In the Bible, the term 'mountain' is usually used to refer to problems encountered in life. And even in our ordinary speech we describe our problems as a 'mountain of problems (or challenges)'. On Sunday Oct 28, Rev Joe Purcell (Director of Rhema Bible Training Centre) preached in New Creation Church in place of Pastor Joseph Prince who is in Canada speaking at a Conference organized by Pastor Peter Yongren.
Rev Joe talked about our righteousness in Christ and why we need to declare aloud our inheritance in Christ and there was a point in the sermon when he was sharing about how Zerubbabel was so discouraged with the opposition that he almost gave up and just at the right moment, the Lord sent an angel to him to encourage him.
Zechariah 4:6-7, v6 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord Almighty. v7 "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbable you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it! God bless it!"'
So the first thing we as children of our Abba Daddy need to recognize is our blessing of righteousness in Christ and because of this righteousness, we have our position in Him and because of our position in Christ, we now can turn around and declare to our 'mountain' that they will become level ground and no longer be a threat to us.
So we need to take ownership of our blessing of righteousness and start to declare our victory. That is our fight of faith; not that we need to fight FOR our faith but that we fight FROM our position of faith and then begin to see our mountain melt away and so what used to be a whole mountain range will become plains stretching for miles around us. Would you not want that to happen? Then start declaring your faith and claiming your blessing of righteousness and then sit back and watch the Lord put everything right for you. I did and I am beginning to see results over the past three days.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
How Would You Describe Your Current Situation?
Last week, a friend and former colleague, asked me this question, 'how would you describe your current situation?' as she found that I am in the same setting as her own husband who, like me, left a full-time job to venture out and be an entrepreneur in early March this year.
Man was created with a hunter personality and therefore will always want to be out there scouting for food for his family and himself while the woman was created to care for the family especially the young. And so I basically explained to her that this hunter has now entered a new hunting ground and need to understand what type of animals roam there and what were their feeding habits. Also being in a fresh hunting ground, he will need to spend time to understand the ground - terrain, vegetation, territorial rights, etc.
i know it sounded rather philosophical but she understood what I was aiming at and began to appreciate the challenges ahead for her husband and her family. Of course Abba Daddy can perform miracles and make the humanly impossible situation become possible for His beloved and that is what we all are - beloved of Jesus and therefore of high priority for Abba Daddy. And this drew me back to a comment from one of my former colleagues in Deutsche Bank who commented that she admired my entrepreneural spirit. With Abba Daddy by my side, I believe I will succeed and be super-abundantly blessed beyond what I can ask or dream of.
Man was created with a hunter personality and therefore will always want to be out there scouting for food for his family and himself while the woman was created to care for the family especially the young. And so I basically explained to her that this hunter has now entered a new hunting ground and need to understand what type of animals roam there and what were their feeding habits. Also being in a fresh hunting ground, he will need to spend time to understand the ground - terrain, vegetation, territorial rights, etc.
i know it sounded rather philosophical but she understood what I was aiming at and began to appreciate the challenges ahead for her husband and her family. Of course Abba Daddy can perform miracles and make the humanly impossible situation become possible for His beloved and that is what we all are - beloved of Jesus and therefore of high priority for Abba Daddy. And this drew me back to a comment from one of my former colleagues in Deutsche Bank who commented that she admired my entrepreneural spirit. With Abba Daddy by my side, I believe I will succeed and be super-abundantly blessed beyond what I can ask or dream of.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Can I Talk WIth You About Financial Planning?
On Thursday afternoon I decided to head down to the beach at East Coast Park for a time of meditation. I reached my destination and sat down under one of the sheds on the beach and I began to ask Abba Daddy when my blessings would come. I looked out to the sea in front of me and saw many container ships and oil tankers and I thanked Him for the prosperity of the land but when would be my turn to be prospered?
And just as the words left my tongue, my mobile phone rang and a financial planner from AIA on the other end asked me whether I could spare her 20 minutes for her to explain how I could plan for my future. Imagine here I was asking Abba when my blessings would be given me and there was the agent wanting to show me financial planning! where is the connect I wondered.
And then suddenly I realized that Abba was telling me an important message - there will be such a blessing that I really need to be ready for it. And I saw for the first time how Abraham must have felt when Abba told him that he would be the father of many multitudes and yet he did not have a single heir to his name; it was not an easy road for Abraham especially a finite mind trying to comprehend what the Infinite Abba wanted to bestow upon him.
And so I am encouraged to trust Abba Daddy for my bountiful blessings and I am thankful.
And just as the words left my tongue, my mobile phone rang and a financial planner from AIA on the other end asked me whether I could spare her 20 minutes for her to explain how I could plan for my future. Imagine here I was asking Abba when my blessings would be given me and there was the agent wanting to show me financial planning! where is the connect I wondered.
And then suddenly I realized that Abba was telling me an important message - there will be such a blessing that I really need to be ready for it. And I saw for the first time how Abraham must have felt when Abba told him that he would be the father of many multitudes and yet he did not have a single heir to his name; it was not an easy road for Abraham especially a finite mind trying to comprehend what the Infinite Abba wanted to bestow upon him.
And so I am encouraged to trust Abba Daddy for my bountiful blessings and I am thankful.
Friday, October 26, 2007
In memory of my mother - the Lord took her home!
My mother started her hospital episodes in 2002 before the Chinese New Year when she had a very severe fever and was rushed to the National University Hospital and immediately warded. From there she suffered a number of multiple strokes while resting in the hospital and her condition did not improve. She was transferred to St Luke's Community Hospital for rehab treatment and hopefully can return home after that (that was the medical plan for her) but the latter did not materialize.
She was to spend the rest of her days in St Luke's despite a number of occasions when the social worker from St Luke's wanted us to take her out since St Luke's policy had never been for long-term care. I recalled the first occasion when the social worker wanted me to transfer her was right in the heat of the SARS outbreak in 2003 and I had to go and scout for alternative home support arrangements. We found one Elders Home in the east and when the transfer was supposed to take place, it was by divine intervention that she could not be moved (remember the time when there was a memorandum from Ministry of Health that stipulated no transfer of patients during the SARS period?) and again after the SARS outbreak was stabilize, the subject was broached again. This time I was more prepared and insisted that the doctors approved her transfer and that it was not just the social welfare department's decision. Of course none of the doctors supported the transfer as my mother was still very weak and therefore could not be moved.
So this request for transfer from St Luke's Social Welfare department became quite frequent but we stayed our ground and insisted a medical signoff be given and it never came. Finally, by the grace of our Abba Daddy, the doctor who was treating my dad's dimentia stepped in and being a member of the St Luke's Hospital Board and being familiar with my mother's case, took a strong stand and recommended to the Board that my mother be granted long-term residency for as long as she is alive. Now that is a very powerful mandate and all discussion of discharge were dropped.
Mom had a number of close calls with death during nights but I believed that she pulled through simply because there was something that she had not released in her spirit. She was a very traditional woman brought up in very steep Chinese culture where she believed that the wife cannot pass on before her husband (the stubborn nature in her dictated that) and so she would pull out of her fevers within 24 hours. And it was very painful for the family to see her in that vegetating state and much as we believed in her complete healing (which will in and of itself be a miracle) we soon began to feel that it would be better for her to return home to the Lord and end all those suffering. In fact dad was so grieved with the situation that there was an occasion where he tried to pull her out of her bed to bring her home.
But it was not to be so yet as dad was still alive. And when dad went home on April 07, the family made a decision not to break the news to her yet until we were ready for another funeral. Well, I believed she sensed that dad had gone after a while because he had not gone to visit her. It was a daily routine for dad to visit her between 10:30 AM and 02:30 PM with the maid and after his departure, the maid continued alone so that she can help the nursing staff to groom mom and change her. Although mom could not open her eyes to see, we know she still had a keen sense of touch and not being able to feel the hands of dad stroking her or hearing his voice began to set in (there were a few occasions when we visited her and while we talked with her, she would tear in response).
Without any one of the family actually breaking the news to her about dad's passing, she finally decided to release that burden in her spirit and to rest in the Lord and He took her home to end all her suffering. And when we recalled the whole episode, we could not help but see the hand of Abba Daddy in all His mercy assuring us that they are in a better place. 2 evenings before her actual departure, we were called to the hospital because she developed shortness of breath and a fever came on her and we were advised to prepare for the worst and so when she finally gave up her spirit we were more than ready.
But the amazing thing to me is still the timing of both departures - April 7 for dad and Nov 7 for mom (exactly seven months apart) and both were called home between 07:30 PM and 08:30 PM. To me it spoke of the completeness of His rest and that both my parents could not be separated even unto death - a strong reminder of their marriage vow - till death us do part (except that the parting was only a very short one). And that has greatly encouraged us and will always help us to look beyond our circumstances and see Abba Daddy's hand of grace upon our lives. All glory and honor to Him! Hallelujah!
She was to spend the rest of her days in St Luke's despite a number of occasions when the social worker from St Luke's wanted us to take her out since St Luke's policy had never been for long-term care. I recalled the first occasion when the social worker wanted me to transfer her was right in the heat of the SARS outbreak in 2003 and I had to go and scout for alternative home support arrangements. We found one Elders Home in the east and when the transfer was supposed to take place, it was by divine intervention that she could not be moved (remember the time when there was a memorandum from Ministry of Health that stipulated no transfer of patients during the SARS period?) and again after the SARS outbreak was stabilize, the subject was broached again. This time I was more prepared and insisted that the doctors approved her transfer and that it was not just the social welfare department's decision. Of course none of the doctors supported the transfer as my mother was still very weak and therefore could not be moved.
So this request for transfer from St Luke's Social Welfare department became quite frequent but we stayed our ground and insisted a medical signoff be given and it never came. Finally, by the grace of our Abba Daddy, the doctor who was treating my dad's dimentia stepped in and being a member of the St Luke's Hospital Board and being familiar with my mother's case, took a strong stand and recommended to the Board that my mother be granted long-term residency for as long as she is alive. Now that is a very powerful mandate and all discussion of discharge were dropped.
Mom had a number of close calls with death during nights but I believed that she pulled through simply because there was something that she had not released in her spirit. She was a very traditional woman brought up in very steep Chinese culture where she believed that the wife cannot pass on before her husband (the stubborn nature in her dictated that) and so she would pull out of her fevers within 24 hours. And it was very painful for the family to see her in that vegetating state and much as we believed in her complete healing (which will in and of itself be a miracle) we soon began to feel that it would be better for her to return home to the Lord and end all those suffering. In fact dad was so grieved with the situation that there was an occasion where he tried to pull her out of her bed to bring her home.
But it was not to be so yet as dad was still alive. And when dad went home on April 07, the family made a decision not to break the news to her yet until we were ready for another funeral. Well, I believed she sensed that dad had gone after a while because he had not gone to visit her. It was a daily routine for dad to visit her between 10:30 AM and 02:30 PM with the maid and after his departure, the maid continued alone so that she can help the nursing staff to groom mom and change her. Although mom could not open her eyes to see, we know she still had a keen sense of touch and not being able to feel the hands of dad stroking her or hearing his voice began to set in (there were a few occasions when we visited her and while we talked with her, she would tear in response).
Without any one of the family actually breaking the news to her about dad's passing, she finally decided to release that burden in her spirit and to rest in the Lord and He took her home to end all her suffering. And when we recalled the whole episode, we could not help but see the hand of Abba Daddy in all His mercy assuring us that they are in a better place. 2 evenings before her actual departure, we were called to the hospital because she developed shortness of breath and a fever came on her and we were advised to prepare for the worst and so when she finally gave up her spirit we were more than ready.
But the amazing thing to me is still the timing of both departures - April 7 for dad and Nov 7 for mom (exactly seven months apart) and both were called home between 07:30 PM and 08:30 PM. To me it spoke of the completeness of His rest and that both my parents could not be separated even unto death - a strong reminder of their marriage vow - till death us do part (except that the parting was only a very short one). And that has greatly encouraged us and will always help us to look beyond our circumstances and see Abba Daddy's hand of grace upon our lives. All glory and honor to Him! Hallelujah!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
In memory of my mother - a stubborn woman borne out of circumstances
As the children grew and when we started schooling on Christmas Island, I recalled my mother became more and more stubborn almost to the point of being obstinate. When my siblings started to attend Sunday School at the only church on the island, I was not allowed to join them although I did have the opportunity at the initial stage and the reason given by her was that being the youngest in the family, she wanted me to keep her and dad company (could not understand her rationale). Was she paranoid about the children becoming Christians? (she was a Buddhist/ Taoist then) or was she suspicious that dad had a roving eye? (I was even assigned to shadow dad whenever he was not at work and was debriefed after each outing). Of course all her suspicions were baseless and she had to admit 'defeat'.
But that further 'hardened' her resolve to the point where number 'I' took over and got the better of her. On one occasion, she was in the kitchen and wanting to get some pots from the upper shelf of the hanging cupboard, she fell backwards and sustained bruises but she was too stubborn to want to go for medical treatment until the next morning when her whole injured leg was swollen and she in great pain and we had to rush her to NUH A&E Department in an ambulance and she paid a high price for that - her legs were impacted and she subsequently had to walk with a walking frame initially but after a year or two, suffered strokes which finally rendered her immobile and wheelchair bound.
There were a number of incidents where her assertion as number 'I' got the better of her and she paid dearly for the consequences. But I want to praise and thank Abba Daddy that when the time for that crucial moment of decision for salvation, her dutiful nature as a wife took over. That was in June 1987 when my parents attended the evangelistic rally (Reinhard Bonke) and during altar call, when my dad stood up and went forward, she followed him. Inspite of her stubbornness, she still had that softness of a loving wife. She received the Lord Jesus into her heart and she resolved to stand beside my dad in whatever he wanted to do in their twilight years (she was 60 and he was 65 when they recceived the Lord).
But that further 'hardened' her resolve to the point where number 'I' took over and got the better of her. On one occasion, she was in the kitchen and wanting to get some pots from the upper shelf of the hanging cupboard, she fell backwards and sustained bruises but she was too stubborn to want to go for medical treatment until the next morning when her whole injured leg was swollen and she in great pain and we had to rush her to NUH A&E Department in an ambulance and she paid a high price for that - her legs were impacted and she subsequently had to walk with a walking frame initially but after a year or two, suffered strokes which finally rendered her immobile and wheelchair bound.
There were a number of incidents where her assertion as number 'I' got the better of her and she paid dearly for the consequences. But I want to praise and thank Abba Daddy that when the time for that crucial moment of decision for salvation, her dutiful nature as a wife took over. That was in June 1987 when my parents attended the evangelistic rally (Reinhard Bonke) and during altar call, when my dad stood up and went forward, she followed him. Inspite of her stubbornness, she still had that softness of a loving wife. She received the Lord Jesus into her heart and she resolved to stand beside my dad in whatever he wanted to do in their twilight years (she was 60 and he was 65 when they recceived the Lord).
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