PSALM 55 ~ 24 FEBRUARY 2008

By David

You Can Cast Your Care Unto God

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

Psalm 55:22

This is another prayer for God’s Help in time of troubles. David was in great distress when he wrote this Psalm.

We can look at Psalm 55 in 3 parts:

1. Verse 1-8, David speaks of his fear of his enemy and he prays to God for his manifested favour.

2. Verse 9-15, David complains of his en enemies’ wickedness.

3. Verse 16-23, David prays that his enemy would die that they would be taken away form him. He is assured in the Lord.

Such is the confident that David has in God. He has many life’s threatening moments, yet it does not shake his faith and confidence in the Lord.

He cast his cares on the Lord because he knows that God can be trusted.

In every trial let us call upon the Lord, and he will save us. The burden of afflictions is very heavy; there is also the burden of sin and corruption. The only relief under it is, to look to Christ, who bore it.

Application:

What are your cares and burden? There are heavy and you need not carry these weights. To cast your cast upon God is to rest upon His provision and promises.

He will carry you and will strengthen your spirit by His spirit. Go to Him with your cares now! Commit your cares to the Lord in prayers.

PSALM 54 ~ 23 FEBRUARY 2008

By David

The Lord Is Our Helper

“Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one

who sustains me.” Psalm 54:4

This is a prayer of David for deliverance from his enemies who want to have him killed. The occasion this Psalm was written was when the Ziphhites betrayed David by telling Saul his whereabouts. David

In the first part of this Psalm, verses 1-3, David complains to God about the enemy and pray to God for help.

In Ps 54:4-7, David receives assurance of God’s favour and protection. He is being comforted.

Although David is on the run for his life, and the enemy were determined to find him to destroy him, he turned to the Lord for help. He is sure that God would be on His side. He proclaims confidently that God is surely his help in verse 4. He speaks in faith that the enemy will be removed.

God is a God of covenant with His people and David knows that full well. It is with this faith in God that he promised before God that he will give thanks and praise His name after he is being delivered from his enemy’s pursuit.

Application:

Have you given thanks to God and praise Him after He has seen you through a trying or difficult time? It is the kind of thanksgivings that comes with a grateful heart that I am talking about.

Start praising Him now!

PSALM 53 ~ 22 FEBRUARY 2008

By David

Godlessness of Man

“God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand,

any who seek God.” Psalm 53:2

Psalm 53 is similar to Psalm 14.It’s purpose is to convince us of our sins. God show us through the psalmist how bad we are.

How can men be so bad? This is because there is no fear of God. The fool says to his heart that there is no God, verse 1. Men's bad practices flow from their bad values; if they profess to know God, yet in works & thoughts they deny him, it would mean his heart has no God. Such is a man of folly.

Psalm 53 ends with the Psalmist prayer to the Lord for the deliverance of Israel. And God shall restore their fortunes.

Is there the fear of God in your heart? Do you acknowledge the Holy God in your heart? We will sin not when we fear the Lord. Ask God to show you what is in your heart.

Application:

Pray to the Lord:

“Dear God, show me how bad I can be. All my sinfulness and wickedness is naked before you. Reveal to me my corrupt thoughts, that I may know them. ”

As you pray the above prayer, wait patiently before God. He will speak.

Allow Him to review your priorities and it’s motives.

Are these priorities of God or of the world?

Take time to re-set your life’s priorities.

PSALM 52 ~ 21 FEBRUARY 2008

By David

Your Confidence & Security is God

“But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love

for ever and ever,” Psalm 52:8

Psalm 52 was written when David was fleeing from King Saul. David, knew that Saul was determined to destroy him, went to take refuge. On his way, he stopped at the Tabernacle and sought help from Aimelech. The news of David reaches Saul and he ordered the death of 85 priests & all the inhabitants of Nob. The account can be found in 1 Samuel 21:1-7, 22:9-23.

Psalm 52

Verse 1-5: Wickedness of a powerful enemy and it’s destruction
Verse 6 -7:The righteous would rejoice
Verse 8 -9:Confidence & Security is in God

God will destroy the wicked. Those that glory in sin, shall glory in their shame. But those whom place their trust in God will rejoice & praise Him. They will rejoice in God’s unfailing love.

If you choose to dwell in the house of God by faith and love, you shall be like green olive-trees. You will live a life of faith and holy confidence in God and His grace.

Application:

Are you hard-pressed like David? Are there any difficult people you are facing now? Vengeance is the Lord’s, the Lord is the judge. Do not repay evil for evil by going against them. Instead, turn to the Lord to bless them. You can have confidence & security in God as you remain in His presence.

PSALM 51 ~ 20 FEBRUARY 2008

By David

Create In Me A Clean Heart

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart,

O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51: 17

This is a humble prayer for forgiveness and cleansing. David, being convinced of his sin, poured out his soul to God in prayer for mercy and grace.

This is a famous psalm. David wrote it after he had done something very wrong. He saw a woman, Bathsheba, bathing and wanted to have her. But she was the wife of Uriah. David sent Uriah to war to be killed by the Philistines so that he can have Bathsheba. He committed adultery and was responsible for Uriah’s death.

David was convicted of his sin against God as recorded in Psalm 51. He pleas for God’s mercy not to take over his spirit, Ps 51:11.

This pleases the Lord. What pleases God more than sacrifices is a humble heart that looks to him.

God rebuked Israel for its sin in Psalm 50. It was made clear to us the consequences of sin. Here in Psalm 51, we learn the importance of repentance and asking God for Pardon. David demonstrated to us how to pray to God for forgiveness and cleansing.

Application:

As much as God has convicted David of his sin, be silent before God to allow the Holy Spirit to convict you of your sin. Do not be blinded to your own sin and remain living in the same sinful ways. Confess your sins and ask God for forgiveness now.

PSALM 50 ~ 19 FEBRUARY 2008

By Asaph-the Levite

True worship brings obedience

“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23

Psalm 50 is the first 12 Psalms (Psalms 73-83) by Asaph. Asaph’s family became one of the 3 families given responsibilities for music and song in the temple - 1 Chr.25:1-9

This Psalm is also a Psalm of instruction, not of prayer and praise. It tells of the coming of Christ and the day of judgement, in which God will call men to account for their lives. In Ps 50, God deals with those who were religious in practice and yet neglected godliness. Their heart is not set on worship and godliness. It was the duty of the people to bring the sacrifice; but God is not pleased with the outward sacrifice they bring. Nothing pleases him where it is done religiously as an act. True worship comes from the heart. The judgment of God is being mentioned in this chapter, where he will judge according to our heart more than the act. His rebuke and correction to the wicked is in verse 16-23.

Obedience is better than sacrifice. God desires obedience from your heart more than what you can offer to Him.

PSALM 49 ~ 18 FEBRUARY 2008

By The Sons of Korah

Temporal Riches Vs Eternal Riches

“A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish” Psalm 49:20

Psalm 49 carries a word of instruction concerning the vanity of the world.

Wealth cannot buy security and happiness. Nor can wealth save yourself and others from death. Nothing perishable, such as silver or gold can ever redeem you. But with the precious blood of Christ without blemish that you are redeemed, 1 Pet 1:18-19. No amount of wealth can buy life.

Therefore the rich should not take their delight in their wealth. And the poor should not be oppressed by the rich and become fearful of life. Do not trust your life to your wealth, verse 6.

Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Do not place your security in wealth, and let this be a motive for living. Instead, put your faith and trust in the Lord.

Application:

Take some time to meditate on Ps 49. Ask God to reveal to you if your love for money has become your zeal in life?

If its’ yes, repent today and ask God to re-direct your course.

If you have not been tithing regularly, do it now.

PSALM 48 ~ 17 FEBRUARY 2008

By The Sons of Korah

God Is Our God Forever

“For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:14

Psalm 48 tells us that God can protect Zion, a city in Jerusalem. Verse 1-3 of Psalm 48 talks about the beauty of Mount Zion. God is the fortress for Zion. He is the defence for Zion. God protects Zion.

Verse 4-7 records for us the futile attacks of the nations. The enemy fled in terror (vs5) when they saw that the great King was in Zion. God is Zion and the people’s security – verse 8. From verse 9-11, the people were able to worship and praise God with gladness because of God’s mighty saving acts.

Because of God’s unfailing love, he will protect His city and His people. He will be our defence when there are attackers. He is our refuge and fortress. He is our strength. God is the everlasting God and His promises to His people will stay.

Application:

God comes to our defence because He loves us. Recall a time where God delivered you from an impossible situation. Praise God for His deliverance. May gratitude fill your heart with thanksgiving.

Take a few minutes to praise God for His unfailing love. Give thanks to Him for great is the Lord and He is most worthy of your praise. God Loves you and His love is unchanging. Receive His great love for you now. Ask God to touch you and fill you with His love today!

PSALM 47 ~ 16 FEBRUARY 2008

By The Sons of Korah

The Lord Reigns

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on

his holy throne. Psalm 47:8

The Lord reigns over all the earth. Nations are called to rejoice in God. We are called to praise the Lord. Let’s celebrate the King.

God is worthy of all praises. He is an awesome and a great King. Victory has been won on Calvary. Jesus has triumph over death.

At the name of Jesus, every knee must bow and every tongue confesses that Christ is Lord. Phil 2:10-11

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again rejoice - Phil 4:4

Application:

Take a moment now to rejoice in the Lord.

Sing praise unto Him for He is worthy.

He has triumph over death and victory had been won. Declare God’s victory through His son Jesus now.

Throw away all the feelings of defeat. You can have victory in the Lord.

Allow God to take charge of everything. Come before Him and invite Him to take control for He is the God of power and authority.

PSALM 46 ~ 15 FEBRUARY 2008

By The Sons of Korah

God Is Our Refuge And Strength

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

Psalm 46 is a song of hope. Psalm 46:1-5 encourages us to take comfort in God when things seem gloomy. Glory is given to God both as king of the nations as well as king of His people in Psalm 46:6-11.

When in distress, God is our help. We can triumph through distressing and fearful moments when He is with us. God is our present help in times of trouble – Ps 46:1.

His presence with us brings us to triumph over darkness moment of life.

To triumph over the greatest dangers faced, God is our strength and our help. His strength is sufficient for us. Therefore do not be afraid. God will help you out of your troubles.

The sovereign Lord is with us. He will never leave us. His is a God of power against all enemies. He protects the nations and His people.

Application:

Have you ever become fearful because everything seem to be falling apart?

Take heart that God is your refuge and strength, your ever-present help when in trouble.

Release all your fears and anxiety to God. Take time to be still before God and acknowledge Him as the God of power and authority over these circumstances.

No problems and difficulties are too big for God.

Bridge to Once Upon a Time

Something unexpected happened a few weeks before Chinese New Year.

My paternal cousins whom I’ve not met for about 10 years decided to meet up. And so came about a meeting that gathered all of us together.

We spent our childhood together in our Grandmother's house. Our parents would go off to work, and it was the place we would go back to after school, be it after the "morning-sessions" or before the "afternoon-sessions" for the whole bunch of us. You could say we spent most of our early school years there.

Fast forward to 2008, meeting again 10 years down life’s road, this time with a plastic white McDonald's table between us (instead of the warm brown wooden table we were so used to), we were looking at faces that were familiar and yet foreign, defined by certain characteristics that each of us had since taken on.

I was surprised. We were initially hesitant and afraid that we would not know what to say, or how to start. So many years of our life we could share. But somehow, our conversation flowed. It would bore you to be told of what we talked about exactly :) But for us, those were milestones and symbolic, because they were topics that we knew existed in our lives once upon a time... and they’ll always be part of us.

I thank God for bringing us together again after the many years. I thank God for relationships that were built effortlessly - relationships built through silly games played as kindergarden kids, relationships that somehow remain a part of your life, though people may drift apart… and ignore each other for the longest time. But when we have the chance to look at each other again, we’ll somehow find the ability to smile, and look into the pair of familiar eyes you once knew so well and say…

“nice to meet you, cousin.”

Is there someone like that you know? Maybe all it takes is just an SMS or email to build that bridge. May the Lord bless the relationships of your life.

A Blessed New Year to Everyone!

Shuyan

Growing In True Devotion- Buzz for 10th Feb

Psalm 40:4, “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.”

As we seek God’s face by reading the Psalms daily, we can discern differences in how we relate to God, using a structure shared by Ps Edmund Chan at the Love Singapore Pastor’s Prayer Summit.

The Psalmist through his writings reveals a FUNDAMENTAL dependence upon God – he cannot live for one moment without being sustained by the breath of God. Not a single day apart from God’s guidance and direction, not just when he is under siege. He actively puts aside false gods to turn to the Lord.

There is the person for whom devotion to God is merely ORNAMENTAL. Even though he or she may come to church and read the Bible, life goes on relatively unchanged and independent of God.

Yet there are others for whom devotion to God is INCIDENTAL. From time to time, he runs across an inspiring touch of the Holy Spirit through the word and is encouraged by the grace and goodness of God.

Then there is also the man who reads the word, draws from Him intentionally, but that inspiration is only SUPPLEMENTAL to all other sources of support in his life.

Whatever position we are in, let’s press in to drink deeply from God, to have Him as our FUNDAMENTAL source and sustenance. It requires tasting of the deeper things of God and a humble thirsting for it, renouncing all other sources of dependence. We find rest when we find our sufficiency in God alone.

Psalm 27:5, “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”

Experience on A-Psalm-A-Day (Feb: Week 1)

When approached to share about A-Psalm-A-Day, I was quite reluctant initially because of the amount of things I knew I had to complete piling up. And, even though I have been faithfully reading a psalm a day, I know something wasn’t really right about the way I did it. As the Lord revealed later on to me, this was because, instead of coming before God each morning, and saying “God, I want to learn something from you through this”, I often rushed through the psalm for that day, eager to finish so I could get my day started.
Even though this is the Year of Sabbath, it has been a year in which I have to learn to cope with many things, especially in school. But yet, it is not about my studies.
In my first semester last year at University, I joined my school’s Business Faculty Club as the director of Corporate and Alumni Relations. This was what I asked the Lord for, and by God’s favour, He granted it.

A month into the New Year however, these past two weeks grew increasingly harder because of an upcoming event we had to organise. Because of the event, I have to work with the Business School alumni and I felt they often put me down critically. This was a first for me because previously, my teachers and mentors have always been the ones affirming me of my abilities and talents. God used this incident to break my heart and all my pride. Through this process, I finally understood what the phase “the end of man is often the beginning of God” meant. Last Saturday, after having to cope with serving in Young Arrows, volunteering with a Youth Congress project and my Alumni school event, I felt I had reached the end of myself.
Overwhelmed, I cried out to God… God highlighted to me Psalms 20, a word that he had released to me prior to this incident. It was during service 2 weeks ago, that I asked the LORD if he remembered me. And Pastor Eugene released a word saying “God remembers your sacrifices and burnt offerings”. At that time, I didn’t know that it was a verse for me and so I did not take much notice of it.
On that very same day, one of my friends blessed me with this same verse from Psalm 20,
“May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. “
Through the entire pride breaking incident (distress), the LORD has still protected me and indeed “saves his anointed”. God has blessed me with a committee made up of a group of selfless and endearing people, who often encourage me through this difficult season. Also, he reminded me once again, that even as He blessed me to be a Marketplace Minister in school, He will remember all my sacrifices and make my plans succeed.
He also reminded me that I have to consciously depend on His strength, and not on my own strength, which is why I was really running on ‘low fuel’ over the past 3 weeks or so. Even as I decide to commit my event to the LORD, I had a prayer meeting in school just praying for the event, and proclaiming that Jesus is the event organiser and not me.
I thank God so much for his grace and mercy through this learning journey. Indeed, the joy of the LORD shall be my strength. May He be yours too!

Jia Li.

Reflections on Psalm 1..

While meditating on the very first Psalm on this first day of the year in 2008, God showed me a new meaning in Psalm 1. Usually what I would do during QT while reading His word would be to just paraphrase the things that “jump out” at me. For me, verses 2 & 3 are the crux of this psalm.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

But today, I was very motivated to move beyond just doing this. I chose to meditate on these 2 verses. I learnt from Rick Warren’s “Bible Study Methods” the definition of meditation - to think over and over about a thought. I also read somewhere in the book that one way to meditate is to put yourself in that situation described in the chapter. Since verse 2 was about a tree by the river, I imagined a tree next to a river in lush greenery and then imagined myself walking towards the tree. As I walked closer to the tree, I observed that the tree has big strong roots. At the metaphorical level, simply by reading the verse one would know that we are the tree, and our source of life is the river, who is God. But upon meditation, God showed me as I looked closer at the roots of the tree that:

1) Water enters the tree by the roots first, so the roots will receive the nutrients first. Which is important because the tree needs to develop a strong foundation before anything else can occur. In the same way, when I seek the Lord’s law, His word nourishes me by first establishing my foundation in Him, before I can bear any fruit. And when I am firmly established in His word, no wind can move me, no rain can drown me.

2) The tree takes time to grow and as it grows, the roots continue to grow bigger as well, thus making the tree stable and grounded. In the same way, I need time to grow and I will bear fruit in season. My passion and obedience in doing all that is pleasing to Him and according to His will, will also take time to show fruitfulness, which is why trust and patience is a must.
The most exciting thing was the fact that as I found new meaning in His word, I became very fascinated by what I read and meditated upon. I realized that when I really desire to seek Him, He speaks to me in such clarity that I know it is Him. The new knowledge I’ve gained is because of He chose to reveal it to me. And I even want to give more glory to Him because of what happened next.

Because we are doing A Psalm A Day as a church, a covenant that we’ve made with God, we have planned out devotional materials that will equip us in reading the 150 Psalms. When I finished meditating upon Psalm 1, I opened up the devotional material that was given to me. Lo and behold!! This was what was written about Psalm 1 - “To take delight is to be thrilled - imagine how your eyes suddenly widen, your face beams into a happy smile and your heart feels a nice fuzzy warmth. Yes that is how God wants us to feel when we approach the Word. What we like, we would think more about it, BE FASCINATED AND AMAZED BY IT: and that’s the very meaning of meditation. Meditation was never meant to be a deliberate, laborious chore, it’s a natural connection to what we are drawn to.“

Tears rolled down my cheeks at the delight of knowing I found delight in His word. God is GREAT! I desire for my fascination with His word to grow even stronger tomorrow morning. But I also pray that in the next 149 days, if I don’t feel like God has revealed anything to me on any of the days, I will not be discouraged but to trust that He will reveal to me in due time.

Xiuting.

BRIEF thoughts about the year of Sabbath...

To me, this new year is really a continuation of what God has been teaching me in 2007. Just before my preliminary examinations last year, God prompted me to start practicing ’sabbath’ on Sundays meaning that I would not study but take the day off to rest and spend time with him.

It was definitely not easy, especially during the prelims and the A-levels when I had papers on Monday mornings. But each Sunday I was forced to commit and recommit my exams to God, and to remember that he alone is my source of security - not how much time and effort I put in. That helped me to tackle every paper with a spirit of victory, regardless of how (under)prepared I felt. It also took me to a new level of depending on God and holding on to his promises. Each time, it got a little easier because I could look back and see how good and faithful God had been to me in the past.

I was truly amazed when 2008 was declared the year of Sabbath, and even more so when “remembrance and reliance on the Lord” became the first focus area of the year. It was exactly what God was teaching me in the second half of 2007, and I believe that last year was only the beginning. In this year of Sabbath I know that God will bring me to an even deeper understanding of these principles, and they will be put to the test in my life (in fact, they already have). This year will be even better than the last, and I am really excited to see what God has in store as we all make the effort to draw closer to him.

Natalie.

Buzz for this week...

Dear All.. Here is the Buzz for this Week:

Let us read the word of God and be bless in our mind, heart and soul..



Yoznet.

Thanksgiving for Gkidz 2008

Sarah Choo’s Testimony

Gkidz- The children’s ministry, holds a special position in my heart and this year, I am excited about having an opportunity to serve in the Gkidz ministry, and look forward to how God can use me as I serve Him in this Year of Sabbath 2008!

The desire to serve God in this area was not a sudden decision, but was birthed about one year ago, when I asked myself if I should serve in this ministry. However it never materialized and I thought “Maybe it was not the right time yet.”

In Dec 2007, my spiritual grandma, Lay Leng, asked me whether I wanted to be a leader in Gkidz and to give serious thought to it. I felt that it was definitely in God’s timing to serve in Him in Gkidz for 2008, as I am also serving concurrently in Touch Young Arrows. (TYA) The experience in TYA in 2007 gave me the confidence, experience & skills to work with children that will come in handy while serving in Gkidz.


6th January 2008 was the first time I met my children at Gkidz. Initially, I was quite fearful as I did not really know what to expect and was unsure about how the children would respond to me and whether I would be able to teach the children in a way that they can understand Jesus and the bible clearly. In James 3:1, it is written that teachers need to tame their tongue as those who teach will be judged more strictly. However I prayed to God against all my fears and trepidation and asked that the Holy Spirit will be my counselor and director in my interaction with the children.

Indeed God answered my prayer! and after interacting with the children, joy welled up in my heart even as I shared with them about my life and vice versa. The children allowed me to see things in a new perspective and to be in touch with my younger self! I thank God for the chance to mingle with the children. The children are so innocent, real and charming!

I currently have six children in my care, and they are Elisa, Clarissa, Hui Li, Jieying, Genevieve Khoo and Genevieve Goh. All of them are in Primary Four currently. They are really special to me and I am glad that they are such a warm group. One of the children, Elisa, is from Metta school, a school for intellectually disabled children. There was some difficulty trying to get her to pay attention and integrate her into the rest of the group. It did not help that the other children were all rather jubilant and knew each other from Timothy Club. As for Elisa, she is rather quiet and has a short attention span. However I believe that there is a reason that God has placed her under my care and I pray that he will grant me wisdom and patience in interacting with Elisa.


I want to thank God for every opportunity given to me to serve his Kingdom and I pray that he will use me mightily even as I learn about what it is like to mother a group and discipline, teach and input into these children lives. May the Lord grant me humility, wisdom, courage, love and perseverance as I pour out myself into the children’s lives.
All glory and praise to our almighty God!

Sarah Choo .

My Understanding of Sabbath...

God’s provision during Sabbath Leviticus 25:2-7

As I meditated on this passage Pastor Yo assigned end 2007, there was another understanding of Sabbath [rest] – God’s higher ways and His provision.

This deeper appreciation came from verses 4-7 : “Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines… Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food...

My first response to “do not sow … or prune..” : protest! Goodness!! As a teacher teaching agriculture I’m well aware of the preparation of land and the amount of work needed in order to yield a harvest that will feed the people – IF the farmer has sufficient fertilizers to provide nutrients for the crops to grow well, especially when the land has been cultivated for six years continuously. Yet God is saying “Don’t do anything”! The intellectual in me couldn’t accept and comprehend. Will there be enough food ???? Could almost see the farmer’s sad face at the meagre crops that could be picked up for consumption…

Then God spoke.

It’s not doing what you know can be done or should be done, based on experience and knowledge of the world you live in. It’s depending on Me and trusting that I’ll lead you.

Ok, God. Sorry. It’s not about effort. It’s all about You.

My application – not going about my life [as a teacher, G12 leader & worship leader] using my own human wisdom and effort but to allow God to show the way to go and as I walk, I’m to rest and not fret.

God bless you abundantly in this Year of Sabbath. Amen.

Sally Wong

Have you heard?

The Wedding Bells Are Ringing! Weizhen and Alan are going to be united in holy matrimony next week. Come and celebrate this joyous occasion with our spiritual sister and be part of this milestone in her life. The details are as follows:

Date: 19th January 2008, Saturday
Time: 11am sharp
Venue: Touch Centre (at Marine Parade, opposite the NTUC)

Here is what Weizhen has to say to Yoztribe:

Finally, Alan & I are going to tie knot on 19 January 2008. The reason why we chose Touch Centre for our church wedding is because this place brings a lot of great memories to us. This is the place where we know each other. Alan & I always believe in our heart that as we dwell in God’s well, God will helps us to find our right partner. God is our best matchmaker. We encourage you to continue pressing on to dwell in God’s well & in God’s timing He will makes all things beautiful for you. Come & join us, as we want to enthrone God & Give Thanks to our Maker on our big day. See you there. God bless you!!!

A Day A Psalm...

I usually did my quiet time after dinner every night, and so didn’t have the habit of waking up early to read God's word. After making an appointment with God during service last Sunday to meet Him first thing in the morning every day, I was very excited and really eager. Excited at the idea of waking up to a most important appointment every morning; eager to start every day speaking with, and more importantly listening to Him. I really pray, and I believe, that this excitement will last through all 150 days!

God is really good! Even as I sought Him with eagerness and excitement, He spoke to me and His presence was with me the whole day. It truly is different, not only does God speak to me as He meets up with me in the morning, His word accompanies me throughout the rest of the day and He would use situations to give me a better understanding and interpretation of what He told me in the morning.

When I meditate on Psalm 1, there was no big booming revelation. I was simply reminded of how He is a God who "watches over the way of the righteous" and destroys "the way of the wicked". As I read the chapter, I was very comforted to be reminded that it really does not matter if the world scorns or even punishes the way of the righteous; it is enough to know that God will watch over us and our righteous way. This is the only thing that matters :)

Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on His law day and night. As I am excited about a-psalm-a-day, I will go beyond the pure excitement of meeting God every morning and make deliberate and conscious efforts to see the interpretation and application of what He tells me every morning, in the rest of the day.

Ruo Cheng.

Countdown Party to 2008

“10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0…. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!”
Amidst the roars and the shouts of well wishes with everyone’s clapping, cutting through the whistle of the pyrotechnic fireworks that burst forth with enthusiasm much to the delight of the audience, the people standing around me, myself included, were getting hyped up to launch into the song, “I Follow the Son”. It was an awesome awesome feeling to be up there on stage, and such a privilege to be able to serve God in the choir by singing & dancing zealously before Him, into the New Year.

Don’t know about you, but have you ever wondered why we feel exhilarated counting down to something we look forward to, instead of counting numerically upwards? If we counted from 1 to 10, it would seem more like the numerical recording of something taking place.

There is something thrilling about counting down towards a known destination or place. It brings a sense of comfort, a sense of destiny towards what is ahead of us. As I saw the throngs of people out there dancing in freedom and singing with the choir in great exuberance. I felt our hearts sang and thumped together as one because we know why we can celebrate at the Countdown.

The reason why we can feel excited about what is yet to come is because we trust that God will lead & guide his people in the uncharted paths in front of us. And the most beautiful part of all is that we are not alone. Just like how God provided for his people, the Israelites, when they were coming out from slavery in Egypt, when He sent a cloud in front of them to guide them by day, and a pillar of fire by night, He will guide us as we enter each new year.

Even in the midst of the raging storms and fiercest battles, will you still feel the peace of God within your heart? Will you surrender your smallest to the most insurmountable problems to the Lord, and Trust that He Will come through for you in His time?

Let’s decide today, that as we learn to truly Rest in Him for each new day in this New Year of Sabbath in 2008, we can be sure that we can testify and look forward to Counting upwards by the end of Year 2008. Count the number of times God came through for you, count the number of blessings.
We can countdown because we have something to count upwards to every new day. And we’ve only just begun the year. How great is that?
Hallelujah!

“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” – Isaiah 58:11

Have a Blessed New Year!
God Bless You & let His face Shine Upon You!

Stephanie Zeng
Pastor Yolanda’s daughter

Enjoy the pictures below.. Look out for the slideshows too..

Last Choir Duty of 2007

Today is a really exciting day! Many of Pastor Yo’s twelve - Mabel, Stef Zeng, Karen, Sally, Sharon, myself - were on stage doing the last choir duty of 2007 together. We had so much fun worshipping the Lord together with the rest of the tribe people and people from Pastor Lawrence Tribe. Sally and Sharon, in particular, were on a high. The two of them were the oldest in this week’s choir but their enthusiasm and energy were really an example for us young ones! 

I guess the difference for me today is to be able to serve the Lord and the congregation together with my sisters and brothers in Christ, dancing and praising God with all our hearts and our souls. Although there are times when many of us do feel really tired (We have to clap and jump most of the time during Praise Songs), but the spirit in us is not tired at all! We were actually praised by the trainer for our energy and how prompt we are in doing things. Thank God – it makes me so proud of us as a family.

I felt blessed serving the Lord in the choir because it was an opportunity to lead the congregation to worship! And the congregation included the pre-believers too! I believe when the pre-believers see how excited we are for God, they will want to know this God more too! How great is our God!

Jiarong & Karen.

Mark your calendars - Nick is coming to town!

"If God is a God of Love, then why would He let something this happen?"

When Nick was born, the whole church mourned over his birth and his parents were absolutely devastated. Nick was born without limbs. It was a trying time for his parents. His father, a pastor of a local church, and mother asked all the 'why' and 'how' questions possible, in particular, they questioned why such a thing would happen to them, people who loved the Lord. Understandably, they thought the child would not survive long. But God's miracle had just begun - Nick was a healthy baby even though he was without limbs.

In God's grace, Nick and his parents gradually overcame the fear and frustration in their lives. Today, Nick has shared his life testimony to millions around the world, to Christians and non-Christians alike.

I was struck by his testimony. If I be in his position (he is my age!), what would my story be like? We all have our struggles, and our share of challenges. And so often, I end up grumbling and complaining, wishing that I had more, could do more... So often I get caught up with the difficulties in front of me and fail to understand God's hand and heart - that if He allowed something to happen, it is because He has something in store. As I read his testimony,I was stirred my heart to again believe and hold onto who God is - a God who truly loves us and will use us just as we are, if only we are available.

May this portion of his testimony ring in your heart as well:

I had that wake up call around the age of twelve and realised just how much I was blessed with. I take my foot for granted, my family and all blessings that God had freely given and I still complain? I came across;

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the best for those who love Him."

That verse spoke to my heart and convicted me to the point where that I know that there is no such thing as luck, chance or coincidence that these "bad" things happen in our life. In;

James 1:3&4 - "...know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

I had complete peace knowing that God won't let anything happen to us in our life unless He has a good purpose for it all. I completely gave my life to Christ at the age of fifteen after reading John 9. Jesus said that the reason the man was born blind was "so that the works of God may be revealed through Him." I truly believed that God would heal me so I could be a great testimony of His Awesome Power. Later on I was given the wisdom to understand that if we pray for something, if it's God's will, it'll happen in His time. If it's not God's will for it to happen, then I know that He has something better. I now see that Glory revealed as He is using me just the way I am and in ways others can't be used.

Nick will be coming to our Youth service to speak on 2 Dec 07. Take this opportunity to invite all your friends. I believe his sharing is going to touch many lives for God. Get the word out so they have a chance to hear God's goodness through him!

May this video of his testimony minister to your heart.

Tribe T-shirt

Curious what the t-shirt really looks like after last sunday's shirt-sizing frenzy? It will of course be red and on a polo t-shirt. We don't have to go red-shirt hunting just for Youthnet events anymore, yippee! Well, the design is below, copyright of Yoznet and Denise Lim - enjoy and rejoice that the shirt has come into being :)

God-given opportunities

This is what Mel Choo shared at the dinner:

Firstly, I want to thank God for the many opportunities to serve in both gkids, young arrows and GCYC. I really learnt alot from Him and learnt more of depending on Him for every of my needs. He taught me the importance of always coming back to Him to refresh my spirit and to spend time with Him. He really blessed me alot this year, for example, giving me strength when I really need it. I really didn't think I could handle kids well. But through gkids and YA, I really understand why God has such a big heart for the young children. He also taught and blessed me with patience and His love, especially during gkids and YA. He helped me to understand what it means to give out of my heart, and not expecting anything in return. There are many trying times in gkids and YA, but that's when His love and patience came through for me and this allowed me to hang in there. I may not be able to see the fruits of my labour now, but I believe that God has already planted the seeds of His love and kindnes in the lives of the kids.

Secondly, I want to thank God for answering my prayer for GCYC. Last year during GCYC, I thought to myself how great it would be for me to serve more in GCYC by hosting someone. But I thought that it would be impossible because I don't have my own big house to host the delegates. So when I heard Ps Yo asking us during the leaders' meeting before GCYC to help host the delegates in GBC this year, I was really pleasantly surprised! God really is good.

Thirdly, I want to thank God for giving me a few opportunities to step out of my comfort zone for Him. I remembered that during the gkids' encounter, I wasn't sure what to do as this was my first encounter as a leader and I wasn't able to attend the briefing before the encounter. But the Holy Spirit really guided me throughout the camp and used me to minister to the children.

Year of Victory in Yoznet II

Jia Hui shared her testimony that day during dinner too. If you missed it, this is from Jia Hui herself:

I thank God for the platform to rise up as a Gkidz leader. Indeed, The Lord has used Gkidz to mould my character and to build me up as a leader and spiritual mother. I have learnt to not fear rejection but to speak the truth in love, I have learnt to be firm with them, I have learnt to minister with excellence and pray for the needs of my girls, I have learnt to give up my personal desires and dedicate my time to them, I learn to grow in love and see them as my spiritual daughters… You know, I believe that as I ministered to these girls, the Lord was beginning to heal my fears and past hurts that I had.

Rising up as a leader made me begin to understand the heart of the church leadership. I learn to be good soil for my spiritual mother to sow on - to be accountable, to support her in whatever way, to be honest and open, to understand her heart behind the things she does…

I thank God for my spiritual daughters… 2 of my girls wished me “Happy Mothers’ Day” as well! Indeed it made me start to see myself as a spiritual mother. I thank God for the paradigm shift… indeed G12 is not just a system for multiplication, but it is truly about family.

As part of the year of victory, one of my ASK BIGS is that I’ll have 12 by September 2007, and I thank God that indeed He has given me 12 girls in my open cell! God is a God who answers prayer!

GCYC! :D

I thank God for being able to serve the nations by hosting the Vietnamese delegates for GCYC! Indeed it has been a time where I receive much much more than I gave. =)

I thank God for opening my eyes and my heart to love the nations with action. I learnt to go the extra mile just like Jesus went the extra mile to die on The cross for us that we may have eternal life =) (Matthew 5:41-42)
On the last day, I was really tired after 6 days of running on little sleep and hectic and demanding schedules at school and GCYC. And after we came back from the dinner at expo, they asked to go shopping at Kovan! Wah, we had to walk a fair bit from GB campsite to heartland mall… And it really took all the perseverance and strength that I had left to walk there with them – because I know that that is what Jesus would have done!

I thank God for the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone to lead a group for the blessing of the families at Bukit Merah. Haha. I have never done anything like that before, but I believe that my excitement in blessing the families has indeed rubbed of on my group members and they begin to see that it’s actually very easy to be a blessing! Haha.

I thank God for using the nations to continue His healing work in me. I have been struggling to receive the truth that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Amazingly during the conference, He used 3 different people to tell me three times that I am beautiful – on the very first encounter that I had with Vy, she said sincerely to me, “you’re very beautiful and kind”… I’m really touched by the love of God that He would bring people from overseas just to bring that Rhema word to me.

Indeed, I will continue the year with the 3 victorious attitudes – always thankful, always victorious in Christ, always a blessing to all… and with the 3 key strategies of going deep, looking far and asking BIG! =) We’re all warriors of light who will stand and fight, guarding my heart, mind and emotions at all times in this warfare! All glory to GOD! :D

Year of Victory for Yoznet

Yoznet had a family dinner for tribe members who had served in ministry in some way or another this year. It was a short but good time. Through the worship and the testimonies we could see God working in our midst - speaking to us, teaching us, growing us. Denise, who leaves this week, shares her journey with God this year below:

Serving this year as a cell leader and in Young Arrows has been very exciting. Through it all God has shown me that the 3 attitudes: always thankful, always victorious in Christ, and always a blessing to all are really choices that I have to make daily.

Serving hasn't always been easy. Working with the kids in YA can be quite hard because you don't see the fruit of your labour immediately. I also felt that I wasn't making a lot of difference since I will be leaving for the UK soon and it felt like I was leaving behind unfinished work. However, upon reflection about the 3 attitudes, I realised that it's simply my job to have the attitude of a winner, and God will give the victory.

In cell group, it was also quite hard because a lot of my girls can't come for church due to parental objection. So I ended up having to meet them separately because trying to find a common time for cell group was impossible. As a result this was very time consuming. At times, I was very tired and felt like giving up.

But God reminded me of Exodus 14:14 - The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still and 2 Chronicles 20:15 and 17 - 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. ... You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'

God reminded me that the battle belongs to him. So when I felt like giving up, God helped me to remember that I was not alone but that he was fighting for me and with me. He reminded me not to try to fight the battle with my own strength but to just maintain an attitude of victory and the victory would come.

After the last Encounter, God showed me this about the 3 attitudes and I wrote it down: “I think I'm beginning to see everyday that the 3 attitudes that Ps Khong keeps talking about are really choices. Attitudes don't depend on circumstances or feelings, they're just difficult choices that deny our flesh and call upon the most painful, inertia-laden parts of the spirit. Attitudes that force us to commit our burdens to God. Attitudes that force us to push the extra mile on faith in God's word, even when we don't see. But ultimately they are the attitudes that bring victory, that bring us back to the cross, that apart from him we can do nothing, apart from him there is no choice, apart from him that life is really not worth living.”

Now, God has shown me that an attitude of victory really does bring victory. When we make the choice to be winners, God makes us winners.

Tribe Dinner at TC

Hmm. Why has Yanying been called out?




Because it's her birthday!











Praying for Yanying:







Time for icebreakers! (led by JIARONG)




Happy Yoznet People:

Thanking God for the 100K

When I first started this 100k challenge, I thought it was easy, hence I didn’t think much on praying really hard for myself in terms of protection, fear etc. However, during the first week of this challenge, I didn’t do very well. It was then that I realized that i was actually afraid of approaching others, which is not right. If you know me, I’m quite an easy-going and friendly person, hence with this “not right” feeling, God showed me that I must really start praying for myself and I really need to pray for protection and against fear etc. I thank God that God heard my prayer and forgave me for not taking prayer before that.

After I came back from Shanghai, I fell even further behind in my 100k and did not reach the number of people that I should have, and I started to pray really hard again.. Thank God, on 28^th July, I’ve invited a number of my tuition kids (ranging from primary 4- sec 1) to come for the walkathon, but in the end only 1 student turn up. I wanted it to cancel at first, but somehow I just felt God prompting me not to as I can include Joanne into my 100k blessings after the walk. After the walk, I brought her for lunch and after lunch I immediately share the 100k blessings with her. As I was explaining each blessing to her, I came across forgiveness and eternal life, hence I took the opportunity to share the gospel with her. After sharing the gospel, I asked her this question, “Joanne, now you know that Jesus is God and He is a God who can help you to solve all problems, He is a God who loves you so much that He is willing to die for you on the cross. Do you believe this Jesus?” To my surprise and great delight, she said “Yes!” I was super happy.

In the evening after the walkathon, I went to give private tuition and I took the opportunity to talk to this Primary 6 boy call Hong Xun. I wanted to bless him with 100k blessings too, again when I reached forgiveness and eternal life option, I took some time to share the gospel to him.. In the end, I asked him if he believe in this Jesus who died for his sins and want to accept Him as his God? He said, “Yes”. We then say the sinners' prayer together. I was really blessed that Saturday. 2 salvations in one day.. I then sensed that God wanted me to do a follow-up with these 2 students and not just these 2 students but believing that more will come to know the Lord.

The best thing that came out of this campaign is the possibility of using my tuition centre as a means to reach the Bukit Merah community. After sharing with Pastor about the open doors I had at the tuition centre, I’ve decided to take it further by opening a club called Issac Club for the children to have free tuition. The first hour will be used for tuition, and the next half an hour will be a time of worship, bible story telling and games time for the children. God had in fact even pre-planned the tuition schedule for me. Three months ago, I restructured the tuition timetable and left a slot for any activity that the Lord may lay on my heart to conduct without any clear idea of what I will be doing.. I’m really excited to see what God is going to do when this club is open. I believe God can transform Bukit Merah.

Ps. After seeing the 2 salvations, my faith increased and begins to pray for all my students. On Monday when I went back for tuition, I’ve blessed whoever came for my class that day. A P3 student even asked me, “Miss Ng, can you bless my friends, my papa, my mama, my grandparents and my brother?” of course I say yes! And I asked him to invited them to come down and I’ll bless them.

To God be the glory!