Posts from — August 2010

“You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” –Ephesians 2:19 (NIV)

Most countries do not allow their citizens to adopt another nationality. However, certain countries have provisions for people who were born within their borders, but have taken on the citizenship of another country. Such arrangements allow people to freely live, work, and travel to and in the land of their birth. However, there are certain restrictions. They are not allowed to vote or hold public office because of their decision to retain the citizenship of their adopted homeland. Thus, even if someone wanted to participate and serve in the government of their native country, they have no business doing so. They have voluntarily pledged their full allegiance to another nation; making the commitment to uphold its interests and obey its laws.

When we choose to follow Christ and allow Him to live within our hearts, we obtain a heavenly citizenship. Our earthly citizenship, which we gained at birth, is not relinquished, but becomes subordinate to our new identity in Christ. He has allowed us to partake in all the wonderful things He has created for our benefit and enjoyment. However, because we are Christ’s citizens, we are called to enjoy the pleasures of this world according to His laws and standards. As a result of the corruption of sin, we formed our own standards dictating how we are to live life on this earth. But these were guided by our own limited wisdom and fuelled by our wicked desires.

Realizing the futility of following after principles of our own devising, we are now drawn to the holiness and perfection that we can obtain through Christ. By personally accepting His atoning sacrifice and victorious resurrection, we make a commitment to allow Him to help us uphold His standard in our lives. This means standing against all unrighteousness and impurity; using our entire lives to be ambassadors for Christ and what He stands for. To follow the world and its values as citizens of Christ is “spiritual treason”. But thankfully, Christ is merciful and is always willing to pardon our transgressions. In light of this, we must never forget who we belong to; where our true allegiance really lies. It is only by allowing Christ’s Spirit to take reign over our hearts and minds that we will become true citizens of God’s Kingdom; and as citizens of God’s Kingdom we make the commitment to be, with His enabling, lights to the world around us.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” –Matthew 25:37-40 (NIV)

When I was a child, there was a short story written by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that left a strong impression on me. It began with a cobbler practicing his trade in a small village. Falling asleep one cold winter’s night, he had a dream. In his dream, Christ appeared to the cobbler declaring His intention to visit him tomorrow. When tomorrow came, the cobbler was glued to his window; waiting adamantly for his Savior.

At different times of the day he saw through his window a poor soldier, and a destitute woman with an infant child; both under the mercy of the frigid winter and their desperate circumstances. Without hesitation, he opened the door of his home; providing them with food, warmth, clothing, and companionship. As night began to fall however, he became discouraged; thinking that Christ had decided not to visit him. But when the cobbler fell asleep, Christ revealed to him that He had indeed visited his house and directed him to Matthew 25:40, “…I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me”.

In this self-centered world of ours, we often ignore Christ’s call for His children to be hospitable towards others and generous with all that He has graciously given to us. We make excuses saying that we are too busy or that we do not have the time. Sometimes we allow cynicism and distrust to callous our hearts towards others; saying that they do not deserve our charity based on past experiences. However, in most cases, the real reason for our aversion is that we are bound by our avarice. We have been so conditioned to look only after our own needs and our own pleasures that we have become blind to the plight of those around us. So tainted are we by the vices of greed and suspicion that even when we do give, we seek out what we can gain from our charitable acts.

But Christ willingly gave up Himself; dying for all of humanity’s sins while expecting nothing in return. He does not demand that we accept His sacrifice. His gift of salvation is open to all who would choose out of their free will to allow Him to carry out His redemptive mission in their hearts. Those who have allowed Christ to invade their lives will realize that they have no claim to anything in this world; for naked they entered it and naked they will depart. They will give not out of self-interest or duty, for they will not be concerned about what others will do with their generosity. But they give because of a natural outpouring of Christ’s love; desiring to please the One who redeemed them from sin and condemnation.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” -1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)

Why do we feel the need to prove our strength?  Although we don’t deny that we have our struggles and dilemmas, we feel that to save our pride we have to present ourselves as being fully capable of dealing with the storms that come our way. However, we soon realize the limits of our individual human wisdom and capability. Yet despite this, our pride dictates that we must make every effort to cover up our weaknesses; portraying ourselves as stoic and unassailable in the face of adversity.  In this way we succumb to the folly of refusing the help of an all-powerful God and the people He brings alongside our path whilst we continue to bear, with bent backs and trembling knees, the burden of our troubles.

We are not helping ourselves when we attempt to wrestle with our difficulties and anxieties on our own finite power. If anything, we are only delaying the inevitable fate of crumbling under the weight of what we have tried to master. Christ promises to give rest to all who come to Him. In His omnipotence He stands above our worries and in His love He offers to take all of our burdens; dealing with them according to His infinite wisdom and perfect will. But when we are given the offer, why do we hold back? Why do we in name surrender our troubles to God while at the same time try to dictate to Him what He needs to do? If we seek the wisdom and power of God while still wanting to master our struggles on our own strength and wisdom, we have not truly surrendered our circumstances to Him. Our pride and our desire to retain our autonomy prevent us from allowing God to fulfil His redemptive and wonderful plan for our lives. It is only by the total surrender of every area in our lives to His will that we will emerge victorious over our situations. When we allow Christ to reside in our hearts, we will know that the best way for us to handle our anxieties is to give them all up to Him, trusting in His will and resting in the assurance that He works everything together for good.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” –Acts 5:38-39 (NIV)

Persecution comes in many forms. For Christians living in certain parts of the world, it is violent and lethal. For those Christians living in places where the right to worship freely is generally respected and upheld, their persecution is more subtle and psychological. In both cases it can cause great discouragement and we doubt whether if Christ’s message really does possess the final victory.

However, if we look at history we will find that even through the most brutal of persecutions, Christ and His Church have always emerged triumphant. The Soviets, at the height of their power, boasted that they would parade the last Christian in the U.S.S.R on state television before executing him. Yet in the end, it was Communist state which crumbled while the Church continued to grow. A more contemporary example can be seen in China. Despite vicious crackdowns on Christians during Mao’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and government persecution which continues even to this day, the Church in China is experiencing exponential growth. Many are not only accepting Christ into their lives, but are remaining steadfast in their devotion to Him even under threats of imprisonment or torture.

If something is ordained by God to be fulfilled, it will happen. God is sovereign over the world. Who can stand before His omnipotence and all-knowing wisdom? The greatest examples of wisdom and power amongst men are but examples of foolishness and weakness before Him. Nothing and no one will be able to resist His good and perfect will. As His children, we can take comfort in the fact that since He has initiated His redemptive mission for humanity, He will bring it to its fruition. God will bring about the day when, as Paul describes in Philippians 2:10-11, “…at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Paul himself realized the futility of fighting God’s will for he was once Christianity’s most ardent adversary. What will be our decision? Will we in our stubbornness fight a battle that we cannot win? Or will we embrace Christ and partake in the victory we have in Him?

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” -Psalm 27:4 (NIV)

Have you ever met someone who instantly made a good impression on you? There was something about their demeanour, their speech, or their outlook on life, which attracted you towards them. Although there is always the fear that they could be putting up an act, those fears are quickly quieted when we realize that they are truly genuine and sincere in their conduct. Such magnetism compels us to say of them, “I can trust this person”, or “I want to model my life after this person’s example”. We enjoy their company and want to spend time with them not only because they have won our admiration, but because they have also won our love and loyalty.

There is something irresistible about Christ. Why else would His disciples instantly abandon everything they knew to follow Him? When they gazed upon Christ, they knew that He was no ordinary man; that He was someone much more than all the exalted men of the world put together. However, if we really want to see for ourselves His beauty, we must put aside what others say about Him and allow Him to speak about Himself through His Word. Who would pass final judgement on a person based solely on what someone else has said about them? Today, we would label that as being prejudiced because we have not actively sought out the whole truth. When we come to His Word with an open-heart and mind, we will be in awe of what we discover. We will be humbled by His holiness and perfection in wisdom, reassured by His faithfulness and providence, assured by His stance on justice and integrity, and comforted by His never-failing love and redemptive mission for humanity.

What will our response be? Will we ignore the beauty of Christ, or will we accept Him? He gives the freedom to choose the path that we want to take. If we live our lives knowing the truth about Christ as revealed through His Word, but not making that personal commitment to Him, we deprive ourselves. It won’t be long before we realize that His claims about the destructive power of sin and the futility of living morally on our own wisdom are indeed true. When we allow Christ to invade our lives, we will find true peace, security, and joy. We will desire to gaze upon His beauty and seek Him in His temple because of what He has done for us through His redemptive sacrifice on the cross and His promise of life everlasting to all who believe in Him.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165 (NIV)

The monsoon season in India is notorious for its torrential rains. During this time, it is not uncommon for the streets to be submerged underwater. The first monsoon I experienced was when I was in Calcutta. I was certainly not prepared! Without an umbrella and wading through filthy shin-deep water, I was especially concerned about the possibility of tripping over something that I could not see. The murky water I had to traverse did not aid me in this regard. I was greatly relived when we found warmth and shelter in the form of a restaurant. A few weeks later I was in an auto rickshaw when the rains began to pour again. Had I stuck my arm or leg out, that part of my body would have become completely drenched. But as long as my body was inside the vehicle, I knew that I would be safe and dry.

When we live in sin we expose ourselves to its consequences. Although sin entices us with promises of pleasure and fulfillment, we find that we have been deceived when pain, regret, and a loss of security seem to be our only rewards. We try to pick up the pieces of our shattered lives in an attempt to restore what was lost. Yet because of our sinful nature, such attempts result in us stumbling and groping in the dark. However, where humanity falls, God never fails. He is in the business of restoring what has been destroyed by sin and wickedness. His offer of salvation is open to all who choose to accept in their hearts His death as satisfying the penalty of our sins, and His resurrection as the assured promise of having eternal life in Him. Through His indwelling in our lives, we will be able to understand the true purpose and intent of His law, and put it into practice in our lives through His enabling.

When we live our lives according to His law, we will be assured that sin and its consequences will be far away from us. Our hearts will be filled with His peace knowing that obedience to His law will be our shield and our strongest advocate when fingers are being unjustly pointed towards us. May we never think that His laws are meant to oppress us and restrict our freedom. Rather we must always remember that His laws are a manifestation of His love for us. He has set them in place to protect us from harm so that we may live in the completeness and bliss which comes from resting in Him.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” -Psalm 27:13 (NIV)

Sometimes when we are overwhelmed with images declaring the declining state of the world, it is easy to wonder whether God is really fulfilling His redemptive plan for creation. But if we reflect on human history from the moment of His resurrection to the present day, we can clearly see His goodness at work. It was missionaries who established throughout the world, hospitals to care for the sick and dying, and schools that taught young minds to stand up for truth and justice. It was people like William Wilberforce who, answering God’s call to defend the poor and the oppressed, spearheaded what would become the wholesale condemnation of all forms of slavery on the basis that all humans are created equal, and created in the image of God. The legal systems of the world that uphold the cause of justice find their source in the Ten Commandments. Even to this day, there are people whom God is using to further His purpose of bringing healing and restoration to this fallen world.

We should never doubt the goodness of God. Since our human perception is so limited, we cannot see the work of God in its entirety. He loves His creation immensely and He works tirelessly to redeem what has been lost to sin. If we allow God to open our eyes, we will see that He has not given up on the world. Even when we don’t see tangible evidence of His work, His faithfulness to humanity is always steadfast; working every event that occurs in human affairs towards His glorious and perfect will. But what is our response? Are we but mere spectators? God has called us as His children to be willing to play the role He has allocated for us in His redemptive mission. Can we do so on our own strength? We cannot, for it is not our place to redeem people. That honour belongs to Christ. Our role is to be a light bearing Christ; willing instruments that will display to the world who He is and what He can do for them. When we walk closely with Christ, dwell upon His word, and ask Him for the strength and wisdom to put His words into practice, the light in our hearts bearing His goodness will not grow dim.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.