Oasis - times of refreshing!

This morning, I read this passage,

Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert
The beast of the field will honor Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I give waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My people, My chosen.
This people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My praise.

Isaiah 43:18-21

It struck me because Pastor Prince was preaching the New Creation. Read more about it from this lovely blog In Christ Alone: Reign In Life - Part I: Behold I Make All Things New

and just after that, we had our Oasis meeting. You know, when Gabriel gave that Word, and Pastor concurred, that the Oasis ministry is going to impact the world, something inside me said yes! With eager anticipation, and trembling... :D

v19 Behold, I will do a new thing

When I read this line, I'm reminded of a scene in the Passion. The part when Jesus was carrying the cross. It was already after the scourging, and He was struggling to carry the cross in the midst of a mocking crowd. Mary, His mother was able to finally meet Him for a brief moment. She reached His side as He fell again under the cross, and He looked up at her and said, "Look mother, I make all things new."

He made all things new.. We are a new creation, at a great price. And it was Abba's desire, so dear are we to Him that He sacrificed His only beloved Son for us.


The world is a wilderness, fallen and tragic, full of transient temporary pleasures of deceitful sweetness; confusing, large and wild. But in the midst of this, He has already made a road; He is the Way.

And even in the desert, where dryness is all around, and nothing satisfies, He has come to quench our thirst, to give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

For His people, His chosen. Can you imagine being chosen by Him? Created for Him? Sometimes I would think back and say to myself, how blessed I am to have found Jesus. But really, I realised that it is not that I have found Him, it is He who has found me. That I have been destined and chosen before time to be in His family.

That really touches me 'cos I realise that when I was in my sins - sometimes, when I recall the past, I see how unworthy I am, like a squalling babe, like a dirty harlot by the street. Yet He came by and had compassion on me, and loved me. He offered Himself to me, I don't know how many times He tried to reach me these 15 years after I turned deliberately away from Him. But He still waited for me to turn back to Him. He never left me even though I forsook Him.

And after I committed so many mistakes, I still thought I was very smart, a very knowing modern woman of the world. And He still waited. Somehow or other, I don't know how, He managed to reach past the darkness of my mind, into my heart and just touched me and then I knew that He's not just a religion. That despite everything, there was Someone who loved me unconditionally.

The moment I turned back, like the prodigal son, He didn't wait for me to apologise or whatever, but just rushed towards me, to embrace me in His love. And after that, I just know that in these 2 years, it's not so much I pursuing Him, but that He still pursues me with His love.

I didn't choose Him. He chose me for His own, for Himself. How wondrous is that!