1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

verse from Sunday..

16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

People's Business.

Sigh..
dunno what to say liao.

past 2 days of F&P,
Day 2 , after praying the last point or waiting to hear God.. fell asleep..
(praying for the business direction part..after area of career) To cont' positioning, exposing, preparing myself for it.. or close the door entirely and focus on other things..

Question: Do I need or does it involves a calling?
I know it isn't now.. but still I have the interest or passion.. for whatever reason.
But no area of expertise, skills or domain yet.. that's why, i think i will still continue to prepare and look around for time and opportunity in future.. definitely not now..

But Ps Jeff says not to procrastinate..encouraged/challenged the ppl in BLM (Biz Life Ministry) to write their Biz plans..
But i'm not really leh..
now not ready, no idea, no area, people etc etc...

That's why I have been subconsicously and more consioucsly asking God bout this area.

Should i still waste time, i mean INVEST.. (nothing is gonna be wasted!!)time to go for monthly BLM? or do something else..

Anyway, think I'll still go.. feels like God wants me to go. By the circumstance He cheoreographed.

The reason i'm considering whether to cont' in this area is actually God spoke to me about the area of being shepherd of His flock.. i mean life calling.
At least one that He impressed upon me strongly in year 2003.

And I think I wun be able to cope leh.. if I do Biz..

But I wun know what God wants to prepare me for..

recently, this thought came to my mind.
I have passion for Business and people.

So, i should do People's Business!!
anyway, doesn't make sense, still very broad. God's business is people business, or I could do Business for people.. and this can include anything that serves the people! service, argh, product even.

argh. starting to ramble.

anyway,
Day 3,
After CG.. went home quite late already..went to rest first.. and already fell 3 quarter asleep..1 quarter of me still want to wake up later, coz haven't seek God and prayed.. and haven't break fast.

Thanks to bro ANDrew who msged me the Luke 6 verse, woke up, quite glad.. and managed to pray a little.. thank God.
Needed to pray or seek God in the area of CG, my role, and taking care and realting to the sheeps in the 'sheep pen'. brothers included.
-didn't manage to have a long time, or stay long enough to seek God, but wrote down some points for what to do, what to change.

Actually wanna have a breakthrough in F&P as well.. not sure what though.. but experiencing the power and value of it in seeking and experiencing God!

Taking hold..

'..but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.' (Philippians 3:12b,14)

This morning a collegue asked if she could give me some comments..about some study file that i prepared.

Little did I expect.. she spoke to me about..
in my own words for myself:
I need to take hold of my own growth, learnings - taking initiative and utilizing opportunities whenever available, and not wasting time/(months or years)being stagnant.

She encouraged me to learn things, rather than do things blindly..
Usually end up doing so due to time constraint, heavy workload. Doing more but no depth.

She told me this as an advice to progress faster to be a CRA. for a steeper learning curve, which was what she did in her previous company. In a very short time, she progressed from CTAssistant to CRA II, and was even offered to be Senior CRA at her ex-company but she declined offer..for a slower pace..

Made me reflect myself, been in company for 7 months or so, still learning quite the surface or general view, and happily trying to clear manual or menial tasks..because there are really lots task to do.

SO, with the company going to hire another temp admin staff-- i should grab this opportunity to shift non-important task to her, and start to understand the documents i deal with in a study, take initiave to do more important task that a CRA would need to know..etc

Yeah.. thank God for the wake up call..
For indeed, recently, i prayed that I want to be promoted to the next level.. an indeed there is an opportunity.

so besides striving to be faithful alone,
God reveal to me something else that I need to do..

and to Take hold of my destiny in this area..

Yet..
1 Corinthians 9:25
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

In this world, people race or do things for different motivation - title, position,money, status..(she she quoted some motivations to spur oneself on.)- but these are the things that will not last.

Indeed, what I really need to take hold of (or need to strive towards) is GOd's purpose for me, to know HIm, and to be like Him (my relationship with Him, spiritual walk and growth)

With that character build everything will fall into place.

Thank God for His goodness and this reflection and revelation.

Sorting things out, preparing self by seeking God.

many things to do,think about, so- many things to pray about..

embarking on this F&P tog with Andr & Jar.
Bit or quite contemplative bout the fasting part as i know myself, i wun be seeking God 'effectively' even if i fast. coz when i fast without truly and fully seeking Him (with my time, heart,mind & soul) find quite useless and in vain. & fasting isn't something you enjoy.. physically.

anyway,to really want to seek God, and fasting an act of humbling oneself before God according to His ways.. i fast lar.. and seek Him at night.

Day 1 (Mon): personal - Areas to surrender:
to overcome distraction, lack of focus and self discipline/control..

- Prayed:(How can I seek You daily and stay close to You & Your Word? (my priority)
'In quietness and trust is (my) strenght.(Isaiah 30:15b/c)
wah.. didn't realize can learn to apply in this area also..

Also discovered one way to help me be more focused in seeking HIm. writing down my agenda and objectives (things to seek Him for or pray) on a piece of paper..to keep me on track..

- punctuality

Lessons learnt from current situation/past year - to apply in 2006.
Patience..(in process)
....
...

...SFC '06...

amazingly, this was the verse (Isa 6:8) for Sat and today..wah

thinking bout SOULS FOR CHRISTS 2006 initiative that God impressed upon me when I prayed what to do for the evax team. As I was really lost and stuck, and this agenda being the last on my mind always, forgetting it often until i remembered on and off. (Gotta settle my heart n mind of other things before i can reach the state to be able to do anything.. like before go for war, gotta be well.)

Realise eh, haven't been seeking God for this and doing anything .
anyway, in a few moments or so while travelling on 99, while i quiet myself to pray or seek God, this idea on how to unite the people together to outreach for God and save souls for Him came to my mind. the Theme 'Souls For Christ' came immediately, and the verse Isa 6:8b 'Here I am send me' just came along (i was/am reading Isaiah recently now.. !! :))

Thought of bringing the people to claim ownership together as a group resolution or something we do for God this year. And i was thinking to launch it as CG campaign!! hah.and not sure if i know bout campaigns. only thinking of how to laucnh and start, but no body yet..

Disscussed bit with Andr. Hope to have more input and God's direction in this..
Now i only have this, but nothing much, need plan more..


for deeper reflection & insights into the verse..
January 14 (fr My Utmost for His Highest daily devotional)
Called By God
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ’Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ’Here am I! Send me’
—Isaiah 6:8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, ". . . who will go for Us?" The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. "Many are called, but few are chosen" ( Matthew 22:14 ). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear "the voice of the Lord" continually asking, ". . . who will go for Us?" However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, "Now, you go." He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, "Here am I! Send me."

Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard-"the voice of the Lord." In perfect freedom we too will say, "Here am I! Send me."

http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php?month=01&day=14

Reflections..

Managed to go through the day without Coffee!!! yay!! though i was feeling sleepy way at the start of the day :)

Had my iced milo - with a sprinkle of coffee for flavour though.. :)

these 2 days had been quite a number of things that caught me to reflect.

The things that Jeremy shares..
Discipleship..
can learn from him.. wah.. took care of 8 sheeps at one go.. i hv no excuse liao..


my collegue today..really shared until she teared.
Family..will we be there for one another?
relationship with mum..

many more bits and pieces..

Some Lessons from My Utmost For His Highest - Wait, Worship & Work, Following & being Intimate With Jesus..

Cool.. short & impactful.. some short daily devotional tools/article from
http://www.rbc.org/utmost/

January 4
Why Can I Not Follow You Now?
Peter said to Him, ’Lord, why can I not follow You now?’
—John 13:37

There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait. At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move. (
http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php?month=01&day=04)

January 5
The Life of Power to Follow

The irresistible attraction of Jesus was upon him and he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him do it. Later he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke. Then he received the Holy Spirit and Jesus said again, "Follow Me" ( John 21:19 ). Now no one is in front of Peter except the Lord Jesus Christ. The first "Follow Me" was nothing mysterious; it was an external following. Jesus is now asking for an internal sacrifice and yielding (see John 21:18 ).

Between these two times Peter denied Jesus with oaths and curses (see Matthew 26:69-75 ). But then he came completely to the end of himself and all of his self-sufficiency. There was no part of himself he would ever rely on again. In his state of destitution, he was finally ready to receive all that the risen Lord had for him. ". . . He breathed on them, and said to them, ’Receive the Holy Spirit’ " ( John 20:22 ). No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives. All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to "receive the Holy Spirit." "Receive the Holy Spirit"— the idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord Jesus Christ.
(http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php?month=01&day=05)

January 6
Worship

He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord
—Genesis 12:8

Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram "pitched his tent" between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time— there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must "pitch our tents" where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.
(http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php?month=01&day=06)

January 07
Intimate With Jesus

Once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely and we never lack for understanding or compassion. We can continually pour out our hearts to Him without being perceived as overly emotional or pitiful. The Christian who is truly intimate with Jesus will never draw attention to himself but will only show the evidence of a life where Jesus is completely in control. This is the outcome of allowing Jesus to satisfy every area of life to its depth. The picture resulting from such a life is that of the strong, calm balance that our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him

http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php?month=01&day=07