It was July 21, 2010 at 3 pm when my brother came to school informing me that our Tatang (father) was sick, feeling dizzy and vomiting, and with very high blood pressure. I immediately rushed home and started praying aloud in the car while driving, claiming God’s peace and healing upon Tatang.

We immediately brought him to the hospital and I, continued earnestly in prayer. I kept on releasing God’s divine healing. The brethren in church were also praying for my father’s condition at that time. The doctors had my father undergo some lab tests and confined him for further observation as his blood pressure was fluctuating.

I knew that the enemy was challenging my faith. The following day I received a word from my cousin that my mom fell off the bed causing a bump on her head. That stressed me again, but I stood firm in my faith overcoming my worries. I am confident that my God is in control, and satan is powerless. I praise God because my mom was alright when I checked on her.

Later on that day, the doctors discharged Tatang as he recovered. The bill amounted to 9130 pesos. I only had 7000 with me. After presenting some documents to the cashier, I only needed to pay 3509 pesos. Praise God. He did not only heal my father but He also provided for our family. All glory to Him!

Marissa Andress

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust.

I work as a Sales Officer in a commercial bank.  My job is to develop the account of existing clients and bring in new deposits.  It may sound simple but I have to meet huge sales budget, make daily client calls, and attend monthly meetings and performance presentations that end until the wee hours of the morning. It is stressful and tough. Not being from this place and unable to speak the dialect fluently makes it even harder for me. Many times I have been tempted to quit just like what most of my colleagues had done as the pressure was getting too great for me.

But what keeps me pressing on is the assurance that God is in control of my life.  In my every trial, challenge, and difficulty, He is behind the scenes working things out for my favor.

Indeed, God is faithful, because last year I met my budget and even more astounding, I got promoted last month!  Glory be to God!

Catherine Antonio

Many people are able to control their weight just by kicking the snack habit. The calories you get from snacking can add up to an extra meal—a big one at that.

I find it hard to write on this topic because I, myself, love to eat snacks anytime of the day. Nonetheless, reminders such as this could make us realize the hazards this could bring, especially if it gets overboard.

Stop for a moment and think of the foods you snack on. Do you reach for a banana, or do you unwrap a chocolate bar? Do you munch raw vegetables, or tear into a bag of chips? Most people opt for high-sugar, high-fat, high-salt goodies to get them from one meal to the next. If you want to lose weight, you must deal with that snack habit. Here are some hints to help make you change:

- Don’t snack for the wrong reasons. People snack for many reasons besides hunger. Some people use it as a way to release stress. Others feel guilty taking a break. To them, eating something is a way to legitimize a needed  rest. Do you snack only when you’re hungry, or do you use snacks to meet other needs? Think about this, then write down some of your reasons for snacking.

- Start with good breakfast. Beating the snack habit begins with a hearty breakfast. It should provide plenty of complex carbohydrates for lasting energy. Let whole grains, which are high in these carbohydrates, form the core of the meal.

- Watch out for triggers. Many habits, snacking included, are linked to signals from your environment. For example, you might get the urge for a candy bar whenever you pass a convenience store at work. Or there might be a certain television commercial that makes you want to open a bag of chips. What triggers your urge to snack?

- Develop alternate behaviours. How do you fight a snack attack? By doing other things that disrupt the pattern. If you are bogged down in your work and need a boost, go for a quick walk to the corner and back. Drink a glass of water rather than the usual soda. If you must eat something, try a piece of fruit or some raw vegetables.

Dr. Joy Bareng

All around the world, families are suffering and facing serious problems.  The world has forgotten the Creator’s design for raising families.

When God created the first man and woman, He began the family institution. Male and female were created in the image of God and were designed to reflect His nature.   The goal of marriage is two-fold, to reveal the glory of God and to enhance the glory of one’s spouse.  There are important roles that were intended for families in God’s plan – the care and nurture of godly children and all members must learn how to give and receive affection and love.  But when husbands and wives fail to follow God’s plan for the family and marriage, they aid Satan in His war against God.  It is time for God’s people to recognise the battle for what it is and take a stand against the enemy and win the war for our families.

It is sad that many have never known God’s master plan for families. God’s plan for every family is found in his Word.   How can we plan for our families?

-  Take time to learn what God says about families

-  Spend much time in prayer and discuss goals for the family with your spouse

-  Make bible reading a priority in your family life

We praise God for the families of our church, who reflect God’s love as they inspire our community as a complete basic unit in society in serving Jesus. May they continue to be advocates of this mandate with their godly examples.  Always remember that the family was God’s idea.  It has been neglected for so long and allowed to follow any design other than our Lord’s.  But with His help and our part to follow His plan, understanding the enemy’s schemes, and obeying His precepts, we can build wonderful families.

Ptr. May Shah

Pastor’s Talk

We will soon be launching a campaign on “I Love my Church” and it will run from September to December.  We had been running campaigns quite successfully in the past.

Why have we been successful in our campaigns? Several reasons:

• We saw the need – (if no need, then no reason!)
• We devised a plan – (planned our work and worked our plan)
• We set necessary, reasonable, and reachable goals;
• We involved a lot of like-minded people;
• We under girded everything with prayer;
• We have the ultimate goal of honoring our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why can we say with such certainty that the Church will always succeed? There are four obvious reasons:

1. The church will succeed because it has been programmed to succeed!
2. The church will succeed because it has the Lord’s promise to succeed.
3. The church will succeed because the Lord gives it the power to succeed.
4. The church will succeed because we are part of God’s plan for it to succeed.

So the Church will not, shall not, cannot fail! It can succeed. It will succeed. It shall succeed!

The idea behind this “I love my church” campaign is to get all our members to really love our church with all our heart  and be totally committed to the church. In Ephesians 5:25 the Bible tells us that “Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it!” Each of us who call ourselves Christians ought also to faithfully love and support our local church.

There are many reasons why people love their church, below are my personal 10 reasons:

#1 – We have leaders that lead!

Be it our pastors, elders or homecell leaders, we do have people who leads the church well and I am very proud of each and every one of them.

#2 – We have desperation for God’s power!

Our congregation are legitimately desperate for the power of God.  We had a powerful visitation of God last week at the second service  and we look forward to more of His visits.

#3 – We believe that greater things are in store.

We  don’t just pray big prayers…but they have a sense of anticipation that is contagious!  We don’t read Acts 2 and think “those were the good ‘ole days” but rather we think, “that’s where God STARTED this thing…we should be WAY ahead of this!!!”

#4 – They are full of ordinary people.

God always uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.  Jesus didn’t choose one scribe or Pharisee when He launched the church…and Acts 4:13 talks about how He used ordinary people to absolutely turn the world upside down.  The staff LOVE the church…so much so that they would actually attend there even if they were not on staff!

#5 – We leverage technology.

We don’t view technology as of the devil but rather as a tool given by God to reach as many people as possible for Jesus.

#6 – The church is full of passion.

People in the church actually LOVE the church and do not attend because they feel like they have to!

#7 – We take ownership of the great commission.

We refuse to be “keepers of the aquarium” and instead embrace the COMMAND of Jesus to reach the world for HIM!  This is evidenced in our weekly services especially in the second service where we seen remarkable  growth.

#8 – There is a willingness to change and adapt, even when it means we have to go against the very “innovative” ideas that we ourselves once established!

Anyone can change the traditions of the past…but true innovation occurs when we’re willing to change the ideas that we once thought were innovative and ground breaking!

#9 – Generosity is embraced.

The world has never been impacted in a positive way by people that were greedy.

#10 – The people in the church are OWNERS, not merely “members.”

Members have rights, owners have responsibilities.  It is my hope that the people in our church understand that it is not the pastors job to minister to the people but rather the bodies job to minister to the body!  And as a result people serve Jesus by serving others.

God has been so good to each of us! Let each of us show our love for our Lord and His church by not forsaking her “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25

Let me also encourage you to bring an unsaved or unchurched friend with you this week! It could change their life and their eternity! The psalmist said, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” Psalm 122:1

God bless you!

Ptr. Brian Shah