Fiona: Thoughts

Hello. Well, I title my post as "Thoughts" because it is something I want to share from my past Quiet Time. I found it really meaningful when I stumbled upon it while flipping through my QT journal. So I hope posting it would serve as a reminder for me as well as all of you. =)

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

"Shouldn't we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?"

"Since this new way gives us such great confidence, we can be very bold."

Paul here, speaks about the effectiveness of the Hold Spirit- that every one who believes and gets baptised receives this glory of the Holy Spirit.

1. The Holy Spirit musters my courage!

"people's minds are hardened", "their hearts are covered with the veil, and they do not understand."

Veil: pride
Sometimes, my mind is hardened, I'd rather do things my way and think my way. And by thinking this way, I do not understand what God wants for me.

2. Pride draws me away from receiving God's word!

"But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had the veil removed can see and reflect the glory of God . And the Lord- who is the Spirit- makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image."

We may often question, " Why do I want to change but yet I can't?" Maybe, our veil hasn't been removed. Many a time, we relate things that we can't accomplish/ feel to other things rather than pride. But here, it says that whem the veil (pride) is removed, and when we turn to God's word and the Lord, we will be FREE. Then, we slowly become like Christ.

3. When I remove my pride, I see God clearly and slowly, I become like Christ!


We have been given such a great gift- the Holy Spirit, God's words, Christ who died for us. How can we let pride stop us from receiving it all?

Esther: QuietTime

heyheyhey everybody.. =D
on tuesday night, watch the passion with all the girls in this blog..
it was a good show overall,
and it really made me to keep on reflecting on myself,
like my sins that actually bought so much suffering and pain to jesus..
and u would like feel so heavy and sad..
like.. ask youself, why did he have to suffer so much..
he was so forgiving..
jesus forgave all of us..
and even to those evil priest and people that assused him..
he forgave them all..

so, when i go on in my daily life,
i kept reminding myself of the suffering jesus had to go thru,
so i caution myself not to sin..
but ehhh..
i forgotten to bring back the disc.. opps. hahas..

and now reading the book of acts..
cos peiling recommended me to read..
read until acts 5..
(sorry i just writing my feelings and summary..)

and i am like so convicted by what the apostles actually done
after jesus was resurrected..
jesus asked them to preach to the world the word of God.

the apostles went ahead with the power of the holyspirit
and boldly taugh everyone..
and they healed many..
and many thousands of believers joined.

and the evil forces of people were still there..
like the chiefpriest and the sanhedrin..
the ones who falsely assused jesus to his death..
now they were jealous of the apostle again,
by the big crowds they have..

they got arrested but God sent angels to free them
and they never stop preaching the word and proclaiming the great news that jesus is christ..

i really admire their spirit
and they will come together to pray when they faced difficulties..

and we should be encouraged by their faith and everything..
they are great examples that we should follow..
and may i follow too..

okays, that's all..
esther..

Venessa: Quiet Time

Well, since we're all studying for passage to patmos, I'll pick a verse from the few verses we have to learn to do quite time on.

Luke 10: 38-42 ~ Getting your priorities straight.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Personally, I am a person that does not get my priorities straight. Whatever I think that is more important is actually not more important. For example, school and church. Obviously, for now I know, I should forsake school. But in the past, I used to think that school is more important than church, which is a very bad thing.

Even till now, I am not certain that I would choose church over school. & I'll still have to ponder about which one to forsake. And I hope that I'll make the right choice in the future and I will be able to get my priorities straight.

God is AWESOME! :D

Cheers, VENESSA.

Fiona: Quiet Time

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Life, now, to me, isn't at its best.
I feel all weak, all least confident, all lost.
It is as if I am dragging two boulders behind my back, lost in the desert.
It is as if my skin is ripped from my body.
(Don't ask me why, but I just feel so)
But here, Paul, is delighting in all the bad that may happen. He is even boasting about it. It just shows his complete reliance on God. This is so much faith.
He even believes that all the challenges are to strengthen him.
How can so much positive spirit be in a suffering soul?
I want to be like him- to boast about my weakness through troubled times so that my Lord's power will consume me. To be vulnerable.

In face of weak times, I usually get so upset and depressed.
But now, I see that God never leaves me and I have nothing to fear or be bothered about my troubles because God frees me, and strengthens me.

Amen,
Fiona.

Esther: Quiet Time

woah i so long never post le.
today was funtime but i didnt go as i was kinda sick..
but anyways.
jus read mark finished recently..
and mark finishes with jesus being crucified and then he rosed on the third day.

and i was very touched that jesus actually died for us.
for our badbad sins.
and i feel sort of guilty and saddened.
and when i shared with my mum i actually cried.
hahas, dunno why so emotionally this few days.

when jesus was praying (14:36)
he was not wanting to suffer all the pain in the later part of his death.
even though, he had the power to stop everything,
but he knew he still had to go with God's will,
and the prophecy must come true,
and he had to died with so much pain and suffering just for all of us.
and i really feel so much for that love of his..
even that he did no wrong.

it was such a wronged death but he did everything for us.
so sad...


and after realising that reading the bible blindly would do no good for me,
so i asked my mum for the life application bible.
and it really do help in increasing my knowledge of what i read more.
=) but i tink some of the beginning chapters of mark, i didnt really understand la.
so i tink i gotta read those again.

anyways, now after completing mark..
erm, anyone has suggestions for me to read what next?
.. but i tink i shld ask peiling too..


loves. esther =)

Sharon: Blog Skins

heyy..sharon here.
do u mind if i change the look of the blog??
i've already found 3 skins.

1.



http://blogskins.com/apply.php?sid=167128&action=Preview

2.



http://blogskins.com/apply.php?sid=5299&action=Preview

3.



http://blogskins.com/apply.php?sid=109245&action=Preview

any comments just tag on the tagboard!
:DD

Fiona: Quiet time

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that he died for all, and therefore all died. And he dies for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

Father, everyday, I never fail to live for myself.
I want the schedule that'll fit me best, the best job, more money. I am constantly thinking for more clothes, more bags and more shoes. I always think of how people have to treat me, and expect them to live up to my expectations of "being my friend".

Truly, I am this selfish person who is mostly concerned about my thoughts, my infliction, my feelings and my situation in life. But, i really want to strive to live for my Father in Heaven, that things will not be how i want them to be but how He wants them to be.

"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.

"that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them."

Lord, help me to love people who've sinned, or have sinned against me.

So many times, i struggle to forgive and love people who've hurt me. But it is by this, I start judging people.And God if was willing to reconcile with every sinner in the world, how can I, a sinner, not reconcile with my fellow sinners?

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us

"God made him who has no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

God, you mean you want me to be Your righteousness? Help me to really be that of you.

God has loved me so much, that he made Jesus who was so pure and blameless, SIN. That he was punished for all of us, so that we might become God's righteousness. God really wants us to see how important righteousness is, that he wants us to be righteous people (to be saved!).

We often take righteousness for granted cos we think that it is a standard to high to follow. But it IS a standard we must uphold and only by striving to be so, will we please God and be saved.

Our God is such a merciful God, and has already paid off our debt of sin.

I am grateful, aren't you?