A Place of Discovery

DESIRING GOD (Romans 8:15-16—Preacher: Ps Paw Liang) Prayer is a universal phenomenon. Every religion and culture will have their own way of prayers. The survey in the US in 2004 said about 30% of Atheists prayed sometime and about 17% non-believers pray regularly. This shows the human longing to communicate with the divine. Some theologians called it “the incurable God-sickness.” St Augustine said, “We have made in us for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in  you.” There is a longing in us to be in union with our Creator. In the past people will pray for help to adapt and overcome the forces of nature. People were helpless and seeking for higher power. Today, science has helped us to adapt and overcome the nature, and people are begin to look inward—to search for more self-consciousness and inner peace. Many Christians from the West turn to the Eastern Religions and go to the Ashrams (monasteries) in India for mediation and inner peace. Yet, what mad...

CONVERSING PRAYER (Psalm 131, Matthew 6:5-13—Preacher: Ps Paw Liang) Prayer is an integral part of our relationship with God. Our God is a relational God. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray by calling, “Our Father.” The indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:15-16) gives us the longing to commune and communicate with God, the Father. We don’t need to wait until we are perfect or holier to come to God. First, come as who we are. With all our weaknesses and sins. With all our strengths and goodness. Comes with all our complexity the mixture of good and bad. Just like a little child, they don’t hide anything from their parents or care givers. We come as who we are with a simple trust: God, our Loving Father will always be available and accept us. Who else can I turn to, if not to my God? Just like a little child, we just utter what is in our hearts and minds. Second, Listening and Praying (Prayer and the Word) A child learn to speak from what he/she has been spoke to. A ...

LEARNING TO PRAY (Mark 9: 33-37; Matthew 7: 7-11—Preacher: Ps Paw Liang) What is prayer to you and how is your prayer life? Some people learnt to pray through hard way—when they come to the end of their rope. They ask or beg God to perfect miracles. Sometimes God answers and we say prayer changes things. Sometimes God won’t just answer as what we ask, instead He uses prayers to change us. So don’t keep up a life of prayer unless we prepare to change. Pray with a Humble Heart:  First we need to come with a right heart, right attitude. Mark 9, Jesus reminds us to be like a child. The disciples are disputing who is the greatest. Jesus points them to a child to teach them a lesson of humility. Like a little child who admires and trust their Father. We need to have this sense of awe and reverence to God, our Father. We depend on Him and are in need of His mercy! We shouldn’t come with a demanding spirit. Instead, we need to be aware of all these wild ambitions and motives (ou...

“BECOMING A CARING CHURCH” Mark 12:30-31—1 John 4:7-21—Preacher: Ps Paw Liang The hurricane in Texas reveal to us some darkside of the church. Many churches immediately responded to the need yet still some others are more obssesed to know how Lakewoord Church or Joel Osteen would respon to the calamities.   The uncaring people have some of these symptoms: 1.       Uncaring people are self-centred. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite were busy and considered themselves as important. Perhaps their minds were absorbed with their jobs in the Temple. They didn’t want anyone to interrupt their plans. Thus fail to care for those who are hurting. 2.       Uncaring people are too hurried. How often we failed to listen to the concerns of others because we are simply too busy. 3.      Uncaring people are too isolated.   We may make small talk and speak superficially because we are afraid of gettin...

WHAT WILL YOU SAY...? “Just as each day brims with your beauty, my mouth brims with praise. But don’t turn me out to pasture when I’m old or put me on the shelf when I can’t pull my weight. My enemies are talking behind my back, watching for their chance to knife me. The gossip is: “God has abandoned him. Pounce on him now; no one will help him. ”” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭71:8-11‬ ‭MSG‬‬ The Psalmist describes that life is full of difficulty and opposition. The bad people are triumph, and gossiping: "God has abandoned him." Have you come to this stage of life? Evil seems to triumph! And the worst, God doesn't seem to be available when you need Him. Or perhaps has abandoned you as what your enemies said. But what will you say? As for the Psalmist, regardless of what the reality is presenting, HE continue to cling to God. First, God is His HOPE "My God, free me from the grip of Wicked, from the clutch of Bad and Bully. You keep me going when times are tough— my...

A HEART TOUCHED BY THE SPIRIT “No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭2:29‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Born in a family of believers and having much knowledge of the Bible may put you in an advantage position to know God than many who do not have these. But without a heart touched by the Spirit, these two may indeed keep you in a pseudo-belief. You think (and believe) that you believe in God. Yet true believe is the matter of the heart, not our biological heritage nor our knowledge nor what we do for the church (make sure your service is to please God and not merely to make your church look good). Have your heart been touched by the Spirit? The sign is: your heart will always seek to please God and praise from Him alone, not people! ~plt040717 # pltwrites   # ...

THE TRUE JOY "The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭10:17, 20‬ ‭NIV‬‬ What's the source of your joy? The 72 disciples proudly report to Jesus all they had done and achieved. Jesus reminded them that their joy comes from their relationship with Him not their achievements for him! How is your relationship with God? Come as you are not as what you've achieved. You matter more to God than all your achievements, vice versa God should matter most to you than what He has done for you! Happy Thursday! May the joy of the Lord remain in you always! ~plt130717 # pltwrites   # whatmattermost   # thejoyoftheLord   # Luke10