Sunday, July 22, 2007 ♣


HeyHEY~! As usual today is sunday and theres church... but the notes are not as usual! haha!

Today we had someone by the name of Nehemiah running with us and at the same time he taught us some ways on how to win even when our problems seem insurmountable, which we experience most of the time in school...(you might find the notes somewhat brief. My apologies on that...had alot of tings to clear up like writing cards)

1.Life's mess is bigger than us

We usually tink that our problems or shortcomings are between us and God and it doesn't concern anyone else. But if we are to carry on tinking tis way, no matter how hard we try on ourselves to tackle these "mountains" in our lives, they're never going to shrink or decrease in height but will bear more weight on our shoulders.
Nehemiah 2:17 "You see the troubles we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates burned with fire. Come, let US rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace."
The above verse stresses the importance of even tackling these problems as a community, so that we will no longer be subject to the Devil's flaming arrows even as we raise our shields of faith as a community. God cannot minister to us in a vacuum(alone) but He is with us when 2, 3 or more of us are together.We need one another in this BIG and HAPPY family!
Ephesians 4:11-16 "It was he who gave some to be apostles,some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ...Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ . From him the whole body joined and held together by every surpporting ligament grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

No matter how many flaws there are in the community, the reality of God's love is with us.

2.God's mission is bigger than us

Remember the great phrase, "If i die, I die."? Why was Esther so bold to even disobey the King for God's called purpose for her? Because God has promised in His Word that His gracious hand is upon us(Nehemiah 2:18) when we step out of our comfort zone to serve His people.
The mission can only be accomplished when we go out as an army of God to even serve in large numbers for multitudes.

Setbacks are always present when we begin to serve because it is part and parcel of our own growth in our Spiritual being even as we continue to seek Him in our suffering. God will reveal himself to us when we are close to him and when we cry out for him...ByeBye compliments, Farewell criticism( If you dont care about other ppl's praise, you wont be affected by criticism.)

3.God's GREATEST MIRACLE is AVAILABLE for US in the COMMUNITY

Nehemiah 6:15-16 "So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this , all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God."

Whatever successes we faced was only possible with God's help. Nehemiah didn't let anyone or anyting get in his way in preventing him from serving and bringing success after success because he depended on God's hand, ahead of him, leading him to God's called purpose for him.
Do you let past failures/hurts affect the calling God has given you? Actually, we should "Always be thankful" to Him for the bad experiences we faced in the past because it was thru these experiences that we saw God's hand and glory even filling our hearts with that joy that can only come, just knowing that we are on Jesus's right hand. WE can make an impact because his mighty hand is ahead of us!

Lets believe in God for answered prayers even this season of "purely blessings only"! Its 100k and beyond!