rediscovering eden
Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the bright and morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart
Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours
Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
and watch me rise again
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
I am Yours
testimonies
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
-9:41 PM
Wah I seriously need to buck up as an SP. While researching for my QT materials I remembered that I wrote some stuff about prayer to the Allstars in one of my emails. That was when I was still a PSP.
Honestly speaking, the emails were very lohsoh la. But charged with passion man.
Hi ALLSTARS!
This email will be the first of many emails you will be receiving from me! I hope that these emails will encourage you to GROW in your walk with God((:
Since this is the first email, I shall write about what God has done for me! Why? Because when I was Sec 1, I was very encouraged when I found out about how God grew my Sec 2 senior so much when she was Sec 1, to what she had become in Sec 2. It struck me that if God could do it for her, He could do it for me. From then I became very intentional in wanting to grow.
Before I entered IGNYTE ministry, I was REALLY vulgar and enjoyed gossiping about people. I went after positions of power, good grades, and popularity. But even when I had these things, I felt an emptiness within me, like there was something I needed. So I continued to 'hunger after' those things, which made me feel more and more that there was something else I needed. Sometimes at church when I saw people engage in worship, I would act-cool but secretly admire these people for their love and passion for God. And I guess this is what led me to discover that what I needed was God.
But it was only when I entered into IGNYTE ministry that my hunger for God increased and I started to change the way I lived. New beginnings and camp gave me a kick-start in my 'new-found' relationship. Regular services and FUEL helped to recharge me each week. But looking back, it was daily Time Alone With God (TAWG) that really helped me. What I mean by 'TAWG' here, in your present situations, is effort. It means being intentional. I remember how difficult it was for me to kick-in the habit of spending TAWG. After 2 weeks I felt I couldn't continue any more, but at that time God sent me seniors who came to tell me "Spend your TAWG, it's really important to grow in God." And together with a close IGNYTE friend, that's how I started spending my TAWG.
The effort you need to put in may mean to spend regular TAWG. Even if you do spend TAWG, have an active prayer life and all, I'm sure there are areas in your life God wants you to work on? Don't just take it as it comes. Be intentional! Make an effort to grow.
I've grown so much in the year of 2007, and I'm looking forward to more in this new year of 2008!
And just to ENCOURAGE (: all of you, here are the lyrics of a song that speaks my heart!
What He's Done
What He's done for me
Is so amazing
The love He has for me
I cannot explain
All I know is I once was lost but now am found
I was blind but now I see
And I know He can do for you
What He's done for me
I am confident that when you hunger after God, when you seek God, when you pursue God, GOD WILL NOT SHORTCHANGE YOU. GOD WILL NEVER DISAPPOINT YOU.
In an ending note, I really really want to encourage all of you ALLSTARS, in January 2008, to set your goals for this year, especially your spiritual goals, because they are going to shape and affect your priorities in life. What ever these goals may be, I suggest you paste it/write it some where you will see everyday. And every day when you see these goals, remember them and work towards them.
Be intentional, and shine for God!
Lots and lots of love (God's, and mine!)
Laura (:
[you can call me LOL]
Hello ALLSTARS!
I hope you look forward to this email! Take it as a mid-week reminder not to forget about God(:
I'm sure you've all been faithful in following the Bible reading plan, and praying for your friends in your Battle Plan, right? *grins*
Well... Not all is lost if you haven't, it's not too late to start! You only have 6 chapters in luke to catch up with((: Certainly good news for you!
Before I begin my 'message', I just want to thank you all for reading my previous email! Please continue to do so! It would also be great if you would like to reply some thoughts/reflections about the email to me! But that's totally optional. Any feedback/suggestions, possibly as to what I can email all of you about, are also welcomed.
Anyway, this email will be based on the verse from Jeremiah 29:13. God says "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart". I'll be sharing about what this means, how it applies to us, as well as some personal experiences.
Back to Jer 29:13. When I first heard of this verse, I was like "DUH!" When you search for God with all your heart, you will obviously seek God! But now, what I feel this verse really means is that when we come to a point of desperation for God, He will honour that desperation with a greater hunger for Him, and He will honour that hunger by revealing (more of) Himself to us.
That might sound a bit complicated, so it might help if I showed a Biblical example?
If you remember, we read luke 5:27-32 a few days ago. It was about Levi the tax collector (who were notorious for swindling $$ at that time.) But the moment Jesus called him, he left everything and followed Jesus. That's how hungry he was to repent and change his way of life! I think the word 'everything' here summarises too much. Do you know the magnitude of the word everything? Think of the EVERYTHING in your life. If Jesus came one day (and you knew it was him) and called you, would you be hungry enough to follow him? Think about it.
Honestly speaking, if Jesus really came one day, I might not be hungry enough to drop everything and just follow him. I mean, I guess I would, but it's hard to say. I've struggled (still do sometimes) with keeping my hunger and passion for God going 24/7, year round. Sometimes TAWG becomes so much of a routine, it becomes a chore. I guess with our sinful human nature, it's difficult to continuously have so much zeal for God. I've been getting dry spell after dry spell recently, especially if I miss services or TAWG. I notice that trend in myself, so I really try as much as possible not to! Though my passion might not keep on burning (kerosene can run out okay!), putting in effort to keep it going helps! And the time we spend with God renews us and keeps us going! I testify to that(: So don't be discouraged if sometimes you feel distant or indifferent (bo chap) about God. Press on, don't let go!
Or what if you don't know how a touch of God feels like? I can't describe it in words, just know it's indescribably awesome. Even if you don't think you FEEL God or love God or something, maybe you could try thinking of all the things you have, family and friends, nature, all your blessings and gifts, and think of God, your creator, from whom these things come from. Keep giving thanks to God, and pray for hunger! If you don't know how to pray, ask God (you can ask me too..)! (:
Keep on praying and reading the Word!
<3 LOL ! :D
P.S. I love you! (Invite your friends, yea!)
P.P.S. Thanks goes to Bro Zhi Hao for highlighting keywords for us!
Hi ALLSTARS!
I'm sure all of you enjoyed Friday's event! It's awesome seeing IGNYTErs bringing in nearly 200 FTVs that night! Great job! :D
Continue to bring your friends for services/events and to pray and believe in their salvation, yea?
Yes, pray. I know this is something that some of us struggle with! But as I've been saying to those who've prayed with me, what counts is what comes from the heart. Of course, the use of verses, appropriate vocabulary etc is good to have, but I don't think that's the most important. One can blabber non-stop, using the most impressive vocabulary and the most appropriate and exhaustive list of things to pray about. But if the person doesn't mean it, if the people isn't sincere about it, it's just as good as nothing! I admit sometimes, especially if there's something I NEED to pray about, I blabber. It's like, I know HOW I should be praying, and I say everything out. And at the end of it I realise that I don't know what I've prayed for. It's sad! I know that's also one of the things I really need to work on this year, to mean everything that I pray.
You may ask, "Why is it so important to mean what I pray?" The thing is, God already knows what our needs are. When we pray, we are humbling ourselves to ask for it, which is what God wants! Just like even if your mum knows you need something, she might not get it right away! Sometimes, she waits for you to ask, right? ((:
2 Chronicles 7:14. "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Remember that!
Now, I'd like to share an amazing testimony to all of you. This incident happened last year, around November, but it's only now that I see God's hand in it. I thank God that He has shown me that this is a powerful testimony of how prayer can work wonders, not just a mere coincidence as I dismissed it to be at the time when it happened.
I was blogsurfing one day when I chanced upon the blog of a girl my age called *Janice. Everything about her profile seemed fine, and she was even in the same class as one of my IGNYTE friends. I went to the 'posts' section and I was shocked to see so much hurt reflected in her first post, which was about being bullied. Even though I didn't know her, I could feel for her through what she had written. My heart went out to her and I thought, "She must come to experience the love of God that will heal her from all that hurt!"
Initially I wanted to tell my friend to bring Janice to church, but I didn't because I didn't know that friend well. So all I could do was to pray for her. I prayed hard that God would reveal Himself to her and that somehow or other she will come to experience His love.
Some time passed, and I forgot about the incident. That was until I saw my friend bring along a girl to church. I was thinking,"Great, an FTV!" but deep inside I thought, "Could that be Janice?"
And as I found out later, it certainly was.
I was totally totally amazed. I mean, I prayed for someone whose profile I had only seen online, and she didn't even know me. But by God's AWESOME power, she came to know Him!
Not only that. She began to regularly attend services and I eventually befriended her. And guess what? Less than 6 months from the start of this series of events, Janice rededicated her life to the Lord. God is good, amen?
As I recounted this to Janice and later, that IGNYTE friend, I asked, "Why did you decide to bring JANICE to church, out of so many people?" The response I received was, "You know what? She asked me to."
Why is God so awesome!!! :D
*Janice is a pseudonym.
I hope this testimony has shown you that prayer IS powerful and effective!
God bless all of you mighty prayer warriors! :D
<3 LOL
Hello ALLSTARS!
I hope all of you are enjoying your new school term? Well, do make sure that in spite of all your busyness, you still leave some time for God, eh? (:
As we move into Term 2, I guess some of you might still have the results from your previous term at the back of your mind.
Maybe they were good. Or maybe they were not as good as you'd expect them to be. But you know what? The Bible says to give thanks at all times (Psalms 119:62-even at midnight!) and in all circumstances (Ephesians 5:20).
I know it sounds difficult, especially when we're in the pits! But I've learnt that even when we're in such times, God still remembers us, carries our problems, gives us peace; He is always worthy of all our praise!
Listen to this song and think about the lyrics.
What does this tell us?
Forever- Chris Tomlin
Click HERE to listen
Click HERE for lyrics
To me, this song is about God's faithfulness in all things, and I think that alone is enough reason to give thanks.
Sometimes I really wonder what I would be doing, how I would be living if not for His faithfulness. I've had my lows, and I'll share one of them with you.
This happened mostly when I was in P3. Although it still happens sometimes, but the situation has improved greatly and I really thank God for it.
<Section cut out>
God's faithfulness is far from being the only reason to give thanks, but I thought that it might be easier to view the concept of thanksgiving when you can understand what you give thanks for!
Actually, I think thanksgiving is, in part, an 'obligation'. In the Lord's prayer, the first thing Jesus says (after Our Father in Heaven) is hallowed be thy name. In other words, Jesus' priority was not just to pile up his trolley with the items on His shopping list to God. He first gave thanks.
And sometimes giving thanks isn't so easy! Like in Luke 22:17, Jesus gave thanks for the bread and the cup, the very symbols representing His death. It's just like knowing that you're going to be killed tomorrow with a sword and a hammer and you give thanks for those things.
I'm using Jesus' stories because, as you'd know if you read your Bible (I'm sure you do! ;D), that Jesus always gave thanks!
And so should you! ;D
<3 LOL
Sorta embarrassing to read stuff I wrote in Sec 2. It’s very blatant. But it had that heart la. And I really hope to write something that will truly truly impact my GB mates for QT. My topic is “Pray Continually”.
