When You Suffer

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace,

who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, 

will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you.  

To him be the dominion forever and ever.  Amen.”  

1 Peter 5:10-11

And after you have suffered a little while.
Our suffering is real, be it emotional or physical.   “A little while” does not trivialize it.  But suffering is not the rest of our story.  It will end, and soon – according to this verse.

the God of all grace.
He has remedies, comforts and powers for every need, every occasion, every moment.
He is the God of all grace. And His grace is always sufficient.

who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ.
Someday we will all be in glory; just that today some of us are called home before others.

will himself.
Not mediated but directly and personally.  Not bare luck but his own loving personal involvement.

restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
Terms upon terms, because God has thought of everything.
Whatever you have lost he will restore.
You lost a loved one, a dear one; God still restores -
the lost strength, the lost joy, the lost hope - God will Himself restore.
However you are weak he will confirm, strengthen and establish you,
so that you emerge whole, formidable, happy.

To him be the dominion forever and ever.
God is still God alone and He is still on the Throne. He is Sovereign in all that suffering and pain. He alone knows what He is about.

Amen.  Very few things in life deserve this absolute affirmation.  But here is one. Every thing promised will be!

Permission To Dream.

I am so grateful that God surrounds me with people who give me permission to dream.

I’ve been in  meetings before where the leader will share a big vision for a new initiative.

And I’ve seen people in the meetings roll their eyes or give that sceptically look like "Are you sure?" And then immediately share their abridged version of seven  reasons this might not work.

Or subtly point out to everyone how much work this is going to add to their already full plate.

But it must be the sheer favour of the Lord that in recent times, I am so surrounded with people who propel me to dream and dream big. I love to get in a room with staff members and ministry leaders who burst into flames with just a drop of vision kerosene.

I believe we have truly entered into that season of faith where we are believing God for the impossible and getting excited about the God who is more than able!

Last week, when my family was celebrating my son's 21st birthday, he told us his great dream about his future. It was so big and grand, I wondered if I will  still be alive when it comes to pass. But none of us doubted it's possibility. We all gave him full permission to dream, by our responses, both verbally and non verbally.

A lot of husbands and wives, fathers and mothers have grounded their family members from dreaming big. This is sad.

I also love spending time with other leaders who, through their leadership approach and way of seeing the world, give me permission to dream in my own context.

I am attending a meeting Thursday night which to me is a permission slip for dreaming: to set audacious goals, speak them, pray our guts out, work hard, face the obstacles, do the uncomfortable, trust God through it all and give God the glory when it comes to pass, or try again if it doesn’t. It makes life so exciting. It gives me the reason to wake up every morning with fresh hope and joy.

We all need permission to dream.

To my Wife, my Children, my Staff, the Agape Guy's Ministry Core, the Heads of Ministry (Worship, Rays, Agapeland, Chinese), the Cell Leaders and the Council - thank you for giving one another the permission to dream and dream big for God!

Check this verse in Eph 3:20: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. 

God is more than able to do more than we are able to imagine!

Permission granted. Go dream.

Exposition Must Be For Application!

“Sound Bible exposition is an imperative ‘must’ in the church of the living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God himself, through application of the Word and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God.”

A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (London, 1967), pages 9-10.