BATTLE STRATEGIES

Earlier I was just saying that I saw Jesus appear as a commander in a vision as I was worshiping the Lord. I was reminded of Joshua 5:13 when the Lord appeared to Joshua. He came to assure Joshua that He has given Jericho into their hands and told them to march around the city six days. On the seventh day, they had to march around the city seven times and the priests shall blow the trumpets. After the seventh round, the priests would make a long blast with the ram’s horn and when they heard the sound, the people were to give a loud shout and the walls of Jericho would come down. Then they were to go right into Jericho.

I was praying just now when I was impressed upon a specific prayer strategy for ending this virus. Earlier the Lord showed me that we could pray for the weather conditions to change as this virus would not be able to survive under hot weather. It is essentially still a winter virus. Last night a sister alerted me to an unprecedented heat wave in Antarctica.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/31/antarctica-what-it-means-when-the-coldest-place-on-earth-records-an-unprecedented-heatwave

Let's pray for God to intervene to move away the heat wave from Antarctica and towards USA and Europe. We command the ministering angels to move the heat wave to USA and Europe to kill the virus and then subside away. Increasing temperatures will kill the virus. I was also reminded by this sister that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still in the presence of the Lord. If the Lord has heeded the voice of a mere human in the Old Testament, why couldn’t He do it for us again? He will do it again and show Himself strong as the Lord of all creation. 

Joshua 10:12-13

On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,

    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”

So the sun stood still,

    and the moon stopped,

    till the nation avenged itself on[b] its enemies.

THANK GOD FOR HENG'S PROMOTION!

This has been a long awaited thanksgiving. In fact during last July, there had been talk about Heng taking over the Finance Director SG portfolio from his colleague. His bosses took a while to sort things out but eventually on 23 Aug 2017, they decided to let Heng try out the position. Hence he was made Acting Finance Director on 1 Sep 2017 and put on probation until end Dec 2017. If he proved to be competent for the job, the company would then confirm his appointment.

Thank God that they confirmed his appointment on 10 Jan 2018 but his employment terms and conditions remained the same until the annual salary review in April. Just yesterday he received his promotion letter with the salary increment. In addition to that, God surprised us with a bonus payout this year as the company was doing better. Last year the bonus was very little but thank God this year it was much more as Heng also got a good performance grading.

It was a restoration as Heng didn't receive any bonus for the past two years. Not only that our finances were under attack and we had been feeling the stretch for the past season. There were times when we had to dip into our savings. Yet God never failed to provide us when the need arose. Heng's dad won lottery a few times and blessed us with some of his winnings. God is so good to us. We were never in lack though our finances were stretched.

Heng's appointment as Finance Director was really the favour of God as he had only been in the company for less than six months before he was given the opportunity to take on this position. Previously he was just a senior manager. Yet God already had plans to promote Heng as early as May 2014. There were talks of putting Heng up as regional Finance Director in his old company but this was met with much opposition. Thank God that His plan always prevails!

Nearly four years later, Heng finally came into position. It hadn't been an easy four years for Heng in terms of his career but God is faithful. He promised that after we have gone through the fire and the water, He will bring us to a broad place of abundance (Psalms 66:12) and He really did so! We are now seeing the after math of those storms and attacks we had been through in the past season. It had been such a tough season but finally it had passed. God is now bringing us into a season of harvest, of restoration, of dreams come true. He is making the enemy repay us for the injustice and troubles brought into our lives.

BREAKTHROUGH FOR HENG!

Yesterday Heng met with his boss. Initially there were talks of Heng doing SG business support for a while as a preparation for Heng before he was earmarked to take over the portfolio of SG finance division head. But the staff who was supposed to come up to the group finance level wasn't keen so this plan was shelved. Heng was feeling weary last week because it had been coming to a month since 18 July when his boss first spoke about this but still no news. He also felt that he had no role to play in his current capacity. It was like he didn't have a proper portfolio so it was difficult to progress. I believe he hit a plateau in his current position. 

Over the weekend I was telling Heng that the delay could be because the bosses were thinking of putting him as division head straightaway. God is still working behind the scenes. Heng was thinking if this didn't materialise, he would look for another job. In fact there was an opening that he was interested in. A business controller position. I said that God must have something in store for him in this company so just wait for a little while more. True enough when he met with his boss, he was told that they would put him as Acting SG division head from 1 Sep. This was like the Finance Director position which God had planned for him years ago. It would be a big jump from his previous job position as Financial Controller. Really praise the Lord!

After waiting for more than one month and getting increasingly restless as the days passed, Heng finally saw his breakthrough yesterday! For the past few weeks, both of us had been feeling the birth pangs, wondering when we would start seeing our breakthroughs. Things started moving then it went all quiet. It was very uncomfortable. Even as we tried to get on with our usual routine, something inside us was stirring. Things which used to interest us suddenly didn't seem so exciting anymore. Our focus was fixated on this one thing that we were gazing upon. We knew there would be no relief unless this thing came to pass. Now that we finally see it happen, we can rejoice, celebrate and heave a sigh of relief.

Interestingly Heng put these words in his handphone calendar a few weeks ago. It says 'My breakthrough is here' on 23 Aug 2017. Actually we were told to mark this day as the Encounter Night for our church midweek service but instead of putting down the event name, we were told by the pastor during service to type this instead. I didn't know that this word was actually prophetic because it happened to be really the day Heng got his breakthrough regarding his work. God is so awesome! 

More fruits manifesting!

Just this month I got to know of more fruits manifesting in my life and my ministry. I just want to say I cannot thank God enough for allowing me to be part of this exciting plan He has prepared for me. Indeed I am like a tree planted by the rivers of water and I bear fruit this season.

First of all, I received news that one of my care group (CG) members who has not spoken with his daughter for 7 years has finally reconciled with her. I still remember last June, during one CG meeting, the Holy Spirit was moving so strongly in our midst and the work of restoration has already started in his family. His heart was softened and he wanted to reconcile with his daughter but she was not ready. The CG stood in faith with him, believing that God would work on his daughter and soften her heart. One day, the father and daughter will surely be reconciled.

Subsequently she decided to venture overseas and she left Singapore in Oct 2011. Her mum had hoped that she could reconcile with her dad before she left but it did not happen that way. Yet God is so good. He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion. In Apr 2012, God completed his work of restoration in the family. The daughter finally talked to her dad and he assured her that he was never against her and he told her that he loved her. Wow! I believed this reconciliation was more than what the dad could ask for because I could see joyful tears in his eyes as he shared this with us. God is so good - the fruit manifested in less than a year!

Secondly, as I was attending CG meeting this week, I heard a testimony about a father sharing how God is so timely in His favour. His daughter was the beneficiary of the tie-up between a local arts institution and a renowned UK university. As a result, the degree would not only be recognised by the government, there would also be government funding for the degree programme. This meant that he would have saved up on a huge sum of money because the degree course was quite expensive. I was happy to share that this project was the fruit of our labour when I was in my previous workplace.

My previous organisation has been trying to fight for government funding for the arts institution for a decade but in 2010, the stars had aligned. God allowed me to be part of the team that fought for and finally witnessed this funding approval from the government. It was the last project that I completed back then which gave me a great sense of satisfaction and more importantly, a legacy to leave behind. I knew that with the continued government funding, the future arts students in these institutions would definitely benefit from this policy change. Indeed, thank God that it came to pass: I heard a brother testify how this funding has benefited his family!

Thirdly, I remembered God prompting me to pray for a young boy with celebral palsy in church last Aug. I did not know the boy but as he sat on the pram, the sad look on his eyes caught my attention. At that point I had great compassion for him. Then I felt God telling to lay hands on him and pray for his supernatural healing. As I stepped out in faith to lay hands and pray for him, I experienced God's intense love for this boy and I teared. I told him that God loves him so much and Jesus wants to heal him. One day he would be able to walk and play like the other kids. After praying for him, I walked away feeling more blessed. I was sure that he will be healed but I never saw him again after that.

Recently, one of my CG members who is an usher in church told me about a miracle healing that took place. She said that a boy who could not walk before started walking during the service. My heart was beating so fast as I was quite sure it was this boy. Indeed as I described his parents and gave his name, I confirmed that it was really him! I was really so happy to hear that he is finally walking like other kids! I am sure that many others had laid hands and prayed for him, not just me but I thanked God for allowing me again to be part of this beautiful miracle. More importantly, that is also God's affirmation of his plan for me to be involved in a healing ministry in future. I again saw fruits manifesting from this ministry.

In the final analysis, I just wanted to encourage my brothers and sisters that whatever the Lord has put on your heart and told you, just hang on to His word. No matter how long it takes, I have learnt that God's Word will always come to pass. Take heart that God is accelerating things behind the scene and you will see your breakthrough very soon! Now is the time! Praise Jesus!

This season of fruit bearing

Thank God that another popcorn that popped recently was this: I was recently appointed the Care Group (CG) leader of my CG. About a year ago I was asked by my leader to be his stand-in or assistant CG leader. Since then I have facilitated about four CG meetings while he was away. Recently his wife just gave birth after a gap of 12 years as their two daughters are already teenagers. Hence he told me to be prepared to take on a bigger role in the CG because he would be busy with the new baby and some adjustments needed to be made. Besides, he just changed his job and was rather busy with that as well.

I thought it was just to stand-in for him for a temporary period of a couple of months till they are settled down. Of course I agreed as I know God has been preparing me for this some time ago. However, I was surprised that his decision was to step down from the CG and to hand over the leadership baton to me. I did not quite expect this and the change was effective immediately! Usually there is a handover period but in this case, because my leader had to urgently attend to other family matters, I had to take over immediately.

This also came as a surprise to some members because they did not see it coming. They also were wondering what actually happened. To the best I could, I explained to them the reasons of his stepping down. Thank God that despite their initial surprise (or shock), when our leader faced a recent crisis in his wife's childbearing incident, members all came forth to encourage him with the Word of God and stood in faith with him. I was really touched because I saw God's love in this family of believers. The bible says in 1 John 4:12 'No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us and His love has been perfected in us.'

When I first knew I had to assume leadership immediately, I felt like what Joshua felt when Moses his leader passed on and God told him to be strong and courageous for he was about to bring the Jews into the Promise Land. God's exact words were 'Now therefore, arise and go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them - the children of Israel.' God has been preparing me for this day and He kept telling me to 'arise and go' since Dec 2011. Although I was not sure exactly what plans He had for me, I knew that 2012 is a year of action. It is a season of fruit-bearing for me. My time has truly come. No more waiting. Now is the time for action.

And God is true to His Word. It came to pass exactly as He has spoken. It was like I thought I was waiting and waiting for Him to move things; I was tired of waiting and really wanted some action in Sep 2011. However, God told me to rest in Him at that time. I would be totally caught off guard if God did not prepare me beforehand. Indeed as I looked back, last year was a year of preparation for me. It was not a wasted year. The year of rest and preparation was so crucial for me. God knows best. Now that I am in harvest time when the desires of my heart come into manifestation, I begin to feel the accelerated pace of God's move. When God moves, He moves really fast and we have to move with Him.

Yet it is during this time of action that I needed to rest in the Lord even more. Despite the greater responsibility as a CG leader, I am reminded to look to the Lord for His anointing, His wisdom and His strength because there is no way I could do it myself. In fact, it was all a finished work in God's eyes. I told God that if I did not have the assurance that He is with me, as He was with Joshua, I would not even be taking up this position. Even as I am mindful of members' expectation of a leader, I am not burdened in any way because I cast all these cares to the Lord. I know it is God working in me and through me, so I could rest in the knowledge that since He put me there, His grace is more than sufficient to keep me there. None of my works to boast about, so that all glory belongs to Jesus!

I am very excited because the Lord has great plans for my CG. He has revealed them to me recently. In the coming days and months, I will see how they are blessed by the Word of God, the presence of God in their lives and I will see their lives transformed. He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6). Amen!

Popcorn Popping

Have you tried cooking those microwave popcorn? Well, I have not but according to Mark Hankins (a faith preacher), he says that the spirit of faith is like the popcorn principle. Popcorn has to be put in the microwave for 3 min 45 sec. For the 1st minute, nothing seems to be happening. For the 2nd minute, again nothing seems to be happening. About 3 minutes later, you will hear a pop, then two pops, then three pops. In the last 45 seconds, the popcorn goes pop, pop, pop, pop...until the whole bag has all popped. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykDavk1KcZM)

Mark Hankins says that the things of God are like that. Sometimes it seems that nothing is happening on the surface for a long, long time, just like how I felt I was trapped in a cycle in my 'Groundhog Day' blog post. Yet he tells us not to be discouraged when we do not see anything happening. Very soon, God will give us one or two pops to show you that something is happening. Then when we hear the pops, our spirit gets excited because we know we are heading in the right direction and God can pop our whole bag of popcorn in a very short time. He can make all our promises come to pass in a single year. He grants us supernatural favour to open the doors that would take years to open.

The atmosphere of faith makes the impossible possible. When the popcorn starts popping, it will pop all the way and you will get so excited and joyful that you cannot stop laughing. You may wonder why when things move, they all moved around the same time. This is the popcorn principle. When things start to move, there is a certain momentum that causes other things to move. God told Mark Hankins this: 'If only you knew what happens in the spirit realm when you rejoice, you will rejoice everyday.' Joy is the serious business of heaven. A merry heart does good like medicine. The joy of the Lord is our strength. In His presence is fullness of joy.

I really thank God that in the past 3 weeks, many things that I have been waiting for a long time moved so fast. I know that God is the One supernaturally opening the doors for me. He encouraged me with one pop, then two pops then the popcorn starts popping very fast. Now I am so excited and I cannot stop praising the Lord when I hear the popcorn go pop, pop, pop, pop, pop...  because I know I am now into the last 45 seconds when God is popping my popcorn the whole bag through. 

There was only one time Mark Hankins said his popcorn did not pop even after 3 minutes. It still did not pop after 4 minutes. When he checked the microwave oven, he realised that someone had turned the switch to 'Defrost'! The popcorn will not pop because it has to get beyond a certain temperature for the pressure inside the kernel to build to the point where popping occurs. He said we got to keep the spirit of faith on high. If you keep going in circles and there is not even a sound of a pop in your life, then check your faith level. Check what you have been saying about your situation.

Remember, praises always precede victory. The power of life and death is in our tongue. Choose to speak faith-filled words. Choose to praise God even when you do not see anything happening because God is always working behind the scenes. Very soon, you will hear a 'pop' and then before you even know it, God has popped your whole bag through! Praise Jesus!
 

Thanksgiving for 2011

Our family just completed our thanksgiving for 2011 and our 3 wishes for the coming year. We realised that we really have so much to thank God for in this year. The theme for our church this year is the year of God's crowned goodness. God has blessed us exceedingly and abundantly beyond what we ask or imagine. I just thought of sharing some of Joshua's thanksgiving because I thought it was so precious...it came from a 5-year old boy.

Joshua thanked God for:
1) Many presents received during Christmas
2) Good barbeque with family
3) Nice cupcake (which he just ate in the afternoon!)
4) Good Beijing trip - hotel and flight
5) Good Taiwan holiday - farmstay and hotspring
6) Good home that we stay
7) Daddy's car
8) His future baby sister (he has eyes of faith to see)
9) Our church (New Creation Church)
10) Rock Kidz (his Sunday School)
11) His grandmothers' homes
12) The good world that we stay in
13) That Joshua loves God and Jesus
14) Swimming pool in our condo
15) Good playground in our condo
16) Good door that we open and close everyday (this one is really funny)
17) Care group worship
18) Daddy's good driving skills
19) Nice dresses that Mummy bought for Chinese New Year
20) Nice dinners that Mummy cooked

God Remembers Our Prayers

I brought Joshua for a swim on Monday and he did something that amazed me. No, it was not about his swimming feats, even though I was proud that he could now swim for a good five metres underwater and he could also lift his head up to breathe. His daddy taught him how to swim and Joshua loved it.

Since Joshua was born, he had always been a joyful and responsive baby. Thank God that made him an easy baby to take care as well. He did not fuss much even when he soiled his nappies or when he was sick. He is always such a darling. He started to learn to talk when he was about 17 months old but there was a period after he was hospitalised (due to rota virus) that he became much quieter.

At that time I had already gone back to work and my mum was taking care of him. Because my mum needed to cook for us in the evenings, she turned on the TV for Joshua to occupy himself. During that period Joshua became quite withdrawn and did not want to talk much. I was worried for my baby as a first-time mother. I was concerned that he would be shy and slow in speaking. Heng kept reassuring me that Joshua is anointed by God and his development would be well taken care of by Him.

As Joshua grew older, he started talking more and learnt how to speak in complete sentences. He was well able to communicate with us. Thank God for that! However, we still find him a little shy and not very willing to mix around with other children.  We reminded him that God made him strong and courageous, like Joshua in the bible.

When he went to Sunday School, he didn't mix around with other children. He said no one came to talk to him. He was comfortable and more familiar with his friends in the childcare centre but not very keen to make new friends in Sunday School. We prayed for him and spoke words of faith saying that Joshua would be a sociable and friendly boy.  His daddy hoped that he would be more talkative like me.

Actually I have kind of forgotten about our prayers for Joshua but God remembers. To me, I was already happy to notice a change in Joshua ever since I stayed home. Not only did he become happier, he was also more secure and started to talk more. Even the people around noticed that Joshua was much happier that I stayed home to take care of him.

When we went for the Parents' Conference last Sat, Joshua's teacher told us that he was actually talkative in class, which really surprised me! I always thought my boy is a quiet and introverted child. Apparently God did a marvellous job in 'changing' him!

Then on Monday, he again surprised me by talking to an elderly man taking a toddler for a swim. Joshua seemed to like that toddler and hence followed him around. Then he took the initiative to talk to the man. I was not sure when he was talking about...maybe about his swimming stunts?

Anyway, after that, there was a little girl about his age who came to swim. Joshua again started a conversation with her and they played together for a long while. I was really amazed! I never saw Joshua taking the initiative to talk to other people...obviously he is no longer the shy boy that I knew! He had been changed by God! After he came up from the pool, I told him I was proud that he had been bold enough to start a conversation and that he is a friendly boy. Thank God for answering our prayers!

Expect Miracles in Your Life!

I have always desired to see the miracles of God being commonplace in my church and my daily living. Miracles are defined as extraordinary events demonstrating divine intervention in human affairs. I read an article by Mark Brazee that says miracles are divided into four main categories. There are physical miracles like healings; provisional miracles like how Jesus fed the 5000 with five loaves and two fishes; miracles of protection or deliverance like when Peter was delivered out of prison by an angel and lastly, signs and wonders that God performs like God causing the sun to stand still for the fight between Joshua and the Amalekites.

Well, to the grace of God, I had the experience to be part of and hear some of these miracles that God is doing in my care group members' life. One of it was a miraculous healing of a growth (goiter) at the throat of a dear sister. She had earlier requested for a group of us to go her place and pray for her. I felt led by the Spirit to step out and pray for her. And as I commanded the growth to shrivel up in the name of Jesus and to completely disappear, I felt the growth become smaller. I didn't think it was my imagination but I really felt it. At that moment, I was sure that the Lord had healed her. Jesus said in John 14:12-13 'He who believes in Me, the works I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.'

The healing did not manifest immediately but this dear sister believed God had healed her and she stood on her faith for no surgery to remove that growth. She continued to partake the Holy Communion everyday. About 40 days later, as she was going about her daily business, she suddenly realised that the growth had completely disappeared! When she next saw me, she asked me to put my hands on her throat to feel it. Indeed I was truly amazed that the growth is no longer there! Wow, praise the Lord!

Just a few days ago, this dear sister said something amazing happened to her daughter who is also a believer. The relationship between two of them had been quite strained but this sister had been praying for God to send an angel to speak to her daughter and let her see the truth about her life and her ex-boyfriends. And that was exactly what God did! One day at Coffee Club, a Caucasian lady just walked up to her daughter and told her the truth. That her life was in a mess because one of the ex-boyfriend's mum had practised witchcraft on her. She needed to return his things to him, get back to church and start praying.

Her daughter was so fearful but we told her that no weapon formed against her will prosper because she belongs to God. The evil one cannot touch her because Christ who is in her is greater than he who is in the world. She said she was constantly harassed by these evil spirits and they even followed her home. We anointed her with oil and prayed for her. I commanded the spirit of oppression and depression to leave her in the name of Jesus and also pleaded the blood of Jesus over her.

We told her she should do likewise when she 'feels' such evil presence lingering around her. She should command them to leave her in the name of Jesus instead of feeling fearful. She was afraid that if she spoke up, the evil spirits would harm her. We told her this would not happen because we have dominion over evil spirits, not the other way round.

These miracles are by no means insignificant to me yet the Lord told me that I have not seen anything yet. More of such miracles are to come in future. I was excited because the Word in me was exploding into blessings and miracles of God in my life. I reached a point when I am not satisfied with the natural things anymore. Because Christ died for us, I expect no less than miracles in my life, the life of my loved ones and my brothers and sisters in Christ. What a blessed life!

God's Assurance of Answered Prayers

During the holiday on Tuesday, our family went to the beach for a picnic around evening time. This idea was suggested by our dear son. It was really an enjoyable experience. Heng cooked Chinese food and we packed the food there to eat dinner. The evening breeze was cooling and Joshua enjoyed playing by the beach, building sandcastles and collecting seawater in his pail.

At one point I walked out to the sea shore but not near enough to where the waves were splashing on the sand. Suddenly I had a thought. I was believing God for a miracle, for an answered prayer in my life. I knew God could do the impossible. I asked God if I could have His assurance of answered prayer. I said 'God, I know You can do the impossible by making the waves splash my feet though I was a distance away from the shoreline.' And so I waited, believing that God would bring the waves to my feet. Even though it took quite a while, I wasn't about to give up. I enjoyed the sea breeze and looking at the waves while waiting.

Even though it might be low tide now, I knew that high tide would come. It would surely come. All I needed was for God to create a huge wave to bring the seawater to my feet. I got excited when I saw a big ship moving away from the port in the far horizon. I knew the ship would create ripples large enough for the waves to come near me. Though it stiill took a little while more, the waves really did get bigger.

There was one time that the waves actually came so close like 1cm away. I got even more excited because I knew that it was a sign that the waves were coming to me very soon. True enough, just one or two more minutes later, the waves were huge enough and splashed all over my feet! It was such a wonderful experience and I praised the Lord with a loud voice! And God is so good. He brought the waves to my feet not once but three times!

God knew what was the question in my heart earlier and not only answered it with His Word, He also gave me this simple experience by the beach to confirm that He is a God who can do the impossible! Hence this time round, I am going to stand firm on His Word because He has spoken so clearly. His Word in my life will always cause the circumstances to line up with His promises. Praise the Lord!

The Certainty of God's Promise

God did this so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged ~ Hebrews 6:18

Have you ever read the bible verses, thought you knew it well enough and yet at another time, God still caused fresh revelation to come up from the verse? Well, this happened to me many times. And sometimes I did not fully understand what God was telling me in those verses but my heart is processing the Word, which is like the seed.

The seed is planted in my heart while I go about my daily business, sleeping by night and rising by day. Yet all this while, this seed is germinating below the surface, in the depths of my heart and it sprouts and grows, though I do not know how. When the seed breaks out from the ground, grows into a tree, produces flowers then bears fruits, the farmer knows harvest time has come. When the fruit is ripe, the farmer immediately plucks it down from the tree because if it stays too long, it will drop to the ground and be spoilt.

This analogy of the seed is used to describe how the Word of God takes root in your heart and in time to come, produces results in what you want to see. Sometimes the revelation of the Word and the physical manifestation comes immediately; other times it may take a while to gain full revelation and for the results to show. For me, Hebrews 6:18 was shared by Heng in Feb 2010 and I heard it again in a sermon in Feb 2011. Yet during these two instances, I still did not have the full revelation of this verse until today.

I wondered what are the two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie. I interpreted them to be God taking an oath and swearing by Himself. Actually taking an oath and swearing mean the same thing and they refer to the covenant that God had cut with Abraham. Yet instead of making the covenant with the blood and body of animals, God cut the covenant with the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. And so, all these while, the two unchangeable things referred to the body and blood of Jesus.

God is telling me that when we take Holy Communion, we should be thinking about His covenant to us. This covenant confirms what is said by God and puts an end to all arguments with regards to His promises in our life. From early Feb 2011, our family had been taking Communion daily and applying the Anointing oil. Holy  Communion is powerful because when we remember the broken body of Christ and His blood that was shed for our forgiveness of sins, we are also declaring God's covenant to us.

We are saying that though the physical manifestation has not come yet, God's promises are sure and it is impossible for Him to lie.   In this we are greatly encouraged and look out expectantly for news of our 2nd pregnancy as we believed the harvest is here. The fruit is already dangling in front of us and we need to pluck it down. Now. Immediately.

Bearing Fruit with Patience

Did you ever encounter situations when you are serious about the Word of God, feeding and acting on God's Word daily and then you experience more troubles and distractions? When such things happen, it throws you into confusion, thinking 'What have I done wrong?'

The fact is, you have not done anything wrong. On the contrary, you have been believing right and that's why the devil launches an attack on God's Word. Learning from the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4:13-20, I observed that there are 4 scenarios when the devil attempts to steal God's Word:
1) Seed sown by the wayside - when we first receive the Word and our hearts may not fully understand it.
2) Seed sown on stony ground - when we have a full revelation of the Word and receive it with joy. But when trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, these believers are stumbled and give up on the Word.
3) Seed sown among thorns - when the Word is taking root in our hearts but the worries and the distractions of this world choke the Word of God.
4) Seed sown on good grounds - when we believe right and God is about to bring tremendous blessings to our life. Those who hear and accept the Word bear fruit: thirtyfold, sixtyfold and hundredfold.

I believe that most of us can identify with the 3rd and 4th scenario. For me, it is the 4th scenario I am going through now. I am encouraged that the harvest comes thirtyfold, sixtyfold and hundredfold. This meant that I might not see the fruit of the Word of God sown in my heart all at once but the blessings are progressive. I have seen God's manifestation of His promise in most areas of my life but for some areas, I am still persevering. When we receive the Word and the opposite situation happens, keep on believing, keep on persevering and God promises that we will surely bring forth fruit with patience.

Pastor Prince said that patience means there are adverse circumstances against the Word and we are fighting against contradictory symptoms in our bodies that are screaming 'The Word is a lie! The Word is a lie!' But when we still persevere with God's Word, we will surely bring forth fruit! When we do this, no demon can prevent that Word of God from bearing fruit in our life. And God is merciful, He will not delay a single moment. He promised in Hebrews 10:37 that 'For just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not tarry.'

So my friends, when you find yourself in that situation, rejoice for your hundredfold harvest is coming! You will see that in just a little while, when you have persevered and done the will of God, you will receive the promise. The reward is going to be so sweet that you will not regret that you have persevered even though the path you have walked have not been easy.

Signs of God's goodness

Have you ever waited for a promise to manifest in your life and sometimes gotten all weary waiting for it? Maybe you have waited for a long time and then you start to waver and ask if God's promise for you is ever coming to pass or whether you even heard Him correctly in the first place? God is merciful and He never fails to provide signs along the way to confirm you are on the right track and your breakthrough is coming.

During Christmas service at the Indoor Stadium last year, Pastor Prince asked the congregation to think of 3 wishes for the coming year. He said the anointing of the Lord is very strong and he encouraged us to bring these 3 wishes to the Lord. After he prayed for all of us, he said 'Your miracle is already conceived. In the months to come, the manifestation will be clear.' I prayed for 3 things: our 2nd baby, a condo and my writing ministry.

Through the course of 2010, I already saw two of my prayers come to pass. By God's grace, we bought our condo in Sep 2010 and in Oct 2010, I made a decision to be a stay home mum so that I can take care of my kids and write my book. God also gave me greater clarity on my writing ministry and though I had not started on my book, I am already blogging (which is great fun!)

I told God that even though we are nearing the end of 2010, I still believe that I will see the manifestation of my baby before the end of the year. Because I believe it is in this year that all my wishes would manifest as I heard Pastor clearly said 'in the months to come', not in the years to come.  Besides, two out of three prayers came to pass. So why not this one?

I was thinking about this on last Sunday service again. Then as I was reading the Solid Rock magazine by our church, I saw this testimony by a brother. He said 'For those of us who brought 3 wishes to the Lord on that Christmas service last year, I just want to encourage you that God has heard your prayers.'

He went on to share that he prayed for a closer relationship with God, a child and a job (he just resigned). Within 2 months, his wife was pregnant despite the fact that they were in their forties. Then in Aug 2010, he found a job in Qatar which was much better than the last job. Wow, it was amazing because he had struggled about finding a job and sometimes felt he could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. But he chose to believe that God will make a way when there seems to be no way.

Then one day, a phone call and an email changed everything. He concluded by saying that sometimes things seemed impossible but all things are possible with God. God answered all of his wishes within this year! Hallelujah! This was clearly a sign of God's goodness to tell me that it would be done to me according to what I can believe!