LOVE - One Thing I Learnt From My 21-Day Fast

Today marks the last day of my yearly 21-day fast.

Dear coffee and taste bud, we will finally have our date tomorrow.

This fast has made me realise ONE thing deeply.

I have sought the Lord for many things in the past. I have pursued the supernatural, divine encounters, heaven's visitations, heart of compassion, etc. But this fast has taught me ONE simple thing.

That is to set my heart to pursue greater revelations of His love. I say 'revelationS' because it takes forever to know the unending love of our eternal Father.

Only these things last: Faith, Hope & Love. And the greatest of these is LOVE.

Knowing experientially and intimately the love of God CHANGES every single thing in our lives. 

Often, we have taken the love of God into a simple concept that we don't really deliberate twice in our Christian walk. We say, "Yes, I know God loves me and Jesus died for me. So what's next?" Well, the fact of the matter is that we have not known even a tad of His deep love towards us.

Every aspect and manifestation of His blessings comes from knowing His love personally. There is absolutely NOTHING we need to do except to know His love.

"...you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:17-18

As apostle Paul wrote, God's love is beyond knowledge. There is no way we can study or acquire enough knowledge on His love. We can memorise the whole Bible by heart and yet still not know His love. The Bible is NOT God. The Bible contains the love letters inspired by God. The Bible is not an end by itself. It is the means by which we know the heart of God SO THAT we can approach Him personally, commune with Him and encounter His amazing love.

Paul said, "For you to be filled with ALL the FULLNESS of God, you need to know His love." (paraphrased).

The fullness of God encompasses everything you can ever think of and imagine, yet it is MORE than that. It is the abundant life on earth and eternal life in heaven. It is what you find in the life of the glorified King, Jesus Christ.

FULLNESS includes divine health, emotional well-being, prosperity, peace, joy, hope, fruit of the Spirit, gifts, manifestations of the Spirit, providence, supernatural, miracles, power, influence, favour, and many more!

FULLNESS is measured by overflowing. How do we measure if a cup is full of water? When the water overflows. When we are filled with all the fullness of God, every area of our lives will overflow. Supernatural becomes natural and effortless - we can walk past people and they get healed because the fullness of God overflows from us; restaurants, shops and businesses prosper when we walk into them because the fullness of God overflows from us; situations suddenly change when we are present because the fullness of God overflows from us, etc.
Question: How do we get ourselves filled with the fullness of God?

There is no magic formula. It's not about confessing positively every day, though confession has its good. It's not about doing and living right to the best of our capabilities, though we ought to do and live right. It's not about fasting and praying and spending time in devotions, though these are great spiritual lifestyles that help us to connect with God. It's not about obeying God every step of the way, though it is vital to obey what God says. It's not about impartation and baptism of the Holy Spirit, though these are awesome encounters.

There is only ONE simple truth: knowing His love. That completes the whole equation. Knowing His love is such a simple concept, but like what I said earlier, it takes forever. Because there is no method involved. It is purely out of a personal relationship with Him.

The love of God is the only thing that will transform us from the inside out and fill us with the fullness of Him. It will transform our marriage, our earthly relationships, our career, our society, our nation and our world. The LOVE of God IS the FULLNESS of God.

I am more determined than ever to set my face and heart on one thing: to know greater revelations of His unending love.

Grieved

Last evening, I attended an ex-colleague's wake. He was of the same age as me - 34 years old this year. We met each other in Air Defence and went through the tough training together.

The whole atmosphere was solemn. You could hear people crying uncontrollably. Having done so many wake services while I was in church ministry, I have never seen one with such a high attendance. Even paying our last respect took more than 20 minutes.

My heart had been heavy since I heard about his passing. He was so young! He was just pursuing his dream. He was answering the call of God in his life to be a great baker. I was elated when he shared passionately with me in 2014 when we met at Young Methodist Leaders' Conference.

While attending his wake, I was hit hard by the fact that we as Christians have watered down the truth in the Gospel. We (including me) lowered the standard of Jesus. We turned His words into pure concept.

If it's pure concept, we won't do anything about it. If we believe it as truth, we will act upon it.

I sat there pondering, "What would Jesus do if He were to walk into this wake service?"

The clearest picture that came to my mind is about Lazarus. During his wake, everyone was weeping. When Jesus saw that, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. The word 'groan' in Greek also means 'to snort in anger' or 'to charge with admonition.' Jesus was angry at the devil who took away Lazarus' life.

The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus comes to give abundant life. (John 10:10). Not everyone who died is taken by God. The Bible promises that we live a long and satisfying life. We are not supposed to die until we have finished the race and the destiny that God has given to each of us.

If Jesus were to walk in to my ex-colleague's wake, without a shadow of doubt, He would raise him from the dead. That is the greatest expression of love. Love snatches life from death. In Luke 7, Jesus literally grabbed hold (aggressively) of the coffin where a widow's son lay in and raised him from the dead.

Love is more than just a feeling. Love is compassion = passion in action. God is the Giver of life. He is never the taker of life. Yet when someone died for whatever reasons, God RECEIVED him into His arms.

For far too long, preachers have taken it easy. We often preach, "God has a purpose for calling him home." In church announcement, we say, "So and so has been called home to be with the Lord." The truth is, God did not call him home. God did not take him back. It was the enemy who came to steal his life. God RECEIVED him back into His arms.

Jesus commanded his disciples in Matthew 10:8 to heal the sick and raise the dead. He sent His disciples out to DO it. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus told His disciples to teach every believer to obey EVERYTHING He had commanded them. Paul raised the dead man when he fell from the window while listening to his preaching. Today, there is a Dead Raising Team who earnestly takes God at His word and goes around raising the dead. They have seen close to 30 people being raised from the dead. The number is not significant but at least they are taking the step of faith to act on the truth.

Many of us, however, do not even step out to do it. Yes, it includes me. I have no problem laying hand on the sick. But when I come to a wake service, I am unsure of how the family would respond. I have yet the confidence to do it. I am still growing in my faith journey. I do want to see the dead raised in Jesus' name!

Sitting at the wake service, tears came down from my eyes - both because of the fact that my friend died young and because I didn't walk out the truth.

We have let the reality of fact overwhelm the reality of heaven and truth.

I need to know more of You, Jesus!

The Good News Can Be Spread In All Platforms

Engaged a freelance flyer distributor to assist me in distributing my flyers.

We haven't met yet but as we conversed via whatsapp, I asked the Lord for His heart concerning him.

He felt lousy about his past but Jesus spoke life and encouragement into him as I partnered with the Holy Spirit. I'm trusting that the Gospel seed is sown.

Some sow; some water and God will bring the increase. Amen!

Faith Works Through Love

"...for all we need is faith working through love." - Galatians 5:6

Christianity is probably summarised in this verse. What really matters is faith working through love.

The only way we can increase our faith is by knowing experientially and intimately the love of God. Perfect love casts out fear. When all fear (together with unbelief and doubts) are cast out, what remains is boldness, confidence and FAITH.

Whatever you ask for in prayer, BELIEVE that you have received it, and it will be yours. - Mark 11:24

It is not our prayer that is going to get the answers. It's our belief. 

When the disciples couldn't cast out the demon in the boy, Jesus gave them a teaching moment, "Because of your unbelief." Jesus continued, "This kind can only be cast out by prayer and fasting."

Unbelief, doubts and fear can be cast out when we seek to know the God of love in prayer and fasting. It is not the prayer and fasting that casts out the demon. Jesus didn't fast and pray when He commanded the demon to go. He came down from Mount Transfiguration - the place of communion with the Father. It is the confidence in the love of God that enabled Jesus to cast out the demon.

Because faith and confidence always work through LOVE.

Two Role Models

In my opinion, the two people who are most passionate about the Gospel and about living out the kingdom lifestyle are Todd White and Heidi Baker.

Both are deeply in love with God and they focus very strongly on identity in Christ. They know and live out their identity wherever they go.

They are my earthly role models.

Todd White and Heidi Baker are both prominent public figures. They preach and teach on huge platforms. Heidi Baker has seen many dead raised, blind eyes opened, deaf ears opened, etc through her ministry. If I didn't remember wrongly, she has almost 100% rate in praying for deaf ears to be opened.

Having said that, both Todd and Heidi represent the King accurately in their daily lives, while doing the 'little things.' Everywhere they walk, they LIVE out the Gospel and SHARE the Gospel. They respond with LOVE in difficult situations.

In fact, I have never seen anyone who walks like Todd White on earth.

Lord, teach me to walk like them. Most importantly, teach me to represent Jesus accurately.

Step Out To Make Mistakes

While taking the MRT, I felt heat on my left knee again. Usually, this means that someone in the proximity needs healing. It used to be on my right palm but this manifestation disappeared. When it re-appears, it is on my left knee.

I looked up and saw a middle-age guy sitting on the opposite. I thought I heard "gastric issue". So I went up to him in the train and asked. Well, I got it wrong. He didn't have gastric issue.

Sometimes, it could be an ailment of the past; it could be a recurring ailment; or it could be a prophetic word for what is to come.

Nevertheless, I apologised for getting it wrong. From his look, I knew that I appeared weird and foolish in his sight. But I'm not ashamed of the Gospel. Perfect love casts out all fear.

We may applaud at successful testimonies. But it sometimes causes us to think, "I'm not sure if I can do it."

Yet it is the unsuccessful stories that give us courage to step out in faith, knowing that someone has already missed it. "If he tries and misses it, I can try and make mistakes too."

Failures should not stop us from walking in faith. In fact, it takes faith to fail. If you have never failed, you may have probably never stepped out of the boat.

Bill Johnson said this before, "Fear comes like a thief. It robs Peter from a good walk and keeps the rest of the disciples in the boat."

My son fell many times when he took his first step to walk. But his failures did not stop him from walking. In fact, he tried all the more. He knew that practice makes permanent. It was the tenacity that kept him going.

Successes build faith.

But failures build faith with character.

Let's step out of the boat to make mistakes so that we can grow more!

I Need MORE! I Want MORE! I Must Know You MORE!

This is the second day of my 21-day complete fast. I do it yearly, on top of my weekly fast, as a vital part of my spiritual lifestyle. My desire is to know God deeper and deeper. I want to know the surpassing knowledge of His love. I must have GREATER revelation of His love and goodness every year. It has to increase as I hunger and thirst after Him.

I fast not to pay a price for anything. I fast because the price is already paid by Jesus more than 2000 years ago. I fast to SEEK Him and KNOW Him MORE!

Hebrews 11:6 - ...for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently.

I seek Him to be rewarded with HIM, not other things.

For more on fasting, I have written the purpose of an extended fast two years ago.

Why Bother To Do An Extended Fast
(Written on 1st May 2014)

This is the first time I'm writing about this but it is so rewarding that I feel that I should share.

Fasting has been a lifestyle for me since the day I started full-time ministry in Church in Oct 2009. I realised that there are so many things I cannot do by myself without relying on God.

I must admit that I first started fasting with the following wrong motives:
1) God will answer my prayers faster
2) God will grant me greater breakthroughs in my life
3) God will speak to me clearer
4) God will grant me supernatural increase
5) God will change me and mature me as a Christian

The more I fast and pray, the more I realise that those are sacred cows (religion & traditions) to be killed. As far as I am concerned, they are not mentioned in Scriptures.

Fasting is not bending God's hand to do our will. It is bending ours to do His.

Fasting doesn't bring an increase in power or answered prayers. It brings us to a place of hunger and continual dependence upon Him such that we become conscious of His presence and power which we already have in Christ that we can walk in.

If our motives for fasting are what I mentioned in the list above, I can safely destroy those sacred cows by saying this, 'We DON'T NEED to fast in order to have those stuff. We already have them IN Christ.' If that is the case, then why do we bother to fast?

We live in a world where there are so much distractions and demands. Everything is seeking for our attention. Everyone is demanding something from us. For Christians who don't work in Church - don't ever think that working in Church means that we are constantly in a spiritual environment where we can easily seek God. Statistics have shown that many who work in Church neglect their personal and spiritual lives, and experience burn-out. Church ministry involves people and where people are, demands are placed. For Christians who work in Church - don't ever think that working in the marketplace is easy. There are many temptations marketplace workers are facing that we may not face. Each environment has it's own set of challenges.

But it's precisely because of the challenges, distractions and demands, whether in Church or marketplace environment, that fasting becomes a vital spiritual lifestyle that we need to develop. I don't like to use the word "spiritual disciplines". Alot of people measure the spiritual maturity of a person by the spiritual disciplines they do. Nothing is further from the truth. If you want to argue about that point, just ask your wife (or at least mine). Period.

Purpose of Fasting
To nail it to its simplicity, fasting is simply to come to the place of dependence upon Him. It's not getting into a place of religion. It's not getting to a place of self-pity or self-affliction. It's not coming to a place of change. You can't be changed by fasting. It's not a method of change. You can only be changed by the One who has the power to change you. There is only One Way. His name is Jesus. You can only be changed by Jesus Himself.

In the physical, we depend on food to be filled. If we don't eat, we get hungry. Some people think that it's easy for me to go without food for an extended period of time. Just ask my wife. Nobody likes to go without food. Read my emotions: I honestly hate fasting.

In the spiritual, we depend on Him to be filled. The more we feast on Him, the more we create the capacity in us to feast on Him. I fast to stay hungry for Jesus. I fast to depend on Him more. Yes, you can depend on Him so much that you don't have to fast. But I find it difficult to depend on Him in every aspect of my life, especially in this current world that we are living in. There are so many other resources we can turn to when we need help. It's easy to use my own wisdom and understanding to handle issues and challenges. Unless you stay in cave or assign yourself to become a Christian monk, it is difficult, but I'm not saying that it is impossible. Apostle Paul fasted regularly; the disciples of Jesus fasted regularly. Yes, Jesus Himself fasted. The only model we should rightly follow is Jesus. If He fasted, then we should too. It is meant to be a spiritual lifestyle.

I fast to stay conscious of His presence and power. During the period when I'm fasting, a simple gaze upon Him allows me to experience such tangible flow of His love, affection and joy for me. It's not that He is releasing more. He has already given to me in Christ. It's just an increased in awareness on my part. Fasting heightens that consciousness.

Benefits of Fasting
There are so many benefits that what I am going to share is definitely not exhaustive.

There are many things I consult Him while fasting. He will speak to me clearly (because my awareness increases) and He will share His heart beyond the things I consult Him for. He knows better, since He is my Creator.

He never fails to bring me to the place where I stay conscious of His love for me. In my recent fast, He brought me to the journey of my salvation and I couldn't help but immensed myself in His love, which caused me to break down in tears. I am very grateful to Him.

On two occasions, He brought me to heaven for a visitation. Some would say it's a vision, while some say it's a visitation. I'm not bothered by it. The end goal is always His presence and love. The means is not important. On one of the two occasions, I sat beside the throne of the Father - yes, at the right side. I thought, "Father, how is it possible that I could sit beside You? Isn't Jesus supposed to be sitting here?" He replied me, while laughing, "You are seated with Christ in the heavenly places." All of a sudden, the Scriptures became a reality to me. If it is the Truth, it is also the Reality. We are seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father. He then passed me an arrow. I asked Him, 'What's that, Father?" He said, "That's what you are supposed to do when arrows come at you." "What does it mean?" The Father replied, "The arrows are the attacks of the devil. You can simply catch them with your hands." "But Father, how do I do that?" He said, "Faith. Simply by faith."

I realised that Ephesians 6 talks about using faith to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil ones. It seems so easy. Simply by faith. Faith is the power of Christianity. The enemy cannot touch me when I simply have faith. Some people teach that the enemy can strike you if you sin or if you don't measure up to the Christian standard of living. Well, faith is not about performance or effort. Faith is simply believing. Even when your life doesn't match up, fret not, the enemy STILL cannot touch you if you simply hold on to the shield of faith.

There are many things I have written down in my journal during this recent fast. All I can say is this - It is so rewarding that I am very grateful.

As fasting increases my consciousness of His presence, it allows me to commune with Him intentionally before I make any decision, big or small. Even when I read the Scriptures, many fresh insights will be given to me, not because of the act of fasting, but because I devour on His Word to feed my spirit being during a fast.

Apart from spiritual benefits, there are many physical benefits. Again, this list below is not exhaustive.

1) Weight Loss
Fasting is not dieting. However, it can become pure dieting if we don't couple with continual prayer and communion with the Father. Weight loss is a physical result of fasting.

According to the feedback from others, I'm slim. Yet in recent fast, I lost more than 6kg. Each time after I fasted, I lost muscles which cannot be gained back simply by eating. Some people can lose up to 15-20 kg within the same period of fast. It depends on your present weight and size, as well as body metabolism rate. What does it mean? This is good news for ladies. You don't need to consume any slimming pills or try hard to lose weight. An extended fast will do that for you. However, this is bad news for guys who frequently visit the gym. I used to focus alot on physical muscles until I was down with a sickness and lost almost all the muscles I had built up over the years. The bad news is this... you will lose your muscles in an extended period of fast. However, losing some physical muscles is nothing compared to gaining spiritual muscles.

2) Natural De-tox
Healthcare products/supplements can be purchased on the shelves to help provide detoxification to your human body. You can even sign up for detoxification programme. Some products/supplements actually deal an amount of damage to your kidneys and liver, because they have to work harder to break down the chemicals found in the products. My suggestion is this - save your money and do the natural. Fasting is a free dotoxification programme that produces the best results. When you fast for at least three days, your body will naturally detox and re-vitalise, causing your skin cells to be renewed and your physical body to be refreshed. When you fast for about ten days, your digestive system will shut down, giving rest to your kidneys and intestines. The result will be HEALTH.

Each time I do an extended fast, I realise that I can sleep 6 hours a day and feel refreshed on the following day. I don't feel sleepy like others during lunch hours, since I'm not consuming any food. I only feel weak, but alert.

3) Addictions
If you can de-throne your stomach, you can de-throne anything in your life that seeks to be a throne. This is what I learnt from the Senior Pastor of The Free Chapel, Jentezen Franklin. Our stomach continually desires food. We go against it's desire if we stop it from having food. It is the place where all addictions (I believe it does not matter what kind of addiction it is) can be broken. If you can stop your desire for food, you can stop your desire for anything else.

In my recent fast, I didn't take any coffee. I love coffee and I must have coffee everyday! Since I did not take any food, I couldn't drink coffee. Coffee is acidic and it will damage my digestive system. After my fast has ended, I have no desire whatsoever for coffee. I can simply go without coffee. But I don't mind going back to drinking coffee, since it is not harmful if I don't exceed two cups a day. I'm sharing this to tell you how fasting can break any form of addictions.

In an extended fast, I have no desire for anything when I am weak. I only have desire for Him. My eyes are set upon Him.

4) Healing
Studies have shown that many sicknesses and diseases can be healed or significantly reduced simply by fasting. One example is arthritis or inflammation-related issues. Some also experienced healing due to a drop in sugar and cholestrol level. Another example is gastric problems. Many people think that if they have gastric problems, they cannot fast as they would face severe hunger. The truth is this... gastric is a result of irregular eating habits. If we can break that, we can remove the gastric problems. When we fast for an extended period of time, it allows the body to rest and 'reset' itself. The additional acid produced in patients with gastric issues will be adjusted during fasting. When the system has shut down and reset itself, the body is ready to start over. By introducing healthy diet after a fast, the person no longer struggles with gastric problems.

5) Decreased desire for sweet stuff
After my recent fast, I experience a decreased desire for sweet stuff. Now I can't take kaya and sugary stuff. It's just too sweet for me. For those who love sweet stuff yet concerned about gaining weight, this is a huge bonus!

There are many more benefits. But it would be unjust if I simply talk about the good and not the setbacks.

Setbacks of Fasting
1) You get bad breath
This is normal. Your body is detoxing. Use a breath spray or brush your teeth regularly.

2) You get hunger pangs
This is normal. If you don't eat, you get hungry. The hunger pangs will increase on the 2nd to 3rd day without food. But once you hit 10 days and above, you won't feel hungry. Your digestive system has shut down and it doesn't need any food to feel full. However, between 1-10 days, I usually can't help but buy food, though I can't eat. I will buy food for my wife to eat. In recent fast, I bought some Groupon vouchers too! Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor of Bethel Church, seldom watch TV shows. But when he fasted for 40 days, he watched TV shows on food and he bought 29 cook books from Amazon (though he doesn't cook). There is such an attraction to food when you fast for the first couple of days.

3) You can get headache AND/OR you can't sleep well
As your body is going through de-tox, you may get headache (I normally don't get it) and you may not sleep well. I can't sleep well after a couple of days of fast. I just can't get to sleep.

4) You feel weak
This is common sense. No food = no strength. Climbing a flight of stairs can get me exhausted. So I do it slowly.

5) Reduced amount of fellowship
Singapore is all about food. People have fellowship while eating. When I fast, I give it a miss. I direct my time and energy to spend time with God.

In a nutshell, fasting is one of the most rewarding spiritual lifestyles you can ever have. Give it a shot if you have never tried before. Trust me, you will never regret.

Caution: Do not go for an extended fast if you have never fasted before. Start slow and start small. Like a marathon, you need to pace yourself. For those with gastric issues, please consult a doctor first.

Wedding - Ex-Youth Leaders

Took a cab from TPMC to St. Andrew's Village for ex-youth leaders' wedding.

Had a WOK for the driver: Neck problem.

I asked the Holy Spirit, "Which part?" Heard Him saying, "Left side near shoulder."

Checked with the driver and it was confirmed. Prayed for him and he kept thanking me as he was healed.

Effortless Part 2

I was waiting for the LRT at Sengkang. Felt heat on my left knee. Without thinking further, I saw a "left knee" at the back of my mind. It was a lady dressed in green.

I turned back and saw a Caucasian lady dressed in green. She had a blue bandage on her left knee.

The train came and I followed her and her hubby in. We alighted at Sengkang MRT but they headed to take the lift. I went by the stairs to the platform and waited for them to come out of the lift.

Approached her and prayed for her. Throughout the journey, I was talking to her hubby and I found out that she didn't have the cartilage in her left knee.

Man, I am trusting God to restore her knee and give her a brand new cartilage, though that wasn't what I prayed (as I didn't know she had this issue). But God is BIGGER than the words I prayed. Amen!

Effortless

This morning, I was reflecting on how effortless it should be to walk in the kingdom.

As I was at the bus stop with Jeshua, I felt heat on my left knee. Without thinking, I saw an image of a left wrist at the back of my mind.

I looked up and I was drawn to an Indian auntie. Went to talk to her and found out that she used to experience persistent pain at her left wrist. A word of knowledge can be about a recurring problem or a past injury. It does not always have to be the present pain.

I realized how effortless it was. Sometimes, it is harder when we try, "God, give me a Word." It's about resting in Him and hearing Him. He longs to speak.

Blessing The Security Guards

While walking out of my client's place, I had a word of knowledge for one of the three security guards.

I thought I saw a right heel at the back of my mind. It turned out to be his knee. Prayed for him anyway.

He pointed to his security colleague and I prayed for his right knee too.

Love blessing people in Jesus' name.

God Is Not Complicated Because Love Is Not Complicated - Reasons WhyPeople Don't Receive Healing

Had a conversation with a friend today which confirmed what I believe in.

For too long, people came out with many reasons why healing doesn't take place. i.e. habitual sin, unforgiveness, generational curses, not God's timing, character growth, etc. There are so many books written on these.

Why isn't there a book written on "10 reasons why salvation doesn't take place?" Because everyone believes that salvation takes place when we believe in Jesus. We take the Word literally without questioning/doubting the truth. We don't base the fact of salvation BY our experiences. We base it on the Word of God.

If that is true, when it comes to healing, why do we want to water down the truth to match our experiences, instead of bringing our experiences to match the truth found in the Word of God? Why do we want to give reasons that Jesus did not give in the Scriptures?

When Jesus was on earth, He lived as a Man depending on the Holy Spirit and His relationship with the Father. Jesus healed ALL (Acts 10:38). There was not a single one whom He prayed for that wasn't healed. Jesus is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3). In other words, it is ALWAYS God's will to heal anyone and any kind of sickness and disease NOW. When Jesus died on the Cross, His atonement had provided us healing (1 Peter 2:24). In other words, we don't wait for God's healing. It has already been provided more than 2000 years ago. We are not waiting for God's perfect timing to heal. Healing is always NOW.

If it is always God's will to heal now and Jesus healed ALL as a Man, why do people still not receive their healing? The problem NEVER lies with God. His part was already settled 2000 years ago. He CAN, He WANTS and He WILL heal ALL.

Neither does the problem lie with the sick person. I have never seen Jesus telling a sick person, "You are lacking in faith to be healed." Jesus healed ALL who came to Him.

If the problem doesn't lie with God and the sick person, where does the problem lie with? This answer will be tough for most of us to hear.

There was only ONE incident in the Gospel where Jesus taught the disciples after they failed to deliver a demon-possessed boy. Jesus did not rebuke the boy's father despite his unbelief (Mark 9:24). A sick person and his family are already in distressed. They are struggling in their situation. They don't need someone to come to them and say, "Because you don't have enough faith." Jesus never did that. Neither should we.

The one ministering healing is supposed to stand in faith for the sick person. (Sometimes, the sick person has greater faith than the one ministering healing. That requires much explanation.)

When the disciples couldn't cast out the demon, they asked Jesus privately. "Why could we not cast it out?" Jesus answered plainly, "“Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." - Matthew 17:20

Christianity is not complicated because God is love and love is not complicated.

Jesus gave the clearest answer in this episode. "Because of your unbelief." In other words, the problem lay with His disciples as they were supposed to cast out the demon and minister to the boy. What does this tell us? When a sick person is not healed, the problem lies with us who minister healing. Yes. Because of our unbelief. This is a hard saying.

Jesus said that "if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain... and it will move..." In other words, if the mountain doesn't move, it means we don't have that faith. If we have faith, mountain WILL move. Sickness will go. The sick will be healed!

James 5:15 says that the prayer of faith will heal the sick. It's not the prayer that will heal the sick. It's the prayer of FAITH that will heal the sick.

I have prayed for many sick people. By the grace of God, many are healed. But the truth is, there are also many who are NOT healed. I know that I have to grow in my faith.

The question is - When we pray for someone and he is not healed, why can't we humble ourselves and say, "I'm sorry. I need to grow in my own faith. I will continue to stand in faith with you for healing."

Having said that, faith is not something we can produce by ourselves. Faith cannot be produced no matter how hard we try. It has to be imparted from God Himself.

Faith, in Greek, is the word "persuasion". We have to be so persuaded by the goodness and love of God such that we are confident that He wants the sick to be healed NOW! We are still in the process of having such revelations of His goodness and love. This process is called mind renewal (Romans 12:2). To the degree our mind is renewed, to that degree we can PROVE the perfect will of God, i.e. healing.

I love what Bill Johnson said, "When someone is not healed, God is summoning us back into the secret place of intimacy." When we pray for a person and he is not yet healed, it is an opportunity for us to go to the secret place and spend time with God TO encounter His love and goodness MORE! The MORE we have the revelation of His love and goodness, the MORE we will respond in faith.

Jesus told His disciples, "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." (Matthew 17:21) Firstly, this verse was not written in many of the early manuscripts. It was added later. Secondly, this is probably not referring to the demon because Jesus did not pray and fast before He cast it out from the boy. The context is about the disciples' unbelief.

The way to deal with unbelief is to pray and fast. Why? It goes back to the place of intimacy. We must have a GREATER revelation of who God is so that faith is produced as a result of knowing His love and goodness. Unbelief will go. Mind will be renewed. Heart will believe. When we come to that place, we will 'speak to the mountain of sickness and it will be thrown into the sea.'

I am still in the journey of encountering His love and goodness more and more. I am hungry for MORE of Him. I desire to see the sick healed and the dead raised. I will not let my experience and people's experience water down the truth found in the Word of God. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Let's align our experiences back to the Word of God and stop finding reasons why things don't happen.

8th Anniversary

We went to Kiseki to celebrate our 8th Anniversary of being together.

While eating, I felt heat on my left knee. I knew that someone near me needed healing. I looked around but I didn't know who I was supposed to minister to.

Two youths were sitting on our left while a family was on our right. When one of the youths came back to his table after getting his food, I felt heat on my left knee again. Immediately, I knew that the healing was meant for one of the youths. As I prayed, I saw an image of a left ankle at my mind's eye.

Thus, I asked, "Does anyone of you have joint pain or injury?" The youth pointed to his friend. "He has ankle injury."

I continued, "Is it the left ankle?" He nodded.

Prayed for him. He couldn't tell the difference yet as his pain comes on and off. He will be going back for medical review as the pain comes from the bone within. I'm trusting Jesus for complete manifestation of healing.

It was a divine appointment. As I conversed with both of them, I found out that they are not only believers, but also home-schoolers!

I have been pondering on the idea of home-schooling Jeshua but I'm not sure how I can do it.

They shared some useful information with me as they were home-schooled until Grade 12 - end of JC level. Awesome!

I have met some home-schoolers and all of them are more mature than their peers. Their conversations and their way of thinking reveal strong values within their hearts.

Singapore's education system is not the best at creating solid foundation in good values. There are only one or two teachers handling a class of 40 children in a lesson. While our system creates academically-driven and intellectual students, it is very weak in creating true confidence, identity and security.

I gonna pray through about Jeshua's education. Based on current situation, it is unlikely that we can home-school him. But oh well, nothing is impossible with God.

Apparently, this divine appointment was arranged by God as one of the youths texted me in the evening. We exchanged our contact because I could find out more about home schooling from him.