He shall be like a tree planted by the RIVERS OF WATER, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper...Ps 1:3
Monday, August 29, 2005
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Tolong Sabar!
If your photo is missing from this site, please go to Yahoo! Photos for the rest of the pictures.
Hint: Try the "slideshow" mode. It's kinda cool!
Sunday Re-cap 28th August
by Sam Hari
Who is this coming up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved?
Songs 8:5 (NLT)
The first part of the scripture asks "Who is this?"
- from Scriptures we see that no one is exepted from the "wilderness" experience. Ex: Adam & Eve (Gen 3:23-24; Cain (Gen 4:12-14); Joseph (Gen 37, 39-41); Moses (Ex 2,3); Jesus (Luke 4:1).
- this means we are also not exempt from the "wilderness" experiences such as betrayal, family problems, sicknesses, financial challenges, relationship issues, etc.
- We don't need to go looking for our "wilderness" experiences, it will come to us. Lk 4:1
- Interesting to note that "wilderness" experiences in scriptures came after mountaintop experiences i.e. Joseph (Gen 37), Moses (Ex 2:11-15) and Elijah (1 kgs 18:40 & 1 Kgs 19:1-2).
The second part says "coming up from the wilderness"
- The LORD intends everyone to "come up" from our "wilderness" experience. We need not "go down" or "stay down" in our "wilderness". We are not alone. He will help us! He wants to help us!
- we must be careful not to respond incorrectly when in wilderness experience i.e. blame oursleves, blame others, complain, blame the devil, lean on human wisdom, etc.
- we must be careful not to have a pessimistic outlook of GOD because it will affect the words we say, people around us and ourselves.
- A pessimistic attitude may lead to a stronghold and eventually demonic activity if we aren't careful. Seek help and seek deliverance before it's too late.
The third part says "Leaning on her beloved"
The purpose of the wilderness experience is:
- so that we may worship Him. Ex 7:16, 2 Chr 20:20-25.
- it's in the wilderness that God removes our dependency on everything else but Him alone.
- we worship God for who He is in the "wilderness" and not for what He has done (mountaintop praise).
- God will sometimes allow our lives to go through cycles of mountaintop (praise) as well as wilderness (worship) experiences to make us balanced believers.
- God will move us from our comfort zones to the wilderness to wake us up to His will and purposes (captivity in Egypt, Babylon, Gaza Evacuation).
Saturday, August 27, 2005
God Principle
The wise man came riding on his horse and asked the villagers if he can be of any help to them. The village elders told him about the rich man's last will and testament which stated that half of the (19) horses must be given to his only son, one fourth must go to the temple and one fifth to the faithful servant. The wise man said he will immediately solve their problem without any delay whatsoever. He had the 19 horses placed in a row standing next to one another. Then headded his own horse as the 20th horse. Now he went about giving half of the 20 horses - that is ten horses to the son. One fourth of 20- that is 5 horses were given to the temple committee. One fifth of twenty- that is 4 horses were given to the faithful servant. Ten plus five plus four made 19 horses. The remaining 20th horse was his own which he promptly mounted, spoke a few inspiring words, and rode back home.The villagers were simply dumb founded, full of disbelief and filled with admiration. And the parting words of the wise man were inscribed in their hearts and minds which they greatly cherished and passed on to their succeeding generations till today.
The wise man said: In our daily lives, in our daily affairs, simply add God's name and then go about facing the day's happenings. Ever come across problems in life that are seemingly insurmountable? (Like the villagers, dowe feel that such problems cannot be solved?). The wise man continued: Add the God Principle in our daily lives and the problems will become lighter and eventually will disappear. In the manner ofthe ice which, with the addition of the heat principle will turn into water, and that will eventually evaporate as steam and disappear.
And how do we add God's name (God principle) in our daily lives? Through prayers! through prayers..filled with true love and devotion with sincerity of purpose and dedication that only total faith can bring about. Meditation is a powerful means of directing the mind Godward. But without true love and devotion entering into it, it remains like a boat without water. It is not difficult to push a boat that is floating in water, but extremely hard to drag the same boat on dry land. In the same way, if our life's boat floats on the waters of true love and devotion, we can sail easily in it. The principle of love of God and devotion with total faith (like water), makes easy the voyage of our lives. When the mind is pure and the heart full of simplicity and holiness, such a devotee becomes an instrument in the service of the Lord.
Author Anonymous
WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE OUGHT TO PRAY FOR BUT THE SPIRIT HIMSELF INTECEDESFOR US WITH GROANS THAT WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS-Romans 8:26
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Sunday Re-cap 21st August
by Sam Hari
Prov 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.
The biggest challenge to guarding our hearts remains no different from the beginning of time. They are all found in Gen 3:6 and 1 Jn 2:16
- Expectations (the pride of life).
- Temptations (the lust of the flesh).
- Deception (lust of the eye).
The strategies of Satan are the same today. Therefore:
- We must be wary of these strategies to guard our hearts.
- In order to guard our hearts, we must be able to hear God clearly.
- In Prov 1:32, we notice two things that prevent us from hearing God clearly.
They are waywardness and complacency.
1. Waywardness is....
- leaving the way, getting of the trail.
- It’s an attitude and not just a one-time thing.
- It’s the spirit of the age and completely opposite to the spirit of servanthood.
- It’s really the SLAVE mentality and not the SON mindset. Only the SON gets the breakthrough.
- Should we not benefit? Should we not prosper? We must remember that
Christ died for us not for Ourselves but He died for us for HIMSELF!
2. Complacency is....
- Taking things for granted. 1 Pet 1:13; 1 Pet 5:8
- Having a “know-it-all” attitude. 1 Cor 10:12
- An attitude of insubordination and insubmission to God. (sons of Korah; Golden Calf).
o An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.
o If we’re busy rowing the boat, we’ve got no time to complain!
Some reasons as to why we become wayward and complacent:
- Unfulfilled needs
- Bad love is better than no love at all.
- Wrong company
- Sin Nature
- No information and/or application of it.
- Pride and Arrogance.
Conclusion
- Waywardness KILLS
- Complacency DESTROYS
- We’re prevented from LISTENING to HIS VOICE.
Prov 1:33 says when we LISTEN to His Voice we will:
- Live in safety.
- Be at EASE.
- Have NO FEAR of HARM!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Prophetic Training School
My dear Friends,
I am so excited in my spirit as I prepare for the Prophetic Training School in Penang on 8th - 10th September 2005. I believe strongly that God will do a great work of :-
1) Clarifying the misconception and lack of understanding of the prophetic ministry.
2) Bringing balance to the prophetic ministry
3) Sounding the alarm to warn of the excesses and abuses in the prophetic ministry.
To date, we have 230 registered participants. Some are coming from Brunei, Sabah, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Uganda and many more are coming. I was only expecting 200 to sign up and surely God is doing something powerful in the lives of the participants and in the city of Penang Island.
Those who are still hesitating, please sign up fast because there are limited places left. Do not miss this God's appointed time for your life and ministry. You may log in to our website or contact us for more info. We also have a special guest speaker, Ps. Thomas Cherian (also known as Ps. Samachen) a great prophet from India, to minister in this prophetic school.
Kindly pass the word around and send this email to all your contacts. Looking forward to see you in Penang on 8th September 2005. God has a word in season for you.
At the time of writing, we are preparing to go to Perth, Australia for our Prophetic Training School. Kindly log in to our websites http://www.pagv.org.my
For perth : http://paulang.net/
By His Wonderful Grace,
Paul Ang
View From Diamond Villa, Tanjung Bungah
Let's pray:
- That the fires will be put out at the source not just in Indonesia but in Malaysia as well (providentially or otherwise).
- Conviction in the hearts of those responsible for this even if they have "connections".
- Wisdom & Boldness for the Malaysian authorities to deal with this situation.
- Rain in the affected areas.
- Good Health & Protection for our kids and all Malaysians.
Lord, we bless those who are responsible for this and commit them into your loving hands, In Jesus Name.
Family Camp Instructions
We know that you are all excited about the camp next week and here are some instructions that will help you have a great time there! Also, we have put in the map on how to get to the jetty and cross the channel to Jerejak Island.
- Please meet at the jetty by 2pm on Monday, 22nd Aug.
- There will be no fare charged for the boat crossing.
- There is also no charge for carpark for those going for the camp. However, we request you carpool as much as possible.
- Please don't forget to bring the following items:
- enough clothing for 2nights/3days.
- swimming attire, caps, sports shoes, slippers, sunglasses.
- children's floats, beach toys.
- personal toiletries i.e. tooth brush, tooth paste, etc. Toilet paper and soap will be provided.
- sun tan lotions.
- 3 in 1 beverages (extra).
- light snacks i.e. biscuits, crackers, Chinese Tea, etc.
- DRINKING WATER (this is important as water is very expensive on the Island).
- anything else that your family may need i.e. baby food, diapers
The map to get there is as follows:
For any further information, please go to http://www.penang-hotels.com/jerejakpg/
Most importantly, come with the right heart and full of expectation that God is going to do something wonderful in and through our lives at this camp. Also, please come with a servant heart. If you feel that there's something that needs to be done, please help do it and not complain or get worked up about it. We welcome suggestions and solutions. Let's be part of the solution. We are in this together! Enjoy!
God bless!
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Sunday Re-cap 14th August
By Samuel Hari
Scriptures: Pro 11:11 ; Pro 18:20-21
Some Observations from the Scriptures above:
- Words are likened to FOOD! Prov 18:19; Prov 15:1
- “Self Talk” is not all that Bad. 1 Sam 30:6
- Don’t worry about hurting others. Why? Prov 11:17
You Hurt Yourself Through
- Lost Relationships. Pro 18:19
- Lost health. Pro 12:18; 18:21
- Lost Integrity. Pro 19:1 (NKJV)
- Lost Opportunities. Prov 17:20
So What do I do?
- Don’t TALK unnecessarily! Pro 10:19
- Talk is a direct result of what is in the HEART. Luke 6:45
- Guard Your Heart!
Pro 4:23-24
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Conclusion
- You cannot hide what is in your HEART!
- What you SAY will reveal the true condition of your HEART.
- Physical FOOD affects the Physical HEART and Spiritual FOOD affects the Spiritual HEART (GIGO).
- What is in your HEART and not just what is in your mouth affects you and ones around you.
Matt 15:18-20
Stop Whining!
When you are complaining, what are you focusing on, what's right with your life or what's wrong with it, and since what you focus on expands, you'll keep getting more of what's wrong.
Many teachers in the personal development field talk about the Law of Attraction. It states that "like attracts like," meaning that when you are complaining, you are actually attracting "crap" into your life.
Have you ever noticed that complainers usually have a tough life? It seems that everything that could go wrong does go wrong for them. They say, "Of course I complain--look how crappy my life is." And now that you know better, you can explain to them, "No it's because you complain that your life is so crappy. Shut up....and don't stand near me!"
Here's some homework that I promise will change your life. For the next seven days, I challenge you to not complain at all. Not just out loud, but in your head as well. But you have to do it for the full seven days. Why? Because for the first few days, you may still have some "residual crap" coming to you from before. Unfortunately, crap doesn't travel at the speed of light, you know, it travels at the speed of crap, so it might take a while to clear out."
Taken from a secular management book.
Let's not only do that but replace all complaining with PRAISE! You can use Ps 145-150 as a guideline. Go ahead and try it. You have nothing to lose ...except complain some more!
Friday, August 12, 2005
Newsflash!!!
Just to keep all GROW-ers' informed of a couple of events this coming week.
Event 1
This coming week's prayer meeting will be held at our new Hokkien Church premises (see address on the banner on the right) at 8pm, 17th August.
Event 2
Our Chinese Church premises will be dedicated on Sunday, the 21st Aug at 10am. We encourage all members to proceed there as soon as the English service is over.
We would also like to extend this invite to all BM-ites reading this!
Event 3
Please keep the UME Weekend in prayer which is going to be held from the 19-21st Aug.
Event 4
Please keep our Family Camp in prayer which is going to be held from the 22-24th Aug.
Also please note that our BLOG is undergoing major renovation by our site developers. So be patient if you see weird things and stuff flying around...just duck your head!!!
F A M I L Y
We went on our way and we said goodbye. But at home a different story is told. How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the evening meal, my son stood beside me very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. "Move out of the way," I said with a frown.He walked away, his little heart broken .I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken. While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said, "While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse. Go and look on the kitchen floor, you'll find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes. "By this time, I felt very small, and now my tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt by his bed; "Wake up, little one, wake up," I said. "Are these the flowers you picked for me? "He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree. I picked 'em because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue. "I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way. "He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.I love you anyway." I said, "Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."
FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family,an unwise investment indeed, don't you think? So what is behind the story?
Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Sunday Re-cap 7th August
by Bob Kok
Eph. 4: 26 – 32 (The Message Bible)
Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.
Did you used to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can’t work.
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.
Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.
Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.
This scripture commands us not to sin by being angry. We are told to put away or to bring anger under control.
4 Types of Anger
- Charcoal or pay-back type of anger (Gen 4:1 – 8)
Cain’s jealousy led him to anger and then to murder his brother Abel. Cain allowed his anger to the boiling point; just like the charcoal, when anger has burned for a period of time, it gets hotter and hotter (out of control). - Match type of anger (1 Sam 18:5 -12)
This type endures for only a moment but causes a lot of destruction. King Saul kept a jealous match on David. He was afraid of David because God was with David, and many times tried to kill David.
Fear may cause anger to rise up in people and they can act very irrationally.
Ecc. 7:9 - Don’t be quick-tempered: that is being a fool. - Righteous indignation or anger (Mk.3:1 – 6)
Jesus got angry at the selfish hardness of their hearts (the Pharisees’ indifference to human needs).
Deut 29:24 – 28- The Lord’s anger was kindled because of the people’s hard-hearted disobedience. - The anger of provocation
1 Col 3:21- Fathers, provoke not your children to anger……
Eph 6:4 - Do not nag or provoke them to wrath….but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Conclusion
But now is the time to cast off and throw away all these rotten garments of anger, hatred, cursing and dirty language. Col 3:8
Walk according to the Spirit and always operate through the fruit of the Spirit! Gal 5:16-22
One Solitary Life
Friday, August 05, 2005
DOGS VS CATS
It's so easy to be a dog owner. You feed it, train it, boss it around. And yet it still puts its head on your knee and gazes at you as if you were a Rembrandt painting and bounds indoors with enthusiasm when you call it.
Then around age 13, your adoring little puppy turns into a cat. When you tell it to come inside, it looks amazed, as if wondering who died and made you emperor.
Instead of dogging your doorsteps, it disappears. You won't see it again until it gets hungry.
Then it pauses on its sprint through the kitchen long enough to turn its nose up at whatever you're serving.
When you reach out to ruffle its head, in that old affectionate gesture, it twists away from you, then gives you a blank stare, as if trying to remember where it has seen you before.
You, not realizing that the dog is now a cat, think something must be desperately wrong. It seems so antisocial, so distant. It won't go on family outings. Since you're the one who raised it, taught it to fetch and stay and sit on command, you assume that you did something wrong. Flooded with guilt and fear, you redouble your efforts to make your pet behave.
Only now you're dealing with a cat, so everything that worked before now produces the opposite of the desired result.
Call it, and it runs away. Tell it to sit, and it jumps on the counter. The more you go toward it, with open arms, the more it moves away. Instead of continuing to act like a dog owner, you should learn to behave like a cat owner. Put a dish of food near the door, and let it come to you. Sit still, and it will come, seeking that warm, comforting lap it has not entirely forgotten.
Be there to open the door for it.
And just remember... One day your grown-up child will walk into the kitchen, give you a big kiss and say, "You've been on your feet all day. Let me get those dishes for you."
Then you'll realize your cat is now a dog again!
Received from: Just For Grins
THE PRETTY LADY
There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the damaged bridge and couldn't cross the river. The big monk offered to carry the pretty lady across the river on his back. The lady accepted.
The little monk was shocked by the move of the big monk. "How can big disciple brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all intimacy with females?" thought the little monk. But he kept quiet.
The big monk carried the lady across the river and the small monk followed unhappily. When they crossed the river, the big monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her.
All along the way for several miles, the little monk was very unhappy with the act of the big monk. He was making up all kinds of accusations about the big monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the big monk had no inclination to explain his situation.
Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the little monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the big monk. "How can you claim yourself a devout monk, when you seize the first opportunity to touch a female, especially when she is very pretty? All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite."
The big monk looked surprised and said, "I had put down the pretty lady at the river bank many hours ago, how come you are still carrying her along?"
We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate us and they make us angry. Sometimes, they cause us a lot of hurt, sometimes they cause us to be bitter or jealous. But like the little monk, we are not willing to let them go away. We keep on carrying the baggage of the "pretty lady" with us. We let them keep on coming back to hurt us, make us angry, make us bitter and cause us a lot of agony. Why? Simply because we are not willing to put down or let go of the baggage of the "pretty lady". We should let go of the pretty lady immediately after crossing the river, immediately after the unpleasant event is over. This will immediately remove all our agonies. There is no need to be further hurt by the unpleasant event after it is over. It is just that simple.
Matt 11:28
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
- Author Anonymous
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
MAKAN TIME!!!
No it's not the "AB type" or the "Nasi Kandar" type of makan...we're talking about Spiritual food!
1st MAKAN
Yes, he's back! Ps. Anthony Perkins (not the psycho one!) will be ministering @ GROW again. Don't miss the heartfelt, genuine and sincere man of God from Pattaya, Thailand. He will be praying for the sick; so don't forget to bring your friends, relatives and come and be touched by God through this wonderful servant of God!
Date: 29th July (Friday)
Time: 8.00pm
Venue: GROW BM
The man of prayer from France, Daniel Anthony, will be ministering @ GROW on our Wednesday night prayer meeting. Come and be inspired to pray and pray and pray some more. Daniel doesn't just talk about prayer, he lives it! Come and let your prayer life be resurrected into a resurrection powered prayer life!
Date: 3rd August (Wed)
Time: 8.00pm
Venue: GROW BM
Sunday Re-cap 31st July
by Daniel J.
Psalm 39:4-5 - Be reminded that our days are numbered. Don't waste the days that we have, everyday is precious and we don’t know what tomorrow brings.
Today is the day of SALVATION....
Now FAITH is....
- The biggest hindrance to change in a person’s life is PROCRASTINATION – ‘the act of putting off or delaying or deferring an action needlessly to a later time.
A procrastinator loves starting a sentence with the phrase ‘One of these days I will…… One of these days I’m going to spend more time with my family.
One of these days I’m going to get serious about being a Christian.
One of these days…..The problem with one of these days is that it never comes. - If we only had 24 hours to live, what would you do? Many people respond that relationship & people are most important.
So what have you been putting off? How about starting with something very dear to God's heart. Forgiveness! Is there someone we need to forgive that we haven’t yet? The focal point of our whole faith is forgiveness which we receive from the cross. - We are saved only by grace.
Eph 2:18 - Salvation is a gift; you can not work for it.
Phil 2:12 – ‘work out your salvation with fear and trembling’ Not work for. Salvation is not by works because we definitely won’t get salvation then. If we choose not to forgive then we walk is rebellion – sin of witchcraft.
So, what are you waiting for?
John 4:35, Jesus points that the fields are already white for harvest. Do not wait or procrastinate! Let’s commit ourselves to:
Plant seeds, Water & Harvest a Bountiful Crop!