"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." Rev 2:4

Have you ever found yourself committing the same sin over and over and over again? Have you prayed to be delivered from temptation? Do you still find yourself in an endless cycle of sin and repentance?

If so, then you're not alone. Many Christians do battle with particular sins that never seem to go away.

One thing to remember as you struggle with a persistent sin is that the sin is revealing an area of spiritual weakness. For example, if you find yourself yelling at your spouse all the time for no reason at all, it may be because you haven't taken enough time to develop a self-sacrificing love relationship with him or her (Eph. 5:21-24). If you struggle with gossip, maybe it's because you haven't taken the time to reflect on your own sins and to learn humility.

Sin always shows that something in our lives is out of whack. This is especially true when we commit the same sin over and over again. Ultimately we have forgotten to love God -- our "first love" -- above all else by doing what he commands (John 14:15).

Satan, the great tempter, knows those areas where we are spiritually weak. He examines our personalities and looks at our tendencies, then pushes them to unhealthy extremes. The good news is that you also know your weak points. (If not, just think about the sins you've committed recently. A pattern will probably emerge.)

If you're struggling with a nagging sin right now, take a moment or two to reflect on the source of the sin. Ask God to reveal it to you. There's a reason why you're committing it over and over again. If you can determine the cause, then you'll be able to pray more effectively to God to be delivered from that sin.

A. Leadership Focus
The following prayer point can be adapted for praying for the church leadership, congregation, family and friends.

1. Favor with God

• For leaders to walk in the Spirit, pleasing the Lord.
• For leaders to serve the Lord with reverence fear, and rejoice with trembling (Psalm 2:10,11)

2. Spiritual Revelation

• For the Holy Spirit to give personal direction, teaching and vision and revelation of the depths of God and spiritual knowledge of the Word of God

 3. Anointing– Pray

• For leaders to have the 7 folds Spirit of the Lord; for the Spirit of the Lord, and the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge and reverent fear of the Lord to rest upon them.
• For leaders to be sensitive to God's voice-spiritual ears and heart.
• For gifts of the Spirit to flow through leaders: words of wisdom and knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues.

4.  Holiness– Pray:

• Bind all principalities and powers assigned to hinder leaders' place of abiding with God in devotional time.
• For leaders to set aside ample time for prayer and fellowship with the Lord in a productive, personal manner.
• For leaders to know the depths of God's love; to be grounded in love.
• For leaders to walk in holiness.

B. Seminar Focus
Topic:
PROPHETIC PRAISE & WORSHIP
Date: 31st Aug till 1st & 2nd September 2001
Speaker: Pastor Daniel Leong

Pray that God will impart to the church, hunger, passion toward Him in praise and worship.

C. Family Focus

 1.  Family—General—Pray:

• For unity and understanding
• For no resentment when sacrifice is involved
• For family to be active, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord in the local church.
• For a hospitable home, open to others.

2. Husband and Wife-Pray :

• To meet emotional needs of the family
• To be sensitive to family needs.
• To communicate well with each family members
• To be a sympathetic listener to each family members.
• For husband to lead family in devotions and prayer on a regular basis.
• To spend quality time with family-both leisure time and spiritual time.
• To recognize they are team, made to encourage and help one another with loyalty.
• To complement and complete one another
• To discern each other's needs: emotional, physical,material and spiritual.
• To have fulfillment of their own spiritual relationship to hear God's voice.
• To have the fruit of the Spirit.
• To have strength to overcome stress and pressure.
• To resist living up to other people's expectations, released to be a unique person, and a unique couple—free to me and free to be you.
• For each to find their individual niche in the kingdom of God.

3. Children

• That the children be trained in reverential fear of the Lord.
• That the children show love, patience, understanding and loyalty toward family and ministry.
• That the children choose righteous friends at school, home, work, and in their social life.
• For good relationship to prevail among children in the family.
• That the children be involved in parent's ministry at the level where God has called them to participate.
• That there be no resentment or competition among family members.
• That the children be obedient and righteous.
• That the children be flexible, able to adapt to change, moving and culture.
• That the children be free from expectation put on themselves or others that are not in line with God's will
• That the children be able to hear God's voice individually.

D. Focus on Loved Ones for their Salvation
The following is God's Promises  we can claimed for our Unsaved Loved Ones who are unsaved:

"They said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.'" Acts 16:31

"And he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household." Acts 11:14

 "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish." Matthew 18:14

"For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants." Isaiah 44:3

 "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
2 Peter 3:9

 "In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior."
1 Peter 3:1-2

And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. "Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. "For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband  "Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?"
1 Corinthians 7:13-16

"But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

 "Who is among you that fears the LORD, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God." Isaiah 50:10

 "Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." Psalm 55:22

 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment."
John 16:7-8

"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22:6

"Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass."
1 Thessalonians 5:24

E. Praise News

The Church Family Camp was well attended and those who attended were blessed and Glory to God.

(Thank you note to the Recreation Department, Dennis Tan and committee: Thank you for the labour of love and the hard work for making the family a success. Great is your reward in heaven. Keep up the good works.)

A SMILE a Day KEEPS the Doctor AWAY

1. A messy kitchen is a happy kitchen and this kitchen is delirious.
2. No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
3. A husband is someone who takes out the trash and gives the impression he just cleaned the whole house.
4. If we are what we eat, then I'm easy, fast, and cheap.
5. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
6. Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.
7. Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall  never cease to be amused.
8. A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.
9. Help keep the kitchen clean -- eat out.
10. Housework done properly can kill you.
11. Countless number of people have eaten in this kitchen and gone on to lead normal lives.

"Have faith in God." Mk 6:22

YOU have His word, believe it; plead it; expect the fulfillment of it. He cannot deceive you. His ear is open to you. Try Him. What do you want? Why do you want it? If you really need, if your motives are good, plead with God for it; expect Him to bestow it; and receive it as coming from Him.

In every trial, for all you need, have faith in God. He will be gracious unto you. He is ever with you. He is ready to help you. He rejoices over you to do you good. His word is true from the beginning. He is the faithful God. He keepeth covenant and mercy. Believe in God for all your circumstances require. Patiently wait His time for your supplies.

Never give over praying or expecting because He delays: never doubt Him, but trust in Him with all thy heart. He is a God: He is thy God; He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. This is thy direction, thy duty, thy privilege: HAVE FAITH IN GOD.

Walk with God. Talk with God. Expect from God. Use all for God. Be entirely devoted to God. "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." "Therefore will I look unto the Lord."

Begone, unbelief! my Saviour is near, And for my relief will surely appear: By prayer let me wrestle that He will perform; With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm.

THINK ABOUT

^SINGING & _SLINGING

Up until last month, I'd never really wanted to visit the Holy Land. People who had been there told me it makes the Bible come alive, but the pictures I'd seen made the place look barren. I couldn't see how standing at a biblical site could compensate for the dust, heat, crowded streets -- not to mention the threat of terrorism.

No thanks, I'd always told myself. I get more insights than I can digest from my commentaries and our lively Sunday school class.

But last month gave me reason to repent. I was invited to tour Jordan, a nation that boasts some significant biblical sites -- including Mount Nebo (Dt. 32:49), where you can see what Moses saw of The Promised Land just before he died, and the Ravine Kerith (1 Kings 17:3), where Elijah was fed by ravens, and Bethany Beyond Jordan (John 1:28), where John the Baptist lived and baptized. And as a nation, Jordan has enjoyed a comforting absence of terrorism. So I went.

In some ways, my original prejudices were confirmed. It can behot -- 120 degrees when we stopped to see Lot's Cave just south of the Dead Sea -- but evenings cooled off nicely, often into the 60s. It's dusty -- you don't travel anywhere without your bottle of water.

But other prejudices were shattered. I never felt crowded. Even the streets of Amman, while busy, handled the traffic well. And while driving through the countryside and small towns, you're impressed by how many Jordanians spontaneously wave at the bus.

Some of those who waved were shepherd boys. Usually alone, a boy perhaps 12 or 14 years old would be standing near a flock of goats or sheep, often in utterly desolate terrain. I wondered how the animals could find enough vegetation to eat among the rocks. Toward evening, we'd see a boy leading the flock back to the tent where his Bedouin family lives.

What does such a boy do all day? There's not much to do in a rocky wilderness, except look for shade and keep the sheep in view. How does a boy keep himself occupied?

The Bible does provide a clue. One such shepherd boy who grew up not far away, named David, must have spent his time singing songs and throwing rocks. Day after day with the sheep, there would have been lots of time to make up songs. And there certainly was an endless supply of rocks.

Did he ever wonder if he was wasting his time by singing songs and slinging rocks? Interestingly those two skills, honed by hours of solitary practice while watching sheep, proved crucial in God's plans for him. His musical abilities were put to the service of a king, the tormented King Saul, and calmed him at least briefly. Later, his musical abilities had a more lasting effect as David penned the Psalms that we still sing and recite.

And the rock throwing? That skill, of course, led to David's stunning victory over Goliath. The stone slinger emerged as a national hero.

As I traveled the rocky landscape of the Holy Land, I pondered the rocks. They're everywhere! Easy to complain about, or overlook. Yet for David, they were the raw material that God used mightily.

What are the "rocks" in your life -- the things so common you overlook or complain about them, the things you're all-too- familiar with? As a writer, my "rocks" are sometimes words, so common and yet so powerful. As a father, my "rocks" can be moments with my children. For you maybe they're phone calls, handshakes, or church bulletins. They're whatever you have around you in abundance.

Just as God used rocks in the hand of a shepherd, so he can make miraculous use of the overly abundant materials in your life.

Suddenly the empty, rock-strewn landscape I saw around me wasn't desolate. The stones themselves cried out, testifying to God's amazing practice of taking the rocky parts of life, and turning them into a tool to change the world.

A glimpse of God at work. Not a bad exchange for some heat and dust.