Dear Beloved, I just wanted to share a revelation regarding how God views time. I must say that this is one of the more important revelations I received because this had been an area that I struggled tremendously with over the past few years. During the long wait for certain promises of my life to manifest, I have often asked God about the timing issue. I guess my faith was strong enough to believe that what He promised, He is able to perform, yet with regards to when He will perform, I have always been in doubt. It is quite an oxymoron right? Actually if you are very sure He will do what He promised, you will stand firm and strong no matter how long it takes to manifest, right?
Ok, this does not work that way for me. The reason is I had a very limited perspective of time. I saw time as confined to the hour glass of my life on earth. I saw the clock ticking and I was conscious of my age. I saw how my peers had seemingly moved on in the areas I had desired. I was discouraged and distracted, spending my time running here and there trying to fulfill God's promises in my own strength. All the while hoping that it would perhaps expedite things and cut short my waiting time.
Because I viewed my time and what I do in such a limited time scope, I have the tendency to give up or be despondent until the Lord liberated me from this bondage by showing me how He views time. Afterall, He lives outside of time and space. He is not limited by time. In fact, He created time. He can redeem lost time. He can even stop time like how He stopped the sun from moving for one whole day at Joshua's request. What makes me think that with the timeless One living in me, I could still be trapped by the limits of time on earth?
In fact, the truth is when a person is saved, eternal life starts from the moment of salvation. Time on earth is temporal but when that time is up, the person just simply changes location and ends up in heaven for eternity. For that person, time has changed from being 'limited in this earth' to 'limitless'. In that one act of salvation, God has just affected time for that person and infused it with eternal purpose. The hour glass is shattered because it no longer holds true for him.
If you think it impossible, God has given us a glimpse of how He can affect time through space travel. You would have heard about how an astronaut orbits space for a couple of weeks to return to earth and find that 70 years had passed. The person still stayed the same while the people around him had aged or even passed on. Sounds impossible? It has happened before. No one can explain how it could happen but it has something to do with the light-years of traveling in space.
Well, now you know that your time is limitless, would you still feel constrained by the time you live on earth? Would you still feel that the promises of God are slow in coming? Know that with the Lord, a thousand years is like a day. Just like a person who has great wealth will not be constrained in his spending, we who have eternal life should not be limited by the time we spend on earth.
I don't know about you but viewing time from God's perspective gives me rest. I no longer need to feel that my time is running out or that I am getting older each day. Afterall, God is able to cause my youth to be renewed so that I could still have a lot of strength and vitality to serve Him even when my peers have grown old. Age is really just a number. I don't have to feel that while staying home and spending time with the Lord, the whole world is passing by me. The truth is that the Lord is affecting my time on earth and catapulting me further into my destiny that I can imagine. When I do what He tells me, He is imparting to me the power to affect time...not just for myself but for many others.
I really don't know how He can do that but I trust that nothing is impossible with Him. Afterall, He is the timeless One. Maybe the power to affect time is to go back to the past or to make time stop or to travel to the future. Time travel might be just science fiction for us now but it is definitely a reality to Him...
Friday, September 21, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Faith is a rest
When I talk about faith, many believers are very familiar with this verse Mark 11:24 "For assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea.' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." In summary, this verse simply tell us to believe and receive. Along with this verse, there is also another verse that talks about confessing what you believe. 2 Cor 4:13 says 'And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written,"I believed and therefore I spoke", we also believe and therefore speak.'
But do you also know that faith is really a rest? All these things about believing and confessing are well and good until you make it into a form of works or formula. How do one make faith into works or performance? When you feel that you need to confess 10 times a day that you have what you believe or that you keep telling yourself that you must believe and not doubt, if not you will nulify your faith. Well, this happened to me. That's when I put my focus more on my faith instead of God's grace to fulfil what He promised. I was more conscious of my faith (or lack of faith) than God's power to answer prayers. That, my friends, is works or self-efforts even though faith itself is not works.
The acid test of whether you really believe that those things you ask for will be done is this: you enter into rest. Heb 4:3 says 'For we who have believed do enter that rest'. It is only when you truly believe what God says that you cease from all self-efforts or toilsome worry and rest. When you cannot rest, it shows that you are still concerned about the issue at hand, perhaps thinking that if you do nothing, then really nothing will happen. Heb 4:10 says 'For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.'
Having said all this, I know from experience that it is really very difficult to rest...especially when you have waited for a very long while for a promise to come to pass. You started out strong in faith, restful and assured that God has spoken to you. Then a period of time passed and not only did you not see the manifestation of your promise, things started to get worse. You wonder: did you hear God correctly or is it because my faith is not strong enough? You start to review all the possibilities of what could have gone wrong. When that happens, you get into unrest and all kinds of cares come into your heart. Your heart becomes troubled and that peace or rest you have started off with becomes so elusive...sounds familiar?
Many of us are postponing our enjoyment and rest until the thing we desire manifests. No wonder the bible tells us to 'labour to enter into that rest', which is quite an oxymoron. How does one labour to enter into rest? Firstly, we can rest when we realise where we are seated in Christ. Eph 2:6 says that God has seated us in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And where are our problems and challenges? They are far far below the right hand of God where Jesus is seated. These problems we face have been put under Jesus' feet. We are praying from victory, not for victory. That truth will bring you rest.
Secondly, we can learn to cast our cares to the Lord. A Christian life is a life of 'letting go and letting God'. When we are striving and in toilsome labour, we are not letting go. We are still holding on to that issue very tightly, thinking that if we don't do it, then no one will. Frankly speaking, if God doesn't do it, what can we do? But God can and He will perform what He promised. When you let go, the thing that you desire may not manifest immediately but it definitely will when your due season has come. God will never let those who trusts Him be disappointed. God wants His children to live life relaxed and restful. He knows that when you are at rest, all His blessings will flow unhindered into our lives. But when we are restless, fear can easily come into a heart that is troubled.
Thirdly, after we cast our cares to the Lord, we give thanks to Him and worship. We thank God in advance for the answered prayer. We continue to praise Him for His goodness and focus on all the blessings He has showered on you. Whenever I thank the Lord for His blessings on my life, I cannot help but praise Him because my heart is filled with gratitude. He opened my eyes to see that I am already so blessed and in such an enviable position. Because I have Jesus, I have everything. I know Jesus loves me so much and I am conscious of His love for me in big and small ways.
One of the ways the Lord showed me in the process of waiting is to bask in His love for me. Being caught up in a world of love with Jesus causes you to be oblivious of time and things happening around you. When I am beholding Jesus in my eyes, nothing else matters anymore. When I focus on God's love for me, I naturally find myself resting. The other way is to worship the Lord. When you worship Him, your mind is absorbed in His power and His presence. When you worship Him, there is no place for worry or doubts in your mind. Oh how wonderful is my Saviour!
But do you also know that faith is really a rest? All these things about believing and confessing are well and good until you make it into a form of works or formula. How do one make faith into works or performance? When you feel that you need to confess 10 times a day that you have what you believe or that you keep telling yourself that you must believe and not doubt, if not you will nulify your faith. Well, this happened to me. That's when I put my focus more on my faith instead of God's grace to fulfil what He promised. I was more conscious of my faith (or lack of faith) than God's power to answer prayers. That, my friends, is works or self-efforts even though faith itself is not works.
The acid test of whether you really believe that those things you ask for will be done is this: you enter into rest. Heb 4:3 says 'For we who have believed do enter that rest'. It is only when you truly believe what God says that you cease from all self-efforts or toilsome worry and rest. When you cannot rest, it shows that you are still concerned about the issue at hand, perhaps thinking that if you do nothing, then really nothing will happen. Heb 4:10 says 'For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.'
Having said all this, I know from experience that it is really very difficult to rest...especially when you have waited for a very long while for a promise to come to pass. You started out strong in faith, restful and assured that God has spoken to you. Then a period of time passed and not only did you not see the manifestation of your promise, things started to get worse. You wonder: did you hear God correctly or is it because my faith is not strong enough? You start to review all the possibilities of what could have gone wrong. When that happens, you get into unrest and all kinds of cares come into your heart. Your heart becomes troubled and that peace or rest you have started off with becomes so elusive...sounds familiar?
Many of us are postponing our enjoyment and rest until the thing we desire manifests. No wonder the bible tells us to 'labour to enter into that rest', which is quite an oxymoron. How does one labour to enter into rest? Firstly, we can rest when we realise where we are seated in Christ. Eph 2:6 says that God has seated us in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And where are our problems and challenges? They are far far below the right hand of God where Jesus is seated. These problems we face have been put under Jesus' feet. We are praying from victory, not for victory. That truth will bring you rest.
Secondly, we can learn to cast our cares to the Lord. A Christian life is a life of 'letting go and letting God'. When we are striving and in toilsome labour, we are not letting go. We are still holding on to that issue very tightly, thinking that if we don't do it, then no one will. Frankly speaking, if God doesn't do it, what can we do? But God can and He will perform what He promised. When you let go, the thing that you desire may not manifest immediately but it definitely will when your due season has come. God will never let those who trusts Him be disappointed. God wants His children to live life relaxed and restful. He knows that when you are at rest, all His blessings will flow unhindered into our lives. But when we are restless, fear can easily come into a heart that is troubled.
Thirdly, after we cast our cares to the Lord, we give thanks to Him and worship. We thank God in advance for the answered prayer. We continue to praise Him for His goodness and focus on all the blessings He has showered on you. Whenever I thank the Lord for His blessings on my life, I cannot help but praise Him because my heart is filled with gratitude. He opened my eyes to see that I am already so blessed and in such an enviable position. Because I have Jesus, I have everything. I know Jesus loves me so much and I am conscious of His love for me in big and small ways.
One of the ways the Lord showed me in the process of waiting is to bask in His love for me. Being caught up in a world of love with Jesus causes you to be oblivious of time and things happening around you. When I am beholding Jesus in my eyes, nothing else matters anymore. When I focus on God's love for me, I naturally find myself resting. The other way is to worship the Lord. When you worship Him, your mind is absorbed in His power and His presence. When you worship Him, there is no place for worry or doubts in your mind. Oh how wonderful is my Saviour!
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Piano Lessons
I had been thinking about letting Joshua learn something new early this year. It can be swimming or art or music. In July 2010 we enrolled Joshua in an art class that taught him how to use oil crayons to colour the pictures. He attended for about four months and did not seem as keen to continue with the art lessons. At that time, the art school also raised its fees and we asked Joshua if he wanted to continue. He said no, so we allowed him to drop out of that art class.
Early this year we had been thinking of enrolling him in swimming classes since there are swim coaches who teach children in the condo swimming pool. However, Joshua kept saying he did not want to learn swimming. Besides his daddy had been teaching him how to swim and now he can tread water and lift his head up while swimming longer distances. The only thing was his strokes might not be accurate. Hence we asked him what would he like to learn. He said he wanted to learn music, like how to play drums since his daddy played drums in church previously. But his daddy said it would be better to let him learn piano because that would give him a good foundation in music.
The only thing holding us back was we were not sure if he was serious about learning music, in case it ended up like the art class. Besides, we would need to buy a keyboard for him to practise if he wanted to learn piano. Learning piano is a heavy investment afterall. And so we sought the Lord about it. It was many months later that it became clear to us what type of enrichment class we should put him into. My aunt gave us her daughter's keyboard in August and we thought that was a clear indication. Afterall, we did not even have to spend money on a keyboard. Secondly, it allowed us to observe how Joshua was taking to the keyboard. That would be another indication of his interest. Indeed it turned out that he liked fiddling with the sounds of the keyboard and he told me that he wanted to learn piano.
We then looked for a suitable music school and found one near to our home. The lessons would be conducted over a 30-min period on Thursday noons. It was a good arrangement for me because we wanted to keep our weekends free for family time. I brought Joshua for his first piano lesson last Thursday. I was observing him from outside the room where his teacher was teaching him. He seemed really interested and enjoying himself. I was happy for him. I asked him if he enjoyed the piano lesson and he said 'I told you I loved music, right!' Afterwards when he reached home, he was so eager to show me what he learnt by practising on the keyboard.
Finally I was so relieved! Thank God! This issue had been on my mind for a long while and now that we found an enrichment class that Joshua would be really interested in, I can put my mind at rest. I know it would be futile to force him to take up something he did not like because that would not be enduring. Hence, even though this issue took a little longer to be settled, I was happy to have waited because I know it is the right timing. It is the Lord's timing and I did not rush into it by blindly enrolling him in other enrichment classes.
Early this year we had been thinking of enrolling him in swimming classes since there are swim coaches who teach children in the condo swimming pool. However, Joshua kept saying he did not want to learn swimming. Besides his daddy had been teaching him how to swim and now he can tread water and lift his head up while swimming longer distances. The only thing was his strokes might not be accurate. Hence we asked him what would he like to learn. He said he wanted to learn music, like how to play drums since his daddy played drums in church previously. But his daddy said it would be better to let him learn piano because that would give him a good foundation in music.
The only thing holding us back was we were not sure if he was serious about learning music, in case it ended up like the art class. Besides, we would need to buy a keyboard for him to practise if he wanted to learn piano. Learning piano is a heavy investment afterall. And so we sought the Lord about it. It was many months later that it became clear to us what type of enrichment class we should put him into. My aunt gave us her daughter's keyboard in August and we thought that was a clear indication. Afterall, we did not even have to spend money on a keyboard. Secondly, it allowed us to observe how Joshua was taking to the keyboard. That would be another indication of his interest. Indeed it turned out that he liked fiddling with the sounds of the keyboard and he told me that he wanted to learn piano.
We then looked for a suitable music school and found one near to our home. The lessons would be conducted over a 30-min period on Thursday noons. It was a good arrangement for me because we wanted to keep our weekends free for family time. I brought Joshua for his first piano lesson last Thursday. I was observing him from outside the room where his teacher was teaching him. He seemed really interested and enjoying himself. I was happy for him. I asked him if he enjoyed the piano lesson and he said 'I told you I loved music, right!' Afterwards when he reached home, he was so eager to show me what he learnt by practising on the keyboard.
Finally I was so relieved! Thank God! This issue had been on my mind for a long while and now that we found an enrichment class that Joshua would be really interested in, I can put my mind at rest. I know it would be futile to force him to take up something he did not like because that would not be enduring. Hence, even though this issue took a little longer to be settled, I was happy to have waited because I know it is the right timing. It is the Lord's timing and I did not rush into it by blindly enrolling him in other enrichment classes.
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