Falling under the power of the Holy Spirit

I just watched this HILARIOUS video on YouTube documenting several incidences of Christians "falling under the power of the Holy Spirit" or what was traditionally called "Slain in the Spirit".

What made this video Laugh-Out-Loud funny to me is its Street Fighter 2 packaging...HAHA. The music, sound effects and all are an all too familiar part of my childhood. HAHA.

Yup, I grew up with these 2 elements in my childhood - Street Fighter and Church altar ministry. Today, I see them wittily and funnily fused together in this video.



Having been a devout Christian for nearly 20 years, I myself have been in several of such situations and witnessed them live.

I've been to Benny Hinn's healing crusades and many church retreats and services with such supernatural encounters and I daresay many of them are real, although some of them may be staged, exaggerated or induced.

For myself, I have NEVER been "slain" or "rested" or "fell under the power of" the Holy Spirit in this fashion. Partly because I was skeptical about it since young. What's my response then when I encounter the Holy Ghost?

My more physically expression-ate encounters with the Holy Spirit always gets me on my knees or prostrating before a holy, royal and powerful presence and I'm usually moved to tears because there's a sense of a deep assurance of love for my soul and a sense of a deep feeling of undeserved-ness and unworthiness on my part.

It's like, I will feel that there is a being so perfect, so pure and so powerful, that He can wipe me out anytime; a being that totally understands me and knows me - my past, present and future - and yet, STILL LOVES ME and ACCEPTS me for all the good and bad and in-betweens.

That overwhelming feeling of love and acceptance just leaves me amazed and disarmed and it fills me up with an enigmatic sense of gratefulness and undeserved-ness that expresses itself by bowing down and kneeling before this greater, transcendent presence...as tears of thankfulness and gratitude meander down my unworthy face.

Whenever God chooses to reveal Himself in a more tangible way, this will be my response. And I say "response", not "reaction", because I can control my physical feedback to such a situation.

I have never once lost consciousness or bodily control of myself and fell to the ground like in the videos or what you'll see in a charismatic church.

Well, God speaks and moves in people in different ways and we must be careful not to box God up by saying things like "Oh, if God moves, you'll fall under His presence" or "No, God will NEVER knock someone out like that", etc...God is God. He moves in His own way and in His own timing. Who are we to judge its authenticity?

But as much as we are not here to stand as judges, we must remember that we are created in the image of God and thus have the ability to judge too...And somehow, where there is a rat, we can smell a rat.

Let me share a few instances where I've smelt many rouge "rat-slayers" doing it "wrong" and many rats getting "slain" for the sake of it.

1) Pastor uses force to push you down

My "rouge rat-slayer" alarm goes crazy when I see pastors pushing or using physical force on a person to push him/her down.

I have many friends that hate that too...and the more the pastor pushes them, the more my friends will resist their force and stand up strong.

Why?

Because we believe that if it really is the work and power of the Holy Spirit, no physical assistance is needed.

If the pastor keeps pushing and people keep falling, people will attribute it to the pastor, saying "Ah, these guys are all frauds, they're cooperating with the pastor by falling on cue."

I mean, come on. If it's really God moving, do you need to push that hard? It's a crime you know that? To exert too much physical force on a person? Let God do it supernaturally and keep your insecurities to yourselves!

There are a few good examples of pastors who do it right. They really just pray for you, at a distance, and the most they do is gently lay their hands on your head and have totally no bodily contact at all...and as they pray, the person gently falls under the Holy Spirit's visitation.

To name a few who have made an impression, such pastors are Pastor Mike Connell from New Zealand, Pastor James Singh from Singapore, etc...

These guys have my respect. Because during their ministry sessions, they really rely on the Holy Spirit. Their prayers cut deep into who you are and what you are struggling with. Their words contain a fire that strikes your heart. The best part about them? THEY DO NOT HAVE BODILY CONTACT WITH YOU.

In my current church now, Heart of God church, during ministry time, you can see clearly on the live feed that our pastor is using force to push the person's head.

My response to that will be the same question I asked earlier in the paragraph in italics above. Learn from the ministers who do it without physical assistance which could lead to controversies - which I'll elaborate on in my 2nd point.

Yup, this is my personal stand - the pastor is but a vessel. Who is he or she to dictate your falling by physically pushing you? If it's really God, He will do the necessary.

So what's the motivation behind the pastor's eager thrusts? Is it because when you fall, it seems like the pastor is "powerful" and "connected with God" and it therefore builds faith in the congregation when they witness it?

If it is, then I must say that the act of pushing your members is really an act of insecurity - pushing your members out of the fear that people will think you are less than capable of doing ministry if people don't fall.

Well, I know the church is here to do a real work in peoples' lives, not to do theatrical acts that induce the "building of faith". So the last thing I need from a church is for it to be not authentic and put on a show. I'd rather buy tickets from Sistic to watch a show.

2) People fall not because of the Holy Spirit

I have had many friends tell me before that they fall not because the Holy Spirit touched them, but because it is out of respect for the pastor that they do it...like to tell the pastor "Thanks for your prayer! It's awesome so I'm gonna fall now!"

Some tell me they fall because when you are fallen, it tells the pastor that you've been prayed for so the pastor wouldn't come and pray for you again.

So this whole "falling" thing becomes a system of management...to differentiate those that have been prayed for and those that haven't been prayed for! My gosh! The church is really into theatrical arts nowadays!

And oh, in most churches, they deploy a special group of people called "catchers". They are trained to catch a falling Christian whenever a minister prays for that individual.

Here's where this system of "falling" management fails: I had this friend who was at the altar in front who FELL AT THE WRONG TIME. i.e. She mistakenly fell, thinking that the pastor had laid hands on her, when it's not the pastor. LOL. Here's the scenario:

The altar was packed with people as they wanted to receive a touch from the pastor to "fall". So there were many catchers squeezing about as well. So, this particular friend of mine felt the brush of what she thought was the pastor's anointed hand...when it was just a stray catcher's hand squeezing pass in that crowded altar area.

Thinking it was the pastor's "holy" hands, she instinctively - in utmost cooperation - fell backwards...AND TO HER HORROR, THERE WAS NO CATCHER...BECAUSE THE CATCHERS ARE ALL SCURRYING AROUND THE PASTOR. The catchers only position themselves behind the members that the pastor is praying for...because, I think, they too know that people only fall when the pastor or their executive leaders pray for them. #fail #mediacorp

So, that poor friend of mine then got up to her feet and realized her mediacorp moment was not caught on camera or "live feed" because the pastor wasn't there...

So this whole falling thing isn't about the Holy Spirit touching you already. It suddenly becomes about you, your pastor and how you want to portray yourself to the camera.

WHERE'S THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ALL THESE? Hais...What has become of your Church, Lord?

From the more honest hearts, they'll tell me that if they don't fall, it'll seem like they're not receptive to the Holy Spirit and it reflects bad on them. So those that are still standing after prayer will be stigmatized.

Oh look what you've done pastors! By not clearly explaining the significance behind this occasionally supernatural act, you've caused so many to be stigmatized!

This is especially rampant in the church I attend now: Heart of God church.

I have heard many members say "Oh no! That guy no catcher! If he fall and injure himself how?!"

The ignorance in that statement really irks me. But hey, many of the Christians there really don't know what they believe in. Don't believe me? Just have a simple layman debate with them - LEADERS - on such issues of faith and they'll sideline you. Don't even need to have a theological debate, just a layman one will do and they'll be DUMBFOUNDED! Next thing? These "leaders" will label you "question-er" and slowly ostracize you. I'll justify my accusations regarding this in separate blog post.

Ok, so in this church, the members of the congregation are groomed to be VERY COOPERATIVE. Upon the final thrust of the senior pastor's hand, they'll fall down without a shadow of a doubt, into the hands of a catcher.

Back to my initial point I made about God moving in such meetings:

If God chooses to reveal Himself to you by knocking you out, DO YOU THINK HE'LL ALLOW YOU TO BE HURT BY HIS REVELATION?

When those heart of God church members go "Oh no! That guy no catcher! If he fall and injure himself how?!", they're actually saying 2 things:

A) God is a sadist, or an irresponsible flasher.

That is the first implication of their ignorant statement. They're saying that when God reveals Himself to you and injures you in the process, it's really just a price you gotta pay.

So according to them, God is really a sadist. He wants you to know Him, but if in the process He injures you, THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM.

Or to them, God is like some flasher...He comes and flashes His glory at you and you're taken down! And then he goes "Ooopss...Not my problem"

Their exclamation can also be re-phrased as:

"OH NO! GOD IS GOING TO INJURE HIM WHEN HE FALLS DOWN! Doesn't God know there's no catcher? CAN'T HE WAIT FOR THE CATCHER TO COME BEFORE HE SUPERNATURALLY TOUCHES THE GUY?"

Suddenly, the onus of injury falls into the laps of the catcher. So if the person really gets injured, is it God's fault? The pastor's fault? Or the catcher's fault? When the lawyer letter comes in, who will be footing the medical bill?

This is where I must interject - IF THE PASTOR PUSHES THE PERSON, HE/SHE IS LIABLE FOR HIS INJURY!

So as a pastor, if you don't want to be tangled up in an injury lawsuit in church, DO NOT PUSH YOUR MEMBERS!

If you do not push the person, he has nothing to claim against you! If it is God and the person goes down without your physical intervention, to God be the glory!

YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE! So quit succumbing to that moment of insecurity and keep those thrusting hands to yourselves!

According to those HoGC members' statements, it seems like the catcher is going to pay. Hefty price he'll be paying if the person gets paralyzed!

All in all, they are picturing God as such an irresponsible creature. Someone that wants you to know Him and is not willing to take responsibility for the price of knowing Him - back injury.

That is not the God I know. I'll answer this point shortly after I cover implication B of their ignorant statements.

B) The guy falling is an actor

Their exclamation could also mean that the "faller" is an actor...Because, if it's really God who induces the falling, the person will not be hurt.

So if the person gets hurt, it means, the falling was not a supernatural act, but an act of the carnal nature of man.

So the second implication of their statement is, they're calling the falling guy an actor. This is the better option for those ignorant remark-ers. To say that you're judging the faller and not get caught in the web of projecting your own tainted image of God in implication A is a far better option.

So this is my stand:

God is not an irresponsible flasher. If that act of falling is indeed God's doing, He will definitely  protect you. He will not allow you to be hurt in that life-changing process of His revelation. He is a responsible God of justice.

The implication of my statement also means that - There is no need for catchers!

Indeed, there is no need for them. If every act of falling was genuine, the catchers will just be there to facilitate an otherwise natural motion of the Spirit lying them down. They are in fact, redundant.

But the catchers are still there for good reason - they're there to ensure that our dear church-going actors and actresses don't get hurt in their delicate process of performing their falling stunt.

I have been on several mission trips and watched several videos of ministry sessions like these in third world countries where there are no catchers!

I've seen people fly a few feet from their chairs during ministry sessions and they get up moments later, unhurt.

On a mission trip to Ilo Ilo, Philippines, I've seen the Spirit of God just sweep through a worshipping congregation and everyone began falling without the pastor laying hands and praying!

NO CATCHERS! And guess what? NO ONE WAS HURT! In fact, they all got up refreshed and encouraged, with a new revelation and experience of who God is!

I think those domesticated Heart of God peeps will be shocked when they actually see how God moves in the not-so-sanitized and not-so-organized church out there. In fact, those churches are more spirit-led than HoGC, which leaves little room for the Holy Spirit's free movement.

Yup, God is a God of love and justice. Can you imagine how unjustified these people would be if they were to fall and break their backs while in church?

This totally goes against the grain of God's nature of justice.

So yes, I've seen many people who "fall" under the overwhelming power of peer pressure and under the paralyzing power of ignorance.

When such people fall, I do not think they actually take away a new revelation of who God is. Their falling is simply an act of conditioning; it's a monkey-see-monkey-do situation on a mega scale in mega churches today.

It's really sad to see all these happening in church. It deeply saddens my heart to see how all these young people are stigmatized for not falling or for falling for all the wrong reasons.

This will cause many problems later in their journey of faith. When things start crashing down, and their faith comes into question, this will definitely be one of the salient experiences that Satan will use to undermine their shaky faith.

So yes, I've seen many rats and rogue rat-slayers who "fall" and get "slain" for all the wrong reasons. But I have never doubted this "falling" thing as a means by which God uses to speak to His people.

So yes, fall if you must...But fall for the right reasons. If you feel the Holy Spirit's gentle presence giving you a "falling" sensation, don't fight it, let the Holy Spirit do His work in His own way.

But if you fall not because of the Holy Spirit and injure yourself or render yourself immobile, your medical claim against your church's pushing-pastor, catcher or "catching ministry" will be a real controversial one!

Let's stay REAL people. The church is called to change lives; not do theatrical arts or stunt acts on a weekend. The last thing I want the church to be is: FAKE or INAUTHENTIC. Period.

My Braces Journey: The Retainers

On the day of your braces removal, they'll clean up your teeth after removing those dreadful "armour" or braces brackets.

"Cleaning" involves clearing up all your tar-tar in your teeth, polishing and scaling, so that your teeth won't wear the scars of wearing those metal brackets for so long.

After that, they'll take a mould of your teeth (AGAIN)...for what? This time, it's not for another set of braces, but it's for your RETAINERS.

You'll have to collect your retainers a week later. And they're really strict about that...Because collecting them any later than a week will leave your teeth susceptible to shifting.

You see, after those metal brackets that once hold your teeth together are removed, your teeth are now free to move again. They'll tend to move back into their old positions because what braces does is...it shifts the teeth's position significantly, but the position of the teeth's roots may not (or may never) be fully shifted or settled in position.

It's like pulling a tree sideways with a fixture. Yes, over time, the tree will grow sideways in the direction of the fixture. Once the fixture is removed, the tree will slowly grow back to its natural position...which is...upwards!

The tree will not continue growing sideways once the fixture is removed. Why??

Because the fixture only adjusts the direction of growth...the position of the ROOTS of the tree does not change!

Same it is for our teeth. Our roots will shift slightly, but it may not be in the perfect position to give you that perfect, neat smile. So, like the tree, our teeth needs the "fixture" to hold it in place. The retainers are the "fixture".

Ok, enough "theory" there...Haha. Here's a look at my "fixture" :D

Transparent, plastic, Essix retainers

Yes, I chose the transparent, plastic, "Essix" retainers as they're called. They're kinda like the new "invisalign" transparent braces.

I asked my doctor the pros and cons of these 2 types of retainers available - the traditional metal retainers and the new transparent plastic ones.

In terms of utility, he says both of them are equally effective at doing its job. They'll keep your teeth in shape all right.

In terms of durability, he says both of them are equally durable - it's how well you take care of them. The only thing is...the transparent plastic retainers are more fragile and can break more easily than the metal ones...which can be broken too. Haha.

If you want your teeth in PERFECT alignment, get the transparent retainers. Because it is the exact mould of what your perfect alignment should look like...It'll ensure individual tooth alignment unlike the metal ones which just gives a general outline shape to the teeth.

BUT, unlike its metal, wired counterpart, the transparent, plastic Essix retainer is fixed and cannot be adjusted or tweaked to accommodate minor teeth movements.

If you GRIND YOUR TEETH at night, DO NOT get the transparent plastic retainer. Why? Because, you'll grind it to smithereens! Haha. To the teeth grinders, the Hawley retainer is the best option available for you.

The thing about the metal Hawley retainers is, the acrylic that sticks to the roof of your mouth will impede your pronunciation. This is not a problem with the Essix retainers which only hugs the teeth and not the roof of the mouth.

As for me, I've no teeth-grinding problems and I want to look good...so the transparent, plastic, Essix retainers is the way to go for me! Haha.

Here's a pic of me with and without retainers...

Without retainers (left), with retainers (right)

Can you tell the difference? If you can, good on ya! If you can't, good on ya! LOL. The difference is minimal, so you can wear it out the whole day.

The thing about retainers is this - just when you think the pain of braces is over, you're dead wrong!

When I slipped on my new plastic retainers after one week of my teeth running free, the PAIN that came along with it was nostalgic...HAHA.

IT HURT! And when I removed it, IT HURT EVEN MORE! The suction pull of the plastic retainers during removal really hurt bad!

Just when my teeth thought they were emancipated from their metal overlords, here comes their new slave-driver - Essix retainers.

This shows that within a week, my teeth have went off-shape quite badly. Because if it didn't hurt, it meant that my teeth were obediently sitting in its perfect position. But no, my teeth were naughty and they went to play...so when the retainers came back...It was painful.

After about a week, putting and taking off these new plastic retainers no longer hurt...because my teeth were back in shape.

Moral of the story: Wear your retainers regularly!

I've had friends who were too lazy to wear their retainers and guess what? After a few months, their teeth went back to their old position...AND THEY HAD TO PUT BRACES AGAIN. Bravo you bro. Can't name him here. LOL.

My sister also has a friend who suffered the same fate. After NOT wearing her retainers for a few months, her teeth went awry. Upon realization, she tried putting on her retainers...BUT, GUESS WHAT? Her retainers COULDN'T FIT! LOL! That means? Braces part 2!

So if you don't want a movie sequel to your braces blockbuster, WEAR YOUR DARN RETAINERS you lazy pig! HAHA!

I've been wearing my plastic retainers nightly for 4 months already. And nope, I don't wear my retainers 24-7 (even though I'm supposed to :D) Wearing them every night is good enough. I'm living proof :D

It's too troublesome bringing that blue box around...and it's disgusting having to take out your retainers before every meal and keeping it in that box with saliva dripping off all over it...and having to WEAR IT BACK after your meal. If I'm at home, it's fine. If I'm outside, with friends, the inconvenience of having to go to the toilet twice to do all that retainer maintenance is not worth it. Haha.

The thing about wearing your retainers out is...REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR RETAINER BOX.

My brother lost his retainers once because he forgot to bring his blue retainer box...so before his meal, he took it out and wrapped his retainers in tissue paper and left it on the table. The cleaner aunty at the coffee shop, thinking it was tissue trash, threw that tissue stash away! LOL. #epic

Yes, my siblings are braces graduates too. But unlike their oldest brother, they're using the metal Hawley retainers which have been working well for them too.

Yup, my Essix retainers are doing well. You just got to brush them squeaky clean before keeping them if not they'll stink real bad...And when I say brush, I really do mean use your toothbrush to SCRUB the insides and outsides of the retainers.

And oh, I got a friend who was using his plastic retainers for about a year and a half...and it looks horrible. He showed me his retainers and it was ALL WORN OUT. LOL. I guess he'll be getting a new mould for a new set of Essix retainers soon. I guess that's the downside of using a more fragile and less durable plastic material for retainers.

Yep, this should be my last post on my braces journey. It's been a painful but fun journey with these guys. Like I said in my previous post, braces and retainers really do make good conversations and they do make you look cuter and younger (to some of my girl friends at least)...so it does have its charms too :D

Feel free to ask me any questions on my experience but do take note, I'm NOT A DOCTOR, DENTIST or ORTHODONTIST.

Do read through my previous posts on this whole braces episode too. It's tagged in the category below under "Labels: My Braces Journey" or you can find them to the right navigation bar of my blog, under the "Classifications" tab, click "My Braces Journey".

Hope you had fun reading it as much as I had fun relating these braces anecdotes to you :D Can you hear my teeth shouting "ORD LO!"? HAHA!

And of course, one last hashtag: #BracesFTW! :D

My Braces Journey: The Emancipation

My entire braces journey culminates to this blog post - The EMANCIPATION. Yes! My teeth are free! Haha! Those metal braces brackets are finally removed!

The braces removal process is a pretty quick one. After rubbing some glue removal substance on your teeth and with a set of dental pliers, the orthodontist removed every metal bracket within 5 minutes.

Here's what I look like after all the cleaning, scaling and polishing...Lemme adopt the standard advertising way of reporting...by using the "before" and "after" photos :D Haha.

Before & after photos :D I'm sure you can tell which is which...haha

Amazing results isn't it? Haha. The time lapse between those two photos are almost FOUR YEARS! The "before" photo was taken during October 2010 and the "emancipated" photo was taken in May 2014!

The reason why my braces journey took so long is mainly because I went for a 6-month exchange during my university days in NTU.

I told my dentist that I'd be overseas for 6-months and he was like "WHAT?". But then he went, "Alright, I'll just do whatever I can for your last appointment in 6 months and hope for the best!"

So off I went to Shanghai for 6 months for my exchange...with a few other friends who will also miss their braces appointments for half a year. Haha.

We all came back a semester later, safe and sound, and we're all now wearing our awesomely re-arranged straight and beautiful teeth :D

So, if you were to minus those 6 months, it'd have ended in November 2013, which is slightly more than 3 years.

Yeah, a typical braces patient takes around 2-3 years before his teeth ORDs with a red commando beret. Haha. For those people who have relatively straight teeth and just want perfection, their braces days may take only up to a year.

So, the duration of your braces journey really depends on 2 factors:
1) How bad the condition of your teeth are - as bad as mine? 2 to 3 years.
2) How often you miss your braces appointments - as bad as mine? I missed 6 months worth of appointments.

The entire cost of this nearly 4 year cosmetic operation cost about $3000+...that was back in 2010 when this whole package deal was signed with National Dental Centre (NDC), inclusive of government subsidy.

Prices keep going up, so if you're gonna start on braces now (year 2014), it'll cost an average of up to $4k+

If you were to ask me was it worth it? I'd say yes. It was worth every bit of pain and agony. To walk around and smile with that neatly aligned set of teeth is priceless and it is a boost to your self-esteem.

Not like I had low self-esteem issues before my teeth were straight, but somehow, when you know your teeth are not that pretty, you'll tend not to smile that wide, especially for photos. It's like how you'll want to wear a cap to cover your hair after a bad haircut kinda thing?

On hindsight, I think my whole braces journey was also FUN. Haha! Why? Because there are thousands of others who are going through this phase too! You'll make tons of mutual braces friends! LOL!

Braces really make for good conversations too. Talking about how food will get stuck, how we wear rubber bands in our mouth, how we use inter-dental toothbrushes and how our teeth colour (braces band colour) changes every month will really interest the non-braces peeps. Haha.

I still remember how I requested having red and green colour for my braces bands during Christmas period! HAHA! And yes, my request was granted! LOL! So I got Christmas in my mouth! LOL LOL!

The best part about braces? It makes you look young! HAHA! Some of my girl friends even say my braces make me look cuter. LOL! Which is actually a sad thing...because...I'm not as cute now :( Sobs...HAHA.

Yup, braces has its charm too guys. Haha.

But yes, the initial stages will definitely be painful. The cuts in your tongue, the painful tension that cuts across your teeth, the food stuck in all the unreachable areas, etc...But hey, look at my teeth now :D All neat and ready to mingle...HAHA!

I mean, come on...Mankind has invented a solution for crooked teeth and you're not taking it? Haha. #YOLO.

All in all, my entire braces journey was a worthwhile one. The conversation it makes and the charm it brings was worth the pain. And looking at the end results, I can only say "shut up and take my money!" Haha.

#BracesFTW