Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A prayer!

Good morning, Lord. Thank you for this absolutely beautiful day. God, I need for You to please tell me something. Do I place too much emphasis on my wants? my relaxation time? my family time? my job? anything? Please show me, help me know in my spirit, if there are any "rights" I need to relinquish that may be hindering my freedom to experience Your love and grace. Please help me to balance my time and activities, my desires and needs, my work and play; every area of my life. May You receive all the glory. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Trained for War

"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle" (Psalm 144:1)

You'll never experience God in powerful ways by acquiring Bible knowledge alone. It is only when that knowledge is used in the heat of battle that you will know the reality of what you've learned intellectually. Otherwise, it remains only an exercise in spiritual gymnastics that yields little fruit.

David became a great warrior and leader of a nation at an early age. His training ground was his job as a shepherd in the open fields. When bears and lions sought to take his sheep, he personally fought them. This was his early preparation for future battles. Goliath was the real competition amongst a discerning audience to reveal how well his training prepared him.

Today, our local churches often look more like luxury cruise liners designed to tickle the ears, entertain its members and make them feel good instead of a battleship designed to train an army for war. The average member still watches from the sideline.

In sports you discover how well you handle pressure by competing. You can practice all you want but never know how you will do until you enter the game and test what you've learned and practiced when there is pressure added to the equation. In battle you discover how well you are trained by what you actually do on the battlefield.

Have you ever prayed with someone in public? Have you ever personally led someone to Christ? Have you ever served others for the sake of the Gospel? Have you ever taught a Bible study? If you said no to these questions, you are not engaged in the game. Today, why not ask God to give you the grace to step onto the battlefield.

A reflection by Os Hillman

Thursday, May 7, 2009

The Man Behind the Letters...

Check this out! Our dear bro, Krish Mathavan will be giving the sessions.

FYI.. Krish is now working at Family Life Society. Woohoo! Surely you'll want to come and hear from this bro of ours, who had studied all the way right till PHD (yes he has a PHD!) but seems to have turned 180-degrees to follow his heart and God's call. A little bit like St. Paul isn't it?



Note: For 30 May & 20 June, we will be joining OLPS Youth for 1hr of prayer & intercessory, before continuing with our scheduled topics on St. Paul.

For more info, please contact us at info@youthariseministry.com

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

In Christ Alone

Hey all, introducing this new song to all of you (it's a fairly new song for us haha) --- called "In Christ Alone" by Brian Littrell.



Here's the other version of In Christ Alone, the older one, by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty -- which is also one of my favourite songs:



Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me (John 15:4).