7 Minutes With God (CF 28/4)

SEVEN MINUTES WITH GOD

How to Plan a Daily Quiet Time by Robert D. Foster

It was in 1882 on the campus of Cambridge University that the world was first given the slogan:

"Remember the morning watch."

Students like Hopper and Thornton found their days "loaded" with studies, lectures, games and bull sessions. Enthusiasm and activity were the order of the day. These dedicated men soon discovered a flaw in their spiritual armor -- a small crack which if not soon closed, would bring disaster.

They sought an answer and came up with a scheme they called the morning watch -- a plan to spend the first minutes of a new day alone with God, praying and reading the Bible.

The morning watch sealed the crack. It enshrined a truth so often obscured by the pressure of ceaseless activity that it needs daily rediscovery: To know God, it is necessary to spend consistent time with Him.

The idea caught fire. "A remarkable period of religious blessing" followed, and culminated in the departure of the Cambridge Seven, a band of prominent athletes and men of wealth and education, for missionary service. They gave up everything to go out to China for Christ.

But these men found that getting out of bed in time for the morning watch was as difficult as it was vital. Thornton was determined to turn indolence into discipline. He invented an automatic, foolproof cure for laziness. It was a contraption set up by his bed: "The vibration of an alarm clock set fishing tackle in motion, and the sheets, clipped to the line, moved swiftly into the air off the sleeper's body." Thornton wanted to get up to meet his God!

The intimacy of communion with Christ must be recaptured in the morning quiet time. Call it what you want -- the quiet time, personal devotions, the morning watch, or individual worship -- these holy minutes at the start of each day explain the inner secret of Christianity. It's the golden thread that ties every great man of God together -- from Moses to David Livingstone, the prophet Amos to Billy Graham -- rich and poor, businessmen and military personnel. Every man who ever became somebody for God has this at the core of his priorities: time alone with God!

David says in Psalm 57:7, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed." A fixed and established heart produces stability in life. Few men in the Christian community have his heart and life. One of the missing links has been a workable plan on how to begin and maintain a morning watch.

I want to suggest that in order to get under way, you start with seven minutes. Perhaps you could call it a daily "Seven-Up". Five minutes may be too short, and ten minutes for some is a little too long at first.

Are you willing to take seven minutes every morning? Not five mornings out of seven, not six days out of seven -- but seven days out of seven! Ask God to help you: "Lord, I want to meet You the first thing in the morning for at least seven minutes. Tomorrow when the alarm clock goes off at 6:15 a.m., I have an appointment with You." Your prayer might be, "Morning by morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; morning by morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation" (Psalm 5:3)

How do you spend these even minutes? After getting out of bed and taking care of your personal needs, you will want to find a quiet place and there with your Bible enjoy the solitude of seven minutes with God.

Invest the first 30 seconds preparing your heart. Thank Him for the good night of sleep and the opportunities of this new day. "Lord, cleanse my heart so You can speak to me through the Scriptures. Open my heart. Fill my heart. Make my mind alert, my soul active, and my heart responsive. Lord, surround me with Your presence during this time. Amen."

Now take four minutes to read the Bible. Your greatest need is to hear some word from God. Allow the Word to strike fire in your heart. Meet the Author! One of the Gospels is a good place to begin reading. Start with the Book of Mark. Read consecutively -- verse after verse, chapter after chapter. Don't race, but avoid stopping to do a Bible study on some word, thought, or theological problem which presents itself. Read for the pure joy of reading and allowing God to speak -- perhaps just 20 verses, or maybe a complete chapter. When you have finished Mark, start the Gospel of John. Soon you'll want to go ahead and read the entire New Testament.

After God has spoken through His Book, then speak to Him -- in prayer. You now have two and a half minutes left for fellowship with Him in four areas of prayer that you can remember by the word ACTS.

A -- Adoration. This is the purest kind of prayer because it's all for God -- there's nothing in it for you. You don't barge into the presence of royalty. You begin with the proper salutation. So worship Him. Tell the Lord that you love Him. Reflect on His greatness, His power, His majesty, and sovereignty!

C -- Confession follows. Having seen Him you now want to be sure every sin is cleansed and forsaken. Confession comes form a root word meaning "to agree together with". Apply this to prayer. It means to agree with God. Something happened yesterday you called a slight exaggeration -- God calls it a lie! You call it strong language -- God calls it swearing. You call it telling the truth about somebody in church -- God calls it gossip. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18)

T -- Thanksgiving. Express your gratitude to God. Think of several specific things to thank Him for: your family, your business, your church and ministry responsibilities -- even thank Him for hardships. "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (I Thessalonians 5: 18).

S -- Supplication. This means to "ask for, earnestly and humbly." This is part of your prayer life where you make your petitions know ton Him. Ask for others, then for yourself. Why not include other people around the world such as missionaries, students studying abroad, friends in distant places, and above all the people of many lands who have yet to hear about Jesus Christ.

Let's put these seven minutes together:

1/2 Prayer for guidance (Psalm 143:8)

4 Reading the Bible (Psalm 119:18)

2 and a 1/2 Prayer:

a) Adoration (I Chronicles 29:11)

b) Confession (I John 1:9)

c) Thanksgiving (Ephesians 5: 20)

d) Supplication (Matthew 7:7)

_________________________________________________

This is simply a guide. Very soon you'll discover that it is impossible to spend only seven minutes with the Lord. An amazing thing happens -- seven minutes become 20, and it is not long before you're spending 30 precious minutes with Him. Do not become devoted to the habit, but to the Savior.

Do it not because other men are doing it -- not as a spiritless duty every morning, nor merely as an end in itself, but because God has granted the priceless privilege of fellowship with Himself. Covenant with Him now to guard, nourish, and maintain your morning watch of seven minutes.

Yes, No, Maybe?

On 14/4, Ser Keat, one of our members shared with us a story:

A father had 3 children - a girl, an 18-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy.

The 18 year-old boy asked the father for a shaver. The father said yes, and gave it to him.

The 8-year-old son asked his father for a shaver. The father said wait.

The girl asked her father for a shaver. The father said no. =P

God is like that..He says yes, no and maybe at different times.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" ~ Romans 8:28

Prayer Walk

Last CF (21/4), we went prayer walking!

Basically, we prayed for everything we saw as we walked round the whole school...At first, we agreed that 1 or 2 people will pray for each place, but when it came to more popular places (ie. Bilik Disiplin, Bilik Guru, Tapak Perhimpunan), everyone seemed to have a prayer to add!

It was pretty fun..and we believe TBM will truely be blessed by our prayers =)

We love TBM! Praying to transform it! =p

Posted by YP

Hooray!!

CF has started!

The 1st week was a bit messy like a 1st weeks, and fun! We got to know each other... And guess what? Each person has 4 guardianangels this year! And we know who they are, so as Amanda says, we can run to them for anything anytime we want. ( by the way, those who have yet to reveal who they were guarding last year, do tell everyone via the chatbox :)

This year morning session also has TWO CF teachers... Pn Ting has come up. Mr Woon will be taking over the afternoon session. Any CF member can go to either CF teachers for help, so that is our bonus on top of the 4 GAs :p

Hooray for a new year! May God use CF to bless the school and bring us to greater heights!

The 'Ouch' Prayer

I found this prayer written by some guy centuries ago. I'm calling this the 'ouch' prayer because it was really painful to read personally, especially when I think about my past year or so. Idon't even know if I'm willing to pray this prayer, but anywayI'm sharing it with you guys. =) -YP

'O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me. Deliver me, Jesus,
from the desire of being loved,
from the desire of being extolled,
from the desire of being honoured,
from the desire of being praised,
from the desire of being preferred to others,
from the desire of being consulted,
from the desire of being approved,
from the fear of being humiliated,
from the fear of being despised,
from the fear of suffering rebuke,
from the fear of being forgotten,
from the fear of being wronged,
from the fear of being suspected.

And, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire that others might be loved more than I,
that others may be esteemed more than I,
that in the opinion of the world others may increase and I may decrease,
that others may be chosen, and I set aside,
that others may be praised and I unnoticed,
that others may be preferred to me in everything,
that others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should."

God's 26 Guards

A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan. 'While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, Every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point.

On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine, and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital. Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time Talked to him about the Lord. I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident.... Two weeks later I repeated my journey.

Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried Money and medicines. He said, 'Some friends and I followed you in to the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.

At this, I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, No, sir, I was not the only person to see the guards, my friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.''

At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened. The missionary told the congregation the date and the man who interrupted told him this story: ''On the night of your incident in Africa, It was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up? The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn't concerned with who they were, He was too busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26 !!!!

This story is an incredible example of how The Spirit of the Lord moves in behalf of those who love Him. If you ever hear such prodding, go along with it. Nothing is ever hurt by prayer except the gates of hell. If we all take it to heart, We can turn this world toward God once again. As the above true story clearly illustrates, 'With God all things are possible'. More importantly, how God hears and Answers the prayers of the faithful.

Passed around the e-mail..posted by passionate piglet

The Holy Alphabet

Although things are not perfect,
Because of trial or pain,
Continue in thanksgiving
Don't even think to blame.
Even when the times are hard,
Fierce winds are bound to blow,
God is forever able
Hold on to what you know.
Imagine life without His love,
Joy would cease to be,
Keep thanking Him for all the things
Love imparts thee to see.
Move out of ' Camp Complaining ',
No weapon that is known
On earth can yield the power
Praise can do alone.
Quit worrying about the future,
Redeem the time at hand,
Start every day with prayer
To 'thank' is God's command.
Until we see Him coming,
Victorious in the sky,
We'll run the race with gratitude,
Xalting God most high.
Yes, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but...
Zion waits in glory... where none are ever sad!

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Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson

Sherlock Holmes and his trusted companion Dr Watson went on a camping trip. Out in the open, they set up their tent and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes woke up Dr. Watson.

“Watson, look up and tell me what you see.”

Watson replied, “I see millions of stars.”

“What does that tell you?”

Watson ponders for a minute and says, “Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are million of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically speaking, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Chronologically speaking, it is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically speaking, God is all-powerful and we are insignificantly small. What does that tell you?”

Sherlock Holmes stares at his friend and said, “Watson, you idiot, it tells me someone has stolen our tent.”

Posted by Passionate Piglet

To Be A Sign Post In Daily Encounters

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger.

“God, how could you do this to me!” he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. “How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied. It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground- it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God. For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it:

You say: It’s impossible
God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27)

You say: I’m too tired
God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: Nobody really loves me
God says: I love you (John 3: 16 & John 13:34)

You say: I can’t go on
God says: My grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9 & Psalms 91:15)

You say: I can’t figure things out
God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say: I’m not able
God says: I am able (2 Corinthians 9:8)

You say: It’s not worth it
God says: It will be worth it (Romans 8:28)

You say: I can’t forgive myself
God says: I forgive you (1 John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: I can’t manage
God says: I will supply all your needs (Philipians 4:19)

You say: I’m afraid
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7)

You say: I’m always worried and frustrated
God says: Cast all your cares on Me (1 Peter 5:7)

You say: I don’t have enough faith
God says: I’ve given everyone a measure of faith (Romans 12:3)

You say: I’m not smart enough
God says: I give you wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30)

You say: I feel alone
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

~ taken from ‘Let’s Teh Tarik’

Posted by Passionate Piglet

My Shoes

Thank God for my shoes - they fit.

I woke up one day and realised that there were many things about my life I was not satisfied with or better still, there were challenges that were threatening my soul.

And I said to myself, 'Why should anyone envy me and want to be in my shoes.' They don't know how far I've come, they don't know what lies ahead of me, and neither do they know how dissatisfied I get with myself from time to time.

People don't know the troubles that you've had or the price you had to pay to get to where you are. All they want to know is that they wish they were like you.

Why shold you wish you were in anybody's shoes when you hardly know how they fil?

When you've worn your shoes for a while, they take the shape of your feet and align to the way you walk. If you were to wear my shoes, you will not be comfortable in them.

So I stopped wishing that I am in someone else shoes because it might not fit; rather I think God for my shoes, because they fit!

I have learnt to be the best in what I do, and i know no-one can replace me anywhere and in any sphere.

I am an original, my God is not in the cloning business. He makes originals!

Make the est of what you do; besides you have this beautiful life to live ONLY ONCE.

Live it to the fullest.

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CF Farewell Party

Boo!

He crushed them all...so yeng... haha...

So much rubbish!

And Tim crushed them all!
Can't talk!
Weird pose...

So rajin...

Finding a nice spot!
The perfect spot!

Tim: I must look very yeng


Erm...


Whoa...so serious....
Tickle...tickle...tickle...

See! Got ribbon!!


Tim: Ssshhhhh....
Hah!

OI!! AAARRRGGGHHHH...!!!




I like this picture, haha...Look...someone took a photo of the photographer...

Go straight! GO Straight!!!
GO straight some more!!
What's this??!
It's a Toyota la...

Hah! I caught Tim!!


Tugu Negara

Tugu Negara
Tugu NegaraTugu Negara
Blender...


Television set
HUG!!!

Jalur Gemilang


Oven...or microwave...but Chris looks funny

Tim looks constipated...
Toilet bowl



Not ready...

WOW!!!



Spot the bananahead goofball?




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Pictures of The WEEK!!

Picture [1]

Picture [2]

Tim seems so photogenic, he's in almost all of the Pictures of the Week!

At the end of the month, everybody can vote for Picture of the Month!

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