

2008-01-21T23:49:00.000+08:00

Psalm 21

This psalm spoke to me about righteousness again, in fact, there is a contrast between how God deals with the righteous and the evil.

Verse 1-7 talks about God blessing and glorifying those who trust in Him. They will not be shaken, in order word, they will be stable and enjoy great peace and hope. Look at the list of gifts God blessed david with... God is really generous! Similiarly, we can look at the gifts God has given to us - family, talents, wealth, abilities... We should be thankful for every blessing and use them to give glory back to God. Gratefulness is sometimes the key to joy and satisfaction in life.

Verse 8-12 talks about God's judgement and ways with the wicked. Sometimes we see the wicked prospering and succeeding in their deeds, and we may feel disappointed, unjustified and puzzled. But God reminds us here again, that we dont have to be dismayed, because it is only temporary. God will spoil and destroy the wicked's plan and power, and He can do it in split second. That is His power.

This thought brought peace to my spirit, especially when we do face trials and difficulties in life. God says, it is only for a while... He will soon come and remove all the difficulties and pain we are facing. Then we will be like the righteous in verse 1-7, receiving the joy and peace in life. =)

"Lord, what i am facing now may be too big for me to handle. But nothing is too big for You. I will continue to trust in You, knowing that You will soon come and i will be set free. Amen."

Psalms - giving us answers

2008-01-21T01:29:00.001+08:00

Psalm 20

Ps eugene went through it during church, and as he read out the psalm, I was assured. I was trust in the Name of the Lord. I will trust in the Lord.

Verse 1-4 seem to be prayers of people, asking God for answers, protection, help and support. Praying that God will remember our sacrifices and accept our offerings. Praying that He will give us the desires of our hearts and to make our plans succeed.

Verse 6 then seems to give the answer - God saves, God answers.

Verse 7-11 ends of the psalm by bringing us back to trusting the Lord for all our prayer requests, and His answer to us. Many nations and people trust in their armies and power, trust in themselves. But finally, their armies and power will fail them... Think about the nations in the past, no matter how glorious and mighty, eventually, they fell. The dynasty in China, even nearer to us, the british government during WWII that failed to keep the territories in Asia. And even Japan and Germany, who eventually fell and were subdued.

David knew this, he knew that true might of his country was in God's power. Only God can preserve a nation or an invidual. Thinking about this, David did not see the defeat of his country ya? He always prayed and he had a mighty nation, which he passed to his son, solomon. God can win all the battles for us too!

"I trust in the Name of the Lord. Emmanuel - God with us, Jehovah Jireh - God our provider, Jehovah Rapha - God our healer, Jehovah Shalom - God our peace, King of kings"

Psalmthing about God

2008-01-20T11:52:00.000+08:00

Psalm 19

In psalm 19, there are three things shown about God. From verse 1-6, God is revealed through nature - we can learn about His power and our finiteness. Nature, which its design, intricacy and orderliness, shows that there is a God, since it's very impossible that nature came to be by chance. But though nature shows the existence of God, we are still needed to explain the bible, God' love and mercy, and how to have a relationship with God.

From verse 7-11, God is revealed through scriptures - we learn about His holiness and our sinfulness. We often think that law will restrict us, stop us from having fun and make our lives boring. But on the contrary, God meant for laws to revive us, make us wise, give joy to our hearts and light to our eyes, warn and reward us. How can that be? Because, law really point at danger and warns us, then point at success and guide us.

Verse 12-14 says that God is revealed through daily experiences - we learn about His gracious forgiveness and our salvation. Guilt can bring us before God and keep us behaving properly. But we must be careful not to allow guilt to cripple us and make us fearful... remember God forgives ALL sins, those we know and those we committed unknowingly.

Ending of to remind us of verse 14 again, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of our mouths be pleasing onto the Lord. =)

Growing through the Psalms

2008-01-19T01:51:00.000+08:00

Psalm 18

A pretty long psalm, when i saw, truthfully, i was abit sian, like... so long. But i still read, and i was blessed. Even by the title. It says that this psalm was written by david when God had delivered him from saul and his enemies. Immediately i thought like, wa, david is such a man of God, after having victories, he immediately praised God. Good good. But then, i started to ask myself. What about me? How many of us really remembers to thank God? Or do we celebrate the victories and forgot about God? Or worse, think that we have worked for the victories by ourselves?

I know i have a tendency to forget about God. Sometimes in the midst of worldly celebration over good results, joy of experiencing breakthroughs and excitment of seeing things work out well, i forget that God made all things possible. He is the blesser.

"God, i pause to thank You for all the things You have done for me. Sorry that i sometimes forget You. Help me to always remember You and what You have done for me."

In this long psalm, God reminds us again, as in other psalms, that He will always be with us. Sometimes, we faced with many troubles, which like in verse 16, are drowning water that cause us to feel lost and choked. But God promised, He will either deliver or support us, He will be our stable support and we will never be hopeless.

However, one point we must all come to realise and know is that God never plans for us to be weak. Through the troubles, He stands by us and strengthens us like in verse 32-34. But He also guides and trains us so that we will be stronger in our faith, in our spirits, so that we can fight for Him. The difference between christians may be the difference in the way they deal with their trials.

"Lord, through all the trials and issues i have to face, let them strengthen me,

like sharpening a sword. That i might become useful and strong for You. Amen"

Still psalming?

2008-01-18T02:27:00.000+08:00

Hey hey... tag and let me know how you all are doing leh. HAHA. i seems to be talking to myself here. =)

Psalm 16

Verse 3-4 wrote about the saints and glorious ones in the land. At first i didnt really understand what it means. Then i read the small prints are the bottom of the page, these ppl are pagan priests and nobles in whom all delight. Pagan means one who has no religion. Pagan priests? I was reminded of the priests and pharisees during Jesus' time, where they sought their own benefits, riches, power and fame. Just like the nobles who think only of themselves... Think now in the world, there are many people like that eh?

And in verse 4, it wrote that these who run after other gods, may be themselves, money, power... their sorrow will increase. Which is so true.. People who run after such things are difficult to satisfy, and they just run n run, feeling tired, empty, no joy. And these things do not last and cannot give us the joy that we need. Think about the singers, artists, famous people who commit sucide. They have money, fame... but why do they still choose to die?

Not so for us. =) As christians, we do not need to seek man's approval nor chase after such things.Cos in verse 5-6 God says He will provide for us a portion and give us an inheritance that is secure. We can thus have joy (rmb the difference bet happiness and joy) and security cos God is always with us. Esp in vs 10, which could be related to the resurrection of Jesus. We can have an eternal hope to know that our future and lives are secure cos Jesus lives forever!

"You are my Lord; apart from You i have no good things."

Psalm 17

Went for rehearsal and the worship leader, joshua, shared from psalm 17:1-4. God listens to the prayers of a righteous man. but how to be a righteous man. 1) My mouth will not sin. 2) Keep myself from the ways of the wicked. How much more do we need God to tell us again, that our tongues and speech are so important that we need to watch what we say to people and also to ourselves, so that we do not cause pain to others nor ourselves. =)

And in verse 8, talks about being the apple aka pupil of God's eyes and under the shelter of His wings. Refers to the protection of God over our lives. But the application bible wrote something really interesting. God's protection during trouble does not mean that He will help us avoid/escape from the pain, but His protection is meant to guide us through the pain so that we grow in Him. So interesting... that's why it's protection in, not deliverance or protection against.

In verse 15, it talked about being awake and seeing the likeness of God. Death is frequently referred to as sleep, so awake might mean life after death. And it's nice to note that we canbe satisfied after death cos we have eternal life and blessings. Compared with verse 14, the people who run after the other gods, might be satisfied with the treasures of the world, but they do not last.

So psalm 17 i guess, is telling us to live a righteous life and to get to know God, so that we will receive the rewards after death, which is to get to see God, to have eternal life n joy. =)

Growing through the Psalms

2008-01-16T00:32:00.000+08:00

Psalm 15

David wrote about the standards of christian living in order that we may dwell in God's presence.. and there are 10 listed here. To me, these could be summed up in three things that are very important to God.

1) We must live a righteous life. vs 2 tells us those whose walk is blameless and do what is righteous, will dwell in the Presence of God. Again, we know that by ourselves, we are sinful. Bu that doesnt give us an excuse not to live a righteous life. God's desire is for us to live a righteous life to the best of our abilities. We try. When we fail, we must recognise our wrongs, come back to God and repent. He will then forgive our sins and make us righteous again. So it's really living a life concious of what we are doing, doing what is good and having on-going sanctification.

2) We must guard our tongues. Weird it seems, but God spoke about 3 things related to our tongues. One, we must speak the truth, two, we must refuse to slander, three, we must keep our promised. Such a small part of our bodies, must such great attention. Rmb jas 3:3-12. Words have power, and the things we say reflects the condition of our hearts, our love and relationship with God. Ever wonder why some people are always optimistic and encouraging, some are so pleasing to be with cos their words make us feel good.... When we have peace and love of God, our words will be seasoned with peace, joy and love.

3) We must not love money and remember the poor. Where your treasure is, where your heart also is. And we cant serve 2 masters. If our concern is always money, we get controlled by it and will bend God's standard, affecting our relationship with Him. Do you always feel that you have not enough money? Always wanting more, always calculative of money? When we are controlled by money, we lose control of ourselves. And i was reminded again of God's heart for the poor. Give to the poor, and He will reward you. "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for Me" Mat 25:40

"Lord, prepare me, to be a sanctuary. Pure and holy, tried and true.

With thanksgiving, i'll be a living sanctuary for You."

Psalm updates

2008-01-15T01:19:00.000+08:00

Psalm 13

The psalm started with david sounding sad/despair, feeling forgotten, full of sorrow and defeated by all the trials and enemies. He then asked God to open his eyes so that he can see beyond his own circumstances and see how God is working. Similarly for us, sometimes it's better to talk over the problem with a friend or God, to put things into God's perspective. through prayer, we can tell God how we feel and share all our problems and struggles. He will open our eyes to see from His view and it will give us peace, cos God always gives us the best. =)

Sometimes we may also be like david, impatient in waiting for God's reply or response, so much so that we may end up complaining to Him, questioning Him.. But after praying from the start, david started to see things from God' point, and continued to have faith in God no matter what. Same, as we read the psalms, telling God how we feel and what we face, may us see God more n more such that we continue to have faith in Him.

"Lord, open the eyes of my heart, open the eyes of my heart, i want to see You, i want to see You."

Psalm 14

The verse that spoke alot to me is verse 2. God looks for people who understand and seek Him. It's like us human, we want to be understood, to be appreciated and want people to take note of us. God too, looks for people who understand His heart and ways. So many times, we may complain that God didnt hear our prayers, didnt respond to us... and we fail to try to understand God's purpose and Himself.

Another point was the word, "men". It wrote that all the sons of men turned away from God, are corrupted and does not do good. Sons of men, to me, means people of the world, not of God. That's why they fall away from God. It is like in verse 1, only fools says that there is no God. These people are really turning away from God, ignoring the facts. Or they are corrupted, which means to have evil desires (2 Pet 1:4). But no so for us, sons and daughters of God. We are the righteous ones whom God is with, vs 5.

Well, some of us may feel that we are not righteous enough that God will be with us. But God reminds us again that no one is perfect. All of us are guilty, on the same level, no one higher in holiness. Cos it's only by His grace that we are saved and made righteous.. Same level! All of us are just as righteous. Not pastors are more holy cos they serve in church, not leaders are more righteous cos they have a longer walk with God. Not by works, but by grace.

"God, we are all the same! Daughters of a living God. May You look down from heaven, and find us... help us to learn to understand You and seek You. Amen."

Psalming up confidence in the Lord

2008-01-13T03:51:00.000+08:00

Psalm 11

What caught my attention is verse 1. "In the Lord i take refuge." And it goes on to say that people come to distract us, asking us to hide n run away from problems, trials and our enemies. These people may be even fearful of the circumstances thus asking us to flee and be fearful too. But realised that david stood firm in the Lord, knowing that God can and will still observe man's ways, even though He is in heaven. Similarly, we can be comforted and optimistic cos we know that God is greater than anything against us.

And in the life application bible, i like this line that says, "Nothing happens without God's knowledge and permission." Wow... Everything that is and has happened in your life, God knows and He allows it. Not sure why, but God does test the righteous n the wicked. When faced with all these dont run away, run to God! He will restore the goodness in His time.. Everything in life can either be a refining fire, to make us better, or a destruction. You choose. Run to Him! =)

Psalm 12

This psalm seems pretty straightforward to me. Talking about the tongue, how we lie, flatter, boast, gossip, speak evil with our tongues. Such a small organ on our body, what big impact does it has? Wow... u will be surprised. James 3:3-11 talks about our tongue, though small, it can cause great evil, problems and many cant tame their tongues. I know i struggle with this too... Only after you said something not nice, then u start to regret... After gossipping, then feel bad. After boasting, then feel humbled. I do..

but in constrast, God showed us in this psalm that our tongue can be used for good too! Look at God, His words are pure and true. Would you trust man's proud n lying words or would u trust God's pure and good words? And somehow, i felt God saying to me, that though i struggle so much with the tongue, it not necessarily be bad. It can be good. my tongue can be used by God to bring life, share the good news, to edify and strengthen, to bless and love. Maybe instead of focusing on the bad aspect of the tongues, i should learn to focus on using it for good! When u do good, u wont think about the evil right? HAHA.

But one more thing that caught my attention in this psalm. In verse 1. NASB version says that the godly cease to be, the faithful disappear. cease means stop being. So the godly stop being godly? faithful stop being faithful? Why? Cos of the triumph of the evil.. cos of the benefits of lying, boasting, sinning.. cos of life difficulties, trials, problems, causing us to lose our faith.. I dont know, but it does sound scary.

May i never cease to seek to be godly and faithful, but continuing to grow to be Christ-like, because God says in verse 5: "I will now arise... I will protect them." It's no longer the psalmist telling us about God's righteousness, faithfulness and deliverance. But God himself saying He will arise.. for us. For me.

Psalms update

2008-01-12T03:49:00.000+08:00

Sorry! havent blogged up the past 2 psalms, cos i fell asleep before blogging. oops..=) But here u are!

Psalm 9

When i first read it, had a vision of God sitting on His throne among the clouds, angels flying around Him. Then He sees all the wicked doing their acts, and He passed judgement on them. People are also running to Him, the poor n oppressed... and He hears all their cries and delivers them. The angels will then hear what He says and fly off to do what He commands. Wow....

Sometimes we do feel falsely accused and not being appreciated, esp in times of trials or injustice. In times like this, if we dont go to God and trust Him for His love and help, we would often end up resentful or full of self-pity. But if we learn to trust Him, we can have His peace and be free from the worry of how others see and treat us. Remember, who we are is not defined by what people say of us. We are God's children, fully approved and accepted by Him! =)

Psalm 10

"Why do You hide Yourself..." To the psalmist, God seems far away. Maybe some of us may feel that God is far away too... like you cant see Him physically, and dont know if He really hears your prayers and see your deeds. But as we read on, we realised that the psalmist still continued to trust in the Lord and believe that God will answer him. Who else can we depend on when we need help? Our friends, family, dear ones, teachers, even spiritual family? Well, man doesn fail sometimes, cos we are still human. Only God can be there for you 24/7, regardless of what. And only He can help you.

Sometimes, we also see the wicked propers and we start to wonder if God really judge the wicked and help the poor.. Even the wicked may feel that God wouldnt see, hear or do anything about his wicked acts. But it doesn't mean that God approves of these wickedness. Wealth is not a sign og God's approval on a person's life. He is still a God of justice and righteousness. He will see that His justice be carried out.

And finally, i like what my life application bible says about verse 11. A proud person depends on himself rather than on God. But when we allow God's presence in our lives, we have no choice but not to be proud because He makes us aware of our true selves. Only by grace.....

Singing psalms to the Lord

2008-01-09T00:58:00.000+08:00

Psalm 8

This psalm sounds very familiar.. like... "O Lord our God, How majestic Your name is, How majestic Your name in all the earth." Beautiful song singing praises to God for His beautiful creation, for His love for us, for His majesty.

First, looking at verse 2, the children, infants, young ones gave praises to the Lord. And we realise that children are able to praise and trust God easily and fully. However, as we grow older, we faced disappointments, hurts, trials and rejctions so much that we lose trust and may find it difficult to trust and praise God totally. But the great delight we can have is that God will not break our trust like man do. God will not rejct our praises to Him too! In fact, God says He takes delight in the praises of children cos it's just so simple n pure. He wants us to go back to the child-like faith, just believing and praising Him.

Next, looking at verse 3-8. Do you know how vast is the universe? How many stars are there? How regular the sun and moon are in their rotation so as to bring us day n night? How rain are planned to come so that we get water? God knows, He set the sun n moon in their place and planned for the nature.. He is indeed majestic!

But this majestic God has a even greater love... Who are we that God should love us? What have we done for Him? Nothing, and in fact, we so often disappoint Him by sinning, by going our own ways, by ignoring and rejecting Him... we just said we cant trust cos we have been hurt and disappointed right? But God still trust us! He trusts and loves us so much He gave the world to us, placed us above other creations to rule. He says, "You are so valuable to Me, i gave everything for you."

So we rule the earth... With great power comes great responsibility. We have power over the earth, but what are we doing about it? how are we using the resources, abilities and gifts that God has given us?

"Lord, when i see the sun, moon, stars and vast sky, i know how small i am, and how big the creation. Yet Lord, You hold everything in Your hand. Wow... You are really great! But greater is Your love for me, that You care for me even when i have disappointed and hurt you. You trust me with so many blessings in my life. Help me Lord, to be a good steward for the things You have given. I trust in an almighty God. Thank you.. In Jesus' name, amen."

Growing through the Psalms

2008-01-08T01:04:00.000+08:00

Psalm 7

It's like a prayer for innocence, because david was accused to be plotting to kill Saul and seize the throne. But he was not, and instead of seeking revenge on the people who falsely accused him, he went to God and asked for God to justify him.

Sometimes in life, we do get falsely accused for sth, and we may get hurt in the process. How do we usually respond to it? Do we retaliate and repay an eye for an eye? Go around telling many people and get their support? Judge the people who accused us and form certain impressions about them? Or maybe we try to put the things behind us, cover up, bury the hurts and try to move on in life, but actually we are still affected by it?

Instead of responding in your anger, lack of security or pain, why not first bring to God all our cases. And you know the best thing, God is just and He will bring justice for us! You do not need to defend much for yourself, God knows your thoughts and actions, He will make things right for you. =)

Not only that, in verse 9, God reminds us again that He knows ALL our thoughts and feelings, so there's no need to impress Him or put a false front and act in front of Him. Instead, we can be real before Him, showing Him all our weaknesses and trust that He will work through these weaknesses with us. And i was reminded again of verse 3-5, i realised it can also be a prayer for God to check our hearts and remove all evil so that we can stand righteous.

"God, thank You for showing me again that the people who do wrong n evil, will be repaid according to their deeds. Help me so that i do not fall into my own sins n evil. But Lord, check my heart and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. In times when i'm wrongly accused, help me to learn to bring all the problems to You. I know You will be able to bring me justice. Father, i really cannot act before You, because You know me so well. Let me be real before You today. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Growing through the Psalms

2008-01-07T01:33:00.000+08:00

Psalm 6

It seems like David was asking God for mercy, not to discipline him in anger. It can be quite scary if God deals with us in His anger.. in the presence of a holy God, with sin in us, in the old days, we would be struck dead.... But God loves us SO much, He always want to give us a second chance, He gives mercy while keeping His justice. Sometimes we may do the wrong things, but we pray that God will speak to us, and disciple us gently, so tt we change and not have to face greater punishments.
"the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as a son." Heb 12:6

"How long, O Lord, how long?" a very simple verse... but it caught my attention when i was reading it. God has His perfect timing! We may not have the patience for an answer to our prayers, for things to move or change. But God knows best. And we need to learn to be patient and to trust in God... Even if it means waiting for 1 week, 1 month, 1 year.... will u wait? Or will you rush to do sth which may not be God's plan? I would rather wait... so tt i would not face the wrong decision, but receive the blessings of God' plan. =)

Verse 5 talks about no one rmb or praise God when he is dead. At first i thot like david was telling God to preserve his life so tt he can rmb n praise God, so tt God will be pleased. But i like feel... who are we, tt we can tell God, "eh God, preserve my life, so tt i can praise you. If i die, i cant praise You, then later no one praise You." God doesnt need our praises. He has the angels declaring His praises.

So i think think... wait wait.. then had a new revelation. this verse was talking to me about salvation, that God saved us, so that we can rmb and praise Him, to have fellowship with Him! He doesnt need it, but He wants and take delight in it! He created us so tt we can have fellowship in the first place. But now tt we are saved, do we remember God and what He has done for us? Are we praising and fellowshipping with Him?

"God, whenever i do something wrong and hurt You, reveal it to me. Show me and help me to repent and make things right. Lord, guide me to seek forgiveness so that You can discipline me gently and teach me in Your ways. Teach me how to be patient, to wait upon You, cos i know i will receive the best, only best, from You. Father, show me Yourself everyday, that i will remember who You are and what You have done. I am thankful for all that You gave for me. Thank you. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Psalming through Psalms...

2008-01-06T01:35:00.000+08:00

Sorry.. haha Psalm 4 is late. But i'mnot getting any reply from the tagboard. Hello? anyone there? HAHa...

Psalm 4

Another Psalm by King David, really on having joy and confidence in God who will hear our prayers and protect us. Interestingly, i see tt David was calling out to God for relief and mercy. And i saw God answering him by asking how long are we going to dishonour Jesus and seek lies.

When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He has broken all powers of darkness over us, took and forgave all our sins, and gave us all we need, joy, peace and protection. However, sometimes, we like David, continue to be in distress, even though we say we trust God. When we live in depression, negative thoughts and feelings, we are living a defeated life and denying the power of the cross and what Jesus has done. We must stop listening to the lies of the evil one who says we are not good enough, keep us in the negative spirit....

Let God remind us again, that we dont need to feel that way... but allow ourselves to be silent before God and hear Him affirm us, hear Him comfort us, hear Him promise again, like for David, that He will watch over and provide for us! Trust Him!

In verse 7, 2types of joy are expressed. One is an inward, steady and everlasting joy that comes from the Lord. Another is an unpredictable, temporary happiness that depends on circumstances.. So if we really want to remain happy and postive.. what we need is the joy that comes from within.. and it can only be from God.. =)

Psalm 5

Again.. written by David.. see how much he communicates w God. And this is a morning psalm, like laying down his requests before God in the morning. Why Jesus, David... and many impt ppl in the bible always go to God in the morning? perhaps in the morning, we are still fresh, minds are not cluttered with all the things that have happened. So we can have a clear mind to receive what God wants to give us. Morning also so that we can commit the whole day to the Lord and fill our minds with His words first, then we can face what come later in the day.

Here we also saw david talking about the sin of lying, deceiving, being arrogant... God does not take delight in evil. But david knew he could stand before God, with a holy fear, because of God's mercy. God cannot stand sin, not even the slightest.... how are we then, responding to sins in our lives? How do we feel when we realise our sins? It's an important part of our christian lives to know how to respond and act when we know we have sins in our lives. Nobody is perfect... we do sin. i do.. even up till now... like throwing my temper, saying a lie... but how do we respond when we know we have sinned is the important thing.

I rmb ps julie once said tt sanctification is an on-going thing. Not once and done... So everytime we realised we have sinned, we may feel guilty, disappointed with ourselves, unworthy, but it's important to go back to God and admit our sins, ask for forgiveness, and repent! Not going back to do the same thing again. What is important is the willingness to change... rmb. we can stand before God, because of His mercy....

Growing in the Psalms

2008-01-04T01:37:00.000+08:00

Psalm 3

This psalm must be very special. HAHA. Cos, ps roland shared about it during rehearsal tonight and i decided to pop by vanessa's blog and read about it. haha.. Hope it has spoken to u, and u girls are doing fine in psalming.. Drop a tag to let me know how u are doing ok? =)

This is a psalm written by david, when he was fleeing from his son, absalom. It's really about trusting God for protection and peace. It talked about people rosing against david, but he didnt depend on his army to defend and protect him. Instead he went to God and asked for God's protection and deliverance. From there, he found peace, even to sleep peacefully at night, when the 10 000 were chasing after his life. He knew God has His timing to deliver him...

Similarly for us, we can overcome our fears during dark hours by asking God and trusting that He will protect and deliver us. God is always for us, and He always listen when we pray. And in vanessa's blog, she talked about vs 7-8, where God promised to give us His inheritance if we asked, because we are His children. It's first having a relationship with God, a Father and His daughter. The Father always listen to His daughter when she calls.

And pastor khong asked us to read psalms, probably because the psalmists were very honest and open about their feelings. They praised God, sang His praises, they also lamented, told God their griefs and pains, sometimes expressing their doubts and fears. But it's through these honest sharing that they grew to have a deep and true relationship with God.

Are you feeling happy, joyful or cheerful today? Go to God and share your joy with Him! Are you feeling depressed, hopeless or despair? Just tell Him everything, He is you listening ear! Talk to God today, and you will be surprised that He is really here, listening to you now. =)

"God, i'm feeling __________ today. I know You are now beside me, listening to my every thoughts even if i dont say it out. You know my thoughts, guide me, so that i can converse with You. Teach me how to be honest with You. Protect me against the attacks of the evil one and deliver me from all my fears, negative thoughts, struggles and problems. Thank you God. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Growing in the Psalms

2008-01-03T02:32:00.000+08:00

Psalm 2

This psalm is written by King David and it describes the rebellion of the nations and the coming of Jesus to be King forever.

The first part talks about nations turning against the Lord and His people, which is true in the world today. Because of people's pride and hunger for power, they turned away from God, seeking to do their own things, be their own gods, sometimes going against God's will. But God laughs at their confused thoughts, like a father laughing at his children who think they can outrun or over power him when they are so small and weak in comparison to Him.

God knows our abilities and powers, and He knows that they are given to us by Him and He could take away all these talents and abilities. Imagine God taking away your talents, be it intelligence, music, sports, looks.... imagine one day, i cant sing, or dance, or look ugly.........

Sounds very sad ah? But no worries, because God said that He has chosen you as His daughter. He will give you an inheritance, and He will give you the power to overcome the trials in life. We just have to acknowledge that it is God who gives all these power and talents.

So really, let's always go back to the Lord for comfort, guidance, chosing Him as the King of our lives.. =)

"God, You know my ability and power. I cannot overrun or overpower You. And i acknowledge that all i have, You have given them to me, and You can take them back anytime. God, forgive me if there's any pride in myself. Help me today to humble myself and submit to Your Kingship. Please be King of my life everyday, guiding me, providing for me and empowering me. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Growing in the Psalms

2008-01-02T00:44:00.000+08:00

Well, we dedicated ourselves to grow more intimately in the Lord in 2008. Starting by doing psalms every morning before food. Hope u all are doing so. I'm trying to blog as much as i can on my own walk through it. Hope this encourages u. Even when it may get dry and perhaps, boring, or strenous, press on my dearies. Cos u will receive far more than u have given. =)

Psalm 1

It says blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. So if we dont walk in that, we are actually walking in the counsel of God! yep yep, we will be blessed if we walk in the counsel of God, allowing Him to guide and lead us. His ways for us are always perfect n best.
"God, please bless me with Your wisdom and Your guidance in this year."

We shall learn not to sin or mock at people, but to mediate on the word of God. To meditate means to think and reflect about it, and learning to apply it to our lives. For example, verse 2 say his delight is in the law of the Lord. To me, it means that we can receive joy from God's word, and it should not be a chore or duty to read His word, but a joy, because we can be refreshed and recharged by it. How can we not be joyful when we hear God encouraging and talking to us?
"God, please help me to receive the joy from You."

The tree that is by streams of water.. It really means if we stay near to God's word, we get our source of water, nourishment, and so be able to bear fruits. Fruits like our godly characters, people we could reach out to and even the rewards in life like breakthroughs, results, blessings from God.

And we can be glad because God watches over us! Cos we are made righteous by Jesus when we accepted Him into our lives. And when there are times we feel unfair or lost, remember God is always good to those who love Him. =)

"God, i pray that in this new year, You will help me be disciplined and diligent to read Your word every morning before food. It may be difficult, cos we may have to wake up earlier, struggle with the zzz monster, overcome ourselves... or it may get tiring, dry or boring... or i may lose the momentum or perseverence. Lord, help me! Help me so that i will enjoy these times with You. Help me so that i will look forward to meeting You and reading Your word, because Your word will recharged and and supply all i need. Your word will encourage me and draw me into Your love and word again. Thank you Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen!
Blessed new year everyone... may us grow intimately with the Lord and experience more of Him!"

chipmunks

2007-12-21T02:33:00.000+08:00

Chipmunk movie = Christmas story. (warning: spoiler ahead.. so if u wanna watch chipmunks, come back after you have watched it.)

What do you want for your christmas? Lots of toys, gifts, money, fame, freedom, fun... Just like the chipmunks in the story. They so look forward to christmas.. they wanted presents. And they were abit disappointed when dave gave them saving coupons instead of gifts. Which uncle ian gave... And uncle ian the santa, deceived them, that they deserve something better, earn money, get fame, do whatever they want and be treated like stars. Though the chipmunks remembered what dave told them, like they need rest, they shouldnt perform intensely... they were deceived. Ended up at ian's place, who told them... there's no rules! Yep, they get to play, eat and do everything with no rules, unlike at dave's place. But the results, they had to perform, sing, act, do everything that ian says...... like puppets with no life, no rules, but under control, till they are exhausted. On the other side.... dave was missing them, and they missed him too.

Begin to see the picture? I did. I realised we are like the chipmunks. And we so love christmas. Dave represents... who else, but our loving Father, who let us stay w Him and treat us like a family, though He set rules, they meant well. And the saving coupons? They are like tickets to eternal life... we may not see the value of it now, but as we continue to work and save into it, we will be able to see our rewards later, like the savings tt will increase. Safety net? Security? Hope for eternity.

And... uncle ian the santa. Who else but satan, who deceives us that we deserve better, refuting everything that God is saying to us. Though we may rememeber God's word, satan lies and lures us away from God. Yep, life without God may seems fun. We get to do the things we want, enjoy ourselves, do everything without rules. No commandments to follow, no rules to obey. And we get to fulfill our desires, for fame, popularity, money, power....

But what's the results? We are like the chipmunks, tired out by running after all these, becoming like puppets, controlled by satan, some even lost their souls. Sounds sad. But there is still hope! Cos God misses us! He loves us so much cos we are His family. And we miss Him too.. All of us have that God-shaped vacuum, only He can fill. So.... He would risk everything, do anything and nothing can stop Him from coming and get us, saving us from satan. And we, will be God's family! =)

HAHA. Two responses you can have now. 1) WAH, huihui, you siao ah.. like that also can link. And forget about it. 2) WOW, thank God that He can use even a non-christian movie to share His love. It's all about Him. Everything on earth can be linked back to Him. And run back to God for His love and protection. I chose 2). =D

nick's story

2007-10-07T00:51:00.000+08:00

2007-10-02T18:00:00.000+08:00

Childlike?
Toys R us?
CHIONG AH!! xD

CHILDLIKE US... HAHAHA. xP

2007-09-27T22:46:00.000+08:00

Lord, help me have Faith for the impossible

There was this small clear glass ball that looked like a large marble hanging from a gold chain. inside the ball was the tiniest seed. a mustard seed. looking at this, a boy wondered why did they bother putting a seed in there so small he cld hardly see it. obvioulsly, he didn't get the point.

it wasn't until years later that he learn't the significance of that little seed. jesus said:" if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ' Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." (matthew 17:20) since he thot a lot about how tiny tt seed was. he decided if that's all the faith it takes to move a mountain, then surely he can come up with enough faith to move the mountains in his life. God can make the tiniest bit of faith we have and make it grow into sth big when we act on it. That means he has alr given us some faith to start with. But when we take action on our faith - step out n do sth tt takes faith on our part to do - God increases it.

we hv no idea what great things God wants to do thru us if we will jus step out in faith when he asks us to. thats why he lets us go thru some diff times. times when we feel so vulnerable n weak. he allows some things to happen so tt we will turn to him n give him our full attention. it's in those times, when we are forced to pray in greater faith, tt our faith grows stronger. "according to ur faith let it be to you" (Matthew 9:29). this cld be a frightgening thot, depending on the kind of faith we have.

and.. i'm still not ending yet. cos i got story to tell. haha.. since it's on the topic on faith. and someone chose this topic for me. well, it's the tale of the missing wallet. this wallet of mine jus had to go missing at e worst of times. when everything wasn't going well, then it happens. double/triple scolding from parents. and having cash flow issues, making new card n everything will cost $. and tt was when i was Forced to pray. yes.. but somehow aft everyday the feeling of my wallet cmg back was.. like 50%. maybe i was living in my own world, so i dreamt tt i still had it. yet i knew tt reality it's missing. then day aft day.. prayed, promised and begged for my precious to come back..only like 3 days aft it went missing it suddenly appeared. just a little soaked cos of the rain. but.. kinda creepy cos i thot it was lost at hougang/at home but it appeared in my letter box. wondered if God planned it cos i... then it struck. cld feel my heart beating really fast n started to recall the times i simply jus prayed to God. and in e prayer it had tt word FAITH repeating.. cos i told him tt i put my faith in him. tho i admitted my faith was rather small.. because.. yet, because of tt small faith i had, God increased it, and wallet came back safe n sound. :) yep, counted as testimonial ba.

ok, rather long. so shall end wih mark 9:23. dun b lazy.. check it out urself. :)

How to sustain joy

2007-09-16T01:57:00.000+08:00

Nehemiah 12:44-47.

Haha, you should have already guessed, this is my daily QT from Everyday with Jesus. Well, i have gone through that as christians, we can be joyful because of our salvation. But how to sustain it so that we remain happy n joyful, not falling back to depression and sadness?

In this passage, the people continued to remain joyful because they cared for others, those serving in the temple. (vs 47) When we are right with God, other things quickly fall into place. We will forget our 'tribalism' - differences,different groups, churches, cells, classes... and think more in terms of Christ's body - the church. We are one big family.And we take delight in serving those who serve us. Then joy will be sustained...

so true, because when we start to care for others, we think of ourselves less. That helps us to remain joyful as we learn to see our own blessings and spend less time thinking about our weaknesses, lacks and circumstances. And when we learn to serve, we receive God's delight, so we remain joyful too!

"When your words came, i ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for i bear your name, O Lord Almighty." Why can we be full of joy? Because we can read God's word, keep them in our hearts!

So... let's continue serving, reading and keeping God's word in our heart!

-Mommy charis-

Nick's story

2007-09-04T01:16:00.000+08:00

Was listening to "Your best life now" by pastor joel osteen. And this story caught my attention... couldnt catch some of the parts, so modified abit.. but still,hope it speaks to you. =)

Nick was a big, strong and tough man who worked in a railroad yard for years. He was the company's best worker, arriving on time, a reliable hard worker and bond well with others. But Nick has a problem, he always think negatively and something bad will happen.

One summer day, the crew were told they were allowed to leave an hour early in order to celebrate the birthday of one of the foreman. All the workers left, but somehow, Nick accidentally locked himself in a refrigerated box car, which was brought into the yard. The box car was empty and not connected to any other trains.

When Nick realised that he was locked inside the refirgerated boxed car, he panted and Nick began knocking on the door until his hands and fists became bloody. He screamed and screamed but his co-workers have already gone home to get ready for the party. Nobody could hear Nick's desperate call for help. Again and again, he called out but finally his voice became a whisper.

Aware that he was in a refrigerated box car, Nick guessed that the temperature was well below freezing, maybe as low as 5-10 degree Fahrenheit. Nick feared the worst. He thought what am i going to do? If i dont get out of here, i'm going to freeze to death. The more he thought about his circumstances, the colder he became.

With the door shut tightly and no apparent escape, he sat down to wait for the inevitable, death by freezing or suffocation,which ever came first. He found a pen in his shirt pocket and noticed an old piece of cardboard over at the other corner of the car. Shivering almost uncontrollably, he scribbled a message to his family. In it, Nick realised his dying prospect. Getting so cold, body numbed, if i dont get out soon, these will probably be my last words.

And they were. The next morning, when the crews came to work, they opened the box car and found Nick's body crumpled over in a corner. When the autopsy was completed, it was confirmed that Nick has frozen to death.

However, the investigator realised that the refrigerator unit of the car was not even on. In fact, it has been out of order for some time and it was not functioning at the time of the man's death. The temperature of the car that night, the night Nick was froze to death, was 16.2 degree.Nick froze to death in a slightly less than normal room temperature. Nick froze to death because he believed he was in a refrigerator box car and believed he is going to die. For Nick, what he feared and believed, came to past.

Are you like Nick, expecting failure, defeat, bad things? You will get what you expect. Believe in the positive things in agreement with God, He will come through for you. =)

-Mommy Charis-

2007-08-21T19:24:00.000+08:00

Lord, help me get rid of negative emotions.

1. Refuse to be anxious about anything, knowing tt God is in control of your life when you ask him to be.
- we can find freedom from anxiety just by spending time with God (psalm 94:19) when you are anxious, it means you aren't trusting God to take care of you. But seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. (luke 12:29-31)

2. Refuse to be ruled by anger.
- when you allow anger to rule your thots and actions, it causes you to do or say things you will one day regret. An angry person upsets everyone ard them, n they make serious mistakes as a result.(ecclesiastes 7:9) Ask God to keep you free from anger so u can remain in the flow of all he has for you.

3. Refuse to be dissatisfied and always complaining.
- It's easy to constantly focus on negative n look for everything tt's wrong with ur life. But tt causes you to have constant unrest n u are never at peace. (philippians 4:11) in whatever state, be content. that kind of attitude takes faith. Faith to believe God is in control and he loves you. Faith to believe his timing is perfect.(hebrews 4:9)

4. Refuse to be envious of what other people have.
- When u focus on someone eles n what they have, instead of on the Lord n what he has for you, a convetous spirit comes to confuse you n make ur life miserable. (James 3:16) Don't allow urself to entertain thots like.. if only i had.... instead, focus on Jesus n his beauty, nature, help..(proverbs 14:30)

5. Refuse to allow depression to rule your life.
- Many pple live with depression without even realizing it because it feels so familiar. the wounding of ones' soul tt requires e healing touch of the Lord n the knowledge of e truth of God's word to set u free. (psalm 6:8-9) Feeling bad n hopeless because u don't see the way ard things tt bother u, can make u depressed. But God doesn't want u to live with those feelings. instead, pray to him to lift u out from it.. let the joy of the Lord rise in ur heart n chase away spirits of heaviness.

6. Refuse to be bitter about anything.
- when a root of bitterness takes hold of ur heart, it grows n cuts off e blessings of God. (acts 8:23) When u hv such thots such as, i can never forget what tt person did to me; i shld hv won e award instead of tt person.. then u hv bitterness growing in u. When we are bitter, we r hostile, resentful, hateful, or antagonistic toward someone/thing. (hebrews 12:15) pray to God to set u free.. tt will crowd out anything in ur heart tt is not of him.

7. Refuse to live with feelings of rejection.
- Many pple who hv felt rejected in their past for one reason or another live in fear of being rejected now n in e future. they expect to b rejected, so they read rejection into other pple's words n actions. this causes em to be hurt, afraid,angry or bitter. it makes em oversensitive to e comments n actions of others. it drives e people ard em crazy as e fear of rejection cause e very rejection they feared. if u hv ever felt tt way, rmb tt God has not rejected u. he accepted u be4 u even knew him. u can't make everyone love u but God loves u n he will give u favor with other pple.

8. Refuse to be hopeless about anything, no matter how hopeless it may seem.
- hopelessness is a slow killer n it will eventually affect ur health n soul. when u choose to put ur hope in the Lord, he will take ur hopelessness away. just as we can choose what to wear each day, we can choose to put our hope in the Lord.(proverbs 22:5)

9. Refuse to let fear rule over your life.
- some of these fears include the fear of dying, starving, failing, getting lost, being abandoned, the dark, people's opinions, n being rejected, just to name a few. God does not want us to live in fear. fear does not come from him but from e world. the enemy can make us afraid of everything n wear us down with fear of what could happen.(proverbs 29:25)- one of the common fear. God wants us to be free from all fear (1 john 4:18) the way you get perfected in his love is to draw close to him n let him fill you with his love. when u do, he will deliver u from all fear. (2 timothy 1:7)

Negative emotions reveal that we have doubt inside of us. If we completely trust God in our life, what do we have to be anxious about? each one of us is susceptible to having negative emotions at some time, so don't feel bad if you have them. But don't live with them either. Refuse to allow the ugliness of negative emotions to mar the beauty of the life God has for you.

Phillipians 4:6-7 (be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer...)

Matthew 11:28-30 (come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden...)

psalm 34:17-18 (the righteous cry out, and the Lord hears...)

-bel

2007-08-10T20:56:00.000+08:00

Psalms 23

阁下是我的牧羊人，我不会要。

the Lord is my shepherd, i shall not be in want.

他在绿色牧场地使我躺下，

he makes me lie down in green pastures,

他带领我在安静的水旁边，

he leads me beside quiet waters,

他恢复我的灵魂。

he restores my soul.

他在正义道路引导我为了他的名字的缘故。

he guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

即使我通过死亡的阴影的谷走，

even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

我恐惧罪恶为你不是以我。

i will fear no evil for you are with me.

你的标尺和你的职员他们安慰我。

your rod and your staff they comfort me.

你在我之前准备一张桌在我的敌人面前。

you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

你涂油我的头与油; 我的杯子溢出，

you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows,

肯定善良和爱将跟我学所有天我的生活，

surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

并且我在阁下的房子里永远将居住。

and i will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

- bel