Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 22 May 2008

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 22 May 2008

Developing our character for battle: Facing your fears. I personally feel that God is using this series on developing our character for battle to lay the foundations and prepare us for battle. Many of us come with our own issues, and everyone has their own problems. Yet if we were too look at this series as a whole it is realizing that part of having great character is relying on God. Today’s word of encouragement is about Facing our fears. Part of developing our character for battle, is realizing at some point we have to face our fears. Till today my greatest fear is the fear of failure. However, through the years of wanting and desiring a relationship with God I have learnt how to overcome this fear. In my opinion how we respond to our fears, determines our potential. When Abraham traveled to different countries, the favor of the Lord was upon him, but wherever he went he would tell people that Sarah was his sister and not his wife, he did this several times because he feared that he would be harmed. (Genesis 12:12-14) Moses feared speaking, making God angry with him, yet he performed several of the greatest miracles ever seen. Peter denied Jesus three times because of fear. The Bible is filled with so many life stories of men and women who had to overcome their fears. Queen Esther is another great example. Her people were being killed, she too could have been killed, yet God used her to save generations. How we respond to our fears, determines our potential. We could take things into our own hands to fight fear, or we could rely on God’s strength to help us. We could give up, quit because the fear of struggling again, pain, torture is there. Or we could face our fear with absolute faith and trust in God. Today, I hope we would ask ourselves how have we been, and how will we respond to our fears. Deuteronomy 5:29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever! © May 2008 Shaun Lee. www.everynation.org.sg archive: www.shauntzen.blogspot.com

Praying For The Nations 21 May 2008. Prayer for Myanmar

Praying For The Nations 21 May 2008. Prayer for Myanmar

Father, we exalt you. We praise your name on high. We thank you that you are in control of the nation of Myanmar. Father IN THE NAME OF JESUS we pray that you would remove all that is evil, unclean, and bring restoration, healing, love. Father, we pray that your hand would never leave your people and you will turn all these recent events for your glory. Lord blessed is your name. We pray that people around the world would collectively pray for this nation. Father, we pray that you would make a way, you would open this nation, making a path that is clear. You are the light of the world. This nation has walked in darkness for too long, and you are shaking this nation. You will continue to shake this nation, removing all that is not right in your eyes. Father your love is endless. Protect your people, many are lost, starving, homeless, being hurt, abused, and many children are left as orphans. Lord, we cry out today in desperation. Please Lord, please protect your people. In the name of Jesus we pray no harm will ever come to your little children and to the women of this nation. Finally, IN THE NAME OF JESUS remove ALL leaders of this nation who are causing harm, and making things worst. But Lord we pray that you would RIGHT NOW raise up leaders who are righteous, holy, and worship you Lord. With all these prayers, we thank you, honor you, and praise your name. In the name of Jesus we pray all this will be in your hands. In Jesus name we pray, amen. Haggai 2:6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. Deuteronomy 26:18 And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. (Ephesians 6:12) 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.

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 21 May 2008

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 21 May 2008

Developing our character for battle: Being an imitator of Christ. It is interesting to me how God is purposefully using this series on developing our character for battle. I say this with all honestly, because if I had it my way I would have started with boldness, courage, failure, or vision. Yet, this series started first with Let Jesus balance the imbalance. The second was on being careful of false expectations. The third was power through the name of Jesus, and today is being an imitator of Christ. 3 John 1:11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. In my opinion, being an imitator of Christ is the hardest thing to achieve. Having said that though, it does not mean it is impossible. To imitate Christ it takes reading the word of God to know how to imitate him. I recommend we do that daily. However, today I will focus on three key steps which God has placed on my heart. Accept, submit, and worship Him. To imitate Christ we must accept Christ. I hope we remember that there is power in the name of JESUS. If we cannot accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, it will be very hard to see the power of God in our lives. Accepting Christ is recognizing that we are sinners, and the only way we can EVER be forgiven of our sins is accepting that Christ died for our sins. Because of what HE DID we are all set free and have ETERNAL LIFE. To imitate Christ we must submit to Christ. Let us encourage one another to submit daily to Christ. It is easy to imitate what is evil because we are sinners. To submit to Christ means we must surrender our lives to Christ. Not to our boyfriends, not to people, not to money, and not to our own selfish desires. Worship Christ. Let us worship the name of the Lord, for He is in control. For He is the reason for our existence, what He has done for you and for me, he doesn’t want our money, He wants us. It is interesting to me why people turn away from God, turn away from having a relationship with Him, just because of these two words: worship Christ. In order to understand what worshiping Christ means, we have to have a relationship with Him. Today, let us encourage one another to be imitators of Christ. The battle is ahead and who are you going to rely on? © May 2008 Shaun Lee. www.everynation.org.sg archive: www.shauntzen.blogspot.com

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 20 May 2008

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 20 May 2008

Developing our character for battle: The power of the name of Jesus. Developing our character is essential. Great gifts, talents, power, riches, are all useless and worthless, if we have bad character. Our character can only be defined by God. Today’s word of encouragement is realizing the power of the name of Jesus. How does the name of Jesus have to do with developing our character for battle? Part of having great character is recognizing that we are weak and powerless, WITHOUT JESUS. In the day of battle, if we face our enemy without the power of Jesus, we will lose. In my opinion, the name of Jesus is over used, to the point where it has become diluted and watered down. When Jesus walked with us on earth, people would go to Him to get healed. The blind were able to see, the lame were able to walk, people with illnesses were healed, and even the dead were raised. Today, I hope that we recognize that there is great faith and power when we pray in the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus has the power to answer prayers. In desperation for the sick, in desperation for the hurting, in the day of battle against people judging us, condemning us behind our backs, and even loved ones despising God’s blessings over our lives. The name of Jesus gives us hope and confidence not to give up HIS GOOD WORK IN US. Matthew 3:11 I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Mark 5:30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" Luke 4:36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" © Apr 2008 Shaun Lee. www.everynation.org.sg archive: www.shauntzen.blogspot.com

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 19 May2008

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 19 May2008

Developing our character for battle: False Expectations. If we are not careful, we could easily fall to the trap of false expectations, blinded by false expectations and we will start transforming a negative character flaw. Today, let us be on guard, because God can only satisfy our expectations. Sometimes we have false expectations of our family’s, we expect our parents/spouse/children/brothers/sisters to respond a certain way (immediately, drop everything and come to my rescue), act a certain way, do things more than other people, why? Because they are part of MY family. In my opinion, we have to be very careful because, are we putting high expectations on our immediate family which is causing unneeded stress, and hurting the relationship? Remember, let Jesus balance the imbalance. We are ALL flawed, ALL imperfect, and WE can never satisfy EVERYONES needs. Only God can do this. Sometimes we have false expectations of our friends. We again expect our inner circle of friends to treat us a certain way, to know us, to respond to us immediately. Again false expectations. God can only satisfy our needs, if we value our friendships more than God then this is something we need to address. Our character is at stake when we value friendships more than God. Today, we have to ask ourselves, “is our character fit for battle”? Let God fill all the voids in our lives, all the gaps, all the insecurities, problems, for His love is unconditional and never ceases. Matthew 5:45 That you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. © Apr 2008 Shaun Lee. www.everynation.org.sg archive: www.shauntzen.blogspot.com

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 18 May2008

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 18 May2008

As I embark on a new series, God’s been opening my heart to focus on Developing our character for battle. Today’s word of encouragement is: Let Jesus balance our imbalance. Let us examine our lives today, what imbalances stick out in our lives like a sore thumb? Recognize, minimize, and terminate! Or jeopardize your relationship with God. Too much time spent working and less time spent with your wife/husband/children/reading the bible/praying/and counseling people? Too much time spent on the computer, computer games, and less time spent talking building your relationship with: your parents/brothers/sisters… honestly do we really know what is going on in their lives? How is our relationship with God? Do we know how God feels right now? What is he saying to us? Where does God rank in our priorities in life? A couple of weeks ago I spent about 30 minutes with my 12 year old nephew. I am amazed at his desire and yearning to build a personal relationship with God at his age, which just shows how real his relationship with God is. I asked him several questions which now I’m going to ask you. 1) On an average day, how much time do you spend talking to God? About 50% of our time is spent sleeping, the rest we are awake. So out of the 50% of the time we are awake, what are you doing with your time? Is there an imbalance in your lifestyle things you are doing too much of which isn’t helping build your character, your relationship with God? Well, fix it! How—in Christ all things are possible. 2) What is top priority in your life? What consumes your thoughts? Is there an imbalance in our priorities in life, or in our thoughts? If so let’s ask Jesus to come into our lives in these specific areas and allow God to transform us. There is no quick fix to developing our character. God is clear, (Ephesians 6:12) 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. Let Jesus balance our imbalance. We aren’t perfect, we are flawed. Isn’t it easier to let Jesus take control than try to be God? 1 Corinthians 1:8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. © Apr 2008 Shaun Lee. www.everynation.org.sg archive: www.shauntzen.blogspot.com

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 17 May2008

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 17 May2008

Security and Identity in Christ. What are the foundational building blocks to building a strong sense of security and identity in Christ? No matter where we are at right now with our personal relationship with God, it is vital that we constantly guard our hearts and self-check. The moment we let our guard down, we will be prone to the enemy's attack. Today I end my series on Security and Identity in Christ. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of guarding our hearts, always attentive, discerning, and aware of the subtle attacks of the enemy. The word of encouragement for today is: Standing firm. The devil wants us to lose our security in God. Why? Because each of us has a great calling, that will make an impact for God’s kingdom. The devil loves it when God’s children: Give up, lose the strength to preserver, get distracted, and most of all we lose the purpose of what God made us to do. All these things happen when we forget that our identity and security is in God. Ephesians 6:10-15 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. © Apr 2008 Shaun Lee. www.everynation.org.sg archive: www.shauntzen.blogspot.com