Seeing the unseen

Hi guys,

Just reposting this from my daily online devotionals:

Listen to this majestic picture of God in Job 26:14. “These are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” And 1 Peter 1:8. “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

I bless your softness in the hands of your Father when you don’t understand what he’s doing. I bless your surrendered heart to look for him when he’s not doing what you wanted or expected. Every season has its beauty and is preparation for the next season. In this time of the hiding of his power, take faithful steps of faith and obedience, faith and obedience. Beyond obedience, even when you don’t see him, be blessed to love him with joy. Although you don’t see him now, be blessed to believe in him and be filled with glorious inexpressible joy… his joy.

Be blessed with eyes to see the fingerprints of his ways in your ordinary days, knowing that he says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

When you know you don’t understand and when you think you do, the earth keeps shouting to you that he is completely faithful. He is as faithful as the rain and snow that water the earth and make it bud and flourish and yield seed for the sower and bread for the eater. That’s the law of the harvest. He promises that his word to you is like that. “It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).

As you see seed time and harvest in the natural realm yield its return every year, come into his courts with praise that you will reap a spiritual harvest as you sow in faith and joy. Worship leads you to rest and trust in his faithfulness, his sovereignty, and his love. Be blessed to see that God is there, increasing your knowledge and experience of himself. Know this: with each place he takes you in those sometimes not-your-first-choice circumstances, he draws you deeper into himself.

Even when you see only the edges of his ways, hear only his small whispers, and cannot understand him, he is the best. Even when he seems to have withdrawn from you, he promises that “you will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12). Remember that in the spring time when the trees are in blossom and in the autumn time when the leaves are turning brilliant colors. You can celebrate him in the growth points of your journey, even in his faintest whispers. Remember Elijah. God was not in the violent wind, or the fire, or the earthquake, but in the gentle blowing of the still small voice. Be blessed to line up with his still small voice practically and in prayer. Be blessed with an “upgrade” of your image of God, because what you think about him, who he is to you, is the single most important element in trusting him and bearing fruit in every good work (Colossians 1:9-13).

God bless for the IB examinations/A levels (if any stumble upon this blog :P) and in everything to come in the next month

x Jayce!

Notice

Hello all! Hope you've all had a good rest over the past few days :)

This is just to let you all know that FireAC will still be going on every morning, starting this Thursday. Do bring a bible and a willing heart, and see you there!

(:

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

Come and see the works of the Lord,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

--

Dear friends, press on (: Trust wholly in Him, keep your mind steadfastly on Him, and He will grant you perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3) May this exam season be one of drawing nearer to the Father by delighting, resting and trusting Him more and more and by marveling at His creation (we study His work!). In everything, let us do it in Christ alone, by Christ alone, and for Christ alone (:

Take care, and do pray for each other!

God is faithful

My dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings to you!

As we are in the midst of or preparing for our examinations, let us remember that our God is faithful in every season of our lives, and that He is forever worthy to be praised.

Here is a song that i would like to share with you, may your mind & spirit be renewed in Christ as you worship Him in spirit, in truth and with joy:

Desert Song (This is Our God)

This is my prayer in the desert
And all that’s within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it’s way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I’ll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I’m filled to be emptied again
The seed I’ve recieved I will sow

God bless for the challenges ahead!

philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As we enter into the week before final examinations (or the final week of prelims), let's meditate upon this peace which is above and beyond our understanding! Amidst our internal/external/otherwise assessments which continuously test understanding (Criterion A anyone?), rejoice in the fact that we can, and should, delight in God's peace which we don't have to puzzle over but simply accept as a gift from God after having brought all our worries to Him :)

Praying for you all,
rachelmiao!

(PS if you remember, a couple of weeks ago the leaders mentioned that anyone needing prayer could contact us - the offer still (and always) stands! Or you could leave a tag over there ---> :D)

Hi! :)

Been dead here for ages, but anyway hello again! I recently came across this article (as follows, click on the link cos it's really long... What I've posted beneath is only one paragraph from the middle to give you an idea of what it's about. Not the first paragraph cos it's rather morbid, as you'll find)

Not sure what y'all think of it - but I believed it brilliantly written. So yup, wanted to share it w you guys - esp considering the school's evangelistic movement. E.g. reviving the FireAC FB group or something (we have one right...? I think :P My FB is locked down so I can't check). Like it says, alot of the rationale is that social media reaches out to sooooo many people - and guaranteed not all will truly respond to all the 'Newsflashes', but perhaps an unsuspecting soul might one day. And one person is better than nothing, as we've always believed in ;)

So anyway, here you go -

What Would Jesus Tweet

...

Just when many of us who have been around the proverbial block a few times have made our peace with so many changes in how ministry is done, now along comes a whole new genre of technology and practice to sweep the world and invade our parishes and pews.
I mean, seriously, didn't we just get Power Point, like, last month? Now we are being told something about our face needing to be booked and some kid is asking us if we are on Twitter?

...

... And all the best for exams! God bless

Jayne

Coming Alongside =)

Let's never forget the great work He has called all of us, His children, to strive towards... =)

Coming Alongside

by John Fischer
__________________________________________________________

I am normally not a fan of ten steps to this or five ways to do that. But for one of my recent talks I came up with these six things to remember about being around those who may not yet be Christians, and thought some of you might find it useful.

1) Assume everyone is searching for God. Why? Because everyone is. We were created this way. God has purposely frustrated humanity by creating us with eternity in our hearts, yet with an inability to fathom what that is or what it means (Ecclesiastes 3:10-11). He has done this so that we might reach out for him and find him though He is not far from any of us for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:27-28).

2) Come alongside. This is really the crux of it all. Just walk alongside people and enter into their lives. Listen. Talk. Laugh. Cry. Find out where you can contribute and what you can learn. There’s something to give and something to receive in every relationship.

3) Point. You don’t tell someone what the truth is; you point to it. “There it is over there,” or “Here it is in my life.” This is why we need to learn to identify truth in the context of the world around us. Truth isn’t religious. You don’t have to get into a certain posture to see it. It’s not something that hasn’t been there all along.

4) Find out what people already know before you set out to tell them anything. Don’t ever think you have to clear the table and start over. This is why it’s so important to listen first. Find out what’s already on the table that you can use.

5) You don’t have to tell everything you know. Just the next thing.

6) You don’t have to correct everything someone says that is wrong. You are not the protector and defender of truth. You don’t have to decide where to draw the line. You don’t even have to be concerned if someone may be walking away with the wrong idea. You are not that smart anyway because you don’t know what’s in someone’s head. As long as they have something to think about, that’s a good thing.

And now here’s the one final thing that makes all this possible. It is the most important of all. (This is the one thing that makes all six of these make sense.) We don’t save anybody, convince anybody, “win” anybody to Christ or close the deal. All that is God’s business. The Holy Spirit is doing this all on His own terms and timetable. We are not salesmen, marketing reps, counselors or prosecutors. We are just friends who come alongside.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/09/19/jf_alongside/

Sent to me by Jayne =)