A Testimony of His power

Friends,

Would like to share a personal testimony of something that happened in the year 2000, around May/June. I was in the office at that time, attending to the photocopy machine when suddenly I felt giddy and my vision began to become blur. I was feeling really unwell then.

I then asked for permission to go home and took a cab straight home. When my mom saw me, I told her what happened and she said that I should see our family Dr. right away. We got to the family Dr and after he checked up on me, he suggested that I check into a hospital without delay.

We drove straight to Assuta Hosp, and a chinese Dr. attended to me. I was asked to be admitted on that night itself so that more tests could be conducted on me as I was losing the strength of my left hand. The next day, they took X-Ray and also did a brain scan on me. The Dr. finally turned up into my room and told us that I was confirmed of having a mild stroke. The news shocked me and my family. We were informed that my blood pressure shot up to 190 and my cholesterol level was high.

I was in the hosp for 4 days during which they put me on drips and gave me meds. During those 4 days, friends and some leaders came to visit me and prayed for me. On the 4th day, the Dr. came in and told us that I could go home.. but that I was to be on sick leave for a month from work. She would give me the medical cert for the sick leave.

I then went home and for the next one month I was on sick leave. I was sad and disappointed that my left hand had no strength as I used to play the guitar and lead worship for intercession ministry in church and HF. I could no longer do that and I asked God why it had to happen to me.

During those one month, I sensed that God was bringing me back into focus and allowing me to get back into His presence. Though I was confined to my house for a month, I sensed the Holy Spirit ministering to me in a powerful way. I continued to focus upon God and prayer and as a result an amazing thing happened.

After that one month, I regained strength at my left hand and slowly began to practise the guitar again. Praise God! Within a short time, I could get back into playing the guitar and was slowly on my way to full recovery. I acknowledge that my healing came from Him and Him alone. Later on, He even brought me back to serve in worship for intercession ministry again. Praise God!

I knew that God had His purpose for allowing me to go through that trying period. It was so that He could get my attention on Him again and bringing me back into focus on what He is actually doing in me and through me.

Not long after that I was back to playing the guitar and leading worship.. and I know that the Lord has given me gifts and talents to be used for His glory. I thank God that until today, I am still able to play the guitar and my left hand is now strong again.

I give glory to God for the working of His power in my life. Today, I can testify of His goodness in my life after the trial that I went through in the year 2000.

Trust my testimony encouraged you.

Meng Choo

The Call To Holiness

Friends,

God has been moving by His Holy Spirit in His church these days. When the presence of God comes upon His people during meetings one of the things that God is doing is to remind His people that He is a Holy God. Heb 12: 14(b) reminds us that without holiness no one will see the Lord.

We come before His presence and we long to seek His face but we will not be able to see Him without holiness in our lives. The Lord is coming back for His bride.. and it will be soon.. but He will be coming back for a bride that is pure and holy.. without spot or blemish. Why does God desire for His church to be holy? Just because He is a holy God (1 Peter 1 : 15).

I remember many years ago my youth leader, Susan, asked me "Meng Choo, do you know that you and I can live holy lives?" I looked at Susan, shocked by her question and replied "Really? Is that possible? Are we really holy before God?"

She explained "yes, the Bible tells us that we are made righteous through Christ. Of course, by ourselves, we are not righteous.. for our righteousness are like filthy rags. But in Christ, we are righteous and holy before God." 1 Peter 2:9 declares that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God..." I looked at Susan as she explained during the bible study and I said "Wow! Christians are called to be holy then!"

God is a holy God and therefore you and I are to be holy as well. We are to be blameless and without sin before God. I remember the time when God spoke to Moses in the burning bush and in Exo. 3:5 told Moses that the ground he was standing in is holy ground.

When you and I come before God, we must come with the consciousness of His holiness. Therefore we must enter His presence without sin. We need to examine ourselves everytime we come into His presence and if there are ppl that we need to forgive, we must forgive them. If there are any hurts or bitterness in us, we need to bring them before God and ask for His healing in those areas. People who have hurt us or spoken against us before.. we need to bring them before God and ask God to deal with the offences in our lives.

Only after we have been cleansed and asked for His forgiveness are we able to seek God and enter His presence. We are then free from those "spiritual and emotional baggages" that will hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

Let us continue to be aware of His presence and His holiness in our midst and continue to seek Him for greater things.

Meng Choo

A Faith Venture

Hi everyone!!

Sorry for missing out on my blog.. have been away.. loh. In fact, at this point of time I'm not in Malaysia. I'm now out on missions trip to Thailand on a specialllll... mission..yes, I'm now in Thailand.

I have a couple of days left before I head back home. How has my time been and what has been happening here?? The Lord has been sooo good.. and I know that truly it's Him who brought me here.. for a special purpose.. a special ministry!!

God has been doing so much here... and also working in my life during my time here.. Will share more with you.. What is this "special ministry"?? I have been helping missionaries here to minister to a special group of ppl.. young women working in the bars.. it has been a tremendous experience and God has been working here.

During my time here, I met with many missionaries from different nations.. I also visited different ministries here (bible distribution, slums, etc).. and I am deeply touched by the ppl here. This is my very first trip here.. but I really feel a lot at home. I have been here almost 3 weeks.. and God met with me here!!

It is a difficult and hard place but nothing is impossible with God. I have learned a lot from the missionaries that I'm helping and just talking to those young women really touched me.

I know that I will miss this place when I head home in a couple of days but I know that this is truly His divine appointment. It has truly been a faith venture for me.

I thank God for leading me to this place right at the beginning of a new year. It is His goodness and His faithfulness that has seen me through.

Will share more with you when I meet you back in K.L (if you ask me about my trip).. I am indeed excited about what God has in store for my life!!! God is indeed good!!!

God bless!

Meng Choo

What meekness is

Friends,

In reading the Sermon on the Mount, have you ever come across the verse "The meek will inherit the earth?" Why did Jesus single out meekness in His longest recorded sermon? What does it really mean to be meek?

First, we need to realise that Jesus was not a weakling. He isn't calling for an army of wimps and when He says the meek will inherit the earth, we must seek to understanding what meekness means.

To be meek, it does not mean that a person is week. If you remember, Jesus was meek when He took out a whip and drove the moneychangers from the temple, just as He was meek when He stood before Pilate and refused to utter a word to save Himself.

When Jesus said that the meek would inherit the earth, He was actually telling us His master strategy for winning the war against the enemy. God is going to utterly defeat Satan, and He's going to do it with individuals who move in the opposite spirit to the forves of darkness. We are going to win the victory, but only as we discern what the enemy is doing and do the opposite thing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Meekness is therefore an active and deliberate acceptance of undesirable circumstances that are wisely seen by the individual as only part of a larger picture. Meekness is not a resignation to fate, a passive and reluctant submission to events, for there is little virtue in such a response. Nevertheless, since the two responses—resignation and meekness—are externally often indistinguishable, it is easy to see how what was once perceived as a virtue has become a defect in contemporary society. The patient and hopeful endurance of undesirable circumstances identifies the person as externally vulnerable and weak but inwardly resilient and strong. Meekness does not identify the weak but more precisely the strong who have been placed in a position of weakness where they persevere without giving up. The use of the Greek word when applied to animals makes this clear, for it means "tame" when applied to wild animals. In other words, such animals have not lost their strength but have learned to control the destructive instincts that prevent them from living in harmony with others.

Therefore, it is quite appropriate for all people, from the poor to ancient Near Eastern kings, to describe their submission to God by the term "meek" (Moses in Num 12:3). On the other hand, this quality by definition cannot be predicated of God, and therefore constitutes one of the attributes of creatures that they do not share with their Creator. Nevertheless, in the incarnation Jesus is freely described as meek, a concomitant of his submission to suffering and to the will of the Father (Matt 11:29; 21:5; 2 Cor 10:1).

Sadly, today's church leaders lack the virtue of meekness in their character. If we are to inherit the earth, like Jesus said, let us ask God for meekness in character.

Blessings,

Meng Choo

A Missions Trip

Hi,

Just want to share about my recent missions trip with TSOA (School of Acts) to Thailand. About 65 of us were on this trip to Chaiyaphum, Thailand.. a place where no one has heard the gospel before.

We landed in Thailand and excitement filled our hearts.. this was the moment we were waiting for, after months of training in the classroom.

We travelled in 2 buses to a hotel and the next day, got ourselves ready. As we were preparing for a 3-days miracle rally there, we were sent for handbill distribution.. to encourage the people to come for the miracle rally and receive their healing. We went to the different residential areas.. out in the heat of the day..some of us being chased by dogs! (He! He!.. what an experience, eh?). Praise God.. none of us were bitten by those dogs and God protected us.

Excitement filled our hearts..as we were stationed at bus terminals and hospitals.. and we distributed the handbills to them.. making sign languages and trying to explain what the miracle rally is all about.

Miracle rally night finally came.. the people turned up as early as 6.00 p.m. to find out what this "miracle rally" is.. who we really are.. and so forth. We prayed.. and God gave us His favor. Finally, Pastor Raymond arrived on the stage.. and He welcomed the people to the rally. Being stationed at the front, I watched Ps. Raymond.. how he stood, his mannerisms, his words.. etc.

The preaching began.. I took note of every word Ps Raymond said.. how he preached the gospel.
I just felt such boldness in Ps. Raymond as he preached and said "God is a Spirit.. and therefore He is not controlled by man".. and he went on explain who Jesus is.. and how much the people there needed to receive Jesus into their hearts..and that Jesus is their healer. Wow! my heart just pumped faster as Ps. Raymond preached the gospel with such annointing to a group of people who were in deep bondage. The power of God was strong in our midst and we felt His presence at the rally ground.. filled with thousands of ppl who were there for their "miracle".

The time came to pray for the sick.. this was it! They were there to see the power of God at work.. Ps. Raymond called out sicknesses.. and the people responded for prayer. We, the students, were to watch out for those who needed prayer and to pray for them and bring them to the front when they were healed. At this time.. I got all excited and walked around looking for people who might need prayer.

Praise God.. the blind saw, the lame walked and the deaf heard. There were many testimonies throughout the 3 nights of miracle rallies. I was excited as we were the very first group of believers to bring the gospel to this part of Thailand.. and the first group to have miracle rallies.

This trip was exhausting.. but we were all "on fire".. to do missions there and on Sunday, we were sent to different churches to preach and share in Bible study. I was sent to a small church of about 30 people and I shared there and also prayed for several people who were sick at that church.

We came back from Thailand with a fresh zeal and God opened my eyes to see that nothing is impossible with Him when His presence and the power of the Holy Spirit is upon us. I believe that as we went there, the power of darkness over Chaiyaphum, Thailand was broken.. and we penetrated that place with the gospel.

One thing that God did in my life during this trip was that as I stood at the front one night (on the 2nd night), I saw them carrying the sick people towards where I was stood and there was this man with a tube through his nose.. God truly filled my heart with compassion and tears began to roll down my eyes as I stood there and watched him and the rest of the sick people that were brought. God was doing something in my heart.. wow!

I thank God for TSOA (School of Acts).. the past few months have been months of sitting at the feet of annointed teachers from different parts of the world. The annointing of God upon their lives and the impartation in the classroom brought about a life-changing experience in my life and I now have a greater passion for God. I know my walk with God is never the same again. Thank you so much, Ps Raymond and TSOA! I had tremendous breakthroughs in my spiritual life at TSOA!

I can remember the times when I was prayed for by the teachers in the classroom and God just took hold of my heart.. and I was slained in the spirit. The counselling sessions with the teachers (with Ps Margaret Seaward and Ps. Lyn) brought healing and deliverance and now I am totally set free to serve Him.

I remember too.. the prophetic words given by Ps. Jan Nel as He ministered to us, students.. all of us enjoyed Ps. Jan Nel's teachings and prophecy. He was truly a spiritual father to all of us.. although I was shocked by the word of prophecy that He gave me!!

Friends, I hope my above sharing encourage you to press in to all that God has for you

Meng Choo

Friends,

In 2 Timothy, we see Paul writing to his spiritual son, Timothy as his last words before he went to be with the Lord. We all know that a person's last words or wishes are very important - they contain significant meanings, if we care to examine those words.

In 2 Tim 2: 1-6, Apostle Paul left some very important instructions as well as exhortations for Timothy. Let us now examine them.

In verse 3, he exhorted Timothy to "endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ". Paul was telling his spiritual son "don't just be a soldier, be a good soldier. As a soldier, endure the hardship - for I am your example". Timothy was to endure the hardness of the battle that he would face in his ministry.

In verse 4, Paul wrote "No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life..". Luke 21:34 tells us that the cares of this life will rob us. What are the duties of a soldier? A soldier trains himself for battle and is not to have any other duty/job. His primary focus as a good soldier is to focus on the battle and to win the war. Timothy is not to entangle himself with any other affair except the battle.

Next, in verse 5, it is stated "And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules". What was Paul talking about here? We all know that there are many types of athlete competitions. It is conducted at school/college level, state level, national level and even Olympics level. An athlete who is competiting for the olympics cannot train himself as though he is competing at state or national level. Paul was telling Timothy "you are now to train yourself to run the race at "Olympics level".

In 2 Tim 4:7-8, Paul tells Timothy that he has "fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith". Paul was saying to his spiritual son "I am your example.. you are to follow my example which is to fight the good fight of faith, to finish the race and to keep the faith". I know that you are able to do it.. for I will be cheering you on in heaven".

Be blessed by this sharing!
Meng Choo

Disqualifications of The Priest

Friends,

Sorry.. I know I have been delayed with blogging..(bear with me.. okay?). Today, I would like to share from Leviticus regarding the office of the priest. We know that as believers, we have priesthood responsibilities; and that the duty of the priest in the O.T times is to minister to God. A priest has to be holy before God, for He will be the mediator between God and the people. The priest would be the one who enter into the Holy of Holies in the O.T times.

In Leviticus 21 : 16-24, God spoke to Moses about the defects of the priest (the Minister of God) and of what will disqualify him. Leviticus 21 : 18 "For any man who has a defect shall not approach; a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long". He spoke firstly about blindness. This blindness means a limited and constricted or narrow vision. It speaks of the attitude of the minister to the body of Christ. Let us ask God for big vision today, insread of a limited, narrow vision" and allow Him to remove this blindness from us if we are to minister to others. The next defect was lame. A person who is physically lame has difficulty in maintaining his balance and would be unable to walk normally. As ministers of God, we need to be balanced in our belief, preaching, teaching and in our family life. An imbalance would constitute a defect and disqualify us from being a priest. The next defect was a "marred face or any limb too long" - this is anything that will sto us from running the race so that we can't move to the next level.

Lev 21: 19 " a man who has a broken foot or broken hand" - A person who has a physically broken foot or broken hand will have difficulties performing his daily tasks.. for he is does not have the physical strength to do it. Is our walk with God strong and firm today .. so that we will not be disqualified to be His priest? We will not be able to serve God with broken foot and broken hand.

Verse 20 "or who is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or who has an eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles".. A person who is hunchbacked or dwarfed physically is not able to stand straight or walk straight. He is not able straighten himself physically. This speaks of the priest having worries or being burdened. Do we minister to ppl with burdens laid upon our backs? The Bible says that being burdensome can be a defect, as we are to lift every burden that we have to God. "Damaged testicles" speaks of the inability to produce. As His priest, we are to re-produce ourselves. This is through making disciples of others and also evangelism. How effective are we in our re-producing today?

Those are the defects which will disqualify us from being his priest. It says in verse 21 "No man og the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of His God".

If we are to minister to God's people, let us search our hearts and see if there are any of those defects in our lives and ask God to restore any defects which we may have.. so that we can become His priest today.

Meng Choo