God's Spirit Will Help You Overcome Sin

Romans 8:9-14 (NLT)
⁹But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.) ¹⁰Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God. ¹¹The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you.

¹²So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. ¹³For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

This powerful passageof scripture contains some critical truths we need to know about letting the Holy Spirit lead our lives. Remember, once you became a Christian, God gave you his Holy Spirit to help you live out your faith, guide your steps, empower your witness and as this passage attests, overcome sin. Look at four key points the apostle Paule make here:

You Are Controlled By a New Nature
Your old, sinful nature will still try to get a hand on the steering wheel. But now your new nature is in the driver's seat, and your old nature has become like an annoying backseat driver. You can either give in to your old nature's nagging and bad directions or you can ignore it and let the Holy Spirit direct your path.

Even Though You Will Face Physical Death, You Will Not Face Spiritual Death
As a believer, physical death is simply a transition to eternal life in heaven. You have been spared from spiritual death, which leads to everlasting toment and hell (see Revelation 21:8) This important fact should reassure you whn the devil tries to throw doubts your way.

The Same Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the Dead Resides in You
Did you catch that? The Holy Spirit, who had the power to raise Jesus from the dead, now lives in you! If that is indeed true - and God's Word says it is - just think of the supernatural power you now have in your life to resist sin!

We Do Not Have to Give In to Our Sinful Nature and Urges
Paul wasn't talking about New Year's resolution here. If we try to live a morally upright, godly life in our own strength, we will fail - and fail miserably. But, if we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to help us, we will be overcomers.

New Believer's Bible
Ps Greg Laurie

Cornerstone - Hillsong Live (New 2012 Ablurm Cornerstone) Lyrics

Psalm 118:22-23 (NLT)
²²The stone rejected by the builders
has now become the cornerstone.
²²This is the LORD's doing,
and it is marvelous to see.

Matthew 21:42 (NLT)
⁴²Then Jesus asked them, "Didn't you ever read this in the Scriptures?

The stone rejected by the builders
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous to see.

Acts 4:11-12 (NLT)
¹¹For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

`The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.'

¹²There is salvation in no one else!
There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them."

God's Spirit Will Empower Your Witness

Acts 1:8 (NLT)
⁸But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

One of the greatest things the Holy Spirit wants to do in the life of the believer is empower his or her witness. The word for power in this verse comes from the Greek word dunamis, from which we get the words dynamite, dynamic and dynamo.  God didn't give us the power of the Holy Spirit to feel something, but to accomplish something.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit's power acts like dynamite in our lives, blasting us with zeal, jolting us out of complancency, and motivating us to greater spiritual growth. At other times God's Spirit is like a dynamic, generating power that will help us live from day to day at a level we could not achieve on our own. We need to remember the encouraging words the apostle Paul gave to young Timothy:

2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
⁷For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.

Are you timid in your witness for Christ? Is it hard for you to speak up for what you believe? Then you need to tap in to that power he has made available to you through his Spirit. God's Holy Spirit will give you an added dimension of boldness, power and persuasiveness in your witness that you have never experienced before.

New Believer's Bible
Ps Greg Laurie

Crown - Chinese New Year Hawker's Bazaar

A Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year, to the readers who celebrate the Chinese New Year, which officially start on the 10th February for 2013 and the celebration goes on for 15 days. 2013 is the Year of the Snake according to the Chinese Zodiac.

Chinese New Year is not a holiday here in Australia, though it is celebrated among the Chinese and Vietnamese communities and enjoyed by the others in the community. The usual lion dance can be found happening at Melbourne's Chinatown and restaurants to usher in good fortunes.

This year we went to the Crown's Riverwalk to celebrate the New Year at their annual Hawkers' Bazaar, featuring traditional Asian food and merchandise stalls, cooking demonstrations and live entertainment. Also featured are the firework displays at night but we gave them the miss. The Crown's Hawker's Bazaar start on the 8th February - 10th February.

When we got to the Riverwalk, it was the food stalls that drawn our attention first on account of the aromatic smell that flowed from the many food stalls cooking. One in particular is the Lao Tuo Jia Restaurant stall serving lamb skewer. The stall itself was smoky, has two cooks one with a sweat towel around his neck, fanning and turning the skewers over the fire. Judging from the long line of people queuing up (that's a Melburnian thing to do) to buy some, it must be yummy! What's interesting also was the truck parked behind the stall that advertised ".... Cool Room Hire". I wonder.

A few stalls further is Little Nyonya, that not only serves Malaysian food but do so with a smile. All of them. They must be emphasising something about their food.

Fortunately it was not a very hot evening and as we were early, there wasn't a hugh crowd but I can see the crowd building up as the day goes by; the young, the old, casual and colourfully dressed, multi-cultural aspect of the city begin to show. Some were already sampling the food they got and I spy some feeding each other.

There were live entertainment on two stages and buskers along the river walk to keep the people happy and entertained. Some in the crowd unsuspectedly or voluntarily became part of the busker entertainers for the crowd.

At the time, the live stage entertainment was six ladies playing a traditional Chinese stringed instruments; a Guqin. From the looks of the instrument it is a difficult instrument to learn and play. My view only. It seems perfectly natural to the ladies playing.

Most stalls on display along the Riverwalk were colourful and have something of the traditional Chinese arts and crafts on display, though not all stalls. Those that may interest you as it did for us, are the Chinese New Year decorations, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese tea making, Chinese cooking and noodle making. There is even a stall for those interested in Feng Shui and fortune telling.

If you are looking for something to do tonight or for tomorrow, this is one place to be. Better decide soon, for the bazaar finishes tomorrow.

For other Chinese New Year happenings around the city, click here.

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Coolangatta - Rest and Recreation

This is the sight of the Gold Coast from the hotel balcony at Coolangatta.

We are at the last leg of our Queensland holiday, an overnight stay at Coolangatta, the southernmost suburb of the Gold Coast on the border with New South Wales. Coolangatta immediate neighbouring "Twin Town" Tweed Heads is in New South Wales.

The Gold Coast Airport, formerly known as Coolangatta Airport is just 5 minutes drive from the Coolangatta Beach and its accommodation and shopping district.

Coolangatta as an entry point is a great introduction to Queensland, if you stay long enough to have a closer look at it. However, like us, many would breeze it by on their way to Surfers Paradise or Broadbeach.

But if one were to stay, Coolangatta has much to offer. Click here, to check out a web-site promoting the city.

For more images of the place and its beaches, click here.

The Coolangatta Beach, white sand, picturesque scenery and said to have some of the Gold Coast's best surfing conditions.

With an abundance of interesting shops, al fresco restaurants, cafes, clubs, pubs, live entertainment, cinemas and beachfront markets, a walk along Coolangatta beach and its shopping district in the evening night is a must do activity.

To finish the evening, we had dinner at the Outback Jacks for some serious sizes burgers and steaks.

Your Presence Is Heaven - Isreal & New Breed

John 6:38-40 (NLT)
³⁸For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want. ³⁹And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day. ⁴⁰For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life--that I should raise them at the last day."

Ephesians 1:21-23 (NLT)
²¹Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come. ²²And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. ²³And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence.

Hebrews 10:19-22 (NLT)
¹⁹And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. ²⁰This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. ²¹And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's people, ²²let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Ephesians 3:12 (NLT)
¹²Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God's presence, assured of his glad welcome

Sunshine Coast - Underwater World

Mooloolaba is one of the larger cities along the Sunshine Coast and it is said the no trip to the Sunshine Coast is complete without visiting the Underwater World. Located at the Mooloolaba Wharf, UnderWater World is home to thousands of animals, including sharks, seals, turtles, stingrays, otters, sawfish, tropical fish and much, much more.

As we are already beach out after Harvey Bay and Fraser Island, we opted to explore the Underwater World. It is a multi-award winning all-weather tourist attraction which means the place is completely undercover and completely air conditioned, the perfect place to visit when it's hot outside.

It is certainly an alternative placeto spend some time with family, apart from being at the beach or shopping in town. The otter show and the seal show are very popular with the children.

If you want to, you can even have your photo taken with the seals or go behind the scenes to see how the seals and trainers prepare for the daily seal shows. Of course that will cost you a few more dollars on top of the entry fee.

The following are some of the photos of the other animals you can find in the place, like the rays as they glide in formation, over your head in the Ocean walk through. The Asian small-clawed otters are great to watch as they interact with each other in their home or see them clean their food.

Watch out for the 'Freshies', the freshwater crocodile which are endemic to Northern Australia.

However, it is the sights of living coral and all the colourful fish that swim amongst it, that I enjoy most.