Today is a public holiday because Malaysia beat Indonesia in the AFF! To the Malaysian team, Malaysia Boleh!
This will be my last post for this year. Tomorrow is the first day of the new year and also the first day of the next decade. I really believe that the next 10 years (2011 to 2020) will be a decade of power. As world events continue to stun and shock us, weather patterns continue to suffer upheavals, calamaties continue to increase worldwide, the power of God will increase in the church by leaps and bounds!
God is the source of all power in the universe. He lights up the heavens, gives the sun, the stars and the solar systems their lights and cause the planets to move on their axis. Jer 32:17 "Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and earth by Your great power. There is nothing too hard for you".
Ps 147:5 "Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite"
In 2011, I need the power of God to help me in the following 7 areas:
1. to witness for Him. "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of Jesus" Acts 4:33
2. to share in the sufferings of the gospel. "....do not be ashamed of the testimony of the our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings of the gospel according to the power of God" 2 Tim 1:8
3. to get wealth. "...for it is He who gives you power to get wealth..." Duet 8:18
4. to receive and pray for healing of others "....And the power of the Lord was present to heal them" Luke 5:17
5. to prepare myself for the return of the Lord. "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" Luke 1:17
6. to make the impossible possible "Ah Lord God! Behold you have made the heaves and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you"
Finally in keeping with the church theme for 2011 "Deep, strong, unshakeable" I need God's power to remain strong the Lord and in the power of His might.
If I forget all the prayer requests sent to me by different ones on their expectations/aspirations for next year, I will pray this for them, "Lord grant my brother and sister to always remain strong in You and in the power of Your might"!Eph 6:10
Blessed New Year!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
My spiritual GPS
On Monday team members of the church magazine were invited for dinner with Pastor and Chin Nee. After dinner, we all took turns to share about our walk with the Lord in 2010. During my sharing, I suddenly blurted out that "my morning devotion is my GPS". You see I was sharing about the morning devotion which my husband and I started during our 3-week holiday in England. As we could not make it to church during our holiday in England, we took turns to read aloud chapters of the Bible every morning using the Daily Bread. It suddenly dawned upon me during the sharing that I had been experiencing a kind of spiritual "GPS experience" everytime I begin the day after my morning devotion.
The memory of England is somehow connected with this GPS idea which the Spirit gave me because it was in Newcastle Upon Tyne that we discovered the wonder of this invention called the "GPS". With the rented KIA came a plug-in GPS which enabled us to travel to places we had never been before in our life or even imagine that we could ever go! With it, we even found my sister's house in Staindrop on our own without calling her for help! With the GPS, we found Holy Island on Lindisfarne, Anwick, Bramborough, Seahouses, Darlington, Durham, Edinburgh and a host of beautiful villages or midsummers that I had so longed to visit while watching "Midsummer Murders" (an Agatha Christie-like detective show) back home.
At one time, we tried to do away with the GPS thinking that we could surely find the way to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh. However we completely lost our way and landed way off the landmark!
It is interesting that before a GPS can be used, a little pop-up message will appear asking if we agree to abide by the terms and conditions of use. If we do, we have to tap the "Yes" box and all the manufacturer's guide will appear.
In the same way even before we can start tapping into our spiritual GPS, we need to tap the "Yes" box of the manufacturer's guide i.e the word of God! Without it, we might not be able to pick up the signals of the spiritual GPS that God had already installed in our hearts. He is the Holy Spirit, our friend forever and our everlasting guide.
Click "Yes" every morning/evening when you read the Bible and the Holy Spirit will begin to guide you throughout the day. Remember too that just as the natural gadget needs charging, our spiritual GPS also needs re-charging. So plug-in daily and enjoy Him, the precious precious Holy Spirit!
The memory of England is somehow connected with this GPS idea which the Spirit gave me because it was in Newcastle Upon Tyne that we discovered the wonder of this invention called the "GPS". With the rented KIA came a plug-in GPS which enabled us to travel to places we had never been before in our life or even imagine that we could ever go! With it, we even found my sister's house in Staindrop on our own without calling her for help! With the GPS, we found Holy Island on Lindisfarne, Anwick, Bramborough, Seahouses, Darlington, Durham, Edinburgh and a host of beautiful villages or midsummers that I had so longed to visit while watching "Midsummer Murders" (an Agatha Christie-like detective show) back home.
At one time, we tried to do away with the GPS thinking that we could surely find the way to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh. However we completely lost our way and landed way off the landmark!
It is interesting that before a GPS can be used, a little pop-up message will appear asking if we agree to abide by the terms and conditions of use. If we do, we have to tap the "Yes" box and all the manufacturer's guide will appear.
In the same way even before we can start tapping into our spiritual GPS, we need to tap the "Yes" box of the manufacturer's guide i.e the word of God! Without it, we might not be able to pick up the signals of the spiritual GPS that God had already installed in our hearts. He is the Holy Spirit, our friend forever and our everlasting guide.
Click "Yes" every morning/evening when you read the Bible and the Holy Spirit will begin to guide you throughout the day. Remember too that just as the natural gadget needs charging, our spiritual GPS also needs re-charging. So plug-in daily and enjoy Him, the precious precious Holy Spirit!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Asking confidently
Yesterday while preparing for the prayer meeting, I went through all the scriptures I could find on the will of God.
The reason was that I had been so moved by this Bible verse that I had read during one of my devotions. 1 John 5:14-15 "Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us..." Wow! Just reading this gave me such an assurance that my prayers are being heard. But the condition is: my prayers have to be in accordance with His will. I really wanted to learn how to pray prayers that would be heard by God, with full assurance in my heart!
I searched the scriptures as to what I can ask in prayer that would be in accordance with His will. O the beauty of scriptures, one explains the other so clearly! I like 2 Peter 3:9 which states that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Asking for souls is certainly according to God's will!
The church has been praying for souls for the past few months in preparation for Christmas. We have written the names of our friends and family members and put them into a transparent vase. During our prayer meetings, we actually took out the names and covered them with prayer over and over again!
The truth is come every Christmas, I feel kind of "pressured" to invite friends for the evangelistic events. I have already exhausted invitations to all my office friends. More often than not they have turned me down. As for my family members, they are either outstation or overseas.
However God is really good to me. He heard my prayers for an opportunity to be able to invite someone for the Christmas events. During one of the public holiday, while exercising with my husband, I got to know a young lady with a small child. She happened to stay in my neighbourhood. I memorized her address and dropped a flyer in her post box later in the day. Praise the Lord, she called me a few weeks later to inform me that she would like to attend the Children's Church party with her daughter!
Truly, if we ask anything according to His will, we know that He hears us and if we know that He hears us, we have the petitions that we have asked of Him!
The reason was that I had been so moved by this Bible verse that I had read during one of my devotions. 1 John 5:14-15 "Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us..." Wow! Just reading this gave me such an assurance that my prayers are being heard. But the condition is: my prayers have to be in accordance with His will. I really wanted to learn how to pray prayers that would be heard by God, with full assurance in my heart!
I searched the scriptures as to what I can ask in prayer that would be in accordance with His will. O the beauty of scriptures, one explains the other so clearly! I like 2 Peter 3:9 which states that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Asking for souls is certainly according to God's will!
The church has been praying for souls for the past few months in preparation for Christmas. We have written the names of our friends and family members and put them into a transparent vase. During our prayer meetings, we actually took out the names and covered them with prayer over and over again!
The truth is come every Christmas, I feel kind of "pressured" to invite friends for the evangelistic events. I have already exhausted invitations to all my office friends. More often than not they have turned me down. As for my family members, they are either outstation or overseas.
However God is really good to me. He heard my prayers for an opportunity to be able to invite someone for the Christmas events. During one of the public holiday, while exercising with my husband, I got to know a young lady with a small child. She happened to stay in my neighbourhood. I memorized her address and dropped a flyer in her post box later in the day. Praise the Lord, she called me a few weeks later to inform me that she would like to attend the Children's Church party with her daughter!
Truly, if we ask anything according to His will, we know that He hears us and if we know that He hears us, we have the petitions that we have asked of Him!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
About Tim and Puspakom
About a month ago, my husband sent his car for an engine 'transplant'. His more than 10 year old car had to be given a new engine as it was constantly overheating and stopping in the middle of nowhere. However the downside was that the mechanic who did the job did not register the new engine and chasis no for him. Instead he asked my husband to do it himself even though he charged my husband a bomb for the new engine!
The process was that the car had first to be sent to Puspakom (an agency that will inspect cars for roadworthiness) before the new nos could be registered with the Road Transport Department. The RTD will then issue a new 'birth certificate' for the car with the new engine and chasis nos endorsed on the registration car. Tim sent the car to Puspakom for testing twice. Each time, he had to wait for half a day due to the long queue and each time, the car failed the test. He became so frustrated and felt tempted to give some money to the tester in order to get a 'pass' for the car (that was what his mechanic advised him to do). Apparently that was what people were doing just to get a 'pass' for their cars and to avoid having to go to Puspakom again and again....
We prayed about this matter on the morning of the third test and the Lord spoke to us in Heb 11:1 that faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. That day was a day of victory for Tim as the tester passed the car for roadworthiness without him having to give any 'kopi' money (bribe)!
Truly if we choose to honor the Lord, He will work all things out for us! No need 'kopi' money! Amen!
The process was that the car had first to be sent to Puspakom (an agency that will inspect cars for roadworthiness) before the new nos could be registered with the Road Transport Department. The RTD will then issue a new 'birth certificate' for the car with the new engine and chasis nos endorsed on the registration car. Tim sent the car to Puspakom for testing twice. Each time, he had to wait for half a day due to the long queue and each time, the car failed the test. He became so frustrated and felt tempted to give some money to the tester in order to get a 'pass' for the car (that was what his mechanic advised him to do). Apparently that was what people were doing just to get a 'pass' for their cars and to avoid having to go to Puspakom again and again....
We prayed about this matter on the morning of the third test and the Lord spoke to us in Heb 11:1 that faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. That day was a day of victory for Tim as the tester passed the car for roadworthiness without him having to give any 'kopi' money (bribe)!
Truly if we choose to honor the Lord, He will work all things out for us! No need 'kopi' money! Amen!
Friday, November 19, 2010
A life transformed - together with others
Perhaps the most wonderful thing about our Christian walk is the friends that God has blessed us with, They are the brothers and sisters who make up our new 'family' in Christ. One of my life group members shared with me recently that she kept very much to herself before becoming a Christian but after coming to Jesus she felt that she had found a new family. Her 2 younger children had no other social activity except going for children's church on Sunday and her circle of friends were limited to only one or two people.
Together we go for Sat morning prayers, organize life group dinners and plan activities for the life group. What a blessing to have friends in the Body of Christ!
Peter, when he received the blessing of the huge catch, did not retain the blessing for himself. He called to his "partners" in the other boat to come and help. They helped themselves to the catch and filled up their boat as well causing both boats to sink! When the blessings of God overflow in our lives, we cannot help but share them with our brothers and sisters in church.
Not only do we share the physical and spiritual blessings, we also share ministry responsibilities. For this reason, our church requires every ministry (ideally) to have a leader, assistant leader and a ministry team. Every life group should also have a leader, an assistant and a core group. Members also partner with each other to reach out. It had been so much easier for us to minister to Shalini's family as a group rather then singly as together our resources are multiplied.
Luke 5:9-10 "For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and also were James and John...who were partners with Simon. So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him".
Together they followed Jesus. When our lives are touched by the Lord, our attitudes will be transformed, our generosity will naturally abound and we are eager to include others in the blessed overflow!
A life transformed and only move forward and grow from glory to glory when we partner with many others in the pursuit of forsaking all (setting our hearts apart for God) and following Him!
Together we go for Sat morning prayers, organize life group dinners and plan activities for the life group. What a blessing to have friends in the Body of Christ!
Peter, when he received the blessing of the huge catch, did not retain the blessing for himself. He called to his "partners" in the other boat to come and help. They helped themselves to the catch and filled up their boat as well causing both boats to sink! When the blessings of God overflow in our lives, we cannot help but share them with our brothers and sisters in church.
Not only do we share the physical and spiritual blessings, we also share ministry responsibilities. For this reason, our church requires every ministry (ideally) to have a leader, assistant leader and a ministry team. Every life group should also have a leader, an assistant and a core group. Members also partner with each other to reach out. It had been so much easier for us to minister to Shalini's family as a group rather then singly as together our resources are multiplied.
Luke 5:9-10 "For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and also were James and John...who were partners with Simon. So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him".
Together they followed Jesus. When our lives are touched by the Lord, our attitudes will be transformed, our generosity will naturally abound and we are eager to include others in the blessed overflow!
A life transformed and only move forward and grow from glory to glory when we partner with many others in the pursuit of forsaking all (setting our hearts apart for God) and following Him!
A life transformed - a great revelation
Simple fishermen leading a simple life, working at the shores of Galilee, comes face to face with Jesus, the one Person in the universe who has the ability to transform lives!
A transformed life can only begin with a great revelation of our own heart condition. Peter, seeing the huge catch, fell on his knees saying "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" Not only did Peter acknowledge that he was sinful, he addressed Jesus as Lord. Only when we come to see Jesus as Lord can we enter into the full realization of our sins. I know that if I fail to read the Bible, to pray, to attend church or to fellowship for a season, my heart slowly becomes numb to sin and cold towards the things of God. I can understand why Jesus said that He would rather have me hot or cold and not lukewarm. To be lukewarm is to be ignorant of the wretched state of my own heart.
Holding up God's word as a mirror every morning, I see my sins magnified. I see the wrong heart atittudes that I adopt toward certain people or circumstances, I see the crookedness and the wickedness in my spirit exposed as clear as day. God's word is indeed like a clear mirror showing up every spot, every wrinkle, every blemish and 'pimple' in my heart.
Like Peter when I see the way the Lord looks at me in His word, I squirm in the spotlight of His search, I cry "Have mercy on me, O Lord for I am full of sin and wickedness!"
A transformed life can only begin with a great revelation of our own heart condition. Peter, seeing the huge catch, fell on his knees saying "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" Not only did Peter acknowledge that he was sinful, he addressed Jesus as Lord. Only when we come to see Jesus as Lord can we enter into the full realization of our sins. I know that if I fail to read the Bible, to pray, to attend church or to fellowship for a season, my heart slowly becomes numb to sin and cold towards the things of God. I can understand why Jesus said that He would rather have me hot or cold and not lukewarm. To be lukewarm is to be ignorant of the wretched state of my own heart.
Holding up God's word as a mirror every morning, I see my sins magnified. I see the wrong heart atittudes that I adopt toward certain people or circumstances, I see the crookedness and the wickedness in my spirit exposed as clear as day. God's word is indeed like a clear mirror showing up every spot, every wrinkle, every blemish and 'pimple' in my heart.
Like Peter when I see the way the Lord looks at me in His word, I squirm in the spotlight of His search, I cry "Have mercy on me, O Lord for I am full of sin and wickedness!"
A life transformed - a personal encounter & an act of faith
Last Friday, I had printed out a message to share with the life group (there were no sermon notes available as pastor and chin nee were away), however the Lord asked me instead to teach on Luke 5. It was really an inspiring discussion because every time I hear the members share, the flow of revelation is really wonderful.
Luke 5:1-11 is the account of Jesus calling Peter, James and John, simple fishermen to a different life. I call it "A life transformed". It intrigued me to read in verse 2 that they were "washing their nets". They did not seem to be part of the crowd, they were just honest, hardworking fishermen seeking to eke out a living through hard work. Probably they were half ears, half hard at work washing their nets. They were also very tired, having worked all night catching fish. In the midst of the distractions of the crowd and the activities of packing up their equipment, Jesus actually picked Peter out of the many people and spoke to him directly, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch". Peter had a personal encounter with Jesus on the shores of Galilee. Not only did Jesus borrowed his boat for his ministry, Jesus also addressed him personally!
Indeed a "a transformed life" begins with a personal encounter with the one who transforms our life, the Transformer of men,the Lord Himself!
To experience a transformed life, I realize that I would also need to act in faith, move in faith, speak in faith. An act of faith precedes a life transformed.
Despite toiling all night and feeling very tired due to lack of sleep, Peter did not object when Jesus asked him to cast down his nets. Although he expressed how he felt to Jesus, he obeyed "nevertheless at your word, I will let down the net". Isn't this a beautiful illustration of a man who did not allow his feelings to overcome the desire of the Lord? Ever so often, I allow my feelings to get the better of me...I wonder how many times I have said to the Lord "but I am feeling so angry, so upset, so depressed" and how many times I have concluded my complaints with "nevertheless I will learn to give thanks and look on the bright side of things". Much more the former than the latter, I am ashamed to say.....
For a long time, I had felt so angry, so bitter with my boss for sending me 'nasty' emails, setting unreasonable deadlines for work assignments, scolding me in ways that were just so humiliating.....until I decided to do what the Lord wanted me to do, to serve her like serving the Lord Himself. I decided as an act of will to humble myself and eat the humble pie in my dealings with her, to swallow my pride, to yield in humility, to shut up and let her scold me, to bless her and thank the Lord for her in my prayers. Things have changed so much in the office. Today I cannot remember all the bad things that happened between us...all I know now is that I respect her as my superior and that I have learnt so much from her.
A life transformed begins with a "A personal encounter with the Lord" and "An act of faith". All who desire to be transformed will need to hear about the love of God and to exercise faith to appropriate the love for himself!
Luke 5:1-11 is the account of Jesus calling Peter, James and John, simple fishermen to a different life. I call it "A life transformed". It intrigued me to read in verse 2 that they were "washing their nets". They did not seem to be part of the crowd, they were just honest, hardworking fishermen seeking to eke out a living through hard work. Probably they were half ears, half hard at work washing their nets. They were also very tired, having worked all night catching fish. In the midst of the distractions of the crowd and the activities of packing up their equipment, Jesus actually picked Peter out of the many people and spoke to him directly, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch". Peter had a personal encounter with Jesus on the shores of Galilee. Not only did Jesus borrowed his boat for his ministry, Jesus also addressed him personally!
Indeed a "a transformed life" begins with a personal encounter with the one who transforms our life, the Transformer of men,the Lord Himself!
To experience a transformed life, I realize that I would also need to act in faith, move in faith, speak in faith. An act of faith precedes a life transformed.
Despite toiling all night and feeling very tired due to lack of sleep, Peter did not object when Jesus asked him to cast down his nets. Although he expressed how he felt to Jesus, he obeyed "nevertheless at your word, I will let down the net". Isn't this a beautiful illustration of a man who did not allow his feelings to overcome the desire of the Lord? Ever so often, I allow my feelings to get the better of me...I wonder how many times I have said to the Lord "but I am feeling so angry, so upset, so depressed" and how many times I have concluded my complaints with "nevertheless I will learn to give thanks and look on the bright side of things". Much more the former than the latter, I am ashamed to say.....
For a long time, I had felt so angry, so bitter with my boss for sending me 'nasty' emails, setting unreasonable deadlines for work assignments, scolding me in ways that were just so humiliating.....until I decided to do what the Lord wanted me to do, to serve her like serving the Lord Himself. I decided as an act of will to humble myself and eat the humble pie in my dealings with her, to swallow my pride, to yield in humility, to shut up and let her scold me, to bless her and thank the Lord for her in my prayers. Things have changed so much in the office. Today I cannot remember all the bad things that happened between us...all I know now is that I respect her as my superior and that I have learnt so much from her.
A life transformed begins with a "A personal encounter with the Lord" and "An act of faith". All who desire to be transformed will need to hear about the love of God and to exercise faith to appropriate the love for himself!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
About Shalini
There is also another family in our life group. Shalini and sisters and an invalid mum lived on the edge of poverty. Their father,a taxi driver and the sole breadwinner of the family died of pneumonia when Shalini was 19. Some relatives attended the funeral, gave some money and dissapeared from their lives. If not because of some Christian friends, the family would really have been in dire straits or chased out of their home. A local church helped them with foodstuff and monthly love offering (later Sunbeam and our church stepped in). Our life group also contributed cash and kind. Lydia's kind friends also visited her home, repaired the lights and toilet, bought some provisions and painted the house. Through the kindness of some members of our life group, the last few payments for her house instalments were also settled.
Shalini with a not so good Form 5 qualification drifted from job to job. Through fervent prayers, she ended up with a good job at a local bank near her house! In fact the bank branch was just below our church! Since the first day at work, God had been with her meet and helped her with all her sales targets. Not only that, she was able to pass all her banking exams (even after having to re-take some of the papers). God was truly moving in her life. I could see God's love, mercy and compassion upon her....4 sisters with ages ranging from 13 to 20 and a mother who had not been able to move much for the last 6 years due to a bad stroke, Shalini had done a great job taking care of her family and honoring her mum.
When I think of her love and devotion to her mum and the sacrifice of her youth for her other sisters so that they could have a better life, I am inspired always to be a better daughter to my mother and a better mother to my children!
Today I visited her and I could see that her mum was getting better. Shalini told me that her mum could now stand up and take a few steps. A great breakthrough considering that she had been unable to do so for the last 6 years! I prayed for her and encouraged Maureen with the verse in Heb 11:1 "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen". I encouraged her to have faith in God in her total and complete healing. Truly one day, she will be able to walk again and climb the few flight of steps to our church and share her healing testimony with others!
Amen! Amen!
Shalini with a not so good Form 5 qualification drifted from job to job. Through fervent prayers, she ended up with a good job at a local bank near her house! In fact the bank branch was just below our church! Since the first day at work, God had been with her meet and helped her with all her sales targets. Not only that, she was able to pass all her banking exams (even after having to re-take some of the papers). God was truly moving in her life. I could see God's love, mercy and compassion upon her....4 sisters with ages ranging from 13 to 20 and a mother who had not been able to move much for the last 6 years due to a bad stroke, Shalini had done a great job taking care of her family and honoring her mum.
When I think of her love and devotion to her mum and the sacrifice of her youth for her other sisters so that they could have a better life, I am inspired always to be a better daughter to my mother and a better mother to my children!
Today I visited her and I could see that her mum was getting better. Shalini told me that her mum could now stand up and take a few steps. A great breakthrough considering that she had been unable to do so for the last 6 years! I prayed for her and encouraged Maureen with the verse in Heb 11:1 "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen". I encouraged her to have faith in God in her total and complete healing. Truly one day, she will be able to walk again and climb the few flight of steps to our church and share her healing testimony with others!
Amen! Amen!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
About Alvin
There is a brother in our life group, Francis who is really on fire of God. He is really such an encouragement to us. He had gone on a 40 fast drinking water only!
Well, he shared with us that an old friend of his by the name of Alvin had contemplated suicide recently. Suddenly something moved Alvin to check his names cards for that someone he could call for help. Francis's name card fell out 3 times and Alvin decided to call him (a sign from God?) Francis brought him to see Pastor and Alvin accepted Jesus.
Alvin started to shared his financial needs. He owed the "Ah Long" a lot of money (that's the reason for the contemplated suicide). After coming to Christ, God helped Alvin solved his problems one by one. We also saw Alvin attending church regularly. One of the reasons Alvin had financial needs was due to his kidney condition. He suffered from kidney failure and had to go for dialysis 3 times weekly. When out of funds, he had to borrow to pay for the treatments.
Somehow God moved us to begin praying for him to receive a creative miracle i.e. new kidneys so that dialysis will no longer be necessary. The verse in Heb 11:1 really encouraged us to pray all the more fervently for him, "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen" Every life group meeting, we remembered him before the Lord. Tim and I also prayed for him during our family altar.
Recently we heard from Francis that from 3 times a week treatments, the dialysis had been reduced to 2 times a week and as recent as last Friday, he had stopped going all together! Truly faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen! The exercise of faith in God always begins with us approaching God in confident prayers!
Well, he shared with us that an old friend of his by the name of Alvin had contemplated suicide recently. Suddenly something moved Alvin to check his names cards for that someone he could call for help. Francis's name card fell out 3 times and Alvin decided to call him (a sign from God?) Francis brought him to see Pastor and Alvin accepted Jesus.
Alvin started to shared his financial needs. He owed the "Ah Long" a lot of money (that's the reason for the contemplated suicide). After coming to Christ, God helped Alvin solved his problems one by one. We also saw Alvin attending church regularly. One of the reasons Alvin had financial needs was due to his kidney condition. He suffered from kidney failure and had to go for dialysis 3 times weekly. When out of funds, he had to borrow to pay for the treatments.
Somehow God moved us to begin praying for him to receive a creative miracle i.e. new kidneys so that dialysis will no longer be necessary. The verse in Heb 11:1 really encouraged us to pray all the more fervently for him, "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen" Every life group meeting, we remembered him before the Lord. Tim and I also prayed for him during our family altar.
Recently we heard from Francis that from 3 times a week treatments, the dialysis had been reduced to 2 times a week and as recent as last Friday, he had stopped going all together! Truly faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen! The exercise of faith in God always begins with us approaching God in confident prayers!
About my clerks
The other day during our devotion time, the Lord spoke to my husband and me on faith. Heb 11:1 "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen" The scripture really spoke to us and I meditated on it all day long.
Well, a few things actually happened. I had hoped for something to happen in my office concerning some of my clerks. Not only were they lazy, they gossiped, slept in the office(sometimes snoring very loudly) and sometimes go 'missing' from their place. I was frustrated as my boss had put me in charge of them yet I felt that they were the 'bosses' and not me.
Well, I asked the intercessory group to pray for me and that Monday following the prayers, one of them accidentally sent me a message she had intended for the other girl. I got a shock when I read the message. She had not only called me names, she also called my boss names. To cut a long story short, she got a warning letter from HR for what she did. Well, it really shook her up because she had not expected me to report her.
The other clerk had also started to change after the Sunday prayers (even before the incident). She began approaching me on Monday (yes,there was some sort of a cold war between us) and started talking to me about the work assigned to her. I had been assigning work to her via email as I wanted to keep records of the work given to her and to check whether they had been done or not. I was actually relieved that our relationship had been restored. After the email incident, she became even more cooperative!
This was what I had hoped for (that they will know who is the 'boss' and not try to boss me around) and it had actually happened! There is one precious thing I learnt from all this. God's word is true and it never fails. In order to exercise the effective working of His word, there's nothing like praying the word through! The exercise of our faith begins with prayer!
Well, a few things actually happened. I had hoped for something to happen in my office concerning some of my clerks. Not only were they lazy, they gossiped, slept in the office(sometimes snoring very loudly) and sometimes go 'missing' from their place. I was frustrated as my boss had put me in charge of them yet I felt that they were the 'bosses' and not me.
Well, I asked the intercessory group to pray for me and that Monday following the prayers, one of them accidentally sent me a message she had intended for the other girl. I got a shock when I read the message. She had not only called me names, she also called my boss names. To cut a long story short, she got a warning letter from HR for what she did. Well, it really shook her up because she had not expected me to report her.
The other clerk had also started to change after the Sunday prayers (even before the incident). She began approaching me on Monday (yes,there was some sort of a cold war between us) and started talking to me about the work assigned to her. I had been assigning work to her via email as I wanted to keep records of the work given to her and to check whether they had been done or not. I was actually relieved that our relationship had been restored. After the email incident, she became even more cooperative!
This was what I had hoped for (that they will know who is the 'boss' and not try to boss me around) and it had actually happened! There is one precious thing I learnt from all this. God's word is true and it never fails. In order to exercise the effective working of His word, there's nothing like praying the word through! The exercise of our faith begins with prayer!
Two mighty rivers
Last Sunday during pre-prayer in church, I saw this vision of 2 mighty rivers flowing in between the lanes seperating the rows of seats. I was reminded of Rev 22:1-2 "Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations" I felt that that morning the river of God was flowing mightily in the church in two mighty streams.
I responded to the message and pastor Bernard prophesied on me. He said he saw fire on me while I was leading prayer. He said that I had been like Mary and that I had chosen the good part. I have been interceding, now God wants to move me into the realm of praise and worship. Indeed it has been my desire, since I signed up for the guitar class to be able to intermingle worship with intercession. Truly God knows my heart!
After the service, the love of God continued to minister to me. I can really sense His arms envelope me, His tender mercies comforting me, His peace calming me and His lovingkindness surrounding me. The Lord has been reminding me morning by morning to update my blog....so here I am...welcome back to me!
I responded to the message and pastor Bernard prophesied on me. He said he saw fire on me while I was leading prayer. He said that I had been like Mary and that I had chosen the good part. I have been interceding, now God wants to move me into the realm of praise and worship. Indeed it has been my desire, since I signed up for the guitar class to be able to intermingle worship with intercession. Truly God knows my heart!
After the service, the love of God continued to minister to me. I can really sense His arms envelope me, His tender mercies comforting me, His peace calming me and His lovingkindness surrounding me. The Lord has been reminding me morning by morning to update my blog....so here I am...welcome back to me!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Face to Face with God - Letting God love us with His AAAAAA love
Next week I will be attending the Malaysian Cell Church Conference at DUMC so I may not be able to update my blog....I have decided to post 2 entries today....
My favourite Bible study website must be www.biblestudyplanet.com. Not that I know many Bible study blogs...in fact, this is probably the only one I know other than biblegateway.com. My dear sister Lydia introduced me to this website when our life group started the 4/14 life group within our life group. The 4/14 group was inspired by a message that John Robb had shared with us in church about the need to minister to and raise up the 4/14 generation i.e. young people age 4 to 14. Sister Lydia suggested that we download the Bible studies from this website to teach the children in our life group. Not only did I find the Bible studies for this age group useful, I found that there were some practical and easy to remember Bible teachings and devotions that really ministered to me.
I am going to adapt one of the Bibe lesson for this blog post called "Letting God love us with His AAAAAA love". Before I do that let me tell you about how I got the inspiration for the title to this blog. It came from Pastor Vernon Falls. Pastor Vernon must be one of the most inspiring speaker I have heard. His favourite phrase is that God has blessed us with the AAAAAAAAAA anointing, the AAAAAAAAAAA favour and the AAAAAAAAAA abundance! Each time I hear him speak, my faith lifts and I can believe that with God nothing is impossible!
There is this wonderful lesson in Biblegateway about the love of God which is simply AAAAAA. It is the love of God which is Atoning, Adopting, Accepting, Assuring, Able to set us Apart and simply Amazing!
Unlike the AAA batteries that we use for our walkman or camera, the AAAAAA love of God is a never-ending supply...it goes on and on as long as you and I are 'plugged' to Him!
This type of love cannot be expressed by human beings. We are not capable of such AAAAAA love as our natural human love has its limitations. But God's love is deep and wide and cannot be grasped with human understanding....we can only experience it with the help of the Holy Spirit....
The AAAAAA love of God begins with the ATONING LOVE.
God's atoning love for us is demonstrated through Jesus, while we were yet sinners He died for us. His atoning love for us opens the door to all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places reserved for us by God himself through the foundation of the world.
John 3:16-17 "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but in order that the world may be saved through Him"
The moment we invite Jesus into our heart, His atoning love begins to operate in our lives! If we continue in that atoning love, we will enter into a personal, loving relationship with God and there will be available to us all the spiritual blessings promised to those who believe in Christ!
Let us continue to let God love us with His ADOPTING LOVE. God's adopting love brings us into a relationship with Him where we can call Him Father! Which religion in the world allows us to call the Supreme Being and the Creator of heaven and earth Father God? The longer we spend time with God, the more we realise that God does not want us to be alone in our walk with Him. He has put us into a family....a family of God, the local church where He has called us to be planted and to grow...
Rom 8:15 "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"
An adopted son is in the same position as one born naturally into a family. He is entitled to inherit all his father's riches...the Father's riches include salvation, strength, hope, peace, joy, comfort, providence, fellowship and so much more!
The more we pray, the more we realize that God's love is also an ACCEPTING LOVE. We have all sinned and fallen short of the the glory of God but we are justified by our faith in Christ Jesus. In Christ and through Christ alone, we stand accepted in the Beloved! Rom 3:23-25. God accepts us warts and all, irregardless of our background and our troubled past. God accepts us whether we are beautiful or ugly, fat or thin, dark or fair, smart or not so smart....our Father is no respecter of persons, He loves all who come to Him through Christ Jesus.
Let us also allow God to love us with an ASSURING LOVE. If God is for us who can be against us. In Christ we are set free from guilt and condemnation. His love assures us that He loves and nothing will seperate us from Him. Rom 8:38 "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth,nor any other created thing shall be able to seperate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord"
The more we stand face to face with God, the more God will reveal to us that He is certainly ABLE TO SET US APART with His precious sanctifing love. God's love is able to sanctify us in 2 ways, positionally and progressively. In terms of position we are sactified the moment we come to Christ. Heb 10:10 "We have been sanctified through the offering fo the body of Jesus Christ once and for all"
God's love is also able to sanctify us progressively throughout our Christian lives. Progressive sanctification is the process of dying to sin and lving for Christ to become more and more like Him each day. Its about producing the fruit of the Spirit and not to indulge in the works of the flesh. Gal 5:19-23
God's sanctifying love sets us apart for His own special plans.
Finally being face to face with God is to experience the most AMAZING LOVE of all times. It endures from generation to generation, it is His eternal promise to be with us no matter where we are and no matter where we are going through. It is as God's says "I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will be with you to the ends of the age". This amazing love and amazing grace will eventually bring us into eternal glory.
"Beloved, we are God's children, now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know when He appears we will be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is" 1 John 3:1-2.
Throughout our lives on this earth, we will wrestle with sin, struggle with temptation, face all kinds of challenges, encounter trials, testings and tribulations, we will cry, we will mourn and we will weep....but the day will come when all tears will be wiped away from our eyes when the good work that God begins in us will be completed. When we go to be with the Lord forever, our sinful nature will be left behind and we will be like Him, and with Him, forever!
Rev 21:4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be more pain, for the former things have passed away"
O Lord give us the grace and favor to experience all the different aspects of your AAAAAA love!
My favourite Bible study website must be www.biblestudyplanet.com. Not that I know many Bible study blogs...in fact, this is probably the only one I know other than biblegateway.com. My dear sister Lydia introduced me to this website when our life group started the 4/14 life group within our life group. The 4/14 group was inspired by a message that John Robb had shared with us in church about the need to minister to and raise up the 4/14 generation i.e. young people age 4 to 14. Sister Lydia suggested that we download the Bible studies from this website to teach the children in our life group. Not only did I find the Bible studies for this age group useful, I found that there were some practical and easy to remember Bible teachings and devotions that really ministered to me.
I am going to adapt one of the Bibe lesson for this blog post called "Letting God love us with His AAAAAA love". Before I do that let me tell you about how I got the inspiration for the title to this blog. It came from Pastor Vernon Falls. Pastor Vernon must be one of the most inspiring speaker I have heard. His favourite phrase is that God has blessed us with the AAAAAAAAAA anointing, the AAAAAAAAAAA favour and the AAAAAAAAAA abundance! Each time I hear him speak, my faith lifts and I can believe that with God nothing is impossible!
There is this wonderful lesson in Biblegateway about the love of God which is simply AAAAAA. It is the love of God which is Atoning, Adopting, Accepting, Assuring, Able to set us Apart and simply Amazing!
Unlike the AAA batteries that we use for our walkman or camera, the AAAAAA love of God is a never-ending supply...it goes on and on as long as you and I are 'plugged' to Him!
This type of love cannot be expressed by human beings. We are not capable of such AAAAAA love as our natural human love has its limitations. But God's love is deep and wide and cannot be grasped with human understanding....we can only experience it with the help of the Holy Spirit....
The AAAAAA love of God begins with the ATONING LOVE.
God's atoning love for us is demonstrated through Jesus, while we were yet sinners He died for us. His atoning love for us opens the door to all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places reserved for us by God himself through the foundation of the world.
John 3:16-17 "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but in order that the world may be saved through Him"
The moment we invite Jesus into our heart, His atoning love begins to operate in our lives! If we continue in that atoning love, we will enter into a personal, loving relationship with God and there will be available to us all the spiritual blessings promised to those who believe in Christ!
Let us continue to let God love us with His ADOPTING LOVE. God's adopting love brings us into a relationship with Him where we can call Him Father! Which religion in the world allows us to call the Supreme Being and the Creator of heaven and earth Father God? The longer we spend time with God, the more we realise that God does not want us to be alone in our walk with Him. He has put us into a family....a family of God, the local church where He has called us to be planted and to grow...
Rom 8:15 "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"
An adopted son is in the same position as one born naturally into a family. He is entitled to inherit all his father's riches...the Father's riches include salvation, strength, hope, peace, joy, comfort, providence, fellowship and so much more!
The more we pray, the more we realize that God's love is also an ACCEPTING LOVE. We have all sinned and fallen short of the the glory of God but we are justified by our faith in Christ Jesus. In Christ and through Christ alone, we stand accepted in the Beloved! Rom 3:23-25. God accepts us warts and all, irregardless of our background and our troubled past. God accepts us whether we are beautiful or ugly, fat or thin, dark or fair, smart or not so smart....our Father is no respecter of persons, He loves all who come to Him through Christ Jesus.
Let us also allow God to love us with an ASSURING LOVE. If God is for us who can be against us. In Christ we are set free from guilt and condemnation. His love assures us that He loves and nothing will seperate us from Him. Rom 8:38 "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth,nor any other created thing shall be able to seperate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord"
The more we stand face to face with God, the more God will reveal to us that He is certainly ABLE TO SET US APART with His precious sanctifing love. God's love is able to sanctify us in 2 ways, positionally and progressively. In terms of position we are sactified the moment we come to Christ. Heb 10:10 "We have been sanctified through the offering fo the body of Jesus Christ once and for all"
God's love is also able to sanctify us progressively throughout our Christian lives. Progressive sanctification is the process of dying to sin and lving for Christ to become more and more like Him each day. Its about producing the fruit of the Spirit and not to indulge in the works of the flesh. Gal 5:19-23
God's sanctifying love sets us apart for His own special plans.
Finally being face to face with God is to experience the most AMAZING LOVE of all times. It endures from generation to generation, it is His eternal promise to be with us no matter where we are and no matter where we are going through. It is as God's says "I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will be with you to the ends of the age". This amazing love and amazing grace will eventually bring us into eternal glory.
"Beloved, we are God's children, now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know when He appears we will be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is" 1 John 3:1-2.
Throughout our lives on this earth, we will wrestle with sin, struggle with temptation, face all kinds of challenges, encounter trials, testings and tribulations, we will cry, we will mourn and we will weep....but the day will come when all tears will be wiped away from our eyes when the good work that God begins in us will be completed. When we go to be with the Lord forever, our sinful nature will be left behind and we will be like Him, and with Him, forever!
Rev 21:4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be more pain, for the former things have passed away"
O Lord give us the grace and favor to experience all the different aspects of your AAAAAA love!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Face to Face with God - Letting God love us (John the Apostle)
Before I share on this, I just want to share the testimony of a dear brother in our life group who is really on fire for God. Not only does he take time to travel all the way to Gohtong Jaya on Wed to hold a Bible study for a small group of Chinese speaking believers, he will also visit the sick and the needy in the hospital. Last Friday, during our life group (Tim and I run a small life group called Canaanland life group in our church), he shared that he ministered to an elderly man in the hospital. Apparently the old man complained that no one visited him, so our Bro. Francis decided to visit him and even bought him food upon request such as bak kut teh. The old man was very touched by this gesture and accepted Christ. During the last visit, Bro. Francis was surprised to learn that the old man had died....thank God for leading our dear brother to witness to elderly gentleman before he died.
What an encouraging testimony! Through this I am reminded that I too must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to allow Him to lead me to share the gospel whenever the opportunity arise as it could determine the destiny of the person concerned.
Well, I have been waiting the whole week upon the Lord on this topic of letting God love us. To let God love us and to love God is like two sides of a coin. Sometimes its not easy to love God especially when we may feel that God is far far away or that He has rejected us because of a sin/wrong thought/past mistakes. Many times in my own spiritual walk I had felt as though God had deserted me or that He did not want to fellowship with me anymore. These are times when I had to just sit in His presence and call out to Him from my innermost being for a touch from Him to revive me.
During those times, I had to practice 'full and frank disclosure' of my spiritual condition with Him. In the bank, where I work 'full and frank disclosure' is a popular management phrase meaning that even if it may cost us our increment/bonus or our popularity, we had to be 'brutally frank' with our management concerning the problems we face at work (part of my job is to handle legal cases against the bank). I had to assess the legal position of the bank and advice management whether it is worthwhile to fight out the case or to hand out the olive branch to the opposing side.
John was one disciple who knew how to let Jesus loved Him. In fact he called himself "the disciple Jesus loved". If anyone knew how to let God loved Him, it was John. He was sensitive to Jesus's words and actions. The Bible tells us in John 13:23that he leaned on Jesus' bosom during the last supper. In terms of posture and position, he was close to the Lord. In fact he was so close to the Lord that I believe he knew who the betrayer would be. When Peter asked John to ask Jesus who he was talking about, Jesus named Judas to John in a soft voice meant for his ears only. John knew the Lord's destiny, that he had to go to the Cross....
At the Cross, John stood with Mary and Jesus seeing "the disciple whom He loved standing by" said to him "Behold your mother" and to Mary, Jesus said concerning Joh "Behold your son!"
Jesus knew John fully and loved him fully. John was not a perfect person. Bible tells us that he and James (his brother) wanted to call down fire from heaven on a village that had refused to acknowledge Jesus. Not only did he struggled with rashness and impatience, he also had to deal with spiritual pride. He was one of those who asked for a special place in God's kingdom.
To let God love us is to be 'brutally honest' about ourselves with God. It is to tell God the things we see in ourselves that we dislike so much but we seem to have no power over it. It is to give it over to Him to let Him change that weakness into something good. God takes that seemingly weak aspect of our character and moulds it into a character strength that He can use for His glory.
Truly being loved is the greatest motivation of all. How do I let God love me deeply? I have to take time to savour that love, to hear His voice and to read His word. I have to take time to lean on His bosom like Apostle John, I have to slow down to search myself and to confess to Him the weaknesses of my character and to allow the searchlight of His word and Spirit to expose the pride, anger and fleshly attitudes that I carry around with me.....(more later)
What an encouraging testimony! Through this I am reminded that I too must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to allow Him to lead me to share the gospel whenever the opportunity arise as it could determine the destiny of the person concerned.
Well, I have been waiting the whole week upon the Lord on this topic of letting God love us. To let God love us and to love God is like two sides of a coin. Sometimes its not easy to love God especially when we may feel that God is far far away or that He has rejected us because of a sin/wrong thought/past mistakes. Many times in my own spiritual walk I had felt as though God had deserted me or that He did not want to fellowship with me anymore. These are times when I had to just sit in His presence and call out to Him from my innermost being for a touch from Him to revive me.
During those times, I had to practice 'full and frank disclosure' of my spiritual condition with Him. In the bank, where I work 'full and frank disclosure' is a popular management phrase meaning that even if it may cost us our increment/bonus or our popularity, we had to be 'brutally frank' with our management concerning the problems we face at work (part of my job is to handle legal cases against the bank). I had to assess the legal position of the bank and advice management whether it is worthwhile to fight out the case or to hand out the olive branch to the opposing side.
John was one disciple who knew how to let Jesus loved Him. In fact he called himself "the disciple Jesus loved". If anyone knew how to let God loved Him, it was John. He was sensitive to Jesus's words and actions. The Bible tells us in John 13:23that he leaned on Jesus' bosom during the last supper. In terms of posture and position, he was close to the Lord. In fact he was so close to the Lord that I believe he knew who the betrayer would be. When Peter asked John to ask Jesus who he was talking about, Jesus named Judas to John in a soft voice meant for his ears only. John knew the Lord's destiny, that he had to go to the Cross....
At the Cross, John stood with Mary and Jesus seeing "the disciple whom He loved standing by" said to him "Behold your mother" and to Mary, Jesus said concerning Joh "Behold your son!"
Jesus knew John fully and loved him fully. John was not a perfect person. Bible tells us that he and James (his brother) wanted to call down fire from heaven on a village that had refused to acknowledge Jesus. Not only did he struggled with rashness and impatience, he also had to deal with spiritual pride. He was one of those who asked for a special place in God's kingdom.
To let God love us is to be 'brutally honest' about ourselves with God. It is to tell God the things we see in ourselves that we dislike so much but we seem to have no power over it. It is to give it over to Him to let Him change that weakness into something good. God takes that seemingly weak aspect of our character and moulds it into a character strength that He can use for His glory.
Truly being loved is the greatest motivation of all. How do I let God love me deeply? I have to take time to savour that love, to hear His voice and to read His word. I have to take time to lean on His bosom like Apostle John, I have to slow down to search myself and to confess to Him the weaknesses of my character and to allow the searchlight of His word and Spirit to expose the pride, anger and fleshly attitudes that I carry around with me.....(more later)
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sharing the Gospel in Bukit Jalil
Today we just heard a wonderful message by Pastor Voon, Chairman of EE Malaysia challenging us to go out and share the gospel. When Tim and I stood up to respond to the message, we did not know that the opportunity would come so soon.
Right after service, I had to rush Amanda, our youngest daughter to take her bus to Sg Petani. You see, she is currently in her foundation year at AIMST University in Kedah and she was going back after her short holiday in KL which began last Friday.
The traffic was horrendous, the sun was beating mercilessly and I was sweating profusely trying to squeeze the car past the big buses and other impatient vehicles when the engine just stopped on me in the middle of the road!
Horror or horrors, no matter how much I tried to turn the key, the engine gave this miserable 'click' 'click' sound and the picture of the car battery emerged flickering on the dashboard! I prayed, I laid hands on the steering wheel but the sound did not go away. Sighing, I managed to push the car to a less obstructive place at the side of the road and called my hubby to help.
I was upset, sweating, dirty and wishing for the cool comfort of my house and I was just about to grumble and complain and maybe even give my husband a piece of my mind for not checking on the battery the last time the car was sent for service, when the Holy Spirit spoke to me quietly "In everything give thanks".
Chagrined, I immediately said sorry to the Lord and began to pray in tongues and gave thanks. However I continued to ask God for a miracle i.e to repair the car battery for me! Nevetheless,I have come to realise that there are certain reasons why answers to my prayers are often withheld....one of them being that God is more interested in the development of my character, the moulding of my attitude and the building of something in me during the waiting period!
And wait we did...we waited from 4 pm to 7 pm...by that time we had taken several drinks, ate a roti tissue, gone to the toilets and the bus terminal to look around...still no sign of the mechanic. It was then Tim suddenly realised that a young Indian girl had also been waiting for the same period as us. Judging from her belongings, we could only guess that she was waiting for someone to fetch her. Tim struck up a conversation with her and halfway through he suddenly then turned to me and said "Go and share with her"!
Huh?...me share with her? I don't even know her, what if she rejected me. Her parents surely would not approve of her talking to strangers....no not me...you share with her, I told my hubby. Suddenly my husband got up and pushed me closer to her and said "My wife has something to share with you". In this kind of situation I had no choice but to do the only thing I knew to do, I quickly took out my 4 spiritual laws and shared with her the Gospel from the first page to the last. She did not reject me when I showed her the diagrams of man separated from God by sin and of Jesus being the bridge between God and man....in fact her face lit up when I asked her if she wanted Jesus to sit on the throne of her heart. She agreed and prayed the prayer of salvation on her own!
Then I realised that it was only yesterday when I felt led of the Lord to put the NT in my handbag. I quickly took out my little Bible, gave it to her and asked her to read the Gospel of John. Even when we drove the car away after the mechanic had replaced the battery, I saw her taking the Bible and reading it!
It was a truly amazing end to an amazing day! God can turn an otherwise 'miserable' day to a victorious one when we learn to give thanks!
Right after service, I had to rush Amanda, our youngest daughter to take her bus to Sg Petani. You see, she is currently in her foundation year at AIMST University in Kedah and she was going back after her short holiday in KL which began last Friday.
The traffic was horrendous, the sun was beating mercilessly and I was sweating profusely trying to squeeze the car past the big buses and other impatient vehicles when the engine just stopped on me in the middle of the road!
Horror or horrors, no matter how much I tried to turn the key, the engine gave this miserable 'click' 'click' sound and the picture of the car battery emerged flickering on the dashboard! I prayed, I laid hands on the steering wheel but the sound did not go away. Sighing, I managed to push the car to a less obstructive place at the side of the road and called my hubby to help.
I was upset, sweating, dirty and wishing for the cool comfort of my house and I was just about to grumble and complain and maybe even give my husband a piece of my mind for not checking on the battery the last time the car was sent for service, when the Holy Spirit spoke to me quietly "In everything give thanks".
Chagrined, I immediately said sorry to the Lord and began to pray in tongues and gave thanks. However I continued to ask God for a miracle i.e to repair the car battery for me! Nevetheless,I have come to realise that there are certain reasons why answers to my prayers are often withheld....one of them being that God is more interested in the development of my character, the moulding of my attitude and the building of something in me during the waiting period!
And wait we did...we waited from 4 pm to 7 pm...by that time we had taken several drinks, ate a roti tissue, gone to the toilets and the bus terminal to look around...still no sign of the mechanic. It was then Tim suddenly realised that a young Indian girl had also been waiting for the same period as us. Judging from her belongings, we could only guess that she was waiting for someone to fetch her. Tim struck up a conversation with her and halfway through he suddenly then turned to me and said "Go and share with her"!
Huh?...me share with her? I don't even know her, what if she rejected me. Her parents surely would not approve of her talking to strangers....no not me...you share with her, I told my hubby. Suddenly my husband got up and pushed me closer to her and said "My wife has something to share with you". In this kind of situation I had no choice but to do the only thing I knew to do, I quickly took out my 4 spiritual laws and shared with her the Gospel from the first page to the last. She did not reject me when I showed her the diagrams of man separated from God by sin and of Jesus being the bridge between God and man....in fact her face lit up when I asked her if she wanted Jesus to sit on the throne of her heart. She agreed and prayed the prayer of salvation on her own!
Then I realised that it was only yesterday when I felt led of the Lord to put the NT in my handbag. I quickly took out my little Bible, gave it to her and asked her to read the Gospel of John. Even when we drove the car away after the mechanic had replaced the battery, I saw her taking the Bible and reading it!
It was a truly amazing end to an amazing day! God can turn an otherwise 'miserable' day to a victorious one when we learn to give thanks!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Face to Face with God - Letting go of the world
The Bible tells us that to a be a friend of God we need to be an 'enemy' of the world. James 4:4 calls us adulterers and adulteresses if we are friends with the world. This is a serious thing indeed....to be called and adulterer/adulteress.
I wonder what it means to make the world my enemy. I don't think the Lord would want me to live in a cave or stay in a castaway island without shopping malls,TV, work, family,shopping, responsibilities etc. I think Jesus would want me to live in the world the way He did. His heart was not in the world, it did not belong to the world, it did not beat with the pulse of the world, it did not entertain the attractions of the world. Everyday in His quiet time with His dear Father, He left the world behind and put His heart in the palms of God's hands....I believe that this is letting go of the world. To live a life with our heart consecrated and set apart; in the inner recesses of our soul and our being knowing that we belong to Him and Him alone!
O if we only know the wonderful position of being called a friend of God! We would gladly give up our position as friends with the world!
James 4:4 "...Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God"
Truly as the scripture says, there are times when I really do not know that I am making myself an enemy of God. So often when I let the cares of the world come to me or when the tide of envy rises in me for my neighbor's new volvo or nicer condo, the desire for the things of God seems to slip away from me.
To be a friend of God, we need to let go of the world. This means letting go of the cares of this world, the lusts of the world and the wisdom of the world.
The cares of this world concerns what we will eat, what we will put on and an anxious mind. Luke 12:29-31 "And don't be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don't worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows what you need. Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you everything you need"(NLT)
The lusts of the world concerns godless living and sinful pleasures. "And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness and devotion to God" Titus 2:12 (NLT)
The wisdom of this world concerns behavior/thought patterns that are fashioned after our fleshly desires. An example of this is found in 1 Cor 2:3-4 "for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't this prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like the people of the world? When one of you say, "I am a follower of Paul", and another say, "I follow Apollos" aren't you acting just like the people of the world?" (NLT)
There is only one way to let go of the world and that is to make the journey to the heart of God for that face to face encounter with Him on a daily basis. When we are face to face with God, all else will fade away in a distance, all else will pale in comparison, the world and all its lusts thereof will pass away, only the reality of God exists.
I wonder what it means to make the world my enemy. I don't think the Lord would want me to live in a cave or stay in a castaway island without shopping malls,TV, work, family,shopping, responsibilities etc. I think Jesus would want me to live in the world the way He did. His heart was not in the world, it did not belong to the world, it did not beat with the pulse of the world, it did not entertain the attractions of the world. Everyday in His quiet time with His dear Father, He left the world behind and put His heart in the palms of God's hands....I believe that this is letting go of the world. To live a life with our heart consecrated and set apart; in the inner recesses of our soul and our being knowing that we belong to Him and Him alone!
O if we only know the wonderful position of being called a friend of God! We would gladly give up our position as friends with the world!
James 4:4 "...Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God"
Truly as the scripture says, there are times when I really do not know that I am making myself an enemy of God. So often when I let the cares of the world come to me or when the tide of envy rises in me for my neighbor's new volvo or nicer condo, the desire for the things of God seems to slip away from me.
To be a friend of God, we need to let go of the world. This means letting go of the cares of this world, the lusts of the world and the wisdom of the world.
The cares of this world concerns what we will eat, what we will put on and an anxious mind. Luke 12:29-31 "And don't be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don't worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows what you need. Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you everything you need"(NLT)
The lusts of the world concerns godless living and sinful pleasures. "And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness and devotion to God" Titus 2:12 (NLT)
The wisdom of this world concerns behavior/thought patterns that are fashioned after our fleshly desires. An example of this is found in 1 Cor 2:3-4 "for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't this prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like the people of the world? When one of you say, "I am a follower of Paul", and another say, "I follow Apollos" aren't you acting just like the people of the world?" (NLT)
There is only one way to let go of the world and that is to make the journey to the heart of God for that face to face encounter with Him on a daily basis. When we are face to face with God, all else will fade away in a distance, all else will pale in comparison, the world and all its lusts thereof will pass away, only the reality of God exists.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Face to face with God
How wonderful is it for us to meet with God face to face!
What does it mean to meet God face to face?
In Exodus 33:11 we were told that Moses met God face to face. "So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man spoke to his friend". To speak to God face to face is to talk to him as his friend. Other than Moses, Abraham was also addressed in the Bible as God's friend. James 2:23 "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God." Wow! What a privilege to be called a friend of God!
In John 11:11, Jesus called Lazarus friend too. "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up". When we are God's friend, we will surely be woken up! We will not be dead but we will be alive in Jesus! Our love and passion for Him will cause every fibre in our being to be aflame for Christ!
In the NT, Jesus calls those who believe in him his "friends".
What is involved in this friendship? Friendship with God is
1. Letting go of the world
2. Letting God love us
3. Learning from God
4. Loving others and loving the unlovely
What does it mean to meet God face to face?
In Exodus 33:11 we were told that Moses met God face to face. "So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man spoke to his friend". To speak to God face to face is to talk to him as his friend. Other than Moses, Abraham was also addressed in the Bible as God's friend. James 2:23 "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God." Wow! What a privilege to be called a friend of God!
In John 11:11, Jesus called Lazarus friend too. "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up". When we are God's friend, we will surely be woken up! We will not be dead but we will be alive in Jesus! Our love and passion for Him will cause every fibre in our being to be aflame for Christ!
In the NT, Jesus calls those who believe in him his "friends".
What is involved in this friendship? Friendship with God is
1. Letting go of the world
2. Letting God love us
3. Learning from God
4. Loving others and loving the unlovely
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Prayer is a journey to the heart of God
Last Sunday while sharing the Mother's Day message in church, God dropped the following in my spirit "Prayer is a journey to the heart of God".
Many years ago during an overnight prayer in my old church (NLRC), I heard this in my spirit but I never quite understood it until last Sunday.
It was as though a light was switched on in my spirit and God began to speak to me about His heart.
Where exactly is the heart of God? Does it exist? If it exists, how can I find it? How can I discover it?
The heart of God is the Holy of Holies, it is very center of our being, it is where the Holy Spirit is resident and it is
Many years ago during an overnight prayer in my old church (NLRC), I heard this in my spirit but I never quite understood it until last Sunday.
It was as though a light was switched on in my spirit and God began to speak to me about His heart.
Where exactly is the heart of God? Does it exist? If it exists, how can I find it? How can I discover it?
The heart of God is the Holy of Holies, it is very center of our being, it is where the Holy Spirit is resident and it is
- a place where God speaks to us face to face
- a place where we find rest in Him
- a place where absolute peace, joy & contentment abound
- a place spoken of in Ps 91 as the secret place of the Most High, the shadow of the Almighty
- a place where the Song of Solomon speaks about as a garden enclosed, as spring shut up, a fountain sealed (Song of Solomon 4:12)
- a place where deep calls to the deep
- a place where we love Him with all our hearts, minds and souls so much so that we achieve this oneness in Him.
It is a holy place, a special place, a place of such wondrous and deep fellowship that you just don't want to depart from it.
I believe that in a day I have had to make several journeys to the heart of God depending on the time I spend in prayer before Him.
I will share with you on each aspect of the heart of God........(to be continued)
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