There are times when you know God has started working something in your life, and you're in a place of surrender, you're in a place of just allowing, and you thought it's all working out fine, until... you realised there's so much more to it and you've only taken the smallest step in a long journey.
Talk about the renewal of mind. Just when you thought you've grasped some truths and began to work it out, you realise you don't know anything at all...
I have been drawing some parallels between the Kingdom and working life. I am in a very interesting phase of life, and time is passing by so fast there isn't really time for me to understand and analyse everything, let alone making a summary of it. If you have ever been in an environment of grace and empowering in the world, you will be able to appreciate it; and not just appreciate, but hanging on to it unwaveringly, never letting go, never giving up, no matter what. And you'd perhaps make a pledge to say you will stick on no matter what happens, no matter how the future will turn out to be; you will defend it, protect it, perpetuate it.
But then it takes you by surprise that you aren't able to catch up. You aren't able to live out the Kingdom that you've supposed to have learned and grasped, and you start questioning yourself whether you have really understood what Kingdom mindset is all about, you start doubting if you are ever gracious to yourself, you start searching for that bit within yourself that supposedly has embedded the culture of honour... God always brings you to an end of yourself so that He can be at the starting line with you again. He messes up with what you thought you knew and tells you there's so much more. And He brings you to a place of realisation that "God, You are greater still. Ultimately, it is all about You. It's You I'll seek..."
Come fill this void in me with Your glory. I thirst and hunger for You, O Lord.
Showing posts with label Radical Worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Radical Worship. Show all posts
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Open Up Your Heart
When I just accepted Christ, I always heard people saying the phrase 'open up your heart', or people telling me to 'open up your heart'. At first, I didn't really understand; I could understand that it means being open and receptive to what was being taught in church and what our spiritual leaders are preaching according to the word of God, but how do you 'open up your heart'? Exactly how? How are you able to make your heart open? How sure are you that your heart is open and receptive? And how much are you taking in and agreeing? How much can you agree and receive?
Then it came to a point that I was the one telling others to open up their hearts. And I realised that people can't open up their hearts unless they allow God to open up their hearts.
And how do you allow God? It's just by surrendering, every part of you, yielding to Him bit by bit and acknowledging that He is God.
Previously, I didn't understand why there is this phrase 'sweet surrendering'. How is surrendering sweet? How can denying yourself be something sweet and desirable when you know it is a sacrifice that you're making? How can it turn out to be beautiful? Well, now I do understand, that it's because of the beauty of the Lord and His grace that makes surrendering sweet and beautiful. It's because when you surrender to the Lord and start yielding to Him, that His delight and pleasure comes upon you, and you're instantly filled with assurance and joy.
Friends, no matter what you are facing or going through in life, know that when you open up your heart and allow God, His grace is able to save you. There are many decisions we can make with our lives, and in fact every single thing that you do and who you are today are the results of the very decisions you have made. But what are the choices that will make a difference and impact the lives of others positively? What are the choices that will yield an everlasting result? What are you pursuing that will last beyond our time on earth? What are you doing that will bring change the way God intended? -- these are the questions worth asking ourselves.
Psalm 139:23-24 ~ Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Then it came to a point that I was the one telling others to open up their hearts. And I realised that people can't open up their hearts unless they allow God to open up their hearts.
And how do you allow God? It's just by surrendering, every part of you, yielding to Him bit by bit and acknowledging that He is God.
Previously, I didn't understand why there is this phrase 'sweet surrendering'. How is surrendering sweet? How can denying yourself be something sweet and desirable when you know it is a sacrifice that you're making? How can it turn out to be beautiful? Well, now I do understand, that it's because of the beauty of the Lord and His grace that makes surrendering sweet and beautiful. It's because when you surrender to the Lord and start yielding to Him, that His delight and pleasure comes upon you, and you're instantly filled with assurance and joy.
Friends, no matter what you are facing or going through in life, know that when you open up your heart and allow God, His grace is able to save you. There are many decisions we can make with our lives, and in fact every single thing that you do and who you are today are the results of the very decisions you have made. But what are the choices that will make a difference and impact the lives of others positively? What are the choices that will yield an everlasting result? What are you pursuing that will last beyond our time on earth? What are you doing that will bring change the way God intended? -- these are the questions worth asking ourselves.
Psalm 139:23-24 ~ Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Righteousness
There's no better way to write this. Awesome post by Clarence Cheong http://bright-studio.blogspot.com/2011/01/misconception-101.html
Monday, January 24, 2011
Jealous
Ever heard of the statement that God is a jealous God? What is He jealous for? He's God and He owns everything, so why is he still jealous?
The word 'jealous' rhymes with 'zealous'. Zeal is the highest form of passion and love, the extreme kind that would go any length for the object of love. And jealous, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, is (1) intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness, or disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness, (2) hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage, and (3) vigilant in guarding a possession.
What is God intolerant about? Why is He hostile and wrathful? What is the possession that He is guarding?
God is jealous for you. He's not jealous of you; He's jealous FOR you. He is intolerant about your sin, hostile and wrathful towards Satan, and He is constantly in vigilance to guard you as His very own possession. This is the highest zeal. This is how much God loves you and me.
It's two sides of a coin: God loves you and He hates your sin. He doesn't hate you, but He hates sin and He loves you. Why does He hate sin? Because that's what will destroy you and He doesn't want that to happen; He is intolerant of Satan who snatches you away, hostile toward him who enjoys destroying your life, and vigilant in guarding you as His precious one -- all because of ... LOVE.
Our parents are quite capable of protecting us this way. They nag us, advise us, urge us, warn us, scold us, and (when we were young and naughty) cane us. They will do all they can and everything they know to protect us, yet sometimes they are over protective and we become even more rebellious. That's because they really love us, even though the way they express it may not be perfect and right sometimes.
But God's perfect love is not limited like how our parents are. While our parents are limited in their resources and solutions, God isn't limited. He is the solution to our unfaithfulness and rebellion. His solution to our sin is to give His only begotten Son to die for us on the cross. His love is fully manifested in this: that while we did not know Him, while we sinned against Him, while we rebelled against Him, while we were destroyed by our sin, He loved us even though we were unlovable. Romans 5:8 -- But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Zeal is passion, and passion means sacrifice. For what cause? That we will one day be united with Him again in heaven and in His presence be completely satisfied with the fullness of joy. Does this challenge your mind to ask why? (like, "Why do we need to enjoy His presence? Why heaven?") Because the alternative is a place of eternal destruction and suffering. Hell is what God is guarding you against, knowing that He created you, and you belong to Him. You are the object of His love, passion and zeal.
The word 'jealous' rhymes with 'zealous'. Zeal is the highest form of passion and love, the extreme kind that would go any length for the object of love. And jealous, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, is (1) intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness, or disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness, (2) hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage, and (3) vigilant in guarding a possession.
What is God intolerant about? Why is He hostile and wrathful? What is the possession that He is guarding?
God is jealous for you. He's not jealous of you; He's jealous FOR you. He is intolerant about your sin, hostile and wrathful towards Satan, and He is constantly in vigilance to guard you as His very own possession. This is the highest zeal. This is how much God loves you and me.
It's two sides of a coin: God loves you and He hates your sin. He doesn't hate you, but He hates sin and He loves you. Why does He hate sin? Because that's what will destroy you and He doesn't want that to happen; He is intolerant of Satan who snatches you away, hostile toward him who enjoys destroying your life, and vigilant in guarding you as His precious one -- all because of ... LOVE.
Our parents are quite capable of protecting us this way. They nag us, advise us, urge us, warn us, scold us, and (when we were young and naughty) cane us. They will do all they can and everything they know to protect us, yet sometimes they are over protective and we become even more rebellious. That's because they really love us, even though the way they express it may not be perfect and right sometimes.
But God's perfect love is not limited like how our parents are. While our parents are limited in their resources and solutions, God isn't limited. He is the solution to our unfaithfulness and rebellion. His solution to our sin is to give His only begotten Son to die for us on the cross. His love is fully manifested in this: that while we did not know Him, while we sinned against Him, while we rebelled against Him, while we were destroyed by our sin, He loved us even though we were unlovable. Romans 5:8 -- But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Zeal is passion, and passion means sacrifice. For what cause? That we will one day be united with Him again in heaven and in His presence be completely satisfied with the fullness of joy. Does this challenge your mind to ask why? (like, "Why do we need to enjoy His presence? Why heaven?") Because the alternative is a place of eternal destruction and suffering. Hell is what God is guarding you against, knowing that He created you, and you belong to Him. You are the object of His love, passion and zeal.
God loves you.
Words to Remember:
1 John 4:9, 18-19 -- In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
There's No Gender in Heaven
Well, actually, there's no verse in the Bible that say so. (Gotcha!) Then what is the basis of this statement?
When God created the heavens and the earth and all the living things in the world, he created man. In Genesis 1:27-28 it reads: So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." God created male and female and the purpose is for them to be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth and have dominion over every living thing.
Notice, God created male and female, not only male or only female. He created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Why? Because this is the purpose of gender: for reproduction and procreation, so that with the authority given humans, we rule over all other living things; we are the caretakers of the earth.
But when we go to heaven, there is no need for reproduction and procreation. The citizens of heaven are us, who have already passed through life on earth, passed through being caretakers of the earth. In heaven we will still reign and rule with God, but ruling over planets, over spiritual regions that we have no way to imagine right now due to our earthly limitations. And by the way, when we go to heaven, we leave our mortal bodies behind (unless you are raptured); when we die, our spirit goes to heaven and we finally are able to relate with God and all the heavenly beings with our spirit, free of the limitations of our body. (Terms and condition apply: You need to believe in Jesus for the passport to heaven.)
"You mean we won't have sex in heaven?" Yea, precisely. "But why? I thought sex is created by God and it's good!" Yes, sex is created by God and it is good. (Terms and condition apply: sex between a husband and a wife in a marriage relationship is good and intended by God.) And I'm sure all those out there who are married will agree with me to say that sex gives you the satisfaction and completeness in your relationship as husband and wife. Super highlight and underline many times the word 'satisfied'. That's because sex is the highest expression of intimacy between a husband and wife. But you know, in heaven, when you're in the immediate presence of God, you are completely and perfectly and wholly satisfied by Him, the Bridegroom.
Picture this: A woman who is in courtship with a man, has kept herself pure, reserving her body for the day when she's finally wedded with her husband. And likewise, her man has kept himself pure, to the point of denying his sexual drives and restraining himself, just to save his body for his beloved wife. And on the wedding night, when they finally unveil themselves to each other, aren't they completely satisfied? Yes, completely indeed. But when we are finally united with Christ forever, we are not just completely satisfied; we are perfectly and wholly satisfied, because He is perfect, flawless, and we too, are changed in His glory to be perfect.
People say sexuality is a choice. Some people choose to be in-betweens because they feel like they are trapped in the wrong body. But let me tell you, there are no in-betweens. God never created in-betweens. That's a deception and the biggest lie from the devil. And there are even more people who say, "Oh, but homosexuality is such a normal thing nowadays. Why should we give two hoots about it? There are places who make gay and lesbian marriage legal." But where does it say that what's normal is right? It's pretty normal to hear murder cases and crime every day, but does it make it right to kill and steal? It's pretty normal to know people exploit and manipulate others and make themselves superior over others, but does it make it right?
Beloved fellow creations of God, Philippians 3:20-21 says "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." So if you think you're in the wrong body, this is the answer for you: There is no gender in heaven. In heaven you will not have this confusion and frustration. You will no longer be deceived. Our lowly bodies will be transformed and conformed to His glorious body.
But that's step 2. Step 1: you've got to believe in the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you're reading this and you feel offended, I will not apologise; but rather, let me tell you why you feel offended. It's because this is the truth. Why is the truth offensive? Because it challenges all that you think you know and all that you thought was right. It echoes the deepest cry of your heart for a solution, but that deepest part of you have been numbed and buried by mountains of lies and deception. You know what is deception? It's when you thought what you know was right, but actually it was wrong. And you know what true freedom is? It's when truth meets you and set your mind free from deception.
I'm not writing this to condemn anyone; rather, I'm giving you grace to meet with Jesus and be set free. Let His amazing love encounter you.
Words to Remember:
John 14:6 -- Jesus said to him, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Journey of Faith (1)
When it comes to this, I guess everyone knows that Abraham was considered a father of faith. He's always associated with his journey of faith, how he trusted God for the miracle son Isaac, and how by faith he was counted righteous.
Note: Abraham was accounted righteous not because he was perfect in following the instructions of the Lord. Nor was he flawless and without mistake in his journey of trusting God and figuring out the call of God in his life. Nor was it because of something that he did that he was accounted righteous. He was accounted righteous because he placed his faith on God.
Do you know why faith is a journey? Because a lot of times we don't see something coming to pass with our natural eyes and in our own understanding. A lot of things that God has spoken to us and promises that He has given seem unlikely to happen. Or because we try to help God to fulfil His promises. Or because we value the blessing that God has given previously more than believing in the Blesser who can bless us even greater. It's a journey of faith because it is learned over time, sometimes even painstakingly.
When the Lord first spoke to Abraham about his calling to become a father of nations, he did not have a child. The Lord told him to get out of his own country to a land that He will show him and He will make Abraham a great nation, blessing him to become a blessing to the earth. God actually wanted Abraham and his wife alone to fulfil this great promise, but Abraham brought a long his father and his nephew Lot.
Perhaps Abraham thought that his father was able to give him sound advices because of his age, and obviously Abraham respected his father and loved him. If put in today's context, we look up to our spiritual leaders, giving them the highest regard and respect because of their calling and the good advices they have given to us. We are affectionate with them because they have laid down their lives to love us and shepherd us as their flock. But many times, we take them as an easy way out to experience God, rather than experiencing God first hand.
I recognise that there is a stage in a Christian's walk of faith to rely on spiritual leaders to feed them with the Word and to teach them spiritual truths, and we continue to feed on the 'pasture' that our spiritual leaders feed us with, especially what our pastors preach on Sunday. However, it is our individual responsibility to see ourselves grow to a point that we know we cannot keep relying on them to feed us. Just like our mothers stop feeding us milk and move on to solid food, and then move on to having us find food for ourselves, spiritual leaders are there not to cradle us whole life, but to point us to Jesus. At some point of my journey of faith, I've come to realise that I can't be a baby relying on my spiritual leaders anymore. I can't treat them like a teddy bear to hug and hang on to when I'm going through a bad time. I can't treat them like a prayer vending machine. Because I've realised no matter how much I'd love to talk about my situation and try to get their analysis, advices and their sympathy, and finally a prayer, it's up to me to sort things out. It's up to me to make the right decisions and do the right things to resolve the situation. It's up to me to seek God for help, because ultimately He is the solution and the answer to all our challenges.
So I have made this decision: I will seek You, Lord. When I call, You will answer, because that is what Your word says. I will experience You first hand and not through a second revelation. There is a place for spiritual leaders to step in and to give us Godly advices, but if You mean me to become a spiritual leader myself one day, then I ought to grow up. I ought to give up looking to my spiritual leader for solutions and advices. If I really believe that God, You are my answer to every situation and the solution to every challenge, then why can't I believe that You will tell me what to do? I will look to You, the beginner and the finisher of my faith.
I'm not saying going to your spiritual leaders is wrong or bad; I'm just saying if the Lord meant us to grow and become disciples that will take nations, we've got to start feeding from the right source. If we truly believe that Jesus is the answer to the world, then we ought to experience Him first hand as the answer to our problems and challenges. If we truly believe all that we are singing about "everything I need is You", then we need to stop looking to human solutions and human wisdom, and start looking at Jesus and His heavenly wisdom. If we would ever receive a revelation, it has to come directly from Him.
Human methods and solutions will only meet earthly needs; spiritual needs requires spiritual solutions that is found only in the One who saves. Let's begin this journey of faith, of trusting our God is really, truly, undoubtedly, all we need.
Note: Abraham was accounted righteous not because he was perfect in following the instructions of the Lord. Nor was he flawless and without mistake in his journey of trusting God and figuring out the call of God in his life. Nor was it because of something that he did that he was accounted righteous. He was accounted righteous because he placed his faith on God.
Do you know why faith is a journey? Because a lot of times we don't see something coming to pass with our natural eyes and in our own understanding. A lot of things that God has spoken to us and promises that He has given seem unlikely to happen. Or because we try to help God to fulfil His promises. Or because we value the blessing that God has given previously more than believing in the Blesser who can bless us even greater. It's a journey of faith because it is learned over time, sometimes even painstakingly.
When the Lord first spoke to Abraham about his calling to become a father of nations, he did not have a child. The Lord told him to get out of his own country to a land that He will show him and He will make Abraham a great nation, blessing him to become a blessing to the earth. God actually wanted Abraham and his wife alone to fulfil this great promise, but Abraham brought a long his father and his nephew Lot.
Perhaps Abraham thought that his father was able to give him sound advices because of his age, and obviously Abraham respected his father and loved him. If put in today's context, we look up to our spiritual leaders, giving them the highest regard and respect because of their calling and the good advices they have given to us. We are affectionate with them because they have laid down their lives to love us and shepherd us as their flock. But many times, we take them as an easy way out to experience God, rather than experiencing God first hand.
I recognise that there is a stage in a Christian's walk of faith to rely on spiritual leaders to feed them with the Word and to teach them spiritual truths, and we continue to feed on the 'pasture' that our spiritual leaders feed us with, especially what our pastors preach on Sunday. However, it is our individual responsibility to see ourselves grow to a point that we know we cannot keep relying on them to feed us. Just like our mothers stop feeding us milk and move on to solid food, and then move on to having us find food for ourselves, spiritual leaders are there not to cradle us whole life, but to point us to Jesus. At some point of my journey of faith, I've come to realise that I can't be a baby relying on my spiritual leaders anymore. I can't treat them like a teddy bear to hug and hang on to when I'm going through a bad time. I can't treat them like a prayer vending machine. Because I've realised no matter how much I'd love to talk about my situation and try to get their analysis, advices and their sympathy, and finally a prayer, it's up to me to sort things out. It's up to me to make the right decisions and do the right things to resolve the situation. It's up to me to seek God for help, because ultimately He is the solution and the answer to all our challenges.
So I have made this decision: I will seek You, Lord. When I call, You will answer, because that is what Your word says. I will experience You first hand and not through a second revelation. There is a place for spiritual leaders to step in and to give us Godly advices, but if You mean me to become a spiritual leader myself one day, then I ought to grow up. I ought to give up looking to my spiritual leader for solutions and advices. If I really believe that God, You are my answer to every situation and the solution to every challenge, then why can't I believe that You will tell me what to do? I will look to You, the beginner and the finisher of my faith.
I'm not saying going to your spiritual leaders is wrong or bad; I'm just saying if the Lord meant us to grow and become disciples that will take nations, we've got to start feeding from the right source. If we truly believe that Jesus is the answer to the world, then we ought to experience Him first hand as the answer to our problems and challenges. If we truly believe all that we are singing about "everything I need is You", then we need to stop looking to human solutions and human wisdom, and start looking at Jesus and His heavenly wisdom. If we would ever receive a revelation, it has to come directly from Him.
Human methods and solutions will only meet earthly needs; spiritual needs requires spiritual solutions that is found only in the One who saves. Let's begin this journey of faith, of trusting our God is really, truly, undoubtedly, all we need.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Worship
It's my first worship practice of the year. Coming together with the team is always awesome. More than the music, more than playing together, more than anything else it's about the heart of worship. Worship is not music, and good music doesn't translate into good worship. I'd like to say humbly that I'm still learning this, and the truths that I have learned to be reminded constantly.
There is so much to worship. The greatest worshipers are not the people who stand on stage every week leading the congregation into worship. It's not the most professional musicians, not the most anointed worship leader, not the best vocalist. The greatest worshipers are Christians whose hearts are after God. And everything else we do flows from this heart of worship, and it has to; it's a must, because if we don't do it out of our worship and love for God, it is just religion -- man's self effort to reach God.
A lot of times we give a lot of 'taglines' and try to encourage one another to be united in heart, to pray more, to be in right attitude, to do this, do that, etc etc, but change will only come for the individual who allows the love of God to saturate and fill him.
James 3:13-17 says that the wisdom that births forth from bitter envy and self-seeking ambitions is earthly, sensual and demonic; but wisdom that is from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. These verses have spoken to me many times and continues to speak more and more each time, deeper each time. When we have our own agendas, selfish ambitions and our focus and reasons of doing ministry is not about God and only God, we are using our own strength, wisdom and resources to do spiritual things. But you can only do spiritual things using spiritual wisdom -- which is from above. And notice the qualities of the wisdom from above? It's all qualities that comes from the heart. It doesn't say about qualities that develop from diligence or discipline or human efforts. They are the fruit from being connected with God and staying connected.
Otherwise, how are you going to be willing to yield all the time? Would you yield to someone who is hostile and want his way all the time? Will you be willing to humble yourself? How are you going to be impartial to everyone? Surely you like some people more than others. What does it mean to be pure and to keep ourselves pure? In this age of media, popular culture is the norm, but what is norm doesn't mean it's right. How do you keep yourself pure without being ignorant? And how are we ever without hypocrisy? How many times have we come to contradict ourselves and set double standards on others? How will we ever have this wisdom that is from above if it's not because God gave us the grace to receive them? Grace to the undeserved -- us.
Time is not our friend. I don't know about you, but I always feel that years come by and pass faster and faster every year, and every year we tell ourselves that we ought to do more of this and more of that, we should achieve this and that by when. Well, if you've talking about losing weight and setting a target to reach your desired weight by a certain time, you can make a goal like that. But many times, I realised that it's almost impossible to tell yourself that you'd like to reach a certain stage in your spiritual ministry. If you have reached there by setting a goal and worked towards it, I congratulate you. But as for me, I realised that it's not just a resolution, not just a commitment, not just a song that says "I surrender all to You", not something that you can 'work' towards; it's a covenant between God and you that says that "I know I can't do it Lord, and I really need You, let Your grace help me." It's a covenant that doesn't back out even when things don't seem to go the way we want. It's a covenant that doesn't need your qualification or ability, but one that is purely by His grace. It's a covenant that doesn't have place for a plan B, but of unrelenting faith and trust on the One who will fulfil His promise. (After all, it's His promise, so what are we worrying about?)
Lord, bring us back to the heart of worship where it's all about You, and none about us.
There is so much to worship. The greatest worshipers are not the people who stand on stage every week leading the congregation into worship. It's not the most professional musicians, not the most anointed worship leader, not the best vocalist. The greatest worshipers are Christians whose hearts are after God. And everything else we do flows from this heart of worship, and it has to; it's a must, because if we don't do it out of our worship and love for God, it is just religion -- man's self effort to reach God.
A lot of times we give a lot of 'taglines' and try to encourage one another to be united in heart, to pray more, to be in right attitude, to do this, do that, etc etc, but change will only come for the individual who allows the love of God to saturate and fill him.
James 3:13-17 says that the wisdom that births forth from bitter envy and self-seeking ambitions is earthly, sensual and demonic; but wisdom that is from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. These verses have spoken to me many times and continues to speak more and more each time, deeper each time. When we have our own agendas, selfish ambitions and our focus and reasons of doing ministry is not about God and only God, we are using our own strength, wisdom and resources to do spiritual things. But you can only do spiritual things using spiritual wisdom -- which is from above. And notice the qualities of the wisdom from above? It's all qualities that comes from the heart. It doesn't say about qualities that develop from diligence or discipline or human efforts. They are the fruit from being connected with God and staying connected.
Otherwise, how are you going to be willing to yield all the time? Would you yield to someone who is hostile and want his way all the time? Will you be willing to humble yourself? How are you going to be impartial to everyone? Surely you like some people more than others. What does it mean to be pure and to keep ourselves pure? In this age of media, popular culture is the norm, but what is norm doesn't mean it's right. How do you keep yourself pure without being ignorant? And how are we ever without hypocrisy? How many times have we come to contradict ourselves and set double standards on others? How will we ever have this wisdom that is from above if it's not because God gave us the grace to receive them? Grace to the undeserved -- us.
Time is not our friend. I don't know about you, but I always feel that years come by and pass faster and faster every year, and every year we tell ourselves that we ought to do more of this and more of that, we should achieve this and that by when. Well, if you've talking about losing weight and setting a target to reach your desired weight by a certain time, you can make a goal like that. But many times, I realised that it's almost impossible to tell yourself that you'd like to reach a certain stage in your spiritual ministry. If you have reached there by setting a goal and worked towards it, I congratulate you. But as for me, I realised that it's not just a resolution, not just a commitment, not just a song that says "I surrender all to You", not something that you can 'work' towards; it's a covenant between God and you that says that "I know I can't do it Lord, and I really need You, let Your grace help me." It's a covenant that doesn't back out even when things don't seem to go the way we want. It's a covenant that doesn't need your qualification or ability, but one that is purely by His grace. It's a covenant that doesn't have place for a plan B, but of unrelenting faith and trust on the One who will fulfil His promise. (After all, it's His promise, so what are we worrying about?)
Lord, bring us back to the heart of worship where it's all about You, and none about us.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Crossroads
If you always hear pastors / preachers telling you that Jesus has been tempted in every way possible as a human, yet without sin, and that he has been through all your suffering and pain in life and can identify with you, I would like to tell you that it's true. At any point of your life, whatever situation or circumstances you face, just think the ever famous abbreviation -- WWJD (What would Jesus do?) and put Him in your shoes. He wears all sizes. He's the only One whose size fits all. Or should I say, He fits into all sizes.
I've titled this post "Crossroads" because this is what we face most frequently. Decisions. Choice. What would you do? What should you do? Why? How will it turn out to be? Well, Jesus was at the greatest crossroads ever. I can't say if it's the greatest crossroads of human history, just trying to make it sound big, but I'm sure it was one of the toughest, if not THE toughest choice to make. It was at the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus waged an intense prayer warfare against spiritual darkness, against His flesh and Himself, and said, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." Luke recorded in his gospel that "...being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
Jesus was at the crossroad of obeying the Father and giving up His life as a ransom for the whole mankind, or resisting this will and continue living His life. If He continued on, I'm sure beyond any doubt that He will preach to many more, heal many more, cast out more demons, perform more miracles, bring many more to salvation, etc. Yet, it was God's timing and purpose for Him to die so that even people beyond His time can believe and be saved. So, on one hand, Jesus would suffer excruciating pain and death, but He will save mankind. On the other, He would preserve His life so that He could continue to achieve greater success in ministry and impact the whole Israel, but He will not be remembered beyond His time; He will just be another prophet who has passed by in the Israelite's history.
Mankind at the expense of His own flesh and blood, or livelihood in the expense of short term achievement.
What is the "more right" thing to do when all the paths at the crossroads are right?
Many times in life, we face crossroads like this, where all the paths are right. There is no right or wrong to a decision, only whether it will lead you to greater, better results than the other.
We ask the Lord, "God, what is Your will for my life? Tell me, is it A, or B, or C?"
And He says, "Whichever way you take, I will bless you."
And many times when He says that, you know that you know, right deep down in your heart, what is your decision, and whether that decision is pleasing in God's eyes. "How do you know?" you might ask. My answer is... "You know that you know. Listen to that still small voice in your heart."
There are crossroads in life that involve the decision of the people around you. They may have made a choice to move on to a different path than yours, and you are somewhat affected by it. Never a day has passed that I did not think of the question, "What about me?" I'm not asking it in a self-centred way, but merely saying, what would my decision be? What would be the "more right" thing to do, for myself? I wouldn't say I can just suck it all up and pretend that other people won't cause me to falter, but I have learned that no matter what happens, I'll just have to stick to the promises of God.
Would I give up my life for many others to live, or save myself so that some others can live? I'll choose the former.
I'm not noble or able. I'm just saying, it would be the "more right" choice. And I will want to choose this.
How do I walk down the path I have chosen? By looking steadfastly and steadily at Jesus, who has paved the highway for me. Already I'm seeing new favour and blessings, even divine protection coming on me. Surely His grace is sufficient for me, just as His mercy is new every morning. Thank You, Lord. I will hold on to You. Because You never fail.
Your joy makes everything complete. I love You, Lord.
I've titled this post "Crossroads" because this is what we face most frequently. Decisions. Choice. What would you do? What should you do? Why? How will it turn out to be? Well, Jesus was at the greatest crossroads ever. I can't say if it's the greatest crossroads of human history, just trying to make it sound big, but I'm sure it was one of the toughest, if not THE toughest choice to make. It was at the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus waged an intense prayer warfare against spiritual darkness, against His flesh and Himself, and said, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." Luke recorded in his gospel that "...being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
Jesus was at the crossroad of obeying the Father and giving up His life as a ransom for the whole mankind, or resisting this will and continue living His life. If He continued on, I'm sure beyond any doubt that He will preach to many more, heal many more, cast out more demons, perform more miracles, bring many more to salvation, etc. Yet, it was God's timing and purpose for Him to die so that even people beyond His time can believe and be saved. So, on one hand, Jesus would suffer excruciating pain and death, but He will save mankind. On the other, He would preserve His life so that He could continue to achieve greater success in ministry and impact the whole Israel, but He will not be remembered beyond His time; He will just be another prophet who has passed by in the Israelite's history.
Mankind at the expense of His own flesh and blood, or livelihood in the expense of short term achievement.
What is the "more right" thing to do when all the paths at the crossroads are right?
Many times in life, we face crossroads like this, where all the paths are right. There is no right or wrong to a decision, only whether it will lead you to greater, better results than the other.
We ask the Lord, "God, what is Your will for my life? Tell me, is it A, or B, or C?"
And He says, "Whichever way you take, I will bless you."
And many times when He says that, you know that you know, right deep down in your heart, what is your decision, and whether that decision is pleasing in God's eyes. "How do you know?" you might ask. My answer is... "You know that you know. Listen to that still small voice in your heart."
There are crossroads in life that involve the decision of the people around you. They may have made a choice to move on to a different path than yours, and you are somewhat affected by it. Never a day has passed that I did not think of the question, "What about me?" I'm not asking it in a self-centred way, but merely saying, what would my decision be? What would be the "more right" thing to do, for myself? I wouldn't say I can just suck it all up and pretend that other people won't cause me to falter, but I have learned that no matter what happens, I'll just have to stick to the promises of God.
Would I give up my life for many others to live, or save myself so that some others can live? I'll choose the former.
I'm not noble or able. I'm just saying, it would be the "more right" choice. And I will want to choose this.
How do I walk down the path I have chosen? By looking steadfastly and steadily at Jesus, who has paved the highway for me. Already I'm seeing new favour and blessings, even divine protection coming on me. Surely His grace is sufficient for me, just as His mercy is new every morning. Thank You, Lord. I will hold on to You. Because You never fail.
Your joy makes everything complete. I love You, Lord.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Passion
Picture taken from gettyimages.com
This is the first time that I didn't shed a single tear. I still felt the excruciating pain when they whipped Jesus and nailed Him on the cross, but I also received a revelation from there. It's not just about treasuring my salvation and the life that Jesus has bought back for me by His body and blood, but the crucifixion itself, and the process of it all, and all that the Roman soldiers and religious authority did to Him was prophesied hundreds of years before He was born... it's such a significant turning point for all mankind.
I understood grace even more now. Who am I that He, the King and Lord of all, would give His life for me, suffer and die for me, just so that I would be made whole and complete and well again, just so that I would be able to have an abundant life. Not because I deserve it, but because I am wretched and I need Him. Amazing grace. Amazing love.
Passion is sacrifice. It's not just a deep love for something, but an act upon your love, that you will not hold back anything just to get to it, just to achieve it. You will not think twice about laying down anything of your self in exchange to it. You will be willing to sacrifice for it.
If you have a passion for photography, you sacrifice your money and time to buy camera and learn to use it, you pour your whole heart to it, just to see the produce of your photography. If you have a passion for music, you invest in instruments, protectives, polish; you invest your time to brush up on skills; you buy albums and listen over and over again; you learn from others.
But Christ, His passion was us, His people, His creation, His children. He invested His whole life for us, He sacrificed Himself. We sometimes devalue the word 'sacrifice'; e.g. "I sacrificed my time and money and youth to learn dancing." or "I sacrificed some meals and gave my money for the church." Compare that with what Jesus did, it really puts things into perspective. Jesus gave His body and His blood as the ransom to buy us back from spiritual darkness. And He gave it willingly. He was betrayed, accused, trialed, spat at, mocked at, scourged, beaten up, bruised, crucified, pierced, rejected, abandoned ... but there was never a word of complaint. He bore it all willingly, because He loved us. Passion is sacrifice.
There is no greater sacrifice than that of Jesus Christ. The Lord showed me that really, actually, whatever things that we suffer here on earth, every heartache, every pain, every rejection, every hurt, every challenge that we face, everything that we think we are unable to overcome, every setback, every obstacle, every opposition... He has taken it all unto Himself, so that we will not need to sacrifice. I'm again reminded that every challenge I face is just a tiny dot compare to what I will be rewarded and enjoy in eternity. And everything I thought impossible is already possible, because the most unthinkable and impossible -- God dying for His creation -- was already done. No wonder Hebrew 12:2 says to keep looking unto Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith. Look unto the cross, look unto His finished work, there lies the power that will defeat and crush satan under our feet!
Lord, as we lift You up in our daily lives, may You draw all men unto Yourself. Amen.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Christianity is Confrontational
I have mentioned in my previous post that the gospel of Christ is never traditional, goes by human standards or public opinion. It's always confrontational, to the preacher, as well as to the hearer.
If you've never thought of preaching the gospel as a challenge or confrontational to what you know is yourself, I would like to sincerely congratulate you. But you can only be one of the two: (1) You've laid down so much for the Lord that you no longer see preaching Christ as a doing but a living; or (2) You've never preached the gospel to a single person, so there's nothing confrontational to yourself, because you've not stepped out. I'm congratulating you only if you're the first.
Why is preaching the gospel confrontation first to yourself? Because there are many barriers to break, but these are all in your mind. You can only step out in faith after you have confronted these questions in your mind and overcome them. Yes, you can tell yourself a gazillion times "I need to preach the gospel, I should preach the gospel, I need to tell about Jesus!", but not until you actually confronted the thoughts of "this person won't accept Christ" or "He's not open" or "She's of a different religion", you won't take the step of faith to even say the word 'God' in your conversation.
If you don't already know, I'm a Chinese Malaysia, which means my racial identity is Chinese. I get this question from non-Chinese friends sometimes: "Do you celebrate Chinese New Year or Christmas?" I will answer with a smile, "both." Somehow, many people think that because I am a Christian, I shouldn't be celebrating Chinese New Year, because they think the festive occasion has to do with religion.
There's a big difference between cultural traditions and religious practices. Sure there are many festive occasions that are related to one's religion, but there are also many other practices we do simply because we are of that particular race. My fellow Chinese Malaysia, do you know that Christians can and do practice the tea ceremony during weddings, besides having a Christian wedding ceremony in church? Now, is the tea ceremony religious practice or tradition? Do you know that Christians can and do go for Ching Bing to remember their ancestors? Only we don't pray to them or burn any paper money to the dead. Is Ching Bing a religious practice or a tradition and heritage?
Many people think that Ching Bing is a religious practice. Well, do a search about how Ching Bing came about and you will know that the value behind this practice is a heart of filial respect for our parents. And this value is a precious and beautiful heritage that we Chinese practice through centuries. It has been made religious, with people telling you that if you don't burn more paper money for the dead, you will not receive blessing. Or if you pray more to them, the dead will bless you. There is serious misconception that visiting the cemetery to respect the dead is religious.
Friends, it is a tradition, a Chinese culture and heritage that should be kept and practiced, because it is a good value passed down from centuries to teach us to be respectful and honour those who are elder than us, our ancestors, our parents. The only religious thing that you do is when you burn the 'offering' and 'pray' to the dead. Religion is man's self effort to reach God, but to no avail because God is absolutely holy and man is sinful.
And this is why the gospel is confrontational to the hearer. To most Chinese families, when the parents learned that their children have become Christians, their primary concern would be that the children will no longer pay respect to them when they pass away. Christianity confronts tradition. But in this case, tradition is confused and mixed with religion. Does it confront the tradition and value of being filial? Yes, and it confronts the value so that one not only pay respect to the dead, but to the living. That, is transformation. When you believe in Christ, He says in His word to honour your father and mother, that your days may be long. Does He say we should honour our parents when they are living or dead? Of course when they are well and living!
In Jesus' preaching, there were many instances that were confrontational to the people who were listening to Him. Jesus said to one who wanted to follow Him, "Let the dead bury their own dead" (Matthew 8:22); declared spiritual worship to a Samaritan woman (John 4:23-24); said to multitudes who followed him, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brother and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." -- He confronted traditions and taboos of His days. Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" (Luke 14:3); He said to the woman caught in adultery, "go and sin no more" when by the law of Moses she was supposed to be stoned -- He confronted religion and religious laws. It was transformation that He wanted to bring -- transforming mindsets and hearts, transforming dead works to become works of faith by grace.
When we yield ourselves to Jesus and let Him confront our old mindsets and old self, He transforms us into His likeness and glory. When we let Him transform us despite our backgrounds of traditions and culture, we will not be conformed to the values of this world. Even the good values of this world when transformed by the Lord, it becomes good and acceptable and perfect, will of God.
Don't be held back by your traditions or culture. Don't be held back because of religion, your futile self effort to reach God. Don't be held back because of you lack the courage and faith to confront the excuse to evangelise. God did not hold back His only begotten Son, the only Son that He love.
If you've never thought of preaching the gospel as a challenge or confrontational to what you know is yourself, I would like to sincerely congratulate you. But you can only be one of the two: (1) You've laid down so much for the Lord that you no longer see preaching Christ as a doing but a living; or (2) You've never preached the gospel to a single person, so there's nothing confrontational to yourself, because you've not stepped out. I'm congratulating you only if you're the first.
Why is preaching the gospel confrontation first to yourself? Because there are many barriers to break, but these are all in your mind. You can only step out in faith after you have confronted these questions in your mind and overcome them. Yes, you can tell yourself a gazillion times "I need to preach the gospel, I should preach the gospel, I need to tell about Jesus!", but not until you actually confronted the thoughts of "this person won't accept Christ" or "He's not open" or "She's of a different religion", you won't take the step of faith to even say the word 'God' in your conversation.
If you don't already know, I'm a Chinese Malaysia, which means my racial identity is Chinese. I get this question from non-Chinese friends sometimes: "Do you celebrate Chinese New Year or Christmas?" I will answer with a smile, "both." Somehow, many people think that because I am a Christian, I shouldn't be celebrating Chinese New Year, because they think the festive occasion has to do with religion.
There's a big difference between cultural traditions and religious practices. Sure there are many festive occasions that are related to one's religion, but there are also many other practices we do simply because we are of that particular race. My fellow Chinese Malaysia, do you know that Christians can and do practice the tea ceremony during weddings, besides having a Christian wedding ceremony in church? Now, is the tea ceremony religious practice or tradition? Do you know that Christians can and do go for Ching Bing to remember their ancestors? Only we don't pray to them or burn any paper money to the dead. Is Ching Bing a religious practice or a tradition and heritage?
Many people think that Ching Bing is a religious practice. Well, do a search about how Ching Bing came about and you will know that the value behind this practice is a heart of filial respect for our parents. And this value is a precious and beautiful heritage that we Chinese practice through centuries. It has been made religious, with people telling you that if you don't burn more paper money for the dead, you will not receive blessing. Or if you pray more to them, the dead will bless you. There is serious misconception that visiting the cemetery to respect the dead is religious.
Friends, it is a tradition, a Chinese culture and heritage that should be kept and practiced, because it is a good value passed down from centuries to teach us to be respectful and honour those who are elder than us, our ancestors, our parents. The only religious thing that you do is when you burn the 'offering' and 'pray' to the dead. Religion is man's self effort to reach God, but to no avail because God is absolutely holy and man is sinful.
And this is why the gospel is confrontational to the hearer. To most Chinese families, when the parents learned that their children have become Christians, their primary concern would be that the children will no longer pay respect to them when they pass away. Christianity confronts tradition. But in this case, tradition is confused and mixed with religion. Does it confront the tradition and value of being filial? Yes, and it confronts the value so that one not only pay respect to the dead, but to the living. That, is transformation. When you believe in Christ, He says in His word to honour your father and mother, that your days may be long. Does He say we should honour our parents when they are living or dead? Of course when they are well and living!
In Jesus' preaching, there were many instances that were confrontational to the people who were listening to Him. Jesus said to one who wanted to follow Him, "Let the dead bury their own dead" (Matthew 8:22); declared spiritual worship to a Samaritan woman (John 4:23-24); said to multitudes who followed him, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brother and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." -- He confronted traditions and taboos of His days. Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" (Luke 14:3); He said to the woman caught in adultery, "go and sin no more" when by the law of Moses she was supposed to be stoned -- He confronted religion and religious laws. It was transformation that He wanted to bring -- transforming mindsets and hearts, transforming dead works to become works of faith by grace.
When we yield ourselves to Jesus and let Him confront our old mindsets and old self, He transforms us into His likeness and glory. When we let Him transform us despite our backgrounds of traditions and culture, we will not be conformed to the values of this world. Even the good values of this world when transformed by the Lord, it becomes good and acceptable and perfect, will of God.
Don't be held back by your traditions or culture. Don't be held back because of religion, your futile self effort to reach God. Don't be held back because of you lack the courage and faith to confront the excuse to evangelise. God did not hold back His only begotten Son, the only Son that He love.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
For God So Loved the World
I read an article recently, it was about child abuse. I think I have never read anything that impacted me this much.
The article described a five-year-old girl who was abused to death by her own mother. She was so badly abused that she had internal and external bleeding at various places, all over her body. She was not born in a broken family -- she was the second child of the family; she had an older brother who was just 1 year older than her; her parents were married; her father had a stable job but away from home; they were not in poverty. Yet, she was a victim of cruel torture by her own mother.
What did the mother do? Constant beatings were not the only thing that this girl had to suffer; she was in constant hunger. She had never known what it means to have her stomach filled. Every evening during dinner time, her mother will be sitting at the table with her brother, and she had to come with her little bowl, begging her mother to give her some food. If her mother was angry with her, she would be scolded and chased away without any food.
When she was three, she was so hungry that she took some chicken feed to eat. The consequence? Her mother sewed her mouth! We're talking about her very own mother, who bore her for 9 months and gave birth to her!
Ten days before she died, her older brother coaxed her mother to buy some meat for him to eat because it had been a long time since he had the special dish. Her mother immediately got up and went to the market with him, came back and fried the meat. The little girl, taking the opportunity when her mother was in the bathroom, quickly took and ate some small bits of fat that was still hot. But her mother came, pulled her hair and pushed her against the wall. Knowing it would be worse if she were to cry out, the little girl could only suffer the beatings in silence. But the mother wasn't satisfied with just beating her; she dragged her near the pot of hot oil where she had just fried the meat, and poured the hot oil into her mouth!
The days following, the little girl hardly ate anything. On the ninth day, she had severe diarrhea, and was again beaten up because of that. Then on the tenth day at 1 a.m. midnight, while she was squatting over the toilet bowl trying to pee, she just collapsed. Her eyes were still wide opened, but unseeing; her mouth was opened and still bleeding profusely. Her mother tried to hide her death, by putting on new clothes on her dead body, clothes that the little girl had wanted very much to wear but was never given the chance. But when the coroner did an autopsy on her body, it was all uncovered -- all the beatings, all the cruelty... It wasn't just scars and wound that they uncovered; there were rotten wounds, her nails were black from blood clots, her chin and lips were torn apart, even her private parts were full of wounds. They even discovered a small corner in the closet where she was sleeping. Her tiny piece of mat was there and it was bloodstained.
Cut the story short, the wicked (is there a stronger word that I can use?) mother was arrested and charged at court. But the most shocking thing was, not only did she pleaded not guilty, instead she said, "This is my daughter, I have the right to do to her as I like, beat her up as much as I want to!"
Could there be something done that would have prevented her death? The neighbours, though out of sympathy would sometimes give her something to eat, were helpless about her predicament and did not do anything about it. The brother watched all the beatings and abuse, but did not do anything about it. The social workers who came periodically to visit the family were only advising the mother against the abuse; they did not do anything about it. She just silently suffered the endless tears and pain and hunger. And she died.
Talk about suffering...
When we had a paper cut or pricked our finger, or when we are accused or betrayed or back stabbed, or when we are experiencing low finance, or when we are having a bad week at work / school / college / university... Just think about this little girl who really suffered. She REALLY suffered!
When I read this, there were two questions that went through my mind. The first is: Where was God when she was suffering so much, when all she wanted was for her hunger to be filled? Was He not seeing nor hearing? Didn't He know she was in pain and crying out for help? Didn't He have all the solutions and answers? Didn't He have all the power that could have saved her? Didn't He say He created life with purpose and meaning? Was there ever the tiniest sign that there was meaning to her life? Did she exist for her family to torture her? Did she exist to suffer this way? Didn't He love her?
Well, it's easy to say that this little girl is in heaven right now and forever in His everlasting love, no more suffering and pain, no more cruelty, no more fear, no more hunger, forever satisfied in her spirit, soul and body. But is this the way God answers the question of suffering? Is this the way God answers us when WE are the ones suffering any kind of pain, whether physical or emotional, in our life?
The answer is no. He doesn't answer us the way we want our question to be answered. God is not apologetic about what happens in history, from the beginning of time until now. He doesn't need to apologise, because He is STILL the Sovereign God; He is STILL in control. Yes, you may say that the world is chaotic, so how can He be in control? Well, He's still in control because you're still living and breathing and you still have a mind that is able to reason out this question. Because the question of suffering is not just a general question we ask when face with issues like child abuse or famine or natural disasters that claimed thousands of lives and tore families apart. It is a personal question, a question that eventually you and I will ask, whether you are a believer or skeptic, whether you call yourselves agnostic or spiritual. It's the deepest cry of our heart, that "God, where are You?", of which the resounding second part of the question we dare not utter: "I need You, God..." We dare not, not because we are afraid, but because we didn't have enough faith.
The second question that went through my mind is this: For God so loved the world. This means, He loved this little girl, who suffered so much; but it hangs on the same truth that He also loved this wicked woman who murdered her own child. He LOVED her! Just think about the magnitude of this truth! It is totally unthinkable! How can anyone ever love this woman knowing that she is a merciless murderer? Even her husband and her son, how can they still love her, unless they are as cruel and cold-blooded like her? But GOD LOVED HER! He can't tolerate her sins, but He loved her and is compassionate toward her, just as much as He is to this little girl.
Sometimes, we (believers, I'm talking about us!) are like the Pharisees in the Bible. We look at people and judge whether they deserve God's love, God's salvation, God's pardon. If we don't do it outwardly, we try to excuse them in our minds, saying, "I think this person doesn't deserve to go to heaven because of the evil he's done, or because she's a prostitute, or because he's a murderer, or because she's wicked, or because he's sinful!" We even give excuses to the people we *think* we are reaching out to, saying "Well, he's a Buddhist, I don't think he is open to the gospel"; or "He's too busy to come to church / Christian events"; or "She's too worldly and her reasoning is weird". Now, isn't it clear that we really only *think* we are reaching out to them but we're actually not?
Come back to this mother, do you personally think that she deserves heaven? Well, if I were to be totally honest with myself, I would say no. A flat, no-option kind of NO. But who am I? Who are we to judge? God says she deserves, and she can be forgiven, no matter how big or small her sin is, how cruel or kindhearted, how wicked or tender she was to her child. God says SHE DESERVES! That is great love. And that is what a lot of people cannot accept. But this is THE TRUTH -- For God so loved the world! And this is the gospel of grace and everlasting love that we are to preach.
(By the way, if you're thinking, the gospel is never traditional or goes by human standards or popular opinion; it's always confrontational, to the preacher, as well as to the hearer.)
Back to question #1, where was God when the little girl needed Him? God was there. He was right there, not watching helplessly, silently, hands folded; but I believe He showed her that He also suffered and died a cruel death. Not only that; just as He resurrected and now lives forever, she too lives forever with Him, and forever without suffering and pain. Five years of torture, is but a tiny speck in the spans of eternity. And this is also the gospel of grace and everlasting love that we are to preach. Our present suffering will never be comparable to the ultimate, fullness of joy and glory we will receive in heaven.
I believe these two questions are genuine cries of our heart to understand the magnitude of God's amazing grace and love. They deserve an answer. And the answer... is none other than God.
John 3:16 -- For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall no perish but have everlasting life.
The article described a five-year-old girl who was abused to death by her own mother. She was so badly abused that she had internal and external bleeding at various places, all over her body. She was not born in a broken family -- she was the second child of the family; she had an older brother who was just 1 year older than her; her parents were married; her father had a stable job but away from home; they were not in poverty. Yet, she was a victim of cruel torture by her own mother.
What did the mother do? Constant beatings were not the only thing that this girl had to suffer; she was in constant hunger. She had never known what it means to have her stomach filled. Every evening during dinner time, her mother will be sitting at the table with her brother, and she had to come with her little bowl, begging her mother to give her some food. If her mother was angry with her, she would be scolded and chased away without any food.
When she was three, she was so hungry that she took some chicken feed to eat. The consequence? Her mother sewed her mouth! We're talking about her very own mother, who bore her for 9 months and gave birth to her!
Ten days before she died, her older brother coaxed her mother to buy some meat for him to eat because it had been a long time since he had the special dish. Her mother immediately got up and went to the market with him, came back and fried the meat. The little girl, taking the opportunity when her mother was in the bathroom, quickly took and ate some small bits of fat that was still hot. But her mother came, pulled her hair and pushed her against the wall. Knowing it would be worse if she were to cry out, the little girl could only suffer the beatings in silence. But the mother wasn't satisfied with just beating her; she dragged her near the pot of hot oil where she had just fried the meat, and poured the hot oil into her mouth!
The days following, the little girl hardly ate anything. On the ninth day, she had severe diarrhea, and was again beaten up because of that. Then on the tenth day at 1 a.m. midnight, while she was squatting over the toilet bowl trying to pee, she just collapsed. Her eyes were still wide opened, but unseeing; her mouth was opened and still bleeding profusely. Her mother tried to hide her death, by putting on new clothes on her dead body, clothes that the little girl had wanted very much to wear but was never given the chance. But when the coroner did an autopsy on her body, it was all uncovered -- all the beatings, all the cruelty... It wasn't just scars and wound that they uncovered; there were rotten wounds, her nails were black from blood clots, her chin and lips were torn apart, even her private parts were full of wounds. They even discovered a small corner in the closet where she was sleeping. Her tiny piece of mat was there and it was bloodstained.
Cut the story short, the wicked (is there a stronger word that I can use?) mother was arrested and charged at court. But the most shocking thing was, not only did she pleaded not guilty, instead she said, "This is my daughter, I have the right to do to her as I like, beat her up as much as I want to!"
Could there be something done that would have prevented her death? The neighbours, though out of sympathy would sometimes give her something to eat, were helpless about her predicament and did not do anything about it. The brother watched all the beatings and abuse, but did not do anything about it. The social workers who came periodically to visit the family were only advising the mother against the abuse; they did not do anything about it. She just silently suffered the endless tears and pain and hunger. And she died.
Talk about suffering...
When we had a paper cut or pricked our finger, or when we are accused or betrayed or back stabbed, or when we are experiencing low finance, or when we are having a bad week at work / school / college / university... Just think about this little girl who really suffered. She REALLY suffered!
When I read this, there were two questions that went through my mind. The first is: Where was God when she was suffering so much, when all she wanted was for her hunger to be filled? Was He not seeing nor hearing? Didn't He know she was in pain and crying out for help? Didn't He have all the solutions and answers? Didn't He have all the power that could have saved her? Didn't He say He created life with purpose and meaning? Was there ever the tiniest sign that there was meaning to her life? Did she exist for her family to torture her? Did she exist to suffer this way? Didn't He love her?
Well, it's easy to say that this little girl is in heaven right now and forever in His everlasting love, no more suffering and pain, no more cruelty, no more fear, no more hunger, forever satisfied in her spirit, soul and body. But is this the way God answers the question of suffering? Is this the way God answers us when WE are the ones suffering any kind of pain, whether physical or emotional, in our life?
The answer is no. He doesn't answer us the way we want our question to be answered. God is not apologetic about what happens in history, from the beginning of time until now. He doesn't need to apologise, because He is STILL the Sovereign God; He is STILL in control. Yes, you may say that the world is chaotic, so how can He be in control? Well, He's still in control because you're still living and breathing and you still have a mind that is able to reason out this question. Because the question of suffering is not just a general question we ask when face with issues like child abuse or famine or natural disasters that claimed thousands of lives and tore families apart. It is a personal question, a question that eventually you and I will ask, whether you are a believer or skeptic, whether you call yourselves agnostic or spiritual. It's the deepest cry of our heart, that "God, where are You?", of which the resounding second part of the question we dare not utter: "I need You, God..." We dare not, not because we are afraid, but because we didn't have enough faith.
The second question that went through my mind is this: For God so loved the world. This means, He loved this little girl, who suffered so much; but it hangs on the same truth that He also loved this wicked woman who murdered her own child. He LOVED her! Just think about the magnitude of this truth! It is totally unthinkable! How can anyone ever love this woman knowing that she is a merciless murderer? Even her husband and her son, how can they still love her, unless they are as cruel and cold-blooded like her? But GOD LOVED HER! He can't tolerate her sins, but He loved her and is compassionate toward her, just as much as He is to this little girl.
Sometimes, we (believers, I'm talking about us!) are like the Pharisees in the Bible. We look at people and judge whether they deserve God's love, God's salvation, God's pardon. If we don't do it outwardly, we try to excuse them in our minds, saying, "I think this person doesn't deserve to go to heaven because of the evil he's done, or because she's a prostitute, or because he's a murderer, or because she's wicked, or because he's sinful!" We even give excuses to the people we *think* we are reaching out to, saying "Well, he's a Buddhist, I don't think he is open to the gospel"; or "He's too busy to come to church / Christian events"; or "She's too worldly and her reasoning is weird". Now, isn't it clear that we really only *think* we are reaching out to them but we're actually not?
Come back to this mother, do you personally think that she deserves heaven? Well, if I were to be totally honest with myself, I would say no. A flat, no-option kind of NO. But who am I? Who are we to judge? God says she deserves, and she can be forgiven, no matter how big or small her sin is, how cruel or kindhearted, how wicked or tender she was to her child. God says SHE DESERVES! That is great love. And that is what a lot of people cannot accept. But this is THE TRUTH -- For God so loved the world! And this is the gospel of grace and everlasting love that we are to preach.
(By the way, if you're thinking, the gospel is never traditional or goes by human standards or popular opinion; it's always confrontational, to the preacher, as well as to the hearer.)
Back to question #1, where was God when the little girl needed Him? God was there. He was right there, not watching helplessly, silently, hands folded; but I believe He showed her that He also suffered and died a cruel death. Not only that; just as He resurrected and now lives forever, she too lives forever with Him, and forever without suffering and pain. Five years of torture, is but a tiny speck in the spans of eternity. And this is also the gospel of grace and everlasting love that we are to preach. Our present suffering will never be comparable to the ultimate, fullness of joy and glory we will receive in heaven.
I believe these two questions are genuine cries of our heart to understand the magnitude of God's amazing grace and love. They deserve an answer. And the answer... is none other than God.
John 3:16 -- For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall no perish but have everlasting life.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Arise!
Early I will rise and praise You, Lord!
Let Your name be lifted high and Your praises be ever ringing.
Arise, all you children of the Almighty God!
Arise and praise Him and shout your praises,
For He is good and His mercy endures forever!
O Praise Him, all you that has breath!
O Praise Him, He is holy and exalted!
Jesus, King of Glory, come take Your place!
Jesus, we worship You.
It's 6.45am. I have barely slept for 5 hours. But my spirit has never felt so alert and strong and on fire. And I mean this literally. Because for me to get up at midnight to pray, it's not something I would do normally. What else would you do if you can't sleep and you kept thinking about salvation for the lost?
I knelt and prayed for an hour, prayed prayers that spoke eternal destinies into their spirit. I wouldn't say I travailed in the spirit, but it was definitely intercessory. I'm not writing all this to boast; on the contrary, to give glory to God, because I know this is not of myself. And I know whatever He has led me to pray has already started to happen in the spirit. Thank You, Lord.
Today is Sunday, and you and I know very well what that means. :) "Early I will rise and praise the Lord!" This phrase keeps coming into my mind. I guess my spirit just can't wait.
I will be in The Vine Sanctuary, Sunway, this morning, with Ps. Lois. It's going to be the first time I'm there on Sunday, and the first time I will be an interpreter for Ps. Lois. I think I haven't started to feel nervous yet; maybe I will when I reach there later. :) But I know, Lord, You will be with me, and it's Your Holy Spirit that will work through me.
*
There are many ways of preaching the gospel. Some people use tracts, some people use care, some people are just touched by the Holy Spirit. But no matter what kind of barrier you think you're facing with the people you're reaching out, LOVE is the answer. Some people carried their salvation and Christianity with pride, a very subtle sense of pride, that they don't realise it's the number one killer that prevents people from seeing Christ in us. Yes, we have confidence in the Lord, but what your spirit carries when you share Christ is what will determine the outcome of the sharing. LOVE is the answer.
We are not trying to convert people -- this is the Holy Spirit's job. Nor are we trying to persuade people -- Paul said his preaching was not with persuasive words of man, but by the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit. Nor are we trying to sell something. Nope. When we preach the gospel, we are bringing people to a point of CONVICTION, that they need God, and that they can enter in through the Way and the Truth (Jesus Christ), and that they can have Life. We are bringing them to the point that they can make the individual decision to believe in Jesus. We are urging people, not begging them. Jesus must be presented in a non-threatening, non-confrontational way, and Jesus must be seen in us.
We are the light to the world, the salt to the earth. We are the called and sent. Compel them to come in.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
I AM (Walking on Water, Part 2)
Matt 14:22 After Jesus fed the five thousand (besides women and children), and there remained twelve baskets full of the fragments of the multiplied food, He immediately made the disciples to get into the boat to cross over to the other side of Lake Galilee.
Did you ever wonder why Jesus had to make the disciples go into the bed to go ahead of Him to the other side? The New Living Translation used a stronger word: He insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. Jesus did this because He knew what He was about to do later on.
v23 So He sent the multitudes away and He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. After ministering to the multitudes, He went back to the secret place of intimacy with God the Father. He withdrew Himself, as He did often, to spend time with the Father. The Bible said that Jesus did nothing of His own; everything that He did was done according to what God the Father had said. He was spending time with God so that He would hear from Him what to do next.
As He was praying alone, the disciples' boat was in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves. They were having tough time sailing through the sea. Mark 6:48 said, "Then He [Jesus] saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by."
Jesus would have passed them by -- that means He was very much adept at walking on water, and He was able to walk fast even though there was a storm at sea. It also meant that He was the help coming to the disciples, but if they were focusing so much on the storm that they didn't see Him coming, He would have passed them by. He was the present help that they needed, but if they didn't recognise Him, the miracle would have just passed them by.
The disciples saw Jesus, but they almost let Him pass by because they didn't recognise He was Jesus. They were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. (v26) Instead of knowing that He is the Lord God, Tuhan (in Malay = God), they thought the other way round and called Him "Hantu" (in Malay = ghost).
To the disciples it was perhaps like this: "Man, we're in this boat-sinking roaring storm because Jesus 'forced' us to get into the boat. Now, if we didn't get into the boat to get to the other side, we probably don't need to go through this! Just how much worse can the situation be? (Suddenly sees Jesus walking on water) *gasp!* It's a GHOST!!"
Sometimes when we are facing difficult situations and circumstances in life, we can be so desperate for the Lord to show up, to the point that we don't recognise that the Lord has already shown up or that He is in control of the situation. Worse still, if we don't guard our hearts, we would be complaining and seeing all the negativity of the situation, i.e., seeing ghosts, seeing only ghost and not God.
Praise God that at this moment, Jesus showed grace to the disciples. v27 He said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." The Amplified Bible translated it as "Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!" Jesus was showing Himself as The Great I AM.
Isn't this a great picture of who our God is? When The Lord revealed Himself as the I AM to Moses, He was saying, "I am He who was, and who is and who is to come. I am the one you've been searching for. I am the Everlasting God, I am the Almighty, I am all you need. I AM." There were times I find myself praying or worshiping and I would say "You are, You are, You are Lord, You are..." But many times our minds ask us, "He is what? What do you mean I AM?" I realised that if you ask it this way, you won't see Him, His being, because our mental understanding tells us that the sentence is incomplete, i.e. You are..... (what?) Yet, our hearts can understand and connect to God, that He truly is (the Lord).
So Jesus was saying to them, I am He! I am God, not ghost! I am all that you need, I am THE LORD.
If we, in any situation that we face, can readily recognise that God is in control of the situation, we will not turn our sight to look at all the negative things in the situation. We will instead set our eyes and hearts and our entire focus on God. When Jesus shows up, all the other things become dim as shadows in the light of His glory and grace.
The account of Jesus walking on water is to me like life's journey. The Lord sends us ahead of Him, before His second coming, but He never has us off His mind, and He is determined to show up in our every day situations. When He comes, He doesn't just want to pass us by and leave us still deep in the problem, but to help us recognise we don't need to struggle; we just need to acknowledge that HE IS. Many times, God tells me that I don't need to struggle, because struggle is a form of work -- you're doing it by your own strength, labouring in vain. But when we acknowledge that He is THE LORD, He gives us rest and peace of heart as He takes over and set things right. As Pastor Joseph Prince said, when we look to Him and see all that He is and has for us, He sees us in our faith, and that pleases Him.
Verse to Remember:
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths
He is the solution to every need, the answer to every question.
Did you ever wonder why Jesus had to make the disciples go into the bed to go ahead of Him to the other side? The New Living Translation used a stronger word: He insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. Jesus did this because He knew what He was about to do later on.
v23 So He sent the multitudes away and He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. After ministering to the multitudes, He went back to the secret place of intimacy with God the Father. He withdrew Himself, as He did often, to spend time with the Father. The Bible said that Jesus did nothing of His own; everything that He did was done according to what God the Father had said. He was spending time with God so that He would hear from Him what to do next.
As He was praying alone, the disciples' boat was in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves. They were having tough time sailing through the sea. Mark 6:48 said, "Then He [Jesus] saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by."
Jesus would have passed them by -- that means He was very much adept at walking on water, and He was able to walk fast even though there was a storm at sea. It also meant that He was the help coming to the disciples, but if they were focusing so much on the storm that they didn't see Him coming, He would have passed them by. He was the present help that they needed, but if they didn't recognise Him, the miracle would have just passed them by.
The disciples saw Jesus, but they almost let Him pass by because they didn't recognise He was Jesus. They were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. (v26) Instead of knowing that He is the Lord God, Tuhan (in Malay = God), they thought the other way round and called Him "Hantu" (in Malay = ghost).
To the disciples it was perhaps like this: "Man, we're in this boat-sinking roaring storm because Jesus 'forced' us to get into the boat. Now, if we didn't get into the boat to get to the other side, we probably don't need to go through this! Just how much worse can the situation be? (Suddenly sees Jesus walking on water) *gasp!* It's a GHOST!!"
Sometimes when we are facing difficult situations and circumstances in life, we can be so desperate for the Lord to show up, to the point that we don't recognise that the Lord has already shown up or that He is in control of the situation. Worse still, if we don't guard our hearts, we would be complaining and seeing all the negativity of the situation, i.e., seeing ghosts, seeing only ghost and not God.
Praise God that at this moment, Jesus showed grace to the disciples. v27 He said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." The Amplified Bible translated it as "Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!" Jesus was showing Himself as The Great I AM.
Isn't this a great picture of who our God is? When The Lord revealed Himself as the I AM to Moses, He was saying, "I am He who was, and who is and who is to come. I am the one you've been searching for. I am the Everlasting God, I am the Almighty, I am all you need. I AM." There were times I find myself praying or worshiping and I would say "You are, You are, You are Lord, You are..." But many times our minds ask us, "He is what? What do you mean I AM?" I realised that if you ask it this way, you won't see Him, His being, because our mental understanding tells us that the sentence is incomplete, i.e. You are..... (what?) Yet, our hearts can understand and connect to God, that He truly is (the Lord).So Jesus was saying to them, I am He! I am God, not ghost! I am all that you need, I am THE LORD.
If we, in any situation that we face, can readily recognise that God is in control of the situation, we will not turn our sight to look at all the negative things in the situation. We will instead set our eyes and hearts and our entire focus on God. When Jesus shows up, all the other things become dim as shadows in the light of His glory and grace.
The account of Jesus walking on water is to me like life's journey. The Lord sends us ahead of Him, before His second coming, but He never has us off His mind, and He is determined to show up in our every day situations. When He comes, He doesn't just want to pass us by and leave us still deep in the problem, but to help us recognise we don't need to struggle; we just need to acknowledge that HE IS. Many times, God tells me that I don't need to struggle, because struggle is a form of work -- you're doing it by your own strength, labouring in vain. But when we acknowledge that He is THE LORD, He gives us rest and peace of heart as He takes over and set things right. As Pastor Joseph Prince said, when we look to Him and see all that He is and has for us, He sees us in our faith, and that pleases Him.
Verse to Remember:
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths
He is the solution to every need, the answer to every question.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Compassion (Walking on Water, Part 1)
I remember when I first heard of this message of the account of Jesus walking on water, it was a sermon that really spoke deeply to me. Subsequently, I found a book by John Ortberg with the title, "If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat". It is a fun reading book with many spiritual principles to draw from. I will share this in another blog post.
Matthew 14:22 began with the word 'Immediately'. Something happened before Jesus made His disciples go into the boat and get before Him to the other side of the lake. Before the account of Jesus walking on water was the account of Jesus feeding the five thousand. And before these two miracles happened, Jesus had a very distressing start of the day.
Matthew 14:13 -- Jesus heard that his cousin John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod the tetrarch, and he was very sad. He departed from that place by boat to a deserted place by Himself. He wanted some quiet time with the Lord, He wanted to lift up His soul to God the Father. But alas, when the multitudes heard that He went to that directed, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
Just imagine, these people followed Him on foot! And it's not like they were all healthy and in comfort. Each of them were carrying their burdens, their sorrows, their sicknesses, their problems, and despite knowing that Jesus withdrew Himself from the crowds, they still followed Him. Why? Perhaps they wanted to console Jesus about John, but I think they secretly or subconsciously knew that Jesus would have compassion on them.
v14 -- When Jesus saw the great multitude, He was moved with compassion for them, and started healing their sick and preaching to them. And boy was the sermon long! Because He preached until evening, and His disciples came to Him to tell Him it's getting late, better send the people into the villages and let them buy themselves food. They were signally Jesus that they were hungry. (v15)
Instead, Jesus made a great miracle of multiplying five loaves and two fishes in the disciples' hands as they distributed it to the multitude. Notice the Lord did not break the loaves and fishes Himself, but instead gave it to the disciples and the food multiplied as they gave it to the people. He wanted them to know that He is in control, for them to see that as they put their trust and faith on Him, there will always be more than enough, because He is the one who supplies, He is Jehovah-Jireh!
Now, try to picture Jesus, who has just lost a close family member who is also supposed to be His forerunner. When a forerunner has died, that means He would be next to go soon. He was in grief, but He was still in control. I believe this is recorded because God wants us to know that He truly can understand our feelings. Jesus is setting the example to us that even though we may be going through challenging times, it doesn't mean that we then switch off our compassion.
I believe it is entirely normal and human when a person goes through grief that he needs time to regain focus and strength, to let the wounds heal. I'm not saying that when we go through rough times we just numb it and tough on the journey. God understands our feelings that we need to draw ourselves away from the crowd and just be in His presence, but He also wants us not to lose the compassion in our hearts. Because deep down inside, we will still have it and find it if we do not just focus on our distress. If we don't ignore the compassion in our hearts, the Lord can use us for miracles. However, if we choose to be drowned in sadness and never rise up, we choose to let God pass us by.
Believe me, I have been through times of great grief and I know what it means to lose someone dear. And during those times, I felt like I had all the right to be emotional about anything and everything and at everyone, even though deep down I knew that I shouldn't continue to be like that. I felt like just giving up everything that I know of the Lord, because for once, it actually seemed like the Lord has failed to show up for me, but then again I also know that it is not like that. I thank God that I never gave up going to church and worship Him, be in His presence. Though at that time I didn't understand many things, and I was desperately searching for answers, but looking back, I thank God that I did not give up the softness in my heart, the part of me that responds to God time and time again. I did not give up being compassionate.
Sometimes we lose someone and people tell us, "from here on, many will come to know Christ!" It's very hard to buy that when you're in that situation, because if many are going to believe in the Lord, why not the one who has passed away? Why some have to die while others get to live eternally? Where is the fairness to that? But friends, if a farmer were to sow seeds, will every seed become a tree? Or can he guarantee the exact number of fruits the tree would yield to every seed sown? Yet, does he say then that he will not go out to reap the harvest because it is too little?
Gal 6:9 Let us do not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Don't lose heart. Don't lose your compassion. You'll never know how miracles will come. Jesus is the supplier of miracles.
Matthew 14:22 began with the word 'Immediately'. Something happened before Jesus made His disciples go into the boat and get before Him to the other side of the lake. Before the account of Jesus walking on water was the account of Jesus feeding the five thousand. And before these two miracles happened, Jesus had a very distressing start of the day.
Matthew 14:13 -- Jesus heard that his cousin John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod the tetrarch, and he was very sad. He departed from that place by boat to a deserted place by Himself. He wanted some quiet time with the Lord, He wanted to lift up His soul to God the Father. But alas, when the multitudes heard that He went to that directed, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
Just imagine, these people followed Him on foot! And it's not like they were all healthy and in comfort. Each of them were carrying their burdens, their sorrows, their sicknesses, their problems, and despite knowing that Jesus withdrew Himself from the crowds, they still followed Him. Why? Perhaps they wanted to console Jesus about John, but I think they secretly or subconsciously knew that Jesus would have compassion on them.
v14 -- When Jesus saw the great multitude, He was moved with compassion for them, and started healing their sick and preaching to them. And boy was the sermon long! Because He preached until evening, and His disciples came to Him to tell Him it's getting late, better send the people into the villages and let them buy themselves food. They were signally Jesus that they were hungry. (v15)
Instead, Jesus made a great miracle of multiplying five loaves and two fishes in the disciples' hands as they distributed it to the multitude. Notice the Lord did not break the loaves and fishes Himself, but instead gave it to the disciples and the food multiplied as they gave it to the people. He wanted them to know that He is in control, for them to see that as they put their trust and faith on Him, there will always be more than enough, because He is the one who supplies, He is Jehovah-Jireh!
Now, try to picture Jesus, who has just lost a close family member who is also supposed to be His forerunner. When a forerunner has died, that means He would be next to go soon. He was in grief, but He was still in control. I believe this is recorded because God wants us to know that He truly can understand our feelings. Jesus is setting the example to us that even though we may be going through challenging times, it doesn't mean that we then switch off our compassion.
I believe it is entirely normal and human when a person goes through grief that he needs time to regain focus and strength, to let the wounds heal. I'm not saying that when we go through rough times we just numb it and tough on the journey. God understands our feelings that we need to draw ourselves away from the crowd and just be in His presence, but He also wants us not to lose the compassion in our hearts. Because deep down inside, we will still have it and find it if we do not just focus on our distress. If we don't ignore the compassion in our hearts, the Lord can use us for miracles. However, if we choose to be drowned in sadness and never rise up, we choose to let God pass us by.
Believe me, I have been through times of great grief and I know what it means to lose someone dear. And during those times, I felt like I had all the right to be emotional about anything and everything and at everyone, even though deep down I knew that I shouldn't continue to be like that. I felt like just giving up everything that I know of the Lord, because for once, it actually seemed like the Lord has failed to show up for me, but then again I also know that it is not like that. I thank God that I never gave up going to church and worship Him, be in His presence. Though at that time I didn't understand many things, and I was desperately searching for answers, but looking back, I thank God that I did not give up the softness in my heart, the part of me that responds to God time and time again. I did not give up being compassionate.
Sometimes we lose someone and people tell us, "from here on, many will come to know Christ!" It's very hard to buy that when you're in that situation, because if many are going to believe in the Lord, why not the one who has passed away? Why some have to die while others get to live eternally? Where is the fairness to that? But friends, if a farmer were to sow seeds, will every seed become a tree? Or can he guarantee the exact number of fruits the tree would yield to every seed sown? Yet, does he say then that he will not go out to reap the harvest because it is too little?
Gal 6:9 Let us do not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Don't lose heart. Don't lose your compassion. You'll never know how miracles will come. Jesus is the supplier of miracles.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Help My Unbelief
Got this revelation about the story of Jesus healing a boy with evil spirit.
In this account of his healing, Jesus had just came down from the mountain where He and His 3 beloved disciples, Peter, James and John, had spent the night. They had the privilege of witnessing Jesus' transfiguration, but commanded by Jesus not to tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man is risen from the dead -- because He knew He was about to go up to the cross, and that this vision would be an evidence or testimony the He is truly sent by the Father, and that He is the Son of God.
Now, as soon as they came down from the mountain and met with the other disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and the scribes disputing with them. (Mark 9:14) A man came to Him, begging Him saying, "Lord have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." (Matthew 17:15-16) Mark recorded it as "... So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it [the evil spirit] out, but they could not."
This father must have been very desperate for his son to be healed of the evil spirit. He knows very well that it was an evil spirit that caused his son to be epileptic, falling into fire and water, so he searched for the right solution -- the spiritual solution -- and he came to the right people. But to His disappointment, Jesus' disciples couldn't cast out the demon. Perhaps they have tried all night, using all kinds of ways, but they still couldn't help this boy.
And being desperate, as soon as the father saw Jesus arrive, he came to Him and related the night's incident to Him. Perhaps what he was saying was this, "Jesus, thank goodness You are here now. You see, my son is demon-possessed, and I guess only You alone can help me, because even Your disciples can't cast it out." And maybe he had this slight hint of complaining that His disciples were a useless bunch. But he couldn't offend the Lord, so he tried to relate what happened in an objective manner.
But Jesus answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me."
Talk about WOW! Was Jesus talking about the father being faithless, or the disciples? Or both? Perhaps it was both. The father didn't have faith that the disciples could heal his boy, nor did the disciples had faith that the boy would be healed through them.
Then the father said, "But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." (Mark 9:22b) Did he know that Jesus can do EVERYTHING? Why then did he said ANYTHING? Obviously, he was desperately begging Jesus for help.
Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:23-24)
The father was so desperate for something to happen that his level of faith had begun to decrease, and there was a mixture of faith and unbelief in his heart.
Sometimes that can happen to us. We are so desperate for something to happen, for a change, for a prayer to be answered, for God to show up, that our faith dwindles and we don't know if there was any basis for our hope. We are so desperate for God to answer us that it seemed like God was late. And suddenly we become confused. Should I really do this? Is this the will of God for me? Am I praying correctly?
Friends, let me tell you that if you're not praying stuff against God's nature and against what the Bible says, there's no such thing as a 'wrong prayer'. The father of the boy could have asked, "is it God's will for my son to be heal?" The answer is "of course!" Is it God's will for you to see your family members saved, see you living in prosperity, good career development, living in overflowing blessing? OF COURSE!
How do you keep on believing when what you have asked for is not yet here? Keep looking at faith (Jesus), keep hearing Him saying to you "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." He has already given us the remedy to help your unbelief.
Verse to Remember:
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Christ) -- Romans 10:17
In this account of his healing, Jesus had just came down from the mountain where He and His 3 beloved disciples, Peter, James and John, had spent the night. They had the privilege of witnessing Jesus' transfiguration, but commanded by Jesus not to tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man is risen from the dead -- because He knew He was about to go up to the cross, and that this vision would be an evidence or testimony the He is truly sent by the Father, and that He is the Son of God.
Now, as soon as they came down from the mountain and met with the other disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and the scribes disputing with them. (Mark 9:14) A man came to Him, begging Him saying, "Lord have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." (Matthew 17:15-16) Mark recorded it as "... So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it [the evil spirit] out, but they could not."
This father must have been very desperate for his son to be healed of the evil spirit. He knows very well that it was an evil spirit that caused his son to be epileptic, falling into fire and water, so he searched for the right solution -- the spiritual solution -- and he came to the right people. But to His disappointment, Jesus' disciples couldn't cast out the demon. Perhaps they have tried all night, using all kinds of ways, but they still couldn't help this boy.
And being desperate, as soon as the father saw Jesus arrive, he came to Him and related the night's incident to Him. Perhaps what he was saying was this, "Jesus, thank goodness You are here now. You see, my son is demon-possessed, and I guess only You alone can help me, because even Your disciples can't cast it out." And maybe he had this slight hint of complaining that His disciples were a useless bunch. But he couldn't offend the Lord, so he tried to relate what happened in an objective manner.
But Jesus answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me."
Talk about WOW! Was Jesus talking about the father being faithless, or the disciples? Or both? Perhaps it was both. The father didn't have faith that the disciples could heal his boy, nor did the disciples had faith that the boy would be healed through them.
Then the father said, "But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." (Mark 9:22b) Did he know that Jesus can do EVERYTHING? Why then did he said ANYTHING? Obviously, he was desperately begging Jesus for help.
Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:23-24)
The father was so desperate for something to happen that his level of faith had begun to decrease, and there was a mixture of faith and unbelief in his heart.
Sometimes that can happen to us. We are so desperate for something to happen, for a change, for a prayer to be answered, for God to show up, that our faith dwindles and we don't know if there was any basis for our hope. We are so desperate for God to answer us that it seemed like God was late. And suddenly we become confused. Should I really do this? Is this the will of God for me? Am I praying correctly?
Friends, let me tell you that if you're not praying stuff against God's nature and against what the Bible says, there's no such thing as a 'wrong prayer'. The father of the boy could have asked, "is it God's will for my son to be heal?" The answer is "of course!" Is it God's will for you to see your family members saved, see you living in prosperity, good career development, living in overflowing blessing? OF COURSE!
How do you keep on believing when what you have asked for is not yet here? Keep looking at faith (Jesus), keep hearing Him saying to you "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." He has already given us the remedy to help your unbelief.
Verse to Remember:
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Christ) -- Romans 10:17
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Jesus, I love You
Last year, a brother in church composed this song he named "More than anything". It's a very simple song with simple lyrics and simple chords, composed in the simplicity of heart, I believe. Yet it's such an impactful song. It has touched my heart countless times when I sang it or played it. It's a song that sings that cry of my heart, that desire to love the Lord more, more than anything. It's a song that speaks of the crave for Jesus, that I really need Him.
I had this imagination (or impression) some time ago, where I was a young girl, and my Lover was the Lord Jesus. We were sitting together by the stream, our bare feet soaking in the cool water. He was holding me in His embrace, just loving me tenderly. We were silent all through, just watching the waves in the stream, enjoying the beautiful scenery, oblivious of time and space. My worries melted, my burdens lifted, and that joy as He kissed my forehead and smiled at me...
There are many times in life when we face challenges, difficulties, struggling through quicksands, having great waves coming; when we are distressed, upset, depressed, hurt, angry, disappointed -- it's times like this that we always tend to ask a lot of questions of why's. But it's also times like these that we really need to tell God, "Lord, I love You", to just worship Him and tell Him how much you really miss Him and want to be with Him.
Someone once said that there are some questions in life that no matter how many times you have asked it or much you try to find the answer, there just isn't an answer to it. So quit asking and give it a rest! The Lord doesn't owe us any explanation. He just wants us to trust Him that He will lead us through any situation, and through it all, to grow in faith and to be more like Him. He wants us to reflect His strength so that others would experience Him the Almighty.
There will be times when God doesn't answer us the way that we want to. He doesn't tells us the things we want to hear, but what He wants to tell. He doesn't answer us the way we want it to come, but the way He wants it to be answered. Many times, He won't tell us 'yes' or 'no'; He'll just be silent or say 'wait'. Many times we will need to be the ones making the final decision, especially if the decision will not cause us to love Him less, but to trust Him more.
Joyce Meyer said: we have no testimony without a test (Beauty for Ashes). I learned (am still learning) that God really does make things work out for good, even when we go through times that we don't fully understand what was happening. He makes things work out for good, because He wants to give us the opportunity for testimony -- to glorify Him.
Really, if our lives are made to glorify Him and to make manifest His glory, to witness of Him and preach His love and greatness, how will we do it if we don't have a personal experience of His glory? And how will we experience His glory if we refuse to let go of ourselves to let Him have His way in our lives? How will we experience Him if we keep asking 'why' and not rest in Him? How can we say that we love Him if we don't want to be intimate with Him in worship?
Tell Him that you love Him. Tell Him, singing, "Jesus, I love You, more than anything..." so that you can tell others that He loves them.
I had this imagination (or impression) some time ago, where I was a young girl, and my Lover was the Lord Jesus. We were sitting together by the stream, our bare feet soaking in the cool water. He was holding me in His embrace, just loving me tenderly. We were silent all through, just watching the waves in the stream, enjoying the beautiful scenery, oblivious of time and space. My worries melted, my burdens lifted, and that joy as He kissed my forehead and smiled at me...
There are many times in life when we face challenges, difficulties, struggling through quicksands, having great waves coming; when we are distressed, upset, depressed, hurt, angry, disappointed -- it's times like this that we always tend to ask a lot of questions of why's. But it's also times like these that we really need to tell God, "Lord, I love You", to just worship Him and tell Him how much you really miss Him and want to be with Him.
Someone once said that there are some questions in life that no matter how many times you have asked it or much you try to find the answer, there just isn't an answer to it. So quit asking and give it a rest! The Lord doesn't owe us any explanation. He just wants us to trust Him that He will lead us through any situation, and through it all, to grow in faith and to be more like Him. He wants us to reflect His strength so that others would experience Him the Almighty.
There will be times when God doesn't answer us the way that we want to. He doesn't tells us the things we want to hear, but what He wants to tell. He doesn't answer us the way we want it to come, but the way He wants it to be answered. Many times, He won't tell us 'yes' or 'no'; He'll just be silent or say 'wait'. Many times we will need to be the ones making the final decision, especially if the decision will not cause us to love Him less, but to trust Him more.
Joyce Meyer said: we have no testimony without a test (Beauty for Ashes). I learned (am still learning) that God really does make things work out for good, even when we go through times that we don't fully understand what was happening. He makes things work out for good, because He wants to give us the opportunity for testimony -- to glorify Him.
Really, if our lives are made to glorify Him and to make manifest His glory, to witness of Him and preach His love and greatness, how will we do it if we don't have a personal experience of His glory? And how will we experience His glory if we refuse to let go of ourselves to let Him have His way in our lives? How will we experience Him if we keep asking 'why' and not rest in Him? How can we say that we love Him if we don't want to be intimate with Him in worship?
Tell Him that you love Him. Tell Him, singing, "Jesus, I love You, more than anything..." so that you can tell others that He loves them.
Monday, September 15, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
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:
"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!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
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.
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.
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