I chose you to be adopted into My family before creation.

Ephesians 1:4-5 New International Version (NIV)

4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[a] predestined us for adoption to sonship[b] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will

It pleased the Father to choose us before the foundation of the world. In love, He saw the day when we would say yes to the free gift of His Son's life for our life and become born into His amazing family. Before He even spoke the world into existence, He saw us!

And our adoption is not like any human adoption, for God has given us His own Spirit as a deposit to guarantee our inheritance. We are not servants in His house, but actual sons and daughters, joint heirs with our Elder Brother Jesus, seated in Christ in heavenly places.

What an amazing promise! Every other promise and precept rests on God's eternal plan to make us part of His family. As Ephesians 1:4 says, we are holy and without blame before Him in love all because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. What Jesus did on our behalf has secured our place forever as God's kids! 

1 John 3:1 
Behold, how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him. (WEB)

I created you in My own image with My special blessing.

Genesis 1:27-28 New International Version (NIV)

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

God created us in His own image. Think about that for a moment. We were created to reflect the image of God Himself! I wonder what the angels thought when they first saw Adam and Eve? What a glorious privilege to be made in the image of the One who knit us together in our mother's womb!

May we never take this blessing for granted. May we always be in awe of the fact that we were created to look just like God. When Jesus came to the earth 2,000 years ago, He sealed the deal by making a way for us to be conformed into His image (Romans 8:29) inside and out so that He could be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters.

My prayer today is that we would live in the light of our Father's original blessing to be fruitful, to multiply and to have dominion throughout the whole earth with the knowledge that we were created to look just like our Heavenly Dad.

The intentions of My heart will remain steadfast forever.

Psalm 33:11 New International Version (NIV)

11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
    the purposes of his heart through all generations.

In today's promise, we are reminded that God is steadfast in what He has purposed. The New Living Translation Bible says Psalm 33:11 this way... But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken. (NLT)

When God determines to do something, His plans will stand firm forever. He is not fickle or temperamental and He will not be swayed by public opinion or the winds of change. He has fixed His eyes upon us and has purposed in His heart to love us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). ...And He won't change His mind!

What our Heavenly Father started in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 1, He will see to completion at the end of the book of Revelation. No force in heaven or on earth will be able to prevent His purposes from being fulfilled. We can rest in God's plan for our lives for the intentions of His heart will remain steadfast forever!

I am full of mercy and grace and I overflow with love.

Psalm 103:8 New International Version (NIV)

8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.

We live only a few miles from Niagara Falls. I am always overwhelmed by the sheer power and volume of the water that cascades over the brink of this natural wonder every second. When I think of the unending stream of God's love that He shows to us every day, I think of this natural wonder.

As we continue our daily journey of reflecting on some of the promises of God in this New Year, may we always be reminded of how He sees us. The Lord is full of mercy and grace and He overflows with love towards us. Everything that He does is motivated by His eternal, unending kindness.

May the Holy Spirit give us a deeper revelation of the character and nature of God this new year and may He dismantle any misconceptions of our Heavenly Dad that cause us to see Him as distant and angry. 

Our God and Father is good. He is full of mercy and grace and just like Niagara Falls, He continually showers His love upon us. And His love will never ever end. May the revelation of the love of God continue to rush like a mighty river into your heart today.

Announcement

Territorial Theme 2019
We rise up as A Covenanted People if Faithfulness & Truthfulness through
- Commitments
- Example
- Disciples
- Application

Exodus 14:13-14
“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Senior Citizen Fellowship
Date: 19 Jan 2019
Time: 8:30am
Venue: Abu Siti Lane, Dim Sum

Corps Programme Resume 2019
Details:
Cell Group (Noth & South)
Tamil Cell Group (Every Thrusday)
Junior Soldier Class (Saturday)
Praise K.I.D.S (Sunday)
Youth Fellowship (Sunday)

I am the Lord your God and I never change.

Malachi 3:6 New International Version (NIV)

Breaking Covenant by Withholding Tithes

6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

As we begin a brand new year, it is important for us to be reminded of this simple truth...  The Lord our God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Every promise that He has made is secure and will last forever. Since we live in a world that is constantly changing, the promise of our Father's rock-solid commitment to us is very reassuring.

Today is a new day and marks the beginning of a new year for us to be able to experience the Lord's continued faithfulness in our lives. He will never leave us or let us down. He loves us with all His heart and each one of His promises that is true today will be true in a million years from now.

I pray that this truth will bring a deeper level of comfort and security to each one of our lives. May we look forward to all of the ways that our Father will show Himself faithful to us in this New Year. May this new year be blessed beyond imagination for you!

Hold fast to the hope you confess, for I am faithful to keep My promises.

Hebrews 10:23 New International Version (NIV)

23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

As we look toward to a brand new year, may God give us the strength today to hold fast to the hope that we confess and not give up. Having the confidence that God is who He says He is and we are who He says we are... let us not waver in our faith so that we can keep running our race (Hebrews 12:1-2).

It is so important that we keep believing that the One who has made every promise to us is forever faithful. Though we may go through times of loss and discouragement, those times do not change the truth of who God really is. Though clouds may sometimes block the sunshine so that we may not always feel its warmth, we can be assured that the sun is always shining.

As you reflect on this past year and commit the New Year into the hands of your loving God and Father, may your heart be filled with hope and your mind filled with peace for our God is the ultimate promise keeper. So don't give up, hold fast to the hope that you profess, for our God is faithful to keep His promises!

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV)
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ.
And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 

I will guide you to the very end, for I will be your God

Psalm 48:14 New International Version (NIV)

14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
    he will be our guide even to the end.

No matter what we go through in life, God promises to be our God forever and ever. Even if everyone else abandons us on our journey, there is One who has promised to be with us to the very end of our life in this world as we know it. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus promises His disciples that He would be with them always, even to the end of the age.

Though at times we don't feel His nearness, God is always close to us. May the reality of this promise go deep into our hearts today. We are not alone. We will never be alone. If we have accepted the free gift of Jesus Christ into our heart, then we are the dwelling place of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit... forever and ever. He will be our guide to the very end!

When death is swallowed up, I will wipe every tear from your face.

Isaiah 25:8 New International Version (NIV)

8     he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

As followers of Christ, we have an amazing hope. The hope of eternal life and the hope that one day we will see our God and Father face to face. On that day, when death is swallowed up, He will wipe every tear away from our face.

Today's promise is also spoken of in Revelation 21:4 which says.... ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (NIV)

My prayer today is that we would all be strengthened with the hope that we have in Christ. No matter how difficult your circumstances, no matter how hopeless your situation, may divine hope flood your heart so that you would know that one day God will wipe away every tear from your eyes and take away all of the pain that you suffered on this earth.

Romans 15:13
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (NLT)

My Son has made you to be a kingdom of priests to be with Me forever.

Revelation 1:5-6 New International Version (NIV)

5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

The NIV Bible says that Jesus made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father. The Amplified Bibles says that Jesus formed us into a kingdom (a royal race), priests to His God and Father. The KJV Bible says that Jesus has made us to be kings and priests to Father God. No matter what Bible translation you prefer, we have a very high calling.

Our Elder Brother has paid the price through His shed blood for us to be part of a royal priesthood that will minister unto His God and our God, His Father and our Father... forever! What a glorious thought! We are part of the highest royal family in the universe, not just when we get to heaven, but right now!

May the Holy Spirit give us revelation to know how high our heavenly calling is so that we might have a supernatural insight to know how to walk out our destiny as a kingdom of priests to our God and Father today. 

You are no longer a slave, for I have made you My child and My heir.

Galatians 4:7 New International Version (NIV)

7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

When God looks at you, He doesn't see a servant... He sees a son or daughter. When Jesus Christ exchanged His life for our life, something miraculous happened in the heavens. He opened up the way for us to be born into His amazing family. As today's promise says, we are not servants, but children of God and co-heirs with Jesus.

When the prodigal son came home to his father's house (Luke 15) he no longer felt worthy to be a son because of all the feelings of shame that he struggled with. When he met his father, he said "I am no longer worthy to be a son, so let me serve..." 

Because of his feelings of inadequacy and shame, he felt that the only way he could justify his place in his father's house was through serving. Many people do the same thing today. And like the father in the prodigal son story, God does not see His kids as servants, but as sons and daughters...no matter what they have done.

My prayer today is that each one of us would know that God has not given us a spirit that makes us afraid, but He has given us the Spirit of Sonship where we can cry out Abba, Father (Romans 8:15). May the Holy Spirit give each one of us more revelation on what it means to be an heir of God and a joint heir with our Elder Brother, Jesus!

Nothing in all creation will ever separate you from My love.

Romans 8:35-39 New International Version (NIV)

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a]

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul the Apostle said he was convinced that nothing could separate him from the love of God. Then he went on to list many things that could try and separate him. Death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things in the present, things in the future, etc. But something happened in Paul's life that convinced him that no matter what happened, nothing would ever keep the love of God away.

This is a man who was ship wrecked, stoned, persecuted at every turn and eventually martyred. If Paul needed to be convinced of the closeness of God's love, I think we do too. The Bible says that God's tender mercies are new every morning, so every morning is a new opportunity for each one of us to be persuaded that we are loved beyond measure.

No matter what trials you are facing, nothing can ever separate you from God's love. Life can't separate you. Death can't. Angels or demons can't. Nothing in the present or in the future will ever separate you. No height, no depth nor any other creature will keep the love of God from overflowing and surrounding you... right now!

My prayer is that we would be more convinced of our Father's love today than we were yesterday!

2019 Jan - Covenant Sunday

Click here for more pictures

Announcements

Territorial Theme 2019
We rise up as A Covenanted People if Faithfulness & Truthfulness through
- Commitments
- Example
- Disciples
- Application

Exodus 14:13-14
“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Senior Citizen Fellowship
Date: 19 Jan 2019
Time: 8:30am
Venue: TBA

Corps Programme Resume 2019
Details:
Cell Group (Noth & South)
Tamil Cell Group (Every Thrusday)
Junior Soldier Class (Saturday)
Praise K.I.D.S (Sunday)
Youth Fellowship (Sunday)

When I offered up My one and only Son, I gave you the best gift I could give.

Romans 8:32 New International Version (NIV)

32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Christmas marks the one day in the year where gifts are given and received around the world. I could not think of a more appropriate day to talk about the greatest gift that our Father could give. On a day that we celebrate the birth of God's only begotten Son, may we also be reminded of the reason why Jesus came to earth.

In John 3:16 we read that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son... It was the Father who gave us everything He could possibly give when He sacrificed the life of His treasured possession. In today's promise, Paul the Apostle reminds us of this incredible gift. God did not spare His Son, but delivered Him up to the most excruciating death on a cross in order that we could be born into His family.

The greatest gift that you could receive this Christmas day, is a deeper revelation of just how much our God and Father loves you. He gave up everything He loved in order to gain your love. May the revelation of His love go even deeper into your heart today and may the cross of Jesus Christ always be the ultimate symbol of our Father's greatest gift to you.

Now is the day of salvation and the time to receive My favor.

2 Corinthians 6:2 New International Version (NIV)

2 For he says,

“In the time of my favor I heard you,
    and in the day of salvation I helped you.”[a]

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

The New Living Translation Bible translates 2 Corinthians 6:2 this way... For God says,“At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. 

In Isaiah 61, the prophetic declaration of God's good news says that we are to proclaim the Year of the Lord's Favor. Adding to that, in 2 Corinthians 6:2, the Apostle Paul says that today is the day of salvation. Both scriptural references are now words. Words for today. Not tomorrow. Not next year. Today.

Today is the day of salvation. Right now we are living in the year of the Lord's favor. May the immediacy of this promise impact your heart right NOW. My prayer is that faith would rise up in our hearts so that we would be able to appropriate the promises God has made for us right now. Today is the day of salvation!

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 New International Version (NIV)

18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

The greatest promise that we could ever receive from our God and Father was the promise of reconciliation. Jesus came to the earth two thousand years ago to be the expressed image of the invisible God and to provide the way for us to become part of His amazing family through the work of the cross.

Because of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, we are now legitimate members of the family of God and joint heirs with Jesus Himself. There is no greater gift or honor that God could bestow upon us than to have the power to become His children (John 1:12-13).

And now, we too have been called into this glorious ministry of reconciliation, where we can invite others who are not yet in our Father's house, to be reconciled to God through the free gift of Jesus Christ! What an incredible gift the Father has given us, to be His co-laborers in the harvest field, inviting orphans and prodigals alike to come home through Jesus.

May we all have many, many opportunities to share in the ministry of reconciliation this Christmas season.

Cast your burden on Me and I will look after you.

Psalm 55:22 New International Version (NIV)

22 Cast your cares on the Lord
    and he will sustain you;
he will never let
    the righteous be shaken.

There are many places in the Bible where we are encouraged to cast all our cares on God. In today's promise, King David invites us in Psalm 55:22 to cast all our burdens on the Lord and He will look after us. The New Living Translation Bible says Psalm 55:22 this way... Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. 

When I think about this promise, I envision someone carrying a backpack full of rocks with each rock representing a care or concern. God invites us to take all of our rocks out of the backpack we are carrying and throw each one of them onto His big, strong shoulders. The reality is that we were not created to carry such burdens.

Medical studies tell us that up to 80% of all illnesses are stress-related in some way. This statistic further demonstrates that the human body was never created to carry such stress in our backpack. So what can we do in response to today's promise? Empty your backpack of all your cares and cast each one of them upon God and He will look after you. 

I will strengthen your inner being by the power of My Spirit.

Ephesians 3:16 New International Version (NIV)

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

In today's promise, the Apostle Paul is praying that our God and Father would strengthen our inner being by the power of His Spirit. We all need supernatural strength to flow from our spirit and it is important for us to know that the source of that strength comes from God alone. In Zechariah 4:6 the Lord says... ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. (NIV)

I like how the Amplified Bible translates Ephesians 3:16...May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].

The strength that we need today comes from only one place...Out of the rich treasury of the glory of God that flows directly from God's own Spirit to our spirit. So look to God for your strength and not to your own resources.

It is not by our own self effort or personal goodness that we will have power to live a godly life, but through the free gift of the Holy Spirit that God has already given us as a deposit to guarantee our inheritance (2 Corinthians 1:22)

I will seek after those who worship Me in spirit and truth.

John 4:23 New International Version (NIV)

23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Jesus is speaking to a Samaritan woman at a well when He makes this statement that the Father is seeking out those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. The Greek word for seeking is 'Zeteo' which Strong's Concordance describes it as... to seek a thing in order to find it, to aim at something, to strive after, to crave, etc. This is a very active word describing how God feels about those who turn their hearts toward Him.

When Jesus tells us that His Father is seeking after those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth, He is giving us an insight into His Father's heart. While we are called to live a life of being God chasers, God Himself is chasing us! He longs for our attention more than we long for His! He is seeking out those who will present their bodies as living sacrifices because their lives are a sweet smelling fragrance in His nostrils.

Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. (NIV)