This is our love, Hearts Joined as one..

This is our love
Hearts joined as one
Desperate for all You are
Lord break down these walls
and see how we love
Desperate for all You are
We chase Your heart

We didn´t come to leave here entertained
or worship under any other name
we're crying out for You alone
You are holy Lord

Hillsongs United has a latest song... from their latest "All of the Above" album. It's called "Desperate People".

And this is what we are like in YAM. Many others in Saccre Youth and OLPS youth ministry share these sentiments. We are "desperate". We are desperate for God to be known, for the walls to be broken down.. people to see the love of God.

We're rising up in Spirit and truth... and as ONE, we will sing praises to God, worshipping the Name of Jesus.

It speaks about seeking God, hungering for Him, finding our way, finding our cause as we join our hearts to the Lord's.

And this is my cry. Ministry should be like this. We should be like this.. in our love for God and one another.. to be undivided, to sing praises, to rise up, to love, to give our hearts to one another.

We are all desperate - for God's love. And if we are to really open our hearts to Him, we will be overwhelmed. God's love is serious. It's real. It's powerful. It heals.

God... pour your love over us!

Find lyrics at the HILLSONGS BLOG >>

Hear it at: Full song at YouTube >>

Watch Joel Houston's sharing of "Desperate People" on YouTube:

Waiting upon the Lord!

Dear all, this is a reflection from Sury from yesterday's 22nd July Sunday Mass readings:

I was sitting in church today, reflecting on today's readings. was thinking what does the familiar story of Mary n Martha gotta do wif Abraham?

then i realise wat's e link.. "waiting upon the Lord."

Martha was 'waiting upon the Lord' by serving food, doing all kinds of work for Him.
Mary was 'waiting upon the Lord' by sitting quietly in His presence, listening to Him.

but Abraham did more.. he saw the Lord in the 3 strangers passing by his camp, and he acted to 'wait upon them' by meeting their physical needs of food and rest. He did not stop there, recognising it was the Lord who called Him to serve, He then 'waited upon the Lord' to hear frm Him, to be in His presence.



Jesus taught us to see Him in one another, esp those in need, physically or spiritually. we r called to serve our Lord by loving one another, by meeting one another's needs. in a way, tt's wat we hav to do for our con 3 teens.. in order to bring them to Jesus, we hav to fulfill their physical needs 1st: of welcome, of belonging, of friendship, of genuine care & attention, etc.

in order to do tt, we need to b in touch wif Jesus, to 'wait upon Him'.. onli then will we know His love, and recognise His presence within us, like St Paul says in today's 2nd reading:

"Christ in you, a hope of glory."

cos we r not called to give out of our own self. we r called to serve not under our own strength.
we are called to give out of "His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:19) and to serve "not by might, nor by power but by His Spirit" (Zec 4:6)..

so it's gd to rem tt, wk in n wk out.. we need not worry abt how we can journey wif them, or how to present ourselves to them.. we juz need to b genuine, b sincere in e things we do or say.
we need to b a friend to them.

for those who r not realli involved in YAM's con 3 service attachment (or not yet involved.. hehe), i hope tis still gives u smtg to reflect on =)

hav a gd wk ahead everyone..
God bless!


Sury
"everyday..."

p.s. let us not forget to take care of one another in the nxt few weeks. we may need to focus on the con 3 teens, but let us not forget tt we too r ppl wif needs.. n we too need one another as companions on this journey wif Christ. =)

On Mass, Love & Service... Sury's Thoughts

Dear blessed ppl of God

some things i'd like to share wif all of u..

Reflection on Mass
"Take of Me"

i was at holy trin 4 mass last sunday. came in early to guarantee a seat since i've heard tt tis church can b so packed tt ppl hang frm e rafters. Was in silent thought when my eyes rested on the altar. a thought came to me tt in the Old Testament times, the altar is a place 4 ppl to lay down their sacrificial offerings as atonement for sins. suddenly i heard Jesus whisper tt during mass, He is the sacrificial offering, 4 He has given His life as atonement for our sins.

later on, when fr. johnson lifted up the host during eucharistic prayer, i saw Jesus stand above the altar.. His eyes closed, head tilted toward the heavens, arms open wide, and He said "I have given Myself for you. Come, take of me... Come and take of me."

it was a veri powerful moment, where i was reminded in a real way of the love of Jesus, tt He loved us so much tt He died for us, and He continues to give Himself to us every time we celebrate the eucharist. truly it is the highest form of worship...

after i received communion and returned to the pew, i heard God say smtg i've never heard Him say to me before. He said simply "My son..."

in awe, i can only respond "Yes Dad, i am here..."

truly wat a treasure it is to have the sacraments in our Church.

it is truly a grace of God, a priceless gift to all of us.

so the nxt time we go for mass, let us truly seek God and listen to wat He has to say.


Reflection on Love
"How much is forgiven us..."

u know, i hav ever asked myself how come im so crazy for God, tt i wld run for Him no matter how tired i am, no matter how much time i hav to give for ministry. The answer came to me during a Gospel reading some time back, a passage frm Luke 7

36Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."

40Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."

"Tell me, teacher," he said.

41"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[ d] and the other fifty. 42Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

43Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

44Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

48Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

then it struck me... the reason i love Jesus so much is because i realise how much is forgiven me. i look in the mirror and i see this sinful person, yet the Lord still calls me to serve Him. poured out His anointing oil upon me and raised me to leadership.. . why? why wld you bother wif me, Lord?

i dont deserve such a God.. i cld never deserve such a God. yet the fact remains, He has called me by name. I did not choose Him, He chose me... therefore i love Him much, for i know tt much have been forgiven me.

brothers & sisters, how much is forgiven you?

do we ever pause & reflect on our journey wif the Lord, and ponder juz how much He has forgiven us, tt He has taken us out of darkness and into His marvelous light?
how much are we then willing to love Him and run for HIm in the face of such overwhelming love?


Refection on Service
"The girl 'least likely to succeed' "

Below is a testimony by Darlene Zschech, frm her book "Extravagant Worship".. a woman madly in love with Jesus, and one of the greatest worshipers of our time.

From 1 Corinthians

26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."[ d]

That's my testimony; i was the girl "least likely to succeed". The first ministry trip my husband and i went on with our senior pastor, Brian Houston, was to England. I sang a song with a backup soundtrack before Pastor Brian preached. I found tt one of the pastors in he church we ministered to said to Brian, "You were fantastic. But she doesn't have what it takes."
But God has given me opportunities beyond my hopes or imaginations.

My future has never relied on anyone else's opinion of my ability. I'm a testimony of God's grace. God uses people who say, "Well Lord, this is all I have to offer You; so if I'm going to be used in the Kingdom, You will have to work through me."

The very least we can do is give God our lives and let Him show us the great things He can do through our yielded hearts and hands.

May we continue to give of ourselves, esp in the coming 10 wks as we welcome our Con 3 students. Let's surrender ourselves to the will of the Spirit and move with expectant faith as our journey unfolds before us.



Sury
"my God, i'll only ever give my all..."

Elena's Birthday Thoughts.. I LOVE You, Daddy!!!

I was very happy last week. It was my birthday!! Yippee!! Before that, I was going through tough times at work and my morale has been really low. Everyone got his bonus and I was the only person at admin level who didn't get a single cent. It was an insult to me as only staff who literally slept in the office would flunk their appraisal. Well, I work and am put down by my supervisor like a dog but they think I am lazing like a pig from the way she appraised me. I guess I was having identity crisis: pig or dog?? Haha.....

However, God still never fails. I gain friendship out of the trials. Some of my colleagues touched me with their words and action. They understood that it was tough for me to swallow such injustice. They even went to the extent of throwing birthday surprises by giving me treats suddenly. One of my colleagues suddenly opened the fridge in my office and showed me a slice of cake meant for me before I went on leave. I was very touched and couldn't say anything to express my gratitude towards them They even offered me listening ears. I am also very blessed to have my best friend who never fails to spend time with me on my birthday yearly. It is not how expensive the meals or presents are but the thoughts. They are God's blessings to me. I feel that I am never alone. No words could ever express the immense love that God has for me. This love of His has been manifested through these people around me.

In fact, I am still feeling very happy til now. Hurray!! God even granted me one of my birthday wishes the day after my birthday. I LOVE You, Daddy!!! As to what this wish was, it's a secret between Daddy and me.....No matter what, God never fails to love. Everything and everyone around us are treasures from God. Challenges and failures and people we may dislike help us to look deeper into ourselves and push us out of our comfort zones to grow and expand our horizon while all other goodness and people are God's blessings and gifts to us. So, all things and people do not come into our lives coincidentally. They are blessings to us in one way or another. One thing we may remind ourselves is whether we choose to look at the dark clouds or the sun behind the dark clouds. Though the sun may be blocked by the dark clouds, it is up to us to seek the light and we can never deny that the existence of the sun is ALWAYS there. We must always carry this glimmer of hope within us which is enough for us to overcome all challenges with God's omnipotent LOVE and GRACE! Amen! :)

With Christ Love,
Elena

Some Exciting Events!

13th Tonight: Prayer for Vocations Night - Sam & Abi will be playing with the OLPS Ensemble to prayers and good ole church hymns like 'Yahweh I know you are near'. It'll be a wonderful time. 8:00 - 9:30pm at OLPS Main church.


Wow, this is a playwright by our late Pope John Paul II! Definitely a must-watch!
September 4 - 6 at The Jubille Hall, Raffles Hotel
http://www.calmtheseas.com/whatson.htm

YAM Painting @ Holy Trinity on 15th July this Sun
Painting a room in Holy Trinity with our bro, Russell. A time for bonding and fun.

Blood Donation Drive on 22th July
YAMers, we spoke about doing volunteer work and going for blood donation as a ministry. Coincidentally, OLPS is organising a Blood Donation at St Stephen's School Hall on Sunday, 22 July from 9am - 2pm. Pre-registration will be held this weekend in OLPS so do sign up to help save lives!!

Conference on YOUTH LISS August 4 - 5
"As by a new Pentecost"
Find out more --- http://www.saccre-youth.org

The Truth about Christian Brokenness

http://www.tgm.org/Brokenness.htm

Love You So Much Jesus?

Loving the Lord is a wonderful journey which will bring you into a few stages over time. It's an interesting progression, yet daunting one at times, when many who aren't fully in love with the Lord tend to stumble in the 'refining fire' where God tests our faith and love for Him.

Like any relationship, we enter with a blazing love and zeal for the Lord, as we are simply elated to know that the Lord is REAL! That HE loves us! and that we are chosen by Him to be children of God and so on. We, our hearts in all simplicity, and like children, just fall in love with the Saviour of our lives, and we are unfazed in our pursuit of Him. We press on with all our might, our total being is turned towards HIM and HE becomes the only source of life for us. Our everything.

Then slowly, the relationship cools, or begins facing a few hiccups. We start realising how much change this has brought into our lives - our past is gone and we are made new. While we are absolutely happy for this new life, we are apprehensive of what's to come. What's next Lord? Is there going to be a downhill spiral from here? Is there going to be more trials that test my Love for You? We sometimes ponder.

At this point - we are beginning to be tested for our faith. God says, if you love me, feed my sheep.. if you love me, obey my commandments. When our relationship with God becomes deeper, ironically, our sinfulness and old ways are suddenly uncovered by the light of God shining into all the dark areas of our lives. We are faced with the need for change, tranformation, conversion. This is where the struggle begins. Because change and conversion is not easy.

When faced with conversion issues, we have to do many things. We have to be humble, and accept that God is right. We have to yield to the Holy Spirit, including Surrender, Trust, Depending on Him alone, have Faith, and Obey God's will.... why? because, we know that is the path towards freedom & salvation. We know it but the hard part is doing it.

So then, we'll realise that perhaps, our love for the Lord isn't as deep as we thought it was. And we are faced with some sort of guilt and uncertainty about our spirituality. We feel cold. We wonder how we even got here in the first place. We might get a bit lost... or we might even feel disappointed with ourselves for not being as Holy as we ought to be. We struggle between right and wrong - because the difference now seems so clear to us (when before we never realised even that wrong was actually wrong).

And then in our deepest pits, God calls out to us again and assures us with his everlasting and unconditional love.

HE tells us to leave all our anxieties because He cares for us. He tells us that even though we've been unfaithful (not being able to obey, trust him, depend on him, worship him alone), HE still loves us.

So what kind of God and lover is Jesus? A mighty God. A fearsome lover. He is our God and king and also our best friend and our most trusted brother. But then... the challenge is to LOVE HIM BACK - with all our heart, soul, mind and body.

Till we can do that, we won't experience the liberating freedom that our hearts so desire.

So when, will we all begin loving Jesus like never before?

I pose this question to myself. In my reflection, I have found, that my love for the Lord has been far from deep, far from perfect. Perhaps, even shallow, lip-service, selfish.

What can we do to Love the Lord with our total lives and beings? What do we need to lay down before the Cross? our sinfulness, tiredness, and perhaps, even all our good deeds that we did, for ourselves instead of Him.

Let's just be present, worshipping the Lord daily.. to love Him for Him. And He'll give us strength to change, to be obedient, to follow the Lord and do God's will in our lives!

Destination & Purpose

The Man who walks with God always gets to his destination.

If you have a pulse you have a purpose.

The next time the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.

Marlene's Sharing! Seattle & our 30th June Gathering

It’s good to be back in Singapore after 2.5 weeks in Washington & Montana, marveling at the picturesque glaciers, snow-capped mountains, soaking in the breathtaking views and getting in touch with nature that our great Lord has created! :)

Although I didn’t get to hear the YISS testimonies in the wee hours of this morning at Sam’s place, it was heartwarming just to see you all and a few new faces! The Holy Spirit’s presence was so strong last night during intercessory that I felt my heart beating so fast and loud that I just had to speak out and lift up my prayers in boldness and in faith!

Was doing some housekeeping just now and went though some of my old email. I came across the following that I’ve shared with Krish in Sept 2003, which I felt was really apt to share with all of you as YAM moves forward to be involved with many important upcoming events like 777 Youth Rally, 10-weeks service attachment with 12 confirmation 3 teens, brainstorming for a programme to outreach to non-active youths, etc…

The following is taken from William A. Barry’s “Paying Attention to God - Discernment in Prayer”. It talks about Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who regained his sight. I really like what Barry wrote about forgiving and accepting the past, surrendering to life and to the future. Read on and be inspired!!

Bartimaeus (the blind beggar who receives his sight) is who he is because he was a blind beggar. (Mark 10:46-51) Did it ever occur to you that people like him may not want to be healed?

Jesus put to Bartimaeus, "What do you want me to do for you?" If he allows himself to want his sight, 2 possibilities open up. His hopes could be dashed, as it proves impossible for Jesus to fulfill his desires. On the other hand, he could actually receive his sight. But what then? After all, he now has an identity that revolves around being a blind beggar. Who will he be if he is no longer blind? He makes a living and gets attention and even pity from others. How will he live as a sighted person?

To want to be healed, to be changed, to become more whole means to surrender to life and to the future. On the one hand, it means accepting my past as precisely what it is, my past. On the other hand, it means surrendering myself to the mystery of the future, ultimately to the Mystery we call God.

Bartimaeus must have accepted his past. He is a blind beggar. He does not seem to wallow in resentment at what life has done for him; if he did, he would not have been able to ask so forcibly for his sight. To come to this point of acceptance, he may have had to go through all the stages of grief. He may have denied his blindness, raged at it, at life and at God, bargained with God, and become depressed. but now he has accepted that he is blind. And yet it is accepted as somehow past, as not controlling his freedom now, his freedom to desire a change, "Rabbi, I want to see."

To accept the past does not mean to condone everyone and everything. But it does mean to forgive in some deep way. To accept the past as my past brings freedom from it. But the freedom does not mean that I am no longer the person that past has made me.

The next step is the surrender to the mystery of the future. When Bartimaeus opens his heart to desire sight, he opens himself to the unknown. He hands himself over in faith and hope to the Lord of the future.

Like the Israelites in the desert, we can hanker for the leeks and onions of Egypt. Like Peter on the water, we can become afraid of the mysterious world we have entered. But we too, can hear the Lord calling us to trust him, to keep on surrendering to his mysterious future until the final surrender of death itself.

We can take courage from the fact that each time we have accepted our past as past and surrendered to the future, we have met a God who could be relied on, who for all his seeming inability to protect us from the cruelties of life still was with us, still kept asking us,

"What do you want me to do for you?"