Plant Experiment

Recently we conducted a plant experiment to see the power of our words. Proverbs 18:21 says 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.' There are two seeds that we planted in the cotton wool in two cups. One plant we bless daily and the other plant we curse daily. We called them the Blessed Plant and the Cursed Plant. We gave the plants same amount of water and sunlight everyday and see them grow.

For the Blessed Plant, we would tell it to grow healthy and strong in Jesus' Name, that it is blessed, it is lovely and beautiful, that we love the plant. For the Cursed Plant, we would curse it in Jesus' name and say it will not grow healthy and strong, it is very ugly and no one loves it. One week later, we observed the results of our daily blessing and cursing. The seed that was blessed grew much faster than the one that was cursed.

We observed the plants for another week and we saw that the Cursed Plant started to grow very fast after the first week, somewhat catching up with the Blessed Plant. We decided to curse it in Jesus' name, that it will shrivel up and die from its roots. At the moment when we cursed it to die, nothing seemed to happen. The leaves were still as green and healthy. Initially I was still concerned that the Cursed Plant will overtake the Blessed Plant in its growth but after one day of cursing it to its death, we were amazed to see that the plant really withered.

This plant experiment taught us a very powerful lesson. Firstly, we were made conscious of the fact that we are king-priests and there is power in our words. We should be aware that everytime we speak God's word, it is not dissipating into thin air but that once we speak His word, everything is set into motion in the spirit realm. Secondly, like how we cursed the plant to shrivel up and die, even though nothing seemed to change on the surface, the truth was that the plant was also cursed in its roots, which we cannot see. The results of the withering would eventually manifest because the moment we cursed it to die, the plant was starting to die.

I was reminded of the incident when Jesus cursed the fig tree and the next day it really shriveled up and died. Jesus then told the disciples in the famous Kenneth E. Hagin's verse in Mark 11:24 'Whosover 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.' I have come across this verse countless times but this time when I looked at it again, God is saying a new thing to me. He is telling us that if we can believe, all things are possible (Mark 9:23). All things mean all things. Jesus knows that it is our faith that overcomes the world and hence He is always building us up in our faith.

How many times have we declared His promise and when it took a while to manifest, we start to wonder what is happening or is God's Word still powerful? I have...many times, especially when the outward circumstances still did not seem to change a bit after I have spoken His word many times. Yet God still encouraged me that everything has changed and He is still working behind the scenes. Well, He knows I need help so He gave me this vivid illustration of how everything is set into motion once I cursed the plant to die. And when I saw this in the natural, my heart was so encouraged and I was reminded to continue speaking His word and not give up. For it would only be a matter of time that what we say will come to pass. Maybe you would like to try this experiment and experience the power of your words? You will be so encouraged.

Push Buttons

As I ministered to some sisters recently, I saw how they were holding on to their issue so tightly they could hardly breathe. That issue had become the point of obsession in their lives even though it was clearly not a life or death matter. Their problem became so big that it was all they could think of and all they could talk about.

I know how it feels because I have been there before. It is so painful and when you are trapped in that cycle of disappointment, pity and depression, it is no fun at all. You feel so helpless and angry at yourself for not being able to walk out of that mountain. You are sick and tired of being sick and tired. You hope things would change but you don't see any change happening, at least not on the surface. You are frustrated because you don't see any progress...that every time you thought you turned the corner, the next moment you find yourself at the same old place! It's a terrible feeling.

The more we dwell on it, the bigger it becomes until it turns disproportionate. Very soon you will be so disappointed and bitter that you find it harder to latch on to hope, settling for a less than fulfilled life, lest the disappointment overwhelm you one more time. You will find that in spite of God's repeated assurances and His word that your time has come, you have more 'faith' in the distance between you and your desires than you do in God's supernatural ability to fulfill them.

You will start to shun God's people because you fear condemnation and you feel lousy because after so many years, you still have not seen your breakthroughs. You even blame God for allowing such things to happen to you. You start to wonder why these struggles don't happen to other people except you. Why the rest have it easy when you kept struggling over your challenges? Now most of the times we don't know the challenges of others because they don't share with us. Even if it doesn't happen in the same manner to them, they also have their own struggles albeit in a different area. Everyone of us have our challenges but only in Christ can we overcome them.

Well, I have my own challenge. It's in the area of childbearing but I know the time has come for Him to cause me to overcome this. I have also asked God why other ladies seem to have no problem conceiving except me. But I came to a point I realized complaining and murmuring is not going to help me. God has already declared that a shift has occurred and what used to be a struggle is not a struggle anymore. Like Paul and Silas, I choose to worship and praise Him in the midst of my challenges, instead of complaining. When all hope seemed lost, I will still praise Him because He is a good God. Instead of looking at my chains and prison doors, I look to the One who is not bound by prison doors. I believe God is going to suddenly cause the breakthrough and open doors to happen as I sing and praise His name.

No wonder God does not want us to say that the longing of our heart is far off, because the time of our deepest desire has now come. He wants our hopes to be renewed and believe once again that the season of fulfillment is upon us. God beckons us to take it one more time than we think we have strength for. I also realized that there are always two sides to a coin. I can choose to see the positive and give thanks to God for it or I can choose to see the negative side of our 'lack'. God opened my eyes to see how much I have progressed and the marvelous works He has done in my life, compared to the seeming lack I have.

No wonder God says in everything give thanks to Him. A thanksgiving heart is a receiving heart. And the devil doesn't want us to be grateful to God. He knows how powerful thanksgiving, praise and worship is. He knows that when we shift our focus from ourselves to Jesus, something powerful happens to our spirit. Our faith rises up and as we continue to see Him perform breakthrough after breakthroughs, our faith is reinforced and it is an upward cycle.

Besides, God has taught me to guard my thoughts and my heart. Do not let my heart be troubled and let not the devil steal my peace, my rest, my joy and my song. Precisely because I hold it too tightly, the devil can keep pushing this button. The Lord told me 'Don't let him do it anymore, it is actually very simple. Just be nonchalant about it, let go of any cares to me. Have a bo-chap attitude and hold things lightly.' Be ever ready to praise God for big and small things and be expectant of the good things He has in store. Blessings are really hunting us down because it is open heavens and God is raining over us right now.

God's Shifts

One day while travelling, I was standing in one of the MRT cabins. Someone just left and I got a seat. Then I saw a mum and a small girl walk in, so I stood up to let them have my seat. I was standing in front of them and then I thought why not shift nearer to the door since there is a panel for me to lean against. From that place I saw a few more seats in the next cabin so I walked over to sit down.

There and then the Holy Spirit spoke to me. He said sometimes you cannot see the doors of opportunities if you stay put in one place. But when God moves you, it's like you have a new perspective and opportunities start opening up to you. These opportunities were out of your sight while you were at your former position. It's only when you moved that you saw them.

But the opportunities were there all the time. This reminds me of what Pastor Prince said...the potential was there all the time but it takes God to open our eyes and cause us to see those open doors. Sometimes it is waiting for the right season to manifest. This is the season. Now is the time! It's amazing as I thought about the move for me to serve at the Star and for Heng's office shift to another location.

These shifts were not coincidental but God-ordained. Surely God has more and better things in store for us at the new places. Those doors of opportunity which were not open or not in sight before were suddenly opened to us. Wow! I began to feel that when God tells us to shift, wonderful things are happening! God even told us to shift the furniture at our bedrooms for change is good for us. We would be able to see things we never saw before.

The enemy has been trying to get me to believe that I am still stuck at the same old place, with no progress. But it's not true. On the contrary, God said I have made so much progress that I cannot imagine. I have gone further than I think. God want my eyes to be opened to the fact that I am no longer circling the same mountain, that I have finally moved on. God is making a point that a change has occurred and I have come into His divine shifts. It has happened. I am no longer at the same old place. Everything has become new in my life.

I recall last Feb, the enemy also taunted me about things remaining the same even after God told me to 'arise and go' in Dec 2011. The enemy kept telling me that nothing has changed and I remembered feeling so blocked in all areas: ministry, book and childbearing. I felt so frustrated that nothing seemed to move in my life. But the fact was God told me things have changed and that something new was coming my way.

Indeed what God said proved to be true. In the same month things started to move, with an offer from a publishing house. Then early the next month, I signed a contract with Creation House. Afterwards things also moved regarding my ministry and in Apr 2012, I was already leading the CG. These areas were moving faster than I imagine. By mid July, I was already serving in the Prayer and Healing Room.

In Feb this year, when we sat at the front few rows in the Star, I saw that we have really progressed so much, so much that we could not imagine when we first stepped into this church. It was a big fat lie that the enemy was trying to feed me with: that I have not made any progress all these years. As we sat there worshipping at the Star, we marvelled that God had brought us so far...it is only by His grace that we can be where we are now. In Nov 2008, we were just visitors to this church. In July 2009, we had just crossed over to NCC and now, God has positioned us as leaders of this great church. If this is not the hand of God, what can it be? All glory to Jesus for He is the One who makes all this possible!

Metanoia: Renewing of our minds

Recently I read the foreword of this wonderful devotional called 'The Daily Prophecy' by Brenda Kunneman. I chanced upon this devotional on the internet sometime in Sep last year and I just discovered that it was around the same time that the book was published. I am greatly blessed and edified by the daily prophecies written by Brenda Kunneman as most times I felt as if God was speaking to me through her message.

When I read the foreword, I realised why I had 'chanced' upon this devotional. God wanted to speak to me through these prophecies. In 1 Corinthians 3:22-23, the scripture says that the future belongs to us. God intends for us to influence, shape the future and cooperate with what wants to emerge in our life based on His proceeding word over us. He wants us to cooperate with His Spirit to bring that word to manifestation.

For that reason, becoming 'present-future' oriented is part of the unfolding process of the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2) so that we can agree with God, calling those things that are not as though they are (Romans 4:27) and walking with God from the present to the future. Most of us fail to renew our minds in this aspect and get stuck in a 'past-present' mindset. Like Phil Connors, Bill Murray's famous character in 'Groundhog Day', we keep reliving the past and experience negative confirmations of self-fulfilling prophecies that anchor us to the past.

We continue to react as we did in the past, causing us to relive our yesterdays instead of influencing our tomorrows. As a result, we never live in the 'now' with God. No wonder God had to keep telling me to let go of my past for He is doing a new thing now. He spent so much effort trying to get me to change from being 'past-present' oriented to 'present-future' oriented. If I could not let go of the past, how could I move forward to the glorious future He prepared for me?

And so, God starts by bringing me through small incremental steps, one day at a time and making little shifts here and there: small but fundamental shifts that are part of the lifestyle of renewing our minds. It includes a fundamental shift in how we think, feel and speak. The process is called repentance or 'metanoia' in Greek. 'Metanoia' is an ongoing process, an educational process that reforms and renews us into the will of God, Who has created a compelling vision of a completed future of us in His word.

As He slowly shifted the way I think and the inner vision I have of myself, He is also working on my outward circumstances. He probably started this work of renewing my mind in 2008 and over time, through numerous shifts in my thinking, beliefs and even in my environment, He slowly brought me to my appointed place in His kingdom. The renewal of mind is still ongoing but I realised that the way I broke free from being stuck in a 'past-present' mindset and reframed into a 'present-future' mindset is by speaking and declaring God's Word for me one day at a time, allowing Him to work on one shift at a time.

This powerful book of inspiring prophetic declarations really helped to change the way I think and the way I speak. Over a few months, I saw that many of the prophetic declarations really came true in my life as I spoke them in faith. God desires to show us glimpses and visions of our future so that we can know His perfect plan for us. He wants us to speak forth these visions and cooperate with His Spirit to bring that vision to manifestation. When the revelations or visions come, we must record them down as a witness that God spoke things before they came to pass (Habakkuk 2:2-3). Then we can give God all the glory because He has spoken and He brought it to pass.

Fringe

I am a big fan of this science-fiction drama series called 'Fringe'. Much of the storyline for 'Fringe' involves a parallel universe that mostly mirrors the prime universe, but with its own distinctive characteristics. A parallel universe shows how small choices that you make define you as a person and can change your life in large ways down the line. I like the main character Olivia Dunham, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent assigned to investigate the spread of unexplained phenomena. She later discovered that she was a child test subject under a scientist Walter Bishop for the drug Cortexiphan, giving her unusual abilities.

But today I am not talking about Olivia Dunham. The subject of interest here is a group of people called the Observers. The Observers were born out of an experiment performed by a Norwegian scientist in 2167. The experimenter modified human genes to displace certain emotional facilities for improved mental abilities, and the success of the experiment eventually led to the development of near-emotionless humans with high levels of intelligence that became the Observers. Without emotions, there was no urge to procreate, and thus the Observers developed technology to artificially grow new Observers using Observer DNA.

The Observers are able to predict future events, and they are able to travel through time and across universes without difficulty because of their advanced technology. The first batch of 12 Observers under the Science team were sent primarily to study and observe key moments in history leading up to their evolution, and ensure that certain events played out as they wished.  This study is a form of research for an invasion of past-Earth, which took place in 2015. Each of them were given code names, corresponding to each month of the year. Although the Observers were programmed to experience no human emotions like love, sympathy and compassion, this batch of Observers admitted that they actually did experience human emotions of such.

In one of the episodes, one of the Observers, codename "August" kidnaps a woman, Christine Hollis, before she can die in a plane crash. August later has a meeting with his superiors, and they scold him for saving her, as she was supposed to die and is not "important" to history. They informed him that this problem would soon be corrected by sending a special assassin to kill Christine. With the assistance of Olivia and her team, August saved Christine from the assassin, but was mortally wounded in the process and recovered by another Observer, codename "September" before he could be interrogated by his superiors.

As August was dying, September questioned August as to his motivation for saving Christine, and August revealed that he fell in love with her after watching her for her entire life, and he asked if Christine would now be safe. September comforted him by informing him that Christine was now "important" to history, as she was indirectly responsible for the death of an Observer, and will therefore be allowed to remain alive. He watched August cry as he succumbed to his wounds.

You know when I read this, I am reminded of how the value of a person is intricably tied to who has died in place of that person. I think about how I am now "important" to history because my Lord Jesus died in my place. My sins were the reason why He died for me, to reconcile me to God. I am directly responsible for the death of the Darling of heaven, God's only begotten Son. Of course Jesus is so different from the Observers. He is so loving and so full of compassion. My heart is so grateful that He loves me so much that He willing died for me. And because He died for me, I will therefore be allowed to not just remain alive but to live eternally. What a divine exchange! Thank You, Jesus!