<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245</id><updated>2011-04-22T06:43:18.008+08:00</updated><category term='Perseverance'/><title type='text'>Junior Worship Service</title><subtitle type='html'>Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:7</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>18</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-1849386969279029015</id><published>2009-05-10T17:15:00.002+08:00</published><updated>2009-05-10T17:22:22.674+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Bible-a Balm to My Soul</title><content type='html'>Dear Children&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Bible is always relevant and never outdated. It is God-breathed--inspired. It is providentially preserved by God the Divine Author Himself through His singular care throughout all ages.  May we be like the psalmist that he exuberently cried out, "how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;God's Word is a Sword (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12) but it is also a balm to our soul:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When in sorrow—read John 14&lt;br /&gt;•When men fail you—read Psalm 27&lt;br /&gt;•When you have sinned—read Psalm 51&lt;br /&gt;•When you worry—read Matthew 6:19-34&lt;br /&gt;•When you are in danger—read Psalm 91&lt;br /&gt;•When you have the blues –read Psalm 34&lt;br /&gt;•When God seems far away—read Psalm 139&lt;br /&gt;•If you are discouraged—read Isaiah 40&lt;br /&gt;•If you are lonely/fearful—read Psalm 23&lt;br /&gt;•If you need courage—read Joshua 1&lt;br /&gt;•If you get bitter and critical—read 1 Cor 13&lt;br /&gt;•If you want rest or peace—read Matthew 11:25-30&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-1849386969279029015?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/1849386969279029015/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/05/bible-balm-to-my-soul.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/1849386969279029015'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/1849386969279029015'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/05/bible-balm-to-my-soul.html' title='Bible-a Balm to My Soul'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-4344700305362086853</id><published>2009-05-05T15:03:00.002+08:00</published><updated>2009-05-05T15:07:18.119+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Why Good Friday?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Good Friday is Called Good?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Dear children,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Friday that falls on 10 April 2009 is not the usual “Friday” we reckon with. There is an extra word added to it or an adjective to describe that Friday. That word is good. All over the world, people acknowledge that Friday shall be called “Good Friday”?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#3333ff;"&gt;Why is that so?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let us examine the origin of the words “Good Friday”. In German, Good Friday is called Karfreitag. The Kar is no more in use but it refers to the meaning of mourning. Freitag essentially means Friday. So in German, Good Friday is actually called Mourning Friday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In English, “good” sometimes meant God. For example, when we say good bye, it means God be with you. So we can say that Good Friday basically means God’s Friday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Whether Mourning Friday or Good Friday, they serve to remind us of the indescribable great love of God for you and me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#3333ff;"&gt;Mourning Friday&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Germans has rightly called Mourning Friday because we are in a sad state of our sins. The first Adam in the Garden of Eden disobeyed God and since then, all mankind fell in sin with him. He is our representative. Because of his sin of disobedience to God, we all have sinned. This we called the Original Sin. Romans 3:23 reminds us that we are all sinners. None of us are righteous as God said in Romans 3:10. Death is a vivid reminder to us that we are all sinners because the wages of sin is death.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But God in His compassion took pity upon us. He send Jesus as the second Adam to save us. Jesus was the Son of God, who is without sin. He lived a sinless and righteous life for us and willingly obeyed God to die on the cross as a sacrifice for us. John the Baptist identified Him as the “Lamb of God” that takes away our sin.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On that Friday 2000 years ago, those who waved the palm leaves 5 days before that Friday were crying out, Hosanna! (which means save now) were now clenching their fists, punching them into the air crying out, Crucify Him! Crucify Him!&lt;br /&gt;Jesus was indeed sorrowful as He agonized with His Father in the garden of Gethsemane. But He surrendered willingly to God’s will that He must suffer that we may have salvation and victory over death.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He was betrayed, wrongly arrested, falsely accused, scorned at, spat at, whipped mercilessly, jeered at and was sentenced to be nailed on the cruel cross meant for the worst criminals in the Roman Empire.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was a mournful Friday indeed. The disciples mourned that their Master who walked with them now walked with them no more.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#3333ff;"&gt;Good Friday&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sorrow and mourning shall flee for our Lord Jesus Christ kept true to His prophetic words to the unbelieving teachers of the Law, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). No tomb could keep the Lord from rising up from the dead. The tomb was empty on Sunday. God has raised Jesus up. Jesus is risen! He resurrected bodily, He is alive.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hence, that Friday is called God’s Friday or good Friday. The Lord went to the cross as a suffering Saviour in order that He will be our victorious Saviour. “&lt;em&gt;O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ&lt;/em&gt;” 1 Cor 15:55-57&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our faith in Jesus is not a dead faith. Good Friday and Easter Sunday give us the hope. &lt;em&gt;Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain&lt;/em&gt;. 1 Corinthians 15:12-14&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#3333ff;"&gt;Conclusion&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear children, Good Friday is always called good because we have a living Saviour. Every Sunday we come to church is to celebrate and worship that Jesus is not dead but is rise again for us. One day, the same way he ascended back to heaven, he will come again in the clouds for us again.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-4344700305362086853?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/4344700305362086853/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-good-friday.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/4344700305362086853'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/4344700305362086853'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-good-friday.html' title='Why Good Friday?'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-2765422085052833741</id><published>2009-03-27T23:50:00.001+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-27T23:52:24.457+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Watch What You Say!</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Watch What You Say&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear children,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have you ever landed yourself in a messy situation whereby you squeezed out too much toothpaste and found it hard to put it back into the tube? Words from our mouth are like the toothpaste. Once they come forth from our mouth, it is almost difficult to put it back. We caused not messiness but hurt and destruction to those whom we wag our tongues at. One reason a dog is such a loveable creature is his tail wags instead of his tongue. We wag our tongues when we do not guard what we speak and often than not we hurt someone with our tongue before we come to realize it. How often have you spoken an evil word against your friends, loved ones or teachers? How often you hurt or discourage someone with your tongue? There is an African proverb that says, “a cut may heal, but the cut of the tongue does not.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The word “tongue” is mentioned 93 times in the Bible. God knows the destructive power of the tongue. In the book of James, he warned us not to belittle the little muscle in our mouth. If left uncontrolled, it can cause much harm. It will be like a little fire that caused a wildfire. It will be an unruly evil and full of deadly poison.  Furthermore, the tongue if left untamed could be a whip and will fall into craftiness and deception (Job 5:21, 15:5, 20:12). It is perverse (Proverbs 15:4) and kills like a deadly arrow (Jeremiah 9:8).  Benjamin Franklin, one of the founders of United States of America once quoted about the injurious nature of tongue: “Man’s tongue is soft, and bone doth lack; yet a stroke therewith may break a man’s back.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;An Untamed Tongue Displeases God&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;God regards our religion worthless if we do not guard our speech or tame our tongue: “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. James 1:26. An untamed or unguarded tongue displeases God.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;James also reveals the absurdity of us as Christians who can use our tongue for evil and at the same time have no reservations to use it to praise and worship God: “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing….” James seems to be shaking his head in disbelief when he added, “My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” He uses nature to  reason with us, “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.”  How often we speak evil, be it a hurtful word, a vulgar expletive or taunting or discouraging words to our parents, brothers or sisters or friends? Then without having any guilt in what we did, we lift up our voice to sing praises to God on Sunday Worship? May the Lord forgive us of our hypocrisy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;Controlling our Tongue&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Proverbs 12:18 declares, “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.” God wants us to use our tongue wisely. It will bring heath (edification or encouragement) if we do so. This comes with self-control which is important to a God-pleasing Christian life. Lack of self-control in our lives will not lead us to victorious, abundant life. Our witness will be ineffective. God wants us to obey Him, not with our own strength but with His help. With self-control, being filled with the Holy Spirit, we will not speak evil words but pleasant words—Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;Ambassadors for Christ&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The apostle exhorted us in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ….” An ambassador is the highest ranking official representing a country where he comes from. He is responsible to carry out every mission that is assigned to him by the country which sent him.  Applying to us as God’s children, we are the representatives for His country (heaven). We are to carry out His commandments and tasks He laid for us. So, we have to live in obedience to God and guard our hearts, thoughts and speech.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Could we say like Samuel the prophet, “the Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.”(2 Sam 23:2)? God wants us to be light of the world and salt of the earth. We are to be lights to illumine for Jesus Christ. We are to be salt so that we will cause others to thirst for Jesus Christ—the Living Water. As His children and ambassadors, let us please Him always. Let our chief aim in life be always to glorify our Lord. We must have self control(which is the fruit of the Spirit)  over what we say.  If you want to glorify God and make your life worthy to Christ, do what the apostle Peter wants us to do: “For he that will love life (willing to love life), and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile (deceit)” 1 Peter 3:10.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Conclusion&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is consecrated to God. We are to present ourselves at His altar as a living sacrifice. Therefore we have to take heed of this tongue of ours as David desired in Psalm 141:3, “ Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”  Next time unedifying words are to be at the tip of your tongue, remember what you have learnt that God is displeased with a poisonous tongue. May our spoken words be always edifying and as Proverbs said, “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-2765422085052833741?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/2765422085052833741/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/03/watch-what-you-say.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/2765422085052833741'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/2765422085052833741'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/03/watch-what-you-say.html' title='Watch What You Say!'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-6806651347391508394</id><published>2009-03-27T23:11:00.001+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-27T23:15:34.363+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Back To Basics</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Back to Basics&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear Children,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Before you are able to take the PSLE in Primary 6, you will have to learn the basics or foundation of the school subjects—English, Mathematics,  Science, and Chinese. Unless you are a genius, if you were to proceed straight to take the PSLE without going through the basics of the subjects, you would not be able to make it. Likewise, in our spiritual walk with God, we need to go back to the basics. What are the basics then?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The basics or foundation of Christian living is to know the Living Word intimately, ie. Jesus Christ Himself.  Also, we have to know the written Word of God, to have a strong relationship with the God of the Word and to fellowship with other Christian friends.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;Knowing Intimately the Living Word&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jesus is the living Word. He came to this world to save sinners. Who are the sinners? Everyone in the whole human race is a sinner. Romans 3:23 clearly stated without apology: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You and I are separated from the holy God because of sin. How then can we ever get to know Jesus since we are His enemies? Thank God, we can through believing in God’s great love for us by sending Jesus to live righteously, without sin for us and to die obediently on the cross for our sins. Instead of us being punished, He was punished for our sins. Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. The apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit revealed God’s love in Romans 5:8—But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hence, if we put our trust in Jesus, we are able to know Him intimately. The Holy Spirit will put a holy desire in us to love Him. However, it must be noted that at times we let our sins grieve the Holy Spirit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;Knowing God’s Word&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In our busy schedule, we must never neglect the reading of the Bible. There are some of us who have taken the easy way out by just reading the devotional books and leave the Bible unread. The devotional is just a “dessert”. But the main course or staple of spiritual food is the Bible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We need to have a diligent and daily intake of God’s Word to walk in the Spirit to have a relationship with our God. Not only we read the Bible, the Bible reads us. Other books are given for our information. The Bible is given for our transformation.  A young believer was given a Bible by his Sunday School teacher.  A warning note was pasted on the Bible that read: Warning: This book is habit forming. Regular use causes loss of anxiety, decreased appetite for lying, cheating, stealing, hating. Symptoms: increased sensations of love, peace, joy, compassion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Read the wonderful words of life everyday. It is a lamp to our feet, a light to our path. Job 23:12  Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;Having a Strong Relationship with God&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To have a strong relationship with God, we must not neglect prayer. Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers ever said, “A prayerless life is a Christless life.” If we are not talking to God and regard prayer as burdensome, then we need to reexamine whether we are saved.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;God wants us to watch and pray.  1 Peter 4:7,  But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. To maintain a daily consistent prayer life is hard work. Satan does not want us to pray. It would be a threat to him and his work when we pray. He puts high priority to destroy our prayer lives. Without prayer, it is easy for the cutting edge of spiritual life to grow blunt and dull. The result would be complacency.  We fail to walk closer and having a true relationship with God is when we deny prayer and the Word. Ps 55:17  Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There is a poem entitled “Too Busy Too Tired” that speaks so much of us:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#000066;"&gt;Too busy this morning&lt;br /&gt;I’ll say a prayer quick&lt;br /&gt;Tonight I’ll have time&lt;br /&gt;To study and to think.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tonight I’m too tired&lt;br /&gt;To study God’s Word&lt;br /&gt;I’ll wait til next week&lt;br /&gt;Then I’ll worship the Lord&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Next week came too fast;&lt;br /&gt;But it seems that I may&lt;br /&gt;Have more time next month&lt;br /&gt;To read and then to pray&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Next month! Oh yes,&lt;br /&gt;I just wonder why&lt;br /&gt;My love for the Lord&lt;br /&gt;Is about ready to die…&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#000066;"&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;Having Fellowship with Brethren in Christ&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is important that we find good bosom Christian friends in Church whom we can share our daily struggles and feelings. With good Christian friends we could build one another up in the faith. Hebrews 10:24-25 says,&lt;br /&gt;And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…. Hence, no man is an island in Church. We have to have fellowship with brethren in Christ. Proverbs 27:17 says,  Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;Conclusion&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We must return to the basics if we want to have a deeper relationship with God. We must not neglect to examine our salvation, to read God’s Word, to pray and also to fellowship others.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May the Lord help us. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-6806651347391508394?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/6806651347391508394/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/03/back-to-basics.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/6806651347391508394'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/6806651347391508394'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/03/back-to-basics.html' title='Back To Basics'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-5692856237631678056</id><published>2009-03-19T11:17:00.002+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-19T11:20:33.923+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Tithes and Offerings</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Giving Offerings and Tithes to God&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Dear Children,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What do you understand of giving our tithes and offerings during worship? Do you put much thought to what you do when it comes to giving our offerings?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tithing and offering is part of our worship to God. It is to live out our hearts’ desire to worship and thank God for His bountiful blessings upon us. It is a response to His faithfulness, love, mercy and grace upon us. It is also to acknowledge that God owns everything. He made everything out of nothing. God owns everything, our wealth, our body and soul. God’s ownership of the world is clearly stated in Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein (cf 1 Cor 10:26).Psalm 50:10. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. No matter how much we have, they belong to Him. We are but stewards of His many blessings.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;God gave us hundred percent but requires only a tithe or ten percent back. If you have your four weeks of pocket money which may amount to $20, God just wants you to tithe $2 back to Him. After you tithe, the additional amount you wish to give is called offerings.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Many Christians misunderstood that tithing or giving of the tenth of our income is done away with together with the ceremonial laws of Moses. But the gift of ten percent first appeared before the ceremonial laws that God made with the people of Israel. It was in the time of Abraham in Genesis 14 when he gave the tenth of his goods from the conquest of the kings to the high priest, Melchizedek.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Also, Abraham’s grandson Jacob followed Abraham’s example by giving a tithe. At the end of the dream of the ladder to heaven in Gen 28:10-22, Jacob said, “Of all that Thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.” (v.22)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jesus put His stamp of approval on this practice in Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” In this verse Christ rebuked the Pharisees and scribes for focusing on the “dos and don’ts” of tithing to the minute herbs but neglected important matter, like judgment, justice or mercy. The justice and mercy they ought to have done without neglecting the other. Here, Jesus did not consider the tithe as outdated.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Likewise in 1 Cor 9:13, 14 In v. 13, the Holy Spirit reminds the New Testament saints that under the Moses times, God had made provision for the maintenance of those who ministered in the temple. “Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” The words “even so” emphasized the same method are to be used in the support and maintaining of the preachers of the Gospel as were used in supporting the temple of old.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#003300;"&gt;WHY WE SHOULD GIVE TO THE LORD?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#003300;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#ff0000;"&gt;The Law of Reciprocity:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since God owns everything He doesn't really need our tithes and offerings. But God wants us to tithe so that we understand the law of reciprocity. Just like when someone smiles at you, you smile back. We should reciprocate his love for us with our love with our giving.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#ff0000;"&gt;The Work of God&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;God’s appointed method for the financing of the work of the gospel which he has been pleased to place in our hands is through His children’s giving. Hudson Taylor, the missionary to China made a true statement, “When God’s work is done in God’s way for God’s glory, it will never lack God’s supply.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#ff0000;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Test of our Faith&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When we received our income, we set aside the 10 percent. We live on the 90 percent. He will enable us to accomplish far more with the 90 percent that is left than we could have done with the original one hundred percent. This submission to God’s command is an important process of maturing us in our faith. As we give, we grow spiritually, learning to honour and reverence God and to always put Him first. Remember, we are channels of His blessings rather than store houses (Acts 4:32-35).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#ff0000;"&gt;It is an antidote against coveteousness.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When we give, we acknowledge all our money is His. We make conscious effort to be good stewards of His money. We spent wisely and we give generously to God and to the gospel work. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:12-13.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#003300;"&gt;HOW WE SHOULD GIVE TO THE LORD?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Whenever we give, we must give with thanksgiving and love (Deuteronomy 8:11-18).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We must possess the earnestness and cheerfulness when we give. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7-8)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The apostle Paul also tells us that we receive according to the way we give: 2 Cor 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We must not show off our giving: Matthew 6:1-4:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#333300;"&gt;Conclusion&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Lord will bless us with a special blessing (Malachi 3:10; see Haggai 1:6,9,13; 2:15-19; 1 Kings 17:10-16). Let us honour the Lord and not be indifferent to Him. Let us fulfill this obligation with love and cheerfulness and sincerity and gratitude on our part.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-5692856237631678056?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/5692856237631678056/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/03/giving-offerings-and-tithes-to-god-dear.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/5692856237631678056'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/5692856237631678056'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/03/giving-offerings-and-tithes-to-god-dear.html' title='Tithes and Offerings'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-6680918975490319722</id><published>2009-03-13T11:31:00.002+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-13T11:34:02.612+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Giving Thanks</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;T&lt;strong&gt;hanks! Thks! Tx! Tq! &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear Children,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most often than not when we sms to our friends, we would end of with either “Thanks!”; “Thks”’ “Thx” or “Tq”. It is certainly appropriate that we end our sms with some Christian grace and courtesy. But do you thank God for all His mercies and His favour upon you?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do you ever thank God that you are a student? Do you thank God for homework and that you have the strength to do them? Do you thank God for your parents, your siblings? Do you thank God for clothes to wear, water to drink, appetite to eat and a shelter over your head? If you have, praise God! But these are the things we could thank God for.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What about those things that are not nice? For example, failing in a test, having friends who are unfriendly, teachers who are very stern, encountering schoolwork that is difficult or going through an illness. These circumstances are called trials or difficulties in life. What is your attitude then? You must thank God for them. God in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  If you read carefully this command from the Lord, He wants us to give thanks in everything. That means, good times or bad times. A godly example we could follow is Job. His wife wanted him to curse God because of the misfortune that has befallen upon them. But what did Job respond? In a very thankful and worshipful manner he said, “What! shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” Job 2:10.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Soon you would have finished your exams. If the results that you received are not up to your expectations, are you going to complain or feel discontented? If you are in that state, remember what God said in 1 Thessalonians 5:18—“In everything give thanks…”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You give thanks to God that you have been given good health and strength to undergo your exams. You thank God for the teacher who put in effort to mark your papers. You thank God for your parents or tuition teachers who have coached you. You thank God that He is using these results to humble you and to cause you to work harder for His glory. You give thanks also that this is His will for you in Christ Jesus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We believe in a sovereign God. We know nothing happens by chance. Whatever circumstances happen in our lives, God allowed it according to His will and good pleasure. We know that all things will work together for good to those that love God to them who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Joseph made an insightful remark when after Jacob his father died, his brothers were afraid that he would take the opportunity to seek revenge. But Joseph assured the brothers with this words of comfort, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” Genesis 50:20&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Everyday, night and day, constantly, continually, all the days of your life, you must thank God no matter what the circumstances you are in because “it is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23. Let us not be like the nine lepers who did not return to give thanks to Jesus when he healed them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Conclusion&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Remember, we are all debtors to God and therefore we ought to give thanks to Him. It is our Christian duty and it must come from our hearts. I would like to end with this poem:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc0000;"&gt;A Poem on Learning to Have a Grateful Heart&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#3366ff;"&gt;Forgive Me When I Whine&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#003333;"&gt;Today upon a bus, I saw a lovely girl with golden hair; I envied her -- she seemed so cheerful, and how, I wished I were so fair; When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle; she had one foot and wore a crutch, but as she passed, a smile. Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two feet -- the world is mine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And when I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who served me had such charm; he seemed to radiate good cheer, his manner was so kind and warm; I said, "It's nice to deal with you, such courtesy I seldom find"; he turned and said, "Oh, thank you sir." And then I saw that he was blind. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have two eyes, the world is mine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then, when walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue; he stood and watched the others play, it seemed he knew not what to do; I stopped a moment, then I said, "Why don't you join the others, dear?" He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could not hear. Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two ears, the world is mine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With feet to take me where I'd go; with eyes to see the sunsets glow, with ears to hear what I would know. I am blessed indeed. The world is mine; oh, God, forgive me when I whine.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#003333;"&gt;Source Unknown&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-6680918975490319722?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/6680918975490319722/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/03/giving-thanks.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/6680918975490319722'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/6680918975490319722'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/03/giving-thanks.html' title='Giving Thanks'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-6399566859536076126</id><published>2009-02-28T22:47:00.006+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-06T14:39:06.462+08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Perseverance'/><title type='text'>Why Worry?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WHY WORRY ?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear Children,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some of us get cold sweat, become stressed up, anxious and worried when school examination approaches. We worry that we are not able to answer the questions and we are pressured to achieve. Worry is not a good sign of our spiritual state. To worry is to distrust God’s sovereign power, love and care over us.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What Worry Can Do to Us&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Worrying eats up a person physically and spiritually. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Worrying certainly suffocates and paralyses us even to the extent of squeezing the life out of us. In fact, the word worry is derived from the old English wyrgan, which meant “to strangle.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Physically, whenever we feel that things in life are out of control, we develop symptoms like sleep disturbances, back, shoulder and neck pains, migraines, irritable bowels, heart palpitation, asthma, skin problems, chest pain, sweaty palms or hands, flu, cold, infections and depression.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Spiritually, worry takes away joy in our communion with God and our faith seems to fizzle out. The godly David himself was not spared of worries when he cried out, “I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long” (Psalm 38:6).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Do We Worry&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Man is not able to trust God because we are living in a sin-cursed earth and the personal relationship with God is broken. A sinner is an enemy of God (Rom 5:10). Sin has formed a barrier between man and God. The ability to trust God to meet our needs is restored only when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour because He Himself has broken down the barrier and made peace with us (Eph 2:14-16).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it Means to God When We Worry&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;We Doubt His Ability&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;So we are now reconciled with the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God. We are adopted by Him as His children (Rom 8:15). We are eternally secure with a place in heaven. Why do we still doubt God’s sovereignty, unconditional love and care for us? Isn’t it embarrassing that we are no better than unbelievers in this? (Matthew 6:32).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;We Accuse Him of Being a Liar&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When we worry, we are saying that God is a liar. We doubt the Word of God. When we remember promises of God like Psalms 55:22; 121; Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 6:24-33; 2 Corinthians 12:9; 1 Peter 5:7, Hebrews 13:5,6 but do not gain any comfort from them for our soul, we have to repent of our deep distrust of our heavenly Father and cry out before Him, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;We Deny that He Cares&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We sometimes have the mindset that when good things happen to us, God is on the throne but when bad things strike us, God is off the throne. We have to come to terms with the truth that God is always on the throne no matter what circumstances we face in our daily life. In 1 Cor 10:13, we are told, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” This assures us that in actual reality when temptations or trials overtake us, God is not surprised by any turn of events and He is in full control&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How to Overcome Our Worrying &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Heed Jesus’ Command&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What we need to do is to heed what Jesus commanded us in Matthew 6, “to take no thought”. Jesus commands us to stop worrying, to stop being distracted and unstable, and to lose not our focus on Him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;B&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;uild Our Confidence&lt;/span&gt; in God&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;In Matthew 6:34 Jesus commands us to stop worrying for tomorrow. God will take care of tomorrow for us. It is better for us not to know what tomorrow will bring, it is far much better to know Who holds tomorrow. We are to trust solely in God to help us meet the temptations, trials, opportunities and struggles we have for today and tomorrow (Proverbs 3:5,6).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Make Melodies in Our Hearts&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;By all means we have to make melody in our hearts, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20). Let your heart be uplifted with songs that are gentle reminders of God’s goodness and security in your life. This will help to reaffirm your faith in God’s love for you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;Pray with a Surrendered and Thankful Heart&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;We have to put matters in the right perspective, as the apostle Paul exhorts us in Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” When worries arise in our hearts, and we become anxious for the things to be settled, remember this: God may want us to wait but He never wants us to worry. Thus, what we need to do is to pray and surrender our cares to Him as what apostle Peter exhorted us, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” 1 Peter 5:7.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Exams may seem like an approaching storm to you, but remember, with Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm. So trust in our faithful God and He will keep you in perfect peace that passes all understanding. (Philippians 4:6,7; Isaiah 26:3-4). Praying for you… &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#009900;"&gt;A Clip That Will Encourage You to Press On...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="320" height="266" class="BLOG_video_class" id="BLOG_video-8f4b94fdb7b07ed4" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/get_player"&gt;&lt;param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"&gt;&lt;param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;param name="flashvars" value="flvurl=http://v15.nonxt8.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3D8f4b94fdb7b07ed4%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1330449686%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D527521BF76FA1E4388D057CA6DCE240676FF54CE.35A706B2BDBE2C2C5EE304FC3F3DE145EB48CEE9%26key%3Dck1&amp;amp;iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D8f4b94fdb7b07ed4%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3D9woSGuwuZvj8WE_ZTx5uJ_48pXE&amp;amp;autoplay=0&amp;amp;ps=blogger"&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/get_player" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"width="320" height="266" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"flashvars="flvurl=http://v15.nonxt8.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3D8f4b94fdb7b07ed4%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1330449686%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D527521BF76FA1E4388D057CA6DCE240676FF54CE.35A706B2BDBE2C2C5EE304FC3F3DE145EB48CEE9%26key%3Dck1&amp;iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D8f4b94fdb7b07ed4%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3D9woSGuwuZvj8WE_ZTx5uJ_48pXE&amp;autoplay=0&amp;ps=blogger"allowFullScreen="true" /&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-6399566859536076126?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='enclosure' type='video/mp4' href='http://www.blogger.com/video-play.mp4?contentId=8f4b94fdb7b07ed4&amp;type=video%2Fmp4' length='0'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/6399566859536076126/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-worry.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/6399566859536076126'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/6399566859536076126'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-worry.html' title='Why Worry?'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-1821002981434085894</id><published>2009-02-28T22:42:00.000+08:00</published><updated>2009-02-28T22:43:19.825+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Are you saved?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Are You Saved?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Dear children,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have you ever thought of where will you be when you die today? Do not deceive yourself that you are invincible and death is seventy or eighty years away from you. The newspapers have reported many cases of children dying at a tender age. Death comes to all people whether they are young or old.  For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). In Hebrews 9:27 it is stated very clearly that…” it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;True believers in Christ will be found in heaven. Jesus declared in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Those who reject Jesus—the eternal gift of life—are condemned already in eternal hell (John 3:17). Hell is a frightening and torturous place. Jesus mentioned in Matthew 8:12 that hell is a place of “outer darkness” where there “shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;God does not want us to face eternal death in hell, He desires us to be with Him in heaven. Ezekiel 18:23 “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the same vein, the apostle Peter also said in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Are you disobeying God’s command for you to be saved?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have you ever considered that although you may be a son, daughter, brother, sister, a student leaders or a church goer; you are a sinner. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 6:23a, 3:23).  Even the apostle Paul confessed to be the chief of all sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Therefore, do not think that you are guaranteed a place in heaven because you are born in a Christian family, going to church, reading the Bible, singing Christian songs or being baptized when you were an infant.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scribes Pharisees were very righteous people. They were very good in the Word of God. They follow closely the laws of God. But what did Jesus say about them? “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The devils know God too (James 2:19) and satan himself could quote Scriptures (Matthew 4) but they are all going to hell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our sin has separated us from God. We are in total misery without Him. But God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus Christ) whosoever believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. God loves us. He gave us a Saviour to save us from sin.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do not reject repeatedly God’s love for you. Turn away from your sins, confess them before God. Ask Him to forgive you and wash you clean by the blood of Christ. Then, you will no more face the prospect of going to suffer in hell forever.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jesus keeps us out of hell and He has prepared a place for us in Heaven, John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Where will you be when you die? May your reply be, “Once I close my eyes to this world, I will open them to see my Jesus face to face in heaven.”&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-1821002981434085894?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/1821002981434085894/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/are-you-saved.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/1821002981434085894'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/1821002981434085894'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/are-you-saved.html' title='Are you saved?'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-3569075203595777955</id><published>2009-02-17T23:52:00.003+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-06T14:40:42.004+08:00</updated><title type='text'>My Unique Attendance Card</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZSHHr2az48/SZrdanIv03I/AAAAAAAAACs/1FFJuxSWf14/s1600-h/Cards+2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303794960434189170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZSHHr2az48/SZrdanIv03I/AAAAAAAAACs/1FFJuxSWf14/s320/Cards+2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;The young men are equally creative. The splashes of colours and artistic penciled drawings have won admiration from teachers and friends!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Well done!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-3569075203595777955?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/3569075203595777955/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/young-men-are-equally-creative.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/3569075203595777955'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/3569075203595777955'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/young-men-are-equally-creative.html' title='My Unique Attendance Card'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZSHHr2az48/SZrdanIv03I/AAAAAAAAACs/1FFJuxSWf14/s72-c/Cards+2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-5396122367870550638</id><published>2009-02-17T23:41:00.002+08:00</published><updated>2009-02-17T23:52:32.823+08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZSHHr2az48/SZrc25QfHbI/AAAAAAAAACk/oNilNmN_IbU/s1600-h/Cards+1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303794346823196082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 231px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 204px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZSHHr2az48/SZrc25QfHbI/AAAAAAAAACk/oNilNmN_IbU/s320/Cards+1.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;These are the attendance cards designed by the young ladies in JWS. You have done well! &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-5396122367870550638?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/5396122367870550638/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/these-are-attendance-cards-designed-by.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/5396122367870550638'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/5396122367870550638'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/these-are-attendance-cards-designed-by.html' title=''/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZSHHr2az48/SZrc25QfHbI/AAAAAAAAACk/oNilNmN_IbU/s72-c/Cards+1.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-7661923795957333466</id><published>2009-02-17T23:28:00.003+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-06T14:41:36.565+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Why Scripture Memory</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZSHHr2az48/SZrZTYEJDEI/AAAAAAAAACc/ISZwpCltckA/s1600-h/IMG_0004.JPG"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;WHY MUST I MEMORIZE SCRIPTURES?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Dear children,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;W&lt;/span&gt;hen it comes to memorization of Bible verses, some of you would complain, show indifference or treat it is just a mental excercise to train your minds. Having either of these attitudes does not please God. When it comes to Bible verse memorization time, you need to have a very God centred attitude and you must know the reasons why.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Firstly&lt;/strong&gt;, when we memorize the Bible verses, always remember we are memorizing not man’s words but the very words of God. God speaks to us in the Bible. Therefore, it is a privilege to have God’s Word to fill and saturate our minds and hearts. The Bible is inspired by our Lord without error. It is infallible because it does not mislead, deceive or disappoint. God in 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21 and Hebrews 4:12 has declared:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Secondly&lt;/strong&gt;, to memorize verses is a commandment from God. This is found in Deuteronomy 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart (see Deuteronomy 11:18).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Thirdly&lt;/strong&gt;, storing God’s Word in our hearts will cause us to resist temptations, grow in Christ and be like Him. The Psalmist in Psalm 119:11 says, Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. When we pursue holiness, we will be more like Christ and less like the world. The world hates us, Satan hates us. Everyday is a spiritual battle against the evil one. We cannot live each day without the “Sword” in our hand. This “Sword” is none other than the Word of God stored in our hearts (Ephesians 6:17).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fourthly&lt;/strong&gt;, memorizing the Bible verses would help us to walk in God’s ways and not our ways. The Psalmist was glad that travelling in this world of darkness, he has God’s Word as a lamp to his feet and a light to his path (Psalm 119:105).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fifthly&lt;/strong&gt;, memorization of God’s Word will help us to be channels of blessings to those around us who are discouraged, weak, sick or in need of help and comfort. The promises and assurance of God’s faithfulness and love spontaneously spoken to the comfortless would have an remarkable power on them. It is like what Proverbs 25:11 says: A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sixthly&lt;/strong&gt;, memorization of God’s Word will come in handy when we need to defend the faith and share the gospel to others as what the apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Last&lt;/strong&gt; but not least, memorization of the Scriptureswill help us to draw close to God and enjoy His presence wherever we are; we may be travelling, exercising, resting or waiting for someone or reading.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Knowing the reasons why we must memorize God’s Word will certainly help us to see the tremendous spiritual value in it. I pray that you will have the right and proper attitude towards memorization of Scriptures. As His children, we have the Holy Spirit who indwells in us to teach, lead and guide us.&lt;br /&gt;Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 1:1-2&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-7661923795957333466?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/7661923795957333466/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-must-i-memorize-scriptures-dear.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/7661923795957333466'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/7661923795957333466'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-must-i-memorize-scriptures-dear.html' title='Why Scripture Memory'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-3745411367469306756</id><published>2009-02-10T16:47:00.001+08:00</published><updated>2009-02-10T16:49:34.448+08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Do We Sing as Christians?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Dear children,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have you ever wondered why we sing when we come for worship services or Sunday School?&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We tend to mumble the words or refuse to sing when it comes to singing praises to God.  We commit this dishonourable act against God because we do not understand the reasons why we sing. The  reasons why we sing during worship services and Sunday School are:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc0000;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. We are commanded to sing by God&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In Zephaniah 3:14,  Ephesians 5:18-20 and Colossians 3:16, we see the Lord’s command to us to sing. There are 50 direct commands from God to sing to Him out of the 368 references in the OT and NT (343 and 25 respectively).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When the world was created, the angels sang. We know of this fact in  Job 38:6-7 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Moreover, at Jesus birth, the angels sang: Luke 2:12-14 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When we return to heaven, the angels and us will be singing: Rev 19:1-2  And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Singing is an important part of our worship to God.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#990000;"&gt;2. It is a Response to God’s Love&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Every Sunday, we have been so familiar with the order of worship so much so that we have taken no thought of what we are doing. Singing is part of the integral part of worship. It is an outward response of our inward praise and gratitude to His love for us. In Hebrews 13:15 we are reminded that our lips are a sacrifice to God: By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#660000;"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc0000;"&gt;3. It is because God is the audience.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When we sing, the audience is neither us nor the one sitting next to us. We sing solely to God not to entertain Him but to exalt Him. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 admonish us to sing to the Lord and with thanksgiving in our hearts to Him (Eph 5; Col 3).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc0000;"&gt;4. It is because God delivered us from sin&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc0000;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We sing because we are saved and made righteous before God. God Himself puts a song in our mouths, "a song of praise to our God" (Ps 40:3). Because we have salvation we sing songs of salvation. "Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day" (Ps 96:1-2; cf. 149:1).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc0000;"&gt;5. It is because God Himself sings.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#cc0000;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;In Zephaniah 3:17, it is said that God Himself sings: The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The reasons above for why we sing as Christians are certainly not exhaustive. Nevertheless we must know that God commands and desires His children to sing to Him. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thus, are we singing as we should from our hearts to God with thanksgiving? Are they just empty words?  Are they sacrifices of praise from our lips? Or do we just honor the Lord with our lips but our hearts are far away from Him? Matthew 15:7-9 &lt;em&gt;Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-3745411367469306756?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/3745411367469306756/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-do-we-sing-as-christians-dear.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/3745411367469306756'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/3745411367469306756'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-do-we-sing-as-christians-dear.html' title=''/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-7693136271878812425</id><published>2009-02-05T23:39:00.005+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-06T14:46:51.952+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Worship</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WORSHIP&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Dear children,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Our God is no ordinary king but the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16), how could we treat then Him so casually and full of disrespect?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What is Worship?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When we come to church to worship, let us know what is worship. Worship is submitting ourselves to God. When we worship God we are: &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;a. To acknowledge His holiness.&lt;br /&gt;b. To be fed with His truth.&lt;br /&gt;c. To praise His beauty.&lt;br /&gt;d. To open our heart to His love.&lt;br /&gt;e. To surrender of our will to His purpose.&lt;br /&gt;f. To let God know that He is indeed worthy of our worship. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How Should We Worship God?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From Monday to Saturday, we received blessings after blessings from God. When it comes to Sunday, it is our turn to give to God our heartfelt praise and thanksgiving. Giving without the heart is not giving at all. When we worship God, it must be from the heart.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;Preparation for Sunday Worship begins when that worship service ended. We begin to reflect on the Bible lessons we learnt and ask God to help us to live it out in our lives. Daily, we continue to worship God in doing our quiet time—reading the Bible and praying to God.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;A day or a few days before Sunday, we prepare the clothes we are to wear. In response to God’s love and grace upon us, we prepare our offerings and tithes lovingly to offer to God.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;On Saturday night, we are to shun TV programmes or computer games or MSN chats that will rob us of an eight-hour sleep. We sleep early so that our body would be fresh to worship God and our minds and hearts are alert and in tune to singing and God’s Word. We do not want to worship Him with a tired body.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;At the worship service, we prepare our hearts in silent praying and with an attitude of fear and reverence. We have to humbly come before God acknowledging and confessing our sins and asking Him to cleanse us that the meditation of our hearts and the words from our mouth would be accepted in His sight. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;We sing clearly and audibly from our heart knowing that God is our audience and not men. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;When we read God’s Word during responsive reading, we read clearly and with understanding enjoying every word of the Bible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;We give our attention to the preaching of God’s Word and if possible take down lessons we can learn that would help us in our lives.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;We refrain from talking among ourselves or be a distraction to others.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Remember that it is God that we are worshipping. Let us every worship service we worship Him with reverence and fear. Let us not be reproved by Jesus in Matthew 15:8-9 “&lt;em&gt;This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me…&lt;/em&gt;.”&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-7693136271878812425?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/7693136271878812425/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/worship-our-god-is-no-ordinary-king-but.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/7693136271878812425'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/7693136271878812425'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/02/worship-our-god-is-no-ordinary-king-but.html' title='Worship'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-4588302746157209871</id><published>2009-01-30T17:29:00.001+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-06T14:42:18.574+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Chinese New Year</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Gong Xi Fa Cai?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial;"&gt;Dear children, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial;"&gt;Tomorrow is Chinese New Year. As Chinese Christians, we celebrate this festive occasion solely because it is part of our Chinese culture and custom or tradition. We are not to be involved in the non-Christian beliefs that come with Chinese New Year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You may wonder why Christians avoid greeting one another “Gong Xi Fa Cai” which means wishing you to be prosperous (making more money) in the coming year. The reason is because we are commanded not to love the things of the world (1 John 2:15) and Jesus wants us to only serve Him and not mammon (money) in Matthew 6 :24 and Paul instructed us that the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). A worldly Christian is a contradiction of terms.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Therefore, we must resist the temptation of covetousness especially in the receiving of “hong baos” or red packets. We would be covetous when we compare with our siblings or friends who get the most money. Or when we are upset or complain when the money in the hong bao is too little or when our relatives we visit do not give us a hong bao. We have to guard our heart against the snares of the devil with all diligence!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We must shun the common recreation of gambling which is common during Chinese New Year. Do not justify that it involves only a few cents or dollars. Always go back to what God has warned in Proverbs 6:27 “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another form of covetousness is gluttony. Gluttony is gorging ourselves with food until we feel like exploding. God is interested in the area of our appetite. In Proverbs 23:2 He wants us to arrest our gluttony: “And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.” We are to exercise self-control in our appetites when it comes the tempting Chinese New Year goodies like “bak kwa”, tarts, candies, etc. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial;"&gt;There are some religious practices we must avoid too. We are not to hinge our hope and outlook for the new year based on our Chinese Zodiac animal sign. This is astrology. Astrology is occultic and God clearly commanded us that it is abominable to Him (Deut 18:9-12a).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do not be taken in into the superstition that having red coloured decorative or wearing red clothes could bring good luck or omen. Also, ensuring that the floor should not be swept on the first day so that good luck will be retained and not swept away is pure superstition. God’s truth has set us free and we are not to be under the bondage of Satan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Having mentioned some of the things that we should avoid so as not to dishonour God, what are the good traditions we could keep?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Firstly, spring cleaning our house is a good practice to keep the house hygienic for healthy living. God instructed the Israelites to practice hygiene in the book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. However, we are not to follow the belief that spring cleaning is to usher in good luck and drives away bad luck of the old year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Secondly, reunion dinner which is now often held either days before or on the eve of Chinese New Year is definitely a great opportunity for building up family ties, showing honour to our elders and a time to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to our unsaved relatives.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Last but not least, the good tradition of visiting families and friends will enhance the bonding of familial ties and friendship. It is once again an opportunity to be able to share one’s life with others ; for mutual encouragement and a time to reach out to the unsaved with the gospel.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Chinese New Year is not about “Gong Xi Fa Cai.” It is a time to thank God for His mercies, grace and blessings bestowed upon us. It is a time of mutual bonding and encouragement. It is a time of wishing others that they will have that peace in Jesus &lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-4588302746157209871?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/4588302746157209871/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/01/gong-xi-fa-cai-dear-children-tomorrow.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/4588302746157209871'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/4588302746157209871'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/01/gong-xi-fa-cai-dear-children-tomorrow.html' title='Chinese New Year'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-6946878631683071478</id><published>2009-01-20T10:28:00.002+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-06T14:42:39.639+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Unrighteous Anger</title><content type='html'>&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;UNRIGHTEOUS ANGER&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;Dear children,&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;There are 2 kinds of anger, righteous and unrighteous anger.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;When God is angry, it is righteous anger because He is angry with sin. Jesus was angry at the temple in Jerusalem because the people have misused God’s place of worship to become a place to gain more personal wealth (Mark 11:15-17). But God’s anger is not like man’s anger. God is slow to anger and it is always balanced with love (Numbers 14:18). When we are angry with sin then we are righteously angry, for example, when we are angry with those who use God’s name in vain or those who promote evil in the world.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;How about unrighteous anger?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;I have witnessed children who are angry with their parents. At a church camp, I have seen a boy telling his father to “get lost!” and in church, I happen to witness a 6-year old boy calling his mother “stupid!”. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;These two children were certainly disobedient to their parents and to God. God’s command is to honour our father and mother (Exodus 20:12). This anger is unrighteous and sinful. As children of God, bought with Christ’s precious blood, we are to live holy to God. Our desire is to be like Christ: “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;God has given us warnings against unrighteous anger. In Eph 4:26-27: Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. God warns that anger will become sin if we a)held it overnight; b)react with ungodliness such as physical violence or angry words; and 3) let the Devil to use us by having grudges and plotting future revenge.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;God in Colossians 3:8 admonishes us to put away anger, “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” Likewise in James 1:19-20, anger does not produce a righteous life, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;One minute of anger will cost us to lose one minute of joy and happiness. Unrighteous anger will grieve the Holy Spirit and tarnish the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Besides, it causes others to be angry, upset, hurt, stumbled, physically injured (if there is physical abuse). God rightly said in Proverbs 29:22 “An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are two kinds of unrighteous anger. One is unfocused anger that is, you are angry at the slightest irritation which caused you to sulk, pout, throw tantrums, swear or smite others. The other is focused anger that results from you feeling that you feel humiliated or someone bullied you that you plan how to take revenge.&lt;br /&gt;We must realize that unrighteous anger is not justifiable by these reasons:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;· I retaliated because he started it first.&lt;br /&gt;· I felt controlled by others.&lt;br /&gt;· My pride is wounded.&lt;br /&gt;· I feel that no one understands me.&lt;br /&gt;· I feel that all is without hope and I just want to wallow in my misery.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Therefore we act out our anger by withdrawing ourselves from others, criticize or gossip about others, shouting and doing violence to others.&lt;br /&gt;God describes someone who is unrighteously angry as a fool. He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit (quick tempered) exalteth folly. Proverbs 14:29 &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Overcoming unrighteous anger is not easy and there are no instant fixes. However we could:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;· Be willing to pray and surrender to the Holy Spirit’s control over our life.&lt;br /&gt;· Be willing to confess our anger to God and seek forgiveness from Him and from those whom we are angry at.&lt;br /&gt;· Be willing to see that unrighteous anger can lead to much pain and damage to ourselves and to others.&lt;br /&gt;· Be accountable to God and to others.&lt;br /&gt;· Be sorrowful over this sin that will lead us to repentance.&lt;br /&gt;· Be focused on my part i.e. what I have done and not on others when there is a conflict.&lt;br /&gt;· Be willing to take heed to Jesus’ ways of resolving anger in Luke 6:27-28,31:&lt;br /&gt;o Love my enemies (be willing to forgive unconditionally).&lt;br /&gt;o Do good to them which hate me.&lt;br /&gt;o Bless them that curse me.&lt;br /&gt;o Pray for them which despitefully use me.&lt;br /&gt;o As I would that men would do to me, do I also to them likewise.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We need to start right with God in this new year 2009. Let us ask the Lord to shape us into Christ’s likeness and to make us a blessing to others always.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-6946878631683071478?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/6946878631683071478/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/01/unrighteous-anger-dear-children-there.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/6946878631683071478'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/6946878631683071478'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/01/unrighteous-anger-dear-children-there.html' title='Unrighteous Anger'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-5443836146585295694</id><published>2009-01-13T17:56:00.001+08:00</published><updated>2009-02-05T23:51:22.287+08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ARE YOU A CHILD OF GOD? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Dear children,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is very important to diligently search our hearts whether we are saved and our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are those who think they are saved but are never at all. This frightening revelation is found in Matthew 7:21-23&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the judgment throne of Jesus, those who call themselves Christians, serve God, attend church, preach the gospel, helping people and done many good works for God expected to have a place in heaven. But Jesus does not know them and call them workers of iniquity because they have not accepted Him as their Saviour.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Before it is too late, let us now not deceive ourselves with respect to our salvation. The Pharisees and Scribes were very religious outwardly and most respected by the people of that time. But let us read what Jesus has to say about them:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matt 23:27-28&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today, you have to diligently examine ourselves. Please be reminded that:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;a. Being born in a Christian home does not make you a Christian.&lt;br /&gt;b. Being baptized does not make you a Christian.&lt;br /&gt;c. Attending church and Sunday School does not make you a Christian.&lt;br /&gt;d. Using Christian jargon like “Thank God”, “Praise God”, “Amen” does not make you a Christian.&lt;br /&gt;e. Having a knowledge of God and His Word do not make you a Christian.&lt;br /&gt;f. Being religious and serving God do not make you a Christian.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How do you know that you have the assurance of salvation?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;a. You believe that you are a sinner and fall short of God’s glory. Romans 3:23&lt;br /&gt;b. You believe that the penalty for sin is death. Romans 6:23&lt;br /&gt;c. You believe that God in His great love provide the way for us to be saved and we can never save ourselves. Romans 5:8.&lt;br /&gt;d. You believe that if you put your trust in Jesus and His blood has the power to cleanse you from your sins you shall be saved. Romans 10:9-10,13.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dear children, may you diligently search your heart whether you are saved. Do not be careless for the state of your soul. Search and examine your heart right now whether you are a child of God. Repent and turn away from your sins and turn to Jesus!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-5443836146585295694?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/5443836146585295694/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/01/are-you-child-of-god-dear-children-it.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/5443836146585295694'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/5443836146585295694'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/01/are-you-child-of-god-dear-children-it.html' title=''/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-1467831992829313247</id><published>2009-01-05T13:47:00.000+08:00</published><updated>2009-01-06T00:20:07.428+08:00</updated><title type='text'>How to Read God’s Word</title><content type='html'>&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Begin with a prayer. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Take brief notes of what you read. Have a notebook beside you. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Read slowly one chapter or one passage. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ask yourself these questions:&lt;br /&gt;–What is the main subject of this passage.&lt;br /&gt;–Who are the persons revealed. Who is speaking.&lt;br /&gt;–What does this passage teach me about Jesus Christ.&lt;br /&gt;–Does this passage reveal my sin that I need to confess?&lt;br /&gt;–Is there any promise for me to claim?&lt;br /&gt;–Does this passage contain any command for me to obey? &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Memorize passages of the Bible. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Keep a spiritual diary of lesson/s learnt.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-1467831992829313247?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/1467831992829313247/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-read-gods-word.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/1467831992829313247'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/1467831992829313247'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-read-gods-word.html' title='How to Read God’s Word'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3482034217271633245.post-1947719560295832076</id><published>2009-01-03T00:58:00.002+08:00</published><updated>2009-03-06T14:43:18.662+08:00</updated><title type='text'>Junior Worship Service</title><content type='html'>Dear Children&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wishing you a wondrous and blessed New Year and welcome to Junior Worship Service (JWS)!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;JWS is a time when we come together as God’s children to worship Him with reverence and thanksgiving. Together, we will learn God’s Word and take home precious lessons for us to apply to our Christian living.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As you grow older and bigger each day, you will need to grow stronger in your walk with God. We must desire what Jesus has determined to do ie to increase in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Therefore, you must resolve to live an obedient Christian life, read and study the Bible and talk to God everyday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As we desire you to grow, we have for this year’s topics based on the theme on Growing Up in Christ. We will learn on Growing in Faith, in Obedience, in Attitude, in Worship and in Discipleship.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are some rules that you need to note:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Be punctual for JWS.&lt;br /&gt;Dress neatly to worship our God.&lt;br /&gt;Maintain silence when the worship begins.&lt;br /&gt;Sing the hymns from your heart having in mind that we are singing to God and not to ourselves.&lt;br /&gt;Be attentive to the message and take notes if possible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let us enjoy every minute of JWS in worshipping God together as His children and learn as much as you can to grow up strong in Christ and to be a man and woman after God’s own heart.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3482034217271633245-1947719560295832076?l=lifejws.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/feeds/1947719560295832076/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/01/junior-worship-service.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/1947719560295832076'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3482034217271633245/posts/default/1947719560295832076'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://lifejws.blogspot.com/2009/01/junior-worship-service.html' title='Junior Worship Service'/><author><name>Keng Khwang</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214334582714399802</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
