“Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!”

Indeed!

Tonight, our household is blessed with the opportunity to hold bible studies to two of my former schoolmates. Warren, of course, led the studies and though it was his first time to take the floor in preaching the Word, I would have to say without bias that he did well. He was nervous the first fifteen minutes but by God’s grace, his nervousness melted away even before we reached halfway through.

We have been praying for this opportunity and now that God has granted it to us, we hope to be able to do it on a regular basis. We are now praying for His sustenance - of wisdom, faith, health and time - so that we may hold fast to what we, as Christians, were called for, which is to preach and share the Gospel.

We also humbly ask you, dear brethren, to continue praying for Warren, so that he may remain faithful in teaching sound doctrine, and if it be God’s design, so that it will open more hearts and lead them to Christ. Please pray for me also, so that I may remain faithful in my role as Warren’s helpmeet woman. We also ask for prayers for the bible studies to continue and if it be His will, to flourish, as well.

Indeed, as of this moment, I am so out of words… All I can say really is praise God for such wonderful blessing!

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Took a few photos of the bible studies, here they are:

I found this on Rebecca’s blog and I just have to post it here…

This is a 30 plus minute video that is packed with good information. I hope you stick around up to the end and learn from what these two guys have to say.

It was extremely difficult to post a blog last night. I composed my previous post through BlogDesk and when I hit the “Publish Post” button, an error alert popped up on my screen. I wondered what could be the trouble this time, deciding to just manually post my entry on my WordPress admin panel, I tried logging in and here’s a screenshot of what I got: For some reason, there was a problem establishing connection to our database… Or so it said. Anyway, Warren wrote GoDaddy a short note to inquire about the problem and they said that “the site is functioning properly and that this would appear to be an issue with the script you are using to connect to the database”. We find it hard to accept GoDaddy’s reason because we didn’t change anything with the script at all. Well of course we refuse to close our minds to other possibilities (like the need to upgrade AGAIN to WordPress 2.5.1), but we’re thinking we should really, seriously, consider dumping GoDaddy for good.

It’s been a while since my last post.

I admit, I pushed blogging at the back of the shelf for a while while I absorbed all the new things that started to occupy me since our move here - Bruce, the interior designing, the landscaping project, the new online business that Warren and I are working on and so on… These things tie me down lately and I can’t resist. I hope our regular readers (if any) have the patience to understand me.

Anyway, while I have kept mum about the endless blessings that God continue to shower our little family, Warren on the other hand kept his fingers busy typing it all away, so you didn’t really miss much.

Isn’t it amazing how technology helps us Christians spread the Word to our loved ones? I have always wondered how can one who stays at home most of her waking hours evangelize to her friends and colleagues. I have struggled with that thought during the first few months of my life as a believer. You see, I do not work in a company, I have no friends that I see everyday, nor colleagues that I work in an office with… It’s just me and Warren, d-a-i-l-y. In our little home.

Thankfully, there are a multitude of ways to get connected nowadays. Ahhh, instant messenger makes it all easy for me to reach out. Even for Warren. And I assume that somewhere out there, there are also other Christians who use it for evangelizing and ministering to others.
Continue Reading »

truly its amazing how God works
Hazel’s long time friend, Ruby, who attends a charismatic group
is being evangelized by Hazel for several months now
she lives up northern province
so the only way of communication they have is thru chat
Hazel always gets the chance to talk about Christ with her friend
in fact
its almost impossible not to discuss spiritual things with a friend whenever we get the chance to talk
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Ruby has been a long time friend of Hazel
she knew Hazel for years
she knew how Hazel lived her life
how she spent her life in drinking and smoking and cursing
never takes life seriously
she was there to witness them
then Ruby knowing that she is now a Christian
she noticed the change
she noticed the way she speaks
so calm
so peaceful
Hazel quoting scriptures
Hazel rebuking
its so not like the old Hazel that she once knew
for several months she’s been amazed at how God works in Hazel’s heart
how God transformed her
she is in awe of God
- - -
then this morning she revealed to Hazel that she attends a charismatic group for years now
Hazel was alarmed
and she thought she needs to deal this issue right away
or forever lost her to the devil’s stronghold
surprisingly, Hazel and I just had a discussion with our pastor concerning charismatics last sunday service
he then pointed to us the verse that would change the charismatic’s view forever
1 Corinthians 14
its so sad that the charismatics havent noticed this verse
with that information still fresh in Hazel’s mind
she then shared the verse to Ruby
to Ruby’s surprise
she realized the filthiness of the charismatic group
she realized that all these years their pastor was wrong all the while
and shes been sucked in by their filthiness without her knowing their wrongs
she then felt disgusted
like a person realizing that the meat he just ate was not pork meat after all, it was dog meat
- - -
immediately in panic she asked for a church
then our pastor was online
Hazel immediately asked our pastor if he knows of a decent church in Ruby’s province
yes
i have a friend whos just starting a church there
they’re in the process of moving there from another province
they’re moving right there in Ruby’s province
we were all in awe
surprised on how God works
it was all in perfect timing
nothing was a coincidence
the friendship Hazel and Ruby had
their fights and quarrels
Hazel’s discipling from our pastor
the friend of our pastor who’s just starting a church there
right in her province
all fell in the right place
at the right time
amazing!
and all the while nobody knew what was going on
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if God didnt lead me to go back to our church after 5 years of backsliding
i wouldnt have lead Hazel to Christ
if God didnt assign Ruby to be Hazel’s friend for years
they wouldnt have known each other
if God didnt lead Hazel to salvation
Hazel wouldnt have lead Ruby to Christ
Ruby wouldnt have been evangelized
Ruby wouldnt have known our pastor’s friend who’s starting a church there
amazing!
and God was behind everything
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truly
great is thy faithfulness!
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For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will
Ephesians 1:4-5

this is the most common cause of people misunderstanding scriptures
many would read a text
gets inspired from the text read
it fits in the person’s situation
this could be the message God has for the person
and immediately closes or ignores the rest of the text
because of the deep emotions the person had from what he read
he was distracted by his own emotions
and fails to read the whole context
thus making the raw message of God undelivered to the person
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some would even go to the extent of flipping the pages of the Bible at random
feeling cocky about what God wants to tell him
but even in this
the context was not read
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how can you tell you are in a forest if your just looking into one tree?
how can you tell the meaning of a story unless you know it from start to end?
how can you tell the whole picture of the jigsaw puzzle unless you put in the pieces together?
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failing to read the whole context distorts the meaning of the whole message
distorting the meaning of God’s words is idolatry
the principle of idolatry is still there
yes
there maybe the absence of a physical figure
a statue
a form of any kind
but the principle is still the same
it is still idolatry
idolatry is not only practiced by cults such as catholics
no
as long as the message of God has been twisted
distorted
it is idolatry
in the hebrew days of old
people make idols because they know there are certain commandments from God that doesnt appeal to them
so they decided to modify the rules
i didnt like the 10 commandments
3 or 5 of them i cant follow
i know
ill adapt the commandments from other gods
and perhaps combine them with these commandments
thus the idolater accomplishes in forming his own standards
his own rules
his own commandment
modified version
version 1.5
whatever they want to call it
anyway
its their idol
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i had a discussion with a gay friend the other day
and he says he’s a christian
well if you consider Christ as your Lord, you’d follow what He says right?
im not like other gays
i try my best to be not like the gays of this world
well thats your own rule
thats your made up standard
and thats not God’s
its not biblical
the Bible simply asks for a yes or a no
no more buts
no more i think i have a better idea than God’s
no more the Bible is outdated
God didnt foresee my situation
He’s too busy so He must’ve forgotten to check on my condition
so ill be a christian gay
ill be a good one
i love the Lord
i accepted Him as my Lord and Saviour
i trust Him with all my heart
but im gay
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the 1st commandment God gave is this:
you shall not have any other gods before Me
simply put
God hates idolatry
and its on top of His list
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now concerning the reading of context
this is one of the most common mistakes people make
as was mentioned earlier
misunderstanding the scriptures is idolatry
here we see the importance of knowing the whole message
the whole context
when on reading a verse
let us not stop there
we must read thru
see what is the whole context is talking about
this is the basic principle of expository preaching
letting God’s word to speak
instead of fantasizing on your own world of rules
misunderstanding the message would produce chaos and confusion
one example is on my last post concerning judging
the scripture says judge not
immediately people would take it as it is
they would conclude that Jesus, a man of peace based on their impressions, is advocating non-judgmental attitudes
but no
if you read thru the next verses
you will see that Jesus is explaining that before you judge, make yourself right with God first
now unless you proceed to the next verses
and without the power of the Holy Spirit
you will misinterpret Jesus’ teaching on judging
thats why judging within many undiscerning churches is considered as unloving
causing division
destroying the Church (someone says to me when i was confronting their church
they didnt even noticed the tolerating of sins within their church is unbiblical)
but the misunderstanding of that verse caused them to tolerate sin more
caused them to produce more hypocrites instead of rebuking with love
- - -
the christian must read the whole context
without knowing the whole context would not only fail to know God’s message
but it would lead a life that is not biblical
it would turn out to be confusing
inconsistent
deceiving
and most of all
disobeying the 1st commandment
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reading out of context proves to be the work of Satan
because whenever Satan quotes from scriptures, it is out of context (Matthew 4:6)
so when reading
always ask yourself this
what is God saying?
instead of
what is it that i want God to say?
though many would deny this
and still claim to making efforts to understanding God’s messages
but only in their fruits will we see if their claim matches their actions
no wonder there are so many big churches that attracts many people
simply because these churches say what the people want to hear
and not what God wants to say
the Bible is the food of the Christian
without food, the Christian will weaken
starve
be overpowered by death
dead people dont feel
dead people dont know their dead
dead people dont think
they cant discern
they dont have the capacity to do anything
simply because theyre dead
AND thats why they cant discern which is right and which is wrong
which is Truth which is not
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Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

2 Tim 4:2-4

A high school classmate died on June 13, friends seem to make sense out of an old cliche about the thirteenth of the months falling on a Friday but I just can’t. My mind is far from such trivialities. My mind is centered on how a healthy, good looking, promising and fun-loving thirty two year old could end his life when it was just supposed to be starting…

Yeah, he committed the gravest act of all - suicide. When I found out it was that tragic, I stared into space for quite a while and wondered at how shallow his reason could be? Or how mind-blowing enough to push himself towards committing suicide? Ahhh, friends, high school and college batchmates could only speculate. Whatever the reason, I still wish he did not kill himself. Continue Reading »

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaching from the context of The Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew:

At a time like this, then it is of the utmost importance that we should be able to interpret correctly this statement concerning judging, because there are many who say that “judge not” must be taken simply and literally as it is, and as meaning that the truly Christian man should never express an opinion about others. They say that there must be no judging whatsoever, that we must be easy, indulgent and tolerant, and allow almost anything for peace and quiet, and especially unity. This is not a time for these particular judgments, they say; what is needed today is unity and fellowship. We must all be one together. This is often argued in terms of the danger of Communism. Some people are so alarmed at Communism that they say that, at all costs, all who in any sense use the name Christian should be accepted. We should all agree because of that common danger and common enemy.

The question arises therefore as to whether that is a possible interpretation. I suggest, in the first instance, that it cannot be; and it cannot be, quite clearly, because of Scripture teaching itself. Take the very context of this statement and you will surely see at once that that interpretation of “judge not” is quite impossible. Look at verse 6, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearl before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” How can I put that into practice if I do not exercise judgment? How do I know which kind of person can be described as a “dog” in this way? In other words, the injunction that immediately follows this statement about judging at once alls upon me to exercise judgment and discrimination. Then again, take the more remore connection in verse 15: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” How is that to be taken? I cannot “beware of false prophets” if I am not to think, and if I am so afraid of judging that I never make any assessment at all of their teaching. These people come in “sheep’s clothing”; they are very ingratiating and they use Christian terminology. They appear to be very harmless and honest and are invariably “very nice.” But we are not to be taken in by that kind of thing - beware of such people. Our Lord also says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits”; but if I am not to have any standard or exercise discrimination, how can I test the fruit and discriminate between the true and the false? So, without going any further, that cannot be the true interpretation which suggests that this just means being “free and easy”, and having a flabby and indulgent attitude towards anybody who vaguely uses the designation Christian. That is quite impossible.

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taken from the book “Studies in the Sermon on the Mount” by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones