绝不太忙

金句：凡求告耶和华的，就是诚心求告祂的，耶和华便与祂们相近。 （诗篇145：18）

读经：诗篇 145:8-21

“ 我妹妹和妹夫将一间房子出租给大学生。某天晚上，住在那里的一个女学生看到有个小偷试图潜入房子，便赶紧打电话报警，没想到竟然得到这样的回复：「我们现在实在是太忙了，你明天早上再打过来。」这简直是不可思议！那个女孩采取了正确的应对方式报了警，但不知为何她的请求却被漠视了。警方这种冷漠的回应真让人生气。”

然而，当我们来到上帝面前，向祂祷告时，这样的事绝对不会发生。或许，我们总是无法感受到上帝在聆听我们的呼求，但祂确实在倾听。祂在乎我们，祂必会回应。圣经提醒我们，上帝深切在乎我们所关心的：“凡求告耶和华的，就是诚心求告祂的，耶和华便与祂们相近。”（诗篇145：18）。因此我们可以感到安心，当我们向祂呼求时，永远不会得到冷漠的回应。

当我们有需要而向天父呼求时，祂绝不会远离我们，而是与我们更加亲近。面对祂子女的祈求，上帝永远都不会因为太忙而拒绝我们。每当我们求告，祂便倾听。

:)

不被轄制

「凡事我都可行，但不都有益處；凡事我都可行，但無論哪一件，我總不受它的轄制。」（林前六12）

「無論哪一件，我總不受它的轄制」

這不僅是保羅所活出的見證，聖徒（我们）在處世為人所行的事上也都要以此為準則，不受任何事物來轄制自己。儘管那件事的本身與犯罪無關；但即使是正常的事，若它成了我們的轄制，就應藉著禱告來勝過它。

例如：在互聯網上瞭解各類資訊原是很正當的事，但我們若因此著了迷，欲罷不能，遲睡遲起，以致親近神和晨更的時間都被吞吃了，顯然我們是已經受了「上網」的轄制；若是這樣，我們就該藉著禱告，學習攻克己身叫身服主的功課，結出聖靈的果子—節制。要知道若我們放任自己，撒但就會藉此不斷地轄制牢籠我們，使我們的心和時間越過越被霸佔，而漸漸遠離神，落落到更不敬虔的地步。

故此，當我們蒙聖靈光照，看見在日常生活中有某件事正轄制著我們的時候，就應立刻藉著禱告來經歷基督的得勝。


經上說：「基督釋放了我們，叫我們得以自由。」（加五1）但願我們都能在生活中，真正享受那在基督裏的真自由，使主在凡事上居首位、得榮耀。:)

Have you make God the centre of your life ?

Let my walk speak loud, And my words be true
Let my life be whole, with my eyes on you
Lord I'm stepping out, from the comfort zone
Letting go of me, Holding onto You.

Freedom comes when I call You Lord
You are Lord my God,

I make you
The centre of my life.

Broken things can become blessed things if you let God do the mending.

[The vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter. Jeremiah 18:4 ]

## When my wife and I were engaged, her dad gave us a special wedding present. As a watchmaker and jeweler, he made our wedding rings. To make my wedding band, Jim used gold scraps left over from resizing other rings—scraps that were seemingly without much value. But in the hands of this craftsman, those pieces became a thing of beauty that I cherish to this day. It is amazing what a master craftsman can do with what others might view as useless. ##

That is also how God works in our lives. He is the greatest Master Craftsman of all, taking the wasted pieces and broken shards of our lives and restoring them to worth and meaning. The prophet Jeremiah described this when he compared God’s work to that of a potter working clay: “The vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.” (Jer. 18:4).

No matter what messes we have made of our lives, God can remold us into vessels that are good in His eyes. As we confess any sin and submit ourselves in obedience to His Word, we allow the Master to do His redemptive work in our lives (2 Tim. 2:21). That is the only way for the pieces of our brokenness to be made whole and good once again. — Bill Crowder

祂，是给第二次机会的上帝。

几年前的今天，美国航空1549航班上的155名乘客，以为当天是他们的死期。飞机由纽约市起飞后，撞上了一群雁，以致两个引擎丧失运转的功能。在一阵无动力的滑行之后，机长巧妙地闪避人口稠密的地区，同时宣布：「准备迫降!」 在90 秒内，失灵的飞机紧急降落在寒冷的哈德逊河上。许多船只和渡轮随即赶来救援，所幸机上的乘客及机组人员无人伤亡。这是事件即称为“哈德逊奇迹”，飞行员及空服员也倍受赞扬。一名心怀感恩的乘客说：“我们得到了生存的第二次机会”。

    在危机时刻，我们会把握每分每秒。然而，在日常生活中，我们经常会忘了每一天都是一个[第二次机会]。「我们不致消灭，是出于耶和华诸般的慈爱，是因他的怜悯不致断绝。每早晨这都是新的；你的诚实及其广大！我心里说：『耶和华是我的分，因此，我要仰望祂。』」（耶利米哀歌3章22-24节）

      我们应当感谢上帝的恩典与慈爱，相信并仰望祂的时刻眷顾，因为祂总与我们同在。

今天，也是上帝给我们的 [第二次机会]， 我们切要珍惜，把握当下。

Simplify

"We lose the joy of living in the present when we worry about the future."


In a radio interview, a basketball superstar was asked about his knack for making the game-winning shot in crucial situations. The reporter asked how he was able to be so calm in such pressure-packed moments. His answer was that he tried to simplify the situation. “You only have to make one shot,” the player replied. One shot. That is the essence of simplifying a difficult situation. Focus only on what is in front of you right now. Don’t worry about the expectations of your coach or teammates. Simplify.


Recognizing that the challenges of life can be both overwhelming and suffocating, Jesus urged us to take matters in hand by simplifying. He said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matt. 6:34). This was His wise conclusion to His teaching on the debilitating power of worry. Worry doesn’t accomplish anything positive; it just adds to the sense that we are drowning in the troubles we are facing. We must take things as they come­—one day at a time­—and trust Him for the wisdom to respond properly.

..

...

....

.....

......

"Don’t worry for your future needs,

It will only bring you sorrow;

But give them to the Lord instead,

He’ll take care of your tomorrow."

-Sper-

:)

Two Words

[Submit to God - James 4:7 ]


In the annals of US advertising history, one of the most efficient slogans ever is the California milk producers’ two-word question, “Got milk?” With that phrase, the group captured almost everyone’s attention. In surveys, the slogan was recognized by more than 90 percent of the people polled.


If “Got milk?” is so good at reminding people to drink “cow juice,” perhaps we can create some two-word slogans to remind ourselves to live more godly lives. 
Let’s turn to James 4 and try it. This passage gives four specific guidelines.


1. Give in!  Verse 7 tells us to submit to God. Our sovereign God loves us, so why not let Him run the show? Submission helps us resist the devil. 
2. Get close! Verse 8 reminds us of the value of drawing near to God. It’s up to us to close the gap between us and God. 
3. Clean up! Verse 8 also reminds us to make sure our hearts are clean. That happens through confessing our sins to God. 
4. Get down! James says we need to be humble before God (v.10). That includes viewing our sin as something to weep over.


Give in! Get close! Clean up! Get down! These pairs of words may not look as good on a T-shirt as “Got milk?” But they sure will look good on us. — Dave Branon

四月八日

我为基督的缘故，就已软弱，凌辱，急难，逼迫，困苦为可喜乐的。因我什么时候软弱，什么时候就刚强起来。（哥林多后书 12：10）

主说：[ 我的恩典是够你用的。]
因此，当我们到了一切都身不由己的时候，反而应一无挂虑。
所有的患难，痛苦，凌辱，逼迫，反成为我们得到祝福的条件。我们可以藉着这些条件向父神支取恩典。

苏格兰的盲人传道家乔治。马得胜说过这样的话：
“父啊，我还一直没有为我的不幸感谢过你。
 而我为自己的幸福感谢过你千万次。
 却没有为加在我身上的刺（失明）感谢过你一次。
 我一直追求那因背十字架而得的奖赏，
 而我从来没有想到原来背负十字架 本身也就是荣耀的奖赏啊！”

朋友，
求主让我们知道十字架本身的荣耀；
求主让我们知道我们身上的刺的价值；
求主让我们知道痛苦的路乃是通往主台前的阶梯；
求主让我们知道我们流出的眼泪将铺成天际的彩虹。

A soft answer turns away wrath. Proverbs 15:1

John Wayne, famous American actor and film icon, once said, “Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.” His advice is hard for me to follow since I’m a fast talker and I don’t always speak quietly or limit my words. However, this idea of controlling our speech can be a useful tool when dealing with anger. The Bible says we are supposed to be “slow to speak” (James 1:19), and that “a soft answer turns away wrath” (Prov. 15:1).

Gideon gave a soft answer during a verbal scuffle with some fellow Israelites (Judg. 8). Just after his army defeated the Midianites, a group of his countrymen criticized him sharply (v.1). They were miffed because they missed out on the main part of the battle. Gideon did not fling back a rough response. Instead, he reminded them that they had captured and killed the Midianite princes. He also honoured the men by asking, “What was I able to do in comparison with you?” Finally, “their anger toward him subsided when he said that” (v.3).

With the Lord’s help, we can defuse heated situations by reining in our words. Responding gently and carefully to angry people can promote unity, for God’s glory. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Lord, set a guard upon my lips,
My tongue control today;
Help me evaluate each thought
And watch each word I say. –Hess-

**Bite your tongue before your tongue bites others.

Reasons to Never Give Up..!!

7 Reasons to Never Give Up..

1. Breaking through inspires. Lifts your spirit, what more the lives of the people around you. You will never know who's life you may save by being an example.

2. Your breaking through the toughest of times, is normally your best story ever. Many years from then, you would smile, reminisce and stand grounded like you won the greatest battle ever.

3. It brings the best out in you. You would never know what you were capatable of till you are cornered to be resourceful. Then you will be amazed by the things you could do. Every time you attempt the breakthrough you get better.

4. You are wired to persist and achieve. You are the same child that stood up everytime ypu fell when you were learning to walk. And you walked, ran, jumped and some even somersaulted over time. If we were wired to persist and achieve, then how come at times it feels only right to give up ? Conditioning created the comfort for us to settle.

5. Anything that challenges you after that seems all too easy and simple to handle. Yours of experience would have built the greatest of resourcefulness that in a snap of a finger, gets you on top of things.

6. What awaits you beyond the toughest of times will surprise you. Think of what you would have missed if you were just 2mm away from it if you dropped to your knees and called it quits. Many a times, you're that near to it, and you make a u-turn with a sigh. It is God's way of giving it to the deserving soul that stays the course.

7. Giving hope rather than Give up. Giving up is easy, so easy. All you have to do is walk away, sit, complain and experience what you rationalized as the world turning its back on you. In the grander scheme of things, hope empowers. It probably spurs the same amount of energy that giving up would do, but it creates magic. Giving up is tragic..


:)

“你的存在绝非偶然”

[ 我是你的创造者。在你未出生之先，我已经看顾你。] 以赛亚书 44: 2上

“你是你总有因，你是神精密计划的一部分。

你是祂完美宝贵的独特设计，是祂所挚爱的男人或女人。

你像你总有因，神是决不会出差错，

祂把你孕育成形，正是祂所深爱的那人。

神为你挑选双亲，不论你感受如何，

他们是神按照祂计划为你量身特制的，

并盖上大师的特许印章。

不！你所面对的不幸遭难绝非易事，

神也为你伤痛留眼痕，

神允许这一切发生来塑造你的心，

要你长成祂的样式，

你是你总有因，上主用杖练你成形。

亲爱的，你是你，

因为我们有一位神。”

-Russell Kelfer-

Small Things

Skeptical about the usefulness of a small lunch, Andrew said to Jesus, “What are [these five loaves and two fish] among so many?” (John 6:9). Yet the little lunch in the hands of Jesus turned out to be a huge blessing. So, before you think that you don’t have much to offer Jesus, consider this:

  Edward Kimball, a Sunday school teacher in Boston, decided to visit a young man in his class to be sure he was a Christian. That day he led that man, Dwight L. Moody, to the Lord.

 

  Moody, the Billy Graham of the 19th century, had a major impact on Wilbur Chapman. Chapman, a prominent evangelist, recruited Billy Sunday to join in his evangelistic campaigns. In turn, Sunday launched a national ministry that had great results in cities like Charlotte, North Carolina. An organization that started as a result of Sunday’s revival invited evangelist Mordecai Ham to Charlotte. In one of those meetings, Billy Graham received Christ as his Savior and later became the most prominent evangelist of our time.

When you think you don’t have much to offer, remember Sunday school teacher Edward Kimball, who spent a Saturday afternoon reaching out to someone in his class. God has a special way of using routine faithfulness in the “small things” to accomplish great things!

What may seem insignificant,
Mundane, routine, or small
Is often used by God to show
His power over all. —Sper

God uses small things to accomplish great things for His glory.

Tips for Giving Encouragement..

Tips for Giving Encouragement:

*Be Sincere: 

Don’t say it if you don’t mean it. People see right through flattery.

*Be Specific: 

It’s nice to say “Well Done”, but it’s much more effective to explain exactly what part of the job was well done.

*Don’t Delay: 

Say it when you think it or the opportunity may be lost for good.

*Do it in Public: 

Praising people in front of others adds to the impact.

*Put it in Writing: 

Thank You cards or encouraging notes can be looked at often, and kept forever. There are people who keep a file of every complimentary note they’ve ever received. Surely that says something about the power of encouragement!

“That dress really looks great on you!”, “You’re such a reliable person!”, “I admire the way you handled that situation!”  -- Compliments like this can make our heart sing and give us a lift for the rest of the day. A well placed compliment can even change the course of someone’s life.

Peeps.. How often do you praise and appreciate your workmates, friends or even your family..?

Let’s practice this in our daily life.! :D

饶恕的功课

饶恕不但是使他人得到释放，更是让自己的心得到自由。 因为饶恕比刑罚的力量为更大。然而有时，对某些人来说，要忘记或原谅一个人，很简单；但或许对其他人来说，要他们去饶恕一个自己讨厌或不喜欢的人，并非一件容易的事，反之来说非常困难的。

让我们来看看：主耶稣赞在本多彼拉多面前，受兵丁戏弄，守群众讥笑时，祂仍不还口。甚至到最后主耶稣被钉在十字架上的那一刻，祂仍求天父赦免他们，饶恕他们的过犯。（马太福音 6：14-15）

亲爱的朋友，你愿意得到天父的赦免吗？

来吧！从今天起，我们求主赐下一颗饶恕别人和自己的心。因为主早已饶恕了我们，祂因担当我们一切的罪而被钉在十字架上。今天，我们应当遵主的教导，学习饶恕别人，做个蒙主所喜悦的孩子。 J

Gong Xii Gong Xii..!!

Happy Chinese New Year advanced Everyone!

For those who are going back to hometown or any vacation.. 

Have a safe journey yaa..!

Take Care ya.. ! 

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR..!!

新年蒙恩！！

丰盛的生命

耶稣又对他们说，

我实实在在的告诉你们，

我就是羊的门。

凡在我以先来的，都是贼，是强盗。

羊却不听他们。

我就是门，凡从我进来的，必然得救，

并且出入得草吃。

盗贼来，无非要偷窃，杀害，毁坏。

我来了，是要叫羊（或作人）得生命，

并且得的更丰盛。

Therefore Jesus said again,

I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.

All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers,

but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the gate: whoever enters through me will be saved.

He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

I have come that they may have life,

and have it to the full.

忽然起了暴风雨。 （可 4:37 ）

在信徒的生活中，许多风雨都是突然之间起的像：忧患，失望，失败，病痛等。也有许多风雨是渐渐而来的，起初只有手掌那么大的一点，后来渐渐给我们威胁。

无论怎样，这些风雨都是神所许可的，为要我们的益处。神愿意有像树祂就栽了一颗，祂让它在风雨中飘摇，才能使它根深干高，成为林中之王。照样，神愿意造就一个可用之材，神就把它放在风雨之中，让它经过风雨的生活。世上许多的伟人也是如此。如果神要用一个人，祂必定会先答应了这人奉献的祷告：

[ 主啊，拿我，劈我，用我。]

然而风雨一过，自然的美就显得更完全了。天空中装饰着彩色的虹，草木上镶着闪光的珠子。照样，风雨之后，信徒要穿上圣洁的生活，脸上带着属天的光彩。

♥ 亲爱的，你经历过神所预备的风雨吗？你愿意免去意识的痛苦，从风雨中逃出来呢，还是让风雨抬你到更高，更丰盛的生命去呢？♥

生命的活水

人生在世短短数十年，不顺遂的事却十之八九，惟有不时地饮取那生命的活水，让真正的平安，敬虔，健康与信仰，来滋润我们的身心灵，人生道路才能喜乐洋溢，芬芳满径。

• 平安，永恒的生命

　　“平安”是基督徒之间常用的问候语，但究竟有多少人明白，这简单两个字所带来的祝福是什么？其背后的意义和付出的代价又是什么？

　　真正的　“平安”　能超越各样险恶的环境，让人在任何景况里，始终确信神的同在。神所赐的　“平安”　是永恒的一部分，凡在基督里的就是在永恒里。因此，“平安”　就在基督里，是神自己，神人与神的和睦；“平安”　是神藉着祂独生儿子的死，败坏那掌死权的，把永恒的生命赐给相信祂的人。

• 敬虔，见证福音

　　人如何能保持一生无病无灾，性命永存？什么方法都没有。无怪乎圣经里，圣灵藉着使徒保罗写信激励，劝勉提摩太：“操练身体，益处还少；唯独敬虔，凡事都有益处，因有今生和来生的应许。”　（提摩太前书 4:8 ）

　　“敬虔”　是感恩的心，　知道自己是蒙恩得救的罪人，若非主的怜悯，使得一息尚存，否则早已沉沦，毁灭在未知的时空里。

　　“敬虔”　是心怀战兢恐惧，作成得救的功夫；是以感恩之心，享受主为我们预备的丰盛，并以欠债之情，告诉周遭所碰触的每一个人，让世界看见神的怜悯，恩慈，喜乐，平安及能力。“敬虔”　是从生命点滴中自然流露，如活水涌流般滋润，供应所有需要的人，见证神美好的福音。

• 信仰，通往永恒

　　“信仰”　是从人生痛苦的挣扎中，提升出来的真实，也是通往永恒的真理，道路。“信仰”　不是一套宗教哲理或教条，更不是怪力乱神的自我麻醉与贪婪，而是所有造之物生命的源头，是起初也是末了。“信仰”　是造物主对人类爱的宣言，更是属天永生的荣耀。

**若我们接受主耶稣完全的爱，合神的关系得以恢复，那么灵魂必能兴盛，忧愁惧怕不再，身体自然健壮；每天在基督里敬虔度日，领受上头来的智慧，经营神所托付的每一份产业，将如约翰三章二节所说：“凡事兴盛，身体健壮，正如你的灵魂兴盛一样。”只要愿意，其实我们也可以白白地聆取着生命的活水。:)

Orientation of Year 2011

It's been a year since our last orientation, and quite some time after our last post. LOL. Time flies, and usually it flies real fast. It's a blessing that our fellowship is now 3 years old. HAHA. Yeap, it all started with just a few people, and now we have around 15 members already.  Hallelujah and praise the Lord that we have grew in numbers. To be frank, we had and have always had problems when it comes to our venue for fellowship. And once again we should really give thanks to our Lord Mighty God for giving us the bigger space downstairs. =) orelse, we would suffocate in one small room.

One of the funny incident was, sister Xueying, the assistant of our Caring Department, was supposed to get ready 100 balloons for decoration. Imagine that wehy, 100 balloons in her car? LOL!! But then, when she reached, the balloons weren't ready yet, but the car was full of it already. All of our members had to come out and help bring the balloons in. HAHA. It was epic man! Too bad we didn't have the chance to take a picture of it. Then we have our ice-breaking session. They were supposed to pass the bread to the last person using their body, depending on what they've drew. We had lotsa fun, the whole hall was full of laughter. I guess. HAHA.

 

He ain't gay, he was just passing the bread. Don't get him wrong. LOL!!

Next we had praise and worship, by sister Kaiyun. Of course, how could we forget to praise our God after having so much fun? :) Later, we had a short speech from our advisors, which are Mentor KeeSern and Mentor David. Then followed up by our cute sotong Moniter, sister Carol Phua, who made a presentation about our fellowship and introduced the commitee of 2010/2011. As you can see in the picture, brother LeeDat is the only guy in the commitee. Lucky guy!! xD Obviously, our fellowships are lacking in terms of guysss. After all that, it's teeaaa timee. Just something simple, umm..packet drinks, sponge cakes, toffees and shortbread baked by one of our members. Seriously, the guys in our fellowship just don't grow up. They get fascinated when they see the balloons. And how itchy-handed they are, started to burst the balloons one by one and laughed at the same time. It was as though they were excited or something. Tsk tsk tsk.

 Praise and worship session by sister Kaiyun.

 

 

Mentor Keesern giving his opening speech.

Ohh..and don't forget our sotong Leader. xD

 

I believed this was quite a success as everyone had a blast. And let's all pray to God that the attendance will continue to maintain in this manner, and hopefully will grow in numbers too. We should really be thankful that we can have a fellowship to grow mentally and spiritually together. There're actually some churches out there that doesn't have or doesn't have the chance to establish one. So, always be grateful with what we have. And may God give us wisdom and strength to serve him and glorify his name. Let's all work together and make our fellowship the best fellowship ever!! Amen. =)

The commitees, with only one guy. HAHA

 See, these guys just don't grow up, stick themselves in the bed of balloons. LOL

Food and drinks!! 

Interaction between the members and also the mentor.

 We are one big joyful sotong family!! :D