You don’t even have to ask!

When we ask God for healing, we often wonder if He heard us and if He is willing to heal. So we ask and ask.

Actually, we don't even have to ask. Just the mention of our sickness and how awful it makes us feel is enough to move Jesus to say, "I will come and heal you."

Look at the passage on the healing of the Roman centurion's servant:

Matthew 8:5-7
5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,
6 saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."
7 And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

All the centurion did was to tell Jesus about the sick servant and his condition. He did not even ask Jesus to heal his servant. Yet, the moment Jesus heard about how much the servant was suffering, He said, "I will come and heal him."

That's the heart of Jesus. That's the heart of your Father. When you tell Him about your sickness and pain, before you can even ask Him for healing, He is already saying, "I WILL come and HEAL you."

Friends, Jesus is always willing to heal. Just a few verses earlier, we find Him saying to the leper, "I am WILLING; be cleansed." (Verse 3) 

So even before you come to the point of asking God for healing, know in your heart that He already knows all about your pain and is saying, “I am WILLING. I WILL come and HEAL you.”

The God of all comfort

I was doing my quiet time in the office pantry one morning, reading these words from the apostle Paul:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

The part that caught my attention was this: "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort". As I thought about how our God is our God of all comfort, I looked out the pantry's ceiling to floor window and saw a beautiful sunburst over the Kallang River. Magnificent rays of sunlight were coming through some dark clouds.

After admiring it for a while, and making out a face in the clouds (God's?), I decided to take a picture of it with my handphone's camera to share it with others. So I went downstairs to get a better shot. Here it is:



Above: The sunburst outside my office.

As I went back to my office, I believe God said this to my heart:

"When there are dark clouds in your life, I am the God of all comfort, and I will come through for you."

Be blessed.

What you sow is not made alive unless it dies

1 Corinthians 15:36
36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.

I am sure that you have been taught sowing and reaping -- if you want to reap a harvest, sow a seed. For example, if you want a financial increase, sow money into good ground in the kingdom of God. If you want more friends, be a friend to someone who is lonely. If you want more health, pray for the sick. And so on.

The harvests that we want are generally blessings, good gifts from our Father. It is interesting then, that He tells us that "what you sow is not made alive unless it dies".

As I was reading this verse one morning, the Holy Spirit reminded me of my Saviour's words:

John 12:24
24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

Jesus was, of course, talking about the necessity of His death. Unless He dies, there would be no salvation for mankind, no born-again sons and daughters of God, no Christians, no church of Christ. God the Father sowed His only Son, so that He could reap many sons.

What the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me was this: That we can reap the blessings we want from all our sowing because of the death of all deaths -- that of Jesus Christ at the cross. What we sow in faith we will reap, not because we are good, not because we made personal sacrifices, but because of the death of Jesus Christ. Every blessing is ours to have and to hold because of Jesus' death. (Ephesians 1:3)

There is one other thing the Holy Spirit showed me. What we sow must die. It must leave our hands. We must let go of it. I can best explain this by talking about sowing money. Some believers, when they sow money into the kingdom of God, like when they put money into their church’s offering bags, their seeds don’t really die. Why? because they still hold on to them. 

How do they do this? By "telling" the leadership how the money ought to be used. "I've given my money, therefore, I have a say in how the church should use the money, how the church should be run, how the leadership should operate." Some have even asked for "refunds" because they were not happy with the leadership.

How can our seeds die and bear fruit if we choose to hold on to them? Let them go -- into God’s hands -- and watch them grow.

Why the double standards?

While I agree that there is no necessity to mock other religions when you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, I can’t help but think that a double standard exists in Singapore. I am referring to the recent and ongoing uproar caused by Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism church in Singapore. His video-recorded interviews cum testimonies of ex-Buddhists and Taoists have angered many Singaporeans and landed him in trouble with the authorities.

Why do I say that a double standard exists in Singapore? Well, I recall that when the Da Vinci Code movie and book were popular here, it upset many Christians like myself and caused many of us to question our faith. It also caused many non-Christians to believe that the whole Christian faith was a hoax. Yet, the authorities did nothing about it, though I am sure many Christians voiced their concerns and hoped that the movie and book would be banned.

To make matters worse, well-watched documentary TV channels took advantage of the movie's popularity and aired documentaries (such as the Gospel Of Judas) here that further undermined the Christian faith. These documentaries, the movie and similar publications said many things which Christians regard as blasphemous. For example, they disputed the death and resurrection of Jesus, a fundamental truth of Christianity, and said that He had sex and hence children with Mary Magdalene.

So I can't help but think that it is somehow okay to "mock" or "test" Christians here, but not believers of other faiths. (Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that it is right to mock other religions.)

No one doubts that such movies and books would never be allowed in Singapore if they were undermining, say, Islam. Can you imagine what would happen if a Da Vinci Code type of movie and book about the Muslim faith were to be screened and sold here?

So why do the other faiths here seem to enjoy more protection than the Christian faith? Were the movie, documentaries and books permitted to be shown and sold in Singapore because Christians here were not vocal enough, that is, we did not protest in the streets or call for the death of Dan Brown? Must it come to that before we are heard? Didn't the religious harmony bill speak loud enough for us?

Perhaps we are seen as more tolerant, less volatile -- hence it's okay to push the boundaries when it comes to content that undermines and mocks the Christian faith.

I really hope that in future, Christians here can enjoy the same amount of protection the other faiths here enjoy. Let's be fair.

Leah and Rachel

Genesis 29:20-30
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her."
22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.
23 Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her…
25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?"
26 And Laban said, "It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
27 Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years."
28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also…
30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

Jacob had to work seven years for Rachel whom he loved. At the end of the seven years, after consummating the marriage, he was shocked to find out that he had slept with Leah instead. Laban had secretly given Jacob his older daughter Leah.

Jacob wasn't too happy, of course. Laban explained to him that it was not customary to give the younger before the firstborn. He then told Jacob to finish the week with Leah, and he would give Rachel as a wife to him too, on condition that Jacob served him another seven years. So Jacob finished the week with Leah and married Rachel, and worked for Laban another seven years.

Leah had weak eyes and was not pretty. Her name means "weary". She represents the law, for when you are under the heavy yoke of the law you become weary and weak. Rachel, on the other hand, was beautiful to behold. Her name means "ewe" or "female sheep". She represents grace, personified by our Lord Jesus, who is the Lamb of God.

I saw this: Under the law, works come first before the blessing -- Jacob worked seven years before he got Leah. Under grace, works follow the blessing -- Jacob received the blessing of Rachel first, and then worked another seven years for Laban. In other words, under the law, you have to work for the blessings. Under grace, you receive the blessings first, and that in turn empowers you to produce good works. This is working out of rest. This is real faith that produces good works.

Also, when you work for a blessing, when by your self-efforts you try to earn a blessing, you will probably end up with something that you don't quite like, that is of inferior quality. But when you simply receive a blessing by the grace of God, it is truly a blessing in every way.

I also saw this: Leah the firstborn had to be given first because the law came first. Israel had the law for 1,500 years before grace (Jesus) came. The Bible says that the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came (later) through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

Eating with man versus eating with God

Let's compare three cases of eating with man in Proverbs 23 with eating with God in the Holy Communion.

Proverbs 23:1-3, AMP
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider who and what are before you;
2 for you will put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to desire.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties, for it is deceitful food [offered with questionable motives].

When you sit and eat with a ruler who has prepared a sumptuous meal for you, be careful. He may have ulterior motives, a hidden agenda. He wants something from you. 

But when you partake of the covenant meal with God, all His motives for you are good. He wants you to prosper and be in health (the body). He wants you to remember that your sins are forgiven (the blood). He wants you to profit from communing with Him. He has your best interests at heart.

Proverbs 23:6-8, AMP
6 Eat not the bread of him who has a hard, grudging, and envious eye, neither desire his dainty foods;
7 for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. As one who reckons, he says to you, eat and drink, yet his heart is not with you [but is grudging the cost].
8 The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up, and your complimentary words will be wasted.

When you eat with man, especially a miser, be careful too, as his heart is not with you. He is grudging the cost of the meal. His heart has no love for you.

Jesus knew the "cost of the meal", but He paid it gladly. It was with willingness and joy that He laid down His life for you. (John 10:15, Hebrews 12:2) His heart is full of love for you.

Proverbs 23:20-21, AMP
20 Do not associate with winebibbers; be not among them nor among gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Mixing with winebibbers and gluttons will bring you to poverty. Drowsiness will clothe you with rags.

But eating with God will bring you from rags to riches. At the cross, Jesus was made poor, so that you through His poverty might be made rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9) We are reminded of this truth when we partake of His broken and naked body. Our poverty for His prosperity. Our rags for His robe of righteousness.

No reason for death

Luke 23:22

22 Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."

When the chief priests, rulers and people shouted, "Crucify Him [Jesus], crucify Him!" Pilate said to them the third time, "Why what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him..."

I want to draw your attention to this thing that Pilate said: "I have found no reason for death in Him." Beloved, there is no reason for death in Christ. And because you are in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30), there is no reason for death in your life.

There is no reason for you to be sick. There is no reason for you to be weak. There is no reason for you to be poor. There is no reason for you to die young. Heaven and hell cannot come up with a reason, for you are in Christ who is perfect. If the devil says, "I have a reason for you to be sick," you tell him, "No, liar, I am in Christ."

You are not in your sins. You are in Christ. And as He is, so are you in this world. (1 John 4:17)