lancia 's site

And yet You run to welcome me

This is my song of praise to You
For who You are and all that You do
From the moment my life began... Abba, You have been Faithful...

Dear daddy God,

3 months into the new job, I see your fingerprints all over my life, everyday I see You..and I especially enjoyed the moments during the keyboard lesson at Believer's Music..

I must confess, in the past, I felt very loved by You...and that revelation has increased and deepened over the years and I know, it would continue in the days to come. However, in the last 2 months, I began to feel, IN LOVE.  yes, it's like falling in love again.... I cannot explain why nor how, I can only say...it must be you, Jesus...

and I also know, at my weakest moments, You give me more than sufficient grace to do your will...and I know that no matter what, you still love me, and welcome me with loving arms.   

I am looking forward to the days to come...until I see You, face to face! 

God is GOOD! 

About a year or more ago, while we still had bible studies on weeknights, I was discussing about REST with my sis, Abi - that I had a revelation about "REST" ...but I wasn't sure..because I have not heard any sermons on that yet (i havent listened to all of Pastor's sermons yet!).....the verse that came to me was - labour to enter into "His rest" –  I used to think that we rest, and let Jesus work, then there was a small voice that seemed to say - HIS REST, means He is also resting – cos His work is already completed. We just ‘take’ and ‘draw’ upon His completed work.  but if we do not know what His redemption has provided for us, we wouldn't be able to take.

Recently..I had been thinking about this again – it’s kinda like doubt started to creep in when something I prayed about have yet to be manifested.  and the devil knew that he didnt have much hold on me these days...that I live a very carefree life now..apart from my beloved family (pre-believers). yes, the prayer was about someone in the family. 

Then I was listening to an old sermon (that You may see Good when it comes) – Pastor mentioned about not putting your faith on the manifestation; don’t deviate from His word – our belief is in His promises, His living word in the bible, not on the manifestation.  So I was reminded not to 'think' that it's not coming through just because the manifestation hasn't took place.

And the Lord showed me this example – remember "Creation"?  God has completed His creation and created man last, and He rested on the 7^th day.  Since then, God has not created anything new.  Everything was completed then.  God showed me that and that men are still ‘discovering’ new things about His creation.  Scientists are still researching on "creation" and how to create new inventions from these findings.  Only when we discover, will we be able to enjoy His creation. 

In the same way, only when we know about His finished work(redemption) – what it has accomplished for us – can we ‘reap’ more out of it. Our whole life journey on earth is a discovery journey – the walk on earth..is a discovery walk..with Him.  Because there are so many things that we have yet to know…we’ve got no time to lose!  don't put your eyes on the troubles, or circumstances. 

Keep our eyes on Him, let the Holy spirit rise up and be President over us...and show us the truths about His redemptive work on the cross.. and it doesn't end there..knowing is not enough.  Apply it - proclaim His word over the problem, the circumstances, that sickness;  what does God say about the situation - what does the bible say about it?   Believe it and Claim it!  put His word into effect, speak it!

Pastor’s message on Rest last Sunday has helped me so much….to understand clearly that I don’t have to waver again and to know, for sure, that Jesus is resting.  if He is resting at the Father's right hand, what are we doing???  what can we do??  "SIT"!

The LORD (God the Father), is talking to the Lord (the Son)..in Psalm 110.

Psalm 110:1 

The LORD (Jehovah) said to my Lord(Adonai), Sit at My right hand until I place Your enemies as Your footstool.

Awesome!  Thank you Jesus!

I 'caught' this from the hillsong conference:

"you only realised Jesus is what you need when you realised Jesus is what you've got." 

Many a times, in our lives, only when we are left with nothing, did we realise that ALL we need was Him, and He was there with...us all the time.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for sending me the darling of heaven to rescue me.  I pray that we will constantly be reminded of Jesus, His presence and that everything we need is found in Him, there is no need to look elsewhere.   In Him, we live. 

Jesus, You ALONE are what I need

You ALONE are my everything, my ALL-in-ALL

And to You ALONE I praise,

and You ALONE deserve the Glory and Honour!

YOU ALONE are ALL we NEED!”

So awesome… ALONE (singular) yet He is EVERYthing

                       ALONE yet He is ALL-IN-ALL!  

                       And we have Him - ALL the time.

Hallelujah! 

I love this poem written by my sis-in-Christ, Mag.  had to put this here..so that I can read it any time!

here's the link to her webpage:  http://web.mac.com/mag.mag/iWeb/Site/HisBeloved/2C2D558D-608C-4A57-A1EE-D05477FB1D5C.html

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Recently, I posted a blog about how difficult I find it is to love someone (someone close, in the family) the Lord said - love him into loveliness.

He didn't stop there. 

After the trip to UK for the Hillsong Conference, and seeing some old frens and making new ones...

Sharing about God's love and blessings...my heart was overwhelmed again..with His love. 

I won't be able to love without Him filling me with His love.   

Truely, if we behold Jesus, who is love (Himself is love), how can His love not rub off on us?  

Well, that's what happened to me.

I want to thank Pastor Prince's ministry for preaching His Grace, His love..and all my sisters in Christ who have blessed me much..

as I see you walk in His love, living life as what we believe - which is all found in Him - Jesus Christ, my Saviour King.

Be blessed as we live this life, this walk with Him...learning to live life loved - abiding in Him.

Learning to Live Loved

God's love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not 

increase His.

The lack of your love does not diminish His.

Your goodness does not enhance His love, nor does your weakness dilute it. 

What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:

"The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you 

were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! 

It was simply because the LORD loves you." (Deut. 7:7-8 NLT)

God loves you simply because He has chosen to do so.

He loves you when you don't feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you. 

Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. 

Always. No matter what.

This is His sentiment: "I'll call nobodies and make them somebodies; 

I'll call the unloved and make them beloved." (Rom. 9:25 MSG).

This is His promise. "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting 

love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. " (Jer. 31:3 NLT).

Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people 

pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each. 

Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. 

Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate.

How they treat us will affect how we love them. The receiver regulates our love.

Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on His love for us. 

The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. 

His love is uncaused and spontaneous. As Charles Wesley said, "He hath loved us. He hath loved us. Because He would love."  

He is Love – Jesus is God’s Perfect love personified and manifested.  

Does He love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? 

Because of our great faith?  Thank goodness NO!  He loves us because of His goodness, kindness, and great faith. 

John says it like this: "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us" 

(I John 4:10 NIV).

Do you know what else that means? You have a deep aquifer of love from which to draw. 

When you find it hard to love, then you need a drink! Drink deeply! Drink daily!

Don't forget, love is a fruit. Step into the orchard of God's work, and what is the first fruit you see? 

"Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" 

(Gal.5:22 NIV, emphasis mine).

Love is a fruit. A fruit of whom? Of your hard work? Of your deep faith? 

Of your rigorous resolve?  No. Love is a fruit of the Spirit of God. 

"The Spirit produces the fruit" (Gal.5:22).

And, this is so important, you are a branch on the vine of God. 

"I am the vine, and you are the branches" (John 15:5). 

Need a refresher course on how vines function? 

What is the role of the branch in the bearing of fruit? 

Branches don't exert a lot of energy. You never hear of gardeners treating branches for exhaustion. 

Branches don't attend clinics on stress management. Nor do they groan and grunt. 

"I've got to get this grape out. I've got to get this grape out. I'm going to bear this grape if it kills me!"

No, the branch does none of that. The branch has one job - to receive nourishment from the vine. 

And you have one job-to receive nourishment from Jesus. "I am the Vine, you are the branches. 

When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. 

Separated, you can't produce a thing" (John 15:5 MSG).

Our Lord gets no argument from us on that last line, does he? 

We have learned the hard way apart from him we can't produce a thing. 

Don't you think it's time we learn what happens if we stay attached?

His job is to bear fruit. Our job is to stay put. The more tightly we are attached to Jesus, 

the more purely his love can pass through us. 

And oh, what a love it is! Patient. Kind. Does not envy. Does not boast. Is not proud.

Let's rewrite 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 one more time. 

Not with your name or Jesus' name but with both. 

Read it aloud with your name in the blank, and see what you think.

Christ in _____ is patient, Christ in _____ is kind. 

Christ in _____ does not envy,

Christ in _____ does not boast, 

Christ in _____ is not proud. 

Christ in _____ is not rude, Christ in _____ is not self-seeking, 

Christ in _____ is not easily angered, 

Christ in _____ keeps no record of wrongs. 

Christ in _____ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

Christ in _____ always protects, always perseveres. 

Christ in _____ never fails.

Will we ever love like that? Will we ever love perfectly? No. This side 

of heaven only God will. But we will love better than we have. By being loved, we will love.

This is a collection of quotes that I enjoy - mostly from the book SELAH by Brian Houston and quotes I heard from Pastor's sermons; seen on signboards..... ENJOY...

* LIFE is for living.  Your life is a gift.  Living your life is a CHOICE.

  "I've come that they might have life and have it more abundantly..."  (John 10:10)

* Living your life BLESSED is better than living your life RICH.

Rich thinks, 'I have a need for nothing" (Rev 3:17); 

Blessed thinks, "I can be a blessing"  (Gen 12:2)

* Don’t spend money that you don’t have, on things that you don’t need, to impress people who don’t care.

* A true friend is a FRIEND to your destiny.

  "He who walks with wise men will be wise...." (Pro 13:20)

* Life biggest battles are INTERNAL, not external.

* No matter what happens to you in life, never develop a wounded spirit.

  "Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls." (Pro 25:28)

* Leaders must ask, 'Can people flourish under my leadership?'

  If they can't Flourish, why would they stay planted?

  "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our GOD." (Psalms 92:13)  

* Live your experience to the level of your BELIEF, rather than lower your belief to the level of your experience.

* Church should be ENJOYED, not endured! 

* The same people who dismiss the Church as being - old, empty, boring and irrelevant - criticise it for being BIG, successful, young and relevant.

* When GOD thinks of gifts, He thinks of PEOPLE

   "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." (John 3:16)

* It wasn’t nails that held Him to the cross, it was LOVE; His Love for us.

   “In this the love of God was manifested towards us……Not that we love God but that He loved us and sent His Son, the propitiation of our sins.”  (1 John 4:9-10)

* You will never come second by putting God first

   "Seek first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Mat 6:33)

* Many Christians JUST live saved.  The Bible inspires us to live CALLED.

  "He who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given in Christ Jesus...." (2 Tim 1:9)

* God-given destiny positions you in the right place, at the right time, with the right people.

* If you cannot Stand up for what you BELIEVE, you'll fall for anything.

* You can CHANGE the FUTURE  - our decisions affect the generations to come.

"Blessed is the man who fears the Lord....his descendants will be mighty on the earth." (Psalms 112:1-2)

* Men’s way leads to a hopeless end; GOD’s way always leads to an endless HOPE.

  “For I know the thoughts I have for you….to give you a FUTURE and a HOPE.” (Jer 29:11)

* The BEST is yet to come.  Are you positioned for God’s best?

"A thousand times I've failed

Still Your mercy remains

Should I stumble again

Still I'm caught in Your grace"

This few verses kept playing in my head (or rather in my spirit) for the last few weeks.   As I was preparing the worship songs for the next CG meeting, I 'stumble' onto this song and realised that it is the lyrics of a song from the Hillsong's <Mighty to Save> album released last year. It's called 'From the Inside out" but I only remember the first verse.   I am reminded that even a thousand times I might have failed...yet His mercy remains new everyday!   With God behind you all the time, even when you fail - how not to Reign in this life?

 "Everlasting, Your Light will shine when all else fades...

  Neverending, Your Glory goes beyond all fame"

In life, many a times, we cried out to God - where are You?   

In Genesis 22:1-13, the story of Abraham bringing Isaac to a mountain (in the land of Moriah) to be offered as a sacrifice; not known to Abraham, God had already provided a ram to be the burnt offering instead. 

Pastor has taught us before: for God to cut a covenant with Abraham;  Abraham had to 'gave up' (eventually, he need not) his son Isaac, so that God could also give up His only Son, Jesus.   Whatever He asked us to do, He will also provide the means.

This is a story about God's provision that was given before we see it:

This beautiful story was written by a doctor who worked in Africa

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny,  premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an  incubator).  We also had no special feeding facilities.

Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.

Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle.  She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates).  "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa  it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.

"All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."

The following noon , as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

During prayer time, one ten -year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God" she prayed, "Send us a hot water bottle today. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added,  "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?"

As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say "Amen"? I just did not believe that God could do this.  Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland.

I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time,  and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home.

Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the verandah was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes.  I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box.

From the top, I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys.  Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored.

Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.

Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be?  I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried.

I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!"

Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully- dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!  Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"   "Of course", I replied!

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon."

"Before they call, I will answer." (Isaiah 65:24)

This is an extraction of an interesting article which I have read:

This popular saying - when East meets West - has become so much part of everyday language and now there are ranges of clothing, furniture and all sorts of other commodities that bear the slogan. Yet, Rudyard Kipling’s famous quote says: “East is East, West is West, and never the twain shall meet”.

So which is it? Well I suppose politically and ideologically speaking East may meet West but in reality, Kipling is right. You can travel in an easterly direction for a million miles and you will never find a point at which East and West touch. This is true whether you travel in a straight line into space or in a circle around the earth. Mathematicians refer to the distance between East and West as “infinity”.

East will never meet West and that is why David says: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

Our sins have not just been taken away but they have been removed an infinite distance from us. As much as East and West cannot meet, so much we will never be confronted by them again once they have been dealt with by the Blood.

When children have done something wrong, they instinctively try to hide the evidence, but it does not take long for the truth to come out and for them to be confronted by the evidence. Yet, the Lord has removed our sin so far that they will never return to haunt us.

Four times the Bible says “their sin I will remember no more” (Isa 43:25, Jer 31:34, Heb 8:12, 10:17).

I just read about this topic in one of Kenneth e Hagin's book.  want to pen it down for me to remember:

1) Genesis 5:21-24 (Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him)

2) Amos 3:3 (two cannot walk together unless they are in agreement)

We often talked about receiving or asking God for direction, but the first step is to CHOOSE to walk with GOD, agree with His words.  God isnt goin to agree with our plans and opinions that don't line up with His word and His will.

3) Lesson (ask the Lord first)

Where are we missing it?   we make our own plans and ask God to bless them; why don't we ask Him first before we even plan.  wait, tarry. never make hasty decisions.

4)    Keeping in step with God's timing is as important as walking

Pastor Prince and Pastor Lian mentioned this before: if we are too fast, then we cannot be led by Him. 

5) Enoch walked with God in faith (Heb 11:5) - by FAITH Enoch was translated...

We all know we can trust God; but the outstanding characteristic about Enoch was that God could trust him!   Enoch pleased God with his faith in God.  "But without faith, it is impossible to please HIM: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him".

The new testament says we are to "...walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham.." (Rom 4:12) - the same faith that we were saved - by believing that we are righteous by faith.

6) Enoch lived his life day by day, walking with God - until one day, he just walked right into Heaven with Him!

1 Cor 15:51-54; 1 Thes 4:16,17 - talks about the rapture (catching away of the church to heaven before the Judgement day) - same way as Enoch was taken before the flood.

7) walking in the Light (1 John 1:17) - what does it mean?

Being in Christ (a believer) and be conscious of being in HIM - is walking in the light (according to your spiritual nature, not physical nature).

Psalms 119:130; Psalms 119:105 - the entrance of God's word enlighten us; hence it means for us to 'walk in the light of God's word'; we are to feed on His written word daily, and walk in the light of its truth.

8) the blood of Jesus cleanses (continously)

goes with the prev point: being in Christ, walking in the light, and knowing that the blood cleanses us from all sin..so that we can walk in fellowship with God and with His son and so we are in fellowship with one another. 

that's all for me to digest this week!!!!!!