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