Rest: the rhythm of grace

Rest is not doing nothing, it is a state. One can be lying in bed, sleeping (in the hospital) but is not restful, on the other hand, others can be running a marathon, doing an ironman race or practicing scales and yet be completely at rest. 

You either are in rest or not. But if you would like to 'do' rest, then rest is this: God directed activity. Doing what you feel God is leading you to do in the rhythm of grace. It is He who leads us to quiet waters, to lie down on green pastures. Rest is simply following the good shepherd at each moment of our lives with complete joy and careless abandonment. 

I find that whenever I move away from rest, my troubles quickly stack up exponentially. I first get overly busy then I get really tired then I get really grumpy then I lash out at people around me then kaaabooom! But I realiased, that these actions just reflect that my trust is NOT on Jesus. My trust was on my ability to do stuff, to fix problems.

On the other hand, I find that when I'm in the flow of rest, success finds me even when I'm watching TV. Sales are closed when I was playing computer games. Miracles happen.

Therefore, rest. Those who are heavy laden go to Jesus and He will give you rest. Are you heavy laden with financial worries? Are you heavy laden about the health of a love ones? Are you heavy laden with the worries of your baby or your child? Go to Jesus, and He will give you rest. 

God's Goodness, remember

First off, Happy Rosh Hashanah (16th September 2012), the Jewish new year. Happy Jew Year! 

As we head into the new year, take a minute to remember all the Good that has come into your life just in the last year. Among you, i know off one getting a promotion, another a pay rise with a change of job, another a new job, a new baby, a miracle cure, a new hdb/flat/house, son getting a scholarship...etc etc etc... you know who you are! :)

What a wonderful year it had been with so many testimonies! Truly miracles and goodness follow all of you folks wherever you are!

I love testimonies. It reminds me how real God is in my life. And whenever I face new challenges, I remember His goodness towards me. He is able to do it before and He will do it again in the future. And so here, I'm copying a past testimony I received years ago. And to all new and would be mothers, Jesus love you!

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(from:      http://eric_chin.blogspot.com/2010/07/testimony-time.html)

This is testimony from a friend. 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 myhealth since and neither have I prayed for healing until now when I am pregnant. I feared for thesafety of my baby. The doctors I have consulted are worried as this is considered a high-riskpregnancy, which added on to my worry and stress level as I couldn’t enjoy the pregnancy asmuch as I want to.

It was then that I shared with Li Ping about my condition and requested for her to pray for meand baby. Eric and Li Ping shared the promises of the Gospel to me as they felt prompted byGod to convey this message to me. It’s not that I am ignorant about the Gospel, but I guess I didnot 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 wasalready healing! So then why is my blood pressure still not showing a normal reading? I realisedthat I have been praying prayers of “Please heal my condition” rather than claiming the healingthat has already been granted and approved! Now my prayers are “I know and believe I have anormal bp reading because Jesus has redeemed my heart and given his perfect one to me!”. Itis 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 Iwant to see. However, the first 2 readings were high, and my heart sank. The nurse took a 3rdreading and it was the reading that I had asked for. Somehow that did not delight me. I felt thatif 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.

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Keep your eyes on Jesus

2 Corinthians 1:19      For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

As we move towards the end of the week, the US is on an election fever, Apple is announcing its new products and we are moving on to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year on the 16th of September (evening).

While we still face many challenges in our lives, the Lord's promises never change. No matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ.

Sometimes when the 'onslaught' of demands or challenges get too intense we tend to forget who we are in Christ. But do not worry because it is Christ who makes you stand firm. He who has anointed you has also put his seal of ownership on you. All you have to do is to remember Him and keep believing!

Surely goodness and mercy is hunting you down as you read this! So marvel at His love for you and REST from your own works. He will take care of you, your health, your baby, your blood pressure, your provision and whatever your needs may be. Because He is your good shepherd, You shall not be in want.

The Jesus is in the Details

Just a few days ago, on my way back from gym, I discovered that my 'gym-backpack' is starting to fall apart. I told wife in passing that it would be great to have a new gym bag. One that has a compartment for wallet & phones, shoes, dirty clothes and clean clothes. It's a lot to ask but one can hope.

On the way back, we went to a nearby mall to pick up some groceries. Lo and behold, there's a sports sale. And sitting on the top of the pile of 'unwanted' bags is my new gym bag. Everything that I want, at 60% off. I didn't even have to go looking for it.

Jesus, the lover of my soul, is THE God of details. At times like these, I just felt so loved. And folks as we moved to Tuesday, think of Jesus who has gone before us and prepare for us a good week where His blessing is in our going in and going out... where His goodness and mercy shall Hunt for us all days of our lives.  

Luck - that four letter word.

This christmas, I hope to set you free from this 'fear' of luck. It seems, to me anyway, that there's this unspoken rule to boycott the word luck. So 'potluck' becomes 'potbless', good-luck becomes blessed...etc (it seems happy and merry is also changed to blessed in many occasions, which baffles me really).

What's the fear of using luck? The general thought is that there's nothing random in life and luck has nothing to do with life as a christian. So we should avoid 'luck' altogether. The general scripture used here would be "...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)

But if you look at the hebrew - time and chance - is 'qarah'. Does that describe luck? Time and Chance.

And in gen 24.12 while Abraham's servant was looking for a wife for Issac he said, "O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me SUCCESS today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. ""

Success is the same word - qarah.

Yeah, I know right? Go figure. And did the God of Abraham grant the servant the right TIME and CHANCE aka good luck? Of course! As LUCK would have it, he found Rebecca at the well and the rest, they say is history.

Merry Christmas friends and have a happy 2012. And if you need luck, know that Jesus has plenty of that to give. Seek Him out.

On faith....

A long time ago, I thought that faith was something I can produce. If I believed, if I have the confidence in the things I hope for and then feel that 'Presence', and have that warm fuzzy feeling, then I have faith. That usually happens after some good worship sessions, prayer sessions... etc. maybe because those activity really led me to focus on Jesus. Those were the good old times in church when I was a young christian, but I'm really not that old, really.

But the problem was that the warm fuzzy feeling was hard to come by during critical time - during car accidents, during crunch time in work, during gigs where I completely forgot what chord comes next...etc So how do I attain great faith then?

I suppose, there was a reason the bible was given to us. And I found it peculiar that Jesus need no long, hard, loud, strong prayer to produce faith. Neither did the disciples. They were walking power houses of faith. They just were. It was about that time I was introduced to the concept of 'being'. These people didn't do faith-activity, there were being faith-full. It was about who they are and not what they do.

That was a great lesson. It got me started on reading who they are and what they're about. What similarities did they share to become so full of faith? Which then got me even more curious because none of the disciples are really great people when I think about it - cowards(Peter), doubter(thomas)... show-offs(there was a passage where they all compete to become the greatest, in front of Jesus)... all of them have some serious issues. I asked myself what made all these men and women (don't forget there WAS something about Mary) so full of faith?

And I somehow concluded that it was because they saw what Jesus had done. They knew Jesus was not only CAPABLE of doing all, he was WILLING to do so. Seeing is believing after all, right? Wrong because I'm guessing Apostle Paul didn't see the miracles Jesus perform miracles? And on the other hand, the Pharisees saw the miracles and yet they don't believe. Yet Paul was full of faith, hello? healing with this handkerchief - that was some 'greater things' he did.

*** point to note: seeing really isn't believing. many saw the miracles and did not believe. ***

So here was my first 'real' discovery to faith - you have to believe. All of the people mentioned above who are full of faith believed in Jesus as the savior. That He represented man and cut a new covenant on our behalf with God so that through Him we become the righteousness of God. That through Him, ALL promises are Yes in Him. That through him, blessings and shalom are there for us.

No fuzzy feeling required.

But as I ponder about this (by the way, this process of me pondering or discovering usually describe a time duration of a few years. I know I'm just smart that way) how come I still can't walk on water? Don't laugh. I'm a bit scared of water and having the ability to walk on water, even for a few steps like Peter, you would have to say is simple awesome.

I think the key here lies in Mark 11. Jesus cursed the fig tree and the fig tree withered from the roots up. Jesus' explanations were simple. If you believe, do not doubt and say to it - it will be done. The meaning of doubt(diakrino) in greek was my second key. It meant, simplistically, to judge. You see, if you 'judge' that the thing that you're praying for is not going to be answered because it's too good to happen to me, it's cannot be so easy, it's not your time yet, whatever it is...etc then you have doubted.

Truly, He is able to do ALL things. To think otherwise simply is looking down on him. Your friends don't like to be pre-judge, so does Jesus.

And thirdly, you have to say it. Speak it out. There is power in the tongue. Your word, literrally, is power. So speak it.

Still no fuzzy feeling required nor long, 'strong' prayers. Believe, do not doubt and speak it.

The fourth one was a great lesson for me. One day pastor was preaching about the 2 person mentioned in the NT to have great faith. The centurion and the Syrophoenician Woman. Jesus called both of them people were GREAT faith. In fact, he said that no one in israel has such great faith as the centurion. Imagine that, not even John the Baptist! So what made these 2 so full of faith? They were both gentiles and they were completely UNAWARE of their own GREAT faith. Think about it, both of them didn't know they were full of faith when they came to Jesus. What did they know? That Jesus was a good God, and that Jesus was ABLE and WILLING to heal.

No one told them that they have to repent first either.

What they SEE in Jesus, made their faith STRONG. It completely ties in with the verse that says, Faith comes from hearing and hearing the (renma) word of Christ. These 2 person has probably heard a lot about the miracles Jesus did. They see in Jesus a savior, a provider, a healer.

That's why I believe you don't need to worry about whether you have faith at all. Look at Jesus and what He can do. When we see/hear more about Christ (His truth and grace), our faith increases. (If you don't know what is Christ about, read about the new covenant or just refer to john 3:16 in greek preferably)

This really strengthens me because now not only do I not have to 'produce' or 'attain' or 'kek' the faith (out) - all I have to do it to focus on Jesus. I find asking myself often - can He do it? Yes, Is He willing? Yes. Am I deserving? No but He is still willing. Case close.

The fifth key I got was from last week's sermon. And since I've been typing for a long while now I'll try to keep this short. It has to do with this verse (mark 9)

21Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22“It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
24Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Basically, this man doubts if Jesus can heal his boy. So Jesus's reply: 'what do you mean if I can heal your boy? I'm Jesus aka God aka I-can-do-anything. Everything is possible for those who believes in me.' And the man cleverly said 'I believe in you (Jesus), help me overcome my unbelief (that you cannot).

So in this story, you can see that even while you cannot believe that it can be done, just believe in Jesus. Pastor call this putting your faith hook on Jesus. (Faith, is afterall from God but that's another story for another time). Our faith is afterall shaky at best, but even while we are faithless, He is faithful and faith-full.

If you do not have enough faith IN Jesus, use the faith OF Jesus. Say - I believe in you Jesus and Jesus, you can.

Isn't this last key great? I know sometimes finding faith is like trying to squeeze water out from a rock. And sometimes it's hard without 'feeling' it. But God don't work with feelings. Know that your God is able and willing. And if you ever find yourself in a difficult situation, He is your Help in every time of need. Just say to him- I believe you can and you are willing, help.

Merry Christmas. (because blessed is so main stream now)

Cain and Abel - a tale of 2 offerings

This year, I look forward to resurrection Sunday. I want to celebrate the grace that I'm given - that by His stripes, His blood, His death - I'm healed, forgiven and given a new life. What an ultimate sacrifice Jesus was. And as I ponder about Jesus as the lamb, as the perfect offering, I suppose it is time I go back to the story of the offering of Cain and Abel.

In chapter 3 of genesis, after the fall, God cursed the soil, so that man will only eat through his own toil. And then in early chapter 4, we read the Abel kept flocks but Cain worked the soil. And in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruits of the SOIL as an offering to the Lord. We learn that God was not impressed at all by Cain's offering at this point.

Very likely, based on the context, the one of the reason why God was not happy with the fruits was because it was from the soil he just cursed a chapter ago. On a typology angle, God is also not happy with the TOIL of the soil. Toil (ie amalek), speaks of self-work and has been a constant no-no to God throughout the bible. (see the previous 2 entries).

We learn that because of the offering, God did not look at Cain's offering with favour and his Cain was downcast, sad and angry. There's an interesting point to note here. At this point, thre are no mention about the character of Cain. Was he a good guy? or a bad guy? We only know that because he gave the wrong offering, God did not look at him with favour - is that interesting or what?

So anyway, the story continues that God ask Cain, why are you angry? if you DO what is right, will you not be accepted.... SIN crouches at the door...

This verse seems straight forward except when we look at the word 'DO' here in hebrew, it can also mean offering. The word SIN can also mean sin-offerring.

So it can be read, if you OFFER what is right, will you not be accepted. if you OFFER what is not right, a SIN OFFERING crouches at your door. It desires to have you but you must rule over it.

(See YLT version)

I believe God was not angry with Cain. Rather, it was Cain who was angry with God. And God gave Cain a sin offering which was of the right kind. An offering who desires for Cain but Cain must take it. God was not rebuking Cain but rather trying to reconcile with Cain. He even provided the offering - at the door (ie a metaphor that means near you).

Today, God is still looking at our offering, and not the fruit of our toil. He has also provided a sin offering who is near us. He desires for us but we must take hold of him for He is the perfect lamb of God. His name is Jesus.

How is this story practical? This story is about daily favour from God. In my opinion, a bit of His favour on us is mighty practical in everything we do.

Perhaps you think that this favour is not for you because you have been a bad christian. Think on this - was Abel as good christian? We never know really because he died too quickly for us to find out. The only thing we know about him is his offering. And when you're down, and feeling the darkness closing around you, remember Jesus our perfect offering. Because His favour is our path back to the Father. And God will set our paths straight, once again. and again. and again.

Happy Easter everyone.

The first battle II

The first battle was fought at Rest, at Rephidim.

This may sound like an oxymoron, how can anyone be at rest and yet still be fighting? I used to think that being at rest means sleeping, watching tv, relaxing or more recently chillaxing (chillout + relax = chillax). But the truth of the matter is that being at rest has nothing to do with activity. Rest is a state of believe that He is in control.

Pastor JP has this to say about rest, "rest is not inactivity but God directed activity".

Sometimes, we can be working 26hrs day and still be at rest. Other times we can be physically having a holiday and yet in the inside, we're restless, anxious and troubled. Can you see what I mean? This also completely debunk the popular thought that rest is about not doing anything. This is far from the truth. As seen in the story, Israel was fighting a fierce battle at rest! Although Mary was seated at the foot of Jesus, she was LISTENING to Jesus.

How is this useful in our lives? Well, picture this, you just had the worst dayS of your life. The last few months has been horrible. Wave after waver of bad news. You worry and cannot sleep. And because you cannot sleep, you're tired to work the next day. Anxiety attacks happen more frequently. Trouble multiplies. You blame God, your luck and everything else. Where is the help in time of need?

Relax mate. Relax. God is helping you. Calm down. Be at Rephidim. Hear his voice. Feel where His wind is blowing. Raise up the staff of moses (ie. lift up Jesus, look at Him). Suddenly, the thigns of the world turns strangely dim. Your vision gets clearer. You know in your heart what you need to do. You take that first step, then your next and your next. And He will lead your path straight... straight out of that wilderness. Will there be battles? Sure. Big ones too. (and in all battles, there may be casualties but the Lord is victorious, so are you!)

I believe that's how Rephidim or Rest works - by leading us to quiet waters. And everytime we find ourselves in trouble, in a dark valley like the shadow of death, Rest in Him (but you can keep working) and He will lead you out.

I hope this helps guy.

One last thing before I sign out for tonight. While I was coming home just now in the bus I was praying for a brother who is facing some work challenges. And as I was praying for him, declaring on his behalf that he is above and not below his challenges.... I saw a vision of myself learning how to swim. You see, before I learn how to swim I could hardly float. I kicked as hard as I can but Im usually sinking. And those of you who knows how to swim would know that all I have to do is to relax and our body floats naturally.Now, that I've learn how to swim it's sinking that I find hard to do. I suppose that's why divers carry added weight.

I know what it meant for us immediately. As believers, we are all, always, by the Covenant that He has cut with us, above. The only thing we need to do is relax in water and then the laws of physics (the covenant) will take over - we will always float... and he is above and not below.

Have a blessed week people.

Carnal Christian

Last week I caught up with a friend whom I have not seen in a few months. When we meet each time, I usually ask him, " how's your spiritual walk? " His answer would be, " I have been praying and reading the bible. " Then I would reply that I was asking about his state of being, his relationship with Jesus and not what he does. Strangely enough, my friend will looks at me confused at this stage. We will then have to observe a minute of awkward silence before 'normal' conversation continues.

That is, until last week. When his reply was simply, 'I think Eric, I have not grown, at all."

The simple confession was powerful and I was almost at a lost for words. Almost. I said, in a most candid way, "I know. We all know. We could tell. " He replied, "You all did?" And then we all laughed. I know because I've fooled myself many times this way too. Many of us do. And if we're honest to ourselves, we all do.

You see, I think my friend was loving Jesus in an 'intellectual' way but he wasn't able to 'feel' him. What I told him next may make you fall down from a chair... I told him that he should be a carnal christian.

He was shocked beyond belief. Are you kidding? All these years we were taught that christians are meant to avoid lust, greed, sloth... etc and here I am saying that you should be carnal.

And by carnal, I don't mean lust, greed and sloth... but almost. You see, being a christian has a lot to do with EATING. Eat from the Tree of Life god says. Eat the bread of life and drink the forgiveness of sins. TASTE and SEE that the Lord is Good. It also has a lot to do with carnal feelings. More than once, God has told us to ask that our JOY be made complete. LOVE Him, Love people. Rejoice. Shalom peace. Feeling words. Carnal words.

No one can tell you how delicious a meal is until you have experienced it yourself. It's like a kiss, it's like a bite of cheese, or that first bite of steamy nasi lemak or ckt. I can show you pictures but it ain't the same if you haven't experienced it yourself.

I think the christian walk is like that too. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Taste Him. Experience him. Don't just 'think about it'. Live life. Live life. Experiment with Him. And when we have drunk the best wine - the son of God, Jesus - before we know it, we'll be drunk in the Spirit.

The first battle.

Today in church, a very special passage was read. It was exodus 17:8. It described the first battle that the Israelite fought after they escaped from Egypt. "Firsts" are usually very significant in the bible. The principle of first mentions, theologians call it, sets the tone God sees a certain principal throughout the entire bible.

In this battle "...While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them...."

Rephidim means rest, while Amalek (The term may be divided into amal - to toil, and the letter kuf, with the meaning 'ejection of the life-spirit' e.g. katal - to kill with removal of life-spirit.) means 'becoming dispirited through loss of spirit as a result of hard labour and continuous toil'. Such detachment is negative in nature.

In other words, this verse reads: ...while the people of Israel were still at rest, the warriors of toil attacked them.

Can you see it? Here the bible records for us, that the first battle of that the Israelite fought was against toil - works of flesh. When I saw that in church, my whole spiritual being was shaken - this is no coincidence indeed. The bible has hidden this wisdom for me - that today, my first spiritual battle is fought at rephidim - the battle is fought at REST against works.

And how did the people of Israelite win that battle? Apparently, they won the battle by holding up a staff on a hill.

"...on the top of a nearby hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage...."

Now, staff's are made from trees. And on a hill, far away, hung a man on a tree (see hebrew) on top of a hill. This is a picture of Jesus' finish work. Lifting up the staff is synonymous with declaring His finished work. Just as Jesus has once spoken "... Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life...."

The picture is so consistent, my goodness. It is as if history repeats it self! No wonder God says, the OT is a foreshadow of things to come.

As Jesus was lifted up by Moses, His people had victory. It was a glorious battle. But the story did not end there. After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”

This point of view from God is very shocking to me indeed. Because it sounds as if God HATES toilsome labour and He has a personal vendetta against it. When God says WAR I He means WAR.

The truth in this story has been repeated several times since the days of moses. Perhaps the last time was the story of Mary and Martha. Mary has chosen that ONE thing which shall not be taken away from her - sitting at the foot of jesus & listening to him. (yes, it's seen as one thing). The WAR ended with Jesus when he finally SAT down on the right hand of the Father.

This sermon has deep impact for me. Because at this point of my life, I have been working really hard. I think sometime a few weeks ago, I transited from working-hard-from-rest to toilsome-striving. The former brings joy to me and the latter sucks life out of me. I think many of us can relate to that feeling at one time or another. And the fact that almost every christian can relate to 'loss of spirit due to toilsome work' - amalek - is a scary one. It is the very idea God hates. The thought of it sends me to prayers.

This story also opened up a question of how we disciple new believers. (what should we teach them to get them ready for the 'real christian life' ?) I think my direction is clear from now on - it is to tell about them about this rest. That their righteousness is founded on faith on Jesus. That after all, is that ONE thing that is needed - and it shall not be taken away from us.

What are some of the things that were taught to you as a new christian? Did you find it helpful or not helpful? Would love to hear them in the comment section below.

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!

***********
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.

*********************
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
***********************

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!

He leads you to quiet waters...

When the psalmist - David aka Beloved - wrote that He leads you to quiet waters, it means the Lord leads you to life. It means that when He leads you to do something, it feels good to do it.

This was exactly what happened last night when wife and I discoverd that we've lost/misplaced some important documents. We couldn't remember when we last saw it or took it out from its rightful place. It was past midnight at that time. But for some reason, I had an urge to sweep the floor.

So after 30mins of frantic searching to no avail, I took out the broom and started sweeping the floor. Lo and behold, the documents were somehow found under the couch. I was shocked and thankful.

He works wonderfully.