B.R.E.A.D ->~(>-Becoming Ready to Evangelise And Disciple<)~<- B.R.E.A.D

Friday, January 27, 2006

RUNNING AWAY FROM THE FATHER - - -by Max Lucado

When I was seven years old, I ran away from home.I’d had enough of my father’s rules and decided I could make it on my own, thank you very much. With my clothes in a paper bag, I stormed out the back gate and marched down the alley.

Like the prodigal son, I decided I needed no father. Unlike the prodigal son, I didn’t go far. I got to the end of the alley and remembered I was hungry, so I went back home.

But though the rebellion was brief, it was rebellion nonetheless. And had you stopped me on that prodigal path between the fences and asked me who my father was, I just might have told you how I felt. I just might have said, “I don’t need a father. I’m too big for the rules of my family. It’s just me, myself and my paper bag.”

I don’t remember saying that to anyone, but I remember thinking it. And I also remember rather sheepishly stepping in the back door and taking my seat at the supper table across from the very father I had, only moments before, disowned.

Did he know of my insurrection? I suspect he did. Did he know of my denial? Dads usually do. Was I still his son? Apparently so. (No one else was sitting in my place.)

Had you gone to my father after you had spoken to me and asked, “Mr. Lucado, your son says he has no need of a father. Do you still consider him your son?” What would my dad have said?

I don’t have to guess at his answer. He called himself my father even when I didn’t call myself his son. His commitment to me was greater than my commitment to him.

I didn’t hear the rooster crow like Peter did. I didn’t feel the fish belch like Jonah did. I didn’t get a robe and a ring and sandals like the prodigal did. But I learned from my father on earth what those three learned from their Father in heaven.

Our God is no fair-weather Father. He’s not into this love-’em-and- leave-’em-stuff. I can count on him to be in my corner no matter how I perform. You can, too.

____________________________________

From The Great House of God: A Home for Your Heart

BREADtalk
Friday, January 27, 2006

Monday, January 23, 2006

We're going to have a Lifegroup outing!!! Aren't you excited?
The event is not compulsory though, as it is on the 3rd day of Chinese New Year.
31st Jan, 2006
You are not obliged to come if you have to be at your relatives house or be with your parents.

Venue:
Gerald's house, Astoria Park. Just behind Kembangan MRT. You can come in by yourself by signing in at the guardhouse.
Tower D #02-10. There are 2 Tower Ds. Mine is the second lobby.

Time:
10am at Kembangan MRT. I'll be there at 10am. Give me a call or message if you're going to be later. ITs actually free and easy timings. Very casual. You can come whenever you wish and go whenever you wish. But do let me know.

Activities:
There'll be lunch! Provided by my mother.
It'll be very free-and-easy, so feel free to bring your swimming attire, tennis attire or anything. Bring your own games also. There's a soccer field next to Kembangan MRT.
There'll be snacks too. So you can pig out at my house.

PS: As to whether there'll be hongbaos, even I do not know the answer. Oranges are welcomed though. :p

If you want to ask your friends to come down, let me know. Shouldn't be a problem.

If anyone cannot make it, please let me know, if you haven't already.

See ya there!

BREADtalk
Monday, January 23, 2006

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Mid-week! It's time to de-stress.....
Here is something to cheer you up when u get bored from all the homework and tests!

Laughter is the best medicine.

http://www.christiancartoons.com/

Also, for those who do not have Quiet Time material, this will do for the time being.

http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/devotionals/heartlight/
(this one is easy to understand)
http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/devotionals/everydaylight/
(this is for those who want something deeper)

I will be taking orders this Saturday, for those who need QT materials. It will be around $5 per copy. Please remember to order from me.

BREADtalk
Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Dear BREADer….

Here’s something that we are gonna start in LG.

Have you ever spent awesome moments in the presence of our Almighty God? Those moments when He whispered tender words and gentle encouragement into your heart? Spoke to you from a Bible passage or blazed a vision for the lost into your soul and you were just bursting to shout it out?

If you are saying YES please read on, if you are saying NO please read on too.

Starting this year, you guys n girls can start to take on a new role in BREAD. It’s called the SHARER.

Here’s what’s going to happen…
Each LG, we will set aside time for one person to share what God spoke to them in a particular Quiet Time (QT) during the week or visions that God showed when you spent time with Him. This sharing is meant to be short, informal and heartfelt. No need for you to prepare in great detail since it’s simply what God has spoken to you. All you gotta do is write down what God has spoken to you in your journal and bring it along with you to refer to as you share in LG.

This a good opportunity for you to be used by God to encourage BREAD. Many of you have dreams of becoming an LG leader or preaching to the nations for God. Here is the place to start. Serve God in this small way first and you will move on to doing bigger things for Him.

If you wanna take up this role in BREAD, just leave your name in the comments section or let me know personally. We are not gonna make this compulsory, so interested people gotta sign up here!

Much more details on this and other stuff coming up later….. So….

Keep reading this space!

BREADtalk
Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Sunday, January 15, 2006

We want a palace for our KING!

Hey BREADers! Roti Boys & Girls!

Happy 2006! This will be my first post here and I hope the BREADers will continue to read the blog frequently for LG updates! I also wanna encourage you all to leave comments and responses to each post we put up either in the comments section or tag board. This way, we can have a discussion on what has been said and use it to spur one another to live out our talk!

Blog matters aside…..this entry is about last Saturday and some things that I felt I needed to share with you guys but did not have the time to. More on that later....first a recap!

LAST SATURDAY we talked about the BIG “D” word…….any guesses? Sorry no prizes this time round for people who can guess correctly! We also unraveled our way thru the RGEN Mission Statement, which I hope is going off in your head now even as you read this….

WHAT IS IT ???

We ________ to________ non-believing ________ to God’s ________ , ________ them with Christian youth, ________ them to ________ their ________ and ________ God with their ________!

Fill in the blanks =) Do remember to bring the sheet of paper back again for the next LG meeting yea.

Ok so here it is…what I wanted to share with you guys…
BREADers, how have you been spending your time in the past week? What are the things/ thoughts that occupy your time in the week? How bout in the day? Or in a single hour of your day? Is it school work, CCA, tests, friends, computer games? How much of your day do you spend thinking about or talking to God?

Try answering these questions honestly in the privacy of your room now, between you and God and think about how much time and effort actually goes towards God. This is between you and Him.

What you spend your time thinking about and doing reflects your priorities and whether King Jesus is sitting on the throne of your heart. An idol is something sits on the throne of your heart instead of Jesus. It’s something that we spend more effort in maintaining, than maintaining our relationship with God. An idol is something you love more than God.

An idol is not just a golden statue that some of your parents pray to, or a pop star who looks cool dancing on stage, singing trendy tunes. It could be a computer game, your studies, CCA etc. You could be worshipping an idol in your life now. Let God search your heart as you read this. And ask God for forgiveness if he shows you areas in your life, then ask Him for strength not to go back into it. “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9.

Don’t be afraid to share with James, Gerald or myself if you need help overcoming an idol in your life.

Lastly,
to place King Jesus on the throne of your life and keep the idols out, you need to FIX your eyes on Him. This means that He has to start to occupy more of our thoughts and actions.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Some practical ways you can do this..
1) Begin the day with a prayer/ QT.
2) Yak away to God during the day. Exp. When waiting for the teacher to come in b4 your next lesson,

“Wah God, i feel very sian, please help me to get thru the next period with your strength!”
3) Think about a verse from the Bible throughout the day especially when you’re tired or need recharging.

Ok BREADers, dats all.

My prayer for us as an LG is dat God will take the throne of our hearts, consume our vision and displace our idols.

Let’s Build a House Fit For the King to Live In!

But before that He has to live in our hearts first.

BREADtalk
Sunday, January 15, 2006

Saturday, January 07, 2006

This is for those who couldn't come for service as well as to recap for those who came.

Listening to the master's voice by Ps Tony

How to listen to the master's voice? How do we listen to what God is saying to us?
One of the ways which we can hear from God is through His word. When we read the bible, we should also expect to learn things from His word.

Four questions we can ask ourselves when we read a portion of the bible:

1. Is there a promise for me to claim?
- An example would be the promise that God will look after your needs:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear... Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Matthew 6:25-26

- Why? Because some of us habe lost the simplicity of trust in Christ

- Worship reveals who we truly are in front of God. When we sing certain songs, do we sing it because we've been doing it, or singing it in ''regret'', wishing that we had done it?

2. Is there a command for me to obey?
- We must obey God. Observe in the following verses:

"Now this is what the Lord almighty says: 'Give careful thoughts to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. you earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.' This is what the Lord almighty says: 'Give careful thoughts to your ways [ Consider your ways] ' "

Haggai 1:5-7

3. Is there a sin which we should avoid?
- Living in sin will blind us eventually. We need to watch ourselves, and not get involved in habitual sin.

4. Is there an example that I can follow?
- Follow the good examples of biblical characters. Also:

"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith."

Hebrews 13:7

To conclude, without increase in knowledge, we cannot increase in our love for God. That is why Paul writes:

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."

Philipians 1:9-11

So we need to increase more in the knowledge of God if we want to love God. That means reading more of your bible! Feel free to post your thoughts and what really spoke to you under comments.

BREADtalk
Saturday, January 07, 2006

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

hello Bread! Its already the 1st day of school and the 3rd day of a brand new year. As you begin this year, what's going on in your minds? WHo is still as hungry and passionate for God as he/she was 6 months ago? To be completely honest, I became very comfortable and caught up during the Christmas season. Too much cards and too much shopping to do. It had basically taken the most important priority in my life, God.

Right before X'mas itself, the Spirit impressed upon my heart there was something wrong and I couldn't figure it out. think you guys can relate to the period of time when there was so much oppresion and Cheryl clearly spoke in the Spirit that we are getting too distracted. The vision of the fish leaping out of the pond. Jay's vision. Finally when the Xmas day came, there was such a lack in the move of the Spirit. God was gracious enough to give us 13 salvations. I realised I desperately needed to get back with God. Thank God that the next few days, the Holy Spirit enabled me to cry out for God and there was a breakthrough on Wednesday(28th Dec).

How many of us are beginning to feel "sick" of God already? Who is beginning to feel the reason why we weren't able to pray on 31st dec was not the devil but rather because our focal was not on Jesus? I had a prayer meet earlier that day with MAD from 2pm to 3.20pm and the PRESEnce of God was very very tangible. No Joke! Everybody was just spontaneous, praising God at the top of their voices and with overflowing tears of joy!

Let's get back our attention on the cross. The One Guy that loved you SOOO much that He looked at the cross and said I'll do it for you. You deserve God because Jesus did it for you and I. Get back into the relationship that God has called you to. Imagine the GREatest of the Greatest One by your side everyday. ONly because of your relationship with God can people get to know Jesus better. Imagine people getting saved, changed and impacted just by your presence because God has decided to be with you in your house, just pouring out the glory, power and grace and mercy that He has planned for you! Isn't it exciiting?

Begin to be desperate everyday for God's face. Read the Word, pray and Worship God everyday. Your leaders are only given to you by God for the very reason of pointing you to a greater relationship with the ALmighty ONE! Let's look at our present relationship with total honesty and restart on a new adventure to seek the First Love!

BREADtalk
Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Monday, January 02, 2006

2005 has been a great year for myself. And I'm sure in some ways God has moved in your lives as you reflect back on the year that has passed. For most of you, it has been the first year you have spent with the love of God. Prior to that, you were once enemies with God. A good track of verse that you should read.

"It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. Its a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah." Ephesians 2:1-10 [MSG version]

BREADers, as you begin your new year, look back at 2005, and truly thank God for the greatest gifts he gave: His forgiveness, love and mercy. Look back, thank God for all he's done for you, about his love for you. And it will not be difficult to trust God for another year of his faithfulness and love.

I encourage you BREADers, if you have a testimony you wanna share and glorify God, please mail it to me so that I can post it up. It will glorify God and encourage the rest of us.

BREADtalk
Monday, January 02, 2006

Hello! This is new and improved blog of BREAD! Hope you guys like it.

The purposes of this blog is to glorify God, as well as to build each other up in the knowledge of Christ.

Some things for BREADers to take note of. Firsty, only Aletheia, James and myself are allowed to put up posts. This is to ensure that the blog does not turn into a zoo, and that it fulfills its purposes. Secondly, BREADers are encouraged to comment on the posts put up. Lastly, the tag board is free for all. So feel free to tag!

The moderators reserve the right to edit or even remove posts that run contrary to the purposes of this blog. Active discussion via comments are encouraged. However, if the comments are deemed inappropriate, it may be edited or even removed.

Hope everyone will enjoy themselves over here. Make this blog a vibrant one!

BREADtalk
Monday, January 02, 2006