Unity is not unison. It is working together, complementing one another

Unity is not unison. It is working together, complementing one another in order to achieve the common goal.

We see so many divisions in so many organizations today, including churches, bodies of churches - the same thing actually happened 2000 years ago during the apostles' time.

That's where Paul addressed the following letter to the Philippians,
"I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are
in the Book of Life. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Philippians 4:2-5"

Paul knew the importance of teamwork, so he encouraged two women who had been quarreling to make peace. Euodia and Syntyche, members of the Philippian church, had created some division by their disharmony. Paul uses them as examples to launch into an entire chapter on peace. He doesn't ask these women to act uniformly, but rather to be of the same mind.

The term he uses connotes harmony. Singing in harmony doesn't mean singing in unison. Players should play different positions on a team. Harmony means their efforts complement the efforts of others, rather than conflict with them.


Source: EQUIP

church growth biggest barrier - solution - people (sheep) matters more

church growth biggest barrier - solution - people (sheep) matters more

I believe that Jesus’ biggest argument with the Pharisees was their complacency—their desire to put programs and preferences ahead of people. In Matthew 12:11-12, Jesus said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?” Jesus’ greatest concern was the fact that they had put more emphasis on the systems and their own personal lives than they had for people.
This is still a barrier in today’s churches. There will be people in your church who will constantly want to do what feels good for them inside their comfort zone. Often people in the church are more concerned about serving themselves than reaching out to serve the lost.

Bayside Community Church

How to be a good/effective bible salesman?

To salesmen out there - this is a tip on how to improve your sales, seriously. Thus increase your income and commissions too. =)
---

A pastor concluded that his church was getting into very seriousfinancial troubles.

While checking the church storeroom, he discovered several cartons of new Bibles that had never been opened and distributed. So at his Sunday sermon, he asked for three volunteers from thecongregation who would be willing to sell the Bibles door-to-door for$10 each to raise the desperately needed money for the church.

Jack, Paul and Louie all raised their hands to volunteer for the task. The minister knew that Jack and Paul earned their living as salesmenAnd were likely capable of selling some Bibles. But he had seriousdoubts about Louie who was a local farmer, who had always kept tohimself because he was embarrassed by his speech impediment. PoorLouis stuttered badly.

But, NOT WANTING TO discourage Louis, theminister decided to let him try anyway. He sent the three of them away with the back seat of their cars stacked with Bibles. He asked them to meet with him and report the results of their door-to-door selling efforts the following Sunday.

Anxious to find out how successful they were, the minister immediately asked Jack, "Well, Jack, how did you make out selling our Bibles last week?" Proudly handing the reverend an envelope, Jack replied, "Using my sales prowess, I was able to sell 20 Bibles, and here's the $200 I collected on behalf of the church." "Fine job, Jack!" The minister said, vigorously shaking his hand. "Youare indeed a fine salesman and the Church is indebted to you.

" Turning to Paul, "And Paul, how many Bibles did you sell for the Church last week?" Paul, smiling and sticking out his chest, confidently replied, "I am aprofessional salesman. I sold 28 Bibles on behalf of the church, andhere's $280 I collected." The minister responded, "That's absolutely splendid, Paul. You aretruly a professional salesman and the church is indebted to you."

Apprehensively, the minister turned to Louie and said, "And Louie, didyou manage to sell any Bibles last week?" Louie silently offered theminister a large envelope. The minister opened it and counted the contents. "What is this?"the minister exclaimed. "Louie, there's $3200 in here! Are yousuggesting that you sold 320 Bibles for the church, door to door, injust one week?"

Louie just nodded. That's impossible!" both Jack and Paul said inunison. "We are professional salesmen, yet you claim to have sold 10times as many Bibles as we could." "Yes, this does seem unlikely," said the minister who didn't want toappear to be agreed. "I think you'd better explain how you managed to accomplish this, Louie."

Louie shrugged. "I-I-I re-re-really do-do-don't kn-kn-know f-f-f -forsh-sh-sh-sure," he stammered.. Impatiently, Peter interrupted. "For crying out loud, Louie, just tellus what you said to them when they answered the door!"

"A-a-a-all I-I-I s-s-said wa-wa-was," Louis replied, "W-w-w-w-wouldy-y-y-you l-l-l-l-l-like t-t-to b-b-b-buy th-th-th-this B-B-B-B-BibleF-f-for t-t-ten b-b-b-bucks ---o-o-o-or--- wo-wo-would yo-youj-j-j-just l-like m-m-me t-t-to st-st-stand h-h-here andr-r-r-r-r-read it t-to y-y-you??"

Should a Christian ever get involved with hypnosis?

(Source: http://www.gotquestions.org/hypnosis-Christian.html)

Answer: Hypnosis is problematic for a Christian for several reasons:

1) The fruit of the Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). As we follow the Spirit’s lead, He will give us the power to better control our own selves. Hypnosis involves the transfer of control away from ourselves to another person.

2) We are to yield ourselves—body, soul, and spirit—to God. Romans 6:12-13 gives us the formula for overcoming sin: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.” It’s about control—as Christians, we can let sin control us, or we can let God control us. (See also Romans 6:16-23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-12; and James 4:6-7.) The scriptural formula leaves no room for hypnosis (yielding ourselves to a fellow human being).

3) Hypnosis leads to an altered state of consciousness in which the mind is very susceptible to outside suggestion. That susceptibility is what the hypnotist needs in order to modify the behavior of his subject. However, the word “susceptible” should concern us. Scripture says to be watchful and “… self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The hypnotist is not the only one who wants to modify our behavior; Satan also wants to do some modifying, and we should be wary of giving him any opportunity to make his suggestions.

4) Hypnotism is often promoted as a simple way of “refocusing” ourselves and finding the answer within us. As believers in Christ, our focus is to be on our Savior, not on ourselves or anything else (Hebrews 12:2). We know that the answers do not lie within us (Romans 7:18); the solution we need is found in Christ (Romans 8:2).

5) Many of the techniques used in hypnosis are shared by mystical, philosophical, and religious systems, including the occult. The “father of hypnotism,” Franz Anton Mesmer—from whose name we get the word “mesmerize”—was himself a practitioner of the occult. His method of inducing a trance was very similar to the way a medium conducts a séance. Hypnotism, along with yoga and transcendental meditation, has always been linked to spiritual darkness. The newfound respectability of these practices has not changed their underlying nature.

Recommended Resource: The Truth Behind Ghosts, Mediums, and Psychic Phenomena by Ron Rhodes.

If yoiu want to see changes, FIRST CHANGE YOURSELF.

There are so many things tat we can learn from the kids nowadays. They teach us very simple, yet logic life theories many a times, if only we have the time and humility to learn from them.

Recently I heard a child, Mandy complaining that she doesnt seem to improve in her exam scores no matter how hard she strived. She's hardworking, but scoring "A" seem so impossible for her. One day, her friend, Jacky offered her another method, which he has been using. Mandy was adamant that her method of study was good, just that she's not gifted, kept blaming on her limited "gifts" from God.

After some lengthy persuasion, Jacky finally slammed his table and exclaimed, "If your method is good, how come after so many years you're still poor in your exams?! I was once as poor as you, a "C" or "D" scorer, but I was willing to change my way! I changed my method. I am not gifted. But I changed."

What he said truly pinched me and I reflected on the majority of the world today. If you want to see the people/ circumstances around you change, FIRST CHANGE YOURSELF. Never lay on the old excuse, "if the world changes for better, so will I." NO. YOU"VE got your perspective wrong.

YOU CHANGE THE WORLD - not vice versa.

You can't be sticking to the "same old me", "tat's not me", "tats not my way" forever. You've got to change. This has nothing to do with giftings.

Learn and adapt from the successful ones. Ironically, many a times, it is not them who are not willing to share their secrets of successes with us - but it is us, who are not humble enough, to open our mind, and learn from them.

Think about it.

PGRM yeah show by Network-J

I went home from work earlier than usual today - there was a Yeah Show at Menara PGRM, organized by Network J. Unfortunately, all words were in Chinese, except for the above words (yeah, show, menara, pgrm) - i can hardly tell you or describe the names and the VIP's names here.

So I went with KL, a church fren - when we're trying to enter the MENARA, oh.. the jam.. we wondered - wat's going on? isn't it just another church event? Seemed to us that the whole KL lots were rushing into the building at one time. Nevertheless, after some time, we finally got our parking lot, and got to the Yeah Show. wow..it was a big hall, at level 4, and it was really crowded - the number of people went beyond full house - they even went to a higher level (extra seats).

The pastor was from Hong Kong - well, he of course speaks cantonses.. and boy.. was he fast and furious with his words and ever changing impersonation!! If i'm not mistaken his name was Lim Enoch. From the beginning, to almost the end of his "sermon" the ppl on the floor couldn't help bursting into endless laughters. Some even rolled on the floor clenching onto their tummy (not literally). Me for one, had jaw ache after the talk - due to insufficient warm-up prior to tat masticatory muscle exercises.

it was fun, tho a bit too far from where i stay. But if they're to hold a second one, i'll invite my frens to go along. Just sitback, relax, and laugh your lungs out. :P

today's cell group

I'd say.. of the year-long cells, today is the one which i enjoyed the most - coz it contained most discussions, most talks, most sharings, most laughter, but the most important thing is - fellowship - knowing how each other are doing with mutual encouragement.

Enjoyed it. Looking forward for more cells as such. =)

What Unc Row said is true - cell group is mainly a platform for fellowship, not in-depth bible study.

I can't help, but totally agree with him. =) Thank God for today. and the blessed days he's given me.

Vacation Bible School (VBS)

The children's on holiday! And we had the VBS for the past few days. i was just a "helper", where i look after the children.. sometimes i feel like a nanny.. or babysitter... but it's fun! Many a times they remind me of my younger days... there goes my youth.. ;p

on the first day we reached our destination at MBS (guess the full name, anyone? hehe...) at kundang. from the sound/location of the place, i'd thought that the facility was sth like the place - those "ulu-ulu" you know.. but on reaching there.. wow.. the lobby.. was interesting. I mean it looked nice.

Then we went to the dorm. The moment we opened the door.. cool breeze rushed out, my, it's air-conditioned!! Wow.. these children are really pampered... you see how they rushed to their beds in the above pic.

and there are washrooms in the dorms as well, full with hot water facility. they have clean swimming pool there, closed door court (u can play badminton there), a small field.. and many more, they even cooked delicious sumptous meals for us everyday.

It's reali a nice place for a group retreat or camp. In fact i learned that tomoro the youth (from another church) is organizing a youth camp there. Beautiful place.

I'll talk about the children n the activities in my upcoming posts (if i'm in the mood tat is, haha...)

tat's all first. I'm sun burnt for now. It's a great thing to be home again. =)

Have you heard of Oprah Winfrey lately?

Oprah's busy with her new movement lately, her new cult. Watch the video if you haven't got an idea of what I'm talking about. or.. if you haven't watched her new movement videos.

Assignments n presentations?

Usually after my sunday services I'll join the bible study - used to be like teacher preaching, and student listening. It'll be boring if you're not interested, but it'll be enriching if you're looking forward for its contents.

This time round, we have our study on various religions - buddhism, islam, taoism, cults, etc.. in our first session Bro. Isc told us tat we're going to have it a different way this time. I was like, "huh?"

He proceeded - "you're going to do assignments.. bla bla. presentations.. bla bla.. " My eyes narrowed, "oh no.. not again.. " I dreaded the uni times of endless assignments and presentations. Anyway.. so we went ahead as planned.

The good thing about this grouping was - we're allowed to choose the topics which we'd LOVE to research into, and i chose CULTs. haha.. sounds fun.. but sure is not easy.

We had our 2nd session where Lem presented on local deities - and we had really good discussions. Wow.. I came to realize how I used to love fruitful discussions and debates, good arguments. I guess working life has changed me alot.. and I don't want it!

Got to change my wardrobe of personality. One step at a time. With God's grace. aha.. ;-)

Fight of Faith (Here I am/On Eagle's Wings - gospel song)

spent afew hours doing this.. finally.. it's done.. not perfect.. but i'm contented. phew.. ;) praise the LORD... lurv this song so much.. ;-)

Here I am (On Eagle's Wings)

Here I am at your feet Crying out to you
Draw me near hold me close Lord I wait on you
For you’re my greatest love You’re my comforter and strength
You’re the first you’re the last You’re my guiding light
*
I will run I will soar on Eagle’s wings
As I wait on your arm my strength is restored
Fix my eyes on you Jesus As I run this race
Help me find this final faith

how to live a better life?

These are the rules to live a better life than what you're heading now. =)

1. Wake Up to a better life!! Live it!

Decide to have a good day. 'Today is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.' Psalms 118:24

2. Dress Up!!

The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. 'The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance; but the Lord looks at the heart.' I Samuel 16:7

3. Shut Up!!

Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking. 'He who guards his lips guards his soul.' Proverbs 13:3

4. Stand Up!!

For what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.. 'Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good...' Galatians 6:9-10

5. Look Up!!...

To the Lord. 'I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.' Phillippians 4:13

6. Reach Up!!...

For something higher. 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, And He will direct your path.' Proverbs 3:5-6

7. Lift Up!!...

Your Prayers. 'Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING.' Philippians 4:6

God answers Knee-Mail.

'The Lord is good; his love is eternal and his faithfulness lasts forever.' Psalms 100:5

ps. got this from an email.

Christians cower from Hindu backlash in Orissa

By Krittivas Mukherjee Wed Sep 3, 1:31 AM ET

TIKABALI, India (Reuters) - On a starry night last week, as Lal Mohan Digal prepared to go to bed, a mob of raging, machete-wielding Hindu zealots appeared above the hills of his mud house and swarmed over this bucolic hamlet in Orissa.

By dawn, Christian homes in the village were smoking heaps of burnt mud and concrete shells. Churches were razed, their wooden doors and windows stripped off.

We could hear them come shouting 'Jai Shri Ram'," Digal said, referring to the rallying cry of Hindus hailing their warrior-god. The mob poured kerosene on the thatched rooftops of the village homes, then threw matches. Church spires were hacked down.

The Hindu part of the village was untouched. For four days Digal and his stricken Christian neighbours hid in the teak forests, before being herded to a government-run relief camp. The violence replicated itself in village after village, as the rural Kandhamal district of Orissa convulsed from some of the worst anti-Christian attacks in India.
At least 16 people, mostly Christians were killed, churches destroyed and 10,000 Christians were forced to flee their homes as violence spread.

Christians responded with some -- not proportionate -- violence. Almost all the villages Reuters visited bore evidence of attacks on Christians.
Relief shelters were packed with Christian refugees, most of them women and children as their men folk were too scared to emerge from forest hideouts. At one temporary camp in Raikia village, some 8,000 people crammed into two floors of a government office, sleeping on the bare floor and surviving on rice and lentils given twice a day.

"It was the hate campaigns of the Sangh Parivar which led to untold misery for Christians," said Sam Paul of the All-India Christian Council, referring to an apex body of Hindu radicals.
There has not been a long tradition of rivalry between Hindus and Christians, who form less than three percent of officially secular India's 1.1-billion population.

On the contrary, the missionaries have a reputation of running some of the finest schools in India. Intolerance has risen, though, in the last two decades with a revival in Hindu nationalism in India, and a new agenda to fight "foreign faiths" said to be undermining Hinduism.
With political power, Hindu nationalists in several states have made religious conversion either unlawful or extremely difficult.

Orissa has seen some of the worst violence against Christians. "There is an atmosphere of fear," said Krishan Kumar, the chief administrator of Kandhamal, a land dominated by "Adivasis" or traditionally animist forest-dwellers where Christian proselytisers arrived on horseback more than a century ago.

quoted from : http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080903/india_nm/india352913

Thousands Homeless After Hindu-Christian Violence in India

NEW DELHI — At least 3,000 people, most of them Christians, are living in government-run relief camps after days of Christian-versus-Hindu violence in the Kandhamal district of Orissa State in eastern India, government officials said.

The government said that in addition large numbers of people were living in the open jungle, without any shelter and security, because of the tensions that erupted in violence after a Hindu leader was killed on Saturday and at least 10 Christians were killed in retaliation.Christian community leaders said that at least 1,000 Christian homes had been set on fire since Monday and more than 5,000 people were homeless... ... 90 places of worship, including small churches and prayer halls, were burned down. District officials said the figure was about 20.The Kandhamal district has a history of communal and ethnic clashes going back for more than 20 years.

The latest violence started on Saturday night when the Hindu leader, Laxmanananda Saraswati, was killed along with four of his followers by unidentified armed men who stormed a Hindu school in Kandhamal.The police suspected that Maoist rebels, active in the area, were responsible. But Hindus put the blame for the killings on Christians.

In the retaliatory violence, at least 10 people, most of them Christians, have been killed and 500 houses burned. All nine towns in the district are under curfew with shoot-at-sight orders.At least two people have died in the retaliatory violence in other districts of Orissa, including a woman who died when an orphanage was burned down.“We are supposed to take drastic action against whosoever indulges in violence” said R.P. Koche, the district chief of police. The local police force has been reinforced by 2,500 paramilitary troops, he said. The district magistrate, Dr. Krishna Kumar, said the situation was tense but under control and more then 200 people had been arrested.

Dear Lord, may you intervene, quickly.

quoted from: http://www.pakistanidefenceforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t77843.html

India Hindu Militants "Force" Orissa Christians To Convert "At Gunpoint"

Feb 4th, 2008 1:21 AM

By Stefan J. Bos

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife) -- Hindu militants have "forced" Christian families to "convert" to Hinduism and threatened to resume attacks against Christians in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, where up to nine people were killed in religious clashes last month... ...some 15 families in Orissa's tense Kandhamal District were "forcibly converted" in recent days "at gunpoint". Militants allegedly painted a Hindu sign "on the forehead of Christian tribal ladies" in Usurukupa village, while "feeding them goat blood mixed with raw rice" as part of the traditional "homecoming" Hindu ritual, the GCIC said... ...last week, shouting anti-Christian slogans and threatening to launch new attacks against Christians "till all of them convert to Hinduism." Police did not intervene, GCIC investigators said. VHP and other Hindu activists have also demanded that Christians apologize for the death of Hindu Khageswar Mallick, which they claim sparked the outbreak of violence on Christmas eve.

Christians deny any wrongdoing, saying Mallick fell down from a Church tower, while trying to damage the cross at an Orissa church. Hindu groups have also boycotted peace talks, backed by government officials, to end the crisis, despite reports that hundreds of families in Orissa remain homeless following the recent violence. Advocacy group All India Christian Council (AICC) has expressed concern the stand-off could lead to revenge attacks by some Christians. ...

...In Haryana some 100 supporters of the Hindu hard-line Bajrang Dal group apparently beat seven Christians and vandalized their house church on January 1 in Jind district. Compass Direct News quoted the Christian Legal Association (CLA) as saying the militants "stormed" a New Year’s worship service of independent pastor Ashish John, which was attended by at least 20 Christians. Fearing for their lives, the Christians reportedly ran away as the attackers continued to damage church property. Police allegedly did not register the complaint, but it was difficult to get independent confirmation. Rights groups have linked the violence to concern among Hindu groups over the spread of Christianity in India, a predominantly Hindu nation.

quoted from http://www.worthynews.com/christian/india-hindu-militants-force-orissa-christians-to-convert-at-gunpoint/

ps. as far as i'm concerned, the scenario has got worse lately. Pls pray for our brothers and sisters there. God be with them, and may his grace cover them.

Beautiful one - by The Tree

Beautiful One - by The Tree

This is a youtube, karaoke version of a worship/praise/gospel song. Hmm. not reali gospel.

I made it myself, with full enthusiasm and much excitement! Such a small thing.. yet it captured my attention n desire... wat i loved most abt this youtube karaoke, is the moment the bible verses come in.. wow.. i didn't know how i found these bible verses. .now that i look at the presentation again, i couldn't help but smile - those encrypted scriptures are just so appropriate.

Praise God for that.

Beautiful One - by The Tree

Wonderful so wonderful is your unfailing love

your cross has spoken mercy over me

No eye has seen no ear has heard

no heart can fully know

how glorious how beautiful you are

-

Beautiful one, i love; Beautiful one, i adore

Beautiful my soul must sing...

-

Powerful so powerful your glory fills the skies

your mighty works displayed for all to see

the beauty of your majesty awakes my heart to sing

how marvelous how wonderful you are.

God, man and Satan

God also promised Satan that the seed of the woman would bruise his head. I think Satan was quite concerned with this promise of judgment. He began to keep his eyes open, looking for the seed. Sure enough, Eve brought forth "seed". She gave birth to two boys: Cain and Abel.

As they grew, Satan was able to influence Cain, but saw that Abel was much like he knew God to be. Remembering that the seed would bruise his head, and perceiving a threat from the seed, perhaps Satan provoked Cain to slay Abel. But even that didn't stop God's plan.

Eve gave birth to Seth, and eventually through Seth came the nation of Israel and ultimately, Jesus.

Dean Sherman
http://www.breadonthewaters.com/0070_using_your_God_given_authority.html

God, man and Satan

Second and third, the "seed of the woman" refers to the children of Israel, and to the Lord Jesus Christ.

God proclaimed that the seed of Satan will bruise man's heel. If a man has a bruised heel, he will not be able to go as far or as fast as he might. The results of sin have bruised the heel of every man.

Our hair falls out or becomes gray. We get wrinkles and lose our eyesight. Our strength wanes and our minds slow down. From the moment we are born, we head for the grave.

Romans 5:12 says, "...Through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men...." This is our bruised heel.

Dean Sherman
http://www.breadonthewaters.com/0070_using_your_God_given_authority.html

God, man and Satan

Enmity means a barrier of contention or strife. The "seed of Satan" is that which Satan spawns. Since he cannot have children, his seed is that which he is able to bring forth in men. The seed of the woman is three things:

It is, first of all, all who are born from Eve- the human race. Satan's attack on the seed of the woman is seen primarily in his attack on all human children. It is easy to see throughout history and today that Satan zealously targets children, seeking their bondage and destruction. The enmity between children and the enemy is especially strong. Children are new and innocent, the "seed of woman".

From the fires of Moloch in Old Testament times, where parents sacrificed newborn babies on the red-hot arms of idols; to present-day war atrocities, abortion, drug addiction, and child pornography; children are under direct attack from Satan.

...to be continued..

Dean Sherman
http://www.breadonthewaters.com/0070_using_your_God_given_authority.html

God, man and Satan

After man sinned in the Garden, God rebuked all parties involved and said, "And I (God) will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel" (Genesis 3:15).

God promised to bruise Satan's head- not directly, but through the seed of the woman. The seed of Satan would in turn bruise mankind's heel. This established the grounds for spiritual warfare. Satan is working through mankind to do his business on the planet.
And God is working through mankind to defeat the enemy. .

This is what has been happening throughout history.

Dean Sherman
http://www.breadonthewaters.com/0070_using_your_God_given_authority.html