Blessings blown away?

“You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house...." Haggai 1:9

Have you been working hard and yet do not earn enough to support your family? Are you earning a decent amount of money but find yourself robbed by expenses that are out of your control? Do you see your blessings constantly being blown away?

The people of Judah certainly had those experiences. Even the ground they were growing their crops on was infertile. The dew was withheld from heaven such that their fields did not produce sufficient crops.

The Lord spoke through Haggai and told the people straight in their face, "...I blew (your blessings) away."

The reason was that the people had turned away from God and put their own interests first. God's temple was in ruin and all that the people cared for were building new houses for themselves.

Simply put, their priority was wrong!

I learned from this passage. I hope that you will too. Let's be determined to get our priority right - "Seek His Kingdom first and all these things (our needs and God's blessings) will be given to you as well." (Luke 12:31).

God bless.

Steven

The Gap of Disobedience

For the last two weeks, I had been reading the book of Acts. Paul's vision recorded in Acts 22:17-21 (NIV)taught me much.

Paul was a true Jew, an ex-Pharisee and zealous persecutor of Jesus and His followers. As a Pharisee, he was highly respected by the Jews. His love for his people was genuine.

Consequently, when he finally understood the love of Jesus for him and mankind, he was determined to bring the good news to his fellow Jews.

Unfortunately, many of his fellow Jews did not share his vision at all. They treated Paul as a betrayer of their nation, religion and culture. But Paul's love of them was so strong that he tried over and over again to share the good news to the Jews.

The Jews would not listen and caused trouble for Paul. The Lord intervened in a vision to Paul to warn him of impending trouble and asked him to leave Jerusalem quickly. But Paul debated with the Lord (Acts 22:19).

“‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

Instead of obeying the Lord's command to leave, Paul argued using his human "credibility", thinking that the Jews would accept him for what he had done before. In giving the answer, Paul was finding a reason to stay and preach to the Jews again. As noble as his aim was, Paul was simply disobeying the Lord.

I reflected on my own experiences.

God has spoken to me constantly. There are times that I simply refuse to accept what He said. Like Paul, I give excuses, many were humanly valid. And whenever I persisted to have my way, I got into trouble.

But Paul was obedient. After giving his excuse, he heard the Lord telling him that He was sending him "far away to the Gentiles. " Acts 22:21. Paul obeyed.


A pastor once preached, "Between hearing God's instruction and obeying Him exists the gap of disobedience! That is, until we obey, we are disobeying."

But it was what he said next that really woke me up from my slumber, "Satan thrives in the realm of disobedience and in that gap of your disobedience, you allow Satan to have dominion!"

How more clear can it be said of what is true and dangerous?

It woke me up from my slumber. I hope my sharing will also wake you up. Let's be determined not to allow Satan to have dominion over us. Let's ask the Holy Spirit to help us to obey God instantly!

God bless.

Steven

Grateful to God

^"8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk ... he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹ ... all the people .... were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."  Acts 3:8-10

The lame beggar begged for money and expected Peter and John to give him some. He definitely got more that he expected ... a miracle healing.

As soon as he was able to walk, he rejoiced, "walking and jumping and praising God." He forgot about the money that he had begged for. His attention wasn't on the money nor his handicap anymore.

His immediate and new focus then was on the One who healed him. Being grateful, not to Peter and John, but to the Almighty God, he went into the temple courts to praise Him. And praise God he did! 

The people heard him, they recognized that he was the lame beggar, but he was now walking and jumping - healed! They were amazed at his testimony that he was healed by God.

I am grateful to God for all that He has done for me and want to testify of His goodness too. I am glad that I was given the opportunity to give my testimony before my church's congregation last week.

Since I was saved more 40 years ago, God's protective hands were always upon me and my family. While I have had many blessings, I have also had many difficult storms in my life. I had to deal with many of life's problems, such as failing in business and having to deal with the resultant financial debt, enduring and waiting for healing of certain illnesses and the likes.

It is in those difficult moments that I find Abba Father faithful, real, loving and assuring. For each and every of those moments, He assured me through specific verses in the bible. They came alive to hold and help me through the dark hours. And praise and glory be to God, I came out of each of those situations stronger and more compassionate towards others.

I am grateful to my God for being faithful and true throughout my life. Those experiences allow me to help those who are also going through similar situations. I know that my God will help them and lead them to victory because He did it for me. He will always do so.

Hear how good God is.... 

Praise the Lord!

Steven

God, will You heal me?

Have you prayed to God to heal you of a particular illness? Or asked Him to heal someone who is sick?

I have experienced instances of immediate manifestation of miraculous healing. At other times, healing came days or even months later. 
Yet there were those times when healing doesn't come for a long, long time. The case of my cervical spondylosis is one of those. 

It has been 3 years since I was suddenly struck down with multiple nerve impingement due to a couple of cervical vertebrae collapsing. The pain was immense and eventually, I had to quit my job in order to recuperate from the side effects of the drug that was prescribed to me.

This month marks the 3rd year of suffering that condition.

By God's grace, I feel much better now, though I cannot say that I am completely healed of that condition. My neck reminds me frequently that if I did not stop punching the keyboard and take a rest, the pain will strike.

I believe that Abba Father heals and I prayed, pray and will continue to pray daily for my complete healing. There are many bible records about healing:

Matthew 9:35 ...
"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 

Mark 1:40-42
"A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” ....  “I am willing,” Jesus said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed."

James 5:14-15 ...
^"Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up."

It is clear to me that it is God's will to heal. Then why do I, and some people, not get healed after praying to Him?

Does that mean that the I have sinned? Or is it that I do not have enough faith?

Ps David Lim in his book, "Spiritual Gifts, A Fresh Look" teaches clearly on this subject:

"Healing is in three stages. First, we were healed at Calvary. Jesus paid the full price of our salvation, and for our wholeness. Second, we are being healed now. We are not in heaven yet where there shall be no more sickness. We live in a sinful world, full of disease, and we have a mortal body. God provides many means by which we appropriate our healing. Third, one day complete healing will be manifested for all. (Revelations 21:4 and 22:2).

It is God's will to heal unless He has a greater will in that immediate situation. If there is not yet healing, God is doing something greater for now. We may not even understand what it is or how God is being glorified. But we can put our trust in God's hands. He will cause all to glorify His name. He is sovereign!"

For me, this understanding is enough. I declare that I will leave my life completely in the sovereign hands of my Abba Father. He who loves me so much that He gave His only Son to come and die for me, will heal me in His time. And if He chooses to delay my healing, I know that it is for a greater glory for His Name.

I echo Paul's affirmation, "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9

Abba Father, not my will but yours be done. Let me glorify you in all circumstances!

God bless.

Steven

Growing with the Word

"¹Blessed is the one ...
²... whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers."

Ps 1:1-3

Rev Mantofa from Indonesia visited our church two months ago to helm a series of revival meetings. His main theme was "intimacy with God". He testified that only when one is intimate with God, then can he do the works of God, including healing and miracles.

He shared that he gained intimacy with God through two crucial activities, namely:

1.   Reading the Word of God daily, and
2.   Praying in the spirit constantly.

He spends time daily to read 10 chapters of the bible each day and an equal amount of time praying in the spirit.

I was challenged. 

I wanted that kind of intimacy with God and I desired to read my bible more intimately, beyond my normal quiet time. I aimed to read 10 chapters a day.

Beginning on 1st December, I started to read Songs of Solomon. I finished all 8 chapters in a day and craved for more. The excitement of God's word began to grow and my desire to read more overcame the distraction when I first began. I dove into Ecclesiastes and finished in 3 days. 

Before I began reading the third book, a little fatigue set in. The Devil tried to distract and keep me away from reading more. My eyes became droopy when I read the Word. But God honored my desire and the Holy Spirit helped me to over come those distractions.

I covered Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Jeremiah and Lamentations. Before I realized, I read 7 books in a month.

The wonderful thing is that the more I read, the more I want to read. The more I read, I more I know about Abba Father. Hallelujah!

No wonder Rev Mantofa keeps reading the Word day in and day out.

As I write this last blog for 2012, I would like to encourage you to resolve to read His Word daily. As you bring this desire to Him, the Holy Spirit will help you to overcome every distraction that the Devil puts before you to stop you from reading the bible.

We can only build up our faith in and intimacy with Him if we know Him. And we can know Him by reading about Him in the bible. 

Let your intimacy with God begin. Dive deep in the Word and grow for His kingdom's sake.

Have a blessed year ahead ... 

"Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind."

Ecclesiastes 12:13

Before you can keep His commandments, you must first know them. I am looking forward to read all the other books.

God bless.

Steven

The Same Vision Over Again!

Two years ago, I decided to use the hymn, "Be Thou My Vision" as the guiding theme for my sharing. As I was worshiping God at last Sunday's service, I was just thinking about a new theme for my blog sharing for the new year.

Just as I thought that my theme based on "Be Thou My Vision" had run its course, the worship leader sang the hymn.

Now this is unusual. Our church sings hymns only occasionally as contemporary songs are usually sung. But today, a number of hymns were sung.

Suddenly I realized that God was using the worship session to realign my theme for blog sharing .... letting God be my vision always!

Let me reproduce the hymn in full and let God speak to you too.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Let's realign our vision. Let's focus on God, let Him be our thoughts at all times!

God bless.

Steven 

Trusting in God's Will for us

  

"Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done, 

on earth as it is in heaven.." 

Matthew 6:9-10

Many Christians have a desire to seek God's will. While some don't know how to, there are those who know and yet may not accept His will finally.

Why wouldn't they? Interesting question.

In reflection, I realize that there were many times in my Christian life that I wanted something from God. Most of those were noble prayers, usually asking for the good of my loved ones, my wife, children, fellow Christians, the church and the like.

I would find a verse to support my asking. After all, I was taught to pray according to God's word, which is fundamentally right. However, many times I would "twist" God's word so that my requests would seem right, at least from a human perspective.

For example, I would pray earnestly for either myself or someone against sickness. Nothing wrong with that. But in my heart, I neglected the will of God in my prayer. I asked what I wanted and did not ask the Holy Spirit to help me to ask appropriately.

Paul had asked God three times to remove a thorn in his flesh. God didn't and Paul learned that God's grace is sufficient for him (2 Cor 12:8-10).

God is always good. Some point in time of my walk, the Holy Spirit instructed me that I must always consider God's will when I pray. Only then, He said, will my prayers be answered.

He is a Sovereign God after all. His thoughts are not my thoughts and His ways are always higher then my ways (Isa 59:8-10). I learned that as sincere and with as much faith as I could possibly have, if I did not ask according to God's Holy Purpose, that is, according to His perfect will, then I asked in vain. At most, I will get a second best from Him (His permissive will).

I was led to see how our Lord Jesus prayed.

In teaching His disciples (us!) to pray, the first phrase after exalting Abba Father, is "may Your Kingdom come and Your will be done ...."

Then in the Garden of Gethsemane,  Jesus cried out in agony knowing what He would be facing in a short time. But His cry was, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matt 26:39).

The Lord desired to be spared of the impending separation from God at His crucifixion. He knew that God would turn His face away from Him at that point in time. He asked God to spare Him. But being obedient, Jesus trusted His Father completely and subjected His desire to God's will instead.

In similar vein, Abraham, when asked to sacrifice Isaac could have questioned God. The conversation could have gone this way.

God: "Abraham, I want you to sacrifice Isaac to me."

Abraham: "God, are you sure? How can a loving God like You, who promised me that I will be the father of all nations, will not spare my one and only son? If he died, then how can You fulfill Your promise to me? This is not according to Your word. It cannot be You!"

But Abraham did not do that. He did not question God at all and completely obeyed Him. He knew that if God had promised Him, He will fulfill and so even if Isaac was killed, God would resurrect him so that His perfect will would be fulfilled. 

No wonder Abraham was deemed as a hero of faith!

So, I learned that to want to seek His will for me is not good enough. I need to dare to trust Him, that His ways are higher than my ways. This means that if He asked me to do something that I am uncomfortable to do, I will still obey so that His Holy purpose is fulfilled through my obedience.

Easier said than done!

For me, I am pushing myself to grow more intimate with Abba Father so that I can absolutely trust Him and obey even when the circumstances seem unfavorable in my human mind.

I want to learn to be more sensitive to the prompting and direction of the Holy Spirit. I want to ask God for courage and boldness to obey the Holy Spirit. Only then can I be in His perfect will. And His perfect will for me is always good - hallelujah!

For a start, I must pray, "Abba Father, teach me to pray according to Your will, not mine."

God bless.

Steven

God wants us to enjoy worship

So far in the last month, the following names of God were discussed:

Jehovah Nissi - He is my Banner.
Jehovah Ezer - My very present Helper.
Jehovah Shalom - He is my Peace.
Jehovah Saboath - My Captain of Hosts.
Jehovah Jireh - He provides all my needs.
Jehovah Raah - He is my Good Shepherd.
Jehovah Rapha - My Healer.
Jehovah Shammah - My Father who is always there for me.

In this final posting on the Names of God, I am glad to learn that Abba Father wants me to enjoy my worship of Him.

As Jehovah Tsidkenu, He sees me as a righteous person through His Son (Jer 23:5-6). God is so holy that only those who are righteous can come before Him.

Because of sin, I can't go before God. But His love for me sent Jesus to the cross. By His death, He took my sins and imputed His righteousness to me.

From a condemned sinner to a sinner saved by grace, I can now go into God's presence boldly to worship Him. Praise the Lord.

He is also Jehovah Mekeddeshem, the Lord who sanctifies (Heb 13:12). There is a three-fold sanctification; upward, inward and outward.

I am being sanctified to have a intimate relation with my Creator. At the same time, my inner man is being sanctified so that I can give up my old self to be the person He wants me to be. And finally, I am being made to be more like Jesus Christ, His ultimate goal of reconciliation.

By being my Righteousness and Sanctifier, Abba Father allows me to go into His presence to enjoy worshiping Him.

Conclusion

God sets me apart for His purposes, that is, to touch our world. He gives us Purpose. His Names show His character and love for me.

Our greatest need is to focus on all God has done for us and to appropriate His blessings.

God bless.

Steven

God provides all my needs

Continuing on my series on the Names of God,  besides being my Divine Warrior, Abba Father delights to provide all my needs for my walk with Him.

Four of His Names show this conclusively - Jehovah Jireh, Raah, Rapha and Shammah.

He is Jehovah Jireh, my Provider.

This name was first used by Abraham when he was on the mountain to present Isaac as an offering to God. God asked Abraham to do so. He demanded it. Abraham obeyed. This account can be found in Gen 22:1-14.

Despite Isaac being the only legitimate son born to him at a very advanced age, Abraham had no qualms about obeying God. He probably reckoned that if God had promised to make him a father of all nations, He could take Isaac's life and still resurrect him. How great faith in God Abraham had! No wonder God was pleased with him.

Jehovah Jireh shows God's loving heart towards us. He used a ram to replace Isaac on the altar, just as Abraham was about to plunge his knife into him.

In the same way, Abba Father makes Jesus as our sacrificial replacement. We are the ones who ought to be killed but Jesus took our place.

He is indeed, Jehoval Jireh, my Provider.

He is also Jehovah Raah, my Shepherd.

Jesus leads us into peace and joy in fellowship with Abba Father, in His pasture with green grass and still waters. He protects and cares for us. We are like sheep, stubborn and must be led through dangerous valleys and from or predator. Read Psalm 23 to digest this. Also check out my sharing on Psalm 23 in this blog.

Next, He is Jehovah Rapha, my Healer.

This name was revealed at Marah (Exodus 15:22-27) where the Israelite's jubilation turned into frustration due to dehydration. The water at Marah was bitter. But bitter experiences in life test man's trust in God.

It was at Marah where God gave the condition that if His people were to obey Him, He will not bring about any of the dreaded diseases that plagued the Egyptians.

He heals not only physical ailments but also emotional and spiritual diseases. Call to Jehovah Rapha, He heals.

And finally, He is Jehovah Shammah, the Lord who is present with us.

Psalm 139:7-9 express this aptly .... Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? ... Indeed, the Lord is with me all the time and at all times. 

Knowing that He is with me always gives me confidence to trust Him regardless of how I feel. He never leaves me nor will he ever forsake me, He is my very present help in times of trouble.

My God is Jehovah Jireh, Raah, Rapha and Shammah. He provides all my needs for our walk with Him. Hallelujah!

God bless.

Steven

God is Our Divine Warrior

My church just completed a series to deeply know 10 names of Jehovah God. Yesterday, our pastor gave a concluding message, stringing up the 10 names into three areas which God stands in our life. It ministered to me so much that I decided to share it over the next three postings.

The first area in which Abba Father stands in our life is as the Divine Warrior who fights for us and gives us victory always. The following 4 names of Jehovah affirm this.

He is Jehovah Nissi, our banner. This name was first used when Moses ordered Joshua to battle the Amalekites (Ex 17:9-15). We all know the story - as long as Moses held up the staff in his hands, the Israelites were winning. And finally, the enemy was utterly defeated. Moses then raised an altar to worship God and he named it Jehovah Nissi, which means, the Lord is my banner. Indeed, our Abba Father gives us protection against all our enemies and gives us ultimate victory. He fights for us and gives us confidence.

Abba Father is also Jehovah Ezer. He is the Lord our Help. He is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Ps 46:1). In the battle with the Philistines (1 Sam 7:7-13), Samuel interceded for help for the Israelites. The Lord intervened. He thundered over them and caused the Philistines to panic. Israel totally defeated them. Samuel built an altar to thank God and named it Jehovah Ebenezer - The Lord is our help. Indeed, the Lord is for us, He will help us and gives us strength whenever we need it.

When Gideon saw God's face, he thought that he was going to die because no one who sees God can live (Judges 6:22-24). But God proclaimed peace upon Gideon and spared his life. Gideon built and altar and worship Jehovah Shalom - The Lord is Peace. Jesus is our peace in the midst of life's storms. There is no need for us to fear! So let His peace flow into our hearts. Paul exhorts us not to be anxious but instead to commit all things in prayer. The result is the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).

We are all familiar with the story of David killing Goliath with just a pebble (1 Sam 17:48-51). With Goliath dead, the Philistine army turned away and ran and were utterly defeated. David went into that battle proclaiming that it was the Lord who fought for him. He was his Divine Warrior (1 Sam 17:45-47). In fact, David was echoing Moses' declaration in Exodus 15:1-3 ... “The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. .....³ The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name."

Indeed, He is Jehovah Saboath - The Lord of Hosts, the Captain of the angelic army. David fought and defeated Goliath by this Name. The Lord fought for him! He will also fight for us and defeat the enemy. Jehovah Saboath is God's name for man's extremity. When we  are hard pressed, attacked and find no way of escape, The Lord of Hosts comes to rescue us as we put our faith in Him.

These 4 Names of God assure us that He is our Divine Warrior who will help us overcome our trials and enemies. Remember,  we are all more than conquerors! So claim on each of God's Names whenever we are in battle. He will surely come to our rescue and defeat the enemies for us. Hallelujah!

God bless.

Steven

The Shepherd's my guide

A shepherd will tell you that a sheep does not know that it has gone astray. Unguided, the sheep will merrily go where it wishes to go, and many times, to dangerous pathways.

The shepherd's most critical task is to lead his flock along the right paths. It is the shepherd's duty to make sure that he stays ahead of the flock to guide them so that they will follow his direction to stay on course.

Like sheep, I get lost along the way in life. For most of those times, I am unaware that I am lost, at least an the beginning. In fact, my very mortal nature pushes me to think that I am not lost, or if I finally admit that I am, it makes me think that I can find my way back to the right path.

Most of those times, I did not purposefully make an obvious major u-turn of my direction, which I can surely see. It is the simple straying, through a series of small and unseemly wrong steps that eventually sent me off course.

The sad truth is that in most of those times, I was unable to recover my path using my own knowledge and skill. I can only depend on my Shepherd to lead me to along the right paths.

David knew exactly what he was referring to when he penned Psalm 23:3b ...

"He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake."

I thank God that my Shepherd always gently guide me. However, I have to constantly warn myself that I can still get lost if I loose sight of Him.

To keep looking at my Shepherd, I must keep my quiet time and have periodic time out with Him. As long as I do so, I am able to focus on Jesus and hear what He has to tell me, and so, leading me on the right paths.

Despite having my daily quiet time, I find it most useful to have a periodic time out with Jesus. I would find a few hours off from the hustle bustle of daily life, go to a quiet place such as a park or by the sea, to seek His face. I learn to train my ears and heart to listen, instead of the usual asking in prayer.

My Shepherd never fails to lead and guide me to the right paths because of His name's sake. And all paths for His name's sake are good for me. Hallelujah!

I encourage you to spend regular quiet time and take periodic time off to seek His face. He will surely keep you walking in the right paths.

God bless.

Steven

Did God Really Say?

My last posting on Ps 90:10 attracted a number of interesting comments.

Firstly, I must thank those who reacted and responded (only my dear friend and brother Liat posted his comments online - thank you Liat). I am in total agreement with his teaching that the teaching of Ps 90:7-12 is for each of us to live our life usefully for God, regardless of whether we live to 70,80 or 120 years old.

However, my main aim for my last post was that living till 70 or 80 years old as written in Ps 90:10 is not a blessing but a curse for disobedience.

Those who want to quote this verse must quote it in the context that it was written, which is found between verses 7-12. Let's read that again,

⁷ We are consumed by your anger
    and terrified by your indignation.
⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins in the light of your presence.
⁹ All our days pass away under your wrath;
    we finish our years with a moan.
¹⁰ Our days may come to seventy years,
    or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
    for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
¹¹ If only we knew the power of your anger!
    Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
¹² Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Moses was lamenting the consequences that the Israelites had to carry as a result of their disobedience and was thus praying for God's mercy for them. In verses 7-11, Moses spoke about the resulting punishment on the people, and in with verse 12, pleaded to God to teach them to live carefully so as not to sin against God again.

Therefore once again, I ask you not to quote Ps 90:10 in your exhortation, encouragement to people who are sick or even claim it for yourself as though living to 80 years old is God's blessing.

But you say, "Hey, what about the official statistics on the lifespan of humans?"

Yes, according to the statistics of life expectancy (CIA fact book), the average human lifespan across the world is just short of 70, about 90 for those living in Monaco and around 82 in Japan and Singapore. These facts are facts. However, we, who have been redeemed, need not conform to the statistics the world, which include the ages of those who are considered in the same category as the disobedient Israelites.

Let's look at biblical statistics instead. Moses lived till 120 years. Joshua died at 110. They were from that generation who left Egypt. The difference was that they trusted and believed God. They were not subjected to the curse of a short life. God gave them days beyond 80 years.

For those who still disagree with my views about Ps 90:10, I would ask that, when you next claim or want to use this verse to encourage a sick person, try doing it with the whole verse (not just the front part). Try to tell them that they will live till 80 year old, but "yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away."  Tell it straight into their eyes and say that this is God's blessing for them!

Did God really say .... ? Pray for revelation from Abba Father.

Steven

God gives His children long life

In the last six months, I heard two reverend men of God quoting Psalm 90:10, as though to live to eighty years old was a blessing from God.

"Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away."

They were both genuine believers and are pastors. One of them asked his hearers to number their days since men can only live up to only seventy years. He is fifty eight years old and so he said that he was probably living in his last days.

I am so sad to hear this preaching, which to me, is not from God's heart although the words are found in the Scripture.

Let me explain by using various Scriptures that I found.

Firstly, it was Moses who said those words, as a prayer to God, in Psalm 90. In context, Moses confessed the sin of the Jews in disobeying God during the Exodus. And because of their faithlessness, God, in His anger, decreed that none of Jews who left Egypt who were above twenty years of age would be allowed to go into the promised land.

Numbers 14:22,23 (NIV) says, 

 ".... not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times — not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors."

  
Numbers 14:29,30 (NIV),

"In this wilderness your bodies will fall — every one of you twenty years old or .... Not one of you will enter the land  ... except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun." 

Let's work the numbers from these passages. 

The exodus lasted 40 years. The Jews count a generation as 40 years as well. So, the ages of those who left Egypt would comprise new born babies, to old men of 40 years or more. 

God punished their disobedience by not allowing those above 20 years old to enter into the promised land. So, those just above 20 years old would die within 40 years, making them 60 years old. Those who were 30 years old would die when they reached 70 years old, and for the "old men" who were 40 years old when they left Egypt, they would live till 80 years old, if they had not already succumb to the harsh desert environment. 

We can see that living to 70 or 80 years old is actually a curse for the disobedient Jews. 

Now, let's see what Moses wrote to the new generation just before they crossed over to the promised land. (Deuteronomy was written by Moses just before he died and probably about a year before the Jews possessed the new land.)  Deut 6:1,2 say,  
 

"These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life." 

It is obviously clear that the new generation who obey the Lord would "enjoy long life", much more that the 80 years. 

We ARE the new generation who believe in Jesus Christ who "came that they (we) may have life and have it to the full." John 10:10(NIV) 

Let's also look at Genesis 6:3 (NIV), 

'Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”'

 
Most, if not all, commentators say that this verse does not refer to the life of an individual but that of the human race, and specifically to the time God allowed the people of Noah's day to repent, we can take it to mean that our life is more than 80 years and perhaps up to 120 year. 

So, be assured that if we revere Abba Father and obey Him, He will keep His promise to let us enjoy long life. Let's stop claiming to live only to 70 or 80 years. 

Hallelujah! 

God bless. 

Steven





 

Hope in Him Gives Me Victory

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you... Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. 

Psalm 20:1,6

Two weeks ago, I wrote that the Lord assured me of victory in my situation with regard to the authority with-holding approval for my house's reconstruction. He told me to "Stop trying and start trusting."

I did and Jehovah Nissi delivered victory as He promised. Hallelujah!

At the meeting with the Chief Engineer of the department two Wednesday ago, his officers not only retracted their earlier objection, they changed tack completely. They presented a proposal which was reasonable and acceptable to me and my project team.

After my agreement, we received the official approval last Thursday. The Lord delivered on His promise....as He always will. Praise the Lord!

I learned an important lesson. 

I must always commit my needs to Abba Father and not lean on my own understanding (Prov 3:5). His plan is always good for me (Jer 29:11). In all circumstance, I must hope in the Lord and He will renew my strength to soar on wings like eagles (Isa 40:31).

I have a warning though. When you declare your hope in God, Satan will give you distractions to draw you away from your hope. 

When you declare your hope in God, He may also give you an opportunity to proof that your hope is truly in Him.

I have learned that we can succeed only if we choose to believe and stay focused on our God. When we do that, God will deliver the victory to our hands. 

Victory has always been there - Christ won and Satan lost at Gethsemane. We must know assuredly that Christ's victory is sealed and irreversible! What prevents God from delivering that victory in our life is our disbelief, our lack of faith.

Let us not forfeit the victory by our lack of faith. Let us hope in the Lord and He will renew our strength, we will soar on wings like eagles ... for His glory.

The Lord is good all the time, praise God!

God bless.

Steven

 

A Resistant Rebel

In the last fortnight, my contemplation pointed to one desire - to have a vibrant prayer life. From the teaching at the weekly Bible Study Fellowship, to reading Selwyn Hughes' devotional article and Ps Edmund Chan's "Growing Deep in God", the Holy Spirit prompted me vividly that I must grow in this practice.

I learned that in order to have a vibrant prayer life, I must be careful to deliberately give up any things that are vying for my time and interest. Such things take away my focus and energy to have a vibrant prayer life.

Amongst many of such distractions cited by Ps Edmund, an unyielded life is my problem. 

Not yielding to God is a deliberate act of rebellion. Selwyn Hughes put it aptly:

"The desire to resist God's rule and reign is deeply ingrained within each one of us ... The heart is indeed a resistant rebel." 

This is an issue of the fallen state of man. Satan has tricked too many of us, too often, to "do it my way" instead of yielding to God. 

Too often we trust our our capability to tackle a problem instead of first inquiring the Lord for His guidance. 

Too often we plan with our limited wisdom and then ask God to bless our imperfect plan.

What then is a yielded life?

As I search my heart for areas which I have not yielded to God, I realized an important truth; even if I have yielded 99% of myself to God, my life is unyielded. That remaining 1% simply makes my entire life unyielded.

That is why the very first message Jesus preached, when He begun His ministry, addressed the very issue. His message was simply, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17b. He addressed the most fundamental issue of unyieldedness by providing the solution - repentance. It is the direct act of addressing the rebellion of man. 

Only if I repent before God then can I begin to live a life totally yielded to Him. Only then can I have a vibrant prayer life, that is, a life of constant and close fellowship with Abba Father. Only then is my life abundant!

God bless.


Steven

Drifting away?

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ² For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, ³ how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?   Hebrews 2:1-3a (NIV)

While seeking for God's directions on what to say in this post, the warning in Hebrews appeared twice to me this week. Fundamentally, I believe that when God shows me His words more than once, it is a strong message.

And what is stronger than a warning against drifting away from His truth?

The question that I mediated upon was what have I heard that God warns me not to drift away from? 

My learning is, it is the Gospel of salvation, given through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the heart of our Abba Father; that all men may be reconciled to Him and the only way is by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

The author of Hebrews calls us to "pay the most careful attention to the truth that we have heard so that we would not drift away". It was written to warn the second generation Hebrew believers against returning to Judaism. It is written to us to warn us of believing in false teachings and becoming religious.

And why and how could I, who already believed and accepted the Lord, drift away?

Firstly, I am conscious that paying attention is hard work. It requires deliberate effort pay attention. In today's context, the world offers so many distractions and so many diverse/false teachings. 

I consider the Internet as the new Tower of Babel - in it is knowledge infinite. The easy reference to the vast amount of knowledge is extremely dangerous. No matter how much collective wisdom are in it, this repository vies to be the greatest distraction for God's children.

Distractus, the Latin root word for distract simply means "to draw apart". The dictionary describes it as "to draw away the attention of a person from something."

So, if the pursuit of knowledge draws the our attention from God's truth, I will drift away!

I ask the Holy Spirit to help me heed Abba Father's warning; to help me to keep focus upon His truth by spending time reading and understanding His word. I ask for help to redeem my time so that I can grow deep in Him. I ask that He will also help other believers to do the same.

God bless.

Steven

I failed, or have I?

I having been following Selwyn Hughes' devotional over that last 6 weeks on the theme of failure. Funnily enough, I have been struck by a feeling of failure.

It is not that I have failed in any specific area or matter that I am handling. The feeling just came as though it was a practical session of applying what Selwyn was teaching.

Interestingly enough, this came after my wife and I had just successfully facilitated a couples weekend retreat. We led 11 couples to grow closer to each other and to God in love. The feedback from every participant was very affirming and mostly encouraging. We knew we have influenced and positively impacted them with our sharing.

It was in that context that I was struck with the feeling of failure. It doesn't make sense. But it did affected me so much that I did not felt that I should continue writing my blog, hence the message on Monday.

On reflection, I realized that the Holy Spirit was giving me a chance to experience the agony of those who are feeling that they have failed. Empathy requires one to feel the pain before of being of help.

The psalmist proclaimed,

" ¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation—
   whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
   of whom shall I be afraid?...

 ¹³ I remain confident of this:
   I will see the goodness of the LORD
   in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
   be strong and take heart
   and wait for the LORD."

Psalm 27:1,13-14

And there were those of you who responded to my last blog and encouraged me to keep going. God bless you my dear fans.

So friends, do not dwell in your sense of failure, for in itself, that is failure. But look up to the heavens and wait upon the Lord with confidence. 

I did. He answered.

Abba Father will not allow His children to fail, unless we choose to!

God bless.

Steven

I still sin

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8

I don't worship any god besides Jehovah God. I don't murder, steal, commit adultery, dishonor my parents nor bear false testimony against any body. In other words, I don't breach the ten commandments, I think.

But I still stumble and fall into sin at times. Are you surprised? 

Selwyn Hughes pointed out that some believers "see themselves as having come to a place in their Christian life where it is not possible to sin ... a very dangerous attitude to hold - yet there are many who hold it."

I concur wholeheartedly. It is too easy to deceive ourselves we have no sin. 

Just because I do not see myself manifesting those obvious sins, it does not mean that I am free from sin. The greatest danger comes from subtle sin, for example, self-centeredness.

The Lord says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34) Being self-centered breaks this command. Breaking the Lord's command is sin.

So, on a daily basis, as soon as I consider my interest above those of others, or when I do not love another person as I should, I have sinned.

Yes, I still stumble and fall sometimes. 

I remind myself that I must acknowledge my failure, confess my sin before Abba Father and repent. Only then will I allow the Holy Spirit to do His work of sanctification in me.


I am assured by the words of 1 John 9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Thank God for His grace and mercy!

God bless.
Steven

When He Commands, He Enables

"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."  

Acts 2:4

My study on the book of Acts triggered me to think deeply about Jesus' command for His disciples to be His witness.

Before His glorious ascension to heaven, Jesus told His disciples not to leave Jerusalem (meaning, not to start doing the works that He has commanded them to do) but to wait for the Holy Spirit to be given to them (Acts 1:4).

There was a reason for this. Immediately after Jesus' death, all the disciples were shaken, shocked and some disillusioned over what had happen to their leader. They were a disorganized band of men, not knowing what to do next. That was why Jesus appeared in His resurrected body and spent 40 days with them before glorifying Himself in heaven.

Jesus reminded them what their tasks were. The disciples needed power from on high to continue Christ's command for them to preach the good news to the unsaved.

The Lord assured them: "...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8.

And I learned that at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came in a mighty way to in-fill and in-dwell those who believe in Jesus. Power came upon them and they spoke boldly about Jesus. From then on, the Gospel has been preached throughout the world.

I learned that when God commands, He also enables. He never leaves us to use our frail human power to do what He wants me to. His power, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, is available for our use.

However, like most humans, many times I try to do it with my own strength and wisdom. I almost always end up tired,frustrated and even disillusioned. Why? Simply because I try to do what God asked me to do using my own strength.

How foolish that is?

All I needed was to rely on His power by calling on His Holy Spirit to give me strength and wisdom and He will supply. He never fails!

Moving on, I want to remind myself that Abba Father is my first resort, not last, whenever I have to do His work. 

When He commands, He enables!

God bless.

Steven

Plan To Neglect

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity … but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

Eph 5:15-16

You have heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This is certainly true. However, we will live life more effectively if we also “plan to neglect.”

About 15 years ago, I started to practice Stephen Covey’s holistic life management principle, which he propagated in his book, “First Things First.” I found it absolutely meaningful as well as helpful in setting my priorities right and allocating time appropriately for managing my life.

Stephen advocated putting our different roles, which we have in our daily life and then planning our activities around these roles. This gives us a proper perspective (using the true north analogy) in how we spend our time.

His proposition is based on an important Kingdom principle; that we should be wise and make the most of every opportunity and understanding what the Lord’s will is for us.

Stephen’s core message is to focus on what is really important but which may not yet be urgent and totally neglect the trivial things in our daily life. Indeed, there are many things that cry out for our attention constantly but which are not important at all. These include common trivial pursuits, time wasters such as watching soap operas or reading fictions, busy work which produces little result, gossips, aimless surfing in the Internet and so on. If we are not careful, we will be driven by life instead of living and driving it.

In Charles Hummel’s “The Tyranny of the Urgent”, he explains that until we know the difference between the urgent and the important then we will never become good stewards of our time. Reflect and examine how often our lives have been driven by what pops up in our face instead of we controlling what to do according to a holistic plan.

The core of this is the message to administer Christian stewardship of our time on earth … making most of every opportunity for God’s kingdom work.

I have benefited much from learning how to plan my daily and weekly timetable according to my various roles in life. These roles include being a redeemed son of God, a husband, a father, an employee, a church member and a friend. By having each of these roles in mind when I plan my week, I life live with a balance, not missing missing out on anything or anyone important to me. I plan to neglect all trivial and unimportant things so that I can make use of the time to do those that are important.

Join me to live life with a holistic balance. Live it, drive it for His glory.

God bless.

Steven