SEX

This is a teaser to all the guys in DEtribe, Pastor Danny will be teaching about "how do boys become a real man in this sexual world". So do watch out for it in the very near future!

The DEtribe Blog Team

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99 Balloons

One balloon to represent one day of Elliot's life.
99 balloons to sum up his entire life.
But in just 99 days, his life has touched many and brought life, hope and love to others!
What about yours?
Are you willing to let God use every single day of your life?
The DE tribe blog team

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Celebrate what is right with the world

We watched this video several months back , and I believed we were all changed!
Basically it speaks about how we can change our view of the world, our mindset to one thats always am able to see the beautiful things in life!
More importantly do we believe that in things that are mundane or just plain or boring, that there can be beauty in them.

In recent weeks, many things have been happening to the people around me, and these are things that hurt me. Seeing people feeling down and out and basically feeling life is not worth much, I began to worry, because life is fun. It is meant to be fun with full of hope and optimism basically LIFE is meant to be in fullness, ZOE(fullness of life). Go read john 10:10

Things happen for a reason, and there is no such things as coincidence whether it is something good or bad so we should not just brush it one side, but we then need to ask ourselves this question, how then should I view this situation in my life.
What good can come out of it? What is God saying in the midst of confusion?
I believe this video will help to answer that, which is to CELEBRATE WHAT IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD!

This is a long video about 22mins in total, I encourage you to watch it again!
Especially from 7:30min onwards.
Kenny Foo

Celebrate What's Right With The World

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Love

Dear Family,

My last message on the fruit of the Spirit was summed up with three main points. That it is necessary and essential for us believers, to grow in the fruit of Spirit because
1) We are known by our fruits,
2) It is evidence that we are really born again and lastly
3) The fruit of the Spirit is permanent.

And God wants us to be fruitful, and to produce a "bumper" harvest! (references given: John 15:5 and Matthew 13:23)

Today I want to share more, on the same verse again.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22-23)

I will continue my sharing of Galatians 5:22-23, from a perspective on the first aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, which is love.

What is Love?

I am devoting alot more time on love, than the rest of the aspects, simply because love is so important.

The hebrew translation for the word love here, is "agape", which means unconditional, sacrificial love, which reflects the love God has for us, that subjected Him to the cross. It is the highest and most noble form of love, a genuine desire for the well-being of others without strings attached, and putting others before self. Agape love is a love that gives and no taking is involved. God Himself is agape manifested, by the lying down of His life for us, in John 15:12-13.

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:12-13)

The image of God is love. God Himself, is love. The very essence of God, is love. We can see that, very explictly, in 1 John 4:7-8 and 1 John 4:16.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who
loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know
God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is
love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1
John 4:16)

It is love when God the Father, draw out the plans for our redemption. It is love when God was compelled to come down to us, in the 1st place. It is love in action, made Jesus endured the sufferings, pains and rejections associated from the cross. It is love, that Jesus rose on the 3rd day, so that He can be the way, the truth, and the life, pointing the way to the Father's hug.

To best sum up this love that God demonstrates for us, we look to the cross, where Jesus died.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. (Romans 5:18)

Hence, our only appropriate response to His love, is to love Him back in kind, and love His people in kind. If you have received the love of God, you can't help it but answer back God with our love, and love anothers in response.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

On a more serious note, the same verse in 1 John 4:7-8 says "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" that if you do not have love for one another, then God says "I don't know you."

You might then ask, having agape level of love...is not humanly possible. Well, you are exactly right! Having agape love is humanly impossible....BUT is absolutely Holy Spirit possible. Consider Romans 5:5, which says His love was poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, God pours our His love for us. And it is the same Holy Spirit that was given unto us as well! Meaning, we are "empowered" in the same might of the Holy Spirit, to love others with agape love.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:5)

And not only that having agape love, is possible, it is a commandment from God to love others, just as He loved us!

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
(John 15:12)

If all the commandments in the Bible can be summarized into a single word, that would be the word "love". Apostle Paul sums up "love" is everything, both in Galatians 5:14, as well as in 1 Corinthians 13:13.

The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as
yourself." (Galatians 5:14)

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Having love is the single, most important aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. It is by no concidence that "love" is placed 1st in Galatians 5:22-23. In fact, "love" is a pre-requesite and a foundation for the remaining 8 aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. Meaning, all the other remaining aspects are spring forth, from love.

I read a statement somewhere that says, "Joy is love exulting. Peace is love resting. Patience is love enduring. Kindness is love with bowed head. Goodness is love in action. Faithfulness is love confiding. Gentleness is love in refinement. Self-Control is love obeying."

Love is supreme. Love also, should be the driving force, behind everything that we do or say. And the bible has a point blank description for those who speak without love, and likens them to be nothing more than a noisy nuisance (a gong or a cymbal).

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (1 Corinthians 13:1)

Perhaps the best definitions of love, and a very practical form of it, is found in 1 Corinthians 13, also written by Apostle Paul. As you can expect, the word love in 1 Corinthians 13 means agape love in the hebrew translations.

Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not
arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are
gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will
cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. (1 Corin13)

Lastly, showing love, involves mainly through actions and deeds, not by pure words alone.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in
truth. (1 John 3:18)

But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes
his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? (1 John3:17)

I cannot over emphasis for all of us, to ask God to help us receive love, for the people that will be placed under our care. And to demonstrate that love, through deeds and actions.

Loving other is tough and hard work but when you think and believe that all else fails, just remember...

...Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13)



Serving in love together,

Caleb Wong

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A New Beginning – An Encounter with the HOLY SPIRIT

A New Beginning – An Encounter with the HOLY SPIRIT

It started in a rocking chair when a 20 year old was coughing and trying to catch a breath as his asthmatic attack caught up with him again. Panting and wheezing away. Life was terrible and he felt that anytime his life may have ended.

In the midst of the coughing and struggle for a breath, something inside of him was crying out if there is a God, please help me. Many times that was the outcry and it was never answer as there was no such thing as miracles. Strangely as the young chap composed himself he begin to regulate his breathing better and as he close his eyes to focus on controlling each passing breath, 4 letters FCBC appeared in front of him. It was as if the letters were floating over him and he couldn’t make sense of it. All of a sudden the panting stopped and something seem to be changing inside of him.

FCBC these four letters were to be the changing point of a life that till then he was searching for. Accustomed to experiencing the supernatural, he knew that was something unnatural about this four letter encounter he had the previous night. He ended up asking around many people what these four letters would mean. It was then that he talked to his close female good friend Vanessa, who told him that it was the named of a church in Marine Parade. He told her that he must visit this place because he felt that he saw something spiritual that he needed to find an answer in.

The nicely renovated and newly opened Touch Centre auditorium was a welcoming sight for this young chap who was wondering what he would be expecting to see. They met a common friend called Johnny who was a member of the church. As they took their seat in the just right of the centre aisle, five rows down the entrance. He began to tremble from within. Strangely this has never happened before and he was experiencing a tingling sensation from within his heart.

The next 45 minutes was an extremely weird and scary experience for him. Weird because many gals were dancing with tambourines and wearing long skirts looking more like some tribal people. The songs were scary as they sang of being wash by the blood of the lamb. He thought it was out of his mind, that this was a cult that was killing lambs and washing people by the blood of these poor sacrifices. He felt the need to run away, yet a voice in him was saying, stay a little while longer. So he decided to press on.

He didn’t remember what the pastor said in the whole sermon, but he heard the invitation. The Pastor whose name was Lawrence Khong was singling out a JC Student who struggling with many issues in life and that God had given him a sign to come to this place. That FCBC was where God had waited to meet him. He didn’t know what it was about but he knew he needed to come.

As Ps Khong made to invitation to give his life to Jesus, the young man begin to weep. It was probably the first time in his 20 year as a man that he had cried publicly. He tried to escape the embarrassment and wanted to run out immediately, but by now he was trembling uncontrollably and against his will he found himself walking down the aisle with tears streaking down his cheeks not knowing what was next. But that day, Danny Lee gave his heart to Jesus because God decided it was a life He would change.

That was the beginning of my conversion from a devout Buddhist to a Follower of Christ. There are a few points I would like to highlight in my testimony.

First, God has first chosen us. Very often we feel that we are the ones who was choosing God. The truth is God was the one who has called and chosen us. In Ephesians 1:11 it reads “In Him we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will,”

Second, it is the Holy Spirit. You may not have experience the chain of events I’ve gone through but nevertheless, if you string the journey of your own salvation you will see that it was one beautifully orchestrated work of God. There are no coincidences in life, Coincidences are God’s way of staying anonymous. It is the Holy Spirit who is at work in us. Learn then to recognize His voice and follow His leading.

Lastly, OBEDIENCE to the Lord often doesn’t begin with complete understanding alone. It is first a trusting surrender and an abandonment of oneself because the object of our faith is worthy of our confidence and trust. Take some steps and let Him be the Rock of your faith and confidence.

Love,

Pastor Danny

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