God's mission in your life.

Commissioned for a Mission

Scripture: “And then He told them, Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” Mark 16:15.

Did you know that when you become a Christian, you also accept commission as a missionary? That might not be how we traditionally think of it, but God’s love is so intense and strong that once you’ve made it part of your life, you can’t help but share it! Besides that, we want to do what God expects of us:in the Gospel of St. Matthew, Jesus told His followers,“…make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.”(Matthew 28:19-20);

How Do I Start?

With prayer, always with prayer. St Paul wrote, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” (Colossians 4:2) Communicate with God; He wants to hear from you and share your life. Have a conversation with Him by praying and reading the Bible or fellowshipping with other believers. Work on discerning His will for you, and strive to fulfill it.

God calls all of us to share Jesus with the world, and our responsibility is to listen and answer Him with a “yes.” Pray for and with an open mind and an open heart. Then be prepared to serve and go and serve again.

He gives His people many ways of missioning. Even if you never actually talk to someone about the Good News, they might be watching you, and your Christian lifestyle becomes an example to them. You might be called to share words about God’s love in your family, with friends or coworkers, in your neighborhood, etc. Maybe you’ll end up sharing God’s love online, even with intentional online missions. Your mission field is “your own backyard.”
God also has “job openings” in other ways. Churches and missions organizations use many methods to get people to get the Good News to other people!

Supporting and Sending

Jesus told His Disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.” (John 20:21) As part of your God-given mission, you might be called upon to follow Jesus’s example of sending others physically out into the world on intentional missions experiences. Ways to serve include prayer support, financial support, and material support.

Any Christian can fulfill a part of their commission by praying. St. Paul requested from his friends in Thessalonica, “Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes... Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people… The Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from evil.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1-3) Those who spread God’s Word and share His love are not well-liked by the forces of evil! So it is important that they are being prayed over. The Bible tells us that “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”(James 5:16)

Sharing financial support is one of the easiest ways to help send out a missionary. It can be a joy to work on your ministry through giving, and it is a God-honoring action. God can use whatever we can share: “…give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) And when we are generous with the Lord’s work, He is generous with us: “Honor God with everything you own; give Him the first and the best. Your barns will burst; your wine vats will brim over.” (Proverbs 3:9-10) The more you give, the more God will give you.

Finally, offering material support to send a missionary is similar to providing financial support – it’s still giving, but rather than money, you can give “stuff.” When you provide for someone’s physical needs, it is as though you are physically missioning yourself. As the Lord taught, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

A Most Important Mission

It’s a pretty big job that we’ve agreed to do, but that is what love is about! As Christians, we can trust God to teach us about our own strengths and weaknesses. We can offer ourselves and our skills for God to use to His glory

St. Paul wrote, “Your body has many parts — limbs, organs, cells — but … you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of His one Spirit, we … entered into a large and integrated life in which He has the final say in everything.” “A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together.” “God has carefully placed each part of the body right where He wanted it. … no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of.” “Christ’s church is a complete Body and not … not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker.” (condensed from 1 Corinthians 12:12-31)

So find out what part of the body you are. Where and how does God want you to be missioning? He gifted us all differently, so we can all serve in the way He wants us to – and we’ll most likely deeply enjoy something He has created us for. Find out where you “fit in” to help complete the Great Commission

“Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved." But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?” (Romans 10:13-15)

World won’t end on December 21: Pope

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI called on Christians on Sunday not to heed doomsday warnings that the world will end on December 21.

During his weekly Angelus address from the window of his Vatican apartments on Saint Peter's Square, Benedict spoke of extracts from the Bible which speak of "the sun and moon going out, the stars falling from the sky."

Several films and documentaries have promoted the idea that the ancient Mayan calendar predicts that doomsday is next month, on December 21, 2012.

But Benedict said that Jesus "does not describe the end of the world, and when he uses apocalyptic images, he is not acting the prophet.

"On the contrary, he wants to stop his disciples of every epoch from being curious over dates, forecasts, and wants to give them the key to... the right road to walk today and tomorrow to enter into the eternal life," he added.

As many as 90,000 people are expected to attend a massive event in Guatemala City on December 21, just in case the world actually does end, while tour groups are promoting doomsday-themed getaways

Bible Prophecy Update July 2012 - with current event news links

Image of Virgin Mary on Subang hospital window draws hundreds

An image resembling the Blessed Virgin Mary which appeared on a window at a private hospital in Subang Jaya has sent hundreds flocking to witness the event.
Photos of the image - which have gone viral - show the figure wearing a blue robe with a halo above its head, similar to well-known depictions of Mother Mary.
News of the appearance exploded within the Catholic community and within hours, the devout, curious and skeptic converged at the Sime Darby Medical Centre (formerly known as the Subang Jaya Medical Centre) to see for themselves what many have touted as a 'miracle'.
This image showing what appears to be Mother Mary was taken on Saturday afternoon and has been going viral on Facebook …
Clutching rosaries, Bibles and even bringing along aged relatives in wheelchairs, many braved the thunderstorm yesterday evening and gathered at the ground floor of the hospital's new wing singing hymns, lighting candles and reciting prayers.
Entrepreneur Jansen De Silva, was among the first few who turned up at the hospital when news of the apparition broke.
"I witnessed a fully formed image resembling Mother Mary on a window located at the 7th floor of this new wing. It was a truly amazing sight as the image was rather visible despite the distance from where I was standing (ground floor)."
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"On looking around, I could ascertain that there wasn’t any architecture within the vicinity that could have reflected this image on a bright sunny afternoon," he said.




De Silva added that there was also a voice recording going around among those present that afternoon in which the words "Fatima Father' were clearly audible.
"I don't know how authentic it is, but I heard it for myself from a woman's mobile. It also captured some murmuring in the background," he said.
Desiree Lewis, 32, had also rushed to the hospital when she got a phone call from her relative informing her of the apparition.
"I was in the neighbourhood when I heard about this so I rushed here. I am truly awestruck and in a little bit of a shock. I never thought that Mother Mary would appear here," she said.
As evening came, the colour and definition of the image began to fade but people continued to gather in droves.
By evening, the image began to blur.
Retiree Jane Loh, 55, said she was happy to have made the trip from Seremban to see it despite the image slowly blurring.
"This is a miracle and it happened at our doorstep. It is a wake-up call," she said.
A spokesperson for the Catholic Church said church officials will have to investigate the event to determine if it was a true apparition.
Some of the most famous sightings of the Virgin Mary took place in Fatima, Portugal in 1917, in Lourdes, France in 1858 and closer to home, in Vailankanni, Tamil Nadu, India. The authenticity of every reported apparition is subject to approval by the Catholic Church

An Eternal Life

God has given us a marvelous gift. We can live our lives in freedom from the bondage of sin! Although we were born into sin and death as our human inheritance, God has adopted us as His children, and we have a new inheritance.

St. Paul wrote that, “Just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another Man.” (1 Corinthians 15:21).

Jesus takes us from the legacy of death into the legacy of rebirth and life everlasting.
Because of all this, we MUST live in a way that is pleasing to God. We want to please our Father. Since He has given us so much, we must eagerly give our lives back to Him. We have a new inheritance, a rebirth; we no longer live in sin and face death. Let our earthly lives reflect our heavenly lives!
St. Paul summed it up: “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)

Do Christians Fear?

Through the Bible, God warns us to beware of evil: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) We have to be on the lookout for all kinds of evil. We don’t want to be taken by surprise; we want to “watch and pray”. However, we know that we don’t have to fear, because God also tells us in Isaiah 41:10, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.” We can rely on our loving Father to protect us when evil and danger appear! If someone or something is attacking us, we know we’re “in the right”, and can easily remember to pray against that kind of evil. But what about the evil within – when we give in to the temptation to sin? We Christians are still human, and through that humanity, we have inherited a sinful nature. And there’s nothing we ourselves can do to keep from having to pay the penalty for sin – death: “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) As sinners, we must rely on God’s grace for forgiveness and salvation. We can depend ONLY on our Lord to save us. Jesus took all our sin onto Himself and paid the price – death and separation from the Father!

We Don’t Have to Be Afraid!

But we know that the grave COULD NOT hold our Lord! Because Jesus is part of God, the power of God worked a miracle so strong, that Christ triumphed over death, emerging from His tomb after the three days.

Do you love your life so passionately that you’d hang on to it, no matter what? As Christians, we are instructed to follow Christ’s example: to be willing to let go of, or even sacrifice, our earthly lives, because we know that the eternal life that comes after is even better.

The Apostle Paul gave us an example of a good attitude about this: “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” (Philippians 3:10-11)

Paul’s words reinforce for us that we have nothing to fear – nothing bad on earth, even death, can compare with God’s glory in eternal life. The life of Jesus calls us to be His passionate followers, loving and trusting Him, clinging to Him more than our earthly lives.

Instead, We Can Believe

We trust Jesus to take the guilt of our sin away by the sacrifice of His death. Therefore, we can trust His promise to fulfill God’s purpose after our earthly deaths. Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die.” John 11:25-26

What a miracle; what a promise!

One of the first steps of becoming a Christian is to believe that Jesus is part (the Son) of God, and that the miracles of His life, death, and resurrection can teach us to live righteous lives, guarantee the forgiveness of our sins, and promise us the life everlasting at His side, in Heaven. He told us that when we believe in Him and strive to live our lives righteously, as He did, He will conquer death in us.

Jesus gave us the ultimate examples of faith; prayer; loving; cooperating, or working together, with friends; and more. His was a sinless existence. And although we still might sin sometimes because of our humanity, we can try to live lives like Jesus’s, following God’s will even to death, without needing to fear it.

pray this week

To thank God that He has overcome all evil and death

• That God will help us be alert for attacks by the evil one

• That God will give you and our community courage to grasp God’s promise of His being with us – so we don’t have to fear

• To praise God for the miracles of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection

• That we will live to glorify God

Fear Not; I Am with You

Scripture: “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7.

What are you afraid of, and why are you afraid?

At this time of year, people throughout the ages have felt spooked when the summer’s time of plenty gives way for the coldness and death of greenery that come in late autumn. Ancient Celts believed that the line between the worlds of the dead and living became blurred during this season. After Christianity took hold, people in those regions still held on to superstitions. They fought their fears with ......