New E-mail address! 1flock1shepherd@gmail.com

Hi dearly beloved,

It HAS been awhile since i've posted anything. I'd just like to send a shout out there to all Brothers and Sisters who want to contact me, please email to 1flock1shepherd@gmail.com

Do continue putting up your comments, for whatever you say could be a Word of encouragement for somebody else out there.

Praise God for technology! The world indeed has become a smaller place and because of that His Word can be sent forth to all corners of the earth with great speed and reach.

For all those who need a Word today... Have a good opinion of God! That IS giving Glory to God! Give weight to what He says. He says you are the Righteousness of God in Christ, so you ARE! He says you are heirs of this world, so you ARE! He says we are more than conquerors, so we ARE! Amen!

We come together in this great universe called the World Wide Web, and as we come together, it is a time of Worship and Fellowship. We thank Him for the opportunity that He has created for us to come together to get connected and give each other encouragement.

Thank you all for visiting this humble space of mine. Leave words of wisdom, leave words of comfort, leave words of encouragement and most of all we come to celebrate His love for us.

Thank you Jesus! You are our magnificient Savior!

Shalom Brothers and Sisters.
Emmanuel

From No Limbs to NO LIMITS!

Praise GOD and WOW!

Wow is for Walk On Water man!

Check out this testimony of, Nick Vujicic, a quadraplegic (does not have all 4 limbs).
http://www.56.com/u47/v_MTMzNzk1NTY.HTML

We pray that the Lord will bless him more than abundantly and increase the reach of his ministry to the ends of the earth.

Do not compare sufferings as this gentleman said, but i tell you, it's such an inspiring story to see God's Grace working in and through his life.

To each has been called his purpose by GOD.

Jeremiah 29:11

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

He IS our Future, He IS our Hope.

Praise GOD, we Love you Jesus. Hallelujah!

In and Through ALL things we give Thanks.

Hi all,

It's been awhile since i've contributed anything. I've been busy with work. It's been an awesome blessing to be where i am. Being surrounded by God's people and being guided by their Godly counsel through my day to day activities. It is so awesome to experience God's hand in your life everyday!

Through our tough times of struggle and challenge, that's the time when the rubber meets the road. What do i believe in? Do i believe in a BIG Daddy God who shelters me under His mighty wings at all times? DO i believe that my blessings is dependant on my good works or how "hard" i've worked? Or is it fully from Him and we have already received ALL His blessings for us and what we do here on this earth is blessing in itself where we enjoy what we do EVERYDAY! My Daddy God has given me an awesome job where i enjoy what i do everyday!

Joy and enter His rest... As we rejoice His goodness, He our Rock of Salvation IS our Rest.

Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice! Then Worship Him in All His Glory!

BE still and know our GOD. As He was on the cross as us, now, we are as Him in our Father's eyes.

His Perfect Love for us, pierced as He hung on the cross for us. We now receive FREELY ALL His blessings.

How can we not rejoice? Amazing Grace.

Yeshua
Hanazarei
Vamelekh
Hayahudim

Yeshua of Nazareth, King of the Jews, who is YHVH.

Thank you Jesus. I love you, i thank you for all that you have done for me. You are in me now and now know i live a Victorious life!

Amen!

Desire Fulfilled is a Tree of Life...

Hi dearly beloved,

How often have we been told that to desire "things" is carnal? Desire itself being put in a physical/fleshly context can sound like a dirty word.

But truth to be told, God wants us to DESIRE good "things" for us all! That house that you like? Have the desire for it! That awesome German car that you want? Have a desire for it! We have all been blessed with all the spiritual blessings in heavenly places and also blessed with all good things for us on this earth.

Proverbs 13:12

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.

First question that would unravel this mystery would be, what is the Tree of Life?

As we look back at the first mention of the Tree of Life in Genesis 2:9,

9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

We find that the Tree of Life is "In the Midst" of the Garden. That is truly interesting as we find out that Jesus likes to be "In the Midst" of things too!
There is only 3 times mentioned in the Bible of Jesus being "in the midst" and uniquely we find that whenever Jesus is "in the midst", Peace always follows!

Luke 24:36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

John 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace, be unto you.

So, i would say, it is scriptural to desire all good things as this would bring Jesus into your midst and give you His Peace!

Should we then agree or doubt that our Father can really give us all these things that we desire?

Well i guess His promise is best and we have to hang on to it don't we? Let's take a look.

John 14:13
And whatever you may ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 14:14
If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

John 16:23
And in that day you shall ask Me nothing. Truly, truly, I say to you, Whatever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

John 16:24
Before now you have asked nothing in My name; ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.

Ask our Daddy God! Ask Him in Jesus name... It's easy!
Just receive freely what your heart desires anytime knowing that the Debt has been paid on the cross through our wonderful Saviour Jesus Christ!

Isn't our Heavenly Daddy great? So much He has already given and now He wants to give us some more!

Who's ready to be blessed some more? Who's ready for their storehouses to be filled with overflowing abundance? Who's ready for their tents to be enlarged? Who's ready for their youth to be renewed unceasingly? Health, Wholeness, Healing, Prosperity and all in all a Victorious Life!

I'm ready! Amen to that.

Are you?...

Be greatly blessed, left, right, center and all around you!

Your beloved brother,
Emmanuel.

Glimpse of Heaven...

A glimpse of Heaven is all it takes to know that the Kingdom is here and now too...

Many a times we wonder what it's like to be in Heaven with our Father. Look around you, what's your Daddy God saying to you? Is He saying loving words of encouragement? Is He comforting you and telling you not to worry? Is He telling you that everything's going to be ok?

Now when i look at my baby girl, my Daddy God is telling me all those things. He says, "Son, this IS Heaven... Look at your daughter. Do you love her? That's how I love you and so much more." And you know that He's got a BIG BIG smile behind what He just said to you.

"I've given my Son up for you. He was my Heart. As much as it hurts me to see my Heart pierced and staked right through and bled dry... It pleases me to see that I can have you with me in my Kingdom for all eternity."

Our Father gave His dearest best to us, for us... Aren't we blessed?

This love that no man can give, only our Father gives!

Lord, we love You, we worship You, we magnify You in our lives. We thank You for all that you have blessed us with and we thank for all the blessings that we have already received in providence.

Your blessed son,
Emmanuel

He has delivered us! FOREVER.

Hi dearly beloved,

How often have we asked God to deliver us from this struggle to that persecution and whatever else we have asked Him to deliver us from? I have. I'm sure you have too. Something powerful for us all to believe and practice is what Paul preached to the people in Colosse. Colosse was where the people there were primarily gnostics and had a defective view of Christ. The gnostics believed that all matter is evil. With that defective knowledge of God, it would be impossible to be set free from evil because we are still bound in this flesh that we are in for this life here on earth. Of course, for us, believers in God supreme and almighty, a God that created the Heavens and the earth and a God when He created said that all His creation is good!

With His goodness, mercy and His Son's redemptive work for us, we are assured of ourselves being delivered from all darkness which may seem to overshadow ourselves sometimes. This is what Paul said,

Colossians 1:12-13
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Do we think that this deliverance is forever or partial? Jesus' work was final. As He said, "It is finished!", we are delivered from the power of darkness forever. With this, we enter His kingdom. We are now heirs of Light and victorious Kings And Queens forever!

On top of being delivered from the power of darkness, we even have forgiveness of sins! Wow! A double whammy.

Colossians 1:14
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

But you know, sometimes our mind plays tricks on us. Our mind brings us back to remembrance our past sins, our past addictions, our past failed relationships, our past failures. How many of us are familiar with this? We do not have to worry then because Paul reminded us the following truth. Where at times we are alienated from God through the enemies in our minds by our previous wicked works, we are now reconciled through Jesus.

Colossians 1:21-22
21 And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish, and without charge in His sight,

With Jesus, our wicked works are now in His flesh which was put through death. Put through death on the Cross. Is not that not enough for us? For us to be delivered from all powers that once bound us, now we are set free! Forever! Now God sees us holy, without blemish, spotless and without any wrongdoing in His sight.

We praise you God Almighty, that You came for us through your Son, Jesus Christ, and delivered us forever from our iniquities. We pray Lord that we are kept in this knowing all the time.

Hallelujah & Amen.

Your beloved son,
Emmanuel.

My baby girl has arrived!

Hi to all you children of God,

It's such a glorious day last Wednesday when my baby girl decided to greet us earlier by 2 weeks.

God is so good. Everything was just so perfect in His timing. My heart melted when my baby girl came out. When the nurses bundled her up and brought her to my wife and i, i cried. It was tears of joy. Tears that only God can understand because He gave us that first love. If i can love this baby so much that i'll give my life for her, what more He!

It's so amazing to see God's love packed into such a tiny bundle. And that's how He came to us! A helpless little babe in a stinky manger in Bethlehem. God Magnficient, Supreme, above all else, decided to compress Himself and lose all His Majesty and Glory to be with us. As a helpless baby. He could have come immediately as a young, muscular, strong and strapping man. But no, He decided, let's do this minus all the superhero trappings and come as a tiny bundle of flesh first. Grow up as a little boy, fall down and get scraped in the knees as all little boys do and finally grow up to be a humble carpenter to serve your every daily need to furnish your home. That's who our Lord is.

He that is, will always be our first love. With that we love our family. To know Him is to see Him in all that we experience in life. He gave Himself up to be punished for us, to be beaten for us, to be pierced and bled dry for us, so that we can enjoy this life here on earth more than abundantly and receive all His blessings freely. Freely He has given His first Love to us and therefore we can freely love others, just like my darling baby girl. : )

Shalom to one and all. Be sheltered by His love underneath His mighty wings.

Be greatly blessed, highly favoured and deeply loved.

Emmanuel.

Yet you seek to kill me...

Why?... Why do you seek to kill me?

I have come to tell you the truth from my Father. My words find no reception in your hearts.

As i have said, if I set you free, you WILL be free indeed.

I am telling you what my Father has shown me. Just as you are now doing what your father has shown you.

I know you are of Abraham's flesh, but are you of Abraham's seed of faith and holiness?

But now,... Now, you seek to kill me?! A man that has told you the truth from God! This, Abraham would not have done...

Yet you say you do the works of your father.

If God were your Father, you would love me... I came from HIM! And only Him... He sent me! I did not come on my own.

Don't you understand what I'm saying? Can't you stand to hear what I'm saying?

Your father is the devil! And you do exactly what he wants. His lust you carry out! A murderer from the beginning! And never did he remain in the Truth. As he speaks, it is all lies! Anything that springs forth of him is a lie. He IS the father of lies!

Don't you not see that?!

And because I tell you the Truth, you believe me not...

He that is of God, hears His words. For this, you do not hear His words because you are not of God.

I have no demon. I honor my Father. You dishonor me...

(Inspired from John 8:37-49)

Lord, i know how we have come to seek You. But i know you have come to seek us first. There are still some of us out there rejecting you, persecuting you, still wanting you killed! Wanting to kill Your Truth. But Lord, i know you are Mighty. And You have said it is Finished!

Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that you ARE LORD of all!

Simplicity: Believing or Doing? Freedom or Religion?

Hi beloved Brothers & Sisters,

I'm sure many of us have come to a place where like myself, have been pointed at with a finger and being told that we're lost. By accepting Jesus Christ as our Saviour we are LOST. I personally do not use this word on my other non-Christian brothers and sisters. I think all of us are finding our way home, finding our way back to our Daddy God, Abba Father. Given the faculties of our hearts and minds, believing is a matter of choice after the WAY has been revealed to many. We are all crying out to be loved at the most intimate and personal level, which some of our other brothers and sisters have not come to experience yet. It is out of this big-ness, if i can use such a word, of our Abba's heart that we as Believers can love our other brothers and sisters out there who pointedly say that we are the LOST ones.

We do not claim to believe and profess a new religion. Religion is elitist. Only a rare few will attain a desired "holiness" in God's eyes. Religion is adhering to a set of beliefs and system. Religion puts the human heart and mind in boundaries. Religion causes strife as internal factions, denominations, belief systems try to prove who is the Truest one, which "God" is the most true "God". Religion is a state of constant doing to stay in the favour of God. What happens then, if all of these are not fulfilled? Tiring isn't it?

What is, then, Simplicity?

We are called just to believe. Believe that GOD so loved the world, He gave Himself through Yeshua HaMaschiach for the redemption of our SIN, past, present and future. So, in HIS eyes, we are always favoured, deeply loved by our Daddy God and know that we will always be greatly blessed. Because now, HE is IN us. GOD does not see us as the sinner anymore but as HIS own. HE sees us as the perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ.

Just believe and receive and no more doing. You have now found freedom. Our covenant with our Daddy God now does not require us to do the things that religion asks us to do anymore. Would you want to go to Heaven? Do you know you have a place reserved for you in Heaven? It IS a FREE GIFT you know... Do you believe it? Or is your human heart to small to BELIEVE it? Sceptical? I'm sure you are. But believe in a GOD who loves you true and true. Believe in a GOD that numbers the hairs on your head. Believe in a GOD that will chase and run towards you to welcome you home and give you a huge kiss on the cheeks and a really HUGE bear hug. Believe in a GOD that hears every groan and moan that you have in your hearts. Believe in a GOD that put Himself through the greatest suffering on earth to redeem you from Sin and buy you back with His own blood and life. His Pain, His anguish and all our Gain. He has called us His own. His own children. And where does children stay? with their parents in their homes. Our Abba's mansion is HUGE! He's reserved a place for ALL of US!

"Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again to receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." Jesus' own words were these. God on Earth spoke these wonderful and beautiful promise. (Mark 14:1-5)

We just thank Him and magnify Him. He says, don't worry. He goes before us to prepare a place for us. And He comes back again to receive us.

So i speak to all our other beloved brothers and sisters out there; what more simplicity than this? Is religion what you truly seek? Or is LOVE, assurance of Heaven and spiritual freedom that you seek?

May the Lord bless you and keep you in His Shalom peace for all of your days.

Emmanuel.

I AM THAT I AM

Shalom Shalom Brothers & Sisters,

I want to thank My GOD, My Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For without Him there is no us. For without Him there is no existence of this universe. The majesty of this magnificient creation of our Father God came into existence and still IS because Our Father from the Beginning had His Son in His Mind to be the glue to our existence, the glue to the universe surrounding us.

The first part of this entry i want to share with you some insights with regards to GOD's introduction to Moses. I AM THAT I AM. *(This is solely my viewpoint and does not represent the teaching that i'm receiving from my place of feeding.)

So, let's begin. I was researching some stuff regarding the Hebrew alphabets and actually sinking my teeth into the letter ALEPH when this verse was used as part of an example. Something popped straight into my eyes. I've read this phrase on my E-Sword (PC bible) before but never noticed the full spelling in Hebrew.

משׁה אהיה אשׁר אהיה

It reads from right to left "MOSHEH AHYH ASHER AHYH" poetically translated in English I AM THAT I AM. In Hebrew it would mean something like "EXIST/BE! Who is EXIST/BE!"

GOD was telling Moses of HIS total EXISTING, HIS total BEING and that HE IS. But then again something struck and rang a bell in my head. AHYH sounds strangely familiar and close to my heart. Because in the Malay language, Ayah is Father! Now, like i said, this is purely my personal view point. But can you imagine... GOD telling Moses, "Moses, Daddy who IS Daddy." WOW! Imagine that. Most of us take this verse to be something pretty impersonal actually. GOD was presenting His absolute Glory as I AM THAT I AM. But now we see how GOD wants to be with us so closely, even with Moses. Daddy who IS Daddy... Man i tell you, i feel so blessed that He is now in us. That's how close He wanted to be with Moses but the Helper was not sent yet as the Son has not yet been glorified.

Ready for one more?

Check this out. In Arabic, Ayah means Sign or Miracle. So, GOD said this to Moses, "Moses, Sign who IS the Sign", "Moses, Miracle who IS Miracle." GOD wants us to know that HE IS THE SIGN & MIRACLE! HE IS! Man, He is such an awesome GOD. Even today He gives us a fresh knowing of His Word.

Which then brings me to the study of Aleph.



Aleph has the gematria of 1. HE is the only One. The Only Supreme GOD. Within Aleph itself we're given the Secret to the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The letter Aleph is written with 2 Yods and 1 Vav. As we can see how Aleph is written we have 1 Yod above the Vav and 1 Yod below the Vav. The gematria shown is that Yod carries a value of 10, Vav 6. So (2 x 10) + 6 = 26. Which is equivalent to the gematria of GOD's name YHVH. WOW! GOD speaks even through the individual letter that He has created!

Let us see how the revelation of His Son is given through Aleph.




If we draw a horizontal line cutting across the middle of Aleph, we can see the separation of two realms. The divine which is Heaven and His Realm that's without end and the earthly realm where we are. The Yods above and below symbolises GOD's sovereign Hand touching Heaven and crossing over to our realm to touch us. But how? Through the Vav! Vav's gematria is 6, the number of man as man was created on the 6th day. So GOD has to transcend and descend from the Heavenly places through a Man to be with us! And Vav's pictogram is also a hook. So, we can see the lower part of the Vav in Aleph is hooked. GOD wants to be hooked with us and to us! Thank you Father GOD! You love us so much that you want to be hooked to us. So as You sent Your Son and Him being glorified on the cross, He has sent us the Helper in us! Wow! Awesome is our GOD, ain't HE? So now, we are One with Him.

The gematria of Yod is 10. It can be said that it represents our works, the Laws but it also represents GOD's Hands. Gematria of 1 and 0. Beginning and the End. The Alpha and the Omega. The Aleph and the Tav! As Jesus is with us from the Beginning to the End on Earth, He also will be with us in Heaven. Aleph, with the GOD-MAN from the Beginning to the End. Hallelujah! And as we can see, in Aleph, the Man/Vav is not orientated vertically like in the writing of the singular letter of, ו Vav. It is actually slanted to a diagonal, 45 degrees almost. The letter is struck down. The top or head of the Vav is actually pointing downwards to the earth. Prophetic in nature isn't it?

Isaiah 53:4 says,

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (emphasis is added)

In Hebrew, stricken is נגוע Naga, meaning: violently, to strike (punish, defeat, destroy).

Our Lord was violently stricken, punished to be defeated and destroyed. Yet He rose again and defeated the evil one to give us our Victory. Hallelujah... We love you Lord Jesus.

And finally, the alphabet in Hebrew is known as the Aleph-Bet. And is contracted to be את Et.

In Genesis 1:1 the bible says,

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Hebrew:
Bereshit bara Elohim et shamayim eth herets. (emphasis added)

Literally, it means, "Beginning, created by God AlephTav(alphabet) then heaven and earth."

So, what is AlephTav or better yet who IS AlephTav?

Revelations 22:13

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

And He is our Lord Jesus Christ, His name be Glorified upon all the earth above and below.

Amen & Hallelujah!

In awe of Your Majesty my Father, Your son,
Emmanuel.

Salvation is Greater than Creation...

Shalom Shalom One & All...

It is HALLELUJAH Time!

For the first time i saw my baby girl's face in 3D during the scan. I tell you, the feeling is great! To know that i'm becoming a daddy, man, so so blessed!

We know that Salvation is greater than Creation... What a kick in the head when we know how awesome is our GOD with His hand in Creation. Creation itself is so beautifully magnificient. Just like my baby. So perfect in every way. What more is our Salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him, there is no glue to this universe. It is He who Binds, Our Father's Creation together. And finally with His breath, there comes LIFE... Eternal Life in Him. As we glorify Jesus, Our Redeemer, Saviour, we also enjoy His Creation.

Thank you Abba.

Daddy God, You Loved me first. And now you have given me a gift for me to Love and have a glimpse of your Heart.

Your son,
Emmanuel.

In my weakness, His strength is made Perfect.

Hi dearly beloved,

Have we ever at times felt that in our circumstances we needed to do something more about it? But as we keep trying and trying, it seems to make us more powerless. Impotent to some extent. Even when we start thinking about "how" to rest in that situation can give us strive.

Paul said it so beautifully here:

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Are we willing to give up and be willing to be weak to our own abilities and allow the Lord's strength to be perfected in us? Are we willing to say, "Lord i am weak in this circumstance, i look to Your Perfect Strength to conquer this situation."

Let's bring ourselves back to Moses' first encounter with GOD. Now we know that Moses was a Prince of Egypt. He pretty much gave all that up by running away into the desert. He had all the power and influence as part of the Egyptian royal family. But after he ran away, our Moses became a shepherd. A great picture for us all as believers. A shepherd is a picture of our Lord Jesus. But there was one thing that happened before GOD commissioned Moses to deliver the people of Israel. There was one thing before Moses was empowered by GOD to do His bidding and the power of God at his hands. This was what God said,

Exodus 4 : 2-3

2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

God asked Moses to now throw down the only thing that symbolized Moses' abilities and strengths. His shepherd's rod/staff. A symbol of authority a shepherd had over his flock. Without his rod, Moses is no more. No more Prince of Egypt, not even a shepherd. Worse case scenario, the rod turned into a poisonous serpent! Of course Moses freaked. Therefore he fled, fearing he might be bitten by the serpent.

Then GOD spoke again,

Exodus 4 : 4

4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

Moses obeyed GOD and picked up the serpent by its tail. Now, is this the wisest move? Not necessarily, by holding a snake by the tail, the chances of the snake turning around and biting you is very high. Then again, it goes to show that Moses had to rely on GOD to prevent the serpent from biting him.

From this account, we can clearly see that GOD's intention was to ask Moses not to rely on his own abilities and strengths but to rely upon HIM. Best part was, Moses' obedience to GOD. GOD said, throw your strengths and abilities down, Moses just did it. We can see from this occasion that Moses did not question GOD. Unlike other occasions where Moses is seen questioning GOD and even complaining. But this instance, Moses did not. His humble obedience is what's required.

So, what we can learn here is that, give up our abilities, give up "trying" to do something when you know that this is ultimately His work, His decision. After doing so, then the Lord will confer back your abilities to you. That's when GOD will turn the serpent back into the rod. That's when we know our abilities and strengths come from Him and there is nothing we can boast ourselves of.

And as we take back the rod, the rod becomes His rod.

Exodus 4 : 20

20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

Now, we can see the ordinary rod has become The Rod of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we look unto Him and cast down all our natural abilities at His feet and with this seeming act of weakness, we are actually imbuing ourselves with His Perfect Strength!

Hallelujah! Now we can boldly say, "Jesus i am so weak, so impotent but you're strong and my strength comes from you alone." Amen.

Be blessed by His abundant Grace and we receive, always.

Emmanuel

Turn the other cheek... Decoding Matthew 5:39

Hi everyone! This awesome article is borrowed with courtesy from terenceyeo.blogspot.com

Enjoy & be Blessed!

Turning the other cheek : Decoding Matthew 5:39

Heard during the Thursday, September 22 sermon

"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matthew 5:39, KJV)

Think about it. When the right hand is used to slap somebody's face (the person standing face-to-face with the individual executing the slap), that slapping hand would usually connect with the left-side of that person's face. That would be the most convenient flow-through of the slapping action.

If the hand connected with the right cheek as is indicated in Matthew 5:39, it would not be the palm of the hand that connected with the face but rather the knuckles. This suggests that: not so much that force was intended to be inflicted by something else was intended.

THIS ACTION OF SMITING ON THE RIGHT CHEEK WAS A CHALLENGE TO A DUEL. Later in Europe, this action developed into using a glove to strike the right cheek to signal the challenge to duel.

Therefore, by turning the other cheek, Jesus is simply saying: DON'T ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE TO DUEL. It does not mean, that the Christian, rolls over and plays dead when attacked. Rather, Matthew 5:39 is an exhortation to not be agitated into reacting. TO be an ACTOR not RE-ACTOR. To be a Thermostat and not a Thermometer.

The same principle applies and is followed through in Matthew 5:41

"And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain."

The Romans had a law that compelled their subjects to carry their loads one mile. After that mile, the subject was free to go. By volunteering to carry the load another mile, the subject reverses roles with the Roman. The Roman was in control at the onset because it was he who issued the order to compel the subject to carry the load. The subject was helpless to refuse this Roman ordinance. But by going beyond the ordinance and offering to carry the load one extra mile, the subject was now in control of the situation. The subject is now the leader and not re-actor.

Are Women allowed to teach & preach in the Church?

Hi beloved,

Just to share with everyone, i've been struggling with this verse for a long time.

1 Corinthians 14:34 (KJV)

Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

I've been asking myself how can this be true? I do not believe for one second that God is partial to any sex. This was absolutely troubling for me because our Church obviously has women pastors. And they are of course super anointed!

Last Sunday, while in the que at Church, i somehow chanced upon this verse again. I asked God to help me with this. I came up with a conjecture that possibly this verse could relate to the circumstances that the Corinthian church was going through then. During that time, there were many women who were involved in divination work, goddess worship priestesses and possibly spiritual oracles of the dead or something. I felt that within the context of the Corinthian church, Paul was advising these women against coming into church to teach and preach something they have not understood yet.

To my surprise, what i assumed was pretty accurate. My lovely wife bought me this awesome bible called the Archaeological Study Bible (NIV) about a month ago and on that very Sunday evening, i dived into this particular bible.

On the Cultural & Historical notes for 1 Corinthians 14, it states that: " The religious activities of women in the Greco-Roman world spanned a wide range and exhibited enormous diversity. Some mystery cults included ecstatic, orgiastic worship in which women played a prominent role, and pirestesses were common in the worship of Greek godesses. Some religious festivals in Greece were exclusively for women..."

So taking within the context of the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul was actually addressing the present problems that the church was facing in Corinth which he founded. Corinth was the chief city of Greece, both commercially and politically. It was a bustling trading port of 100,000. Paul was addressing issues dealing with elitism within the church and conflicts over spiritual gifts among other things.

Now, as we use the word church, we have to remember that church would mean the body of Christ, NOT a building. And the body of Christ, the Church, is male and female. So, Paul knew that the body of Christ in Corinth needed his special attention. Therefore, he started writing his letters to the Church leaders in Corinth in response to their letters to him. Let's also now try and understand some words in Greek in relation to scripture. In the verse below,

1 Corinthians 14:2

For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto mEn, but unto God: for no mAn understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

The word MEN is anthrōpos, which just means human being, male & female.

And the word MAN is oudeis, which means, not even one(man, woman, thing).

As we can see now, in the context of the chapters; Chapters 12, 13 & 14 are all about Spiritual Gifts, the Greatest gift that is Love, speaking in tounges & prophecy. As noted above, women during that time, possibly, were in high positions of occult or pagan practices which allowed them to speak in 'foreign' or 'strange' tongues too. They were usually induced with some kind of drugs to get into a trance like state or through other demonic means. This was Paul's concern.

But of course, in specific text reference to verse 34, it still sounds like a law to prevent women from speaking in church. What Paul was doing, he was reiterating what his leaders in Corinth was telling him before he gave his answer. And he knew it was absurd for them to say such a thing because the women WERE the church too. Paul knew the situation of all the clairvoyant women etc. but he also knew the importance of women in the church. Let's take a look at the context.

1 Corinthians 14:36

What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?

Paul was shocked of course. He said, "What?! Did this word come from God? Or it came out from you?" Paul then later goes on to say that his leaders are to understand what he's saying first but if so happens that they do not understand, disregard them for now.

1 Corinthians 14:37-38

37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

1 Corinthians 14:39-40 (Amplified Bible)

39 So [to conclude], my brethren, earnestly desire and set your hearts on prophesying (on being inspired to preach and teach and to interpret God's will and purpose), and do not forbid or hinder speaking in [unknown] tongues.

40 But all things should be done with regard to decency and propriety and in an orderly fashion.

And Paul goes on to say that the church as a whole should continue and earnestly desire to prophecy and speak in tounges. The last verse, verse 40, gives us what Paul wants to be done at the end of the day. For the Church to do things with regards to decency and in established good and proper behaviour.

Yo! Ladies out there, anointed with the oil of gladness from the Lord, teach us and preach to us please! Maintain your fervent prayer language in the Spirit, receive visions and prophecy from God but not forgetting the greatest gift of all... LOVE. All glory to our Lord Jesus Christ! It is His Love for us first that gives us all supernatural blessings and gifts.

Rock on Ladies! Blow us away with your awesome insights of our Lord!

Hallelujah & Be Blessed!

Emmanuel

My God is so good... All the time.

Hi everyone,

The past week was very challenging for me. Me and the wife was somewhat "removed" from my in-law's place where we were bunking in temporarily.

It was emotionally draining for the both us. Especially my wife. She's carrying our baby who'll be received into this world come July. But through it all i rested in the Lord and rested on His Word.

That very night when it was past midnight, my wife had cried her eyes out, i needed my time alone with Him. So, i removed myself and went to the kitchen and ate a slice of bread with cheese. After doing so, i told myself that above all else my God will supply me and my wife all the needs that we ever want. In that very moment, i closed my eyes, and started giving thanks to our Lord. I said something like this, "Thank you Father, for everything that you have given me, thank you Father for my beautiful wife, thank you Father for all the future blessings that we will receive as a family. Thank you Jesus for dying for me. Your death, your poverty, your suffering has bought my resurrection Life in my body, my riches and blessings in this world and my joy and happiness in this world. Thank you, Father. In Jesus name, Amen." After that, in my heart, i asked, "Lord, please give me scripture... Your Word that i can rest on." Within a flash of a moment God flashed in my mind Ephesians 5:21. Hmmm, Ephesians 5:21, i wondered what that was. The same moment, i walked back to my room and looked to the Bible.

Ephesians 5:21

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

For that moment, this verse did not make sense to me. I was thinking what could it be that God was telling me? Then, within that moment He gave me a prompting. He said, "Reza, what did i teach you? To read in context right? Go back 1 verse and forward 1 verse right?"

And so i did. And to my surprise...

Ephesians 5:20

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

I was like... WOAH! My God is so good. He's telling me, "Son, you did the right thing." I felt so assured. I felt so blessed that my God can bring Himself down to my level to even speak to me and giving me comfort.

What about verse 22 then?

Eph 5:22

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

At that point of time, i was telling my wife that we have to move out. The environment we were in was too stressful for her and it won't be healthy for Baby. So, she agreed with me that we had to move out. Which fulfils verse 22.

But verse 21 still confused me slightly. Not knowing that it will be fulfilled the next day. The following day, while i was at work, i messaged a dear Brother of mine. I told him i needed to speak to him and possibly meet for dinner to share with him what happened. Maybe he could help us a little bit. He invited my wife and i to his home for dinner. So, at dinner we were sharing our situation and without hesitation he offered us his guest room for us to stay until we could get our own place. It was so touching for me and my wife. She cried and i was also almost brought to tears. We felt so loved. Not even our own natural families could accept us and love us this way. Without question, without conditions. My family in Christ is far greater than my natural family. And as the both of us submitted ourselves to this dear Brother and his lovely wife, Ephesians 5:21 was fulfilled!

This temporary home now is SO awesome and luxurious that it's unimaginable we could afford something like this on our own! It can only be my GOD, my Jesus that loves us so much...

Thank you, Father, for loving me so much that you gave your only Son, Jesus Christ, for me to receive this undeserved favour and provision from you. All blessings, all riches, all provisions have been laid out for me, only to be harvested. Hallelujah, My Christ & Risen One!

I pray and call forth that this Brother and his wife, be awesomely blessed beyond their imaginations, and the Lord prosper them beyond where their prosperity is at this moment, and the Lord hears and fulfils all their hearts desires!

I AM the beloved son of my Father.

Emmanuel

My Favourite, Psalm 23, expanded for u...

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (Amplified)

9 For you are becoming progressively acquainted with and recognizing more strongly and clearly the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (His kindness, His gracious generosity, His undeserved favor and spiritual blessing), [in] that though He was [so very] rich, yet for your sakes He became [so very] poor, in order that by His poverty you might become enriched (abundantly supplied).

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Matthew 11:28 (NKJV)

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

John 4:14 (NKJV)

14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Ephesians 4:21-23 (NKJV)

21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

Luke 5:32 (NKJV)

32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

4 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.

John 8:12 (NKJV)

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 14:18 (KJV)

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

Luke 22:21-22 (NKJV)

21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”

Hebrews 1:9 (KJV)

9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Romans 5:20 (Amplified)

20 But then Law came in, [only] to expand and increase the trespass [making it more apparent and exciting opposition]. But where sin increased and abounded, grace (God's unmerited favor) has surpassed it and increased the more and superabounded,

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

John 14:2-3 (KJV)

2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Hallelujah, Thank you Lord Jesus, for you ARE my Good Shepherd and without you i can do nothing.

Your beloved son,
Emmanuel

The Joy of The Lord!

Hi everyone...

You know, how we can get so caught up with our day to day goals and targets to reach at work and blah blah blah.

Well, yesterday was really a great day for me at work. The goal that we set for ourselves, we managed to achieve. But the icing on the cake was when my friend decided to come to church with me on Sunday, which was today. I was elated!

And you know what, God doesn't just answer your prayers (i prayed that my friend would come to church with me); He superabounds it! To cut the story short, my friend was saved today! Pastor made the altar call and my friend was the first one to stand up and walked to the front. My wife and I was beaming! I said, Hallelujah! Praise the Lord because He is soooo Gooood! I'm so happy for my friend! This is the Joy that no money can buy, no meeting goals or sales targets, no other thing in this world can give me this joy seeing another brother coming back home to the Lord.

I tell you man, i love it when Pastor preaches about the Prodigal Son. It is exactly what happened today. Once we were all lost but now we are found! It is also a conscious wanting to go home that helps. Because the moment we start turning home looking for our Abba, be it good intentions or even ill intentions, our Abba will hike up His stately garments and run to us and welcome us with a big big HUG and loving tender kiss to welcome us Home! And what happens afterwards? A HUGE party man!

Luke 15:25
And his elder son was in the field. And as he came and drew near the house, he heard music and dancing.

So, the elder son came back, which symbolises our old self, our law and works ridden self, he was angry! Our old selves will never accept what Abba has done for us.

Luke 15:28-31

And he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and entreated him.
And answering he said to his father, Lo, these many years I have served you, neither did I transgress your commandment at any time. And yet you never gave me a kid so that I might make merry with my friends.
But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you have killed for him the fattened calf.
And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.

So, the final truth is that, no matter what we do on our own to deserve God's favour, it will never be better than accepting the Truth that He is always with us and all that He has is ours.

Hallelujah, Praise God and our wonderful Saviour Jesus. We thank you and we magnify you and the sheep of the world will be in one flock with one Good Shepherd!

Does Christianity make any sense?...

Hi dearly beloved of God,

Some of us might want to make sense of everything in life. But for most parts, our senses are limited to the five basic senses that we have; the sense of Sight, Sound, Taste, Smell and Tactile Feel. So, where are these five senses governed in? It's in our brain right. So, our mind governs the five senses that we have, and if we try to make sense of God, it will become non-sense. Because God is in the Spiritual Realm. Our five physical senses are unable to reach him. The moment we intellectualize His Grace and Majesty, especially of His Son, Jesus Christ, the further we'll get from understanding Him.

So, i urge many of my beloved brothers and sisters to approach Him through our hearts. Go to Him with an open heart. Say, "Lord, i seek you. Please help me. I'm lost. How come you always feel so far away from me? How come i don't feel that you love me? Please Lord, i'm lost like a sheep waiting for his Good Shepherd."

We intellectualize God's saving Grace for us. How can we intellectualize LOVE? Impossible!
Ask yourself, how did you feel when the last time your mum or dad forgave you and let it slide something which you know you've done something absolutely horrible. Notice i said, how did you feel. If i had asked, what did you think? How different would it have been. I'm sure you can't think through that moment. It must have felt absolutely ridiculous that they forgave you. But they did.

Now, that was Love on a human scale. What about LOVE on a GOD scale? Unimaginable, absolutely non-sense and downright unbelievable. But that's Him! He loves us so much!
So, dear brothers and sisters, take the courage to read the Word of God in the Bible. Read the 4 Gospels. Jesus comes to you through His Words in there. In fact, the entire Bible is the culmination of the Revelation of Jesus Christ!

We might think that we are trying to seek the Truth, but most assuredly i say to you, The Truth is Seeking You!

Matthew 18:12-13

12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?

13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

Let's appreciate this verse for a moment. Jesus is referring to Himself as the Shepherd. No ordinary shepherd would seek 1 lost sheep out of 99 which he has at the moment. But Jesus will.
So, more often than not, it is HE who is searching for us than us searching for Him.
Hallelujah... Praise you Jesus!

I thank you, i exalt your name up on high for you ARE THE RISEN LORD and the King to come.
Your beloved son,
Emmanuel

I Make All Things New...

Hi everyone,

I was sharing with a dear brother about how one scene in The Passion touched my heart so much. To my surprise this scene was his favourite too. This scene was when Jim Caviezel as Jesus was struggling along the streets of Old Jerusalem, and his mother Mary, was running parallel to the streets. Jesus fell, gazed to His mother, she looked back and He said, "Mother... Look, I make all things new...!" It was so heart wrenching for me to see that my God did that for me, went through all that pain and suffering for me. It is a love that is unlike any on this earth.

We ARE New now because our Lord Jesus has made all things new 2000 years ago. How Great is our God! Without Him, how can we live in this fallen world and when we do leave this world, where do we go? We are assured a mansion in His Father's House. Because why? Because He loved us first...

That scene if replayed in my mind, brings tears to my eyes. I feel so loved by our Lord Jesus. There are no words to describe what i feel but a sense of reverence, awe and worship. I'd just say, "My Lord, My God... I thank you for what you've done. Jesus, why do you love me so much? I really don't know why sometimes but i know you love me... You make me new, you make me lie down in green pastures, you make the living waters in me flow but most of all, i feel so loved... I feel so like a child in your arms, being hugged, being kissed as a father would to his baby. In you Jesus, i see my Father in Heaven."

He that numbers the very hairs on our head, he that wipes the tears away from our eyes, He that takes away our sorrows and He that takes away death. Jesus takes away the man that is dead in me and substitutes it with the New Man that is so Alive!

Thank you Lord Jesus. You ARE the Lord of my Life, You ARE my Saviour and You ARE my Good Shepherd.

Your deeply beloved son,
Emmanuel

He's no historian, He's no teacher... He Is RISEN!

Shalom Brothers & Sisters,

I've been in conversation with someone lately who has been asking me questions about our Lord Jesus Christ... I believe in exalting Jesus and preaching the Word from the Gospels itself. The Good News is really the Good News and there's no need for me to make any comparisons with any other books. So, below i am just fielding some of his questions. There's nothing sensitive in this email, so i thought this might help somebody else out there.

Praise the Lord. He IS the GOOD Shepherd.

Amen & Hallelujah!

'Hi Brother,

I believe all your years in a religious school has given you some solid ground in theology and the concept of God... Right now, let's approach God as our friend. I'm not too sure whether you are able to do this right now, but that's the first step anyway. We are all lost sheep. And we need a Shepherd... So Jesus is our Good Shepherd. I'd also like to express myself again, that what i believe in now is not a religion. Because religiosity binds but spirituality sets you free.
What we have now is a renewed relationship with our Abba Father and it's so glorious to know that we can approach God anytime, anywhere and know that our prayers will always be received in it's total wholeness and perfected prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ.

From your comment that the bible has so many versions. Yes, that is true. That's to help mankind understand God. Our God is so good he does not require us to learn the Hebrew language (Old Testament Books:Torah, Nevi'Im & Kh'Tuvim) and the Greek language (New Testament Books, Evangelion) to know Him. HE has kept His WORD true to its substance in all the versions of the Bible that's available for all Mankind and translated into thousands of languages for the world to know their God.

With regards to your assessment about the bible and it's many versions and why you think it's inaccurate and flawed, i have something for you to consider...

Take yourself as a judge in a courtroom. You have a case presented to you. To have a fair trial and true judgment on your part as a judge; would you just look at the prosecution alone? or look at the defense alone? or do you have to look at evidence presented by both parties, have an impartial decision made, based on the evidence presented, to give a fair judgement. I believe you need to use the last approach to be a good judge. So, have you looked at both sides of the coin yet? Many of us fear the obvious... Just a little info for you. The Old Testament is written in Hebrew and until today you still can find the Hebrew Old Testament in its original entirety, in it's same perfect form dated all the way back to the times of Moses. These are the books that the Jewish people still use for their Jewish faith.The Dead Sea Scrolls have proven that the Old Testament we read today is the same as the one that Jesus used during His time. God is so good, He uses His own words to teach us. He gives us revelation of His words each time we read it and hear it. And during Jesus' time, He was fulfilling bible prophecy written hundreds and thousands of years before He came. So, what about the New Testament? During Jesus' time, the people in Judea, Israel spoke a few common languages. Primarily Koine Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew. Just like us in Singapore, we speak primarily English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. So, the most commonly used language in Singapore now is English. So, most media is either written or broadcasted in English. So, during His time, the Greek language was commonly used and therefore most of the communication during His time was written in Greek. And the primary version that we have now is from the Textus Receptus. There are many good Christian books out there that will help you answer this question. Obviously if you walk into a "preferred" bookstore you'll not be able to get this information. So, as i mentioned earlier on... What would a good judge do? Would you allow an innocent man to go into the gallows? or would you let a criminal walk back out amongst the innocent? I'm sure you'll do what's right... Check out this book by Lee Strobel: The Case for Christ.

So far, your approach to God has been pretty intellectual. Use your heart brother... In your daily practice now, do you feel loved by God? Do you know that God loves you so much? Do you know that Jesus loves you so much? Yes you! Not the collective world but YOU. We tend to generalise God. We can say, "Yeah... God loves all of us." But can we say, "Yes! GOD LOVES ME!" Are you in love with God? But do you know that He loved you first from the beginning of time until the time we see Him in Heaven eternally? Do you believe you are in a position where you can ask God for anything and He'll give it to you because He loves you so much? Do you know that you are assured a place in Heaven? John14:2 says,

John 14:2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so , I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

What we must appreciate is, who is doing the talking here? Is it John the disciple?.. is it another rabbi?.. it it any other man on the street? No. It's Jesus Himself! God Himself was talking to us. How beautiful and endearing the thought that my God is so good He does such a thing for me... : )

I love Him so much... But that doesn't beat His love for me...

With your reference to I-Robot, it is very interesting to note that the author of I-Robot, Isaac Asimov is actually an atheist. He does not believe in God. Not like you and me... A person who has not encountered God will always feel that He is a distant force, set apart all else. Do you believe that God is omnipresent? Is He beside you now? Do you know that God walked with Abraham, God walked with Enoch and many other beloved people of God. He is there with you now. But the awesome truth now is, because of what Jesus has done for us, God is now IN us and we are now IN Christ. Meaning we are constantly IN God's presence. This is the personality of the Holy Spirit. : ) Holy Spirit is GOD IN us. Maybe you're uncomfortable with the terminology of Holy Spirit. Let me give you the Hebrew equivalent, the Holy Spirit is actually Ruach HaKhodhesh. The living breath of God in us. How did God make the first man Adam?

Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

He is in us. This is true. But to know Him in us, we must first know Jesus. Because after Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He gave us the Holy Spirit as our Comforter.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Once you have come to know who Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) is, then will you come to know the Comforter. He teaches you all things, bring all things to remembrance of our original position with God that we are His beloved children and not His servant. You will also get the Peace not as the world gives you but the Peace that God can give in your soul, your spirit, your mind and your body. After knowing this, what is there to fear? So, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Jesus is no longer a teacher for me. HE is My Lord and my Saviour! HE IS the Prince of Peace, "Sar Shalom" in Hebrew. No one in this world can give you the peace that you are looking for accept Yeshua Hamashiach.

Last of all, you mentioned that God should be really perfect, a 100% perfect. Well, He IS perfection! More than 100%! He IS perfection itself! The beginning and the end, HE is the Alpha and Omega! How does this perfection come to fruition? It will have to be the finished work of the cross... His undying love for us, led Himself (Jesus Christ) to the cross, being beaten, scourged, whipped to His bones, His Perfect Blood being spilt and finally finished at the Cross of Calvary... and for what? To be the final sacrifice(korban), the perfect sin offering so that no more such sacrifices(ie. animal) need to be done anymore for the Eternal Remission of our sins, past, present, future, forever... and for the total healing of our body, mind and soul, today and forever!

I have to say this right now... HALLELUJAH! - Praise to ye YHVH! (That's what it means in Hebrew.)

And why do i celebrate? Because He is Risen!

Finally, i know all of us seek The Truth. But what defines Truth?

TRUTH is ETERNAL, Fact is temporal.

The world was once known to be flat and taken as fact. But now we obviously know it's round!

So my brother, walk in truth. Seek the God that gives you Truth. And the fruits of this Truth is Peace not as this world can give, Love that you have lost but now have been found and Joy everlasting that people of this world will think you're crazy to be this happy all the time!...

Amen brother... God be with you and the Truth will seek you!

God bless,
Emmanuel. '

Our Shield and Hedge... Divine Protection for us.

Hi all,

Dearly beloved of our Lord Jesus...

I was inspired to write this post by a recent encounter i had this past week.

How many times have we as believers been discouraged by negative words by people around us? How many times have we been told by some of our own Christian believer friends that what we are doing is not Spirit led and we are using our own self effort or that the outcome of the things we do will lead us into trouble and danger for ourselves and our families?

With Pastor's teaching, i have learnt that, we as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, have all the authority in the world to reject any negative thoughts that's being put into our head, reject all evil that will come against us and our loved ones.

I believe many of us have not come to the point of realising that God's love for us is perfect. Abba's love is eternal and perfection to the very end. A dear beloved brother was sharing with me his personal encounter with God, where God asked him whether he knew that God's love for him is perfect. This was such a revelation for me. Many of us limit His love according to our knowledge and experiences. Instead of rejecting all that is bad and evil for us, we start to except it as part of the toil of our Christian walk. Many believe that when they start to serve God, they will be challenged by the devil through the authorities that be. What we have known becomes unknown again, that the truth is, satan has been defeated at the cross of Calvary.

It is a state of knowing, that our Abba Father loves us so much that He does not want us to suffer in any way. THIS has to become our daily reality. Then whatever we may do; evangelizing, preaching the Word, sharing our testimonies with people around us, will always be done from Victory ground well knowing that satan has been defeated. And the negativities we experience and see around us are just lying symptoms to get us out of God's perfect love for us.

Let's look at scripture, Job 1:10
Have You not made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.

So, let's look in context who was speaking to God right now... Job 1:9
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for naught?

It was satan who spoke to God and satan knew that Job is protected by God. If Job had the Lord's hedge around him, the works of his hands are blessed and his livestock increased... What more us?! Aren't we the righteousness of God now? So, why do some of us still allow fear of this world to creep into our lives?

Deuteronomy 33:29
Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

Isn't He our sword and our shield? His Word is our Sword, Faith is our Shield and we put on the rest of the armour of God in Ephesians 6:11-17. The beauty about this is the consistency of God's Word.

Words in the OT are consistent with the NT. God wants us to know that HE is true to His word and His Word will cut through any enemies that come against us and our Faith shields us from all the lies in this world.

I reject and refuse any words of condemnation that come against me. We become the partakers of the feeding that He gives us and therefore we give back to His service from Victory ground and from abundance. That we have freely received, therefore we freely give back a portion of our lives to Him from the overflow we have received from Him. Anything we do and say that exalts Jesus is service to Him. Such Glory, Such Victory, why should there be any condemnation? God's hedge is around us, God has formed a protection of restraint around us and we have the shield of Faith to repel any evil that is stupid enough to come near the believers of Christ!

Thank you Lord Jesus for you have ensured us eternal protection through your mighty work at the cross of Calvary.

Blessings Brothers & Sisters,
Emmanuel

The Kingdom of God and our Daily Bread.

Hi everyone,

Beloved children of God...

Yesterday was an interesting day at work for me. We had a management meeting and I was the only one who mentioned the importance of having a proper work-life balance. There were 2 other managers who are proponents of sacrifice for the company. Personal life and professional life are one. One of the managers even said that because he is still single, super driven and willing to 'sacrifice', he said that he is the kind of person the company needs more of. From his tone of voice i can just tell that he is willing to put all else aside just to make money. It is fascinating to see how some of us in this world have put money and material success as the central object of our lives. Even one of the most important pillars of this world, family, can be sacrificed for money. Work takes central importance because that's where we make the 'bread'. But what happens if we stay at the bakery 24/7? What happens to your family for those who have one? What happens to those single people out there who outwardly show and think that having a family is not important at all but deep inside there is a huge cry for love and the need to have a family of their own? Their lives revolve around their personal gains and successes at work and that becomes their measure of success. Will these people truly succeed in what they endeavour to do? Well, monetarily i believe they can achieve what they sought out to do. But what about their soul? That thirst and hunger for total completeness and rest, will they achieve it? Will they be truly rich outside and inside? I doubt so.

Besides putting money as the central measure of success in this life, they have totally negated God out of their equation of success by believing and endorsing systems of wealth creation through external means. Feng Shui, geomancy, horoscope readings, astrology, crystal healing/protection methods and so on takes the position of God for these people. Our God, who is so gracious, will still grant success to these people just to see who they attribute their success to. Is it to Him the Almighty God? Or to that feng shui master who arranged the office furniture? I totally agreed with Pastor Mark in one of his sermons when he said that fear drives people to stupidity... Just get my mom to join the office, she'll gladly arrange your furniture for you every other month. It's her hobby and she loves doing it for fun!

Let's take a look at scripture and see what IS God's way.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

I'm sure most of us are familiar with this verse. Some would find this verse and use it to spiritualize it to the fullest extent and possibly quote it out of context. Some would say that seeking the kingdom of God is the only thing we should be doing in this world, any pursuit of material gains in this world is wrong. But as we look in context, we can see that God knows our needs and wants. In fact, He sees to our needs and He supplies and He adds upon it. Meaning our needs will spill over to the things that we want also!

So what does God provide? He gives us food to eat, water to drink and clothes to wear. He knows we need all these things. That means basic neccesities are met by His grace.

Matthew 6:31-32

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed?
32 For the nations seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.

And the rest of the stuff that we want is... Added unto you!

To get a richer understanding to what God wants to do for us, we look at the Greek word for 'added' in the Greek NT.

προστίθημι

prostithēmi
pros-tith'-ay-mee

- To place additionally, that is, lay beside, annex, repeat: - add, again, give more, increase, lay unto, proceed further.

So God wants to lay beside us more than what we asked for, He repeats what we already have, He adds again, keeps giving more and increasing further, things laid unto us!

Hallelujah! Thank you God, Praise Jesus...

From all these promises that God has made to us, how necessary is it now for us to get a feng shui master to arrange the office furniture just to get get more sales for the company? Shameful isn't it, how some of us in this world have put our faith in things that are seen instead of the greatest unseen force which is our Almighty YHVH. Jesus our Redeemer has made us right with God to receive His everlasting promises. Isn't it so insulting to our Abba Father to see His children arranging their furniture and thinking that by doing so, more money is going to flow into the company?

It's also interesting to note that the reference to making money is, "bringing the bread home" or "making the dough".

In ancient Hebraic times, there's 2 kinds of bread. The first is the common bread Hametz
חמץ which is leavened bread. Hametz represents our daily life that's tainted with sin (leaven sours the dough to give it flavour after the baking process, leaven is taken from day old dough). It sours our personality and puffs up our pride just like the bread being baked. So, this is the kind of bread that the rest of the world is making.

The second bread is Matzah
מצּה which is unleavened/unfermented bread. Matzah represents our Jesus! The untainted bread, this specific bread, unadulterated by decay. Unlike the rest of humanity, our Lord Jesus had not been infected with the rottenness that was in mankind. Matthew 26:26 says;
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."

What then, is the taste of Matzah? According to Strong's Concordance it is: concretely sweet (that is, not soured or bittered with yeast). Amen to that! Our daily bread in Jesus is concretely sweet! And like the Manna which is only good for one day, we follow through to Matthew 6:34 'Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow; for tomorrow shall be anxious for its own things. Sufficient to the day is the evil of it.'

As Christ is, so are we in this world. We have our Daily Bread in Him, we take it home and oh how completely sweet it is!

Richly blessed dear beloved children of God and amen to that.