Matthew 7:9-11

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

 This is my favorite verse at the moment :)

This verse is from "Ask, Seek, Knock" in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was speaking to the masses, to everyone.

I love this verse because it really speaks of the Father's heart for us, His children. From the beginning of times, God created all things and saw that it was good. When He created man, He saw that it was very good. He let us rule over all and gave us many good things.

Yet, when we sinned and ate the Fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil, God still cared for us with a Fatherly love. He made garments of skin for Adam & Eve to clothe them in their nakedness and shamefulness.

Since the beginning of times, He also blessed those who cried out to Him earnestly, and set in place the grand plan of redemption; sending Jesus to die on the Cross so that we can be reconciled with Him.

Because of His love, we can once again be His sons and daughters, to be reconciled, to be given the Holy Spirit, to have an Eternal Inheritance, Supernatural peace, joy, love, wisdom.. His Word, healing and restoration, providence, a family in Christ, power and authority, many more good promises, and most of all, his unmerited and unending grace :)

There are times when we may feel unworthy, times when we do not know what is God's will, times when circumstances may look bleak, times when God seems far.. But Jesus is reminding us of how much our Heavenly Father loves us and yearns to give to us.

As our Heavenly Father, He knows better and see the bigger picture, so some of our prayers won't be answered the way we want. But still, ask! seek! & knock! For He wants to give to you, and in all things, He works for the good of those who love Him. Take Heart dear child, for you will surely taste of his continual goodness and mercy as you look to Him, to the very end of the age.

Emmanuel

A friend of mine shared about one nature of God that she came to experience throughout her Christian walk. As I read about it, I pondered on what that one would be for me, and I looked back into my journey with God till now. As I did, I am so awed. God is with me, Emmanuel!

And what really tipped me to post about this was this devotion that I read to end my day. The words by Charles Spurgeon beautifully resonated with my remembrance of God being with me, and it even encouraged and assured me of my future days with Him.

From when I cried out to God(even when I haven't became Christian) for a new start(in studies, r/s with ppl, attitude to school etc) in St. Gabs and miraculously transferred to Kuo Chuan(other applicants on waiting list + my results were bad)

to meeting Gan Qi(who was also my neighbouring COY BMT mate after coming back from HK for NS) & Shaun(who's also in the same JC, CCAs & in my current LG) in Kuo Chuan

to being placed in SAJC(motto "No one is here by chance") with Zuoen(Same OG) and Pei Da(Together since we came to Hope), and then meeting the warm SALG

to even the tutors(like Kelvin who is in Hope now) and people(like Tian Wei who's in my LG now) that I met in tuition

to my A levels & Uni(Unexpected results, able to pursue Biz which was my aspiration, and lead to go to SMU)

to PTP in BMT at J Coy with Caleb(a phase of growth and support both into NS and into NS Ministry)

to posting to PLAB with Robby & meeting brothers like Etienne, & also posting out just at a time before my mum & bro flew overseas for long-term work, & I cried out to God, so it just happened that I could spend more time with them

to the many times He spoke to me and lifted me up, to the healings I received, to moving in my family, my LG, my friends, to shining a double rainbow over my house when I felt unworthy, to letting me chance upon "Leading On Empty" book during a down period, to His Favor pouring out in this year, and so much more in between...

I'm in awed by you God :') I'm still stubborn at times, still stumbling, still lacking in faith, still prideful, still lazy at times, still... Yet you have always been with me, & so personally! Even when your ways are higher, you still spoke to me and assured me. Thank you for being with me surely, to the very end of the age Jesus :)

Look At The Fields! They Are Ripe For Harvest

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

-John 4:34-38

This is the year of the Lord's Favour, and also a period of special grace for our Church! I was really amazed by how God had already been moving, such as by bringing many new brothers to the NS group recently, or through ExperieNSe or by putting 5 bros from NS Ministry in the same 5th COY in Tekong.

For myself, there are different people I sowed on. However there were periods where there seems to be little fruit, even though some seemed really open to know God, and though we got to talk and fellowship a lot.

During the period before I ORD last Dec, I took courage to share about God to many camp mates, including my OC, a ME5 from another section, and an Indian brother who was in another section too. I was really grateful for these God-given opportunities. However since then, none of them came to Hope or receive Christ yet. I also had a good friend named Eugene, he is an Atheist, but he joined me for Christmas ESS. He still holds to his belief, but we had a great and fruitful time of sharing.

Despite not seeing much fruit, a message that had been shared recently was that when we plant the seed, we don't know how, but the seed grows! Another message was that, one may plant, one may water, but it's God who makes it grow.

An amazing testimony to this would be how Tian Wei, a new believer came to join us! He was in the same GP group tuition as me for about 2 months during A's. There were also DHS Hope peeps at the tuition, but he didn't came to Hope then. It was in NS that he met Douglas from NS ministry, and came to receive Christ!

There is also a brother named Alvin, who came to Hope for about a year in Sec 3 after I invited him. He went to study in HK, but when he came back for NS, he was in the neighboring COY beside me in BMT. We got to catch up, but he has not come back to Christ yet and is going back to HK this weekend. Yet I'll hold to God's Word, that it is God who makes the seed grow, for He definitely planted the seed.

I also have to share about Bryan! His mum came to Hope recently and got connected with my mum. She invited her son Bryan to join me and my LG for Project Sparkle. His son was going CJC. He came with his mum to 2nd service recently, and after service, they ate dinner at Army Market instead of joining the NS Ministry at Dhoby. It just so happened that the CJC LG was there too and met with Bryan and his mum. Bryan was then connected to the LG! One plant, one waters, but God makes it grow!

In light of all that God was doing in this year of His Favour, and the Word he has given me. I was encouraged to continue to sow and love those around me. Just yesterday, I went with some of my Cat High old friends to send Eugene off for overseas studies. As we sent him off and went for dinner, my friend Yihe, who was also an Atheist suddenly asked about my Church, as he's been there before a few years back. We talked more and he is coming for service this Saturday! Yihe also just happened to know Jordan and Ernest who are in my current LG! I also asked other friends yesterday. A friend named Harvey(who also knows Shaun in my current LG) is coming, and another brother Tjun Sern is joining too! :)

It's amazing that these 3 brothers just responded quickly that they wanted to come last night; especially Yihe, as he is an Atheist. Perhaps God opened this door because we'll meet up less(Cat high old friends) after Eugene flies off, so God just opened Yihe's heart to want to visit this Saturday.

There are others brothers who may come along too and I can really see how God is drawing them to Him; be it through the people they happened to know in Hope, or suddenly softening their hearts! This is indeed the Year of the Lord's Favour! God isn't just orchestrating to open the doors to the Harvest, but is even turning the hearts of many towards Him again! Let's continue to seek Him, to carry more of His heart of compassion, to take the mustard seed of faith, and His living Word, as He continues to advance His Kingdom!

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” 

-Matthew 9:35-38

God is the Lord of the Harvest, and we are the workers he is sending! God bless :)

Happy Birthday Mom :)

Happy Blessed Birthday Mom!!  It was awkward to buy the flowers from the shop below Church right after a BGR valentine sermon haha! Thank you for doting on me and caring for me, from my health, to my clothes, to my food, to my work etc and caring for me in such a meticulous way just as our Heavenly Father knows and cares for us. I've been a "no no" boy, one who still gets impatient, rude and rebellious at times.  But thank you for such patience and continual love in spite of how unlovable I am. Thank you also for providing for me beyond your means, be it through your time, your resources or understanding. Your love is such a model for me as I also look to Christ's love for us! And I'm also so glad that you and me, and our family, that we are together in Hope, and are seeking and serving God together! Once again, Happy Birthday Mom! :)

QT 31/1/2015