Blessings from God

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

It was an email. It was an email that opened the floodgates, followed by the streams of tears that came naturally. It was a moment of joy and delight. No, It was more than that; It was a moment of awe for Jesus. The many months of struggle, of emotional hurts and of uncertainties, with the many months of surrendering and believing that God will provide, God made it clear once and for all on that very day I received that email.

Wonder what the email was about?

The email read, "We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for the Health Science Scholarship (Diploma with Degree Conversion) in Physiotherapy, tenable for 3 years in Nanyang Polytechnic and 1 year in an overseas university."

In November last year, I decided to ask God to show me His will in my life and of course, the course that I should take for my tertiary education. It was after 2 years of thinking and wondering what I want to do in the future and finally reaching the end of the road that I realised that I have gone in the wrong direction. Like the parable of the prodigal son, God ran to me when I made the decision to come back to Him.

He diverted my attention away from all the glamourous courses towards a course that most students won't think about studying - Physiotherapy. I was filled with doubts but God showed me that He was going to use me mightily in this area and I obeyed Him. Then came the strong opposition from my parents who were very against the idea of studying physiotherapy because I had to go through a polytechnic education which they thought was second-class. I was very upset and hurt, and the breaking point was when they threatened to disown me if I were to choose this path. I was heartbroken and had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do. I couldn't tell them that this course is from God because they weren't christians. I was very lost.

Chris told me to press on and coninue to trust in the Lord, and I did. I prayed and believed that God's Will will be done in my life, and He did. My parents became more accepting and even my elder brother whom I had a relationship breakdown a few years back spoke for me. It was amazing and it became much clearer to me that this was and is indeed God's perfect Will for my life.

I decided to apply for a scholarship for this course so as to appease my parents, who in their hearts, were still very unwilling to accept my decision. As school drew closer, I began to doubt and there was just so much uncertainty regarding this course and whether I would be able to do well for it. At one point I even regretted choosing this. I prayed and prayed and asked God for His strength.

School started, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed studying this course. Last thursday, I went for the scholarship interview. I was pretty unprepared but I believed that God was with me and even allowed me to gain the favour of the interviewers who seemed to be enjoying my presence. Even though I was offered the scholarship, I knew deep down that it wasn't because of me that I got the scholarship, it was 100% God. Without God, I have nothing.

Like what Chris said, "this scholarship affirms my position in physiotherapy." I am so honoured to be so loved by God, knowing that His Will is unfolding in my life right now. My parents too, are glowing with delight now.

Looking back, what I saw wasn't just the email, it was beyond that. I saw God's miracle hands working through my life. I saw a God who's love is unfailing, a God who's provision is more than enough for me, a God who knows what's best for me. I cried because I was touched by our awesome God.

What else can I say about this amazing God who makes all things work for the good for those who love him, who are called according to His purpose?

A New Season

As I begin my tertiary education tomorrow, a new phase of my life unfolds. Call it a new season of my walk with Christ. A new level of faith, admist all the stress and anxiety, to trust God for my studies and for His purpose to be fulfilled in my life. A closer walk with God on this path of many uncertainties and challenges.

God put me in physiotherapy for a reason, and I trust that His plan is indeed the best for me. 2 years of leaning upon my own thinking, I came to the end of the road, with no decision made, a future that was so clouded. Yet the moment I asked God to lead me, He gave me a future - in physiotherapy.

I faced strong objections from my parents who threatened to disown me if I were to study this. I was so lost and helpless, but I decided to trust God that if it is His will, then He will definitely provide a way for me. And He did.

"All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship"

This may be a new season of my life, but God is still the same yesterday, today and forever. He placed me in this course for a reason, and for that reason, He will walk with me throughout this journey. And even right now, I am just gonna boldly declare that I will excel in this course because God is with me. He provided a way for my parents to accept this decision, and He will definitely see that I excel in this course to bring Him all the glory! 3 years from now, you will hear me testify on this blog that I have done exceedingly well in my course and all glory belongs to God because without Him, I am nothing. Amen!

Always Before Me

Our God never fails to surprise us with His amazing love for us. As I was reflecting, I realised that it's always about me in Jesus' eyes so that it will always be about Him in our eyes. He is always before me so that I can see the signs and wonders that followed after Him.

Even before I knew God, He knew me and prepared the way for me to believe in Him. Even before I loved Him, He allowed me to experience His love, a love that I have never received from my family. Even before I fell off the cliff of sins, He was right at the bottom, with arms wide open, waiting to catch me. Even before I made up my mind about Him, He made up His and went to the Cross.

As Ben Seow of Ebenezer wrote in his song "Where Do I Run":

"Before I saw You, You saw me
Before I chased You, You chased me
Before I made up my mind, You made up Your mind about me"

At the Cross, what Jesus saw wasn't just the crowd that's before Him; He saw a life that needed a love that this world could not provide. He saw a need to give to this precious life that was created by Him. He saw a soul that was blinded by darkness, needing His light to guide the way. He saw a sinner saved by what He would do on that Cross. He saw me.

1 John 4:10
"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

The Miracle Maker

If you were given three and a half years, what would your accomplishments be? Could it be written into a book? Or could it even be written into a book? Or how about your entire lifespan? Yes, you could write a book about your life, but can you write more than that?

Let's look at how Jesus fared.

John 21:25
"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."

When I read this verse, I was awestruck. Jesus did so many things that even the whole world could not contain all that. Three and a half years and so many lives were touched by Jesus. Ain't that amazing? Think about it, let's say Jesus did 100 or 1000 things, there will still be rooms for all these books right? But what if the number of things Jesus did is in millions or even more than that? And what did Jesus do? Miracles.

John 14:12
"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing . He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

Look, it is Jesus' intention for us to do what He did - miracles. And if He can perform so many miracles in His short ministry, we can do even more miracles and greater miracles than Him because He has gone to the Father. It's back to this - Dare to Believe. Dare to believe God for the miracles that you need in your family, in your relationships, in any difficult situations when things just seem so hopeless. Dare to believe that signs and wonders will follow us who believe in Jesus as our savior.

Jesus turned the world upside down in His three and a half years of ministry. It's time for us to take the stand, to do what Jesus did, and turn the world upside down and inside out until the whole world witness the glory of our great God!

What Last Friday Was For

It was a bloody scene. His flesh was torned beyond recognition. The crown of thorns added to the list of sufferings that He had already faced. With barely enough strength left, He had to carry the huge wooden cross to His final destination. The crowd looked at Him not with sympathy, but hatred. As the nails drove through His hands and feet, His cry was drowned by the sea of laughter and joy. It felt like a celebration. O yes, it was indeed a celebration - the man that the crowd hated so much was about to die!

Hanging on that cross naked, He said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" Hey, did I hear wrongly? Did He say "forgive"? He had all the rights to hate and yet, He chose to forgive?! What is wrong with this man? Is He out of His mind?

That must have been what I was thinking when I was busy hating someone last week. And that was what Jesus taught me on Good Friday - Forgiveness.

There are so many times in our lives when things just seemed so unfair and we thought we had all the rights to be angry about it - When your boss accuses you of not doing your work, when your project mate is on "all talk, no action" mode, when you realised someone is making use of you, and the list goes on. Hatred appears to be the right reaction to these situations. Yes, it is, if you looked at these circumstances through your own eyes.

Look at what Jesus did when He was at the cross, having all the rights to hate. He forgave. Not because He was out of His mind, but because it was the right thing to do. As a saying goes, "An eye for an eye makes the world goes blind." What is right is always right even if the whole world is not doing it, and what is wrong will always be wrong even if the whole world is doing it.

Admit it, we are flawed. If we really trust our own belief system, the world will soon be blind. Why not try looking at these circumstances through the eyes of Jesus, the only perfect one? When Jesus was hanging on that cross, what He saw was not the evil in man, but the creation of His Father. What He felt wasn't hatred but love, love for the lost generation, love for His own creation. He chose to forgive so that two thousand and nine years later on Good Friday, I can forgive.

If Jesus, who had all the rights to hate, chose to forgive, then how can we, who had no rights to begin with, not forgive? We were the ones who drove Jesus to the cross, if He can forgive us, can we not forgive those who hurt us?

My Chains Are Gone Part 2

Matthew 19:26
"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

We cannot overcome addictions with our own strength. We need to partner with God, who is our strength, who has already given us the victory at the cross of calvary.

2 Timothy 1:7
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

When you come before God, don't come with a spirit of timidity. Why should we come begging and hoping when we already know that God will help us. Instead, come boldly but not arrogantly before the throne of God, and declare in the mighty name of Jesus that God has broken the chains of addiction in your life!

Look at the bold declarations in 1 Corinthians 15:55:
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"

God wants us to boldly declare the victory that He has already given us. And when you do, feelings no longer come into play. It's Faith. And what did the bible says about faith?

Matthew 17:20-21
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Dare to believe - that's how God want us to pray. You may not feel any difference, and you may even think that how will your addiction disappear just like this. Don't let logic create disbelieve in you because our logic is not the same as God's logic. God's logic is our impossible. But if you allow your disbelieve to take control of you, you are basically locking yourself with the very same chains that God has already broken for you.

We are co-heirs with Jesus Christ. We will be rulers in heaven. If you can't rule (with God) over your addictions, how then will you be able to rule in heaven?

Revelation 2:7
"To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."

Revelation 2:11
"He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death."

Revelation 2:17
"To him who overcomes, I will give give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."

Revelation 2:26-28
"To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations...just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the moning star."

Revelation 3:12
"Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name."

Revelation 3:21
"To him who overcomes, I will give him the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."

My Chains Are Gone Part 1

"My chains are gone, I've been set free.
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace"

How many times have we sung this song with such conviction at that point in time, believing that God has indeed set us free? And how many times have we, the very next moment, gone straight back to our addictions? What does it mean to you when you sing "my chains are gone, I've been set free"? Is it a declaration of the victory that God has already won for you, or is it just a hope that God will one day come to your rescue? Faith vs Logic and Feelings, Authority in Christ vs Begging for God's mercy, which side are you on?

Day and night we ask God to help us overcome our addictions, we cry out to Him and sometimes even question Him, we beg God for His mercy and grace. But once the temptation arises, logic and feelings will come into play. You ask God why is it so tempting, why can't He just take get rid of your addiction? You cry out to Him, telling Him that you really cannot resist the temptation anymore. And the next moment, you fall back into sin. Sounds familiar?

Logically, addictions are never easy to get rid off. It's always tempting you to do it again and again. And if you try to resist it, you will feel terrible. The outcome is you carry on with your addictions. In this trap, your faith becomes your feelings; once you were praying with authority, now you are just begging God to help you. You begin to pray with doubts, not believing that God can help you overcome your addictions. From fighting with God to fighting alone, from believing to just hoping, from God-centered to self-centered, you begin to wonder if God can do the impossible for you.

Have you realised that it's all about you so far, and never really about God? It's about you not being able to resist the temptation, it's about you feeling so terrible, it's about you not being able to live for God. The entire focus is on you, and that's the problem...

Thus Far

Ebenezer, formed by 5 God-fearing musicians from Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC), is the up-and-coming band in Singapore. Their lives are reflections of how amazing our God is, of how God can use our weaknesses to glorify His great name. Having performed in a number of gigs, including "What Last Friday Was For" - A Good Friday Harvest Gig and "Ebenezer in the Basement", they are gaining popularity in this nation. Below is their hit song, "Thus Far", which reflects our reliance on God, our need for God, and our rest in God.

Note: Scroll down to the music player on the right and click on "Thus Far" to listen.

Thus Far
Words and Music by Chris Seow (Ebenezer)

Verse 1:
In the Lord,
I find my rest.
In the shelter of His wings,
In the shadow of the Almighty One.

And I know,
My life is in His hands.
Through the winding roads and bends,
He’ll guide my way.

Pre-Chorus:
Thus far has the Lord helped me.
Whom shall I fear now? Him shall I follow after.
Thus far has the Lord been my strength.
Him I shall trust.

Verse 2:
Through the storm,
He is my peace.
He calms the raging seas,
His power made perfect when I am weak.

In His word,
I find my hope.
And my whole life I know
He holds me close.

Chorus:
Lord my God, Carry me. In your loving arms and
Lead me close, to your heart. Let me live in your glory.
Cover me, with your grace. Into your hands I surrender.
As I walk, in trust and faith.

Bridge:
Time and time again,
You’ve shown yourself faithful, faithful to me.
Oh how can I deny
Your love in my life.
For You are good
So good.

Chris Seow of Ebenezer explains the meaning of the song, "Thus Far":

'Thus far' is a song which carries an important fundamental of our everyday lives - dependance on God. The main theme, 'Thus far has the Lord helped me', comes from 1 Samuel 7:12, where Samuel set up a stone declaring the Lord's help after the Israelites won their territory back from the hands of the Philistines. Interestingly, that rock was named 'Ebenezer' (this was also how we came up with our band name). The Lord is our stone of help, solid rock in whom we can trust.

'Thus far' begins with a quiet knowledge of who God is. 'In the Lord, I find my rest... I know my life is in his hands... Through the storm He is my peace... In his power I find my hope...' Indeed, the Lord is all these things, and in the knowlege of who He is, we find the rest to lean on Him. The pre-chorus also sends a reminder that 'thus far has the Lord helped me' and in that God whom has helped us thus far, we indeed can place our trust!

Something that means a lot to me as the songwriter is how within the song, there is an integration between the quiet assurance of who God is and the utter desperation for His presence. With the entry of the chorus, a new sound emerges, and a new cry, one directed at God. It is an outcry to God to carry us through. From addressing yourself in the verses, there is an obvious turn to addressing God. The chorus is ultimately a prayer, and its words are not uncommon to our everyday prayers and desperation for God in our lives.

One of the most meditative points of the song is the bridge, which continues in the prayerful mood. Once again, we are reminded of God's great love.
'Thus far' is a song that came out from my heart during a rough point in my life, in the army. I do not remember what exactly I was doing, but I remember it was raining. And I remember walking in the heavy downpour crying out to God 'Lord my God! Carry me in your loving arms'. Indeed, this is our cry not only in the tough times, but in every single moment of our days! How we need God and depend on His help!