Dinner at Chez P.P. (14 Aug '10)

Last night we gathered fro a simple dinner at a friend's new place. ALso to celebrate her birthday/ Ate a lot of good food, played a board game, try out Wii as well as had a glass of wine or 2... or 3 ... :P Restful saturday it was...

Sang this song before serving in church 3 Sundays back. not a new song, but still ministers to my heart. Kept coming back across this song, I had it as a song in my song repository in my mobile without even realizing it :p

May this help you to go into the presence of God, shalom!

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In The Presence

Unknown

G                    C
In the presence of a holy God
      G            C
I bow down and I a-dore
       G                C
You re-veal the secrets of my heart
        Em     Am     D
And I'm shaken to the core


Chorus:
G           C              G               C
Holy, holy, holy God — How awesome is your name
G           C              Em       Am      D
Holy, holy, holy God — How majestic is your reign
         C              Am            D    G
And I am changed in the presence of a holy God.


In the presence of a holy God
There's new meaning now to grace
You took all my sins upon yourself
And I can only stand amazed, and I cry

(Chorus)

In the presence of your infinite might
I'm so small and frail and weak
When I glimpse your power and wisdom, Lord
I have no words left to speak, but I cry

(Chorus)

In the presence of your glory
All my crowns lie in the dust
You are righteous in your judgements, Lord
You are faithful, true, and just, and I cry

(Chorus)

(Lyrics taken from http://www.higherpraise.com/lyrics/awesome/7_awesome6418.html)

on good figs and bad figs

was led to this passage in Jeremiah during the 24/7 prayer sessions:
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Jeremiah 24 (New International Version)

Two Baskets of Figs

 ¹ After Jehoiachin ^[a] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. ² One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.

 ³ Then the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
      "Figs," I answered. "The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten."

 ⁴ Then the word of the LORD came to me: ⁵ "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. ^{[b] 6} My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. ⁷ I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

 ⁸ " 'But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,' says the LORD, 'so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. ⁹ I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. ¹⁰ I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers.' "

(Taken from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+24&version=NIV)

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I came across it twice in the span of a few days during the deadman's watch. Was still keeping it within my heart, due to the enormity of the message. At the invitation of one of the facilitators, I shared this with one of the morning groups. To me, this is a call to repentance.

Interestingly, the facilitator went on to further clarify that things are not always as it seems. From the above passage, to the world it would have seemed the exiles are being punished for their sins, and the remnant in Jerusalem is being "saved". Not so in God's scheme, for He promised to be the deliverer of the exiles, and destroy the remnant at Jerusalem.

Hang out at Flyer (10 Aug '10)

Some of us from office went down to hang out and chill at the Singapore Flyer. Most of us were on our first time there, a bit sua-ku la. We went for affordable dinner at Popeye's before adjourning to "Love the World" for a drinking session.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7g-PUjbusQ

on takeaways from today's prayer meeting

today could only stay for the 1st hour of the prayer meeting in church. Pastor Kai used below passage to anchor our thoughts for the prayer session

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Acts 3 (New American Standard Bible)

Healing the Lame Beggar

 ¹Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.

 ²And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.

 ³When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.

 ⁴But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!"

 ⁵And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

 ⁶But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!"

 ⁷And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.

 ⁸With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

 ⁹And all the people saw him walking and praising God;

 ¹⁰and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

(from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%203&version=NASB)

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He asked us to share among ourselves what did the above passage impress upon us. The couple next to me shared that they were awed again that God made ordinary men such as Peter and John to perform the miracles to glorify God's name. I was struck by the fact that when the beggar was healed, he was not only healed to the point of mere walking; he was able to leap and bounce (verse 8b) everywhere like a Gummi bear :p). And out of that overflow came great joy and spiritual worship (verse 8b). At least this beggar's response is different from the ex-leper in Life of Brian.

P.S. And just before I left, I was struck by the fact the lame guy was sitting in front of the temple, and not in it. I was searching my mind through the laws which God gave Moses, David and Solomon on whether God disallows disabled people into His sanctuary. And I can't think of any. So i deduce that it is men who set up rules that do not allow the under-privileged into the temple. Saddens my heart just to think about this... :(

Salt (2010)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

Ludicrous and predictable story-plot, BUT WHO CARES?! ANGELINA JOLIE, WE LOVE YOU!

That, in a nutshell, is "Salt".

Official Site:
http://www.whoissalt.com/

IMDB entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944835/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_%28film%29