Private Victory Before Public Success

As I was spending time in my devotion, Luke 21:37-38 struck me greatly.

Luke 21:37-38
Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.

Jesus was able to be successful in all that God wanted him to do because he spent daily time with His Heavenly Father.

I can imagine Jesus spending the night at the Mount of Olives talking to and listening to God. Jesus would share both his joy and frustration about the daily happening in his life. And he would always leave the Mount of Olives more refreshed, more envisioned and more empowered than when he first arrived.

The secret of Jesus’ success does not lies when he stood in front of the crowd teaching but rather when he spent 1-1 time drawing strength from God.

May we learn to do as Jesus did when he was on planet earth!

Planet Jesus

This is such a cool way to share about life transformation. I saw this in our youth service on the 27 Dec. Be WOW-ed!


Planet JESUS (Dec 2008) from Y-Hope TV on Vimeo.

Some Christmas Photos From Yong Xin

Thanks For Making Christmas 2008 So Special

It was a fantastic celebration party for Jesus. Many many people crossed the line of faith during this season. There are so many people that I need to thank… let me give it my best shot…

Thanks for Jasmine and all the programming heads and stage managers for leading the charge on this. Your leadership and servanthood attitude really hit the roof.

Thanks to the technical people for putting up the MM, the video presentations and the various sounds and lights. I know that it required lots of coordination and planning and timing. You did real good!

Thanks for the dancers, the musicians, the choirs, the singers and the worship leaders. You wow-ed us with the sight and sound that helped us to see God in whole new light. Thanks for high praise & deep worship. Your energy an d zeal inspires us.

Thanks for the ushers who had a challenging job in moving people into the auditorium and then into the Kingdom of God. Your quick response when the auditorium overflows was excellent. Well done people.

Thanks to the image team for helping us looked our best for Jesus. All the hair spray and gel and wax became tools for the work of art under your skilful hands.

Thanks to the décor team for the beautiful backdrop. It mesmerize many as they walked into the auditorium. You got “The Gift” message out loud and clear even before a single word was spoken.

Thanks to those of you who invited your friends to our celebration. It made a such a great impact that you would only fully know in the other side of heaven as we rejoice together for all of eternity!

Thanks, most of all to Jesus, who came to this dusty earth, live a sinless life and then went to the cross for you and I. Thank you Jesus!

FIFA Club World Cup 2008 Champions!

We are the champions!

Let the pics do the talking...Enjoy

Stories

Last weekend, the leaders spent quite a fair bit of time praying for different needs as well as for the sick (those that are not well and people in their lives that needed healing). As we prayed, we are trusting God for healing and miracles. Nothing is too hard for our Lord!

I took the time to pray for a few among us. I can still remember clearly their request and I had been praying for them in my hearts throughout the past few days. Their faces, the intensity of their needs and the desperation for God’s deliverance have been forever etched into my mind and heart.

I want to trust God with all of you. Let’s believe God for some miracles in our lives and the lives of the people around us. And do keep your stories coming… I want to be encouraged as well as encourage others with your stories (where appropriate and with your permission).

You can post your stories on this entry or email me your stories at church@hopesingapore.org.sg.... simply attention it to me :)

Let The Search Begin…

It’s that time of the year again. Not just time for bonus, sales, shopping and holidays; probably not so in view of the global financial situation. It is that time of the year where God has sent us on an all out search for His lost sheep, lost coin and lost son (& daughters).

In Luke 15, the Jesus told us 3 parables to tell us God’s heart towards people who are far from Him. And He would spare no effort in searching for them and when He found them, He would celebrate big time!

We simply have to let people know the reason for this season. It is really about God looking for us and reaching for us with His undying love. In fact, Jesus would rather die than to live without us, literally!

So for the next few weeks, let’s do just that. Let’s pray and ask God to use us on this great adventure with Him.

I will certainly fast and pray along with you as you reach out to your friends, classmates, colleagues, relatives and families.

Friends

I have just returned after teaching and preaching in the Malaysia National Convention in Kuala Lumpur. The convention hall was really huge. It is the hall located in Putrajaya that the Malaysian government would use for their meeting. It was quite an experience for me and some of the leaders that went along to teach and preach alongside me.

Shirley, Jasmine and Mike did really great in their assigned roles in the convention. They exhibited great servanthood attitude and competence. It is really rewarding to serve and do life with your friends and co-labourers in the Kingdom.














Among many blessings, one of them has also got to be the opportunities to connect with some old pals in the past week.

Firstly, I was really happy to get a comment entry from KT. KT and I went back to the uni days. We share many of our badness and goodness together. We served together in the same care group during our uni days. And to get one of your generation buddies tagged you on your blog is really quite a miracle!

Secondly, while in the MNC, I bump into my old pal George while he stood beside me in the next urinal! No, we did not shake hands or hugged but simply say “hi” while there. I also had the opportunity to pray for George as he came to the altar during one of my preaching. We prayed together that God will open doors for his God endeavour.

Lastly, while I was invited to present prizes for some of the competitions that took place during the convention, one of the winners was Aaron Tan. Aaron and I go back a long long way as we both serve in the same care group back in the early 90s. He was the care group guitarist and boy, can he sing and play the guitar! To present him with the prize is a special moment that I will cherish for a long time.

By the way, while I was walking around the big hall, his young son came to me and offered me a sweet. It made my day!

Thank you friends for making my week a most memorable one…