Journey #8

Water flows downwards, just like Grace.

But sometimes, the water curls around and it is forced to stop because it cannot find a downward path to keep going. God, the Source doesn't overpower us. Instead, the water flow begins to slow to a trickle...

And this isn't always out-and-out sin. At times it is a kind of sin of omission. We omit the power of Grace in our lives.


In John 8, the 'right and holy' gang drags a woman caught in sin before Jesus and expects him to condemn her - thus showing that he is somewhat in their camp, at least in such an obvious instance. The story tells us that Jesus astounded them with his very essence: Grace and Truth {John 1v14}. He does not condone sin, but he refuses to let it be the last word where there is a willingness to repent. In fact, the woman was so scared to death, we really don't have any indications of her true spiritual state except to deduce it from Jesus' words to her to "go now and leave your life of sin". He saw in her the possibility of conversion and transformation. The right and holy gang did not receive such words, for they have already skulked away - turning their backs on both truth and grace.

Sometimes, we stay in the dead corner of reviewing our mistakes, going over our mis-steps, flip that dusty file of our misjudgment and mismanagement.... We feel sure our mistakes are staring at us in the eyes of others; and we basically condemn ourselves. We stick our finger in the sand and scribble furiously away even as the Master steps up close to offer us truth, and grace.

This is when the Water cannot reach deep. We have decided we don't deserve more.

Pour out your soul to the LORD. Let your tears drain away all that chokes you up and let Living Water flow right into you again, and again, and again.

Let truth gird you like a belt and Grace garland you and draw attention to your beauty; you made in God's image, called to be His own, chosen before the world began, destined for Kingdom!

Pause / Selah / Drink {click to hear a wonderful song by Sherman Wong}

Bless you dear soul !

Journey ... ..because of ... #7

Hey soul carrier, how are you doing on the journey?

I sensed some of us got waylaid. Some of us got distracted. Some of us had such a huge thing drop across our path, we despair of journeying on. Some of us were nearly kidnapped!

So here's a reminder to self and you: we have enemies, and we need traveling companions. {this is why I really hope we can start writing comments at the end of each post and just see how our souls get watched by others. It's also a good idea to invite someone to journey with you and follow the blog together}.

Now for my confession. I nearly gave up. Let me count the times. When i first began this and felt there was no way i could continue it. When I was in beijing and the internet connection was sensitive and I felt bad to let everyone down, and thought maybe it's best to disappear quietly..when this past week I was whacked by the enemy and his favourite whisper "you are not good enough to do this..".

But I am still here! God reminded me that I have enemies. When you wrote to me, I remember that I have companions for which this journey is meaningful.


God also taught me that traveling with a view to reach the Well can be sabotaged by a few things.

Depletion
Any trip takes some planning, time and effort. If you embarked on this without at the same time, cutting out some stuff so that the time you need to trek this walk is available, you will feel depletion. It will be a disappointing experience; for it is unrealistic to reach the Well and drink when no enough time is given. Some of us {my heart goes out to you} need to walk very slowly for we carry alot on our backs....

Crowding
Sometimes the journey gets noisy and it seems alot of others want to go the same way. The chatter, the passing around the instagram, the next inspiring pinterest picture can crowd us out. This journey needs a certain quiet, a space.

Bondage
Good God will touch and refresh us and more ... but we can live in bondage. So we reach the Well, we drink, but we find that freedom eludes us. We cannot think, feel or act with loving courage. The will of God remains a frightful prospect. The bondage must be faced and dealt with.

So, dear soul carrier, let your body find rest enough to stay on the journey. Carve out time for this trek. If you sense weights around your ankles, pray for insight and ask those you deeply trust to pray for you. Share with us here, I will pray for you.

Journey to the never-dried-up well #6

The Drinking must exceed the draining-

so our thirst is quenched, there is a satisfaction in our souls, and so we are plumped and healthy.

Pushing fifty, I was informed that my skin needs more moisture, not less. I come to see this is true in the maturation of souls too. Maturing souls do not need less, they often need more. Not more of the same, but more that will penetrate deeper, more that nourish from the roots.

I have been living through some immense pains these few years. You would think with age and life experience, life gets smoother. Not necessarily. I have felt like my lush leaves have been ripped, my fruits picked or left to rot, and more recently, my very trunk is struck and a gash is now visible.

I have grasped for the falling fruit, panicked over the drooping branches, and grieved over how the tree of my life seem to be threatened with extinction (yes, I am a unique tree, as are you).

But I have been planted next to a stream (or in our journey, a well).. And as I lose water through tears, my roots are being flushed and nourished... I found fresh strength return. I did not wilt. There are buds. Birds still come by and sing their happy song among my small branches.

Psalm 1
A tree planted firmly by the water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
Its leaf does not wither,
And in whatever he does, he prospers

This is my tiny tree-life through His eyes. 
I confess it does not feel or look like this to me; of earthly wisdom.
But these words come after an observation of such a life: she is careful who she listens to, she chooses her company with caution, and she does not hang around those who are cynical and  and compromise. 

does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers

These few years I witness the blessing of purification as I am warned by the Holy Spirit precisely not to be uprooted, drained, deadened even as my heart and mind whimper, protest, cringe and plain suggest sin. I am blessed and planted more firmly when I refuse these voices and temptations. Instead, as I turn to the Word and hunger for truth-answers ....

his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

Then i notice it. While the struggles are real, the strength and resilience are just as real - and they feel certainly like they came from beyond me. 

This river, this well, this spring ... has a name, a face, a glory, and a goodness. He is waiting for you.

Journey to the never-dried-up well #5 ~ rest that reinvigorates

I was away in Beijing this past week. I heard it rained in Singapore - finally, after more than two months; our longest dry spell in fifty years. 

The grass had begun to turn brown, trees were going bare. Life was threatened, a frightful prospect of our proud garden city being licked by the dust as the sky remain cloudless.... until - the rain came - and the life that still pulses beneath the ground bursts forth and things began to green again. 

Like the grass and leaves all about us.. life can cause us to turn dry and dull, and even risk going lifeless -

Until

-we come to the never dried-up Well and let the Water reach deep inside of us and help us unfold, loosen, and come to life again. The Water that refreshes deep so that parts of us that may have given up or been handed over to ‘that’s the way it will be’ are quickened and we stretch toward the sun again.

Has the Water started

trickling,

flowing,

pouring down

swirling all about 

you 

on this journey....

Word & Truth

Perhaps you felt the Water’s gentle healing presence began to refresh you right when we started out on this journey; when the Word was –

“... for it is God who works to will and to do… “ ~ Phil 2v13

The truth that God Almighty works within us His children to lean towards His will and act out of love… This has certainly encouraged me to have more confidence and to step back and trust God.

Or perhaps you felt the Water when you stopped in your tracks, looked to Jesus and began to simply say, “I am thirsty, Lord..”

"If you knew ... who it is who says to you, 'Give me a drink', you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water...." ~ Jesus at a well, John 4 [NASB]

As I lap up the Water, my hungers and fears become stilled and it seems my life is saved again.

Or did you experience the Water through this amazing promise –

Are you tired? Worn out?

Come to me,

all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads,

and I will give you rest

for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls ~ Jesus looking at the people, Matthew 11v28-29

It’s beyond our figuring out; but O how we want it to be so: rest - for - our - souls.

Did you have a deeply personal moment when your life story began to fill with colour as Jesus held you and said, “I know your life.”

"Come see a man who told me all the things that I have done, this is not the Christ is it?"

~ woman’s response after chat with Jesus, John 4v29

My truth

As I walk this journey just a step or two ahead, I sense Jesus’ heart for us.

He is the Water the refreshes our lives.

He offers the Rest that can dramatically redefine our lives: imagine finding a load and a yoke that is fitted for you. It is a load and a yoke – you and I will still find it tough and be constrained; but o how it fits!

Today I stop at this point and linger over this astounding thought.

What yoke and burden do you need to cast off?

What have you avoided out of fear?

What if Jesus were to say, 

“everything in your life, I know, and it’s going to be alright. I will refresh you and reinvigorate your life. I will be the Source in you that springs forth…”

more truth with community

Will you share your story with us here? Our stories, just like the stories in the Bible are testaments that point to God’s truth, beauty, greatness and eternal purpose.

One of the best moments I had in Beijing was being at a women’s conference. Our theme was ‘God’s story, Our story, my story’. ‘

Our individual stories are unique, yet often we can empathize and help carry each other’s burdens because there are common elements. All our stories weave and map together, and make sense when it is seen against the larger backdrop of God’s story of love for humankind.

We need to know that our lives are not random, senseless and pointless. It is not. In fact, your life, your story matter to God enough for him to step in!

So let’s share our stories and help each other remember we are part of something larger . and . eternal. 
Amen.

Journey to the never dried-up well #4

Welcome. This is our fourth stop, and as I look over our journey, something emerges.

When we encounter Jesus: each time you read, pause, go away to a 'closet' place to be -- Jesus steps out from our hazy ideas to a become a solid, real Presence and Person who has much to offer our hungry, thirsty hearts.

word & truth

Our first stop was a well, a most natural spot to quench our thirst.
In John 4, we have a record of a woman who went to a physical well and met the Spring of Living Water himself. Her story shows us the transforming power of a heart-set-free: she had come to the well at noon to avoid the town gossips, to just get her water and go. Her life was far from alright; she has been in a string of relationships where rejection and desertion has been the theme {over the years, I have met many women who indeed live with such themes. So real-ly painful}.

Yet -

after Jesus reaches into her heart, she leaves that well and announces to her fellow villagers - the same people she wants to avoid - that "he told me everything about my life".  What a strange thing to say. Unlike anything or anyone she has ever met or known, Jesus' chat with her was so filled with truth and acceptance that she felt he embraced her life so that now her story is no longer one that needs to be hidden.

Jesus helped her see her life in a whole new light; so that she is now able to claim her life and be at peace with it. Her life is not a fearful, foregone conclusion, but a faith-refreshed, forward possibility.

She found the water that reached deep into her parched, desperate soul.  As she is deeply refreshed, it begins to spring forth to refresh others ~

"Come see a man who told me all the things that I have done, this is not the Christ is it?"

John 4v29

your truth

How has this journey been? I am recently keenly aware that my questions and struggles signal that there are bits of my life I am not at peace with. 

Perhaps you too need not fear taking your long list of pains, regrets and questions to Jesus. You may even beat about the bush like the woman at the well did; talking about history and theology...but Jesus will lovingly and firmly lead the conversation to its heart. 

At some point, when we get to our desperation and humbly acknowledge it, "give me this water.." Jesus may well ask us the one question that cuts through everything and lifts the fog -- so we can see why peace escapes us.

We can then gaze long into the eyes of the Prince of peace and feel his peace flood our beings, our sense of confidence, worth, and destiny refreshed...and indeed, long to refresh others.

more truth with community

As you take time these few days to sit with Jesus, anticipate refreshment! Please share your experience with us. We would be so encouraged to hear your story!

Journey to the never-dried-up well #3

Welcome. Our basic format is:

The Word

I will be writing the reflections based on Scripture. You will need to read the scripture and let it sink it over the few days. This is a great way to know the Word better, deeper.

Truth

As you look over the reflections and let the Holy Spirit of truth lead you, God will take your hand to look at your life through his eyes. It will be 40 days of coming to know yourself better – through God’s eyes of love, compassion and freedom-bringing truth.

Your truth

Consider how Jesus is drawing you to the Well to drink...and take steps...

More with God's people

We are all encouraged by fellow travelers; so may I urge you to write short notes in the comment. Sometimes a comment by a fellow Christian can really lift us up. This way you will also realize that there are others on this journey too. 

Now, for these next few days ~

The Word

We were last at a real well, retold to us in John 4, where Jesus offered living water. The next few days let us hang out with Jesus as he walks the shoreline of lake Galilee and teach in her towns. 

Jesus' heart is heavy for the hard-heartedness of the people. Yet as quickly as he identifies and lament their true spiritual condition, his heart swells up with compassion and he raises his voice to say,

Are you tired? Worn out?

Come to me, 

all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads,

and I will give you rest

for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

~ matthew 11v28-29

Truth

I am guessing you blew out a tired breath, and readily agreed, 'yes, I am tired Lord!'. 

Really, I have not met a soul who would say 'no'. 

We live in a soul-weary world. 

All the great beauty, lofty ideas and grand vistas fade away soon enough. Our soul needs a constant feast, and no one has time or resource for that.

All the happiness and ecstasy we may taste fade away soon enough too. Our soul needs a constant spring of intimacy and hope.

Into such a stark and dry landscape, Jesus stands up and offers us rest, rest for our souls.

Your truth
But sometimes, soul-weariness is already wired in us. We have gotten so used to it. 
Our minds are choked with sound bytes and idea-bits and datelines.
Our emotions are whirling with the temperature and the temptations.
Our wills are tussling with what we want and what we ought and more.

Rest sounds like a distant, unfamiliar thing, an impossibility even.

What then? 

Jesus simply says, 'come'.

Today, and in the next few days, can you schedule an appointment to go to Him? To show up - and then see...what happens...

it may be the dark quiet of the wee hours
it may be a lunch break
it may be stopping the car or getting off the ride and just sitting somewhere for ten minutes
it may be going to bed earlier, except you are not there to sleep


and if music helps to get you going, perhaps Jeremy Riddle's Full Attention --

a song to arrest your heart for Jesus

What does your soul need more of? 
What can it do less with? 

Jesus speaks of a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light -- for His strength in us. 
Strength we must soak up from Him. 
Strength that doesn't get sapped by our heavy-laden souls. Lighten your soul. Wrap it around the Saviour who alone can make us sing, 'it is well with my soul'.

more - with God's people
O share, share what you are willing to. Cracking open your heart can bring life to others. [write in the comments below or send me an email if you prefer doing that, bless you].

Journey to the never-dried-up well #2

Our journey coincides with a season known as Lent. It is a forty-day period when we look inwards for signs of new life and symptoms of anti-life. Yes, we are a work in progress, and often the trajectory is anything but straight! 

We will sight Grace and Hope and the fruit of the Spirit. We will also see traces of dark, and shadows. Our normal human tendency is to avoid the latter. But Christ's finished work on the Cross means we no longer fear the dark side. Our goal however is not to clean ourselves up to be good enough or dwell on our sins. 

Our focus in on the new life - the hope of Resurrection which we will celebrate at the end - on Easter. Yet, the defining lines of Grace upon our lives takes on bold relief when it is contrasted with the dark. This seeing leads us to dig deeper into gratitude and greater dependence upon God who alone saves.

When this idea gently landed upon my heart late 2013, it was clear that our focus this season had to be Jesus. He who came to offer us life; and lived on earth so we can see how life ought to be lived.


Let us begin.

The Word {read and listen with your heart}

"If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give me a drink', you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water....whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst..."

~ Jesus at a well, John 4 [NASB}

If you know, you would ask, he would give.

Doesn't this mean that -

We do not have because we do not ask.

And that, we do not ask, because we do not know.

What is it that we fail to know? 

Truth {...wait for it}

I am thirsty. I am guessing you are too. That's pretty normal. The conditions are dry. The world promises to slake out thirst and feed our appetites but we have found that what we drink dehydrates and what we eat are actually appetite suppressants. After all, Truth, grace and love; faith, hope and joy aren't the things that get celebrated this side of heaven.

Just so far in 2014, what wind has whipped your sails? What words spoken, and left unsaid, has left you tired and feeling forgotten?

Perhaps you have even tried a few wells; dug one or two yourself.

How can we connect what we need to KNOW and what we ASK then?  What blocks us from knowing, and so, from asking?

Your truth {own your life and offer it back to God}

Sometimes it can get hard to ask God. We needed the solutions yesterday. Our bosses and children are not going to wait forever. 

I have found very often that I totally skipped the asking. So I miss the drink -the water that refreshes, hydrates, enlivens us. We try to do life half-dead really. 

Drag that bag of drying bones over to the Well, now. {i speak to myself, and yes, to you dear friend!}

Jesus stands before you and me, and asks, "hey, look up, look at me. You forgot to ask me. For if you knew God's gift you would ask and you would receive..."

Look up. Look at God's gift right now standing before you. Look at him looking back at you. Look.
Then, 
Ask. Go on, ask for a drink. 

{and i won't be surprised if you linger around, he will throw in a friendly chat that may surprise you further!}

Connect with God’s people

leave a note of encouragement, a Q, an insight in the comment below.

Perhaps a song: Be not afraid

Journey to the never-dried up well #1

Forty days is a short time in a life-time. Yet much can happen - when we make regular time to be apart, away, alone - with God.

Welcome to our forty-day journey to the never-dried-up well !

taken from The Plough

"..for it is God who works to will and to do... " ~ Phil 2v13  

As we begin, it may be our reflex to begin dwelling on our 'desired outcomes', how we wish our hearts will be at peace, or how our circumstances would be turned around. We may come looking for some confirmation that our hunches are right; and hope to find swift wisdom in practical steps to quench our thirst.

But 

it.is.God who..

So let us begin the journey right - by abandoning ourselves to God as much as we know how. Maybe just to cry out, "Lord Jesus, here I am!"

An old song goes,

Jesus take me as I am

I can come no other way

Take me deeper into You

Let my flesh life melt away

Make me like a precious stone

Crystal clear, and finely honed

Life of Jesus shining through

Giving glory back to you.

You can use these words as a prayer as we begin.

Over the next flew days, repeat it. According to God's Word, He will work. He will work something in us that will cause us to lean, to seek, to desire, to will...and then, to do that will.

This verse is sandwiched between the words that call us to 'work out our salvation' and to 'shine as stars'. We know full well that we have an active part to play in our growth and maturity. We know too that we were meant to fill up with Light and shine. In each instance, our tendency is to work at it ourselves. The words, "it is God" is the pivot. There will not be any deepening or shine without God. 

The entire verse reads,

"for it is God who works in you to will and to do according to his good purpose"

What a wondrous reminder from our God. He has a good purpose in all this. He has a good purpose for you this forty days.

It. is. God.

In a way, this is the secret to -

Joyful discovery of God's will

Restful trust as we go about our seemingly nothing-has-changed-much days 

Knowing what to do when we don't know what to do 

Facing fear and standing still in the rushing waters

-- which, yes, are the practical manifestations of whether a soul is well-watered. 

{and do I want them to mark my life!}

Welcome. Bring a friend.

a little more of the Will-ing

Today. Yesterday. Tomorrow.
It's always been the same. All about the Will-ing.
See that little '-ing'?  My hazy memory of grammar reminds me it is an on-going thing.

Today, i needed to come to a place of Will-ing - again.

Based on my distant Yesterdays' experiences of Will-ing-ness, it meant long days of traveling inside my head and heart. Indeed, I had for the many days running up to Today still struggled with what my mind and heart couldn't wrap around. What happened? How did things turn out this way? Where did I go wrong? What next?

But of late, these questions no longer led to answers that deeply matter.

To will after all, is the exercise of all our powers after some object. Will-ing-ness becomes powerful when the object we will after is great enough for me to be stupefied into silent submission.

So I have let the questions, the tears, the pains heave and groan, spill out in words, tears and silence. They are not the object. Soon, their energy dissipates and the object of my heart's deepest desire begins to take on an increasing clear outline: it looks a lot like Jesus.

Prayer bit by prayer bit, I confess, Lord, lead me, I want to be willing.

I feel a strange something entering my being. It feels foreign and familiar all at once. I feel knitted together - like the cosmos of my swirling emotions, hormones, thoughts and more being drawn to a centre. I shake less. I whimper less. I find a break in time-space into eternity it feels. I find my next step. The best outcome will depend on many people and their will-ing. That i need to leave to Him. But me, I stand here, and Jesus asks, "are you willing?".