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He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side . . . — Mark 6:45

We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish — His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see "Him walking on the sea" with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see "Him walking on the sea" ( Mark 6:49 ). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.

God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.

Experienced God @
2:54 PM
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thank God for operation was success. i managed to go to the toilet too after like 10 cups of water.

Experienced God @
7:21 PM
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Dear all,

Some of you may have heard of this organisation called World Vision. It is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. They have this initiative called "Sponsor a Child" whereby donor can choose to sponsor a child from third world countries. The donation goes toward his/her school fees, daily meals and other basic necessities. All these children come from very humble backgrounds and many of them are orphaned as a results of their parents dying from AIDS.

I thought as a congregation (at least the youths), we can make a difference to these people. Let say if everybody is interested, each person only needs to contribute a dollar per month. If enough people are interested, we can sponsor one of them and share God's blessings with this stranger. The sponsored child will write to the sponsor/s on a regular basis to update his/her situation. Look for me this Sunday if you are keen and I will elaborate on the details. You can also browse their website to learn how it works.

Nonetheless please do not feel obliged to participate! It is free and easy but once you've made the commitment, stick to it.

Matthew 25: 35-36: " For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. "


Experienced God @
11:00 AM
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Chris has posted about his operation this thursday for inguinal hernia in the previous post, but even after reading about it in wiki, i'm still quite unsure what it is about. But nonetheless, let us all pray for him. :) It's our heart that matters!

Although I'm not very good at praying , I have come up with a short prayer for Chris, feel free to pray along with me, ok?

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the health and protection that You have given us. Now, as Chris has to go through an operation this saturday for inguinal hernia, may God look after him and heal him so that he will be able to continue to serve You, Lord. May we hand this over to Your powerful hands as You will be with him through this journey. Thank You, Lord.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

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Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you. (Exodus 23:25)

Experienced God @
12:44 PM
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i am going for an operation this thursday. please pray for me. it would be a small operation so i would be going home after that. no visitation required.

Experienced God @
9:56 PM
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Joshua said to the people, ’You cannot serve the Lord . . .’ — Joshua 24:19

Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances? Are you relying on yourself in any manner whatsoever regarding this new proposal or plan which God has placed before you? Will you examine yourself by asking these probing questions? It really is true to say, "I cannot live a holy life," but you can decide to let Jesus Christ make you holy. "You cannot serve the Lord . . ." — but you can place yourself in the proper position where God’s almighty power will flow through you. Is your relationship with God sufficient for you to expect Him to exhibit His wonderful life in you?

"The people said to Joshua, ’No, but we will serve the Lord!" (Joshua 24:21). This is not an impulsive action, but a deliberate commitment. We tend to say, "But God could never have called me to this. I’m too unworthy. It can’t mean me." It does mean you, and the more weak and feeble you are, the better. The person who is still relying and trusting in anything within himself is the last person to even come close to saying, "I will serve the Lord."

We say, "Oh, if only I really could believe!" The question is, "Will I believe?" No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief. "He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (Matthew 13:58). If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like! Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?

Pray that in all we do, we'll not depend on the strength and might of man, but that of God, so that all glory will be to Him above. Hallelujah!

Experienced God @
1:01 PM
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Do you have problems that are weighing you down? Are you in a situation that is depressing? Are the "Goilaths" you are facing right now threatening to crush the life out of you? "Facing The Giants" will help to strengthen your faith that God is ALWAYS bigger than any situations, stronger than any circumstances, and He is there to help us, if we learn to depend on Him. Be encouraged by the example of David, and the encouraging tone of bestselling author, Max Lucado.

From, Soul Gardener

Experienced God @
9:15 PM
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There would be a captain's ball game this saturday.
Details would be confirmed asap but most likely it would be 3 pm in the afternoon.
Please stay tuned for details!

Experienced God @
9:51 PM
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Malachi 3:3 says:

'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says:
'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy --when I see my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Experienced God @
5:34 PM
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