Christian Living
The answer my friend is a resounding "Yes!" What's more, without hesitation, I would venture farther to say that "God loves you" simply because an ordinary Christian like me has experienced His goodness in my daily walk with our covenant-keeping God -- yes, the same God who keeps His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel).
For instance, this has been my experiences with God on this the 31st day of July 2010. In my sharing I have taken the liberty to highlight in capital letters where things had cropped up twice, for which I would discern as God's little markers rather than mere coincidences.
Earlier this evening I attended the 24th Festival of Praise held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium eventhough my wife couldn't make it. I was early before the official starting time of 7:30 pm. My first stop was the bookstore area to see whether there was any spiritual foodstuff to procure and, at the same time, hope to change one of my two SGD 50.00 notes with a purchase so that I could make an offering of SGD 30.00 during the service.
A mustard-yellow book with a smiling Dr. Che Ahn on the cover picked me with its title "Say Goodbye To Powerless Christianity" and with what I had gleaned from the inside such as the vivid dream he recounted, "At four o' clock in the morning of the second day of September 1982 (exactly three years from the date of my ordination), an African-American appeared to me in a dream and spoke these words: "The Lord wants you to come to Los Angeles, for there will be a great harvest." Man, woman, I was thinking to myself if God can love Pastor Che Ahn and reveal His GOODNESS to him in personal ways, He can do that to me, too! God, count me in, please.
Next stop was the washroom before heading to look for a seat. As the 8,000-seater stadium was almost packed, I was eyeing what I would consider choice seats albeit behind the stage. That area has a gargantuan LCD screen where you can see everything happening on the stage up close in front of you without having to twist your neck, slant your body or strain your eyes.
But, God had a better plan for me. A looming and dignified-looking male usher dressed sharply in a suit appeared to me politely near the backstage area and asked if I needed a seat. I assented but indicated that it was not a problem for me to just find a seat in that area as it was only filling up. However, he led me on. So, I asked him where is that seat (which he seemed so please to show me). He told me that it was going to be near the stage. My first reaction to myself was, "Whoa, that's too good for me. I don't feel comfortable being too near the stage."
I broke my stride momentarily before continuing with these thoughts: If God is being good to me (as he is with Pastor Che Ahn), wouldn't I let Him and take on His offer. So, God's way won the day for me here because I have had a revelation of His goodness and was prepared beforehand for His surprises. The usher led me through the first gate, walked down a stretch of stairs, passed a second gate and a third gate, and led me to a seat by the aisle (just what I wanted) and the fourth row from the floor area. It was an awesome place to be in! God is in the House, and The Planetshakers was just about to launch off the praise segment, followed later on by Don Moen during the worship segment.
As I reeled from God's awesome goodness, which exceeded all my expectations, I determined there and then to sow SGD 50.00. Lo and behold, during the offering time, Elder Foong Daw Ching said that if everyone could give SGD 50.00 tonight we would be able to cover the expenses for this two-days event (not that the organising committee had had ever faced difficulty to cover the expenses since its inception by its founder, Canon James Wong). So, it was not difficult for me to give cheerfully as God had already revealed His goodness to me, yes, even today.
During the message by Dr. Che Ahn, he spoke of HOPE as the anticipation of good from God in every areas of your life that would impact the present. That Hope is a Person; Hope is in a Promise; and Hope impacts the Present. I was pleasantly surprised when hope was mentioned because this morning I had just started reading "The Attitude of Faith" by Pastor Frank Damazio.
In Chapter 1, Pastor Frank Damazio touched on "Yes To Expectation" wherein he explains, "Expectation can be defined simply as fixing our eyes on the promised blessing with an eager anticipation of its arrival. An expectation is a strong desire that is filled with anticipation and confidence about obtaining what is expected. To live with expectation is to live with hope, dreams, imagination and desires."
It was so good that I had written down "Hope", "Dreams", "Imagination" and "Desires" on a piece of paper and scotch-taped it atop my vision board on the door of my clothes cabinet. A slight digression here as I thought it might encourage you, my dear readers, is that Pastor Frank Damazio also cited Romans 5:5 (NKJV) which reads, "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." God has spoken to me, even today -- through Pastor Frank Damazio and then through Dr. Che Ahn on Hope by the inpiration of the Holy Spirit.
What next? I believe that inasmuch as those who have been given much, much more is expected of them that those who have been given little glimpses of God's love and goodness (like me) must also be faithful to honour and glorify God. That's why I am writing this even around 2:19 am while my wife and two sons are sound asleep. To God be all the glory, honour, praise and majesty!
Dear Readers, "It may not be four o' clock in the morning yet. But, we have hope for our kairos moments with God, even today. God loves you. I know he does. May you be blessed beyond your wildest imagination! Amen."
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