Porterhouse Steak

Every time I think of Porterhouse steak, I am reminded of God’s providence. Back in the middle of 2000, when Monte and I left for APTS (Asia Pacific Theological Seminary) in Baguio, Philippines, we did not have our finances fully taken care of and we literally stepped out in faith. The supernatural hand of God never ceased to amaze us. He provided for our needs miraculously. We were even able to bless some fellow seminarians by treating at least one or two of them to Porterhouse steaks. (Porterhouse steaks at Baguio were really good.) We are blessed to be a blessing.

The journey of faith is challenging though it may be very trying at times. God is no man’s debtor. Whatever we sow into His kingdom is never wasted. We can put our faith in our almighty God who is more than able to provide for our every need.

A Long Walk

Last Monday, Monte (husband) and I took a very long walk at East Coast Park. We must have walked for about two hours. We were captivated by the beauty all around us. The sea, the beach, the landscape, the greeneries, the ferns and fauns, the flowers and all that the great outdoor offered were absolutely great. We went away thoroughly refreshed and rejuvenated.

Pour Forth Your Spirit, Lord

Yesterday morning at the church, I saw a short video clip on the Billy Graham crusade in Singapore in 1978. The throngs of people who responded to the altar call to gave their hearts to Jesus was amazing. My heart was beating faster than usual. It is always wonderful to see people turn their lives over to Jesus.

We need a revival. We need the grace and mercy of God to fall on this land. With the turmoil and looming global recession, I believer many hearts are open to the touch of Jesus. The church the world over must unite in concerted effort to pray for the outpouring of God’s spirit in all the earth so that His glory will be revealed to the hearts of people who are groping in pitch darkness.

Guard It Jealously

Jesus is irreplaceable. All the money in this temporal world cannot buy our relationship with God. Some people may have fallen away because of greed, pride or idolatry. Anything or anyone who tries to usurp God’s place in our hearts is a potential danger that we must watch out for. The enemy of our soul prowls around desperately seeking who he can devour. I know of people who were hurt or stumbled by fellow Christians and they allow bitterness and resentment to grow. Sad to say, they fell through the cracks and today they are no longer enjoying a joy filled life with Jesus. Some others who have allowed money or positions to corrupt them and the enemy had lured them away from the Lord. The deception of riches and power deals heavy blows on us and we must always be on guard. The Bible cautions us to be careful in these. Obviously, there are other reasons that people backslide. But at the end of the day, what we need to do is to fix our eyes on Jesus at all times.

It is imperative to guard our relationship with Jesus jealously for the enemy seeks to destroy us at the slightest opportunity. The battle that we are engaged in is not a physical battle but one that is spiritual. If we do not flex our spiritual muscles, we are certainly a potential candidate to be slaughtered. For that reason, we continue to draw strength and keep in step with God’s Holy Spirit so that we are constantly near the Lord. His hand of love and protection covers and shield us from all seen and unseen danger. We stay safe and secure in the loving arms of Jesus.

Back To The Closet

Looking to the Lord in prayer is not a duty or a chore. It is our lifeline. Going back to closet again and again shows that we are a needy people who desperately need the Lord every moment of our lives. Show me a man or a woman who is prayerful and you see a strong Christian who stands firm in the Lord.

In my time at Calvary Charismatic Centre (currently known as Victory Family Centre) from 1983 to 2000, we had plenty of opportunities to gather in small group as well as corporate prayer. It helped to lay the foundation of prayer in my life. Those times of prayer yielded fruits that I am tasting up till today. God is a prayer answering God. He hears our heart cry and reaches out to us in His love.  He is our helper in times of need.  There is nothing our God cannot do.

Prayer helps us to stay in tune with the Lord. Prayer helps us to keep in step with the Spirit In our times of prayer, we are built up and strengthened and we allow God to speak into our lives. The power of the Holy Spirit comes upon us when to draw near to God. The forces of darkness are pushed back when the light of Christ shines in all its brightness.

Gracious And Kind Singaporeans

My elderly parents-in-law from the States are currently visiting with us. When we are travelling on the LRT(light rail transport) or MRT(mass rapid transport) trains, people would offer their seats. The act of kindness warms my heart. People care for the elderly besides offering their seats to pregnant women or women with very young children on our trains.. At other times in different places, people offered their help when the need arises.

Today, one in 12 people in Singapore is aged 65 or above. The government is consistently addressing this need. Some of the areas that are looked into are:

Elder-Friendly Housing

Barrier-Free Society

Holistic Affordable Healthcare and Elder Care

Active Lifestyles and Well-being

The increasing ageing population will warrant the concerted effort of every Singaporean to chip in to meet the needs of this special group of people who have build Singapore from a fishing village to what it is today. The government, educators or organizations continue to motivate us to show greater care and concern to the elderly. A gracious society begins in our hearts.

Never Looked Back

From day one of our marriage in March 1999, Monte (husband) and I committed our life together into the loving hands of God and we have never looked back since. God's faithfulness and goodness to us cannot be put into words. We continue the journey of faith with our merciful Saviour and Lord. We have our fair share of both tough and good times but one thing we know for sure is that God will see us through each day. We 

have seen His hand of love guiding and helping us in our time of need. Someone once said that God is indescribable. I can safely say that all the words and expressions in our limited vocabulary is insufficient to describe how awesome and wonderful our God is. Great is His faithfulness.

The Joy of Life

The Lord gives us the joy of life. He gives joy for mourning. As we put on the garment of praise, the Lord releases joy into our hearts. Only God can make our hearts leap with joy.

Knowing true liberty open the door for us enjoy this journey with the Lord. The journey to the heart of God revitalise and energise us daily.

He fills our hearts with unspeakable joy. We see the mighty work of His hand. We  stand in awe and declare that God is great. 

Even when things go wrong, we can be assured that as long as we have our eyes on the Lord, we are sound and safe. Perfect peace lingers in the heart of those who choose to trust God.

Nothing in this world can buy the presence of God. No one is fit to sit on the throne of our hearts except You, Lord. 

We give thanks to You. You made us and inscribed our names on the palm of His hand. We glorify You King of kings and Lord of lords.

Persevering Love

In this pragmatic, efficient, face paced world that we live in, people are often looking for quick fixes, short cuts and instant results. 

We are so afraid to make mistakes. We are afraid to try again if we do not make it the first time. We do not want to be labelled weak or incompetent. Sad to say, failure is a taboo for some people.

God reaches out to us in His mercy and love. He does not condemn us when we hit rock bottom. He will do everything He can to restore and strengthen us. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. 

We have not failed as long as we do not stop trying. The finishing line is within sight and we must persevere.  The persevering love of God abounds.  We will triumph and be victorious in Christ Jesus.

The Ministry Of The Song

Some years back, while I was in church back-up singing on stage, the visiting speaker’s wife was worshipping the Lord on the first row of the seats. I vividly remember that we were singing the song As The Deer Pants For The Water. She was crying that whole time.

Often times, God ministers to us as we set our hearts to minister to Him in precious times of praise and worship. He begins to speak to us. He reaches into the inner recesses of our hearts as though He is performing a spiritual surgery to make us pure, to make us more like Him in every way. The greatest thing in all our life is none other than to bow before God and give Him full access into our lives. There is no higher calling than to honour and worship Him. He works in and through us to fulfil His purpose and plan for His glory.

Cyber Bashing

I came upon a Christian forum once where an individual who had left a particular church went on a smear rampage. He was airing his dissatisfaction and anger at the leadership and members harshly. My personal feeling is that this is harmful not just because of the offensive remarks but also the negative impact we have on the readers, particularly for non Christians. Cyber bashing is certainly not the way of the Lord.

The cyber world is very far reaching. On the net, there is certainly good stuff but we also need to discard the trash that people have uploaded. Eat the meat and throw away the bones. We can make use of technology in the digital age to reach the dying world.

Painfully Misunderstood

Have you ever been misunderstood? Indescribable pain and agony is felt when we are wronged. We find solace and comfort in Jesus who was often misunderstood. He understands the pain that we go through. In the natural, we may want to defend and explain but sometimes the opportunity may not be readily available. The party or parties involved may not be willing to dialogue with us. Even when our motives are questioned, the Lord wants us to remain pure in Him. Bitterness and anger have no place in our hearts. We desperately cry out to the Lord for His divine intervention. His peace like a river fills us as we relinquish all control to Him. Ultimately we emerge victorious through the crisis because He cares for us. There is nothing He cannot do.

The Power Of Two

Monte and I are different in many ways. At the same time we have many similarities. God in His love has brought us together so that we can become one in Him.

We were married on 20 March 1999. God builds and binds us as one in Him. He cements us with each other by the power of His love. His love prevails.

We join hands to plough the land that God has given. Many answered prayers spur us on to trust the Lord in all things big and small. We support and encourage one another through every challenge.

We continue to put our faith in God who never fails. He leads us by the hand and guide us through life's rocky paths.

All Figured Out

This quilt is so beautifully sewn. Every piece of cloth is meticulously and lovingly joined to the other. I likened this masterpiece to the wonder working God who is personally involved in each believer’s life. Sometimes, we may think that we have things all figured out but the plan and purpose of our loving God cannot be fathomed by finite beings. We leave room for Him to reveal everything that He so chooses to show us in His time. We leave Him to join each piece of cloth to complete the quilt of our lives.

Often times pride will deter us from embracing all that God has in stored for all who put their trust in our loving God. We become impatient and fidgety and we jumped ahead of the Lord and missed out on Him.

Lord, we allow You full permission to complete the quilt of our life so that Your glory will radiate from us. Help us to draw strength from You to complete this race so that our lives will bring honour to the King of kings and Lord of lords. You are sovereign, You are in full control of our life.