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Dear Friend, How are you? Hope you’re well. Do you want to know your future? :) I think I know what you and I will be in the future: “To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us a kingdom of priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Rev. 1:5b~6)” “And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us a kingdom of priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.’ (Rev. 5:9~10)” Actually, these tell us that you and I are already priests now as well as in the future. Today, I’d like to share Eugene Peterson’s writings about David and Samuel’s story in Leap over a Wall, related to a kingdom of priests. Samuel went to the house of Jesse, David’s Father, to anoint God’s chosen one. “Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” (1 Samuel 16:10~11) Eugene wrote about the Hebrew word, Haqqaton for the baby brother, that carries undertones of insignificance. And he went on to write on “The Ordinary Person”: So it’s of considerable moment to realize that the centerfold account in Scripture of a human being living by faith comes in the shape of a layperson, David wasn’t ordained to the priesthood. He wasn’t called, as we say, “to the ministry.” He was “just” a layperson, Haqqaton. But there isn’t a hint in the narrative that his status is evidence of inadequacy. This is humanity burgeoning and vital, bold and extravagant, skillful and inventive in love and prayer and work. David’s life is the premier biblical instance of what’s sometimes called “the priesthood of all believers.” … When Christian communities are healthy, the “little ones” aren’t demeaned and dispirited into being followers and consumers but find themselves acquiring initiative and originality as their priests and pastors, deacons and bishops, friends and neighbors serve them. David’s ancestors, freshly rescued from a doomed life in Egypt, heard the constituting sentence: “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests” (Exod. 19:6) When that sentence struck their ears, they could only have reacted with a kind of uncomprehending astonishment. Nothing in their experience in Egypt could have prepared them for such a definition of their lives. In Egypt a few priests held all the power, controlled the rituals, and ran the affairs of the nation from the great temple complexes along the Nile. Extravagantly garbed, surrounded by fawning servants, they were privileged and impressive upper class. In the presence of such a priest, a mere layperson could only feel a kind of disreputable inadequacy. … And yet, there it was: “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests.” Out in the desert with a pop-up tent for a temple, forced into a rough-and-ready equality by the austere conditions of wilderness survival, they were not to have priests but to be priests. Priests without robes, without temples, without training, without hierarchical status. The first Christians were assigned the same identity. When Jesus Christ freed them from their sins, he made them, among other things, priests (I Peter 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6) Called something by God that no one else would dream of calling them, they were forced to figure out what, in fact, a priest is. Not how a priest dresses, not what temple he’s in charge of, not what rituals he presides over, not what lore he’s privy to - but “What is a priest, anyway?” Put that way, the answer is obvious enough. A priest presents a person to God, or presents God to a person. A priest represents human needs before God, sets God’s word before men and women. God and humans have something to do with one another, everything to do with one another. A priest says and acts that reality. The Hebrews became an entire community of people doing that for one another. Each was learning an identity that consisted of being the “image of God.” Each was being trained in the rigors of a life of faith that consisted of listening to God, receiving his grace, obeying his commands, receiving his promises. Simply by being out of Egypt and on the far shore of the Red Sea, they were in a position to realize that nothing in them or about them could ever again be understood apart from the presence and action of God. That, and that alone, whether they carried through on it or not, qualified them to be priests. Embarrassingly forgetful of the God who saves us, and easily distracted from the God who is with us, we need priests to remind us of God, to confront us with God. And we need a lot of them. God, knowing our need, put us in a kingdom of priests. But for the most part, they’re priests who don’t look like priests, priests who don’t take on the airs of priests, priests who don’t dress like priests, priests who don’t talk like priests. But they’re priests all the same. David is such a priest. He was never called a priest; all his life he was what we dismissively describe as just a layperson. Yet all his life those around him recognized God’s rule and grace and mercy being mediated to them through his life and work. David is the basic biblical rebuke to the minimizing adjective just. Friend, I wanted to share what resonates with me from Eugene Peterson’s book. I hope this blesses you. It’s my prayer that you and I live as His priests, presenting our family, friends, and communities to God and presenting God to them. Have a bliss! Julie But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9~10) Dear Friend, How are you? Hope you are well. Here it’s still cold, yet I feel spring is around the corner. Birds are chirping and flying cheerfully as if they knew spring is near. On the last week of January this year, I was supposed to share a word in the monthly zoom meeting with my pastor in Singapore and some other members. As January started, I thought what I should share in the meeting and sought the Lord about it. And I had the impression in my heart that the Father wants me to share my personal story, related to my half sister, the oldest sister, though it might be challenging. I didn’t want to villainize her, nor wanted to share what she did to me down to the last detail. In last December, when my sister and brother-in-law were in town and looked after mom, I enjoyed me time, writing a journal in a cafe, my talk to the Father. I think it was a day after Christmas. I wrote to Him whether I can keep some distance from the oldest sister and even from her children going forward. Since an accident back in the summer 2023, when I had to confront her to stop her from violating my boundary, she didn’t text me. She made an apology to me on that day in the summer, but I was certain that she was offended. Before that, she used to text me once in a while to ask how mom and I were doing, but since then, she didn’t. I also didn’t want to send her any courtesy text message for New Year, Christmas or her birthday. I thought to myself, “Why should I send her a text, while she didn’t even say hello to her own mother on her birthday, Parents’ Day, and so on?” We didn’t talk to one another for a long time, and I liked it. Yet I still heard from my sister in California what the oldest sister did and said, when they met in the USA in the last summer. The oldest sister’s story simply made me disgusted and angry. In addition, I was not happy with her daughter, my niece’s attitude and so forth. So, I used to say to my sister in California, “I went all out for niece and nephew, and their mother knows it very well. I did my best. And I still do, if niece texts me to ask something. But, I don’t want to go extra miles for them. The oldest sister is our half sister, not even full sister. I set my boundary for sure.” So, on December 26th last year, I just said to the Father whether I could keep some distance from the whole family of the oldest sister, with a smiling emoticon in the journal. Then, the very next day, my pastor in Singapore texted an audio message, the word for 2025 in our zoom meeting group chat. He shared his own voice message that he felt was from the Lord for 2025. And he talked about relationships! And I felt that the Father replied to my question in the cafe the other day so soon. And the next day, December 28th, Saturday, I went to a cafe for the time with the Father. I wrote in my journal, “Father, You answered me through Pastor Chua, didn’t You? Father, I want to obey You. Please change my heart, to be like Jesus. But, I want to set my boundary, like Jerusalem walls.” Then, I had an impression in my heart, as if He said that He would not force me, nor push me to do something that I don’t want to. He reminded me of Eugene Peterson’s writing : “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law. (Isaiah 42:1~4)” The picture is of a true servant. He goes to work quietly and deferentially. He walks down the street and speaks in soft, conversational tones. There is no hard sell and no loud argument with anyone who chooses to deny or ignore him. In great gentleness he goes about his work. He will not break a “bruised reed”; a person who has little resistance will not be taken advantage of. A person who might seem like a pushover, “a dimly burning wick,” he will not coerce. There is no element of necessity or force in his approach. His servitude is total. … The way of the world is to use power and coercion to get things done; the way of the Christian is to use love, gentleness, and service to redeem the race. (From Eugene Peterson’s As Kingfishers Catch Fire)” I am a pushover, yet He won’t break nor quench me, as He is meek and gentle. And the Father reminded me that the yoke of Jesus is easy: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28~30) Then, in January 2025, when I was still thinking of how I would share the story on the oldest sister, I received a text message from her, to my amazement. She sent one simple text, “How are you and mom doing?” Then, in a couple of days, my niece also texted me to say: “I wanted to say sorry for venting to you too much about mom, especially when you were dealing with your own experiences related to her. It wasn’t wise for me to do that because of how sensitive all the dynamics were. Especially when we both had unaddressed traumas from the past. I’m sorry if my doing so triggered more hurt for you, and for having talked about her so endlessly every single time when we met and even by text. Sorry.” I felt they were not coincidence, but He orchestrated everything. Then, one morning, when I was still lingering on my bed, half awake, I was reminded of the teaching that my Singaporean elder in Shanghai home group shared in one Friday evening. He said something like (I paraphrase from my recollection) that the book of Genesis starts with Cain’s murdering his own brother: Cain Murders Abel Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9) Then, the elder went on to say that the book of Genesis ends with Joseph’s story, answering Cain’s question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”: Joseph Reassures His Brothers When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.” Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Gen. 50:15~19) I knew the Father reminded me of the story that I heard about a decade ago, when half awake, and I was amused by His sense of humor, when I read Joseph’s story. I often said to my sister in California, who is my full sister, blood sister, that the oldest sister is simply a half sister and that I don’t want to be bothered by that half sister any more.” I wanted to emphasize that she is not my pure blood family. But then through Joseph’s story, the Father reminded me that Joseph was not only kind to Benjamin, his full brother, but also to his half brothers, step brothers, who even wanted to kill him. He was merciful to the evil half brothers. The Father knows best which story in the Bible would strike a chord with each one of us in every circumstance. Finally, on last Monday of January, I shared all of these with the brethren in my zoom meeting. They appreciated my sharing personal story, and they prayed for the oldest sister. One brother said that we do not know what the oldest sister went through in her childhood and youth. We prayed together for healing & deliverance and blessings over her. And I was thankful to the Father, as the prayer changed my heart. I do not mean that I became emotional and wanted to call or text her to say I love her. But, I felt the Father loves her just like He loves me so much. And certainly, there must be a lot of stories in her youth that I do not know. Then, the next week, Feb. 5th was the oldest sister’s birthday. On that day, I still didn’t want to text her. Thankfully, the Father didn’t push nor force me. Rather He gave me a heart to pray for her. I didn’t pray for her enough. But on that day, I prayed for His blessings over her. And I was grateful to Him. I felt that the Father wouldn’t say, “You would be punished, unless you say hi to her often.” No. He wouldn’t force me. Perhaps I may still touch-base with her less frequently than before and I would certainly continue to maintain my boundary that she should respect. I would not feel emotional for the love toward her, as love & forgiveness are not about warm and fuzzy feeling toward someone. I already chose to forgive her and to surrender to the Lord, having His yoke upon me. Friend, I’m still learning and I’m in work-in-process to be molded as the Father wishes. I do not know whether my story would resonate with you. No matter what, I pray that you and I take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, as He is meek and lowly in heart. Have a bliss! Julie Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.  Dear Friend, How are you? Hope you’re well. In the evening of January 2024, I was worshiping the Father, standing and walking to and fro in the living room, before a monthly zoom meeting with my Singapore pastor and others started. Then, my eyes were fixed on Irene Wong’s second prophetic painting for me, next to TV. It was my flying, sitting on top of an Eagle’s back. I was painted as a little girl, not an adult. So, at that time, I thought to myself, “I’ve seen Irene paint some paintings for my family and friends, and they were all portrayed as adults in the painting. Why on earth am I a little girl, not a lady, in this painting?” I didn’t mean that I don’t like myself to be portrayed as a little girl in that painting. In fact, I love it a lot, as the girl in the painting is cute and joyful. But in that evening I became curious for the first time since I received the painting. Then, I still had to wait for about 30 minutes or so, till my zoom meeting started. And I decided to watch a Pastor David Guzik’s video, titled “The Mosaic Covenant.” Unexpectedly, I listened to his reading Exodus 19:4: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.” Then, to my utter amazement, he mentioned about the mother eagle and young eagles. I quote his explanation from his online commentary, Enduring Word: d. I bore you on eagles’ wings: An eagles’ wings are strong and sure; but they also speak of careful protection. It is said that an eagle does not carry her young in her claws like other birds; the young eagles attach themselves to the back of the mother eagle and are protected as they are carried. Any arrow from a hunter must pass through the mother eagle before it could touch the young eagle on her back. i. “This metaphor is developed most extensively in Deuteronomy 32:11, where the loving compassion, protection, strength, and watchfulness of God is compared with the majestic bird’s attributes.” (Kaiser) e. And brought you to Myself: The deliverance (I bore you on eagles’ wings) was for fellowship (brought you to Myself). God didn’t deliver Israel so they could live apart from God, but so they could be God’s people.) It was another jaw-dropping moment that the Father orchestrated. I never expected that He would answer my question on the painting just a while back, through the sermon, “The Mosaic Covenant!” And I felt comforted and assured on His faithfulness, lovingkindness, protection and power. Pastor David also said (I paraphrase to my recollection) that as the Scripture “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself,” we have seen what He did in our lives. In December 2024 & January 2025, Pastor John Fenn wrote in monthly newsletters about difficult times to come to the USA and the rest of the world, which the Lord shared with him during His visitation. It wasn’t fear-mongering, but encouragement to remember His faithfulness: “Hebrews 10: 32 says: “Call to remembrance the former days, when you were first illuminated (born again) and the great difficulties you faced.” The meaning being to remember His faithfulness from start to now, and settling your heart to know as He was faithful then, He is faithful now, and will be faithful in the future. You can settle the heart against future difficulties if you call to remembrance his record of faithfulness throughout your life. And some of us can think of our lives before we came to the Lord and remember that He was faithful to bring us to salvation in the first place – without Him many of us would be dead or locked up! Remember the early days, settle your heart that He was faithful, is, faithful, will be faithful. Fear nothing. Stay away from web sites that have spirits of fear attached, for there are many ‘Christian’ sites that have unclean spirits attached. Be disciplined no matter how curious you are….faith in Christ is serious business, guard your hearts and minds. For those walking with Him, who hold onto His peace, will see His faithfulness in all things. (From Jan. Newsletter)” Friend, You and I have seen what He did in our lives. We have our own story on His faithfulness. He is our Father and He will carry us as mother eagle carries her young. We live in peace, knowing His power and trusting His faithfulness. Have a bliss! Julie Can a woman forget her nursing child, Dear Friend, How are you? Hope you’re well. In the summer 2022, when my sister and brother-in-law were in town, we took family photos by our smart phones. And I was shocked to see myself on those pictures. As I seldom took selfie, I didn’t know how I would look recently. Of course, I looked at the mirror daily, but it was hard to notice some changes in me. But from those photos, I found my face looked quite different. It was swollen and I looked fat. The next year, when my family got together, we also took family photos. Again, I noticed my face looked quite different and even shaped differently. I was very upset and sad. Not only face, but I noticed my ankles were swollen. Compared with my time when working in Singapore, I lost a couple of kg and couldn’t stomach as much as I did before. Yet I looked fat and my face, feet and ankles were swollen. And I thought it was due to my aging. Then in May 2023, I texted my friend in Singapore in our daily exchange of messages, “I’m fat and old.” She wrote back to me a long text message. Interestingly enough, one sentence in it was in bold, “U not fat and old.” And she wrote 3 John 1:2. When I read “U not fat and old,” highlighted in bold, I simply felt the Father encouraging me through my friend. And I replied back to her and said that it’s interesting that she wrote that sentence in bold in her text. To my amazement, she replied, “Hahaha strange ah. I didn’t know I write it in bold as I didn’t wear my long sighted glasses when I sent this message. Wonder how it happened. I think the Lord wants to encourage and motivate you.” It was exactly how I felt, and my friend didn’t even realize it was written in bold when sent. I couldn’t thank the kindness of the Father enough, and His sense of humor made me smile as always. I still keep the screen copy of the texts that my friend and I exchanged on that day, to remember His goodness. Later in 2024, when the Father gave me a new name, Julia or Julie, I searched the meaning of the name. In addition to the meaning of “The Highest God,” I learned that it means “youth” in Italian. So I felt the Father encouraging me again through this new name, as if He were saying, “Babe, U not fat and old.” Then, in September 2024, I started to go to an oriental medicine clinic that my hairdresser introduced, when I had digestion problems for weeks. In my 30’s, I already knew what foods are good and bad for me, according to the constitution in oriental medicine that the late Christian doctor, one of the elders in my Seoul church, founded in 1960’s. But, I didn’t strictly follow the diet according to that. When my hairdresser introduced the oriental medicine clinic near my place earlier last year, I still thought to myself that I would rather rely on supernatural healing. But one day, I thought if healing through the oriental medicine had not been in His will, why would He have given the late elder doctor all the wisdom? And there are many Christian oriental medicine doctors who followed him and have been healing the sick. Many of them must be in His will, and supernatural healing is not the only way He would use. I also came to think of of the verse, “When Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’ (Mark 2:17)” Our Lord acknowledged the needs of the sick’s going to a doctor. (I think, though, in that era, medicines must have been herbs, not chemical.) Anyway, I had peace in going to the new Christian doctor in the oriental medicine clinic that my hairdresser introduced to me last September. Then, in my second visit, he recommended that I would eat chicken at least for one meal a day. I knew chicken are good for me, but I didn’t eat them often for some reasons. Listening to his advice, I started to have chicken at least for one meal a day. To my amazement, I found my stomach felt so comfortable. Coupled with the strict diet according to my constitution in the oriental medicine, acupuncture treatment helped me to lose about 5Kg in a month and I still maintained the weight till now, not gaining it back. And I learned from the doctor that the weight loss was mainly from water, as the circulation in my body was bad before. Now the acupuncture treatment together with the right diet for me helped detox, and circulation got back to normal. And I found out my face, feet and ankles were no more swollen. I used to think I got fat and my ankles were swollen, because I was aging. But it was due to bad health, circulation issue. I was thankful daily, and even now. The Father is so kind. Not only He encouraged me, saying “U not fat and old,” and giving me a new name, but He healed me: Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 1:2) I was even more thankful to Him for my sister and brother-in-law. When they were in town last winter, they also went to my doctor and learned about their constitutions. Both of them got better now, even after going back to America, keeping on a right diet. The Father’s kindness is endless and sometimes unpredictable and fun. One night, during a shower, He gave me an impression in my heart. It was a word of encouragement, which I would not share in details for now. And I said to Him, “Father, is that You? If it’s You, would You please confirm it?” Somehow, I felt He would confirm it through “shorts” in YouTube. And I didn’t write down anything in my notes in iCloud regarding it, till confirmed, as I didn’t want YouTube would suggest any video from algorithm. Soon enough, to my amazement, I came to see a short video in YouTube that confirmed the Father’s word of encouragement. I wouldn’t forget His kindness. Friend, I do not know whether you’ve ever been discouraged, thinking you’re fat and old. But I believe He would say to you, “U not fat and old,” if you were upset. :) Friend, I’m sure you and I have every reason to thank Him daily. Watching a video in YouTube, I started to write down what I’m thankful for. It’s not kind of duty to write it down. But, I usually write down in my journal my dialogue to Him, “Father, I thank You for this and that.” He is such a good Father. Sometimes, by His sense of humor, He would make us laugh. Other times, He would make us in tears. No matter how, we must say, “God is good all the time!” Have a bliss! Julie :) Bless the Lord, O my soul; |
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