Last blog of the year

Can't believe it, it's the last day of 2007. And it's hot! 42 degree Celcius. It's a good thing we have an evaporative cooling, outside is almost like an oven.

I must say that this year has been a great year for us, no doubt there were some challenges, but when I looked back and reflected on the things that has happened in our lives, I'm thankful to God, to what He has done for both me and Wendy.

We also have made some new friends this year. Not only acquaintances, but close friends. For that, I'm really thankful. Not to mention His abundant provision to us.

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Psalm 103, particularly verse 12: As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

I am looking forward to 2008 with great anticipation that God will do greater things in our lives and through our lives. God wants to bless everyone of us that we may be a blessing to people around us, that we are to be the light that shines brightly in this dark and broken world.

Have a safe and blessed New Year! God bless you all.

Lifegroup

Below is supposed to be our Bible study last night. But we decided to watch John Bevere Undercover DVD teaching series instead. Lots of teaching there I must say.

Reflection of 2007

1. When we look back, don’t focus on the negative, what should have, could have, would have, if only.... etc.

Phillipians 3:13-14, Psalms 77:11-12, Gen 19:26, Isaiah 43:18-19

2. Count your blessings.

Psalms 103:2, 143:5,

3. Change the way we think (get rid of the negative, get in the positive) by meditation and reading Bible (and train to live a godly life- 1 Timothy 4:7)

Phillipians 4:8, Romans 12:2, Proverbs 23:7

4. Believe God has good plans for your life

Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 12:2 (again), Psalms 1:1-3

You are responsible for who you are today. Yes, other people and your environment have been influential factors but you are responsible for how you have chosen to respond to what life has brought your way – for better or for worse.

Responsibility (literally ‘response-ability’) is the ability we each have to choose our response. The opposite of this habit is the tendency to blame other people, events or the environment - anything or anyone “out there” so we are not responsible for our lives. Once we blame something else we can easily create evidence that supports that "something" as the real problem.

We can choose our response to any situation or any person. (Mark Conner)

In the next couple of months, spend more time with God by praying (Phillipians 4:6-7), reading Bible or good Christian books and have fellowship with believers (Hebrews 10:25), so we can grow mature in Christ. (Hebrews 6:1)

Some quotes:

God has a habit of picking up nobodies and making them somebodies. (Jentezen Franklin)

Suffering never leaves you where it finds you; you either become bitter or better. (JF)

Reputation is who people think you are; Character is who your family knows you are. (JF)

Forever Grateful lyrics

You did not wait for me
to draw near to You
But You clothed Yourself
with frail humanity
You did not wait for me
to cry out to You
But You let me hear Your Voice
calling me
And I'm Forever Grateful to You
I'm Forever Grateful for The Cross
I'm Forever Grateful to You
That You came to seek and save the lost

By:    Mark Altrogge

First things first

From Power Point with Dr. Jack Graham:

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

--Matthew 6:33

In today's verse, we see Jesus teaching us the principle of putting first things first. Which means before we ask for anything in prayer, we need to make sure we're putting first things first... seeking God's Kingdom and glory in every area of our lives.

So today I want to give you a little test. And I want you... as best you know how... to answer these questions honestly. It may be hard to admit some of your answers to yourself. But I truly believe this test will help you reorder your priorities... and as a result, reinvigorate your personal prayer life.

Question #1: Do you give God the first thoughts of your day? Even before your feet hit the floor, do you thank God for another day of life... of health... of family... of friendship? A great verse to quote to start your day is Psalms 118:24, "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." I encourage you to memorize this verse today!

Question #2: Do you give God the first day of your week? God has set aside a day of the week to worship and honor Him with other believers. He's done this to give us strength and power in the midst of our crazy lives. Are you taking advantage of this awesome opportunity?

Question #3: Do you give God the first place in your life... stewarding well what God has given you? This not only includes your income, but also your family and your time. Stewardship is really a matter of Lordship!

Question #4: Are you giving God the first of all your desires? Because loving, serving, or worshipping anything more than Jesus Christ is idolatry, plain and simple.

As you answer these questions honestly, it's my prayer that God will reveal to you any priorities in your life that might be out of order. And... as He does this... it's my hope that you will begin putting first things first.

And by doing so, it's my hope that you will experience the joy of a powerful prayer life!

before we ask for anything in prayer, we need to make sure we're putting first things first.

Proverbs 3:1-12 (The Message)

Good friend, don't forget all I've taught you; take to heart my commands.
They'll help you live a long, long time, a long life lived full and well.

Don't lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart. Earn a reputation for living well in God's eyes and the eyes of the people.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own; give Him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.

But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction.
It's the child He loves that God corrects; a father's delight is behind all this.

Choose life

Deuteronomy 30:19: I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;

Sometimes it takes longer for some people to grow up. Why is that so? As I reflect on my own life, there were times that it was slow for me to grow up. And God would allow us to go through some kind of troubles, or trials, or pressures, that we may grow.

We had a Lifegroup last night, and we learned so much from one another, we were discussing about few things, such as potential, choices, our minds (or thoughts). Ultimately, God wants to change us from inside out.

Mind is very powerful thing. And it also ties together with the choice we make. There are many sermons and messages in regard to "mind". Here is a little bit from my pastor Mark (thanks again for the notes):

------
The ABCs
-Adversity: when we encounter adversity, we react by thinking about it.

-Belief: Our thoughts rapidly form beliefs. These beliefs may become so habitual that we don't even realize that we have them unless we stop and focus on them.

Emotions and actions do not follow adversity directly. Rather they issue directly from your beliefs about adversity.

- Consequences: beliefs don't sit there idly; they have consequences. The beliefs are the direct causes of what we feel and what we do next. They can spell the difference between dejection and giving up, on the one hand, and well-being and constructive action on the other.

Example A:

A – You didn’t get the promotion at work.

B – You think … you’re no good, you’re going to lose your job, your career is over, you’re going to you’re your car OR you need some more time to develop yourself and I’m sure they’ll be another opportunity.

C – You are depressed all day and don’t get much work done OR you feel fine and have a productive day.

Example B:

A – You’ve had some intense arguments with your wife.

B – You think … our marriage is over, maybe I married the wrong person, maybe we’ll end up divorced OR we can work through this, we’ll get some help if necessary, this will make us stronger in the long run

C – You give up and refuse to make any effort to fix things OR you make an extra effort to work it out, getting help if necessary.

If you change the habitual beliefs that follow adversity for you, your reaction to adversity will change.

------
Romans 12:1-2 (The Message) says:
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Quote of the day

"Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can fly ".

~TD Jakes

Bunnings

We went to Bunnings just now, and I can tell you, there are a lot of things I wanna buy, for home renovation etc. If only I have more money.... then I'm just reminded of a Bible verse from 1 Timothy 6:6 which says: godliness with contentment is a great gain.

It's interesting that the apostle Paul was writing to Timothy in this passage, and the context is the love of money. If we read the rest of the chapter 6, in fact, let me copy and paste it: (NLT)

6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses. 13 And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 15 For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 16 He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.

17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. 19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

20 Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge. 21 Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. May God’s grace be with you all.

My question is, when is enough enough? Where do we set the limit of having enough? I guess verse 7 says it all...

Gonna sleep soon, God bless you all.

-jr

another public holiday....

and it just went like that.... time really flies fast today, what did i do? actually i must say, quite a lot of things, from tennis, pumped petrol, washed car, rest a short while, a bit of shopping, mowed the lawn, then we went to our friends' for dinner, by the time we got home was almost 9pm.

now is almost midnight, so i'd better sign off now...

Hebrews 11:1 - Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Matthew 11:22 - Have faith in God.

-jr-

we've gotta pray... just to make it a day

Prayer.... we know so much about it, but do we actually do it? Well, I try to anyway. Just came back from a prayer meeting with my friend Brury, we started this -every fortnight Saturday morning, half an hour 7:30am- prayer meeting not long ago, and it's been very good. Not to mention another one with the Casey Young Adults, we may need to reschedule this one, don't know, must talk to Leo about this.

Jesus understood the power of prayer, in fact, from the gospels, we read a lot about Jesus often had to get away from people, and just pray, in Luke 5:16 it says: But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

A lot of Bible verses in regard to prayers, here are some of them:

2 Chronicles 7:14: if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Ephesians 6:12: For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:18: And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

and many more... anyway, this blog is just a reminder for all of us, that we need to put into action what we already know.

By the way, Pete, if you read this, have a safe trip to Africa, will see you in couple of weeks when you return, will check your blog regularly for updates (if you have access to internet from there...), I'm sure you'll have an exciting trip.

Anyway, gonna relax a bit and go to church later in the day, we are gonna have fun in the kitchen, yeahhhh!!!

-jr-

Lazy... lazy....

What can I say? It's been exactly 3o days since the last time I blogged. Getting lazy I guess....

Well, I'm glad Wendy's back, finally, although she was back 5 days later than the scheduled arrival, but thank God for her. Oh yes, we talked everyday on the phone when she was in Singapore, but nothing beats her presence! Now I have someone to hug again, well, occasionally there would be a bit of intense fellowship, but overall, I thank God for bringing her into my life. Love you honey...

Anyway, can't believe daylight saving is already started, that reminds me, I need to do lifegroup report real soon....

If you're reading this -whoever you are- remember, no matter what you are going through right now, whether you are on the valley of the shadow of death, or you're on the mountain top -everything is going well in your life, you're cruising along- God is right there beside you, and He is interested in you.

In Romans 8:38-39, it says: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I'll try to write another blog tomorrow, but can't promise anything... haven't played tennis this week yet...

Signing off now, take care and God bless you all.

-jr-

How great is our God??

Can you describe how great our God is? I bought a DVD from Louie Giglio titled "How great is our God", after watching this, I am totally speechless, no words came out from my mouth for a while, because I was soooo awestruck by this presentation about our God. No words can describe His greatness. My perspective of Him has totally been changed. Like John the Baptist said, He must increase and I must decrease!

Showed the DVD to the lifegroup on Friday, all of us (including me watching for second time) were left speechless (again) .... I didn't know what to say to the group (me a leader don't know what to say... hmmm....) for few seconds, we ended up praying for one another.

We all have made God too small in our lives, by magnifying our problems, our cares in this life, our goals, our careers, our finances, instead of magnifying Him. Pause for few minutes....

As I typed these next lines, I was playing Passion '06 DVD borrowed from a friend, there was an old song: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. I had to pause and lifted my hands in front of my TV and joined the crowd worshiping Him.

It's true, all the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace, the Bible says that our lives is just a vapor that appears for a little time, then vanishes away (James 4:14). But even so, this vapor matters to God, He wants to give us hope, strength, new beginnings no matter what we've been through. Isaiah 40:28-31 says:
28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

It's my prayer as you read this blog, that your perspective of God will be changed, but if you can get a copy of "How great is our God" DVD from Louie Giglio, that will totally change the way you see things in life, and the way you see about God.

Have a great week ahead, may God bless you and protect you and keep you from falling.

-jr-

Wireless authentication

We're having a bit of challenge with our wireless project. Cannot get the Windows Mobile devices to authenticate, but it works fine on wireless laptops, it even works on Nokia N95!! Called the wireless specialist to have a look at the authentication server, he commented that we may have to use a third party product, since we want our wlan to be secure with our settings. Odyssey client authentication will be a good one, so we downloaded and tried it, but it doesn't work, it should be free for 30 days trial, but somehow it doesn't like it on my KJAM - keeps saying that the software is not licensed.

Looks like we may have to use another settings in order for the mobile devices to work on our wlan.

Anyway, we'll continue figuring out this issue, we'll get there. We have to get to the solution!

Will call it a night, I'm reminding myself again (I think I also mention in previous post) that God's mercy is new every morning, His grace is sufficient for me, and His strength is made perfect in weakness. Thank You Lord Jesus.


Psalm 4:7-8: You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.

Ultimate Bourne

Since I still have a movie voucher which is expiring end of this month, I might as well make use of it, went to Fountain Gate to see what's on, and the time was 1:55pm, Bourne Ultimatum started 2pm. Perfect.

I think this is one of the best movies I've seen so far, it's more like a real life situation of a trained secret agent of CIA. I'm not a movie critic or anything qualified like that, but I know this would be a good movie, because recently I just bought the previous 2 series of this Trilogy. My advice is, watch it from the first one, Bourne Identity, otherwise you'd lose the storyline.

Ultimately, Jason was seeking for his identity, where he came from, what's his purpose, his mission.
And in a way, we all are seeking for our identities, well, God created us with an identity and a purpose. But really, it's not our purpose, but rather, God's purpose for our lives. Proverbs 19:21 says this: Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Again, in John 10:10, Jesus said this (NLT): The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

We can only find our purpose and meaning of life in Christ, by admitting that we've sinned against Him. Romans 3:23 says: For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

If we think we're doing fine, think again. I know I need God's grace every single day, without fail. Thank God for His everlasting love, His mercies is new every day, and His strength is made perfect in my weakness. Glory to Jesus alone.

And it's a donut

It's definitely not a good idea to play tennis after a heavy lunch, man, look at the scores on the right, that says it all....

Anyway, learn from it and move on, get some exercise, that's my advice for myself. So, that was yesterday, today is a new day, and the good thing was, this morning was the men's final for US open. And I got a day off.

I was hoping Djokovic would win this one, the scores were so close, yet so far. Federer is simply the best, for now at least. Well, he's 26, how long can he play until? My personal favorite is still Agassi, I think it's because I can't play like Federer, hahaha.... Just wait for next year, and watch out for Novak Djokovic, he's definitely one of the young guns who will be number one pretty soon, I'd say in couple of years.

I really wonder if there's tennis in eternity.... I hope there is, and I definitely hope one of these pros will go to heaven too, I know at least Margaret Court will be there, so I hopefully can play with her.

Gotta write a movie review next....

It feels good to win

Don't know about you, but it feels good to win, I'm talking about tennis match, of course. But I wonder if God created us with this sense of wanting to win or to have victory in our lives... maybe He gave us this sense.

2 Corinthians 15:57 says: But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The context of this chapter 15 is about resurrection. Have a read for yourself, and learn few lessons from it.

Anyway, I'm going to bed soon, kinda tired now, have a great day tomorrow, God bless you.

No problemo

Friday evening, we're supposed to have lifegroup meeting, but nobody turned up. I'm supposed to be disappointed by now, but really, I'm not. Because I already made a commitment with God in serving his people, that even if no one turned up on the lifegroup meeting, I will still take this time in fellowship with Him, and to pray for my dear brothers and sisters -which i just did.

Wherever they are, whatever they're doing right now, I asked God to bless and protect them and take care of their needs. May God be their Comforter and Strength, for those who are weary, may God give them rest.

Well, the topic was supposed to be about "Problems" in life. Will keep this topic maybe for the next meeting. Let me just copy and paste some quotes I found on the internet:

God Sent Us a Savior

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator,

If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior. --Author unknown

Don't tell God how big your problems are. Tell your problems how big your GOD is! -Unknown

GOD MUST BE YOUR SAVIOUR BEFORE HE CAN BE YOUR PROBLEM-SOLVER!

Have a great weekend, God bless.

-jr-

Grow up!

From Dr. Jack Graham Devotion, August 28, 2007

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand". --Isaiah 41:10

Perhaps today, you look at your life and ask yourself the question, "How did I get here?" Maybe life hasn't turned out the way you planned. Or maybe you're enslaved to your past and you wonder, "What do I do now?"

If this describes you or someone you love today, I want to remind you that God always preserves His own. Even in Genesis 39:2, we read, "The LORD was with Joseph." Now, remember--Joseph wasn't preserved from his circumstances. He was preserved in and through his circumstances.

The fact is we can't change our circumstances. We can't affect what happens to us at all times. But you know what? We can change how we respond to the circumstances of life. And that attitude is what God expects us to work on.

You know, God often allows winds of difficult circumstances to blow against us in order to knock the rough edges off of our lives. Kind of like how sandpaper knocks the rough edges off of wood. God uses the circumstances of our lives in order to polish us and make us more like the Master.

For example, perhaps God had to deal with Joseph's pride and ego before He could ultimately use him for His glory. So God allowed him to be sold into slavery and sent into Egypt . But remember this: While Joseph left his father back in Canaan, his heavenly Father went with him to Egypt .

If you find yourself in a difficult circumstance that you never imagined or never dreamed of, claim the promise from the Lord found in Isaiah 41:10: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

When you claim that promise, you can be joyful in any circumstance, knowing that God is protecting you, preserving you, and holding His almighty hand upon you.

praise god he is using your circumstances to grow your faith

pain in the heels....

Maybe it's not a good idea to play tennis twice in a day at all.... which I did on Sunday. You can look at the scoreboard on the right somewhere, yes, I lost....both matches.... And my heels were in pain big time this morning, I had to tip-toe a little bit to walk.

So I went to see doctor, and he said that it could be because I'm a bit flat-footed, so he referred me to see a podiatrist, which I made an appointment for this Friday afternoon. Anyway, the doctor said if I were to continue my tennis hardcore, I will get this kind of pain more and more, so he recommended me to cut down my tennis, yes, I can play regularly every few days, but not twice in a same day, bad idea Jackson, bad idea.

Talk about sacrifice, looks like I have to sacrifice my tennis.... hehehe.... O well, that's life, our bodies are not perfect, but I know God can heal me completely, but even if He doesn't, I will still trust Him.

Anyway, that's it for now, gonna sleep soon and hope to wake up early and go to work earlier, God bless you all, bye now.

Ephesians 3:20-21 says: Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Alone, but not lonely

Another one and a half months has passed since my last blog.... man... what happened to regular daily blogging? Anyway, no excuses, I am just being lazy.

Now my wife is in Singapore having her holiday for few weeks, so I'm kinda alone, but of course, not lonely, because God is with me, He has promised to never leave nor forsake me.

Just found out my pastor also has started blogging, you can find his blog at http://www.markconner.typepad.com/

A lot of good stuff there to learn, and even participate, you can leave comments or feedback.

OK, so my wife is away, so what's gonna happen for the next few weeks to me? Don't worry, I still am quite occupied, got few books to read, house cleaning, especially my garage, I've promised her by the time she comes back, our garage will be clean(-er) . hehehe.....

Then my uncle just bought a new laptop, so I'm gonna setup for him, then another uncle and auntie will come from overseas for couple of weeks, I think they will arrive next weekend.

And tennis, winter is always not a very good time for tennis, last time I played was 3 weeks ago, and it was pretty bad, I hit the balls all over the place, definitely need to play more often to get back the swing.

Also without forgetting LifeGroup, really thank God for friends who have been coming regularly, and occasional visitors, I do pray for them regularly, but must admit, it's not enough. I need to pray more for God to bless and protect them, especially those who are hurting and confused.

By God's grace, I will spend more time in prayer and reading His Word, need to prioritize things in my life. Don't know about you, but in my priority list, God has been on top of the list, followed by my wife. But that's the list, in reality I need to ask myself do I really put Him above everything else? I'm honest enough to admit that hasn't been the case. Often in the journey of life, we get distracted by things, or people that come along our way, and from time to time, we lose our focus or goal.

Don't know about you, but there were things in my past that I should have or shouldn't have done, which I regret, and sometimes I do wish that God would turn back time just for me, of course it doesn't happen that way, we need to shake off the past and start anew in Christ. No matter what sins we've done in the past, or wrong decisions we've made, or bad things that are done to us by others, we can't change the past.

But we can change our lives by trusting God and putting our faith in Him. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith (Hebrews 12:2). And we also need to forgive those who have hurt us and release them. By forgiving them, we are opening God's blessing to flow into our lives. Most of us are familiar with the Lord's prayer: Our Father in heaven.... (Matthew 6:9-13), but most of us forget to see the next verses: 14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Let me finish by a devotion from Dr. Jack Graham:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. --Hebrews 11:1

God loves you and has a plan for your life that is truly amazing. God has something significant that He wants to do in and through you.

Do you really believe that today?

Despite what our culture says, you're not here by accident! You're here by divine Providence ...and God has a plan and purpose for you. Not for just the Josephs of the world, but for the Joes, the Marys, the Bettys, the Sues, and the Bills. God has something significant for all of us to do...and that includes you!

Now, success is wonderful. As a matter of fact, the Scripture says that God gave Joseph great success. But beyond success, he had significance.

Joseph certainly had vision, courage, determination, character, ability, and perseverance--all the qualities of a leader. But there was one quality that stood out in this great man's life. That quality was faith.

Joseph trusted God throughout all of his days...in good times as well as bad times. And that faith is what gave Joseph significance!

In spite of the obstacles, against all the odds, this man persevered by faith. He started over many times in his life. He faced circumstances that would have defeated the average, ordinary individual. And yet regardless of the difficulties, he kept believing God. He kept following his Lord. He kept trusting his Master.

Why? Because Joseph believed that God had a plan for his life, and he was determined to discover his destiny. I mean, think about it: Joseph was despised and rejected by his own dysfunctional family! He was kidnapped and left for dead. He was sold as a slave. He was falsely accused and imprisoned. He was used and abused. He was failed and forgotten. And yet by faith he carried on!

And I want to encourage you to carry on by faith as well! Whether you're in good times or bad times right now, God has a perfect plan for you. I hope you will trust in this promise today...and know that as a child of God, you have true significance in Him.

TRUe significance comes from trusting god for your destiny

2 months and 2 weeks ago

That was the last updated blog.... man... it's been a while.

I guess along the way I just didn't take time to blog anymore, but hopefully things will become routine again, can't promise anything though.

So, what's been happening for the past 2 months or so? Well, life goes on, been quite busy with work, church, friends, a bit of tennis, and of course wife, hehehe.... but most were good things.

God has been very good to us, by His grace, we've been developing friendship with people in the Casey area, not only people from our church, but people outside the church by which we are privileged to be able to ask them to come along to church just last weekend. I am believing for salvation of more people this year.

Sometimes, actually many times, we are so caught up by things in life, busyness, work, etc we tend to forget the great commission, that is to spread the good news to the lost. Because we know it is God's will that none should perish.

In Matthew 6:33 it says (from Message translation): People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

From NLT it says: Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

I don't know about you, but it has to start with a decision from all of us to put God's Kingdom first in our life, I know it's not easy, I struggle with it every single day. But by His grace which is sufficient, and His strength which is made perfect in our weakness, we can do all things through Christ. And nothing is too difficult or impossible to God, if we believe.

Let me finish with a familiar verse from John 10:10, this is from the Message: I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

May God bless you and hope to post the next blog pretty soon.

-JR-

Praying On the Armor of God

Ephesians 6:13-18

Prepare yourself for each day’s spiritual challenges by making the following prayer part of your morning routine:

“Dear Lord, as I get out of bed today, I know I’m stepping onto a battlefield. But I also know You’ve given me everything I need to stand firm. So in the power of Your Holy Spirit, I put on the armor of God:

“First, I place the helmet of salvation on my head. Protect my mind and imagination. Guard my eyes, allowing no sin to creep in. Focus my thoughts on the things of God. Let the breastplate of righteousness keep my heart and emotions safe. I pray that I won’t be governed by my feelings, but by truth. Wrap Your Word around me like a belt. And safeguard me from error. I put on the sandals of peace to guide my steps. Plant my feet in Your truth. Empower me to stand firm against attack.

“Next, I take up the shield of faith. Protect me from Satan’s fiery arrows. Place me shoulder to shoulder with Your army to oppose the Devil’s schemes. Finally, I take up the sword of the Spirit, Your Word. Help me to read the Bible in a fresh, exciting way so I will always be ready to deflect attacks and pierce hearts with Your truth.

“I know I’ll face assaults today, Lord. But You’ve empowered me to stand firm. Give me strength for the battle today.”

Without God’s armor, you’re as vulnerable as a soldier who goes into battle wearing only a bathing suit. Get dressed for success!

From In Touch with Charles Stanley.

Mirror mirror.

Close your eyes for a minute. Picture your own face. Imagine the slope of your cheek and the color of your eyes. Do you notice any freckles, dimples, or blemishes? Big nose or button nose? Thinning hair or a full mane? Crooked teeth or pearly whites?

You know exactly what you look like. Why? Because we all spend time in front of a mirror, studying our faces and getting to know ourselves. We’re not born knowing what we look like. And if we didn’t catch our own reflection from time to time, we’d honestly have no idea!

Now think of this in terms of faith. We’re not born with knowledge of the saving truth of Jesus Christ. We don’t inherently know the Bible. So, we must read, study, and carefully analyze Scripture for the Holy Spirit to communicate His message of salvation on our hearts and minds.

But how many people read the Bible and then walk away, seemingly unaffected? It’s as though they forget the power of the Word as soon as they close the Good Book. These are the people who praise Jesus on Sunday, but forget about Him the rest of the week. These are the ones who, as the apostle James describes, forget what they look like.

James 1:22 says, “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” The world is dying to know what genuine faith looks like. If you know Jesus as Lord, then you carry a sacred responsibility to show others the true face of faith. Let them see Christ reflected in you.

From: In Touch with Charles Stanley

Psalm 73 (The Message)

Psalm 73

An Asaph Psalm

1-5 No doubt about it! God is good— good to good people, good to the good-hearted.
But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness.
I was looking the other way, looking up to the people at the top,
envying the wicked who have it made, who have nothing to worry about,
not a care in the whole wide world.

6-10 Pretentious with arrogance, they wear the latest fashions in violence,
Pampered and overfed, decked out in silk bows of silliness.
They jeer, using words to kill; they bully their way with words.
They're full of hot air, loudmouths disturbing the peace.
People actually listen to them—can you believe it?
Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.

11-14 What's going on here? Is God out to lunch?
Nobody's tending the store. The wicked get by with everything;
they have it made, piling up riches. I've been stupid to play by the rules;
what has it gotten me? A long run of bad luck, that's what—
a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.

15-20 If I'd have given in and talked like this, I would have betrayed your dear children.
Still, when I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache . . .
Until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture:
The slippery road you've put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.
In the blink of an eye, disaster! A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare!
We wake up and rub our eyes....Nothing. There's nothing to them. And there never was.

21-24 When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy,
I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in your very presence.
I'm still in your presence, but you've taken my hand.
You wisely and tenderly lead me, and then you bless me.

25-28 You're all I want in heaven! You're all I want on earth!
When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful.
Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they'll never be heard from again.
But I'm in the very presence of God— oh, how refreshing it is!
I've made Lord God my home. God, I'm telling the world what you do!

Have a break!

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant, and he got it. His salary was really good and so were the working conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an Axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to fell the trees.

The first day, the woodcutter brought fifteen (15) trees.

"Congratulations," the boss said, "Carry on with your work!"

Highly motivated by the words of his boss, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he only could bring ten (10) trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he was only able to bring seven (7) trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.

"I must be losing my strength." The woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.

"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked.

"Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees..."

The moral of the story is:

We need to take time off that we'll be able to achieve more things in life. Even when Jesus was walking on this earth, during his ministry, He needed a time off, He knew He had to spend time with the Father God, because He knew and realized that the source of His strength is from God in heaven and nobody else.

If Jesus needed to take time off, how much more do we need to do the same. When was the last time you prayed? When was the last time you read your Bible? You may say: "I'm too busy, I don't have time to pray." but I heard this somewhere that Martin Luther said: "I'm too busy, I need to pray first before anything else."

Deuteronomy 28 - The Message translation

Deuteronomy 28

1-6 If you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God, your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God, your God:

God's blessing inside the city,
God's blessing in the country;
God's blessing on your children,
the crops of your land,
the young of your livestock,
the calves of your herds,
the lambs of your flocks.
God's blessing on your basket and bread bowl;
God's blessing in your coming in,
God's blessing in your going out.

7 God will defeat your enemies who attack you. They'll come at you on one road and run away on seven roads.

8 God will order a blessing on your barns and workplaces; he'll bless you in the land that God, your God, is giving you.

9 God will form you as a people holy to him, just as he promised you, if you keep the commandments of God, your God, and live the way he has shown you.

10 All the peoples on Earth will see you living under the Name of God and hold you in respectful awe.

11-14 God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you. God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won't have to take out a loan. God will make you the head, not the tail; you'll always be the top dog, never the bottom dog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God, your God, that I am commanding you today. Don't swerve an inch to the right or left from the words that I command you today by going off following and worshiping other gods.

15-19 Here's what will happen if you don't obediently listen to the Voice of God, your God, and diligently keep all the commandments and guidelines that I'm commanding you today. All these curses will come down hard on you:

God's curse in the city,
God's curse in the country;
God's curse on your basket and bread bowl;
God's curse on your children,
the crops of your land,
the young of your livestock,
the calves of your herds,
the lambs of your flocks.
God's curse in your coming in,
God's curse in your going out.

20 God will send The Curse, The Confusion, The Contrariness down on everything you try to do until you've been destroyed and there's nothing left of you—all because of your evil pursuits that led you to abandon me.

21 God will infect you with The Disease, wiping you right off the land that you're going in to possess.

22 God will set consumption and fever and rash and seizures and dehydration and blight and jaundice on you. They'll hunt you down until they kill you.

23-24 The sky over your head will become an iron roof, the ground under your feet, a slab of concrete. From out of the skies God will rain ash and dust down on you until you suffocate.

25-26 God will defeat you by enemy attack. You'll come at your enemies on one road and run away on seven roads. All the kingdoms of Earth will see you as a horror. Carrion birds and animals will boldly feast on your dead body with no one to chase them away.

27-29 God will hit you hard with the boils of Egypt, hemorrhoids, scabs, and a n incurable itch. He'll make you go crazy and blind and senile. You'll grope around in the middle of the day like a blind person feeling his way through a lifetime of darkness; you'll never get to where you're going. Not a day will go by that you're not abused and robbed. And no one is going to help you.

30-31 You'll get engaged to a woman and another man will take her for his mistress; you'll build a house and never live in it; you'll plant a garden and never eat so much as a carrot; you'll watch your ox get butchered and not get a single steak from it; your donkey will be stolen from in front of you and you'll never see it again; your sheep will be sent off to your enemies and no one will lift a hand to help you.

32-34 Your sons and daughters will be shipped off to foreigners; you'll wear your eyes out looking vainly for them, helpless to do a thing. Your crops and everything you work for will be eaten and used by foreigners; you'll spend the rest of your lives abused and knocked around. What you see will drive you crazy.

35 God will hit you with painful boils on your knees and legs and no healing or relief from head to foot.

36-37 God will lead you and the king you set over you to a country neither you nor your ancestors have heard of; there you'll worship other gods, no-gods of wood and stone. Among all the peoples where God will take you, you'll be treated as a lesson or a proverb—a horror!

38-42 You'll plant sacks and sacks of seed in the field but get almost nothing— the grasshoppers will devour it. You'll plant and hoe and prune vineyards but won't drink or put up any wine—the worms will devour them. You'll have groves of olive trees everywhere, but you'll have no oil to rub on your face or hands—the olives will have fallen off. You'll have sons and daughters but they won't be yours for long—they'll go off to captivity. Locusts will take over all your trees and crops.

43-44 The foreigner who lives among you will climb the ladder, higher and higher, while you go deeper and deeper into the hole. He'll lend to you; you won't lend to him. He'll be the head; you'll be the tail.

45-46 All these curses are going to come on you. They're going to hunt you down and get you until there's nothing left of you because you didn't obediently listen to the Voice of God, your God, and diligently keep his commandments and guidelines that I commanded you. The curses will serve as signposts, warnings to your children ever after.

47-48 Because you didn't serve God, your God, out of the joy and goodness of your heart in the great abundance, you'll have to serve your enemies whom God will send against you. Life will be famine and drought, rags and wretchedness; then he'll put an iron yoke on your neck until he's destroyed you.

48-52 Yes, God will raise up a faraway nation against you, swooping down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you can't understand, a mean-faced people, cruel to grandmothers and babies alike. They'll ravage the young of your animals and the crops from your fields until you're destroyed. They'll leave nothing behind: no grain, no wine, no oil, no calves, no lambs—and finally, no you. They'll lay siege to you while you're huddled behind your town gates. They'll knock those high, proud walls flat, those walls behind which you felt so safe. They'll lay siege to your fortified cities all over the country, this country that God, your God, has given you.

53-55 And you'll end up cannibalizing your own sons and daughters that God, your God, has given you. When the suffering from the siege gets extreme, you're going to eat your own babies. The most gentle and caring man among you will turn hard, his eye evil, against his own brother, his cherished wife, and even the rest of his children who are still alive, refusing to share with them a scrap of meat from the cannibal child-stew he is eating. He's lost everything, even his humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns.

56-57 And the most gentle and caring woman among you, a woman who wouldn't step on a wildflower, will turn hard, her eye evil, against her cherished husband, against her son, against her daughter, against even the afterbirth of her newborn infants; she plans to eat them in secret—she does eat them!—because she has lost everything, even her humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns.

58-61 If you don't diligently keep all the words of this Revelation written in this book, living in holy awe before This Name glorious and terrible, God, your God, then God will pound you with catastrophes, you and your children, huge interminable catastrophes, hideous interminable illnesses. He'll bring back and stick you with every old Egyptian malady that once terrorized you. And yes, every disease and catastrophe imaginable—things not even written in the Book of this Revelation—God will bring on you until you're destroyed.

62 Because you didn't listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, you'll be left with a few pitiful stragglers in place of the dazzling stars-in-the-heavens multitude you had become.

63-66 And this is how things will end up: Just as God once enjoyed you, took pleasure in making life good for you, giving you many children, so God will enjoy getting rid of you, clearing you off the Earth. He'll weed you out of the very soil that you are entering in to possess. He'll scatter you to the four winds, from one end of the Earth to the other. You'll worship all kinds of other gods, gods neither you nor your parents ever heard of, wood and stone no-gods. But you won't find a home there, you'll not be able to settle down. God will give you a restless heart, longing eyes, a homesick soul. You will live in constant jeopardy, terrified of every shadow, never knowing what you'll meet around the next corner.

67 In the morning you'll say, "I wish it were evening." In the evening you'll say, "I wish it were morning." Afraid, terrorized at what's coming next, afraid of the unknown, because of the sights you've witnessed.

68 God will ship you back to Egypt by a road I promised you'd never see again. There you'll offer yourselves for sale, both men and women, as slaves to your enemies. And not a buyer to be found.

Trouble.... Stay Positive

From Joel Osteen's subscription today:

Stay Positive

Today's Scripture

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Today's Word from Joel and Victoria

It's easy to be positive and encouraging when everything is going your way, isn't it? But every one is going to have obstacles to overcome in life. Problems have a purpose, and part of God's purpose for allowing you to face obstacles is to test your attitude. That's why you need to be positive even in negative situations. Remember, God wants you to live life to the fullest. And He has provided a way for you to enjoy your life, even when you're going through hard times. Look closely again at John 16:33. Jesus has just told you that you will face tribulation. But then He says, "Take heart!" That's the secret. One translation puts it this way: "When you have trouble, cheer up." What God is saying is that you can choose to be joyful and positive no matter what happens. The reason you can do that is because Jesus has already won your battle, whatever it may be!

A Prayer for Today

Lord, thank You for the trials that strengthen my faith. I know that all I need to do is look up to You when troubles come, and claim Your victory over them. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Caught a flu ...

My nose has been stuffy for few days.... since last Thursday to be exact. I think I caught a cold from my colleague, he said last Tuesday he got it from our office, well, I think he's right. Because our office is enclosed, so there's no ventilation.

Anyway, thank God that I am recovering now, even though this body still feels a bit weak and lethargic, could be due to long break as well, and also, I missed my wife, but thank God she's coming back tomorrow, will pick her up from the airport in the evening.

I was planning to play tennis like everyday since I came back a week ago, but so far only managed to play once... on Saturday morning, I must say that it's not easy after not playing for one month. First forehand I hit, it went over the fence, not to mention the stamina, man... probably the first five minutes I felt like already played for five hours. My working pants are still quite tight, I have to exercise more, in fact I can say that right after this blog, I will do some sit ups and push ups, and maybe a bit of cardio exercise. You see, I made a promise to myself that I will never have a big belly like Homer Simpson, and by God's grace, I intend to keep this promise until my old age, God willing.

I guess it's good to get sick once in a while, otherwise how can we appreciate a healthy life, right? God also can show his healing power to the sick, because if we are not sick, then we don't need healing, do we?

If we are not lost, then we don't need to be saved, do we? The truth is, we all are lost without God. We all have sinned against the Creator of the universe. Romans 3 says this clearly: 21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

I hope that we all can realize that Jesus is the only way to salvation, there is no other way. Whether you believe it or not, this is the truth of the Bible. When we trust Him and accept Him to be our Saviour and Lord, it means we must give up our selves, our selfish attitudes, ambitions and dreams and surrender all to Him. And allow Him to change us from inside out. Other people will be able to see if there is a change in our lives, because no matter what our actions are, we will bear fruit, and the Bible says that the fruit of the Spirit is as follows: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfullness, gentleness and self-control.

Many times it's not easy to bear this fruit, I mean, people will offend us in some way, we will get impatient over things like traffic jam, waiting for someone, the list goes on. But really how can we be patient if there is no test? How can we have self-control if there is no temptation, for example, I like to eat almost anything :P, but if I don't stop eating, I can assure you that I will break my own promise regarding my belly. That's why I need self-control.

Actually, all these are the choices and decisions we need to make every single day, we need to choose to be loving and patient towards others, I know it's not easy at first, but if we really want to please God, we will do it no matter how hard it will be. I'm not perfect, I still get impatient many times, ask my wife, she's the witness :P, but I at least now I am more aware whenever I stuffed up, there is this self-awareness that I need to be more patient and loving person, and therefore I confess to God and ask for His forgiveness.

Anyway, I'll stop now and start doing my exercise. May God bless you and prosper you as you put Him first in everything you do. Have a great new year in this beginning of 2007.

-J-

New Year 2007, new hope

Happy new year 2007 to you all,

As promised, I will write about my holiday in Singapore. To summarize, basically the purpose of this holiday was to have our wedding dinner with our family and relatives, we got married in Melbourne back in March 2006, but most relatives were not able to come to Melbourne.

OK, let's see, what did we do? Hmm.... nothing much to do in S'pore, apart from eating at hawker centres and shopping. Oh yes, shopping. What else! Ah... of course had to arrange the dinner stuff too.

I bought some clothing and shoes, although wanted to get some electronic stuff, but that's beyond our budget, so in the end, I exercised some self-control on myself. How much did we spend? Well, I can tell you I don't need to buy new shoes and clothes for the next few years, hehehe....

The food there was cheap and good, right now sitting on the computer, I can see a little bit of tummy... that's bad!!!! Must do a lot of sit-ups later, hopefully I can get back my six packs in the next few days. That's a bit too over confident, but yeah, I don't want to spend anymore money on new bigger pants, that's for sure.

Went to Sim Lim Square and Funan Centre where all shops sell electronics and IT stuff. As I was browsing and checking prices, my wife told me: "Now I know how you feel when you go shopping with me." Obviously she was bored, hahaha..... Anyway, the IT equipments there are not that cheap, because I compared the prices with Melbourne, and they're very similar, the difference is only few dollars after conversion to Aussie dollars. In fact, some things are cheaper here, although there are some things cheaper there. That's why I decided not to buy things, apart from the budget.

Finally we bought a new Fuji digital camera, with 3" LCD. I think we got it at a pretty good deal, although I'm yet to compare the price with Australia. I hope it's cheaper, but even if it's not, it's too late now...

Overall, I can say that this is a pretty relaxing and enjoyable holiday, since my wife's family is there, I can see Singapore will be a regular travel destination in the future.

See you soon, sign off now.

-J-