THERE IS HOPE!

There is HOPE, HOPE that we have IN CHRIST, SECURES us IN the SHELTER of THE MOST HIGH.

Psalm 91

 ¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High 
       will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 

 ² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, 
       my God, in whom I trust."

 ³ Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare 
       and from the deadly pestilence.

 ⁴ He will cover you with his feathers, 
       and under his wings you will find refuge; 
       his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

 ⁵ You will not fear the terror of night, 
       nor the arrow that flies by day,

 ⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, 
       nor the plague that destroys at midday.

 ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, 
       ten thousand at your right hand, 
       but it will not come near you.

 ⁸ You will only observe with your eyes 
       and see the punishment of the wicked.

 ⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling— 
       even the LORD, who is my refuge-

 ¹⁰ then no harm will befall you, 
       no disaster will come near your tent.

 ¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you 
       to guard you in all your ways;

 ¹² they will lift you up in their hands, 
       so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

 ¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; 
       you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

 ¹⁴ "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; 
       I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

 ¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him; 
       I will be with him in trouble, 
       I will deliver him and honor him.

 ¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him 
       and show him my salvation."

 

Let this encouragement from the Psalms be upon you today, as you trust in Him in this crisis. Some of us may have known friends and family members who may have come down with sickness and it is true that fear only comes when the virus comes so near as to infect your friends and family, hence, I pray that you will hold fast to His promise here, both for yourselves and others around you. HAVE FAITH, and FAITH will help you to PERSEVERE through this time of crisis.

HIS and I.H.S.

Caleb

 

School and H1N1

Hey Guys!

So, how was the first day of school like for you guys?
Anyways, just want to tell you guys that due to the H1N1 virus, FireAC is cancelled until clearance is given again. ):
If you have time to spare, please pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, the other schoolmates who have been quarantined ( as well as fireAC members who have been quarantined- namely, Caleb and Petrina) and the teachers in school who are making so much effort to ensure that the sickness doesn't spread.
Also, pray for those who have exams tomorrow.

Meanwhile, continue to pray and trust in the Lord.
Cheers! :)

The exams will be fine! ONWARD!

The Role of each Fruit of the Spirit

Often times, we hear how Love is the Greatest of them all (1 Corinthians 13:13). We see how it is always placed before the "fruits of the spirit" as we call it. But we see that in Galatians 5:22, it is the singular usage of the word "fruit".

What does this tell us about the Love? The love that God is shared abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit? It encompasses everything. I'm timely reminded of the Beatle's song "All you need is Love", well how true it is! Many things people do for Love, the Bible tells us that "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."- John 15:13

The Father has given up His Son for us, so like him, let the things that we do, the reason we live be Love. Loving our father in heaven in relationship, may our lives fulfill the call to be sons [and daughters] (Romans 8:15), above all else. In that love will we glorify him in joy, a joy in service and worship to Him. Knowing well that His arms are open wide, waiting for us to dwell in Him.

"Love requires a relationship personally between you and the father on a continuing, ongoing basis.

Joy is Love's Strength

Peace is Love's Security

Patience is Love's Endurance

Kindness is Love's Conduct

Goodness is Love's Character

Faithfulness is Love's Confidence

Gentleness is Love's Humility

Self-Control is Love's Victory"

(Ron DePriest. The Spiritual Mentor. Destiny Image Publishers, Incorporated. 2005.)

Let us learn more about our Father in Heaven, Loving Him more each day, glorifying Him in our relationship with Him today!

As a son in his Father's Service,

-Caleb

term three/studying

Hello ACSians! I'm sure that you've all recently heard about the verdict regarding the reopening of schools. With the CTs looming ahead and all for the year fives and sixes, perhaps you feel like you've lost precious time you were confident of being granted to prepare for the exams. However, I'd like to challenge all of us to respond with attitudes and actions pleasing to God by not having a grumbling spirit but a trusting and cheerful one, like as described in Philippians 2:14 :) Also, let's take the opportunity during this especially anxiety-laden period of time to share the love and peace of our heavenly father with our friends, classmates and teachers.

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

So brothers and sisters, do press on in your mugging/cramming, and take care not to fall into the traps of slothfulness or idolatry! If you've been undisciplined or unable to get down to studying, know that God sees laziness is a sin. And if you find yourself getting distracted you could study in a group, also taking the chance to pray with each other! At the other end of the spectrum, if you've been letting your studies assume a greater importance in your life than what is desirable, perhaps it's time to reflect and pray.

Whatever we do, our studies should be an avenue through which God can be glorified.. Yet so often we see this principle being applied in reverse (thinking of God as a means to help me study better). As we come to the end of the June holidays, I pray that we will return to school next week not haggard and burdened, but refreshed and with hearts on fire for God, desiring His glory :D

--

By the way, those of you who'd like to post anything on this blog, you can contact me :) I will try and figure out how to put my email on the right.

In love, rachel miao

Reflector- Planet Shakers
Since i've found your love
I've never needed anything to fill my heart
Even when i fall
You're always there with open arms to pick me up
From the start i knew
No one else could make me feel the way you do
Everyday i want to grow
Just a little bit closer, just a little bit closer

I want to be a reflector
I want to shine with your glory
I want to let the whole world know that you're
Living in me

I want to burn with your fire
Shine my light a little brighter
I want to let the whole world know that
Jesus Lives in me

This song contains so many messages for us, as God's children. Well, when i listened to the song, the first thing that struck me was that we should be actively going out and minstering to others. I've realised that i am quite a passive Christian. If anyone asks me whether i am a Christian, i would say yes and that would be the end of the conversation. A perfect opportunity to speak to others about my faith and my beliefs has just been wasted.

I've been praying about this and the roundabout evangelism is really a great platform for us to reach out to others who have their doubts about christianity but don't know who to approach. I'm sure in acsi, everyone knows about God from the weekly chapel services but not everyone has a personal and intimate relationship with Him. So, let's prepare our hearts and go forth and spread the word of God with all our brothers and sisters in school(: and show everyone what a difference it makes with when Jesus lives in [us]! Let's all strive to be shining examples of His children (:

even to your close friends, who are skeptical and ask you many questions, try not to start getting defensive. Instead, answer their questions with love as Christ would. If ministering to them fails once, don't be afraid to try again (: Let's look on the positive side. At least they're willing to ask questions and that's the very first step to getting to know Christ.

1 Peter 3:15, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (NIV)

with love,
liana

GIVE US CLEAN HANDS :)

We bow our hearts
We bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes
From evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh give us clean hands
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh God let this be
a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face,
Oh God of Jacob

Oh God let us be
a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face,
Oh God of Jacob

We bow our hearts
We bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble

We turn our eyes
From evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands--Oh God
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

i really love this song so much cos the lyrics are so meaningful to me :)
Today, God really wants us to have clean hands annd pure hearts that are after Jesus. hearts that are not corrupted; hearts that crave for pure spiritual milk. He wants us to be clean asnd free from our sins which make us rlly dirty.

God wants us to SEEK HIS FACE in ALL that we do!! that means put God first all th time-->put God in the centre of everything cos when God's in the centre of our lives, everything else will then fall into place :) let's try doing tt tgt yes?

lotsa love,
Charmaine

You are Here (The Same Power)

While listening to some of the songs that I knew well, I stumbled onto this song by Hillsong,

You are Here (The Same Power)

There is a love that I know
A strength for the weak and the broken heart
My Shepherd and King
I find You within me
For you are here
My Lord forever
You are here

You carried the cross for the world
Gathered the lost and the fatherless
My Shepherd and King
I find You within me
For You are here
My Lord forever
You are here

In this place, you are here
By Your mercy, I draw near
In my heart, take your place
You are here

Your word is the light of the earth
Your glory resounds in the universe
My Shepherd and King
I find You within me
For You are here
My Lord forever
You are here

The same power that conquered the grave
Lives in me, Lives in me
Your love that rescued the earth
Lives in me, lives in me

Always remembering that the same power that lives in us has conquered the grave, has conquered sin. Let us not fear anything but God.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. - 2 Timothy 1:7

and with that:

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:13

Go forth in Faith that HE will help you conquer temptation and that the victory is already won!

HE LIVES IN YOU!

-Caleb

John 3:30 "He must increase, I must decrease"

One thing that I've learned in the past few months: God becoming more prominent in our lives happens in proportion to us becoming less important. Meaning that one doesn't occur without the other; if God is to occupy a larger part of our lives, we necessarily have to occupy a smaller part. And vice versa: If we start to take more control of our lives, to magnify ourselves instead of God, then God's role is accordingly diminished. What exactly does magnifying ourselves mean, though?

Magnifying ourselves can make us either proud or anxious, but both are born out of deception. To be proud is to buy the lie that we can impact our own lives more effectively than God can; in other words, it is to trust ourselves more than we trust God. We then catch ourselves saying things like "I guess all we can do is pray", as if prayer were a last resort to fall back on when all else has been exhausted instead of a powerful weapon. Or we let our relationship with God become centered on our own needs - as if God were our servant - and we seem more intent on whining than on humbly seeking God's guidance. To be anxious is to deny God's power in our lives, for we are told that God is love, and there is no fear in love (1 John 3:18). But friends, amidst a bleak generation of self-indulgent and godless emo-ing, we are called not to conform but to turn our eyes away from ourselves and our anxieties and to fix them upon Jesus' beautiful face.

God longs to and is waiting to bless us more abundantly that we could ever imagine, but first we need to let Him! Somtimes, God is unable to work in our lives simply because we refuse to make any room at all for Him. If He is to increase, we must first of all must decrease. How? Well, since the process of magnifying ourselves consists of a confidence in man and a complete lack of trust in God, the process of magnifying God is simply the opposite!

Jeremiah 17:5-8

5 Cursed is the one who trusts in man; who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the Lord

6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.

7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.
whose confidence is in him.

8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit

So I encourage all of us to examine our lives carefully. Let's come before the Lord and ask Him to search our hearts (Psalm 139:23) - are there areas of our lives where we are refusing to let go: academics, a particular relationship, ungodly desires? If so, let us humbly repent. And as we start the second half of the June holidays, do continue to keep each other in prayer. May we be men and women who place their confidence firmly in the Lord!

Give Thanks

The Psalmists namely, David, the Korahites, Asaph and many others usual tell us of their personal encounters with God, with some full of thanks and others just their experiences of crying out to him. We can read it to learn of the many blessings we often neglect and also as an encouragement that "we're all in this together" and "i've felt it before, I've overcome it, so shall you". 

For now, I believe that one of the things to keep our eyes focus on the Lord is to count the many blessings, essentially, giving thanks. An example of the things that we can be thankful for is seen below in Psalms 136.

Psalms 136

 ¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. 
       His love endures forever.

 ² Give thanks to the God of gods. 
       His love endures forever.

 ³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords: 
       His love endures forever.

 ⁴ to him who alone does great wonders, 
       His love endures forever.

 ⁵ who by his understanding made the heavens, 
       His love endures forever.

 ⁶ who spread out the earth upon the waters, 
       His love endures forever.

 ⁷ who made the great lights— 
       His love endures forever.

 ⁸ the sun to govern the day, 
       His love endures forever.

 ⁹ the moon and stars to govern the night; 
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁰ to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt 
       His love endures forever.

 ¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them 
       His love endures forever.

 ¹² with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; 
       His love endures forever.

 ¹³ to him who divided the Red Sea ^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} asunder 
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁴ and brought Israel through the midst of it, 
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁵ but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; 
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁶ to him who led his people through the desert, 
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁷ who struck down great kings, 
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁸ and killed mighty kings— 
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites 
       His love endures forever.

 ²⁰ and Og king of Bashan— 
       His love endures forever.

 ²¹ and gave their land as an inheritance, 
       His love endures forever.

 ²² an inheritance to his servant Israel; 
       His love endures forever.

 ²³ to the One who remembered us in our low estate 
       His love endures forever.

 ²⁴ and freed us from our enemies, 
       His love endures forever.

 ²⁵ and who gives food to every creature. 
       His love endures forever.

 ²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven. 
       His love endures forever.

So Give thanks! Remain faithful to the Lord (2 Timothy 1).

In the Faith of Jesus Christ,
Caleb

Who are our friends? =)

As we take this time during the holidays to relax, recharge and chill with friends and family, lets ask ourselves as well, "Who are our friends?" 

Well, the friends we have says alot about us and the person that we are. In this life, we go through looking for that 'best friend', that lifetime companion, someone who genuinely cares about us, someone whom we have no fear opening up our deepest and darkest secrets to, someone who's there through the good and bad times... Someone who loves us unconditionally. But often a true friend seems so hard to find, and the pain of disappointment and betrayal is one familiar to us all. I remember a (maybe-not-so-)funny analogy, 'A false friend is like your shadow, he comes out when the sun is shining, but disappears once you step into the shade.' ^^"

But over the years I've found the one true friend who has always been by my side, even before my first breath and thought. And that's Jesus Christ =) He's the only one that can fill all our emotional needs, even in the lowest of times when we feel we don't measure up, or can't compare to others, or just feeling plain lousy about ourselves. He comforts us all those times when we're hurt that no one seems to have noticed our efforts or contributions, and He's there right through our struggles with sins and temptations. Truly, we love, because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

And because of that, we can give of ourselves so freely to others, in extending a helping hand, giving words of encouragement, and sharing the gospel, even when we don't feel like it, even when there doesn't seem to be any benefit in it for us, even when the person is so unlovable. That, I've found, is the one thing that can keep us going on, no matter the hardships and trials we face in our personal ministry.

True friends always keep giving, and never demanding of us. True friends are never exclusive or selfish, but instead liberate us to be the best we can be, liberate us to share that love and friendship with all around us; true friendship is always growing. Once we know and love the Greatest Friend of all, Jesus Christ, it's hard not to want to share this wonderful friend with all our friends. I've found not being able to share Christ with my friends, has become akin to not be able to share about my life at all =)

Jesus Christ has often been called a 'friend of the sinners'. No, it was not the teachers of the law, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the high-up clergymen whom Jesus dined with during His time on earth, rather it was the lepers, the tax-collectors, the prostitutes, the unwanted and unloved in society that He turned his attention to. I can imagine whom in today's society Jesus would have dined with, would have been friends with: the oddballs in our class, the school cleaners, our maids at home, the foreign workers, the AIDS victims, the prostitutes, the mentally disabled, the physically handicapped... And on the political scale, who knows, perhaps even the North Korean leaders, the Middle-east insurgents...

So my brothers and sisters, lets truly be the church of God, friends of Jesus Christ, friends to the world =)

God bless,

Pet

Keep our eyes on what is ETERNAL

Was supposed to actually post this earlier, but here goes!

I was reminded of one of the main paradoxes of life today, our humanly tendency to classify things to "Being a means to an end, or an end in itself".

Being in IB and all, we all work toward it as if it's a final end, but later to find it's just another stepping stone to university. From University we realise, yet again another stepping stone to work. So is work an end in itself? In another way, we look for prospective people to become our soulmates, we marry them, and is that yet an end in itself? We have children, is that an end in itself? The cycle goes on, and yet again, we come to the end of the cycle (or so we think) death, what now?

Paul constantly uses the imagery of a race, likening it to the lives we live. He is seen to say ²⁴However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me (Acts 20:24). He talks about things that we should be doing, things that should basically govern the purpose of our lives. Things that we should strive toward to make it a worthy means to the final end, the end of eternity with Christ.

Paul then constantly talks about counting all things as lost and having lost all things for the sake of Christ. So in a sense what does this all mean? 

Many of the things mentioned above may seem to be important, but in the end, they all fall short "Compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord". Philippians 3:8

In his final exhortations to the Philippians, Paul tells everyone to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.  To Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. What does this mean? "Fulfilling the task of testifying to the gospel of God's Grace" - Acts 20:24b. 

So how would we do this in our daily lives? Let me encourage all of us to continue reaching out to the people around us, to be living testaments of his Grace in our lives. Where people can see a heart of worship in us. To be people who are seen to do our best in everything, setting a good example in our studies, deadlines, friendships, relationships, quiet time and even those lil times when we think we aren't being watched. To put CHRIST first in everything, not after studies (although we know bad results are a bad example), not to stumble one another by compromising on our values (during the tough times). To serve our best in what we have committed to in ministry or in school or anywhere else likewise. In that fulfilling the passive testament of the gospel of God's grace. 

In the same way, serving in ministries (personal or corporate or otherwise) to reach out in an active way. To feed the hungry, clothe the poor and tend to the sick, in that sharing the love of Christ with the rest of the world. To actively share this Gospel (great and good news) to everyone, ceasing every opportuninty, in that, fulfilling the active testament of the gospel of God's grace.

Many of us as Christians may know this, I myself know this very well, but in the end, to apply it to our lives, one must make whatever head-knowledge this is into heart-knowledge. It is my sincere hope that through the empowerment of the holy spirit as well as our personal choice, that we will continue to meditate upon the word of God and continue in faith in this race.. To set our minds on things above, keeping our eyes on what is eternal.

Good Dae Mates!

-Leb

Jeremiah 29:13

haha I noticed it's been a while since the last post, so here goes =) and don't worry it'll be short >< promise ="D?

It just struck me how easy it is to just let QT slip by for one day, and then for another day, and the next.. Especially during the holidays. And frighteningly, life goes on. Each day passes like any other day... How easy it is to feel as though we don't need God, that we can just do it all on our own. And often that's what the devil wants us to think, tempting us with the control over our own destiny, just as Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden.

The drone of life sets in. But soon so does the emptiness as well. And in those fleeting moments throughout the day, suddenly you remember a time, when not too long ago, or perhaps a little too long ago, you basked in His presence and His love, relishing a moment of such deep peace and inner joy. Perhaps it was that time when you stepped into church and felt your spirits surge during worship, or maybe that night when you knelt in prayer, filled with desperation and longing... And He answered, ever so gently, ever so indulgently. 

And in that moment, we remember who and what we were made for.

So I urge you, my brothers and sisters, wherever your walk with God is right now, remember that time when you felt His love and experienced the peace only He can give. Let that moment keep you going on in your QT everyday, that moment of drawing close to the Father and resting at His feet, just as Mary did. And if you're still waiting for that moment; let me leave you with these wise words from the book of Life, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek with me with all your heart, I will be found by you," declares the Lord (Jeremiah 29:13-4).

Don't let the holidays slip by! =)

God bless, 

Petrina