Days of Elijah

These are the days of Elijah,

Declaring the word of the Lord
And these are the days of your servant, Moses
Righteousness being restored.
And though these are days of great trial,
Of famine and darkness and sword
Still, we are the voice in the desert crying
'Prepare ye the way of the Lord!'

Behold, he comes, riding on the clouds,
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call
Lift your voice, it's the year of jubilee
And out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

These are the days of Ezekiel,
The dry bones becoming as flesh
And these are the days of your servant, David,
Rebuilding the temple of praise.
These are the days of the harvest,
The fields are as white in your world
And we are the labourers in your vineyard,
Declaring the word of the Lord!

There's no god like Jehovah!
There's no god like Jehovah!

Time of Reflection

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

7 Ways to Boost Creativity and Brain Power

Strengthen Your Brain Muscles

Just like your body, you can improve your mental fitness with these simple exercises.

Take a deep breath. Breathing is the only bodily function that we do both voluntarily and involuntarily. Inhale and exhale deeply to improve your physiological and psychological well-being.

Tell a good story. Sharing experiences in a compelling and fun way sharpens your mental recall.

Mix up your routine. Take a different route to work, or sit with your legs crossed opposite the way you normally would. Changing your typical way of doing things tells your brain to wake up and pay attention.

Write. Writing notes, poetry, stories or in a journal helps your memory, clarifies your thinking and engages your creativity.

Laugh. Endorphins released when you laugh lower your stress and can help your long-term health.

Perfect your posture. Try solving a problem while slouching down at your desk versus sitting upright and see how it impacts your outcome. Proper posture improves blood flow to your brain bringing mental clarity and improved memory.

(Source: Seeds of Success)

Five Regrets of the Dying

This is an article from Bronnie Ware, a singer/song writer from Australia. Where is your life heading?

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learned never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, but in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to themselves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

The author's blog can be found here.

Love

However in 1979, the (Nobel Peace Prize) banquet was cancelled in Oslo because the laureatte Mother Teresa refused to attend, saying the money could be better spent on the poor. She used the US$7,000 that was to be spent on the banquet to hold a dinner for 2,000 homeless people on Christmas Day. Bless her heart.

- The Star, Saturday, 26th June 2010, p WE19

"Highly motivated achievers find the strength of their motivation in the power of their imagination.

One of the wonderful aspects about human imagination is that it can see things not as they are now, but as they can be; it can foretell the future, based upon our beliefs and expectations, in an almost uncanny way; it can draw the colorful mental images that we hope someday to turn into reality. Imagination is the beginning of creation."

Quoted from Denis Waitley. Read more

What if your only passion is to be in the bomb-defusing squad?

"Come, let us return to the Lord"

YOU’LL COME
(Hosea 6) Brooke Fraser 2007

Verse 1
I have decided I have resolved
To wait upon you Lord
My rock and redeemer shall not be moved
I'll wait upon you Lord

Prechorus
As surely as the sun will rise
You'll come to us
As certain as the dawn appears

Chorus
You'll come let your glory fall
As you respond to us
Spirit reign flood our hearts
With holy fire again

Verse 2
We are not shaken we are not moved
We wait upon you Lord
Our Mighty deliverer my triumph and truth
I'll wait upon you Lord

Bridge
Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed

Saved to Influence the World

Perhaps it's destiny. Perhaps it's good marketing. Or perhaps it's just me wanting to know more. But the May 12 2008 issue of Time Magazine (Double Issue) is the most inspiring read of the year so far for me. It is good in the one hand to know about the 100 Most Influential Persons of the year (for Time anyway); on the other hand it is comforting to know someone is doing something to make the world a better place (most but not all of the 100, I think).

But is it really enough just to make the world a better place? Yes and no. Before I venture into the answer, I have come to inner consensus that each of us homo sapiens have a inherent duty to make our habitat more "livable", so to speak. And by livable, I don't only mean environmentally livable- but socially livable as well. If everyone on earth could make 5 persons smile and help out 5 persons (just a suggestion, not a rule), then that has to make 6.7 billion in the world tenfold happier(do the math). That, indeed, also is the essence of Love Thy Neighbor - the pillars of my Faith and of our society.

And to Love thy neighbor is only to fulfil one part of the dichotomy of the Christian Faith - the first and foremost being Love the Lord. That, only one person could do among Time's 100 Most Influential.

His name is Kaka. If you can't identify the name, you are not a fan of football, not even a spectator. Named FIFA's footballer of the year 2007, the Brazilian midfielder is a class of his own. His boyish face represents the youthfulness of footballing, his skills represents the finest in the Beautiful Game. But not many will know him as a child of God- in football, the cross is not a good thing (for example, in a penalty shootout - a cross signifies a miss). But after appearing on Time, perhaps many more will know that Kaka's believes in a God that is more graceful than his feet. This is a portion of Casey Keller's testimony for the 26 year-old AC Milan player:

There is, however, more to him than sport. In 2004, Kaka became the UN World Food Program's youngest ambassador. And he is devoted to his faith. An evangelical Christian, Kaka has talked publicly about becoming a minister when he retires from the game. After winning the European Champions League final last year, he took off his jersey to reveal a T shirt that read, I BELONG TO JESUS.

I might question whether soccer stadiums are the right venue for promoting religion, but in an age in which many professional athletes care more about cars, women and controversy, it's refreshing to see one who is committed to having a positive impact on the world around him.

If I ever want to influence the world into a better place (and I do), I want to do it like Kaka. To strive to be the best, to help the poor and needy, and after all that proclaim that I did it through my Lord and Saviour.


I also admire cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, who taught the world that "...after Lance, no one of us could ever again say it was too hard, the odds stacked against us were too high, the fight already lost" (quoted from Elizabeth Edwards in Time's 100).

Strength for the Day

10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11 "All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.

12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.

13 For I am the LORD, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.

Quitting PS2

Did you know I have a PS2? I do! In fact I play it very often. Usually only to play one silly football sim game. But not after today. Tomorrow is a new day: time to be serious on CLP (Certificate of Lethal Poison). So, I'll be 'retiring' from PS-ing, for now. Hope to read more... and study more.

Today is the day to make a decision.

Prayer Points

The world is an increasingly unsettled place with more conflicts and natural disasters. There are "birth pains" as Jesus would call it.

Judgment Day aside, the God of all compassion is looking down and extending His hands of mercy on the people of China and Myanmar and other places where conflict seems to be unending. He is the God of unfailing love and the people who lost their loved ones and those searching for meaning amidst disasters must know that in their hearts. The Messiah saves today!

Pray for:
1. Victims of the earthquake in Sichuan Province, China - and for the authorities to respond with efficiency in the recovery.

2. That the storm victims in Myanmar will get sufficient aid and supplies to survive through the dire conditions after the storm. Pray that the Junta will allow more help to go in to save the helpless children and widows etc.

A Love Song

I remember singing this song in church several years ago. It's a beautiful song and echoes my soul as well. (The song is embedded on the video bar on your right)

Sing (Your Love)

Hillsong United

It used to be darkness

Without You I lived my life in blindness

But now I'm found

And I'll sing,I sing I love You so

And I'll sing

Because the world can't take away

Your love

You found me in weakness

Broken

You came to me in kindness

And now I live

And I'll sing, sing I love You so

And I'll sing Because the world can't take away Your
love

And I'll sing, sing and I love You soIll sing because the
world can't take away Your love

I give my life for you Lord

For all You've done I'll give my life for You Lord for all
You've done

I'll give my life for You Lord for all You've done

I'll give my life for You Lord for all You've done

I'll give my life for You lord for all You've done
.......

God so loved ... Edison Chen ... that He gave his life for him

If you "so happen" bump into my blog, please read the blog post by jaesonma.com also. I have been forwarding it around but our Lord Jesus deserves more "forwarding".Don't you agree?

Pray for Edison Chen, Me and the World

Dear Bros and Sis in Christ,

I have a very urgent and special prayer request. For nearly 2 months now I have not announced publicly, even to my prayer team to protect the confidentiality of the fragile situation I am about to tell you. In February the Holy Spirit led me supernaturally to a special young man named "Edison Chen." He is a famous pop star in Hong Kong and China who recently this year was involved in a internet sex scandal that received worldwide attention. My heart broke for this young man when I heard the news. I prayed for him to find the love of God and the forgiveness that is offered through Jesus Christ. I also prayed that God would use this situation for greater good, somehow to redeem and bless the youth and families of Asia. Through a series of divine circumstances in February God brought me to Edison, I shared the Gospel and God's personal prophetic word to him and Edison gave his life to Christ. His heart was genuine, his repentance was true, and I was so happy to see a new brother find God's forgiveness, mercy and grace. God truly loves Edison. The days after, many others in his family and circle of friends came to know Christ. It was a supernatural experience, that only God could orchestrate.

Yesterday night, I found out that one of the largest secular magazines in Hong Kong/Asia had caught wind of Edison's conversion and wrote a front page story on our friendship. I was very much in shock to hear about this because I had not spoken about this publicly for nearly 2 months. I was more surprised when my contact in Hong Kong told me the article was 100% positive, shared about my own conversion experience, my personal ministry and how Edison is starting a new life and new path in Christ. Honestly, when I heard this news knowing that millions all over Asia would read this uplifting article and possibly find Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, I wept.

I wept with joy for Edison and all the millions in Asia who have been negatively effected by the sin & immorality that was spread. I knew God was restoring Edison, a prodigal son who had returned to his heavenly Father. I wept, because God spoke to me when I met Edison that He would bring greater good from this scandal than evil. That what Satan meant for evil, God would turn for good. I am thankful to God because I know millions who read this magazine will see that God has forgiven Edison Chen and all the victims, showing them His love and mercy. Therefore, those who read this article after realizing that God has forgiven Edison, will also realize that Jesus can forgive their sins and give them hope for a new life in Christ. Please pray that God uses this testimony to bless the masses with the power of the Gospel. Good News is spreading in Asia, Jesus died on the cross and resurrected on the third day so our sins could be forgiven and anyone who believes in Him will not die, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Now I ask you for prayer. Edison Chen, the Victims and myself need your prayers more than ever before.

Please pray for Edison Chen and others...

1. Pray for protection from media pressure: There is a lot of pressure with an public article like this to perform as a Christian. Please pray that people realize Edison and others who have become Christian are still a work in progress. As I am a work in progress myself. No one is perfect, we are all human and we all need love and forgiveness. God doesn't expect us to be perfect, but to trust in His mercy and grace. Pray that God would protect this story and situation against gossip, accusation or deception, but only the truth of Jesus Christ would continually be uplifted in the media.

2. Please pray millions of Christians around the world would pray for Edison, his family, the victims to be strengthened in faith, comforted and restored to be a testimony to society in a positive way. Pray that the many victims of this situation would also find faith and forgiveness in Christ.

3. Pray that many who read this article and story would be saved. Pray that those who read this testimony of Edison's repentance and faith in Christ, my own personal testimony will realize that God loves them also, that they can be forgiven of their sins and have a new life in Jesus Christ. Pray as they realize God has forgiven Edison, He will also forgive them.

4. Pray that my family and I would be a great testimony for Christ. Please pray that God would protect and help me and my family in America and Hong Kong to be good witnesses for Christ. I am returning to Hong Kong in May for ministry and I need God's wisdom in how to talk about this story to others so that they see Christ and not me or anyone else. May He keep me, Edison and all others humble, so that we decrease but Christ would increase.

5. Ask God to turn what was meant for evil into good. Pray that through this scandal, that greater good would come out of this than evil. Pray that millions will be inspired, touched and put their faith in Jesus Christ across the world. This scandal was probably one of the biggest news stories in Asia in the last decade, many were adversely affected, but God now can turn the tide and bring hope and healing to all the world and turn tragedy into triumph!

Lastly, I just really want you all to keep this low key and simply "pray" if you read this. Pray for Edison, he is like a brother to me. I love him and he has a good heart. Many people will try to ridicule or doubt what has happened, but it doesn't matter because I know him and he is not only truly repentant, but he is doing his best to become a better man, change his ways, and live for God. He is a good person. We all make mistakes. I urge the public who reads this, judge not or you will be judged as the Bible says. Forgive Edison, the victims and ask God to forgive your own sins, because none of us are perfect and we all need Jesus forgiveness. Edison is a good man, God loves him, knows his heart is truly sorry and will restore him to be a great role model in society. I know it, I have faith not only for him but for all who are affected by this. Pray for Edison's spiritual restoration. Because t's not easy, Edison, his family, his friends and myself are all God's work in progress and we need prayers, patience, mercy and grace from everyone to not point the finger, gossip or anything else, but to simply pray asking God to make us more like Christ each day and to be a testimony for Him in this generation. May God receive all the glory in this.

Below is the magazine article. God is faithful. Please pray right now for God's will to be done. Thank you!

Under the mercy,

JMA

For anyone who read this blog post and you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, but you want to know Him. You want to repent and be forgiven of your sins then read what the Good News of Jesus is all about here


... read more of this blog entry here.

Return on Investment

You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit. —1 Corinthians 6:20

Long before the US professional baseball season begins each spring, team owners and managers are busy negotiating trades and contracts. They'll pay large sums of money to get the athlete who will help them win the championship. When the season starts, all eyes are on the newly acquired talent to see if he was worth the cost. The ultimate measure of the player's success is whether his contribution to the team is a good return on the investment.

In 1 Corinthians 6:20, Paul reminds us that we too have been "bought at a price." The context paints a compelling picture of Christ's great sacrifice. He liberated us from the cruel slavemaster of sin by buying us with the high price of His own life.

Getting a grip on God's great and loving investment in us should motivate us to gladly consider making His sacrifice rich in dividends. How is that return on His investment measured? By living to bring glory to Him! Our eyes, hands, feet, thoughts, dreams, and desires have been purchased to reflect the wondrous glory of God's will and wisdom. In other words, we are no longer our own.

Paul concluded, "Therefore glorify God in your body" (v.20). Living to reflect His glory is the return on investment that makes the Owner of our lives look good! — Joe Stowell

Redemption's price our Savior paid
When all our sins on Him were laid;
He took our guilt, He bore our shame
That we may glorify His name. —D. De Haan

Our choice to bring glory to God yields a great return on Christ's investment.

My Prayer: Lord, help me put you above all else in my life. Let the passion for you burn within me and grant me Your sufficient grace when I fail. Amen

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . . For he chose us in him before the creation of the world.” Ephesians 1:3-4

Which brings us to this amazing promise in the opening verses of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He stuns those of us who are followers of Christ with the revelation that, before the creation of the world, we were chosen by God—just like Abraham. Just like Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David. That’s very elite company!

And, just like them, our chosen status makes us recipients of His covenant promises—the forgiveness of sins, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and hope and meaning for this life and the promise of eternity in heaven for the next. Like the patriarchs, we’re given the privilege of participation in His plans. We become His messengers and ambassadors—agents of reconciliation as we share His good news. He doesn’t need us, but He willingly chooses us! He actually desires us—desires us to join Him in the advance of His cause.

"He was called to serve something larger than himself"

Though he lived in England two centuries ago, the life and work of William Wilberforce remain important examples for modern-day evangelicals, according to the lead historical consultant for a feature film chronicling the famous abolitionist's life.

Kevin Belmonte, a leading scholar on Wilberforce's life and work spoke in a chapel address and a symposium Feb. 9 at Dallas Baptist University. The Wilberforce biopic, Amazing Grace, debuts in American theaters Feb. 23.

Calling Wilberforce "one of the great souls of history," Belmonte urged listeners to capitalize on his example of devoting his life to doing right -- even against great odds. As a member of Parliament, Wilberforce worked tirelessly for decades to abolish the slave trade in Great Britain.

And although slavery in the Western world has become illegal, there are still more than 27 million slaves in the world today, Belmonte said. Producers of the film have worked to raise awareness about modern-day human trafficking.

"The film creates an opportunity for us today to confront something that is very sobering," Belmonte said. "We live in a world where, sad to say, we really need to do what we can -- as Wilberforce did."

The author of Travel with William Wilberforce: The Friend of Humanity and 365 Days with Wilberforce: Daily Readings from the Writings of William Wilberforce, Belmonte is the director of the Wilberforce Papers Project, an initiative at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass.

"Whenever you share the Wilberforce story, the ways in which the gospel transformed his life shine through," Belmonte said. "In the year that followed what he called his 'great change,' Wilberforce came to realize how important it was to watch and to pray. He realized he was called to serve something larger than himself."

Before that "great change," Wilberforce had lived a rather hedonistic life. Born into a wealthy merchant's family and elected to Parliament at the tender age of 21, he made wealthy and powerful friends in college -- such as William Pitt, who would later become prime minister. Although an aunt tried to steer him toward Methodism, Wilberforce was initially a religious skeptic who playfully ridiculed evangelicals, Belmonte said.

Eventually, through the patient mentoring of Isaac Milner, a professor at Cambridge University, and John Newton, an evangelical Anglican clergyman, Wilberforce made a commitment to Christ. He qualified his earlier life as "the restlessness of a heart that had yet to find its peace in God."

Newton, who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace," had been a slave trader until his conversion to Christianity during a storm at sea.

In 1785, Wilberforce resolved to commit his life to service of God and decided to leave the political scene. But Newton lobbied hard against the idea, writing that God had called the young man to politics for "such a time as this."

"To me, that underlines in bright colors the role of a pastor in someone else's life," Belmonte said, noting that if Wilberforce had not returned to politics, the slave trade might have continued in the West for many more generations.

Soon after Newton's urgings, Wilberforce "came to a profound sense that God would indeed use him in political life." The rest, as they say, is history.

In 1787, Wilberforce joined a growing group of activists campaigning against the slave trade. In May 1789, he told the House of Commons the slave trade was morally reprehensible, unjust and unnatural.

By 1791, he introduced the first parliamentary bill to abolish the slave trade, but his colleagues defeated it easily. Subsequent bills in 1792, 1793, 1795, 1796 and 1797 were defeated as well.

But, on March 25, 1807, the Slave Trade Act received royal assent.

During that time, Wilberforce wrote several books, including Appeal to the Religion, Justice and Humanity of the Inhabitants of the British Empire in Behalf of the Negro Slaves in the West Indies and A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes of This Country Contrasted With Real Christianity.

In Appeal to the Religion, he claimed that total emancipation for slaves was a national duty before God. In Real Christianity, he presented Christian doctrine as a basis for stopping the moral decline of the nation.

"One moral imperative … stood out to him above all others: the Golden Rule," Belmonte said, adding that Wilberforce had a unique ability to "come alongside [people who were] polar opposites and to work together with them."

That talent extended beyond slavery, too. He was a founding member of the Church Mission Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He also established the African Institution to help slaves in the West Indies and developed a Sierra Leone project to take Christianity into western Africa.

Three days before he died in 1833, Wilberforce received news that the bill for the complete abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire -- the earlier law had only banned the slave trade in England itself -- had passed in its third reading in the Commons. One month later, the Slavery Abolition Act freed all slaves under British rule.

Studying the life of such a great success is "profoundly rewarding," Belmonte said. And it motivates him to live in much the same way, he added.

"It is very inspiring and encouraging to look at the life of a William Wilberforce," Belmonte said. "I always find it encouraging to know that Wilberforce didn't know how his story would end. He just remained faithful."(Source: Associated Baptist Press, www.abpnews.com)

I hope one day someone will write about me with such high regard and esteem as William Wilberforce.

Pipe Music

Life after Work

No longer able to go online everyday. So just checking in to announce
that- MANCHESTER UNITED 4 - ARSENAL 0 . Biggest news since Lingam.

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

MOBILE BLOG

Warmest greetings from my Sony Ericsson. thanks to the advancement of
technology i can now BLOG anywhere i want. signing off 1st. see u soon

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com