Psalm 4

1 Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Selah

3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD will hear when I call to him.

4 In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
Selah

5 Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the LORD.

6 Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

7 You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.

8 I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.

In this psalm, the Lord promises us a few things:

1. The Lord will hear our prayers (verse 3).
2. The Lord will give us joy that is far deeper than what material things give (verse 7).
3. The Lord will grant us peace (verse 8).


I really desire the things that the psalmist has mentioned. But he also talked about something like a prequisite - that I need to offer the Lord the right sacrifices and trust Him. One of the best sacrifices that we can give to the Lord is TIME. We need to spend time with Him.

Everyday before food, a psalm a day.

For the past few days, I have been reading the book of Psalms. The amount of joy, wisdom and peace that I get out of it is amazing. I just sense the closeness of God.

And I want to continue this. My commitment is to blog daily about the things that God have spoken to me through the book of Psalms.


Dear Holy Spirit, I pray that everyday, I will put spending time with You as the top priority in my life. That each day, before I have my breakfast, I want to first have my spiritual food - the word of God. I do not want to rush in each day and do things without first consulting You. I offer this as a sacrifice before You. Holy Spirit, take complete control of my life. Sustain me each day, even if I am physically tired. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen!

Psalm 3

1 O LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
"God will not deliver him."
Selah

3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

4 To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
Selah

5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

6 I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.

7 Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

8 From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Selah

This psalm was written by David while he was fleeing away from his son, Absalom. I could imagine the depth of emotions that David had.

The fear. The despair. The helplessness. The sadness. The weariness.

2 things I felt God spoke to me as I read this psalm.
1. In verse 3, David acknowledged that God was His shield. He was well-protected.
2. In verse 5, David acknowledged that God was the one who sustained Him.

Firstly, there have been times in my life that I felt that some people were just unfriendly and against me. I felt like retaliating, to be honest. To treat them the same way as they did to me. An eye for an eye.

However, that wasn't what David did. He chose to trust in the Lord. He believed that God was His shield. God will bring him through whatever circumstances. God will protect him.

Jesus put it plainly in Luke 6:27-33. Love your enemies. Let God be the one who vindicates you.

Secondly, there are times that I personally felt burnt out. There were so many things that needed my attention, and I just felt like giving up, and not doing anything. But now, I know that my response should be like David.

Let God be the one that sustains me. I don't want to rely on my own strength.

In order for me to really recognize that God is my shield and He is the one who sustains me, I need to grown in INTIMACY with Him in the Year of Sabbath, 2008. Everyday before food, 1 psalm a day is a commitment that the church have made corporately.


Dear Father-in-heaven, help me remember that You are always my shield. When I am in difficult circumstances or when I faced broken relationships with people, You will protect me and vindicate me. Lord, I want to trust You in all things. And also, I pray that I will always allow You to sustain me, whether is it good times or bad times. Help me also grow in intimacy with You. In Jesus' name I ask and pray. Amen!

Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.

3 "Let us break their chains," they say,
"and throw off their fetters."

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.

5 Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

6 "I have installed my King
on Zion, my holy hill."

7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD :
He said to me, "You are my Son ;
today I have become your Father.

8 Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You will rule them with an iron scepter;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery."

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the LORD with fear
and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

This psalm really speaks a lot to my heart. Often the negative influence of this fallen world is so strong. Many people choose to live according to their desires and selfish ambitions. Either they have heard of God, but they deny Him, or they simply don't believe in God.

In both cases, they are against God.

The Lord's word is clear. These people will not have victories. They will not be victors.

On the other hand, for those whom God has called His children, He will make nations their inheritance, and the ends of the earth their possessions (verse 8). God's promises to us is that He will make us the head, and not the tail; the top and not the bottom (Deu 28:13).

Do you have victories at your workplace or your school? Ask of Him (but don't do it out of selfish ambition because God hates it - Gal 5:19-21).



Dear Father-in-heaven, You're the One that has created ALL things. And I know that because I believed in Jesus, I am Your son, not Your slave. Today, I ask of You, that You will give me a greater foothold in my workplace, so that through my life, men can praise You. I ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

In this psalm, God's promise to us is that we will be fruitful in every aspect of our lives, just like trees growing near streams. He wants to makes us successful. He wants to bless us.

But there're conditions attached to this promise.
1. We must not seek the counsel of the world or be part of it.
2. We need to meditate His word day and night.

Honestly, I don't know how many times I have given up reading God's word or spending time with Him and went on to do my own things. This psalm just awakens something in me. I need to know and meditate upon His word.


O'Lord, I confess to You the times that I walked away from Your word. I pray that this day, I make a fresh new commitment to You. I want to know Your word and apply it into my life. I want to be like a tree by Your streams of living water. Help me meditate upon Your word day and night. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Marina South Steamboat 14/10/07

Last Sunday, I went to Marina South for steamboat together with my cell group. Stephen's & Darren's cell & Weijie came along too. We had a really good time cooking all the crabs and prawns and other stuff. =)

Do You Have a Life?

About a week ago or two, my cell group brothers and I came together and played the "Game of Life". It's a rather interesting boardgame.

Features of the game:

1) You have to get a job.

2) You have to get married.

3) You have to buy a house.


Here are our photos..

How Far Will You Go to Bless Someone?

Last Saturday, I had this very interesting encounter. I was queueing up to pay my credit card bill at an AXS machine in Bukit Merah.

"Hello. Can you help me to the toilet? Very urgent." I heard someone asked me from behind.

I turned around and saw an uncle on a wheelchair. I recognized him. He always sell Sweepstake tickets in that area.

I was a bit flustered, to be honest. I didn't know how to respond initially. I half-wanted to just give some excuse and leave. But something stopped me. I almost forgot that I'm on this campaign to be a blessing to people around me. Now, it's the best chance for me to bless this uncle.

I put aside my credit card and plucked up my courage and started to push the uncle towards the toilet. Well.. it is then I realised that the only toilet that can accomodate the wheelchair lies on the other side of the road. I was a bit shocked because I had to wheel him across the road (there was a overheard bridge, but the lifts weren't working). Gosh.. This task kept getting harder.

Nonetheless, I pressed on. I slowly wheel the uncle cross the road. Thank God that there weren't that many vehicles at that time.

When I finally reached the toilet, I was half hoping that I can just push the uncle into the toilet and he can settle the rest himself.

Well, I was wrong of course. I went on to help him relieve himself. I'm not a nurse, I had never done it before and felt quite clumsy and embarrassed about it.

After that, I pushed the uncle all the way back to his original position, next to the AXS machine. Yes, I had to cross the road again. Thank God this time, a SBS bus captain helped me stopped part of the traffic so that I can wheel the uncle across.

Upon reflection, I felt that it's not just the uncle who is being blessed. Actually, I'm being blessed too. I realised that when I overcame my initial fears and discomforts and blessed him, my heart was kept soft.

Every time we see a need,and we ignore it, our hearts become hardened. I prefer to respond to the needs around me, as much as I can. I want to be tender-hearted always.

Elkan's Special Blessing

Today, God put in my heart to go back to the secondary school I taught in, to visit my mentor class, say hi to some colleagues (sell Teachers' Conference tickets also), follow-up on a 100K blessing student, and prayer walk the school.

I want to give thanks because though I didnt have a chance to do the 100k with the teachers, I managed to bless the key people I worked with, with encouragement notes and packets of M&Ms.

What was more divinely planned was this: In the whole tenure I was there, I NEVER saw the prinicipal ate in the canteen. She would usually packed food to eat in her office. But today I saw her eating with the VPs and some discipline masters, so I plucked up my courage to bless them with the notes & M&Ms.

I sense the spiritual climate change, as they (the teachers and my mentor class) were genuinely very surprised to see me back. I have a feeling there was no precedent before me.

I may not have done the 100k card with them, but in blessing them, I felt God telling me that I am breaking the spirit of disillusionment (many teachers dread to be posted to teach in neighbourhood schools) and spirit of individualism (with the heavy admin load, many of the teachers have lost the heart and passion to care, and just want to mind their own business).

Anyway God threw me a surprise. I got a 100k blessing filled up after all. The person I was following up with, brought along a friend, so I had the chance to share with her. It was amazing because she wanted ALL the blessings that her friend received. Maybe it's because as a N(T) student, nobody has cared or blessed her before.

I felt through this, God was teaching me a valuable lesson that the down and out has a special place in God's heart. In blessing them, I have blessed God's heart as well.


Elkan

David's 1st Blessing

My testimony dates back to the first person I blessed, and an example of how God answered my simple prayer of opening doors.

On that weekday, I had to go to Clementi Primary School to resolve outstanding costume issues for NDP. As I stepped into the train at Jurong Interchange, in trudged a crippled man with a deformed left foot. His left foot was bent toward the ground, to the point where, he'll walk on his toes instead of the sole of his foot. I simply told God that if I was going bless him if he get's off at Clementi with me.

He did get off at Clementi. I walked next to him, still hesitant on approaching him. That hesitation lasted all the way till I reached his house that was directly above Botak Jones, when I finally talked to him about the 100K. As we stopped and talked, I realized that he wasn't that mentally stable too, but, at least, he was willing to be blessed for healing.

I'll continue to pray for complete healing over his foot!


David

Charles' 4D / Toto Faith Story

Today I had a chance to bless 3 people. I was sitting down and stoning at a coffeeshop table waiting for a "you yuan ren" (the fated one) to sit down beside me. An auntie came to my table shortly afterwards.

And I took 1 hr to explain what is the meaning of "zhu fu" (blessing) to her. Her language wasn't really fantastic so she totally didn't understand around 10 out of 12 blessings, and she didn't know what is "qi dao" (pray) as well. I had to explain to her in simpler terms. She was extremely skeptical to a point she didn dare to write her name, she was so surprised that a stranger wants to bless her without any strings attached.

Later she shared she had a friend who also believes in Jesus. I told her that Jesus wants to bless her despite that she believes in other gods. She was really glad to hear that.

Guess what, she took my handphone number at the back to buy 4D/Toto. I told her if she gets a little prize out of that, remember to contact me, and tell more friends to come to get the blessings and know Jesus. =)

I'm praying that God will do a miracle and let her win a prize in lottery, so that she would really see the big great Blessor, Jesus.


Charles

Wai Mun's Faith Story

As my part of my learning for the 100K, I wanted God to make my heart grow bigger to love people. God taught me a valuable lesson on loving people on Thursday. After the encouragement by Pastor Khong to press in blessing each day, I was convicted to spend the whole Thursday blessing everyone I met with the 100K.

The 1st person I approached was the cab driver who drove me to Catholic High. I was rejected. The 2nd person I asked was the cleaning lady at the school. Again, I was rejected. Third person I asked was the cab driver who drove me to Chung Cheng High. The result : rejected. On the way back from Chung Cheng High to my office, I asked another cab driver. And I was rejected again.

Honestly, being rejected for four consecitive times don't feel good. Yet after reflecting with God, I started to gain a deeper understanding of Love as protrayed in 1 Cor 13. Love that is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. Love that never fails.

I thank God He is using these rejections to build a greater capacity in me to love by learning to accept the rejection and continue blessings. At the same time, God is reminding me that in all the things I do, I must do it out of love. At times, I can get so busy with so many things that I miss out on loving people and enjoying their relationship.

Praise God that in His grace, I can change =)


Wai Mun

Charles' Faith Story

I realised that the spiritual atmosphere of NUS has changed after we've gone there to pray every week. Somehow I receive a lot of smiles along the corridors of NUS engineering block and I feel that people are getting more open to receive blessings. A single trip to NUS was sufficient enough to bless 4 people along the way, and it was unplanned and totally coincidental.

I met 2 of my CSC (community service club) ex-councillors at Engine Canteen and they were very willing to allow me to bless them, and they ticked the blessing cards and thanked me profusely. The intern student I was working with was also pleased to allow me to bless her. Another Chemical Engineering girl whom I always just knew by face, smiled at me and I took that as (yes she wants blessings too), and I went over to bless her as well.

I felt this 100k experience made me draw nearer to my NUS chemical engineering people and opened a door for me to know them better and bless them in the future. Along the way I made new friends, and felt my oikos grew larger than before - more opportunities to bless in the future. And it gave me a greater heart for them as I see them ticking the blessings, they really had needs that I can bless them =)

Even prebeliever friends are encouraging me to pray, by suggesting to me how to pray and even telling me not to give up praying. I had one friend that I blessed, and she told me to pray in bus and everywhere I go, so that I can pray for more people. Haha. I'm so blessed by my blessees as well.


Charles

Stephen's Faith Story

On Monday morning an ex-master lab mate called me during my work meeting, I told him to call back later. Surprisingly, in the afternoon he came to my office and looked for me for a chat. He was one of my best buddies during my master years and we usually had meals and discussed problems together. He was the one that I was reaching out to during those years. After we graduated, he headed to Hong Kong for PhD studies.

That afternoon when we had a good chat, he told me he encountered problems to pursue PhD in Hong Kong. The disagreement comes between MOE bond and the numbers of years of PhD he needed to complete has forced him to terminate the PhD study half-way after 3 years. He was quite disappointed with the situation. Now he came back to Singapore to a find job to settle and try to re-plan his career and life direction.

He also shared that there are so much uncertainties for the future, and he sees the need to find a source of life to depend on. I quickly took out the 100k blessing card to share with him our God could answer the prayers if we are to trust him. He ticked almost all except last 2 columns. I told him he can consider Jesus as his source of life as He promised eternal life and hope for those who believed him. Although he said would consider, I still pray for him to accept Jesus besides other needs.

3 days after that, he messaged me saying he would like to follow me to church this Sunday, I cried Hallelujah! God is in work! I pray that he will be touched by God's love when he comes to the service and find that Jesus is his source of life.

Let us keep him in prayer, his name is Albert Lim.


Stephen

Blessing 15...A Colleague

In my heart, I believe that the workplace or rather, school that I'm in, I need to pray for transformation. And I believe that it's already happening.

There's this colleague in my school, JY. He's only on practicum teaching in the school at the moment. The thing is, he's a course-mate of mine in NUS. We both used to be in Electrical Engineering. Isn't that amazing how he is with me now in the same school during the period of 100K Blessings?

Yesterday, I prayed that there'll be a chance for me to talk to him alone. On that same day, God gave me open doors. I saw him alone, and I intentionally asked him out for lunch in the school canteen.

I fellowshipped with him and we chatted about online games. Finally, I popped the question about 100K. He's quite surprised, and he was quite receptive. He filled up the card, and I prayed for him on the spot. As simple as that.

I found out that he stays near Expo. I would surely invite him for our service one day. And furthermore, he used to attend a church before going NS.

From this, I realised that we have to pray for God to give open doors for us to bless people. And when we see these open doors, we need to act in faith. It's 100% man and 100% God.

Elkan's Faith Story 2

I had a chance to bless another of my former NUS classmates.

She just quitted teaching (she was the one whose grades are similar to mine, but she got into teaching when we graduated while my application was "lost" in the process), and started a new job. She was sharing how she felt aimless and purposeless in this new job and felt like a robot doing admin work.

I took the opportunity to ask her about the 100k, because I sense she needed direction in her life. She was surprised when she heard that our mutual NUS friend whom I had prayed for, had prayer partially answered when her boyfriend proposed to her after I prayed for blessing in relationships for her. She immediated asked for it.

Not only was she receptive, she even asked her boyfriend to receive prayers for breakthroughs in his PHD thesis project! In fact, towards the end, she said she felt lighter and not so burdened after receiving the prayers!

Praise God for the openness!

Blessing to the Elderly

Today's 40 Day Fast & Pray is about honouring and praying for the elderly in Singapore. As I was praying about it just now, God led me to the "Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard" Matthew 20:1-16.

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went.

"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' "

God brought me to the sentence "Because no one has hired us." The elderly are lost. They find no sense of belonging to all the idols that they might have worshipped in the past. Many of them are just waiting to die, especially those without family.

But there is hope! Our God is a God that cares for them. That's why he said, "You also go and work in my vineyard."

During the 100K Campaign, let's not forget about the elderly among us. It can be the elderly in your house, it can be the elderly at Toa Payoh, or it can be any elderly that you meet on the streets.

Today, I had met an elderly couple in the hospital. (Dawn had already blessed the wife before.) The husband was diagnosed with lung cancer, terminal stage.

The two of us went to bless the couple with our company. We visited them. And we fellowshipped with them, talking about many things, getting to know them.

Finally, we went on to pray for the husband. I didn't use the card. I just prayed for him to be healed, and he and his household will enjoy the peace of the Lord. The couple was really glad that someone bothered to pray for them and bless them.

I made a decision in my heart.

I'm going to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near tomorrow when I go visit him again. I believe that he will receive Jesus into his life. I claim it in Jesus' name. Amen!

Elkan's MSN 100K Story

Praise God!

I had to chance to bless a NUS classmate through MSN!

What happened is that before the 100K started, I listed down 14 names of my close friends and relatives, making a resolution to intentionally bless them by first starting to pray for them. I also made a point to arrange class gathering with them before the 100K started.

I know some of them have been reading my blog regularly, and we sort of linked each other. Little did I know God can use a little gesture and dedication on my part to share my thoughts through my blog. What I wrote certainly had sown seeds!

I was VERY SURPRISED to see her tagline on MSN
Matthew 5:41 "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles."
It came from my blog post about the 100K, something that God had impressed upon my heart.

I knew she had read it, and her heart was prepared, and so over MSN, I shared with her the meaning and context of the verse, the 12 blessings and prayed for her. She was very open and grateful to receive it.

I challenged her to give me a specific sign that she will know God had answered her prayers. She mentioned that she wanted God to open doors to an affordable flat that's near MRT!

I am so encouraged that I am determined to ask God so that she will know God is a God who answers prayers!

Darren's Blessings (& Rejections)

Honestly, I'm a very stressed up person, so when the 100k started, there were times I feared and was stress. Usually, I would hang out with my friends in a group, not one to one. This is makes it very hard to bless them.

Yesterday morning, I was at Outram MRT station, I bumped into one of my schoolmates. It was definitly a prayer answered by God as I seldom see her there. In the train we chatted and I tried to bless her. Then she told me someone had already asked her. Priase God for that but I was quite a embarrassed then as I'm a very shy person.

Another incident happened in the afternoon when my group of classmates were walking around school after a heavy lunch with our personal tutor. Suddenly, one of my classmate wanted to rest and told us to move on. Grabbing this opportunity, I sat down with him and we chatted as usual. Then when I felt it was time, I presented the 100k to him. He rejected it and said that he is a free thinker. I explained that this is just a blessing for anyone, even though if you are a free thinker. Unfortunately, he declined. Eventually, I did not bless any schoolmates that day.

From this 2 incidents, I processed with God and felt him comforting me that though I had not gain the 2 people to bless, I experienced rejection. This is important and necessary if we want to follow the ways of Jesus. With rejections, I'm stronger in God. With rejections, fear is taken away as our hearts and spirits are conditioned for such things. In the sense that we would not be easily discouraged if such things happen again as God has healed us before.

Another thing, God did answer my prayer even though that were simple. He provided a situation where I would be alone with my 2 schoolmates and thus, giving me a chance to bless them. Thank God I managed to bless my mom when I got home that night. Though there are still 15 more people and so on to bless next few weeks, I believe God has given me a good preparation from this.

Blessing 5... A Student from China

Last night, I went back to NUS together with my brothers to look for NUS students to bless. Junhao and I were in the same group. We walked all the way to NUS Sports Recreation Centre. Along the way, we tried to bless someone with an apple, but was rejected.

We then bought two H2O drinks from Cheers and pressed on. At the track, Junhao managed to bless a PhD student from India with a drink. And he even prayed for him, and it's really amazing how open he was.

I went around looking for someone else to bless. I tried giving the H2O drink to a student playing basketball, but was rejected. I tried giving the drink again to a chef working at a nearby restaurant, but was rejected again.

Argh.. today, I had been rejected 3 times. But I know that God still loves me. Hence, I pressed on.

All of a sudden, I found someone behind me. I turned around and saw a guy. I stopped him and introduced myself to him. It turned out that he's from China and is studying at NUS right now. Year 4 Electrical Engineering (same as me).

I talked to him and blessed him with a drink. He accepted it and even allowed me to pray for him on the spot. He told me that he even went to a church before. I was like so amazed that God is really working among the foreign students in Singapore.

Singapore will be a place of blessings for the nations. I believe it.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Stephen's Blessing

Today I went down to a friend’s house to visit and dinner at his home; I was actually blessed by this friend instead. Not only I had free dinner at his house, but also received backpack and sleeping bag (used for my Shanghai Trip), return of blender and jacket (he borrowed from me last time) and some DVD.

When I started to offer him a prayer blessing in return, he hesitated as he is Buddhist. I told him that I just want to see God working miracles in his life as he was quite worried about his future. And then he agreed.

He felt peace in his heart and was thankful for my prayer.

I just sense that there are many needs around us and sometimes we are just too busy to take notice of. This 100k blessing will definitely help us grow in compassion for people if we do it with a heart to bless.


Stephen

Junhao's Blessing

At the latest report, my cell group has a total of 12 blessings so far in day 3 of the 100K prayers! All my youth have managed to bless at least one friend!

Myself, I started out the first day of school not being able to bless my colleagues. I went down with the school basketball team for their match, and realised that I found it difficult to bless them one on one. A little fear crept in, of being accused by the teachers, of even being a biased teacher as I wanted to bless them one on one, not the whole team at one time. Result: Monday, no students or colleagues blessed.

At home, I made effort to buy dinner for my brother and bless him. I realised actually I seldom talked to him and prayed for him directly...but he received the blessings for health, and was a little bit awkward. Learning point: Make praying for my brother (openly) a habit!

On Tuesday, I blessed many BB boys while in Nanhua. But only filled up the card for one, as a few either didn't want to be prayed for, or we ended up too rushed to talk further. But I'm glad because I felt my own heart change, that I made blessing them (instead of scolding them) part of what I do during the sessions.

For the boy I talked to, he shared with me about some problems in the family, and was quite touched when I prayed for him. I pray God will give him the miracle of peace in the family, and they will come to know the love the God! =D


Junhao

Elkan's Blessing

'Today in school, I decided to keep an eye open for someone I can bless to "fulfill my quota". Haha, almost like a financial planner or an MLM marketeer :p

It came almost like a surprise to me, when one of my colleagues, a fellow "school experiencer" (a trainee teacher on the same programme as me), came back into the staff room, very flustered and looking very weary and burdened.

"Have lunch together?"

"Erm. Ok."

Well, inwardly I was feeling quite stand-offish. I havent really talked much to him before this. He doesnt FEEL like the kind of person I would like to be friends with, or hang out with, much less bless. Always looked kind of stucked up or smart aleck-ish.

So over the course of the lunch, we talked. Surprisingly, contrary to my prejudices, I found him to be quite approachable.

I learnt that he was weary because he was juggling many CCA and commitments outside. I offered my 2-cents worth of transitioning to work life and establishing priorities.

Talked about BGR and how he's going to propose to his girlfriend of 5 years. The girl is 2 years older than him (27 this year). Encouraged him to not dilly dally as the girl shouldnt wait much longer biologically.

Also, I told him the dangers of a long courtship. He agreed and revealed that they broke up once because they once mutually felt "the love was gone". I encouraged him that love needs deliberate effort to keep the fire going, and how in my community service I used to work in, we had a family department which runs marriage encounters so that married couples can learn to "woo" each other again.

Then we talked families and how he's working hard to support his family, yet he felt it was only a duty and he cant feel the appreciation or closeness with his parents.

Etc and so on.

We finished lunch and were preparing to go back for our lessons.

Then I got a prompting.
"Yes, it's a good time getting to know him.
What stops you from blessing him?"

Suddenly it struck me that while I can be
1) A patient and approachable person
2) A sympathetic ear or a good shoulder to cry on
3) An unsolicited advisor or problem-solver,

I can be so indifferent in my heart to all the difficulties he is sharing that I didnt offer him the real deal that can truly help him.
Not my presence.
Not my comfort.
Not my intelligence.
But my prayers to God.

So I took the next minute to explain to him the 12 blessings he can ask God for, and told him I will pray for him without strings attached for the next 1 month. He was almost shocked that I would do that.

"But I am a free-thinker. I wont go to church with you..."
"Doesnt matter. I believe God will hear your prayers irregardless."

On reflection, it was especially humbling for me to realise the state of my heart, how I can reduce people in their worth, by judging them through "coloured lens" of misperception.

Matthew 5:41
If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

So, let me learn to go the extra mile for you. :) I will be refreshed.


Elkan Lam

Blessing 4... My Colleague Teacher

Today, I spend time having breakfast with my colleague in school. I blessed him with a soya bean drink and otah. I also fellowshipped with him over food. It was a great time talking to him.

I took out the prayer card and asked him if there's anything he wants me to pray for him for. He's really quite open and he ticked a few stuff. Then I got him to fill up the contact details, and he was really quite willing!

From there, I shared abit on my own personal salvation testimony. He also said he experienced brokenness before, just like me. However, it was time for him to go and he promised to share with me next time.

I believed that this has opened up new doors for me to share with him.


"It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Blessing 3... My Sister!!

I bought home some tibits. I knew that my sister love those prawn crakers, etc.

I told her I just wanted to bless her. She was so surprised. We began to have a good chat. We chatted about many things. It's being really long since we sat down and chat.

Then I asked her what she wanted me and my church to pray for her. She ticked some things sceptically, and kept expecting me to force her to come church or something. Well, I kept assuring her I just want to bless her.

I didn't manage to pray for her directly, but at least she kept the paper, and she gave her email address as a form of contact.

Yes, I believe that my prayers for her will be answered. Her heart will be open to God. I claim it in the name of Jesus.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Blessing 2... A Stranger from China

I failed to bless my colleague in school today because there wasn't any chance and we were both quite busy.

Then, at night, I was walking around SGH, looking for people to bless. I saw an uncle wearing the patient's clothes. I went up to him to offer him a bottle of mineral water as a blessing. He refused to accept it. He said that he don't believe in Jesus and don't want my blessing. I said okay, and left.

I felt a bit rejected, but I remembered God's words that the uncle didn't reject me. He rejected God's love. I felt a lot better. And I continued to walk and pray that someone will come and be blessed.

Finally, I sat down on a bench. I saw a middle-aged Chinese near me. I prayed very hard and asked God to give me open doors. I went forward and chatted with him. He was from China, working in the construction industry in S'pore. He's very open, and he said that all the blessings from 1 to 12, he also want!! Amazing! Due to time constraints, I didn't manage to pray for him directly, but I passed him my contact.

He said he will contact me if he has time.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Blessing 1... My Mother!!

Yes, we've embarked on our 100K Campaign. We're moving out like soldiers. We're like the army of God, rocking the hell out of the kingdom of darkness. We're ready to take the Kingdom of Heaven to where the gates of hades are entrenched at.

The first person I blessed was my mum. I bought bread home (as a form of blessing) and shared with my mum. She's quite open and she even allowed me to pray for her!! It's amazing. I believe God is opening doors in my family.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Fellowship Time

Fellowship!

That's one of the 5 purposes that Rick Warren put down in his book, "Purpose-Driven Life".

I really enjoyed myself thoroughly on Monday when I played pool with fellow brothers - thanks to Chen Yee, Yao Tian, Elkan, Muzhi and Weijie. =)

Warriors of Light

This is the year that we are called to be Warriors of Light. It's no longer sufficient that we put on the full amour of God just to defend against the devil. But it is time to lift up our swords and fight!