How to Hunger Pt 2

Nobody ever needs to learn that when you're hungry you need to eat. A 1 day old baby will know how to cry when s/he needs to eat.

But why do Christians need to be taught, encouraged to hunger for God?

In Pt 1, I talked about how our righteousness is as good as sanitary pads. If one fully understand that, one would be hungry for Him already. How else is anyone going to be right before Him?

Jesus said, unless we abide in Him, else we can do NOthing. No thing. Do we believe that? Do you believe that if you don't eat you'll die? Do you, then, believe that can do nothing without im? How is it then that we do not do ALL things with Him?

Remember, our actions mirrors our believe. I think, my opinion only ok?, that many do not hunger for Him because they have not got a full-er, more-complete revelation of who Christ is. One cannot be hungry without first knowing that he or she is actually hungry. We teach our people to hunger but if the people think that they're full, why eat? Could it be that many are not eating because they think that they're full?

Now, the funny thing about hunger is that sometimes you're 'overly' hungry... you pass the point where you are feeling 'hungry'... until you have the first bite of KFC or Nasi Lemak, or Chicken Rice. I don't know about you, but it does sometimes happen to me.

But it's interesting that somewhere in the bible it says -'taste and see that the Lord is Good'. TASTE! TASTE! TASTE! Jesus is the BREAD of life. EAT! The logic that the bible present here is extremely simple. Taste and see if you like it. If you like it because it's good you'll come back for more. If it's EXTREMELY good - you'll come back for more very frequently!

I really believe that that's the 'secret' to 'hunger' for God more --- to TASTE and see that the Lord is good.

But first you must EAT, so that you can TASTE. EAT what? The bread of life. Go out and live your life with Jesus. Explore the world with Him. Oh what joy it has been for me and my family. I can tell you that 1000 ckt and kfc and nasi-lemak cannot match the GOODNESS.

And when you have tasted His goodness, you will be full. When you're full, you'll know what hunger is. And when that hunger comes - you know where to go.

Hope this article has blessed you greatly!

Testimony Time

This is testimony from a friend/reader of this blog. As she choose to remain anoynmous, we will call her Angelina. (Because Angelina Jolie is going to be SALT). I told her to share with us what God is doing in her life so that we can all be encouraged!

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Amen! I am going to add on to how great God’s love for us is!

I am currently 5 months pregnant. I have hypertension since young, but it has not affected my
health since and neither have I prayed for healing until now when I am pregnant. I feared for the
safety of my baby. The doctors I have consulted are worried as this is considered a high-risk
pregnancy, which added on to my worry and stress level as I couldn’t enjoy the pregnancy as
much as I want to.

It was then that I shared with Li Ping about my condition and requested for her to pray for me
and baby. Eric and Li Ping shared the promises of the Gospel to me as they felt prompted by
God to convey this message to me. It’s not that I am ignorant about the Gospel, but I guess I did
not know how to exercise my priviledge as God’s child.

Li Ping wrote an e-mail to me explaining how the Gospel worked. When Jesus died, there was
already healing! So then why is my blood pressure still not showing a normal reading? I realised
that I have been praying prayers of “Please heal my condition” rather than claiming the healing
that has already been granted and approved! Now my prayers are “I know and believe I have a
normal bp reading because Jesus has redeemed my heart and given his perfect one to me!”. It
is a step of confidence in the Lord’s promises.

The next time I went for a doctor’s checkup, I took Li Ping’s advice and told God a reading I
want to see. However, the first 2 readings were high, and my heart sank. The nurse took a 3rd
reading and it was the reading that I had asked for. Somehow that did not delight me. I felt that
if my bp reading is normal, it should not take 3 readings to show. In my next visit, I told God I am frustrated, that while it is tough to stand confident in His promises, I needed to see results that this is happening. I wanted Him to SHOW ME the actual reading that I had asked for in the first reading.

In one of the visits to the doctor again, the nurse took my reading and it was normal the first time, although my heart was racing with anxiety! God truly loves me and my baby and has healed me, I trust Him that He will continue to show me the “good” readings from now on. It took me a lot to battle against the negative thoughts of my mind to trust Him, but I know that His promises are real and are worth relying on!

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Angelina, sent me this a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday she told me that when she checked her BP yesterday morning it showed normal the first time. And it was one of the best reading she ever had.

Praise God!!!!

How to hunger Pt 1

There are times in our christian walk we wonder how to 'love God more', how to be 'more obedient to God'. We wonder just what is these other christians are doing that they 'hunger more for Jesus'. Why are some christians just so on fire for Jesus all the time.

Take my cg for an example. It's been 1 year plus since I've joined. And in this 1 year the miracles/sharing/testimony keeps going - the leader always need to cut it short to keep time.

So what is it that keeps the fire burning? What is it that keeps a christian hungry? What is it keeps a christian growing? What keeps a christian wanting to be more obedient? What makes some crazy christians talking about Jesus day and night?

Some say pray more. Some say read the bible more. Some say serve more to grow more. Some say it's training and discipline...etc

The key as many of you have guess lies in our relationship with Jesus. This love relationship with our Lord and friend and servant and elder brother - Jesus - holds to key. The key verse lies in what Jesus said, Luke 7:47 "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

According to Jesus the way to love Him more is to know how much MORE you're forgiven!!!!

Accortding to Jesus if we know how much we are forgiven, we will love more of Him who is altogether lovely, altogether beautiful.

Instead most times we think we are altogether lovely! We think we are doing 'ok' as christians. We don't commit the 'big sins' of adultery, of murder, of having idols in our lives. But have you been worried today? Have you been angry today? Have you wished that you have more money? Have you taken care of your health today? Remember if you break one you break them ALL

It is the nature of the LAW.

We, of course, try to lead holy lives. We try to lead godly lives. But if we're honest to ourselves, the best of us - the church leaders, the prayer warriors, the worship leaders, the prophets, the pastors....etc - break the 10 Laws constantly (and I almost dare say frequent because we never know.... ). Our righteousness, the bible says, it's like used tampons (that's what filthy rags mean). Our best righteousness is that dirty.

That's the nature of the LAW - your righteousness, your efforts to live the godly life, is just that dirty.

My righteousness is just as dirty. The best of us - the apostle paul - says of himself is just that dirty. What he wants to do, he does not - sigh.. who can save a wretched man like him?

That is what He was trying to point us to in Romans. Because we cannot, He can. Through Him is preached the forgiveness of sins! All your sins are washed away. And if we think about it, it makes sense. What can morally bankrupt man offer the holy God? Our morally bankrupt righteousness?

Now, we go back to the prostitute. She has learnt that she has been forgiven much, hence she loves much. The same can be said of us. Do we love much? Do we know how much we have been forgiven?

I suspect, we do not hunger much because we do not know


to be continued in part 2....

Covenants are for our sakes

I've been getting this inkling to share this for some time: covenants. Truthfully, I do not know where to begin because words seem so insufficient. I will try my best. Hopefully, I'll be able to bless you with what I have learnt.

A covenant is like an agreement. An agreement sealed by blood. It is sealed by blood because if a party breaks it, that parties dies. In the bible, there are many covenants. Some between God and Man and some between man and man.

Examples of covenant today can be seen in many chinese gangster movie. The members each drip their blood into a bowl of water and drink it, symbolises shared blood. A blood covenant the chinese call it. That's why when a brother betrays another, blood is demanded as payment.

Now, when a covenant is made, an exchange took place. In a marriage covenant, the man & wife becomes a unit, becomes one, becomes unity. (One in the hebrew language means just that, unite) In the gang, what is yours is also mine and what is mine is also yours. ( chinese translates loosly to: got money together share joy, got trouble together share burden)

That is why when David and Jonathan cut a covenant, they exchanged robes (status), armor (protection?), sword (power). Jonathan gave all his treasures to David. In essence they took each other's place. David is now united with Jonathan. And Jonathan now is also part of David.

This is what it means to have a divine exchange. The exchange of positions, of power, of posessions, of everything.

Therefore when Jesus died for us, He was the mediator of a new covenant. He is our 'Jonathan'. We took his place as the prince. And He took our place as the sinner, as the man with curses, as the man with a broken body. He became all the BAD so that we can inherit all the GOOD. He DIED so we may LIVE. He (insert anything bad) so that we may get the (insert the opposite). It's a DIVINE exhnage.

In other words, how do we know today that our sickness will be healed be Jesus? Look at his broken body. (Isiah says by his stripes we are healed.... surely he carried all our infirmities) How do we know what we are forgiven, look at his ressurection.

But many a times, we are not convinced. We think that perhaps it's not God's soveriegn will to heal, or to bless... etc. I do not know many things but this I know, God has cut an covenant with Jesus. Jesus represent man, although he is the son of god. So that through him I may take his place. And whoever breaks the covenant dies. I'm not dead cause he died for me. He cannot die because He did that once already.

What about generation curse? He that was hung on a tree is cursed. Jesus was hung on a tree (the cross).

What about health? Look at His broken body. What about wealth? Look at his possesion at the cross. What about peace of mind? Look at His crowns of thorns on the cross. Whatever your needs are, look at Jesus.

It's a wonderful thing to have a blood covenant with Jesus whereby He has fufilled all. Now we can enter that rest.

Now what is more amazing than any of this is to me is what I discovered recently while I was trying to memorise this verse: 2 cor 9

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.

For the longest time, that was how I remember the verse. Yet the Holy Spirit prompted me that I missed out an important section. And guess what was it? Let me show the whole verse:

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Yes people, it was YET FOR OUR SAKES, that he became a man, a broken, beaten, sinful, ugly, beyond recognition, despise man. So that in exchange we may become like him. I'd imagine looking into his sad eyes at the cross. His lonely eyes- for no one was there with him. Even God forsake him. Every curse possible fell on him. He who has not fall sick for all his life is now tasting death..... yet for our sakes he says. "I'm going to purchase your every good"

It was this verse that touched me so much that night. Yet for OUR sakes, He became (insert your need), so that we may inherit the good.

It was for our sake that He cut the new covenant with us so that we through him may inherit the good.

time and chance OVERTOOK them all.....

Recently, I've put in a lot of effort into this business. I have become a certifed property agent.

Yes I have.

For the last few months, so much effort has been put into the business but sadly,it just isn't taking off. It seems like no matter how much effort I put in, the wheel is just not turning. I seem to have all the right ingredients (I formed a team with some really experienced ppl, I had great seaview looking private property to sell, I had nice landed property to rent....) to cook the soup but it just isn't happening.

People around me seems to say that you simply have to work harder. Put in more hours, more marketing dollars and more creativity. But to me, I believe something was amiss.

"...the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all. "" (ecc 9.11)

I finally understood what Solomon, the wisest man, the richest man, was talking about (and for that matter, what Pastor was teaching about this passage). Being the fastest, being the smartest, being the best is no guarantee of your success. In fact success has nothing to do with you. I repeat, your success has nothing to do with you.

But time and chance OVERTAKE them all.

It's no wonder so many of the business people worry about fengshui (tian he, di li, ren he), worry about luck, worry about karma. Because they know that success or failure depends on that undefinable 'randomness'.

We can increase your chances of success for sure (maybe) by preparing, but we can't prepare for randomness.

So, lets do some exegersis. The word OVERTOOK there in hebrew is qarah. It means to encounter, to HAPPEN. Literally, time and chance will happen to them all.

The first time the word qarah is used is in gen 24.12....He said, "O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me SUCCESS today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham.

The word SUCCESS there is qarah!!!

Take some time to let this sink in to you. OVERTAKE-HAPPEN-SUCCESS.

It took me sometime to understand this. Unless 'qarah' is with me on a certain task, I will be forever striving, swimming-upstream, uphill fight. But when qarah is with me, things are 'in the flow', in the zone....etc

I believe many of us experienced this in our life. We tried so hard to gain so little. Or in my case, gained nothing. We cried over all our wasted effort, time and resources. And without prejudice, time and chance happen to us all.

But in all this randomness, there's hope for us. The pslamist says, the steps of the righteous are ordered by God. In Him we can do All things....etc While the world depends on 'risk management', we have a good shepard that leads us. He is the qarah. He can cause the time and chance to happen to us.

This was what I have experienced in the last week. After being despair that the real estate business isn't taking off, I prayed for new and fresh ideas. One of them is giving tuition. Qarah is with me. Within 1 week = 7 days, I'm now giving tuition everyday. And I have 2 more enquiries with 1 more student coming in 2 weeks time.

When I told a friend here about this, he had a faraway look - he went back to memory lane. Where at one point he was a failed business man deep in debt. It was then that he learnt about qarah. 5 years later, today, our friend now is doing very well. very very well.

Qarah - Your Qarah - is waiting for you to go to Him and ask so that He can lead you to life and life more abundantly. Go to him now. Rest in Him. And see His miracle working.

Will the REAL pruner please stand up?

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine felt God calling her to go to full time into church work. Instinctively, she felt that it'll be a time for 'hardship' or 'pain' because she said, "how can God use us if we're not broken?"

You know that teaching where unless you're broken, God cannot use you because you're still filled with self.

I got news for you. After you're broken, you're still filled with self. As long as you're alive, you're still filled with self. Unless you're a robot or cylon. (but in BSG, they are also filled with 'self').

This kinda of thinking is in fact quite popular. I know of a few friends who has said similiar words to me. "Oh, I'm so ready to move on but I'm just afraid of what God will tell me. What if he sends me to Africa to do some mission work". Or "I'm not sure, I think God wants me to suffer so that I learn something from my experience".

Look here people, Jesus said that He came to give you life and life more abundantly but the devil comes to kill, steal and destroy. Anything that kills, steal and destroy is not of God. Period. It's that simple. Who in their right mind would train their child by breaking an arm?

But what about that part that says about pruning? If you're not fruitful it'll prune. If you're fruitful, you'll be pruned too.. right? Wrong!

(amplified version) John 15:2 Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.

³You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].

So clearly suffering is not because of pruning. This is talking about salvation (**I think I'm mistaken here not about salvation, about sanctification, see below).

What about wisdom? We know many ppl who asked for wisdom and the next thing you know... they go through a very difficult time. Perhaps God is teaching them wisdom? Experientially that may be true but that again is against the teaching of the bible. Did solomon suffer to gain wisdom? no. Is death (killing), is losing all money (stealing), is broken relationship (destroying) from god? no.

Jesus said, as you have believed.. So it shall be done to you. Do you believe that it's going to be hard or easy? As you have believe, so it shall be done to you.

We pray.. let your will be done in heaven as it is on earth. Is there suffering on heaven?

Then there comes a question of flesh vs spirit. When there's conflict there could be suffering. But this isn't to say that God wants us to suffer. In fact, this support the fact that God doesn't want you to suffer. Hence the Holy Spirit guides you to - green pastures, to quiet waters, to path of righteousness. It isn't difficult for sheeps to eat grass, to lie down, to drink water you know. Time is difficult when the sheep don't have food, water and rest. But "though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death.... I fear no evil....."

So please don't think or believe that God wants you to suffer. He doesn't. This is very important. because whatever you believe - your actions will follow.

So will the REAL pruner please stand up? - JESUS!

If you believe in Jesus you are already pruned.

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in the bibly study yesterday, the word 'takes away'and 'prune' was further illuminated - in the context of

john 15:2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit."

takes away is
- airō
-to raise up, elevate, lift up
1. to raise from the ground, take up: stones
2. to raise upwards, elevate, lift up: the hand

*and what they do in wineyards, when a vine don't bear fruit they elevated the branches with a support beam. *

prune is EVEN more interesting, because it's
-kathairō
- to cleanse, of filth impurity, etc
1. to prune trees and vines from useless shoots
2. metaph. from guilt, to expiate

Now... re-read john 15:2 and think about what Jesus is saying. It is talking about our santification
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Holy = Grace?!!!!

holy = grace?!!!!!

holy, hosios (greek), as in
Heb 7:26 We need such a high priest-one who is HOLY, innocent, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

Hosios, is also found in
Act 13:34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, "'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.'

Now this is a quote from the OT written in hebrew from:
Isa 55:3... and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Isa 55:3 ...and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

here, the hebrew word used is h2617 khehsed = G3741 hosios.

mercy, kindness, grace = holy

Dont take my word for it. Check the bible for yourself :) Happy good friday

What's enjoyable...

Today, I was listening to the 4 worship songs I'm required to play for the incoming audition for church. I've played twice and I think this third one will be the last leg of the audition.

The criteria for playing for church is to play as close as the CD as possible. No adding 7th or 13th or anything else. One has to follow all the lines as close as possible. That is what it takes to play here in this church.

So while travelling on the bus/mrt for 1hr, I listened intensely to the 4 songs as closely as possible trying to discern the different harmonies the 3 guitars are playing, the keyboard, the bass...etc Some parts are indeed quite tricky!

On my second run though, I found myself having a headache because the guitars were too 'noisy'!

Me? Finding the guitar parts were too noisy? Yes! I think they're over the top! Waitaminute, is that me talking? Me who sleeps listening to death metal in my teens?

Wife says, it's me mellowing. Hahahah.... and you know what? I find that idea very likeable. And I admit, nowadays I find myself relaxing more to some jazz pieces than some of the rockish worship songs. I mean I still like Vai, Greg Howe...the but if I find myself playing for a worship jazz quartet, I'll be quite happy.

So to give myself a break in the bus, I turn on to Michael Battersby and Brad Mehldau. Youtube them, you may just like it too.

Precious to Him

I haven't blogged for ages. It's not because I have nothing to write about. Quite the contary. I can only blame Facebook's status bar for my not blogging :)

However, something happened just awhile ago which needed a little more description.

You see, we gave a precious gift away recently. And just now, I got it back. Someone gave me back the exact same gift! I know... so 'coincidental' right?

Except this person heard from the Lord to get this gift to us during nov/dec. She just didn't know when to give this present to us, until last week.

I feel so loved. Before I even knew, God got the gift ready for us 3 months ago!