God of the 'suddenly'

This pastor of a small church spoke of how we are to recognise God at work in the

ordinariness of our daily life. In a small town, day in and day out, nothing

exciting happens. One day, a grandmother of 80 years old, came to his church for

prayer. She complained of intense pain. ( leg area, I think). She thought" I have

nothing to lose. ( Hokkien.."tan si niah'....waiting for death to arrive , at this

age) But she was healed! She didnt return to church, being a non-believer.

But her grandson who is a christian and working in KL had an accident and given 10

days' leave. He went home and day in and day out, encouraged his grandmother to

attend church. Finally, she relented... went to church and testified and wanted to

be baptised. Idols were removed from her house and it is now the talk of the town.

People are telling one another..." wah tiah tuk.." I heard that..)


My reflection: Our God is a God of the 'suddenly' ..as we stay faithful to Him

daily, He will surely work through us and in us for the glory of His name.

Ps 113 v 3

problems

I was discussing the kind of problems and challenges that people might face

in life. Daughter concludes that believers face more problems than unbelievers.She

reasons that this is because the devil is always trying to discourage people

from getting close to God.


This reminds me of Acts 14 v 22 "... we must go through many hardships

to enter the kingdom of God."

clock and cisterns

I bought a cheap ( RM 10 to RM15) clock and when it didn't work, the battery was

changed. That didn't solve the problem and when I asked the seller , she said

" did you use a powerful battery for the clock"? Explaining further, she said the

alarm could only work if a cheap battery was used.

That was proven true.

Reflection: Realising how my spirit ( clock) could not receive/respond to the

Holy Spirit's( powerful battery) promptings sometimes....because

a) maybe mind and spirit have been clogged with worldly cares?

b) focussed on wordly pleasures...because "have dug own cisterns...

that cannot hold water."( jeremiah 2 v13 )

props

I am feeling a little out of sorts , reason being that my faithful laptop

has been sent for servicing. ( and a brand new one at that!) I have been listening

reading lots of sermons , messages etc. on it.


I have a feeling that God is reminding me that even even laptops and what

technological tools ( awesome musical instruments, PA system etc during church

worship) are just props and I am to worship Him in spirit and truth ( from a

pure heart).

reflection : Ps 51 v 17

end from the beginning

She grumbled and complained while preparing her speech. She asked why she was

picked to be one of the 7 from her class and speech was in Bahasa. It would

have been so much easier if it had been in English.

After it was over, she said that the external assesor commented that she would

be awarded an "A" if it were a written assessment.( This made her think that

as this was an oral exam, maybe she didn't get an "A"?)


When the external assessor asked for an extra candidate( poor girl, she was not

asked to prepare earlier) Realizing how she could have been that "last unprepared

candidate" , she was thankful to God to be among the few chosen "scapegoats"

Realizing how sometimes I also may fall into the trap of blaming God...and asking

why.....but God sees the end from the beginning? Praise God.


P/S external assessor awarded her an "A"

( ps 142 v 7 " Set me free from my prison ( negative thoughts, doubts) that I

may praise your name")

bread

This evening, I bought 3 different loaves of bread; a breakthrough

loaf, a white loaf and a butterscotch loaf. Each loaf satisfies the craving

of a certain member of the family.

I am reminded of Matthew 4 v 4 which says " ...man does not live by bread

alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."


Prayer: "Yes, Lord, asking that Your Word will fall afresh on me

every time I seek Your face. Remove familiarity from me.

In Jesus name, amen"

this and that

1) stll waiting for the cake recipe from the lady I met at the supermarket.

2) the overseas blogger will be back in Malaysia with his family so the timing

was not right for my friends to meet him

3) the message I shared at school CF was about faith...how we need to

co-operate with God even as we trust in Him. Remember how the 10 lepers were

healed? Luke 17v 14 "... And as they went, they were healed." Jesus asked

them to show themselves to the priest.

4) Thankful that daughter was also ministered during the message and already put

it into practice the next day.


Isn't it wonderful that as we minister to others, we can trust the Holy Spirit

to minister to our loved ones?

5) On 2 separate occasions, I sent a Bible verse , one by sms and another

written out for an unwell friend. The feedback came back that the 2 verses

were very apt for the 2 different occasions.Praise God!


( Heb 3 v 13 " Encourage one another daily)

6) Deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcet served to remind me


Ps 146 v 4 "When their spirits depart, ... on that very day their plans came

to nothing."

So I shall resolve to redeem my time , what about you?