10 Reasons for Hope…

1. God is truly in control. If God is God, then nothing happens apart from His knowledge and permission.

While it is difficult to imagine why God allows some painful things to happen, His character, revealed in the Bible and through the testing of generations, leads us to the conclusion that He is willing and able to sustain us during the worst of times.

We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead.
(2 Corinthians1:8-9)

2. There is an eternal life to come.
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the Glory He will give us later.
(Romans 8:18)

He will keep you strong right up to the end, and He will keep you free from all blame on the great day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.
(1 Corinthians 1:8)

3. The story isn’t finished yet.
Time after time, the Bible records hopeless situations that ultimately ended in victory. Think of Job's sickness, Joseph’s betrayal by his brothers, David's adultery and the many who were healed in mind, body and spirit.

But Joseph told them, don't be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you? As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people. (Genesis 50:19-20)

4. God has not given up on you!
Don't give up on Him.

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

5. There is likely purpose in your pain.
Ask God to reveal His purpose in allowing this difficulty in your life. That's a legitimate question to ask. Often, the answer comes in the process of dealing with your circumstance.

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
(James 1:2-4)

6. You are loved!
Even the most unlovable person in the world is actually loved so much by God, that He let His Son die a terrible death to restore their relationship. God does love you!

He sees your pain and weeps with you.
He has sent Me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed... To all who mourn in Israel, He will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the Lord has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for His own glory.
(Isaiah 61:1-3)

You parents, if your children ask you for loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him?
(Matthew 7:9-11)

8. You are not facing this alone.
For God has said, I will never fail you. I will never forsake you. That is why we can say with confidence, The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
(Hebrews 13:5-6)

9. Others have made it through you can too.
Try to connect with others who have gone through similar situations. You will find hope, strength and encouragement.

A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
(Ecclesiastes 4:12)

10. Reach out to someone else who is struggling.
Place your focus on someone else and invest your life in them. You may discover that your peace of mind is found in being a source of hope for another. All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.

When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)


God bless you!

"Believe in The Lord Jesus, you will be saved, you and your family." (Acts 16:31)

Think of positive things (Philippians 4:4)

Philippians 2:1-3 If there be therefore any consolation [encouragement] in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil you my joy, that you be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife [hostility] or vainglory [the king of pride]: but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.


I read 2 interesting articles today:

Check it out:
http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Audio.details/ID/507/Spiritual-Mark-of-Beast.htm
http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Audio.details/ID/191/Self-Government-Responsibility-Part-2.htm

~ Sam
:)

Emmanuel: God is With Us

When interceding for others, we need to have faith, and believe GOD is with us. HE is trustworthy, he is our best friend. Surely he will hear us... But like a friend, he is not happy with evil. If we have sinned, we sin against God, we need to ask for forgiveness FIRST before we can ask for other favours isn't it? ;)

Anyway, our reading for the night comes from 1 John 4:7 - 1 John 5:5

God's Love and Ours 7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son[b] into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for[c] our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.1 John 5 - Faith in the Son of God
1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
 
AND this is a song we sang tonight and I don't think my guitar did it justice so am posting it here:


Anyway, here's my personal sharing from our intercessory night ---- I felt God telling me to "Be of Good Cheer, rejoice". I had an inkling that I heard it many times in the bible but didn't know where. Then a quick check online got me really interested. IT appears SO Many times in the bible. READ this PDF for an idea. God is so interesting! he's always ...been saying "the joy of the lord is your strength" but I seem to never listen, so he says something new for me this time - "Be of Good Cheer!"

Read the link here & REJOICE too in the midst of adversity:
http://adventuresingod.com/teachings/be_of_good_cheer.pdf

Luv
Sam

What is holiness?

Haha this is a blank post... because we want to just ask anyone passing by this blogpost - what is holiness? what is your take on holiness?

Cheers!

God is a Consuming Fire....

Ministry life is not easy. We have ups and downs, closeness & also sometimes a kind of sinful distance from God... And this phenomena also exists between people and people. Our families, friends, work/school mates, we have conflicts and struggles to really love people. The question boils down to the basic fact - Do you love God? If we love God, we will love our neighbour. Do we have passion for Ministry? for the mission of spreading the Good news to those around us? If we do, we would pray hard, for God to empower us because we are such weak people.

This song speaks it all. We need the Spirit of God to fall upon us, that we may walk along God's ways not man's ways. We need God to stir it up in our hearts, "a passion for His Name". Not my name, not your name. We need God even more than ever. We do not realise but in reality we are blind, lame and deaf. We need God's spirit to open our eyes, minds, ears, and to let us walk - to become HIS Instruments of Love, rather than instruments of destruction (death, sin, negative things opposed to LOVE).

Isn't that only right? feel free to disagree in the comments... ;) hehe.

God Bless,
Sam



Tim Hughes - Consuming Fire LYRICS:
There must be more than this,
O breath of God come breathe within,
There must be more than this,
Spirit of God we wait for You.

Fill us anew we pray,
Fill us anew we pray.

(Chorus)
Consuming fire fan into flame,
A passion for Your Name,
Spirit of God fall in this place,
Lord have Your way,
Lord have Your way with us,

Come like a rushing wind,
Clothe us with power from on high,
Now set the captives free,
Leave us abandoned to Your praise.

Lord let Your glory fall,
Lord let Your glory fall.

Stir it up in our hearts Lord,
Stir it up in our hearts Lord,
Stir it up in our hearts Lord,
A passion for Your Name.

You Are Who Your Friends Are

Donald Miller says who you hang out with matters more than you think.

Last month I visited a prison in Texas. I had the chance to guest-teach a class in a progressive rehabilitation program. I taught, but mostly I listened. As the guys told me their stories, their reasons for being in prison, I noticed a common thread. The real reason they were in prison was not because they had committed crimes, though they had, but rather it was because of the people they hung out with. Almost all problems and success in life boil down to relationships. These guys had gotten themselves into relationships that led to trouble. Either they had joined gangs or hung out with drug addicts or met girls who took them down a bad path.

READ full article HERE at Relevant.com

WELL, what to say..... if Jesus is YOUR Friend, and if you hang out with Him sufficiently each day, then you "should" become more like Him! Once again we would like to highlight this article: http://www.fathershands.com/jim/

A simple prayer for your friend, Jesus:

"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I
THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY."

---

How to find a child-like joy—freedom—when talking with God?

“Today’s sunshine was pretty. Thanks, God. Bye!”

That was the ending of a prayer I once heard made by a 5-year-old girl. I’ve come to believe it to be the most selfless, beautiful, profound prayer I’ve ever heard.

Read this article for more: "A NEW WAY TO PRAY"
 
 
God bless,

"Once Saved, Always Saved?"

How can we be assured of our own salvation if St. Paul wasn't (1 Corinthians 9:27)? Catholics believe: Salvation is not a "one time" event, but an ongoing process until "the end" (Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13).

READ MORE:
http://www.catscans.com/catholicsite/saved.htm

---

What the Catechism of the Catholic Church says on "Once Saved, Always Saved:"

161. "Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation. [Cf. Mk 16:16 ; Jn 3:36 ; Jn 6:40 ; et al.] 'Since 'without faith it is impossible to please (God)' and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life 'But he who endures to the end.'']"

162. "Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift, as St. Paul indicated to St. Timothy: 'Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith.' [1 Tim 1:18-19 .] To live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; [Cf. Mk 9:24 ; Lk 17:5 ; Lk 22:32.] it must be 'working through charity,' abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church. [Gal 5:6 ; Rom 15:13 ; cf. Jam 2:14-26.]"

READ MORE here!: http://www.catscans.com/catholicsite/saved.htm