TRUST COMES FROM DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP
31 March 2020
“When I am AFRAID, I put my TRUST in you.” — Psalm 56:3
This was what King David said when the philistines seized him. David is able to trust God because he has a relationship with him.
We want our children or spouse to trust us and come to us when afraid because we love them and want to help in the best way we can. However, to be trusted or to put trust in comes first from putting effort in building a relationship.
Just as our children may end up putting their trust in friends and confiding in them more so will we put our trust and assurance in worldly things in times for fear if a solid relationship with God is not first formed. Our heavenly father loves us and wants us to develop a relationship with him by
· PROTECTING ourselves by learning about his word and holding on to his truth
· PRAYING to God for help and going to him for everything
· PRAISING God for all that he has given and provided us with.
Putting all our trust in God, he will guide our lives and lead us! Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our almighty father, we thank you for loving us even before we knew you. Lord, please draw us closer to you and grant us understanding so that we can learn more and love you more and more trusting in you especially in times of fear. We thank you God for loving us. In our Lord Jesus name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
GREED - THE ENEMY OF SATISFACTION
30 March 2020
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled
— Matthew 5:6
Hungering and thirst for righteousness, I think the idea is to have a new desire. We all have different desires, some for comfort, for people to love us and look up to us and some for power. The most amazing thing is when the life of Christ comes into us and actually begins to change what we desire. We as humans hunger and thirst for satisfaction in life trying to find it in money, power, education and earthly possessions but always end up falling short wanting a deeper sense of satisfaction.
The joy, peace and contentment that is offered to us, is unbelievable if we would only grab hold of Jesus and his offer to be our satisfaction. Surrendering and humbling ourselves to Jesus is the only way to righteousness, and he will give us the true meaning of life!
Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly father, We thank you for sending Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us so that in Jesus we now walk righteous before you. Lord, even as we want to follow your word our human desire is to do the opposite. Therefore, please give us a regenerate heart and mind so that we may walk in the spirit and hunger and thirst for you instead! In Jesus mighty name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
THE BATTLE OF FAITH IS INTERNAL
26 March 2020
“And he said to her, “Daughter, your FAITH has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.
— Mark 5:34
This teaching was about a woman who suffered 12 years, did all she could and grew worse. Her breakthrough happened when she HEARD about Jesus and BELIEVED in his power so much that she told herself touching his clothes is enough to heal her. Jesus knew our obstacle to receiving his promise of an abundant life lies in our Faith and so does Satan!
Jesus wants to PULL us towards him but Satan wants to PUSH us away from him. In our chaotic world, it's easy to fear, lose faith and rely on something else to protect ourselves when the Word of God that builds Faith is right there in our midst.
HEARING and BELIEVING in scripture gives us guidance and reassurance to be OVERCOMERS in life no matter our circumstance! Praise the Lord!
Prayer
Dear God our almighty father, we thank you for having heard us and for always hearing us. In the midst of todays chaotic world, please give us a laser sight focused on you Lord instead of all the distractions around us. Please give us wisdom so that we learn about your word based on your understanding not ours! In Jesus mighty name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
LIVING ON GODS GRACE: OUR SUSTENANCE
25 March 2020
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me
— 2 Corinthians 12:9
Fear has a nasty way of lying to us by making us worry. It removes God from the equation making us rely on our own effort and intelligence to make things right.
The devil wants us to look at: our OUTER self (self works, self righteousness) making us think that we are stronger then we think we are.
Our INNER self (disappointment, failures, seemingly hopeless trials) when we fail because we relied on ourselves.
Ultimately, the devil wants us to turn our sight away from God and to focus on ourself. Our God loves us and is able to bless us abundantly in the things we face today. Lets make it a priority to walk with him and admit our weakness and we will abound in the work he sets before us. Our weakness IS a perfect setup for God to show up in power. Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us even before we knew you. Lord, today's world focuses more then ever on shining glory to oneself through our achievements and disappointment. In the midst of everything, we humbly seek you and ask for your grace to fill our lives so that in you we will be complete. In our Lord Jesus name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
LIVING THE ABUNDANT LIFE IN JESUS
24 March 2020
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
— Ephesians 6:16-17
We may forget at times but one thing is true that our world is a battlefield. Day by day, hour by hour, we face a spiritual war and an enemy who’s real. God has a plan for our lives. The enemy has a plan for us too. God gives specific instructions in his Word, he gives us all we need to stand strong in this life.
Yet all too often we race through life busy, ill-equipped, unprepared, or simply not aware of what we’re up against, or who the real enemy even is.
TEMPTATION is real and it comes in all forms everywhere. Believing in Faith = Our Salvation = Armed with the Spirit through the word of God! When we believe in Jesus, rivers of living water will flow from us and we experience True Joy in life! Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our almighty father, We thank you for having heard us and for always hearing us. Lord please protect us and keep us strong in faith all that we in you can become over-comers in life! In Jesus mighty name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
TRUST IN JESUS AND EXPERIENCE YOUR BLESSING
23 March 2020
“Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
— John 20:29
Even being physically with Jesus and witnessing his miracles, Thomas doubted the resurrection of Jesus and wanted visible proof. Despite, Thomas’s unbelief, Jesus made him a gracious example to teach us how we should be believing today.
Today, there are many looking for tangible proof of Gods existence before believing. However, the bible teaches that faith is confidence in what we HOPE for and assurance about what we do not SEE. Due to our human weakness, we will never understand fully Gods plans for us.
Times of doubt will become less frequent when we continually feed on the Word of God. In doing so, our almighty God pronounces blessings upon us which we will discover when trusting in him by FAITH not by SIGHT! Praise the Lord!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us. Today is a world of tangibility where we rely on physical evidence to do things. As we go about our day Lord, please help is develop a child like faith in you so that our confidence is in you and not of the world. In Jesus Mighty Name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
THE RISEN CHRIST: OUR PEACE
21 March 2020
“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being LOCKED where the disciples were for FEAR of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “PEACE be with you.
— John 20:19
Today in the middle of the virus chaos, are we feeling locked up in a situation feeling fearful? Especially in this period of slow down, fear encompasses a huge part of our lives from performance stress at work/business to worrying about children/spouse to our health.
Just as how Jesus drew near to the disciples when they lock themselves up out for fear of the people who killed him, so will Jesus himself come into the middle of our fears to give us peace. Placing fear in our own hands, we lock ourselves up. When we receive Jesus into our lives for who he really is our "Lord" and "Saviour", we leave ourselves in his loving and gracious hand. In the midst of chaos and distraction, fatigue can set in.
But if we refocus and realign on Jesus we can see him right in the middle of our troubles and experience peace! Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our loving Father, we thank you for having heard us and for always hearing us.
Lord in the midst of the covid slow down where everyone is fearful of the unknown, please supply us with your grace so that we will learn to develop a good fear for you instead leaning on your almighty power!! In Jesus name we pray this! Amen!
Eddie Lee
ANGER DRIVES DISCOURAGEMENT BUT ASSURANCE DRIVES ENCOURAGEMENT
20 March 2020
“Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
— Colossians 3:21
Legalistic teaching is the fastest way to drive away whom we are trying to teach or show love:
· Children
· Spouse
· Ministry
Being imperfect, we will mess up, show bad behavior at times and most certainly have rough days.
Criticising in our own attempt to correct will only do 3 things:
· Drain the life out of us as we feel frustrated and unhappy.
· Makes us hypocrites as we say or do what we are trying to teach against.
· Makes our relationship with the person or God unpleasant.
Instead, let's ask for Godly wisdom and grace to be upon us so that he can equip us with:
· Speech and thoughts that encourage not discourage,
· Creativity to use appropriate methods in different situations.
May God alone be glorified in our lives! Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our heavely Father, we thank you for loving us even before we knew you. Lord, as humans we think we know it all and rely on our own intellect to guide our children. Please guide us to grow our kids in your ways and to submit our children to you for we are but earthly stewards of our kids who truly belong to you. We thank you in Jesus name we pray!
Amen.
Eddie Lee
OUR GREATEST BATTLE IN PRAYER IS OUR FAITH
19 March 2020
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!
— Luke 17:5
Faith is central to all that we do from small things like sitting on a chair trusting that it will support us to praying for a situation that we face. We place faith easily in a chair but yet falter with our faith in God who created the chair.
Some may even be praying aloud externally but have stopped believing inwardly. Satan’s great goal is to crush our faith in God and to tempt us to place our faith elsewhere. The apostles knew that keeping faith in God will be a constant struggle as our problems and security are all manifested worldly and hence found it necessary to find help from a higher power our ever loving and gracious God.
The good fight of faith will be different from what the world proclaims:
· We choose to believe when others fail in their beliefs.
· We stand strong in faith when others are wavering.
· We are bold in believing God’s truth when we pray by faith no matter our circumstances.
Let's always seek help from our loving Father to increase our faith and to draw near to us!
Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us. Lord today as the worlds demands weighs us down and tempts us to search for faith in worldly thing, please increase our faith Lord so that we can refocus and look to you always. In Jesus mighty name we pray!
Amen!
Eddie Lee
POWERFUL PRAYERS ARE PRAYERS DEPENDANT ON THE LORD
18 March 2020
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
— Romans 8:26
Everyone prays differently. Some prayers are long or short and some loud or soft. Its critical to note that we do not turn our prayers into works thinking that God hears us better or will be more impressed if we say more or use more bible jargon. In fact, the bible says that the most powerful prayers of Jesus are short:
· Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41-42).
· Jesus feeds the 5000 (Mathew 14:19).
Sometimes we may not know exactly what to say especially when praying for help. In such times, simply come to God like how your son or daughter comes to you for help and say, " Heavenly Father, I need your help".
This reinforces our reliance on our powerful God who already knows what we need. Praying in the Spirit does not refer to the words we say but to our BELIEF in who we are praying to which is our almighty God! Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, we thank you for having heard us and for always hearing us. Lord, we trust that you have a plan for us and that you know what is best for us. Thank you for always being there for us !! In Jesus mighty name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
ASSURANCE OF LIFE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
17 March 2020
“And HOPE does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
— Romans 5:5
Hope is like a star whose light can only be seen especially in darkness (stars are shining in the sky all the time but can only be seen at night when its dark). With bad news taking main stage in todays world (economic recession, political violence and the virus), we need hope more then ever.
The difference between a Christian’s response to suffering and one without Christ is HOPE in a GREATER POWER to overcome the darkness of hurt and grief. Our security comes in what we believe, not what we feel. There will be times our faith are tested, lets pray for Gods grace and for the holy spirit to move in our lives so that our faith will be continually renewed!
Let's choose to be secure in hope by faith! Praise the Lord!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, We thank you for loving us even before we knew you and for sending Jesus to save us. Lord even as the world wants us to place our hope in temporal things, we ask that you bring us closer to you so that we will have hope in you. In our Lord Jesus name we pray! Amen !
Eddie Lee
HUMILITY THE KEY TO A FRUITFUL LIFE!
16 March 2020
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted
— Matthew 23:12
Nothing is more hateful in God’s sight than pride. Here, Jesus was speaking out against the prideful religious leaders and the Pharisees who think they are above everyone. In fact, it was pride that turned Lucifer (morning star) into Satan. Clearly, an inflated ego and focus on self are not in line with the Christian call for humility.
A humble heart has no room for ego, pride or arrogance because it recognizes that all we have and all we are comes from God. Every gift, talent, and breath we take are from God, as is our most precious gift, salvation. How then can we boast upon our own might and our own capabilities? Submitting to him and his grace, we leave our lives in his hands and trust that his plans for us are the best!
'I WILL' then becomes 'YOUR WILL'. Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, We thank you for going ahead everyday and planning our lives out for us. Lord, today the world is filled with self empowerment and self fulfilment and keeps asking us to look towards ourselves and our efforts, intelligence and strength. Please grant us the spirit of humility so that we know to keep looking towards you Lord and acknowledge you as the source of everything. In Jesus mighty name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
UNSHAKABLE CONFIDENCE AND PEACE IN TODAYS WORLD
13 March 2020
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
— Proverbs 18:10
Where are we running to today when facing problems at work, family or health? The bible teaches that we who stand righteous before God in Christ have him as our strong tower providing safety for us. There is no situation that is out of God’s control, so the best place to be is right with Him.
Jesus led his disciples into a boat, knowing that a violent storm was brewing and the disciples were terrified, but Jesus, their refuge rescued them. Our Faith in Christ will never be misplaced. If He can calm the storms of the sea with one word, He can calm our storms of everyday life: sickness, work, family problems, and even the sting of death. The Lord never promised that life will be smooth. Rather, he promised that he is with us in the storm and will lead us out of it when we run to him. Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our loving father, We thank you for always being there for us even though we may have forgotten you at times. Lord please increase our faith so that we know to run to you as your children and that we will always be taken care of by you. In Jesus mighty name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
CELEBRATING GODS GIFTS OF JOY IN OUR LIVES
12 March 2020
“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
— Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
To "toil" means to work extremely hard or incessantly. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, our life is all about hard work and this should not come as a surprise. (Genesis 3:19). Unfortunately, we think that we can attain joy ourselves if we work really hard and put our best foot forward. The opposite happens and life becomes gruelling and frustrating as work takes us away from the simple joys in life.
This verse teaches us to work diligently but yet to not make it a key focus in life and instead enjoy every good gift given to us. There are many joys that God has already given us if only we take time to see and give thanks such as:
· Enjoying reading a book to our children
· Sending a sweet message to your spouse
· Sweet moment of a cosy bed at night
· Pleasure in a delicious meal
Remembering the simplest life joys can give us hope especially when we are walking through the valleys in our lives!! Praise the Lord!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us and for sending us a helper the holy spirit to guide us. The world demands us to seek joy in our accomplishments and possessions only to wear us down trying to achieve it. Lord, please teach us to seek our true joy in the simplest of things that you have provided us with so that we may truly find peace. In Jesus mighty name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
DAY 5: LIVING A LIFE FILLED WITH SATISFACTION AND PEACE
11 March 2020
“The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.
— Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the Lord that we have been talking about the past few days is unlike the condemnation or shamefulness Adam and Eve felt in the Garden of Eden. Instead, it is belief in our creator God being fully conscious of his power and authority just like how our children loves us yet fears us at the same time. Fearing the Lord, we receive a life of sustaining satisfaction with Godly wisdom, instead of a life of short lived satisfaction with worldly wisdom.
With Godly wisdom, we then:
· Stay safe from temptations and harm
· Rest satisfied in life
· Adopt an unexplainable peace that guards our hearts!
Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, we thank you for being our peace and for guiding us through life. Please increase our faith so that we will always learn to rely on you for everything that we need. In Jesus mighty name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
DAY 4: LIVING A LIFE FILLED WITH TRUE JOY
10 March 2020
“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
— Proverbs 14:27
A snare is designed to lure and trap us into doing something again and again. It is deceptively attractive and gives a false sense of security. Today, the devil have placed snares in success, education, possessions and wants us to focus on those instead of Jesus.
Dr Richard Teo could not have said it better by stating that,
"True joy comes from having a personal relationship with God".
There are many hobbies and wants to destroy or kill us in this sinful world. But, fearing of God through respect and obedience will teach and guide us away from those traps (snares). Jesus was sent by God to earth to teach us about his word. Planting Gods word in our hearts, the promise is that we will have life and have it abundantly. Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, We thank you for having heard us and for always hearing us. Lord, please guide us in our human walk today and turn us away from looking at short term worldly possessions for Joy and instead to look to Jesus as our provider of true long term Joy! In our Lord jesus name we pray this!! Amen!
Eddie Lee
DAY 3: LIVING A LIFE FILLED WITH SECURITY AND PROTECTION
9 March 2020
“He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.
— Proverbs 14:26
Whether we are parents, future parents or a working adult, having to constantly plan for the future can be daunting and fearful. The solution to our fear of the unknown is to fear God who is the source and trust that he works all things and situations for our good.
Initially, I admit that its hard to put faith in the spiritual teachings of God as our needs are physical. Trusting in God with faith even if its baby steps, I cannot help but notice Gods grace in all areas of my life. We then become secure and confident especially in todays world of mess and confusion. For us with kids, this confidence we display in God will stick with them and become a refuge for them in their darkest moments of growing up.
Let's be constantly aware of Gods presence and practice it by declaring Gods goodness in front of our kids such as "Thank you God for protecting our family" and God will himself draw close to them. Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our heaven father, We thank you for loving us. Lord, in the middle of all the uncertainties of this world especially about the virus, teach us and give us a spirit not of fear but of confidence as we trust in you by faith. In Jesus mighty name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
DAY 2: LIVING A LIFE FILLED WITH GOODNESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
7 February 2020
“The wise fear the Lord and shun evil, but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure.
— Proverbs 14:16
True love involves tough love (love with disclipline). It is knowing that we loved by God can be due for discipline if our lives are in defiance of his word. God hates sin so much that he blotted out the earth with a flood and only saved Noah whom he deemed as righteous along with his family.
Today, we live in that same scenario where Jesus will come back again to judge and separate the sheep (believers) from the goats (non-believers). The sheep he will take with him and the goats he will cast away. God knows that we fallen humans from Adam and Eve will never be able to achieve righteousness by our weak nature. Due to his love for us, Jesus was sent to provide a way out for us by bearing our sins at the cross so that we whom believe in the work of Jesus now stand righteous before God and receive his spirit that is in all of us believers today.
Believing in faith, we can rely on the Holy Spirit’s power to change our thoughts, bad behaviours and make decisions that glorify God as he enriches our life. Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our loving Father, We thank you for sending your only son Jesus who is perfect to be sin for us so that in Christ we may become righteous before you. Lord, please guide us with your wisdom so that we will walk in your ways, know what's right and wrong and manifest the fruits of the spirit from within. In Jesus mighty name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
DAY 1: LIVING A LIFE FILLED WITH KNOWLEDGE
6 February 2020
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
— Proverbs 9:10
Fear encompasses a big part of our lives today. I believe that fear can be broken down to either being harmful or healthy. Harmful fear makes us self-conscious and manifests in us feelings of failure, rejection and inadequacy. Healthy fear makes us God-conscious and manifests in us awareness of doing what's right, leaning onto him for guidance and support in times of trials.
So often we fear man because we fear God so little. We make man bigger then God. Walking in the the fear of the Lord means we’re keeping him in the right place (which is the center) in our lives and taking his word seriously. And we rest in the promise that he will provide us with Godly wisdom and that it teaches us the way life should be lived! Praise the Lord!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, we thank you for having heard us and for hearing us. Today the world teaches us to place our fear in worldly things. Fear of our jobs, our health, etc. Lord, please teach us how to put our fear and focus on you instead so that we are guided by your wisdom which will give us understanding in all aspects of our lives!! In our Lord Jesus name we pray! Amen!
Eddie Lee
REWARDS OF A GOD FEARING LIFE - PROVERBS 5 DAY PLAN
2 March 2020
DAY ONE
As a believer, its important to balance our love for God with our fear of God. The fear of God may sound more like an enemy than a friend, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Over the next 5 days, lets look into Proverbs for knowledge to harness Godly wisdom not just to guide us with decisions in life but also how to lead a Godly living. May God open our minds and renew our hearts so that his living word will take root and bear fruit in our lives!
Praise the Lord!
Eddie Lee
STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS
1 March 2020
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful
— 1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Everyday, we connect with different individuals (neighbour in the lift to taxi driver or person in the MRT and family members). Believe it or not, you make an impact on how that person views the world now.
Mathew 24:12 says, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold".
Love is something everyone knows and desire. But it is also the most difficult thing to practice as people live in suspicion of others. We believers, empowered by the holy spirit can take Jesus out and inject little doses of love as we go about everyday. Like Jesus, we would be known for our patience, contentment, humility and described as easy going, friendly and patient. This adopted Christ-like love will also have a profound effect on our marriage and relationship with our children as they experience the love of Jesus through us.
Place God’s love at the center of our lives and watch it unfold all to his glory! Hallelujah!
Prayer
Dear God our heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us even before we knew you and for sending Jesus to save us. Today's world is full of hurrying and coldness where love seems to dissipate into nothing even in families not to mention community. Lord, please help us to look beyond the physical of others and to love our families and people in our community more. In that, may our relationships flourish and the glory of god be magnified!!! In our Lord Jesus name we pray this! Amen!
Eddie Lee