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Our
Weekly Bulletin |
Article, Announcements, Praise
& Prayer |
5th February, 2012
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Article God Listens
You can talk to God because God listens. Your voice matters in
heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter his presence, the
attendants turn to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be
ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say
impresses no one, it impresses God—and he listens. He listens to the painful
plea of the elderly in the rest home. He listens to the gruff confession of
the death-row inmate. When the alcoholic begs for mercy, when the spouse
seeks guidance, when the businessman steps off the street into the chapel,
God listens. Intently. Carefully. The prayers are honored
as precious jewels. Purified and empowered, the words rise in a delightful
fragrance to our Lord. “The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s
hand to God.” Incredible. Your words do not stop until they reach the very
throne of God. Then, the angel “filled the incense pan with fire from the altar
and threw it on the earth” (Rev. 8:5). One call and Heaven’s fleet appears.
Your prayer on earth activates God’s power in heaven, and “God’s will is done
on earth as it is in heaven.” You are the someone of God’s kingdom.
You have access to God’s furnace. Your prayers move God to change the world.
You may not understand the mystery of prayer. You don’t need to. But this
much is clear: Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth. What an
amazing thought! When
you speak, Jesus hears. Everything You Need
Are you hoping that a change in circumstances will bring a
change in your attitude? If so, you are in prison, and you need to learn a
secret of traveling light. What you have in your Shepherd is greater than what you
don’t have in life. May I meddle for a moment? What is the one thing separating you
from joy? How do you fill in this blank: “I will be happy when
________________”? When I am healed. When I am promoted. When I am married.
When I am single. When I am rich. How would you finish that statement? Now, with your answer firmly in mind, answer this. If your ship
never comes in, if your dream never comes true, if the situation never
changes, could you be happy? If not, then you are sleeping in the cold cell
of discontent. You are in prison. And you need to know what you have in your
Shepherd. You
have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit
within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you
have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every
corner, and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need. All
Things Work for Good And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose. We know…There
are so many things we do not know. We do not know if the economy will dip or
if our team will win. We do not know what our spouse is thinking or how our
kids will turn out. We don’t even know “what we ought to pray” (Rom. 8:26).
But according to Paul, we can be absolutely certain about four things. We know… 1.
God works.
He is busy behind the scenes, above the fray, within the fury. He hasn’t
checked out or moved on. He is ceaseless and tireless. He never stops
working. 2.
God works for the good.
Not for our comfort or pleasure or entertainment, but for our ultimate good.
Since he is the ultimate good, would we expect anything less? 3.
God works for the good of
those who love him. Behold the benefit of loving
God! Make his story your story, and your story takes on a happy ending.
Guaranteed. Being the author of our salvation, he writes a salvation theme
into our biography. 4.
God
works in all things. Panta,
in Greek. Like “panoramic” or “panacea” or “pandemic.” All-inclusive.
God works, not through a few things or through the good things, best things, or
easy things. But in “all things” God works. Puppet in the hands of fortune or fate?
Not you. You are in the hands of a living, loving God. Random collection of
disconnected short stories? Far from it. Your life is a crafted narrative
written by a good God, who is working toward your supreme good. From Lucado Inspirational Reader Our Elim
Youth has a blog (constantly updated) at:
www.ipohelimyouth.blogspot.com
Sports
Ministry at Ipoh BUG: www.ipohbug.blogspot.com
Do visit
these blog. |
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Announcements 1.
Today’s topic: “Acts 8-9” by John
Lee. 2.
Next Sun's topic: “Trip to Jerusalem”
by Fun Chen Cheong 3.
Young
Working Adults meeting is in recess tomorrow. 4.
Prayer
Meeting is on Wednesday at 8 pm. Do put in more effort to come
& pray together. 5.
Elim
Youth Meeting is on Sat., Feb. 11 at 8 pm. at Elim Sports
Complex. It will be a Combined Valentine Gathering with KCC Youth. 6.
Revival
Meetings at Ipoh Wesley Methodist Church from Feb. 6 to 8, nightly
at 8 pm. Topic: “God’s Examination
Table” by Joshua Daniel 7.
Seminar “Unveiling the Mysteries of the Genesis Genealogies” at Canning
Methodist Church on Sat., Feb. 25 (9 am. - 4 pm.) Admission Fee: RM 10 8. Breakfast duty next Sunday: Fung Soo Lai, Mr. & Mrs. Cheam Tong Kan, and Chan Lai Peng. All visitors are welcome in our
worship. Born again Christians are also invited to participate fully with us,
including sharing in the breaking of bread and the cup. We encourage sisters
to cover their heads. If you do not partake of the emblems in your home
church, please refrain from taking the Bread and Cup. We would not like you
to partake while ignorant of the biblical injunctions involved. We love to meet you at our
breakfast fellowship afterwards. |
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Prayer q
Praise God for safety for all who
were/are traveling
(road/air) during this festive period. Pray that the bonds of family ties,
the opportunities of witness, the rekindling of friendships will be protected
and graced by God’s intervention. q
Pray for the training & imparting
of the Scriptures at GLO Level 1
Training, Residential Bible School
2012 & Capernwray Bible School. All three
saw good numbers coming to their training. Uphold the lecturers in their
preparation and delivery. Pray for participants to be diligent rather than
playful in their studies. Pray for some to become His choice servants in the
future. q
Pray for what Elim can accomplish in the hands & direction of God for our
year. Pray for our obedience and courage in faith. q
Pray for God to enable the leaders
and believers of our Elim
Chinese-speaking assembly as they face the crisis & developments in
their midst. Pray against evil and seek the Lord’s face to spare & heal
the tears in their lives. q
Pray for Pastor Chan Thiam Lai who will be transiting to
a new role at the helm of NECF Malaysia. q
Harvest
Haven is in need for more staff. Pray for the right candidates
to fit the right portfolio and demands of the task. Pray for an environment
of joy in the work. q
Pray for Mrs. Oh Joo Lian. q
Pray for our national elections. Pray for the God’s kingdom to rule over
earthly kingdoms. Pray for men of integrity and stature to be installed. q
Pray that we will each win one soul for the Lord by
2013. q Pray for God’s season of blessing on His people through the speakers and occasions of Bible expositions that come our way. |
29h January, 2012
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Article Life with the Shepherd The
Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He
makes me to lie down in green pastures; He
leads me beside the still waters. Ps
23:1-2 Living like a sheep can bring you
incredible peace of mind! The biblical shepherd knew everything about his
sheep. He understood what foods were best for them and what would harm them.
He knew when they should eat and when they needed their thirst quenched. The
shepherd was an expert of the terrain and was aware of the best places for
food and water. As long as the sheep trusted and followed their shepherd,
they would always have their needs met at the right time. Their shepherd
would give them the best that he had. Do
you have absolute trust in your Good Shepherd? Do you value the nourishment
that comes from Him more than any you might obtain from the world? Do you
ever worry that God might be withholding from you something that you need?
The psalmist was convinced that he would “want” for nothing. By his very
nature, the Good Shepherd cares for His sheep and would lay down His life for
them (Jn 10:11). Have
you allowed your focus to shift from the Shepherd to what the Shepherd gives
you? If you find yourself “wanting,” it is not that your Shepherd is unable
or unwilling to perfectly meet your needs. It may be that you lack the faith
to receive all that He has to give. Could it be that you have become
dissatisfied with what your Shepherd has been providing? Are you missing the
joy that comes from having a Shepherd who cares for you? Return to Him and
trust Him to meet the needs in your life that only He can. Comfort from the Shepherd Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your
rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Ps
23:4 As a child of God you are never
alone! Your Shepherd is with you at all times. You never have to call Him
into your situation. You never have to wonder where He is. You never have to
fear that if things become too difficult, He will abandon you. He goes before
you; He walks beside you; He comes behind you. He protects you securely. Just
as He sees every sparrow and knows every hair that is on your head, so His
gaze is constantly upon you (Lk 12:6-7). Even when
you cannot see Him, He always keeps His eyes upon you. He comforts you with
His strong presence in times of sorrow and grief. He leads you through the
valley of the shadow of death. He does not necessarily lead you around the
valley as you might wish. There are times when your Shepherd knows that the
only way to get you where He wants to take you is to lead you down the path
that passes through the dark valley. Yet, at those times He walks closely
with you, reassuring you throughout the journey that He still loves you and
is with you. It is during those times that you experience His love and
compassion in a deeper dimension than you ever have before. You
never need to fear evil. As intimidating as evil can be, there is nothing you
will ever face that intimidates your Shepherd. He has seen it all and soundly
defeated every form of wickedness. Evil never catches Him by surprise. Your
Shepherd is always prepared and knows exactly when and where you will
experience difficulty. Place your absolute trust in your Good Shepherd that
He will protect you and demonstrate His love for you through the darkest
valley. Restoration from the Shepherd He
restores my soul; He
leads me in the paths of righteousness For
His name's sake. Ps
23:3 Your Shepherd knows your every need.
He knows you will grow weary in your pilgrimage with Him. He knows there are
times when you need rest. Your Shepherd knows just what you need to be
refreshed. At times you need to lie in lush meadows or beside quiet streams.
Sometimes you need to be held by your Shepherd. At other times you need to
enjoy the pleasures the Shepherd provides. The Shepherd will not always
replenish you in the same way; His response to you will always perfectly
correspond to your present need. As
you follow your Shepherd there will be times when your soul becomes
exhausted, perhaps because of trials you are experiencing or temptations you
are resisting. The persecution you face or the burdens you are carrying for
others may be wearing you down. You may be weary from the discipline the
Shepherd has brought upon you. There will be times when you feel you can go
no further in your Christian pilgrimage. Your Shepherd knows when you have
reached this point, and He always has a remedy! There are many ways He can
strengthen you: through His word, through others, or through your
circumstances. He knows what you need even better than you do. Have
you grown weary? Does your soul need to be refreshed? Don't attempt to
recover on your own. Only God knows how to heal and rejuvenate a soul (Isa
40:28-31; Mt 11:28-30). He will do it perfectly, sometimes in surprising
ways. Ask Him to restore you, and then be prepared to respond to what He does
next. [Extracted from “Experiencing God Day by Day” Devotional, February 26-28] Undergirded
by God’s grace |