He Grants Sleep

I love to sleep! That's a "hobby" for quite a lot of our cell members! However recently, sleep has been running away from me! It's not that I am sleeping lesser, but I've been burdened by tonnes of anxious thoughts about ministry (BB), work and other stuffs. These worries plague me like a swamp of mosquitoes before slumber each night and when morning breaks. Sigh..

I need rest (for my brains)!

Ps 127: 1, 2 (italic mine)

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for he grants sleep to those he loves.

I have been working too hard, thinking too much. I am frustrated when people don't do their job and I'm always tempted to take over, lest they fail. I need not worry, because I would have worked in vain if not of God's mighty hand behind everything I do. I would have missed the point if I devoid myself of sleep to get things done. God grants sleep to those he loves!

Yeah!

Shepherd

65% of the photos're Yeo Mei.

Yeo Mei! These photos are for you. :D

Lewis & Anthony came to church.

Photos were taken during dinner after service. :D

my soul now to stand

Hey there BFC. (: Well, just to say what I felt about the sermon last sat, as mentioned by Josh in his recent post.

Well, basically, I felt like God was really revealing things to me. Like when Pastor Daniel asked us that when we ask God for His will, are we doing so because
(1) we're afraid of making mistakes or
(2) we truly desire to please Him by doing so?
I felt really bad at that point of time. I knew inside that I was afraid of making mistakes, I knew His plans are perfect. In a way, I felt like I was using God. It's the kinda motive wrong but correct action thing. But I believe He understands and forgives me. This has acted as a reminder for me as I move on.

Today during CF in my school, the pastor shared with us about John 17:1-26, about Jesus' prayer for himself and christians. He prayed for strength to do God's will (before He went to the cross) and I believe we can just make a simple prayer everytime we feel weak or unwilling to do the right things. May we grow to become one beautiful feet for God. (:

Jace.

Hey BFC!

Few days back, as I read through the notebook which I used, to copy notes from Sat & Sunday's Messages, God brought me back to a few verses.

Pastor Daniel shared about Transformation.
A person who is interested in transformation is interested in who he can become not about the transition from one place to another. And transformation often relate to the word ' metamorphosis '. Metamorphosis is a process.
Rom 8:28-29

I carried on to read the following verses. And I was reminded by God's love once again.

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Brothers & Sisters,
May you be convinced that nothing in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.

Pastor Daniel also shared about the result of a renewed mind.
a) Appetite for the impossible
- Matt 19:26 - Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

b) A Vision
- 2 Cor 4:16-18 - Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
- 2 Cor 5:7 - We live by faith, not by sight.

c) An Understanding that you are first a Christian then a student...
- When you withhold nothing so that Christ can be first in your life, God withhold nothing from you too!



Love,
Joshua(:

Be Transformed!

Dear BFC,

As believers of Christ and children of God, we need to be alert and careful of how we live. God has repeatedly warned us of Satan's plan to destroy us. In today's materialistic and over-commercialised world, Christians can be easily distracted and trapped by Satan. Many of us simply live day by day like any non-believers except that we claim to be Christ-believing. As a Christian, we need to live differently from the world. The world's attraction creep into our lives. Many simply fall into the patterns of the world.

God clearly warned us "do not give the devil a foothold". Are you giving the devil a foothold over your life, school, service or family? Many things that seem harmless may turn around and destroy us. For example, if we do something wrong or we get involved in something which is not right, we give the devil a "toehold." If we continue in this area, it will grow into a "foothold" and soon it gets worst and becomes a stronghold. A simple hobby may seem innocent but the thing we like to do may be stealing time and energy from us and leave us with no time for God - we end up forsaking God. Is there something in your life that is distracting you and affecting your walk with God? Do you seek Him daily? Do you thirst for His Word? Do you have a relationship with Him? Is something in your life luring you away from God? Why not seek God now and ask Him to reveal it to you.

"Father, in the precious Name of Jesus, I thank You for loving me. I am so blessed by the love that You showed me. Revel to me the truth about my life. Your truth will set me free from any sin, bondage or stronghold. Show me the part of my life that is taking me away from desiring You and Your Word. I want to walk closely with You. I want to seek You daily. I want to desire Your Word. By the power and authority that You have given me, I break any and all unholy links or contacts or involvement I have made with the kingdom of darkness and I command any spirit that is not from you to leave my life, my school, my home and my family. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen!

Shepherd

He reigns

Helloooooo guys, I've this sudden thought of posting. Haha partly also because I think that one post per week might be insufficient, it's like every visit to the BFC blog it'd always the same post. So BFC-ers, do post whenever you're free!

Yeah anyway, as most of us are really busy with school work/personal commitments/work & many other stuffs, don't you find that we haven't been inviting friends to Youth Ablaze? Oh yes, Derek came today! *APPLAUSE* Haha, we thought that we won't see him because YeoMei wasn't able to make it. But he rushed down after his dragon boat training, we're very encouraged by that! :)

Back to what I was saying, I tried to ask some of my current classmates to attend Youth Ablaze, some looked interested & some were quite reluctant. Yeah so I thought of just giving them some time to think about it first. I guess many of us were stuck in a situation like this before, so keep praying! & remember that in the midst of all these busy schedules/commitments, have faith in God & He'll do the rest. :)


Next week's verse: Rom 12:1-2 *memorise :D

Rom 12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will." Rom 12:1-2


Love,
Sophia

Woo hoo i'm on the blog!

Hi my dearies!!

Thanks to Iris who showed me the way into posting a blog.
hahaha

I just wanna thank each one of you for praying for me. Last week has been really busy. I survived on my old medication to tahan for a while. Without seeing a physical doctor, i have recovered. Thanks for prayin! I appreciate it so much and i love you all!!

Have a blessed week! You're gonna have a long weekend!

Brought to you by Wan Hui(not shepherd's wife but maybe shepherd's pie)

hahahaha

God speaks.

Mine is not a long post.

Apparently, i wasnt sure of what to post on the blog. But, as I was praying to God about my christian walk with him. I must say that I have gotten quite slack in my walk during the time that I haven't been to church for some time.

Many a times, when everything seems to be well that I always get complacent about my faith, and forget to continue to cling desperately to God.

Dear God, I pray that you will teach us how to not only hold you tight during moments of difficulty and peril, but also not to forget your grace when things are going well.
Amen.

Iris. :)

keep on praying.

HELLO BFC :D
this time its my turn to post.


rmb i shared about the good news that my grandma came to receive christ?
yepp it was good news.
however because of my grandps's condition and also afraid that my other uncles and aunties who are not christian gets to know about her going into christianity actually stops my grandma from turning into a christian. she told my mother that she did it for grandpa and that maybe it would change him if she turn into a christian so to make him happy.

my mother shared with me that deep in her heart can feels that grandma did not only did it for my grandpa but she was also really touched by God's love and presence when she was being prayed for.
i was disappointed that in the end she turn away from God not gettting to know Him more yet.

after a few days, my auntie whos a christian, called my mother to say that first uncle called and scolded her for bringing grandma to God.
and that first uncle wants to speak to my mother about it.

my mother told me that she feels that all this happens for a reason.
she believes that God is trying to test whether my aunties who are christians are going to come together to pray and pray on behalf of their other siblings and grandma.
my mother also told me that there's gonna be a change and break thru in this family.

my 2nd uncle once accpeted christ into his life.
my mother did not force him he told my mother that he wanted to go up to the altar and to accept God. but because of his wife , first uncle and first auntie, he did not go back to christianity again. and from that day, his family had so many problems.
but all this that happened, only my mother knows and all these years the whole family did not know that he actually accepted God of his own will and that no one forced him to.
my mother wanted to have a family meeting to just clarify and to ask uncle and grandma to share how they really really felt when they accepeted GOD. and that they did it out of their ownwill because they felt His Presence.

see how satan actually causes conflict and unhappiness in the family?
see how he can twist and turn us?
see how he can stop our love ones turning to GOD?
and to destory God's plan?

i wondered to myself why first uncle would be so unreasonable.
why he can have the right to choose which religion he wants and that everyone must also follow his religion?
everybody has their rights to choose what life and religion they want.
and besides, all of them all all grown up adults.
plus its not as if my mother asked him to commit a crime or murder.
why must he scold them?

first uncle even said to my mother that we christians are not following our ancestor's God.
THE TRUTH IS 4000 YEARS AGO,
CHINA'S EMPEROR PRAYED TO SHANG DI THAT IS OUR GOD.
OUR HOLY FATHER ABOVE.
THEY ACTUALLY BUILD A TEMPLE. DEDICATED TO THE WORSHIP OF AN INVISIBLE AND ALL-POWERFUL GOD, SHANG DI, THE GOD OF HEAVEN.

the emperor is only allowed to go up to the top of the temple and to pray on behalf on the people and the country. this MAGNIFICANT structure serves as a mysterious reminder of a time when the spiritual heart of the CHINESE NATION was much different than it is today.A TIME WHEN CHINA WAS RULED NOT JUST BY ONE EMPEROR, BUT BY ONE GOD.

i got this dvd from my mother.
its a christian history in china.
and i feel that my uncles and aunties should watch it and realise that we are actually praying to our ancestor's ancestor's God.

yesterday i was listening to a christian cd.
that in one song it sang,
eph 6 : 18
keep on praying.

i find that i should keep on praying for their salvation.
& yes, although im a child i felt this urge that God wanted me to go to my grandma and pray for her and grandpa. and to let the family see that even a child's prayers can be powerful.
so that they may all feel His Presence right there.
that God may use me as his mouth piece to pray for my grandma & touch her heart.

i felt that we should all keep on praying for our close ones who have not been saved.
no matter what happens we should keep on praying on behalf of them.
and also on behalf of our generation.
i feel that GOD is going to do something amazing in our generation.
we should never giveup and keep on praying.
when one or two are gathered together in prayers, i believe that the power of prayer will be powerful and that we can see God's work being done.


so i encourage you guys to keep on praying too.
3 times a day, morning, afternoon and night.
a simple prayer do work.
to pray for their life and their salvation.
im sure you yearn to see ur close ones coming closer and closer to God.
so that on that day, you will see them together in heaven that they are being saved.


clarissa.
God bless.

heart of God

Hey there cell. I just read a short devotion that spoke a big message to me.
You know how we really wish we could do what God wants us to do.. But our own personal desires is just acting like a blockade that stops us from doing what pleases God sometimes. I wish so many times that God will just take total control of me, like I'm a robot. But I know that's not how God intends our lives to be, devoid of feelings and freewill, just to make Him happy.
The devotion taught me this. "[Christianity is] not a religion to kill our desires and then call it santification. It takes us to the heart of God, beginning the journey of desire and ending with an intimate relationship with God."
When we desire more of God, when we know and love Him so much more, that's when we can truly be willing to surrender our desires. This life is not mine, it's a gift from God that I truly hope to use and please Him with.

Jace

blogging at this time shows that I never go to school today. horrible virus attacking me. please pray cause I've napfa and I've a trial this saturday(only in the morning. I'll still see you guys in church!:D).

& HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIA! :D

this week is my turn to share, and I've a story to tell. and its going to be a very long one.

there is this girl, when she was 11 years old, her parents seperated. without those 'black and white' paper work, they were just staying at 2 different parts of Singapore. she and her sisters was staying with her mum. it is just a nicer way to say they're seperated, in fact, it is the father who had abandon the family, and left. even as she was younger than 11, she had started wondering why her parents dont sleep together in the same room, like what is usually seen on tv.
at only 11, she had seen how a man can be so heartless towards his wife which he had married for more than 20 years, his flesh and blood and his family. her father has such a lousy character that makes her wonder why her mum married to him. he is a heavy smoker, a heavy alcoholic, a gambler. he never consider his family's well being, always smoking at home, making the family passive smokers.
her mum has a drawer that has a lock, she keeps the key with her all the time. somehow by some way, her dad actually get hold of the key to the drawer. when her mum is out to work, her sisters were out to work, and she was out to study, her dad opened the drawer and took everything that can be pawn away. everything.
later on, everyone was home except her dad, her mum felt something amiss, part of the man's clothing was gone and the key was at the drawer, where all her valuable were kept.
she went to check the drawer, all her jewelleries were gone. this wasnt the first time, previously her dad had taken some away too, but her mum just pretend nothing had happen. there was this gold bracelet which her mum value so much. it was the last gift from her grandmother(her mum's mum). even her mum's wedding ring, her dad also took it away, leaving nothing but a pawn slip.
her mum broke down and wailed, not just sobbing or crying, but wailing. its the first time she see her mum cry this way. her sisters went inside to comfort her mum but she just stay outside the room, crying together with her mum. not only feeling sad, she was angry too. she wanted to run out of the house and find her dad and rain questions at him, but she doesnt know where he had gone to. only 11, what can she do? she felt so helpless, all she did was watch and cry.

it was a good thing that her sisters had already started working and can support themselves, if not her mum's burden will be so heavy.
when she was 14, she was moving house. this had been pending for more than 7 years, finally the flat is ready. documents and stuff had to be done with both her mum and her dad, since it was applied under both their names. she and her elder sister went together with her mum to meet her dad. it was before meeting the agent to sign the papers. she never called him "papa" when she saw him, she just sit down and plug in her earphones, but only to one ear. she heard their conversation. her dad demanded for 50% of the amount of money from the selling of the old flat, if not he will not sign the papers. she thought after 3 years, he would change his habit, change to a better person, but he did not. he is still the same, still a jerk.
she wanted to voice out but was being rejected. she was young, and her comments were considered unconstructive.
the agent knows about this and started negotiation with her dad. In the end he got what he wants, money. he got $30,000 instead of 50%. she had so much to say, but she had to bottle it up. she feels that her dad is so insensible, he never considers her mum's burden. if he take away such a big portion of the money, she will have a bigger burden in paying for the flat. but he doesnt care, what he cares is that he needs the money to clear his debt, and his debt came from his lost in gambles.

when she was 15, her grandmother(her dad's mum) passed away. for the week of funeral, her mum took leave from work to help out at the funeral. it wasnt her own mum, but she still goes and help out. where is her dad when his own mum had passed away? he was nowhere to be seen, until the last day, when her grandmother was going to be cremated. she saw him, but kept a distance from him. she never go up to call him "papa" because she was unwilling to do that. he isnt any big businessman that doesnt has time to come down to attend the funeral. he has time but he didnt come down, only for the last day at the last moment, he appeared. her uncle(her dad's brother) teared so much for the death of the mother, but her dad did not. she thought to herself, he must be cold blooded.

her hatred had been piling since 11 years old. maybe you might think, she is siding her mum, thats why she keep saying bad about her dad. but she tried putting herself in both her mum's and her dad's shoes. she has no words to help defend her dad.

maybe you had guessed it. yes, this girl is me.

I never dare and never want to share this to anyone except friends that I'm close with. I kept this very personal. for the past few days, I had been thinking if I should post this up and God's answer was I should. hatred is a fierce word to use but it had been in me for years. this knot that I never get to untie. this barrier, that I never dare to cross.
had been praying about this but I guess my faith is not strong enough to trust in the Lord to help me untie this knot.

few days ago, I came across two of my friends' blog. both talk about salvation of their family members. and it got me thinking, for church events, I had been inviting friends. my family hasnt cross my mind when it come to such invitation. my elder sister who had been so focus in work and had back slided from God, my mum who is a buddhist, my dad who I dont even know his whereabouts. and my relatives, I'd already lost some of them who had gone to a horrible place. why am I not doing anything for their salvation? is it when it comes to a stage where they got a dreadful disease then I'll start crying to the Lord and ask Him to save them?

I pour this all out, unto Your hands Lord. OLord, I give You all my trust.
Psalm 23:4 "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

Yet another....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIA!

The girl turns 17 today, a year older wiser!!!