What would it be like when friends fail us and do not understand us? How would we feel when we have exhaust all the means of help but to find that there is nowhere for us to turn too and when our prayers go by unanswered? Surely at one point in our lives we could identify with this feeling. What do we do then? Do we stay in our self pity or do we find something or someone to blame?
Well, we do have one testimony where in one day, he lost everything. Calamities fell on him and his family. His sons and daughters were killed in natural disaster. He himself was covered with painful sores from his head to his feet and he had to take the broken clay to scarp himself with it. If that was not pitiful enough, his wife and his good friends started to despise and condemn him. He had no one to turn too and it seemed like even God is silent on his catastrophes. Yet, amidst of all these situations, he still trusted and have faith in the Almighty God. Though he could not understand why the suffering nor could he see the reason of the trials, yet, Job continued to acknowledge the sovereignty of God. Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him (Job 13:15). I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth (Job 19:25)
Do we know truly know who our God is? When situations and circumstances are telling us that God is far, do we still acknowledge that God is sovereign? Sometimes, we will walk through valleys that God directed us to, but remember we are never beyond God’s reach. Even when times may get tough, God will always see us through. As what King David testified: “The Lord is my shepherd…Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23: 1,4) To remain faithful in the midst of trials, we need to develop a love for God’s Word. Why? It is so that when Satan attacks us and accuses us, we will have the confidence and the assurance that God loves us because the Word of God says so. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Our faith should not depend on circumstances. It doesn’t mean that if our lives are sorrow free, that means God loves us more. But the truth is whether we suffer or not, whether God heals us or not, His love for us is still genuine for He had already demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8) It is not what we had done but rather what God has done.
hp
August 26, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:18 to “be filled with the Spirit“. But hold on… Since we’re Christians, didn’t we already receive the Holy Spirit when we received Christ? The answer is yes: in just the previous chapter, Paul tells the Ephesians not to grieve “the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Eph. 4:30). That tells us clearly that we have the Holy Spirit in us. So why is Paul telling us in 5:18 to “be filled with the Spirit?”
I believe that Paul is simply repeating what he said in Galatians 5:25, but in different words. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Paul has told us that we have been “sealed for the day of redemption” by the Holy Spirit – we “live by the Spirit”. So, because of this, let us choose to “be filled with the Spirit” – i.e., let us “walk by the Spirit”.
God has given us his Holy Spirit because we are his redeemed sons and daughters. But we ourselves have to make a conscious decision daily to be filled with the Spirit, to walk according to God’s will, to live according to his word. “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16). This is a command! Walk by the Spirit! Make a conscious decision, every moment of every day, to live your life as a Spirit-filled disciple of Christ.
Being filled with the Spirit is not a one-off event. It’s a continuous process that never stops until we stop. And it’s based on the choices we make every day. When we are faced by temptation but choose to turn away from it, then we are choosing to be filled with the Spirit. When we are hurt by others but choose to forgive them, then we are choosing to be filled with the Spirit. When we decide to trust God rather than give in to our fears, then we are choosing to be filled with the Spirit.
JW
August 12, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Have you ever wondered why must we pray when God already knew what we want to ask and intercede for? If God knows everything, then why bother to pray. We could have easily said, “Dear God, you know what is going to happen. Please save and answer. Amen”. But, in the Bible, from the OT (prophets) to the NT (Jesus and His disciples), they had been teaching us on the importance of prayer.
God is not govern by our prayers and neither is His power limited by whether or not we pray. Our prayers showed our dependence on God. Some may argue that Abraham’s persistence prayer changes God mind and due to that, God saved Lot and his family. If Abraham did not intercede for Sodom, will God still save Lot and his family? Well, I do not know the answer. We cannot limit God to our own understanding. But do take note that it was God who initiated Abraham to plead for Sodom. “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.” So the Lord told Abraham (Genesis 18:19-21) Abraham intercession was part of God’s plan on saving Lot and his family. Prayer is a privilege for God is revealing His plan to us, causing us to have the burden to intercede.
Prayers is not about asking God to do things according to what we think is right but prayers are about learning to intercede for things that are according to the will of God. Most of the time, when God answer our prayer, we may not be able to see immediately for His answer do not match with ours. Hence, as we continue to pray (persistently), we will come to understand His will as we understand the reason of His answer. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4) which will then match with the desires of His heart. That is why we need to be persistent to pray; pray not because we want Him to answer according to our ways but pray till we come to understand the purpose of His answers. God gives us the freedom to choose and so he gives us the freedom to ask which is to pray. He gave us the assurance that if we “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)
Prayer indeed is a privilege for God is involving us as part of His great plan as we come to understand the will of God as we give thanks for the mighty things He had done and is still doing.
hp
August 5, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Joshua House 