Hi Blessed Folks!

It has been a while… About 6 months since i posted anything. Been busy with work, been putting the faith march on the sidelines lately… Prompted to reactivate this blog cos i know it’s been a blessing to many already. : )

What else then do we have on this earth? It seems, day to day, the world we live in is growing bleaker, darker and reeling into chaos. How do we as believers reign in this life on earth?

One word…

HOPE.

As a Christian believer, the primary driving force in our faith IS Hope.

In the Greek text of the New Testament “Hope” in the original language is “Elpis“.

And Elpis is defined by Strong’s concordance as:
1) From “elpo” which is a primary word (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstract or concrete) or confidence: – faith, hope.

And defined in Thayer’s Greek Definition as:
2) expectation of good, hope

We can concur and put both definitions together in the spirit of the Good News as:
Hope = Elpis = A confident expectation of good!

What more can we ask for then? Knowing that we are the beloved one of God and now we can confidently hope for good things to happen in our lives!

Next best thing to do?

Give thanks for what we have in our hands and confidently expect good things to happen, confidently expect the miracles to happen, confidently expect supernatural abundance!

*Best results shown here:
Mark 6:36-44
36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.
37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
42 And they did all eat, and were filled.
43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.
44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

The above illustration showed the magnitude of the miracle and abundance, with the very little Jesus had in His hands.

But where’s the key then?

Here it is!…
John 6:11
And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

Go to the One in Heaven and give thanks with what you have now in your hands and He will give what you do not have in your hands! : )

What’s the last bit then?

Enjoy the fish and bread given! Receive it! Eat it! What’s the point of a miracle or blessing coming your way and you don’t receive it and enjoy it?

Start telling Him that you’ve received your blessing already!

Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

I hope you have been blessed!

I pray to all that read this, to have a Shalom 2010! A year of Abundance, Favor & Rest!

Shalom & God bless you all,
Emmanuel : )

Hi dearly beloveds,

How loved are you by God?

Does God’s love for me require me to be in His servitude? Is His love for me contingent on my good deeds? Will He ever curse me should I be disobedient to Him? Do I need to pray more, fast more to have more favour with Him?

I’m sure these are some very valid questions to some of us out there.

The answer we seek is the Cross of Calvary. Please watch the short music video first before reading on.

I See Love by 3rd Day – Soundtrack of The Passion

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=596dfa7c219db523f73a

I truly see Love on that rugged cross.

Can God love you so much that He gave His very best to be punished in your place? Yes because He is God. And HE can because He is a God of love.
We can use a phrase from the world to describe this: Love is not love till you give it away.

Can you and I do the same to our own child? To our own beloved flesh and blood? To punish your beloved one for someone else’s sin?

This love is so amazing and incomprehensible that Paul called it a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks.

1Corinthians 1:
22 For the Jews ask for a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom;
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness.

Jesus Christ WILL be a stumbling block to religiosity, Jesus WILL be foolishness to philosophy.

BUT, We declare to the world that Jesus Christ was crucified and rose again on the 3rd day conquering death, satan and hell, rising victoriously for us!

All that God has done for us was summed up on the cross, ALL His love for us was summed up on the cross, ALL His forgiveness, ALL His mercy, ALL His judgment was summed up on the cross. I used the word was because now we’re living in the IS of God. He IS our Refuge, He IS our Shelter, He IS our Hiding place, He IS our Healing, He IS our Provider, He IS our Prosperity, He IS our Righteousness, He IS our Holiness. We’re now IN Christ. Whatever GOD IS so are we!!! Amen! Hallelujah!

Now, that is love isn’t it? UNCONDITIONAL, IRREVOCABLE, ETERNAL.

ALL that GOD IS, IS us now, the believer in Christ Jesus. He paid His own price of Judgment on His beloved Jesus.

Blessed ones, now Rejoice!

Psalms 13:
5 But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation(original Hebrew: Yeshua/Jesus).

Blessed is he who sees, blessed is he who hears.

Thank you Father that you hear me always! Father I rejoice in Your Yeshua!

Shalom Shalom,
Emmanuel

I just want to address everyone who has contributed to my entries with all your comments and replies.

Thank you very much! Thank you even for those who come against me and what i believe in. The fact that you have read my entries prove a fact that God is doing something GREAT in your lives! He will bless you richly and more than abundantly beyond your wildest imagination!

I am here to share His Love, leave you His peace and to speak His Truth. : )

I left an interesting reply to Brother Shah’s comments and i think i’d like to publish my comments here, so that in future if there is anybody else who’d like to comment similarly as Brother Shah, my response is already here.

Here it goes….

—————–

Hi Brother Shah,

I can see your impassionate plee not to persuade Malays who are born Muslims to become Christians.

I would say that this does not happen all the time. In fact rarely.

1. There is always a certain restraint on speaking to Malay-Muslims about Christianity in countries such as Malaysia or even Singapore.
2. Most of the time, the Malays that embrace Christianity are those who have been on their own personal spiritual journey such as mine. Nobody preached to me or evangelized to me. But it was my own personal decision. And this would be the usual course of a Malay embracing Christianity.

I do understand that this is an extremely sensitive topic, but i hope i can clarify and bring to light some misconceptions and misunderstandings that we have.

Being Malay does not mean this… Malay=Muslim.
So for example if i put this logic, then… Chinese=Buddhist, Indians=Hindu, Caucasians=Christians?… What about Africans then?

We also know for a fact that we have friends who are Muslims but they are Indians, Chinese, Caucasians and even Africans.

So would the definition of race equates faith?

So, maybe let me begin first with defining what is it really being Malay as a race, not ethinic group(ethnicity is influenced by culture).

This excerpt from Wikipedia sums it up quite well,

“Malays (Malay: Melayu) are an ethnic group of Austronesian peoples predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula and parts of Sumatra and Borneo. The Malay ethnic group is distinct from the concept of a Malay race, which encompasses a wider group of people, including most of Indonesia and the Philippines. The Malay language is a member of the Austronesian family of languages.”

As we can see, the Malay race are a people of Austronesian descent. Meaning we have Malay brothers and sisters right across the South-East Asian peninsula. In the Philippines, most of the brown-skinned, tanned Filipinos are Malays by race, but what about faith? They are Catholics most of them. We also have our Malay brothers and sisters in Indonesia, and in some islands there, they are Hindu.

So what we have here is basically a minor misconception of the definition of race and faith. But extrapolating this misconception, leads to BIG misunderstanding spanning decades of confusion. Even back home here in SG, we still encounter many non-Malay Singaporeans simply assuming that all Malays are Muslims. Not their fault actually, because like i mentioned this misconception has spanned quite a long while in our history.

As to the definition of what is Islam and what is Christianity, that is widely available in any resource centres, ie, bookshops, libraries, even the internet.

God made the world so beautiful and unique to have so many peoples of colours and creeds and we appreciate that He left His open arms of Grace for anyone, any of His peoples to come back home.

Much love to you Brother Shah.

Shalom and be Greatly Blessed!

Emmanuel.

——————

I’ve not posted anything here for a long, long while. Again i really thank you all from the bottom of my heart for keeping my blog alive by constantly commenting and replying on it.

Shalom and Be Greatly Blessed, Highly Favoured & Deeply Loved!

Emmanuel.

How many times have we, in the search for THE Truth, got lost and totally veered of from the initial objective? Why do we search for God? Love and acceptance. Just like any relationship here in this world. We seek love and acceptance from our parents, children, friends, colleagues etcetera.

With all that searching, do you find the Love of God for you? Do you KNOW that He loves you so so much? Do you know He wants you to call you His own? Do you know He wants to abundantly bless the pants off you [ mind the expression : ) ] ?

With all that “head” knowledge, do you still question your acceptance before God? Do you still question your assurance to a place in Heaven? Do you feel His warm embrace in times of trouble? Do you see Him smiling at you all the time?

Jesus is truly the Way, the Truth and the Life. A God that did not spare His own, for us. How great is my GOD! To understand Jesus with the intellect is IMPOSSIBLE. GOD’s love for us is beyond reason, that’s why He is GOD!

Yeshua Hamaschiach, Jesus the Messiah, Saviour King, Lamb of GOD, I love you. But that does not compare to your love for me my Father. : )

Hallelujah!

Those who have eyes, let them see, those who have ears, let them hear.

Be greatly blessed one and all!

Emmanuel.

No one can convince you. Not any man or woman on this earth can convince you. Only God can. And only you can see the Truth when you know you’re deeply loved by Him that He gave His best for you. : )

You’re so precious to Him that He gave Himself for you. See the Love of God for you. He wants to call you His own. His child. Receive His abundance of Grace. For you to live a glorious life. A life without doubt that you are assured a place in Heaven without working or doing anything to get to Heaven. Receive Heaven as a free Gift. Live a victorious life, a life without hate, without anger because you know you ARE Loved by the Almighty God, the Alpha and the Omega.

John 14:1-4, A prepared Mansion for you .
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

I’m sure you’d like that. But also in your heart you’d say it’s too good to be true. That’s why He is GOD and that’s His love for you. It does NOT make any sense but that’s Him. : )

Dear beloved, know that you’re loved by Him and receive His love for you that is through Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ). Yeshua is Jesus’ name in the original Hebrew. Know your Yeshua because Yeshua means: God is my Salvation. And His Salvation came through Yeshua HaMaschiach that walked this earth 2007 years ago and now He is resurrected and in all of those of us that believe in Him. And HaMashiach means: The Messiah. God our Salvation came through Messiah to save us and to show His ultimate Love and Sacrifice for us. Like i said, it does NOT make any sense. That IS why HE is who HE is. : )

Our Daddy God whom we call Abba/Father.

So beloved one of God. Believe that you ARE the beloved one of GOD.

Shalom(Peace) be upon you and your family and let His abounding Love manifest in your lives.

Your brother in Christ,

Emmanuel

Hi dearly beloved of God,

Some of us might want to make sense of everything in life. But for most parts, our senses are limited to the five basic senses that we have; the sense of Sight, Sound, Taste, Smell and Tactile Feel. So, where are these five senses governed in? It’s in our brain right. So, our mind governs the five senses that we have, and if we try to make sense of God, it will become non-sense. Because God is in the Spiritual Realm. Our five physical senses are unable to reach him. The moment we intellectualize His Grace and Majesty, especially of His Son, Jesus Christ, the further we’ll get from understanding Him.

So, i urge many of my beloved brothers and sisters to approach Him through our hearts. Go to Him with an open heart. Say, “Lord, i seek you. Please help me. I’m lost. How come you always feel so far away from me? How come i don’t feel that you love me? Please Lord, i’m lost like a sheep waiting for his Good Shepherd.”

We intellectualize God’s saving Grace for us. How can we intellectualize LOVE? Impossible!

Ask yourself, how did you feel when the last time your mum or dad forgave you and let it slide something which you know you’ve done something absolutely horrible. Notice i said, how did you feel. If i had asked, what did you think? How different would it have been. I’m sure you can’t think through that moment. It must have felt absolutely ridiculous that they forgave you. But they did.

Now, that was Love on a human scale. What about LOVE on a GOD scale? Unimaginable, absolutely non-sense and downright unbelievable. But that’s Him! He loves us so much!

So, dear brothers and sisters, take the courage to read the Word of God in the Bible. Read the 4 Gospels. Jesus comes to you through His Words in there. In fact, the entire Bible is the culmination of the Revelation of Jesus Christ!

We might think that we are trying to seek the Truth, but most assuredly i say to you, The Truth is Seeking You!

Matthew 18:12-13

12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?

13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

So, more often than not, it is HE who is searching for us than us searching for Him.

Hallelujah… Praise you Jesus!

I thank you, i exalt your name up on high for you ARE THE RISEN LORD and the King to come.

Your beloved son,
Emmanuel-Reza

I just would like to let Singapore know that there is hope for Malays in Singapore to embrace Christ. I Am one of them! Hallelujah! Praise Jesus! Praise God Almighty! Now i can proudly say that i am a Malay Christian! Gloriously saved in year 2003. Yes, I was born a muslim. Yes, i was born and raised in Singapore. Typically my father tried his best to make his 3 sons understand islam and of course to embrace the basic tenets of the religion…

As a teenager i tried my best to know what islam was about. I deeply believed that there is a God. But somehow this god felt very distant and the feeling of constant judgement is always there… I hardly felt loved… 

And so my search began… I embarked on a journey that led me to the Light of Christ.

I was 20 at that point of time. Almost 10 years later, i have come into His Presence. My meanderings into all the other world religions gave me a very broad view of what other faith systems are about. Some aren’t even faith, just merely a way of life, some are rules and laws stacked like jenga blocks waiting to crumble. Others, even, like mystery, occultic belief systems delved very much deeply into self deliverance, being freed into the ALL somewhat. All these seemed very attractive at some point of time but it never did answer the very basis of SALVATION.

Corrupt as we are, man’s ego has taken precedence over who we naturally are. Sin Nature in our flesh is somewhat programmed into our flesh after the fall of Adam. Saintly as we want to be, none of us can come close to the perfection of Christ. But Christ came for us as He is God with us (Emmanuel). How is it possible for man, a fleshly being be able to save himself? Many believe in a spirit; and this spirit is pure, unadulterated love, pure being, pure energy. They believe all mankind have this spirit in them. Now as a Christian i know that this spirit is inaccessible to us until we have the Holy Spirit in us through Christ Jesus after He was crucified on the cross. Only with our salvation and redemption through Christ then can we have this Spirit, this Holy Spirit of God. Other than that it will be the shadow of the truth, the deceiver will use his deceptive spirit and enter into your life. Any form of spiritual entity will give you some form of power or energy, even feelings of bliss and happiness. But all these are temporal, for they are not from the Truth. I am obviously speaking from experience. Delving in forms of meditation, qi exercises, no doubt certainly some have health benefits attached to it but at what risk? We always have to use Christ as our filter and source for the Truth. If not, trouble may brew as the deceiver comes into our mind and body from these seemingly harmless exercises.

I appeal to any of my brothers and sisters out there, if you feel, and deep inside, you know that your are lost… Look for your Shepherd.

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” John 10:14-16

I firmly believe in the Word of God. And John 10:16 speaks volumes of His kind mercy and grace. It will only be a matter of time when more of us will come out saying ,”I am born again in Christ!” How glorious will that day be when i can share this pride and gift with sheep from my own fold!

Hallelujah, Praise God… Thank you Jesus… Oh, how so You have loved me…

Yeshua… YHWH is my Salvation.

PS: Hi everybody, i have another blog site at 1flock1shepherd.blogspot.com(don’t type the www)
I’ll be on that one more regularly. I have a couple more interesting stuff there! Do take a look please and leave your comments there.

HIS Blessings’ Upon Us Always,
Emmanuel