Miaowkat's Blog

Third son swallowed a 1 inch long magnet which had a jagged edge on one end.

We took him to the ER which asked us to bring him home for monitoring. We prayed, we asked cell groups and the OA pastors to pray. On the fifth day, we went for a follow up xray which still showed the object in his digestive system.

The doctor told us to prepare in case surgery was required. We went back to pray again, asking our cell groups, OA pastors and other contacts to pray.

I happened to see a posting on Facebook by Sol Grear, which said:

“Jesus replied, “You, too? Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated?”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15:16 MSG‬‬

Thank you God! At that point, this Word just gave me the assurance he will be alright!

On the 6/7th day, it finally came out! Praise the Lord. I will spare you all the photo of the magnet after a week in a digestive system.

I did however wash the object and used it as my profile pic for a while and found it was a good opportunity and conversation starter because curious friends would ask about it and I could then start to share about how God answered prayer!

This is a long overdue post; since his passing and I’ve been wanting to write a tribute to what I’ve learned from him. And these were good things that I wanted to write about.

This is not a post about judgement or defense. It is not the type of post about whether I should still read his content. It is also not a post that is meant to ignore the feelings of those who were victimised. It is about my personal journey that was influenced by what he has taught me.

I don’t think now is the time to even draw a conclusion about whether or not what he did was true or false or half true. Nor is it a time to make a decision on writing of his work. And I say this firstly because I am not a publisher or organisation that supports his ministry financially. Secondly the report that reveals the evidence was limited and given the nature of the accusations, I think there WILL be more revelations and witnesses. The only thing that will continue to shock us is the extent of any perpetration that is to be revealed. Lastly, I think the greatest victims, his family, Margie, Sarah and Naomi, have yet to say anything in response to these accusations, and if and when the times comes, their response will probably bring a better closure to this whole saga. In short, it’s only the beginning, and this process could probably take years to close. But this is not what my post is about.

For a while, in my walk with God l, I was tired, lost and in need of re-building my “inner-self”. And, amongst others, it was Ravi’s sermons that helped me re-build confidence in God and undertake a self-discipline to live right for God. His sermons and teachings helped me to engage the Bible better and to enjoy reading it. I listened and enjoyed this for a period of 3-4 years and then stopped because I felt that I could journey on from that point without them.

I recall, on many accounts, he would relate stories, like how he would be rushing in or out of the house for ministry but yet have time to help take the trash out or to do the dishes. It inspired me to be a good husband and father above being a church leader.

He often spoke about God’s immense and unfathomable love, grace and forgiveness. And how repentance is always available to people.

He talked about faith and understanding God in a way that was practical but yet requiring faith. He often said that God has revealed enough of Himself in the Bible in order for us to make sense of it but yet left out enough so that we require faith to trust Him.

He spoke a lot about purity and how we need to run the race and finish it well.

He spoke of the miraculous healing to his back and how the promise of God’s anointing would be greater and more evident in His life.

I would listen to various apologists and note that Ravi was the only one who would always answer graciously and without cutting down the questioner. His explanation for this was he always answered not just the question but the questioner. He was very people-centered and oriented.

He spoke a lot about having a congruent public and private life. He told stories about people in comparison who did and did not have such an integration in their life.

That we ought not to only talk the apologetic but to live out the apologetic as well.

Despite he not believing in the prayer language of speaking in tongues but yet his life seemed to edify and exude with love and kindness more than mine! He said that it was a mystery why people claim to be able to have access to the power of the Holy Spirit inwardly but yet live lives that don’t reflect any change outwardly; it really got me thinking about my own walk.

Much of his teaching focused on the purpose and place for pain, suffering, depression and grief. A lot of the content helped me later on in counseling and empathising with people who would go through such pain.

And then I heard of his passing, and I thought it would be good to write about 1) what his preaching had taught me, and 2) what his life had taught me.

And then I heard about the scandal. And the one thought that kept coming back to me is how he could live such a duplicitous (a word I learnt from him too) life?

A man who always preached about truth, integrity, and being a man of God in private and public, now revealed as not living up to his own preaching.

A man who preached about David being a talented man with uncontrolled passions, now himself revealed as one who did not control his own passions.

And to bypass all the confusing and difficult thought process, I came to this conclusion that I hope will help you as it helped me.

There is always a lesson to learn from people’s lives and there is always an application we can make to our own.

We have often heard the phrase “listen to the message, not the messenger”. Ravi always taught about living out our faith and perhaps this is an opportunity for us to do as such. He always taught about loving and forgiving the worst of people, perhaps he could do it too. He always taught about helping out those who have been sidelined, marginalised and abused, perhaps we have the ever more challenging and difficult opportunity to do so.

Ravi always pointed out that a philosophy is not true because it comes from the East or from the West, it is true when it comes from the Bible. Likewise, whether we like it or not, the message is still true not because it came from Ravi, but because it comes from God. Making that distinction helped me to move on from this.

Now the real challenge again, is not about whether you or I want to continue reading or listening to his sermons, but in your deliberate and intentional act, will you be able to forgive him and move on, and in grace, thank God for whatever words you have received through Ravi. Because it is only Jesus whose words are true by way of His speech and also by His action. Everyone else will fail in this regard. The measure of whether you have moved on is in your action of intentional still trusting and supporting and praying for your leaders or pastors or famous preachers to stay strong, committed and not fall? Or will you just put them aside and say, “people in position should not be trusted”.

The message of Christ needs to continue to be preached by you and I and we cannot distract ourselves by issues caused by lack of trust. These are difficult issues to talk with sometimes, but have faith and put out the message of Christ first, the answers and understanding to trust will come later.

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm‬ ‭19:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Sergey Sotnikov was the manager and only remaining employee of a 32-year old airport in a small town in Russia called Izhma, located north-east of Moscow. The airport and its runway had been closed for more than a decade and only helicopters landed there, but Sotnikov decided he would continue maintaining the runway on his own initiative. He would regularly sweep the tarmac, remove debris, clear fallen logs and branches and even trim the tree line running parallel to the runway. When the runway markings had faded, he decided to re-paint the runway markings, on 1300 metres of tarmac, all on his own effort and at his own expense. He faithfully carried out his insignificant duty not knowing its significance, until the 7th of September in 2010.

Hundreds of miles, east of the forgotten airport, a plane heading for Moscow takes off, but experiences electrical failure few hours later in mid-air. The pilots of the flight TU-154 decided they would decrease the plane’s altitude in order to search for a suitable place to emergency crash-land. Lo and behold, the pilots spotted the airstrip in Izhma clearly and took their chances to attempt a landing. Owing to the fact that Sotnikov had repainted the markings and kept the tarmac in good condition over the years, the pilots could easily navigate and plan their landing. Despite the runway being short for a commercial jet, the plane successfully performed its emergency landing and did so without any casualties nor even minor injury to any of the passengers.

The Bible focuses around key individuals who did great and heroic acts for God but, the Bible also accounts the insignificant duties of individuals, who are less known but, nevertheless, faithful in their duties and calling.

There were men like Jabez, Josiah, Mordecai, Jethro, and other characters whose life was obscure and we know little of, yet used by God. The collective lesson from the lives of these men is this: that they were that they were faithful in discharging their duties.

Jesus exhorts us with His parable of the talents. Investing into your child’s life, is just like investing the talent God has given. It is like what Proverbs 22:6 says about “training up a child” (now) and “when he is old” (much later), “he will not depart… from the way that he should go”.

You may be an ordinary father, going through the repetitive motions of life and now with the challenges of the world; wondering how you are going to impact the lives of these children, working tirelessly to support and build them. The story of Sotnikov reminds us to faithfully keep to our duties which God has appointed us to. For Sotnikov, it was to keep his runway tidy and ready, for us it is showing our children the goodness of God and never giving up.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians‬ ‭6:9-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

One day your children will shine and proudly show off the fruit of your labour and others will be blessed by it. Investing that will yield great return takes consistency and faithfulness, and that is invaluable because one day, your talent will multiply, and you will hear the Father’s words to you, “well done, good and faithful servant”… and that is significant. And like Sotnikov, your years of duty may pay off in only a matter of minutes, but it will be a memory for a lifetime and have an effect into eternity.

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much…” Luke‬ ‭16:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Prayer for fathers: “Lord, help me do great things as though they were little, since I do them with your powers and help me to do little things as though they were great, because I do them in Your Name” ~ Blaise Pascal

Blessed Father’s Day!

I have often explained that the Bible is a book for leaders because of the significant examples and characters we study in order to guide the conduct of pastors, lay leaders and the like. The accounts of Abraham, Moses, David, Paul, Peter, and of course Jesus himself, all give invaluable principles for leadership.

However there is a collective lesson to learn from the insignificant identities of the Bible. The characters who are only mentioned once, or those whose names were not even named, and those who played a seemingly unimportant role. There are the accounts of Shiphrah and Puah, the servant girl who advised Naaman, Abigail, the children who approached Jesus, Anna the prophetess, and the list goes on.

The common lesson amongst these individuals, whose identity and works, were insignificant, is that they were faithful even till the point where they were chosen and selected to be used by God.

This Mother’s Day, whether you are a mother who is prominent or unknown, you may be enduring, working tirelessly and seemingly meaningless in serving, loving, teaching and caring for your children, but here is a reminder for you: *your faithfulness in the little things may be the very place where your children experience the greatness of God. *

““One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much…” Luke‬ ‭16:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

You may not see it now, but it is what the word of God says. Much like what Proverbs 22:6 says about “training up a child” (now) and “when he is old” (much later), “he will not depart… from the way that he should go”

God reveals a very precious characteristic of Himself, when He selected Israel as the “chosen people”. He didn’t choose the great empires of Babylon nor Rome to be His beloved, but He poured out His love and goodness into a tiny, insignificant and often bullied, nation of Israel, to make the nation great.

Your life and actions may be small, but our God is big! And when you humble yourself before God’s greatnesses, there is such a resonance with Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:12, “… and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (ESV‬‬).

Prayer for mothers: “Lord, help me do great things as though they were little, since I do them with your powers and help me to do little things as though they were great, because I do them in Your Name” ~ Blaise Pascal

Blessed Mother’s Day!

As we soldier on for another 2 weeks of restricted movement, we are reminded again to be clean and to stay clean. By now many of us would have gone out of our homes at least once, either for work or for essentials.

Many of us would also have had to go through the process of preparing ourselves with various forms of protection before going out, and sanitising and washing up ourselves and our clothes after we return home. And perhaps some of us may have even found ourselves deciding whether the hassle to wash up is worth the effort to go out at all!

This process of washing up ourselves reminds me of the OT biblical times when God’s people had to go through a process in order to be cleansed and sanctified. God detailed out various procedures for various occasions of purification.

There were laws for purification when in contact with the diseased and deceased, laws for purification for priests, laws to purify ones home, laws for the day of atonement and so on. These instructions handed down to God’s people were not as easy as it seems.

For example, Leviticus 13 outlines numerous procedures to identify and distinct between different instances of leprosy, boils, itches and Leviticus 14 outlines how to be cleansed from them which involved the actual cleansing and a ceremonial offering. And perhaps people in OT times would also have wondered if it’s better not to be exposed than to go through the hassle of purification.

We thank God that because Jesus paid the price for our sins we no longer need to have an atonement, nor a ceremony to purify ourselves. However from reading all the laws laid out for the Israelites, we can conclude that God takes purification and cleansing seriously… and so should we.

The practices of the OT are not to be ignored because they remind us to also take purification and cleansing seriously. Though we don’t observe those laws, we should observe the heart and purpose of those laws. It reminds us to be clean physically as well as in our minds and heart. Even though we can now come before God easily, we must not take lightly God’s stand on purification and cleanliness.

“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…” Psalms‬ ‭24:3-4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

All the more we should cleanse our mind and soul more often since we don’t have to spend our time to look for live birds to sacrifice. Just as we “ceremonially” cleanse ourselves each time we return, we should also prayerfully commit our heart and mind to Him whenever we leave and return home.

However apart from moments of prayer and cleansing, I treasure the most, the time before I retire to bed, where I can spend time in quietness to reflect and talk to God about what I’ve done up till the end of the day. I do this in keeping with Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” ESV‬‬

This is the one time in a day, I basically bring everything before God to ask for forgiveness and cleansing. To purify and restore a relationship with Him (Psalm 51); a relationship that is lived in grace and mercy and the power of the Holy Spirit.

I would like to share this wonderful poem that helps me to remember that although I do this daily, it doesn’t become a ritual because I am not just taking out the trash at the end of the day, but I am coming before a person, who not only helps me take out the trash, but takes the time to cleanse me from the dirt that comes with it.

He came to my desk with a quivering lip, the lesson was done.
“Have you a new sheet for me, dear teacher? I’ve spoiled this one.”
I took his sheet, all soiled and blotted and gave him a new one all unspotted.
And into his tired heart I cried, “Do better now, my child.”

I came to the throne with a trembling heart; the day was done.
“Have you a new day for me, dear Master? I’ve spoiled this one.”
He took my day, all soiled and blotted and gave me a new one all unspotted.
And into my tired heart he cried, “Do better now, my child.”

Anon

Lamentations 3:21-24, “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!’ “

Read Genesis 26:12-33

Today marks another 2-week extension into the nation’s movement restriction order in the attempt to battle Covid-19. Many people will begin to feel the pinch from their place of employment. Businesses loosing income will start to tighten their belts to make ends meet.

If you belong to an organisation which values employees as their greatest asset, then you are blessed and you can be assured you will still have work in months to come. However, many will likely be finding themselves looking for work or a means to generate income.

The story of Isaac digging wells May not be familiar to many, but it gives us an important reminder for many to think of in times to come. And that principle is to “keep digging wells until you find water”.

Isaac had just reaped a bountiful profit because of the Lord’s blessing on him. However the enemy envied Isaac and filled up all his wells with dirt such that he could not sow anything. However Isaac knew that God is faithful and if God could bless him once, He could certainly do it again.

As he began to dig a new well, all looked fine until he came across opposition which forced him to move elsewhere to dig again, and again, and again… until God shows up and assures Isaac that He is still on his side.

The Pentecostal influence I grew up under taught me an interesting phrase regarding prayer which is “pray through it, not pray about it”. What it meant was that you don’t stop praying over a matter until God moves into it. Perhaps you would have come across acronyms like P.U.S.H. which stands for Pray Until Something Happens or “keep praying till the answer comes”.

Isaac, who kept digging here and there, reminds us that we need to keep praying here and there, until God shows up in our situation. Matthew 7:7 tells us to keep on asking, keep seeking and keep knocking and the important verse is the next one which says “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:8 ESV

If you are in a situation where you’re looking for a job, continue to “dig another well to find water”, in the realm of job hunting and in the realm of prayer. If you are in a situation where business is failing, continue to dig here and there to find a new source of “water” and keep on praying until God shows up. Whatever your situation, whatever uncertainty the future may be, God will show up to meet and assure us if we only “pray through it”.

(Read Daniel 1:3-20)

Have you ever wondered what living in exile is like? Being outcast, without freedom to live your life as you want to?

That may be pretty much what many people are now experiencing in this season of isolation and quarantine that is caused by Covid-19. Different circumstances will cause different individuals to experience various degrees of “exile” but there is a sense of imprisonment nonetheless.

I find the exile of the Israelites in Babylon to be most similar to the “exile” we are facing now. Despite being unable to worship and congregate the usual way, the Israelites had access to choicest food. Babylon being an advanced kingdom in that era, could also offer them education and information that was considered modern.

Much like we live, confined in our homes, having access to online food services and gigabytes of information, we are like Daniel, living in a time where we’re unable to worship and congregate in the usual methods. So, there are 2 lessons we can learn from this account of Daniel that could help us get through our “exile”

1. Appetite

Daniel did not compromise his conviction in God, and that resulted in him and his friends trading away their appetite for extravagant food to a simple diet. Unlike of what we know of a diet today, the goal of their diet was to train their appetites and yearnings. They turned their yearning for food to become a yearning for God.

Perhaps we are tempted to give in to simple comfort or laziness because he are home bound. Perhaps we have been so used to our lifestyles of variety and choices for food and activity that we find simplicity and repetition difficult to adapt to. Daniel used the way appetite works to his advantage, he trained it by feeding it less, instead of more.

2. Comfort & Satisfaction

Daniel and his friends also recognised that they were about to be indoctrinated with a belief foreign to that of God’s. They chose not to solely depend on information that was available to them, but they went an extra mile to seek wisdom from God. At the end of 3 years of supposed indoctrination, the king instead found them to be wiser than the existing “professors” of their time.

Many of us access information daily and this information expires and evolves so quickly that it can overload us. Information overload works to our disadvantage, because, though relevant information does gives us a certain satisfaction and comfort, it is our drive to have satisfaction and comfort that causes us to want to know more. Feeding our appetite for information will cause confusion, remove peace and we soon find that we are indoctrinated to find comfort in the knowledge of the world, rather than rely on God’s wisdom to obtain comfort.

A simple point to illustrate this is the fact that until now no one can be truly sure if wearing a face mask will protect you from Covid-19. Some information say it is airborne. Others say it can enter through the eyes. You don’t even reach a point of fear and you will already be in doubt because of the confusion information overload causes. Instead, if you choose to find comfort in God’s wisdom, you can “walk through the valley of shadow of death and fear no evil”, regardless of what ever might befall you because, “God is with me, and His rod and staff comfort me”. Psalm 23:4

As we think on these lessons from Daniel, let us also reflect on them in context of God’s beautiful illustration of our soul yearning for God, being like the deer that pants after water (Psalms 42).

As Easter approaches, let us also reflect on the words of our Lord, that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew‬ ‭4:4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

And as we journey on in this time of “exile”, not knowing when it may end, but we can know that we are truly comforted and satisfied in our appetite for God when we find that our appetite is for His kingdom and righteousness. Seek it and all other things will be added to you.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew‬ ‭5:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.” Genesis 8:12 ESV

Today marks the start of another 2 weeks of restricted movement and everyone is anxious; having thoughts about how to cope and wondering if the restriction will extend.

Noah’s family was in a similar situation. In fact they had it worse. They were in an ark for what historians say is up to a year; full of animals, primitive conditions and they could not even leave the ark because of water all around them.

The ark was a means of preservation that God instructed Noah to build. Much like our homes that we are confined to now. Our homes are preserving us from Covid-19.

The ark represented God’s saving grace. When the world was about to be destroyed by flood, God had a plan for Noah. God had Noah in his sights whilst the flood was ongoing too.

“But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.” Genesis 8:1 ESV

The story of the ark also reminds us that God keeps his promises. The promise that He will care for us no matter what the cost.

“And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart,
“I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.”
Genesis 8:21 ESV

If we are in the shoes of Noah now, we ought not to be anxious or concerned about our future because of the principles above. We are in our homes which is God’s plan for us. We are saved by His grace and God remembers us.

When we look at the account of Noah, I believe right now we are at the moment where Noah is standing at an opening of the ark, letting a dove out to search for land. We are looking ahead to the horizons on when this situation will subside.

Have hope because the day is coming soon, when the dove will return with an olive branch and it will tell us that God remembers us and the waters are subsiding. Even if we have to repeatedly send out doves like Noah, the important message is that, Noah kept looking out for a sign, he kept on his wait on God. In the meantime, wait on Him, He will give you strength to persevere.

“And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.” Genesis 8:11 ESV

New opportunities arise as we journey through the challenges of the Covid-19 battle. These are in the form of contributions and donations. Many of us give generously to our local churches, but some of us are blessed such that we can give above and beyond what we normally would give as church offering.

“But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’” Exodus 11:7 ESV

This was what God told Moses prior to the plague that killed all of Egypt’s firstborn. He wanted to make a statement that there is a difference between His chosen people and the rest of the world. God wants us to be holy, set apart, distinct from the world, especially in this time of disaster.

LOVE is how we can be “distinct”. There are many requests from individuals and organizations, for masks, food, money and other necessities. Many of these items will go towards not just the underprivileged, but people who ARE privileged but seemingly undeserving because of their actions. Some of these items will go toward those who were uncooperative with medical staff and did not comply with government instructions.

Let’s not just talk about our faith. Now is the time to put our faith into action and show love. By doing so we forgive those who have been prideful. By giving to their need we forgive those of opposing faiths. We forgive those who attended public gatherings of their own religion and caused more widespread infection. We can choose to see them as underserving of our sympathy, but they are deserving of God’s love.

Read and find out about various avenues of contribution, pray over them, ask God to give you wisdom to choose one that is genuine and not a scam, then give out of love.

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Hebrews 13:16 ESV

The Bible records wars that were fought by men and soldiers of might. They bore strength and weapons, and these people fought to conquer. However the Bible also records other types of wars that were fought by ordinary people. Those who had no physical power and might, and these people fought for safety and justice.

Such was the case of Esther. She was not mighty, she had no weapons and she was not trained to fight, but she fought for the safety of her people. However she had a different kind of weapon with her, and that was of fasting and prayer.

And Not only did she choose to fast, but she called the whole nation of Jews to fast along with her.

“Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.” Esther 4:15-17 ESV

Esther’s people faced “extinction”, and called for a time to fast. So are we faced with a pandemic that threatens to accelerate the loss of human life. This is the season to fast and pray.

Pray for saving of lives

Just as Esther called for a nation-wide fast, so can leaders of churches and congregations call for a fast for their respective nations. Those who choose to fast, should focus on praying for the saving of lives, not just those caused by the Covid-19 virus but, by those caused by any form of evil. Saving of human life should also be accompanied by the saving of human spirits so that they may enter into fellowship with Christ and that they may speak of God’s saving power. Prayer should also focus on the salvation of these lives.

Pray for yourselves

There may also be those, for some reason or another, who are unable to fast with a community, but such individuals can fast for themselves. Jesus fasted in order to face the trials and temptations from Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). Similarly, we ought to follow Christ on a personal fast in order to face the trials and temptations that are a result of the virus. If you face overwhelming depression or anxiety because of the uncertainty of the future, perhaps fasting and prayer may be an answer for your breakthrough. If you are tempted to give in on your overwhelming duties because of circumstances caused by the virus, perhaps fasting and prayer will give you strength and wisdom to carryout your responsibilities.

Whether you are going to fast and pray in a group, or as an individual, remember that the purpose of fasting is to put you in the best position for a breakthrough. It is not to arm-twist God’s hand into giving you a breakthrough at the end of your 1-day, or 3-day, or 40-days or how ever many days of fasting. It is a serious matter and it requires an intensity in our discipline and a genuine intentness of heart.