Thursday, October 30, 2008
Imagine a little girl (or boy lol) running in golden-tinged fields, hands skimming over the tall grass.She's running with joy, laughing and dancing around the flowers.Now imagine her father running with her, laughing and calling her name. Asking her to hold on to his hand lest she should fall or get lost in the wide, wide fields. The girl dances over to her father and puts her hand trustingly in his. Hand in hand, they begin to skip together through the meadow. Sometimes they stop to smell or pick the flowers. And someitmes they're running faster, other times slower.And always the father leads the little girl. Always giving her a little tug with his hand linked with hers to bring her to new places on the field, to enjoy new wonders.And always saying, "Don't let go. Hold on to me."But then distractions begin to plague the field. And try as she might, the little girl starts to let her eyes wander over to such things. She becomes curious, she wants to know more. And before she knows it, her hand begins to slip out of her father's grip, slowly and almost inevitably. And she begins to run after things but it isn't long before she realizes that she doesn't know where she's going anymore.It isn't long before she realizes that the thing she pursued was uninteresting, uneventful, nothing compared to the joy she once had.So she looks around and soon enough her father comes by. He doesn't scold her, he doesn't even look angry. All he does is smile and tap her shoulder before taking her hand again.But it isn't long before she runs away again...When I first saw this in my dream, all I could do was just cry. Because how often have I been guilty of doing what the little girl did? Running away when distractions came because they looked far more interesting. Letting distractions come between me and my Dad.
How many times? It must really break God's heart.
And yet He always comes to rescue me and take my hand again.
Because. Just because... He loves me.
*~Siaw Hui~*
She thanks her Jesus at 6:14 PM
Monday, October 27, 2008
For those of you out there who's about to despair because your situation looks hopeless and impossible, I've got a word for you:
"Stop living and looking at the natural; go higher with God and start living and seeing in the supernatural. Where in the natural, things seem impossible, in the supernatural, He makes all things possible."O-hh yeah :)
She thanks her Jesus at 12:16 AM
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Psalm 16: 1Keep me safe O Lord, for in you I find refuge.Psalm 16: 5Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.I just
love these verses because there's just such a sense of security that radiates from the words. It's as if God has me locked deep in His BIG embrace and any storm that surrounds me won't even touch me; it'd just bounce off His strong, big frame :)
And to know that whatever promises He has for on my life, whatever blessings He showers on me is kept safe by Him as well just makes me feel warm and happy. Because I know now, that everytime the Devil tries to steal away my blessings and my promises, he will never succeed because he'd have to come up against my awesome Daddy. The only way he can ever take away the good things God has for me is to work on my mind instead, convincing me not to CLAIM the blessing that is already there because "are you sure it's meant for you? are you sure you didn't misunderstand?"
Well no more, Mr. Devil, those blessings are safe in God's hands and it's ripe for my taking so get your dirty little paws off them!
And in this world where nothing is ever steady and everything is always changing (will you just look at the global economic meltdown!) it's always nice to know that the one thing that we can always depend on is the very meaning of security itself: God.
*~Siaw Hui~*
She thanks her Jesus at 12:07 PM
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
It's now exactly 1 month to home in Kuching. And 2008's drawing to a close in slightly over 2 months. How the year passes!
Looking back over this year, I realize that despite the bumps in the road and the tears I have cried, there's really nothing worth complaining about.
Because with every bump, God never failed to wait beside me to pull me up. And though sometimes, it took me a little longer to get up because I was more comfortable being down on my bum rather than get up and fall again, I did get up. I did move on. Though sometimes, I turned and wanted to go back to before, because it seemed more familiar and secure, gently He turned my head back to focus on the road before me, reenforcing the need to move on. And He watched with pride as I chose to let go and step forward. And with that I grew.
And with every tear I cried, God was there to wipe it all away. He was there to take away my broken heart and give me a fresh new heart. He was there to hold me through it all. Even through those late nights, while the world slept and I lay awake on my bed, staring through tear-filled eyes at the ceiling, He was always there. And that's one thing He has taught me: He's available 24/7 for any need and anything.
Through the hardest days I've had in 2 years, He was right beside me, being my personal cheerleader, whispering words of encouragement. Sometimes, when it was so easy to judge the world around me, He gave me His Spirit and those very eyes that He has: eyes that look upon all in a love that till now remains so unexplainable. He clapped when I made it through the day, living by His principles but never condemned me when I didn't; instead gently correcting me. And despite the stubborness and pride, His words would eventually get through because my way would always fail.
He took away the chains upon my life and relieved me of my fears. He taught me the importance of faith and challenged me to believe. And time and time again, I saw Him take away a simple cold or flu during the winter days. He taught me to obey even when things didn't make sense. And never once, did He ever fail me; instead I reaped rewards. He taught me to stop trying to do everything in my strength and instead, depend on Him. And the lessons just keep coming...
And best of all, He inspired me to dream. He planted a seed in my heart and over the year, He grew a calling for the future that excites me but at the same time, scares me because it seems so impossible by my strength. But then I remember, I'd do it by His strength and not mine. And sometimes I think of how fragile the dream is but how much safer can a dream be than being in God's plan? All I need to do is obey but for now, the dream still keep growing...
*~Siaw Hui~*
She thanks her Jesus at 5:33 PM
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It's amazing how much can be contained within one phrase:
Let go and let God.Like Cheri recently said, stop holding on to everything. The more you hold on to, the more eggs you're putting in that tiny little basket of yours. And one day or another everything just comes tumbling out ... and before you know it, you can cook an omelette with the yolk that's on the ground.
Sounds yummy ain't it? But trust me it won't be in real life. Because when everything comes falling out of the basket, that's when you feel like your carefully built up world has fallen around you. Because everything you've held on to for dear life now lies shattered in the mud.
So why not, hold on to God? And then let
HIM hold on to everything else you hold dear? Your studies, your finances, your work, your everything. Because you see, His basket is bigger. And the most important thing is this: When you give Him the things you're holding on to , He's now free to take each of those things out of HIS basket at His leisure and work His plans on them. He won't have to fight with you over your basket for the things in there... because now there's none.
And the greatest thing of all?
When you hold on to worldly things, things can let you down. Friendship can break us, I'm sure we all know that by now. So can our careers. But you know what?
My Bible tells me My God will never let me down. He'd neither leave nor forsake me.
So seriously, is there any disadvantage of holding on to Him and letting go of everything to Him?
Let go, let God.~*Siaw Hui~*
She thanks her Jesus at 12:07 PM
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Let's face it: We live in a practical world, a world that believes in logic and reason, science and facts. So, it's really not odd when someone approaches you with a question that picks at the logic behind what my God tells me.
And sometimes, it's really hard to come back at them with an answer because some things just require faith not logic. For example, "How do I know God really loves me?" Well, there isn't any hard-core scientific proof for that but is I believe that He does suffice? And then some people may even go through the entire process of archaelogical evidence that Jesus was on earth, died for our sins because of His love (are you sure?) etc. etc.
But sometimes, you know what? God can provide a really good LOGICAL answer to the questions you're being asked. It's what happened to me last year ;)
Going through Trinity, I had to take History of Ideas (HOI) as one of my subjects ;) And one of the things that HOI sought to instill in us was the art of critical thinking and idea debate. Now, one of the topics that was briefly touched upon was Christianity and another was about individual rights.
Now, my HOI tuts were always filled with verbal debating because my tutor, Mr J loved for us to discuss ideas. So, was it really surprising if one day, a question suddenly popped up regarding Christianity and individual rights?
Mr J: (to the class) So, do we all believe in individual rights?
Class: Yes!
Mr J: Right! So then, if a person wants to be a gay, does he have the right to become one?
Class: Yes!
Mr J: Absolutely sure?
Class: Yes!
Mr J: Okay... so then isn't it okay for a pastor of a church, for example, to become gay if he wants to? He has the right to choose his sexuality doesn't he?
Class: (Half of which are professed Christians, weakly) yes...
Me: (firmly) No!
Class turns to look at me.
Mr J: And why do you say so, Siaw Hui?
Me: (suddenly realizing I loud in answering) Uhm... well that's not right.
Mr J: But you just said that it was his individual right to be gay. So why should him being a pastor make him any different?
Me: Yes... but (scrambling to find an answer) if we want to talk about individual rights, then why don't we extend it to that of the church? The guy wants to be gay and serve in the church, yes he does have a right to do that... but doesn't the church have the right to exercise what they believe in? That God does not accept homosexuality and therefore, a person serving Him by being a pastor shouldn't be one?
The whole class is watching by now.
Mr J: That's true... But then, isn't it also true that the Bible tells us that God loves everyone? Why does he not accept homosexuals then?
And that was the question that stumped me. And as I sat there, staring at the tutor, the whole class was watching me.
And then suddenly, I had a thought pass extremely quickly through my mind and before I could even comprehend what it was (my mind skipped to a: Oh my God that's it!), I found my mouth opening...
Me: But you see, Mr. J, love does not necessarily mean acceptance.
The whole class now was literally going: Huh? but Mr J. just cocked his head to one side...
Mr J: What do you mean?
Me: (slowly, opening my mouth without realizing) Love does not mean acceptance. You see, it's like a father and his son. The father loves his son, very very much. And there is nothing the son has or can do that will make his father love him less. The love... the love the father has for his son is unconditional. Even if his son becomes a murderer, the father will continue to love him BUT he will not accept his murdering behaviour because that is a moral crime. The father loves him despite and inspite of everything BUT he will NOT condone the killing he has done.
I look up and the whole class is just staring at me until Mr J...
Mr J: (smiles and nods) I concede the argument. (raises his hand in surrender) For once in my class, Siaw Hui, I have nothing to say against you.
The humbling and awesome thing is that that explanation was never my own. I believed, and still do, that it came from God. I can never be as wise as that and remember, the thought was so fleeting that it came out of my mouth without even staying in my brain for more than 1 second.
So, are you asking for God-given wisdom to answer questions today? Or are you trying to rely on your own wisdom and stumbling?
She thanks her Jesus at 9:59 PM
Monday, October 13, 2008
Hellooo! It is my first time writing here. But I got a great testimony to share that will perhaps encourage you to continue trusting faithfully in God! He will work miracles in your life, both small and big. Praise the Lord! =D
Basically, my situation was that I was going to get evicted from my room in my hostel. The city council came recently and declared my room illegal. I have no idea why they did so, because I have already stayed there for 1 and 3/4 years. They came a few times prior and the room was fine then. I had also paid my rent for the whole entire year, and I was told if I were to move out with my housemate for next year instead of taking the substitute accommodation arranged, I would forfeit my rent. My rent includes food, internet and utilities bills and is quite costly. Additionally, exams are approaching in just a few weeks. Furthermore, the substitute arrangement was very inconvenient and far away from the hostel. The plan was for me to eat and use the internet at the hostel every day although I stayed elsewhere.
Either way it seemed I have to face quite a lot of inconvenience. As anyone can guess, I was very stressed. I was praying, "God help me!" and stressing out almost every day. I was quite behind in my studies as well, so there was that added pressure. I must however admit, I couldn't really see how God will work this out, but I had that tiny belief that He somehow would. And He did! Even faith so tiny can do great things in God's name, all you have to do is put your trust in Him.
A few days later after I was told of the crazy arrangements (the substitute accommodation was not even confirm, the hostel manager was still looking for a place), a friend, who stayed in my hostel, offered me her room to share while we on the train to go for a church course. Although I knew her room can fit two people quite adequately as it is a single room converted from a double room, I thought she was not serious and joked about how if we squished in a single room, we would get a refund because we both paid for single rooms. Thus, when I reached back that night, I was still in panic mode.
However I thought back on that offer and proceeded to ask that friend if she would ask her parents for permission and stuff. To my great surprise, by the time I wanted to ask her, she had already called her parents and received their approval. And to my even greater surprise, her parents were not one bit concerned about compensation for the inconvenience of her squishing. Instead, all they asked was that this will not impede her studies. Although she said a little money would be good, it was not a deciding factor. Now to put things into context, when most people found out I was going to move into her room from now on, their first question was, "Is she getting any money/compensation?" To make things even sweeter and ever so thoughtful, she even asked her corridormate if I could share the toilet with them as well.
To make things very clear, she does not have to offer her room and squish with me, and suffer from the inconvenience caused. Lastly, we had to get our hostel manager's approval as well. And with God's grace and control, he agreed and said he may compensate my friend as well. PRAISE THE LORD!! Thus all these events certainly have the mark of God on them. How else could things fall so smoothly into place?
This flow of events have taught me so much. What is the point of worrying and being so stressed? Read Matthew 6:25-34. It's about how God gives so much to the plants who do not sow, so how much more will He provide for your needs? He sees you as such a valuable child, so priceless that He paid your price through His one and only son, Jesus!
I'm glad and thankful that God put so many of my friends and family to support and pray for me during this stressful time. =D Who cares about those who did not? It does not mean when no one appears to care for you, there is no one caring. You are never alone because the Lord is by your side always. So stop counting what you do not have and you will realise you have plenty! God will always provide. Trust in Him always!
In the meantime, God bless you!
Keep believing and trusting,
(= Hannah =)
Labels: Praise the Lord Almighty
She thanks her Jesus at 7:35 PM
Sunday, October 12, 2008
I so love worship right now :) and I totally understand when Cherish says that she loves album recordings :D
You know, I've always loved the story of the Prodigal Son. How the father always continued to love his boy through the seasons and then ended up welcoming him back home with open arms eventhough he squandered away all his inheritance from his dad. It's a love that's so incomprehensible, a love that goes beyond all measure.
I've always felt so inspired by the story and I love all the parables in the great big book of everything i.e. Bible because personally, I've always loved writing. I love the way words look on paper, sound when said and brings life to a story. And when I say I love writing, I mean writing stories not university-style essays blech. :D
Earlier this year, when I was asking God what He could use of me to let people around me know about Him, He told me that He would use me to write things that would encourage people. One of the reasons why I stepped out in faith when He asked me start a devotional blog (ahem, this one! :D)
And I totally loved that promise of His because well, I find passion in putting things into words and when people respond to what I write, it just fuels the passion even more. So, if I write now of God's goodness and people respond to my writing, it'd be doubly awesome, know why? Because not only would it fuel my passion to write more to encourage ppl more BUT it would also let them walk closer to God :D :D
Anyway, off tangent. So yeah, I've always loved the Prodigal son and I've always loved and wanted to do a slightly modern-day twist to the story in the sense that people of our age group would be able to respond to (not that they wouldn't respond to Prodigal son, I did and I almost teared XD) because it related to their situation or maybe their friends or peers.
But I never got round to doing it because I had no inspiration of how to modify ...
Until the middle of this year.
I started getting this sketchy images in my head of a teenage girl. And whenever I did, I somehow knew that whatever the pictures flashing in my head, this was the girl's life story. And also I get this urge of wanting to tell her story: the exact same urge I get when I get cool fiction story plots in my head. And usually the urge meant sooner or later, the story would get told... in my words written on my paper.
This time though, I felt that whatever the girl's life story was, it was something that is stays at the very heart of our God. And so, I knew that to write this story would mean that it would be inspired by Him.
BUT as lovely as it all sounds, the images suddenly stopped...
Until today in worship.
God has placed even clearer images in my head. But that's not what's most exciting. The most exciting fact is that this images are NEW and this images have suddenly put a bit of a different spin on the old story of the Prodigal Son in that there are other messages that God wants to put through.
So... stay tuned. I'm so pumped and inspired :)
She thanks her Jesus at 8:32 PM
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
thanks Cherish for the song (hugs) you're the bestest. :)
Hold on - Daniel Doss BandWhen you don't want to face another day
Seems like your life's one big mistake
Failures from your former self chase you Listen close so you know what to doYou may not see it You may not feel it But I'm holding you tightly Your spirit is near Me
So hold on hold on
It will not be long till its all over child
Hold on hold on
Lay your weary head upon my shoulder
The pain is beating down so faithfully But My love is more faithful You will see and the winds will show no mercy for your face
But your heart is safe secure inside My grace I totally and completely identify with this song, especially the italicized parts.
Sometimes all we really need to do, when things around us start to fall pieces, one by one, is to just stop looking at what's happening. It's hard, I know, because the hurt and the disappointment feels and tastes so real.
But like what Pastor Sam said yesterday at Inner Champ (yay for her :D), the world around us seems so real but you know what? The reality of who God is and what His kingdom is so much real-er. Because this world will pass away and all that remains will be Him. And because of that, we can always go higher, reach higher and know deep within that we have a God that will always be bigger than our problems.
And the one method that I've found that never fails, providing you do it with a mind that is still, calm and completely cleared; NOT messed up and scattered, is when you ask God for help.
You see, it's like we're on training ground really and we're like soldiers. Sometimes we need to get down and crawl a bit in the mud, or under that fence or dodge the bullets that come from everywhere. Just like training grounds, we sometimes get the easier spots: "Oh it's just running really. Oh it's just crawling in the mud really." But then sometimes we get the tougher spots: "Oh no! Bullet bombardment! Duck!"
And if you do it on your own, it's gonna be real hard. Imagine. You're looking to the left for a bullet, but then it might come from the right whilst you're looking the other way. What God's like is He's our personal lookout who can see EVERYTHING that's going on. So when we ask for help, He'd guide us through the entire thing, even when we can't see the bullet that's coming our way, we'd know to duck anyway because He'd tell us: Duck NOW!
And you must remember, the important thing about training ground is that, if you're on it for long enough, you become an expert in handling a certain, same kind of obstacle. So that when you approach it again, it becomes second-nature for you to overcome it easily.
But whatever it is, don't just stand there and give up. Because then you'd never finish your training and graduate to a higher level. And isn't it always better to go out there and fight it out? Because even if you fail and fall, there'd always be God to pick you up off the ground by the hand and say: Come on, keep going. You can do it because I'm with you.
So what are you doing today? Fighting your way through a field of bullets for a victory that you know has already been won? Or have you just given up?
She thanks her Jesus at 6:34 PM
Sunday, October 5, 2008
1 Samuel 3v7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.When I first read that verse, I was thinking: How on EARTH can Samuel not know the Lord? I mean come on, the boy has been serving at God's temple with Eli ever since he was a toddler, how could he not know the God he was making sacrifices unto?
But then, I read it again and then I understood. It's so pure and simple.
You see, what the scripture meant by: "Samuel did not yet know the Lord" was that yes, Samuel knew OF God. Oh yeah, he knew he served a God that desired sacrifices from His people, that was holy, that saved his own ancestors from Egypt etc. BUT Sam didn't know God PERSONALLY.
You see, there's a difference between knowing of someone and knowing someone personally. For eg., say I know OF Girl A. I know that she's pretty, smart, is studying in Melbourne University, is friendly, helpful, loving. But you see, if I don't know her personally, well then I wouldn't get to EXPERIENCE her character. I wouldn't get to get a REVELATION of her loving nature. I wouldn't get to know the feeling of being helped in my studies by her.
And that's exactly what Samuel was experiencing: he had not gotten a personal experience with God, he had not had a revelation of God's many sides of character as proven by the part of the Scripture that goes: "The word of God had not yet been revealed to him."
You see, sometimes that's just like me. I dunno about you, but I know sometimes I am contented with knowing that God is a God of providence, of love, of unparalled forgiveness, of mercy, of grace. But why should I be contented with just knowing OF His character? Especially when I have nothing standing in my way to ask Him for a revelation of His personality? During my day in university, when I'm walking to the nearest shop?
But you see, the most important key point in this whole thing is that I will never get an experience of His character unless I ASK FOR IT.
v10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
11 And the LORD said to Samuel...You see, God didn't force Himself on Samuel. He didn't say: Okay, Samuel, I wanna tell you something so I don't care if you wanna listen, I'm just gonna say it anyway. No, instead what He did was keep calling him , and calling and calling until Samuel finally said: Tell me, Lord. And that was then God started to speak.
It's the same with us really. God keeps whispering: Come on, I want to show you how much I love you. I want to show you how I can provide. I want to share with you the wonderful dreams I have for your love. All you need to do is say Yes to me. He's always wanting to speak to us, it's always us who doesn't want to listen to Him.
So, are you allowing God to speak to you today? Or are you just saying No and shutting the door?
She thanks her Jesus at 9:34 PM
Saturday, October 4, 2008
so right, i was actually debating about whether to post this up or not because:
1) this is actually quite a pretty hard core, wake-up-stand-up! revelation (but oh man, that just makes me love it all the more :D)
2) i got it from God about a month ago now during my quiet time :)
BUT well, the fact that it's been on my mind now for eons and that it's taught me to be such a person of faith, not to hold back and just not let attacks come at you from right, left, front and centre has inspired me to share it with you.
it'd be pretty long though (hehehe) because i'd be taking verses from across the book of Esther and explaining its relevancy etc. etc. so BEAR with me, because believe me, though this is such a fundamental truth that it's repeated over and over again throughout the Bible, it's good to hear it once more no?
Esther 3:v 8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, "There is a certain ppl dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the king's laws; it is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them.v9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will put ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury for the men who carry out this business."v 10 So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.v 11 "Keep the money," the king said to Haman, "and do with the people as you please."v 12 Then on the 13th day of the first month, the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman's orders to the king's satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring.v 13 Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews - young and old, women and little children - on a single day, the 13th day of the 12th month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.So basically, what's happening here is that Haman hates the Jews so much so that he's pressured the King to send out an edict to totally and completely exterminate all the Jews in the kingdom. What a tall standing order huh?
But you see, the fact is this.
Once upon a time, in the days of Adam and Eve, our Father the King had an edict written out as well. Granted, He would (I am positively sure) have hated writing out the edict but He had to do it because of His own nature.
You see, back in those days, Adam and Eve did something incredibly bad by eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge even though God told them EXPLICITLY not to. And because of their disobedience, they were now condemned to become sinners. And as we all know, our God by His nature is a holy God and what holiness means is that He cannot tolerate sin. And so what happened was that, Adam and Eve and all their descendants (which would mean the whole entire human race) had to bear the yoke of sin: being separated from God.
How sad is it? Separated from the one God that made you, breathed life into you, yearns for you each and every day?
But there was so much more to the penance of sin.
The book of Romans tells us that: the wages of sin is death. Death is not the final mortal frontier as most of the world would like you to believe. Death also meant that there was a loss of the promise of eternal life with our beloved Father. Furthermore, it would mean that our lives would be controlled by sin, we would become slaves to sin (check Romans 6). And well, first and foremost, being a slave is certainly not my cup of tea because it means you have to subject yourselves to whatever your master wants of you. What more to sin?
Sin is something that the devil is oh-so-familiar with. After all, he was the one who fell from heaven because of it. Sin robs us of the good life that God has wanted for us and drags us deeper into this icky, mucky swamp that's just... gross! I mean, come on, think of some sins.
Adultery? Doesn't that just ensure that they hop from one bed to another, sleeping with another man/woman who isn't their husband/wife? Doesn't that ensure that they tell lie after lie just so that they're not found out? And as the lies grow ever increasingly more, doesn't it just make them swim in this huge sea of insecurity that they WILL get found out one day? And then their lives become a "just-going-through-the-motions" kind of thing whereby they no longer feel any love for anyone... and life just becomes this flat, dull line...
What about just a little white lie here and there? You lie once to save your skin, then you lie again to save it once again... and then the lies mount as you lie thrice, four times, five times, just to make your previous lie sound convincing. And there'd always be that niggling thought in your mind of: I had BETTER make sure no one finds this out... so I'd just create some more lies for backup, just in case.
I can just so imagine what God must have done and felt like when men fell into the world of sin. He alone understood ALL the disastrous and disgusting consequences of sin. He knew that He had to write an edict regarding men because of their sin. After all, how could holiness and sin ever mix?
When He penned the words, admitting that we were now slaves to sin and subject to what it could do to us, His heart must have been broken with every word. Just like how King Xerxes wrote the edict allowing Haman to do everything he wanted onto the Jews before finally killing them, God was allowing sin to wraught limitless destruction upon our lives. Oh, how He must have cried!! Especially when He knew that this was not what He actively wanted, but because He was holy!
But you see, in the story, Esther was willing to sacrifice herself so that the Jews might be saved from the torture and death the edict had written about. And you know what her sacrifice did? She
reversed the edict ONCE AND FOR ALL.And that, my friends was what God revealed to me ;)
Esther 8:v 7 King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given the estate to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows.v8 Now write another decree in the king's name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king's signet ring - for no document written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked."v9 At once the royal secretries were summoned - on the 23rd day of the 3rd month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai's orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governers and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush...You see, Esther's sacrifice ensured that another edict from the King was sent out: this time, it was an edict that ensured that the Jews would no longer suffer at the hands of Haman and his cronies, that they would no longer need to be put to death, no longer NO LONGER!
And guess what?
It's exactly what Jesus did!
He sacrificed Himself on that cross on Calvary to reverse the edict that was initially written upon our lives. Oh man, doesn't that make you feel excited? You see, no longer do we need to lose the promise of eternal life. No longer do we need to be separated from the God who loves us. No longer do we need to be slaves to sin (check Romans 6 again :D)
You see, there's a new edict issued by our King. It's so simple yet wonderful! The edict merely says: Jesus has died for the sins of the world. Therefore, accept Him into your life and voila~ the previous edict is NON EXISTENT.
But wait, there's more!
You see, not only did the new King Xerxes edict prevent the Jews annihilation but it gave them power to stand up against their enemies! Here have a look:
Esther 8v 11 The king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy; kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies.How cool is that??
THAT"S THE SAME WITH THE NEW EDICT THAT GOD HAS ISSUED!!
You see, not only are we no longer condemned to live with the old edict if we have Christ in our lives but we are now also given the POWER to destroy, kill and exterminate the devil who seeks to attack us!
Come on! Wake up!
You don't need to take any thing that the devil throws at you! Don't just stand there and go: Oh well... I can't do anything BECAUSE YOU CAN!
You can punch him in the face! You can stick a sword into his chest! You can kick him like a football! You can - oh I dunno - do whatever you do when someone is hell-bent on destroying you because your Daddy in heaven has written a new edict and given you the power to do so!
Woahh~~
Don't let anyone ever tell you that you don't have the power to do so, because you do have! After all, once a king's edict has been issued, all his citizens (hello, that's us!) will live it to the letter!
SO COME ON, don't just sit there, FIGHT when you feel like you're being attacked!
She thanks her Jesus at 1:18 PM
