Start Of Something New

Let me just start anew with this blog again with a line from Donald Lawrence's song, "Encourage Yourself" -

"Sometimes you have to speak victory during the test."

Seeing that it's exam period now, I can't help thinking why I want to renew the blog today. I guess I could just start by saying that God is a good God. He knows what I need before I actually ask Him. Last night, I was blogging and realized that I was afraid of my exam. So I had a quote from a song titled, "Let Go". I tried to let go everything I have in prayer. But when the exam ended, my spirit was crushed, and I began to forget what it means to "let go". I was sulking in the disappointment of the exam throughout the afternoon and evening today, and so, I thought of forgetting my sorrows in an evening nap.

When I woke up, I went to my blog, and read about the post I typed last night. It hit me. The post just hits me. I didn't know what to say, but to just give God this sorrows in prayer.

My point? Quite a few. Firstly, sometimes you just do something without realizing an absolute need to do it - like writing a blog post during a time when I'm supposed to be studying. I thought it's just wasting my time. But from inside of me, a desire just appeared that make me write that "unnecessary" post. But as the Word of God said, no things which you are doing for the Kingdom of God shall be put to waste. (Or something like that. I learnt this from Max Lucado...) And I realized it's true. In fact, the post became necessary to me today to remind myself of the meaning of "let go". See, the work of your hands cannot be understood even by yourself. The only thing we can do is trust in God that everything we do for Him shall never be put to waste.

Secondly, I realized that things we read can mean different things to us at different times. Like that blog post. It seems unnecessary to me last night, but it is crucial for me to build my spirit up today. I guess that's another thing about the Bible. It is full of grace. Many times, we glanced through chapters after chapters, finding rhema. But when you get right down to it, reading the Bible is not enough. You have to experience the Word of God. It's like the blog post. When you experience the Word of God, it just hits you. That's when you realized the grace of God. That's when you feel the flow of Holy Spirit. So, live life and persist in reading the Bible. Seek rhema not only in the Word, but let the Word speak to you in your real life.

Which brings me to "singing a new song". When taken literally, it means that every week we would have to learn 5 new songs in celebration service. But I guess there's more to "singing a new song". I guess it means singing with a new attitude. Sometimes when you listen to a song, it's like the blog post, or a story in the Bible - it doesn't hit you. But praising God is not really an experience, until that song really mean something to you. I guess that's why you repeat praises. You sing until your spirit is convinced of the message in the song. While doing that, your spirit will respond differently to the songs you are singing. And I realized that these responses are the singing of the new songs. We sing according to the heart desire, according to what we are feeling. We express it to God. Every day's a different day. And hence, every day has a different meaning, a different song to sing. We should just sing every day, repeat it if you need to, until you are convinced you are living a song!

I guess that's all for now. I might not make perfect sense in the post, or perhaps I could be wrong about some things. But hey, I'm still learning too. So, please comment on them... Thanks!

in the Grace of Christ,
andrew

Psalm 23

The Lord is my Shepherd
I have everything I need
He lets me rest in green meadows
He leads me beside peaceful streams
He renews my strength
He guides me along right paths
Bringing honor to His Name

Even when I walk
Through the dark valley of death
I will not be afraid
For You are close beside me
Your rod and Your staff
Protect and comfort me

You prepare a feast for me
In the presence of my enemies
You welcome me as a guest
Annointing my head with oil
My cup overflows with blessings
Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
All the days of my life
And I will live in the house of the Lord forever!

Heavenly

The stars in the skies are counted,
So are the grains of sands on the shore.
My days in this place are numbered,
But the days of the Most High are not;
Oh how I long to stay with You forever!

Everything that is good comes from Your hands.
Everything that comes from Your hands is good.

I shout Your Name and You hear me.
You remember me and know me by my name.
And when I could not run to You,
You moved mountains just to reach me -
Arms opened wide
Embracing me.

I worship You
For You are faithful
For You are Holy
I praise You
For You are, You are
The Great I Am

Oh, how I long a life spent with You
How I long to see through the eyes of Heaven
Oh, how I long to be in Your embrace forever
How I praise You Lord!
How I praise You!

So Clear

The guidance of the Lord is clear.
Clearer than you think.

The guidance of the Lord is clear.
So clear that you cannot see you're walking it.

He speaks with a voice only the heart can understand.
The mind is limited
But the heart can do wonders.
The eyes are blind
To the light of Him.

The pillar of fire
The pillar of clouds
Guiding us through the deserts of life,
Through the wilderness of the unknown.

I used to doubt.
But, no more shall that happen!
I'm walking along the path of God!

It's not yet a perfect change
Nor will it be an imperfect change.

I Told My Heart To Open!

This year's camp was a big one for me. I had a new experience about leadership, about who I am, about who others are to me, about what God wants of me. Most of all, I learnt how prayers can change so many things. Throughout the year this year so far, I feel that I've learnt so much about prayers. Last year when I accepted Christ, I remember myself being so embarrassed praying with anyone else. I remember myself being quiet, absolutely quiet in prayer meetings. I remember I was the coward person when I was back in primary school. Nothing has changed.

That was when I learnt that prayers is the only way to change. Patricia Raybon doesn't have to write her whole book: the title says it all, "I Told The Mountains To Move". She did write the book though. In it, she said that she wanted to learn to pray so that things change. I believe her because I want things to change.

The Word of God told us that the earnest prayers of a righteous man have powerful results. I want to have that kind of results - those that can move mountains. As I prepare myself for the Sydney trip I'm having tomorrow for a Christian seminar, I told myself to open up my heart. However, it's more difficult to tell yourself to do something, I have learnt.

I mentioned something about this year's camp because I realized then that prayers come from me, from my longing. It's my hunger to talk to God. Just imagine yourself in the dark. Complete dark. I believe you'd shout something like, "Is anyone there?" I guess it's our instinct to just want to be around somebody. It's our longing to talk to someone whenever we are lost. It seems that words can dissolve fear.

For me, that fear disappears the first time I talked with God. And I invited God into my house that He has created for me: my heart. I want Him to live in me forever. That way, no matter how dark a valley I have to walk through, I know that Jesus will be with me, that I can talk to Him whenever I want, whenever I feel scared.

So, I told my heart to open. And that's what I love to pray for. Jesus told us to ask and keep on asking and we will receive. I long for my heart to be opened to a grace so abundant. That's why I would love to pray a simple prayer now:

"Lord Jesus, open up my heart. Open up my heart so wide that it can capture all of Your grace. Live in me. Open the eyes of my heart, so I could see You, so I could understand Your glory. Fill me when I'm empty and let Your Spirit overflow out of me. Open my ears and let me listen to Your voice calling out to me. Open up my eats so wide that I could even hear the rocks speaking about Your grace. Deepen my heart again. And let all of these continue the next day. You said Your grace is new every morning, and I just want to remember and contain all of them. Let me be used for Your glory forever and ever. All praises to You alone, Jesus. Amen."

Like a desperate person to see the beautiful blossom of a flower, I command the flower of my heart to blossom, so I could see the beautiful Spirit that dwells inside.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

I'll Listen

I guess it has been quite a while since I last updated this blog. I'm thinking of making another blog, specially for Christian music. I've been listening to quite a lot of new songs. I'm trying to get at least one new song every day in my tiny brain. There are just too much new songs, and little time to know all of them.

Anyways, I'm sure most of you know the song, "Let My Words Be Few" by Matt Redman. For Melbournians, we know that people like to talk a lot. Not one second of time wasted in silence. We just have to speak at every moment the other people are not speaking at.

Well, in this talkative place, I devoted on one thing that surprised me. I just realized that prayer was about listening. Of course, it's talking too. But more often than not, all of us would spend that five minutes just to talk and talk and talk to God. That's great! I mean, it does boost our relationship with God, right?

Not exactly...

You see, the Word of God said (in Matthew if I'm right) that God knows more than we do already, and prayers shouldn't be long-winded. If you are praying that way, I guess what you are doing is reminding of things God already know.

But if we think of it the other way around, we know so little about God. The knowledge we have about Him is much much much smaller than His. Philip Yancey described prayer as an act to see reality from God's point of view. And I couldn't agree more.

Prayer is a way to look at what we are through God's eyes - in other words, from God's perspective, from how He thinks of us. That's why when we pray, we must get ready for God to tell us what He thinks of us. However, most of the time, we try to connect with God, letting His Spirit fill us, when we are not letting go off what we have. For example, you are thinking that you are faithful because you are praying, while you are praying. And therefore, you think that you are worthy to be filled with God's Spirit, because you are faithful. But that is wrong.

When you are praying, you have to let go off every thought you have - except for the thought of God. You cannot think that you are faithful. That is self-praising, self-judgment. You are telling who you are through your perspectives, not God.

Instead of listening to the voices of your own thoughts, achieve to listen to God's voice.

I was really amazed when I was reading about Moses and Aaron, about how they can hear God's voice when they just come as they are. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they were thirsty, and so, they complained to Moses, about why God brought them to the wilderness to thirst to death. Moses did not fight against the Israelites. Instead, he went into the Tabernacle with Aaron, and they immediately fall face flat in front of the altar (correct me if I'm wrong). Then the next verse, without Moses speaking, God spoke to them. Ahh! How I wish to hear God's voice that easily!

Praying is like that. You can be silent. Totally silent. Just coming as who you are. Laying down everything. Then, waiting and expecting God to speak to you.

My heart is opened. My ears are wide. But let my words be few.

Thanksgiving

I shared this quite a few weeks ago at my cell, but I think I forgot to put this up on my blog. Anyways, this is about thanksgiving.

I read in a book somewhere that the statistics of thanksgiving to God as a ratio to the complaining to God is 1 : 4. That is a lot of complains!

Ephesians 5:20 told us that living in God's Spirit will definitely mark a change in us: thanksgiving in everything everytime. This is one way we can realize whether we are growing in God or not.

This is why I like Gospel music so much, because their music is joyous and full of thanksgiving. It's basically celebrating everything - the good things mostly, but also the bad things, because they know that God is with them through all these bad things.

I have a testimonial regarding what thanksgiving can really do. When I was receiving the marks for my third mid-semester test, Rachel told me I got only 9/19. It was supposed to be out of 20, but one of the question was wrongly set. So, I failed that one. Truthfully, I was not disappointed at all. I praised the Lord immediately after I got my marks. It was an awesome feeling! But yeah, I failed... ...or so I thought.

The next day, there is an announcement over the TopClass (online platform for medical students) saying that there's a mistake in another question. So, the result was out of 18, not 19. And when I checked my result to confirm, it was 9/18. Yes - a pass!

It was amazing how God can turn something around. I wonder sometime what will happen if I sulk over the fail. One day of studies because of my mood can be affected. Worst of all, my relationship with God will be affected. (I really don't like failing...)

I don't know what is my semester result going to be now, but I am not going to let the wait for the result affect me at all. I am just thankful that God is giving me (or God is giving the university in giving me) a holiday. I just want to rest and built my relationship with God in the 3 months of compensated spiritual journey through med school. I read 3 chapters of the Bible this morning, and it felt really nice.

Today, I also got to watch an episode of Scrubs, called, "My New God". It's about...well...God. But this is a (comical) debate about worshiping God (or which God). At one time, Perry (a cocky doctor) has his sister, Paige, coming to the hospital because his son was going to be baptized. Perry was not a big fan of Christ. But unlike Perry, Paige was a church person. Perry was having one patient who was not surviving well, and was kept alive barely by a steroid. Perry said that there was nothing else he could do, but Paige offered the help of God. The patient's family ended up praying with Paige, and the patient survived the night with conditions going back to normal. At this one scene at Perry's house just before the baptism, Perry said that medicine saved the patient's life, and asked Paige to thank medicine for its existence. Paige ended up saying, "Thank God for creating medicine."

Well, Paige's behavior is what Ephesians 5:20 is all about: to thank God in everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is true that Paige did not thank Jesus for medicine, but it is close enough to God, as she has declared her God to be Jesus Christ in the first place.

Still, in my cell group, I shared that we should not be afraid or ashamed in declaring who our Lord is. Say, "Thank Jesus" whenever possible.

Thank You with a grateful heart.

Updating

This blog is almost non-existent already, and yet the numbers are increasing quite rapidly.

So, I thought of updating both blogs (blogger.com and friendster) at the same time. I want to really spread the Word of God and the message of salvation that Lord Jesus has brought us all.

Both blogs will have the same materials. So, read only one (Or both if you want to read it again. It's really up to you.) =P

REALLY hope to see you guys comment on the devotions. Please do not hesitate on commenting. =)

God bless ya!!!

Jesus, lead me on

New Location!

Heyz! This blog has moved to a new location:

Hosanna Spirit!

Same blog, same author, different place. =P

Hope that you will visit me!
Thanks!

God bless you!

Just Me Is Not Enough

Hi! It's been about 6 days since I blogged about my devotions. Today's post is about perfection...

...or rather, imperfection.

I would like to start by leaving this theory of mine in your mind: "I am not nothing. I am not everything. I am just something."

Well, I am now moving on to my next book. It's by John Otberg, titled, "Everybody's Normal Till You Get To Know Them". The first part of the book gives me one impression overall: everyone needs someone (and of course, God). This is called a "community".

I believe that there is such thing as perfection. I mean, if there is none, why would there be such a thing as perfection in the first place? (Everything has to exist for a purpose!) If it is true that imperfect people need other imperfect people, perfection still cannot be achieved. We need a perfect being to make us perfect! It's like water. If a bottle is filled with muddy water, pouring in muddy water into a bottle will change nothing! But if pure water is filled into the bottle, at least the content of the bottle will be purer.

The Perfection is God. And if we are washed by God's Spirit, we will not be perfect, but will be closer to perfection.

I just watched "Touched By An Angel" (just a portion of it). And it's about a pastor who has lost faith in his belief just because he had accidentally crashed into (or by other ways) his son and killed him. The angel came in time to revive his faith. She said that people do not know God's plan wholly. God has taken the pastor's son, because there should be a purpose behind it that people without faith will not see.

This is very true. Perfection exists in God's plan. We are part of God's plan. We are part of the Perfection. But we are not the Perfection! Because I am just who I am. Because you are who you are. I am not God. Neither are you.

In some cases, you might need others to help you. For example, the pastor was helped by the angel. But in our everyday lives, it is not common to see an angel, is it? So, we need one another to help us open our eyes to realize that every part of our lives - both good and bad - are part of God's plan.

The idea of imperfection thus came into the fact of community. The first "not good" thing God has created in the world is one person. One person is not good. But as soon as Eve was made from Adam, God saw it was good. Why? Because community is good. Adam. Eve.

And God.

"I am not nothing. I am not everything. I am just something."
"But in God, I am something - something part of God's Perfect Plan."

Praise God for my imperfection! It is because of my imperfection that I can be part of the Creator's Perfect Plan!

"Here I am / At Your feet / In my brokenness, complete"
- lyrics of "Unashamed" by Starfield

Which Well?

Last week, I was teaching my cell group regarding thanksgiving. At the end of it, I made a comment that I've been devoting for some time ago, and I thought I should share it with you guys.

I am still reading Bill Hybel's "Just Walk Across The Room". And since my Bible reading is very slowly progressing, I still haven't get to the New Testament yet. But in this book, I read the part when Jesus was at a well (John 4). A Samaritan woman wanted to draw water out of a well, when Jesus asked her whether He could have some of the water. The Samaritan, being offended by talking with a Jew, was of course denying what Jesus asked for.

However, there's a turn of event. The conversation led to the Samaritan asking Jesus was water - the living water. And not only did she not take water out of the well, she left her water jug at the well and called everyone to meet Jesus (John 4:28).

You see, our soul is like a bottle. You can fill things with anything you want. Many people in the world are committed to dirty thoughts, porn, drugs, smoking, money, and anything which will satisfy them. Or so they thought...

Yes - these things can satisfy you. But do they truly satisfy you forever? Or will you crave more of it?

For example, money. You have many of those. But even the richest man in the world still craves for them. There is just something in materials that our body and soul just couldn't fill. Another literal example is alcohol. It'll just evaporate as you fill your bottle with it. Drink it, and one second later, you'll be as empty as you are in the previous second.

If you are filling your bottle with these materials, then what you are filling yourselves with is water from the "Earth Well". Like the Samaritan before she repented, you are continuously drawing water out of this well, filling yourself with something that will not satisfy your soul eternally. You always feel thirsty and keep wanting more of the "water".

But Jesus is offering a new water - the living water. This can only be taken out of a spiritual well - the "Jesus' Well". God has opened this well through Jesus, that whoever who is thirsty and drank out of this well will be quenched forever! Does it sound like something you want?

If so, you are like the Samaritan. The next thing you need to do is to ask where you can get this "living water" - where do you find this "Jesus' Well". It's easy to find the Well, and there are many locations too. Just to name some of them: Jesus' Well of Wisdom, Jesus' Well of Spirit, Jesus' Well of Strength, Jesus' Well of Worship, Jesus' Well of Strength, and there are so much more.

But of course, the well has its own source. The "Earth Well" comes from the ground. But the "Jesus' Well" comes from the Heaven - specifically the throne of our King. It is from the Father, Spirit and the Son that we can get this "Water". And all you have to do to obtain it is to pray and ask our God to pour it down on us.

However, be sure what you want. The Samaritan dropped her water jar right at the well. She gave up the "Earth water" completely. She realized that all she needs now is the living water - the Water from the Well of Jesus.

If you have a mixture of both, everywhere you go, you'll bring this mixture. And when you speak to people, you'll speak with a mixture of the Word of the Spirit with the word of the world. That's not really a repentance. That's a compromise.

I take an example from Samuel's blog. You are sick. And you decided to be faithful and prayed to God. But as soon as you said, "Amen," you looked for Panadol. You began justifying your "faithfulness" saying, "This is just a supplementary, just in case God didn't heal me," or "God put Panadol in this world... ...and it was good."

Then, I have one question: really, faithful? REALLY?

If God has poured down His healing power into your bottle, and you added a panadol into your bottle, wouldn't His medication be ruined then? When you ask God for something, never have your own input too. A pure soul that lives for God is much better than a compromising mixture of both waters.

Take an example of Jesus and His disciples in this chapter. His disciples was hungry, but Jesus responded them by saying that He has just eaten, when salvation was proclaimed! Jesus doesn't need "Earth food". Proclamation of salvation is enough to satisfy His cravings for "food", and that's all He needs/wants.

Also, trust me, when you ask God for this living water, God doesn't send a drop of Water, or a drizzle down on you. He'll send a rain down to fill your "bottle". The Water will overflow you.

"Rain down on me, Rain down on me. Here in Your presence I am free. Come pour down like rain. Come and touch me again. Lord, let Your presence fall on me."
- Lyrics of "Rain Down" by Planetshakers

I love this song because it calls God to pour Himself on you. What could be better than that? The bottle is filled with God's Holy Spirit Himself! And yes - He'll rain on you. He'll overflow! There'll be so much that you can't even contain it! How precious is the feeling? How great is His will in your life? That's when your soul will completely be satisfied.

He is only Water you'll even need. Come and take a sip if you don't believe! Just remember that He is inviting everyone to drink that water - the sweetest water that will quench your thirst forever!

celebrating with a child-like faith

yesterday, i was teaching my cell group for the first time. while i was preparing the materials for it, i found the true meaning of child-like faith.

i came across the book, "the holy wild" by mark buchanan. and i love that book! especially the chapter, "a testimony of a leaf". it's the really good part, talking about how thanklessness has been the root of evil in the world. he recalled a time when he was evangelizing in kenya, africa. he didn't want to attend a service because the music produced by the worn-down, old, deformed instruments were squawky. but during the service (which he reluctantly went to), there was a lady who testified powerfully, rejoicingly, faithfully, about one new shoe she had been praying for three months.

yeah. a shoe
not one pair of shoes.
just one shoe.

that's child-like faith.

remember when you were kids? if you are given something to play with in your hands, you would hold it with such fascination that you wouldn't want to let it go? or when you receive a sweet, and your face will brighten up with a radiance that will never go away?

but as we grow old, when we receive one sweet, we demand for the whole package. if we receive a bike, we demand for a car. if we receive a cake, we demand a buffet. almost everything is not appreciated now. Jesus spoke in John 4 to His disciples about the food that He eats. the disciples were complaining that they were hungry, and wanted something to eat. but Jesus took the chance to say that He is not hungry, because saving someone's soul is enough to keep Him satisfied.

when we want something badly, we always look through our eyes, scheming through your "a-z list of compromises and reasons". we find reasons for getting a better car, a better watch, a better brand of clothing line. we don't appreciate what's in front of us anymore. we look beyond that with our eyes of reasonings so that we can get more than we have. our souls keep telling us that we need them to socialize, to do well in this world, to be the "better person".

here's the fact: materials do not make you a better person. it's one of the cause for jealousy, and it kills and buries that child-like faith you have in your heart.

look at the africans for example. they don't have much. but when they get something, they rejoice! why? because they know it's a blessing. like what irvin (or ko irvan, i can't remember) says yesterday in cell, what small things are given to us become a usual thing in our lives. blessings become another thing we can buy with our moneys.

but the africans, they don't have money. things are "bought" by prayer. things are given through prayers. and they literally see blessings falling in front of them from heaven. it is because their eyes are not blinded by reasonings or materials. in fact, they are shone by the light of grace from God.

i salute the africans and they deserve my prayers of blessings! i pray that you will be a nation where the Lord Jesus will dwell in forever! may your hearts please the God almighty forever and ever! =)

"worthy, worthy, of my child-like faith, of my honest praise, of my unashamed love, of my holy life, of my sacrifice, of my unashamed love."
- lyrics of "unashamed love" by travis cottrell

somethings...

i watched a video on youtube that disturbed me quite a lot. just 2 days ago, people are commenting on this video, debating whether Jesus is real or whether He is God or not.

i don't really know what the world has against christians now. but what does non-christians believe in the first place? what do you believe that makes you guys attack us? it seems that everyone else are attacking the christians for some reasons, and not the other religions. other religions have their fair share of evangelism, but why only us?

and what's with your debate on whether only christians will be sent to Heaven or not? i mean, we have our belief that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and that whoever comes to Him and accept Him will be saved and go back home to Heaven. but more importantly, we KNOW it is true. i don't want to comment on other beliefs, but just one thing: is your faith as "sure" as ours is?

the non-christians have been talking about whether they can get to heaven, and say we christians are wrong because not only christians can get to Heaven. if you are sure that not only christians are going to heaven, why the fear? we are fearless in what we believe, because we KNOW that what we believe in is true. but do you non-christians believe what you believe is true? are you sure that you are going to heaven? if you are, why the fear??

and another thing is that, personally, i see everyone equally. i treat everyone whom i know equally. i don't hate others. for example, i don't hate the muslims (my caretaker is a muslim and i like spending time with her). i don't hate the buddhists (my extended family are mostly buddhists, and i still respect them). i don't hate! and i know the Bible doesn't teach us to hate. the bible says that we should love our neighbors.

and i don't see others as inferior. never do that! in fact, i'm sharing a littleabout this on this friday's cell. the Bible teaches us that everything we have (including knowledge, faith and salvation) all are gift from God. God wanted to give us something we don't deserve because He has loved us so much, and because we know how much He loves us, we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. everything is a gift, and we have NO RIGHTS at all to boast! and therefore, we don't boast about our truth. we don't boast about salvation. and we are not thinking of boasting about them. why? because it's the wrong thing to do. feeling superior is biblically unrighteous. after all, we know that we are made from the very same soil, in which the Spirit of the very same God who created us dwells in. we (or at least i) don't feel superior to others, and, NO! we will never feel superior to others!

so, please, get the facts right before you counter what we believe.

"sometimes we have it sometimes we don’t, what matters most is not the physical, just look inside your soul cause, we got a lot in common"
- lyrics of "a lot in common" by group 1 crew

i'm on my way

i promised to write a devotion about the journey to Heaven.

ok. firstly, the Bible doesn't promise us a smooth road towards Heaven. this is definite. everyone's faith will be put to test before they are given the prize. the concept goes with the current world system today: degrees are obtained only by excruciatingly long studies in university, high positions are rewarded to those who work really hard, etc.

but Heaven - arh! the sheer beauty! what prize do we need to pay to get there? A LOT! sometimes everything!

(i am doing a research together with reverend johannes about this, and so i won't reveal much about this yet, because i don't have enough materials and i don't want to dishonor his privacy.)

this is my mental picture of a road to Heaven - a looooooong road trip on foot. everyone can participate. all it takes is a heart of desire. there is only one way towards Heaven, which is the road of Christ. but along this road, there are many attractions that distract you. for example, there is a theme park along the way, symbolising entertainment/fun 24-7. if you go walk into the park, you will take a break from the journey. some people take long enough to not complete the journey!

another attraction for example is a buffet - greed. there are many things that people greed over in this life - materials, money, comfort, food. but if you keep on indulging yourself on these things, there will be more stuff to carry with you on the run towards Heaven. that will be a burden. lay them down at the foot of the cross and you'll run light.

more things lie ahead. for example, a gorge which you need to jump over. this can symbolize many things. but one thing's for sure - perseverance or helplessness. if you persevere, you can make a way across the gorge - by building a bridge, or finding a rope, or even training before you jump the gorge! but if you think you are helpless, then it's commit suicide without a doubt. it's tempting to just die and end your burdens right away, but wouldn't there be more (and only) burdens in hell? think about it before taking that plunge.

there are cold nights that you wish you have a flame. tempting to try and make one. tough when the wind blows, eh? but why don't you pray that the Holy Spirit will burn a warm flame in you?

of course, there are many more examples, but i shouldn't bore you with more. if you want another picture of the road, think of it as empty at first. but as you walk, the devil keeps throwing things from you from the side of the road, telling you to stop. he throws you food. don't stop! only seek the Bread of Life. he throws you a wall. don't stop! run through it like how david ran to goliath! he throws you a mountain. don't stop! climb over it!

there are obstacles along the way, but everything can be overcame in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. and if we made it through all the roads, though the numbers of bruises, cuts, bleedings we have, once we step into Heaven, all will be healed. and Jesus will then say to you, "well done, my child. well done..."

"even though the journey's long, and i know the road is hard, but the One who has come before me, He will help me carry on."
- lyrics of "mountain of God" by third day

change Your world - darlene zschech

this song is so very touching!!! i love it so much. the lyrics is very meaningful. i have been told by someone that there is no need to protect the world anymore since Jesus Christ is coming soon anyways. but this song is the complete reason for needing to change this world and its people before the coming of Jesus.

let's say Jesus is about to knock on your house door right now. would you want Jesus to come into a filthy house? i wonder sometimes why the Bible says, "for me and my house, we would praise the Lord", and not, "for me and my family, we would praise the Lord". for one thing, i realized that households long ago still do have servants generally. and since the servants are not part of the family, it is said to be "house". but i think we can glorify Jesus by taking care of the house that He has blessed us with. (sorry, but maybe i'm wrong, i don't know.)

it's the same with the world. in this life, we have an international house: the world. we are supposed to protect it from evil while we are still alive, and change it for the better i have discussed something about this in the previous post: Jesus entrusted us with bigger things, only if we are faithful to the small things. if Jesus has entrusted us with a house, we should take care of it, and not mess it up. how could He trust us with a share of Heaven if we cannot even take care of our own house now?

change the world is calling to Jesus to come and help us in changing this world. i saw the music video of this single. it's very touching to see the people in that video. when i saw it, i immediately changed the "my prayers to you" section. read it and i hope that you will join me in my prayers.

watch the video on youtube!

what i learnt from this song is that it is up to us to change the world. ok, it's actually Jesus and us. but Jesus is always with us. and here's the breaking news: Jesus is ready. He is waiting for you to be ready. are you ready to change the world?

this ties in with something i found yesterday on the net.

(thanks to ninja billy for making this strip.)
http://www.ninjabilly.com

God has done His part. His Spirit is within you. it's just your choice to move. if you cannot do anything, praying still helps. as i like to say, "prayers can move mountains. (so don't stop praying if you have not moved at least one.)" pray that the world will change by any means for the better. even better, pray that God will open up a path so that you can help the world. for me, i'm doing the second one. i have a vision to help the condition in africa if i become a doctor. and i pray that it will come true one day.

thanks to darlene, really, for the song! =)

Change Your World
By: Darlene Zschech

Though I'm many miles away
How could I forget the day
I held you close
And my heart was changed forever

Though I'm many miles away
I'll forever hear You say
I am Your child
Please will You love me
Won't You stay my little one

I live to change Your world
I live to change Your world
Oh how You've changed my world
Know the kindness of God
Will make a way

There's not a day that passes by
When I don't hear your hungry cry
I won't forget you
Oh how I love you
Just be strong my little one

He rejoices over you with singing
He will quiet you with his love
I know you'll be dancing
When your heart is heavy
Heaven will make a way
Just hold on

I live to change Your world
I live to change Your world
Oh how You've changed my world
Oh how You've changed my world

And when the night is long
And hunger is your song
Breathe again and know
To hope is never wrong
Change Your world

Oceans of mercy calling
Heaven will rain again

----------

God bless ya! and may God bless the world too! =)

"i will bow before Your throne, for my life is not my own. have Your way in me."
- lyrics of "have Your way" by paradise (guy sebastian)

well done, My child

i was just reminded about this a few seconds ago.

last week, my cell group was discussing about what life is about. we had 3 representations for life: test, trust, temporary assignment (3t's). and with this we discussed how we need to focus on the goal and not on temporary things on earth. as 2 Corinthians 4:18 has said, we need to focus on the eternal prize of Heaven, and not be caught up on the things in-between.

(i want to discuss another point about how i see life as a race too, but i think i'd leave that for tomorrow.)

and ko irvan asked each one of us how this can change our lives. i was really really tired on that day and so, i blurred out something without really thinking it through. however, the comments received was more than i expected. and i guess this is something quite big that i should address.

i suggested that we should not be proud of the praises we get from other people.

instead, i think we should keep our focus on God and just walk ahead to Heaven. what others say about you is less important that what God has said, is saying and will be saying to you. if you just focus on what God says, listen at appropriate time, check your heart, that's enough. (well, i'm not saying that you shouldn't listen to others... but can you always trust the flesh?)

relating to reaching Heaven, i read a book that asked a very interesting question at one point of time: what do you think will be the first thing that God will say to you when you reach Heaven?

of course, not knowing much at that time, i was confused when i wanted to answer this question. i didn't even know what i will say or do! will i hug Him? will i sing praises? will i give thanks? will i fall down to my knees and cry? i don't even know how i'm going to react?! how would i know how He would react to me?!

but then, i read on to realize that God has already got an answer for those faithful ones.

'Well done, you good and faithful servant!' said his master. 'You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!'
[ Quote from Jesus in Matthew 25: 21, 23 ]

'Well done,' he said; 'you are a good servant! Since you were faithful in small matters, I will put you in charge of ten cities.'
[ Quote from Jesus in Luke 19: 17 ]

but do you think He'll say that to you? have you been faithful? will He share His happiness with you? will He give you something bigger than what you already have? will He give you the golden ticket to come into His Heaven?

for me, i have been faithful in small matters. i have not been faithful in some bigger callings, but i'm trying to fit everything into my life first. i have the heart for prayer, though i have not found enough time to balance everything. but i have been faithful in spreading the Word of God through my blog. and i will grow one day when i pray every day and night.

i'm still growing. my thirst and hunger are not quenched yet. i'm not done. never done, until i reach Heaven.

but until then,
i know what God wants from us.
i know what God will say to us.
i know what God will give us.

so, keep our eyes on the prize. keep our hearts focused on what God will say to us. keep our hands and feet doing the will of God! keep your ears open that one day, God will say, "My child, you have been faithful to Me. come. I have opened up the gates of My House. come and rest. well done, My child... well done."

"just one moment here with You, means more than anything to me."
- lyrics of "secret place" by planetshakers

once upon a sin

i think it is human's destiny to sin once in a while on this earth. i don't know whether it is true or not, but this is what i think and i want to ask for comments regarding this.

well, i'm not saying that human have to sin. of course, Christianity aims for us to be more Christ-like - to be more holy and righteous in the eyes of God. but i don't think that people can achieve that without making mistakes. take a toddler for an analogy. when he is learning how to walk, he fall down quite a lot before he eventually takes the first long-distance walk.

as humans, we also fall down a lot, no doubt. as i watched scrubs, i heard what doctor cox said: once in a while, humans commit a sinful omission. (of course, he's talking about doctor's responsibilities.) but i can't help thinking whether that's true in our lives.

the last time in my cell group, the teacher told us that God has a purpose to put each of us on this earth. but when i thought about it, God has a purpose to put humans (collectively) on earth in the first place.

sins is good for us in some ways. (hold on to your thoughts first!! this is not what you are thinking!)

look, everything has a purpose right? however, it is our choice to whether we want to go according to the purpose or not. taking an example from a session in Bible study, reverend johannes commented that a phone is used for efficient communication between people. but what if a person (for example a toddler) throws it to the floor as a toy? wouldn't the purpose of the phone be denied? i guess this is the same as sin.

sin has a purpose too. for Christians, sin makes us seek God more. to a further extent, it gives us humility because we seek forgiveness (and of course, we are given forgiveness through the blood of Jesus, amen?). the problem with sin is that non-Christians don't seek God when they sin. some of them are even proud of what they have done.

also, sin makes us realize we are not perfect as humans, and we can never be. but it is by the grace of God that salvation comes to this earth through the blood of Jesus that washes away all our sins. see - it is because of our sins that we need Jesus to heal us.

let's establish another analogy here - a hospital. let's say a patient who is completely healthy comes. the patient wants the doctor to examine him. but, there's nothing the doctor can do, is there? why? because there is no need for a doctor - he's perfectly healthy. but if a person who has a cut comes in, the doctor now has a purpose to heal the imperfect person. and back to the first patient: if he is arrogant, he would not even have seen the need for the hospital!

without sin, i supposed we'll be more pompous and proud. and to a large extent, we would not have seen the need for Jesus to heal us because we think they can make it to Heaven without His help. (i actually have seen a video of a person saying why did Jesus die on the cross for us? and i think he criticized the whole concept as bogus and stupid.)

this gives sense to why sin is at first brought into humans. it is not because God is lonely (or at least i don't think so), but it is because He wants us to see the need for Him. let's get back to the phone. if the toddler has broken the phone, the phone (creation) now has the need for the company (Creation) to fix it.

well, i think no matter what happens in our lives, no matter how many falls we have, we still have one ultimate purpose - to live as righteously as possible. like the toddler, the ultimate purpose is to not fall so much, and finally learn to walk properly. as adults, we still trip and fall and hurt ourselves. but if we are careful enough, we might not have to suffer the injuries cause by the fall anymore for the rest of our lives. of course, if you do fall and injure yourself, i guess the hospital is just the place you need.

and spiritually, i think the idea is just the same...

in the grace of God,
andrew

more and more.... of what?

(this entry is entirely a grace from God. i didn't even feel like blogging at this point of time. but everything that i type just flow into one piece. completely unexplainable... Jesus is so amazing, ain't Him?)

the world really lacks something today. this is something i have seen all around me. i don't mention names, but many people i know of are deficient in this nutrient for their character development. these people characteristically suffers from hatred for things around them, irritability to small blessings, symptoms of complaining.

this nutrient is called, "appreciation".
(best taken with a dose of praise and thankfulness after every grace received)

i have heard one sermon about this before. (or was it a book?) correct me if i'm wrong: a person complains 4 times as much as they give thanks to God in a day. of course, that's a general statistic. thankfully, some Christians are more faithful than that.

most of us have seen people in public complaining, no doubt. in restaurants, there are quite a lot of people who love to complain about the food. (some travelers on travel channels do it too!) for them, a little bit of imperfection is worth half an hour of intense complaining to the manager. you might shake your head, but it's true! of course, there's a special bunch of people who tends to do this more often: the rich people.

not to pick on these people, but rich people tend to have indulged themselves in the best-est of things - so much so that they can only walk on floors made of gold. they indulge themselves only in royal perfection. (i know the expressions i have used are extreme, but to love materials is to love materials. in God's eyes, they are the same, no matter the magnitude of it.)

i know several people who loves to delight themselves in the best of things available. they purchase things as though money grows on trees. they have materials that they need, but they long for better ones. they have what they need, but they crave for what they want.

this syndrome is mostly transmitted from one person to another by jealousy.

arh... the Word of God has clearly spoken not to be jealous of anything.

Peace of mind makes the body healthy, but jealousy is like a cancer.
(Proverbs 14: 30)

Anger is cruel and destructive, but it is nothing compared to jealousy.
(Proverbs 27: 4)

i don't want cancer, do you? so, please don't be jealous of anything. appreciate what you have, no matter how small it is. i know i still need to control my cravings too. (i'm still not perfect with this thing too, you know?) but i hope together we can get rid of this disease forever!

final message: turn your "more and more money" attitude to "more and more of God"!

=)

"with a greatful heart, with a song of praise, with an outstreched arm, i will bless Your name. thank You Lord, i just want to thank You Lord"
- lyrics of "thank You Lord" by don moen

greatest gift - hillsong london

greatest gift of all does not have to be given on your birthday. or at christmas. or at easter. in fact, at anytime, you can bow your head and ask for the gift and God will give it to You. in fact, He is pushing it to you everytime, but it is the matter of whether you want it or not.

the greatest gift of all - salvation.

the Lamb was slain!
the gates of heavens are opened wide!
what more could you ask for?
this is the greatest story ever written on earth. and your life could be part of your story if you would just humble yourself and accept Jesus Christ.

this song, "greatest gift" is simply touching. how it describes what happens to every repentant. condemnation falls away. i am clean. chains broken. guilt and shame placed on the cross. mercy pours down.

just a beautiful scene. imagine yourself wandering on earth with loads of sins and stress over on your back. you walk to the cross. you leave all your burdens at its foot. many others have left theirs there. the blood of the Lamb is still trickling down from the cross onto the ground, dissolving every piece of burdens that have been lain down. the blood pours on your hands and feet too. you are clean. you speak a prayer of thanks for Jesus has taken all burdens from you. and you leave the cross, walking away with the Word of God, His promises and assurance of salvation as your daily food, and His mercy and grace as your water. you can see the light at the horizon now and you walk towards it. of course, Jesus is beside you every single time. just how amazing is that?

this is the scene that i painted while singing the song. anyways, it's an amazing song to sing. so, enjoy it guys!

Greatest Gift
By: Hillsong London

Condemnation falls away
Never more to call on me and I am clean,
Yes I am clean
The powerful work of you in me
Breaks the chains of guilt and shame and I go free,
Yes I go free

I take them to your cross and leave them there
Captured by this grace I’m free at last

It is the great gift of Your salvation
Working in me, working in me
It is the life giving taste of heaven
Your kindness revealed, Your kindness revealed to me

It’s the greatest gift of all
It’s the greatest gift of all
It’s the greatest gift of all

Your mercy’s pouring down on me, Your mercy’s pouring down on me
And I am clean, I am clean
Your mercy’s pouring down on me, Your mercy’s pouring down on me
And I go free, I go free

---------

by the way, it's from the album "Jesus is". it's a beautiful compilation. i especially love the worship songs from this album. another great song is, "i lift my hands". it's very very simple - just one verse repeating over 2 minutes. very easy song to sing.



let's worship and praise our God forever and ever!!!

"a bible is a great gift. the message is an even greater gift. however, the salvation is the greatest gift of all."

amazed - jared anderson

this is another one of the cds that i hesitated in buying. but really, the cd is awesome!

its title is "arise - a new celebration of worship". it's a compilation of songs by don moen, jared anderson, lincoln brewster, paul baloche, lenny leblanc and robert mark. love some of the songs...

today's song is titled, "amazed". our Lord is amazing, amen?

and i am touched to post this song today because of today's praise and worship. we sang a new song, "blessed" by hillsong. and during the bridge and spontaneous worship, the whole church is really on fire! God really burned us in His Spirit then! for one thing, i was psalming! i haven't done that before! (or at least i think i haven't...) and i was psalming out loud!!! that one i definitely haven't done before!

anyways, i was really amazed by God. today i was supposed to do the slides and i used the same background as last week's. val thought maybe i should change it. and Jesus pointed me to use the background of mountains with 2 people standing on one of the mountaintops towards the sun. and when i look at the background when worshiping, a phrase pop into my mind:

God can lift me up higher than the mountains. higher than the sun is His shoulders.

and then i began crying. then a psalm just came out for how amazing God is - how He came down to earth just to save us all.

when i was leaving the church, God reminded me again about this song, "amazed", and i began singing alone in my brother's car. it's a great song! and it's the simplicity of the song that makes us wonder how amazing His grace is for us!

Amazed
By: Jared Anderson

You dance over me
While I am unaware
You sing all around
But I never hear the sound

Lord I'm amazed by You
Lord I'm amazed by You
Lord I'm amazed by You
How You love me

How wide
How deep
How great
Is Your love for me

--------

and now, i am chatting with ci mar. i began to wonder again: what will happen when i converted earlier? and ci mar told me that this lyrics means that God is always surrounding us with His amazing ways, trying to captivate our hearts. but we're just slow to reacting to His grace. reality, we should not regret on what we have missed, but look forward on what is in the future. His grace is still plentiful. we cannot grab what is left in the past. so why cry over spilled milk? drink the rest before you spill it again!

=)

"for great and powerful Your Kingdom will reign, Your glory and righteousness will always remain. one touch of Your mighty hand, all nations will bow, and my heart will sing to You always"
- chorus of "King forevermore" by southside Christian church

mountain of God - third day

i have to thanks ko irvan for giving me this wonderful song! it speaks of anyone's journey in Christ. every Christian has to face the truth that their journey in life is difficult, mainly because we are not supposed to be trusting in the world, but trusting in something unknowable or unsee-able - God. the Word of God said that:

For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.
2 Corinthians 4: 18 (GNB)

i like to describe the Christian life in this way: if you haven't suffered pain, solitude and brokenness while living with God, you are not living for God yet.

every biblical character has their problems and downfalls in Christ. Jesus doesn't expect us
to live in perfect righteousness, for that's not possible for the flesh. but when we fall, we have to know that Jesus is still with us, that we are not condemned for our sins. instead, we must seek Jesus and confess for the sins that we have committed, and ask Him for forgiveness. no matter what we do - could be thanksgiving, could be sinning, could be making choices, could be going through a tough time - no matter what, we have to acknowledge that Jesus is not far from us. we have to let Him guide us in these things, for His ways are above all our ways.

this is one thing that i learnt from this song. the song says that we must go through the valley to stand upon the mountain of God. that's the road God has planned for us. we can choose not to go through the valley and wander an easier path in life, but the truth is that you will not reach the mountain of God. but always know that in every step that you take, Jesus is always with you. you can smile because of that.

that's His promise.

Mountain of God
By: Third Day

Thought that I was all alone
Broken and afraid
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me

And I didn't even know
That I had lost my way
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me

'Til You opened up my eyes
I never knew
That I couldn't ever make it
Without You

Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God

As I travel on the road
That You have lead me down
You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me
I have need for nothing more
Oh, now that I have found
That You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me

I confess from time to time
I lose my way
But You are always there
To bring me back again

Sometimes I think of where it is I've come from
And the things I've left behind
But of all I've had, what I possessed
Nothing can quite compare
With what's in front of me
With what's in front of me

--------

may the Holy Spirit guide you in everything that you do! =)

"bring me anything that brings You glory. and i know there'll be days when this life brings me pain. but if that's what it takes to praise You, Jesus bring the rain."
- lyrics from "bring the rain" by mercyme

just a messenger

i was just surfing the web just now and i saw quite a debate about whether or not someone (i'm not going to mention who) is a Christian or not. it's more like a forum, but people are discussing out their hearts about whether this person is Christian or not, and on top of that, whether Christianity is a true religion or not.

well, firstly, i have to comment (and remind you) that Christianity is NOT a religion. it's a way of life. it's how we live according to the Bible. religions have time when they are religious. but Christianity (which is a way of life) is part of our every step, part of our every breath. we try to act upon what we preach in everything that we do.

of course, i said, "try". this has 2 implications. one is we are not perfect. we constantly commit sin, but in all the possibilities that we have, we should try to not commit them. not only that, we try to not sin in the power of Christ. all of us are made of the earth, and that's a fact (even science proves that we die and turn to dust). the dust that forms us is of no worth spiritually. dust don't have life. something (or Someone) is definitely responsible in giving us this "life". if this is just a mere coincidence, isn't it too big? i mean, look around and everything you see is coincidence. how much coincidences can actually happen? what are the chances? but with God, we are given life. it is proven in the Bible when God gave adam the life-giving breath. we - this lump of dust - is made worthy by the Almighty God.

it's like in an office. there is a boss. when you enter the office, you are just an employer looking for a job. you're (may be going a little over the edge here) worthless to the office. but when the boss hires you, you are made worthy. and the good news is that God is "hiring" everyone. and if you are still looking for a job, i'm just the messenger of the "office", telling you that there are still vacancy in the "office". you can accept it, or deny it. it's all up to you. my job is that and i'll do it. that's all i'm doing.

(for those who still don't get it, the boss is God, office is heaven.)

and in the debate, i read a person's comment on how to prove that God exist. well, there are tons as another person said. and my question is to first person is: how do you prove that God does not exist?

proving something that exists is easy. one evidence and that's all you need. but proving something does not exist is difficult because you'll need to go through every (and i mean every) aspect of it.

let's say i say that mount everest did not actually exist. well, i have to look around the whole world to actually prove it. i cannot just look around in australia and make that judgment, can i? i would have to look all around the world. but if i want to prove that mount everest exist, it's easy. all i have to do is spot the mountain. one prove and that's it.

same with Christianity, trying to prove that God does not exist is difficult, ain't it? you don't just attack the Bible - you have to prove all around (and i don't think you know how much "everything" really is) that Christianity is a fake.

with one evidence that we need, we have it. for some who don't know, we have God's own Word. and it's called the holy Bible.

well, bottomline, i'm not trying to attack any of your beliefs (and sorry if i did). i'm just stating the fact and that's all. it's just so weird seeing people attacking, not only Christianity, but also God Himself. it's as though they have something against it. i don't understand what is wrong about God and Jesus.

i hope that none of you are offended by this. point is: i'm just the messenger, telling the unemployed that the boss is still looking for people to employ. (he is a good boss, ya know? and trust me, there is a huge paycheck at the end of it all. all you have to do is accept the position and follow his words.)

;)

"trusting You and not myself will always lead to blessing. / i want the world to know, Your love endures forever."
- lyrics of "i'm forever Yours" by planetshakers

a-z of Jesus

i made this list quite some time ago, but i was thinking of better phrases for the a-z of Jesus (especially x). but i think i'll post it up for now, just for the non-Christians to get some idea of who Jesus is:

Amazing Grace
Benevolent
Comforter
Deliver us all
Everything you'll ever need
Forgiving
Gives you rest
Healer
Immeasurably powerful
Joy in its fullness
Keep His promises
Lift our troubles
Mighty to save
Nothing is impossible
One and Only
Prince of Peace
Quench the thirsty
Rock of my Salvation
Savior of us all
The shining Light
Understanding friend
Very humble
Wealth beyond measure
XOXO
Your hope
Zero condemnation

by the way, when i say "wealth beyond measure", don't think of money suddenly. they're not important as compared to the grace that is the "wealth" of Jesus. He brings more than wealth - that's what i mean... =)

indescribable, uncontainable, You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
- lyrics of "indescribable" by avalon

for the cause - planetshakers

i have been quite attached with planetshaker these days. their songs have touched me so deeply. they paint a picture of wholly surrender, faithfulness and - something everyone can relate to - hope.

and this song titled "for the cause" in no exception. their lyrics show that we have hope in Christ who had died for us all. it shows we have hope in Christ who had risen for the glory of the Kingdom of God! no matter what we might face, no matter how depressing life may seem, no matter the number of times you have failed, just know that there'll be another tomorrow. and know that Jesus will be there at the finishing line, waiting for you to cross the line to come into His embrace.

well, the song is from the album, "never stop". truthfully, i was doubting whether i should buy this one or "worship Him". but something tells me to buy this one. well, someone actually - my brother. he wanted this cd, and so i decided to buy this. when i saw the cover, i thought that i would not like the album because it seems so "rock".


guess you really should never judge a book (or in this case, an album) by its covers eh?

anyways, i especially love 2 songs from this album. and today, i'll post the lyrics for one of them:

For The Cause
By: Planetshakers

For the cause of Christ
I will lay down my life
For the cause of Christ
I will stand
I will give my all to give Him glory
For the cause of Christ
I'll live

You gave Your all for me
Came as a ransom to set me free
A love so amazing divine
Your bloodshed on Calvary for all mankind

I stand in awe
Of the wonder of Your love
I stand in awe
Of You

I will worship Jesus my King of all glory (repeat)
I will worship Jesus my King

-----

well, there you go! hope you have a good time worshipping our Savior Jesus Christ. when you are down, always remember this song. for His presence rings so true in our ears, become so real in our eyes. there is always hope in Him! remember that!

more than a survivor, i'm an overcomer, Lord i'm standing strong, 'cause Your gave me victory.
- lyrics from "overcomer" by oasis praise

i'm forever Yours - planetshakers

i've not been posting much now.. haiz... the pressure for medical school is huge... *hikz* but if it's my calling, i know i can do it...

anyways, i have quite a lot of devotions since i last updated the blog. but for now, there's a song that is very very powerful to me. it's called, "i'm forever Yours". it has 2 essence even just from the title. firstly, of course, surrender. but if so, the title, "i'm Yours" is already enough. it could be because planetshakers must match the lyrics and the tune, but i believe that there are much more than that.

the second essence of the title is "forever". wholly surrender. eternally. the past, the present and the future. forever.

the lyrics itself are very powerful. it talks about how much we should love Him, how much He deserves. and at the second verse, second line, i was quite lost at first. but when i meditate upon it, i get what it means, and it's really very good.

last time, goats are sacrificed to atone for the sins of people. and in one life of a person, there could be hundreds or even thousands of atonement! but now, we don't use sacrifices of lambs anymore. the Lamb of God has sacrificed Himself. sacrifices are useless now. but the greatest thing we can give is our obedience to His Word.

we can sacrifice ourselves, but what's the use? like the sacrifices for offerings, we became useless. we must be a living sacrifice - one who speaks of God's truth, ones who obey Him. we listen to God's Word and we obey. that way, not only we will die for God, but we also live for God. that's greater than just dying for God.

anyways, here's the lyrics. the cd album is "pick it up". if you get a hold of it, you're very blessed. the songs in it are very powerful. i don't like 3 of the songs though (have to admit). i love their worships though. God bless you planetshakers! =)

I'm Forever Yours

By: Planetshakers

I give my all to You
Send me and I will come for You
To the ends of the earth
I'll follow after You
I want the world to know
Your love endures forever

Tell me and I'll obey
This is far greater than sacrifice
Trusting You and not myself
Will always lead to blessing
Lord, have Your way in me
Not my will, Yours be done

Here I stand within Your presence
Longing for Your touch
A thousand days cannot compare to one day in Your court
Hold me now
And never ever let me go
My Jesus
My precious Savior
I'm forever Yours

And I will worship You forever
I will worship You

-----

have a great time worshiping our Lord, the One who is worthy of our all!

take these broken wings. and learn to fly again. and learn to live so free.
- lyrics of "broken wings" by clay aiken

just one reason

i came back from camp. and same as last year, i was revived and now, my fire is burning more vigorously. i would like to share something i learn from the camp, and i hope that it'll be a blessing to whoever who reads it.

the week before the camp, i was supposed to be translating the sunday service sermon in front of the church. as my friends know, i am a person who easily gets freaked out by things.

and if you guys read the previous posts, i mentioned that my name means basically courageous. but really, i'm timid. so, i really hope to get most out of this camp.

during the camp, i started out having a heart for Christ. but the sad thing is that i don't know how big my heart is. the first thing that happened to me upon reaching is that people kept bombarding me with different things. (i'm not complaining by the way. i love serving Christ!) of course, fear sets in.

the first thing was first aid. i have to pray for the camp people, that no one will be dangered by anything, that everyone will be safe. and after that comes a book. more like a manual though. it contains first aid instructions that i have to read, just in case there's anything that happened during the course of the camp. fortunately, i need to read only a small part of it.

the second thing was the video and slides. i was in charge of the slides mostly (thanks to irvin who has helped me a whole lot!). the video was a part i was nervous about during the introduction of the camp. the night before the camp, i stayed up late and woke up early. as sleepy as i was (with only less than 3 hours of sleep probably due to praying for camp too), i needed to finish and perfect the video. (hey! i'm giving the best for Christ ya know?) and so nervous that things may not go right, i was shaking during the screening of the final project. and by the grace of God, everything is perfect!

the third thing is the translating thing. though the week before camp, i prevented myself from doing so in church, i promised ci lydia that i will translate for the church during the camp. well, a promise is a promise - i have to pick up my courage. and even during the camp, i tried to find myself a thousand different reasons to stay out of it. but as i've said, a promise is a promise. and this is not just a promise between me and ci lydia, but also between me and God - i promise to do Him a service.

and so, before picking up courage, i found courage. to be specific, i found God.

just tell me what's impossible for God! NOTHING!

so, no matter how small i am, Jesus (who lives in me) makes me big! because nothing is bigger than Him, i am big too! in Him, i have strength. in Him, i can do all things. in Him, i'm bold!

but together with the church, we are so great that mountains will move in the mighty name of our God, Jesus! that's what i got from the movie, facing the giants. i got the message of the movie: it's basically like "david and goliath" + "the story of job". but what amazes me is the whole church that created the movie. from the movie, i see that they have faith in Christ. they have passion for Christ. i see that even while making the movie, (regardless of the financial and resource constraints) they manage to pull through everything and came up with a movie that even hollywood wants to buy! it's such an amazing cooperation of a church.

anyways, the point is this. there can be a thousand different reasons to not serve Christ: having no time, sick, tired, stress, depression, agony, hatred, financial issues, little resources, etc. but one reason overpowers all those reasons. one reason will rebuke us why we need to serve Him. one simple reason: because we are serving Christ, who is worthy of our all.

and that alone means that we should lay down everything for Him. we only need to carry one thing with us: a heart that longs to serve Christ. why? because we are serving Him. this is the choice we have made. (remember ecc campers: what's the difference between choice and decision?)

blessed be the name of the Lord who came and die on the cross with love and resurrect from the grave with power!

happy easter everyone!

in the grace of God,
andrew

andrew means...

this year's camp, be bold!, is amazingly my type of camp.

according to the Biblical meaning of the name "andrew", i am supposed to be courageous. and truthfully, i'm anything but courageous. and above all my fears, i am afraid of making mistakes. the main reason of it is because i'm a perfectionist. (i have other fears too, but i don't think i should make the list now...)

well, truthfully, i have a desire in my heart that i cannot really say right now (again, fear). i have been quite confused on what to do. i have hinted several people about my issue. some said that i should do according to what my heart tells me. others told me that i should follow the social and moral conduct (it's complicated). and i just don't know what to do. i'm not courageous enough to follow my heart, unfortunately.

today's entry doesn't seem to be one good one, mostly because i don't have a solid example which i have experienced myself. but i still have an intention on writing this.

everyone has fears. the person whose name means courage has so much fear. king david has fears of the bears and lions, and - of course, goliath. we have our own goliaths too. but one thing is for sure, we have his God too - the God of abraham, the God who died on the cross for all our sins. and praise the Lord for that! david defeated his goliaths in His name. and so, let's defeat ours with His name - the name that is above every name - JESUS!

i guess my message is this: be bold with your fears. be bold with what the desire you have! i know i haven't. but i'm learning. and i know that one day i'll take that step into the land where the Holy Spirit stands. this desire will (and shall) still burn!

and until that day, i will build on my courage. and this is only done for one thing: to let the glory of God shine!

in the grace of God,
andrew

one step two, and many more

today, my church and i had some shooting for the introductory video for camp. really really exciting! and tiring. but as soon as i get home, you know what i did? i shout and praise God! i praise God for His Spirit was with me (and us) throughout the whole day.

anyways, today's point is not about that. actually, i'm reading this book called, "just walk across the room". it's about how easy reaching out to others is.

do you know that the only thing you have to do to reach out is just walking a few steps across the room? the rest is God's job. He can touch their hearts Himself. it is not your job to persuade them until they crack. of course, you should try your best in reaching out. but don't blame yourself if they still never change even with the most persuasive conversation.

well, my point is: reaching out begins with walking the walk. you have to be bold with taking that first step to the person you want to reach out to. and if you already have taken one step, don't move back. move forward. and that (most likely) is easier than walking the first step. therefore, the boldness starts in that first step.

and if you already walk the walk, talk the talk to the person! if you open your mouth and says "hi!" you have taken a new step towards bringing others to the faith in Christ.

but remember one thing: taking the first step is all you need. i remember the first time i prayed. when i converted, i didn't learn how to pray (and later, i realised that there's nothing to learn...) for more than 3 months. i remember that the first time i opened my mouth to pray is during a church morning prayer fellowship. i closed my eyes, and uttered several words. not much. but they are still words because i long to pray for a long time.

this taught me one thing: a heart with a huge desire is meaningless without the slightest action of the body.

and since then, whenever i desire something in Christ, there is nothing stopping me. i began to compile devitionals of my own, in a hope that i will write a book one day. this is my desire. and i've taken my first step. this 5 days commitment that i have is also a desire, and i'm taking every step that i can in order to achieve it. even when i'm writing, i am rushing because i left my charger at my friend's house.

here's the point: take one step to faith. it's like an escalator ride. if you take one step, that step will bring you all the way up. you just have to look straight up, and not back down. remember that you are not picking yourself up higher; it is God who brings you higher. God is with you. and after you have taken your first step, God is the One who is taking you higher. you just have to follow the elevator up to Heaven. and never go against the flow. and before you know it, you are already in Heaven!

in the Grace of God,
andrew

empty me and fill me again

i think for the next 5 days towards camp, i'm going to devote myself more in God. this is the time i have surrendered to Him. no matter how much more i have to do for assignment, no matter how many lectures i need to catch up on, i will not let each day go pass without a quiet time alone with God.

'cause i'm expecting BIG things to come up during this year's Bible camp

i think it was yesterday or 2 days ago when i talked about being bold. well, i feel that being empty is important too. you see, God is pure holiness. amen? that means not even one spot of sin. on the other hand, we are blameless. even if only one spot is on us (i doubt we only have one spot), we are already regarded as impure.

it's a process of emptying and filling. and it's not filling and emptying - it's the other way around. i don't want to be filled with holiness when i'm still filled with sins. this would mean that God's blessings for me was partially (or else completely) wasted, wouldn't it? i want to empty myself, for it is when i am empty that God can pour me completely new grace.

so, this time, i want to let all my impurities out - and that means i want to pour all of me. i might not know whether i have any spots on several parts of my life, but i know i have a lot of sins in the other parts of my life - both conscious and unconscious.

and to face God, not only do i need a new wineskin, i need new content in my life. i am going to let God fill me with His wisdom, blessings, grace, especially on the next 5 days. this is my new content, and i hope to pour it out to bless others with what God has blessed me on these 5 days, or during the camp.

His grace is always new anyways. i just want to enjoy every day living a different day from the past. i want to see what things God has planned for me. it's like a treasure hunt. if i open the eyes of my heart big enough, i am sure i can see the treasure God has prepared for me.

and oh yes! how true - His grace is new every morning.

empty me now Christ and let your grace shine in me tomorrow morning!

in the grace of God,
andrew

be bold!

yes, brothers and sisters in ECC!

it's our camp's theme! i just want to remind us to prepare ourselves before we go for the camp itself on good friday.

i'm not going to repeat what stella has said during sunday celebration for the past 2 weeks. what i really want to deliver is what (or who) we need to focus on.

when we are seeking for God, other things in mind can interfere with what we get. for example, we might be angry because we have been stressed heavily for the past few days. if God is who you see next, you might get angry with Him, instead of seeking wisdom from Him.

what we need to do is defeat these interferences. we need to get them out of our way with God and see only what God wants to gives us. be bold in facing these problems before you face God! do not have a heavy heart in meeting with God. do not carry weapons of mass destruction in the His court. do not have a tongue that speaks of sinful words to Him.

these are the devils that are in your lives. like what max lucado had said in his book, "facing your giants," these are your giants. everyone has giants - the devils. they're tormenting you to stop looking at God, but never listen to them. listen only to God's voice calling out to you to return to His embrace!

and don't walk towards the devil! run towards him! and run through him! dash through him to reach God! God is the Alpha and the Omega: the beginning and the end. Run to the end of your life to meet God. and never let the devil get in your way!

instead of having the devil around you, have a clean heart. carry peace in your hands. and speak only words of truth and righteousness. this is the time you have surrendered to God. and surrender it right. and of course, never turn back!

seek grace!
seek blessing!
seek holiness!
seek courage!

seek God; and nothing less.
and nothing more than Him.

in the grace of God,
andrew

please and thank You

that's the basic of most of our relationship with God.

"God, could you please give me some money?" and after money magically appear in front of you, "Thank You God!" or maybe, "God, could you please heal my wounds?" and after your wounds are healed, "Thank You God!"

and that's not just the basic, but that's it.

in our eyes, God has became like a magic eight ball. you shake Him for answers, expecting any answer coming from Him will be perfect, and after you have dealt with your problems, you chuck Him to one side. and if your problems continue to elevate, you blame Him saying that the magic eight ball is not so magical after all.

but we forgot very often who is the Creator and who is the creation. we forgot who is the dust and who is the Spirit. we forgot who is the sinful one, and who is the Holy One.

this has to end now.

would you want God to shake you in front of His court and said that you should go to hell? or when you say that you should go heaven, would you want Him to wreck you open and say that you are not working properly?

yeah, i doubt so.

don't treat God as a tool anymore. He is there when you are sad. and yes, you appreciate it. He is there too when you are happy, and most of the time, we would treat Him as though He is an uninvited guest in the mansion of joy. He ought to delight in your feast too. you know why? because He has carried you over the broken glasses you were meant to walk on. He has pierced His hands and bleed on the cross which you were meant to take up.

thought you might need that extra push, and with His hands, He pushed you up into safety. He has been so good to you.

Darling of Heaven came to the rubbish-filled earth.

such amazing love.
He can do it.
why can't you?

in the Grace of God,
andrew

filled and pour

i've decided that this blog is strictly for Christianity stuff...

and it's been 2 weeks since i last blog. have been very busy. but now that i have time for God, and to absorb whatever that He has poured on me the past few days.

i was reading "The Holy Wild". it's a pretty good book, but it's a bit hard to read for a young Christian. the book is rather technical, but the content is superb. and in one part of it, mark gave advices (or taught us) how he wrote a book. he doesn't think. he doesn't move. he sits still. and everything just pours out. he works directly from the Source - God. he is just the transmitter, and it's no wonder that his content is powerful. i have to admit that a few points of it are not really good, but i love the ones that are good.

and how i agree that people don't give thanks as much today!

well, since the time i last blogged, i have been filled with the Holy Spirit, though i was not baptized in water yet. i can really feel a change in almost every part of my life. i began to love joyfully, my stress tolerance is higher. i appreciate pain, and i look at things a lot more positively.

and now, i'm pouring it out and i'll share the joy with others. it is when i'm empty that i'll be filled.

in the grace of God,
drew

you won't know until you try

firstly, i wanna say thanks to ko irvan for teaching me such a wonderful thing last night.

yesterday, i was actually quite busy. but then, i asked ko irvan whether he needs any help with anything (long story.. =P). he told me to lead the praise and worship for today's cell.

lead?! so not me! i have such a huge stage fright!!
I CANNOT DO IT!

he struck back at me saying, "don't tell me you cannot do it until you try".

and i don't know what, but something inside me tells me to do it. being the very ""superstitious"" (that's what people call my character i guess) child i am, i know that God is telling me to try too.

truthfully, something inside of me loves music so much. ever since young, i want to learn how to play the piano. ever since upper secondary, i want to learn how to play guitar, and take up singing lessons. but i don't dare at those times.

i look back now: what if i have done them? will i be in my church praise and worship team now?

my point? i didn't try those things when i had the chance, now it's regret (although i know i'm not supposed to). i believe that God has given me a chance to miss these things because He wants me to testify about this now. if i hadn't missed the chances, i don't think i'll be saying all these now.

anyways, really try anything for the glory of God. you know in Christ that we have a guarantee of the Prize. but what's in between is for you to decide - it's a choice! if you don't really know what is you forte now, i suggest you pray, and dare to take risks in doing things for the glory of our God!

who knows? - the next thing you do can let you glorify Jesus for the rest of your life!

in the grace of God,
andrew

[p.s. i did screw up a few parts in 2 of the 4 songs i lead. at least i learn my lessons. it's not that i cannot lead, but i just need to learn more about leading. =) ]