We have heard wonderful testimonies of how some believers in church were in debt which they could not possibly pay off by themselves. They believed that their outstanding debts were paid by Jesus Christ when He hung on that cross. And according to their faith, their desire was granted to them. By some miraculous ways, all of their debts were supernaturally cancelled and they became debt free instantly!
Of course they all didn't deserve to have their debts cancelled but the whole point was: Jesus paid their debts for them legally! It was all about the unmerited favour of God. If Jesus did not pay off their debts, they would always live in fear, thinking 'Did the bank make a mistake in cancelling my debt?' But thank God that when Jesus resurrected, it was proof that He had indeed paid all our debts! We had this experience just yesterday.
There was an outstanding credit card payment of $225.90 with a bank which Heng had not paid for months. It was not something that we bought and signed for it; just that the bank was imposing a late charge and some interest on a previous late payment. Heng had already called the bank to ask for waiver of the late charges and the interest. However the bank still sent us the outstanding bill month after month with additional late charges and more interest slapped on us. Heng gave up on calling the bank. (Well, I think he was afraid that he will give the customer service officer a big dressing-down, which would be ugly!)
And so, when we saw the letter from the bank yesterday, I told Heng 'Your creditors are chasing you for payment again. Why don't you just settle it once and for all?' Heng declared 'My debts are supernaturally cancelled in Jesus' name!' Well, for such a bold confession of faith, what else could I say? But in my heart, I really couldn't believe that debt would be cancelled.
Turned out that I was wrong! When I opened the letter, I was surprised to see that our outstanding debt became $0 and I happily told Heng! He was amazed at his own declaration of faith and said that words are indeed powerful. The bank had miraculously reversed all the late charges and interest payments and now we owe the bank nothing! Praise the Lord! All glory to God!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Certainty of God's Promise
God did this so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged ~ Hebrews 6:18
Have you ever read the bible verses, thought you knew it well enough and yet at another time, God still caused fresh revelation to come up from the verse? Well, this happened to me many times. And sometimes I did not fully understand what God was telling me in those verses but my heart is processing the Word, which is like the seed.
The seed is planted in my heart while I go about my daily business, sleeping by night and rising by day. Yet all this while, this seed is germinating below the surface, in the depths of my heart and it sprouts and grows, though I do not know how. When the seed breaks out from the ground, grows into a tree, produces flowers then bears fruits, the farmer knows harvest time has come. When the fruit is ripe, the farmer immediately plucks it down from the tree because if it stays too long, it will drop to the ground and be spoilt.
This analogy of the seed is used to describe how the Word of God takes root in your heart and in time to come, produces results in what you want to see. Sometimes the revelation of the Word and the physical manifestation comes immediately; other times it may take a while to gain full revelation and for the results to show. For me, Hebrews 6:18 was shared by Heng in Feb 2010 and I heard it again in a sermon in Feb 2011. Yet during these two instances, I still did not have the full revelation of this verse until today.
I wondered what are the two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie. I interpreted them to be God taking an oath and swearing by Himself. Actually taking an oath and swearing mean the same thing and they refer to the covenant that God had cut with Abraham. Yet instead of making the covenant with the blood and body of animals, God cut the covenant with the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. And so, all these while, the two unchangeable things referred to the body and blood of Jesus.
God is telling me that when we take Holy Communion, we should be thinking about His covenant to us. This covenant confirms what is said by God and puts an end to all arguments with regards to His promises in our life. From early Feb 2011, our family had been taking Communion daily and applying the Anointing oil. Holy Communion is powerful because when we remember the broken body of Christ and His blood that was shed for our forgiveness of sins, we are also declaring God's covenant to us.
We are saying that though the physical manifestation has not come yet, God's promises are sure and it is impossible for Him to lie. In this we are greatly encouraged and look out expectantly for news of our 2nd pregnancy as we believed the harvest is here. The fruit is already dangling in front of us and we need to pluck it down. Now. Immediately.
Have you ever read the bible verses, thought you knew it well enough and yet at another time, God still caused fresh revelation to come up from the verse? Well, this happened to me many times. And sometimes I did not fully understand what God was telling me in those verses but my heart is processing the Word, which is like the seed.
The seed is planted in my heart while I go about my daily business, sleeping by night and rising by day. Yet all this while, this seed is germinating below the surface, in the depths of my heart and it sprouts and grows, though I do not know how. When the seed breaks out from the ground, grows into a tree, produces flowers then bears fruits, the farmer knows harvest time has come. When the fruit is ripe, the farmer immediately plucks it down from the tree because if it stays too long, it will drop to the ground and be spoilt.
This analogy of the seed is used to describe how the Word of God takes root in your heart and in time to come, produces results in what you want to see. Sometimes the revelation of the Word and the physical manifestation comes immediately; other times it may take a while to gain full revelation and for the results to show. For me, Hebrews 6:18 was shared by Heng in Feb 2010 and I heard it again in a sermon in Feb 2011. Yet during these two instances, I still did not have the full revelation of this verse until today.
I wondered what are the two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie. I interpreted them to be God taking an oath and swearing by Himself. Actually taking an oath and swearing mean the same thing and they refer to the covenant that God had cut with Abraham. Yet instead of making the covenant with the blood and body of animals, God cut the covenant with the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. And so, all these while, the two unchangeable things referred to the body and blood of Jesus.
God is telling me that when we take Holy Communion, we should be thinking about His covenant to us. This covenant confirms what is said by God and puts an end to all arguments with regards to His promises in our life. From early Feb 2011, our family had been taking Communion daily and applying the Anointing oil. Holy Communion is powerful because when we remember the broken body of Christ and His blood that was shed for our forgiveness of sins, we are also declaring God's covenant to us.
We are saying that though the physical manifestation has not come yet, God's promises are sure and it is impossible for Him to lie. In this we are greatly encouraged and look out expectantly for news of our 2nd pregnancy as we believed the harvest is here. The fruit is already dangling in front of us and we need to pluck it down. Now. Immediately.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
God's Good Friday gift to us
One of our dear sisters from the care group blessed us with 3 tickets to the musical performance 'Voyage De La Vie' at Sentosa Resorts World. God is really so good. For this free favor from God, I felt so loved by God like the last time we went for a buffet lunch at Hard Rock Hotel and there was a one-for-one promotion. The tickets were at the stall and they were the most expensive tickets. It would have cost us $400 for our whole family to watch the performance. Yet because of God's unmerited favour on us, these tickets came FREE! It was good entertainment and best of all, Joshua enjoyed it very much despite the loud sounds and fire and smoke.
All these blessings were made possible because of one Man's death on the cross. He is Jesus Christ. Because of what He did at the cross 2000 years ago, we are still enjoying the benefits of what He purchased for us at the cross. In today's Resurrection Sunday's message, Pastor Prince preached about why in the old testament, God always seemed to favor the younger son over the elder one though the eldest son had the birthrights to the best blessings. The eldest son was rejected yet the younger son was blessed and loved. Examples are: Jacob over Esau, Ephraim over Manasseh and the prodigal son over his elder brother.
In Genesis 48:13-20, Joseph brought his sons Manasseh and Ephraim for his father Jacob to bless. He purposely placed Manasseh the eldest son at Jacob's right hand and Ephraim at Jacob's left hand. Yet Jacob stretched his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head and his left hand on Manasseh's head. (By doing this, Jacob was crossing his hand, which is a picture of the cross.) Jacob pronounced that the younger son shall be greater than the elder one.
Pastor Prince said that God our Father had rejected His eldest son Jesus Christ (who is also the firstborn) so that all of us, the younger sons could be accepted and loved. Wow, to me, it is such a revelation! It is totally unfair but we get to enjoy all that Christ has done for us; the most important of all being the forgiveness of our sins. The fact that Jesus is risen from the dead meant that He has paid the penalty for all our sins and God our Father has accepted His payment totally.
After He is risen, Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God interceding for us. He is our Mediator, our Advocate. The Father is pleased with Jesus and hence He is also pleased with us because we are in Christ. As Christ is, so are we in this world. We do not have to rely on our efforts focusing and reflecting on how we could be more Christ-like or how we could emulate Jesus' example. We just have to behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord and we are effortlessly changed into the same image by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor 3:18). Oh how lovely is my Lord Jesus!
All these blessings were made possible because of one Man's death on the cross. He is Jesus Christ. Because of what He did at the cross 2000 years ago, we are still enjoying the benefits of what He purchased for us at the cross. In today's Resurrection Sunday's message, Pastor Prince preached about why in the old testament, God always seemed to favor the younger son over the elder one though the eldest son had the birthrights to the best blessings. The eldest son was rejected yet the younger son was blessed and loved. Examples are: Jacob over Esau, Ephraim over Manasseh and the prodigal son over his elder brother.
In Genesis 48:13-20, Joseph brought his sons Manasseh and Ephraim for his father Jacob to bless. He purposely placed Manasseh the eldest son at Jacob's right hand and Ephraim at Jacob's left hand. Yet Jacob stretched his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head and his left hand on Manasseh's head. (By doing this, Jacob was crossing his hand, which is a picture of the cross.) Jacob pronounced that the younger son shall be greater than the elder one.
Pastor Prince said that God our Father had rejected His eldest son Jesus Christ (who is also the firstborn) so that all of us, the younger sons could be accepted and loved. Wow, to me, it is such a revelation! It is totally unfair but we get to enjoy all that Christ has done for us; the most important of all being the forgiveness of our sins. The fact that Jesus is risen from the dead meant that He has paid the penalty for all our sins and God our Father has accepted His payment totally.
After He is risen, Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God interceding for us. He is our Mediator, our Advocate. The Father is pleased with Jesus and hence He is also pleased with us because we are in Christ. As Christ is, so are we in this world. We do not have to rely on our efforts focusing and reflecting on how we could be more Christ-like or how we could emulate Jesus' example. We just have to behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord and we are effortlessly changed into the same image by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor 3:18). Oh how lovely is my Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Lost and Found
Today I had made plans to go downtown to a Christian bookstore in the morning but I needed to leave latest by 11am so that I could pick Joshua up at 1.30pm today. I was rushing to take the condo shuttle bus at 10.30am when I realised that my wallet was not in my bag just before I leave the house. It was rather frustrating because I had wanted to leave as soon as I could because I only had a short window of time to shop. As I frantically searched high and low for my wallet, still hoping to catch the 11am shuttle bus, I realised God was teaching a few lessons.
Lesson No. 1: Don't box God into our time schedules
I got frantic because I was trying to beat the clock...I wanted to hop on the shuttle according to my schedule and my plan. When I could not find my wallet, I was frustrated because I didn't want to be late for the shuttle. Besides I had wanted so badly to buy some Christian books today that I could not bear the thought of postponing my trip to tomorrow. Yet how could I even step out of my home with no wallet? I learnt that when we are waiting for God' promise, we often put God on our schedule rather than His. The fact is that Jesus' time frame and the world's time frame do not function the same way. He has the power to accelerate things like how He miraculously condensed the time needed to turn water into wine. We may think that we will miss the boat because we are so late but God is never late. And at the end of it, like Heng said, God will ensure that I will make it back on time.
Lesson No. 2: Don't say what we see, say what we want to see
After I called Heng, I was relieved for a while because he said he did see my wallet this morning. In fact, he put a $50 note into my wallet (which was so sweet of him) and put my wallet into my bag. I thought, since he was so sure, I should be able to find my wallet soon. But after searching through the area where we put our bags, near the sofa and still no sign of my wallet, I started to doubt what Heng said. Did he really see my wallet this morning? And so I started saying 'So frustrating! Where could my wallet go? How ridiculous for someone to lose her wallet in her own home? Why I can't find my wallet? Oh dear, I cannot go to the Christian bookstore because I am so late! Besides, what if my wallet is really lost? It would be so troublesome!' In the midst of it all, I finally said some words of faith. I said 'In the name of Jesus, you will not stop me from going to the Christian bookstore today, devil!'
Lesson No. 3: Don't doubt God's goodness
When I still could not find my wallet after I made that positive confession, I began to question why Heng had to put the $50 note into my wallet this morning; it was not as if I did not had money. Okay, I knew I had crossed the line when I had this thought. Out of the goodness of his heart, my dear hubby gave me more money to spend since I was going shopping and yet, here I was complaining about why he touched my wallet...how ungrateful I was! I even shifted all the blame to him! I suddenly realised this was how I might have viewed God when the waiting got difficult. I questioned His goodness when all He wanted was to bless me richly...it was the evil one that perverted this, not God. I had focused too much on the natural circumstances and I had let go of the Word in the process...
Finally after half an hour of searching at all the wrong places, I found my wallet! Guess where it was? It was hidden behind the day curtain (made of chiffon) near to the place where we put our bags. Actually if it was just one layer of the day curtain, I could have easily spotted my wallet. But it was hidden behind multiple folds of the day curtain which made it totally opaque!
I had this revelation that when the veil was put in front of our eyes, the gospel became hazy or unclear to us. This was when we read the Word but could not totally understand it. But in this case, when multiple folds of the veil were cast before our eyes, we could easily become blind to the truth of the Word.
For me, I had allowed the size of my problem and my own reasoning (of I think my wallet could be) to block my view of the answer, though it was just right before me the whole time, staring me at my face. If my wallet could speak, it would be screaming 'Look over here! Lift the curtains, dumbo! I am here all this while, waiting for you to find me!'
Thank God I finally made it to the Christian bookstore, bought 8 books at 30% discount and picked up Joshua from his school in time! Through it all, I could have condemned myself for not keeping my cool and not believing that God already had settled this issue for me but I know it was never about my performance. The truth is: God is faithful even when I was faithless...God provided a way out for me even though I was complaining the whole time. And all because God loved me so much.
Lesson No. 1: Don't box God into our time schedules
I got frantic because I was trying to beat the clock...I wanted to hop on the shuttle according to my schedule and my plan. When I could not find my wallet, I was frustrated because I didn't want to be late for the shuttle. Besides I had wanted so badly to buy some Christian books today that I could not bear the thought of postponing my trip to tomorrow. Yet how could I even step out of my home with no wallet? I learnt that when we are waiting for God' promise, we often put God on our schedule rather than His. The fact is that Jesus' time frame and the world's time frame do not function the same way. He has the power to accelerate things like how He miraculously condensed the time needed to turn water into wine. We may think that we will miss the boat because we are so late but God is never late. And at the end of it, like Heng said, God will ensure that I will make it back on time.
Lesson No. 2: Don't say what we see, say what we want to see
After I called Heng, I was relieved for a while because he said he did see my wallet this morning. In fact, he put a $50 note into my wallet (which was so sweet of him) and put my wallet into my bag. I thought, since he was so sure, I should be able to find my wallet soon. But after searching through the area where we put our bags, near the sofa and still no sign of my wallet, I started to doubt what Heng said. Did he really see my wallet this morning? And so I started saying 'So frustrating! Where could my wallet go? How ridiculous for someone to lose her wallet in her own home? Why I can't find my wallet? Oh dear, I cannot go to the Christian bookstore because I am so late! Besides, what if my wallet is really lost? It would be so troublesome!' In the midst of it all, I finally said some words of faith. I said 'In the name of Jesus, you will not stop me from going to the Christian bookstore today, devil!'
Lesson No. 3: Don't doubt God's goodness
When I still could not find my wallet after I made that positive confession, I began to question why Heng had to put the $50 note into my wallet this morning; it was not as if I did not had money. Okay, I knew I had crossed the line when I had this thought. Out of the goodness of his heart, my dear hubby gave me more money to spend since I was going shopping and yet, here I was complaining about why he touched my wallet...how ungrateful I was! I even shifted all the blame to him! I suddenly realised this was how I might have viewed God when the waiting got difficult. I questioned His goodness when all He wanted was to bless me richly...it was the evil one that perverted this, not God. I had focused too much on the natural circumstances and I had let go of the Word in the process...
Finally after half an hour of searching at all the wrong places, I found my wallet! Guess where it was? It was hidden behind the day curtain (made of chiffon) near to the place where we put our bags. Actually if it was just one layer of the day curtain, I could have easily spotted my wallet. But it was hidden behind multiple folds of the day curtain which made it totally opaque!
I had this revelation that when the veil was put in front of our eyes, the gospel became hazy or unclear to us. This was when we read the Word but could not totally understand it. But in this case, when multiple folds of the veil were cast before our eyes, we could easily become blind to the truth of the Word.
For me, I had allowed the size of my problem and my own reasoning (of I think my wallet could be) to block my view of the answer, though it was just right before me the whole time, staring me at my face. If my wallet could speak, it would be screaming 'Look over here! Lift the curtains, dumbo! I am here all this while, waiting for you to find me!'
Thank God I finally made it to the Christian bookstore, bought 8 books at 30% discount and picked up Joshua from his school in time! Through it all, I could have condemned myself for not keeping my cool and not believing that God already had settled this issue for me but I know it was never about my performance. The truth is: God is faithful even when I was faithless...God provided a way out for me even though I was complaining the whole time. And all because God loved me so much.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Quiet Time by the River
Yesterday I felt led to do my quiet time in the morning by the river instead of my home. And so I set out to walk to the river from my home, which is only a stone throw's away. The weather was a bit hot as it was late morning but I just walked on to a place where it would be shadier. Then I came to a place where it is rather cooling and I sat down and began listening to the worship songs.
Have you ever wondered why the psalmist said 'the trees are dancing for joy'? I always felt it weird when I read this until yesterday. As I worshipped, I realised that the trees were indeed dancing to the rhythm of the song I was listening to. When the wind blew and the leaves moved, they really looked like they were dancing and shaking! How marvellous is God's creation that even nature worships our Lord!
As I watched the song 'Worthy is the Lamb' which had snippets from the movie 'The Passion', when I saw Jesus being flogged and nailed to the cross, I could not help but cry again. My dear Jesus! Why did He have to die for us? I asked Jesus 'All that You have done for us, is it worth it?' and He replied 'Yes, it was all worth it.' 'But why?' I asked Him again, 'since we are unworthy of your love and we have sinned. We are always rebellious, always turning our backs on God.' Jesus just said 'You are just like lost sheep to me. My Father and I did this because We love you so.'
I then realised the gravity of the free choice that God had chosen to give us. He knew that not all of His children would choose Him, that He would lose some of us but yet He did it. He loved us too much to make us robots, programmed to love Him. He made us in His image. He would have truly won our hearts when He gave us free will and yet we still chose Him. But I felt that the price God had to pay was simply too much. He had to sacrifice His Only Beloved Son, the Darling of Heaven to die for all our sins.
For Jesus, taking the world's sins and diseases meant that when He hung on the cross, he would be separated from His Abba Father. This separation really broke Jesus' heart because He was so close to His Father that He cannot imagine not being answered by His Father even for a second. Afterall, They were always together even before creation. Even when Jesus came to earth in human form, His Father was always with Him. But at the cross, when Jesus cried out 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?', God cruelly turned His back on His precious Son so that He could turn His face to welcome all of us to His kingdom.
Did you know that whatever Jesus asked of the Father, the Father would always answer Him. Jesus said in John 11:42, before He resurrected Lazarus 'And I know that You always hear Me, but because of this people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe You sent Me.' And Jesus even extended that privilege to us in John 16:23 that whatever we ask the Father in His name, He will give us. But this was only possible after Jesus had suffered and died on our behalf, that our access to Abba God became direct.
My beloved friends, when we look at God's face, we see His glory. When we look at the cross, we see His heart. It is a heart of love, not a heart of enmity with us. Everything changed at the cross when Jesus said 'Look, I have made all things new.'
Have you ever wondered why the psalmist said 'the trees are dancing for joy'? I always felt it weird when I read this until yesterday. As I worshipped, I realised that the trees were indeed dancing to the rhythm of the song I was listening to. When the wind blew and the leaves moved, they really looked like they were dancing and shaking! How marvellous is God's creation that even nature worships our Lord!
As I watched the song 'Worthy is the Lamb' which had snippets from the movie 'The Passion', when I saw Jesus being flogged and nailed to the cross, I could not help but cry again. My dear Jesus! Why did He have to die for us? I asked Jesus 'All that You have done for us, is it worth it?' and He replied 'Yes, it was all worth it.' 'But why?' I asked Him again, 'since we are unworthy of your love and we have sinned. We are always rebellious, always turning our backs on God.' Jesus just said 'You are just like lost sheep to me. My Father and I did this because We love you so.'
I then realised the gravity of the free choice that God had chosen to give us. He knew that not all of His children would choose Him, that He would lose some of us but yet He did it. He loved us too much to make us robots, programmed to love Him. He made us in His image. He would have truly won our hearts when He gave us free will and yet we still chose Him. But I felt that the price God had to pay was simply too much. He had to sacrifice His Only Beloved Son, the Darling of Heaven to die for all our sins.
For Jesus, taking the world's sins and diseases meant that when He hung on the cross, he would be separated from His Abba Father. This separation really broke Jesus' heart because He was so close to His Father that He cannot imagine not being answered by His Father even for a second. Afterall, They were always together even before creation. Even when Jesus came to earth in human form, His Father was always with Him. But at the cross, when Jesus cried out 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?', God cruelly turned His back on His precious Son so that He could turn His face to welcome all of us to His kingdom.
Did you know that whatever Jesus asked of the Father, the Father would always answer Him. Jesus said in John 11:42, before He resurrected Lazarus 'And I know that You always hear Me, but because of this people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe You sent Me.' And Jesus even extended that privilege to us in John 16:23 that whatever we ask the Father in His name, He will give us. But this was only possible after Jesus had suffered and died on our behalf, that our access to Abba God became direct.
My beloved friends, when we look at God's face, we see His glory. When we look at the cross, we see His heart. It is a heart of love, not a heart of enmity with us. Everything changed at the cross when Jesus said 'Look, I have made all things new.'
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wear Your Blessings Well
I was listening to Pastor Joel Osteen's sermon 'Wear Your Blessings Well' and I thought of sharing highlights of his message. This came about because we were sharing our testimonies during care group last night and we realised that many of us were still quite shy about sharing how the Lord has blessed us richly. One sister was sharing how unfairly good God had been to her. She quoted the example of how she did not manage to study much for her university subjects compared to her friend who put in so much effort and yet her results were amongst the top 25% when her friend's results was amongst the bottom half. When her friend saw that, she was really upset and this dear sister was so apologetic for her good results.
In actual fact, I believe many of us can relate to such experiences. It is so true that many of these so-called friends actually got jealous and turn away from us when they saw how blessed we became. Sometimes, in an attempt not to be unpopular, we purposely downplay the blessings that God had so freely lavished on us. We thought that would be humble. On the contrary, that would not be what God wanted us to do. He wants us to boast about His love and His blessings on His children.
Sometimes when our desires are fulfilled and we see that other brothers and sisters are still waiting for God's promise to manifest, we hesitate to show our joy and to give thanks to the Lord for our blessings. We thought that this would be showing off and would make others more depressed. On the contrary, our testimony would not discourage them because we could tell them that God is no respector of persons. What He did for us, He could do it for them too. It is not by our own efforts or strength that these blessings came about, it is purely by the Spirit of God. Psalm 118:24 says 'The Lord has done it for us. It is marvelous in our eyes.'
My caregroup leader had this desire to learn photography and was seeking to buy a secondhand camera at a good price. For nine months, he was using his own efforts to search for the best deal but he couldn't find one. So he decided to rest and just let God take care of this issue for him. When he did so, God brought to his path an acquaintance who was thinking of upgrading his camera. My caregroup leader asked if he could sell his used camera at a good price. He agreed to sell his camera at about one third of what would be sold elsewhere. However, when the day came for this guy to deliver the camera, he actually threw in a lot of other stuff and the best part was he gave everything as a gift to my caregroup leader!
Wow, I was so excited when I heard this testimony! Our God is so so good - He not only fulfilled my caregroup leader's desire, He did it in such a way that was above and beyond what he could ask or imagine! This is the kind of God that we serve, so we do not have to apologise for His blessings in our life. Instead we should learn to wear our blessings well. We are made to be so blessed that other people not only would notice, they want the very God that we serve! All glory to God!
In actual fact, I believe many of us can relate to such experiences. It is so true that many of these so-called friends actually got jealous and turn away from us when they saw how blessed we became. Sometimes, in an attempt not to be unpopular, we purposely downplay the blessings that God had so freely lavished on us. We thought that would be humble. On the contrary, that would not be what God wanted us to do. He wants us to boast about His love and His blessings on His children.
Sometimes when our desires are fulfilled and we see that other brothers and sisters are still waiting for God's promise to manifest, we hesitate to show our joy and to give thanks to the Lord for our blessings. We thought that this would be showing off and would make others more depressed. On the contrary, our testimony would not discourage them because we could tell them that God is no respector of persons. What He did for us, He could do it for them too. It is not by our own efforts or strength that these blessings came about, it is purely by the Spirit of God. Psalm 118:24 says 'The Lord has done it for us. It is marvelous in our eyes.'
My caregroup leader had this desire to learn photography and was seeking to buy a secondhand camera at a good price. For nine months, he was using his own efforts to search for the best deal but he couldn't find one. So he decided to rest and just let God take care of this issue for him. When he did so, God brought to his path an acquaintance who was thinking of upgrading his camera. My caregroup leader asked if he could sell his used camera at a good price. He agreed to sell his camera at about one third of what would be sold elsewhere. However, when the day came for this guy to deliver the camera, he actually threw in a lot of other stuff and the best part was he gave everything as a gift to my caregroup leader!
Wow, I was so excited when I heard this testimony! Our God is so so good - He not only fulfilled my caregroup leader's desire, He did it in such a way that was above and beyond what he could ask or imagine! This is the kind of God that we serve, so we do not have to apologise for His blessings in our life. Instead we should learn to wear our blessings well. We are made to be so blessed that other people not only would notice, they want the very God that we serve! All glory to God!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Our Batam Trip
Thank God for a good 3D2N trip to Batam! We stayed at Harris Resort which was a nice and vibrant place filled with activities. Joshua liked the hotel because he could swim for all three days. My parents were also able to join us for the second day and we went for a good meal at a Chinese restaurant which cost only S$51. We also bought quite a lot of things from Batam. Some things were really cheap like the two t-shirts which I bought costing only S$1.50 each! Overall the things there were not too expensive but the variety was limited.
On the last day, while waiting for the return ferry trip, our family went for a bowling game with my parents. When we first stepped into the bowling alley, it was totally quiet, devoid of customers. Then as we started playing, the other bowling lanes were being taken up and the place became lively and vibrant! I told my parents that this place was blessed because we came. We brought the customers to the bowling alley. My mum agreed and said this was what Pastor Prince always mentioned that we are a blessing everywhere we go.
During the ferry ride back home, there was heavy rain and thunderstorm on the sea. The waves were tossing to and fro and the ferry was experiencing turbulence, much like a roller coaster ride. I actually felt very peaceful about it because I knew Jesus was with me in the boat, like how Jesus was with the disciples during the storm. I know this ferry was protected because the family of God's beloved were in it. My dad was quite worried and kept talking about the rocking caused by the waves. My mum was praying 'real hard' that we would make it safely to Singapore. Heng and I were very confident that God would bring us back safely and we did not even pray. And so we did reach Singapore safely! Thank God!
Upon reaching Harbourfront City, we went for dinner at this fishball noodle shop within the shopping centre. Again when we reached that place, we were the only customers. As we ordered our food and started eating, more customers started streaming in. I told my parents that the same thing happened again - that we were a blessing to the shop, bringing in customers. My dad was quite amazed and he agreed, having witnessed it twice! Thank God for not only blessing and protecting us, His blessings even overflowed to the people around us!
On the last day, while waiting for the return ferry trip, our family went for a bowling game with my parents. When we first stepped into the bowling alley, it was totally quiet, devoid of customers. Then as we started playing, the other bowling lanes were being taken up and the place became lively and vibrant! I told my parents that this place was blessed because we came. We brought the customers to the bowling alley. My mum agreed and said this was what Pastor Prince always mentioned that we are a blessing everywhere we go.
During the ferry ride back home, there was heavy rain and thunderstorm on the sea. The waves were tossing to and fro and the ferry was experiencing turbulence, much like a roller coaster ride. I actually felt very peaceful about it because I knew Jesus was with me in the boat, like how Jesus was with the disciples during the storm. I know this ferry was protected because the family of God's beloved were in it. My dad was quite worried and kept talking about the rocking caused by the waves. My mum was praying 'real hard' that we would make it safely to Singapore. Heng and I were very confident that God would bring us back safely and we did not even pray. And so we did reach Singapore safely! Thank God!
Upon reaching Harbourfront City, we went for dinner at this fishball noodle shop within the shopping centre. Again when we reached that place, we were the only customers. As we ordered our food and started eating, more customers started streaming in. I told my parents that the same thing happened again - that we were a blessing to the shop, bringing in customers. My dad was quite amazed and he agreed, having witnessed it twice! Thank God for not only blessing and protecting us, His blessings even overflowed to the people around us!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
My Out of Egypt Experience
While looking at my past journals, I realised that in Aug & Sep last year, I had a similar experience like what the Israelites faced when God was about to bring them out of slavery in Egypt. I don't mean to say that I was in slavery back then in my ex-company but I certainly was not very happy staying there. Because I knew long ago that my stay in that company was only temporary, yet I did not know when the Lord was bringing me out. It turned out that this transcient place lasted 3 years.
Through those 3 years of waiting, I kept believing that God was working out a plan to prepare me to stay home to look after my children in the next season of my life. Afterall, that desire came from Him, before I even had any children. At one point juggling work and taking care of Joshua started to get very challenging. It was not that I had to work very late but that my job 'sucked out' a lot of my emotional attention, causing me to be drained. I was still thinking about work at home while taking care of Joshua. I felt I was shortchanging my son as I could not give all my attention to him. I was missing out on those crucial years as he was growing up fast.
I was getting increasingly restless as I waited because I believed in July 2010, God was telling me to get ready to move on now. Yet there was still no sign of my impending pregnancy as I always thought I would stay till I give birth, enjoy the maternity benefits and then leave. I felt like I was closing the door behind me (by telling my bosses I would certainly leave) but I could not nail down the date to resign. The situation of the Israelites being stuck between the Red Sea and the marauding armies of Eygpt came to my mind. I was sure the Lord would 'open' the door for me to leave like how He opened the Red Sea but I still did not know how and when.
There was a turning point in Sep last year when God led us to buy our 2nd property. I really thank God for the good timing because by now, the 'cooling' measures by the government coupled with the rise in private property prices made it difficult for public housing residents to upgrade to their dream homes (condo). Some HDB residents felt that they had not acted fast enough to upgrade their homes when the price difference between public and private housing was closing up. When I read about this in the newspapers, I really thank God for prospering us because we were able to not just upgrade to a private property of a similar size, we could keep and rent out our HDB flat!
Then in early Oct, the Lord finally gave me the green light to tender, which was clear that my season in the company has ended and I needed to move on. I was surprised to find that I was emotional and sentimental about leaving though this had been my desire for the past 3 years! How contradictory can humans get! No wonder once God gave the mandate, He showed me that there was a sense of urgency to move on.
Like the Israelites, once Pharaoh allowed them to leave, they knew they had to leave quickly in case Pharaoh changed his mind. When they took the Passover meal, they were all dressed to go. Hence that was why I had to leave before waiting for my performance bonus in Apr. There might be consequences or further delays if I did not act promptly to God's direction. I thought to myself: I had already waited for so long and now my chance to move on to the next season has come, why would I want to delay?
Now as I look back, I am really thankful that I have moved solidly into my new season and what awaits me is a harvest of lustrous fruits! Thank God for exciting times are coming my way!
Through those 3 years of waiting, I kept believing that God was working out a plan to prepare me to stay home to look after my children in the next season of my life. Afterall, that desire came from Him, before I even had any children. At one point juggling work and taking care of Joshua started to get very challenging. It was not that I had to work very late but that my job 'sucked out' a lot of my emotional attention, causing me to be drained. I was still thinking about work at home while taking care of Joshua. I felt I was shortchanging my son as I could not give all my attention to him. I was missing out on those crucial years as he was growing up fast.
I was getting increasingly restless as I waited because I believed in July 2010, God was telling me to get ready to move on now. Yet there was still no sign of my impending pregnancy as I always thought I would stay till I give birth, enjoy the maternity benefits and then leave. I felt like I was closing the door behind me (by telling my bosses I would certainly leave) but I could not nail down the date to resign. The situation of the Israelites being stuck between the Red Sea and the marauding armies of Eygpt came to my mind. I was sure the Lord would 'open' the door for me to leave like how He opened the Red Sea but I still did not know how and when.
There was a turning point in Sep last year when God led us to buy our 2nd property. I really thank God for the good timing because by now, the 'cooling' measures by the government coupled with the rise in private property prices made it difficult for public housing residents to upgrade to their dream homes (condo). Some HDB residents felt that they had not acted fast enough to upgrade their homes when the price difference between public and private housing was closing up. When I read about this in the newspapers, I really thank God for prospering us because we were able to not just upgrade to a private property of a similar size, we could keep and rent out our HDB flat!
Then in early Oct, the Lord finally gave me the green light to tender, which was clear that my season in the company has ended and I needed to move on. I was surprised to find that I was emotional and sentimental about leaving though this had been my desire for the past 3 years! How contradictory can humans get! No wonder once God gave the mandate, He showed me that there was a sense of urgency to move on.
Like the Israelites, once Pharaoh allowed them to leave, they knew they had to leave quickly in case Pharaoh changed his mind. When they took the Passover meal, they were all dressed to go. Hence that was why I had to leave before waiting for my performance bonus in Apr. There might be consequences or further delays if I did not act promptly to God's direction. I thought to myself: I had already waited for so long and now my chance to move on to the next season has come, why would I want to delay?
Now as I look back, I am really thankful that I have moved solidly into my new season and what awaits me is a harvest of lustrous fruits! Thank God for exciting times are coming my way!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Swimming
I really thank God for this provision of a swimming pool just below my tower. It is quite a luxury. I get to swim almost everyday since it is now so convenient. I loved swimming. When I swim, I think about God and sometimes new revelations come to my mind. Other times I would just plan what to cook for dinner while I am swimming. Either way, I always have good thoughts when I swim.
If I was not swimming alone, I would encourage Joshua to swim the laps with me. Even Joshua has improved in his swimming. I was amazed that now he could swim without his Styrofoam float nowadays. He would keep his head in the water and swim for one metre. He picked up swimming by himself. Thank God for teaching him!
Even though I am aware that health comes from the Lord, I am thankful that I could exercise more frequently. I haven't been really exercising for the past few years...not so regularly. The endorphins after exercising really help me in my daily activities. After a good swim, I found that I became less lethargic in the day and I could sleep better at night. Thank God for swimming!
If I was not swimming alone, I would encourage Joshua to swim the laps with me. Even Joshua has improved in his swimming. I was amazed that now he could swim without his Styrofoam float nowadays. He would keep his head in the water and swim for one metre. He picked up swimming by himself. Thank God for teaching him!
Even though I am aware that health comes from the Lord, I am thankful that I could exercise more frequently. I haven't been really exercising for the past few years...not so regularly. The endorphins after exercising really help me in my daily activities. After a good swim, I found that I became less lethargic in the day and I could sleep better at night. Thank God for swimming!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Dominion over this Earth
Recently our care group was discussing the topic of living in end times. Other than being secure in the knowledge that God will protect us from such disasters and calamities (Psalm 91) so that we do not need to fear, what should our response be to these end times happenings?
Firstly, God does not want us to be ignorant of such things happening. In Matthew 24:32, Jesus tells us to learn the parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. We are living in winter times but our encouragement is that summer is coming. Summer is after the tribulation of those days, when the Son of Man (Jesus) comes again. As believers, we are not to be troubled about these things (like wars, earthquakes, shaking of nuclear powers) which are currently happening but we are told to discern the times. God will show us things to come so that we can be prepared.
Secondly, God is raising up an army of believers who would take dominion of this earth and have authority over the principalities and dark powers of this world. Believers who dare to take God at His Word and do what Jesus said in John 14:12-14 '...the works that I do he will do also and greater things than these will he do because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father be glorified in the Son.' What did Jesus do when He was on earth? He preached good news to the poor, healed the sick, liberated the prisoners and proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord.
Friends, we are living in exciting times. A time when God is pouring out His Spirit in preparation of the endtime revival that will bring this age to a glorious close. In Acts 2:18-19, God is revealing to us things to come so that we can pray wisely. In fact, we have influence with God and when we pray, God intercepts the devil's work of disasters and calamities.
God wants us to take up this authority that Jesus has given us (Matthew 28:18-19) to boldly command diseases and sicknesses to leave, to command circumstances to line up with God's Word, to calm the storms etc. As we command in Jesus' Name, our 'sea' will open up and we will walk on dry grounds in the midst of troubles. And as we go, miracles will follow us.
I don't know about you but I certainly do not want to miss out on this great Masterplan during such times. I want to be involved in what God is doing in this hour. I want to be the ones whose Spirit-inspired words of prophecy and prayer are releasing the power of God upon the earth. I want to see God's miracles, signs and wonders in this time and age. I want to be the key players, one of God's generals in this endtime army that He is raising up. What about you?
Firstly, God does not want us to be ignorant of such things happening. In Matthew 24:32, Jesus tells us to learn the parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. We are living in winter times but our encouragement is that summer is coming. Summer is after the tribulation of those days, when the Son of Man (Jesus) comes again. As believers, we are not to be troubled about these things (like wars, earthquakes, shaking of nuclear powers) which are currently happening but we are told to discern the times. God will show us things to come so that we can be prepared.
Secondly, God is raising up an army of believers who would take dominion of this earth and have authority over the principalities and dark powers of this world. Believers who dare to take God at His Word and do what Jesus said in John 14:12-14 '...the works that I do he will do also and greater things than these will he do because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father be glorified in the Son.' What did Jesus do when He was on earth? He preached good news to the poor, healed the sick, liberated the prisoners and proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord.
Friends, we are living in exciting times. A time when God is pouring out His Spirit in preparation of the endtime revival that will bring this age to a glorious close. In Acts 2:18-19, God is revealing to us things to come so that we can pray wisely. In fact, we have influence with God and when we pray, God intercepts the devil's work of disasters and calamities.
God wants us to take up this authority that Jesus has given us (Matthew 28:18-19) to boldly command diseases and sicknesses to leave, to command circumstances to line up with God's Word, to calm the storms etc. As we command in Jesus' Name, our 'sea' will open up and we will walk on dry grounds in the midst of troubles. And as we go, miracles will follow us.
I don't know about you but I certainly do not want to miss out on this great Masterplan during such times. I want to be involved in what God is doing in this hour. I want to be the ones whose Spirit-inspired words of prophecy and prayer are releasing the power of God upon the earth. I want to see God's miracles, signs and wonders in this time and age. I want to be the key players, one of God's generals in this endtime army that He is raising up. What about you?
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