I Come Before You

[from ihop interns]

C G
I come before You
F C
Simply to adore You
C G
And I lay down my heart
F C
And choose the good part

C
To know I am Yours
G
To sit at Your feet
F
To give You my heart
G
And all of me

C
To see You face to face
G
And stand as Your friend
F
To know Your embrace
G
A love without end
C G F G
I come before You


I come before You
Knowing that I love You
And I lay down my plans
And come just as I am

Be Near

[When all came crashing down on us.. when all seemed dark and bleak... Take heart, my friend, and find strength and comfort in the Lord! This poem depicts the journey of one who went through the storms in life, emerging as one who brings the comfort and strength received from God to others...]

BE NEAR

It's so dark here...
I can't see what is ahead of me
I can't feel what is inside of me

Where are You?
My love, the One who loves me so
I cried out to You, from the depths of my heart

Is there any life here?
Is there any movement in my heart?
Is there any song I can sing to my Beloved?

So I go about my life
Not feeling, not seeing
Yet faintly hoping all these will change...

My times are in Your hands
My hope is in You
In You alone, I put my trust

And I open my heart to You
No matter how much it hurts
No matter how long it takes

Letting Your love wash over me, completely
Letting Your blood cleanse me, deep within
Letting Your strength empower me, even in my weakness

Be Near O Lord my Strength! (I have none left)
Be Near O Lord my Light! (and shine upon my path)
Be Near O God! (You are all I need)

Come to the Lord
And rest in His strong embrace
For this is Your salvation
For this is Your deliverance


2Cor1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Breakthrough!

[Expressing hearts, expressing prayers, of breakthrough and breaking forth within and without…]

John 5:35
“He (John the Baptist) was the burning (running with hearts burning with love of God) and shining lamp (running in ministry)…”

Micah 2:13
“The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, Pass through the gate, And go out by it; Their king will pass before them, With the LORD at their head.”

Breakthrough!

Going about busy
To and fro
Learning to make sense
Learning to give You my all

I stumble and fall
I made a mess of it
Gently You came
Gently You lifted me up

I knew I made a mess
I knew things went wrong
Sometimes people understand
Sometimes they don’t…

I don’t need the counsel (for now)
I’m trying to make it work (can’t you see?)
I don’t wana talk about it (for now)
I don’t wana think about it (for now)

What do I do?
When all seems so topsy turvy
I just want to run away
I just want to be free

Where can I go?
‘Cos I just want to find You
Your presence is all I want
Your presence is all I need

Speak to me O Lord
Tell me what’s on Your heart
I will hear and obey
I will walk and trust

For You have been my Guide
For You have been my Strength of my heart
Face the giants?
Face the goliaths in my life?

Courage I need (from You)
Confidence I lean (on You)
To break out
To break forth

Help me to express the words
Deep within my heart
To You
And to the ones who love me so

Do they love me?
Or do they love me not?
Let not love grow cold within me
Let me burn and shine, I pray

Loving You
Loving one another
Is what You desire
Is when all will see and know You are God

My times are in Your hands
Strengthen me to run the race
Steady and faithful
Pressing on, breaking forth

I will face the giants
I will face the goliaths
In the Name of the Lord of host
And carry my heart right, ever before You

I will return to the flock
I will return to the fold
Leaning on You
Never alone…

You see me
You see my heart
Lifter of my head
Break out, break within, break forth I pray…


Song of Solomon 1:7
"Tell me, You whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends?" [depicts God leading a believer back to the flock, where one can find Him]

One Thing...

source: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ef39e24b2d88e1dc7b5d

Lyrics for One Thing

Verse 1
One thing I desire
One thing I seek
To gaze upon Your beauty
Your Majesty

Verse 2
God of my salvation
Lifter of my head
Teach me how to live O Lord
Your righteousness

Pre Chorus
So I pray to You
So I pray to You

Chorus
Lord Your name
Is higher than the heavens
Lord Your nameIs higher than all created things
Higher than hope
Higher than dreams
The name of the Lord

Verse3
In the days of trouble
You cover me
In the secret place of refuge
Lord I will sing

Bridge
I will seek Your face
Call upon Your Name Jesus
All I want is You Jesus

Team Hoyt - Dick and Rick Hoyt

The father's love for his son reminds me of God's love for us. We say (pray), He acts. He does not give up on us when the world says we are nothing...

Come!

Come be the fire inside of me

Come and be the flame upon my heart

Come and be the fire inside of me

Until You and I are one

That SETTLES it!

I'm in love with God

And God's in love with me

This is who I am

And this is who I'll be

And that settles it

Completely

Can I make-it?

Sometimes I get depressed, really depressed, because I think I think about the wrong set of questions. Know what I mean? Then I spiral down and start to fret... Omigosh! I read the Book of Revelation, and erm, this time round, I got really depressed! I'm thinking - so many calamaties, so many people die (Rev 6:7; Rev 9:18), how I can survive, how I can make it till the end? Then I thought about, ok, so what do I need to do now, quick quick, find out... (not wrong, but pretty much out of fear and many what-if's).

Time-out. Take a step back. Wait... It begins with asking the right question.

Instead of "Can I make it"? I thought... "Can God be trusted?"; "Can I trust Him?" Besides, Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy:

2 Tim1:12
"For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day." (NKJV)

"That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." (NIV)

(1) For I know whom I have believed!!!!!

(2) persuaded, convinced, confident that God can keep us faithful and steady till the end!

Ok, my heart rate calmed down. And hmm... I'm not so depressed after all.

Get down to really KNOW God.
(Article on Knowledge of God http://one-thing-ministries.blogspot.com/2005_06_01_archive.html)

Then entrust our steps into His faithful and loving hands. Trust Him to lead us, being confident in His leadership in our lives, then our ability to make-it.

Prov 3:5-6
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Jer 9:23-24
Thus says the LORD:
“ Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the LORD."

Phil 1:6
"...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..."

related read: http://peopleofonething.blogspot.com/2006/11/do-you-know.html

Lovesick...

[Ever feel a loss of words in telling God that you want to know Him more? Ever feel so parched and dry, poor in the spirit? Take heart and put Your hope in the Lord! Be strong, and wait upon Him. He is answering your prayer for more. He is cultivating a lovesick heart in You - one that inclines to Him, longing, seeking... ]

Gentle whisper faintly calling
Broken vessel waiting to be filled
Thirsty soul longing to be satisfied

Deep calls out to deep
There is a longing for more
There is a yearning deep within

How can I express
That I want to know You more
That You are all that I want

How can my heart go on
Without a glimpse of Your beauty
Without a touch from my Bridegroom King

Kiss me! with the kisses of Your word
Kiss me! Your love energizes me
Kiss me! Your love is better than wine

That is why I live
That is why I seek
That is why my heart cannot go on without You

Your love is all I live for
Your love is all I seek after
Your love is what sets my heart on fire

Burn a holy flame
Burn it deep within me
Seal of love on my heart

Lovesick for You
Lovesick for more
Lovesick till You come again...

Song of Solomon 1:2
Let him (Jesus) kiss me (church, His bride) with the kisses of his mouth (word that proceeds from His mouth). For your love is better than wine (the pleasures of this world).

People of One Thing

[Overheard... left and right brain communication...]

A: Bee, I heard you got new name ah?

B: Yah, I'm called People of One Thing!

A: Wah, so cool... Wat it means ah?

B: It means seeking God is my One holy passion and pursuit lah.

A: Aye, that reminds me of King David, Mary of Bethany, and Apostle Paul leh.

B: Ah-ber-then, they are People of One Thing mah!

A: Why ah, why they so like dat?

B: Like wat?

A: Like oni want to do One Thing - seeking to be near God, to know God and what God is tinking, feeling about, like so extravagantly wasting their life on God, like so want to have more of God so much so that they consider everything else like dung?

B: Erm, I'll let you know when I become like dat.

A: What you mean?

B: Becos I also discovering why they like dat... I think hor, it's got to do with who God is...

A: who God is?

B: Yah, that God is worth the why they so like dat, or else what? Wake up your idea...

A: True, true... Bee, I mean People of One Thing, I oso want to like them leh. How ah?

B: You sure or not? Don't just say say ah.

A: Yah lah, true one lah.

B: Let's pray lah.

A: Ok, pray wat ah. You pray, I say amen ok?

A: Ok lah...

I will waste my life on You...

[Songs from the prayer room...]

I will waste my life
I'll be tested and tried
With no regrets inside of me
Just let me find I'm at Your feet (2x)

It's all about You, Jesus
It's not about me
Or what I can bring

It's all about You, Jesus
Come and take my offering
Come and take, take all of me

Grow Up =)

["Grow Up!" That seems to be the most valuable advice we can give others and even ourselves, not in impatience, but in a loving tone. I remember the cherished people by my side who have ever gently said that to me. I appreciate these words, and keep them close to my heart. Here's something from Alice Smith's Insight]

Who would you call in a spiritual emergency? Do you have an Elijah--someone whom God has placed in your life as a mentor and role model? Although God provides us Elijah, in due time, we learn that we must not continue to lean on them. God gives us mentors for a reason; but he also gives those mentors for a season. His ultimate intention for us is to stand on our own. The day will come--if it hasn't already--for you to leave the safety and security of the nest and fly.

Consider the partnership of Elijah and Elisha. Three times Elijah made plans to leave; and three times Elisha replied, "As Jehovah lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." He admired and emulated Elijah. He didn't want his friend and mentor to leave. But there would come a time when Elijah would have to go (see 2 Kings 2:13-25).

At some point like Elisa experienced, your Elijah will have to leave. It is painful but predictable, and it's God's plan. You needn't refuse to release your Elijah, or else you will forfeit your full Kingdom potential.

When Elijah ascended in a chariot of fire, Elisha found himself alone. He returned to the Jordan River, which is symbolic of death and separation. "Crossing Jordan" means death to the old and birth to the new opportunities and responsibilities. Your Jordan experiences are those in which you must take the responsibility to walk out what your Elijahs have taught you. When you are alone, the Jordan, once a very familiar place, now seems overwhelming and impossible to cross.

Some wrongly conclude that troubles dissipate when one becomes a Christian. Not so. God does not remove trouble but He empowers us to overcome in the midst of it. After all, without trials there would never be triumph. There is no victory without war and there is no war without an enemy. Strangely, trouble is our friend. Trouble brings us to total dependency upon Christ. Prepare to cross your own Jordans, to confront your own giants and to gain your own victories.

The usual response to trouble is to say, "I can't." But we fail to realize that our tests are tailor-made by the Father (1 Cor. 10:13).

Wasn't God the God of Elisha as He was the God of Elijah? Even though it seemed overwhelming, Elisha was ready to cross the Jordan alone. And we must make the same journey too.

It's important when faced with trouble to keep our focus on Christ. When we focus on our trouble, all of our strength goes to the problem rather than the solution. At that point, we are not only afflicted by trouble but we are distracted from our communion with Christ who is the Source of our strength. Intimacy with Christ is where you will find the strength to stand. You are to stand in faith, walk by faith, and live by the faith of the Son of God (see Eph. 6:13-14; 2 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 2:20).

In 2 Kings 2:15, we read that "a company of prophets from Jericho were watching Elisha." Inside your heart you long to trust God for the extraordinary. But people are watching. You wish someone else could do the work for you. The thought may come to you as it probably did to Elisha, Where is my Elijah when I really need him? Amazingly, if you will press in and be true to the call of God, regardless of your feelings of insecurity and inadequacy or your lack of faith, the Lord will prove Himself to you.

In 2 Kings 2:23-25 we find Elisha being jeered by 42 young people at Bethel. Bethel means "the house of God." Yes, even Christian friends and family may mock your faith or your passion or the level of your commitment. When I was a newly saved teenager, older Christians said, "Alice, after you've been saved awhile, you'll settle down." Today, after more than 42 years, I am more passionately in love with Christ than ever!

Shortly after I began writing my first book, Beyond the Veil: Entering Into Intimacy With God Through Prayer, a Christian leader told me that I was foolish to think that I could write a book. That statement so intimidated me that I shelved the book for 10 months. However, I couldn't shake the fact that the Lord had spoken to me to write this book. In Christ I found the courage to begin again, and Beyond the Veil has become a best-seller. Yes, even in the Church you will find your critics. And its possible that those who have walked with you for years may leave you if the commitment level becomes too difficult for them.

Are you at your end of your endurance? Have you been feeling the need to quit? Don't do it! Your extremity of need is God's opportunity. Stand on His promises. In His time He will disclose the truth and validate you. The fight is not yours, the battle is the Lord's! Practice what the Elijahs in your life have taught you. Put on the mantle of prayer, stand confidently in Christ and stop looking back for your Elijah to do it for you. Jesus Christ is more than enough!

Who's Number One?

[Something I found on the internet on Who's Number One? http://www.sermoncloud.com/pastors-edge/whos-number-one]

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Before we get into the first commandment, you need to understand that these laws were not given to the Nation of Israel as rules for a relationship with God. These laws were given as a reflection of a relationship with God. You don't keep the Ten Commandments in order to have a relationship with God; you keep them because you do have a relationship with God. The Ten Commandments are not rules for religious people; they are guidelines for God's people. They were meant for God's family.

As our sons began to grow up, we established certain rules in our home: do your homework, don't talk back to your mother, make your bed, and be home on time. I did not give these rules to my kids so they would be my kids; I gave these rules, because they were my kids. These rules simply reflected how I wanted my kids to behave.

Now you will see why the first commandment is not only the first commandment, but it is foundational to the other nine, because if you don't get the first one you will never get the other ones. In the first commandment, God is not saying, "If you want to have a relationship with Me, this is what you have to do." He was saying, "If you have a relationship with Me, this is what you want to do." The first commandment forces us to answer the question, "Who's Number One?"

[It's like God is saying, I did not ask you to love me so that you will be a lover of God. I commanded you to love me because you are a lover of God! So the first commandment is about our identity as a lover of God!]

Be-attitudes in Luke 6 & Matthew 5

LUKE v17
"And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people..."

[v20-26] Our attitude towards Circumstances
- a worldly or kingdom perspective?

[v27-38] Our attitude towards People
- be Christlike!

[v39-45] Our attitude in Ministry that will sustain you
- be Christlike, learn to see clearly, be honest with yourself, guard your heart.

[46-49] Attitude towards God

===============================================
Matthew 5
v1 "And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them..."

[Matt 5,6,7] How to grow the fruits of the be-attitudes and measure them.

God will take care of us!

[Many times, we live our lives, wondering.. Will God take care of us? Can we trust Him? The word of the Lord striked my heart, when I saw how He took care of the multitudes. Those who followed Him, sought Him, those who were 'lost'. He had compassion on them, took care and provided for them, through the miraculous provision of food, even with leftovers! Surely we can trust Him, as we follow and seek Him. God is so good!]

Those who followed Jesus
[Feeding of the Four Thousand)

Mark 8:1-3

"In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.”

Those who sought Jesus
[Feeding of the Five Thousand)

Mark 6:33-37

"But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.” But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.”"

Simply Inspirational!

Friend of God

John 15:13-15
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

[Moses]

Exodus 33:11So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

[Abraham]

2 Chronicles 20:7Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?

Isaiah 41:8"But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend,
James 2:23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.

[Lazarus]

John 11:11These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”

and so is Mary, King David... to be continued...

Remarks of Bill Gates - Harvard Commencement

Two salient points I picked up from a person with a passion in life:
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/06.14/99-gates.html

[the following paragraphs are parts of the speech made by Bill Gates]

1) Four stages of problem solving

If we can really see a problem, which is the first step, we come to the second step: cutting through the complexity to find a solution.

Finding solutions is essential if we want to make the most of our caring. If we have clear and proven answers anytime an organization or individual asks “How can I help?,” then we can get action – and we can make sure that none of the caring in the world is wasted. But complexity makes it hard to mark a path of action for everyone who cares — and that makes it hard for their caring to matter.

Cutting through complexity to find a solution runs through four predictable stages: determine a goal, find the highest-leverage approach, discover the ideal technology for that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartest application of the technology that you already have — whether it’s something sophisticated, like a drug, or something simpler, like a bednet.

The AIDS epidemic offers an example. The broad goal, of course, is to end the disease. The highest-leverage approach is prevention. The ideal technology would be a vaccine that gives lifetime immunity with a single dose. So governments, drug companies, and foundations fund vaccine research. But their work is likely to take more than a decade, so in the meantime, we have to work with what we have in hand – and the best prevention approach we have now is getting people to avoid risky behavior.

Pursuing that goal starts the four-step cycle again. This is the pattern. The crucial thing is to never stop thinking and working – and never do what we did with malaria and tuberculosis in the 20th century – which is to surrender to complexity and quit.

The final step – after seeing the problem and finding an approach – is to measure the impact of your work and share your successes and failures so that others learn from your efforts... This is essential not just to improve the program, but also to help draw more investment from business and government. But if you want to inspire people to participate, you have to show more than numbers; you have to convey the human impact of the work – so people can feel what saving a life means to the families affected.



2) Much has been given, much is expected

My mother, who was filled with pride the day I was admitted here – never stopped pressing me to do more for others. A few days before my wedding, she hosted a bridal event, at which she read aloud a letter about marriage that she had written to Melinda. My mother was very ill with cancer at the time, but she saw one more opportunity to deliver her message, and at the close of the letter she said: “From those to whom much is given, much is expected.”

When you consider what those of us here in this Yard have been given – in talent, privilege, and opportunity – there is almost no limit to what the world has a right to expect from us.

In line with the promise of this age, I want to exhort each of the graduates here to take on an issue – a complex problem, a deep inequity, and become a specialist on it. If you make it the focus of your career, that would be phenomenal. But you don’t have to do that to make an impact. For a few hours every week, you can use the growing power of the Internet to get informed, find others with the same interests, see the barriers, and find ways to cut through them.

Don’t let complexity stop you. Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

Britain's Got Talent - Connie, Somewhere Over The Rainbow.