Blessing of God

Cough cough, apparently this website needs a bit of dusting to get rid of the cobwebs that are in this place. I was appalled when i saw what Joanne wrote about the one year anniversary so i thought its best to do something about it. Haha

Anyhow, just wanted to share some of my inflections of the past week. So here goes..

Matt 5:8 Blessed (happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous--possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Amplified version

So often we talk about being blessed in life. But what does it really mean?? I guess the amplified version really goes to explain that word very well.

However, what really caught my eye was the part about "regardless of their outward conditions."

I feel that we often associate Blessings as a by-product of what we have outwardly. So lets say someone has a financial blessing, we say that he/she is blessed, which is right.

But the bible describes the word Blessed as something more.

Haha, so i went to apply what we learn during cg meeting (the law of first mention) to try to find out more. The word 'bless' was first mentioned in the bible in Genesis 1:22.

"And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

This verse talks about God blessing the living creatures which He has created for it was good in His eyes. To take the word into context, i took into account the whole chapter.

Right from the beginning, the world was void and without form. (Gen 1:2) It had nothing and God went forth and created everything. He Blessed the earth and made it full.

2 truths can be made from this:

1) Being blessed doesnt take into account our circumstances and outward conditions.

The earth was void and without form. It had nothing to begin with. Yet it was Blessed as God went and carried forth His works of creation.

Lets fast forward and look at Mary. We all know the story that Mary is the mother of Jesus but lets look at the time when she was found to be bearing Jesus.

Luke 1:26-28 "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women."

Mary in this instance, was Blessed by God for she had been called to bear the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. But back in those days, one can imagine the fear and stigma that Mary had to go through. I mean, she could have been stoned for committing "Adultery" YET in the eyes of God, she is Blessed because she carried a far greater purpose, far beyond herself and her circumstances. And she must have had a revelation of it, that's why she was able to say "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Being blessed doesnt take into account our circumstances and outward conditions.

2) God is the source of all blessings

Looking back to Gen 1, we see God specifically blessing His works of creation for it seemed good in His eyes.

Ps 34: 8-10 says" Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing."

Combining both the verses, thats when we have the saying that:

We are blessed not because we are good but because He is good and He wants to Bless us.

Being blessed has nothing to do with the things that we have in abundance. Even though, we may not have everything, we are Blessed!

come on lets give God a big hand* (reaches out for a glass of water, LOL)

We are blessed not with what we have but we are Blessed with what God has given to us.

He has Blessed us with many things in life, our family, our home, our church, our health etc... the list goes on and on. So we must keep in mind that no matter what we are going through, we are Blessed because Our God is the source of Blessing forever and ever more.

Hope this word encourages you.

Take care and be blessed through your days XD

Spiritual Maintenance

Parts of Pastor Kong's daily devotion:

And I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house.” - Nehemiah 7:3


In Nehemiah 7, the walls of Jerusalem were all completed and the gaps were all repaired. Having restored the wall, Nehemiah was concerned that the succeeding generation would not treasure what the returning Jews had done and damage the walls again. It is always harder to maintain something than to obtain it. So Nehemiah immediately appointed his brother Hanani, and another man by the name of Hananiah to take charge, stand guard and keep watch over the city of Jerusalem.


You need to repair whatever moral gaps there are in your life. But once God has done an internal work of restoration, there has to be regular maintenance to ensure that you don’t slide back into those moral lapses again. Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” The Christian walk is never static. You never stand still at a stationary spiritual experience. Rather, it is a path that you continually walk in.


We all need to maintain our relationship with God. And this is a daily process. Our walk with the Lord needs to remain fresh. Our revelation of spiritual things should be current. We should have daily encounters with Jesus. Every day, we should be led by the Holy Spirit in everything that we do—no matter how mundane those things may seem to be.

Being dependent on God

Hello to everyone! I hope that all of you are having a great week yea? Indeed for some of you, nw is the time of the year again when all of you will be mugging lk crazy and cramping all your textbooks, in the hope that u may receive certain "impartations" from it eh? Lol.

Well, praise God for that cos it is great to the Lord that we may bear good testimonies to Him in the area of our studies!! :)

Anyway, I just want 2 share a word of encouragement with all of u today who might be feeling stressed/stressful over your up and coming/ongoing mid year exams. May the Word of the Lord bring joy and peace to your soul when u read it!!! =D

Gen 12: 1-3

Abram received a promise frm God.

This resulted in him having to leave his family and his father's house and dewlling in the land of Canaan. (Gen 12:5)

Abram faced a lot of uncertainties and challenges in his life while waiting for the promises of God to come to past.

Some uncertainties Abram faced in the land of Canaan:

• Distractions. The land of Canaan was filled with sexual idolatory of the Canaanites and their immoral practices (Lev 18)
• Dryness. There was a famine in the land and Abram had to move to Egypt to escape it. (Gen 12:10)
• Death. Abram knew that his life was in danger if he were to enter Egypt. (Gen 12:12-13)
• Disagreements. Abram and Lot both had many possessions and this gave rise to disagreements between Abram's and Lot's herdsmen. (Gen 13:6-7)
• Departure. Abram had to endure the loss of his nephew, Lot. (Gen 13:8-11)
• Decendents. Abram had no offspring with his wife, Sarai and thus he had to deal with that. (Gen 11:30, 15:2)

However, Abram kept on being Dependent on God. He built altar for the Lord and kept calling upon him. (Gen 12:8, 13:4)

Then God came to establish his convenant with Abram. (Gen 15:1, 5)

Initially, God spoke of His promises to Abram but this time, God made a covenant with Abram.

Difference between a promise and a covenant (accordinng to dictionary.com)

A promise is defined as a declaration that something will or will not be done or given by one.

A covenenat is defined as an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified. In biblical context, it refers to the conditional promises made to humanity by God.

Haha, i kw a lot of u are prob scratching your heads when u read this. So I'll try 2 make things easier for all of u to understand. When God made a covenant with Abram, it was between him and God only, in that particular place and situation in his life.

The part that i would lk to highlight to all of you would be Gen 15:1 when the Lord said to Abram "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” These words were more than words of promises to Abram. In fact, they were words of assurance to him. Because from Gen 12-15, though Abram had received many promises of God, his life was still rather uncertain and he had no way of telling when the promises of God would come to past in his life.

Similarly, perhaps all of you students might be going through some periods of uncertainty in your life as well. You feel that though u might have studied very hard for your exams, u just cant help but feel that u havent done enough to prepare fot it and that u dun feel confident about it.

So i just want to encourage each and every single one of you today, that just as what God told Abram, that He is your shield and your exceedingly great reward! So put yout trust in Him and lean not on your own understanding and strength. In all your ways, be dependent on Him and He shall guide you through your mid-year exams!!

May the Lord bless all of you as the head and not the tail, above and not beneath in your mid year examinations!!!

With regards,
Qm

PKDD: The House of God

I've just read today's Pastor Kong's Daily Devotion, and it's simply amazing!!! It is about having a heart after God's own heart - having a desire to build His house (the Church) because we love Him.

The line that impacted me most is:
"He was touched by the fact that when David had become famous, wealthy and powerful, he had not forgotten the Source of his success (7:6-9)"

Hope that it will impact you as well!

Israel

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That the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.” 2 Samuel 7:2

For most of his life, David had been a warrior fighting battle after battle. Eventually, he came into a season during which God gave him “rest from all his enemies all around” (7:1). One day, David stood at the balcony of his palace admiring its splendor when it suddenly dawned upon him the shabbiness of God’s tabernacle. Immediately, he was grieved in his heart because a makeshift tent was not an appropriate place for the King of kings. David complained to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains” (7:2).

That night, the Lord responded by saying, “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?” God does not need to stay in a house made by human hands. He is too big for that! The best supercomputers in the world estimate that there are 40 sextillion stars in the universe. That is 4 followed by 23 zeroes! Even if you travel at the speed of light, it would still take 50 quintillion years to reach the edge of the universe. That is 5 followed by 19 zeroes! Yet, even the heaven of heavens can’t hold our God. He is infinitely bigger than the universe He has created. How then could God be contained in a house of cedar? Nonetheless, God was very moved by the love David had for him. He was touched by the fact that when David had become famous, wealthy and powerful, he had not forgotten the Source of his success (7:6-9). The temple David planned to build was temporal at best. But turning His face to David, God now offered to build David a royal house that would last for all eternity. He promises, “Your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you.

Your throne shall be established forever” (7:16). And 28 generations later, out of that royal house came forth Jesus Christ, the heir to David’s throne, whose kingdom will have no end. God has one building program on the earth today-His Church (Matt. 16:18). Have you come on board with that building program? When God gives you the power to get wealth, when He blesses your business, career and family, do you ever think of building Him a great house on the earth, like David did? The “church house” we can build for the Lord may last 30 years, 50 years, or at best several hundreds of years. But in exchange, God will build for you and your family a “royal house” that will be established forever. Isn’t that a wonderful exchange?

Travail Of The Soul

Hi guys, I read Pastor Kong's daily devotion and I believe it will bless your life. Let us pray and cry out for our friends to be saved!

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. 1 Samuel 1:10

Hannah was despised because she had no children. In her barrenness, she cried out to the Lord. The name “Samuel” means “asked of God.” That was exactly what Hannah did when she was childless-she asked God for a son. The key to fruitfulness is the travail of the soul. Hannah didn’t come to God with a lackadaisical("bo chap") attitude. She came before the Lord with a heavy burden and a holy dissatisfaction, crying desperately and wailing with anguish. Her soul was going through pain and agony. Just like a mother travails as she goes through childbirth, Hannah went through a “birthing” in her spirit.

Every revival is born out of very intense prayer. Today, six of the 10 largest churches in the world are found in one country-South Korea. Yet, South Korea went through much devastation during the Japanese occupation and the Korean War. At the turn of the 20th century, Korean Christians were greatly persecuted. Many were incarcerated and martyred. In the midst of their tribulation, the Korean believers cried out to the Lord for revival. There was travailing prayer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The result of that was a mighty revival that swept through the land after the Korean War. Christians pooled whatever little resources they had to build schools, hospitals and churches. Correspondingly, God blessed the country. Today, South Korea is one of the most advanced nations and powerful economies in the world. It has become a fruitful nation.

Referring to Jesus, Isaiah says that “He shall see the fruit of the travail of His soul, and be satisfi ed” (Is. 53:11, Amp). In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was in such agony as He prayed that His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:44). Out of Christ’s travail came forth a glorious Church! May we grieve over the unfruitfulness in our lives and churches. May we come before the Lord in pain and brokenness, crying: “Lord, please remove the reproach of barrenness from my life. Make me a productive person for the kingdom.” Let’s become “Hannahs” before the Lord, desperate to see fruitfulness in our lives.

CGM at Riverwalk + Bak Kut Teh

Thank God for an awesome service this weekend! Let us have an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, to spend time with Him everyday in His Presence, and to hear His voice all the time!

Praise God for a powerful Cellgroup Meeting as well! Thank God for touching us and answering our doubts! I bet all of us enjoyed this week's cellgroup! All glory to God!

So here are some pictures taken on sunday:

Qiming Leading Games

Going Round...Right Round

Bak Kut Teh!

Whoa the table is loaded with food!

很多肉, 很多骨, 很多茶! (sorry sunthari)

Whee! It was a great time of fellowship and feasting!

Alright this is Israel signing out :D

Pastor Phil Pringle's Podcast

Hey all!

If you are hungry for the Word of God, listen to Pastor Phil Pringle's Podcast, or as I like to call it, P4!

You'll need iTunes installed and go here to listen! Then find for the podcast link:


His latest sermon "Sealed With The Spirit" is awesome!! May your life be transformed by the Word of God!!! XD

The Rod Of Correction

Hi all! We have been learning about having a teachable attitude, so that we can grow into our destiny and have the DNA of our leader.

Pastor Kong just made a post about "The Rod Of Correction".
Do check it out! You'll be blessed!

His 2 previous posts are awesome too! I think I'll start reading his daily devotions from now on, and you might want to do the same :)

Let's continue to be teachable, and always trust in God's heart when you don't see His hand.

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Rom 8:28, NLT)

Overcoming through Christ!

Hi all. Here is the cg sermon for the week. This is for the benefit of those who did not attend/ or were unable to cg meeting this week. :)

Matt 26:36-46- Jesus praying in the garden of gethsemane

The first thing Jesus encountered at the start of His ministry was temptation.

At the end of His ministry, before He went to the cross, Jesus was temptated again!

The whole temptation of Christ was a test of His determination to carry the cross throughout, believing for a resurrection; without taking any short-cut.

Jesus experienced the full impact of the temptation (body, soul and spirit)

v38- "Soul": He was overwhelmed with emotions
v41- "Spirit": His spirit was willing
v41- "Body": His flesh was weak

Matt 26:31
Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘ I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

In fact, all His disciples forsook Him, Jesus had to go to the cross alone!
- Likewise for us, when we are going through hard times, we have to take up our cross and sometimes, like Jesus, we have to walk alone.

The Promise Of The Holy Spirit

Romans 8:25-26
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

God has given us the Holy Spirit.

The role of the Holy Spirit is to be our comforter.

In our weaknesses and during tough times, Pray.

• Do not be discouraged when you walk alone
• Rather, learn to lean on the Holy Spirit!

The Likeness Of Christ

Romans 8:26-30

Romans 8:29
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

"To be conformed" = to be identified with the death of Christ, leading to the same resurrection.

Romans 8:35-36
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “ For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

What are we going to experience in this "death?"
- When we experience denial and betrayal.

The good news is that we can also overcome through Jesus' resurrection!

Matt 26:40
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?

Romans 1:1-4
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

How do we know that He is the Christ?
By His resurrection from the dead!

What is the gospel?
It is the death, bearer and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Our testimonies are important because they testify that He is a REAL, TRUE and LIVING God!
- And that He is still doing a work through us today.

Galatians 2:20 (New King James version)
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith IN the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 (King James version)
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith OF the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Romans 3:22 (New King James version)
Even the righteousness of God, through faith IN Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference.

Romans 3:22 (King James version)
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith OF Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.

Footnote:
- The NKJV version uses "faith in the Son of God."
- The KJV version uses "faith of Jesus Christ."

Therefore, we believe in the faith that Jesus has and we live by the faith of God.

John 20:30-31
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Jesus went through all these so that He could identify with us.

If you are:

• going through a marriage crisis (Not applicable)
• facing financial difficulties
• sick in your body

Believe in the words of Jesus and you will have LIFE!