The One Thing - Blessed In More Ways Than One

Romans 5:1
1Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

We are not trying to get peace with God. We already have peace with God, having been justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ. This peace with God brings us the peace of God, which guards our hearts and minds. (Philippians 4:7) Then, the peace of God inside us will also translate into the peace of God outside us — in all our outward circumstances.

Firstly, we will find that what would normally cause us much care and anxiety will no longer be the case. Secondly, not only will everything turn out well, but we will also be blessed in more ways than one. This is what happens when Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is our peace.

A church member, though stricken with cancer, enjoyed the peace of God, knowing that He was her healer. She later received confirmation from two different doctors that she had been completely healed of cancer. In addition to receiving her blessing of complete healing, she also received from her insurance company a critical illness claim of S$50,000!

Another church member, upon hearing news of her retrenchment, committed the matter to God, believing that He would work all things out for her, especially her loss of a regular income. Shortly after, she received her retrenchment package — a substantial five-figure sum. And within days of her retrenchment, she received calls from her contacts in the industry, offering her jobs, two of which were jobs in well-known multinational corporations (MNCs).

At that time, she had not yet started looking for a job, so the calls were unexpected but welcomed. She finally opted to work for one of the MNCs — a dream come true for her — at a salary that was 30 per cent more than her previous one! When she simply prayed, “Abba Father, I trust You to look after me,” and rested in His love and peace, she was abundantly blessed.

Beloved, because Jesus is your peace, you are blessed in more ways than one. Your soul will prosper. Your health will prosper. Your finances will prosper. Your loved ones will be taken care of. Your relationships will flourish. You will enjoy the favor of God. All because you have the Prince of Peace!

-Vin

Possible future directions of our Division

I don't really know what everyone thinks on this issue.

Do you think it's time to step up on our efforts to move out of our current place into proper cell houses? I mean we're prone to constant disruption whenever an event is held there notwithstanding the fact that we really do not have a permit to hold such a large gathering there. Which we have to really be grateful to our Heavenly Father for providing for us!

There are really both pros and cons for being in either Pavilion or cell house. And so, I feel this issue needs alot more thought and discussion since when in doubt, the Bible exhorts us to seek the counsel of believers.

Pro 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel,
but with many advisers they succeed.

Let me do a pros and cons preliminary Analysis of this situation

Pavilion
Pros
Combined Worship is possible, more prudent use of resources
Many leaders present, so we can all fill in for one another if the need arises
Our cell members can still have both inter and intra cell group interactions - A dynamism that we will lose if we split up into individual cell houses

intra - within cell inter - between cells

Cons
Can take awhile to get our kids to settle down
Almost impossible to do productive sharing (eg. go one round and share about your week)
Noisy/smelly at times
There are strangers loitering around sometimes and we have no control over this - distracting
We could get chased out, displaced without warning
Leaders sometimes have to compete with each other to be heard during lessons
When our kids are sian during worship, it can be quite infectious and disheartening to see

Individual Cell Houses
Pros
Possibly quieter and more private surroundings to attend to our sheep
Hopefully our members will then be more open to share about their week and connect with one another
Time for members to share Deeply about the issues in their life and still go one full round
Opens up the possibility to harness the AV equipment of the place for screening of related multimedia like video clips or even an entire sermon message, if it's really good:)
Stronger and deeper ties between our cell members can possibly be formed since they now are restricted to intra cell interactions but i realise this can work the other way as well
Possible to go 'paperless' as we can screen lyrics / Qns on TV screen or something
Each CG will have more control over the programme and begin to allocate time for prayer/celebrating of birthdays/time for worship/sharing/chatting/lesson
Possibility of opening more opportunities for ministry among our kids (eg. worship, birthday ICs, Treasurer etc etc)

Cons
Worship Team staffed by our kids has to be nurtured / Leaders take worship & lesson every week
No more divisional dynamism - some kids might drop out of cell cos of this
All Leaders are really on their own and be constantly on their toes
The Divisional Identity among our kids might be lost slowly over time. . .
Can't think of anymore...

In any case, do not look at the length of the pros and cons, but as not all reasons are as important as others, so please help to weigh them and offer your counsel and help add to the list of pros and cons.

Let's discuss this by posting comments on this post when you see this and not going to the tagboard as i think characters that can be typed into that is pretty limited.

Then, it is only right that Alvin as our authority and DL should sum up and conclude this issue for us! Thanks Alvin:)

Cheers!
Jared

Life is indeed a paradox....

To be able to succeed,
One must be able to accept failures.

To be able to strive for perfection,
One must be able to accept imperfection.

To love and be loved,
Sacrifice must be involved.

And of course the Greatest Love and Sacrifice was shown to us on the Cross by our Dear Jesus:)

Acceptance is key to moving forward. The older we get, the more we encounter, the more we have to contend with, the more we have to accept. Only with acceptance, can we see and understand things in its proper perspective. Can then we proceed to come up with objective solutions to remedy the situation, to slowly take a step forward.

These steps, though small, are full of significance and fills our lives with purpose and meaning when taken. Why? Because of the collective sacrifices of everyone to trash out differences and take that same united step forward. Strength in Unity!

Besides, there is nothing that you'll deeply love that you didn't suffer for. Think about what David said when he said, I'll never offer up something that costs me nothing to The Lord. David, in all of his imperfection, knew what love is. Why do you think he was called a man after God's own heart?

2Sa 24:24 But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels [c] of silver for them.

So let us take those small.... yet BIG steps in our lives and Slay the dragons of our lives!

In the words of Neil Armstrong, I'll leave you this quote:

That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.

In His Love,
Jared

Oprah's New Age Teachings

HELLO HELLO
here are the videos i was talking about the other day during support group (:
Quite interesting , so take a look!

This is the video of Oprah's 'church' which has an attendance of about 2 million.
Part of this video showed Oprah and an audience in her show having a mini debate on Christianity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFDKwvBxv4Q&feature=related

And this video is a debate between leading internet evangelist Bill Keller of LivePrayer (online Christian Website) and Oprah. Keller challenged Oprah to this debate, btw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BjL4Y9UOpw&feature=related

Yup, its just puzzling how some people who grew up in a Christian environment can turn against it ):

Love, Vivienne

This Thursday's Support Grp

Ok my dearests, this is it. 

Kindly offer your inputs for this thursday support grp, how we wanna bless and welcome Julia's zone leaders into our circle. Let's take a short while when you are reading this, to recap how we came about with the support group, the purpose and where we are today. 

I think our journey wasn't easy and our hearts can testify to our tasks. However, Jesus has been our constant comfort and strength, always 24/7 available to our cry and call. With Him, are a family of passionate God loving people who just couldn't get enough of Him. In our appointment as leaders, we carry certain burdens but Jesus always lifts it off for us. What becomes our gain is the experiential learning and growth in Christ. Yet, in a spiritual warfare, warriors like us can get injured, tired and even get lost. Hope is not gone in Christ, together with us are a group of supportive leaders who can stand in the gap not only for one another but for the world... In prayers, in words, in deeds, in love, in God's grace, in walking alongside with one another and knowing why we're called to be together in this zone made realized we're not just buddies..

We're one FAMILY. 

When ur tears flow, i'll be your soft tissue. When you're angry, i'll be your punching bag. When someone bullies you, i'll stand for you. When you're lost, i'll take you by your hands. When you're sacred, i'll offer assurance. When you need someone, i'll just sit beside you. I pray when we learn how to love one another in such manner, it will overflow to your members, your friends and even alien and strangers(as the bible puts it). 

So, i propose during worship, we'll walk up to the rest of the leaders, guy to guy, girl to girl and embrace them in a intimate prayer and encourage them. How lovely is the sight! It's not to wayang(put up a show), but can you imagine leaders who have been leading for so many years having people to think they are 'up there' do actually have a need for some encouragement? 

If you're wondering how to love one another, this is one practical example. 

The rest is for you all to suggest. Lol. You guys have turned operational. Yayness!!

-Alvin Chia