Come Ready to Praise!!!

There's a stirring in my heart all week that as we approach Saturday, lets get out of our comfort zones, if you can remember the lyrics to the song, put away the paper instead of hiding behind the security of it and let us just praise our King, regardless of how we feel, what is running through our heads, and how our week has been,ignore how the instruments sound. Lets just lift our praise, and give Him honour, give Him glory, & magnify His Name with our hearts, with our hands, with dancing & pour out our all.

Here are the questions for discussions. Once again, pick any question, if you want to share more than one, bring it on!

1) What are some of the struggles/ fears or things that will cause you to hesitate when it comes to stepping out to serve in Church?

2) Did you apply what you learnt last Saturday on giving Him your all? Share about what you learnt or discover, or what happened?

3) Share your understanding of what it means to 'fear' the Lord prior to reading the chapter, and what it is now.

More questions to come....

If you are free this Sunday between services, Jasmine would like to have a real live audience to practise her presentation.

Connect Group Special!

Hi Gals!

I've been really encouraged by each of your sharing last Saturday. Thank God we serve Him who speaks today and who loves us so much to give up and leave us where we are but desires to grow us into His likeness!

For this coming Saturday, read chapter 6 of Draw Near.

We will begin at 4pm.

Michelle will be cooking Tomato Mee!! (some Kuching dish).

Bring some cash with you so we can split the cost.

I think we should play rapid dough again!!

Questions for this Saturday will be posted by Thursday night.

We will discuss and sought out transport for Edge Conference. Bring your roster with you. :o) Sarah, Michelle & I will be going shopping for conference this Friday night. Anyone else wanna come along?

Suyin, if you are free, it would be great if you can come and join us for dinner & play rapid dough!

Twinkle twinkle little Moon...

COMING SOON THIS SEPTEMBER >>> OZASIA MOON LANTERN FESTIVAL

Missing home this Mooncake Festival? Wishing you were with your family? Do not worry, you are not alone! When the full moon rises high on this special night, we would come together to think about the strong bonds that unite us, eat moon cakes, and enjoy being together under the moon. This event will feature schoolchildren and community groups from across South Australia, parading hand-made traditional and contemporary lanterns, together with storytelling, martial arts, music, dance and Dragon boats on the Torrens River.

Date: 25 September (Tuesday)
Time: 6 pm
Venue: Elder Park (next to Adelaide Festival Theatre)
Duration: 3 ½ hours
Fee: FREE (only if you bring your friends along! hehe…)
Meeting place: Haigh’s Chocolate Rundle Mall @ 5.20 pm
Food: Domino’s Pizza, Moon cakes and Hot Chinese tea (cost to be shared equally and to be confirmed)

So lock in this date to have a meeting with one of God's creations Mr. Moon! ^_^

Note: Please notify Michelle the number of friends you are bringing the latest by 24th September.

the prodigal son's brother

Luke 15: 11-31

This parable on the prodigal son has always stuck out as special to me. The lost son coming home empty, humbled, humiliated and broken knowing that he has nothing left to offer his father, yet the father welcomed him back with a feast! What an amazing scene that is.

And yet, there's the other part of his brother feeling left out. I wondered why Jesus wanted to add that part in. The brother, on seeing the celebration felt angry and refused to go into the house. He said, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yhour who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you killed the fattened calf for him!'

The brother was being realistic. His feelings might even be justifiable.

But that is not how God wants our attitude to be. The father's reply was this, ' My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours. But we have to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again: he was lost and is found.'

What is our attitute towards lost sons/daughter and new christians? Are we encouraging them in a way that makes them grow in the Lord? The brother was looking at the situation from a 'me' perspective and how he thinks it should be.

I wanna conclude that instead of getting upset at situations that seems unfair, we should rejoice that the lost son humbled himself to come home to the father.

Chels

Miracles [by matthew lee]

Hi all,

As you may know, I decided to move over to Sydney, Australia to be closer with Chelsie. It was smooth sailing thus far, but with enough hiccups to prove that God is still in control of everything.

With my limited work experience, it was tough to secure a job in Australia without having an Australian work permit. By God's grace, my ex-colleague was willing to submit my CV to her boss, knowing that the company has had instructions world wide to cut down costs. What does this mean? Well, no hiring foreigners and having to bear the burden of sponsoring their visa... During my last visit to Australia in June 07, I went for an interview with my then prospective employers. The interview went well, almost an hour long. Before it ended, I was asked, "What can I say to assure my employers that I'm not hunting for a job in Australia just to jump again in the near future?". This was a fair enough question, as I had worked for 2 employers within a span of 2 years in Malaysia, both having justifiable reasons for change. I told them "I'm moving to Australia to be closer with my girlfriend", and that was good enough an answer for them.

I had another left week in Adelaide after our trip to Sydney. While in Adelaide, the verbal offer came through! I was fairly surprised as I didn't think I did that well to impress in the interview. I was told that they would still need to get higher management to approve the offer, due to the cost-cutting measures. If all goes well, a letter of offer should arrive in KL the following week.

When I arrived back in KL, the offer letter came a week late, as there were some minor hiccups in getting the approvals. As I made the decision to leave my job in Malaysia to move to Australia, there were still uncertainties then. Will my work visa be approved? Do I have enough finances to survive? What about my family back in Malaysia? As I took the step of faith to be closer to the one I love, God, in his mighty way, took care of my concerns one after the other.

As my visa was delayed due to administrative issues, I would be going in to Australia on a tourist visa. Having purchased a one-way ticket, I was told I may encounter problems at Australian immigration. Having packed 33 kgs of luggage when I was only allowed 20 kgs (and having my appeal for additional allowance rejected), I was prepared to pay for the additional 13 kgs, which would have cost a bomb.

It was truly a miracle that my additional 13 kgs was not charged a single dollar at all! And also, at Australian immigration, I was not asked a single question, despite entering on a tourist visa with a one-way ticket.

Having arrived in Sydney, I had planned to put up in my uncle's place till I managed to get a place of my own to rent. My visa was delayed again and again, each time telling me it would be approved soon. Chelsie and me were worried, but we still believed that God is in control. Thank God, it was approved on 20th of August! Having seen so many units, I managed to shortlist 4 that caught my eye, and submitted applications for rent around the same time. I had to trust God, as out of the 4 that I shortlisted, I had a priority of preference. Deep inside of me, I felt like God was testing me, seeing if I still place my trust in him. My 4th preference was the first to respond, asking me to decide on the spot. I turned it down, thinking that I have 3 more options. After I had rejected my 4th choice, the 2nd choice called to say that I was rejected, as the owner preferred a female tenant. This made me down a little, as the 2nd choice was a very nice unit, though the priciest of the 4. Then my 3rd preference called and wanted a decision by the end of the day. My 1st choice told me they could only respond the following day. I really felt that God was telling me to trust him, as I had done for my whole journey thus far. I picked up the phone, and told the real estate agent for my 3rd choice that I am waiting for another offer, and that he is free to rent the unit to others if possible. In other words, I'm saying no to my 3rd choice. With only my 1st choice left, and having started work, I was desperate, but comforted myself that God will take care of me. True enough, I managed to get my 1st choice, and will be moving in on the 25th of August!

God is a God of wonders, as His ways are much higher than ours.

I leave you with the passage from Proverbs 3:4-5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Regards,
Matthew

=)

Get Ready....

At this Saturday’s connect group, we will take time to listen and share what God has been saying to each individual as you read chapter 4 and 5 of Draw Near.

We are not after model answers, we gather to build one another up and help one another grow, so lets not be afraid to be vulnerable and open our hearts.

Consider the following questions and be ready to share your responses to all questions:

1) In the beginning of Chapter 4, John Bevere writes “Over this time I’ve
discovered two major groups within the church … The first are those who
seek God for what He can do, while the second seek Him for who He is”.

Which group do you see yourself? (pg 51)

2) Who is God to you? or Who would you say God is to you in your life?

3) What area(s) in your life is God asking you to ‘step out’?

4) John Bevere mentions that psychology tells us that relationships we’ve
had over the last 5 years will shape our personality. He also states that
this is affirmed in Scripture: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits” (1
Corinthians 15:33), and “He who walks with wise men will be
wise” (Proverbs 13:20). Have you had periods in your life which
exemplified either or both extremes? What were the results? (pg 66)

5) What is ‘worship’? What do you understand by ‘worship’?

God calls David a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22). When God looks at
us, would He say ‘You are a Daughter after My heart’?

Read 2 Samuel 6 & 7.

****************************************************************************
Meditate on:

• Psalm 103:1

‘Bless the Lord, O my soul; and ALL (winnie’s emphasis) that is within me, bless His holy name!’ – Psalm 103:1

• Psalm 149:6

• Deuteronomy 6:5

If you require transport, please let me know. Girls living in Village, pick up will be at 1.30pm. It would be great if others can make their way to Village too.

Connect Group @ 2pm this Saturday

Look out for food-for-thought to be posted soon.

If you haven't touch based with your prayer buddy for awhile, why not take the opportunity today to catch up on one another's prayer needs.

What did you just say?

A very long blog, but come with me…
It may seem like scattered thoughts, but don’t stop, keep reading…

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2 Saturdays ago, I struggled with a stinking heart attitude. Have you ever had one of those days? Mine lasted for 2 weeks as I wrestled with God.

At the back of my mind I knew I was ‘giving out a strong stench’ and it was coming from a sense of disappointment and helplessness mix with ‘failure’ to transfer and zap to life that which lies dormant and in slumber. I just wanted to give up! I was like having a go at God, emptying out verbal vomit ‘what’s the point, why should I waste my time? Why can’t I have and live ‘ME’ days, just U & me, and not carry a burden and passion to see Your children step into the purposes and call on their life, living and walking in that abundant life, responding passionately to Your passionate love for them and their every actions be a love respond to Your love.

This year I had been there a few times, felt that, push through that ‘I want to give up, & as long as I’m growing in You, why do I need to bother about others growth?’. But the Spirit wouldn’t give me peace, wouldn’t say yes to giving up, yet I allow myself to be led and dominated by my emotions and fed my frustration and disappointment every other day of the 2 weeks.

Do you know, what u feed yourself with in the private, determines what comes out in your words, actions, decisions, and determines whether your sight and sensitivity to His presence and voice.

I’m passionate about worship. Each time I worship, I throw everything out of the window and go to my Lord in abandonment. Before I get on stage to lead others into His presence, I make sure I get a revelation of each song in my own time with Him, that what flows out of me, will not be a performance, but it will be birth from my intimate time with God & revelation.

*****************************************************************
We have been singing Saviour King in Church. The words that so grip my heart is:

‘Let now Your Church shine as Your Bride
That You saw in Your heart
As You offer up Your life’.

I’m passionate about His Church. Passionate about raising a generations of passionate lovers of our Saviour King. I love songs of declaration and prophecy. God saw His Church shining even before His death and He went to the cross for His Church.

In ‘Hosanna’ opening lyrics:

‘I see the King of glory, coming on the clouds with fire, the whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes…’

Verse 2: ‘I see a generation, rising up to take their place, with selfless faith, with selfless faith, I see a near revival stirring as we pray and seek, we’re on our knees, we’re on our knees’

My question to us is, what do we see?

What do YOU see?

We can’t be women without vision, we can’t live a life just seeing things in the natural.

Women of God, we are empowered to ‘call into being that which does not exist’!!
So what you you see?
And what are you doing with what you see?

Are the things you ‘see’ bigger than yourself?
Awesome!!
Get on your knees & seek His face & call it into being!

I see a generation rising, that’s why I am passionate about the generations. I see army of God with my spiritual eyes.

I see the King of Glory coming, each time I declare those lyrics, I see it, I see it.

What do you see? Cos it determines the cost you are wiling to pay. It determines the sacrifices you are willing to make. People with convictions and have seen and seen and seen, will lay down their lives for the Cause.
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God challenged me…
“What did you sing passionately in Saviour King just 2 hours ago in church?’

I replied:
‘You ask Your Son, to carry this, the heavy cross, a weight of sin. …
I give my life, to honour this,
The love of Christ, the Saviour King’

And He asked me:
‘what are u giving your life to? What does the word ‘this’ refers to?

And He showed me a picture and narrated the scene:
‘people jeered and mocked Me
yet it was for these very people I carried the cross
and walk and walk and walk
with thorns as My crown
I walk and walk

I saw the scene played out, and Jesus turned to me and asked, Winnie will you come and help me carry this weight
And walk with me?

My frustration was silenced. Tears couldn’t stop streaming as I drove. I sang I give me life to honour this, it was a declaration of commitment, of love and yet my ‘complaints’ far reflected what I sang.

God carried the heavy heavy cross, and the nails that He bored were sharp, they were so sharp it pierced right through His hands, into the wooden cross. And yes, He could hear the mocking of people, He could see the passer-bys who just stared, indifferent. He knew they wouldn’t appreciate Him yet the depth of His love for us led to His unfailing commitment till death. He saw what could be, that with His death, men & women will be given a gift of hope, a gift of life.

My God called and gave me the privilege of serving Him & shepherding His people (carrying the cross), what a humbling privilege, but I would be nailing Him repeatedly and spitting at His offer to carry His cross. I had loose sight of the cross at that moment of dwelling in my frustration and heartache for that which I cant change and move.
It is not about me, it never is about ‘I”, but always about ‘others’ and Him.

Girls, just as God has challenged me again, I challenge you now, let us not be found offering ‘lip services’ to God, being caught up with the atmosphere others have created by pursuing His heart. Let us not raised hands and worship and offer an emotional response which has no roots, no commitment, no substance in it.

I’m challenging myself, and speaking to myself as much as I am to you.

Listen to yourself, listen to what you are singing.

What does ‘giving honour, giving your life means?

Song after song after song we make powerful declaration of a surrendered life, giving total devotion, wanting more of Him, He’s all we need etc etc. Is it really true? Do we really mean it? Do we live lives with such hunger, such abandonment in pursuit of Him and nothing else is more important? Let the words sink…

Yes, we need to response to His passionate love for us with our hearts. No we can’t disengagement emotions from it.

But there has to be more depth than a few minutes of emotional response at a service, and come back again for another round the next week

Kris Gug. challenged our Creative team this week. No preacher would ‘dare’ to preach if he hasn’t got a word from God and has something to say. He asked us, what do we have to say / impart as we go on stage? And he said, don’t go on stage if you haven’t got anything to ‘say’. Go ask God for something to ‘say’ cos even though we don’t have the preacher’s microphone, but singing is very much preaching too through body language, through leading in the spirit etc.

What do you have to say to your friends? What does your life say about your Saviour?
****************************************************************.

Wherever you are at in your journey with God, lets continue on this journey together. Lets encourage and spur one another to not sit, get comfortable and ‘fat’ with messages on Sundays, but to lead transformed lives, passionately pursuing our Lord, as He had given us the greatest act of passion and love by dying on the Cross.

As Darlene said to the younger generation at Hillsong Conference, we serve a Holy God, let us never water that down, and walk in His presence with watered reverence for our King, dishonouring what Christ has done for us.

Committed to this journey with you…
Much Love,
Winnie

Scroll down....

Have you viewed our blog twice yesterday?
Scroll down...this is the 3rd post in 2 days! :o)

Come ready to share with one another anything which you have learnt in the last 2 weeks from your journey of Drawing Near to God or journalling.

Hope you are enjoying and finding the Draw Near devotion useful as much as I have...

We will be starting connect group 4pm @ my place.

Anybody who needs transport, please meet 3.30pm at the Village. If you would like us to pick you from some other place, please ring to arrange with myself or Sarah.

Feel free to bring any snacks or food if you want.
For dinner, we could call in pizza or indian food

oh oh oh
Kareeann, can you please bring Rapidough?

I think someone left their copy of 'Draw Near' at my place...

Praise GOD!! Mike Gug is being healed!!

Here's what Mike has posted on his Myspace..

"HEY GUYS!!!! INCREDIBLE NEWS!!!! THE HEALING PROCESS HAS BEGUN!!!! TODAY I WENT TO JOHN WESLEYS CHAPEL IN BRISTOL. AS I STOOD IN WESLEYS PULPIT GODS POWER TOUCHED MY BODY!!!! TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT. I LEFT MY WHEELCHAIR THERE!!!! MY BACK IS HEALED, MY HIPS ARE HEALED, MY LEGS ARE HEALED!!!! I STILL HAVE PAIN IN MY UPPER BODY BUT IT HAS STARTED!!!! PRAISE AND GLORY TO THE KING OF ALL KINGS!!!! MY SAVIOUR, MY PORTION, MY FREEDOM, MY HEALER!!!!!"

This Edge Conference is going to be AAMMMAZZZING!! 1 year ago as Mike stood and prophesised miracles in the House like never before and a rising prayerful generation, there wasnt a trace of cancer in his body. Now exactly 1 year, God has carried him through cancer, and is healing him right now!

Let us not found to be passive, luke warm, lethgaric Christians attending church and miss God's passion, miss His presence and walk right pass it, instead of being passionate Christ lovers, Christ disciples who can't get enough of Him, can't get enough of His Word, can't get enough of His presence & take ownership, standing together with the rest of our Edge family & His Church around the world to celebrate Mike's healing & expect for such an unprecedented move of God at this Edge's Conference.

We are going to see miracles breakout like never before.
There's a thirst and hunger & growing faith in the House.

God is rising a generation who will stand, who will not give up, not give in, who will storm the gates of hell & live passionately for our King.

Will u be part of this generation?

Connect Group This Saturday...

Connect Group will be held at 4pm this Saturday.
Venue to be confirmed.
Please read Chapter 3 of Draw Near
and Psalm 1.
We will be hearing from both John Bevere and Ps Brian Houston.

I encourage you if you have read Chapter 3 of Draw Near, to read it again.

You see, one thing I have learnt in my journey is even if I have heard a certain message over and over again in church, even if the speaker is boring, even if 'I already know',
there is a spirit to 'catch' behind what the preacher is saying, what the words in the book is really saying. Learn to be watchful, to speak to your soul (like David does) that as u read and listen, let there be such a well of hunger within you. Thats why you can have a quiet congregation, quiet individuals, but let me tell you, you can sense and you can see the level of hunger in a person. U often hear how a preacher says to a congregation, 'u bring the best out of me, i can feel your faith or hunger that draws even more out of my preaching'.

When a preacher, worship leader, or a book is being written, they are not just words or just lyrics. They were birth from revelation, from Godly men & women of God who seeks after His heart & are not here to transfer head knowledge to us, but wanting to impart something of their heart which they have received from God to us. So please please please, before anything else ie. emotions, reasoning etc.

Lets honour John Bevere for being obedient to the voice of God and writing this book, by not reading it without capturing more than just head knowledge (since we have committed to going on this 12 weeks journey), cos out of our mouth, actions, responses and decisions, shows whether there has been understanding and revelation in our lives.

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From this Sunday, please take individual responsibility to sms and call for transport to Church. You can either contact me or Sarah, and give us ample time for organising transport.

Draw Near series will no longer be part of a 'formal connect group' weekly thing. The choice will be yours to decide whether you want to press forward in this journey or you want to place some level of priority on it. Its cool if you are not ready etc etc, we can still all catch up on Sunday during lunch. God loves us too much to leave us at whatever level of maturity we are at now, and I assure you, as you decide to commit yourself to drawing near, the 'carpets' in your life will be lifted, things swept under would be taken out and totally cleansed, weak foundations will be shaken and demolish to build solid foundations, mindsets, perspectives etc will be challenged.

Keep your eyes on our blog everday for the next few days, as there will be multiple posts leading towards connect group.

Are you really a Christian?

I was brought up in a Christian family but never accepted Christ personally until when I was 14, I remember it was during a youth camp. That moment of accepting Christ was just great, every moment and minute I talked to the Lord, just enjoying his presence.
I am a Christian now, I can conquer the world! Really?

Mr X: What does it mean to be a Christian?

Me : (*mutters under breath*come on give me a more difficult question..) God being the centre of my life, He is my priority; I live my life for him.

Mr X: So how does your life show it?

Me: I go to church, go for Cell group, and do my devotion everyday.

Mr X: But do you know that there are a lot of people that go to church every week and serve in every ministry and say that they Love God but in fact they don’t have a relationship with God?

Me : what?! Dun bluff….How can it be?

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:21-23)

I heard a message preached on Matthew Chapter 7 and in it was the above verses that kind of made me rethink again how I’m living my life as a Christian. Jesus speaks these words not to people who do not know him, but to people that have been religious, serving in the synagogues, people that know him.

It came as a shock to me. What if 1 day when I stand at the Judgment seat and the Lord says “I never knew you”. We’re not talking about being in prison for a number of years. We’re talking about Eternity here!

I certainly don’t want to live my whole life and then find out at the end that I’ve not been living it right but rather I’ve been deceiving myself to think that my life is ok. How does God determine that? Christ says in the following verses:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matthew 7:24-27)

Jesus singles out 2 kinds of people in this example. People who say and don’t do, and people who hear the word and don’t do. I then started asking myself, am I like that? Many times we hear God’s word and know the right thing to do but follow what everyone else does because we don’t want to be viewed as an outcast. We say that we are Christians but our actions reflect poorly on God. How then can we say that we are Christians and that Christ is the centre and that we live my life for him?

Its really not easy being a Christian but the Holy Spirit empowers us to be witnesses for him through our Thoughts, Words and Actions.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

We’re not perfect and never will be until Christ comes again but come on Gals! Let’s be found constantly examining our lives, desiring after him and desiring to live a life that pleases him not just contented with knowing that he is in our hearts

In his Love

Sarah

No Connect Group this Week

Hi Everyone!

There will be no connect group this week.

Ps Nikki is unable to make it at 12:00pm and is not available all Saturdays leading up to Edge Conference. She is however free on weekday nights, say following Monday night.

Michelle and Kareeann are unable to make it this Sunday.

How are you all going with journaling your journey of 'drawing near' to God?

Each time I listen to lesson 1, this declaration that John Bevere made always stands out 'drawing near to God is our responsibility'.

I pondered over it & isn't it true how often we tend to fall back to a 'passive' christianity? We serve a God who is in hot pursuit of us and often times I think we tend to fall back and wait to be pursued, wait for the right season, wait for the right timing, wait for a convienient time, wait till we are ready or till we feel like we can 'do' it, or till we are happy with everyone around us etc.

However, a passionate (what words did u use to describe ur personal understanding or definition of passion/ passionate' in the little activity we did prior to watching the DVD?) lover is one who takes responsibility and who pursues her Lord, forsaking all; who WORSHIPS with ALL her heart, ALL her mind, ALL her strength dying to self / regardless of how she feels, what she is going through, feverently, with TOTAL DEVOTION live a life that speaks I WILL praise, I WILL love, I WILL run, I WILL, I WILL, till I see His face.

Lets continue on this journey, encouraging one another to live extraordinary lives, (soo possible, because we serve an extraordinary God who has empowered us) consecrated (set apart), passionate about our Creator, our Saviour KING.

Keep presevering and praying :o)

Love,
Winnie

...pray continually... for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus

Prayer has always been an important aspect in our daily walk with the LORD. When we first accept the LORD, the first thing we do is say the sinner’s prayer. Before we go to bed or wake up in the morning, we’ll say a prayer. Before we have a meal, we’ll thank the LORD for our food. There are even ‘methods’ of how we should pray. My pastor (in M’sia) and many other preachers I’m sure have always encouraged the A.C.T.S. pattern of prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. Due to the fact that I’m not good at explaining stuff and that I’m computer illiterate and therefore don’t know how to add links to the blog, I’ll copy and paste a snippet from google below. I think I need to add that this is not a must-method of prayer. It’s just a structure that we can follow:

Adoration is to adore God, to worship him and to fulfil the commandment to love him with all of our heart, mind and soul. As we spend time in adoration, we praise God for who He is - our Creator, our Sustainer and our Redeemer.
Confession allows us to clear away the things in the relationship between you and God which are displeasing to Him. All of us have sinned. St John writes in his epistle "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (I Jn 1:8,9)
Thanksgiving. From childhood we are brought up to say "Thank You" when someone does something for us, or gives us a gift. Each moment God is blessing us, every minute we can recall the wonderful things that God has done for us, and the gifts that we have been given. And so, we need to be constantly thanking God for his blessings. In writing to Timothy, Paul makes it clear that we also need to be giving thanks for everyday, worldly things "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." 1 Tim 2:1.
Supplication or Intercession. Finally we come to ask God for our needs and the needs of others.

I know that this is not my turn to put something on the blog, but I just wanted to share some of my thoughts with you all. God hears us in whatever way or situation when we come to Him. He does not ‘need’ our prayer. He is God and already knows what we need or what we want to bring to Him. If this is so, then why do we need to still pray? Or can’t we just pray ‘LORD, you know my thoughts and wants, AMEN’?
This might probably open up more thoughts, ideas… but I believe that prayer is for us. We pray to encourage ourselves, encourage one another and as an act of worship to the LORD. Prayer is our part in the relationship with the LORD. I believe that the LORD made prayer for our benefit when the focus is on Him. It is His will for us to be prayerful. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Chelsie

P/S: I wanna thank all those who have been keeping me in their prayers esp my prayer buddy Kareeann and my ex-prayer buddy Jasmine and all of you in the connect group who have been my friend. Thanks also to Winnie for dropping by and visiting me just because she thought i acted weird. :) Thanks also to Sarah for all her comical jokes and to Michelle for her hair curler. :) {not sure how to use it yet}. Thanks also to my housemates and Jebbie who have been great laughing buddies to me. {sounds like i won the oscar eh?}

Tis week, am supposed to encourage somebody, so i tot of encouragin ya'll. :) will keep all of you in my prayers...

Questions for this Saturday

Hi Gals!

Sorry I hadn't post the following questions earlier. I've been busy preparing 2 job applications to be submitted tomorrow & Monday.

Most of you would have heard...

WINNIE is now an AUSTRALIAN PERMANENT RESIDENT!!!!
(I'm gonna get my visa sticker in a few hours, to ensure my residency status is stamped, sealed, permanent permanent!!)

Have a think and jot down your thoughts to these questions:

1. What does it mean (how would you react? what would you do? etc) to be a ‘member’ of a family in the following scenarios:

(a) Birthdays
(b) Get-together
(c) Trials
(d) Discouragement / Encouragement (e) Sickness

2. Jot down some phrases and descriptive words reflecting your understanding of:

(a) passion/passionate
(b) rooting yourself (in an environment) (c) priority
(d) knowledge vs revelation

and grab your copy of Drawing Near & read chapter 1 & 2!!

Come with an expectant heart. You will be challenged & encouraged!

Past Present and Future

One fine day, a girl was praying silently as she spoke out to God:
Dear God, please tell me what should I speak about YOU with the lovely sisters I met here?

Then came a gentle and soft-spoken voice:
Tell them the journey you have with me for your past 20 years Michelle!

So here I am with my Past, Present and Future…

Past: I was brought up as a Roman Catholic and thought I knew God very well. I thought by attending masses very Sunday, reciting prayers like the Lord’s Prayer perfectly, obeying the rules on special occasions such as fasting during Good Friday will show that I’m a good daughter of HIM and that’s the whole picture of being a Christian. This is way wrong! I was never walking with Him as much as He desires to walk with me. I ignore every chance that He could reach and speak to me. When trials come, I shut myself up and instead of turning to Him; I rather suffer in pain and worries and let my brain overtakes my feelings, instead of letting Him to take full control. Little did I realise that the existence of God in my life has becoming more like a religion routine and not a relationship. Of course I did pray when I need Him, but in good times, He was a total stranger to me. I started running away from God, feeling ashamed and unworthy of His love. However that does not make me a better person! My life started falling into pieces and it seems like I’m losing control in everything I once thought I had control of.

Present: I went back to Him knowing that I cannot hide from Him anymore. He gave His pledge to all those who believe in Him that whoever who search for Him will find Him. He wants to build the intimate relationship with us and His spirit will guide us through each step in life even during stormy days. “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged - Deuteronomy 31:8”. Indeed, He never leaves me but continues loving me far beyond my expectation. It was then I realise what an almighty and great Father I have in heaven, how could I have gone astray thinking that I can face the enemies of life alone? I wanted to have a relationship with Him, to share the ups and downs and to leave the wheel of my life into His hand knowing that He is the captain and all I have to do is to obey His command. But I love Him, what can I do to make Him glad after all that He has done for me? I know! That is to serve Him. Christianity is no longer a small frame; it is a far bigger picture that it seems to be.

Future: A faithful servant of God and a Christ-like girl who knows that God’s answer is always the best because “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take – Proverbs 3:5-6”. Wish I knew this earlier, guess it’s never too late to know! ^_^

I pray that all of you will continue to be faithful because in faith, He will provide. Have a blessed week ahead fellow princesses of the almighty KING!

Love always,
Michelle