Monday, April 28, 2008
Some November Days
I sat on my bed and prayed with my heart thumping in my chest. I was terrified, and I felt so helpless. So I took it out of my hands and placed it into Yours. I prayed and prayed and read Your Word. Before anxiety came, You gave me John 11:4.
When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."
and my heart was at rest.
So they removed the tumor without any complications and as I was waiting by her bedside for her to come to, her oncologist came to speak to me. The biopsy was positive for colorectal cancer. My knees shook but good friends from church were there to hold me up. I trusted in God to see this through and I knew He would. The keyhole surgery was considered to be fairly major and was performed on a Wednesday morning. By Friday morning, my mum was walking and mid-day Saturday, she was discharged. The nurses were surprised she had healed so fast. We just had to wait for another week for further test results, before they would be able to tell us what stage cancer it was.
So many people were praying for my mother. The awesome power of prayer.
The week after, I was back at work and I got a text from my mother: "The doc called w good news. No traces of cancer cells in the lymph nodes n only stage II so no chemo needed :)"
2 months after, I had to accompany my mother to hospital for a blood test to identify the cancer count remaining in her body. The night before, just like every other night, I prayed for healing for her before bed. After my prayer, He said, "open your bible."
So I reached for my bible.
He said, "Read John 5:4"
I wondered, "John or 1 John?" (I always have to complicate things.)
There was no reply. so I thought, okay okay..
and I flipped to that chapter.
John 5:4
For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and *stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
I thought, okay that sounds like His healing.. but what water? What was I supposed to do with that?
And then I saw that asterix, that little star before the word stirred, and the Spirit poked me. There was the mental "oooh" moment.
and I read:
The last phase of v 3 and all of v 4 are omitted in some Greek manuscripts of John. The statements may reflect a popular tradition associated with the pool that the bubbling of the waters (v7), which some scholars feel was caused by an intermittent spring, was supernaturally caused by an angel. Irrespective of the source of the waters being stirred, the testimony of God's healing grace was nonetheless present.
and then I went, "Woah."
24 January, mum got her test results back from the doctor. She was cancer free.
Thanks be to God. My God is an awesome God.
Silver and the Refiner's Fire
received via email forwarding from a colleague.
Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the! flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says:
"He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver ."
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered,"Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."
Que Sera, Sera
Friday, April 25, 2008
the Lord sends emails
Can God trust you with money? Do you have the courage to thank Him publicly for what He's given you? Ever noticed how some of us who praised Him when we had very little, suddenly become 'image conscious' when we start to prosper? We call on God when we're in trouble, but when we get back on our feet we stop counting our blessings and start counting our money. What's happened? We've become so self-sufficient that we're reluctant to mention the name of Jesus when we talk about our blessings! Israel's financial amnesia was nothing new; it happens once you start believing "it was [my] own power and might that made [me] wealthy" (Dt 8:17 TLB).
Never get so dazzled by success that you forget the source of everything you have, or become so caught up in your blessings that you fail to acknowledge the One who blessed you. God told the Israelites, "When you have become...prosperous...built fine homes...and your silver and gold have multiplied...don't become proud and forget the Lord...who brought you out of...slavery" (Dt 8:11-14 TLB). God doesn't condemn success, He condemns arrogance! When you've had very little and suddenly enter the 'Promised Land,' it's easy to forget where you came from. A few gourmet meals, a designer suit and a house in 'the right neighbourhood' can make you forget about yesterday's hand-me-downs! God constantly had to remind His people not to overlook His goodness to them. And the same applies to us. "Remember...the Lord...gives you power to become rich, and...just as [He]...caused other nations in the past to perish...That will be your fate...if you don't obey...God" (Dt 8:18-20 TLB).
Bottom line - you don't have anything God didn't give you!
Btw, these daily emails are sent to me by The Word For Today e-mail service. If you've been encouraged by The Word for Today, then your friends will be too.Click here to subscribe.So how does this tie back to real life? I've been praying for financial blessing, for a particular salary increment that I will get a reply from senior management on next week. And I know, with greater financial rewards, I should be a better steward with my money, no, God's money.
Extraordinarily, God being all-knowing, knows that I spend a good 40% of my day online, so God sends emails too.
Awesomeness!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Who are the people?
Objective: To give the lifegroup an understanding of the types of people that Jesus reached
Read Luke 5
Areas to cover:
- Examples of people that Jesus touched.
- What do we think we can learn from each of these examples?
- What is God saying to you through these examples? What is God's will for you?
What kinds of people do you think Jesus reached out to?
Who’s felt like an outsider before?
Imagine feeling that way all the time. There are people who are always on the edge of society, who never feel like they fit. Think of somebody that you would be surprised to see in church today, or in a nice restaurant. It could be somebody with a severe disfigurement, somebody experiencing extreme poverty, maybe a drunk. It could be somebody who’s dressed inappropriately or has a highly contagious disease, somebody that you would not only be surprised to see, but somebody that would make you very uncomfortable. (Can we all think of at least 3 people we know that fall in this category?)
If you took that and multiplied the shock factor, you would come close to understanding how surprising it is that Jesus chose to reach out to these people.
Paralytic
The second encounter Jesus has is with a paralyzed man. The common view back then - of both lepers and of paralytics - would be that the illness and disability was a sign of God’s displeasure. We live today in a society that views those with physical disabilities in a much healthier way than before, but back then, this man would have been somewhat of an outcast. He can’t even get to Jesus on his own. Jesus looks at this man and not only heals him, but forgives his sins as well. He gets more than he bargains for.
E.g. Friend with alternative lifestyle? Friends who have not forgiven themselves for something?
Then there’s a third encounter to cap it off. We read in Luke 5:27-28: “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.”
So look at the people Jesus embraces, who see him as good news. He embraces outsiders. Not just any type of outsiders, either.
2. What do we think we can learn from each of these examples?
Those who are employed in immoral careers?
Think of the drug pusher, the pimp.
3. So based on what you've read above, what is God saying to you through these examples? What is God's will for you?
Friday, April 18, 2008
like right now...
Stubborn believer of evolution and all that... but at least he's read the first pages of Genesis.
Tiny seed.
Praise the Lord!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
if I were God, we'll all be dead
So I prayed. I gave Him all the anxiety, stress and worry, all the negative thoughts that I had about Linda and asked that He take it all away from me. I prayed about Linda, prayed for blessings on her, for the Holy Spirit to continue to guide her daily...
Months ago I realized that I simply did not need people like her in my life.. So while I continue to pray for her, it will be from a distance. I will also pray for grace to deal with the Lindas that pop up every now and then.
At the same time, it blows my mind that God hasn't blown us all up yet! His patience and love for us is infinite and immaculate.
1 Timothy 1:16
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
gracie was stupid
Quite a number of things happened yesterday. Terribly "Days of Our Lives".
- Lost my phone on Monday evening, which mean I pretty much spent Tuesday morning running about with like a chicken with its head chopped off. Because of the way it happened (long story which I'm quite tired of repeating so I won't), I'm fairly certain the taxi driver took my phone. So come Tuesday morning, I made a police report, got a new blackberry and had my SIM card replaced. Only with my mother's help was I able to do all that and get into the office before 1pm. Monday night while I was online trying to retrieve my lost phone's IMEI and PIN numbers, suspend my line and all that stuff. The entire time though, I was pissed. Seriously pissed off. You see the taxi driver happened to be a friend of a friend from way back. First off, wherever possible, strangers should return lost property... and if its someone you know... even more so. A friend reminded me then (through the wonder that is MSN) that even during difficult/testing times, we should always praise God. So I did. I thanked Him for teaching me, and I prayed for whoever found my phone and kept it. Maybe he really needed the money.
- I had my appraisal at work today. This was also a discussion about the salary increment I would be getting. There's a minimum amount that they are contractually obligated to meet, but I had asked for significantly higher than that. I've prayed about it and will continue to do so. Either way though, I'm quite happy with the agency that I'm in and feel very blessed that God placed me in such an environment, with such awesome people.
- I had a job interview last evening. A casual sort of chat with the M.D and the Head of Digital of another global ad agency. To be honest, I have no intention of leaving my agency right now, and I do see myself here for quite some time, but I was curious about what the other agency was offering and wanted to check it out. Even though the interview went well, that agency isn't for me, not right now and probably not for a long time. This interview just reaffirmed what a great agency I'm in and I thank God.
And so it is! Praise God. I love You.
Monday, April 14, 2008
walking in humility
- by Rhema Broadcasting Group in association with The Vine - www.thevine.co.nz™
This week the Lord has been saying quite a few things to me through my friends, my lifegroup (cell group), daily devotionals, sermons and more. All different, but all inter-linked.
While I answer His call to share His story, His work in me, I must remember to think about myself less, to not let pride stumble me. That while it may seem like I'm writing about myself, I am not. It is about HIM and HIS work that I am writing about. I am merely a tool for His good work on earth.
At the same time, He talks about courage. How in the bible God tells us 366 times not to fear! All of His people in the bible who answered His call - Paul, Matthew, David, Zacharias, John, Ruth, Mary, all of them were faced with some very difficult, challenging moment/s. What He asked them to do was nothing small, yet with faith and courage, they said, "Yes, Lord". Paul got out of the boat and walked on water. Mary had a son out of wedlock during a time when she could have been stoned for that. David, a mere boy, fought and defeated Goliath.
I am revealing such an intimate part of myself through this blog, there are times I fear the consequences. As you can imagine, almost everyone in my life does not know about the abortion I had, and I have quite a few more skeletons in my closet. What if my family, church-mates, good friends, those who I hold dearest to me, find out about this blog? Will they look at me the same? I think this is partly why I kept this anonymous as well.
And then He talks about His will, His plans for our lives.
- Providential Will
- Moral Will
- Personal Will.
In a nutshell, while I am being obedient to what He is asking of me right now, I should walk in humility (Ephesians 4:1-2). There should be no need to fear what others might say (Job 5:21). Be strong and courageous, because my Lord is with me and He will never leave or forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6).
Quick verses
Ephesians 4:1-2
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Job 5:21
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes.
Deuteronomy 31:6
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Friday, April 11, 2008
My God is big
Since I started this blog, I realised that certain things in my life have been becoming more difficult/annoying. Some days make me just want to curl up and cry, much less blog.
But God is my hero. There's nothing my God cannot do. With Lord Jesus taking control, what are these difficult days? All I have to do is to reach out to Him with my heart and He will be my refuge.
Two weeks ago I was on my way home from work and it was drizzling while I was walking to the train station. While waiting to cross the road, I said a quick prayer, "God please don't let me get drenched." Just then, a complete stranger came up to me to share his umbrella. Smiling, I accepted and split seconds later, it started to pour down. Buckets and buckets.
Praise God. You are my hero.
Planetshakers & Tim Hughes
I heard this song for the first time last night and it really made me really happy. Worshiping Him makes a tired day just disappear. All the madness and anger from that day just melts away and in that moment its just Him and me, and blessing Him is all that matters.
God I love you.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
lets go back to december
my mother is constantly chucking food at him in a typically Chinese way. Most importantly, we love each other. Very much so. (you can stop gagging now.)
He was born to staunch Christian parents and has been blessed to have known Jesus his entire life. Nathan's faith is unshakable and he serves the Lord in that same manner. Yet he's also fairly liberal, having been educated abroad almost his entire life. Lets just say he can chug down beer like a frat boy and we have both been known to boogie it up on occasion. I don't even want to remember the kind of antics we've both managed to get ourselves into. Funny stories, good times.
So back on track... As a couple, we didn't start out right. When we started dating, I was still pretty far away from God. At that time, He had already been sending me notes for quite a while, though I had yet to respond. I'm stubborn like a mule. We started seeing each other and soon we were sleeping together. Conveniently, he lives alone. I stayed over every weekend and truth be told, we were at it fairly often. Like bunnies.
Then come early February 2007, everything came tumbling down around us. I found myself pregnant. Both of us didn't see any other way out. We were, are, both so young. He was still in university and it was just mere months into our relationship. So we got rid of it. I had an abortion. It was like a part of me had been crushed beyond repair, then something crawled into my heart, died, and started rotting there. Both of us cried so much. I had never felt so lost, so in despair. Eventually, I picked myself off the ground, and put myself into my work. Apart from the occasional teary breakdown I had, we barely talked about it. I think both of us just wanted to pretend that it didn't happen. That things were perfect.
Even though they weren't.
Right after the abortion, I started taking the pill and things just stayed as they were. I still stayed over on weekends and while we were safer, we weren't really all that much smarter with our bodies. For an entire year, even after I found God, our relationship stayed that way. We both talked about it though. We knew it didn't honour God but we just couldn't stop. It had become such a large part of our relationship. Separately, this bugged the both of us and together we talked about it. and we talked about it. and talked some more. Sex had wound itself around the foundations of our relationship and we couldn't get it of the serpent. Not on our own anyway.
Then last December, Nathan went off for a 4D3N young adults camp that his church had organised. Right after his camp he drove over to my place, broke down and cried. God had spoken to him while he was in camp.
We must have held each other for over an hour, just sobbing and talking. That December day, we invited God into our relationship. For the first time, we prayed together as a couple asking for God's help to break the bond that Satan had on us, for strength as a couple and individually and for His presence in our relationship.
so how now brown cow?
His plans for my life at times boggles me, and while "listen and obey" may sound like two simple tasks, for the most part they are anything but. At the same time, being more stubborn than most, obviously "obey" doesn't always sit well with me. Over time though, I've come to realise that it is not only easier to obey, it is more blessed to obey.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
and this is how.
I am quite a stubborn individual (I'm pretty darn certain that my boyfriend will vouch for that) and before I believed in something, I needed to see the logic and rationale/explanation behind it. I needed to have all the angles covered. So I tried to explain the notes away.
But I couldn't. I found these notes in different places, at different times, there are no one person/group that could have been sneaking them into my bag. No one in my family could have slipped them in. Besides, none of them are Christian. My mum is a practising Taoist and my sisters are free-thinkers. None of my colleagues could have done it either cos on weekends I would find them in the more casual bags that I didn't carry to the office.
Before you think I've gone mad, I haven't. Friends and family have actually seen these slips. They aren't figments of an overactive imagination. I may work in advertising, but I still have my sanity. ;)
So after more than a year of being "written to", and still not being able to find a logical explanation... to the shock and horror of many friends, I give in and tell a good friend of mine to take me to church.
I still remember the first service I attended. Good Friday service. Honestly, it wasn't convincing or life-changing for me. But a tiny seed was planted and I went for service the week after that, and after that, and after that... For a few months I just sat and listened really. For some reason, it just didn't seem like the right time.
Then one service, I heard a very powerful testimony from an ex-convict and there was this voice that said, "Its time."
That day I accepted Christ as my Lord and Saviour, and I've never looked back since.
Monday, April 7, 2008
this is the start of how.
For the longest time, I questioned the existence of God. Then I accepted that there was a God watching over us all. But I didn't believe in Christ. I thought all religions led up to the same God. I thought that God was the all-mighty marketeer using all these different communication channels and all these different languages. Sure, I had read the entire bible cover to cover by the time I was twelve. I had also read books on Buddhism and glanced at the English translation of the Quran. All religions to me were just different means to the same God. None of them taught you to kill or lie or do evil things. They all taught people to live good lives, to do good in life, to respect your elders, etc etc.
I had hours of friendly debate with good friends who were staunch believers of Christ. We really had quite a bit of free time on our hands back then for these chats. I must have thrown every doubt and question that I had in my mind at them. No mention of dinosaurs in the bible! What about evolution? How can you not believe in Darwin's theory of evolution? How can you be absolutely certain that Christianity is the one true means of salvation? What about all those honest people who live good lives and have good moral values? Just because they don't believe in Christ are they all going to hell? What if these good people lived their lives having never heard a single word about Christianity, do they still go to hell? That's not fair..... and we went back and forth and back and forth. Frankly, very few of my questions were answered. But it did get me to asking the most life-changing question (though rather defiantly) - "So if You're really there and if its really Christianity that leads to You, prove it to me!"
and so He did.
God has blessed me with a wonderful testimony and for that reason He's asked me to share it, and more, with everyone else. No, I'm no overzealous Christian nutjob out to rant and rave and "sell" my beliefs. This blog is simply about my walk toward Christ and with Christ. Neither am I some balding old geezer trawling for chicks online nor some prepubescent teenage boy working on a new internet hoax. I'm a regular Singaporean girl in my twenties. I have a post-graduate qualification in marketing. I work in an advertising agency. I have a boyfriend, family and quite a few friends. I do not look like the hunchback of Notre Dame. So you ask, why am I doing this anonymously? Partly because I feel that my testimony does not need my face or name leading it. Partly because I value my privacy and something tells me this is how it should be, for now at least. You might also be wondering why I'm using a blog to do so. Yes, I know - its sooo been done before. But I am in advertising, and my specialty as a suit is actually in digital advertising. I believe in the power of the internet as a communication channel.
If you've made it this far, I'm really glad you're here.