Heart Of Praises

View from our ocean villa, lying down on hammock facing the ocean, feeling the breeze..looking at the sky and clouds...AWESOME... Glorious view of a sunset in Maldives, just outside the water villas...

Interesting how the end of the year tends to bring more reflection, especially during the Christmas season and the New Year period. God has been faithful in this year 2011, He has fulfilled my 3 wishes that I made at the start of the year 2011. Couple of changes in my life, all for good I know. =) 1. L. has gotten approval for her thesis project, 1st time round in every stage. Glory to God. 2. We got our place! The timing of how it flows, the pricing, the arrangements are in a win-win situation to the seller and us the buyer. =) After visiting close to 20 units, finally a unit that spoke to both of hearts, God is faithful! 3. Going back to my former job, lotsas of gd memories to start with, gd working environment/colleagues, more importantly I find that my perspectives have been sharpened and matured over this period of time. 4. For our cg B2B, over this 1 year, we have grown as a CG and even as we continue to stir each other on in faith and good works that B2B will fulfill what God ha...

Romans 8:38 'And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.'

12.49 then 13.00 then 12.18...to pass 12.40. Thank God for His grace that allow me to get through my ippt, no need for RT since I managed to scrape through the skin of my teeth just 2 days b4 my bday. Was prepared to spend 20 sessions in RT already since my timing was 13.00 for last wk so what can 1 more wk do? This is my 3rd time trying...never had I had to take 3 times...really need to work on my fitness. Praise God! What a nice bday present! Was suffering from sore throat and was slightly under the weather b4 band prac...decided to go and trust God to provide healing...He came thro! Even went for buffet dinner afterwards :P. :)

'Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.' Hebrews 9:25-28 Thank you Jesus that my sins are forgiven once and for all that when You died on the cross 2000 years ago, You took ALL my sins and made me a new creation. I no longer have to worry whether I fall in and out of fellowship even when I sin because Your blood is greater than all my iniquities. I don't confess to be forgiven because I am already forgiven!! You said in Your word...

Don't you ever get moments when you are just thankful even though there are no recent external circumstances like promotion, pay raise or legitimate reasons? Its just this quiet assurance that you belong to Christ, the hope of glory. His amazing love and grace that render Him to die willing on the cross for my sins...through no fault of His, He gave the one perfect sacrifice that FAR outweighs the payment of my all sins because He is greater!! This love that compels me not towards sin but towards wanting to know Him more... 'Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?' Romans 2:4 'Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.' 1 Thess 5:18

Been trying to find an explanation for why Ananias and Sapphira fell dead when their lies were exposed by Peter, while Peter himself denied Jesus 3 times but yet was restored by Jesus after His resurrection. I cannot reconcile the 2 seeming disparities and was searching through the net to find what sits with what I know about God and His goodness, FINALLY...an excellent read below, taken from the source website.. K. _______________________________________________________________________ http://seeinggrace.com/blog/?p=25 Saints, Recently I had an exchange with a believer about Ananias and Sapphira. It was on my heart to share it with you guys. I hope it shines new light on the subject and blesses you guys! You’ll find the exchange below: Stephen: Heard some talk lately about God’s “judgment” in various forms and contexts. By basic response, without getting too deep, is that there’s no way God can judge us in the sense of punishment for sins and still keep His word under the new covenant...

Aptly, today's devotional on proverbs reveal these verses, interesting considering that L has an oral examination coming up and I have an interview tomorrow. Rather true too in reflection of my own journey with God thus far, He guides me in ALL things. The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. - Proverbs 16:1 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. - Proverbs 16:3 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. - Proverbs 16:9

Once again I experienced the reality of this verse, I had forgotten to check some important details which might make it difficult for me to enter my next phase in my life but things worked in such a way that I happened to check and was able to rectify the problem beforehand. Also I thank God for the HDB flat that He has provided, such that the circumstances and conditions that the seller is looking for are also in line with us so that things fitted wonderfully. His affirmation and inner voice that L. heard was a timely reminder that in all things, we need to be patient and wait for His timing. Like Moses who had to be emptied of himself and he took 40 years to do so before God can use him for His purposes in his next 40 years. Keeping our fingers crossed that we won't have to wait 40 years for our flat... Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. - Psalm 37:7

Counting down to my Maldives trip with L in Dec. Even as I looked around trying to find an underwater camera combi to try taking underwater shots, there are so many choices and a limited budget. Wanted to get a Canon s90 as it was cheaper than a s95 but couldn't find any on Clubsnap, so got a s95 mint condition at quite a good price, next up went to find a underwater casing for my s95, contacted 1st seller as his price was cheaper but somehow due to time lag, I contacted the 2nd seller which turned out to be much better since the condition of the housing was almost mint, while it costs slightly more only compared to the 1st seller's price. It's things like these that I thank God for, both sellers coming to my area to do the deals and I don't really have to strive to get what I wanted and how the timing just coincides since it is hard to find both items at mint conditions for 2nd hand deals around the same period.

Your lowest points are launching pads to God's greatest promotions. I came across this sentence twice just when I am in a job transition, strangely the SMS came to me on Aug 25 2011, but it really spoke to me in Oct when I needed it and weird that I will keep the SMS since usually I would delete after reading it. 'The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trust in Him and I am helped.' Psalms 28:7 I found the exact same phrase in Ps Prince's 100 days of Favor. 'Don't be discouraged by your current circumstances. I know things may sometimes appear bleak, dismal and perhaps even devastating, but...God is saying this to you: "Don't give up. It ain't over!" ' God is good...He prepares the way even though back then I didn't see it yet. Thank you Lord for causing me to see what is truly important and what your call for my life is. To be a blessing to others just as I have been blessed.

'He will oppresses the poor to increase his riches and he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.' Proverbs 22:16 'Ill-gotten treasures are of no value but righteousness delivers from death.' Proverbs 10:2 'A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.' Proverbs 28:20 Reminds me of Bernie Madoff, where prosecutors estimated the size of his fraud to be $64.8 billion, where everything unravelled when investors tried to withdraw their money in 2008 economic crisis. The amount is staggering and placed him easily as top 10 richest people in the world....but what a sad tale, whose life startling reflect the truth about the 3 verses on top, I can picture Madoff as the example in these verses..to live 20 years in fear....no wonder bible says what good will it be for a man if he gains the world but loses his soul.. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Bernie Ma...

Currently this is the biggest news of the moment, though I am not a Mac fan, I loved using the iphone because of the design and functionality of it. Saw one of his speeches he made at Stanford's graduation ceremony, the simplicity but power of his message spoke to me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA Basically his message about connecting dots, love what you are doing and treasure each moment by using death as a tool has almost Christian values despite him being a Buddhist. 'That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.' Romans 8:28 (The Message) 'Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.' Psalm 37:4 (Amplified) 'So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.' Psalm 90:12 (NKJV) Here is a man who applied powerful biblical truths in his life one way or another though he is not a Christi...

The following extract is taken from King Solomon, reputed to be the wisest and richest man to date, even in today's context with gold prices soaring till, he received 666 talents (1 talent is about 34.5 kg) of gold per year, he reigned for 40 years, do the maths...1 kg of gold now is USD48300. Eccelesiastes 2:4-11 4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem [ a ] as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 10 I denied myself nothing my eyes...

New International Version (©1984) Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Isaiah 55:2 One verse that contains so much meaning about life itself. Realised that my previous post was also on this topic, looks like it is always a constant reminder that true satisfaction comes not from material holdings and objects. It is true, so many times I have longed and craved for some things but once I attained it, the happiness is short-lived and I looked towards acquiring something else, it is so true in my own life, no wonder ' the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.' Heb 4:12. Now about that Mcpherson guitar....if only I can get that at a good price. :P

Taken from this book 'Working from a place of rest' by Tony Horsfall, meaningful and interesting passage. 'We were created in the image of God and made to know Him in a personal way. When that relationship is missing from our lives, our souls are dissatisfied. We become parched and thirsty on the inside the a longing to find something to satisfy our emptiness grows within us. Everyone suffers from this soul thirst, although we may not recognise it or acknowledge it as a spiritual issue. We have many ways of slaking our thirst too. Consumerism is one common attempt to meet the longing of our hearts. Buying things offers a temporary satisfaction as we are thrilled with our latest acquisition but once the novelty wears off, we start the search all over again for the 'next thing', we must have. Some people fill the vacuum with pleasure seeking, with exciting leisure pursuits and exotic holidays.'

An act of nature that can send a mighty technological developed country with the 3rd largest world economy in the 20th century to its knees. We are reminded of the fragility of life and also the transiency of our accomplishments in comparison to eternity. Politics are placed one side, the utmost immediate importance is the rescue of tens of thousands of lives that are still unaccounted for. Many families lost everything in an instant including their loved ones. May aid find those who need desperately.. On a personal note, family was thinking of going to Japan for a holiday in June but due to the different schedules we cannot make it and can only head to Bali for a short holiday. Looking back, no one could have foretell the horrible disaster that Japan is facing now, can only thank God for His mercies that He closed the door for us..I can't imagine the shock and devastation faced by the Japanese who are affected, of losing everything in an instant, all the years of hard work and bel...