The Cake and the Candy :)

An illustration that God revealed to me few days ago :)...

Often as a child we dont know much of what is really out there right and as a child we would cry out and ask for candy because that is all that we know about to be good to eat. and when our parents wants to give us cake for instance, they clearly know it tastes much better. But we dont? and we keep asking for candy but they obviously would not give it to us and we would cry about it until we finally eat a spoonful of the cake and taste the goodness of it

God gave me that illustration for how much I wanted things in life that I know to be good at that time? Say a relationship that failed and how much I wanted to hold on to the prospect of being with this man. But that is not God's idea. No matter how much I cried about the man, God would not give him to me.

He wants me to enjoy the cake which is so much better than a candy but i have yet to taste that cake or even know about it and that is why i kept on wanting and crying for the thing that I know right now to be good.

I am waiting for the fulfillment of His promise. But I trust in His unfailing love, I trust in the heart of the Father who would only give what is good to the daughter. The Father Who would only give what is BEST for His daughter :)!

I may not know what this 'cake' is or what does it taste like, but if God said it will be good then I will hold on to it. We may have to wait longer for the cake to come or to know about the cake than the candy that we have tasted. But His love is enduring and He cares deeply about our desires :).

Lets apply this illustration for the walks of our lives where God may forbid us from having some things no matter how much tears we have shed. Trust in Him that He will deliver us and fullfill His promises in the BEST time. Not our time but His time :). Amen

James 1:12
"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

Luke 21:19
"By standing firm you will gain life."

"To God be the glory for ever and ever. Amen :)" (Phil 4:20)

A crazy illustration by Rich wilkerson jr :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1F0XHsIsVY&feature=player_embedded

Love Never Fails =] !

An entry about the impression of a banner that God gave during the 180 prayer, entitling "Love Never Fails."

180 is a youth English service at BIC Melbourne church and we are currently holding a praise&worship + testimony night on the 20th November 2010 marking the last service for the year 2010 before everyone goes on holidays overseas.

The vision was quite random but carries with it a strong impression =]. In the end the 5 leaders prayed over this theme and all agreed with the same revelation. We first arrived at the pouring out of the Holy Spirit as per Acts 2: 17-21. Hence why we are making the whole service we a theme of praise and worship to let us just simply be soaked in His presence. Be totally embraced and refreshed in full immersion of a taste of heavenly delight <3 !

However as we prayed upon the vision of 'love never fails'. The 5 leaders actually received the same conviction. Hence why the title is given.

Whatever is the theme, that is the essence of the event. BUT a theme is not as important as to the main point of this whole thing. The main and MOST important point is that God WILL work ! and He WANTS this to happen =] !!

How privileged are we to be invited into a fellowship with Him, a fellowship that He has planned Himself in advance =p??

I am truly excited at how is this all going to unfold. However and whatever is going to happen, I believe God will definitely be there =]. I believe that He is going to work, maybe not in ways we may think it will happen but He will surely do something great. He may reignite people's passion, bring their hearts back to him, lift off a heavy burden, cast away any fear or anxieties, refreshing our faith, restoration, healing?? Many more things could be done, for nothing is too hard for Him and nothing is impossible for He is our El Shaddai =] !

By faith, all things are possible in Christ Jesus. We are simply His vessels who are empowered by the Spirit. Without the Spirit who lives and work within us, we are simply wasting away. But when the Spirit move, power comes forth from within. and that is His grace that we are able to do the things we do for His kingdom.

This is another event, another church event in Melbourne. But within each event that men has 'made' whether it was by chance or through prayers. God had allowed these to happen with a purpose. And in turn we are giving a chance to God to work. We are responding to His desires. We are in turn opening another window, another door, another place for God to fill and takeover with all His might. We are giving the Almighty all that we can for Him to delight in.

In this we are truly grateful, In this we are truly in awe.

The theme "Love never fails" for me brings back to His promises in our lives. Ever heard of the song 'Held' sung by Natalie Grant? YES life will always bring with it a thousand of worries, disappointments, failures and total sadness. BUT the promise is that within each one of those failing events, He will never leave us nor forsake us. That we will be held with His righteous right hand. That He will remain sovereign in all things because He is our GOD =]!

In this I receive the revelation that for God is Love and His love in unfailing. Its spoken over and over again in so many chapters in Psalm and everywhere else across the bible. Why does it hold so much importance?? Because in faith hope and love, the greatest of all these is love :D?

Hm.. faith in it produces hope but in all of that our sole foundation is love. He first loved us as a sinner. Then we are given the gift of faith and then hope to a future full of abundance.

Love has so many different aspect to it that we can discuss even further. This is just simply the surface of it.

However the simple title "Love never fails" resounds deeply within me. For God will NEVER ever fail in your lives. NEVER.

We may fail ourselves in our silly little mistakes that sometimes lead us to a huge mess. Yet we are in the hands of a magnificent God. There is surely no mess He cant clean up :p? He is God.

He can move mountains, He can do anything, He breaths out stars. Can we do any of that? I bid not =p.

Anyway, the message that Abba wants to share in this is I believe simply in plain English:

" I will not fail to use your life for my glory. Though the sins you bear and its consequences may brings with it an awful stench in life and to your soul, there is nothing for me that is impossible to turn around. You may fail in your weaknesses but I will be your strength. I will heal you, restore you and lift you up higher than you may ever think you would be able to reach. In that I am showing you that My power is made perfect in your weaknesses. In that I am showing you that I never fail to answer your every single cry. In that I am showing you that I am not going to leave you broken. In that I am showing you that My Love will NEVER fail =]!"

"How beautiful and how lovely are Your thoughts towards me :)" -Israel Houghton-

I am super excited in this journey that He has taken me and I am super privileged to be on board :D. Get on the biggest and most fulfilling journey of a life time and that is with Him who has called us to be who we are not because He will BE that for us :D !!

God Blesses you abundantly dear friends !! Phil 4:20 - to God be the glory for ever and ever !

Amen =] !

You are for me - Kari Jobe =]

So faithful
So constant
So loving and so true
So powerful in all you do
You fill me
You see me
You know my every move
You love for me to sing to you

I know that you are for me
I know that you are for me
I know that you will never forsake me in my weakness
I know that you have come down
Even if to write upon my heart
To remind me who you are

So patient
So gracious
So merciful and true

So wonderful in all you do
You fill me
You see me
You know my every move
You love for me to sing to you

I know that you are for me
I know that you are for me
I know that you will never forsake me in my weakness
I know that you have come down
Even if to write upon my heart
To remind me that

I know that you are for me
I know that you are for me
I know that you will never forsake me in my weakness
I know that you have come down
Even if to write upon my heart
To remind me who you are

Lisa Bevere :D !!

We are called out of our comfort zone so that we may comfort others. we are called not to be comforted but to bring comfort into people's lives :) !

** little message to my beloved sis Liani, you're doing a great job hun :) ! xoxo

A Great message =] !!!!!

When Your Heart Longs for More

Cindi McMenamin

There is perhaps no more driving desperation than that of a woman to be loved.

And, yet, this longing of ours - to be loved unconditionally and sacrificially for who we are -- has driven us to downright desperate behavior, throughout history.

We're told in Scripture of a woman who was desperate for love. She had one man after another in her life. She had married so many times that she probably thought "why get married at all?"and had decided to just live with - but not marry - her most recent boyfriend. Maybe that way he wouldn't feel obligated to her and he'd stay around longer. But having him in her life still wasn't enough for her. And she found herself alone, and still thirsting for more.

That's when she met Jesus who addressed her thirst in life and told her:

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:13-14

Jesus was telling her that everyone who seeks satisfaction from a temporary well in this world will remain unsatisfied...they'll constantly come up dry. In other words, every woman who went where she was going to find her fulfillment, would remain unsatisfied. But when they drink of the water He has to offer....they will live eternally and experience true fulfillment.

Like the Samaritan woman, we too can be desperate for a man. Perhaps, at times, we want any man, as long as we have someone in our life. I know many women who feel it is better to be with someone who makes them miserable than to be alone. Oh the desperation we have for what we believe is "love."

As women, we have been known to resort to foolish, even crazy, behavior out of a desperation for love: becoming pregnant to try to "keep" a relationship, tattooing our bodies with a boyfriend's name to show him how "committed" we are, enduring secret physical or emotional pain so we can hold onto someone, having one meltdown after another because our needs aren't being met or we don't feel loved. We even search out father figures in men and boyfriends, looking for the love we never felt from our own father. But why are we never that desperate for God's love?

God is One who loves you more desperately than anyone ever could. And He did some pretty radical things to show it.

"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..." God says in Isaiah 49:16. God has tattooed us on His palms! That is desperate.

"... I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her" (Hosea 2:14). He strategizes to get us back. That is desperate. =p

He counts the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30), records our days in a book (Psalm 139:16), and saves our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8). Now that is desperate...almost obsessive!

If we took a good long look at what love really is, we'd recognize that it's right in front of us - and we wouldn't be so easily seduced by the substitutes.

God's Love is Eternal

Unlike anyone on this earth, God has always known you. And He has always loved you. In the Bible, God tells us, through the Prophet Jeremiah:

I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness. Jeremiah 31:3

An everlasting love. That means there was no beginning to it and there's no end to it, either. It always was. It always will be. That is endless love.

God's Love is Enduring

Over the past several months, several women I know have had husbands walk out on them.

They were left explaining to others what happened to their "love":

He decided, after 30 years of marriage, that he just doesn't want to be married anymore.

He told me he never really loved me, but was just going through the motions.

My husband told me he's had secrets that he can no longer live with so he wants to make a 'fresh start' without me.

Tragically, it happens. We get burned with a selfish example of what someone thinks is "love" or "a loss of love." But just because one who professed to love you fails miserably, doesn't mean that God's love is any less sincere. God's everlasting love waits to pick you up, bind your wounds, and place you on a path of life again...a redeemed, restored life in which you begin to experience what true love really is:

"...For your Maker is your husband - the Lord Almighty is his name - the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit - a wife who married young, only to be rejected," says your God" (Isaiah 54:5-6).

God spoke those words through the Prophet Isaiah, to His people, Israel, who had continued to turn their back on Him. Yet God kept coming back for them, as a lovesick husband seeking the return of his wife. In many ways, you and I are like the unfaithful nation Israel was, when it comes to seeking love and fulfillment outside of the realm of God's love. We search for love, and we think we must have a man to complete us, and yet God stands waiting to be our Faithful Husband if we would just look to Him first to meet our needs.

God's love is eternal and enduring. Can any love on this earth compare? Not a chance.

Could the realization that the Living God of this Universe loves you passionately make you want to grab hold of that love and live differently? Could it make you desperate, not for the love of someone else, but to love Him in return?

If we became desperate for God with the same kind of passion with which He is desperate for us, we would experience the kind of love that liberates, not suffocates. And as we begin to love Him, over anyone else, He will develop in us a desperation for His love...and we will know what it means to be on the edge for Him and not for anyone else.

Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker and the author of several books including When Women Walk Alone (more than 100,000 copies sold), Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs, and Women on the Edge. For more on her speaking ministry, books or free resources to help you find strength for your soul, see www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

Quotes by Lisa Bevere

extracted from the book "Kissed the Girls and Made them Cry"...

such a great book !! love it and had to put it down to study :(..
Anyway i'm moved to share with you some of the things she had written...
It's so beautiful and I am soo amazed at how God had driven me to buy this book.
Never even heard of it and yet everything that was written were really what He wants me to know :).

Especially that part where she mentions that a woman is the glory of the man (1 Corinthians 11:7).
Thank You Daddy for this book :), Love You Love You Love You !

The quotes:

"our praises exalt the position, power and authority of God in our lives"

in short, i believe it also means how we praise is how we perceive Him in our lives.

" Worship always empowers the worshiper with a greater revelation of the object of her desire"

LOL :p.. no wonder, it all makes sense now.. hahahha Love You :)...

"Music is an essential key to the awakening of our love for God, because music has the power to usher us past our present reality and into the very presence of God...."

Spirit-breathed music has the power to draw us closer to Him, "because music was always meant to draw lovers closer"

How amazing and awesome are these revelations >3< !! i marvel at the beauty of Your wisdom :) !! Thank You for such an amazing book, will keep reading and sharing more !!

xoxo

For the Love of Jesus =]...

Lord that I may be pleasing in Your sight that by Your love i am secure, by Your love i am embraced. By Your love i am saved. i will do all these things You have told me to do simply because of Your love. I choose not to care on what people may think but I am doing this for You and Your glory alone will be done. Thank You for Your Love Lord and my heart WILL trust in You =] ! For when i cannot see, You will light my path and I will fear no evil for my heart will trust in You !

xoxo :)

It's Time To Do Something !

by Mary Southerland

1 John 4:11 "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

I truly believe that every day is filled with divine appointments - opportunities to rescue people who are trapped in some kind of pit. We miss the emptiness reflected in the eyes of the sales clerk or simply choose to ignore the homeless man begging for money so that he can buy food. After all, we are in a hurry and have more important things to do. The sales clerk would probably be embarrassed if I said anything and that homeless man would probably just use the money I give him for drugs or alcohol.

The ringing phone is someone in need but we don't care enough to answer. Our neighbor does not know God but her life is a mess and we really don't want to get involved. Instead of taking action and doing what we know God wants us to do, we decide that it is enough to pray for that neighbor and leave the messy part of God's work to someone else.

I am so guilty of walking away from someone in need instead of running to their rescue. I am in pain, too, and my pain is more important than theirs. I may not actually say those words but I don't have to. My actions are blatant illustrations of my own egotism and self-absorption.

I do not want to be like the priest who nonchalantly strolled by the wounded and bleeding man lying on the road. I want to be like the Good Samaritan who stopped and saved the wounded man's life. I want to be "God with skin on."

One day, just as rescue workers descended into that Chilean mine, Jesus Christ will descend into this broken world and rescue us from the pit of human frailty. Until then, let's be His hands and feet. Let's love Him so much that we just have to do something about it.

You Are Worthy of My Praise !

by Jonathan Butler

I will give, you all my worship
I will give, you all my praise
You alone, I long to worship
You alone, are worthy of my praise

I will worship, with all of my heart
I will praise you, with all of my strength
I will seek you, all of my days
I will follow, all of your ways

I will give you, all my worship
I will give you, all my praise
You alone, I long to worship
You alone, are worthy of my praise
You are worthy of my praise

I will bow down, and I'll hail you as king
I will serve you, I will give you everything
I will lift up my eyes to your throne
I will trust you, I will trust you alone

I will give you all my worship
I will give you all my praise
You alone I long to worship
You alone are worthy of my praise

I will give you all my worship
I will give you all my praise
You alone I long to worship
You alone are worthy of my praise

You are worthy, You are worthy
You are worthy of my praise

Oh, I will give you all my worship
I will give you all my praise
You alone I long, I long to worship
Well, you alone are worthy of my praise

You are worthy of my praise

"For God so love the world He gave His only Son"
[John 3:16]

More of You in my life Lord, soaking in the wonders of Your Love =]... Thank You Daddy, with all my heart... Amen :)

Everything Will Be Okay =] !

by Mary Southerland

Isaiah 43:2 (NLT) "When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you."

When we focus only on what we can see and understand or explain, we will worry. Fear and doubt will become familiar companions if we live each day against the backdrop of this broken world. Our only hope is God. And it is not enough to just know about Him. We must know Him. A personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ assures us that no matter what the world throws our way, it's all going to be okay.

The Cost - by Lysa TerKeurst

"...in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes."

2 Corinthians 2:11(NIV)

How I wish we could see the cost of each of our choices as clearly as a price tag on items in a store. If I know how much something is going to cost me, I make such wiser choices. But we have an enemy who schemes against us to keep the cost of dumb decisions concealed until it's too late.

Satan wants to defeat, discourage, and destroy our families. His attacks are not just willy-nilly attempts to trip us up or knock us down. He wants to take us out. That's why, as parents, we've got to boldly fight for our families. We must get intentional with teaching our kids to think through their choices. And we must get intentional about modeling good choices as well.

Do you know why Satan's tactics are called schemes in 2 Corinthians 2:10-11? A scheme is a plan, design, or program of action. Satan's schemes are well thought through plans specifically targeted to do three things:

1. To increase your desire for something outside the will of God.

2. To make you think giving in to a weakness is no big deal.

3. To minimize your ability to think through the consequences of falling to this temptation.

Satan is a master of keeping that cost hidden until it's too late.

Sweet sisters, I think this is something worth thinking about. And I think it is something worth talking to our kids about. Think of age appropriate examples of how costly wrong choices can be. Be real and raw and bold as you walk them through different scenarios of temptations they will face.

=> Thank You for the warning Daddy =] <3>

The Abundant Life

Life is not built upon dreams. There is no use of worrying of what it could have been, what it should have been, what should have been said and not said, for all has been done and all has been a part of the past. There is no point of looking back towards the past for in the future lies the promises and the hope. The past may bring you memories that are sweet or in turn brings with it a debilitating feeling. Whatever feeling it is, we shall not linger upon it for too long. This feeling shall not get us caught in the moment and worse, imprisoned us.

These hurt that fills our past may sometimes feel awfully painful that it stretches our endurance level to the maximum point. But God sometimes needs to break us down to put a halt of us destroying ourselves even further. These hurt stops a bigger disaster that is to come. Although it may have originated from our mistakes or others' mistakes in our lives, God loves us too much to keep us going the way we were. He doesn’t want us to be left broken and lost. He wants to reach out to us and get us back from a thorny path.

God wants to offer us life, that life comes with it victory and abundance. No matter how much we have been hurt in the past. Those past should not take control of our current situation to the point that we are unable to move forward. Those past shall stay in the past for we have been set free in Him. Those past shall remain in the past for we have been restored and saved by the power of His grace. He wants us to come out of that season victoriously. He wants us to display His great power in our lives. He wants us to come out as His children of lightJ ! Display His remarkable touch on your lives and believe in the future full of hope, light and promises that He will never break.

Trust that we are forever safe in His loving arms. Men might bring you a tonne of disappointments and hurt. But hey, they were part of a plan. Part of His big plan that He allows these things to penetrate into our lives to consume the sinful characteristics within us.

What makes it hard though? More often than not, the devil would try to break us down at every way they can. The devil will try and attack us in every single area of our weaknesses. Most regularly, the father of all lies and deceits would send negative thoughts into our head. This is part of his evil plan for us to act upon those thoughts and consequently participate on his scheme to destroy us and ultimately draw us away from God’s master plan.

To that I am saying NO. I am rejecting all lies from the devil that tries to ruin me and steals me away from Him. I am choosing life. I am choosing the life full of freedom that Jesus gave me. I don’t want to give in to the devil’s scheme. I don’t want to believe to the evil whispers that are trying to remind me of my past and to act upon it so as to justify myself.

I believe that God’s master plan is much greater and finer for our lives. The devil’s scheme may seem easier and reasonable at first. It may offer us what seems to be acceptable in today’s society. But we are different; we have been made different in Him that we shall not lower ourselves to what this fallen world has to offer. I believe God wants us to be so much more than another average person walking aimlessly. I believe God has called us to set a new standard, His standard. He wants us who has been saved by the mercy of His grace to restore those standards that He has once set before Adam sinned.

Our God doesn’t offer us just an easy way out. In this He wants us to persevere and test our faith that He will deliver something great. That He will turn things around. At the end of it, His beautiful masterpiece would definitely surpass that of a devil’s scheme. That is the greatness of our God, His plans remain victoriously absolute =] <3! style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"To God be the glory for ever and ever, Amen." (Phil 4:20)

James 1:2-4

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” [NIV]

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [ESV]