yup worshipnet this morning was pretty good, well today in general i found really refreshing an relaxing. i liked it how Ps anne did a sharing on the Holy Spirit, and one point which really spoke to me was the difference between a 'son of God', and a 'child of God'. It never really occured to me that they were 2 totally different things, and that the mindsets of those 2 types of people are also completely different.. basically i think a child is a younger version of a son?? maybe more immature and still not knowing his true identity yet i think.. and we who have been saved, after being recognized as children of God, have to move up, to becoming son's of God. We have to be God chasers, not just maintaining the fort, but storming the gates of the enemy! Using the authority that has been given to us, and taking back what is ours by force!
Eph 4:1-6 1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
i find it much more convenient and easier to meditate on God's word the whole day if i actually remember them..haha.. so i've taken this little thing upon myself to try to memorize a few verses or short passages a week, and really reciting them over and over throughout the day/week not just to refresh my memory and making sure i remember everything, but to also keep myself in contact with God's word. Hopefully by doing this i will stay more alert, and be more intuned with the Holy Spirit..coz there'll be nothing to reveal if there's nothing worth revealing, i first need to have some substance inside first i feel. So im working on something simple first, and i happened to read these few verses, which spoke to me because it was about callings..soo im looking forward to see the results! I know that God will speak to me through His word.
Eph 3:14-2114 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
haha such awesome verses.. it is indeed food for my spirit and life to my whole body. reading it just captivated my attention and made me much more alert. I'm gonna try practicing this awesome memory that God has blessed me with, and memorize these few verses.. It's definitely something worth meditating upon and absorbing into the spirit..and i know that it will be very useful to me!
true strength is when you are able to overcome sin in that small moment of weakness.. haha im far from perfect, but at least there's a goal that i can aim for. I think what's important is how you pick yourself up after you fall, no matter how big or small the fall is.. One can either choose to stay down and out as a result of the fall, or choose to pick himself up and start all over again.. haha two messages come to my mind, one is Ps Ardians sermon at easter camp where he gave an example of us appraoching God through prayer, and after advancing sometimes we slide back, and when we slide back its always right back to the starting line.. but we start back again from there, not stopping or giving up. The second sermon is Ps Judah Smith's sermon at the hillsong conference where he talk about checking out of 'worthy world'. God's grace was given to us freely and with an unconditional love, we didn't earn it nor deserve it, but it was a gift which we were given freely.
Eph 3 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
i like it how in v10 it says that God's manifold wisdom (which is something so amazing in itself) might be made known BY the church, to the the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.. if my english isn't wrong, then the church will be the one that would be showing forth God's manifold wisdom.. we should be the wise ones here coz God said in His word that He will use us, and that has always been His intention! interesting how it is to be made known in the heavenlt places, i'm guessing that it's refering to the demon's and devil? But the question is: is that really happening with the churches today? What was stuck in my head though was the words 'eternal purpose' in v11. I always knew that i had a purpose in life, a calling/destiny that God has planned for not just me but everyone else. But by placing the word 'eternal' infront of it, just gave such a deeper and heavier effect. Our life here on earth has an eternal effect.. must not forget the purpose.
alright, it's time for me to sorta reboot my system.. had a minor crash for a second. Telling and constantly reminding myself to keep focus!! I need to slowly rebuild up that momentum and get right back into the flow of things, coz i still get thrown off track so easily. Gearing up for the exams, and not only that, but the spiritual encounter that is right after that! Nothing is worse than being the weakest link in the team, so im working hard to be the best that i can be. No time to fool around anymore! Playtimes over, time to grow up.
Eph 2 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
He has broken down the wall that seperates us, abolishing everything that ever stood between Him and us. All by grace we were saved, and by love we have life. Jesus did it all for us already, the wall has been destroyed, there is nothing that is blocking us from Him and us, except ourselves. All we need to do is realise that, and walk straight to Him.. simple as that. We have to stop building our own imaginary walls that are just keeping us away from Him. Stop making excuses, because there is absolutely nothing that is coming between us. All sin, pain, shame, and guilt was taken by Him, and Him alone. We dont need to pay for what has already been paid for, and stop going back to try to pay for it. I pray that God, You will give me this revelation.
the One who tore the veil, who's love will never fail, and always will prevail.
its been a long weekend i would say, lots of things happened and i was hardly ever at home.. church was good, think yaf worship sounded pretty good from what i heard, various people found it different in a good way. I found today a bit weird for me, the day in general was just lacking substance, and was feeling a bit hollow. It was a good day, but nothing deep? The picture of a really nice ball comes to my mind, one thats is perfectly round, smooth, colourful, and just nice to look at.. but inside is just air and is just empty.. My day felt a bit like that today. But the sermons today were good, first on wisdom in the morning service, then on Christ's redemption in the bilingual service.Looking forward to a greater week ahead!
been a long day, looking forward to the weekend where i can just relax at church and think of nothing but God (which i should be doing at all times but keep on getting distracted by studies and work >.<) i have to push myself some more because i know that i am stronger then what i currently am, and i can go much further with what i currently have. no excuses on my part, need to discipline myself even more! it's funny how i always seem to be more on fire or alert at night than in the morning.. i guess its because at night i can reflect and look back to the day and what i did, whereas in the morning when i look back all i think about is sleep..hahas..
eph 2:3
3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
was reading this verse again, and was reminded of the fact that we often sin not only by fulfilling the desires of the flesh, but also of the mind.. The mind im guessing basically controls what we think, also would explain why many times we sin just by having unclean thoughts. But then again, you can't really control what you think can you? i mean it's usually what first comes to your mind, and i don't think you can choose what your mind thinks..isn't more like instinct? I get the most random thoughts at the most random times of the day, sometimes i dont even know how my mind operates haha.. But we know that our mind is corrupt by nature, and so what we think isnt neccesary always right. We can sin just by thinking! Gotta constantly pray for a renewal of the mind, that it will be filled with godly thoughts, and not the things of this world.. I always have to keep watch of what im thinking! In the end it's still spirit over mind and body!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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today seemed pretty dead to me haha.. nothing much happened, and this cold weather is making me feel uncomfortable. gonna try waking up real early tmr to seek God. Feel the need for some fresh strength and fresh fire that will spur me on!
God, i want to acknowledge You for all that You've done in my life :)
hmm was thinking over my life again today.. and just decided to count my blessings hahas, and realised that God has blessed me so much! At every stage, and every season of my life, everything that has happened so far has been for a reason..One of the biggest change that has ever happened in my life would easily be the move from singapore to here. That was when God literally turned my life around a full 180 degrees... i cannot even begin to explain how much has changed in my life since moving here to adelaide. It's like i was picked from one end of the world, and dropped into a whole new world where everything was just sooo different, and never in my life would i have ever seen that change coming.. By moving here, God litereally just gave me a whole new fresh start at life, new friends, new environments, new lifestyle, new everything! And one of the biggest thing that helped in this change was church, and joining the worshipnet. Ever since joining worshipnet, God placed in me this passion and strong desire to just worship HIm, and praise Him..and He opened my spiritual eyes to actual see that there is a whole different realm that actually exist! Over the past 4 years, i have felt that my spiritual self has come alive, its like bringing life to dry bones, and i have been boosted out into this unknown and unfamiliar territory.. so scary and real, and yet exciting at the same time. Haha you can never tell what God is gonna do next, and He always catches you offguard and surprises you and just blows your mind away! I believe that everything that has happened to me so far has been part of God's divine plan and purpose for my life, and i have come to learn that with God, anything is possible.. our lives can be so radically changed and transformed in just an instant without us even knowing it. And when you look back (like me), you just want to give God such a big praise and thank you for all that He has done!
Eph 2
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
that's me! i am the master piece :) God's master piece! What i am, is who God has made me to be. And i am thankful for it!
eph 1
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
haha such powerful and strong verses, you can just feel the spirit behind it by reading it. But besides it just being verses that we can read, i want to make it my prayer that truly we will have the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. It is just something that i personally can never get enough of, and is just one area where i need more.. What really struck me in these verses was 'the hope of His calling'(v18), and 'the exceeding greatness of His power'(v19).. I never really gave it much thought or let alone realise what really was the hope of His calling.. what does that actually mean..to me? And the exceeding greatness of His power, just can't seem to ever end. The amount of power that He has, that is in His name, and in His blood, just seems to grow greater and greater each day. One of the many things that so many people in this world seek nowadays is power, but so many at the same time fail to see that true power lies in and only comes from God!! Other forms of wordly power is nothing in comparison to the power that we have when we are in God, and we believers have to also realise that! So often in my daily life, i tend to forget or overlook how powerful the Christ in me really is..and because of that i end up limiting Him and myself. I want to be able to fully utilize this unlimited infinite source of power that is in me for the glory of the Kingdom.. so God, teach me how.
redemption through blood, forgiveness through grace..
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
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Gal 5:24
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
mhmm Amen to that! I believe in God, i believe in God, i believe in God, and i believe in His Word!! I am Christ's and my fleshly passions and desires have been crucified! it's funny how i used to think that somethings are ok, becuase its in our nature and thats the way God made us.. so it's got to be ok.. But NO! sin is always bad and never ok. The lie of the devil, verry scheming and deceiving.. When we are crucified with Christ, our fleshly nature is gone, therefore we should sin no more! Anything that causes us to sin is definitely not of God, the devil will put all sorts of excuses and reasons into our minds to tempt us and trick us..(i've gone through it so many times, pretty sick of it) and we have to be wisee and alert at all times! Be armed and ready, because the devil doesnt rest, so we who are on the offense should not be so laid back. When the time comes, the reasons and excuses that the devil puts in your minds are very interesting..because the logic behind the reasoning is so warped and weird, but many times people still fall for it because they are so blinded and fail to see the bigger picture and what really is going on.
To save others, we first have to save ourselves. Have to be strong, to help those around us that we care for and love. Not doing this for ourselves, but for the ones we love.
zzZZ lack of sleep.. hopefully my body gets used to it, and will adjust accordingly. it'll be bad if the opposite would to happen, especially now that we are nearing exams. Gonna pray for good quality sleep every night. im going for quality and not quantity here!
gal 5
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
does the opposite effect apply for v18? does it mean that if we are led by the flesh, we will be under the law? coz then when we sin, is when we are not walking according to the Spirit, but under the flesh..which would then mean that we will be under the law? anyway shouldn't even go there..aim is to walk in the Spirit. But then the question is how do we walk in the Spirit? or what must we do to walk in the Spirit? Is it just constant communion with the Holy Spirit?(which is already hard doing it 24/7) is there anything else that we must do, that we aren't doing.. or just me maybe. Even the greatest of pastors fall at times, and that would be when they are not walking in the Spirit, im guessing. But not fulfilling the lust of the flesh sure is a great thing, because the lust of the flesh is most probably one of the biggest things that causes us to sin. hmm i think i should do a research or read up on it, would be great to know.
Gal 5:7-10
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.
soo these 4 verses spoke to me today..and it was kinda reassuring yet scary at the same time. It sounded like something that would apply to me, something silly that i would have landed myself into. What even scarier is that the person who would most probably be leading me astray, would be myself.. In the previous verses and chapters, Paul has been talking about how we should not let ourselves live in bondage, but in the freedom and liberty that comes from believing in Jesus Christ. Then here in v9, he is telling us not to be contaminated.. that a little yeast will work through the whole dough. All that is needed is that little bit of contamination, and the whole dough will be 'destryoed' in a sense, nothing will be let away. In the same way, we have to be very careful of our lives, not allowing any sin to enter, and not to deceive ourselves that what we're doing is ok, or is the right thing, as said in v8. We have to remember that God is always for us, loving us, and believing in us..but the only thing that seperates us at times is the sin in our lives, sin that was committed by us.
Father, where i've gone wrong, forgive me. Let me once more run the race of life that You have set out before me, and never stop untill i have reached my finishing line.
woo Happy Mother's Day i guess.. hahas, i wasn't brought up celebrating such events so i guess im not really into it as some others are. But regardless, it was a great day at church, i think both services went well, and i know that all the mother's who came were greatly blessed :) It's really encouraging to see the bilingual service grow, especially when i started attending it there were like 10-20 members in the congregationg, where half of them would be worshipnet members. Now, we have a much bigger group, and we're getting consistant numbers every week which is awesome. Not only that, the standard of worship that we're getting is also getting better, members on stage are much more united, and the congregation also worships along with us! It's a great feeling when you stop playing the drums, and actually hear the congregation singing back to you.. at least then i know that we are heading in the right direction. Also not forgetting the presence of God that comes when we worship Him.. looking back, we have really come quite a distance, and i know that we just gonna keep on growing! Patience and trust in God's word, always pays off :) Thank You God!
Was reading the second half of galatians 4, where they talk about sarah and hagar, and how issac, who was born to sarah was the promise child, and ishmael who was born to hagar was under bondage. Now in v31, it says that we are not children of the bondwoman(hagar), but of the free! Which means that we are now not the ones under bondage, but the promise childs, we are the chosen ones, the master piece, we are freee coz we have the liberty! We should live lives that show the truth of what God has done, to shine forth His glory! A huge part of me can't wait for the future, to see all of God's promises fulfilled in our lives, and in our chruch! But first i've got to go through this season of training and growing up.. fixing my eyes on the end!!
hmm hope worship went well today, we didn't really practice much because of time constraints.. but once again, i had lots of fun serving God and worshipping with the other worshipnet memebers and with the congregation :) i could really feel God's presence and i hope that we succesfully managed to help everyone else and ushered God's presence in.
i've been so busy lately, not with God but with uni. gonna start organizing my time much more efficiently now.. need to spend more time with God, and do well in studies..tried cutting back on sleep, but it hasn't seemed to work yet haha. My brain is always too frozen in the morning to do any study, let alone spend time with God. Time to buck up once more!Can't afford to slow down, time is running outt!
Gal 4:9
9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
no turning back! not to sin, bad habits, old ways, or anything that we been set free from! This verse struck me when i was reading it. Reminds me a lot of the fleshly self, which should be crucified on the cross daily! No one desires to be in bondage, but its in our flesh..sadly we were born with sin in us already. Have to be strong, to deny oneself.
prayer meeting was great! time out during a weekday night by going to church to pray is really different.. this time it was more refreshing for me, not so much heavy or anything, but i felt more relaxed and at peace instead. Prayer meetings are like my once a month recharge sessions, where no matter what state you go in, you will always come out fresh and new. It gives you the sense of hope, joy, peace, and faith that everything will be ok.. i think its just because by spending so much time in his presence, everything in our minds really does eventually fade away.
It's all about love. His love, for us.
Lord Jesus
We need You in our lives
In this place, today
Our sole desire
To lift You higher
To give You all our love that
Comes from You
been having a few late nights recently >.< because dad was over, plus working till late.. still managing to wake up early to do devotion, but always finding not enough time. Gonna need to try to wake up even earlier! and i also need a method that will wake me up in the mornings.. i find myself half awake reading the Bible sometimes, not a good sign haha.
There's about 1 month left till swotvac, which means exams! and all the major semester assignments are due in the coming few weeks! Church is also hopefully gonna get more serious, and time is gonna get shorter again :( Gonna face another mountain which i will be required to move again, but i know that i won't be alone. coz God has been with me, and will continue to be!
We have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ! and not by works of the law, for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. We acknowledge the work that was done on the cross over 2000 years ago, and we believe in it! Jesus DID die for us, and our faith IS in Him.(Gal 2) Likewise, we receive the Spirit not through works of law, but through faith!
Gal 3
6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
Faith, the most essential thing in a Christian's life. It determines what we do, how we do it, and when we do it. Faith changes the outcome of everything, and a lack of it destroys everything too. It's a scary thing to have because you'll never know what's ahead, but an even scarier thing to not have.
God i pray that You'll give me more faith. To help me believe in my unbelief.
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