Yesterday...And the best Psychologist

Yesterday was one of those rare days where no matter how you go about doing things, mentally it just couldn't cut it. I was not sharp enough, I was not fast enough and depression starts to creep in. 'Weird' couldn't explain it.

So today, I decide to proclaim the good forecast for my life. I am in the Lord's favour. I shall be favoured by those I met today. I shall be filled with joy, not of this world but of the Lord's and I shall conquer all the nonsense that the Lord has disdained for.

Still what happened was when preparing my cuppa for the day, the worries about money and supply, of my usefulness in this world and my concerns (yes, concerned mean worry) that all that I did is just so repetitive (housework, working, projects) and has no meaning at all.

Lo and behold, Pastor Prince daily devotional also greeted me with this title "Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled". I always say there's no such thing as luck and certainly no such thing as coincidence.

Jesus said and still saying to us "Shalom I leave with you, My Shalom I give to you...Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid".

Shalom is a very very inclusive word. It encompassed all the good things that a man would ever need to feel contented. Imagine having not just any shalom, but the shalom of God. With that kind of Shalom, even the darkest and the most depressed will be joyful.

In the end, the problem lies in the realisation, or the lack of, the God's Shalom peace is already at hand. I shall even say, it is here in me. Just that I did not turn to it when I have the chance and in the end my heart get troubled.

Today and the days and months and years to come, I proclaim the shalom peace will guard my heart from troubles.

@Joyce: The Lord is the best psychologist

Michael Belk...good photographer...but

I was given this link about Mike's project, portraying Jesus in photography. I must say it was really well done (600K USD of his own money. If it is not well done...goodness!)

The link: http://www.thejourneysproject.com/Gallery.aspx

Then I happened to click on 'Embrace' in his Parables Collection and this is what he says

"Jesus’ statement, “No one comes to the Father except through Me,” has been accepted by Christians to mean that only those who accept Jesus as Lord will live with Him in eternity. Yet, if Jesus came as the Savior of the world, for all people, for all nations, where does that place all other religions? Assuming His statement is properly understood—that everyone must come through Him to spend eternity with Him—then what is God’s plan for the two-thirds of the world’s population that is non-Christian?"

At least Mike got it right. He died for all who has sinned. That means Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Chinese, Africans, Indians...all ethnic groups, all cultures.

And what is God's plan for 2/3 who are not Christians? Mike's answer

We are God’s plan! For everyone who knows the Gospel story, Jesus commands that we “go tell all nations the good news” He has shared with us. If we will not take time to love and reach out to the people of other religions, how will we ever find a way to share our faith with them?"

That's so true...we are called to spread the good news. To make disciples of all nations. Jesus great commission for us.

So what's there to complain?

Well having a Methodist background I have been trained in the 4 spiritual laws of salvation.

That's the thing...even when we share about Jesus, there is 'law' involved. There's a compulsion to do something. I am not saying Jesus is bad and compulse us to do something against our will, I am saying religion is making us feel inadequate if we do not share about the gospel.

You know what will lead me to share about Jesus? Relationship with Him. it is not about the doing, it is about the knowing.

Just the other day I was 'talking' to a sister in christ and during the conversation where she shared about her fears, her disappointment and frustrations in life, I just share Jesus, His plan for us and His hope in us. What I am surprised is not about the content of the sharing, but my transformation that I can just share like that.

Once you KNOW Jesus, you have stepped on the way to heaven, you have gone through the door to heaven. And when you do so, you have tasted Jesus, and it will be a very very easy task to talk about him.

Doing God's work, especially His great commission, is not using our strength and our puny wisdom but to use His Words, use His power and use HIS wisdom to share, to talk and to pray for the people around us.

And in this case, Mike's photo of Jesus amongst the people of different religion is a powerful statement and one that will help to lead you to talk about Jesus easily.

Don't be scared of letting go of the 4 spiritual laws when sharing God's LOVE. Love is not encased in words alone...it is in touching of the listener in his or her heart...it is talking about you as a disciple and beloved of God...that is more compelling than any 'laws' or 'guide books' about sharing Jesus.

Vance Havner asked...

"And what is wrong with the old method of scaring the ungodly with
a sermon on hell?" - Vance Havner

Well the old method says something about God that is true but not the image the God wants to portray.

Let's look what Moses has done in Numbers 20. God told Moses to command the rock to bring forth water but instead, Moses was so angry he struck the rock twice. Look at the Grace of God. Despite not following instructions, God still give water to the people.

But does that has consequences? Yes, Moses was not able to enter into the Holy Land while he was alive (Moses did enter the land at the Transfiguration of Christ).

What has this got to do with modern preachers of God's flock?

God says in Numbers 20, this is to show God's holiness to the people. But notice the difference in God's command and Moses' action. What God wants, is to show compassion in front of the congregation and what Moses did, was to show the anger of God.

No wonder God is angry. Would you be angry if the someone you trusts misrepresents you in terms of the message and how it was transmitted?

Instead of making people put faith in God, Moses has instead put fear into them.

So the key point is this.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

So if God do not give us fear, then who are we to instill fear into people? When the message of hope is needed, when the message of comfort is needed, we went around and proclaim the coming judgment?

No! People needed to hear words of comfort, of power and of deliverance precisely because they are already in deep shit in the first place. Imagine you are drowning, and the person whom you are asking to save you then preach to you "son! have you received Christ? If not you when you die, you will go to hell!"

What would that make of you as a person? Would the drowning person respond to you immediately?

Hence, now it is easy to understand why God is so angry with Moses in the first place because with one action, it causes multitudes to misunderstand God and cause them to lose their salvation.

Did you ever encounter anyone who questions God's love because of the presence of hell? It always goes like this "If God is the God of Love, then why send non-believers to hell?"

Unless one is ready to get into a theological argument and has prepared oneself and understand the real GRACE of God, the person who put across this question won't be convinced.

So, let's present the Gospel of God in its true entirety. God comes so that He can save us from the problems we have NOW. Maybe not in the way we want, but at least God will know what to do with our lives, for His Glory. Hell, in various forms is already here because of sin. The power of sin is in the law. And law in essence means our inability to meet God's standards and thus our perpetual anguish over our inability to perform and our constant frustration with live in general.

Tell of Jesus as He is the Rock to be commanded...not as a rock to be struck. Commanded to do what? To pour forth living water that brings forth hope, love and faith...one who drinks from it shall not be thirsty ever again.

Tell of Jesus as He is the saviour of our circumstances. Tell Jesus as He is the hugger of humanity. Tell of Jesus as someone who is extremely approachable and not the harbringer of death and destruction. His time NOW, is a lover...so don't go over board proclaiming Him as the Judge and juror. He is..but now is not the time...His time NOW is saviour, brother and lover.

So Mr Havner, do you still want to preach hell and give prominance to the fallen one or the risen one? Show THE beauty of God's Kingdowm on Earth and heaven through the love of Christ and Abba God, you will have people clamouring for Christ!

A Band, A Jersey and Childish reaction.

Let me be straight about this. I am a Liverpool fan. But as fans goes, I think there is a fine line between being a supporter and being a hard arse about how the jersey was treated.

To equate the jersey as a national flag is bordering on being ludicrous. No wonder girls are wondering why boy are still boys when it comes to such things. There are better things to fight over and this to me, if this incident reflects how childish a liverpool fan behaves it is really a sad day indeed.

Right now they have 80 over people petitioning Electrico to apologise and The New Paper is none the wiser. I say stupidity all around.

Today I seen 2 'deaths'

Today I seen 2 deaths.

One of which is of course the passing of Michael Jackson and the other is the passing of Kodachrome.

Yes both are unrelated but they are significant in a way that shape the world culturally.

MJ is of course the King of Pop, and his music will be forever remembered. I grew up in his music from Billie Jean to his Egyptian inspired MTVs. At 50, it is an age where youthfulness and experience brings about the best of both worlds, and to go at this time seems so much like a waste. RIP MJ.

Kodachrome, to the uninitiated, is colour film that heralds the era of personal photography in colour. Without colour, we won't be enjoying the sights and imagine the sounds of faraway places. We also won't enjoy our photos as much. As a photographer, colour is as much a part as I am as God has intended for man to enjoy the joys of creation and thanks to this colour film, we can enjoy it that much longer in time.

Both 'demise' are part of me, and it is really hard to see them go and both reminded me about Solomon's wise sayings.

"Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever" (Ecc 1:4)

They are here for a reason and both show the positive side of life with positive influence but MJ also shows something that Solomon also has experienced. The 'meaningless' of life.

With power of influence, money and adoration, MJ still isn't happy and we all know his issues and ups and downs. He just shows us something that the Lord wants us to understand and Jesus has made it really clear..."Seek ye the righteousness of God and all these things shall be added unto you"

Although the verse talks about material needs, I say the word 'ALL' has a deeper meaning than just material. It includes the joy of having the material needs with the appreciation of ABBA's love and providence.

Just as Solomon has everything he needs because of God's grace, what he lacked was the ability to enjoy it at a level of appreciation. He 'enjoyed' anything and everything that fancies him but still did not 'enjoy'.

I believe that Jesus is the hole that needs to be plugged, in order to fully enjoy the things we have and the people around us.

Nevertheless, rest in peace MJ and 'Thank You for the Music' and to Kodachrome 'Thank You for Colouring my life'

This is really a good piece!

THE QUESTION that CHANGED MY LIFE
-by David Ryser.

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school
of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly
searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with
Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across
a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short
version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:

Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece
and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution;
it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and
became an enterprise. Some of the students were only 18 or 19
years old--barely out of diapers--and I wanted them to understand
and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding,
"An enterprise. That's a business." After a few moments Martha,
the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not
imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was
self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless,
I acknowledged Martha's raised hand, "Yes, Martha." She asked
such a simple question, "A business? But isn't it supposed to be
a body?" I could not envision where this line of questioning was going,
and the only response I could think of was, "Yes." She continued,
"But when a body becomes a business, isn't that a prostitute?"

The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or
spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the
presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were
on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was,
"Wow, I wish I'd thought of that." I didn't dare express that thought
aloud. God had taken over the class.

Martha's question changed my life. For six months, I thought about
her question at least once every day. "When a body becomes a
business, isn't that a prostitute?" There is only one answer to her
question. The answer is "Yes." The American Church, tragically,
is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we
love Him? We don't even know Him; and I mean really know Him.

... I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not
know God--much less love Him. The root of this condition originates
in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what
we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would
bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him
for His money, and we don't care if He lives or dies as long as we
can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business,
merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded
to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ--that's pretty
intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love
someone we don't even know? And even if we do know someone,
is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or
prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha's question again one day, and considered
the question, "What's the difference between a lover and a prostitute?"
I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does
what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but
only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, "What would
happen if God stopped paying me?"

For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover
my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of
God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He
never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please
understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The
issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is
the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings
in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have
earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any
conditions? It took several months to work through these questions.
Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by
my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed
with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in
my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved,
but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute?
There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for
that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both
places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no
substitute or unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I
mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another
look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.

-Dr. David Ryser.

Truly Great Quotes

"the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing - and
the main thing is Christ."
~Clay Peck

"Salvation is a helmet, not a nightcap."
-Vance Havner

"Craving clarity, we attempt to eliminate the risk of trusting God."
-Brennan Manning.

These are truly great quotes

Quote 1: The main thing is Christ, and as Paul preaches, Christ crucified!

Quote 2: Salvation is a helmet and it is not 'sloppy' like a night cap. Our salvation is iron clad. It will protect us, if we put it on correctly. We are saved now and forever and it has no conditions except to believe!

Quote 3: I love this quote. If life is clear, then we do not need to rely on God. The main reason for this is very very simple, because God love us! Sounds weird? Look at it this way, God so loved us, that he wants us to keep relying on Him. Much like parents even when their children are grown, would want the children to rely on them for advice and comfort. If we who are evil able to love our children with such tenderness, how great is God's love!

So it is not because God do not want us to give us clarity, it is just that He would rather wants us to rely on Him, to build our faith and allow Him to bless according to His good plans for us (Jer 29:11) and His abundance. We are a nation of Royal Priesthood according to the priesthood of Melchizedek. We are prince and princesses of the Most High. He gave us that title through His son's sacrifice, so why don't rely on Him? (as this was typed, I am also in a state of struggle, to see God in my trying circumstances).

Be Blessed According to the Riches of Heaven through and in Christ.

More "Great Quotes"?

Today just received another email from Revival, and with the judgment of the author, he or she deemed fit these quotes as being 'Great'

Quote No. 1:

"Phone Interviewer: “Say you were asked, Leonard, to speak for
the annual convention of the National Religious Broadcasters,
and the Lord directed you to accept that invitation, what message
might you bring to that group?”

Ravenhill: “I believe I’d preach on hell."

Now what is exactly is the problem with the above?

When a 'man of God' has the chance to preach to the world, he don't preach about Christ, he decided to preach on hell.

Why would he want to do that? I mean, we are walking upon this earth that has seen nothing but death and destruction, of condemnation and of sin. Do we need another preacher that preaches on hell when every where around us, people are living in hell physically, mentally or worse, both physically and mentally.

If you are drowning, would you call to someone who shouts to you instructions on how to swim or would you want that person to save you or to notify the lifeguard?

We are already in sin, so why preach hell to the point that we already state the obvious so thoroughly so that people think they are not worthy to be saved?

So my question to you now is this, "Did God redeem the world through Christ on the cross before we are born?"

So technically speaking, we are saved so long we believed. And how to make a person to believe? The answer is to tell the good news that there is a saviour, hence we got the Gospel through the new testament.

Preaching on hell will just give the illusion that Satan's power is unassailable which is of course, bogus!

This world is already condemned because the power of sin is in the law. Preaching on hell won't make a person go to Jesus, it actually focuses the person to the negative judgment of condemnation upon the sinner. The alternative is to show a loving God, whom has made a tremendous sacrifice to let go of His Beloved SON and because of the SON's willingness to die on the cross, also show my Lord's love to the sinner. Won't that be a better attraction to the sinner?

Would any one want to go to an amusement park where all the rides are about punishment?

So why would it be any different if the person you are preaching to, would be repelled away because you kept on preaching hell?!? It just show that you do not know the true nature of Jesus salvation which is the Grace of Christ, and not the law of Moses.

Hark back to Moses. When God tells Moses not to strike the rock (happened in Ex 17:5-6 ) but to speak to it (Num 20:8). Why the difference? And why such a heavy punishment where Moses is not even allowed to step into the promised land?

The reason is simple. Jesus is being compared to as a rock and being the CHIEF corner stone.

So striking the rock in the first instance, is the picture of Christ crucified. The second instance is only talking to the rock, which is prayer to Christ, that will bring forth water, and the water that Christ always profess, is the living water as told to the woman at the well in John 4.

So, for preachers out there, don't preach the sins of the world and damnation, but preach and speak to the ROCK, that will bring forth living water from Christ, the good news of salvation, for the thirsty multitude of this world will willingly drink from Him if we show the correct picture of God and of Christ!

So is the above a great quote? No, it is doing Christ name an injustice by placing hell above His name.

Quote 2:

“I doubt that more than two percent of professing Christians in
the United States are truly born again.”
-Leonard Ravenhill


The above Leonard, is the same Leonard from the previous quote.

If to put this as a 'great' quote, then on what basis do we judge a person's salvation? When a person shows fear and trembling towards God?

Honestly, GOD FORBID! To have such a mentality means one do not really know God as a Father. THE father who loves, who runs to his wayward son when he saw him from a far. The father who reinstates the son to sonship even before the son could say his prepared speech (which of course, is to make himself as one of the servants).

We are that son. We keep thinking about being a servant, when Christ has made us sons and daughters of God the Father, whom all blessings flow. Who are we to judge a level of salvation a person receives? Who are we to know and judge how a born again should behave?

Love the person! When you are deeply eros love your wife during the happiness of the courtship did you really look at all the flaws? Now we God deeply AGAPE love you so deeply, that He gave His son so that He can legally called you righteous...so how do you know God has made a person a new Creation in Christ?

Time to stop judging Leonard Ravenhill.

Why Pray?

Partial Excerpt from an article from Christianity Today

Why Pray?

True to his character, God appears inclined to heal and bless as many as possible. It is as if he can barely restrain himself—though he often does—from supernaturally intervening and disrupting the nature of the universe to care for those he loves, whether they acknowledge it or not. Did God answer the prayers of the study's official prayer teams? Yes. But more than that, he answered the prayers of the patients, of their friends and relatives, and perhaps even of those who may not have known they were praying.

If this is true about our God, then a nagging question arises: "Why put so much effort into praying if God is already so generous?" This is another way of asking the real but unspoken question: "What is the minimum required of me to get my prayers answered?" Such questions expose the weakness of our modernist desire to know if prayer "works." In finding that God is in fact constantly answering prayers, we stumble upon the deeper and more disturbing reality that his answers often don't give us the where, when, or how that we originally sought.

Scripture attests to this reality. God, for example, answered Israel's prayers for release from Pharaoh's hand, but his answer—when it finally came—was unexpected, unpredictable, and anything but tame (as a generation left in the desert could attest). His answer to Israel's prayers for release from Caesar's grip proved even more unanticipated and, for many, simply unacceptable. Thus, it is no surprise that Jesus taught us to pray "thy will be done," as he himself prayed all the way through Gethsemane. In all this, we discover that our obsession with whether prayer works is the wrong question. We know prayer works. The real question is, are we prepared for God's answer?

Not surprisingly, those who were prepared for God's answer to Israel's cry for the Messiah were people who prayed. Anna the Prophetess, who spent the bulk of her life worshiping in the temple, was one of the first to recognize him. Lydia, who saw the truth of the gospel and opened the door to Philippi, was in the right place at the right time because she was praying. Thus, we pray not only because God answers our prayers. We also pray so that we might recognize and receive God's answer, know how to respond, and perhaps see God himself.

Most physicians believe in miracles, and in the cause-and-effect reality of their jobs. Miracles happen, but they happen to all because we are loved by God, whether we are in rebellion or not. What is left to physicians, and to us, is how we will respond. We would be wise to avoid magical or mechanical claims about the gospel. STEP encourages us to believe that God is eager to answer our prayers with seemingly little regard for our competence in prayer or, at times, even our orthodoxy. This ought to give us confidence to act, believe, and work alongside the good and generous King, who calls us to advance his kingdom, bring healing to the world, and pray.

------------------------------------------------------------

I firmly believe God is telling me something today as I have been challenged far so many times that I keep praying to God 'WHY!" And then today...

First is the challenge about the reality of rapture and then the article on prayer.

God is reminding me very simply...God is loving me, as his beloved...I am Wilson beloved! And His answer to my prayer (and I have to emphasize that He did answer) is not the answer that I am hoping for.

Then Jeremiah 29:11 pops in again.

His plans is for my prosperity and for my future. To give me an expectation of good (the definition of hope). To give me shalom peace (prosperity, health, wholeness and all things good).

Thank You!

The reality of Rapture...

I don't think I want to base my faith in Abba by the the words of mere men especially if it is presented in quote form without the witness of the context from that which is taken from. A text taken out of the context, will just leave a con for others.

There are basically 2 types of tribulations. The tribulation of the daily kind and the tribulation that heralds the coming of the Lord. So which tribulation are we in now?

Now, I will use just ONE verse to disperse the notion that we are doomed for THE Great Tribulation. The context of this bible verse is to tell us, on whose grace are we rely on, for our salvation.

because God has not appointed us to wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
(1Th 5:9)

This verse, though simple has shown two things.

a) The love of God
b) The completeness of our Lord's sacrifice on the cross

The sacrifice is so complete that we are now called sons and daughters of God through the belief that Christ is THE way to God.

for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
(Gal 3:26)

A lot of people do not understand sonship. And because they do not understand sonship, they would not understand fathership. How so?

Would you feel like a son unless you are not treated like a son?

Then this verse will come into play.

Then if you being evil know to give good gifts to your children, how much more the Father out of Heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those asking Him.
(Luk 11:13)

So. My question to readers now. Is the Holy Spirit a treasure? Is Jesus a treasure of God?

My friend...God has given two things. ONE: the SON on the cross and TWO: The Holy Spirit in US!

TWO most precious things in the whole known world is given to US mere sinners, forgiven through the cross. It is UNMERITED, UNEARNED and definitely a GIFT of FAVOUR to give us the power AND the title of SONSHIP!

Ladies and gentlemen: WE ARE NOT WORTHY! But we ARE sons and daughters of God now through faith in Christ Jesus!

So if the earthly father, who is sinful, do know how to give good things to his sons and daughters. HOW MUCH MORE would the Father in heaven?!?!

So wouldn't it be strange that a LOVING Father, who has given EVERYTHING for the sinful sons and daughters on earth, would be evil enough to let us suffer the effects of the 7 bowls and 7 trumpets of judgment and on top of that, the evil acts of the anti Christ?

That's why for people who do not know God, will scoff at the possibility of believers being saved before THE great tribulation. It is a simple fact that they assume God is still pitting us against the LAW and therefore we are not worth saving.

It is true...we are NOT worth saving. But we are saved, Praise be to Jesus, our heavenly brother, saviour and high priest.

We are saved, that's why it is the NEW testament...and that's why it is THE good news, the Gospel.

What help would the good news be IF the power of Jesus cannot even save us during the great tribulation?

So...is your salvation based on your works or your belief in the complete works of Christ?

There is not ifs and buts. Believe on the finished work on the cross, you are saved. You are saved from the most cataclysmic and evil events for those who do not believe.

So if you think you are to go through the tribulation, it just meant one thing: You have not believed your place as a son or daughter of Abba. You have not known the true nature of God, our Abba.

May you really question yourself as a father and as a mother. Are you so evil to allow your child from a known disaster or are you loving enough to prevent them from harming themselves? If you are the later, how much more is God the Father!!

To say that Abba allow us to suffer the Great Tribulation, I think it is worse than unfair. It is a stab into His heart to accuse Him of being evil!

Live Long and prosper!

Wilson

AWARE: A Post by Pastor Peter Youngren...

My thoughts on AWARE saga has struck a very similar gong in the post of Pastor Peter Youngren. I would venture to say that Jesus' is in both of us saying the same stuff. Praise be the Lord!

The post in question:

Easily Offended Christians

Written by Peter Youngren on April 8, 2009

There are a lot of offended Christians these days. Some of the things which seem to cause outrage and offense are; profanity on television, open display of homosexuality in movies and on television, humor that degrades Christian values. Well, that’s just for starters. When Christians express outrage, shock and offense, it is as if that expression in itself is a badge of spirituality. “Look at me; how shocked I am at the sin and worldliness around me. Shouldn’t you react in a similar way? Aren’t you equally shocked? Well, maybe your spiritual sensitivities aren’t as fine-tuned as mine”.

There is only one problem with all of this. Can you think of a single time in scripture when Jesus was offended by the sins of unbelievers? The only time you could find something akin to offense in Jesus was when he spoke forthrightly to the self-righteous, hypocritical religious leaders. In fact, Jesus forewarned us that if we are persecuted for our beliefs we should not be surprised or offended. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”, (John 16:33).

Here is the catch. If we are easily offended or shocked, we become either isolationists or attackers of the very society, which we are supposed to reach. Isolationists live in a cloistered environment with little or no influence on those on the outside. Attackers are resisted, much like we would react on a lovely summer night when hornets start buzzing around our picnic table. We find no example in scripture that Philip was offended at the witchcraft in Samaria. What about Paul’s reaction in godless, sinful, Corinth or idolatrous Athens? In neither instance do we find offense or rebuke of pagan behavior, but rather a focused pointing towards Jesus Christ as the only hope.

Everyone of the individuals who carry out what you and I may deem as offensive acts, are included in the reconciliation that Jesus provided by His death on the cross. Easter reminds us that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. The message of the Cross is the only power able to transform human behavior. Let’s not be shocked by the world around us, but let’s look for opportunities to get to know people, to share their lives and to tell them what Jesus has done for us. Happy Easter!

Peter

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My thoughts after reading the post:

There will always be this dilemma whether we are to work out our faith or not to do anything that, as Pastor Youngren has put it, using our indignation as a badge of righteousness. This is really a fine line to walk on but grace message has saved us all. It is not in our doing for the sake of doing, it is God's love being shown through us that is most important. And the basis of our 'doing' has to be established on the fact of 'done deal' that the blood shed for us on the cross is enough to bring us to heaven.

So about James letter to get us to work out our faith? My view is that once we get the correct perspective on how grace has worked in the Christian life, then anything that we do, we did it based on gratitude that we have for Jesus who died for us. To me, it would be second nature akin to Paul saying how we can be trapped by sin again if we are in a position of righteousness.

'Right believing begets right living'

We just have a very bad episode of secular values versus Christian values in a women's group in Singapore and it really reflect badly the society as a whole and Christianity in particular. I can't fault anyone as everyone has good starting points and good intentions. But intention is not enough in the Court of God, and the Court of God have to rely on some sort of standard and that standard by far the best for the unsaved, is the one handed down by Moses.

If we are more in tuned to God's plan for us to be salt of the world as described in this post, I think we will be in a better position to engage and convinced the unsaved.

AWARE: Is the fight justifiable?

Right now in Singapore there's this big fight over the rights of who should control AWARE, short for Association of Women for Action & Research.

It started off fairly dramatically. A takeover like we would have seen on Hong Kong serials where an enemy family takes over another family's business through stock acquisition. And in this case, new members came in and voted in a group of unknowns and newcomers that got the old members all puffed up and angry.

Now accusations are flying and statements of bigotry, of verbal abuse and assumptions are mucking the issue at hand. So what is the issue?

Simply this: AWARE has unknowingly allowed its contents of sexual education to go a bit haywired that reflected or allowed alternative lifestyle. Whatever their intentions, it is unfortunate that they have misread the ground as have the gay activists when they tried to argue against 377A (law against unnatural sexual conduct)

Here are my opinions:

Did penal code 377A stand? Yes it still does because of one fundamental reason. Singapore is one society where morals and values reflect asian conservative viewpoints. But come to think of it, the notion that a family nucleus is made up of a man and a woman is not just a 'conservative' notion it is also natural. What's unnatural is when same sex partners are deemed as a family unit. How so when the child they bear is from a third party? Wouldn't be in a sense, adultery making a mockery of the institution of marriage?

377A stands because Singaporeans have debated strongly against it. That's where AWARE old guard has made a bad judgment with regards to its sexuality education. Despite what the ground has said and made clear, AWARE went ahead and do such projects in the name of 'inclusiveness' and worse of all, in the school environment. Honestly if I have school going children who went for their courses, I would be concerned. Isn't AWARE setting itself up to be gunned down?

Now to accuse Christians and Christians alone to be judgmental on this issue, then pray tell why 377A is not repealled? It couldn't be that a small majority of Christians has such powerful voice in parliament? No. I don't think so. The parliament did have members who are of different faiths and I am sure, they are as uncomfortable as Christians in this debate.

So why Christians? The very fact that there are people who deemed the issue big enough to cause them to act is because they felt that things are not going right. It happens that they are from Christian background, hold Christian values and feels that, as I have felt, we are in this world for a reason. That is to help the people of this world through the teachings of Christ. And the teachings of Christ is based on one thing: LOVE. And out of love, comes respect.

The word 'respect' is heavily used without the true understanding of its foundation. Respect won't come until love is made the foundation. How so? How do we respect our bosses? No one respect bosses who only know how to scold without giving much of a help in terms of directions and motivation. Bosses who love their employees as though they are family gets the most respect.

So it is right that the old Guard can accuse the takeover as a 'lack of respect' because there is a 'mis-appreciation' of how the people think with regards to the 'questionable' programs they have put forth and with the circuitous argument of 'inclusiveness', it just ain't cut it. So it seems the only way to stop such programs is to take over the organisation that promotes such programs.

But is the new guard gaining respect? As much as we loath the choice of alternative lifestyle, Jesus still allowed people to choose how they live to the point of rejecting it. As much as we love these people, we still love them enough to give them the decision making power. Therefore this is the foundation where God will judge people since the decision making power does not rest with God but with men and so God cannot be blamed.

So the new guard chose to take over AWARE quite dramatically in a fashion that would call into question integrity and openess. This is a decision they have made with regards to the 'lost of focus' on women issues and much focus on lesbianism and homosexuality. The inclusion of men in the organisation is a point of contention as well. But would Jesus do what they did? Have they done society a favour by doing so? Or would they mar the name of Christ whom we are called after as Christians?

I would want to say that AWARE, no matter how notable their aims are, are feministic in some ways that may be detrimental to the core of society: the family.

Let's just quote 'equality'.

I want to say that men and women are never 'equal'. It can't be because physically and mentally we are not the same. But the fact is that God made woman as partner to man and not subjugated to man. In that way, God has made man and woman equal in His eyes but both has roles to play within the partnership or family nucleus. So a way, it is by design that man and woman are different and yet, the differences makes partnership very much sense in terms of survival and getting things done.

Now the problem is that man, has subjugated the role and standing of woman lower than man. Yes God did say man should be the leader of the household but the woman is the partner in the household. And man should love their partner as much as God love people. There lies the problem.

Not all man did what God has instructed them to do: Respect the woman....and not all woman has done what God has for them: Respect the role of the man. How can a ship has two rudder? So how can a home has two leaders?

That said, not being the leader doesn't mean one is weak. Instead one should see it in the light that the woman CHOOSE to follow the man even when the man is incompetent, that is a mark of greatness.

Still man has being too abusive to each other (women abuse their husbands as well in a lot more ways than women think) and AWARE wants to fight for equality because of such abuse.

But equality is something that is based on respect and love. Without love and respect, demands for equality is at best grungingly accepted by men and loath by men at worse (through the use of religion and traditions).

That's not what was intended.

So now, the fight will be in the EGM coming Saturday. Whatever the outcome, God has foreseen it. If it is by the power of men, it will not be upheld. If it is by the power of God, no man can close. If the old AWARE is doing what is right, then their conscience should be clear. But whatever they do is against what God has ordained, then I hope the judgment day would come much later for their sake.

Me? I am just waiting for the Lord to come back.

------------------------------

Christians are well known for their works in the betterment of society. It is something that God has given them the power to do so. To make a place better through God's direction. Some of the top schools in US, Europe and in Singapore are started by Missionaries. And I am a product of such school.

To accuse Christianity as a whole for being bigots is really uncalled for.

Let me say that I am disgusted by the discrimination showed by the judges of Miss USA. If acknowledging a gay lifestyle is politically correct, won't it be politically incorrect to reject a Miss USA candidate because she doesn't accept gay lifestyle?

Such questions are unfair and quite honestly, a punch under the belt that is not fair to the competition at all. For gay activists to shout 'inclusiveness', then they are not including the Christians....for them to shout "fairness" then they are not being fair in treating Christians too.

When they abuse Christians, is all fair game. When Christians defend, they say it is discrimination.

How would gay activists gained any respect at all?

I personally has this to say: there are claims that homosexuality can be cured. Why isnt it being debunked? If it is not curable, why are there people who are recovering homosexuals and lead normal lives with normal families?

It calls to question if the fight for legitimacy is just a cover up for their unwillingness to change.

All will be shown in due time.

The Mist...Depravity of Men

I have watched The Mist over the weekend and I find myself very very angry and surprised myself when something bad happened. But when I cooled down I realised that Stephen King did reflect his opinion of overly fearful Charismatic/Evangelistic preaching when one face death. Time for some explanation.

One Mrs Carmody when trapped in the supermarket by The Mist was praying fervently to God about saving souls. What left an impression on me was the motivation behind the saving of souls; to save her own soul by bringing other souls to God.

That comes to mind about Christ sacrifice on the cross. As Apostle Paul puts it in the letter to Ephesians

For by grace you are saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, that not anyone should boast;
(Eph 2:8-9)

What it says here is this: We are already being saved, 'it is the gift of God' through Jesus Christ. If we are not saved through works but by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Why does Paul has to say that? Because if we are saved based on works, we can boast and Jesus is not magnified. If we can be saved through works, then why do we need Jesus on the cross? (Read Titus 3:5)

Hence Mrs Carmody's foundation of salvation is not at the right place. And that led her to preach wrongly from the Bible, especially from the book of revelation and gave the wrong solution to the people in the supermarket.

And the best part is the usage of this word 'expiation'

Definition: The atonement is a doctrine found within both Christianity and Judaism. It describes how sin can be forgiven by God.

And Mrs Carmody is right. The atonement of sin has to be of blood. What she is wrong is to use the blood of others as a form of sacrifice to the monsters in the mist.

Newsflash: Jesus blood is used for the expiation of our sins. Not of other animals and certainly not of tainted sinful humans,.

Out of Mrs Carmody's error comes the manipulation of fear that is used in religion to blame others for all the sins of the world that culminates in the appearance of the monsters. It is so bad that a soldier who has nothing to do with the experimentation gone wrong, was murdered and fed to the monsters.

So Mrs Carmody's motivation to save souls has instead condemn them to the sea of fire.

And that's when I feel 'great' when she was shot down for spewing words of hate. I am not proud of that moment but there are so many preachers that are doing just that: to turn people away from the love of God, His salvation through Christ and their insistance on works to save themselves.

Fear, some say, is the absence of faith.

One of the character who is a biker has a much much better understanding of God when he commented

“I believe in God, too. I just don’t think he’s the blood thirsty asshole you make him out to be.” –biker

Amen to that!!

The Blasphemy Challenge

Does God Exist? That's the question put forth before Kirk Cameron with Ray along with the team from the Rationale Response Team.

Does not need a rocket scientist to know which side I am on.

After watching the video in Youtube, I gingerly 'walked' over to the blasphemy challenge website and take a look.

One of the video took me by 'shock'....a lady just say "Well I guess...see you in hell."

I was like, do you really know what hell is like? Do I really want to see you in hell (either by self preservation or out of love for the lady which I both are applicable).

Let's take hell to the extreme won't we? Because hell is in essence the absence of love. Imagine that. You are totally abused by everyone around you. No one cares for you. No one put you first. There's no relationship to speak of. Everyone just exploits everybody. It is a dog eat dog world. And because it is a free for all, there will be no justice because it will be a jungle out there. Worst is that you won't die therefore you cannot escape from the hurt, the pain. Just the last point alone will make this world look like heaven.

Now why would people actually think that Hell is cool? I blame it on the misinformation of the modern media. Where "go to hell" is the common refrain in the movies.

Do think in proper terms what you REALLY want in life. All the hurt and all the pain is an indication that our world is not what is meant to be.

One can say that religion is scaring people shitless in order to accept the salvation. Then let's be REAL won't we? What are the two main motivators for human beings to act? Positive motivation and negative motivation.

Positive motivation: I will get to see my loved ones in heaven. All that I crave on earth will be realised definitely on earth AND heaven. I will have tons of fruitful relationships that will enhance my eternal life.

Negative motivation: You will be tortured. You will ask for death and get none. No mercy can be given.

I put to you this. Only a person who loves you will give you warning. Even strangers who has a bit of human goodness will do the same to anybody. But God loves so much that He is willing to be misunderstood by people claiming to be atheists so as to warn those who are willing to listen.

Now the question is this: "If God is so loving why would he send people to hell?"

That is a very good question. The answer is still love. Why would people cry for justice in this world? It is because everyone wants to be treated fairly and being treated fairly is also a sign of love as it shows that people cared. Now if God wants to send people to hell because He is evil, He won't even cared to give the 10 commandments in the first place thus enabling MORE people to go to hell. In reality, He gave the 10 commandments, therefore He cared!

So what does the 10 commandments do? To shackle us? No. It is to show how evil a human being can be. It is just 10 not 100, 1000, or even a million. It is just 10. These 10 shows the BASIC terms that will not harm relationship between humans and human and God. And if ANY of these 10 are breached, then the seed of evil towards other people is being sowed. So we cannot even keep 10 perfectly, everytime, all the time.

The current financial crisis is based on this seed of selfishness and has breached one or many of the 10 commandments.

But people has this notion that God deliberately gave the 10 commandments to fail people. If one is a real and careful reader of the Bible, God gave because He was forced to even when He offered grace (that means despite what people has done, He still accepts them.) The Israelites says they are able to meet all criteria. God, a respector of human decision making power, thus acceded much to the horror to the human race.

God loved so he gave ONLY 10 to show us we are unable to meet those criteria. Hell is imminent unfortunately.

Thus comes the positive/negative motivation.

Pain is a motivator to keep one alive. Would you hold on to a hot pot of tea despite the pain? No, the pain will make you let go of the pot and preserve your hand.

Fear is also a motivator to keep one alive. Would you go through a dark alley in the middle of the night, in a neighborhood teeming with gangsters? You wouldn't because you cared for your own safety.

Therefore to put across that religion puts fear so that it makes people accept religion is well founded (I can sense the surprise). Why is it well founded? Because religion, as in any system or organisation, can be both good and bad or truth and falsehood. Fear in this case will be bad if one is being led into a religious system that manipulates people.

But what if that fear pushes one into a system that ACTUALLY saves? And if true Christianity is the answer...it is not a system of dos and don'ts...and it is certainly not a system of tradition and hearsays or myths. (Christianity as a myth, will leave it for another day).

So how does HE saves without being seen as an unfair judge which he cannot be since He is good. In order to be a good guy, you have to be a fair guy.

In summary
- 10 commandments shows that we ALL failed one way or the other. One do not need to murder to be bad. We just need to disobey our parents for just ONCE. Unfair since humans are imperfect? Then it leads to this.
- God knows that we are imperfect all thanks to Adam and Eve and also the horned one. We are imperfect because we are given the knowledge of good and evil (conscience and morals) and yet we do not do what is necessary either out of fear or greed. So to be able to meet his criteria of perfection and yet be fair, He need a substitute for us...to meet the criteria that our bad deeds are erased so that He can be seen fair that our deeds are answered and meet his criteria of love, so that He can bring us all into heaven.

The only thing is that we need to accept the substitute.

But there are people who are too chicken to even accept the substitute, saying that there is no God.

I am sorry to say that, to really SAY and BELIEVE that there is no God in this world and also the Universe means one has to exhaustively search the ends of the Earth AND Universe and beyond to conclude that. To say that God do not exist means committing intellectual suicide since one cannot be sure as a person can't conclude that there is no God conclusively.

But the other end holds true: There is a God. For us to be where we are today, need a creator and a creator of this magnitude can only come from a supernatural being.

Let's not talk about the physical like evolution. Let's just say one can evolve from a cell to a complex being like an ant. It still cannot answer the question of morality, the ability to know what is right and wrong and not to mention LOVE.

For an atheist to cry justice means he knows the right from wrong but the very notion that he can ask for Justice just bares the fact that there is a God for the atheist knows love, knows justice, knows bad from good, knows right from wrong.

It is just a self defeating proposition.

Psalm 91 - Pastor Prince Message Redux!

PSALM 91 for the ECONOMIC MELTDOWN
-by Paul van der Hoorn.

This morning I felt the Lord telling me to re-write Psalm 91... I hope
it may inspire you all to continue to trust in His grace and mercy,
for a time such as this.

PSALM 91 - paraphrased by Paul v d H. - 30.11.08:

Subtitle - THE ECONOMIC MELTDOWN & HOW to OVERCOME

Those who live in the shelter of the Lord Jesus Christ
Will find rest, even in His shadow
This I declare of the Lord
He alone is my refuge, my shelter and place of safety
He is my God,
and I am trusting Him
For He will rescue me from every trap
And protect me from every fatal accident
He will shield me with His arms
His faithful promises are my weapons and protection

Don't be afraid of any threats of the night
Nor fear any dangers during the day
Nor dread the plagues (like HIV) that stalk in darkness
Nor any disaster that might try to strike you during the day

Though many fall at your side
Though thousands are perishing all around you
These evils will not touch you
But you will see with your own eyes
How the wicked are punished

If you make the Lord your refuge
If you make the Most High your shelter
No evil will conquer you
No plague will come near your house
For He orders His angels
To protect you wherever you go
They will support you with their hands
To keep you from even striking your foot on a stone
You will trample down crooks and criminals under your feet

The Lord says "I will rescue those who love Me
I will protect those who trust in My Name
When they call on Me I will answer
I will be with them in trouble
I will rescue them and even honour them
I will satisfy them with long life
And give them my eternal salvation"
Amen

So Now We Need to Earn God's Protection?

Derek Prince ministries sent one of its emails titled "True Security" to encourage people to know that God surrounds the righteous with favour like a shield. What's amazing is that the same email has in a way disqualifies its readers to say that the favour needed to be earned in order for the Lord's grace, the unearned and unmerited favour, be upon us.

The bible verse in question:

For You; O Jehovah, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield. (Psa 5:12)

And in the email this is what being said about the verse in question,

"But there is one thing still sure in life, that God blesses the righteous. We need to spend much more concern about making sure that our lives are right before God, that we qualify for that blessing of the Lord which He reserves for the righteous, which is only for the righteous."

So what is the email trying to say here? That we also need to earn our salvation as well?

No! That is not right! That is not what Apostle Paul has been trying to convince us believers for so many generations!

for as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners: so also through the obedience of the one, shall the many be constituted righteous. (Rom 5:19)

Through Adam, his disobedience, we are constituted as sinners and so through the obedience of one, Christ Jesus we are now constituted as righteous.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the status of sinners to the status of righteous!

And what is the advantage of being the righteous of God, so much so we are called royal priesthood in the order of Melchizedek, the King of Righteousness?

having been called out by God as a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. (Heb 5:10)

The advantage is this: God has clothed us with a shield of favour!!

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (Rom 8:38)

nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Rom 8:39)


Don't belittle Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. His sacrifice has brought us righteousness that according to Paul, that no one will separate us from the Love of God. And if nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (that means believers), do you think for a micro second, that by our filthy works and unrighteous acts, God would be separated from us?

If the answer is NO, then why is there a "...need to spend much more concern about making sure that our lives are right before God" to enjoy His blessings?

The Gospel of our times in this age: God has already blessed us with a shield of unmeasurable favour and grace that is enough for eternity. Favour to be a blessing to ourselves so that we can be a blessing to others.

All Praise to the Lord's complete work on the cross!

One way is to react selfishly and therefore ask selfishly and pray in the name of oneself. This is akin to making God a genie in a bottle.

The other way is to react to God’s promises of blessings, of honour, of health and of wholeness positively. How do we do that?

Then faith is of hearing, and hearing through the Word of God. (Rom 10:17)

And since we have the faith through hearing then what next?

To call our His promises to us in the Bible in faith because God has ordained so for the sons of Abraham. His promises to Abraham is applicable to both the physical and spirituals sons.

I also agree that the bible verse is misquoted but that does not mean we should not call forth in faith what God has spoken in the Bible.

That means, we call forth things God has given us through His promises in the Bible for those are the Words of God for Christ is The Word of God. Anything that is not of the bible, is of our flesh.

If God promises to give us a plan to prosper, to give us hope and a future (Jer 29:11) then He WILL prosper us; He WILL SHALOM us.

That SHALOM is Peace in Hebrew and has such meaning

From H7999; safe, that is, (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, that is, health, prosperity, peace: - X do, familiar, X fare, favour, + friend, X greet, (good) health, (X perfect, such as be at) peace (-able, -ably), prosper (-ity, -ous), rest, safe (-ly), salute, welfare, (X all is, be) well, X wholly.

Although we should care that mammon has no hold over us and we should serve the Lord. But with a servitude towards the Lord would He also bless us with good things so that such good things will also be used for His Glory!

So my understanding is this…

We call forth things that are not there is to exercise our faith in Christ through The Word. If we call forth things that are not in The Word, therefore we are doing things not of His Will. If what we call forth are things that are the fruits of His love, guess what, Jesus will make sure things do happen and will do it according to His timing and for His glory.

Received this

Steering through the Storms, by Rubel Shelly


These are challenging times, and it is difficult to find a silver
lining to some of the darker clouds visible to everyone. As
election-year rhetoric morphs from harsh to rancorous, the economy of
recession continues to take its toll. All of us know lots of people who
have lost their jobs. Who will be next to suffer?

One of the interesting fact that some of us have forgotten is that
crisis times have often been the stimulus for creative new beginnings.
Notable successes have been generated from the ashes of previous
economic downturns.

A little perspective from history might encourage you. Walt Disney lost
an acting job as a movie extra and started his famous cartoon company
in a garage during the recession of 1923-1924. William Hewlett and
David Packard teamed up in Silicon Valley in 1938 during the Great
Depression. And Bill Gates dropped out of college to launch Microsoft
during the downturn of a recession in 1975.

Crisis does seem to spawn an entrepreneurial culture. When the sun is
shining, most people are content to let the boat sail under its own
power -- and to sun on the deck. When the clouds roll in and the boat
begins to toss violently on the sea, creative people are encouraged to
take risks and to chart new courses.

It is time to decide about your future.

What about you? Do you see yourself as a thermometer or a thermostat in
these tough times? Thermometers do nothing more than reflect their
environments. Thermostats change their environments!

If you have had a bad year, have been laid off, or exist in a generally
horrible environment, you have a choice. You can be a victim and whine
about your fate. Or you can do some serious introspection, set some
positive goals for making things better, and start moving ahead.

In the business world, laid-off and unfulfilled workers have changed
the world by being bold in hard times. The same thing is true in other
settings as well. Individuals, families, and churches who sense that
something is wrong always have choices. The single most important
choice is between passivity, grumbling, and dejection on the one hand
and exploration, resourcefulness, and enthusiasm for a new challenge on
the other.

Now that you have seen the newscasts and figured out that times really
are tough, it is time to decide about your future. Make responsible
choices on the basis of your passions, values, and priorities and not
your gloomy circumstance. With the strength of God to help you, you can
move from being a melancholy thermometer to become a difference-making
thermostat in your world. You can chart a new course and set sail to a
brighter destination.


----------------------------------

God given opportunity to bless ME more..:)

BIBLE means:

Basic Information Before Leaving Earth.

I really like it...especially we are going to get raptured soon.

Who Is Christ to me?

Who is Christ to us?

Very good question. It is a question that in our heart we do know but our flesh just refuse to acknowledge. If He is the King of Kings, why are we looking at Him with earthly eyes, looking at Him as though He is still on earth? Still Jesus is:

- Personal Friend
- King of Kings
- Shepherd
- Wisdom
- Righteousness
- Shield
- Finisher of my faith
- Everything
- Strength
- Provider
- The Great I AM

But why we don't go to him as often?

Why fear?? Why is there a sense of dread, of apprehension, of fear? I guess that we are always questioning our standing before God and do not know what Jesus is to us in the scheme of things. Or are we always in the realm that it is my problem and i have to solve it? Why are we always trust in our efforts when our efforts are the one that got us into the problem in the first place?

But Jesus is always for us, have time for us and undivided attention. God will love us unconditionally. Our relationship with Him will take the form as the best friend in the best of circumstances. He is the one who takes all the bad and give all the good.

We don't need to
- feel unloved
- unwanted
- feel lack

耶稣是我最好的朋友！

Does 5 pillars means....

Oh. Someone replied to my thoughts about Muslim radicals dated 2006 November and I was led to a website that defends Islam. Played the video and the man in the video says, "Surrender...submit...obey...sincerity...peace". And his conclusion? Peace is in Islam....salaam or shalom in Hebrew.

I am basing this piece based on the video and I may be quoting out of context but if the video is the introduction to convince people Islam is a religion of peace, then I think it is fair for me to critique the video for what it is.

Now. Is Islam inherently a violent religion? I can say it is not. But one cannot deny that Islam was spread by the edge of the sword. If we are to go by history and see history as the evidence of fruit of a system, an organisation or a person, then it is a God given wisdom to see things and judge things by its fruit.

Are we to judge then? Yes and no. Yes because we need to judge so as to make a right choice. No to some extent, because we may not know the whole truth to make a sound judgment.

But do we really need to judge religious systems? I say yes because our eternal existence is really hinging on how we choose which God to serve.

Back to the topic.

Is it good to surrender, submit, obey, sincere and have peace? Definitely!! In the aspect, Islam has hit the right notes.

But there is a problem. Human beings.

Why?

Surrender/Submit - I find myself surrendering to God things that worries me and cause strive in my life since He himself has declared,

"Come to Him, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" Mathew 11

Problem: I always take my problems back into my system. No wonder Paul rightfully said we are to strive for Peace.

and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye were called in one body, and become thankful. (Col 3:15)

Can we really surrender? Can we really give it all to God? REALLY? Does chanting 5 prayers a day really makes you surrender? Does quoting bible verses day in day out, makes you surrender in your heart of hearts?

Obey - Same problem. Do we really obey? Simply look at the 10 commandments. Just 10. Not the hundreds and thousands in the religious systems in the world. Just a measly 10.

Can we really be 'sincere' and say, hey I meet all 10, everyday, every time, every where, every waking moments of my life from birth till now.

No? Then how in the world can we say just obey and we can have eternal life? then God being God has to be fair and all our past sins still has to be judged accordingly. If not He will not be a fair God , and a unfair God is not a worthy God to follow just as a kangaroo court is not to be respected.

Sincere - Can we be sincerely wrong? I guess those jihadist who kills the innocents are sincerely wrong. I guess those marxists are sincerely wrong. If they can be sincerely wrong with the 'big' things, can we be sincerely wrong in the 'small' things. If you note the parenthesis, to God, there's no 'big' or 'small' problems, so there is no 'big' or 'small' sins. They are all sins- full stop.

Peace - Ah~! That keyword. Shalom or Sala-am. I just got to say this. A proclaimation of peace is not peace at all. An act of peace, is the declaration of peace and the only true declaration of peace is Christ Jesus. Any man made system that tries to impose peace does nothing but to bring about despair and hopelessness because that 'peace' is temporal, that 'peace' is a by product of an action or circumstance or both. It is not true peace.

True peace is devoid of external circumstances and the fruit of that peace is joy despite the circumstances. This peace is supernatural, that brings people up in the midst of turmoil, of despair, of chaos, or repression.

`Peace I leave to you; my peace I give to you, not according as the world doth give do I give to you; let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid;
(Joh 14:27)

Such a supernatural peace will let my heart be troubled. And I dare say, the world would not suffer if such a peace is embraced whole-heartedly.

But what of peace in Islam? If we are honest, that part of the world where Islam reign supreme, there isn't any peace to speak of. Even when I am in the midst of the world's largest islamic countries, there are crimes against other human beings who don't believe in islam. Why?

Peace? Really? Would a world wide caliphate really bring about peace to the whole world while those countries that have already embrace islam totally has not get itself out of the rut. Something is amiss yes?

I dare not make a judgment. But just SEE and OBSERVE and draw your own conclusion.

Want real peace with God first and then with men?....only solution, surrender and submit to the act of the cross, then your sincerity and obedience is in Christ who will put your name in the book of life.

Maranatha~!

"Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength--
carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of
time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties
today of its strength." - Corrie Ten Boom

That is so true. Seems like all the economists, investors, stockbrokers and banks are worrying 2 and 3 years in advance with the strength of today.

We Christians should do one better than them. Reason? Jesus is holding our futures in His hands. His plans for us is to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). What type of hope? A hope with full expectation of good to manifest in our lives.

The start of the ball is from God when the wall street drops by 777.7 points. That speaks volume for those who knows God's signature. If God has put so much effort in allowing us to know His signature, it is for one thing and one thing only. Comfort!

Rely on God, look towards Him and all these things, needed for good living free from worries, shall be added unto us.

This is really a time for people to rethink on
a) their government (US election)
b) their jobs
c) their economic system
d) their obsession with material gains
e) their obsession with social status

If any suicide related to this crisis is anything to go by, they have looked to themselves and find hopelessness, they look to the surroundings and found despair - no wonder they don't have real hope left.

But we have Jesus who takes care of our tomorrows because He has been there or already there since He is timeless. Time to stand on solid foundation of faith.

Die in Coffin for A better Life?

Read this really interesting article

http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20081010-92935.html

In short, it is a coffin ceremony where people pay money to climb into the coffin to 'die' so as to ward off bad karma and then they will inherit a clean karma and then good luck will come.

Mental rewind: Aren't we Christian born again? Aren't we died to our old self and reborn in Christ? Isn't that the same as dying in a coffin and to rise up again spiritually?

We are in the sense die to self, reborn into Christ and to inherit Abraham's blessings since we are his seed yes? Isn't that the most amazing thing ever?

Best part is this: it's free!!

And in this time when the world is in such financial chaos, I can safely say the blessings of God's shalom peace in wholeness , health and prospertiy is something we as Christians MUST embrace and MUST hold on to whenever we have doubts about our inheritance through Christ and IN Christ.

We are rich according to the HIS riches IN Heaven. As HE IS NOW, so are WE in this world.

Fellow Christians. Time to look UP. Seek His Righteousness which is already given to US NOW, and ALL, EVERYTHING, shall be ADDED unto us.

And when I mean seek, it is to constantly remind ourselves with HIS promises of blessings, of protection and of Shalom Peace.

We are reborn into riches in health, wholeness and wealth. Let not the devil snatch this inheritance away! As Pastor Copeland has declared once again. THIS RECESSION IS NOT OURS! It is for THIS World and we are not OF this world. We are IN it but not OF it. Whatever is happening to this world is not FOR us because we are not OF this world. We are reborn out of this world and into the realm of God's economy!

What is God's economy? Plentiful blessings!! No lack, no tears, no worries.

Amen!!

Dow Jones down 777.7..Hey Isn't that...

With Dow Jones plunging 777.7 points the very first reaction is this - Is God's number an indication that the current situation is a work of God?

That is a very good question and I believe, to us believers it is another indication that God is indeed in control of the situation. Putting numbers that is so evidently clear to Christians can only mean that He is telling us "Son! Behold that I will make this financial turmoil for my Children. So that the people of the world will see how I Bless My children with Blessings of Abraham. So that they know that I AM!"

God's is truly in the things of the world. And this to me, is like another milestone in the prophetic times that we are living in.

Maranatha~!

There is No better Hope than In Christ!

Have you ever wondered why there is so much turmoil in this world? Have I ever wondered why I have to go through so many trials and tribulations including what seemingly a very winding road in my career?

There is a very simple reason for it.

Just to recap, the Word He has given me since 2004

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end.
(Jer 29:11)

Peace in this verse is not the 'peace' that the world understands. The word Peace, I capitalised it because such a peace is of Jesus and not of this world.

Consider this verse:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
(Joh 14:27)

This is spoken just before Jesus left earth to be with His Father in Heaven, to be at His right side, to be our spokesperson, our advocate, our lawyer when the devil accuses us in the courts of heaven. And He is there to be our defender, our lover and our High Priest where our prayers are answered in the way that only benefits us.

So what kind of peace did Jesus leave us? Consider His Peace when He still can sleep in the middle of the storm. Consider His Peace when he can walk on water in the midst of the storm. This Peace is not of this world where the world says. "To be stress free, wear an OSIM head massager, go for yoga and stretch yourself silly. Earns lots of money so that you may be free from worry."

We all know what this world has come to where the mightiest and the strongest and the richest fell like a deck of cards. God is systematically and slowly telling the people of the world, "Your hope in such things do not last but actually makes you hope-less".

What is this Peace? In hebrew, since He has spoken to his Jewish disciples therefore it should be Hebrew, the word is Shalom

What does Shalom really means?

Strong's Concordance 7965 - Hebrew Shalom ..... A word study in the New King James version for SHALOM says: Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.

In a world full of discord, full of poverty, full of diseases, full of crime. Jesus' Peace sounds really good isn't it!!

And guess what? It for us Christians for the taking. I don't care what the detractors of Prosperity Gospels says. Jesus has left His Shalom with us on this earth. He has planned for ME, a life full of SHALOM PEACE! His Peace will not leave me in trouble or troubled in this world!

And God gave this verse to me in a very very real sense because it came to me at a time I feel that I am not doing well. You see the key point is that I FEEL not well but the fact is God is telling me again and again, feelings has nothing to do with truth! So what is the truth?

Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
(Neh 2:19-20)

Neh 2:19-20

(19) But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

(20) Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

The God of Heaven, He HAS prospered us. He HAS shalom'ed us. With what? With Christ!

That's why Christ has left His SHALOM with us!! Health, Wholeness, Peace and Prosperity is for us NOW. He is in us therefore His SHALOM is in and with us NOW and Forevermore! Amen!

But why is there so much turmoil in this world that kept us from realising this? Why is it that our understanding and belief is so fragile? Why do we 'feel' inadequate?

Thanks to Pastor Lian of New Creation Church. This verse has been there all along in my 19 years of being a Christian and I am none the wiser. Good reminder.

`And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it, (Mat 13:20)

and he hath not root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled. (Mat 13:21)

`And that sown toward the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, do choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. (Mat 13:22)

As we all can see and I must confess, that my root is shallow and I am struggling to take root as most Christians do. I have so much trials and tribulations now is because of one thing and one thing only. The Word!

The Word is Christ. The Word is HIS Promise to me. The Word are Jeremiah 29:11 and now Nehemiah 2:20!

The trials and tribulation comes because the devil wants to dislodge us from God, Jesus and Holy Spirit so that HIS promises would not come to pass.

The presence of trials and tribulations is a confirmation that HIS word is happening and happening now and has arrived. We are now on VICTORY GROUND! My salvation is ALREADY here.

My SHALOM is now with me! Not because of my strength and works. But because Christ has already GIVEN it to me!

Amen amen!

Taken from Robert Ricardelli Of Visionaries

Advancing Through Adversity
Comfort, disappointment, and fear are three of the greatest enemies of our souls. We can be lulled into ineffectiveness for the Kingdom of God in the comfort of our lives. We can become weary and stagnant from affecting our spheres in this world because of disappointment. Fear can paralyze us so that we retreat from the battle of life, Jesus and the Word of God, promised we would face.

Comfort

One of the devices of the enemy is to engage us and consume us with self. Self wants to be comforted. Self desires the easy road, the easy life. Self wants to protect itself by not going out on a limb or really ever stretching your faith. Self wants to live a balanced life neither hot nor cold… That is a scary thought according to Revelations 3. I like the way the Message version reads;

Revelation 3:15-17

15-17"I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold, you're not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, 'I'm rich, I've got it made, I need nothing from anyone,' oblivious that in fact you're a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

Comfort enthusiasts are often deep rooted in pride. They tend to think that their life is their own and they are blinded to the fact that their very existence is the Lord’s and everything they have is His as well. One of the things we must be reminded of time and again is that we are His, our every breath is His. He may desire for us to give up all, including our very life for His sake. He may want us to leave jobs, friends, and family, while traveling to distant lands to serve Him.

We must put aside pleasure seeking lifestyles if we want to make an impact in our world and be faithful servants of the Most High God.

Matthew 6:33

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need

If we seek His Kingdom first and always, then He will give us what we need in our journey with Him. We are not alone, He is always with us. If we have plenty, it is for a purpose, and He will direct the plenty because it is His to direct. If we have little, then there is a reason, and we can trust that He will provide all that we need for His purposes.

We must put aside comfort when it gets in the way of our purpose. Do not seek comfort but have a deep concern when comfort stays around too long. This is not to be confused with peace. I am referring to comfortable lifestyles that keep us from advancing in glorifying the Lord in all that we do.

Disappointment

Disappointment and hopelessness seem to run together sometimes. We can fail to the point of finally giving up and not having hope for a bright future. Our God is the God of redemption, restoration, and brilliant futures for all of His people. Only in deception can we miss the fact that in Him, defeat is temporary and often becomes strength for the journey.

Romans 8:28

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Notice it says “everything” works together for the good of us.

This means that despite the good things that come;

defeat works together for the good,

delay works together for the good,

lack works together for the good,

loss works together for the good,

sickness works together for the good,

And finally, even death works together for the good for all of us, His children.

The Lord promises that the end result for all of us is triumphant, so be patient and be encouraged beloved of God.

Ecclesiastes 7:8

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning of it, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Fear

We have all heard the saying, there is nothing to fear but fear itself. There is much truth in that statement. The enemy of our souls knows that if he can wrap us up in fear, that in effect we are disengaged from the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Much of the fear we have is never realized but can perpetuate real problems because we can no longer operate in faith when we have given fear a place in our lives. Remember, He is our Protector. I remember Jesus sleeping through the storm when fear had gripped the others.

Proverbs 3:24-26

You'll take afternoon naps without a worry,

you'll enjoy a good night's sleep.

No need to panic over alarms or surprises,

or predictions that doomsday's just around the corner,

Because GOD will be right there with you;

he'll keep you safe and sound.

People of God, we do not need to live in fear. When it comes out of your mouth, rebuke yourself. I have witnessed so many in fear of what lies ahead in the future for them. They are literally consumed to the point that their faith and their production for God has been neutralized. We should live in His wisdom and trust that He has you in His hands, because He does.

Running His Path..

Psalm 119:32

I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.

When we are set free by the Lord it does not mean that we can do anything we want at any time. We must not throw off all order and restraint, be self-indulgent, self-pleasing, self-willed. That is not real freedom. That’s slavery. It’s slavery to self and it’s slavery to sin.

Real freedom comes when God sets our heart free. Free from the bondages of comfort, disappointment, and fear. The psalmist says, “You’ve set my heart free.” What’s the evidence? “I run in the path of your commands.” When we are truly liberated by the grace of God and the power of God, it’s not to please ourselves, it’s not to do our own thing, but it’s to be able to obey God in every way, freely and joyfully.

When we run the path of His commands, there is little room to be lavished in comfort, there is little time for discouragement, and fear is removed because faith and purpose have taken over. Let’s advance His Kingdom regardless of what comes our way. When good things come, praise God, when devastation comes praise God.

Psalm 42:5

Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!