You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.
[Psalm 23:5-6]

A table? A table of what? A banqueting table. A feast. He indulges me in front of my enemy. God seeks to benefit me so that I can glorify Him. The devil doesn't like it that I'm enjoying a luxurious meal with my Father. Every bite I take of that wonderful buffet makes the devil mad. My Father and I find that very humourous indeed.

He then proceeds to anoint my head with oil. He blesses me greatly with this anointing. The oil is a type of Holy Spirit. And because of this, I am greatly filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. My cup overflows. I cannot contain the blessings and riches that He pours out on me. (John 7:37-39)

I become like a magnet for blessings of His goodness and mercy. The New Living Translation says "Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life".
All this because of His Grace and Love. Because He is my shepherd. I shall not want / I will not be in want / I have all I need / I shall not lack. Not only for my sake. But for His honor and glory.

I think I was more encouraged than them when I saw that they were encouraged at what I was initially encouraged about.

This is what I learnt today. Today made me realise how much God is directing and blessing my life. I've been constantly encouraged since I got in to the car to go to school this morning. Listening to Reinhard Bonnke's sermons really inspire and encourage you. Shared about God's goodness in my life during 'Praise Life' which Lynette was teaching.

During Prayer School, I received the words, "Right place at the right time." An then, God showed me to head down to Plaza Singapura. So thats where I had the first meeting with Mark today. The first of many more to come I hope. After that I took a bus to Suntec City to submit the timesheet for Life Bookshop. I met Natalie Francois on the bus and it brought to mind her brother. I prayed for him on the bus.

After submitting the timesheet, I started to walk back to city hall MRT through the city link mall. I remember feeling a little tired at the thought of having to take so long to get home. So I whispered a prayer to God. Thats when I bumped into Patricia who was making her way to meet Loong and Gloria at Marina Square. She invited me to join them and I did. It was such a good time of fellowship. I felt that God was showing me a glimpse of what He wanted me to do in the future through that meeting.

Could it be coincidence?
No.
Providence...

Blessing With Our Overflow
I've been having this in my heart for quite a few weeks now. A strong sense that God wants to empower our church. Not in the general way he wants to empower every Christian. But in a specific way that will help us achieve His purpose. God doesn't want to send the wounded and unarmed into battle. It would serve no purpose in sending us unequipped! It would do far greater harm than good if He allowed that.

But these few weeks have been nothing but amazing. Our times of worship have been going up spiritually. We are meeting God more often in church! I'm praying that it'll become the standard. Praise God that He is constantly revealing more of Himself. He wants to re-lay our foundations so that we are REALLY strong and secure in Him.

In Luke 24:49, Jesus told the disciples to wait for the power before they went out to minister to others. You see, God didn't intend for us to just have the Spirit when we were born again. He wants us to be filled till we overflow! It is His desire to see us prosper and succeed in life! And because of this abundance, we will have something to tell people about. Don't you find that whenever you truly encounter God, you really have something to talk about? Isn't it better to have something about your God that you love, that you can boast about? Things that would spark people's interest in to finding out why God is so good to us? We have to be UTTERLY CONVINCED how great our God is before we even attempt to reach out to others.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. [3 John 2]

Obedience to God

Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites.
No one went out and no one came in. Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." [Joshua 6:1-5]

Instructions from God sometimes seem to make no sense. But as you see how the story goes, obedience to God's will releases a power that no circumstance can withstand. The story continues with Joshua making sure that all the instructions were followed. And when they did and gave a shout of victory at the end, the walls came down.

But imagine that you were one of the soldier's in the army of Joshua, marching around the walls everyday. What good would marching do? Logically, these instructions made no sense. But God often made no earthly sense in the past. But that didn't stop God from bringing victory right?

When I'm in God's will, difficulties, doubts and trials will definitely come my way. The devil will make sure of that. But these are merely acts of desperation on his part.

Imagine a soccer player tearing down the length of the field towards the opponent's/enemy's goal. The defender is desperately chasing you down and from the corner of your eye, you see him launch into a sliding tackle to try to cut you down from behind.

This is the moment in many people's spiritual life. This is the moment where you have to make the decision to either keep running or stop and be taken down. But in this moment, you have to remember that we're leading in the match 10 goals to nil. The defender cannot stop you from winning the match. The choice is whether you want to score that goal. It really takes the pressure off, doesn't it?
I want to score that goal. I want to fulfill God's will in my life.

What good is a shelter that doesn't protect?
What good is a shield that cannot be used?

What good is salvation if it is NOT for the blessings?
What good is Jesus Christ if He did not mean for us to live in victory?
"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." [John 10:10b]

What is the point of rituals and tradition if there wasn't a reason and purpose?
Aren't these things put in place to bring to our remembrance the power and authority given to us?
What good is it if there is nothing we can gain from it?
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. [2 Tim 1:7]

And if there is nothing we can gain from our relationship with God and from His promises, doesn't that mean that we are no different from mere religion?
What do we have to share about to the world then?
What do we have to rejoice about then?

"Would we still love God if there weren't any blessings?"
There's no need to think about that because the fact is, there ARE blessings.
"Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." [Psalm 35:27-28]

The question is, "will you believe and receive the blessings?" There very reason I rejoice when I go through difficulties and trials is because He blesses me with the ability to get through them. I can tell you right now that my God is not small. My God is rich and abundant! When my Father is rich and abundant, I am rich and abundant as well! I crave for God and His Word because I know He is good.

MY GOD BLESSES!!!

The end of another exam today. Time really passes quickly when you're having fun learning. September has been quite a draining month for me though. The Amy Sand Concert really took out a lot of time and energy. But I praise God for the chance to see 600++ people worshipping God in Church of Singapore. I think I was ministered to more than the people who came to see Amy Sand. During the worship, the praise leader shouted "Hallelujah!" and the people in the chapel, 2/3 of them were workers from China, shouted "AMEN!" in unison. I hope I'm getting this across when I write it. When I say unison, I really mean unison. I mean it sounded like a really loud united sound. I didn't understand the chinese lyrics of the worship songs or what the praise leader was saying, but I did recognise the love and adoration toward God. And I definitely recognised God's presence in that chapel.

Its funny, I think back on the times when I was in army, specifically SISPEC, and how much emphasis is placed on the marching and keeping in step. My section leader would always holler at us, reminding us, "One sound, one sound. You all won't stop until I hear one sound."
And we would go on and on marching till we got it. But thats in the natural. In the spiritual, it is so much easier. There's no need to spend hours in practice. Spirit-led worship is always united worship!

~~~ When I Speak Your Name ~~~
Jesus, the most beautiful name of all names
Jesus, the only name that brings healing and strength

When I speak your name
mountains move, chains are loosed
When I speak your name
darkness flees, it has no hold on me

Jesus, the most beautiful name that I know
You're the exalted one
Jesus, you have the power alone
You lift the lowly ones, Jesus

Jesus, the most the wonderful name of all names
Jesus, the only name that brings freedom and hope

[Be exalted (x3), higher and higher] x8
No other name (x4)
| Christ for the Nations Institute - Overtaken |

What a day. Spent the afternoon at parkway parade. First to Burger King for lunch and some reading. Then I made my way to the post office to find out more about the air mail rates for Eileen's really belated birthday present. (sorry =P)
Then I went to NTUC to buy ingredients for the spaghetti bolognese I was supposed to cook for the Rhema class gathering later that night. Thank God that I made the spaghetti. It was the only staple food available. Besides the delicious pie made by Phyllis. So after eating, we finally got down to sharing about our lives and passions. The whole thing was headed by Martin, the year 2 monitor. He's hilarious I tell you, but we were laughing more at the way he said things than what he said. We made our way through the testimonies of different people. I was really encouraged by how God worked through the lives of the different people around me. How He made things work out so that they could come to Rhema. There are no accidents when you walk in God's will. Its all well-planned.

Anyway, it came to my turn to share about how God brought me to Rhema. I felt God speaking through me. I remember seeing all of them listening intently to what I was saying. It really surprised me that I could keep talking while sharing my testimony. Clarence said to me while fetching back home that during the testimony, he heard God saying, "Here is someone I can use."

Oh, those six simple words that built me up in my spirit. It is such an honour and a priviledge. Immediately, my mind raced back to the words of prophecy and words of encouragement given by Reverend Patsy and Sani, a missionary I met 2 years ago on a mission trip. Here is a summary of the words of God on my life. The following is a quote from my blog on the 10 June 2004.

"To date, I know that I have a passion for worship/music, a desire to be used by God (a dangerous man for Him), I've been called special in God's eyes (everyone is!), been envisioned with wings (to protect others) and been described as having a heart like David. I also see myself giving God glory on a stage. These are like many sides of a shape that God has planned for me to be."

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."
| 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 |

2 weeks without blogging. I'm alive and well, praise God for that. I've just been really busy these weeks. Almost everyday now is packed with activities, be it work, practices, church or cell group. It almost feels weird to be sitting here at the computer on a saturday evening.

I really thank God for sustaining me through this two weeks. Sometimes you don't realise how blessed you are till you really sit down and think back. Being out of the house from 7 in the morning to 10 or 11 at night isn't something I think I'd be able to do in my own strength. I felt symptoms of the flu coming on before the last weekend. But praise God, through claiming His Word and drawing strength from Him, I was able to recover in 3 days. For those who are raising eyebrows and questioning what the significance is, the fact is that I'd usually take a week or more to recover.

Thinking about it, I have come to realise that our lifestyle has a lot to do with our general health. I've been brought up in a society where, in order to take a rest or to avoid something we don't like doing, I have to declare myself sick (aka. see the doctor to obtain an MC). Be it in primary, secondary or tertiary level, army or work, I had never once looked forward to it the way I look forward to school(Rhema) now. NEVER. In fact, I often dreaded going to school as a child. Thank God for positive changes!

Thank God for battles won! Thank You that the only battle we fight are those with ourselves. And even with those battles, we are the favourites to win. The odds are for us because He is for us. I'm positioning myself in the victor's podium.

And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.
Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.
You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you."
| 2 Chronicles 20:15-20 |

~~~ Found ~~~
Amazing love,
now what else shall I need
Your name brings life,
it's more than the air I breathe

My world was changed,
when Your love You gave for me
My purpose found
and all that You want for me

And I've found myself in You, Jesus
And I've found myself in You, Lord

So take me to a place
where I can see You face to face
and all I wanna do, all I wanna do
is worship You
So take me to a place
where I can see You face to face
and all I wanna do, all I wanna do
is worship You
| Hillsong - Mighty to Save |

There are songs which have so much power in the lyrics. So much anointing that comes from the voice of the vocalist. They grip the attention of your spirit and all pretense and semblance of Christian pride crumbles to pieces. You realise that it is because He loved us first. He redeemed us before we even had any idea that anything was wrong. You realise how wonderful He is when you think you're falling and He catches you. And you see that all along He's been watching you and looking out for you.

And from that, confidence in Him grows. You become sure of your steps knowing that He gives you balance, He gives your strength to walk and He leads you in the right direction. You start to run because you know even if you do trip and fall, He'll be right there to catch you or pick you up.

I love you, Father...

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back.. ..to that place (home again).
| Jeremiah 29:12-14 (NKJV & NLT) |

Is it right for me to be discontented? Is it wrong for Christians to be happy? Is it wrong to have hope in what the bible says we have? To be reminded and encouraged that although we were sinners, we have been cleansed by the blood. And we rejoice that Jesus took away / removed / obliterated / annihilated / destroyed / eradicated / wiped out / dissipated / blotted out / omitted / forgotten our sins. That is the cause for celebration. That is the cause for rejoicing and praise!

We do not neglect the wonder of salvation. No! It is the platform and the basis of the power that is in store for us. The writer of Hebrews urges the church to move on to solid food. (Hebrews 5:12-14)

Hebrews 6:1,2
...let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

Look what is included in the "milk for babes".
- repentance
- faith toward God
- baptisms
- laying of hands
- resurrection of dead
- eternal judgment

The question is... Have we been getting the "full cream milk"? Hebrews 5:13 (AMP) says "For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]!"
1 Peter 2:1-2 includes the "laying aside" of "all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking"

What is the doctrine of righteousness?
We are made righteous through faith (Romans 3:21-26)
Our Righteousness through Christ overcomes sin (Romans 5:12-21)
As simple as confessing the Lord Jesus and believing in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. By believing in the heart, we are made righteousness. (Romans 10:9,10)

Who needs solid food then? Hebrews 5:14 (AMP) says that they are for "full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law."
Another translation for full grown men is mature or perfect. It seems like quite a high requirement doesn't it? Who can claim to be perfect?

Thank God that even the apostle Paul didn't think he was perfect. In Philippians 3:12-16, Paul said, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Paul didn't claim to have attained perfection! He said he had not apprehended (obtained, understood, comprehended). But still he strove on. Paul continues to say, "Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind."

The Hebrew word mature or full grown is the same as the one used in hebrews 5:14. Being mature is about knowing what we have already and then digging deeper to find out more about God. Philippians 4:16 gives me the impression that maturity is not something that we can attain. But its a state that we must be in. The state of always seeking to learn more and hungering for more of the things of God.

Who's hungry?

If some Christians who have been complaining of their ministers had said and acted less before men and had applied themselves with all their might to cry to God for their ministers -- had, as it were, risen and stormed heaven with their humble, fervant, and incessant prayers for them -- they would have been much more in the way of success.
| Jonathan Edwards |

So be it.

Prayer meeting was good. I love how willing the Holy Spirit is. I love that He would come simply when we ask. I love it that He stays and people can just enter into His presence. I love it when I see people recognising the difference when He's around. Power for ministry comes by the Holy Spirit. Maybe thats whats lacking? Maybe? Prayer works. But it can be limited by man. I need to learn more about the Holy Spirit so that I can teach in the future. Its such an integral part of the Christian walk that it isn't funny how little the church delves into Him. We need Him and more of Him.

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.
| Luke 24:49 |

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.... And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
| Acts 2:1,4 |

Would there be a need to tarry or wait for this power if it wasn't important? Was it a coincidence that it was only AFTER this infilling of the Holy Spirit that they were anointed to preach and teach with signs and miracles? Would I dare be so bold as to say the church can only grow if the Holy Spirit is present? Would I be so audacious to say that a church WITHOUT the Holy Spirit CANNOT grow? Or that its growth would be stunted?

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
| Acts 2:38-47 |

Note that it was because of the baptism of the Holy Spirit that came first and foremost. Verses 42-45 about doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer came as a result of being baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they were praising God and having favor with the people. People want to meet and fellowship because the Holy Spirit is there too. It all stems from the beginning. Being baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for salvation AND receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Now ask me why the Lord isn't adding to our church daily those who were being saved.

The idea is to be so familiar with scripture that you're able to quote it off the top of your head. I think I'm getting there. For now, I only remember several lines of scripture. What I do remember though is key areas or chapters in the bible. Romans 8,12 for Living by the spirit, John 14-16 about Jesus and the promise of the Holy Spirit, Acts 1, 10, 19 is about the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Hebrews 11 is about faith, Ephesians 1 and 3 is about praying for Christians to develop in their spiritual growth. But there's so much more to be uncovered and revealed! The crawling stage of school, the 1st term is over, its time to take baby steps. I want more.

How come there are restrictions? How come there's a ceiling? How come they don't see the Word? How come?
Its time to dig in deep. Deep.

My take on Psalm 42
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I long for you my dear God. I yearn for more of You.
To be able to stand in your presence
in the midst of like-minded people
To be able to rejoice with reckless abandon
How long more must I wait?

I am accompanied by disappointment
They don't see You, You don't matter to them
What happened to those joyous days
Where we would dance and sing
and simply linger in your presence?

Such a let-down, have we fallen so far?
My happiness was in You
To have a taste of heaven
and they took You away
But my memories drive me closer towards You.

I am almost overrun by difficulty
I can hardly have a glimpse of victory
But I know, His love surrounds me by day
and a sweet song by night
which I sing back to Him

Have You forgotten me?
My heart is bruised and hurt
because they don't see You, You don't matter
Why do I despair?
Don't I have every reason to?

Although I am cast aside
My joy is complete in You
and I give You praise where it is due
You put a smile on my face
And a glow of hope in my heart
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I woke up today feeling pretty lousy. My body was aching from the drumming during AWE worship. (I'll get to that in a moment) My head was aching from all the thoughts rushing through my head the night before. I seriously didn't feel like going to church. I went to the computer to try to install the new hard disk that I'd gotten but I couldn't get it to work. At that moment, I really felt very useless. I was telling myself that I had to get ready for church or I would be late. It was 10:45am and I was still contemplating. I finally convinced myself that I should go for service. As I was walking back to my room to prepare, I told myself, "this isn't the way I should be behaving!!"

Thats when I started to pray in tongues and began to thank God and praise God for how good He is. Luckily there was no one at home because they would have be scared by my shouting, "Hallelujah" and "Praise God". And thats when I started to feel better! Praise God that when I stepped out of the elevator to the lobby, there was a cab waiting for me.

"I don't ask my body how it's feeling; I tell it how to feel"
| Smith Wigglesworth |

Oh the audacity of Mr Wigglesworth! Well... its according to the bible so you've got to credit his boldness. You can't blame Mr Wigglesworth for being like that! You've got to blame the author of the bible. I wouldn't want to mess with God. =)

So anyway.. we had the All Worship Event (AWE) yesterday at Toa Payoh Methodist Church. The whole thing was fantastic. This is my first time playing for so many (500) people. It started off pretty unpolished. But after the testimony, things really began to flow. I loved the way my snare rang out when I worshipped. I've never played so happily before. And to see the youths on their knees in awe of my God, it made me want to worship even louder! I really enjoyed myself and I pray that this will be the start of something great within the methodist church.

Ok... I admit, the last post was pretty hard to read. But the idea is that you read the verses in the links provided. But even then its pretty hard to read without any commentary. Basically I was trying to prove that the inheritance that the apostle Peter was referring to was something that we have access to now.

So anyway... Today I learnt from Mark 4:13-32
From this passage, we see that the seed is the Word of God and the soil refers to the hearts of man. There are a few things we need to know about seeds.

1. Seeds don't look like their potential
2. Seeds are powerless until planted.
3. Seeds take time to grow.

There is tremendous potential in a seed. You can't number the potential fruits a seed will bear. The same goes for the Word of God. It holds infinite possibilities and incredible power. The things we do (prayer, bible study, serving in church) are just tools that we use to facilitate ideal conditions for the seed to grow.

How do we plant the seed?
If we look at the scripture in Mark 4, we see that the Word is sown by hearing. The difference is that in verse 20, the good ground, the ready hearts accepted it. The key is to hear and accept it UNTIL IT REGISTERS IN MY SPIRIT.
There is a seed for every need. The bible covers every need. But the Word of God is powerless until it is planted in our hearts. Faith to believe comes when the Word is planted in our hearts.

When you speak and pray the truth, the Holy Spirit agrees with you and power flows. The idea is to plant the seed, and return to it, watering it. When we understand that the seed planted in good soil is guarantee of results, we become assured. Voila, faith is produced. Faith produces faith.

Our inheritence

1 peter 1:3-5
this is 1 peter 1:3-5 in 5 different bible versions.

VERSE 4: the NIV and NASB use the phrase "kept in heaven for you". The
other 3 use the word "reserved". What I learnt is that it is reserved for us but
we have access to the inheritence NOW. I will elaborate more later.

VERSE 5: "who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time" (NKJV)
the verse starts of with who are kept. this shows that the verse is referring to
people, us, kept by the power of God through faith for salvation.

What is ready to be revealed in the last time?
the salvation of our souls / minds!

1 peter 1:6-9

VERSE 6: The presence of various trials tests our faith, gives glory to
God

VERSE 9: Receiving the end (goal, result, outcome, reward) of our faith.
Refers to the salvation of our souls

James 1:21-27

James 1:21 ==>; Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:22 ==>; The word is able to save our souls. Not JUST by hearing but by doing. In our ministry, our service, our works.

Ephesians 1:11 ==>; They use past tense.
"obtained". Through Christ we have this inheritence already. Jesus died so that
we receive the inheritence.

Faith receives the inheritence. And with this inheritence, we have what we
need to go through the various trials that test our faith.

I've been playing for the worship sessions in Rhema almost from the get go. I'm not complaining. I'm more than grateful for the opportunities to serve. The question is how do I take this service to the next level? This can't be it.
I thank God for the opportunity to play for the CAC All Worship Event. Gerald was supposed to play for it but he broke his finger. Poor guy. I'll also be playing for an upcoming rally with some chinese artiste. Steven Goh approached me a couple of weeks ago to help him out. Hopefully I don't embarrass myself.

I just got thrown into the deep end of the pool yesterday. I accompanied my sister to go register for driving lessons. My intention was just to book a date for the basic theory test but it seems the whole system has been changed and now they allow you to take driving lessons even BEFORE you've taken the basic theory test. So to make a painful story short, I transferred $1000.00+ into the account they created for me. Mummy described me as being in shock after that. She did offer to pay for the whole thing, bless her heart, but I declined. I guess this puts me on the fast lane to exercise my faith. I will never be in lack. I mean, God covered the cost of this time of training even when I wasn't asking for it! How great is God?!?

You'll let me know when I'm ready

On 6 August 2006, we were having prayer in the choir room before service.
"..For the mentality change in the leaders. And a change within all of us. So that we may be sent forth. So that the church can move in the right direction..."

I read this a couple of weeks later...
"One of the greatest needs of the church today is that God's people renew their minds with the Word of God. Just because a person is a Christian, and even filled with the Holy Spirit, doesn't mean that he has a renewed mind. The mind becomes renewed with the Word of God."
| Kenneth Hagin - Man On Three Dimensions |

I never had a scripture which spoke out to me so strongly before. Well, maybe Romans 12:1-2 about sacrifice and true worship. Like how a membership card always comes with a booklet stating the benefits? Imagine that booklet summed up in one simple scripture. Imagine the weight of the words declaring the truth to unlock and unleash the power, anointing, and promises of God. This would be it. This verse includes us into God's chosen people! This verse is the stamp of confidence that we have!

So you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians--you are one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.
| Galatians 3:26-29 (New Living Translation) |

My first day of school. Expectations change today. Both people's impression of me and my expectations of myself. I'm no good at crowds and being in unfamiliar situations. I find it hard to strike up conversation. Maybe because I'm afraid of sounding stupid. But thats just pride isn't it? Burn that!

Reverend Joseph and Reverend Stanley took some time to warm up today. But boy did they speak with power & boldness once they got there. The anointing was on them but I dare say that it isn't turned up all the way yet. My classmates & some of the seniors couldn't sit still after lessons because of their excitement. Why am I not jumping up and down in excitement? Why am I having such muted feelings in school? Could it be that I'm too serious about this place? I am having fun, don't get me wrong. I just feel that there's so much more!!! Maybe because I'm familiar with these topics. But dear God, don't ever let me become complacent. I want more of You!!

I smile to myself when I think of how simple it was to fall into my 'zone' of serving in worship. I volunteered to play the cajons for the worship session. Reverend Cynthia was so eager to try it out. I initially brought the church's cajon home to practice and experiment. Now I get to practice in a real worship setting. I tend to worry that I'm not as good as others. But if God calls you, whats there to worry about?

I'm reminded of sunday service yesterday. It was the last service in the sanctuary before the renovation. I'm not trying to imply anything or undermine anyone but was I the only one who sensed a difference? Coincidence? Most unlikely. Progress and growth comes from the Word. Knowing it and applying it. There were no stunts, no tricks, no fanfare. Just the distinct presence of God in that sanctuary. Flow comes from focusing on God, not by focusing on the flow. Revival comes from focusing on God, not by focusing on revival. The idea is to create a platform for the Holy Spirit to do His thing. Not to try to manipulate people or emotions. You can experience God through feelings and emotions but don't rely on them. God is always with us, the Holy Spirit always in us and Jesus always for us.

Some things I learnt from Joyce Meyer's "Battlefield of the Mind" and Watchman Nee's "Release of the Spirit".

Ms. Meyer starts of her book with a verse from Proverbs which I find really moving, both spiritually and philosophically.
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7)

Another verse from Romans puts it in more detail.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5)

If anyone struggles with their thoughts like I do, you'll understand how much this verse stood out for me. So often in our Christian walk, we are led by what we think is right. Or what we think is God's plan for us. Suffice to say, its our thoughts guiding our actions. But Romans 8:5 says those who live according to the Spirit will have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

So our actions affect our mentality?
Yes! Our mind has been "trained" by our actions since we were born. When we received salvation, our spirit was awakened, reborn, stirred up, re-kindled etc. (You get the point) But our physical and mental facilities remained the same. Therein lies the problem of ALL Christians.

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. (Romans 12:2)
I think many are familiar with this verse. I once believed that when paul said "do not conform" he meant that we were to rebel against the world. But I learnt that I was wrong. The opposite of conformity is not rebellion. When we rebel, we are still doing things in the flesh and by doing things in the flesh, we might be successful for awhile, but it will drain us. We're still doing battle on the world's playing field. I missed out the key point of the verse. You can almost hear Paul's plea. Be transformed! Be transformed by the power of the Spirit of God as He gives revelation. Be transformed by being in fellowship with God. Be transformed by being empowered and taking authority back from the devil. So that we claim back our dominion over things that are rightfully ours.

Our battlefield may take place in the mind but this is spiritual warfare. I remember in when was going through SISPEC in army, everytime we were getting ready to charge at the imaginary enemy, I would hold my rifle tight and mutter to myself, "Locked and Loaded!!" And it occured to me that its the same in the spiritual realm. We have to be locked in the Word of God and loaded with prayer and praise. Prayer is one of the best weapons.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

Bringing every thought into obedience. The weapons lay at your feet. The question is, would you take up arms and fight?