Are You Counting Days Or Making Them Count?

It has been an interesting week. The impact of it started on Tuesday during the leaders' meeting. There was no preaching of the word but God's voice was clear. In the atmosphere of faith and seeking, God was speaking much - to all present, I believe. One of the key things He spoke to me about was Revelation 3:7-13. It occured to me only then and there that this is the 1 message of the 7 to the churches that was affirmative. The rest were warnings.

The church of Philadelphia was deemed a faithful church by God. The words of the Spirit were as follows:

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. 13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

Have you lost sight of your purpose in life? Have you lost sight of the reason for your salvation? Not just so you could go to heaven and sing endless praises to the King of kings, my friend but that you would first learn to worship and serve Him in this time and go to the ends of the earth with the message of the Lord. God will open doors that no man can shut. And what He shuts, no man shall open. Everything is in His hands. We are then to keep His word - what He says to do, as we hear, we act - and uphold His name. Our perseverance; our will to hold on to what the Lord has entrusted us would lead us to the reward of the crown of life. And as we overcome, we shall partake of the glory of the New Jerusalem whose pillars are conquerors in Christ during their lifetime on earth.

Our progress in life can be simplified to just 3 areas of measurement:

1. the Great Commandment - our relationship with God and mankind
2. the Great Commission - our call and response to advancing the Gospel
3. the Cultural Mandate - our influence and impact on society

Corresponding to each of the above, I was reminded of the lives of Elisha, of Esther and of Daniel respectively.

Unlike the other prophets, Elisha pressed in for God's presence, plans, purposes and so moved in God's power. He unrelentlessly followed after his mentor and teacher. Nothing could stop him, not even when Elijah said "Stop. God has called me to move on. You cant follow me." He clung to Elijah and followed wherever he went until God took Elijah away where he could not follow. This is how we should be pursuing God and the leaders He place before us through the seasons of our spiritual growth.

Esther on the other hand was prepared for and granted favour in the palace. Life became luxurious and so comfortable that she actually forgot about the outside world and had little connectivity with the people in it. When Mordecai (representing the Holy Spirit) came to update her of the happenings, her first response was, "There's nothing I can do." Life was good and so she went into self-preservation mode until Mordecai reminded her of her identity - she was one of the Jews. The predicament on them would not preclude her. She could intercede and be a vessel to save the entire people group or perish with them. She arose in courage, turning to the Lord in fasting and prayer, then moved with great favour and influence in the presence of the king. Like Esther, we need to recognise that we are appointed for our time and are instruments in the hands of God. Our salvation is not only of ourselves and immediate family members and loved ones only but for the people of our kind and generation! We have a GREAT commission - from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and to the ends of the earth!

Finally, Daniel is the perfect testimony of a sheep amongst wolves. His lay profession and ungodly band of colleagues did not stop him from living a life of holiness and separation unto the Lord. He was a statement of greatness, full of wisdom, faith and trust in the Lord. His commitment was unwavering. His fidelity to the Most High was not dependent on whether others around him believed in God or not. He was steadfast in his knowledge and conviction of who his God was. As such, he was able to exercise the discernment and gifts of the Holy Spirit in the marketplace. He was so impactful that he arose to a position of great influence and changed the spiritual atmosphere where he was. He was so successful that his bosses, king Nebuchadnezzar and king Darius, both could not deny his God. They believed in Him.

These are 3 individuals amongst many who left legacies with benefits that lasted beyond their lifetimes. Their faithfulness to God brought fruitfulness for the hundreds and thousands of generations after. 1 thing they all had in common: they did not count the days of their lives but they made the days of their lives count. What is the difference?

Are you looking forward to weekends to enjoy/relax while dreading the thought of another Monday? Worse yet, does your heart start sinking by the time Sunday afternoon/evening comes because you cant bear to go through the next 5 days at work? How miserable we can get sometimes! All because we are counting our days... sub/unconsciously anticipating for the day that we would call it quits on this earth. Friends, let us look up to those who have gone before us. Elisha, Esther and Daniel have gone before us to show us it can be done.

Instead of standing still in the pretext of trying to ascertain the purpose and calling of our life, we can simply live each day in close partnership with the Holy Spirit. Surely then we will begin to see as our days would count for something. How could I be so sure? What God builds always stands. Let's press in... #nelle#

Shine JESUS Shine!

Eversince I graduated from SOT and started work, I have had to establish an order and discipline of seeking God and feeding on His word daily. After two months of trial and error, and sheer perseverance, I found something that worked. Since, Mon-Fri mornings would begin with about an hour of devotional and bible reading as I took my simple breakfast and coffee. Saturday mornings are my times of unrushed solitude with God and week after week, God has been faithful to comfort me with His tangible presence, teaching me the things that perplex me.

About 3 weeks back, there was a saturday that I awoke late, and as a result, threw my routine off course. It's not the first time but this time, I ruined the day with a mind hung up on spending time with the Lord but a heart that is afar off. I realised a burden weighing upon me just because I missed a morning of solitude. And I thought to myself, "This isnt what a victorious Christian life should be. I should be joyful. Why am I heavy-laden just because I didnt have my time of connectivity with the Lord this morning as usual?" And the scary thing was, I couldnt bring myself to do anything else. So I was in a state of mindless praying in tongues. This bothered me.

The following day, I was led to purchase a book by Steve McVey (don't know him prior to this) on Grace Walk. And unlike my typical reading style (to start from page 1), I flipped the book and opened to this chapter called: All I Need Is Love. That was the beginning of an increased understanding of God's grace in our lives. The author wrote about Christian performance vs relationship. We are raised and trained in a culture of performance/goal-orientation so much that it spills over to our Christian life. But God is after relationship - a connectivity of our heart first that would then lead us to do His business as He leads. Yet many of us seek to please Him with the impressive list of things that we do, none of which is going to make God love us more. Neither is He going to love us any less if we missed and fell short of 1 thing or 2! But we fail to grasp this...

The grace of God is His love that gives us the space to respond to the call unto Himself. When we choose a wrong response, His grace is sufficient to give us a 2nd chance, and another, and another. Yet we do not take for granted the God of 2nd chances. Because of an awakening to His amazing grace, I learn to not take Him and the people/things/opportunities He has given me for granted. Because of an awakening to His amazing grace, I am motivated to want to draw near to Him even more and ask Him to guide me in every little way, and not compartmentalise my life as in the past, spiritual life is spiritual life, the rest of life is the rest of life. No it doesnt work that way. I know yet I live that way. But by His grace, I have come to realise it.

The greatest realisation is that the fruit of an abiding relationship in Christ is Christ Himself manifesting through me. Gal 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." The new identity is the Christ in me, not former me who is dead and passed away. And then I realised what it truly means to "SHINE FOR JESUS." It really means SHINE forTH JESUS.

The word "for" could mean do something to/towards another; or on behalf of. Both expressions place a strong focus on the self. And people are hooked on what they can do for Jesus; what they have done for Jesus; how they have and will conduct themselves to be a good testimony for Jesus. So much of the I is emphasised when it is clear in John 3:30 that, "He must increase but I must decrease." God doesnt need us to give Him a helping hand to show Himself real and strong! Rather, the ultimate goal of our Christian life is to be more and more like Christ; to be transformed into the image of God as God has intended for us from the beginning. By that, when we have a strong relationship with the True Vine, His character, nature and life will flow out of our being. That is when we realise we do not have to remain the way that we are but let the potential, the seed of God in us develop. By this, we shall be witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8)! Shine FORTH Jesus, my friend! #nelle#

Life Without Limits

What does it mean to live a life without limits? Look at this unique individual who has a life without limbs and you might come to understand.

Nic Vujicic was in Singapore to share how he overcame his physical limitation and also to spread the message of hope for a life without limits.

No hands, no legs but a "drumstick" (as he calls his little left foot with 2 toes) yet he has done so much and lived so well, no different (if not more!) than what an average "normal" person would do. He swims, he types, he works, he has a cause to live for and he enjoys life!!

He bears a spirit of joy that is contagious; he carries in him a strength that seems unfallible; he exudes a charisma that draws people to himself. He has so little yet so much!! He is a miracle!!

It taught me one thing very clearly: our significance is not in what we have but what we believe and how we use the little we have to build ourselves up.

The heart and soul of a person is not expressed in the ouput of his hands or in where his legs can go but in the spirit of his being. That is, the convictions of his life.

Nic Vujicic is proof that disability is not an outward condition but an inward state of mind. He is a walking testimony of one living in absolute freedom in Christ although his circumstances could have bound him to disappointments, hurts and failures! Let us not be held captive by our inner fears, guilt and memories of past failures.

THERE IS SOMETHING MORE because with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! #nelle#