Open Heavens

31/07/2023

09/06/2021

By Alvin Chia, Singapore

Last October, I was retrenched from my job without warning after working there for about two years. The following month, my girlfriend’s father, who had motor neuron disease, was admitted to hospital. He died two months later.

Even though I kept reminding myself to keep trusting God, I must admit that those months have been especially tough.

In his introduction (vv. 1-4), James urges us to rejoice during our trials, because the testing of our faith produces perseverance. But how can we apply this instruction while we are struggling through difficulties in life—when illnesses strike, when we’re facing financial difficulties, or when we’ve lost a loved one?

The Bible teaches us that the solution is not to pray that God will get us out of the trial, but to pray that He will give us the wisdom we need to help us get through it. Wisdom is not the same as knowledge; it is the practical use of knowledge. And it is necessary to help us view trials from the right perspective, so that we can see them as opportunities for us to mature and grow.

And the assurance is this: God will give us wisdom generously if we ask Him.

The longer a trial drags on, of course, the harder it can be to keep trusting God. Perhaps that is why James tells us that it is important to ask in faith. We need to be careful not to be double-minded—uncertain if God is really listening to our prayers or doubting if He is really a loving God. James uses the analogy of a seafarer to describe a double-minded person: tossed to and fro by the wind, such a person easily gives up his trust in God when faced with unpleasant things in his life.

So let’s approach God with full confidence that He will give us the wisdom to understand Him and believe in Him in the midst of our trials—because He will (v. 5).

Godly wisdom is rooted in the fear and reverence of God (Psalm 111:10). What this means is that we can have the assurance that God, being the ruler of the world (Revelation 4:11), has power and authority over all things He has created. We can therefore trust that He is still in control even when things are not going the way we want them to.

Worried that we might not have enough money to cover the additional expenses incurred for my girlfriend’s father’s medical treatment, my girlfriend and I reminded each other to trust God, who promises to provide for our needs because He loves us. True enough, help arrived at the right time, at various points of time when we needed it.

Ultimately, we can rest in God because we know that we already have the best thing in life: salvation. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3), and we can rejoice that our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20)—regardless of what we’re going through in this life.

05/06/2021

LORD GOD ALMIGHTY

Dear Father,

What an incomparable scene this is of the seven angels with the last seven plagues and those who had been victorious over the beast joining together to sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb, beginning with: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty!”

All glory to Jesus, the One Who is Lord and Monarch of all, God in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells among us, and the Almighty, as Jesus said of Himself in Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

I join those heavenly beings in singing that “Great and marvelous” are the deeds of Jesus Christ Who alone is the Lord God Almighty. I praise Him with my whole being that His deeds have always been great and marvelous. I am thrilled that the more I know of Him and His greatness, the more I want to know of Him.

I pray that Your Spirit will now awaken the Church of all nations to the vast storehouse of the Lord God Almighty’s great-ness, so that we will fall on our faces in worship of and submission to Him. I pray these things in Christ’s almighty name.

Amen.

10/03/2021

A Poem for Man and Woman
Proverbs 31 is an acrostic poem. This is God’s truth, and it’s very skillfully written. The Hebrew word translated excellent is used 244 times in the Old Testament. Its basic meaning is strength. In fact, some have translated it as valor. Think about the strengths that are found in manhood, those strengths that may be physical in nature and turn into someone’s character. When used of a woman, the word communicates virtue. That is the excellent wife: a woman who is strong, worthy, virtuous, and a crown to her husband.

Interestingly, if I were to ask you, when you think about Proverbs 31 verses 10 to 31, do you think these verses are instructions for a man or woman? How would you categorize it? I think we all tend to categorize it as instructions for women. However, I believe this was written as instructions for a son and for a man. This speaks to men greatly. These instructions tell a man what kind of woman is excellent, virtuous, and desirable. This woman that is described in Proverbs 31 is the type of woman you should marry. My point is that this poem is not only for women, but for both man and woman. Men should read it as instructions to not only look for, but pray for. Then trust and wait on the Lord for her.

Obviously, it is also instructions for a woman. I’m very grateful that God has given me a wife who embodies the qualities of the Proverbs 31 woman. She’s not perfect, no woman is, but has those characteristics in her, and that’s God’s grace to her and to me. My wife Jackie was raised in a non-Christian home. She came to Christ in her late teenage years. I share this to encourage anyone who has not been raised in a Christian home, nor has been set with this as a model. My wife didn’t have this kind of model, and so it is good for women who are believers to know that you have everything you need to live this out. God has given you the new nature and the capacity for truth, and He has given you the desire to be who He wants you to be. God will produce these things in your life if you desire it and are teachable.

I encourage you, man or woman of God, to read Proverbs 31 to have a deeper understanding of who God wants you to be or pray for when it comes to dating and the potential of marriage.

22/02/2021

I never thought I'd live to see twenty-one. After a long history of s*xual abuse, r**e, and living in a chaotic environment, my mother left me alone in our gang-ridden neighborhood, at the age of thirteen, with my eight-year-old brother, to fend for ourselves for three months. During that summer, I became involved with an older boy who offered us food and protection. The relationship became abusive and exploitative, and ultimately led me to working in the s*x industry as a stripper. Essentially, my boyfriend became my pimp and my life was spiraling out of control.

Enter Jesus.

In Him, I found grace, healing, and a path to freedom. I began to dream again. I dreamed of a day that I would have a home with a white picket fence, and a green lawn with children’s toys scattered about. I dreamed of an intact family where we would all have the same last name. My dream represented safety and stability—something I didn’t experience much of throughout my childhood.

I mistakenly believed that if I went to church on Sunday, read the right books, and did the right things, all of my dreams would be realized and I would have a certain Jesus-immunity to the troubles of life.

Within a few years, everything was going according to my plan. I was married with a beautiful baby, and had a home with a yard. Life was so good that I was jealous of my own self!

When I found out my husband had been having affairs, and ultimately wasn’t willing to fight for restoration in our marriage, I felt like every hope I ever had for my life was crushed. The life I dreamed of was completely falling apart.

In his poem, “Harlem”, Langston Hughes poses a question. “What happens to a dream deferred?”

“Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?”

I believe that what happens to our dreams when they are deferred, out of reach, or even shattered, depends on the dreamer. How we respond will determine whether we are propelled closer to the God-dream for our life or further from it.

In the wake of my husband’s confession, I was faced with a decision…

Where was I going to place my hope? Was I going place my hope in the dream I had for my life? Or was I going to place hope in God?

According to the Bible, hope deferred makes the heart sick, but hope in Jesus is an anchor for our soul. I couldn’t change my circumstances, as much as I wanted to, but I could decide how I was going to respond to them.

I invite you to reflect on the following questions: Where is your hope today? Is your hope in the dream for your life? Or is your hope in The Giver of Dreams?

06/02/2021

Say No to Say Yes.

We cannot always, through our own power and ability, do what is right. Sometimes we find it hard or even impossible to forgive, to leave a dark experience behind or to not let negative thoughts rule our mind. We try, fight and stretch ourselves to the maximum but fail over and over again. So frustrating, isn’t it?! What’s the answer? Yes, you got it: fasting!

Fasting is refraining from food for a spiritual reason. When we fast from something we need, we turn our attention towards God in a special way. The result is that God releases His power in our lives in a fresh and powerful way, and we receive strength to say yes! Yes to His word, will, plans and ways for our lives as individuals and as a church. As part of this fast, let’s decide to say no to food and seek Him with all our hearts, so we can be able to say YES!

Father, today I say no to food because I hunger for you. I open up my heart and receive your power to say yes to what pleases you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

06/02/2021

Grow your NO and Bless your YES.

If muscles are not worked out, they will not grow stronger. In fact they will become weaker. All of us have a “NO muscle”. It’s the power of choice we exercise whenever we choose what to do or not do.

Humans are not animals that are the end product of an evolutionary chain of events. We are created beings, created on purpose for a purpose. That also means, that unlike animals, we don’t operate by instincts. Animals don’t make choices in general but are governed by their instincts. Hungry? Eat! Scared? Run! Threatened? Fight! Mating season?! Well... you get the point! :)
As humans, we make choices based on our values. The problem occurs when we don’t grow our “NO muscle”. When we don’t learn to say no, we say yes to everything or just to too many things, which weakens our “yes”. In the long run, it makes us unable to fulfil all the commitments we have said yes to and in the worst case, it can destroy us, as we are unable to say no, even to habits and choices that are destructive to our soul, spirit and body.

Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, “Let your ‘yes’ be a ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ a ‘no’”. And as you grow your NO, you bless your YES. When we fast, we exercise our “no muscle” and remind ourselves that our feelings and desires are subject to us; we are not subject to our feelings and desires.

Jesus, help me become stronger in saying yes and no to the right things. Give me wisdom to discern between them and the courage to follow through on them. Amen.

06/02/2021

I Am Not an Animal!

Animals are governed by their instincts; humans are governed by our choices. This also means that my feelings and desires are subject to me; I am not subject to my feelings and desires.

In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he is talking about his desire to see as many people saved as possible. But as Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” Then Paul also realizes that he cannot just be telling everyone about Jesus but not pursuing Jesus himself, so he goes on and says:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

In “striking a blow to his body,” Paul is saying that he will take control of his body and not the other way around. We live in a world that says, “If it feels good, do it!” Paul, however, draws a comparison with the athletes, who because of their goal of becoming number one in a race, choose to live disciplined even when it doesn’t feel good.

Let’s not kid ourselves; fasting doesn’t feel good. But the pleasure of knowing that I’m in control of my feelings is so much better than any passing craving.

Jesus, I pray that my YES to you will always govern my daily choices.
As I fast, I want to grow in my ability to not just live according to my feelings and desires, but by my convictions. Thank you for strengthening me! Amen.

06/02/2021

About the Food and Not About the Food.

When Jesus stood on the hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, He made a number of statements that included the words, “You have heard it said... but I say”. That was not Jesus adding to the Old Testament law but rather, correctly interpreting it, for even in the Law, God required clean hands and pure heart. That was the whole point of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

It wasn’t just about not doing a certain action, whether it was murder, adultery or divorce. Jesus was pointing out that the issue goes deeper than just avoiding a certain action. It starts with the condition of your heart. So he went deeper. For example, don’t just try and avoid murdering someone. No, deal with the hate you have in your heart towards that person because you will not murder someone that you love.

It all comes down to the condition of your heart. Which brings us back to Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Jesus wasn’t giving us a “naughty deeds checklist” to try and avoid and then a “good deeds checklist” to try and perform. No, it’s a heart issue.

When we fast, we say to Jesus, “Jesus I love you this much. More than I love ...” (Insert whatever you are fasting from). This is also why fasting something that you hardly eat or you don’t even enjoy is not really a fast. A fast is about sacrifice. (So no, fasting brussel sprouts doesn’t count.)

Jesus, you have my heart. Even though I sometimes find it hard saying no to what I am fasting, I choose to say no to those things because I want to show you that you mean more to me. Amen.

06/02/2021

Fasting or Food Fight?

Whenever people talk about fasting, the debate often comes up about what you can fast and whether it’s even necessary. Then at some point, Isaiah 58:6 often gets quoted, which says:
"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.” (Isaiah 58:6 MSG)

But this passage doesn’t talk about not fasting, but the fact that people have totally missed the point of fasting. Fasting (and any spiritual discipline for that matter) doesn’t exist as a point on a list for us just to check off once done. It’s a matter of the heart.

In the verses prior to this, God rebukes them for fasting while arguing. “The moment you stop fasting,” He says, “You’re back at it again. Fighting each other.” That’s not fasting. That’s a diet.

That is why fasting is not just about stopping something (eating, watching TV, having a social media break etc.) but also replacing it with some time of prayer and devotion, where we give space for God’s grace to challenge and change us from the inside out.

Jesus, I want to pray like the Psalmist prayed:
“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
May you continue to point the things out in my heart that is not reflecting your best for me. Amen.

06/02/2021

The Start of a Journey.

Fasting has, throughout the Bible, been linked with an extra dimension of power. Whether it was Daniel in the Old Testament or the disciples in the New Testament, they were all aware of the power of fasting.

The temptation can be that the focus is just what fasting does through or around us and to lose track of what it does in and to us. A key verse in the Bible is Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

God always works from the inside out and He is never just after our deeds and what we can DO for Him. He is after our hearts and what we can BE. What we do comes out who we are.
Therefore, when He teaches us about prayer and fasting, Jesus reminds people not to do it for the approval of man, but in secret for the acceptance of God. Fasting is not so we can get more of God; we fast so God can get more of us.

Jesus, as I start this fast, help me to do it from a heart that wishes to know you better, rather than just for what you can do for me. I want to finish this journey more in love with you than when I started. Amen.