BE INTENTIONAL (4): Seeking the Only One True King

Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst. – John 6:35

At this time of the year, a king would stay over at my place for a few days. And my family look forward enthusiastically to have a big feast with him, except me, as I struggle to be hospitable, due to his overpowering body odour. Not long after, the entire house would stink heaven high for hours! (And yes, I should have a deodoriser on standby!) 

Only Singaporeans would know what I am talking about – yes, the durian season with the ever familiar stench of the year is here again, and it is time almost the entire Nation would go ga-ga over the king of fruits. They would even travel the miles just to lay hands on this smelly fruit. And whenever I passed by roadside stalls selling durians, I would never failed to see a single soul craving to polish off the seeds without gesticulating KFC’s famous slogan, “Finger Licking Good”.

If only Singaporeans can turn the same passion in seeking after a one true King, who is the King or Kings and the Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16), whose Fruit* will always satisfied:

Jesus Christ is the true life-eternal-giving Bread, whose Word is life-saving and have the divine power for supernatural intervention. He is to the soul what bread is to the body, nourishes and supports spiritual life. Those who come to Christ, believe in Him, and eat of this spiritual Bread of Life shall be filled and be satisfied in every need. It also sustains the spiritual life in strength, and refreshes the weary.

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.” – John 6:51

Just as our physical body need food every day, our spiritual body need to be fed daily too in order to grow and live well. May this durian season be a great reminder to seek the One True King whose flesh will always satisfied. 

P.S.

Good news for the diabetic, since the sugar content found in this spiritual Fruit* is very healthy. And for those who have sensitive nose, this Fruit* only release sweet-smelling aroma. 

The Ultimate Stress-Buster

God knows when you sit down or stand up. He knows your thoughts even when you are far away” (Psalm 139:2). “And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” (Luke 12:7)

I was sauntering around the bustling Raffles Place, the heart of Singapore’s great commercial emporium, where contemporary skyscrapers towering over me seem to glint back at me from every direction, amidst throng of immaculately well-dressed office folks scrambling from building to building. I observed that the folks there seemed to be hunchback with stress. It is comprehensible that as the society progresses, it is getting more competitive and fast-paced, that life comes burdened with daily stress. Busyness can throw us off balance and stress can easily immobilise us, but chronic stress do far more irreparable damage to our health.

Although stress is inevitable, whether as a salaried employee or self-employed, but suffering is optional. That is, we need to be like Mary, who take the time to sit still at the feet of Jesus and listen to what He had to say (Luke 10:39).

When you are overwhelmed, do you recite your woes more naturally than you do Heaven’s strength? You may even feel that God doesn’t seem to care about the nitty-gritty details of your life. But have you forgotten that your omnipresent Father who loves you, is waiting for you to draw near to Him? God already know when you sit up and stand up. He knows each intimate details right down to the number of your hairs on your head. Wouldn’t He be able to grasp your innermost thoughts and inexpressible struggles? He even know when we are far from Him.

Don’t you realise too that worry or getting anxious is not going to help matters? So why not choose the better- take your focus off and take the time to draw near to God. He will refresh, recharge and reaffirm you that He is looking out for you and taking care of your every needs.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7 NLT) Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4:6-7 MSG) The Peace of Jesus given unto you, let not your heart be troubled, neither be afraid. (John 14:27) Let not your heart be troubled, trust in God. (John 14:1)

We Can Be Super Hero!

While watching “Wonder Woman” movie recently, I had imagined myself to have super-power to fight evils- I thought it was simply cool to be a super hero, that I wished I could have such amazing powers.

At that instant, I was reminded that we, as children of the Almighty God, have super power too, as co-heir to Jesus Christ!

1. We can fight any demons and evils

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. – Luke 10:19

2. Our power is at work 

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. – Ephesians 3:20

3. Our power is rechargeable

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. – Isaiah 40:29

4. We have the power with our tongue

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. – Proverbs 18:21

5. We can heal the sick

And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” – Mark 16:17-18

6. We can fight any temptations

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. – 1 John 5:4A

7. We can demolish strongholds

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. – 2 Corinthians 10:4

So in other words, we have the power to speak over “death”, heal the sick, to kill demons and to destroy evils. And of course, we have the power to overcome darkness in any areas of our life.

Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. – Psalm 68:35

Take on this new identity as a super hero in God’s Kingdom. Have a super-charged week ahead!

When You Feel Small……

I believe, some of us, from time to time, felt challenged by our own inadequacies or bruised under a barrage of discouragements, that we did question our own identity.

I recalled one instance in my life (as a very young believer) when I was crushed under pressure at work coupled with a personal sting (I was still struggling to recover from my identity crisis resulted from a broken home and emotional turmoils since young), my spirit was grieving. And that one catalyst engendered a chain reaction that maimed my confidence. The next instance, I struggled with speaking for days, fumbling with words.

One night in the midst of that emotional struggle, I distinctly heard a small voice, “The least is more significant to Me…” God was lieterally speaking to me! I quickly turned to my bible in order to tune my spirit to the Truth. Just as I flipped open, I was led to 1 Corinthians 12:22-25 that read “... those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.”

Recalling Paul, the great persecutor of his times, who constantly felt tormented by a messenger sent by Satan, yet God empowered him with His Grace and supernatural Strength; Mary Magdeline, the adulteress, whom Jesus saved her from being stoned by the people who condemned her; And not discounting Moses, who once was a murderer, struggled with his own inadequacy and speech deficiency. Needless to mention those hard tax collectors who were regarded as scums of society, had became close disciples of Jesus.

Yet, these are the people who were greatly used by God. Jesus indeed had a special heart for “the-not-so-normal-people”. He saw beyond what men failed to see. Men look at outward appearance but God looks at the heart. People around you may judge you by what you can’t do, but we can take comfort in the God who believes in what you can do.

For he who is least among you all — he is the greatest. – Luke 9:48

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last” – Matthew 20:16

“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” – 1 Corinthians 15:9-10

At times when you may have felt small, Jesus cares.

Those times when you may have felt condemned, Jesus cares.

When you felt no one cares a dime about you, Jesus cares.

He has a special heart for those the world has chosen to disparage.

Do You Know That The Bible Is A Book Of Strategies?

While helping a client to strategise her brand growth, I have to come up with a Brand Strategy Blueprint for optimal market roll-out. My role is akin to playing Chess- every move will either be a stalemate or a checkmate.

It then dawned upon me that apart from being a Brand Strategist, I can be also be a Battle Strategist. Do you know that the bible is a book of strategies? The bible originates from the true blue Master Strategist of All times.

We are aware that none of us will be immuned to battles, whether battle of the principalities, the flesh or soul, whether at your workplace or at home. In those challenging times, did we consult the living book of strategies in warring against the opposing forces, or we merely scrapping through on our own head knowledge?

It will be too many strategies to list, but to share an example:

1. How will God entrust you with true riches (may not necessarily mean wealth. It can be riches of the Kingdom, riches of relationships, riches of sound health etc)?

3 STRATEGIES FROM LUKE 16:10-13

(A) Be faithful with the little things (Cross ref to Matthew 25:21)

(B) Be trustworthy (Cross ref to Proverbs 16:11)

(C) Serve God (Cross ref to Matthew 6:33)

Strategies can be adopted in various ways for multi-pronged effectiveness. When comes to war, a General needs to research and know the enemies well: their plans, tactics, routes, and weaknesses, in order to counter attack with the right strategies, whether require single or multilevel. Similarly, we also need to know who is our “enemy” (physical or spiritual), the deceptions of the evil one, our weaknesses etc, in order to counter the attacks with the Living Guidance of God.

REALITY CHECK 1: Do we know our bible well enough to arm ourselves well?

Do you know too that you can strategise your own spiritual growth? Hebrews 5:13-14 says, “Everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their sensibilities to distinguish good from evil.”

REALITY CHECK 2: From where you were to where you are now- how well are you growing?

God Is.

God is FOR us = We have the Backing and Protection of an Omnipotent God.

God is WITH us = We have the Presence and Guardianship of an Omnipresent God.

God is IN us = We have the Empowerment and Guidance of an Omniscient God.

God is, I Am.

The God who spoke, still speak.

The God who listened, still listen.

The God who moved, still move.

The God who molded, still mold.

The God who forgave, still forgive.

The God who blessed, still bless.

The God who transformed, still transform.

The God who delivered, still deliver.

The God who empowered, still empower.

The God who strengthened, still strengthen.

The God who healed, still heal.

The God who saved, still save.

He is the God of yesterdays, today and tomorrows.

He is the God of all possibilities, where men can’t, God can.

God is, I Am.