Hi everyone. How is your prayer life? I post this as a motivation and reminder not only to myself but to everyone who reads this as well.
A prayer to God is simply:
- Talking to Him
- Listening to Him
- Being still in His presence
In our prayers we have the freedom to say anything to everything we want. Our feelings, our thanks, our emotions, our daily troubles, our doubts, our fears, our pleads, and including our joys. Prayer DOES IMPROVE your relationship with God. I know it because recently I have been praying more regularly, thanks to everyone who have been praying for me as well. And somehow I feel that the relationship getting stronger, even if it's still a tinsy winsy bit. My prayer progress is ever so slow (sometimes I still question God why) but still, I see it as it's better than not moving at all.
Here are a few verses to encourage you in praying.
Matthew 6:6. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 7:7-11. 7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 21:22. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
Luke 22:40. On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation.
John 15:7. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
Philippians 4:6. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
James 1:5-6. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
1 John 5:14-15. 14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
And lastly,
James 5:16. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
P.S. If you have any experiences, testimonies or sharings yourself, I encourage you to share it here! :)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Youth dinner outing at Suntec City
On a Sabbath afternoon on 29 January, the youth were hanging out at the mezzanine floor in our church. Some were chit chatting, some were so engrossed with some Bible game on someone's mobile phone, while others (including me) started drawing faces of the people around us and asking people to guess who they were. Soon after, Hydon asked Simon to massage him because he was tired or something (or was it vice versa). And very soon after that... it turned into some mass production line!!!! Camera-shy boy in the front.
Earlier we had all discussed through out the week on where to go for dinner that night. Many suggestions came up on the Fb event page here. Finally we decided on Loving Hut (a vegetarian cafe with affordable prices) at Suntec City. It's certainly fun taking public transport together with your friends :)
Oh and finally everyone's settled along the dinner table. 22 of us turned up! What a huge response from just the youth. Fortunately we booked our seats in advance so we could start ordering our food the moment we reached.
No outing is complete with some GROUP PHOTOOOOOOS.
ALL-SMILES PHOTO! Except ermmm.... JERome, why are you the only one whose smile is covered HUH???!!!! Maintaining your no-expression poker-face trademark???
*SHRIEKS* ALTON TAY CHI CHENG WHY IS YOUR HAND ON ME LEGGGGG!!
After dinner at Loving Hut some went home. But quite a number of us stayed behind to have dessert. Macdonalds was one of the only places opened at that area. So we ended up there. Had another good time chit-chatting.
That chocolate cake was gooood.
More photos at our gallery!
Earlier we had all discussed through out the week on where to go for dinner that night. Many suggestions came up on the Fb event page here. Finally we decided on Loving Hut (a vegetarian cafe with affordable prices) at Suntec City. It's certainly fun taking public transport together with your friends :)
Another camera-shy boy? BE A MAN!
Some prefer to stand up to chat.
Oh and finally everyone's settled along the dinner table. 22 of us turned up! What a huge response from just the youth. Fortunately we booked our seats in advance so we could start ordering our food the moment we reached.
I actually ordered fishball noodles but somehow I ended up with 3 laksa bowls. Thanks to Alvina, Andy, and Orielle. And thanks to the curry, I had a sorethroat after (another story altogether). The laksa was good though! Like I always say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!!!!
Hydon acting cute.
3 ladies. I don't think the "this is hot" captions behind describe only the toys... Ooops =X
No outing is complete with some GROUP PHOTOOOOOOS.
ALL-SMILES PHOTO! Except ermmm.... JERome, why are you the only one whose smile is covered HUH???!!!! Maintaining your no-expression poker-face trademark???
Alvina and Lerie went on this $6 ride. May not have been the most thrilling ride ever but I'm sure it's money well spent as long as you're having fun with your friends, AIN'T IT?!!!! Should have asked some technicians to ZHNG the hydraulic system before they went on it =X
*SHRIEKS* ALTON TAY CHI CHENG WHY IS YOUR HAND ON ME LEGGGGG!!
After dinner at Loving Hut some went home. But quite a number of us stayed behind to have dessert. Macdonalds was one of the only places opened at that area. So we ended up there. Had another good time chit-chatting.
That chocolate cake was gooood.
In my opinion definitely one of the best moments spent with the youth the past few months. Looking forward to more outings with you all. Definitely missing you all in Singapore! :)
More photos at our gallery!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Abraham's faith
Frank here blogging from Sydney.
On Saturday I led out a teen worship. I talked about Abraham and his great faith. Our objective was to learn what his life teaches us about faith. I think faith is what a lot of people have been lacking, including myself. So this was a learning process not only for the youth I was sharing with, but also myself. I just thought it would be good to share my notes with you all as well.
The passage is taken from Hebrews 11:8-16. The author of Hebrews (Paul) uses 2 critical issues in Abraham's life to help us understand biblical faith: the promised land and the promised son.
The Land
Hebrews 11:8, "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." God simply called Abraham to go to a land he would show me. Abraham did not even know where!
Imagine if you are in Haran, talking to Abraham. You ask him if he believes the promise that God gave him. And he says, "Of course!" Eventually you will probably say, "If you believe in God's promise, what are you doing here? Why haven't you left yet?" This is exactly what Paul is trying to tell us, that by faith, Abraham obeyed by going.
Here we learn the first insight to biblical faith, is that it is active rather than passive. It involves a willingness to act on God's truth. James 2:14, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such fath save him?" Verse 17, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
It means here that if there is no action on God's command, there is no evidence for others or for us that we believe in God's promise. That's why they always say, action speaks louder than words!
Now there is another aspect of faith present in Abraham. Hebrews 11:9,10 “By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
Here you can see Abraham's willingness to act. God promise him land, and yet when Abraham reached Canaan, he found that the land was already owned by other people. He did not complain or whatever. He did not try to buy the land. He did not try to conquer the land. Instead he just hung around living in a TENT! Even when his wife Sarah died, he had to buy a burial plot for her even though God had already promised that that land would be his.
Very often we think that we have a lot of faith at first. But we wait and wait and slowly we become inpatient and lose our faith. So here is another aspect of faith. It involves not only the willingness to act according to God's truth but also depending on God to perform His will for us, instead of taking matters into your own hands. i.e. It is not only about believing that God can work miracles, it is also about having faith that God WILL do them, even if it takes a long time.
God calls on us for a specific reason. He calls on us to choose personally to receive Him.
John 1:12, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Rev 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
Gal 2:16, “Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”
When it comes to being accepted by God, we cannot do anything for ourselves to make ourselves acceptable to Him. We have to depend totally on Him to make us acceptable.
Rom 10:11, “As the Scriptures says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” This attitude of dependence on God, is just as important as the action which I mentioned earlier.
Now we take a look at another example from Abraham's and Sarah's life that illustrates biblical faith.
A Son
Hebrews 11:11,12. “By faith Abraham, even though he was past his age – and Sarah herself was barren – was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.”
God promised that he would grant Abraham and Sarah a son.
Gen 12:2. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
15:4. “Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.”
17:19. “Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”
And yet, there was a major problem here. Sarah was 65 years old already and she had never given birth before. Abraham was 75 years old. How on earth would both of them exercise faith in this kinda situation?
God actually gave Abraham a few actions through which he could express his faith. For example God called Abraham to change his name from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude of nations).
Obviously their faith involved more than just action. It also involved dependence on God to perform His will for them, because obviously they couldn't do it by themselves, as they were old and everything.
Rom. 4:19-21. “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead, since he was about hundred years old, and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.” Abraham knew how humanly impossible this could happen. And yet he continued to look at the situation and decided that, “whatever God has promised, He will surely perform it.”
So lets compare our own lives and that of Abraham. Let us think of ways we can have more faith in God. Certain things we have to realize is that:
- Change will not happen overnight. It can take weeks/months/years/decades!
- There will be times when you wonder if the change will ever occur.
- You may attempt to change things by your own power. But these attempts will be rejected and fail. Just like the example of Abraham who went to sleep with Hagar who gave him a son called Ishmael. That clearly wasn't God's instruction.
- Most importantly, PRAYER. Prayer is very important!
Just like Abraham, over time we will see God gradually changing our lives and accomplishing His purpose through us more and more. This will bring us confidence that God is good and faithful, but the problems or challenges that we face will definitely still continue for the rest of our lives. Hence we need be patient and persevere even though we see no immediate changes. We will surely have to wrestle with contradictory thoughts and feelings. Ultimately, we need to trust that God knows what He is doing, and that He will make the proper changes at the proper time.
On Saturday I led out a teen worship. I talked about Abraham and his great faith. Our objective was to learn what his life teaches us about faith. I think faith is what a lot of people have been lacking, including myself. So this was a learning process not only for the youth I was sharing with, but also myself. I just thought it would be good to share my notes with you all as well.
The passage is taken from Hebrews 11:8-16. The author of Hebrews (Paul) uses 2 critical issues in Abraham's life to help us understand biblical faith: the promised land and the promised son.
The Land
Hebrews 11:8, "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." God simply called Abraham to go to a land he would show me. Abraham did not even know where!
Imagine if you are in Haran, talking to Abraham. You ask him if he believes the promise that God gave him. And he says, "Of course!" Eventually you will probably say, "If you believe in God's promise, what are you doing here? Why haven't you left yet?" This is exactly what Paul is trying to tell us, that by faith, Abraham obeyed by going.
Here we learn the first insight to biblical faith, is that it is active rather than passive. It involves a willingness to act on God's truth. James 2:14, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such fath save him?" Verse 17, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
It means here that if there is no action on God's command, there is no evidence for others or for us that we believe in God's promise. That's why they always say, action speaks louder than words!
Now there is another aspect of faith present in Abraham. Hebrews 11:9,10 “By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
Here you can see Abraham's willingness to act. God promise him land, and yet when Abraham reached Canaan, he found that the land was already owned by other people. He did not complain or whatever. He did not try to buy the land. He did not try to conquer the land. Instead he just hung around living in a TENT! Even when his wife Sarah died, he had to buy a burial plot for her even though God had already promised that that land would be his.
Very often we think that we have a lot of faith at first. But we wait and wait and slowly we become inpatient and lose our faith. So here is another aspect of faith. It involves not only the willingness to act according to God's truth but also depending on God to perform His will for us, instead of taking matters into your own hands. i.e. It is not only about believing that God can work miracles, it is also about having faith that God WILL do them, even if it takes a long time.
God calls on us for a specific reason. He calls on us to choose personally to receive Him.
John 1:12, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Rev 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
Gal 2:16, “Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”
When it comes to being accepted by God, we cannot do anything for ourselves to make ourselves acceptable to Him. We have to depend totally on Him to make us acceptable.
Rom 10:11, “As the Scriptures says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” This attitude of dependence on God, is just as important as the action which I mentioned earlier.
Now we take a look at another example from Abraham's and Sarah's life that illustrates biblical faith.
A Son
Hebrews 11:11,12. “By faith Abraham, even though he was past his age – and Sarah herself was barren – was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.”
God promised that he would grant Abraham and Sarah a son.
Gen 12:2. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
15:4. “Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.”
17:19. “Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”
And yet, there was a major problem here. Sarah was 65 years old already and she had never given birth before. Abraham was 75 years old. How on earth would both of them exercise faith in this kinda situation?
God actually gave Abraham a few actions through which he could express his faith. For example God called Abraham to change his name from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude of nations).
Obviously their faith involved more than just action. It also involved dependence on God to perform His will for them, because obviously they couldn't do it by themselves, as they were old and everything.
Rom. 4:19-21. “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead, since he was about hundred years old, and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.” Abraham knew how humanly impossible this could happen. And yet he continued to look at the situation and decided that, “whatever God has promised, He will surely perform it.”
So lets compare our own lives and that of Abraham. Let us think of ways we can have more faith in God. Certain things we have to realize is that:
- Change will not happen overnight. It can take weeks/months/years/decades!
- There will be times when you wonder if the change will ever occur.
- You may attempt to change things by your own power. But these attempts will be rejected and fail. Just like the example of Abraham who went to sleep with Hagar who gave him a son called Ishmael. That clearly wasn't God's instruction.
- Most importantly, PRAYER. Prayer is very important!
Just like Abraham, over time we will see God gradually changing our lives and accomplishing His purpose through us more and more. This will bring us confidence that God is good and faithful, but the problems or challenges that we face will definitely still continue for the rest of our lives. Hence we need be patient and persevere even though we see no immediate changes. We will surely have to wrestle with contradictory thoughts and feelings. Ultimately, we need to trust that God knows what He is doing, and that He will make the proper changes at the proper time.
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