Showing posts with label Verses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Verses. Show all posts
This verse spoke to me today as I sat in my Monday blues... =P The Message version of the bible comes up with some pretty interesting interpretatiions. It shouldn't be used as a primary reference point for the Word but it is powerful and not boring to read, nonetheless.
"One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches. I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin. All sunshine and sovereign is God, generous in gifts and glory. He doesn't scrimp with his traveling companions. It's smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies."
~Psalm 84:10-12 (Taken from The Message version)~
by Rick Warren
God formed every creature on this planet with a special area of expertise. Some animals run, some hop, some swim, some burrow, and some fly. Each has a particular role to play based on the way they were shaped by God. The same is true with humans. Each of us is uniquely designed, or "shaped," to do certain things.
Before architects design any new building they first ask, "What will be its purpose? How will it be used?" The intended function always determines the form of the building.
Before God created you, he decided what role he wanted you to play on earth. He planned exactly how he wanted you to serve him, and then he shaped you for those tasks. You are the way you are because you were made for a specific ministry.
The Bible says, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). Our English word "poem" comes from this Greek word translated "workmanship." You're God's handcrafted work of art. You're not an assembly-line product, mass-produced without thought. You're a custom designed, one-of-a-kind, original masterpiece.
God deliberately shaped and formed you to serve him in a way that makes your ministry unique. He carefully mixed the DNA recipe that created you. David praised God for this incredible personal attention to detail God gave in designing each of us: "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous" (Psalm 139:13-14 NLT).
Not only did God shape you before your birth, he planned every day of your life to support his shaping process. David continues, "Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed" (Psalm 139:16 NLT).
This means nothing that happens in your life is insignificant. God uses all of it to mold you for your ministry to others and shape you for your service to him.
God never wastes anything. He would not give you abilities, interests, talents, gifts, personality, and life experiences unless he intended to use them for his glory. By identifying and understanding these factors you can discover God's will for your life.
The Bible says you are "wonderfully complex." You're a combination of many different factors: "The people I have shaped for myself will broadcast my praises" (Isaiah 43:21 NJB).
(I was reading this devotional today and it really spoke into my heart. It is so powerful to read the word of God in a simple devotional. We are "God's workmanship", His 'handcrafted work of art', a 'custom designed, one-of-a-kind, original masterpiece'.
How awesome is that?
He shaped each of us for a wonderful and specific purpose - each of abilities, experiences, idiosyncrasies can be used for His glory when committed to Him.
The pain that we go through is not wasted. The joys of our victory in Him are not short-lived but are sustained because they are true victories in Jesus that we can testify of forever.
Hope you've been blessed - have a great week ahead! =)
by Os Hillman
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." - Colossians 3:23-24
"I didn't know you were in full-time Christian work," said my close friend as we were driving. "I didn't realize that," she went on. I responded, "Every person who has followed the will of God in their life is in full-time Christian work." God calls some to the mission field, others to be accountants, and others to be advertising executives, and still others to be construction workers. God never made a distinction between sacred and secular. In fact, the Hebrew word avodah is the root word having the same meaning of "work" and "worship." God sees our work as worship.
We have incorrectly elevated the role of the Christian worker to be more holy and committed than the person who is serving in a more secular environment. Yet the call to the secular workplace is as important as any other calling. God has to have His people in every sphere of life. Otherwise, many would never come to know Him because they would be separated from society.
I learned this lesson personally when I sought to go into "full-time" service as a pastor in my late twenties, only to have God thrust me back into the business world unwillingly. This turned out to be the best thing He could have done for me, because it was never His will for me to be a pastor. He knew I was more suited for the workplace.
We are all in missions. Some are called to foreign lands. Some are called to the jungles of the workplace. Wherever you are called, serve the Lord in that place. Let Him demonstrate His power through your life so that others might experience Him through you today and see your vocation as worship to His glory.
(I found this article simple and yet very relevant to each of us. Hope you enjoyed the read! =)
(Some more nostalgic cell pics...we really have to take more new pictures!)
This thought came to mind this afternoon: Today is the first day for the rest of your life. I just felt that something new is happening in our cell, in the members' lives, and that this year is going to be quite an amazing one with God. Challenging, yes. But filled with purpose and progress. =)
I've been checking the blog stats and noticed that for the last two days, hardly anyone came to visit. That's probably the result of me blogging on the cell blog so irregularly nowadays. I'm committing to changing that and I will provide updates, thoughts, testimonies and anything else appropriate at least once a week. Anyone who wants to write here, please do inform me and I will put you on the author's list (but you will need a google or blogger account set up I think, if you don't have one already).
How has your prayer and fasting gone this week? I have a confession to make. I've never kept to my fasting commitments for an extended period of time until this week. Since Sunday, I had fasted lunch and after almost a week, I am seeing changes happen in my spiritual walk...things that I did not anticipate and even things that I did not really want to happen.
I just want to share a bit. Every night, when I try to sleep, I've been feeling such a burden to pray and I've been praying for all of you by name and for your situations, many times crying (So manly, right?). But I'm sensing a change in the spiritul atmosphere and in my faith level, and I strongly feel that there will be a breakthrough in many of our lives as a result of this month's focus. Please join me even as we fast and pray for God's hand, breakthrough and presence to pour out on our lives and those around us in March.
Tonight, we're officially moving our cell venue to Sarah's house. I keep saying this but we're really so blessed to have her mom open up the house to us. It is such a great place to have cell and to achieve our cell's purpose. I'm believing God for spiritual growth and maturity this year. I'm believing God that our cell will grow and reach out to more people. And I'm believing God for multiplication this year for our cell. Time to rise up and take our position in the kingdom of God.
Finally, the emphasis this month is on being positioned for service. The verse given is from Ephesians 4:11-12: "It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be build up." To each person, God has provided giftings, and I challenge each of us to try to find those giftings and begin activating them to bless and honour Him.
See you all tonight! I'm excited about cell because we're having some of the transitioning college cell members joining us from today. I hope Aunty cooks...Hahaha! So very hungry already...
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19a
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
Even as each of us enters into the new year, realise that God is doing something new. Something new in Church, in cell and in each of our lives.
Where there used to be only desert land and wasteland, there will be streams and pathways. He will form an oasis in the middle of a parched desert and life will spring forth from it.
There are three questions that are essential to build on:
1. What new thing is God doing? (In Church, cell and your life)
2. Do you want to be involved in what God is doing?
3. If you want to be involved, to what extent (how much) do you want to get involved?
Answering these three questions will provide a starting indication of God's will for you in this season (if you're curious about what it is =). As you evaluate them, do so knowing with complete assurance that God's master plan works for the good of those who love Him.
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".
Jeremiah 29:11
Hi all,
Tomorrow is our first cell of 2009 and I thought I’d write a post to communicate the vision for this year in Church as shared by Pastor Vincent last weekend.
Last year was the Year of Empowerment and this year is the Year of Positioning!
The verse that we’ll be referring to as a basis is from Ephesians 4:16:
“From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
The main message is that every person in the body of Christ has an important purpose and part to play. Each of us are very different as individuals but have a perfect fit in the body, that has been set aside for us by God. When one part of the body hurts, the rest of the body suffers along.
In 1 Corinthians 12:18, the verse states that, “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be”.
I’m excited for this year. We’ve shared so many experiences together as a cell; within cell meetings playing ice breakers, worshipping together and discussing the relevance of the Word in our daily lives, as well as outside cell meetings with boardgames, sports, countless mamak sessions and dinners.
We went through multiplication into two cells and several harvest events, including the recent LIITA event which was the largest harvest event we’ve ever tried to handle (Yen’s side had 41 people and our side had 39 people attending). Two cell members had their first baby son, Marcus. We supported each other through job changes, migration plans, family and financial situations, mean bosses and tyre punctures.
2008 was an awesome year. It wasn’t easy by any means with many challenges and rough times but I’ve seen many individuals grow and develop even as they learn to trust God through their trials. It was a year of transition and the power of God was demonstrated in our lives many times even as He remained faithful.
I’m believing God for a greater 2009, where each cell member is going to find their place in the body of Christ, understand the purpose for which God has prepared for them, and be positioned there effectively. It will be a year of growth and and a year of release.
I’m constantly grateful for all of you and the way you have been involved in cell. Thank you for your support and love. It was an honour to serve with and alongside many of you.
Happy New Year.
If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world...Probably earthly pleasures were never made to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage.
~C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity~
Yes, there are temptations in the world and they are hard to resist. Yes, the social pressures, culture and influences are very real and challenging to face, let alone stand against. Yes, there will be times every human in the world will stumble and fall, only to be faced with the decision to pick oneself up again for the millionth time or to throw in the towel.
But along with all these practical realities and difficulties, we have to realise the truth that only a genuine relationship with God will fulfil the core desires of our hearts. Nothing more and nothing less.
As Blaise Pascal describes, "the infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words, by God himself".
"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.'" (John 6:35)
"Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)
"The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." (Psalm 145:15-16)
I mentioned in a recent post that I wanted to share about burnt offerings and it's been on my heart for awhile now but my schedule has just been too overwhelming recently. Before I completely forget what I wanted to say, I'm going to share it in this post although I haven't really thought it out enough yet.
The bible passage is from Leviticus 6:8-13 when God was instructing Moses on the burnt offering that is to be offered.
I won't copy and paste the whole passage but the lines that jumped out at me were:
"The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar."
"The priest ... shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar ..."
"The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out."
"The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out."
There have been many times when I've left camp, a conference or an event completely on fire for God only to start losing steam weeks or months later. I wasn't able to keep the fire burning. And in this short passage, three times it is written that the fire must be kept burning and must not go out.
Relating it to our lives, how do we stay on fire? How do we step on the altar as living sacrifices, put fresh wood as an offering to God and not crawl off the altar when it gets too hot or uncomfortable?
There were two things that spoke to my heart when I read this bible passage.
Firstly, fresh wood has to be added daily. Burnt offerings don't continue to burn forever on old fuel because the fire consumes what is on the altar. That means that there are things in our lives that we need to bring to the altar regularly; It doesn't mean that something sacrificed in the past will continue to be 'sacrificed' in our lives if we don't continue to lay it down.
Secondly, the ashes have to be removed from the altar or it will get in the way of the fire continuing to burn. Once offerings have become ashes, there's no point trying to burn it again. Many times we like to look back at the things we have done, the sacrifices we have made, and the times that God has used us powerfully for his purposes.
We forget to rely on new mercies everyday and instead try to rely on our past experiences and sometimes even our 'past anointing' to carry us through new periods of our lives. Just because God moved in our lives in a mighty way in the past does not mean that He will continue to do so in exactly the same way today, especially if we neglect to bring fresh offerings to the altar.
Don't hold on to the past. The past reminds us of God's faithfulness but it doesn't give us the power and anointing for the present. The only thing we can continue to hold on to are the promises that God has placed over us that are yet to come to pass in the physical.
Seek fresh manna, fresh anointing, fresh purpose for today. Forgetting what lies behind and just pressing on towards the goal, fully focused on our Lord, Jesus. Don't try to fall back on past accomplishments and achievements, past anointing or past experiences with God.
Although He is unchanging forever, He has something new for us every single day as He carries us through new seasons, from glory to glory. Don't restrict Him by looking backwards but realise that He has a wonderful plan and purpose for our life that will come to pass, and that is coming to pass.
I apologise if my points above haven't been as concise as I originally planned and hope that it captures the essence of what I wanted to share.
Keep the fire burning.
Put fresh wood...fresh offerings.
Clear away the ashes.
Don't let the fire go out.
Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
that's where life starts.
Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth;
avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust.
(Proverbs 4:23-27 - Taken from The Message)
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
~Deuteronomy 31:6~
(Oh man, Mei's gonna kill me!)
I was reading Isaiah 53 yesterday and the verses below (3-9) started speaking to me. Jesus fulfilled every characteristic of the prophecies given in the Old Testament about the Messiah.
It's so amazing reading some of the verses about the Messiah written hundreds of years before Jesus was born and realising...
This is Jesus.
He fulfilled every prophecy.
He understood what He was born on earth for and He willingly walked to the most excruciating and gruesome death that a person can experience.
Why would He do that?
Does He love us that much?
This is our God.
This is our God.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
Many people tend to avoid the 'hard' verses in the bible. There is an increasing emphasis on prosperity, grace and the belief that truth is subjective and personal to each individual.
We can't forget that the bible is the Word of God, that there are absolute truths of God that do not depend on what a human mind can conceive or imagine, and that there are conditions for a person to receive the gift of salvation.
There needs to be solidity in our faith and relationship with God that allows us to take a stand for Christ and for truth uncompromisingly, while combining it with the compassion and grace of God.
It takes an unshakeable focus on Jesus, without looking to the left or the right, and a willingness to make the sacrifice to take the narrow road.
The call to have a relationship with God is not just as a believer, but as a disciple who has counted the cost, and chosen to walk in His will.
;;
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