God's Hand in the Wind - Gladys' Testimony

Gladys and the intruder

(Gladys' testimony - a 7-minute audio clip. Click Play to listen)

You could hardly find anyone as excitable as Gladys, but almost always on a positive note - happy and joyful.  All the more so when she’s telling you what the Lord has done for her. It is as if her petite frame could not contain all the joy and excitement, so she must let it out. I don’t know why she always has good testimonies to tell, almost make me jealous! And this is a very good one.

We rarely have strong wind in this part of the country (Ipoh, Malaysia), but it was an exception on April 20, 2011. A colleague of mine told me that while he was driving through the heavy rain suddenly a tree branch, broken and carried by the powerful wind, hit his windscreen and most shocked the life out of him. He couldn’t see far enough to drive safely so he parked his car at the side of the road until the visibility in the rain was good enough to continue. The next day I personally counted some ten spots around town where either a tree or a road sign or a billboard was broken or collapsed, and this only on the routes that I took. 

Well, back to Gladys. She reached home at about 3pm after ministering to a friend for about four hours telling her about divine healing. Happy and convinced that she had been used by the Lord to broker His Kingdom into the circumstances of a sister; she went up to her room, opened a song book and began to worship in songs. The wind was howling outside but she couldn’t care less. She felt so much in another world basking in the presence of the Lord that the present reality around her didn’t seem so real. Then, a thud, “like the sound of a pencil snapped” according to her words, slightly jolted her. It came from outside the house, so she went to the window to have a look. From her position she could see one large stretch of a tree trunk lying on the road at the side of her house. So it was not a pencil that snapped, but a tree! To be exact, a fifty-feet tall casuarina tree.

When she came to the scene, any illusion was instantly dispelled and she was given a good dose of the reality. It was more than one broken stretch of tree trunk lying on the road, as she initially made out from the limited view upstairs. One large piece some eight feet long fell into her garden after hitting the side fencing wall (Gladys’ house is a corner lot at the end of a block of linked-houses), overlying and damaging her bunga kantan plant and with its tip dipping inside the apron drain. It missed her brand new car parked under the porch by less than three feet! And most fortunately it just missed the side-terrace roof, the eave of which lies in a vertical line above the apron drain. This was all Gladys saw by the time she checked-in to the scene. If she had not fully woke up to reality by then she had the help of astonished and terrified neigbours joining her for investigation. A handful of them rushed to the scene after hearing a big bang thinking something real bad had happened. To them it certainly didn’t sound like “a pencil snapped”! They were thinking there must have been considerable damage done to the house given the impact evidenced by the big bang, but seeing relatively minor damage they sought an account from the house owner. All they could get out of Gladys was “Halleluiah! My God is so good! My Jesus is so good!”

Tree trunk overlying bunga kantan plant with its tip inside the drain

You could see the tree concerned in the photo below. It stood across the road from Gladys’ house. Its top portion was snapped off by the mighty gusts of wind and the stretch must have broken on landing. Altogether three lengths of trunk were found, two lying on the road and one in Gladys’ house, making up some twenty feet in total length. That means the tree must have been some fifty feet tall originally, given the substantial length left standing. Given the height from which it fell, coupled with increased velocity due to the strong wind, the trunk could have seriously damaged the roof if it hit it. I said “fortunately” it didn’t, but actually I believe it couldn’t because the Lord’s hand was on Gladys and her property. She wasted no time praising and boasting about God’s protection and His power in front of her neighbours who were non-believers. It was a wonderful testimony.    

Gladys told me afterwards that to her the amazing thing is that throughout the incident she was not alarmed at all. It was as if she was in another world where there is no storm, only Shalom peace. I think it’s like this:  through worship she had pulled the reality of the Kingdom of God into the physical world around her. It was awesome! 

When she related the incident to me on the phone, I immediately thought of a favorite verse:

     

You, O Lord, are my refuge!

You have made the Most High your home.

No harm will come to you.

No sickness will come near your house. (Ps 91: 9-10, GWD)

Outrageous, huh? Believe it and you will have it.

Free to Live

 Easter Sunrise Service (6)

My wife loves the series of movies “Aliens”. Although I don’t particularly like them, because of my wife I have seen each one on DVD a number of times. There was one particular scene that was really unforgettable. It was at the end of the movie (I can’t remember which episode) and the heroine Lieutenant Ripley threw herself from a high point into a lake of fire, carrying with her a young Alien about to be “born" breaking out of her body. Her body had somehow become a host that the Aliens deposited and breed their seeds and at this juncture an infant Alien was about to come out of her. She plunged into the golden sea facing up with her hands clutching the head of the ugly creature, preventing it from breaking out of her body. She died, and the Alien died with her and in her. It was a captivating scene.

When Jesus died, we (our old man) died with Him and in Him. Most believers are familiar with the fact that when Jesus died, He bore all our sins. What they are seldom made aware of is the fact that He was bearing us too, our old man, when He died. Much like the infant Alien in Lieutenant Ripley, we were in Jesus when He died. Scriptures are very clear about this point:

… knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin …(Rom 6:6, NKJV)

Think of it this way: when Adam sinned, we sinned because we were in him; so when Jesus died we died because we were in Him! Don’t let time and space put a limitation on our understanding and, most importantly, our believing. I know it’s not easy to imagine or understand this, but it’s vital that we grasp this truth in the spirit because the implication is far-reaching: we are no more slaves of sin!

Our old man was a pitiful creature, a slave of sin. Sin was his master, so he had to live and work for sin; there’s no way out. He was joined to sin and acts and lives sin’s nature. To sin was natural to him. The results of sin – all forms of darkness and death – were also evident on him. Now, imagine that this old man is dead, can he continue to be a slave of sin? Of course not, a dead man cannot serve anybody! To sin is no more our nature.

But that’s not all. Jesus not only died, on the third day He arose from the dead. If we died with Him, we also rose up with Him (Rom 6:4-5)! When Jesus was raised up, He left behind all the sins and the horde of darkness as a result of sin: the curses, oppression, fear, strife, poverty, sickness and all things that kept man in bondage. They were put on Him just as sin was put on Him, but now they couldn’t touch Him. If Jesus is free from them then we too are free from them. From this point on we could leave behind all the baggage of the old man that has bogged us down and truly live. No wonder Paul says that we are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).

In this sense, Easter is not only a day to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also a day to remember we receive new life, and we can live in the power of His resurrection. It’s truly a time to rejoice.

Happy Easter!

Photo Credit: renjith krishnan on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood

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It’s Good Friday.  So how and why did Jesus die?

No one could have laid hand on Jesus if He wanted to avoid it. Satan, the rightful Prince of the World, couldn’t do anything when he met Jesus in the wilderness. His townsfolk at Nazareth tried to push Him over the cliff but He escaped unharmed. When sought by those who came to arrest Him in Gethsemane, He simply said “I am” in surrendering Himself and all those men drew back and fell to the ground. He really could have avoided arrest if He wanted to. But He marched on to the cross.

Jesus was very popular with the common people, although much hated by the religious leaders because He never let up on their hypocrisy. The Jews wanted somebody to deliver them from the oppression of foreign power and they thought they have found their man in Jesus, the miracle worker. They sought to make Him a king of this world. However, Jesus repeatedly rejected their quest and insisted on going His own way. Many fell away.

Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:53-54, NKJV)

The above was likely to be the last straw. They must have thought that this Jesus has lost it altogether: what was He talking about eating His flesh and drinking His blood? He didn’t want to be a king, but He wanted to give them His flesh to eat and blood to drink? At the Last Supper, knowing He would soon be arrested, He raised the issue again:

... “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”...“This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” (1 Cor 11:24-25, NKJV)

Notice that there were always two elements: His body and His blood. The blood is for the forgiveness of our sins (Matt 26:28); the body was for the healing of our bodies (1 Peter 2:24). It’s that simple. The magnitude of Jesus’ work on the cross is so great no words can fully describe and explain, but the tangible benefits to us are found in the simplicity of the Last Supper. It basically has all our needs covered.  This is what He died to give us.

Good Friday is not a time to try to feel how Jesus felt in His suffering. It is a time to cash in on what He has paid for us. That is the best way to honour Him, don’t let His sacrifice be in vain.

So today eat His flesh and drink His blood.

Scripture link: BibleGateway.com

His Earthly Life

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I am a big fan of Michael Card. I love his songs, especially those that help me meditate on the life of Jesus. Today let us go on a journey with Jesus through His earthly life. How was He like and what did He come to do? These four songs pretty well sum it up for us. Sit back and enjoy.

The Nazarene

The Gentle Healer

Forgiving Eyes

Why?

Michael Card website : http://www.michaelcard.com/

(Why? posted by anu132d, The Nazarene/The Gentle Healer/Forgiving Eyes posted by jeremyofgod on YouTube)

Be Unreasonable

Easter Sunrise Service (3)

I want to be like the colt, but not the fig tree.

You can read all about the fig tree in Mk 11:12-24. For many, this is a strange passage of scripture. I thought so the first time I read it, indeed I thought so for a long time. But not after I’ve learnt to see things from the perspective of His Kingdom. 

How unreasonable it is for Jesus to demand fruit from the fig tree when “it was not the season for figs”! It’s like going to a virgin and asks if she is pregnant. It’s just not the time, in the natural sense. Well, perhaps Jesus was looking back at His own birth and asked the question: why not? 

Back to the fig tree. I’ve heard some interesting explanations for Jesus’ behavior in this particular episode. Some say the fig tree is a picture of Israel; some say it represents the self-effort of man to cover their unrighteousness (Adam used fig leaves to cover his nakedness after the Fall) - and that’s an interesting one. I am not saying they are wrong, but as we follow the story’s build up to the climax of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I can’t help but think that Jesus’ action was the result of His awareness of the reality of God’s Kingdom. It was an expression of Kingdom attitude.

Being “reasonable” when we face a condition of lack or non-cooperation is not the correct Kingdom attitude. Granted, there might be many reasons the world can provide to withhold from us what we need and desire, but when we know that we carry the Kingdom of God we don’t have to accept them. What is unreasonable in this world may not be in His Kingdom.

It was some five years ago when this happened to a brother and he told some of us his story. Ted was offered a job which gave him a fifty percent jump in salary. It was a good offer but he had a problem. It was close to year-end and he was expecting a good bonus from his then current employer. If he took up the offer surely he would not receive as much bonus for the year from his new employer. But he really wanted the new job, so he asked for a compensation for his projected loss from his prospective new employer. It seemed quite unreasonable but God gave him so much favor that his new employer agreed to that. Ted had a pretty good time boasting about God’s goodness.

Joe heard about this and about a year later tried the same when he was also offered a job with a fifty per cent adjustment.  He was thinking the Lord would do the same for him. Joe didn’t get the job because the prospective employer thought that his request was unreasonable. But the Lord rewarded his faith in another way. He stayed in his own job but from then on the Lord gave him a side income amounting to more than fifty percent of his salary. At the same time the workload in his work was significantly reduced. And he got to keep his good bonus!

(I don’t know if anyone reading this would think that this is covetousness. If so, what about Jesus? He clearly didn’t need to eat the figs to survive, was He being covetous? Anyway, this is not the point of our discussion. Just for thought.)

So what’s reasonable for you? Did your doctor say it’s reasonable to expect to be on a particular drug for the rest of your life? Did the doctor say it’s reasonable not to plan for a child because you cannot conceive? Do not accept any solutions or excuses from this world that sound reasonable, especially when they run against the reality of the Kingdom. Learn to be “unreasonable” towards anything that’s against the flow of God’s Kingdom; this is an important key to the Much More Life that Jesus comes to give us (John 10:10). We have the Lord as an example, and He is cheering us on.

Let me leave with you this quote for thought from the famous Irish author George Bernard Shaw:

A reasonable man tries to change himself to adapt to the world; an unreasonable man tries to change the world to adapt to himself; therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

His Kingdom Advancing

Easter Sunrise Service (2)

And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing … (Matt 11:12, NLT)

Yes, His Kingdom has been forcefully advancing, doesn’t matter how bad the circumstances surrounding it. Many a time these circumstances seem to blatantly demand its retreat, but it never compromises. Sometime His enemies may even reckon that they have won, but Jesus always has the last laugh. The increase of His Kingdom knows no end, so we are ever witnessing its progress. The story of Jesus’ journey to the cross and resurrection, albeit the focal point of history, is but on the same path of this progress. 

Palm Sunday beckons. You may be thinking about the palm branches and Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem; how cool Jesus was in dismissing the demand of the Pharisees for His followers to refrain from worship; and the fact that His followers themselves little understood their own gestures. But funny enough, I am more drawn to the little episode just before Jesus’ entering Jerusalem: the commission of the foal of a donkey for service. Everything about this incident hinged on the supernatural; you couldn’t miss this point.  Read it for yourself:

Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”
So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?”
And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. (Mark 1: 1-7, NKJV)

I wonder how the two disciples felt when they went for the colt. It didn’t look like they were acquainted with the owner, or else they would have asked for permission of use. So it is safe to assume that Jesus didn’t know the owner personally either. The duo must have felt like thieves when they were loosening the colt. Yet at the end they had the owner’s cooperation, without much hassle.

Jesus was sure what He wanted He would get. No one could stop Him from acquiring the service of the colt. But the manner with which He acquired it was amazing. His Kingdom advanced confidently and any resistance was promptly dispelled. Although there was no suggestion of the use of force, but we could discern the command of His authority.  This is a peculiar way of the Kingdom, when it advances it will draw resources and command cooperation for its purpose, even in the face of opposition.

Are you in need of special providence? Anything opposed to your all-round well being is not allowed in His Kingdom. You only need to be aware that you carry His Kingdom with you.  

The colt was a lucky beast. Tell you a secret: if ever there is any animal I would like to be, I want to be this colt. He had never been sat on before, and the first time he bore a burden he carried the Lord Jesus. He carried the King who was carrying His Kingdom, ready to meet His destiny. Look at the foal: humble, gentle and unassuming, yet he was bestowed with such a great honour chosen by the Lord. As Jesus rode on to meet His destiny, the foal met his own.

To think of it, are we not all like the foal?  

Photo Credit: Keattikorn on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Malay Bible, Lent and Rant

Easter Sunrise Service (1)

It’s the season of Lent, a time when believers prepare themselves for the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ culminating on Good Friday and Easter. This year the forty-day period before Easter proves to be an enthralling time for the Christians in Malaysia. The Alkitab (Bible in Malay) issue has triggered a storm all over the country, and it seems not only the Christians are concerned. Suddenly everyone is concerned about the issue that the Christians in the country are concerned about, whether he stands with the Christians or not. The Sarawak state elections have only added fuel to the fire. There is a lot of ranting out there in the cyberspace and conventional media, some justifiably so but some opportunistic in nature, I think.

Believers are never free from persecution because the Kingdom they carry is not of this world. Every day they face resistance in living out their faith, certainly it’s not just this Alkitab issue. However, God’s Kingdom is ever invading the system of this world, so you can expect a fight-back somehow. This is not to say that believers should just swallow everything thrown at them, instead they should be proactive in advancing the gospel of His Kingdom, no matter how adverse the circumstances are. So the posture the Christians take is vital in this occasion, as in all occasions when they are under persecution. If internally they think it’s a time for progress not retreat they have won half the battle.

Look at what we have now after all the fiasco surrounding the Malay Bible. Not that the case is closed, but even now we can draw one or two positive points.

Firstly, whatever forces out there trying to stop people from knowing and reading the Bible have in fact made the same people more aware of it. They might be thinking what’s so controversial about this book that it can be “a threat to national security” and what is so damaging about reading it? Before you know it, without prompt from any Christian, the same people could be reading the Alkitab on the net. It’s free you know?

As believers approach Good Friday and Easter, they are reminded of the role that persecution played in bringing Jesus to the cross. Incidentally, it was persecution from people who thought that He was “a threat to national security”. We are now more or less put in the same fix concerning the Alkitab, are we not? Is this what Paul said about the “fellowship of His sufferings” (Phil 3:10)? At least partly, I think. Not that we should invite persecution, but to take the positive, we are in a better position to understand Jesus’ suffering - and to draw closer to Him.  This helps us to know Him better, doesn’t it?

Words such as “desecrated” and “defaced” are used to describe how the 35,100 copies of the Alkitab were tempered with. It is not exaggerating to say that Jesus’ body was “desecrated” and “defaced” after being scourged and nailed to the cross. His enemies thought they had done away with Him, they couldn’t be more wrong. Jesus, through His death and resurrection, wrought eternal salvation for many and His followers forever transform the face of the earth. They still do.

Seeing these, it’s hard to feel down. Here’s a word of encouragement from Paul for us:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28, NKJV)

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Yesterday we had the presentation on the study of 1 John 1:9 in the MMG.  Feedbacks from some who turned up tell me most have found the session very beneficial. My objective is to drive all sin-consciousness out of our spiritual make-up. If you think that you need time to digest, I can understand. But don't take too long to sit on the fence! It's after you believe that you understand! That is an interesting point. Think about it. I want to thank all who participated to make it an interesting session.