Destined to Die vs Destined to Reign
Andrea sent me a link to an article today entitled "When a baby is destined to die" - it is an account of a woman and her husband, Catholics, who went on to have their kid even tho' there was foetal abnomaly and the child was most certain not to live for long.
There was a part in the article that said -
Yes, modern medicine (even TCM) is a paradox because it doesn't always mean depending on them will result in Life.
Look at the Aids patients who purchase expensive cocktail drugs to prolong their lives OR the cancer patients who habr to go for Chemotherapy after Chemotherapy and other painful operations... clinging on to modern medicine as their only hope. When their eyes are turned upon their doctors for health and healing, the only health and healing they can expect is one that is imperfect and of this world. So many of them know that the illness can be held off for so long.
Like my teacher, she discovered she had cancer when she was young. She had relapse after relapse later on and now the doctors have told her, they can't do anything any more as the cancer is now clinging on to her nerves. She can't walk now and is dependant on people to help her. She wrote in her blog that she has no idea when Death will come, but that Plath was wrong - Living, not Dying, is an art.
As Christians what do we cling to?
For me, it used to be horoscopes - I used to open the magazines and newspapers & head straight for the Horoscopes in the hope that they might give me an answer as to when respite for my situation would come.
I even knew the cusps and had amazing books that were super thick (really really thick tome) on horoscope that split down to day, mth, year of birth and the cusp signs and all that. I was really good at it. I am quite the born researcher and I used to research on those stuff a plenty.
These days, I refuse to even glance at horoscopes and I even got upset when my Dad told Kae his horoscope. I've told my son that horoscopes are rubbish and that it is even dangerous to read it for fun becoz some folks start of that way then get swept up by it.
I am also learning not to focus on the lying symptoms of my body but on something better - the Shalom Wholeness I have in Jesus. I am learning to stop saying "this food is more heaty" or "that one is too cooling"- a theory we Chinese subscribe to from generation to generation.
My Host Mum (when I studied in Britain) used to have throat a infection and just chomp down on chocolates anyway as she said it didn't make it any worser for her. I used to nag her on how it is heaty etc. She just dismissed it all as rubbish.
She was a nurse and she was an ANG MOR. Like Pastor said in his sermon on Sunday about the "water ghosts" the Chinese believe in - how come they are so smart to go for the Chinese but not the caucasians? Because the Caucasians don't believe in them.
That is the KEY - the key to not being affected by the myriad "rules" and "laws" of this world - be it medicine, TCM, financial, natural is to not believe in them as it is that belief which gives them power over you. When you trust them over what the Word tells you... when you trust worldly facts over "the Truth that sets you free" - you hand over the control of that area of stronghold to the enemy.
It is not easy to let go of years of believing in "too heaty" or "too cooling" for me. =) But I realise that the more I let go of it, the less hold it has over me.
In the past 2 durian seeds on a "heaty day" would spell REGRET. These days I don't feel the heaty, cooling nonsense as much as before. I can eat durians, chocolates despite sleeping very little (the Chinese claim when you sleep too little your body is very heaty) and not drinking enuf water - and STILL NOT FALL ILL. =D Praise God!
Some 2000 years ago, a baby was born to Earth and destined to die. That baby came to die so that other babies will no longer be destined to die but they will grow up destined to REIGN.
Jesus died on the cross so that today, we can reign in every area of our lives - not by our own efforts but through His perfect sacrifice. Until we know that truth in each area of our life - our health, our relationships, our strongholds, our finances - we still are bound by the "facts" and "commonsense" our parents and the world and our friends feed us.
Jesus says He is The Way, The Truth and The Life... and it is written that the Truth will set us FREE.
I am so sad when I tell Christians( and even Catholics) that Christ died for us on the cross so that also by His stripes we are healed & they tell me after an awkward silence - "Geraldine, sometimes this kind of things is God's will. And since it is God's will what can you do?"
Incredulous!
Often these responses are the fruit of sitting under legalistic or mixed teachings.
God sent Christ to die on the cross to fulfill His promises to us in a New Covenant - to give us life and wholeness that we might live fully on this Earth and be vessels that show His glory shining in our lives AND what do so many choose to do? Embrace law. Embrace fear. Embrace the lies upon lies that the devil whispers in our ear. We choose not to shine, we choose not to be salty.
It is NOT God's will for us to be in ill health and die young. If that is the case then He'd never let them write in the Bible - "By His stripes we are healed." and all the other phrases on healing.
I lean, I cling and I trust on His Truth... choosing to turn my face towards Him in every situation no matter how ridiculous people deem it to be.
Even if some aunts go "Geraldine, sometimes you maybe believe too much in such stuff." OR "This kind of thing believe a bit okay. You still need to work and do stuff on your own."
Even if friends think I am one of those religious nuts and fools & derides me.
I know that I'd rather be a fool for Christ than a fool for this world. =D
There was a part in the article that said -
But the paradox of modern medicine is that knowing doesn’t always mean the
outcome will be better. Sometimes you can just see death coming from a long way
off.
Yes, modern medicine (even TCM) is a paradox because it doesn't always mean depending on them will result in Life.
Look at the Aids patients who purchase expensive cocktail drugs to prolong their lives OR the cancer patients who habr to go for Chemotherapy after Chemotherapy and other painful operations... clinging on to modern medicine as their only hope. When their eyes are turned upon their doctors for health and healing, the only health and healing they can expect is one that is imperfect and of this world. So many of them know that the illness can be held off for so long.
Like my teacher, she discovered she had cancer when she was young. She had relapse after relapse later on and now the doctors have told her, they can't do anything any more as the cancer is now clinging on to her nerves. She can't walk now and is dependant on people to help her. She wrote in her blog that she has no idea when Death will come, but that Plath was wrong - Living, not Dying, is an art.
As Christians what do we cling to?
Do we cling to medicine? To TCM? To fortune telling? Do we cling to what our doctors say, what our teachers told us, what our parents remark about us, what our friends tell us about who we are? What do we cling so desperately to?
For me, it used to be horoscopes - I used to open the magazines and newspapers & head straight for the Horoscopes in the hope that they might give me an answer as to when respite for my situation would come.
I even knew the cusps and had amazing books that were super thick (really really thick tome) on horoscope that split down to day, mth, year of birth and the cusp signs and all that. I was really good at it. I am quite the born researcher and I used to research on those stuff a plenty.
These days, I refuse to even glance at horoscopes and I even got upset when my Dad told Kae his horoscope. I've told my son that horoscopes are rubbish and that it is even dangerous to read it for fun becoz some folks start of that way then get swept up by it.
I am also learning not to focus on the lying symptoms of my body but on something better - the Shalom Wholeness I have in Jesus. I am learning to stop saying "this food is more heaty" or "that one is too cooling"- a theory we Chinese subscribe to from generation to generation.
My Host Mum (when I studied in Britain) used to have throat a infection and just chomp down on chocolates anyway as she said it didn't make it any worser for her. I used to nag her on how it is heaty etc. She just dismissed it all as rubbish.
She was a nurse and she was an ANG MOR. Like Pastor said in his sermon on Sunday about the "water ghosts" the Chinese believe in - how come they are so smart to go for the Chinese but not the caucasians? Because the Caucasians don't believe in them.
That is the KEY - the key to not being affected by the myriad "rules" and "laws" of this world - be it medicine, TCM, financial, natural is to not believe in them as it is that belief which gives them power over you. When you trust them over what the Word tells you... when you trust worldly facts over "the Truth that sets you free" - you hand over the control of that area of stronghold to the enemy.
It is not easy to let go of years of believing in "too heaty" or "too cooling" for me. =) But I realise that the more I let go of it, the less hold it has over me.
In the past 2 durian seeds on a "heaty day" would spell REGRET. These days I don't feel the heaty, cooling nonsense as much as before. I can eat durians, chocolates despite sleeping very little (the Chinese claim when you sleep too little your body is very heaty) and not drinking enuf water - and STILL NOT FALL ILL. =D Praise God!
Some 2000 years ago, a baby was born to Earth and destined to die. That baby came to die so that other babies will no longer be destined to die but they will grow up destined to REIGN.
Jesus died on the cross so that today, we can reign in every area of our lives - not by our own efforts but through His perfect sacrifice. Until we know that truth in each area of our life - our health, our relationships, our strongholds, our finances - we still are bound by the "facts" and "commonsense" our parents and the world and our friends feed us.
Jesus says He is The Way, The Truth and The Life... and it is written that the Truth will set us FREE.
I am so sad when I tell Christians( and even Catholics) that Christ died for us on the cross so that also by His stripes we are healed & they tell me after an awkward silence - "Geraldine, sometimes this kind of things is God's will. And since it is God's will what can you do?"
Incredulous!
Often these responses are the fruit of sitting under legalistic or mixed teachings.
God sent Christ to die on the cross to fulfill His promises to us in a New Covenant - to give us life and wholeness that we might live fully on this Earth and be vessels that show His glory shining in our lives AND what do so many choose to do? Embrace law. Embrace fear. Embrace the lies upon lies that the devil whispers in our ear. We choose not to shine, we choose not to be salty.
It is NOT God's will for us to be in ill health and die young. If that is the case then He'd never let them write in the Bible - "By His stripes we are healed." and all the other phrases on healing.
I lean, I cling and I trust on His Truth... choosing to turn my face towards Him in every situation no matter how ridiculous people deem it to be.
Even if some aunts go "Geraldine, sometimes you maybe believe too much in such stuff." OR "This kind of thing believe a bit okay. You still need to work and do stuff on your own."
Even if friends think I am one of those religious nuts and fools & derides me.
I know that I'd rather be a fool for Christ than a fool for this world. =D
Thanks for sharing this. Before this, I still believe in the cool and heaty stuffs too. Now I REJECT! :D
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