Close to 2 years ago, I attempted to start a business selling art pieces. With the passion and drive to make it happen, I put in a lot of effort to realize this business idea. I know God gave me an artistic talent and I wanted to turn it into a business.
During this period, God used events and unique circumstances to guide me as well as people with unique talents to help me. In one particular case, I came to know one of the most talented fashion photographers in Singapore; whom I met during my army reservists. He was one of the most generous people I have come across. I remembered him working late into the night on some occasions but he did not want to charge me. I knew without a shadow of doubt that without God’s connection, my path would have never crossed his in my life time, due to the different kind of life and circle of friends we take. Hence I was able to relate to what John C Maxwell wrote in “Be All You Can Be!”, “Until I am committed, there is hesitancy, a chance to draw back. But the moment I definitely commit myself, then God moves also, and a whole stream of events erupt. All manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, persons and material assistance which I could never have dreamed would come my way begin to flow toward me – the moment I make a commitment.”
Eventually I tried to sell my paintings. As you might have heard people say, “To reach the peak of a mountain, there could be many different paths of climb up.” I could say I almost exhaust all the different ways as I could think to market my products In fact I even went to the extent of knocking on people’s door to peddle my paintings. It did not take long to convince myself that this path would not work out. However I managed to clinch a deal with one of the hotels in Singapore. This deal covered all the expenses I invested for this business start up and I made some decent profits from it as well.
Leonie Smith from Planetshakers wrote, “The most simple ideas and strategies conceived by the Holy Spirit in you will be far more effective and anointed than the most dazzling display of human skill and achievement.” I could not agree with her any more. It might seem that my hard work and perseverance brought me the hotel deal. But it was not the case and I knew it was the favor of God. This was confirmed through my brief conversation with the person who was appointed by the hotel to install my paintings. He told me that I was actually competing with an established art gallery organization and this organization has been collaborating with the hotel management for ten over years. In particular he kept making this comment, “I still do not understand why the hotel wants to work with you. In terms of price, they can beat you if they want to. In terms of quality, theirs were better. I really don’t understand.”
What could I say, but it is the favor of God.
Ecclesiastes 9:11, “I returned and saw under the sun that—
The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and chance happen to them all.”
Steve
Thursday, December 3, 2009
It was not being positive thinking that brought me through difficult times. It was listening and obeying God
Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Recently I have been receiving comments from friends and colleagues that I am a very positive thinking person. From our casual conversations, they were able to pick this up and feedback to me casually. Perhaps, I seldom complain and perhaps the way I see things could be different from the manner other people see. Nevertheless, as I ponder deeper upon their comments, I found that I was not really thinking positively most of the time. That was when God gave me a revelation on how the above scriptures applied to my experience although I have been reading them many times.
During the early years of my career, I was faced with numerous unfortunate events and persecutions of various degrees. Thoughts of giving up came. Thoughts of producing mediocre work came. Feelings of bitterness came. Feelings of pride came. In most times, I seek God for refuge and guidance through prayer and reading His word; and sought to do things His way. That is when I felt “labored and heavy laden” having to work against my flesh. I was not thinking positively. I was working against negative thoughts most of the time!
However each time I draw near to God for refuge as he said “Come to me ...” I start to hear words of instructions in my heart. Jesus is teaching me through my heart and I begin to “... learn from me Jesus.” Very often, Jesus will speak and teach you to respond to your adversaries or situations in a peaceful manner and with a humble attitude. This goes against my fleshly pride most of the time. Jesus walked humbly and He expects us to do so too. Hence He said “For I am gentle and lowly in heart.” In most cases, Jesus wants me to walk out of my bitterness and continue to submit to my superiors especially during times when I felt I knew better than them. I remembered there was once when I almost wanted to justify myself to my direct boss’s superior over a project that my boss was leading. Earlier in the day, I felt abandoned by my boss in some strategic meetings which made me appeared that I was not doing a good job. That night, I was complaining to my wife and was contemplating if I should talk to my boss’s superior to clear up some misunderstandings. My boss superior just joined the company and I do not want to start the working relationship with a bad impression.
I decided to talk to God about it that night and God changed my heart. What I did next was, I messaged my boss and apologized for not looking into the project more carefully. I explained that although he was leading the project, I should have worked as a team and go beyond his expectations to make sure all grounds were covered.
Immediately when I did that, there was a great sense of release. Prior to this, I was struggling and warring in my mind throughout the night with thoughts and imaginations of how I should complain to my boss’s superior and what to say and how to justify myself. However, this act of submission literally cut off all these non edifying thoughts. This is when Jesus says, “And you will find rest for your souls.” My soul (emotions and mind) found peace and rest. There was joy in me after that too.
God’s way is certainly easy and light; and always in our best interests. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Not easy but the reward is good.
Overtime, I found that I walked the most intimately with God through these experiences and spiritual maturity and character building follows after obedience. Praise God.
Anonymous
Recently I have been receiving comments from friends and colleagues that I am a very positive thinking person. From our casual conversations, they were able to pick this up and feedback to me casually. Perhaps, I seldom complain and perhaps the way I see things could be different from the manner other people see. Nevertheless, as I ponder deeper upon their comments, I found that I was not really thinking positively most of the time. That was when God gave me a revelation on how the above scriptures applied to my experience although I have been reading them many times.
During the early years of my career, I was faced with numerous unfortunate events and persecutions of various degrees. Thoughts of giving up came. Thoughts of producing mediocre work came. Feelings of bitterness came. Feelings of pride came. In most times, I seek God for refuge and guidance through prayer and reading His word; and sought to do things His way. That is when I felt “labored and heavy laden” having to work against my flesh. I was not thinking positively. I was working against negative thoughts most of the time!
However each time I draw near to God for refuge as he said “Come to me ...” I start to hear words of instructions in my heart. Jesus is teaching me through my heart and I begin to “... learn from me Jesus.” Very often, Jesus will speak and teach you to respond to your adversaries or situations in a peaceful manner and with a humble attitude. This goes against my fleshly pride most of the time. Jesus walked humbly and He expects us to do so too. Hence He said “For I am gentle and lowly in heart.” In most cases, Jesus wants me to walk out of my bitterness and continue to submit to my superiors especially during times when I felt I knew better than them. I remembered there was once when I almost wanted to justify myself to my direct boss’s superior over a project that my boss was leading. Earlier in the day, I felt abandoned by my boss in some strategic meetings which made me appeared that I was not doing a good job. That night, I was complaining to my wife and was contemplating if I should talk to my boss’s superior to clear up some misunderstandings. My boss superior just joined the company and I do not want to start the working relationship with a bad impression.
I decided to talk to God about it that night and God changed my heart. What I did next was, I messaged my boss and apologized for not looking into the project more carefully. I explained that although he was leading the project, I should have worked as a team and go beyond his expectations to make sure all grounds were covered.
Immediately when I did that, there was a great sense of release. Prior to this, I was struggling and warring in my mind throughout the night with thoughts and imaginations of how I should complain to my boss’s superior and what to say and how to justify myself. However, this act of submission literally cut off all these non edifying thoughts. This is when Jesus says, “And you will find rest for your souls.” My soul (emotions and mind) found peace and rest. There was joy in me after that too.
God’s way is certainly easy and light; and always in our best interests. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Not easy but the reward is good.
Overtime, I found that I walked the most intimately with God through these experiences and spiritual maturity and character building follows after obedience. Praise God.
Anonymous
Through God’s supernatural protection, I escaped death
I was riding on my bike and I had a collision with a taxi. I skidded off my bike, my head hit the ground and the helmet broke, and the weight of the bike dragged me on the ground for some distance. It was so painful that this might be the last thing that u want to encounter.
However during that split second, I would feel something pulling my body. At the same time something was surrounding me very tightly and protecting me. I thought I had lost my senses but somehow I knew that I will be ok. There was absolutely no fear building up in me at all. Even after being dragged for a distance, I could stand up and pick up my bike. However my body was sore and I felt very anxious and nervous. I thought I was losing blood but after looking at those wounds, I was relieved. I only suffered some cuts and scratches on my skins. Overall I was fine. There were no major injuries at all!
After the accident, I was thinking to myself and trying to recall the incident. I asked myself, “Could I have survived this serious accident if I was alone?” I concluded that it must be the hand of God protecting me and I believed this will be one of the most miraculous protections that I will ever experience from God.
Andrew
However during that split second, I would feel something pulling my body. At the same time something was surrounding me very tightly and protecting me. I thought I had lost my senses but somehow I knew that I will be ok. There was absolutely no fear building up in me at all. Even after being dragged for a distance, I could stand up and pick up my bike. However my body was sore and I felt very anxious and nervous. I thought I was losing blood but after looking at those wounds, I was relieved. I only suffered some cuts and scratches on my skins. Overall I was fine. There were no major injuries at all!
After the accident, I was thinking to myself and trying to recall the incident. I asked myself, “Could I have survived this serious accident if I was alone?” I concluded that it must be the hand of God protecting me and I believed this will be one of the most miraculous protections that I will ever experience from God.
Andrew
What is the meaning of life?
Recently I got to know a new colleague better. He was sharing with me why he would take a lower pay rather than a higher pay with greater responsibility and position. He was sharing with me there is no point working so hard till you burn out and what kind of life he wants to lead. One of his bosses literally died as a result of overwork. The management had placed so much pressure and stress upon him that 2 days after he delivered his project, he died of some unexplained reasons. The people in the management were so guilty that most of them gave generously during his funeral wake to redeem themselves. So my colleague has got all the reason to say what is the point of working so hard. However our conversation led me to ponder again what is the meaning of life.
In my own opinion, experiencing a fulfilling and rich life would mean experiencing God’s grace and favor in my life and sharing these blessings and testimonies of the goodness of God with people that I meet. God blesses us to bless others and that can be very joyful especially if it blesses the person spiritually. I remembered Pastor Amos once shared how a young Christian laid hands on a blind person and seeing the black iris forming literally. I thought living with such experiences and you will never say life is boring again.
JY
In my own opinion, experiencing a fulfilling and rich life would mean experiencing God’s grace and favor in my life and sharing these blessings and testimonies of the goodness of God with people that I meet. God blesses us to bless others and that can be very joyful especially if it blesses the person spiritually. I remembered Pastor Amos once shared how a young Christian laid hands on a blind person and seeing the black iris forming literally. I thought living with such experiences and you will never say life is boring again.
JY
I felt spiritually dry and asked God for help
Jeremiah 29:12-13, “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
In the span of my Christian walk with God, despite circumstances when I experience confusion and frustration, I could always feel a spiritual connection with God. However, last week, I was very down. Deep in my heart everything seemed to go wrong. I was not in the mood of reading my bible and saying my prayer. Everything seemed to be in complete chaos. Although I ignored the terrible situation as well as the lack of willingness to fellowship with God, I persisted to pray and read the bible but there was no compulsion to continue.
Yesterday, I began to pray to God asking Him what was wrong with me. I did not seem to be my own self. Everything seems to be going wrong and deep in my heart there was emptiness. I continued to pray and tears rolled down my cheeks. I told God that peace and joy did not seem to be with me, I called out to Him to help me because my spiritual walk with Him was very dry, as if it was running out of fuel, like a lamp without oil or a car without petrol.
Then one evening, someone passed me a Victory magazine from Kenneth Copland ministry. Inside there was an article written with this header “Running on Empty”. This really gave me a great revelation and it answered my prayer with regards to the situation I was facing. After reading this article, my confusion and frustration were all gone. With a pure and seeking heart, God uses different methods to speak to us and address our needs.
I would like to share with you whenever your spirit is running dry and you need to stir your spirit up, you can speak up because the bible says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speak. We can stir up our spirit by saying loudly "In the Name of Jesus I stir up the gift that's within me by faith, I am stirring up the love of God that's in me, I'm stirring up the power and I'm stirring myself up in the spirit of the living GOD! I'm stirred up. If we continue to confess that we are stirred up, it will eventually happen. Without knowing it, you would have already stirred your spirit!
Thank you Jesus. Glory to You!
Eileen
In the span of my Christian walk with God, despite circumstances when I experience confusion and frustration, I could always feel a spiritual connection with God. However, last week, I was very down. Deep in my heart everything seemed to go wrong. I was not in the mood of reading my bible and saying my prayer. Everything seemed to be in complete chaos. Although I ignored the terrible situation as well as the lack of willingness to fellowship with God, I persisted to pray and read the bible but there was no compulsion to continue.
Yesterday, I began to pray to God asking Him what was wrong with me. I did not seem to be my own self. Everything seems to be going wrong and deep in my heart there was emptiness. I continued to pray and tears rolled down my cheeks. I told God that peace and joy did not seem to be with me, I called out to Him to help me because my spiritual walk with Him was very dry, as if it was running out of fuel, like a lamp without oil or a car without petrol.
Then one evening, someone passed me a Victory magazine from Kenneth Copland ministry. Inside there was an article written with this header “Running on Empty”. This really gave me a great revelation and it answered my prayer with regards to the situation I was facing. After reading this article, my confusion and frustration were all gone. With a pure and seeking heart, God uses different methods to speak to us and address our needs.
I would like to share with you whenever your spirit is running dry and you need to stir your spirit up, you can speak up because the bible says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speak. We can stir up our spirit by saying loudly "In the Name of Jesus I stir up the gift that's within me by faith, I am stirring up the love of God that's in me, I'm stirring up the power and I'm stirring myself up in the spirit of the living GOD! I'm stirred up. If we continue to confess that we are stirred up, it will eventually happen. Without knowing it, you would have already stirred your spirit!
Thank you Jesus. Glory to You!
Eileen
Restoration of God in my work place
Habakkuk 2:3, “… Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.”
These few months, I have been receiving very good reports and comments on my work from my direct superior, colleagues as well as from an overseas colleague whom I have never met before. I did a couple of marketing campaigns and have set a benchmark upon which future similar projects will have to meet or exceed. Some of these reports actually went all the way up to senior management level at headquarters.
Proverbs 22:29, “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men”
However there was this half page good report that one of my indirect superior wrote which felt special to me. Not because of the content of the report, not because it was from a senior management person but rather it was the person who wrote the report that glorifies God. Cut the story short, 2 years ago, this same person said to me, “I looked at your resume and I do not think you are fit to be in this role.” At that time, I was not as experienced but those words sting. Nevertheless God impressed in my heart to stay on in my job and eventually He opened up opportunities in my company to allow me to establish my worth in the company again.
It was the humiliation followed by the obedience followed by the justification that glorifies God.
Habakkuk 2:3, “… Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.”
Anonymous
These few months, I have been receiving very good reports and comments on my work from my direct superior, colleagues as well as from an overseas colleague whom I have never met before. I did a couple of marketing campaigns and have set a benchmark upon which future similar projects will have to meet or exceed. Some of these reports actually went all the way up to senior management level at headquarters.
Proverbs 22:29, “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men”
However there was this half page good report that one of my indirect superior wrote which felt special to me. Not because of the content of the report, not because it was from a senior management person but rather it was the person who wrote the report that glorifies God. Cut the story short, 2 years ago, this same person said to me, “I looked at your resume and I do not think you are fit to be in this role.” At that time, I was not as experienced but those words sting. Nevertheless God impressed in my heart to stay on in my job and eventually He opened up opportunities in my company to allow me to establish my worth in the company again.
It was the humiliation followed by the obedience followed by the justification that glorifies God.
Habakkuk 2:3, “… Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.”
Anonymous
The Wednesday mid week service was so joyful that it refreshes my heavy spirit
I was mentally and emotionally drained after a hard and long day at work. Much of the stress was attributed from the pressure of completing a project in the next 2 days. Moreover, I was upset with how things were progressing with my colleagues.
Nonetheless, it was Wednesday and I was determined to attend the mid week church service that evening.
From my experience, I knew that with a heart seeking to hear from God during a service or gathering, God will definitely speak to me in one way or another. And I was glad I did! It was one of the best worship services I have attended. We sang in words and in tongues and as I deliberately lay down thoughts of my work and focus on singing and praising God, I could feel His presence refreshing my spirit. Not only that. After the worship, Pastor Oon was sharing some of his comical experiences he had during his work as a pastor. The congregation laughed till we teared. Pastor Oon laughed till he teared. It was so funny and it was like we could all relate to his experience humorously as a family of God. The joy of the Lord was certainly in that service! Praise God.
I walked into the service feeling a little unhappy but with a determination to refresh myself in the Lord; and I walked out of the service feeling joyful and refreshed indeed! In addition, during the worship service, God led me to change my heart and attitude towards certain matters and individuals at work and I felt so much liberated after the service too.
Acts 13:2, “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said …”
Like what Pastor Amos always says, “The bigger God is in your heart, the smaller your challenges will seem.”
Nehemiah 8:10, “…Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Steve
Nonetheless, it was Wednesday and I was determined to attend the mid week church service that evening.
From my experience, I knew that with a heart seeking to hear from God during a service or gathering, God will definitely speak to me in one way or another. And I was glad I did! It was one of the best worship services I have attended. We sang in words and in tongues and as I deliberately lay down thoughts of my work and focus on singing and praising God, I could feel His presence refreshing my spirit. Not only that. After the worship, Pastor Oon was sharing some of his comical experiences he had during his work as a pastor. The congregation laughed till we teared. Pastor Oon laughed till he teared. It was so funny and it was like we could all relate to his experience humorously as a family of God. The joy of the Lord was certainly in that service! Praise God.
I walked into the service feeling a little unhappy but with a determination to refresh myself in the Lord; and I walked out of the service feeling joyful and refreshed indeed! In addition, during the worship service, God led me to change my heart and attitude towards certain matters and individuals at work and I felt so much liberated after the service too.
Acts 13:2, “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said …”
Like what Pastor Amos always says, “The bigger God is in your heart, the smaller your challenges will seem.”
Nehemiah 8:10, “…Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Steve
Sunday, November 1, 2009
God impressed in my heart to encourage a friend of mine divinely
Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”
Proverbs 15:23, “…a word spoken in due season, how good it is!”
I have been looking for the opportunity to share the gospel with the people around me lately. Overcoming the hesitation and taking the first step to witness for God is not easy but I am happy to have obeyed. God saw the desire in my heart and He really brought people that need to hear about His love and salvation plan across my path. I remembered there was one day while I was travelling back from work in the MRT when God put in my heart to drop a message with one of my friend. Before this, I have been sharing God’s love with her via e mails. I messaged her, “Hi XXX, to others you might just be a face in the crowd. To me, you are a dear friend and your name is constantly in my prayers. But to Jesus, you are so precious that He's willing to lay down His life for you, not because of what you have done or what you can do for Him, but simply because He loves you.” I was pretty taken aback by her response. She replied, “Thanks XXX, this is lovely, I'm in the train now and tears are streaming down my face...God!!” I thought it was not appropriate to ask her what happened but I felt impressed in my heart to share the love of God with her, not knowing what she was going through. I replied, “You know what, Jesus loves you and you are precious to Him. If you have any problem, just call out to Him and He will help you. The word of God says that whoever that calls out to him shall be saved. Believe in Him and you will have eternal life.” She did not reply and I did not know how she responded to my encouragement. Nevertheless, I felt joy in sharing with her.
Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
I believe the seed of the gospel has been sown into her life through this timely brief encounter and I just commit her onto God’s hand.
B.
Proverbs 15:23, “…a word spoken in due season, how good it is!”
I have been looking for the opportunity to share the gospel with the people around me lately. Overcoming the hesitation and taking the first step to witness for God is not easy but I am happy to have obeyed. God saw the desire in my heart and He really brought people that need to hear about His love and salvation plan across my path. I remembered there was one day while I was travelling back from work in the MRT when God put in my heart to drop a message with one of my friend. Before this, I have been sharing God’s love with her via e mails. I messaged her, “Hi XXX, to others you might just be a face in the crowd. To me, you are a dear friend and your name is constantly in my prayers. But to Jesus, you are so precious that He's willing to lay down His life for you, not because of what you have done or what you can do for Him, but simply because He loves you.” I was pretty taken aback by her response. She replied, “Thanks XXX, this is lovely, I'm in the train now and tears are streaming down my face...God!!” I thought it was not appropriate to ask her what happened but I felt impressed in my heart to share the love of God with her, not knowing what she was going through. I replied, “You know what, Jesus loves you and you are precious to Him. If you have any problem, just call out to Him and He will help you. The word of God says that whoever that calls out to him shall be saved. Believe in Him and you will have eternal life.” She did not reply and I did not know how she responded to my encouragement. Nevertheless, I felt joy in sharing with her.
Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
I believe the seed of the gospel has been sown into her life through this timely brief encounter and I just commit her onto God’s hand.
B.
I felt bitter for not getting any credit for my good work
Recently I took the initiative to help and pray for a couple who was facing some difficulties in their relationship. They are not close to me but they are close to my good friend. Hence I decided to pray and agree with my friend to see restoration in the couple’s relationship. I took the lead and we prayed intensely and purposefully. It was an anointed joint prayer.
A few days later, we learnt that they have patched back and we knew our prayers had interceded on their behalf. The couple gave thanks to the people who have advised them during their times of difficulty. However I was not mentioned in it. As a result, I felt a little bitter about it each time I thought of the matter. I knew it was wrong of me to feel this way. So I decided to talk with God on this issue.
Then during one of my prayer time, God spoke to me in 2 sentences. He said, “I love you.” Then He paused for a little while before He continued, “And I need you to help other people.”
Immediately, I was arrested in my heart. His simple and sharp words changed my entire perspective of the whole matter. I could feel the appreciation God has for me and I felt honored to be used by Him to help other people. I thought this was even better than actually receiving the gratitude expressed by the couple themselves. As what Pastor Amos always say, “One touch from God is better than a thousand words.” Amen! God sees and God knows.
Anonymous
A few days later, we learnt that they have patched back and we knew our prayers had interceded on their behalf. The couple gave thanks to the people who have advised them during their times of difficulty. However I was not mentioned in it. As a result, I felt a little bitter about it each time I thought of the matter. I knew it was wrong of me to feel this way. So I decided to talk with God on this issue.
Then during one of my prayer time, God spoke to me in 2 sentences. He said, “I love you.” Then He paused for a little while before He continued, “And I need you to help other people.”
Immediately, I was arrested in my heart. His simple and sharp words changed my entire perspective of the whole matter. I could feel the appreciation God has for me and I felt honored to be used by Him to help other people. I thought this was even better than actually receiving the gratitude expressed by the couple themselves. As what Pastor Amos always say, “One touch from God is better than a thousand words.” Amen! God sees and God knows.
Anonymous
The more I pray, the more I find myself in the flow of God’s work to help people
I realized that the more I pray and talk with God, the more I am in flow with the leading of God whether consciously or subconsciously.
In one particular case, God impressed in my heart to take note of a friend’s holiday trip a month later. I marked it down on my calendar and did drop him a message to wish him a great holiday a day before he took off. However I did not expect his reply was he was not going anymore. He was experiencing some relationship difficulties which made me sad. Nonetheless, God created this opportunity for me to help him.
In a second case, God woke me up earlier to pray. I was reluctant to wake up but I yielded to Him. Not know what to pray about, I stayed to pray in tongues in a giddy state of mind.
Romans 8:26-27, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us[a] with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Just as I prayed, God impressed in my heart to give my friend a certain verse from the bible. I thought the Word was quite harsh and was afraid that he might be offended. Nevertheless, I messaged him and went back to catch 30 minutes more of sleep before I need to wake up again. Later part of the day, my friend called me to explain he was shocked by my message and why did he felt so. God has spoken into my friend and wanted to lead him back to His ways.
I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be used by Him in this manner.
SL
In one particular case, God impressed in my heart to take note of a friend’s holiday trip a month later. I marked it down on my calendar and did drop him a message to wish him a great holiday a day before he took off. However I did not expect his reply was he was not going anymore. He was experiencing some relationship difficulties which made me sad. Nonetheless, God created this opportunity for me to help him.
In a second case, God woke me up earlier to pray. I was reluctant to wake up but I yielded to Him. Not know what to pray about, I stayed to pray in tongues in a giddy state of mind.
Romans 8:26-27, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us[a] with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Just as I prayed, God impressed in my heart to give my friend a certain verse from the bible. I thought the Word was quite harsh and was afraid that he might be offended. Nevertheless, I messaged him and went back to catch 30 minutes more of sleep before I need to wake up again. Later part of the day, my friend called me to explain he was shocked by my message and why did he felt so. God has spoken into my friend and wanted to lead him back to His ways.
I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be used by Him in this manner.
SL
God ensured me to have a safe and smooth trip to and fro Japan
God blesses his people in even mundane affairs. Nothing is too big or small for God to handle.
During a recent trip to Japan, God protected me from the beginning to the end of the trip.
In the beginning, there was a possibility that my flight might be cancelled. There was going to be a typhoon in Japan and due to this reason my flight was delayed for 2 hours during departure. News kept flashing about the impending typhoon in Tokyo. Instead of worrying, I decided to place my faith in God and prayed for a smooth trip. I trusted God and sure enough, God ensured that I had a smooth trip. When I was there, the weather was so good. There wasn’t even any rain!
During the end of the trip, I faced another difficulty. I can’t find the right train to go back to the airport. We went around asking for help but due to the language barrier, we couldn’t understand them. I was so anxious that I nearly cried out. Deciding to seek God’s help, I prayed for directions and managed to find the train back. We reached the airport 5 minutes before gate closed.
I know deep down that if not for God, I would have missed the flight.
Lena
During a recent trip to Japan, God protected me from the beginning to the end of the trip.
In the beginning, there was a possibility that my flight might be cancelled. There was going to be a typhoon in Japan and due to this reason my flight was delayed for 2 hours during departure. News kept flashing about the impending typhoon in Tokyo. Instead of worrying, I decided to place my faith in God and prayed for a smooth trip. I trusted God and sure enough, God ensured that I had a smooth trip. When I was there, the weather was so good. There wasn’t even any rain!
During the end of the trip, I faced another difficulty. I can’t find the right train to go back to the airport. We went around asking for help but due to the language barrier, we couldn’t understand them. I was so anxious that I nearly cried out. Deciding to seek God’s help, I prayed for directions and managed to find the train back. We reached the airport 5 minutes before gate closed.
I know deep down that if not for God, I would have missed the flight.
Lena
God reveals my future step by step
1 John 2:20, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.”
Corinthians 2:9-10, “But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”
There have been times when God impressed in my heart on future events that will take place in my life especially those that are of significance and importance. The following are a few of my experiences till date.
The person I would marry. When I was dating my wife some years ago, there were times of arguments and insecurities. So I asked God if my girlfriend then would be the woman I would marry. I remembered driving along Tomlinson Road, preparing to turn right into Tanglin Road when God told me: “She is yours.” I asked again and again and these words kept coming up in my spirit. The feeling I had at that time was not one of childish triumphant but one of solemn commission. I felt I was given the responsibility to love, cherish and provide for my wife the best life I could for the rest of my life. I did not tell my girlfriend then though. Eventually we did get married after 3 years of dating and she remains dear to me.
The house I would stay. I felt assured in my heart in getting the flat that I desired to stay in after my marriage. It was a prime area with no lack of applicants. The competition was very stiff. Nevertheless, the moment I received the HDB email alert with regard to opening the area I desired for balloting, I was impressed in my heart that I would get it. Eventually we did get it. The best part was we never really went around the island scouting for places to stay. Knowing the amount of time and energy to search every weekend, I would have reckoned it to be very tedious and tiring. It was close to a one shot one kill situation for us. We were truly blessed.
The time I would have my first baby. My wife has always been proactively bringing up the topic of having a baby on several occasions. I felt the time was not right and hence refused to talk about this subject to the point that frustrates her sometimes. I kept telling her when we are ready, we will have a baby. Then one day, I just felt impressed in my heart that the time is ripe. So I relate this to my wife and I told her that we would be going to Country A for a holiday and it would be the last one we would have until the next 5 years at least. We relate this to our parents and close friends, telling them we would be trying for a baby. However when we did not see any results for the1st 2 months, our parents started to suggest ways and means that encourage child birth. I also have people telling me stories of how difficult it was for young couples to conceive these days probably due to food or lifestyle. As a result I too start to waiver a little; at the same time feeling a little frustrated and disappointed. Nonetheless, God has been faithful and my wife did become pregnant after 3 months. Praise God!
I remembered Pastor Amos mentioned Christians do not look for fortune tellers. Firstly it is against God’s will to seek evil spirits of familiarity for they will eventually lead you to a state of bondage and fear, Pastor Amos also highlighted: “Being Christians, we are children of God. If we want to know the future, ask God directly. God would not use a third party to relate to you concerning your own future; as much as you would not to talk to your earthly children through someone; especially important and private things concerning your children.”
S.
Corinthians 2:9-10, “But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”
There have been times when God impressed in my heart on future events that will take place in my life especially those that are of significance and importance. The following are a few of my experiences till date.
The person I would marry. When I was dating my wife some years ago, there were times of arguments and insecurities. So I asked God if my girlfriend then would be the woman I would marry. I remembered driving along Tomlinson Road, preparing to turn right into Tanglin Road when God told me: “She is yours.” I asked again and again and these words kept coming up in my spirit. The feeling I had at that time was not one of childish triumphant but one of solemn commission. I felt I was given the responsibility to love, cherish and provide for my wife the best life I could for the rest of my life. I did not tell my girlfriend then though. Eventually we did get married after 3 years of dating and she remains dear to me.
The house I would stay. I felt assured in my heart in getting the flat that I desired to stay in after my marriage. It was a prime area with no lack of applicants. The competition was very stiff. Nevertheless, the moment I received the HDB email alert with regard to opening the area I desired for balloting, I was impressed in my heart that I would get it. Eventually we did get it. The best part was we never really went around the island scouting for places to stay. Knowing the amount of time and energy to search every weekend, I would have reckoned it to be very tedious and tiring. It was close to a one shot one kill situation for us. We were truly blessed.
The time I would have my first baby. My wife has always been proactively bringing up the topic of having a baby on several occasions. I felt the time was not right and hence refused to talk about this subject to the point that frustrates her sometimes. I kept telling her when we are ready, we will have a baby. Then one day, I just felt impressed in my heart that the time is ripe. So I relate this to my wife and I told her that we would be going to Country A for a holiday and it would be the last one we would have until the next 5 years at least. We relate this to our parents and close friends, telling them we would be trying for a baby. However when we did not see any results for the1st 2 months, our parents started to suggest ways and means that encourage child birth. I also have people telling me stories of how difficult it was for young couples to conceive these days probably due to food or lifestyle. As a result I too start to waiver a little; at the same time feeling a little frustrated and disappointed. Nonetheless, God has been faithful and my wife did become pregnant after 3 months. Praise God!
I remembered Pastor Amos mentioned Christians do not look for fortune tellers. Firstly it is against God’s will to seek evil spirits of familiarity for they will eventually lead you to a state of bondage and fear, Pastor Amos also highlighted: “Being Christians, we are children of God. If we want to know the future, ask God directly. God would not use a third party to relate to you concerning your own future; as much as you would not to talk to your earthly children through someone; especially important and private things concerning your children.”
S.
Sharing the gospel lifts my spirit up and refreshes my soul in times of unhappiness
I was feeling down because I felt I was not appreciated by my company for the years of hard work that I have put into it. Although I knew God is with me, the lousy feeling came to me suddenly that particular day. I do not know why as I thought I have gotten over it so long ago. Although I tried to focus on my work on hand, there was this unpleasant feeling hanging there throughout the day until the time I was knocking off work. Praise God. While I was picking up my car from the basement car park, I bumped into one of my company operator whom I barely knew. Through our brief greetings, I realized she was knocking off as well. So I offered her a lift to somewhere near my house if it is convenient for her. She was so appreciative and I too was glad. In my heart, I was thinking this would be the perfect opportunity for me to share the gospel with her, if not there might not be any more chances like this. At least I could do something for God and at the same time take my mind off my work and problems. I did just that and through the sharing of the Word, I felt edified and so much joyful after the evangelizing encounter. Working together with the Holy Spirit refreshes my soul! Thank you Jesus.
Having said that, I was brought to my remembrance the other day when a friend of mine shared with me a story she read from a book by Kenneth Hagin. She mentioned: Kenneth Hagin talked about an encounter a lady had with Smith Wiggleworth. She asked him what in the world caused the look of joy on his face and he shared with her the answer – the goodness of Jesus in his life gave him such joy. She then asked if God can give her such joy as well? He said yes and led her into salvation. She started rejoicing and asked if it was possible to keep this joy. He told her the only way was to give it away by telling others about it. She the proceeded to share her salvation with her friends and they in turn were saved. This story gave her a new perspective of evangelism – sharing the gospel is the way to keep our joy.
I could not further agree with her on this fact.
Anonymous
Having said that, I was brought to my remembrance the other day when a friend of mine shared with me a story she read from a book by Kenneth Hagin. She mentioned: Kenneth Hagin talked about an encounter a lady had with Smith Wiggleworth. She asked him what in the world caused the look of joy on his face and he shared with her the answer – the goodness of Jesus in his life gave him such joy. She then asked if God can give her such joy as well? He said yes and led her into salvation. She started rejoicing and asked if it was possible to keep this joy. He told her the only way was to give it away by telling others about it. She the proceeded to share her salvation with her friends and they in turn were saved. This story gave her a new perspective of evangelism – sharing the gospel is the way to keep our joy.
I could not further agree with her on this fact.
Anonymous
My brother re dedicated his life to God after 11 years away from Him
Just like to share something with all of you. Some of you may know that I have an older brother. Well, he has been away from God for many years. At the age of 1, he had a kidney problem and had to undergo quite an intense surgery or he would've passed away. The surgery was a success and he has not had any problems since then. He got into some problems with the law as he grew older. Mixing with bad company etc. It has been roughly 11 years since he last stepped foot into church.
We have tried means and ways to re-invite him back but to no avail. Last Saturday, he had an attack on his kidney. I was not around, but my parents said they had never seen my brother in so much pain before. He turned white and was grabbing his kidney calling out,'Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus'. My parents took him to the hospital. He was not warded, but was given some medication. I believe that attack scared him and woke him up. The very next day, he followed my aunt to church and re-dedicated his life to God once more. After 11 years of being away from the Lord.
While I am very happy for my brother, I am equally worried about his kidney problem. The doctors could not deduce any problem with him at that given moment. I believe the devil is trying hard to get to him. However, I believe he is healed. His full name is Shaun Daniel. Let’s pray for him during our devotional time!
Terry
We have tried means and ways to re-invite him back but to no avail. Last Saturday, he had an attack on his kidney. I was not around, but my parents said they had never seen my brother in so much pain before. He turned white and was grabbing his kidney calling out,'Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus'. My parents took him to the hospital. He was not warded, but was given some medication. I believe that attack scared him and woke him up. The very next day, he followed my aunt to church and re-dedicated his life to God once more. After 11 years of being away from the Lord.
While I am very happy for my brother, I am equally worried about his kidney problem. The doctors could not deduce any problem with him at that given moment. I believe the devil is trying hard to get to him. However, I believe he is healed. His full name is Shaun Daniel. Let’s pray for him during our devotional time!
Terry
God led me to a sale on my birthday
I used to have broad shoulders and long arms. As a result my body frame is not able to fit nicely into standard sizes in the market like G2000. Either the arm sleeves are too short or the shirt becomes too baggy due to the broader shoulder cutting. I resorted to tailor make my shirts. Over the years, I have lost considerable amount of weight partly due to work commitment and more critically lack of exercise. I became skinny but my hands are still too long. I still cannot fit nicely into standard shirt cuttings. Being a pretty thrifty person, I have not been upgrading my office wear for quite a while. The last 2 shirts I bought were probably more than 2 years ago. The rest were probably at least 4 years ago. Then this year as my birthday approaches, I finally decided to take heed with my wife who has been painfully nagging me to replace my wore out shirts. So we decided to go back to our tailor to make perhaps 3 shirts, each costing around $75. Good quality ones with designs like Raoul.
Actually on my birthday itself, I still had not make my shirts. After dinner with our family, we were strolling around Marina Square and into John Little by chance. With some time to spare, I noticed a pretty nice shirt on sale and decided to try it. Price was around $33 per piece. To my pleasant surprise, it fits well. I begin to try other more brands but only this particular brand of shirts fits my frame. The next moment, we were informed that today is the last day of sale and if you are a member, you get a 20% + 20% discount for the items. We got excited and I asked how much it would cost to be a member. The sales lady told us it is free. I just need to fill up some form and I could get the card immediately. The shop was literally empty and I had the privilege of choosing and trying out my shirts as freely as I wanted. I entered the shop with no intention of purchasing anything but I came out with 4 nice quality shirts, 3 pairs of shorts and a box of briefs. All at a total price of $125. I was elated!
After shopping, we decided to take a break at Long John Sliver when my wife took out the receipt to casually look at the good deal again (We do not check our receipts 99% of our time). It was when she realized that the box of briefs was not accounted for. Immediately, we decided to quickly go back to the shop to pay for the missing item as the shop is closing; but upon closer inspection, it seems like they have over charged us with a more shirt. I rushed to the shop and by the time I reached, they were already in the midst of closing their cashier. Adjustments were made and in the end, I walked away with my loot at a total cost of $100.
Throughout the journey back, I thought God was so amazing to treat me in this manner on my birthday. I still cannot get over the good deal and more importantly how each event unfold during this shopping experience. I could have only gotten 3 shirts at $225 but I got so much more out of it in the end. God is good and He loves me. Praise God!
JY
Actually on my birthday itself, I still had not make my shirts. After dinner with our family, we were strolling around Marina Square and into John Little by chance. With some time to spare, I noticed a pretty nice shirt on sale and decided to try it. Price was around $33 per piece. To my pleasant surprise, it fits well. I begin to try other more brands but only this particular brand of shirts fits my frame. The next moment, we were informed that today is the last day of sale and if you are a member, you get a 20% + 20% discount for the items. We got excited and I asked how much it would cost to be a member. The sales lady told us it is free. I just need to fill up some form and I could get the card immediately. The shop was literally empty and I had the privilege of choosing and trying out my shirts as freely as I wanted. I entered the shop with no intention of purchasing anything but I came out with 4 nice quality shirts, 3 pairs of shorts and a box of briefs. All at a total price of $125. I was elated!
After shopping, we decided to take a break at Long John Sliver when my wife took out the receipt to casually look at the good deal again (We do not check our receipts 99% of our time). It was when she realized that the box of briefs was not accounted for. Immediately, we decided to quickly go back to the shop to pay for the missing item as the shop is closing; but upon closer inspection, it seems like they have over charged us with a more shirt. I rushed to the shop and by the time I reached, they were already in the midst of closing their cashier. Adjustments were made and in the end, I walked away with my loot at a total cost of $100.
Throughout the journey back, I thought God was so amazing to treat me in this manner on my birthday. I still cannot get over the good deal and more importantly how each event unfold during this shopping experience. I could have only gotten 3 shirts at $225 but I got so much more out of it in the end. God is good and He loves me. Praise God!
JY
God taught me not to allow offense to hinder myself from working in peace
Psalm 119:165, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”
After working in a personal office room for several years, I have been recently asked to move out to sit in one of the cubicles at the common office area. The company is employing more managers and there were not enough rooms to house the new hires if we go down by the hierarchy.
Although this seems to be a form of downgrade and should not be considered a good testimony at face value, I noticed that the attitude I took towards this was one of peace and not of offense.
In fact I was recently given a promotion in job title but was explained that it was just a title change. I was tasked with added responsibilities to drive a business unit but my request for a monetary increment was rejected. I was explained it was not justifiable and the timing was poor; and now I was asked to shift out of the room. It was hard not to feel short changed to a certain extent.
However through my walk with God in times of trouble, He has proved His faithfulness to His words time and again. I know God is moving in a way I might not comprehend now. I have also learnt to put my faith in Him to bring me higher eventually; as I continue to put in my best effort in my work.
The supernatural thing is while I used to constantly seek God’s help to fight and overcome thoughts and actions of bitterness and resentment faced at my workplace, the peace and nonchalance towards this order to shift out just came naturally. I reckoned I have been strengthened by God in this area of my life and I want to thank Him for it. It is certainly freer to work in peace.
Anonymous
After working in a personal office room for several years, I have been recently asked to move out to sit in one of the cubicles at the common office area. The company is employing more managers and there were not enough rooms to house the new hires if we go down by the hierarchy.
Although this seems to be a form of downgrade and should not be considered a good testimony at face value, I noticed that the attitude I took towards this was one of peace and not of offense.
In fact I was recently given a promotion in job title but was explained that it was just a title change. I was tasked with added responsibilities to drive a business unit but my request for a monetary increment was rejected. I was explained it was not justifiable and the timing was poor; and now I was asked to shift out of the room. It was hard not to feel short changed to a certain extent.
However through my walk with God in times of trouble, He has proved His faithfulness to His words time and again. I know God is moving in a way I might not comprehend now. I have also learnt to put my faith in Him to bring me higher eventually; as I continue to put in my best effort in my work.
The supernatural thing is while I used to constantly seek God’s help to fight and overcome thoughts and actions of bitterness and resentment faced at my workplace, the peace and nonchalance towards this order to shift out just came naturally. I reckoned I have been strengthened by God in this area of my life and I want to thank Him for it. It is certainly freer to work in peace.
Anonymous
God gave me creative ideas when I commit my work to Him
I was given the task of making a Harvest Hunt video. In all my life, I have only three experiences using Flash software. Furthermore, I do not have any foundation in using this software. I spent five nights burning the midnight oil till 3-4 am in order to complete this. However, it was with God’s grace that I was able to complete this video.
After I got this Project, I was totally stressed about it and I wasted two nights working on a concept which I had wanted to achieve. Nevertheless, I prayed for wisdom to complete it on time.
On the second night, I prayed again, “Lord I really can't to this; really, Lord I will do it your way!!!” On the next morning, while walking to work, I told myself that I will give up my own idea and do it God’s way. At that point of time, ideas came into my mind. It kept on appearing, scene after scene in my mind. However, God didn't show me every thing all at once; it all came bit by bit. So, this time, I went through the same process again, working on the video straight away, after my work, till the late nights again. This time round, there was a strange. I was not tired at all when I worked on the video and I can’t stop seemed to stop working on it. Even when I was sleeping, pictures just kept coming in my mind. Hence, I kept on working on it. I didn’t know what the final outcome will be but I just followed God’s leading. On the fifth day, I completed the flash! I added the music without a glitch because there was just too much to choose from and I just chose the based on God’s guidance. All went well! Even during the last part, I was surprised that the logo text went so well with the music. At last every thing was done.
I know by world’s standard, completing a flash video is nothing but for me, to be able to complete the video when I knew nothing in the beginning makes me satisfied already. Thank you so much Lord and I know this is a lesson You gave me... And I won't forget.
Hanrong
After I got this Project, I was totally stressed about it and I wasted two nights working on a concept which I had wanted to achieve. Nevertheless, I prayed for wisdom to complete it on time.
On the second night, I prayed again, “Lord I really can't to this; really, Lord I will do it your way!!!” On the next morning, while walking to work, I told myself that I will give up my own idea and do it God’s way. At that point of time, ideas came into my mind. It kept on appearing, scene after scene in my mind. However, God didn't show me every thing all at once; it all came bit by bit. So, this time, I went through the same process again, working on the video straight away, after my work, till the late nights again. This time round, there was a strange. I was not tired at all when I worked on the video and I can’t stop seemed to stop working on it. Even when I was sleeping, pictures just kept coming in my mind. Hence, I kept on working on it. I didn’t know what the final outcome will be but I just followed God’s leading. On the fifth day, I completed the flash! I added the music without a glitch because there was just too much to choose from and I just chose the based on God’s guidance. All went well! Even during the last part, I was surprised that the logo text went so well with the music. At last every thing was done.
I know by world’s standard, completing a flash video is nothing but for me, to be able to complete the video when I knew nothing in the beginning makes me satisfied already. Thank you so much Lord and I know this is a lesson You gave me... And I won't forget.
Hanrong
Doing good to others bring glory to God
Matthew 25:40, “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
For the past few months, by God’s grace, I managed to lead 2 souls to receive the salvation of Christ. In both cases, fellow Christians whom I did not know have exhibited the love of God to the two precious souls prior to receiving their salvation. In one, he experienced the thoughtfulness and consistent care and concern from his friends during his time of recuperation from an operation. In the other case, a fellow friend wrote her a letter on how Jesus could help her during her period of work stress and a lack of direction in life. She teared as she read the short prayer and was touched by her friend’s act.
What happened next was I just happened to be divinely hooked up with both of my friends and lead them to Christ at the right moment.
Hence both experiences have shown that apart from presenting the gospel to pre believers, helping them out of a pure heart is important as well.
Personally, God has also impressed unto my heart to do something extra for others or strangers. There was once I remembered chatting casually with my office cleaner while she was tidying up my room. From our conversation, I learnt that during a certain period of morning rest, she would lay cardboard on the floor and catch a short nap. A few days later, while I was doing some shopping with my wife at Ikea, a body length well padded cushion caught my eye and I felt impressed in my heart to buy it for my office cleaner. I told my wife and I thought, "Well ok, lets buy the mattress." I checked the price tag and hesitated. I did not expect the mattress to cost so expensive. Then I tried to convince myself that perhaps I should try to buy it somewhere cheaper; after all, there is no hurry right? So I went home without the mattress. However who knows, I kept having this nagging feeling in my heart to buy the mattress. It kept coming to my mind even as I was doing my own stuff. At last I yielded to the leading. So I went back to Ikea the next day and bought the mattress and gave it to my officer cleaner the next day. She was shocked and at the same time very appreciative of this act of kindness. Following on, we start to build a good level of trust between each other and very often she would take extra effort to take care of my office. On my side, I was eventually able to share the gospel with her more effectively.
Listen to the Holy Spirit and cultivate a sense of sensitivity to His voice. It could be buying a book for an acquaintance who has particular interest in the subject, or it could be sheltering a stranger across a street during a thunderstorm. There could be so many other scenarios to spread the love of Jesus to both believers and pre believers.
Steve
For the past few months, by God’s grace, I managed to lead 2 souls to receive the salvation of Christ. In both cases, fellow Christians whom I did not know have exhibited the love of God to the two precious souls prior to receiving their salvation. In one, he experienced the thoughtfulness and consistent care and concern from his friends during his time of recuperation from an operation. In the other case, a fellow friend wrote her a letter on how Jesus could help her during her period of work stress and a lack of direction in life. She teared as she read the short prayer and was touched by her friend’s act.
What happened next was I just happened to be divinely hooked up with both of my friends and lead them to Christ at the right moment.
Hence both experiences have shown that apart from presenting the gospel to pre believers, helping them out of a pure heart is important as well.
Personally, God has also impressed unto my heart to do something extra for others or strangers. There was once I remembered chatting casually with my office cleaner while she was tidying up my room. From our conversation, I learnt that during a certain period of morning rest, she would lay cardboard on the floor and catch a short nap. A few days later, while I was doing some shopping with my wife at Ikea, a body length well padded cushion caught my eye and I felt impressed in my heart to buy it for my office cleaner. I told my wife and I thought, "Well ok, lets buy the mattress." I checked the price tag and hesitated. I did not expect the mattress to cost so expensive. Then I tried to convince myself that perhaps I should try to buy it somewhere cheaper; after all, there is no hurry right? So I went home without the mattress. However who knows, I kept having this nagging feeling in my heart to buy the mattress. It kept coming to my mind even as I was doing my own stuff. At last I yielded to the leading. So I went back to Ikea the next day and bought the mattress and gave it to my officer cleaner the next day. She was shocked and at the same time very appreciative of this act of kindness. Following on, we start to build a good level of trust between each other and very often she would take extra effort to take care of my office. On my side, I was eventually able to share the gospel with her more effectively.
Listen to the Holy Spirit and cultivate a sense of sensitivity to His voice. It could be buying a book for an acquaintance who has particular interest in the subject, or it could be sheltering a stranger across a street during a thunderstorm. There could be so many other scenarios to spread the love of Jesus to both believers and pre believers.
Steve
God opens up my eyes to see the needs of people around me
I have recently read “Honor’s Reward” by John Bevere which I felt very meaningful and true. See excerpts below in italic.
We come across these people every day, Sometimes due to being focused on our own business we’re undiscerning of their needs. The older I’ve grown, the more I’ve come to realize how easy it is to reach out to these people. It all begins with simply receiving in our hearts the charge to honor all people. If we do this, we become sensitive and are le, many times unconsciously, by the Spirit of God, and everyday life becomes continuous ministry. When you honor people, you will not ignore or speak rudely to those God brings across your path, rather you walk in a divine flow that brings the living waters of heaven to the thirsty in heart. A scripture I love and have cleaved to for years in regard to these people is, “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned” (Isa. 50:4).
On a personal note, we are supposed to bring life to where ever we are. As fragrance smells nice, it would even be more appreciated in a place of stench.
For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (2 Cor. 2:15)
In particular, I agree with the above statement “everyday life becomes continuous ministry”. Recently, God has placed people who needed help into my path. I spent some time reflecting the people that I have spoke with and actually within a month, I have come across friends and colleagues, who faced problems with relationship, problem of not being able to conceive, going for operation, nagging pain here and there, overstress with work, marriage problems etc. I reckon these encounters came as a result of prayer. Most of the cases, God gave me the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with them.
“The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned”. I believe if we could be as diligent as Jesus to pray on a consistent manner to hear from God, we would be very effective in dispensing the gift of the Holy Spirit and ministering to the needs of the people whether saved or not. This would take our act of discipline to transform into an act of habit and finally into an act of lifestyle.
Steve
We come across these people every day, Sometimes due to being focused on our own business we’re undiscerning of their needs. The older I’ve grown, the more I’ve come to realize how easy it is to reach out to these people. It all begins with simply receiving in our hearts the charge to honor all people. If we do this, we become sensitive and are le, many times unconsciously, by the Spirit of God, and everyday life becomes continuous ministry. When you honor people, you will not ignore or speak rudely to those God brings across your path, rather you walk in a divine flow that brings the living waters of heaven to the thirsty in heart. A scripture I love and have cleaved to for years in regard to these people is, “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned” (Isa. 50:4).
On a personal note, we are supposed to bring life to where ever we are. As fragrance smells nice, it would even be more appreciated in a place of stench.
For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (2 Cor. 2:15)
In particular, I agree with the above statement “everyday life becomes continuous ministry”. Recently, God has placed people who needed help into my path. I spent some time reflecting the people that I have spoke with and actually within a month, I have come across friends and colleagues, who faced problems with relationship, problem of not being able to conceive, going for operation, nagging pain here and there, overstress with work, marriage problems etc. I reckon these encounters came as a result of prayer. Most of the cases, God gave me the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with them.
“The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned”. I believe if we could be as diligent as Jesus to pray on a consistent manner to hear from God, we would be very effective in dispensing the gift of the Holy Spirit and ministering to the needs of the people whether saved or not. This would take our act of discipline to transform into an act of habit and finally into an act of lifestyle.
Steve
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
I received a free scholarship to study a 3 year course that I have wanted so badly for so many years
Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.”
After graduating from polytechnic with a Diploma in Civil & Environmental Engineering. I have always wanted to pursue a degree in either Social Work or Psychology. Thus, I applied for my degree with SIM, which promised to give me an 'answer' by end of May 2006, regarding whether I am accepted for the course or not. I waited and waited for a response from the university and despite numerous calls and clarification, the school was not able to give me a confirmation on the success of my application. Soon later, I decided to go to work. I found myself applying for Singapore Prison Service, as a Prison Officer. Guess what? I saw a parcel from SIM on my dining table, after booking out from training school for the very first time. I received a letter stating my confirmation of my placing with the university. They approved my application but it was too late. I was so agonized! Either I pay the penalty for the bond or I continue my service. Needless to say, I chose the latter.
After serving about 3 years of service with the Prisons Department, I decided to resign, as during this period of time, I also managed to save up a certain amount of money that could help me to pursue my degree in Psychology. However my father was retiring at that point in time and he started to express concerns about the financial needs of the family. After much thoughts and discussion with my family, I decided to shove away this idea until the next opportunity comes. I was utterly disappointed though. After all I was the only child in the family.
After serving my bond with Singapore Prison, I decided to change my career to 'Social Work'. This is where my passion lies. My stint in prison actually helped me to bridge my relationship with the students. The students seem to be very interested in what is happening in prison and I was able to speak into their lives. During my career also gave me the opportunity to know Veronica. She is a Christian and she actually brought me to church later. I turned my life to God the first day I visited His Harvest Church. It was such a wonderful decision that I made.
Soon after, life continued as usual. I did not really think about pursuing my studies anymore as it has passed so many years since the last time I wanted to pursue it until one day, my supervisor offered me a scholarship to get a Degree in Social Work at uniSIM. He even said that I would be fully paid with my salary during this 3 years study period. I was thrilled!!! I could not believe this was happening to me. This offer was so much more attractive as compared to me actually paying for the course myself if I had made it previously. Praise God!
Looking back, God was certainly good to me. Seems like He is charting my life step by step, little by little even before I was a Christian. I believe the experience gained working at Singapore Prisons served to help me in my current job.
Psalm 37:23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.”
Perhaps some people might see this as luck but I knew in my heart that this is from God. Anyway the bible says,
James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
There are certain good things that happened to Christians which they know very distinctively came as a result of God’s grace and goodness. Very often only the person involved would know because there will be an inward witness in the spirit that confirms it. There is a sense of “knowing”.
God is never late but He is also never early. He knew exactly the right time to answer the desire of my heart. Thank you Jesus.
LX
After graduating from polytechnic with a Diploma in Civil & Environmental Engineering. I have always wanted to pursue a degree in either Social Work or Psychology. Thus, I applied for my degree with SIM, which promised to give me an 'answer' by end of May 2006, regarding whether I am accepted for the course or not. I waited and waited for a response from the university and despite numerous calls and clarification, the school was not able to give me a confirmation on the success of my application. Soon later, I decided to go to work. I found myself applying for Singapore Prison Service, as a Prison Officer. Guess what? I saw a parcel from SIM on my dining table, after booking out from training school for the very first time. I received a letter stating my confirmation of my placing with the university. They approved my application but it was too late. I was so agonized! Either I pay the penalty for the bond or I continue my service. Needless to say, I chose the latter.
After serving about 3 years of service with the Prisons Department, I decided to resign, as during this period of time, I also managed to save up a certain amount of money that could help me to pursue my degree in Psychology. However my father was retiring at that point in time and he started to express concerns about the financial needs of the family. After much thoughts and discussion with my family, I decided to shove away this idea until the next opportunity comes. I was utterly disappointed though. After all I was the only child in the family.
After serving my bond with Singapore Prison, I decided to change my career to 'Social Work'. This is where my passion lies. My stint in prison actually helped me to bridge my relationship with the students. The students seem to be very interested in what is happening in prison and I was able to speak into their lives. During my career also gave me the opportunity to know Veronica. She is a Christian and she actually brought me to church later. I turned my life to God the first day I visited His Harvest Church. It was such a wonderful decision that I made.
Soon after, life continued as usual. I did not really think about pursuing my studies anymore as it has passed so many years since the last time I wanted to pursue it until one day, my supervisor offered me a scholarship to get a Degree in Social Work at uniSIM. He even said that I would be fully paid with my salary during this 3 years study period. I was thrilled!!! I could not believe this was happening to me. This offer was so much more attractive as compared to me actually paying for the course myself if I had made it previously. Praise God!
Looking back, God was certainly good to me. Seems like He is charting my life step by step, little by little even before I was a Christian. I believe the experience gained working at Singapore Prisons served to help me in my current job.
Psalm 37:23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.”
Perhaps some people might see this as luck but I knew in my heart that this is from God. Anyway the bible says,
James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
There are certain good things that happened to Christians which they know very distinctively came as a result of God’s grace and goodness. Very often only the person involved would know because there will be an inward witness in the spirit that confirms it. There is a sense of “knowing”.
God is never late but He is also never early. He knew exactly the right time to answer the desire of my heart. Thank you Jesus.
LX
My sales went from S$980 to S$12, 000 in just 2 days
Malachi 3:10 – 11, ““Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven; And pour out for you such blessing, That there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts;”
I was feeling a little depressed recently. My wife came to visit me from Philippines with my son. Initially, they intended to stay for 3 weeks. However my wife contracted some skin infection and so she decided to return home so that someone could help to look after my son better since I was working. They were only here for 2 weeks as a result. I was sad. I could also feel myself getting lethargic with the things of God due to my low morale. My time spent with God through prayers and bible reading was not as fervent as I had been previously. As a result the anointing from God on my spirit was gradually leaking from all these “holes”. I was spiritually very dry.
In addition, due to my one week holiday in Philippines with my family earlier. I was not able to work more to hit my sales target of S$3,200 for the month. I only closed S$980 of sales. I am a gym instructor and I need to recruit people to take up personal training courses with me. I tried my humanly best for the past few days to recruit as many customers as possible but it was getting now where. My morale was extremely low. The worst part was I was the top sales person in my company throughout the whole of Singapore previously and this added more pressure on me.
It was during one of my Sunday service, I was worshipping God with hands lifted up as usual during the worship. I came to church with a heavy heart. However I decided to surrender myself to God. As the worship continues, Pastor Amos had a word of knowledge and he told the congregation that God is speaking to someone and comforting the person. God wants to tell him that everything is under his control. The moment I heard this, I knew God was speaking to me through Pastor Amos. I could not control myself as tears rolled down continuously my cheeks. I could also feel a very strong warm sensation arising within me. I knew this was the touch of God. There was a deep sense of supernatural peace in my heart. I felt assured in my heart that everything would be alright.
An amazing thing took place. Within 2 days before my company financial month closes, my sales shot up from S$980 to S$12,000!!! My manager was thrilled by this amazing result. This was unbelievable. Everyone was not able to comprehend how this could happen. Everyone was resigned to close the sales poorly for the month.
To me, this was the supernatural outpouring of God’s blessing. I have been obedient in tithing and God honors His word! He protects and prospers me. Looking back, I should not limit what God could do based on my limited thinking. Praise God. Thank you Jesus! This is indeed one supernatural intervention of God in my work experience.
Eric
I was feeling a little depressed recently. My wife came to visit me from Philippines with my son. Initially, they intended to stay for 3 weeks. However my wife contracted some skin infection and so she decided to return home so that someone could help to look after my son better since I was working. They were only here for 2 weeks as a result. I was sad. I could also feel myself getting lethargic with the things of God due to my low morale. My time spent with God through prayers and bible reading was not as fervent as I had been previously. As a result the anointing from God on my spirit was gradually leaking from all these “holes”. I was spiritually very dry.
In addition, due to my one week holiday in Philippines with my family earlier. I was not able to work more to hit my sales target of S$3,200 for the month. I only closed S$980 of sales. I am a gym instructor and I need to recruit people to take up personal training courses with me. I tried my humanly best for the past few days to recruit as many customers as possible but it was getting now where. My morale was extremely low. The worst part was I was the top sales person in my company throughout the whole of Singapore previously and this added more pressure on me.
It was during one of my Sunday service, I was worshipping God with hands lifted up as usual during the worship. I came to church with a heavy heart. However I decided to surrender myself to God. As the worship continues, Pastor Amos had a word of knowledge and he told the congregation that God is speaking to someone and comforting the person. God wants to tell him that everything is under his control. The moment I heard this, I knew God was speaking to me through Pastor Amos. I could not control myself as tears rolled down continuously my cheeks. I could also feel a very strong warm sensation arising within me. I knew this was the touch of God. There was a deep sense of supernatural peace in my heart. I felt assured in my heart that everything would be alright.
An amazing thing took place. Within 2 days before my company financial month closes, my sales shot up from S$980 to S$12,000!!! My manager was thrilled by this amazing result. This was unbelievable. Everyone was not able to comprehend how this could happen. Everyone was resigned to close the sales poorly for the month.
To me, this was the supernatural outpouring of God’s blessing. I have been obedient in tithing and God honors His word! He protects and prospers me. Looking back, I should not limit what God could do based on my limited thinking. Praise God. Thank you Jesus! This is indeed one supernatural intervention of God in my work experience.
Eric
I was chosen to endure harsh treatment from my boss to glorify God in the process
Matthew 5:16, “16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
I was working as a photographer with Company A in Singapore for a couple of years before my company was bought over by Company B. With this acquisition, my team came under the management of the new company photography section. This marks a new beginning for me and it seems that opportunities have increased, but it was not long I realized I am not getting along well with my new boss. The boss does not esteem his subordinates well with respect and consideration. It was tough working for him.
Working with a group of crew like stylists, designers, editors and models were part of our job environment. There is always a team of us with different roles and support. A photographer, after knowing the concept of the shoot will be the one to lead the team on how the shoot would take place. I remembered there have been several occasions when my boss would step into the studio out of the blue, complained about the setting I had arranged and how stupid the idea was. He would then take the initiative to rearrange the set and in-front of the whole team gave me a lecture on how the set should have been better arranged. I felt humiliated each time he does that. It causes the whole crew to doubt if I could really direct a good shoot. Eventually, the rest of the other crew esteem us ,photographers, as just the “clicker boy”. You become demoralized and creativity is stunned in such an environment. I felt like quitting.
Just during this demoralizing period, my ex-company contacted me and offered a super attractive package. It was a 50% increase in salary and they agreed to give me the position I wanted, practically every request that I made they were able to match. It was so tempting but before I took it up, I brought it to the Lord in prayer. I very much would like to take it up but there was no peace in my heart to do so. It seems like God wanted me to stay and He would not want me to leave with my head down. No matter how I disliked going to work, I let go of that opportunity and constantly reminded myself that the bible says,
1 Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
I continued to do my best in my work.
In fact I was not the only person to be subjected to such treatment from my boss. All 8 of us were treated with disdain throughout our career with the new management. As a result coffee breaks and lunches were often times of complaining and criticizing our boss. The temptation was very strong but I refused to be sucked into the non edifying talks; I knew it would not be good for me spiritually. The bible says,
Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
It was not long before my entire team of 8 photographers gradually reduced to 2 of us. All have resigned because of my boss. Throughout these 4 years, God has been encouraging me through His Word in His presence and though with much difficulty, I had hang on with His given grace.
Gradually, things started to turn around. My works started to be commended by the higher management level although was criticized by my direct boss. Suddenly one day, my boss came up to me and said, “I have been observing you for a while. You are a miracle. The way you carry yourself is really different from the other people that I have come across. I can see your God’s power working in your life.”
Matthew 5:16, “16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
I was shocked by his comments and I was so thrilled that I ran out of my studio and gave my heartfelt gratitude to God telling Him, “All glory goes to you Father! Thank you for preserving me and assuring me all these while just for this purpose” This was the MOMENT when I felt that all the persecutions that I have suffered for the past 4 years were all worthwhile. It was God’s will for me to be a worthy ambassador of God that displays exemplary characteristics in times of trouble. Not only did God use me in this situation to show His glory and goodness, I was also edified and encouraged by God in serving Him. Doing God’s work is not easy but you emerge a winner if you preserve to the end. Praise God! It was also at this time, I felt impressed in my heart that now is the time to move out. God wanted me to go into full time bible study.
Subsequently after I sent in my resignation letter to pursue my bible studies. My boss was very surprised. He had repeatedly made offers to increase my salary and even to the extent of offering me a 3 months paid leave to let me ‘explore my own interest’. However I declined because I knew that God wanted me to focus on my studies first.
Amazingly on the day I declined the company’s counter offer, I got home and I received an encouragement from God. He encouraged me on this decision of putting Him first by blessing me with a cheque sent by an anonymous sender from our ex-church. The sum turned out to be the amount I needed to pay for my first month school fees.
Anonymous
I was working as a photographer with Company A in Singapore for a couple of years before my company was bought over by Company B. With this acquisition, my team came under the management of the new company photography section. This marks a new beginning for me and it seems that opportunities have increased, but it was not long I realized I am not getting along well with my new boss. The boss does not esteem his subordinates well with respect and consideration. It was tough working for him.
Working with a group of crew like stylists, designers, editors and models were part of our job environment. There is always a team of us with different roles and support. A photographer, after knowing the concept of the shoot will be the one to lead the team on how the shoot would take place. I remembered there have been several occasions when my boss would step into the studio out of the blue, complained about the setting I had arranged and how stupid the idea was. He would then take the initiative to rearrange the set and in-front of the whole team gave me a lecture on how the set should have been better arranged. I felt humiliated each time he does that. It causes the whole crew to doubt if I could really direct a good shoot. Eventually, the rest of the other crew esteem us ,photographers, as just the “clicker boy”. You become demoralized and creativity is stunned in such an environment. I felt like quitting.
Just during this demoralizing period, my ex-company contacted me and offered a super attractive package. It was a 50% increase in salary and they agreed to give me the position I wanted, practically every request that I made they were able to match. It was so tempting but before I took it up, I brought it to the Lord in prayer. I very much would like to take it up but there was no peace in my heart to do so. It seems like God wanted me to stay and He would not want me to leave with my head down. No matter how I disliked going to work, I let go of that opportunity and constantly reminded myself that the bible says,
1 Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
I continued to do my best in my work.
In fact I was not the only person to be subjected to such treatment from my boss. All 8 of us were treated with disdain throughout our career with the new management. As a result coffee breaks and lunches were often times of complaining and criticizing our boss. The temptation was very strong but I refused to be sucked into the non edifying talks; I knew it would not be good for me spiritually. The bible says,
Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
It was not long before my entire team of 8 photographers gradually reduced to 2 of us. All have resigned because of my boss. Throughout these 4 years, God has been encouraging me through His Word in His presence and though with much difficulty, I had hang on with His given grace.
Gradually, things started to turn around. My works started to be commended by the higher management level although was criticized by my direct boss. Suddenly one day, my boss came up to me and said, “I have been observing you for a while. You are a miracle. The way you carry yourself is really different from the other people that I have come across. I can see your God’s power working in your life.”
Matthew 5:16, “16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
I was shocked by his comments and I was so thrilled that I ran out of my studio and gave my heartfelt gratitude to God telling Him, “All glory goes to you Father! Thank you for preserving me and assuring me all these while just for this purpose” This was the MOMENT when I felt that all the persecutions that I have suffered for the past 4 years were all worthwhile. It was God’s will for me to be a worthy ambassador of God that displays exemplary characteristics in times of trouble. Not only did God use me in this situation to show His glory and goodness, I was also edified and encouraged by God in serving Him. Doing God’s work is not easy but you emerge a winner if you preserve to the end. Praise God! It was also at this time, I felt impressed in my heart that now is the time to move out. God wanted me to go into full time bible study.
Subsequently after I sent in my resignation letter to pursue my bible studies. My boss was very surprised. He had repeatedly made offers to increase my salary and even to the extent of offering me a 3 months paid leave to let me ‘explore my own interest’. However I declined because I knew that God wanted me to focus on my studies first.
Amazingly on the day I declined the company’s counter offer, I got home and I received an encouragement from God. He encouraged me on this decision of putting Him first by blessing me with a cheque sent by an anonymous sender from our ex-church. The sum turned out to be the amount I needed to pay for my first month school fees.
Anonymous
God protected me and prevented my knee cap from further injuries even though I had a terrible fall
Psalm 91:11-13, “For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
An unfortunate accident happened to me during one of my IPPT test after I ORD. I broke my knee cap when I attempted to make a 180 degrees turn while doing my shuttle run. This injury was so bad that I was admitted immediately to hospital and the next thing I knew was I could not work and had to be on crutches for the next 6 months. I was very upset with this condition as I could not live my life properly.
However after I became a Christian, my pastors and His Harvest Church members have prayed for me for a rapid recovery. I put my faith and believe in God that my knee cap would heal rapidly. I know that I am in the safe hands of God.
One operation passed by one operation. It was by the third operation that the doctor told me that I could start walking without my crutches. I was so glad upon hearing this news. So glad that I can start working and move about freely!
However only a few days after my last operation, I had another bad fall. Blinded to a patch of water on the ground in front of me, I slipped and landed in a very awkward position. I realized the side of my left knee cap (the one which was injured previously) hit the ground so hard that it swelled and the pain was so great.
I got so discouraged and worried. My condition just got better and this has to happen. I immediately took a taxi to NUH to get an X ray to assess my condition. On the way there, I remembered Pastor Oon’s sharing on how he used to pray each time he sprained his leg during basketball games. I started to do likewise and pray to God while I force myself to think positively about my situation.
At the same time, I called my friend, who is working in the A&E department to check the human traffic there. She told me it will be very crowded at this point of time.
Amazingly, when I arrived at the A&E department, there was no crowd in sight; just with a few people waiting for their turn to be called. Thank God! The entire process of getting my injury assessed by the doctor was so smooth and fast.
And again amazingly, despite the swelling, nothing happened to the original injury. IT'S A MIRACLE! I remembered the last time after my second last operation, I did not fall but the fractured knee cap were not healing and that was why I was required to go for the third operation. NOW I had this bad fall but everything was still intact!
I really cannot explain why but I believe it was God’s hand protecting me. I am so happy that I'm okay.
Praise the Lord! Thank you Father!
Kee Lin
An unfortunate accident happened to me during one of my IPPT test after I ORD. I broke my knee cap when I attempted to make a 180 degrees turn while doing my shuttle run. This injury was so bad that I was admitted immediately to hospital and the next thing I knew was I could not work and had to be on crutches for the next 6 months. I was very upset with this condition as I could not live my life properly.
However after I became a Christian, my pastors and His Harvest Church members have prayed for me for a rapid recovery. I put my faith and believe in God that my knee cap would heal rapidly. I know that I am in the safe hands of God.
One operation passed by one operation. It was by the third operation that the doctor told me that I could start walking without my crutches. I was so glad upon hearing this news. So glad that I can start working and move about freely!
However only a few days after my last operation, I had another bad fall. Blinded to a patch of water on the ground in front of me, I slipped and landed in a very awkward position. I realized the side of my left knee cap (the one which was injured previously) hit the ground so hard that it swelled and the pain was so great.
I got so discouraged and worried. My condition just got better and this has to happen. I immediately took a taxi to NUH to get an X ray to assess my condition. On the way there, I remembered Pastor Oon’s sharing on how he used to pray each time he sprained his leg during basketball games. I started to do likewise and pray to God while I force myself to think positively about my situation.
At the same time, I called my friend, who is working in the A&E department to check the human traffic there. She told me it will be very crowded at this point of time.
Amazingly, when I arrived at the A&E department, there was no crowd in sight; just with a few people waiting for their turn to be called. Thank God! The entire process of getting my injury assessed by the doctor was so smooth and fast.
And again amazingly, despite the swelling, nothing happened to the original injury. IT'S A MIRACLE! I remembered the last time after my second last operation, I did not fall but the fractured knee cap were not healing and that was why I was required to go for the third operation. NOW I had this bad fall but everything was still intact!
I really cannot explain why but I believe it was God’s hand protecting me. I am so happy that I'm okay.
Praise the Lord! Thank you Father!
Kee Lin
The process of character building is difficult and painful
Hebrews 5:8, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
Right after I gave my life to God, He started to work on my character almost immediately. Previously, I was often disrespectful to my parents. Many times, I would raise my voice or lose my patience over issues which I am in disagreement with them.
However my conscience was made so tender by God after my conversion that I almost always immediately feel an uncomfortable nagging tug in my heart each time I raised my voice against my parents or my sister. The Holy Spirit living in me kept telling me to apologize to them regardless whether I am right or wrong in the particular situation. God just wanted me to do the right thing and I found it so difficult to humble myself and obey Him. My flesh was literally screaming at me saying, “NO!” However I still followed His instructions almost every time. As a result, during the first few months of my new believer life, I found myself apologizing to my dad so many times to the extent that I remembered once he shooed me off saying, “Please lah, stop shouting at me and then saying sorry the next moment. It does not mean anything.” I was hurt to hear that because I took the effort to humble myself. Nevertheless I pressed on and I realized each time I obeyed, there was a sense of release in my heart and I could also feel a sense of triumphant.
There were also times when I tried to bridge my relationship with him by deliberately taking the initiative to make simple conversations with him. It is weird when I kept infuriating him and at the same time trying to make small chats with him constantly. Under normal circumstances, I reckoned it would be better for people to just keep quiet and not to talk to each other at all, lest more quarrels erupt. However I felt that it would not be right to do so. So I continued to press on. I remembered clearly there was once when I tried to get my mum over the phone to pass the phone to dad so that I could talk to him on certain matters. However I overheard his frustrated voice in the background telling my mum, “Tell him I am busy, no time to talk with him lah.” I was really hurt by his words. To a certain extent, I believed part of his displeasure came from me becoming a Christian too. I remembered he made a comment during one of the Good Friday when my mum asked him whether the family was going out for lunch, saying, “Jesus suffers today so we go out to celebrate today.” I thought that was really unnecessary. Apart from my dad’s negative opinions on Christians, he was a very loving husband and a good, responsible father to me and my sister. His attitude towards me was probably due to my poor attitude towards him too.
However as time passes by, my relationship with my dad gradually became better and better. It was supernatural. Today our relationship has improved tremendously and I enjoyed my time with my dad together with my family over every weekends.
The process of character molding is certainly hard on the flesh but God knows that it is for the benefit of us. In retrospective, I was persecuted for doing the right thing. However God honors his children when they obey and continue to pursue the things of God. The lessons on perseverance from these experiences continues to serve as an important foundation of obedience and doing the right thing each time God calls. As the bible says in …
Hebrews 5:8, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
God wants to use us but we need to be worthy vessels. I like what John C. Maxwell wrote in his book “Be All You Can Be!”: “… productive people are continually being pruned, going through this process that God uses to make us more fruitful. And God knows what to prune from our lives….God doesn’t mess around with the peripherals. He goes right in with His dynamite and blows up only areas in our lives that aren’t productive”
Amen.
Steve
Right after I gave my life to God, He started to work on my character almost immediately. Previously, I was often disrespectful to my parents. Many times, I would raise my voice or lose my patience over issues which I am in disagreement with them.
However my conscience was made so tender by God after my conversion that I almost always immediately feel an uncomfortable nagging tug in my heart each time I raised my voice against my parents or my sister. The Holy Spirit living in me kept telling me to apologize to them regardless whether I am right or wrong in the particular situation. God just wanted me to do the right thing and I found it so difficult to humble myself and obey Him. My flesh was literally screaming at me saying, “NO!” However I still followed His instructions almost every time. As a result, during the first few months of my new believer life, I found myself apologizing to my dad so many times to the extent that I remembered once he shooed me off saying, “Please lah, stop shouting at me and then saying sorry the next moment. It does not mean anything.” I was hurt to hear that because I took the effort to humble myself. Nevertheless I pressed on and I realized each time I obeyed, there was a sense of release in my heart and I could also feel a sense of triumphant.
There were also times when I tried to bridge my relationship with him by deliberately taking the initiative to make simple conversations with him. It is weird when I kept infuriating him and at the same time trying to make small chats with him constantly. Under normal circumstances, I reckoned it would be better for people to just keep quiet and not to talk to each other at all, lest more quarrels erupt. However I felt that it would not be right to do so. So I continued to press on. I remembered clearly there was once when I tried to get my mum over the phone to pass the phone to dad so that I could talk to him on certain matters. However I overheard his frustrated voice in the background telling my mum, “Tell him I am busy, no time to talk with him lah.” I was really hurt by his words. To a certain extent, I believed part of his displeasure came from me becoming a Christian too. I remembered he made a comment during one of the Good Friday when my mum asked him whether the family was going out for lunch, saying, “Jesus suffers today so we go out to celebrate today.” I thought that was really unnecessary. Apart from my dad’s negative opinions on Christians, he was a very loving husband and a good, responsible father to me and my sister. His attitude towards me was probably due to my poor attitude towards him too.
However as time passes by, my relationship with my dad gradually became better and better. It was supernatural. Today our relationship has improved tremendously and I enjoyed my time with my dad together with my family over every weekends.
The process of character molding is certainly hard on the flesh but God knows that it is for the benefit of us. In retrospective, I was persecuted for doing the right thing. However God honors his children when they obey and continue to pursue the things of God. The lessons on perseverance from these experiences continues to serve as an important foundation of obedience and doing the right thing each time God calls. As the bible says in …
Hebrews 5:8, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
God wants to use us but we need to be worthy vessels. I like what John C. Maxwell wrote in his book “Be All You Can Be!”: “… productive people are continually being pruned, going through this process that God uses to make us more fruitful. And God knows what to prune from our lives….God doesn’t mess around with the peripherals. He goes right in with His dynamite and blows up only areas in our lives that aren’t productive”
Amen.
Steve
God sent people to give us money to tide over our financial difficulties
Matthew 6:25, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
We were considering changing our daughter to another childcare as the one she was attending wasn’t very hygienic and already had severally hand foot mouth (HFMD) cases. Furthermore, our son is of age to be enrolled into nursery and we would want the both of them to be in a respectable Christian childcare with a good environment and spirit filled teachers. We decided to put them in one that we were familiar with, though the fees were on the high side, we thought that it would be the best for them.
Unknowingly, this seems to be the start of our struggles. Not only in the area of our finances but also the strain on our kids. Because the school is far from our home, we started out by taking cab daily to and fro so that the travelling will not be too taxing on our kids. But as it goes on, our finances seemed to be leaking. It was quite tough to change our travelling mode to public transport as most of the time, my wife have to bring both kids to childcare alone and by the end of the day, the kids will be too tired to travel by MRT. My daughter had responded well to that childcare but the strain on my son was obvious. He will often fall asleep in the middle of his dinner. Even in school, he’ll fall asleep before he can finish his lunch and he got sick quite often.
We surrendered our situation to God. We continued to believe Him for finances to come in as well as for wisdom in handling the whole situation. We have been exposed to prosperity messages in our ex-church and have also read books that testified about God’s faithfulness in provisions. So we know that it is God’s will for us to prosper and be in health, just as our souls prosper.
True to His words, there have been a couple of occasions when people who do not know the financial situation we are going through, came up to us and hand us sums of money. These supernatural encounters really boost our faith in God our Father as we are seeing such manifestation intimately. Such testimonies are not only stories that we read from the States but they are blessings that we are experiencing it in our life in Singapore!
I remembered there was once when my wife and I were left with $50 and payday was quite a while away. It was a precious experience because though it seems in the natural we should be fretting and worrying about tomorrow, but we felt the peace of God within us holding us together so strongly. We gave thanks to God for an enjoyable simple dinner that night.
The next morning, God revealed to me that my sister would bless me with a sum of money. I didn’t give it much thought until I saw her. She handed me a crushed envelope, and said, “It wasn’t meant for you initially but somehow, I just felt like passing it to you.” I looked into the envelope and it was exactly the amount God had impressed upon my heart.
There was also another time when God impressed upon me that one of my church mate would bless me with a certain amount of money. In fact this church mate of mine really did came up to me and told me, “Hey, I do not know why but I felt impressed in my heart to give you this amount of money.” And he went away to draw the funds and passed it to me. However in his absence, the amount he mentioned me was not what God had revealed to me. So I told God that I’ll not be taking it if it’s not from Him.
However when my church mate came back, he said “I can’t pass my own conscience, I had to obey the leading from God to bless you with a higher amount. Please take it.” Amazingly, when I checked the amount he gave was exactly the sum God had revealed to me. God is so real to us! We have not mentioned about our financial needs to anyone and let alone any specific sum of money that we need. But God just keep sending people to us to help us tide over our period of financial difficulty.
Furthermore, God led us to make certain adjustments in our situation like changing school. Eventually, He also touched my parents heart to help take care of our kids so that they don’t have to go full day childcare. The many little adjustments brought about great benefits to my whole family.
In the midst of our adjustments, God truely provided faithfully for our family and delivered us out of lack into sufficiency.
Matthew 6:25, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
My family can certainly testify to this scripture and God’s love for us. Praise God!
Tom and Belle
We were considering changing our daughter to another childcare as the one she was attending wasn’t very hygienic and already had severally hand foot mouth (HFMD) cases. Furthermore, our son is of age to be enrolled into nursery and we would want the both of them to be in a respectable Christian childcare with a good environment and spirit filled teachers. We decided to put them in one that we were familiar with, though the fees were on the high side, we thought that it would be the best for them.
Unknowingly, this seems to be the start of our struggles. Not only in the area of our finances but also the strain on our kids. Because the school is far from our home, we started out by taking cab daily to and fro so that the travelling will not be too taxing on our kids. But as it goes on, our finances seemed to be leaking. It was quite tough to change our travelling mode to public transport as most of the time, my wife have to bring both kids to childcare alone and by the end of the day, the kids will be too tired to travel by MRT. My daughter had responded well to that childcare but the strain on my son was obvious. He will often fall asleep in the middle of his dinner. Even in school, he’ll fall asleep before he can finish his lunch and he got sick quite often.
We surrendered our situation to God. We continued to believe Him for finances to come in as well as for wisdom in handling the whole situation. We have been exposed to prosperity messages in our ex-church and have also read books that testified about God’s faithfulness in provisions. So we know that it is God’s will for us to prosper and be in health, just as our souls prosper.
True to His words, there have been a couple of occasions when people who do not know the financial situation we are going through, came up to us and hand us sums of money. These supernatural encounters really boost our faith in God our Father as we are seeing such manifestation intimately. Such testimonies are not only stories that we read from the States but they are blessings that we are experiencing it in our life in Singapore!
I remembered there was once when my wife and I were left with $50 and payday was quite a while away. It was a precious experience because though it seems in the natural we should be fretting and worrying about tomorrow, but we felt the peace of God within us holding us together so strongly. We gave thanks to God for an enjoyable simple dinner that night.
The next morning, God revealed to me that my sister would bless me with a sum of money. I didn’t give it much thought until I saw her. She handed me a crushed envelope, and said, “It wasn’t meant for you initially but somehow, I just felt like passing it to you.” I looked into the envelope and it was exactly the amount God had impressed upon my heart.
There was also another time when God impressed upon me that one of my church mate would bless me with a certain amount of money. In fact this church mate of mine really did came up to me and told me, “Hey, I do not know why but I felt impressed in my heart to give you this amount of money.” And he went away to draw the funds and passed it to me. However in his absence, the amount he mentioned me was not what God had revealed to me. So I told God that I’ll not be taking it if it’s not from Him.
However when my church mate came back, he said “I can’t pass my own conscience, I had to obey the leading from God to bless you with a higher amount. Please take it.” Amazingly, when I checked the amount he gave was exactly the sum God had revealed to me. God is so real to us! We have not mentioned about our financial needs to anyone and let alone any specific sum of money that we need. But God just keep sending people to us to help us tide over our period of financial difficulty.
Furthermore, God led us to make certain adjustments in our situation like changing school. Eventually, He also touched my parents heart to help take care of our kids so that they don’t have to go full day childcare. The many little adjustments brought about great benefits to my whole family.
In the midst of our adjustments, God truely provided faithfully for our family and delivered us out of lack into sufficiency.
Matthew 6:25, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
My family can certainly testify to this scripture and God’s love for us. Praise God!
Tom and Belle
We received a supernatural call from God for our bank loan approval
It was 4 years ago (2005) when we incurred a huge loss from selling our HDB flat. We were devastated. Eventually we tried to get a loan to purchase another flat. One Friday, when the world seemed to be against us, a surprise call came to my wife. It was 'Doris' calling from Hong Leong Finance with regard to our HDB loan. 'Doris' told my wife to meet up that afternoon at 2pm.
We saw 'Doris' but she claimed that she did not call nor she knew my wife. Moreover, she was temporary sit in bank manager and she does not approve loan. The actual bank manager was in China at that point in time. We were puzzled and at the same time very disappointed. We thought we heard it wrongly and made a wasted trip.
Then at that moment, ‘Doris’ said, "No problem, your loan will be approved." At this moment, we felt in our hearts that these words came from our Lord. It was then I told my wife to call 'Doris' immediately. The hand phone number that we dialed rang but the hand phone of 'Doris', in front of us, did not ring at all. We realized that this 'Doris' was our Lord Jesus; We received a heavenly call from Him. The following Monday, we collected our cheque and got the keys to our house.
I told my wife to call back to 'Doris' again. The phone over the other side rang over the weekend but still no one answered! It confirmed that 'Doris' was actually Lord Jesus, our God.
We rejoiced that not only did we get the loan from the bank through supernatural encouner, we also got a brand new flat with a 100 years lease. How great is our Lord! GOD CALLS.
John & Joyce
We saw 'Doris' but she claimed that she did not call nor she knew my wife. Moreover, she was temporary sit in bank manager and she does not approve loan. The actual bank manager was in China at that point in time. We were puzzled and at the same time very disappointed. We thought we heard it wrongly and made a wasted trip.
Then at that moment, ‘Doris’ said, "No problem, your loan will be approved." At this moment, we felt in our hearts that these words came from our Lord. It was then I told my wife to call 'Doris' immediately. The hand phone number that we dialed rang but the hand phone of 'Doris', in front of us, did not ring at all. We realized that this 'Doris' was our Lord Jesus; We received a heavenly call from Him. The following Monday, we collected our cheque and got the keys to our house.
I told my wife to call back to 'Doris' again. The phone over the other side rang over the weekend but still no one answered! It confirmed that 'Doris' was actually Lord Jesus, our God.
We rejoiced that not only did we get the loan from the bank through supernatural encouner, we also got a brand new flat with a 100 years lease. How great is our Lord! GOD CALLS.
John & Joyce
God gives me the ability to balance my time between work, family and Him
Recently I have been flying more and more frequently due to the nature of my business and my job scope. In the month of September alone, I have been travelling on alternate weeks, spanning no less than 4 days each trip. In fact, I have to travel between countries and provinces during a week trip. To give you an idea: I can fly from Singapore to Taiwan on Monday, fly from Taiwan to Osaka on Tuesday, Take a Shinkansen (bullet train) from Osaka to Tokyo on Wednesday and take Shinkansen from Tokyo to Yokohama on Thursday. The travelling times are often long and I will be physically and mentally drained by the time I reach the hotel. Apart from the travelling, there were major projects and presentations to make during this period of time. This was coupled with other responsibilities and work that I have in church.
As a result, presentations and preparations have to be planned and organized carefully. Things have to be accomplished within very tight period of time and often during travelling times.
I want to do my best in all my responsibilities. However I refuse to fall back to the workaholic attitude and approach that I had adopted during the initial year of my work. There were times when I am tempted to stay longer at work or even work at night but I am learning not to give in. Sometimes I would tell my wife I have not completed something very important for the following day meeting but I would continue to lie on my bed to read my book. She would then start to nudge me to do my work instead but I would reply her I should be able to complete it the next day before the meeting and that this time is personal time. Actually there were times when I do feel a little jittery about my unfinished work but I just cast it aside.
It is not about being negligent about my work but being disciplined in balancing my life for work, family and God.
I have learnt my lesson not to be burnt out and more importantly to rely on God rather than my own strength. I am determined in my heart to spend my weekday nights and weekends with my family and I do my very best to complete what I need to accomplish during working hours.
Deuteronomy 8:18, “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth …”
Proverbs 10:22, “The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.”
So God has been good to me. I would always pray to God for wisdom and creativity and I tell Him I want to accomplish this and that by a certain time. Most of the time there will be a certain calmness and steadiness in my heart each time I focus entirely on my work assignment and good ideas just come while the pressure of time presses on. The bible says,
James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
So far so good. However one thing I realized: I often find myself running to board my plane and almost always the last person to do so. The reason is: I was always clearing as much emails as possible at the airport lounge before that.
Steve
As a result, presentations and preparations have to be planned and organized carefully. Things have to be accomplished within very tight period of time and often during travelling times.
I want to do my best in all my responsibilities. However I refuse to fall back to the workaholic attitude and approach that I had adopted during the initial year of my work. There were times when I am tempted to stay longer at work or even work at night but I am learning not to give in. Sometimes I would tell my wife I have not completed something very important for the following day meeting but I would continue to lie on my bed to read my book. She would then start to nudge me to do my work instead but I would reply her I should be able to complete it the next day before the meeting and that this time is personal time. Actually there were times when I do feel a little jittery about my unfinished work but I just cast it aside.
It is not about being negligent about my work but being disciplined in balancing my life for work, family and God.
I have learnt my lesson not to be burnt out and more importantly to rely on God rather than my own strength. I am determined in my heart to spend my weekday nights and weekends with my family and I do my very best to complete what I need to accomplish during working hours.
Deuteronomy 8:18, “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth …”
Proverbs 10:22, “The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.”
So God has been good to me. I would always pray to God for wisdom and creativity and I tell Him I want to accomplish this and that by a certain time. Most of the time there will be a certain calmness and steadiness in my heart each time I focus entirely on my work assignment and good ideas just come while the pressure of time presses on. The bible says,
James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
So far so good. However one thing I realized: I often find myself running to board my plane and almost always the last person to do so. The reason is: I was always clearing as much emails as possible at the airport lounge before that.
Steve
Monday, August 31, 2009
God taught me never to judge someone’s actions
Psalm 19:14, "14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer."
Psalm 139:23-24, "23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting."
This happened around four years ago. I remembered sharing with a fellow church member how I could sometimes react very angrily towards my girl friend over small incidents. He told me that he behaved in similar manner too but he went further to briefly narrate how he recently threw a pizza that his wife bought for him onto the floor and messed up the whole kitchen because he told her he wanted to have home cooked food initially. Although I did not show it, I was thinking how he, being a Christian, could react in such a manner that was so aggressive. I thought he had over reacted. I thought he could have represented Jesus better, since his wife was a pre believer. Nevertheless, I did not really give much thought to this incident after our conversation.
A few weeks later, we happened to meet up and we began to chat. From our conversation, he started to share with me that he was experiencing a period of very difficult time for the past few months. He told me that a few months back, he had accidentally caught explicit photos and videos of his wife and her business partner in his wife’s mobile phone. This business partner happened to be someone he knew as well. God actually led him to this discovery which had been apparently been going on for some time. He was struggling to forgive her while contemplating thoughts of divorcing her. He was going through a period of emotional turmoil.
I was shocked. I was also convicted then and there.
God gave me the privilege to lend a hearing ear to my friend but God also brought me to my remembrance the time I had judged my friend regarding the pizza incident. God asked me what I would have done if I was in his shoes. I confessed to God that with that kind of emotional stress, I might have committed a terrible crime in a fit of anger. I asked God for forgiveness. This lesson taught me never to judge a person’s heart or actions again. You never know what that person might be going through in his/ her life. God corrects in creative ways.
Anonymous
Psalm 139:23-24, "23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting."
This happened around four years ago. I remembered sharing with a fellow church member how I could sometimes react very angrily towards my girl friend over small incidents. He told me that he behaved in similar manner too but he went further to briefly narrate how he recently threw a pizza that his wife bought for him onto the floor and messed up the whole kitchen because he told her he wanted to have home cooked food initially. Although I did not show it, I was thinking how he, being a Christian, could react in such a manner that was so aggressive. I thought he had over reacted. I thought he could have represented Jesus better, since his wife was a pre believer. Nevertheless, I did not really give much thought to this incident after our conversation.
A few weeks later, we happened to meet up and we began to chat. From our conversation, he started to share with me that he was experiencing a period of very difficult time for the past few months. He told me that a few months back, he had accidentally caught explicit photos and videos of his wife and her business partner in his wife’s mobile phone. This business partner happened to be someone he knew as well. God actually led him to this discovery which had been apparently been going on for some time. He was struggling to forgive her while contemplating thoughts of divorcing her. He was going through a period of emotional turmoil.
I was shocked. I was also convicted then and there.
God gave me the privilege to lend a hearing ear to my friend but God also brought me to my remembrance the time I had judged my friend regarding the pizza incident. God asked me what I would have done if I was in his shoes. I confessed to God that with that kind of emotional stress, I might have committed a terrible crime in a fit of anger. I asked God for forgiveness. This lesson taught me never to judge a person’s heart or actions again. You never know what that person might be going through in his/ her life. God corrects in creative ways.
Anonymous
Experiencing the joy of the Lord that comes from evangelizing
Luke 15:10, “10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Recently, I received a SMS message at around 1 plus in the morning. I just about to sleep at that time and thought who could have messaged me at this time of the night. It turned out that it was from one of my group members. She was overjoyed from being able to share the gospel with one of her colleagues so much so that she could not contain the joy and must share it with someone else. Hence she decided to share the good news with me because I had been sharing with her my joy in this area too. The supernatural joy of the Lord bubbles up in us whenever we share the gospel.
I also recalled not too long ago, I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a friend of mine. I was so engrossed with sharing my life changing experience and the wonderful news of Jesus to him that I was not aware that time had passed by so fast. Thank God that he received his salvation then and there. When I left his place to pick up my car, I could vaguely see a piece of paper being placed on my windscreen. Upon closer look, it turned out to be a parking summon which I was fined for overstaying at the parking lot. Nevertheless, I was too overjoyed to bother about the fine. Even if it was a heavier fine, I would have gladly paid for it because the joy from the time spent sharing the gospel far exceeds the monetary loss that I experienced. Again this was the joy of the Lord in demonstration.
JY
Recently, I received a SMS message at around 1 plus in the morning. I just about to sleep at that time and thought who could have messaged me at this time of the night. It turned out that it was from one of my group members. She was overjoyed from being able to share the gospel with one of her colleagues so much so that she could not contain the joy and must share it with someone else. Hence she decided to share the good news with me because I had been sharing with her my joy in this area too. The supernatural joy of the Lord bubbles up in us whenever we share the gospel.
I also recalled not too long ago, I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a friend of mine. I was so engrossed with sharing my life changing experience and the wonderful news of Jesus to him that I was not aware that time had passed by so fast. Thank God that he received his salvation then and there. When I left his place to pick up my car, I could vaguely see a piece of paper being placed on my windscreen. Upon closer look, it turned out to be a parking summon which I was fined for overstaying at the parking lot. Nevertheless, I was too overjoyed to bother about the fine. Even if it was a heavier fine, I would have gladly paid for it because the joy from the time spent sharing the gospel far exceeds the monetary loss that I experienced. Again this was the joy of the Lord in demonstration.
JY
God supernaturally provided my monthly allowances and ease my workload
Matthew 11:28-29 (New King James Version)
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The past week had been a tough week for me - whether it was the work in school or my financial status. Everything seemed to happen in that week. Just thinking of all these problems dampened my attitude and mood.
For school work, it was the final week for my projects; I had to hand it up that week. A lot of things had to be done and yet at the same time I had to prepare for my presentation. On Tuesday, I woke up feeling stressful at the start of the day due to work and financial issues. However, God brought a song to my remembrance, last Sunday we heard a new song called "Today is the day". I repeated this sentence in my heart saying that, "This is the day that the Lord has made, therefore I will rejoice and be glad in it." With peace in my heart, I walked towards a small corner in my room, looked up to the sky and I said, "God, you made this beautiful day for all of us. Each of us will have a beautiful day to begin with in our lives. Therefore, I believed that things will happen today and I am able to experience You for You have not created your children to suffer. You know what I am going through, and therefore, give me the revelation, the wisdom and the knowledge that I need to fulfill this day. All these things, I pray in Jesus name."
Next, an amazing thing happened, (it might sound shocking but it is the truth), once I opened the door, my mother came to me immediately and said, "Yesterday I went out with my sisters and they gave me some money, at the same time, your brother also got his year end bonus, therefore, I am giving you XXX amount of money." And this allowed me to survive at least for a week with my girlfriend. I cannot thank God enough to have my prayers answered within a split of a second.
Later that day, upon reaching my school, to my amazement, I managed to solve all the errors in my projects with my teammates with much greater ease compared to last week.
Seriously, sometimes we are depending too much on our own strength and neglected the power of our Almighty God. He is there for a reason. He is there to help us. Therefore, I will remind myself to be more conscious of His presence, in order to connect myself to Him who blesses all of us. Praise God!
Gary
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The past week had been a tough week for me - whether it was the work in school or my financial status. Everything seemed to happen in that week. Just thinking of all these problems dampened my attitude and mood.
For school work, it was the final week for my projects; I had to hand it up that week. A lot of things had to be done and yet at the same time I had to prepare for my presentation. On Tuesday, I woke up feeling stressful at the start of the day due to work and financial issues. However, God brought a song to my remembrance, last Sunday we heard a new song called "Today is the day". I repeated this sentence in my heart saying that, "This is the day that the Lord has made, therefore I will rejoice and be glad in it." With peace in my heart, I walked towards a small corner in my room, looked up to the sky and I said, "God, you made this beautiful day for all of us. Each of us will have a beautiful day to begin with in our lives. Therefore, I believed that things will happen today and I am able to experience You for You have not created your children to suffer. You know what I am going through, and therefore, give me the revelation, the wisdom and the knowledge that I need to fulfill this day. All these things, I pray in Jesus name."
Next, an amazing thing happened, (it might sound shocking but it is the truth), once I opened the door, my mother came to me immediately and said, "Yesterday I went out with my sisters and they gave me some money, at the same time, your brother also got his year end bonus, therefore, I am giving you XXX amount of money." And this allowed me to survive at least for a week with my girlfriend. I cannot thank God enough to have my prayers answered within a split of a second.
Later that day, upon reaching my school, to my amazement, I managed to solve all the errors in my projects with my teammates with much greater ease compared to last week.
Seriously, sometimes we are depending too much on our own strength and neglected the power of our Almighty God. He is there for a reason. He is there to help us. Therefore, I will remind myself to be more conscious of His presence, in order to connect myself to Him who blesses all of us. Praise God!
Gary
God healed me of my flu
Isaiah 54:17, "17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper ..."
I was showing symptoms of flu two days ago. I was suffering from a running nose, a slight sore throat and my right nostril was blocked. Initially, I thought it was due to my lack of sleep; hence I did not see a doctor. Instead I drank loads of water and slept early, hoping that I will recover the next day. However, when I woke up in the morning, I continued to have the same symptoms and now with a little phlegm in my throat. I began to pray for healing and I kept praising God. I ate a flu medicine too. Slowly, I felt the healing working in me and I continued to praise Him. By late afternoon, I have fully recovered from my flu, even the phlegm was gone! Now I can fully concentrate on completing my projects and prepare for exams.
Thank God for His healing. God is our Healer.
Anonymous
I was showing symptoms of flu two days ago. I was suffering from a running nose, a slight sore throat and my right nostril was blocked. Initially, I thought it was due to my lack of sleep; hence I did not see a doctor. Instead I drank loads of water and slept early, hoping that I will recover the next day. However, when I woke up in the morning, I continued to have the same symptoms and now with a little phlegm in my throat. I began to pray for healing and I kept praising God. I ate a flu medicine too. Slowly, I felt the healing working in me and I continued to praise Him. By late afternoon, I have fully recovered from my flu, even the phlegm was gone! Now I can fully concentrate on completing my projects and prepare for exams.
Thank God for His healing. God is our Healer.
Anonymous
An ex gangster shared his life changing experience with me when I was a pre believer
Romans 2:4, “4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”
That day I managed to share my life changing story to one of my Malay colleague. It all started with some casual conversations between us while he was waiting outside my room to meet another colleague sitting in the room next to mine. He jokingly asked me whether I am happy. I replied him saying I am not only happy but also joyful. He corrected me saying happy and joyful meant the same thing but I told him happy depends on feelings and situations while joy is something that is consistent even in the face of trials and tribulations. I then started to explain how God came into my life and how I changed after being a Christian.
I was extremely careful with what I was sharing due to the sensitivity of our religion differences but I was also aware that when I share my life changing testimony, it is something non threatening and non debatable, as compared to theories and philosophy.
I thanked God for this opportunity to reach out to my colleague. This incident also brought to my remembrance how a Christian brother shared his life story in the same manner 10 years ago when I was still a pre believer.
Back then, I was working as a part time Sony sales promoter at SAFE superstore in Bishan Junction 8. During one of the work days, I happened to have lunch with another sales promoter working at the same outlet. At that time, I was not aware he was a Christian. We started to make casual conversation to find out a little more about each other over lunch. It was then when he started to share his life testimony with me. He told me how he used to participate in gang fights, drug parties in hotels behind closed doors, stealing etc. Then one day, God touched his heart during one of the evangelistic outreach at the Indoor Stadium which he attended. He told me at that point onwards, God began to change his life for the better. That night when he got home, the first thing he did was to look for his mother. When he saw her, he cried sorrowfully and hugged his bewildered mother, He then sincerely asked for her forgiveness for all the trouble and worries he had brought onto her for the past few years. His mother was shocked by her rebellious son’s actions but she being touched by her son’s repentance, started to shed tears of joy as well.
I was taken aback by this sales promoter story. I thought he was sharing something very personal with me and I could sense the joy in his tone as he narrates his story with sincerity. Most importantly, I was not a Christian then and I was not able to comprehend how he could turn over a new leaf in such a supernatural manner. I knew there was something good coming out of his life after he accepted Christ. His testimony started to get me pondering about this mysterious force and the reality of Jesus in this world. Somehow I know in my heart that there was something very special about this particular encounter with my colleague.
Years later, after becoming a Christian and learning more about God, I believed he was speaking to me under the anointing of the Holy Spirit during that time. God has used his testimony to catch my attention. I know my colleague had played a pivotal role in watering into my life. From this experience, I have also started to faithfully sow and water seeds of righteousness into other people’s life; desiring them to be touched by God in a supernatural way too. Praise God.
Steve
That day I managed to share my life changing story to one of my Malay colleague. It all started with some casual conversations between us while he was waiting outside my room to meet another colleague sitting in the room next to mine. He jokingly asked me whether I am happy. I replied him saying I am not only happy but also joyful. He corrected me saying happy and joyful meant the same thing but I told him happy depends on feelings and situations while joy is something that is consistent even in the face of trials and tribulations. I then started to explain how God came into my life and how I changed after being a Christian.
I was extremely careful with what I was sharing due to the sensitivity of our religion differences but I was also aware that when I share my life changing testimony, it is something non threatening and non debatable, as compared to theories and philosophy.
I thanked God for this opportunity to reach out to my colleague. This incident also brought to my remembrance how a Christian brother shared his life story in the same manner 10 years ago when I was still a pre believer.
Back then, I was working as a part time Sony sales promoter at SAFE superstore in Bishan Junction 8. During one of the work days, I happened to have lunch with another sales promoter working at the same outlet. At that time, I was not aware he was a Christian. We started to make casual conversation to find out a little more about each other over lunch. It was then when he started to share his life testimony with me. He told me how he used to participate in gang fights, drug parties in hotels behind closed doors, stealing etc. Then one day, God touched his heart during one of the evangelistic outreach at the Indoor Stadium which he attended. He told me at that point onwards, God began to change his life for the better. That night when he got home, the first thing he did was to look for his mother. When he saw her, he cried sorrowfully and hugged his bewildered mother, He then sincerely asked for her forgiveness for all the trouble and worries he had brought onto her for the past few years. His mother was shocked by her rebellious son’s actions but she being touched by her son’s repentance, started to shed tears of joy as well.
I was taken aback by this sales promoter story. I thought he was sharing something very personal with me and I could sense the joy in his tone as he narrates his story with sincerity. Most importantly, I was not a Christian then and I was not able to comprehend how he could turn over a new leaf in such a supernatural manner. I knew there was something good coming out of his life after he accepted Christ. His testimony started to get me pondering about this mysterious force and the reality of Jesus in this world. Somehow I know in my heart that there was something very special about this particular encounter with my colleague.
Years later, after becoming a Christian and learning more about God, I believed he was speaking to me under the anointing of the Holy Spirit during that time. God has used his testimony to catch my attention. I know my colleague had played a pivotal role in watering into my life. From this experience, I have also started to faithfully sow and water seeds of righteousness into other people’s life; desiring them to be touched by God in a supernatural way too. Praise God.
Steve
My challenges in stepping out to receive the healing of God
This is a continuation of the healing testimony that I have written earlier: I received healing on my skin after months of skin irritation. There is something more which I have learnt from this experience. I believe every time a person decides to obey or step out of his comfort zone for God; be it for personal blessing or doing the works of God, he will grow in the knowledge of God as a result of his act of obedience.
As I was contemplating in my heart to step out to the front of the church to receive my healing that Sunday if my pastor asked for the sick to step out, there were thoughts that were discouraging me to do that; even as I was worshipping the Lord at the start of the church service with the expectations of receiving the healing later. Thoughts like: “If I step out, would people start to think why I had such a big problem that I need to be prayed over by the pastor? What was so grave that I couldn’t solve it myself? What if I was the only one to step out?”
Being a leader in church, thoughts even crept in like, “What if the church members think: “How could a leader step out to receive healing? Shouldn’t he be qualified enough to believe for healing? Is he qualified to even lead then?”
They could be my thoughts or they could be thoughts put into my mind by the devil. Regardless of the source, they were clearly trying to prevent me from receiving God’s best. Looking back, such thoughts might not be what people really think after all. However I could recognize the resistance of the flesh as I was contemplating.
Then when I have decided in my heart to step out to receive my healing, other thoughts started coming in, “What if nothing happens? What if the pastors prayed so fervently and I do not see any effect? What if I did not fall under the power of God? What if I really did fall and how long should I lie down? Would I look stupid” Again, I think all these thoughts revolve around human performance. These thoughts are not Christ driven.
2 Corinthians 10:5, “5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”
My desire was pure and I just want to get healed. I asked myself if getting healed is more important than my pride in not surrendering to God and stepping out of the crowd. The answer was yes. As a leader, I thought I should even set an example to show my members, especially the younger Christians that it was perfectly fine to step out to receive things of God through Pastor’s laying of hands; because I knew some of the members might feel shy in this area given our culture. To lead by example was a secondary part of my intention of stepping out as well.
As Pastor Amos puts it, humility is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. Surrendering to God brings blessing. In this case, I gave up my pride to receive my healing. Thank you Jesus.
Steve
As I was contemplating in my heart to step out to the front of the church to receive my healing that Sunday if my pastor asked for the sick to step out, there were thoughts that were discouraging me to do that; even as I was worshipping the Lord at the start of the church service with the expectations of receiving the healing later. Thoughts like: “If I step out, would people start to think why I had such a big problem that I need to be prayed over by the pastor? What was so grave that I couldn’t solve it myself? What if I was the only one to step out?”
Being a leader in church, thoughts even crept in like, “What if the church members think: “How could a leader step out to receive healing? Shouldn’t he be qualified enough to believe for healing? Is he qualified to even lead then?”
They could be my thoughts or they could be thoughts put into my mind by the devil. Regardless of the source, they were clearly trying to prevent me from receiving God’s best. Looking back, such thoughts might not be what people really think after all. However I could recognize the resistance of the flesh as I was contemplating.
Then when I have decided in my heart to step out to receive my healing, other thoughts started coming in, “What if nothing happens? What if the pastors prayed so fervently and I do not see any effect? What if I did not fall under the power of God? What if I really did fall and how long should I lie down? Would I look stupid” Again, I think all these thoughts revolve around human performance. These thoughts are not Christ driven.
2 Corinthians 10:5, “5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”
My desire was pure and I just want to get healed. I asked myself if getting healed is more important than my pride in not surrendering to God and stepping out of the crowd. The answer was yes. As a leader, I thought I should even set an example to show my members, especially the younger Christians that it was perfectly fine to step out to receive things of God through Pastor’s laying of hands; because I knew some of the members might feel shy in this area given our culture. To lead by example was a secondary part of my intention of stepping out as well.
As Pastor Amos puts it, humility is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. Surrendering to God brings blessing. In this case, I gave up my pride to receive my healing. Thank you Jesus.
Steve
I received healing on my skin after months of skin irritation
Isaiah 53:4-5, “4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
I have a problem with skin irritation when I was very young. It was very bad because I would keep scratching myself and my skin would turn very raw. However this problem went away when I sort of grew out of it around the age of 18 years old. On and off, I might still have this problem coming back but it is easily cured after applying some medicine. Recently, after many years later, this skin problem came back. This time, I tried to apply medicine and even changed my body foam but it just got worse and worse over a period of a few months.
Initially I refused to see the doctor and kept believing that God could heal me even though my wife kept asking me to seek medical advice. At that point in time, the degree of faith in God that I had in this particular area was not strong. Mainly because I thought this skin problem would soon go away given time and after all I have lived with it for most part of my younger days. I kept telling my wife it is ok and not to worry so much.
However recently, I realized that my body got so itchy that I kept scratching myself. Sometimes the itch was so bad that I would even scratch myself out of sleep. Sleeping under air conditioning also does not really help much. Not only did I disturb my wife’s sleep, my bed sheet was stained with blood here and there due to broken skin. Finally I recognized the seriousness of the condition and decided to see the doctor.
The doctor looked at me, gave me a pack of oral medication told me to monitor my situation. If it got bad, he would refer my to the dermatologists and take my skin sample for analysis. When I asked for medicine to apply on my body, he said there is no point since I would use up the tube in a few short days due to the amount of body area to apply.
I remembered that I saw the doctor on a Saturday and that was when I took the first dose of medication. That night, that itch was one of the worst I have experienced so far, I kept waking up many times in the night from scratching. This was when I told myself, “This is it. It has gone over the limit. I am very sick of scratching all day long and all night long and I want to sleep well at night again. I now truly want this skin problem to be solved and I do not want to spend any more unnecessary money to see a skin specialist or to get my skin samples analyzed.”
The following morning, I knew Pastor Amos would be praying for the sick during the service. That morning, I went church with the full intention of allowing him to pray over me if he calls for the sick to be prayed over as well as with the expectation that my skin will be healed and that I would not scratch anymore at night. Two things I clearly knew were, firstly it was God’s desire for His children to walk in divine health as it was written in the bible. Secondly my pastors’ hearts were pure and their faith in the area of healing was strong. God would surely give them the anointing to pray over the sick.
James 5:14-15, “14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
With that in mind, I am expecting God to show up.
When the church service started, we sang a new song, “Today is the day!” I sang my heart out as if today will be the day I will receive my healing. I sang my heart out as if today is the day I no longer scratches at night. I desired badly to be healed and I expect healing to take place. Towards the end of the church service, Pastor Amos asked for people who wanted healing to step out. I walked out immediately with my eyes closed and my hands slightly lifted, waiting for Pastor Amos and Pastor Oon to pray over me. They laid hands over me and I fell down naturally. As I lie on the ground, I felt good and I knew that I have received something in me, something spiritual has happened. It was not long before I stood up again and returned to my seat.
Although when I looked at my skin and the problem was still there. I believed my skin will heal rapidly moving forward. That very same night, I went to sleep with the confidence that I would not scratch myself up anymore. True enough it came to pass. I continued my medication and my skin is healing rapidly. Even days after that, I still enjoyed my sleep. When I find myself starting to scratch a little again, I would confess “By the stripes of Jesus, I am healed” and I would thank God for the healing he has done for me. Each time I do that, the itch stopped. Praise God and a big thank you to You, Jesus!
Steve
I have a problem with skin irritation when I was very young. It was very bad because I would keep scratching myself and my skin would turn very raw. However this problem went away when I sort of grew out of it around the age of 18 years old. On and off, I might still have this problem coming back but it is easily cured after applying some medicine. Recently, after many years later, this skin problem came back. This time, I tried to apply medicine and even changed my body foam but it just got worse and worse over a period of a few months.
Initially I refused to see the doctor and kept believing that God could heal me even though my wife kept asking me to seek medical advice. At that point in time, the degree of faith in God that I had in this particular area was not strong. Mainly because I thought this skin problem would soon go away given time and after all I have lived with it for most part of my younger days. I kept telling my wife it is ok and not to worry so much.
However recently, I realized that my body got so itchy that I kept scratching myself. Sometimes the itch was so bad that I would even scratch myself out of sleep. Sleeping under air conditioning also does not really help much. Not only did I disturb my wife’s sleep, my bed sheet was stained with blood here and there due to broken skin. Finally I recognized the seriousness of the condition and decided to see the doctor.
The doctor looked at me, gave me a pack of oral medication told me to monitor my situation. If it got bad, he would refer my to the dermatologists and take my skin sample for analysis. When I asked for medicine to apply on my body, he said there is no point since I would use up the tube in a few short days due to the amount of body area to apply.
I remembered that I saw the doctor on a Saturday and that was when I took the first dose of medication. That night, that itch was one of the worst I have experienced so far, I kept waking up many times in the night from scratching. This was when I told myself, “This is it. It has gone over the limit. I am very sick of scratching all day long and all night long and I want to sleep well at night again. I now truly want this skin problem to be solved and I do not want to spend any more unnecessary money to see a skin specialist or to get my skin samples analyzed.”
The following morning, I knew Pastor Amos would be praying for the sick during the service. That morning, I went church with the full intention of allowing him to pray over me if he calls for the sick to be prayed over as well as with the expectation that my skin will be healed and that I would not scratch anymore at night. Two things I clearly knew were, firstly it was God’s desire for His children to walk in divine health as it was written in the bible. Secondly my pastors’ hearts were pure and their faith in the area of healing was strong. God would surely give them the anointing to pray over the sick.
James 5:14-15, “14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
With that in mind, I am expecting God to show up.
When the church service started, we sang a new song, “Today is the day!” I sang my heart out as if today will be the day I will receive my healing. I sang my heart out as if today is the day I no longer scratches at night. I desired badly to be healed and I expect healing to take place. Towards the end of the church service, Pastor Amos asked for people who wanted healing to step out. I walked out immediately with my eyes closed and my hands slightly lifted, waiting for Pastor Amos and Pastor Oon to pray over me. They laid hands over me and I fell down naturally. As I lie on the ground, I felt good and I knew that I have received something in me, something spiritual has happened. It was not long before I stood up again and returned to my seat.
Although when I looked at my skin and the problem was still there. I believed my skin will heal rapidly moving forward. That very same night, I went to sleep with the confidence that I would not scratch myself up anymore. True enough it came to pass. I continued my medication and my skin is healing rapidly. Even days after that, I still enjoyed my sleep. When I find myself starting to scratch a little again, I would confess “By the stripes of Jesus, I am healed” and I would thank God for the healing he has done for me. Each time I do that, the itch stopped. Praise God and a big thank you to You, Jesus!
Steve
The joy of a new believer!
This is an exerpt from the blog from one of our newly converted members
Li Xian was salvaged on 02 August 2009 =)
many may think that its an impulsive decision; but its not. =)
The main reason 'why' - I felt comfortable.
After all that had happened for the past few years, I've decided; This, is it. =)
It's definitely a tough decision at first; But I thought, I'll just follow what my heart tells me. And, yes, this, is it.
Thank you Princess for the Bible! =)
This, would be my first entry, in my entire life, blogging, and Thanking God, for everything. Really.
*happy*
Praise God!
Li Xian was salvaged on 02 August 2009 =)
many may think that its an impulsive decision; but its not. =)
The main reason 'why' - I felt comfortable.
After all that had happened for the past few years, I've decided; This, is it. =)
It's definitely a tough decision at first; But I thought, I'll just follow what my heart tells me. And, yes, this, is it.
Thank you Princess for the Bible! =)
This, would be my first entry, in my entire life, blogging, and Thanking God, for everything. Really.
*happy*
Praise God!
I managed to share the gospel with my colleague through MSN
Isaiah 55:11, “11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
This month was supposed to the 7th Month Hungry Ghost festival accordingly to and secular beliefs. My company has organized a ritual to pray to the “ghosts” in return for peace and protection during this period of time. Being a Christian, I pointed out to my HR that I do not want to get involved. However my HR manager insisted that I must attend the prayer session even if I do not participate in it. She said that this is a company policy. Reluctantly I obeyed her instructions. Deep down in my heart, I felt sad that my colleagues are all fervently going to pray to the “ghosts” and not Jesus. Perhaps no one has shared the gospel with them.
When I got home, I gave my MSN a nickname “真的不明白” which means “Really don’t understand”. While I was surfing the net, one of my colleagues was also online and she got curious by my nickname. So she decided to ask me why I gave myself such a nickname. I told her if she has ever wondered why people would rather pray to the dead spirit and not to the living God, who can bless them instead? As the conversation continues, this topic actually led me to share the gospel with her. I was overjoyed because I have been looking for opportunities to share the gospel with my colleagues. I also referred her to His Harvest Church blog to let her read about all the blessings that our members have received.
I pray that God will eventually touch her in a way that she will come to the knowledge of God and receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior. I have released the Word of God through my mouth and I believe that Word of God that I have shared with her will deposit in her spirit somewhere and somehow for it is written:
Isaiah 55:11, “11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Lena
This month was supposed to the 7th Month Hungry Ghost festival accordingly to and secular beliefs. My company has organized a ritual to pray to the “ghosts” in return for peace and protection during this period of time. Being a Christian, I pointed out to my HR that I do not want to get involved. However my HR manager insisted that I must attend the prayer session even if I do not participate in it. She said that this is a company policy. Reluctantly I obeyed her instructions. Deep down in my heart, I felt sad that my colleagues are all fervently going to pray to the “ghosts” and not Jesus. Perhaps no one has shared the gospel with them.
When I got home, I gave my MSN a nickname “真的不明白” which means “Really don’t understand”. While I was surfing the net, one of my colleagues was also online and she got curious by my nickname. So she decided to ask me why I gave myself such a nickname. I told her if she has ever wondered why people would rather pray to the dead spirit and not to the living God, who can bless them instead? As the conversation continues, this topic actually led me to share the gospel with her. I was overjoyed because I have been looking for opportunities to share the gospel with my colleagues. I also referred her to His Harvest Church blog to let her read about all the blessings that our members have received.
I pray that God will eventually touch her in a way that she will come to the knowledge of God and receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior. I have released the Word of God through my mouth and I believe that Word of God that I have shared with her will deposit in her spirit somewhere and somehow for it is written:
Isaiah 55:11, “11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Lena
Saying grace over my food gave me an opportunity to share the gospel
Colossians 4:3-6, “3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak (proclaim it clearly). 5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time (make the most of every opportunity). 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
There are proactive and reactive evangelism. The below is an example of proactive evangelism.
I was having lunch with a new colleague of mine the other day. After the food was served, I bowed my head to say grace over my food. This colleague then asked me whether if I was a Catholic or a Christian. I said I was a Christian. Taking this as a door of opportunity, I requested her permission to share how I became a Christian six years ago. She agreed and I managed to sow some seeds into her life.
Steve
There are proactive and reactive evangelism. The below is an example of proactive evangelism.
I was having lunch with a new colleague of mine the other day. After the food was served, I bowed my head to say grace over my food. This colleague then asked me whether if I was a Catholic or a Christian. I said I was a Christian. Taking this as a door of opportunity, I requested her permission to share how I became a Christian six years ago. She agreed and I managed to sow some seeds into her life.
Steve
I was not able to explain why I became a Christian clearly
1 Peter 3:15, “15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness (gentleness) and fear (respect);”
There are proactive and reactive evangelism. The below is an example of reactive evangelism.
I remembered when I was younger in Christ, I was posed by a close friend of mine asking me why I became a Christian. This presented an excellent opportunity to share the gospel with my friend but at that point in time, I was not prepared to answer him. I was tongue tied and was not able to explain to him clearly. I gave a very vague answer and brushed the topic aside. Subsequently, I did not feel good about the way I handled the chance.
The Lord later led me to read 1 Peter 3:15 to remind me to start thinking how to relate to my friends when I was posed the similar questions again. I realized I need to spend time thinking about what and how God has blessed me and how I could convey my testimony to people around me clearly when opportunities arise again. The principle is the same as how I market my products to my customers in my secular marketing role.
Steve
There are proactive and reactive evangelism. The below is an example of reactive evangelism.
I remembered when I was younger in Christ, I was posed by a close friend of mine asking me why I became a Christian. This presented an excellent opportunity to share the gospel with my friend but at that point in time, I was not prepared to answer him. I was tongue tied and was not able to explain to him clearly. I gave a very vague answer and brushed the topic aside. Subsequently, I did not feel good about the way I handled the chance.
The Lord later led me to read 1 Peter 3:15 to remind me to start thinking how to relate to my friends when I was posed the similar questions again. I realized I need to spend time thinking about what and how God has blessed me and how I could convey my testimony to people around me clearly when opportunities arise again. The principle is the same as how I market my products to my customers in my secular marketing role.
Steve
Friday, July 31, 2009
A lesson on faith, prayer and God's goodness
Proverbs 3:4, “4 And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.”
Frankly speaking, I do not really practise any faith or do prayers often. I seem to believe only in myself until this incident. I just finished my test in school but I had a few problems with answering some of the questions. Nevertheless I still wanted to top the class, deep in my heart. Unfortunately when I checked whether I have answered the questions in my test correctly, I was really disappointed with my answers. With my expectation to excel and top the class, I doubt I would be able to make it. Perhaps I should have prayed before I do the test or even as I was preparing for it. All these while, Jesus did not cross my mind.
After 3 weeks of school vacation, I did not know why but I started to pray the night before school reopened. I remembered the test that I previous wanted to do well and I just started praying to get good results earnestly and wholeheartedly.
The next morning, every classmate was expecting to receive their result anxiously particularly me. My lecturer came and showed us an excel file with our results. To my huge surprise, I got the highest score. I was extremely elated and grateful to God! With my result, I was even presented with a prize from my lecturer as a bonus. This prize was not even mentioned earlier.
Looking back, I did well in my test and even received an unexpected prize. I thank Jesus for answering my prayer as well as for His mercy and grace. After all, I did not do as badly as I thought it would be. Probably God had given me the favor of my lecturer as what was written in Proverbs 3:4. I believe God, being my spiritual Father, wanted me to have a fore taste of His goodness despite my passiveness in getting closer to Him. He answered my earnest prayer this time but in future, I have better learn to exercise my faith in a more proper way. That is to do my humanly best in preparing for my test and then pray for God to give me the wisdom that I need before I do my test.
JT
Frankly speaking, I do not really practise any faith or do prayers often. I seem to believe only in myself until this incident. I just finished my test in school but I had a few problems with answering some of the questions. Nevertheless I still wanted to top the class, deep in my heart. Unfortunately when I checked whether I have answered the questions in my test correctly, I was really disappointed with my answers. With my expectation to excel and top the class, I doubt I would be able to make it. Perhaps I should have prayed before I do the test or even as I was preparing for it. All these while, Jesus did not cross my mind.
After 3 weeks of school vacation, I did not know why but I started to pray the night before school reopened. I remembered the test that I previous wanted to do well and I just started praying to get good results earnestly and wholeheartedly.
The next morning, every classmate was expecting to receive their result anxiously particularly me. My lecturer came and showed us an excel file with our results. To my huge surprise, I got the highest score. I was extremely elated and grateful to God! With my result, I was even presented with a prize from my lecturer as a bonus. This prize was not even mentioned earlier.
Looking back, I did well in my test and even received an unexpected prize. I thank Jesus for answering my prayer as well as for His mercy and grace. After all, I did not do as badly as I thought it would be. Probably God had given me the favor of my lecturer as what was written in Proverbs 3:4. I believe God, being my spiritual Father, wanted me to have a fore taste of His goodness despite my passiveness in getting closer to Him. He answered my earnest prayer this time but in future, I have better learn to exercise my faith in a more proper way. That is to do my humanly best in preparing for my test and then pray for God to give me the wisdom that I need before I do my test.
JT
God taught me to stay contented while waiting upon Him through my career
Philippians 4:11-13, “11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
After working for a couple of years in the private sector, I began to be curious how much my peers were earning now particularly in the public sector. So I began to check it out. While it was interesting to keep up to date the development of my friends and knowing that they were doing well in their respective career, it was to my dismay, I was not as well paid as them. I met up with a headhunter and through our discussion; she too felt that I should be earning around 10 to 15% higher than my current package. I felt shortchanged by my company. It has been close to 2.5 years in my existing company and my pay has not been raised to a level that I am satisfied. It does not really help when I am losing my passion in my current role. I began set in my heart to start seeking other jobs proactively by searching for new opportunities in the papers. However, my heart just does not feel right with it. There was no peace.
Soon there was a re organization in the company which led me to a new role with a new boss. My new job title reflected a promotion and so I thought it would be a good opportunity to ask for a pay raise. However I found myself to be disappointed for I was informed that my new job title was a just a change in job designation; no raise will be given. However I would like to admit that this new role actually did inject a new lease of motivation in me, which was painfully needed, despite no monetary gains.
Just that day, Pastor Amos preached about a period of transition as God plans to move you from one place to another where you just wait on the Lord even though there is no answer to your prayers. Thoughts of discontentment sometimes come to derail you from a supposed path that God wants you to take. This spoke to my heart. A week before that, one of our church leaders, Rajan, also taught on our own desire vs God’s desire for our life. It dawned on me that I have been too prideful and not contented with what I have now. I have been seeking around to justify for a higher pay because I felt unfairly compensated and possibly just being competitive. Probably God wants me to stay in the current job a little longer for there might be a bigger plan waiting for me in the near future. Although it is not wrong to desire for a higher pay, it seems like my motivation for doing so is not right and pure.
In the meantime, I will continue to do my best and fulfill my duty to my company but at the same time learn to be content as Paul shared in Philippians 4:11-13, while I wait upon the Lord.
Anonymous
After working for a couple of years in the private sector, I began to be curious how much my peers were earning now particularly in the public sector. So I began to check it out. While it was interesting to keep up to date the development of my friends and knowing that they were doing well in their respective career, it was to my dismay, I was not as well paid as them. I met up with a headhunter and through our discussion; she too felt that I should be earning around 10 to 15% higher than my current package. I felt shortchanged by my company. It has been close to 2.5 years in my existing company and my pay has not been raised to a level that I am satisfied. It does not really help when I am losing my passion in my current role. I began set in my heart to start seeking other jobs proactively by searching for new opportunities in the papers. However, my heart just does not feel right with it. There was no peace.
Soon there was a re organization in the company which led me to a new role with a new boss. My new job title reflected a promotion and so I thought it would be a good opportunity to ask for a pay raise. However I found myself to be disappointed for I was informed that my new job title was a just a change in job designation; no raise will be given. However I would like to admit that this new role actually did inject a new lease of motivation in me, which was painfully needed, despite no monetary gains.
Just that day, Pastor Amos preached about a period of transition as God plans to move you from one place to another where you just wait on the Lord even though there is no answer to your prayers. Thoughts of discontentment sometimes come to derail you from a supposed path that God wants you to take. This spoke to my heart. A week before that, one of our church leaders, Rajan, also taught on our own desire vs God’s desire for our life. It dawned on me that I have been too prideful and not contented with what I have now. I have been seeking around to justify for a higher pay because I felt unfairly compensated and possibly just being competitive. Probably God wants me to stay in the current job a little longer for there might be a bigger plan waiting for me in the near future. Although it is not wrong to desire for a higher pay, it seems like my motivation for doing so is not right and pure.
In the meantime, I will continue to do my best and fulfill my duty to my company but at the same time learn to be content as Paul shared in Philippians 4:11-13, while I wait upon the Lord.
Anonymous
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