BIBLE READING PLAN FOR OCT 1, 2, 3

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain". Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory. "Let you hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.

Parents want to give their children a good name. They usually give their children names that embodies the hopes they pin on their children. Jabez's mother though, named him "pain". Now, "pain" isn't a very good name, but Jabez lived an honorable life still, more honorable than his brother in fact.

Let's look at how he prayed.

1)He prayed for blessing.
He prayed with an open heart and did not limit God in His blessing.
God can answer your prayers and bless you through many ways. It doesn't necessarily need to be the way you imagine it to be. For example, God can heal through medicine, help you through the people around you.

2)Always thank God for everything.
Yes, even the littlest things.
James 1:16-17 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
A good way to remember God's goodness is to record down all of your prayer requests somewhere.

3)Believe and enjoy God's blessings.
Many people would stop and start to think if they are good enough for God to answer their prayers. Many people think that they aren't as good as someone else and therefore God would not grant them their requests. Do not have this mentality.
^{Matthew 7:7-8}
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Nope, none of us actually deserve anything, but that is why whatever we receive is a gift from God.

4)Share your blessings with others.
1 Timothy 6:18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

Only God can cause changes to happen. It is neither:
God is responsible for the results, I am not NOR
I am responsible for the results, God is not.

When you pray, "enlarge my territory" as Jabez did, huge and seemingly impossible tasks will come your way. God will enable you to do something different, new, and larger!
He will sharpen your skills, enabling you to do what you do better. He will also improve your strategy, enabling you to do something more effectively.

5)Pray a prayer of protection.
Jabez prayed, "Let you hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." He prayed this prayer because he did not want his name to become a prophecy.

Pray for deliverance from temptation.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Pray against Satan.
Ephesians 6:12-13 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

We must not fall into the trap of 2 misconceptions:
1) I am invincible to temptation because I already prayed.
2)I do not need to pray for God's protection when I am serving him.
On the contrary, the more, you serve, the more protection you need.

We have to pray even more when we are
1)Just about to serve God.
2)Physically and spiritually weak after serving God.

That's all. Remember to fast!
And oh, this is the verse we are going to meditate on for the rest of the week:
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

333 Part II

Jesus's prayer was dynamic and powerful. When Jesus comes out of prayer, He walks out with authority, glowing with the presence of God. How does He do it?

Matthew 6:9-13
This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

The Lord's prayer isn't a chant. We don't babble when we pray. The Lord's prayer is a guideline, a model for our prayer, headings for the things we have to pray about.
It corrects our priorities and independence of God.

1)Set the tone of prayer.
"Our Father in heaven"
God is our Father, the perfect father you could ever dream of. By addressing our God as our heavenly father, we set the tone as an intimate and loving one. Also, the term "father" connotes respect. That's why when we go to God, we go also with an attitude of reverence.

2)Priority of prayer.
"your kingdom come,your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
We have to honour God first, even in our prayer.
When pray this prayer, you are telling God that you want to see Him magnified in every aspect of your life. When you honour God above all things, you will want to do the will of God. You will have the attitude of submission, obeying the moment you hear God speak.
1 Samuel 2:30
Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.

3)Dependence on God in prayer.
"Give us today our daily bread."
We need to depend on God for many things. Other than food, we have to rely on God for wisdom, knowledge, strength, love and forgiveness.

There are two kinds of forgiveness: The first is the forgiveness you receive when you first received Christ. This is the type of forgiveness mentioned in Romans 8:1.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

The second is daily forgiveness from God. It is similar to the forgiveness of a child from a parent. When a child does something wrong, E.g he broke an expensive Ming vase, there is tension in the relationship between the parent and the child. The parent would not, however, disown the child no matter how big the vase is, or how many pieces it shatters into. The reason of seeking daily forgiveness from God is the same as why a child should seek forgiveness from his father, to release the tension in the relationship. Also, you want to deal with sin when it's still small and nip it in the bud.
So we should pray to God to show us what we've done that isn't pleasing to Him so that we can seek His forgiveness.

"as we also have forgiven our debtors."
We need to forgive people who have wronged us. We don't want to hold unforgiveness in our lives because it ties you down,it smothers you, it can kill you. Forgive people, even if they owe you an apology.

4)Daily protection
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
We are Christians, but that does not make us immune to temptations. We should be humble and pray that God would carry us away from temptation.

If we pray like Jesus, then we'll be able to be more like Him.
Challenge for 54 days: Before you pray, meditate on one of the verses that speaks of God's love relationship with us.

HELLO

WE ARE HAVING BBQ FOR ALL THE SEPT BABIES - JUNYI, SHANNON,

JIEYING & TIFFANY


DAY: THIS FRIDAY (11/09)

PLACE: MIC KON'S HOUSE

TIME: 4PM IF YOU WANNA PREPARE

7PM THE BBQ STARTS

COST: S$5


THERE'S GONNA BE FUN, FOOD AND FRIENDS (FFF) SO

DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS CHANCE

TELL MK IF YOU'RE COMIN! (bet she called you already)

JUST FELT LIKE SHOUTING LOL

SEE YOU GUYS! :D :D :D

333

Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know.
God will respond to you.

Admit your limitations.
In Jeremiah 33:3, God was telling Jeremiah to ask God to do what he could not do by himself.
We need to realize that we are not unlimited, we cannot conquer everything. We have to know that we are powerless and that God is the source of our strength.

Know that God is our answer.
Nothing in this world can satisfy you, nothing can be better than living for God.
Our God has many names.
Jehovah- the all sufficient One
Jehovah Jirah- He is our Provider
Jehovah Rapha- He is our healer
Jehovah Shalom- He is our peace
Jehovah Nissi- He is our banner
Jehovah Tsidkenu- He is our righteousness

This call that we're talking about is
1) A call to relationship.
Prayer begins with God. It started when God sent his one and only Alden, no, one and only son to die on the cross so that you and I can have a relationship with Him. It was God who initiated our salvation and relationship with Him.
Romans 8:15-16
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

2)A call to real trust.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
We have to expect an answer!
Some people can come up with alot of "what if?"s, E.g what if Ihave wrong motives/ intentions? But you will never know until you go to God.
Psalms 91:14-15
"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

Also, trust is achieved together with people and encouragement. Pray together with someone.
Be pregnant with hope. Like a foetus growing in a womb of a mother, prayer is hope growing inside of you. Therefore, giving up is like abortion.
You can definitely trust God, so you must never give up praying and hoping.

3)A call to receive
There are things that we do not know. God will reveal to us about these things. But on one condition: Call to God!
We are called to receive the power of God. The power of God can change relationships and circumstances. It helps us to face life's daily struggles. It can heal psychological and physical problems. It meets financial needs. It can handle any kind of difficulty!
Ephesians 3:20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us

But first you have to discipline yourself to pray. Pray to God for the desire to pray. Pray that He'll turn your prayer into passion.
Live out your prayer.