9-11 recollections

 

9-11 recollections

It has been 19 years ago since 9/11. I recall that morning when I was on a business trip with my father, I was leaving the NY hotel, taking a taxi at 6:00 in the morning heading towards the airport. The city was waking up, and the morning light was about to break. The taxi went by the Twin towers, and I thought, it would be nice going up to the observatory deck next time I am in town.

Roll time forward, 3 hours after that, I landed in Boston, and was told by the taxi driver that a plane flew into one of the towers. It must have been 8:50am or so. As we walked into the Hotel lobby, everybody has their eyes glued onto the TV, as we see footage of the 1^st plane flying into the tower one. As everybody was dumbfound, looking at the TV in disbelieve, as if it was a movie that has gone wrong. Moments later we see real life footage of the second plane UA 175 (later found out to be the plane that I was originally booked on) flying into the 2^nd tower.

Now as nobody knew how to respond to such graphics, my father and I queued to get ourselves checked in. To our surprise, our name was not found on the register. Feeling a little loss, I decided to call my mom back in Hong Kong who was the one who booked for us. Being guys, (my father and I) it never came across our mind to call home, to say everything was okay. Now this is before the internet days, there is no free internet calls but just IDD and its ROAMING IDD that costs 20 bucks a minute. So the first word that the phone was answered was. MUM DID YOU FORGET TO BOOK US A ROOM!??? Mum obviously was devastates, and started weeping hearing our voice. The reason being, on our itinerary, we were flying out of Boston to LA, on flight UA175. Unaware of this, I continued. “MUM, this is an IDD CALL its really very expensive!”  Did you book our hotel or not???? Ending the call in anger as my mum took an extra 15 seconds to say I am glad you guys are save, which costed me an extra 20 bucks. In the end all was sorted out, as they had the middle name and last name swapped around. We thank God that it was done that way, otherwise I would have never called home. Actually after like an hour of that, it came to my lightning fast mind that I should call my girlfriend (now my wife) to let her know I am okay! (Yes I have grown to be more responsible now)

So God kept me save, by moving my whole schedule one day later because a customer said he needed to see us, and he can’t do it unless we reschedule, so originally I was to fly out of Boston to LA on the 11th, instead my whole trip was shifted one day later, so I flew out form NY to Boston on the 11th, and then supposedly to fly out of Boston to LA on the 12^th. (In the end I flew home on the 16^th.)  

So I am alive here today, because God made some divine arrangements and changed my schedule., instead of flying into tower 2. I am glad I am alive.

No deadly thing shall hurt you. Luke 10:19

  

This is a personal testimony, experienced today. I was washing my car in the afternoon, and at the end of the cleaning when I was tiding up, I had this sting in my right thigh. I thought it might have been some hair getting caught and was getting pulled on. Then I had another sting. The initial pain was actually stronger than a tangled hair. So in my mind I though, my God! there might be a spider in my pants, and its biting me!!!  By this time I have had multiple stinging sensations. So I started slapping my leg repetitively in multiple locations hoping I would have killed the spider by my machine gun slaps.  I quickly took off my pants, and then found a dead wasp rolling out of my leg.  (Actually I just slapped it unconscious, after I tried to pick it up to study it, It was actually still alive.) Immediately I took hold of the truth of Luke 10:19.

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you. Luke 10:19.

And as God said nothing will harm me. I started commanding my skin to be completely whole, and not be affected by this, according to what the word of God said. I told the pain to go, and I washed my wound with some soap. By this time there were mosquito welt looking thing on my leg, There was 6 of them total near my knee and thigh, Thank God it didn’t go higher!

As I mixed faith into what God said, There is no pain, and no itchiness. For a lack of a better word, it feels like I have not been stung. Its even better than a mosquito bite as that is itchy. This was like normal. And before the hour, the swelling and welts is completely gone.

3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.

5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Acts 28:3-6

Whilst this is no snake, I felt that this was a minor episode like that of Paul’s when something poisonous bit him. No harm came to him, because the word of God is truth.

After this episode, I was thinking, if Ella my little daughter was stung, I would have wanted the bites to be on me rather than on her. And God told me, that’s how he feels about us getting sick and hurt. And that is the reason, Jesus took our sickness and infirmities, our pain and hurt away from us at the whipping post.

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 1 Peter 2:24

Jesus was whipped so that the scriptures could be fulfilled, that by him being whipped, all our sickness and pain He has paid for, just like our sins are paid for at the cross.  As sickness was paid for, this is the reason Peter instead of quoting Isaiah 53:4 word for word, he changed the tense, from “By whose stripes you ARE healed” (Isaiah 53:4) to “By whose stripes you WERE healed.” (1 peter 2:24)

 

The Labour of Rest

 

11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Hebrews 4:11

We are told to "labour into his rest" in Hebrews 4:11. It sounds like an oxymoron. You have to "Labour" which is active, but it is into the "Rest" which basically is inactive. How does one actively do something inactive, and expect a result?

To understand the full context of the verse, we need to look back starting from Hebrews 3:9.

The context is, the people of Israel did not enter into the rest of God, which was symbolized by the promise land. The promise land was where it was flowing with milk and honey. And they did not enter it, because they were in unbelief that God will give them the victory. They saw the giants, and they did not esteem to the pillar of cloud and fire. They were in unbelief about the power of God to make good what he said.

When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. Hebrews 3:9,11.

They did not enter into the promised providence of God, because they did not belief that God had the intention or the means to put them into the promise land.
Just a reflection, we need to ask ourselves, do we belief God’s intention of good things for our life? and then secondly do we belief he can pull it off?

 

So what is the “Rest” of God?

Is it just the peace that is above our understanding? That is part of it, but it includes much more than this, as it has more practical applications than we think, it is not just an emotional disposition. Let’s unpack this from the symbolic of the Promise Land. When the Israelites entered into the promise land, the fields were already flowing with milk and honey, and had clusters of grapes that needed 2 man to carry (numbers 13). They didn’t need to build hives, raise cows, and plant grapes, this was all already there, when they were to go occupy, they inherit what is already there. They don’t need to labour to get these.

Lets look at how the writer of Hebrew expressed it.

4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest .Hebrews 4:4-5

 

It was the same rest, that God had after he has FINISHED all his work at creation. God ceased to have an active creation plan, but is at rest, where his already established order and law is working and producing. Adam didn’t need to plant in order to reap, he harvest that which God has already set in motion.

So how does this show us what we are to do when we enter into the Rest of God?

In the same way, that the promise land was already built up to produce and the Garden of Eden was already fruit filled. In the rest of God, things are already provided for. In contrast, we are not there to build the hives, raise the cows, and plant the vines, these are already provided for. We just enjoy what God has already provided for.

So how does the “Labour” part work?

It is a “labour”, because it is counter intuitive.  It is going against the curse of “by the sweat of our brow we will eat”. Gen 3:19. Man being historically under the curse from Adam’s time. Man has understood in order to eat, we need to labour the cursed ground. What that means is, we need to work hard, in order to get little, because the ground is cursed.

For us to enter into the rest of God, which is a place of providence, we need to labour, “work hard” in the renewal of our mind, renewing to what God said and has already done, and mix faith to what he had said he has already done.

2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4:2-3

So what does this look like in the practical? When faced with a situation, labour to make the decision that God has got this, and whilst things may not look clear, and a 1,000 things can go wrong. Trust in God that those 1,000 bad things won’t happen, and whatever the hurdle is, God has already got a solution lined up, and is available, because Jesus had it finished.

Remember the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. In all our situation, if we look only at the physical, from what we see, feel, hear and smell, we are not seeing the holistic picture of the real world, where things seen are framed by the things unseen.  And by only esteeming the physical and making decisions based on that, we are not approaching life with a full deck.

Does that mean, we seat back and relax, and all things will be merry and things will be automatic? No, because that is an inaccurate picture of rest. Rest is not being frozen, or you walking around, and a grape will fly to your mouth, you still need to take “action” to put the grape in your mouth. However at rest, you take action to reap what Jesus has sown, and receive what God has already given in Jesus. At rest, you are in communion with God, and the holy spirit will show you the right things to take action on.

The reality of the Rest of God, is very much active and available today, there is a process of transformation of our mind to be able to perceive it. But it is the position that God wants us to be in, at Rest. And his every intention is for us to enjoy this rest.