Until the day breaks...

Until the day breaks
Until the shadows flee away
I will go my way
To the mountain of myrrh

Until the day breaks
Until the shadows flee away
I will go my way
To the hill of frankincense

I will sing the songs
That awakens the dawn
And I will usher in Your appearing

It is Your face that I crave
And it’s Your presence that I long for
Your Kingdom come!

With Your seal on my heart
Stronger than the grave
Set me ablaze!

And from the ends of the earth
We hear this song
Glory to the Righteous One

And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come!

And we say come....

Until the day breaks
Until the Day I see Your face
I will go my way
To the mountain of myrrh

You said it. We believe it. Come!

[The pre-requisite of saying this prayer 'Come', as I later come to realise, is a divine dissatisfaction that only God can put in open hearts. For how can one ask of God's presence to come unless 1. We know that it's what God says He'll do 2. We are totally dissatisfied, utterly inconsolable until His Word comes to pass...]

You said You would come

And so we wait

You said You would break in

And so we tarry in expectation

We lay hold of Your promise

And seek You early in the morning

We lift up our heads to You

And sing a new song to You late in the night

You said You would come

We believe... Selah

You said You would break in

So we press in with one accord

Casting off every weight

And sin that so easily entangles

Running this race

Fixing our eyes on Jesus

When we grow weary and faint

When we lose sight of You in the waiting

He who holds the seven stars in His hands

Holds our hearts

Ever Faithful

Ever True

This shall be my confidence

You said it, we believe it

Come, Holy Spirit, come

Break in

Why not now

Why not here

Come like You've never come before

Let Your glory fall

Let Your presence come and bear fruit

And not return to You void

Until the day breaks

And the shadows flee away

I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh

And to the hill of frankincense..

Am I Destined for Greatness?

I get inspired whenever I hear anecdotes of people whom I look up to as successful. They've been there, done that and made it and are telling their stories, again and again. And each time, there's just this zest in them that you wonder where that came from, and stay amazed at what keeps them going.

In each of our worlds, we all have different heroic figures from whom our constant source of motivation comes from. Some we know personally, some we hear about them from afar. Some are still alive, some have departed. Be it near or from a distance, they are the ones who have blazed the trails for many to take courage and follow suit, to lay it all aside and pursue no-matter-what.

Have you ever wondered... were they destined for success and greatness right at the start? Have you thought... how about me? Am I destined for greatness? Could that be even possible?

No qualms that our heroic figures have worked hard, perhaps harder than most people to become who they are today. In our world view, they seem to just have it - that can-do attitude and never-say-die doggedness, honed through the numerous episodes of failures and hard knocks. Some secretly wished to have these traits overnight, or better still, just in their genes. I confess I do! Yet how wrong we are if we think that such an overcoming mentality and outlook can be simply inherited or easily gained!

In non-fiction book written by Malcolm Gladwell entitled Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell examines the factors that contribute to high levels of success. Throughout the publication, he repeatedly mentions the "10,000-Hour Rule", claiming that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.

Granted that hard work and endurance are the main ingredients in the recipe for success... In the same vein, I am of the opinion that it is not the outcome that makes one great or successful; it is the pursuit and setting of the heart for greatness that gives one the sparkle in their eye, the spring in their steps and a countenance that turns heads. For if the pursuit and setting of the heart is there, it's a matter of time the fruit of the labor comes... don't you think so?

Although one may not be another Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, I believe there are many unsung heroes who stand in the hall of fame, relentlessly pursuing their greatest potential. We can't quench or deny the desire to be great, to be successful, each in our own right, for that is how we are created. Dismissing the desire to be great will cause one to live life without zeal and thus go through motion in life. Life without a zeal... living-dead...that's not how it's supposed to be!

We are great when we are passionate about something and go hard after it - be it a goal in life or a dream. For believers of God, the fact that we can love God and continue to love Him makes us great. Think about it... we are successful if in our lives we love God wholeheartedly! For that is what we are made for - loving God... If you really understand this, it will propel you to love God even more!

Yes, we are all destined for greatness... Do you have a passion in your life? Find it, go for it and live it.

Carpe Diem!

Friendships

One can have many friends, family members, business associates in their life. Yet alone. Does this thought strike a chord in you? Many numbers in your contact list, many friends in your FB account, many emails to check in a day... yet the feeling is not as buzzing as it should be. Perhaps people around put on a mask when relating to people... Just functional... superficial...So I asked myself - do I use my true heart when I relate with people around me?

Sometimes people put on a guarded heart. Not because they want to, but because they think they have to. Perhaps they have used their true heart before and people have not cherished it or even trampled over it. That's why they need the space for their wounded heart. It's safer to relate with people at a distance, at least they do not get hurt, yet they may not experience true hearts around them, including their own... but they'll choose the 'safer' choice or so they think?

Time passed... have hearts healed? Perhaps it's not time that'll heal... Perhaps we need a right perspective about carrying our hearts and growing friendships... Friendships don't always go the way we hope they'll go, or do they?

With some, it takes 10 days to strike up a good friendship. With others, the friendship stays at a functional or superficial level even after 10 years... yet with some others, despite the silence of 10 years, the hearts still connect at a perchance moment...

So do I continue trying, putting in the effort to make friends and make existing friendships grow? I remember someone telling me... in friendships, one should not be 'calculative' on how much each other has given to the friendship...in relationships, it's about giving and receiving, with open hearts. I guess that's true... how to quantify expressions from the heart? Also, sometimes friendships go through a journey... they hit at 'cap' or reach a stalemate at some point in time, and may or may not progress from there.

If we measure friendship from what we can get from people, we may be disappointed. If we measure friendship with the extent people have poured out despite all our human imperfections, we should be contented. If we measure friendship with how far we can go in this journey of friendship, I'd rather not think about it... for who knows?

So what is my resolve and what is my conclusion?

I asked myself... When I'm happiest and saddest, who would I want to talk to? I'm just glad I thought of some friends in my mind. Not many, just some... and I guess that's enough. Yet surprisingly, they are not my chummiest buddies of all... they are people who care for me and will be there for me. History has proven it, fights have pruned it... they are the ones who have seen my weaknesses and imperfections, love me enough to speak into my live and chose to see the flowers that are blooming in my garden, vice versa.

I thank you, my friends... I strive to be a friend to you too!

Closure... or is it another Chapter?

[And I thought it was easy... I mean not as in easy-easy, but no sweat... or so I thought.. Yet closures, be it a working or personal relationship, or a project of sorts, impact our emotions in some ways.. if only you let yourself feel it. Is there a way I can express it? How do I identify with what is going on inside of me, understand it and move on with a stronger resolve, having learnt new things from it and ever so thankful for the kind souls who have touched my life... Is that really You O Lord? Yes, I believe... I believe You are watching over us...]

Start, from where?

Begin, and how?

Many ideas, One passion

Full of excitement, full of anticipation

Many hands, One heart

Onwards into the untrodden grounds

Mistakes made, lessons learnt

Ever learning to carry our hearts well

Friends made, blessings bestowed

Hearts refreshed as we worked and served as a team

Pause....

Is it a closure

Or just a beginning of another chapter?

Is that really You O Lord?

You provided and opened the doors

Yes I believe

You are watching over us

I will wait upon You

I will be strong and wait upon You...

My hope is in You all day long

You are the Lord of hosts

Oh my God

In whom I love and trust with all my heart...

I believe

I believe in You...

God is jealous for three things...

Do we know what is burning on God's heart? Have we ever wondered what God is thinking about, and even jealous for? God's jealously is unlike our human jealousy that is often based on petty grounds. When Scriptures say that God is jealous, it points to His intense zeal and fervour, out of a holy desire.

House of Prayer
Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46
"It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.' "

Israel
Zechariah 8:2 ~This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her."

His Bride - that's us!
2 Corinthians 11:2 ~ I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.

One of my friends posted on her Facebook status, - My 6-year-old daughter taught me how to reply to God when He said what do you want? Just say: "I want whatever you want, God." I've been praying that since... and my heart always melt when I say that, and I believe it moves God's heart. May we desire for what God desires.. may our hearts burn with godly zeal for the things he is zealous for!

Even then... my heart shall sing

[A Psalm of Praise unto to the Lord in times of trouble]

Why so downcast oh my soul
Put your hope in the Lord
The glory and lifter of your head

When your heart cries
He who collects your tears in a bottle, hears...
When your heart aches
He who watches over you, understands...

Even when your heart condemns you
Know that you are the rose
You are the lily of the valley, His inheritance

Who is there like You O Lord
Who can compare with Your majesty
King of kings yet befriending hearts that are after You

Your searching eyes
Looking for the poor in the spirit and contrite in heart
Looking for those who tremble at Your word

Arise oh heart, arise and sing
Sing with all your might
For blessed is the name of the Lord

Your name is like a tower I run to
And find strength
Your love is like a banner over me
And I am safe

Scripture references:

Psalm 42:5, 11

Psalm 56:8

Psalm 121

Songs 2:1

Isa 40:12-26

Isa 66:2

After Your Heart... After You...

[What is God looking for? What would someone like God who created heavens and earth, knows all things and has everything possibly desire? We are created in His image, to be like Him. Titus 2:13-15 puts it succintly.. ... that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."

We are created by Him, in His image, for His glory and purposes. Alas, we have fallen away... yet He who is before all creation is at work to redeem us who believe from every lawless deed through grace, to purify us... for Himself - a pure and blameless people, in partnership with Him for His purposes.

Touching this truth stirs a response in my heart to want to live in relentless trust in Him, to lead and to transform me... to live a life of radical obedience out of a heart of love that fears God, walking in His ways and not mine... like Mary, to pour out my life in reckless abandonment before Him (more and more), even breaking the alabastar jars that seems costly in my eyes... and most of all, to live my life, always, in rapt adoration before God, pursuing Him with all of my heart, mind, soul and strength... May I burn for You O Lord all the days of my life...]

More than a song I sing
More than a prayer I speak
I bring You a heart
That beats "I want to love You deeper... I want to know You more..."

People of One Thing
People of One Desire
After Your heart
After You

I want to be known
Not as one who is wise in the eyes of men
Not as one who is strong in my own might
But as one who knows and understands You

That You are the LORD,
Exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth
Great and unsearchable are Your ways O Lord
Yet You make Yourself known to man

When Your searching eyes range throughout the earth
Looking for those whose heart are loyal to You
May You find what You are looking for
When You set Your eyes on me...

After Your heart, after You
I'll burn, I'll watch
Standing, ministering to You
My Beloved, my inheritance...



Verses
Psalm 27:4 ~
One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.

1 Samuel 13:14 ~ The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people..

Act 13:22 ~ And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David[a]the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.

Jeremiah 9:23-25 ~
This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,

but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 48:10...The sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the center. 11 It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, who are sanctified, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.


^{Ezekiel 40:46} The chamber which faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar; these are the sons of Zadok, from the sons of Levi, who come near the LORD to minister to Him.”


^{Ezekiel 44:15} “But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord GOD. ¹⁶ “They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge."


^{Ezekiel 44:28} “It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.

Seven Commitments of a Forerunner: A Sacred Charge to Press into God

http://mikebickle.org/resources/series/sacred-charge-seven-commitments-of-a-forerunner

The Sacred Charge is a prophetic call to refuse to settle for anything less than radical pursuit of God and His purposes for this generation. This teaching challenges us to live in wholehearted pursuit of Jesus as forerunners who operate in the power of the Holy Spirit today, as we prepare ourselves to prepare others for the Lord's return.

Mike Bickle identifies seven foundational commitments to walk out this sacred charge in everyday life, with insights and practical steps on how to do this.The Sacred Charge is a prophetic call to refuse to settle for anything less than radical pursuit of God and His purposes for this generation.

This teaching challenges us to live in wholehearted pursuit of Jesus as forerunners who operate in the power of the Holy Spirit today, as we prepare ourselves to prepare others for the Lord's return. Mike Bickle identifies seven foundational commitments to walk out this sacred charge in everyday life, with insights and practical steps on how to do this.

Pray Daily: Connecting with God while Changing the World

Fast Weekly: Positioning Ourselves to Receive More from God

Do Justly: Being Zealous for Good Works that Exalt Jesus

Give Extravagantly: The Joy of Financial Power Encounters

Live Holy: Living Fascinated in the Pleasures of Loving God

Lead Diligently: Taking Initiative to Minister to Others

Speak Boldly: Being a Faithful Witness of the Truth

Why Am I Here?

I remember sitting in an intern class at the Clementi clubhouse. It was a session for interns to be equipped on how to grow into a leader.

One of the most poignant moments for me was when the Pastor taught on the topic - Why are you here today? Or simply put, why do you want to be a leader? Gulps... squirming in my seat.. looking around... who me, I asked myself? erm erm... because my cell leader asked me to be one... erm erm... because I can organise events for people... erm erm.. I really don't know.... just can't put a finger to it..

So we flipped to our notes...

First reason - because you have an godly ambition to become a leader. Wow, you mean it's actually ok for one to have an ambition to be leader? Of course. We cannot deny the desire within us to do great things, especially if it is for God. Some express it in their response to do great exploits for God. Oh because God deserves our all!

Second reason - because you have a call of God on your life to be a leader. God spoke to you personally. You just know it. People confirmed it. Some even have signs to confirm it. That's it.

I could almost hear a needle fall in the room. Why? Because the above reasons were not my reasons. I neither had ambition or a call to lead. I eagerly leaned forward to hear what the third reason was...

The heavens opened and the angels rejoiced. The trees in the fields clapped their hands and shout hallelujah! Alright, I'm exaggerating... but that was just about how I felt when I heard the third reason. Simply ecstatic! mixed with feelings of much relief, of course =) Third reason - because you are grateful to what God has done in your lives. Yes, this is it... for me.... and it is good to know...

Years down the road, here I am, re-visiting this question - not out of doubt, but out of finding the resolve within me as I forge ahead. Why am in the House of Prayer doing what I am doing? Why am I here?

Again with three reasons, I searched my heart...


1) Responding to the Call to Build the House of Prayer
Have I heard the call to build the House of Prayer? God is looking for both a place and a group of people to dwell and partner with. Isa 66:1-2; Acts 7:49. If I have heard this call, what is my heart response?

Let's also get over this thinking that "I did not hear from God personally". Do you want a personal post from God on your facebook to invite you or the heavens to open and the clouds arrange themselves in a way that spells your name? I confess I do, arrghh...sometimes... to qualify that "Yes, I got THE call. God visited me powerfully yesterday. He sent angels to confirm it." I learn to laugh at myself and move on. O me of little faith! No wonder Jesus taught His disciples in Matt. 18:1-5 to be childike in their faith and stay humble, just like the little children. Unless we put aside our spiritual and human pride, we cannot receive what God says with a teachable and open heart, let alone heed His call.

Check.


2) Skill / Talent
The expression of how the House of Prayer is built is based on the "Harp (worship) and Bowl (intercession)"model as seen in Rev. 4 & 5. It depicts the heavenly worship in the Throne room of God, where intercessory worship goes on day and night before the One who sits on the Throne. Approximately 1,000 years before the birth of Christ, King David set the Ark of the Covenant in a tent that became known as the Tabernacle of David, a place of continual prayer and worship. He appointed 288 skilled prophetic singers and 4,000 skilled musicians to minister before the Lord in intercessory worship. (1Chron. 13; 15-16; 23; 25; 2Chron. 29; Neh. 12)

What skill and talent is needed to build the House of Prayer? It'll be great if I can sing or play a musical instrument skilfully. Even if I can't, I think I can be a doorkeeper, or find myself useful. Oh yes, I can pray. How can I forget that... And also with the administrative gifts He's blessed me with, I can serve.

Check.


3) I am ambushed by the Lord
Somehow I am here. I was seeking to grow to know the Lord deeper. I was seeking to grow as a believer. My seeking led me to the wilderness. Where am I? What am I doing? How come this is so different from what I used to know and do? Yet I know I am growing in the Lord. And then I realised that there is nowhere else I'd rather be, there is nothing else I'd rather do. For God has so ruined my heart with His great love and I just want to do what is on His heart... I just want to be the kind of people He is looking for and be in the place He dwells.

Check.


So this settles why I am here. Whatever your reason is, one or all of the above (list of reasons not exhaustive), it counts!

As I forge ahead, I seek to do the following:

1) Grow in the messages that God has given to us as a House:
(A) Intimacy with God, Bride of Christ, Sermon on the Mount, Song of Songs)
(B) Forerunners Ministry, Understanding End-Times, Book of Joel and Revelation, Understanding Israel..
(C) House of Prayer

We have to keep digging and growing deep in these messages as God unravels more to us progressively. Let the word grow in the good soil of our heart and produce fruit, fruit that will last. Many have heard these messages but because they did not go deep (no root system) or are choked/distracted by life's demands, there is no fruit produced (either the wicked one came and snatched away what was sown in their hearts or they stumble because of there is no root system in their lives). Matt. 13 - Parable of the Sower. Wide is the gate that leads to destruction. We have to strive to enter the narrow gate. (Lk. 13:24)

2) Develop the I-H-O-P Lifestyle
This is non-negotiable if I were to forge ahead. To live a life of Intercession (agreeing with what is in God's word), Holiness (wholeheartedness), Offering (living a life that is poured out extravagantly unto God and others) and the Prophetic (be the voice of God in such times). To ignore cultivating this lifestyle will be like trying to run a marathon without training for it. Either I'll get injured (my sports doc told me that some injuries can last really long and thus 'cripple' me in the race that I run) or not finish the race (yikes!) that God has marked out for me.

3) Learn the Harp & Bowl model
To understand the biblical model of intercessory worship and engage my heart in it, setting my gaze on the One who sits on the Throne.


Meditations....
Titus 2:11-14 ~"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, (oh how I love this verse) looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."

The Perhaps of God... Who knows?

When the answer to your prayer is not the reward of your prayer... how to pray? I mean, you pray to God for something, yet knowing that it may not happen... Like that how to pray?

I'm sure this strikes a chord in any genuine heart that seeks God and lays hold of His promises. You yearn for a miraculous healing to break through, yet you know it may not come. You press in for God's promises to come to pass - be it in your life or in your ministry - yet knowing that it may not unfold... How then to position your heart, especially before God when you go to Him in prayer? Oh God I believe, but how to deal with the questions in my heart?


Confidence in Approaching a God who is Gracious...
Whatever the situation you are facing, know that we can approach God in confidence, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Oh how we need to touch this truth of God and deeply encounter what is in His heart towards men, even when we have sinned and fallen short of His glory. If we encounter this truth in our inner man, we will not only run to God in confidence at all times, but also pursue Him wholeheartedly and live for Him in abandonment...

King David was one who had confidence in approaching God, at all times, yes, even when he has sinned. Remember what David did when God told him that his son would die because of his sin (2Sam 12:11-23)? He fasted and pleaded with God not to take his son's life away. David knew God, for He is gracious and longs to relent. He says in verse 22, "Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?"

In the end, God did not spare David's son even though he sought the Lord in fasting and weeping. Yet king David pleased God in that he was confident in approaching God who is gracious. The dying of his son does not show us God's un-graciousness towards David, rather it showed us the confidence David had in approaching God - that even when he knew the consequences of his sin, he has a God who is gracious and he can go to Him. David was not offended with God, as we later read how after his child has died, he got up, went into the house of the Lord and worshiped and went about his daily activities. David fully embraced the consequences of his sin, yet keeping his heart tender before God. Even though God did not relent, deep inside, he was rooted in the knowledge and faith of who God is.

I remember a testimony of someone whose mother was dying of cancer. One day, God said to her, "What if I do not heal your mother? Will you still believe in Me?" For the next two weeks, she could not answer the question truthfully from her heart. When she went about her worship and prayer before God, she knew she was being superficial with God, saying, 'Surely God you are a God who heals..even..." On the night her mother died, she turned to God and said, with the spirit of God stirring the seed of faith sown deep in her heart, "God, You are not only a God who heals, You are a God who provides, You are a God who is my Good Shepherd, You are a God who is my Peace, a God who is here with me..." and she continued to proclaim the name of the Lord... "for nothing can take away this truth of who You are, not even what has happened to my mother... for You alone are God." She could not believe her own utterance at that moment. But one thing she knew, that living a life of faith believing in God despite it all, is what saves her, is what keeps her sane in this world, is joy unspeakable! The two weeks of being superficial with God, as she recounted to me, was unbearable. That going through motion without really believing felt terrible. Praise be to God for this trial, for He has led her to higher ground, overcoming her lack of belief and becoming victorious in Christ.


The Perhaps of God...
Remember the story of how God sent Jonah to preach a message of repentance to the wicked Ninevites? And how the Ninevites (and their animals!), fasted and turned in repentance and desperation to the God who alone can spare them (Jonah 3:9). In Joel 2:14, we see again how God appealed to His people to turn and rend their hearts that He may relent and leave a blessing.

Before God brings about His righteous judgment upon the people, He leaves a window called the "perhaps of God". He makes known that He is going to judge, so isn't that final? Yet before that happens, He hearkens His people to turn and repent. For God is looking at our hearts - He is looking for repentant hearts. This "perhaps of God" does not suggest that God is fickle-minded that He cannot decide or that He is playing a game with us. Rather, it shows us the very heart of God - that He wants to relent, and the condition of that is repentance. God is just and will judge, yet He longs to relent and promises to leave a blessing for those who turn to Him in repentance.

In the book of Jonah, God relented when the Ninevites sincerely repented, showing fruits of their repentance. "Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it." (Jonah 3:10).

In the book of Joel, God not only calls the people to repent, He also gave them the specific guidelines on what to do if we were to turn to the Lord. More than that, it is an instruction manual for the Body of Christ on how to prepare ourselves for the coming Day of the Lord! The book of Joel is probably the clearest passage in the Word of God that describes what God wants us to do in times of crisis and how the people of God should respond - both on a local and global scale.

Let's also take a leaf from the book of Daniel - who said even if the Lord will not deliver him, he will still not bow to other gods (Dan. 3:17-18). Be inspired by the men from the hall of faith in Hebrews 11 - men who knew they would not receive any reward in this age, for they desiring a heavenly country... They all lived their lives striving to enter the narrow gate (Lk. 13:24), striving according to the working which works in them mightily (Col 1:29).

Fret not... you are not alone! God has given us His word to encourage us in times like these. Let those who has an ear, hear what the Spirit of God is saying and doing! For we need courage in such times - to press in, to lay hold... despite it all... and to press in to the "perhaps of God"...

Are you listening?

"If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!" This sentence appeared 7 times in the gospels and 8 times in the book of Revelation. The meaning of this sentence? That what God is saying in these passages of Scriptures is extremely important and urgent. If we operate our lives based on the quadrant of importance and urgency, what God is saying in these passages of Scriptures should fall into the most important and most urgent quadrant. It deserves nothing other than our immediate attention, constant pre-occupation until... and the prioritizing of our lives to give ear, take heed and respond. For wisdom is justified by her children (Matt. 11:19).


The Need To Hear...
Do we hear what the Spirit of God is saying to us now? As believers, we need to attune ourselves to what the Spirit of God is saying - both to us personally and also on a corporate level. Perhaps I have made an assumption here. The assumption that God is the most important Person in our lives. Is He? We got to get this settled in our hearts before move on. Cos if He is the most important Person in our lives, what He says not only carries weight, but deserves our full attention, to give ear... to press in for understanding... to lay hold...

Also, can we also don't hide behind the "I don't know enough, I am not spiritual enough to make sense of things, I'm not sure if what I hear is true, I'm not like this and this person who is closer to God and etc etc..." I am speaking this to myself first and foremost! Surely if I cannot hear or understand clearly, my confidence is this - if God wants me to know, He will make a way as I press in for understanding.

John 16:13 says, "...when He, he Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth...and He will tell you things to come.." The Holy Spirit is the Helper that God has sent to us to guide us into all truth. Many of us, including myself, hope to know everything instantaneously. However, we cannot bear the many things God wants to make known to us. Thus He sent the Holy Spirit to help us. Matt. 16:7 says "it is to our advantage" that Jesus went away. Jesus has completed what God the Father commissioned Him to do on earth. It is finished, at the cross. Jesus had to go to the Father so that God's plan for the Holy Spirit to take over from there will effect the next phase of His plan for us. Oh how great and marvelous are your works O Lord God Almighty! It is well with my soul...


Searching the Scriptures...
May God give you wisdom and spiritual understanding as you pore over His words in Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:17; Luke 8:8; 14:35; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22 and Rev. 13:9. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!

Growing Pains...

"Grow up!" This was one of the best advice from a friend... Out of nowhere, these two words sprung up. It kind of silenced my ‘but this but that blah blah blah’. With a firm locking of arms over my shoulder, my friend said in a loving and assuring way – grow up. Although that was like more than ten years ago, I could still remember it vividly. We all need friends who would say that to us, even now!

Sometimes we complicate things in life, don’t you think so? Or I should say, sometimes it’s all about ourselves. That’s what immaturity is about I guess. Me first. All me. I can only see me me me, my my my needs. What did you say? But did you hear me? Enough said.

Before I delve deeper into my own reflective mode, let’s ponder on what God’s word say about maturity in Christ. The book of Song of Songs depicts the journey of a believer, growing from immaturity (desiring God but still overwhelmed with “me-first” mentality – my hurts, my pain, my comfort etc) to maturity in Christ (she realizes that it is all about God and wanting His desires to be her desires)… It outlines in the clearest way, the progression of a believer growing from being self-centered to being God-centered…

I shall zoom in on two verses in this post, to illustrate how we journey from immaturity to (more) maturity. Is it about knowing more of God’s word? That is important. Is it about gritting our teeth and obeying the Lord at all costs? There is a place for faith. I submit to you my observation – that it is the REVELATION of Jesus in our lives that will bring us from strength to strength. Our faith is a revelatory faith – Christ revealed to us and in us. It is good to read and know (we must). It is important to live out (we should). But have we encountered God? Have we touched the truth? It takes God to love and obey God. We need to press in for revelation of God in our lives, else it would be all cognitive and functional. When God strikes our heart (inner man), we are able to see light and thus live a life from inside out. Christianity is not about doing. It’s about becoming. Becoming Christ-like!

The Two Verses... and the Progression...
“Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away
Turn, my beloved,
And be like a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of Bether.” ~ Song 2:17

“Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go on my way to the
Mountain of myrrh
And o the hill of frankincense.” ~ Song 4:6

In both verses, the Shulamite woman (depicting a believer) acknowledges the dark shadows in her heart (until the day breaks and the shadow flees away). These are areas of her life that are not fully in the light. The daybreak (breakthrough) comes in the morning when new light appears. It is the time when the dark shadows or the gray areas in her life will be gone. Also, the darkest hour of the night is the hour just before dawn… oh how God uses nature to speak to us about pressing in when all seems so dark and gray… for the light is coming!

In Song 2:17, she asked Jesus to turn and in Song 4:6, she responded "I will go (arise)". So what, and why the difference in responses? What happened in between to bring the Shulamite woman from one who disobeyed in fear to one who rises up in obedience?

The Revelation of Jesus...
In the book of the Song of Songs, Jesus reveals 8 different facets of His personality. Each of them reveals a unique aspect of His relationship with the Bride, the Shulamite woman. As her journey begins, she encountered the Counseling Shepherd (Song 1:8), the Affectionate Father (Song 1:12-2:6) and the Sovereign King (Song 2:8-9). As Jesus challenged her to rise up in deep partnership with Him in Songs 2:14, she shrinks back in fear and refuses to obey Him. It was out of fear /immaturity and not rebellion, for God looks at our heart…


Divine Chatisement (Song 3:1-5)
The Shulamite woman understands that her compromise will lead to fruit in her vineyard being destroyed or in separation (Bether) in her intimacy with God. Jesus turns and goes away for a season.

Jesus honors our voluntary decision to draw back. Our relationship with Jesus is based on voluntary love. Because of her disobedience and yielding to her fears, God lovingly withdrew His presence, until she repents and cries out in obedience (Song 3:2).


The Cherished Heart of the Bridegroom (Song 4:1-8)
After a season of divine discipline, Jesus reveals His cherished heart and calls the Bride fair (or beautiful) while she is still maturing in her obedience and faith. In Song 4:1-5, Jesus prophetically affirms 8 “budding virtues” in the young Bride’s life. He equips us in our weakness by affirmations that overpower Satan’s accusations against us (Rev. 12:10). As Jesus affirms her, He is also saying to her that these 8 character traits are what He is looking for and thus developing in her:

1) Dove eyes: eyes of single-minded devotion and revelation.
2) Hair like goats: dedication to God.
3) Teeth like shorn sheep: chewing the meat of the Word.
4) Lips like scarlet: speech that is redemptive.
5) Kisses of the mouth: intimacy with God.
6) Veiled temples (i.e. cheeks / countenance): emotions impacted by the grace of God.
7) Neck like David’s tower: setting our will to obey God.
8) Breasts like fawns: the power to edify and nurture others.

Song 4:6 shows the Bride’s fearless and wholehearted commitment. She responds to Jesus’ affirmations by setting her heart to obey His call to come with Him to the mountains in Song 2:8-13. She now embraces the cross by going to the mountain of myrrh. She makes a firm decision to leave the comfort zone to go up the mountain by saying “I will go!” The Bride joins the King in spiritual warfare as He calls her His spouse for the first time in the Song. With her new commitment to go to the mountain, she now carries her heart as a loyal Bride.

For the next 4 chapters in the Song, we see her developing mature love for the Lord. (Song 4:8)

We are created to live in the high places with Jesus in the extravagant devotion of bridal partnership. We can trust in God's leadership and nurturing in our lives. So what are you thinking about now? Let’s take the leap.

The Power of Agreement

Have you ever gone on a trip, all excited, with a group of friends, and when one suggests a particular itinerary, the rest respond with a spontaneous YES(!) ? Immediately, the place where the group is will be filled with energy and more excitement! Of course, when the reverse happens, it's called a wet blanket and it would be such a drag!

Such is the effect of agreement, and dis-agreement.

What is intercession? It's about agreeing with what God has said in His word, what God promises to do and laying hold of it to come to pass. Intercession is not an inclination (i.e. I feel like it, then I intercede) nor does it belong to a special group of trained people. It is one of the godly disciplines for believers that as we walk in it, we grow in the Lord.


The Power of Agreement with the Lord
As we walk in agreement with the Lord in our lives, we will experience His power in our lives. It's more than the verbal saying of 'yes' to God's word. As we understand God's word progressively, we engage our heart in laying hold of what He first laid hold for us.

I heard a personal testimony of someone who went through a slight depression because she couldn't understand what God was doing in her ministry. And because she could not understand, she could not agree with God in how His hand was moving. As she sought the Lord for understanding and coveted for prayers and godly counsel from godly friends, God brought revelation of what He is doing... She then began to praise God for what He is doing and agree with what is in His heart. It is well with her soul and she found peace in her heart. There was also no room for any depression, for the power of agreement with the Lord lifted her out of the pit and brought her to a firm ground!


The Power of Agreement with One Another
Besides developing the discipline of intercession on our own, God exhorts us to pray and agree with one another. Therein lies power that is found in a corporate setting. Our holy God has provided a way by which He will manifest Himself to men. It is the way of communion through prayer. Matthew 18:20 says, "For when two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them."


The Power of Continual Agreement
God promised to establish intercessors who will never be silent until He releases His presence. (Isa. 62:6-7). It is in God's heart to establish a group of people who will fully know His heart and thus usher in His promises for us, both personally and globally. Do you know that we are being accused by satan continuously? Rev. 12:10 says, "... for the accuser of our brethen, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down." Maybe that's why we succumb so easily and are powerless. May God awaken our hearts to understand the need to pray continuously and the power that is for us - both to overcome the enemy and also to usher in God's glorious promises for us here on earth!

The Cleansing Power of God's Word

My friend posted this comment on her facebook status: "The boy who hates to bathe found a way to "excuse" himself. He rubs hand sanitiser all over his body and proclaim himself ALL CLEAN!! No need to bathe anymore!"

I had a good laugh!

Who can approach God? Those with clean hands and a pure heart… (Psa 24). Throughout the bible, it is made known that cleanliness of hands (our action) and purity of hearts (our thoughts, minds etc) is mandatory to approaching God, for He is holy.

The priests in the Old Testament had to go through a thorough cleansing regime before they enter into the Holy of holies, where God’s shikenah presence dwells. Any impurity would spell a death sentence. Such is the holiness of God.

Yet He beckons us to draw near. There must be a catch, don’t you think so?

In our day and time, how do we cleanse ourselves daily as we approach God in intimacy? On our own, it can be a daunting task. What do I mean by that? Don’t think of pink elephants. Immediately our minds are filled with pink elephants. You get the drift…

I have good news. The gospel is for people who say “I can’t” and who go to God to lean on Him and be empowered. At times, we overcome instantaneously, while other times it is a continual overcoming process.

So how do we sanctify ourselves? One of the ways is to lean on His word. John 17:7 says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” and again in Eph 3:26 we read, "... that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word."

It's not hard, really. It is only hard when we depend on our own flesh to accomplish the sanctification. Our part is to co-operate with God and respond to His word. Let the reading of the word cleanse our heart, mind, body, soul and spirit!

Suggested meditations: Psalm 119

Oh, how these verses move my heart...

9 How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.

71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.

72 The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

92 Unless Your law had been my delight,
I would then have perished in my affliction.

93 I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have given me life.

127 Therefore I love Your commandments
More than gold, yes, than fine gold!


"

Random Quotes of the Day

------------ Oswald Chambers -----------------------

http://www.myutmost.org/05/0510.html

"Add to your faith virtue. . ." ("Furnish your faith with resolution.") (MOFFATT.) 2 Peter 1:5

"Add" means there is something we have to do. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save ourselves nor sanctify ourselves, God does that; but God will not give us good habits, He will not give us character, He will not make us walk alright. We have to do all that ourselves, we have to work out the salvation God has worked in. "Add" means to get into the habit of doing things, and in the initial stages it is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a beginning, to instruct yourself in the way you have to go.

Beware of the tendency of asking the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative, stop hesitating, and take the first step. Be resolute when God speaks, act in faith immediately on what He says, and never revise your decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do a thing, you endanger your standing in grace. Take the initiative, take it yourself, take the step with your will now, make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you - "I will write that letter"; "I will pay that debt." Make the thing inevitable.

We have to get into the habit of hearkening to God about everything, to form the habit of finding out what God says. If when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we know that the habit has been formed. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we are not.


------------ Dick Eastmen -----------------------

There is no spiritual growth apart from the devotional habit


------------ Harold Lindsell -----------------------

Prayer does not come naturally to men. It must be learned. Learning to pray... includes knowledge of the laws governing prayer as well as experience gained in the practice of prayer. Prayer must be nourished and cultivated if it is to grow.

Even when all things around have not changed, we can change, from within. The greatest change that occurs is change from the inside of us.

The litmus test of our faith comes when trials comes our way - do we face it alone or do we turn to God in faith, and ride through the storm with Him...

See Me Through

by Tim Reimherr, International House of Prayer, Kansas City

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6iqWCr4mZo

As I wait for You

Would You come and see me through

The darkness of this side

I know its all for You

That in the end You would find

A pure and spotless bride

For I'm a stranger here with You

Struggling inside

To be a resting place for You

And I was made to be with You

I don't truly rest until I find my rest in You

So come and see me through

As I journey on

You will lead me by Your hand

And receive me in the end

Whom have I but You

And there is non upon the earth

That can save me but You

As I journey on this path of life

Let me find favor in Your eyes

To walk humbly before Your eyes

Always, always

Whom have I in heaven but You

And only what You say

Will really see me through

Send forth Your light and truth

And lead me, lead me on

Lord have mercy cause it's my only means

To find You here with me

To find You here with me

Lord have mercy cause it's my only plea

To find You here with me

To find You here with me.

As for me I will enter Your house

By the mercy You're giving me now

Your mercy is my only means (plea)

Life is not right until You split the sky

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!"

We long for the day

When You make all things news

We want to be with You.

Carrying Our Hearts... well..

As we weather through the storms of life, major or just trivial, our thoughts and our emotions are evoked. While we handle these situations / people based on our existing set of values and outlook, some incidents can impact us to view or handle things and people differently.

A consistent question I would always ask myself would be - how should I carry my heart? Surely I want to ride on the ups and downs to grow my heart, and not allow situations and people to embitter or shrink my heart. Above all else, I want to guard my heart, for it is the wellspring of life...

I've held on to a few principles in managing situations and people (including myself!):

1) Giving people / situations the Benefit of Doubt

There are ok days and there are also off days. I constantly remind myself not to take things personally and to give grace to myself and others. i.e. to overlook offenses. Quoting from Proverbs 19:11 - "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." and Proverbs 12:16, "A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult."

However, if there is a consistent pattern (of attitude or negative behaviour) that raises a concern, I will weigh the pros and cons before confronting the issue (with myself or others). Certain issues can be dealt in a 'roundabout' way. Other times, it will take a deliberate effort. I will hesitate to say or do anything if the parties concerned are not in my inner circle of influence. Why so? Because my good advice may just fall on deaf ears. Worse still, my intentions may be misunderstood.

2) What is the Main Issue?

This outlook helps me see the big picture and not be too caught up with the 'rights' and 'wrongs'. Once I see the main point or in mandarin they call it zhong dian, all things will somehow will fall into place. However, it takes two to clap - both you and the party (ies) invovled need to be open to see the big picture and not be over calculative about who-said-what and who's-at-fault etc. Of course the apt sorry's are necessary too.

3) Timing - knowing when to talk and when to be silent

There are some things that does not get better even if you work at it - talk through or explain or clarify. When we give time, events may unfold to vindicate yourself. However, sometimes things are swept under the carpet till another episode rakes it up (which is unfortunate if things are still unresolved).

Through it all, I ask God to grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference...

If Your Presence does not go with us...

I did not have such audacity to speak those words... Nor the right heart to speak thus... until I fell facedown... yes I'll fall facedown... as Your glory shines all around...

God, if Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here... we will not go on... because we cannot go on without Your manifest Presence with us. We will not go on... we cannot just go on like this... we do not want to do this without Your manifest Presence with us!

For how then will it be known that we have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? For how then will it be known that what You have spoken to us is Your word for the now? For how then will it be known that this is the very thing that's burning in Your heart?

Raise up the House of Prayer in the spirit of the Tabernacle of David, 24-7! In Singapore! For You are worthy of our worship, our hearts, our all... More than a place, we ask for the I-H-O-P people, people who respond in living out a Joel 2 lifestyle. Bring in the musicians, worship leaders, singers and intercessors, to do this 24-7 and set the fire on the altar burning day and night... That all may know and see the sign of Your coming. That all may have understanding of Your heart and what You are about to do...

So we shall be separate... set apart...from all the people who are upon the face of the earth. May the worship and intercession rise to You as a sweet aroma... as we burn, stand and minister before You... as we tarry with You, for the very things on Your heart... to come to pass O Lord, in our day, in our time. We tarry in faith, believing in Your Word. We tarry in hope, holding fast to our confession that Jesus is coming soon, with His reward for His saints. We tarry in love, for the Wedding day is coming...

~ Exo 33:15-16

What is Prayer all about?

1-sentence version... Prayer is about spending time with God and talking to Him.

3-point version... Prayer is about waiting, longing, hastening...


WAITING
I'm waiting... cos God told us to...we got to give hear, understand why and do something about it... In Isa 40:31, we read how as one waits upon the Lord, they are renewed. Acts 2 recounted to us the active waiting by the disciples, gathering in one accord.

The waitings were anchored in a Hope...

Isa 40 expounds on the Hope of all mankind - our everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, who neither faints nor is weary, whose understanding is unsearchable, who gives power to the weak, who increases strength in those who have no might. Oh, who is like You, O Lord!

Acts 2 tells of the returning Hope, Jesus, the reason of their waiting. This Jesus, whom the disciples see taken up into the heavens and was told that in the same manner, He is coming back soon (Acts 1:11).

So they waited... they pressed in... some gave up... some continued to wait for who can dismiss the Hope that is anchored in their hearts? Though sometimes it does take a major effort in keeping with the waiting. It is not automatic. Desire if not followed through with effort, leaves us 'comfortable' and dull. O God, draw us in! Do not let us grow faint..


LONGING
I'm longing... cos I've experienced His love and know that He is coming back, for me, for us, for love. You know, it's one thing to love God, it's another to love God and be lovesick for God. The former is sweet, the latter is sweet yet totally uncomfortable. Uncomfortable cos if you are lovesick, you will do something to go deep, to pursue, even if it seems foolish in the eyes of man...
Heb 11:16 - "...but now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country..." The men of faith were longing for God and His kingdom. For they somehow know, be it from afar or from anear, that there is a better than...

A longing heart spurs a life lived by Faith...

What is a picture of a life lived by faith? ... subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong,became valiant inn battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens ... erm, you may not like this, had trial of mockings and scourgings, of chains and imprisonment, they were stoned... sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.. wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted and tormented...

... of whom the world was not worthy...

I don't know what went through your mind as you read their experiences. Surreal perhaps?They probably understood what Jesus meant when He said in Matthew 5:10-12, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven..."


HASTENING
I'm hastening... cos I want to rise up in maturity in love and partnership with the Holy Spirit to do what God wants to do...

Hastening is probably the biggest paradigm shift I had regarding prayer. It blows my mind to know that God needs our prayers to do what He wants to do! I mean, God, in all his almighty and divine and limitless ability, created a 'dependance' within his nature - a dependance on men's prayer! In my own puny mind, I liken prayer of men to the scoreboard in an arcade game. Some hits, some misses, and somehow it totals up to 'enough' and wham, God moves. It all counts, for the misses were necessary in getting the hits alrighty.

Just keep praying, yes, and unceasingly! Rev 8:3-5 recounts for us the awesome heavenly activities when the heavenly incense + the prayer of the saints set into motion God's trumpet-judgment series. It is my favourite passage in the book of revelation - Rev 8:1-6 - especially the part where there was silence in heaven for about half an hour... silence cos something serious and intense is about to take place... selah... *gasp*... may I be found on God's side in that hour...

I'm reminded of a chorus line from the IHOP prayer room - And I miss You Jesus and I want You to come back... oh, may we engage our hearts in Love with our coming bridegroom God, who is lovesick for us...


So in the meantime, in this time of waiting, longing and hastening, God is preparing me. As I open my heart to Him, He is yanking out the things that stand in the way (OUCH!!!). In this time of waiting, He lets me know Him more - what is in His heart and what He is about to do... Sometimes I understand, but most times I don't... which means most times I am crying out for revelation, and at the same time reciting prayers from my head, and let God do the work of letting it sink into my whole being.

Oh God, how I long to know your heart and your mind more, so I can be mature in love and effective in what You want me to do... Even when I blew it, time and time again, You never gave up on me. How can I not love You O Lord... in love and lovesick for You... Be it unto me, that wherever I am, whatever I am doing, that the one pre-occupation of my heart and mind is on You and Your Kingdom!

Set Apart - an offering that is pleasing to God

[How often do we take coming before God for granted, even times, going through motion, almost forgetting why we first want to come before him? Fret not... Pause... let the searchlight of God sweep through your heart and offer your lives afresh, tell Him how much you want to bring Him an offering that pleases Him, for that is what He is looking for... He delights in the movements of our heart, not the works of our hands...]

Come into my garden

And take delight in me

Have Your way in me, I pray

Blow upon my garden

Come... north wind

Come! south wind

That its spices may flow out

Till I'm perfected in love... with You and You alone

Till I'm total in obedience... ever before You

Hearts burning

Set apart for You

To burn, to gaze, to draw near

This is Your vineyard

You tended it and caused it to grow

Come and eat of its fruits

A work of Your grace

Not by might nor by power

But formed by Your spirit

Come into Your garden

And take delight in me

I'm Yours... I'm Yours... All Yours...

Let's rejoice and be glad

See the Light in my eyes

See The Wedding that is to come!

[Scripture references]

1 John 4:18 - "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world."

Songs 4:16 - 5:1

Awake, O north wind,

And come, O south!

Blow upon my garden,

That its spices may flow out.

Let my beloved come to his garden

And eat its pleasant fruits.

I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse;

I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;

I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;

I have drunk my wine with my milk.

My Soul Sings...

http://www.pharefm.be/video-7.html

[It's just a little while longer... Till i'll see You... Till I'll know You...Till we'll be together...]

Open my eyes and see
The wonderful mystery of love
Falling into You
I'm drawn to the gravity of love, love, love

We're standing still
In a moment of eternity
Where worlds collide
And I feel the breath of heaven over me

My soul sings
My so-oul sings
My soul sings
How I love You

Open the page and see
The wonderful history of love, love
I start and end with You
I'm pulled to the gravity of love, love, love

We're standing still
In a moment of eternity
Where worlds collide
And I feel the breath of heaven over me

Uncomfortable Comfort

After some good months of reading the bible diligently, I felt a sense of restlessness – in a good way.

I was restless because I seem to be gaining a lot of information and knowledge (which I’m thankful for), yet my heart was not stirred in a corresponding measure.

There seems to be a ‘block’ somewhere inside of me – while my mind is being renewed and amazed with what I’m (cognitively) learning, I needed to remove the ‘block’ that will stir my heart and inner-man.

It all became clearer why I was passively ‘resisting’ the removal of this ‘block’ when I was listening to a teaching. The topic was on the global prayer movement at the End-of-the-Age. It was the message for the now! It was what the Holy Spirit is orchestrating, in bringing the church to understanding God’s heart, in ushering in the return of Jesus and the age-to-come (eternity)! It was one of the messages where there is a very clear Amen in your heart... It's of God, from God and it is now!

My heart stirred. But interestingly, it was uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. Uncomfortable because I know that if I were to respond to this stirring, my life will be turned upside down. You see, it was one of those messages that you clearly cannot listen and walk away living life business-as-usual. A sub-conscious block then entered my heart – it’s ok to just listen, don’t get too excited, it’s good teaching and that’s about it. And I felt comfortable again – cos nothing needs to change really, or so urgently.

That encounter with what’s happening inside of me left me astounded. Do I want an uncomfortable comfort, which has the true dose of reality or am I just contented with a comfortable comfort and just cruise in life... void of God? >_<

Oh Lord, You are a God who is faithful and full of mercy! According to your great love and surpassing mercy, blot out my blocks… I repent for passively resisting your Word of Truth for the hour, so that I can do my own things and cruise.

But in this hour, the Spirit of God is guiding us to seeing what You are doing. I do not see! I do not know! I ask for grace to strengthen my resolve to press in for understanding and live a life of obedience to Your truth and what the Spirit of God is saying, even if it is uncomfortable. I ask for wisdom in living out what You have called me to – to be and to do.

Do not let me go! Do not let me stay where I am! Until I become fully mature in love and partnership with Jesus. You are the vine, we are the branches. Even when it gets uncomfortable in this pruning, I say yes to You!

Create in me a stirring that I will watch and pray. Strike my heart like a hammer, like a fire, that I may speak forth Your word!

In Jesus' Name I pray... Amen!

It's ok to fail... but have we learnt?

Many of us have in one way or another, set out to do something… but failed.

The something could be range from something on a small scale, like learning a skill or language, to something of a bigger scale such as starting a company.

Whatever the scale of the ‘something’ that we have started out to do but somehow failed, one thing remains the same – it’s about learning from our failures and mistakes.

Have we learnt from our setbacks?

What lessons can we glean from our failures that can strengthen us in our resolve going forward – be it to start another something or living out various aspects in our lives?

We’ll become wiser, if only we learn it right.
We’ll become bitter or foolish or both, if we take the ‘blame-something/one-else’ route.
We’ll become neutral, if we sweep it away and not deal with it head on.
 

HEAR YE CHURCH, IT'S A LETTER FROM GOD

It grips my heart whenever I read the letters God commissioned John to write to the churches in Asia in the book of Revelation. The letters reflect the heart conditions of the church and Jesus calling them to respond… If it is a letter from God, we not only need to read it, but also take heed and respond…

Do you know we can be laboring for Christ’s sake, YET lost our first love for Jesus?

Do you know we can be holding fast to God’s name, not denying our faith in the very darkness of the hour, increasing in our works, love, service, faith and long suffering in Christ, YET holding on to wrong doctrines and thus falling into immorality and idolatry?

Do you know that we can be popularly known as one that’s ‘alive and vibrant’, YET in God’s eyes, we are ‘dead’?

Do you know that we can be deceived to think that we are rich and are in plenty, not needing anything, YET we are actually wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked - very much in want in everyway?

I don’t know what went through your mind as you read Rev. chapters 2 & 3. Pause and think. We could be doing all the ‘right things’ but are they right in the eyes of God?

Why is God saying all these? And even more so now?

God loves us enough not to leave us where we are. Many of us start out with a sincere heart, but along the way, we become ‘something/one else’. God in all His wisdom, knows that He needs to continue to work in us.

But to make things work, we need to respond and co-operate. May the God grant us the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of what is on His heart... that we may respond...

He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says…

When You Believe...

[It's been a topsy turvy month... grasping and pressing in to what God is speaking to us individually and corporately as a House of Prayer. I could go on 'life as usual', doing my 'christian thing'... besides, my 'life as usual' is quite 'ok' - or so I think (how wrong I was!).

But there is a stirring in my heart that I cannot ignore... God has spoken... We gotta hear.. we gotta take heed.. and respond! There's an urgency cos if I don't heed and respond, I'll just 'go on business as usual' and over time, my heart will harden... Do you not know, when we hear and do not respond (thinking we got time, later... drag... procrastinate.. or think we are ok..), our hearts towards God will harden... that's the last thing I ever want to happen... passive resistance ->active resistance->rebellion...

May we press in, contending for our faith (Jude 3), hear and take heed to what God is saying... for there can be miracles, when we believe!]



WHEN YOU BELIEVE...

Many nights we've prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understood
Now we are not afraid
Although we know there's much to fear
We were moving mountains
Long before we knew we could

There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe

In this time of fear
When prayer so often proves in vain
Hope seemed like the summer birds
Too swiftly flown away
Yet now I'm standing here
My heart's so full I can't explain
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought I'd say

There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe

They don't always happen when you ask
And it's easy to give in to your fear
But when you're blinded by your pain
Can't see your way safe through the rain
Thought of a still resilient voice
Says love is very near

There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
Now you will
You will when you believe

You will when you believe
Just believe
Gotta believe
You will when you believe

I Know Him So Well...

[When I first heard this song, I was in my teenage years. I was attending a musical in RGS with my sister. If I remembered correctly, the concert's title was 'Climb Every Mountain'. It was a very inspiring and memorable evening. This song was one of the songs sung and it stuck in my head till today. Like it very much! ^_^. "I Know Him So Well" is a song from the concept album and subsequent musical Chess by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. In this duet, two women – Svetlana, the Russian chess champion's estranged wife, and Florence, his mistress – express their bittersweet feelings for him and at seeing their relationships fall apart... Well, my interpretation of the lyrics is different though......]

Nothing is so good it lasts eternally,
Perfect situations must go wrong,
But this has never yet prevented me,
Wanting far too much,
For far too long,

Looking back,
I could have played it differently,
Won a few more moments,
Who can tell,
But it took time to understand the man,
Now at least I know
I know him well

Wasn't it good?
(Oh so good)
Wasn't he fine?
(Oh so fine)
Isn't it madness,
He can't be mine?
But in the end
He needs a little bit
More than me,
More security,
He needs his fantasy and freedom,
I know him so well

No-one in your life is with you constantly,
No-one is completely on your side,
And though I'd move my world to be with him,
Still the gap between us is too wide,

Looking back,
(Looking back)
I could have played it differently,
(I could have played it some other way),
Learned about the man,
Before I fell
(I was just a little girl)
But I was ever so much younger then,
(Maybe, so much younger then)
Now at least I know
I know him well

Wasn't it good?
(Oh so good)
Wasn't he fine?
(Oh so fine)
Isn't it madness,
He won't be mine?

Didn't I know?
How it would go,
If I knew from the start,
Why am I falling apart?

Wasn't it good
Wasn't he fine?
Isn't it madness,
He won't be mine?

But in the end,
He needs a little bit
More than me,
More security,
He needs his fantasy and freedom,
I know him so well,
It took time to understand him,

I know him so well

Current Song Playing

[It's heaven when you wake up each morning, having a song in your heart. It's heaven whenever you touch base with your heart and get into your 'inner world', there's a song playing... Just like when you walk into any music store, you'll hear the shop playing a current song track from an album. If God visited the inner recesses of your heart, what would the track that's playing on the 'album of your heart' ? mmmh.... Let's sing a new song unto Him, make melody in your heart to the Lord most high...]

Think about it... He never sleeps... He watches over us... He is the Great Intercessor... interceding for us...

Psalm 121...

YOU WATCH OVER ME

You never let my feet slip

You watch over me

There is no need to worry

You watch over me

You're the shade from the hot sun

You watch over me

You're my comfort when the day's done

You watch over me

You watch over me

And I fix my eyes on You

You're higher than

Any mountain

How bright You are

More than any star

You never sleep...

You watch over me

I am not God’s second choice…

How it all began…

It all began with diligence in seeking understanding of the times we are in. I attempted to study the charts on the 70-weeks prophecy which God gave Daniel in Dan. 9. I seek to be like the sons of Isaachar, understanding the times and knowing what we ought to do. (2Chron. 12:32).

One of the chart traces the events leading up the Jesus’ second coming. It involves 3 prophetic (i.e. future) time frames in the last days – beginning of birth pangs (like how a pregnant woman would feel), the 7-years of the final history of mankind on earth (the final week) and the events leading to the Age-to-come.

I had lost count on the number of times I studied the chart… though I do remember quite vividly that most attempts were pretty technical and somewhat futile (leaving me exasperated) – especially when I just tried to memorize the facts, so I can get it right and well, say it right. On hindsight, they were not wasted attempts. I just had to keep re-visiting it (albeit the anguish and coming to terms with the I-thought-I-knew-it-but-I-really-don’t moments) and keep asking for the spirit of revelation to enlighten my eyes to see and open my heart to understand.


Setting my heart for understanding…
Yes, like Daniel, I set my heart for understanding (Dan. 10:12). When it’s uphill, I will press in till I am maxed out. Then I will take a break and study other topics in the bible, and revisit it (the charts) when I am ready. That’s what a friend taught me. It worked! Well, I’ll leave it to another day to blog about the 70-weeks prophecy. Studying the charts, with the help of our divine Guide – the Holy Spirit, has left me standing in awe of the certainty of God’s plan for mankind, his all-surpassing wisdom and impeccable leadership. In other words, it just means my jaw has dropped. Where's my jaw now? I can’t find it...or rather I have no time to find it because I am still amazed every time I think about it. Save the picking up. I wonder… in heaven, do the saints have their mouths wide open in awe of the beautiful One? I wonder…


Here comes the main part…
So much for the introduction… now moving on to the main gist of why I entitle this post – I am not God’s second choice.

Have you ever read Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation for everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

First for the Jew, then for the Gentile… Reading this statement leaves me with two major questions. Firstly, what does this mean? Why first for the Jew (them?), then for the Gentile (me?). Bible study tells me that salvation came to us through a people group that God has chosen. And because of their rejection of the gospel, salvation came to us who believe.

Ouch… Is this...I mean... is this the good news? How come it comes with a feeling of… well… erm... I am... I am the ...‘second choice’… They don’t want it, so here it is, it’s yours if you believe. That’s what my human understanding tells me.

Skip... Next question... So am I, are we Gentiles, thus God’s 'second choice'?

I never had a chance to fully grasp the answers. I think I just glossed over it, thinking even if I am the second choice, God is good and He is God and is ‘kind enough’ to offer me His salvation when I choose to believe, so don’t ‘complain’ or think too much. Sigh… so superficial right? Or maybe I'm too afraid to find out the answers. Or too laid back to press in to know God more. Thank God He never let me go…

When I recently studied the 70-weeks prophecy again in the book of Daniel (remember I mentioned this in my long introduction?), I asked myself, so what is this 70-weeks prophecy about? I found out that it is God’s salvation plan for Israel, where they will once again receive their Messiah into their land and into their hearts. And as I delved deeper into the events in the prophetic time frames, my heart stirred as I understood how God’s salvation plan for Israel and the Gentile nations will unfold. I was astounded and could identify with what Paul said in Romans 11:33,

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who has become His counselor?
Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

So I was led to read Romans 9-11 again. I was intrigued and wooed by the Holy Spirit to dig deeper... That’s where the answers to my two questions (which I have long forgotten and placed on the back burner) unfolded. God, mind you, did not forget my questions. He was probably waiting for me to grow in my understanding before He can unravel more truths to me.


The (mind-blowing) answers to my questions…
You see, I have read through Romans 9-11 many times. Yes, even sat under an enlightening teaching of the topic 'Understanding Israel' where Romans 9-11 were extensively covered. I say this to emphasize that what we read, hear, take heed and keep in our hearts, God will give Eureka! moments down the road and help us understand and go deeper. And that just wows our heart, doesn't it?

It is apparent that God's salvation plan for Israel is pivotal in the 70-weeks prophecy. The Mastermind of the whole plan, had it all worked out, yes, right from the beginning. That's why it is called prophecy. The saints of old received the word concerning the future (prophecy). The word is fulfilled in our time. Some have happened, while others have yet to come.

First question answered - As Gentiles, it is critical to re-connect with God's purposes for Israel. Only by understanding and contending for God's purposes for Israel will we ourselves enter in God's purposes. Through Israel's rejection of God, the salvation plan of Gentiles came into effect (Rom. 9:25)!

Though Israel has rejected their Messiah and is subjected to judgment, God has reserved a remnant in Israel so that God will space the world of (more) judgment because of the remnant (Rom.9:28). Thus the current state of Israel's rejection of their Messiah is a picture of a group of people pursuing the law and not seeking God by faith. They have a zeal for God that is not according to knowledge or truth.

Thus God will provoke Israel to jealousy by raising up a nation (who is not a nation) (Rom. 10:19) for God has not given up on Israel. What's more... Rom. 11:12 tells us, "Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more is their fullness!"

Woa... So this is it. Recognise God's way of bringing salvation to all, through a people group. The mystery of Israel is seen here - their rejection of the gospel of salvation has led to salvation coming to the Gentiles who believe. So it explains why 'first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.' It is because of Israel that salvation came to us! This may sound the same as my understanding during bible study, but there's an exclamation mark now, because I encountered this truth in my heart!

Second question answered - The blindness of Israel (from the gospel of salvation), is ordained by God! God planned it! When I internalised this truth, I had a realisation that I am not God's second choice. Not at all! He had me in mind. All the time! He did not leave me out in His plan only to add me in when someone else vacated a space. He planned it all.

Rom. 11:8 "God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day."

Rom. 11:25-26, "... that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.."

And what's more. It's not just about Israel, not just about the Gentile nations... but it's about God and his plan for us to transit us into the Age-to-come. It's all about God! I can't even write anymore (pause) because this understanding surpassed me and blows me away!


My response...
When these truths hit me, I cried hard... I cried long... I said to God, "Can I dwell in this truth longer? Because for so many years I felt I was like a second choice to You, when all along, I am Your choice. I am in your plan. You are thinking about me. You have me in your mind and heart, in a way that I didn't and couldn't understand. I just want to dwell in this truth..."

I am touched that God is always there for me in a way that I could not fathom. How did He feel when I couldn't understand His heart for me? Oh how He must have reached out to me and loved me in ways that I didn't know and couldn't understand why He did what He did (the left hand aka invisible activities of God!). I couldn't understand because here I was feeling like 'second choice' when He was treating me like His treasured possession. I cried hard cos I could feel the shame of being a second choice before God, and that was being wiped away in that split second, forever.

"How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand'

When I awake, I am still with You." ~ Psalm 139:17-18

God thinks about me... Oh how often He thinks about me... I can't even count how many million billion times... more than a cuppa sand grains I can hold in my hands... My heart just melts in the revelation of this truth...

And now I stand tall, yet humble before the all wise God. I can, like what my friend says, walk around with my chest out (ting xiong zhuo ren) because I am God's choice. It feels great. And I stand with my older brother, Israel, in yearning for and looking forward to greater days ahead, growing in deeper understanding of God's heart in His salvation plan for Israel and the nations as the Day draws nearer, and partnering with God to usher in the finest hour for the saints.

By the way, hope you don't mind my 'drop-jaw' look. It's cool you know =)