This is My Father's World

2 Cor 8:9
For you know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich,
yet for your sakes
he became poor,
so that you
through his poverty
might become rich.

Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then is it no more of works:
otherwise grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works,
then it is no more grace:
otherwise work is no more work.

2 Cor 9:7-10
7Each man should give what he has decided
in his heart to give, not reluctantly or
under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

8And God is able to make
all grace abound to you,
so that in all things at all times,
having all that you need,
you will abound in every good work.

9As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."

10Now he who supplies seed to the sower
and bread for food will also
supply and increase
your store of seed and will
enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

11You will be made rich in every way
so that you can be generous
on every occasion,
and through us your generosity
will result in thanksgiving to God.

That day, I was telling some friends when I wanted something
which I cannot afford or I don't want to pay for it,
I would normally ask for it ...
and it would be given to me ... it usually comes ...
just a matter of time ... either by then I can afford it ... or
it comes FOC ... or as gift for me ...

then I cited my flat and my car ...

it was to their amazement ... these are bigger tickets items

yes, indeed our first flat for fully paid almost without much effort
for one thing the deductions from our cpf accounts were not noticeable at all
for we did not even take a second look at it ...
and one day, we received a letter and our flat's titledeed with it
saying that our flat was fully paid ... how we thanked the Lord for
His faithfulness!
It was just in a matter of 4yrs and 4yrs seemed so fast!
If I am not wrong it was more than SGD100K then!
It was more than 10years ago already ... looking back I really see grace ...
truely, pure grace ... we did not even cast our eyes on the loan repayment
of the flat at all ...

the other item was our first car ... which cost equally much ...
when we bought it, it was SGD81K then not inclusive of instalment interest yet
(more than 10years ago cars were that expensive)
paid the deposit of SGD20k and the balance on monthly instalment
hubby received 2 pay rise in that year ... one before the car's arrival
another after taking the ownership of the car ...
which just about covered the
monthly instalment for the car
if I am not wrong, we chose a 7yr instalment plan ...
but within one year,
we had a huge profit from one of our transactions
and the car was paid in full a total of SGD91k (with instalment interest)
and we had the car for free (sort of) without any worries of monthly instalment

I really see grace in the purchase of these 2 items ...

Abba Father provided us with the favours, the increments and
the profits in transactions ...

now we are into our 2nd car and our 2nd flat
the second car costs less than our first car and the 2nd flat which costs more than five times our former flat
and we are servicing the car instalment and housing loans ...

wait ... wait a minute ...

are not these 2 items also gifts in answer to my prayers from Abba?

hello Abba ... since these 2 are gifts from You too ...
I don't think we should be paying for them as in
literally working our sweat out
to service them ...
I think the instalments will be done pretty soon by His grace ...
but still ... a gift is a gift ...

I am now going to take the "Take no care",
"no worries" approach as before
take my hands off these gifts
and see the provision of my Abba
by His grace these items are indeed gifts from the Almighty

just like we handled the first 2 gifts earlier ...
enjoying life, working, travelling and having fun ...
never even think about the financial commitments
we were in

as in the words of my pastor
"God does not know how to give small gifts to His children,
He always supercedes what we ask of Him"

from the above scriptures, God also gives us grace
to give and to bless others
and He will indeed enlarge the harvest of our righteousness
righteousness attracts all the blessings of God and this world

whatever we need perhaps we sow a seed in that area
by His grace this little seed sown in prayer and in love
will indeed produce a huge oversized harvest both in quality and
in quantity

I am writing to parents also, if children are
a gift and a blessing from the Lord
then it is His duty to provide us the means, wisdom and ability to raise them up
and to enjoy them as well

Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the LORD brings wealth,
and he adds no trouble to it.

The blessing of the LORD,
it maketh rich,
and he addeth no sorrow with it.

The Lord's blessing is our greatest wealth.
All our works add nothing to it.


I choose to receive His blessings by grace, how about you?

I choose to continuously thank Him for His faithfulness in our lives
and all our gifts from Him are fully paid by Him
we need not have to fret over them or quarrel over them
especially when they arrived in answer to our prayers
or our declarations

how about you?

show God our faith by simply letting go
and not worrying about it
and He will show us our miracle!

sometimes faith is just simply not worrying over the things
that we might have been worrying over for a long time ... even money ...

wake up, smell the flowers He has created for us ...
this is our Father's world!

His children get to enjoy it free ...
Jesus has paid the price for it too ...
this earth is twice owned by Him ...
anddddd we areeeee innnnnn Himmmmmmmm

If the greatest gift, salvation, to mankind is given to us
is free by His grace
how much more the other lesser gifts?

Think think ... it just occurred to me to rethink about His goodness ...

hee hee

my thanksgiving list
1. my flats,
(now I am asking for a real good property,
complete with swimming pool and other games that I like,
I have already named them (even the name of the property) to Him,
I dun mind listing here when He gives I will update you,
don't any of you give me,
He will give me supernaturally
a close fren or relative is claiming an island asset for herself and for me
well, I said amen to that too!)
2. my cars, (He ever said He is able to give me
the most expensive one in one worship service.
in another service much earlier
He actually showed me a sports car when I kneeled in church
and demanded from Him a car for the family)
3. my handphone last year was abt SGD400plus
when I just saw it and I asked the Lord to give it to me free ...
and ... it became zero dollar in a couple of months with two-year subscription!
I think I am going to have another free mobile phone in December ...
someone upgrading his and giving me free, he likes my handphone in exchange ...
4. my fans (I only wanted to get one additional fan at that time a wall fan for my room,
and I received two - one wall fan and one floor fan and
one more recently, so many that I had to give one away)
5. my computer (always free from my relative when
he upgrades his every year almost)
maybe Abba knows I like to blog ...
or share His word with others ... I think I only spent
my money on a computer monitor ...
okay maybe on ink cartridges as well sometimes ...
even the internet line is greatly subsidised ...
6. many holidays which He gave us back the money
we spent plus some extra in forms of bonuses
even in odd months where we don't usually expect to receive bonuses ...
the most recent one was SGD XX,XXX ...
that is why we published the book to celebrate His goodness unto us!

I am a child of the Most High, my Father's name is El Shaddai ... not El Cheapo ..

so blessed!

God is no respector of persons,
if God can do for us, He can also do for you!

Just claim it ... no need to be jealous ...
that is my reaction when I see others very blessed of God
I rejoice with them ...
and I just tell Him if I ever wanted such blessing
no need to covet what others have ...
just ask and it shall be given ... if we really desire...
He will indeed give us the desires of our hearts ... really
He is that good!

Shortly posting this yesterday,
we went for breakfast
when we came back
we saw a Sports version of a Mercedes Benz
entering the carpark in front of our car
it was a cool 2-seater
and we took a peep at the driver
it was an older lady in her mid 60s in makeup and wearing sunglasses
there was another such lady waiting for her to stop the car
and she got into the car
it was such a lovely sight
we seldom see older ladies driving here, far less one driving a sports car
my heart rejoices for her and her friend (or relative?)
lovely car and lovely companion ... what a pleasant combination ... what a lovely sight!


I stumbled across these verses

Luke 11
34 YOUR EYES LIGHT UP YOUR INWARD BEING.
A PURE EYE LETS SUNSHINE INTO YOUR SOUL.
A LUSTFUL EYE SHUTS OUT THE LIGHT
AND PLUNGES YOU INTO DARKNESS.

35 SO WATCH OUT THAT THE SUNSHINE ISN'T BLOTTED OUT.

36 IF YOU ARE FILLED WITH LIGHT WITHIN, WITH NO DARK CORNERS,
THEN YOUR FACE WILL BE RADIANT TOO,
AS THOUGH A FLOODLIGHT IS BEAMED ON YOU."

I checked out the meaning of "lust" in the greek translation ... it means "evil"
not a craving after things that are good ...
lustful means evil ...

Eg. David lusted after Bathesheba (when she was somebody's wife) ... this is evil

When the Lord reprimanded David, He said to David that David could ask Him for more
"wives or concubines" and He would give to him ...
David need not have to lust after another man's wife ... now that is evil ...

there is a difference between wanting what belongs to the Jones
and asking Abba Father for things that seemed good to us ... that the Jones have ...
not asking Abba Father to get those Jones' stuff for us but get us brand new ones ...
lusting after what the Jones' have is likened to wanting their golden retreiver dog Boxer
but asking Abba Father for a golden retreiver dog for our own is not lusting ...

I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit for helping me shed some light into this truth.

After all being said and done, our eyes should be fixed on Jesus, the One
who made all things possible for us.

HE took all the curses away from our lives
so that we only gets the blessings ... and blessings after blessings manifest in our lives
as we focus on Him the Giver of Life, the Blesser ... we are the Blessed Ones
because we are in the Beloved of the Father
and the Father revealed to me ... that the heavens were opened unto Jesus ...
when Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist ...
and the heavens are always opened unto Jesus until now
and WE are in HIM JESUS , halleluYAH!
so the heavens are opened unto us!

do you know what it means to have heavens opened unto you?

that means you prosper in WHATEVER YOU DO
that means you are a delightsome land
that means you are ever so joyful and delightful to be around with too
that means you are also so happy to be yourself
that means you can indeed be a blessing to those you love ...
not just physical presence only
by materially blessing them, financially blessing them,
emotionally blessing them ...

remember we are IN CHRIST THE BELOVED OF THE FATHER ...
the heavens are opened unto CHRIST JESUS ...
and so unto us because we are IN HIM!

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law
therefore Christ has redeemed us from sickness, from poverty, from bondages, from confusion
therefore I am healthy, rich, free and of sound mind!

Thank you Jesus!

I will Iook after you, multiply you and fulfil My covenant with you

Leviticus 26

9 “I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you.

10 You will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest!

and our part is : Let Him

Praise the Lord!

kekekeke

U and I are very close

Yesterday Nov20,2007, I heard the Lord talking to me
in Singapore English (Singlish), it was very interesting how He talked
and what He said:

“dun let others talk 2 u as if u dunno how to find Me.
U and I are very close one …
wat u must do tis u must do tat???
wat u must say tis u must say tat???
u and I are in relationship…
closer than any other relationships becos I AM in u …
u tink I dunno abt u and wat u need meh?
Dun let your heart believe
that I am very far away from you K?”

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him:
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

My father-in-law is even better …
when I asked him to pray
asking God for such and such …
he would tell me, 'Jesus is in my heart
I dun even need to pray …
He knows all my needs and even knows what I think …
when my spectacles' lens got loosed from the frame
in a worship service...
in my heart I said :
“there is no point adjusting the transparency
making clearer the wordings on the screen …
as I can’t even see clearly … "
He heard me and restored my eyesight back to me.
Now I don’t need to wear spectacles when I go
to church to worship Him'

One Thousand Dollar Note

Genesis 1

26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.



Genesis 2

7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Romans 8
9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

2 Corinthians 5

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:


so I asked the Lord after I heard someone comparing us to a thousand dollar note and thereafter to a piece of white paper ...

He told me: "I have never said you are worthless ... in fact, you are likened to the pearl of great price, when the merchant (my Son) found it, he sold everything just to buy you ... "

My Breath is in you, and what's more? My Spirit is now in you, the new creation ... my beloved child ... how can you be worthless?

we are precious in God's sight so precious that He is willing to send Heaven's best
His very own Son Jesus to die for us and to give us His kind of life!

we are twice as precious ... one His breath is in us ... two His Spirit is in our heart ...

Thank you Jesus!

Thank you Abba God!

with Him Freely give us All Things

Romans 8

28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?


say to these things : " If God be for us, who can be against us? "

these things : our defeat, our enemies, our despair, our discouragement, our pains, our sicknesses, our losses, our failures....

say to these things
" If God be for us, who can be against us? "

freely give :

1) to do something pleasant or agreeable (to one), to do a favour to, gratify
a) to show one's self gracious, kind, benevolent
b) to grant forgiveness, to pardon
c) to give graciously, give freely, bestow
1) to forgive
2) graciously to restore one to another
3) to preserve for one a person in peril

freely give us all things ... graciously give us all things ...

freely freely freely

this is His Word.

how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

You shall go out with joy

Song

You shall go out with joy and be lead forth with peace
the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you
there'll be shouts of joy
and all the trees of the fields
will clap will clap their hands ...


You shall go out with joy and be lead forth with peace
the mountains and the hills (problems, obstacles, enemies)
shall break forth (flee from) before you
there'll be shouts of joy
and all the trees (children of God) of the fields
will clap will clap their hands ...

Know the Grace ...You ...might become Rich

2 Cor 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Close your eyes and see our loving saviour on the Cross dying just for you.
This is how much Jesus loves us.

May grace flow in every area of our lives ... worry-free ... just trusting Him for the very very best.

For God has put everything in subjection under Jesus' feet.

We too should do likewise, PUT EVERYTHING UNDER JESUS' FEET,
our cares, our sorrows, our children's success, our lack and our finances, our sickness and our health, our friends and our enemies, our colleagues, our relatives, our life and ministries, our hopes and our disappointments.
EVERYTHING! in subjection under His feet ...

it is almost impossible to live a Christian life without a life of submission unto the Saviour who loves us, it is almost impossible to live a victorious Christian life except in submission to the Lamb of God.

Listen for and to His voice everyday, He is the good shepherd of the sheep. A good shepherd guides the sheep daily, each and every fresh new day, may we walk with our shepherd in His guidance and His leading.


1 Corinthians 15

24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.

26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

27 For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.

28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.



Let the Lord be magnified who delights in the prosperity of His servant.


Psalm 35:27
Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the LORD be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”


Yes! Let the LORD be magnified, magnified, magnified.

The blessing of Abraham, Father of Nations, the blessing of Sarah, Mother of Nations

Gen 17:2-4a,5-6
I WILL PREPARE A CONTRACT BETWEEN US, GUARANTEEING TO MAKE YOU INTO A MIGHTY NATION. IN FACT YOU SHALL BE THE FATHER OF NOT ONLY ONE NATION, BUT A MULTITUDE OF NATIONS!" .... 'ABRAHAM' (Father of Nations') - FOR THAT IS WHAT YOU WILL BE, I HAVE DECLARED IT. I WILL GIVE YOU MILLIONS OF DESCENDANTS WHO WILL FORM MANY NATIONS! KINGS SHALL BE AMONG YOUR DESCENDANTS!

Gen 17:15b,16
'SARAH' ('Princess') AND I WILL BLESS HER AND GIVE YOU A SON FROM HER! YES, I WILL BLESS HER RICHLY, AND MAKE HER THE MOTHER OF NATIONS! MANY KINGS SHALL BE AMONG YOUR POSTERITY."

Gen17:17a
Then Abraham threw himself down in worship before the Lord, but inside he was laughing in disbelief! (italics implied) "Me, a father?" he said in amusement. "Me --100years old?" And Sarah to have a baby at 90?"


Get ready all we Abraham's seeds ... whatever blessings they have, we have ... in convenant relationship with the Almighty God!

Whether we laugh in disbelief or not, God is going to fulfil His part of the CONTRACT.

Surely blessing He will bless us, multiply, He will multiply us.

No need to wait for the manifestation, we can see it in His Words now!

Not just the man is blessed, but the woman also ... God richly blesses both ABRAHAM AND SARAH, TOGETHER AS A COUPLE AND INDIVIDUALLY.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Read this ...
The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.

32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.

34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.

35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Many times we think one-way of this parable, that is, we must be like the Samaritan to others who are in need. We must have mercy to those who are suffering around us. Yes, this is so.

However, in our church we look at this story from a different angle.

The expert in the law asked Jesus about the Law and what he must do to inherit eternal life.
Jesus' answer was 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " , is this right?

Now the expert in the law asked a second question, "And who is my neighbour?"
and from Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan, here is the man's answer
"The one who had mercy on him."

putting the two together ...

let's see the complete answer ...


"what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and
with all your strength and
with all your mind'

'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

"Do this and you will live."

"And who is my neighbor?"

"The one who had mercy on him."

love who , "neighbour", as yourself?

neighbour, The Samaritan ...

who then is the Samaritan?

He must be someone who is rich, willing and able to help the robbed and injured man.

In this case, not even the Priest (our pastors?), nor the Levites (our deacons and our church leaders?) would help (nor could they?), only the rich Samaritan (the Lord Jesus Himself).

now the question

'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

"Do this and you will live."

"And who is my neighbor?"

"The one who had mercy on him." His name is Jesus.

Love Jesus as yourself.
Do this and you will live.

The above is another side to the story of the Samaritan.

(The traditional story is "be a good Samaritan" as we have always been taught
and have always taught)

We love, because He first loved us.

so when we are down and out, remember we have a super good Samaritan
who is extremely rich, wonderfully able, exceptionally willing and powerfully strong
to help us in our times of need.

have we been robbed and beaten by the enemy lately?
and no one seems to be able to help?

or perhaps the Lord has indeed sent a Good Samaritan friend or relative
who attended to us, in our wounded state,
love this friend as ourselves, more than our pastors or church leaders
who might not be aware or
who might not have the time to attend to us at all
this friend / relative ... is the neighbour ... as the saying goes ...
a friend (in times of) need is a friend indeed.

Turn to our Good Samaritan Jesus, look He is walking towards you HERE right now.

I am feeling Jesus' presence now ... looking into my eyes ... saying to me "My child, I AM here,
your solution, your deliverence, your Saviour, your love"

reach out now and enjoy Him. Like I am doing now.

See Jesus as our solution, as our answer, to life's pressure and problems.

As He has said, troubles and problems will be in this world, but
be of good cheer, He has overcome the world. He is the solution.
Even the reason of our good cheer.
In Him we have also overcome the world as He has.
We have peace in Him, His personal shalom peace (health, wholeness, prosperity ...)
As we always tell ourselves, but we are not of this world ...


shalom
1) completeness, soundness, welfare, peace
a) completeness (in number)
b) safety, soundness (in body)
c) welfare, health, prosperity
d) peace, quiet, tranquillity, contentment
e) peace, friendship
1) of human relationships
2) with God especially in covenant relationship
f) peace (from war)
g) peace (as adjective)

May the Lord bless us with His Shalom through this sharing of
His Rhema Word to us this morning.

Guilt, Righteousness and the Rest of God

Guilt is a feeling of self condemnation.

Righteousness is a feeling one gets when everything on the inside is fine and well, can even mean soul prosperity.

The Rest of God, as we have always been taught, work hard to enter His Rest, this is the shalom shalom, peace on the inside and peace on the outside.


when we pray, after asking the Lord to forgive all our sins and cleanse us of all our unrighteousness, we have that sense of righteousness within having full faith that He heard us and has done according to what we asked based on 1John1:9 that He is faithful and just to forgive us all our sins.

however, have we sometimes or often wondered how is it that
many of our prayers take a long time to be answered
or some might not even be answered?
could it be that He did not hear us?
certainly not, He's God, He could even hear what we utter in our hearts and know what we think
in our minds ... how could He not hear us then?

I would like to bring all of us to these verses ... which Abba spoke to me this morning ...

John 16:
8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

if we are reproved of sin, then it means that we are like the "they" who "believe not on me"
we often feel that the Holy Spirit's job is to search our hearts of sins, both committed or omited ... but this is certainly not so ... as a believer, the Holy Spirit does not finger point us our sins ... which were already borned on the Cross of Calvary by our Lord and Saviour for us on our behalf ... He did it once and for all eternity, so our salvation is as secured as what the Son of Man and the Son of God has done for us ... no more "but"s about it.

many times we read in the scriptures, the prayer of the righteous accomplishes much.
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Yes, you might say, here we are taught to confess our sins, not just our sins, but even confess to one another ...

if we know James, we know he wrote to the Jewish brothers or community of his days ... not necessary to truly bona fide believers ... the fact that the sick had to call for the elders of the church to lay hands on them and to pray over them ... shows that these sick might not even be believers, as if we all know that believers ourselves can pray over ourselves and be healed! Jesus the greater One resides inside of us we just need to activate Him ... who might be resting in the boat (our body) on the stormy sea of Galilee ... and His Shalom can calm any mega storm in our lives.

the Holy Spirit's job towards believers is to convict the believers of righteousness. The pure and holy and perfect standing before God the Father. Not the righteousness of the believer himself/herself which is attained by our own good works but the righteousness that is bestowed upon us by God the Father Himself. His righteousness, "their righteousness is from Me", His righteousness that causes no weapons formed against us shall prosper nor shall any plague come near our dwelling. His righteousness that ensures that blessings are always always always upon the head of the righteous.

it is also the Holy Spirit's job to convict the prince of this world, the devil, of his judgement. He is already judged on the cross. So Christians, please don't even need to entertain this defeated foe. We have better things to focus on than that.

...

the above is birthed mainly because of the countless messages we are hearing in our church week in and week out, and the cd messages with full Bible references backup ...

also in answer to my prayer to Him recently about some matters on prayer

...

you see, I used to ask the Lord for a car, and eversince I passed my driving test,
I went for a test drive on day 1 after I passed the test, but was not able to buy that
2nd hand car because of opposition from the family, they don't want me to spend so much money getting a car.

I waited and prayed for almost 3yrs for a car
and someone came and prayed with us somewhere in the 3rd year
she prayed "Father give them a car"
somehow I felt it in my spirit that the car is already birthed!
after her prayer ...
but someone was not convinced yet ... though he is considering over it ...
and during one worship in church, I knelt down in the middle of a charismatic standing worship session, and prayed like this "Father, I don't care, I want a car, I want a car now!"
with closed eyes. And I saw in a vision, a sports car, twin door sports car!
I almost flipped, I began to sit on the carpeted floor and laughed ...
and said in my own dialect I translate it here for you "Have You made a mistake? I want a family car, a four door one, not a sports car, how can I fetch my mom-in-law and dad-in-law in this?"

needless to say, we bought our first car, a brand new Honda City ... for a whopping
SGD91K! and this baby was fully paid within 1year or so! Humanly speaking we don't see
that we can pay off such a hefty amount in one year! But it really took Him.

Back to my question, why is it that I did not get the car the first time I prayed?
why is it that I can easily believe it the first time my friend prayed for us?

and when the car arrived, I truly believed it was more in answer to her prayer than ours ...

and He told me, it is because of righteousness consciousness

"once you know and believe you are righteous in My sight
you will have no sense of guilt
and hence your prayer is effective and powerful"

we cannot have it otherwise.

Christians are told to work hard to enter His rest, read the book of Hebrews ...
what then is the rest of God?

HE told me this morning and wanted me to share here ...

the righteousness of God in Christ consciousness is the Rest of God.

when we are conscious of our righteousness as a gift from God in Christ,
we enter into His rest and we have the boldness to approach His throne room of grace
where we can ALWAYS find help in our times of need, and ANSWERS to our prayers ...
whatever we ask for ... whatever GOOD stuff we ask for ... truly Jesus Almighty!

know we are righteous, not because of who we are but whose we are.

Guilt, condemnation, the feeling that we will never rise up or amount to anything in life
will flee from our lives and can never have a foothold in our lives anymore.

we are so blessed and victorious in the Beloved Son of God Most High.

Praise Jesus.

- Jewel

Two lessons I learnt in early Nov 2007

Someone came over to our place for lunch one day.

In our conversation he told us that
in his job as a interior design consultant
part of his job is to ensure the quality workmanship and timely handover
of his clients' projects.

He discovered something strange that had been happening recently,
in projects where he paid more attention to and
had more frequent site visits, the more the faults he found
and the longer the contractors took to complete the home furnishing
and decorations work.

whereas, for those projects which he did not pay much attention
to it, even if there were some mistakes the contractors made, the clients
were able to accept and still praised him for the jobs well-done.

in our regular prayer time together, Ken and I were worshipping the Lord
while I was worshipping, I heard Ken praying over some areas which we had
been praying over and over and over again for a long time already ...

sometimes, I almost wanted to ask Abba if He had forgotten to hear us
and rush the answers to us ... if He does hear us, why is it that
it is taking Him way too long to bring forth what we have asked of Him?

somehow the clause which I heard in our sermon in church kept jumping out in my spirit:

"Grace flows in worry-free areas in our lives."

and I began to see that for those areas which we literally did not
bother to pray about, we had so much grace in those areas ... and had so much
good stuff going around for us in such ...

for those areas which we had been praying and praying as if He did not hear us
somehow the answers seem to be rather slow ... and not forthcoming ...

perhaps these are the areas which we had not learnt to leave them at the throne of grace
and we are still holding on to them and embracing them ... sigh ...

Philippians 4:6,7

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

....

recently something happened in our family ...

My father-in-law's fingers were caught slammed by the door ...
he had grafting and stitches ... and has to stay with us for awhile
till he recovers and able to manage on his own ...

and in this situation, I am really trying to keep myself sane
and look for ways to stay joyful and not be too disturbed.

somehow, the thought keeps ringing in my mind ...

"why is it that I do not know how to keep myself joyful in better times
and do not enjoy the good times when I am already living in such all these while and only try to keep myself joyful when such a minor tragedy happens at home?"

could it be that we are so used to expecting bad times that we find it normal and when it comes to having a good time we forgot to find the joy in these normal days?

what has gone wrong?

our thought life and our attitude towards life?

and the ringing message of a sermon I heard came to my mind to also keep my sanity is :

"This too shall come to pass"

I could literally see my father-in-law's fingers recover over a period of one
month or so .. .and see him leading independant life once again back at his own home ...

a former stroke patient of age 70plus ... my father-in-law

it really dawns on me to pray for myself and for him and all our loved ones

the gift of being the seed of Abraham ... growing old gracefully like Moses, whose
eyes were not dim nor his strength abated, like Abraham too and Caleb also ...
full of years, strength and vagor ... going to meet the Lord in the pink of health
at the time when we depart ... not like those of the world ...

a modern day example is Smith Wigglesworth, and John G Lake ... living
in divine health and enjoying the zoey life of God.

this too is a gift from Abba for those who reach out to take it, living victoriously
as heirs of the world.

honestly, being heirs, if one has no health to enjoy it, to me is useless.

Thank God for His provision in Jesus His Son, who came for the sole purpose
to give us life and life in abundance.

Believe and receive, reject and go without.

So if we are currently facing some challenges in our lives
it is indeed a good reminder to us

"This too shall come to pass"

look beyond, look at the picture of what God's word says about us His children.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Cheers
Jewel Kwong

Everything He does is wonderful - The Miracle of Almologna

The Miracle of Almolonga

Mark 7:37
for they were overcome with utter amazement.
Again and again they said, “Everything he does is wonderful;
he even corrects deafness and stammering!”

now I always have a picture of this in my heart
all these years after hearing a message from a pastor …
and I would like to share this picture with you ...
may our cities and our lives be like Almolonga!


MIRACLE
Guatemala: ‘The Miracle of Almolonga’
By Sarah Pollak
CWNews

June 10, 2005
CBN.com – Imagine a town where there are so few crimes the jails have been closed, and the food crops are so big and luscious they could have come from the Garden of Eden.

It’s a miracle happening in a small town in Central America where spiritual revival led to a remarkable transformation.

Almolonga is a small town nestled high in the western mountains of Guatemala . Here, both people and economic conditions are proving a remarkable exception to the national norm.

The majority of Almolonga's 18,000 residents are farmers. Much of the work is still done by hand, including cultivation and irrigation.

What sets Almolonga apart from other Guatemalan farming villages is the incredible volume of its agricultural production.

On a typical market day, during one of the 8 harvests per year, tons and tons of fresh vegetables are gathered in the town center for export. Here they are loaded onto large tractor-trailers. An average of 40 of these tractor-trailers a day leave Almolonga, loaded with some of the finest produce grown in the Western Hemisphere .

It's no wonder Almolonga is called " America 's Vegetable Patch"!

But something else distinguishes Almolonga besides its vegetables. The villagers like to speak about that on signs leading into town. Signs saying: "Jesus is Lord of Almolonga". And that has made all the difference!

Juan Riscajche is an Almolongan farmer.

Juan attested, “Definitely, all this is a blessing directly from God. Because we know that He is the owner of the whole earth. And He also is the one who provides us with the seed. So the only thing that we do is to follow His instructions. And you can see the results we have! We know it is a direct blessing from God to us.”

Juan is a typical Almolongan. His strong Christian faith is as real to him as the vegetables he lovingly tends by hand.

His son, Mariano Riscajche, pastors one of the town's largest congregations, El Calvario ( Calvary ) Church.

Pastor Mariano vividly remembers the day God first got his attention. He told me, “It was in 1974, I was then a real drunk, walking the streets. I heard a voice, ‘Mariano’, the first time. ‘Mariano’ the second time. And the third time: ‘Mariano, I've chosen you to come with Me!’”

And, indeed, in the 1970’s, Mariano was one of the first in a wave of supernatural conversions that swept through Almolonga.

A call to repentance and holiness was followed by a period of intense spiritual warfare. Mariano, now a believer, also became a Pastor. He told us about a particular incident, when he felt God’s leading to cast a demon out of a drunken man.

Mariano described the event this way, “And suddenly from that man's throat came a hoarse voice saying ‘No! No! This is mine and you cannot take it away from me. I am powerful and all this town is my domain and nobody can come and intrude in here!’” That demon told Pastor Mariano his name was Maximon.

Effigies of Maximon had long been venerated and worshipped in Guatemala . We found one in the neighboring village of Zunil . Candles are burned in front of it and hard liquor and cigarettes are sacrificed to the idol, who's said to be a combination of Judas Iscariot, Conquistador Pedro Alvarado and the Mayan deity Ry Laj Man.

Now Pastor Mariano knew exactly who he was dealing with—and how to respond. Mariano said he told the demon, “ Be quiet! The time has come to take authority over you, and this town.” At this moment, the Spirit of God came over me! I said, “Loose him!” Instantly that drunken man was free!

Even the town became free! Since then, it's been estimated that over 90% of Almolonga’s people are now born again Christians. The usual form of address has become “Hermano” (Brother).

A generation ago, there were only 4 churches here. Today there are 23! The last jail closed down in 1988, because there's virtually no crime in this town.

Once there was rampant alcoholism, now bars have been closed or torn down and rebuilt into church halls. The lot where Calvary Church was built was formerly occupied by Almolonga's largest saloon.

Everywhere in Almolonga, blessing and prosperity are evident. People who used to pinch pennies (centavos) to buy a donkey are now driving Toyota pickups! Plus, the trailers that haul away vegetables are most often pulled by Mercedes Benz trucks!

Pastor Harold Caballeros of El Shaddai Church in Guatemala City says repentance and revival have completely transformed Almolonga!

Pastor Harold explained, “The mentality, and the way of thinking and the patterns of thinking of the people has changed so drastically! Changed from a culture of death, a culture of alcoholism, idolatry and witchcraft, to a culture today where they think only about expanding the kingdom of God—prosperity, blessing, healing—and everything related to Revival!”

Pastor Mariano Riscajche says the Miracle of Almolonga shouldn't be unique, not at all! “Just as God did it here, it can happen everywhere in the world!”

Pastor Mariano added, “What the Lord wants to do—in anyplace—is to show that, through His power, He can lead people to freedom and a better life!”

Jesus is still in the business showing forth His love for His beloved children today!

Cheers