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The distance people would go for the ones they love…

Candles: $2.00, Male Escorts: $15, Expression on Shirley’s face: Priceless

On Tuesday, April 22, 2008 ; 10:44 AM
Xiangyu wrote:

Inspired by 1 peter 3 :15, which urges us to

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

So here i am, i am going to challenge you ! yes you reading my post. If you have an online journal, post about YOUR reason for the hope that YOU HAVE. Otherwise, please leave a tag to tell me about it. I’m really very interested to know…seriously!

Tell me, what your convictions are and why are you so sure of Jesus?

I can tell you guys why I’m so sure of Jesus, but I hope I never have to tell you of my convictions again. If it can’t be seen, then it means that I’ve failed to live them out. (See the post on Rhetorical Lives)

My walk with God has came to a point where I can never deny his existence. It’s not yet deep, but its deep enough to confirm that fact. It’s just like a child who is certain that he has a Dad, even though he may not know everything about his dad.

I have studied Him with knowledge and experienced Him with encounters. I would compare his existence to that of the Australia continent; I’ve not only seen it on the atlas, but I have set foot on it.

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
-C.S. Lewis

If I ever do backslide, I cannot hope to escape with the plead of ignorance. I cannot say things such as “I’m not sure whether God is real.” or “I’m having doubts about my faith in Him.”

If I ever do backslide, it can only mean I have degenerated to the state of stubborn self denial where I know God, but I just don’t want to serve Him. It doesn’t make him any less real, just like how sticking my head into the ground doesn’t switch off the lights.

Don’t ever perform the ridiculous “Ostrich Maneuver”.

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.
-Abraham Lincoln

Best-selling author of ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ Pastor Rick Warren speaks at the 19th annual National Conference on Preaching in Woodbridge, Va., on Tuesday, April 8, 2008.
(Christian Today)

Internationally revered Pastor Rick Warren slipped into the conference hall unnoticed Tuesday night, comfortably mingling with the hundreds of pastors gathered at the 19th annual National Conference on Preaching, before stepping on stage to deliver a sermon that reminded the audience why Warren is one of the most popular pastors in the world.

In his sermon entitled “Growing Spiritually,” Warren recounted the runaway success of his book The Purpose Driven Life – the best-selling book in history behind the Bible – to the audience gathered at Woodbridge, Virginia, in the US. The sermon was based on the story in Exodus 4 about the scene where God tells Moses to throw his staff on the ground and it transforms into a snake.

“That question, ‘What is in your hand?’ is one of the most important questions in life. What is in your hand?” Warren asked his audience, citing God’s question to Moses in Exodus 4:2.

Read the complete article here

The trick is to figure out what’s in your hand without bothering about what’s in others’ hands.

Imagine if you have 5 minutes with any person in the world, living in any era, and you are allowed to ask him or her only one question, what would it be?

Bill Hybels. Rick Warren. George Bush. Mother Theresa. Andy Stanley. John Ortberg. CS Lewis. Bill Gates. Bono. Lee Kuan Yew. Billy Graham. George Soros. Warren Buffet. Ravi Zacharias. Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama. Adolf Hitler. Mao Zedong. Donald Trump. Angelina Jolie. Martin Luther King Jr. John Wesley.

What are your convictions?

These beliefs alter destinies. It determines how these people lived their lives. Given that the life is lived proper and consistent, this question becomes rhetorical.

No one doubted Hitler’s conviction, he wrote it in the war. You can’t miss Chris, Torch & Shirley’s convictions*; it’s penned down with their lives!

I pray that question remains rhetorical in my life.

PS: For those who want a copy of the sharing of their convictions they did in Careleader’s Meeting, drop me a comment with your email address and I will mail it to you. I couldn’t seem to host the files online…

Here’s something for all Christian leaders who have been in the system long enough to understand that workings and procedures. We know the phrasing and words to say to justify ourselves, but at the end of the day, it’s all about our heart’s motive.

[John 12:3-6]
Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. ” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

This is what I call the “Holy Excuse”; using something biblical to cover up something else carnal.

Classics Works:
We did not work hard to grow the group - God is testing us in perservance
I don’t want to get out of my comfort zone - I do not sense God’s calling for me
I want to hang out more with the opposite gender - I like to fellowship
I don’t want to do it now - It’s not yet God’s timing

[Jeremiah 17:9]
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

No wonder God judges the heart.

I know why revival is not upon us.

It has nothing to do with God’s timing. Not because He ain’t sovereign, but because His timing is determined by the readiness of His people. I have seen God sending good people to churches just like that. I have seen 1st time visitors coming not for caregroup, nor service, but for prayer meet. I have seen people coming to church though a less then ideal website; they basically did a Google search for a church to join.

Tell me tell you the truth: God is more ready to give then we are ready to receive!

God is not waiting for the His right timing, God is waiting for His people! I do not doubt the ability of God; His spirit can move and 500 can and would come to know Him overnight.

However, if that is the case, can we contain the 500*?
(500 is a generic number that can be replaced with any digits. 50, 5000, 5000000, etc)

Is our character strong enough to contain the 500?
Can we not get overly prideful and caught up with the fact that it given from Him, and not steal His credit and claim that our programmes and strategies won the 500 for us?

Is our structure strong enough to contain 500?
Do you have enough leaders to lead these 500 people, to teach and mature them into disciples of Christ?

Is our system stable and consistent enough to contain 500?
Do we have systems in place that allows us to grow these people continually, not just once off. Revival is a period of time, not a 3 day conference.

We claim we want revival.
No we don’t.
We don’t desire a revival enough to pray for it everyday.
We do not desire a revival enough for us to grow in our character.
We do not desire a revival enough for us to will our lives to God.
We do not desire it enough to devout our life for His cause.
We do not desire a revival enough to live a life of purity.
We do not desire it enough to stop our sinful ways.
We do not desire revival above our other desires.

We desire revival as much as we desire a bottle of coke; something we do not mind receiving, only.

Why would God not want a revival?
When is His timing? Now!
When is Satan’s timing? Later…
Who is He waiting for? You!
Who is Satan waiting for? Everybody else.
So… why would God not want you to start the revival now?

Tell me!