Last Saturday, my ex-colleague who stayed near me came for visitation. As we talked about our colleagues and the workplace, I suddenly realised how time flies! It's been one year since I left my workplace. I was really happy to find out that this colleague of mine has received Christ, was baptised and is now attending New Creation Church! I used to pray for her salvation and even tried talking to her about receiving Christ. But she kept saying she has no 'fate' with Christianity. She told me she nearly went through the Catholic baptism class. Well, God is so good...He has a thousand ways of reaching to her. It turned out that it was her sister who brought her to New Creation Church!
31 Jan 2011 was my last day of work and as I reflected on this past year of staying home, I must say that God is unfairly good to me! My ex-colleague asked me if I ever regreted leaving the company for she could tell that management had plans to groom me into a leader, I told her that I never regretted, never looked back ever since. I left in joy and peace because God was the One who led me out. Besides, I told her that God has greater plans for me in my future and I could achieve much more than if I stayed in the company.
During this period of 'locking' myself at home, God enlarged my vision and taught me to dream big dreams. He also revealed to me His future plans and they are really exciting. He trained my spiritual ears to hear from Him more clearly and to act on His prompting when He leads. Little by little, as I step out in faith, He showed me more revelations from the bible. He also used me mightily to give a Word in season to those who are weary. He empowered me to minister to the sick, the helpless and the depressed. In the course of ministering to brothers and sisters, I saw how much the Lord loved them. Sometimes you cannot feel or experience God's love for yourself but when God opens your eyes to see how much He loved others, you cannot help but see God's love for yourself.
Of course, some may be curious what I am doing at home. I would say that I spend a lot of time with God. I would have extended periods of quiet time with the Lord, either reading Christian books, reading bible, praying, listening to the Lord, journaling etc. Then out of the overflow, I would blog and share about my revelations from the Lord and my experiences. I would also go through the last sermon that Pastor preached on Sunday and glean more nuggets of truth from there. In the course of the year, God gave me inspiration on my book 'Beauty Out of Ashes' and I have completed my manuscript! I have sent it to a publishing house for editorial review and I am now waiting for a reply. God will surely open doors.
In the afternoons, when Joshua is back from school, I will spend some time with him either playing, reading to him or doing some worksheets. (Of course I had time to do housework...) Sometimes I will bring him for a swim or to the library if he does not want to nap. It is really wonderful to have the time to stop and smell the flowers, look at the plants, birds and insects or feel the breeze. Joshua is a curious boy and he likes to study the nature. We would then talk about the plant or insects as we had read in the encyclopedias.
Yesterday as we were walking back from his school, Joshua asked me to stop and squat down. I thought he wanted to tell me something. But he did the sweetest thing. He came near to my face and rubbed his nose against mine and gave me a kiss. He told me he loved mummy. I was so touched that I nearly teared. This is God's reward for me, for staying home. I get to enjoy all the pearly moments with my children. If this is not days of heaven on earth, then what is?
Pastor Prince shared that love delights in feeding and taking care of the person. It's so true. Because I loved my son, I am happy to do everything for him, even menial tasks like preparing food, feeding him, bathing him, reading to him, doing homework with him, putting him to sleep. Some people may say it is not the best use of my talents or my education but I think my son is worth it all. He is so precious. He is a gift from God. He has a divine destiny and I feel so privileged to have a part to play in his destiny. I thank God for making me a happy mother of children at home. This is truly my calling for this season of my life.
And as I continue to enjoy my days at home, I trust that God has given me another baby and this baby is manifesting really soon. I really look forward to sharing good news with all of you! Praise Jesus!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Year of Unceasing Fruitfulness
Our Pastor preached a sermon at the start of this year which talked about the theme of this year: Unceasing Fruitfulness. He said that 11 is the biblical number of disorganisation so 2011 was a disorganised year but 12 is the biblical number of His divine order. Hence in 2012, everything will fall into place. He shared mainly from three passages in the bible:
Jeremiah 17:7-8 'Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.'
Psalm 1:3 'He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.'
Revelations 22:2 'In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore 12 fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.'
When God said we are like trees planted by the rivers, it means that He is planting us and taking care of us. We are the blessed man. A blessed man will not feel the pressure when it comes. We are hearing bad news about the world economy and the possibility of a bad year. But the blessed man need not worry because he will not cease from bearing fruit. Fruit is the outflow of life and that life comes from Jesus Christ. Not only that, God said in Revelations 22:2 that we will bear fruit every month of this year. Wow!
Personally I am very excited about the theme for this year because in Feb last year, the Lord led me to the river beside my condo and showed me the trees planted by the rivers. He told me that I am like the tree planted by the rivers of water and I bring forth fruit this season (Psalm 1:3). I thank God that I already started to see some fruit in my life last year and the fruitfulness will continue this year. In fact, I am sure that I will see more fruit this year so that My Father will be glorified. I have come to the fullness stage or the harvest when I will bear much fruit.
The key to fruitfulness is in meditating the Word of God, like in Joshua 1:8 'you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and you will have good success.' Meditate in Hebrew is hagah which is to utter or mutter, to speak under one's breath. So you can meditate anytime of the day, like saying 'I am a tree planted by the rivers of water...' If you can worry, you can meditate because you simply turn your attention to the Word of God instead of your problems.
My dear brothers and sisters, let it sink into your spirit that 2012 is a good year and God is preparing to manifest fruit in every area of your life. Keep your expectations and hopes high to receive all that the Lord has prepared for you this year! Be blessed exceedingly! Amen!
Jeremiah 17:7-8 'Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.'
Psalm 1:3 'He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.'
Revelations 22:2 'In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore 12 fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.'
When God said we are like trees planted by the rivers, it means that He is planting us and taking care of us. We are the blessed man. A blessed man will not feel the pressure when it comes. We are hearing bad news about the world economy and the possibility of a bad year. But the blessed man need not worry because he will not cease from bearing fruit. Fruit is the outflow of life and that life comes from Jesus Christ. Not only that, God said in Revelations 22:2 that we will bear fruit every month of this year. Wow!
Personally I am very excited about the theme for this year because in Feb last year, the Lord led me to the river beside my condo and showed me the trees planted by the rivers. He told me that I am like the tree planted by the rivers of water and I bring forth fruit this season (Psalm 1:3). I thank God that I already started to see some fruit in my life last year and the fruitfulness will continue this year. In fact, I am sure that I will see more fruit this year so that My Father will be glorified. I have come to the fullness stage or the harvest when I will bear much fruit.
The key to fruitfulness is in meditating the Word of God, like in Joshua 1:8 'you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and you will have good success.' Meditate in Hebrew is hagah which is to utter or mutter, to speak under one's breath. So you can meditate anytime of the day, like saying 'I am a tree planted by the rivers of water...' If you can worry, you can meditate because you simply turn your attention to the Word of God instead of your problems.
My dear brothers and sisters, let it sink into your spirit that 2012 is a good year and God is preparing to manifest fruit in every area of your life. Keep your expectations and hopes high to receive all that the Lord has prepared for you this year! Be blessed exceedingly! Amen!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Guard your 'ear' gates and 'eye' gates
I felt impressed to share this experience I had. It was a totally unpleasant experience in which I fell sick and had senseless pain for at least a week.
It all started with a harmless book. This book was bought from Beijing. It is one of the timeless classics in Chinese literature. I bought this book because even though I read it in secondary school, I had no recollection of what it talked about. Not only that, because we were 'forced' to read this book, I remembered feeling so repulsed by it that I completely lost interest in Chinese as a language. Only until recently my interest in Chinese was rekindled by God and I discovered what a beauttiful language it is.
After reading most of the book, I realised why I hated it in the first place. This story was so depressing. It did not have any heroic acts or any strong characters that would capture audience's attention. The storyline was weak and there were no turning points. It was like a downstream ride all the way till final destruction. The main characters were melancholic, pessimistic and they cried easily. They were victims of societal norms and eventually the lady died of an illness. She did not even get to see her lover for the last time. Her lover, on the other hand, was deceived into marrying another lady during those last moments of her life. How pathetic right!
Well, I guess maybe that is really the case for unbelievers. They really cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel. They have no hope for the future. But this should not be so for us! We are children of the Most High God and our days are getting brighter as time passes. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us from the curse of the law and the sin of this world through His death on the cross! No wonder I totally cannot identify with the characters in that book. I am the blessed one!
However, unknowingly as I got deeper into the plot of this book, I opened my mind to the spirits of distress. Dear beloved, I can tell you that the spirit realm is more real than the physical realm. Everything that you see (whether good or bad) first happened in the spirit realm. It is in this realm that strongholds are set up or destroyed. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says 'For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war accordingly to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ...'
When you find yourself caught in an endless cycle of depression or sickness or some bondage, go to the Lord and ask Him to show you what is happening in the spirit realm. You would be surprised to discover that the cause of all these things is not of the natural! And here you are running around in the natural trying to solve the problem which is not even natural...sounds familiar right?
This was what happened to me. After a few days of gum pain which refused to go away, I went to see a doctor but even after taking antibiotics, the pain still recurred after the effects of the painkiller wear off. I thought that this issue could be solved with medication. I finally sought the Lord for the reason and for the resolution. The Lord showed me that I would not be able to get results from the world. John 3:6 says flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. The stronghold originated in the spirit realm and has to be destroyed in that realm.
When He revealed to me the source of the stronghold, I quickly took hold of that book and trashed it. I declared 'You foul spirits of distress, go in the Name of Jesus, along with this pain and swollen gums!' At that moment I felt a release and even though the pain was still there, I knew that this was a turning point and I would experience the manifestation of healing soon. True enough, by the next day the cycle of pain was broken even after I stopped taking painkillers. Praise God!
Dear brothers and sisters, I just wanted to share that all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23). We really need to guard our 'ear' gates and 'eye' gates because sometimes the materials we read or hear take root in our heart unknowingly and slowly become a stronghold. This would eventually play out in our lives as physical manifestations because wrong believing leads to wrong living. Conversely, if you let the Word of God take root in your life, you will surely bear fruit. Proverbs 12:12 says the root of the righteous yields fruit.
It all started with a harmless book. This book was bought from Beijing. It is one of the timeless classics in Chinese literature. I bought this book because even though I read it in secondary school, I had no recollection of what it talked about. Not only that, because we were 'forced' to read this book, I remembered feeling so repulsed by it that I completely lost interest in Chinese as a language. Only until recently my interest in Chinese was rekindled by God and I discovered what a beauttiful language it is.
After reading most of the book, I realised why I hated it in the first place. This story was so depressing. It did not have any heroic acts or any strong characters that would capture audience's attention. The storyline was weak and there were no turning points. It was like a downstream ride all the way till final destruction. The main characters were melancholic, pessimistic and they cried easily. They were victims of societal norms and eventually the lady died of an illness. She did not even get to see her lover for the last time. Her lover, on the other hand, was deceived into marrying another lady during those last moments of her life. How pathetic right!
Well, I guess maybe that is really the case for unbelievers. They really cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel. They have no hope for the future. But this should not be so for us! We are children of the Most High God and our days are getting brighter as time passes. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us from the curse of the law and the sin of this world through His death on the cross! No wonder I totally cannot identify with the characters in that book. I am the blessed one!
However, unknowingly as I got deeper into the plot of this book, I opened my mind to the spirits of distress. Dear beloved, I can tell you that the spirit realm is more real than the physical realm. Everything that you see (whether good or bad) first happened in the spirit realm. It is in this realm that strongholds are set up or destroyed. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says 'For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war accordingly to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ...'
When you find yourself caught in an endless cycle of depression or sickness or some bondage, go to the Lord and ask Him to show you what is happening in the spirit realm. You would be surprised to discover that the cause of all these things is not of the natural! And here you are running around in the natural trying to solve the problem which is not even natural...sounds familiar right?
This was what happened to me. After a few days of gum pain which refused to go away, I went to see a doctor but even after taking antibiotics, the pain still recurred after the effects of the painkiller wear off. I thought that this issue could be solved with medication. I finally sought the Lord for the reason and for the resolution. The Lord showed me that I would not be able to get results from the world. John 3:6 says flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. The stronghold originated in the spirit realm and has to be destroyed in that realm.
When He revealed to me the source of the stronghold, I quickly took hold of that book and trashed it. I declared 'You foul spirits of distress, go in the Name of Jesus, along with this pain and swollen gums!' At that moment I felt a release and even though the pain was still there, I knew that this was a turning point and I would experience the manifestation of healing soon. True enough, by the next day the cycle of pain was broken even after I stopped taking painkillers. Praise God!
Dear brothers and sisters, I just wanted to share that all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23). We really need to guard our 'ear' gates and 'eye' gates because sometimes the materials we read or hear take root in our heart unknowingly and slowly become a stronghold. This would eventually play out in our lives as physical manifestations because wrong believing leads to wrong living. Conversely, if you let the Word of God take root in your life, you will surely bear fruit. Proverbs 12:12 says the root of the righteous yields fruit.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Thanksgiving for 2011
Our family just completed our thanksgiving for 2011 and our 3 wishes for the coming year. We realised that we really have so much to thank God for in this year. The theme for our church this year is the year of God's crowned goodness. God has blessed us exceedingly and abundantly beyond what we ask or imagine. I just thought of sharing some of Joshua's thanksgiving because I thought it was so precious...it came from a 5-year old boy.
Joshua thanked God for:
1) Many presents received during Christmas
2) Good barbeque with family
3) Nice cupcake (which he just ate in the afternoon!)
4) Good Beijing trip - hotel and flight
5) Good Taiwan holiday - farmstay and hotspring
6) Good home that we stay
7) Daddy's car
8) His future baby sister (he has eyes of faith to see)
9) Our church (New Creation Church)
10) Rock Kidz (his Sunday School)
11) His grandmothers' homes
12) The good world that we stay in
13) That Joshua loves God and Jesus
14) Swimming pool in our condo
15) Good playground in our condo
16) Good door that we open and close everyday (this one is really funny)
17) Care group worship
18) Daddy's good driving skills
19) Nice dresses that Mummy bought for Chinese New Year
20) Nice dinners that Mummy cooked
Joshua thanked God for:
1) Many presents received during Christmas
2) Good barbeque with family
3) Nice cupcake (which he just ate in the afternoon!)
4) Good Beijing trip - hotel and flight
5) Good Taiwan holiday - farmstay and hotspring
6) Good home that we stay
7) Daddy's car
8) His future baby sister (he has eyes of faith to see)
9) Our church (New Creation Church)
10) Rock Kidz (his Sunday School)
11) His grandmothers' homes
12) The good world that we stay in
13) That Joshua loves God and Jesus
14) Swimming pool in our condo
15) Good playground in our condo
16) Good door that we open and close everyday (this one is really funny)
17) Care group worship
18) Daddy's good driving skills
19) Nice dresses that Mummy bought for Chinese New Year
20) Nice dinners that Mummy cooked
Best Christian Blog of the Year Award!
It has been a rather discouraging past week for me - I was down with excruciating gum pain followed by gastric pain. But I thank God that He brought me out of it stronger and I still manage to enjoy all the festivities with Christmas and the year end celebrations! Now that the year has come to an end, we are all taking stock of the promises that came to pass. I was thinking about the wishes that I had made in early 2011 and thinking about those wishes that still were yet to be fulfilled.
2011 went by so fast and even though I still have countless thanksgiving for His blessings in 2011, I felt that I was somewhat not ready for 2012. I guess it is because of those promises that are yet to be fulfilled in my life. Many in our church received what they asked for in the course of the year and I keep telling myself that I too sat under the corporate anointing and I would not be missed out by God.
God is really so good - He has not forgotten about me. He has a great surprise for me on this last day of 2011. I was really not expecting anything like this because I was not even aware of such a award. By God's grace, I was awarded the 'Best Christian Blog of the Week' in Feb 2011. I was already very happy to receive such a recognition. But when I saw that I was awarded the 'Best Christian Blog of the Year' (http://bestchristianblogoftheyear.blogspot.com/), I was so happy that I cried! These are tears of joy! This award is given by my Abba Father who loves me so much and that He cares for me.
Nobody will know how much this meant to me - more than just an award, God is assuring me that He has not left me behind while I watch others receive their blessings in the year. He is telling me that my other wishes will surely come to pass in 2012. He will also open doors for my book to be published and 2012 is going to be my best year yet! It is going to be a year of abundance and fruitfulness that I have never seen before! He is going to break new grounds in my family, my ministry and our finances! It is going to be such an exciting year!
With this assurance from the Lord Himself, I am ready to be blessed exceedingly and abundantly for 2012. Are you expecting to see more of God's goodness in your life in the coming year?
2011 went by so fast and even though I still have countless thanksgiving for His blessings in 2011, I felt that I was somewhat not ready for 2012. I guess it is because of those promises that are yet to be fulfilled in my life. Many in our church received what they asked for in the course of the year and I keep telling myself that I too sat under the corporate anointing and I would not be missed out by God.
God is really so good - He has not forgotten about me. He has a great surprise for me on this last day of 2011. I was really not expecting anything like this because I was not even aware of such a award. By God's grace, I was awarded the 'Best Christian Blog of the Week' in Feb 2011. I was already very happy to receive such a recognition. But when I saw that I was awarded the 'Best Christian Blog of the Year' (http://bestchristianblogoftheyear.blogspot.com/), I was so happy that I cried! These are tears of joy! This award is given by my Abba Father who loves me so much and that He cares for me.
Nobody will know how much this meant to me - more than just an award, God is assuring me that He has not left me behind while I watch others receive their blessings in the year. He is telling me that my other wishes will surely come to pass in 2012. He will also open doors for my book to be published and 2012 is going to be my best year yet! It is going to be a year of abundance and fruitfulness that I have never seen before! He is going to break new grounds in my family, my ministry and our finances! It is going to be such an exciting year!
With this assurance from the Lord Himself, I am ready to be blessed exceedingly and abundantly for 2012. Are you expecting to see more of God's goodness in your life in the coming year?
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