Christmas!

It's the season of giving, loving and caring! It's the season of bringing in those who do not know what Christmas is all about. If you fall into this category, this piece is for you.

But first, what Christmas is NOT about:

It's not about Santa Claus and reindeers or Christmas trees and socks over the fireplace or turkey dinner and ginger breadman or jingle bells and snowman, and the list goes on.

It's not about spending time with family, although it's a good time to do so because of the holidays.

It's not about going church to sing carols, if you don't know the meanings of the songs.

There's no magic about Christmas.

What then? Christmas is not about all these things that the media has been showing us? Yea, that's right. If the word itself says anything, Christmas is about Christ -- Jesus' birth to this earth and its significance.

Personally, I have never been fascinated much by the manner of Jesus' birth besides that the angel announced it to shepherd and they came to worship Him at the manger. But on what it really means to have Christ born for us, born to die -- I feel that has more stories to tell, more real stories and more essence than a fat old man name Santa.

It's the story of stories. It's a triumphant story: the bad guy supposedly won but it was the good guy ultimately. It's a story of ultimate sacrifice: an innocent Child born of a virgin with the purpose of dying for the world. It's a story of suspense: Jesus was crucified when He was at the height of His ministry and for a moment it seemed that all hope was lost -- but no, He came back to life. It's the story of grace: unworthy sinners given pardon and redemption with the coming of the Saviour of the world.

It's a story for you and me, a story that everyone is in, and everyone is the main character. It's a story of love: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. This was what He was born to do, that anyone who believes in Him will not be eternally separated from God, but that he will be living this life to the fullest, having an intimate relationship with God, and to be with Him forever in heaven.

And so, this was what our Christmas celebration is about. Praise God, though we have little time to prepare, it was great! We had our celebration at KL International Hotel this year. It all went well: Pre-event outside the hall, song presentations, Deborah and Bong Yang shared testimonies of their life, skit performance, sharing... We had a good time, although some parts were a bit messed up. We had a large crowd with different nationalities. Our friends were supportive and happy at the end. And a friend of mine said she is now certain of the love of Christ and wants to receive Him as Saviour. Hallelujah! Seeds are sown, weeds are thrown!

Right or Easy?

Life. There's just so many definitions that you can give it, so many things to be compared to, so much that has been said to describe it, but I think there's none that truly fully covers it all.

I like the one that says it's choices that leads to various different consequences and outcomes that you won't know or see until you're there. From Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" to Tolkien's "And wither then? I cannot say" in Lord of the Rings... I like it not because it's an easily agreeable truth, but rather it is a truth that needs courage to understand and embrace. It's not a beautiful truth, but it's not a sad one either. It doesn't carry any amount of emotion unless you allow it to.

There's a quote by Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that always struck me as having deep meanings and it takes one to experience it to really understand. He said during the end-of-year banquet in the wake of Cedric Diggory's death, "Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

We don't often hear this. It's always been said, this is right, that is wrong; do what is right, refrain from the wrong. But there is the grey area -- there's the time when you will have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy. And wither then? What outcome would it bring? Bilbo said he couldn't say, neither can I, or would know, until the choice is made.

I think it happens most when we are faced with a challenge -- it's easy to just give up, to just run away and don't care, but we know deep down in our hearts that that would mean leaving our responsibilities, perhaps even to the extent of disobeying God. When we want so much to fight back because of mistreatment from others, when we really think it's disadvantageous to us and we ought to stand up and defend ourselves -- that's when God wants us to shut up (to put it very bluntly).

Is it easy to just shut up and say "I forgive"? We know the answer. Is it easy to spread gossips and hurl hurtful words to defend ourselves? We also know the answer. But it's a CHOICE. And I think the factor that lead us to decide what to choose, ultimately, is God's LOVE. Not because we love, but He first loved us.

It takes a lifetime to learn to make the right choices, until the right choices are also easy ones. It takes a lifetime to follow the Holy Spirit.

Reading & Writing

I suddenly realised just how little I have blogged this month! Gosh, and it's already month end!

Oh yes, blame it on work...

Hope this will be a short one, because it's already very late as it is.

Well, despite the heavy workload I'm assigned this month and for the coming few months, I think it's a matter of need rather than of leisure that I went for some reading. Those who know me and know what I mean will understand this involves hours of slowing bankrupting a bookstore. Or maybe not. In any case, that's what I do when I'm feeling that I need to escape...

As a result, I actually finished another fantasy book in 3 sittings. That's quite fast considering the length and hours I took, although I remember I used to finish the book in a sitting of roughly 4 -5 hours. But yea, that's a bit crazy, I would admit.

I think anyone would agree that I've long past the age of reading children literature, especially fantasy genre, but I figured that I still do because I'm quite a slow learner. I only began to pick up English when I was 14, so I used up most of my teens to discover children's novels. Erm, still discovering... Of course, I have read some solid stuff like Agatha Christie, Christian books, etc, but I still find an attraction to children's fiction. It gives one room to imagine and be in the books, and it leaves me to wish that I could write as good.

Overtime, I learned not to overdo "being in the books". I know that's pretty serious for your mind to wander off like that. But I also always have that dream and ambition that I could write like the authors I love, only that the stories would bear the imprints of God -- and that's not easy. There's tonnes of books out there writing about absolute rubbish, but it's high time people should know what to chew and what to puke at.

So I shall consult the Holy Spirit and go to bed now. What a piece! :)

Parting to a New Beginning

This one is for Pr. Kenneth & Pr. Sharon and their cute little daughter Sophia.

When I first got the news about their leave, I could tell that this was something different. I felt it in my heart, although the sadness and feelings of having to part was also present. Yet, there was an assurance that came along, a peace that says, "this is good".

In Ecclesiastes it says to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Of course, it could be something easier said than to accept. It's quite easy for one to use it as an excuse, but to really say it with the conviction of the Holy Spirit and knowing so deeply in the heart that this is the truth that is set upon them -- there is no denying the purpose of God that comes directly from Him, and with it comes assurance and peace.

This is a difficult piece to write, because there's just so much thoughts to it, so much to convey yet with so little words to describe...

Roman 8:28 is always quoted as a favourite verse when we acknowledge the Lord's goodness though we may not fully understand His plans. But at this moment, I think I shall quote Isaiah 54:2-3 instead:

2 Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes.
3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited.

I believe God is really expanding us and speeding up the process of expansion so quickly that we've just got to avail ourselves for Him to fulfil His purpose. There's no delaying, no doubting, only total trust, total surrender.

It says, "do not spare". Do not spare what? Do not spare everything that you have. That includes yourself. Aren't we good at sparing ourselves from trouble or work? Oh, please spare me from the chores, I have exams coming. I'm a spare in the team; only if the guy injures I will play. Spare tyres are only used in emergencies. Spare parts only come in handy when the originals are spoiled. But NO! God says, DO NOT SPARE. That means, don't spare the ones that are the best, nor the ones that are not so good. Don't reserve anything.

Dear Pr. Kenneth & Pr. Sharon, this is my prayer for you:

Father God, they have not spared anything from You, because they know that You have not spared Your only begotten son for us. They have laid down, and they are ready to labour for Your Kingdom. So Lord I pray that every blessing and anointing and need that they have, it shall be poured out to them. Every journey that they walk, may they be upright in Your will and purpose, that Your glory will come as is promised.

Lord, we don't know and may not understand where You are leading us, even as a whole church, but God, we do know that we are not lost, but in Your divine purpose and destiny. Lord, I pray that as they will build Your church in Penang, let the souls pour in and the darkness be reduced to nothingness. God, You know the significance and every landmark of the state. We pray that Your sovereign hand will take charge and that it will turn this nation as You have willed.

God, as You have made us to be more than conquerors, please make Pr. Kenneth and Pr. Sharon victors to triumph over every challenge. Bless them Lord in all things. We are parting, but we know that in You we will always be united. This is not the end, but the beginning, for both World Harvest, and for this family. I pray that Your angels will be their guide and shield, take charge over them.

God, You are good. May all the goodness and greatness that You have intended for them and for us be so evident. We thank You for all that You've done and all that will come. In Jesus' mighty name, AMEN!

Bye, Pastors, but we shall surely meet again. I have never thought that great joy and sadness could be felt at the same time, but now I have experienced it and know that only God could place this unique emotion in me. I will always remember our first meeting and every word that you have imparted and spoken over my life.

You will always be in our hearts. Take care. We love you.

Apostolic Program Intake 11

It's been almost 1.5 weeks since the Apostolic Program Intake 11 ended. Sitting here typing this, I actually don't know what to write, because it's just too huge and awesome to actually have any words that are fitting to describe the Lord's greatness...

Y08's AP is somewhat different from the previous 10 intakes; it just felt different. And though I believe everyone, both participants and church members, had experienced God and received many great things from Him, I felt that the manifestation of the presence of God was just different. It felt like 2 weeks was just too short for Him to have fully shown Himself to us, like there were so many things yet to be released, like there was something else that He wanted to do. I wished it could go on for another 2 weeks, or just go on and on and that none of us would have to worry about time, our career, ministry back in our nations, family, etc. Yet at the same time it felt that the parting with our beloved participants, now alumni and friends of MTI, was the beginning of something even greater ahead, and the 2 weeks of soaking together in the presence of God was just a glimpse of the great work of the Lord yet to come.

I was truly delighted to see many alumni coming this year and to hear them share how it has been for the past year. Some I barely remember, some I have anticipated their coming and so glad to see them arrive safely, but all in all it was a joyous time fellowshiping with all of the participants.

I realised that I have come to a level of commitment that I undertsood there were just so much that we could give. I realised that sometimes we can feel so tired in our bodies and even our soul, and we tell God, O Lord, I have given so much already... Whether it's in our service to Him, in giving to the Lord, in any sense, from the amount that we have given, we could actually give yet more to the Lord. There are still so much that we hold on to, and the Lord always wants us to give Him our all.

Yea, I know it sounds very unreasonable, like God is so unfair, why He always want to strip us and rid us of everything of our own, until we have nothing left. Well, seeing that He owns us and our lives, doesn't He also own everything of us? Then why does He still wants us to lay down our lives for Him? That's because He owns us, but He doesn't own our freewill. And He wants us to love Him with all of us, because that's how He loves us -- He gave us Himself, all of it.

I think this realisation and understanding came when I had to constantly told myself that it wasn't because of my talents or skills or anything of myself that I'm qualified to serve Him. It was purely because of His great grace. It was because of Him and for Him. I had to constantly pray that "God, when I'm playing the keyboards, let them not see me, but that they would see You and only You." This was because by His grace, the Holy Spirit had touched many people through the worship team.

There were times I remembered that my fingers were trembling as they moved across the keyboard. Those were the times when I felt that I didn't know where my fingers should go next; my mind was blank, but there was that faithful input of a tune from the Holy Spirit, and it was more than enough.

The one thing that I remembered most clearly was during the final day of the program on Friday oct 31. The participants all gathered together and a representative from each nation came forward to pray and bless Pr. David, Pr. Gloria and the whole team in their own national language. The presence of God was immediately so evidently strong as soon as we started to pray in the Spirit, and stronger still as each took the mic to pray in their national language. Of course, we understood very little of what they were all praying, but it was really awesome to hear people pray in Aramic, Tamil, African dialects, Filipino dialect, English and etc.

But it was when our fellow Malaysian participant started to pray that I had tears in my eyes and my heart so touched by the presence of God. When she started praying in Bahasa Malaysia, I could feel such a heat over my head, a heat that comes from above and only on my head and not my body. I knew immediately that was the kabod presence of God, though I have never experienced it this way before.

Seldom do we actually pray in BM because we are so used to conducting everything in English or Mandarin or a Chinese dialect. And I understood that whenever we sing or pray in BM, it brings us to a higher level of experiencing Him, especially in the area of praying for revival for our nation. I realised that when we lift up His name in BM, there's always an uncontested reverence, an unfathomable awesomeness in the air that meant that He is THE LORD of Malaysia and nothing would stand against it.

I believe He still has great things in stored for us, for our church, for this nation and the nations that had come by His call. And though this might be just the beginning of a huge outpouring, I think it's not a slow movement or a process that would take long to complete, but we all know in deep in our hearts that nothing will hinder it from being accomplished, for the Word of the Lord shall not return to Him void. Amen.

Long Absence, Great Outpouring

Oh, my hands are itching to write!! But I don't have the luxury of time to do so at this moment, because the Lord is doing His great and mighty works now, as He always is.

The Apostolic Program Intake 11 is finally here! And it's already the 5th day, almost 1 week over. Pastors and ministers have come from all across the globe, I believe many have received great revelations, insights from the Word of God and blessings in abundance. It always amazes me when I think of how they, from different nations, different backgrounds, different cultures, having greater ministries and bigger churches would come to listen to our senior pastor Pr. David's preaching. Yet, this is the call of the Lord, and no one will evoke it. And as it is said in Isaiah 55:5, so it is the promise is materialised and brought forth to pass. I believe in years to come, it will continue to expand and bloom, greater move of the Holy Spirit like never before.

Serving during this period of 2 weeks is just awesome. There's no words accurate enough to describe that feeling, but I just feel it's so awesome, so humbled to be able to serve in His glorious presence, while I'm totally unworthy and incapable of anything without the Holy Spirit. God, I just want more of You, because all I need is found in you.

I do want to gather all the words and write something about the Apostolic Program, but I shall do this in November. This will be my last entry in October... Hopefully I will have a clear memory to write down everything I experience. I have taken 1 week off just to avail myself for His service. Not that I'm boasting of anything, but I really felt it so strongly and stronger each day, that there's nothing else that matters except to just be in His presence, to soak there in the Secret Place... (Oh God, please give me the word to write!)

Bye for now. See you guys in November. =) Stay blessed

Reaping What You Sow

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory
If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony
If you plant hard work, you will reap success
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
If you plant openness, you will reap intimacy
If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.
But...
If you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust
If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness
If you plant pride, you will reap destruction
If you plant envy, you will reap trouble
If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation
If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation
If you plant greed, you will reap loss
If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies
If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles
If you plant sin, you will reap guilt
So be careful of what you plant now,
it will determine what you will reap tomorrow.

Verse to Remember:

Matthew 7:12 "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

Luke 6:13 "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."

Proverbs 18:12 "Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honour is humility."

Remembering You

Steven Curtis Chapman sang the theme song for Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The song is titled 'Remembering You' -- Precisely to remember the goodness of the Lord.

It's easy to praise God when everything is well in life, to bless the Lord when we are happy; but we may not even remember the Lord when we go through difficulties and tough times in life, let alone giving Him praise and worship Him. Yes, it's pretty much a cliché to say this, but really, how many of us have truly made it a practice to rejoice always and give thanks to the Lord through circumstances? If we haven't, then all the more we should be reminding ourselves to remember the Lord, rejoice in Him, give thanks and praise Him.

Verse 1: "I found You in the most unlikely way But really it was You who found me And I found myself in the gifts that You gave You gave me so much and I I wish You could stay but I'll, I'll wait for the day..." Do you remember His grace for your life?

In the chorus it sings: "And I'll watch as the cold winter melts into spring, I'll be remembering You Oh, and I'll smell the flowers and hear the birds sing, I'll be remembering You." Have you seen God in the beauty of nature? Do you remember that it was Him who created all things before the dawn of time? Above all, He created you...

Verse 2: "From the first moment when I heard Your name Something in my heart came alive You showed me love and no words could explain A love with the power to Open the door To a world I was made for..." Our salvation is precious. It's that moment when you made the best decision from your heart to receive Jesus' love, and it's with this love that you enter the World -- not this world, but His Kingdom, where you are made for.

And in the bridge: "The dark night, the hard fight The long climb up the hill knowing the cost The brave death, the last breathe The silence whispering all hope was lost The thunder, the wonder A power that brings the dead back to life." This sings of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Though it was thought that all hope was lost, yet by His resurrection, hope was restored.

Enjoy the song. Remember the Lord's goodness and rich blessings on our lives. Remember Him.

Narnia: The Silver Chair (1)

I've just finished reading the 6th book, Narnia: The Silver Chair. Love it! There are many defining moments in the book -- the most of all the books, I feel. Right from the start, there is just the message of God's nature and Spirit there. I shall comment on all the defining moments separately. So here's one:

At the climax of the story, Eustace, Jill and Puddleglum rescue Prince Rilian from the Lady of the Green Kirtle's spells. But just as they planned to escape from the Underland, the Lady returns and tries to bewitch them all into forgetting who they are and where they are from. It was quite a long struggle, until Puddleglum stamps out the enchantress's magical fire with his bare feet and breaks her spell.

Then he said to the enraged enchantress:

"One word, Ma'am," he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. "One word. All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things - trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a playworld which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that's a small loss if the world's as dull a place as you say."

Satan does the same today in our lives. He lies that this world is no more than it is, that there isn't anything higher than this world, there isn't a spiritual world. He doesn't want people to believe in God, even better if you believe in false gods. He even deceives Christians so that we pursue things of this world and hold on to them so tightly that we forget about God.

But truly, Puddleglum has strike a point: if there isn't anything higher that we ought to pursue, if heaven is just a made-up idea, if there is no God -- then it's just a small loss that we pursue all these 'imaginations' with our lives, since this world is not going to become any better than it is now.

Someone once said that by probability, it is true that either heaven is real, or it isn't. The fact remains that we will only find out the answer when we die. If we believe that heaven is real, but it turns out that it isn't, then it would be but a small loss, because whether or not you have believed, the outcome is the same, no one goes to heaven.

However, if we don't believe heaven is real, but the final truth reveals that it is, then we would be the more foolish one because we have been pursuing what is unreal for a whole life, when we could have done otherwise. And the unbelief will watch in regret and despair as the believers enter heaven while they are left out.

This world will fail and it will not last. Verse to Remember:

Col 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on
the earth.

The Rainbow

This blog is named 'The Rainbow of Promise' for many reasons. This account of God's glorious presence and faithful promise is one of it.

I graduated and started working in June 2007 as a junior executive in a Public Relations agency. It's a tough job, very stressful and highly demanding for a fresh-grad like me. I'm still in this job as I'm writing this, not because of anything else but God's grace.

The first three months of the job was really challenging as I tried to adapt to the new phase of life. It was not encouraging when I saw some of my colleagues leaving for various reasons. One particular colleague who was close to me said that she was going to resign because she found the job unsuitable for her. I was very sad when I heard this, because she was like a partner in the job.

At that point, I too, began to ask myself whether this job was really suitable for me. I knew I had asked God to bless me with a good job and a good future, but was this really it? Is this where I really want to be? Is this the dream that I am pursuing? If not, what is my passion and how to I get there from where I am now? There were a lot of questions and uncertainty in me.

But it was at this time that the Lord have spoke this verse to me: Jeremiah 29:11–14a “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord…”

And He also said to me, “Stick onto Me, I will bless you.”

At first, I could not understand much of it. I have always known that the Lord is interested in my life and will bless me with a good future. And I was already sticking to the Lord – I was drawing myself close to him in prayer and worship. So I asked the Lord, “God, I will stick to You. My future is in Your hands. But Lord, will You please let me know if this is where You want me to be? And if Your answer is yes, will you please show me a sign? Could I please see a rainbow in the sky?”

It has always been in my understanding that rainbow symbolises God's promise. In the Bible, God showed Noah a rainbow after the 40 days and 40 nights of the great flood, as a sign of covenant between Himself and the earth that there will never be such a flood ever again. "The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." (Gen 9:16)

However, rainbows are rarely seen on KL skies, being quite a polluted city. I knew that I have asked something that was definitely going to be God's miracle working.

A few days after this prayer, my colleague gave the resignation letter, and I felt very helpless and despair again. I broke down in tears, but it was in tears that I found assurance from the Lord again. The Lord impressed deeply upon my heart that if I would just stick onto Him, He will surely bless me. I purposed in my heart that day to choose the more difficult choice of staying on in the company, even though I would be the only junior left.

On that day, when I was on my way home after work, it was drizzling on my side of the city, but I saw that there was sunshine on the other side of the city. The Lord quickened my mind, and as I turned to look behind me, behold, there was the huge beautiful rainbow in the shape of an arch, clear and displaying its splendour against the grey sky! Silently, I thanked the Lord in my heart as I stared in awe (and in tears) of His wonderful creation.

Although from that point onwards I still faced a lot of challenges and difficult times at work, the Lord also added strength to endure and to embrace along with the promise of rainbow. I understood that He was training and equipping me for greater things to come.

Truly, the promises of God are faithful, He will never leave us nor forsake us, but He will surely bless us if we would just stick onto to Him. As I held on to God’s promises, things took a positive turn and became better. I experienced His joy and peace as He took over my concerns.

Lord, I will always remember this promise -- Your rainbow of promise.

Faithful in Sowing

The LORD says, what you sow, you will reap. If you sow sparingly, you will also reap sparingly. But if you sow bountifully, you will also reap bountifully.

Worship is not complete without our giving of tithes and offering, because the Lord deserves the best of us, not just in our singing, but also in the things that mean the most to us.

Yes, money means the most to us, because we need money to survive in this world. But God says that He knows we need all these things, yet as we obeying Him in our giving, we will receive blessings.

I am not from a wealthy family background, but I have never lacked in finance or experienced any financial difficulties. Of course, it does not mean then that God did not bless me financially.

I've always settled in my heart that if there would come a time in my life that I needed a large sum of money, it will be provided for me. I also understood the blessings of God may not be come in monetary terms all the time – it could be in other areas of life. All in all, I was content.

I used to give in this manner: on Saturday night, I will set aside my tithes and offerings for the next day (Sunday), so that there will be something given every week, instead of just giving a sum of money at the beginning of the month and end up not giving later on. In my heart, I have always settled the amount that I want to give to God and had no problem preparing that amount for that week.

However, when I started to work, I also began to spend more. It felt more difficult to be giving tithes and offering on a weekly basis than it used to be. Towards the middle of the month, I would be asking myself where had my money gone. I was not tight on my budget, but I felt as though my money was shrinking in value.

Then, the Holy Spirit quickened my understanding that I needed a change in the way that I give. Instead of setting aside my tithes and offering on a weekly basis, I decided to do so right at the beginning of the month. This means that as soon as I withdraw money from the bank, I will set aside the total sum for tithes and offering. Only then from this sum of money, it will be segregated into weekly giving.

The Holy Spirit taught me to honour Him by putting what belongs to Him above all my spending. I also need not worry that I don't have enough to give by the end of the month.

Immediately on that month itself, I saw His hand blessing me financially. I no longer felt that I was tight in my budget. In fact, I saw myself having surplus at the end of the month. With faithful sowing, I reaped my harvest of financial blessing at the end of the year when I received my annual bonus. From there, I blessed the Lord with my annual thanksgiving offering, an amount that I never thought I could give.

Truly, when the Lord bless us, He bless us exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think of. Therefore, by honouring Him in our giving, we shall have overflowing blessing.

Verse to Remember:

2 Corinthians 9:6 - 8 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is ale to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having sufficiency in all things, will have an abundance for every good work.

Grace for Studies

This is an account of my studying years, times that hold a lot of bittersweet memories.

When I was in my secondary school years, I was in a very competitive environment. I was in one of the top classes in school and naturally, everyone was competing with one another. It was all about marks, all about academic, so much so that it didn't matter whether you really know what we were studying, as long as you do well during exams.

For me, I was considered average -- I was not outstanding among the top-scorers of my class, nor was I very active in curriculum activities. I could be labelled as 'insignificant'.

Those years, I was not very enthusiastic about studies. I found it a bore, a burden rather than an interest. But things took a turn when I started tertiary education in KL.

I accepted Christ when I had an encounter with God after a few weeks in KL. I was very touched by God’s love and in His presence, I received Jesus as my personal Saviour and Lord. At that point, what I understood was that the Lord loves me and is interested in my life, that He will bless me in all things.

However, I did not immediately connect this with receiving blessings for my studies, until I was approaching my first semester final exams.

It was a very stressful time because it was the first time I was sitting for a college exam. Yet, as I continued to study the final exams, I realised that God was with me in all the time, assuring me and giving me peace of heart. As I prayed to Him, He was constantly with me -- when I studied and memorised all the important facts, when I felt that I could not stuff my brain with more information, when I went into the examination hall, and even after the exams.

Initially, I thought I was just going to get an ordinary, average kind of results, but it turned out that I scored 4.0. I was so surprised and happy, and more than anything else, I was very thankful to God and I gave Him praise.

Since my first semester, I have scored many other 4.0s over the span of four years of studying in KL. Many of my friends thought that I was a very hardworking or smart person, but I knew that it was not by my own effort. It was all by God’s grace.

There were times when I was not able to finish studying, but it turned out that I could still do the paper and scored better grades than my friends who studied more than I did. I remembered those times when I cried out to God in desperate and earnest prayers, when I decided in my heart to rely on nothing else but Him alone. As I put my trust in Him, I sat through the exam with peace and joy.

John 15:5 says “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.” Truly, I couldn't have done it without His strength and help.

Footprints in the Sand

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.

For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied: "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Deut 31:8 "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Healing Rain

Michael W. Smith: Healing Rain

Healing Rain is coming down
It's coming nearer to this whole town
Rich and poor, weak and strong
It's bringing mercy, it won't be long

Healing Rain is coming down
It's coming closer to the lost and found
Tears of joy, tears of shame
Are washed forever in Jesus' name

Healing Rain, it comes with fire
So let it fall and take us higher
Healing Rain, I'm not afraid
To be washed in Heaven's rain

Lift your heads, let us return
To the mercy seat where time began
And in your eyes I see the pain
Come soak these dry hearts with Healing Rain

Only You, the Son of Man
Could take a leper and let him stand
So lift your hands, they can be held
By Someone greater, the Great I AM

Healing Rain, it comes with fire
So let it fall and take us higher
Healing Rain, I'm not afraid
To be washed in Heaven's rain

Healing Rain is falling down
Healing Rain is falling down
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid

More often than not, we associate healing with being healed from physical sickness or diseases. But I believe the Lord wants to give healing for more than our bodies. I believe He wants to heal our hearts -- hearts that are sick with disappointment, bitterness, brokenness, hatred...

This song is on inner healing, although it does talk about healing for the body. But if your heart is dry, or broken, or aching with such pain that no words could ever describe, ask the Lord for His Healing Rain to pour over you and soak you. Ask Him to lift you up again.

Verse to Remember:

Psalm 147:3 He (The LORD) heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

耶稣我赞美祢

耶稣我赞美祢
祢拯救我脱离一切黑暗
我呼求祢的时候
祢使我心中力量再次强起来
耶稣，耶稣，耶稣，耶稣
狂风暴雨巨浪中
祢的恩典不离开
祢是我盼望，我唯一的最爱

Translations:

Jesus, I praise You. You've saved me from every darkness. When I call upon You, You strengthen me from within. Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Even in roaring storms and raging seas, Your grace never leaves. You are my hope, my only true love.

The Samaritan woman at the well (4)

John 4:27 Jesus' disciples came back and found Him talking with the Samaritan woman. They marvelled, but they did not say anything, even though their minds were bursting with questions for Jesus.

"Why's He talking with this woman?" "What does He want? What's He asking from this woman?" "What happened?" they thought within themselves.

Then, the woman left and went her way into the city and told the men about Jesus. (v28 & 29)

Meanwhile, the disciples who have 'tapau' back food for Jesus, asked their Master to eat. (v32 - 34) But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."

Pause for a while and see this situation. The disciples and Jesus are in Samaria, a land were Jews were not welcomed. They went into the city to get some food for themselves and for Jesus, since Jesus wanted to sit and rest at the well. They have probably faced some difficulty in getting food. The Samaritans, seeing that they are Jews, may not have wanted to sell any food to them, or they may have cheated them and hiked the prices, etc.

So they come back with food that was so difficult to obtain, but Jesus said "I have food to eat of which you do not know." and "My food is to do the Father's will."

If I'm one of the disciples, I'd probably be thinking, "What's Jesus trying to do? We went to buy food for Him, so difficult, but He was here talking with this woman, dunno for what. And then we ask Him to eat, He says he's got food, and His food is to do the Father's will... What's all this? If he don't want us to buy food for Him, he should have told us. No need to lecture us this way..."

But Jesus continued to 'lecture' the disciples. "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together." (v35 & 36)

I think Jesus wasn't disapproval of them going for lunch or packing food for Him. But He was showing them that urgency in the Kingdom of God was greater than filling up their hunger.

He was also saying that if we are to put our heart to declare His Kingdom and to do God's will, we need to be in focus -- in such focus that we do not let anything trouble our hearts.

v35 & 36 are always quoted to say that the end time is here and we've got to see that urgency and begin to go and fulfil the Great Commission. Yes, indeed the fields are white for harvest! But if we are tied down by the many things in this world and be occupied by them, we will never sense the urgency of doing His will, and hence, we will never obey what He commands us to do.

Verse to Remember:

Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

Found

Hillsong Church: Mighty to Save ~ Dave George

Amazing love, now what else shall I need?
Your name brings life; it's more than the air I breathe.

My world was changed when Your love You gave for me.
My purpose found, and all that You want for me.

And I found myself in You, Lord.
And I found myself in You.

So take me to a place where I can see You face to face
And all I wanna do, all I wanna do is worship You.

Jeremiah 29:12 - 14a -- Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord...

Psalm 46:10 -- Be still, and know that I am God.

The Samaritan woman at the well (3)

Jesus declared the beginning of spiritual worship not in the Temple but at the well; not in Jerusalem but in Samaria; not to a male religious leader, but to a rejected woman. Spiritual worship is for all people, in all places at all times.

After he spoke to the Samaritan woman about her sins, he didn't implied that she was disqualified to obtain the living water. On the contrary, he declared that this was the time that she would truly know (by experience) what it means to worship God.

John 4:23 - 24 [Jesus] "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Worship in spirit and in truth means to engage the hear and the mind, feelings and intellect; it involves the spirit and soul. God's presence is felt and His purpose understood.

This verse is popularly quoted when we talk about worship, but to really understand what worshiping in spirit and in truth means, it takes more than just knowing that we need to worship God in this manner. Spiritual worship is an expression of love from deepest part of us -- our spirit and soul.

This means that our sole reason to worship God is because we love Him. And if we love Him, we don't let anything hinder us from worshiping God, including the people around us, including formalities and the format of worship. We don't let the worship leader or musicians or vocalists to hinder what we express to God from our hearts. We don't let the style of music hinder us. We don't let the stiffness of our body to hinder us. We don't let fear of being ridiculed by people hinder us.

This means, if you feel like crying to God during worship, or you feel like kneeling down, grinning, waving your hands frantically, singing in tongues, dancing, etc. just express it out to God, because you are worshiping God.

There were times I just felt so strongly in my heart that I need to bow to Jesus. But it wasn't to kneel down. It was just to give Him a bow. Incidentally, I was standing right in the middle of our church hall...

So I bowed. But it didn't feel right. So I did it again. And again. Until I felt that it was more like a princess curtsying to her King. And that was exactly what I did: I curtsied to the King.

After that I was just so in awe of the presence of God, I felt like saluting Him. So I did. Several times.

And there was once I sang in the spirit for a long time in a tune and a tongue that I was unfamiliar with. I sounded like I was an African.

And there were many times I was worshiping on the keyboard, but it didn't matter what I was playing. My fingers were just connected with that music flowing in my heart. I didn't have to think; there was nothing to think about, nor did I want to think about anything, but there was just that music that keeps flowing, flowing, flowing... And I just close my eyes and let my fingers be carried away...

This is what it means when it says we ought to experience spiritual liberty in spiritual worship. The Samaritan woman experienced it -- she gained an understanding that the Man before her was indeed the Messiah. The liberty was that she no longer felt ashamed to be out in the open, fearing that people would talk behind her back. She went into the streets and told all the men in the city to come to Jesus.

Evangelism in its purest form is worship. She did evangelism the next moment, as soon as she had experienced spiritual liberty through worship -- encountering with the Lord.

The Samaritan woman at the well (2)

Jesus said in John 4:14, "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

John 4:15 -- The Samaritan woman said, "Sir, can I please have this water, so I won't thirst again and don't need to come here to draw water?" She's actually saying, "I want this water. I don't want to come here at noonday to draw water anymore. It's so hot at this time. I only come at this time because no one else will come at this time. It's the way I'm avoiding all the women in this city, because they are always gossiping about me..."

Gossiping about what? Precisely what Jesus said next in v17 & 18: "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." She was an adulteress.

I used to think, why did Jesus risked having this woman just walk away and become closed up from His preaching of salvation? I didn't understand why Jesus could have uttered such offensive words to this woman who was going to receive Him as the Messiah, to expose her of her sins and ugliness of her personal life. Of course, it was also amazing that even with such offensive words, Jesus still gained her trust and belief.

But did you know that of the Armour of God written in Eph 6:13 - 17, there was only one weapon mentioned and all other equipment were defensive. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. It is offensive. It cuts, but it cuts away everything that hinders the work of the Lord.

So this woman was practically saying, "I want the living water, because then my sins will not be exposed." But it was really the opposite. If she were to obtain the living water, she's got to have her sins cut off.

Hence, if we were to receive the Holy Spirit, to fill our lives with His living water that will empower us to be a fountain and let that water flow to others, we've got to let the Word of God cut off every sin and impurity in us that hinders the work of God.

When Jesus said that the water that we received from him will spring up into everlasting life, it means more than just having salvation and eternal life when we accept Him as our Saviour. It should also mean that we have become a channel for His living water to flow, we have become a channel for His Kingdom to make manifest on earth as it is in heaven. If we are to declare His Kingdom on earth, then we cannot be practicing things that will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Gal 5:19 - 21). But if we know the Word, if we know Jesus, we will bear the fruit of the Spirit.

Again, in John 6:35, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

He was saying, "in Me, you will find wholesomeness for you life."

Let the blind man see

One day, William was walking on the street and he saw a blind man trying to cross the road.

He went up to help the blind man.

"Mister, let me help you cross the road," William said to him, held his hand and led him across the road.

When they had reached the other side of the road, William still held on to the blind man's hand. And though his hand was still sweating from nervousness, he managed to said to the blind man, "Mister, God loves you. He wants to heal you. I am a Christian, can I please pray for you?"

The blind man let go of William's hand and said, "I am born blind."

"It doesn't matter, God can heal you and He wants to give this healing to you."

"I am not a Christian."

"God loves you the same and still wishes to heal you, " said William, determined.

But the blind man said again, "Thank you, but I am not a Christian. I am of another religion."

"Would you rather choose religion over healing of sight?" William asked as the blind man stretched out his walking stick and turned to leave.

He stopped for a while, perhaps reconsidering... but then, to the disappointment of William, the blind man shook his head slowly and walked away.

As William stood there and reflected on what had just happened, he wondered if he was too insensitive to have uttered the last statement.

But then, he thought, even Christians sometimes would choose religion over healing.

Have we attended church on Sunday because our leaders expect us to be there, or do we genuinely want to go to church?

Have we given offerings with the intention that people would know we have given a large amount?

Have our lives become so busy we tell ourselves that we don't have time for God, hence we only pray on Sunday at church?

Have we observed any ceremonies or practices without observing it to the Lord?

Let the blind man see.

Rain of Revival

This blog is titled "Rainbow of Promise".

When I pictured it in my head before launching it out, I knew it is going to be a blog for the Lord, to publish His things, His word, His working in my life. So even though sometimes I really feel like saying something about the political directions and the many things that are happening in our nation at the moment, I told myself I wasn't going to write them here.

I wasn't going to comment about what the politicians say or anything like that; my journalistic self isn't up to par to write political analysis pieces.

If I were to put any entries on political issues, it was all going to be copy and paste. XD so it defeats the purpose.

But yes, this blog is to give all glory to God, because He deserves it.

And hence, yes, praise the Lord that His promises are true.

And yes, though it may seem like the uncertainties of the future of Malaysia has increased even more after the by-election 2 days ago, I believe that God has something unprecedented in stored for Malaysia.

Budget 2009 is tomorrow -- but I believe everything that will tabled will be in favour of everyone, regardless of racial differences.

Aug 31 this year marks Malaysia's independence for the 51st year -- I believe it also marks the number of years that God has blessed this land with peace and development. It will also be the mark of a turning point for Malaysia, a new dawn that will bring about good changes in this nation.

Sept 16 is Malaysia Day. It's also D-day that is marked on everyone's heart, though it may not have been marked down on your calendar. Everyone is watching. Different parties are scrutinizing on different things. The old and the young are looking towards the date with a sense of anticipation and expectation. And we Christians ought to be watching plus praying.

Many prophecies have been released by prophets around the world that there will be a widespread of revival in Malaysia the way that has never happened before, and it will be one of the greatest in the whole of South East Asia. It's a call to pray.

Many people, regardless or race, are voicing out their demand for a change, through many forms of communication, especially through votes. Perceptions have changed since 10 years ago, but it has been changing and changing all these 50 years -- to my gladness. I don't believe it's due to advances in technology and influences of the West. I believe it's due to changes in the spiritual realm, that forces of darkness have continuously and will perpetually be more and more weakened as the Lord Jesus' Second Coming draws nearer each day.

I smell the rain of revival. It's time to pray. Gear up!

Narnia: The Horse and His Boy

I love reading. It's a leisure that gives me room to escape from the hectic and busyness of the day into a world that requires only imaginations.

Imagination is what The Chronicles of Narnia demands if you were to have a good reading time. That's not difficult, but it also requires your heart to be open, because this supposedly suited-for-children series is not what it seems. May a times it has touched my heart deeply.

The 3rd of the Chronicles, titled "The Horse and His Boy" is one of my favourite, besides the most well-known "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

There's this part in the story that I want to write down here. At this point of the story, the boy Shasta has been through a lot of adventures and long journey to get to Archenland. He finally managed to fulfil part of his mission of informing King Lune of Archenland of the incoming attack from Rabadash the Calormene. However, after meeting up with the king, Shasta becomes lost in a fog and separated from the King's procession. After continuing blindly for some way, he senses that he has been joined in the darkness by a mysterious presence. Though terrified by knowledge that a being that was walking beside him, he started to engage in conversation with it. Shasta confides what he sees as his many misfortunes in his life and this journey, including being chased by lions on two separate occasions, and concluding with "If nothing else, it was bad luck to meet so many lions." His companion then proclaims himself as the single lion that Shasta has encountered in his travels:

"I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the tombs. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at night, to receive you."

[Shasta] "Then it was you who wounded Aravis?"

"It was I."

"But what for?"

"Child," said the Voice, "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell you no one any story but his own."

"Who are you?" asked Shasta.

"Myself," said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again, "Myself", loud and clear and gay, and then the third time, "Myself", whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all around you as if the leaves rustled with it.

Shasta was no longer afraid that the Voice belonged to something that would eat him, not that it was the voice of a ghost. But a new and different sort of trembling came over him. Yet he felt glad too.

The mist was turning from black to grey and from grey to white. This must have begun to happen some time ago, but while he had been talking to the Thing he had not been noticing anything else. Now, the whiteness around him became a shining whiteness; his eyes began to blink. He knew the night was over at last. He could see the mane and ears and head of his horse quite easily now. A golden light fell on them from the left. He thought it was the sun.

He turned and saw, pacing beside him, taller than the horse, a Lion. The horse did not seem to be afraid of it or else could not see it. It was from the Lion that the light came. No one ever saw anything more terrible or beautiful.

But after one glance at the Lion's face he slipped out of the saddle and fell at his feet. He couldn't say anything but then he didn't want to say anything, and he knew he needn't say anything.

There's nothing and no words that are accurate enough to describe that feeling of being in awe when I read this chapter. I could almost identify with Shasta when he slipped off his horse and bowed down at Aslan. It's that deep feeling inside when you're in the presence of God, knowing that He holds you dearly to Himself, knowing that your life was and is in His sovereign hands, and so will your future be. It's that feeling of having your mind blanked out but your heart is doing all the thinking, thinking of His awesomeness and the beauty of His love...

The Samaritan woman at the well (1)

John 4 -- Jesus wanted to go from Judea to Galilee, but He needed to pass through Samaria. (v4)

Samaria was a race that the Jews hated, because they see them as blood traitors, betraying their own race through cross-marriage with non-Jews. Hence, they always go around the skirts of Samaria without actually passing into Samaria. This is a longer journey, but they would rather do that to avoid these people.

But v4 says, Jesus needed to go through Samaria.

Many preachers always said that Jesus went through Samaria for a purpose, the purpose of meeting that woman at the well. I quite agree. Through that meeting, Jesus showed us many things...

He didn't just want to tell her that He was the Messiah and for her to believe in Him. He didn't just want to have a drink. He went there for a purpose that was more than that.

Meanwhile, Jesus' disciples must be really wondering why He wanted to pass through Samaria without going around it like everyone else does. It was noonday; they were tired and hungry, so they went to the city and buy food. (v8) But since they were Jews, wouldn't they face some difficulty from people who sell food to them? Imagine the disciples entering a restaurant and the waiters refused to serve them or was slow in their service... And when their food came, it was extremely bad taste, stale food... And when the bill came the price was hiked and they had to pay more than all the other Samaritans...

Coming back to where Jesus was, He was sitting by the well (v6). If He went there on purpose, perhaps He was waiting for the woman to come and draw water at noonday. So the woman came, and He asked for a drink(v7). She wondered why he asked a drink from her, seeing the racial difference, and that "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans" (v9). But then He started preaching to her about having living water (v10). In v14, it says, "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

Now, we know that John the Baptist baptised with water, and Jesus is the one who baptised with the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:11). So then, Jesus was saying, if you would believe in me and receive the Holy Spirit (living water), you would become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life -- you will become a channel for the Holy Spirit's living water to flow, because you have received salvation and everlasting life, and this is for eternity.

Again, Bill Johnson says, Evangelism in its purest form is Worship. Therefore, Jesus was saying, if you would believe me and worship me, the Holy Spirit will fill your life with living water that will empower you to be a fountain and let that water flow to others, the spring of everlasting life.

Hence, if we really worship the Lord Jesus -- and I mean really really really worship Him -- it would compel and propel us to evangelise. This is what happened to the Samaritan woman.

Resurrected with Christ

The Israelites in the Old Testament regarded names as an equation to the person’s character and personality. It carried significant influence to their lives. When I learned of this, I asked God, “Lord, what’s in my name?”

Stacy was my pen-name when I used to write stories, but when I accepted Christ I decided to take it as my Christian name too. I had no idea what it meant until I did a search and found out that Stacy means RESURRECTION. I was very happy and surprised when I knew this because I realised that God had given me this special name even before I was born-again.

Jesus was crucified on the cross, He bleed and died for us, and He was resurrected on the third day. Today, He is sitting on the highest position on God’s right hand side, and all of us who has believed in Him are on that same position with Him. But God spoke to me that I though was sitting together with Him in the heavenly places, my life was not resurrected.

Dying, Resurrected, and Living
I was on the bus on my way back to Ipoh when the Lord dropped His understanding to me from heaven. He said to me, “Stacy, your name means resurrection, live up to it! To be resurrected means you have to die first, overcome death and rise again to live a stronger and better life.”

Actually, we are all in the process of dying the moment we were born into this world. If we’re not growing, or if we are stuck in stagnancy, we are living a dead life. If we’re not doing the good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to do, we’re doing dead works.

Dying is not without the price of pain. When Jesus died for us, He not only suffered pain, but also rejection, betrayal, shame, mockery, and loneliness. However, Phil 2:8 says "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." Because Jesus was obedient and humble to the point of death, God raised Him to the highest position in Heaven.

The Lord spoke to me that I needed to die to my old-self. I need to die to all my past hurts, pains, disappointments, fleshly desires, sins, weaknesses, and especially pride -- everything that had hindered my growth in Christ. The thing is, even though we don’t like all our weaknesses and the bad things in our past, we can still hold on to them and be unwilling to surrender ourselves to God. There are also things in our lives that are so dear to us that we don't want to surrender to God, but these are the very things that will hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in and through our lives. It was definitely painful, but I have to submit to God all those dead areas of my life so that He can do a resurrection in them.

Then God said, “Stacy, be resurrected!” Just like Jesus had called Lazarus out of the cave when He resurrected him, God was calling me out of the cave of death. I have to leave behind all the old and walk into the new with Christ, into the new life that Jesus has given me when I accepted Him as my Lord.

In the Bible God said that He’s a Living God. Praise the Lord He’s not a dead piece of idol, Amen, because if He is we’ll remain dead. God is a God of resurrection. He resurrects our lives so that we are able to walk alive in His spirit. Romans 8:5–6 says, “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” I have to resurrect not my worldly mindset, but my spirit, so that I will live in the will of God, and His life and peace may fall upon me.

I’m determined to walk more and more in His Spirit. I commit myself to resurrect all the dead areas of my life, so that God may do a change in them. It may be very difficult at times, but the breakthroughs will come if we press on. Therefore, let us be mindful of what we want to resurrect in our lives – whether our old-nature, or our renewed life, a life that we live by faith through Christ.

Evangelism & Worship

Bill Johnson said, Evangelism in its purest form is Worship.

We have been reminding ourselves about this statement for many times now, and every time it was spoken by someone in our midst, it always gives me a sense of urgency, an urgency to get it right, to get a correct and full understanding about this statement.

Because it's not just any other statement.

It's not just another slogan or tagline.

And it's certainly not something made up without real revelation. (Because we can all say something very catchy but without real meaning)

Someone said to me recently that he has seen many dimensions to this one-statement truth as he opened up his heart for the Holy Spirit to teach him. I agreed -- there are really so many dimensions to be learned, and every time I meditated on it, it gives me a new understanding. It let me see another dimension to it that was previously not seen.

So... Evangelism in its purest form is Worship.

Does it mean then...

• If our motives for evangelism are right, it is pure, and therefore it is a worship unto God. If it is not, then we deceive ourselves and it is not a worship unto God. We deceive ourselves because we think that we are doing something that pleases God, but it actually doesn't. We deceive ourselves because we think that we are worshiping God, but actually we are worshiping ourselves, congratulating and glorifying ourselves because we have done it, when actually we are doing it by our own strength.
• If we evangelise from a heart that has the heart of Christ, we know that His heart is for the lost souls. Having this heart, we go and love and share the gospel of salvation, knowing that the Father's heart cries out for the lost. That, is the purest motive for evangelism.
• If we claim that we worship God, but we don't evangelise, we deceive ourselves.
• If we claim that we evangelise to people but we don't worship God, we also deceive ourselves.
• Evangelism and worship goes hand in hand; it is inseparable. If worship doesn't drive you to evangelise, you have not really worshiped the Lord until you come to a point of knowing what is upon God's heart. If evangelism doesn't drive you to worship God, you are doing it as a work, by your own strength, it does not carry God's presence.
• Of the 5 purposes of Worship, Evangelism, Fellowship, Discipleship & Ministry, Evangelism is found in the Great Commission; Worship is stated in the Great Commandment. We always like to quote the 2 purposes from the Great Commandment, i.e. Worship & Ministry, saying that if we say we love God (Worship) but don't love people (Ministry), it's wrong understanding. But then, if we say we obey the Great Commandment, but we don't do the Great Commission, how can we say that we are obeying God?
• If we come into God's presence to worship God, are we coming to worship Him because we want to give Him all praises that is due Him, and we want to give ourselves entirely to Him, or is it because we just want a good time? Are we coming into His presence to benefit ourselves? Or are we worshiping Him because He deserves it?
• If we say that in worship we give ourselves entirely to Him, how many times do we have to repent because we really held back many things from Him? eg. Lord I give You my heart, I give You my soul, I live for You alone, and blah blah blah, but that's only the lyrics, I'm just singing that because that's in the lyrics. God, You know I can't possibly give You all of my heart and live for You, cos I've got this and that to take care of... (plus thousand and one reasons why I can't give you my heart) Really, just how many times we have come that way to worship?
• Someone said, if you have come to church and think you will have a good time 'worshiping' God and be touched by God, you've got it all wrong. That someone said, if you come to church without having your heart changed, you will come every Sunday just being encouraged, but your faith will not increase, you will not see a change in your life. If you think worship is just to feel good, you've got it all wrong.
• If you think worship has got to have good musical performance, you can go to any concert, whether secular or Christian concert. It will not make a difference, because your heart did not see the difference between worship and good music.
• If you are a musician, and you think worship is about how well a band or an individual can play, or how well you yourself can play, you've got it all wrong. Worship is not about the music. It's not about the band. It's not about the voices who sing. It's not about the choice of songs. It's not about who's worship leading. It's not about the song arrangements. IT'S ALL ABOUT GOD.
• If you evangelise without coming into His presence to worship Him, you will soon ask this question, "Why am I doing this? For what am I doing this?"
• Every one in the Bible who encountered God in worship was changed in their lives forever, not for nothing, but for the expansion of His Kingdom. eg. Moses, Saul/Paul, Samaritan woman, Peter, etc etc etc.

God, please teach us more about worship and evangelism. Please let us have a change of heart, from a heart of stone to a heart of sponge, that we may understand it correctly. God, we don't want to worship you every Sunday not knowing what we are doing or why we are doing it, but just want to feel good. We don't want to be on stage thinking that we need to get all the chords right, and do the music correctly, though skill wise it carries some weight. But let us really know and be assured in our hearts that it's really all about You. It's not about how well we play or how bad we play. It's not about the songs chosen, not about the music. God, it's about our lives and our heart conditions, whether we facilitate or we become a hindrance for your Holy Spirit to move. God, we don't want to be the latter.

Holy Spirit, please teach us and give us wisdom and understanding...

Orange, Lime & Lemon

Are you lemon, orange or lime? says the headline...

I have always felt that I was lemon, though I am definitely born human.
But no matter whether you are lemon, lime or orange, you're still you, and I'm still me.

Yup! That's Right! I'm still Stacy, the one that is created and loved by God, a child of God. And I know that no matter what happens, He loves me the same forever.

"But why are you writing this? Why the affirmation?" you might ask.

I'll tell you it's not because this identity in Christ is not written in my heart and mind. It's not because I need to affirm or convince myself for another time that God loves me. But it's because His love is real, and I have experienced it.

I remembered the past five years that I have trusted Him and experienced Him in various situations and through numerous circumstances. I remembered through these five years that He has never failed be a single time. And as I rememebered, I realised that all these while, He's been answering my questions about life, and specifically about how things would turn out for my life. Tonight He's answered yet another question that I posted this afternoon...

Discipline VS Grace. What would your choice be? I want grace, Lord let me fall in love with You again.

None But Jesus

Hillsong United: United We Stand ~ Brooke Fraser

In the quiet, in the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of your presence
I know there I am restored

When you call I won’t refuse
Each new day again I’ll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

In the chaos, in confusion
I know You’re sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will

So when You call I won’t delay
This my song through all my days

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

All my delight is in You, Lord
All of my hope, all of my strength
All my delight is in You, Lord
Forevermore

Truly O Lord, in the quietness and stillness of my heart, You have shown Yourself as the Mighty God, the one who love me and embrace me, hold me and never let me go. Even when I fail, many countless times, Lord, You still gave me grace. In You I delight and rest. In You I put my hope and strength. In You I have found myself. In You I have gained all, because You have set me free. There is no one else for me, none but Jesus.

1 Kings 19 (NKJV) v11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; v12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

Barbeque!

Yesterday was great. We had barbeque at church, for the first time, if I'm not mistaken. Managed to invite over 100 people to this seeker meeting -- good turn out in such a short time. Prayers are sent up to heaven and I'm 101% sure God really answered all of our prayers: good weather, good turnout, good response, good coordination and organising, etc etc etc.

We started cooking the food at 7.30pm, a little late, but nonetheless was able to cook relatively fast to feed the people. But everyone was kind of famish, so there was a break at 9pm, everyone went in for the video, followed by altar call and ministering. Video show was about Todd Bentley sharing testimonies and healing power of God -- great message. Ministering song: Because He lives -- beautiful touching song.

Meanwhile, a handful of us who remained outside continued to grill the chicken wings, cook sausages and toast garlic bread. I'm pretty good at thawing the sausages and toasting bread over the barbeque fire now, haha... Supply looks good to be able to feed the people again when they finish ministering inside, or so I thought at first. Well, it turned out that when the people come out they were still rather famish and in seconds (yes, mark the word seconds) all the food were gone and we were back to a kind of frenzy to cook as fast and as much as possible to keep the supply going. XD Though it was kinda slow because the fire is running low fast, I suppose the people are happy with the overall organising and it was all very well done because everyone had enough.

I think on our community side, some of them must have been touched by the message, but some of them I heard slept through the video because they couldn't really understand what was shown. Well, may the Holy Spirit still touch them and give them dreams. XD. Yea, really need to work on them, not just befriending them still, keep asking them how they are with their studies and all... God give us wisdom!

After all that, we started cleaning up, and boy it was a very messy cleaning up! I don't think I've ever seen the pantry area as dirty and muddy as it was last night. And trying to get the burnt stuff off the barbeque wire, ooohhh... it was tough. At one point I was thinking, God, please let us have a bigger toilet and pantry area! XD. So after washing all the oily cutleries and utensils and tools etc, we washed the toilet too, cos there was just too much mess. Oh, by the way, I was already covered with layers of sweat, smoke, ash, barbeque smell, mango cordial juice, oily water, etc at this point. XD Good, I needed some splashing to get off that sticky feeling.

But yea, over everything, I was extremely happy to be helping out. And with the kind of turnout, whooh, it's just a great sense of achievement for all of us. May the Lord continue to let the knowledge of His glory fill the earth, as water the sea.