An Indian with A Snake

This story speaks to me about our human nature, how easily we can pick the wrong choice in life. It is just amazing that our God, is a God of second chance, one that loves us unconditionally. We learn from life's experiences, we fall and we get back up, it's a life cycle of a human being. But, it is with God that we can avoid falling into the lies of the devil many times, or that when we get sucked in to the lies of the devil and fall into situations we shouldn't be in, we can always count on God to guide us out into safety. There will always be hope in Him and we need not walk deeper down the wrong path.

Many times, when Christians back slide, they are too ashamed to meet God or come to church. Shame grips them, and they move further away from God. Know this, when we backslide, it is all the more we need God, all the more we need to stay in His presence. He does not condemned , He want's the best for us.

Back to the story of the Indian and the snake, Max Lucado wrote this in the Inspirational Study Bible that I was reading one day. Let me share it with you:

An Indian was walking up a mountain when he heard a voice.  

"Carry me with you" it requested. The Indian hurried and saw a snake.

He refused,"If I carry you up the mountain you will bite me". " I wouldn't do that", the snake assured. "All I need is some help. I am slow and you are fast, please be kind and carry me to the top of the mountain."

It was against his better judgement, but the Indian agreed. He picked up the snake, put him in his shirt, and resumed the journey. When they reached the top, he reached in his shirt to remove the snake and got bit.

He fell to the ground, and the snake slithered away.
"You lied!" the Indian cried, "You said you wouldn't bite me".

     The snake stopped and looked back," I didn't lie. You knew who I was when you picked me up".

     We hear the legend and shake our heads. He should have known better, we bemoan. And we are right. He should have.

      And so should we. But don't we do the same? Don't we believe the lies of the snake? Don't we pick up what we should leave alone?

Max Lucado was bringing this story in relation to the Corinthian Christians in the book of   1st Corinthians and how Paul was so patient in his teaching them about worship, unity, the role of women and the Lord's supper. Max Lucado wrote this:

      He (Paul) is disturbed but not despondent. Angry but not desperate. His driving passion is love. And his treatise on love in Chapter 13 remains the greatest essay ever penned. The letter however personal, is not just for the Corinth. It is for all who have heard the whisper and felt the fangs.

      We like the Indian, should have known better. We like the Corinthians, sometimes need a second chance.       

Psalm 91 Recorded....

Today I would like to read to you Psalm 19 in recording, instead of text. This is my first time recording my reading and with only one take, hope it's clear enough coupled with my sinus-sniffles...

Bob Fitts Concert Tour 2012

 I have listened to Bob Fitts since I was 12 years old and I can never forget how his songs has connected me to my heavenly Father during my quiet time. The concert brought many memories to me and has lifted my spirit to worship Him. God's awesome presence filled the hall and hands were raised to praise Him. WOA did a great job accompanying Bob Fitts in his music and the backup singers harmonizes so melodiously. Kudos to the band and backup singers.

It's so sweet for the wife Kathy to stand and worship with Bob throughout his leading of worship. Thanks Bob for the encouraging and uplifting message and songs you have shared with us throughout the concert. Many of us are blessed.

This is a clip I took during the concert. A beautiful song ' He Is Lovely'.

These youths probably have not heard many of his songs but it's great that they came to experience a this meaningful praise and worship event. The songs sung are those that I used to worship during youth meetings. Worship is an expression of love to God and songs that we sing should be the vehicle that brings us to the presence of God. To fixed our eyes on Jesus and enjoying His presence.

Youths enjoying the concert

Manage to grab his latest CD ' Called To Worship'

Thanks Bob and Kathy for gracing us with your presence and blessing us with your worship leading. Do come visit Penang again or one day we'll come visit you in Hawaii, haha!:D

God Loves Us. Let Him.

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. - John 15:9

Moments after I read this verse in my devotional book, I felt a wave of love just overwhelming me and suddenly I forgot what it felt like to have the Father's love in a tangible manner. Father God was getting my attention to His love. No matter happens, He is there for me to depend on, for me to trust His ways and not forgetting His love is eternal.

When you are in moments of uncertainties, be assured that God is a certain God and He desires the best for you even when you are not able to fathom His ways. We complicate our Christian walk so easily by trusting in our own judgement and ideologies. We are such complex beings but Jesus knew our shortcomings yet He still loves us and just as the Father has loved Him, He desire us to abide in His love.

A lot of good can come out of difficult situations if we just know how to run to Him and rest in His love. Because in His love, comes faith to do the impossible, living and acting upon right decisions, even to extend gracious help to people in need. For when we fall out of His love and focus upon ourselves, we get lost in our own self righteousness and it hurts us even more than we know it.
God loves us, let Him.

NCC Worship Conference at EPCC

NCC worship team led us in a exuberant worship and Pastor Daniel(NCC worship pastor) shared about worshiping our Father in heaven.

courtesy of EPCC photographers

courtesy of EPCC photographers

Truly only Jesus made this selfless exchange, for which god would lower themselves just to save mere men.

Songwriting workshop with Karen who hails from Penang but is a music director in New Creation Church , Singapore.  

These are the songs that spoke and touched my heart during praise and worship. Be blessed with the songs, truly God's love is everything.

New Creation Church Team is Coming To EPCC

For the next two nights I will be attending New Creation Church Worship Conference at EPCC. I have sign up for the Songwriting workshop and I do pray God imparts something I need through the them. There are four workshops (Songwriting, Album Production, Sound mix, Worship Leading) available but we can only choose one. Contemplating between Songwriting and Worship Leading, I settled on songwriting as I have only been to one seminar that includes songwriting tips. I have been to many worship leading seminar and though I never get tired of it, songwriting was just the choice for me now.

There are two songs I am currently listening on my laptop so be blessed as you worship along.

10 Steps to Know God

Pastor Gillean Levick, our anointed, bright and colourful woman of God spoke in one of the churches at Butterworth one evening. The message was practical, profound and prophetic in the way that she spoke about knowing God. Her life testimonies tells it all, and you know when the glory of God is upon someone,they shine. It was an eventful night with laughters over dinner, prayer for a cancer patient and the Word of God delivered. I took my friend's notes on the preaching that night to share it with my readers here. It may not have the same impact as to hear it live but I hope these notes will somehow encourage your walk with God.

10 steps to know God (with some paraphrasing - mine)

1) Grateful heart

- be grateful with everything we have as we are already blessed, reach out and receive it. Gratefulness takes you away from worrying and opens the way for God to bless us. 

2) Be thankful

- in all things give thanks. There is no need to ask God, thank Him for what He's given and for the things He is going to give. Remember God works all things good for those who loves Him. God in His agape love wants to kiss our wounds to heal us. 

3) Praise God

- a merry heart is like a medicine, bringing health to our bones and mind.

- when our emotions are bossy taking the leader role, we become double minded, don't know the arthur from the martha. God gave us the spirit ability to be leaders, to lead over our emotions, to tell our emotions to behave when they are not. Praising God puts our focus on Him and not on our difficult situations.

4) Trusting God

God is the only one who is 100% trustable. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Prov 3:5-6, James 1:2-4 - there are 2 roads to choose, which will you choose.

A)When difficult things happen in our life, throw a party and rejoice - God will make you laugh. If we are full of joy, it will bring change to our situation.

B) road of despair.distraction, arrested development, depression, destruction and this is where the devil wants us to be.

If you want to trust God, you must take risk in taking that 1st step to cross the river, and take the journey He has prepared for us. Our inheritance is a spirit of boldness, love, and if sound mind. 

When we are different, we will make a difference. It doesn't matter how people look at us, it matters how God look at us. 

5) Worship

When we learn to trust, we begin to worship. Our whole life is an act of worship. 

6) Obedience

-When we worship, we move into obedience... God is pleased when we obey

- Isaiah 1:19 when we are obedient, we will eat the fat of the land (we'll be blessed)

-Let's come into the Lords presence and not be afraid of our disobedience but repent and continuing on this journey with God. As we surrender unto Him, He will help us with our shortcomings and weaknesses.
A true story of this lady in the bus. Daily she takes the bus to work and one day, a voice told her to go to the Coke machine and do a headstand. She thought that was the devil and it must be crazy to do such a thing. Day after day, she kept hearing the same thing and finally she gave in and got out of the bus and did a headstand at the Coke machine and this man came down from the bus and asked her, "Why are you doing a headstand here?". She answered (probably in embarrassment) " Because God asked me to". He told her that He had asked if there is a God, let someone do a headstand at this machine. She was appalled but I believe she is so grateful a soul got saved because of her obedience to God. She asked God why did He picked her to do that and He said many had turned Him down and she was the only one who obeyed.

7) Intimacy

- intimacy with God brings freedom to be who we are. When the Son sets u free, you are free indeed

- Profess : I promise myself to be kind to myself , to forgive myself, to bless myself ,to make mistake so I can grow and develop true intimacy with God.. Amen

8) Authority

-When there's intimacy, we begin to know who we are and when we receive God's love, we can love ourselves, then loving others becomes easy.

-we hold the glory of God (ie the attributes and character of God)

-Rom 3:23 we hv fallen short of God's glory.  But we should not focus about our behavior, but God's glory

-Phil 1:20 even though Paul is in prison, and others think bad of him, as long as he bring glory to God, other things don't matter

- We have the authority, and when we pray, declare, and speak forth, things will happen

- Gen 1:20 Abraham left the land, sees Abimelech and lied about Sarah... He was looking at the king rather than God. Though Abimelech is innocent, God gave him a 'spanking' but Abraham got lifted off (Read more on the story at Genesis)

- Abraham was considered righteous because he believed God, not because of his behavior. Because he's righteous, God backed him up. God also gave us the same authority and will back us up.

9) The Power of God for us

- When we connect to the Source, miracles, healings, blessings comes into our life and through us we  are able to uplift another.

10) Dominion

-It does not mean lording over others but have victory over areas of our life, then we can be useful to others and help them to have victory. Remember that Christ lives in us, through us and for us.

There are 10 steps but they are not in anyway in sequence because each of us have different issues in life that needs alot of work on. Some of the steps for some might have already come to a certain level of maturity. So work on the areas that need working by the grace of God.