1 cross
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4 given

(Got this from a friend of mine)

You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I've ever heard this twist on the story. Gives you something to think about.

Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house.

The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely.

As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband.

He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment.

Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.

He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?

Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value...

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?
'Look at it.' He said. 'Read what it says.'
She read the words ' United States of America '

'No, not that; read further.'

'One cent?' 'No, keep reading.'

'In God we Trust?' 'Yes!' 'And?'

'And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him.. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me , God is patient and pennies are plentiful!

When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized t hat I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, 'In God We Trust,' and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message.

It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And, God is patient...

God's Riches At Christ's Expense

I'm telling you, the devil is getting really really desperate. Now, it is the pig's turn to be attacked. Poor pigs.

I remember in one of his sermons where Pastor Prince jokingly said, "Now, even birds got flu. Next time what? Swine flu ah?" Lol! This was several years ago when swine flu didn't exist.

Just heard the news saying that WHO (World Health Organization) is declaring that the world is under a threat. See how fragile the world is? Literally the whole world is thrown into a state of panic, because of PIGS?? So sad...

How are Char Siew and Roasted Pork Rice doing in Singapore? Hopefully they are doing fine.

Anyway, as for me, I don't even care. I am under grace.

Just earned my driver's license earlier this afternoon. Now I am a full-fledged driver.

Today is miraculous. It was raining very very heavily since early morning. So I was thinking, "Hmm, the driving test is gonna be fun with this heavy rain." However, as the time of my appointment was approaching, the heavy rain gradually became drizzle. And when I stepped out of my apartment, the rain had completely stopped. It continued drizzling during the driving test, but it didn't disturb my test at all. Now as I am writing this entry, the sky is totally, completely clearly blue.

Thank God for a God that controls and calms the weather =)

Did you know that most Christians still believe their relationship with God is dependent on their performance? They believe answered prayers and God’s blessing in their lives are in direct proportion to their holiness and ability to overcome sin. If they attend church, pay their tithes, read their Bibles, and control their flesh, they have somehow earned the blessing of God.

That may sound reasonable at first, but that line of thinking will destroy your confidence in God and couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is, sin isn’t even an issue with God. That may seem like a radical statement, but it is exactly what the Word teaches. Romans 3:4 says,

“Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.”

When Jesus came on the scene, one of the first things He had to do was counter all the religious traditions and doctrines of His day. Paul recognized the same problem. He said in Romans 10:2-3,

“For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

Just because people are zealous or religious does not mean what they believe is correct. One of the most misunderstood doctrines in the Bible is what really happened when Jesus came to earth, fulfilled the Law, and was sacrificed for our sins. When He said in John 19:30 “It is finished,” everything changed.

Jesus forever changed the way God relates to mankind. Sure, there are scriptural examples of God’s catastrophic judgment on sin. But God’s greatest act of judgment was when He placed His entire wrath upon Jesus for our sins. This forever satisfied God’s wrath. Since that time, God hasn’t been judging our sins (2 Cor. 5:19). God’s not angry with us; He’s not even in a bad mood.

Look at the angels’ joy at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Luke 2:13-14 says,

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

This scripture is very familiar to many, yet there is a lot of misunderstanding about what it’s saying. Some translations say they were proclaiming “good will among men” or “peace to men of good will.” Basically, this passage has been interpreted that Jesus was bringing peace on earth among people. But that’s not why these angels were praising God. If that interpretation were true, then Jesus’ own words in Matthew 10:34-36 would contradict this. He said,

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”

Jesus Himself said He was not sent to bring peace on the earth among people. The peace that the angels were praising God for (Luke 2:13-14) was peace BETWEEN God and man. They were announcing the end of God’s war on sin. Peace now reigns between God and man.

Prior to Jesus’ coming, God’s wrath was against man for his sins. It wasn’t total wrath. Even in the Old Testament, we see God’s mercy and grace. Yet the Old Testament Law was a ministry of wrath (Rom. 4:15; 2 Cor. 3:7, and 9), and man’s sins were held against him. But when Jesus came, God quit holding man’s sins against him. This is exactly what 2 Corinthians 5:19 and 21 say,

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation…For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

The word “reconciliation” is talking about making peace. God was no longer holding us accountable. Instead, He imputed our sins to Jesus, making Jesus accountable for our sins. Jesus became what we were so we could become what He was—the righteousness of God.

Jesus was like a lightning rod that drew all the judgment of God unto Himself. He not only bore our sins; He actually became sin (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus said in John 12:27-32:

“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

Many have thought John 12:32 means that if God is properly glorified in our preaching, then He will draw all people to Himself. But that is not what this scripture is saying.

If you look in the King James Version, notice that the word “men” in verse 32 is italicized. That means it wasn’t in the original language. The translators put this word in italics to let people know this was their addition, but it wasn’t a part of the text. If you take this verse in context, I believe the Lord was saying that He would draw all JUDGMENT to Himself. Jesus, like a lightning rod, attracted all of God’s judgment for all of mankind’s sins for all time unto Himself.

All the murder, all the perversion, every vile and rotten sin imaginable, all sickness, and all disease ever known to mankind actually entered into His physical human body. Isaiah 52:14 talks about the crucifixion of Jesus and says that He was marred more than any man, to the point that He was unrecognizable as a human being.

That could not have happened just from physical beatings, especially since the Word says that not a single bone was broken in His body (Ps. 34:20 with John 19:36). I believe His body was completely disfigured from cancers, tumors, diseases, deformities, and anything else that human beings have ever suffered.

Jesus didn’t ask for the cup to be taken from Him just because of the physical pain He would suffer, but because He did not want to become sin. He hated becoming what He came to redeem us from. And the worst of all Jesus’ sufferings was total rejection from His Father. Matthew 27:46 says,

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

God the Father forsook Jesus so that you and I would never be forsaken. All that we would have suffered through billions of years in eternity—the grief, the pain, and worst of all, the complete separation from the presence of God—Jesus experienced. And He experienced all of this for us. The judgment was made and the sentence carried out. The price was paid in full, once for all.

When we say God is still judging us for our sins as individuals or corporately as a nation, we are saying that the price Jesus paid wasn’t enough. Therefore, a judgment must again be made and a sentence passed. That would be “double jeopardy,” and that is not what the Bible teaches.

Some of you may not like this, but it’s true. Sin isn’t a problem with God anymore. It’s the church that has made it a major deal. Neither past, present, nor future sins can separate us from God. The only people who will go to hell are those who have spurned and rejected the greatest sacrifice that has ever been made. In heaven, we won’t answer for our individual sins; Jesus already has. We will answer for our acceptance or rejection of Jesus.

You might now be thinking, You’re just giving people a license to sin. Well, it seems to me that people are doing a pretty good job of that without a license. What I’m saying will not free you to sin; it will free you from the condemnation and the guilt that comes when you do sin.

To continue in sin is just stupid. You’ll be opening the door for Satan to have an inroad into your life (Rom. 6:16). If you sin, you will suffer the natural consequences of it, but it will not be because of the judgment of God.

After reading this, I am sure many questions have come to your mind. This subject counters so much of what is being taught in the church today that you need to hear the rest of the message. I teach on this extensively in my series The War Is Over. Order it or go to our website and download the entire message in MP3 format. It will change your life.

Here is the link: http://awmi.net/extra/article/war_over

Yes, He is.

God caused me to meet a man of God who is almost-identical with Pastor Prince. Of course I am not talking about physical appearance, but the teaching. His name is Andrew Wommack.

I am still not working, so I spend most of my time at home. I use this opportunity to tune to the Christian channels. Man, I am telling you, the Christian channels here in USA are literally ABUNDANT! I thank God for Pastor Prince for teaching me how to correctly filter the word of God that I am listening.

Well, one morning, I happened to stumble to one of Andrew Wommack's broadcast in The Church Channel (TBN) one morning. He was talking about faith and how if you want your problems solved, the one you have to is not God but the problem itself. Jesus Himself says, "Whosoever speaks to this mountain to move and be cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart, it shall happen." And I thought to myself, "Man, that is interesting. That is one powerful point that I have missed." So I began to listen to his preaching more and more. I checked his website at http://awmi.net and I found so many free audio teachings. Thank God! Haha. At least for now, I don't have to buy CD sermons anymore. The things that he shares are so similar with Pastor Prince's. Sometimes, he even gives me a new insight through his teachings. The way he teaches is so simple and understandable. I encourage you to go to his website and download his teachings. They are good!

I still remember how He brought me to New Creation Church where everything seemed so coincidental. And God repeats it once again here.

So yup, I truly thank God for this. Pastor Prince is truly not the only wonderful teacher and preacher lol!

1 Peter 5:7
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Well, that is obvious, isn't it? If you want to be carefree (or free of care), then cast your care to God.

But, how do I cast my care to God? One practical way to do this is to constantly live in thanksgiving. When you say thanks to God, it will help to believe and have the mindset that Jesus has indeed finished all the things you need and all your problems. By simply saying thanks, you make a decision to refuse to walk based on what you see around, but based on what the word of God has said about you and your life.

Even in your prayer, instead keep on begging God to give you this, to give you that, spend more time saying thanks to God. Prayer that is full of begging is as if God has not done anything with your life, God has not blessed you with anything. Not only that, it will cause you to be full of the care of life. Because when you pray like that, you are actually saying, "I don't have it yet." And almost all our cares are originated from the mindset of I-don't-have-it-yet.

Ephesians 1:3 says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who HAS BLESSED us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. The truth is, God has blessed you. The best response you can give to someone that has given you everything is simply to stop asking and begging, and start saying thanks.

Thank you, Jesus.

John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 17:3 (NIV)
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

The primary purpose of salvation is not simply for the forgiveness of our sins only, but for us to have a personal relationship with God.

Those who have bibles that are falling apart, have lives that are not.

It is not a compliment at all when someone comes to you and tells you that you have a great faith. In fact, it takes "great faith" to constantly believe on something that seldom or never works. But, hey, God always works.

Quoted from John Hagee.

"There is no one that is so good that they do not need grace. There is no one that is so bad that they cannot find grace."

Quoted from Dr. Ed Young.

It is now Monday, almost 2 hours past the midnight and I am still awake.

It was quite a challenging trip. I couldn't watch any movie on my flight from Manila to Los Angeles because the monitor in front of me was spoiled. So, there I was, in the plane for about 12 hours without movies. But strangely, I didn't feel irritated at all because of that. Thank God for giving me such an unshakable peace and calmness. So, because there were no movies to watch, I just fell asleep almost throughout the flight.

Right before exiting the airport, I was granted the US permanent resident status. The process went very very smoothly without any tricky and suspicious questioning from the US immigration officers at the airport.

And finally, as I stepped out, there I saw my family for the first time after more than 1 year. When I reached home, one of the first things I did was to eat and taste my mom's cooking. Yummy!

I also want to thank God for having Pastor Prince preached at Daystar. I believe God did that for me haha. Last year, our TV couldn't receive Daystar broadcast. But now, since the broadcasting system has been changed to digital, I can watch Daystar from TV. Now, I kinda pity many of you because you can only see Pastor Prince once a week. But I can see him almost everyday lol! If I am not wrong, TBN also broadcasts Pastor Prince's sermons. And you know what? I can also watch TBN from my home. Again, it is a blessing because last year my TV couldn't receive TBN broadcast either. So, being at a right place at a right time is what I have been experiencing by the grace of God. Everything has just been amazing and effortless.

It is fiften past 2 in the morning now. I guess I should go to sleep.

Thank you, Jesus. I am blessed.

Flying with Philippine Airlines (I wish I could fly with SIA again. Some of you might already know the reason haha).

Departure time 1430 (singapore time), arrival time 2005 (los angeles time). It is going to be a 20 hour-long flight, phew... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Getting the iPod filled with sermons and Destined To Reign book ready for my meal during flight.

I am ready.

Tomorrow will  be my last Sunday before I take off on Saturday 13 Sept to USA. I am going to stay there for a couple of months, but will be back here again in Singapore before the year ends. I don't know what the exact dates are though.

I initially didn't plan to fly to USA. But obviously, God has a totally different plan. I can clearly see that God has really be heavily involved in all the happenings, the twists and turns in the past few months of my life. God made it in such a way that I have to fly to USA. Yes, I have to fly to USA this time to settle something very important. It's not that I don't want to fly to USA. On the contrary, I thank God for that.

I am so excited that finally, I will be meeting my family again after 1 year plus! ! I will be able to taste my mom's cooking again. For my visit this time, I won't bring a lot of money, I won't bring a lot of presents for my family. All I will bring is simply me, myself, and the Holy Spirit that is residing in me. And I have asked God to bless me so that my presence there can be a blessing. To be more specific, I have asked God to cause me to impart the spirit of abundance to my family. I really want all of us to live this life just as how a normal Christian should live, with the consciousness of a big God, a God of abundance! It shall be so in Jesus' name.


Tomorrow is also going to be another special Sunday because tomorrow will be my first day serving as the holy communion team. I belong to Zeta team by the way. I never knew that I would be placed in Zeta team. And tomorrow happens to be the day when Zeta team is scheduled to serve! Isn't that amazing that God gives a chance to serve at least once before I depart from Singapore for a couple of months? What a privilege! A special thanks to Steven for approaching me and encouraging me to sign up on the day of the mass recruitment ;)


The Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything that I need.

What comes to your mind when you think of the word “pure”? You might think of a young, innocent child or fresh, fallen snow. It’s interesting that most people don’t immediately think of themselves as pure even though that’s exactly how God sees us once we receive His forgiveness. The scripture says that He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It doesn’t matter what may have happened in the past, the Bible says that He takes our sins and casts them into the sea of forgetfulness. That means He chooses not to remember them. When God looks at you, He doesn’t see your past mistakes and failures; He sees your future. He sees your gifts and talents. He sees your destiny.

Oftentimes, the enemy will try to hold us back by reminding us of our past. Whenever you start to feel guilty or condemned, remember this scripture. If you have confessed your sins to the Father and have received His forgiveness, then you have been purified. Let this truth sink down deeply on the inside of you. As you do, you will be strengthened and empowered to rise to new levels so you can enjoy the abundant life He has for you!

Hansel: Lord! I'm having this problem! What should I do? Can you please show me something fresh and new?

God: Believe and speak, and you shall receive.

Hansel: I know about that already. Come on! I want something more spectacular.

God: I have told you: believe and speak, and you shall receive.

Hansel: Are you sure? It is just too simple.

God: I though you said that you wanted something spectacular?

Hansel: Yes, I indeed said that. But what you told just now, I know about that already. It is too simple, Lord.

God: That's why it is spectacular, Son. What is so spectacular about me and my way is that it is simple, and yet powerful and fruitful.

Hansel: ............... (And Hansel cannot complain anymore)

Selamat ulang tahun yang ke-22, Hansel! Daddy GOD loves you!

I am the righteousness of God in Him.

I am the person the Daddy GOD loves the most in this universe.

Yes, that's all that matters for me: Jesus' very own opinion about me.

I don't want to get opinions from my job, or from the amount of money in my bank accounts, or any other things.

I don't want to live this life asking, "Who does the bank account says I am? Who does my job says I am?"

Lord Jesus, please help to stay distracted from my circumstances. It is You that matters in my life. And I know that You will definitely help me. I thank You, Jesus.

My heart, my heart...
You are such a poor thing...
Look at you. You look as if nobody has taken care of you for decades.
Look at those thorns that are growing on you...

O heart...

My thorny heart...

Is there anybody out there who can remove all these thorns?

Abba. I call upon you, Father
The most beautiful name in my life
More than everything

Oh, Abba. I call upon you, Father
You have made me worthy to become your son
I call upon you, Jesus

Higher than the sky, that's my Father's love
Deeper than the ocean, you love me so
Vaster than the earth, my mind can never comprehend it
Everything, you have provided for me
Jesus, I love you