New details

Water Baptism Celebration on 2 March 2008
Venue : YWCA Fort Canning Lodge
6 Fort Canning Road
Singapore 179494
Sophia Cooke Ballroom @ L2
Time : 3pm to 6pm (Please be seated by 2.50pm)


How to register? Collect forms from reception and fill it up, then drop it into the white box at the Nexus Information Counter. Closing date for registration is 24 Feb 2008.



Men's Ministry: 2008 Events Calendar

19 Jan (Sat) Prayer & Breakfast
7 Mar (Fri) Mini Seminar 1 - Topic: Being 'Strong' Man
9 May (Fri) Prayer Meeting 2
Jun Camp Men's Camp Workshop
5 July (Sat) Prayer Meeting 3
15 Aug (Fri) Mini Seminar 2 - Topic: Being Real Man
28 Oct (Tue) Annual Men's Summit - Being Great Male Leader
29 Nov (Sat) Prayer Meeting 4

Occidental Graduation Ceremony 2008

Callin to an End: EXAMS!

With another 3 days,

7 hours and 10 minutes,

Exams will be called an end,

and semester 2 2007/2008 will invite holidays to come!

I believe some of us has already ended our examinations..

Where as some of us are still struggling with the last few papers!

But no matter which category you falls in,

do pray fervently for one another,

to depend on God fully for our exams,

to be strengthen each day,

to have the persistence to complete revision!

Let's not give up and throw ourselves in holiday mood,

even the last few papers!

Focus is the word of the day.

Focus on your papers so we can all celebrate

at the end of everything with

EVO RETREAT!

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Just to inform everybody again:

Event: Evo Retreat

Date: 2nd - 3rd February 2008

Time: 9.30pm after service & dinner
Travel Mode: Coach will be available from Orchard

Location: Jacob's Place

Ending: around evening time on Sunday

Featuring:

GOOD FOOD

SPECIAL EVENTS

PRAISE & WORSHIP

GIFTS

MEGA GAMES

SURPRISE NEWS

and many more......

Therefore, do not miss out the event!

Do join together and let's celebrate this as one..

Occidental and Eastraelite,

our finale!

(Do inform people of the caregroup actively to come and persuade them no matter what to join in together! It will be such a waste not to be able to make it!

Occidental 全家福

Not everybody inside lar okay!

Randomness Blog Game

Oh no, got tagged by CL cum shepherd again!
I don’t have 20 sentences, but hopefully 16 is enough.


1) I’m a thinking thinker. I think why I think. I think of what I think. I think of how I think. I think of where and when I think

2) Meanings are very meaningful in my life. Without meanings, I’m nothing, I did nothing.

3) God does not just part the Red Sea, HE part me as well by letting me handle east and west all at once. But I sometimes collapsed into myself and become a black hole after that.

4) Eagles trail their prey before they swoop under the blue sky. Owls conceal themselves before swooping. I’m of course the owl, hiding in my cloak of stealth, eyeing the prey from the shadows before appearing from nowhere and vanishing in a flash with a prey in hand.

5) I like. I like to like. I like Obama. That’s at least a change you can believe in.
(Obama: Change we can believe in)

6) You want to change the world? First change your own world.

7) I would like to see a pastor become President but sadly, I have no faith in that, not at least in Mike Huckabee.

8) John Edwards has a gorgeous wife but the polls shows otherwise. This reflects a truth in life: One cannot enjoy the best of both worlds; it’s either the White House or the wife. 鱼与熊掌不能兼得。

9) Life is a training process and I train to train.

10) When I shoot, I do not miss. When I know I’ll miss, I don’t bother to shoot.

11) Some people read too much science and they claim that the bible is nonsense. Renaissance priests read too much of the bible and they said the Earth was flat. The fact is: True science has never disagreed with the truth and the truth comes from the bible. Science is a finite way of defining an infinite God.

12) Righteousness is the world’s ultimate weapon, nothing has ever triumph against it.

13) They say that I’m very much like a perfectionist. I disagree, I’m just an idealist.

14) Douglas MacArthur once said, “Those who say that the pen is mightier than the sword obviously have not seen automatic weapons.” I’ve seen automatic weapon but still believe that the pen is mightier than the sword.

15) I’m actually a scholarly scholar and used to be an incorrigible teaser of petites filles in my virgin youth. Don’t be misled by my looks.

16) My arms are more efficient than my mouth: I write better than speak, do more work than talking.

I don't like to tag others, unlike someone...
You all huh, don't learn anything and everything from this post hor, it's just to entertain CL only!

JAE: Joint-Admission Exercise

Hi Brothers and Sisters,

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JAE Course Counselling

During the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) registration period, our counsellors will be at the SP JAE Centre to answer your questions and advise you on the courses available here.
Internet access will also be available together with counsel!

When
24 Jan (Thur)2pm - 5.30pm*
25 Jan (Fri) & 26 Jan (Sat)8.30am - 5.30pm*
28 Jan (Mon)8.30am - 4pm
* revised timing


Where
Singapore Polytechnic Convention Centre (Next to Dover MRT Station)

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It is the JAE once again! It is a good opportunity to get to know some new friends who are likely to admit into polytechnics. Therefore particularly to the coreteams, I will encourage you guys to go and outreach to them! I will not be present tomorrow due to my exam schedule, but I will be with you guys on 28 Jan! We already missed one day.. Let's not missed it again!

Grab the chance to get to know some potential friends so may there be a chance for us to share the Love of God to them one day perhaps! Be excited for evangelism and anticipate from the evangelistic experience.. May God be with all who desire to share His love =)

Do contact: Pooiyee

(she will be overseeing for me for the entire session! Contact Yiheng also because he is free.)

Word For Life!

Our FIRST churchwide Word For Life - Healthy Relationships Essentials!!!
This is a three nights' seminar on 28, 30 Jan and 1 Feb 2008 (Mon, Wed & Fri)

Venue: Bukit Merah Touch Community Centre
Time: 7:30-10:00pm
Cost: FOC

Course Sypnosis:
Life is relationship – with God, with others, and with us. Relationships can make us fulfilled, happy, contended; or bitter, despairing, hopeless. Like it or not, we cannot live without relationship. Here is a course that helps you make relationships work. It is taught from a vantage point of self rather than others; i.e. looking at who you are and what you can give to the people or environment you are interacting and relating with. The crux is about individual ownership and responsibility in the role of healthy relationship building. Look forward to a course not about changing others as much as it is about changing yourself.

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It is to our advantage that we can attend a congregational wide Word For Life! Catch the exciting sharing and teaching regarding relationship with God, with others and with ourselves on these particular days indicated above!

I understand that many of us are still having examinations... However, I believe with ample effort to prioritise God, He will not shortgive us! Therefore I will encourage brothers and sisters, to give a little portion of ur time to attend this word for life so as to learn how to grow better of your relationship with God and people around you! Not just for this word for life.. I will like to encourage every single one of us, to give God our time for services, caregroups and prayer meetings.. Not our leftover time! But to give God the best time of our life.. When He sees that heart to prioritise Him in our lives, He will surely bless us abundantly with His love and grace.

Therefore, see you guys at the word for life!

Any enquiries, contact Santono or Me. =)

"And Jesus said unto them ... , "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to younder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you."Romans 1:17

SLow Dance

This is a poem written by a teenager with cancer.

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
!
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,'Hi'
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

Live your LIfe to the Fullest with God presence every single moment.

May God bless you with a colourday day~

ABC's To Live By

Although things are not perfect

Because of trial or pain

Continue in thanksgiving

Do not begin to blame Even when the times are hard

Fierce winds are bound to blow

Hold on to what you know Imagine life without His love

Joy would cease to be

Keep tanking Him for all the things

Love impacts to thee

Move out of "Camp Complaining"

No weapon that is known

On earth can yield the power

Praise can do alone

Quit looking at the future

Redeem the time at hand

Start everyday with worship

To "tank" is a command

Until we see Him coming

Victorious in the sky

We'll run the race with gratitude

eXalting God most high

Yes, there,ll be good times and yes some will be bad, but...

Zion waits in glory..where none are ever sad!

Announcements

Time flies really fast... 2007 is over! I still remember how Occidental is form.. Memories remains vividly in my mind. Haaa.. Im really glad to be still here with you guys! Every single day is just so precious to me to be able to have the honour of leading all of you! Haa.. I hope you guys will love this caregroup just as much as I love it too =)

alright, here's some announcements for the upcoming events!

1. Evo Retreat
- A special celebration for all the new brothers and sisters as well as a gathering for all the members of SP Unit.
- Features: Overnight sharing, special programmes, a good time of fellowship and learning!
- Date: 2nd & 3rd of February 2008
- Time: After service & the whole of sunday! (exact time to be confirm again)
- Special items: Special news will be break on this very day, so do come! I have something prepared for you guys too. =)
- Things to bring: Perhaps bring some clothes to change for the overnight.. You can prepare something to bless each other if you will like to! As a token of appreciation for everyone!

2. Prayer Meeting
- I have decided to have a short prayer meeting this coming week for everyone to come together to pray and seek God for wisdom, so may we be enabled by Him in our examinations.
- Date: 23rd January 2008
- Time: Subject to change. I will like to hear from all of you guys what time is a better time for you guys.
- Venue: I decided to locate it at the jamming room, the moberly. Any objections?
- Take note: I really hope everyone will be present together! It is important for us to seek God for strengthening during this period of exams.. Let's depend on God just like David depending on God to fight the Goliath =) Let's not neglect God during exams!

3. JAE (for new year 1s)
- it is a very good time for us to get to know some new friends who will be coming to SP to study! It is a very good chance to get to know the new year 1s because it will be easy to identify them on the JAE (joint-admission exercise)
- Date: 26th, 28th & 29th January 2008
- I understand that many of us are still having our papers during these periods.. Therefore, if you have finish your papers, I will encourage you to go and get to know some new friends! This will be own time own target based =) And also, if you dun mind, you can still go ahead and spend an hour on each of these days to get to know new friends despite your exams have not ended. It is all about how much you want it! Just take note of the dates..
- Survey will be provided if you wanted to use. I will be emailing you guys. (Coreteams)

4. Chinese New Year House Invite!
- YES! CNY is coming and its going to be a day of ang baos, food, ang baos, and food. Furthermore, we got 2 months of holidays.. Yeah! I will be inviting everybody from the unit as well as other units, to join me for a celebration at my house, for a sumptrous dinner! Well... my house not that rich you see.. the most I can afford is food. My mum cook very well! haha. So dun expect ang baos cause I'll purposely ask my mum dun give. HEHE. (I dun think she can afford like 20 to 30 ppl's ang bao)
- Date: 11th February 2008
- Time: 7pm, evening
- Location: Toh Guan Road, Blk 271. (Unit number I tell you again. haha.)
- Buses: 105, 52, 183, 187, 176, 188, 333, 98 (have to walk).
- MRT: Jurong east MRT Station (You have to take bus from there!)
- Do come and enjoy with my dogs, my gold mahjong set, my rabbits, my tv, and me!
- Bring along: You can bring along some extra food or desserts and tidbits if you want =) And I dun mind if you want to overnight there. Can go hanhong house also. wahahaha. (He lives next blk)
- Other than the house visit, probably we can plan some mass house visits to hop around many brothers and sisters houses to visit their family!

5. Poly/DI Camp!
- The annual poly/di camp is around the corner! Yes.. I always anticipate for the camp and I really hope this time round will be another successful camp! I remember my most memorable camp was the nextgeneration 2006 camp.. Where it was a hell lot of fun and experience! I learnt alot that time too.. So people, do join this camp for the fruitful experience!
- Date: 28th, 29th, 30th March 2008 (Over the weekends)
- Location: Not yet been announced. But should be Chalet.
- Fees: The camp fee will be around 100 to 110 bucks. It is consider pretty cheap for 3 days of accomodation and food as well as all the miscelleanous expense.. So if you start saving from today, ard 1 to 2 bucks per day, it will be more than enough!
- More information will be posted.
- Take note: Students on attachment, it is planned specially on weekends so you guys can come.. So don't take for granted the efforts by the planning team for you guys! And also, the church can write in excuse letters for students to take leave from their attachments to come for the camp. =)


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that's about it!
I hope you guys will anticipate from the announcements!
See you guys soon.... =)

Worship.

The Power of Praise

by Doug Eaton

I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. Psalm 145:5-6

There is power in our praise, and the primary reason has to do with the fact that it is the Lord who has worked in our hearts to produce that praise. We being sinful men do not naturally praise God, but when His Holy Spirit does His regenerating work, our spiritually dead souls are resurrected, our blind eyes begin to see, and our spiritually mute mouths begin to speak of the greatness of our God. With this in mind it is not hard to see why there is power in our praise, because God Himself is at work.

The Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth, is constantly bearing witness of Christ, so it is only natural for a person who has been born of the Spirit to desire to exalt the name of Jesus also. When we begin to extol our Lord, God is working, and when God works, we should take notice of the effects. In Psalm 145 we see an interesting accumulation of praise that can take place when we begin to exalt the Lord. In verse 5 we hear David say, I will speak of God’s wondrous works, then, because of it, we see in verse 6 that others will speak of his awesome deeds resulting in David once again declaring the greatness of our God.

When we begin to praise the Lord, others, within whom the Spirit is working, will hear our praise and begin to join in. As we hear their praise, we become more abundant in our own praise because we see our Lord working in others as well. Then once again as we are praising our God with a more abundant heart, others will see us praising Him and they too will join in which will lift our praise to even greater heights.Wherever you are and with whatever measure of faith you have at this moment, rejoice in the Lord, for He is great and worthy of our praise. Speak of His glorious honor and majesty, and tell of His wondrous works, for when you do, you do so by the power of the Spirit. Then once you have done so, praise Him again for He has opened your lips. Then continue to bless His name, for we have the gracious privilege of continuing for all eternity. Then look for others to join in and watch as the Lord strengthens your voice. And who knows what the Lord may do with one short moment of exalting God. It may go further than you will ever know in this life. After all, He is still using David’s praise in Psalm 145 to cause others to glorify His name.

I will exalt You my God and King!

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I found this article that is pretty interesting, and is something that I very agree with. It is important for Christians to understand worship, and the impact of worship. The joy of worship is intriguing, and is pretty hard to explain unless one experience themself. I believe many will hope that their fellow brothers and sisters will similarly enjoy worshipping the Lord as they do when they have ownership towards the joy in worship and praise! Therefore, just as the article describes, the best way to help others to praise God along and experience the heavenly joy is to praise God with all ur heart! Express ur worship throughout ur entire body.. Worship physically, emotionally, spiritually! Do not be afraid to jump and praise the Lord in praise, do not be afraid to express them in ur hands and legs.. The bible often describe people dancing to the Lord in praise! In worship.. Do not hold back your voice, your songs, your hands that are raise. We worship the Lord with the regrets, and with no hold back.

But remember, worshipping and praising God is not about the music. No matter how the band, the singers and the entire leading of the session is, we still worship God, we still give our best to focus on singing His praise! And with this in mind, you can really praise and worship with all your heart and mind and soul. =)

How to have a meaningful quiet time (Part 4)

Follow a Simple Plan

Someone has said: "If you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it!" To have a meaningful quiet time, you will need a plan or some kind of general outline to follow. The main rule is this: Keep your plan simple. Don't let it detract from your time with Christ. Bob Foster's seven minutes with God suggests a simple plan for beginners.

The following six-point plan is workable for a quiet time of any duration. You will need the following three items for your planned times:

• A bible - a comtemporary translation (not a paraphrase) with good print, preferable without notes.
  
• A notebook - for writing down what the Lord shows you and for making a prayer list. (Bilie Hanks' my spiritual notebook, available from international evangelism association, would be ideal.)
  
• A hymnbook - sometimes you may want to sing in your praise time (see Col. 3:16)

The suggested plan may be remembered through the following words, all beginning with the same letter. Relax, request, reflect and remember, record and request.

1. Wait on God(relax). Be still for a minute, don't come running into God's presence and start talking immediately. Follow God's admonition: "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psa 46:10; Isa 30:15; Isa 40:31). Be quiet for a short while to put yourself into a reverent mood.
   
2. Pray briefly(request). This is not your prayer time, but a short opening prayer to ask God to cleanse your heart and guide you into the time together. Two good passages of Scripture to memorize are:
   
   - "search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psa 139:23-24; 1 John 1:9)
   
   - "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law [the word]" (Psa 119:18; John 16:13)
   
   You must be in tune with the Author of the Book before you can understand the Book.
   
3. Read a section of the Scripture(read). This is where your conversation with God begins. He speaks to you through His Word and you speak with Him in prayer. Read your Bible...

• Slowly. Don't be in a hurry; don't try to read too large an amount; don't race through it.
  
• Repeatedly. Read a passage over and over until you start to picture it in your mind. The reason more people don't get more out of their Bible reading is that they do not read the Scriptures repeatedly.
  
• Without stopping. Don't stop in the middle of a sentence to go off on a tangent and do a doctrinal study. Just read that section for the pure joy of it, allowing God to speak to you. Remember that your goal here is not to gain information, but to feed on the Word and get to know Christ better.
  
• Aloud but quietly. Reading it aloud will improve your concentration if you have that problem. It will also help you understand what you are reading better because you will be both seeing and hearing what you are reading. Read softly enough, however, so that you won't disturb anyone.
  
• Systematically. Read through a book at a time in an orderly method. Do not use the "random dip" method - a passage here, a chapter there, what you like here, an interesting portion there. You'll understand the Bible better if you read it as it was written - a book or letter at a time.
  
• To get a sweep of a book. On some occasions you may want to survey a whole book. In that case you will read it quickly to get a sweep of the total revelation. Then you need not read it slowly or repeatedly.

4. Meditate and memorize (reflect and remember). In order to have the Scriptures speak to you meaningfully, you should meditate on what you are reading and memorize verses that particularly speak to you. Meditation is "seriously comtemplating a thought over and over in your mind". Out of your meditation you might select and memorize a verse that is particularly meaningful to you.

5. Write down what God has shown you(record). When God speaks to you through His Word, record what you have discovered. Writing it down will enable you both to remember what God revealed to you and to check up on your biblical discoveries. Recording what God has shown you is one way of applying what you see in the Scripture that pertains to your life.

6. Have your time of prayer(request). After God has spoken to you through His Word, speak to Him in prayer. This is your part of the conversation with the Lord. To help you remember the parts of prayer, think of the acrostic P.R.A.Y.

P - Praise the Lord. Begin your time of prayer by praising God for who He is and what He has done. The former is adoration, the latter thanksgiving. Adoration is real worship; it is giving God the recognition He alone deserves. So praise God for His greatness, power, majesty, strength, and other attributes. Examples in Scripture of pure praise may be found in Psalm 145 and Revelation 4 - 5. You can worship Him in this way by reading the Psalms (particularly Psalms 146 - 150), reading great hymns of worship, and/or considering the names of God (Chron 16:25 - 29);Psa 50:23; Psa 67:3; Heb 13:5). David gives us a beautiful example of a prayer of adoration:

Praise be to you, O Lord.
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.
Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom;
You are exalted as Head over all.
Wealth and honor come from You;
You are the Ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give Your thanks,
and praise your glorious name (Chron 29:10-13)

We also praise the Lord for what He has done for us, particularly in salvation and daily provision. This is developing the prayer of thanksgiving. During any quiet time think of at least 20 things you can thank God for that day (Osa 100:4; Phil 4:5; 1 Thess 5:18)

R - Repent of your sins. This is the prayer of confession. After seeing God in His Holiness(Isa 6:5), we recognise our own sinfulness. Don't just tell God about the sins you have committed, but ask God to help you turn away from them. This is repentance. God already knows your sins; He just wants you to admit them and turn away from them. (Psa 32:51; Prov 28:9; 1 John 1:9)

A - Ask for yourself and others. These are the prayers of petition and intercession. Begin with your own personal requests(petition). Throughout the Bible God urges us to ask for things for ourselves in prayer. These may be our physical needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter; spiritual needs; or help in coping with the difficult problems of life. God loves us, wants to bless us, and wants to give us what we need (matt 7:7-9; mark 11:22-24; John 14:13-14; Heb 4:16). Not only are we to pray for our needs, but God is also pleased to give answers to our desires that are in His will (psa 37:4; 84:11; 145:19; Phil 4:6). It is important to be specific in your praying, and one of the ways to do this effectively is to set up a prayer list. Just take a sheet of paper, rule off four columns, and fills them in. As you begin to fillpage after page of answered prayer, your faith will grow greater and deeper.

Ask for others (intercession). The Bible calls on Christians to intercede for others - to pray one for another. So pray for your family, relatives, and friends; pray for your pastors, church workers, missionaries, and others involved in kingdom work; pray for your leaders, teachers, and employers; pray for people to whom you are witnessing; pray for those whom you do not like or those who do not like you - and watch what happens! ( 1 Sam 12:23; Job 42:10; Rom 15:30; Eph 1:15 - 16)

You might want to divide up the days of the week in your notebook and pray for different people on different days. Get a world map and pray for missionaries by location "around the world".

Y - Yield yourself to God's will. Your prayer time should end with a time of personal recommittment to the Lord. Reaffirm the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life and pledge your submission and obedience for that day to Him (Rom 12:1-2; 14:8-9).

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With the 4 parts in completion, I pray you'll understand how to have a meaningful time with God better now. =) enjoy your quiet time!

How to have a meaningful quiet time (Part 3)

Choose a Specific Place

The location where we have our quiet times, is also important. The bible indicates that Abraham had a regular place where he met with God (Gen 19:27). Jesus had a custom praying in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. "Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and His disciples followed Him" (Luke 22:39).

Your place ought to be a secluded place. This is a place where you can be alone, where it's quiet, and where you will not be disturbed or interrupted. In today's noisy world, this may take some ingenuity, but it is necessary. It ought to be a place...

• where you can pray aloud without disturbing others
• where you have good lighting for reading (a desk, perhaps.)
• where you are comfortable (WARNING: Do not have your quiet time in bed. That's too comfortable!)

Your place ought to be a special place. Whereever you decide to meet with the Lord, make it a special place for you and Him. As the days go bym that place will come to mean alot to you because of the wonderful times you have there with Jesus Christ.

Your place ought to be a sacred place. This is where you meet with the living God. Where you meet the Lord can be just as holy as the place where Abraham met God. You don't have to be in a church building. People have had their quiet times in their cars parked in a quiet place, in an empty closet at home, in their backyards, and even in a baseball dugout. Each of these places becoe sacred to them.

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Where's the place you meet with God?
Look out for the last part!

How to have a meaningful quiet time (Part 2)

Select a Specific Time

The specific time has to do with when you should have your quiet time and how long it should be. The general rule is this: The best time is when you are at your best. Give God the best part of your day - when you are the freshest and most alert. Don't try to serve God with your leftovers (leftover time). Remember too that your best time may be different from someone else's.

For most of us, however, early in the morning seems to be the best time. It was Jesus' own practise to rise early to pray and meet with the Father. "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed"
(Mark 1:35).

In the bible many godly men and women rose early to meet with God. Some of these were:

• Abraham - Gen 19:27
• Job - Job 1:5
• Jacob - Gen 28:18
• Moses - Exo 34:4
• Hannah & Elkanah - 1 Sam 1:19
• David - Psa 5:3; 57:7-8

(see also Psa 90:14; 119:147; 143:8; Isa 26:9; Exek 12:8)

Throughout church history many Christians who were used most by God met with Him early in the morning. Hudson Taylor said, "you don't tune up the instruments after the concert is over. That's stupid. It's logical to tune them up before you start".

The great revival among British college students in the late 19th century began with those historic words: "remember the morning watch!" So we need to tune ourselves up at the start of each day as we remember the morning watch.

If Jesus is really in first place in our lives, we ought to give Him the first part of our day. We are to seek His kingdom first (see Matt 6:33). Doctors tell us that the most important mela of the day is breakfast. It often determines our energy levels, alertness, and even moods for the day. Likewise, we need a "spiritual breakfast" to start our day off right.

Finally in the morning our minds are uncluttered from the day's activities. Our thoughts are fresh, we're rested, tensions have not yet come on us, and it's usually the quietest time. One mother sets her alarm clock for 4 A.M., has her quiet time, goes back to ed and then rises when everone else in the household gets up. Her explanation is that with the kids around the house all day, early morning is the only time when it is quiet and she can be alone with God. It works for her, you need to select a time that works for you.

You might even consider have two quiet times (morning and night). Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators, used to have code letters for his night quiet time - H.W.L.W. Whenever he was with a group of people at night or home with his wife and the conversation seemed to be ending, he would say, "all right, H.W.L.W.," after which a passage of Scripture would be quoted without comment and all would go to sleep. H.W.L.W stood for "His Word the Last Word," and he practised that through the years as a way of ending a day with one's thoughts fixed on the Lord.

Stephen Olford, a great Christian and minister in New York for many years, said, "I want to hear the voice of God before I hear anyone else's in the morning, and His is the last voice I want to hear at night".

David and Daniel even met with the Lord three times each day (see Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10)

Whatever time you set, be consistent in it. Schedule it on your calendar; make an appointment with God as you would with anyone else. Make a date with Jesus! Then look forward to it and don't stand Him up. A stood-up date is not a pleasant experience for us, and Jesus does not like to be stood up either. So make a date with Him and keep it at all costs.

The question is often asked, "how much time should I spend with the Lord in the morning?" This is a matter that should be decided between you and the Lord. If you've never had a consistent quiet time before, you may want to start with seven minutes, and let it grow naturally. You should aim eventually not to spend less than 15 minutes a day with the Lord. Out of 168 hours we all have during a given week, 1 hour and 45 minutes seems terribly small when you consider that you were created to have fellowship with God. Here are some additional guidelines:

• Don't try for a two hour quiet time at first. You'll only get discouraged. You must grow in this relationship as you do in any other. So begin with a consistent seven minutes or so and let it grows; it's better to be consistent with a short time than to meet for an hour every other week.
  
• Don't watch the clock. Clock-watching can ruin your quiet time faster than almost anything else. Decide what you can do in the Word and prayer during the time you have selected; then do it. Sometimes it will take longer than you have set aside, and sometimes less time. But don't keep looking at your watch.
  
• Emphasize quality, not quantity. There is nothing super-spiritual about having a two-hour quiet time. It's what you do during your time - 15 minutes or anything in between - that's important. Aim for a quality relationship with the Lord.
  
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  May this speaks to you.. stay tune for part 3 & 4.
  
  

How to have a meaningful quiet time (Part 1)

If we are convinced that a quiet time is needed in our lives, then how do we go about having one? We may become motivated to do it, but may not know how. We need to consider four essential elements of a good quiet time.

Part 1: Start with the Proper Attitudes

In God's eyes, why you do something is far more important than what you do. On one occasion God told Samuel, "the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart". (1Sam 16:7). It is qite possible to do the right thing but with the wrong attitude. This was Amaziah's problem, for "he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly" (2 Chron 25:2).

When you come to meet with God in the quiet time, you should have these proper attitudes.

1. Expectancy. Come before God with anticipation and eagerness. Expect to have a good time of fellowship with Him and receive blessing from your time together. That was what David expected: "O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You" (Psalms 63:1).

2. Reverence. Don'trush into God's presence, but prepare your heart by being still before Him and letting the quietness clear away the thoughts of the world. Listen to the Prophet Habakkuk: "The Lord is in His holy temply; let all the earth be silent before Him" (Hab 2:20). Coming into the presence of the Lord is not like going to a football game or some other form of entertainment.

3. Alertness. Get wide awake first. Remember that you are meeting with the Creator, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Redeemer of men. Be thoroughly rested and alert. The best preparation for a quiet time in the morning begins the night before. Get to bed early so you will be in good shape to meet God in the morning for He deserves your full attention.

4. Willingness to Obey. This attitude is crucial: you don't come to your quiet time to choose what you will do or not do, but with the purpose of doing anything and everything that God wants you to do. Jesus said, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he wil find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own" (John 7:17). So come to meet the Lord having already chosen to do His will no matter what.

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Stay tuned for the rest of the parts of the entire section. =)

Compassion Fatigue

Musings from H.B.London, Jr.
Abstracted from The Heart of a Great Pastor

Sometimes I think I get compassion fatigue. Do you? It usually occurs when you come to the place where there is so much to take care about that you can't care anymore.

As clergy, we deal with heartbreak all the time - so much so that we must guard against growing calloused or cynical. We can't lose our empathy or take for granted other people's suffering. Our hearts must remain sensitive - even though sometimes we just want to stick our fingers into our ears and say, "No more!"

How do we do this? For one thing, we should pray for a heart like Jesus. For another, we should never come to a place in our ministry in which we can walk away from suffering without letting people know of God's love. Wemust attempt to be an answer to our prayers and do what we can to help. We cannot do what we do for others out of selfish motives, but as unto the Lord. We also should place a high priority on getting enough rest and spiritual food, or we will wear down very quickly. We are reminded to "cast all your anxiety [care] on him because he cares for you" (1 Pet. 5:7).

There are times when I feel helpless, but then I remember it is not about me but those for whom our Lord called me to serve - to be His compassion in a world that hungers for solutions. And when I remember this, I again feel His power to do whatever I need to do.


Stay Strong, my colleagues!

The New Year For Us

It is 2008. The Start of the Month. The Start of the Year. In a New Year with New Experiences and New Challenges. The Good The Bad the Horrific all thats plauge you. However in this New Year One things Remains the Same. God is With You and Me. As we Start another chapter in our lives with God to remember. Weather You Met your goals or not? In the End what matters is if your Heart has been change? Have You Trully Changed? In the Book of Daniel. King Nebuchadneszzar was a Proud Man and he was Slow to Change his Heart towards God. Eventhough he was Warned in his Dreams. It was Clear that He did not learn his Lesson untill God took away everything that Nebuchadnezzar thought was most valuable to him. In the End Nebuchadnezzar Realize that God Was the one that Made him King and God could take it away anytime he wanted. Which gives meaning to the saying. Do Not Put Your God Your Lord To the Test (Good News Bible). He learnt What was trully Valuable In Life and that was God and he had learnt to humble himself towards the Sovereign Lord .However After all these Lessons we are put through are we going to be like Nebuchadnezzar's Son Belshazzar whom after seeing what his father went through and learnt applied totally Nothing and did not have a Change in Heart. Which clearly reflected towards God that He has made his choice towards God and it was time for God to Judge him. Everything will start anew as long as repentence is present. So let us all Look into our Heart this New Day. This New Month . This New Year. Our Lord has given to us. Has our Heart Changed? Has it change to be more Seeking towards Jesus? Lets Encourage Each other and Be there for each other. Just like Shadrach Meshach and Abendnego they were together with each other till the end even if it meant being the minority and death. They Chose death together because they were united under the Banner of God. And just like them With all the Problems , Pains and Heart Ache. They Were delivered together by God from the Burning Furnance. Just like How God is going to Deliver us from times of hardship. What Makes it all the more better is that we dont Share his Burden alone and We dont celebrate Alone too. We are here as a family and we will leave this Place as a Family. No One gets Left Behind. This is Our New Year. God Bless Our Family.