#and it's clear Bible loves working with them as well as Alo

[yujeong]

Was the Kaniva Ad in the episode a bit distracting? Eh, yes, because it felt as if Bible stopped being Great for a moment to feed his beautiful cat Akira food from his lovely sponsor.

Do I care? No, because not only did they incorporate the sponsor in a smooth manner (despite what I said above), but also because without Kaniva, Jes and Bible would have never met, which would result in Pond never meeting Jes, which would result in Pond never considering the possibility of Jes being Bible's partner for 4 Minutes, which would result in Pond never hanging out with Jes for drinks multiple times in order to discuss 4 Minutes with him, which would result in Jes never agreeing to be a part of 4 Minutes, which would result in no 4 Minutes at all.

So kudos to Kaniva for being based af and thank you for being such a big part of 4 Minutes ❤️

[soul-wellness]

40 days Resurrection Fasting

Wisdom comes when you come to know that you don’t know much about the mystery and truths of the universe. This moment of realisation is the beginning of your journey in seeking to be divine for we have been made in the image of God. 

Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights in the Judaean Desert before the angels ministered to him. It was also 40 days from Jesus’s resurrection to His ascension. The magic number 40 is the period of transformation from conception to birth for a new born. 

Furthermore, Noah was in the Ark for 40 days and forty nights until the earth was cleansed of a sinful world before a new beginning. Moses was on Sinai for 40 days, receiving the 10 commandments and he was in the desert for 40 years until he freed the Israelites from slavery into a new existence under the covenant. 

And so too will I fast for 40 days just with water. It was with a desperate need to go home that I give my total surrender into a holy mind and heart so that the soul may rise into light. My daily bread will be His words, reading the bible, listening to uplifting Christ songs, watching movies of Christ and meditation. My need to transform and transcend into a new spiritual soul rose above cravings for food, outings, activities or celebrations.

If you haven’t fasted before, please do a trial of 3 days with just water. On the 3rd night, have light bland soup. Too much flavours too soon will make you sick (as I have found out). Listen and feel your body through the changes. Master your mind and cravings. Know that you will not die from not eating solid foods. Feel empowered over this mastery of your mind and body for YOU ARE NOT THE BODY. YOU ARE NOT THE MIND. Set an intention of what you would like to know from God. Ask questions and listen. 

Leave 4 weeks in-between before doing the 40 days fasting. Note that from a blood test I was iron and vitamin D deficient so I still took these as recommended by my doctor through the fasting.  

Week 1 Fasting: 1st June 2021

Make your intentions clear of the person you wish to be after the fasting. Visualise yourself physically and spiritually what you’d like to transcend into. For me, I was ready to commit myself to Christ and do his work which was to heal people.  

Drinking water and coconut juice to get you through the hunger and also add some energy to be able to perform your usual duties such as work, chores and looking after the family. Your bowl movement will slow down on the 5th day and on the 7th day you’ll feel weak and have a brain fog. Drink a cup of almond or soy milk. You can add non caffeine chai and make a hot tea with a bit of honey. This is how I got through the first weak of fasting whilst looking after two robust gorgeous boys 5 and 4 years old. I still had to cook, clean, do the washing, get them ready for school, drop them off and pick them up from school, take them to after school activities, do grocery shopping and wake up 2 times a night when they called out for me. As a family, we still entertained friends at our place with me cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, serving and washing up. We also went out to restuarants to which I sipped on tea whilst feeding the kids. There was no temptation greater than my spiritual journey. Let your thoughts for food come and pass. Just remember that you can have all the food you want after 40 days. I can remember getting hungry once but I filled it with His words from King James Bible and beautiful songs about Christ.

Revelations: Through meditation and visions, I saw half of Jesus face. I see myself as a prophet healing people with Jesus standing behind me doing the real work through me. No one else can see Jesus so people thought that it was me. Know that I cannot do anything without God’s divine hand. In my dream, I see landscape changing from majestic mountains to deserts and I know that one day soon, I shall travel and heal. Jesus gave up his life for love on the cross. He gave up his life for us so that our souls may awake to find him. So too shall I live my life for love - for all. Another revelation was knowing that I had paid all my human debts. My last karma was to nourish and take care of my husband and two boys which is my present moment. I shall saviour this incredibly sweet time and make it the most memorable for my family before my journey outside of this circle. 

I was seeking for peace to which they responded by telling me to go inside (of myself) and find God’s voice. I have known Jesus’s tone for decades. His voice- always gentle, patient, kind and divine. 

I also dreamt that I was behind a stong thick heavy metal gate or cell and my husband was on the other side. Twice I bent down to pick up something that was thrown near the base of the gate; money or food, I am not sure. This was telling. I needed to break free and fly. 

Week 2 Fasting. Self Creation 

My body felt more comfortable now, shifting into a new habit of not eating solids. I have lost weight but sometimes that’s a good thing. I’m focused on doing some self care and self creation. The soles of my feet and tips of my fingers have been so rough and peeled from chores and neglect that dried peeled skin were catching on clothes and bed sheets. My face was dry, dull and wrinkled. I did some face masks with fresh aloe vera from the garden, dyed my greying hair and soaked my feet in magnesium salts. 

I created a business in health foods of health balls and self care bath scrubs. I sold these to retail store Whitton Malt House and friends. I hope to support my future travels and healing work with the business and pass it onto my sons. 

From a dream, I’ve decided to go full time pescatarian again. I had been a pescatarian for a couple of years but ran into some health issues part time vegetarian. I dreamt that I was crouching with a lion in the weeds then the lion pounced on a buffalo. I watched as the lion tore the other animal in pieces, chewing and swallowed bloody flesh. all of a sudden, I felt my teeth sink into raw animal flesh and downed meat drenched in red. I had become the lion but still with human consciouness and started dry reaching.  

We have so much food options now that it’s unnecessary to kill animals for meat or produce. This is about self creation and choosing new habits to live healthier and kinder to yourself and the universe. 

My husband who is a doctor had been reasoning with me to eat since I started due to future weak bones and organs shutting down ‘where are you getting your vitamins from?’. Jesus was taking care of me but the badgering was exhausting me. 

Revelation: God wrote a message in my dream after one of those  ‘I am. I am waiting.’ This was my God who guides me and gives me instant peace and assurance. This is your God too. Just listen. You’ll hear Him. Because He hears You.

The next night my message was ‘Be still. Know me and reveal me’. This came after my restless mind got caught up in creative projects and domestic family matters.

The following night they reiterated ‘Your mind is like a twig’ when still my thoughts jumped from social media, to friends, messages and other things. I had to refocus and get back to God.

Week 3. Recommit to the path. Priortise love for Jesus, Family and consciousness. You must know and really feel that your life is full to enable transcendent. That you have everything that you have ever wanted to experience as a human being - love, friends, children, travel and career. Your cup is overflowing. There is no more desire apart being with God.

‘God take me with you. Show me where to walk, I will follow’  

This week will be tough. You’ll stop going to the bathroom and have probably lost about 5-7kgs. You’ll be impatient, light headed without much energy. You’ll be tempted by Satan, it’s real. In a dream, Satan said ‘Come with me, God is not helping you��� to which I replied ‘I am with God and God is with me’.

Weak and feeling strangled at home with domestic chores, I went to spend a night alone at The Whitton Malt House, I indulged in reading King James Bible, Meditations by Thomas Moore, Return To The Centre by Bede Griffiths, John Paul II and Jesus and the Apostles by National Geographic. I meditated through the night as well. About 2am, came the realisation that the transcendent to enlightenment was actually the un-creation of the created self to return back to light and love in the original form when the word was spoken. My troubles at home were in fact my fault in not honouring each of my boys (sons and husband) for who they were. I had been imposing on these souls my righteous ways on how and what they should be - controlling, rendering, manipulating, conditioning, disrespecting, unkind, rude and yelling. All to which were resulting in anger, disappointment and causing disharmony in the home. I had been brought up this way that I wasn’t enough and needed to strive, be more and have more in order to be happy. I was bringing up my children the same way and expected my partner to be more too.  

With this realisation, my body started to purge out the pain, tension, desperation and ugliness of it all. It didn’t stop till daylight. It got me thinking then, how to uncondition the way that we’ve been raising generations after generations of children who are not enough that was aligned with this spiritual path. It was simple. Just leave their souls alone. They come fully aware ancient adult souls into this world. We all come into this world to return back to light and love. It was my job as a mother to nourish them so that they may live long enough to get to know their soul and re-establish their relationship with God again.  No-one is judging you but you. No-one is judging me but me. I had forgotten how to play with life and my kids. My children were in eternal play every single moment. It was I that imposed on their freedom and joy to be on time for a schedule I had made up for them. I lived in other people’s timeframe, other people’s moments and not the present moment of my children nor mine. I have the power to create peace and calm within the home without authorisation-ship and influence. I wanted a way in, not a way out.    

No one needs to be anyone but themselves. Life was simple. Life was love. That’s it. Everyone has come back to be loved and return back to love.  

Resurrection of the soul was building your own temple within yourself. No members, no institution, no law and authority over anyone. The only law was love and forgiveness. The only word to be obeyed was God’s words. 

I emergeged with the morning, lighter, peaceful, healed and resting in love and light. There was no thunderous moment of realisation. Just a silence from God to allow me to choose and feel that moment of bliss.

The message from this first attempt was to uncreate yourself of human expectations to return back to your light. You are enough, you always were. 20 days fasting completed. I aborted the fasting. I had to eat in order to sustain a level head to look after my family. I needed a break through on how to fast without loosing my mind and have energy to take care of my boys.  

[mymerrymusings]

John

Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fishJohn 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God.”

Word in Greek is “logos”, it’s the reasoning for mankind and ordering principle for the universe.

John 1:1 suggests equality between God the father and God the son. Relationship was the foundation at the beginning of it all.

John 1:12 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”

1. “right” is “power” in KJV. It’s a privilege, authority and jurisdiction given to us. What an honour!

John 1:17 “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

John 5:14 “...”See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you”

1. We experience truth by reading the Bible, but we may not necessarily experience grace. But grace comes from truth, there must first be truth, then grace.

2. Jesus’ name in Hebrew was “Yeshua” which translates to English as Joshua. The law came through Moses and he led the Israelites towards the Promise Land. But it was Joshua who brought the people into the Promise Land eventually. Law is greater than Moses, Jesus is greater than Moses.`

3. The condition of our sinning was not a precondition for Jesus’ healing on us. Grace of God.

John 1:39 “”Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”. So they went and saw where he was staying and they spent the day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.”

John 7:17 “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”

1. John the Baptist’s disciples saw Jesus and followed Jesus. Of all things that they could ask Jesus (e.g “Are you the lamb of God”), they actually asked where Jesus is staying. They want to follow Jesus and spend time with Jesus and encounter him. This should be the posture we adopt too.

2. Jesus is always inviting us and pursuing us “Come and you will see”. Are we too busy in our lives that we miss Jesus’ invitations?

3. Do God’s will before seeing the proof, don’t see the proof then decide to do it.

John 1:42 “And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas`” (which when translated, is Peter).”

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born i set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Revelation 2:17 “Whoever has ears, let them hear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches, I will give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it”

1. Cephas means rock, on whom Jesus will build his church.  When God gives us a new name and a new life, he has something bigger in store for us, and it was destined as early as we were conceived.

John 10:38 “But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Faith is in me, and I in the Father”.

John 12:37 “Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.”`

John: 14:13 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”

John 15:8 “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples”

1. To believe is to have faith. Jesus needn’t perform miracles and signs and wonders to prove himself or to show how great He is. He did it so humans who lacked faith will believe. 

2. Jesus also performed miracles, signs and wonders for God’s glory and to show God’s greatness. We should adopt the same mindset too, do everything for God’s glory, not self righteousness, self vanity or self glorification. If it’s a job well done, it’s done through God and his greatness.

John 2:11 “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”

John 2:23 “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.”

1. Signs always point us to something greater. Jesus’ signs point us to the glory of God. Signs must point to a truth of relationship with Christ.

2. Disciples believed in Jesus because they had a relationship with him. Crowd believed in his signs and his name, the latter is more transactional.

John 1:46 “”Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see, “ said Philip.”

1. Nazareth was a town with population of less than 500, occupying about 60 acres or 0.24km in land. Can anything great come from a place of insignificance? We can start from a place of unknown, but if we follow Jesus we can do greatness and fulfil our potential.

John 2:4 “”Women, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.””

1. It wasn’t time to manifest the glory of God. But our faith in God can move God’s hand and God’s timetable. What man takes time to go, God can do it in an instant (e.g making of wine).

2. Wine is a representation of the work of cross. We have to crush the grapes and wait for it to ferment. Bread is also a representation of the work of cross. We need to mix the flour with water, knead the dough, heat it and transform it. The making of wine and bread undergo changes through rough elements, they also stand the test of time -  much like our Christian walk. We need to go through the crushing, kneading, mixing, burning before we transform and birth a new life.

John 2:10 “and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now”.

Numbers 13:23 “When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs.”

1. Man treat us really nicely upfront, but God saves the best for us

2. The grapes in the Promised Land was huge! Scale of God’s provision.

John 3:2 “He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

John 19:39 “He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds”.

John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”

1. Jesus did not judge Nicodemus when he visited him at night. He did not reject us even though we were afraid to declare him to the public. Sometimes, our journey doesn’t start from a place of glory (and may not lead us to good places).

2. Nicodemus declared his faith openly after Jesus’ death and lavished precious herbs on him. But he was condemned and stripped of his wealth and title thereafter. Our faith may not lead us to good places. What matters is what we are able to do for the Lord, earthly consequences are temporal and may not matter as much.

3. We will either be judged through Jesus or judged by Jesus.

John 3:14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up”

Numbers 21:9 “So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.”

John 5:2 “Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool....”

1. Reference to the bronze serpent in OT Numbers and NT John.

In Numbers, the Israelites disobeyed God, incensing God’s wrath and he sent serpents to bite them. Moses cried to God to save the people from the serpents God sent. God said to mount a bronze serpent on a pole and people who looked to it will be cured. People will be saved by seeing and by their faith.

In John, Jesus was lifted up like the “snake in the wilderness”. Serpent is a symbol of sin and Satan. When Jesus was crucified, he became the bronze serpent, he became sin even though he knew no sin.

2. Sheep gate was for sheep to go in and out before they are sacrificed. Sheep gate is just outside the temple, and it’s a one way gate (you can’t come out once you go it). This symbolises the sacrifice from the Lamb of God. Sheep gate always points back to Jesus as foundation and sacrifice.

John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

John 3:29 “The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.”

1. Jesus’ mission is also our mission. We don’t condemn people, we bring people to salvation. We all have 2 roles:

To be the bride and be loved by the groom (Jesus) - receiving God’s love

To be the friend of the groom (John), to prepare and provide the way so others can also be loved - giving God’s love. We are partners in Christ. God can do it alone, but he chose for us to do it with Him.

John 3:27 “To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.”

John 3:31 “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.”

1. There seems to be a competition for Ministry between Jesus and John, but John has no issues at all. He was very clear of his identity as the forerunner of Christ. We all have our unique Christ-given position, mission and gift from the Lord. 

John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

John 5:8 “Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

1. How secure is our salvation, really? Nobody but we ourselves can take away our salvation. Our salvation depends on our faith and belief, it’s an active word and must bear the fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

2. God’s forgiveness came before our repentance. There is no need for us to work FOR our salvation, we need to work FROM our salvation in fear and trembling (awe), to bear fruits of the Holy Spirit.

3. There was a choice for the man to take action (pick up mat and walk) and believe the word. 

4. Faith is like a window, not muscle. The bigger your widow, the more you let the light of God shine in, the bigger your God is. We need to have the right perspective of God.

John 4:4 “Now he had to go through Samaria”

1. Jews have nothing to do with Samaria, where the Samaritans and gentiles are. Jews will usually take a route from Judea to Galilee, avoiding Samaria. But Jesus did not avoid Samaria, in fact, he went straight up to Galilee through Samaria for one person. Jesus in very intentional in his encounter with us.

John 4:9 “The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans”

1. Compare and contrast Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman:

- Pharisee vs sinful woman

- Acknowledged Jesus as a teacher from God because of miracles vs acknowledged Jesus as Prophet because of everything he knows about her

- Night vs Noon (nobody)

- Came to Jesus Vs Jesus came to her

Beauty of God is that he meets us where we are and how we need him. Sometimes he comes to us, sometimes we go to him. Sometimes he talks much, sometimes little. It all depends on what we need.

Proverbs 9:17 “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!”

1. Water symbolises sexual sin. The Samaritan woman left her water jar behind, she left her burden behind. She went to town to find everyone and told them about Jesus the Messiah, she can now face the people she couldn’t face before. She became a voice of Christ. That’s the transformation from Christ.

2. Evolution of the woman’s encounter with Jesus: Jew, Sir, Prophet, Messiah

John 4:18 “The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

John 4:43 “After the two days he left for Galilee.”

2 Peter 3:8 “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

1. Jesus is the 7th man she encountered. 7 symbolises completion and rest. God finished his work and rested on the 7th day.

2. 2 symbolises union. 2 days = 2000 years, the end times is coming.

John 5:18 “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

1. When we rest, Jesus works because Jesus is our rest. He healed people on Sabbath to change the Pharisee’ paradigm. Sabbath was created for man, not for God

John 5:31 ““If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.”

1. Jesus gave 6 witnesses (more than required by law: 2): Jesus, John, Works, Father, Scripture, Moses. 

HIs testimonies are multi-dimensional. God has offered us so many avenues to believe. 

Historical

Contemporary

Spiritual

If we do not have the love of God and do not believe, it is fundamentally reasons of the heart, not the mind. Religious leaders could hide behind supposed intellectual excuses. but their real lack was love and desire for the honour that comes from God.

Why didn’t the Pharisees believe despite all the witnesses?

Challenge to their authority and standing

Challenge to their teachings and belief (saved by works, saved by faith)

John 6:10 “Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there)”

Hosea 2:14 ““Therefore I am now going to allure her;    I will lead her into the wilderness    and speak tenderly to her.”

1. God led them into the wilderness, there’s God in the wilderness. It is quiet with no distractions, we can hear God.

John 6:11 “Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish”

1. Miracles only happen with God’s sovereign will and man’s willingness and participation. His will, without our faith and participation will not work.

John 7:4 “No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”

1. Jesus preaches in remote places. Jesus didn’t show himself openly. We also need to reflect on the way we conduct ourselves in life and ministry.

John 6:70-71 “Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”  (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)”

Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

1. Lesson learnt about how Jesus treats people:

He doesn’t reject them (Judas) even though they are not genuine. He gave them an opportunity and a chance even though he knows.

He never created systems to correct one person. His view is much broader. He provided opportunity for risk and space.

He leads from the premise of potential, with hope and redemption. He gave us opportunities to overcome our weakness because he saw potential in us

2. Justice, mercy and love never act independently. God is a God of justice, mercy and love. He chose to take it upon himself so He can freely love the person. (Maturity is the ability to take on other people’s screw ups)