Okay…probably because I do not have that much money to buy all the worship CD out there. And that I am online more often than some people. Some of you have already notice that the place where I find all the (not-so-new) cool worship songs are at Youtube. I shared songs to you at there most of the time…

Anyways, just wanna share with you a link of integrity music where you can listen to the new worship song of Hillsong London. The first song “You are here (the same power)” is very cool. To those who listen to the new Hillsong live worship CD “This is our God”, you will remember the song that was sang after Healer that has only 2 lines. Well that is the bridge of this song in the Hillsong London “Hail to the King”. So you can listen to the full song at this site.

Click here

Disclaimer: Okay….just only a few songs you can listen fully. Some songs are just 30 seconds or less than that. I just realise that a few minutes ago.

In His love,

Ivy

Recent news about Pastor Mike Guglielmucci (Planet Shakers) living the double lives-faked his cancer and tried to hide his pornography addiction-one again reminded myself the reality of possibility of falling away from the Lord. It is really the hearts are deceitful above all, who may know them except the Lord. How can I always ensure that my heart is right before Him, and that I still love Him with all my heart, soul and mind and strength? There are so many people “up there with Him” and fall away. Sins and temptations are so disgusting and yet we are so easily entangled with them.

I feel sad for Mike and the song “Healer” that he wrote and performed. In itself, the song is a beautiful one, if we consider the lyric and the tune. Yet because of the story behind it, how he had been living a double life as if he had been depending on God in his brokenness and desperation, of how he wore that oxygen tube to perform and faked that broken voice in reading Isaiah 53, somehow I felt that it is difficult to worship with that song, from now on. I felt it was like a defiled offering to the Lord. Just consider the impact of hurt that he caused on the people surround him, the shock that he left on the people who supported him and prayed for him, who were impressed and inspired because of his act.

I was watching the clip “In every season” featured sharing of various worship leaders who involved in the making “This is our God” Hillsong live. There was a sharing of Joel Houston who played and sang with Mike for the song Healer. He shared how he sat with Mike and heard Mike cried out how despared he was and at the same time how hopeful he was toward the promise of healing from the Lord. Joel said the he felt as if he saw Jesus in that. Just imagine how Joel would feel after the whole truth was being revealed. In the same clip, Mike was featured a big portion of it, when he shared how the song was birth and how he knew that the song will minister to the people when they played the song in their cars and in their house. And I felt, that was the reason, Mike desired for the fame came attached with the song more than the Lord, and that was why conciously and unconciously, he went ahead with the lies and the oxygen-tube performance.

However, somehow I feel pity for Mike as well. Somehow I felt that he was also looking for the victory of Jesus in his life, consider his own battle with sin and pride (of being a pastor son and a pastor himself, the charismatic image that he had had on himself for so long).  Somehow I hoped that the song Healer that he wrote and sang was also the cry of his heart, that he desired for healing and restoration from the Lord as well. That was why he is willing to come out to light after 16 years in darkness. This, on one hand, is a testimony of disgrace, but at the same time it is a testimony of victory-overcoming pride to be humble to be changed by Him. I have no doubt that God will forgive and restore him, as long as he really surrender his life to be cleaned up by the Lord. Who knows the Lord would continue to use him afterward with the testimony of salvation from the bondage of sin?

Nevertheless, I was once again reminded of how important a pure heart is towards the Lord, a heart that is truly after Him. I really cried out and asking that He would save my heart and keep it always pure and true to Him, that I would always love Him with all my heart, that He is always be my first love…even if He (and I) has to go to such extent of removing my lamp stand (Revelation 2). So that at the end, He is really God and Lord of my life.

Dear all,

One of the thing that was brought up when we had our catch up at “Breakfast with the King” was that we need to take time to soak in His presence. I have to agree that it is very important to be that sponge to soak in and overflowed with His Presence. In fact, I think that should be the focus of individual of us, probably at least from now until the end of the sem. Just only when we are so comfortable and know so well what it is like to be in His Presence, then we will have the desire to have the same in corporate worship, and the sensitivity to sense His presence in corporate worship.

Follow the trend, I find that it is also an appropriate time for me to share this website with you all. The secret place ministry had blessed me tremendously even though I just visited the website a few time. But the heart for intimacy with God and the heart for worship is just so strong that you sense it everywhere you go in the website. The owner of the ministry is Ray Watson (your personal beauty store), from Pursuit Church, and another tagline (I think for the church) is Pursuit His Presence. The tagline for the ministry is “Turning hearts back to the Father through intimate praise and worship” (dont you feel you hearts jumping?).

In the website there are pages teaching and sharing about Soaking in His Presence, Intimate Worship and Prophetic Worship. He also offer free music, some you can listen on site. The songs are recorded or written when he had his own personal free worship with God. As you listen to the songs, you would definitely sense God, the spirit just ticked =D Highly encourage that you spend time check out their website, as well as take time to listen to the songs that Ray wrote and sing also.

The website is: www.secretplaceministries.org

Here is the Vision of the ministry, just to wet your appetite =D

“Turning hearts back to the Father through intimate praise and worship.”

The Secret Place is a ministry first and foremost to the heart of God. We are so busy living our daily lives we so easily forget that the world was made BY Him and FOR Him. So many “worship” songs are about our needs and our relationship with God, but few find that place of intimacy with Him where the heart of God and man are truly satisfied. It is my prayer that The Secret Place will help meet that need.

Turn us Lord

In 1997 the Lord spoke to me and said, “I want to use you to turn the hearts of my people back to myself.” I said, “Why Lord?” He said, “Because their hearts are everywhere.” Our hearts need to be captured for Him. I believe God gave us music to help ignite our hearts in worship. It is my heart-felt prayer that the Lord will use these songs to help people find new passion in their worship, “for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” This is one of the most important verses in the Bible, because it tells us what God is looking for. True worship is the most important activity of the human heart, since this is God’s desire. We need a fresh touch from heaven, not just in our churches but in our private devotions. Secret Place Ministries was established for this purpose.  “Turning hearts back to the Father through intimate praise and worship”

The Psalmist prayed, “Turn us Lord, and our hearts will be turned.” Nothing quite stirs the soul and emotions of man in the way that music does. Music is the universal language of the human heart. There is not a single person who is not moved by it. The longing, the loss, the love, the heights, the depths – the whole range of human emotion is captured and communicated through this powerful medium.

I believe God gave us music as one of the means to awaken our hearts toward Himself.  Let us not leave this key to men’s hearts in the hands of those who would use it for their own purposes. Let us use this gift for its created purpose. Let us write songs that are God-breathed – songs that are birthed in another world and can bring that world to us. Let us write songs that are so touched by His presence that they capture every heart for Him. Let our hearts be so affected that we are forever changed. There, in the Secret Place, let us be so captivated by His love and consumed with His purpose for our lives, that we gladly surrender all to purchase the pearl of great price.

“Turn us, Lord, and we shall be turned.”

The Music

“There is a new sound coming into the earth – it is the sound of heaven.”

The Secret Place is a place of intimacy with the Father. It is a place where deep cries out to deep, and where the heart yearns for His touch. Like the Psalms of David, these songs reach for the heart of God, and capture the highs and lows of life’s experiences in this eternal quest. The songs themselves are memorable. At times you will find yourself hooked on a phrase that stays with you throughout the entire day, constantly reminding you of His presence and calling you to abide there. God longs to fellowship with His people and to have them know Him intimately. With an emphasis on intimacy and simplicity, these songs are sure to capture your heart, and leave you with an enduring sense of His presence, and a hunger for more.

Let’s get soaked everyone…

Ivy

P.S. If you would like to get soaked immediately, then go straight to this link

It is so cool. Because I would like to share this song and I saw Jill’s post. I find that this song is very appropriate with what she shared. I have been listening to this song over and over again.

Desert Song

Verse 1:

This is my prayer in the desert

When all that within me feels dry

This is my prayer in my hunger and need

My God is the God who provides

Verse 2:

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
To more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

Chorus:
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

Verse 3:
And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it’s way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I’ll stand

Bridge:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

Verse 4:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I’m filled to be empited again
The seed I’ve recieved I will sow

Below is a snippet of what Jill Mccloghry- co-lead of the song with Brooke Fraser, the author of the song- went through before the recording of the album. Her sharing really blessed my heart.

Desert song blog

Cool stuff must be shared…

Sometimes when we’ve had a long day, circumstances are difficult, when our emotions are down, we find it hard to worship. We can’t seem get out of the mud. We wallow in it. And we wonder if we have sinned. We compare what things ought to be with where we are and we feel defeated. We find that our reality does not match up with the Truth.

But we are to live in Truth, walk in Truth. Claim Truth by Faith. Until Truth becomes reality. We need to remember what the Truth is and not allow circumstances to leave us defeated. And we must never loose our ability to worship, our ability to praise God. Sometimes we need to say: “SHUT UP FLESH! I WILL PRAISE THE LORD!” Because it is a decision, a choice, not a feeling.

This song was written and taught to me by Tamara Winslow, one of the guest speakers at my DTS (Discipleship Training School). She taught us about how praise is a choice and to appropriate Truth by faith. She never wrote the lyrics down, but she made us memorize it line by line, and to sing it over and over again to get the words and the truth to sink into us.

Above and Not Beneath

Chorus:

I’m above and not beneath

I’m above and not beneath

Satan’s works are under my feet

I’m above and not beneath

Verse 1:

My feelings will not rule me

God’s Word will dominate

He is my stability

I WILL celebrate

Verse 2:

I will set my affections

On things which are above

God alone is my focus

I’m hidden in His Love

Dear all,

I hope that you all are not foreign to the idea of “singing to the Lord a new song”…yup, many people do that, that was not limited only to Hillsongs and Planet Shakers.

If you notice under the links, there is a link to Worship SG. Basically that is a blog for a community of local song writers to share their songs and events that promote locally witten worship songs. There are many songs that really nice and I hope that you would pay a visit to the blog to explore the songs. For now I can recommend a few songs, which you can check under the name of the writer to hear the songs and download the chords and lyrics.

Uncle Dennis (Jill’s Dad) wrote excellent songs like Single minded, Jesus in disguided…

Samantha Lim with a beautiful songs called “Apple of Your eye”, and you can check out a lady name Pauline Phoon as well, I just heard a song called “Like a child” written and sung by her.

Sorry that the songs I recommend are all slow and meditative type… If you want fast songs, you can explore and recommend to us also. =D

God bless y’all

This is an excerpt from the book “The reward of Worship” written by Jack Hayford (he is the one who wrote the famous song Majesty), possessed by Mr. Hu and currently staying in my room. An excellent book written on worship, and of course of an easy book to read (for me I guess). I have to read many chapters back and forth many times before I can make sense of what the author was writing.

Anyways, just thinking that I would share this part with you, when the author is explaining about 3 dimensions of God’s Presence-the raw dynamic of His being and person stepping into a setting. This may help us to have a better understanding of His Presence that is with us.

AWESOME, ABIDING AND AMAZING

The Bible reveals at least three different dimensions by which God makes His Presence known. Indeed, He is everywhere. But the ways He chooses to manifest Himself imply certain distinctions. Consider: God’s awesome presence, God’s abiding presence and God’s amazing presence.

God’s Awesome Presence

The word awesome is a contemporary adaptation of the older word awful – a word that means “filled with awe” (that is, awe-full), not “something horribly bad” as the word has come to be used today. It was commonly used in reference to our ultimate accountability before God; being required finally answer to Him on “that dreadful and awful day of the Lord”; to face up to the “frightening implication of standing before the awful presence of the eternal God.”

This is a feature of God’s presence that has paled in the wake of the theological dumbing down of the Church over resent years, not to mention the erosion of the fear of God amid the pride-filled vanity present in so much of our society. The psalmist cries, “Where can I flee from your presence?” The answer is given: Nowhere! You are everywhere! (See Psalm 139). Hebrews 4:13 says of God:”All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

This feature is a humbling reality, which is summarized in the Word of God to indicate:

1. God is omnipresent and all-seeing.

2. God is just and takes into account all we say and do.

3. We will each give an account for those words and deeds.

Together, these facts call us to worship God with reverence and to walk softly before Him, relating to others with love, justice and good works.

God’s Abiding Presence

There is a second dimension of God’s revealed ways of relating to us; it is in the tenderness, understanding and warmth of a personal relationship. When repentance for sin and faith in Jesus brings us back to the Father, the Savior describes an entirely richer dimension of God’s presence:”He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21)

This is a distinct level of relationship with God, deepened by such promises as “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5), and “Lo, I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). It is an invitation to worship God in a way that brings about a personal intimacy-a nearness and dearness like that expressed in the old hymn: “He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.”

The flow of truth regarding God’s presence moves forward from the objective reality of God’s awesome omnipresence, which relates to all humankind, to the subjective relationship of God’s abiding personal presence, by which He relates to all His redeemed. From this, the truth flows toward the possibilities inherent in those expressions of God’s mightiness – mightiness that awaits those who worship Him and call upon Him to manifest His presence in their midst or into certain situations.

God’s Amazing Presence

Such a call and invitation as these possibilities include are evidenced in God’s Word. The early believers called for God’s manifest presence, saying:

“Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them…Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Acts 4:24, 29-31

Isaiah cries out for God’s power-filled, demonstrative working as well:

Oh, that You would rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your presence—
As fire burns brushwood,
As fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!

Isaiah 64:1-2

These are not shallow requests for a dramatic event sought by sensation seekers. These are worshipers declaring, “Lord, You are God, Creator…Lord, make Your name known.” They have come before the throne of God, not for their own entertainment or for reasons of human vindictiveness. And their worship, applied with such a bold summons for God’s almighty intervention, is instructive to us for it gives evidence for the fact that worship may proceed from the reverent to the intimate, and then to the place of welcoming – indeed, calling upon God for a dynamic manifestation of His presence and His power.

Hope that you are blessed.

I really dont know whether I should comment on Jill’s post or should I write a new one. Hmm… hard, but I also would like to share similar experience and desire with her.

Of course I am desperate for more of God and His presence. I have tasted and my greedy self wants more!!! Saturday 2 weeks ago I heard a preaching of John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.“, then on Sunday I heard that the message at adult service in my church was about Psalm 91:1 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” It stired up afresh in my heart the desire to abide in Him, to really rest in Him, to really dwell in Him. I caught myself crying out, “Lord, how?”

At one of the QT that I had with Him, I was prompted to read John 15, greedy me read John 14 as well. The more I read, the more tears just swelled up in my eyes. John 14 was saying about how we have known God the Father by knowing Jesus (v7); that in His love for us, Jesus did not abandon us but sent the Holy Spirit to be with us forever (v15). Verse 21 struck me the most, when He said “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.“

He loves me and He wants to show Himself to me. When I made a point to obey His commands, to me it was just a response of love to the greater love that He had lavished upon me. Yet as a response to my response, He manifest Himself to me!!! What a marvelous promise to me, that I will see more of Jesus, because He takes the initiative to show me Himself. To top it all, He gave another truth, verse 23 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” Abiding in Him is no longer a striving effort trying to make the mark so that I can abide in Him, but to see that He make His home in me.

Of course, we cannot forsake the condition, which is to keep His word, obeying His commands in intimate love to Him. He will do the rest, the abiding, making His home in us.

Hidden in You

Verse 1:
I will call upon You Lord
For You are worthy to be praised
And You alone are deserving of my life
So this is who I am
A lover of the man
Who was scorned for sinners

Chorus:
And You, You win the war over me
So my worship will be
A life that is hidden in You
Your life is setting me free
So my worship will be
A life that is hidden in You

Verse 2:
I will call upon You Lord
For You are worthy of my praise
And You alone are the centre of my life
So this is who I am
Offered to the man
Who was broken for me

Bridge:
Holy holy my sustainer
You save me from my enemies
You are where the weary worship
With lifted hands in Your covering

Body and soul
Spirit and truth
Hidden in You Lord Jesus
Body and soul
Spirit and truth
Hidden in You Lord Jesus

I was listening to this song just the other day when the words leapt out at me. I was struck by the phrase in the chorus “So my worship will be… a life that is hidden in You”, and I thought, “Yes! That’s what I want Lord, that my worship is my life hidden in You! Lord help me to live a life hidden in You, body and soul, spirit and truth.”

Then in my quiet time the next day, I was asking God what it means to be hidden in him, body and soul, spirit and truth. And I was brought to the passage in John 15. As I read the passage I found myself weeping.

“4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5.

I have never prayed so hard as I have been praying of late in this season. A couple of months ago I felt the Lord impress on me the need to pray if I wanted to see fruit. That this is the season for fruit. So I have prayed and am praying and asking the Lord for fruit, in the Nav, in church, in my community. Then here in John 15 He speaks, and He tells me that we can only bear fruit if we abide in Him. That I will only see fruit if I abide in Him.

This brought me to Psalm 91:1 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” And I was struck by how we need to abide, to dwell in his presence. This is what I wrote in my diary: “Lord I am not satisfied with visits to the throne room. I am not satisfied with glimpses of Your glory. I am not satisfied with snatches in Your presence. I want to make You my dwelling place. To abide in You.”

In this season as a worship team, we are pursuing the presence of God. Let us not play catching with God, a game of touch and go, where we have brief instances in His presence. Let us rather endeavor to make Him out dwelling place, to abide in Him, to remain in Him, to be hidden in Him. For it is only in Him that we bear fruit.

Exciting eh? What are you waiting for?