Friday, September 14, 2012

Reflection of Agape Love

Agape Love, the type of love God displayed, is displayed on the cross of Jesus Christ for us. It is unconditioned because truly God is love. Although it is amazingly high level and we cannot do anything to deserve it, what we can do is that once we receive and understand His love for us, we reciprocate. We can do something about His love for us. We can connect to the Holy Spirit and grow in this God-kind of love.

Yes agape love from God to us is technically un-returnable, simply because it is God-kind of love. But we can give back in certain forms to show that we are grateful for His love for us.  

Saturday, September 1, 2012

19 days of a life long adventure

Today is the 19th day that Natalie Teo is with the Teo family.
As I reflected back on what has past, I am thankful to God for His grace, favor and provision for us.

In fact, when it comes to pregnancy and child-bearing, it can be fearful and stressful at times. Before the child is born, we worry whether the child will turn out alright. Not long after the child is born, tests are administrated to see whether things are alright with the baby. After the tests proved that she is alright, other challenges come along the way all the way when we as parents pass into the eternity God has for us.
I think parenthood requires much faith and trust in God. In going through the process of developing the young ones, we are also being molded by our Father in heaven.


In these 19 days, although there was much troubles and hassles traveling to the hospital, poly clinic and paediatrician because of the jaundice problem, I thank God that Natalie is growing (in fact she has put on about 600g so far). She gives me smiles (with her dimples) that lighten the whole situation. I am believing this gift of God (as the name meant) will bring much joy and blessings to those around. She will be an encouragement also to us that we need to grow closer to the Father and learn how the Father develop His children.










Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Lessons about Faith in Hebrews 11

Reading Hebrews 11 is refreshing.
Faith is described by the author as the substances of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (v1)
That means the element of faith requires us to deal with the invisible, things not yet seen or manifested in our lives.
Those who were listed in this chapter were men and women who trusted in God, whom is not seen with the physical eyes. They trusted that God will reward them who seek Him diligently. They acted as if the promises   given by God was 'now in process' in the lives. Therefore, they moved on when called; they lived life as with new strength; they wanted their bones back to certain place even when they died; they carried out the words and instructions of God as what the Lord said; they take God as face-value.

As I reflect on this chapter, I also realize that faith needed decisions. It requires 2 actions. The heroes of faith always make a decision to forsake their own situations (good or bad) and then follow God's agenda and instructions. Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Rahab and many more forsake their present situation to follow God and His instruction.

What are our present situations? Are we pursuing God and following His instructions as if it is 'now in process' in our lives? Or are we flowing with the system of this world that we continue to be when we are (stagnant)? Can we take God and His words as face-value and obey wholeheartedly?

I am glad that faith need not be reckless as it is written that through faith, they quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong...(v34). It reminds us that we do not act without understanding. Going blinding against the dangers of life is not faith, it is foolishness. What we need is to diligently seek God and allow Him to speak and give instructions. In order to have faith and to work by faith and through faith, we need to seek the faithful God. No wonder the writer put this down: Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God...(v16)   





Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Discipline the child

This adverb "diligently" in the proverb caught my attention today:

Proverbs 13:24 (NASB) 24 He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.




We, as parents, are to discipline our child or children and we have to discipline diligently.

The New International Version puts it that the parents need to discipline the child carefully.
The New King James Version said that we have to discipline them promptly.

The AMP puts it: Proverbs 13:24 (AMP) 24 He who spares his rod [of discipline] hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines diligently and punishes him early.


Examining Proverbs, we must not spare the rod and spoil the child. We have to carefully and diligently discipline them while there is still hope (Prov 19:18). The writer of Proverbs even put in the following proverbs that if we discipline them using the rod, they will not die. Instead they will be rescued from certain disaster in the future. 

Proverbs 23:13-14 (NASB) 13 Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. 14 You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol.


While some may not want to use the rod, or may choose to interpret 'the rod' according to your thinking, the wise writer of Proverbs calls us to be diligent to discipline so that they will not have a disaster for the future. 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Parenting is not easy but it is not difficult too :)

Today, at the 'pd' checkup, we were referred to the Poly Clinic to do the test for jaundice.
The acceptable level is 260. Nat's level was 312. (Ding dong here ding dong there), we were at Parkway East hospital and Natalie is now staying at that place for at least 1 day or maybe 2.

Being parents are not easy especially when we desire the best for our children. The troubles that we have to endure, the pain that we hid, the emotions that we have to bear, the sacrifices that we have to make and many more...Yet, being parents might not be difficult too: as we tap on God's strength for each new, as we ask God's resources to be released to us, as we partner with God to build and raise these lives for His Glory. When we taste the satisfaction from parenting, whatever things or troubles that pull us down will seem nothing comparing to the joy and rewards.

Since the Christian's perspective on children is that they are gifts from the Lord and they are reward to us, God will give us grace and wisdom to shape or 'sharpen' these lives.

Psalm 127:3-5 (NASB)
3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth.5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.



Monday, August 20, 2012

Birth of 2nd Daughter, Natalie Teo

Praise God once again for His grace and favor. Natalie was born on the 14 August 2012, Tuesday. In the morning of 14 August, I was told that there was pain in her stomach. I guess little attention was paid to it because we were to see the gynae the next day and induced the baby depending on the consultation. At the same time, I guess we have forgotten how the birth pangs and contractions were like since 4 years ago. Therefore, we did not really give much attention. However, the pain was quite regular and lasted more than 30 seconds. I referred back to my records 4 years ago and found that it was similar to the current recording. So we made our way to Parkway East after our lunch.

Check in at about 4 pm and found out that it was about 4-5cm. By 6:23pm, our 2nd princess was born.
I thank God for the prayers and encouragements from the family and friends. I thank God for a safe and fast delivery.
I am trusting God to give Natalie a good wholesome health. (esp Jie Jie Netanya is having a persistent cough). Currently, I am on leave to be the 'confinement lady'. It is a new experience but a good one. So far so good. Got some rest and hopefully, later can go for a jog :)  

"Our Father in Heaven gives good gifts to His Children. He loves our children more than we love them. Therefore, I trust Him for a good plan for all of us. His plan is good, wonderful and perfect to those who trust Him"

Monday, July 2, 2012

Benefits of fasting in a right attitude

In this season of prayer and fasting, let us delight ourselves in the Lord. Let us enjoy being in the presence of God, communicating with Him through prayer and reading His word. Let us increase our hunger for more of God by our fasting from our daily necessities and focusing on Him as our sustainence, our everything.
If we are able to fast in the correct attitude, that is to seek, please and glorified Him, look at the amazing things that God will be for us. These are by-products of a right relationship with Him:
"Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. "Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, And if you give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday. "And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. "Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. (Isaiah 58:8-12 NASB)

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Focusing on Jesus and loving our family

In the Bible, we are taught to focus on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2). Yet at the same time, we are also called into a family of God whereby we can encourage one another, support one another, help one another grow into maturity and so on.

When I see my family members suffering or even in a terrible situation, my first response should be of love and edification for we are family. We are the body of Christ. If the suffering members are too far for us to reach out or comfort, like the eye is so distant away from the suffering toe, what should we do?
We continue to function for the body of Christ lest the other parts of the body suffer. We continue to supply and encourage those in our area of influence. We continue to encourage them to focus on Jesus and grow in Him. We continue to teach them to show Christ's love and pray for the family members who are in trouble, instead of adding fire to the burning situation (in the end the whole body will suffer).

If we need to speak, remember use our words wisely.
Instead of speaking against one another, use our words to intercede and petition for God's grace and mercy.
Instead of using our words against another, use our words to encourage the others to focus on Jesus.
Instead of using negative words which destroy, use good words to build up.

Love God wholeheartedly and love another fervently...

Romans 12:10 (NASB)
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;

Romans 13:8 (NASB)
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

Ephesians 4:2 (NASB)
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,

Ephesians 4:32 (NASB)
32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Colossians 3:13 (NASB)
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NASB)
11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

James 4:11 (NASB)
11 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Who walked around the city of Jericho?

Joshua 6:2-4 (NASB) 2 The LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. 3 "You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. 4 "Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 


Joshua 6:10 (NASB)
10 But Joshua commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, 'Shout!' Then you shall shout!"





Joshua 6 gives us interesting account of the miracle that God provides for Joshua and the Israelites. The biggest obstacle that hindered them from advancing was the wall and God bought it down when they submit themselves under God's direction and to the leadership of Joshua.

Submission is an attitude that we need to have in order to see the work of God established in our lives. The submission of the priests and men of war to Joshua's command was one of the keys to see the  miracle of God coming to pass. While we would have thought that young children walked around the city keeping quiet, the Bible noted that it was the priests and the men of war who did the marching without making the noise. The men of war or the strong warriors were disciplined, skilled, talented and strong. Some might even be better than Joshua in certain aspects of their capability. Yet they submitted to the leadership of Joshua. This is the picture of submission: We, being able and gifted, in our own capacity voluntarily subject ourselves to the leadership of God's appointed. We submit out of love for God and one another. We submit because there is a common objective that we are going for: God's kingdom advancement. And when we have a positive spirit of submission, we will be able to see God's provision in our situations.



Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Reality of Life and Death

I was visiting my granduncle in hospital yesterday. He was in ICU with lots of tubes inserted. I am not sure about the condition but it seemed critical. He could not speak but did move his eyes to indicate his acknowledgement that I was there. I told him not to move and offered a prayer in Jesus' name. I pray that the Lord Jesus will reveal Himself to him.
As I reflect upon this situation, the reality of death is real and tangible. Physical life is a gift from God. We can treasure this duration with our loved ones, we can enjoy this length of time with friends, we can also serve God's purpose using the time God has given to us. There are many things we can do with this gift of time God has given to everyone. But let us use it wisely. Even Moses prayed to God for wisdom in realising
the brevity of life. Psalm 90:12 (NLT) 12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. The Psalmist David also mentioned that for the life given to him, he will praise and thank God because if he die, he will not be able to do so. Psalm 30:9 (NLT) 9 “What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness? 


But more than physical life God has given, He also given to everyone an opportunity to receive Eternal life - life that will be forever, even after death hits us. My prayer for all of us is that our loved ones will experience this eternal life God has given through Jesus Christ.


I pray also that we will be serving God, fulfilling the calling He has given to us, and spending good quality time with our loved ones and family. 






Monday, June 11, 2012

Lessons from the Tower Crane


When I passed by the construction of high rise building, I am always intrigued by the way it was built. Some machines will stack the 'already fabricated' units one on top of another. And at the end of the building process, that block of flat is completed. If you wonder what machine is that, that is the tower crane. It is quite amazing to see how the tower crane works because from a certain height, it can go higher and higher. And depending on the height of the building to be erected, the tower crane will go higher in order to lift the fabricated units to that height. 
It reminds me of the building and mentoring process. - In order to build help someone goes higher, we must also go higher. If we do not grow higher, we will not be able to be at a level to help lift them up. - And in order to grow higher, we need to strengthen and extend ourselves. It is exactly like what the tower crane does, there has to be another piece inserted at the top before the whole machine goes higher. 
I guess pictures and videos speak a thousand words. Let this be a challenge for all of us who are interested in building and mentoring lives.
Click to find out how it works: How the tower crane works
Click to see video to show the erection of the tower crane  



Friday, June 8, 2012

Old thoughts revised new: Time is investment


Wrote this on 28 Jan 2004: 
'Time is investment... 
When time is spent polishing our skills, 
When time is spent playing with our instruments, 
Improvement is evident. 
A Better Way: 
When time is spent in the presence of God, 
When time is spent praying (communicating) with God, 
Sharpening in the spirit takes place, 
Anointing is rubbed off from the Anointer. 
Choose the better way. '
It is still true that time can be invested and we will profit from what we invest. If we invest time in a relationship, we will be rewarded with a richer and stronger relationship. If we invest time in studying, we will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of the subject. If we invest time in playing a game or training in a sport, we will get better. We will taste of the fruits and the enjoy the success of our investment, especially of time.  
As we are entering in the 40 days season of prayer and fasting, what will we be investing of our 40 days? Realising that time can be invested and we will profit from this investment, what are we going to do with these 40 days? I want to encourage and challenge us, as an individual, as a family, as a congregation, as a church, to invest wisely these 40 days. Invest in seeking and spending time in the presence of God. Invest in a deeper intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 






Thursday, June 7, 2012

Another Prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19

Ephesians 3:14-19 (NASB)
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.




The immediate context of this prayer seemed to suggest that the believers would not lose heart at Paul's tribulation (v13). So for this reason, he prayed that: God would grant them strength by the power of God's Spirit in the inner man. It could be that tribulations could distract and disrupt or even distance us from God Himself. Therefore the prayer of such was necessary so that Christ may dwell in the believers' hearts and that they would be rooted and grounded in love (v17). The prayer was necessary so that the believers would understand the amazing love of Christ that surpasses knowledge and reasoning (v18-19). Finally, the prayer was necessary so that the believers may be filled up to all the fullness of God (v19)

While we looked at this prayer and also the larger context of which Paul prayed, we could also say that this prayer to experience God's love could be in line with the theme of unity. Paul said that Christ has put the Jews and the Gentiles together (Eph 2) and the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus (Eph 3:6). It is amazing to think God's love can be extended in such way, therefore pray that you will be able to comprehend the love of Christ (v18-19). It is beyond knowledge and reasoning.

Therefore, we pray this prayer for ourselves and others so that they can have the strength from the Holy Spirit to be rooted in Christ and His wonderful love. We pray that one will be able to experience that love in a tremendous measure and that one will be filled up to the fullness of God.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The Prayer from Ephesians 1:15-19


It is good and we should pray this prayer for ourselves and others. However, I think there are more prayer details inside the content of these verses of which Paul did not specify. (It is like you go to someone and said "I have prayed for your spiritual growth" without telling him the specifics details of what you prayed for)

In Ephesians 1:15-19, Paul was telling the believers that he remembered them in prayer. He constantly gave thanks to God for them and prayed for them.
When we prayed this prayer (v17-19) for ourselves and others, we usually go through these pointers:
God will give us
- The spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him
- The eyes of our understanding being enlightened
- that we may know the hope of His calling
- that we may know the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints
- that we know what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us

We can allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in this prayer. For example, when we pray that God give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation, we can pause and allow the Holy Spirit to drop impressions on how to pray along this theme. When we pray that the eyes of our understanding being enlightened, again we can pause and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to pray specifically in this area.

Do not let prayer be a repetition of words or format without the passion.
Instead, prayer led by the Holy Spirit can be a wonderful experience.

Pray Ephesians 1:17-19 (AMP) 
17 [For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,18 By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones), 19 And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,

Monday, April 30, 2012

Working from the Position of Rest


Matthew 11:25-30 (NASB)
25 At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. 26 "Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27 "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

After Jesus reveals the revelation of Himself (v25-27), He invites the listeners to come to Him for rest. Sometimes, we mistook this rest to be physical. However, the ‘taking up of Jesus’ yoke’ indicates that there is work to be done. And verse 29 continues to reveal that this coming to Jesus will enable us to find rest for our souls. The verses show us that we can work and minister from the position of rest in our souls.
Is it not true that sometimes when we serve God and minister to people, we are distracted and frustrated?
Is it not true that sometimes when we try to do something for God and we are unable to find that kind of rest or peace in our hearts?
Is it not true that sometimes we are disturbed when the noises from others discouraged us towards the things of God?

These words from Jesus gives us hope. When we come to Jesus and learn from Him, we will find rest for our souls and we will continue to minister and serve from the position of rest.

How do we learn from Him to obtain this rest in our soul?

Isaiah 50:4-5 (NKJV) 4 "The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. 5 The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, Nor did I turn away.

Isa 50:4-5 talks about the Servant who comforts the weary. He was given a tongue of the learned (disciple) and He spoke words in season to those who need it. He was given ears to hear and he was constantly awakened to hear as the learned (disciple). He was obedient to speak what He hears. He was obedient to do what He hears.

When Jesus gave the invitation to us to learn from Him in order to find rest in our soul, we have to be connected to Him like a disciple to the teacher. We have to hear (with the ear) what the teacher is saying to us and obey it (with our tongue and actions).
We, then, will find rest for our souls and we will be able to minister from a position of rest.  

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Margin in our lives




A thought came to me while I was walking towards church. The thought was about having margin in our lives. It will be instrumental for God’s use and it will do us good. For the past week, I was given quite a few opportunities to interact with commuters, share my experiences, helped a person on the wheelchair, gave up a seat to a mother with a child and observed human behaviour. I thought it is exciting especially if I can share my faith with those I meet. As I reflect on this, I realise that it will be difficult for me to do so if I am on the vehicle. Personally, for this season of my life, this is the margin that is created whereby I can be flexible to allow God to write in it. It will add in another dimension to my faith journey. Like a notebook with a margin drawn, I would like to encourage all of us to have margin in our lives.

What is this margin about?
I would like to liken it to the time that we have. In the Bible, time can be equated to opportunity. And we are challenged to make the most of every opportunity in the days that we are living. (Eph 5:16). We are also challenged by Paul to pray that God will give us many opportunities to speak about Christ and that we will be wise to make the most of every opportunity. (Col 4:2-5)
But the problem is that if we do not create the margin in our lives, then there will not be any space for God to write on. When opportunities arise, we may not have the time or flexibility to seize them. Imagine the frustration that comes when you have a good inspiration out of the sudden to write but there is no more space left on that piece of paper. Personally I believe that more opportunities will be given. I believe that God wants to use us more. But if we do not have the margin for God to write, we can miss out so much.

My thoughts are:  
1) If we do not create the margin in our lives, there will NEVER be any margin at all.
It is because we are too busy filling our schedules with things that are not necessary OR we are allowing people to fill up our schedules with things that are important to them.

2) When we have that margin in our lives, we can be flexible when God call us to do certain things out of the normal.
We need to have a normal schedule of spending time with our family, serving God in the church, fellowship with Christians, meeting up with non-Christian friends, working in the place God has placed us in and so on. But sometimes, when God gives us extra assignment OR when there is help needed somewhere OR when there is opportunity during that period of time, that margin we have created will enable us to act without much adjustment.

In conclusion, while we must not neglect time with people who are important, we must also be deliberate to make margin in our lives for God to write in. God will definitely use it.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Why business fail?


I looked at the stall. The stall has 2 chickens, some pork and other meats that made the stall profitable. I went to place an order, “Can I have chicken rice and some pork with it?”
The uncle looked at me. Then he looked back at his other partner who was cutting up some raw meats and shouted, “Do you have chicken rice and “chao siew” (pork)?” The other business partner did not answer. The uncle who I ordered from said, “Sorry ah…today no more chicken and pork…sorry ah”
I answered “Ok” and I walked off.

Apparently, these 2 guys must have some issues with one another. Hopefully, I will return one day to check whether the stall has closed down or there is a change in partners.
Business failed because of relationships, especially with the partners.
Customers do not purchase because they fear that because of the bad relationship, their food is ‘poisoned’.
Customers do not purchase because they do not want themselves to be caught in situations like that.

Bottomline: Relationship is very important. Good relationship itself is a blessing from God.

Proverbs 16:7 (NASB)
7 When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

 When God bless us according to Proverbs 16:7, what tremendous opportunities we will have in all areas of our lives.

As we pursue good relationships, let’s also be good to others. We do not want our businesses, our ministries or our work for God to fail. 

Friday, January 6, 2012

Rectifying of dysfunction personality

I was reading the first few pages of the book "Overcoming the Darkside of Leadership" and can't agree much that it is true that every leader suffers from some degree of personal dysfunction and that can be the driving force of the ministry and the things one carries out.
Yet I was reminded in Scripture that when we are IN CHRIST who is the perfect model for us, we are able to rectify these negative effects. How do we see that happened?

Romans 13:14 (NASB) 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

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

Colossians 3:15-16 (NASB) 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

We will be able to rectify those dysfunctional personality by allowing Jesus Christ to live in us and by subjecting ourselves to live in accordance to His Words. When our lives are conformed to the whole counsel of the Word, what an impact it will be in our leadership and our lives.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

God answers Prayers and we need to...

God answers prayers and sometimes He does it at amazing speed.
While I was driving to work this morning, I was praying for myself that I would lay hold of what Jesus has prepared for me (Eph 2:10).
I was telling God that I would love to speak more. It will be wonderful to develop further in the area of preaching and teaching. I would love my words to be of life and of liberty. I was asking for speaking opportunities and opportunities to be a blessing.
Quite amazingly, when I reached the office, I received a call from a pastor and he told me he needed a preacher for certain date due to certain reason. Praise the Lord!

I was also praying for the course that I am going to conduct "Hearing the voice of God" and was asking God to drop ideas to what I already have and again I must say that God is quite amazing in answering this in a tangible way. I went to a bookstore to collect my books for my theological course. Being very purposeful, I would normally go in, collect the books, pay and leave the place. Yet today, I was arrested by a book: Hearing God. Browse through it, did not give much thoughts and bought it. I believe it could be God answering.
Looking through the book and love the pages.

Friends, in our journey of faith, God is not a silence God who is unreachable. He is there and He is waiting to answer His children. We need to ask and we need to be sensitive to His answer. Sometimes we may need to take risk in responding. God will guide us in learning how to listen to Him. He wants us to know His Voice and He promises us that we will know His Voice (John 10:27).

Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.


John 10:27 (NASB)
27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;