Human - Jon McLaughlin

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

But God shows his love for us while we were still sinners. Christ died for us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Because, if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. 

For when I am weak, then I am strong.

- Proverbs 14:12, 1 John 1:9, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9-10,13, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

You never know how much you need God until God is all you've got left. 

Sometimes you think you're strong enough to take the world, young enough to brave the oceans and wise enough to get through the labyrinth of life. Experience all those ups and highs, accomplish this and that, till the lightning strikes and turns things into ashes.

Even worse when the lightning is followed by the storm. Stay there long enough until you realise that God is the only hope you can cling onto. There's so much you can do about you and your life, but at the end of the day, God gives, and God takes.

God gives, and God takes. When things are meant to be taken away.. just be confident that our Father in heaven knows the best. He got the blueprint of life and He's the real Mr Know it all.

So when you're up there, remember that God will bless you according to your own capacity. He'll never give more than you can take. For what good is a happy life when you lose your soul?

And when you're down there, and I mean, really, really, really, really, REALLY down there. Remember that God never takes anything away just for fun sake. But thankfully, these are the moments where I can feel so much closer to God and so much grateful of the people He puts in my life. I think it goes the same to the general population - easier to stick to God during the downtimes.

Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone of us can only take a certain amount of heartache in life. We're only human, afterall.

Jon McLaughlin - Human

Can you tell me how we got in this situation
I can't seem to get you off my mind
All these ups and downs they
They trip up our good intentions
Nobody said this was an easy ride

After all, we're only human
Always fighting what we're feeling
Hurt instead of healing
After all we're only human
Is there any other reason
Why we stay instead of leaving
After all

Can we get back to the point in this conversation
Where we saw things through each other's eyes
Cause now all I see is ruin and devastation
We all need some place we can hide inside

After all, we're only human
Always fighting what we're feeling
Hurt instead of healing
After all we're only human
Is there any other reason
Why we stay instead of leaving

I'm smart enough to know that life goes by
And it leaves a trail of broken hearts behind
If you feel I'm letting go, just give me time
I'll come running to your side
Can you tell me how we got into this situation
I can't seem to get you off my mind

After all, we're only human
Always fighting what we're feeling
Hurt instead of healing
After all we're only human
Is there any other human [2x]

Make Love Your Goal

It's this new up and coming British Youtube cover-turn-artist Gabriella Aplin. Her voice is really sweet and angelic.. This song is particularly touching to me. The line make love your goal strikes my conscience over and over again.

People say it's more important to do what's right than what's nice. However true this sounds, I think God's always wanted us to be nice and loving and gentle and compassionate, instead of being right and harsh. This is exactly why I'm always up against the term harsh discipline. Why make it harsh if we can have it the gentlest way?

As a Christian I'll always believe that only God can change hearts. It's only God and only God and only Him alone that can move and shift human's heart. It doesn't matter what others do or tell us to do, if we don't want to change, we won't.

So how can a foreign soul influence another soul to change and do what's right?
1. By doing what's right himself (the principle of leading by example)
2. By gently teaching/rebuking with love (the #2 principle of Jesus - love your neighbour as you love yourself)
3. By praying to God over the situation (principle of bypass - ask God and thy shall receive)

Make love your goal.
Make love your goal.
Make love your goal.

God is love. Jesus is the embodiment of God's huge love toward mankind. And we, humans, we are created to receive God's love and to love others back in return. We are capable of love. You are capable of love and you are meant to love those around you.

Have you made love your goal for today? :)

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels,

but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I had the gift of prophecy,

and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge,

and if I had such faith that I could move mountains,

but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.

If I gave everything I have to the poor 

and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;

but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind. 

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. 

It does not demand its own way. 

It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 

It does not rejoice about injustice

but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 

Love never gives up, never loses faith, 

is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages 

and special knowledge will become useless. 

But love will last forever! 

Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete,

and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 

But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

- Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13

The Power of Love - Gabriella Aplin

The Ammo Against IT

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

- Apostle Paul, in Colossians 3:12-17 

Submitted by Albert Tan. Edited by IGNITE13: I'm In The Movement committee.

It's so easy to fall into the trap of negativity and critical spirit. If God is never judgmental/critical about our mistakes, what will be left of humanity?

Love covers multitude of fault. As simple as that. Love is the best weapon to fight against the spirit of dissension, strife, pride, argumentative nature, superiority, envy, anger, etc. I'll see all this in one coin: negative spirit. The IT enemy.

The best way to fight against negative spirits is to keep feeding yourself with daily dose of love and Words. You can't fight negative with negative. They repel each other by nature.

When you feel severely discouraged about people or some situations in life, just think of God's love. God loves you so much He will not let you stay there for long. Tribulations and sufferings are there to sharpen your character, and bring you up to another level of strength and maturity.

God loves you so much He will definitely provide the best people to be around you in the rightest timing of life. By all means, God will never desert you or leave you alone. What we need to do is simple, just stick close to Him like a Scrooge and his gold coin. Be as sticky as you can to God, and let His love and peace flood your heart with the sweetness of heaven..

Paul's Strategy Against IT

The Ammo: Compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness. Patience. Forgiveness. Peace.

The Action: Be at peace. Pursue unity. Teach. Gently rebuke (admonish). Be wiser through God's Words. Sing praises. Be thankful. Give credit to God.

God bless you :)

Les Misérables - Bring Him Home by Colm Wilkinson

A very beautiful prayer sung by an ex-convict on the run, Jean Valjean. The worldwide famous musical production is originally adapted from the old 1862 French novel by Victor Huge. From 1980 the first production up till now.. 2013.

Watched the newest movie adaption in Jakarta and was fairly disappointed by the casting. I wish they can choose a much better Javert.. or Jean Valjean (T_T)

This song is really beautiful anyway. This one is exceptionally sung by Colm Wilkinson during the Dreamcast 10th Celebration Anniversary (you can google more piece of this cool production). So, enjoy, Les Miserables on the go :)



Bring Him Home - Jean Valjean

God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there

He is young
He's afraid
Let him rest
Heaven blessed.
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home.

He's like the son I might have known
If God had granted me a son.
The summers die
One by one
How soon they fly
On and on
And I am old
And will be gone.

Bring him peace
Bring him joy
He is young
He is only a boy

You can take
You can give
Let him be
Let him live
If I die, let me die
Let him live
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home.

Mondnacht by Schumann - Devi Jessica

I just heard this beautiful poem sung by Devi Jessica last night. She's really charming up on the stage, and still so young.. 

Mondnacht is the fifth song in Schumann's glorious "Liederkreis" cycle. Poem is by Eichendorff. A very beautiful German poem indeed..

Mondnacht

Es war, als hätt’ der Himmel
Die Erde still geküßt,
Daß sie im Blüten-Schimmer
Von ihm nun träumen müßt’.

Die Luft ging durch die Felder,
Die Aehren wogten sacht,
Es rauschten leis die Wälder,
So sternklar war die Nacht.

Und meine Seele spannte
Weit ihre Flügel aus,
Flog durch die stillen Lande,
Als flöge sie nach Haus.

Moonlit Night

It was as though the heavens
Had silently kissed the earth,
Such that in the blossoms’ lustre
She was caught in dreams of them

The wind crossed through the fields,
And swayed the heads of grain
The forest softly rustled
How starry was the night

And my soul spread
Far its wings
And sailed o’er the hushed lands
As if gliding home