When did you last walk on water?

Walking on water with Jesus (Image via Reading Acts)

You know we always talk about Peter doubting Jesus when he looked at the winds and the waves and began to sink. Well, we can't be blamed for that really because Jesus said to Peter, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" But recently when I read Matt 14: 26-31, I started to think about the disciples in the boat.

They were in the midst of the storm. They were troubled and when they saw Jesus they thought he was a ghost. When Jesus reassured them that it was him, they just sat back. There are times when I've just sat back in the midst of a storm and watched Jesus come and calm the storm. But there've also been times when I've walked on water in the midst of the storm, like Peter.

Peter saw an opportunity for an amazing act of God in the storm. He caused Jesus to do for him what Jesus didn't do for the other disciples.

We can use our storms to be just another testimony of God's faithfulness and Him coming to our rescue or we can demonstrate faith in our storms and make people around us go, "That surely is an act of God."

Blessing in 2010

You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance. (Psalm 65: 11)

Expect God's goodness and abundance in 2010. God is waiting to pour it into our lives. Just receive!

Need a miracle?

Be encouraged. God hears you and He says, "In the mount of the LORD it shall be provided." - Genesis 22: 14

We're living in Revival

I'm back to blogging after a very long time... but here's a little something that I hope will bless your heart.

The Bible talks about Seth (Adam and Eve's third son) being 'appointed'. But why was Seth's line so special? Well, Genesis 4: 25b tells says, "For God has appointed another seed for me (that is Eve) instead of Abel, whom Cain killed." We too, are of a NEW line in Jesus.

The NEW line of Seth was clearly blessed (as we are) because we read in vs 26 - And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD. They began to call on the name of Yahweh!

I believe that this was the first revival in the Bible. Men began to turn from their sinful ways and call on the name of the LORD. They began to be saved.

You'd think there must have been something special about Enosh because the Bible mentions this revival in conjunction with his name, right? But interestingly enough, Enosh means the frailty or weakness of mankind and we all know how names in the Bible are really synonymous with the person's character (remember Jacob the supplanter). Enosh wasn't this mighty leader or anything but he recognised how frail he was before the Almighty God. That's the key to revival.

I think if we are to see revival in our land, we have to realise that it's not about us. It's about the Almighty God. We don't have to prove our might or strength. All we have to do is lift the name of JESUS higher and He has promised to draw all men unto Him - John 12: 32

Pray up your immune system!

1 Corinthians 14:44 - He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself...

When you speak in tongues, The Bible does not say that the speaker edifies his spirit. No, it says that the speaker "edifies himself". This means his entire self — spirit, soul and body. So he who speaks in tongues builds up his spirit, soul and body.

Does this include building up your immune system? Yes, it does!

Brain specialists at Oral Roberts University's hospital found out through research and testing that when a person prays in tongues, his brain releases two chemicals that are directed to his immune system, giving it a 35 to 40 per cent boost. Interestingly, these secretions are triggered by a part of our brain that has no other apparent activity and which is activated only when we pray in tongues.

Now, your immune system is your first line of defense against diseases.

During the SARS outbreak in Singapore in 2003, not everyone who had the disease died. Only those whose immune systems were weak succumbed to the disease and died. Therefore, many people resorted to vitamins and herbs to boost their immune systems.

A 74-year-old church member decided to build up his immune system against more heart problems. Two of his arteries were 70 per cent blocked and five smaller vessels were 80 per cent blocked. So during a church service, when I asked those who wanted to be healed of heart problems to stand up, he stood up, placed his hand over his heart and prayed in tongues.

He shared that at that moment, he believed that the Holy Spirit touched him and he became a different person. When he went for his medical check-up, his surgeon found that all the blockages in his blood vessels were gone! Even a scheduled heart-related operation was cancelled as there was no longer any necessity for it. Indeed, he was a different person. He literally had a change of heart, a new heart from God!

You may not have a heart condition, but you can still pray in tongues and pray up your immune system!

What makes you really happy?

Are you really happy? (If you had to think to answer that question, you probably aren’t.) So what’s the one thing that will make you really happy? Is it more money/ a new car/ a bigger house, healing of a relationship or may be the salvation of a family member?

My job used to be the one thing that gave me tremendous happiness. I loved being a writer. Writing was my passion (and still is) and because of that, I could stay back late in the office and even work on the weekend. Then around the end of 2008 recession hit our company real bad and people were being laid off by the dozen. I started to panic. That’s when I realised that my job had become my life and everything else (including God) had taken a backseat. God convicted me of this. It was almost like He was asking me, “Is your job more important than Me?” I didn’t want to admit at the time, but it was. I was truly sorry about it. God in His goodness preserved my job but from that time on I learned this: Nothing (not my job or anything else) should come before Jesus.

My point is that it’s normal for certain things to make us happy. But does our happiness depend on those things? If it does, then the moment we don’t get what we want, we will cease to be happy.

God wants us to root our happiness in Him.

In Psalm 16: 11, the psalmist says, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At your right hand are pleasures forever more.”

The key to experiencing joy is basking in the presence of our Father and allowing Him to lavish His love upon us! And that’s not all. At His right hand are pleasures (every good thing). He wants us to enjoy all of that too.

Jesus said, “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done – kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.” – John 15: 9 – 10 (MSG) “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” – vs 11 (NKJV)

The Bible always talks about FULLNESS OF JOY. God’s intention is not that we have happiness with our family and friends but are miserable at work. God wants us to have joy in every area of our lives and that kind of joy is only found in Him.

Today if there’s anything in your life that you think gives you more happiness than God (read: anything that you would rather do than spend time in God’s presence), put it aside. Enjoy God’s presence and let Him fill you with His joy. Even as we do that God will add everything else unto us.

P.S. He blessed me with a great new job. I cannot but thank Him!

Watch out! The devil's watching you...

The last couple of months have been tremendous. God has been opening new opportunities for me to serve him... I went through an experience I thought would have crushed me but it just made me stronger and brought me closer to God... God has been ministering to me so beautifully through His Word. I was on a 'spiritual high'. And that's not all. My professional and personal life seemed to be soaring too.

Then suddenly, a couple of days ago, something happened... and before I knew it I was down in the dumps. I was actually asking, "Where are you, God?" (I know you're thinking 'how tragic!' and you're allowed to. It's not something I'm proud of anyway :p)

I desperately wanted to take my Bible and start confessing God's Word but instead of picking myself up and rising above the situation, I was lying on my bed and hoping God would miraculously make everything disappear. And you know what? He did... in His own way!

He spoke to me from the book of 2 Samuel that I had been reading the previous week. Here's what jumped out at me...

In the run up to David's love affair with Bathsheba,

• David was anointed king over Judah.
• He had danced before the ark of God with all his might, wearing just a linen ephod. And when his wife Michal despised him, he said, "I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this."
• God had given him victory over all his enemies.
  
• God had used him to show kindness to Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth.
  

David was definitely on a 'spiritual high'.

Then suddenly in Chapter 11... in a flash... everything came crashing down. What in the world went down there? Well, to put it simply, the devil was after David. He didn't like the idea of David being sold out to God. So he decided to keep David busy with something else. What David didn't realise was that Satan was out to get him and so he gave in.

If you are soaring on wings like eagles, be sure the devil is out to get you. He doesn't care about Christians who live defeated anyway. He's after you. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

So be on high alert! Resist him, standing firm in the faith... And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast! (1 Peter 5: 9-10)