Makeover

Recently some of us ladies, young and (ahem!) mature had a fun makeover session plus a photoshoot. There were so many oohs and aahs when we looked at each other. The transformation was remarkable, especially for those who usually do not wear make-up.

As I look at all the lovely pictures one thought strike my heart and mind. All the basic facial features are original...no extreme makeover was done. But in the hands of these make-up artists, our features were enhanced and brought out strikingly. EVERYONE looked beautiful. I realised truly there are no 'ugly' people. No wonder the Bible tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

God is the Master Makeover Artist. Under His hand, we will be transformed: from ugly ducklings into swans and caterpillars into butterflies. No one is a plain Jane. We will all sparkle and glow with a beauty that does not fade through time. He knows exactly what to enhance and highlight to showcase the beauty that is in us which we ourselves do not see. We will hear and echo with the rest the 'oohs' and 'aahs' as God reveals His masterpiece; one by one.

Hello gorgeous!

No Fear!

Didn't realised that it's been more than a month since I last posted anything! How time flies...

Last Friday, a light lit up in this little brain of mine...speaking about little brain...I remember a cousin of mine used to call me insect; a substitution of "stupid". For the longest time I wondered why he labelled me as such. One fine day, I asked him and found out the twisted truth (twisted because it is NOT TRUE!). Insects, being such tiny creatures, have tiny brains (or do they have one?). So, to be labelled as an insect means one has as tiny or as little a brain as an insect...How kind that cousin of mine was! I hope he has since repented of such evil!!!

Anyway, coming back to the matter at hand, a light lit up concerning this Scripture that has always given me trouble, "Perfect love casts out fear." I never understood this portion of Scripture until that awesome Friday night. Here is the revelation...

God is perfect and therefore, His love (for you and I) is perfect. There is not even a shadow of evil in God's perfect love for us. He loves us perfectly, fully, completely. His plans for us are good and wonderful. He watches over us to provide for, protect, and preserve us. With God, the Supreme Sovereign doing all these for us, what shall we fear, who shall we fear? Nothing and no one! NO FEAR!

Our heart can rest secure in His love. I heaved and breathed a great sigh of relief that night and a peace rolled into this little heart of mine...sweet sweet love of God filling my soul, making me whole.

O perfect Love, all human thought transcending,
Lowly we kneel in prayer before Thy throne,
That theirs may be the love which knows no ending,
Whom Thou forevermore dost join in one.

O perfect Life, be Thou their full assurance,
Of tender charity and steadfast faith,
Of patient hope and quiet, brave endurance,
With childlike trust that fears nor pain nor death.

Grant them the joy which brightens earthly sorrow;
Grant them the peace which calms all earthly strife,
And to life’s day the glorious unknown morrow
That dawns upon eternal love and life.

Hear us, O Father, gracious and forgiving,
Through Jesus Christ, Thy coeternal Word,
Who, with the Holy Ghost, by all things living
Now and to endless ages art adored.

Lyrics by: Dor­o­thy F. Gur­ney, 1883

ASK!

"ASK the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone." Zech 10:1

James, the brother of Jesus said that "you do not have because you do not ASK."  Jesus Himself said this, "ASK and it shall be given..."

What a simple thing to do, "ASK", and yet many of us have certain expectations without putting in the effort to ask. We simply just expect. That's presumptious. God wants us to ask. He wants us to conceptualise and verbalise what is it that we want.

In Zech 10:1, God spoke through the prophet to His people (that means you and I too) to ASK for rain in the time of the latter rain. We are living in this time - time of the latter rain. 

ASK for the rain of His Spirit.

ASK for the rain of His glory.

ASK for the rain of His word and revelation.

ASK for the rain of His favour.

ASK for the rain of His blessing.

ASK for the rain of His grace and mercy.

ASK for the rain of His opportunities.

ASK for the rain for the harvests of souls.

ASK!

When we do ASK, He promised to respond by MAKING FLASHING CLOUDS (creating the environment, making the connections, causing the situations to be favourable, opening doors etc), and give the showers of rain. HE WILL RAIN DOWN...and there will be grass in the field for EVERYONE. All will be blessed because someone take it upon himself/herself to ASK!

Someone has to ASK...why not YOU? Why not I?

"Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified." John 14:13

"If you ask anything in My name, I WILL DO IT." John 14:14

"ASK and you will receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:24  

Is there something burning in your heart? Is there someone you want to see blessed? 

Conceptualise it. See it. Verbalise it. ASK! 

The LORD is My SHEPHERD

SHEPERHDS...have you ever thought of shepherds as warriors? They watch out for predators that lurk around seeking for opportunities to devour their charges. When they do spot them, whether it be one or many, they will fight to protect and deliver their charges from harm, even if it means injury or death to self. That's what King David did when he was just a shepherd boy. He killed the lion and the bear that came for his sheep.  

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. He is the Mighty Warrior, the Lord of Host. He is ever watching over you and I, to protect and deliver us from the enemy. His eyes run to and fro to show Himself strong on behalf of those who love Him. He who watches over us neither slumber not sleeps.

Who then shall we fear? Of whom shall we be afraid? With God watching over us, we can be assured of the best protection policy ever!

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack...

 

 

 

Your Worth, My Worth, Our Worth...

We all know in our mind that God does not place more value and worth on one above another. Every soul is equally precious to Him. BUT, somehow, somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind and heart, I can't help but feel that maybe, just maybe, some are more precious to Him than others.  

For most part of my Christian life, I have thought that those who are more talented and who serve God better than I do are more precious and valuable to Him. When in comparison to such people, my self-esteem and self-worth take a nose-dive. Low self-esteem or a lack of self-worth is a DIS-ease that a large number of us suffer from.

One day, while reading the Bible, my heart leapt for joy when I came upon some scriptures that set my foolish thinking straight! I found out that, (contrary to my twisted mind) to God, we are all of equal worth. As far as He is concerned, no one is more valuable than another. Don't believe me? See for yourself!

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:'When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. This is what everyone among those numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary... The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less...'" Exo 30:11-15

A ransom is the price one pays for the redemption of a life. According to this scripture, whether one is rich (in materials or gifts or abilities) or poor, the ransom price is the same - half a shekel. In terms of silver and gold, it's not much, I should say. But, more importantly, it shows that we are all  of equal  worth in the eyes of God.

Your worth, my worth, our worth is not determined by our service, possessions, abilities, and talents. There is a line in a song that says, "Nothing you can do could make Him love you more. And nothing that you've done could make Him close the door...".

Jesus demonstrated on the cross at Calvary that we are worth dying for! You are worth more than you could ever imagine...not just half a shekel but the life of the Son of God! 

Your worth, my worth, our worth...

~portions excerpted from my book, A Peek into the Father's Heart

Celebrate Your Self

A few days ago, I was writing a birthday greeting to someone and part of it says, "Enjoy your special day and celebrate yourself."  The moment I typed those words a bell rang in my head, "DING...!!!"

How many of us actually do celebrate "us"??? We celebrate occasions, events, and other people but ourselves? Hardly! Most of the time, we don't even like ourselves much less celebrate! We can be our own worst critic :(

I'm not advocating for us to be narcisstic, no far from it. I'm asking us to see the good and beauty in ourselves, appreciate ourselves, and love ourselves. Be kind to ourselves. I know when we are able to see the good in "us", we would also be so much kinder and gracious to others.

"Love your neighbour as yourself." To be able to truly celebrate others with all sincerity, I must be able to first celebrate myself. 

The ability to celebrate self gives 

one a zest for life and living.  

You are worth celebrating. God rejoices (celebrates) over you. 

Think for a moment, what would you do if you were to celebrate yourself? Go ahead and do it. 

Find occasions to continually celebrate the person that is you and the life that is uniquely you. Today you are alive and it is a good day to start ~.~

Cheers to you and me!

A Good Name

My name is Yoke Lan; Mandarin for Magnolia. Some years ago, I was in the Summer Palace, Beijing and the Magnolia was in full bloom. I heard the locals calling out my name (in Mandarin) and commenting how beautiful 'Yoke Lan' is. This sure did put a smile in my heart for the rest of the trip. I was at the right place, at the right time :). 

Proverbs 22:1 says "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches..." A good name! Some people have great riches but the mention of their name brings all kinds of remarks and snickers, even shudders...great riches but bad name!

I would like the mention of my name to evoke warm feelings and place a smile on someone's heart and face.  

Jesus, just the mention of Your name...flowers grow, the desert blooms again. Like the fire in winter's cold, like the pure and precious gold...Jesus, just the mention of Your name!

Wouldn't it be nice to have both, not to have to choose between one or the other? However, sometimes in life we have to make choices; between maintaining a good name or great riches.

Help us, Lord!!!