Posts from — October 2010

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance…” Ephesians 1:17-18 (ESV)

We all desire knowledge. We all seek to understand the world around us and our place in it. It has motivated the meditations of philosophers and the investigations of scientists for centuries. However, because our reason is flawed by the wickedness of our human nature, we can only perceive an incomplete view of the truth. Though we may grasp certain aspects of the truth, our desire to retain our autonomy and live independently of God distorts what has been perceived by our human minds. This is why the answers provided by man made philosophies insufficiently answer the purpose of human existence. Despite their attempts to come to a sound analysis of humanity, they fail to acknowledge the fact that we are fallen people; flawed because of our innate rebellious nature.

Our pride leads us to worship our own fallible reason and wisdom. Even when we see that our understanding is in error, we stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that fact. We insist that our reason is perfect and thereby we cling onto the deception that the knowledge we have of ourselves and of the world is without fault. But if we seek to possess true knowledge, we must come humbly before our Creator. God is the master of the universe. He was the One who brought it into existence. Naturally, just as how an architect knows his work intimately, He is the One who knows the inner workings of the universe and all that resides in it. Moreover, He wishes to impart His knowledge to us. For this reason He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. Through His death and resurrection, the barrier of sin which separated us from God is broken and we have a restored relationship with our Creator. When we allow His Spirit to indwell within us and work in our lives, He will open our eyes to His perfect wisdom and Truth. Only by submitting ourselves to His Spirit within us and living in obedience to Him will we understand our ourselves and our destiny. Though we were born in sin, Christ came to redeem us from the yoke of our depravity; setting us on the path to everlasting life with Him in Heaven and being a part of His restorative work for the entire world.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” –Deuteronomy 8:17-18a (NIV)

When we are blessed with success and wealth, it is easy for our heads to swell with pride. We buy into the myth that we, by the strength of our hands and the capacity of our minds, have bestowed upon ourselves victory after victory. But who was the One who gave us legs to walk? Who was the One who gave us hands to work? Who was the One who gave us a mind so beautifully complex that not even the most powerful supercomputer can match it in ability? We delude ourselves when we think that we have achieved success independent of God. The truth is that we are dependant on Him for every bodily function we perform, right down to every breath we take, for He is the One who created us.

Until we realize that we are nothing without God, we will continue to deceive ourselves; arrogantly thinking that we are responsible for the success in our lives. But soon we will find that, though we may have seen our own abilities and strength as infallible, our trust has been misplaced. Suddenly we will come to the realization that we are capable of making foolish and destructive decisions, and that our strength is subject to decay and limited in what it can do. But in our weakness, God is strong. When we approach Him with humility of heart, asking Him to deliver us from the corruption of sin and dwell with us, He will carry out His restorative work within us. By asking Him to impart to us His wisdom and allowing Him to guide our steps, He will direct us in the proper use of all that He has graciously given us. Under His guidance, we can trust in God’s perfect will; that He never seeks to lead us into destruction, but to a life that will reflect His glory and faithful provision in our lives. When we submit all that He has given us to Him and walk while holding tightly to His hand, we will be blessed knowing that He will lead us towards a beautiful future.

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.

‘“Everything is permissible”-but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’-but not everything is constructive.” -1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV)

We live in a society where everything and anything goes; where taboo after taboo is slowly being broken and cast aside. The prevailing attitude seems to be that everything is permissible. In a sense this is true. As long as we are mobile, and capable of using our minds and our five senses, what is there really stopping us from indulging in sin? But just because we have the ability to commit sin does not mean that it is beneficial in any way. Though we may be fully capable of sin, we will have to bear its destructive consequences. Wickedness has the effect of not only degrading others, but the individual himself. Our minds and hearts slowly become warped and callous, becoming more like the animal who obeys their carnal desires than men who are the crowning glory of God’s creation. Anything, even that which in and of itself is good, can become corrupted by our wickedness if we elevate it to the status of god and allow it to take our eyes away from Christ Himself.

While we lived under our sinful nature, we were slaves to our own depravity. We knew of nothing else to serve and therefore, we were bound to live under the yoke of sin. But when we accept Christ as our Saviour; allowing Him to free us from the shackles of sin and to carry out His redemptive work in our lives, we have a choice to either listen to His voice, or to the voice of the remnants of sin that reside in our hearts. When we fall into the hands of wickedness while we claim Christ as Lord, it is of our own deliberate choice to pay no heed to His voice and to indulge in that which is impure. But thankfully, Christ is always forgiving and abounding in grace. When we listen to His voice and allow Him to pull us out of the mire of sin, He will restore us and make His righteousness manifest in us. However, we can avoid the consequences of sin by simply obeying Christ from the start, submitting ourselves to His perfect will and allowing Him to carry out His restorative work in our lives unhindered by our own stubbornness. When we choose to hold onto the hand of Christ, we are safe knowing that He will lead us not on the path of destruction, but to life everlasting through Him; a life that is free from the ravages of sin.

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.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” –Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

Sometimes, when it appears that evil seems to be emerging triumphant everywhere we turn, it is easy to throw our hands in the air and give up. As wickedness threatens to suffocate our stand for what is right and true, we ask ourselves whether there is any point to fighting what seems to be a losing battle. But can you imagine how the world would look like if everyone simply walked away from upholding righteousness when opposition came their way? It would be a brutal and cruel world, where we would be slaves under an unchecked wickedness. If we truly desire to see change happen in the world around us, be it in our homes or in the public sphere, we must be willing to fight for it. Depravity and injustice thrive under the silence of those who know what is right.

As children of Christ we are called to proclaim His righteousness revealed through His perfect standards. But if we think we can do this on our own, the reality is that we cannot. His righteousness needs to be made manifest in our lives first. Only when we have allowed Christ to reign in our hearts and see the world through His eyes will we be able to make a consistent stand for His truth and justice. For this stand, Christ guarantees that we will face opposition and trials from those who wish to silence the proclamation of Himself and His righteousness. But though we may feel that we are under the mercy of the forces of evil, we can dwell in the assurance that when we are on the side of Christ, we are already victorious through Him. It is Christ who will give us the strength and courage to slay the monster of wickedness wherever it lurks. It is Christ who will help us hold up His torch of Truth when our arms waver. Though we may not see the fruit of our stand immediately, we can rest in the fact that God, in His prefect timing, will emerge triumphant. All He asks of us is to be lights for Him in our actions, in our words, and even in our thoughts; holding onto His hand all the while. When we do this, we will rejoice when God in His faithfulness brings about the deliverance and restoration that we hoped and prayed for at His appointed time. Romans 8:31 says that if God is for us, no one will be able to stand against us. Under this promise we can hold our light for Him with confidence and resolve knowing that He is the one who will sustain us in the midst of darkness.

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.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.”-Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV)

God never breaks a promise. In His perfect goodness He always remains true to His word. Throughout the Bible we see evidence of His faithful provision, even when we ourselves act in a spirit of ungratefulness. Despite their grumblings and complaints God fulfilled His promise to Moses by delivering the Israelites out of Egypt and bringing them to the Promised Land; faithfully providing them with manna along the way. Even though humanity persists in indulging in sin, God continues and will continue to remain faithful to His promise to Noah to never again destroy the Earth and all that is in it by flood.

But perhaps the greatest mark of God’s faithfulness is His provision of Christ; the fulfilment of His promise to Eve that her descendant will be the One to crush the power of Satan over God’s Creation. Through Him there is deliverance from our sinful nature and even though we may reject Him, His arms are still wide open; always willing to embrace those who wish to be free from the shackles of wickedness. Never doubt the goodness and faithfulness of God. In a world of broken promises, it is easy to apply our experiences to how God will act towards us. But God is not bound by human depravity. When He says He will do something, He will see to its fulfilment. It is not in His will to seek the destruction of man. On the contrary, it is to restore us from the ravages of sin and to dwell in His wonderful faithfulness. He is the embodiment of what is pure and good and we can trust that His plans, as expressed in Jeremiah 29:11, are to prosper us and never to harm us. When we grab the hand of Christ, allowing Him to carry out His redemptive work in our hearts, we will see for ourselves that the Lord is good and He lovingly provides for those who seek to reside within His will.

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.

“On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’” –Mark 6:60 (NIV)

We seem to conveniently ignore those teachings of Christ which make us uncomfortable. When He informs us of something we need to grasp, why do we not take hold of it? When He implores us to let go of certain things, why do we hold on? In our refusal to surrender all that we have to Christ, we make excuses. We say that it is impossible for us to go that extra mile for our Lord; even going to the extent of misconstruing the Word of God to justify our attitudes. If our faith is based on grabbing hold of those teachings of Christ which humours our ears and shunning those which bring us discomfort, then we have no right to claim that we are seeking after Christ. If anything we are seeking to please ourselves; to bring comfort to ourselves at the expense of living in and for Christ.

When we enter into a relationship with Christ, we do not accept a portion of Him, we accept all of Him. His restorative work in our lives is total and in order to make His righteousness perfect in us, we must surrender ourselves to His will and yield to His teachings. Christ does not expect us to grasp and live up to His teachings on our own strength and effort. He knows full well of our limitations and our propensity to error. It is only when we allow Him to mould our hearts and attitudes, asking Him to illumine our minds and make ourselves malleable in His hands, will we be receptive to His Truth, seeking to understand it and apply it to our lives. The Christian life is not a smorgasbord where we have the opportunity to pick and choose what teachings we should hold on to. As children of Christ, we live in total obedience to our Father, dwelling in the faithful and tangible assurance that God promises good things for His children and that it is not in His will to seek harm. If we truly desire to have His redemptive and restorative mission in our lives, we must actively seek to conform ourselves to Him; allowing Him to enable us to conform ourselves to His likeness so that we live under the joy and security of being in total synchronization with 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.

“A man finds joy in giving an apt reply- and how good is a timely word!” –Proverbs 15:23 (NIV)

Words are powerful. They can either build up a person’s life or shatter it completely. In most cases the turning point in the life of a person, either for better or for worse, was usually something that was said to them which either uplifted them or brought them great discouragement. In those critical moments, an encouraging or wise word from someone else can do wonders for their soul. But if we think that just saying something damaging or untimely to a person undergoing a crisis is detrimental, our silence is equally so! How many people could be spared from the misery of being bound to crippling insecurities and destructive lifestyles if someone simply came alongside them and ministered to them through their presence and by telling them of the hope found in Christ?

As children of Christ, we witness not solely through our actions, but through our words as well. Christ gave us mouths for that purpose; to praise and glorify Him and to bear testimony to His love and righteousness in us. Sometimes we remain silent out of fear. We ask ourselves whether if we could really intervene in a given situation through our words and provide comfort, healing, and encouragement. But we do not out of our own wisdom and ability. When we have allowed Christ to reside within our hearts and permitted Him to make Himself manifest in our lives, He will be the one who will give us the words to speak. In our weaknesses and our inabilities, He is the one who enables and empowers us. When we allow Him to speak through us when He has called us to minister in specific situations, we will have the wonderful privilege of bearing witness to His redemptive work in our lives as He places those timely words in our mouth. We should never allow our insecurities in our own abilities to hinder Christ’s redemptive mission. It is only when we surrender our mouths to Him that He will fill us with His wisdom and love so that He may bring healing and restoration to a broken world.

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.