Praying for Fire

Dear friends,

I first and foremost would like to thank the Lord for granting us His presence in our last prayer meeting on the Thursday of this week. It was a time when, even though there were just 7 of us, we could even almost tangibly sense His Holy Spirit among us and speaking to each one of us. It is truly a privilege to be in His presence.

Revival. I look back on the year so far, and realise that I had started the year with much hope. With the Year 5's coming in and just the freshness that comes with each new year, I really looked forward to starting this year with Christ. In terms of this ministry, I also had great expectations that God would accomplish something awesome. Revival is often something many prayer groups yearn and pray for; in fact, it is a favourite word for most Christian groups. Yet, I realise that it is something that is so easy to get excited over and pray about when everything looks right, as it had been at the start of the year, but appears cold and distant after a while. Now that we're all the way in Term 1, Week 9, revival appears so far away, and no longer holds the attraction it initially had.

Why? Why is it that revivals often do note take place, even after so much excitement at the start? Outside of just revivials, why is it that our passion for the Lord often fizzles out? Christians will be familiar with this pattern: end-year camp, super "worship" on the last night, spiritual high, plateau, backslide, and then the cycle repeats. So coming back to revival, or the burden to spread the name of Christ in our school, why is it that our passions often die out after a while?

The answer is simple. Because we do not pray.

"And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor." (Isaiah 59:16)

What an interesting verse. Can you imagine: God "wondered" that there as no intercessor. The New International Version translates this as "appalled". When the spiritual condition of the place around is so dry, God wonders why there is no one, not a single one, to rise up and intercede.

I believe we have strongly underestimated the power of prayer. Nothing moves except by prayer. "Satan laughs at our wisdom, mocks at our toiling, but trembles when we prayer." In our hearts maybe there have been small burning coals of desire to want to see the name of Jesus lifted high. But because there has been so little prayer, after a while, these coals in our heart burn out into dying embers, and soon we find them doused by Satan. Only when we gather together and pray, and seek the Lord earnestly, then will He move.

Many will hesitate at this point. What if I do not desire revival, or why should I even participate. The state of my own walk with Him is good; I need not concern myself about the matters of others. It is the will of the Lord that none should perish. The Lord Jesus Himself wept and cried for His own people while here in earth, praying that they might not fall to Satan. Such urgency and desperation! If our Lord did this, and wills that none should perish, how much more should we have this desire, being made in His image! Yet we look at our hearts and see cold, wavering faiths. From any point of view, it is certainly our Lord's will for the name of Christ to be preached to the people around us. His Great Commission after all, is to "make disciples". But ask yourselves how many disciples you have made, or at least how many people you have shared the Word with, this year? I confess that for myself, though I have made a few attempts, they have been weak and feeble, and less than the fingers of one hand.

Are we obeying His command, following His call?

Desperate times calls for desperate action. In the prayer meeting this week, I felt the Lord leading us to do this: to spend one whole week in fasting and prayer for His fire to spread in the school. For the whole of next week (wk 9), we will be gathering at roundabout to pray for our school during both our recess and lunch periods. This will truly be a test of our faith as it will show much we are willing to forfeit for Him, in terms of our own time as well as whether we are willing to be seen in a public place, worshipping His name. I hope for those reading who are in the school that you would be able to join us in this, as we pray for those around us in His name, that an awesome work would be done. Only if we pray, will we see His hand stretch out.

Hope to see you there! Roundabout, during every lunch and recess period for Yr 6 Non-intact periods.

Love,

Alastair

(This is a post from alistair's blog, please read it :), it meant alot to me, im sure it will to you too

let us fire up our prayer lives. and make satan trembleeeeeee!

Art Class Inspiration

And so on a brilliant Thursday, during a delightful hour twenty recess, two of us headed down to a rather precarious pack of Year Ones, engrossed in some rather profound negative space drawing. We hesitated for a moment - there was an urge to do something eternal - but was that it? We inched forward little by little, exchanging (customary) pats of assurance that it would be fine, eventually, John Tay made the first move to a young chap named Edison.

Edison craned his neck while he sketched the tree that stood in the middle of the two IB buildings, squinting, erasing, making superficial sketches - finally we struck up a conversation - he was a Buddhist, though not a staunch one, and John immediately saw the crack, the opening, and entered. I tried to tag along, but it wasn't long before two boys a distance away beckoned me with a wave of their pencils and stationery.

Quite surprised by their openness to us strangers, I skipped forward and asked what the matter was - this was met by a rather stumping question - not one one would expect from a Year One. What was an _____ (fill the blanks people)? Sensing the need to urge the Year Ones to more pure thoughts and more holy lives, I went into a conversation with Matthias and Louis.

It was quite fruitful, and many times I told them to be more serious in their faith - they even joked about not being Christian! At the end, there was a short prayer, and I pray that God touched their hearts that day - and led them to more godly lives :)

And it's simple things like these, pretty freaky and scary, but opportunities must be seized. Do look out for them, and do take them, and enjoy the warm feeling of having been used by God at the end of it :) God Bless all.


In the Faith of Jesus Christ,
Tim :)

A CNY with a difference

Many hearts are hungry tonight,
Many trapped in darkness, yearn for the light.
So many who are far from whom, and many who are lost
Oh Lord Your wounded children need, the power of Your cross!

As i went for the reunion dinner tonight, I realised truly, how much people need Christ in their lives. And how many opportunities there are for us to really reach out, and be beacons of Christ's love to all those around.

For those of you who dont already know, my paternal side of the family are Buddhists, and well, my maternal granddad kinda became disillusioned along the way too. For some reason, this year i decided to spend time really talking to them and just genuinely showing concern for them(as a good grandson should, come to think of it), instead of just being my usual switch-offed, grumpy self, just counting the minutes before we get to escape the house where i feel so mega outta place. And well, at the end of it i just felt so guilty that i had waited so long to 'love them'.

My paternal granddad passed away a few years back, and although she argued with him alot, i can tell my grandma really misses him. She stays in a whole house alone for most of the day, since her children are all working busy lives and her grandchildren are all busy secondary school children (we used to be deposited there for kindergarten last time). My uncle usually brings her over to have dinner at her place most days, but man. the immense loneliness she must feel pains me :/

and every year she tells me to drop by and visit her when im free, now that im old enough to 'travel around on my own', but i always nodded and chucked the thought aside casually (i never was close to my paternal side of the family, for various reasons). But this year i was suddenly hit with a sharp pang of guilt. Fine, I am so terribly busy, but surely i could have found some time every now and then to drop by her place, to at least show that there are people that care? Like she said, she doesnt really want much, but it'd have been real nice for ppl to just drop by and say hi, to assure her that everyone else is still doing fine.

And of course, how different would life be with Jesus. In our times of loneliness, in our times of need, or worry, or anything else, we have Him to turn to, to talk to. But for so many of us (myself included), we so selfishly keep Him to ourselves, and it has never occurred to us that we should share him with everyone else. How much difference would Christ make, and oh what joy could this Friend bring into my grandma's life! and yet i never did anything.

And my maternal granddad. He was born into a buddhist family too, but he later came to Christ. however, he got real disillusioned upon the death of his firstborn son, who died of leukemia not long after birth. Why God didnt answer their desperate prayers, he never quite understood. but tonight, as i was just talking and chatting with him about all sorts of stuff (including how he felt singapore was a left-wing socialist country (!!!!!), even worse than a communist state lawl), i just realised that he too, was rather empty inside. Oh how much did my dearest granddad need the love of Jesus, the transforming love of Christ!

Well my thoughts are rather jumbled now (as usual at this time of the night), but well, im making a commitment this chinese new year. Kenneth will really make the effort to talk to my grandparents, to care for them, to love them; to really find opportunities, create some if necessary, to remind them of their first love, or to share the saving knowledge of the gospel. How dearly do i want them to join me in paradise when our times come. Hell was created for Lucifer and his cronies. Not my relatives for sure.

No way.

nor yours.
this CNY, let's make it like no other. Let our hearts beat with the same compassion and love for all our friends and relatives. let us have the courage and determination to really speak out, and talk to someone about our Lord, Saviour, and best Friend, Jesus Christ, Son of the Almighty God

Help us to begin where we are,
Help us love the people, near to our hearts.
and give our faith a mission field,
Wherever you may call.
and love the world through each of us,
Until we've touched them all!