DevotionSEVEN: Know your Father's Name
To the non-christians, He may just be known as Jesus. However, just as how we call our dads 'dad' and not by his name, our Father enables us to to know Him by a unique name too. And that is "Abba" (Meaning 'Dad' in Hebrew)
Romans 8:15-17
15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
To others, our dads may just be known as the guy who works at XXX or the one who cooks well. Addressing our dads 'dad' entails a unique relationship we have with this person we see almost everyday in our lives. The day we accept Christ into our lives, is the day when we are offered to enter into a new level of intimacy with God.
Isnt it so comforting to know that our Father above longs to have an intimate relationship with us? Not a master-servant relationship, as servants do not know the business of his master.
But how often do we chase and long after Him? When we're down and out? When exams are near?
Just as how you would want your friend to come to you not only in bad times but also in good times, how much more is He longing for you to share with Him your daily struggles and joy. I think our Father above must feel very hurt when we only remember Him when we need help.
And surely, we wouldnt our friends to know us just by our names, would we?
Lets, together as a cell, strive to have a closer walk with Him and not to just know Him as 'Jesus'. Even on days we feel so distant, let us utter to God "Draw me close to You, never let me go..."
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
devotionSIX - Psalm 37
Morning, it is another brand new day filled with many excitement that is to come! Haha... UOL peeps, have you been studying or slacking? Time to put on your seat-belt and speed through your notes, else we need to have prayer meeting soon to intercede for prelims. (:
Today, we're going to look at Psalm 37. Recently, it has become my favourite psalm as there are many promises, encouragement from God. Read it and claim all that's in it in Jesus' name yeah? I pray that psalm37 will set into your hearts to walk you through the many days ahead. I particularly love 'The Message' version. Lets' take a good look at the psalm and be inspired to be good for God. We can do it together!
Psalm 37 (The Message)
1-2 Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked. In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last. Keep company with God, get in on the best.
5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back; he'll do whatever needs to be done: He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him. Don't bother with those who climb the ladder, who elbow their way to the top.
8-9 Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes—it only makes things worse. Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;God-investors will soon own the store.
10-11 Before you know it, the wicked will have had it;you'll stare at his once famous place and—nothing! Down-to-earth people will move in and take over, relishing a huge bonanza.
12-13 Bad guys have it in for the good guys, obsessed with doing them in. But God isn't losing any sleep; to him they're a joke with no punch line.
14-15 Bullies brandish their swords, pull back on their bows with a flourish. They're out to beat up on the harmless, or mug that nice man out walking his dog. A banana peel lands them flat on their faces—slapstick figures in a moral circus.
16-17 Less is more and more is less. One righteous will outclass fifty wicked, For the wicked are moral weaklings but the righteous are God-strong.
18-19 God keeps track of the decent folk;what they do won't soon be forgotten. In hard times, they'll hold their heads high;when the shelves are bare, they'll be full.
20 God-despisers have had it;God's enemies are finished—Stripped bare like vineyards at harvest time, vanished like smoke in thin air.
21-22 Wicked borrows and never returns;Righteous gives and gives. Generous gets it all in the end;Stingy is cut off at the pass.
23-24 Stalwart walks in step with God;his path blazed by God, he's happy. If he stumbles, he's not down for long;God has a grip on his hand.
25-26 I once was young, now I'm a graybeard—not once have I seen an abandoned believer, or his kids out roaming the streets. Every day he's out giving and lending, his children making him proud.
27-28 Turn your back on evil, work for the good and don't quit. God loves this kind of thing, never turns away from his friends.
28-29 Live this way and you've got it made, but bad eggs will be tossed out. The good get planted on good land and put down healthy roots.
30-31 Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue. His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins;his feet are as sure as a cat's.
32-33 Wicked sets a watch for Righteous,he's out for the kill. God, alert, is also on watch—Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head.
34 Wait passionately for God,don't leave the path. He'll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it.
35-36 I saw Wicked bloated like a toad, croaking pretentious nonsense. The next time I looked there was nothing—a punctured bladder, vapid and limp.
37-38 Keep your eye on the healthy soul, scrutinize the straight life;There's a future in strenuous wholeness. But the willful will soon be discarded;insolent souls are on a dead-end street.
39-40 The spacious, free life is from God, it's also protected and safe. God-strengthened, we're delivered from evil—when we run to him, he saves us.
Today, we're going to look at Psalm 37. Recently, it has become my favourite psalm as there are many promises, encouragement from God. Read it and claim all that's in it in Jesus' name yeah? I pray that psalm37 will set into your hearts to walk you through the many days ahead. I particularly love 'The Message' version. Lets' take a good look at the psalm and be inspired to be good for God. We can do it together!
Psalm 37 (The Message)
1-2 Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked. In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last. Keep company with God, get in on the best.
5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back; he'll do whatever needs to be done: He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him. Don't bother with those who climb the ladder, who elbow their way to the top.
8-9 Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes—it only makes things worse. Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;God-investors will soon own the store.
10-11 Before you know it, the wicked will have had it;you'll stare at his once famous place and—nothing! Down-to-earth people will move in and take over, relishing a huge bonanza.
12-13 Bad guys have it in for the good guys, obsessed with doing them in. But God isn't losing any sleep; to him they're a joke with no punch line.
14-15 Bullies brandish their swords, pull back on their bows with a flourish. They're out to beat up on the harmless, or mug that nice man out walking his dog. A banana peel lands them flat on their faces—slapstick figures in a moral circus.
16-17 Less is more and more is less. One righteous will outclass fifty wicked, For the wicked are moral weaklings but the righteous are God-strong.
18-19 God keeps track of the decent folk;what they do won't soon be forgotten. In hard times, they'll hold their heads high;when the shelves are bare, they'll be full.
20 God-despisers have had it;God's enemies are finished—Stripped bare like vineyards at harvest time, vanished like smoke in thin air.
21-22 Wicked borrows and never returns;Righteous gives and gives. Generous gets it all in the end;Stingy is cut off at the pass.
23-24 Stalwart walks in step with God;his path blazed by God, he's happy. If he stumbles, he's not down for long;God has a grip on his hand.
25-26 I once was young, now I'm a graybeard—not once have I seen an abandoned believer, or his kids out roaming the streets. Every day he's out giving and lending, his children making him proud.
27-28 Turn your back on evil, work for the good and don't quit. God loves this kind of thing, never turns away from his friends.
28-29 Live this way and you've got it made, but bad eggs will be tossed out. The good get planted on good land and put down healthy roots.
30-31 Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue. His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins;his feet are as sure as a cat's.
32-33 Wicked sets a watch for Righteous,he's out for the kill. God, alert, is also on watch—Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head.
34 Wait passionately for God,don't leave the path. He'll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it.
35-36 I saw Wicked bloated like a toad, croaking pretentious nonsense. The next time I looked there was nothing—a punctured bladder, vapid and limp.
37-38 Keep your eye on the healthy soul, scrutinize the straight life;There's a future in strenuous wholeness. But the willful will soon be discarded;insolent souls are on a dead-end street.
39-40 The spacious, free life is from God, it's also protected and safe. God-strengthened, we're delivered from evil—when we run to him, he saves us.
devotionFIVE - WHO AM I?
Before we can really understand who we are in Jesus, we have to understand who we are not. And when you start to get the picture of who we are not, His love just explodes and you'll start getting a better picture of who God is.
Today's devotion, we'll try out something new and fun. We'll watch this 5mins clip and I pray that the words of this song will minister to you in a very great deal.
Today's devotion, we'll try out something new and fun. We'll watch this 5mins clip and I pray that the words of this song will minister to you in a very great deal.
I pray also that His love will empower you to overcome the many obstacles in life. His love is greater than any problem we face in this world. In Him, we will find rest. In Him, we can soar on wings like eagles. We do not need to do anything to prove that we are of worth because God loves us for who we are.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
CF Meeting Tmr!
Hello people! How have your week been? Haha! What happen to our tagboard? Some hungry monster ate it up?Lol!
Anyway,there will be Combine CF meeting tmr with the IM(Indonesian Ministry) people at the usual time,7:00pm and the usual room I think(Rm2.20). We can meet for dinner before CF starts. Lets' meet at the smelly canteen at 6.30 for dinner ok? There will be moving screening tmr. Lets' come with an excited heart? Expect that even through a simple movie, God will speak too? Yup!
One more thing,PLEASE insert you prayer request asap so that we can pray for you ok?
See you guys tmr!
Anyway,there will be Combine CF meeting tmr with the IM(Indonesian Ministry) people at the usual time,7:00pm and the usual room I think(Rm2.20). We can meet for dinner before CF starts. Lets' meet at the smelly canteen at 6.30 for dinner ok? There will be moving screening tmr. Lets' come with an excited heart? Expect that even through a simple movie, God will speak too? Yup!
One more thing,PLEASE insert you prayer request asap so that we can pray for you ok?
See you guys tmr!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Devotion FOUR: Living With a Tattoo
Have we experienced hurts so deep that it has become like a tattoo on our souls? Or guilts, regrets and bitter heartache we wish we could put behind us?
One way or another, I believe we have experienced some kind of pain or regrets in our lives. But are they controlling our present and future?
Psalm 103:2-5
2Bless the Lord...forget not all His benefits, 3who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Some of us may have experienced abuse as a young child, went through struggles that most others may not have gone through. We may feel undignified as a result, and wished we could relive it in a better way.
Surely we cannot begin again in time. No one can go back to the starting line in the race of life and tell God "Lord, I pray this accident might not have happened."
Like holes life in the wall after nailes have been removed, the gaping wounds of sin often leave ugly sores. GOD wants to bandage our open wounds so that they might be healed. Our past need not control our present nor future. It is never too late to do what is right; never to late to live our remaining days for God.
The healing process may be long and wounds may never seemed to be healed. But, know that, our Father above is more than willing to bandage our open wounds so that they might be healed. Also, what have you gone through that our Jesus hadnt while He was on earth?
Have we experienced hurts so deep that it has become like a tattoo on our souls? Or guilts, regrets and bitter heartache we wish we could put behind us?
One way or another, I believe we have experienced some kind of pain or regrets in our lives. But are they controlling our present and future?
Psalm 103:2-5
2Bless the Lord...forget not all His benefits, 3who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Some of us may have experienced abuse as a young child, went through struggles that most others may not have gone through. We may feel undignified as a result, and wished we could relive it in a better way.
Surely we cannot begin again in time. No one can go back to the starting line in the race of life and tell God "Lord, I pray this accident might not have happened."
Like holes life in the wall after nailes have been removed, the gaping wounds of sin often leave ugly sores. GOD wants to bandage our open wounds so that they might be healed. Our past need not control our present nor future. It is never too late to do what is right; never to late to live our remaining days for God.
The healing process may be long and wounds may never seemed to be healed. But, know that, our Father above is more than willing to bandage our open wounds so that they might be healed. Also, what have you gone through that our Jesus hadnt while He was on earth?
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