Power to Acquire Wealth

From Pastor Ulf’s Daily Devotion:

Then you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.” And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it

Deuteronomy 8:17-18

When God blessed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob He increased their herds and gave them wealth. When God blessed the children of Israel, He did the same. He never told them He was pleased with their poverty. On the contrary, He refers to poverty as a curse. “You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it. You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with oil; for your olives shall drop off. … you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you” (Deuteronomy 28:38-40, 48).

The Hebrew mindset, as well as the reformed Christian mindset, maintains that God blesses us in every area of life, including the area of material wealth. The Lord is not warning against an abundance of material possessions; on the contrary, He encourages the people of Israel to “build beautiful houses and dwell in them” (Deuteronomy 8:12). What the Lord warns against is arrogance and a life independent of Him.
The Lord warns the children of Israel of forgetting that it was He who established their wealth and that this is a part of the covenant (verse 18). God is particular about upholding His part of the covenant. And He desires that the people of Israel, also, uphold their part so He can continue to bless them. How do they uphold their part? By “loving the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

When we whole-heartedly love the Lord, there is nothing left over for mammon. Whole-hearted devotion to the Lord ensures we never forget from where the blessings have come. When we love the Lord with all our heart we remain humble despite the abundant blessings and we do not look down upon anyone. We become trustworthy stewards with open hands and willing hearts. Whole-hearted dedication to God enables us to become channels for His blessings, which flow out in all directions.

- Ulf Ekman

 

Thank You, God, that the covenant blessing contains an abundance of blessing for my family and me. I hold on to Your promises and know You will provide power, energy, creativity and initiative, for the glory of Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

God let me be the vessel for your blessings to flow.

Pouring Out Answers

by Pastor Phil Pringle

 

Whenever I listen to this sermon during difficult and trying times, I will always be encouraged.

  

Download this MP3 – (Right Click)

It becomes alive…

It becomes alive when you put it in the hands of God.

In the gospel, Jesus fed the multitudes when they gave Him the bread and fish. Why 5 loaves and 2 fishes?

Could it be really the the fishes comes alive, mate and multiplied?

But what is really true is that the 5 loaves and 2 fishes will remain as 5 loaves and 2 fishes if they were kept and not given to Jesus.

But when it is given to God, it comes alive, multiplied and fed many with abundance.

What are the 5 loaves and 2 fishes I have today? The limited finances? The dying situations? Jobless situation?

Father, I give you my “5 loaves and 2 fishes”; let it comes alive and be multiplied.

Protected: Encouragement

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Test post

So cool… Found this application for my bb so that I can blog using my bb.

Hopefully, I can blog more often.

Friends with empty love tank??

I had a short chat with Y & R yesterday. I know one of them is running low in love units. fellowship with him over dinner recently… looks like we need to fill them before they become empty. yesterday when talking to R, she seems to be running low too. told me she in need of a break and is in UCC condition. i thought she talking about any area in her life under compromise. but it was Urgent Counseling Case. Man… what happen to them?

I talked to baby last night, I really felt that each and everyone of us needs to be responsible for the life we live. Too much of everything is not going to help at all. We need to have a balanced lifestyle, time for work / study, time for play, time to serve God, a time for everything.

You can’t live a life trying to do everything or what people expects of you and neglect your own personal life, your walk with God, your close ones, your emotional tank (deposits of love units), etc. Please be a good steward of the life that God has blessed you with. If you know you need encouragement, help and other needs, please go find someone / something that can help you before it’s too late. Don’t wait till your house is on fire then buy a fire extinguisher to keep at home.

God has been gracious to me. He helped me learn to balance my life right from the start. When I was attached with baby, my life revolved around her, we just spend hours together. but my studies failed. wake up call!!! i learnt to balance between relationship, studies and my part time job. later there was a new insertion into my life… Security Ministry. Then i learnt to managed my life, studies, relationship, part time job and ministry. And when i put God first in serving Him, He helped me do it. oops, i forgot… i was the cg guitarist at that time too.

Next chapter, came National Service. i was in a cg where there were pple like me who have been thru it and encourages me along the way, i just kept serving… then came work to replace the NS… commitment became even higher. but i managed to balance everything and neglected my family (all along the way already neglect)…

Last year, my dad passed away… then realised another wake up call!!! my love ones… my family. now i’m married, need to balance my life to work, quality time with baby, family, friends, ministry, cg…

there are so much commitments, but so little time. But i Thank God that He helped me along the way, revealing the things that i must look in to as i mature as a person and as responsibilities grows.

Church Anniversary

Happy Anniversary City Harvest Church!

It was a great celebration yesterday, 2 power pact service from 9.30am to about 3pm. Though it was a long service, many people stayed and enjoyed the service.

Praise God for 20 wonderful years and many more to come.

It was a super long day for me. I started serving at 7.30am till last night about 11pm. About 15.5 hrs, totally exhausted at the end of the day. One of the longest day of serving ever.

After the 2 services, I had the honor to drive PT back home to collect his car. It was a very good journey and he shared many tips and stuffs that taught me a lot and helped me think about what i should do.

My spiritual life, my married life, my ministry, balanced lifestyle, house, savings, investment, renovations… Not beats hearing from the man of God. Revelational.

God give me strength and wisdom.

Clear up the mess!

I need time to reorganize my life. Still adapting to this new life.

I need a new system…or rather timetable. where to keep stuffs, when to visit my in-laws, when to have my personal time, etc.

 

Randy, clear up this mess FAST! to start anew.

Perseverance / Procrastination

I need to overcome my procrastination and bring out my perseverance.

Realized that if I continue to procrastinate, I will not achieve my goals this year.

• 5 Room Flat in Bedok Central
• Flat Abs and Toned Body
• Etc…