Taking Faith in God to a higher level.

Have you ever prayed to God for more faith in Him? Then, do you know that when you ask for more faith in Him, you also need to put in effort and work on it? I believe we all know that deep down. We can't just expect God to take away whatever hardships or anything else that dampens our faith in God. What we can expect God to do is that He will give you the strength and everything that you need to overcome your problems. Our part is to make use of what God gave to us. We can step out with what we have in God. There also many times when we don't see any help or strength coming along even after many years. And this is why we have faith! God has never forsaken you. There are no dead ends to your problem. A so called dead end is a start to something new in your life. At the dead end, you move up! Remember what God can do! If God can make dry bones turn back to life, God can resurrect your dead relationships, your dead friendships, etc. !

Also, when you ask God to increase your faith, you are actually asking God for TESTS. Not the kind of tests you can mug(study) for, but the tests which can make people cry. When you go through testing times, it's the time for you to especially increase your faith in God. God doesn't pull us OUT of troubles, He pulls us THROUGH troubles. He does this to build our characters. We may feel let down by God during delay periods but know that if we wait patiently no matter how urgent the situation can be, God will give you the best.Stay with God. Don't give up hope and faith. Be willing to go through every step as God wants to build up your character, your faith and your life. Let us endure and smile in times of trial and difficulty.

KNOW THAT GOD LOVES YOU!

Hear Us From Heaven.

Hear Us From Heaven.

Lord hear our cry
Come heal our land
Breathe life into these dry and thirsty souls
Lord hear our prayer
Forgive our sin
And as we call on Your name
Would You make this a place
For Your glory to dwell
Open the blind eyes
Unlock the deaf ears
Come to Your people
As we draw near
Hear us from Heaven
Touch our generation
We are Your people
Crying out in desperation
Hear us from Heaven
Hear us from Heaven
Hear us from Heaven
Hear Us From Heaven
Lord hear our cry
Come heal our land
Breathe life into these dry and thirsty souls
Lord hear our prayer
Forgive our sin
And as we call on Your name
Would You make this a place
For Your glory to dwell
Open the blind eyes
Unlock the deaf ears
Come to Your people
As we draw near
Hear us from Heaven
Touch our generation
We are Your people
Crying out in desperation
Hear us from Heaven
Hear us from Heaven
Hear us from Heaven
Hear Us From Heaven
Lord hear our cry
Come heal our land
Breathe life into these dry and thirsty souls
Lord hear our prayer
Forgive our sin
And as we call on Your name
Would You make this a place
For Your glory to dwell
Open the blind eyes
Unlock the deaf ears
Come to Your people
As we draw near
Hear us from Heaven
Touch our generation
We are Your people
Crying out in desperation
Hear us from Heaven
Hear us from Heaven
Hear us from Heaven




words and music by Jared Anderson© 2004 Vertical Worship Songs/ASCAP

Rob Bell - Nooma 020 Shells.

Today in school during Chapel in our individual classes, we saw this video and it gave a really strong message to me and perhaps many other Christians too. I don't know how many people disapprove of this pastor and why they dislike his doctrines. However, one thing I've re learnt for sure is that I need to let go of the less important things like Internet games and spend more time with God, fulfilling my most important purpose in life. I don't know if people disagree with me, but we are in fact created by God for His pleasure. It's like a lonely lady planting trees so that she can enjoy her days with them. And since we are created by God, we shouldn't feel weird that God should control our lives instead of us controlling our lives with our ways. Many of us like to have freedom. The real freedom to achieve is by letting God control your lives. This may seem weird again to some as it seems that we would be like robots working in a factory for God. Most of us don't like the word "control". But ya know, this is not true. If a child disobeys her mother by telling lies, she would get into trouble. However, if she listens to her mother, she would not be in trouble. Simple to understand? Hope skeptics don't see this as some propaganda, hypnotising, or whatever. Besides, God doesn't fully control our lives. We are interdependent on Him.



Rob Bell - Nooma 020 Shells

Something to say.

Whenever I think about reaching out to people about the gospel, I'm always afraid of the questions they may ask. Questions like, "Aren't all religions the same?", "You still so fat, not rich, still sick, etc...even though you say that your God helps and blesses you abundantly. How come?" and many others. Of all the questions, I have one question in my mind that literally leaves me stressed, crying to God for an answer. This question is "What has God done for you in your life?". Perhaps many Christians can truly say that they have experienced many miracles and they have been part of miracles in other people's lives. I have too! I could answer a prebeliever that I'm still living, my parents are still alive too, my family is not rich but we have happiness...etc. But! My prebeliever friend will say, "Me too! And I don't worship your God.". What I mean is that, what I have to me are indeed blessings, but my friend will say that what I have is what she has and furthermore, she does not worship my God. Thus my so-called blessings are nothing to her. I believe you readers understand this, if not, try to understand this. I admit that I've been somewhat depressed today. The next two Fridays I'll be evangelising with the Youth from my Church in or outside a shopping mall. We will be meeting all sorts of people who will probably ask us lots of skeptical questions, most of which I can only depend on God to answer from my heart. And no, I'm never going to commit suicide. I read the Bible this late afternoon, literally crying to God for a sharp answer. I really cannot tell if the Holy Spirit is in me or not.

Some people have it even though they cannot speak in tongues. There are also Churches who disapprove or don't seek for this gift. Some prebelievers get scared when they see Christians speaking in tongues, thinking that the latter are possessed. But I can tell you that being able to speak in tongues is a joy to me if I can one day! This means that there truly is a Holy spirit in me! Tongues are languages which you have probably never heard of. Christians have no idea what language they are speaking, but they know that they are praising God. Other people can also interpret what the other Christian is saying and tells, especially to the prebelievers in Church, what God is saying through the other Christian. Speaking in tongues is a witness to prebelievers. The first time I wanted to speak in tongues was mostly because I thought it was cool and I could show off to my friends. Perhaps it was why God didn't give this gift to me even till now. He doesn't want me to misuse it. Right now, I shall wait patiently and eagerly (I don't think impatient=eager btw.) for Him to fill me with the Holy spirit! Again, it is nothing wrong if even at my last breath, I can't speak in tongues. I won't be filled with bitterness. If you remember the thief who was crucified along with Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and saviour, he hadn't got the time to speak in tongues and yet, he will be with the Lord. Anyway, you can praise God with any language!

So as I was saying before getting sidetracked, as I don't know if the Holy Spirit is in me or not, I don't know if I got an answer from God. But this is what I'll add to what I'll always say if anybody ever asks me this question, "Because of Him, I'm able to see all these as blessings. Because of Him, I'm able to see that I'm blessed with many things. Even though I don't have a nice figure and I'm not rich, I can still feel absolutely blessed because I can live without these things as I have Him who gives me what I really need. With God, you can feel that everything is fair in the world. Even if I'm to be killed by someone who gets away with the crime, I shall be glad that it could be a chance for him to turn himself in and get a lighter sentence, or at least have another chance to know God before turning himself in. I mean, look, anything can happen! And if I have a bad habit which is hard to get rid of, I believe that it is a blessing in disguise. This is like a test or some procedure which makes me grow stronger in my Faith in God. And when I can finally get rid of my bad habit, the happiness is beyond comprehension. Hope you know what I mean!"

Another thing is, I didn't know there are people who think that religions are meant for only weak people. You know what I think? Even if you are a very strong person, my take is that you will be an even stronger person with Jesus as not even the strongest person's perfect and without worry. Everyone was born naked and weak. We all need a God to depend on. Other religions btw. say that one cannot touch their God or Gods and goddesses as they are sacred and we are impure. True, we are sinners, not perfect and unclean. But my God cleanses our sins with His very own blood. He also wants a Father-child relationship with us. He is unlike other Gods. That's our God! Those who don't believe that there's a God, please ask yourselves how you were created and think if it is weird that you are created without a purpose in life and even after life. Hope you can see what I mean!

I surrender.

I surrender

Waiting my heart open
Hands raised to You
Longing for Your touch
To come make me new

My life I lay down
My heart and my soul
Lord I surrender
I give You my all

Every part of my life Lord
Is Yours and Yours alone
Every beat of my heart
God is Yours

I surrender to You
I surrender to You
I lay my life at your feet
I surrender to You

My life I lay down
My heart and my soul
Lord I surrender
I give You my control

God I give You every part of me
Take my everything it's You that I seek
All I want is to be where You are
I'm Yours

The Anthem.

The Anthem

Hal-le-lu-jah!
You have won the victory.
Hal-le-lu-jah!
You have won it all for me.
Death could not hold you down
You are the risen king
Seated in Majesty
You are the risen king

Rain Down.

Rain Down

I am falling to my knees

I need You Lord to breathe in me

My prayer is still the same

My heart is calling out Your name

Sweet anointing fill this place

I am found in Your embrace

Rain down on me

Rain down on me

Here in Your presence I am free

Pour down like rain

Come and touch me again

Lord let Your presence fall on me

I'm longing just to see

Your power and Your majesty

Sweet anointing fill this place

I am found in Your embrace

Sweet anointing

Wash me over

Sweet anointing

Wash me over

He's always here to watch out for us.

Lost.

Luke 19: 10
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Have you ever felt lost? Have you lost something? Do you even know if you've lost something? It may not be something to even touch or listen to. There are times when people who have felt they have lost their purpose in life.

What can be lost?

• Yourself.

Psalms 119: 176

"I have strayed like a lost sheep..."

There are times when one feels as though he has lost the ability to, for example, do well in a certain aspect of life which is important to him. Perhaps one has focused more on other things which affect his life in a different way to the extent that he feels lost and helpless when situations gets real tough. We can be doing something unnecessary instead of focusing on the more important aspects of our lives.

• Your life.

Matt 10: 39

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

If we take total control of our lives by doing what we please and not letting God take control of our lives, we will end up losing them. This is extremely obvious.

• Your soul.

Luke 9: 25

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"

I don't suppose everyone will go to the extent of wanting to control the whole world like some evil scientist... but most of us do want to do well in something, for example, getting promoted every year or so, get the latest _____, gain popularity with ________, and so on! I mean, I admit I want a Nobel prize...haha! The thing is, it's not wrong to want all these things, but do we focus on all these types of goals we set for ourselves based on reasons and motives we ought not to have? Do you see the point of earning so much $$ and buying lots of luxury goods when you know you can't bring them up to heaven or even down to hell? Should we not focus on God and keep growing His Kingdom? Should we lead self-centred lives, thinking about what to eat and buy next?

Luke 12: 28-31

"If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows you need them. But seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well."

• Your reward.

2 John 8

"Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully."

Don't get distracted by other things which hinder you from running towards God! You may hate your boss, your colleagues, your work, but you still do the work on time and no doubt, you still get your pay. But God's different. He sees our hearts. Sometimes we may work towards a goal but we don't have the passion in our hearts or we simply just want the reward only, we don't get the reward.

• Heart. Courage.

2 Samuel 4: 1

"When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed."

2 Cor 4: 1

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart."

Psalms 27: 13

"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."

God is there for us! All that we are facing, trials and tribulation, He knows them all! Seek him and you will not lose heart for He will carry you through your troubles.

• Hope.

Ezek 37: 11

"Then, he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' "

Where do we put our hope in? Your family? Your job? Your ipod? Place it only in God!

• Effectiveness.

Luke 14: 34

"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?"

• Passion.

Rev 3: 15-16

"I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm- neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

Sometimes, just by not reading the word and not praying daily, we can lose our Passion in God. When we also focus too much on other things which keeps us away from communicating with God, we lose our Passion, our Effectiveness in our walk with God, our Hope that we should anchor in God, etc. We become apathetic which is not a cool thing by the way.

• Purity.

Psalms 51: 10

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

We do get tempted by many "you know", be it smoking, premarital sex, affairs, drinking too much, etc. And when we ever fall, be sure to pull God's hand to stand up again and don't fall into the same pit!

• Faith.

1Tim 1: 19

"holding on to faith and a good conscience."

The thief:

His purpose is to take from you. He steals, kills and destroys. He will look for any opportunity.

1 Peter 5: 8

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Things can be lost when you focus too much on unnecessary things. Duh.

The Shepherd:

Comes to give life.

• Protects.

Mal 3: 11

"I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,"

• Restores.

Hosea 6: 11

"Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed."

Psalms 23: 1-3

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

Psalms 41: 3

"The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness."

Psalms 51: 12

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Luke 19: 10

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Zech 9: 12

"Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

We may sometimes feel like we have turned our backs on Jesus but He is always here to restore us! He is the restorer of all lost things! If you are jeopardising your life for your pursuits in the world, know that God can restore your life! Jesus gave His life on the cross so that we can be restored! He's the reason we're standing. He's the greatest thing in my life! He's not mad nor angry at all the imperfect things we have done, He wants to restore you and I. God commits Himself into our lives.

Oh yeah! I am Free!

Unhindered: Free to run
Through You the blind will see
Through You the mute will sing
Through You the dead will rise
Through You all hearts will praise
Through You the darkness flees
Through You my heart screams
I am free
I am free
I am free to run(I am free to run)
I am free to dance(I am free to dance)
I am free to live for You(I am free to live for You)
I am free(I am free)
Yes, I am free(I am free) !

Ha ha! My most colourful post. Never done this before. I was thinking of how blessed one can really be in the Lord, yet one suffers persecution, unlike other religions. We are indeed free in GOD, but most of us may not be in the world. Hope to see multitudes of people jumping and crying for pure joy, believeing that they can indeed be free from their troubles! And, we may seem like hypocrites, as we preach about the goodness of GOD and his righteous ways and blah blah blah, but one thing I want to say is that we Christians are still sinners, sinners who believe that their sins are forgiven as Jesus paid for them, sacrificing himself to come down to this World with full of persecutions and suffering just for us. And we are created in GOD's image, meaning that we are like Him. And of course, even though we are never perfect like GOD, we are wonderfully and fearfully made by Him. So you know, as some people have said that they have met a hypocrite Christian, it's possible, sadly. Fellow Christians must pray for them!

Are you ready for GOD in 2009?

Are we really ready for 2009? We should not worry about the economy, instead, take our lives on a higher and more stable ground. The Lord will bless you, taking you out of the many waters which drown man. Do not doubt GOD's words but believe and have faith in Him. Open your heart to Him. This is the GOD's word, it's not a religion but a faith to believe in. GOD doesn't appear physically, but His image is found in people, in your lives, in miracles, and even to the littlest detail of yourselves.

1. Deut 28: 1-14

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all nations on earth.

All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock- the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord will bless you in the land that He is giving you.

The Lord will establish you as His holy people, as He promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways.

Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you.

The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity- in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground- in the land He swore to your forefathers to give you.

Then the Lord will open heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but borrow from none.

The Lord will make you the head and not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.

Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

Real change is what happens within us, not what happens to us. Align your thoughts with God in mind. Dwell in GOD. Don't dwell in the land of your enemy( temptations, "grey areas", what the world thinks does not follow GOD's ways). Don't be a servant of others but GOD. Let go of fears and flesh! Don't allow your thoughts to dominate yourself.

2. 1 Samuel 27: 1-5

David was in the land of the Philistines the enemy while avoiding Saul.

3. Romans 8: 5-6

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace.

4. Psalms 139: 17-18

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

We need to learn how to receive GOD's abundant thoughts. Catch the ball! Catch GOD's thoughts!

5. Jeremiah 29: 11

"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.

6. Psalms 40: 5

Many , O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.

Position yourself towards GOD. Get ready to receive GOD's blessings and thoughts! Do something with them, return them, fulfil them! Take Action!

7. Isaiah 55: 8-9

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.

" As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Think differently! Think of higher thoughts! Don't ever think you can't overcome a challenge just because you think you are not the person for it. Who ever comes prepared beforehand? Then it wouldn't be a challenge already. If you believe and have faith in what's GOD doing in you, suppose through an idea or some other proposal, GOD will carry you through the challenge!

8. Isaiah 48: 6

You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? "From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.

Think of new things! Serendipity: Finding things that you are not looking for. As we obey, we will find something unexpected!

9. Ephesians 3: 20

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

Think supernaturally! He does greater things than we can ever expect out of Him. And He does greater things in us than He did in himself.

We Are The Reason

As little children we would dream of Christmas morn
Of all the gifts and toys we knew we’d find
But we never realized a baby born one blessed night
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives

*We were the reason that He gave His life
We were the reason that He suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live

As the years went by we learned more about gifts
The giving of ourselves and what that means
On a dark and cloudy day a man hung crying in the rain
All because of love
All because of love

*Chorus

I finally found the reason for living
It’s in giving every part of my heart to Him (every part to Him)
And all that I do every word that I say (you know I’ll be saying)
I’ll be giving my all just for Him, for Him (every thing for Him)

We are the reason that He gave His life
We are the reason that He suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave all He could give (all that he could give all)
To show us the reason to live

#He is the reason to live
(don’t you know do you know the reason that he came, oh he came to save us when he gave his life for us) he suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave everything (everything that He had He gave)
To show us the reason to live

*chorus + # together
Don’t know how I could thank Jesus all that he had all...
*chorus + # together
We are the reason