*Shake* It Off & Step UP!

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' -or- whatever mules do when they fall uinto wells.
After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened. Then he enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and as the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel-load of dirt landed on his back. He could shake it off and step up! This he did, load after load of dirt. "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up! "He repeated to encourage himself.
No matter how frequently the dirt came, or how distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought not to panic and just kept tight on shaking it off and stepping up! It wasn't long before the old mule, tired but triumphant, stepped over the wall of that well!
What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him...all becaue of the manner in which he handles his "pit" or adversity. That's the secret--no matter how deep or dark the pit, don't get into self-pity, panic or bitterness. Instead, shake off the dirt (the lies of the devil) by staying in faith, confessing the word, seeing the finished work and resting in it. And step up by doing what the Holy Spirit shows you and leads you to do. Then, the adversities that come along to bury us will end up benefiting and blessing us instead!

Author Unknown

I love this story the first time I heard it being read to me =) I envisioned this cute little donkey shaking off the dirt each time it is being thrown at him and as he shakes it off, he continually step up till he step out into victory. A good reminder to me that regardless of how impossible the situation may be, to always shake off the bad thoughts and step up each time. Do not dwell on it and let it bury you. Keep your hopes high high! Without hope, there is no faith. And without faith, you can't please God and see His miracle revealed in your life. Keep hope alive in your heart. Never give up on the visions and dreams God has put in your heart. For in it, the power of God and His grace is revealed. Be like the donkey in the story...step out into victory! God's grace IS truly with us! =D

He lavishes His love on you

Just a simple act of love means so much to someone. It reminds me of how dearly loved I am by God. Is His grace manifested to you because a gift can't be earn.It is given by our Maker. You walk away feeling so loved and want to lavish this gift to others.
Today as I was walking along Suntec wondering on what I should have for lunch, I decided to pay a visit to "QIJI" for my favourite popiah. The one next to the Hong Kong cafe in Marina. I was so happy to see the same lady I saw the last time I was doing my attachment in Changi hospital. I use to frequent there quite often for lunch just for the popiah =) And this same lady would be serving me each time and knows the way i want it to be with the popiah sauce over it.
After more than a year of not seeing her, I saw her today and she still remembers me. She remembers how I like my popiah to be made and that really melts my heart. She even told the lady making it to wrap it bigger just for me =) Others around were probably wondering why. Heh.=D She told me to get myself a drink and ushered me a sit. She then told me in Mandarin that she's giving me for free =) The smile and kindness on her face was the thing that made the difference in her. I felt so love by God.
I asked if she wants to come to church with me and she smiled with eagerness but was held back by her work on Sunday. Her off days are only Fridays. When I told her we have Friday's too, her face lit up but was again disappointed when I told her it was only in English. But I believe she'll come to know the Lord one day. And Sunday will be her off days.
I believe it was never by coincidence that she was sent to work in this branch. It was the Lord that has directed my steps to her and gave me favor with her. It was the Lord telling me He still love me dearly and His eyes are on me watching me. I am the center of God's attention.

"Keep me as the apple of the eye..." Psalms 17:8

Be conscious of His presence. He remembers what you like just like someone who knows and loves you would. Trust His love.
Grace IS with us! =D

What is discernment?

"What is discernment?"

During third service, the word just came alive to my spirit when Pastor Prince mention it. He made a short statement about his wife Wendy having discernment in shopping =) I believe it wasn't only in an area of shopping ;) but in every other area and the person in general. How then does one receive it and what is actually discernemnt?
I sat in again for fourth. As I was listening to that part again...and as Pastor mention the word, a sms came in from Josephine "Be discerning sister=)"...I thought at that moment and even joke with her that I knew she was in fourth. I was wrong indeed. She was on her way home. I knew then the Lord has something for me.
This morning as I was thinking about it over breakfast, I toke out a book from my shelf and the first page I flip open to was this verse, "Cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding..."(Prov 2:3)
I read quite a fair bit about discernment but there was just something new I saw. I got a clearer picture of what it means to discern. I'll just share with you a little of what I caught.
Discernment for the Greek word is diakrisis which also has the same meaning as judge and distinguish. The gift of discernment as mention in 1 Corinthians 12:10 ....and to another discernings of spirits;....is used two other times in,
Hebrews 5:13 -14 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern ^R164 good and evil.
Romans 14:1 Now accept ^R600 the one who is weak ^R601 in faith, {but} not for {the purpose of} passing judgment on his opinions. 
Many times people tend to think that the gift of discernment is for them to sense an evil spirit in a person. But in reality, you do not need to "discern" evil in a person as it is very evident to everyone around them. Paul and the other apostles never once went looking for a possess man but rather many a times they were brought to them. So what did they really discern? Peter was able to discern the diguise and lying of Ananias & Sapphira in Acts 5:1-10.Another time he told a sorcerer, "I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity". He said nothing about demon but simply told him to repent of his wickedness.
A good example would be Jesus temptation in the wilderness. In each instances He was tempted to do what seemed to be good and right in the flesh, even backup by Scripture. But our Lord Jesus was able to discern the truth than the seeming truth. This shows us that for us to be discerning, we need the scripture and to be sharp with understanding to separate the truth. Just simply knowing or "discerning" evil will not drive evil or bad away but by knowing and speaking the Word.
This gift is not only to recognise the evil, but the good. Look at the story of David, the spirit of the Lord rested on David but his brothers did not recognize it. Sometimes the blessed and anointed are not always in "favor". Ask the Lord to help you to discern the good also. Do not only look for the bad in your brothers/sisters but discern the good in them.
How strongly the Lord instruct us in the above two verses. The Word of Righteousness are not accustomed to the infant but to those who are taking solid food. You who are grounded in the Word has been trained by it to discern. Discernment does not just come with one encounter but with experience. You are trained in it till you are fit for it. The Lord also instruct us to use this gift wisely, not to discriminate or judge our bro/sisters in Christ who made mistake when they are new in His kingdom but to love them and take them in as one=)
And as you go about your activity outside with your friends, or business...ask the Lord for a discerning spirit to rightly divide good and bad. It will save you from many heartaches. Even in the area of relationships =) That is why it is always good to open up to wise counsel like your leaders because they are sharp in their spirit to discern. They are like what Jesus said, they have been "trained" to discern(This just came from the Lord)
I pray that we will be children of God to love our beloveds when they fail and not pass judgement wrongly, but to also discern the wrong teachings and ways that comes our way!
May the Lord's counsel be with you!
Grace IS with us, God's beloved!=D

A day of testing

Two days ago, after coming back from Grandma's place, after having my only sandals in Ipoh being bitten by her dog of all the shoes that were there (the maid still have the audacity to smile??!! )...I toke the left over char siew pau I had that evening on the table. It was still dark in the dining hall as I step in...and the plastic bag was visible within my sight.

Lo and behold, as I reach into the plastic for my food, I sense a creature moving and it jump right out of the bag!!! It was a lizard eating my pau!!!

I was speechless for one moment. Hee. He touched me or I touched him???!!!!
Whichever. I wash my hands a thousand times. No soap can take the stain I felt on my hand. For one moment I didn't dare to use my hand to eat =) and my once favourite food has become a phobia to me.
Even though it has left the bag, now laying on the floor, I had to ask my dad to take that bag out of my sight. The next morning, I saw two char siew pau on the table!! My mum out of her love for me bought them for me =)

For one moment I thought, not only can we have favor with God and man but dogs and lizard too!

Selah

Special favor of God

"Look after each other so that none of you will miss out on the special favor of God"

Hebrews 12:15(NLT)

Cool eh? =)

We are responsible to "spot" or to recognise the favor of God in our friends lives =) so that none of us will miss out on His special grace.

Your friends are also there given by God to help you grow deeper in His grace....allow them to "look after " you =)

Living a Christian life is like eating buffet in your favourite restaurant

(Love this entry written by one of our beloved brother. Take time to enjoy the meal your Father has so lovingly prepared for you...)

Living a Christian life is like eating buffet in your favourite restaurant.

Along the line are delicacies laid out, waiting upon you to reach out and put them on your plate – First, there is the soup of your beloved family, all warm and lovely. Following that comes the cool mix of greens and nuts of friends (yes, nutty friends too!). Next come the selections of main courses that consists of generous portions of career/school and ministry which serve not to fill an empty stomach but which satisfy the soul as well. And of course, there is always the sweet dessert of a boyfriend or girlfriend or life partner that completes the whole thing.

If my life is an empty plate and I stand facing the food galore in front of me, I would ask myself these questions:

1. What do I put on my plate? Do I wanna just focus on the delicious in my opinion and neglect the nutritious?

2. How much of it would I put on my plate? Soup and salad can only fill you that much but how much of the main course should I eat before I run out of space for dessert? How much should I eat that I won’t feel bloated after that?

3. In what order should I be enjoying the goodies? Is it best that I fill myself full with the sweetness of dessert and forget the warm soup that is ever so soothing or the salad which is ever so refreshing?

Everyone would have his/her questions and I know I would have more if I thought harder. But the bottomline is this - "How do we truly enjoy this feast?"

Why not ask the Chief Chef, Jesus Christ who prepared all these goodies and laid them all out for us? I’m sure He is the best person to advise us on all these queries in my mind. He’ll know what are the best foods to put onto our plates, how much of each item to eat and in what order to eat them… I could almost imagine the Chief Chef, all dressed in glorious white, walking down the queue, whispering to me the secrets of the goodness of each dish, how each dish tastes like, telling me how much to take and etc. And I know that at the end of the day, I could go back to the Chief Chef, filled and satisfied saying, “It was the most delicious meal I’ve ever had. Felt like heaven on earth.” =)

Anonymous

What a good reminder of us at times...when we are hungry we run to the main course to satisfy our hunger to realised later that we have no more space for the starter or the deserts, that's when we put career over our family and love ones in this illustration =)

What would have truly made the meal satisfying is just to take time and enjoy each one of them...we get both the nutrients and the sweetness of the desert =) and still walk away full!