Hope-A-Day Amazing Coincidence

A few years ago, Joan had an instructor who wasn't able to get a child. Joan ended up filing a prayer request to Benny Hin and prayed for her as well. Over a few weeks, she was suddenly pregnant. After that, they lost contact, and Joan wondered how she was doing.

Now I had my school assignment where I distributed cards to random people or friends. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqPoCvjoc4&feature=youtu.be
Coincidentally, the woman during 0:54 turns out to be Joan's instructor! And you see, she has her child with her! The child is already so big!

I don't know how we managed to capture her on video.. Coincidence? Or perhaps it was sort of God's way to show us that He really does listen to prayers, He has a plan to prosper us, He knows what is best for us and He is faithful! We may not see it now, but we will definitely see it in the future! :)

Power of Words

Before you continue reading, please watch the above video.
But if you don't feel like it, I'll just give a summary of it:

Mercedes was organizing a race on Twitter. They had placed 4 different cars in different locations with the same goal to cross the finish line. The only way the car could move was if a person tweeted to give them fuel. For example "Fuel for Team 1!" or "Go Team 3, here's some fuel to get you going!" So more tweets for a car would become the fuel and trigger it to move.

The same thing is happening in the spiritual realm. There is a race between heaven and hell - between God and the devil. And in a way, we are the ones who can provide the fuel for their army to move in this battlefield. How? In this context, it is specifically through the words that come out from our mouth. Words seem harmless, but they are very great weapons that can be used either for good or evil.

"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit." - Proverbs 15:4
So with the words that come from your mouth, are you adding fuel to God's army or the devil's army? Are you saying encouraging things to one another, or insulting and condemning people? Are you praising people sincerely, or are you calling them bad names?

Even if it might seem like a joke to you, the effects of it are no joke. Be careful with your speech that you do not indirectly or accidentally edify the devil with it.

New Chance to Serve Him

Last CG, Anas and I had to fill in as the guitarists during CG becase of James’ absence. Elissa became the worship leader at that time. It was definitely a new and fun experience. I mean, we have been playing for quite some while, but it was more for personal purpose, I suppose. But now we actually had a chance to let God use this skill and glorify His name!

We played Sing Sing Sing and Here I am to Worship. A lot of funny things happened and it became more of a comedy rather than being serious like how it usually was. Starting from singing the verse too early to an inconsistent tempo throughout the song to a sudden free worship session even though we didn’t discuss what chords to play yet… There were moments when we would really laugh wile singing. Quite funny since the message that day was about the Power of Psalming.

Even so, it turned out better than expected. At last we all could sing properly and we had joy. Even during the free worship sessions, I could hear how everyone raised their voice and sang to Him. We were not perfect and have not fully developed our guitar/WL-ing skills, but it’s great to see how God can use us altogether in a time of need. I don’t think any of us had ever imagined having to play guitar or lead the worship for CG one day (at least I haven’t) but when God called us, we were ready… sort of. So we will continue to practice even more for God’s sake in case if a sudden need in the future may arise

Power of Psalming

Colossians 3:16 - Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Singing praise and worship songs are somehow very underrated – many people try to come late to church just so that they can skip this part, some stand as still as a tree and do absolutely nothing while wishing the pastor would just start speaking already. There is a misconception though, singing (or psalming) is VERY important. Notice how the longest book in the Bible is Psalms? It is not just singing a song as you would at a karaoke, but psalming has power!

1. Walls will come down

Read Joshua 6, the story about the Walls of Jericho.
God told Joshua that the Israelites should march around the city once every six days. The seventh day, they had to march in seven times while the priest blew trumpets and soldiers shouted. Once they did that, on the seventh day, the walls fell down in an instant.
The trumpet refers to any musical instruments: guitar, piano, drums & etc.
The shout refers to our singing that turns into shouts of joy.
When we have struggles, or it seems like things are blocking our way, try to psalm and see how the walls will come down in your own life.

2. Doors will be opened

Read Acts 12, the story of Paul and Silas in the jail.
When the two men were captures because of spreading the gospel too much, they were put in jail. But instead of getting all depressed or sad, they decided to sing a song of praise and give thanks. An earthquake appeared and opened the door of the jail for them to escape.

When we feel stuck or are looking for some answers, try psalming. They can sing during a bad situation, why can’t we sing when we get a bad grade? Who knows next time we’ll get an A…? God can open up the door to new opportunities.

3. The enemy will be defeated

Last year during the BASS convention, I remember one of the speakers telling her personal stories about her two sons fighting. She asked them what was going on, but they said “It’s none of your business, mom! Get away!” So she went to the next room and started to sing songs of praise to God. In an instant, the anger between her two sons started to disappear and they came up to her in a peaceful state. They did not remember the cause of their fight.

You see what is going on here? Psalming lifts up God’s name, when we do that, the enemy will be downgraded. We leave no room for the devil to attack us since we are welcoming the Holy Spirit to come down. Singing is a very simple but powerful weapon that we can all use to attack the devil.

4. People will be saved

When we try to testify to people using words, they might not listen or will ignore you. Singing is like a creative way to speak to them that can engage them to listen. Music can touch people’s heart. The Holy Spirit can come through a song. And who knows? When you sing to someone, you might’ve planted a small seed in their hearts that can still grow.

So next time, don’t just sit still when we are singing in church, in caregroups, at your home or wherever you are. Open up your mouth and SING! Even if you think your voice is ugly, God doesn’t care. He loves to hear you sing. He gave you a voice, so use it to glorify Him.