God in action

Recently my elder sister (grace) and my maternal grandmother went to Russia for holiday. Things went fine till like yesterday after church service. i got an sms from my sis telling me to call her, emergency. So i rang her and found out that my grandma had found her bible in her bag. And she was scared and crying.

Here's a lil background on granny: Shes like an anti-christ at home, shes getting old and its pretty scary sometimes being wif her (poor grace). Shes buddhist and wants us all to go to the same place as her when we all die(erm, hell?) so she prays for us at temples alot etc... my mum tells me to NEVER reveal we're christian to her.
So for months we've hidden the truth from her and even lied to her when it seemed the only easy way out.

Well, ytd she found out. And my initial reaction was: 'S***, we're so dead.' but after a while i realize that it has happened for a reason. It was God's doing. Confused? Jesus' final command to Christans before He ascended was to spread the gospel like wildfire. Because of my family's circumstances, we have failed to do that -to tell the truth to my grandma, a lost dying soul on her way to the Devil's lair. I have reasoned with God that she'll never believe me and because i knew of her previous experience with the catholic church and because when her ex-buddhist fren hu recently accepted christ talked to her about Jesus, she totally rejected her fren and cut off relations with her. blah blah blah, wally. So i guess we siblings thought the same thing and nothing happened at all. until now. God let it happen because it's in His great plan.

Now, it's kinda embarrasing that we christians have to run and hide behind a rock and let out Heavenly Father settle the problem for us. Especially since He told us to do it in the first place. Weak as we are, we have to trust in the Lord no matter our abilities. Obeying God's commands is good for us because it's thru all these things that we grow spiritually and not become stagnant. I became stagnant as a result of my fear of man. Mere man.

When God takes action, its a good and bad thing(this is my view, God works with our best interests at heart). Why? Its good because action has been taken to get us to get off our butts and do something. Its bad because it comes at the most inconvenient, most unexpected time. We are not in the right mode or mood and are often very unprepared for it, since we have shut off our hearts from the matter in the first place.

Right now, my sister's faith is being tested and i can only pray for her now. They will be back on thursday and we most prolly will get screwed. But i don't care, for now i know my future rests in the Lord, that He will protect us in whatever test He puts us thru, Amen. Soon both my parents and elder sister will go to Australia for a month. Lil sis and i will be left with grandma. (see the inconvenience and stress this has caused?)That, i believe is when lil sis and i will be tested.

i hope this article has blessed the reader. if ur an unbeliever, thats wad Christianity is all about. Suffering for the one who has given His life for us. To the christians, let this be a challenge to step outta the comfort zones and boldly tell those around us we are Christian and why.

His ^Providence^

God is good.

God is so good, uniting this group of bros and sis' in Christ together, under one student wing. FINALLY, after so long, God has provided yet another group of youth for myself to be involved in, and haf dat kind of fellowship [whether it be online of offline] dat I've been lacking for so long... Walter shld understand wat I mean. And unless you haf the free time, dun try finding out, cuz it's a LONG story.

May God richly bless us all as we continue to perservere. I see dat some of you haf struggles in your life, but God is gng to pull you through, as He nvr fails. Amen?
OK, easier said then done. Pls keep me in prayer becuz recently I've been comtemplating thoughts of switching specialisation, from IMM to Digital Animation [which is why I've been fasting for the past few days to really ask God for some direction]. Was super-demoralised juz now after my Auth tutor went thru some scripts... and I was like 'duuuhhhhhh...' 1/2 the time. Hopefully he pushes back the datelines. Thank you.
Thank YOU, pple, for being so accepting of the sermon I put up. This is wat the Bible wld term as the 'meat'; very difficult to digest, solid, hard preaching. I'm surprised ya'll took it in the right spirit. Praise and thank God for your strong faith. I used to post sermons up on my own blog, and my own church pple juz cldnt be bothered to read them... 'cuz they're too long-winded'. In fact some rebuked me for being too extreme...
OK, maybe I treasure such sermons becuz it really humbles me and provokes me to self-reflection of my own Christian walk, one which was nvr easy to begin w/.

Being raised-up in a Christian family caused me to see Christ in one perspective only, and dat is One who will forgive me of my sin. Period. I was nvr taught holiness nor righteousness, even during my Sunday sch days. My parents wld discipline me when I was rebellious, but they hardly ever told me why I shouldn't lie, cheat, or steal as a Christian. So you cld say, until 2 yrs back, I was juz lukewarm in my faith. Until God placed me in ministry, and dats when the growth began.
God opened doors for me to head to Korea [whr the world's largest church is], and was given the task to do a church blog for the trip thru correspondance. It is he only revival trip I will hold dear for a v. long time, becuz it was after the trip dat God convicted me to start gettin' my life straight. I listened to yet another sermon by Pastor Dave entitled 'The Great And Final Seperation' [a sermon Walter and I know by hard alrdy LOL] after returning home, and dats whr I really got down to serious business w/ Christ.

So wonderful to share this journey w/ fellow believers. We most certainly are the next generation of believers who are gng to rise up, and take the world for Christ! Yes, thr are times we may be labelled inexperienced. At least we've got the energy, and radcial for Christ's sake. Take for e.g.:

Exodus 25:1-13:
Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”
So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”
And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’”

God did not rebuke Phinehas for skewering the adulterers, but rather blessed him exceedingly for taking action in a radical act of faith!
Let us not hold back our zealousness for Christ. This may be a blog to edify one another, but let it oso be a tool; to spread the love of Christ thru our testimonies; and to wake the sleeping Christians up [w/ mercy and love, k].

If thr's one verse I could sum up this blog w/, thus far, from wat I see, it wld be this-
"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." - [Ephesians 4:29]

Btw, do you think we can do some form of podcasting in the near future. Not now becuz it's a busy time for many of us [but by the grace of God I'm churning all of this out]. Think it's feasible?

Peace Out & GB!

Shall We Continue To Sin? - Part 1

Yoz bros' and sis' in Christ.
This sermon is meant to bless every true believer's heart. I'll be posting it up in parts.
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By David Wilkerson
20/3/2000

How can anyone who calls himself a lover of Jesus knowingly continue in sin? As followers of Christ, we claim to be delivered from sin's power. We testify that the cross has fully redeemed us from the bondage of iniquity. Yet multitudes of believers today continue to cling to lusts, habits, grudges, bitterness.
Where are these Christians, you ask? They're all around you. You find them worshipping in churches every Sunday. They raise their hands in praise to God for delivering them. They witness to others of Christ's power to break all bondages. But they won't let go of their bosom sin.
Sadly, many such Christians believe nothing can break sin's grip on them. They try every known method to get free of their bondage, but no amount of prayer, counseling or convicting sermons seems to help. Their sin just keeps entwining itself around their heart like a serpent, until it has full control of their life. And they end up carrying an agonizing burden of guilt and condemnation.

Paul asks, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:1-2). Paul wonders, "We have received such incredible blessings in Christ. We have been baptized in him, buried and resurrected with him, conformed to the likeness of his death. So, how can we continue to sin?"
The fact is, the longer we indulge our besetting sin, the stronger its hold on us becomes. Its decaying power wreaks destruction in every area of our lives - from our walk with Christ, to our relationships, to everything we touch. It's cancerous.
Furthermore, sin never dies of itself. If it isn't uprooted and destroyed, it takes over the very throne of your life. First it affects your conscience, causing you to lose all discernment. Then, sin's voice gains your ear. Slowly, it begins to justify your lust to you - even giving you scriptural arguments to support it. Finally, you become "sermon proof" - meaning, you no longer respond to Holy Ghost conviction.

You may know Christians in this horrible condition. They get defensive whenever they're confronted about their bosom lust. They claim, "What I'm doing isn't wrong! I've prayed about it, and the Holy Spirit has told me I'm not sinning." Yet you know very well that person's behavior contradicts God's word.
According to God's covenant provision, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live victoriously over the devil. He gives us all the resources we need to overthrow his dominion in our lives. He even causes us to "will to obey" the Lord's commands.
Yet God's New Covenant promise to break every bondage and set every captive free is meant only for those who are sick of their sin. If you think the Holy Spirit is going to free you from sin's grip without your full cooperation, you're mistaken. God forbid that any Christian should sit back and indulge his lust while waiting for the Holy Ghost to pluck it out of him. Such teaching misrepresents God's New Covenant.
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Peace out & GB.

The Tabernacle

Faith Community Baptist Church just had our Feast of the Booths.

Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threashing floor and your winepress. [Deuteronomy 16: 13]

Live in booths for seven days. All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought then out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. [Leviticus 23: 42-43]

Ours was only for a weekend though. (Thank goodness.) =P

So we had a big tent set-up in East Coast Park with about the same layout as whatever Exodus 26-30 said. Just that we don't have all their chio gold and jewels and whatever. Not that rich lar.

The tabernacle is a place where God chose to meet His people during the 40 years they wandered in the desert after their deliverance from Egypt. The levites and the peopl would offer sacrifices and worship there.

Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. [Exodus 25: 8]

Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. [Exodus 29: 45-46]

(Though now, God is everywhere, not just in the tabernacle, because Jesus died for us. [Luke 23: 46]) XDD

The tabernacle consists of three areas: the Courtyard, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies.

There is only one gate through which the people enter the tabernacle by.

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. [John 10: 9]

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [John 14: 6]

The first thing you see when you enter the tabernacle is the Brazen Alter. This is where the Israelites burnt animal sacrifices.

The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! [Hebrews 9: 13-14]

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [Hebrews 10: 10]

... because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. [Hebrews 10: 14]

"Their sins and lawless acts, I will remember no more." And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. [Hebrews 10: 17-18]

So, that means we no longer have to sacrifice anything. ^ ^

Though for me, there is where I commit to God my offerings. This year, I told God: "I give you my hands, they belong to you, (as with every other part of my body,) and may everything that these two hands of mine do be not for my own pride but for the glory of your kingdom." Waaauugh~!! I have to stop being so conscious over my drawings, worrying whether people like them or not. If God likes them, it's good enough!! And if people like them, then it's God that helped me to achieve whatever I did.

And ummm, after that, we have the Laver, which is a bronze basin of water. This is where the levites clean themselves after their (bloody) sacrificing of animals, so that they would be pure and not get struck down by God when they enter the Holy Place.

... Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. [Ephesians 5: 25-27]

Therefore, even though we are forgiven when Jesus died for us on the cross, we still have to wash ourselves in His Word before we can serve Him.

For me when I was in the tabernacle, I asked God here, to forgive me of all my sins: doubt, jealousy, anger, and selfishness and whatever which I don't remember already. (Yay go me. =__=)

And that was for the Courtyard. After that, would be the Holy Place, where in Moses' time, could only be entered by the Levites.

On the left, there would be a Golden Lampstand. It is made of pure gold (duh) to represent the perfection of Jesus, and has a main branch from which 3 more branches would extend from the left and right side, making 7 branches (with candles) in total, 7 being a number of completeness in the Bible. =D So, we are being made complete, by the perfection of Jesus. The lampstand is the only lightsource in the Holy Place, without it, everyone can all trip and fall and die.

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. [John 8: 12]

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. [John 12: 46]

So for me, the lampstand is where I seek Jesus, and ask for wisdom and guidance as to what to do in my life.

On the right, would be the Table of Showbread. Place on the table would be 12 loaves (to represent the 12 tribes of Israel) unleaven bread (bread without yeast). It is priest food. It also shows God's invitation (to have a meal with man,) for man to have fellowship with Him and be in His presence.

I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. [John 6: 35]

I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. [John 6: 48-51]

I ask God to answer my needs here. But since I know that I am already a very blessed person, I just asked, for God to show me the harvest (lives of my pre-believing friends), help me draw better, photoshop better, and illustrator better. =3 (I am greedy whaha.) Don't be afraid to ask God for MORE. God likes us to ask him.

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request. [1 Chronicles 4: 9-10]

And right in the center, before the Holy of Holies, would be the Alter of Incense. The Levites would burn incense there daily, and the incense would burn there for the whole 24 hours, as a pleasing aroma to God. It is a symbol of the prayers and worship of the people going up to God as a pleasing fragrance to Him.

There, I would simply worship and praise and pray to God. God likes us worshipping and praying to him. ^ ^

Lastly, we have the Holy of Holies. This is where God lives, sitting on the Ark of the Covenant as His throne. There is a veil (thick curtain) separating it from the Holy Place, shielding God who is holy from man who is sinful. Anyone apart from the High Priest (who does so once a year), who enters that place would die, because the presence of God is too awesome and holy for them. There is no physical lightsource there, because God's glory (described as an "unapproachable light") was so bright that the entire Holy of Holies would be, practically, shining.

When Jesus died on the Cross, the veil was torn from top to bottom (meaning the act was done by someone from above), exposing the Holy of Holies. And now everyone (not just the High Priest) can have their share of God's Presence.

In the Holy of Holies, I just stayed there, and waited for God to talk to me in any way. I didn't get any response though. =( But I know others who did. When I was 9 years old, I did get a vision when I was in the Holy of Holies though. And I heard that during the tabernacle last year, there was a bright light that suddenly shone in the Holy of Holies for a short while.

And here goes, the end of my entry. I don't claim to be a bible scholar or anything of that sort, (though I did do some research on the subject of the tabernacle,) so if anyone spots any mistakes please do let me know. I hope this will pique your interest and strengthen your spiritual growth. ^ ^


God, I pray that you would bless us and enlarge our territories!! Let your hand be with us, and keep us from any sin, harm or evil so that we will be free from pain.

 

Praise and all Glory be to God

Hallelujah! i've been waiting to set up a blog like this for months now, thx to xav and jo for getting one like this done up and also for inviting me =D Praise God! Let us use this to grow together in Christ, to be like Him, to reflect His light to the darkness around us. let us pray.

'God, let this small band grow, not only in numbers, but in power oh Lord. God, you do not judge by numbers, but Lord, you judge our quality, our relationship with you. Having large numbers with the form of religion without the power of faith and prayer is DEAD. Dear Jesus, i know that the enemy has been alerted to this step of faith, and he will rise up with everything in hell to stop us, for he knows his time is near. God, i also know temptation will come for sure, help us all to escape from falling to sin, for You will provide the way out. Even the little things O Lord, help us to see it as a test from You. Let us not brush past a chance to share Your love with people around us, lest their blood be on our hands. Forgive me once again of my sins Father, as i have forgiven those who have wronged me. Lord let this blessed blog grow in members who learn the right thing from one another, let it not spread gossip, but the Gospel, not the world, but eternal life. Heavenly Father guide us in the Spirit and inspire us to write powerful and meaningful articles to touch the lives of believers and non-believers alike. I thank you for the lives of my fellow brothers and sisters around me. In the precious name of Jesus Christ i pray, Amen and Amen.'

WoooooOOoooOOO, lets get it ON!!!!!!!>>>>>>>

i wanna start by thanking God. ytd i went to Marina Bay alone to check out a location for filming a region Music Video for my church youth event called Create 2006. Upon reaching there, i saw that the area was undergoing construction for the caSINo. So i dejectedly took a bus (alamak wrong bus somemore) to that row of steamboat stalls and walked all the way to Benjamin Sheares bridge thru Marina South Promenade. whew, a beautiful place and i even took some nice shots on camera. (the place is deserted so its a good place to pak tor, romantic sial. If u single nvm, can go there worship God ;D). when i emerged from under the bridge, the grass field still intact was there still! pure joy and happiness flooded my heart! thank God the area was not in use yet. Effort was not wasted! (effort when used for the glory of God will never be wasted). That night i heard from my dad that the forecast was tt it was supposed to rain. he had heard the forecast at 8am. i awoke at that same time and prayed for good weather. prayer got answered. period. Praise God.


Effort for God is never thrown down the drain. Prayer when prayed ernestly and with a broken and contrite spirit will be a great weapon against the enemy. Hallelujah. God bless you.