By this we know

"By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit."
1 John 4:13

Light and Life to all...He brings

Hail the heav'n born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all, He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing:

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Malachi 4:2 "But to you who fear my name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings..."

Jesus Christ, born just under 2000 years ago, is the perfect Son of Righteousness for He "knew no sin 

but became sin for us 

so that we might become the righteousness of God 

in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

It all comes back—everything comes back—to this incredible exchange.

Jesus—instead of you.

Jesus—instead of me.

This incredible exchange that happened on a cross in Calvary nearly 2000 years ago.

Where Jesus died for you.

Where Jesus died for me.

This is what He came for.

This is what He was born for.

God, who existed before time began, who created this universe with nothing but the Word, let Himself be born as a human baby on a broken and sinful earth to fulfil this exchange.

God—instead of sinners.

But why?

Why?

Why?

Because He loves us so.

Let's have a look at the lyrics again.

Born that man no more may die (The gift of eternal life. Death is not the end, Death does not have the victory if we are in Christ! If we believe in Him who was lifted up on a cross, we shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14-16) The sting of death is sin (1 Cor 15:56) but Jesus died to take away that sin. Oh praise God!! "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" 1 cor 15:57)

Born to raise the sons of earth (to be reconciled to God. There's nothing we can do to reach God's infinite Holiness. No, He came down to raise us up. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8)

Born to give them second birth (Jesus Christ said: "Unless one is born again, He cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3. What is it to be born again? It is being born of the Spirit. It is believing that Jesus Christ really is who He says He is—the Son of God—and that He really died and really rose again to take away your sins and raise you up and out of darkness into a wonderful restored relationship with your Heavenly Father! Believing this is all the work of the Holy Spirit, hence why it is called being "born of the Spirit". "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the the kingdom of God." v5

Jesus, who knew no sin but became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. In Him. The exchange is only for those who are in Him.

The door is not closed yet.

Believe in Him and you can be in Him too.

One more thing. 

Jesus is ris'n with healing in His wings. What a wonderful Lord and Saviour. He comes to heal. The relationship between us and God. Our sinful souls. Our broken lives. And our bodies, our sicknesses and diseases.

By His stripes—the stripes from the vicious whipping He endured for our sakes—we are healed. We are healed in Jesus' name! Hallelujah.

Merry Christmas and God bless you mightily.

~Emily

Last year's Christmas entry. I looked briefly at the second verse of Hark the Herald Angels Sing: http://emilyseto.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/the-word-became-flesh-and-dwelt-among-us.html 

Sydney

May God's Spirit move powerfully through this place and the name of Jesus be lifted high above all others!!

The Mirror of God's Word

"...We need to cultivate an ever-expanding realization of what we have become in the family of God. To achieve this requires long hours spent gazing into the mirror of God’s Word. Here we come to see for ourselves, stage by stage and detail by detail, what it means to be a child of God. As we gaze into this divine mirror, the Spirit of God works within us, transforming us into the likeness of what we are looking at." ~ Derek Prince, God is a Matchmaker, p62

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18

somewhere between

somewhere between getting psyched up and winding down, walking into a nightmare and tasting a dream, feeling awful relieved but emotionally exhausted, feverishly "all good" but deep down really not OK.
Times like these I praise & thank God for sleep.

zzz

He is good, all the time, He is good...

something special about the beach...

...that reminds me of God's grace in one Man's blood —the blood of Jesus Christ— washing away my sin,

and God's grace upon grace in daily moulding me, smoothing out my rough imperfections to be more like His Son Jesus,

God's love enfolding, embracing me without reserve,

God's gift of refreshment in Jesus, who said "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:28),

God's mighty power and unfathomable "bigness" as I gaze upon this never-ending stretch of sky and sea,

God's consistency and immutability compared to the ephemeral sandcastle of my life on earth and the futility of the work of my hands, all too soon cleared away by the tide (Ecclesiastes 2:11),

God's goodness in these remnants of His originally good creation at the beginning of the world, and a little taste of the glorious new creation to come. (Genesis 1, Isaiah 65:17, Revelation 21:4)

"Marvellous are Your works, 

And that—my soul knows very well." Psalm 139:14b

Excerpt from a Journal Entry

....I’ve come to realise—I think it’s hit me now. Finally. And it’s taken a LOT of heartbreak and heartache to get to this point. I want to know Jesus not just as my Lord and Saviour, but as my Lover and my Friend. He is my Lover and my Friend, but I don’t know Him as such. Not much. Not yet. But I’m starting to. There’s so much more to Jesus that I want to know. I want to know Him deeply, intimately. I want to know what He likes and dislikes. I want to rejoice when He rejoices. I want to discern right from wrong as He does, I want to hate sin, I want to recognise evil, flee from it and have no part in it. I want to hear His voice. I want to know Him just like how I get to know my friends and my family in daily life. I want to know Him like that. I believe moving in the gifts and the power of Holy Spirit is such an incredible way that the Word of God—Jesus’ Word—is manifested to us, in us. It’s how we get to know Jesus by becoming more like Him. It’s how we enjoy Him forever.  How I want to enjoy my Lord. He who loves me not for my body or personality (though He does love those too) but loves me in spite of my brokenness. He takes this broken soul and mends this broken soul. He loves my wounds and sees my hurt and cradles me and carries me—He is my true and best lover. And I have never felt closer to Jesus than when I’m open and vulnerable and humbled and can see just how broken I am under the magnificent stars that He created and sustains by His Word, and when my desire to know Him flourishes and when I realise I’m only ever scratching the surface...But my desire to know Him overflows and I trust Him and love Him even though so many things still don’t make sense. But right now I know and I know with complete certainty that He loves me and wants to know me and wants me to want to know Him. And His will is for me to be made whole in Him inside and out everyday. So I humble myself under His mighty hand. I empty myself of pride and anger and selfishness and stubbornness and I come before You, Lord, as a once-broken-now-mended, empty jar of clay, that You might use me and fill me in whatever way You see best, according to Your wondrous will. It is my joy to serve You but my deepest joy to know Your heart daily. I don’t serve a distant God; I serve and trust and love an Eternal lover and husband and best friend. I want to know You, Lord. Please forgive me for sinning and judging and giving in to anger, especially at my beloved family in Christ. Cleanse me, renew me, refresh me by Your Spirit. Lord, that I might know You better! Lead me back to Your eternal Word, and speak to me, Lord, speak to me in ways that truly let me see You for who You are—the same yesterday, today and forever. I refuse to doubt. I accept only what comes by the way of the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ.

To Him, to You, be all the glory forever & ever & ever. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. The kingdom of God is not in word but in power. Hallelujah.

Let me never put a leash on You, Lord. Thank You for reminding me that You are Creator and Sustainer and Giver of all things.

~Me, 14.11.16, 1:30am

To God be the glory

“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. 
But because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”” 1 Corinthians 1:27-31

Jesus Alone

                G                           D

There is one name under heaven

             Cadd9        

By which all can be saved


G         D

Jesus alone


G                        D

Only one name under heaven


    C         D         C

Jesus, and Jesus alone



G         D

One sacrifice


F         Em

One holy Lamb


C         G

Shed His own blood


C         D

Paid for my sin


G                             D

And this righteous One


F              Em

God's only Son


C                           D

I sing my praises to Him


C         D         G

I sing my praises to Him



                 G                     D

There is one way to the Father


               Cadd9    

and His merciful throne


G         D

Jesus alone


G                        D

Only one way to the Father


C                D         G
Jesus and Jesus alone

Copyright 1993 Thankyou Music
Rough chord guesswork :) Probably a couple of errors here and there hehe. Alsoo can't get the chords to sit over the right words! 
Anyway, love this song <3

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12

On the gift of prophecy

“Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.” 1 Corinthians 14:1-4 NKJV

“But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.” 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 NKJV

"While we appreciate true prophecy, we must not forget that the Scriptures warn us in no uncertain manner concerning that which is false. In 1 John 4:1 we are told, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God : because many false prophets are gone out into the world." And John tells us how we can tell the difference between the true and the false, "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God : every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God : and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; but this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come." There are voices which seem like prophecy and some have got into terrible darkness and bondage through listening to these counterfeits of the true gift of prophecy. True prophecy is always Christ-exalting, magnifying the Son of God, exalting the blood of Jesus Christ, encouraging the saints to praise and worship the true God. False prophecy deals with things that do not edify and is designed to puff up its hearers and to lead them into error." ~Smith Wigglesworth, Ever Increasing Faith, p154

"If you hear the voice of God it will be on the line of the Scriptures of truth given in the inspired Word. In Rev. 22:18, 19 we see the danger of attempting to add to or take from the prophecy of this Book. True prophecy, as it comes forth in the power of the Spirit of God, will neither take from nor add to the Scriptures, but will intensify and quicken that which already has been given to us of God. The Holy Ghost will bring to our remembrance all the things that Jesus said and did. True prophecy will bring forth things new and old out of the Scriptures of truth and will make them living and powerful to us." ~Smith Wigglesworth, Ever Increasing Faith, p155

"We read in the Revelation that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. You will find that true prophetic utterance always exalts the Lamb of God.

... 

May God take us on and on into this glorious fact of faith, that we may be so in the Holy Ghost that God will work through us on the line of the miraculous and on the lines of prophecy, where we shall always know that it is no longer we but He who is working through us, bringing forth that which is in His own divine good pleasure." ~Smith Wigglesworth, Ever Increasing Faith, 159 

He heals

long time no sketch

Her beauty and joy can't be sketched but I tried anyway ;) Love this girl so much!!! She was pretty excited about the drawing until she saw a banana hahaha. #bananawins #underappreciatedartist #justkidding XD

thoughts

...

I’ve been humbled this year; I’ve had my grasp of theology, my exegetical and hermeneutical prowess, my experience of different church denominations - all pretty much torn asunder in moments when I'm brought to my knees before God. When I'm stripped back to nothing but prayer and the Word. Just the other day I went into a deliverance session unequipped — I didn't even have a Bible with me — and all I could do was call upon the name of Jesus Christ, and praise God for the Holy Spirit dwelling within me. Nothing but prayer and speaking out truth from the Word, and the miraculous power of God through the Name of Jesus could see those demons cast out. Through all this I've learnt to be open to what God can do, and continuously humble myself before His miraculous saving power, miraculous sustaining power and miraculous healing power. How precious it is that He adorns His bride with spiritual gifts that we might grow and be edified, presented holy and blameless before the perfect Groom at the final day.

...

Listening to sermons are a huge blessing, and I so cherish the exposition of Scripture, but should it come down to the words of a gifted theologian trying to explain the things of God, or the Word of God manifested in supernatural power through the actions of an ordinary person who just humbles himself before God, with the result of bringing edification to the church & all glory to Jesus, I find the latter a thousand times more convincing.

I wanna be a Christian who is open to the incredible ways the Holy Spirit can bless and move in my life. If that involves a miraculous gift at any given time, I humbly receive it with thanks. May it be used to edify the church, be a witness to unbelievers but ultimately and most significantly point to the great redemption found in Jesus Christ. (Btw spiritual gifts are not magic tricks you can whip out of your pocket whenever you want, and they should never be regarded as such.) Even if I never received miraculous gift, I still humbly give thanks. There are many other ways I may be used by the Lord. But I still earnestly desire the gifts, and pray God will use me however He wants, but all for His glory.

Also, I like this quote: “Men can grow lopsided by emphasising the truth of divine healing. Man can get wrong by all the time preaching on water baptism. But we can never go wrong in exalting the Lord Jesus Christ, giving him preeminent place and magnifying Him as both Lord and Christ, yes, as very God of very God.” Smith Wigglesworth, Ever Increasing Faith

~Emily Seto, Excerpts from a Letter, 28/10/16

“Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”” Mark 16:14-18

“And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28-29

“The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

no place like home

Simple watercolour wash for my first house painting... 

Drawing inspiration from Jim Mitchell's "Cottage Charm"
(pictured above)
Love the glowing light outside and inside the cottage.
And the garden is just brilliant! So colourful, so lush.

A glimpse at the finished product...!

break my heart for what breaks Yours

It takes a lifetime to learn to love well

This is my desire
To honor You
Lord with all my heart
I worship You
All I have within me
I give You praise
All that I adore is in You

Lord, I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord, have Your way in me

~Michael W. Smith

How wonderful it is to spend time in the presence of the Lord. What a week. I really needed to hear the hard word that it's not about me. 

Thank You, Lord God, for putting that burden on my heart to drop everything and just pray, pray, pray. Thank You for redirecting my thoughts and prayers away from my self and towards others, and refixing my gaze on Jesus Christ—for it is only through Him that I can love the people around me in the best possible way. Give me a heart that "rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those who weep" (Rom 12:15).

Two days ago, as I was walking to the station with one of my beautiful sisters in Christ, in the course of our conversation I happened to say: "It takes a lifetime to learn to love well." I don't know where the words came from but they just rolled off my tongue. And they made sense. (To God be the glory for any words of wisdom that proceed from my lips consciously or unconsciously). Loving is hard. Life is a struggle. But we know we have the victory if we are in Christ. And as we fix our eyes on the greatest picture and reality of sacrificial love— that of Jesus Christ dying on the cross for us — the Holy Spirit at work in our lives will engender in us the love that we need to give freely, willingly to others. 

Not my love, but Your love, O God. Not my strength, but Your strength. Not my peace, but Your peace that "transcends all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Phil 4:7) I thank You, Lord, that You are a God who heals completely—body, soul & spirit.

May Your perfect will be revealed in Your perfect time. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are Your ways higher than my ways, and Your thoughts than my thoughts."(Isaiah 55:9)

Jesus Christ, our constant companion, our best friend, our first and truest love and every promise of God fulfilled. ["For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." 2 Corinthians 1:20]

September's been patches of chin-up-and-move-on murkiness, agitation, sickness, but also overwhelming joy, blessing and thankfulness for the incredible, undeserved gift of friends (who are so much more—my eternal family :') 

Right now, I just wanna pray: "Lord, comfort them and fill them with your overflowing grace. If I care this deeply for them, how much more do You, O Lord God? So so great and overflowing is Your love for those who fear You, O God, "as high as the heavens are above the earth" (Psalm 103:11). Only Your love can heal and sustain. Only Your grace inexhaustible. We resist any attacks from the Enemy and we cancel all demonic missions in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, grant us all wisdom during this time, and use me in any small way to be of any encouragement or support when others are hurting. Thank You for this forever family. And thank You for being my forever Father."

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

to love

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
~C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves, 1960

And how vulnerable was Jesus Christ, "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made HImself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." Philippians 2:6-8

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10