Dearest Lord,

Grant me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in You, the ground of my rest, the spring of my being.

Grant me a deeper knowledge of Yourself as Saviour, Master, Lord, and King.

Grant me deeper power in private prayer, more sweetness in Your Word, and a more steadfast grip on its powerful truths.

Grant me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action, and let me not seek moral virtue apart from You..

~ Author Unknown

He leadeth me

Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Dearest Lord, thank you so much for being the loving Redeemer of our souls, the wondrous Lord of our lives. Thank you so much that we can always trust You no matter the circumstance, no matter the trial. Please continue to lead and guide our dear Bro Eric as he studies in New York. We ask that You graciously meet his every need while he presses on for You in a foreign land. May he be kept so close to You -- keep him meditating upon Your precious Word, keep him on his knees ever seeking after You every single day of his life. May You bless and keep our Bro always, may You always show Yourself so strong in his life.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.

My Saviour's love

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.

O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

For me it was in the garden
He prayed: "Not My will, but Thine."
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.

In pity angels beheld Him,
And came from the world of light
To comfort Him in the sorrows
He bore for my soul that night.

He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calvary,
And suffered and died alone.

When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
'Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me.

O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

*'Twill be my joy through the ages, to sing of His love for me..*

I surrender all

All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

Precious Lord Jesus, please take all of me and all that You have made me to be..i surrender all.

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

~ Psalm 57:1-2, 7-11

Dearest Lord, please fix our hearts on You..our all-powerful, almighty and awesome God who performeth all things for us. May Your holy name be praised, glorified and exalted now and forever, above the heavens and above all the earth.

Revival is the saints of God agonizing on behalf of lost souls going to hell.
Revival is the people of God living in the power of an ungrieved, unquenched Spirit.
Revival is the child of God desperately in love with his glorious Savior and Lord.
Revival is living the Christ life in the home.
Revival is the heathen saying, "The Lord hath done great things for them" (Psa. 126:2).
Revival is the Church of God as a conquering army putting to rout the hosts of hell.
Revival is torrents of living water flowing out of the individual believer.
Revival is the beauty of holiness adorning the saints.
Revival is the recognition of the ministry of insignificant members of the body, and deliverance from idol worship of the more prominent members who are in the limelight.
Revival is restoring the years the locusts have eaten.
Revival is the people of God constrained, gripped, overmastered, and overwhelmed by the love of Christ, so that they are feverishly restless to win souls for Christ.
Revival is the whole assembly powerfully and passionately winning lost souls to Christ.

~ J. Stewart

To be utterly and passionately revived by You like never before, dearest Lord -- this is my heart's one desire. Take hold of my heart, everything that is within..take complete control of this life of mine. Please remind me once again what it truly means to be on fire for You, to be so passionately in love with You..and You alone. i must have grown cold, i must have forgotten, precious Lord, because the memories seem very distant to me. Please allow this life to be made alive once again, transform it afresh and anew..for this one life needs only one thing..and that is You.

Next Year in Jerusalem

With every little parting
And someone says 'Goodbye'
Familiar times departing
It makes you want to cry
Our God is gently telling
While thru' this world we roam
To seek a better city
For our eternal home.

Next year in Jerusalem
There's no need for despair
Next year in Jerusalem
You know you'll see me there
And when we see our Saviour Lord
We'll sing the Victor's song
And in His love we'll find our rest;
So while we're here, let's give our best;
Just next year in Jerusalem;
Where weary souls belong.

Though rough may be the pathway
And heavy is our cross
The hurt of disappointment
The pain of every loss
But knowing our Lord Jesus
For our sake walked this way
We still will battle forward
For daily strength we'll pray

Our former self He's broken
Our pride and will brought low
Thru' training by the Master
Like Him He's helped us grow
Beneath the strain of labour
He holds us lest we fall
And still we're pressing onwards
To heed our Captain's call.

The twilight casts its shadows
The arms have now grown old
Which bore the torch of valour
The Gospel of our soul
My friend, be bold and ready
To grip the standard high
Tho' former ones have passed on
The faith must never die.

Next year in Jerusalem
There's no need for despair
Next year in Jerusalem
You know you'll see me there
And when we see our Saviour Lord
We'll sing the Victor's song
And in His love we'll find our rest
So while we're here, let's give our best;
Just next year in Jerusalem;
Where weary souls belong..

~ Composer: John Wee

*May our loving Heavenly Father lead and guide you amazingly in each step of this new and wonderful chapter of your life, Eric. We will be missing you and praying for you as you march on so courageously and faithfully for His glory and honour. May the Lord shower His richest and most abundant blessings upon you this day and always, Bro. Take good care and God bless..we'll see you sooner than next year in Jerusalem ya? Ever praying you through..may you surf on so boldly in the glorious power of the Holy Spirit always, our Almighty God goes before you and He will never ever fail you. God speed, Eric! =)*

Nearer, still nearer

Nearer, still nearer, close to Thy heart,
Draw me, my Savior -- so precious Thou art!
Fold me, oh, fold me close to Thy breast.
Shelter me safe in that 'Haven of Rest';
Shelter me safe in that 'Haven of Rest'.

Nearer, still nearer, nothing I bring,
Naught as an offering to Jesus, my King;
Only my sinful, now contrite heart.
Grant me the cleansing Thy blood doth impart.
Grant me the cleansing Thy blood doth impart.

Nearer, still nearer, Lord, to be Thine!
Sin, with its follies, I gladly resign,
All of its pleasures, pomp and its pride,
Give me but Jesus, my Lord, crucified.
Give me but Jesus, my Lord, crucified.

Nearer, still nearer, while life shall last.
Till safe in glory my anchor is cast;
Through endless ages ever to be
Nearer, my Savior, still nearer to Thee;
Nearer, my Savior, still nearer to Thee!

~ Leila N. Morris

God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, LORD Jesus.

~ Jim Elliot

Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

~ Isaiah 9:17

Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.
For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

~ Isaiah 45:11-13, 18, 21-22

Trials make the promise sweet,
Trials give new life to prayer;
Trials bring me to His feet,
Lay me low, and keep me there.

~ Robert M. McCheyne

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

~ Titus 2:11-14

Lord, You are worthy of all my praise..

My heart overflows with praise to the Lord.
I will lift up my voice to the King.
He brought me out of the pit of despair
And taught my heart to sing.

Worthy of all my praise,
You are worthy of all my praise.
I bow at Your throne
And worship You alone.
Lord, You are worthy, worthy of praise.

My lips sing His praise;
My heart feels His love.
His Word is a lamp to my way.
His mercy and grace forever endure;
His arms draw me closer each day.

Worthy of all my praise,
You are worthy of all my praise.
I bow at Your throne
And worship You alone.
Lord, You are worthy, worthy of praise..

I love You, Lord Jesus.
Thank you so much for all that You have done for my life..You are truly worthy of all our worship and praise..now and forever.
Please teach me what it means to worship You alone with all of my heart in this 1 life You have given me.
Forgive me for falling short of Your expectations so often and for failing to obey the truth of Your commandments..help me to truly live for You every single day of this life You have blessed me with.
Please lead and guide me step by step to Your way and Your Will..for Your glory and honour alone.
Thank you so much for Your great love and for Your mercy which is great above the heavens, and for Your truth and faithfulness which reaches unto the clouds.
Thank you so much..for everything.
In Your precious name i praise You, dearest Lord,
Amen.

Our Bros..=)

Let brotherly love continue.

~ Hebrews 13:1

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

~ Revelations 22:1-7, 12-20

This quote touched my heart..

Oh let every trial teach me more of Thy peace in my conscience, and more of Thy love in my heart, that I may keep on in a steady course, walking humbly with my God.

~ William Romaine

There was a day when i died, utterly died to my opinions, preferences, tastes, and will - died to the world, its approval or censure - died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends, and since then i have studied only to show myself approved unto God.

~ George Mueller

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

~ Matthew 16:24

Let the Holy Spirit fill every chamber of your heart; and so there will be no room for folly, or the world, or Satan, or the flesh..

~ Robert M. McCheyne

And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge..

~ Exodus 31:3

Love is the bond of perfectness..:)

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

~ Colossians 3:12-17

The Potter's Wheel..from a precious sis (thanks so much, dearest Soph..:p)

God is the Potter and we are the clay. Our Potter puts us on His wheel - a shapeless lump of dirt. When His Potter's wheel begins to spin, ofttimes we feel overwhelmed, confused and misdirected. We feel like we can't take it anymore and we're getting really dizzy with frustration.

Just when we think we can't take it anymore, His Hands descend. He presses, prods, squeezes His clay. It hurts, it aches, it stifles..but He gently but firmly shapes us to become what He wants us to be. We cry out, we cannot handle the pressure, we feel like we're going to collapse and break in a million pieces. We feel like we're going to crumble into oblivion, yet He continues to press and knead.

When we're finally shaped, the last stage takes us into the dreaded fiery furnace for the final refining. OUCH!! Whatever you're going through, submit to the Potter's shaping Hand. Acknowledge BUT put away our hearts' selfishness and wicked sins! Entrust them to the Lord and place them at the foot of His cross. May you be encouraged to press on towards greater faithfulness and obedience in your walk with God, irregardless of what man may think of you. We're accountable to God and God alone. Deny yourselves (even the pleasure of being look upon with man's favour), and honor our God and Him alone.

*~ Polished For A Destiny ~*

Not a single lump of pride
Is worthy of the potter's fire.
Every mark must coincide,
If perfection you acquire.

Thus He works on you every day,
That He might make His riches known,
By circumstances; forms the clay,
Till usefulness in it is shown.

This, your Maker, bids you be,
When shapened by His artful hand,
Polished for a destiny
Of service, labour, and demand.

~ H.E. Crane

But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand..

~ Isaiah 64:8

Worship God in the spirit - Rejoice in Christ Jesus - Have no confidence in the flesh..

~ Philippians 3:3

The Will of God

The Will of God will never take you

Where the Grace of God cannot keep you

Where the Arms of God cannot support you

Where the Riches of God cannot support your needs

Where the Power of God cannot endow you.

The Will of God will never take you

Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you

Where the Wisdom of God cannot teach you

Where the Army of God cannot protect you

Where the Hands of God cannot mold you.

The Will of God will never take you

Where the Love of God cannot enfold you

Where the Mercies of God cannot sustain you

Where the Peace of God cannot calm your fears

Where the Authority of God cannot overrule you.

The Will of God will never take you

Where the Comfort of God cannot dry your tears

Where the Word of God cannot feed you

Where the Miracles of God cannot be done for you

Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

~ Author Unknown ~

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes,

and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof:

but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

~ 1 John 2:15-17 ~

Remember, sinner, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee -- it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee -- it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ (though that is the instrument) -- it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not to thy hope, but to Christ, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Christ, the author and finisher of thy faith..

~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

..we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved..

~ Acts 15:11

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations..

~ Deuteronomy 7:9

Forgiven to Forgive

The sin of unforgiveness is a cancer that destroys relationships, eats away at one's own psyche, and - worst of all - shuts us off from God's grace..

~ Robertson McQuilkin

Shortly after the turn of the century, Japan invaded, conquered, and occupied Korea. Of all of their oppressors, Japan was the most ruthless. They overwhelmed the Koreans with a brutality that would sicken the strongest of stomachs. Their crimes against women and children were inhuman. Many Koreans live today with the physical and emotional scars from the Japanese occupation.

One group singled out for concentrated oppression was the Christians. When the Japanese army overpowered Korea one of the first things they did was board up the evangelical churches and eject most foreign missionaries. It has always fascinated me how people fail to learn from history. Conquering nations have consistently felt that shutting up churches would shut down Christianity. It didn't work in Rome when the church was established, and it hasn't worked since. Yet somehow the Japanese thought they would have a different success record. The conquerors started by refusing to allow churches to meet and jailing many of the key Christian spokesmen. The oppression intensified as the Japanese military increased its profile in the South Pacific. The "Land of the Rising Sun" spread its influence through a reign of savage brutality. Anguish filled the hearts of the oppressed -- and kindled hatred deep in their souls. One pastor persistently entreated his local Japanese police chief for permission to meet for services. His nagging was finally accommodated, and the police chief offered to unlock his church..for one meeting.

It didn't take long for word to travel. Committed Christians starving for an opportunity for unhindered worship quickly made their plans. Long before dawn on that promised Sunday, Korean families throughout a wide area made their way to the church. They passed the staring eyes of their Japanese captors, but nothing was going to steal their joy. As they closed the doors behind them they shut out the cares of oppression and shut in a burning spirit anxious to glorify their Lord.

The Korean church has always had a reputation as a singing church. Their voices of praise could not be concealed inside the little wooden frame sanctuary. Song after song rang through the open windows into the bright Sunday morning. For a handful of peasants listening nearby, the last two songs this congregation sang seemed suspended in time. It was during a stanza of "Nearer My God to Thee" that the Japanese police chief waiting outside gave the orders. The people toward the back of the church could hear them when they barricaded the doors, but no one realized that they had doused the church with kerosene until they smelled the smoke. The dried wooden skin of the small church quickly ignited. Fumes filled the structure as tongues of flame began to lick the baseboard on the interior walls.

There was an immediate rush for the windows. But momentary hope recoiled in horror as the men climbing out the windows came crashing back in -- their bodies ripped by a hail of bullets. The good pastor knew it was the end. With a calm that comes from confidence, he led his congregation in a hymn whose words served as a fitting farewell to earth and a loving salutation to heaven. The first few words were all the prompting the terrified worshipers needed. With smoke burning their eyes, they instantly joined as one to sing their hope and leave their legacy. Their song became a serenade to the horrified and helpless witnesses outside. Their words also tugged at the hearts of the cruel men who oversaw this flaming execution of the innocent.

Alas! and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

Just before the roof collapsed they sang the last verse, their words an eternal testimony to their faith.

But drops of grief can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away
'Tis all that I can do!

At the cross, at the cross
Where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away..
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day..

The strains of music and wails of children were lost in a roar of flames. The elements that once formed bone and flesh mixed with the smoke and dissipated into the air. The bodies that once housed life fused with the charred rubble of a building that once housed a church. But the souls who left singing finished their chorus in the throne room of God. Clearing the incinerated remains was the easy part. Erasing the hate would take decades. For some of the relatives of the victims, this carnage was too much. Evil had stooped to a new low, and there seemed to be no way to curb their bitter loathing of the Japanese.

In the decades that followed, that bitterness was passed on to a new generation. The Japanese, although conquered, remained a hated enemy. The monument the Koreans built at the location of the fire not only memorialized the people who died, but stood as a mute reminder of their pain.

Inner rest? How could rest coexist with a bitterness deep as marrow in the bones? Suffering, of course, is a part of life. People hurt people. Almost all of us have experienced it at some time. Maybe you felt it when you came home to find that your spouse had abandoned you, or when your integrity was destroyed by a series of well-timed lies, or when your company was bled dry by a partner. It kills you inside. Bitterness clamps down on your soul like iron shackles.

The Korean people who found it too hard to forgive could not enjoy the "peace that passes all understanding." Hatred choked their joy.

It wasn't until 1972 that any hope came. A group of Japanese pastors traveling through Korea came upon the memorial. When they read the details of the tragedy and the names of the spiritual brothers and sisters who had perished, they were overcome with shame. Their country had sinned, and even though none of them were personally involved (some were not even born at the time of the tragedy), they still felt a national guilt that could not be excused.

They returned to Japan committed to right a wrong. There was an immediate outpouring of love from their fellow believers. They raised ten million yen ($25,000). The money was transferred through proper channels and a beautiful white church building was erected on the sight of the tragedy. When the dedication service for the new building was held, a delegation from Japan joined the relatives and special guests. Although their generosity was acknowledged and their attempts at making peace appreciated, the memories were still there. Hatred preserves pain. It keeps the wounds open and the hurts fresh. The Koreans' bitterness had festered for decades. Christian brothers or not, these Japanese were descendants of a ruthless enemy.

The speeches were made, the details of the tragedy recalled, and the names of the dead honored. It was time to bring the service to a close. Someone in charge of the agenda thought it would be appropriate to conclude with the same two songs that were sung the day the church was burned. The song leader began the words to "Nearer My God to Thee." But something remarkable happened as the voices mingled on the familiar melody. As the memories of the past mixed with the truth of the song, resistance started to melt. The inspiration that gave hope to a doomed collection of churchgoers in a past generation gave hope once more. The song leader closed the service with the hymn "At the Cross."

The normally stoic Japanese could not contain themselves. The tears that began to fill their eyes during the song suddenly gushed from deep inside. They turned to their Korean spiritual relatives and begged them to forgive. The guarded, calloused hearts of the Koreans were not quick to surrender. But the love of the Japanese believers -- unintimidated by decades of hatred -- tore at the Koreans' emotions.

At the cross, at the cross
Where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away..

One Korean turned toward a Japanese brother. Then another. And then the floodgates holding back a wave of emotion let go. The Koreans met their new Japanese friends in the middle. They clung to each other and wept. Japanese tears of repentance and Korean tears of forgiveness intermingled to bathe the site of an old nightmare.

Heaven had sent the gift of reconciliation to a little white church in Korea.

~ by Tim Kimmel, Little House on the Freeway

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more..

~ Hebrews 8:12