Thank you God for everything! I thank you for everything you've done in my life so far and i acknowledge that and give you all the glory cause you are worthy!
worshipnet today was fun! Well at least i thought that it was a great idea for everyone just to share about their lives and where their at right now. Really makes us closer to one another by being more transparent and keeping one another accountable. And the hugging part after that was cool too :) Aaah, just wanna thank God for being so awesome and so great..He's really changing the worshipnet slowly, and we can tell that everyone is getting to the point where we're all just set on seeking God and having more of him in our lives. So great to see God working in each and everyone of our lives, with everyone having their own personal experience after spiritual encounter and still have the fire burning so strongly. Really really encouraging, and pushes one another on so that we won't hold the rest behind or slide backwards. Today i found a 'fire' brother(henry) and a 'crying' buddy(Su) after worshipnet haha.. Their both such awesome people, cause they really have this heart that is just soosoosoo unique. Henry really really loves God, and can tell that the hunger he has is so genuine and real. Su, has been the most awesome older sister to me ever(only one i got :P) and she's just an answer to my pray from God.. I used to ask God to give me someone who i can talk to and share life openly and just being totally 100% transparent. I really feel that Su is one of those true friends that God places in your life where you can just talk about anything to them, and all they ever do is to show you more love. You can trust them by watching your back, and always go to them whenever you're in need and they'll always be there waiting. I hope that i can be such a person too...
anyway for devotion today, i read John 1 since Ps Chris recommended it as a good book to start with. I read v1-18, but i think its too much to have it here, but every part of it was important too.
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
These verses never seem old whenever you read them, its one of those special verses that tell us who God is and what the Word is. The Word was with God and the Word was God. All things are made through God, and in him was life, which was the light of men. And that light shines in the darkness, and they did not comprehend it.
12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
For all who received him and believed in his name, he gave us the right to be children of God! How easy is that? All we have to do is to receive him and believe in his name, and we'll be able to be a child of God. What more, we were not born by human decision but by the will of God. We were not planned by our parents nor were we accidents, everything happens according to God's will. If we actually take time to register that we were in God's mind even before we were formed, that he had already planned out our future for us, and that we are precious in his sight. We realise how great God truly is and how vast his love for us, that we are never forgotten or ignored cause God is a good God and is a God of love. That is just so amazing, and when we it truly sinks into our brain, we would want to live our life totally surrendered to God's will and plan for us because he is just so great that words cannot describe.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Word, which was God, became flesh and came all the way down from heaven to earth just to dwell with us. Live among us, as one of us. And on earth he revealed to us his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth. He showed us sign, wonders, and miracles that were done in his name. His true glory and power, that no mind can ever comprehend and understand.
16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Ok so we received our blessing through the FULLNESS of his GRACE! Our blessings are received through grace, only by grace. And not any grace, but through the fullness of his grace. The grace of God is soo important, and i wanna thank God that he's been such a gracious God to all of us. We are all perfectly fine human beings with no defects or disabilities, and we all have proper families, and are living such good lives. We have to be thankful to God for everything he's given to us and done in our lives. We must never ever be ungrateful to God, and in all things give thanks. Last thing, we got to know that the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. And because Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we now live by the grace of God and his grace is ABOVE the law. Which i think means that His grace takes a higher priority over the old laws because of the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross of calvary for sins, our only way to salvation and redemption. So we gotta be thankful that Jesus died for us too :)
I love you Lord, all of my days is in you, Jesus Christ, take my life, take all of me
Friday, always an awesome day. It means the end of the week and the start of the weekend! And not just any normal weekends, but weekends filled with God's presence and of the Holy Spirit. Woohoo, the awesome line up of Yaf, Sat early morning prayers, worshipNet, morning service, bilingual service, and our men's prayer group! Wow, so packed with God, God, God, and more God!
I heard from others saying that tonights worship was great, and many felt the strong presence of the Lord in the sanctuary as we were worshipping. I'm sure Sam did a great job of worship leading today, where me on the other hand made lots of mistakes and some big ones e.g dropping of drumsticks... But im glad that many people felt that today's worship was good :)
This afternoon, Su invited me over to her place to listen to a sermon, and it was great! It was another Bethel church sermon, but done by a different pastor, a much more hilarious one with his own interesting sense of humour. The main topic was on love, and it was sooo powerful, it really spoke to me and made me look at so many things differently..
Main scripture reference is 1Cor 13:4-8.(NKJV version)
"4 Love suffers long and is kind..."
Bam! it hit me right at the start.. Love suffers long?? We normally read the NIV versions, and they don't have that included in verse 4. The pastors starts talking about what real love really is, and drills in the main point that real love suffers long. Some of my notes from that sermon:
-everyone can give away something expensive, but not everyone can give away something valuable. e.g offering something up to God that costs us something, not something that doesn't cost us anything..
-love suffers long, and love has pain.
-there's a difference between joy and pleasure e.g we can have joy amidst our sufferings, but not pleasure. Joy can be experienced 24/7
-love germinates in the soil of sacrifice, sprouts in the garden of surrender, and matures in the matrimony of servant hood.(powerful stuff!!!Wow!)
-sad that many live with nothing to die for, but many die with something to live for. (talked about this after sharing about someone who gave her life to save her baby because she had cancer and had to choose between one, could not have both..)
-we're all terminal, gonna die some day. But we're not all gonna live (made a joke saying that if there was a call for people with terminal illness to stand up, we all should stand up cause we all are terminal)
-you can love and have pain, but you can have pain but not love.
-"fellowship of the sharing in his suffering.." Philippians 3:10 (the kind of suffering we should have from true love)
-pain becomes a part of the kingdom,you need suffering to enter the kingdom. (because suffering comes from love)
-we come and don't become, because we are afraid of pain..pain keeps us from being family (he was referring to us going to church)
-2 Timothy 2:3 "3Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."
-to get someone out of a quicksand, we first have to jump in and push him out from the back! (crazy stuff..stunned me for a while, because the pastor had a vision on this. shows us how much love we need to show to one another! to throw ourselves into the quicksand as well just to get him out of it..both emotional and physical quicksand)
-if we love love much, we will be in pain, because love suffers long..its normal to have pain when you love much.
-if we've never suffered, we've never loved..(ouch!!)
-Jesus died for our sins. Sins and mistake are different. sins=purpose, mistakes=not on purpose (no such thing as sin on accident, many people get it wrong)
-last thing is Luke 6:27-35 - about loving our enemies..
What really struck me was that i've read that passage before and know about it, but this time when the pastor preached it the way he did..It made a much bigger impact to me, the way he illustrated it was so real..e.g if someone punches you on one cheek, you will automatically dodge the next one coz you don't want to get hit again. How ever the Bible says to let him punch the other cheek! When something takes you coat from you(steals!), do not stop him from taking your tunic!(What?!!) And we have to give not expecting to receive anything back in return(like giving away free gold......)
So combining what he taught from earlier on, we are to love(which we have to suffer and pain for) everyone, including our enemies.. and if someone hurts us, we are to turn to the other side and let them hurt us again..Then it got me thinking, what if it is the ones that we really love and care for that hurts us, that will definitely hurt much more than some other random person hurting us. Even when that happens, we are to turn the other cheek and let them hurt us some more. This didn't really make much sense to me, as it just seemed that we are inflicting pain on ourselves, but i guess that true love really does hurt and we will suffer long. So since God says so, i will do so. I will have to become like a loving punching bag that will give without demanding anything in return, loving everyone especially my enemies(those who are out to harm me), and loving so much that i will be willing to suffer any amounts of hurts, betrayal and just absorb everything in. Because Jesus paid the price for their sins and my life, and so this life is no longer mine, but Christ alone.
I don't think that you would fully understand my notes unless you heard to sermon too, so i apologize if i was unclear in any way. Link for this sermon can be obtained from sam, since he was the once who downloaded this sermon :)
There is power in the blood, no more sin and shame their gone in Jesus name, there is power in the blood..
Well tonight we had a prayer session with Adrian, Tim, Sam, Su, Henry, and Rowan. And boy was it fun! These stuff never get boring and you can never get sick of it! Its just so amazing! I could sense that the Holy Spirit was gonna do something amazing even before we started praying, there was this stirring in the atmosphere and was different than usual. Anyway the moment we started praying i could really feel the Holy Spirit starting to fill the room, and we ended up praying for 4hrs! haha it was really long but it never felt that long, the most surprising thing is that I felt the Holy Spirit in the room for the whole 4hrs we were praying! It was just like waves and waves that just kept coming one after another, and i could feel the Holy Spirit's presence just wrapped around my whole body. I often have these 'surges' of electric bolts run straight through my body that just shocks me, and a few times it felt as though the muscles in my body were vibrating or shaking, so it looked at though i was shivering, which i obviously wasn't cause i was sweating.. Like Anne said, it really is a HOLY OBSESSION!!
Wow. Then after that i saw Su and Henry drunk.. It was pretty amazing and got pretty distracting for me, cause sometimes it was so funny that i felt that i was gonna burst out laughing too. Thank God i didn't, it would have been very disrespectful of me... First time i saw anything like this, and it wasn't just one person, but two! which made it really funny..synchronized laughing..hahaha..
Anyway for me like i said, I'm in a season of seeking! Seeking after God, his touch, and voice. The whole time i was praying i was just praying for two things. 1) To see God's face, feel His touch, and hear His voice(very clearly). 2) More glory, power, anointing, and His presence in my life.
Why? I feel that a personal encounter with God is a really important thing for me to move forward with my walk with God right now. I find it really hard to share or minister to other people about a God whom i don't even know personally. I can't say that i know Him because i've never even met him! This encounter with God will really give me a big boost to break down any walls that are in between God and myself, and that would be a major life changer for me. Its just one of those things that i feel is of utmost importance for me to move forward. Secondly, i personally want more glory, power, anointing, and His presence in my life because i want to be like those kinds of greater preacher/pastors where they just walk in the room and the presence of God just falls so mightily in that place because they carry such a strong anointing of God. I want to be able to walk in the streets and see people fall all around me weeping in tears, on their knees, because they got so convicted just by the sheer presence and glory of God. I would say that this is one of my long term goals :).
For some weird reason i decided to read revelations today just as a side topic, cause i've never really read the whole book before. I managed to finish reading it, and found it understandable, English wise. But i don't think i got most of the spiritual meanings behind it, it was so much different compared to the other books. A full in depth study on the book of Revelations would sound really good.
Well for devotions today..I read Daniel 12 which was prophecy on the end times as well. It was pretty unclear for me too, don't think that i got what God was really trying to tell us there. The stuff that I understood were these: 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
10 Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
Pretty much these 3 verses were all that i could really understand or at least know what they are talking about from this chapter. v2-3 there will those who will wake up to everlasting life, and the rest to shame and everlasting contempt(two total opposite extremes), good thing or scary thing about it is that it is everlasting. I don't think men will ever understand the concept of everlasting or eternity in our minds. It may be because we were create as humans who have limited brain capacity, we know everlasting means forever, but can we really truly grasp eternity? Verse 3 is what we all should aim to be. Wise and lead many to righteousness, because then we will shine like the brightness of the heavens and like the stars forever and ever. Which is always a good thing.
In v10, many will be purified, wicked will continue to be wicked, and those who are wicked won't understand but those who are wise will. Whatever the case, i pray that i will be under that 'wise' category, cause only then would we understand. And the wicked would never end up in heaven anyway.
Didn't uderstand stuff like the two men in linen robe, what did they represent? What were they talking about?(It will be for a time, times and half a time) What did the number of days represent?(1290, 1335?) And what did God mean in verse 4?
4 But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge."
All these end days talk are so confusing, but at the same time relevant since we ARE living in the end days. Sometimes i wish that classes would be held on like topics on end days, how to pray effective for healing, how to cast out demons, how to see God's face, how to have more of God in our lives.. But i guess all these answer can be find in the Bible, its most probably just that i still don't understand half of them yet. So i pray for wisdom, revelation, and discernment from God. That as i continue to read the Bible, He will reveal many stuff that i don't understand to me. (It would also be good if people can teach it too though, i'm sure many people would be interested and benefit from it :))
Open your eyes, look to the sky, the king of love the king of heaven, tell everyone your daughters and son, the king of love the king of heaven
I'm in fight not physical I'm in a war, but not with this world You are the light thats beautiful And I want more I want all thats yours
We're in a fight, which is not physical, in a war thats not with this world, but against those in the spiritual realm. Why? Romans 8:13 says:
13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live
This is why we live in the spirit and not of the flesh. Why we live by faith and not by sight.
I am addicted something. I am addicted to God's presence and His wondrous glory. I must say that, it is a whole different feeling when we are in his presence, you get this great sensational feeling that can't just be described by words. When His presence is just wrapped around us, we can feel all sorts of emotions.. There's love, joy, peace, security, fullness, and soo many more indescribable feelings. We can sense His great glory and just can't help but stand there in awe amazed at how awesome He really is. I want to be wherever He is. I want to BE one with Him. Forever with Him, in Him, and Him in me.
Well so i've been thinking, g12 conference sounds like a really great thing to go to. People who have been are always encouraging others to go for it, saying how awesome it really is! So I thought of the idea of me going next year, but then realized my National Service problem in Singapore. Chances are that if I go back next year, i'll get caught, fined, and won't be allowed to come back to Adelaide till after i finish my time in the army. So basically its impossible for me right now.
But then again. With God, all things are possible! There is no problem too big that God cannot handle, because He is God. If we ask anything of Him, he will give it to us as long as it is in His will. Soooo I'm gonna start praying for God to make a way for me to go for the G12 Conference in Singapore next year if it is His will for me to.
Lord, you kingdom come. Your will be done.
Today i read Hebrews 2, a few of the verses that spoke to me and i want to point out are v1-4, and v18.
1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
We have to pay attention and give heed to what we have heard. What God has been telling us through His word. So that we will not drift away or slide backwards. I personally used to find it really easily to forget about the Word. And everytime i let the word out of my sight, i fall into sin. I have learnt what meditate on the word day and night means, and not to let His word depart from my lips. The Word is vital as it is food for my me.
In v2 it says "For if the message spoken by angels was binding...", what does that mean? does that mean that what angels say are not binding? Anyway it says in v3 that we shouldn't ignore the great salvation. The salvation that required God to send His only son, Jesus, down to earth as a man, and die on the cross bearing all our sins. Who then conquered death and sin and rose up on the third day! Christ Jesus, who was recognized and esteemed by God, how can we be ignorant to the salvation that leads us to life that can only be found in Him? May we remember and carry the death and resurrection of the cross daily. That we may crucify our flesh and live in the spirit.
Verse 18 says: 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
After reading this verse, i felt this strength rise up in me. Strength that enables to to overcome any temptation that the devil might throw at me. I realized that Jesus, was tempted by the devil so many times, and those temptations were HUGE! They were far bigger than any of our normal temptations.. And if Jesus, could withstand those temptations e.g(half of the world), what are our temptations compared to that? Jesus loved us so much that he suffered when He was tempted, just so that he could help us, who are being tempted by the devil. His love for us is just so amazing and unreal that its hard to comprehend and believe.
Additional prayer points. -God's will for me going to g12 -Su, in her exams on Friday, and that God will keep her under His love and in hidden in his presence -More of God's glory, presence, and anointing in my life
This little light of mine, i'm gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, i'm gonna let it shine
We need to learn how to receive. I need to learn how to receive. I am always asking for more and more of God in my life. But God has already poured out everything and it is right there for me to receive it. But i still continue to ask for more.
Whats wrong with that. Its like asking God for revival during the revival. Asking God to heal you after you've been healed. Asking God to give you something that you already have. Whats the point in that?
We need to stop asking and start receiving.
Asking for more is always good, but at the same time God cannot give us what we already have. I must realize that myself.
We must realize that revival started 2000 years ago when Jesus came to earth and died. Revival started then. All we need to do now is to keep adding gas to the explosion. Thats our only duty.
God is just so amazing.
He is so amazing that i just want to be with Him every moment. Being where He is. Doing what He is doing. I don't care about others. I don't really care if other people want to go to church and worship Him, as long as He is there and He doesn't leave. That's all I'm concerned about.
Lord there's so much more of you. I don't know what that more is. But Lord, i want more.
God, this life is yours. I am indebted to you. The moment you died on the cross for all my sins. I am yours Lord.
Fresh fire Lord. Fresh fire.
Lord help me to step out of my veil. Out of my normal life. Out of my boat. Out of my comfort zone. Into Your Kingdom. Lord, i want to be where You are. That's all that matters Lord, You.
GOD, ONLY YOU KNOW MY HEART PERFECTLY. FILL ME LORD. FILL ME LORD. GIVE ME THIS BURNING DESIRE TO THIRST AND HUNGER FOR MORE OF YOU. LET ME NOT STOP SEEKING YOU, LET ME KEEP KNOCKING ON THE DOOR TILL U ANSWER ME LORD. MAY I GIVE YOU NO REST. MAY YOU USE ME TO FAN THE FLAMES FOR THE REVIVAL FIRE GOD. I WILL KEEP CHASING AND PURSUING YOU LORD.
Lord, here i am. Here i am. Have your way in my life. Have your way in my life.
O Lord, may your presence be so real in my life. May i carry around Your glory. Your anointing. Your power. Your victory.
I pray for a outpouring of the Holy Spirit. A literal outpouring. I don't want to experience bits and pieces of it, or even fragments of it. I pray that the Holy Spirit will be literally POURED out into our church in a whole new level.
It's all about the glory. Lord let your glory fall. LORD LET YOUR GLORY FALL!!!
Anne, thx for showing me this sermon. Even though i had to wait hours for it to completely load because im shaped.. It was definitely worth it. I could feel the presence of God so strongly, and my whole body felt so warm. My heart literally melted as this hot feeling just swept right through it. After watching it, i felt so jealous in my heart that this wasn't happening to us here in Adelaide. Why not us i wonder....
Monday is baking day at Sam and Su's ^^, so since Su had to study for her exams on friday, i helped Sam do the baking today(not really help but keep him company haha).. Anyway we made apple cake, meant to be apple pie but we accidentally used self raising flour instead of normal flour, but it still tasted really good :)
Devotion for today was Ephesians 4:25-29
25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Don't lie! tell the truth, especially to our neighbours, those around us. Lying is the most common sin that is very easy to fall into, i remember that when i was young, i would lie alot.. whenever it was convenient for me, i would lie my way out of things. but i realized how horrible it was. I hated whenever someone lied to me, or lied and got me in trouble when i wasn't the one at fault. That it dawned on me that many times i was that horrible liar. Not only that, lying was a sin, sin meant death and going to hell. Just 1 small lie, and we go to hell! So i really try my best to live a righteous and pure life, so that i won't have to lie to cover up anything or escape anything that the devil throws at me.
Next don't sin by letting anger control you, well not a big issue for me at the moment, but i know people who in the fit of the moment, they get so angry and worked up that just let their anger take over. And in v27 it says for anger gives a foothold to the devil, in the NIV version it says 27and do not give the devil a foothold. So the devil never has a grip over us, he only has it when WE give it to him. Just like how the demons have no power, only we give them the power through our fear. Perfect love drives out all fear. So as long as we really love God, we shouldn't even fear the demons because greater is He that is in us than he who is in the world!
v28 and v29 are pretty straightforward. God has given us hands for a reason, not to steal from others but to give to those who are in need. Similarly, we have been given a mouth and the ability to speak for a reason, that is not to use foul or abusive language but to edify and encourage those around us! If we don't use our bodies for the purpose that God has given it to us for and take it for granted. It will just be taken away from us. We need to really thank God for the wonderful bodies that he's given us, that we have hands, and feet, that we can speak and have ears to hear. There are many people all around the world who don't have these privileges, and we who have ought to be grateful for it. Coz we don't deserve it but it is out of God's mercy and grace that we are where we are today.
Thank you God for this life. For this beautiful vessel that you've given to me. It is yours, it has always been and always will be. Use me as u wish, and may my future be the one that you have planned it to be. Lord give me the faith and courage to obey everything that you have told me to do. Give me a sensitive heart that can hear Your voice clearly and understand your heart, give me wisdom and revelation of Your word. May i have compassion for the lost, and the wonderful perfect love that only You can give. In Jesus name i pray, Amen!
i give my heart away to say i love you, coz u are everything, coz u are everything.
Sunday's are the most exciting and packed days everr.. i was at church from 9.30am all the way till 10.30pm, more than half the day spent at church! but it was fun :) besides the fact that i was an hour late for worship practice because i somehow didn't wake up on time(felt really bad).... Ps Nathanael gave a really interesting sermon, one that i've never heard before or could see coming. He talked about the enemy sowing tares(weeds) as we were sleeping, then he talked about honouring God, the Holy Spirit, and the word. At the end he talked about Samson sleeping on Delilah's lap, and coming back to our first love! I found the whole sermon really good and it really spoke to me. I got really intrigued when he asked us who's lap are we sleeping on. Learnt that i haven't really been honouring God, and the Holy Spirit much, that i haven't been sensitive enough towards them, taking them lightly and for granted..
Bilingual service was good, but what happened after that was even better! Henry, Rowan, Aaron, and I got together and had a worship/prayer time together.(just for men, because we feel that we are falling behind) It was meant to be a bigger thing but Henry didn't have enough time to announce it yet, so i'm sure next Sunday would have more guys. We started praying around 7nish and ended at 10.30pm. It was really intense as it was more of a seeking God session, rather than just a normal prayer meeting. As we prayed in tongues and worshipped God, the Holy Spirit's presence could not be hidden. It was just so amazing, and each of s had our own unique experience. I realized how pure and childlike Rowan was in his faith in God, i had previously talked to him before, but i've never seen him share his experiences that were directly from his heart! After our prayer we had a time of sharing, and Rowan just started pouring out all the wonderful amazing feelings that he had felt as we were worshipping! He was like a completely different person, full of confidence and everything came out really fluently. His expression on his face had changed and we could tell that he really really was excited and had experienced something so amazing. He's like this hidden treasure that no one really notices, but when you actually talk with him on a deeper level, you can really sense his deep love for God in his heart. Listening to him share, really touched me and i really respect him as a fellow brother in Christ who has this genuine desire for the word of God to be spread around. He was literally bursting with excitement!
Wow, this Sunday was really the Lord' day.. Everything was revolved around Him, and i hope to make everyday like another Sunday.
Wake up o sleeper from your slumber!
Now your presence fills this place, be exalted in our praise, as we worship i believe, You are near
Fire Fire Fire Fire Fire Fire FIIREEE!!!! Fire Fire Fire Fire Fire Fire FIIREEE!!!!
We are always praying for the fire of God to fall upon us, but what does the fire of God really do??
Fire can be used as a sort of guidance for us, to show us the direction to head in. Exodus 13:22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Exodus 40:38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
Fire is also used to display God's power and glory Exodus 19:18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain Exodus 24:17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
Fire can also represent God's PRESENCE.(main point! too many verses emphasize it!) Leviticus 9:24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown Deuteronomy 4:12 Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. Numbers 9:15 [ The Cloud Above the Tabernacle ] On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.
Fire is used to display God's anger and wrath in the Old testament. Numbers 11:1 [ Fire From the LORD ] Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire has been kindled by my wrath, one that burns to the realm of death...
When God's fire comes, it consumes up everything that is not pleasing to Him. Numbers 21:28 "Fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the citizens of Arnon's heights. Numbers 16:35 And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. Job 22:20 (Whole Chapter) 'Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.'
God's fire destroys strongholds when it comes.(not sure if i can use this verse o.O) Judges 9:49 So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire over the people inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.
God's fire can also be used as an answer to our prayers. 1 Chronicles 21:26 David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. [ Traditionally peace offerings ] He called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
God's fire also can represent His dwelling place, like his presence. Job 18:15 Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.
How can u tell that a church really believes in God? If His fire is present! Psalm 106:18 Fire blazed among their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.
God's fire cleanses us! Isaiah 4:4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
Oh well, i've only managed to cover half the Old testament so far..Not enough time i guess.. One thing that fire is used for VERY commonly in the Old testament is for offering up sacrifices and for burning things up. But i don't think that the New testament uses sacrifices much, because Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us on that cross :)
Ok today was a really long day, and its really late now. Left church at 1am, and went to maccas with Sam, Su, Samantha, and Leon. So i just got back and its almost quarter past 2.
But WOW! I saw Aunty Catherine in action today and she was amazing! I always knew how good she was from other people, but today i saw it with my own eyes, and really believe that she is a really really strong woman of God! She's got so much experience, and i really believe that she has a really intimate relationship with God. She also has this amazing heart of love and compassion for the lost and unsaved. Really happy that she is the leader of the women's net, and also a pastor of the church :)
Anyway, today I heard from Anne that theres gonna be a Pakistani pastor come minister to us at yaf, so Su invited me to Anne's house to pray with them to prepare our hearts. It was an experience. Well, first off both of them are really hungry and have this deep desire to know God more and draw closer to Him. During the prayer time, everyone was just shouting their lungs out, and the room got so hot. But i don't think that i've ever been to many prayer sessions like the one i had with Anne, Su, and Sam. The feeling was just amazing and indescribable, especially since it was a really small group and i was comfortable with all of them. My only concern was that i was the weakest link there and would hinder them and drag them down, which i hope i didn't :/
Hmmm, one thing i wasn't really sure of was that i thought that pastor Nathanael was gonna preach on revival and the fire from God. But he ended up sharing with us previous experiences and preaching to us about obtaining eternal life.. giving it all to God, and surrendering everything that was hindering us. So i was pretty shocked at the end of the night. But in the end i still learnt something, and could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in the sanctuary.
One thing that bugged my heart for the whole night was that i needed to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit and to God. I realized that i wasn't sensitive enough, and thats why i've got problems moving in the flow with God. I thank God for revealing this problem to me, and i pray that God will give me a more sensitive heart, one that is inclined to his voice and his calling. Also many of the strong pastors/preachers all have this wonderful heart that is soo filled with God's love and compassion, and that they are also so sensitive to things around them and to God as well.
I have soo many questions about what happened tonight, i was pretty confused about the order of certain things and how some things were handled. I need to speak to something who knows about these things :S...
Greater is He thats living in me, than he that is in the world...
11 The LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.' "
12 They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.
Amen! I believe that so for Adelaide, that as we pray and press forward for God's revival fire to come sweeping through this city, we will no longer be deserted(in NKJV a City not forsaken!) The time has come for us flow as One in the spirit of revival, that we may not miss it, but be fully in tuned with it. May revival start in each and everyone of us as we seek to draw nearer to God, and have this deep hunger/desire for more of God!
For today, i read Mark 5:1-9
1 So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him. 3 This man lived among the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. 4 Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.
6 When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. 7 With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.”
9 Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”
And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.”
As recorded in v2, the moment Jesus climbed out of the boat(stepped onto land), a man possessed by an evil spirit came to meet him. The interesting fact is that, Jesus took one step out of the boat, and the evil spirit recognized Him immediately and came running to Him! Whats more he even bowed low before Jesus, which i think of it as a sign of respect or fear, and begged Him not to torture him. Wow, all this coming from a possessed man who has a whole legion of demons inside him(some say 5000). I would have thought if there were a whole legion/army of demons within someone, he would be really strong, which he was. Recorded in verse 3-5, it says that no chain could restrain him, he could smash shackles and no one could subdue him. He would even cut himself with sharp stones and i don't think gets cut by it since he does it all the time. However, this this possessed man with a whole legion(thousands) of demons within him could sense Jesus' presence from so far away, and even came running to him with his head bowed low begging Jesus not to torture him.
Then what happens in v9 is pretty cool, Jesus demanded for his name and the evil spirit had to reply. How cool is that? I would want to be able to demand evil spirits and have them reply me, and this wasn't just one, but a whole legion of them.. If we read on to verse 13, the evil spirit begs Jesus to give them permission to enter the herd of pigs, in which after that they run into the lake and drowned in the water. So first they needed Jesus' permission to leave, and they didn't just ask, they begged for it! Secondly, the moment they were in the herd of pigs, they must have been soo afraid that the first thing they did was to run into the lake to drown!
After reading that, it made me wonder, are evil spirits so weak? or is it just that our God is so strong, that even a whole legion of demons are scared of him. It was never recorded that Jesus once touched him or laid hands on him, all Jesus did was to tell the evil spirit to come out of the man and they listened. The amazing fact is that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever..and the same God resides within us! which means that we have the same power and authority to rule and command legions of demons!
I want God's presence and anointing to be with me soo greatly that wherever i go, without even opening my mouth, people can just feel the strong presence of God and get convicted. That they will fall to their knees while others start weeping. I want legions of demon to come begging to me, asking me for permission to cast them out, and begging me to not torture them. I've read from 'The God Chasers' book(which i recently finished) of cases of such great men of God. Where the anointing and presence of God just stays with them and follows them wherever they go!
We have to be broken in order to have a breakthrough. We need to seek the Blesser instead of asking for blessings. And once again we need God to step back into His house once more, that His glory will fall upon us greatly, convicting us and causing people just to run straight to the alter seeking for forgiveness once more.
Its Your blood, that cleanses me, in redeeming sacrifice, washes me whiter than the snow, than the snow..
Verse EB/D#C#m How could I live without You BA How would I survive BsusG#m without Your love, without Your touch A You're the one that heals me C#mC#m/B cleanses my heart AC#mBsusB And sets me free
C#mA Now I come right before You E/G#BsusB with my hands lifted up C#mA And my heart humbly bowed E/G#BsusB at Your work on the cross C#mA As You hung there and died E/G#BA You were paying the price for my life B4B7 For my life
Tag E For your love A is higher than the heavens BC#m deeper than the sea AB7 all I want is you in my life EA No one else can satisfy my soul BC#mC#m/B and makes me feel this way ABE Only you Lord only you
Alright so i had another great day at work tonight, really helps when i pray before work i start work. In fact it helps whenever i pray before i do anything :)
I was listening to the song ' Hungry' that Su asked me to listen to, and as i was listening and just letting the song minister to me, then the word 'touch' came to my mind. The word touch didn't mean anything special to me at first, because we use our hands to touch many different stuff everyday. But how many times a day do we get touched by God?
Well i decided to read more about what God's 'touch' can do. And i found the following verses.
Judges 6:21 With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared.
2 Kings 13:21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.
Isaiah 6:7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
Jeremiah 1:9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth.
Daniel 10:18 Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength.
Matthew 8:3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured [ Greek made clean] of his leprosy.
Matthew 8:15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
Mark 6:56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.
Luke 7:14 Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"
These are just a few of the verses that i found, but i think that through these verses we can see what God's touch can do and how powerful it really and actually is. Well before when we used to pray for God to 'touch' us, i always thought that we just get this good indescribable feeling like a tingle through the whole body. Well today i realized that God's touch can do so much more!
God's touch is like a channel of blessings from Him to us. With one touch God shows us His miraculous power without fail. With just one touch from God, the dead are brought back to life, and the sick are healed! God's touch also forgives us!(see Isaiah 6:7) A touch from God gives us strength and cleanses us. All we need is a touch from God to be set free.
God's touch is so amazing and powerful! It is so important for everyone to be touched by God daily, it is like communing with God, knowing that He is pleased with you and happy with you. So i pray that i too, will get touched by God daily. So that i may cleansed, forgiven, healed, and strengthened to face the rest of the day.
One more thing i didn't quite understand. In Matthew 8:28-34, where Jesus casted out the demons from two demon-possessed men into pigs which then ran into the river and drowned. Then in v33-34 33Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
I don't understand why the villagers, after knowing that Jesus chased out the demons from the two demon-possessed men, pleaded with him to leave their region. This baffled me. Why would they chase Him out for? Didn't he just chase out demons? I thought they would be more grateful, or would have brought more demon-possessed people to him..well if anyone knows the answer or a reason, maybe u can help me out and explain it to me.
Just one touch of Your glory, just one touch of Your love, my heart longs for just one touch of Your love
Psalm 34 1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
Let Us Exalt His Name Together (Actual Song Below)
V1. At all times I will bless Him His praise will be in my mouth My soul makes its boast in the Lord The humble man will hear of Him The afflicted will be glad And join with me to magnify the Lord
C. Let us exalt His name together, forever I sought the Lord, He heard me And delivered me from my fears. Let us exalt His name together, forever 0 sing His praises magnify the Lord
V2. The angel of the Lord encamps Round those who fear His name To save them and deliver them from harm Though lions roar with hunger We lack for no good thing No wonder then we praise Him with our song
V3.Come children now and hear Him If you would see long life Just keep your lips from wickedness and lies Do good and turn from evil Seek peace instead of strife Love righteousness and God will hear your cry
Alright so the first time I heard this song, it just melted my heart, especially since it was an all girls’ choir that sang it. I remember back in the church in Singapore, we would sing it differently, but still equally good :) Then aaron and I just started talking about old songs that we know, and I got all excited about it again.. started searching the net to see if I could find the lyrics, chords, and mp3 file.. so that’s why im doing this post at 1.45am in the morning! Haha..
So anyway, devotion today was from Isaiah 61:1-3
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
I first read this text from Luke, but then realized it was from Isaiah, so I decided to go with the Isaiah version. This is a very powerful passage and I want to make this my prayer from now on. That the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord be on me, because I have been anointed to preach the good news. To bind up the broken hearted and to set the captives free. From who? The devil. To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor(which I really believe so for this year and the many years to come!) and the day of vengeance of our God. And v3 being that awesome song that we sing at church!
I’ll make this one short since the psalm and the song has taken up so much space already. And I was really touched and ministered to by that song, really made my night!
P.s the song below is something similar but not exactly similar, I think it got changed to fit a choir
For You alone are God eternal, throughout earth and heaven above
Purify my heart Let me be as gold And precious silver Purify my heart Let me be as gold Pure Gold
Refiner's Fire My heart's one desire Is to be holy Set apart for You Lord I chose to be holy Set apart for You my master Ready to do Your will
Ok so this song just popped into my head on my way home from work, and the lyrics came flowing back into my head, and this time when i sang it, it meant soo much more to me now. I really felt as though i sang as a prayer instead of a song like i would have used to maybe a few months ago. Another one of my favourite oldies :)
Jumping straight to devotion, today's was from Ecclesiastes 11:7-10 7 Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
8 However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless.
9 Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgement.
10 So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.
I read v8 and at the start it says that as long as a man lives, let him enjoy his days, so God wants us to enjoy our days down here on earth everyday! He is a good God thus he wants the best for us and wants us to enjoy ourselves here on earth. But in the second part it tells to remember the days of darkness for there will be many. I automatically presume that days od darkness = hell, and in v7 if light is sweet, then what is darkness which is the total opposite of light? What was even scarier is that once in hell, it isn't just many days of darkness, but an everlasting darkness that will never end. That is just impossible to comprehend for our own human minds. We will never be able to grasp something infinite with our finite mind, the same way we will never be able to understand God totally. So if we think of the worst things we can think of in our minds, and times it by a million, wouldn't even be close to what hell would really be like. hell, IS hell, and the moment we die without having Jesus in our lives, we WILL go to hell. Just thinking about this made me think about all the people that just died in China and Burma due to the earthquake and cyclone. In that instant, ten's of thousands of people just lost their lives like that, and all of them who didn't know about Jesus, where would they have ended up? Just thinking about really pains me knowing that so many people just died not knowing Jesus, and because of that they are going to have to suffer for eternity. Worse still, what if some of them never even had to opportunity to hear the Good News? Then they'll still end up in hell, having to suffer for something they don't even deserve. People are dying everywhere, what if an earthquake hits Australia right now, and thousands of people died. How would we, people who have been saved by God feel? We have been saved for a reason, that is spread the Good News of eternal life in Jesus Christ!
Today as i was driving to work, i received an sms from Anne encouraging to keep seeking God, and to pray about the vision i saw, and the passage 1 Samuel 3. Then she ended off saying "Be urgent." Those last two words really hit me. The only thing in my mind was the word 'urgent', why are we urgent for? because time is short and is quickly running out! We can never tell what is going to happen in the future, but what we can do is to change the present. We need to be urgent about our father's buisness, because everything else is meaningless.
In v9, it talks again about how we should be happy, especially in our youth. But ultimately we have to remember that in all the things that we do, God will bring us to judgement. The first time i read it, i thought that meant that we would be punished, but judgement isn't always a bad thing. In whatever we do we will get judged by God, for all the sins we've committed and even all the good things that we've done in His name. God said it as a warning. So we can enjoy our youths, and when we get judged, God will just praise us for being His good children. But if we have sinned against God, we will definitely be punished, so we just have to be careful of ourselves.
I wasn't too sure what v10 was trying to get at. But my interpretation was that we shouldn't worry about anything, like wasting time doing God's work, for our youth is meaningless(worth nothing compared to the eternal life we would have in Heaven). We will never loose out if we do God's work, we reap what we sow, and especially if we sow into the kingdom of God, He gives the highest interest rates ever, so we don't have to worry about anything :)
Lord i come to You, let my heart be changed renewed, flowing from the grace, that i've found in You
Wow, today was another exciting day! The Sundays just keep getting better! First off i had a really fun time at Children's Church worship today, we sang really fun songs like With Christ in the Vessel, and Father Abraham. Then after fellowship lunch had a looong talk with Sam, Stig, Henry, and Yang because we had to wait for certain people to finish the extra classes. Followed by bilingual worship where i played the drums and dropped the drumsticks 3 times(felt really bad about it). Lastly another awesome time of fellowship at Korean bbq to celebrate Jono's 20th birthday :) i sat with great people like Christy, Fiona, Su, Sam, Victor, Aaron, Yang, Patty, and Henry. We had wonderful conversations all night, with the main topic being God :) then we started talking about eating live animals which was pretty disturbing e.g. duckling, little mice, monkey brain, and donkeys(mind you all of which were LIVE animals when being eaten...) Was just a great environment to be in, talking about our future plans, and about church stuff so openly knowing that we were with brothers and sisters in Christ! Great thx to Christy, Fiona, and Su for looking after me and taking such good care of me :P they pretty much did all the cooking and ensured that the food that i ate was properly cooked and safe for consumption.
Though the dinner was expensive, and i don't think that i ate $26 worth of food, i still think that the time i spent with the others were priceless, and i would pay any amount to be with them again! It was a great time of encouragement, laughter, love, and joy. Thank God for placing such wonderful people in my life, they have really made an impact on my life and i definitely would not be the person i am today if not for them :)
Devotion today is from Ephesians 4:1-6
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ok so the moment i read verse 1, it just hit me like a brick! Well i always knew that i had a calling over my life, and i just stopped at that. I never knew that we had to live a life WORTHY of our calling. That was like a revelation to me the instant i read it. So how we live now, should be worthy of what we were called to be, even though we aren't there yet! wow that just changes how i live so greatly. I guess i've always lived a life trying my best to keep God at the top, but it never really worthy of what i was called to be. Since i've been called to be a pastor/preacher, i really got to live like one and act like one who is worthy to be called a pastor/preacher. In verse 2 we are told to be COMPLETELY humble, gentle, patient and bearing with one another in love. We were told to be completely, not just humble or very humble, but be completely, which is like with our best effort! totally and 100%. Again in verse 3, we were told to make EVERY effort, not just some but every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. It's like using every ounce of strength in us and squeezing it till we're totally dry, and putting it all into our effort. If we don't we go against God's word and sin. I feel that this passage is from God to me and especially after what happened yesterday and felt that the worshipNet wasn't really united with the same Spirit and hunger. At the end we've been told to KEEP the unity, not to destroy or break it, but to keep it. How? through the bond of peace. I'm not too sure how thats gonna work, but im sure that God will reveal it to us and show us a way. Ultimately we all are of one God, who is over all and through all and in all.
So i pray that once again, that i will live a life worthy of my calling and worthy of God. That God will reveal to me my future, show me who my spiritual father is meant to be. That i will continue to be on fire for God and to hunger for Him that i will be able to have a true face to face encounter with God.
Hide me now, under Your wings. Cover me within Your mighty hands. When the oceans rise and thunders roar, i will soar with You above the storm
Today was a really messy day for me, it just felt like everything was everywhere. Well its been like that for the past few days now, with my heavy head and heavy heart, then today after seeing the vision that God gave me, it made me feel even worse. I guess all of this has been because of a build up of certain issues in my life these past few days. Main reasons were that some of my prayer request seem like empty bullets, and with all these cell changing things going on, and on top of that to juggle with work and Uni has been pretty hard for me. But my main concern was that God wasn't hearing me. Especially since during easter camp Ps Ardian gave me a word saying that God wants me to speak to Him, that He has ears and wants me to just share everything to Him. So here i am, constantly praying and talking to God, telling Him all my problems, and desires. And on the other hand not getting anything from Him! One of the major things that i've been praying for in my life is that God will just reveal Himself to me, that i may have a 'true' encounter with Him. Then today at worshipNet, i felt that we were so close to getting to see more of God but we didn't cause we weren't hungry enough, so that made me feel more frustrated/depressed/upset.
Then during the afternoon, Su called me up and ask if Henry and I would want to go over to Sam's place for a time of sharing/worship/prayer. So i went over and i told my vision to them, then Su said that she also had a vision, but God had specifically told her not to share it till i shared mine. So after i shared mine, Su shared hers which was remarkably similar. Then we had a time of prayer with Sam on the grand piano(which sounded awesome), and as we were praying i felt God reminding me of a few things.
First thing, what should i do if i prayer and don't get an answer? Keep on praying! I thought that since i've been praying for past few days and weeks, and haven't gotten any reply yet meant that God wasn't listening. On the contrary God wanted me to keep on praying, pressing in, persevering, and patiently waiting on Him. I believe that the thing God wanted to teach me here was patience. Many great Christians when they pray, some of them have to pray for months and even years before they get a reply from God. Here i am, having only prayed for a few days then feeling depressed, i believe that God is training me up to just have faith and trust in Him, to wait on Him wholeheartedly till i am ready.
Second thing, God has His own set of time for everything(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). God has His own set of plans for us, and they are good plans, because God is a good God. However to be part of that plan, we got to accept the conditions of the plan, which is to obey God and follow His timing. When the time is right, God will automatically reveal everything we need to know to us. That is because God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thought's are higher than our thoughts. So at the end of the day, all the have to do is to submit to God and abide by His timing.
After the prayer session which lasted almost 2hrs, i felt like a heavy burden in my heart and mind had been lifted. I realized that i had to fully on God's strength to pull through with God's plans. I learnt that whatever happens to us, all that matters is that we are obedient to what God wants us to do and we'll be fine. God has the best for us in mind and we should never try to comprehend and reason with God using our humanly wisdom.
For devotion, i decided to re-read up a part on what Anne shared during worshipNet. Hebrews 3:15-19
15As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." 16Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Well the first thing that struck me was when Anne told us to circle the 'if' in verse 15. That dawned upon me that not everyone would get to hear God's voice, and it already is a privilege for us to hear God's voice. So may we not take that for granted. The next line it says to not harden our hearts. Why would we do that for? Thats because thats what the devil wants us to do, he will try to place doubts in our heart, telling us stuff like that wasn't God and we were just hearing stuff, or making us go against what God as told us to do. Pretty much is a warning to be careful of the devil, cause the moment God speaks to us, the devil will start throwing every spanner he has at us. Another thing that impacted me was verse 17, about the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years because they had sinned and angered God. That made me reflect back on myself, and my prayers. Have i just been going round and round the desert because i have sinned against God? Is God angry at me and therefore making me go in circles? Well i tried to think of any sin that i might have committed and still prayed for forgiveness for anything that i might have done unknowingly. No doubt God's presence was with the Israelites, but He was still angry with them at the same time. So similarly, we may feel God's presence in our lives but he could also at the same time be angry at us for sinning against Him. Lastly, they couldn't enter because of their unbelief. God has made it very clear to us, that if we have any shred of unbelief or doubts in our hearts, He will NOT let us into the promise land, so it once again warns us to watch out for the devil, especially when he tries to place unbelief and doubt in our hearts to pull us away from God, which is his ultimate goal.
My God's not dead, He lives in me, i know its true, and i believe in You
Alright so today during worshipNet as we were praying i had a vision. I didn't share it because it wasn't an encouraging one, so i decided to talk to Anne about it first.
As we were praying, i really wanted God's presence to fall so greatly and mightily in the chapel. No doubt i could sense His presence, but i just wanted so much more of it! God is an infinite God, and we shouldn't be content with where we're at or how much we're getting! Well anyway i had this vision of a whole circle of angels behind us with their wings like fully stretched out, covering and protecting all of us like a mighty barrier. I felt God telling me that He has sent His angels to encamp and surround us so that we won't get affected by the attacks of the enemy from the outside, we were invincible. But our weakness was on the inside. God told me that there were people who's hearts weren't right with God, and there were some who weren't focused and totally fixed on God. I was really disappointed because i could feel that God was right there waiting, waiting for us to be hungry enough so that He could so mercifully pour out His blessings and anointing upon us. He was even willing to descend into the room so greatly that we wouldn't be able to stand in His presence but to fall to our knees. I really wanted that. Sadly, God told me that He would only come in His glory and power when he feels that EVERYONE was hungry enough for Him, and wanted Him really badly. If we're not hungry and thirsty for Him, He won't fill us up. I can't really explain how i felt because i was sad, disappointed, and felt betrayed at the same time. Betrayed because i felt that God was so close to us and that we were on the brink of something great, so great that we could have actually seen a glimpse of Him in His glory. However we missed out because of the minority there who weren't in line with God. I know that many people were crying their lungs out to God(at least i was), and many sensed something cool, but i just don't think that we're aiming high enough. Sam reminded me again when he shared with us that God is and infinite and unlimited God, and since He resides in us, therefore we are also infinite and unlimited. No Limits No Boundaries. Many people stay that we gotta step out of our box, but guess what. THERE IS NO BOX! because of the limitless God that resides in us!
After that, i really felt convicted that God wants us to seriously seek after Him, and His face. We can't really say that we know something if we haven't actually seen them yet. So i'm planning on gathering a few people who sincerely and seriously want to have a face to face encounter with God, and meet up once a week to have a serious time of prayer where we go all out to seek Him and His face. I don't find it fair that because of this minority, the majority of the people who really desperately want God miss out because they get pulled down. So i'm hoping that those who are willing to go all out 110% to seek God's face, and are willing to put their lives on line for just a glimpse of His face( cause we won't know what will happen to us after we see His face), we could gather and pray. For those who aren't committed and aren't as hungry for God, i will beg you to please don't come. God is serious and we won't want to mess around with Him. Life isn't a game.
I realised that Henry's group is starting a similar prayer thing, he said that it's open but im not too sure what kind of prayer they'll be doing. So i might have a talk with him some time to get more info on it.
Today was great!! I managed to finish my accounting assignment and had a great time at Yaf!! Really felt that the worship tonight was awesome! Could see everyone at the front just raising hands and praising God, and that sight just touched my heart. Many people said that the worship was good, and some said that i did well on the drums( thx sam, su, and David :D), glad that all my practicing paid off. Thought Su's new song was a great start to her song writing calling, i know that there are maany more to come too! There's just something different when i play for yaf and the bilingual service. For example today, right before the worship time started, i suddenly got all excited and nervous and my whole body just started to shiver. Might be because i was scared that i would stuff up, or might be that i was waiting in anticipation to see what God was gonna do in our worship service! Personally, i find worshiping at yaf the best, because there are no limits placed on us and we are free to do whatever we want! The atmosphere during worship is also really good. Not saying that the morning service isn't good or anything, its just that sometimes when i do the sound, i feel restrained sound wise. For some songs it just sounds good when its louder, but i have this 85db limit that restricts me from trying anything new or fancy. However when im at yaf, i know that i can beat my lungs out on the drums knowing that no one cares about how it sounds, but everyone there is just focused on worshiping God :) Life group today was good too ^^ felt that people were much more open and spoke their mind, which was good, and the new guys weren't afraid to speak their mind too. Finally got myself another notebook to write notes again, since my previous one ran out during the spiritual encounter, i haven't been able to write any notes down. Amazing how bad my memory is, if i don't write anything down, i'll forget in less than a day.. Last thing, i realized that the exams timetable was out so i went to have a look. Noticed that my first exam was just a little over a month away, and i haven't started any revision yet. To make it worse all my exams were 3 hours long and majority of them were in the morning..Not to mention how dead my brain is in the morning.. Oh well, i trust that if i study hard, God will make me proud :)
Ok for devotion today, i decided to read on what Anne gave me as a word. 1 Cor 1:26-31
26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
I'm just amazed at God and all his word's in the Bible. It feels that everytime i do my devotion, it is always directed directly at me and to me. It always speaks so deeply into my heart, or into the situation im in. This passage was like fwah! Blew me away when i read it. Really made me wonder how great is our God, especially for cell tonight we talked about how God's ways are higher than ours, and His thought's higher than ours. This passage made me realize how lucky i am to be called and chosen by God. That He has chosen me in my weakness and foolishness to shame the wise and the strong. That through Christ Jesus who has become our righteousness, holiness and redemption, we can safely boasts in the Lord for He is our banner and our victory! Our very present help in time of need!
God is good, all the time! and All the time, God is good!
Change my heart O God, make it ever true. Change my heart O God, may i be like you
Spent most of the entire day trying to do my accounting assignment again, i finally got all my answers done, all i have to do is to present it properly and hand it in tomorrow. Nothing special happened today, but there was one thing that got me struck me a bit. Su and i started talking on msn, and then she asked me something like has God spoken to me recently. I couldn't confidently say yes. I have been doing my devotions everyday, and i have been getting a lot of stuff from the Bible, God's word, but when was the last time He actually spoke to me apart from His word? Made me feel that I haven't been spending enough time focusing on God himself. Ever since i stopped playing games, i do feel like i have much more free time, but with this free time that i now have, i haven't really changed it all into God time. I have been sleeping longer, and wasting more time by simply doing nothing. So i realized that i've gotta change all this unproductive time into God time, so i have more time to seek Him and to hear from Him. So the next time someone ask me if God has spoken to me recently, i can confidently say yes.
For today's devotion i read from Ecclesiastes 3:9-14, i stumbled across this passage while taking part in Sam's project #316 :)
9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
i felt this passage pretty hard to understand at first, so i had to read it a few times over. Even then it took me a while to get what it meant, and not sure if my understanding is right. Verse 11 was an important verse, its so true and reminded me of the book 'Driven by Eternity'. It's so wonderful to know that God has made everything beautiful in its time, even all the work and toil that we face, and that everything God has placed it upon us is for a reason. I'm still not quite sure of what it meant in verse 11 where it says that 'He has also set eternity in the hearts of men', what is that supposed to mean? Does that mean that in each and everyone of us in our minds God has placed a 'eternity' trigger? So that we may think with an eternity mindset that in whatever we do it would count to how we would spend the rest of eternity? If that's the case, there are still so many people who are unable to understand that what they do now will affect how they spend eternity after they die. Sadly, even i sometimes forgot to turn on this 'eternity' mindset and unconsciously live for the near future. A major reason for this case would mainly be that most people are unable to see and understand that there is such a thing as the spirit realm and it does exist! Many people are blinded by this world and fail to see that there is more to it than it meets the eye, that this is one of the devil's trick to cause people to not believe in God and say that there is no God. But i can't blame them as sometimes we ourselves tend to forget that these things do exist, and thats why we slip back into sin.
My prayer is that we all open our spiritual eyes and ears, and that God will give s His divine wisdom that we may totally understand and realize that the spiritual realm is always there and that it is a very very real thing. May we not fall into the devil's trick where because we can't see it or feel it so it means that it doesn't exist. May we have this discernment and be aware 24/7 about the things that are going on around us in the spiritual realm, because only then would we be able to grow in spirit.
Chains be broken, Lives be healed, Eyes be opened, Christ is revealed
Today i had no uni, so i was happy :) spent my entire day finishing off my accounting assignment that is due on friday, and practiced drums for yaf(One Way!!!!). Then got called in at night to work at woolies, so good opportunity for me to earn more meesos. An interesting thing happened at work today, as we were talking in the lunch room before our shift started, our manager said that we would be working in groups today, then he made a comment that I would like it since im in groups at church all the time. I was pretty shocked when he said that, coz he never talks about me going to church(but he knows about it and gets annoyed sometimes because it means that i cant work). Another manager asked what church i went to and we had a small conversation about our church ^^. This was totally unusual, but maybe God's telling me something?
For devotion today, i read 1 Corinthians 2 : 1-5
1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
I felt that this short passage was so powerful. It reminded me about what being is Christian is all about. That we don't have to be super smart, and we don't need to be able to talk very well using fancy words. We just need to know about Jesus, and his death on the cross for our sins. Verse 4 has become my prayer, that in whatever i say it doesn't have to have wise or persuasive words in it, but have the demonstration of the Holy Spirit's power! And may my faith not rest upon my men's wisdom, but on God's power.
Aaron gave me some songs to listen to. And they were great! Really got touched by them, and could feel the powerful anointing behind it. Got led to write this.
We will Overcome. We will overcome our fears. We will overcome all shame. We will overcome all pain. We will overcome all sins. We will overcome the world. We will overcome our work. We will overcome our studies. We will overcome all temptations. We will overcome all sin. We will overcome all sickness. We will overcome all strongholds. We will overcome all demons. We will overcome the devil! We will overcome ourselves. We will overcome anything not of God. WE WILL OVERCOME!!!
The world means nothing to us, because God means EVERYTHING to us.
Saviour worthy of honour and glory, worthy of all of our praise, You overcame. We will overcome by the blood of the lamb, and the word of our testimony. Everyone overcomes.
It's time for us to seek the Reviver instead of revival!
Only dead men can see God. God is Holy and mankind is not. Living flesh would instantly die if it encountered the unshielded, uncovered glory of God. Our flesh can only see God if it's been transformed in the process of death and resurrection and through His shed blood. Only dead men can see God's face. We have been calling God to come nearer to us and draw near to us, and He has been all this while, but it is a double-edged sword. I believe that God wants to draw near to us, but at the same time is warning us that if we want Him to be any nearer, we've got to make sure that everything is dead first. The more death God smells, the closer He can come.
We want life, but God is looking for death.
Anyway i read from the book and for my devotion today about when King David wanted to move the Ark back to Israel, this is in 1 Chronicles 13.
5 So David assembled all the Israelites, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim. 6 David and all the Israelites with him went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that is called by the Name.
7 They moved the ark of God from Abinadab's house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. 8 David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.
9 When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. 10 The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.
I wondered why Uzzah got struck down by God, is it because he tried to help steady the ark when the oxen stumbled? I later read and found out in the book that the presence of God never needs the assistance or guidance of man;s strength to hold its rightful place. Nor will God ever allow the arm of flesh to glory in His presence without tasting death. God's glory "broke out"on the flesh that drew near to its living state and Uzzah was instantly killed. Only dead man can see God's face, and only repentant dead flesh can touch His glory.
God is serious with us and He means business. May we not muck around and take God's mercy and grace for us for granted. God is a Holy God, His spirit is moving in our church, and His standard of Holiness has not changed. May we get serious with God, and make everyday on this earth count for eternity.
It’s all about Jesus It’s all about the way he changed our lives It’s all about Jesus The power of his blood can’t be denied
I've been called to by God to be a GodChaser for the rest of my life! I'm going to be in hot pursuit of God, not chasing after His tracks and where He's been, but after Him alone. This blog is just a personal blog for me to write down my daily experiences and devotions, to keep me accountable to myself and ultimately to God as well.
To God be the Glory!
Shout out
Memory Verse of the Week
John 6:35
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
Prayer Points
-True encounter with God -More hunger for God -Spiritual Father -worshipNet, Lifegroup -leadership of church
