A New Thing A New Beginning!

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.  - Isaiah 43:18-19

Each fresh new day given by God is always a new beginning to renew our love for the Lord and to deepen our personal relationship with Him for God is love and He will keep loving us throughout eternity.

The way of the Lord is sovereign yet relational and personal strengthening our inner being especially with the fruit of joy through which we experience divine strength and constant peace. Yes, the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

May the Lord increase our desire to partner with Him to let His agape love flow into places where the disillusioned, depressed and diseased shall receive healing for their spirit, soul and body by the grace and mercy of God.

May we keep encouraging ourselves to love and care for one another as disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Have a great day ahead!😇🙏💞RP

Nothing Is Impossible For God!

One day my urologist said to me, “Mr Png, you don’t have to see me anymore.” I looked at him and blurted out, “Why doctor?”.  His reply was swift and he said to me, matter-of-factly, “I cannot help you. I have run out of idea on how to treat your urinating problem.”

Few weeks ago, my hamaetologist had referred me to see him after hearing that I had to keep going to the toilet to pee almost on an hourly basis every night and it went on for many weeks in a row. In addition, I had diarrhoea about three to five times during the day.  She knew I was feeling tired in the day and exhausted at night. Those two rare side effects occurred because my body had been consuming eleven types of medication and two supplements upon completion of the stem cells transplant.

After leaving the urologist’s office, I remembered something happened to me that morning. Then out of the blue, I heard these words, not audibly though, “When doctors cannot do anything, I can do something.” I turned around but saw no one was behind me.  A strange calmness quietly set in. Immediately I felt as if God was assuring me that everything was going to turn out alright, and He was always in control.

The peeing frequency continued. However i felt my strength was renewed and mind refreshed. Physcial and mental functioning improved. Soon weeks and months passed, and eventually the hourly night urination ceased. So was my diarrhoea.

But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." - Matthew 19:26 ESV

Truly it is only God who knows exactly when we need a tangible touch from Him whenever we are left helpless and hopeless!

By Robin Png
_- A two-time cancer survivor_

IT HAS TO BE GOD!

The Lord Shall Lift You Up!

The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.  - Psalm 145:14 ESV

In two hospitals for 43 days while undergoing treatment for chemotherapy and stem cells transplant for acute myeloid leukemia, my life was like dangling between the living and the dead. Given only three to six months to live without immediate treatment, death seemed  imminent. 

Gripped by fear and I asked, “Am I going to die?” and “Do I still believe and cling on to Jesus?”.  These were some questions flooded my mind constantly as I saw my body deteriorated. 

Where is the grace of God when one  is going through pain and suffering, fear and anxiety, as well as sadness and helplessness? 

One day, He said to me while still in hospital, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. (Hebrews 13:5-6). I believed. I did take His Word as His voice of assurance and promise to me.

Then during the recovery process, I reflected on the grace of God.  I was awed by this spiritual insight that grace is His very nature and lovingkindness is an expression of His character toward His beloved children.

Yes, Jesus will lift us up not once but again and again as we cling on and trust Him to experience for ourselves His sufficient grace. Let’s keep journeying with Jesus in both good and difficult times.

Are You Completely Cleansed?

"How can all my sins be cleansed and forgiven by God?" asked an 81-year-old auntie matter-of-factly. I had struck a conversation with her on the love of God in a bus ride this week. Though ignorant, as the conversation progressed, her facial expression betrayed a deep longing for an answer to a complete removal of guilt and condemnation which she has been carrying for more than eight decades! As soon as she completed her last sentence, she bid me goodbye and alighted the bus. She left me bewildered and also feeling a tinge of sadness. What came to my mind next was "What if she were to die today at 81 without her sins cleansed and forgiven?" This uneasy encounter led me once again to remember the many guilt-ridden souls whose sins are awaiting the cleansing power of Christ's blood to be completely wipe away.

I John 1:9 ESV "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

On Being A Discerning Christian

How does a discerning Christian overcome sins? He acknowledges that sin is pleasurable and sinful nature is alive and active inside him. However he has learnt to recognise the triggers that would tempt him to sin, and through a deliberate and spontaneous step of faith, he submits himself completely to the indwelling Holy Spirit by saying, "Nope, I am not going to think or do such thing for I am saved, loved and empowered by God".  This personal act of obedience clearly and promptly set clear boundaries with his sinful nature. Thus he affirms his love for God and increases his faith in Him as he keeps the source of temptation away, be it a thing, thought or the tempter.

James 4:7 ESV "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Faith in God Is A Meaningful Relationship

Faith begins with a relationship of love shown by God through which we experience a meaningful process of trusting Him for everything in our lives - work, family, health, ministry, friends, future plans and eternal destiny. In this trusting relationship, we discover our true worth in God's sight and our holy calling in His divine plan. To the degree where there is honesty, trust and love, we experience confidence in removing every "mountain" that seeks to hinder the purpose of God for our lives.

Mark 11:22-23 - And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

Remembering the Poor And Marginalized

Everyday as we go to work or on the way home, we would bump into people with different physical disabilities at the mrt station and underpass whose livelihood is dependent on selling tissues or  strumming their guitar. As they stand and sing for hours almost daily, sometimes in a rather stuffy location, it makes one realises how resilient they are amid many life challenges. Healthy people may find it difficult to empathise. However each time we put something into their pocket or exercise any practical act of kindness, we are doing it for and behalf of Christ for the genuine poor and socially marginalized are always very close to His heart.

Matthew 25:35-36  ESV "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'"