I read in 'Lioness Arising' by Lisa Bevere some time ago about how lioness tended to give birth to their cubs around the same time. This was strategic because as a pack, the cubs would have a greater chance of survival than if there were fewer of them. Somehow they would form a support system for themselves in future. This is an excerpt of what she wrote.
Lioness are fiercely protective of all their pride's young. A lioness will not endanger another lioness' cub any more than her own. Lioness don't merely hunt together, they mother together. Likewise, we should be concerned about other believers' children, other than our own. In lioness, this drive to protect is so strong that they have the cubs' protection even before conception. They have the abilities to synchronise their reproductive cycle. This allows them to conceive and give birth together.
Lioness realise that cubs of the similar age have a greater chance of survival due to equal access to food and training. There is great advantage in growing up alongside brothers and sisters of similar experience and size. There are similar rhythms in the patterns of sparring, feeding, resting and playing that ultimately translate to complementary skill levels, which helps the survival of not only the cubs but also the future pride. Lioness train their young by modelling what is correct. If skills sets are not transferred, the survival of cubs is endangered and the legacy compromised.
After I read this, my perspective changed. For a long while I have been focusing on nurturing my own child. There's nothing wrong with that but my approach must change. With a promotion in spiritual maturity, my influence has gone up another level and so must my perspective. Like the lioness, the Lord is changing my mind to think strategic about bringing up the next generation. Lioness don't merely hunt together, they mother together. Likewise, I should be concerned about other believers' children, other than my own.
Maybe God was waiting for me to catch His enlarged vision about motherhood before He releases me into my new season of ministering to mothers. Now I understand why He has led me to the mothers' group. Why only now. In the past I was too conscious of self and too competitive. I didn't like to connect with other mothers because I have a tendency to compare my child with theirs and I would feel lousy if my son lost out. Or I would compare how many kids they have and focus on my lack. That's how the enemy kept me away from interacting with mothers all these years.
Now I see things differently. We are not here to compete with one another. We are here to help one another 'mother' better. The wellbeing of their kids will eventually affect my own children. It's a win win situation as we learn to do this as a pride, instead of struggling individually. It's no longer about self but the preservation and legacy of the godly heritage. Not just my own heritage but other godly heritage as well. When I help other mothers, other kids, I am helping myself and my own children in turn. God will not be a debtor to one who does good to His sheep. He will cause other people to do good to my children, which is the best thing a mother can hope for.
Friday, November 27, 2015
MINISTRY OF MOTHERHOOD
I was just challenged with this notion today. What makes me think that staying home to bring my children up in the Lord is not a ministry? People tend to think of ministry as working full time in church or in mission field or planting churches etc. But who is the one to define which is ministry work and which is not? Yes, when you are in full time ministry, the fruits you harvest are clearly for the kingdom of God. But what makes you think that bringing up your children is not an assignment from God? Bringing up champions is part of preparing the army for the kingdom of God too! Though it might seem less noble or even glamorous compared to full time.
Some people don't see the association, they feel that staying home for your kids is more for your own family needs, not quite part of kingdom purposes. In that way, it might sound selfish that I should give up serving the Lord in church for a season just to focus on my kids, my family. Quite the contrary though. In fact, it was the Lord who corrected this erroneous thinking of mine. Nope, He said, it isn't selfish of you to stay home for your kids. It is a part of His purpose for the next season.
He pointed out so many examples from the bible: people who loved the Lord and served the Lord wholeheartedly without passing on the legacy to the next generation. As a result, the future generation grew up not being close to the Lord. How sad! I cannot imagine my children growing up not knowing God as intimately as I did. In fact, I would expect them to surpass me in this intimacy with Him and do greater exploits! Hence if God doesn't judge me, then who can pass judgement on me? Not those people who couldn't understand my calling or purpose or anointing!
Recently I was impressed upon the term archery. It was first mentioned by a sister about the men of Benjamin being good in bow and arrow. Then she also talked about Lydians being good archers, who handle and bend the bow. And the tribe of Benjamin was associated with devouring his enemies and plundering the spoils, as Benjamin was like a ravenous wolf (Genesis 49:27). I am reminded of Matthew 11:12, about how the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the forceful lay hold of it. Those who are called to the battlefield are not the faint-hearted but those who are bold and courageous, even violent. They will not flinch or bat an eye and wouldn't stop until they got what they wanted, until victory is theirs.
This is very sobering for me because by nature I am more gentle and certainly far from violent. But through the years I have learnt that I cannot be soft with the enemy. I cannot go soft with sickness and disease and allow them to take root. I cannot be 'compassionate' with the principalities or the powers of darkness for Satan has never been soft with us or relented in his schemes. He doesn't even care and his goal is to destroy us. So spare them no mercy! I believe God is raising up a whole new generation who are good spiritual archers. They will hit the mark every time and every word they said will come to pass. They will also be bold and courageous and violent when it comes to taking grounds for the kingdom sake. What a privilege to be partnering the Lord in bringing up this new generation!
Some people don't see the association, they feel that staying home for your kids is more for your own family needs, not quite part of kingdom purposes. In that way, it might sound selfish that I should give up serving the Lord in church for a season just to focus on my kids, my family. Quite the contrary though. In fact, it was the Lord who corrected this erroneous thinking of mine. Nope, He said, it isn't selfish of you to stay home for your kids. It is a part of His purpose for the next season.
He pointed out so many examples from the bible: people who loved the Lord and served the Lord wholeheartedly without passing on the legacy to the next generation. As a result, the future generation grew up not being close to the Lord. How sad! I cannot imagine my children growing up not knowing God as intimately as I did. In fact, I would expect them to surpass me in this intimacy with Him and do greater exploits! Hence if God doesn't judge me, then who can pass judgement on me? Not those people who couldn't understand my calling or purpose or anointing!
Recently I was impressed upon the term archery. It was first mentioned by a sister about the men of Benjamin being good in bow and arrow. Then she also talked about Lydians being good archers, who handle and bend the bow. And the tribe of Benjamin was associated with devouring his enemies and plundering the spoils, as Benjamin was like a ravenous wolf (Genesis 49:27). I am reminded of Matthew 11:12, about how the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the forceful lay hold of it. Those who are called to the battlefield are not the faint-hearted but those who are bold and courageous, even violent. They will not flinch or bat an eye and wouldn't stop until they got what they wanted, until victory is theirs.
This is very sobering for me because by nature I am more gentle and certainly far from violent. But through the years I have learnt that I cannot be soft with the enemy. I cannot go soft with sickness and disease and allow them to take root. I cannot be 'compassionate' with the principalities or the powers of darkness for Satan has never been soft with us or relented in his schemes. He doesn't even care and his goal is to destroy us. So spare them no mercy! I believe God is raising up a whole new generation who are good spiritual archers. They will hit the mark every time and every word they said will come to pass. They will also be bold and courageous and violent when it comes to taking grounds for the kingdom sake. What a privilege to be partnering the Lord in bringing up this new generation!
Thursday, November 26, 2015
POWER OF PRAISE AND JOY
For the past few weeks, I have experienced what the prophetic words said about November. About how God is dealing with the taproot of fear and how the enemy tries so hard to steal our peace and joy.
God has been rearranging my confusion, for I have not been able to see the joy in the midst of the chaos around me. This has been a time that He draws out the joy that is in me. He has placed me in that chaos that is around me to produce joy. If I will release the joy that He has developed within me, the chaos will subside and I will see the order around me.
Since the start of this month, there has been so many distractions, more than I have ever encountered in any month. So many times I have felt so vulnerable like a woman about to give birth. God kept telling me to press through the birth pains. It was a time that my faith was really tested, where the rubber meets the road. It was easy to have faith when you just had a visitation from God or received a powerful revelation from the Lord. But when you are in the midst of a chaotic situation or when you feel like the heat has been turned on, it's really tough to rejoice, praise and worship the Lord.
Like Pastor Lian said during her Sunday sermon, praise is the last thing you feel like doing. Yet praise and rejoicing is so crucial to see your situation change. During those times, I have to deliberately sing praises, worship and rejoice in the Lord. In the midst of the resistance, I had to continue to keep my eyes of the Lord. I sang songs of joy, I worshiped the Lord. I even danced around my living room, clapping my hands etc. I sang worship songs while bathing and I made a decision to rejoice in the Lord. Yet I know it wasn't me but His Spirit working in me.
That was absolutely the last thing I wanted to do, especially when the enemy threw fearful thoughts in my mind. Totally irrational and weird thoughts. But as I worshipped the Lord, I found joy arising in my heart and the spiritual atmosphere changing. Though things may not have changed in the natural, I sensed that God has given me the victory so I can celebrate in advance. The atmosphere turned from fearful to victorious. The turnaround was really very sudden and very fast. It was nothing short of a miracle. I felt that God was working behind the scenes on my behalf and sending angels to help me too.
The Lord came to give us life more abundantly but the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. One of the tactics the enemy uses is roaring like a lion. Notice he is not the true lion but an imposter. Only our Lord Jesus is the true Lion of Judah. The devil roars so as to strike fear into our hearts. This roar is essentially a deception. The lion uses it to delay his victim's reactions, compromising the prey's ability to escape the attack. When the devil roars, God tells us to humble ourselves before Him, to seek refuge under His wings. From the place of protection, we can resist the devil and he will be forced to leave.
Jesus has already purchased and covered us with His precious blood. He has also given us the authority to speak in His name and use His word as the sword in every situation. It is God's will for us to triumph over the attacks of the enemy and live a victorious life. In fact, the enemy is already a defeated foe for Jesus has won the war. Therefore we can rest in the finished work of the cross by faith, receiving all the blessings that Jesus has bought for us.
The enemy is a defeated foe and his fate is sealed. But between now and the date of his final demise, he will continue to try to undermine your life. He is the 'accuser of our brethren'. He accuses you by pointing to your failures, weakness and lack. He also stirs up fear in your heart by telling you that your efforts will amount to nothing. I find that his most used taunt is telling you that things will never change. You are stuck there forever. The captivity is going to last forever and you will be in depression. You will never get out of the pit. Things are not going to turn for the better. You will never get to your destination or cross over to the other side.
Reject these thoughts! Take them captive and tell the accuser 'You are a liar and the father of all lies.' Choose to focus on Jesus and the finished work. Set your face like flint on the joy set before you and press on to cross the finish line. And thank God that we will overcome, we will triumph for Christ has given us the victory. Thank God that His word is active and alive and working for us this moment. Thank God for the new season is coming. Thank God that when the enemy comes in like a flood, God will raise up a standard. This season we have been in is going to turn. It's a turnaround moment. It's a suddenly moment. It will happen suddenly and then we will see God's blessings manifest and what He has been doing behind the scenes. Again we will break out in thanksgivings and praise!
Since the start of this month, there has been so many distractions, more than I have ever encountered in any month. So many times I have felt so vulnerable like a woman about to give birth. God kept telling me to press through the birth pains. It was a time that my faith was really tested, where the rubber meets the road. It was easy to have faith when you just had a visitation from God or received a powerful revelation from the Lord. But when you are in the midst of a chaotic situation or when you feel like the heat has been turned on, it's really tough to rejoice, praise and worship the Lord.
Like Pastor Lian said during her Sunday sermon, praise is the last thing you feel like doing. Yet praise and rejoicing is so crucial to see your situation change. During those times, I have to deliberately sing praises, worship and rejoice in the Lord. In the midst of the resistance, I had to continue to keep my eyes of the Lord. I sang songs of joy, I worshiped the Lord. I even danced around my living room, clapping my hands etc. I sang worship songs while bathing and I made a decision to rejoice in the Lord. Yet I know it wasn't me but His Spirit working in me.
That was absolutely the last thing I wanted to do, especially when the enemy threw fearful thoughts in my mind. Totally irrational and weird thoughts. But as I worshipped the Lord, I found joy arising in my heart and the spiritual atmosphere changing. Though things may not have changed in the natural, I sensed that God has given me the victory so I can celebrate in advance. The atmosphere turned from fearful to victorious. The turnaround was really very sudden and very fast. It was nothing short of a miracle. I felt that God was working behind the scenes on my behalf and sending angels to help me too.
The Lord came to give us life more abundantly but the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. One of the tactics the enemy uses is roaring like a lion. Notice he is not the true lion but an imposter. Only our Lord Jesus is the true Lion of Judah. The devil roars so as to strike fear into our hearts. This roar is essentially a deception. The lion uses it to delay his victim's reactions, compromising the prey's ability to escape the attack. When the devil roars, God tells us to humble ourselves before Him, to seek refuge under His wings. From the place of protection, we can resist the devil and he will be forced to leave.
Jesus has already purchased and covered us with His precious blood. He has also given us the authority to speak in His name and use His word as the sword in every situation. It is God's will for us to triumph over the attacks of the enemy and live a victorious life. In fact, the enemy is already a defeated foe for Jesus has won the war. Therefore we can rest in the finished work of the cross by faith, receiving all the blessings that Jesus has bought for us.
The enemy is a defeated foe and his fate is sealed. But between now and the date of his final demise, he will continue to try to undermine your life. He is the 'accuser of our brethren'. He accuses you by pointing to your failures, weakness and lack. He also stirs up fear in your heart by telling you that your efforts will amount to nothing. I find that his most used taunt is telling you that things will never change. You are stuck there forever. The captivity is going to last forever and you will be in depression. You will never get out of the pit. Things are not going to turn for the better. You will never get to your destination or cross over to the other side.
Reject these thoughts! Take them captive and tell the accuser 'You are a liar and the father of all lies.' Choose to focus on Jesus and the finished work. Set your face like flint on the joy set before you and press on to cross the finish line. And thank God that we will overcome, we will triumph for Christ has given us the victory. Thank God that His word is active and alive and working for us this moment. Thank God for the new season is coming. Thank God that when the enemy comes in like a flood, God will raise up a standard. This season we have been in is going to turn. It's a turnaround moment. It's a suddenly moment. It will happen suddenly and then we will see God's blessings manifest and what He has been doing behind the scenes. Again we will break out in thanksgivings and praise!
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
CAPTIVITY IS OVER!
Recently I was impressed upon this notion that my captivity is over. Then I happened to receive an email which confirmed this. We visited the National Museum on 9 Nov and I saw that the Japanese occupation ended on 15 Aug 1945! It has been 70 years since! 70 is a significant number in the bible. The Jewish people were in captivity in Babylon for 70 years, after which they returned to Israel to rebuild the temple. I am set free from waiting and this dream is going to be be delivered soon! Praise rhe Lord!
In early June, Pastor Prince preached about Daniel praying for God to bring the Israelites back from captivity after 70 years though he knew this prophecy was coming to pass as spoken by Jeremiah. Jeremiah 25:12 says 'But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and will make it desolate forever.' Pastor said God wants us to pray for our soul's prosperity in all areas even though we are already prospering in most areas.
I was also reminded about Jeremiah 29:11. This verse came after God prophesied about the 70 years of captivity in Babylon and how He will bring them back after 70 years were over. I didn't know then that God was already preempting me about the end of my captivity with this verse since last July. God wants me to pray for the manifestation to come forth now. He wants me to speak forth what was already done. This promise is already given in the spirit realm but I am not calling it forth in the physical realm.
Interestingly we just also celebrated my father-in-law's birthday on 13 Nov. It was his 70th birthday. He was born after World War II ended in 1945, after the Japanese occupation. Once again I was reminded of the fact that the war ended. I was also reminded that World War I ended on 11 Nov 1918. And this message about how the captivity was over for the Israelites also bore witness to my spirit that my captivity in waiting for this promise has also ended! Praise the Lord!
Today I read about Cindy Jacob's prophetic word given on 4 Nov. For the Lord says 'I am preparing an assault against the enemy that is going to release your captivity. For the enemy has come to take you captive, capture your emotions, your finances, to take away the things that I want for blessing and try to rob and steal from you.' But the Lord would say 'Get ready for a wave of blessings. For I am releasing blessing your way. I have prepared for you existing new events. I am doing a new thing, something that you would say: How could this turn out like this? How could it turn around so quickly?'
And the Lord would say 'When the enemy comes in like a flood, I will raise up a banner. I have angelic hosts that have gone forth as my standard bearer, that are now being sent forth on your behalf. My promises are yes and amen. My word is active. I am actively fighting on your behalf. I am working actively to answer your prayers. So know this, there will come a moment when your captivity will be reversed. It will happen suddenly, in a way that will delight you and you will see the ways of blessing coming behind it upon you.'
In early June, Pastor Prince preached about Daniel praying for God to bring the Israelites back from captivity after 70 years though he knew this prophecy was coming to pass as spoken by Jeremiah. Jeremiah 25:12 says 'But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and will make it desolate forever.' Pastor said God wants us to pray for our soul's prosperity in all areas even though we are already prospering in most areas.
I was also reminded about Jeremiah 29:11. This verse came after God prophesied about the 70 years of captivity in Babylon and how He will bring them back after 70 years were over. I didn't know then that God was already preempting me about the end of my captivity with this verse since last July. God wants me to pray for the manifestation to come forth now. He wants me to speak forth what was already done. This promise is already given in the spirit realm but I am not calling it forth in the physical realm.
Interestingly we just also celebrated my father-in-law's birthday on 13 Nov. It was his 70th birthday. He was born after World War II ended in 1945, after the Japanese occupation. Once again I was reminded of the fact that the war ended. I was also reminded that World War I ended on 11 Nov 1918. And this message about how the captivity was over for the Israelites also bore witness to my spirit that my captivity in waiting for this promise has also ended! Praise the Lord!
Today I read about Cindy Jacob's prophetic word given on 4 Nov. For the Lord says 'I am preparing an assault against the enemy that is going to release your captivity. For the enemy has come to take you captive, capture your emotions, your finances, to take away the things that I want for blessing and try to rob and steal from you.' But the Lord would say 'Get ready for a wave of blessings. For I am releasing blessing your way. I have prepared for you existing new events. I am doing a new thing, something that you would say: How could this turn out like this? How could it turn around so quickly?'
And the Lord would say 'When the enemy comes in like a flood, I will raise up a banner. I have angelic hosts that have gone forth as my standard bearer, that are now being sent forth on your behalf. My promises are yes and amen. My word is active. I am actively fighting on your behalf. I am working actively to answer your prayers. So know this, there will come a moment when your captivity will be reversed. It will happen suddenly, in a way that will delight you and you will see the ways of blessing coming behind it upon you.'
Monday, November 23, 2015
PRAISE OPENS THE DOOR TO HIS GRACE
Yesterday Pastor Lian preached about King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:15. This King faced serious trouble as a great multitude was coming against the nation and he was in great fear. But he didn't go to the Lord for help as the last resort. He sought the Lord and petitioned to His goodness and mercy. The Lord told him the battle belonged to the Lord but the victory belonged to him. God told the King to praise and worship the Lord. And when they did that, God caused their enemies to kill each other. All they needed to do was to stand still and see the deliverance of the Lord. They didn't even have to lift a finger to fight their enemies. Yet the outcome was an abundance of spoils that it took the Israelites three days to fully collect all of them. They named the place Valley of Berachah or blessings.
Pastor Lian said it was so important to praise the Lord in times of danger or difficulties because praise and worship changes our spiritual atmosphere. When we praise the Lord, we turn our focus away from ourselves and our situations, and we look to the Lord. We look to His ability not ours and when we cry out to Him for help, He always answers. He is always well able to deliver us from any situation. And the result is always much better than what we have thought or imagined. Pastor Lian showed us the Hebrew word for yadah or praise. From this Hebrew word we can see that praise is the hand of God that opens the door to grace.
In Feb 2014, I had a dream and when I woke up, the word Yadah was on my mind. I looked up the meaning of this Hebrew word and it said 'to worship with extended hand'. It also denotes songs of praise, lifting the voice in thanksgiving, confessing the Lord's greatness. Over the past year, I kept getting this prompt to praise Him, worship Him and thank Him in advance for the wonderful thing He has done for me. Praise is the birth position. This promise is about to be birthed. I realize that God is getting me ready to give birth to this promise. I have finally come to the fullness of time!
Recently I have been reminded again to praise the Lord, to look to the Lord for help in times of need and to worship Him. Because I was facing birth pangs, I felt vulnerable and more in need of His help. I came to this point many times. If God didn't intervene, if He didn't give me strength, if He didn't send help, there was nothing I could do too. I came to the end of myself many times and knew that other than God no one can deliver me from this situation.
Recently I have been reminded again to praise the Lord, to look to the Lord for help in times of need and to worship Him. Because I was facing birth pangs, I felt vulnerable and more in need of His help. I came to this point many times. If God didn't intervene, if He didn't give me strength, if He didn't send help, there was nothing I could do too. I came to the end of myself many times and knew that other than God no one can deliver me from this situation.
I told God I was stuck and hit a plateau. If He didn't shift me or promote me, then I might stagnate. Yet I knew it was a good place to be in because He has brought me too far to leave me in limbo. I knew it would be no benefit to Him if I got stuck at this level or if I regressed. Just then I saw a sister's email about my book display in a bookstore, telling me it has been shifted to the top shelf along the main aisle. And she saw that I have been promoted to another level of spiritual maturity! Praise the Lord!
Thursday, November 19, 2015
NARNIA
Now that I am on the trail of movies, have you watched the movie series 'Narnia''? I simply loved this story by CS Lewis. I loved the depiction of Jesus as Aslan in Narnia. I loved the close connection between Lucy and Aslan. There was a part when Aslan told Lucy in the sequel to the first movie that things will not happen the same way twice. For years I have wondered why God told me that in waiting for this promise to come to pass, things will never happen the same way twice. I received this word on 16 Aug 2008. At that time I thought God was referring to just the promise of another child. But yesterday I saw the second part of it.
I started reading this book 'Lioness Arising' by Lisa Bevere some years ago but recently I was prompted to finish it. In one of the chapters, Lisa said that God doesn't change his directives just because humans disagree with Him. He also doesn't play the blame game. He waits and listens until we have moved from accusation to honesty. The posture of humility empowers us to arise and walk with Him into the wild. CS Lewis captured this profound truth so well in the following interaction with Lucy.
Lucy realised that she should have followed Aslan even if the rest didn't join her. Aslan gives her another chance to tell her siblings that she has seen him and it's time to follow. 'But they won't believe me!' said Lucy. 'It doesn't matter,' said Aslan. 'Oh dear, oh dear,' said Lucy. 'And I was so pleased to find you again...And I thought you'd come roaring in and frighten the enemies away, like last time. And now everything is going to be horrid.' 'It is hard for you, little one,' said Aslan. 'But things never happen the same way twice.' God sets us up for an adventure and we imagine it will be a 'horrid' failure. Lucy goes from hopeful to hiding.
Lucy buried her head in his mane to hide from his face. But there must have been magic in his mane. She could feel lion strength going into her. Quite suddenly she sat up. 'I'm sorry, Aslan,' she said. 'I am ready now.' 'Now you are a lioness,' said Aslan. 'And now all of Narnia will be renewed.' When Lisa read the declaration, she was overcome. 'Now you are a lioness...'
God wants us to make this declaration over each of His daughters as we sit up, stop crying and make ourselves ready. Then God can proclaim, 'Now you are courageous. Now you have My perspective. You realise your strengths. You are fit for battle.' Remember you are part of an army engaged in an all-out battle. I believe this was the second part withheld from me in 2008 until now. More than 7 years later, God revealed this part to me.
I was so touched when I saw this. I was waiting for God to come roaring in and frighten my enemies away. But God was waiting for me to sit up, wipe my tears away and arise. He was waiting for me to be ready. Then when I finally am, He comes saying to me 'Now you are a lioness. Now you are courageous, you have My perspective. You realise your strengths. Now you do the roaring to scare your enemies away.'
For so long I have been sedated, immobilised by fear, distracted by things going on around me and blinded to the hidden potential within me. That was what the enemy has been trying to do. He didn't want me to wake up to the potential God has put in me. But it's too late now. My eyes are finally opened. God has awakened a lioness in me. Now it's time for me to roar.
Lisa also said that the God-whispers of yesterday will be elevated to shouts of tomorrow. She is not sure if we even understand the possible magnitude of this but we are now leaning in and listening. There is a rustling in our spirit, a stirring within. We are often alone when we hear the whisper. But we are far from being the only ones who hear. God is willing to speak to all who are quiet enough to hear. It's just a matter of pausing long enough to hear the Holy Spirit with clarity and then capture His words in strength.
Seasons of being alone, quiet listening can be uncomfortable but it is a process we must go through if we are to find ourselves reconnected to God. For years, she felt as though she had been alone, speaking words in a confined space. She could see but couldn't get out until someone suddenly threw open the doors and invited her to a large, open space filled with light and laughter. In that moment, she realised that she was included and would join the ranks of others to work together to change the world. Being connected to others who had heard the same whispers was empowering, amazing and liberating.
I too felt the same as her. Those years of silence, when I yearned to belong, to be connected but could find no one who could hear God's whispers like I did. But I knew I shouldn't be the only one. There should be others out there. It's a matter of waiting for the Lord to bring the divine appointments. As I thought about how God brought one anointed sister to me, I realised that I was watched for and welcomed by all others who bear His whispers within. I was included not by my own merits but because I belonged to a company of men and women who are arising upon the earth. God wants a family of sons and daughters. And now it is time to break the silence and start roaring.
I started reading this book 'Lioness Arising' by Lisa Bevere some years ago but recently I was prompted to finish it. In one of the chapters, Lisa said that God doesn't change his directives just because humans disagree with Him. He also doesn't play the blame game. He waits and listens until we have moved from accusation to honesty. The posture of humility empowers us to arise and walk with Him into the wild. CS Lewis captured this profound truth so well in the following interaction with Lucy.
Lucy realised that she should have followed Aslan even if the rest didn't join her. Aslan gives her another chance to tell her siblings that she has seen him and it's time to follow. 'But they won't believe me!' said Lucy. 'It doesn't matter,' said Aslan. 'Oh dear, oh dear,' said Lucy. 'And I was so pleased to find you again...And I thought you'd come roaring in and frighten the enemies away, like last time. And now everything is going to be horrid.' 'It is hard for you, little one,' said Aslan. 'But things never happen the same way twice.' God sets us up for an adventure and we imagine it will be a 'horrid' failure. Lucy goes from hopeful to hiding.
Lucy buried her head in his mane to hide from his face. But there must have been magic in his mane. She could feel lion strength going into her. Quite suddenly she sat up. 'I'm sorry, Aslan,' she said. 'I am ready now.' 'Now you are a lioness,' said Aslan. 'And now all of Narnia will be renewed.' When Lisa read the declaration, she was overcome. 'Now you are a lioness...'
God wants us to make this declaration over each of His daughters as we sit up, stop crying and make ourselves ready. Then God can proclaim, 'Now you are courageous. Now you have My perspective. You realise your strengths. You are fit for battle.' Remember you are part of an army engaged in an all-out battle. I believe this was the second part withheld from me in 2008 until now. More than 7 years later, God revealed this part to me.
I was so touched when I saw this. I was waiting for God to come roaring in and frighten my enemies away. But God was waiting for me to sit up, wipe my tears away and arise. He was waiting for me to be ready. Then when I finally am, He comes saying to me 'Now you are a lioness. Now you are courageous, you have My perspective. You realise your strengths. Now you do the roaring to scare your enemies away.'
For so long I have been sedated, immobilised by fear, distracted by things going on around me and blinded to the hidden potential within me. That was what the enemy has been trying to do. He didn't want me to wake up to the potential God has put in me. But it's too late now. My eyes are finally opened. God has awakened a lioness in me. Now it's time for me to roar.
Lisa also said that the God-whispers of yesterday will be elevated to shouts of tomorrow. She is not sure if we even understand the possible magnitude of this but we are now leaning in and listening. There is a rustling in our spirit, a stirring within. We are often alone when we hear the whisper. But we are far from being the only ones who hear. God is willing to speak to all who are quiet enough to hear. It's just a matter of pausing long enough to hear the Holy Spirit with clarity and then capture His words in strength.
Seasons of being alone, quiet listening can be uncomfortable but it is a process we must go through if we are to find ourselves reconnected to God. For years, she felt as though she had been alone, speaking words in a confined space. She could see but couldn't get out until someone suddenly threw open the doors and invited her to a large, open space filled with light and laughter. In that moment, she realised that she was included and would join the ranks of others to work together to change the world. Being connected to others who had heard the same whispers was empowering, amazing and liberating.
I too felt the same as her. Those years of silence, when I yearned to belong, to be connected but could find no one who could hear God's whispers like I did. But I knew I shouldn't be the only one. There should be others out there. It's a matter of waiting for the Lord to bring the divine appointments. As I thought about how God brought one anointed sister to me, I realised that I was watched for and welcomed by all others who bear His whispers within. I was included not by my own merits but because I belonged to a company of men and women who are arising upon the earth. God wants a family of sons and daughters. And now it is time to break the silence and start roaring.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
INTERSTELLAR PART III
I was touched by the connection between Cooper and his daughter. It was love that caused Murphy to understand what her dad was talking about, be it morse codes or binary codes. Though it didn't make sense to her as a girl, she wasn't afraid of that 'ghost'. She was just bewildered wondering what that 'ghost' was trying to tell her. She couldn't understand it then but one day, when she came of age, she would see the big picture. And she really did.
The other thing that touched me was Cooper's promise to Murphy before he left, that one day he would come back to her, though he didn't know when it would be. In fact, more than 70 years had elapsed because of the time dilation. Eventually Cooper was found by a ranger and he came back to Murphy. She was already a very old lady but she waited till her dad came back. All these decades, when others have given up hope, she didn't. She had faith that her dad would come back one day because he promised her. He didn't abandon.
This reminded me of my Daddy God's promise to me. That even though a long time has elapsed and others have given up hope, His promise still holds true. He didn't not forget me, nor His promise to me. He didn't not abandon me or leave me to my own. He was always there for me, whether I knew it or not. Just like Murphy said when she finally realised it was her dad trying to reach out to her all this while. Imagine her joy when she came to the moment of epiphany and cried out: 'It was him all this while. It was him.'
Sometimes we are like Murphy. We may not necessarily know it was our Abba Father who was trying to communicate with us. After some time later, as we looked back, then we realised it was God all the while. He was always there when we thought we were alone, trying to reach out to us in our distress. Imagine our joy and tears when we realised it! Love is the connection that transcends time and space. Bible says God has loved is with an everlasting love. How true!
To me, God is like the fifth dimensional being. He is not confined by time and space. He has access to infinite time and space but sometimes He couldn't communicate with people in the world. In fact, He built a 3 dimensional space within His 5 dimensional space so that we can better understand Him. Gravity in this context would be likened to the word of God, who is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ has to enter our world so that God can get through to us. God uses the bible to communicate His plans, His secrets and mysteries. It is like the morse code or binary code, hiding secret messages for us. The bible is like a portal that brings us to another dimension, the spiritual dimension where God dwells. It has withstood the tests of time and space. It has crossed dimensions in a way.
God is not limited by time or space but He knows we are confined to these. Hence He works within our timeline or space. It was interesting to note that time became a precious resource out on the planets where time dilation could be a serious threat. The astronauts didn't grow old but they couldn't risk the clock ticking as people on earth had a limited timespan and the earth was dying. Sometimes we feel like time is slipping away from us, and that is why bible teaches us to number our days, to live wisely. Time can stretch and bend but we cannot go back in time. Hence time is like a resource but once we entered into the 'fifth' dimension, the God dimension, something happens to our time. God can restore the years the locusts had eaten.
The other thing that touched me was Cooper's promise to Murphy before he left, that one day he would come back to her, though he didn't know when it would be. In fact, more than 70 years had elapsed because of the time dilation. Eventually Cooper was found by a ranger and he came back to Murphy. She was already a very old lady but she waited till her dad came back. All these decades, when others have given up hope, she didn't. She had faith that her dad would come back one day because he promised her. He didn't abandon.
This reminded me of my Daddy God's promise to me. That even though a long time has elapsed and others have given up hope, His promise still holds true. He didn't not forget me, nor His promise to me. He didn't not abandon me or leave me to my own. He was always there for me, whether I knew it or not. Just like Murphy said when she finally realised it was her dad trying to reach out to her all this while. Imagine her joy when she came to the moment of epiphany and cried out: 'It was him all this while. It was him.'
Sometimes we are like Murphy. We may not necessarily know it was our Abba Father who was trying to communicate with us. After some time later, as we looked back, then we realised it was God all the while. He was always there when we thought we were alone, trying to reach out to us in our distress. Imagine our joy and tears when we realised it! Love is the connection that transcends time and space. Bible says God has loved is with an everlasting love. How true!
To me, God is like the fifth dimensional being. He is not confined by time and space. He has access to infinite time and space but sometimes He couldn't communicate with people in the world. In fact, He built a 3 dimensional space within His 5 dimensional space so that we can better understand Him. Gravity in this context would be likened to the word of God, who is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ has to enter our world so that God can get through to us. God uses the bible to communicate His plans, His secrets and mysteries. It is like the morse code or binary code, hiding secret messages for us. The bible is like a portal that brings us to another dimension, the spiritual dimension where God dwells. It has withstood the tests of time and space. It has crossed dimensions in a way.
God is not limited by time or space but He knows we are confined to these. Hence He works within our timeline or space. It was interesting to note that time became a precious resource out on the planets where time dilation could be a serious threat. The astronauts didn't grow old but they couldn't risk the clock ticking as people on earth had a limited timespan and the earth was dying. Sometimes we feel like time is slipping away from us, and that is why bible teaches us to number our days, to live wisely. Time can stretch and bend but we cannot go back in time. Hence time is like a resource but once we entered into the 'fifth' dimension, the God dimension, something happens to our time. God can restore the years the locusts had eaten.
INTERSTELLAR PART II
Murphy, now an adult, has been assisting Dr. Brand with his research. On his deathbed, he admits to her that he solved the equation long before and deemed Plan A impossible, and that he lied to everyone, pinning his hopes on Plan B. Murphy notifies Amelia of her father's death, then accuses her and Cooper of abandoning Earth. She continues the research, believing Plan A might work if they could get more data regarding Gargantua's singularity.
With limited fuel, Cooper decides to go to Mann's planet, rather than Edmunds', as Mann has been transmitting. After being revived from cryosleep, Mann assures the crew that while the frozen planet has an ammonia-laden atmosphere, the planetary surface is fit for human survival. However, when they are alone, Mann attempts to kill Cooper, revealing that he falsified the data so he would be rescued. Mann then flees, intending to take the Endurance. Meanwhile, Romilly is killed by a booby trap Mann had set inside his own robot.
Amelia rescues Cooper, and they race to the Endurance, where Mann is attempting to dock. Mann defies Cooper's order not to open the airlock, which fails catastrophically. Mann is killed and the Endurance is severely damaged. Cooper manages to use the landing craft to stabilize the ship. Using Gargantua's gravity as a slingshot, they set the ship on course to Edmunds' planet; but being close to a black hole, 51 years would pass on Earth.
To shed weight, Cooper jettisons himself and TARS into the black hole, so that Amelia and CASE can complete the journey. Cooper and TARS plunge into the black hole, but emerge in a tesseract, which appears as a stream of bookshelves; with portals that look out into Murphy's bedroom at different times in her life. Cooper realizes that the tesseract and wormhole were created by fifth dimensional beings (human beings) from the future to enable him to communicate with Murphy through gravitational waves, and that he is her "ghost". They built a 3 dimensional space within their 5 dimensional space so that he can better understand it. These beings have access to infinite time and space but they couldn't communicate with people in the world.
The only scientific thing that can cross dimensions like time and space is gravity. You can exert a force across time and space, use gravity to send a message. Gravity can cross dimensions including time. But there is another thing. Love. It can transcend time and space. Time can stretch and bend but it cannot go backwards. But within this 5 dimensional space, Cooper was brought back in time when Murphy was still a little girl.
He relays quantum data that TARS collected from the black hole in Morse code by manipulating the second hand of a watch he gave to Murphy before he left. But it was a big risk because Cooper was only able to reach out to Murphy when she was a 10-year old girl. And she wouldn't know it was him from the future, from space. Even if she did, the significance of what he was communicating to her wouldn't be apparent to her until many years later.
However, Cooper knew that she would come back to get the watch, that one day she would finally understand that the 'ghost' was her father. His connection with Murphy was love and love transcends space and time. Murphy was so happy to know her dad didn't leave her to die on earth. That it was him, all this time, it was him trying to get to her. Murphy then uses the quantum data to solve the remaining gravitational equation regarding Plan A, and saved the world from impending doom as a result.
With limited fuel, Cooper decides to go to Mann's planet, rather than Edmunds', as Mann has been transmitting. After being revived from cryosleep, Mann assures the crew that while the frozen planet has an ammonia-laden atmosphere, the planetary surface is fit for human survival. However, when they are alone, Mann attempts to kill Cooper, revealing that he falsified the data so he would be rescued. Mann then flees, intending to take the Endurance. Meanwhile, Romilly is killed by a booby trap Mann had set inside his own robot.
Amelia rescues Cooper, and they race to the Endurance, where Mann is attempting to dock. Mann defies Cooper's order not to open the airlock, which fails catastrophically. Mann is killed and the Endurance is severely damaged. Cooper manages to use the landing craft to stabilize the ship. Using Gargantua's gravity as a slingshot, they set the ship on course to Edmunds' planet; but being close to a black hole, 51 years would pass on Earth.
To shed weight, Cooper jettisons himself and TARS into the black hole, so that Amelia and CASE can complete the journey. Cooper and TARS plunge into the black hole, but emerge in a tesseract, which appears as a stream of bookshelves; with portals that look out into Murphy's bedroom at different times in her life. Cooper realizes that the tesseract and wormhole were created by fifth dimensional beings (human beings) from the future to enable him to communicate with Murphy through gravitational waves, and that he is her "ghost". They built a 3 dimensional space within their 5 dimensional space so that he can better understand it. These beings have access to infinite time and space but they couldn't communicate with people in the world.
The only scientific thing that can cross dimensions like time and space is gravity. You can exert a force across time and space, use gravity to send a message. Gravity can cross dimensions including time. But there is another thing. Love. It can transcend time and space. Time can stretch and bend but it cannot go backwards. But within this 5 dimensional space, Cooper was brought back in time when Murphy was still a little girl.
He relays quantum data that TARS collected from the black hole in Morse code by manipulating the second hand of a watch he gave to Murphy before he left. But it was a big risk because Cooper was only able to reach out to Murphy when she was a 10-year old girl. And she wouldn't know it was him from the future, from space. Even if she did, the significance of what he was communicating to her wouldn't be apparent to her until many years later.
However, Cooper knew that she would come back to get the watch, that one day she would finally understand that the 'ghost' was her father. His connection with Murphy was love and love transcends space and time. Murphy was so happy to know her dad didn't leave her to die on earth. That it was him, all this time, it was him trying to get to her. Murphy then uses the quantum data to solve the remaining gravitational equation regarding Plan A, and saved the world from impending doom as a result.
INTERSTELLAR PART I
I am a big fan of science fiction movies and dramas. I loved watching movies like 'Back to the Future' and 'Inception'. Not forgetting sci-fi dramas like 'Fringe' and 'Continuum'. I am intrigued by concepts like time and space travel, teleportation etc. I often wondered how life would be like out in space and marvel at how tiny humans are, compared to the vastness of the universe. Imagine that the Milky Way where our solar system is situated in is just one of the many galaxies God has made. There is no way for us to know how big the universe is but scientists tell us that the universe is still expanding. I loved the fact that outer space and the great unknown out there stretches my imagination like nothing else could.
One of the more outstanding sci-fi movies I have watched was 'Interstellar'. This movie left such an impression on me that I had to watch it again. But before I could fully understand what the movie was talking about, I had to acquaint myself with a few time-space concepts. Let me mention just a few. A wormhole is like a portal that allows one to travel from one place to another, cutting down travelling time tremendously. A wormhole, in theory, might be able to connect extremely far distances such as a billion light years or more, different universes, and different points in time. A wormhole is much like a tunnel with two ends, each at separate points in space time.
In contrast, a black hole happens when a star collapses on itself, sucking everything around it in promixity. There is nothing but darkness within the black hole, hence the term. There is huge gravitational pull around the black hole. That brings me to another concept of time dilation. Time dilation is a difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other or differently situated from a gravitational mass. Time dilation explains why two working clocks will report different times after different accelerations. For example, astronauts return from missions having aged slightly less than they would have been if they had remained on Earth.
This is a sypnosis of the movie, copied from Wikipedia for easy reference. Widespread catastrophic crop blight on Earth has made farming increasingly difficult and threatens the existence of humanity. Joe Cooper, a widowed former NASA pilot, runs a farm with his father-in-law Donald, son Tom, and daughter Murphy. Murphy believes her bedroom is haunted by a poltergeist. When the "ghost" creates a pattern of dust on the floor, Cooper realizes an unknown intelligence is using gravity to communicate, and interprets the pattern as geographic coordinates, which Cooper and Murphy follow to a secret NASA facility.
There, they meet Dr. Brand, a college professor of Cooper's. Brand reveals that a wormhole, apparently created by an alien intelligence, appeared near Saturn 48 years before and leads to a distant galaxy, 10 billion lightyears from Earth and the Milky Way, with numerous potentially habitable planets. Twelve volunteers have gone through it, knowing they were unlikely to be able to return, each to assess a different planet's suitability as a new home for humanity. Three – Miller, Edmunds and Mann – have sent encouraging data from planets near Gargantua, a supermassive black hole.
Brand recruits Cooper to pilot the spacecraft Endurance to evaluate as many of the planets as possible, while he works on "Plan A", a theory to harness gravity for propulsion, which would allow humanity to leave Earth. However, should his efforts fail, the Endurance also carries 5,000 frozen embryos as "Plan B", to provide for humanity's survival. Cooper agrees to the plan, angering Murphy.
Cooper's crew consists of three scientists – Romilly, Doyle, and Brand's daughter Amelia – and robots TARS and CASE. Traversing the wormhole, they first head to Miller's planet, an ocean world where time is severely dilated due to the proximity to Gargantua; for each hour there, seven years pass on Earth. While Romilly and TARS stay on the Endurance, the rest take a lander to the surface, where they find wreckage of Miller's lander but not its black box. Brand and Doyle venture out further, attempting to find more data. Cooper realizes that the land in front is not mountains but a single, giant, wave. The tidal wave strikes, killing Doyle and waterlogging the lander's engines. By the time Cooper, Amelia, and CASE return to Endurance, 23 years have elapsed back on Earth.
One of the more outstanding sci-fi movies I have watched was 'Interstellar'. This movie left such an impression on me that I had to watch it again. But before I could fully understand what the movie was talking about, I had to acquaint myself with a few time-space concepts. Let me mention just a few. A wormhole is like a portal that allows one to travel from one place to another, cutting down travelling time tremendously. A wormhole, in theory, might be able to connect extremely far distances such as a billion light years or more, different universes, and different points in time. A wormhole is much like a tunnel with two ends, each at separate points in space time.
In contrast, a black hole happens when a star collapses on itself, sucking everything around it in promixity. There is nothing but darkness within the black hole, hence the term. There is huge gravitational pull around the black hole. That brings me to another concept of time dilation. Time dilation is a difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other or differently situated from a gravitational mass. Time dilation explains why two working clocks will report different times after different accelerations. For example, astronauts return from missions having aged slightly less than they would have been if they had remained on Earth.
This is a sypnosis of the movie, copied from Wikipedia for easy reference. Widespread catastrophic crop blight on Earth has made farming increasingly difficult and threatens the existence of humanity. Joe Cooper, a widowed former NASA pilot, runs a farm with his father-in-law Donald, son Tom, and daughter Murphy. Murphy believes her bedroom is haunted by a poltergeist. When the "ghost" creates a pattern of dust on the floor, Cooper realizes an unknown intelligence is using gravity to communicate, and interprets the pattern as geographic coordinates, which Cooper and Murphy follow to a secret NASA facility.
There, they meet Dr. Brand, a college professor of Cooper's. Brand reveals that a wormhole, apparently created by an alien intelligence, appeared near Saturn 48 years before and leads to a distant galaxy, 10 billion lightyears from Earth and the Milky Way, with numerous potentially habitable planets. Twelve volunteers have gone through it, knowing they were unlikely to be able to return, each to assess a different planet's suitability as a new home for humanity. Three – Miller, Edmunds and Mann – have sent encouraging data from planets near Gargantua, a supermassive black hole.
Brand recruits Cooper to pilot the spacecraft Endurance to evaluate as many of the planets as possible, while he works on "Plan A", a theory to harness gravity for propulsion, which would allow humanity to leave Earth. However, should his efforts fail, the Endurance also carries 5,000 frozen embryos as "Plan B", to provide for humanity's survival. Cooper agrees to the plan, angering Murphy.
Cooper's crew consists of three scientists – Romilly, Doyle, and Brand's daughter Amelia – and robots TARS and CASE. Traversing the wormhole, they first head to Miller's planet, an ocean world where time is severely dilated due to the proximity to Gargantua; for each hour there, seven years pass on Earth. While Romilly and TARS stay on the Endurance, the rest take a lander to the surface, where they find wreckage of Miller's lander but not its black box. Brand and Doyle venture out further, attempting to find more data. Cooper realizes that the land in front is not mountains but a single, giant, wave. The tidal wave strikes, killing Doyle and waterlogging the lander's engines. By the time Cooper, Amelia, and CASE return to Endurance, 23 years have elapsed back on Earth.
Monday, November 16, 2015
BIRTH PAINS DURING TRANSITION
I was just thinking about how I felt like a heavily pregnant woman waiting to deliver this long overdue dream. How restless, how uncomfortable, how vulnerable I have been feeling lately! How I wish I could just get this 'baby' out as soon as possible. I reached a stage where I was so exhausted. I had focused all my energies on this birth. I wasn't interested in anything else and I couldn't be involved in starting anything new unless this 'baby' is birthed. In other words, I was stuck. Everything seemed to predicate on the manifestation. It was that intense.
And I couldn't turn my attention to another thing to keep myself meaningfully occupied while waiting. It's different from earlier. There isn't any other assignments the Lord would give, for the moment. He is relentless on settling this issue for me. I sense His resolve. And He doesn't want me to be distracted from the birth. He wants me to set my face like flint, focusing on the joy before me. I felt like I was holding my breath waiting for this promise to manifest. And I have been doing this for a long while so I was running out of breath.
Then I happened to chance upon this article. The writer said: I believe 2015 is a year of new beginnings and that means birthings. Last fall, Ken Malone had a prophetic vision that shook him and the Lord impressed upon him that we are in a season of giving birth.
"I saw and heard the radical remnant of the Lord pregnant with the dreams and visions of the Lord. They were pregnant with the purposes of God in the earth. Many are pregnant with awakening revival for their nation, cities and families. Others are pregnant with a harvest of souls. Still others are pregnant with signs, wonders and miracles. Then there are those who are pregnant with His presence, intercession and gifts of the Holy Spirit,"
"The radical remnant I saw and am seeing is beyond full term. Something is keeping them from delivering God's purpose. The remnant is not able to deliver. Groaning and travail as with a woman in pain of childbirth is on the remnant. But no one can deliver. Suddenly, I began to see why we could not deliver. The accuser of the brethren was standing there making accusation against the remnant. Dreams and visions from the Lord are being held hostage in the womb of the sons and daughters of the Lord by this accuser."
The writer then heard the Lord say, "I am shutting the mouth of the destroyer, and I will establish a throne of righteousness and worship in the land." A release of joy came to her spirit as she heard the Lord release the vengeance of our God against the accuser of the brethren (Isaiah 61:2). The accuser is warring over your harvest. But it is your season to travail to prevail but Jesus has given us the victory. We must enter into the place of Isaiah 54:1-3: "Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud". It is important to enter into a season of worship in this season.
She encouraged all of us to get ready for the birthing that will bring the new beginnings. 2015 is a year of new beginnings. That means some of you are going to birth some things. That means you may be a little uncomfortable in 2015. It means you will face some transition. It means you may enter into travail. Transitions are difficult. This is the place where people tend to grow weary and faint. The moments right before you give birth to that new thing—before you enter that new beginning—are the hardest of all. You will face the accuser of the brethren and engage in spiritual warfare at new levels. But you will win! It will be worth it!
What you are birthing may seem scary to you or overwhelming to you. We can take a lesson from Mary. It's time to face your fears—fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of rejection, fear of transition. When the angel came to Mary and told her she would birth the Son of God, she ultimately responded: "I am the servant of the Lord. May it be unto me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
You know, I have come to the place where I have passed the point of feeling scared, overwhelmed by this birth. I am past caring what would happen after the manifestation, what kind of adjustments to my life etc. I have faced all my fears - fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of transition, even fear of childbirth. It was like when I was heavily pregnant with Joshua, I was way beyond the fear of giving birth.
In fact I was more afraid that I couldn't give birth when the time came. What an irrational fear but it was so real to me then. God gave me this verse to assure me. Isaiah 66:9 'Shall I bring to the time of birth and not cause delivery? Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?' The answer is no. He will surely cause me to deliver this baby. And I really did soon after. Praise the Lord!
And I couldn't turn my attention to another thing to keep myself meaningfully occupied while waiting. It's different from earlier. There isn't any other assignments the Lord would give, for the moment. He is relentless on settling this issue for me. I sense His resolve. And He doesn't want me to be distracted from the birth. He wants me to set my face like flint, focusing on the joy before me. I felt like I was holding my breath waiting for this promise to manifest. And I have been doing this for a long while so I was running out of breath.
Then I happened to chance upon this article. The writer said: I believe 2015 is a year of new beginnings and that means birthings. Last fall, Ken Malone had a prophetic vision that shook him and the Lord impressed upon him that we are in a season of giving birth.
"I saw and heard the radical remnant of the Lord pregnant with the dreams and visions of the Lord. They were pregnant with the purposes of God in the earth. Many are pregnant with awakening revival for their nation, cities and families. Others are pregnant with a harvest of souls. Still others are pregnant with signs, wonders and miracles. Then there are those who are pregnant with His presence, intercession and gifts of the Holy Spirit,"
"The radical remnant I saw and am seeing is beyond full term. Something is keeping them from delivering God's purpose. The remnant is not able to deliver. Groaning and travail as with a woman in pain of childbirth is on the remnant. But no one can deliver. Suddenly, I began to see why we could not deliver. The accuser of the brethren was standing there making accusation against the remnant. Dreams and visions from the Lord are being held hostage in the womb of the sons and daughters of the Lord by this accuser."
The writer then heard the Lord say, "I am shutting the mouth of the destroyer, and I will establish a throne of righteousness and worship in the land." A release of joy came to her spirit as she heard the Lord release the vengeance of our God against the accuser of the brethren (Isaiah 61:2). The accuser is warring over your harvest. But it is your season to travail to prevail but Jesus has given us the victory. We must enter into the place of Isaiah 54:1-3: "Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud". It is important to enter into a season of worship in this season.
She encouraged all of us to get ready for the birthing that will bring the new beginnings. 2015 is a year of new beginnings. That means some of you are going to birth some things. That means you may be a little uncomfortable in 2015. It means you will face some transition. It means you may enter into travail. Transitions are difficult. This is the place where people tend to grow weary and faint. The moments right before you give birth to that new thing—before you enter that new beginning—are the hardest of all. You will face the accuser of the brethren and engage in spiritual warfare at new levels. But you will win! It will be worth it!
What you are birthing may seem scary to you or overwhelming to you. We can take a lesson from Mary. It's time to face your fears—fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of rejection, fear of transition. When the angel came to Mary and told her she would birth the Son of God, she ultimately responded: "I am the servant of the Lord. May it be unto me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
You know, I have come to the place where I have passed the point of feeling scared, overwhelmed by this birth. I am past caring what would happen after the manifestation, what kind of adjustments to my life etc. I have faced all my fears - fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of transition, even fear of childbirth. It was like when I was heavily pregnant with Joshua, I was way beyond the fear of giving birth.
In fact I was more afraid that I couldn't give birth when the time came. What an irrational fear but it was so real to me then. God gave me this verse to assure me. Isaiah 66:9 'Shall I bring to the time of birth and not cause delivery? Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?' The answer is no. He will surely cause me to deliver this baby. And I really did soon after. Praise the Lord!
Thursday, November 12, 2015
THINGS ARE SHIFTING AGAIN
Recently I also had a sense that another shift has taken place. It was funny because I thought a shift took place around Rosh Hashanah so why another shift? But those prophetic words from Arise 5 and even recent devotionals have been talking about how the spiritual atmosphere is shifting. I believe that we are at the brink of another harvest. Those seeds were clearly sown years ago so now they should be bearing fruit.
Journals of the Heart also mentioned this. It is an encouragement for those who have not yet seen things shift in their lives. God said: I am here to let you know I am jealous for you and will not let you live in winter among the abundance of new life emerging everywhere. Even moments of winter are only meant to be temporary depositories of preparation. Winters pass and spring always comes in some fashion or other. I am coming with My rains…soft rain, gentle rain, cleansing rain, purifying rain and spring will arise in your life. Close your eyes. Reach out and see Me and see the atmosphere around you shift. Everything is shifting and what has not yet shifted will.
Even Pastor Joel's devotional talked about the changing of seasons again. God is always looking to take us to higher levels in Him. He wants us to grow and increase in every area of life. Change is often the catalyst for growth in our lives. It keeps us from getting stuck in a rut. God will supernaturally open and close doors to keep us on the path toward our destiny. He will “stir us” out of comfortable situations and stretch us because He loves us too much to allow us to live in mediocrity.
Journals of the Heart also mentioned this. It is an encouragement for those who have not yet seen things shift in their lives. God said: I am here to let you know I am jealous for you and will not let you live in winter among the abundance of new life emerging everywhere. Even moments of winter are only meant to be temporary depositories of preparation. Winters pass and spring always comes in some fashion or other. I am coming with My rains…soft rain, gentle rain, cleansing rain, purifying rain and spring will arise in your life. Close your eyes. Reach out and see Me and see the atmosphere around you shift. Everything is shifting and what has not yet shifted will.
Even Pastor Joel's devotional talked about the changing of seasons again. God is always looking to take us to higher levels in Him. He wants us to grow and increase in every area of life. Change is often the catalyst for growth in our lives. It keeps us from getting stuck in a rut. God will supernaturally open and close doors to keep us on the path toward our destiny. He will “stir us” out of comfortable situations and stretch us because He loves us too much to allow us to live in mediocrity.
Today I read Doug Addison's prophetic word that this month of November is a time when we will see many spiritual changes. November is the 11th month, and the number 11 is symbolic of transition. Some people also said it is the eleventh hour. Many people were promoted to a new level in the spirit or in maturity this year.Along with this comes a major transitional shift that takes time to work out the new plans in our lives. As we enter into a new season we need to embrace this:"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past" (Isaiah 43:18).
God is giving clear signs to help guide you through the transitions, so watch for them. Expect to see provision and greater resources become available to you. Be willing to let go of the old to open up the new. In most cases, you will need to take a step of faith for these new doors of opportunity to open for you. Get ready to shift with God. It is coming.
God is giving clear signs to help guide you through the transitions, so watch for them. Expect to see provision and greater resources become available to you. Be willing to let go of the old to open up the new. In most cases, you will need to take a step of faith for these new doors of opportunity to open for you. Get ready to shift with God. It is coming.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
TURNAROUND AND REJOICING
During last Sunday service, Dr Marilyn Hickey told us to turn around and declared that a turnaround was about to come into our lives. Then I also read Chuck Pierce's prophetic word about this turning point. God would say to you, "Embrace your turning point. Over this past season you've been sifted and you've been strained, and you have even fought for your very breath. But this is a day of change! This is a day of rearranging! This is a time that I AM sending a three-fold cord of empowerment into your soul that cannot be broken."
"I have been rearranging your confusion, for you have not been able to see the joy in the midst of the chaos around you. This will be a time that I draw out the joy that is in you. I have placed you in that chaos that is around you to produce joy. If you will release the joy that I have developed within you, the chaos will subside and you will see the order around you."
Chuck Pierce also said: 'You are at the end of a path that I have put you on. (Isn't it interesting that 11 Nov is also a day of remembrance for WWI veterans because it marked the end of the war.) Although you have been trained and have come to a place of understanding of how to maneuver on this path, you can go no further until you rely upon Me. This will be a time that you cry out and rejoice in Me. In your rejoicing, I will begin to unlock revelation that will cause you to be able to unlock your future. Many of My people will now be at their end. However, when you begin to rejoice, you will leap into a new vision and see into the place that I have for your future!'
Another writer had this dream: Two young men and my daughter were like a special-ops team. Each had a portion of a special assignment and were skilled experts in what they did. They were very focused on an assignment somewhere in Israel. They were working very intently, but then threw their hands up and said, "This is it! We can't go any farther than where we are now." I knew they hadn't completed what they were supposed to do, and it was going to be very bad since the project had not been finished.
Suddenly, all three of them started jumping up and down, waving their arms and worshipping, and saying, "God, You are so good! Praise God! Hallelujah!" They could not contain or hold it in. In my mind, I couldn't see what had brought this kind of response. As they did that, keys started falling, and they reached out and grabbed them. When each one had a key, they looked at their key and at each other and said, "We can finish now!" Then they went right back to work.
The key is the ONE WORD of faith. As you speak that one word, your situation will change. Do not let the downdraft pull you down into the circumstances that are surrounding you. Remain buoyant with that one word. The one word is your breakthrough in this season. Declare breakthrough after breakthrough after breakthrough into everything that seems chaotic. Your buoyant faith is what causes you to arise in the midst of everything that is trying to pull you down. Don't stop at one breakthrough, but go from breakthrough to breakthrough until you are beyond breakthrough.
So now I understand better why the Lord told me to rejoice and celebrate. When I begin to rejoice, the spiritual atmosphere changes and the chaos will subside and I will see the order around me. God will begin to unlock revelation and strategies that will cause me to unlock my future destiny. It's true that I am now at the end of the path, very near the finish line but I can go no further unless the Lord brings certain things to pass in my life. I feel like I have hit a plateau and I don't know how to carry on unless God intervenes. But if I be obedient to rejoice like He said, I will leap into a new vision and see that place He has for my future.
"I have been rearranging your confusion, for you have not been able to see the joy in the midst of the chaos around you. This will be a time that I draw out the joy that is in you. I have placed you in that chaos that is around you to produce joy. If you will release the joy that I have developed within you, the chaos will subside and you will see the order around you."
Chuck Pierce also said: 'You are at the end of a path that I have put you on. (Isn't it interesting that 11 Nov is also a day of remembrance for WWI veterans because it marked the end of the war.) Although you have been trained and have come to a place of understanding of how to maneuver on this path, you can go no further until you rely upon Me. This will be a time that you cry out and rejoice in Me. In your rejoicing, I will begin to unlock revelation that will cause you to be able to unlock your future. Many of My people will now be at their end. However, when you begin to rejoice, you will leap into a new vision and see into the place that I have for your future!'
Another writer had this dream: Two young men and my daughter were like a special-ops team. Each had a portion of a special assignment and were skilled experts in what they did. They were very focused on an assignment somewhere in Israel. They were working very intently, but then threw their hands up and said, "This is it! We can't go any farther than where we are now." I knew they hadn't completed what they were supposed to do, and it was going to be very bad since the project had not been finished.
Suddenly, all three of them started jumping up and down, waving their arms and worshipping, and saying, "God, You are so good! Praise God! Hallelujah!" They could not contain or hold it in. In my mind, I couldn't see what had brought this kind of response. As they did that, keys started falling, and they reached out and grabbed them. When each one had a key, they looked at their key and at each other and said, "We can finish now!" Then they went right back to work.
The key is the ONE WORD of faith. As you speak that one word, your situation will change. Do not let the downdraft pull you down into the circumstances that are surrounding you. Remain buoyant with that one word. The one word is your breakthrough in this season. Declare breakthrough after breakthrough after breakthrough into everything that seems chaotic. Your buoyant faith is what causes you to arise in the midst of everything that is trying to pull you down. Don't stop at one breakthrough, but go from breakthrough to breakthrough until you are beyond breakthrough.
So now I understand better why the Lord told me to rejoice and celebrate. When I begin to rejoice, the spiritual atmosphere changes and the chaos will subside and I will see the order around me. God will begin to unlock revelation and strategies that will cause me to unlock my future destiny. It's true that I am now at the end of the path, very near the finish line but I can go no further unless the Lord brings certain things to pass in my life. I feel like I have hit a plateau and I don't know how to carry on unless God intervenes. But if I be obedient to rejoice like He said, I will leap into a new vision and see that place He has for my future.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
I AM SATISFIED
I read in Arise 5, another prophetic website about one article on 12 Oct, before Cheshvan started. The writer said 'I feel during this month of Cheshvan, the Lord really wants us to celebrate and rejoice. We have to be careful that we don’t just give mental assent to this, but actually do it. Furthermore, we need to go beyond just being happy in our hearts—we need to be demonstrative about it. Exuberant joy will result in much blessing. There is a curious, but definite connection between rejoicing and breakthrough. Since His word tells us to be demonstratively joyful, then we should do that. I felt the Lord speak strongly that we need to follow through on this exuberant, celebratory joy all month long.'
She then summarized it this way:
* Make deliberate choices to rejoice exuberantly this whole month. It’s important to not just inwardly or mentally agree, but to actually deliberately rejoice.
* Throughout the day, be sure to joyfully shout/declare, “I am satisfied.” Do this particularly when you find yourself lapsing into negative thought patterns or blaming yourself for why things aren’t going better. The shout will actually drive that negative out and may result in spiritual—if not physical—healing.
Before Cheshvan started, I also felt that God wants me to rejoice and celebrate and I have been getting recurrent messages about rejoicing and celebrating since the start of Cheshvan on 14 Oct, also the day my blog turned five. That was also the day of new beginning for me as I attended my first Mothers' Fellowship Group. I was feeling so happy, literally over the moon in early Oct because of two things. One of which was the notice about this Fellowship Group meeting as I had been waiting for it for more than a month. The other was about Joshua being selected for Gifted Programme Round 2.
It was so easy to rejoice and celebrate when we see God making things move or when we are blessed in big ways. But during the start of Cheshvan, I was feeling far from happy or joyful. In fact I was feeling very stretched and vulnerable. Though I was happy that a shift had finally occurred and new things begun springing up in our lives, I was also feeling jittery about the changes ahead. How contradictory can one get! Though I knew that joy is not dependent on my circumstance but it comes from being in His presence, it was still tough to rejoice when little foxes and resistance kept coming my way.
In this month of Cheshvan, I had to make tough decisions to exit a ministry I was so passionate about, closing the door behind me completely before I see the door ahead of me open. I also had to muster up courage to attend reunion gatherings which I had not gone for a long while. I had to put aside my self-consciousness. Not only that, I was disappointed to discover that Joshua didn't do well in one of his exam subjects. That grade was below my threshold and it took me a day to let it go.
The next day God told me that there was nothing more important than Joshua's happiness. And yes, I also agreed. I should give thanks to God for improvements in his other subjects rather than dwell on this disappointment. I also wanted Joshua to be happily learning in school and not give him undue pressure. After all he tried his best. Anyway this study year was over, so we just had to work towards improving this subject next year. I know that God will work all things out for our good.
I guess God has prepared me well before I knew the outcome of his Gifted Programme Round 2 selection. When Joshua came home that day and said he wasn't selected, I wasn't that disappointed. Though I must say we harboured hopes for his selection and even planned for a possible change of school, we just left it to the Lord. Hence I was relieved. At least we didn't have to make that difficult decision of whether to let Joshua change to another school. Joshua was relieved because he loved his current school and didn't want to change schools.
I thank God for this closed door for I believe God has Joshua's best interests. Besides, I was already very happy that he was selected for Round 2, to know that he is top 10% of his cohort. As for entrance into the Gifted Programme, I wasn't sure if it would be giving him too much pressure if he got in. I just wanted him to have a simple and happy childhood. Whether he got into the Gifted Programme or not was immaterial. He is still our beloved son and we love him all the same. Unless I was sure it was God's will then I know the grace will be there. But in this case, clearly it was a closed door.
In conclusion, I just want to say that even when things didn't go as I expected, I still decide to rejoice in the Lord. I have learnt to declare like the writer did: I am satisfied! I am contented! I give praise to the Lord for He is worship of our praises! This is my midnight praise before things start to turn around and manifest! This is my thanksgiving in advance for the answer I have been praying for, the breakthrough I wanted to see. This is my shout of victory! Praise the Lord!
She then summarized it this way:
* Make deliberate choices to rejoice exuberantly this whole month. It’s important to not just inwardly or mentally agree, but to actually deliberately rejoice.
* Throughout the day, be sure to joyfully shout/declare, “I am satisfied.” Do this particularly when you find yourself lapsing into negative thought patterns or blaming yourself for why things aren’t going better. The shout will actually drive that negative out and may result in spiritual—if not physical—healing.
Before Cheshvan started, I also felt that God wants me to rejoice and celebrate and I have been getting recurrent messages about rejoicing and celebrating since the start of Cheshvan on 14 Oct, also the day my blog turned five. That was also the day of new beginning for me as I attended my first Mothers' Fellowship Group. I was feeling so happy, literally over the moon in early Oct because of two things. One of which was the notice about this Fellowship Group meeting as I had been waiting for it for more than a month. The other was about Joshua being selected for Gifted Programme Round 2.
It was so easy to rejoice and celebrate when we see God making things move or when we are blessed in big ways. But during the start of Cheshvan, I was feeling far from happy or joyful. In fact I was feeling very stretched and vulnerable. Though I was happy that a shift had finally occurred and new things begun springing up in our lives, I was also feeling jittery about the changes ahead. How contradictory can one get! Though I knew that joy is not dependent on my circumstance but it comes from being in His presence, it was still tough to rejoice when little foxes and resistance kept coming my way.
In this month of Cheshvan, I had to make tough decisions to exit a ministry I was so passionate about, closing the door behind me completely before I see the door ahead of me open. I also had to muster up courage to attend reunion gatherings which I had not gone for a long while. I had to put aside my self-consciousness. Not only that, I was disappointed to discover that Joshua didn't do well in one of his exam subjects. That grade was below my threshold and it took me a day to let it go.
The next day God told me that there was nothing more important than Joshua's happiness. And yes, I also agreed. I should give thanks to God for improvements in his other subjects rather than dwell on this disappointment. I also wanted Joshua to be happily learning in school and not give him undue pressure. After all he tried his best. Anyway this study year was over, so we just had to work towards improving this subject next year. I know that God will work all things out for our good.
I guess God has prepared me well before I knew the outcome of his Gifted Programme Round 2 selection. When Joshua came home that day and said he wasn't selected, I wasn't that disappointed. Though I must say we harboured hopes for his selection and even planned for a possible change of school, we just left it to the Lord. Hence I was relieved. At least we didn't have to make that difficult decision of whether to let Joshua change to another school. Joshua was relieved because he loved his current school and didn't want to change schools.
I thank God for this closed door for I believe God has Joshua's best interests. Besides, I was already very happy that he was selected for Round 2, to know that he is top 10% of his cohort. As for entrance into the Gifted Programme, I wasn't sure if it would be giving him too much pressure if he got in. I just wanted him to have a simple and happy childhood. Whether he got into the Gifted Programme or not was immaterial. He is still our beloved son and we love him all the same. Unless I was sure it was God's will then I know the grace will be there. But in this case, clearly it was a closed door.
In conclusion, I just want to say that even when things didn't go as I expected, I still decide to rejoice in the Lord. I have learnt to declare like the writer did: I am satisfied! I am contented! I give praise to the Lord for He is worship of our praises! This is my midnight praise before things start to turn around and manifest! This is my thanksgiving in advance for the answer I have been praying for, the breakthrough I wanted to see. This is my shout of victory! Praise the Lord!
Monday, November 9, 2015
TOTEM
'Totem' by Cirque De Soliel is now here in Singapore. It started premiering on 28 Oct, my birthday. This was surely not a coincidence for I just read in Dr Marilyn Hickey's book that a totem is a symbol used by the African tribes in Zimbabwe. These totems represent their tribes. And the tribes take on the characteristic of that totem, becoming the object they worship. For example the Tribe with a snake as a totem has a reputation as a deceitful and scheming people.
I came across this book 'Blessing the next generation' by Marilyn Hickey and Sarah Bowling last Sunday. It talked about the family tree. They said that the passing of faith from generation to generation is a central theme in the bible. God desires for families to change, come to completion, continue and experience an increase in blessing. God wants to change everything negative, unproductive, ineffective or sinful into something positive, effective and good.
God desires a fullness that produces an overflow of abundance. From the beginning, God established a principle of multiplication. He commanded Adam and Eve to multiply. Multiplication produces abundance. God wants to heal us where we are weak or diseased - physically, mentally, emotionally and physically. He wants to make us whole. In Christ, the family or generational curse or sin has not only been broken but it has been reserved.
Whatever it is the devil desires to dredge from your family past, God desires to heal. What has been cursed, God desires to reverse it into a blessing. What has been a point of defeat, God desires to turn it into a testimony of victory. What we worship eventually comes to light, though the fruit of that sin may take years or decades to manifest, or maybe only fully visible until the next generation.
The bible also speaks of some demons as being 'familiar spirits'. Demons are familiar with history. They know your family tree, perhaps better than you do. They know the weakness and sinful behaviours lurking in your family history. However it takes only one person in a family to turn it around. And generational curses can be turned around into generational blessings. It is the creation of a heritage of goodness and wholeness.
Pastor Prince also mentioned that sometimes certain things that happened to us during childhood has affected the way we think or behave subconsciously. We may be even too small to understand all that or know that we have believed wrongly or have been hurt. But as we grow in the Lord, He will take us back to those hurts and heal them completely so we can move boldly into our future, set free from the ghosts of our past. This is so true of my life.
I was the first in the entire family tree to accept Christ. It was really tough back then. My dad threatened me when I chose bible study as a subject in secondary 3, but I persevered in my faith. My mum called me demon possessed and told my brothers to ostracise me. I was stopped from going to church by my dad in those early days. Talk about persecution! But I saw how it was true that when one in the family is saved, it's like God opened a door to work in the lives of other family members to come to salvation. Later on, I brought my youngest brother to accept Christ unbeknownst to my parents. Eventually my parents also came to know Christ. Now only my other brother has not yet come to know Christ.
After that I came to discover there were more of my extended family like uncles and aunts and cousins who are Christians. Not only, we all ended up attending NCC! I used to say that NCC is my family church! As I read this book, the Lord confirmed what He showed me years ago about my family tree: fornication, infidelity, adultery, gambling, mental illness, divorce, abortions, dysfunctional families, poverty etc. But once I accepted Christ, that curse was already reversed, so I am no longer under curse but under His blessings. I thank God that I can be used as a vessel to reverse that curse in my relatives' lives by telling them about Jesus.
From my generation onwards, specifically my family, we have decided that as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Not just me and my hubby but also our children and children's children. The Lord also impressed upon me the importance of passing down this faith to my children because the consequences of not doing so may result in established blessings in a family lineage to be negated.
Like how Priest Eli failed to take his sons into his hands, like how King David was indulgent towards his sons especially Absalom, like how King Solomon had too many children to teach them the way of the Lord etc. Such are sobering examples. Now I better understand and appreciate my role as a mum and in praying for my children. It is really a generational relay race. And our children will go further than we have achieved in our lives, by the grace of God.
I came across this book 'Blessing the next generation' by Marilyn Hickey and Sarah Bowling last Sunday. It talked about the family tree. They said that the passing of faith from generation to generation is a central theme in the bible. God desires for families to change, come to completion, continue and experience an increase in blessing. God wants to change everything negative, unproductive, ineffective or sinful into something positive, effective and good.
God desires a fullness that produces an overflow of abundance. From the beginning, God established a principle of multiplication. He commanded Adam and Eve to multiply. Multiplication produces abundance. God wants to heal us where we are weak or diseased - physically, mentally, emotionally and physically. He wants to make us whole. In Christ, the family or generational curse or sin has not only been broken but it has been reserved.
Whatever it is the devil desires to dredge from your family past, God desires to heal. What has been cursed, God desires to reverse it into a blessing. What has been a point of defeat, God desires to turn it into a testimony of victory. What we worship eventually comes to light, though the fruit of that sin may take years or decades to manifest, or maybe only fully visible until the next generation.
The bible also speaks of some demons as being 'familiar spirits'. Demons are familiar with history. They know your family tree, perhaps better than you do. They know the weakness and sinful behaviours lurking in your family history. However it takes only one person in a family to turn it around. And generational curses can be turned around into generational blessings. It is the creation of a heritage of goodness and wholeness.
Pastor Prince also mentioned that sometimes certain things that happened to us during childhood has affected the way we think or behave subconsciously. We may be even too small to understand all that or know that we have believed wrongly or have been hurt. But as we grow in the Lord, He will take us back to those hurts and heal them completely so we can move boldly into our future, set free from the ghosts of our past. This is so true of my life.
I was the first in the entire family tree to accept Christ. It was really tough back then. My dad threatened me when I chose bible study as a subject in secondary 3, but I persevered in my faith. My mum called me demon possessed and told my brothers to ostracise me. I was stopped from going to church by my dad in those early days. Talk about persecution! But I saw how it was true that when one in the family is saved, it's like God opened a door to work in the lives of other family members to come to salvation. Later on, I brought my youngest brother to accept Christ unbeknownst to my parents. Eventually my parents also came to know Christ. Now only my other brother has not yet come to know Christ.
After that I came to discover there were more of my extended family like uncles and aunts and cousins who are Christians. Not only, we all ended up attending NCC! I used to say that NCC is my family church! As I read this book, the Lord confirmed what He showed me years ago about my family tree: fornication, infidelity, adultery, gambling, mental illness, divorce, abortions, dysfunctional families, poverty etc. But once I accepted Christ, that curse was already reversed, so I am no longer under curse but under His blessings. I thank God that I can be used as a vessel to reverse that curse in my relatives' lives by telling them about Jesus.
From my generation onwards, specifically my family, we have decided that as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Not just me and my hubby but also our children and children's children. The Lord also impressed upon me the importance of passing down this faith to my children because the consequences of not doing so may result in established blessings in a family lineage to be negated.
Like how Priest Eli failed to take his sons into his hands, like how King David was indulgent towards his sons especially Absalom, like how King Solomon had too many children to teach them the way of the Lord etc. Such are sobering examples. Now I better understand and appreciate my role as a mum and in praying for my children. It is really a generational relay race. And our children will go further than we have achieved in our lives, by the grace of God.
Friday, November 6, 2015
ROSH HASHANAH 5776: THE YEAR YOU WILL ROAR
There is another part of the prophetic word that Johnny Enlow gave which I felt impressed to share with you. This is the prophecy he spoke of early this year. You will see how some of the things he has spoken of has come to pass. I believe that is the best proof of a prophetic word that it is from the Lord, whether it has come to pass. Hence I am sharing highlights of this post. Please bear with me. It is a bit long. http://elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=15118
This September 14, 2015 begins a most remarkable year on the Hebraic Calendar that will exceed the expectations of even the most optimistic Kingdom observer. Having finished three 7-year cycles (1994-2001, 2001-2008, 2008-2015) we now enter into the fourth and defining 7-year period, that has birthed the age of the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21), and that has released a majestic Era of Renaissance or Revival.
A pertinent Scripture for this year and for the subsequent era is Daniel 12:3, "Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever." Those who are wise enough to understand the brilliance of Papa's narrative for this day will position themselves to be able to shine as bright as the sky.
With this new year we will begin year 5776 on the Jewish calendar and we are in a 10-year window when the focus is all about "learning TO SEE". The Hebraic numbers spell this out for us. This goes on until 5780, as the Lord upgrades us from our distorted way of perceiving things and teaches us how to see from His level and His perspective. It is a transition from seeing through the eyes of the "enemy observant, 10 spies", and we shift into seeing through the eyes of "fruit observant, Caleb".
You are going to learn to trust your spirit eyes above your natural eyes and to almost automatically doubt your natural eyes. Media reports and projections will often give you clues as to the OPPOSITE of what God is really doing and as to what kingdom is actually ferociously advancing.
For many years now, he has been sharing a prophetic time sequence that carried 3 definitive progressions. These three are: 1) Awakening. 2) Arising. 3) Shining. The Awakening focus was from 2008-2012, and was about awakening to an understanding to our expanded parameters of Kingdom assignment. The Awakening is to our reformation of society assignment that includes souls being saved but greatly expands beyond that to seeing cities and nations transformed.
The Arising focus was from 2012-2015 (in all of these from Rosh Hashanah to Rosh Hashanah of each year). This was when the advance army began arising into the mountains of society, understanding the awakening assignment to reform society with our Papa's better ways of doing things. A practical perspective of "on earth as it is in Heaven." It has been a virtual handful that have done this compared to what is coming but it has already made a difference.
The third season is Shining and it begins this Rosh Hashanah. Now begins the extended season of "Shining as Bright as the Sky" and it is now where we begin to contend in earnest for the nations as our inheritance. We have had zeal for that for some time, as we have claimed the nations for our inheritance (Psalm 2:8), but the Lord is giving us revelation and understanding of what that actually looks like now. It's not by might or power, but it doesn't happen by magic either. There is a practical element of the Kingdom advancing that we are only just now seeming to grasp.
We are learning how to value and combine the power of the "prayer movement" and the power of the "do movement". God does not prefer one over the other, but He is showing us how to be prayers that do and doers that pray. Prayer is the fuel and action is the vehicle. We have to combine Moses on the mountaintop with his hands being raised, with Joshua on the actual battlefield, where the victory needs to be evidenced.
The enemy has attempted to convince many, through distorted "seeing", that these are days to endure and survive the beast, the antichrist, the false prophet etc. But these are not those days! Rather it's SHOWTIME for the Kingdom of God. It is "Lights, Camera, Action!" time for the saints of the living God. The only way you wouldn't see this reality is if you are gazing at the giants instead of gazing at God. Giants are bigger than us. God is so much bigger than the giants that He makes them look like "bread for us" (as Caleb noted).
Just like the 10 spies did, they think they are helping God's people by warning of the giants in the land, but they are actually the lance point of the greatest antichrist activity on the planet. They are discouraging and disarming the most powerful force on the planet – the Church. Therefore creation itself groans and opens up and swallows them up, because creation is endowed with more revelation than most of the Church, as creation travails with birth pains, not for Jesus to come back, but for the Calebs and Joshuas to arise (Romans 8:19).
We are inundated with the human economic wisdom of all of these who say that the economy cannot go on and must devastatingly crash. Of course, most of these have been saying this for years and they just keep saying it, expecting that eventually they will be right. Yet, God is greater and kinder than we can possibly imagine. We, of course, deserve crashing economic devastation, as we have operated by fear and greed and we have woefully indebted ourselves. But now we need to get in touch with a God who does not give us what we deserve. He is the John 10:10 God, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."
While we seem locked in an Old Testament mode of assuming judgment leads to repentance (notice it never really worked), our God actually tells us in Romans that "the kindness of God leads to repentance." God is looking for sons and daughters who get this core aspect of who He is rather than the James and John trait of wanting to call down fire from Heaven, evidencing their being stuck in an Old Testament paradigm. Jesus didn't just say to James and John, "I will give them one more chance to repent", but said to them, "You do not know of what spirit you are" (Luke 9:55).
It's really showtime for the Kingdom of God! This message really bears witness with my spirit and in line with what God told me, rather than the gloom and doom prophecies, or about the financial meltdown. I also do not wish to see a financial meltdown because it would be disastrous. Jobs would be lost, houses foreclosed and families broken up...I don't think it would be His will too. I also agree that the creation groans with birth pains, not for Jesus to come back and put an end to all these but for the sons of God to take their dominion on this earth.
Johnny Enlow also prophesied that October will be the month that the Bear (market) gets tamed. The bear is not just the "Bear Market" but the bear of all the fears of economic disaster that so many of His kids have wallowed in recently. I looked up the stock market in October and was surprised to find this. Stocks closed their best month since October 2011. And one of the CEOs said that this was a phenomenal month.
This September 14, 2015 begins a most remarkable year on the Hebraic Calendar that will exceed the expectations of even the most optimistic Kingdom observer. Having finished three 7-year cycles (1994-2001, 2001-2008, 2008-2015) we now enter into the fourth and defining 7-year period, that has birthed the age of the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21), and that has released a majestic Era of Renaissance or Revival.
A pertinent Scripture for this year and for the subsequent era is Daniel 12:3, "Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever." Those who are wise enough to understand the brilliance of Papa's narrative for this day will position themselves to be able to shine as bright as the sky.
With this new year we will begin year 5776 on the Jewish calendar and we are in a 10-year window when the focus is all about "learning TO SEE". The Hebraic numbers spell this out for us. This goes on until 5780, as the Lord upgrades us from our distorted way of perceiving things and teaches us how to see from His level and His perspective. It is a transition from seeing through the eyes of the "enemy observant, 10 spies", and we shift into seeing through the eyes of "fruit observant, Caleb".
You are going to learn to trust your spirit eyes above your natural eyes and to almost automatically doubt your natural eyes. Media reports and projections will often give you clues as to the OPPOSITE of what God is really doing and as to what kingdom is actually ferociously advancing.
For many years now, he has been sharing a prophetic time sequence that carried 3 definitive progressions. These three are: 1) Awakening. 2) Arising. 3) Shining. The Awakening focus was from 2008-2012, and was about awakening to an understanding to our expanded parameters of Kingdom assignment. The Awakening is to our reformation of society assignment that includes souls being saved but greatly expands beyond that to seeing cities and nations transformed.
The Arising focus was from 2012-2015 (in all of these from Rosh Hashanah to Rosh Hashanah of each year). This was when the advance army began arising into the mountains of society, understanding the awakening assignment to reform society with our Papa's better ways of doing things. A practical perspective of "on earth as it is in Heaven." It has been a virtual handful that have done this compared to what is coming but it has already made a difference.
The third season is Shining and it begins this Rosh Hashanah. Now begins the extended season of "Shining as Bright as the Sky" and it is now where we begin to contend in earnest for the nations as our inheritance. We have had zeal for that for some time, as we have claimed the nations for our inheritance (Psalm 2:8), but the Lord is giving us revelation and understanding of what that actually looks like now. It's not by might or power, but it doesn't happen by magic either. There is a practical element of the Kingdom advancing that we are only just now seeming to grasp.
We are learning how to value and combine the power of the "prayer movement" and the power of the "do movement". God does not prefer one over the other, but He is showing us how to be prayers that do and doers that pray. Prayer is the fuel and action is the vehicle. We have to combine Moses on the mountaintop with his hands being raised, with Joshua on the actual battlefield, where the victory needs to be evidenced.
The enemy has attempted to convince many, through distorted "seeing", that these are days to endure and survive the beast, the antichrist, the false prophet etc. But these are not those days! Rather it's SHOWTIME for the Kingdom of God. It is "Lights, Camera, Action!" time for the saints of the living God. The only way you wouldn't see this reality is if you are gazing at the giants instead of gazing at God. Giants are bigger than us. God is so much bigger than the giants that He makes them look like "bread for us" (as Caleb noted).
Just like the 10 spies did, they think they are helping God's people by warning of the giants in the land, but they are actually the lance point of the greatest antichrist activity on the planet. They are discouraging and disarming the most powerful force on the planet – the Church. Therefore creation itself groans and opens up and swallows them up, because creation is endowed with more revelation than most of the Church, as creation travails with birth pains, not for Jesus to come back, but for the Calebs and Joshuas to arise (Romans 8:19).
We are inundated with the human economic wisdom of all of these who say that the economy cannot go on and must devastatingly crash. Of course, most of these have been saying this for years and they just keep saying it, expecting that eventually they will be right. Yet, God is greater and kinder than we can possibly imagine. We, of course, deserve crashing economic devastation, as we have operated by fear and greed and we have woefully indebted ourselves. But now we need to get in touch with a God who does not give us what we deserve. He is the John 10:10 God, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."
While we seem locked in an Old Testament mode of assuming judgment leads to repentance (notice it never really worked), our God actually tells us in Romans that "the kindness of God leads to repentance." God is looking for sons and daughters who get this core aspect of who He is rather than the James and John trait of wanting to call down fire from Heaven, evidencing their being stuck in an Old Testament paradigm. Jesus didn't just say to James and John, "I will give them one more chance to repent", but said to them, "You do not know of what spirit you are" (Luke 9:55).
It's really showtime for the Kingdom of God! This message really bears witness with my spirit and in line with what God told me, rather than the gloom and doom prophecies, or about the financial meltdown. I also do not wish to see a financial meltdown because it would be disastrous. Jobs would be lost, houses foreclosed and families broken up...I don't think it would be His will too. I also agree that the creation groans with birth pains, not for Jesus to come back and put an end to all these but for the sons of God to take their dominion on this earth.
Johnny Enlow also prophesied that October will be the month that the Bear (market) gets tamed. The bear is not just the "Bear Market" but the bear of all the fears of economic disaster that so many of His kids have wallowed in recently. I looked up the stock market in October and was surprised to find this. Stocks closed their best month since October 2011. And one of the CEOs said that this was a phenomenal month.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
A NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER
A sister brought to my attention the prophetic word by Johnny Enlow, featured on Elijah List. http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=15314. I am not the type who likes to read about prophetic words because I am skeptical of the prophecies and I don't like to know what the future holds. However, the prophetic words that I have been reading recently bear witness with my spirit and are in line with what God has been telling me al these years. That is why I'm selectively sharing now.
Johnny Enlow said October would be the month "the bear gets tamed," and he said that spoke of the Stock Market, but also the next step of not being pushed around by fear (it just hit him that this is what we've been hit with: a plague of fear). The Bear Market was tamed during October, as it was necessary that no fear be given an outlet during the month that the panickers were looking for opportunities to panic.
Now we are in a November to Remember! Let's get excited! The atmosphere is shifting and changing so much that we are now being enabled to behead our personal "Goliaths". There have been many who have been as the children of Israel were during the 40 days of Goliath's taunts and "prophetic declarations" that froze the nation. Perhaps you had chosen to "hide and whine" instead of "arise and shine".
Instead, there is a reality that's available now for you to take out Goliath with his own sword.As David did, you must run towards him fearlessly and risk it all. When David went after Goliath he risked his whole future and life itself, should his assumption of a God with a different narrative not pan out. Now is the time for all who have hoarded or pulled back in fear to fully break the grip of the wrong believing. Do it like David did. Chase down the tap root of fear itself.
Fear will cost you some serious Kingdom ground, BUT a great recovery is available if you will throw all Goliath-inspired caution to the wind and go after Kingdom destiny. Without faith it is impossible to please God! Whatever steps of "caution" (translated to FEAR) that you took in order to not need faith, you now want to reverse in order to get back your Kingdom edge. Face your fear. Take it out with its own sword.
Great help from Heaven is being sent on our behalf in November, in order to make it a November to Remember. Unavoidable relational and financial advancements are commanded for us in November. However none of it will happen if we don't shut Goliath's mouth of access into our lives.Identify the fear source and cut it out of your spiritual diet. It does not mean you will never be subject to fear again. What is does mean is that this particular 7-year assignment of fear will be exposed as being a big mouth of doom, that you are now free to no longer be under it's spell. You will now be in position to roar and chase Philistines off your territory and appropriate the plunder.
Very key in this "November to Remember" will be a remarkable Thanksgiving. We have just broken out of a 14-year cycle of trial and refinement and you will feel it this Thanksgiving. There has been a release of a wonder-filled "wind of reconciliation" and connecting for family and friends. Expect a sweet time together as you hoist your sail and yield to that wind. Relational estrangements from many years are going to be repaired, and one of the first signs of this is when you will hear from family members wanting to connect, who haven't wanted to connect in a long time.
This Thanksgiving and this Christmas will be an amazing healing time for families and you only have to yield to it. Solid family relationships will go to yet another level of love and closeness as great bonding will take place. Many significant physical healings will also happen as families take the time to pray over each other. Jehovah-Rapha (the Lord who heals) will be visiting our homes this Holiday Season and amazing testimonies will come from it. Much healing and even new important relational connections will happen this whole November, but especially around Thanksgiving, which is on 26 November.
We have just broken out of a 14-year cycle of trial and refinement and you will feel it this Thanksgiving. There has been a release of a wonder-filled "wind of reconciliation" and connecting for family and friends. Expect a sweet time together as you hoist your sail and yield to that wind. Relational estrangements from many years are going to be repaired, and one of the first signs of this is when you will hear from family members wanting to connect, who haven't wanted to connect in a long time.
From November 11 on watch for business, career and relational situations that seem to be dead and see them come alive again. If you have been seeing a lot of 1111, you should be particularly encouraged that God wants to do this for you. John 11:11 has the Lord saying that Lazarus is not dead but only sleeping. Many things that seem dead will prove to have been only sleeping. He expects to hear significant testimonies of this reality.
Johnny Enlow said October would be the month "the bear gets tamed," and he said that spoke of the Stock Market, but also the next step of not being pushed around by fear (it just hit him that this is what we've been hit with: a plague of fear). The Bear Market was tamed during October, as it was necessary that no fear be given an outlet during the month that the panickers were looking for opportunities to panic.
Now we are in a November to Remember! Let's get excited! The atmosphere is shifting and changing so much that we are now being enabled to behead our personal "Goliaths". There have been many who have been as the children of Israel were during the 40 days of Goliath's taunts and "prophetic declarations" that froze the nation. Perhaps you had chosen to "hide and whine" instead of "arise and shine".
Instead, there is a reality that's available now for you to take out Goliath with his own sword.As David did, you must run towards him fearlessly and risk it all. When David went after Goliath he risked his whole future and life itself, should his assumption of a God with a different narrative not pan out. Now is the time for all who have hoarded or pulled back in fear to fully break the grip of the wrong believing. Do it like David did. Chase down the tap root of fear itself.
Fear will cost you some serious Kingdom ground, BUT a great recovery is available if you will throw all Goliath-inspired caution to the wind and go after Kingdom destiny. Without faith it is impossible to please God! Whatever steps of "caution" (translated to FEAR) that you took in order to not need faith, you now want to reverse in order to get back your Kingdom edge. Face your fear. Take it out with its own sword.
Great help from Heaven is being sent on our behalf in November, in order to make it a November to Remember. Unavoidable relational and financial advancements are commanded for us in November. However none of it will happen if we don't shut Goliath's mouth of access into our lives.Identify the fear source and cut it out of your spiritual diet. It does not mean you will never be subject to fear again. What is does mean is that this particular 7-year assignment of fear will be exposed as being a big mouth of doom, that you are now free to no longer be under it's spell. You will now be in position to roar and chase Philistines off your territory and appropriate the plunder.
Very key in this "November to Remember" will be a remarkable Thanksgiving. We have just broken out of a 14-year cycle of trial and refinement and you will feel it this Thanksgiving. There has been a release of a wonder-filled "wind of reconciliation" and connecting for family and friends. Expect a sweet time together as you hoist your sail and yield to that wind. Relational estrangements from many years are going to be repaired, and one of the first signs of this is when you will hear from family members wanting to connect, who haven't wanted to connect in a long time.
This Thanksgiving and this Christmas will be an amazing healing time for families and you only have to yield to it. Solid family relationships will go to yet another level of love and closeness as great bonding will take place. Many significant physical healings will also happen as families take the time to pray over each other. Jehovah-Rapha (the Lord who heals) will be visiting our homes this Holiday Season and amazing testimonies will come from it. Much healing and even new important relational connections will happen this whole November, but especially around Thanksgiving, which is on 26 November.
We have just broken out of a 14-year cycle of trial and refinement and you will feel it this Thanksgiving. There has been a release of a wonder-filled "wind of reconciliation" and connecting for family and friends. Expect a sweet time together as you hoist your sail and yield to that wind. Relational estrangements from many years are going to be repaired, and one of the first signs of this is when you will hear from family members wanting to connect, who haven't wanted to connect in a long time.
From November 11 on watch for business, career and relational situations that seem to be dead and see them come alive again. If you have been seeing a lot of 1111, you should be particularly encouraged that God wants to do this for you. John 11:11 has the Lord saying that Lazarus is not dead but only sleeping. Many things that seem dead will prove to have been only sleeping. He expects to hear significant testimonies of this reality.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
MEMORIAL STONES
I watched Pastor Joel's sermon on 'Just Remember'. His sermon talked about Deuteronomy 7:17-18 'If you shall say in your heart: These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them? You shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt'. This is such a timely word for me as I have just closed a chapter of my life and moving on to a new season. New things are happening. It is an exciting time yet somewhat scary because I have not passed this way before. It is uncharted grounds.
At this juncture, I am reminded of what God told me in 2010 and 2012. He said 'Don't let these spectacular victories become mundane. Don't lose the excitement over these great things I have done for you. These are no ordinary victories.' In the Old Testament, the Lord commanded His people to celebrate certain feasts so that they would not forget what He has done in their lives. Another reason was for them to pass on those inspiring stories to the next generation.
The Lord wants us to take time to remember our victories and celebrate what God has done in our life. Put out some memorial stones so that in future, when you face challenges, you can say with confidence that 'I know the Lord did it for me before, so He will do it again!' As you recount these victories in your life, you will be swept away with fresh amazement of how His promises always come to pass, even if at one point you didn't think it was possible.
One time I asked God why do I need to celebrate these miracles on such a scale. He replied 'It is a great thing I have done for you. You will surely remember it now because it is very intense. But what about 5 years or 10 years from now? You will not fully remember the joy of this miracle. You need to celebrate it so that your future generations may know that I have performed this miracle for you.'
And so right now, I am going to boast about all the mega blessings the Lord has blessed us with over the years. This is more to remind myself of what He has done for me so that faith could arise in my heart as I face my unknown future. It is unknown to me but not to God. He has gone before me to prepare the way for me. The Lord has been so good to me and my family. We are really blessed to be a blessing. I encourage you to do the same too!
1. Giving me a church wedding and causing my father-in-law (who was against Christianity) to attend our wedding at the last minute
2. Blessing my father-in-law with $20,000 after our wedding, hence changing his mind about Christianity being a curse to his ancestral worship beliefs
3. Having leftover savings after our wedding so that we can afford to buy a car when few of our friends could afford back then
4. Fulfilling my desire of being a mum, giving us Joshua, a champion kid
5. Leading us out of our old church to NCC, putting us in a loving CG family
6. Providing us with the financial means to buy a second property which is a condominium, so that I can stay home in style and with rental income from our first property
7. Causing my first book to be published
8. Putting me in leadership position in NCC, albeit only for a season
9. Opening the door for Heng to work in this current company as a Financial Controller, a position of influence
10. Fulfilling our dream of buying a BMW
11. Causing Joshua to be selected for the Gifted Programme round two tests
12. Opening doors for my writing ministry
At this juncture, I am reminded of what God told me in 2010 and 2012. He said 'Don't let these spectacular victories become mundane. Don't lose the excitement over these great things I have done for you. These are no ordinary victories.' In the Old Testament, the Lord commanded His people to celebrate certain feasts so that they would not forget what He has done in their lives. Another reason was for them to pass on those inspiring stories to the next generation.
The Lord wants us to take time to remember our victories and celebrate what God has done in our life. Put out some memorial stones so that in future, when you face challenges, you can say with confidence that 'I know the Lord did it for me before, so He will do it again!' As you recount these victories in your life, you will be swept away with fresh amazement of how His promises always come to pass, even if at one point you didn't think it was possible.
One time I asked God why do I need to celebrate these miracles on such a scale. He replied 'It is a great thing I have done for you. You will surely remember it now because it is very intense. But what about 5 years or 10 years from now? You will not fully remember the joy of this miracle. You need to celebrate it so that your future generations may know that I have performed this miracle for you.'
And so right now, I am going to boast about all the mega blessings the Lord has blessed us with over the years. This is more to remind myself of what He has done for me so that faith could arise in my heart as I face my unknown future. It is unknown to me but not to God. He has gone before me to prepare the way for me. The Lord has been so good to me and my family. We are really blessed to be a blessing. I encourage you to do the same too!
1. Giving me a church wedding and causing my father-in-law (who was against Christianity) to attend our wedding at the last minute
2. Blessing my father-in-law with $20,000 after our wedding, hence changing his mind about Christianity being a curse to his ancestral worship beliefs
3. Having leftover savings after our wedding so that we can afford to buy a car when few of our friends could afford back then
4. Fulfilling my desire of being a mum, giving us Joshua, a champion kid
5. Leading us out of our old church to NCC, putting us in a loving CG family
6. Providing us with the financial means to buy a second property which is a condominium, so that I can stay home in style and with rental income from our first property
7. Causing my first book to be published
8. Putting me in leadership position in NCC, albeit only for a season
9. Opening the door for Heng to work in this current company as a Financial Controller, a position of influence
10. Fulfilling our dream of buying a BMW
11. Causing Joshua to be selected for the Gifted Programme round two tests
12. Opening doors for my writing ministry
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
THE STORY OF CHINESE BAMBOO
Think many of you have heard of the story of Chinese bamboo before. But I thought of mentioning it because this story was on my heart recently. Zig Ziglar tells the story of the Chinese Bamboo Tree.
“When this particular seed of the Chinese Bamboo tree is planted, watered and nurtured, for years it doesn’t outwardly grow as much as an inch. Nothing happens for the first year. There’s no sign of growth. Not even a hint. The same thing happens – or doesn’t happen – the second year. And then the third year. The tree is carefully watered and fertilized each year, but nothing shows. No growth. No anything. So it goes as the sun rises and sets for four solid years. The farmer and his wife have nothing tangible to show for this labor or effort. Then, along comes year five. After five years of fertilizing and watering have passed, with nothing to show for it – the bamboo tree suddenly sprouts and grows eighty feet in just SIX WEEKS!
Did the little tree lie dormant for four years only to grow exponentially in the fifth? Or, was the little tree growing underground, developing a root system strong enough to support its potential for outward growth in the fifth year and beyond? The answer is, of course, obvious. Had the tree not developed a strong unseen foundation it could not have sustained its life as it grew.”
“When this particular seed of the Chinese Bamboo tree is planted, watered and nurtured, for years it doesn’t outwardly grow as much as an inch. Nothing happens for the first year. There’s no sign of growth. Not even a hint. The same thing happens – or doesn’t happen – the second year. And then the third year. The tree is carefully watered and fertilized each year, but nothing shows. No growth. No anything. So it goes as the sun rises and sets for four solid years. The farmer and his wife have nothing tangible to show for this labor or effort. Then, along comes year five. After five years of fertilizing and watering have passed, with nothing to show for it – the bamboo tree suddenly sprouts and grows eighty feet in just SIX WEEKS!
Did the little tree lie dormant for four years only to grow exponentially in the fifth? Or, was the little tree growing underground, developing a root system strong enough to support its potential for outward growth in the fifth year and beyond? The answer is, of course, obvious. Had the tree not developed a strong unseen foundation it could not have sustained its life as it grew.”
Recently I have been thinking why it took so long for my breakthrough to come. The imagery of a bamboo comes into mind. It has to grow roots, deep into the ground before it manifests above ground. The bamboo will grow to be the tallest of all plants so it needs a deep and comprehensive root system else it will not withstand the elements in future. Whatever I have experienced was all necessary as part of His training plan.
Anything that is worth having is worth fighting for and worth persevering for. Proverbs say that where there is no vision, the people perish. Vision not only gives meaning and understanding of one's purpose in life, it also gives you wisdom about how to bring it to pass. Vision gives understanding and reveals meaning to the trials you may experience at any given time. God imparts to you a revelation of His plans for your life. That is how vision begins. Then in some cases, God confirms that word through a prophecy given to you by another man or woman of God.
When God gives you a vision, it's always too great and complex for you in your own power and ability to bring about. Zechariah 4:6 says 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.' God calls those things that are not as though they are. He calls you, in the present, what you are going to be in the future and then makes you prove His word to be true. Sometimes when you are in the sowing and plowing seasons, it is easy to get discouraged, seeing that nothing has changed. You may be doing mundane and insignificant things which you think no one cares. But God said if you are faithful in the small things, He will promote you when due season comes. Zechariah 4:10 also says 'Do not despise the day of small beginnings.'
I also came across this verse in Job 8:7 'Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.' Somehow I guess this story reminded me of my humble beginnings of starting this blog and those years of writing even though I wasn't sure if it made an impact on people's lives. But now that I have crossed the five-year mark, I am starting to see how God opened doors for this ministry. It's now harvest time and I am enjoying the fruits of my labor. I truly believe that God will catapult me and bring me to where I couldn't go. Hence I thank God in advance for making a way for me.
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