Now, so what?

Written by Phil Ware

In a recent interview in Rolling Stone Magazine, Bill Gates was asked about many things — his involvement in his foundation to better our world, his return to Microsoft® as their chief technology advisor, and then a surprise question. “Do you believe in God?” Here’s his answer that Rolling Stone printed:

I agree with people like Richard Dawkins that mankind felt the need for creation myths. Before we really began to understand disease and the weather and things like that, we sought false explanations for them. Now science has filled in some of the realm — not all — that religion used to fill. But the mystery and the beauty of the world is overwhelmingly amazing, and there’s no scientific explanation of how it came about. To say that it was generated by random numbers, that does seem, you know, sort of an uncharitable view [laughs]. I think it makes sense to believe in God, but exactly what decision in your life you make differently because of it, I don’t know.

This question grabbed my attention for many reasons. My wife and I just returned from Asia. We were there for many reasons, but one of them involved a young Chinese woman precious to us. She was struggling to truly believe that God was really there for her. The question also grabbed my attention because I know that many influential people are going to be chatting, Tweeting, and Facebooking about what Gates said.

For this precious young lady, the key messages of Genesis chapters 1 and 2 were important for her to consider and ultimately believe. For this young woman so precious to us, each of these was a bit hard to grasp since she was raised to not believe in any religion — that things happened
“naturally.” The only problem was, “naturally” could only take you so far and then you were left with your own leap of faith to believe something happened somehow, to start everything we know and bring order out of the mess it began with, and then somehow we ended up as people… all by random chance and accident, with no clear way of knowing how it all began — a beginning without the Beginning-Maker, order without the Orderer, and creation without the Creator.

However, the statement Gates shared that intrigued me most is this one:

I think it makes sense to believe in God, but exactly what decision in your life you make differently because of it, I don’t know.

 

This question is the question I wish more of us who say we believe in God — and believe his incarnation in Jesus — would ponder. It’s the “Now, so what?” question that I’ve spent the last 37 years of ministry trying to get people to ask for themselves.

We live in a time of interior religion — very much a part of our Western culture individualism. We also live in a time when religious people are basically told, “Be nice, stay out of the way, and please keep our mouths shut in public.” So I will be a bit of a contrarian, or at least a thought-provoker, within my own cultural tribe, the God-believers. I challenge us to ask that “Now, so what?” question a lot more and let our answer make an intentional difference in how we choose to live. Too many of us are running around spouting our opinions about all sorts of things. What I’d like to see more is what an old professor of mine used to call “putting your life where your mouth is.”

So you believe in Jesus? Well, that’s good, “Now, so what?” How do you live differently? How do you show the Jesus lifestyle in your own life? Oh, you haven’t really read much of Jesus’ story, you are just going by what you heard from someone else or thought you already knew? Hmm. Wouldn’t it be good to go read a little about what Jesus said and did since we are given four different accounts of his life, words, and teaching? Then after spending some time with Jesus, start asking “Now, so what” about…

•the way you treat your spouse?
•the way you treat your kids?
•the way you treat your employees or boss or coworkers or managers or…?
•the way you choose how you spend your money?
•the way you choose to look at people of different cultures and races?
•the way you view truth, morality, goodness, and virtue?
•the way you treat the poor, the disenfranchised, the left out, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the widow, the foreigner, the ill, your enemies, the old, and the young?
•

The “Now, so what?” question is the question begging to be answered — answered with changes in our lives because we believe Jesus stated and demonstrated the truth of God; truth we are going to do our best to live!

Why all this fuss? Why, Phil, is this such a big deal to you? Why burn a couple minutes of my life that I can never get back having me read this?

Because everything that matters in the end depends on what you and I do with our “Now, so what?” questions.

How do I know? Well, remember how Jesus ended his challenging teaching we call “The Sermon on the Mount”? It’s the parable of the wise and foolish builder (Matthew 7:24-27).

According to Jesus, the wise man whose house stood firm in the storm is the person who “hears these words of mine and puts them into practice” (Matthew 7:24). In other words, they ask the “Now, so what?” question and adjust their lives accordingly.

And the foolish person? The one whose world can’t stand up in the storm? Surely it’s the one who doesn’t believe, right? Not in this case. The foolish person according to Jesus is “everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice” (Matthew 7:26). Jesus’ message goes in one ear and out the other. The message of Jesus never moves beyond data transfer. They never get around to asking the “Now, so what?” question.

So I want to challenge each of us — those of us who claim to follow Jesus — to ask the “Now, so what?” question. Let’s go read a gospel this next week. And then let’s get practical with it. Let’s ask the “Now, so what?” question as we read, remember, and think about Jesus’ words and his example.

Sooner or later, we are going to need to be able to say, “I think it makes sense to believe in God and I’ve made these changes and set these goals for my life because I learned them from ‘Immanuel,’ God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

What is Christian Morality? Where does it start, where does it end?

It starts with taking what God has given to you and what you do with it. 
It ends when He calls you back and you are accountable to Him, and He in his infinite wisdom will provide you the rewards of your diligence to Him, in the fullness of time. 

Once sin entered mankind, God gave the 10 commandments as guidelines for His people to live and prosper. This was the basis of human morality and the punishment for violation was DEATH. In Exodus 20: 1-17, the Ten Commandments are described. If you break it down to the fundamentals, God is highlighting 7 key areas that are absolutely sacred and not to be violated:
– God is sacred
– Parents are sacred
– Life is sacred
– Marriage is sacred
– Possessions are sacred
– Word is sacred
– Boundaries of authority are sacred

After 2000 years, the Laws were twisted and enslaved the people to sin rather than absolve them. In the fullness of His time, He sent His Son to fulfill the Law and bring redemption The Word became flesh, in Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus took the Law, which was detached from the human experience, and fully knowing human frailties in His human form, elevated them so that we will no longer be slaves to the Laws of morality. 

In Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 13-48), Jesus upgrades the whole material of commandments, directly connecting it to our experience and existence. Jesus fulfilled the Law, which was underlined by the threat of death, through LOVE. This love, Christian, agape love, is the foundation of Christian morality. Reading Matthew 5:13048, below is how believe Jesus fulfilled each aspect of the Law: 

– “God is sacred, and without Him, Man is nothing”
Believers are the salt and the light of the earth
a) First is the parable of the salt which loses its saltiness. This is an analogy to Man and what is being said is God provides the “flavor/quality” to Man, and without God, Man is good for nothing. 
b) Second is the parable of the light. Here what is being said is that when Man accepts God, enshrines Him in his heart, it is inevitable that the light will shine forth. Parable says, it is not possible to light a lamp and put it under the basket i.e. It is not possible to hide the light! 

So the sacredness of God is highlighted, and while the Ten Commandments wanted Man to acknowledge God in the private sphere, Jesus wants the Christian to live with God in the private sphere and then take His presence out into the public sphere.

– “Life is sacred, and respect for it starts in the heart”
Murder begins in the heart. Anger without cause is equal to murder. Jesus highlights it so much that, he says cleansing of the heart is essential before bringing a gift to the altar. The sacredness of life, as mentioned in the Ten Commandments, cannot be argued and maintained without that cleansing of the heart. 

– “Marriage is sacred, in body and spirit”
Jesus knew the condition of Man’s heart so well, and how the devil plays the insidious subtle temptations in lust, that can so quickly magnify into something terribly wrong. Man, with the enormous capabilities that God has given him, has the ability to lead dual lives with apparent external purity, while harboring very sinful thoughts. This seed of duality is what Satan will water and grow in us, to destroy one person and ultimately inflict a blow on the church/body of Christ. 
Jesus therefore elevates the sacredness of marriage, mentioned in the Ten Commandments, from just physical relations between a husband and wife to the deepest recesses of each person’s heart. A Christian marriage is much more than a intermingling of bodies; it is a intertwining of the souls and its sacredness cannot be achieved till the human heart is purified. 

– “Word is sacred, and only the truth can sustain this sanctity”
Andrei Sakharov, the creator of Russia’s hydrogen bomb, said this: “I’ve always thought that the most powerful weapon in the world was the bomb and that’s why I gave it to my people, but I’ve come to the conclusion that the most powerful weapon in the world is not the bomb but it’s the truth”. 
The Ten Commandments told us that words are sacred and never desecrate it with lies. It connected the sanctity of the words spoken with God i.e. “‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.”. 
But Man desecrated it nevertheless, qualifying words spoken. 
Jesus comes and adds the aspect of “Truth”. It is the truth that keeps the words sacred. Only when the truth is spoken, are the words connected to God, for Jesus himself said in John 4:16 – ” I am the way, the truth, and the life”. 

– “Provisions, and not possessions, are sacred”
The Old testament talks about the sacredness of others’ possessions and never to steal or take something that is not yours. Jesus amplifies it that not only do we not take from others, but must we give freely. If someone demands one, provide two. For everything given to us is from God. Jesus is highlighting that what we believe we have (money, clothes, houses, land etc.) are not “possessions” that we gained with our strength, but “provisions” that He provided for us. Jesus wants us to not demarcate material things and get caught up in claiming what is not ours; because God in the heaven, in His infinite wisdom and presence, will provide and has provided. The Law which tried to stop selfishness, was fulfilled by Jesus through selflessness. 

– “Boundaries of authority are sacred, drawn by God and non-negotiable by Man”
Boundaries of authority are not drawn by Man, but by God. It is He who makes the sun shine of the good and the evil. Now, the boundaries are sacred not because the commandments say so, but because God defined them. Every human being is within His boundary and it is up to us to respect that boundary and love everyone within it. The Law stopped at asking not to covet of your neighbor, but Jesus fulfilled it by defining that everyone, even the ones who hurt you, are a neighbor by God’s definition. It is this Christian love of everything that God has defined, this acceptance of non-negotiability of His authority, that will Jesus gave us to prevent covetousness in us and ultimately fulfill the Law. 

The sum of all the above will reflect in mind and body, which led St. Paul to say in Romans 12:1 -“Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”. 

It is only THROUGH CHRIST and WITH LOVE that Christian morality will be fulfilled. This is why humility, total surrender of our will and thoughts to Him, is the first step to living out Christian morality.

Knock! Knock! Who’s there!??

Revelation 3:20: ‘’Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.’’
This verse, when taught to me, took me to a short story about a generous man named Abu, which my mother had narrated to me as a kid. Abu was not a very rich man but he always ensured that whoever asked him for help never went home empty handed. He shared all that he had for those who were in need of it. One night, after his prayers he saw an angel who came before him and told him that Jesus would visit him the next day. Abu woke up very early the next morning and started preparing to receive Jesus with all his heart and soul. He prepared some loaves of bread, baked some cake and tea for Jesus. He waited for Jesus all day long but He did not seem to turn up. In the evening one poor widow knocked at his door and asked for some food to feed her starving son, Abu whole-heartedly gave her the loaves of bread. Sometime later a prisoner knocked at his door asking for some water to quench his thirst, he gave him the tea. Later in the night an old man knocked at his door for some food, he gave him the cake. After a long tiring day he fell asleep and the angel appeared before him once again and thanked Abu for treating Jesus with love and care. Confused Abu, asked the angel ‘’I waited for Jesus all day long but why He did not come?’’ The angel smiled and said ‘’He visited you and you greeted Him with love and served Him with bread, cake and tea.’’ Then Abu said ‘’But I did not see Him’’. The angel said that He came to you as a widow, a prisoner and an old man. Abu then realised that it was Jesus himself who visited him as different persons.

As a child my thoughts wandered, I thought that my Jesus would come any time in any form to visit me so I should always leave the doors of my house open for Him. He can come to me as the poor, needy, old, widow and prisoner who may need help as well. But, gradually as I lost my innocence in this huge world, these thoughts changed with me. I was taught that the needy who came to you may not be the real needy ones they maybe robbers, kidnapers, murderers or anyone who could harm us. And this thought changed my opinion of keeping the doors open for strangers. Later, I realised that these doors of our house are very similar to the doors of our very own heart. As a child Jesus could easily enter our hearts, dreams and lives but as we grow up our hearts become smaller and we try to keep the doors of our hearts shut, where Jesus keeps knocking and waiting for us to open. But none are ready for it, as most of us are scared that a stranger might enter and rob us of all what we have.

Once there was time when the doors and windows of our house as well as our neighbours’ were open all day long. As children we could run from one house into another eat all what is there, then play and sleep together in one house. In those times, our hearts were also open to welcome all those who were in need of us and all were happy together. There was nothing that could go wrong neither at our house nor at any one else’s. There were not many robbers, not many murders, nor were suicides or rapes, all happy around then. Now, we keep our doors and windows shut for more safety of our house and also our hearts; no one is allowed to enter your house and Jesus into your hearts. We do not have the slightest clue about who stays next door nor what is happening within their closed doors. They could be under pressure or trauma, they might lack good friends or company or they might be all alone at home with no one to help around, why would we be bothered about their problems as we have problems of our own. In spite of these closed doors none are safe even at their own homes; murders, suicides, rapes, robberies yet happen.

These closed doors do not keep us safe instead more in trouble with no one to help us around when we need them and most importantly we tend to close the doors of our heart not only to Jesus but also to the love, affection and care of our brothers and sisters. God is still waiting for you to open the doors of your hearts before Him so that he can enter into each of our lives to fill it with light and clear off all the dust and dirt around and make it pure like a crystal. The shine of such a clear crystal can also lighten up many other hearts and fill them with happiness. So let’s all open the doors of our hearts for Jesus to make them shine like a diamond in-spite of all the deep cuts and pressure it has gone through.    

                                                                                                                             

What is the impact of my words?

 

 

Speaking is considered to be one of the central capacities of man. It is a great equalizer, barring the use of force. The little boy can make the big man squirm with the right choice of words. The orator is a greatly respected person. History has proved that such people can change the destinies of nations. Flattery of this capacity is seen everywhere around you, especially in the media. The heroes in mainstream celluloid have the best crafted dialogues (or monologues) with the most powerful deliveries. Among the biggest of minor daily regrets is when you do not have that brilliant comeback to counter a taunt or a deflect a barb; and the one who does, receives the adulation of the crowds. 

 

Have you and I ever paused to consider what is it that we speak? What is the aftermath of the tens, hundreds and sometimes thousands of words that we leave each day into this world that God created? After we have retreated into the cocoon of our contentedness for the night, how many others are out there still burning in the effect of what we have spoken? 

 

If we haven’t thought about that, at the very least, each one of us have been at the receiving end of comments that have left us awake, the words resounding in our memory triggering our personal sense of guilt, shame, pride or failing. 

 

When God in His sovereignty has put such power in the spoken word, surely it is Man’s responsibility to use it well. Let us together ponder on few aspects of our responsibility: 

 

1. Where do words come from? 

 

What is in the heart, overflows to your lips. We have realized time and again, that traditional aphorisms such as “think before you speak” do not have sustaining effect to change what we speak. Why? The fundamental reason is that our words do not come from our head, but from our heart! 

 

Have you ever wondered how people to whom the worst blows, stand up, offer a smile and a word of encouragement. When God is in the heart, the evidence of it is in the lips. 

 

The gospel of John says (7:38), “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 

 

You and I must check the nature of my heart, every day. When my words fail me, I get on my knees to break down the barriers I’ve built up in my heart. This is the real effect of sin, you know. To hide my sin, to keep enjoying my sin, I build barriers around parts of my heart. The grave error is that, those barriers also keep God from entering those parts of my heart, my life. I am seduced into believing that I live with God in me, never once seeing the true duplicity of my living.

 

On our knees, His love cracks open those barriers and fills our heart with that love, which will overflow onto what we speak. 

 

2. What do you speak? 

 

My dear brother and sister, speak the truth. Whenever in doubt about what is the truth, you have the choice of either trusting the eternal, omnipresent God or men (friends, leaders, gurus, experts etc.) around you. If it is the former, remember what Jesus said to Thomas in the gospel of John (14:6) – I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

Trust in Him to give you the wisdom. It is said in the epistle of James (3:17) – But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

 

The truth always builds and restores, while lies destroy. Now, know one far greater danger – lies destroy you, more than the other person. You leave unpaid bills today for temporary gain, know that they will come back to be cashed some day. 

 

3. Who are you speaking to? 

 

Do you realize that our words, as conversation, are only addressed towards two entities – either God or Man/Woman. There are no meaningful conversations or sharing of ideas, with trees, with animals or with your self (devoid of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit acting in us, most conversations with self are merely self-verification). 

 

If you believe every conversation is with God or with another Man/Woman, you will find it fascinating to know how well this fits with the two greatest commandments from Jesus (Luke 10:27) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. ”

 

Is our every conversation with God or with Man under-girded with the same love? 

I remember this quote from Ravi Zacharias – “If truth is not under-girded by love, it makes the possessor of that truth obnoxious and the truth repulsive.”

 

4. What is the real power of speaking? 

 

Words can hurt, you and I know that very well. The beauty of power that God bestows on word, is that it can heal too. As it is said in the Proverbs (18:21) – Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

 

Know the power of life in your word. God has bestowed it upon you, so that through you He can bring restoration to those around you. Remember (Psalms 37:23) – The steps of the righteous man are ordered by the Lord. 

 

Your words are sacred. The next time you have anger welling up in you, encircled by loud or hostile or ridiculing crowd, remember you are standing as His ambassador. Let your words bring life to your surroundings. 

 

5. What is the real power of silence? 

 

Know who you are answerable to. Jesus was silent when the High Priest questioned Him (Mathew 26). Do you think He did not know every little good and bad in their hearts, and could not come up with a succinct retort to silence them? No. However, He knew who He was answerable to and it certainly wasn’t that High Priest. 

 

Young people such as you and I live in a world full of verbal provocations. There is mocking, abuse, stigma, ridicule and more on online message boards, in our campuses, on the streets and sometimes even in our houses. 

 

Know that you are not answerable to them. You needn’t answer every anti-Christian provocateur. To quote Ravi Zacharias – “The Bible seems to rise up to outlive its pall-bearers”. This said in reference to Voltaire who is once reputed to have proclaimed “In 100 years the Bible will be forgotten and eliminated”; today the French Bible Society uses Voltaire’s house to distribute Bibles and the Christian message. 

 

If God wants to use you in such an arena, He will reveal it to you when you are on your knees in front of Him. He will bring the truth seekers to you, He will prepare you to take on the aggressors. The old saying goes “Bide your time”. To you my Christian brother and sister, I tell you “Bide His time”. 

 

Let us pray, 

 

Our Abba, 

 

We come before you. We are young and we desperately need your wisdom. In today’s world, the loudest is heard, the largest is obeyed. Here we are challenged, confronted and often do not know how to respond. We pray for your wisdom in us Abba. As we read the word, reveal the truths to us. Let us always be reminded that your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.Never let go of me Abba, never let me stay far from Your presence. Through You Abba, let me always know what to speak, when to speak and how to speak. 

 

Amen.

What does it mean to “thrive” in life?

 

One of the biggest challenge facing the young ones today is the lack of meaning. For a follower of Jesus Christ, meaning is implicit in faith. Jesus intends you to rejoice in your place today and during your time on earth. Jesus intends for you to thrive. Read on for a few thoughts on how you and I can thrive as He meant for us to: 

– Know that He intends something beautiful with your life and mine. There is a wonderful verse in John 15 (verses 15-17): “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”

Jesus is the middle of a sermon to the disciples, answering their questions about God and his plans. They are a beautiful few chapters about love, redemption and hope. 
In the passage above, four things stand out for me: 
1. Jesus has elevated our position. He has told us about the nature and the plans of the Father. We are no longer in the dark. 
2. Jesus chose us; we did not chose Him. It was not an action of our will that saved us, but a sacrifice borne from His love for us. 
3. Jesus saved us and now he has a beautiful plan/purpose for us. He intends us to bear fruit. He intends us to thrive. 
4. Jesus bestowed upon us the POWER to make it happen. What a powerful promise it is to know that you and I can “ask in my name the Father will give you”

– Your will and mine, are the primary hindrances. Many a man has tried to straddle the line of living between God’s way and his own way, only causing greater disaster upon himself. One of the toughest aspects of Christian living is the surrendering of the will to God. The only way you and I will be able to do it is to get on our knees in our Father’s presence, every day, and get right with Him. He induces the transformation, the corrective, when we lay it bare before Him and invite Him into the darkest, deepest corners of our heart. 

– Thriving requires thrift. Thrift is to be sensitive to what you have and how to use it. You need to carefully use and maximize the resources you have. You, yes you, have been designed by God and hardwired with some specific gifts. It does not have to be the much marketed gifts of today such as speaking powerfully or singing; it is truly a gift to be able to listen with your conscience and give succor, to forgive, to have the courage to stand by a fallen when no one else will, to give selflessly, to love unconditionally, to live without pride, to be an encouragement. Look inside you today and see how Christ has wired you and for what purpose. 

– Thriving requires hard work, the hardest being on your knees in front of the Lord. As Martin Luther said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” It is through prayer that you can derive the discipline needed to read the word, absorb the knowledge, for the Holy Spirit to deposit wisdom in your and to maximize His work in you. 

– Thriving requires patience. Let the chips fall into the places that Lord decides. There once was a man who was asleep one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Saviour appeared to him.

The Lord told him He had a work for him to do, and showed him a large rock explaining that he was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, and for many days he toiled from sunup to sundown; his shoulder set squarely against the cold massive surface of the rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man showed signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture – placing thoughts in the man’s mind, such as “Why kill yourself over this?, you’re never going to move it!” or “Boy, you’ve been at it a long time and you haven’t even scratched the surface!” etc. giving the man the impression the task was impossible and the man was an unworthy servant because he wasn’t moving the massive stone.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man and he started to ease up in his efforts. “Why kill myself?” he thought. “I’ll just put in my time putting forth just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough.” And this he did or at least planned on doing until, one day, he decided to take his troubles to the Lord.

“Lord,” he said, “I have labored hard and long in Your service, putting forth all my strength to do that which You have asked of me. Yet after all this time, I have not even budged that rock even half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

To this the Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you to push against the rock with all your strength and that you have done. But never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. At least not by yourself. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me, your strength spent, thinking that you have failed, ready to quit. But is this really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled; your back sinewed and brown. Your hands are calloused from constant pressure and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your ability now far surpasses that which you used to have. Yet still, you haven’t succeeded in moving the rock; and you come to Me now with a heavy heart and your strength spent. I, my friend will move the rock. Your calling was to be obedient and push, and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom, and this you have done.”

As it says in Hebrews 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised”.
Never let the tyranny of the present discourage you.

– Thriving will bring temptations. As you submit to His purpose and it works out in you, you will see many lives transformed around you. The good work will cause the enemy to attempt to capture our souls. Temptation can be overt or covert – be doubly aware of the covert, subtle temptations that can lead you and me down paths that we should never have looked. How do we judge right and wrong in the decisions we make? Below is a rule by Susanna Wesley, mother of Charles Wesley: 
“Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of the body over the mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may seem in itself.”

Let us pray now. 

Dear Father, 

We thank you for bringing us together, for providing us redemption. The Psalmist sang, Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him? But you in your eternal love for us, came back for us. You left the ninety nine and came for the lost one – me. 
Father we pray that your calling resonates in our heart. We open our hearts to you, every corner, every desire, to you Lord. Let the confirmations and affirmations be there as we step out in this journey to be closer to you. We look forward to seeing our minds, bodies, senses and spirit, work for your glory. 

Amen.

Spiritual Blindness

What makes me happy? I’m not sure. However, It is easy to gauge what makes me unhappy.  I need certain items to survive – food, shelter, companionship, security. In addition of course, I want certain luxuries that reduce pain and effort. Most of all I need the undeniable CONFIDENCE that all of this will be available at any time of my choosing. Any compromise to this confidence, and I am unhappy.

So the second I lose my job, run out of money or miss a mortgage payment, and do not have a solution, I lose hope. I am sucked into a spiral of my own misery and shame, often questioning God, myself and my worth.

Think you are facing the same problem? Don’t worry, you and I are not alone. Exodus speaks of a generation that was facing the same situation, centuries ago!

At times like this, we need to reassess our world view and how we derive confidence. I ponder on the tragedy of lost confidence in Exodus 16:14, 15 –

< When the dew evaporated, there was something thin and flaky on the surface of the desert. It was as delicate as frost. When the Israelites saw it, they didn’t know what it was and asked each other, “What is it?” Moses said to them “This is the food that the Lord has given you to eat. >

The mass of Israelites had just crossed over the Red Sea saved from Egyptian chariots and were on their way to Sinai.

The first thing the Holy Spirit reminded me when I read the passage was the tragedy of God’s chosen people not recognising His blessings.  God had:

– blessed on the Israelites repeatedly that they were the chosen people and called them “My people”

– delivered them from Egypt and protected them from all the afflictions put on the Egyptians

– provided angels as pillars of fire and clouds of shade

– protected from the army of Egypt and split the Red Sea for them to cross safely

And yet, when they were faced with the prospect of not having food, they begin cursing God and Moses! When the people cried out for food, He promised them abundant meat and bread; however, barely 24 hours later when the food came in abundance the people said “What is it?”. They could not recognise that the beautiful flakes on the ground were His promise to them!

We must take care not to repeat the mistake of the Israelites in the desert. The Word is full of promise of how God created us in His own image, and many centuries later, sent His only begotten Son to save us from slavery of sin and from death. All we need to do is humble ourself before the God, wait in rest for God as He supplies all our needs according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:19).

We need an intense questioning of our world views and how aligned they are to God’s plan for us. Once our understanding of God’s nature, expectation from His people, His church and from each of us is better understood, we are is so much of a better position to grasp what he gifts us with. Else we risk the danger of walking through life blind to his riches, living as spiritual &worldly paupers when he intended us to be princes.

The second thing I was compelled to notice was the standout character in this verse i.e. Moses. Unlike previous examples where God was in constant  communication with Moses, here he did not need any divine intervention to realise that the frosty flakes were indeed God’s food for His people. Moses readily recognised it and led the people to enjoy it.

There is an urgent need for more such leaders in church today. A natural progression of alignment of our world views to God’s plan is a calling to fulfil leadership roles as apostles, teachers, pastors, evangelists and prophets (Ephesians 4:11). We recognise the spiritual gifts and worldly provisions that He bestows on us, and submit in obedience to the responsibilities of action and works that the Holy Spirit inspires in us.

Lets pray,

Dear Father, thank you for the amazing grace with which you have brought me this far. I understand this event in my life is nothing but a blip completely planned and executed by you. I dedicate my energy and time to you, to be used in ways to honour You. Open up the Word for me to understand you Father. Use me to fulfil your plan and raise your name as a banner in the land.

Amen.

A Long Stroll One Night

 

A stroll at night I had taken alone,

Moonlit paths of endless nights

Stepping away from His wings, my home

Into the night, my adventure, my fight.

 

In search of adventure I walked and walked,

Into the night, into my fight,

Deeper and deeper into pits I walked,

Foolish pride, my foolish stride.

 

In heights of pride I had reached the moon,

In greed and envy I saw others’ doom,

Reached the stars, touched the sky,

Challenged Him who taught me to fly.

 

My wings grew old and stars lost shine,

Only then I realize I am a mortal man,

Till now walked in pride and arrogance

Deeper and deeper into the pits of the abyss.

 

Haunting me with emotions forgotten,

An unknown pain, a worthless fight

The heart I had long left behind,

In a long stroll, one dark night.

 

Guilt and regret replaced envy and greed,

Life, a gift so beautiful, wasted on worthless deeds,

In heights of pride so high I reached,

In the wings of fading mortal needs.

 

Now as my wings fade away,

As I fall into darkness, I pray,

Sinner I am, Lord I repent to Thee

When your kingdom comes, if possible, remember me.

 

 

How Much Do I Love You?

Image courtesy www.freedigitalphotos.net “Twelve Apostles” by Worakit Sirijinda

“…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory…” Ephesians 3:17-21

(Send as an Inspirational Christian eCard!)

How much do I love you?

This, My child, you ask of Me.

How much do I love you?

Child, I love you infinitely.

Do you see the stars

Shining in the heavens above?

Innumerable they are,

Yet vaster is My love.

Do you see the leaves

Donning the many trees?

Can you imagine the drops

That fill the many seas?

Beyond comprehension

Are both to the mind;

Yet far greater is My love,

Indeed this you will find.

Can you feel the sun

Warming you and the earth?

Yet far warmer is My love,

Love that gives rebirth.

Can you smell the fragrance

Of flowers in the spring?

Yet far more fragrant is love

Of your Savior, your King.

Can you count the sand grains

Carpeting the ocean shore?

Countless they are to you,

Yet I love you even more.

The love for your own children,

Does it not beat strong?

Yet far greater is My love,

Far more wide, deep and long.

The best way to show My love

Is on the Cross of Calvary;

There I shed My blood for you

As I died upon the tree.

Like a lamb before its shearer

To the slaughter I was led;

Because I love you so, child,

My blood for You I shed.

Not one drop of blood

Did I withhold from you;

I poured of Myself completely

That your life I would renew.

A thorny crown I wore,

My hands and feet pierced with nails;

Do you see the depth of My love?

Over all it prevails.

Yet, as I suffered,

I thought of you, child, with love;

I prayed for mercy and grace

To stream to you from above.

How much then do I love you?

Child, I love you infinitely.

If ever you forget how much,

Come to Me here on Calvary.

~*~

© COPYRIGHT 2012 Caroline Gavin

Bringing Jesus into my Life

When my cousin, Rheana, told me about this blog, the first thing that ran across my mind was ‘What do I write about?’. Not because I have experienced very few or no miracles at all in my life but because, I am a witness of the everlasting mercy and grace of God, from the very beginning of my life.So when I was doubtful about what to write on, I thought I would share my experience of how I came to know the presence of Jesus in my life.

There was a point when few of my friends tried correcting my faith and pointing out the mistakes that I have been doing as a Christian. Neither did I argue with them nor did I try defending myself because I knew that to a certain extent they were right. Because I was, what you could call, an occasional Christian. I never missed a single mass in church and I never missed praying when I knew I had to pray. But my relationship with God ended there. Beyond that, there was no life in my Christian spirit. I knew it was a wrong approach but honestly, I did not care. I let it be that way. Until that day when I realized that there were way too many people telling me that I was wrong. I wanted to go to the bottom of this and so I gave the same answer to all those friends “If my faith is wrong, If what I am doing is wrong, I want to realize it myself. I want to see how wrong I am and then change myself.” I knew I was being blunt and maybe arrogant, but it was something I was adamant about. I wanted to figure it out myself and that is when a friend of mine said “If you are not going to let yourself see where you are, you are never going to learn”. Yes, he was right and I knew it.

This is how my life was.I was lost. I was plunged in the depths of sorrow and worries. Life had lost its meaning. The purpose of my life was vague. Everything seemed so clouded. I found happiness in the appealing snares of the evil in this world. I gave in to the temptations of Satan. Life had no meaning. My perspective was lost. Church was a socializing center and prayers were void. This is how I lived for almost 14-15 months of my life. A life I had no regrets about.

But someday somehow I figured that I was messing around with God. It was an unexplainable feeling of realization and guilt. And after hearing what all my friends had to say, I just knew I had to do something. I immediately contacted a friend of mine. He was the first one to let me know what it means to live for God. I shared my anxiety with him. I told him how others were trying to correct me but I couldn’t figure out where I was making a mistake. And all he told me was “Kneel down and tell God to teach you to pray. He will take care of the rest.” And that is how it all began.

I decided to read the bible. The last time I had read was on the day of my final exam. I prayed to God and I opened the bible. This is what I read:

“For God in his wisdom made it impossible for people to know him by means of their own wisdom. Instead, by means of the so-called “foolish” message we preach, God decided to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21.)

This verse got me curious to read more and to know much more about God. Eventually, I realized that everything I did were the things that Jesus wanted His people to stay away from. And thus, my first prayer had been answered. Without the help of any external influence, I realized that I was wrong. Immediately I knew that God did exist. Ever since that realization, there were several days when I regretted all my wrong doings. But God through his mercy let me know that He had forgiven me. There were several nights when I couldn’t sleep because of the guilt in me. But Jesus let me know His presence by releasing me from the bonds of anxiety, doubt and worries. I have witnessed God’s love. I have experienced the joys Jesus has kept in stock for me. I am alive because of God’s mercy. There is immense pleasure when I proudly tell my friends how my life has changed. Nothing is out of my efforts but out of God’s infinite love for me. Every single second of my life is a miracle from God. Every day I live for the glorification of His mighty deeds. He has brought peace into my life. He has done things that I thought were impossible. I was a sinner. I was in living a dark life. But Jesus pulled me out of it and showed me the light in the Christian life. He gave me the hope that I had lost.

I love you God, always have and always will.

I hope all of us stay united in Christ and live together as members of His body.

Christianity is not a religion, it is a way of living.

May God bless you all.

Jesus! As a Friend and a Companion!!

We, sometimes being in the most crowded place feel lonely, not just because we lack in friends or society circles or not because of the lack of care from family but simply because of the lack of trust we have in confiding our thoughts. We don’t have one single person even among that crowd around us, in whom we can confide. There is a fear behind that lack of trust too, the fear that what we may talk or share may not be that interesting to others, or a fear that they might not like what we say or what we share might not be a big gossip matter which we can share with our friends or fear that what if our friends laugh over what we feel and think or maybe just because we don’t want them to be hurt. Or maybe as the saying goes ‘’Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone’’.

And because of this some of us keep diaries as best friend in which we write down our feelings while others have pets to share their feeling though they are not responsive to our thoughts and feelings. But have you ever thought of Jesus as a good friend and companion throughout our entire life. Jesus himself wants us to be his friends than He being our master and we His servants; as John 15:15 says ‘No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you’ and He has also proved that his friendship is selfless by giving up His life for the sake of His friends. In John 15:13; ‘’Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends’’.

We should experience the friendship of Jesus in all our lives, don’t you think He who lies within all of us, knows and understands us way better than we think we know ourselves. He know each of our hearts, our feelings, our emotions and even when you show your anger out, He knows why or what made us do that. All the people around you may point at your weaknesses but our friends always know the reason behind those weaknesses, which is same with Jesus. He knows us too well that, no matter what people around you thinks but He will know you in a much better way.

Even your closest friend might just think you are too cool to hang out with or maybe you are just too funny so that being with you they can have a bit of fun, but little do they know that you are just acting cool so that people around you feel that you are lonely or maybe you come up with jokes to hide the sorrows within you and these friends may not be there with you through your entire life at some point or the other they would leave you. But it is not the same when you have Jesus as your companion, even if you don’t share your feelings with this friend of yours He will always be like a guiding star throughout your life. It’s just that many of us don’t realise it.

He can hear your inner most feelings, your sorrows which you may hide from others or your happiness which you may not let out of you. If you want to feel his presence next to you as a friend just take the bible and read through with concentration you can hear Him talking to you. If you need help in the word of God to see what your friend wants to tell you, have a look at the Bible Emergency Numbers listed below:

– When you are sad, call on John 14
– When you don’t feel loved, call on Romans 8:38-39
– When you have sinned, call on 1 John 1:8-9
– When you are facing danger, call on Psalm 91
– When people have failed you, call on Psalm 27
– When God feel far from you, call on Psalm 139
– When your faith needs encouraging, call on Hebrews 11
– When you are scared, call on Psalm 23
– When you are worried, call on Matthew 6:25-34
– When you are hurt, call on Colossians 3:12-17
– When you feel no one is on your side, call on Romans 8:31-39
– When you are seeking rest, call on Matthew 11:25-30
– When you are suffering, call on Romans 8:18-30
– When you feel you’re failing, call on Psalm 121
– When you pray, call on Matthew 6:9-13
– When you need courage, call on Joshua 1
– When you are in need, call on Philippians 4:19
– When you are hated because of your faith, call on John 15
– When you are losing hope, call on 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
– When you are seeking peace, call on John 14:27
– When you want to do good works, call on John 15
– When you want to live a happy life, call on Colossians 3:12-17
– When you don’t understand what God is doing, call on Isaiah 55:8-9
– When you want to get along with others, call on Romans 12:9-21

If you need His big hug just hug the word of God, you will feel a calmness overwhelming you. Now if you want to talk to him; wherever you are, just close your eyes and believe that He is next to you and talk to him loudly or within your mind as you wish. Because He knows what you are about to tell him even before you tell it to Him.

And soon you will realise the biggest gift you have got in your life is to have Him as your best friend who will never abandon you, no matter how wrong you are, ugly or irritating you are or even if you care the least about Him, He would care more for you. He will be there always with you and for you whenever you need Him. He is just waiting for that one call from you so that He could come running to you as your helping hand and companion for life.