Office by Alex Penny
Jesus' beloved
We decided to go on a trip to JB on Saturday for what was supposed to be an eating spree, but we ended up shopping loads instead!
Anyways, we were praying for no jams and there was really none! Traffic was super smooth which is unusual for a public holiday weekend and that’s just evidence of His favor upon us. Then when we went to the Malaysia Customs, the queues were really long for immigration clearance, but praise God! Barely 5 mins after we started queuing, another counter opened and the queue we were at was cut into half, while the others were still epic long! Amazing!
Of course favor didn’t stop there, we noticed that every restaurant, shop, bubble tea outlet that we went to would be empty or near empty but by the time we left, it would be crowded and it didn’t happen just once, but to every place we went to.
Oh, lunch from one of the Hong Kong cafes there, we *might* have over-ordered on the sides :P
Our loots from the shopping! (yes, we went “quite” crazy) :P
And then we went to Taman Sentosa for the epic seafood dinner, only cost us about SGD20+ per person.
Salted Egg Butter Crab
BBQ Stuff
Cereal Cray Fish
It was a very fruitful trip, great food, shopping, fellowship, but most of all, we saw Jesus lavishing His love on us (even the journey back was smooth and quick!) and saw His favor throughout the trip.
x-posted to http://found-in-grace.blogspot.com
The Lord wants to use your life as a trophy of His grace and favor.
Your life can’t look anything but blessed!
God will make the impossible possible, you are not meant to look at yourself but at Jesus
You are the center of Jesus’ world, the One who holds the whole universe together. WOW.
Laughter is heaven’s medicine, you can laugh yourself to wholeness.
God wants to promote you.
When favor comes upon you, you will be effortlessly transformed. It’s not about you trying or fighting. You will just be fruitful and happy.
Why are you everlastingly favored?
Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Isaiah 52:13-15
13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
14 Just as many were astonished at you,
So His visage was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
15 So shall He sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.
Isaiah 53:11
He shall see the labor of His soul,and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
It’s all Jesus, none of us.
We are now the righteousness of God in Christ forever.
It’s not about how you are feeling or what you’ve done.
Daniel 9:24
“Seventy weeksare determined, For your people and for your holy city,To finish the transgression,To make an end of sins,To make reconciliation for iniquity,To bring in everlasting righteousness,To seal up vision and prophecy,And to anoint the Most Holy.
You are favored BECAUSE of the cross.
If you can believe and see that you are everlastingly righteous, then the favor that is on your life is everlasting favor.
Righteousness is the foundation for favor.
You don’t need to feel favored to be favored; you are forever favored.
Isaiah 54:8-108
With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”Says the Lord, your Redeemer. 9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.For as I have swornThat the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,So have I swornThat I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.10 For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.And the hills be removed,But My kindness shall not depart from you,Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
Isaiah 54:11-12
“O you afflicted one,Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,And lay your foundations with sapphires.12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal,And all your walls of precious stones.Your gates of crystal,And all your walls of precious stones.
The favor of God on you lasts a lifetime, it is from everlasting to everlasting.
Verse 1:
There is a song in every silence
There is a dawn in every darkness
There is a hope in every pain
There is a spring in every winter
Even in doubt there is believing
Through every season You are near
Verse 2:
You satisfy our deepest hunger
You broke the bond and set us free
You gave us life eternally
Jesus the name that calms our fears
Only in You our sorrows cease
Your love has won and now we see
Chorus:
Oh Your favor and Your grace Lord
Last a lifetime
Last a lifetime
Vamp:
Hallelujah
You are faithful
You are faithful
It is a season of preparation and of favor.
God is going to work in your heart, He wants to get His favor on the inside of you.
It’s one thing to have the favor of God outside, around you, but when you have the favor of God inside you, your circumstances don’t matter because you carry the favor of God into that place.
Preparation time is never wasted time, it always precedes promotion.
Zechariah 4:10
For who has despised the day of small things?For these seven rejoice to seeThe plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.They are the eyes of the Lord,Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
Dreams are from God, visions and dreams are the language of the Holy Spirit, but be content and faithful at where you are at. Do what is in your hands and allow the dream to birth in your heart.
Faithfulness will position you for promotion.
Faithfulness is always part of God’s preparation; just do what God has placed in your hands.
The Lord is with you during the preparation, even through the challenging parts.
Acts 7:9-10
9 “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Jeremiah 20:11
But the Lord is with me as a mighty, awesome One.Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail.They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper.Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.
Numbers 14:8-10
If the Lord delights (favors) in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.
Joshua 6:1-21 (NLT)
Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.2 And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. 4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”6 Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.” 7 And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of theLord.”8 So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lordfollowed them. 9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 10 Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” 11 So he had the ark of the Lordcircle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of theLord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 14 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. 16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! 17 Now the city shall be doomed by theLord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, areconsecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
Hebrews 13:5-6
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say:“The Lord is my helper;I will not fear.What can man do to me?”
Romans 8:31 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Jesus is the Word made flesh
When you meditate, you practice the presence of the Lord
Psalm 30:5 (NLT)
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
It’s the time and season of preparation for what God is going to unleash into your life.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Only a fool despises a parent’s discipline;
whoever learns from correction is wise.
To learn, you must love discipline;it is stupid to hate correction.
A good man obtains favor from the Lord,But a man of wicked intentions He will condemnWhen you love discipline and embrace correction, favor is multiplied in your life
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for“God resists the proud,But gives grace to the humble.”6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
11 Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.Eli’s Wicked Sons12 Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord 13 or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, 14 the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. 15 Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal’s fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting.16 The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” 17 So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt.18 But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest. 19 Each year his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice. 20 Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord.” 21 And the Lord gave Hannah three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.22 Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 23 Eli said to them, “I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning? 24 You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the Lord’s people are not good. 25 If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede?” But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death.26 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people.
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.- it’s easy to cast your cares to someone who cares for you
For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
21 And the Lord gave Hannah three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.22 Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 23 Eli said to them, “I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning? 24 You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the Lord’s people are not good. 25 If someone sins against another person, God[g] can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede?” But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death.26 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people.
Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli (2nd mention of this phrase). Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.2 One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God.
Proverbs 8:35For whoever finds me finds life,
And obtains favor from the Lord;
When your eyes/focus are on Jesus, favor follows you.When you are with Jesus, you can’t help but have favor rub off on you.
19 So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
Marked Camp 2012 was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! Nothing like 5 set-apart days spent just basking in Jesus’ presence and forging stronger kingdom friendships; camp > vacation. The Word and ministering were just so timely, especially as I was thinking about favor so much before camp and the theme of pastors’ sermons was Favor.
Serving for camp was a tad stretching, but I received so much more (as compared to going as a camper). Sure, the drawback is not getting to spend as much time as I would like with my camp group, but in terms of receiving from Jesus, it’s like He just released the floodgates, whether it’s receiving through serving via the mass games, finale night, or through ministering. We’ve learnt so much from each other and from the other ministries. Like Coach Yvonne said, mass games, especially, is a set-up for us from Daddy God, when we had the debrief on Tuesday, we talked about how so much things could have been done better or communicated more effectively and although we collectively felt that it was a mess, some of us also shared about how campers came up to us and told us how much they liked the game and that it was well-executed, and these aren’t our friends, just people who recognised us as event servers. I guess, sometimes, when we’re in it and it’s messy, we don’t see how others see it. And I haven’t even gotten started on the receiving from the planning stage. Just felt so favored and loved during camp.
And this is just the beginning, the seeds are just sown. I can’t wait to see the fruits, can’t wait to see lives changed. Looking back at Marked Camp 2010, I know that what I received at camp has been multiplied many times over; it was about wisdom and restoration.
sometimes I wonder how I’m so blessed (be it in family, church, career), then I realise it’s unmerited and it’s because of the Cross. Thank You Jesus.
we had our servers briefing for the camps today! 118 youths signed up to serve, excluding the events & ops team people. It’s the highest sign-up ever for zone camps. Amazing!
Just love how we’re always reminded that God calls us to serve, and He will provide and that every server has a special portion from God as we serve in the camps. Thankful for the leaders in events. This is how they start every single meeting. God’s called us and graced us for serving, always, always reminding us of His supply before we start anything.
… ..
And Pastor Daniel popped by at the end, most people had already left by then, and he was talking to the photographers. Said hi to him when he was on his way out and we chatted for a while. Always so blessed when I meet him; he was asking me what I was doing in camp & all, and I shared with him how different it is serving in NCC and how restful it is. Quite amused when he went; ‘so you made new friends here?’ I was like ‘yes, of course!’. (gonna be cryptic here and go those of you who were from where I was would probably know why that question was asked). And how I totally didn’t believe that serving, heck, life even, could be this restful when Pastor Benjamin had shared with us late last year; but I was proven so so wrong. Then he also said he heard Dave & KC have started serving too and that he’s heard really great reports on the GenRev service this past week where Dave played (and yes, his playing was like wow! up another level!); and that through all these, he sees that God’s restoration has come into our lives and it’d be much more than before. Amazing how much has changed in just a year, talk about serving with any of us then and it’d be ‘yeah, sure’, but now…and all we did was behold Jesus. Indeed it’s a greater measure, and so amazingly restful! When it’s spirit-directed activity (yes, I now know where Pastor CK got that message from when he preached it in CODE RED. LOL!), we burn up, not burn out. And the divine energy flows through us. Loved that Pastor Dan shared with me about how even though we’re busy, we go through challenges, being restful is not not having any of these things happening, but knowing that Jesus has the answers for everything, and He has already provided for it.
Thank God for pastors who preach grace and for just being so patient and caring. Thankful for Pastor Benjamin & Pastor Daniel especially; Pastor Benjamin for the sermons at GenRev each week & for patiently answering our questions and Pastor Daniel for always being so caring and seriously, everytime you talk to him, you’d just see Jesus; it’s like his life is so Christ-centered, that you’d feel so loved by God & just so blessed (not that it’s not so for the other pastors, it’s just more evident in Pastor Dan).
I also shared with him about my career, how it’s been so favor-filled, it’s so unbelievable (if you wanna know, and you’re a real-life friend, ask me personally, when I told Pastor Dan, he looked really shocked too, no, like really jaw-drop kinda shock),and he says he sees the abundance of grace in my life, in church and in my career. Woohoo! (and of course he had to add; marriage is next!) Uh…yes, thanks Pastor, perhaps, perhaps. (the boyfriend needs to appear first) haha!
THEN, after all that, the events team was still hanging around in the foyer and he stopped by, said hi, joked with us (oh, he’s super funny!) and then he shared a bit with us about his US trip with Pastor Prince. About how it struck him that Pastor Prince’s ministry has really touched the abundance of grace and just skyrocketed in the US, and that this anointing is flowing down and we’ll see abundance in our careers and ministries as well.
Oh, did I mention that Pastor Dan is the pastor sharing for DTB camp too? Woots! So looking forward to it! As if I’m not blessed enough already (figure of speech, Daddy God, please keep the blessings coming! :D )
Holy Communion: because of Jesus’ finished work on the Cross, I have health & wholeness (physical, emotional, psychological). I refuse to accept any lying symptoms because He has paid for it. and because of His shed blood, I have the unmerited, undeserved favor of God in my life, His wisdom & His abundant, unreserved blessings! Holy Communion is remembering Jesus & His GIFT of righteousness. It is seeing His DAILY supply in our lives.
