SarahCity

Genesis 1:6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Genesis 1:7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. Genesis 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. As the light came in, my spirit was quickened, it became alive. There is heaven in me, a inner sanctuary...my spirit. A verse came to me: Col 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Whenever I learn to exercise my spirit to set my minds on the heavenly things, the earthly things/situations become dim and fade away. There are times, we toggle between our spirit and our flesh...we murmur...but however, when we learn to turn to our spirit and trust Him.. He restore us and leads us once again. Genesis 1:9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one ...

After I have invited God into my life through that one prayer which was made more than 20 years ago, the first thing that is wrought in my soul is light. God said let there be light. There is an enlightenment in my understanding which never had before. As I continue reading, verse 4 : And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Then I was curious and I asked Him, why is there still darkness? I was brought to look at my own situation. Isn't darkness still in me, some dark moments in my life: my pride, my selfish desires, failures and hidden sins and many others. God just made a distinction, I believe he allows it there for a purpose. He just divided them. I recalled when I have sinned against Him and was far from Him, I learn to come back to Him, learn to walk by faith and cling to His promises. Sometimes He hid himself s...

Just went for a silent retreat. The purpose of this retreat is to tune out the world and other distracting thoughts by spending time to hear God. We were told to fight the urge to plan. Inititally I came to the retreat with just one agenda, Lord, shows me the "BEATITUDE". However, I was told to just relax, don't try too hard. Just welcome the silence and let the Spirit leads you. Thus after the worship lesson, I told God that I will just allow Him to take over. I decided to take a nap, relax and set my watch alarm at 12.00. Then I went for my lunch, not knowing how the Spirit will lead me. While eating lunch, I saw two sparrows, and I told God, "I wasn't there when you create the earth. How about telling me about your Creation?". I take a walk and open the Bible and read from the Book of Genesis. v1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. v2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spir...

Nobody like sufferings. I was pondering over the incident which happened to my church sister. She slipped and fell and fractured her ankle. The fall was so bad that she had to undergo an operation. After the operation, she had to remain in bed for 6 weeks. It causes me to think about sufferings that befall on Christians and how do we face it. We all know that true faith will be tested. " Christians do not court suffering, but we do expect it. A disciple, after all, is not above His master." Dr. Norbert Mueller, The Lutheran Witness, July 1995 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. James 1:2-3 When I visited my friend in the hospital, she did not murmur or complain over the fall but instead she experienced the grace of God and the Word of God was timely to strengthen her for the whole ordeal. She was grateful that after the operation, the pain was manageable. The Bible has a d...

We can learn to give thanks in all situations because God is sovereign, He is in control. When difficulties come our way,God uses them to show that when we put our trust in Him, His goodness we will know. —Sper I love these verses which are very helpful when we are going through trials:- Eccl 3:11 He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time.... We just need to look to Him & trust Him, Prov 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all our heart, And lean not on our own understanding; 6 In all our ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct our paths. Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Reflection : When we learn to bring situations and all things to Him, God actively causes all things to work together for good. When all you have is God, you have all you need. So be thankful!

The "Refiner's Fire" is one of the song that we will be singing on this coming children's camp in June 2010. The lyrics of the song go this way: Purify my heart Let me be as gold and precious silver Purify my heart Let me be as gold, pure gold Refiner's fire My heart's one desire Is to be holy Set apart for You Lord I choose to be holy Set apart for You my Master Ready to do Your will Below is a story I came across on Refiner's Fire. Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to read the scriptures and make them the subject of conversation. While reading the third chapter of Malachi they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse. "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." One lady's opinion was that it was intended to convey the view of the sanctifying influence of the grace of Christ. Then she proposed to visit a silversmith and report to them what he said on the subject. She went accordingly and without tellin...

What happens when we put our trust on God? "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5,6). "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8). "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him" (Proverbs 30:5). "Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us" (Psalm 62:8). "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 56:11). "And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You" (Psalm 9:10). "You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on you, Because he trusts in You'" (Isaiah 26:3). What happens when we put our trust on the wrong things? When you put your trust on weapon ...

The above is the topic we need to teach in the children’s meeting. The story is taken from Numbers Chapter 13-14. It is about the spies sent by Moses to discover the good land which God had promised to give to the Israelites. As I was thinking about the story, it dawns on me that actually the 12 spies are in us. The ten spies represent the spirit of fear which are not from God and the 2 spies, Joshua & Caleb represent the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind and is given by God. Christ is our good land and as we take time to discover Him, we realized that it is truly a good land flowing with milk and honey but at the same time, we saw giants and great and fortified cities.. I see these giants as tall as my pride, my very self, my own desires and some of the inhabitants in this land live in tents and some in these great and fortified cities. I see those inhabitants that live in the fortified cities are those strongholds that I have builded through the years, my co...

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Genuine faith puts its letter in the mailbox and lets go. There is one evening that our church sister asked the group to pray for one of her colleagues. After praying, I was contemplating whether is the prayer sufficient or do I still need to continue further. However, I have a deep sense that it is enough - God has heard it! After a period, we heard that our prayer is answered. As the statement goes - Geniune faith puts its letter in the mailbox and lets go.

I love to listen to Bible’s story and one of them is the story of the Roman Centurion in Matthew 8:5-10. In this story, we learn about authority. This Roman centurion was a man who knew authority and one day he came to Jesus to plead for Him to heal his servant. When Jesus was about to go to heal his servant, he immediately replied, “Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. He knew about authority for he was a man under authority, having soldiers under him. As a commander, he exercised authority over his soldiers : And when he said to this soldier, “Go” and he goes; and to another, “Come.” And he comes; and to his servant, “Do this, and he does it.” He asked Jesus to speak a word, and his servant will be healed. Jesus was marveled and commented on his great faith. We can also learn to speak God's language: Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he say...

Matthew 12: 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. In the past, whenever I read this verse, I am very much afraid because I am always guilty of saying many worthless words. However, now I began to see this verse in a different perspective. This verse is meant for our protection, a reminder and also our guiding principle in the way we talk and relate to people because there are consequences in our spoken words. In Proverbs 18:21 we see that Death and life are in the power of the tongue. There is power in our words, it may either bring life or death to the hearer. The Psalmist also knew there are consequences in men's spoken words and thus they sought God's help:- Psalm 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. May this be our prayer : "Let my speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that I may know how I ought to answer every man. Col 4:6

In Luke Chapter 8, Jesus told a parable on the Sower who sowed the seed. When the disciples asked Him the meaning of this parable, He began explaining to them. Now the Parable is this : The seed is the Word of God. Luke 8:11. The Word of God is just like a seed that needs to be planted. As the seed does nothing until it is planted in a proper place, so the Word of God will have no impact in me unless it is planted in my heart and in my mind. I found that the best way to plant the seed of God's Word in my life is by speaking the Word and by declaring it in my life. Romans 10:10 For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.