The faith of my niece

Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

This year, my niece could not go to Sunday school. Her father had arranged for chinese tuition on Sunday mornings for her and her parents said she could not go for Sunday school.

She had prayed to go to church for a few years previously and last year, she managed to go for the last quarter of the year. I was disappointed.

The year went on, she attended tuition class with her brother. I thought she had forgotten about church. However, during the March holidays, the first thing she told her mum was she will attend church as there was no Chinese tuition. I guess she will not attend Sunday class as she was too embarrassed to walk in for just one lesson. I was very touched by her faith. That early morning, she set her alarm to wake up very early and attended 7.30am service with my sister and me.

This weekend, she asked her mum whether she could attend church with us as she has no class on Good Friday and the Easter service was at a timing she could make it in time for her Sunday tuition. Her mum said yes. Again I was quite in awe at her faith and persistence in trying to find a chance to go to church whenever she could, as a child.

Eng Ching has shared about her niece’s openness. I am now sharing about my niece’s faith. May we learn from them and continue to teach them about God’s love and to open our hearts to God like they do.

Prayer: Dear Lord Almighty, I love your little children. Thank you for my niece and her faith. Please protect her and preserve her faith and let it continue to grow more each day. I pray you would continue to open the doors to the little children and let them come to you, in Jesus name.

I’m Drunk, I’m Full

Ephesians 5:18 "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."

Ephesians 3:14-19 "For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

I felt drunk this morning. Very drunk - heady, giddy, giggly and happy. Drunk with the Holy Spirit. Drunk in God’s love. I felt like the most blessed person on earth. I felt very rich – in His love.

I’ve never had this feeling before. Just felt much loved by Jesus. I’ve been praying Ephesians 3:14 to 19 for some time and today I had a realisation of God’s love for me. Verse 19 of Ephesians 3 was made very real to me, leading me to drunkedness – hick!

It’s night time now, I still feel this way, I hope it never ends.

I’m very full, contented and pleased. But like all drunkards, I want more. Can I have more, God? Please!

Prayer: Dear Lord Almighty, I want more of You, more of Your love, more of the realisation of how much You love me. How blessed I am. I want all of my inheritance in You, nothing else will do. I wish for my family and friends to have this want and realisation too, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Prayer Retreat

Neh 8:10 “ Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."”

I really enjoyed the prayer retreat last week. We did not do much but like what Tony said, it feels like heaven. Wee Wee said we are like a family. Like Caius, I felt much love and protection – very secure, a lot of joy, very healed.

I love the children, they are so obedient and cheerful. I love the adults, they ate merrily, sang joyously, and are loving and kind. I love God, His merciful healing presence just overflows into our heart and spirit.

It is a time of healing and recovery for me. I feel satisfied. May God continue to bind us together in love and unity.

Prayer: Dear God, though we are once slaves, you have not deserted us in our bondage. You have shown us kindness and have granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins and to repair our walls of protection and put its doors and bolts and bars in place. Help us to fill every gap in these walls and to complete our restoration, in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Wholehearted Commitment

2 Chronicles 12:1-2” After Rehoboam's position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD. Because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam.”

Deut 6:4-5 “ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

I have always been asked this question by believers and non-believers “But xxx is a Christian, how can xxx act like this?” This is especially so if xxx is a leader. I have no answer.

I have been reading the years of the rule of kings in the bible- from Saul to David to Solomon, etc. Of all of them, only David has whole hearted commitment to God. The rest wanes along the way. Every time they wane in commitment, rest is taken away from the land, enemies appear, attacks start. Sometimes, after they have sought God with all their heart, tests come along as well.

But in all of these instances, if the kings seek and rely on God with all their heart, they are successful against their enemies. We see rest when the leader seeks God wholeheartedly to walk His ways. We see even more rest when the whole nation unites with their leader to do so.

We may criticise the kings in the Old Testament on their walk. But I think the situation today may not be far from then. How many leaders and those under them seek and rely on God today(in families, in workplace, in the land)? And how many wholeheartedly?

What about us?

Solomon had too many wives; we have too many distractions today.

Jesus said He is one with God. There is no compromise.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we want to walk only in your ways and love you wholeheartedly. Help us to be one with you, in Jesus name, amen.

King over us

Luke 19:27 “But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.”

I always thought that the parable of the ten minas and the parable of the tenants were talking about how to utilise our talents and all we have to serve God. Then I stumbled upon the verse above. At the heart of both parables, is about the Lordship and Kingship of God over us and all that we have.

These are days where the rights of a person are held up as most important. In the olden days, there’s a lot of submission and respect for authority. But now, personal rights override. With rights come self centeredness and self crowned kingship. After a while, God is sidelined to serve us. It’s my money, my life, my work, my time. I want it this way, I want it better, don’t take this and that from me.

But all belongs to God, I am only His keeper.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you that you are King over us. May I truly realise that You are King and that I am only your keeper of the things that you have put in my care. May I let go and help take care of them well for You, in Jesus name, amen.

The King's Table

2 Sam 9:11 “So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.”

One afternoon, I was confessing that I could not trust the Lord enough because of my past experiences but I would like that to change. The next I know, He invited me to feast with Him. A table was laid full of food, and He asked that I sit down and eat whatever I liked with Him. I was struck, why did he invite me to His table?

Then I read 2 Samuel when David asked Mephibosheth to eat with him always, I realized God treats me like one of His children. God is full of kindness and will always be there to provide and take care of me, His child. I can trust Him.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank you for your invitation to your table. I want to sit by your side to eat with you always. There is love and abundance at your table and your food nourishes me, fills me up and satisfies me. I thank you for you loving care and kind provision. In Jesus name, amen.

Jehovah Jireh - The Lord will Provide

Joshua 5:11-12 “The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.”

The verses above strike me much. I’ve struggled with provision all my life. It defines almost everything I do - how I behave, how I see myself, how I think, how I work, all the decisions I make. I have strived all my life to ensure provision is enough. But God has promised many, many times He will provide for everything I need. Sometimes it is so surreal. I will see visions of Him endowing me with diamonds, money, castle etc. I know He just wants me to trust Him. It’s been quite a journey, my years as a Christian with God, especially these few years. The things I’m afraid to let go because I’m afraid they will not be enough, He will make me face them again and again to let go. To let go so I can trust Him, so that I can be free and be my true self in front of people and God.

And slowly and gently, as He pry my hands open to these things that I hold for my dear life, albeit sometimes kicking and screaming with tears rolling, He proves Himself faithful in His provision.

There’s still a long way for me to go, I know. Like the Israelites, I have to trust God to fight for me to get my inheritance. But like the verses above, God never let His people go hungry in all situations. Not when we have a God who provides.

Prayer: Dear God, I thank you for your provision in times of need, in times of abundance. I want to be able to let go and trust you more each day. May your glory fall upon us today, in Jesus name I pray, amen.