Catherine Middleton's wedding dress

It is an ivory gown with laced sleeves, designed by Sarah Burton. I wish her train was longer. They have gone straight to the vows quite fast. Oops Prince William had a bit of difficulty putting on her ring! It is a tradition for the men in the royal family not to wear rings. And there it is, after all the waiting, they are finally married! :)

Happy Wedding Day to Kate and William

Goring hotel

Ah, I am so excited about the wedding..just anticipating the wedding and watching the coverage on TV. It gets me rather curious for example they say Kate Middleton will be leaving Goring Hotel at 10.51 am and that got me curious what the hotel rooms looked like! I am also curious what she is going to wear! The fantastic part is I am watching the coverage on high definition. Cool! Can't wait! Can't wait! Such a joyous moment, such a happy moment, what a celebration.

Warmth on my Back

Warmth on my back

Mark 16:15-18
   15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

On Tuesday, during bible class, I was coughing continuously at one point and Elaine who was seated next to me laid her hand on my back. Immediately, I felt warmth on my back and i stopped coughing. Praise the Lord!

After class, Elaine shared she felt burdened to pray for me so she laid her hand on me and prayed in tongues under her breath. She said she felt power go through her hands and she felt warmth. My eyes lighted up as I shared so did I! We were both jumping with joy at how awesome God is as we both witnessed His power at work. All glory to God! Thanks Elaine for obeying the Holy spirit there and then, to lay hands on me to heal the sick.

It was also for this reason that when I had more cough and fever yesterday,I knew it was spiritual attack. I know that if I keep declaring my healing and not let the devil discourage me, God will pull me through but the pain and weakness is real. God is good. He never lets us go through more than we can handle :) My mum is also under attack. It started on Sunday. She gets these back aches that comes and goes and last night, it even travelled down her hands. Please pray for her. Amazingly, despite the aches and the heavy down pour yesterday, she came to my house just when I was starting to have fever. So, we're now praying for each other!

Update - Good Morning! :)

Praise God for new mercies this morning. Woke up this morning and felt much stronger. No more fever! Praise the Lord! No phlegm of any sort that shows infection either. Praise the Lord! Coughing occasionally. Got up to tidy the house and that is a good sign that i have gotten my battery back but after awhile I had to sit and rest so am updating you now. Thank you so much friends. Indeed we serve a loving God, a prayer answering God!

I claim God's promises that He is restoring me to health and healing all my wounds and by Jesus' stripes, I am healed! :)

Update

Please pray for me. I have symptoms of fever, body weak, like flu coming on. I think I must have got it from Nic whose throat was very inflamed this morning. I just popped two panadols and resting lots. Thanks so much for praying for me this morning when coughing was more. At least, I have calmed down ie not conitnuous coughing. Praise God! Pray that the medicine will work wnd that I will have a good rest tonight. I rebuke this cough, fever in Jesus' name. Holy spirit, come fill me with your resurrection power. I claim your promises that by Jesus' stripes, I am healed and made whole. Amen!

Bone Scan vs 3 Suns

Bone scan vs 3 Suns

2 Corinthians 10:5
"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

The morning after Good Friday, Ethan woke up and said "Mummy, I dreamt of Ben and Ivan and kor kor and mummy and papa". I said "Oooo, you must have dreamt of a lovely time just like the one you had in church last night during Good Friday!" The boys were having a good time together down at the creche during the Good Friday service. Ethan asked "What did you dream mummy?"

I said "I had a scary dream but mummy just cast it out in Jesus' name. I reject it in Jesus' name!". I did not elaborate the dream to Ethan. In the dream, my waist had gone down to 12 inches (fear of losing weight) and May Fong felt my pelvic bone and it was hot ( fear of cancer spreading to bone). She said I needed a bone scan immediately and arrangements had to be made for me to go to hospital. Poor Ethan who was with me had to be looked after by someone else while I went to the hospital. I was so sad. Then, i woke up and thought about it and rejected the dream.

I told Henry about the dream. The following night, Henry dreamt we were away on a nice holiday at a bay. We were looking for "Bak Kut Teh" at night as we strolled along the bay. We sat down and he started praying for my healing with his eyes closed. He said he saw a white flower and I told him "Open your eyes, open your eyes to see the vision!". He did and he saw 3 suns in the sky. Immediately, he sensed the Trinity (God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). it was God's assurance for my healing.

I felt it was such a contrast to my dream. What would you choose to believe? God's many promises in the bible for your healing or give over to your fears and let the devil play with your mind.

I choose to simply believe God's words and cast down all imaginations that goes against God's words for me. I claim His rhema for me yet again of Isaiah 7 that the cancer, the cough will not rise up against me, it will not take place, it will not happen. I need only stand firm in my faith and it will be established.

Ironically, when Henry and I was asked to read scripture from 1 Corinthians 15 during the Easter service, the line that touched me most was taken from:

1 Corinthians 15:58
 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. 

The word "established" in Isaiah 7 means to stand firm. Let nothing move you. Yesterday, Ps Vernon, during bible class, asked a man to stand next to him and not move. Ps Vernon pushed him, but he did not move. He leaned his entire weight on the man, but the man did not move. He was established in his faith in God.

I feel I have gone to another spiritual level. God has taught me something since Friday night even though I had known quite some time. He has given me a certain boldness. Faith is now. Hope is for the future. Place your faith in God now and He will answer the prayer He wanted us to pray. Breakthrough is more than healing, it is being separated for Him to do His work which He has prepared for us since the beginning. I am beginning to sense the reality of God's love for me even more now and Henry's dream was yet another confirmation of God's love for me and my family. Praise the Lord!

Kok Him visits

Hebrews 10:25
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

all boys! - Bradley, Bayden, Ethan and Nicholas

We were so happy to meet Kok Him and Margaret again after so many years...and he has not changed at all! Thank you for bringing good cheer. :)

Oh, the good ole days of CCF (college and career fellowship). The first bible study group I joined had only 6 people led by Seng Guan and Karen. Kok Him, Alvin, Jackie and myself were the other 4. I remember we were encouraged to organize activities within our own groups so that we could bond better. I recall we had so many fun activities together. Kok Him taught the girls how to ride on his racer bike. We hung out at Karen's house watching badminton, popiah party, even a trip to Tioman! Kok Him and I took guitar lessons together. I wonder if he still remembers how to play. I forgot to ask him! Then, Henry and I started dating and once, he and CY even joined our cycle day out at the Shah Alam park. I remember the boys flaunting their calf muscles as they rode up the hill. I was quite amazed at their stamina! We were such a happening group. In the end, we held activities for everyone to join so that CCF could bond together. So, it was really good to catch up with Kok Him after all these years. He has been in Australia for the past 5 1/2 years. Their visit last night brought back many happy memories. I am really glad that CCF is making a come back to church soon in the form of YAM (youth adult ministry) since we benefitted so much from it, spiritually and love for each other in Christ.

O Kaduk Kaduk!

O Kaduk Kaduk!

It is  daun kaduk (piper sarmentosum ) day for me today. My mum says it is good to relieve cough.

She made the nasi ulam from only basil, mint, kaduk finely sliced and tossed in 10 grain rice and with a bit of salt. Other leaves that can be used are bunga kantan, cekor, shallots, tumeric leaves (kunyit ) and limau perut.

I looked up the benefits and initially it just said it was good for keeping you looking young, deworming, washing your private parts especially during menstruation. Hello? Where is the relieve for cough? After researching further it does confirm a remedy for cough, constipation and even malaria!

If Nasi ulam wasn't enough, I was given a bowl of hot soup with lots of daun kaduk in it later in the afterenoon. Oh man! The leaves weren't blanched enough and so it was chewy but it was alright. I feel like a guinea pig. One website says to grind the leaves, add some water and apply it on the neck to relieve the cough. Mummy! You're using it the wrong way!

More benefits of daunkadok can be found on this malay website.
http://petuasejagat.blogspot.com/2010/02/7-khasiat-daun-kaduk-untuk-anda.html

The real Nasi ulam of course has roasted desiccated coconut and salted fish. You can try this recipe from this website:
http://madamkwong.com/?p=723

Passover Lamb of God

Passover Lamb of God

Exodus 12:14
“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance.

I was just thinking Lord, how because you commanded, Lord, therefore the Jews till today celebrate the Passover to remember how You brought them out of the slavery from Egypt into freedom. For the past 3,500 years the Jews have been celebrating this and the memory of the Passover passed down from generation to generation.

Isn't this beautiful? This to me is reasonable evidence that the Passover did happen, that You are real ( for those who question your existence), the parting of the red sea did happen and You saved Your people. How can we call holocaust fake when they have pictures and every year the families remember what their forefathers went through...especially the first generation what happened to their parents and this memory was brought down generation to generation. So the same with the Passover. It was passed down from one generation to another. How can people say it is all a lie?

In Egypt - An unblemished lamb for EACH HOUSEHOLD. As its blood was put on the sides and top of doorpost, so Your wrath was upon every firstborn of every animal and people in Egypt but because of the blood, You passed over them and no destruction came upon them.

In the promised land - An unblemished lamb sacrificed by the high priest for the WHOLE NATION of Israel at the tabernacle. 

Today, we have Jesus as the unblemished lamb sacrificed on the cross for the sins of THE WORLD once and for all so we need not do sacrifices anymore to set us free from the bondage of sin.  By Jesus' blood, we are the righteousness of God. With the power of Holy Spirit, we overcome sin becoming more and more like Jesus.

Thank you Jesus for being the passover lamb for us. Thank you for commanding us to always remember this day. Because you commanded, we can now remember exactly what you did many many years ago, how you first brought us out of darkness. And you kept bringing us out of darkness but we kept rejecting you. Yet, you still loved us and gave us Jesus and His sacrifice, once and for all so that we need not use the blood of goats and bulls anymore to atone for our sins. Thank you for making a way back to You once and for all. I believe, I receive your salvation. Thank you that it is a free gift just as you said in Isaiah 55:1-3

 1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, 
   come to the waters; 
and you who have no money, 
   come, buy and eat! 
Come, buy wine and milk 
   without money and without cost. 
2 Why spend money on what is not bread, 
   and your labor on what does not satisfy? 
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, 
   and you will delight in the richest of fare. 
3 Give ear and come to me; 
   listen, that you may live. 
I will make an everlasting covenant with you, 
   my faithful love promised to David. 

Thank you for your progressive revelation. You had made known to us manynmany years ago through the prophets that You were going to send Your arm to us, Jesus Christ - the Anointed One, the Ruler to save us. Thank you because of your sacrifice, everything is now alright between You and I. Lead me o Lord by your spirit daily to live for You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Update - Bible class/ Satan fall like lightning

I was rushing to get my application through or the bible class (Bachelor of Ministry) with Lifeline international last Saturday. The last date for registration was 17 April 2011 and classes start on 25 April 2011.

I had to fill a 6 page form. Of all times, this application has to be completed when my family is down with one car so Henry had to help me get to a photo shop as well as to photocopy some documents.

Then I had to deliver the form to the RLC church office and pay the registration fee. I prayed "Oh Lord, let it all be smooth. After all, I do sense this is what You want me to do so let this be a sign from you that it is so." and it really was! I managed to get my car back just in the nic of time to use it. No traffic jam. The lady was present at the office. I told her about the sickness because the application form wanted to know whether I had any sickness. She said there are others like me who also signed up and they come to be strengthened. I smiled. It is only next week that they will start considering the application when they interview us.

Last week, at Elpizo, Sheri Lim asked us to stop using the word "still" eg I should not say "I am still coughing" because I am setting myself into thinking that it is still there and it would not go away. It made so much sense to me when she said that. Since then, not only do I not mention "still", I rebuke the cough and the spirit of affliction causing it. It has no power, no dominance over me.

So, I am pleased the cough is dying off in Jesus' name! A few nights later, I was coughing in the middle of the night and Henry's sleep was disturbed so he ended up quietly praying for me. I broke the silence and asked if he was awake and he said "I have a deep impression of Satan falling down like lightning". I said "Huh? Is that good or bad?" because I was thinking of a third of the angels falling from heaven onto earth and that wasn't very good. 

He said "It is goodlah". He jumped out of bed and googled immediately. Here is what Henry found:

Luke 10:18-19

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; NOTHING will harm you.

Praise the Lord! I sense the victory over the cancer, the cough. It has no power, no dominance over me! Henry said in his vision, he saw the lightning and there was no lightning around our area that night. God used Henry to encourage me. Praise the Lord!

Palm Sunday - Triumphant Entry

Palm Sunday - Triumphant Entry

We finished Isaiah class last week led by Leong Tien Fook. Next year, same time, LTF will lead another class on Old Testament for those with zero knowledge. That will put in somewhat in that category.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday. Last week's Isaiah class gave me a new meaning to Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem also called Palm Sunday. I want to share with you some calculations that predicted the coming of Jesus. In fact, during the time of Jesus, many Jews knew of the prophecy of Daniel and expected a Messiah to come but of course, they expected a grand King instead that will rescue them from the clutches of the Roman Empire.

Here is the prophecy from Daniel concerning the coming of the Messiah:

Daniel 9:25-26
 25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

The "seven" here denotes week of years.
Therefore 1 week = 7 years

From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, there will be 7 weeks and 62 week (7 + 62 = 69 weeks) until the Anointed One, the ruler (Jesus) comes.

69 weeks x 7 years = 483 years

The start time of when the word went forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem can be found in the decree from Artaxerxes to Ezra in 457 BC (see Ezra 7:11-16 and Ezra 9:9).

457 BC + 483 years = 26 AD

Since there is no such thing as "0" year, you need to add "1"

26 AD + 1 year = 27 AD which is the exact year of the beginning of Jesus' ministry when he was anointed by the Holy Spirit.

There are also other possible calculations. So, I asked LTF how would we know we are not just trying to fit in a date. He said whatever, the calculations, it all points to around the time that Jesus came. It is pulling in all the information eg the fact that only Jesus' death and resurrection ties in to the minutest details of Isaiah 53. Also, it was also prophesied Jesus would come "... See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9). He would be born as a child and be called Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6,7) etc.

Even in Isaiah's time (700 years before Jesus came), God talked about the former things and new things.

The former things refer to the Jews' exile to Babylon and Isaiah also prophesied they would return back to Jerusalem after 70 years (Cyrus' time). All these former things were foretold 160 years before the actual fulfillment.

Isaiah 48

 1 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob, 
   you who are called by the name of Israel 
   and come from the line of Judah, .....
3 I foretold the former things long ago, 
   my mouth announced them and I made them known; 
   then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. 
4 For I knew how stubborn you were; 
   your neck muscles were iron, 
   your forehead was bronze. 
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago; 
   before they happened I announced them to you 
so that you could not say, 
   ‘My images brought them about; 
   my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’ 
6 You have heard these things; look at them all. 
   Will you not admit them?

God called the Jews treacherous yet He loved them so and even told them of new things to come, to give them another chance.

Isaiah 6 cont'd

   “From now on I will tell you of new things, 
   of hidden things unknown to you. 
7 They are created now, and not long ago; 
   you have not heard of them before today. 
So you cannot say, 
   ‘Yes, I knew of them.’ 
8 You have neither heard nor understood; 
   from of old your ears have not been open. 
Well do I know how treacherous you are; 
   you were called a rebel from birth. 
9 For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; 
   for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, 
   so as not to destroy you completely. 

The new things were the atonement by Jesus. When Jesus was riding on the donkey into Jerusalem, some recognised the Messiah (who praised Him "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" Matthew 21:9 and waved palms at Jesus) but majority of the Jews didn't and Jesus wept. They should have because of the prophesies but they chose to reject Jesus. 

Luke 19:42-44

42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

The Jews did not recognize the time of God's coming to them through Jesus. They should have. It marked God's triumphant entry, the Messiah had arrived! If only they did, God's kingdom would come immediately upon them and they would be delivered. Instead, now we see the struggle in Israel but God is patient. 

We know today that Jesus' death and resurrection was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 53 to the minutest detail. 

A new thing not fulfilled yet - the second coming of Jesus and the new heavens and new earth. Here is another chance for us to believe in Jesus. God is patient.

Today, we are in better position than the Jews to believe in Jesus because we can look back and see the prophesies fulfilled during Isaiah's time and by Jesus in Isaiah 53. Of all people, we should find it the easiest to believe who Jesus is. We are not called to believe blindly. The bible, God's words have revealed who Jesus is.

Healer by Kari Jobe

Thanks Fee for the tip for this song by Kari Jobe. Love it!

Do click on the video blog on your right to hear her sing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvIEJ_PmqJ8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
You tube movie

Praying the prayer we ought to pray

1 Samuel 1:1-18

When Leong Tien Fook preached in our church recently, I cried. I am not sure why I cried. I think I was touched by the holy spirit. I remembering telling myself, I am amazed God has brought me so far. He made me learn so much in such a short time. I felt His love and compassion for me, guiding me all the way. The sermon touched on Hannah from 1 Samuel 1:1-18. The take home point was that God puts us in situations to pray the prayer we ought to pray, prayers that He is waiting to answer.

Hannah was provoked year after year by her rival as she could not conceive for the Lord had closed her womb (verse 5). The prayer she prayed was this "LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

God answered her prayers and her son was named Samuel. Samuel turned out to be last and best judge of Israel. 

I also did a "Hannah" many years ago. I dedicated Nic to God in my quiet time because he was our miracle baby. After a miscarriage and an unsuccessful IVF, we just surrendered it all to God and then, He gave us Nicholas. What men cannot do, God can! It was divine intervention. So, we named our son Nicholas - Victory for the People. I just know God will use him to reach out to his peers around him and he will lead his friends to Christ and bring victory to their lives. I know in my heart he would go on missions and with Ethan too who will help him make decisions as his name means "Firm and strong". I just never thought we as parents would be on missions as well.

Last October, I discovered God's will for my life, to serve God as a missions family, to share my testimony of His healing for me and to teach bible class with passion. It was over a period of two weeks when I prayed about His specific will for me, He spoke through deep impression (I wrote down what I felt His will for me was) and this was confirmed by Ps Shirley Cash from Deeper Life Seminar and through an intercessor, Mrs Gong, who gave a sermon at Elpizo. After the sermon, out of everyone in there, Mrs Gong singled me out to be laid hands upon for the anointing and of course, I was crying so much. I could not believe out of all times, a guest speaker spoke about reaching God's potential in our lives and overcoming obstacles. My obstacle was fear which she also talked about. It was like God talking to me directly.

I think that is what made me cry. Just reflecting on all we had gone through. 

I know we can't have missions family without Henry and I always pray that God will give him a personal experience with Him that he might see His will for us as a family. After LTF's sermon, Henry now prays the prayer we ought to pray i e to serve God as a missions family to testify of His goodness for us! That itself is a momentous step! I am so in awe of what God is doing in our lives.

I don't know what will happen from now on but it helps to know God's specific will, so very soon, I will be enrolling in a bible class (over 2 years) organized by Lifeline International Bible Training Centre. The class will help discover our gifts and callings and will equip us to do whatever God has called us to do. It also has limited exposure to theology. It is like Deeper Life Seminar but with mission trips and special activities as well. Oh dear, it sounds overwhelming but I know God will lead me through. I am just praying I will be bold as a lion after this for Him.

Let the little children come to me

Let the little children come to me

I remember Shelly's words about waking up "very early in the morning while it is still dark outside" (Mark 1:35) during the talk "Woman of Grace" last Saturday.  She said from her experience in the middle eastern countries that would be around 4.30 to 5 am. I woke up at 5 am this morning more because I started to cough suddenly and I thought since I am awake, I will go downstairs for quiet time with God.

After praising in songs, giving thanks, I started praying in tongues and it was during this time, I suddenly had a vision of myself as a little girl dancing in a dress with full skirt. I was holding hands with Jesus and we did like a little fox trot and my skirt was swinging with the movements. Then He hugged me. I was then on my knees and He lay His hand on my head and that was when I started to cry while still praying in tongues. I started to thank Jesus.

I asked Him for a bible verse to study on and I suddenly remembered Nic's Sunday school verse yesterday of Mark 10:14

"Let the little children come to me"

I looked it up in the bible to read further in context.

Mark 10:13-16
" 13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
 14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them."

I was thinking in my heart "Yay! I have the kingdom of God". As I read on to verse 16, I was amazed how similar my vision was that he hugged me and laid His hand on me! He wanted to show me this verse that I am deeply loved and as long as I keep coming to him receiving the Kingdom of God like a child, I will just enjoy His presence and He will show me great and mighty things, yes even healing. :)

I just want to thank Jesus for His wonderful love to me and a great time I had with Him this early morning! I know it is more important for His spirit to lead me then to use intelligence to find out who is right or wrong. I have been discussing with Leong Tien Fook about Joseph Prince over the topic of repentance. While he does seem right that Joseph Prince does not teach about repentance, I sense JP touches more than repentance. If someone is touched by God by the power of the holy spirit, He will be so in awe of God that He will come to know God. So, I am not sure "the steps" of what comes first or whether it is active or passive but I really believe the holy spirit will guide the person to receive Jesus. That person just receives when touched!

I am reading this book called "When Heaven Invades Earth" by Bill Johnson who said

"Repentance means much more than weeping over sin, or even turning from those sins to follow God. In fact turning from sin to God is more the result of true repentance than it is the actual act. Repentance means you change your way of thinking. And it's only in changing the way you think that we can discover the focus of Jesus' ministry - the Kingdom.

So, maybe this is a better explanation because unlike Joseph Prince, he did not omit repentance though both BJ and JP explains repentance as "changing your way of thinking". LTF says it is not changing over the nature of our heart but about we on our part changing how we think and feel about sin.

JP talks about changing our mind of thinking and believing how good God is.

BJ shared this experience in his book on page 69:

"One student named Jason was ordering a meal inside a fast food restaurant. Not content to share Christ only with those behind the counter, he began to speak past the cashier to three men in a car at the drive up window! After receiving his food, Jason left noticing that they had parked to eat. He renewed his conversation with them and saw that the man in the back seat had a broken leg. So he climbed into the car with them and invited the holy spirit to come..and He came. The man began to curse. He had no understanding about the holy fire on his leg. They all jumped out of the car, and the injured man removed his brace and stomped his leg. He was completely healed! The three were so moved by God's goodness that they opened the trunk of their car, which was filled with illegal drugs. They dumped the narcotics onto the pavement, dancing on them and destroying them! Jason brought the three men tot he Alabaster House, our 24 hour prayer house, and led them to Christ. The kindness of God led them to repentance...The holy spirit is the agent of heaven who makes these encounters possible."

It is this awesome goodness of God that lets us encounter the love of God, that makes us want to turn to Him, know Him more and find out more about Him. It naturally makes us want to leave our old ways behind. Where is the orthodox repentance, confession of sin in this scenario? That is the part I do not understand but God told me this morning not to get stressed over this issue and just enjoy His presence, His love - dancing with Him. Just receive the Kingdom of God like a child. He will guide me by His spirit.

Yesterday's sermon (2 Corinthians 3:1-3) got me thinking that it is good to think about whether we are good witnesses for Christ, whether we are like letters from Christ, written by the Spirit in our hearts. But sermons like these put guilt in our hearts if we have forgotten the love of God, how big He is, how awesome He is. Without His love, we would feel guilty and think "I am sorry God..then I must...". Then, our next step would be from our effort and not by the Spirit. But with the love of God, we say "thank you Father God that you loved me first. I want to be that light for you. I want to obey you" and really obey Him the next time God makes something work around you by the Holy spirit.. ie move as He moves! 

Psalm 34 song

Psalm 34

I was reading Psalm 34 this morning when suddenly a familiar tune popped into my mind "let us exalt his name together, forever, I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from my fears". I read on and and noticed that the song follows closely to the psalm! It is a great way to memorize words from the bible, to keep His words in our hearts.

Let Us Exalt His Name (lyrics)

At all times 1 will bless Him
His praise will be in my mouth
My soul makes its boast in the Lord
The humble man will hear of Him
The afflicted will be glad
And join with me to magnify the Lord

Let us exalt His name together, forever
I sought the Lord, He heard me
And delivered me from my fears.
Let us exalt His name together, forever
0 sing His praises magnify the Lord

The angel of the Lord encamps
Round those who fear His name
To save them and deliver them from harm
Though lions roar with hunger
We lack for no good thing
No wonder then we praise Him with our song

Come children now and hear Him
If you would see long life
Just keep your mouth from wickedness and lies
Do good and turn from evil
Seek peace instead of strife
Love righteousness and God will hear your cry

You tube movie by a man playing this song on acoustic guitar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkxotaO76yg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

******

Psalm 34
 1 I will extol the LORD at all times; 
   his praise will always be on my lips. 
2 I will glory in the LORD; 
   let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 
3 Glorify the LORD with me; 
   let us exalt his name together.

 4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; 
   he delivered me from all my fears. 
5 Those who look to him are radiant; 
   their faces are never covered with shame. 
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; 
   he saved him out of all his troubles. 
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, 
   and he delivers them.

 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; 
   blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. 
9 Fear the LORD, you his holy people, 
   for those who fear him lack nothing. 
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, 
   but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. 
11 Come, my children, listen to me; 
   I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 
12 Whoever of you loves life 
   and desires to see many good days, 
13 keep your tongue from evil 
   and your lips from telling lies. 
14 Turn from evil and do good; 
   seek peace and pursue it.

Update - feeling better

Last night i had a difficult time sleeping. The right side of my head was aching so i used "guasa" to scrape my head. I think it was a bad idea to do it just before bed time because i felt my head throbbing and i could not sleep! I was terribly alert.

I did a few things this morning.

- managed to drag myself out of bed and out of the house to exercise. Yay!
- played praise music throughout morning
- locked myself in the room and cried out to God "Do not delay, come and save me o Lord!"
- napped with praise music on

I had a quick shower and then by mid morning, the pain left me. I had a stiff right shoulder too but it is all gone now.

Praise the Lord! Thanks so much for praying for me. What would I do without my friends. I really treasure you all. :)

It is so true when the bible says "There are new mercies every morning". Even though things may have been bad the past week or the past year or the past two years etc but because of His word, we can expect new mercies, new healing every morning, no matter how discouraging the circumstances. Thank you Jesus! :)

You Owe, I Pay

You owe, I pay

Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death,.."

I learn something new everyday. I discovered that because of Romans 6:23 "for the wages of sin is death", God HAD TO DIE if He chose to forgive us. Father God did choose to forgive us. As the offended party, He had to bear the cost of forgiving us. He had to bear the consequence of sin ie death. 

God had to die BUT God cannot die! So, Father God sent Jesus whom he loved so much into the world to become man to die for our sins. That's why Jesus had to die for us for the forgiveness of our sins. I earlier thought He just must but since we cannot understand why, God had to slowly introduce to us the law, the tabernacle and the sacrificial system.

So, I asked this question to Leong Tien Fook who is currently teaching us on Isaiah. "Why is the consequences of sin death?"

"..because God is holy and cannot coexist with anything sinful. For human beings, not to exist anymore means physical death and then eternal death. This is reflected in God driving Adam and Eve out of Eden after they sinned. They could not coexist with God in the Garden anymore. And they would die because they no longer had access to the tree of life. 

But since God is everywhere in the universe, ultimately sinful people cannot exist in this universe at all. So in the new universe, called the new heavens and the new earth in the Bible, nothing unholy or sinful will exist. Meantime because of His mercy and grace He is allowing history to go on in the present universe because there are still people who would repent and believe in Him."

Imagine you sued someone who cheated you money. Later, you decide to forgive him and withdraw the suit but as a result, you have to bear the loss of the cheated sum. That is the concept of "You owe, I pay".

We sinned but God chose to forgive us AND pay for our sins. I pray you will experience the love of God all over again.

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life"

Update

I think I over exerted myself last week with Pilate and qi gong. It wasn't even a full work out and I was taking it really slowly dancing to praise music. I suppose with so many arm rotations and hand lifting, it has caused me some discomforts in the chest area, near the arms. Saturday was quite a hectic day for me as Nic and Ethan attended their first swimming class. They really enjoyed themselves. I was worried that the pool would be too deep for Ethan but as soon as he got in and he found that the water level was near his shoulder level, he was so happy, confident and ready to learn! Then, it was off to boys brigade for Nic with Ethan tagging along. It was "Qing Ming" time for Henry so it was my turn to run around.

By Sunday, I just wanted to rest. Nic had no school on Monday because "Qing Ming" day is officially on 5 April in his school. It was lovely to have Nic with me the whole day. I realized his maths has gotten quite good and Chinese school must be credited for that! Only last year (Std 1), he would still say 16 comes after 14! He has had that problem ever since he began counting. Now, with some flashing of fingers and some deep thought, he can give an answer to double digit additions without any calculation on paper! Amazing!

While I watched him play the piano, I decided to try my hand at the guitar again. I can't move the chords fast enough but I managed to play and sing some praise songs. I ended up sweating! Must be all the endorphins flowing!

Oh, now I am so exhausted, I just slept most of the morning today. Please pray for the cough to go away and for all the aches and pain including the mild ache on the right side of my head, to go away. Actually, I was quite discouraged on Sunday and then I pulled myself together and shouted aloud "Thank you Lord for healing me!". Henry gave a big smile. We were in the car and further away, Henry said to look at the sky because there was an "E" in the sky. I looked up and yes, it was a capital "E" at an angle and the sun was setting and the letter "E" of the clouds caught the red and yellow lights from the sun. It was really beautiful and there again, God has spoken to me to encourage me on again! He never fails to do that and I was so touched. Thank you Jesus! Thank you for always being with me.

More Curly Hair!

More Curly Hair!

When the hair stylist saw my hair last week, he asked "What happened?". My hair has gotten curlier since my last hair cut despite me not taking Tarceva since mid January this year.

I told him (another stylist) it is a gift from God. I had perfectly straight hair before. Interestingly, the curls aren't too tight in front and my mum says I look like I have lady Di's fringe.

The hair stylist told me he had to work with my curls to come up with my latest hairstyle. He said many would have to pay to get this permed look. So far, all who have commented on my hair think I have permed my hair. Apparently many who take chemo have their hair texture changed but none as curly like this.  It is not coarse, just curly. 

My mum took a picture of the back of my head where it is the curliest. She says she has to take a snap of it as proof else no one would believe her! Nic always liked me in longer hair so he wasn't too happy with this new look which he calls a broccoli! I love his comments. They're so innocent and yes, that is a very fair observation!

Thank you Jesus for curly hair. I love it. :)