Psalm 41

1 Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
2 The LORD will protect him and preserve his life;
he will bless him in the land
and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.

3 The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed
and restore him from his bed of illness.

4 I said, "O LORD, have mercy on me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you."

5 My enemies say of me in malice,
"When will he die and his name perish?"

6 Whenever one comes to see me,
he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
then he goes out and spreads it abroad.

7 All my enemies whisper together against me;
they imagine the worst for me, saying,

8 "A vile disease has beset him;
he will never get up from the place where he lies."

9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted,
he who shared my bread,
has lifted up his heel against me.

10 But you, O LORD, have mercy on me;
raise me up, that I may repay them.

11 I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.

12 In my integrity you uphold me
and set me in your presence forever.

13 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.

Jenn: Even when the whole world turns against me Lord, my heart will not grow bitter towards You. I will continue to trust You, that in the end Lord You will raise me up, You will vindicate me and not let me be put to shame. For now Lord, Your presence is more than sufficient for me, i will grab hold of it tightly and never let go.

Psalm 40

1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn't slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.

4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your backs on the world's "sure thing,"
ignore what the world worships;
The world's a huge stockpile
of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
comes close to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
account for you.

6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
that's not what you're after.
Being religious, acting pious—
that's not what you're asking for.
You've opened my ears
so I can listen.

7-8 So I answered, "I'm coming.
I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I'm coming to the party
you're throwing for me."
That's when God's Word entered my life,
became part of my very being.

9-10 I've preached you to the whole congregation,
I've kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn't keep the news of your ways
a secret, didn't keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
I didn't hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
let the congregation know the whole story.

11-12 Now God, don't hold out on me,
don't hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
are all that keeps me together.
When troubles ganged up on me,
a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
I couldn't see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene;
hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin
will be booed and jeered without mercy.

16-17 But all who are hunting for you—
oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you're all about
tell the world you're great and not quitting.
And me? I'm a mess. I'm nothing and have nothing:
make something of me.
You can do it; you've got what it takes—
but God, don't put it off.

Jenn: God doesn't just want us to be pious, He doesn't love us just cos of what we do for Him, or what we give Him. David said he's preached God to the whole congregation and held nothing back. Yet he worries that God will hold back from him. What about us? For me, i cannot say i've preached God to the whole congregation and held nothing back. I've held so much back in my selfishness, and in my lack of faith. But today i sense what God wants to tell me is that who i am, everything that i own, what i do, is His. To take the guilt away, to take the fear away. He's saying that i am nothing apart from Him, and i need not use my own efforts to become that ideal pious holy saint, because my efforts will never be enough. That even being myself, is possible simply cos of His grace. My life Lord, i owe to You, many many times over. May You come and use it for Your glory, every part of it, holding nothing back.

Psalm Things

Heyy guys...been reading tribe blogs and i realised many of them are doing daily psalm devotions on their blogs. For me, i was v enthusiastic bout reading the psalms when it first began, and they spoke to me greatly. However, as time passes, it became a daily routine to just read the Psalm of the Day before i eat, then i'd forget bout it for the rest of the day, unless it's SOL3 or something. I regret to say that i've also lost Ps Debra's and Yolander's devotional thingy after the house cleaning, must get new ones. Anyway, let's start doing this daily devotion thing k! Whoever is online, just paste the Psalm of the Day on a new blog entry and everyone can edit the entry to include your own thoughts/revelations. Hope this would be an encouragement to everyone, including myself. I shall start the ball rolling today. Cheers!

Love,
Jenn

thanksgiving

ive gt sth to give thanks to God. last week, i went to make a new pair of spec. the optician told me that my current spec is 'overpowered'. meaning the spec's degree is higher than it should be. my right eye now is 225 (used to be 275). left eye 275 (used to be 325). this wasnt the 1st time it happened. a few years ago, another optician told me the same thing and lowered my degree when i was making my green spec. seems more like my eye sight is getting better. remembered that i ever pray to God to give me a perfect eye sight after hearing miracle stories from my colleagues that God healed ppl with short sightedness. no longer do they need to wear spec. i dont mean to belittle God. in the bible Jesus healed the blind. what's short sightness to Him?! the exciting thingy is that it's happening to me~! yea yea. im so happy. it's sth to rejoice. slowly but surely im able to do without specs in future. Praise God for His faithfulness in my life. Amen.

ps: pray for me yea? for a spec free life.

i can't believe everyone is so efficient in posting..*gasps*

we are the last group. but the last shall be the first. hehehe. right at the top of the page, our sharing and prayer requests!

elaine:
1. pray that she will make good friends in school, especially when her tutorials consist of different people. may God bless her with favour and one godly good friend!
2. pray for xin yi (her friend who accepted Christ the other time) that God will lead her to Him and that she may find her purpose in life in Him. also, for elaine that she will have wisdom in bringing her to church as well.
3. pray that elaine will not feel uncomfortable or 'don't feel like' meeting up with old friends from primary school, that their friendships will grow beyond superficial level to a deeper one with acceptance of who she is.

charmaine cheong:
1. pray that God will maximise her time (she's very busy haha) , also have time to practice for her piano exam coming in march
2. pray that there will not be awkwardness between her and her piano teacher when she goes for piano lessons next week (due to something that happened la) and that her fingers will be so anointed in playing all the pieces

nuan yi:
1. pray that she will make good friends and pick good project partners as she starts school on monday

-the end-

Prayer requests from Des, Val & Reg...

Please keep us in prayer...

Des - Family Harmony.
Val - Career Direction. Please pray for wisdom and God's direction as to her career...
Reg - Career Direction. Please pray for the correct doors to open, and that she will know that they are open...

Thanks... Due to privacy issues, we don't feel comfortable posting the sharing at this point... But, we'll post up our prayer requests... ;)

Ikea's meatballs are soo delicious.

Please keep Chng's grandma in prayer. Pray for communication between her and her grandma, that language will not be a boundary. Pray for relief of pain, pray for reality of God to show through. Pray for Chng to be strong, to be the light of God to her grandma.

Please keep Jennifer in prayer. Pray that she'll trust God in all decisions that she makes, pray that the Spirit will speak to her and lead her in God's will. Pray that she will have peace in making choices, and faith to let God take over. Pray that she will have the joy of God everyday, which will never be taken away from her no matter what circumstance she is placed in.

Please keep Yvonne in prayer. Pray that she will go to work a happy girl. And leave work a happy girl. Pray for fatigue (and dark eye rings) to go away. Pray that she will be obedient to God, and fear God. Pray that she will love unlovable people around her.

Thank you, you all. God bless =)

prayer requests from Peng

Peng is currently rushing for deadline...trying to finish up her design pieces in time for the exhibition next next week. Please pray for success n completion of project.
Pray for her health as she often has gastric pains whenever she is feeling stressed. Also bcoz of her irregular diet n late nites till 2am. tsk tsk.
Pray for her boss that he will not stress her up some more
Pray for journey mercies and weather in Paris as it will be very cold coz its winter. might worsen skin condition.
Pray for desired rest after exhibition is over
Pray that she will be motivated to read her psalms n that GOD will continue to speak to her during this period.

Ways to stay on the MRT seat tt's not meant to be sat on

Failed attempt



New tactic!


And...success!



Our cute lil' Pris

Hahaha tt was fun i was laughing bout it on my way home. Hehe.

stand firm

imagine you were standing at the pedestrian crossing, waiting for the light to turn green. however, the roads are clear and there are no cars in sight. people around you start crossing the road. would you join them? or would you wait?

i think many a times, we would cross without even thinking. so what if it's still red? the roads are empty and everyone's crossing already.

but today, just as i was standing in that same position, waiting for the light to turn green, the Holy Spirit spoke to me.

it is a law, a rule that we have to wait for the green light before crossing the road. we all know that. we've been taught that since young. and we know, that jaywalking like that is dangerous. but when peer pressure comes, when people around you start crossing, would you stand firm and wait? or would you give in to the world and join them?

crossing the road is a small matter. but when bigger things come along the way in your life, would you give in to the world, or would you stand right where you stood, holding on to your beliefs, your principles, your values and God's commands?

for some of us, perhaps we should try starting from little things today, like waiting for the green light. for others, we may have passed the traffic light test, but when bigger tests come, we need His grace and strength to stand where we were while the whole world is moving past us.

let us stand firm this day and not be complacent. continue to look to His grace for only by His grace can we be brought thus far.

"it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." - Galatians 5:1

Leaders' Appreciation - For Pastor Debra

Can't really hear what they are saying...maybe it's time to get a new phone.

Psalm 4

"You have put more joy and rejoicing in my heart than [they know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly."
(Amplified Bible)

"Why is everyone hungry for more? "More, more," they say. "More, more." I have God's more-than-enough, More joy in one ordinary day"
(The Message)

It's amazing, because there really are many occasions where i am the happiest on an ordinary day. When there's no sign of miracles exploding in the air, nor tangible blessings that i can hold, yet i feel happier than a time when i felt i had everything. Just a normal day, just doing normal things. Joy from the Lord is truly inexplicable. It is one that defies circumstances, one that flaunts its feathers most beautifully when sorrow strikes. What is joy when all is well? It is but a fleeting happiness, here this moment and gone the next. But joy in times of deepest sorrow and pain is one to be beheld, one that invites admiration. It is where joy parades itself in its fullest reign, it is where joy is complete. Thank you God for this joy you've given to us, that never fails, even when our worlds fall apart. =)

Psalm dua dan tiga

Psalm 2

When God laughed, how did He laugh? In a hysterical way, a joyful hearty chuckle, a mocking manner, or a bitter laughter? I believe in this psalm, God first laughs like a father would when his lil girl tells him, "Daddy, i'm going to kill the lion tmr." Laughing cos of his lil' girl's naviety, and her guts. But that laughter fades as God realises His children are trying to bring Him down, and His ppl along with Him. Though He knows full well that their efforts are futile, like a lil' mouse trying to kill an elephant by hitting it furiously with its lil' palms, it hurts Him deeply, knowing they have such an intention. It's like when the lil' girl tells her dad, "And after i kill the lion, Daddy, i'm going to kill you." And then his laughter turns to that of derision, and of mockery..

I didn't read the Message version until i'd finished writing this, and amazingly the translator seems to have gotten the same idea from God...
"Heaven-throned God breaks out laughing. At first he's amused at their presumption; Then he gets good and angry."

Psalm 3

I read this psalm over and over again a few times, and i asked that God would show me how David felt when he wrote this. How would you feel if your son, your own flesh and blood, betrays you, plots to take over your kingdom and now sends tens of thousands of your own army after you, to take your life? Anger, fear, hurt...i believe these are but some emotions that David experienced at that time. But i believe at the moment of writing this psalm, the main emotion is fear. David could be hiding in some cave in the mountains now, faint from hunger and haven't taken a bath in days. He started the psalm by telling God how he felt, exactly as the situation is. "God! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms, Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery: "Hah! No help for him from God!" David is afraid, terrified, and he is honest with God.

And then, Selah. From Ps Debra's devotional, i found out that Selah could either mean 'pause or moment of silent meditation' or 'lifting up of voices or the lifting up/blowing of trumpets' or 'musical interlude'. I doubt David would be blowing trumpets at this point, from my conjecture this Selah prolly meant 'pause or moment of silent meditation'. Why? Maybe cos his emotions were too overwhelming at that point, maybe cos he was crying too hard to continue. After that moment of silent meditation, he goes on to seek solace in God, and declare the Lord's faithfulness even in his extreme circumstances.

Next he said, "I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people. Who have set themselves against me all around." This is quite funny, because the reason i'm awake at this time is because i woke up in the middle of the night feeling wide awake, and i thought maybe God wants to speak to me, so i went to read this psalm, and "I lay down and slept: I awoke, for the Lord sustained me." jumped out at me. That sounds like what just happened to me, i thought. Haha. As i struggled to understand what David meant when he wrote this, God led me to the understanding that David must have been dead tired from days of climbing the mountains and hiding, yet was afraid to sleep lest someone attacks him in his sleep and takes his life. So he gave thanks to God for giving him the peace to fall asleep, and for protecting him from harm, when he awoke.

Psalm 1

This is a psalm that showcases the blessings of the Lord that will be given if we walk in His ways, and also a warning to those who do not. Two verses spoke to me today.

Firstly, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD..."
Delight, that's what God wants to give us in this season. What do we delight in? What we delight in shows where our heart lies. If we truly delight in the Word of God, we would rejoice over it, give thanks for it, and meditate upon it.
"If a person delights in something, you don’t have to beg them to do it or to like it. They will do it all by themselves. You can measure your delight for the word of God by how much you hunger for it."

"...and on His law he meditates day and night"
“Meditation chews the cud, and gets the sweetness and nutritive virtue of the Word into the heart and life: this is the way the godly bring forth much fruit.” (Ashwood, cited by Spurgeon)It's not just reading. Nor is it sitting in a yoga position for 10 hours in silence. It's going about your daily activities, but thinking constantly of the verses, slowly chewing it, savouring every taste and aftertaste that lingers.

Secondly, "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither." A tree by a river has a constant stream of water, and is strong and stable, sinking down deep roots. (Guzik D. 2006) Yupp, and it will yield its fruit in season. Not all year round, but in its season. Let's look forward to the many bananas, apples, strawberries, mangoes and kiwis that God will give to us this year in our own seasons!

Planning and Group Photo

countdown party 2007

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