sharing...

A mail I shared with J,A,P,SL and WX the other day...

These couple of days, God had been waking me up quite a lot in the middle of the night. First two nights, I didnt know what it was all about. Tonight, I really felt God speaking to my heart. Making me aware of things. Just to share one with you.

I was thinking about the topic of 'sharing' with others. There were times where I get really excited and just feel like sharing a bible verse with others, or sharing with them a song in my heart or letting them know about how God's been working in my life, but then, something stopped me. The thought of maybe, the other party will just look at my message and do feel anything at all and dont appreciate it at all, just like how I can be. How I sometimes feel that I dont need God at all. Especially when life is adequate, I've got most of the basic things I need and want, and I am happy. Then, even knowing that I still believe in God, but the passion for God isn't there anymore. I dont feel excited seeking Him or needed Him. I was led to thinking about my attitude towards receiving words of encouragement and sharing from SR's email or from other fellow christians, who would send me bible verses or words of advice, and I just look at the mail and didn't even bother to read it, then closed the window, forgetting about it. Wonder if you guys do experience this as well?

Ya, so perhaps God wants me to learn from this lesson. I used to think that the 'caterpillar turning into a butterfuly' process is just a one off event. That I'll just experiencing it once, but I think, I would have to experience it many many many times in my walk withe Lord. Every lesson that God teaches me is like another butterfly in process effect. We are all the caterpillar and the butterfly at the same time. We are all growing. We are in a process of becoming. In some areas of our life, maybe we are the caterpillar, vulnerable and hungry. In some relationships maybe we are in a cocoon, taking time and space, or doing our best to give it to others. And in some ways, we are all fully grown, mature and free, like the butterfly. And thus it is our task to emulate God, to grow and to become and to improve ourselves throughout our whole lives.

Reading a book now by Joshua Harris "Not even a hint"

This song is gonna be a hit!

Love the Lord your God with all your heart
And all your soul and all your mind
And love all mankind as you would love yourself

Love the Lord your God with all your heart
And all your soul and mind
And love all mankind

We've got Christian lives to live,
We've got Jesus' love to give,
We've got nothing to hide because in Him we abide

p/s : gonna sing it this friday!

What He Does Best

I saw a man, he was sitting,
Alone at the top of a building,
So I climbed up all the stairs,
Just to sit by his side,
I asked him what he was doing,
He said that all hope had left him,
And the promise life once held,
Was slowly slipping away,
And I wished that I could save him,
But I can't even save myself,
So I prayed the Lord would step in
And do what he does best......

I see a lady at the bustop,
She's cold and she's lonely,
And I watch her as
She quickly wipes away,
The tears from her eyes,
She's overworked, kids are hungry,
There are more bills than there's money,
And the weight of life has washed away,
All her joy and her youth,
And I wished that I could save her,
But I can't even save myself,
So I prayed the Lord would step in,
To do what he does best,

There was a time in my life,
When I just knew all hope was lost,
Then I found God and He said,
Come child,
Take up your cross and follow me,
That's when the Lord he saved me,
There's no way,
I could have saved myself,
When I asked the Lord to step in,
He did what He Does Best.........

Don't give up hope,
God will be right there
When times are hard and spirits are low,
Take up your cross and follow, follow, follow....................

c. 2002 T. Worth, F. Offard, R. Walters, Jr.

yeahhh.. there are times when we dont know how to help someone.. or that person might not want to be helped or we feel too discouraged/weak to help.. the best we can do is hand that person/friend over to God. God's mighty arms can do beyond what we can possibly do with our human hands.

This is indeed a shared journey.. for the journey of life is not an easy one. Jesus tells us to take heart (=be brave)! for He has overcome the world. We face challenges each day..can be frustrating n discouraging but God is with us! He will never leave us nor forsake us..I will not be afraid, because the Lord is my helper (Heb 13:5-6)

finally, a blog that i want to recommend : www.therebelution.com check it out!

Awsome God

I've been inspired by two songs today and also Psalm 147. I posted the psalm in my blog, but the two songs in SR's blog coz I dont want to over crowd my blog...Heehee. Hope you are inspired by God everyday as well. Praise Him.

Emm...I dont really know how to sing the verses for this song, but I just know the chorus. I think the verses are 'rapping' but anyhow, hope I get to listen to the full song one day, or maybe soon. God bless.

When He rolls up His sleeves
He ain't just putting on the ritz
(Our God is an awesome God)
There's thunder in His footsteps
And lightning in His fists
(Our God is an awesome God)
And the Lord wasn't joking
When He kicked 'em out of Eden
It wasn't for no reason
That He shed His blood
His return is very close
And so you better be believing that
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

And when the sky was starless
In the void of the night
(Our God is an awesome God)
He spoke into the darkness
And created the light
(Our God is an awesome God)
Judgement and wrath He poured out on Sodom
Mercy and grace He gave us at the cross
I hope that we have not
Too quickly forgotten that
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God (Our God is an awesome God)
He reigns from heaven above (He reigns from heaven above)
With wisdom, power, and love (With wisdom, power, and love)
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
Our God is an awesome God

I could sing of your love forever

Over the mountains and the sea
Your river runs with love for me
And I will open up my heart
And let the healer set me free
I'm happy to be in the truth
And I will daily lift my hands
For I will always sing
Of when Your love came down

I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever

Over the mountains and the sea
Your river runs with love for me
And I will open up my heart
And let the healer set me free

I'm happy to be in the truth
And I will daily lift my hands
For I will always sing
Of when Your love came down

Oh, I fell like dancing
It's foolishness I know
But when the world has seen the
Light
They will dance with joy
Like we're dancing now

The Same Old Story

The Same Old Story

by Michael T. Powers


In the twenty or so years that my wife and I have been doing youth ministry, we have dealt with a lot of teens who have gotten themselves into some dire straits. In fact, I thought there was nothing that could possibly surprise us anymore.

I was wrong.

There is one teenage girl that we know that I had to tell you about. However, before I do, I want you to understand that in our youth ministry, we always strive for confidentiality, to protect both the teen and the teen's family. So it is with great trepidation that I share this with you for I know that some of you will figure out who this girl is. But I am hoping that by the end of these few pages, you will understand why I had to share what I am about to tell you.

But before you rush to judgment, I want you to hang with me here. In fact, more than anything else, I want you to put yourself in this teen's shoes. Try and feel what she must be feeling.

This young girl is about 14 years old and she comes to the stark realization that she is pregnant. Not only does she realize that her life is going to drastically change, but to make matters worse, she is afraid to tell her boyfriend. Normally she can go to her boyfriend with any problem. He is a pretty stable, understanding and dependable guy. But this time it's different. You see, the baby is not his.

She lays awake that first night thinking about all the people she has to face that next day.

Her parents.

She has always been worthy of the trust her parents have put in her. In fact other families have remarked to her parents how they wish their daughters were more like her. But now she has to stand before them and explain how she got pregnant. And if that is not bad enough, she is going to have to explain to them that the father of the baby is not the young man that her parents think she should marry.

Her boyfriend.

She loves her boyfriend more than anyone! Well, almost more than anyone. How is she going to face him? Where is she going to get the courage? It would almost be easier if she could tell him that it was just a big mistake and that she is oh, so sorry for it. But she can't lie to him. She will have to look into his trusting eyes and tell him that she willfully chose the path that led to this little life growing inside of her. She knows deep down inside, that if she had to do it all over again, she would make the same decision, and end up in the same precarious situation. "Please God! Please let him understand and not abandon me. I need him so much right now!"

Her friends.

Right or wrong, they have always put her on a pedestal. Always looked to her for answers. Always modeled their life after hers. But she knows instinctively that they will not understand. In fact she knows that she may never be able to explain to them what made her do what she did.

So she lays there in bed, afraid, overwhelmed, and reaching out to God for strength to face what is ahead of her.

The next day she finally gets up the courage to tell her boyfriend. He reacts just as she feared he would react. He is going to leave her.

She becomes distraught and questions God: "Why God? Why? I know that I am in this situation because of a decision I made, but please don't take my boyfriend away from me! I desperately need him now!"

This unnamed teen goes to bed that night more afraid than ever, feeling every bit the young child that she is.

Her name? Normally I wouldn't give that to you. But in this case she asked that her name be known so that others will understand what she has gone through and be encouraged.

Her name is Mary and she lived 2000 years ago.


Have you ever thought of the Christmas story in this way before?

Think about it! You are a 14-year old girl and an angel appears to you and says, "I'm going to place a baby inside of your womb." Most 14-year old girls I know would say, "I'm sorry, but that doesn't fit in with my plans for my life. I have my whole life ahead of me and I can't be held back by a baby! How am I going to go to prom now!?"

How does Mary tell Joseph? Have you ever thought of that? She has to go to her future husband and say, "I'm pregnant and the baby is not yours.

The conversation may have gone something like this:

Mary: "Joe, before you get angry at me I want you to know that I didn't cheat on you."

Joseph: "Come on Mary! You know full well that we have not known each other in the biblical sense, so the baby can't possibly be mine!"

Mary: "Joseph, you have to believe me. I did not have sex with anyone!"

Joseph: "Please Mary, don't do this to me. You know that I love you and care for you. But I can't listen to this."

Mary: "OK, Joseph, I won't lie to you." (She pauses, searching his eyes for the understanding that she knows is not humanly possible.) "The baby is from God."

Joseph: "Mary! Please! This is not like you! In fact, I am beginning to think I don't even know you any more!"

Mary: "You have to believe me Joseph!"

Joseph: (The wheels already turning in his head as to what he needs to do) "Mary, you know that I love you. But I won't stand for this. I have every right to put you away from me publicly, but I don't have the heart to do that to you. I won't marry you now, but I will allow you to find some dignity and not make a big deal out of this. But go you will."

Mary: "Please Joseph! You've got to believe me! Why would I make something like this up!"

Joseph: "Enough! I don't want to hear another word."

And he walks away, leaving Mary distraught and worrying.

You know the story. An angel appears to Joseph and verifies that what Mary says is truth.

Hopefully by now you are not thinking of the story of Jesus' birth as the same old boring story that we read every Christmas season!

Stop your busyness and ponder with me these next few weeks.

Think of God as a fetus, leaving Heaven and all of its splendor and becoming one of the most fragile things on Earth: a human baby. An animal baby is more able to defend and adapt when they are born than a human is.

As a writer, I would never have written the story this way. If I'm going to write the story of God coming to Earth, He's going to be on a white stallion when He rides out of Heaven. Every hoof-beat will leave lightning-like sparks on the streets of gold and peals of thunder in the air. The stars will line up as letters in every language that will blink: "The King of Kings is Coming!" He's going to burst through the ozone layer in a fiery explosion that will rock the foundation of the earth and send humans and animals to a prone position on the ground. Then He's going to circle the entire earth from east to west and the clouds will trail behind Him like a pure white flowing robe. There'll be the deafening sound of heavenly trumpets and the majestic pureness of millions of angels' voices hitting your ears as if they were right next to you.

That's how I'd write it.

God says, "Nope. He's going to live inside of an unwed teenage girl and He's going to be born in a stable." Which is a really nice word for a cave where smelly animals live. There was manure and urine on the floor, and the stench was almost unbearable. Priceless paintings and works of art did not hang on the walls in this nursery. No, if you were to look on these walls you would see cobwebs.

Psalm 33:6 reads, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth." The One who breathed galaxies into existence, now depended on an umbilical cord for His oxygen. Amazing!

In your wildest dreams, can you equate the deity of the King of Kings making his entrance into this world through the human process we call birth.

Instead of noticing a crown of purest gold on his head, you notice the cone-shape of his head as he was forced through the birth canal. Instead of wearing the finest robes money can buy, he is wrapped in rags.

Instead of a finely crafted bed made by the most gifted craftsman in the land, he is laid in a feeding trough. Don't give me this "manger" stuff. Manger sounds too romantic. God was put in a feeding trough where cows put their tongues to lick up food. That's where the King of the universe slept.

He who sustains the entire universe is now being sustained through the milk of a teenage girl.

If Mary could have written a book, it would be on the New York Times' Best-Selling List. The title of the book would have been, "I Changed God's Diapers." Have you ever thought of that? Someone had to change the God of the universe's diapers. This gets a little gross, and I'm used to talking to youth, so forgive me, but, human waste was next to Jesus' skin. Is it hard to imagine Jesus in such a mundane and human way? In fact it is almost irreverent. But the God of the universe loved us so much that he was willing to humble Himself and give us the most precious Christmas present ever given: His Son Jesus.

May we never let ourselves say, "The same old Christmas story," ever again. And, may we never get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season that we don't stop and take the time to reflect about what an amazing God we have.

May this Christmas, and every Christmas from here on out, never lose it's magic or it's meaning.


Michael T. Powers
HeartTouchers@aol.com

© 2006 by Michael T. Powers

poem

Dear all,
it's been sometime since i've last posted. Read this on a friend's blog, really helps me put things into perspective, take my eyes off myself, and realize how fortunate i am, and to spur me to pray for other brothers and sisters-in-Christ.

When you have no food to eat,
You feel hard-pressed to provide,
When I have no food to eat because of my faith,
I have faith that God will provide.
When your dreams of owning Treo Phones, diamond rings or cars are crushed,
You look for a job in Burger King, a credit card, or a car loan,
When my dreams of freedom and liberty are crushed,
God gives me dreams and visions for His Kingdom.
You wish you had less home work and no religion,
You look for the best tuition teacher,
I wish I could get an education but I can’t because of my religion,
In all subjects God is my Teacher.
You despair because because you have too much work,
You feel that the church has left you in a lurch,
I despair because my family is hungry, I can’t find work,
I know that God wants me to build His church.
You feel that Bible Study is like doing chores,
You don’t want anymore,
I am so glad for the bibles provided by Open Doors,
God gives me the desire to know Him more.
You feel isolated without your lap-top, I-pod or I-phones,
You live out your characters in a virtual world,
I feel abandoned when imprisoned,
God is the Light of my world.
When you are betrayed by your brother in your church,
You just go to another church as you have more believers than us,
If I am betrayed by my brother in my church,
I have to reconcile with him as there are only two of us.
You live in fear of ridicule and persecution in college,
You live in fear of being imprisoned, you don’t know whether God is real
If I stand up for my faith in college,
People will throw me into prison, I know my God is real.
You deride terrorists and suicide-bombers,
You feel that they are inhuman and justice should be done,
I was a terrorist and I blew up my hopes,
I am human, I felt God’s compassion weighing a tonne.
If you went home and told your Christian parents, “I’m going to be an evangelist!”
Your parents dreams for you may be destroyed,
If I went home and told my parents, “I’m going to be a Christian!”
My parents will be ostracised and I may be killed and destroyed.
You want to keep your life and go your own way,
You proudly pursue pharasaic self-righteousness,
I want to lose my life and go Heaven’s way.
I know I am a sinner, only God can make me righteous.

true story

Read this on an Operation Mobilization website. Thought i'd share it with you all. Be encouraged :)

Roma, a man raised in the traditions of Ukrainian Orthodoxy but never having a true conversion experience, was also on the trip. Zhenya was excited to have Roma join the team because the two are good friends from playing football together for several years. Although Roma wasn’t a Christian, OM Ukraine gave the OK for Roma to join the team, praying for the Lord to open his eyes to his own need for Christ.

The Lord was at work! Roma shares of one day when the team worked with a community living in a trash dump. He had taken a break from the tours, talking and teaching to rest atop the precipice of building. Behind him lay an entire neighborhood of trash, shacks, broken bottles and the wastes of the world. Before him was a church building built into the rock face of the surrounding cliffs encircling the community. Paintings of Bible scenes and Bible verses decorated the towering rock walls, and in the center was a large picture of Christ holding out open arms. It was in this moment that Roma saw how his physical location was a representation of his own spiritual life -behind him lay the trash of his life, the bad decisions, the selfishness, and the junk of this world. Before him is the decision to run to Christ who waits with open arms.

Cracked Pots

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For two years this went on daily,
with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to
pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste.

photo

We went for laserquest tonight. Was quite good fun. I shot my own team member quite a lot of times. heh. Came in 10th overall, out of 33! Nubbad. From the last time when i got a negative score. Heh. Came back to celebrate Rob's 50th Birthday at 'Dunkirk Inn' :)

Song

Dear all,

Just wanna share a song by Jadon Lavik. It's called 'Today'. Found the lyrics especially meaningful and thought-provoking. May it challenge us to spend the days here on earth wisely.

More things to buy more clothes to wear
The perfect job the perfect wife
A new color for the hair
Take a look around the way we’re livin’
It’s no secret we think that just a little more
Just a little bit further then we’re there

but time asks no questions it moves on in spite of me
it’s not about my style of life my own prosperity
it’s time we open up our eyes to find there’s so much more
and all I’m asking is what you’re living for today

he say the hurts saw the pain and knew our needs
cured the sick healed the lame and made the
blind man see
a life laid down the perfect gift for you and me
loves greatest sacrifice a picture of how
it ought to be , how it ought to be

but time asks no questions it moves on in spite of me
it’s not about my style of life my own prosperity
it’s time we open up our eyes to find there’s so much more
and all I’m asking is what you’re living for today ,(oh today)

so take a look around go find a brother and help him stand
take the risk to love another with an outstretched hand

‘cause time asks no questions it moves on in spite of me
it’s not about my style of life my own prosperity
it’s time we open up our eyes to find there’s so much more
so much more,

and all I’m asking is what you’re living for
and all I’m asking is what you’re living for
and all I’m asking is what you’re living for, today

what you’re living for, what you’re living for

Story

DON'T LEAVE IT ON THE DESK!

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States.
Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his or her freshman year, regardless of his or her major.
Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously
This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman but was studying with the intent of going into the seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well-liked and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the Professor's class.
One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. "How many push-ups can you do?"
Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."
"200? That's pretty good Steve," Dr. Christianson said, "Do you think you could do 300?"
Steve replied, "I don't know. I've never done 300 at a time."
"Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson
"Well, I can try," said Steve.
"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of 10 for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it!" said the Professor.
Steve said, "Well, I think I can. Yeah, I can do it."
Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."
Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.
When class started, the Professor pulled out a big box of doughnuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of doughnuts; they were the extra fancy BIG kind with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.
Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these doughnuts?"
Cynthia said, "Yes."
Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a doughnut."
"Sure." Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten.
Then Steve again sat in the desk. Dr. Christianson then put a doughnut on Cynthia's desk.
Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a doughnut?"
Joe said, "Yes."
Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a doughnut."
Steve did ten push-ups; Joe got a doughnut. And so it went, down the first aisle. Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their doughnut.
Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacked for female companionship.
When the Professor asked, "Scott, do you want a doughnut?"
Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?"
Dr. Christianson said, "No. Steve has to do them"
Then Scott replied, "No, I don't want one then."
Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a doughnut he doesn't want."
With perfect obedience, Steve started to do ten push-ups.
Scott said, "Hey! I said I didn't want one!"
Dr. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desk and these are my doughnuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it."
And he put a doughnut on Scott's desk.
Now, by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now, the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a doughnut?"
Sternly, Jenny said, "NO!"
Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve would you do ten more push-ups so that Jenny can have a doughnut she doesn't want." Steve did ten; Jenny got the doughnut.
By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room.
The students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten doughnuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each doughnut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push-up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all those uneaten doughnuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely. Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the Professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.
Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next.
Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.
Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"
Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups.
You're in charge now. You can do them any way you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.
A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"
Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No. Let him come in."
Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in, you will have to do ten push-ups for him."
Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a doughnut."
Dr. Christianson said, "Okay Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a doughnut?"
Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "Give me a doughnut."
"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a doughnut?"
Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a doughnut and sat down.
Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time, sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.
The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"
Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."
Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Linda can have a doughnut that she doesn't want."
Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.
Then, Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a doughnut?"
Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"
Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone. I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a doughnut whether they want it or not.
When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade.
Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."
"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a doughnut."
As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.
Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'into Thy hands I commend my spirit.' with the understanding that he had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up his life. And, like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk uneaten."
Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile. "Well done, good and faithful servant," said the Professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words."
Turning to his class, the Professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept his gift to us, the price has been paid.
"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"
--Author Unknown

Happenings in Solid Rock Notts :)

Dear all,

Just thought i'd update on some happenings in Solid Rock (especially for those of you who are not in Notts anymore, but still have a special place in SR :)) Hope you all are doing well wherever you are.
For those who are new to Solid Rock or Nottingham, i'd like to extend a warm welcome to you :) It's nice of you to drop by and hope you'll return to visit!

Well, it's the 2nd week into term, things are getting busy with lectures and all. University is bubbling with life. And so is the library (i think. heh.) We had the Welcome dinner for international students at Andrew's , Weileong's and my house (26 Highfield Rd). I think we had about 70-80 ple. God provided us warm weather (so we could use the backyard), food and people to eat the food :) Had many gd conversations and have kept in touch with some of them till now. There wasn't as many people in the first SR meeting as last year, but God doesn't look at the numbers but the hearts. Every person matters to him. There were ple from Malaysia, China, Denmark, Indonesia, Hong Kong... as far as i remember. No one from Singapore, sadly. Yet. Huifen and Tracy gave their testimony, which was very very encouraging! They've both grown a lot in Him, and have been a great blessing to many of us in SR.
We had our first meeting in our respective cell groups last Friday, was encouraging to have the freshers come, as well as new people, and of course was great to see the old-timers again :) We all had a gd time of bonding, fun and sharing within our groups. Praise God!
We'll be starting bible studies this Friday. Doing a purpose driven life series on 'growing to be like Christ'.

Yup. Just a quick update. Sorry no juicy gossips whatsoever :P
If you've graduated but still like to receive the SR emails, do let us know so we can include you :) i think some of you are still on it ;)

In Him,
Pam

Power of a prayer

**my ex-collegemate posted this on the Friendster buletin board, let me share it with you..

A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan.While serving at a small field hospital in Africa,every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine, and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital.

Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about the Lord. I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident.Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines. He said, 'Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs.But just as we were about to move into your camp,we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards. At this, I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, 'No, sir, I was not the only person to see the guards, my friends also saw them, and we all counted them.It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.'

At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened.The missionary told the congregation the date and the man who interrupted told him this story:"On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. Iwas about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong; I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?"The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn't concerned with who they were, he was too busy counting how many men he saw.There were 26.

This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in mysterious ways. If you ever hear such prodding, go along with it. Nothing is ever hurt by prayer except the gates of hell. If we all take it to heart, we can turn this world towards God once again. As the above true story clearly illustrates, "With God all things are possible". More importantly, how God hears and answers the prayers of the faithful. After you read this, please pass it on and give God thanks for the beautiful gift of your faith, for the powerful gift of prayer, and for the many miracles He works in your own daily life. Who says God does not work in mysterious ways.His love is always with you, His promises are true and when we give Him our cares you know He will see us through.

Be the CHANGE you want to see

Hello ppl.. here i am to bore you to death with my thoughts AGAIN..haha

"Be the change you want to see" .. what a cliche ! Some of us are so cynical that we are blinded to see the simple truth expressed by many cliches that we use daily. I first came across this phrase when I started receiving occasional e-mails from Valerie (the girl who co-ordinates Encounter Weekends). My first reaction was to 'pooh-pooh' it.. how typical of me to make decisions like that without thinking about it. I had many doubts whether that would actually work in the REAL world, coz we're not living in a perfect world, we live in a world where even if you extend kindness and goodness to others , you can still expect some negative responses. You can never be sure if other ppl will ever "co-operate with you" to spread goodness in this world.

After a while, as I became more frustrated with life, I decided to give it a shot. If I wished other people would be less calculative with me, I began to be less calculative with them. It doesn't matter if others dirty the kitchen, I can still clean it up ...though it's not my responsibility and i had to sacrifice some of my personal time, i feel it's really worth it..to do something that will bring a change to my surrounding.

Most of the time, we know that this principle works but we're still unwilling to do it because it requires us to take the initiative, to give in first, to sacrifice time , or money or effort; though we don't need to. Many of us like to lament about the pathetic condition of the world, so many uncaring people walking around, each minding their own business, inconsiderate people , injustice etc. Come on, stop asking and waiting for the world to change....Start with the man/woman in the mirror. Yeah, it's YOU that I'm talking about!

Recently, i realised something.. the person who coined this phrase might have been a Christian. Because Jesus became the change He wanted to see. God was saddened and angry to see His beloved creation going astray.. forsaking the love of God and commiting so many sins. Being a just God, He had every right to punish us, to give us what we deserved but Jesus wanted to see love restored in this world. So, He chose to humble Himself, came in the name of love, and died on the cross for us. Did He deserve death? He had done nothing wrong, in fact, He is God! I'm always amazed at the way God came down to our level, and suffered to bring us back to Him. He came , not for the justice He deserved, but for the ones that He loved. Jesus brought the solution by loving us first, no matter what our response to Him would be.

What do you want in all problematic situations? A solution or justice for yourself? If the solution requires you to humble yourself and identify with the one who did wrong, would you still choose to resolve the problem? Many of us, out of pride and the desire to see justice done, have forsaken the path to reconciliation.

In fact, many of us live with unforgiveness and unresolved conflict because we hold on so tightly to the right to be right (pardon the pun!). You have every right to refuse to forgive someone when they do you wrong, but if by letting go of your right to be angry, you can reconcile with that person, would you humble yourself? Do you desire reconciliation more than anything else? Don't lie to yourself and say that you desire peace in life if you cannot forgive someone else. Above all things, strive to reconcile and be at peace and unity with each other.

Alright, it's difficult to achieve that by our own strength but remember, we have one perfect example to follow. Jesus Christ came as a man to show us what it means to live in the perfect will of God. He's da MAN(~borrowing Pam's quote) to follow!

Loving the "Unlovable"

This topic has been on my mind for the past few weeks so i thought i'd just share some of my thoughts. Over the summer, i worked in a small independent pharmacy about 10minutes from town. Due to the nature of my work, i'd be encountering drug addicts on a daily basis. Initially, my heart was full of compassion and love for them and I wanted to show love for them. However, several unpleasant incidents (mostly related to shoplifting) happened where I was verbally abused by some customers though I had done nothing wrong. This caused me to recoil... I was pretty shaken that I started to view each customer with suspicion. The entire week i felt horrible , because my trust in them has been betrayed and I felt i could not trust any of them anymore. I felt horrible also because love has been replaced by distrust.

After that week, i realised that i could not longer live this life not trusting anyone, building a wall to keep out others and preventing them from hurting me. I decided to choose to love and trust again. This does not mean that I trust them blindly, I try to be more vigilant but not paranoid. This has been a difficult lesson to learn .. how do you love people who are hostile to you? How do you love people who hurt and betray you? In a nutshell, how do you love someone who simply do not deserve our love and forgiveness?

If given a choice, many of us would choose to love , forgive and show kindness to people whom we deem deserving of our goodwill. People who repay evil for good, people who don't show their appreciation/take us for granted or people who did horrible things are considered less deserving of our love, grace and understanding. By doing so, we are giving out conditional love. This type of love demands a reciprocal act. The world knows how to give out conditional love. In fact, sometimes, they are better than Christians in showing love for their friends and loved ones. What the world needs is unconditional love. The type of love that demands no benefit in return, that are given out of a willing heart for those who do not deserve it.

Matthew 5:46-48 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The world cannot give this kind of love (Agape) because it is not aware of God's love for them. But if we, as disciples of Christ are able to demonstrate this type of love to those that the society deem "unlovable" , I believe that the world will "see" Christ through us! For no man can love like this in his own strength, only one who has can truly comprehend the extend of God's love for us can show this unconditional love to another human.

I was on the Rainbow 5 the other day when i overheard a guy trying to convince his girlfriend that God doesn't exist, the world isn't created by God and if there is a God, it need not necessarily be Jesus. Apparently, someone must have tried to explain to them that even if they dont believe in His existence, He still exists , because there are people who knows God. If i'm not mistaken it should be the same analogy that Kenny Gan used: I have a friend name James, even if you don't know him, never seen him before, he exists because I know him.

The guy's argument was, he's never seen God..and many ppl can't claimed to have seen God with their eyes or provide photographic proft of His existence. At that moment, I totally agree with him. Yes, man may not be able to "see" God , but they are able to see the body of Christ on earth. Where is the body of Christ when it's most needed? The answer is simple: we're the body of Christ! we're His hands to do good work, show acts of kindness and love, we're His feet that bring the gospel, we're His mouth that speaks His words. Guess what I did? it's quite comical actually... i plucked up my courage, dished out a booklet containing the gospel according to Mark and gave him one. haha.. i bet it shocked him . I'm not trying to mock him, or trying to get back at him for mocking God, my desire is to send him one little message: the body of Christ is alive! and it's doing the will of Christ (head of the body).

May this little incident be an encouragement to all... wherever you are, you are the body of Christ ! Don't lose your saltiness, continue to reflect His glory! Amen

Challenge: Are there people around you that are difficult to love? Do you avoid them?

What about people who are considered "weird" or "difficult" or "troublemaker" by society? Do you shun them? Do you actively seek to befriend and understand them; and not judge them based on how the society stereotype them?

If we care to spend more time knowing people in depth before we judge them, we'll find that there's no one who's "unlovable". Each man and woman is precious in God's eyes. He sent His only Son to die, not just for the righteous , but for the unrighteous too!

*Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."

Ewok's Story: The Devil's Foothold

Let me tell ya a story. Once upon a time, there was a man who owns a house. And this house was not a good or bad house, it was an average looking house in an average looking city. So one day, this man decided to sell this house, but no one wanted to buy this house. So he decided he will sell this house for $2000. A few weeks later, a poor man (by poor I mean very very poor man) wanted to buy the house, but he could only afford to pay $1000. So this man tried there and again to negotiate the price of this house with the house owner, but failed. After a week or so, the house owner took pity on the poor man and said to him:

"I will sell you the house at $1000 on one condition. I will hang a nail above the door. The whole house is yours but the area where the nail is, is mine and you cannot touch or disturb the nail."

The poor man agreed to it and thus the house was exchanged between them. After a few years, the poor man wanted to sell the house. The house owner told him that the part where the nail is, belongs to him and woul buy the house at $1000, at the price the poor man bought the house earlier with. The poor man refused and the house owner got very upset. After several quarrels and they were getting nowhere, the house owner took a carcass of a dog and hung it on the nail, which was above the door. The carcass stank of rotting flesh, fleas and it wasnt a very nice smell. The poor man couldnt find a buyer due to the stench given by this carcass and in the end had no choice but to sell the house back to the house owner at $1000.

The point which I am trying to say is: The house represents your life, your body, and the poor man is you. The house owner represents the devil. The money represents temptations/nice things/indulgence in life.

Once you give the devil a small foothold in your life (which comes from the nail part of the story), he will take control of your entire life and it will be extremely hard to wrench it away from him. Don't let the devil lure you away with tempting gifts, pray to overcome this.

Dancing with God

When I meditated on the word GUIDANCE,
I was drawn to"dance" at the end of the word.
I reflected upon how doing God's will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music,
and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes this and lets the other lead,
both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
or by pressing lightly in one direction or another.
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness,
and attentiveness from one person
and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word GUIDANCE.
When I saw "G," I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i."
"God, "u" and "i" dance." !
God, you, and I dance.
This statement is what guidance means to me.
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust
that I would get guidance about my life.
Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings
and mercies be upon you and your family
on this day and everyday.
May you abide in Him as He abides in you.
Dance together with God, trusting Him to lead
and to guide you through each season of your life.
I Hope You Dance !!!!!!!!!!!!

Life is Precious - "Give God Thanks For It"

Thoughts?

These are the words of King Solomon, one of the wisest kings in the world...

Ecclesiastes 2

Pleasures Are Meaningless

1 I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well—the delights of the heart of man. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I've been thinking on the issue of enjoyment lately. Perhaps cos i'm not working now so i'm free to think about such stuff again. It's hard for me to reconcile christianity and pleasure. Don't get me wrong, i don't believe that God doesn't approve of us enjoying ourselves, or doing things we like so long as it's not immorally incorrect. I believe God created many things on earth for us to enjoy. I still take time to relax and do things i enjoy once in a while. Who doesnt want to have fun? I'm not exception... If i had the money and time, i'd love to do so many things... But my conscience pricks me at times, am i focusing on enjoyment and pleasures so much that i neglect what's truly important in life? Why should I spend money on making myself happy when there are so many other poor people in the world who worry about what to eat next? Or as in saw in china, how the kids use mud slopes as slides to entertain themselves. And here i am thinking of spending money on expensive entertainment... I could use the time and money to invest in more lasting and meaningful things. It just troubles and disturbs me. Some people may think i'm too extreme, or legalistic perhaps. I guess it's one of those grey areas, and not for me to judge others, but to let the holy spirit teach me, how to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, but not to crave after pleasure.I'd like to think how you guys view this? I'm open to discussion and comments :)

Call to Prayer

Dear solidrockers, past and present :)

As we're approaching a new academic year (for those who are still studying in notts...), i'm sure there'll be mixed feelings of apprehension and excitement. Well, i'm speaking for myself at least... But let's not forget to set aside time to wait upon the Lord and ask Him what He wants us to do in the new academic year...

For those who are furthering your studies elsewhere, i pray you'll settle down into your new environment and find a new community of believers there :) For the fresh grads, CONGRATS! heh. If youve already found yourself a job PRAISE GOD! God has placed you where you are for a PURPOSE. After experiencing a taste of work life, i've realized it's not a bed of roses, and often it's easy to fall away if there isn't a strong support of believers in your workplace or if you're not in a cell group. I've realized spending time with God consistently is very important if i wanna be a light in the marketplace! For those who have yet to find a job... dont kan chiong too much hor, it takes a lot of patience and trust, but trust that God knows the plans He has for you. I pray He'll continue to guide you and open doors for you.

For those who don't know, Lena, Andrew, Jason and myself will be serving in the SR committee in the coming year. We're in the midst of the praying and planning, honestly, things are still very hazy. But there have been many things God has put in our hearts. I'm urging all of you to keep us in prayer as we plan... that we would seek God FIRST, and that we'll hear from Him clearly what He wants us to do. Pray for UNITY within SR... amongst the committee and of course amongst all of us. We'd really love to everyone having a part to play in SR, and if there's anything God has placed in your heart for SR, or if there's anything you'd like to see in SR in the coming year, please feel free to voice them... Can email me at pphor@yahoo.com.sg or solidrock.notts@gmail.com Thanks!

"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." Psalm 127:1