How's your prayer life ?

Yesterday's discussion was about prayer life.

Prayers are the core being of our Christian life. It's the communication part in a relationship. Imagine a relationship without communications.. that'd be living a Christian life without prayers.
I'm talking about those that have received Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. If you have not, have someone to talk to :)

Undoubtedly it's expressed many ways in the bible, from Abraham, David, Job, Daniel, Nehemiah, all the prophets ever written, and even Jesus Himself prays! They all have their own traits and personalities when it comes to prayer. I love how David danced as his acts of praying (2 Sam 6:13-14)
Matthew 6 pictured how we should pray. I'm not going to talk about that here, but it's good to read and learn that again and again.   

It's amazing sometimes we forgot to pray or delayed or don't have time because of our tiny little own business, or busyness.. without realizing how it hugely impacted our life!   We focused so much on our own stuff and forgetting that God cares for you and He wants to help you.. overall He loves you! Probably He was thinking, oh my son, why did you do that, why didn't you consult with me, and sometimes He just so loving of a father, he let us wander ourself, out of His care and protection, let us far enough, fall on our own maybe... and all that just to know that there is a God, a Father that cares for us, and always open His arms to welcome us back.

Think about what if.. What if I talk to God first.. what if I let Him in be in control.. what if we don't have to wander around? Think about God's plan that He has for you, and what if God has a bigger and better purposes for us? Might not what we want or like, but He has a purpose for you!

In the music prayer yesterday I shared about how sometimes my prayer doesn't always get answered, at least in the way I want, or when I want.. but one thing I do find true, that God always listen, and every time I finish praying, I always feel that my burden is so light and peace just rest in me.. man, it's awesome. And when He answers.. wow, you just stand in awe, giving back all the glory.. when He answered, Job became speechless.. when He spoke, raging storm calmed down.. when He spoke, fire came down...  
man, who said Christian life is boring?  You're being backed up by a living God, the creator of heaven and earth.. God that created you and yet we can't comprehend His greatness in our little brain (we tried to)... but I just know that I'm on His side! If God is for us then who can be against! You witness His glory and His work everyday...  It's a life that filled with purpose, full of God's grace and empowerment! Walking everyday with faith, seeing God's work in every person you meet, life-changing experience.. it's just amazing. Don't you want that? 

So, how's your prayer life? 

You alone can rescue - Matt Redman

Key B - Capo 4

Verse 1:
G                     C       G
Who, oh Lord, could save themselves,
  C        G         D
Their own sin could heal?
    Em         G      C       G
Our shame was deeper than the sea
      C       D      G
Your love is deeper still

Chorus:
                C      D           Em
You alone can rescue, You alone can save
               C       D        Em7
You alone can lift us from the grave
                  C        D             Em
You came down to find us, led us out of death
                C         D       G       C  G  C
To You alone belongs the highest praise

Verse 2:
G                   C      G
You, oh Lord, have made a way
     C       G        D
The great divide You heal
     Em       G           C   G
For when our hearts were far away
      C         D       G
Your love went further still
            C        D       G
Yes, your love goes further still

Chorus:
                C      D           Em
You alone can rescue, You alone can save
               C       D        Em7
You alone can lift us from the grave
                  C        D             Em
You came down to find us, led us out of death
                C         D       Em
To You alone belongs the highest praise
                C         D       Em
To You alone belongs the highest praise
                C         D       G
To You alone belongs the highest praise

Tag:
     G
We lift up our eyes, lift up our eyes
             C
You’re the Giver of Life
    Em
We lift up our eyes, lift up our eyes
            C
You’re the Giver of Life

God's authority & plan

Psalm 33:4-5:

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

When I read that passage, I was wondering how it could be true in spite of the tragedy that happened around the world? Maybe David has never seen a typhoon as big as what happened recently was the typhoon Haiyan in Philippines?

How could we find Him faithful in all He does? Is this hurricane/typhoon/disaster is part of what He does? 

Is this part of His acts as a just judge and righteousness? 

Is the earth full of his unfailing love?

Well, as humanly as this might not make sense to all of us, the best answer that we could get is from the Bible itself! 

>> We must acknowledge and understand who our God is <<

1 Tim 6:15-16 says: 

...which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever...

He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. The creator and ender of all things. He is an almighty God that way above all created things, for everything is created by and for Him.  David was fully grasped that, Job was fully understand that, Paul totally grasped that.. along with other disciples,  and everyone else..  Do we?

We human always tried to be our own God but forgetting who we actually are and who owns our life!  

As my friend Daniel said, behind all that, we can learn that destroying/annihilation isn't really God's 'end-game' (the best way I can put it :p) , but restoration is! If we see in the old testament, Noah, Job, Sodom and Gomorrah, Elijah, Israelites.. and even the death of Jesus Christ! there's always a restoration that follows through, and it's always for His glory.

So the question is, my friend Greg once asked, on which side of authority do you want to be in?

James 4:12

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy

Offering

Roma 12: 1 - Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

What's the purpose of your work/study/self-improvement? Who are you doing it for?

- love God better, or love yourself better?

- love others better, or love yourself better?

How to have a Kingdom mindset?

Breaking Bad TV shows

Source: Sunday Service sermon Nov 3, 2013

God stories? :)

God's glory

Ezekiel 10:4 helps us to glimpse and understand God's glory: 

"Then the LORD's glory rose from above the winged creatures and moved toward the temple's threshold. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the LORD's glory." 

The word translated here as "glory" is kabod in Hebrew. Curiously, this word is derived from a root with the basic meaning of "heavy." From this root came, among other things, a word meaning "rich." Speakers of ancient Hebrew would refer to a rich person as "heavy in wealth" much as we might say someone is loaded. A similar extension of the literal sense of kabod included being loaded with power, reputation, or honor.

It's from this use of the word that we get the meaning of glory. God's glory is God's weightiness in wonderful qualities such as might, beauty, goodness, justice, and honor. When it comes to these characteristics and so many others, God has them in superabundance.

God's glory is solid and substantial. It isn't mere reputation. It isn't dependent on anyone or anything else. God's glory reflects his essential nature.  Power and Love - Psalm 62:11-12

Source: Christ Centered facebook page

God's attention to skills

God's attention to skills.  Let's look at His command:

Exodus 25

Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

All skilful process that God requires from chapter 25 - 39

• 28:3, 6, 8, 15
• 31:3, 6
• 35:30-35
• 36

God cares about your skills, your talents, and He has called each one of us to serve according to our ability. I think this is why we serve in a music ministry.. we give Him all our skills and talents to worship Him, to create that 'tabernacle' where God's glory can be shown and create that space where people can come to worship Him and have personal encounterance with God.

Maz 22:4 - Engkau yang kudus yang bersemayan di atas puji-pujian orang Israel

And our objectives is to see God's glory revealed, relationship restored, true and personal encounterance, through praise and worship that impacted their life time!

Like in Exodus 40, for God's glory to come down and stay.

Exodus 40

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.

so, next week we'll talk about what is God's glory.

source: http://cdn.theresurgence.com/files/2011/10/06/Audition_Interview_Questions.pdf?1317943842

Purpose of our ministry

The purpose church & its ministry: to reconcile to God and others.

2 Cor 5

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation

In music ministry - are we bringing that ?

How are you doing relationally? with God and with others?