Happy New Year!

The Priority of Focus

As you study the Bible, you begin to discover that God has some things He considers very important -- things that should become priorities as we begin a new year.

One of the things that God considers most important is focus. In fact, the priority of focus is absolutely crucial if you are to be the wise man or woman you want to be. Why?

Because understanding the priority of focus can keep you from pursuing the trivial and unimportant.

A great example of a proper focus is found in Deuteronomy 4:9, where it says...

"Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'"

God wants you to remember your encounters with Him. He's saying, "Take heed to yourself and guard your soul lest you forget the things your eyes have seen.

When you remember and rehearse what God has done for you in the past, it will keep you free from depression and it will keep you in faith. It will keep the door open for God to do things in your present circumstance and situation.

So today, take time to focus on what God has done for you in the past. Count your blessings.

When you do this on a consistent basis, you will be able to move forward with great confidence and faith, remembering what God has done for you... and what He can accomplish in your life again.

Happy New Year!

An Article by Bayless Conley

Don't Worry

Today I have a simple but important word for you directly from God’s Word: Don't worry.

1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us,

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Jesus said, "Don't take an anxious thought for tomorrow. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." When we worry about tomorrow, we pull tomorrow's clouds over today's sunshine.

I have shared many times in my ministry about the incredible truth of Jesus' command, "Do not worry about tomorrow." It is like we have this 24-hour fuse. We are wired up to deal with the stresses of life one day at a time.

If you worry about tomorrow today, you are putting a 48-hour load on a 24-hour fuse, and something is going to give somewhere.

Some people don't just worry about tomorrow, they worry about next week and next month. No wonder the fuse is blowing!

You see, what the mind cannot contain, it will impose upon the body. If your health is breaking down, worry may just be the problem. The Bible says to cast all of your care, the whole of your care, all your anxieties, on Him, once and for all.

Roll your burden on the Lord. The Bible says be anxious for nothing. And that means nothing. Do not worry about your children, do not worry about your money, do not worry about your future, do not worry about anything.

Your Heavenly Father does care for you, and it is His good pleasure to give you the Kingdom

Peace Through Prayer

"God's peace... will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7)

The worrisome heart pays a high price for doing so. Worry comes from the Greek word that means "to divide the mind". Anxiety splits us right down the middle, creating a double minded thinking. Rather than take away tomorrow's trouble, worry voids todays, strength. Perception is divided, distorting your vision. Strength is divided, wasting your energy. Who can afford to lose power?
But how can we stop doing so? Paul offers a two-pronged answer. God's part and our part. Our part includes prayer and gratitude. "Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks" (Philippians 4:6, emphasis mine).
God's part? "and God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7)

From Come Thirsty

I Asked God

I Asked God to take away my habit.
God said, No.
It is not for me to take away, but for you to give up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, No.
His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No.
Patience is a byproduct of tribulations
It isn't granted, it is learned.

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, No.
I give you blessings, happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No.
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No.
You must grow your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked God for all of the things I might enjoy in life.
God said, No.
I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things.

I asked God to help me LOVE OTHERS, as much as he loves me.
God said... Ahhh, FINALLY YOU HAVE THE IDEA!

Let Your will be done in my life

I was reading Matthew 6:10 and the devotional notes in my bible. I thought i might share what ps Lucado writes with you, readers
To pray that God's will be done is to seek the heart of God. The word will means 'strong desire"... so what is HIS heart? His passion? He wants us to know it. Shall God hide from us what he is going to do? Apparently not, for he has goe to great lengths to reveal his will to us. Could he have done more than send his Son to lead us? Could he have done more than give his Word to teach us? Could he have done mote than send his Son to lead us? Could he have done more than give his Word to teach us? Could he have done more than orchestrate events to awakens us? Could he have done more than send his Holy Spirit to counsel us?
God is not the God of confusion, and wherever he sees seekers with confused hearts you can bet your sweet December that he will do whatever it takes to help them see his will.

A Big View Of God

Exactly what is worship? I like King David’s definition. “Glorify the Lord with me, and let us praise his name together” (Psalm 34:3. Worship is the act of magnifying God. Enlarging our vision of Him. Stepping into the cockpit to see where he sits and observe how he works. Of course, his size doesn’t change, but our perception of Him does. As we draw nearer, he seems larger. isn’t that what we need? A big view of God? Don’t we have big problems, big worries, big questions? Of course we do. Hence we need a big view of God. Worship offers that. How can we sing “Holy, Holy, Holy” and not have our vision expanded?
Max Lucado, from Just Like Jesus

no More Lies

I personally think that for so many times, we are more comfortable in being deceitful to ourselves rather than being bluntly honest to ourselves and especially God. I'm also guilty of that in some areas of my life. however, deep down in my heart i realize that the reason that i have about what i did or a decision that I made, wasn't really the real reason. Andy Stanley said that Until we stop lying to ourselves, we don't really know the position where we are. And If we don't know where we are, it's hard for us to get to where God wants us to be. Whether that's in the area of our career, calling, destiny, future spouse or even money. I need to learn to always ask myself everytime i decide to do something, "what is the real reason behind this?"; Do I really want to do this, considering my future, dreams and relationship with God?"

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Max Lucado: Everyday deserves a chance

I'm reading a new book written by Max Lucado, and here's a daylifter quote that i really want to share with you:

The Next time you are mired in a bad day, check your outlook with these three questions:
1. What do I feel guilty about?
2. What am I worried about?
3. What am I about?
Reflect on your answers with these three reminders:
Yesterday..... forgiven.
Tomorrow ...... surrendered
Today...... Clarified
Jesus' design for a good day makes such sense. His grace erases guilt. His overshight removes fear. His direction removes confusion.

Found: Old Testament Evidence

An article taken from an Australian Newspaper : The Australian

Tablet aids Old Testament's credibility

* Dalya Alberge
* July 11, 2007

THE British Museum has hailed a discovery within a modest clay tablet in its collection as a breakthrough for biblical archaeology - dramatic proof of the accuracy of the Old Testament.

The cuneiform inscription in a tablet dating from 595BC has been deciphered for the first time - revealing a reference to an official at the court of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, that proves the historical existence of a figure mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah.

This is rare evidence in a non-biblical source of a real person, other than kings, featured in the Bible.

The tablet names a Babylonian officer called Nebo-Sarsekim, who according to Jeremiah xxxix was present in 587BC when Nebuchadnezzar "marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it".

The cuneiform inscription records how Nebo-Sarsekim lavished a gift of gold on the Temple of Esangila in the fabled city of Babylon, where, at least in folk tradition, Nebuchadnezzar is credited with building the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

British Museum staff are excited by the discovery. Irving Finkel, assistant keeper in the Department of the Middle East, said: "A mundane commercial transaction takes its place as a primary witness to one of the turning points in Old Testament history. This is a tablet that deserves to be famous."

The discovery was made by Michael Jursa, associate professor at the University of Vienna, on a routine research trip to the museum.

"It's very exciting and very surprising," he said. "Finding something like this tablet, where we see a person mentioned in the Bible making an everyday payment to the temple in Babylon and quoting the exact date, is quite extraordinary."

Since 1991, Dr Jursa has been visiting the museum to study a collection of more than 100,000 inscribed tablets - the world's largest holdings.

Although they are examined by international scholars daily, reading and piecing together fragments is painstaking work and more than half are yet to be published.

Cuneiform is the oldest known form of writing. During its 3,000-year history it was used to write about 15 languages including Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite and Urartian.

A wedged instrument - usually a cut reed - was used to press the signs into clay. This gave the writing system its name, "cuneiform", or wedge-shaped.

There are only a small number of scholars worldwide who can read cuneiform script. One of them is Dr Jursa, who told The Times yesterday (Tuesday) that the British Museum tablet was so well preserved that it took him just a couple of minutes to decipher.

This one - which is 2.13 inches (5.5cm) wide - was acquired by the British Museum in 1920.

Dr Jursa said: "But no one realised the connection. They didn't really read it." It was unearthed from the ancient city of Sippar, where there was a huge sun temple, just over a mile from modern-day Baghdad. It was part of a large temple archive excavated for the British Museum in the 1870s.

Dr Jursa, who made the discovery while conducting research into officials at the Babylonian court, said that the tablet recorded Nebo-Sarsekim's gift of gold to the temple - a gift so large that it would be comparable in value today to the cost of a large townhouse.

On hearing of the discovery yesterday (Tuesday), Geza Vermes, the eminent emeritus professor of Jewish studies at the University of Oxford, said that such a discovery revealed that "the Biblical story is not altogether invented".

He added: "This will be interesting for religious people as much as historians."

Hillsong Conference 2007

LAst week was the highlight of the month of July. I and the other 15 guys from our church had an awesome week at Hillsong Conference from 7-11 July at Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic park (which is about 10 drive from where i live, which is good!) A group from The Rocks Perth also came and joined us during the week. Pastor Daniel Indradjaja came along with Gabriel, Rey, Rafael and Ari. Pastor David widjaja also joined some of the sessions and rallies. The guest speakers during Hillsong Conference this year were Ps Ed Young from Dallas who spoke on the first nite, Gary Skinner and the Watoto Childrens Choir, Ps Louie Giglio (Passion) was there with Chris Tomlin (and band), Steven Curtis Chapman, Ps Jentenzen Frankin, Ps Joseph Prince (New Creation church, Singapore), Ps John Bevere, and Bishop T.D Jakes. And of course the hillsong team was hosting. ISRAEL HOUGHTON and NEW BREED were there as well, so cool.
Here's some pictures that I took during the Conference

A nite Before Hillsong, We went to Mrs Macquarie's chair with the rocks (Perth) guys

Ari, Citra, Mike, Rafael & Gabriel

Acer Arena Foyer (Hillsong Expo)

Stage @ Hillsong Conf 2007

Praise And Worship (Reuben Morgan = WL)

Me And Andri Wibowo

Israel & New Breed in action

New Life Church Group (some of us)+ Pastor Daniel (Perth)

After One of the Night Rally

Crowd

Me And Rima

Israel And New Breed - Musician Workshop @ Hillsong Conference 07

Pastor D & Cit - Sunnies Ad Model wannabe hehe

Me, Citra, Ivanna (Cit's cousin from NZ), & Tirza (Cit's cousin from Germany)

Me, Ps Daniel, Victor Tee

Another Group Photo after one of the night rallies (Didit and Icha were there =))

With Eka, Englyn, Baby Jayden (ngga keliatan), and Tafi

DR. Richard Roberts, The President of Oral Roberts University; teaching at Moving in the Spirit Elective

Ps. Steve Kelly - Moving In the Spirit

Miriam Webster

Relaxing at the relax room (morin, ken, Lia, Daniel, Andri, me)

Home

It's been a 8 days now, since My brother Andrew, beth and Zech left for Malaysia and Indonesia for 6 weeks. And being at home is not the same as before. Now, it's very quiet and empty. Therefore, most of the time if i was at home, i'll do my work, preparing sermon, or clean the house. I really miss zech, although i was so happy that i can see the updates of their trip in Malaysia through zech's blog (Thank you beth!)
However, I'm so excited about next week, i'm going to be a delegate of Hillsong Conference, one of the "must do" of the year for me. I found that through this conference, I got refreshed, inspired and motivated. This year there will be about 16 people in our group. and that's Awesome. I;m looking forward for an amazing week. Till then..

Praying with Endurance

Endurance

Patience is essential to an effective prayer life. You need to be willing to endure.

Hebrews 6:11-15 says,
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Do you realize that once God gave Abraham and Sarah the promise of having a child, it was 25 years before Isaac was born? There was some patient enduring that took place before they obtained the reality of God’s promise in their lives. And so it must be with us.

Perhaps you have been praying for things in your life, and you are getting discouraged. You must remember that God does not always work things on our timetable. He works according to His. I just want to encourage you today: Be patient. Patience is that long-lasting quality of your faith.

A number of years ago I heard one person say that faith is like your hand and patience is like your arm. When you exercise faith, it is like holding up your hand against the problem, and as you do, things are being worked out. But if you take your patience down, your faith comes down with it.

Patience is the thing that keeps your faith applied until the answer comes.

Patience is a critical key to effective prayer. Whatever you are praying for, patiently endure.

Exciting News from Indonesia

Taken From www.philbaker.net


From my friends in Indonesia comes this moving report of God's grace at work:

At Christmas 1998 waves of persecution broke out against the Christians. Many of our friends and even some of our staff were killed. Our former church and home were burned to the ground. Over 14,000 homes, shops and houses of worship were destroyed. Christian leaders were assassinated, Christian school girls were brutally beheaded and the community has had to live under a reign of terror until some strange events began to take place in a a tiny and remote village called Meko (pronounced Mecco) on the shores of Lake Poso, in the district of Poso, Central Sulawesi.

On the 6th January 2007 an 8 year old girl received a visitation of the Lord and began to pray for the sick, beginning with her own mother. By mid February, crowds began to flock to Meko from all corners of Sulawesi. Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians…thousands seeking healing and bringing their sick. Standing there among the sick, the weak, the lame, the blind, the aged, the dying, one can only feel like Jesus who looked upon the multitudes and was moved with compassion. The crowds who gather to Meko are desperate. They desperately need love and compassion.

Every day they sing and praise the Lord for hours. They sing songs like, Jesus never changes, Into my heart, All over the world God's Spirit is moving, Oh Jerusalem how beautiful thou art… They sing them over and over…for hours. While they are singing, people are suddenly healed. The blind see, the lame walk…

Every day people are being healed but the biggest gathering is on Thursday night when the people pray and sing all night long, and at midnight they have special prayer for the sick. Up to 20,000 people have been coming, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Christians. The message proclaimed by this 8 y.o girl and her mother is always the same. Live a holy, righteous life (Ephesians 5:1-21), pray the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6-10), receive healing through Jesus (John 5).

Teams of our workers from the National Prayer Network, the Christian Mens' Network and our Foundation Bless Indonesia Today have been ministering from tent to tent, praying for the sick, sharing Christ and seeing miracles take place. Annette went with a team and was excited to see what is happening. When Annette arrived she was told of miracles that had taken place that afternoon. At 3pm a lame Buddhist man from Makassar, South Sulawesi, was healed. About 4.30pm in one of the tents a lame Muslim man, a haji (one who had made the pilgramage to Mecca ) suddenly left his wheel chair, stood up and began to leap. He jumped up on to a table. He asked to lead the singing in the tent meeting singing a very common song used in Charismatic healing services: "God is all powerful to do all things. He is omnipotent. He created the worlds. My God is all powerful".

We also heard that a lady from South Sulawesi, lame from birth with deformed legs after 32 years stood up and began to walk and leap; a 28 year old man blind from birth was healed; a 17 year old retarded boy is now now back helping his father in a chemist shop in Palu. There are piles of abandoned wheelchairs to give witness to the many healed. One dying man, a relative of one of Jeff's friends, was brought in an ambulance for 18 hours from Manado and was immediately healed.

The message of holiness is strongly preached and people are fearful to smoke, drink alcohol or steal. Some ministers have been told to go home and repent and others are reportedly fearful of going there in case their sins are exposed. One pastor was told by this 8 y.o girl, "you wear the clothes of a pastor but you don't have the heart of a pastor!"

All those who come to Meko will return knowing four things: They will know that Jesus heals and has power; they will know they must repent and live righteously; they will know the words of some basic Christian songs; and they will know the basic prayer that Jesus taught.

There are odd things happening. There are criticisms and oppositions from various quarters. Was it not the same in the ministry of Jesus? It is not happening in a church building; there are no committees, finances, advertising, big name preachers, hotels or any modern convenience. The roads are rough, muddy, winding; the people stay in tents on muddy ground; the toilets stink, but something amazing is happening. Reconciliations, healings, people getting saved, lives transformed and the gospel is being preached.

Thank you to all those who have been praying for Poso! God is beginning to turn things around. People are gathering once again to Poso, no longer to kill and burn and destroy, but to receive the healing, saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Church is a family

Pastor D in Sydney

Last weekend was a pretty special weekend at New Life Church, not just because we have special sermons series at the indo Church (in the month of June we're having a series from the First Epistle of John), and in Gospel Generation (Sermon series of HEROES); but we had Pastor Daniel Indradjaja from THE ROCK church (perth) visit our church. What made it more special, he did not come alone, he came with his beautiful wife Ci Hulda and adorable son JAYDEN. He's ROCK!!

Pastor Daniel and fam's arrival was welcomed by a series thunderstorms in the East Coast, the rain was pouring that weekend in Sydney and central Coast, the freezing wind also was a bonus. However, despite of the unfriendly weather, we had a great time having the Indradjaja's in Sydney. Ps David sure did know how to use this opportunity to get the most from Ps Daniel while he was in Sydney. hahah Ps D and Family were only in sydney from Thursday to Monday, but Pastor D was up preaching from Friday night right through sunday (whole day on sunday, preaching at all 3 congregations). We were tremendously blessed by pastor Daniel's ministry through out the weekend. On Friday night, he shared in Kingsford church combined cell groups, he shared about Romans 8. On Saturday night, He preached in Gospel Generation, continuing the series of Heroes. and on sunday, He preached in our all 3 congregations (kingsford, Hills and Croydon). And left for perth the next morning. Jangan kapok ya Pastor D. You're trully a blessing.

Here's some pics of Pastor D and his family in Sydney

Jayden's busy reading his book while his parents were having lunch


"Daddy, I want a pet lion, please ..." rrroooaaarrrr


Ps Joseph, Ps Daniel, Ci Hulda, & Ps David


"Daddy, we should come back to sydney real soon"