If the truth had been known, I believe the world would not been misled so negatively towards the nation of Israel. Sure, nations do make mistake but, hey, don't forget they are still a people chosen by God to be called His people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmASijiIVzg&feature=player_embedded
Tell me, after watching the video clip, that you have changed your mind about that nation and is now more appreciative of what they have contributed to the world at large.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
We Are What Our Thoughts Make Us Out To Be
Recently I was in the mountain town of Shimla, India and I spotted this sign-board above one of the shops in the Mall. Shimla used to be the British colonial seat of government in India and was where Lord Mountbatten spent his summers whenever he was in India. The town also hosts the Viceregal House (which is now a heritage site with invited students and researchers occupying its many halls of learning) where the declaration of independence for India was discussed as well as the partitioning of India and Pakistan.
So I could not help but to ponder on the words on the signage, "What we think, we become". Isn't it true that everything in life is first hatched in the minds of people and then they bring it into fruition by taking action on their thoughts?
No wonder our Lord Jesus Christ kept reminding His disciples to "take no thoughts about tomorrow", "let not your hearts be troubled", "fear not", etc. In fact if you really care to count all the related words spoken by Jesus, you will notice that there are 366 places in the Gospels where the word appear - once for each day of the year (including the leap year - how thoughtful our Lord is, just in case someone entertain the thought the He could not count correctly.
So if one entertains fearful thoughts, he or she will reap the fruits of fear - ulcers, gastritis, high-blood pressure, stress, insomnia, etc (the list goes on).
So my friend, entertain good thoughts and avoid evil ones and you will stay out of trouble.
So I could not help but to ponder on the words on the signage, "What we think, we become". Isn't it true that everything in life is first hatched in the minds of people and then they bring it into fruition by taking action on their thoughts?
No wonder our Lord Jesus Christ kept reminding His disciples to "take no thoughts about tomorrow", "let not your hearts be troubled", "fear not", etc. In fact if you really care to count all the related words spoken by Jesus, you will notice that there are 366 places in the Gospels where the word appear - once for each day of the year (including the leap year - how thoughtful our Lord is, just in case someone entertain the thought the He could not count correctly.
So if one entertains fearful thoughts, he or she will reap the fruits of fear - ulcers, gastritis, high-blood pressure, stress, insomnia, etc (the list goes on).
So my friend, entertain good thoughts and avoid evil ones and you will stay out of trouble.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Primed For Blessings
It is really awesome to realize that our Lord exceeds our expectations each time we believe on Him to supply all our needs and wants. In my last sharing of September 02, I mentioned that New Creation Church dedicated August 22 as the Miracle Seed Sunday and we were encouraged to sow bountifully believing the Lord for a great harvest.
My wife and I decided to sow a specific amount after we sold our house and have the available funds. Because the sale was legally completed only in the afternoon of Friday August 20 and the proceeds of the sale deposited into our account on Tuesday August 24 at the earliest, we decided to sow only on Sunday August 29 for technical reasons.
Praise Jesus for even before we could physically sow, I already had new enquiries for my business and some of these were very positive (we shall experience the harvest very shortly). You see, the Lord sees our hearts and considers it as done even before the physical act could take place.
Consider James 2:20-26: -
20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.
24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
There was a good 25 years gap between Abraham believing God for his miracle son Isaac and the offering of Isaac on Mt Moriah; likewise Rahab first believed the Lord when she heard the reports of how the Lord had delivered the children of Israel as they came out of Egypt and more than 30 years later her action of hiding the spies in her house in Jericho.
The Lord sees the heart and considers it as done and He calls our faith righteousness because the penalty price for all our misdeeds had been crucified with Christ on the cross and what is now left is for Him to lavish us with His love and His superabounding blessings - financial prosperity and health. All glory to Jesus. AMEN.
My wife and I decided to sow a specific amount after we sold our house and have the available funds. Because the sale was legally completed only in the afternoon of Friday August 20 and the proceeds of the sale deposited into our account on Tuesday August 24 at the earliest, we decided to sow only on Sunday August 29 for technical reasons.
Praise Jesus for even before we could physically sow, I already had new enquiries for my business and some of these were very positive (we shall experience the harvest very shortly). You see, the Lord sees our hearts and considers it as done even before the physical act could take place.
Consider James 2:20-26: -
20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.
24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
There was a good 25 years gap between Abraham believing God for his miracle son Isaac and the offering of Isaac on Mt Moriah; likewise Rahab first believed the Lord when she heard the reports of how the Lord had delivered the children of Israel as they came out of Egypt and more than 30 years later her action of hiding the spies in her house in Jericho.
The Lord sees the heart and considers it as done and He calls our faith righteousness because the penalty price for all our misdeeds had been crucified with Christ on the cross and what is now left is for Him to lavish us with His love and His superabounding blessings - financial prosperity and health. All glory to Jesus. AMEN.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Sowing For A Miracle
Recently New Creation Church in Singapore carried out its third Miracle Seed Sunday on August 22, 2010 and raised a total of over S$21.1 million in just 24 hours. There were two more such Miracle Seed Sundays prior and these were on February 15, 2009 (S$18.83 million raised) and on April 20, 2008 (S$18.0 million raised).
The congregation was encouraged to sow into the church building project at the Cultural and Civic Hub at One North in Bouna Vista, Singapore. The entire cost of the building (New Creation Church's share of the cost) is just under S$500.0 million and the project is expected to be completed by June 2012 and the congregation will be moving into the new premises in Q3 2012. With the latest collection, the total amount raised would have been about S$260 million - just past the 50 percent mark.
Also interesting observation is that the congregation size is at its highest at that point in time on all three Miracle Seed Sundays and people simply came to sow believing the Lord of the Harvest for their miracle harvest regardless of the external economic situations in the country and the world at large. Another interesting observation is that all the cheques received were not larger than S$1.0 million even though there are many millionaires and multi-millionaires in our midst; every single congregation member sowed and did it in style.
Of course there were detractors who criticized that the members sowed expecting the Lord for a blessing. I think these people are grossly misled because no farmer sows his seeds without expecting a harvest in return. Even the Israelites sowed into the Tabernacle in the Wilderness (Exodus 35) expecting the Lord to bless them on their journey out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Sure, they gave in corporate worship when they brought their tithes and offerings but they also expect the Lord's blessings in return.
The congregation was encouraged to sow into the church building project at the Cultural and Civic Hub at One North in Bouna Vista, Singapore. The entire cost of the building (New Creation Church's share of the cost) is just under S$500.0 million and the project is expected to be completed by June 2012 and the congregation will be moving into the new premises in Q3 2012. With the latest collection, the total amount raised would have been about S$260 million - just past the 50 percent mark.
Also interesting observation is that the congregation size is at its highest at that point in time on all three Miracle Seed Sundays and people simply came to sow believing the Lord of the Harvest for their miracle harvest regardless of the external economic situations in the country and the world at large. Another interesting observation is that all the cheques received were not larger than S$1.0 million even though there are many millionaires and multi-millionaires in our midst; every single congregation member sowed and did it in style.
Of course there were detractors who criticized that the members sowed expecting the Lord for a blessing. I think these people are grossly misled because no farmer sows his seeds without expecting a harvest in return. Even the Israelites sowed into the Tabernacle in the Wilderness (Exodus 35) expecting the Lord to bless them on their journey out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Sure, they gave in corporate worship when they brought their tithes and offerings but they also expect the Lord's blessings in return.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Programmed For Blessings
Yesterday was the 14th day of the Chinese Lunar 7th month and I remember as a young boy how my mother would remind me to be extra careful how I behaved and where I would walk at night particularly on that evening. 14th day of the seventh month is what the Taoists and Buddhists would believe is the day when the spirits which had been granted a one-month reprieve to roam the world would be the most active - that night i like their feast day and therefore most active day.
As I was reflecting on this, the Holy Spirit reminded me how much the fallen nature of Man gone gone. Of all the things in this world we can recall from memory quickly, have you noticed that it is these negative thoughts that are uppermost on our minds. The Lord has been generous in His blessings toward us and has been reminding us time and again how good He is and yet so quickly we forget His grace and mercy toward us and we choose to dwell on the negatives.
Oh, how we have been so ingrained to remember what we learnt as children that when we encounter the goodness of the Lord, we doubt Him and miss the treasure by more than a mile. We allow all the negativities to crowd us and block out the blessings that is ours to take but we don't.
Therefore, as Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."
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