Living In Faith

rock of love

2010-10-30T03:19:00.001+08:00

The Rock Of Love

Let’s build our life on the rock of love
The tempest cannot crush it,
For it is solidly built on the strongest foundation;
Based on the Word of God,
It draws on power of our Lord
To overcome any circumstance;
Love that is of GOD, never fails.

God is LOVE, love is of GOD
To build our life on this ROCK,
Is to draw upon the riches of glory in our LORD;
To build a life of love, peace, courage, forgiveness, joy
The fruits of the Holy Spirit,
The blessings of Almighty GOD.

We are more than conquerors
Through HIM, Who loves us,
Our Lord, Who lays down His life for us on the Cross;
Our strength is founded on this solid Rock of Love
The Rock of our eternal salvation through faith.

Pride Is A Robber

2010-10-16T11:50:00.000+08:00

Pride Is A Robber

Pride centers on SELF, the super-EGO;
Through its lack of humility,
The proud cannot see GOD’s glory,
Being centered on self-glory!

Pride is one-dimensional,
Only I, ME, MYSELF,
Pride robs one’s soul of the continuous flow
Of LIVING WATER, GOD’s compassionate grace
Flowing through our REDEEMER, CHRIST;
Pride is a stagnant pool, with no outlet
Of compassion for others;
Lacking humility, Pride cannot acknowledge its own sinfulness,
Pride restrains GOD’s hand of mercy
By its conviction of self-sufficiency;
For the proud, Christ has died in vain.

Pride meanders through life
As a sluggish river of pent-up
Thwarted ambitions, frustrations, anxieties
The neuroses of mankind.
Pride robs one of true CONTENTMENT,
Of GOD’s PEACE, that surpasses all understanding.

Pride wants its own way, its will
Not GOD’s way or GOD’s will
Pride robs one of true generosity
It cannot magnanimously put others before self.

Pride caused the downfall of SATAN
Mankind is admonished not to fall
Into its temptation;
PRIDE can rob man of ETERNAL SALVATION.

All is vanity

2010-09-15T20:46:00.002+08:00

All Is Vanity

Intelligence without moral wisdom
Leads to disaster
Pride without self-control
Leads to destruction faster;
What does it profit a man to gain the world
And lose his soul to greed?
All, all is vanity
The futility of a life
Centered on self.

Jehovah is still the Sovereign LORD
Our Creator GOD still reigns on high,
Our Resurrected LORD still retains power
In heaven, on earth and beneath
The ultimate HOLY Judge of mankind.
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess
That HE is one with Almighty GOD, HIS FATHER.

The world is too much with us

2010-09-08T22:19:00.000+08:00

The World Is Too Much With Us

We wear bands of the world around our heart
Bands that suffocate, that stultify
That constrain us from making a cry
To God ,for His compassion and grace
Divine blessings when we seek His face.

Wrapped around by bands of selfishness
Bands of material covetousness
We lose sight of God's righteousness.
Taut with resentment, we forget that we are forgiven
Only when we forgive,
Bands of lustful desire lead to moral ruin
Worshipping false worldly idols lead to sin.

Let’s rally around and return to
What Christ has taught us in His Holy Word
Love God, to your neighbours be true;
Let God be our guide for the journey
Let our heart be open to His Loving presence
Let our heart be warm and generous.

Walk in His light
The darkness cannot overtake you;
Accompanied by His power and might
No power can defeat you.

Thank You Lord

2010-08-16T11:50:00.000+08:00

Thank You Lord

Thank you Lord for everything
Without YOU, there is nothing;
Thank you for the beautiful world we see
The sun, moon ,stars, birds and animals for free.
Thank you for the air we breathe and shade from tree,
The lofty mountains and fruitful valleys
That provide the food we need.

Thank you, Lord, for creating us in your image
For endowing us with intelligence, imagination, creativity;
Thank you Lord, for a heart that can feel and give love,
Help us never to lose such a wonderful sensitivity;
Thank you for a soul and spirit that can reach heaven.
Without you Lord, we are nothing and have nothing.

Thank you, LORD, for your constant loving care
For giving us families, relatives, friends to share
In joy and tribulation;
Thank you, Lord, for securing our future of eternal salvation,
For reminding us that life on earth is just a preparation,
For the much greater bliss in your Heavenly Father’s mansion.

Thank you Lord, for instructing us this:
YOU are the Truth, the Way, the Life
To eternal bliss;
Thank you, Lord, for accompanying us on our journey,
For understanding our human frailties,
And still continue loving us unconditionally.
Thank you, Lord, for sharing our pain
And encouraging us with hope;
Above all, for teaching us that forgiveness
Frees us to love and to live in happiness.

Amazing Grace

2010-07-23T22:10:00.001+08:00

Amazing Grace

Impaled on the cruel Roman cross.
With parched throat and burned lips
The Lamb of God, our Holy Saviour, Jesus Christ
Spoke words of unconditional love;
Words of Amazing Grace and reconciliation,
Words of forgiveness for all mankind
Making possible healing and restoration.

How amazing is a Saviour who invites
Everyone to give HIM his burden;
He is available to everyone who asks
I’m meek and humble, HE says, so from Me learn,
To lighten your burden of selfish sinfulness
Through imbibing MY Amazing Grace of endless forgiveness.

Believing. Refreshed.

2010-07-08T21:47:00.004+08:00

Had a wonderful ladies Prayer Meeting with SuTing, Kim, Vivian, Alexis, YuTing and myself(Belle).

it was suggested by Kim and SuTing's idea to let us lead. It was difficult, but we overcame it!

Kim asked everyone to prepare a word to share as a revelation from God for the PM as to encourage and inspire each other. The shared revelation will be posted individually! so stay tuned!

As we were praying, the holy spirit anointed Kim to lay hands on us, we were all indeed, touched and refreshed by Him.

We BELIEVE! Nothing is impossible through Christ who strengthens me!

Therefore, for the next PM, Kim and I will be leading again. For the following one, it will be led by another person. We believe too, this PM will get better and better. Also, we will start seeing breakthroughs coming! Hallelujah!

Where is God - part 4

2010-07-06T15:16:00.002+08:00

Where Is God When I Am Hurt?

By the “book” we're guilty, by God’s love we get another chance. Even though by the law we're indicted, by mercy we're given a fresh start.

“For it is by grace you have been saved. . not by works, so that no one can boast.”

No other world religion offers such a message. All others demand the right performance, the right sacrifice, the right chant, the right ritual, the right seance or experience. Theirs is a kingdom of trade-offs and barterdom. You do this, and God will give you that. The result? Either arrogance or fear. Arrogance if you think you’ve achieved it, fear if you think you haven’t.

Christ’s kingdom is just the opposite. It is a kingdom for the poor. A kingdom where membership is granted, not purchased. You are placed into God’s kingdom. You are “adopted.” And this occurs not when you do enough, but when you admit you can’t do enough. You don’t earn it; you simply accept it. As a result, you serve, not out of arrogance or fear, but out of gratitude.

I recently read a story 0f a woman who for years was married to a harsh husband. Each day he would leave her a list of chores to complete before he returned at the end of the day. “Clean the yard. Stack the firewood. Wash the windows." If she didn’t complete the tasks, she would be greeted with his explosive anger. But even if she did complete the list, he was never satisfied; he would always find inadequacies in her work.

After several years, the husband passed away. Some time later she remarried, this time to a man who lavished her with tenderness and adoration. One day, while going through a box of old papers, the wife discovered one of her first husband’s lists. And as she read the sheet, a realization caused a tear of joy to splash on the paper.
“I’m still doing all these things, and no one has to tell me. I do it because I love him.”

That is the unique characteristic of the new kingdom. Its subjects don’t work in order to go to heaven; they work because they are going to heaven. Arrogance and fear are replaced with gratitude and joy.

That’s the kingdom Jesus proclaimed: a kingdom of acceptance, eternal life, and forgiveness.

We don’t know how John received Jesus’ message, but we can imagine. I like to think of a slight smile coming over his lips as he heard what his Master said. “So that’s it. That is what the kingdom will be. That is what the King will do,”

For now he understood. It wasn’t that Jesus was silent; it was that John had been listening for the wrong answer. John had been listening for an answer to his earthly problems, while Jesus was busy resolving his heavenly ones. That’s worth remembering the next time you hear the silence of God.

If you’ve asked for a mate, but are still sleeping alone, if you’ve asked for healing, but are still hurting, don’t think God isn’t listening. He is! And he is answering requests you are not even making.

Saint Teresa of Avila was insightful enough to pray, “Do not punish me by granting that which I wish or ask.”

The apostle Paul was honest enough to write, “We do not know what we ought to pray for.”

The fact is, John wasn’t asking too much; he was asking too little. He was asking the Father to resolve the temporary, while Jesus was busy resolving the eternal. John was asking for immediate favor, while Jesus was orchestrating the eternal solution.

Does that mean that Jesus has no regard for injustice? No. He cares about persecutions. He cares about inequities and hunger and prejudice. And he knows what it is like to be punished for something he didn’t do. He knows the meaning of the phrase, “It’s just not right.”

For it wasn’t right that people spit into the eyes that had wept for them. It wasn’t right that soldiers ripped chunks of flesh out of the back of their God. It wasn’t right that spikes pierced the hands that formed the earth. And it wasn’t right that the Son of God was forced to hear the silence of God.

It wasn’t right, but it happened.
For while Jesus was on the cross, God did sit on his hands. He did turn his back. He did ignore the screams of the innocent.

He sat in silence while the sins of the world were placed upon his Son. And he did nothing while a cry a million times bloodier than John’s echoed in the black sky: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Was it right? No.
Was it fair? No.
Was it love? Yes.

In a world of injustice, God once and for all tipped the scales in the favor of hope. And he did it by sitting on his hands so that we could know the kingdom of God.

source: http://www.jameslau88.com/

Where is God - part 3

2010-07-05T15:07:00.001+08:00

Where Is God When I Am Hurt?

The second characteristic of the kingdom is as potent as the first: “The dead have life.” The grave has no power.

The year 1899 marked the deaths 0f two well-known men---Dwight L. Moody, the acclaimed evangelist, and Robert Ingersoll, the famous lawyer, orator, and political leader. The two men had many similarities. Both were raised in Christian homes. Both were skilled orators. Both traveled extensively and were widely respected. Both drew immense crowds when they spoke and attracted loyal followings. But there was one striking difference between them - their view of God.

Ingersoll was an agnostic and a follower of naturalism; he had no belief in the eternal, but stressed the importance of living only in the here and now. Ingersoll made light of the Bible, stating that “free thought will give us truth.” To him the Bible was “a fable, an obscenity, a humbug, a sham and a lie.” He was a bold spokesman against the Christian faith. He claimed that a Christian “creed [was] the ignorant past bullying the enlightened present.” Ingersoll’s contemporary.

Dwight L. Moody, had different convictions. He dedicated his life to presenting a resurrected King to a dying people. He embraced the Bible as the hope for humanity and the cross as the turning point of history. He left behind a legacy of written and spoken words, institutions of education, churches, and changed lives.

Two men. Both powerful speakers and influential leaders. One rejected God; the other embraced him. The impact of their decisions is seen most dearly in the way they died. Read how one biographer parallels the two deaths.

Ingersoll died suddenly. The news of his death stunned his family. His body was kept at home for several days because his wife was reluctant to part with it. It was eventually removed for the sake of the family’s health. Ingersoll’s remains were cremated, and the public response to his passing was altogether dismal. For a man who put all his hopes on this world, death was tragic and came without the consolation of hope.

Moody’s legacy was different. On December 22, 1899, Moody awoke to his last winter dawn. Having grown increasingly weak during the night, he began to speak in slow measured words. “Earth recedes, heaven opens before me!” Son Will, who was nearby, hurried across the room to his father’s side.
“Father, you are dreaming,” he said.
“No. This is no dream, Will,” Moody said. “It is beautiful. It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet. God is calling me, and I must go. Don’t call me back.”
At that point, the family gathered around, and moments later the great evangelist died. It was his coronation day - a day he had looked forward to for many years. He was with his Lord. The funeral service of Dwight L. Moody reflected that same confidence. There was no despair. Loved ones gathered to sing praise to God at a triumphant home-going service. Many remembered the words the evangelist had spoken earlier that year in New York City: “Someday you will read in the papers that Moody is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. .. . I was born of the flesh in 1837, I was born of the Spirit in 1855. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit shall live forever.”

Jesus looked into the eyes of John’s followers and gave them this message. “Report to John . . . the dead are raised.” Jesus wasn’t oblivious to John’s imprisonment. He wasn’t blind to John’s captivity. But he was dealing with a greater dungeon than Herod’s; he was dealing with the dungeon of death.

But Jesus wasn’t through. He passed on one other message to clear the cloud of doubt out of John’s heart: “The good news is preached to the poor.”

to be continue...

Where is God - part 2

2010-07-04T14:55:00.002+08:00

Where Is God When I Am Hurt?

First of all, it is a kingdom where the rejected are received.

“The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear. . ." None were more shunned by their culture than the blind, the lame, the lepers, and the deaf. They had no place. No name. No value. Canker sores on the culture. Excess baggage on the side of the road. But those whom the people called trash, Jesus called treasures.

In my closet hangs a sweater that I seldom wear. It is too small. The sleeves are too short, the shoulders too tight. Some of the buttons are missing, and the thread is frazzled. I should throw that sweater away. I have no use for it. I’ll never wear it again. Logic says I should clear out the space and get rid of the sweater.

That’s what logic says.
But love won’t let me.

Something unique about that sweater makes me keep it. What is unusual about it? For one thing, it has no label. Nowhere on the garment will you find a tag that reads, “Made in Taiwan,” or “Wash in Cold Water.” It has no tag because it wasn’t made in a factory. It has no label because it wasn’t produced on an assembly line. It isn’t the product of a nameless employee earning a living. It’s the creation of a devoted mother expressing her love. That sweater is unique. One of a kind, It can’t be replaced. Each strand was chosen with care. Each thread was selected with affection. And though the sweater has lost all of its use, it has lost none of its value. It is valuable not because of its function, but because of its maker.

That must have been what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote, “you knit me together in my mother’s womb,”

Think on those words. You were knitted together. You aren’t an accident. You weren’t mass-produced. You aren’t an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

In a society that has little room for second fiddles, that’s good news. In a culture where the door of opportunity opens only once and then slams shut, that is a revelation. In a system that ranks the value of a human by the figures of his salary or the shape of her legs.. . let me tell you something: Jesus’ plan is a reason for joy!

Jesus told John that a new kingdom was coming---a kingdom where people have value not because of what they do, but because of whose they are.

to be continue...

Where is God - part 1

2010-07-03T23:30:00.002+08:00

Where Is God When I Am Hurt?

He was a child of the desert. Leathery face. Tanned skin. Clothing of animal skins. What he owned fit in a pouch. His walls were the mountains and his ceiling the stars.

But not anymore. His frontier is walled out, his horizon hidden. The stars are memories. The fresh air is all but forgotten. And the stench of the dungeon relentlessly reminds the child of the desert that he is now a captive of the king.

In anyone’s book, John the Baptist deserves better treatment than this. After all, isn’t he the forerunner of the Christ? Isn’t he a relative of the Messiah? At the very least, isn’t his the courageous voice of repentance?

But most recently that voice, instead of opening the door of renewal, has opened the door to his own prison cell.

John’s problems began when he called a king on the carpet. On a trip to Rome, King Herod succumbed to the enticements of his brother’s wife, Herodias. Deciding Herodias was better off married to him, Herod divorced his wife and brought his sister-in-law home. The gossip columnists were fascinated, but John the Baptist was infuriated. He pounced on Herod like a desert scorpion, denouncing the marriage for what it was---adultery.

Herod might have let him get away with it. But not Herodias. This steamy seductress wasn’t about to have her social climbing exposed. She told Herod to have John pulled off the speaking circuit and thrown into the dungeon. Herod hemmed and hawed until she whispered and wooed. Then Herod gave in. But that wasn’t enough for this mistress. She had her daughter strut before the king and his generals at a stag party. Herod, who was as easily duped as he was aroused, promised to do anything for the pretty young thing in the G-string. [you know what goes on... John's head on a silver platter.]

After all, what’s more important - to save face or to save the neck of an eccentric prophet?

The story reeks with inequity.
John dies because Herod lusts.
The good is murdered while the bad smirk.
A man of God is killed while a man of passion is winking at his niece.

Is this how God rewards his anointed? Is this how he honors his faithful? Is this how God crowns his chosen? With a dark dungeon and a shiny blade?

The inconsistency was more than John could take. Even before Herod reached his verdict, John was asking his questions. His concerns were outnumbered only by the number of times he paced his cell asking them. When he had a chance to get a message to Jesus, his inquiry was one of despair: “When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”Note what motivated John’s question. It was not just the dungeon or even death. It was the problem of unmet expectations - the fact that John was in deep trouble and Jesus was conducting business as usual. Is this what messiahs do when trouble comes? Is this what God does when his followers are in a bind?

Jesus’ silence was enough to chisel a leak into the dam of John’s belief. “Are you the one? Or have I been following the wrong Lord?”

Had the Bible been written by a public relations agency, they would have eliminated that verse. It’s not good PR strategy to admit that one of the cabinet members has doubts about the president. You don’t let stories like that get out if you are trying to present a unified front.

But the Scriptures weren’t written by personality agents; they were inspired by an eternal God who knew that every disciple from then on would spend time in the dungeon of doubt. Though the circumstances have changed, the questions haven’t. They are asked anytime the faithful suffer the consequences of the faithless. Anytime a person takes a step in the right direction, only to have his/her feet knocked out from under him/her, anytime a person does a good deed but suffers evil results, anytime a person takes a stand, only to end up flat on his face . . . the questions fall like rain:

“If God is so good, why do I hurt so bad?”
“If God is really there, why am I here?”
“What did I do to deserve this?”
“Did God slip up this time?”
“Why are the righteous persecuted?”

Does God sometimes sit on his hands? Does God sometimes choose to do nothing? Does God sometimes opt for silence even when I’m screaming my loudest?

Disappointment demands a change in command. When we don’t agree with the One who calls the shots, our reaction is often the same as John’s. “Is he the right one for this job?” Or, as John put it, “Are you the one? Should we look for another?”

John couldn’t believe that anything less than his release would be for the best interest of all involved, In his opinion, it was time to exercise some justice and get some action. But the One who had the power was “sitting on his hands.”

I can’t believe that God would sit in silence while a missionary is kicked out of a foreign country or a Christian loses a promotion because of his beliefs or a faithful wife is abused by an unbelieving husband. These are just three of many items that have made their way onto my prayer list - all prayers that seem to have gone unanswered.

Rule of thumb: Clouds of doubt are created when the warm, moist air of our expectations meets the cold air of God’s silence.

If you’ve heard the silence of God, if you’ve been left standing in the dungeon of doubt, then don’t put this book down until you read the next chapter. You may learn, as John did, that the problem is not as much in God’s silence as it is in your ability to hear. “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”

This was Jesus’ answer to John’s agonized query from the dungeon of doubt: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”

But before you study what Jesus said, note a couple of things he didn’t say.

First, He didn’t get angry. He didn’t throw up his hands in disgust. He didn’t scream, “What in the world do I have to do for John? I’ve already become flesh! I’ve already been sinless for three decades. I let him baptize me. What else does he want? Go and tell that ungrateful locust eater I am shocked at his disbelief”

He could have done that, (I would have done that.)But Jesus didn’t. Underline that fact: God has never turned away the questions of a sincere searcher. Not Job’s nor Abraham’s nor Moses’ nor John’s nor Thomas’s nor Max’s nor yours.

But note also that Jesus didn’t save John. The One who had walked on water could have easily walked on Herod’s head, but he didn’t. The One who cast out the demons had the power to nuke the king’s castle, but he didn’t. No battle plan. No SWAT teams, No flashing swords. Just a message - a kingdom message. “Tell John that everything is going as planned. The kingdom is being inaugurated.”

Jesus’ words are much more than a statement from Isaiah. They are the description of a heavenly kingdom being established.

A unique kingdom. An invisible kingdom. A kingdom with three distinct traits.

to be continue.....

Hurtful and Harmful Words - part 3

2010-06-15T14:44:00.001+08:00

Hurtful And Harmful Words

3. Hurtful Words
When you were a child, did you ever chant; “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? Now that you are older you realize just how untrue that childish ditty is. Words can be very hurtful.

They are especially hurtful if they are:

3.1 Bloody Words
These are words that incite bloodshed. They are fighting words, sinister words, words filled with venom. “The words of the wicked are, ‘Lie in wait for blood” (Proverbs 12:6a NKJV).
In November 1995 the world was shocked at the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He was slain by a twenty-five-year-old student who claimed, “I acted alone on God’s orders, and I have no regrets.” But the months leading up to this crime had been filled with words of hate poured out upon the prime minister. Leaders of the Jewish settler movement had branded him a traitor for negotiating the return of land to the Palestinians. Extremist rabbis called him a murderer and said it would be morally acceptable to kill him.

We Christians are not entirely innocent in using such words. The more conservative branches of the church not only have fought for fundamental principles of the faith, some also have fought among themselves over issues that are far from fundamental. The singing of praise choruses versus traditional hymns, the use of tile or carpet for the fellowship hall and other equally unimportant matters have been fuel for the flames. George Sweeting wrote, “Contentious tongues have hindered the work of God a thousand times over. Critical tongues have closed church doors. Careless tongues have broken the hearts and health of many pastors. The sins of the tongue have besmirched the pure white garments of the bride of Christ.” Let’s commit that, by God’s grace, such hurtful words will never pass from our lips.

3.2 Gossiping Words
In Alice Roosevelt Longworth’s sitting room was a pillow with the embroidered motto, “If you can’t say anything good about someone, sit right here by me.” Unfortunately, many people are willing to accept the invitation. The hurt that results from gossip is tragic. Proverbs 17:9 warns, “He who repeats a matter separates the best of friends.”

Someone personified gossip and said, “I tear down homes, break hearts, wreck lives. I travel on the wings of the wind. No innocence is strong enough to intimidate me, no purity pure enough to daunt me. I have no regard for truth, no respect for justice, no mercy for the defenseless.”
God’s wisdom says, “The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body” (Proverbs 18:8 NKJV). The Hebrew word for “tasty trifles” literally means “things greedily devoured.” In our hearts, most of us enjoy a juicy bit of gossip. But hearing gossip is like eating something delicious that once ingested, never seems to sit right in your stomach. Gossip is destructive to the gossiper as well as to the one gossiped about. Even though most people like to hear gossip, they do not respect the one gossiping. It tarnishes our testimony and turns us into birds of prey; always looking for the next morsel. “A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter” (Proverbs 11:13 NKJV).

How can we avoid gossip? Alan Redpath offered this solution. Before speaking of any person or subject, ask yourself:

T — Is it true?
H — Is it helpful?
I —Is it inspiring?
N — Is it necessary?
K— Is it kind?

Think. If we were to think of the harm gossip does both to us and others, if we were to follow this simple formula, imagine how much hurtful gossip would be eliminated.

3.3 Harsh Words
Although harsh words are frequently used in the heat of the moment, they are never the answer to a problem. Instead, Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” In other words, a gentle answer can defuse a potentially explosive situation, but a harsh answer worsens the situation.

Researchers from the Speech Research Unit at Kenyon College in Ohio discovered that people addressed by the telephone or intercom respond in the same tone of voice that they hear. Even when they consciously try to answer in an opposite tone - a quiet voice to a loud one, or a gentle voice to an angry one - they have a hard time doing so.

This is important to know both in the home and the workplace. If as a parent you use angry, harsh words that hit your children like blows from a sledgehammer, you may find yourself living for a lifetime with a crushed son or daughter. Words that explode at an impressionable moment can rarely be forgotten.

One pastor told of a forty-two-year-old man named Tom. As one who frantically worked himself into exhaustion, Tom spent every dime he made for impressive artifacts of luxury and success. He had a volatile temper that exploded at the slightest hint of disagreement or criticism. The pastor asked Tom to tell him about his childhood.
At one impressionable point in his boyhood, Tom said, he displeased his father with the way he did a chore. His father said, “Tom, you’ll always be a bum!” Whenever he and his father had angry moments, his father made the same prediction, so that eventually it burrowed its way into Tom’s spirit like shrapnel embedded in flesh. Thirty years later, he still suffered from his father’s verbal abuse. Even though his father was dead, Tom remained unsure whether or not his father’s prediction had come true. When anyone suggested that Tom was doing something wrong, he unleashed a barrage of hostility because of old accusations from his thoughtless father.
Be very careful of the words you say to your children, especially in anger. Harsh words can create wounds that last a lifetime, but a “gentle answer turns away wrath.”

source: www.jameslau88.com

Hurtful and Harmful Words - part 2

2010-06-13T02:25:00.003+08:00

Hurtful And Harmful Words

2. Lying Words
Clubhouse Magazine, published by Focus on the Family, conducted a contest in which kids were asked to give the best excuse they had ever given for not doing their homework. One boy wrote, “I went on a hot air balloon ride and we were going to crash because there was too much weight in the basket, so I threw my homework out and it saved our lives.” Where do kids get this kind of “creativity”? Likely from their parents.

“Mommy, what is a lie?” a little boy asked. His mother answered, “Son, a lie is an abomination unto the Lord - but a very present help in time of need!” By our attitudes and actions, we often teach our children just how true this is. Writing in Boardroom Report Peter LeVine revealed, “When the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ran a help-wanted ad for electricians with expertise at using Sontag connectors, it got 170 responses even though there is no such thing as a Sontag connector. The Authority ran the ad to find out how many applicants falsify résumés.”
Of the seven things that are an abomination to the Lord, recorded in Proverbs 6:16-19, “a false witness who speaks lies” is one of the most damaging. We lie much more often than we realize. One survey showed 91 percent of Americans lie routinely. Perhaps we don’t even recognize some ways in which we lie.

But Scripture says we are lying when we:
2.1 Leave Out the Truth
This is the first lie in the Bible, told by the Father of Lies himself. In Genesis 3:1, Satan asked Eve, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” This seems like an innocent question, but behind it are several unspoken lies. First, Satan knew what God had really said. As the prince of the air with a host of demons at his command, it is likely that he knew of any conversation God had with Adam and Eve. Second, Satan was implying that God would be so strict that He would forbid them to eat from “every tree of the garden.” By withholding the truth that God had Adam’s and Eve’s best interests at heart, Satan lied.

When you imply something false by withholding the whole truth, you lie. Allowing someone else to take the blame when you are at fault is a lie. Failing to speak out with the truth when someone else is propagating error is a lie. Silence is not always golden; sometimes it’s a plain lie.

2.2 Add to the Truth
In response to Satan, Eve also lied. She said, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it lest you die’” (Genesis 3:2-3, NKJV). God had said nothing about touching the fruit (Genesis 2:17). By adding to what God had said, Eve told a lie. “Do not add to His words,” Proverbs 30:6 warns, “lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.”

When we repeat what others say, we stand a good chance of telling a lie even if we don’t mean to. Somehow the truth loses its accuracy the more mouths and ears it has to pass through. Do you remember playing the “telephone game” when you were a child? You passed a message down the line by whispering it in the next person’s ear. Invariably, by the time it reached the end of the line, the message was so radically changed it was unrecognizable.

When you must repeat something verbally (such as a prayer request), check to make sure you have all the facts straight. Don’t intermingle your interpretation of the facts with the facts themselves and thus “enhance” the truth. Adding to the truth is just as much a lie as not telling the whole truth.

2.3 Contradict the Truth
The Garden of Eden story also includes blatant lies. Satan said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5 NKJV). That is a direct contradiction of what God said (Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV). God is truth; therefore, whenever we contradict Him, we are lying.

A group of Protestant and Catholic academicians are touring the United States with a presentation called the “Jesus Seminar.” It is an obvious attempt to contradict God. These so-called theologians assert that, among other things, Mary was not a virgin when she bore Jesus, He did not descend from King David, He was not born in Bethlehem, there was no slaughter of the infants, and Christ’s birth did not take place at the time of the census described in Luke. When we deny the Word, we find ourselves caught in a liar’s web - and we even begin believing the lies we tell others.

God’s wisdom warns us about lies. Whatever their shape and form, big or little, untruths must be avoided. Proverbs 17:4 says, “An evildoer gives heed to false lips; a liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue.”

God’s guide for life’s choices also tells us of other kinds of words that should be avoided by all who want to please Him.

to be continued

Hurtful and Harmful Words - part 1

2010-06-09T15:44:00.005+08:00

Hurtful and Harmful Words

The Proverbs in the Bible say that there are two types of people who have less hope than a fool. A fool is a fool. But who could have imagined that a fool has more hope than these two types of people? Who are they?

They are the people who:
1. use hasty words - Proverbs 29:20 TEV says, “There is more hope for a stupid fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.”

2. are conceited - Proverbs 26:12 TEV says, “The most stupid fool is better off than those who think they are wise when they are not.”

And why do they have less hope than a fool?
i. For the people who use hasty words, it is because they have very small chance of salvaging their hasty words. Hasty words once spoken cannot be taken back. They do their mischief and no amount of apologies, excuses and explanations would be able to undo the damage they had done. Hasty words betray a heart that has little self-control.

ii. For the people who are conceited, it is because they are too proud of themselves. They can’t see beyond themselves. They are not humble enough to see their own faults. Conceited people tend to be too critical and too harsh. Their harsh and critical words could create wounds that last a long time.

1. Hasty Words
The Book of Proverbs mentions just two things for which there is less hope than for a fool. One is conceit. Proverbs 26:12 says, “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” The other is hasty words. Proverbs 29:20 asks, “Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”

Like arrows from a bow, words once spoken cannot be recalled. Apologies sometimes don’t make up for the hurt caused by hasty words. God’s wisdom says, “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle” (Proverbs 18:19 NKJV). Hasty words cheat the mind, betray the heart and ruin a life. There is but one cure for hasty words - always take your time before you respond.

1.1 Hasty Promises
We live in an era of telemarketing technology. People seeking funds for their causes don’t have to go door-to-door anymore. Phone solicitors are able to reach us in the inner sanctum of our homes. Everyone has answered a ringing telephone only to find a person at the other end wanting us to pledge to some worthy cause. How can we say no to the heart fund, the cancer drive, the leukemia foundation and so forth? Usually we cannot. The problem is that most of us have limited funds. Out of these limited funds we must support our local church, Christian ministries and missions. It’s impossible to stretch your dollars to cover everything. Critical choices have to be made. You may indeed be touched by the need represented by the telephone solicitor and will feel led to contribute, but never make a hasty promise. It could turn out to be a lie. Instead, tell the caller to send you some information about that charity. Tell him you have to weigh your obligations. And then pray about it. Give yourself some time to get some guidance from God for even these routine matters of life. Don’t compromise God’s resources by making hasty promises. Know what His priorities are and then follow them.

1.2 Hasty Commitments
Time is another precious commodity that can be compromised by haste. The temptation to over commit ourselves is universal. We see so many needs: the Sunday school needs teachers, the youth need sponsors, the church needs deacons, the mission needs volunteers. Before you know it, you have promised to do it all. “I’ll pray the Lord gives me strength,” you say. Sometimes you learn the hard way that God gives strength for what He wants you to do - but not for the 101 other things you feel you need to do.

You cannot meet every need, and you are not called to meet every need. If you have no time for your family, if you have difficulty finding time to get alone with God, if your health is faltering because you are so exhausted meeting your commitments, likely you’ve said yes more often than God led you to.

When someone requests more of your time, don’t commit immediately. Again, tell him you need an opportunity to pray for God’s green light. Rarely should you make a commitment on the spot. Get away from the woeful eyes and pleading voice and listen to God instead.

1.3 Hasty Conclusions
In addition, never come to a hasty conclusion. Like one office worker said to another, “We don’t need a fitness program. People around here get plenty of exercise jumping to conclusions.” Hasty conclusions are often based only on partial facts, and the consequences can be embarrassing.
The Piltdown Man, discovered in 1912 near Piltdown, England, was supposedly proof of the apelike character of early man. This conclusion was based on some fragments of a skull and a jawbone. More than 500 doctoral theses were written on this subject. In 1953, however, it was discovered that the bones had been gathered together and placed in a shallow grave by a practical joker. They didn’t even come from the same carcass. Hundreds of scholars had been embarrassed by jumping to the wrong conclusion. “Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”

1.4 Hasty Retorts
Have you noticed that the first words that come to mind are often not our best words? When these words are inspired by anger or sarcasm, they can be devastating. British author and playwright George Bernard Shaw once sent Sir Winston Churchill two tickets to the opening night’s performance of one of his plays. Accompanying the tickets was Shaw’s short note, “Bring a friend, if you have one.” Churchill, also adept at saying a lot in a few words, replied: “I’ll wait for the second night, if there is one.” Such cuts and jabs may not be fatal but they are painful.

They are wounds we should not inflict upon either friend or foe. “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back” (Proverbs 29:11 NKJV). A mouth opened in haste to make a promise, to incur a commitment, to draw a conclusion or to speak a word in retort can become a reason for regret that lasts a long time. Instead, we need to follow the wisdom in Proverbs 13:3: “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.”

to be continued

Asia Conference

2010-05-20T15:46:00.004+08:00

Dearest E462!

This week is our very own Asia Conference week! are you looking forward to it? i sure i am! to show our enthusiam for Asia Conference and Church Growth International 2010, let's get busy!

#1 busy counting down to Asia Conference

#2 busy leaving our house early morning

#3 busy topping up our ezlink card

#4 busy queueing up at hall 8

#5 busy taking the chartered bus to our electives venue for the session

#6 busy clapping and singing, praising and worshipping

#7 busy copying notes

#8 busy saying "Amen!"

#9 busy receiving the impartation

#10 busy encountering God in the special way

Let's start now!

The Struggle To Love

2010-05-15T14:48:00.001+08:00

The Struggle To Love

God's love is sweet only to those who are already saints and to those who do not know what they are talking about. That is true not just of God's love, but of all love.

Love isn't easy, except in our daydreams. We do not even need to look at the superficiality of the cheaper romantic novels or movies to see the truth of that. It suffices to go to church regularly: we attend service with good people - who are sincere, committed, honest, and full of faith. We may be gathered in faith, but we are human and we cannot but feel certain things in each other's presence: jealousy, irritation, hurt, paranoia, distrust, the sense of not being fully valued. And so beneath our rhetoric of love we also feel tension, distance, and even hostility sometimes. We sing brave songs that proclaim how open our hearts are and how we welcome everyone into this space, but invariably there are parts of us that don't quite mean those words, at least as they apply to some people.

And this isn't an anomaly; it's true for all congregations, of every gathering, except those where everyone is already fully a saint. Love, this side of eternity, is not easy, at least not if we try to actually embrace everyone and not just our own kind. The older we get, the more we sense what love actually demands. It isn't easy to say the words "I love you" and actually back that up.

What does it mean to love someone? Maybe I would use just two words, fidelity and respect. Love means keeping your word, staying with a relationship and not walking away. And love means fully respecting someone else, not violating anyone's freedom, and positively blessing and helping others to grow according to their own internal dictates. What we actually feel when we do those things is sometimes less than warm, but love, as we know, is not a question of feeling but of fidelity.

And partly that is gift, something from beyond us, from a God who can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, namely, remain together inside of family and community. In the end, that is what church and Eucharist are meant to do:
On the night before he died, Jesus sat down with his disciples and what he found there was what we too find whenever we go to church, a sincere bunch of people struggling to not let the jealousies, irritations, self-preoccupations, and wounds of life drive them apart. We come to church and to the Eucharist to ask God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves - love each other.

Maritain is right: Love is only sweet for those who are already saints and for those who are dangerously naive. Since we are neither, it's good to be humble, admit our struggle, and to go to those places that can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

source: www.jameslau88.com

Can I Forgive?

2010-05-12T11:45:00.002+08:00

Can I Forgive?

We are all hurt individuals in some way. We regurgitate our hurts to our friends or strangers. We imprison ourselves with our hurts by harboring grudges and resentment.
Some of us have been hurt by:
· bosses who intimidated us
· teachers who called us stupid
· parents who abused us emotionally or physically
· spouses who abused us
· older children who bullied us
· merchants who cheated us
· friends who proved to be false
· enemies who would give no quarters
· self abused with addiction or alcoholism

What this means is that we live in a world of hurts: hardly a day passes without news of abuse, addiction, alcoholism, or broken marriages, ill health, cases of cruelty or desertion, death, disease, divorce or depression.

So, when someone does something against us, our immediate and natural response is one of hurt, anger, or resentment or bitterness, or harboring grudges or fear or sadness or revenge.

What others do to us, we often have very little control of. But we have much control in our responses to the hurt they inflict on us. Yes, we can concentrate on our responses to try to ensure that we are on top of the unhappy situation. Yet, we find that we are so human and that we often succumb to our emotions of anger or revenge or hurt. We imprison ourselves with our hurts. Is there a way that we can set ourselves free from this prison of our own making?

Yes, there is one possible way to free ourselves:

1. TAKE our RESPONSE and go to our Heavenly Father and say,

a. Talk to our Heavenly Father as though we are talking to our friends BUT with one difference. Admit that: I know this anger is not doing me any good, it is wrong and it is a sin. [This is confessing my sins]

b. Sincerely say, God I am sorry for my anger. [This is repenting of my sins]

c. Please forgive me.

d. Please help me to forgive him/her for his/her offence towards me. [Only God can forgive his/her sin, which he/she has to account with God.]

e. I receive Your forgiveness based on Your Word: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NKJV).

2. ACCEPT His forgiveness with faith: “When He saw their faith, He said to him, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you’" (Luke 5:20 NKJV). [This is my faith in acceptance]

3. MAKE A LIST of the grievances and go through this prayer over each incident.

4. TEAR up the grievances.

God Himself will begin to act on behalf of both parties. On our own we cannot forgive him/her. But, we need to forgive him/her and he/she needs to forgive us also. So, with the knowledge that, “God has poured out His love into our hearts” (Romans 5:5 TEV) and with His love in our heart, He will enable us to forgive. We will succeed in one instance and fail in another. But we continue to practice this way with faith. Ultimately, we know that His love is always stronger than our anger or hurt or bitterness.

source: www.jameslau88.com

A.S.A.P

2010-05-08T11:37:00.003+08:00

Ever wonder about the abbreviation A.S.A.P.? Generally we think of it in terms of even more hurry and stress in our lives. Maybe if we think of this abbreviation in a different manner, we will begin to find a new way to deal with those rough days along the way.

There's work to do, deadlines to meet;
You've got no time to spare,
But as you hurry and scurry...
ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

In the midst of family chaos,
"Quality time" is rare.
Do your best;
let God do the rest...
ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

It may seem like your worries
Are more than you can bear.
Slow down and take a breather...
ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

God knows how stressful life is;
He wants to ease our cares,
And He'll respond to all your needs...
A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

source: www.jameslau88.com

8 'A's of Prayer - part 4

2010-05-06T14:58:00.001+08:00

7)Align
-ALIGN YOURSELF WITH GOD’S WILL-

After we finish expressing what we wanted to say to God, we typically end by saying “Amen.” But what does that word really signify? In effect, it means, “May it be so in accordance with the will of God.” That is, we want to tell God that ultimately we want what he wants. He knows best, he wants the best for us, and so we tell him that regardless of what we have asked of him, everything is contingent on it being consistent with his will. In fact, remember what the apostle John said: “If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

Think about Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, shortly before he faced the torture of the cross. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me,” He said. That was a genuine expression of His heart. But then He also stressed: “Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

“We would be in deep trouble if God gave us everything for which we asked,” Hanegraaff said. “The truth is we don’t know what’s best for us.” But we can rest assured that our all knowing heavenly Father does. The Bible says that God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” and he is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” At the same time, however, he abides by the spiritual decisions of each person.

Actually, the whole tenor of our prayer from the outset should be that we want to align ourselves with God’s will. But as we end our side of the conversation with God by declaring “Amen,” that’s a good time to affirm that it’s God’s will, not our own, that we want to prevail.

That doesn’t end our conversation with God, however. He very well might have something he wants to communicate to us in return. That’s why this final “A” is so vital.

8) Act
-ACT ON GOD’S LEADINGS IN YOUR LIFE-

Communication with God was never intended to be a one-way conversation. After we talk to God about what’s on our heart and mind, we need to allow him an opportunity to speak to us. He can do that through a variety of ways-through the Bible, through Christian friends, and by giving us an inner impression that is hard to define. “He speaks certain general truths that are true for all time, and he speaks certain specifics that are true for me in my life at this moment,” Cal Thomas told Larry King in his interview.

Pause at the end of my prayer time and invite God to speak to you, say to God, “Lord, I need to know what you want me to do, and I’m listening. Please speak to me through my friends, books, magazines, and circumstances." There are people who like to follow up their daily talk with God by scheduling some time when their mind is a little less active than usual. They may wash the car, mow the lawn, or wash the dishes to let their mental rpm slow down so God’s voice might be more evident.

The important thing is that you made yourself receptive to him. When you do sense God communicating to you, however, it is important to distinguish between His voice and your own motivations and desires. We are warned by 1 Thessalonians 5:21(NIV): “Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.”

It is like when you are first getting to know a new friend and he/ she calls you on the phone. You might not recognize his/ her voice at first. After a while, though, you become familiar with how he/ she sounds, and as soon as he/ she starts talking, you know who he/ she is. Similarly, you learn over time to distinguish God’s voice from the background noise of your mind. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me,” Jesus said in John 10:27(NIV).

God won’t ever ask us to do something contrary to Scripture. And he’s consistent; he won’t give conflicting orders to two Christians, so it’s a good idea to bounce everything off of a mature brother or sister in Christ. One test is to ask whether following this particular leading will accrue to your glory or to God’s. If it’s primarily yours, it’s probably a product of your imagination!

Many times God will use the Bible to communicate what he wants us to do. The Holy Spirit may illuminate a verse in such a way that it seems to leap off the page to you. Or we may feel especially convicted or encouraged by a passage. Most of all, though, the Holy Spirit would reassure you that you're His child and that He was there for you.

When you commit to listening for God’s voice and following him at all costs, watch out! Amazing things can happen. As God told the prophet Jeremiah: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Was that promise also meant for us? All I know is that I have endeavored to follow God wherever he leads, inexplicable things happen.

to end off:
Pray because God wants you to. Pray because God will use that experience to transform your heart. Pray because God is faithful in ways we can’t begin to understand. Pray because you can’t not pray.

“Storm the throne of grace,” said John Wesley, “and persevere there in . . . and mercy will come down.”

source: www.jameslau88.com

8 'A's of Prayer - part 3

2010-05-04T14:38:00.000+08:00

5)Admit
-ADMIT YOUR WRONGDOING TO GOD-

You give your twelve-year-old son permission to go bowling with some friends. While he’s gone, however, a neighbor stops by and mentions she saw him going into that PG13 movie that you had forbidden him to see.
Later you are preparing dinner when your son comes bounding through the back door and opens the refrigerator in a search for a pre-dinner snack. You decide not to tip your hand.
“So, how was bowling?” you ask casually.
“Urn . . . well, good. It was fine. We had to wait a while to get a lane. But we had a good time.”
“Did you beat Jimmy this time?”
“Uh . . . I beat him one game out of three. He’s pretty good, you know.”

Now, what’s the Number 1 thing you want from your son at this point? You just want him to admit that he went to the movie! You want him to confess that he has deceived you. You just want him to come clean. The longer he denies the truth, the deeper the hole he is digging for himself.

And that is how God feels toward us. He already knows what we have done wrong! It is no secret to him. When we obfuscate and spin, when we duck and dodge, when we rationalize and split hairs, when we pretend everything’s fine when it isn’t, he’s just waiting and waiting and waiting for us to ‘fess up. Until then, we are simply lying to him once more by feigning that all’s well.

Just as there’s going to be a problem between you and your son until he confesses his wrongdoing, there are going to be difficulties in your relationship with God as long as you cover up the truth by claiming everything’s fine when he already knows it isn’t.
"While unconfessed sin will not break our union with God, it will break our communion with God,” said Hank Hanegraaff, author of The Prayer of Jesus. In other words, failing to admit our wrongdoing won’t sever our connection to God but it definitely will introduce static into our line. Said Hanegraaff:

The concept of confession carries the acknowledgement that we stand guilty before God's bar of justice. There’s no place for self-righteousness before God. We can only develop intimacy with the Lord through prayer when we confess our need for forgiveness and contritely seek His pardon. The apostle John sums it up beautifully when he writes, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV)

Confessing our sins doesn’t mean vague generalities like, “Well, God, you know I haven’t been exactly perfect.” Instead, it’s the time for painful specificity. It’s when we spell out in agonizing detail how we’ve fallen short of God’s standards. When you began confessing, the Holy Spirit would bring into your mind other sins that you had swept under the carpet and wasn’t even aware that you had committed. It felt so liberating to get those out into the open, to admit them, and to realize that God has wiped you slate clean. You hadn’t even been aware of how those sins had been weighing you down.

6)Ask
-ASK FOR WHAT YOU NEED FROM GOD-

Once we have recalibrated our spirit by worshiping God, paid him tribute for his goodness toward us, and cleared the air by confessing our sins, then it’s finally the appropriate time to bring our requests to God.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us,” says 1 John 5:14—15(NIV). “And if we know that he hears us---whatever we ask---we know that we have what we asked of him.”

We should not shrink back in bringing our requests to our heavenly Father. Jesus told us to ask for our “daily bread,”which theologian Martin Chemnitz said “encompasses all things belonging to and necessary for the sustenance of this body and life.”

It can be emotionally difficult to ask God to move in someone’s heart and yet not see immediate or dramatic results. But God’s timing is not our own, and salvation issues are complicated because of the individual’s free will. Yet no time spent in prayer is wasted. Inevitably, there is a difference inside the one who prays. Also, it will your salvation at the forefront of your mind. That made you more alert to opportunities for getting into a spiritual conversation. Praying will bring you comfort. It will remind you that weren’t alone. Our heavenly Father is listening, He cares, and He will soothe your anxieties and fears.

It’s true that prayer changes us. It’s the mechanism by which we deepen our relationship with God. We may ask God to give us something because we think we need it, when in God’s wisdom he knows that the very act of praying gives us what we really need. We emerge more dependent on him, more in love with him, more in tune with his Spirit, more committed to his ways, and more tender to his leadings.

8 'A's of Prayer - part 2

2010-05-02T22:00:00.000+08:00

3)Adore
-ADORE GOD FOR WHO HE IS-
Making sure you have the right attitude, you should begin your prayer with a time of expressing your adoration of God. You worship him for who he is, for what he has done, and for what he will do in the future. Hebrews 12:28 tells us to praise God “with reverence and awe.” Adds Psalm 100:2: “Worship the Lord with gladness.”

Praising God is not only appropriate because he deserves it, but also because it helps recalibrate us. It positions us appropriately as creatures who are fully dependent on our Creator. And it sets the tone for the rest of the prayer.

This is where real creativity can flow. We might write a poem to God, sing him a song, meditate on one of his attributes (his holiness, power, goodness, or mercy, for instance), read a psalm, paint a picture, admire his creation of nature---anything to highlight his glory and give him honor.What we are doing is blessing God.

You knew how God had blessed you, but how in the world could you bless him? Yet King David knew it was possible for us to bless the Lord. “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth,” he said. “Bless the LORD, 0 my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” one meaning of the word bless is “to bend the knee”---and that is what David was doing. He was coming before the Lord with humility to praise him.

For us to bless God, it means that we call God’s greatness into our minds and then, in response to that, we choose to worship and glorify and adore and exalt and revere him. In sum, we honor God as God. “Sing to the Lord, bless his name,” said David. “Tell of his salvation from day to day.”

4)Acknowledge
-ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S GOODNESS TO YOU-
It’s also important to acknowledge God’s goodness-in other words, to thank him for all he has done for us. You don’t want to be like the nine lepers who were healed by Jesus but who failed to take the time to come back to thank him, do you? You want to be like the one who went out of his/her way to express your heartfelt appreciation for Jesus’ kindness and mercy. Says 1 Thessalonians 5:16—17(NIV): “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Christian ethicist William Law once speculated about who are the greatest Christians. This was his conclusion: “It is not he who prays most or fasts most, it is not he who lives most, but it is he who is always thankful to God, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.”

When we stop to offer our thanks to God, it reminds us that all we have comes from his provision. This has the effect of keeping us humble and safeguarding us from worshiping our material possessions as idols. Deuteronomy 8:17—18(NIV) says, “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”

Jesus never gave up on a hard-hearted and hardheaded atheist, but kept reaching out with his gift of forgiveness and eternal life. That keeps me grateful to him. “And give thanks, with joy, to the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God has reserved for his people in the kingdom of light,” says Colossians 1:12(NIV).

Made a list of the things you were thankful for. It will be of a great reminder of God’s faithfulness---and it will do wonders for readjusting your perspective.

8 'A's of Prayer - part 1

2010-04-30T22:00:00.002+08:00

1)Avoid
-AVOID WHATEVER WILL HINDER YOUR PRAYERS-

For our prayer life to be meaningful, we must avoid what Bill Hybels calls “prayer busters.” These are the obstacles we create between us and God that can impede our prayer life. In his classic book Too Busy Not to Pray, Hybels lists unconfessed sin as one of the big culprits in disrupting our communication with God.

“Your iniquities have separated you from your God,” says Isaiah 59:2 (NIV) “Your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Said Hybels: “If you’re tolerating sin in your life, don’t waste your breath praying unless it’s a prayer of confession.”
The Bible also says that unresolved relational conflict can thwart our prayer life.

God is so serious about having us deal with fractured relationships that the Bible says we should stop in our tracks on the way to church, turn around, and seek reconciliation with those we are in conflict with. Only after doing what we can to repair the relational rift should we then come to church. It is important to take whatever steps you can to resolve strife before you pray. This might mean apologizing for unfair words that you hurled at people in anger or initiating a frank discussion about the tension in your relationship. Romans 12:18 (NIV) says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

“Motives are crucial to prayer because prayer is totally based on the relationship between God and us,” said Leith Anderson in his book Praying to the God You Can Trust.

Relationships mean everything to God . . . He delights when we are on good terms with Him and is deeply disappointed when we are on bad terms. What all of this means is that God answers our prayers more on the basis of our relationship with Him than on the depth of our desire to have our prayers answered.

2)Approach
-APPROACH GOD WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE-

Approach God both in faith and in humility. Hebrews 11:6(NIV) tells us, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Faith is more than just believing something and hoping against hope that it’s true. Christianity isn’t true because we believe it; it’s true and we believe it. Our faith is anchored to the absolute truth of Scripture and the resurrection of Jesus. So when we approach God, we do so with a confident assurance that what the Bible teaches is true. R. A. Torrey said that it is by studying the Bible, especially God’s promises to us, that we learn the will of God.

“We cannot believe by just trying to make ourselves believe. Such belief as that is not faith but credulity; it is ‘make believe,’” he said. “The great warrant for intelligent faith is God’s Word. As Paul puts it in Romans 10:17(NIV), “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

And we should always approach God with a sense of humility. When Larry King went on a personal quest to understand prayer, Rabbi Marvin Hier advised him that the best prayers never contain ego. Interestingly, he said a famous rabbi had studied the difference between two names for God, Adonoi and Elohim, and found that Jews only used the name Adonoi in prayer. He explained:

This is because Elohim defines God as the creator of the cosmos, of the vast universe. . . and when we think of such a God, he’s far from us. He is distant. That is the God that man thinks of when man is in the mode of being a conqueror. . . successful in his career. When man looks at God from that vantage point, hell always find him at the end of the galaxy.
To find the God named Adonoi you must be willing to be defeated, willing to surrender, to know you cannot be a conqueror all your life. . . A man must know how to say “I surrender” before an all-powerful creator. In that moment of defeat. . . he meets God not in the distant ends of the galaxy, but he meets God as a friend, as a confidant, as someone whose shoulder he can lean upon.

So when we pray, it should not be from the perspective of someone arrogantly demanding what we think should be ours. Instead, we should come as individuals who recognize our brokenness before the Lord and who respectfully and unpretentiously present our requests to him, as a child sits at the feet of a generous and loving father.

As Christians, we know that God is always near us. In fact, he is closer than any individual, because the Holy Spirit actually dwells inside of us. And we can approach our Savior as a friend who cares about us, who wants the best for us, and who delights in talking with us. “You are my friends,” Jesus said in John 15:14, “if you do what I command.”

hotlines

2010-04-28T15:18:00.003+08:00

Oh, dear fellow friends, let me reveal the answer

When in sorrow, ......................................... call John 14

When men fail you, ..................................... call Psalm 27

If you want to be fruitful, ............................. call John 15

When you have sinned, .................................. call Psalm 51

When you worry, ................................. call Matthew 6:19-34

When you are in danger, ................................ call Psalm 91

When God seems far away, .............................. call Psalm 139

When your faith needs stirring, ...................... call Hebrews 11

When you are lonely and fearful, ....................... call Psalm 23

When you grow bitter and critical, ............. call I Corinthians 13

For Paul's secret to happiness, .............. call Colossians 3:12-17

For understanding of Christianity, ....... call II Corinthians 5:15-19

When you feel down and out, ......................... call Romans 8:31

When you want peace and rest, .................. call Matthew 11:25-30

When the world seems bigger than God, .................. call Psalm 90

When you want Christian assurance, ................ call Romans 8:1-30

When you leave home for labor or travel, .............. call Psalm 121

When your prayers grow narrow or selfish, .............. call Psalm 67

For a great invention/opportunity, .................... call Isaiah 55

When you want courage for a task, ...................... call Joshua 1

For how to get along with fellow men, ................. call Romans 12

When you think of investments and returns, .............. call Mark 10

If you are depressed, .................................. call Psalm 27

If your pocketbook is empty, ........................... call Psalm 37

If you are losing confidence in people, ........ call I Corinthians 13

If people seem unkind, .................................. call John 15

If discouraged about your work, ....................... call Psalm 126

If you find the world growing small and yourself great,..call Psalm 19

Alternative hotlines:
For dealing with fear, ............................... call Psalm 34:7

For security, ....................................... call Psalm 121:3

For assurance, ........................................ call Mark 8:35

For reassurance, ................................... call Psalm 145:18

And congratulation all! Our phone number is Revelation 3:20

Jeremiah 33:3

2010-04-23T15:42:00.005+08:00

yo peeps! E462 has something to post! its quiz time. this time round is not asking you guys to guess song title and singer/ composer! this will be fun, i guarantee!

i wonder how well you guys know your/ the bible. this quiz is going to be on the bible. everyone knows that God's Emergency Directory or rather His telephone number is Jeremiah 33:3, right? that's when you need someone, and that someone is the Almighty one. but, do you know that all hotlines to Heaven is 24 hours open?

What number do you call, when...

When in sorrow, .........................................

When men fail you, ....................................

If you want to be fruitful, .........................

When you have sinned, .............................

When you worry, .................................

When you are in danger, ................................

When God seems far away, ..............................

When your faith needs stirring, ......................

When you are lonely and fearful, .......................

When you grow bitter and critical, .............

For Paul's secret to happiness, ..............

For understanding of Christianity, .......

When you feel down and out, .........................

When you want peace and rest, ..................

When the world seems bigger than God, ..................

When you want Christian assurance, ................

When you leave home for labor or travel, ..............

When your prayers grow narrow or selfish, ..............

For a great invention/opportunity, ....................

When you want courage for a task, ......................

For how to get along with fellow men, .................

When you think of investments and returns, ..............

If you are depressed, ..................................

If your pocketbook is empty, ...........................

If you are losing confidence in people, ........

If people seem unkind, ..................................

If discouraged about your work, .......................

If you find the world growing small and yourself great,..

Alternate numbers:
For dealing with fear, ...............................

For security, .......................................

For assurance, ........................................

For reassurance, ...................................

Lastly, do you all know that Jesus makes house calls? He phones us too! we can call Him, so is vice versa. and do you know what is our united house number? make a guess.

answer will be revealed in the next post. read your bible NOW!!!

i think i'm going to throw up

2010-04-07T11:20:00.002+08:00

this is a very cute praise song for kids

My Best Friend - Hillsong

2010-03-21T22:10:00.006+08:00

HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE ONE CALLED SAVIOR
HAVE YOU HEARD OF HIS PERFECT LOVE
HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE ONE IN HEAVEN
HAVE YOU HEARD HOW HE GAVE HIS SON
CAUSE I HAVE FOUND THIS LOVE
AND I BELIEVE IN THE SON
SHOW ME YOUR WAY

I BELIEVE IN THE ONE CALLED SAVIOR
I BELIEVE HE'S THE RISEN ONE
I BELIEVE THAT I'LL LIVE FOREVER
I BELIEVE THAT THE KING WILL COME
CAUSE I HAVE FOUND THIS LOVE
AND I BELIEVE IN THE SON
SHOW ME YOUR WAY

JESUS YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND
YOU WILL ALWAYS BE
AND NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE THAT
JESUS YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND
YOU WILL ALWAYS BE
AND NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE THAT

NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE THAT
NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE THAT
NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE THAT

just an add on:
"Jesus never say He don't want to friend me."

Magnificent - City Harvest Church

2010-02-26T17:32:00.003+08:00

guess what folks? i found something that i believe many of you would want to hear! enjoy!

Who compares to You
Who set the stars in their place
You who calmed the raging seas
That came crashing over me

Who compares to You
You who bring the morning light
The hope of all the earth
Is rest assured in Your great love

You are magnificent,
Eternally Wonderful, Glorious Jesus,
No one ever will compare
To You Jesus

When the evening fades
You call forth songs of joy
As the morning wakes
We Your children give You praise

It's Your Love

2010-02-08T23:45:00.003+08:00

i feel that this is one of the best worship song of "Faith+Hope+Love"
Hillsong rocks right? i just wanna share this song with everyone. the lyrics is below:

Verse 1:
Upon the hill on Calvary
He came from Heaven's throne
Our fallenness and mercy meet
Where blood and water flow

Verse 2:
What grace divine what selflessness
That Christ would bear the weight
Our proof is scarred on hands that bled
That we were worth every nail

Chorus:
And all the praise and glory to God
We sing Hallelujah sing Hallelujah
For the King has carried the cross
He is risen from the grave

Verse 3:
Beyond the tomb to holy skies
He rose in victory
And bridged for us the great divide
His life is our liberty

Chorus x2

Bridge:
It's Your love
It's Your love
It's Your love
That has saved me

It's Your blood
It's Your blood
It's Your blood
That has cleaned me

Bridge:
Oh-Oh Woah Woah

SU TING TING'S BIRTHDAY IN THE SUN!!

2009-12-02T00:52:00.007+08:00

DATE: 15 NOV 2009

LOCATION: EAST COAST PARK

MISSON: FLOUR SU...I MEAN SUPRISE SU TING

MISSON SUCCESS!

Left4Dead 2 - L4D 2

2009-12-01T00:00:00.004+08:00

due to our leader "complaint", i have change our cell group blog's song once again. no more 'mourning' but all praise. XD but, that's not the main point of this post. XD

anyway, let's have a review on what E462 had done recently:
1)beside cell group meeting,
2)attending service,
3)going for prayer 365,
4)camp believe prayer meeting,
5)it is the non-stop LAN-ING.

it seems like the crave for L4D spreaded around the cell group, and everyone went to chiong for L4D 2! the non-stop of violence zombie killing earn up to 3 word - E462 Number 1! this is what it meant by 'one for all, all for one'. why? beside people who are preparing for exam or have other things that have greater priority than L4D 2, rest came! and let's take a look.

here is cool justin and sotong vivian. justin tan is a L4D fanatic, while vivian, still new! so justin is not who i will talk about but - vivian. who would have thought she could played, and fared well as first timer? many have doubts on her. but then, her blurness aren't that bad afterall. at least, she knows she must kill the survivors when she was playing as infected. this gentle as dove girl can be quite violent though. first day playing L4D 2 for the first time, said "HUH? i never play so violene game before lehx". second time playing it, the next day, as a charger, she slammed yuting against the floor, continuously, violently! although still differ from the rest, when only she will shout "SAVE ME" while others will only shout "OI! SMOKER/HUNTER/CHARGER[etc]" to get saved.

and next, we have our gorgeous leader, suting. someone who doesn't like L4D as much as others, or should i say, never like L4D at all? which lead us to suspicion how did she improve trumendously in a sudden period. as first timer, she was always being saved by others. now, lesser though. but she, can protect people! - i meant survivors from zombies. although alerted the horde when we are about to get into the safe house in just 3-4 steps. i supposely think because she was sitting beside a sotong, a rather big one though is youth, that's when blurness started spreading, like how the crave spread as well, therefore alerted the horde and inviting the zombies.

but nevertheless, everyone had fun. everyone was ZAI enough to survive through hours and hours of killing! it sounds like everyone are ninjas! 'killing is my exsistence' - ninjas [can't remember where i heard this from.] but i would say, the psychiatrists are doing great job, to keep gamers' eye peel open staring hard at the monitor. is L4D 2 really that fun? let's take a look:

XD

prize

2009-11-04T11:11:00.003+08:00

the closing of the quiz was long over. due to only one participant participating, i decide to annouce the winner. the winner is E462!

most glady appreciate the participation effort and instead of tagging to e462, this mysterious person tag as e462! although the answer wasn't fully correct i would say, but then the prize will be given out to E462 - congratulation in winning the chocolate.

dearest e462, so this week refreshment will have additional of Cadbury Chocolate bar, thanks to E462! xP

pre-Halloween?

2009-10-24T22:00:00.004+08:00

is everyone looking forward to our very own HALLOWEEN party?

are you bringing pumpkim to collect your treats?

are you dressing up like a witch? mixing your poition and lizards.

a skeleton?

or a blood sucking vampire?

everyone start inviting friends so we can have more ghosts, witches, skeletons and BLOOD LOSS! haha..

its just next week! hurry!

quiz time

2009-10-23T11:03:00.005+08:00

yo peepz! finally i have some spare time to change the blog song. so, its quiz time!

this time round, the quiz is going to be very very EASY. and YOU, just have to ANSWER 2 SIMPLE questions!

1) The songs that we sang before during service, and

2) The title of the song and by which band, that we did not sing during service before.

and your prize is

*no restriction to people who can answer this
*deadline is halloween eve - 30/10/09 - 11.59pm
*tag your answer to E462 and winners will be notified by "post"

good luck peeps =)

MULTIPLICATION WEEK 26/09/0

2009-09-28T23:04:00.007+08:00

Hey guys!

Just some updates on our "MULTIPLICATION WEEK" we had last Saturday.

Some of the "Yummy Food" that our fellow members had prepared ! :D

Colourful Life by Yuting's Group

Sushi Made by our Young 13 Year Old Chef Justin Tan. (Kim's Group)

Mixed Fishball by Kim's Group

Egg with Prawn Balls by Kim's Group.

Lastly Belle's Tomato Fried Rice by Belle's Group.

The Fellowship was as usually "AWESOME" filled with much FOOD, Joy and Laughter even though everyday's fellowship was always filled with all these. However it just felt so Special and Touching as some of our fellow members gave their "FIRST TIME" of cooking to E462!and i say they did such a Splendid refreshment for the Cell Group!

After listening to every Team Leader's Creative Storyline it was time to annouce and give away some of the Prizes.

And the First Place goes to: .. .. .. ..

Colourful Life by Yuting's Group.
Yuting's Speech: The dessert is called "Colourful Life" it basically is colourful and it represents the Colour and Life of E462! (Joy, Fun, Laughter and Youth)
Prizes: $10 Worth of arcade token @ Bugis Arcade!

2nd Place:
Kimberly's Speech: Basically a Japanese Girl named Esther (tanned too much) was cooking some eggs . . . and there comes Kimo (Kim) with her Billy Fish Ball and then Juno came in to the scene with his Sushi. Followed by Euno with his Cheesy Tidbits.

Kimberly's Group. Prizes: Toblerone and Cadbury Chocolate!

3rd Place:
Belle's Speech: As we all know our beloved Leader Su Ting's is an member of the Pastamania Club. So how can today's refreshment be without our favourite leader's sauce which is the Pasta Tomato Sauce? This sparked an idea for Belle's Group to prepare a special fried rice filled with Rice, Tomato Sauce, Mushroom, Veg and Luncheon Meat. A Fusion of Italian and Chinese cuisine.

Belle's Tomato Fried Rice. Prizes: Pringles and Twisty Tidbits!

Basically just wanna say : Members of E462 You guys are "ZAI" I'm Real Proud of you guys as i saw all the effort and creative ideas you guys have shown in this week refreshment! JiaYou and keep up the good work! Continue to feed your Leader and fellow members with Good Food. :)

Love Afred.

Memory Verse

2009-09-24T21:10:00.002+08:00

In addition to the refreshments post, pls. remember that Saturday's verse is -Matthew 6:33!

Special Refreshment for this wee

2009-09-23T22:06:00.008+08:00

Hey E462!
Due to our upcoming Multiplication we have decided that E462 should do a "SPECIAL REFRESHMENT" for this week Cell Group. We have decided to assign all of you into groups.

Below are the grouping for this week Cell Group Refreshment.

Team Leader : Kimberly, Belle , Yu Ting

Kimberly Group: Eugene, Justin Tan, Esther (Singapore Local Food (e.g Carrot Cake) and Egg)
Belle Group: Maria, Justin Quek, Sarah (Rice, Meat)
Yu Ting Group: Hui Yan, Jordan, Afred (Dessert, Vegetable)

Instructions:
1) Present your dish and give a speech and reason for your choosing of the food (Everybody must say something)
2) Explain why E462 will like these dish.
3) Connect Group Leaders are only there to guide you and help you (Not totally help you)*
4) Team Leaders do assign your group members to do something.
5) Do get all things done before Cell Group starts.
6) Any Question you can call Alfred : 91183543 , Esther : 93829473

Do Note this is a COMPETITION and it will be based on taste of the food, Creativity and speech. This will be judged by our special Guest: Ms Seet Su Ting!

First Prize: Secret
Second Prize: Secret

The prizes are proudly Sponsored by : Su Ting, Afred, Esther

So do get your Woks and Plates READY and get ready to cook a Yummy, Delicious, Sumptuous Meal for all Fellow E462 Members!

Guys please put in the effort to prepare refreshment as these might be some of our last cell group meeting! So let's all make 26th Sept 2009 A successful and rocking time!! See you there~

Lots of Love Afred.

2009-09-23T22:04:00.001+08:00

Hey guys REMEMBER to do your Memory Verse for this coming week! It's Matthew 6:33!

Lots of Love Afred.

John 3:16

2009-09-17T02:13:00.002+08:00

Do you guys remember our mission for this week? memorising John 3:16? Have you all done so? If not, hurry up, what'cha waiting for?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life - 21st Century King James Version

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life - American Standard Version

for God did so love the world, that His Son -- the only begotten -- He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during - Young's Literal Translation

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal - Darby Translation

For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life - Holman Christian Standard Bible

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life - New International Reader's Version

For God loved so the world [Forsooth God so loved the world], that he gave his one begotten Son, that each man that believeth in him perish not, but have everlasting life - Wycliffe New Testament

God loved the world so very, very much that he gave his only Son. Because he did that, everyone who believes in him will not lose his life, but will live for ever - Worldwide English (New Testament)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life - New International Version - UK

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life - Today's New International Version

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life - New International Version

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. - New American Standard Bible

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life - The Message

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. - Amplified Bible

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life - New Living Translation

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life - King James Version

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life - English Standard Version

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die - Contemporary English Version

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life - New King James Version

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life - New Century Version

Which version are you? xD

2009-09-08T01:20:00.002+08:00

Let your inner man shine

Blockbuster Sunday: Coming Soon

2009-09-03T23:34:00.008+08:00

Are you a movie fanatic? Been to numerous movie marathon? Watched transformers upteen times? Memorised those lines? Chased Harry Potter down the cinemas by not missing any of its serials? Love those characters to bits? If I am talking about you... You will like...

" BLOCKBUSTER SUNDAY"

This is an exclusive event put together by JK subzone. It is happening on the 13th Sept at Orchard Road. Imagine your favourite movie character waiting for you along Orchard and in the malls, exciting games waiting for you to uncover, attractive prizes waiting for you to walk away with.

Form a team of 6 with at least 2 new friends and receive additional points to start up for your team. So what are you waiting for? Start inviting your friends today!

For more information, call Joseph @ 81255351 or Su Ting @ 96557046

See you there!

quiz

2009-08-29T00:10:00.004+08:00

i have change the song on cell group blog. enjoy enjoy.

now a short quiz for everyone.

can anyone tell me:
#1 how many songs did i inserted before i change the song,
#2 named at least two song, and
#3 to whom the song belongs to

people with the correct answer will stand a chance to win a prize.
[ps: more than one correct winner, the final winner will be chosen by drawing lots]
quiz will never go without prize. through this, i will know who has been regularly viewing cell group blog.

deadline is 2nd September.
tag me the answer. be sure of your answer before answering, each one of you only have one chance. Good Luck!

alexis

new mV

2009-08-25T20:28:00.005+08:00

Hey guys i found tiss mv wish u all like n ya let's b the one tat shine together s long s we are together s a grp thks btw for the celebration yea^^ love ya n misses lots let b the example below like jj lin jun jie /sun ho/ pst kong n the lets fellow them s sum is the fan of them ya lets serve n invite those who are lost back here!!! n the poor!!!

hope u all like it!!

POST BY:EUGENE TOH(=E462

because of you

2009-08-12T23:13:00.007+08:00

yo peeps, let's learn this song because this will be sang on this saturday.

Because of You - CHC

(Verse 1)
Because of You, I was born again
Because of You, I’m ransomed by Your grace
Because of You, my heart has found a home
A refuge for my soul

Because of You, sins are washed away
Because of You, heaven knows my name
Because of You, I can live again
You’ve broken every chain

(Chorus)
Unfailing Love, so unreserved
You gave Yourself on Calvary
And now I stand, forever free
My Saviour rescued me.

(Verse 2)
Because of You, the weak say "I am strong"
Because of You, the broken have a song
Because of You, there's no need to fear
Hope steadfast, ever sure

(Bridge)
Now heaven, be open
Our God is, unshaken
We worship, Christ risen
High above

Now heaven, be open
All kingdoms, all nations
Declare that “You are God”

nick vujicic

2009-08-08T00:14:00.003+08:00

i don't know if you guys are being expose to him. but i was expose to him many years ago. i missed the chance of seeing him when he came to singapore. but his name has been widely spread, and i therefore, is embedding his video as encouragement to all of you.

-NICK VUJICIC-

his daily life video.

his motivation video.

what do you feel after the video? we are living still, with our limbs intact, and we are complaining so much. nick was born without his limbs, and apparently, his parents refuses to acknowledge him and therefore abandon him. what to say? human are heartless? he would have live in hatred if that's the case. he continues to live, and finish things strongly. let us not be so affected by comments and not give up easily, and be thankful and happy!

i don't know what other words i can use to describe nick, but i hope this motivate you. don't possess the 1 minute determination. saying you want to perserve and live strong, next minute, everything return to the moment before you viewed this video.

i love you guys,
God love you guys too! XD

song

2009-08-04T11:14:00.002+08:00

i want to share this beautiful song with everyone, enjoy!

E462 GOES TO MINDSCAFE! :D

2009-08-01T13:10:00.008+08:00

Sorry for the blurry pictures. Blogger doesn't do them justice. :( ..
Anyway, check this out!
We went to Raffles and walked all the way 2 MindsCafe..which was still closed.. SO...
this is what we did. :D and of course take some pictures!
We finally got in, ordered some food, tried to play a short game but we couldn't 'coz the food arrived.
Here's Elmo's purple brother..haha XD SuTing carried it in her jeans the whole time!
Justin T showed that he was not only good in playing LAN but he was so "ON" when it came to snatching and screaming games.

THE Beautiful 'TINGS'. :) with their assigned robots!
US! with Emma, our host(?)
Formal. US with Bernice's cg E488! We were the first...and the last cgs there! But they were more quiet so we complement each other....lolz.."-.- ...i know my comment's lame...haha!
Informal. I kinda feel sorry for Esther there..but overall, we had a wonderful time! Cya guys this Sun for An Awesome Anniversary!

:)

2009-07-29T21:07:00.006+08:00

LAST SUNDAY... (to be continued..)

FINALLY... :)

2009-07-27T23:48:00.007+08:00

Sorry for the late update guys..but the pictures are lining up as we have some pics from Sat and Sun! So expect a lot of posts and pics especially with the 20th Anniversary coming up! woohoo!
We went to Orchard Central and the designs were so cool! It was really a fresh idea. We kept taking pictures while walking.
Here's Alexis playing guitar hero and we all stood around to watch her!
HOORAY! An idea for the next fellowship..oops! Su Ting sorry.. u guys go jogging and some of us go wall climbing? ;)
This 'lady' was the owner of those huge shoes! see below!
Lol @ Esther's reaction XD
Then we saw these people in bright costumes and stilts...really nice concept!
Su Ting with Mr. Coffee Bean mascot! i love this photo --it shows our beloved cgl's fun, cool and young side! XD get ready for a great time this FOP!
P.S. a big welcome back to Sara! Let's get this party started!

5 Advantages of Jogging !

2009-07-23T01:52:00.005+08:00

Hey guys!
Since we are waiting for the post on Sunday. Just want to share some things i read online.
AND That's : JOGGING!
Top 5 Advantages of jogging:

1) Reducing your chances of getting a common Cold or Cancer
It helps ensure the efficient flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body, things that are proven to help to decrease the risk of a heart attack.

2)Running like other types of exercise is a great stress-reliever and may even relieve mild depression. Many runners enjoy reaching the "runner's high" -- that euphoric, clear, and calm state they feel after a long run. (Haha to those having exams and are very stressful, maybe you can try jogging !)

3)Jogging makes you burn fat and thereby helps to lose weight. In addition to increasing metabolism, jogging it an effective way to burn more calories, which helps you lose weight. If calories consumed in food is less than calories during exercise and other daily activities, you will lose weight. It is impossible not to

4)Jogging helps to reduce stubborn belly fat. Stubborn fat can be very hard to shift, and a running program can really help to cut down on the last of your stubborn fat. (To all our Machos in E462, its time to jog.)

5)Jogging makes you sleep better. If you exercise well, sleep comes so much easier. One of the most important factors for improving fitness after exercise and diet is getting adequate sleep. Overtraining can occur if you do not rest properly.

Enjoy.

SUNDAY SNEAK PEEK

2009-07-21T13:51:00.004+08:00

Here's a SNEAK PEEK of what we did last Sunday...

This was an accident...different elevators...it was fun! XD

Just wait for what it is on the next post..lol :)
Lol. Lol. Lol. MUWAHAHA!!!!!! there's a story behind this...find out soon!

WE'RE MOVING ON

2009-07-15T13:53:00.009+08:00

LAST CG. A lot of us probably wondered if we were going to 'survive' without Bear's powerful voice, Jonathan's charisma and Jy's...(uh, cant think of any, kidding lol) humility? *ahem*.

AMAZINGLY, we not only survived but we were so alive!

The breakthroughs were not only during the cg but it was also in our fellowship and what can i say about our refreshments? J.CO DONUTS?

That my friends, is called ANOTHER LEVEL!

and SCONES? Eat your hearts out hotel staying people. Executive Chef Alexis coming through! We can't wait for next Saturday! HAHA!

How good was that donut Kim? She can't even say how good it was...lol.

Yes, servanthood - even in feeding our members..Go Alfred!

The NEW E462 right here!
Get ready for a powerful Saturday this week! Cya there!

E462 Life Journey

2009-07-06T18:13:00.002+08:00

love Him

2009-07-01T04:37:00.010+08:00

just want to share some random pictures i found, maybe you guys seen it before. no harm viewing it again right? =D

His name is Jesus
everynight, everyday and every moment. stop thinking about it, JUST PRAY IT!

always on facebook? what about your faithbook?

He shed his blood and died for us.

think you know the bible? wahaha.

everyone still remember what pastor derrick had said? forget about H1N1. lets focus on E1R1. salvation time! heehee

in conclusion:

jesus loves us

so in return, we must LOVE JESUS CHRIST!

Cast Away: The Camp Edition

2009-06-17T01:20:00.005+08:00

The most exciting time of the year is here! For you, ET zone youths, we present to you...

Yes! This year we are going "overseas". I am so excited about it. I mean who in the world will go St John's Island when you are free to tour or run around. This June is the best time to look at another part of Singapore. So what are you waiting for! Be part of this exciting camp! Join in the fun, make new friends! If you are full camper, the camp fees are $30, your friends only need to pay $20. I believe this 3 Days 2 Nights event is gonna be life changing! Sign up now!

Watch the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evYxZ-hbE6U

See you there!

BEAR!!

2009-05-27T12:09:00.001+08:00

ANY GIVEN SUNDAY

2009-05-19T17:47:00.008+08:00

Wow..it's been a long time. Here is what we have been up to in pictures!
RECENT: !!!!!
Here is lovely Nicole with her nanny (!) lol..Bear! (those pictures took up a lot of memory on my cam, haha!) After service, we went to Bedok!
We couldn't decide where to go so....we went to the LIBRARY (gasp!) !!!!!!!!
And headed off to Peter's house.......................................then we went home!!!!!!! :D

RANDOM STUFF: ---

The guys went to the men's conference while we girls had our own cg meeting. A lot of emotional stuff there..probably 'coz only us girls were present. You should've heard the howling and seen the number of tissue packets there.
While the others studied, we had our mini photoshoot at the airport 'coz there wasn't anything else to do..and 'coz some of the people didn't want to study (strongly discouraged!)... we just tried to ride the trolley..at least once in my lifetime..LOL.
The guys were up for some more photo taking...sorry to say we caused a lot of commotion on that train ride. haha..
We also went for fashion runway. We had fun, brainstormed, ate and cheered! Justin Tan and JY stepping up to be models! Great job guys!
We saw a mermaid boy! right at the pool..fancy that! Jy here trying to make a connection...lol. (Truth is, im wondering why his hand is reaching out to Jordan...)

So guys, keep this blog goin alright? especially those who talked about it just this Sunday (ahem, ahem)...if you've got time guessing the answers on a couple of facebook quizzes, then you've certainly got time to post something, anything (encouragement, thoughts, whatever) on this blog! thanks guys!

FINALLY. A NEW POST.

2009-04-19T06:54:00.009+08:00

After so long.... this blog has finally been updated. I had to gather some pictures first :)

THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO...
NO..NOT THIS! haha...Sorry..it should be:
Yeah, JJ Lin joined us again..and Denise was there too!
Gorgeous Christine can strike a cool pose..
Denise can do an even cooler pose! Sponsor: Ice Mountain :D
Pretty Ally with Sexy Bear!
We also went to our favorite hangout, Paya Lebar Grandlink to play pool and l4d!
Here Alexis was teaching me how to play but i can't get it at all! Haha!
So I decided to play another game...with Hui Yan..LOL.
Alexis showing off "the moves" to shoot the ball.
They look like professionals. LOL.
We went to Changi Airport's Popeye's with Jy's friends and Bear approached a mom with a baby..we can see that she plans to get married and be a mommy soon!
WEDNESDAY.We went to Novena to meet up with Jun Leong, Kai Xuan and Xavius (Jy's friends) and Jy.
All the guys went home. We stayed back to meet up with Alexis 'coz she didn't have dinner yet.
Bear was with us. I had a camera. So naturally, we took photos. :D
Bear kissing the picture of a frog/toad/amphibian/whatever. Waiting for her prince to come....
Bear couldn't wait for her prince so she insisted on kissing Alexis instead. HAHA!
So..that's what we've been doing. :)

p.s. i just have to say -- CONGRATULATIONS E462! GREAT TEAMWORK AND UNITY! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS IN ET ZONE! WOOHOO!

60 earth hour

2009-03-27T20:24:00.005+08:00

people! lets play apart in protecting our precious home, earth.

This campaign hopes to get a billon signing up.

28th march 2009 8:30-9:30pm the whole world would try their best to switch off all the lights so that we can spread the message to create awareness and encourage more people to protect the earth!

lets switch off all the lights (even you are in the toilet) and try to light up candles.

Before Jesus comes back lets do our part on earth too! :]

HAVE I POSTED THIS?

2009-03-23T00:40:00.001+08:00

Beautiful People.
Great moments.

NEXT BATCH

2009-03-19T12:21:00.000+08:00

THAT SUNDAY

2009-03-16T12:31:00.006+08:00

After a mind-blowing revelation of the 15-minute revolution by Rev. Scanlon, we had an impromptu photoshoot..mainly because of Chiu Wen pestering me to take some(just kidding!). While the other members changed into their sports attire, we did our own thing.

MR. AND MS. E462 :)

CHIU WEN! What's up with the shoe?

I think Chiu Wen is capable of the most out-of-this-world facial expressions.

We played the game and the teams reached our station. Bear prayed that it would not rain for hour and i supported her by praying in tongues. Out in the open. In the midst of the crowd. Discreetly of course. And God heard our prayers.

The teams gladly put on the makeup.

And even smiled for the camera.

I think Hui Yan is a natural in front of the camera. One of the best poses ever!

Uhh...yeah. This is Justin pretending to be a zombie.

Jonathan's group reached KFC first grabbing the Capitaland vouchers.

Even though it was raining and everyone was hungry, they kept on playing.

Even when tempers were flying and people are out of sorts, they still kept on smiling. This is E462. Tired but still on fire.

And laughing all the way. Great job everyone!

2009-03-03T12:25:00.002+08:00

THE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE

i just want to place all the pics left in my comp here to free up some space.

These were taken last December at Tampines MRT.

Guess ..which one was taken by me and which one was taken by JY? :D

3rd batch of photos

2009-03-02T01:38:00.007+08:00

lemm'e be the one to post the 3rd batch of pictures. pictures were taken on sly at suting house. it was fun looking through all the photos and laughing at it because it was superly cute. welcome our female lead for this post: suting! [can i have some drum rolls, please? and probably some kallang waves.]

quote from belinda, "sexy picture"
during the growing up years, she has become:

ta da! and, another surprise! look at the most right of this picture, and don't tell me you can't regconise who is she.

and of course, as she enter into the world of beauty, that wouldn't be her anymore.

the extreme beauty!

JW Q&A session

2009-02-27T12:28:00.004+08:00

yo peeps. this suppose to be last saturday post, but too tired and busy to post it. therefore drag until now. please pardon me and thank you. surprisingly, i went to Jurong West for service on saturday. to my surprise, there was no preaching at all. it was a Q&A[question and answer] session with Dr Kevin Dyson. a pity sister Joy wasn't there, but she did attended expo service on sunday. anyway, back to it. just wanna share about what happen during saturday's Q&A session. its roughly the same idea, talking about relationship. GUYS! listen up! the Q&A on sunday is directed to you all, GUYS! what is shocking about saturday's Q&A was that i heard it before. hmm... pondering and wondering, deep in thoughts. how could it happen? obviously not live la. i hear before the whole service in my dreams! shocked? i myself was, that's when i was trying hard to figure out how come the scene was super duper familiar. when i even could tell what is Dr Dyson gonna say before he even open his mouth. anyway. much similar for saturday and sunday Q&A session la. but one difference is that, Dr Dyson talks about "Jesus second returns" on saturday, and not on sunday. *thinking hard, recalling what he said.* he shared about a story to us, to help bringing the picture into the mind's of the congregation.

[pardon me. story is in vague memory, not vivid at all.] the story is about a master and his servants. the servants were brought along to a wedding feast, provided if they did what as their master instructed. the master went out before the feast started. they were suppose to light their lamps or something, as each individual one has it. so they did what were told. those lamps were use to direct or signal the master that that's the home or something like that? [gosh! i really can't remember the story.] after a while, the rebellious heart pumped. one servant suggested to "eat snake" [jia zuah]. they decided to wait till is nearing the time their master is going to be back, then they will start borrowing oil lamps/ fuels/ candles [whatever it helps to light up]. arrangement was such made that, around the neighbourhood, no one has spare/ extras of any of these things, neither does all the shops. therefore, for a foolish mistake, they weren't able to attend the wedding feast.

what Dr Dyson wants to get across is, our spiritual life. this story is like the current us. no one knows when Jesus second return will be, so we have to always be prepared. we have to build up our spiritual life, individually. because, we can't be like those lazy servants, to borrow others possesion at the last minute. quote from Dr Dyson: "you can't borrow other people's spiritual life for yourself." which is true. you don't borrow things at the eleventh hour and moreover, other's spiritual life. so don't be lazy in building strong foundation and living. and while we prepare all this waiting for HIS return, reach out to people as well. quote from Pastor Tan: "humble down. everyone is equal." so peeps, we gotta humble ourselves to reach out to others [not saying e462 is proud, but peeps, you know who you are.] don't because you are rich, smart, in authority or whatever else, then you are high up. it will be difficult to reach out to the surrounding, our friends. i didn't record the service, so i can't type exactly word by word. so please pardon me. just wanna try to get the message across, because i think its really great. 大家加油!

[i know this is a stupid post. you wasted time reading this.]

WAHAHAHA!!! SUPER KAWAII

2009-02-24T14:09:00.002+08:00

Here's the 2nd batch of the beautiful people in E462!

Guess who these babies are!?

Clue: She always smiles..sometimes she doesn't say anything at all! We've seen a lot of improvements in her and we don't have to lean over to hear what she's saying. There's a Korean song about her name that Bear likes to sing. :)

Clue: Just look at the smile! It's so obvious. He likes to make up songs like this one that a group of us sang 2 Sundays ago : i wanna ask Jonathan/ if he wants to play/ left for dead (clap, clap) 2x! Woohoo! Lol. We sang that while walking around Central. Yeah, that's how we entertain ourselves when we get bored.

Clue: This may be the only time we have ever seen her in a dress..but we're still hoping in the coming years...haha. Anyway, who doesn't know this baby? She's a sports gal – netball, basketball, captain's ball, etc. If you need the new worship song, you can always count on her to send it to you on msn.

Until the next batch of babies, E.

cheapest way to fellowship

2009-02-23T23:33:00.006+08:00

the cheapest and healthier way to fellowship. though abit hurting to the vocals, tormenting to the ears, and suffering to the nose!

"You Lifted Me Up"

Guess who were singing?!
i can't upload the full song that was sang. so please just make do with this till i find a better way to upload everything

2009-02-19T15:03:00.002+08:00

THE BALD AND THE BEAUTIFUL BABIES

We didn't really expect all this to happen. We didn't expect the flood of photo albums last Sunday.

We were just sitting and talking on the bus. Suddenly Hui Yan showed her primary pic and secondary pic. The first thing that came to my mind was – WHAT HAPPENED? No, just kidding. Lol. What i really thought was Hui Yan became prettier over the years and i believe she will grow from glory to glory (wink, wink).

Note: These pictures can't be used for blackmail. :)

So, you guys..try to guess who are these cute babies. Here's the first batch of all you beautiful people.

FIRST UP. Clue: He loves to sing. Enough clue. Lol.

SECOND. Clue: She lives where we have cg every Saturday. She can sing, act, dance, draw and tell jokes. All at the same time.

THIRD. Clue: Duh..it's obvious. Even as a baby, she was already a beauty.

FOURTH. Clue: She started blogging and taking photos when she was 2 years old. Just kidding. I think the internet wasn't even an idea when she was 2.

Until the next batch of baby pics, E.

THE TIMES WE HAD

2009-02-17T17:09:00.002+08:00

RANDOM. RANDOM. RANDOM.

KIM'S MUSICAL.

The Presence of God

2009-02-15T01:05:00.000+08:00

So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.Exodus 24:18

Moses was a lover of God’s presence. In Exodus 24:9-10, we read: “Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel.” They literally saw God! That happened on Mount Sinai, which is a picture of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. When a believer is filled in the Spirit, the Lord really becomes very clear to him or her.

When the Holy Spirit is around, there is a very strong presence of God. You know He is there. You can sense Him. You can feel Him. Your heart starts to melt and tears begin to flow down your cheeks. Sometimes, His presence is so overwhelming that your limbs give way under the weight of His glory.

Unfortunately, religiosity has diluted our walk with God to a non-experience. Religiosity has reduced God to a mere moral, philosophical entity. Some even try to highlight that we don’t need experiences, all we need are just the “success” principles from the Bible. But what’s wrong with “feeling” God’s presence? If feeling is bad, then why would God give you emotions in the first place? Why would God give you a spirit and not allow you to be spiritually alive toward Him? Of course, God wants you to feel Him!

If the saints of the old covenant could have such powerful, intimate encounters with God, how much more should we Christians of the new covenant? And the truth is that we can because the Holy Spirit is now poured upon all flesh (Acts 2:17).

In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is likened to the wind, which means that you can feel His movement. He is likened to the fire, which means you can feel His warmth. He is likened to a river, which means that you can feel His flow. He is likened to the rain, which means that you can feel Him falling on you. He is likened to an atmosphere, which means that His presence can unmistakably permeate the whole room you are sitting in.

Moses was so hungry for God’s presence that he was willing to scale the rugged terrain of Mount Sinai to spend time with God. And he spent 40 days and 40 nights in that presence, during which he received the vision for God’s house—the tabernacle.

The Holy Spirit wants to speak to you daily in visions and dreams. Get spiritually hungry and, by faith, enter into His presence in your daily devotions.

From: http://www.konghee.com/www/?p=2199

PICTURES OF YOU, PICTURES OF ME

2009-02-12T16:03:00.003+08:00

Some Pics of People We LOVE.
JORDAN. enough said. :)

BEAR AND ESTHER.

SUTING AND ALL. LOL. too many names..you know who they are.

YU TING. shows us how to be emo while drinking.

JUSTIN. shows us how not to be emo while drinking.

Interesting Facts

2009-02-09T17:24:00.002+08:00

1. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."
2. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt"
3. Almonds are members of the peach family.
4. The symbol on the "pound" key (#) is called an octothorpe.
5. The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle.
6. Ingrown toenails are hereditary.
7. The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language.
8. "Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."
9. There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
10. The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
11. The only other word with the same amount of letters is its plural: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosesl.
12. The longest place-name still in use is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukup okaiwe-nuakit natahu, a New Zealand hill.
13. Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reinade los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size,L.A.
14. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
15. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
16. Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button. It was eliminated when he was sewn up after surgery.
17. Telly Savalas and Louis Armstrong died on their birthdays.
18. Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.
19. The muzzle of a lion is like a fingerprint - no two lions have the same pattern of whiskers.
20. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
21. There is a seven-letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the,there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.
22. Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
23. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
24. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
25. Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them; a fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball.
26. The letters KGB stand for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti
27. 'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand.
28. The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways; the following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."
29. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
30. Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning "containing arsenic."
31. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.
32. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
33. The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."
34. The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

continuation of Kim's musical

2009-02-06T23:38:00.005+08:00

2009-02-06T17:47:00.002+08:00

Hey guys! i'm still alive and kickin'. LOL. it's not because of the recession that i didn't blog for so long. haha. One of the reasons was THE computer crash. LOL. Even our laptop knows how to sympathize with the stock market.

Anyway, yesterday, we went for iWorship 101(exclusive) which was held at Tiong Bahru. Guess who the teacher was? None other than Bro. Poh!First of all, it was cool. *As we stepped inside the room, you could feel the presence of God and it was real strong. Immediately, the verse about "worshippers who worship in spirit and in truth" came to me. Here were all the people just lifting up their hands, singing their hearts out to God and it was amazing. You could feel everyone having a revival!

*In case you were wondering, we got lost and we had to take a bus back, cross the street and look for the place which was kind of hard to find. If it were not for the sign outside which said "...worship class", we would've missed this great meeting.

So, we settled down and Bro. Poh talked about having a balance between being spiritual and having the skills. It's important to rely on the Spirit and at the same time, to upgrade ourselves. I could say that this doesn't only apply to guitar playing and song leading, it applies to every area of our lives. i was really awestruck by how enthusiastic and passionate Bro. Poh is about what he was teaching. He said we were going to bring the fire down during the praise and worship time of our cellgroups because of what we were going to learn. He shared his experiences as a music director, cellgroup guitarist and worship leader.

What really made an impact on me was his closing statement which went something like this: Putting aside all the big events in our church, we have about 40 weeks left in which we can have our cg meetings. "Every cg meeting that we have is a chance to touch people's lives. Every cg meeting is a chance not only to be touched by God but an opportunity to bring a change in someone else's life. Every cg meeting is not a routine or just another meeting, it's a chance to be a miracle to someone else. If that miracle can happen when you play the guitar or when you lead the members through a song IN ONE cg meeting, imagine what 40 cg meetings can do!"

There were so many things that Bro. Poh wanted to teach us and so many things he wanted to tell us that i can't say anything else but a big "WOW".

Next lesson, it will be about worshipping in the Spirit and a whole lot more so i'm gearing myself up for a boost in my spiritual life --and my guitar playing (lol..it won't be a 4 chord-playing anymore)!

P.S. OVERDUE photos from Kim's musical.

讓我 Rang Wo

2009-02-02T11:09:00.003+08:00

I love this song! Its very meaningful and we are going to sing it during cg this week!
The lyrics below for all to learn! Have fun! =)

你愛使我甦醒重新來過
ni ai shi wo shu xing chong xing lai guo
深切渴望能活在你手中
shen qie ke wang neng huo zai ni shou zhong
生命跟隨你跳動
sheng ming geng sui ni tiao dong
夢想因你而啟動
meng xiang ying ni er qi dong
所有一切交給你毫無保留
suo you yi qie jiao gei ni hao wu bao liu

讓我為你而活
rang wo wei ni er huo
讓我為你而站立
rang wo wei ni er zhan li
永不放棄像你愛我
yong bu fang qi xiang ni ai wo
讓我為你前進
rang wo wei ni qian jing
我氣息是你贖回
wo qi xi shi ni shu hui
如今單單屬於你
ru jing dan dan shu yu ni
活出你旨意的生命
huo chu ni zhi yi de sheng ming
改變世界為你轉動
gai bian shi jie wei ni zhuan dong

轉動的夢想
zhuan dong de meng xiang
實現著希望
shi xian de xi wang
我已看見永恆的光芒
wo yi kan jian yong heng de guang mang
光芒在我心上
guang mang zai wo xin shang
在世界綻放
zai shi jie zhan fang
讓我為你照亮
rang wo wei ni zhao liang

SATURDAY DINNER!

2009-01-04T00:37:00.002+08:00

Hey guys!
This is a post of what we (Afred, Jon, JY, Vivian) did on SATURDAY!!
Firstly we went to geylang serai for some dinner! We were all super excited! Cox Jon is TREATING US to dinner!! (Haha don't be late next time*)
Our dear Jon treated us to Pork Rib rice which he said was pretty nice here. Thus we were anticipating to something good for dinner. However he brought it from the wrong stall!! In the end it was just okay :D
However that did not stop! We are all big eaters! JY went for some unique orders he ordered a Chocolate and Strawberry Prata. Man it tasted good!!
While i ordered clay pot rice and me and Vivian shared another plate of fried oyster.

Thats not all. After having a full dinner we went to the
ARCADE!

Hmm you guys can figure out what's Vivian doing.

After all the FUN we had in the arcade together we continue our unique experience.
We head for supper and went to a CHOU TOU FU SHOP! A first time experience for me and JY*

In order to make it more interesting and fun we played open numbers and the CHOSEN ONE have to eat one piece of CHOU TOU FU!

The First VICTIM: VIVIAN POH

The SECOND VICTIM:AFRED

The THIRD VICTIM:JY

The FOURTH VICTIM:AFRED

THE VICTIMS:

The BLESSED MAN that didnt eat at ALL:

Some of the pictures we took:

Finally we cleared it!

It was late. We all went back our separate ways after supper.
It was really an awesome and unique fellowship!
Let's do it more often :D

Signing off Afred

2008-12-30T08:44:00.003+08:00

Hi, it's me again. It;s a bit different now, cos i've included some other people!

E462!!!

Belinda!

And Alfred!

If anyone else wants to have their picture posted, please go to www.photofunia.com
hotline no.:999

Signing off,
PhotoFunia user

Grease! The Musical

2008-12-28T01:24:00.004+08:00

Dear all!
in the upcoming january of 2009, on the 10th, there will be a musical "GREASE"! if you remember why kimberly has been missing cell group for a number of times because of rehearsal, this is it! this is what she and her friends have been practising for - GREASE! if you are able to spot, kimberly is actually in the picture above. sadly, there is a video sample which has been deleted, so we can't see a preview of it. below is the link to the website about the musical.

http://gatecrash.com.sg/?page=event_detail&actionForm=detail&eventID=539

do take a look. if possible, let's support kimberly together!

alexis - on behalf of kim

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T23:59:00.001+08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! enjoy!

~alexis~

What you guys missed out!!!

2008-12-22T02:19:00.033+08:00

Heyhey!!! 1st time blogging today so please 'dou dou(sp) zi jiao'. Literally means 'many many' err 'zi jiao'(get someone to translate :P).

Had candle-light service and Pastor Kong preached "3 things about Christmas lights". After which we celebrated Jordan's birthday!!!

Happy birthday Rev Poh!!!!

After service we had fellowship at Foyer 1 with Stephanie's cell but it was quite a short 1. Everyone had something on so they had to leave. In the end, 4 people remained. Me, Bear, Esther and Maria. Didnt know where to go so we spent quite sometime thinking about it. Went to Novena in the end.

The usual......

Once we reached Novena, we grabbed a bite before walking around. Going 1st to Velocity then to Square(the 1 beside Velocity) then finally to United Square where the fun began.

Took some pics with the Christmas tree outside United Square before going straight to Toys'r'us because 'some people' wanted to go :D.

Pretty obvious what we did there :D 'Accidentally' hit Bear with the toy, too bad Esther didnt capture 'impact moment' :( Bear trying to get back...

Left after the staff told us 'no picture taking' allowed and just walked around the mall.

Bear and the cute dustbin.

Thats all for now. Esther's camera battery died before it could upload the rest of the pictures onto my computer(her comp ran out of space). I don't know if she will continue with the rest but, heres something we(Me, Bear, Esther and MARIA) did over at United Square Macs, spent like an hour at it(i think). Enjoy :D

Signing off with love,

Jy ;D

2008-12-21T21:43:00.005+08:00

hello everyone.

i happen to saw this website, and i think it's super duper cute and cool!

and i believe you guys will surely like it too.

CLICK HERE!! ;DDD

visit nowNowNOW! don't hesitate. i can guarantee you'll like it. XD

teehees.

signing off,

heeheehahahoho.

esther - happy birthday

2008-12-18T13:43:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday Esther!

X RACE

2008-12-18T02:38:00.005+08:00

Hey guys! Some pictures of the X Race.
On the way back . Fellowshipping with Steph's CG

Justin.Q and Zhenyang.
I Guess they are very hungry!
Thumbs up for the X RACE !

Afterall God blessed this event with such a great weather and such great FUN. What a day! Even though our members didnt win anything BUT everyone completed the RACE and that matters! and what a stepping stone it is as our relationship with each other strengthens after this event

Love Afred.

Topic on sea creatures.

2008-12-18T02:00:00.004+08:00

Jordan's chosen Sea creature Mexican Axolotl
The Mexican axolotl (pronounced ACT-SU-LAH-TU) salamander has the rare trait of retaining its larval features throughout its adult life.This condition, called neoteny, means it keeps it tadpole-like dorsal fin, which runs almost the length of its body, and its feathery external gills, which protrude from the back of its wide head
Glass Squid
It has polka-dot on its body it has cantiouum looking eyes it has light organs on its eyes, and also have the ability to roll into a ball, like an aquatic hedgehog. Whales and oceanic seabirds prey on it. As it is a deep sea creatures. Its body glows in the dark.
Leafy Sea Dragon
Unlike seahorses, sea dragons do not have a pouch for rearing the young. Instead, the male carries the eggs fixed to the underside of its tail from where they eventually hatch. When male sea dragons are ready to receive eggs from the female, the lower half of the tail on the male appears wrinkled. During mating, the female lays 100-250 eggs onto a special "brood patch" on the underside of the male's tail where they are attached and fertilized.
Afred's Vampire squid
Known as the vampyroteuthis infernalis, looks more like something that swam out of a late night science fiction movie. The Vampire squid has the largest eyes relative to its body size of any animal. Though it is relatively small, growing to a length of only about 6 inches, it has globular eyeballs as large as the eyes of a large dog. The vampire squid's body is covered with light producing organs called photophores.This gives the squid the unique ability to "turn inself on or off" at will. When the photophores are off, the squid is completely invisible in the dark waters where it lives.It lives as deep as 3000 feet.
Jon Ca.... Shark
A giant shark that lived in prehistoric times, between about 18 million to 1.5 millions years ago and was the apex predator of its time. The oldest C. megalodon teethfound are 18 millions years ago.Several fossilized flipper bones and caudal vertebrae of whales have been found with bite marks that were caused by the attacks from C. megalodon. This evidence indicates that C. megalodon most likely injured and immobilized its prey by biting off its propulsive structures, before proceeding to feed on it. The polar seas became too cold for C. megalodon to survive. Several species of whales, including cetotheriids, became extinct during the late Pilocene, while some whale species showed a trend toward the cooler polar regions. Being unable to follow the surviving whale species into the polar seas the food supply of C. megalodon lessened, which over time lead to the extinction of this specialized super predator.
Belle And Bear Firefly squid
Known as the wataseria scintillans it is referred to in Japan as "hotari-ika". It is a member of the cephalopod family and is related to many other squid species.The firefly squid get its name from the flashing light that resemble those of a firefly. These firefly squid is famous for the incredible light show that occurs each year off the coast of Japan as millions of those tiny animals gather to spawn. It grew to a length of only 3 inches (7cm). It uses blue lights to attract prey. Flashes light on and off to attract small fishes and then pounce on them with their powerful tentacles. It spend their days at depths of about 1200 feet (365 meters).

Love Afred.

MARKETPLACE HERO

2008-11-29T13:44:00.008+08:00

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Jonathan Hoe! Haha. I know that phrase is being used 2,489,342,983 a day but who cares?

Anyway, THIS guy (see pic below) has been making a great impact not only on our cg but out there!-- the place we should be reaching out to - THE MARKETPLACE.

"I am able to do many things while striking a balance only because my spiritual needs are met." - J. Hoe.

Truly, he has been an inspiration to each of us and even to other members of the church.

He's making history, friends! Next time, it will be our turn. :) Let's see ourselves on the frontpage of magazines and newspapers (good news, of course)! Let's see ourselves making an impact - in the marketplace, for the marketplace, to penetrate the marketplace!

Nap without guilt: It boosts sophisticated memory

2008-11-26T02:06:00.001+08:00

WASHINGTON - Just in time for the holidays, some medical advice most people will like: Take a nap.

Interrupting sleep seriously disrupts memory-making, compelling new research suggests. But on the flip side, taking a nap may boost a sophisticated kind of memory that helps us see the big picture and get creative.

"Not only do we need to remember to sleep, but most certainly we sleep to remember," is how Dr. William Fishbein, a cognitive neuroscientist at the City University of New York, put it at a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience last week.

Good sleep is a casualty of our 24/7 world. Surveys suggest few adults attain the recommended seven to eight hours a night.

Way too little clearly is dangerous: Sleep deprivation causes not just car crashes but all sorts of other accidents. Over time, a chronic lack of sleep can erode the body in ways that leave us more vulnerable to heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses.

But perhaps more common than insomnia is fragmented sleep _ the easy awakening that comes with aging, or, worse, the sleep apnea that afflicts millions, who quit breathing for 30 seconds or so over and over throughout the night.

Indeed, scientists increasingly are focusing less on sleep duration and more on the quality of sleep, what's called sleep intensity, in studying how sleep helps the brain process memories so they stick. Particularly important is "slow-wave sleep," a period of very deep sleep that comes earlier than better-known REM sleep, or dreaming time.

Fishbein suspected a more active role for the slow-wave sleep that can emerge even in a power nap. Maybe our brains keep working during that time to solve problems and come up with new ideas. So he and graduate student Hiuyan Lau devised a simple test: documenting relational memory, where the brain puts together separately learned facts in new ways.

First, they taught 20 English-speaking college students lists of Chinese words spelled with two characters _ such as sister, mother, maid. Then half the students took a nap, being monitored to be sure they didn't move from slow-wave sleep into the REM stage.

Upon awakening, they took a multiple-choice test of Chinese words they'd never seen before. The nappers did much better at automatically learning that the first of the two-pair characters in the words they'd memorized earlier always meant the same thing _ female, for example. So they also were more likely than non-nappers to choose that a new word containing that character meant "princess" and not "ape."

"The nap group has essentially teased out what's going on," Fishbein concludes.
These students took a 90-minute nap, quite a luxury for most adults. But even a 12-minute nap can boost some forms of memory, adds Dr. Robert Stickgold of Harvard Medical School.
Conversely, Wisconsin researchers briefly interrupted nighttime slow-wave sleep by playing a beep _ just loudly enough to disturb sleep but not awaken _ and found those people couldn't remember a task they'd learned the day before as well as people whose slow-wave sleep wasn't disrupted.

That brings us back to fragmented sleep, whether from aging or apnea. It can suppress the birth of new brain cells in the hippocampus, where memory-making begins _ enough to hinder learning weeks after sleep returns to normal, warns Dr. Dennis McGinty of the University of California, Los Angeles.

To prove a lasting effect, McGinty mimicked human sleep apnea in rats. He hooked them to brain monitors and made them sleep on a treadmill. Whenever the monitors detected 30 seconds of sleep, the treadmill briefly switched on. After 12 days of this sleep disturbance, McGinty let the rats sleep peacefully for as long as they wanted for the next two weeks.
The catch-up sleep didn't help: Rested rats used room cues to quickly learn the escape hole in a maze. Those with fragmented sleep two weeks earlier couldn't, only randomly stumbling upon the escape.

None of the new work is enough, yet, to pinpoint the minimum sleep needed for optimal memory. What's needed may vary considerably from person to person.
"A short sleeper may have a very efficient deep sleep even if they sleep only four hours," notes Dr. Chiara Cirellia of the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

But altogether, the findings do suggest some practical advice: Get apnea treated. Avoid what Harvard's Stickgold calls "sleep bulimia," super-late nights followed by sleep-in weekends. And don't feel guilty for napping.

comics

2008-11-15T09:47:00.005+08:00

hey people! i receive an email which i find it very interesting. i wonder if you guys came across this email before. i just simply copy and paste.

Concentrate on this Sentence 'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

"Our GOD will fight for us." NEHEMIAH 4:20"
I can do all things through CHRIST who strenghten me." PHIL 4:13

Psalm 9:10
Those who know your name will trust in you,for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

alexis

Are you Bling enough?

2008-11-15T03:09:00.002+08:00

Looking good is an asset and why it cant be you! That was the catch phrase of ET zone, youth event of the year, Bling! Last Saturday afternoon, Riverwalk took on a different facet when the most- good looking youths streamed into the place in their dazzling outfits. The entire place was dotted with shimmering and glittery youths in their best dress code as they were all out to win the Best-Dressed CG for this much anticipated event. It was definitely a fashion display of glamorous accessories and outrageous outfits of creativity of the participating youths.

Bling!, the theme which is to challenge youth to use their talents and their creativity to dare to make a difference, started on a high note with warm welcome and icebreakers. The hosts for this event were Lucas and his company of Kids Central friends, Primero and Candice. Their appearance for this event boosts the hype of the youths to another level of excitement and anticipation.

Some highlights of the day include an awesome Beatbox performance and the zone members themselves put up a dance item professionally even though the young dancers were first exposed to such groovy moves and hip-hop styles. They were indeed a perfect example of ordinary youths showcasing extraordinary attitudes in what they can achieve.

The Event also featured a series of games known as ‘I see you see I see you,’ It was a modified version of the Favourite Taiwanese Variety Show hosted by Jacky Wu, known by all as “Guess Who”. Members were asked to guess who was once a Limbo rocker, the national skipping champion and the one who escaped the tortuous wasabi treat. It wasn’t an easy time for the audiences as all 4 contestants on stage were equally convincing.

Not to miss out the talk- about of the whole event was the Fashion Make-Over. After a scheduled 3 hrs of painting behind closed doors, at the play of the music, the beautifully transformed models sashayed down the runway with their new-fangled hairdo, make up and outfits! Participants were just in awe at what conscious dressing up can change them to and they all voted for their favourite and most successful make over. Of course credits go to the make- up artists that performed the magic of transformation.

The day ended with the hosts announcing the best dressed male and female youth and an exuberant praise song!

With the many innovative ideas and surprises experienced at Bling!, many affirmative and upbeat comments were heard circulating among the youths and their friends. Alfred exclaimed that not only was it an opportunity for excellent friendship bonding but it was definitely an eye opener at what one can do when you dare to be different!

In conclusion, Bling! has expanded the boundaries of the youths at what they can achieve and of course without saying elevated their anticipation for the next zone event!

Ting

BLING! (PART B)

2008-11-11T15:26:00.007+08:00

Well Lex, i guess i'm not that lazy, haha. So here's Part B guys. L-O-L. So we met up at clark quay MRT and waited for the others to come. We were excited 'coz this was the event we've been waiting for - BLING!

So we stayed there and waited for the others to come. Bear took out the masks and we were kind of embarrassed to wear them at first.

However, WHO CARES? LOL. So we sprinkled...or should i say we poured glitter all over? And of course, we couldn't help ourselves - we took some photos! These guys started the photoshoot first. They are looking good. :)
And who would've thought that Superman/SuperJon would join us for this special event?
And who would've thought he could put on black eyeliner and be an "emo" superman?
THE OTHER SIDE OF SUPERMAN. WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE. LOL.
I guess some girls still fall for that kind of guy, haha. Jon and Kim.
Ok, forgive me for the spelling of the name, but i know that you guys know that i don't know Chinese..so here's Shu Mei (forgive me, dear!), Superman, and Bear doing a cool pose. (Bear gave the right spelling haha!Thanks Bear!)

SO..yeah, we went inside the room/hall and we made ourselves comfortable in the last few rows. We had to stand up on the chairs to see what was going on but everything was cool. Here are the highlights of that day:

Our very own Kimberly doing the ET ZOne highlights! Woohoo!!! (and it's our very own cg place too LOL)

The ET Zone dance group.

We had to guess which is the best limboracker (is there even such a word?LOL), skiprope champion, sandwich faker, etc. We guessed Kimberly correctly!!!!!!!!!!!

We had to place the yellow sticker on our best bet.

We were really amazed by the makeovers. We didn't expect them to look so...different! The makeup artists really showed their creativity! The best part for me was when our beloved Bell-A (just kidding, Belle) won the 'BEST DRESSED FEMALE'!!!!!woohoo!!! She really thought of what she was going to wear and how she was going to look.

Oh yeah, we stood up on our chairs and cheered like wild animals (literally) when her name was called. I guess we should've won an award for "THE MOST ENTHUSIASTIC CG" or "THE BEST CHEERLEADERS IN ETZONE" or "THE BEST-BEHAVED CG EVER"??? LlOOOLL.

You made us proud Belle!NO COMMENT...

You won't believe how many photos these guys have?! Even more than the girls!

We only have like, 2 photos. Everyone in the cg loves having their photos taken.

Except these two. LOL.

After taking hundreds of photos and stuffing ourselves with food, here are the guys waiting for the girls to get out of the washroom.

The best way to end this post is to give way to the guy who loves posing for the camera the most - Eugene. LOL. :)

HERE WE ARE! (BLING! POST A)

2008-11-08T22:18:00.006+08:00

LOL. I believe that today we all had fun. I have the evidence in my camera. Almost 300 photos.

You guys are amazing. Some of you pretend to be camera shy but really..you love having your photos taken. LOL. Jonathan and Kim. The "cool" pose.THE GUYS. I CAN'T BELIEVE SUPERMAN JOINED US.

THE GIRLS. PRETTY LADIES.

HAPPY FAMILY. :)

tada!!!

2008-11-04T00:14:00.002+08:00

this is what the next post it all about! haha. ever wonder how the scenario of jon carrying bear? this is it! the video, i captured. while waiting for things to start, this is what we did and what happen! enjoy :)

lex =D

WE MISS BRONSON

2008-11-03T22:08:00.006+08:00

This week after cg, we heard of 2 big announcements. Good news and bad news.

Su Ting said that another person was going to transfer to another cg. We didn't expect that. She went on to describe how she personally discipled this person and she went on and on. We thought it was Alfred. LOL. Suddenly she said, Jian Guang.

WE WERE SHOCKED. We couldn't even say a single word. Bronson, we're gonna miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We took a lot of photos that day..and a lot of people requested to have their photos taken with Johnson, i mean Bronson.
Pardon the looks guys. They were staring at two cameras and they didn't know which was taking which and who was taking who. LOL.

Bronson with his connect group members, JY and Belle.

Suddenly everyone was carrying everybody.

Bronson carried ----------- Alfred!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bear carrying Su Ting. She carried Su Ting for a long time 'coz she had to pose for 2 cameras, haha.

Su Ting asking Bear to put her down..LOL.

But she gave up after some time, haha.

...

....

.....

and the moment we've all been waiting for............JONATHAN CARRYING BELINDA!!!!!ALL THINGS ARE REALLY REALLY POSSIBLE!Here is Jon doing his first attempt.

Still trying to gather the strength and preparing his muscles for the great task ahead.

............drum roll please...

WOOHOO!!!!!! Oh yeah, as for the other announcement (the good news) - you guys just have to look out for the next post. ;)