Let The River Run

I was in a cab the other day, talking to the taxi driver about God and this song came on his radio and lit up my spirit. Made me think of this verse:

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. - Romans 8:19

'Let The River Run' - Carly Simon

We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters

Let the river run
Let all the dreamers wake the nation
Come, the New Jerusalem.

Silver cities rise
The morning lights the streets that lead them
And sirens call them on with a song

It's asking for the taking
Trembling, shaking
Oh, my heart is aching

We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters

We the great and small
Stand on a star
And blaze a trail of desire
Through the darkening dawn

It's asking for the taking
Come run with me now
The sky is the color of blue
You've never even seen
In the eyes of your lover

Oh, my heart is aching
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters

It's asking for the taking
Trembling, shaking
Oh, my heart is aching

We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters

Let the river run
Let all the dreamers
Wake the nation
Come, the New Jerusalem

Reminded me of this hymn that was playing in my head earlier on the same day even though I could never remember the tune before! Excited to see what God is up to in Singapore this season! Take the land!

'Jerusalem' - William Blake

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountain green?
And was the Holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among those dark satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!
I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.

Zechariah 4:6

How good is a timely word!

 
I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown Him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them. - Hebrews 6:9-12 (MSG)



"A mark of spiritual maturity is a willingness to sacrifice personal comfort to strengthen other believers." - Henry Blackaby

Proverbs 4:23

• Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. - Prov 4:23 NIV

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

--- how does one do this? ---

Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.

Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.

Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. - Prov 4:23-27 NLT

• Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you. - Prov 4:24 AMP

• The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. - Luke 6:45

• But the words you speak come from the heart--that's what defiles you.- Matt 15:18

• If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. - James 1:26 NLT

James 3
² Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.³ We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. ⁴ And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. ⁵ In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. ⁶ And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
⁷ People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. ¹⁰ And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! ¹¹ Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? ¹² Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.

¹³ If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. ¹⁵ For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. ¹⁶ For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. ¹⁸ And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me...

Was watching Bill Johnson's teaching on youtube and pray-reading Isaiah 61 last night and this morning, and then received the Spirit of Prophecy bulletin by Bill & Marsha Burns in my email today. Chills I tell ya, chills. I've been getting Isaiah 61 prayed over me by different people for the past two or three weeks. Significant much?! Finally understood this: Don't be praying for what God has already given you! Declare His truths, thank Him for them and be set free!

Faith Tabernacle December 26,  2012

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by MARSHA BURNS: Rise up with renewed hope and faith that nothing is impossible with Me, says the Lord.  Release your concerns and distress to Me.  I cannot deal with that which you do not give to Me.  Trust Me for strength where you have been weak and peace where there has been turmoil.  Do not be afraid; I am with you to bring you through every dilemma and cause you to be strong.  Isaiah 61:1-3  1 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

I S A I A H   6 1

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
    that have been devastated for generations.
Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
    foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
And you will be called priests of the Lord,
    you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
    and in their riches you will boast.

Instead of your shame
    you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
    you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
    and everlasting joy will be yours.

“For I, the Lord, love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
    and make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants will be known among the nations
    and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
    that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”

I delight greatly in the Lord;
    my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up
    and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
    and praise spring up before all nations.

 

Baptizzled!

Got dunked today! wooot! Before the service I was all:

Don't know why I get so nervous about random stuff?! Christina was superduper nice and held 

my hand to calm jumpy self down. It was over in two shakes of a lamb's tail and then:

Happeh smiles! Man, so glad that's over with. I'm not the best with big events but I'll get better. Yayy God!

You Are Beautiful

Preach it! No argument here.

Bam!

My girl Sunita getting healed!

...and that's how Jesus does it! Praise the Lord!

Dance party!

Brave new world

Was a little emotional when I got home on Sunday... it's been a crazy-wonderful, mountain-climbing 40+ days... I had this amazing vision of the future in church this morning and was chock full of hope but events of the day, weariness and pressure got me all weepy and was asking God, now that's over and done with, what's next? Out of nowhere this song popped in my head and I knew that Holy Spirit was singing to me. Hadn't heard it in forever and was not feeling sing-songey in the least but the lyrics so illuminated that moment of self-doubt and confusion. I just love how He speaks to us in ways that delight our hearts.

I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?

I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride

A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming

A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I'm way up here
It's crystal clear
That now I'm in a whole new world with you

Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky

A whole new world
(Don't you dare close your eyes)
A hundred thousand things to see
(Hold your breath - it gets better)
I'm like a shooting star
I've come so far
I can't go back to where I used to be

A whole new world
(Every turn a surprise)
With new horizons to pursue
(Every moment red-letter)
I'll chase them anywhere
There's time to spare
Let me share this whole new world with you

A whole new world
That's where we'll be
A thrilling chase
A wondrous place
For you and me

Gettin Crafty

Making crowns for Sarah Lin's Sunday school kids. 

Elves hard at work aka Sarah's minions

Daughters of the High King!

The Sarahs

HRH Queen Sylvia


Sunita got this word for the night:

Psalm 21
The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.
    How great is his joy in the victories you give!

You have granted him his heart’s desire
    and have not withheld the request of his lips.
You came to greet him with rich blessings
    and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked you for life, and you gave it to him -
    length of days, for ever and ever.
Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
    you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
Surely you have granted him unending blessings
    and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
For the king trusts in the Lord;
    through the unfailing love of the Most High
    he will not be shaken.

                            

This was our workshop jam. hmm yes.
also just realized my hair is taking on strange animal shapes.
Time for a haircut. Angela, here I come!

Furious Love

His love is deep, His love is wide
And it covers us
His love is fierce, His love is strong
It is furious
His love is sweet, His love is wild
And it's waking hearts to life

Hearing God

Such valuable teaching!

Luke 10:21
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

Matthew 13:10-13
¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

le sigh

 

  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, 

in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  

For when I am weak, then I am strong. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:10


Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, 
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven ~ Matthew 5:10

Baptism, here I cometh!

Cool testimony at baptizmo class today:

This guy had a tattoo on his chest that said, "satan lives here" or "I belong to satan", something icky like that. Guess he was dabbling in the occult before he was saved? So anyway, at baptism class he mentioned that one of his biggest regrets was getting that tattoo. No kidding, cos laser-removing that sucker would be painful and expensive. Even then it'd probably still leave a stain or scarring on his skin.

But pshaw! No matter, our God is greater!

Fast forward to the day of his actual baptism: He gets immersed in water, comes up all squeaky clean and whatnot then goes to change into dry clothes; which is when he realizes that the ick-nast tattoo is GONE. Poof! Bam! Boom! Finito! Jehovah Rapha in the house! haha wonderful God! Yay Jesus! /cool story.

Now I can't wait to get dunked. Like a donut in coffee. Cookies in milk. mmmm. Always thought it was more of a public declaration, but now I believe there are significant spiritual implications that go along with water baptism. Jesus got baptized by J-Bap before he started His public ministry so that pretty much settles it. Just imitate Jesus, seek God and everything will come up roses.

Pastor Cui Xian also mentioned to be alert for spiritual warfare in the coming days. Be self-controlled and very alert, your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (only like a roaring lion though, not an actual one) boo. hiss. But I put on the full armor of God so that I can take my stand against the devil's schemes.

My cousin once said, "There's a tiger inside of you!" aka Lion of Judah! Watch out yall, we be takin' the land.

  Rawrrr!

Also Maori tiger. Cos he funny.