我的音乐盒

我的音乐盒

 
1.  Diary from Fredd on Myspace.




2. Huang Hun from Fredd on Myspace.



3. Yu Jian from Fredd on Myspace.




4. Xue Mei from Fredd on Myspace.

TAI CHI

   

  In an effort to improve my health, I recently join a TAI CHI class. Our class master (a westener) lectured to us about CHI and CHI GONG which is an essential part of TAI CHI. He used terms like “energy” “harmony with nature” “meditation” etc. I was brought up in the context of Chinese culture and what the class master said were not in conformity with what I was taught in Chinese school. So I decided to research and find out if indeed I goofed off in my high school class. I found out that not only I was right but it gives me reason to believe that ancient people in China knew about creation, about the flood and about God. Here is the philosophy of TAI CHI as recorded in ancient manuscript.  

所谓太极即是阐明宇宙从无极而太极，以至万物化生的过程。太极即为天地未开、混沌未分阴阳之前的状态.远古之时，盘古尚未开天辟地，天地宇宙混沌一片，仅有太易太初太素。太易乃气之始，太初谓形之始，太素为质之始，此三类混为一团，无光无声无形无影，浑浑沌沌。老子称之为：夷、希、微。此时称为太极，亦称太一，又称太无。

The ancient philosopher called the “Void” and “Boundless or Formless” chaotic state which prevailed before the world was created and from which the universe was formed “WU CHI” (无极) or  the  “Ultimate Nothingness “. Before creation, it is said there is nothing, yet certainly there is something. We do not know what that something is, nor do we know what that something comes from but certainly something is there. This something  cannot be comprehended rationally;  its existence is only implied, like an object one almost catches sight of in a fog.  Ancient Philosophers described it as the phenomenon of nothingness (无物之物) or thing of none” . That is to say, that it has form yet is unformed; it has shape that is still without shape; or one could say it is vagueness confused. One meets it, and it has no front, one follows, and there is no rear. This phenomenon of nothingness was the source of movement and stillness. From WU CHI thus TAI CHI (无极而太极)  … Edited by Shoshana Shapirow, PhD.

Genesis 1”1  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty (" Tohu and Bohu" in original Hebrew language which means chaos and disorderliness), darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

太极生“两仪”。综合历代易学家的理论，计有七说：一说为阴阳，一说为天地，一说为奇偶，一说为刚柔，一说为玄黄，一说为乾坤，一说为春秋.

From TAI CHI it branches into YIN YANG (阴阳) light and darkness. Then sky or heaven and earth (天地)and goes on to “SPRING AUTUMN”( 春秋) or season.

Just as it was recorded in Genesis. From "nothing" to "chaotic state of formlessness" to "light and darkness" to "sky and dry land" and to seasons.

Psalms 19: 1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
² Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
⁴ Their line^[a] has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world. KJV

Romans 1:20  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,
SO THE PEOPLE ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE . NIV

Isaiah 53 on Christ

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Song of My Heart 23

The king of the universe is my Father. Wow ! can you imagine that!. He provides for everything that I need. He makes me rest when I am stressed out. He gives me His living water that quenches all my thirst and refreshes my spirit. I don’t think I would want anything else. He teaches me to make right choices in life according to the integrity and character of His name. There are times when I I was chastened, I was broken and it was painful. In the midst of hurts I find comfort because He shared in my suffering. In fact he took my suffering on Himself.  One day we all have to die, but I will not be afraid. He has conquered death. I know I will live again with him. He chose me to be His child before the universe was created. He lavished me with kindness. I know that He will continue to deal with me with good and mercy. When I thought of all of these, my heart  just overflow with joy and I bow down to Him in worship.  When that day comes, and it’s getting closer each day. I am going home to see my Father. I will stay with Him and never to leave again. Mmmmmmm. 

God’s Surround Sound 5.0 – Part 1

Premium Features - Divine components ensure infallible performance, natural sound and absolute reliability at an infinite value.  5 Speaker Surround Sound main configuration for full range producing unified voice in any application.

Main Speaker - Scripture – 66 bit binary 39 OT and 27NT components
             to deliver a clear and crisp truth.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

Woofer Speaker -Holy Spirit, Dreams and Visions– Still small voice to
            comfort guide and teach

Entire book of Acts : Matthew 1:20 : Abraham etc.  Acts As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Left Speaker - Creation  - Just look around you.

Psalm 19 : The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. 

Right Speaker - God’s people –

 Acts 10:32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’
Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.

Rear Speaker – Circumstances -  The whole Bible

Don’t wish for the example of Jonah. Neither ask for Gideon’s. God will bring everything He said to pass.

                                 He who have ears, LISTEN!

Original Sin and Y Chromosome   
 
  Men and women are both born with original sin/sin nature. But only man transmits original sin / sin nature. Woman are recipient only and does not transmit original sin/sin nature.

        

I believed in dichotomy and that at the fall, both the material and immaterial aspects of us were all corrupted. Every single cell, chromosomes/DNA of our material body were corrupted. If we believed that life starts at the moment of conception, when a single fertilized egg starts to divide and grow into a human being, then it would mean that we inherited corrupted  23 chromosomes from each of our parent and that life of an individual is procreated from a corrupted cell. 

    

 Psalm 51:5  Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Biological background:

1. Human has 23  pairs (n=46) of chromosomes. Receiving one set (n=23) from each parent. The 23^rd pair is either a pair of XX (female) or XY(male)
2. Gametes of female contain only X chromosomes, and no Y. While male has both X and Y chromosomes.

Virgin birth is a supernatural act of God

a.       Miracle one – A virgin birth –  An unfertilized egg inside Mary started to undergo mitotic–division without fertilization. (The process of division is supposed to undergo mitotic division only when it is fertilized. Unfertilized egg degenerates when it travels to fallopian tube from ovary and is discharged from the body through menstruation.)

b.      Miracle two – Even if conception occurred and started to undergo mitotic-division without fertilization, because Mary’s body does not have Y chromosome, the offspring will always be a female and never a male.

c.       Miracle three – Jesus having the exact same chromosomes (identical DNA coding) as Mary, should have an identical physical feature as Mary- not to mention that the offspring of a virgin birth should have been a girl.

d.      Miracle four – God supplied the Y chromosomes by the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus for him to become a man (not a woman)

Creation of Adam and Eve

• Gen 2:22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib (a part of) he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
  God could have made Eve from the dust just like He made Adam but instead God made Eve from a part taken out of Adam. Having the chromosomes/DNA of Adam, Eve should have been a male and have an identical physical anatomy with Adam. Is it possible that God took out the Y chromosomes from the part He took out of Adam when He made Eve
  
  is it possible that God took out the Y chromosomes from pre-fall Adam and held it in abeyance until Jesus?

Transmission of original sin

• Adam was given the command before Eve and became the guardian of the command. God had also put him in charge of everything. At the fall, Adam transgressed the law of God and abdicated his responsibility as the commander in chief. The consequences given to Adam were different from that of Eve although they both sinned alike. Following the concept of "Federal headship" , can we say that the transmission of sin is written in the Y chromosomes.
• In other words, Man becomes the transmitter of the original sin while women are recipient and not a transmitter of original sin/sin nature. Like men all women are also born depraved, but they do not transmit the original sin. This means when Jesus was born through a virgin birth- not known by man, he was born sinless.
• All human comes from a single fertilized cell. Therefore at the embryonic level, Y chromosomes becomes the transmitter of original sin while X chromosomes becomes the recipient and not as transmitter of original sin.
  
  When Mary conceived without the help of a man, the fertilized egg contain only X chromosomes and the offspring should have been a female. But …

Scriptural references
Romans 4:15  because the law brings wrath. And here there is no law there is no transgression.
1 Timothy 2:14  And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.
Romans 5:12   Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ ] Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— Note; (not Adam and Eve)
Romans 5:14  Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
Gen 3: 16  And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Gen 3;2  We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
Luke 1:3  The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God

1 Corinthians 15:45  So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.


Conclusion
                Is it possible that God took the Y chromosomes from pre-fall Adam and held in abeyance and now put into the egg of Mary resulting in a XY / male offspring. Since the Y chromosomes was taken out of pre-fall Adam and that XX chromosomes of woman/female do not transmit original sin. therefore Jesus was born without sin. This also makes Jesus totally human having both X and Y chromosomes of a human being but free from original sin.

PS:  The above are just conjecture speculating what might have happened based on observable law of nature. Our beliefs must stay within what the Scripture has said and how we must respond.

My Friend and I

      Received some bad news yesterday. I am coping well today because lots of my friends are praying for me. I sat by the kitchen dining table the last few hours recalling the faithfulness of God. Tears just kept running down my cheek, tears of joy ..and my heart just burst out with praise  " bless the Lord. all that is in me bless His Holy name" over and over again. God has been good to me.. all the time. He is faithful... He kept all His promises. Beside me is an empty chair .. I invited God to sit beside me... I reached out my hand to grab His. We have such a good time talking together...He is so awesome...

      He is so infinite .. He holds the whole universe in the palm of His hand, yet... He sat beside me and kept me company...and He is my Daddy... Oh what joy it was, just indescribable.

Tao Te Jing - The Canon of Tao ...by Lao Tzu 550 B.C.

Consists of 81 chapters. also translated as - The Cannon of "Ethical Living"

The word "Tao" (道) is used philosophically to express the concept of 'The Way or absolute way' , “ The Truth or absolute truth”.

Te - Ethics, virtue, integrity

Jing - Principle, canon, doctrine

Chapter 1 ( Introducing the concept of TAO -in just 24 characters that rhyme)
Tao is beyond words
and beyond understanding.
Words may be used to speak of it,
but they cannot contain it.
Tao existed before words and names,
before heaven and earth,
before the ten thousand things.
It is the unlimited father and mother
of all limited things.
Therefore, to see beyond boundaries
to the subtle heart of things,
dispense with names,with concepts,
with expectations and ambitions and differences.
Tao and its many manifestations
arise from the same source:
subtle wonder within mystery of mysteries.
This is the beginning of all understanding.
Translated by Brian Browne Walker (1996)

Reflecting on the Chinese translation of John 1:1
In the begining (太 初 grand inception ; primordial becoming - implying a time even earlier than the "in the begining" of Genesis 1:1)
was the WORD (有 道 - Tao existed)
The WORD was with God and the WORD was God ( Tao 道 was with God and 道 was God)...

Jesus answered, “I am the way 道 and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

The Fish Got Away

     Don is a good man with a God fearing wife. He has heard the gospel a hundred times yet still not ready to receive Christ. My wife knew that he loves fishing, although she hates fishing she asked me to invite the couple to go fishing anyway to get an opportunity to share Christ.
     We went to west Branch Lake and fish under the bridge. We caught nothing from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. Not even a hit. Don is a seasoned fisherman and catching nothing just bored him to death.
     We didn't talk much. I sprawled on the rocks and just stared at the drifting clouds floating by. I begun to talked to God and said ' What do you want me the tell him? Don has heard the gospel so many times, what else can I say..? " I paused a while and said again " I will tell him this... 'Don, I am going to pray to God and ask God tol let me catch a fish this big... I opened up my arms wide ... about 20 inches long. and when I catch that fish, I am going to ask you if you are now ready to believe in God.' "
     After praying, I stood up and cast my line - aware that I was in the same spot for 6 hours and had caught nothing.  Within 5 minutes. I was wrestling with a big fish. I reeled it in and the fish just dragged my line away. Now, Don was shouting with excitement "Fred, get your pole pointing upward, or you might break the line."
     "How big do you think is the fish?" I asked " At least 15 pounds" Don said.
     I started to tell him what I told God.  He just yelled and said " focus on your fish Fred and don;t loose him". I dragged the fish to about 5 yards away and at my jerk, the line snapped and the fish got away.
     I sat down and asked Don point blank " God answered my prayer Don... Are you ready to receive Christ? " "Not now Fred" he retorted.

     The fish got away. I can feel in my heart God is saying to me " Fred, I will answer your prayer... but man has a choice."

He Knows My Name

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Why People Don't Pray

Why People Don't Pray

1.    Indifference

2.    Have not experienced the power of prayers.

3.    Not sure if prayer works.

4.    Disappointment with God.

5.    Disappointment with oneself.

6.    Don’t know how to pray.

7.    Lack of understanding of what prayer is.

8.    Got bogged down because of unanswered prayer.

9.    Other better things to do – question of  priorities.

10.   Quick fix- tangible –practical – where faith is not needed.

11.   Wrong understanding or beliefs.

12.   God help those who help themselves.

13.   God is sovereign – God is going to do it His way anyway.

14.   We want to take control of things.

15.   We want to do it our way. I did it my way.

16.   We want immediate result.

17.   Self sufficiency.

18.   Lack of faith.

19.   Sin in life.

20.   Don’t want to be helped –independent /self will /stubborness

21.   If it’s not from me, I don’t need it.

22.   Lack of motivation.

23.   Distraction.
                   Note: What is yours?

Was My Prayer Answered?

I asked for strength . . . that I might achieve.
He made me weak ... that I might obey.

I asked for health . . . that I might do greater things.
I was given grace . . . that I might do better things.

I asked for riches . . . that I might be happy.
I was given poverty . . . that I might be wise.

I asked for power . . . that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness . . . that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things . . . that I might enjoy life.
I was given life . . . that I might enjoy all things.

I received nothing that I asked for . . . All that I hoped for
My prayer was answered.
                             Found on the body of a Confederate soldier:

Luke 11:11-13  ¹¹"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Prayer of Hope

Lost Keys

Its the trivial things in life that make my faith grow. I lost a set of keys last December. I searched everywhere. I just could not find it. This nagging question surface again and again. Should I pray for it. Its no big deal replacing those keys. It would cost me $15.00 which I can easily afford. But, you see, I am suppose to encourage people to pray. And I have been telling people that there is nothing too small for God. So I prayed saying "God, I know this is a small thing, but if you would let me find those keys because I prayed, this will help my faith grow. Not because of the keys but because my faith is at stake here. Please let me find it. That way, I can affirm to people that God is faithful and that there is nothing too small for God and that God really cares about the little things in our lives". Months went by, nothing happened. This thing really bugged me not because I lost the keys but because I prayed and I am waiting to see how God is going to respond. What am I going to say to the people I am encouraging to pray? March 14, as I was cleaning out my wardrobe, I found the keys in the pocket of one of my old pants. Yeeeaaah! God answered my prayer. God is awesome. "If you abide in me and my words abide in you...." lately, more and more of my prayers are being answered. His time, His way. I am beginning to have faith - faith that comes through His words. My faith is growing. This is just the beginning.

Conformity vs Transformation

In an effort to promote "prayer" in the churches, activities , events, programs like mid week  prayer meetings, prayer concert, prayer seminars, prayer retreats are initiated with much publicity. The first few meetings are almost always well attended. But as time is prolong, the attendance dwindled and eventually dies a natural death. Why? Is it wrong to promote "prayer" in such manners? What is the missing ingredient? I must acknowledge that I am a noviee in this area. I too am searching for answer, but here are some of my thoughts.

• God desires his children to pray, and is waiting for some one to pray to make things happen.
• Prayer is a matter of the heart, we must recognize that only God/HS can do that.
• Habit can only be broken by confrontation and realization of TRUTH.
• Can only be sustain with radical change from the inside out. People normally respond through outward conformity. What is needed is inward transformation by the renewing of the mind through TRUTH by the Holy Spirit.
• Until confession becomes realization, nothing is going to happen.
• Recognition that we are spiritually destitute, naked, sick and dying,

Can anyone help?

Chile Earthquake May Have Shortened Days on Earth

Chile Earthquake May Have Shortened Days on Earth  03.2.2010 Yahoo.News

The massive 8.8 earthquake that struck Chile the seventh strongest earthquake in recorded history, may have changed the entire Earth's rotation and shortened Earth day by 1.26 milliseconds, according to research scientist Richard Gross at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Patmos News 60 AD  Reporter -Apostle John

       Revelation 8:8-9
The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood,

a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

     Revelation 8:12
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a   third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

Revelation 6: 13 "Stars in the sky fell to earth"

  Feb 24, 2010 Yahoo News

 -Huge space-junk collision averted

http://hubpages.com/hub/How-many-satellites-orbit-the-Earth

The most up-to-date data of the number of satellites orbiting the earth today comes from CelesTrak which is funded by the Center for Space Standards and Innovation, located in Colorado Springs. As of writing there are over 13,000 satellites in orbit and over 20,500 satellites have decayed since 1957. Looking carefully at the data it appears that there are just under 3,500 satellites that are both functioning and in their correct orbit compared to nearly 10,000 that are classed as debris but haven't yet decayed. So 75% of the satellites orbiting the Earth are junk!

Patmos Island News 60 A.D... . Reporter: Apostle John

Rev 6:13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.

What does it mean to pray in the name of the Jesus?

John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.


"I will do whatever you ask" that statement to me is a very exigent proposition. Not because I doubt if Jesus can actually do what he says he will do, but what if it fell into wrong hands. I have been watching "24" TV series lately and the plot is about an "enrich weapon grade" uranium fell into the hands of terrorists. And you can just imagine what will happened. Now, if Jesus choose to deactivate his promise, that would call his faithfulness and integrity into question. The safety pin to the entire "power grid" of that promise are the words or condition that follows. "In my name" . What does it mean to ask in Jesus' name? When my son was about 5, he came to me one day and said " Pa, give me P100.00 " (a hundred pesos Philippine currency.) I just smiled and pretend not to hear him. What will a 5 year old boy do with P100.00? He got into my face and persistently insisted. So, I said "NO". He responded and said "Mama said she needs P100.00" . No question ask, I pulled out my wallet and gave him the P100.00. He took it and gave it to his mother. He came in the name of his mother. And he gave the P100.00 to his mother. 


Jesus said "If you abide in me and my words abide in you..." and if we immersed ourselves in the Word of God, our asking will gradually be in line with and according to the will of God. And when we prayed and said " in Jesus' name" that Jesus actually told us in his word to ask what we are asking from God. Then the condition for Jesus statement to be fulfilled is met. We can have the confidence that God will do it. Remembering that obedience is a condition and not a ground for answered prayer. It removes the obstacle and is not a merit for answered prayer. And when we received what we ask " the Son brings glory to the Father"




¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Was It Just My Run Away Emotion

It was just like any other day. My finger was clicking away on the keyboard at a speed a cop wouldn't even bother to aim his hair dryer like radar gun in my direction. "We all have the longing to see  "the-Chapel" becomes a praying church, "A HOUSE OF PRAYER"" ... click, click , click,,, as I continued to type, All of a sudden, a heavy feeling came over me. Its like tons of burden was laid on my shoulder. My breathing got heavier and heavier. Tears started to roll , and I started to sob. I groaned and sighed. It came in like tidal waves one after the other. I didn't make any noise because I didn't want people to see me that way. I got up and headed toward the memorial chapel where I can be alone. I saw Ben, our new worship guy whom I shared about prayer days ago walking toward my direction. I tried to hide my tears, "I am doing OK" in response to his greetings. I can see from his reaction that he kind of notice my eyes were red. So I said " got a minute? can we pray?" . He said "yes, I got a minute" so we proceeded to Berean room where we can be alone to pray. He is so young but he is a seasoned prayer warrior. When I started to pray, my tears started to roll and I began to sob again. I didn't pray much, just a few words asking God's Spirit to move, to stir up people to pray. A few minutes lapsed by, just as how quick the burden came it was lifted just as quick. We said amen, and I felt so light and there is a kind of peace and joy that follows. I told Ben how I felt, and I can see his eyes welled up. After we parted, I went to Memorial Chapel, found a corner and just knelt there in silence. The whole episode started again. This time besides sighing and groaning I started to utter a few words that is foreign to my vocabulary. I dare not continue. Instead I just breath heavily. Not long after I was in there, I heard two people entered and talking. I am not sure if they saw me. I slipped out quietly feeling great. I felt great the whole day. 

Prayer Partners Forum

Please check out the the-Chapel Prayer Partners Forum. 

I Just Don't Have the Time to Pray

I overheard an altercation between a teenager and his mother. “I just don't have time, Ma ! “ the teenager revolted. “You make time, if you don't make time, you will never have time! “, came the imperious censure from the mother. “Yes,” I said to myself, “ that's exactly what Stephen Covey said in his book entitled “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” The mother just spelled out the essence of 4th generation time management concept. In his book Mr. Covey eloquently expounded that the pirnciple of this concept lies on the way how we handle the tension between what is “important” and what is “urgent". Activities in our lives can be captured in the time management matrix diagrammed below :


Quadrant 1.  "IMPORTANT – URGENT ": such as Crises, Pressing problems, Deadline-driven projects, going to bathroom

Quadrant 2. "IMPORTANT - NOT URGENT": such as Preventive activities, Relationship building, Planning, Exercise, New opportunities, Pray, Cultivate intimacy with God,

Quadrant 3. "NOT IMPORTANT – URGENT": such as Interruptions, Some phone calls or emails, Some reports, Meetings, Pressing matters.

Quadrant 4. "NOT URGENT – NOT IMPORTANT": such as Trivia, Busy work, TV, Games, Pleasant activities, Chatters, Time killers

If we are to devote more time in quadrant two, we could make a tremendous positive difference in our lives. Since we simply can not afford to take time out from quadrant one and three because of its urgent nature, we could most definitely take a big chunk of our time out of quadrant four and do more of the activities in quadrant two. Our effectiveness will take a quantum leap when we do them.

Ephesians 5 : 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Power of Our Words

Words, and thoughts very often fascinate me. Our mind is like a blank sheet of paper at birth and as we grow we learn. Much of our learning are from information taught to us or conveyed to us with words. And so we think and we form our ideas with words. Now when it comes to prayer, it started as a thought and whether audibly or silently we expressed our prayer in words. Where does the power that make things happen in prayer comes from? The thoughts? The words we speak? Spoken words are nothing but vibration sent to the air with our vocal chords. Once the energy subsided as it travels out the sound vanishes. Where lies then the power of the word. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth with His spoken words. Ah, now I see. The word of God is power. The power of our word and so our prayer is contingent upon God. It is God who brings it to pass. It is God who changes things in answer to our prayer.

Therefore, whether in praying or just talking, we must be careful of every word we say. For the words that we say reveal who we are and what is in our heart.

• Luke 6 : 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

I stumble very often in criticising others, in my mind and in my words. Recalling the encounter of the Pharisees with Jesus, the Pharisees says that Jesus drove out demon by Beelzebub. It is in that occasion that Jesus taugh us to be careful of what we say.

• Matthew 12: 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

Jesus also warned us not to judge. We will be held accountable for every judgment we pronounce in criticism of others. With the same measure we used, it will be measured to us.

•  Mathew 7: 1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

 Therefore let us think thrice before we say once.

•  Colossians 4:6 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

How to Pray for the Sick -Part 1

The first thing would be to prepare your self.  The power of God flows more freely through clean channel. Immerse yourself in the word of God and let your life and your mind be filled with his word. At the time when you ask the Holy Spirit to guide you on what to pray for the sick the Holy Spirit will then let you recall the word of God.

As long as the sick is still breathing – if not ready to meet the Lord, pray for healing,

2 Sam 12 : 22 He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

An understanding of the roots of sickness mentioned in the Scripture would help us know how to pray for the sick.

I. Illness can basically be placed in two classes: 
1. Organic   2. Functional
Organic diseases are those in which the mind or will has no part either in the origin  or its course thereafter. Functional diseases are caused by the mind or emotions of the patient. It is not always clear which diseases fall into which category. Many diseases that are organic at the onset may develop functional complication because of improper treatment and wrong attitude. Emotional factors can also cause organic disfunction such as stomach ulcers, asthma, warts, allergies, shingles etc. In many cases, they are closely intertwined. Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.


The sources of illness may generally come from:

           1. It can be because by sin in your life

          James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."  

         John 5: 14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."

2. It can come from environmental or demonic attack.

Example: H1N1, cancer,  demon possessed, trauma, people, mutation.

3. Normal illness that the Lord allows in your life.

John 9:3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope

4. Abuse/d or neglect.

II. Types of Healing:

·      Physical healing.

·      Emotional healing.

·      Spiritual healing – relationship with God

·      Mental healing.

·      Combination of the above.

     

Pray with faith- faith that comes by hearing...hearing the word of God. So ask the HS to guide you to pray according to God’s word. His promises, His character, His attribute and His works.

Always pray for restoration of relationship with God. If save, walking in obedience with God, accept the affliction with joy and an unfailing faith-faith that goes far beyond getting what we desire. If not save, for salvation.

James 5: 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

What is Prayer?

What is prayer?
• Prayer is asking God.
• Prayer is conversation with God.
• Prayer is a relationship with God
• Prayer is communion with God
• Prayer is declaring our dependency with God through our asking.
• Prayer is God’s ordained way that we received God’s blessing.
• Prayer is one way of pleasing God.
• Prayer is an evidence of our faith in God.
• Prayer is obeying the command of God.
• Prayer is listening to God.
• Prayer is worshiping God.

What prayer is not.

• Rubbing a genie lamp.
• Preaching a sermon.
• Exhibit your spirituality.
• Judging others.

Breathing as a metaphor, portrays a fairly accurate picture of prayer. Unlike eating or any other activities which can either be delayed or skipped and done in a latter time, we simply can not stop breathing. We need to breath to enable us to do things. Its not another program or software that you run  on a computer. It is the operating system. More than that, like our body, we need to stop all activities and rest or sleep to enable each and every cell in our body to be rejuvenated, we also need to have a time set apart to commune with our heavenly Father, to allow our spirit to be rejuvenated.

PARADOXUM

Our ways are not God’s ways.

Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

• First will be last and last will be first
Matthew 20:16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

• Gaining by forsaking
Mark 10 :29And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 30But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life

• When I am weak then I am strong
2 Corinthians 12:10
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.

• Least is the greatest
Luke 9:48 For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest."

• To find life you must lose it.
Matthew 10:39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

• Found by those who are not looking
Romans 10:20 And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."

• Sinless condemned sinner declared righteous?
2 Corinthians 5:21For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

• When you are dead, you are alive.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

• Love the hated
Matthew 5: 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

• To gain is to lose.
Luke 9:25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

• Deaf hears and blind sees
Isaiah 29:18 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
Isaiah 42:18 "Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!
Matthew 15:31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
John 9:39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

• Outsiders are called sons.
Romans 9:26 and, "It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.' "

• Giving is receiving.
Acts 20:35 the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "

Are the opposites that defies human logic confusing and hard to understand?

Romans 10:18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

Romans 11:8 as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day."

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
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How I Got Started with Praying in Scripture

Skipping lunch to pray every Tuesday noon has been going on for a small group of people for sometimes. In fact an unplanned church was planted through this prayer group. What's next? we asked each other. Each of these people owns and manages multi-million dollars company and here they are asking what to do next with the new planted church. You see, when people pray they have grown to be so dependent upon God that they felt helpless without direction from God. Inexperience as we are we decided to come together to ask God. We sat around a round table each with an open bible before us. We prayed a while and spent some times in silence hoping that God will speak to one of us. Nothing happened. But the experience that afternoon has lead each one of us to immerse ourselves in the word of God and meditate on it day and night. On the next prayer meeting, some started to quote the Scripture as they pray. One of them started to memorize a chapter of psalm and use that psalm to pray. Not for long, we are all praying in Scripture. We did not hear from God on the next step we need to take for the church. But every one of us are meditating on the word of God, talking about the word of God, praying the word of God and yielding our lives to the word of God. And God added people to the church.

Should I pray for lost contact lens?

       In the middle of worship service, my wife whispered to me and said that my daughter who was seated next to her dropped one of her contact lens she was wearing. We waited until the service was over to look for it. We checked the pews and the floor. While I was down combing the floor with my hand I asked my self, should I pray? If she dropped it here, we will find it for sure. If she dropped it somewhere else no prayer can make us find it. As I struggled with that thought, I prayed. Not only I prayed but I have the confidence that we will find it. The ushers even came over to help us look for it. "NADA" nothing. We gave up and went to our ABF.
     I have completely forgotten about the lost contact lens until after our ABF class when we see each other again at the foyer. My wife told me that my daughter found her contact lens. "What? Where?" . It was stuck in the upper corner of her eye that she thought she dropped it. Did God answer my prayer ? The contact lens was not really lost. I know one thing, my faith grows. Now, I will pray even for smaller things. I know God cares. The contact lens may just be God's loving way of teaching me that valuable lesson.

How to Pray 101

Why do we pray:

1. I am desperate I need help.

2. God invites us to pray or ask.

• Psalm 50 : 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; 
I will deliver you, and you will honor me." 16 But to the wicked, God says: "What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?
• Psalm 91:15
He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
• Jeremiah 29:12
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
• Jeremiah 33 : 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
• Luke 11 :9 “So I say to you, ask

How should we pray:

• Find a quiet place to be alone with God free from all kinds of distractions.
• Matthew (NKJ) 6 : 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly
•  God already knows what you are going pray, so just pray what is in your heart. Not with many words which suggests rituals, incantations, and technique or with an attitude that God is not listening and must be manipulated to answer.
• Matthew (NKJ)6: 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

 What to pray – Pattern after the prayer the Lord Jesus taught His disciples

• Our Father in heaven,
• As believers in Christ, God is our Father. Address your prayer to your Father in Heaven.
• (If you are not sure you are already a child of God please click on this link)
• Hallowed be Your name.
• Your heart’s attitude and what you are about to pray must be in the context that God’s name will be honored.
• Your kingdom come.
• Kingdom is the sphere in which the king’s rule is obeyed. Yield your life and your will and submit to God.
• Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• As children of God, our desire is to fulfill the desire of God. We want to ask and do what He desires in our life and not to satisfy our selfish desire.
• Give us this day our daily bread.
• Ask what is in your heart. Your need, need for daily provisions, health, wisdom, guidance, protection, your anxiety, need of your love ones, of other people etc.
• And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
• We sin against God everyday in many ways, God is merciful to forgive when we confess our sin. We need to show the same mercy and forgive those who hurt us.
• And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
• We are constantly bombarded by temptation, like it or not we are engage in spiritual warfare from the day we received Christ. We are weak but God is strong, so we pray for God’s protection and deliverance.
• End your prayer by presenting your petition to God by saying “in Jesus name, Amen”
• Praying in Jesus’ name means praying with His authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus.
• John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

The Lord’s Prayer should be understood as an example, a pattern, of how to pray. It is not a prayer we are to memorize and recite back to God. It is only an example of how we should be praying. Is there anything wrong with memorizing the Lord’s Prayer? Of course not! Is there anything wrong with praying the Lord’s Prayer back to God? Not if your heart is in it and you truly mean the words you say. Remember, in prayer, God is far more interested in our communicating with Him and speaking from our hearts than He is in the specific words we use.