The Greatest Gift

Today's Christmas eve and once again, we will be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. To many, Christmas is associated with Santa Claus, presents and family gatherings which is fine.

But the real reason why we should be celebrating Christmas is to remember the birth of Christ.

Today, my QT touched on God's name - Emmanuel which means GOd with us. Jesus is God's Christmas gift to anyone who wants to accept Him. Wrapped up in Jesus are all the benefits and blessings and so much more - He gives us a purpose for living.

I took the step of accepting Christ when I was 19 and I have not looked back. It was not easy for me to be a christian initially because my mum who was a staunch Buddhist refused to accept my decision. I stuck with it even though she was dead against it. She threw my bible down the chute & I got scolded for mixing with Christians. I was not allowed to go to church until Peter came along. He secretly took me to church and one day he decided to tell my mum about it. He wanted to come clean with her. My heart stopped beating when he told her. Because my mum valued honesty n courage, she took it very well and from then on, everything went smoothly. Whew!

However, we dont hv to wait for Christmas to celebrate Jesus' birth. We can do it every day. We remember Jesus came to die on the cross for us so that He can pay our 'debt' , compensate for the damages of our sins, redeem us from slavery and take on the punishment on himself when we should deserve it. That's grace - undeserved mercy. That's why a man who realises how much God loves him inspite of his sins, wrote this song - Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.

Wonderful Counsellor n Mighty God

Money

Caption : Show me the Money!

My Little Lamb & Champ

Do you know that the bible talks alot about money - 5,280 verses on money more than heaven and hell put together?

God is not opposed to Christians having lots of money. He's opposed to christians coveting, which is greed actually. The bible warns us about greed. Greed is deceptive (Mark 8:35), distorts our value system and plunges men into ruins & destruction (1Tim 6:9)

More amazingly, the bible also talks about not being a guarantor for anyone if we dont have the money to cover the debt amount. Proverbs 22:26 "Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you". That is the reason why so many young people in Spore are bankrupts because they are guarantors for their friends' debts.

On the other hand, it's not easy to get some christians to understand the truth that God wants them to prosper and do well in life. Many folks have this poverty mentality in that they think it's spiritual to be poor. To live in a big house is ungodly. These folks think that it is a sin to have

more money coz 'money is the root of all evil'. The bible didnt say that. The bible says, "For the LOVE of money is the root of all evil..." 1 Tim 6:10.

Chew on these :

Psalm 50:10 "The cattle on a thousand hills are His."
Hagai 2:8 "The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty."
Proverbs 10:22 'The blessings of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it."

I have since learned that God wants to prosper His children. He is concerned about us and wants us to have good things in life. Abraham, Joseph, Daniel & Solomon, just to name a few, were extremely wealthy people. Many christians (quote K Hagin) think that a person ought to go through life with his clothes worn out, the soles of his shoes worn out, and live on Barely-Get-Along Street way down at the end of the block right next to Grumble Alley! Haha..

But God talked to the Israelites about their 'basket & store' being blessed, their barns being filled, n about them being the head and not the tail in Deut 28:1-14 n Prov 3:10. That's material prosperity. But notice that their physical and material prosperity depended upon their spiritual prosperity.

3 John 2 "Beloved, I wish above all things that you may PROSPER & BE IN HEALTH, even as your SOUL PROSPER."

God created the silver and the gold and many other good things for his creation- Man. If God created the world and the fullness of it and then turned it over to Adam (the 1st man), how did satan become god of this world? (2Corin 4:4) God made everything for His man, Adam but then he committed treason against God when he surrendered all his rights & privileges to satan in the Garden of Eden. Adam & Eve disobeyed God and fell into the devil's trap and thus lost their authority over the earth's goods. One of them is money.

At the Hawaii conference, systemic poverty is still prevalent in most parts of the world because satan puts people in bondage. Satan influences people to think that poverty will always be their lot in life and there is no escape. But if u read my previous blog about what is happening around the world, u'll realise that God wants to rescue people from this scarcity mentality & change their thinking. The good news is that the bible says we have been given authority in Christ to claim our needs and enjoy the blessings of God that we have in Christ, including financial prosperity. Believing and confessing will get the job done.

Love, Mum

Tithing

Haha... The above brings me to the topic on tithing.

Leviticus 27:30 "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord."

God owns everything. God keeps a portion sacred for himself, 10% - that's the sovereignty of God in our lives, and we keep 90%. Many of the principles regarding sacrifices & tithes were intended to encourage inward attitudes as well as outward actions. If a person gives grudgingly, he shows that he has a stingy heart. If that's the case, He wouldnt want our tithe coz God wants us to be cheerful givers -

2Corin 9:7 "Each man should give what he has DECIDED in his HEART to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion for GOd loves a cheerful giver."

So children, do not rob God of this 10% (tithe - tenth) as Malachi 3:8 talks about coming under a financial curse if we do (egs holes in your pocket) - "Will a man rob GOd? Yet u rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob u?' 'In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse (local church) that there may be food in my house (church). Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, & the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,' says the Lord Almighty. Then all the nations will call you blessed for yours will be a delightful land,' says the Lord Almighty.

God is working at our attitude - when we tithe, what is our motivation? In the old testament, the people of God were commanded by law to pay. In the new testament, the people were compelled by love to give. What's yours? Dont tip God. Give God purposely for everything that he has done for you. We are under the new testament.

Secondly, if you look at the above scripture- 'bring the tithe into the storehouse' - it means to give our tithe to our local church who provides spiritual covering/protection for us.

1Tim 5:17-18 "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching & teaching. For the scripture say, 'Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,' and 'The worker deserves his wages.'

Full time church leaders are sometimes taken for granted - their needs are not adequately provided for. Personally, I feel we should often ask ourselves if they have received enough financial support to allow them to live without worry & to provide for their families. The reason we should honour the office of the pastor and honour the man who stands in that office is that those who do will prosper in life! It's ironical that some church goers will not hesitate to ask for pay increases and promotions for themselves when they deprive their own pastors from increments and promotions!

Notice that financial curse will come upon a person if he does not tithe. That's the principle of sowing and reaping. When your dad 1st started his biz, he did not have enough income and had to depend on our savings. Once, he decided to skip tithing for that month so that he could use the money on the family. When he did that, he encountered car problems which needed fixing n that amounted to quite a bit of money, or sth would go wrong n we needed to spend. In the end, God spoke to him about the conseq of not tithing - you will have holes in the pocket if you do not tithe.

A few years back, Ps Khong preached on tithing and the law of sowing & reaping. Many from our congregation including our friends & myself, decided to pay back what we owed God in the past when we did not tithe. As a result, there were many who were blessed beyond their expectations - great favours with clients resulting in more biz, job promotions, good health, restoration of family ties, etc.

2Corin 9:6 " Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.."

It pays to obey God's unchanging Word. Do it and you will forever be protected from the clutches of the spirit of poverty or the scarcity mentality. When giving, do it cheerfully and keep your motives n attitudes right. As you do, you'll be blessed because Abraham's blessing belongs to you!

Love, Mum

Marketplace Transformation

Dearest Little Lamb & Champ

The trip to Hawaii was money well spent. The conference has answered many questions for myself & your dad through revelations & confirmations. I believe that societal transformation is high on GOd's agenda for this generation & to bring about city transformation, Christian believers have to minister in the marketplace.

Marketplace transformation is about taking the presence of God to the marketplace which is the heart of the city/region. This is about fulfilling the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20

This is a conference where we get to see how so many ordinary people from around the world do extraordinary things with God. They gave their testimonies on stage. Many marketplace people see multitudes saved, violence decreased, corruption uprooted, prisons transformed and poverty reduced.

Ready for some real stories - see God's hand at work :

1) Mexico
Mexico is the 6th most violent city in the world. It was notorious for corruption and its drug cartels. God called Ps Poncho to minister to the prisoners in El Cereso Prison & confirmation came when the mayor approached him to help with transforming the prison. 92% of the prisoners were on drugs. People from the outside commit 'small' crimes just to come in to buy drugs. Corruption was rampant from the head of the prison to the lowest level staff.

After much work and prayer, hundreds of prisoners were set free from drug addiction. The govt gave Ps a separate building to do church on Sunday and now the congregation is 650-strong. The clean prison image attracted the United Nations' attention and a UN team came to study the prison's management so that they can replicate its model.

There are other city transformations as well. About 100,000 children and teens roam the streets daily. The mafias use them to kill people for a fee of US$300. Ps Poncho is building a museum for the children to educate them so as to keep them from crimes. Out of 3,000 prostitutes, roughly about 1,000 had quit their jobs.

2) Jacksonville, Florida
Ps Vaughn revitalised the ghetto just outside of Jacksonville. Ps Vaughn decided he wanted to impact the community instead of just pastoring a church. He bought a dilapidated mall unused for 15 yrs and turned it into a vibrant place with the help of his church members. The mall now houses 21 businesses which are owned by the church members themselves. The church covers the overhead costs and the tenants give back to the ministry as their businesses prosper, never fearing eviction. God has transformed the community through the mall in the marketplace and thousands of lives have been touched.

3) Philippines
The city of Paranaque near Manila was transformed when the mayor gave permission to Ps King Flores to pray for the city at city hall. The mayor was desperate for help as he had inherited a debt of 1 billion pesos. With the christians doing prayer evangelism, the city witnessed a change in climate. Corruption was removed, bribes were gone and people paid their taxes. About 900 couples got married as compared to previously, couples just cohabited.

Even more amazing was how a bar becomes a church in the Philippines. Joe was a taxi driver and shortly after his conversion, he heard God tell him to serve where he was. So he focused on a bar called Sweet Moments. He applied the principles of prayer evangelism. He befriended the manager, Brian, who was a homosexual, a gambler, drug user, drug dealer & a pimp to 35 prostitutes. The friendship grew & ultimately Brian accepted Christ, & was baptized. As Brian came out of the water, God came upon him, & he experienced an instant transformation - all his homosexual drives disappeared, & he was freed from gambling & drug addiction. He stopped being a pimp. In a very short time, all 35 prostitutes became Christians. The owner of the bar ultimately became convicted that his line of business was not pleasing to God, so he turned the bar into a church.

4) Maui, Hawaii

Myles and Joyce Kawakami owned a carpet business. They were on the verge of winding up their business when God spoke to Myles to give him half of his business earnings to God. And why not? He wasnt doing well and he had nothing to lose. That year, his profits came up to US$130,000 and even if he gave 50% to God, he earned much more than when he owned 100% of his business. Out of his profits, Myles' wife Joyce was able to feed the poor in Maui. It started as a small food pantry from the back of her car and it has grown into a distribution of food throughout Maui to anyone who needs it.

5) Toronto, Canada
Ps Pat Francis started a church where the poor went. She took in the rejected, defeated, etc. She helped them to climb out of poverty by teaching them how to be entrepreneurs and own their own homes as the bible says that there should be no poor amongst you. She even set up a mortgage company to help the people in the church.

Ps Pat taught that prosperity is the solution to poverty and since we are the seed of Abraham, we cant help but prosper.

6) Phuket, Thailand
Brian Burton is a pastor of a church in Phuket. A high govt official who heard the sermon on the evil of corruption was finally convicted that he should return a bribe of US$1m that he had taken for paving the way for a hospital construction. Since the govt official had returned the money, the construction company decided to return a bribe of US$1/2 million as the management did not want to get into trouble with the law. Very soon, many who took bribes returned the money. Now the fund stands at US$7million and more money is pouring in at this moment. The money is finally used for helping the poor in the community. This is what you get when christians start to pray for transformation in the city to stem out systemic poverty because of corruption.

There are many other amazing stories. One thing is for sure, God is making an impact in this end times by anointing his people to be marketplace ministers. Your dad and I believe our family will be actively used in the marketplace like Joseph, Job, Gideon, David, Esther, Daniel, Paul, Aquilla & Priscilla.

Only when you are willing, then you will see miracles in your lifetime.

Jeremiah 33:8-9
"I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise & honour before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it, and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it."

With Love
Mum

Endurance Inspired by Hope

Hey 'guys' .. here's Ps Khong's sermon on 8 Nov preached at Ps Cal Chinen's church in Honolulu. All 22 of us were there to accompany Ps.

The scripture was taken from :

1Thess 1:2-3 "We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, & yr endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ps Khong preached on the last part - "Endurance inspired by Hope in Jesus Christ". It was an apt msg on hope to finish the race at that moment. The church adopted the Moanalua High School Football team & since then they have provided coaching, spiritual & physical covering over the players. Both teams, the varsity & JV teams emerged as champions of their league because the teams were coached to practise & play acc to kingdom principles.

The players were called to go on stage & everyone in the church celebrated their victory. They had never emerged as champions before so this was an important moment of triumph.

If you look at the 2nd pic, they have a girl on the team & she doesnt even look like a tomboy!

Endurance is a big thing coz we are talking about the tenacity to finish whatever we have started. It takes hope to endure to the end and the football teams had done just that.

Do you have a dream - to dream is to hope. It is imperative that we have to dream in our sleep according to a research done on 2 groups of people. Both groups had the mandatory 8 hrs of sleep. 1st group went to sleep, with wires hooked up on their brains. The minute any1 of them started to dream, he/she would be woken up, before he/she could get back to sleep. This was done sev times but the 1st group still had their 8hrs of sleep. 2nd group sleep was not interrupted & they had the freedom to dream in their sleep. Outcome - 1st group became negative & listless while the 2nd group had a more positive outlook.


Hope is about dreams and purpose. God wants us to dream in our waking hours.


WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO DREAM?

1) To dream for God is to look positively in the future. Then you will no longer live in the past or live in pain. A man with a dream will move on.
- Everything in the past prepares you for the future.
- Everything in the present works towards the future.
Let your dream drive you.

2) Dream keeps our life focused. There is power of a focused life.
Take 2 non-alcoholic companies - Coke & Pepsi. Pepsi's initial biz was in drinks but later decided to expand into food in which they were not familiar. Anyway, they acquired Pizza & Kentucky and they had 24,000 restaurants around the globe. Coke on the other hand concentrated on drinks & performed better than Pepsi. Last year, Pepsi was valued at US$110b while Coke was valued at US$140b. That's the power of focus, your attention is not diversified.

Also when you have a focus in life, you will not have time to sin to mess you up.

3) Dream causes you to live in faith. It forces every ounce of faith in you to rise up. It causes you to do the impossible.

It was such a powerful msg that when Ps Khong gave the invitation to receive Christ in order they have a hope, about 20 people came forward. Many of the players including some of their parents invited Jesus into their lives for the first time.

So dare to dream ...

Love
Mum

Life's a Beach!

Aloha kiddos from Hawaii,


Would you believe it? Maui has a population of about 200,000 but every year 2 million visitors from all over the world visit this little island for a holiday. Below, you can see Castle Camaole Sands, a big resort apartment which comes with a bedroom, kitchen and a big living & dining area.

We also signed up for a helicopter tour which took us to the east and west of Maui. We saw the world's largest dormant volcano, Haleakala crater, the fabulous cascading waterfalls of the Hana rainforest & the mountains in West Maui. The valley was beautiful but the pilot didnt go down the valley which I thought was a waste. Anyway the ride was nice but not thrilling. It moved at a very slow pace. I wouldnt want to do this again, Disneyland is more fun!

We went snorkling at Molokini - I saw beautiful corals with sea creatures & colourful fishes though not many. We were brought to the one of Lanai's famous reefs for our next snorkel site. I didnt think it was fantastic. Dont go snorkling in the U.S., the better places are in Pulau Langkawi and Rendang in Trengganu in Malaysia! Moreover, snorkling is a lot cheaper & fishes are plentiful, & they swim all around you. Did you remember I saw a baby shark swimming past me in P Langkawi?

Anyway, as the deluxe boat travels on the Pacific Ocean, we saw many playful dolphins swimming in front of the boat and beside it. That was the first time I ever saw a school of flying fish out of the water. They looked like little helicopters with transparent wings and pink bodies.

The panoramic ocean, the mountain scenery and the line dividing the sea from the sky in the distance reminds me of Genesis 1 when God created the earth.

Genesis 1:9 "And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear." And it was so. GOd called the dry ground 'land' & the gathered waters he called 'seas'.

Vs 20 "Let the water teem with living creatures... vs 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living & moving thing with which the water teems.."

Some scientists say the nbr of stars in creation is equal to all the grains of all the sands on all the beaches of the world. The vast galaxy we live in is spinning at an incredible speed of 490,000 miles an hr. But even at this breakneck speed, our galaxy still needs 200 mil years to make 1 rotation. And there are over 1 billion other galaxies just like ours in the universe. To say the universe 'just happened' or 'evolved' requires more faith than to believe that God is behind this wonderful creation. This earth functions with such remarkable order and efficiency!

Truly, Hawaii is blessed with beautiful beaches wherever you go. Oahu is also blessed with an abundance of botanical gardens.

The Hilton Resort is really a beautiful place with the world famous Waikiki beach just next to the hotel. The hotel is really HUGE and it's filled with ponds, gardens, open cafes & quaint shops; even the Registration Counter is open ie they have no doors.. it leads to the open courtyard with sofas with plants & trees all around. The room of course is luxurious. By the way, the bathroom is stocked with Crabtree & Evelyn's soap, shampoo & conditioner!

Now in Oahu, we were treated to Polynesian dance during our dinners for 2 nights. It was entertaining and tonight, all the guests were taught some basic dance steps and we all danced to it. Even Ps Khong danced, he sat at our table.

The conference is very good and I shall share some of the 'gems' I've learned the next time I blog. But it requires a paradigm shift if you want to do business in the marketplace. The principles are good to adopt.

Tomorrow, we will be visiting a church and we'll come back in the evening for another session after dinner. Afternoon will be free, so I think I'll go to the Waikiki beach. This time, I will take off my shoes, and wiggle my toes in the warm golden sand. This beach is a 2-mile stretch of shoreline. The Hawaiians will tell u not to leave Oahu until you've walked the length of this strand.

Next week, we will be going to downtown Honolulu for our conference. Conference will end on Wed 12noon after which the ladies will go to the outlets to shop. We'll leave Honolulu on THur and arrive Spore on Fri around 6pm.

We should come back to Hawaii and take you two to the crater to watch sunrise. But you have to wake up at 3am to set off. Only 5 out of 14 of us went up the crater. Your dad was not well so we didnt make the trip. He was just too exhausted with not enough sleep. I cannot abandon him can I? Sigh!

Take Care n Love Ya!

Mum

Mountain Moving Faith

Hey Tabby, I like to continue our conversation on the subject of FAITH. I thought it'll be better if I write down my thoughts ... really, there's so much to talk about this topic of faith but I'll just restrict it to 3 practical pointers.

1) What is Faith?

Using the great faith chapter to start off....

Hebrew 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

HOPE & FAITH. When you want something, you have to hope first, but hope cant take the place of Faith. You hope when you dont hv something but hope does not have substance. Faith has substance.. If I reach into my bag and pull out my hp, I know I hv my hp coz I can feel it & touch it coz there is substance. So faith gives substance to the things hoped for. Faith cannot take the place of hope. So Faith says I have it now even though I cant see it. Faith has absolutely nothing to do with how you feel or the circumstances around you. Emotions and circumstances change all the time so they are unreliable.

Faith is different from positive thinking. Positive thinking is very limited, more of a temporary fix although it can help you. Faith is something that God gives you a measure of, that you can keep developing it as you live your life. Faith, therefore, has more permanence. Moreover, faith can exist even in dire circumstances whereas positive thinking may tend to deny them!

So how do we tell the difference? Simple. The one who uses the Word to keep his faith strong is the one who does not rely on positive thinking.

2) How To Get Faith

You can only get faith from hearing the Word of God.

Romans 10:17 " Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." The Word of God is called the Word of Faith. God gives faith, the Word is the instrument. 3 years back, I witnessed an old lady, who was wheelchair-bound for 7 years, stood up and walked when Ps Khong called out to her. Now how did she get faith for healing? She heard the msg on faith by Ps Khong. He not only preached the salvation msg but he also preached that Jesus took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.

3) How to Turn Your Faith Loose

Romans 10:8-10 gives you the answer.

"The Word is near you, it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming. That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

For faith to work for you, you got to release it by believing in your heart and confessing it with your mouth. When God talks about the heart, He is talking about the spirit of man. Believe on the inside of you and not speak out of your head (intellectual faith).

You can confess and proclaim that Jesus is raised from the dead but if your heart does not believe, it will do nothing for you. Faith has to be both places in your heart and in your mouth (verbal). That's the confession that saves. You dont have to shout, you can murmur it under your breath.

Faith begins when the will of God is known :

- I can have faith in someone's salvation because God wants to save people from satan's clutches. John 3:16 says.. For God so loved the world that he gave his one & only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

- I can have faith in someone's healing because God says in Matt 8:17 that He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.

- I can have faith in driving out demons because God gave us the authority in Luke 10:19 "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you."

- I can have faith in relationships .. instructions on marriage is found in 1Corin 7, building bond with people whether it's platonic or love relationships, is found in 1John etc.

For everything that happens in your life, you believe by faith there is a purpose - either to mould your character, teach you dependence on God, show you God's faithfulness & love or giving you life experiences to prepare you for the next phase of life. I know you are grateful for the experience in Canada and the travels that you can make. Sure, there are times when you feel down but when you grumble often, you are not taking the faith step to believe that all things work together for good, and confessing it. Hebrews 11:6 says "Without faith, it is impossible to please God."

God is also in the business of preserving love relationships. He keeps couples together if they put their trust in Him, that is, only if both believe in God. You cannot have faith to pray for a relationship if one is either an agnostic or an atheist and the other a Christian. It's not that God doesnt love the agnostic/atheist, He cannot speak to & bless that person, there4, God cannot bless the relationship itself. There is no unity with the Spirit of God. 1 Corin 2:14 "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of GOd for they are foolishness to him & he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned."

Last week, Ps Dyshan from India told us he was in a 3-yr relationship with a Christian Caucasian lady during his studies in America. He always wanted to marry a 'white' but deep in his heart, he was not certain. However, he knows for sure, God wants him to serve in Sri Lanka.. would a caucausian woman want to settle in Sri Lanka? He finally broke off with her coz he had no peace. The minute he came back to S Lanka, he knew he wld marry a Sri Lankan lady. He met her & just after 2 mtgs, he told her he would marry her...she thought so too & she said yes! Trapped! Haha.

In 6 mths, they were married! You see.. faith begins when the will of God is known. Both are committed christians & both wanted to stay in S Lanka to serve God. Both had a heart to minister to the people in S Lanka & that was God's heartbeat as well. Of course, I wont suggest taking such drastic step to marry within a year, he even said so himself. THis is rare but they had God's approval. Same bed, same dreams! God kept them together & increase their love 4 each other even though they had lots of arguments. This is because they had no chance of really getting to know each other well during courtship. Besides Ps Dyshan said that they could not go on dates without someone coming up to them & intruding in their privacy. Even the waiters and people on the street know him.

Remember, faith is a lifestyle. Matt 9:29 says : "Because of your faith, it will happen." You must want to build your mustard seed faith to a mountain moving faith. Mustard seed faith is simple but when it's mountain moving faith, it's no longer about yourself & your ability. It's all about God, His power & His glory. Mountain moving faith is not wishful thinking, it's about walking in His power & that in itself is a great testimony of what a fantastic God we serve.

Because of Him,

Mum

How To Train the Human Spirit

Dearest children

I cannot miss this out for you both - How to Train the Human Spirit. Often we develop the body, the soul (consists of the will, emotions & intelligence) but we leave the spirit untouched.

Since we accept Jesus into our hearts, our spirit is re-created, born again. We are reborn spiritually by receiving eternal life - Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Eternal life is a gift given to us and is the life and nature of God that comes into our spirit when we are re-created.

We are made in the image and likeness of God. Gen 1:27 "God created man in his own image... Gen 5:1-2 "..When God created man, he made him into the likeness of God. He created them male & female & blessed them." Man is not an animal although some people would have you believe we belong to the animal kingdom. Have you tried communicating with an old goat or a gorilla? Definitely not! We are in the same class as God. The thing that differentiates man from other creatures is his spirit. That's the part of him that makes him like God.

God is a spirit. Man is also a spirit as we are created in God's image. With our spirit we contact God. God contacts us through our spirit. If that is so, we should be more spirit conscious.

How do we train our spirit? The answer is found in Joshua 1:8

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth;
Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
Then you will be prosperous and successful."

Step 1 : Meditate on God's Word
The written Word was given to us to fit & develop our spirit nature. A man whether saved or unsaved has this heart hunger/spirit hunger on the inside of him. He's never satisfied with the world, ie, status, wealth, religion, etc, until he finds God. The Greek word for meditate is murmur. You have to talk about the Word, say it to yourself, murmur it; it's constantly on your mind. You can start with 15 mins daily, then increase the time.

Step 2 : Be a doer of the Word
Practise the Word, do what it says. For eg, God's Word says in 1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." So you have to literally cast your burdens off you onto God, otherwise you will be filled with sorrow.

Step 3 : Giving God's Word 1st place
This means God's Word takes 1st priority over other things, the minute you receive God's instructions on a certain matter.

Step 4 : Instantly Obeying the Voice of Your Own Spirit
Do not doubt coz the spirit's voice will be in line with God's Word. Do not procrastinate in obeying the voice of your own spirit.

When you follow the 4 points, you will be prosperous and successful. If God doesnt want Joshua to be successful, then why would He give Joshua the formula for success? BTW, prosperity does not always mean wealth, it can also mean everything is well with you.

If you constantly practise the 4 steps, you will be able to deal wisely with the affairs of life, even in the minor details of your life. Your spirit will be an authorative guide, a safe guide, for the spirit of man is the 'candle of the Lord' (Prov 20:27).

May God give u understanding & insight into His Word,
Love Mum

Being Led...Part 3

Tab & Cal,

I spoke about God leading us by what we call the still small voice. But He also leads us by the voice of the Spirit of God speaking to us.

Number 3 way : The Inward Voice of the Holy Spirit

The difference between the inward voice of the Holy Spirit and that still small voice speaking to our spirit is that the voice of the Holy Spirit is more authoritative. Sometimes it's so real that it almost seems like someone is talking to you in the room but then you realise it was in you.

Remember in the OT how Samuel as a young boy heard a voice call his name, "Samuel, Samuel?" He thought the priest Eli was calling him. After the 3rd time, although Eli did not hear God's voice but it dawned on him that it was God who was calling Samuel. So the next time it happened, Samuel answered that voice and God spoke further with him (1 Sam 3).

Back to the story, I had spoken to CM that I would pray for her on Sun. That week itself was also the Women's Encounter (EW). I told my leaders that I would go to the EW to help them on Sat and the whole of Sun. So focused was I on the EW, that I had totally forgotten I had to pray for CM on Sun.

On Sat morning when I woke up, I had a sudden sharp pain that shot right through my neck and shoulders while on the bed. The pain was so intense that I had to slowly turn over to daddy's side to ask him to pray for the pain to go away. Immediately, the pain left when he prayed. Simultaneously, as I called out CM's name in my head, I heard..."Arent you suppose to pray for CM this Sun and yet you are going for EW tmr?" The voice was distinct and authoritative.

That experience left quite an indelible impression on me. Well, on Sun I prayed for her verbatim using the scripture vs. She claimed her knees were healed coz there was no pain when she deliberately 'work out' her legs @ the gym. Her neck & shoulder pain lessened tremendously. But God hadnt finished with her, 2 weeks later in church, God touched both her & her husband. God's presence was so strong; the pain came back and then went off, with her crying out to God. Right there and then, she settled the grievances in her heart against her husband with GOd. Now, I can see a closer relationship with her spouse.

The reason why Spirit-filled believers continually make mistakes and fail to hear is because our spirits which should guide us, are kept 'locked away in prison'. Knowledge & intellect have taken the throne. It's a sad thing that most of us have not been taught to listen to our spirits. If we dont, we will become crippled in life and become an easy prey to selfish and designing people.

People have heard 'voices' and have all kinds of revelations. In the end, it didnt turn out right and got themselves into an awful mess. They became disillusioned and blamed God instead! You can and should judge spiritual experiences by the Word. 1Thess 5:21 says "Test Everything."

Always remember that the bible teaches that the Spirit of God and the Word of God agree. Anytime the Spirit of God speaks to you, it will ALWAYS be in line with the Word.

Sure, there are times when I do receive visions and dreams. It is not frequent. Be content, if it is all you ever have, to follow the inward witness (the primary way). Educate, train and develop your human spirit so that the inward witness becomes more and more real to you.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and
I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you..."

We serve A Great & Living God, Love Mum

Being Led...Part 2

Hi Tabby & Calvin

Proverbs 20:27 - The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man, it searches out his inmost being.

In other words, God will guide us and enlighten us through our spirits. He does not communicate directly with our mind, our soul or mental faculty.

Number 2 way - The Inward Still Small Voice

The inward man, who is a spirit man, has a voice just as the outward man (body) has a voice. This voice of the inward man is called the conscience. It is the still small voice. Sometimes, it is so faint that you may not be able to hear it if your mind (distracted, worried & stressed) and body (busy, running around) are active.

During a cell mtg this year, we were called to pray for one another. 1 lady in front of me complained of severe back pain and another 1 next to me complained of knee pain. Obviously the one in front of me needed prayer more but the still small voice on the inside of me told me to pray for the one next to me instead. I did.

Back home after bathing, my inner spirit again told me to call this cell member (CM) the next day to tell her that I will pray for her on Sun using :

Isaiah 10:27 In that day, their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck, the yoke will be broken because of the anointing.

I called her the next day, Thursday, that I'll pray for her after the Sun service at the front using Isaiah 10:27. That was when she told me she had neck and shoulder pain for a while. At times, she experienced a sharp pain that ran through her neck to her shoulder! She also told me her husband and her family's burdens and, of course, I knew about her distrust toward her husband.

You will notice that Isaiah mentioned about their burden (meaning someone's burden) will be lifted from your shoulders (hers) and their yoke (representing anything that binds people, eg sickness, sin, poverty, oppression etc) from your neck (hers) will be broken.

CM's physical problems on her shoulder and neck stemmed from a spiritual problem. God wanted to heal her; it was His perfect timing. I shall continue the story in Part 3.

Our conscience, the voice of our spirit, will know if we have done wrong and will 'prick' us. We may be harsh with our words & say hurtful things, or lie. Our spirit, this new man, the inward man, which takes on the nature of God does not talk that way. The new man is mentioned in 2 Corin 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." It is our spirit, the new man that reproaches us NOT the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is our helper, comforter & counsellor as described in John 14:16. He will convict you of sin but will not condemn you. The earlier you learn this, the better it is for you to understand the personality of the Holy Spirit who's living in you right now.

When I got to know your dad after sometime, I wasnt sure I wanted to marry him coz his family was the most dysfunctional family I had ever come across! Besides, we are poles apart in our personality! Anyway, I was glad I trusted my inner voice coz it told me this was the man I was going to marry. I was pleasantly surprised that he protected me from his family members and always stood on my side. As a result, I got along quite well with his extended family members coz I didnt need to fight for myself.

Your dad too was led not only by the inner voice to choose me as his wife but also through the Word of God. There was 1 thing he said that I will not forget. Be careful whom you choose to marry coz that person will determine your life's path. How true! If he had married his ex, he would not be in business at all coz she was not a person who took unnecessary risks unlike me.

Isn't God a wise God? Depend on Him always.. train your spirit to listen to God and you will do the right things when the 'crisis' of life hits you.

In Him We Trust, Mum

Being Led...Part 1

Dearest Tab & Champ

Hearing the right voice, ie, the voice of God, is extremely important. This is because God has a plan for everyone of us - the specific job He wants you to have, the person you gonna marry, the ministry you should be in and many other decisions throughout your lives.

Before GOd brings His plan to pass, there is a time of preparation. However, going through it is not always easy, as there is always a price to pay. You may have to die to your own desires and your timing as you allow God to prepare you.

If you dont prepare yourself during preparation time, you wont be ready to step into the next phase in God's plan. So if you dont pay attention to the training now, you wont be ready to take on that job that has been reserved for you. Perhaps, when the door of opportunity opens, you may not even recognise it coz you feel you lack the skills for the job! Patience is the key and if you dont have it, you will make several detours (like me in the past) only to land at the place where you had taken off. So dont jump-out-ahead of God's leading.

Every child of GOd can learn how to be led by the Holy Spirit. It is a safe guide because a born again Christian is born of God's Spirit when he verbally accepts Jesus Christ into his life. How exactly does God speak to us?

Number 1 way: Inward Witness

Romans 8:14 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

That means that God's direction comes from inside, not outside of you. This is the inward witness the primary way the Holy Spirit will continue to guide you throughout your Christian walk. It's not a physical feeling, it's more like a spiritual perception - that quiet knowing, that urging, prompting and leading arising within you. Your spirit will pick up info/knowledge from the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. God doesnt inject thoughts directly into your mind from the outside, very rarely. Instead, He speaks to your spirit, and your spirit translates it into a thought.

After my 21st birthday, I told myself that I would not marry, but instead would like to have the freedom to travel the world & climb the ladder of success. I attended a 'Singles' seminar which told the participants how great it was 4 singles to serve God. By the time the seminar was over, I knew by the inward witness that God wanted me to get married and I did.. the year I was turning 27.

Another incident was when I heard that my friend had bought 2 units of private properties at what he thought was at a very good price, I knew immediately he had made a mistake. Something tucked at my spirit and told me it was a wrong move. A few months later, the global economic crisis came unexpectedly. The prices of all private properties plunged. Until now, the units are still under water.

You have to develop your spirit to know God's will. You can educate and train your spirit just as your mind can be readily trained and built up in strength. The only way is to be grounded in the Word of God. Being in the Word sharpens your spiritual perception.

If you dont know for certain on the inside of you that you have God's direction and timing, dont make a move. Just stay steady and wait until you have a release in your spirit that it's time to move in God's plan.

If you are about to do something and you get a check in your spirit, then stop! That check or unrest is a stop sign from God, and although you may not understand it at the time, He has every good reason for giving it to you.

Sometimes you may miss it. Dont worry, keep trusting Him to teach you how to hear Him more accurately the next time. Remember to fill your mind with God's Word so you will not be misled or deceived by satan or even yourself!

Tap into HIS Power, Mum

Catching Up

Dearest Tab & Cal

How time flies! I'm trying to finish all my work before I go for my marketplace Transformation Network Global conference and holiday in Hawaii with dad.

Remember Ps Beow Chin's prophesy about the both of you in the mid 1990s? She said one of you is gifted in finance and the other in communication. She saw both of you in a vision at a market place. There's a bridge, some buildings and we couldnt quite understand what it all meant back then. I thought she was referring to the market where we buy fish & veg. Now we know what's she's talking about! Both of you will be in either the business or the corporate arenas .. in the marketplace - that's God's purpose for you. Our job is to prepare you 2 for it, & your dad will have a larger part to play in this. Now we have to figure out who is gifted in what! I think our whole family is 'slated' for the business world. We have this in our blood! Even your grandparents (both sides) were in business.

Anyway, I heard that some 500 delegates from 7 continents will be in Honolulu, staying at Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort & Spa, in the host's words, "one of the nicest venues on earth". The resort is at Waikiki which is the main shopping area, upmarket like our Orchard Rd. 700 local people will be joining us too. In between plenaries, panels & workshops, we will also get to meet International successful Christian business people and hear their fantastic testimonies, and we will visit churches for ministry. Exciting!

Before that, we shall spend 3 nights in Maui. Besides hiking & visiting the volcanoes, we'll have water adventures like boating, snorkelling, rafting.... imagine.. waking up to the sounds of waterfalls, fresh air, or sitting on a beach in Kihei in Maui, leisurely looking out for whales to peek above the waterline while sipping our wines ... pure relaxation!

Ohhh... dont be too jealous.. your turn will come and you'll have to pay for it yourself ( glee(: ).

I'll take along my laptop so I can skype, msn, email, blog about Hawaii and if I have time, I'll load up pics for you in my FB.

Ok.. I'm going to blog about how to be led by the spirit of God in 3 parts. I shall do all before I leave, in fact, I'll do the first part today!

Love, Mum

SAME Bed, SAME Dreams

Well C Champ, this is for you. Many young people have asked us for practical suggestions for the selection of a partner. First, you just cannot depend on looks or personality alone. There are some things you have to seriously consider :

1) DONT MARRY THE PERSON YOU THINK YOU CAN LIVE WITH.

MARRY THE PERSON YOU CANT LIVE WITHOUT.

Your dad and I always show the above catchphrase in our marriage classes.

Marriage can be difficult even if two people are passionately in love with each other. It is murder when they dont have that foundation to build on. Love has to be based on God for it to last.

2) BE EQUALLY YOKED

If you are a deeply committed Christian, you will find someone with whom you can share the same values, build those values based on God as a legacy to be passed down to the next generation. When it comes to one's decision to marry, this matter should be given the highest priority. It's kinda of like sharing the same bed and having the same dreams.

3) CHARACTERISTICS THAT YOU CANNOT TOLERATE

Dont marry a person and then secretly plan to change her after marriage. That is unfair and it wont work coz behaviour or character is already formed during early childhood and it is very hard to change it. Therefore, if you cant live with a characteristic that shows up constantly during courtship, it may plague you for the rest of your life.

Red flags such as foolishness with money, extreme selfishness, tendency to violence, drinking problems, promiscuity, etc, should not be ignored. What you see is what you get! You think there is no violent woman.. - I had to counsel one who threw her spouse's hp at him (missed him) and hurled his new laptop against the wall!! A very expensive fight!

So if you marry a sunflower, dont expect her to smell like a rose! Take this advice.. It is good to keep your eyes w -i-d-e open before marriage and then half-closed thereafter.

4) DONT MARRY IMPULSIVELY OR UNDER OBLIGATION..TAKE TIME

Some couples do not give careful thought & prayer when it comes to this critical decision. Be aware of girls who marry impulsively because they want to escape their unhappiness in their family or their fear of loneliness. Some marry coz they are obligated to the other partner even though love is lost due to many reasons. It takes time to get acquainted & to walk through the early stages of the bonding process. It takes more than a year to get beyond the facade of the other person and into the inner character of the other person.

5) KEEP YOURSELF PURE BEFORE MARRIAGE

To do otherwise is a bad idea for many reasons.

1st, it is a violation of GOd's law.

2ndly, it undermines a relationship. Excessive physical touching outside of marriage leads to formation of a soul tie, & the lust that accompanies it make that tie unclean, which opens the door for unclean spirits.

3rdly, in keeping with the theme of marital bonding, you have 'stolen' a level of intimacy that is not warranted at that point, nor is it validated by the degree of commitment to each other. Save sexual intimacy for marriage. God's commands and ways are always the best & right way; it always protects us and is the healthiest for everyone concerned.

Let me tell you the ultimate secret of lifelong love. In a nutshell, the stability of a relationship or marriage is a iron-willed determination of a couple to make it work. If you want to go the distance, you have to do a marathon (like us), not a sprint. There is no back door for divorce too. When the back door is shut tightly, the couple has to work on their differences through honest constructive communication. But if for reasons such as violence, couples are advised to stay apart for a while, not divorce each other, until a solution is found.

Finally, women need men to be romantic, caring & loving which is what GOd says in Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives (all year round, i'm afraid), ...v28 husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself."

Men need women to be respectful, supportive and loyal in all seasons of his life. Ephesians 5:33 "...the wife must respect her husband." When a man gets all the respect, support & loyalty from his partner, he will definitely feel loved.

LOVE & RESPECT - it's an unbeatable combination dont you think??!!

Remembering you in my prayers always, not forgetting tab, Mum

The God of Details

I think you may not have time to visit FCBC website to realise that more than half of the church is doing their QT based on a book called Living Life from Duranno.com.

Today, 1 Oct, is the start of our daily devotional based on 1 Chron 27:1-34. It lists the monthly duties of the officers of each tribe. These long lists may seem boring but it tells me that God is a God of details. He is interested in each one of us personally.

Yet we do not depend on these details to lead us but allow the God of details to lead us in every areas of our lives. As I meditate on this passage, I remembered an incident that happened in a cell that I led in the late 1990s. I had a nasty fall a few days before cell on Friday. To me, the fall was something insignificant; I only care for the larger more significant things in my life. My only concern was the dreadful little scar that would appear on my knee after healing. I did not even tell daddy!

After worship, I encouraged the cell members to listen to God for a Word, vision or a tongue to be released for the group's edification. A member responded by saying that "someone in the group had a fall but she thinks it's only a small thing and not important at all but God wants her to know that He is interested in her, even in the minute details of her life."

I was stumped! How could she have known I had a fall? I didnt tell anyone. By the way, I wore jeans which covered the wound. I almost wanted to cry .. to think that God could be so personal.

So my dears, God is interested in the details of your life. Nothing that you ask in prayer is unimportant or silly. You can even pray for the rain to stop coz you have an important outing or you can pray for that pimple on your face to go away.

The application for today's QT is : Do you allow God into the details of your life? Sometimes we compartmentalise God, giving Him only Sundays. Give God ownership of all your life.

Trusting God with you for your future,
Mum

Finishing Strong in 2009

Hi Tabby and Calvin

As we head into the last quarter of this year, I dont think that anyone or any company out there wouldnt want to finish strong in 2009.

To finish strong is more than a statement, it is an attitude. It is an attitude of believing that you can do something and you gonna need courage and determination to see it through.

For Calvin, it would be fighting to stay positive in the Air Force despite the boring work and shifts that you are subjected to. The rules that you have to comply with.. which I think is not a bad idea :) since you break my house rules all the time! To survive as an adult in society, one needs to know how to work, how to get there on time, how to get along with jerks and superiors, how to stay with a task until it's completed, and yes, how to submit to authority!

1Cor 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only 1 gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Winning the race requires self-discipline. Discipline in your life is doing things you dont like to do. You glorify God when you exercise discipline coz you say no to laziness.

Tabby, God has answered our Jabez Prayer (1Chron 4:10) for you. He has blessed you richly with lots of exposures/experiences overseas by extending your territory. His hand was with you, & He has kept you from harm and pain. Your work experience in Shanghai and now, your exchange in Canada have given you exposure to different cultures and people. For this last quarter, you have to be determined to get adequate sleep no matter what so that you can concentrate on your studies and finish well. It is not a problem for you since you already believe in excellence.

Phil 3:12-14 "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, you must lay aside everything harmful and distracting that may affect your health and your purpose in Canada.

Vince Lombardi said, "The will to win.. the will to achieve.. goes dry without continuous reinforcement."

In a perfect world, we hear something once, store it in our brain and never need to hear it again. Well, my world is far from being perfect. I constantly need to reinforce, encourage and motivate myself to keep moving forward towards my personal goals, family goals, ministry and work goals.

These verses in Psalm 18:32-36 encourage me.

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
He enables me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You (God) give me your shield of victory and your right hand sustains me;
You stoop down to make me great.
You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not turn.

Blessing U
Mum

Food Therapy

Recently, Peter & I attended a posh wedding at one of the downtown prestigious hotels. For Peter, it was a time of get-together with old ex-colleagues. Our table and adjacent to ours were tables filled with bankers from different banks. Many of us are in our late forties, fifties and one or two in their early sixties so naturally our conversation centred on our children.

One lady banker in her late fifties told us her only son is already thirty years old. Peter asked if he's married. Her face tightened as she replied, "Pleasssse.. this generation, you dont talk to them about marriage, they decide, not you." Another banker feels her eldest son who, by the way, is a genius, is studying in Oxford for his doctorate, previously from Harvard, should be working in Spore instead of pursuing his studies overseas. There are many other stories as well.
Beneath that black suit and evening dress/gown, every family has a struggle or two with their children. The bankers are extremely successful in their careers and wealthy, yet status and wealth cannot guarantee their homes will have a sense of togetherness.

One lady, however, felt that the only way to bring the family together is to have family dinners. I totally agree with her. One way to pull family members together is to create traditions in your home. By traditions, I'm referring to those recurring events and behaviours that are anticipated, especially by children, as times of closeness and fellowship between loved ones.

Food should bring about laughter and warm family interaction. That's why, I feel that our Chinese tradition of having reunion dinner is great. On the 1st day of Chinese New Year, I cook to have my own brother & his family over for dinner. On that same day, my family and I gather at my 'Kuma's (my father-in-law's eldest sis) house for lunch where we have about 30 family members gather for reunion amongst cousins n siblings. A time to catch up and a time to joke and laugh while we feast on real Cantonese food.

Of course there are many other traditions, one of them is Thanksgiving dinner where families gather round to remember God's blessings on their lives during that year. There's the fun Christmas dinner that we have with our spiritual family and their children/teenagers. It can be quite chaotic with the children running around (noise is better than 'deadness', trust me!) and we do sometimes single out couples to do a dance or two or perform some other funny antics.

The great value of traditions is that they give a family a sense of identity and belonging. All of us desperately need to feel that we've not just part of a busy cluster of people living together in a house or church but we're a living, breathing family that's conscious of our uniqueness, our character and our heritage from GOd. That feeling is the only antidote for the loneliness and isolation that characterize so many homes today.

Tabby, you have to learn how to cook well and I'm glad you are now forced to cook in Canada without me around..haha. Food helps to keep family closeness and intimacy for many years to come, even friends for that matter. Food need not be too elaborate. As long as it is palatable, it's enough. If you can learn how to cook exotic food, then it'll add to the fun. Calvin, if your future wife (that'll be a long time to come) cant cook, pls send her for cooking classes.

God has given our family Psalms 112 but I'll just type the 1st few verses. This is the advantage of having faith in GOd :


Blessed is the man who fears the Lord
Who finds great delight in his commands.
His children will be mighty in the land
Th generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house
And his righteousness endures forever.

Cheers :)

From Overflowing to Overflowing ...

I'm sharing my QT today from Luke 7:36-50

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house & reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, & as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them & pour perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him & what kind of woman she is - that she is a sinner.

Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.
"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you, go in peace."

There are a few lessons I learnt today from this passage.

1) The woman, a prostitute, showed deep humiliation for her sins through her weeping. Although she was not an invited guest, she was determined to go to Jesus, & what's more with an expensive alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume which she was willing to pour on Jesus' feet.

2) Simon neglected to wash Jesus' feet, a social courtesy which was extended to guests because sandaled feet could get very dirty after being on the road. He did not anoint Jesus' head with oil & offer him the greeting kiss. Did Simon perhaps think he was too good for Jesus? Apparently, Simon despised the woman because he felt that Jesus should not allow a sinful woman to touch him - wash his feet.

In this story, it is the grateful prostitute and not the religious leader, whose sins were forgiven. This woman demonstrated her true faith in Jesus and Jesus honoured her. Only those who realise the depth of their sin can appreciate the complete forgiveness that GOd offers them. The woman here is seen as the 'greater' debtor and Simon, the 'lesser' debtor.

I ask myself - do I see myself as the prostitute or as Simon? I would think Simon, as I live a conventionally good life and that's the reason why I could not love as much in my earlier years as a Christian because I'm forgiven 'little'.

This command in Mark 12: 30 - 'love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength' makes sense coz out of the overflowing love of God into my heart will I then be able to accept and love myself. When that happens, then I can fulfill the 2nd commandment which is FCBC's theme of the year - vs 31 - 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' Out of that overflowing love received from God in my heart, will I be able to extend an overflowing forgiveness to others who offend or wrong me. A heart filled with God's love will be able to love others unconditionally.

It is true, I told a friend 2 wks ago, whose husband abuses her, that he cannot love her because he doesnt love himself. The judgmental attitude inflicted upon the husband by his own father resulted in the husband's self condemnation and self rejection.

Jesus rescues everyone who believes in Him, whether you were once extremely sinful or generally good, from eternal death. We ought to appreciate the width of God's mercy.

Ohhhh.... That Unbridled Tongue!

Howdie children !

It has been a while since my last blog. Had been busy but was thinking of what to write when the Lord impressed upon me more than a week ago that I should write about what we utter with our tongue.

Last night, I read an article entitled "How To Destroy a Relationship In An Instant". It was like as though God was telling me, "Hey, don't forget to write what I've told you!"

The writer talks about a 'tongue twister' that can wipe out a relationship in seconds, destroy the peace in a household or tear down a bridge of trust that took years to construct. We ought to be careful with the choice of words and we need God to help us to discipline our tongues to speak only those things that are edifying, gracious and truthful. In other words, the writer is saying we ought to keep 'a rein on' or 'reign over' the tongue. The bible declares in James 3:8 that "the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

However, what I want to talk about is slightly different.

Using Mark 11:23 "... that whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." FAITH is words released through your mouth. You can either talk yourself into failure or talk yourself into success. Few christians realise this important fact... that our words DOMINATE us. We can either rise to that place of our confession or we go down to the level of our faith!

The moment you talk negative, you will be whipped. Why? Because God sets certain laws into motion in the spiritual realm for everyone, like the law of gravity.

Proverbs 6:2 says " you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth." You are imprisoned by your own words. So children, never talk failure, defeat, never admit God cannot put you over coz God C-A-N put you over.

Learn to use words that will work for you. Your words, when filled with faith, will put you over, or your words when spoken negatively, can make you a captive.

Have you been around people who speak doubt, unbelief and failure? When you leave their presence, it's like a blanket of depression that covers you.

Find scriptures to cover your case when you pray. Feed your faith daily with the Word of GOd. Then exercise it - use it. Then your spirit will be filled with confidence and optimism.

Proverbs 21: 23 - He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

With much Love,
Mum

Choose To Give Him 1st Place

Matthew 6 : 33-34





Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these


things will be given to you as well.


Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will


worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Imprisonment

Have you ever tried to forgive someone.. and found that you simply cant do it? You may have cried about it, prayed about it and asked God to help you, but those old resentment feelings just don't seem to go away.

The only way to overcome unforgiveness is to base your forgiveness on faith in God rather than feelings. True forgiveness does not have anything at all to do with how you feel. It is an ACT OF THE WILL.

That means once you have forgiven the person, you need to consider them permanently forgiven! When old feelings rise up within you and satan tries to convince you that you have not really forgiven them, resist him. Say, "I have already forgiven that person by faith and I refuse to dwell on those old feelings."

In 1 John 1:9 it says "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Then acc to the above vs, believe that you receive forgiveness and cleansing from the sin of unforgiveness and unrighteousness associated with it - including any remembrance of having been wronged.

Looking at my mother-in-law now, frail and vulnerable as she is, I'm glad I had forgiven her years ago for her hypocritical treatment towards me. I realised later she held that attitude towards all her daughters-in-law. Unfortunately, she was also dealing with feelings of self rejection, unforgiveness and fear in her own marriage. As I choose to forgive, the anger associated with unforgiveness disappears.

Is there someone whom you need to forgive? Perhaps a close family member or a friend's betrayal? Someone whom you trusted had sold you out? A boy/girl relationship that had gone sour?

Peter and I will be meeting up with a couple whose 3-year marriage has gone awry. The husband cannot forgive his wife for double dating during their courtship. Although that happened 4 years ago, in his heart he could not forgive her. This year, he finally walked out because he could not carry the burden of unforgiveness any longer. The real victim is the wife who believed that the man who married her loved her. It was selfish love, a love that keeps records of wrongs!

The choice to forgive is a deliberate and purposeful act. It takes everyone off the hook. It could set you free from years of imprisonment. Also, releasing those who have wronged us is fundamental to receiving from God.

Mark 11:24-25 " ... whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

The Discerning of Spirits

Dearest children,

The Discerning of Spirits is a necessary gift to understand. It has no relationship to that which is natural. It is not thought reading; it has nothing to do with the realm of the mind. Most people think it is the discerning of humans, more like running another person down, judging them and finding fault, but it's not.

The discerning of spirits is the divine ability to see the presence and activity of a spirit that motivates a human being, whether good or bad. This gift of revelation comes through a christian through the functioning of the Holy Spirit. It gives insight into the spirit world for a born again christian, a realm which our five physical senses cannot enter - feeling, hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting. It enables you to not only discern God presence, the Holy Spirit's work in a christian, angels but also satan and his cohorts.

A number of years ago, during the 7th month (like now), your dad was invited by a persistent client to a 7th month dinner celebration - 3 times. 3 times your dad politely refused the invitation as we are instructed by the Word of God not to enter into places where God clearly forbids. After the 3rd time, your dad felt bad and he told me that he was going to oblige his client even though I felt strongly in my spirit that it was not good to go. He was very confident that he will be protected by the blood of Jesus. He was.

But that night, he unwittingly brought back with him 2 spirits from the 7th month celebration. I saw them in a vision only when I lay down to sleep with the lights switched off. One was the spirit of an old woman holding the hand of a young boy dressed in the traditional dead man's clothing, suspended from the ceiling looking down at me. I freaked out and immediately command them to leave in the name of Jesus and cast them out of our house. It was the operation of the gift of the discerning of spirits in the spiritual realm. By this insight, I could discern evil spirits.

The discerning of spirits can enable me to 'see' what's happening to another person, eg, the spirit of depression or the spirit of rage or bitterness which is not manifested for anyone to see. Beyond that, I would not know what had caused those emotions. However, I know that only God can enable me, as and when, He wants to do it, through the Holy Spirit. I cannot switch on a button and say that I want to know. However, this gift of discerning of spirits comes with a responsibility to usually keep the information to yourself unless God wants it to be revealed. If you go spouting around everytime there is a revelation, God will take it away from you.

I can see that both of you do have this gift but it's at its infancy stage. This discerning of spirits can bring tremendous inspiration to a church body. It can produce a real spirit of security against false doctrines, lies and all kinds of things that are unreal.

To discern spirits, we must dwell with Him who is holy, and He will give the revelation and unveil the mask of satanic influence in a person's life or satanic power in a situation.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Holy Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits... All these are the work of one and the same Holy Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he DETERMINES."

Got that?

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