choice of story

let's start off with

Jer 33:8
I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.

Heb 8:12
For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

first, God not only forgives our sins, He forgets them. and He cleanses us, not leave us to rot with the sin after forgivin us. next, let's talk about an example: Abraham.

Rom 4:18
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Abraham and Sarah were growing old, and childless. "against all hope", Abraham believed God will give him an offspring. but let's take a look at

Gen 16:2
[amplified] ... “Abram listened to and heeded what Sarai said.”
[NLT] ... “And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal.”
[Today's NIV] ... “Abram agreed to what Sarai said.”

Abraham, to certain extent, thought about Sarah's suggestion of having a baby with Hagar and agreed to do so. why? he probably thought that would be a shortcut to having a baby. after all, God promised him "a son coming from your own body" [Gen 15:4] but didn't specify the mum. he probably chose to "conveniently forget" the importance God placed on being husband and wife after his experience with the Pharoah in Gen 12:10-20.

so what's my point? Abraham made a mistake by having a child with Hagar. but how did Dad write about him? "against all hope, Abraham in hope believed". in this case, Abraham's righteousness [Gen 15:6] was the key to God rewriting his story. for us, the righteousness comes from the blood of Jesus. the Blood changes our story!

we face discouragement, struggles and failures. let's leave them at the foot of the Cross, covered by the Blood. have positive self talk.
Joel 3:10
... let the weakling say, "I am strong!"
a study shows an average person hears 1200 words a min [self talk and self thoughts]. 1100 are negative. dun partner religious/terrorist spirits which condemn us. we will be discouraged and afraid. we have been born anew! [Gal 2:20]. we don't wanna kill ourselves over and over again. the old has gone [2Cor 5:17]. the new man/woman needs to be nourished. talk strength into ourselves.

hand to Dad our lives and let Him tell our stories. it will be different from how we tell them. do not let our past determine our future. refuse to live in regret, "forgetting what is behind and and straining toward what is ahead" [Phil 3:13]. sounds easier said than done? bear in mind who said that. Apostle Paul, who was Saul, who persecuted Christians.

This message is for all of us, myself included [notice "we", "us", "our"]. hope this message blesses you all. adapted from a bethel sermon which is no longer available on their website. u can get it from here http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~teoweich/%5bheard%5d%20Living_Powerfully_10_45am_48kbps.mp3

love,
kev

Just some thoughts

Here I am writing a blog post 13 hours before my exam :) . I just received notice this week that I've failed to get a place in the summer internship I was trying for. While it does make me feel somewhat disappointed, I'm quite amazed at the things I believe God is reminding me I can now do since the 2 months overseas isn't there anymore.

I now have more time for guitar class, the opportunity to take part in any camps etc during the holidays, more time to meet up with friends coming back from overseas, free time to start learning to drive (after putting it off for years despite my father and sister's nagging), and more. As I think about it more, I believe that not being able to go might just be the better deal! I'm still contemplating and praying over what to do with my 3 months break (work maybe... suggestions?), but I think I should give thanks to God here for closing the door this time. I believe He really knows best!

God's love

   If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

  If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.

  He sends you flowers every spring.

  He sends you a sunrise every morning.

  Whenever you want to talk, He listens.

  He can live anywhere in the Universe, but He chose your heart.

  Now God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without
  sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the
  day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

  So face it, He is crazy about you!

      Therefore let us; GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HE
  IS GOOD; HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!   Amen.
  ( 1 CHRONICLES 16:34 )

  In HIS Love & Service,
        Pastor Allen

      ***This Email was sent to you by God's Minute***
To Ensure Delivery to your Inbox (not Bulk or Junk Folders),
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chris yang bday cake

Chris Yang cutting his cake. 

video of him receiving present:

Sam's Birthday Celebration!

Sam's sister Sarah playing the birthday song on her guitar, and the rest singing :)

Durian Cake!! Yummy (for durian lovers :D)

Had a great time celebrating Sam's bday, eating all the delicious food and drinks prepared lovingly by Sam, Sufern, Sarah, and ...?

Stepping Out...

Kevin asked me to post an account of what we did today, so here goes:
This afternoon, Chris, Kevin and I met up at Science faculty to pray. We spent some quiet time with God in one of the classrooms in S16. After that, Chris said that he felt that God was challenging him to enter one of the classrooms on our floor and share with the people there. We left the classroom we were in and went from door to door, peeking in to see which was the room to enter. We finally entered the one opposite our room. There were 4 girls in there. Chris asked for a few minutes of their time and shared about the blessing campaign with them. After they filled up the pamphlets, Chris and Kevin prayed a short prayer of blessing over them.

We continued to pray at S16 for a while longer, before eventually moving through S15 to SoC1. Since Chris had already shown us a good example, Kevin and I were also nervously on the lookout for a classroom where we could do likewise. As we walked through the corridor of SoC1 level 3, there was 1 tutorial room with 1 person inside. Kevin kept asking me whether I wanted to approach the guy inside. We dithered quite along the corridor, and by the time we were thinking of giving it a shot, another girl went into the room. Now there were 2 people in the room. After some mental preparation, we went in and tried to share with the 2 people inside. The guy wasn't really interested, but the girl took out some time to fill out the pamphlet and let me pray for her.

And so ends my account of our little adventure with God on Wednesday afternoon. We were very encouraged and I personally felt very challenged during the whole thing. Before we went out of our room, Chris shared with us some of his thoughts, about how, sometimes, when we come to God in desperation, we come with an attitude of doubt, and we ask God for things that we already have. I believe that, sometimes, our own reservations hold us back and make us feel inadequate. When Chris first mentioned what he felt God wanted him to do, I felt very uncomfortable. But as we entered that first room and Chris spoke to the girls, I believe fear and apprehension slowly gave way to faith, and when the time came for me to share in that room in SoC1, I wasn't really nervous or stiff about it. Hope this will be an encouragement to you all!

the tongue

i was blog-hopping and reading an article posted on ntu cell's blog http://www.jesusculture.org/index.php?page=articles&tPid=4&id=20

these verses from the article struck me but i forgot to note them down...
Prov 20:5 The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.
Prov 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

so i went to biblegateway to search fer the verses to note down... and Dad led me to Prov 26...
ouch!
Prov 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
Prov 26:18 Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows 19 is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!"

Confession to make... i haven't gotten rid of the bad habit of lying completely [yes, a joke can be a lie... and i have a bad habit of joking with ppl]... knowing i have this bad habit, i have placed James 3:8-10 in my personal mission statement a long time back

James 3
8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

and i pray always that the Holy Spirit will continue to keep my tongue in check... i tink Dad is reminding me abt this as i have made a mistake in this recently which i recognized, confessed and repented... One of tina's fav verses also came to my mind:
Songs 2:15 Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

i shall end the post now... amazing how Dad can work eh? ask tina fer the meaning behind the verse if u are interested... as i've shared this, i hope this has blessed u all in any way and i'm now accountable to each of u who has read this =)

love,
kev

ps: a biblegateway search on “speaks truth” gives a manageable 5 results fer those who are interested to read up more... and one more wise verse in Prov 26:22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts.

Corporate Prayer 28-March

Maybe I have been going for too many meetings already haha...but this was what came out of the blue when i was thinking about what corporate prayer is-

Prayer: Talking to God
Corporate Prayer: Board Meeting with God who runs the Family Business

God is like the CEO who has the power to decide what gets done and how. We are the children who have inherited the positions in the 'company', sitting in this meeting to present the needs that we have. Whenever a 'case' is presented, God the CEO will ask- "Who is in favour of this proposition?" And we will then vote to agree or disagree.

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:19-20

But we may ask ourselves, if God knows all things, He will already know what we need and hence there is no need for prayer. Yet, He still asks us to pray! Jesus' whole ministry was also saturated in prayer and just as an earthly father who wants his children to come to him with requests, our Father in Heaven also loves us to come to Him in prayer!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

Hmm, how about unanswered prayers then? :( It is up to God to decide what the outcome is and we should trust in Him no matter what. :)
------
Anyway, here are the brief prayer pointers that we touched on for the last corporate prayer:

1. Salvation in the Arab nations
2. Malaysia's political situation
3. Mental well-being of Singaporean children and youth
4. Healing (we were given a slip of paper each that contains the specific prayer requests of the sick)

There was also a prophetic art painting session where some youths and adults painted the pictures that they have seen during a time of prayer before the service. A few came out to share what they painted, and what God has spoken to them. The overall theme was music and sounds.

Here are the pics of some of the paintings!

Directions to our Father's house

Make a Right onto Believeth Blvd. Keep straight and go through
the Green Light, which is Jesus Christ. There, you must turn onto
the Bridge of Faith, which is over troubled water.

Now when you get off the bridge, make a Right turn and Keep
Straight. You are on the King's Highway - Heaven-bound.
Keep going for three miles: One for the Father, One for the Son,
and One for the Holy Spirit.

Then take the Grace Blvd exit. From there, make a Right turn
on Gospel Lane. Keep Straight and then make another Right on
Prayer Road. As you go on your way, Yield Not to the traffic on
Temptation Ave. Also, avoid SIN STREET because it is a DEAD
END. Pass up Envy Drive, and Hate Avenue. Also, pass
Hypocrisy Street, Gossiping Lane, and Backbiting Blvd.

However, you will have to go down Long-suffering Lane,
Persecution Blvd. and Trials and Tribulations Ave, but that's all
right, because VICTORY Street is straight ahead!