Confess, Repent, Forgiveness

S :

Matthew 4:17 NASB
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

O :

This was Jesus first preaching.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

A :

The message that Jesus preach tells me that I must repent for my sins and ask for forgiveness.
It leads the sinner like me to flee from the wrath to come, to look for relief only from above, and eagerly to fall in with the provided remedy.

What is repentance ?

1) Aware the sin in your life
2) Deep sense of remorse and feel like you are lost. No hope for me
3) Confessions and realizing
4) willingness to turn back to God and walk with God.
5) A heart to transform, through Jesus.
He take our sins away and able us to worship God.

Repentance means to turn from sin with a heartfelt desire to change and not do it again. 

1) If I've sinned against God I must confess, ask for forgiveness and repent.
2) know that I've been forgiven and must never dwell in the past, move on.
3) I must never do it again, if the sins starts to kicks in, ask the Holy Spirit for help.
4) I must never take God's grace/forgiveness for granted.
5) Pray, Pray, Pray.

Repent
Believe
Come after Him

Acts 19:4-6 NASB
Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.

P :

Dear heavenly Father,
I pray that You will help me with my temptation and sins.
Stop them from coming.
Help me when temptation and sins starts to kick in.
Father, I repent for what I've sin against You.
Forgive my sins.
I am willing but please help my unwillingness.
I really need You in the season.
Thank You Jesus for what You've done on the cross.
In the name of Jesus,
AMEN !

How I knew Jesus, How Jesus brought Light to me

S :

Matthew 4:12-16 NASB

Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali , By the way of the sea , beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the  Gentiles - "The people who were sitting in darkness  saw a great Light , And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death , Upon them a Light dawned ."

O :

This is the account of the Lord's journey immediately after He overcame the devil's  temptation.

He came into Galilee and dwelt in Capernaum, in regions of Zebulun and Naphtali. ( verse 15)

Jesus brought light to the city for those who are sitting in darkness.
Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it comes to any place, when it comes to any soul, it makes day there.
( verse 16 )

That He came to fulfill of what Isaiah had prophesied.

Isaiah 9:1-2 NASB
But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.

A :

Before when I was a Christian, I was a Taoism who worship idols.
And I was born in a Catholic hospital
( Mount Alvernia )
And attend to Catholic schools.

1) St. Paul church ( kindergarten )
That was the first time where and when I knew who is Christ Jesus, but not exactly know what He has done for me.

2) Holy Innocents' Primary School

I join Catholicism to know more about Jesus. I knew that stories about Jesus, how He was crucified and How He came back alive.

I started praying and my heart tells me that Jesus Christ is the true God.
Even though at that time I prayed to Jesus, mother Mary and Idols for my examinations.

I seems to trust Him more than the idol I worship at home and in the temple.
P.s my Father is a Taoism medium

I still can remember the Rosary that my school taught me. But one of them is to pray to mother Mary. I mean she's not God and she's just like a vessel to give birth to Jesus Christ. So when the whole school starts to chant the Rosary, I just say it out like oral without praying with my heart.

Now I know that Jesus Christ is only true God. And only to worship Him. And to pray to Him only.

3) Holy Innocents' High School

This is the moment, my school teacher who is a Christian started to preaching to us.
I started believing and wanted to know more about Him.

Then at the start of my poly life, my another school teacher brought me to Christ.
This is where my life changed.
Jesus brought light into my life.

Before when I was a Christian, I was sitting in the darkness.
Finding my true identity.
I was broken, hurt, rejected . . .
But Jesus came in and cast out all the darkness in me.
I saw light.
I knew Jesus long ago but I didn't know He was that powerful.
Now, I know that Jesus is a strong beautiful light that cast out all darkness and evil.

I have decided to follow Jesus and no turning back.
On 8 March 2014, I was baptized.

After when I was baptized, many things started to happen in fact bad things.
But I know, I know that God is putting this bad things to help me to grow.
Devil is trying to pull me away from God.
I know Jesus is always there for me even these bad stuffs happen to my life.
I have to have faith in Him, Knowing that He would take control of my life.
He is always there for me.

I lean not to my own understanding but to lean on Him.

Jesus is the light, my saviour, my king, my Lord, my God.

I am so thankful that I really know Him, what He had done for me at the cross.
He brought light to my world.

1 John 1:5, 7 NASB
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Psalms 27:1 NASB
The L ord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?

These verse that Has comfort me that Jesus will always always be my light and be there for me.

P :

Dear heavenly Father,
Thank You for sending Jesus to my life when I was young. Thank You Lord for letting me to see that Jesus is my light and my saviour.
Father, I now give You all my worries, my trouble, my darkness to You.
Help me.
I am willing but help my unwillingness.
Thank You Lord.
In the name of Jesus,
AMEN !

Say NO to sin, Say Yes to God

S :

Matthew 4:8-10 NASB
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God , and  serve Him only .'"

O :

This was the devil's third temptation.
To bring fame, glory, position, power, to be king of all nation to the world. Everyone in the world will bow before Jesus if Jesus worship Satan.
But, Jesus denied/rejected completely.
Jesus said He will only worship and serve one God who is our Heavenly Father.

A :

In the world, people has sold themselves to sin, fame, money, sex, power, position . . . . All of these is what the devil wants.
All of these bring destruction to our spiritual growth.
1) It destroys our relationship with God.
2) It destroys one selves.
3) It destroys family.
4) It destroys the people around them.
5) It influence people to be like them.
6) Humaninty will be lost.
7) All the wrong become right, all the right      become wrong.

The negative stuff that the devil can bring can go on and on.
But Jesus came to the world and reveal to us the true God and saves us from this evil world.
Jesus sacrifice His own life for us so that we can be saved.
Jesus love for us is so so much more than other love.

Jesus is willing to help us to stay away from sin but the real question is
Are we willing to let Jesus to help us?
Or we still want to sin because it feels good ?

Yes, sin is always there. Always there to destroy you. Sin is hard to get rid of.
But we as Christians, we have a new nature that God has implanted in us.
Our old nature always want to sin but
Our new nature that God has implanted in us always say NO to sin.
This is a constant battle between our love for God and sin.
Wages of sin is death.

Romans 6:23 NASB
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
To put it In simple form,
Sin = death
Jesus = eternal life

Jesus has overcome everything !
So,
Jesus > world
Jesus > sin
Jesus has overcome sin and He never sin.
He knows how it feels to sin, how it feels to loss everything.  . .
But, He has overcome everything.

How did Jesus overcome all these temptation?
1) He was led by the Holy Spirit
2) He was led by the Power of the Word of God.
3) He was led by the prayer and Fasting.

All of these can be found in this chapter.
Matthew 4.

So How do we overcome all these temptation?
Follow what Jesus did.
1) Ask the Holy Spirit for help !
2) Read the Word of God !
3) Pray and Fast !

Led by the Holy Spirit :

Galatians 5:16-18 NASB
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

I will teach you one of the phrase that I have taken from website how to stay away from sin :
I do not recognise you any longer,You have no authority over me.
In Jesus name, I command you to leave.

3 simple steps to stay away from sin and temptation.
Guys, I know it's hard to stay away from sin and I confess that I love to sin.
But, we are given a new nature of say NO to sin. So when we are tempted to do it, follow what Jesus did.

YOU CAN OVERCOME TEMPTATION AND SIN !

P :

Dear heavenly Father,
I pray that You will help us to build our new nature that You have implanted in us.
And help us to always say NO to sin.
Holy Spirit come and help us not to sin.
Thank You Jesus for the nailed pierced hands.
Thank You for this amazing love and grace You gave us.
In the name of Jesus,
AMEN !

The Bible

S :

Matthew 4:5-7 NASB

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command His angels concerning You '; and 'On  their  hands they will bear You up , So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone .'" Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test .'"

O :

After Jesus being tempted by physical needs.
The devil use one of the Scripture from the Bible to test Jesus.

A :

This tells me that the devil also know how to quote the Bible.
We also must know the Word of God in the Bible, because God has prepared this for us.
The purpose of the Bible is to help us to grow spiritually. To stay away from the devil and sins. And walk in line with God.

I must take time to read the Bible.
And always ask the Holy Spirit to guide me before reading the Bible.

P :
Dear heavenly Father,
Help me to use the Bible in a right way.
For I want to walk with You with righteousness.
Thank You, Lord.
In Jesus name,
AMEN!

My identity in Christ - It is written . . .

S :

Matthew 4:3-4 NASB
And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone , but on every word  that proceeds out of the mouth of God .'"

O :

This is the first temptation that Jesus face. It is to satisfy His physical needs.
He did not proof that He is the Son of God because He need not have to proof to the devil.

A :

How did Jesus respond to the devil?
Jesus uses the word of God.
The Word of God is from our heavenly Father, it is the Word of God that help us in our daily life and also protect us from the world.
To grow a strong and unshakable foundation with God.
The Bible is another good tool to help us in our daily life.
The Word of God comes alive. 
It is alive !

Jesus answered all the temptations of Satan with It is written; to set us an example, he appealed to what was written in the Scriptures.

Can I say 'it is written' when I am tempted? (Method)

This method we must take, when at any time we are tempted to sin. Let us learn not to take any wrong courses for our supply, when our wants are ever so pressing: in some way or other the Lord will provide. 

P :

Father I pray that You will help me in my everyday life.
Help me to grow a strong and unshakable foundation with You, Lord.
Guide me in this season.
Help me to use Your words in the Bible in my everyday life.
Your words are powerful.
Thank You Lord.
In the name of Jesus,
AMEN !

My identity in Christ

S :

Matthew 4:1-3 NASB
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

O :

These verses describes the temptation of Jesus by the devil.

A :

In our everyday life we are being tempted by the devil.
Includes greed, jealousy, fame, Unforgiveness, rejected, sexual lust and sins etc . . .
This is what the devil uses to tempt us so that he can pull us away from God.
The devil will always ask you to proof how worthy you are, how successful you are.
And always always tempt you.

The devil will always tell you these lies :
                   Who am I ?
1) I am what I do
2) I am what people says about me
3) I am what I have
And this is what the world now believes.

But on the other hand,  God is different.
God doesn't care how successful, how famous, how rich or how poor, how weak you are.
God loves the way you are.
We are unique and precious in God's eye.
God is love.
God is truth.
God loves us so much that He died for us.
God's amazing grace --- even when we sin against Him, He still forgive us and love us.
God created us with a heart that only God's love can satisfy.

So who am I exactly ?
It is very important that we must know who we are !
We are beloved son and beloved daughter of God.
We are child of God.
We do not need to proof to anyone.
Every moment I have to tell myself that I am beloved son of God.

I am the beloved son of God.
This is who I am, so that I can live in a world that keep rejecting me or praising me or laughing at me or spitting on me.
All these things doesn't matter, because I know that Jesus love me so much, that I am the beloved son of God.

When temptation to become bitter, to become jealous,  to feel rejected kicks in.
I will say out loud in my heart and say
" Go away Satan ! I am the beloved son of God ! I rebuke you in the name of Jesus! "

P :

Thank You Father for this amazing love You gave to us.
I know that You will always be at my side because I am Yours and You are mine.
Thank You Jesus for sacrificing Your life for me at the cross.
I will always keep that in my heart :
I am the beloved son of God.
In the name of Jesus,
AMEN!

Our Father who loves us so much

S :

Matthew 3:17 NASB
and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

O :

This verse tells me that our Father who Is in heaven loves His son and He is well - pleased.  He sent His Holy Spirit down to minister to Him when the moment Jesus just got baptized.

A :

Our Father who Is in heaven loves us so much like Jesus.
Even though we sin, we have failures
No matter how bad we are He still LOVES us when He created us.
We are His beloved.
He loves us so so much that He sent Christ Jesus down to earth to save us from this evil world.
He don't wan us to perish.
I believe that when the moment when I got baptized, our Father sent His Holy Spirit to minster in me.
And He is well-pleased.
Unstoppable love that never ends.
Nothing can separate us from His LOVE.
No sin, no shame, no pass, no pain
No height, no depth, no fear, no death
Can separate me from His Love.
Jesus what He did on the cross was final.

Romans 8:38-39 NASB
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I will and always worship and praise our Father.
Give thanks to Him.
Desperately need Him to dwell in my heart.
Every moment call out for Him.
No matter what happens, pray, ask Him for help, cry out for Him.

P :

Dear heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your amazing love.
Thank You for everything that You have done in me.
I will lean not my own understanding and lean on You and trust in You.
Every moment I am desperate for You.
Please don't forsake me and leave me alone.
I really really need You in this season where I will stumble and fall.
Come Holy Spirit dwell in my heart every moment, keep it pure and clean.
Thank You Jesus for sacrificing Your life to save a wretch like me.
I love You !
Thank You so much.
In the name of Jesus,
AMEN!

S :

Matthew 3:15New International Version (NIV)

15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

O :

This verse tells us that Jesus want to fulfill the righteousness of our Father who is in heaven.

Thus, the baptizing of Jesus is the will of the Father. To fulfill the righteousness. 

A :

After I have been baptized, I have a new nature.

Full of righteousness . . .

But we might stumble and fall again due to our sinful nature in us.

How can we not let sin to take over?

Spiritual Hunger for God.

Pray. Pray. Just Pray. Praying is a powerful tool.

Cry out for Jesus ! Ask Him for help. 

Ask the Holy Spirit to dwell in us always, make our heart pure,soft and tender.

Ask Jesus to wash our sins away.

Ask the Holy Spirit to change our heart, our soul to be like Jesus Christ.

Am I obeying God's words ?

How can I do to stay in track with God ?

Again, Pray. Pray. and Pray.

Talk to Him, Read bible.

Do S.O.A.P.

I have to confess that I have stop doing S.O.A.P for awhile.

(I am busy with other stuff) but these are EXCUSES !

But, SOAP is a good communication tool to talk with God.

Because we will read His words and these verses will dwell in us.

Thus, I have to ask God to help my unwillingness. . .

P :

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to You humbly and ask for Your help.

I can't do this without You.

I stumbled and fall but You did not forsake me.

I have sin against You, Please forgive me.

I repent for what I have sin against.

Jesus I know Your blood is precious, Please cleanse me with Your blood. . .

Heal my heart and make it clean.

Holy Spirit come, Dwell in me. Change me to become more like Jesus Christ.

Father, I am willing but help my unwillingness . . .

Thank You, Father.

In the name of Jesus ,

Amen.

S:

Matthew 2:12New International Version (NIV)

12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

O :

This verse tells us that God give us dreams are also to warn us.

And also foretell the future.

Gods know everything from the beginning till the end.

We must heed God's warning.

A :

We must take God's warning seriously.

Do His will with our heart.

Have faith in Him

Trust Him that He will guide my path.

Let Him do all the job.

P :

Thank You Lord for your warning.

Amen

Jesus Christ my saviour with us

S:

Matthew 1:21, 23 NASB

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
"Behold , the virgin shall be with  child and shall bear a Son , and they shall call His name Immanuel ," which translated means, "God with us ."

O :

These verses tells us that Jesus Christ is our God and He will always be with us.

A :

I have accept that Jesus is my King, my saviour, my God.
That He sacrifice His life for us on the cross for our sins.
He came down to earth to save us all.
That I know that Jesus is always and always be with us in our heart.
In my every moment, I must thank Him and praise Him. Worshiping Him !
I am everything I am because of Jesus.

P :

Heavenly Father,
Thank You for sending you first beloved Son to earth to save us all from our sins.
Thank you for the cross, Lord.
Thank you for the price you paid.
Bearing all my sin and shame, in love you came
And gave Amazing Grace.
Thank you for this love, Lord.
Thank you for the nail-pierced hands.
Wash me in Your cleansing flow, now all I know... 
Your forgiveness and embrace.
In the name of Jesus,
AMEN.

S :

Numbers 6:24-26New International Version (NIV)

24 

“‘“The Lord bless you

    and keep you;

25 

the Lord make his face shine on you

    and be gracious to you;

26 

the Lord turn his face toward you

    and give you peace.”’

O :

These verse tells us that our God loves us.

And our God gives peace, love, grace . . .

A :

God wants to bless us.

When we seek Him, He gave us amazing grace.

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see

When I am disturbed, troubled, sad, frightened...He will give me peace.

P :

Lord, thank You for Your blessing on us.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen !

S :

Luke 19:41-44New International Version (NIV)

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

O :

[Extracted from lovesingapore]

Jerusalem means the City of Shalom. Ironically, the keepers 

of the city and the watchers at the gate closed their eyes to 

the very things that would secure God’s Shalom Future for 

them. What things? To give up their agenda and embrace 

God’s. To decrease that Jesus might increase. To be last of 

all and servant of all. To lay down their swords and love their 

enemies. To conquer death by dying.

A :

We should not reject God. 

Trust in His time and not ours.

And not to missed His time and His grace.

P :

Help me Lord ,

Thank You Lord,

Amen.

S: 

Luke 7:30New International Version (NIV)

30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

O : 

This verse tells us that the Pharisees and the experts did not believe so they do not want to be baptized by John. So in turn they reject God's will.

A :

Am I like the Pharisees and the experts who rejected God's purpose for me?

P :

Father, Help me.

In the name of Jesus, Amen

A house of Prayer

S :

Mark 11:17New International Version (NIV)

17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’[a]? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.

Isaiah 56:7New International Version (NIV)

7 

these I will bring to my holy mountain

    and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices

    will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called

    a house of prayer for all nations.”

Jeremiah 7:11New International Version (NIV)

11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

O : 

This verses tells me that the church, the temple, the body of Christ will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

A :  

As I am a body of Christ, I am a temple for God to dwell in me.

I have to take prayer seriously.

A heart to worship and to pray to our Lord Father.

P :

Father, Help me to pray with my whole heart.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen

Praying for Singapore Jubilee year

Father, I come to You in Jesus' name.
I stand on behalf of my generation and I ask Father in Jesus' name,
to help my generation to build a strong solid foundation in the Lord.
To be able to stand firm for Your Kingdom
and to bring the right values to our generation.
Lord, I pray that You will help the younger generation to choose to stand with You/
Know that they are not alone. That they can do all things through Christ.
God, I ask in Jesus' name to establish a strong godly foundation for our generation.
Where we will be led by the Holy Spirit to speak the truth in love and take the lead.
I also pray that our generation will not be influenced by the world but by the words of God.
I pray Father, help us to guard our Hearts and make it clean and Holy because in the next 10 years, we will be the next generation to spear heading the spread of the gospel and building a strong foundation with God in Singapore.
Father I also pray that You will also help us to be a fishers of man for our nation.
Where we will make many fishers of man not just in Singapore but in other nations.
Lord, I also want to thank You for all the matured Christians guiding and leading us to build a strong godly foundation in our lives.
Jesus I ask that You will continue to bless and keep them in good health and that they will be able to pass on their spiritual foundation to the young generation.
So that we will be prepared and being  equipped with Your words in this very season.
Thus building a strong  unshakable foundation in Singapore in the years to come.
God bless Singapore!
In the name of Jesus I ask and pray,
AMEN !

x

S:

John 2:16-17New International Version (NIV)

16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

O :

This verse tells us there should not be any selling and exchanging of goods in the church. Meaning turning a church into a market.

"Zeal for your house will consume me " ---- A house to worship God and a dwelling place for God.

A :

For me, I am a body of Christ, I am a body of Church. I Should not harm my own body by over eating. And hurting myself.( self - Harm).

My hearts is to allow God to dwell in it, So that He will guard my heart and soften it.

P :

Dear Father,

I pray that You will dwell in my heart and change me always.

Thank You Father ! 

In the name of Jesus,

Amen !