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Dear Friend, Happy New Year! In December 2023, my pastor in Singapore said in the monthly zoom meeting that 6 members of us including himself would have 21 day of fasting in January 2024. Whenever I hear the word, fasting, I always say to myself, “No!!!” I love eating foods, but now I can’t stomach as much as I did before, as aging. So, with fasting, I should eat even less! That’s a bad news. My pastor wouldn’t check whether each member did fast, nor did I want to pretend to fast, even if he would do. I used to read or listen to preachers’ sermons or teachings on fasting. And I myself used to experience God’s speaking to me during or after fasting & prayer, no matter whether it was an impression in my heart or His answering prayers. Yet, I wanted to listen to Pastor John Fenn’s teaching on fasting, as I recalled there were audio teaching series on that. And I learned from him (I paraphrase): Fasting is to take time to listen to God; It can be either delaying our meals by a couple of hours or skipping them to listen to God; Fasting is not to move God (like to make Him heal us, etc.); Be single-minded. (Have no ulterior motive. Some people fast to lose weight. Then, be honest to Him, saying “I want to fast to listen to You, but I also need to lose weight.” He already knows. Don’t be a hypocrite.); Fasting can be our lifestyle. His teaching encouraged me to start fasting in a new year, in order to listen to God. And I thought which meal of fasting out of three would be the least painful and I chose breakfast. I used to have an apple and a small bowl of corn cereal with almond milk at that time at about 7:30am, and my lunch was usually 11am. Rather than giving up or delaying the heaviest meal of the day, i.e. lunch, I thought I would give up small portion of breakfast and wait till 11am, to break fast. So, I expected to hear from Him, while I walked away from the dining table and looked at the sky, trees and so on through the windows in each morning. Then, on Jan. 20th, I opened my Bible and read Psalm 91:1~2, 14~16: He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” (V 1~2) After reading these verses, I started to read Psalm 95. Then, in my iPad, AppleMusic played out randomly, after a piano instrumental music was finished. And the new song was Julie True’s “He Who Dwells” and the lyric was Psalm 91:1~2 I just read a few minutes ago. I was surprised. At that time, the song was totally new to me, and it was never played out before. I simply felt it was the Father’s repeating it, after my reading Psalm 91:1~2. Then, Jan. 22nd, after 21 day of fasting was finally finished, I opened YouTube application and scrolled down to see what’s new, before going to bed. I came to see Pastor Francis Chan’s sermon, “The Power of a Quiet Life,” posted lately. I knew he is a good preacher and author, but I didn’t watch his videos often at all. But, the sermon title kept my eyes fixed. Quiet life. I recalled 1 Peter 3: 3~4 I had meditated on a while ago: Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. So, I began to listen to his sermon, closing my eyes on my bed. He quoted 1 Thes. 4:11: “that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you” And he talked about the current generation’s having no secret. So many Christians want to post their quiet time with the Lord over coffee and muffin in Instagram, etc. If there were miracles, they wanted to post all of them online. But Jesus used to say “Don’t tell anyone,” after He healed the sick. Then, he quoted John’s story in Revelation 10:1~4: I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.” He said that when John was trying to write the revelation from the heaven, the seven thunders’ utterance, God said, “Don’t write it. Don’t post it. It’s just for you. Between you and me.” So, it was kept in secret for 2,000 years, and only John knew what the seven thunders said. Can we be like John? Stewardship. (I paraphrase.) When I listened to his stunning insight on Revelation 10, I began to weep. It simply hit me, and reminded me of an incident. A couple of months ago, I had a wonderful moment with the Father. It should have been kept as a pillow talk. I didn’t write it down to post it here, nor did I sign in Facebook, Instagram, etc. of which I didn’t even remember passwords. Yet, I had pride as I had such an intimate time with Him, as if I were a teacher’s pet. So out of pride, I shared the wonderful moment the Father wanted to keep between Him and me, with friends over chatting. I put my pride before friendship with Him and stewardship. It didn’t matter whether I publicized it online or whether I talked to only a few friends. I violated the secret place. I wept and wept, repenting. He made me realize how precious it is for me to steward something He and I only know. I said to the Father, “Father, even if I can’t share precious moments between You and me in eternity, I would be fine. If you want me to keep it to myself forever, I will.” I realized that having the Father and our Lord, Jesus, is enough. Nothing is more important. I don’t need anyone’s approval. Just being His friend and knowing Him and being known by Him is enough. And my repentance turned into a thankful heart. I was even more grateful for His timely teaching through Francis Chan’s message. And Psalm 91:1~2, the secret place, came into my mind. After Francis’ message was over in YouTube, the next video popped up, which was a piano instrumental music. To my amazement, the verses on the background was exactly Psalm 91:1~2. And I had an impression in my heart that the Father honored my 21 day of fasting to listen to Him, and this is the message He wanted to give me. Over the last year, He repeated this message, the secret place, over and over again through my pastor, friend and books. Not only keeping the secret place, but I also want to keep the secret between Him and me. Writing down the draft of this blog, I thought of the story of King Hezekiah in Isaiah 39: At that time Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ” So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.” Out of pride, Hezekiah showed every treasure he had to the enemy’s envoys. He wanted to impress them. But, we see God was displeased with his heart and action. Jesus also warned, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. (Matt. 7:6)” In a series of weekly thoughts, Pastor John Fenn wrote about “Respect for Things of God.” Things of God, i.e. the gifts of the Spirit, angels, sex, and so forth: in your church are the things of God, angels, the gifts of the Spirit, treated with awe and respect and honor, or like play things given that we can share this new vision or that new experience that others may ooohhh and ahhhh? What is your church culture, the culture of your Christian friends? …The way Paul writes, it seems common knowledge that once they were reminded of the divine order of their marriages, including oversight by angels, it would change their behavior. Think about that. Respect for the divine. Respect for God’s order. Respect for angels in charge of your family. …I’ll talk about how familiarity with Jesus as a mere carpenter’s son prevented his hometown from respecting the larger truth about Him, and how today, many Christians are far too ‘familiar’ with the Father and Lord and have also lost sight of true revelation about the majesty and power of God. Lack of true revelation in church culture has led to much error. …Sex is the same way; to keep sex at the basic animal level is to defile ourselves who are made in the image of God. Sex is intended to be part of a holy and whole relationship with our spouse, including affection, tenderness, intimacy and more. It should involve our whole spirit and soul and body which is holy, not just our body which is merely animal. …That’s why the act of marriage on earth is a type and shadow of Christ and the church. A level of intimacy awaits us with our friends and relatives in heaven that is closer than any friendship or marriage on earth. True oneness in Christ. I used to be influenced by some church cultures online. Some Christians ooooh and ahhh angelic visitations, dreams and visions, signs and wonders and miracles. I do not mean that I don’t deny signs and wonders and miracles now. Our God is almighty and supernatural. And He is the same yesterday, today and forever. But, I saw pride in my heart and I repented. Now, I choose to be known by Him only. I don’t have to impress others, even if they are in a small circle of friends. I want to be His faithful friend, living a quiet life. Even if I had revelation or secret from Him that I should keep it to myself forever, I’d like to remain faithful. Spiritual pride do I choose to lay down. Friend, We call a place that’s not well known, but is very beautiful, a hidden gem. I like the words, hidden gem. And I think gem is supposed to be hidden. Being hidden. Secret. There is beauty to it. In all honesty, I don’t want hidden gems in Seoul to be known to many, as I don’t like them to be crowded. Once they are known to many and jam-packed, they are no more hidden gems. If you had treasures or gems in your house, you wouldn’t want to put them in your front yard at the door, to show them off, but would hide them. They are precious and priceless to you. God wants us to be in the secret place, and live a quiet life, stewarding the treasures He and we share in the secret place. Friend, I believe He wants you and me to live in the secret place of the Most High not only in 2025, but till He catches us away. May we live a quiet life and steward the treasures. Amen! Have a bliss! Julie My son, if you receive my words, Comments are closed.
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