Some November Days

Late November last year, my mother checked into hospital for major surgery, to remove a tumor that was covering 75% of her rectum. We had no idea whether the tumor was benign or malignant, but as it was so large, her doctor was not very optimistic about it.

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 ."

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

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

On a drive back from a really good dinner last night, I was telling Nathan about this song that my mother used to sing to me when I was a wee toddler. Brings back so many memories.

It was a 1950s hit song by Doris Day.

Have a listen.

the Lord sends emails

Oh dear. Last I posted was Monday and its already Friday. Time really flew by this week. In the midst of campaign launch flurry, I think God has slipped my mind quite a number of times this week. Thankfully, my God is a patient God. If I had to deal with myself, I'll probably have sent bolts of lightning down on myself. Anyway, last night my sleep was full of mini-dreams, and they were all about money. I had a conversation about salary and expenditure with a colleague, talked to a friend from church about earning more vs earning less, trying to find lost money, and lot lot of other hazy dreams, but all revolved around the same money theme. Then the moment I woke up, flicked my blackberry on and here's the first thing I read this morning: The Word for Today Financial Amnesia Remember...the Lord...gives you power to become rich. - Deuteronomy 8:18 TLB

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!

SoulFood Bible Readings: 1 Co 14-16, Mk 8:14-26, Ps 94:1-11, Pr 10:24-26

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!

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:

1. Examples of people that Jesus touched.
2. What do we think we can learn from each of these examples?
3. 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?

Outsiders.
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.

In Luke 5, we read about three shocking people - outsiders - that Jesus chose to love and to serve. Let’s look at them and try to understand why it was so surprising.

Luke 5:12-13 – Who does Jesus meet?
Leper
Jesus met, touched, and healed a leper.

Leprosy was a powerful and highly infectious disease. (The Greek word was used for various diseases affecting the skin – not necessary leprosy. There were a number of skin conditions - psoriasis, lupus, ringworm, as well as Hansen’s disease - that back then would have been called leprosy.)

Everybody knew that this man’s body was full of leprosy. He lived away from his family and everybody. If people approached him, he would have to cover his mouth and yell out a warning that he was unclean. His family would probably leave out food for him, but stay clear when he came to collect it. Nobody had touched him in years. This was the ultimate outsider, a social outcast.

The leper comes to Jesus. By all rights, Jesus should have kept his distance to remain clean and to stay safe. He could have healed this man from a hundred meters away. To touch him would have been to risk becoming contaminated himself.

The heart of the story is the shocking action that Jesus took in verse 13. “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.” Jesus touched a man who hadn’t been touched in years. As Jesus reached out and touched the man, you can bet that everybody in the crowd gasped. Jesus reached out to the ultimate social outcast and proved that there is no such thing as an untouchable person.

Who in your own circle might be considered an outsider?
E.g. Friend X who doesn't have the same hobbies as the rest of us

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.

Leper/Paralytic: Who in your circle might be considered to have displeased God?
E.g. Friend with alternative lifestyle? Friends who have not forgiven themselves for something?

Tax Collector
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.”

Back in the day, tax collectors were extortionists, shaking people down for as much money as they could manage, keeping some of it for themselves before they remitted the rest. They were collaborators with the enemy, the foreign occupying government that went against their religion. They were unclean, because they were always in contact with Gentiles. They were also very rich, which would make people resentful. They were rich because they had dirty money.

So imagine Jesus going to this guy and saying, “Follow me.” Then picture this guy throwing a party with all of his shady friends. “Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them” (Luke 5:29). There are a few things we need to notice here. Levi is throwing a party that is costing quite a bit of money, and he’s doing it with dirty money, proceeds of his tax collecting career. How would you feel about that? (Imagine if you saw a well-known pastor in your community partying with secret society members)

Second, he’s invited his tax collecting buddies. Of course, who else would he invite? They stuck together, because nobody else would have anything to do with them. You have a room full of shady characters. Third, Jesus eats with them. In that culture, eating with people implied acceptance of them. The Pharisees, some of the religious people of that day, wouldn’t even eat with the average person, never mind tax collectors. They were afraid of being contaminated. The food might be unclean, and it might not have been tithed appropriately. Jesus is invited to this party, and he goes.

So look at the people Jesus embraces, who see him as good news. He embraces outsiders. Not just any type of outsiders, either.

He touches the most untouchable type of person. He forgives and heals someone with a disability. He invites an extortionist to follow him. It was scandalous. He ate with the wrong people. He touched the wrong people. He reaches out and touches people on the very edge of society. Jesus is good news to outsiders, to the very people who don’t belong and don’t fit. Jesus even says that’s what he’s here for.

In Luke 5:31-32, Jesus said: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

2. What do we think we can learn from each of these examples?

Lets have a think about this. The average person out there isn’t so sure Jesus is good news for them. Think about those who are modern day lepers - those who are on the fringes of society, people who are untouchable. Think about them - who are they today?

The homeless, those with AIDS, alcoholics, banktrupt, gangsters, those on drugs?
Those who are employed in immoral careers?
Think of the drug pusher, the pimp.

Jesus is good news to these people. Jesus might even go to their house, hang around their friends.

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?

like right now...

... my boss is reading my bible!

Stubborn believer of evolution and all that... but at least he's read the first pages of Genesis.
Tiny seed.

Praise the Lord!

if I were God, we'll all be dead

My ex-boss, Linda, has been extra weird of late. She has been asking a number of people about me but going further and probing about how often I get in touch with my ex-colleagues, what I've been saying to them, just general paranoid questions. And if she actually bothers to ring me up, text me or drop me instant messages, she has developed a rather annoying habit of twisting the conversations we've had into something else entirely. Prior to the day that I handed in my resignation letter mid-November last year, she was all nice and loving. After that letter was submitted, boy has she said some nasty things, and she's continued to do so. I guess I should be flattered that she still feels like I'm going to steal the team from under her, but it's been really annoying me. I thought about it for quite a while this morning, and then I had a talk with Nathan about her. I knew I shouldn't let her get to me, but somehow she managed to wheedle her way through the cracks and stuck her annoying self in my brain. Nathan reminded me once again that this was the devil's way of getting to me, that even more so should I pray for Linda, and give all this to God.

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