#godswordforme

[thebrudderz]

"Now these are the nations which the Lord left to prove Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not previously experienced war in Canaan; It was only that the generations of the Israelites might know and be taught war, at least those who previously knew nothing of it. The remaining nations are: the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to the entrance of Hamath. They were for the testing and proving of Israel to know whether Israel would listen and obey the commandments of the Lord, which He commanded their fathers by Moses." Judges 3:1-4 *** God leaves our troubles/challenges/enemies/problems in our lives for a reason. He doesn't want us to prove how capable we are at overcoming them, neither does He want us to please our enemies just to "win" them over. What He wants is for us to be totally reliant on Him, to love Him and love everyone like He loves us, and to chase after Him all the days of our lives. Much love!

[thebrudderz]

"And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment. The second is like it and is this, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31 *** Want to please God? Easy, follow the two commands in the verses above. Love God and your neighbours(everyone other than you) unconditionally, and with everything you can give :)! Much love :)

[thebrudderz]

"And if a house is divided (split into factions and rebelling) against itself, that house will not be able to last." Mark 3:25 *** If you read the whole passage, Jesus was accused of being a demon casting out demons, and this was part of His response to the Pharisees. Though Jesus is talking about the devil, versus 25 can also be applied to a/the church. *** If our church is divided against itself, how will it last? Are you too busy trying to complete your own agenda? Is it really important that it is done your way? Are you willing to sacrifice your dreams for the dreams of your pastors/leaders? *** Just some questions to give yourself a heart check with, because I know I have to keep asking myself these questions :). Happy thinking! Much love :)

 Charles Tan

[thebrudderz]

"And the Lord said to him, Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall say.And he said, Oh, my Lord, I pray You, send by the hand of [some other] whom You will [send].Then the anger of the Lord blazed against Moses; He said, Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite? I know he can speak well. Also, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be overjoyed." Exodus 4:11-14AMP *** This is Moses, one of the great fathers of faith speaking directly to God. He even had already witness the power of God by this point and yet he was more afraid of men than God! *** Has God told you to do something recently that you haven't done? Are you like Moses and are waiting for God to send someone else? Are you waiting for some miracle or for some "special" speaker before you take the leap of faith? Are you waiting for your pastor/leader to do something before you take a step into the deep? *** If God told you something, He wants YOU to act in faith. Yes people praying and walking along side you is important and powerful, but it is your faith/dependence(sacrifice to) on God that will move Gods heart towards moving in your life/world! So step out boldly into what God has asked you to do, because He will not leave you nor forsake you :)! Kia kaha!

- Charles Tan

[thebrudderz]

"You will [l]fully recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every healthy (sound) tree bears good fruit [[m]worthy of admiration], but the sickly (decaying, worthless) tree bears bad (worthless) fruit. A good (healthy) tree cannot bear bad (worthless) fruit, nor can a bad (diseased) tree bear [n]excellent fruit [worthy of admiration]." Matthew 7:16-18AMP *** Let's do a heart check. What kind of fruit are you producing? Are they worthy of admiration in God's eyes? Or are they decaying and worthless? No I am not asking you to look at other people's fruits, look at your own. What are some things that need to change in your life? And are you willing to commit to changing them? Thankfully we have God's grace to help us change for the better and to start bearing fruit that is worth of admiration :)! So if you aren't sure, ask God, and if there is anything, let it go to God, so that He can change your sacrifice into a blessing for yourself and others around you. Much love :)!

- Charles Tan

[thebrudderz]

"For this is the original message we heard: We should love each other." 1 John 3:11 *** One of the clear messages of the gospels(and the rest of the Bible) is easy, 'We should LOVE each other". God sees us loving each other like how He loves us(Totally unconditionally) as a way of showing how much we love Him. After all we were all made in His image. *** It isn't a love that wants our own outcome to happen, it's a love that releases people, and let's them find out what God wants for them, even if you think your way is the "best". It is a love that blesses and doesn't expect anything in return. It is a love that sees someone for who God sees them as and not as what the world expects of them. *** Not an easy task at all! Thankfully God is gracious, and is ever willing to help us to learn how to love more, if only we let Him(and are willing to sometimes learn the hard way). So keep your love on :)! Much love!

- Charles Tan

[thebrudderz]

"Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn’t know which end is up, blinded by the darkness." 1 John 2:9-11 *** Let's all have a heart check. Do you hate someone? Ok maybe hate is a little strong, maybe do you dislike someone, or put someone down in what you think is a small way? Maybe you make jokes that are actually demeaning? Do you even think you know better than they do, or that your faith is "stronger" than another? Are you jealous of someone? *** If you said yes to any of that or to a similar question(even a little), maybe you need to rethink whether you are in the dark or not? God loved us unconditionally, so He expects us to learn how to love others unconditionally too, meaning no strings attach, not trying to "teach" someone something, or "discipline" them, or get them to do something that is on your heart rather than what's on God's heart. *** Luckily for us the key word is learn. God wants us to learn how to love more and more, and the only way to do that is to allow God and others to love you, and then practicing to love others unconditionally after that too. So have a heart check, and keep learning to love more, as there is always more to learn about love everyday. Much love :)

- Charles Tan

[thebrudderz]

"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." James 1:2-4 *** Maybe the tough situation you have been placed in is a chance to grow your faith! So don't give up too easily, press in to God and "become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way"! Kia Kaha :)

- Charles Tan